B4 Issue 53 - Think, Inspire & Create Edition by B4 Magazine

E D A

’s s re es hi in K ds us e E 24 or B in LIN xf g az OFF O din ag N & a M HIP O Le RS

B4 MAGAZINE I S S U E

5 3

J U L Y

2 0 1 8

THINK, INSPIRE & CREATE Hayley Monks explains why process improvement might not have the impact on customer service that you’d hoped.

OXFORD BUS COMPANY

W W W . B 4 - B U S I N E S S . C O M

GARDNER LEADER

COWLEY ROAD WORKS

B U I L D I N G B R I D G E S B E T W E E N B U S I N E S S E S

JOIN OUR GROWING B4 COMMUNITY TODAY Connect your business with over 600 members and raise your profile through our established B4 promotional platforms.

Magazine One word sums up B4 Magazine: Quality. Not only is B4 Magazine designed to the highest possible standards, the print finish is excellent and the magazine oozes style and sophistication. In terms of content, B4 covers a wide range of businesses from mainstream as well as niche sectors, providing our readers with excellent insight, opinion and advice. B4 is published bi-monthly and distributed to 3,000 business decision makers in Oxfordshire and beyond with a growing number of multi copy outlets.

Social Media

20,000+

Not only do we use Twitter and LinkedIn to promote everything B4, the real news we push out to the world is YOUR news. So if you post a press release on the B4 website, we’ll post it out to a network approaching 20,000 connections. Why not use us for specific campaigns where we can schedule your messages to go out to our growing networks? An increasingly effective platform for B4.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONNECTIONS AND RISING

Website Connect on line with the growing network of B4 members through our excellent new website and post unlimited press releases, events, offers and job vacancies. You can also recommend and review other members, introduce members to each other, not to mention we will post any articles you have in B4 Magazine on the website. Get recognised as a business or an individual, build your following and establish yourself in the B4 community.

Video Video is proven as one of the most effective means of absorbing information and that’s why we use B4TV to capture the latest news and interviews with our members. Get to know our members and find out more about what makes them a success with B4TV. To get your message and personality across to our growing network and beyond, contact B4 and we’ll do the rest. All you’ve got to do is make sure you don’t fluff your lines...

Oxford & Oxfordshire World Class & Connected

Brought to you by

NO 903 5

B4 Classic Events: High quality sums up B4 events. Superb venues, excellent hospitality, access to some of Oxfordshire’s more exclusive locations and great networking. B4 Classic Events are not to be missed opportunities to relax and develop your networks. B4 Platinum Dinners: Connect with senior representatives from some of Oxfordshire’s leading businesses in some of our most spectacular locations. A great way to build and cement invaluable business relationships. Business In Oxford: Oxfordshire’s leading business to business networking and showcase event. Approaching in excess of 700 delegates with over 80 exhibitors and 50 presenters at BIO2018, make sure BIO2019 is on your radar. www.businessinoxford.com

45067

Events B4 EV ENTS ADMIT

ONE A

PRICE:

DULT

FREE

Richard Rosser Chief Executive & Editor

Colin Rosser Chairman

Keith Simpson Senior Designer

Lorna Waterfield Production Manager & Assistant Editor

Rob Scotcher Design & Photography

Emma Davis Marketing Executive

welcome to 53 Once again we bring a double cover to you for this edition of B4 with Gardner Leader’s Managing Partner, Derek Rodgers, sharing cover duties with Hayley Monks of Think, Inspire, Create. Gardner Leader have been fantastic supporters of B4 for a number of years and you can read all about their impressive growth and how they have achieved it. We were delighted to welcome Hayley to the B4 studios recently and you can read how Think, Inspire, Create tackle the hugely important issue of customer service. We also reflect on a hugely successful BIO2018 which attracted over 900 registrations, 90 exhibitors and a wide range of presentations, some of which are recapped in this issue. By bringing together such a vast mix of Oxfordshire (and beyond) businesses, BIO has reinforced its position as Oxfordshire’s leading business to business networking event. If you would like to be involved in BIO2019, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, whether it’s a sponsorship, exhibition or attendance enquiry. As many of you will know, we have now settled in to our fantastic new offices in Weston-on-the-Green. We’ve already welcomed a number of B4 members for video and photography shoots in our brand new studio, most recently Hayley for her cover shot for this issue. We are currently testing the studio’s capabilities for a number of video shoots but if you’re interested in finding out more about video and photography at B4’s HQ, please get in touch. As part of the new ‘World Class & Connected’ initiative which you will see more about in each issue of B4, the B4 Knowledge Bank is a key area of development. By providing the network with brief videos covering a wide range of topics, we are not only providing you with invaluable HOW TO information but also giving the growing number of experts in the B4 community a platform to promote their skills and services. In addition we will be using the new B4 meeting room for masterclasses, podcasts and webinars and hope that by October, combined with a new website (due for launch before the end of the year), B4 will have some serious tools to complement your business development. We are also delighted to welcome Claire Styles as our new B4 Community Experience Director. Claire is well known to B4 and the B4 community and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and expertise to help B4 as it continues to develop and expand its offering to the B4 community. Read more about Claire’s appointment on Page 14.

PARTNERS

Official E-mail Marketing Partner

Official HR Partner

Official Cloud Partner

Official Charity Partner

ON THE

Enjoy Issue 53 Ed Rosser NXT

HILL

Visual Design Partner

Richard Rosser Editor

Claire Styles Community Experience Director

Sandra Dibling Client Experience Manager

More about B4 p2. What is B4? p3. Introduction, Meet the Team p6. Platinum, Gold, New & Renewing Members p8. B4 Events p11. B4 Advisory Board p12. B4 Membership Options p13. Oxford & Oxfordshire, World Class & Connected p14. B4 Good News

Official Stationery Partner

imagery Design | Print | Finish Tel: 0121 486 1616

Sue Rosser

B4 are proud to support Sobell House, our chosen charity for 2018.

www.imageryuk.com

Official Print Partner

Credit Control

A New Initiative from B4 - see page 13 www.businessinoxford.com

Contents finance

advice

26 Striving to Thrive: In economic uncertainty, HSBC provide clarity and opportunity to realise your ambitions.

45 Raising the Bar: Find out how Mike Collett of Exalta can help you to develop communication and relationships.

29 Systemise to Succeed: Chapman, Robinson & Moore talk about the benefits of systemising your business.

47 Coaching Mindset: Colin Murray talks about why you should invest in management and leadership development.

30 Protecting Growth: FOCUS Oxford Risk Management explain the importance of Technology Insurance.

49 Avoiding Data Overloads: Nielsen look at how to manage and measure the data within your business.

lead

32 The Perfect Sound Isn’t Cheap: Barclays talk about how their business banking helped Abbey Recording Company grow.

16 Good to Great: Gardner Leader undergoes major recruitment drive to align with its continuous growth.

34 Leading the Way: We talk to Whitley Stimpson’s Laura Adkins about how their new generation is leading the way.

20 Think, Inspire and Create: Why process improvement might not have the impact on customer service you’d hoped.

37 Don’t Outlive Your Savings: Dan Kitchen of St James’s Place offers some useful guidance on retirement planning. 38 Maternity Pay: Wellers talk about how to claim statutory maternity pay as an employer.

economy 40 Upskill the Workforce: Grant Thornton take a look at how businesses can leverage technology to upskill the workforce.

news

42 A Benefit to All: OxLEP look at how Oxfordshire can harness its economy to bene -fit businesses and residents.

spotlight 50 Diamond Lights: Catch up with Darke & Taylor as they celebrate their 60th Anniversary. 53 That Oxford Girl: Meet Tilly Rose, who overcame her hardships to provide a fantastic service for Oxford students.

14 Good News from the B4 Community

legal

property 54 VSL & Partners: Check out the latest commercial properties from VSL.

22 Innovation and Growth: Penningtons Manches leads the way by supporting dynamic business with specialist teams.

56 Milton Park: Take a look at how Milton Park are creating a unique, vibrant and evolving business park.

24 Record Year of Growth: Freeths see a significant increase in demand for their growth and exit strategy legal services.

58 Maximising Potential: Carter Jonas look at how our local area (CAMCOX) can compete on the global stage.

B4 charity/csr

events

92 Employee Volunteering: Reciprocate talk about how Oxfordshire is leading the way with best practice.

60 B4 Event Recap: Read about the fantastic B4 Event held at Milton Park on 10th May.

102 Supporting Sobell: Find out how to join the 40 Club and Support Sobell House.

63 Agents for the Community: College & County helped raise the £130k needed to cover costs for Cowley Road Carnival. 65 Signed, Sealed and Delivered: Freddie Jewson undertook the challenge to provide BIO2018’s recap video in under half a day. 66 BIO2018 Official Recap: Read our official recap on the day’s events and great educational seminars. 76 Thinking About Tomorrow: Freeths held a fantastic roundtable at Pembroke College with Futurologist Tom Cheesewright.

marketing 85 Get Creative: Fine Print combine great customer service with the latest technology to deliver exceptional results.

78 Venturefest: B4 met with Lynn Shepherd to find out what this event is all about and how you can get involved.

venues

79 Making a Difference: Oxford’s iconic Cowley Road Carnival is looking for a new chairperson and trustees.

95 Cumberland Lodge: Read on to find out why Cumberland Lodge is no ordinary conference venue. 97 Running on Solar: Howbery Business Park introduces new Polar Network vehicle charging points. 99 Virtual Classroom: Take a look at the UK’s First Virtual Meeting Space at Saïd Business School.

hr services 81 Office Ergonomics: Aston & James talk about how you can implement a healthier, happier workplace. 82 Recycle for the Environment: Consider Aston & James’s free ink and toner recycling service to help the environment. 83 A Sweeping Success: Oxford CleanTech regards cleaning as a science, and takes great pride in its methodology.

86 A Journey from Good to Great: You HR take a look back at how far they’ve come, from a small startup in 2009 to a thriving business.

101 An Unforgettable Experience: Entertain guests in the beautiful, historic Sheldonian Theatre with their new dining concepts.

corp.life

tech

105 PickMeUp Goes Live: Read about this ground-breaking on-demand ride-sharing service from The Oxford Bus Company.

89 Planet IT Expands: Read about how Planet IT won a major award and expanded into new offices at Milton Park.

107 Not Just Travel: B4 talks to Sian Pages, proud business owner, about her award winning travel service.

91 Cyber Security: CQR ensure your business, your people and your technology are protected and empowered.

109 Jamals Saffron: Two of Oxford’s finest restaurants have come togerther to create the ultimate Indian restaurant.

Contacts 110

Platinum & Gold Members PLATINUM

ON THE

Everything for the Workplace

HILL

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

Become a part of the B4 Network today. Call 01865 742211, or visit www.b4-business.com

Oxford & Oxfordshire World Class & Connected

Brought to you by

B4 GOLD

Bodleian Libraries

New & Renewing Members

U N I V E R S I T Y O F OX F O R D

A New Initiative from B4 - see page 13 www.businessinoxford.com

B4 Forthcoming Events B4 Classic Event at The Manor Date: Wednesday 8th August 2018, 6-8pm Venue: Northampton Road, Weston-on-the-Green, Oxon, OX25 3QL

Dress code: Smart Casual Price: Free

Join members and guests at B4’s beautiful next door neighbour - The Manor Country House Hotel for an evening of casual networking with drinks & canapés. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-bombay-sapphire-distillery-2

B4 Classic Event at Bombay Sapphire Distillery Date: Thursday 16th August 2018, 6-8pm Venue: Laverstoke Mill, London Road, Whitchurch, Berkshire RG28 7NR

Dress code: Smart Casual Price: Free

Join B4 Members and Guests as we take a tour of the beautiful Bombay Sapphire Distillery at Laverstoke Mill. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-bombay-sapphire-distillery-2

B4 Classic Event at Rhodes House Date: Thursday 6th September 2018, 6-8pm Venue: Rhodes House, South Parks Rd, Oxford, OX1 3RG

Dress code: Smart Casual Price: Free

Join other B4 Ambassadors, Members and their guests at this stunning venue, home of the Rhodes Scholars. Hayley Monks of Think Inspire Create will be presenting guests with a wonderful and appropriate topic for discussion: ”The Future of the Workforce - Does the quality of the human interaction become more important as automation grows?” www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-rhodes-house-2018

B4 Platinum Dinner at Macdonald Randolph Hotel Date: Thursday 20th September 2018, 7-10.30pm Venue: Beaumont Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 2LN

Dress code: Black Tie Price: £150+VAT

Join B4 Platinum Members for an evening of fine dining in the world famous Macdonald Randolph Hotel. Dress code: Black Tie. Tickets for non-Platinum members are £150+VAT per head. www.b4-business.com/event/platinum-dinner-macdonald-randolph-hotel-2

B4 Platinum Dinner and 50th Anniversary Celebration at The Cherwell Boathouse Date: Tuesday 2nd October 2018, 7-10.30pm Venue: Bardwell Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6ST

Dress code: Black Tie Price: £150+VAT

Join B4 Platinum Members for an evening of fine dining in The Cherwell Boathouse’s beautiful conservatory to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Dress code: Black Tie. Tickets for non-Platinum members are £150+VAT per head. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-platinum-dinner-cherwell-boathouse

B4 Classic Event and Art Showcase at Freeths Date: Thursday 4th October 2018, 6-8pm Venue: 5000 Oxford Business Park South, Oxford, OX4 2BH

Dress code: Smart Casual Price: Free

Join B4 Members and Guests as we enjoy a fantastic event of networking with a showcase of art from Silverlining at Freeths’ headquarters in Oxford, along with great speeches from Sarah Foster of Freeths, Maggie Sargent of Silverlining, and Aidan Meller of Aidan Meller Galleries. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-art-showcase-freeths

Oxford & Oxfordshire World Class & Connected

Brought to you by

B4 B4 Classic Event at The Divinity School Date: Monday 29th October 2018, 6-8pm Venue: Catte Street, Oxford, OX1 3BB

Dress code: Smart Casual Price: Free

Join B4 Members and Guests for an evening of networking, guest speakers, drinks and canapés in the beautiful and historic Divinity School of the Old Library, part of the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-divinity-school

B4 Platinum Dinner at Blenheim Palace Date: Thursday 20th September 2018, 7-10.30pm Venue: Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP

Dress code: Black Tie Price: £150+VAT

Join B4 Platinum Members for an evening of fine dining at the beautiful, historic and world-renowned Blenheim Palace. Dress code: Black Tie. Tickets for non-Platinum members are £150+VAT per head. www.b4-business.com/event/b4-classic-event-divinity-school

B4 Forthcoming Member Events Why Pensions are Still a Good Choice for Retirement Planning Date: Tuesday 24th July, 2018, 11-11.30am Venue: Online Webinar

Organiser: Chapman, Robinson & Moore

The latest webinar to be offered by Chapman Robinson & Moore Accountants & Business Advisers, cover the hot topic of Pensions. For this webinar, we have asked expert, Helen Fraser of Orchard House IFA’s, to cover this question that we are often asked. www.b4-business.com/member-event/why-pensions-are-still-a-good-choice-for-retirement-planning

The Real Oxford Fashion Show Date: Friday 28th Sep, 2018, 6.30-11.30pm Venue: MINI Plant Oxford, Eastern By Pass,

Oxford, OX4 6NL Organiser: Boys & Girls Promotions

Oxford’s leading fashion show for both Oxford Independent retailers and Unique brands for both men and women. The BMW/ Mini event space is one of Oxford’s leading venue spaces and offers a unique ‘industrial’ feel backdrop for the fashion show. www.b4-business.com/member-event/the-real-oxford-fashion-show

Transforming Meetings Programme: 1st October Date: Monday 1st Oct, 2018, 9am-4.30pm Venue: Oxford Playhouse, 11-12 Beaumont Street,

Oxford, OX1 2LW Organiser: Artesian

Unlock the unique potential of each individual at work. A day long coaching session for leaders who want to increase the effectiveness of meetings, by teaching that meetings held in a Thinking Environment deliver a wide range of benefits. www.b4-business.com/member-event/transforming-meetings-programme

Visit www.b4-business.com to register for these events Please note for all events. The following conditions must be observed by all B4 members and guests: • If you are unable to attend a B4 event for any reason, please notify us in writing no later than 72 hours before the event • If we are not made aware of your inability to attend we will be charging a fee per ticket which will be passed on to our preferred charity for each particular event, nominated by the host. Fees as follows: -- With more than 72 hours notice there will be no charge made -- With less than 72 hours notice there will be a charge of £10+VAT made -- With no notice there will be a charge of £25+VAT made • Please note we regret there are no exceptions to our no-show / no notice policy. Failure to pay outstanding invoices will impact on your ability to attend future events as follows: -- Members: You have one “no notice” of a no-show allowance per annum for your company as a whole. Once this has been used then any registration privileges you are entitled to will be removed for up to two events and all future ‘no notice instances will be charged as per the rates above -- Non Members: You will not be allowed to register for future B4 events as a guest until your invoice has been settled • It is not appropriate to leave stacks of flyers or business cards on tables at the venue. Any found will be disposed of.

A New Initiative from B4 - see page 13 www.businessinoxford.com

imagery design . print . finish

high quality 10 colour B1 litho print...

Imagery is a second generation family run business based in Birmingham successfully delivering print and related services for more than 26 years. With an unsurpassed wealth of accrued knowledge, Imagery is a reputable, successful business that welcomes the opportunity to be considered as your printing partner. We aim to provide all our clients with the highest quality print at a competitive price, contact the team and see what we can do for you...

imagery 1-3 Prince Road, Kings Norton, Birmingham B30 3HB

T: 0121 486 1616 W: www.imageryuk.com

B4 Advisory Board

Jonna Mundy Chief Executive Officer - You HR | www.youhrconsultancy.co.uk Jonna is a Human Resources and Organisational Development professional. A fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) with over 20 years experience across both public and private sector, from the NHS and RBS to Centrica and the Royal Mail. In 2010 Jonna set up You HR to address the need for a personalised approach to HR solutions more aligned to differing client business needs. Her commercially-focused approach enables her to work flexibly in any environment and influence and engage with all types of client and stakeholder groups. She believes in shaping the future and is passionate about motivating individuals’ to realise their full potential. She’s also a Sushi ninja, and You HR’s Friday Fundays wouldn’t be the same without her culinary delights. Jonna loves the great outdoors, enjoying new experiences with her family and exploring all that life has to offer. She is also highly community focused and harbours a strong belief for giving back.

Thank you to our Advisory Board for taking the time to support B4 as we develop our ideas and plans to make B4 an even more effective community.

Orhan Ertughrul EVP Europe G-Smatt Europe Media

Richard Venables Director VSL & Partners

Wendy Ball Head of Events Ashmolean Museum

Darren Aston Managing Director Aston and James

Colin Rosser Chairman B4

Richard Rosser CEO B4

Dominic Hare CEO Blenheim Palace

Lorna Dodson Production Manager B4

Grant Hayward Founder & Director Collaborent

Richard Marsh CEO CIS Ltd

Mike Foster Commercial Director CRM

Stewart Elliston Freeths Principal Manager, Business Development

Helen Fallon Director Global CTS

Toby Newman Growth Advisor Grant Thornton UK LLP

Greg Barnes Director Breckon & Breckon

Nicola Poole Managing Director Hedges Law

James White Owner James White Sales Success

Andy Cowie Marketing & Business Development Director James Cowper Kreston

Jarl Severn Managing Director Owen Mumford

Gavin Jones Group Finance Director Owen Mumford

Edward Rosser Founder B4 NXT

Phil Southall Managing Director Oxford Bus Company

Jo Willett Managing Director Oxford Centre for Innovation

Bob Price Leader Oxford City Council

Cheryl-Lee Foulsham Business Manager Oxford Duplication Centre

Jayne Woodley CEO Oxfordshire Community Foundation

Sebastian Johnson Head of Innovation & Inward Investment Oxfordshire LEP

Claire Thompson Managing Director Papa Romeo Public Relations Ltd

Tim Wraith Corporate Partnerships Manager Sobell House

Phil Strachan Owner Strangebrew

Katherine Bertram Founder The Career Boutique

Ian Roberts Owner Cashflow Creators

John Kennedy Brand Protection Wildbore and Gibbons

Oxford & Oxfordshire World Class & Connected

Brought to you by

B4 Membership All B4 Members, from Standard to Platinum Membership, receive the following basic benefits: B4 Magazine Directory listing: With a readership of 24,000 B4 Magazines, the B4 Business Directory is a fast growing and key part of the Magazine. Make sure you are listed and get seen by influential business decision makers. Attend B4 Classic Events: Network with other B4 Members in fantastic venues across the Thames Valley. No extra charge to attend B4 Classic events.

B4 B4 Web Directory listing: With over 200 visitors to the B4 website every day, get listed on the B4 Web Directory and have access to upload unlimited press releases, event details, offers and jobs and also connect with other members, recommend, review and introduce. Account access for up to 5 employees. Discounted Advertising Rates: By becoming a B4 Member you can benefit from Member’s Rates for editorial or advertising in B4 Magazine.

Membership Options & Perks M Silver

Membership

Gold

Membership

Platinum P G G

Membership

PPBusiness listed in contacts

PP5% discount on further

PPLogo at the front of the

PP10% discount on further

PP25% discount on further

PP3 x single pages PPAttendance for 4 employees

PP6 x pages PPAttendance for 5 employees

PPAttendance for 1 employee at

PPRetweets of your tweets

PPBusiness listed on website PPUnlimited uploads to the

PPLikes on LinkedIn

PPWe will post press releases

PPIntro videos and

PPRetweets of your tweets PPLikes on LinkedIn PPIntro videos and professional

PP1 x interview or educational

PP2 x interviews or educational

PP1 x webinar or podcast on a

directory

magazine

magazine advertising rates

+ 2 guests at all B4 and NXT events 3 Platinum Dinners

website

on your behalf

headshots for 4 employees (“Knowledge Bank”) video topic of your choice

magazine advertising rates

+ 3 guests at all B4 and NXT events 6 Platinum Dinners

website

on your behalf

headshots for 5 employees

(“Knowledge Bank”) videos topic of your choice

PPAsk our CEO / Editor for

personal introductions to members of your choosing

£750

+ VAT one-off or £225 + VAT quarterly £95 + VAT monthly

£2,000

+ VAT one-off or £550 + VAT quarterly £200 + VAT monthly

£5,000

+ VAT one-off or £1,500 + VAT quarterly £500 + VAT monthly

B4 Membership is Application Only Visit www.b4-business.com/apply today to start connecting your business with over 600 members and raising your profile through our established B4 promotional platforms. Terms & Conditions apply

Oxford & Oxfordshire World Class & Connected

Brought to you by

B4 spotlight

Oxford & Oxfordshire

World Class & Connected Brought to you by

Oxford and Oxfordshire were top of the 2017 Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities index and the 2018 Arcadis ‘Investing in Britain’ report names Oxford as the 2nd best city in the UK for Growth Potential. As Oxfordshire’s leading business networking community, B4 aims to play a key role in this growth. Written by: Richard Rosser We’re working towards building B4 as the platform for business to business communications and profile raising in Oxfordshire and by co-ordinating through B4, we not only believe that Oxfordshire has a bright future, but that we can show the rest of the world that businesses in Oxfordshire are united in their vision to be ‘World Class & Connected’. At BIO2018 on 23rd May, we launched “Oxford & Oxfordshire – World Class & Connected”, a promotional video supported by a promotional brochure designed to get our message across ‘support B4 and Oxfordshire’s growth’. We want to demonstrate not only the diversity of organisations committed to B4 but also the extent of their commitment and how this joined up approach to doing business in our county is helping to drive growth for the future. The B4 community is growing and below we include some messages of support for our initiative to get Oxfordshire’s business community connected. Would you like to be involved? If you would like to receive a copy of our report or join the B4 community, please call the team on 01865 742211 and we will be pleased to send you a link to the report and / or discuss B4 with you. “Owen Mumford has been based in Woodstock since our inception more than 65 years ago and we are proud to be a part of a business community which is known for being a centre of world leading innovation and knowledge. “As a medical device manufacturer we benefit from access to a highly skilled workforce and the university connection which drives research excellence, particularly in science and technology.

www.b4-business.com

“We recognise the benefits of a collaborative approach to boost investor confidence and to develop an infrastructure that will drive further growth. Therefore Owen Mumford supports B4’s ‘World Class & Connected’ initiative which will benefit businesses of all sizes across the county.” Jarl Severn, Managing Director, Owen Mumford “The next decade will undoubtedly see greater changes to the landscape of the Oxfordshire business community than at any time in its history. The opportunities available and the appetite to realise them among the various stakeholders mean that it could be a transformational few years. It’s vital therefore that the business community work together to ensure that the challenges we face will be met so that the huge potential benefits can be delivered to Oxfordshire. The B4 World Class and Connected initiative can be a key component of this drive and we look forward to supporting them in the coming years.” David Tighe, Corporate Partner, Penningtons Manches ”Great county, connectivity and access to brilliant businesses and people. Surrounded by some stunning countryside and living with a pulse for growth. “Supporting the “World Class & Connected” Initiative simply makes good business sense, why wouldn’t you support it and stand next to the other amazing businesses in the county?” Cath Convery, Learning and Development, Explosive Learning Solutions Ltd “With a world-leading University and global brand, Oxfordshire is ideal for business success. Here, cutting edge innovation thrives beside heritage and tourism. Culturally and geographically Oxfordshire

is an outstanding region for high-tech companies, as well as those in retail, services, industry, and leisure. “Oxfordshire is profitable. Employment is among the UK’s highest GVA per capita, and business support is strong. Living costs reflect the extensive benefits of this potent region. “B4 is a visionary driver of the essential connectivity that makes Oxfordshire a highly successful and enjoyable community of business leaders and professionals who can act locally and think globally. Oxford University backs the World Class & Connected initiative” Matthew Smart, University of Oxford “As an OxLEP non-exec board member and a partner in a local Oxford business, I see connecting businesses in Oxfordshire as an essential part of designing the right blueprint for Oxfordshire’s businesses for the future, not just for today. We need the right local skills, education and training, housing and transport, as well as the right environment (such as the niche clusters situated in science parks) to be fit for the future. OxLEP engages with local and central government as well as departmental agencies and can give these concerns a real voice that can make a difference. “Businesses need to engage with each other and the OxLEP for that to work. The Ox-Cam plans, being encouraged by central government, will make Oxford even more important to businesses at all intersections of that corridor, as well as encouraging Oxford’s global reputation as a scientific and educational powerhouse.” Penny Rinta-Suksi, Partner, For and on behalf of Blake Morgan LLP

B4 Good News Latest News on How to Get Organised for Making Tax Digital (MTD) The original MTD launch date of April 2018 was abandoned July 2017 when HMRC succumbed to pressure over the unrealistic timescales. The requirement for compulsory digital record keeping more generally and the submission of quarterly updates is now postponed until at least 2020. However, introduction of MTD for VAT purposes in April 2019 remains a tight deadline. One of the main concerns for SME’s is the transition to software compliant with the MTD for VAT requirements. If you use HMRC’s online

portal for your VAT returns, you need to adopt new methods, as from April 2019 the online portal will no longer be available. HMRC want businesses to use commercial software, but have accepted that many businesses use spreadsheets as their main recordkeeping tool. If you’re not currently using commercial software you need to decide whether to take the plunge – and financial hit – and invest in compliant software and associated training, or to hang on and see whether HMRC’s proposals mean that affordable

spreadsheet-based products emerge onto the market. If you’d like to discuss options, contact MGroup Partner Darren Green on 01865 552925 or d.green@TheMGroup.co.uk

Transforming Meetings Programme Nick Chatrath is hosting a series of programmes, with the first on 1st October, on how to increase the effectiveness of meetings. In order to sustain success, organisations must unlock the unique potential of each individual at work. Getting the best from people means getting their best thinking. This focus on enhancing how people think, rather than what people do, is essential and very different from most conventional organisational development practice. During the programme we will cover the following: Thinking Pairs, Dialogue, Rounds, Open Discussions, The Time To Think Council, Presentations, and putting it all together in a ‘transformed meeting’. To sign up, contact Nick at nick@nickchatrath.com. www.nickchatrath.com

B4 welcomes new Community Experience Director B4 are proud to welcome a new member to our team. Claire Styles, our new Community Experience Director, comes from a background of developing and managing talent, acquisitions at the SME level, experience in HR, brand management and internal communications, we are certain she will be an invaluable asset to our team as we continue to grow the B4 community. Claire previously worked as a Director at WILA Lighting and Group Operations Advisor at Oxfordshire Estates and brings a wealth of experience and knowledge with her. Claire is an outgoing, friendly individual who enjoys and follows motorsport and can be located in a field or poolside of a weekend, coaching the juniors of Bicester Triathlon Club. Claire qualified as a Level 1 Coach last year and devotes much time and energy to the club and the children. Her children are also active members of the club. Bicester Tri Juniors is a young club, having only been formed some 5 years ago. When time allows Claire trains personally, she competes in triathlons herself, not to break any records but to continue to look at reducing her personal time. Claire competed at the Blenheim Palace Triathlon this year and has done this event many times over the years as an individual or part of a relay team. Claire has completed 5 marathons and is looking to do her first half iron man in 2019 as well as another marathon. Once again, it is great to have Claire on board at B4 to help us grow the community and we are sure Claire can expect a warm welcome from our B4 members.

www.b4-business.com

B4 B4 welcome another new referred member The latest member referred to the B4 Community is Royds Withy King, referred by Mike Foster of Chapman, Robinson & Moore. B4 looks forward to a long partnership with Royds Withy King, who are highly respected solicitors offering specialist advice to both Corporate & Private clients. “Many thanks to Mike Foster for his hand in introducing Royds Withy King to the B4 Community.

We look forward to making many more great connections.” – Simon Bassett, Partner, Royds Withy King If you know someone you think would be a great fit for the B4 Community, visit www.b4-business.com/ refer today to be in with a chance to win a great prize from the Virginia Hayward Hamper Company. Terms & Conditions apply.

Conversis - Communications. In any language We believe that communicating effectively to a global audience requires an understanding of and appreciation for the local, cultural, religious and political differences in each target market.

Founded in 2003, Conversis have since achieved a fantastic reputation for supplying translation and language services to clients around the world.

With a reputation for focusing on quality above all else, while developing long-term relationships with both clients and suppliers, we are committed to facilitating the growth of the fantastic and innovative organisations that operate within Oxfordshire. We would love to hear from local businesses who are looking for support in delivering their messages to other markets.

If you aren’t sure of how to best communicate your messages to a global audience, we would be happy to offer advice, suggestions and recommendations to ensure that the great work being undertaken in Oxfordshire is given the platform and coverage it deserves. For more information visit www.conversis.com, call 01865 2255820 or email hello@conversis.com

G-Smatt celebrates a successful first year in the UK G-Smatt Europe opened its doors to business last July and since then the Oxford based company has flourished. Most recently, recognition for all that the company has achieved came when it was awarded the Thames Valley Newcomer of the Year ‘Inward Investment’ Award – at the Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce 2018 Business Awards. The company is led by Orhan Ertughrul, who

said; “This has been amazing year for G-Smatt and I am delighted with what we have achieved and even more so by the opportunities that lie ahead. A key factor in this success has been the growth and development of the highly committed and professional team that I have been able to assemble.” www.g-smatteurope.com

Wellers win at Oxfordshire Apprentice Awards at Blenheim Palace. It reflects the firm’s ethos that business is all about people and building relationships is the centrepiece of everything we do. It’s why we focus heavily on our staff – their aspirations, their development and the challenges they face in their roles.

Wellers are proud to have won Large Apprenticeship Employer award at the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards which took place on Tuesday 24 April

www.b4-business.com

After all a happy team for us means happy clients. We’ve witnessed how running an apprenticeship programme is a key part of that strategy and the great things it can do for people, in terms of

realising aptitude, building confidence and fostering key life skills. Our employees are the heart beat of our firm and their fulfilment is what leads to the long term success of our clients as well as our own growth and expansion. Thank you to Oxfordshire Apprenticeships and all the sponsors for a wonderful evening. www.wellersaccountants.co.uk

“ By drawing

teams from across the firm to look in a structured way at improving aspects of our operation, we achieve a better client experience and drive staff engagement. Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader

”

Gardner Leader

GOING FROM GOOD TO GREAT Award winning law firm, Gardner Leader based in Newbury, Thatcham and Maidenhead, has been on a major recruitment drive to align with its continuous rapid growth, as it welcomes several new people into the firm including Michal Freeman-Shor as Senior Associate in the commercial team. Other recent appointments include Madia Aslam as a post-exchange assistant, Javeria Tahir as a support assistant in the conveyancing team, Nikki Hitchinson as the firm’s new finance manager, Sarah Sharpin, as paralegal in the dispute resolution team, and Anna Thorn as marketing executive. The firm has also made several promotions within its team of more than 125 staff including Lynn Digby to HR Director, Andrew Shipp to Senior Associate in the dispute resolution department, and Julia Brown to Quality Director. Several trainee solicitors have also recently qualified to solicitor, and three paralegals and one conveyancing assistant are now trainee solicitors. These appointments and promotions come at

a pivotal time for the business, which has seen expansive growth from £3m turnover in 2012 to a projected figure of £7.7m for 2017-18. The firm provide a range of privately funded legal services to support business owners and individuals including legal services in corporate & commercial law,

“

we subscribe to the theory put forward by Harvard Business School and others that there is a direct connection between staff engagement, client experience and profitability.

”

Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader

commercial property, employment, family, litigation – mainly commercial, property and contentious probate - inheritance protection, and residential conveyancing. In last year’s Legal 500 Directory, Gardner Leader was described as a firm which ‘exceeds all expectations’ and ‘punches above its weight’. In 2014 the firm embarked on a continuous improvement programme called Evolve to bring the benefit of constant review and improvement to the delivery of excellent customer service. Evolve is still in place today and provides a means through which the firm can react to learning points from client feedback. Evolve cycles are run regularly, several times a year looking at a range of issues. Team members present proposals to the firm, gaining skills and everyone is given the chance to take part. Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader, said, “Aside from wanting this to be a business in which people enjoy working, we subscribe to the theory put forward by Harvard Business School and others that there is a direct connection between

www.b4-business.com

B4 lead

staff engagement, client experience and profitability. By drawing teams from across the firm to look in a structured way at improving aspects of our operation, we achieve a better client experience and drive staff engagement through active involvement of people at all levels in the running of the firm – this culture is at the heart of our success.” The firm’s engagement levels are consistently high. “Everyone within the firm is responsible for delivering an exceptional client experience. By valuing each other and working as one team, we aim to make every part of our business better every day,” added Derek. The commitment, engagement and enthusiasm of Gardner Leader’s employees is evident every day but not only in the way they go about their normal work but in their contribution to their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities. Last year the firm raised just shy of £7,000 for the national blood cancer research charity, Bloodwise, which funds world-class research into all types of blood cancer. Every year the firm

www.b4-business.com

Everyone within “ the firm is responsible

for delivering an exceptional client experience. By valuing each other and working as one team, we aim to make every part of our business better every day

”

Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader

agrees on a charity to support following staff charity nominations, and Bloodwise has been the firm’s chosen charity partner for the last 12 months. “Bloodwise is a charity that resonates with a lot

of our staff after sadly, the husband of one of our solicitors passed away from blood cancer,” said Jo Hemsley, Head of CSR at Gardner Leader. “Over the last year everyone in the firm’s Newbury, Thatcham and Maidenhead offices have been busy, getting involved in some shape or form to help raise money for this incredible cause.” Running marathons, hosting various raffles, organising dress down days, ‘Bake Off’ cake sales, running quizzes and silent auctions, are just some of the activities that staff have organised and taken part in, to raise donations and to help make a difference in beating blood cancer. The silent auction involving several local businesses in Berkshire, raised nearly £1,000 alone. On 3rd May John Campbell, award winning chef and owner of The Woodspeen restaurant and cookery school in Newbury, paid a visit to Gardner Leader’s offices to judge the firm’s ‘Bake Off’ competition, and last September the team in the Maidenhead office ran the Maidenhead half marathon, with Matthew Adamson, corporate and commercial solicitor, dressed as a giant dinosaur.

B4 lead

Nicci Wilson, Regional Manager for London and South East at Bloodwise, said, “We are incredibly grateful for the support of Gardner Leader for raising a fantastic £6,925 during the past year, for Bloodwise. Blood cancer kills more people each year than breast or prostate cancer, so every penny counts in ensuring we can find kinder and more effective treatments that save lives and reduces the harsh side effects currently experienced by patients.” Jo Hemsley added, “We hope these funds will go a long way in helping Bloodwise in its mission to make patients’ lives better and in stopping blood cancer happening in the first place.” Gardner Leaders’ charity partner for 2018 to 2019 is Swings and Smiles, a West Berkshire based charity providing recreational facilities and services for families with special needs. Derek continued, “The feedback we get from our charity and business partners, clients and others who we deal with demonstrates that the qualities of our team are evident not just to me but to anyone who encounters them, creating the best possible impression of our firm. “I believe that this success stems from the approach that we take to our staff – fairness, openness, friendliness, supportiveness – and from our

www.b4-business.com

determination only to recruit people who will value what we have here. “It is only because of the loyalty and commitment of our staff that we have been able to do things which I am most proud of such as winning several major

“

I believe that this success stems from the approach that we take to our staff – fairness, openness, friendliness, supportiveness.

acquired in October 2014 and then moving to new offices last year on Frascati Way in Maidenhead. It’s therefore important to us that we recognise and reward our employees’ achievements whilst continuing to recruit as the business grows, which is why we have made a near record number of promotions and appointments this year.” Gardner Leader runs a variety of events and workshops covering various aspects of the law to support business owners and individuals. For further details on these events, please visit gardner-leader. co.uk/latest/events

”

Derek Rodgers, Managing Partner at Gardner Leader

awards including the LawNet Law Firm of the Year Award in 2016, achieving record turnover figures year on year for the last few years, and which we

   

info@gardner-leader.co.uk 01635 508 080 www.gardner-leader.co.uk @GardnerLeader

Why process improvement might not have the impact on customer service that you’d hoped! In today’s highly competitive market, businesses know they need to deliver customer service excellence to compete. Constant improvement and change seems to be the new norm – with new technologies and techniques offering incremental improvement at every stage of the customer service journey. Written by: Hayley Monks Photography by: Rob Scotcher

A typical change journey will often start by looking at process improvement, but before you launch down this route there are some things to consider....

Identify the problem Effectively, process improvement is problem solving... so that means you need to be clear on what the problem actually is. It’s easy to start from a position of internal focus, such as ‘reduce costs’, without fully exploring what is the reason for those costs in the first place, or what the impact of a cost reduction programme on customers might be. Be clear on the ‘problem’. It might be that inefficient systems or technology mean that there are lots of manual interventions within your current process. So, to be able to solve that problem, you should go right back to the beginning of the issue and start stripping back the layers. Look at what you want the result to be and work backwards, should we start from

scratch? For example, would a new system that could automate more be better than adding another layer of human intervention? Yes, there might be initial disruption through migration and embedding, but long-term the result should be better.

Process looked at in isolation doesn’t always result in better outcomes So, once you’ve identified the problem you need to solve it, make sure you are not considering it in isolation. Look at all the factors around the problem, and, although it might sound obvious, make sure that common sense is engaged. Have you ever received a letter from the bank or the post office telling you about an underpayment of 10p? It’s incredibly frustrating when you consider that the cost of the postage alone for the letter is over 50p! It’s clear in these types of situations that someone has set up automatic tolerances on their systems

without considering the impact – on both the bottom line, when it comes to debt recovery vs costs, and in terms of customer goodwill. Recovering this ‘debt’ will end up costing the company more than writing it off, both in terms of physical cost and customer experience - an unexpected outcome!

Process planned ‘from above’ is often bound to fail Bringing in a ‘change consultant’ or appointing someone internally who works in isolation is a quick route to failure - you need to ensure that those involved in delivering the process and change are engaged at the very beginning of the project and are working in partnership with you and your team. Your people are your best resource during projects like this - they can help you to identify the customer pain points, the points of inefficiency and can also act as a sense check, making sure that changes aren’t going to be implemented that might have

that problem, you should go right back to the beginning “ to be able toofsolve the issue and start stripping back the layers ”

www.b4-business.com

B4 lead

Watch B4’s interview with Hayley by scanning this QR code or visiting: www.b4-business.com/b4tv

Efficiency and effectiveness are both essential ingredients for successful process “improvement. One or other of them in isolation won’t lead to better results - only when you look at both together can you get the results you want ” a negative customer impact. It’s often the ‘brain that has the problem, that also has the solution’. Giving your people a voice and listening to what they must share from the beginning will help with any change – you will have a cohort of engaged and enthusiastic cheerleaders from inception to when the project starts to embed across the business.

Remember: Efficiency + Effectiveness = Success Efficiency and effectiveness are both essential ingredients for successful process improvement. One or other of them in isolation won’t lead to better results - only when you look at both together can you get the results you want. But what is the difference? Being effective is about doing the right things, while being efficient is about doing things right. A very efficient process might mean removing all the customer touchpoints that customers want www.b4-business.com

– the ones that guide them through the processes – and the result might be increased customer complaints. Or indeed it might be about adding in extra stages to make sure you collect every bit of data you might possibly need, but it creates a longwinded and painful customer experience with the same outcome. The same goes for a very effective process – it might deliver great customer service in the first instance – but, if you don’t collect the data you need to operate, it will result in more customer complaints when you can’t bill correctly or the product you deliver goes to the wrong address. All great process improvements need to consider both elements in tandem – what do I, as a business, need to effectively deliver my product and service, and what is the best way to get there? There are many examples of where ‘process improvement’ exercises have resulted in higher

costs and poorer customer service. But by engaging common sense, involving the right people, making sure that you are looking at the ‘whole’ problem, and communicating the change consistently and thoroughly, these issues can be avoided.

 info@thinkinspireandcreate.com  0844 414 6056  www.thinkinspireandcreate.co.uk

CHAMPIONING INNOVATION AND GROWTH: PENNINGTONS MANCHES LEADS THE WAY IN OXFORD The Oxford office of leading law firm Penningtons Manches supports some of the area’s most dynamic businesses and institutions through its specialist teams. With 14 partners and a total staff of nearly 100 at its base in Oxford Business Park, the firm’s multi-disciplinary approach concentrates on a variety of industry sectors relevant to the region including technology, life sciences, education and private wealth. Written by: Louisa Howells, Penningtons Manches

The firm has six UK offices, including London and Cambridge, and also has an international outlook thanks to its office in San Francisco, which plays a key role in connecting US West Coast businesses with investment, funding and growth opportunities in the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, and vice versa. In addition, with renewed discussion around further infrastructure development to strengthen the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, Penningtons Manches is well placed to support the challenges and opportunities relating to further growth of the high-tech manufacturing and research industries. The firm also has a strong dispute and regulatory team which supports these industries. The technology team has a long established

Nicola McConville - partner, corporate

with renewed discussion “ around further infrastructure development to strengthen the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, Penningtons Manches is well placed to support the challenges and opportunities relating to further growth of the hightech manufacturing and research industries.

”

Chris Shelley - partner, commercial, IP and IT

expertise in life sciences, led by partner Chris Shelley, and is increasingly synonymous with the commercial ‘spinning out’ of research and development work from Oxford University. The corporate practice has advised on many technology transactions including Oxford Gene Technology on its acquisition by global diagnostics company Sysmex, and artificial intelligence business Diffblue on its first significant round of venture capital funding. The commercial property team has built on its experience in the life sciences and education sectors, acting for Oxford Nanopore, one of the most successful multi-national life sciences businesses in the region, in relation to its new production facility at Harwell Science and Innovation Campus. The firm’s strong links to Oxford University also

Alison Talbot - partner, charities

www.b4-business.com

B4 legal

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY These are exciting times for the technology industry. Whether you’re in Oxford or Oakland, innovation clusters across the globe are nurturing ground-breaking technologies and creating world-leading businesses. We’re delighted to present a new research report, From the Golden Gate to the Golden Triangle, which reveals that unprecedented levels of capital are flowing into British software companies from Silicon Valley – with investment reaching £1 billion and businesses in the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London taking the lion’s share. To read the full report or to find out more about our dedicated technology team, visit: www. penningtons.co.uk/golden-gate-golden-triangle or call us on 01865 722 106.

extend to providing general employment advice to the colleges, training to trustees and advice on student accommodation and property development.

the region, with strong links to Oxford University Innovation, the TechTonic networking group and the annual VentureFest conference.

At the end of 2017, the firm launched an in-depth report on the funding of UK university spinouts that revealed those from Oxford University had attracted the most equity investment.

The firm’s charities team is also based out of the Oxford office and has experienced very impressive growth. Led by partner Alison Talbot, the team has particular expertise in crisis management work, advising on a number of complex and high profile cases. Earlier this spring, the team hosted an innovative conference on charitable legacies that attracted high level representatives from the UK’s largest charities and prominent government policy advisers.

A second major report examining inward investment from Silicon Valley into the UK’s tech ‘Golden Triangle’ of Oxford, Cambridge and London, has recently received significant attention in the market including a lively panel debate held at the Ashmolean museum where entrepreneurs, fast-growing tech firms and leading venture capital investors shared their views. The event was chaired by tech partner Nicola McConville, who is a prominent figure in

Richard Smith - partner, real estate

www.b4-business.com

Penningtons Manches’ leading private wealth teams (comprised of family, immigration, trusts, estates and probate specialists) look after the personal affairs of

Jane Mitchell - partner, family

the area’s high net worth individuals, a large number of whom come from entrepreneurial, professional and international backgrounds

 info@penningtons.co.uk  01865 722 106  www.penningtons.co.uk

Daff Richardson - partner, employment

Demand for Freeths Solicitors’ Top Ranked Thames Valley Corporate Team has Resulted in a Record Year of Growth Written by: Freeths Solicitors Photography by: Tom Weller

The corporate team at Freeths solicitors is a major player not only in the local market but also in the south east region, having completed 18 major transactions in 2017. The team’s outstanding ability to drive deals to completion on time and on budget has resulted in a significant increase in demand for the team’s growth and exit strategy legal services for businesses. The team is well versed in maximising the sale price of businesses as well as acquiring new businesses within a short time period, which helps to keep costs down for clients. One happy client has confirmed that they “make corporate law uncomplicated” and they are “very diligent and very responsive.”

Freeths’ corporate team very much want to work with clients and be part of their organisation, not just be their external advisers. They invest time in getting to know, and keeping in touch with, clients which comes “as a breath of fresh air” to many. Unlike lawyers from other firms, Freeths’ corporate team is appreciated for just how visible and accessible they are, together with the energy they bring to their projects. One of the main distinguishers of the team is its national reach. The Oxford corporate team sits within the Firm’s national 50-strong corporate team, giving clients a depth of knowledge, clear specialisms and sector-expertise coupled with a down-to-earth approach.

“ you clearly

outperformed our lawyers on the last transaction, so we want you on this one

”

Malin Svanberg Larsson Senior Associate

Tom Walker Partner

www.b4-business.com

B4 legal

This national reach and breadth of experience enables the team to provide their clients with expert guidance that is as commercially intelligent as it is legally flawless. The clients they work with and the types of work that they do is a testament not only to their work as lawyers but also to their role as clients’ key strategic and operational partners. The corporate team has made a number of new appointments in its Oxford corporate team through a mix of promotions and new recruits. Tom Walker has been promoted to Partner. Tom has particular expertise in partnership and corporate structures for land owners and family investment companies, and is a key member of the Firm’s agriculture & rural land sector team. He is regarded as a “Next Generation Lawyer” by the Legal 500 (the leading guide to law firms in the country), recognising the material difference Tom makes to not only the Firm’s offering but the Firm’s clients in the local area. Malin Svanberg Larsson has been promoted to Senior Associate. She advises clients on a wide range of corporate matters, including restructuring, early stage investment and shareholders relations as well as mergers & acquisition. She is acknowledged as an ‘Associate to Watch’ by Chambers & Partners, recognising Malin’s work in major deals.

recommendations and word of mouth and are praised for being able to explain legal jargon in plain English, as well as problem solving. The team have secured a number of significant new clients, including those who were on the other side of earlier transactions. One client commented “you clearly outperformed our lawyers on the last transaction, so we want you on this one.”

We’ve gone from “strength to strength

over the last two years. The addition of Rebecca and Ben will ensure we meet increasing client demand and helps put us in a stronger position for continued growth and development Leon Arnold, the head of the corporate team

Of course the department continues to provide the proactive, high-quality advice they are known for. In fact the team receives most of its work through

Ben Filmer

Rebecca Lowery

Solicitor

www.b4-business.com

Solicitor

Leon Arnold, the head of the corporate team, said: “We’ve gone from strength to strength over the last two years. The addition of Rebecca and Ben will ensure we meet increasing client demand and helps put us in a stronger position for continued growth and development”. If you would like to meet a member of the corporate team to discuss how they can work with you to achieve your business objectives, then please call 01865 781 000 or speak directly to Leon Arnold on 01865 781 202 or by email at leon.arnold@freeths.co.uk.

”

The team achieved a Tier 1 ranking in the Chambers & Partners Guide in its 2018 edition. The new ranking recognises the department as a leader in the field of corporate M&A and is a real testament to the team’s commitment and dedication to achieving the right results for its clients, whether it be preserving their wealth for generations to come or advising on a strategic acquisition of a business in a particular market.

Solicitors Rebecca Lowery and Ben Filmer have joined the team from leading law firms.

The Chambers & Partners Guide is widely regarded as the most authoritative Guide to the legal profession in the UK. The Guide ranks law firms and solicitors in over 70 specialist areas of law. The Rankings are the result of research conducted by 150 editors and researchers employed by Chambers & Partners.

 leon.arnold@freeths.co.uk  01865 781 202  www.freeths.co.uk

Leon Arnold Head of the Corporate Team

Advertorial

Striving To Thrive

Businesses crave certainty in a world where a heady mix of complex political, economic and corporate competition can present many challenges to your growth. It pays, therefore, to enlist the support of a banking network that can give you both the clarity and opportunity to realise your ambitions.

Written by: Richard Braggins

There is a lot that can happen in 150 years. The founding of HSBC in 1865 in Hong Kong and Shanghai – at the time a response to growing interest from traders looking to connect coastal China and the overseas trade routes – helped established a global financial institution which over the years has managed to withstand some of the world’s most dramatic examples of social, economic and political turmoil. The Bank’s core mission has remained the same through world war, revolution and economic recession – one which supports the pursuit of business growth through outward-looking trade and ever-increasing connectivity. Trade and connectivity lies at the heart of what HSBC does. It has been a conscious objective of the Bank to create a truly international infrastructure around which it can connect customers to opportunities wherever they arise. The evolution of global trade flows over the last 30 years in particular has meant that HSBC had been able to capitalise on these shifts more quickly than most, and to the tangible benefit of its growth-minded customers.

When it comes to establishing a foothold with a regular customer base, company premises and growing staff on your payroll, you can make use of the Bank’s varied working capital, trade finance and cash management solutions to help you consolidate that growth. For many, the next step will take you overseas. And this is where the HBSC connection can really make a difference. It’s not just the physical connections that can provide the competitive edge; it’s a recognition that digital cross-border banking is changing the very shape of international trade which means you could remain ahead of the pack with integrated trade and transaction tools such as HSBCnet. Large corporates – likely to have multiple banking partners – also recognise the international advantage gained by the support of HSBC in cross-border M&A activity or major capital project financing in parts of the world that others cannot sufficiently cover on their behalf.

The perfect package

Businesses will, of course, want to be where the demand is. Which is why the demographic shifts currently happening in the Middle East and Asia are evidence of a stark movement in consumer activity – away from an aging West to the young and vibrant middle classes in the East.

It all adds up to a Bank you can rely on through thick and thin. HSBC has a strong balance sheet that has already stood firm through major economic shifts – as well as advanced banking technology that serves all four corners of the globe and which is primed to evolve with your business as initiatives like distributed ledger technology start to gain traction.

In the coming years, an estimated three billion people will join the consumer class across the world – and most of them are already making an appearance in emerging markets such as India and China. They will in turn drive demand for infrastructure and housing, services and education, retail goods and consumer brands.

HSBC’s strength in depth provides a level of reassurance that is difficult to match elsewhere. Thanks to a network of dedicated trade and supply teams worldwide [including 700 UK-based trade specialists], the Bank has access to around 90% of the world’s trade flows. Worldwide, more than US$1m is processed in HSBC transactions every minute.

The good news for British companies is that they have an excellent reputation across all these sectors. If you are not already exploring the business that is surfacing in these emerging markets, you can call upon a highly-developed network of support from the Bank that can connect you to the potential opportunities.

With a presence in over 53 markets, the benefits of using HSBC as your extended network of banking services could scarcely be clearer. Contact HSBC today to find out how we can help you achieve the growth you deserve.

By your side – whatever your size

Across the board, HSBC has the network and resources that could help take your business to the next level. At the early stages, you might need to secure finance to kick-start your venture. HSBC is well-versed in making this initial commitment as smooth as possible, using a range of lending funds. 26

Cameron Rathwell Area Director – Thames Valley | Corporate Banking + 44 (0) 3455 851012 Ian Nash Area Director – Thames Valley | Business Banking + 44 (0) 3455 853387 www.business.hsbc.uk www.b4-business.com

AC47323

Among the most fulfilling aspects of HSBC’s work with corporate and commercial clients is the opportunity to support the growth of businesses over the long term, whether you’re starting up and taking a new product to market, or heading up a multinational corporation about to trigger your first IPO on the Stock Exchange.

B4 finance

“Among the most fulfilling aspects of HSBC’s work with corporate and commercial clients is the opportunity to support the growth of businesses over the long term, whether you’re starting up and taking a new product to market, or heading up a multinational corporation about to trigger your first IPO on the Stock Exchange.”

www.b4-business.com

B4 finance

Going from Good to Great

by systemising your business success Are you growing your business? Would you and the business benefit if it was less reliant on you? Could anyone in your business undertake any role in an emergency? The theory and benefits of systemisation were first brought to the attention of many business owners by Michael Gerber and his book the E-myth. In his book he speaks of the difference such action can make to your business and for you personally. One of the most referred to quotes in the book is “Small businesses don’t work, the people who own them do”.

What are the benefits of systemising your business? • • • • •

Tony Hobbs, MD at Chapman Robinson & Moore, said: “As part of our Business Improvement Programme we share our experience to help our clients identify the systems that make a difference, the priorities or critical processes and how to best practically implement such.”

• • • •

Put your team in charge Free up your time – and give you your life back Step back & work ‘on’ the business Test new ideas and improve everything around you Undertake everything in the business consistently and in the best way Replicate and grow Become more profitable Attract a buyer Increase the value of your business

The key steps to systemising any business For each of the following statements indicate how true they are about your business by scoring each question from 1 to 5 on the basis that 1 = This EXACTLY describes my business to 5 = This is NOTHING like my business: a. It is very hard for me to get away from my business; I am unable to take as much holiday time as I would like and it is difficult to take days off at short notice. b. I spend a great deal of time fighting fires, dealing with crises and sorting out problems and so I don’t have enough time to step back and work strategically on the business. c. I can’t seem to get my team to do anything; I have to constantly supervise them and check everything they do. d. I spend most of my time doing the technical work of the business rather than working on the business developing the strategy and the team. e. My business is so reliant on me being here that when I want to retire or sell the business it will be very hard to find a buyer for it or achieve the ultimate value I desire.

How did you score? Too many lower numbers? Would systemisation of your business help?

www.b4-business.com

Gerber highlights 3 steps when considering the systemisation of your business. 1. Innovation – test new ideas, be the best they can. 2. Quantification – measure what works best. 3. Orchestration – the steps to systemising your business. Use the best ideas everywhere.

letters, Scripts, Checklists, Forms, Templates, Agendas, Software and Videos. 6. Implement each system – Allocate responsibility with clear objectives and measures. Notify and train. When building each systemised process, the best practice is to consider 3 elements: 1. What do you need as an input to deliver the system 2. How will the system be delivered effectively and efficiently? 3. What is the desired output From our experience, we recommend to approach these 3 steps in reverse order. Firstly, consider what outcome or result you want from the system. What is the reason for the system? Then design a system without any consideration of your existing processes, that will best deliver that desired output. Then you can best consider what you need at the outset to maximise the impact of the systemisation.

Think of your business as a series of systems and that each system has a role and a purpose within the business. Otherwise it should not be there or even created. Consider, what do you have to get absolutely right so that the customers you like to deal with want to deal with you, continually reorder from you, refer you to other potential customers and pay the price you want for the products/services you offer on time?

The practical approach to building the systems you need At CRM we recommend a 6 step process to follow when systemising your business: 1. List the systems – often best approached on a departmental basis. 2. Classify the systems – is it needed? Is it a core system or a support system? 3. Map each system – consider the steps of what is happening now and what can be improved. 4. Analyse each system – Measure efficiency, identify waste, understand the customer impact. 5. Document each system - utilise activities and tools including Step-by-step processes, Standard

 crm@crmoxford.co.uk  01865 379 272  www.crmoxford.co.uk

You are focused on growing your business. We’re focused on helping you protect it. More than ever before, organisations are aware of the potential financial impact of a cyber-attack. Many wrongfully assume that the steep, monetary burden of a cyber-attack (exacerbated by new, higher fines under the GDPR) is exclusively tied to damaged digital assets, lost records and the price of investigating and reporting a breach. However, damage to an organisation’s physical assets can be just as harmful. Understanding Technology Insurance Technology companies own valuable intangible assets, such as sensitive data, software and intellectual property. Standard liability insurance is unlikely to provide the cover needed. Specialised technology insurance is relatively new – and brings about new terminology. Here are the most common terms and the cover they relate to: Cyber Liability – cover that provides against damage from cyber-attacks, data breaches and other basic risks resulting from electronic communications and data storage. Cyber Liability Insurance will often cover the cost of recreating damaged or lost data – but will not include costs that stem from the loss or damage, such as legal expenses and data notification costs. Cyber Property – the intangible property your company owns, including websites, data and networks – all of which can be damaged in a cyberattack. To protect your cyber property, you may need to broaden the property enhancements on your existing policy (if it allows for this). You should also check that you have cover that would protect you if your company or an employee caused damage to another organisation’s cyber property.

Technology E&O – Technology Errors & Omissions (E&O) cover protects against claims by a client that they suffered a loss due to mistakes made by your company. These mistakes must be due to an error or oversight in a product, such as a software programme or web service.

of the first lines “of One defence in the fight against data loss is your staff. Implementing a strong data security programme for employees can help your company retain high standards for data protection across the organisation

”

Media & Intellectual Property Liability – all content on the internet is considered to be published, meaning that it is subject to copyrights and infringement. Negative content about a person or company can be considered libellous. Take caution when publishing or posting anything to websites, forums or social networking sites.

Data Security through Employee Education Data security is of the utmost importance in the technology sector. A data breach can expose your company’s – and your clients’ – highly confidential data to the outside world. The results can include violating the GDPR, professional liability claims, a negative impact on your reputation – and your bottom line. One of the first lines of defence in the fight against data loss is your staff. Implementing a strong data security programme for employees can help your company retain high standards for data protection across the organisation.

Be Aware of Potential Risks Employees are very susceptible to phishing attacks, where a hacker poses as a legitimate organisation, such as a client, bank or your own company. Some phishing attacks ask employees to supply passwords or client information through an e-mail message or web page. Others ask employees to download attachments that launch malicious software that invades their own computer and then the company’s entire network. Spear-phishing attacks are targeted at small groups

www.b4-business.com

B4 finance

of people, making it easier for the message to be customised and extremely convincing.

Passwords

in order to effectively inform and train employees of their existence and how to prevent them from occurring.

Setting out guidelines for passwords that your employees use is another sensible step to take. Here are a few top tips that you could consider introducing to your organisation’s data security policies and procedures:

Employees should understand that data security is a continuous and constant concern for your organisation. Instead of a one-off training session, data security education should be an ongoing part of the business process.

1. Change passwords every 90 days. Hackers have a better chance of cracking passwords that are never changed. Passwords should never be reused either. 2. Passwords should be at least eight characters long – and include a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters.

Technology Risk Management

3. They should not be the names of family members, pets or dates of birth etc. It doesn’t take much for a hacker to find this type of information on social media sites. 4. Keep them easy to remember – but hard to guess. You could write a sentence about something that’s happened in your life and then muddle it up and change spellings. For example. If you had two golden retriever puppies in 2007, you could end up with “2goldenretreevers07”.

Ongoing Awareness Company leaders should be aware of potential risks

www.b4-business.com

Cyber security and data protection must be considered as essential for all businesses. We have extensive experience dealing with new and emerging exposures, cyber liability, data breaches, employee education and much more. We will work with you to develop a comprehensive bespoke insurance package based on your specific needs. We only work with the best and most reliable insurers. And in the event of a claim, we will help you through the process. Working with our partners at cyber and data risk specialists, Berea Group, we can also offer you training and compliance solutions. To find out more, talk to FOCUS Oxford Risk Management Ltd

 paul.monaco@focusorm.co.uk  01865 953 120  www.focusorm.co.uk

Barclays That perfect sound doesn’t come cheap The vinyl revival is a clear indicator of a change in musical tastes from the supposedly ‘perfect’ sound of the CD back to what many see as a warmer and more ‘genuine’ analogue experience.

That changing taste provides an opportunity for new entrants to the market to create recording studios that cater for the demand for professional facilities and high quality equipment, but it comes, not surprisingly, with a hefty price tag. As Ted Pimm, one of the founders of Oxford’s new Abbey Recording Company (ARC), pointed out: “Not long ago all you needed was a Mac and some decent software and you could release an album from your spare bedroom, but audiences and musicians are now looking for something special.” And “something special” is exactly what Ted, father David and recording specialist Mark Tucker have created at The ARC, based in the village of Eynsham and with ongoing support from Barclays. The studio is an offshoot of John George Pimm & Sons, a business set up around 200 years ago and still in the family after more ‘great, greats’ than Ted could calculate. In recent times the business has been in the hands of Ted, David and grandfather Henry (known as Desmond) and has diversified from its original ‘general building’ roots. It was that diversification that gave the business the opportunity to create the studio. “We basically work

out of an old barn that has had lots of additions over the years,” said Ted. “Most of it is let out as serviced offices but at its heart was an old carpentry shop which we no longer needed.” That carpentry shop has now been transformed into a state-of-the-art recording studio which gave such outstanding results on testing that Devon-based producer and engineer Mark, brought in to advise on the conversion, was so impressed he joined the team at The ARC as the company’s technical director. Despite the fact that the business owned the site, the transformation – or, more importantly, the fitting out - still cost the kind of king’s ransom that would have left even Elvis himself ‘all shook up’. “It has cost us around half a million pounds to convert the barn, install some fantastic equipment and then add top quality instruments such as a Hammond C3 organ and guitars including a Duesenberg Starplayer TV, Fender Telecaster Hot Rod 52, Stratocaster with N3 pickups and Gibson Les Paul,” Ted explained. While the studio is equally at home with ‘modern’ digital recordings, it specialises in analogue. At the heart of the studio is a 32-channel SSL (Solid State Logic) mixing desk with a unique pedigree, having

been rebuilt by Keith Skerrett of Oxford Recycled Audio from desks owned by Sir George Martin and Peter Gabriel.

Barclays “ understands the

business, helps with cash flow issues as and when they arise and just gets on with providing what I would describe as ‘old school banking’ Ted Pimm, The ARC

”

“The quality of the equipment married to the sonic properties of the timber-framed, vaulted barn gives the studio a unique sound that impresses everyone who visits,” said Ted. “We have already recorded material for Flook, The Willows and a local band called The Mighty Cadillacs, as well as for a group

www.b4-business.com

B4 finance

called Karmamoi that came over from Italy just to record here.”

comes up with an answer. It’s a really drama-free process.”

While the family business turned to Mark Tucker for expert advice on building a recording studio, it has never looked to anywhere but Barclays for any financial expertise or support.

It was another ancillary part of the John George Pimm & Sons portfolio that led indirectly to the recording studio and to Ted’s return to the family firm from life as a lawyer.

“John George Pimm & Sons has banked with Barclays since it opened a branch in Oxford and has always enjoyed a great service from the bank,” Ted explained.

“We also own Fly Ltd, which provides specialist music software to support Church worship, and our involvement in that led to my father setting up a Christian record label called Alpha Records and a business called Alpha Publishing.

 enquiries@thearc.ltd  01865 881 222  http://thearc.ltd

“At that point I was working for a legal firm in Oxford, looking after copyright enforcement for a large US brand. The firm was bought out at about the same time as my father realised he needed a bit of expert help with the legal issues around music recordings, so I decided to return and work with him.

 john.thorne@barclays.com  07775 548 770  www.barclayscorporate.com

“Barclays understands the business, helps with cash flow issues as and when they arise and just gets on with providing what I would describe as ‘old school banking’.” The business is looked after by Relationship Director John Thorne, who arranged the term loan that allowed the business to invest in the new facility while continuing to run the bespoke building company and other parts of the multi-aspect business. “John is brilliant at understanding who we are and what we do and has taken great care over the years in doing so,” Ted added. “He comes over whenever we want to discuss something and he inevitably

www.b4-business.com

“That interest in music and recording, plus the fact that we had a redundant carpentry shop at the heart of our premises, was what led to the birth of The ARC.”

Barclays Bank PLC is registered in England (Company No. 1026167) with its registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Barclays is a trading name and trade mark of Barclays PLC and its subsidiaries. Source: Grant Thornton Planning for Growth Report 2018 The views expressed in this article are the views of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barclays Bank PLC Group nor should they be taken as statements of policy or intent of the Barclays Bank PLC Group. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no responsibility for the veracity of information contained in the third party guides or articles and no warranties or undertakings of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information given. The Barclays Bank PLC Group takes no liability for the impact of any decisions made based on information contained and views expressed

WHITLEY STIMPSON’S

NEW GENERATION LEAD THE WAY Interview with Laura Adkins, Director of Whitley Stimpson in charge of the Witney office Written by: Claire Thompson, Papa Romeo PR

Photography by: Vic Toplisek

Whitley Stimpson is one of the country’s leading independent accountancy firms, with offices in Banbury, Bicester, High Wycombe and Witney. The company, which has been providing financial advice to businesses and individuals for over 87 years, is ranked within the top 100 practices in the country, is the 2018 overall winner of the Cherwell Business Awards and are finalists in the Large Practice category in the Accounting Excellence Awards 2018. This is down to their expertise and experience in accountancy, tax and business advice together with their strength in a number of sector specialties. As part of its ongoing strategic growth, the firm merged with Witney based Morgan Harris in 2016, creating one of the biggest independent regional accountancy firms spanning Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire and extending the firms geographical reach into West Oxfordshire. Whitley Stimpson’s director, Laura Adkins, was tasked with heading up the new Witney office, a rising star within the company who has recently been

recognised nationally for her skills and approach. Since then the focus has been on developing best practice in line with the other three Whitley Stimpson offices and the Witney office was rebranded under one consistent brand name of Whitley Stimpson Ltd. The current emphasis is on increasing the Witney office’s service offering to clients and growing the team in order to deliver that. Headed up by Laura, the Witney team moved into bigger, newly refurbished offices in the heart of Witney town centre in June 2018 in order to facilitate that growth.

Meet Laura Adkins Claire Thompson met with Laura to discuss her role managing the Witney office and recent successes. Laura says: “I took over as director in charge of the Whitley Stimpson Witney office in April 2016, having previously worked at our Banbury office for 11 years. Witney is my home town, so it was very exciting to head up this office and spearhead its future growth.”

“In the past two years our focus at the Witney office has been primarily on the existing clients of Morgan Harris, and making sure the service and technical expertise was to the very highest standards by aligning our procedures with the rest of Whitley Stimpson. We’ve made some long term commitments having just moved to far bigger premises at 13-15 High Street, taking a 10-year lease and incorporating the Witney office in to the Whitley Stimpson brand. It’s really important to me that it’s a quality environment in which to work, as well as being a nice place for clients to come and visit. It helps that we’re right on the High Street, with plenty of parking available.” Laura is responsible for the audit of some of the firm’s largest corporate clients as well as providing business support to SMEs. She is also in charge of training across all four branches of the business, and it’s something she feels really passionate about: “It’s not just about the clients, it’s about the staff too, and bringing on our new recruits to nurture the next generation of accountants with the right training programmes.”

www.b4-business.com

B4 finance

To grow from stable “ foundations that we’ve laid over these past two years. I want us to develop our client relationships, both existing and new ones, and excel in the level of service that we provide.

”

Laura Adkins - Whitley Stimpson

Laura has a clear vision for the future of the Witney office: “To grow from stable foundations that we’ve laid over these past two years. I want us to develop our client relationships, both existing and new ones, and excel in the level of service that we provide. I

I would like to be in a “position where we can

offer an even broader range of services to businesses in West Oxfordshire via closer integration with the expertise available across our business overall Laura Adkins - Whitley Stimpson

”

would like to be in a position where we can offer an even broader range of services to businesses in West Oxfordshire via closer integration with the expertise available across our business overall.”

www.b4-business.com

It’s this sort of thinking that has propelled Laura into the limelight, with Accountancy Age listing her in their ‘Top 35 under 35’ awards. Laura came in at number 27, and found it all quite a surprise: “It’s been amazing. I love this job, and I enjoy working with the team, developing our people. To think that what we do can be competitive on a national basis – well, it was a shock, and really great to be recognised.” It’s not all numbers and tax returns at the Witney office, however, as Laura likes to inspire the team to be involved in a range of good causes. Recently the office took up the Twin Town Challenge, organised between Witney and Le Touquet in France. This involves purchasing a car for £500 and then driving to the famous French town, negotiating a number of challenges along the way. The money raised goes to SpecialEffect, a charity that help children with disabilities play video games for their fun and social inclusion. “It was great to be involved”, says Laura, “and a brilliantly well-organised event. I think it’s a fantastic way to raise money for a good cause, and I was really proud that we managed to raise £3,000 for the charity.”

And that’s not all the team gets involved in: “We try to support as much as possible within the local community. We take part in the Pooh Sticks Challenge and also support the local Beer Festival and Ocktoberfest, too.” Clearly there’s plenty going on in the Witney outpost of the Whitley Stimpson empire.

For further information or to speak to Laura Adkins or one of Whitley Stimpson’s accountancy experts, please visit www.whitleystimpson.co.uk

CHARTER ED ACCOUNTANTS AND BUS I NES S A D V I SOR S

 wit@whitleystimpson.co.uk  01993 700 010  www.whitleystimpson.co.uk

If you want to reach your sales targets consistently, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need a Sales Mentor.

HE WONâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;T REACH THE TOP OF HIS GAME WITHOUT A MENTOR AND NEITHER WILL YOU. My name is James White and I am a Sales Mentor and Trainer. I work with successful companies who want to get even better sales results.

Do you want to achieve better sales results? Take my Sales Success Test and see whether you have everything in place to achieve consistent sales success:

www.salessuccesstest.co.uk www.jameswhite.business

hello@jameswhite.business

0800 046 1651

@jameswhitesales

B4 finance

Are you running the risk of

outliving your savings? In a world of low interest rates, ever-changing legislation and increasing life expectancy, Daniel Kitchen of Optimum Wealth Management offers some useful guidance on retirement planning. Written by: Daniel Kitchen

In a recent report, the Financial Conduct Authority found that 32% of people who withdrew their retirement pots in full chose to save the largest share of it in standard savings products like cash bank accounts and premium bonds. These are likely to have lower rates of return than pension saving as well as potentially higher tax liabilities.1 Indeed, concerns continue to grow for those who choose to draw on their pension savings without taking advice. Drawdown demands a different mindset to that needed by those who retire with an annuity, as it requires individuals to plan their own investment strategy and ensure that withdrawals are sustainable. And while the majority are taking a sensible approach, the minority are withdrawing pension funds at rates that would see their money run out in a decade or less, if they are reliant on it as their main source of income. And if they’re relying solely on the state pension to see them through their later years, they will have to accept that their standard of living is going to drop significantly.

pensions should seek professional help to calculate how much money they can withdraw each year without running out. While selecting a balanced and well-diversified investment portfolio is critical, knowing how much money to take from a drawdown policy is arguably of greater importance. For further information, or to arrange a no-obligation meeting, please contact Daniel Kitchen. Daniel can be contacted by phone on 01865 511098 or by email at dan.kitchen@sjpp.co.uk.

So how do we avoid “ poverty in retirement? First, decide how large a fund you will need. One method is to multiply your target retirement income by 25. For example, if you think you’ll need £25,000 a year, aim for a fund of £625,000.

The State Pension provides a limited income (currently £164.35 for a single person, per week, based on a full NI record), which falls drastically short of what is really needed to fund a comfortable lifestyle. So how do we avoid poverty in retirement? First, decide how large a fund you will need. One method is to multiply your target retirement income by 25. For example, if you think you’ll need £25,000 a year, aim for a fund of £625,000. Next, select the most appropriate investment vehicles to achieve your goal. Property, investment bonds and ISAs have all proved popular over recent years but don’t offer the same degree of tax breaks as a pension. If your retirement is imminent you will obviously want to maximise your income from the money available. Retirees opting for drawdown

”

Daniel Kitchen is based locally and is inviting B4 Magazine readers to discover the simple yet highly effective steps you can take to protect your wealth and stay in control - helping the right amount of it pass to the right people at the right time. Call 01865 511 098 for more information or your complimentary guide to retirement planning.

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested. An investment in equities does not provide the security of capital associated with a deposit account The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are generally dependent on individual circumstances. Work and Pensions Committee Report - The effects of pension freedoms, March 2018 1

 dan.kitchen@sjpp.co.uk  01865 511 098



07836 572 467

 www.dankitchen.co.uk

The Partner Practice represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. Optimum Wealth Management is a trading name of Daniel Kitchen Ltd.

www.b4-business.com

How to claim statutory maternity pay as an employer The requirement in recent years for employers to comply with Real Time Information (RTI) reporting and Pension Auto Enrolment, mean the cost of employing people has risen significantly. Given such financial commitments and the complexities of running a payroll, time off for maternity can be another headache for employers to deal with. Written by: Debbie Austin

However, the reality is that it’s not the financial drain it might at first appear. Far from it in fact. Depending on the size of your business you may be able to claim most, if not all, of the money back from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

What employers are required to offer Mothers Employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks maternity leave. Of that entitlement, employers are required to pay 39 weeks of statutory maternity pay (SMP) to new mothers. Whilst that’s the minimal requirement, you can offer more as you see fit. Maternity leave is split into two categories with the first 26 weeks known as ‘Ordinary Maternity Leave’ and the last 26 weeks is known as ‘Additional Maternity Leave’. Your employees qualify for SMP (the required minimum you must pay them) if they: • Earn at least £113 a week on average • Have worked for you for 26 weeks prior to the 15th week before their due date If this is the case then SMP has to be paid at 90% of average weekly earnings (before tax) for the first 6 weeks. The employee has to provide you with an MATB1 form from the midwife as soon as they receive it.

The absolute earliest maternity leave can be taken is the 11th week before the birth. In cases of premature or early delivery, leave commences the day after the birth took place. It’s up to the employee to provide you with the child’s birth certificate or alternatively, documents that have been signed by a doctor or midwife to confirm the date of the birth. Employers are then responsible for writing to the employee to inform them of the end date of their leave

What you need to do to reclaim SMP You can claim the full sum of SMP as well as an extra 3% on top if your business has paid less than £45,000 in class one national insurance contributions over the last tax year. Larger employers can claim back 92% of the SMP they’ve paid out! If you use, or you’re in the process of selecting payroll software, check if it has the ability to calculate a maternity claim as well as put the paperwork together to submit to HMRC and process your refund. Does your payroll contain directors or employees where PAYE payments are minimal each month? If so then there will be little to no PAYE liability to offset the maternity reclaim against. What this means is you’ll be able to claim the funding in full prior to the maternity actually starting. It’ll be deposited into your business bank account within 10 days of making the claim.

This contains details of the qualifying weeks and the amount to be settled to the employee for the 6 weeks at the required 90% pay. After that period, you then either continue offering that sum or £140.98 a week (depending on which is lower) for the remaining 33 weeks. Of note, a Mother has the option of taking a further 13 weeks of maternity leave on top of the remaining 33 but this would ordinarily be in the form of unpaid leave.

The rules around maternity To follow the rules correctly you’ll need to have clear procedures and policies in place. Make sure from the start that your employees are aware of your maternity scheme and in it you must state that they tell you they’ll be going on maternity leave 15 weeks prior to the due date.

 debbie.austin@wellersaccountants.co.uk  0333 241 6000  www.wellersaccountants.co.uk

www.b4-business.com

B4 finance

follow the rules correctly “ Toyou’ll need to have clear

procedures and policies in place. Make sure from the start that your employees are aware of your maternity scheme and in it you must state that they tell you they’ll be going on maternity leave 15 weeks prior to the due date Debbie Austin - Wellers

www.b4-business.com

”

Leveraging technology to upskill the workforce Written by: Jim Rogers, Thames Valley and Southampton Practice Lead, Grant Thornton UK LLP

All businesses face the need to harness new technologies for improved performance. It can be challenging but technology-enabled training and learning is one area that businesses should look at early on: it can build employee motivation and deliver tangible results. The Thames Valley is widely recognised as a growing hub for tech development, with many exciting and innovative businesses investing in next generation products and services. I was delighted to see two Reading businesses make it into the Megabuyte Emerging Stars List this year, recognising emerging tech companies for outstanding performance. Cloud software provider for recruitment, Invenias, featured highly. Securecloud+, who specialise in securely managed ICT services within Defence and the Public Sector, also made the list and won the ‘Fastest Growing Company’ award, which Grant Thornton sponsored. We have a thriving marketplace for technology innovation, and this year’s Thames Valley Chambers of Commerce International Technology Conference, held recently at Microsoft’s UK head office in Reading, showcased yet more of the pioneering activity going on in our region. But how far does this tech sophistication reach through the rank and file businesses that make up the backbone of our local economy? The signs are that many companies still have some way to go. In an extensive piece of research that Grant Thornton recently published, Planning for Growth, we found clear signs of a ‘tech crunch’. Businesses are well aware of the importance of technology as a potential accelerator of growth – but at the same time it is a barrier for many as well. In fact, a higher proportion of businesses in the South East see it as a significant barrier (47%) than as an accelerator (34%). However, on the positive side, over half of South East respondents are broadly confident that they can overcome this barrier.

Clearly, integrating new technology into the business whether that be information management systems, cloud services or digital channels and mobile apps, is not straightforward and requires investment, planning and resource. However, one area that businesses may be able to act on quickly, and that does not need to involve higher capital outlay than before, is the delivery of skills training through technology solutions. We all know that the UK has a productivity issue and the upskilling of the workforce could play a significant role in addressing it. But what can hold businesses back is the time and expense involved in the organisation and running of traditional ‘chalk and talk’ training sessions for staff. These will often be off-site, requiring travel time that compounds the disruption to work schedules and sometimes accommodation costs too. Face-to-face training will always have an important place in skills development – in some instances, there is no substitute for direct human interaction. But at the same time, increasing numbers of businesses are exploring eLearning solutions, as standalone activity or as part of a more ‘blended’ approach that

“

However, one area that businesses may be able to act on quickly, and that does not need to involve higher capital outlay than before, is the delivery of skills training through technology solutions.

”

www.b4-business.com

B4 economy

“ We have a thriving marketplace

for technology innovation, and this year’s Thames Valley Chambers of Commerce International Technology Conference, held recently at Microsoft’s UK head office in Reading, showcased yet more of the pioneering activity going on in our region.

”

combines digital training with classroom elements. In a report that we recently published, Skills in the New World, we gathered the views of an expert panel of training providers to assess these trends. Innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI), simulation and gamification are changing the way the world learns. This allows greater access to high quality skills training and increases companies’ return on training investment to help create a more diverse and productive workforce. Intense competition in the training provider sector means that companies have the buying power and the potential to negotiate attractive rates. Meanwhile, investor interest in the online skills sector indicates that it is an industry with strong growth prospects. CVC Capital Partners, for example, recently acquired one of the UK’s largest IT training providers, QA Limited, from Bregal Capital in a £700 million deal. One clear consensus amongst our expert panel was that in today’s workforce – especially with the influx of millennials coming through – the move to a more technology-driven environment for training delivery actually works better. In fact, according to one piece of research, 70% of employees are motivated to learn more through mobile learning. There is also a growing expectation that training and learning will be a continuous process through a career rather than an occasional, discrete event – 73% of adults consider themselves lifelong learners. Consider also that, globally, 35 million people are already signed up to MOOCs (massive open online courses) that allow unlimited numbers of users to take part in open-source sessions at no cost. Quite simply, eLearning solutions fit with our times and for many employees will be more productive than an old-fashioned formal classroom event. Social learning for example has become an impactful way of upskilling. Social technologies allow learners to develop their skills by participating in online discussions and presentations focused on their personal interests and activities. And this has a demonstrable impact on learner engagement and performance. Meanwhile, gamification is now widely accepted as one of the keys to making learning more effective and engaging: 80% of learners say they would be more productive if learning was more game-like.

Barriers to Growth Technology Brand, marketing and sales

29%

38%

34% 29%

Financial factors

34% 28% 31%

Partbership

34% 31% 31%

Increasing market share

34% 30% 26%

Systems and processes

31% 31% 34%

Talent and innovation

31% 31% 34%

Vision, culture and purpose Environment and sustainability Infastructure and assets South East

National

47%

41%

30% 25% 24% 26% 24% 23% 24% 26% 28% Growth Generators

Source: Grant Thornton Planning for Growth Report 2018

In the challenging market conditions facing businesses today, organisations need to review their learning and development strategies and ensure they are driving productivity and delivering return on investment. If your programmes are not achieving this – do you need to increase your focus on taking a techenabled approach?

www.b4-business.com

 jim.n.rogers@uk.gt.com  01865 799 938  www.grantthornton.co.uk 41

How can Oxfordshire harness its booming economy to benefit businesses and residents alike? OxLEP’s debate explores why a ‘sense of place’ is key to the county’s success Written by: Andrew Baud Photography by: ©Milton Park

“

Place is absolutely essential for what we do. If we can create a greater place, then we can attract more people and businesses to it. Place is an evolving thing; it’s not fixed.

”

Philip Campbell, Commercial Director, MEPC

There is much to celebrate in Oxfordshire, particularly from an economic perspective with more than 40,000 jobs and hundreds of new businesses created during the past five years, plus support for up to 100,000 new homes. But how does this success translate into creating vibrant, distinctive and practical business and residential communities within the county? In tandem with this, is it important to instil a sense of ‘place’ and identity for Oxfordshire in the face of such significant change? To discuss some of these issues, the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), which champions the county’s economic potential, recently hosted a Q&A event called ‘The importance of ‘Place’ for Oxfordshire’. The panel for the event, which was held at Milton Park in Oxfordshire, comprised a group of business experts who are all working on projects within the county. The panel chair was Matthew Battle, Managing Director, UK Property Forums, and the speakers were: Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive, OxLEP; Philip Campbell, Commercial Director, MEPC; Placi Espejo, Head of Commercial Sales and Marketing, Heyford Park Management; Piers Slater, Chief Executive, Reef Estates.

Is a ‘sense of place’ important for Oxfordshire? Philip Campbell said: “Place is absolutely essential for what we do. If we can create a greater place, then we can attract more people and businesses to it. Place is an evolving thing; it’s not fixed. For example, if you

“

To make a sense of place is to make happy communities. Whether they are business related or residential; whether we are creating a new community hub, it is that quality of life that is important, being happy, waking up in the morning with a smile on your face.

”

Placi Espejo, Head of Commercial Sales and Marketing, Heyford Park Management

rewind 100 years, Milton Park was a farm and now, after many changes over the years, it has become an edge of town science and business community.” Asked if Milton Park was just a brand, or if people

had an emotional attachment to it, Philip said: “I think it’s a brand, but I think you can have an emotional attachment to being here. We have companies here that span out of the university, probably close to a quarter of a century ago now and are still here. They are some of the largest employers in Oxfordshire.” Piers Slater said: “Oxfordshire is so well placed, with the anchor of Oxford city centre; the history; the university; the River Thames; the Chilterns; the Ridgeway; the transport infrastructure to Heathrow and London; it’s a great place.” He added: “In Oxfordshire, we are developing a Marriott Hotel, which will open in September. We’re working on a new large science park district just north of Didcot, which will complement the great work at Milton Park, Harwell and Culham. We are also developing a student mixed use scheme in the centre of Oxford.” Placi Espejo explained how Heyford Park aims to balance the heritage value of the site with the needs of commercial technology businesses and residential properties. She said: “To make a sense of place is to make happy communities. Whether they are business related or residential; whether we are creating a new community hub, it is that quality of life that is important, being happy, waking up in www.b4-business.com

B4 economy

Businesses and “communities are

symbiotic; they’ve got to be one and the same thing. So, it’s important to put place-making at the heart of the growth deal

”

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive, OxLEP

the morning with a smile on your face” Nigel Tipple explained the importance of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal -a multimillion pound Government funding package - to

Oxfordshire is so well “placed, with the anchor

of Oxford city centre; the history; the university; the River Thames; the Chilterns; the Ridgeway; the transport infrastructure to Heathrow and London; it’s a great place.

”

Piers Slater, Chief Executive, Reef Estates

create a sense of place in Oxfordshire. He said: “Businesses and communities are symbiotic; they’ve got to be one and the same thing. So, it’s important to put place-making at the heart of the growth deal. We’ve worked with local partners to secure a commitment for a joint spatial plan for the county, not five individual districts. “We also have a commitment to develop a strategic www.b4-business.com

infrastructure plan, which we are already well advanced on. We look at everything from road and rail to broadband, school, education, health facilities, so it’s a much broader connecting place agenda, underpinned by productivity and growth around business.”

How can we make Oxfordshire’s housing affordable for young, working people? Piers Slater said: “I don’t think we have a lack of low cost housing for people who are disadvantaged. However, I think that finding the right housing for young, working people, who have recently finished college, is difficult. We really need strategies and flexibility within the planning system to provide the right type of housing for these people. Oxfordshire needs to think about its affordable housing strategy. Living in Summertown is about as expensive as living in Clapham, which is bonkers.” Nigel Tipple said: “It costs somewhere between 14 and 17 times the average salary to buy a house in most parts of Oxfordshire. We’re not going to change that overnight, but the critical issue for me is that there’s already evidence of accelerated housing delivery which is part of the challenge. It’s not just

about getting planning consents, getting them out of the ground had also been a challenge. However, land banking – i.e. very large areas of land held within single ownerships has been, and continues to be, a challenge. “There’s a need for key worker housing, whether it’s health or university type key worker accommodation or whether that’s a broader affordability challenge around shared ownership and social rented accommodation. There’s a real commitment to deliver social housing, with some local authorities starting to look at new development companies. We’re also looking at other solutions for the medium term. We know we have to do things differently and it’s a journey that we are now on.” Details of the next Oxfordshire event can be found at www.oxfordshirelep.com/qandaevent

 robert.panting@oxfordshirelep.com  01865 897 195  www.oxfordshirelep.com

Meeting & Conference Venue Conveniently located, just off the A34 at Chilton, South Oxfordshire

25% OFF Perfect for all your business meetings and events

FOR B4 MEMBERS

Bodnant Conference Room Variety of meeting rooms, on site IT support and parking for over 100 cars

Please use promo code â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;HortB4â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

GIMA Room

Laskett Room

To book or enquire call

0333 003 3550 Email: bookings@hta.org.uk Website: www.horticulturehouse.co.uk

B4 advice

“ EXALTA can help you to develop the strategy to grow, developing your people along the way and reach out to international customers and markets.

”

EXALTA

RAISING THE BAR Written by: Mike Collett

Through my own personal experiences I have seen at first hand the need for a clear, cohesive and achievable strategy. The leadership development that is required and the support and facilitation that is needed to fully deliver profitable growth. I strongly believe that for a business to reach its full potential that the whole business needs to Raise the Bar. That every CEO/MD/Owner/Manager or Leader needs to set the bar higher and bring their employees and teams with them on a journey of growth. This is where EXALTA is able to provide you with services in support of your business growth ambitions to help you in Raising the Bar.

Developing Business Strategies Are you ready to grow your business? Raising the Bar EXALTA provides support, experience and knowledge to enable business leaders to fully Raise the Bar and develop their strategic growth plans. Helping you deliver the growth you want for your business. Helping you realise • • • • •

Your goals and objectives What you are already doing and how you do it Where you are going and how you will get there Your strategy formulation Who is going with you on the journey and what are they going to do

Sales development does not just happen because you want it too, it takes careful planning and implementation to be successful. Just like developing your overall business strategy it needs to be thought about and a structured process and methodologies put in place that are right for you and your business. EXALTA can help you to not only increase your revenue by maximising the potential of your sales team but can also look at how your processes align to your sales strategy and help you to adopt a value added approach to your sales thinking.

Developing International Markets Expanding your horizons - Selling into international markets is increasingly attractive for UK businesses A business looking at its growth options might well try to enter international markets as part of a growth strategy. Selling into international markets is definitely increasingly attractive for UK businesses because of stronger economic growth in emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Russia (BRICs) and Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria & Turkey (MINT). We have a particular focus on Bangladesh at present, a great growth market!

Leadership Development & Support Beyond the strategy - Building the team for successful growth EXALTA goes beyond the strategy level and also provides services around People & Leadership Development. Activities such as Coaching and Mentoring are key to improved performance and help significantly in raising the bar. EXALTA believes strongly that delivery of the strategy requires more than just a good plan – it needs great people too. Development of leadership teams through coaching and mentoring is now accepted as good practice. The execution of the plan is what counts and building the right team with the right support is key to great execution. The team might need to include Interim Directors offering specific support at times of flux, Part Time Directors in Sales or International expansion or Non Executives to bolster the board.

To watch the B4 TV interview with Mike Collett visit: www.b4-business.com/b4tv

Whilst the UK market remains buoyant there are areas of market saturation and maturity that can produce slow or declining sales in domestic markets.

Different growth strategies, different needs.

Developing Sales The key to growth - Increasing revenue and selling more profitably www.b4-business.com

EXALTA can help you to reach out to international customers and develop the face to face communication and relationships to really embrace your international growth opportunities around the globe.

 info@exalta.co.uk  07785 904 230  www.exalta.co.uk

SUPPORTING BUSINESSES IN THE REGION AND THE PEOPLE WHO RUN THEM

www.blakemorgan.co.uk Blake Morgan LLP

B4 advice

Coaching Mindset has also been “instrumental in helping transform

the way the NHS leads change with confidence during a turbulent period. Coaching and facilitating change across over 300 Medical practices and commissioning groups over the past 3 years has presented many challenges and helped develop new coaching skills to gain engagement and mobilise demotivated teams.

”

Colin Murray & Coaching Mindset: Management & Leadership Development Written by: Colin Murray Photography by: Rob Scotcher

Why invest in management and leadership development? People are your businesses most expensive asset; between 40-75% of all costs – the human agenda is the key to your performance and success; yet few organisations have a robust people development plan. Leaders that create a culture where individuals and teams feel they can perform at their best, and managers who have the capabilities and confidence to deliver results through others are the foundations of a good people development plan.

How can management and leadership capability impact performance? • Without capable and confident management, a team operate at only 40% of their full capacity – offering a low Return on Investment on your biggest asset • A leader’s behaviour is the biggest driver on how individuals and a team performs; impacting performance by 58% Coaching Mindset specialise in management and leadership coaching and facilitation for individuals and teams. We focus on developing a leaders’ awareness, capability and confidence and improving the management skills that deliver results through people, with proven experience of leading change and improving performance.

Who are Coaching Mindset? Coaching Mindset operates in a breadth of sectors incorporating financial services, the motor industry, www.b4-business.com

NHS and SME’s across the UK and Internationally. Colin has recently returned from a large assignment working across India, delivering effective communication workshops for Barclay’s International aspiring Directors programme. The full day workshops challenged technically based leaders how to get their message across to their team and peer network – introducing core communication skills and then coaching them to put their personality and storytelling into a message to create impact, influence and the trust that encourages action. Colin has been contracted to continue supporting the Aspire programme in London and then New York in the autumn. Over the previous 2 years, Colin delivered a comprehensive management and leadership programme for Toyota. Coaching and facilitating over 250 managers across 5 days through the core management skills such as constructive feedback (handling difficult conversations), effective delegation, time management, coaching for performance and how to run effective and efficient recruitment programmes. The programme incorporated new managers lacking confidence and managers with 25 years’ experience who benefited from taking a step back to review and refresh their skill-set and develop greater awareness of their role and impact on others. Bringing in real-time challenges and action learning helped all delegates improve their level of capability and confidence. Coaching Mindset has also been instrumental in helping transform the way the NHS leads change with confidence during a turbulent period. Coaching and facilitating change across over 300 Medical practices and commissioning groups over the past 3 years has presented many challenges and helped

develop new coaching skills to gain engagement and mobilise demotivated teams. Devising and delivering short, sharp one-hour development sessions and full day team building workshops has resulted in over 80% of practices reporting positive change and improved team engagement – at the same time as improving staff retention and reducing recruitment costs.

Our approach and values Coaching Mindset have the expertise, passion and belief that individuals want to develop, grow and feel empowered and motivated to deliver organisational goals. We support and challenge individuals and teams towards their best performance. We offer a bespoke modular solution that meets the needs of a business’s human agenda, combining commercial expertise, qualified coaching and action learning to deliver outcomes that improve performance and productivity. If you would like to discuss your challenge further, please contact us for an exploratory discussion.

 Colin.murray@coachingmindset.co.uk  07843 299 175  www.coachingmindset.co.uk

CLIENT SUPPORT AUDIT ACCOUNTANCY CHARITIES COMPANY SECRETARIAL CONSULTANCY FINANCIAL PLANNING FORENSIC ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTS PAYROLL TAXATION TRUSTS

OXFORD 30 St. Giles, Oxford OX1 3LE Tel . 01865 559900 email . information@wenntownsend.co.uk CIRENCESTER 5 Gosditch Street, Cirencester GL7 2AG Tel . 01285 659778 email . partners@wenntownsend.net ABINGDON 10 Broad Street, Abingdon OX14 3LH Tel . 01235 548700 email . abingdon@wenntownsend.co.uk www.wenntownsend .co .uk

B4 advice

Keep the basics in mind to avoid a data overload Data is a hot topic these days. You’d be hard pressed to find a news article or attend a business event that doesn’t touch on data in some aspect. Whether it’s in relation to GDPR and the regulations around the collection and use of personal data, the growth of big data, social media or the introduction of new cloud based platforms to integrate disparate data sets - it’s clear that data has become increasingly important. Written by: James Oates, Nielsen Analytics Director

Businesses of all sizes are looking at ways to leverage data to help them make smarter, faster decisions - because you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Whether selling to other businesses or selling directly to the consumer, data is the key to understanding the potential for a product or service to be successful. The simple question behind any business idea has to be whether there is a customer need. A great idea doesn’t guarantee a receptive audience which is why market research data is important when it comes to the confidence to decide whether to invest.. Take Dragon’s Den as an example: each business idea is presented with supporting data about the market, the consumer and the forecasted growth potential as evidence of the product’s potential for future success. Anyone who watches the programme will also know that if the data doesn’t stack up - it’s the end of the road. Understanding your customers, both existing and potential new customers, is one of the most critical data points your business has for making sound, strategic decisions. This is obviously a moving target as customer behaviour evolves, and what was relevant yesterday may not be relevant tomorrow. Any business, regardless of size, is at risk if it does not intimately understand its customers. The simple truth is that if you don’t, your competitors will. Let’s look at marketing investments, knowing who your existing and potential customers are, and where to find them, is critical when deciding how to market your product or service and where to place your www.b4-business.com

spend. Your customers’ gender, age, demographic, location, product preferences, purchasing behaviour, etc., are all critical. But so is understanding their media usage (television watchers or radio listeners), how they consume media (mobile, tablet, PC, linear TV), which social media sites they use and how likely

“

Amongst an abundance of data, understanding and analysing the right data is key to ensuring that your business is focused on the issues that matter most. A great place to start is on identifying and understanding your customers.

to reviewing that benchmark regularly to avoid any surprises in company performance. Having an external view of how you are performing relative to your competitors is useful to understanding whether your business is keeping up with the market and whether your product or offering is relevant to your customers. Amongst an abundance of data, understanding and analysing the right data is key to ensuring that your business is focused on the issues that matter most. A great place to start is on dentifying and understanding your customers. Keep this in mind when considering the validity of data to your company. We help businesses of all sizes get closer to their customers, if you’d like to find out how we can help you please get in touch at uknewbusiness@ nielsen.com.

”

James Oates, Nielsen Analytics Director

they are to be receptive to messages from your industry - it’s a complex and competitive landscape so you need to know how to reach your customers with the right message to maximise your investment. Properly planning, activating and measuring your marketing activity will help to shape future decision making. Organisations of all sizes also need to be clear on what good performance looks like and committed

 uknewbusiness@nielsen.com  01865 528 800  www.nielsen.com

“

Traditionally, we’re an electrical contracting business; we’ve been doing that for many years, but more recently we’ve become involved in a lot more technologies (what I call other cables) such as: fire alarm systems, security systems, IT, data network cabling, etc. So we’re starting to expand our offering of services, focussing not just on electrical lighting and power, but also other systems which have a cable on the end of them! Simon Newton, Managing Director - Darke & Taylor

”

DARKE & TAYLOR

Diamond Lights

As they celebrate their 60th anniversary, it’s clear that Darke & Taylor is a firm with deep-rooted values, as reinforced in their own value statement: Professional - ensuring exceptional electrotechnical solutions every time; People Focussed - valuing our employees; Progressive - investing in new technology and the environment; Responsive - good communicators, accessible and responsive to customers; and Reputable - accredited with a successful track record. Written by: Richard Rosser Photography by: Rob Scotcher

Darke & Taylor are one of Oxfordshire’s leading electrotechnical specialists providing services and expertise to architects, building services designers, building contractors and property owners. Familiar local names such as Oxford University, Miele, Beard, Brookes, Alden, Symm, Oxfordshire County Council, Abbott and Oxford City Council are established clients and it was clear that Managing Director, Simon Newton, had a lot to be proud about when he visited B4’s studios to elaborate on the Darke & Taylor ethos and plans for their 60th anniversary. B4: Surrounded by electrical gadgets here in the B4 studios, it’s a familiar environment. Maybe you could give us a little background about Darke & Taylor, what you do and what your role is?

he was 16 years old. We are the two senior shareholders in the business. We have just started a succession process with the outgoing Managing Director becoming Chairman, so in our 60th year it’s been a year of change and laying foundations for the future. Traditionally, we’re an electrical contracting business; we’ve been doing that for many years, but more recently we’ve become involved in a lot more technologies (what I call other cables) such as: fire alarm systems, security systems, IT, data network cabling, etc. So we’re starting to expand our offering of services, focussing not just on electrical lighting and power, but also other systems which have a cable on the end of them! B4: It’s a big year for you isn’t it?

SN: I’m a shareholder in the business and have just been appointed joint Managing Director alongside Graham Winstone, who has been at the firm since

SN: Yes, Darke & Taylor are 60 this year. John Darke first started trading from

www.b4-business.com

Divinity Road in Oxford on 5th September 1958, and 60 years later we’re still here. His name’s obviously still in the company title, which is fantastic. We’ve got some celebrations coming up which kick off in June. Our staff forum has put together a charity fundraising event with a hog roast and a big raffle. Lots of our suppliers have been very kind: they’ve offered us all sorts of raffle prizes and so on, so we’re hoping to raise £2000 for the Electrical Industries Charity as well as celebrate our 60th anniversary, so that’s good!

Alongside technological changes we have moved a number of times and we’ve been through a number of rounds of succession. My father, David, was Managing Director, up until 2008 when we did a management buy out with Paul McNaughton becoming the new MD. Alongside Graham, I became a shareholder – more recently we have four new shareholders who have also been appointed as Directors to the Board. Exit isn’t on our agenda as we always want to keep the business within the employees.

B4: It must have been difficult running a business from Divinity Road - Not the easiest road to go up and down…

B4: Being 60 years old and a traditional business, I’m sure there are a lot of values that you have held true throughout that period of time. Have there been any major changes or do you still maintain your original values?

SN: That’s true. The firm has moved around Oxford quite a bit actually, as you can see from the mini timeline in this article. B4: So you must have seen a lot of changes in your time, not only in the business but in the industry? SN: Yes huge changes, mainly around technology including recent innovations such as LED lighting which was a huge change when it first came out being much more expensive than traditional lighting. Now it’s everywhere and is an established technology along with other low to no carbon innovations. In addition to LED lighting we’ve been looking at electric vehicle charging, battery storage and we’ve got a successful solar PV installation business as well, which we’ve been operating for seven years now. All of these technology changes have impacted our projects significantly.

www.b4-business.com

SN: A lot of our values are around the people and the culture of our business. In a lot of construction businesses, a lot of subcontracting agency labour is used, but we can really pride ourselves on the direct employment of our own staff. We think we can look after them, we can control the quality of the work we do and lots of people come back to us for repeat business because they say they like the way we go about doing our business. So at the core, that culture of investing in our staff and people is crucial. We’ve also had an apprenticeship scheme for over 50 years and have won numerous awards. We are sponsors of the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards now, so we’re very, very involved in the apprenticeship scene and that’s a really important part of us because 75% of our senior management actually came through our own apprenticeship

spotlight

scheme. That organic growth by bringing our own employees through the company, giving them that career progression hasn’t really changed. So while the technology changes, the progression from apprentice through to management in the company is something we really value. B4: Talking about apprentices, obviously apprenticeships are key for lots of businesses and we’ve seen in the B4 network how many firms are favouring apprentices over graduates. I understand you have three female apprentices in the ranks. SN: Yes we’ve been really fortunate. We actively went out to see if we could attract some females into our industry, not just on the office based side but as engineers and currently we have three great apprentices and we also have one who’s qualified. In fact, we’ve just qualified our second female apprentice, and that’s been really positive. We’ve had some great press out of that and they’ve been really great additions to our team. They bring a slightly different kind of ethos to going about the electrical work that we do. They’re really liked by our clients and our customers and and they’re really strong candidates, really passionate about training and learning to be electricians – it’s good to see some positive changes in what has traditionally been a male dominated industry. In terms of apprentices, we took on 15 last year and we take on anywhere between 8 and 15 apprentices a year so it really is an important part of what we do year on year. I sit as the chairman of the Thames Valley Apprenticeship Ambassador Network so we’re very engaged with apprenticeships and our chairman, Paul McNaughton, actually sat on the trailblazer,

TIMELINE 5th September 1958 Electrician John Darke started trading from 62 Divinity Road in Oxford with one apprentice installing pre-payment meters for Oxford City Council. Within 18 months the business had moved out of John’s home to a newly refurbished office and stores at 154D Cowley Road in Oxford.

1960’s which agreed the standard for electrical apprenticeships going forward. So apprenticeships has been a really big part of what we do as a business and something we’re very keen to maintain. We’re also very open to more young ladies who want to join us so please do get in touch for an interview. B4: You’re obviously locally based but I understand your work takes you far and wide, but you’re keen to develop the work profile here in Oxfordshire. SN: Particularly in the last ten years we’ve had a lot of success in the London high end residential property market, which is fantastic, but it is in London. We have to travel staff there everyday and we’re really excited about what’s happening in Oxfordshire. I think the Oxford to Cambridge corridor is going to be a massive boost for investment in this area and off the back of that we want to be providing services to the companies who are constructing and maintaining the buildings. We know we offer great service to the construction sector and we think there’s going to be a lot of building going on in our county and bordering counties over the coming years. So it’s a really exciting time for Darke & Taylor. I think it’s a really exciting time for Oxfordshire as well. B4: With your new maintenance division, you’re expanding as well? SN: We’ve always had a maintenance service in the background but it wasn’t core to the business. We now have a new maintenance manager who joined us just over a year ago and she’s been fantastic. Our thinking is now how can we keep a client for the long term rather than do a job and move on to the next one. We want to be there from the start and help our clients day to day. Services include electrical maintenance, five yearly tests and inspections which all commercial premises have to have, fire alarms, security maintenance and more. We have already doubled that side of the business and we have some really ambitious growth targets, so now there is a real drive to not just doing the installation but actually looking after it for our clients for many years to come. B4: In your 60th year you’ve had some awards succes. SN: Yes, the Electrical Contractors Association have an annual awards and we won one back in 2013 as Contractor of the Year. We decided, in our 60th year, we ought to have another go. We were delighted to be highly commended in the ECA Contractor of the Year Award and the ECA Best Energy Solutions Project of the Year Award so a great way to mark our 60th!

The company became a member of the NIC EIC and the JIB, organisations it remains a member of and takes an active involvement in today.

July 1969 David Newton joined the firm, working as an Estimator and, as a result of continued growth, the company moved to new offices in Avenue Lane, Cowley, Oxford. In January 1971 Darke & Taylor became a limited company with Messer’s Darke and Taylor becoming the Directors.

1st January 1973 Darke & Taylor furthered its ambitions and purchased Oxford based electrical contractor Hill Upton & Company. Hill Upton & Co. was established in 1890. Darke & Taylor moved to its premises in Aristotle Lane off Kingston Road in North Oxford, where both businesses operated independently until 1980.

1980 Hill Upton & Co was formally incorporated with Darke & Taylor Ltd, effectively doubling the size of the company and making it one of the largest electrical contractors in the region.

2000 The company moved to new offices on a business park just outside of Oxford in Kidlington and the decade saw D&T progress further with development of its structured network cabling services, and the attainment of ISO14001 Environmental and CHAS and Constructionline Health & Safety Accreditations.

2008 The senior management team undertook an MBO of the business, with Paul McNaughton becoming the Managing Director and David Newton becoming the Chairman. Over recent years, Darke & Taylor has become an award-winning business, with success at both industry and local business awards, highlights including Contractor of the Year at both the ECA Awards and The Electrical Industry Awards, Business of the Year at the Oxfordshire Business Awards, and a number of awards for our Apprenticeship Initiative.

   

mail@darkeandtaylor.co.uk 01865 290 000 https://darkeandtaylor.co.uk @DarkeTaylor

2016 Darke & Taylor invested in and relocated to Radiant House (named after the early Hill Upton & Co offices in Oxford) in Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire. www.b4-business.com

B4 spotlight

That Oxford Girl

Tilly Rose I first visited Oxford on a day out with my family when I was ten years’ old. Whilst in the city, we stumbled across a sign outside Balliol College, inviting the public to look around. As I walked into the quad in Balliol, I was in awe of what I saw. It was at this very moment that I decided that I was going to Oxford University. Written by: Tilly Rose

However, the following year I became seriously ill and, from that point onward, hardly went to school. I was at a state school and told not to bother taking my GCSEs and, certainly, not to bother with university. Yet, when everything else was so beyond my control, studying became my unwavering focus. I taught myself, from hospital and home and, much to my school’s amazement, was later offered a place to read English Literature and Language at Jesus College, Oxford University. Whilst at university, I underwent 18 months of lifesaving treatment and when I graduated I wasn’t in a position to work. I asked myself, what am I good at? Writing and, what do I know about? Oxford. I remember thinking how much I would have benefited from a free insight into student life and how much my journey had taught me about navigating the complex application process and overcoming barriers. So, ‘That Oxford Girl’ was born, a blog: www.thatoxfordgirl.com and Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ thatoxfordgirl providing a student perspective of the application process and life at Oxford University. Since its launch in September 2016, I have been overwhelmed by the response. The blog has had over 300,000 views and the Instagram has over 21.5k followers. Both platforms are growing every day and I am inundated with messages, emails, comments and questions from prospective applicants.

found that brands started to get in touch, asking to advertise on my platform. Over the last year, this has developed from Instagram promotions, to blog posts, giveaways and marketing and business development services. My experience, as both an Oxford graduate and the founder of TOG, means I am uniquely placed to offer a detailed insight into the distinct way in which the city of Oxford operates. The infrastructure of Oxford University drives the economy of the city. This perspective has enabled me to run a number of successful marketing campaigns for Oxford businesses, particularly those wishing to target the student demographic. So, where am I at now? Well, I am working with more and more brands across the city and hope to attract sponsorship from companies who are looking to identify with the Oxford student/grad market, along with local businesses who may want to increase their profile in the city. Very excitingly, later in the year the ‘That Oxford Girl’ book is being released, as an affordable insight into life at Oxford Uni and the fantastic things the city has to offer.

I have now set up a TOG student ambassador scheme, with over 30 current students from colleges and halls across the University, writing regularly for the blog. Many of these students followed ‘That Oxford Girl’ at school, have gone on to be offered places and now write regular posts. I knew TOG was making an impact but the next obstacle I was faced with, was how to fund it. When I reached 10k followers on Instagram, I www.b4-business.com

 matilda@thatoxfordgirl.com  thatoxfordgirl  www.thatoxfordgirl.com

A1 GRANGE COURT BUSINESS PARK Barton Lane, Abingdon, OX14 3NB TO LET 5,144 sq ft High quality brand new industrial / warehouse unit built to a high specification with 6m internal eaves height. Ready for immediate occupation.

NETWORK @LINK 9 Ring Road, Bicester, OX26 5AF www.networkL9.co.uk TO LET/FOR SALE Units from 13,981 sq ft THREE UNITS REMAINING â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ready Summer 2018 New development of 7 production/warehouse units each with large dedicated service yards and Grade A offices at first floor.

2 COWLEY BUSINESS CENTRE Watlington Road, Oxford, OX4 6NH TO LET 6,917 sq ft Prominent warehouse / distribution unit with 9m eaves, loading door, trade entrance and good quality office accommodation.

A1 KINGSTON BUSINESS PARK Kingston Bagpuize, OX13 5FD TO LET 1,839 sq ft Modern ground floor office suite fitted to a high standard with Gigaclear fibre solution and good parking levels in a very accessible location.

unrivalled local and regional expertise Richard Venables rvenables@vslandp.com Tom Barton tbarton@vslandp.com Duncan May dmay@vslandp.com

news Dematic transform older building into ‘revolutionary’ offices

A state-of-the-art headquarters building has transformed the working lives of employees at Dematic Northern Europe in Banbury Business Park. Balliol House, the former Vodafone building, which had stood empty for six years, has been completely reshaped to provide a totally open plan workspace equipped with the latest technology. It boasts 23 meeting rooms; a conference centre for up to 140 guests; a technical training room and ‘live’ exhibition space where customers and staff can view the latest innovations from the automated supply chain technology specialist. Staff also benefit from dedicated hubs to relax or hold informal meetings; full kitchen facilities and restaurant; a studio for activities such as yoga and fitness workouts, as well a gym, showers and changing rooms. Outside, parking facilities include car-share spaces and charging points for electric vehicles. Dematic enlisted the help of Richard Venables of

VSL & Partners on commercial property matters and Andrew Snowdon of Hollybrook Estates Ltd as external Project Manager and Designer in 2016 to find a suitable building after outgrowing its existing premises on the Beaumont Industrial Estate, Banbury. Once the 46,000 sq ft building had been located it was fully refurbished internally and externally by the landlords in an operation that took a year to complete before staff moved in during May 2017. A steering committee oversaw the transformation with staff consulted regularly. Dematic has created a dynamic work and social space, building flexibility and choice which has created a more productive environment. This has delivered a genuine change for its employees and how they go about their day to day business.

Richard Venables, director of VSL & Partners explained: “Balliol House had been transformed to create a stunning work environment. It is a remarkable transformation of the tired call centre facility. Commercial building design can only create part of the solution and the rest must come from the company ethos. Dematic have provided both the ‘cool and funky’ environment and an amazing company philosophy to compliment this and the result is a winning combination.” Andrew Snowdon of Hollybrook Estates concluded: ‘’Balliol House was a challenge having been neglected for so many years however Dematic’s Steering Group entered the design process open minded with energy to dedicate the necessary time and with an eye for detail. The result is stunning and I am proud to have been involved in the creation of this vibrant working environment.

David Evans, Business Support Director at Dematic, said: “The move has revolutionised the way we work – the building has been a catalyst for a complete change of culture and we will continue to reap the benefits long into the future.”

To view the new offices and for an insight into working at Dematic Northern Europe Headquarters view this film https://youtu.be/SCoNmYhas8s

4 Hitching Court, Abingdon Business Park 1,189 sq ft. LET to Paul Basham Associates

Suite I Windrush Court, Abingdon Business Park, 3,021 sq ft. LET to Ross Brook Ltd

Deals...

Unit 1 Moorbrook, Didcot, 5,135 sq ft. LET to Design Integration

www.b4-business.com

MILTON PARK

CREATING A UNIQUE, VIBRANT AND EVOLVING PLACE Writer and Photographer: MEPC

THE HISTORY Over 100 years ago, Milton Park was sought out by the military as a depot for use during both World Wars, before that it was farm-land. It was chosen by the MOD for its central location within the UK. Fast-forward to the 60’s & 70’s: the military use had ceased, and Milton Park had become a trading estate with large warehouse depots, car storage and lots of HGVS. It was an out of town area, closer to villages than other commercial offices and amenities. In the mid-80’s, MEPC acquired Milton Park and took a gamble by developing the first two office buildings, both of which are still going strong today.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY As the noughties saw the fast and powerful advances in science & technology, the space demand for research and development activity rose. Milton Park as a place and MEPC as the asset managers had the development capabilities to make this happen and by working closely with both existing and potential new occupiers, a science and business community was formed. Taking a step towards supporting science businesses was generally left to the experts: universities, government institutions or large corporations. By making the first move, Milton 56

Park became one of the best places in the area for growing science and technology focussed business.

HERE & NOW The growth of occupiers at Milton Park continues. With almost 9,000 people supporting 250 companies, Milton Park has truly become a

“

Anywhere and everywhere can be a place. But creating a place where businesses and people want to be is crucial to success

”

community. Occupiers at Milton Park are doing incredible work across a multitude of sectors and they are reaping the benefits. Companies at Milton Park are world-leading international firms, funded

by some of the strongest investors and employ an incredible talent pool. The people here are making growth happen. It’s not stopping though; the way businesses and people work is evolving.

EVOLVING SPACES The demand for business space in Oxfordshire is still high. MEPC have also recognised a demand for different types of space. Space that is used to collaborate internally and externally, space that sits manufacturing and headquarter functionality under one roof, space that inspires and encourages innovation. Park Drive East is the latest development at Milton Park, with 110,000 sq ft across three high-tech, grade A buildings – 141, 142 and 143. The buildings have been designed with existing and future occupiers in mind, they offer flexible solutions for almost any fit-out – giving companies what they need to inspire and motivate their people.

COLLABORATION “Unity is strength, when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mattie Stepanek, Poet. Companies working alongside one another and with similar technologies benefit from being part www.b4-business.com

B4 property

COMPETITION WINNER

At the latest B4 networking event, held at Milton Park’s latest development – Park Drive East. The hosts for the evening, MEPC, added a bit of photography fun. As part of the marketing suite for the new space props were set up in the event area to showcase the amenities at Milton Park, one of them was an overhead hairdryer to symbolise the onsite hairdressers. Guests were asked to pose under the hairdryer for a photo. A photo was then selected at random and the lucky participant given a bottle of champagne from MEPC. Congratulations to Jose Gouveia, Managing Director of Oxford CleanTech for his hair-raising performance!

of a network of like-minded people and businesses. At Milton Park, there are strong case studies of collaboration. People want to get to know one another, they share ideas and problems and as a result, help each other to progress. With collaboration comes success and Milton Park occupiers are some of the most successful in the country and even the world.

and companies want to succeed here. The science & business parks located outside of the city centre are creating unique environments for occupiers. People can live in an idyllic countryside location and commute easily to world class business locations. By adding amenities, community activities, networking opportunities and the chance to enjoy a work/life balance - a sense of place is well and truly created.

THE OXFORD INNOVATION ENGINE

THE FUTURE, THE VISION: 2040

Milton Park is a place within one of the most fertile innovation economies in the UK – Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire is number 1 in the UK for innovation activity. It has the highest spin-out rate in the country and has a world-leading university at its centre. Companies are in this region for a reason, it’s a place that fuels innovation and sustainable growth. The work being done here has done and will continue to attract one of the most knowledge intensive talent pools in the world.

From a military depot, to an out-of-town trading estate, to an edge-of-town science & technology hub – Milton Park is evolving and will continue to do so. Nearby Didcot is changing, it has been backed by government as an area for growth and has Garden Town Status. Phase two of the Orchard Centre development has been successfully opened. Thousands of new homes are expected over the coming years and the location of these will see Milton Park go from an edge-of-town location to a more urbanised area.

A UNIQUE PLACE Anywhere and everywhere can be a place. But creating a place where businesses and people want to be is crucial to success. Oxford is a global brand, people want to live here, people want to work here, www.b4-business.com

Houses, schools and jobs will be in the same place, the next generation will be inspired by where their parent’s work. They will know because it will be on their doorstep.

A doorstep that opens a world of opportunity, a place that continues to be inspiring through the ground-breaking activity that happens here every day.

Milton Park: Creating a unique, vibrant and evolving place

    

enquiries@miltonpark.co.uk 01235 865 555 www.miltonpark.co.uk MiltonPark MiltonParkOfficial

Jon Silversides

Partner and Head of Commercial Agency, Carter Jonas Oxford In March 2016 the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC), led then by Lord Adonis, called for ways “to maximize the potential of the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford corridor (CAMCOX) as a single, knowledge intensive cluster that competes on the global stage.” Written by: Jon Silversides Photography by: Oxford Science Park photographed by Aurelien Langlais and Will Pryce

The report recognised the significance of this ‘Arc’ concluding that ‘based on current trends in development, populations and local economic growth the area could see job growth of 335,000 by 2050 increasing economic output by £85billion’. However, analysis prepared for the commission suggests that the economic potential of the region is in fact much greater than this, with potential to support a further 700,000 jobs by 2050, increasing GVA by £163billion. Attention is now centring on five settlements revealed on March 8th, the same date as the Prime Minister’s housing statement. Here more than 130,000 new homes have been sketched on the map. The Commission wishes to capture a fair proportion of the land value uplift to contribute to infrastructure costs. “Public investment in strategic infrastructure (must) not lead to large windfall gains for landowners at the expense of new communities” said Adonis. Whilst

Government policy is unlikely to be fully crystallised for a number of months if not years, the NIC report is a good guide to how things will develop between now and 2050. Inevitably, the release of the report has resulted in further debate, principally surrounding the main infrastructure recommendations found in it. This includes the delivery of a new east – west rail line linking Oxford and Cambridge, labelled the Varsity Line, together with the accelerated delivery of an expressway, with the Government due to announce on their preferred route imminently. Having recently joined a seminar in Milton Keynes, partly sponsored by Carter Jonas and attended by over 500 delegates, it is clear that the subject of CAMCOX ignites passion and support as well as some dissenting voices. Attendees heard and debated views from key stakeholders, local authorities, developers and

www.b4-business.com

B4 property

consultants on core subject matters of industrial strategy, skills, housing, infrastructure and economic growth. Predictably the debate included some cynicism as, notwithstanding the Government’s impending expressway announcement, there is still much uncertainty over the deliverability of the report’s key findings. Despite some pessimism, there is clearly a growing momentum and a call to action in support of CAMCOX being championed from a variety of sources. This approach is only endorsed by the region’s continuing success, and its vital role as a major contributor to UK plc. Although it is not often discussed in Oxford circles the ‘Economic Heartland’ now being talked about more widely often reflects the same geography identified in the Oxford to Cambridge arc, with its membership represented by the councils, Local Enterprise Partnerships and other stakeholders in this region. So what are the successes of the Arc to date? Within the corridor there are numerous good news stories both present and past from Harwell in the south to the Biomedical Campus in Cambridge. Closer to our hearts are Silverstone Park and Oxford Science Park with Carter Jonas acting on both. At Silverstone our client MEPC has spent the five years since purchase ‘pump priming’ the delivery

www.b4-business.com

of significant commercial stock, gaining outline consent for 2.1million sq ft, Enterprise Zone status and significant servicing upgrades. The first phase of speculative development has been completed and is now 90% occupied. We are now moving onto further speculative development with a reserved matters application for approximately 265,000 sq ft of accommodation due to be submitted shortly and hopefully beginning on site in late autumn.

...some great work “ is already being done in the CAMCOX region and we must celebrate it, as only with this will momentum build. Few other areas in the UK are generating such interest and investment.

”

College has spent the past two and a half years since regaining full control re-positioning the Park as a genuine Science destination. The team has improved the look, feel and amenity offering of the Park, constructing what is widely considered to be the best quality building within the county. In the past 12 months alone we have welcomed a wide range of new occupiers including Immunocore, Evox Therapeutics, Fuel3d, Oxford Sciences Innovation and ByBox. As demonstrated, some great work is already being done in the CAMCOX region and we must celebrate it, as only with this will momentum build. Few other areas in the UK are generating such interest and investment. The corridor has been heralded as a national asset however, for the aims of the NIC to be fully realised, compromise will be required from all local authorities as well as national and local stakeholders. Coordination, leadership and real power is essential to unlock the vast potential that our region has to offer. The question will be whether old rivalries can be put aside to achieve real change.

Jon Silversides - Carter Jonas

Silverstone, globally recognised for its motorsport, is set to become a focal point for specialist engineering and technologies that have cross over amongst the sectors not only within CAMCOX but throughout the UK and beyond. At Oxford Science Park, our client Magdalen

 Jon.Silversides@carterjonas.co.uk  01865 404 406  www.carterjonas.co.uk

B4 events

MAGNIFICENT B4 CLASSIC EVENT AT 141 PARK DRIVE, MILTON PARK On 10th May B4 Members and guests enjoyed an evening of networking in the fantastic, innovative venue 141 Park Drive, Milton Park. Followed by speeches from B4’s Richard Rosser and Milton Park’s Philip Campbell. The evening provided our guests an insight into the people behind Milton Park, how the place is run and the latest news and developments within this fascinating science and business park.. Photography by: Rob Scotcher

Philip Campbell, Commercial Director of Milton Park commented: “Great to see so many people at Milton Park yesterday and enjoyed catching up with familiar faces and meeting some new ones. We are very lucky to live and work in such a great place with so many brilliant people and a wealth of dynamic businesses. Thank you once again.” B4’s Richard Rosser added: “Thank you to the team at Milton Park including Philip Campbell and Nancy Leadley plus The Wandering Kitchen for their fantastic food and five star service. We had some 60

great feedback on the night and in the aftermath of this extremely well attended B4 event and it was obvious how much the B4 members and guests enjoyed the venue and services on offer! Thank you to everyone who came along and to those who took part in the eventful hairdryer photo competition!” “My first B4 event, thank you everyone for the welcome, great event, with the added bonus of a hilarious hairdryer photo!” Helen Saxton, Owner, Charaderie

“Thanks to everyone at B4 for another really interesting event and a great opportunity to meet some of Oxfords business leaders.” Jamie Miller, CEO, Headway Oxfordshire “Another great event from B4 last night at Milton Park. Great to meet new members (and to see Mike Foster, Helen Fallon and many more). Fantastic office space at Milton, thank you!” Jonna Mundy, CEO, You HR

www.b4-business.com

New and Existing Members in Attendance

Congratulations to Jose Gouveia, Managing Director of Oxford CleanTech for his hair-raising performance!

10TH

MAY

About Milton Park Milton Park is a globally recognised science and business park , a working environment that fuels innovation and sustainabile growth for 250 dynamic businesses. There are over 9,000 talented individuals working across a variety of sectors. 141 Park Drive is one of the newest buildings on the Park. A laboratory and office building which inspires innovation and cutting edge science and technology. A place for networking, partnerships and collaboration.



Scan to see the event photos:

Competition Fun

Forthcoming B4 Events

MEPC also added a bit of photography fun to the evening. As part of the marketing suite for the new space props were set up in the event area to showcase the amenities at Milton Park, one of them was an overhead hairdryer to symbolise the onsite hairdressers. Guests were asked to pose under the hairdryer for a photo. A photo was then selected at random and the lucky participant given a bottle of champagne from MEPC. Congratulations to Jose Gouveia, Managing Director of Oxford CleanTech for his hair-raising performance!

www.b4-business.com

360-scan ADS Oxford ANPR Consulting Ltd Berry Recruitment Better People Ltd Blake Morgan Breckon & Breckon Build Your Brand Story Chapman Robinson & Moore Accountants Charaderie claireLOGIC Clarity CX CMC Partners COEL CQR Consulting CRS Document Solutions Cultural Chemistry Digital Marketing Evolution CBS Evolution International Experience Oxfordshire FOCUS Oxford Risk Management Ltd Global CTS Glue Films Handelsbanken Hawkwell House Headway Oxforshire Helen & Douglas House HR Wallingford Ltd I-CAN Global InXpress Kingerlee Ltd Knights1759 Milton Hill House Newbury Racecourse Oxford CleanTech Oxford Professional Consulting Positively Media RKM Partners Rob Wheal Photography Rodeax Royds Withy King Selective Recruitment Solutions LTD Teachers To Your Home The FD Centre The King’s Centre The MGroup Accountants The Plastic Goldfish Company The Social Managers You HR

B4 Classic Event at The Manor : 8th Aug 2018 B4 Classic Event at Bombay Sapphire Distillery : 6th Sep2018 B4 Classic Event at Rhodes House : 6th Sep2018

 enquiries@miltonpark.co.uk  01235 865 555  www.miltonpark.co.uk

B4 Platinum Dinner at Macdonald Randolph Hotel : 20th Sep 2018 B4 Platinum Dinner and 50th Anniversary Celebration at The Cherwell Boathouse : 2nd Oct2018 61

B4 events

Photo by Koroush Khorshidfar

Making a Difference to the City through Culture Cowley Road Works, the charity behind the organisation of Oxford’s iconic Cowley Road Carnival, is looking for a new chairperson and trustees. Written by: Amy Walters, Trustee of Cowley Road Works

Photograph by Jeff Slade.

Cowley Road Carnival bills itself as Oxford’s Big Day Out: a celebration of community and diversity in the heart of East Oxford. Each July, stages spring-up along the street and the surrounding areas, hosting pop-up performances of music, dance and spoken word; and traders set up stalls selling a wide range of delicious street food. The much-anticipated main event is the procession, bringing together school children and community groups in a colourful parade of carnival floats and samba music. Cowley Road Works (CRW), the charity which plans and manages the carnival, also runs a programme of arts and outreach events promoting inclusivity and community spirit all year round. It was recently announced that CRW have been awarded an £86K Arts Council grant to deliver an extensive programme of arts training and participation opportunities for young people with disabilities in Oxford. Working in a new partnership with Ark T Centre, who launched the successful disability arts ROAR festival two years ago, the projects will also involve collaborations with a number of partners including Pegasus Theatre, Sol Samba and mental health charity, Oxfordshire MIND. Sophie Slade, an arts & heritage consultant with over 17 years of experience in dealing with people, places and collections in the heritage sector, has been a Cowley Road Works trustee for nearly five years. An Oxford resident, Sophie sees being a trustee as a chance to stay connected to Oxford, share skills and experience, and continue to develop as an arts and heritage professional. www.b4-business.com

Photography by: Jeff Slade, Koroush Khorshidfar

Photograph by Jeff Slade.

Photo by Koroush Khorshidfar

“Being a trustee for Cowley Road Works has been immensely enjoyable and it has been a great privilege to be able to contribute to the growth and development of the charity and event,” Sophie says. She initially worked as a curator and manager in museums and historic houses including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Charles Dickens Museum, and the Emery Walker Trust. Following her work overseeing the refurbishment of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in Oxford, she focused on consultancy work in museum and heritage sites. Her wealth of experience in project management, fundraising and strategic development is invaluable to Cowley Road Works.

Road Works are on the look-out for a new Chairperson and a Treasurer, but are also interested in hearing from professionals with a range of skills that will drive the organisation’s expansion and development: people with a background in law, wealth management or fundraising; hands-on experience in outdoor arts, education or marketing; and local residents and traders in a personal investment in the community.

“I have contributed to a range of tasks at the Carnival from governance to hands-on work,” says Sophie. “But my primary focus has been staffing and development, particularly around sponsorship. Since I joined CRW at the beginning of 2014, the output of CRW had developed considerably. Numbers of attendees have increased by about 15,000 and the charity has deepened the level of engagement with communities through year round outreach programmes.”

For more information on Cowley Road Works please see below.

A board of enthusiastic trustees with time, skills and experience to give is what helps small charities like Cowley Road Works to thrive. The charity is currently looking to enhance the Board by appointing several new Trustees to take them forward into its next exciting chapter. The current Chair of Trustees, Brian Trotman, will be stepping down after this year’s carnival, so Cowley

If you’re interested in finding out more about becoming a Cowley Road Works trustee, contact Executive Director Micaela Tuckwell by emailing director@cowleyroadworks.org.

 www.cowleyroadworks.co.uk  www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk

plo

siv e

L e a rnin g S

io n olut

4 The Terraces Library Avenue Harwell Science Campus OX11 0SG

Experts in our field so that you can excel in yours Project and Programme

Business Improvement

Introduction to Project Management

Better Business Cases Foundation & Practitioner

Agile Project Management

Change Management Foundation & Practitioner

Foundation & Practitioner Management of Risk (M_o_R) Foundation & Practitioner Management of Portfolios (MoP) Foundation & Practitioner Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Foundation & Practitioner PRINCE2 Foundation & Practitioner Project Management Qualification (APM PMQ) Project Fundamentals Qualification (APM PFQ) Project Management Qualification for PRINCE2 Practitioners (APM PMQ) Project Planning & Control (PPC) Foundation & Practitioner

Cyber Security Awareness Facilitation Foundation & Practitioner

Personal Development and Management Award in Leadership and Management Level 3 (ILM) Change Management Foundation & Practitioner Course (APMG) Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement Level 3 (TAQA6317-33) (City & Guilds)

LEAN6 Sigma Yellow Belt Foundation Fundamentals of Green Belt Course

Certificate in Education and Training Level 4 (City & Guilds)

Commercial

Coaching and Mentoring Level 5 (ILM)

Commercial Awareness Contract Sourcing Commercial Risks Contract Management

Leadership and Management Level 5 (ILM)

We also offer a wide range of Soft Business Skills Courses

Utilising Social Media tools

Microsoft Product Training Project, Excel, Word, PowerPoint

Book online at www.elsbusinesstraining.co.uk Or call our Sales Department on 01235 861805 Alternatively email us at info@explosivelearningsolutions.com

B4 events

SIGNED SEALED AND DELIVERED IN HALF A DAY Shooting an event solo is always a challenge, it takes a skilled eye, and quick reactions, to snap the perfect shot with the right emotions. It’s not like commercial shoots where you can plan and script every shot to guarantee perfection. Thankfully when filming an event you tend to have an entire day to ensure you get these shots. Taking this all into mind, when B4’s Richard Rosser added he’d like this to be shown at the end of the day I simply thought “How could I not accept such a challenge.” To anyone this sounds like a daunting task, to a videographer, running solo, it’s simply a no go, most would only attempt such with a team! Written by: Freddie Jewson

When shooting a commercial one tends to have upwards of a month to Pre-Produce, Shoot, and Post-Produce the work before delivery, this time I had under half a day.

Pre-Production This is the stage where the concept is drawn up, storyboards/scripts written and all the logistics are planned to ensure everything is perfect for the day of the shoot. Some say this is the part you make the video, on the day of the shoot you’re merely getting the content to stitch together in post. For a commercial this is all well and good, however events are always a tad different - one can never fully guarantee the shots and setting they will be in. As a result I went into BIO with a list of shots I’d like, which I’d then stitch together into a way that I knew the video could flow and work. As long as I got those kind of shots on the day I could tick it off and forget about any other potential shots I see. Over shooting is never a good idea, and when you do it on the same day needed for delivery… well you’ve instantly caused a huge delay in the edit have confidence in ones own skill!

Production + Post Production The day has come, shot list in one hand, camera in the other. Delivery time - 3:30pm. Ideally there would be some slower, static shots however running www.b4-business.com

around with a tripod and slider would hold things up tremendously; as a result I opted for the Shoulder rig allowing me to optimise creativity and flexibility with my shots and timeframe. Due to my commercial background and previous event filming I was feeling very confident. Everything was planned and set up to ensure the day went as smoothly as possible. I spent the first few hours of the day calmly going around ticking shots off. Every hour I’d come back to my pop up office. Many thanks to Aston and James for allowing me to use one of their work stations. This isn’t a plug, however I must say the adjustable sit/stand desk was wonderfully perfect, I may need to get one for my edit suite…

there wasn’t an overload in footage. To put it simply, this was one of the most calm and relaxing event shoots I have have had to do - bizarre!

To see the video, either use your mobile phone’s camera and the QR code above, or browse to: www.businessinoxford.com

This is where post production comes in. Another task that would usually allow us upwards of a week onwards to perfect. I had around 3 hours… However due to ones planning, and confidence I managed to casually ease my way through this otherwise tenuous process.

Overview Due to time and effort being put into pre-production, along with the creative limitations of the timeframe on the day I had to have full confidence in every shot taken. This meant the edit was quick and efficient as

 hello@frederickjewson.co.uk  frederickjewson  www.frederickjewson.co.uk



2018



BIO

OFFICIAL   P A C E R



 

BIO2018 on Wednesday 23rd May at The King’s Centre in Oxford was a massive hit with sponsors, exhibitors, speakers and delegates as Oxfordshire’s biggest networking day of the year took a giant leap forward. Read on for our recap of the day’s events and seminars. Written by Emma Davis, Matthew Wright, Ceri-Jane Hackling, and Claire Barry

Delegates were wowed by a mixture of speakers on topics ranging from artificial intelligence to virtual reality and inspirational speakers such as prize-winning CEO & international public speaker, Simon Biltcliffe, to awardwinning authors and incredible entrepreneurs. An assortment of fantastic interactive opportunities were available for delegates including speed networking with Carter Jonas, The Learning Playzone with a selection of engaging business games, OxLEP’s ‘Oxfordshire Business Voice’, Chapman Robinson & Moore’s full size F1 Simulator and our Live Well, Work Well Business Lounge provided by Aston & James. There really was something for everyone with over 900 registrations, 90 exhibitors and 55 presentations. The Cotswold Hall was a hive of activity involving G-Smatt’s media enabled event structure, Warpline’s live video studio and the CIS Tech Zone alongside the variety of business professionals exhibiting which created an incredible energy throughout the day. Our BIO2018 Product Partners were a great addition to the event providing samples and interactive articles to the variety of business professionals present in the exhibition hall. The day ended with a bang as delegates showed us what they’re made of by singing or ‘syncing’ in support of Sobell House for our Open Mic Challenge. Oxfordshire’s business community also took this opportunity to thank Bob Price, outgoing Leader of Oxford City Council, for his remarkable contribution to Oxford!

 www.businessinoxford.com

BIO founder and Event Producer, Richard Rosser, added: “BIO was a great success but that’s a reflection of the hard work put in by the sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, product partners, influencers etc….. not to mention the hours of preparation invested by my superb team at B4. The success of the event comes down to the fact that the Oxfordshire business community supports it and the excellent feedback we have received since the event gives us that extra motivation to make sure BIO2019 is even bigger, even better and even more useful to the fantastic businesses we have here in Oxfordshire. “We are very open to suggestions as to how you think we can make BIO2019 tick all of these boxes as every year we start with a blank sheet of paper and build the event from scratch. We look forward to engaging with you next year and thank you once again to everyone who supported us for BIO2018.” To see a recap of the day, the tribute video to Bob Price and our opening session video ‘Oxford & Oxfordshire – World Class & Connected’ visit the links below: Our tribute to Bob Price: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytc874YAtFk Oxford & Oxfordshire - World Class & Connected promo: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRGir4qCwds Freddie Jewson’s BIO2018 Show Reel: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ION_uAa4lK4



 

 

SEMINAR RECAP:

Attracting, Nuturing & Retaining Talent Haley Monks  Think Inspire Create

-- Augmented Intelligence – helps you do the work better/faster -- Autonomous Intelligence – does the work for you

“The Power of People: How employees drive profit and growth”

‘You’re all going to be made redundant and your partner is going to run off with a robot’. That’s a Daily Mail-type shock headline…but the reality is that in the next 5 years, if your business is not using AI to improve productivity and performance, it’s at serious risk.

“Think, Inspire & Create – helping businesses to improve their bottom line through their people” The session brings to life the key differentiators in operating practices of businesses that are in the top quartile in their industry. There is plenty of research that indicates that a business with highly engaged people correlates directly with increased business profit and we’ll talk about how you make that connection between your ultimate business purpose and your people, driving value throughout your business.  www.thinkinspireandcreate.co.uk Notes: The Power of People – engaged employees drive profit and growth…it’s a fact backed up by numerous surveys, but businesses still only pay lip service to this opportunity. Engagement = “the emotional commitment the employee has to its organisation and its goals”. Note, it’s not about providing a snooker table or a coffee machine… it’s about creating a mindful environment. For example, top-quartile engaged businesses are 21% more productive, 22% profitable, 41% less safety incidents, 65% less staff turnover than bottom quartile ones 3 steps to build engagement: -- Ask people what they want -- Redevelop your Mission, Purpose and a set of liveable values; e.g. SouthWestern airlines: Warrior Spirit, Servant’s Heart, Fun Loving Attitude, Safety & Reliability -- Get people involved in your communication & engagement plan – need to over-communicate, both physically and in all of your customer communication

Adrian Harvey  Elephants Don’t Forget

“Using Artificial intelligence (AI) to Nurture talent ” “It’s unreasonable to expect any employee to act on training they have received and failed to learn and return.” How our clients use our AI to improve knowledge, competency and performance of the employee base.  http://elephantsdontforget.com Notes: There are 3 types of AI: -- Assisted Intelligence – assists you in your work

What’s AI going to displace in your workplace? -- Tutor -- Tax preparer -- E.g. Legal profession in the USA is one of the greatest adopters of AI, allowing lawyers to undertake more profitable/interesting work.

Marc Marot  Crown Talent Group

“The woodwork squeaks and out come the freaks” “40 years of nurturing precious talent in the music space.” Experienced talent manager Marc Marot discusses the sensitivities surrounding the management of creative people. As the former president of Island Records and now as the chairman of a large management group, he’s worked with some of the UK’s most highly talented individuals over a 40 year period and knows just how fickle creativity can be. Sometimes the most sensitive individuals are also the most creative people in the arts, but the rules also apply to people in the workforce too.  www.crowntalentgroup.com Notes: Anecdote about a rock star who had a fantastic concert, then came back to a hotel reception lined with screaming girls…only these girls were not screaming for him but for Justin Bieber who happened to be staying in the same hotel – the lead signer was mortified and had an emotional breakdown. However, back in the UK, this artist locked himself away and, didn’t appear at all engaged…but managed to write one of the most iconic pieces of modern music of all time. The message: creative people are sensitive and very challenging…they need intervention to keep them on the right track. Chairman of Island Records had identified Marc from an early age as a future CEO…and put a group of mentors around him to help facilitate this, so by the age of 29 years old, he was ready to step up to lead the company. Message: any organisation can identify and empower these employees who will go onto become the next generation of business leaders.

To sign up for BIO2019, please see www.businessinoxford.com

 businessinox

#BIO2018



 

2018



BIO

OFFICIAL RECAP 



SEMINAR RECAP:

Trust and Leadership John Blakey  The Trusted Executive

of Beard, will explore whether trust is Oxford’s best kept secret and investigate the key drivers of this heightened level of trust.  www.beardconstruction.co.uk

“Nine leadership habits that inspire results, relationships and reputation”

Notes: Oxford is the hardest place to break into, but by far the most loyal once this is achieved .

“The importance of knowing why you do what you do, and being passionate about it.” This keynote will challenge participants to build a high trust culture in their business - one that delivers outstanding results, inspiring relationships and a positive brand reputation. Using a thought-provoking and practical approach, John will help leaders to develop transformational trust-building skills through the nine habits that lead to ability, integrity and benevolence.  http://johnblakey.co.uk Notes: Referenced importance of Simon Sinek’s work – start with why… attract people that believe what you believe as we need believers, engaging the head and the heart. Refused to be defined by being ‘too effing nice’ left corporate role to be a coach, need leaders that believe in trust, not trust in power – this is John Blakey’s ‘why’.

Oxford Community Foundation brings business giving together. Trust has a major part to play in Oxford due to the importance of a long term view, locally founded business, and strength of relationships. Competence is made up of knowledge, skill and attitude – competence leads to higher levels of trust - between contractor and client and contractor and suppliers. Repeat business is crucial, achieve this through acting with integrity and being proactive.

John Kennedy  Wildbore & Gibbons

“Brand Authenticity”

Passionate about trust in leadership, the importance of trust in business success, and the role of transparency.

“The landscape is changing, consumers now demand authenticity and transparency from the brands they buy from.”

Future is the triple bottom line – known as profit, people, plant or as John Blakey defines it results, resources and reputation.

Growing an authentic brand presence is essential for business success. What are the key characteristics of the most authentic brands and how can you and your business develop authentically for growth, profit and success?  www.crowntalentgroup.com

John’s research is on the habits of trust – 9 habits: -- Ability: deliver: coach, be consistent -- Integrity: open, humble, honest -- Benevolence: be brave, evangelize, be kind Trust has three components: trust = ability x integrity x benevolence

Mark Beard  Beard Construction

“Trust: Oxford’s Secret Weapon?”

Notes: -- Focus on Brand Authenticity -- This shift has been caused by the changes in technology, including millennials and Gen Z. -- Need to know what’s behind the great product and brand now. -- Consumers are seeking brands that share their values -- Need to communicate honestly both internally and externally -- Brand authenticity can predict – brand loyalty increases, purchase increase and brand advocates -- Crucial that a fan base is built

“Trust is an essential ingredient for successful projects.” Oxford is a great city, a world class city. Rightly famous for its Universities, celebrated alumni and inventions. But there is so much more to our city’s success...namely its people and the inherent trust they have in each other. Mark Beard, Chairman

 www.businessinoxford.com

To sign up for BIO2019, please see www.businessinoxford.com



 

SEMINAR RECAP:

Oxford Economic Development and Strategy Nigel Tipple  Oxfordshire LEP

“Oxfordshire: A Genuine Global Asset” “Q. How can UK plc capitalise on Oxfordshire’s genuine global assets? A. By exploiting its expertise in its tech cluster.” As well as having one of the strongest economies in the UK, Oxfordshire is globally-competitive across many key sectors – such as automotive, life sciences, space technologies and electronics and sensors. How can ‘UK PLC’ capitalise on Oxfordshire’s genuine global assets?  www.oxfordshirelep.com Notes: Oxfordshire has enjoyed a very significant growth trajectory, especially in population (+8%, 700,000, over the past 10 years) and jobs (almost 90,000 new jobs to be created by 2031). It will be a challenge to sustain this growth. 4 areas identified in which Oxfordshire can become a global leader: -- Digital health -- Space led data application -- Autonomous vehicles -- Quantum computing Identified as one of 3 Trailblazer areas in the UK, to enable Oxfordshire to compete on a global, not just national stage

Phil Southall  Oxford Bus Company

“Trust: Oxford’s Secret Weapon?” “A well-oiled machine that connects people to Oxford City… but getting to other places in Oxfordshire has proved more challenging.” As congestion grows and more demand management interventions become necessary, learn how Oxford Bus Company plan to evolve its services to support economic growth.  www.oxfordbus.co.uk Notes: 7th largest employer in Oxfordshire…but the demand management policies put in place by Oxford City are beginning to cause serious concerns for employers, so Oxford Bus Company has to present viable solutions going forwards. Pickmeup – 12 month pilot for a flexible local ‘street corner to street corner’ bus service with a flat £2.50 fare starting from 25th June 2018; you can request a pick up by an app and the bus will come to your nearest safe pick-up point. If there is enough regular demand, OBC can subsequently institute a regular bus service; e.g. at a certain time to a particular business park.

Two corporate booking options: -- Despatcher mode – invoiced post-journey -- Employee mode – employer who wishes to subsidise travel for employees

Matt Peachey  Oxford City Council

“Shaping Oxford’s Economic Future” “What is Oxford City’s role in an economic growth strategy for Oxfordshire?” We plan to outline some of the challenges and opportunities Oxford faces and explore what the priorities and interventions should be to maintain our position and ensure we are a business friendly city.  www.oxford.gov.uk Notes: A lot has changed in the past 5 years - competing globally but have to make local choices; e.g. Make Oxford a living wage city. How we are doing (versus 63 other UK cities): -- No.1 for spin-outs, private sector job growth BUT only no.41 for start ups -- GVA growth – 2nd only to Cambridge BUT GVA per worker below the UK average -- No. 3 Patents BUT exports per job no.16 -- No. 5 Employment rate BUT housing affordability no.63 5-year strategy to how to shape the business environment is underway and Oxford City Council would love to hear your views.

Vicky Hernandez Hedges Law



“Now is not the time to MEES around!” “As a landlord, review your portfolio and plan any works which might be necessary” Landlords of both residential and commercial property are now required to comply with the Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards before they can let their properties but do you know what you should be doing?  www.hedgeslaw.co.uk Notes: Minimum efficiency standards ‘EPC rating’ will affect almost all tenancies going forwards. Key EPC dates -- Grant or renew existing tenancy after 1 April 2018 -- Continue domestic tenancy 1 April 2020 -- Continue a non-domestic tenancy 1 April 2023 There are certain exemptions; e.g. If making the relevant energy improvements would cause the property value to fall by 5%.

 businessinox

#BIO2018



2018

Funding, Finance & Investment Emily Fitchett Fitch Brew Co.



“Crowdfunding and the Art of Being Human” “Crowdfunding and coffee.” In 2016 after a trip to the States, I quit my job at BrewDog and FITCH Brew Co was born. Fast forward 6 months and myself and my co-founder Andy took to Crowdfunding to raise the initial capital to launch the business. In Feb 2017 the pitch went live on Crowdcube and we managed to overfund and close the round raising £150,000 in a mere 29 incredible hours. We went on to launch the business in June 2017 and have had some amazing success but that hasn’t come without its challenges.  https://fitchbrewco.com Notes: Have a personality, be interesting and excited about your product. If you aren’t, why would anyone else. Make an epic, eye-catching video to engage with your potential investors. Have a solid business plan.

To sign up for BIO2019, please see www.businessinoxford.com

 www.businessinoxford.com

 



SEMINAR RECAP:



BIO

OFFICIAL RECAP  SEMINAR RECAP:

The Business of Media Jim White  The Telegraph

“What’s the Point of Newspapers?” “Although newspapers are now regarded as the ‘dead tree press’, there will be a mix of digital and physical copy in the future.” In the digital world, what does the future hold for what is disparagingly known as the wood pulp media? Will anyone buy a paper when the news comes free on their phones? And what lessons can other businesses draw from the prospects of what appears to be a dying industry?  www.telegraph.co.uk Notes: There has been a huge decline in hard copy newspaper sales; e.g. 19% decline year on year in newspapers sold…they call it the ‘dead tree press’. However, sales of all magazines are climbing; over 50% of the 516 consumer magazines published have seen growth; e.g. Private Eye now sells more copies than it has ever sold in its history. Plus, for advertisers, magazines remain a very targeted method of reaching a specific audience. We don’t quite trust the news published online…so we need somebody to edit and analyse it for us (the same principle applies to books v kindle) Where will newspapers fit in going forwards? They will become more and more precise, almost like a Private Members Club; e.g. The New York Times has become a rallying point for the cause of anti-Trump protestors



Tim Boswell  BBC Oxford



The flip side = The Pariah Principle…what happens when the media turns nasty? The bigger the gap between your promise and what you’re doing in practise, dictates the size of the pariah; e.g. Tesco everyday value beef burgers which were found to contain horsemeat



3 tenants of PR: -- People – endorsement -- Pictures – if a picture is worth 1,000 words, then a metaphor is worth 1,000 pictures; e.g. At the time Cameron was retreating to his idyllic Shepherd Hut, Theresa May was embattled with BREXIT negotiations. -- Purpose; e.g. For an Oxfordshire gin company, talks of bringing life back to the land



Notes: Stories managed by PR can have a transformational impact; e.g. news of David Cameron’s outdoor office - his ‘Shepherd Hut’ - went viral…. Web traffic rose from around 100 per day to 40,000 and now have a waiting list of 2 years



Joy founded, built and sold her leading PR consultancy Le Fevre Communications and has worked with businesses and their guardians, across most industry sectors, for over 25 years. In this session expect to understand how media can transform a business and in times of crisis can present a threat.  www.haiku.consulting



“When the media is onside, positive press = great reputation = enhanced sales. Great PR connects local business to national, or even global, coverage.”



“Media: Friend or Foe”



Joy Le Fevre  Haiku Consulting

Starting points -- Community radio stations (create 4 different podcasts for different communities across the country) -- Radio Oxford Residency – 2 X1 hour programmes per week to try out new presenters -- Investment in grassroots sport; e.g. Oxford Utd -- Local arts & entertainment focus Challenges 2018 -- See the world through Oxfordshire eyes -- Working with partners -- Reaching audiences in different ways

Hamish Law  Jack FM

“Radio: An advertiser’s invitation into personal space” “The 3rd wave of the internet - having moved from web to mobile, the next iteration will be voice-controlled radio” Modern broadcast radio is truly multiplatform – this offers a great opportunity for advertisers to reach their target market in ways that radio hasn’t been able to offer before. Hear how radio is always evolving and how advertisers can reach listeners in new ways.  www.jackfm.co.uk Notes: Radio is truly multiplatform and it’s growing – the digital share (DAB, online app, online tv) is up 8% pa since 2011, from 26% to over 50% in 2016. Radioplayer app is the digital home of commercial and noncommercial radio; 49% of the UK population have downloaded a radio app. Future of FM? Norway are now digital only, Switzerland are moving that way…the UK is still 50% FM though…

“Local is the new Global” “Local is the new global. It’s still alive and kicking, it’s not oldfashioned.” Tim Boswell, the Managing Editor of BBC Radio Oxford, explores the BBC’s fresh commitment to local radio, which will see the station extend its local broadcasting hours and forge pioneering new partnerships.  www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/oxford Notes: How digital drives local – gossip, community, what’s happening, items for sale, nostalgia, news, travel, weather, sport. Recently, the Director General (Tony Hall) publicly backed local radio, saying that he wanted it to: -- Celebrate local life -- Reflects local identity -- Nurture local talent -- Engage local audiences through digital platforms

 businessinox

#BIO2018



2018

 



SEMINAR RECAP:

Generation Z is here, are you ready? Marcus Taylor  Venture Harbour

Richard Byard  Oxfordshire LEP

“Growth on Autopilot: How to Systemise Your Business for Faster Growth & More Free Time”

“Transformative Technologies: Jobs for Generation Z”

“What would happen to my business if I went off grid for 8 weeks? As a consultancy, my business would die...which got me thinking whether I wanted to be tied to a business like this.” How do you have fewer meetings, business trips, and days working late while growing faster than ever? In this talk, Marcus shares how he grew one of the fastest-growing tech companies in the UK on autopilot. From running automated sales meetings to automatically remembering & ordering birthday gifts for employees, you’ll learn how to not only make your business survive but also thrive on autopilot.  www.ventureharbour.com Notes: Venture Harbour – builds one new venture a year, each of which should be able to grow and run autonomously = completely automated; Venture Harbour currently has 9 of these ventures, which have growth on average 300-500% pa. 4 -----



BIO

OFFICIAL RECAP 

techniques to achieved growth on Autopilot within 12-18m Survive – makes profit Thrive – find something that works = scale! Run on Autopilot – automate sales & product delivery Growth on Autopilot – automate business operations and systemise growth

99% of what you do can be: -- Eliminate – no phones in office, sit down meetings, PR, office space, email -- Automate -- Delegate How much are you worth? Take everything you do and estimate how much it would cost to delegate; e.g. Ordering printer paper £10/hour Keep a To-delegate list: responsibility and a deadline to delegate by; e.g. Build recruitment pipeline and interview candidates…by Q3

To sign up for BIO2019, please see www.businessinoxford.com

 www.businessinoxford.com

“The four transformative industries identified by the Science and Innovation Audit (SIA), could be worth £180bn to UK plc by 2030.” Many of the future careers for ‘Generation Z’ – supporting SIA development – are yet to be created. Therefore, a challenge has been set to work in partnership with our employers to create flexible and responsive skills, meeting the rapidly-changing needs of these key sectors.  www.oxfordshirelep.com Notes: Generation Z is defined as those born since 1995…also categorised as the Smartphone / App generation. Looking forwards 10-15 years, what might the opportunities be for Generation Z? Oxfordshire is already a global asset to the UK economy. Last year’s Science and Innovation Audit (SIA) predicted that Oxfordshire could become a leader in the following datadriven industries (i.e. those familiar to Generation Z) which it is estimated could be worth £180bn to UK plc by 2030: -- Digital health -- Space-led data applications -- Autonomous vehicles -- Technologies underpinning quantum computing Local & Industrial strategy – to provide the structure for growth for Generation Z

Tilly Rose  That Oxford Girl

“That Oxford Girl” “What started off as a gap in my CV, became a business for me.” I asked myself, what am I good at? Writing and, what do I know about? Oxford. I remember thinking how much I would have benefited from a free insight into student life and how much my journey had taught me about navigating the complex application process and overcoming barriers. So, ‘That Oxford Girl’ was born, providing a student perspective of the application process and life at Oxford University.  www.thatoxfordgirl.com



Notes: Millennials currently represent 35% of the workforce (by 2025: 75% estimated) – how does this impact your business: -- Change jobs every 3 years (will have 11 jobs by the time they’re 50) -- Businesses need to work smarter rather than harder; e.g. Offer flexitime -- Recognise performance and communicate openly; e.g. Move away from annual reviews to constant feedback/360 degree reviews -- Desire for self-improvement – Generation Z



We will look at the debate around millennials and generation Z in the workforce and their perception compared to previous generations, which is very important to businesses looking to adopt emerging technologies.  www.freeths.co.uk



“Our exposure to the world has made us curious, more engaged with social issues; E.g. Me Too / Plastic free campaigns.”



“New Perspectives”



Emma Roby  Freeths Solicitors



30 student ambassadors at universities who write posts for the blogs. Requests for advertising – started off. Now offer marketing consultancy and business development to brands in Oxford.



Notes: www.thatoxfordgirl.com ‘TOG’ – a free blog directed at prospective applicants about the process and life at the university, offering a unique insight into the student market. It is a free access resource to encourage young people from all backgrounds to apply to Oxford University.

Tiffany Ko  Oxford City Coluncil

“Next Gen Voices” “Vision 2050 includes the voices of Generation Z and of Oxford residents – it’s not just a static document, it’s a living one which will be referred back to for years.” Whilst most of Generation Z is still in the education system, some are beginning to enter young adulthood and the workplace. A range of children and young people of Generation Z helped Oxford City Council envisage what our city will look like in 2050 – when they will be in their 30’s and 40’s. What underpins and drives the hopes and aspirations for this generation for the city of Oxford will be the focus of this presentation.  www.oxford.gov.uk Notes: Build on Local Plan 2036 consultation Set a 2050 destination; e.g. When asking young students, they demanded a greener Oxford, a reduction in inequalities, a sustainable future for transport and connectivity. Engage a broad range of stakeholders to define common goals

To sign up for BIO2019, please see www.businessinoxford.com

Mantra for Generation Z: “If you look after your staff, they’ll look after your customer. It’s that simple” – Richard Branson

 businessinox

#BIO2018



 

2018



BIO

OFFICIAL   P A C RE



SEMINAR RECAP:

Opportunity & Engagement Patti McCarthy  Cultural Chemistry

both clients and professionals.  www.hedgeslaw.co.uk

“Work Smart by Improving Your Cultural Intelligence”

Notes: Traditional advice – provider-focused, many meetings, client has to repeat him/herself over and over again.

“Cultural intelligence ‘CQ’ = Emotional intelligence + cultural knowledge.” Better communication, higher employee engagement, more productive team meetings and greater overseas sales opportunities are just some of the benefits to be gained from growing your Cultural Quotient.  www.culturalchemistry.com.au Notes: CQ boosts product innovation: e.g. 200 varieties of KitKat sold in Japan / Seagrams gin flavoured with ginseng (for the Chinese market)…etc CQ boosts problem-solving CQ improves client relations – better rapport, new business pitches, expected client servicing; e.g. Dutch consultant in Bangladesh identified CFO as the problem...but he was the COO’s nephew so it was culturally inappropriate CQ builds customer engagement CQ gives you the pick of the talent pool; 92/100 companies increased revenues within 18 months

Carl Selby  Hedges Law

“Collaborating to Grow: Opportunities for Professionals”

Collaborative advice - client -focused – 1 meeting, professionals discuss quickly together , client given ‘solutions’

Diane Wilkinson  Connecting to Excellence

“How to Become a High Performing Team” “The ‘What’ v ‘How’ Iceberg Team model gives an insight into what lies beneath the surface of decisionmaking.” This is a highly interactive and fun session which looks at how leaders can inspire their team to achieve great results with compassion and discipline, and generate a ‘get up and go’ attitude within a team.  www.dianewilkinson.co.uk Notes: What v How Iceberg Team model: in the business example a top-performing Audi centre with excellent bottom line results (i.e WHAT) BUT people results told a different story; e.g. 49% staff turnover (blame culture was very evident), low staff morale (i.e. the HOW was suffering). Head of Business introduced clear guidelines for Friday senior business team leader meetings: max 1-hour, no mobile phones, no blame culture..etc. -- WHAT – Head of business introduced clear value and goals…. and the team began to step up -- HOW – when issues are encountered, were the team going to deal with conflict; e.g. What went well…what could be improved…etc

“Finding solutions fast and efficiently through a collaborative approach..”

Performance spin offs v People spin offs – resolved centre issues more quickly, on the table honesty about behaviour…etc

Have you ever been left frustrated by the way in which you have been given professional advice? Are you a professional who feels that you could better engage your clients? Carl Selby, Head of Business Services at Hedges Law, will explain the opportunities that a multi-disciplinary approach can bring for

Paulawww.businessinoxford.com Hargaden 

 www.businessinoxford.com

To sign up for BIO2019, please see



Have you really aligned reward and what you want your people to be doing? Aligning performance and pay can be extremely powerful and beneficial to your business. We will shed light on the vast approaches that enable employers to master reward and how it can drive engagement, productivity and improve your business.  www.grantthornton.co.uk



“Reward v engagement – make sure you align your business structures to your goals.”



“Reward & Engagement”





Grant Thornton

Closing Remarks from Simon Biltcliffe

“We operate a Marxist Capitalist Evolutionary Model… evolutionary not revolutionary, since revolutions tend to destroy a lot of value.” Simon Biltcliffe, the founder and MD of Webmart, started the business with just £10k of his own savings... its turnover now exceeds £30m a year. Webmart are focused on building trusting and cooperative relationships in the wonderful world of print marketing, whilst also having fun along the way! Notes: What they teach you at Harvard – suspend all pre-conceived ideas and open your mind to the oxymoron between Marxism and Capitalism; Marxism good at being happy with what you have & Capitalism good at making things.

Notes: Why is reward so important? If you get ‘rewards’ wrong, it is so powerful that it can derail everything else; e.g. Setting an absolute sales goal may undermine your culture, and other goals.

GDP was an arbitrary measure dreamt up by the US during the depression…so now, just like then, we’re now measuring the wrong things. -- 13% employees fully-engaged -- 37% workers think their jobs are meaningless

What is my legacy? What is important beyond money? This is where variable reward and engagement comes in…. -- Choose the right targets -- Communication and reinforcement -- Alignment with culture, strategy and purpose -- Anticipating unexpected behaviours; e.g. When a farmer paid workers to pick carrots by bag, he ended up getting a lot of mud and stones along with the carrots

The Global Index of Spending (hump shape) v Global Index of Happiness (u-shape) illustrate the False Truth of Capitalism we’re following the wrong kind of things to make us happy (e.g. GDP), and need to work out how to be happy with having ‘enough’ (interestingly, spending peaks at 48 years old and happiness thoughts at 49 years old)

 businessinox

#BIO2018



Why do we need to think differently about tomorrow? Freeths Solicitors commenced the first in a series of thought provoking roundtable dinners in the impressive Forte Room at Pembroke College. Guests enjoyed drinks on the college lawn in advance of a superb dinner, talk and Q&A with the equally impressive Tom Cheesewright. Writer & Photographer: Richard Rosser

Tom is the founder of applied futurism practice, Book of the Future and creator of the Applied Futurist’s Toolkit, a suite of strategy and storytelling tools for agile organisations. Through consulting, speaking and media work, Tom helps people to see, share and respond to a coherent vision of tomorrow. Clients range from charities and public sector organisations to FTSE100 enterprises and global technology corporations, They include BASF, BP, PZ Cussons, Kellogg’s, KPMG, LG, Nikon, Sony Pictures, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Tom followed a degree in Mechatronic Engineering with 14 years in the tech industry, working with global brands such as BT, EE and IBM, and subsequently founded a series of technologydriven companies. Most recently Tom co-founded venture-backed big data analytics start-up CANDDi (http://canddi.com). He acts as an advisor to a number of start-ups, including fast-growing Internet of Things platform, Republic of Things. Tom is a frequent presence on TV and radio, appearing across the BBC from the Breakfast sofa to Newsround and World Business Report, and as a regular contributor to 5live and Radio

4. He has shared his thoughts on the future with Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, Channel 5’s Saturday Show, Sky News, the Guardian, Evening Standard, Entrepreneur Magazine, Stuff and MSN. Here is a summary of Tom’s talk at the Freeths roundtable dinner: “How do you plan for the future? I don’t mean your annual budget. Too often this is just last year’s budget plus or minus a few percent here and there depending on your current level of optimism. I mean really think about the future for your business. Ask difficult questions. Will tomorrow be

www.b4-business.com

B4 events

like today? Will customers still want our products or services? Who might be tomorrow’s competitors?

“

How do you plan for the future? I don’t mean your annual budget. Too often this is just last year’s budget plus or minus a few percent here and there depending on your current level of optimism. Tom Cheesewright

”

“For many companies, future planning looks something like this: every five years or so, the senior management team goes away to a hotel nearby. A hotel that, just coincidentally, has a nice golf course attached. They dress down, spend half a day sticking post-it notes to walls and do some exercises in ‘team-building’ and ‘blue-sky thinking’. Some good ideas emerge. “Few of these ideas are ever implemented. Enthusiasm wanes through the fog of the inevitable post-golf drinking. Back in the office on Monday, the day-to-day pressures take time away from the job of implementing real change. This is how good companies die. They keep doing the same things while the world changes around them. One day they realise there are new competitors doing things differently and, more importantly, better. What customers want has changed, and those customers are moving on.

www.b4-business.com

“The rate at which this happens has increased. We are in an age of what I call ‘high frequency change’. The last century saw major global shifts: the advent of cheap cars, international flights, domestic automation. All of these reshaped our lives, cities, cultures, economies. This century is about endless waves of smaller changes, carried on a global network of communications technologies and international supply chains. Each of these changes may not be so dramatic as the move from horse and cart to car, but it may well be big enough to bring down a company or whole industry.

“

With technology impacting on how Oxfordshire companies operate and conduct business, locally and globally, we thought there could be no better way to get businesses together to discuss technology and the shape of things to come by asking Tom to lead a roundtable discussion.

beyond their immediate environment. We need to change the way we think about tomorrow. To understand that constant change is the only route to sustainable success now. That business, as usual, leads, ultimately – and increasingly quickly – to death.” The conversation around the table ranged from the impact of social media on the retail sector and beyond, skills shortages and the AI Revolution, an ageing population, the inevitable demise of Facebook and the frightening speed at which we are all taking on more information and developing. Fascinating if not a little scary, Tom Cheesewright certainly provided us all with a few points to consider and, more importantly, not forget.

Freeths will be hosting a breakfast seminar for business owners with Tom Cheesewright on Technology: The shape of things to come on Thursday 13th September. To register, please email seminars@freeths.co.uk

”

Leon Arnold, Partner and Head of Corporate, Freeths Solicitors

“This is why we see so many big names struggling on the high street and the stock market. We’re not set up for this age of high frequency change. Even the biggest global companies still have their equivalents of the five-yearly away day. A concentration of power that slows adaptation. A conservatism that blinkers people from the realities

 leon.arnold@freeths.co.uk  01865 781 202  www.freeths.co.uk

B4 events

What is Venturefest? B4 recently shot a video interview with Venturefest’s Lynn Shepherd to find out exactly what this event is all about and how you can get involved. See the full video interview at: www.youtube.com/b4businesstv

Hello, I am Lynn Shepherd, Executive Chair of Venturefest Oxford

What is Venturefest? Venturefest is an annual event that brings together innovators and entrepreneurs, young and established businesses, people who want to invest in new ideas and people with the skills and services to mentor and support them. They come to Venturefest to make new connections and re-new old connections, do business and really, meet likeminded people - and we always try to offer a stimulating and interesting programme that will enhance any visit to Venturefest.

Can you tell us about the next Venturefest event? The next Venturefest Oxford event will take place on Wednesday 12th September at our exciting new venue, Oxford Brookes University in Headington. Venturefest Oxford is 20 years old this year and we are celebrating by returning to our original mission of showcasing the county’s cutting edge technologies. We have chosen Space, Autonomous Vehicles and Robotics, Quantum Computing and Digital Health as the four sectors to focus on, and these you may be aware were the sectors selected for the recent Science and Innovation Audit. Each sector will host a morning session looking at the technologies involved, then in the afternoon, will explore the many applications they promise. Our closing panel will discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by these sectors, and we are looking forward to a lively debate. We are very excited about this, and are discovering that we are at the beginning of a technology revolution, and Oxfordshire is leading the way. The day will finish with The Oxford Trust’s Enterprise Award celebration, very fitting as it too celebrates innovation and enterprising new businesses.

Will you still offer the Pitching for Success competition and usual exhibitions?

that make up our enterprise economy. Our aim is to make the whole event as energetic and as interactive as possible.

There will be more focus on our Pitching for Success competition, this year sponsored by Penningtons Manches. It will not have any other sessions running in parallel to give everyone the chance to participate. Up to 20 young businesses will have the opportunity to pitch for funding, mentoring or skills and the winners will share a cash prize of £1,000 and other prizes in-kind. Our panel of judges will represent the local investor community and other specialists. Registration for Pitching for Success is through our website, venturefestoxford.com.

The university and its architects are rightly proud of their achievements, so much so that BSG Architects are offering free tours around the campus to show off the stunning building. The Oxford Bus Company is also again supporting us with free travel on the Park & Ride and Brookes buses, so everyone can attend in comfort and trouble-free.

We have a large and varied exhibition planned, plus an Innovation Showcase hosted by the Science & Technology Facilities Council. This will showcase all the exciting work going on at Harwell. The usual networking opportunities will also be on offer of course.

Are tickets on sale now? Tickets are on sale at an early bird rate of £20 until the end of June, then at £25. The price includes free entry to all the sessions, free bus travel to and from the venue and free lunch and refreshments. Just visit our website to buy the tickets and find more information on our programme, our partners and our exhibitors. I look forward to seeing you there.

Will there be any interesting exhibits? We are really pleased to have an Autonomous Vehicle on show, provide by RACE and Oxbotica at Culham, plus a racing car provided by Prodrive. Brookes University will also showcase the exciting work they are doing, including their own racing car. The Space sector will have demo satellite equipment on show, and you can be sure we have a few more surprises up our sleeve!

B4 OFFER Especially for readers of B4 Magazine, we are offering 20% off all tickets. Just use the code B4VF018 when you register on-line at: venturefestoxford.com

Can you say more about the new Oxford Brookes building? Oxford Brookes University have just opened the new Clerici building and upgraded many other parts of the campus. It offers us unparalleled opportunities to optimise the space and showcase the many innovations, new businesses and support services

 lynn.shepherd@venturefestoxford.com  www.venturefestoxford.com www.b4-business.com

B4 events

Estate and Letting agents from College and County, Breckon & Breckon, Scott Fraser and Nicholas Jones Residential all volunteered to fundraise at Cowley Road Carnival. Photograph by Jeff Slade.

Photograph by Stu Allsopp

Agents for the Community Oxford Estate and Letting Agents were out fundraising at the Cowley Road Carnival to help raise the £130k needed every year to cover costs. Written by: Sarah Airey Photography by: Jeff Slade, Koroush Khorshidfar, Lesley Murray & Stu Allsopp

Photograph by Lesley Murray

Sunday 1 July, Cowley Road Carnival Day, and twenty-two letting and sales agents spent the day challenged by Cowley Road Works (the charity which organises the event) to raise £20k through donations from the attending public. In five teams of four or five, they were charged with trying to persuade carnival-goers to part with “A £1 to keep Carnival around.” Mark Crampton-Smith, Director of College & County letting agents, spearheaded the initiative and is a Trustee of the charity. He said: “This is the first time we have had those with sales expertise to work the buckets on Carnival Day. We thought it would be a good opportunity for residents to see Estate and Letting agents contributing to Oxford’s best attended event.” Mark said: “Notably it was the local and independent agents who rose to the challenge. We had energetic teams from Breckon and Breckon, Scott Fraser and College and County who made up two teams.” The Carnival was a huge – baking hot - success. The culmination of year-long planning, around 700 people took part in the ½ mile long procession, hundreds of artists performed on 30 stages with an incredibly diverse mix of media for the entertainment of an estimated 50,000 revellers. This year, Cowley Road Works, together with local artists and partner charities successfully secured an Arts Council grant to develop inclusive access to arts and performance for differently abled groups. Nick Jones of Nicholas Jones Residential, with www.b4-business.com

Photograph by Jeff Slade.

Mini Plant apprentices with the Bullnose car they decorated for the procession. Photo by Koroush Khorshidfar

offices in Oxford and Cowley, was there with his team. He said: “We had a thoroughly good time at the Carnival. For us it is very important to bring the community together and for local agents to help support the Carnival and ensure it continues each year.”

Mark said: “It is a truly enjoyable way of meeting CSR targets and involving staff in volunteering with a local charity. It ticks all the boxes. Just one day of commitment is a great starting point for those dipping their toe in the CSR water, and the impact is huge. “

Sadly, the agents did not quite make the £20k target. Mark said: “Lots of people were stuffing notes including £20’s into the buckets, but if everyone who could afford it donated just £1 for their day packed full of activities, entertainment and fun, this would go a long way towards securing our annual costs.”

For example, John Lewis sponsored two volunteers. Paul Fisher works in customer service at the store. He thoroughly enjoyed the experience: “It is my first time at Carnival and there has been a great atmosphere. I am a convert. I will be back.”

Mark is positive: “We really appreciate the contribution made by the agents. We have learned a lot and we will get more people involved next year.” Breckon & Breckon will be back. Greg Barnes, MD (Letting & Management) said: “With around 50,000 people attending it made for a fantastic atmosphere and the procession was brilliant; people had obviously spent a huge amount of time preparing their costumes and choreography and it was great to see such community spirit. Our team of glitter covered volunteers attended for the first time this year to fundraise as part of the ‘Agents for the Community’ and we’ll certainly be back next year!” Planning for Carnival 2019 is already under way and outreach activities continue all year round. Cowley Road Works is looking for more local businesses to get involved. And there are many ways in which it can be done – as a sponsor, a partner, donation in kind or by volunteering.

If you would like to find out more about how to get involved with Cowley Road Carnival please contact Mark at College and County mark@ collegeandcounty.co.uk or Micaela Tuckwell (Executive Director of Cowley Road Works) on director@cowleyroadworks.org to explore the possibilities.

 www.cowleyroadworks.co.uk  www.cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk

ChristmasParty Menu

starters

desserts

Confit chicken and rabbit terrine with apple jelly and celeriac purée

White chocolate panna cotta with pomegranate jelly and seeds

Chargrilled pear and pickled walnut salad, Oxford Blue cheese, sourdough croutons and winter leaves (V)

Warm apple filo tart with mince pie ice cream and cinnamon crème anglaise

Roasted cauliflower and chestnut soup finished with saffron oil (V)

Smoked salmon and peppered goats’ cheese roulade, lemon pearls and endive

main courses

Roast bronze turkey breast filled with chestnut and apricot stuffing, wrapped in pancetta with turkey and cranberry jus

Traditional Christmas pudding with brandy sauce, hazelnut praline and flambéed clementine

Lemon and polenta sponge with Champagne sorbet and Chantilly cream

coffee

Freshly brewed coffee, tea, fruit infusions & mini mince pies

Slow cooked ‘Jacobs ladder’ of beef, creamed salsify, confit potato and charred tender stem Breast of goose, Pommes Anna, parsnip purée, crispy kale and a red wine jus Cider cured sea trout supreme with crushed potatoes and a samphire and mussel broth Orzo with roasted squash, Savoy cabbage and Portobello mushroom with aged balsamic (V)

www.o

xfordfi

01865 7nedining.co.uk 28240 enquirie s@oxfo rdfined inin g.co.uk

B4 services

ERGONOMICS If you are looking to save money and enhance the service levels you are currently receiving, then use the local choice, Aston and James. Written by: Darren Aston

FROM A SINGLE MOUSE MAT

We’ll assess your situation... For staff that are office based and use a screen to work, it’s the law to carry out a Display Screen Equipment (DSE) Assessment for every workstation. The regulations state that it’s necessary to carry out an assessment for each individual and to keep it up to date if any changes to the working environment have been made. It’s even applicable to those who work from home. We offer comprehensive and practical advice for local businesses who need assistance or are unsure where to start with an assessment, ensuring you’re compliant with all relevant legislation. During the DSE assessment, we analyse any risks to users, reduce hazards and advise solutions that should be put in place to help your employees improve their health & wellbeing in the workplace. We can also recommend any staff training required should gaps in knowledge be identified. A working environment has a huge impact on health and wellbeing and ultimately productivity..

Help you implement a healthier, happier workplace... We recognise the importance of employee comfort at work. Many of us spend almost all the working day sitting down, and we believe it’s too much time www.b4-business.com

TO A FULL DSE ASSESSMENT

to be in discomfort. Maintaining correct posture whilst working is paramount to avoid unnecessary pain and discomfort.

chair. A backrest and armrests will also help you to achieve the perfect sitting posture. Legs: Our thighs should be parallel to the floor.

We actively stock and promote a wide range of ergonomic office products to help maintain the correct posture and relieve tension, strain and pressure on muscles and joints. From specialist chairs with additional lumbar support, to arm rests, wrist supports and foot rests, our ergonomic products will help to prevent pain or discomfort so you can concentrate on your tasks without distraction.

Feet: Your feet should also be parallel to the floor, using a footrest if necessary. 18/24” (45-70cm)

We keep up to date with the latest design and innovative products on the market. You can rest assured that we offer you the best choice and the widest range of solutions for your workplace.

Achieving the perfect posture... Monitor: Adjust the distance and height of your monitor. The monitor should always be at eye level and slightly tilted backwards. Arms: Relax your shoulders and ensure your forearms are parallel to the floor with minimal bend in your wrists. Chair: You should be able to adjust the height of your

Everything for the Workplace

 sales@aston-james.co.uk  01993 706 900  www.aston-james.co.uk

B4 services

It’s simple, for “ every cartridge we collect and send away for recycling, we’ll donate the money received to SeeSaw, a fantastic local charity

”

Help The Environment & Raise Money For A Local Charity What do you do with your old cartridges? If you’re not currently involved in a collection or recycle scheme, why not consider Aston & James’s free ink and toner recycling service? You’ll help the environment and raise funds for local charity SeeSaw who offer vital grief support for young people and their families in Oxfordshire. Written by: Darren Aston

For every cartridge we collect and send away for recycling, we’ll donate the money received to SeeSaw, a fantastic local charity who offer grief support for children and young people in Oxfordshire. They have helped over 4,300 young people and families through the most difficult times and continue to do so through generous donations and fundraising efforts.

How are the cartridges recycled? With our ink and toner recycling service the components contained in a cartridge are almost entirely recycled, minimising the amount of waste contributing to landfill. Cartridges are complex pieces of equipment and are made up of mixed plastics and metals. The recycling process sees any remaining ink drained, the cartridge broken down and any parts that pass strict quality control re-used in new cartridges. The rest is shredded. Powerful magnets separate the different metals from the plastics, which are then washed thoroughly, melted, dried and tested for impurities. New plastic is formed, and anything not used in the remanufacture of new cartridge is sent away to make other products.

How you can help the environment By allowing us to simply collect your used or out of date cartridges, you can be sure we will send them for recycling. You’ll be preventing them being 82

dumped into landfill where they will continue to pollute the environment for years to come.

How we’ll help local charity SeeSaw It’s simple, for every cartridge we collect and send away for recycling, we’ll donate the money received to SeeSaw, a fantastic local charity. SeeSaw supports children and young people who are having difficulty coping with the death of a mum, dad, sister or brother. SeeSaw was established in 2000, and since that time has supported over 5000 children, young people and their families across the county. The charity’s aim is to give bereaved children in difficulty the support they need, so that they can move forward and face the future with hope. SeeSaw’s fast response support service is free of charge and includes tailored one-to-one support when a family member has died or is dying, telephone support for parents and carers, family activity days and a schools support service. SeeSaw is not government funded and relies on donations and fundraising through the local community, the corporate sector and charitable bodies in order keep its vital service going.

stationery, or • You can post them back for free • Any money we make from recycling cartridges is donated to SeeSaw • We will keep you up to date with all the funds raised By using our effortless recycling collection service, you’ll not only be saving the environment but supporting a great Oxfordshire cause in the process. If you have some old ink or toner cartridges lying around, why not arrange a collection today? Simple send your details to: customerservices@aston-james.co.uk to get the ball rolling. For more information on our range of eco solutions, please get in touch today.

How you can help SeeSaw

Everything for the Workplace

• We provide you with a collection box or envelopes • You fill the box or envelopes with your used ink cartridges and toners • We collect these items when we deliver your

 sales@aston-james.co.uk  01993 706 900  www.aston-james.co.uk

www.b4-business.com

B4 services

Oxford Cleantech A Sweeping Success

The company takes great pride in its cleaning methodology and tradition of regarding cleaning as a science. It values the importance of equipping staff with the right tools to get the job done efficiently, properly and safely. The dedication, professionalism, and commitment to hard work seen at OCT is the result of staff enjoying what they do. The end result is the work becoming better than good. “I do not expect anything less than perfection… I believe that we must take pride in what we do and do the job to the best of our ability.” Jose Gouveia

www.b4-business.com

that we must take pride in what we do and do the job to the best of our ability Jose Gouveia

Written by: Isabela Santana

Oxford Cleantech (OCT), a cleaning company founded in 2014 in Oxford City, has arguably become one of the fastest growing companies within this industry. The company provides a wide range of cleaning services for commercial, construction and industrial clients. OCT was built on a long list of clients who rely on its services on a regular basis.

I do not expect anything “ less than perfection… I believe

Jose Gouveia, OCT’s CEO strongly advocates the idea that in this business people must act with a strong sense of purpose and be passionate about what they do. After over 10 years of experience in the cleaning industry he decided that it was time to put is knowledge into practice. Mr Gouveia believes that this is the secret of his success, alongside selecting his staff carefully by choosing people who share the same passion, enthusiasm, and clinical attention to detail. Clients know they can rely on Mr Gouveia who regularly visits them to ensure service is running smoothly and that their expectations are being met. From offices and rental properties to post-building clean, absolutely nothing can be swept under the carpet! What distinguishes Oxford Cleantech from the myriad of cleaning companies in Oxford City is its focus on three key factors including high quality cleaning, consistency of service, quality customer service. OCT’s staffs are a reflection of its core values as

”

they are exceptionally professional, thorough and friendly. The company has the same people working together over a long period of time and as a result they get to know the needs of their clients better than anyone else. The cleaning team has an all-ornothing attitude that drives them to always ensure that the job is done properly. It is this ethos that guarantees that the company is able to outperform its competitors in all departments. To this day, OCT continues to grow from strength to strength and envisions becoming a major leader in the cleaning industry throughout the Oxfordshire region.

 info@oxfordct.co.uk  01865 596 105  www.oxfordct.co.uk

Business Accountancy and Tax

Personal Financial Services and Tax

Choose The MGroup for efficient and friendly advice Accounts Systems Implementation

Preparation to Buy or Sell

Oxford office 01865 552 925 Witney office 01993 776 476 team@themgroup.co.uk www.themgroup.co.uk

B4 marketing

GET CREATIVE WITH YOUR PRINT WITH FINE PRINT

With over 25 years’ experience in the printing industry, Oxfordshire based B2B printer Fine Print are passionate about print. From promotional leaflets, mailers and brochures to roller banners, POS and exhibition material, Fine Print combine exceptional customer service with the latest in printing technology to deliver exceptional results. Written by: Becky Mansfield Photography by: Suzy Harrison

From its impressive premises in Witney Fine Print offers litho, digital and graphic display printing as well as in-house design, web2print and fulfilment all under one roof. With an impressive portfolio of clients ranging from pharmaceutical companies to household brands, local businesses, hotels and tourist attractions, Dan Bakewell, Managing Director, is more than optimistic about the future of print, in fact he thinks there’s never been a more exciting time to bring brands to life…

Has Fine Print had to adapt to market changes over the years? Having been in business for 27 years we’ve encountered recessions, a shift towards digital marketing, print management companies as well as increased competition from web-based printers. The printing industry is competitive and many smaller printers have not survived, whilst many of the larger printers have diversified their services away from print and moved towards digital services. We’re fortunate to have emerged from all of this stronger; our approach is simple - we focus on quality printing, competitive prices and exceptional customer service. Our sales team are ‘advisors’ rather than out-and-out sales reps who get to know and understand our www.b4-business.com

customers’ needs, which enables us to respond to their individual needs and grow our business.

What’s your competitive advantage? Our willingness to embrace and invest in new technology has always been one of our unique selling points and is something which very much drives the business today. Our printing and cutting equipment offers the very latest in technology and capabilities. For example, for personalised print and short runs our digital press not only gives exceptional results but can also print raised and textured print, likewise for brochures, mailers and longer runs our UV light drying press gives impressive results on both coated and uncoated stocks, as well as the ability to print white ink. Our graphic display team boasts a Swiss Q flatbed printer that can print on any substrate and size, whilst our Zund flatbed cutter can cut at lightning speed to any shape, any size. This incredible combination enables us to competitively provide point-of-sale (POS) items, bespoke packaging as well as office branding and installations including wall graphics, vinyl lettering and window graphics. The design opportunities are endless and the results are stunning. The reality is

that printing technology is so advanced that if we can fit a material through the printer, we can print on it. There really are no limits to our capabilities and we always enjoy a challenge.

So you think print is here to stay? Absolutely and the recent GDPR has only strengthened this argument. Clever, beautiful print can make a lasting impression. Whether it’s a brochure, direct mailing piece, leaflets or promotional displays – having something tactile in front of you that you can see and touch just cannot be beaten. Electronic mail may well have had its day, but print is here to stay and we’re delighted to be part of it.

 hello@fineprint.co.uk  01993 777 450  www.fineprint.co.uk

FROM GOOD TO GREAT When I decided to set-up as an independent consultant in the early spring of 2009, I had no idea that my vision would become the successful, thriving business that it is today. Written by: Jonna Mundy

ness pla r first busi

2010 Ou

By the Summer of 2010 the consultancy was registered as a Limited company and I wrote my first 5 year business plan – setting out a vision of what I wanted to achieve. We took a trip down memory lane writing this article and dug out a few pictures (above) that show our first website, our wheel of services and our vision. We have come a long way since we’ve been established and have grown from strength to strength, yet our vision remains the same… Our 2020 vision has not lost sight of our sole purpose – to be of value and enable growth for Not for Profit and Small Medium Enterprises, through great ‘people focused’ solutions. Now, in 2018 the implementation of our 2nd Business Strategy is well under way. We have refreshed our colour palette and recreated our service lines to be branches of our ‘Tree of People Growth’ each branch with its own unique colour. 86

Our values and behaviours are embedded in all we do and this shows in the feedback we receive from the people we work with. “Trust, expertise, professionalism and genuine care are four words that come to mind when I think about You-HR… A keen and genuine aim to contribute to the wellbeing of the Oxfordshire Business community. Collaborating with and supporting individuals and businesses alike.” Wendy Ball, Head of Events, Ashmolean Museum

200

9 The

vision is crea of You HR ted

A huge part of our success over the last 2 years has been through our B4 membership and all the support we have received from the internal team and members – we really wouldn’t have got this far without them and we are truly grateful!

 www.youhracadmey.com

Our website has been refreshed to vibrantly set out how we stand out from any other HR Consultancy, as well as our business cards. When we launched our 2020 vision we also created our Marketing Strategy to support our business plans for growth… you may have seen our increased presence on social media or networking events?

 www.youhrconsultancy.co.uk www.b4-business.com

B4 hr

2020 Vision - You HR Consultancy aims to: Become known as the leading Human Resource (HR) and Organisational Development (OD) Consultancy in Oxfordshire. Delivering purposeful ‘best practice’ solutions in every client engagement. Demonstrating value through open and transparent measurable objectives that provide sustainable growth for Not for Profit (NfP’s) and Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) that share our passion for people and community development.

What Can We Do For You?

En ga g Yo ing ur & Pe Inv op ol le vin g

t es en m em am ac ogr l p r ut P O ort pp Su

ing be ell W

e lac kp ss or ne s W ell egie W rat St

Promoting a Positive Workplace Presence

ee oy e pl anc e Emssist amm A ogr Pr

R lH na tio

opment . Devel Org

Tra ns ac HR

Ev olv ing

Co me achin nto g & rin g

le & op Pe

People Managing your cess Policies & Pro

yo u

People Projects

hip t ers en ad pm es Le velo mm a De rogr P

Pe o fo ple r t Pl he an fut nin ur g e

People Change and Consultation

YouHR Academy

t ic nfl Co n e tio iv lu ct o fe es Ef R

We are actively looking at how we can support Not for Profit organisations, including generating funding to enable us to collaborate on specific HR projects with them. Or to simply offer Small Medium Enterprises to be their extended HR arm through our Retained HR service. Through this service we conduct an HR Audit that generates an annual prioritised plan of actions that we can focus on, with clear objectives that can measure our success in client growth and improved people management.

Tr ain & ing fa w cil or ita ks tio ho n ps

a. Google b. Uber c. John Lewis d. NHS

Organisa tiona l Ch Wo an ge rk pl ac

a. David Brent b. Michelle Obama c. The Hulk d. Richard Branson

We have redesigned our brochure to explain more about our four service lines and our postcards are generating real interest! We wanted to share with prospective clients how we can ease the pain that can be experienced when dealing with ‘people matters’ in the workplace. Each postcard (see boxes above) has a question and on the reverse a description of the services we offer.

What is the wellbeing culture like in your workplace?

Are you a leopard that can’t change your spots?

Re ta in ed

What would you do if your employee brought their dog into work?

Who would your employees say your management style is most like?

Our Business Strategy has also introduced a number of great partnerships, one of these being with breatheHR. A online cloud based HR system that can simplify your every day HR needs. We can assist our clients in implementing this system and the best part about it is that the system is free for our Charity clients!

You HR in partnership with breatheHR Employee self service is an easy function of the system to use and book annual leave, maintain their own employee record, appraisal, record training, 1:1’s, as well as performance and objective monitoring. Managers can authorise employee requests, such as annual leave, expenses, record their own information on appraisals and 1:1’s and also run reports on employee data that will enhance managment intelligence employee information.

www.b4-business.com

www.cisltd.com solutions@cisltd.com Making IT Work Smarter For Your Business

01367 700 555

Watch

Your IT while you sleep

Introducing our new

Extended Hours Support 08:00 am - 12:00 am

For more information visit: www.cisltd.com

B4 technology

L-R Gavin Jones, Jo Willett and Sean Smith at Harwell Innovation Centre

Planet IT wins major award and expands to new offices A friendship that began at an Oxford school when two 12 year olds, Gavin Jones and Sean Smith, embarked on a car washing service, has grown to see the duo become successful business partners and founders of Planet IT, a multimillion pound company that celebrates its 15th anniversary this year with an office move from Harwell Innovation Centre to premises at Milton Park in addition to beating 2,500 competitors to be crowned the Sophos Partner of the Year 2018. Written by: Kelly Lea PR

Planet IT first moved to Harwell Innovation Centre in 2005 where the company expanded five times during its tenure, taking office space ranging from 125 sq. ft. to 1,500 sq. ft. plus two satellite offices. With business thriving and boasting national clients such as The Royal Household, Museum of London, Royal College of Music & Drama and media giants Conde Nast (Vogue Magazine), the company graduates from Harwell Innovation Centre to secure a three year lease for a 2,700 sq. ft. office at 80F Park Drive, enabling Planet IT to expand by recruiting a further 14 technical engineers over the next 18 – 24 months. The company currently employs 34 people in Oxfordshire and 20 people in Barnstaple, Devon. Gavin Jones, Co-founder and Managing Director of Planet IT, said: “We have been on a crazy journey and are now looking forward to growing our Oxfordshire client base and team, but we can’t thank Harwell Innovation Centre enough for the support they have provided us since we took a two-man office 13 years ago. It was quite a daunting prospect when first starting out, but the centre team and being surrounded by like-minded companies made it feel less of a risk. We have benefitted hugely from the centre’s flexibility over the years, being able to expand significantly and no less than five times, without costly overheads and upheaval to the business.” Harwell Innovation Centre is managed by Oxford Innovation, a leading operator of innovation centres with 24 across the UK. The company’s Managing Director, Jo Willett, helped to establish the centre and has been on hand to help Planet IT blossom into the company it is today, in line with her own career progression. www.b4-business.com

Jo Willett, Managing Director, Oxford Innovation, said: “Gavin and Sean have achieved notable success with high profile clients and have experienced significant business growth. It has been a pleasure to support Planet IT’s journey, which proves what can be achieved from personal drive and ambition combined with a great team and business support. We look forward to hearing about their continued success.”

thank Jo Willett and Harwell Innovation Centre’s reception teams who have always gone above and beyond to support our business. For anybody thinking of taking the leap to lease office space, an innovation centre can really help to nurture your business, promote collaborations and provide a friendly front of house team for any visiting clients, not to mention flexibility in terms of expanding and hiring meeting room space.”

Planet IT offers consultancy services, project management and operates as a managed service provider (MSP) as well as reseller. The company provides an IT services and support team for over 150 companies nationally as well as 60 businesses in Oxfordshire including Oxford Space Systems, Slade Legal and Oxford Pharmagenisis, plus, has sold hardware and software to 2,000 clients across the UK, US and Europe since 2003.

To find out more about Planet IT’s business journey, community work to encourage more girls to opt for a career in IT or for help with IT services, visit: planet-it.net.

Gavin Jones said: “Our journey hasn’t always been plain sailing. We saw constant growth throughout the early years and recession, before hitting a sticky period lasting about three years. Since then, we’ve changed our approach and have really turned things round, progressing from being a reseller to becoming fully immersed in projects combined with investment in our talented team to ensure we provide clients with immediate access to knowledge and expertise they may not possess in-house.” Following a change in strategy, Planet IT’s turnover jumped from £3.5million in 2015 to £5million in 2016 and £7million in 2017. The first quarter of 2018 looks set to make its 15th year in business a record breaking year.

Harwell Innovation Centre is located at the prestigious Harwell Campus, South Oxfordshire, a UK Enterprise Zone and in the heart of Science Vale UK. The centre has business facilities and a commercial infrastructure to support over 60 companies, from single entrepreneurs to expanding businesses. Find out more at www.harwell-ic.co.uk

   

info.centres@oxin.co.uk 01865 261 489 www.oxin-centres.co.uk @oxinnovation

Gavin Jones concluded: “I would like to personally 89

B4 technology

WE LIVE AND BREATHE CYBER SECURITY

As Cyber Security specialists, CQR ensures your business, your people, your information and your technology are protected and empowered

Making the world a safer place 10 years ago a group of cyber security professionals working for multinational corporations could no longer ignore that these companies were operating for their bottom line first, putting the needs of their clients last. CQR saw the need for a totally independent company, one whose values and advice was always about the client. We are now a worldclass, award winning and proudly independent provider of cyber security services, operating globally from our UK, US and Australian offices. Since day one, our people have been our greatest asset. We are all of one mind; smart, highly qualified and passionate. We live and breathe cyber security. Our specialists are the best in the business, with pragmatic minds that produce top quality opinions and strategies, and always lead the way towards great outcomes. www.b4-business.com

Our passion is continually fuelled as we keep ahead of rapidly evolving targets and ever changing landscapes to identify, manage, and lower the risks of our clients, not just so their businesses and people will survive, but so they can thrive.

Our commitment to our clients Being independent we’re not tied to any vendors or products and are free to find the best solution for our clients’ needs and budgets, tailoring our services and implementation for each project. “CQR defends your organisation against cyber attacks and risks by safeguarding your networks, data and devices” We pride ourselves on forging long-term partnerships that benefit our clients. It’s why we started our company. So we work as a team to ensure our clients are protected, giving them the confidence to get on with running their organisation and leveraging information technology to its greatest potential.

“CQR develops strategy, planning, policies and processes to align with your business needs and industry standards” CQR has the rare combination of technical expertise and business acumen, as well as handson experience of business issues across a broad range of industries and technical environments. We proudly deliver our services from a businessfocused point of view and can communicate easily and effectively with all levels of an organisation. How can we help you manage your business and technical risks? Please contact us at

 enquiries@cqr.com  01993 812 835  www.cqr.com

Employee volunteering: Oxfordshire leads the way with best practice Employee volunteering provides significant benefits to businesses and employees, as well as having a significant impact on charities and at the heart of local communities. Some of the professional skills employers and staff might take for granted are priceless to charities and community organisations – according to the NCVO almanac, the value of volunteering is estimated at £22.6bn per year. Written by: Kate Parrinder, Oxfordshire Community Foundation

The Reciprocate volunteering symposium on 10th April

William Downing of Blake Morgan

In April over 100 people took part in Reciprocate’s volunteering symposium at the Sultan Nazrin Shah Centre to understand more about how businesses can support the community by sharing time, talent and skills – and boost staff leadership potential at the same time.

which included chairing a homeless charity, being a trustee for a local advice centre, and being involved with a charity that supports children with their mental health.

Sponsored by the Beard Charitable Foundation, the symposium was a chance to bring together local businesspeople to demonstrate the huge range of ways they can volunteer – from occasional help at a charity event, to becoming a trustee for a community organisation. Delegates learnt that sharing their time and skills was of mutual benefit – not just to community and charitable organisations, but also to employees in terms of their personal and career development. Beard’s Chairman Mark Beard said: “My personal experience is that there comes a time in life when leadership training courses and the like deliver an ever-diminishing return, and the best way to learn is to get out there and gain a variety of different personal experiences.” Speakers from Handelsbanken, Landsec and Blake Morgan all told of the personal flourishing they had experienced thanks to volunteer roles on boards, 92

Grant Hayward demonstrates the best-practice handbook

“

Volunteering is also beneficial to your business – I have learnt management and communication skills that I couldn’t have picked up from a training course. Businesses should allow time for people to commit.

”

William Downing, Partner at Blake Morgan

“It’s taken me completely out of my day job and opened my eyes to the complexity of the problems,” commented William Downing, a senior lawyer who has been a trustee of Homeless Oxfordshire for eight years. “Volunteering is also beneficial to your business – I have learnt management and

communication skills that I couldn’t have picked up from a training course. Businesses should allow time for people to commit.” Reciprocate Chair Richard Venables commented: “One of the interesting things to come out of this event was the need for corporates to look at this as a journey that might start with small steps. Rather than reaching for the telescope to look for opportunities, they need to look with a microscope at their immediate environment and how they can make an immediate impact on their local community.” To help businesses do this, Reciprocate has published a Best Practice Handbook on employee volunteering. This provides step-by-step guidance on how to set up a volunteering programme, and where to go to find further support. It gives an overview of the different types of volunteering, covering skills sharing, befriending, governance support, fundraising, and task-based group volunteering. Since the symposium, Reciprocate member business Chapman Robinson and Moore (CRM) has developed a new volunteering policy that they hope will support staff to make a meaningful difference to their local community. CRM will give employees three hours each month to volunteer www.b4-business.com

B4 csr

Bicester Village staff volunteering as befrienders

Mike Foster with Susan Ledgard-Hoile from OxLEP at the symposium

Miranda Markham with Jayne Woodley from Oxfordshire Community Foundation

Children taking part in ARCh’s volunteer reading scheme

– time to prepare for and attend regular meetings, for example. This also equates to a very generous nearly five days per year. CRM’s Commercial Director Mike Foster says: “The event helped us see a new angle on employee volunteering: the fact that sharing professional skills with charities is a fantastic way for staff to gain unique personal and professional development. This fits really well with the firm’s shift in strategy, from supplying purely compliance-based services to our clients, to helping them with overall business improvement. “If our staff can help charities become better managed, adopt improved strategies and boost their business model, this has a genuine mutual benefit. It will mean charities can become more effective in addressing social problems, and at the same time our staff can develop skills and experience that they can bring back to the workplace.”

speed-dating event have used their skills to mentor young people, assist the work of the local food bank, spend time as reading assistants in schools and provide advice on retail, visual design, premises

The event helped “ us see a new angle on employee volunteering: the fact that sharing professional skills with charities is a fantastic way for staff to gain unique personal and professional development.

”

Mike Foster - Commercial Director - Chapman Robinson & Moore

Fellow Reciprocate member Bicester Village introduced a structured volunteering programme in 2013, starting with a ‘speed-dating’ event, where ten different charities tackling a variety of causes were invited to meet the company’s staff. Employees are given paid time off to volunteer, and since the www.b4-business.com

Hunts recognises volunteers at the OCVA Awards

or organisational strategy. This is in addition to the more ‘conventional’ types of volunteering, such as stewarding events and fundraising.

Miranda Markham, Community Relations Director, at Bicester Village, says: “It’s very difficult to do something meaningful for the community and for staff if you just think of volunteering as a oneoff, group activity. We prefer to match staff with opportunities that fit with their passions, and enable them to support charities over the longer term.” You can download the Reciprocate Best-Practice Handbook on Employee Volunteering on the Reciprocate website: reciprocateox.org/resource-bank.

 reciprocate@oxfordshire.org  01865 798 666  www.reciprocateox.org Reciprocate is hosted by Oxfordshire Community Foundation

grow your business At Alberon we’re all about helping you do what you do even better. We work with you to design and deliver a website or bespoke software that makes your organisation more effective. Our technology is designed to work for you, and we’ll be on hand to ensure you continue to get the best results. For more than 10 years, we’ve been making businesses, schools and charities in Oxfordshire more efficient and profitable. We can do the same for you. Call 01865 794009 or email grow@alberon.co.uk

the software and web solution specialists

www.alberon.co.uk

CUMBERLAND LODGE

B4 venues

NO ORDINARY CONFERENCE VENUE No ordinary conference venue, this historic former royal residence stands apart as a venue for meetings, retreats, away days, professional development courses, even weddings and other private events. It combines the friendly, welcoming atmosphere of an English country house with all the facilities expected of a modern conference centre. Cumberland Lodge is an educational foundation and residential conference centre, majestically situated in the heart of Windsor Great Park. Steeped in the nation’s history, it is noted for its relaxed atmosphere, excellent food, impressive facilities and exceptional quality of service. A truly distinctive venue in a perfect setting. Written by: Dr Daren Bowyer

Photography by: Cumberland Lodge

The Lodge’s seclusion, “comfort and elegance

creates an environment that stimulates thought and inspires the imagination.

”

Since 1947 Cumberland Lodge has been home to an educational foundation with Royal Patronage. It has developed close links with universities across the UK, and other higher education institutions such as the Inns of Court. Each year some 3,000 students visit us for study retreats, mainly at weekends. As well as being intellectually stimulating, these retreats allow students to interact with each other in ways not always possible in their institutions. While here, students, staff and visiting speakers are able to enjoy the Lodge’s exceptional hospitality and facilities and explore its beautiful surroundings. Situated in a secluded setting at the heart of Windsor Great Park, Cumberland Lodge was built by one of Cromwell’s officers but was to become a Royal Residence – home for more than 50 years to one of Queen Victoria’s daughters, Princess Helena. It has also seen other notable residents such as John and Sarah Churchill, first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, who were far fonder of it than they were of Blenheim Palace; and William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland who gave it its current name. Our educational activities include a well-established programme of conferences and lectures on important contemporary social and religious issues aimed at www.b4-business.com

tackling division and promoting social cohesion. Drawing together leading academics and people prominent in public life as well as students, the Cumberland Lodge Programme provides a forum for cross-disciplinary discussion on key issues facing society. But we are also open to business! It could be your home for a day or two (or more!) As well as its Victorian country house ambience, elegant public rooms and individually styled bedrooms, it is equipped with everything needed for a modern conference, seminar or business meeting. Perfect for a board away day in the beautiful Amy Buller Library (formerly Princess Helena’s bedroom) perhaps? With first class meals prepared by our experienced and talented kitchen team, you could enjoy an overnight stay of comfort and style and a regenerative early morning walk in the stunning Great Park before breakfast. Together, the main Lodge and our Mews conference centre offer nearly 50 en-suite twin/double bedrooms Our ‘Groom’s House’, adjacent to the Mews and part of the original 1650s buildings, is available either as additional bedroom and meeting space or as stand-alone accommodation of 7 twin/ double en-suite bedrooms, 4 meeting rooms and

a fully equipped kitchen. The Mews offers a range of flexible meeting, lecture and seminar spaces, from the well-equipped Flitcroft Room, capable of seating 100, to smaller more intimate break-out spaces and with the quality AV equipment you would expect of any quality conference venue. Whether for our charitable and educational purposes, or by commercial and business groups, the Lodge’s seclusion, comfort and elegance creates an environment that stimulates thought and inspires the imagination. To check availability or arrange a visit, please contact Matthew Hancock.

 enquiries@cumberlandlodge.ac.uk  01784 497 780  www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk

Create a strong team with a team building event... Strong organizations rely on strong teams to succeed. One great way to build teams is through a team building day. With our stunning golf course setting and extensive conference facilities, we can offer a memorable and productive day for you and your team. Why not combine a half day meeting with a team building round of golf, or a practice session on the indoor simulator in our new performance centre? Not golfers? We can also tailor a get into golf tuition session for you all to enjoy.

FRILFORD HEATH GOLF CLUB Frilford Heath I Abingdon I Oxon I OX13 5NW 01865 390864 www.frilfordheath.co.uk events@frilfordheath.co.uk

For more information visit our website, email: events@frilfordheath.co.uk or call 01865 390864

B4 venues Paul Middleton, Technical Services Manager, tries out the electric charge points installed at Howbery Business Park

Meeting rooms in the historic Manor House

RUNNING ON SOLAR AT HOWBERY PARK Written by: Susan Bouffler Photography by: Craig Herron and Imageworks

Howbery Business Park has installed electric vehicle charging points which use the Polar network of over 6,500 charge points nationwide. The new charge points, which are designed for use by the park’s businesses and employees, use onsite electricity, of which around 25% per year is generated by the adjacent solar farm. Howbery Park was the UK’s first solar business park, with 3,000 ground-mounted solar panels connected to the National Grid. In May, almost 42% of the park’s electricity was generated by the solar farm. In fact, for several days in May, the park was running completely on solar-generated electricity. Donna Bowles, Estates Manager for Howbery Business Park, said: “We are always really thrilled when the park is grid-free, and it’s good for users of our electric vehicle charge points to know that on some sunny days during the summer, for example, their charge could be 100% solar-powered!” Howbery Park has put sustainability at the heart of its development plans. It already boasts two flagship buildings, Kestrel House and Red Kite House, which are both BREEAM excellent rated, and have environmentally-friendly features, such as the use of bore hole water to provide natural air conditioning. Donna added: “Thinking about the environment is central to everything we do at Howbery Park. We’ve achieved zero waste to landfill, recycle 100% of our

www.b4-business.com

wood waste and last summer, as part of our ongoing carbon saving and plant replacement programme, we introduced more efficient localised boilers which reduced our CO2 emissions by 50%, as well as reducing the park’s operating and maintenance costs.

We’re committed to “ developing the park in a way

that creates surroundings that are unique to office space in Oxfordshire and that our tenants enjoy working in, while preserving the park’s unique landscape . Everything we build has to be sustainable for tomorrow

”

Set in 70 acres, close to Wallingford in South Oxfordshire, Howbery Park, which won Business Park of the Year in the Thames Valley Property Awards in 2017, is currently home to over 50 different companies and organisations. The park also provides meeting rooms in its historic Manor House, as well as in a separate contemporary conference centre. The park has planning consent to develop a further 74,000 sq ft (6,875 sq m), and site owner, HR Wallingford, is keen to attract businesses and organisations, both commercial and academic, who have a focus on resilience, including water, infrastructure, cyber-security, or environmental hazards.

Howbery Park was the UK’s first solar business park, with 3,000 groundmounted solar panels connected to the National Grid.

“We’re committed to developing the park in a way that creates surroundings that are unique to office space in Oxfordshire and that our tenants enjoy working in, while preserving the park’s unique landscape . Everything we build has to be sustainable for tomorrow.” Howbery has invested in its green spaces, making the most of its mature parkland and riverside setting. In recent years, the park has developed diverse habitats in its grounds, established two new bee colonies, and has created award-winning allotments for use by the park community. Donna continued: “While we’re very proud of what we’ve achieved so far, we are always looking at additional ways to conserve and enhance the park and its wildlife. We have recently started work with our grounds maintenance company, Nurture Landscapes, on a new Biodiversity Action Plan to help guide our next steps.”

 info@howberypark.com  01491 822 411  www.howberypark.com

B4 venues

UK’s First Virtual Meeting Space from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford Saïd Business School has opened its doors to a state-of-the-art classroom that blends the virtual reach with real engagement. Named the Oxford Hub for International Virtual Education (HIVE), the space employs cutting-edge technology and is centered around a high-definition video wall. It is the first of its kind in the UK and only the second installation in the world. Words by: Verity Donovan / Dominik Lukes Photography by: Dominik Lukes

This virtual classroom enables presenters to engage with up to 84 delegates at one time in the same way they do in a physical lecture or class room, with delegates raising hands and asking questions. The delegates’ video feeds displayed on the wall allow the presenter to calibrate their delivery to the attentiveness and levels of engagement based on the visual cues from their audience. The presenter can also address the delegates individually, split them into break out groups and conduct real time polls and surveys with delegates who are able to see, hear and interact with content and one another. Consisting of 27 x 55” high definition screens in U shape seminar room, the technology is far more sophisticated and feature rich than a traditional video conferencing platform in using robotics, facial recognition technology and high definition projections to create a uniquely immersive learning and teaching experience. This is supported and enhanced by the latest camera technology that can track a presenter around the room and transmit high resolution video. ‘This is an exciting development for our School’s digital agenda’, said Mark Bramwell, Chief Information Officer. ‘The Oxford HIVE will be employed for a variety of uses -from classes to ‘Dragon’s Den’ style pitching competitions.’.

What can you use the Oxford HIVE for? The Oxford HIVE is an ideal platform to deliver training to a global audience while maintaining close contact with the speakers, facilitators and their attendees. Instead of having many delegates travel a great distance, only the presenter has to make the journey to Oxford to connect with them as if they were in the same room.

launches. It makes it possible for the presenters to be truly engaged by a small audience and share their enthusiasm with the public. For smaller groups it is possible to configure the HIVE for groups of up to 21 or 42 attendees with one or two attendees per screen, making it ideal for interactions with boards and small working groups. The presenter does not have to learn anything about the virtual technology. They just interact with the delegates as they would in a real classroom / conference room, only with a few digital enhancements. The participants also have an extremely low barrier to entry with just a few basic control elements to interact remotely with the presenter by speaking, raising hands, writing questions, or participating in polls. The HIVE’s robotics, facial recognition and real-time video communication tools create an immersive learning and teaching experience that will revolutionise the way meetings and events are held in the future.

Benefits so far… • The facility has made an estimated saving of 40m tonnes of carbon emissions through reduced delegate air travel • Around £50,000 in travel time and costs. • Will transform global sales meetings, calls, business development, training and client engagement Interested in using this brand new technology? Quote B418 to take advantage of an introductory discount.

This leads to cost savings as well as reducing the environmental impact of organising events. The Oxford HIVE is also great at presenting pitches or case studies to boards and panels giving more flexibility to all involved. The facility can also be used to stream presentations given in an intimate setting to a large global audience. This makes it great for things like project or book www.b4-business.com

 conference@sbs.ox.ac.uk  01865 288 846  www.sbs.ox.ac.uk

Secure Cloud Solutions for scalable growth

Protect your business from malicious threats

Keep your business connected to the world

Reduce the cost of your support department

Ensure you are GDPR compliant

B4 venues

LOOKING FOR A FABULOUS DINNER VENUE TO IMPRESS? LOOK NO FURTHER THAN THE SHELDONIAN THEATRE…. Many people who live in Oxford may be familiar with the Sheldonian Theatre but not many may know we have launched three new exciting dining concepts designed to give guests an unforgettable experience in spectacular surroundings. Written by: Kay Miles Photography by: plasticgoldfish.co.uk

The Venue Situated in the heart of Oxford’s city centre on Broad Street, the Sheldonian Theatre is the University of Oxford’s ceremonial hall. A Grade I listed building, it was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and completed in 1669. Described as one of the architectural jewels in Oxford’s crown, it continues to be used today for many ceremonial events such as graduation ceremonies, meetings of the University’s parliament and Encaenia – the ceremony where the University awards honorary degrees to distinguished men and woman and commemorates its benefactors. At the same time the Theatre also provides a memorable setting for a variety of events including dinners, drinks receptions, award ceremonies, talks, presentations and day meetings.

chef about the inspiration for the food and where it comes from.

The Dining Range

Choose from a range of sumptuous starters like our goat’s cheese mousse in a beetroot powder, compressed melon, candied beet crisps, spiced apple puree – or for meat lovers, why not try smoked pressed duck confit, butternut puree, crumbed quails egg, sweet pea tendrils? Main course options include braised pork belly in apple cider with crackling crumb, fondant potatoes and heritage baby carrots. Meanwhile vegetarians can sample our sage and nut brown butter gnocchi, broccoli pesto, smoked aubergine and charred peppers herb salad. To finish, why not indulge in a tantalising dessert – perhaps a dark chocolate cremeux with baby raspberry meringue, vanilla seed sauce, chocolate soil and raspberries? All our menus can be easily adapted for vegans and those who need gluten-free options.

Recently launched, we are providing a choice of three dining experiences ideal for corporate dinners from 30 -100 guests. These include a standing or seated buffet dinner, three course fine dining seated dinners and a sophisticated street food dining concept. Guests who choose the seated dinner option can also opt for a ‘Live Theatre’ experience where they are treated to an open kitchen in the theatre. Guests watch chefs craft their dish only meters away before it’s devoured and have the chance to talk to the

Probably the best indoor panoramic view of Oxford A pre-dinner drinks reception can be held in the attic area. A cosy and intimate space that provides a welcoming feel, guests can learn about the buildings fascinating history through our colourful display boards and historical talks. But the real ‘wow’ factor comes from the view from the Cupola at the very top of the building. Protected from the elements, your guests can enjoy one of the best indoor panoramic views across Oxford’s famous dreaming spires skyline

www.b4-business.com

– a real photo opportunity for locals and visitors alike.

Our Other Venues If you regularly organise events and are looking for a variety of different dinner venues then why not consider some of our other historical venues such as the Examination Schools and St Luke’s Chapel? The Examination Schools provides an ideal setting for large dinners of up to 330 guests and St Luke’s is a great cosy venue with space for smaller dinners, from 20 to 60 guests. To find out more about hiring the Sheldonian Theatre or any of our other venues, please get in touch.

   

venueenquiries@admin.ox.ac.uk 01865 276 905 www.venues.ox.ac.uk @OxUniVenues

101

Join the 40 Club and Support Sobell House Sobell House cares for people at the end of their lives and supports their families, friends and carers. They have been doing this throughout Oxfordshire for over 40 years. Everyday their incredible staff care for around 150 people in the Hospice, the Community and in the hospitals of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (OUH).

40 Club members Solid State Logic at our recent Golf day at Studley Wood. Photo by The Plastic Goldfish Company.

Over the past few years Sobell House has formed an increasingly positive relationship with the Oxfordshire business community. Many local businesses have developed fantastic partnerships with the hospice and one way of doing this is by joining their 40 Club.

The Sobell House 40 Club The 40 Club was started in 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sobell House. It’s a great way for Oxfordshire companies to get involved with Sobell House and put caring with compassion and dignity at the heart of their Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. The 40 Club can benefit businesses in a number of ways: Build team spirit by incorporating charitable giving into an organisation. It’s a fantastic opportunity to

102

We focus on quality “of life, respecting each person’s dignity and uniqueness. Our aim is to support people in living as well and as fully as possible in the time they have left. Sobell House is a very special place

”

Tim Wraith Corporate Partnerships Manager

engage staff whilst doing something wonderful for your local hospice. Access a large audience by reaching into the local community and be seen by over 70,000 annual visitors to the Sobell House website Promote staff involvement and raise profile. Membership of the 40 Club gives local businesses a wonderful opportunity to show their customers how they support local good causes Changing lives. Through supporting your local hospice businesses will be making a huge difference to the Oxfordshire community, helping Sobell House to care and support around 3,000 people every year Members of the 40 Club commit to raising a minimum of £10,000 over four years and most far exceed this There are now 17 members making a huge positive difference.

www.b4-business.com

news 40 Club member Spotlight:

Beard Beard based here in Oxford has been a member of the 40 Club since 2016 and over that time have raised over £25,000! Sobell House has formed a fantastic partnership with them and they have raised money in a variety of ways including a swim, a half marathon and a jailbreak. Fifteen members of staff recently climbed the Three Peaks of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours, all in aid of Sobell House. Whilst doing this they raised an incredible grand total of £8,405 which exceeded their fundraising target by over six thousand pounds! The entire team of 15 completed the challenge, some with two hours to spare and others with two minutes!! of our team and what we achieved.” Edward Nolan, Beard estimator , who led the group, said: “A few of us have always discussed taking on the Three Peaks Challenge. It appealed to us because unlike a cycle ride / marathon, the challenge is completed over a 24-hour period. “We hiked up Ben Nevis in the evening and Scafell Pike in the early hours of the following morning and then drove to Wales and clambered up Snowdon that afternoon. With only minimal sleep, in a cramped mini bus, it was just as much about mental endurance as it was physical! I am so proud

Ed continued: “We chose Sobell House because many of us either know or have known of someone who has been cared for at the hospice so well. It’s a loved place by the Oxfordshire community and a charity which we want to give our continued support to. Personally, for me, my grandmother was looked after at Sobell House over 25 years ago and the team there continue to do amazing work to this day for Oxfordshire.”

Dean Averies, Beard’s Oxford-based director, said: “Beard loves a challenge and I am extremely proud of our team for completing the significant feat of conquering the UK’s three tallest mountains – all for an incredibly worthwhile cause. We are all delighted to support Sobell House and the amazing and hugely valuable work the hospice does in the community.” Tim Wraith, Corporate Partnerships Manager, said: “The Beard team is a valuable supporter of the hospice and we’re incredibly grateful for that. We are delighted for them that they raised such a significant amount which exceeded their target. This epic trip received fantastic support from the Beard Charitable Foundation and Mark Beard has become such a good friend of Sobell House. Beard is such a great example of what it means to give something back to the local community” If you are interested in forming a partnership with Sobell House and would like to know more please contact Tim Wraith their Corporate Partnerships Manager.

 tim.wraith@sobellhospice.org  01865 857 066 / 07527 849 748  www.sobellhouse.org

www.b4-business.com

103

Communications. In any language.

Ĺ&#x201C;

Translation | Localisation | Transcreation Digital Publishing | Technical Services

Oxfordshire, UK | North Carolina, USA hello@conversis.com +44 (0)1869 255820 (UK) +1 (984) 219 3210 (USA) @conversis | www.conversis.com

B4_graphic.indd 1

21/06/2018 16:44:11

Tel: 01235 555531

w w w. c o p y r i g h t s y s t e m s . c o . u k

1 I s i s C o u r t W y n d y ke Fu r l o n g , A b i n g d o n B u s i n e s s Pa r k OX 1 4 1 DZ

Printers

Copiers

Scanners

Software

B4 corp. lifestyle

MARSTON JOHN RADCLIFFE HOSPITAL

BARTON THORNHILL P&R

UNIVERSITY SCIENCE AREA

RAIL STATION CITY CENTRE REDBRIDGE P&R ROSE HILL

OXFORD SCIENCE PARK

OXFORD BUSINESS PARK UNIPART

BLACKBIRD LEYS

PickMeUp Goes Live Passengers in the “Eastern Arc” of Oxford can summon minibuses to pick them up on a street corner of their choice, thanks to a ground-breaking on-demand ride-sharing service launched by The Oxford Bus Company. Written by: Phil Southall Photography by: Oxford Bus Company

it’s got the potential “ to be part of the solution

in tackling air quality and traffic congestion in many towns and cities

”

PickMeUp went live on Monday 25th June enabling residents, workers and students in a 12.2 square mile area around Oxford to request a minibus pick-up at a “virtual bus stop” within a short walkable distance of their location, using a new mobile phone app. It offers flexibility for passengers who can choose the starting and finishing point of any journey within the travel zone. It’s an affordable travel solution and can reach parts of the city that existing bus services are not able to service, as it is not tied to existing bus stops or timetabled routes. It operates between 6.00am and 11.00pm Monday to Friday, from 8.30am until 7.30pm Saturdays and between 8.30am and 7pm on Sundays. Customers can currently enjoy an introductory flat fare of £2.50 per journey anywhere within the travel zone. To support greener travel and ease congestion, a surcharge of £2.50 will be added if the journey could be made via an existing Oxford Bus Company bus route where the customer is being requested to walk 200 metres or less. When the customer adds £20 to the app, they are rewarded with £25 of Journey Credit. There are plans for multijourney passes and corporate packages in Phase 2. Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director, said: “Local people have made it clear to us that they are open to alternatives to using their www.b4-business.com

cars – but whilst our existing services are excellent at providing radial routes into the city centre I am continually told that orbital connectivity ‘around the ring road’ is missing for those who wish to give up their car when travelling to sites in the Eastern Arc. Our new PickMeUp service provides this new connectivity and is a new idea in transport, using the very latest mapping and aggregation technology, and it’s got the potential to be part of the solution in tackling air quality and traffic congestion in many towns and cities.” The Oxford Bus Company have invested £850,000 in six 17-seat ultra-low emission Euro 6 minibuses, with Wi-Fi, USB charging points, low-loading for easy wheelchair and pushchair access, and comfortable high-back seating to launch the service. The frontend and back-end technology for the service was developed in partnership with Via, a US-based market leader in ride-sharing technology. The app has the capability to ‘learn’ routes and traffic conditions. It will enable passengers to request a pick up, and will then select the vehicle best-placed to fulfil their journey and direct it to the nearest safe pick up point. Journeys will be matched with others wishing to make similar journeys to enable ride sharing. PickMeUp is being piloted by The Oxford Bus Company on behalf of parent company The

Go-Ahead Group to reduce congestion and improve services in the eastern area of the City to complement traditional services and provide missing orbital connectivity. The service operates across Oxford’s “Eastern Arc”, covering the railway station, Thornhill and Redbridge Park & Ride sites, the Science Park, Oxford Business Park, the John Radcliffe, Churchill and NOC hospitals, University Science Area and Brookes University. Go-Ahead Group’s Chief Executive David Brown said: “PickMeUp is the latest step in Go Ahead’s plans to be a trailblazer for innovation in the transport industry. We look forward to showing the UK what a high-quality on-demand bus service can do and continuing to modernise across the sector. We’re starting in Oxford today, but we’ll be watching closely to consider what happens next.”

 info@oxfordbus.co.uk  01865 785 400  https://pickmeup.oxfordbus.co.uk

105

B4 corp. lifestyle

NOT JUST TRAVEL

Not Just Travel is one of the UK’s leading travel companies, with over 13 years of fantastic service in helping clients to find their perfect holiday. They work with 100’s of Leading Brands, such as Kuoni, Thomas Cook, Royal Caribbean, Sandals, Inghams, Intrepid and many more. B4 talks to Sian Pages, proud business owner, about her award winning service... Written by: B4 & Sian Pages

I work closely with all of my clients, getting to know their needs so I can best help them find exactly what they’re looking for. Whether that’s a family holiday to Europe, a honeymoon to the Caribbean, an adventure hiking around Nepal, or a business trip to the USA. I am extremely passionate about travel and fanatical about great customer service. I take great pleasure in doing all of the hard work associated with holidays a service which I provide to the customer free of charge. The average person spends 10 hours and looks at 15 websites before they get to something they settle on and even then, it only takes a bad review of your chosen hotel before you’re starting the search over again. I take all of that stress away, so you can get back to the best part: Enjoying your holiday.

Tailor-made I am able to tailor make everything to suit all needs. For example, I recently booked a trip for 6 adults and 4 children. They wanted a multi-destination itinerary to the USA. This involved a lot of domestic flights, making sure the hotel had everything to entertain all the travelling party and also could accommodate adjoining rooms. We also had to make sure the hotel was able to cater for a nut allergy (something which the person had really struggled with previously), but thanks to a good relationship with suppliers, I was

www.b4-business.com

able to find the right hotel with the best facilities. This also involved lots of tours which I booked for them, car hire at different destinations, airport parking and lounge passes. To ensure everyone got exactly what they needed, I made it a priority to keep in regular contact. They even called me whilst on holiday to let me know how much fun the tours had been and how well the holiday was going.

I am able to tailor make “ everything to suit all needs. ” Sian Pages

of our highly trained Personal Travel Consultants. We talk to them, find out what they need and source them the perfect holiday. Current partners include major brands, NHS Trusts, police federations, sports clubs, hairdressers, personal trainers and many more.

Not Just Travel “Travel” is going from one place to another. The right holiday isn’t just travel, it’s more than that. It’s a well earned break. An incredible experience. An unforgettable memory. At Not Just Travel, we know how much the right holiday means - so we give people the easiest, most effective way to find it. So for all things travel, give me a call, drop me an email or visit my website and I would be happy to help you to get your journey started.

Partners in Travel This is a fantastic programme offered to companies to generate an income from holidays and share the profit made, increase donations or provide staff with amazing discounts. Become a partner and get your own branded travel website, plus a unique phone number for people to call. All you have to do is let friends, family, supporters or staff know that they now have access to incredible travel deals. All your enquiries are handled by one

 sian.pages@notjusttravel.com  07738 050 864  www.notjusttravel.com/sian-pages

107

UPGRADE TO FIRST CLASS We deliver a premium service at standard rates

Call Two One Services for all your sales and marketing solutions! Two One Services consultancy provides sales and marketing solutions through appointment setting, new business development, and the generation of sales leads through various marketing channels such as social media.

Competitive rates Unmarked Mercedes S Class, E Class & Vianos, BMW 7 Series and 10-16 seat VW Sprinters Professional, experienced, discreet drivers Fast, efficient bookings

For further information, please contact Zena Kennedy Sales and Marketing Consultant Tel: 07730 927 888 E-mail: twooneservices@outlook.com

B4CONNECTOR

10% off introductory offer for B4 members and / or their customers

b4-business.com

Call 08456 447099 or email info@findlaycs.com and quote B4 FCS for more details

www.findlaycs.com businessinoxford.com

Findly quarter ad.indd 1

24/11/2015 14:49

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Stress-free ordering process, service was second to none, equipment is high standard & you can return dirty! I have no problem recommending OEHâ&#x20AC;?

01865 760 158 hello@oxfordeventhire.co.uk www.oxfordeventhire.co.uk

B4 corp. lifestyle

JAMALS SAFFRON

Two of Oxford’s finest restaurants have come togerther to create, what could be the ultimate Indian restaurant in Oxford Written by: Sue Rosser

Jericho has certainly experienced something of a transformation in recent years, certainly for the better. Originally home to Oxford University Press (still very much a part of the area) and the rows and rows of terraced houses which housed OUP workers, the nearby Morris Radiators would draw in workers from nearby Jericho. It’s an area which used to have a real energy about it and, I’m pleased to say, this seems to be coming back with an altogether different environment with excellent restaurants, shops and the new architecturally acclaimed Blavatnik School of Government. For B4 readers who remember the excellent Saffron in Summertown and who have also experienced the wonders of Jamals in Walton Street (Jericho), you will be pleased to hear that these two powerhouses of the Indian restaurant scene in Oxford have come together under one roof. I treated the grandchildren to an early evening supper at the new Jamals Saffron and we were all reminded just how great the food is. The smile on the face of owner Ali when he greeted us was so welcoming and set us up for a lovely evening. Ranging from 14 to 21 (and dare I say it, 70+) our table in the window of a still sunny July evening was typical of the wide range of diners eating at a relatively early hour. Having eaten in both Jamals and Saffron (at different times of the day),

www.b4-business.com

the clientele is diverse, knowledgeable and respectful of the authentic experience on offer. This isn’t a ‘stumble in at 10.30pm after the pub’ restaurant, although I dare say Jamals Saffron has experienced its share of jolly punters!.....it’s more of a refined, relaxed environment. With a ravenous 14 year old and an 18 year old who likes to watch what she eats (with a ‘happy to eat anything’ 21 year old and me sandwiched in between), the menu at Jamals Saffron is as diverse as its clientele, with something for everyone.

Our Choices:

“ the menu at

Jamals Saffron is as diverse as its clientele, with something for everyone. Sue Rosser

”

To Start Sharing plate: Chicken tikka, seekh kebab & onion bhaji

Mains Ed: Korma Chicken - Very mild dish cooked in almond & coconut sauce Alfie: Korma Chicken Tikka - Very mild dish cooked in almond & coconut sauce Sue: Chicken with Lime - Chicken in thickened sauce with coconut milk, lime juice & fresh herbs

   

jamals-saffron@yamail.co.uk 01865 512 211 www.jamalsoxford.com jamalsoxford

Abi: Sag Rice with Spinach

109

Contacts Directory

Platinum Member

ADVICE.......................................................................................................110 BUSINESS SERVICES...............................................................................111 CONFERENCE, EVENTS & VENUES..................................................111 EDUCATION........................................................................................112 FINANCE....................................................................................................112 HEALTH & LEISURE...............................................................................112

ADVICE ACCOUNTING Wenn Townsend P Tony Haines Partner 01865 559 900 OXON www.wenntownsend.co.uk James Cowper Kreston P Andy Cowie Marketing & Business Development Director 01189 590 261 OXON www.jamescowperkreston.co.uk Wellers P Debbie Austin Partner 01865 723 131 OXON www.wellersaccountants.co.uk Grant Thornton UK LLP P Wendy Hart Managing Partner 01865 799 899 OXON www.grant-thornton.co.uk Grant Thornton UK LLP P Jim Rogers Assurance Partner 01189 559 114 BERKS www.grant-thornton.co.uk Chapman, Robinson & Moore P Mike Foster Commercial Director 01865 379 272 OXON www.crmoxford.co.uk

Silver Member

HR..................................................................................................................112 IT & TELECOMMUNICATIONS............................................................112 MANUFACTURING................................................................................113 MARKETING & DESIGN..........................................................................113 PROPERTY & BUILDING.........................................................................113 R&R..........................................................................................................114

Auditel 01865 582 888 OXON www.auditel.co.uk

Explosive Learning Solutions 01235 861 805 OXON www.explosivelearningsolutions.com

Richardsons Accountants 01844 261 155 OXON www.richardsons-group.co.uk

Endeavour Consulting 07711 825 005 OXON www.endeavour-consulting.co.uk

Rees Russell 01993 702 418 OXON www.reesrussell.co.uk

Leading Edge Coaching 01488 638 119 OXON www.leadingedgecoaching.co.uk

Camerons Accountancy 01865 882 621 OXON www.camerons-uk.com

Two One Services 07730 927 888 OXON www.facebook.com/twooneservices

BUSINESS ADVICE

The Career Boutique 0845 520 4010 OXON www.thecareerboutique.com

Royds Withy King G Lucy Nash Associate Solicitor 01865 792 300 OXON www.roydswithyking.com

Cultural Chemistry 07944 636 091 OXON www.culturalchemistry.com.au

Blake Morgan LLP 01865 248 607 OXON www.blakemorgan.co.uk

Coaching Mindset 07843 291 975 OXON www.coachingmindset.co.uk

Turpin & Miller LLP 01865 770 111 OXON www.turpinmiller.co.uk

Collaborent 01865 881 047 OXON www.collaborent.co.uk

Penningtons Manches LLP 01865 722 106 OXON www.penningtons.co.uk

Mark Carrington 07939 642 169 www.jmarkcarrington.co.uk

Brethertons LLP 01295 270 999 www.brethertons.co.uk

Vistage International (UK) Ltd 01489 770 200 www.vistage.co.uk

Lewis Silkin 0207 0748 494 OXON www.lewissilkin.com

Exalta 01803 712 411 www.exalta.co.uk

David Parry Employment Law 01993 848 247 OXON www.parryemploymentlaw.com

ANPR Consulting 07434 962 871 www.anprconsulting.co.uk

Blandy & Blandy 0118 951 6800 BERKS www.blandy.co.uk

LEGAL

Moorcrofts LLP 01628 4700004 www.moorcrofts.com

James White P Sales Success James White Managing Director 0800 046 1651 OXON www.jameswhite.business Diane Wilkinson G & Associates Ltd. Diane Wilkinson Managing Director 01865 430 470 OXON www.dianewilkinson.co.uk Haiku Consulting G Joy Le Fevre 07885 066163 OXON www.haiku.consulting

Whitley Stimpson Ltd G Stuart Haigh Director 01869 252 151 OXON www.whitleystimpson.co.uk

Oxford Professional Consulting 01865 436 791 OXON www.oxfordprofessionalconsulting.com

110

Active Education and Training Ltd 01865 594 325 OXON www.oxfordactive.co.uk

Artesian Transformational Leadership Ltd G Nick Chatrath Managing Director 07961 306294 www.artesiangroup.co.uk

Seymour Taylor 01494 552 125 BUCKS www.stca.co.uk

Gold Member

The MGroup 01865 552 925 OXON www.themgroup.co.uk

Whitley Stimpson Ltd G Jonathan Walton Director 01494 448 122 BUCKS www.whitleystimpson.co.uk

Shaw Gibbs G Peter Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell Partner 01865 292 200 OXON www.shawgibbs.com

Libreea Ltd 01183 800 856 www.libreea.co.uk Hilltop Consultancy 01844 237 450 BUCKS www.hilltopconsultancy.co.uk Sandler Training 01608 611 211 OXON www.oxford.sandler.com

Knights P Philip Marsh Oxford Office Leader 01865 811 700 OXON www.knightsplc.com Hedges Law P Nicola Poole Managing Director 01491 839 839 OXON www.hedgeslaw.co.uk

Freeths LLP P Sarah Foster Managing Partner 01865 781 000 OXON www.freeths.co.uk Gardner Leader LLP G Derek Rogers Managing Partner 01635 508 080 BERKS www.gardner-leader.co.uk BrookStreet Des Roches LLP Paddy Gregan G Partner 01235 836 655 OXON www.bsdr.com

Addis Law 01865 339 457 OXON www.addislaw.co.uk Crossland Employment Solicitors 01235 841 506 OXON www.crosslandsolicitors.com

www.b4-business.com

B4 BUSINESS SERVICES ARCHIVE & STORAGE Oxford Duplication Centre Cheryl-Lee Foulsham G Managing Director 01865 457 000 OXON www.theduplicationcentre.co.uk CRS Document Solutions 01235 555 531 OXON www.copyrightsystems.co.uk

BUSINESS SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT Aston & James Office Supplies Ltd P Darren Aston Director 01993 706 900 OXON www.aston-james.co.uk ForPOS 01865 820 925 OXON www.forpos.co.uk Abbotts Office Solutions 01844 268 368 OXON www.abbotts-office.com MJF 01895 909 000 OXON www.mjf.co.uk

CHARITIES Sobell House P Tim Wraith Corporate Partnerships Manager 01865 857 067 OXON www.sobellhouse.org Bloodwise G Matt Lawley Head of Sports Events 02075 042 231 OXON www.bloodwise.org.uk Helen & Douglas House G Lucy Walker Community Fundraising Manager 01865 799 150 OXON www.helenanddouglas.org.uk Oxfordshire Community Foundation 01865 798 666 OXON www.oxfordshire.org Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust 01865 775 476 OXON www.bbowt.org.uk UCARE 01865 767 777 OXON www.ucare-oxford.org.uk Berkshire Vision 0118 987 2803 BERKS www.berkshirevision.org.uk Headway Oxfordshire 01865 326 263 OXON www.headway-oxford.org.uk

www.b4-business.com

CLEANING SERVICES Oxford CleanTech Ltd Jose Gouveia Managing Director 01865 596 105 OXON www.oxfordct.co.uk

Excel Dry Cleaners 01865 511 773 OXON www.exceldrycleanersofoxford.co.uk WH Mobile Valeting 07979 480 886 OXON www.whvaleting.com

LOCAL GOVERNMENT OxfordshireLEP P Richard Byard Director of Business Development 01865 261 433 OXON www.oxfordshirelep.com Bicester Vision G Graeme Laws Partnership Manager 01868 324244 OXON www.bicestervision.co.uk Reciprocate 01865 798666 http://reciprocateox.org Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce Group 01753 870 500 BERKS www.thamesvalleychamber.co.uk

NETWORKING GROUPS B4 Magazine P Richard Rosser Editor 01865 742 211 OXON www.b4-business.com MD2MD 01865 600 800 OXON www.md2md.co.uk The Oxford Business Network 01865 379 272 OXON www.oxfordbusinessnetwork.co.uk Business Buzz 0844 358 5800 OXON www.business-buzz.org The Professional Matchmaker 07952 791 083 OXON www.theprofessionalmatchmaker.co.uk

SECURITY Security Exchange 01491 683 710 BERKS www.securityexchange24.com

TRANSPORT Chiltern Railways P 020 7333 3113 OXON www.chilternrailways.co.uk

Findlay Chauffeurs G Claire Hickson Managing Director 0845 644 7099 OXON www.findlaycs.com

Pembroke College G Ellen Brady Head of Events 01865 276 484 OXON www.pmb.ox.ac.uk/Conferences

OMC Global & Simply Chauffeur 01865 377 775 OXON www.omc.uk.com

Hartwell House Hotel G Matthew Johnson General Manager 01296 747 444 BUCKS www.hartwell-house.com

London Oxford Airport 01865 290 710 OXON www.londonoxfordairport.com

TRANSLATION Conversis 01869 255 820 OXON www.conversis.com

Venue Services, Bodleian Library G Alice Ogilvie Head of Venue Services 01865 277 224 OXON www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

TRAVEL

The Examination Schools Kay Miles G Events Manager 01865 276 905 OXON www.examschools.ox.ac.uk

City Sightseeing P Jane Marshall Transport Manager 01865 790 522 OXON www.citysightseeingoxford.com

Howbery Business Park G Donna Bowles Estate Manager 01491 822 305 OXON www.howberypark.com

Not Just Travel 0800 530 0621 OXON www.notjusttravel.com

Egrove Park G Martin Garside Conference Manager 01865 422 757 OXON www.sbs.oxford.edu/conferencing

CONFERENCE, EVENTS & VENUES CATERING SERVICES Oxford Fine Dining P Sue Randall Managing Director 01865 728 240 OXON www.oxfordfinedining.co.uk The Cocktail Service 01865 251 431 OXON www.thecocktailservice.co.uk

CONFERENCE VENUES Rhodes House P Isabelle Barber Business Development Manager 01865 282 599 OXON www.rhodeshouseoxford.com Cumberland Lodge G Daren Bowyer Chief Operating Officer 01784 432 316 www.cumberlandlodge.ac.uk Bombay Sapphire Distillery G Amy Dobson Sales and Marketing Manager 01256 890 090 BERKS distillery.bombaysapphire.com Stoke Park G Nick Downie Head of Communications 01753 717 171 BUCKS www.stokepark.com

Blenheim Palace Hospitality 01993 813 874 OXON www.blenheimpalace.com/hospitality Oxford Brookes Venues 01865 484 612 OXON www.brookes.ac.uk Events @ Ashmolean 01865 610 406 OXON www.ashmolean.org/venue-hire Sheldon Grange 07949 266 418 OXON www.sheldongrange.com Culham Conference Centre 01235 466 494 OXON www.culhamconferencecentre.co.uk Conference Oxford 01865 287 378 OXON www.conference-oxford.com Exeter College 01865 279 600 OXON www.exeter.ox.ac.uk/conferences The King’s Centre 01865 297 400 OXON www.kingscentre.co.uk Swift Venue Finders 01491 824 634 OXON www.swiftvenuefinders.co.uk Horticulture House 0333 003 3550 OXON www.hta.org.uk Oxford Town Hall 01865 252 195 OXON www.oxfordtownhall.co.uk

111

Contacts EQUIPMENT HIRE Moonlite Productions Tom Rowlands P Head of Business and Production Manager 01296 488900 OXON www.moonlite.co.uk Oxford Event Hire 01865 760 158 OXON www.oxfordeventhire.co.uk LNP Sound 01865 238 701 OXON www.lnpsound.com That Event Company 01844 215 857 OXON www.that-event.com

EVENT PLANNING

Oxford International Study Centre 01865 201 009 OXON www.oxintstudycentre.com Lotus Tutors 0203 752 6743 OXON www.lotustutors.com

FINANCE ADVICE Cazenove Capital Management G Tom Allen Head of Oxford Office 01865 811 360 OXON www.cazenovecapital.com Pro-Eco Ltd 01323 400 800 SUSS www.pro-eco.co.uk

Tina Rosser Event Solutions 07470 343226 OXON

RIFT Group 01233 653 002 KENT www.riftgroup.com

Sound Advice 020 7229 2219 LON www.soundadvice.uk.com

Proficio Solutions Limited 07795 180 795 www.proficiosolutions.co.uk

EVENTS

Daniel Kitchen Ltd 01865 511098 www.dankitchen.co.uk

Business in Oxford 2019 P 01865 742 211 OXON www.businessinoxford.com Oxfordshire Business Awards OXON www.oxfordshirebusinessawards.co.uk West Oxfordshire Business Awards 01993 220 690 OXON www.woba.org.uk Cowley Road Works 07816 681 704 OXON www.cowleyroadworks.org Grand Designs Live 0203 397 5180 www.granddesignslive.com Twin Town Challenge 01993 220 666 www.twintown.org.uk Oxford United FC Community Trust 01865 783 236 www.theoxfordacademy.org.uk/ Oxford-United-Community-Trust Cornbury Music Festival 020 7229 2219 www.cornburyfestival.com

EDUCATION d’Overbroeck’s G Peter Talbot Bursar 01865 688611 OXON www.doverbroecks.com Abingdon & Witney College 01235 216 394 OXON www.abingdon-witney.ac.uk

112

INSURANCE FOCUS Oxford Risk Management Ltd P Nick Jones Partner 01865 953 111 OXON www.focusorm.co.uk Spencer Insurance 01235 868 535 www.spencerinsurance.co.uk

BANKING Barclays Corporate Banking Trevor French P Head of Business and Corporate Banking 0800 015 4242 OXON www.barclayscorporate.com HSBC G Ian Nash Head of Business Banking, Thames Valley 0845 850 174 OXON www.hsbc.com NatWest 01865 305 175 OXON www.natwest.com Handelsbanken 01296 489 892 www.handelsbanken.co.uk Metro Bank Oxford 07855 097 403 wwww.metrobankonline.co.uk

HEALTH & LEISURE FITNESS Prime Energy Fitness Ltd 01869 352 000 OXON www.primeenergy.org

GOLF Frilford Heath Golf Club P Alistair Booth Director 01865 390 864 OXON www.frilfordheath.co.uk

HEALTH CARE Clinic95 P Maria Hardman Business Manager 01865 241 661 OXON www.clinic95.com Tara Tripp Hearing Care P Vincent Tripp Practice Manager 01865 910 202 OXON www.tripphearing.co.uk

SPORT Tottenham Hotspur FC G 0844 499 5000 www.tottenhamhotspur.com Oxford University Rugby Football Club G Tim Stevens Club Administrator 01865 432 000 OXON www.ourfc.org Headington Road Runners hrr.org.uk/h5m Oxford United Football Club 01865 337 505 OXON www.oufc.co.uk

WELLBEING Helen Money Nutrition G Helen Money Owner 01865 339 672 OXON www.helenmoneynutrition.com

HR HR CONSULTANTS You HR P Jonna Mundy Owner 07703 719 464 www.youhrconsultancy.co.uk Light Bright Communications 07811 180 388 GLOC www.lightbrightcommunications.co.uk Think Inspire and Create 0844 414 6056 OXON www.thinkinspireandcreate.com

Emma C Browning Ltd 01280 848 415 www.emmacbrowning.com

RECRUITMENT The Career Boutique 0845 520 4010 OXON www.thecareerboutique.com e-volveHR 0800 634 5240 OXON www.e-volvehr.co.uk Gold Star Recruitment 01993 225 075 OXON www.goldstarrecruit.co.uk Allen Associates 01865 335 600 OXON www.allen-associates.co.uk Finance.work 01865 657 657 OXON www.finance.work Nicola Gardiner Executive Search 07900 912 941 OXON www.nicolagardiner.com Better People Ltd 01491 836 632 OXON www.betterpeopleltd.co.uk Global CTS 01235 209 154 OXON www.globalcts.co.uk Boys and Girls Promotions 01865 595 707 OXON www.boysandgirlspromotions.co.uk Selective Recruitment Solutions 01235 462 900 OXON www.selective-group.com Berry Recruitment 01865 777 733 OXON www.berryrecruitment.co.uk

IT & TELECOMMUNICATIONS TELECOMMUNICATIONS STL Communications Ltd 01993 777 113 OXON www.stlcomms.com Orange Stripe Telecommunications 0845 241 7772 OXON www.orangestripe.co.uk Fidelity Group Ltd 0800 840 6800 OXON www.fidelity-group.co.uk

IT SERVICES Computing Information Systems (CIS) Ltd P Richard Marsh Director 01367 700 555 OXON www.cisltd.com

www.b4-business.com

B4 CQR Consulting G Simon Glover Operations Manager 01865 987182 www.cqr.com Simeio 07795 235 995 OXON www.simeio.co.uk ComputerPro 01869 352 002 OXON www.computer-pro.co.uk CTS Group 01235 432 000 OXON https://cts-group.co.uk JP IT Solutions 01672 552 340 OXON www.jpitsolutions.co.uk Security Exchange Ltd. 01491 683 710 BERKS www.securityexchange24.com Bongo IT 01865 988 217 OXON www.bongoit.co.uk QPQ Software 01235 522 516 OXON www.qpqsoftware.com

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Digital Aid Consulting P Stuart Gibson Digital Strategy Consultant & Founder 07788 446259 www.digitalaidconsulting.com Alberon P Tim Ault Managing Director 01865 263 220 OXON www.alberon.co.uk Torpedo Group Limited 01865 733 710 OXON www.torpedogroup.com

SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT Smokin Donut 01844 212577 www.smokin-donut.com G-Smatt Europe G Orhan Ertughrul Executive Vice President 01865 688 228 OXON www.g-smatteurope.com

MANUFACTURING Unipart G Frank Nigriello Director of Corporate Affairs 01865 383 339 OXON www.unipart.com

Owen Mumford G Jarl Severn Director 01993 812 021 OXON www.owenmumford.com

MARKETING & DESIGN ADVERTISING B4 Magazine P Richard Rosser Managing Director 01865 742 211 OXON www.b4-business.com In Oxford Magazine Colin Rosser P Chairman 01865 742 211 OXON www.inoxford.com SeeLocal 01295 817 611 OXON www.seelocal.co.uk

CORPORATE IDENTITY Recognition Express P Andy Olejnik Managing Director 01295 257 611 OXON www.re-oxfordshire.co.uk Strangebrew P Phil Strachan Director 07770 753 975 BERKS www.thinkbrandnotbland.co.uk

MARKETING Heart of Business 07801 293 022 OXON Marketing Sense 01865 883 579 OXON www.marketing-sense.co.uk ADS 01993 885 125 OXON www.adsoxford.co.uk Urban Element 01993 776 999 OXON www.urbanelement.com Amica Marketing 07762 417 379 OXON www.amica-marketing.co.uk BeSeen Marketing 01494 678 671 OXON www.beseen-marketing.co.uk OJI Marketing 07463 994 834 OXON www.ojimarketing.co.uk Angus Grady 01442 876 038 OXON www.angusgrady.com Buzz Digital Marketing 07834 363 815 OXON www.buzzdigitalmarketing.co.uk

Glue Films 01235 819 187 OXON www.gluefilms.co.uk Digital Gold HQ 01235 819 187 OXON www.digitalgoldhq.com Warpline 01235 841 503 www.warplinefilms.co.uk

PRINTING Minuteman Press 01865 247 010 OXON www.oxford.minutemanpress.co.uk MRD Digital Print 01865 715 181 OXON www.mrddigitalprint.com KMS Litho 01608 737 640 www.kmslitho.co.uk Mayfield Press 01865 714715 OXON www.mayfield-press.co.uk Fine Print 01993 777 450 OXON www.fineprint.co.uk

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Zanzi Digital 01865 595 260 OXON www.zanzidigital.co.uk

Papa Romeo PR 07811 339 577 OXON www.paparomeopr.com

Luna Branding 01367 705 055 OXON www.lunabranding.co.uk

Juicy Designs 01367 820 929 OXON www.juicy-designs.com

Spacecraft Consulting 01295 811 781 OXON www.oconsultancy.com

Brand New Dawn 01865 400 640 OXON www.brandnewdawn.com

MEDIA/DIGITAL

Avril Chaffey PR 01488 608 898 BERKS www.avrilchaffeypr.co.uk

Build Your Brand Story 07850 198 681 OXON www.buildyourbrandstory.com Brand Asylum 01235 828 508 OXON www.brandasylum.co.uk

DESIGN House on the Hill P Keith Simpson Senior Designer 01865 742 211 OXON www.hothdesign.co.uk Brown Creative 01235 762297 www.browncreative.co.uk

FRAMING Isis Creative Framing 01865 203 420 OXON www.isiscreative.co.uk

Imageworks 01865 865656 OXON www.imageworks.co.uk Indulge Media 01865 686 093 OXON www.indulgemedia.com

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEOGRAPHY Studio8 P Clark Wiseman Managing Director 01865 842 525 OXON www.studio-8.co.uk Five on a Bike G York Woodford-Smith Video Producer 01494 868 409 OXON www.fiveonabike.com Frederick Jewson 07817 395 660 OXON www.frederickjewson.co.uk The Plastic Goldfish Company 01865 861 875 OXON www.plasticgoldfish.co.uk

MARKET RESEARCH Nielsen 01865 742742 OXON www.nielsen.com

PROPERTY & BUILDING ARCHITECTURE Jessop & Cook Architects 01865 591212 OXON www.jessopandcook.co.uk Gray Baynes + Shew 01865 305 130 OXON www.gbsarchitects.co.uk

BUSINESS PARKS Oxford Innovation Ltd P Jo Willett Managing Director 01865 261 400 OXON www.oxin-centres.co.uk

www.b4-business.com

113

Contacts The Oxford Science Park G Piers Scrimshaw-Wright Managing Director 01865 784 000 OXON www.oxfordsp.com Milton Park Nancy Leadley Marketing Manager 01235 865 555 OXON www.miltonpark.com Begbroke Science Park 01865 283 700 OXON www.begbroke.ox.ac.uk Grove Business Park 01235 772 992 OXON www.grovebusinesspark.com Bloxham Mill 01295 722 800 www.bloxhammill.com

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY AGENTS VSL and Partners P Richard Venables Director 01865 848 488 OXON www.vslandp.com Carter Jonas P Scott Harkness Partner 01865 511 444 OXON www.carterjonas.co.uk Marriotts 01865 316 311 OXON www.marriottsoxford.co.uk

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY SERVICES Bracknell Enterprise & Innovation Hub Shelley Furey G Centre Manager 01344 388 000 BERKS www.bracknell-hub.co.uk Digitizelectric 01865 517 018 BERKS www.digitizelectric.com

ESTATE AGENTS Breckon & Breckon P Keith Stacey Managing Director 01865 244 735 OXON www.breckon.co.uk

Finders Keepers G 01865 302 308 OXON www.finders.co.uk North Oxford Property Services G Robin Swailes Director 01865 311 745 OXON www.nops.co.uk College and County S 01865 722 722 OXON www.collegeandcounty.biz Chesterton Yeates 01865 338 080 OXON www.chestertonyeates.co.uk

PROPERTY & CONSTRUCTION CONSULTANTS Kempton Carr Croft G Rob Kerrigan Chartered Surveyor and RICS Registered Valuer 01628 771 221 BERKS www.kemptoncarr.co.uk Ridge and Partners LLP 01993 815 101 OXON www.ridge.co.uk Solid Structures 01608 690 858 OXON www.solid-structures.com Mulholland Landscape Consultants 07734 253 579 OXON www.mulhollandconsultants.co.uk PMS Oxford 01865 407 554 OXON www.pmsoxford.co.uk Forge Engineering Design Solutions 07780 452 099 OXON www.f-eds.co.uk Peter Brett Associates LLP 01865 410 002 OXON www.peterbrett.com Kingerlee 01865 840 000 OXON www.kingerlee.co.uk COEL 01865 986 822 OXON www.coel.uk.com

PROPERTY SERVICES

LETTING AGENTS

Savvy Maintenance & Renovations P Stephen Dunne Director 01865 920 020 OXON www.savvy-group.co.uk

Breckon & Breckon P Greg Barnes Director 01865 201 111 OXON www.breckon.co.uk

Bicester Roofing G Michael Staniford Managing Director 0870 264 6454 OXON www.bicesterroofing.co.uk

Wallers of Oxford 01865 435 175 OXON www.wallersofoxford.co.uk

114

Darke & Taylor Ltd G Simon Newton Managing Director 01865 290 000 OXON www.darkeandtaylor.co.uk

Sam Strange Magic G Sam Strange Owner 01865 742 211 OXON www.samstrangemagic.co.uk

A1 Plumbing & Heating 01865 327 732 OXON www.a1ltd.co.uk

Oxford Castle Unlocked 01865 260 666 OXON www.oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk

R&R ACCOMMODATION Macdonald Randolph Hotel P Simon Drake General Manager 0844 879 9132 OXON www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk

ENTERTAINMENT Oxford Playhouse 01865 305 305 OXON www.oxfordplayhouse.com Lamplighter Drama 0844 879 4418 www.lamplighterdrama.com Creation Theatre 01865 766 266 OXON www.creationtheatre.co.uk

The Manor at Weston on the Green G Michael Stevenson General Manager 01869 350 621 OXON www.themanorweston.com

FOOD & DRINK SUPPLIES

Milton Hill House 01235 831 474 OXON www.miltonoxfordshire.co.uk

TOAD 01865 767 918 OXON www.spiritoftoad.com

Jurys Inn Oxford 0203 564 5225 OXON www.jurysinns.com/hotels/oxford

Maestria Brands 01865 818 664 OXON www.maestriabrands.com

Royal Oxford Hotel 01865 248 432 OXON www.royaloxfordhotel.co.uk

The Wonky Food Company 07596 488 518 OXON www.wonkyfoodco.com

De Vere Oxford Thames Hotel 01865 334 444 OXON www.phcompany.com/de-vere/oxford-thames

Chadlington Brewery 07967 210 151 OXON www.chadlingtonbrewery.com

Hawkwell House 01865 749 988 OXON www.hawkwellhouse.co.uk

GALLERIES

Oxford Spires Hotel 01865 324 324 OXON www.oxfordspireshotel.co.uk

ARTISTIC & CULTURAL Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra 01865 987 222 OXON www.oxfordphil.com

CORPORATE ENTERTAINMENT Newbury Racecourse P Tracy Skinner Head of Sales 01635 40015 www.newburyracecourse.co.uk The House 01865 724 433 OXON www.housebar.co.uk The Duke of Cambridge 01865 558 173 OXON www.dukebar.com

Aidan Meller Galleries G Aidan Meller Proprietor 01865 727996 OXON www.aidanmeller.com

RESTAURANTS Pint Shop G 01865 251194 OXON www.pintshop.co.uk Pierre Victoire 01865 316 616 OXON www.pierrevictoire.co.uk Marco’s at Mercure Eastgate Hotel 01865 248 332 OXON www.mpwrestaurants.co.uk/restaurants /marcos-oxford The Anchor 01865 510 282 OXON www.theanchoroxford.com The Crown 01993 813 339 www.thecrownwoodstock.com

www.b4-business.com

B4 SHOPPING OXC 07837 244 826 OXON www.oxcuk.com

ÂŠ Designs-on Ltd and B4 Magazine. Whilst every attempt has been made to ensure that the content of this publication is accurate and correct in every way, the publishers cannot be held responsible or liable for any inaccuracies or errors within the publication. Information reproduced from this publication is permitted with the express permission of the publisher and the advertiser, where relevant. All information is correct at time of going to press.

B4 is designed by

Bicester Village 01869 323 200 OXON www.bicestervillage.com

01865 742211 / hothdesign.co.uk

Alexandra Roman 01295 721 629 OXON www.alexandraroman.co.uk Westgate Shopping Centre 01865 263 600 OXON www.westgateoxford.co.uk

ON THE

Blackwell's 01865 333 536 OXON www.blackwell.co.uk

HILL

Oxford & Oxfordshire

World Class & Connected Powered by

SEE PAGE 13 FOR FURTHER DETAILS

Oxford Hop On - Hop Off

City & University Tour City and Un tour inclu iversity des walking to a free ur

For further details and prices visit www.citysightseeingoxford.com 01865 790522 www.b4-business.com

115

You're the greatest! We’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone who took on this year’s Bloodwise Blenheim Palace Triathlon to raise money for blood cancer research.

We can’t continue our life-changing work without your incredible support. If you’re ready to take on one of the world’s most picturesque triathlons in 2019, join Team Bloodwise at bloodwise.org.uk/Blenheim triathlons@bloodwise.org.uk

Registered charity 216032 (England & Wales) SC037529 (Scotland)