Agenda Bath | November 2013

AGENDA

CONNECTING BATH’S BUSINESS LEADERS

southwestbusiness.co.uk November 2013

The only way is ethics The latest kind of investment

FEAST FOR THE EYES City’s festival of food

Agenda-issue12a.indd 3

10/31/2013 1:04:17 PM

Don’t miss the December issue of Agenda and read what Bath businesses had to say in our survey on: n The n Current n Plans

impact of parking and transport in Bath policies to enhance our World Heritage city

to ease congestion at our busiest times of the year

The Bigger Picture – giving Bath a voice

Lawyers ahead of the curve

T. 01225 730 100 www.withyking.co.uk

WELCOME

AGENDA

Editor’s Letter

southwestbusiness.co.uk

Plenty of sparkle

EDITORIAL Agenda Editor: Paul Wiltshire 01225 322301 p.wiltshire@bathchron.co.uk

W

e’ve always been about celebrating success in Agenda magazine. Our glass is constantly at least half full. And recently champagne glasses have been topped up to the brim as we toast the achievements of the 14 winners of our Bath Business Awards.

Business Reporter: Liza-Jane Gillespie 01225 322214 l.gillespie@bathchron.co.uk

More than 400 of the city’s movers and shakers packed out Bath Racecourse for a wonderful night at which the imagination, dedication and community spirit of companies of all shapes and sizes was celebrated.

ADVERTISING

One of the biggest winners, appropriately enough, was management consultancy firm Nine Feet Tall, which took both Business of the Year, and Businessperson of the Year for founder Esther McMorris.

Advertisement manager: Jayne Bates 01225 322349 J.kBates@bathchron.co.uk

There are four pages of pictures reflecting that night in this month’s magazine, as well as a profile of Esther, who started her firm on her own ten years ago and now employs 23 people and turns over £1.6 million a year.

We also highlight the success of specialist publishing firm Select Science with its Queen’s Award for Enterprise and hear from Business West Bath director Ian Bell about the need to shout the city’s positive news from the rooftops.

ONLINE For all the latest business news from across Bath, Gloucestershire, Bristol and the region visit www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

Among that news is progress on opening up the riverside areas of the city for significant development, and plans to dramatically improve technology infrastructure in that neck of the woods.

Finally, just in case you were in denial, Bath BID manager Andrew Cooper and Geometry PR boss Linda Donaldson remind us that Christmas is just around the corner.

Agenda is a Bath News & Media publication. Floor 2, Westpoint, James Street West, Bath, BA1 2DA

Eventually that, too, will be something to celebrate. We’ve just got to sort out all that food and present shopping first.

P Wiltshire Paul Wiltshire Editor

www.thisisbath.co.uk

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Follow us on Twitter (@swbusinessnews) – more than 3,350 others already do. We’ll drop you the top line on one or two of the day’s best regional stories. All of which goes back to our adaptive business website www.southwestbusiness.co.uk and its free daily newsletter.

How many years relaunched Bath Chronicle Business Awards have been going

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86

The number of entries to the 2013 Bath Chronicle Business Awards

Source: The Bath Chronicle

November 2013 AGENDA 3

CONTENTS

November 2013

In this issue 8

18

6

News, views. Business stories from the last month.

8

A Bath business leader is hoping to inspire a new generation of engineers with a new apprenticeship

AGENDA

CONNECTING BATH’S BUSINESS LEADERS

56

southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013

9

Diary dates for November. We flag up business events to attend over the coming weeks.

10 The city’s new £500,000 coworking hub has been welcomed by the Bath business community 13 Ian Bell, director of Business West Bath, stresses the importance of firms flying the flag for the city

The only way is ethics

15 Andrew Cooper on the challenges of Christmas

FEAST FOR THE EYES

18 Focus on the double prize winner from the Bath Chronicle’s Business Awards

The latest kind of investment

City’s festival of food

COVER IMAGE BY FERLA PAOLO PHOTOGRAPHY

The Great Bath Feast decamps to the abbey. Find out more on pages 56-57

“

I started in larger organisations with traditional structures but that doesn’t always work and can create a bad atmosphere when things are not based on merit but on age

ESTHER McMORRIS, P18-19

4 AGENDA November 2013

”

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

CONTENTS

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20 Timely award for business’s Mr Generous 26 How a small online publisher is proving a big player in the science world 31 Bath’s business community is staying ahead of the curve by embracing the digital market place 34 Three city-based businesses are celebrating reaching significant milestones 37 We shine the spotlight on Bath retail property expert Mike McElhinney 38 Appointments 42 Round-up of the Bath Chronicle Business Awards, hailed as the biggest and best ever 46 Business community urged to take advantage of the new online education revolution 48 What your office location says about you 50 A close look at three projects which will transform Bath for the future

31

56 Networking at the Great Bath Feast

26

38

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013 AGENDA 5

NEWS & VIEWS

News &views BUS GATE NUMBER 3 TO OPEN IN CITY CENTRE THIS MONTH Plans to introduce another bus gate in Bath city centre to manage traffic flow will be implemented this month.

Bath and North East Somerset Council has confirmed that new measures in Dorchester Street, which will stop motorists driving from St James’s Parade towards Manvers Street, will be going ahead. The restrictions will be in place on the eastbound carriageway only, and will be in place between 10am and 6pm seven days a week.

Critics argue that the move will simply displace

traffic onto nearby roads, including an extra 160 vehicles an hour on Rossiter Road, Widcombe, and 130 vehicles an hour on North Parade Opposition councillors have attempted to halt the bus gate, but the Liberal Democrat-run local authority is keen to push ahead.

The existing bus gates, in Northgate Street and on Pulteney Bridge, are controversial, with motorists complaining that signs have not been clear enough.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR HARRY A Bath hotel boss has been given recognition for his commitment to the hospitality industry.

Harry Murray MBE, 73, was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the AA Hospitality Awards 2013.

He is currently chairman at the Lucknam

Park Hotel and Spa in Colerne, where he has worked for 16 years. He joined the hotel in 1997 and oversaw a £12 million refurbishment of its spa facilities as managing director.

Mr Murray has been in the hotel industry for more than five decades.

HEARING INTO CORE STRATEGY WILL PROCEED A public hearing into Bath’s planning blueprint is to continue.

Independent Planning Inspector Simon Emerson has decided to proceed with the public examination of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Core Strategy, which earmarks sites for 12,700 homes over the next 15 years.

He has been assessing whether the draft core strategy is legally sound but the hearings faced being delayed over objections that the plan did not take account of unmet housing need from other areas, such as Bristol.

More than 1,000 comments have been made on AGENDA November November2013 2013 66 AGENDA

the latest version of the strategy, which includes proposals for hundreds of homes to be built in Weston, Odd Down and South Stoke.

Cabinet member for homes and planning, Councillor Tim Ball (Lib-Dem, Twerton), said: “It is good news that the Core Strategy will proceed.

Let’s be clear. Had the Inspector called a halt to the process, this would have played into the hands of developers and encouraged speculative development proposals around our area in unsustainable locations. Most probably, these locations would have resulted in a free-for-all green field land grab.” www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

NEWS & VIEWS

CHAIN OPENS ‘LOCAL’ STORE A new Morrisons store in Twerton has opened its doors.

The supermarket chain has transformed the former Blockbuster shop on High Street into the area’s first Morrisons Local store.

Store manager Chris Brady said it was a positive move for Twerton and will create 20 jobs.

He said: “I am very excited that the store is up and running now. It is a great shop in a great location, and will really benefit people living in Twerton.”

Councillor Tim Ball (Lib Dem, Twerton) and Bath City mascot Bladud the Pig cut the ribbon to declare the store officially open.

NEW EAST LONDON OFFICES FOR BATH FIRM HI-Q SIGMA

COUNCIL’S ‘MEET THE BUYER’ EVENT

Bath jobs are safe as a city management consultancy expands its operation in the capital.

Hi-Q Sigma, which specialises in defence, energy, ports and shipping projects, has opened new offices in London.

The BMT subsidiary, at Lower Bristol Road, is joining several sister companies in the move, as part of a larger programme of growth for the group.

The purpose of the new offices, near St Katherine’s Dock in east London, is to put Hi-Q Sigma nearer its customers.

Over the summer the company secured a 12-month extension to a key MoD contract to dismantle nuclear submarines.

It is hoped the new London offices will also help BMT secure new business with other Government departments.

Managing director of BMT Hi-Q Sigma, Simon Gould, said the firm remained committed to having a presence in Bath.

He said: “We are busy across all areas of our business and are continuing to recruit exceptional people to work from our offices in Bath and Winchester to meet our growth plans.”

Businesses in the city have been asked to become a council supplier.

Bath and North East Somerset Council hosted a Meet the Buyer event last month where local companies could meet with council officers to find out what opportunities were in the pipeline and what is involved when working with the council.

Cabinet member for resources Councillor David Bellotti (Lib-Dem, Lyncombe), said: “When selecting suppliers, Bath and North East Somerset Council is ensuring that our departments think local.

“This event was part of that initiative.”

CARIBBEAN ISLAND CULTURE COMING TO FORMER MUSIC SHOP It was once home to Bath’s most famous music shop but plans have emerged to transform part of the former Duck, Son and Pinker site into a restaurant.

The proposals include converting 11 Bridge Street, which is accessed via a side street, and its basement into a new Caribbean-themed restaurant Turtle Bay. After more than 160 years Duck, Son and Pinker closed for business in 2011.

The business’ premises, which included 12 Northgate Street and 9 Bridge Street, were bought by www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

developers Future Heritage Group who planned to convert the site into retail units, a restaurant and office space.

The entire project has been designed

by Bath architects Aaron Evans.

Turtle Bay, which specialises in Caribbean food and drink, already has restaurants in Leicester, Bristol, Nottingham, Southampton and Milton Keynes.

As well as Bath, the chain is also opening new restaurants in Birmingham and Leamington Spa. Members of the public have until

There is a Turtle Bay in Broad Quay, Bristol

November 4 to comment on the plans. To view the proposals in full visit www.bathnes.gov.uk November 2013 AGENDA 7

BUSINESS PROFILE

A Bath business leader is hoping to inspire a new generation of engineers with the launch of a new apprenticeship. Agenda explores the partnership which is putting the subject back on the curriculum.

I

t was once a staple of the apprentice world, but after a 15-year absence, engineering is making its way back into the classroom. Bath’s manufacturing giant Rotork is leading the way in producing a future generation of engineers, with the launch of a new apprenticeship.

Teaming up with City of Bath College and the Bath Education Trust, the Brassmill Lane firm will be taking on five to seven apprentices a year who will all go on to qualify as engineering technicians.

The company, which employs 3,000 workers around the world, has also pledged that all the apprentices will be offered permanent jobs.

It is the first time in 15 years that City of Bath College has offered an apprenticeship in engineering.

Rotork’s chief executive, Peter France, who is also chairman of the Bath Education Trust, said he was a firm believer in the benefits of on-the-job training. He completed his own apprenticeship in electrical and electronic engineering at City of Bath College from 1984 to 1989. He said it gave him “the foundation for his working life”.

After college he joined Rotork as an inside sales engineer and began his

Peter France with Rotork’s apprentices

Engineering change steady ascent through the company.

He worked as sales engineer for Northern England, then as international area sales manager for territories in Europe, the Middle East and India, before being appointed director and general manager at Rotork Singapore.

He returned to the UK in March 2001 to become managing director of Rotork Fluid Systems and in May 2008 was promoted to group chief executive of Rotork plc.

The new apprentices taken on by Rotork will combine a study of all areas of engineering in the classroom, with work experience in several departments at the company.

After the year-long course they will be able to pursue careers in technical sales, service engineering, product testing and customer technical

support, but Rotork is hoping to keep the trainees within the firm.

Mr France said: “Apprenticeships give young people real work and real-life training. It’s an intensive and challenging period where the young person develops his or her personal and technical knowledge, and becomes a real asset to the business.”

The number of apprentices in the city has risen by 32 per cent in just three years. The college is now responsible for 360 apprentices on 41 courses covering 18 different sectors.

Chairman of the Bath Education Trust’s management board and college principal Matt Atkinson said the new apprenticeship programme was an example of how industry and education were joining forces to better equip young people for the world of work. ■

ROTORK PLEDGES TO GET MORE WOMEN IN THE TOP JOBS Engineering firm Rotork has pledged to get more women involved in its management.

It says it will double the number of women on its executive board from one to two in the next two years, and increase the total number of other female senior managers from zero to 15 per cent.

The pledges come in response to the 8 AGENDA November 2013

Davies Report on women in the boardroom.

Chief executive Peter France said the firm’s co-operation with universities, apprenticeship schemes and secondment programmes would lead to change.

But he said: “Rotork acknowledges the need to take more immediate steps to increase gender diversity.”

The firm will identify long-term talent needs and create appropriate roles in senior management which are attractive to both genders.

Non-executive director Sally James is the only woman on Rotork’s ten-strong plc board, while Pamela Bingham, group business development director, is the sole female on the 13-strong management board. www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

DIARY DATES

Diarydates 01

NOVEMBER

Silicon Networking

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NOVEMBER

Selling your business

Companies based in aeronautics, defence, robotics, communications, semiconductors or consumer electronics are all welcome at the Silicon South West networking events.

This is the first in a new BathSPARK event format called The Evening Sessions.

Each session will focus on a different aspect of start-up life and the subject will be brought to life by a panel of entrepreneurs.

The next day-long event is being held from 9am at the Bristol and Bath Science Park, Emersons Green.

The first session will be held at The Guild Coworking Hub between 5.30pm and 7pm. For more information go to http://www.meetup.com/BathSpark/events/ 141261972/

Places cost £20 including VAT. Register to attend by visiting http://siliconsouthwest.co.uk/index.php/ events/

13

NOVEMBER

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Bath’s female business leaders are being invited to enjoy a night of fashion and networking at Drop Dead Gorgeous, Saw Close from 6pm.

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NOVEMBER

Engineeing Careers

Anyone thinking of a career change or wanting information about engineering and possible career paths is being invited to a special event organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology being held at the University of Bath from 6.30pm.

The evening, organised by Bath Business Women’s Association, will include a fashion show put together by Mandy Farrell and her team at Drop Dead Gorgeous.

Refreshments will be provided. For more information contact Christian Thomas via christian.thomas@theiet.org

Places must be booked in advance. Tickets £10 for members and £15 for non-members.

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To book email: juliecooper@fab-1.org.uk or call 07730 132 330.

18

NOVEMBER AGM

The Bath branch of the Federation of Small Business is holding its AGM at Green Park Brasserie from 6pm.

The meeting will give people chance to meet the committee members and network with other local businesses, as well as join the Business Issues Surgery.

Mark Stallard, from IFS Cotswold Financial Planning, will also be at the event to discuss auto-enrolment.

Spaces are limited to 40 and tickets are £9 each.

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk www.southwestbusiness.co.uk/diarydates

NOVEMBER Gull Inquiry

Bath and North East Somerset Council will be discussing all things gull related – the problems associated with the city’s gull population and what can be done about them – at a special all-day event.

The day will aim to raise awareness on causes of large gull populations and dispel myths, as well as come up with a set of practical recommendations for change and for every resident, worker and visitor to play their part.

The day will be held in the Brunswick Room at the Guildhall from 9.30am. For further information on the day or to submit a written statement, contact scrutiny@bathnes.gov.uk; Policy Development and Scrutiny Team, Bath & North East Somerset Council, High Street, Bath, BA1 5AW, or call 01225 396053.

November 2013 AGENDA 9 9 November 2013 AGENDA

NETWORKING

Workers unite for hub party

T

he city’s new £500,000 co-working hub has been welcomed by Bath’s business community. MP Don Foster joined representatives from Bath and North East Somerset Council, which helped fund the hub, as well as well-known faces from Bath’s business scene to officially launch the new facility.

The new hub, called The Guild, has transformed the former technical school at the Guildhall into a state-of-the-heart hotbed for creativity and business.

MP Don Foster and Valerie West

The hub includes two large collaborative areas, a permanent desks room, seminar room, board room, training room, two small ad hoc meeting rooms, and two phone booths for people to make calls of a confidential or sensitive nature.

There is also a bike shed available and a large diner-style kitchen area.

Find out more at www.theguildhub.co.uk ■

Mike Gray, Duncan Kerr and Ben Sweetman

Lucy Tanat-Jones, Alice Tait and Catriona Archer

Michael Edwards, Dave Kelly and Howard Swift

Ruth Wood and Peter Quintana

10 AGENDA November 2013

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

NETWORKING

Loraine Morgan Brinkhurst, Raine Harvey and Vivien Simpson

Liza Hughes and Jack Warren-Meeks

lvaro Osle and Mark Wray

Tom Lewis and Cllr Cherry Beath www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013 AGENDA 11

CHAMBER COLUMN

Despite various highprofile cases of developments falling at the first hurdle, recent success stories are pushing Bath forward. Director of Business West Bath, Ian Bell, stresses the importance of businesses flying the city’s flag.

I

t is unfortunate but true, that Bath has a reputation among developers as being a difficult place to get things done.

That is why it is so important for everyone in the business community to act as ambassadors for the city and do what we can to explode the myth and play our part in attracting new investors who will play a big part in growing our economy.

Line up to help Bath

Of course, we need facts to support our story. Happily there are currently at least two very significant projects which seem to be making real progress and which can provide a foundation for what we say to the rest of the world.

First is Innovation Quay – the sites either side of the river, near Avon Street car park. I have had the chance to express a view on behalf of the Initiative in B&NES and also the Chamber of Commerce to the consultants, who say they will have a preliminary report ready for the end of this month looking at what is feasible and deliverable.

We know all too well that many companies need space to start up and grow, while existing companies are looking for modern, well-equipped office space in the city centre, close to facilities for staff and close to public transport links. Therefore, we would like to see the available central development sites very largely given over to employment space and we are pleased that the council has set some ambitious targets for job numbers on these sites.

We appreciate the local authority has to get best value for their assets so it is likely that some residential development will be included, but hopefully the emphasis will be very www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

much on employment space, housing workers in brilliant buildings of contemporary design.

match day, and the aerial camera shots of the Abbey and Guildhall are priceless.

The second example that people can talk about with greater confidence is the plan to redevelop Bath Rugby’s stadium on the Rec. I know we have been talking about this since many of us had brown hair, but now it really looks as though virtually all the hurdles have been overcome and we can be optimistic that a new arena will be in place in time for the club’s 150th anniversary in 2015.

We all need the club to be successful and it can’t rely forever on an enthusiast with deep pockets. A modern stadium which can accommodate between 15,000 and 18,000 will allow Bath Rugby to become a long-term, self-sustaining business and then it will be down to the players to perform on the pitch and return us to the glory days.

It says a lot for the commitment of Bruce Craig, the club’s owner, that he has gone through the pain of the legal and other administrative minefields.

Hopefully the consultation process which has started to show the latest concept for the stadium will harness support and generate enthusiasm throughout the city.

The rugby club brings millions of pounds to the city every year, visiting supporters come back to spend time here after experiencing the place on

So when you are travelling around the country or abroad and you bump into people with an outdated opinion of our city, please put them straight.

Tell them about Innovation Quay and the new rugby ground and explain they are just two examples of a lot of great things that are going on. Maybe that will open their eyes and you could be doing your bit to encouraging more inward investment which will benefit us all. ■ See page 54 for latest on the Rec plans November 2013 AGENDA 13

Business Matters with Paul Morris Tax Partner at Bishop Fleming

LANDLORDS BEWARE—HMRC IS ON YOUR CASE The latest taxman focus is on landlords of residential properties, and the Bath area has a great many people who own rental properties.

These HMRC taskforce campaigns, that have spanned sectors ranging from doctors & dentists to car dealerships, have captured more than £770 million in extra tax - and seen seven people receiving custodial sentences.

Landlords who rent out residential property, but have not fully disclosed the income, are being offered the opportunity to bring their tax affairs up to date, and pay less by self-assessment than if it is left to HMRC to uncover any tax shortcomings – whether through honest mistake or deliberate evasion.

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Unlike previous HMRC campaigns, there is no closing date, and it will remain open for at least 18 months.

However, once HMRC has developed new tools and guidance to help landlords in making a full disclosure of the next few months, any landlord not up to date may be contacted and will not then be able to make use of the disclosure amnesty.

In a nutshell, it will be cheaper to come forward and self-assess the true tax, interest, and penalty due on residential property rentals than to wait for HMRC to call. That call could lead to higher penalties and, potentially, criminal prosecution.

This new campaign applies to every type of residential property letting, including single lets, multipleoccupancy lets, student accommodation, workforce rental, and holiday lets.

The landlords’ campaign has been launched alongside another new HMRC taskforce, focused on those working in the health and wellbeing sector, including physical therapists, alternative medicine providers, and other specialists. This initiatives follows the Medics Tax Health Plan aimed at doctors and dentists, which resulted in taxman netting an extra £53million.

As a university city, a tourism centre, and an area where relatively few new homes are being built, Bath is a major hub for private rental properties. It’s crucial that the owners of those properties ensure that their tax affairs are in order.

For further information about Bishop Fleming contact us on 01225 486300.

14 AGENDA November 2013

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BID COLUMN

That festive feeling . . .

Running a business in Bath during the festive season can be fun, profitable but also a bit challenging says Andrew Cooper, manager of the Bath Business Improvement District. Here he outlines what is planned this Christmas and how his team is gearing up to help wherever they can.

W

hat a Christmas season we have planned for our city – with national treasure Mary Berry starting us off by switching on the Bath Christmas lights on November 12, followed by the return of the Ice Rink at Royal Victoria Park on November 22, will quickly help to get our city into the Christmas spirit.

Coupled with the growing popularity of the Christmas market, which begins on November 28 and runs until December 15, Bath is rapidly becoming renowned for the place to visit in the region at Christmas, which is great for our local economy.

For many businesses, Christmas is a very profitable time of year and it is warmly welcomed with open arms, but this is also an extremely busy period which can add to the strains and pressures of running a business.

We are conscious that very often it’s one or two key things we do that really make a big difference. Our new city centre trade waste scheme is an impressive example of how we have significantly helped businesses make financial savings, while delivering a more efficient waste collection service.

The twice-daily uplifts means that when businesses are generating more waste due to busy periods, we are helping them keep on top of waste management as well as reducing the need for unsightly rubbish bags being left outside of premises for long periods of time.

BID Ranger Sam Harding, spraying down Westgate Street

this scheme provides each business with hi-tech radio equipment as well as on-the-ground support from BID marshals and Street Pastors.

service that provides on-the-spot cleaning, removing rubbish and general maintenance issues on request.

Together, we are making Bath a safer city and encouraging people to stay longer in the city centre in the evening, spend money and have a great night out.

From cleaning up mess outside your premises to fixing and mending, they are willing and able to help whenever they feasibly can.

Collaboration is another way the BID is helping business cope with busy periods, with 50 city centre bars and restaurants now taking part in our Nightwatch scheme.

Saving businesses time is also saving money, so as we gear up for this extremely busy period, I would like to remind businesses that our BID rangers are on hand to help them take the strain.

As well as providing an excellent crime prevention service in the city,

The BID Ranger team is quite literally an ‘extra pair of hands’ city centre

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

The Rangers are available Monday to Friday 7.30am to 5.30pm and on a Saturday 8am to 12pm, so if you don’t know who else can help then call a BID Ranger (01225 430640).

They are friendly, will respond to you quickly and, more importantly, will let you get on with running your business this Christmas. ■ November 2013 AGENDA 15

PROTECTING YOUR INVESTMENT telephone: 01225 447744

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November 2013 AGENDA 17

BUSINESS AWARDS

High achiever Staff wearing jeans, flexible working hours and no management structure could be perceived as disorganised, unproductive and unruly, but Bath’s Business Person of the Year has an award-winning company with a £3 million turnover that suggests otherwise.

18 AGENDA November 2013 18 AGENDA November 2013

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BUSINESS AWARDS

E

sther McMorris’ relaxed approach to staff management should not be mistaken for a relaxed approach to business. In fact the mother-of-two is riding high – not only was she named The Bath Chronicle’s Business Person of the Year, her company, management consultancy Nine feet Tall, took the top accolade of Business of the Year.

Further still, the Queen Square-based company, which has positioned itself as the go-to firm for management consultancy, is going through an exceptional period of growth.

In the last year its turnover has doubled from £1.6 million to £3 million and staff levels have increased.

Cynics might think allowing staff to come and go as they please, wearing what they want, is the easy way out when it comes to the difficult task of office management, but Nine Feet Tall’s success is far from an accident.

The company’s name, Nine Feet Tall, is all about having an aspiration to do well, but to help secure a happy and productive workforce the firm organises regular team building days, supports local charities, staff are allowed sabbaticals to pursue other interests, they get their birthday off work and enjoy flexible working hours to fit around family life or personal commitments.

“I’m all about business and process. If you get people working in the right way, you get the best outcomes,” she said.

“I think we have a great ethos. We start with employing really intelligent people. We have no rules or policies. We have a completely flat structure.

“We don’t even really have a budget. If someone has a great business idea, you should get on with it. It’s got a very entrepreneur spirit. The guys are really ambitious and talented.”

She added: “As consultants they have to travel a lot so you have to make the rest of their time work for them.

“It’s quite a brave move because you lose control. It’s all about trust – you can only do it if you have the talented and trusted people. Our clients do find it surprising.

“I started in larger organisations with traditional structures but that doesn’t always work and can create a bad atmosphere when things are not based on merit but on age.

“If you get people to do well and take ownership, they want more.”

The Dutch-born businesswoman arrived in Bath 20 years ago from Holland to study physics at the University of Bath.

After further studies at Nottingham University in operations management, Mrs McMorris did what many graduates do and headed for London, but it was here she found the inspiration for Nine Feet Tall.

“I got to that stage where I had two offers on the table from management consultancy firms. I went away and I couldn’t decide which one to go for. I came to the conclusion neither were my bag. They were both beasts www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

Esther McMorris with husband Ash at the Bath Business Awards where she was named Business Person of the Year

and were about making money, rather than helping the client.

“On that night I decided to set up on my own – I said, I can do this better.”

What started as a one-woman band has now expanded to 25 members of staff, and as well as management consultancy, Nine Feet Tall has branched out into other, but still-related fields.

There’s a new graduate scheme called Nine Start, which has hired nine new members of staff in the last two years, and training arm Nine Plus, which is about to receive accreditation from the British Computer Society.

Next year the firm will mark ten years and in true Nine Feet Tall style there is rumour of a company holiday to Holland.

After such a remarkable 2013 it is hard to imagine Nine Feet Tall has any room to grow, but Mrs McMorris has plans to double its workforce and push turnover to £5 million.

“I think when things are going well you have to keep going and push even more – take advantage of the momentum. We’ve got lots to do.” ■ For full coverage from the 2013 Bath Chronicle Business Awards turn to page 42 November 2013 AGENDA 19

BUSINESS AWARDS

Brian Roper, pictured with his wife Margaret after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award

Timely award for magnate

T

he man responsible for giving more than £6 million to charity has spoken of his hopes that his extraordinary example will inspire others. Retired businessman Brian Roper was presented with a surprise Lifetime Achievement Award at the Chronicle’s Bath Business Awards – as he faces the reality that he is suffering from incurable cancer.

The 75-year-old said he was “pole-axed” to be chosen for the award, and added: “I’m so grateful to receive this. In another year, I won’t be here.”

In a video interview with Cordial Audiovisual, he added: “I’m absolutely bowled over. It’s stunningly timely because I have got a series of cancers which are going to kill me.

That adds to the emotional response from me. This has turned up out of the blue. It’s very complex emotionally.”

The founder of bathroom firm Roper Rhodes has been a knight in shining armour for countless good causes in the city over the years, and says it is vital for businesses to contribute to the communities around them.

He and his wife Margaret have given £6 million to charity, with organisations from Bath Festivals to health groups to Julian House benefiting.

He said: “We do what we do because I believe that businesses should contribute to their communities. It’s not enough for them just to pay their taxes. Businesses are individual wealth centres and they should take some of the load off the state and local authorities.”

Since Roper Rhodes moved to Bath in 1985, it has given 20 AGENDA November 2013

The only standing ovation at this year’s Bath Chronicle Business Awards was richly deserved for Lifetime Achievement Award-winner Brain Roper – the man who has led the way with corporate responsibility among Bath’s business fraternity. three per cent of its profits to charity each year.

Mr Roper added: “Any business that can’t give just one per cent of its profits to charity is not going to be around for long.”

He said his family trust, which also involves the couple’s two sons, would go on after his death: “The work will be continuing.”

He said it would be “wonderful” if other businesses followed his example.

The trust has particularly supported the arts sector, with one of its most recent donations helping the Zenith Theatre Company to celebrate its 50th anniversary by raising £50,000. But money has also gone to aid charities such as Newton St Loe-based Send a Cow, and WaterAid. Last year, Business Secretary Vince Cable officially opened a new £5 million three-storey building at City of Bath College named after Mr Roper. ■ Turn to page 42 for full coverage of the Bath Chronicle Business Awards www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

FINANCE

City’s setting an ethical example Agenda takes a look at a new investment trend that is sweeping Bath’s business sector.

U

sually concerned with the rate of return, investors in Bath are apparently more public-spirited than most. Bath residents with a bit of spare cash are, according to a new report, part of a growing move towards investments which offer social and environmental benefits, as well as a financial return.

The report, called Positive Investing in the UK, has been released by Ethex – a new ethical stock market.

Peter Andrews

Ethex has identified Bath as one of five rising-star communities in which a significant number of local people are making investments that do good.

The Bell pub on Walcot Street is now run as a cooperative after a community buyout

Since January, when Ethex launched, there has been 144 positive investments in the BA2 postcode area, and 121 in the BA1 postcode.

Founder of Ethex, Jamie Hartzell, also co-founded the Ethical Property Company, the firm behind Green Park Station.

“The Ethical Property Company is a positive investment on Ethex, and it has saved Green Park Station for the community – something only possible because lots of people invested in the Ethical Property Company from Bath and beyond,” he said.

Hartzell stepped down from The Ethical Property Company last year to set up Ethex.

Former Bath teacher Peter Andrews, who now runs eco-logic books, a publishing company specialising in environmental subjects, is one of Bath’s ethical investors.

Mr Andrews, who also works for Bath and West Community Energy (BWCE), was one of the co-founders of the Bath Farmers’ Market.

In the past ten years he has invested in several high-profile ethical projects, including the Bell Inn, the UK’s first wind farm cooperative Baywind, and the Chelworth solar project.

“How I spend my money is vitally important to me.

Wherever possible I will choose an ethical way of consuming – who you are spending your money with is as www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

The Ethical Property Company saved Green Park Station for the community

important as what you are spending it on.

“Investing is one of the best ways to bring about the significant changes I want to see. But even if an investment is ethical, it must also have a reasonable rate of return.”

Ethex has 30 investment products on its books and in its first seven months, £610,000 has been invested and 1,100 investors have signed up.

For further information go to www.ethex.org.uk ■ November 2013 AGENDA 21

LEGAL

The intern dilemma Using interns can help employers find new talent, but should they be paid for the work they do? Stone King's Nick Watson explains this controversial area of employment law.

A

number of leading employers have come under fire in recent months for hiring unpaid interns.

The most high-profile case involved a 21-year-old intern who died while working long hours at an investment bank in the City of London.

Another intern who helped make computer games for Sony also made the headlines when he received £4,600 after complaining he should have been paid the minimum wage.

These examples raise important and potentially costly questions for employers. Are interns entitled to be paid for the work they do and should they have the same rights as workers?

The problem for employers is that there is no legal definition of an intern and claims for unpaid wages are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Someone who has left secondary education or university, for example, and shadows an employer for a set period of time would probably be classed as an intern. It is unlikely that they would be considered to be a worker and eligible for the minimum wage.

This is a fairly classic rule of thumb definition of an intern but they have no legal status as such. Problems can arise when employers treat interns as workers or employees and breach minimum wage laws and deny them rights that protect paid staff.

There are three important legal tests that are applied when deciding whether someone is an employee.

Firstly, the employer has to have control over the employee, for example, telling them what to do and when to do it.

Offering internships can prove costly for employers who aren’t clued up

personally and can’t ask someone else to do it. So if an intern comes in every day for a year and does meaningful work, rather than just shadowing staff, and you tell them what to do and expect them to do it themselves, they may well be classed as a worker or even an employee.

The personal service test is a key one because although someone may not have the status of an employee, they could still be a worker if they provide you with a personal service.

There must also be an obligation on the employer to provide work and the employee has to do that work. They can’t just say they don’t want to do it.

Although from a legal point a critical question is whether there is a contract between the individual and the organisation, a practical test is this: would you have to hire a member of staff to do the work if the intern wasn’t doing it? If the answer is ‘yes’ you should look more carefully at the employment status of that individual.

Lastly, the worker has to do the work

They could be entitled to the national

22 AGENDA November 2013

minimum wage and other workers’ rights, such as paid holidays.

Someone who has worked full-time for a year, for example, could make a claim for unpaid wages totalling thousands of pounds up to six years after leaving.

If you do invite someone to do unpaid work experience it would be unwise to show your generosity by giving them a few pounds each week. If they receive a financial benefit in addition to out-of-pocket expenses they could be eligible to receive the minimum wage.

Offering internships enables organisations to find new talent and allows young people to get valuable experience in their chosen career.

But it can also prove costly for unwary employers who may find themselves hauled before an employment tribunal. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

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November 2013 AGENDA 23

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PR COLUMN

Christmas comes early The festive season still might seem weeks away by Linda Donaldson, managing director at Geometry PR, explains why it’s never too late to begin your Christmas campaign.

I

n an ideal world, we would all maintain meaningful business plans, up-to-date cash flow forecasts and strategic marketing plans, which are always perfectly implemented and perfectly timed.

But the reality is even the best-laid plans often go amiss; this is particularly true when it comes to launching and marketing seasonal products.

Take the Christmas season for example; the gift market is such a lucrative one that every year thousands of new products are created and launched specifically to capitalise on increased consumer spend during the festive season. But launching a new product can be a tricky process – research and branding often taking a lot longer than originally planned, which means the time left to market a product is shorter than would be ideal.

As a rule of thumb, if you are developing a product specifically for promotion in the monthly glossy magazines, then you need to be ready to talk to these titles six months in advance of publication. This means you need press information, photography and samples all ready to go in June if you want published pre-Christmas.

So if you are reading this and have not planned your Easter campaign yet, then get a move on. But seriously, don’t despair, the advancement of how consumers shop, research and gain ideas has moved on from the Christmas editions of a glossy mag.

Publication deadlines in weekly magazines and newspapers are much shorter, broadcast media shorter still, and digital media offers a rich seam of daily possibilities – generally there is always a route to reach your target market. Not forgetting marketing direct to your customer, that is presuming of course you know who that is and have the

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

Bath’s Christmas Market is publicised months in advance

data in hand.

The most immediate and obvious route for a last-minute marketing drive is to develop an online campaign.

Start by making sure your company website is properly search engine optimised and if you are not sure where to start, then invest in a website audit which tells you how well your site is performing and how to make it work harder for you. Make sure your website is updated with your new product information – sounds obvious but you would be amazed how many companies forget about this. Use social media such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and

YouTube. When properly focused they can help you quickly build useful brand awareness with very targeted user groups. Finally, consider working with some influential bloggers – offering to send samples for trial and feedback is a good way to spread the word and gain credibility by their endorsement.

So while your marketing communications should be an ongoing integrated programme of activity that consistently promotes your business and its products or services throughout the year, with a bit of quick thinking, it is almost never too late to begin. ■ November 2013 AGENDA 25

BUSINESS PROFILE

Scientific approach 26 AGENDA AGENDA November November 2013 2013 26

Keeping science at the forefront is what’s important to one forensic scientist.

Liza-Jane Gillespie caught up with Arif Butt to find out how a small online publisher is proving a big player in the science world. www.southwestbusiness.co.uk www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BUSINESS PROFILE

I

t is hard to remember a life before the internet, a time when people didn’t go online but went to a library.

Google had never been heard of and a computer was used for typing and spread sheets.

Back in 1998 the idea of launching a publication that was only available through a computer seemed foolhardy and risky.

But for one forensic scientist, the gamble paid off and taking a bet on the internet during its infancy now seems inspired.

Said Arif Butt: “There weren’t really search engines and it took hours to find anything on the internet. When I walked away from another job in traditional publishing, in favour of doing something online, people thought I was mad.”

It is 15 years since Mr Butt made that move and created SelectScience, an online science publication often referred to as the Which? guide for the science fraternity.

The father-of-two, who originally trained as a forensic scientist, wanted to create an easy way for other scientists to get and share information on equipment, procedures and projects.

Arif Butt in his office in Corston

The website, which now has more than 250,000 subscribers around the world, helps those at the forefront of vital research share ideas and opinions, but primarily it is giving the science world a voice to a global audience.

Queen’s first great-grandson, Prince George of Cambridge.

Mr Butt believes that in a year that marks the 60th anniversary of DNA and the 30th anniversary of PCR – the genetic process used in Jurassic Park to bring back the dinosaurs – science remains as crucial as ever to everyday life.

The conversation between the three was made public by the Queen’s press secretary as her first chat about her great-grandson.

SelectScience recently visited Brazil for a tour of the country’s anti-doping laboratories ahead of the football World Cup next year.

SelectScience has also received official endorsement from Google as an official review Arif and Louise at Buckingham Palace website, thanks to its high level of user-generated content, putting it in the same ranking as the likes of TripAdvisor.

“A lot of people don’t study science after 16, including journalists, and it’s difficult to get issues and areas written about I think because people don’t understand the subject, or the significance,” said Mr Butt.

“We are still a trade publication but we want to take it beyond the industry and that’s where the internet really helps.

“Science is about joining the dots between the food that we eat and the effect the chemicals, antibiotics or other chemicals such as insecticides are having.

“There’s also important research about why some people get cancer and others don’t. Is it nature or nurture?

Science does touch every part of our lives and people often don’t always appreciate that perhaps.

“My job is very simple – I talk to scientists – but we want to raise awareness, not just speak to scientists.”

2013 has been a big year for SelectScience with the company receiving its first Queen’s Award for Enterprise and moving into bigger premises in Corston where Mr Butt hopes to increase his workforce from 30 to 45.

A visit to Buckingham Palace to collect the award also led to some unexpected, but not unwelcome, international publicity, when he and his wife Louise inquired about the www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

So what next for the company? According to Mr Butt, the future in communication is all about video.

“People don’t realise that Youtube is the second largest search engine. People want videos – much of our content now is film and that is where things are heading.”

He is currently in talks with television companies about launching a new digital science channel: “We’ve always been ahead of the game with our use of the internet and the digital media and we want to keep that position and momentum. It’s really all about capitalising on the convergence of digital and television.”

SelectScience is also looking to become multi-lingual with new versions of the website launched in languages including German and Chinese.

However, Mr Butt remains loyal to his reasons for establishing SelectScience: “If the scientists fail to talk, it will cost lives because they won’t get perhaps the support they need from government and society. We want to raise their profile and get decision-makers listening.” ■ November 2013 AGENDA 27

Pritchards E S T A B L I S H E D

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An impressive, particularly spacious Gdn Apt with a delightful walled gdn (S), double garage & parking for 3 cars in one of the City’s most prestigious & sought after addresses.

An impressive barn conversion set in attractive private gardens. Quiet village location. Retaining wonderful room proportions, charm & character - mostly 1 level.

4 double bedrms, 3 bath/shwr rms – 1en suite) fantastic kitchen/ dining/family rm with French windows into garden, 3 further vaulted guest rms & utility. Approx int area 3615 sq ft/336 sq m.

Kitch/dining rm, study, sitting rm, principal bedrm suite & sauna.

2 further bedrms, 2 bath/shwr rms, garden rm/bed 4. Heated swimming pool. Garage & parking. (2567 sq/ft 238 sq m).

Guide Price: £1.25 million

Guide Price: £835,000

Park Street

Shoscombe (Bath 6m approx)

A spacious, well presented apt with delightful walled private gdn. Desirable location. Very close to amenities in St James’s Square

A well presented det. 4/5 bed hs with flexible accomm in heart of village, well placed for schools & facilities. (1862 sq ft/173 sq m).

Elegant drawing rm, kitchen, main bedrm & lg en suite, dining rm/bed 2, shwr rm. 2 vaulted rms, 1with cloakrm.

Int area 1915 sq ft/177.9 sqm.

Sitting rm, family rm, kitch/breakfast rm, dining rm/GF bedrm en suite, 4 bedrms & bathrm. Gardens. Driveway parking. Lovely rural position.

Price: £499,950

Price: £450,000

11 Quiet Street, Bath BA1 2LB

Tel: 01225 466 225

Advertisement feature

“The Way your Divorce could Save your Business” Rob was a successful entrepreneur who had built up a business in Bath during the marriage. He came to see me as his marriage of 10 years to Sarah had come to an end. I learnt that Sarah knew little about the business and was concerned that she would lose out. Rob felt that the business was “his” rather than an asset to be shared.

A nasty divorce can mean trouble for business The impact of a marriage breakdown and divorce does ripple out well beyond the family home. A business caught in the cross fire of a divorce will suffer. Inattention from a stressed-out, depressed or preoccupied owner can lose customers and business opportunities.

Divorce costs can escalate as competing lawyers and forensic accountants pick over the assets of the business.

A business interest is an asset to be divided between both spouses. It can often be the most valuable asset in the marriage and the biggest bone of contention in a divorce. Valuing it is complex, costly and time-consuming. How and who values it can be a major flash-point of conflict. Aside from its financial value, the emotional attachments can inflame the one who created it as he or she faces the prospect of sharing it with the other who has had no involvement in it.

The process you choose for your divorce can determine its outcome

What Sarah really wanted was the security of keeping the family home, not an interest in the business. Rob wanted to keep control of his business in Bath and the future benefits it might bring. They both wanted to avoid the acrimony and trauma of a traditional adversarial divorce court process. They feared that might destroy the business and the wealth they were trying to divide.

Rob and Sarah selected us and another Bath Collaborative family lawyer to work with them and together we committed to resolve matters between us without involving the court.

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A collaboratively trained financial advisor was introduced to look from a neutral perspective at the assets of the marriage including the business and the family home, and help Rob and Sarah understand the division options open to them. A family consultant worked with them to address their emotions towards each other, develop communication and

a level of trust between them. Through a series of meetings attended by Rob and I, Sarah and her lawyer, we found a solution from the options available that met their interests and needs without either feeling disadvantaged.

The collaborative divorce process proved to • Preserve the wealth held by Rob & Sarah and not destroy it.

• Ensure the right professional dealt with the right problem for Rob & Sarah.

• Encourage Rob & Sarah to think creatively and craft solutions that worked for them and their family.

• Enable them to decide and keep control of what happened & how fast it happened.

Every divorcing couple is different, and a collaborative divorce process is not for everyone. But Rob & Sarah found that a collaborative divorce can enable solutions to be found and destruction to be limited to those things that were important to them and their family.

For a free copy of “A Client’s Guide to Collaborative Divorce” contact Richard Sharp at richard@sharpfamilylaw.com

Sharp Family Law: Producing Resolution not Prolonging Conflict 5, Gay Street, BATH, BA1 2PH, UK email: richard@sharpfamilylaw.com m: 07798 606740 t: 01225 448955 website: www.sharpfamilylaw.com

NEWS

Hiring climate warms up

Emma Summers from Juice Recruitment

Making sure you have enough staff for the job, but not overstretching the budget, has been a tough balancing act for firms for several years. Many have talked about the mythical green shoots of recovery, but a new survey suggests Bath businesses are enjoying an upturn in fortunes and are once again investing in their staff.

B

ath businesses are putting their money where their mouth is and coughing up to keep talented staff.

A survey looking at salaries and recruitment in the city has shown that Bath’s business leaders are prepared to spend money on staff to attract and keep the brightest and the best.

The survey, carried out by George Street’s Juice Recruitment, shows the city’s economy is slowly improving with companies growing in confidence. Over half of businesses were confident there is potential for growth in the next year, with more than a third predicting a need to recruit more staff.

Managing director Emma Summers said firms were hiring but had become more selective about candidates: “Improved market conditions, higher activity levels among clients and generally stronger levels of confidence among 30 AGENDA November 2013

employers are certainly one of the major factors underpinning the latest rise in placements.”

gain the valuable experience they require in order to develop their career.”

She added that bosses wanted a candidate who was more than just skilled to do a job but who would add something special to a workforce.

The Salary and Employment Guide 2013/2014, which was co-written by employment experts at Bath legal firm Withy King, also looked at the average pay scale for workers in different sectors and what benefits workers wanted.

“The hiring climate is interesting – there is a dual economy. Directors and managers are seeking savvy individuals with strong commercial acumen and organisations will pay more for good candidates who are in demand with multiple offers.

Staff retention is key if employers want to maximise on the opportunities available within the economy.

“The problem we are facing is for those who are not skilled – there are fewer opportunities, however, we are seeing an increase in flexible recruitment, which will allow those individuals with fewer skill sets to

It revealed that, on average, a finance director can expect to earn between £48,000 and £90,000, a receptionist can earn up to £20,000 and someone working in telesales will take home between £16,000 and £25,000.

The report said pay was not the only factor potential employees looked at.

A bonus, flexible working arrangements and a pension plan were all identified by staff as the most important benefits, followed by a health scheme and additional annual leave. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

NEWS

Bath’s business community is staying ahead of the curve by embracing the digital marketplace.

BIGHA memembers Glenda Botes, Rupert Nandi, Tim Potter and Colin Potter

Click here for room service

G

uesthouses in the city are raising their game ahead of a string of new hotels opening. BIGHA – Bath Independent Guest House Association – has redesigned and relaunched its booking website in the hope of raising its members’ profiles.

The new website makes it easier for prospective visitors to look for vacancies, book rooms and plan their trip.

Part of the website has been dedicated to BIGHA’s Big Ben discount scheme where guests at Bath’s independent guest houses and hotels can enjoy discounts and offers at the city’s other independent businesses, such as taxi firms, restaurants and attractions. Technical changes have also been made to the site to enable it to compete with other online booking sites, such as Laterooms, Expedia and Trivago.

chains and we need to promote ourselves. Bath has got a wealth of independent businesses and guest houses and we really need to shout about it.”

The new Premier Inn on James Street West is due to open early December and the new luxury Gainsborough Hotel is still on track to open in the spring.

“We’ve got 100 members – there is a unique sort of customer base that want to go to independents to get that extra special service.”

Tim Potter, project manager at BIGHA, said its members were at risk of being sidelined as more chain hotels opened.

Mr Potter said BIGHA was passionate about Bath and about its independent businesses, which was why it launched the Big Ben discount scheme last year: “We started off with just under 30 offers last September but this has grown to 65. The guests love it because it gives that little bit of added value – 10 per cent off the Roman Baths, an extra hour in the Thermae Spa or a recommendation for place to eat all adds to their experience and will make them come again.”

“We are getting squeezed out of the market by the big

For more information visit www.stayinbath.org ■

BATH APP PROVES A MUST-HAVE FOR 30,000-PLUS PEOPLE

More than 30,000 people have clicked download to find out more about Bath.

The Official Bath App, launched last summer, has become the most downloaded destination app outside of London. It is a joint project between Bath Tourism Plus and Bath Business Improvement District (BID) and provides comprehensive www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

coverage of events, attractions, shops, restaurants and accommodation.

To marks its first year, a number of changes have been introduced to make it even more user friendly.

A new ‘geo-fencing’ feature enables visitors to receive notifications on their phone from businesses in the immediate area with promotions.

There are now menu options in French, Spanish, German and Italian, as well as English. A Getting to Bath feature has been added about car parking and public transport.

The latest version is fully iPhone4 and iPhone5 compatible as well as being available for iPad. An Android version is due to be launched shortly.

November 2013 AGENDA 31

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FINANCIAL PLANNING

Staff from Bath’s Hilton volunteer their time to help with a soup kitchen for the homeless on Walcot Street as part of Hilton Worldwide’s global week of volunteering

Values and beliefs Support for good causes shouldn’t just be the result of your company paying lip service to its Corporate Social Responsibility plan, but should be an integral part of your business, says Stuart Doughty, director of Bath financial services company Centurion Wealth Management.

F

or some companies, involvement with good causes is an inconvenient add-on to their core business. Others only get involved because they see the opportunity for a bit of PR. Others don’t bother with charity at all. All of those approaches are missing a trick.

Corporate values should be more than ‘corporate’ – they should embody the kind of attitudes and attributes you’d wish to encounter in everyday life outside the workplace.

One of the most powerful examples of this in British corporate history, is the early years of Cadbury the confectioner.

When John Cadbury established the firm in the 19th century he wasn’t just in it for making money for him and his family. He and his sons were motivated by a desire to bring social improvements to the area in Birmingham in where they operated. www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

They built homes for their workers and social amenities for the community. The result of this inspiring approach to Corporate Social Responsibility – although, of course, the Cadburys would never have referred to it as such – was Bourneville, an entire, leafy suburb of Birmingham that would never have been created if it weren’t for the Cadbury family’s commitment to good causes.

The Cadburys appreciated that a happy workforce and goodwill towards the business from the local community wasn’t just desirable, it was a cornerstone of their activity.

There are fewer firms today with such an approach, but that’s not to say that 21st-century businesses can’t learn a lesson or two.

Two related questions that firms should ask themselves are these: What community and charity

initiatives are there in your core area that chime with the services you provide? And in which of these charities could you have a positive input?

This is an approach we have found useful at Centurion Wealth Management. We are passionate about sport so it has been a natural fit for us to invest time supporting good causes such as the Bath Rugby Foundation and Restart – the Rugby Players’ Charity. Supporting charities with which you have an affinity, both corporately and individually, can be mutually fulfilling.

A by-product of this process can be the development of both contacts and ideas.

So don’t regard support for charities as another item on a to-do list. Think about what values matter to your business and take those values beyond the office door. ■ November 2013 AGENDA 33

BUSINESS PROFILES

New Edition’s Patricia Meddick and Cheryl Kingwell with staff member Julie Murray; right, Evie Dyer, Lucy Chapman, Chelsea Deverall, Jannean Lawrence and Lisa Whitehouse, from The Health and Beauty Centre on Old King Street

Bath has been full of celebrations this autumn with three city-based businesses reaching significant milestones, and Agenda was there to share the moment.

Raise a glass to trio’s success

A

Ms Tang has created a menu, drawing on her upbringing in Hong Kong, serving a mixture of lunch classics like jacket potatoes and salads, and oriental specialities such as spare ribs and noodles.

trio of businesses have notched up more than 20 years serving people in the city. Cafe Bonghy-Bo in Upper Borough Walls and New Edition Hair Studio in Weston have both celebrated 25 years of business, while The Health and Beauty Centre on Old King Street has marked its 20th anniversary.

And despite her father’s misgivings about the venture at the start, the noodle dishes have proved her biggest seller.

Friends Cheryl Kingwell and Patricia Meddick took over New Edition, previously known as Evelyn’s, 25 years ago, buying the business from Mrs Meddick’s mother Evelyn, who was retiring and looking to sell the salon.

The duo, who have now worked at the Weston salon for more than 30 years, say its survival through the decades can be attributed to the loyalty of customers.

She said: “My Dad said it would not work because I looked Chinese and people would not want things like noodles. But noodles are now the best-selling thing on the menu.”

Peter Grzyb, Katherine Tang and Peter Jack

Mrs Kingwell said: “We have a good reputation and a real mix of clients, from young women to the older generation and children. With some families we have the child, the mother and the grandmother – some customers have been coming here for more than 30 years.”

The Health and Beauty Centre was started in 1993 by Jannean Lawrence who, after qualifying as a beautician, decided to take the plunge and rent a room in Green Street.

“I was a bit daft and a bit naive but I thought to myself, why not? So I gave it go, started from scratch with no customers. I was very proud when I made my first week’s rent of £70.”

Bonghy-Bo was started by Katherine Tang 25 years ago and over that time she has served superstars Mick Jagger, Emma Thompson, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell.

The Health and Beauty Centre, which has gone from strength to strength ever since, now employs five members of staff.

When Ms Tang took over the business it was just a small coffee shop, but over the years she has more than doubled it in size, and transformed it into a vibrant part of the community, open from morning until night .

“For me I don’t view it as a business, it’s more of a hobby, with lots of lovely, regular clients. I’m not the world’s best businesswoman but through hard work and perseverance, we have got here.” ■

34 AGENDA November 2013

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COUNCIL COLUMN

Bath has big plans to remain at the cutting edge of technology and the creative industries. However, this will take millions of pounds of investment in infrastructure. Councillor Ben Stevens, cabinet member for sustainable communities, discusses how B&NES Council will achieve this.

Making the right connections

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beautifully inventive city of enterprise, like Bath, must ensure the business conditions are right to support a culture of innovation and prosperity. In previous Agenda columns, the council has detailed its plans to regenerate the corridor along the River Avon as an Enterprise Area, creating some 650,000 square feet of new low-carbon workspace, 9,000 private sector jobs, and 2,500 homes over the next 15 years.

But the supporting infrastructure must be in place in order to sustain the hi-tech, creative industries and the University Innovation Centre that will become the engines of the local economy, enabling them to compete both nationally and internationally.

How are the council and its partners invigorating the broadband network to underpin the aim of growing the value of the local economy by £1 billion by 2029, and increasing creative industry/ICT employment by 20 per cent?

Firstly, we are providing nine out of ten premises in our area access to high-speed fibre broadband – and for all premises to have at least two mbps broadband – by the end of 2016

36 AGENDA November 2013

“

If our area is to build upon its reputation as a hotspot for digital and hi-tech industries, we must have the broadband infrastructure to match our ambition to attract new investment and new jobs with great opportunities for local people.

through the Connecting Devon and Somerset consortium. This development is currently on time.

Secondly, we are looking to open up the 22 kilometres or so of fibre network owned by the council to encourage inward investment by ultrafast broadband companies (eg.

300Mbps upwards) who would offer their services to hi-tech business areas, such as those who will be present in the planned Enterprise Area.

Thirdly, by working with the private sector, we want to roll-out Wi-Fi, 4G, and 3G technologies to shopping centres, sports venues, and transport infrastructure – particularly in those areas where the council owns assets, such as street furniture and lamp posts, upon which infrastructure could be placed.

”

Fourthly, no Silicon Valley of the South West would be complete without promoting greater local innovation across creative, micro-electronics and hi-tech manufacturing sectors through a mesh test bed; in other words, an online private network that enables hi-tech businesses and universities to push the boundaries of their research and development.

If our area is to build upon its reputation as a hotspot for digital and hi-tech industries, we must have the broadband infrastructure to match our ambition to attract new investment and new jobs with great opportunities for local people. If you have any ideas about how to improve our connectivity, or want to play a part with like-minded businesses, contact me at ben_stevens@bathnes.gov.uk ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

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here was little surprise in certain circles when property giant Jones Lang LaSalle decided to scale back its operations and announced it was closing its Bath office in favour of Bristol.

However, the move meant the loss of one man who had been at the heart of many of Bath’s biggest retail deals, from TK Maxx to Jack Wills.

Bath retail expert stays loyal to city

Representing two of the city’s largest landlords, St John’s Hospital and Bath and North East Somerset Council, Mike McElhinney had become synonymous with Bath’s property scene – there were very few deals he didn’t know about or hadn’t been involved with.

However, last month Mr McElhinney broke his silence to confirm that he would be staying in the city following a move to rival firm Carter Jonas as partner.

“For me it was pretty much a nobrainer. I have a lot of clients who have been very loyal to me over a period of time and I felt I could continue to service them better if I stayed in the city. I looked around the landscape and for me there was only one place I was going to go.”

Mr McElhinney said Jones Lang LaSalle had been extremely accommodating about his move.

“Whether or not clients have stayed with me has been at their discretion.

The vast majority that are based in Bath have stayed with me.”

Mr McElhinney, who was lead director for Jones Lang LaSalle, has worked in Bath since 1978, first for Bath City Council, before joining JP Sturge and Sons, which became King Sturge. Two years ago King Sturge was bought by Jones Lang LaSalle.

As well as St John’s Hospital and B&NES Council, Mr McElhinney represents Standard Life, Axa, Imperial Group and Mr Willats’ Charity.

He has also been chief adviser and negotiator for many major deals in the city’s retail sector, with involvement in projects such as Molton Brown, TK Maxx, Jack Wills, Jo Malone and Cotswold Country.

He said: “I’m delighted to remain working in Bath for a progressive www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

When it comes to retail space there is only one man to go to in Bath. Liza-Jane Gillespie caught up with property expert Mike McElhinney. national practice, with an enthusiastic team with whom I can continue to deliver high quality, locally based commercial property advice to a wide range of long-standing national and local clients.

market.”

Since the departure of Jones Lang LaSalle, Carter Jonas is the only national commercial property agency operating in Bath.

“My mission is to make Carter Jonas the number one choice for retail in Bath and for it to be the practice of choice for those wanting to come into the retail market in the city.

Head of Carter Jonas’ Bath office, Philip Marshall, said: “Mike brings a wealth of experience, exceptional retail market knowledge, and an understanding of the importance of working with a national brand.

“I intend to help make Carter Jonas the one place to go for help and advice, covering the whole spectrum of the retail and commercial property

“His vast experience of the retail property market in this region and nationally will enhance the service we provide our clients.” ■ November 2013 AGENDA 37

APPOINTMENTS

Appointments BANK’S INVESTMENT IN BATH Swedish bank Handelsbanken is growing its Bath presence.

The branch on Upper Borough Walls has strengthened and increased the size of its team with the appointment of account manager Jason Moore, pictured right.

He said: “What attracted me to Handelsbanken was its culture – a decentralised approach, putting the customer first and taking a long-term approach to relationships meaning a high level of service can be offered to all customers.”

The Bath branch now employs 11 members of staff.

Handelsbanken has more than 750 branches in 24 countries, including 161 in the UK.

GARRETT JOINS THE TEAM Bath’s Epoch Wealth Management is continuing its expansion.

The Tramshed-based company has appointed financial adviser Garrett Cotter, right, to its fast-growing team.

Mr Cotter joins Epoch as a senior adviser from Argentis Financial Management's London office, where he held a similar position. Mr Cotter, who has a degree in business administration from the University of Bath, will provide expert pension planning and investment advice to clients.

Partner at Epoch Wealth Management, Dr Markas Gilmartin, said: “Garrett has great experience providing specialist investment advice and we are delighted to welcome him to the team.”

LAW FIRM EXPANDS Sharp Family Law is expanding its Bath office. Sharon Giles, right, has joined the firm at its new Gay Street office.

A spokesman for Sharp Family Law said: “Sharon’s constructive approach to divorce strengthens our firm’s commitment to helping couples reach agreeable financial settlements and child-centred family solutions.”

14

The number of accolades up for grabs at this year’s Bath Chronicle Business Awards

38 AGENDA AGENDA November November 2013 2013 38

ON COURSE FOR SUCCESS Bath Racecourse has recently appointed Adam Morris as business development executive.

Mr Morris, pictured above, joins from Nailsea School where he worked as sport and leisure business manager.

“I’m delighted to be joining the team at Bath; I’ve certainly got my work cut out joining a successful, predominantly all-female, team.

“The racecourse has such a diverse offering for businesses in the region, it will be a great opportunity for me to be able to bring my skills and experience to build on what is an already successful business.”

REGIONAL ROLE FOR CITY CHEF Bath chef Giles Stonehouse will be promoting food across the country, thanks to a new role.

Mr Stonehouse, who is executive head chef at Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel, has been appointed regional development chef for the chain.

Mr Stonehouse, who has 17 years’ experience as a chef, will specialise in consumer trends and menu innovation, purchasing and new product procurement.

“I am relishing the challenges this new role will bring and look forward to further driving the quality of its acclaimed food offering across the group,” he said.

“Macdonald Hotels and Resorts is committed to being a progressive force in the hotel industry and we are dedicated to continually improving the group’s offering.”

423

The number of guests who attended the awards’ night at Bath Racecourse for the Chronicle Business Awards Source: The Bath Chronicle www.southwestbusiness.co.uk www.southwestbusiness.co.uk/appointments

The Juice...

T H E L AT E S T F R O M B AT H ’ S M O S T I N N O VAT I V E A N D D Y N A M I C R E C R U I T M E N T C O N S U LTA N C Y !

WHAT A GREAT NIGHT...

BACK TO SCHOOL Emma Summers, Juice’s MD, went back to school earlier this month to talk to pupils of The Royal High School For Girls in Bath. Emma provided the girls with a presentation on her career since leaving school, how she established Juice, the business today and her plans for the future. Emma loved her time at the Royal and it was great to see so many girls keen to shape their careers moving forward!

JUICE SALARY SURVEY 2013/2014 The Juice Recruitment Salary Survey 2013/2014 is now launched. Providing a comprehensive guide to salaries in the South West, the survey looks at how Employers and Employees feel about 2014, the hiring climate and an overview of impending legislation from leading law firm, Withy King Solicitors. For your copy, please contact Emma Summers – 01225 447870.

The Juice team had two tables at the fantastic Bath Business Awards in September. Held at the Bath Racecourse, Emma Summers was delighted to present Juice Employee Of The Year Award to Sarah Jones from Circle Bath. All at Juice would like to say a massive thank you to all our guests for making the evening so much fun!

ECONOMIC BOOST AS WAGES RISE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE RECESSION! After five years when real wages have been static or falling, new research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) shows that half of all smaller companies are now planning to increase salaries over the next 12 months or have done so over the past year. Some increases could be as high as 10%, well above the rate of inflation.

Small businesses account for the vast bulk of all employment in the UK and are often seen as a bellwether for the strength of the wider economy.

OUR WONDERFUL TEMPS OF THE MONTH! BATH A massive thank you to Matt who has been an outstanding Temp for Juice - Bath. Matt has shown an abundance of enthusiasm and commitment in his current role and has really added value to our client and their business.

SALARY AND GUIDE EMPLOYMENT 2013/2014

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INVESTMENT

Uncertain times

Investment director Rob Robson, Investec Wealth and Investment Limited, rounds up the world markets following a last-minute deal to raise the US debt ceiling.

N

ot for the first time recently, September was characterised as much by events that did not happen as opposed to those that did.

For example, the Federal Reserve did not begin its tapering of Quantitative Easing (QE), US and allied forces did not strike Syria, and Larry Summers withdrew from the race to be the next Fed chair.

Market historians had been warning us that September is statistically the month that produces the worst returns for equity investors – so much for history. Following weeks of uncertainty, all of these non-events conspired to produce a decent month for balanced investors as equities rallied and bond yields subsided.

Gold remained an exception, with a fading mid-month rally failing to recover earlier losses.

The first half of October has been dominated by the US and negotiations over their budget. As I send this commentary to press, agreement has been reached to raise the debt ceiling. This remains a temporary measure and must be readdressed by January 15.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) was a feature in September. Four deals in particular stood out. The tug-of-love involving Vodafone, Verizon and Verizon Wireless was finally resolved; Microsoft put Nokia out of its misery; the path was cleared for Michael Dell to take control of his eponymous company, and Applied Materials tied the knot with Tokyo Electron.

Much as these deals make for some impressive progress in annual M&A totals, and will no doubt contribute to much salivating by the purveyors of second homes and fancy cars in financial centres, they all feel more like a combination of housekeeping and euthanasia as opposed to a true outbreak of animal spirits.

40 AGENDA November 2013

United States This has been very much a quarter of two halves in the US. Early concerns over Fed tapering of the monthly $85bn of bond purchases contributed to a sell-off in both equities and bonds. This was most clearly reflected in 30-year fixed mortgage rates climbing from 3.4 per cent to 4.7 per cent, leading to sharp reductions in both new mortgage applications and refinancing deals.

Consequently, data related to the housing industry also weakened, as did some of the employment data.

Not for the first time a central bank had achieved quite a lot, while not actually having done anything – in fact, too much. Ben Bernanke’s reaction was to delay tapering to some unspecified future date, with markets betting on December as the most likely.

Eurozone The aforementioned German election was the main event of September and the outcome was reassuringly unsurprising. There has been a view that Eurozone policy has been on hold, pending the result, but we don’t expect a sudden burst of activity, not

least owing to the need to form a coalition government. Europe’s problem children seem to have been locked in a cupboard for most of the summer, but that doesn’t mean that they are fully reformed.

Further debt restructuring appears inevitable for both Greece and Cyprus; Portugal’s position remains precarious; the less said about Silvio Berlusconi, the better.

UK Activity indicators are the Purchasing Managers’ series point to recovery, and, according to estate agents Winkworth, average house prices are beginning to rise outside London (which remains a microcosm). There is absolutely no doubt that the Help to Buy scheme has been instrumental in this recovery, and housebuilders are rushing to buy plots in anticipation of further progress.

Disappointingly, Sterling’s 20 per cent post-crisis devaluation has not boosted exports, which is perhaps hardly surprising, given the situation in Europe, our main trading partner.

But we have to wonder about the sustainability of yet another housing-led recovery. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

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BUSINESS AWARDS

Gala night Esther McMorris, director and founder of Nine Feet Tall, is named Business Person of the Year, receiving her award from Malcolm Coury, of Money Wise

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anagement consultancy firm Nine Feet Tall ended up head and shoulders above the rest at this year’s Bath Business Awards. The company was not only crowned Business of the Year but its founder and director, Esther McMorris, took the top accolade of Business Person of the Year.

Mrs McMorris launched the Queen Square company almost ten years ago as a one-woman band, but now the operation employs 23 people and last year achieved a turnover of £1.6 million.

She said: “We’re all really chuffed. We’ve had an exceptional year, they all work hard and put the effort in.

They are an amazing team and deserve this recognition.”

More than 400 of Bath’s business movers and shakers enjoyed an awards evening at Bath Racecourse hosted by former Blue Peter presenter Valerie Singleton.

The title of Small Business of the Year went to journal publisher From You to Me, founded by Neil Coxon, six years after the death of his father, to help other families record memories.

Locksbrook Road sex toy firm Lovehoney also scooped two awards, walking away with Best Business Website and the

It brought together the great and the good of Bath’s business community and this year’s Bath Chronicle Business Awards has been hailed the biggest and the best ever.

Customer Service Award.

Co-founder Richard Longhurst said his firm, which has expanded dramatically in recent years, had to excel at customer service because of the intimate and personal nature of its products.

He said of the website award: “Our website shows people that it is okay to get involved in the world of sexual happiness and sexual pleasure, and that everything is going to be all right.”

Other winners included the Abbey Hotel, which won the Leisure and Tourism Award, while Duncan Glendinning, founder of the Thoughtful Bread Company, was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Park Lane Press took Environmental Business of the Year and the award for Innovative Start Up Business of the Year went to Go

www.thrings.com 42 AGENDA November 2013

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BUSINESS AWARDS

The customer service team from LoveHoney, Jasmine Kirby, Lucy Plummer, Jasmine Winter, Laura Little and Andrea Bartlett, collect the Customer Service Award from Withy King MD Graham Street

Dominic Gibson and Matthew Hobbs, of Go Active Coaching, collect the Innovative Start Up Award from Digiprint director Ben Gregory

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Duncan Glendinning with Andrew Sandiford, from Bishop Fleming, and Valerie Singleton

Active Coaching.

Ian and Christa Taylor, who took over the Abbey last year, said they were delighted to win the award. Mr Taylor added: “It means so much to all our team.”

Mr Glendinning raised £55,000 earlier this year through Crowdfunding to expand his business with new premises

Tim and Annie Moss from Moss of Bath, pick up the Retailer of the Year Award from the Bath BID manager Andrew Cooper

in the city. He said: “I’m chuffed that we have been around for a while, proven ourselves and this award goes towards those achievements.”

There were two winners for the Training and Development Award, which was shared by manufacturer Polamco and architects Stubbs Rich.

SOLICITORS www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013 AGENDA 43

BUSINESS AWARDS

Environmental Business of the Year winners Tim Bacon and Philip Sudwell, from Park Lane Press, with Councillor Ben Stevens, Councillor Cherry Beath and host Valerie Singleton

Andrew Cooper, manager of the Bath BID, which won the Contribution to the Community Award

Polamco production director John Stephenson said the firm had seven apprentices in three age groups and added: “We are very pleased that manufacturing is being appreciated and is right there on the local agenda.”

Stubbs Rich director Nick Stubbs said: “This is the third year we have picked up a Bath Chronicle Business Award, this time celebrating the training and development of our staff which is so essential to who we are and what we do.”

Electrical and hi-fi firm Moss of Bath was awarded Retailer of the Year, with owner Tim Moss saying the accolade was

“a real and wonderful surprise”.

He said the secret of the success of the business, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, was its reputation and “consistently delivering high levels of service”.

The Bath Business Improvement District, which pools money from a business levy to improve the look and vibe of the city centre, won the Contribution to the Community Award.

BID manager Andrew Cooper said: “It’s a great acknowledgement from the business community of the

www.thrings.com 44 AGENDA November 2013

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BUSINESS AWARDS

Pictured From You to Me is named Small Business of the Year. Neil Coxon, Kerri Littlefield, Helen Stephens and Adrian West collect their award from FGW general manager Rob Mullan and Valerie Singleton

Harry Neubert, Martin Lee, Luke Manning and Claire Thorogood

Lynn and Andrew Lennox and Katie Leonard

Bethan Roberts, Claire Beard, Alex Wright and Emma McDermott

positive work done by the BID.”

Bath and North East Somerset Council, Bishop Fleming, Crest Nicholson, Digiprint, First Great Western, The Francis Hotel, Juice Recruitment, Money Wise, SouthGate, The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership and Withy King. The Framing Workshop sponsored the drinks reception.

Sarah Jones, assistant hotel services manager at the CircleBath hospital, was named Best Employee of the Year, and said: “I’m so proud that with the support of my colleagues I was able to bring back CircleBath’s third award in three years.”

This year’s awards were supported by headline sponsors Thrings, as well as category sponsors Baker Tilly, Bath BID,

FAB Table Art provided the table centres and Simple Recruitment sponsored the programme. ■

SOLICITORS www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013 AGENDA 45

DIGITAL

Dr Emma Patterson, from the University of Bath, is encouraging the business community to take advantage of the new online education revolution.

Open learning

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here is a revolution taking place in the higher education sector.

Not only is the on-campus playing field changing, with new tuition fee structures and increased international competition, the growth of the MOOC, or Massive Open Online Course, is changing the way people access academic knowledge.

The term MOOC was coined as recently as 2008, but open access learning had been available for some time before. The difference we’ve recently seen is an increase in the number of these courses available, something that can be partly attributed to better software, leading to more interactivity and greater opportunity to provide stimulating online learning.

The launch of the edX MOOC platform by MIT and Harvard universities in the US in 2012 kick-started the idea of curating courses from different providers through a single, branded organisation.

This autumn we’ve seen the launch of FutureLearn, the UK’s first curator of 46 AGENDA November 2013

MOOCs. FutureLearn has been underpinned by the Open University, who were providing distance learning long before the internet made it easy to reach audiences around the world.

More than 20 UK universities are contributing MOOCs to the FutureLearn platform. The University of Bath is one of these contributors, and I will be leading the delivery of one of our first MOOCs. What does this mean for businesses?

These free courses are opening up the doors of universities to students from all backgrounds, requiring very few qualifications, if any, to get involved, and allowing students to study flexibly. This makes certain courses ideal for staff’s development The MOOC I am designing is aimed at professionals – especially those who want to better understand the drivers for, and role of, sustainable development within business, and to be harnessed with tools and techniques that will help them integrating a sustainable development strategy within their own company.

Whether you’re updating your employees’ skills in an area they’re already working, preparing them for new responsibilities or simply giving them opportunities to learn new skills, there are courses available through platforms such as FutureLearn and edX, giving access to the latest thinking in almost every area you could want to study. MOOCs offer businesses an opportunity to enhance traditional training with specific programmes that employees take at their own pace.

Universities are continually developing new and novel ways of delivering knowledge, making it engaging, relevant and valuable to learners. Here at the University of Bath we’ve come out top in the country for the satisfaction of our students, and I’m now looking to incorporate our world-class teaching techniques into my MOOC. I encourage readers to consider how MOOCs might benefit their organisation. Whatever size your company, the opportunities to ensure every member has the chance to learn and develop are increasing. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

Bath Apprenticeship Awards 2013

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at Digiprint

ARCHITECTURE

First impressions The co-working space at the Guildhall – 40 micro businesses have taken space within the first three months of the launch

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rom the outset, start-up companies need to be attractive to prospective investors, potential employees and new customers or clients.

The pressure is on to communicate what your business is about and what its values are in such a way that these key audiences gravitate towards you and feel confident about your offering. Your decision about where to base your business will form a vital part of the impression you are making.

A business that chooses a run-down warehouse is saying something quite different from one that chooses a period property or a hi-tech business park. There is no right or wrong answer, but the decision is important and will colour the impression of every visitor and potentially impact on your success and growth.

In Bath, we recently saw the opening of co-working hub The Guild at the nothing less than grand premises of the Guildhall. Quirky and colourful, the 350sqm space is already doing well, with 40 micro businesses taking space within the first three months of 48 AGENDA November 2013

John Rich, partner at architects Stubbs Rich, explains how choice of office location speaks volumes about a business. the launch.

Yes, it does cost more than sitting at your desk at home, but consider the benefits – an excellent central location, a high-quality and well-serviced building and the chance to network on a daily basis with other entrepreneurs.

ideas will be needed to lift what might otherwise be drab or standard space.

But this need not be daunting – the creative use of just colour and lighting can be transformative.

Importantly, making the move to paid-for, dedicated office space also communicates to others that you are investing in your business – it suggests ambition.

Try looking at your current workplace in the same way that you would a hotel you have just checked into.

Does it lift your spirits, or is it a bit scruffy and down-at-heel? Be aware that this is exactly how others will perceive your business.

The Guild provides ideal growing conditions for new companies, but the time may come when a larger base is required. Leaving this type of supportive and community-orientated base can be a challenge, partly because the next step up will almost certainly mean higher office overheads for far more modest accommodation. Low-cost, but visually attractive interior design

The workspace is surely the ideal place to shout out your business’s brand values: it needs to inspire you and everyone else who can help make your business a success. ■

Many technology companies appreciate that the workplace has a strong influence on the way visitors feel about their brand, and that it can dramatically impact on employees’ creativity and productivity.

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

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DEVELOMENT

Waterside regeneration Bath 2030 is going to look very different to the city many of us live and work in today, from new apartment blocks, hotels and shops to a casino, a new rugby ground and an enterprise zone.

Business reporter Liza-Jane Gillespie takes a closer look at three projects set to transform the city.

Ann Godfrey, from Bath Preservation Trust, David Metcalfe, from the Cultural Forum, Cllr Ben Stevens and Robin Kerr, from the Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations

50 AGENDA November 2013

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DEVELOPMENT

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£5 million flood defence scheme due to start next summer will see a key road re-routed and ground levels raised to allow the city to unlock its development potential.

Plans have been revealed as to how the city will protect its £1 billion enterprise area from floods in the future.

Council bosses, with the support of the Environment Agency, are proposing to raise land around Green Park Road as well as move traffic further away from the river bank as part of the Bath Quays Waterside Project.

Corn Street would become two-way and be extended through what is now the coach park to link up with Green Park Road, allowing a 100-metre stretch of Green Park Road, parallel with Avon Street car park, to go.

Land at Avon Street, which will be known as Bath Quays North, will be raised by a metre to take it above flood levels. Land on the opposite side of the river – Bath Quays South – will also be raised, with a retaining wall, set to a higher ground level, built along the river, as well as new buildings to act as a flood defence.

According to Bath and North East Somerset Council, the project will pave the way for 2,500 new homes, 650,000 square feet of new workspace – equivalent to nearly nine football pitches – and the creation of 9,000 new jobs, by overcoming one of the major stumbling blocks facing the string of brownfield sites along with river.

In 2008 Sir James Dyson had to drop plans to build a £56 million school at the old Stothert & Pitt Newark Works site – part of the Bath Quays South zone – amid Environment Agency concerns over flood risks. www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

City leaders also hope the changes will create a new waterfront space with walkways, cycle routes, cafes and events like boat races.

B&NES cabinet member for sustainable communities, Councillor Ben Stevens (Lib Dem, Widcombe), said the flood defence work would also help unlock the potential of land in other parts of the city, such as Manvers Street.

“Improvements in public space will mean the river will become a place for both work and play. Making the natural environment as pleasant and attractive as possible is important to reconnect the river to the heart of Bath.

“This project is crucial to getting the green light for planning consent for new development, like homes and workspace. The equation is simple; no flood mitigation equals zero new homes, jobs and opportunities in the emerging enterprise area.

“We are working with the Environment Agency and engaging with the communities who will be affected by our proposals.”

The cost of the work will be met by an £11 million investment from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership.

Other work will include improvements to the river edge alongside Newark Works, raising river walls on the south side of the river between Churchill Bridge and Midland Bridge, improved flood defences on existing buildings along Lower Bristol Road and strengthening a pumping station in Lower Bristol Road.

Alterations are also planned for the river along the towpath between Churchill Bridge and Green Park. ■ November 2013 AGENDA 51

DEVELOMENT

SUPPORTERS HAIL SCHEME AS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY The plans to transform the city centre’s riverside are already being welcomed by business and community leaders.

Co-chair of the Cultural Forum for the Bath Area, David Metcalfe, said: “The Green Park Road flood protection scheme looks like a great opportunity to enliven this section of the riverside for recreation and assembly, and to celebrate some of Bath’s dynamic and colourful quayside past in an inventive and beautiful way.”

Ann Godfrey, from Bath

Preservation Trust, said: “The flood mitigation work of the 1970s was successful in achieving its purpose, as well as providing us with the beautiful Pulteney Weir.

“It is important there is a next stage which fulfils current and future needs and allows the city to regain a relationship with the riverbank as a space for leisure and recreation.”

Chairman of the Federation of Bath Residents’ Associations, Henry Brown, said the plans created a new quarter for the city: “This is one of the least attractive parts of

Bath and it’s crying out for regeneration. We welcome this project because of the opportunity to create an interesting new quarter, to reduce the impact of Green Park Road, and to reconnect the city centre to the riverside.”

Executive director for Business West Bath, Ian Bell, said “To make things happen in the Bath City Enterprise Area, this vital piece of the regeneration jigsaw must slot into place alongside improved transport, better local skills and availability of workspace.”

New gateway

An artist’s impression

I

t has been under construction for more than two years but Bath’s newest residential quarter is about to get a new gateway. The £400 million Riverside development is already home to more than 300 people.

The building next to Victoria Bridge will be eight storeys high with staggered tiers. It will house 45 apartments and two commercial units on the ground floor – possibly a bike cafe.

This year two applications for a further 80 homes have been granted permission and two other applications for 38 town houses and 259 apartments have been sent to city planning bosses.

Its counterpart, next to the new Destructor bridge, will be nine storeys high, also with staggered tiers. It will have 50 apartments and one commercial unit on the ground floor – possibly a cafe or restaurant and a creche.

However, the Crest Nicholson development, which will eventually include more than 2,000 homes, is gaining momentum.

Both buildings, which have been designed by architects Studio Egret West, will be built using Bath stone mined from Combe Down and will have an atrium down the middle to allow light into all the apartments, rooftop gardens and green walls to encourage wildlife.

The developer has now unveiled designs for two new buildings which will dominate the site’s entrances next to the Victoria and Destructor bridges, which will be tallest buildings on the site.

52 AGENDA November 2013

Crest Nicholson plans to submitted a formal planning application for the next phase by the end of the year. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

DEVELOPMENT

Bath is placing its bets on the future development of Saw Close as more details are revealed of how the city’s new leisure quarter will look.

Will casino gamble pay off?

T

his is the first image of how Sawclose will look after a £14-million casino development has been revealed. Pictures showing the area virtually pedestrianised, with space for al fresco dining, form part of a formal planning application submitted by developer Deeley Freed.

The bingo hall and the Market bar will close to make way for the new casino and hotel. The Sawclose public and private car parks will also go in the scheme submitted to B&NES Council. The entire scheme, including a modern four-storey building, has been designed by Bath-based Aaron Evans Architects.

The scheme will deliver Bath’s first modern-day casino, as well as two new restaurants and a luxury 148-bedroom hotel. It is anticipated the new leisure quarter, expected to open in summer 2016, will create 116 jobs.

Deeley Freed’s planning consultant, Chris Hays, said that more than 150 members of the public had attended an exhibition on the plans held over the summer.

The casino, which has already been granted a provisional licence, will be operated by French firm Groupe Partouche SA in partnership with Global Gaming Ventures (Bath).

The hotel will be operated by Z Hotels.

Several buildings will be demolished including the car park kiosk, 1 and 2 Bridewell Lane, the Regency garage and the former clinic building.

An extension to the Gala Bingo hall, which is to the rear of the building, will also be demolished. Deeley Freed’s heritage statement says that, although the hall is a Grade II listed building, the northern extension is an amalgamation of various buildings and has been significantly altered over the past 100 years.

“The proposals have been worked up and refined over a long period of time, with input from the council’s technical officers, local interest groups and businesses, and the wider public. This process has been invaluable in ensuring that we put forward a development scheme that is sensitive to the historic environment and a good fit with neighbouring uses,” he said.

“The scheme represents important investment in Bath city centre, rejuvenating a key central space and delivering new uses that will underpin Bath’s entertainment and leisure sector.”

The council is scheduled to make a decision on the plans

by February with work due to start next summer. To see the application in full, visit www.bathnes.gov.uk ■

PRACTICE HAS DESIGNED KEY CITY CENTRE PROJECTS Architect practice Aaron Evans has been behind several significant city centre schemes in recent years.

The firm, which has celebrated its 35th anniversary this year, designed the conversion of Bluecoat House also in Sawclose, the Seven Dials, the www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

Kingsmead Leisure complex, the mixed-use conversion of Duck, Son & Pinker and the new music and performing arts building at City of Bath College.

More recently it was involved in the restoration of John Wood the Elder’s

Grade I Listed almshouses for St John’s Hospital, securing Listed Building Consent to install double glazing.

Following the death of founder Aaron Evans last year, the practice is led by Kevin Murphy and Richard Neville.

November 2013 AGENDA 53

DEVELOMENT

New stadium divides opinion Bath is continuing to have its say on proposals to create a new multimillion rugby stadium for the city.

P

eople have been giving their views on plans to build a new Bath Rugby stadium at The Rec. The club has held a consultation to get feedback from people about the long-running proposal to build new facilities at the city centre site, which has been its home for nearly 120 years.

It has appointed a team of experts from Wilkinson Eyre Architects, engineering consultants Buro Happold, environmental design firm Nicholas Pearson Associates, Boyer Planning and project management specialist Capita Symonds to work on a masterplan for the scheme.

Owner Bruce Craig has promised that the new arena – likely to increase capacity to between 15,000 and 18,000 – will be world-class, reflecting its heritage setting.

The club plans to submit a planning application by the end of this year.

Neil Blacker, from Frome, is a long-term Bath Rugby fan and has been a season ticketholder for the past six years.

The 62-year-old said he had doubts he would live to see the new stadium built: “We have been waiting for so many years. It has got to the point where season ticketholders have not bothered to renew them, particularly this year.

“They have just got fed up with the waiting. This is probably the worst ground in the country, we just have to look forward to the day when the facilities are improved.”

This view was back up by Marcus Hart, 60, who lives in the city centre. He said: “The reality is we need progress and change. Why is Bath a museum and not a living city?

This place is hindered by the curators of this museum city.”

Rugby fan Stuart Redman, 63, from Bear Flat, said: “We have probably the most beautiful ground in the world, with the worst facilities in the Premiership. The rugby club needs to improve the facilities and it would be a great benefit to the city if it did. The benefits clearly outweigh the negatives.”

However, not everyone is supportive of the club’s plans, with others saying it would be better if Bath Rugby built a new stadium outside the city. Sue Evans, 62, who lives in

“

This is probably the worst ground in the country, we just have to look forward to the day when the facilities are improved 54 AGENDA November 2013

”

Nick Blofeld at The Rec

Bear Flat, said she was concerned about the impact a large development would have on the World Heritage City: “I think people get emotional about it because they support the team, but I wonder whether they have thought what a large stadium would look like in relation to Great Pulteney Street and other historic buildings.”

Bathwick resident Jack Sparrow, who is campaigning against the development, said he was waiting for the planning application to see exactly what it would look like.

He added: “I want to see Bath Rugby moved off this land.

If the ground is not big enough for them, then they should go somewhere else.”

He cited the example of the Exeter Chiefs, who moved out of the city to their out-of-town Sandy Park ground in 2006.

Bath Rugby’s plan is to demolish and rebuild the existing west stand and the north terrace/clubhouse, so the three permanent sides will be improved. The east stand will continue to be a temporary removable structure to allow the opening up of The Rec for sports, leisure and cultural events.

Meanwhile, there is a court hearing coming up to discuss the three appeals against the Charity Commission’s decision to approve the land swap deal.

The Government watchdog has agreed that land owned by the rugby club at Lambridge can be brought under the control of the Recreation Ground Trust to compensate for the extra space needed at The Rec for a new stadium. But those opposed to it say it is breaking the rules of the historic legal covenants covering The Rec. Speaking earlier this year, chief executive Nick Blofeld said: “This new facility is for the use of the whole city, with the rugby ground and home of Bath Rugby just one of many functions. With that in mind, it is appropriate that we consult the people of Bath in the process of drawing up a design to be submitted as a planning application.

“The Rec is one of the most recognised grounds in world rugby. We celebrate our 150th anniversary in 2015 and it is fitting that these plans are now being worked up ahead of that historic milestone.” ■ Turn to page 13 to read Director of Business West Bath Ian Bell’s monthly column on why The Rec development is crucial for the city attracting new business www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

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NETWORKING

Guests enjoy a fine feast in the Abbey

F

ood has been the focus for Bath with the city’s second Great Bath Feast. To signal the start of the month-long celebration 106 people dined in style in Bath Abbey, enjoying a banquet cooked by three Michelin-starred chefs.

The exclusive one-night-only event included a Champagne reception and a three-course meal prepared by Chris Staines, from The Allium Brasserie at the Abbey Hotel, Sam Moody, from The Bath Priory Hotel and Restaurant, and Hywel Jones, from Lucknam Park.

Bread was supplied by Richard Bertinet, from The Bertinet Bakery, while Great Western Wine selected the wines.

Chris Staines, from the Allium Brasserie, Hywel Jones, from Lucknam Park, and Sam Moody, from The Bath Priory

Throughout October, 105 food events were held by 100 participating businesses, from the Meet the Chef Supper Club at the Kilted Chef in Kingsmead Square, to the Chilli Festival at the University of Bath, as well as free demonstrations and masterclasses in the Great Bath Feast Pavilion. â–

PICTURES: Ferla Paolo Photography

Catering and hospitality students from City of Bath College helped serve the food

Susanne Jiggins and Claire Rendell

56 AGENDA November 2013

Guests sit down to dine www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

NETWORKING

Jonathan O’Shea and Sarah Mansfield

Brian and Margaret Roper

Hellen Moody and Peter Farrar

Leigh and Becky Evans

Andrew and Christina Brownsword

Naomi and Darren Hales

www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

November 2013 AGENDA 57

SMALL BUSINESS FOCUS

Priority planning With many issues facing the city’s businesses, from parking to business rates, more cooperation is needed, according to Angela Ladd, chairman of Small Business Focus.

I

n July of this year we were privileged to attend a council-led meeting, the Independent Traders’ Forum, to hear the results of a study into the impact that micro and small locally-owned businesses have on the economy of Bath and North East Somerset.

It was no surprise to hear that 7,500 of the 9,000 businesses in B&NES are locally-owned, comprise 84 per cent of the business stock – with around 5,800 being sole traders.

This is, after all, the section of the business community that Small Business Focus represents and supports.

B&NES has a higher volume of locally-owned businesses as a proportion of the business stock than most parts of Great Britain. It generates up to four times’ additional spend in the local economy.

Furthermore, the growth achieved by local small businesses was mainly responsible for employment growth within B&NES from 2008-2010.

Bath’s independent businesses employ 24,900 people (or 60 per cent of total employment in the city).

What is more, the money generated remains within our local economy.

So the council has at last decided that locally-owned businesses are to be prioritised. Ten priorities were set: improved communication between the council and independent businesses, the need for joined-up thinking, business rates issues, transport and parking, differentiating Bath’s offer, providing a “warm welcome”, delivery arrangements for local traders, social media, data sharing and regular meetings.

Regular meetings were set at three-monthly intervals. Mock ye not, it is a step in the right direction.

The second meeting took place a week or so ago with fewer traders participating. What a shame. How 58 AGENDA November 2013

Avon Street car park

can you interact with the council if you won’t attend the rare meetings?

First item from the list was the transport and parking. The council presented their plans for reduction of vehicles in certain streets and proposals for park-and-ride sites in an attempt to solve congestion problems.

One trader pointed out that most of the cars in the centre are probably trying to find their way to car parks, which are badly signposted.

The car parks were shown in high definition on the map and all seemed to be going well until Alex Schlesinger (our honorary secretary),

asked about the life expectancy of 50 per cent of the car parking areas – Manvers Street and Avon Street.

None of the council representatives knew quite how to respond as the intention is to build on these car parks within the next year or so.

At the rate of one item from the priority list at each meeting, it will take more than two and a half years to introduce each issue.

But maximum priority for businesses lies with business rates. We would like to see the current system replaced by a sales tax, a fairer system for all. ■ www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

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