Borough Business Kingston Business Magazine January 23

The

Part of the South Thames Colleges Group

Welcome to New Members 6

Patron News 8-10

Richard Burge LCCI 14-15

Cover Feature - Skills 16-19

Kingston Borough Business Awards 2023 22

Chamber News 23 Environment 24-25

Health and Wellbeing 31 News 32 Arts & Culture 33

5 Minutes with 34

Editorial and General Enquiries

Guildhall, High Street Kingston upon Thames. KT1 1EU. 020 8541 4441

Email: office@kingstonchamber.co.uk Web: www.kingstonchamber.co.uk

Chief Executive: Forbes Low

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Published Winter 23 © Benham Publishing and Kingston Chamber of Commerce

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Media No. 1901

Disclaimer

Borough Business is published for Kingston Chamber of Commerce and is distributed without charge to Chamber members. All correspondence should be addressed to Kingston Chamber of Commerce. Views expressed in Borough Business are not necessarily those of Kingston Chamber of Commerce. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission. © 2022. Please note that submitting an article does not guarantee publication. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published in this journal, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content.

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Patron Members

WELCOME TO BOROUGH BUSINESS

The Kingston Chamber of Commerce magazine for all Businesses in Kingston

As I write this at the end of November, it is quite a challenge to compress succinctly what a year 2022 was. It has seen the good, the bad and the pretty damn ugly, sometimes all in one day, let alone in a week or month. For me, one word captures it all; leadership. When it is good, leaders motivate others to achieve something new and better. When leadership works in name only, it is self-serving, selfish and pulls people apart. We have seen far too much of this. Closer to home, I have seen many examples of true leadership in our local businesses, the voluntary and health sectors and key stakeholders in the Borough who have all led by example, in a difficult economic climate.

From a Chamber perspective, there are many positive stories to tell. I am delighted to say that our Kingston and Chessington Business Expos continue to deliver a special day, with a rich tapestry of exhibitors and seminars really playing their part to support and share advice.

Our inaugural Kingston Borough Business Awards, back in March, was a tremendous success and the

winners captured the business diversity we have in this Borough. We are currently into the submissions period for the KBBA 2023 programme and I am looking forward to the seeing the judges struggle to decide who will be the finalists and winners. My immense gratitude goes out to our headline sponsor Kingston University, all our sponsors who support the KBBA, and to all our businesses who engage and compete!

Our networking events, from our breakfasts, to Women in Business lunches to the new Net Walking, have been greatly supported by our members over the year, for which we are much appreciated.

The New Malden Business Forum has been consistently well attended and the conversations and networking are beginning to provide value. The THINK GREEN webinars have been successful and we have now established, with the energy of Ioanna Rossi at Kingston Council, a Kingston Green Business Community. If you are a business practising sustainable practices, join this community and get more involved.

I would like to thank our Patrons whose support for the Chamber goes directly to all the events that we deliver. Each and every one of the Patrons are committed to the business environment and show leadership in many humble and discreet ways.

In this difficult period, I need to thank all our members, partners and friends for your determination, spirit and drive. As a Chamber, we cannot work or serve by ourselves. I have seen, time and time again this year, the simple power and value of talking and sharing. Our membership does this so well and unselfishly. By collaborating and supporting each other, Kingston is stronger together. These values will hold us well for 2023.

Take care.

Forbes Low CEO

Kingston Chamber of Commerce forbes@kingstonchamber.co.uk

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

BOROUGH BUSINESS - The voice of Kingston’s business community

hr dept

Porter the Sorter

Does your business need to go on a New Year diet?

Ask our resident HR expert, Sandra Porter of The HR Dept for advice on your workplace worries.

New Year resolutions are often about introducing discipline so that you can become your ‘best self’. Whether it is stopping smoking, exercising more, eating less, - it is often about creating and sticking (or trying to stick to) habits that are going to help us be ‘better’ (whatever that might look like) in the future.

This can also be a good prompt for a review of your business habits. Where could your business be ‘better’ - more efficient, lean, healthy? Where could you create better capabilities, strengths or mindset across your team that will serve your business and customers well over the year ahead?

Think about the answers to the following questions:

1) What are your personal habits and how do they affect your business? (working long hours, unhealthy eating, poor sleep)

2) What changes could you make that will have a positive impact on your business and team around you?

3) What team habits should you introduce or protect to engage your team? (team meetings, increase recognition, great team socials, team development)

4) What team habits are not helpful and need to be addressed? (gossiping, lack of accountability, grumbling about clients)

5) What could your business new year resolutions be and what difference could they make? What would your team say?

Creating your business habits for the year ahead and getting them into your diary now could make all the difference. This can be a great idea for a team session to get the year started on a positive note.

As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, highlights, it is often the small daily habits that if improved make a huge difference over the year, ‘not one silver bullet’.

If you have questions for Porter the Sorter, email hrhelp@hrdept.co.uk for consideration for future editions.

The HR Dept are an outsourced HR services provider supporting local SMEs with their people issues and strategy. For advice on helpful habits in the workplace and anything else people related call 0345 208 1290

Always seek employment law advice regarding management of your people issues to ensure that you and your business are well protected from potential litigation risks.

Get involved to drive change together

Nearing the end of 2022, we have some exciting events ahead of us. The Kingston Borough Business Awards (KBBA) are coming up to recognise the hard work of businesses in Kingston.

This is a great way for a business and charities to increase their visibility and showcase the unique ability their business or charity delivers to the community and their clients.

With the first awards delivered successfully, I would like to highlight the great work Forbes and the Chamber team delivers to have awards with integrity. I would also like to recognise the judges giving up their time to mark and deliberate in a fair manner to decide the winners. Speaking to the judges it has been incredibly hard to make those decisions as we have such a huge pool of amazing businesses and charities in our borough.

The Chamber is working hard on delivering Booster + program supporting businesses which have been operating for at least 1.5 years. This unique program combines expert advice together with peer-to-peer support for business owners. One of the great things is to be able to get a health check of your business as part of this program. There is a limited number of funded spaces so don’t delay and speak to the Chamber office to learn more.

Not forgetting the environment, we had great news from Citizen Zoo

releasing water voles in the Hogsmill this autumn. They should be busy getting settled into their new home and hopefully thriving and spreading along the river. Volunteers keep monitoring for invasive species such as Mink which could endanger the whole project. I would encourage you all to take part or support Citizen Zoo financially to continue their restorative work to our environment. Find out more at citizenzoo.org.

Get involved with our green community to drive the change together with the support of Kingston Chamber, the Council and IQ in IT LTD.

Register your interest: https://iqi.click/green

Join the conversation: https://iqi.click/kingstoncommunity

Kingston Chamber Festive Drinks

We had the Chamber Christmas drinks at Bone Idyll which was a lovely evening, in a great new bar setting. It was really well attended and as usual, our members made the most of the evening!

Netwalking

The great Netwalking is continuing and is growing in popularity with our membership especially with the four-legged ones. A very fresh way to discuss business.

The voice of Kingston’s business community

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

Katerina Damcova Chamber President

Welcome

Glee Whizz Photography Gary Lee www.gleewhizzphotography.com/ Giselle Monbiot Therapist, Coach & Wellbeing Specialist Giselle Monbiot www.gisellemonbiot.com/

Not Just Travel Emma Parker www.emmaparker.notjusttravel.com/

Progress Economy Recruitment Natalie Alexander www.progresseconomyrecruitment.co.uk/ Not Just Travel Liam & Lisette Julio-Quinn www.lisetteandliam.notjusttravel.com/

Safe Sure Care Ltd

How seriously do companies take health and safety training in a recession?

Is it something that is too often cut from the budget?

Sadly, it is too often the case that if companies have to tighten the purse strings, health and safety training is viewed as a ‘non-essential’ and put on the backburner. This can potentially be really dangerous.

Good health and safety should be a prerequisite for all companies; not an option that may be pushed to one side when finances are stretched.

We offer a range of courses in the Health & Safety, Health & Social care and Plumbing and Drainage sectors - both in house and at training centres around the country.

Courses range from how best to move and handle people in health and social care; safeguarding of vulnerable adults; infection control; to courses on electrics for plumbers and gas installers; and water regulations.

All these different areas will have safety aspects that are specific to them. How far a company goes in terms of incorporating safety at the core of its business is largely dependent on the culture – from the boardroom down.

But to give an example of how dangerous a lack of training can be, we have come across cases of people using high-pressure water jets with little or no understanding of how to use the equipment.

There is not a legal requirement for a license to use a high-pressure water jet even though these machines are incredibly powerful and

can be used to cut through concrete. The thinking is sometimes, ‘let them learn on the job’ with another colleague showing a newcomer the ropes.

The problem here is that this is nothing close to proper training and while a new recruit might be lucky and avoid injury, there is also the real prospect of serious injury or even fatality.

I know a case of a young drainage engineer who was injured when a jet nozzle flew back at speed and he lost his eye – literally – they couldn’t find it. He also lost sight in his other eye. And this could all be put down to lack of training.

In this instance, a young person’s future had been jeopardised by lack of foresight and cutting corners with regards to employee health and safety.

It is true that the HSE will generally look for evidence of competence in equipment handling and training but in many instances because of a lack of licensing and the pervading ‘learn on job’ ethos, the damage is often done before lessons are learned.

Reeves Training Solutions was set up by my wife and I in 2019. Previously I had worked for many years as a trainer, coach, mentor, and training consultant for an international company assisting with the training of over 1,000 engineers in their UK operation.

I have been able to use the wealth of

by Mike Reeves Managing Director of Reeves Training Solutions

experience and contacts made over these years to good effect with my own company.

We have continued to grow and have clients not only in the borough but nationwide. We can also provide trainers to deliver the majority of our courses at the client’s location minimising down time and travel for their staff.

We want to make training programmes as accessible as we can and it is encouraging how our testimonials have persuaded other companies to acknowledge the importance of health and safety and view it as a priority.

We have training venues in West Sussex, Warwickshire, Oxford and London; and further north in Leeds and Castleford. We have a number of freelance trainers around the country who we can call on – for instance in Scotland I might ask someone to take a course for me.

With the more bespoke and niche training courses, I like to, if possible do them myself which means being on the road which works well as my wife (who runs the office) is able to come with me and work remotely.

Our aim is to provide as many people with the training they need at a time and place that works for them. The result is more companies not only appreciating the benefits of safe working – but realising the assurance and confidence employees feel as a consequence.

Exciting Refurbishment Plans at Bishops Palace House/Riverside Walk

At Canadian and Portland we have been working hard this year on exciting plans for the refurbishment and enhancement of our building at Bishops Palace House/Riverside Walk.

The proposals aim to deliver some high-quality bar/restaurant space from the part of the property previously occupied by the Viper Rooms nightclub along with an additional restaurant with external seating at ground level directly above Chakra, Bill’s and Comptoir Libanais. The proposals will also deliver grade A office space from the refurbishment of the offices previously occupied by Russell-Cooke solicitors. We intend to make significant enhancements to the service yard to the

rear of the property, the undercroft between Cote and the Bishop pub and the introduction of a new Art installation along the Riverside.

The proposals will drastically improve the roofscape of the property as seen from Kingston Bridge and will bring the vibrancy of the Riverside level up through the building. The site will benefit from a new lift tower that will provide access to those with mobility issues, which the upper parts of the property currently lack. This lift tower will provide the entrance to the scheme for both the new bar/restaurants and offices directly from the Riverside.

The proposals will also strengthen and diversify the night-time economy by delivering a high quality bar/restaurant that will remain open later into the evening to provide the Town centre with a fantastic new destination the like of which Kingston doesn’t currently offer. Ultimately these proposals will deliver a mixed-use scheme with a truly exceptional location unrivalled anywhere else in South West London.

If you would like to provide comments in support or objection to the scheme please visit the link below on Kingston Council’s website.

https://www.kingston.gov.uk

Official Opening of new Student Centre at Kingston

councillors, Kingston Chamber of Commerce, Kingston University, Head Teachers of local secondary schools, Aim Higher, current and former governors of Kingston College, Kingston Council representatives, employers, staff, student ambassadors and student council members – as well as the construction and design teams who were instrumental in delivering the building.

Pearson Hards reflect on 2022 and look forward to 2023

Kingston College celebrated the completion of its fantastic new Student Centre at Kingston Hall Road with an official opening ceremony on Thursday 10 November 2022.

The £10 million remodelling was officially opened by The Rt Hon Sir Ed Davey, MP for Kingston and Surbiton, and the Leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Yogan Yoganathan MBE, Mayoress Saro Yoganathan, local

The opening was marked with the unveiling of a plaque by The Right Hon Sir Ed Davey MP, a music performance from former Music Performance student, Emily Lucas, and aerial dancer displays from twin sisters, Alessia and Isabella di Giulio, who are current Technical Theatre students. A further guest of honour was George the Dog, by renowned contemporary animal sculptor and former student, Kendra Haste, who works with the medium of galvanised wire.

The wonderful catering was created, prepared and served by current Hospitality and Catering students from the Taste Restaurant at Merton College, who are studying Level 2 Food and Beverage Service Skill and Level 3 Advanced Professional Cookery, with filming and photography captured by Kingston College Media students. Student Ambassadors provided tours of the new facilities.

As we reach the start of a new year, it’s often a good time of reflection to assess how well the last year has gone and to consider the challenges ahead. Thankfully, for us, 2022 was a very positive year at Pearson Hards and, following the challenges of 2020, the firm has gone from strength to strength. In the last 18 months to 2 years, we have recruited some really excellent new talent in the form of newly qualified solicitor, Flavia Mongiello, who joined our Wealth Management team. Paul Denza joined us and brings an extensive experience in Trusts and Taxation which has been a great addition to our Probate and Wills team. Daniela Litsova has also joined our Property team and she brings a wealth of knowledge of both residential and commercial property matters. The new starters have fitted in so well with our existing team and are working brilliantly together.

Our trainee Elena Mitejko qualified in the summer of 2022 and now works as a Family solicitor, working with Partner, Emma Rothstein Alex Copson joined us as our new trainee, having previously worked in our Wills and Probate team. He has had an excellent start working with our Commercial Property department and will be soon moving on to his next seat in March. We are very proud of our team and the achievements they have brought to the firm.

We have also enjoyed socialising as a firm again, which hasn’t happened as much since the Covid-19 pandemic. We enjoyed a wonderful evening at Sandown Racecourse in September for our staff and their partners. We laughed, we drank and we (in most part) lost money on the races, but it was such a pleasure to be back together again.

We hope that 2023 be as good a year for us and our staff. There are certainly challenges ahead with the current economic climate, but we are confident we will weather the storm with a fantastic team and wonderful clients on our side.

Summers-Inman continued investment in 3D digital laser scanner technology

As we head towards the end of 2022, we reflect on what has been a busy and eventful year here at Summers-Inman. We have continued to take on projects across a wide breadth of industries including education, healthcare, residential, commercial, retail and leisure. We have particularly enjoyed the projects associated with positive outcomes for the community including hospitals, schools, and housing developments.

We always strive to give the best possible service to our clients, and so this year we’ve continued to invest in 3D digital laser scanner technology. This has enabled us to capture existing buildings at a high level of detail in a more efficient and accurate way than current methods, providing better value for our clients.

Making connections with the local area has always been an important part of the SummersInman ethos, and so this year we’ve been working alongside Kingston University providing support for

Kingston University’s work to embed future skills across all courses draws praise from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey during campus visit

A group of senior Liberal Democrat MPs visited Kingston University to find out how it is helping students develop future skills for career success through a progressive new model of education.

The University has been highlighting the importance of skills for innovation to the national economy as part of its Future Skills campaign, which has found problem solving, digital competency and the ability to analyse and think creatively were among the graduate attributes businesses most valued.

Kingston and Surbiton MP Sir Ed Davey met with staff and students at the University’s flagship Town House building to discuss the campaign’s latest research and see first-hand how it was now embedding future-proofed skills across its courses.

mock exams and running assessment panels for third year engineering students. We’ve also employed several local students to come and work with us.

During the autumn period we implemented a programme of New Engineering Contract (NEC) training across all our Summers-Inman offices with a hugely successful pass rate. Our staff can now use their technical and practical skills to excel as project leaders and provide our clients with professional advice and support.

Looking forward to 2023 we hope to continue strengthening our connections to Kingston University as well as with other local businesses and networks. We are also excited to be submitting entries for the Kingston Borough Business Awards (KBBA). We’re going in for the Best Professional Service and Customer Service categories. We very much enjoyed attending the award ceremony earlier this year and meeting with other local businesses in the area.

He was joined by the party’s business spokesperson, Richmond Park MP Sarah Olney, and education spokesperson and Twickenham MP Munira Wilson.

Instilling future skills teaching across the curriculum through the newly launched Navigate programme is a central part of the University’s Town House Strategy. The programme is being piloted this year, before being rolled out more widely across the institution. From September 2023, all undergraduate courses will incorporate self-diagnostic and future skills development sessions within first year modules.

After speaking to students taking part in the pilot and staff involved in its delivery, Sir Ed praised the work being done to ensure students across the University were prepared to meet the changing needs of industry. “It was fantastic to hear about the amazing Future Skills research Kingston University has been doing,” he said. “The University is now applying those lessons for the student experience to

help people navigate through higher education, work in a multi-disciplinary way and take those life skills into the world beyond the University.”

Bringing parliamentarians to campus to show them how the institution was putting the findings of its Future Skills research into practice had been an important opportunity to demonstrate the value this new model of education could have for the economy, University Vice-Chancellor Professor Steven Spier said.

“Our Future Skills reports have clearly shown what businesses say they need to meet the challenges of the future. We have taken the results of that and are weaving that into how and what we teach our students so they are fully prepared for the future world of work,” he said. “Introducing this work to three of our local MPs and giving them the chance to speak directly to our students demonstrated how we are delivering the Future Skills agenda both for our students and for industry.”

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

- The voice of Kingston’s business community

How will technology influence the UK Business Landscape in 2023?

By Neil Parsons, Managing Director, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting UK

Technology is continually influencing the business landscape, and in 2023, we’re set to see IT and business collaboration become stronger. Vendors will be seen more as partners in 2023.

The reality is that the nature of customer and vendor relationships has developed with the introduction of SaaS solutions to businesses: the continuous nature of SaaS software features has underpinned an evolving relationship. Businesses aren’t willing to work with vendors who don’t quickly establish this partnership type of relationship. There has to be a human-led relationship there for customers to feel that their input is being recognised and fed back into the way a business develops its software (in our case) or products and services. Feedback should be on a continuous loop and, while it isn’t possible to put every idea or suggestion into practice, customers want to be, and deserve to be heard.

One of the true building blocks of a fruitful customer/vendor relationship is actively identifying and documenting key pain points across all customers, and constantly exploring how to enhance any internal processes that affect the overall experience. It’s about listening to customer feedback and analysing it in a constructive and practical way. When customers feel they are being listened to and that your team is acting on their feedback, it can only serve to enhance and reinforce the quality of your mutual relationship.

On the road with Holland Hahn & Wills

Holland Hahn & Wills have been on the road in Birmingham and Liverpool at conferences over the last couple of months. It’s fantastic to be able to mingle again, listen to talks and presentations and absorb new information in person! In addition we were delighted to be able to hand our Expo spot over to two local charities, Kingston Charitable Foundation and Kingston Hospital Foundation Trust.

We enjoyed walking round the Expo, meeting and greeting, and were proud to help out in other ways. We have also been hosting a few events ourselves, again helping out local charities who need to use our new yet historically interesting office as a venue for board meetings and the like! With much media

IQ in IT celebrated their 14th anniversary this month!

To celebrate, IQ in IT organized a two-day extravaganza for our team. The first day being an adrenaline-filled laser quest event to quaint and tasty dinner the next with the team. With this celebration, we wanted to have a look book on the many growths of our small yet powerful company. To finish our celebration we have an exclusive event with Holland Hahn and Wills to celebrate with our clients and admire the beautiful architecture at their office.

focussing on the increased cost of living, rising inflation and mounting tax bills, please do give Holland Hahn & Wills a call if you need any help

with your personal finances. An initial chat is free and could save you in the long run!

Since being established in 2009, IQ in IT has grown exponentially. From just the two co-founders, Katerina and Luke, starting up a small IT MSP business, wanting to help local businesses get the IT support and infrastructure they need to having a full-grown team that continues to support businesses whilst expanding to this very day!

As a company, we’ve gone through many stages of development to become who we are today. From first becoming members of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce in 2011, Katerina becoming the Director of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce in 2015, ISO27001 certified for the first time in 2016, becoming a certified domain registrar in 2019, Katerina becoming the President of the Kingston Chamber of Commerce in 2020, Gaining ISO9001 in 2021 together with becoming Cyber Essentials certification body to Green Mark Certified this year and so much more that can’t

all be condensed in here. We continue to strive to accomplish more achievements as a team and better help our community and environment.

IQ in IT also continues to encourage young people to break into IT through the many educational schemes the government has offered. We’ve had many apprentices become a permanent part of our team over the years and still continue to do so. Just this year alone we’ve added 3 new apprentices to our team, two from the kickstart scheme. We’ve also employed quite a few employees this year, the latest addition being our 3rd line support engineer, Greg!

With so much growth happening within the company, we hope to continue expanding our abilities to provide all your IT needs for years to come. Here’s to many, many more years of IQ in IT!

Read more about our journey: https://iqi.click/14

TOP TIPS for dealing with HMRC furlough enquiries DON’T PANIC!

WHAT IS A SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT AND SHOULD I HAVE ONE FOR MY BUSINESS?

You may or may not know that the Oxford English Dictionary defines furlough as “to give somebody permission to leave their duties for a period of time”.

What is a shareholders’ agreement?

You might hear different names (joint venture agreement, investment agreement, shareholders’ agreement) but they all essentially mean an agreement for a business with more than one shareholder which sets out how you will work together, how key decisions about the business will be made, and what you can and can’t do with your shares.

In the press, we have seen increasing mention of ‘furlough fraud.’ It has recently been estimated that the UK Government is likely to write off £4.3 billion pounds in furlough fraud.

the furlough scheme to help retain their employees during the pandemic may receive queries from HMRC. These could even be in cases where only legitimate furlough claims had been made.

an existing agreement (you shouldn’t have to keep redoing it, unless something really material changes).

show your intention of being cooperative, but will also help address any issues, without the need for escalation.

Why should we have one?

Help – I’ve had a query from HMRC

What will be covered in this sort of agreement?

What is furlough fraud?

Below are some practical tips to help you respond to any queries received.

Each agreement will be bespoke to the particular business, but this type of agreement will likely cover:

Examples of furlough fraud could include:

• Furloughed staff being asked to continue to work;

• how directors are appointed to the board;

Tip 3: Make sure you review your records and keep copies.

This will allow you to refresh your memory and more importantly have all your documents ready to disclose to HMRC if needed.

With any luck, you’ll go to the trouble (and, unavoidably, some expense) of having a shareholders’ agreement prepared, only to file it away and never look at it again. Hopefully the venture will have gone well and you’re all working together well and concentrating on running a successful business.

Tip 1: Do not panic!

• what happens if a new shareholder wants to join;

• Claiming furlough pay for staff who did not qualify for the scheme;

Understand that HMRC may be following up leads or simply asking questions to ensure that all claims made were done so properly.

• how big decisions are made (such as changing the business of the company, taking on new lending, or making big purchases);

• Claiming furlough pay for ‘made up’ staff;

Tip 2: Do not bury your head in the sand.

• what happens if a shareholder wants to sell up and move on;

• Over-claiming furlough pay;

• Not passing the full amount of furlough pay to the furloughed employees;

• how you can stop a departing shareholder from competing with your business; and

Tip 4: Be transparent.

In the event you realise that a mistake has been made, or any overpayments have occurred, make sure you promptly inform HMRC.

Tip 5: Keep records for a minimum of six years.

The real value of a shareholders’ agreement often becomes clear when the picture isn’t so rosy and something has gone wrong, perhaps because the founders have fallen out, something dramatic has happened in terms of a shareholder’s personal circumstances, or the business just hasn’t been as successful as everyone had hoped. When this happens, a good shareholders’ agreement will lay out the process for how to move on from this (such as the remaining founders buying out the one who wants to leave).

While it is easy to get distracted in keeping the business running, it is important to understand that this is not going to go away. If you cannot find time yourself to engage with HMRC, then make sure you instruct an adviser who can do so on your behalf.

• what happens if a shareholder doesn’t do what they’re supposed to. Obviously all of the shareholders will need to be happy with an agreement before you sign it, and if new shareholders join later they can also sign a simple short document which will make them a party to

• Deliberately providing false information to receive furlough pay from HMRC.

While it is understood that only a very small minority intended to defraud HMRC, it is known that HMRC have started ramping up their investigations and actively following up on tip-offs received. Many business owners in the UK who had accessed

Rachel Taylor

Direct: Phone +44 (020) 8394 6525

Even if you don’t end up in this ‘worst case scenario’, a shareholders’ agreement is still really useful as a planning exercise and for focusing minds at the outset, or when scaling up, about your expectations of each other.

Even if you were successful in addressing any queries and the matter was subsequently resolved, do keep your records for a minimum of six years to assist you with any potential future queries.

If this is something you think would be suitable for your business, please contact Rachael Taylor in the Russell-Cooke corporate and commercial team.

It is often too easy to say that we ‘will deal with this later’ and soon enough a month or more has gone by. It is always better to be proactive and start engaging with HMRC as soon as possible. This will not only

We can help

It goes without saying that if any actions are being taken against you by HMRC, please seek independent legal advice urgently. Contact our senior associate Sheetul Sowdagar in our professional regulation team, for help.

Email: Rachel.Taylor@russell-cooke.co.uk

Tree Bee Rescue is a new service launched to help save an unrecognised and unloved national asset

Every week somewhere in the UK wild tree-living honeybees are being destroyed. Why does this matter? Because we rely on Honeybees to pollinate our crops. 70% of crop species responsible for feeding 90% of the world are pollinated by bees. 90% of perishable food farming depends on pollination by honeybees. But for too long we’ve taken them for granted. Now it’s time to recognise the value of honeybees. It’s time for

Tell us about the BeesMAX mission; BeesMax is a not-for-profit company and our mission is to reverse the decline of the UK bee population. We ensure companies, schools and organisations make a long-lasting impact on the environment and the sustainability of our planet.

Our sister company is Surrey Honey Farm (now trading as Tree Bee Rescue www.treebeerescue. org) The Surrey Honey Farm mission is to promote the collection of and conservation of the UK’s wild tree-living honeybees. Currently the tree-living honeybee’s unique ecosystem within the tree trunk is being destroyed each time a beekeeper is called out to remove some of the bees from the tree and domesticate them. By splitting the log open this is the best they can do. These bees, if they survive the trauma, then go on to be used for honey production. The Surrey Honey Farm Tree Bee Rescue service aims to highlight their plight in the national media. We will rescue, and conserve wherever possible.

How challenging has the last couple of years been for the organisation and what is the

outlook going forward? Covid did not stop our beehive management because honeybees are classified by DEFRA as farming livestock and as such an essential activity. Production of honey as a food continued. However, the BeesMAX client interactive work ceased which was very difficult for us. But being a totally outside activity, easily separated from each other and contained within beekeepers ppe our interactive services were soon restored!

We have is a good story for BeesMAX to come out of the COVID era. We repurposed the use of UVC Ultraviolet in the “c” range of frequencies and are applying for a Kingston Innovation Business Award for this initiative. Commonly used to sterilise swimming pool water and fishponds we saw UVC being used on the New York Trains (whilst they were not in use!) to kill COVID. This led me to investigate if it would kill wax moth which is a highly endemic pest in honeybee colonies and it did work very successfully. Now BeesMAX has a unique solution to honeycomb storage and killing wax moth more generally which is a huge step

forward, if you are into bees that is! We do not intend to patent this repurposing and it is too significant to hide away behind lengthy legalities.

How do you engage with local schools and what are the benefits gained from this partnership?

BeesMAX looked at the traditional ethos of teaching the art and craft of ancient beekeeping skills in schools and saw it didn’t actually help teach very much the national curriculum STEM subjects, so we wanted to change that. Students are there to learn the stem subjects not to become beekeeper’s presa. Beekeeping is a path towards environmental studies which is great but a very narrow focus. We wanted to broaden the engagement and funnel what is very valuable teaching time to science, computing mechanical engineering etc. So we are creating a DIY sensory kit that students have to design, construct and test the gathering of raw data from the beehives. The path towards environmental studies continues but more importantly is underpinned by science, engineering and computing.

your direct action. Honeybees need our help.

Similarly, how can businesses and organisations get involved with yourself and what are the benefits; BeesMAX provides a range of services to help companies, schools and organisations protect honeybees and help them thrive. We essentially provide a rental facility with wraparound services to accompany our traditional beehives. Now we also have a complimentary service for clients to become involved with, in the rehoming and conserving on their premises free-living honeybees nests

that have been recused from trees being taken down, burnt and/or shredded.

Do you have any specific initiatives or projects that you would like businesses to get involved with?

The Tree Bee Rescue Initiative; Domesticated honeybees (Apis mellifera but also known as the Beekeeper’s traditional honeybees) ) play a huge role as pollinators of our perishable food. But our UK original wild honeybees can still be found living in hollow trees. These unrecognised and unloved tree-living honeybees play an even greater role

than the beekeepers domesticated honeybees as they are the protectors of the only original wild British Honeybee gene stock. That unique gene stock is becoming increasingly diluted and rare. Domesticated honey bees are not well-adjusted to survive in the confines of hollow trees in the wild. Honeybees increase biodiversity, maintain ecosystems and ensure the future of a sustainable planet. But for too long we’ve taken them for granted. Now it’s time to recognise the value of wild freeliving honeybees. It’s time for your direct action. Wild unloved tree-living honeybees need our help.

The benefits are;

● Fully managed beehive installation at your property with regular visits as required.

● Rewilding of local landscapes with tree-living honeybees that were being destroyed.

● Sharing of beehives with local schools and community groups.

● STEM learning and research with schools and universities to broaden outreach and engagement

● Providing in-hive cameras and live streaming for educational purposes or simply to increase engagement and awareness.

● Teaching the craft of beekeeping

● Being able to demonstrate that you are taking an active part in the preservation and repopulation of honeybees.

● Creating a pollination zone of several square miles as client-based honeybee

colonies fly up to 4 miles in any direction, vastly improving the chance of wildflower regeneration. These flowers produces seed the wild birds relish. The remaining seeds will increase diversity and the quality of undergrowth for mammals and all the other wild animal we so desperately need to save. We need to eco-campions to lead the way and make a difference.

● Staff and student interactions are a fundamental principal of our services. We provide beekeeping ppe suits so anyone of any age can experience and become involved. What can be a highly anticipated stressful situation is converted to an rewarding and personally life long experience people never forget.

● Whether it be a corporate lunch club gathering or an after school activity the wellbeing appreciation and soul searching that happens in the moment of engagement is

Tough times ahead but at least the grown-ups are in charge

Last time we interviewed Richard Burge, the UK had just seen its ‘latest Prime Minister’ installed in Number 10.

Richard also namechecks the UKCA (UK Conformity Assessed) mark which has been pushed back two years. UKCA is the new UK product mark that will be required for certain products being placed on the market in Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland). It covers most products that previously required the CE mark.

The UKCA mark will not be recognised outside of Great Britain and products will still need to bear a CE mark to be sold in the EU.

“The UK could choose not to do it – it would equally be a sign of a sovereign nation - but it is probably unlikely.”

two incompatible international treaties – the Good Friday Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol. You get a sense now that both sides realise a solution has to be found.”

This is important as it could help build UK’s tarnished reputation not only in Europe but around the world. “Boris Johnson negotiated the NI Protocol and then said; ‘we don’t have to obey it’. This was really damaging to our reputation and the importance now is to make it clear that we are a nation that does not bend the rules”.

Overseas trading opportunities

In a matter of weeks, Liz Truss’s whirlwind Premiership had come and gone. So now that the dust has settled somewhat, is there reason for the country and businesses in general to be positive?

“You have two captain sensibles in charge of the two main parties – and this is how a grown-up country runs its government. I would say I am relieved rather than optimistic or positive,” Richard says.

As for the ‘B’ word Brexit and news coverage indicating that the impact of being outside the EU is now being felt, Richard believes that more pain and confusion could lie ahead.

“Brexit impact is starting to come through but the EU has still paused some changes that will be brought in – for instance regarding Solvency II ( a Directive in European Union law that codifies and harmonises the EU insurance regulation)”.

Thawing of UK and EU relations?

Returning to the idea of ‘grown ups’ being in charge, Richard points out that while Rishi Sunak supported ‘Leave’ it was from a standpoint of believing the UK would be better outside the EU –rather than an ingrained hatred and suspicion of the EU - like some of the zealots within his party.

So far there has been no sign of the provocative language used by Brexit hardliners.

“Rishi Sunak doesn’t have the same baggage as others. It is true that French President Macron is of the view that the UK must feel it has lost something from leaving the European Union. But there is also the feeling that dialogue in general is improving on all sides.”

Richard adds: “With Northern Ireland for instance, language is starting to emerge that you have

A potential thawing of relations with the EU and a focus on pragmatism - rather than the abrasive rhetoric from both sides of the English Channel – is no doubt encouraging. Especially as the frequently touted major trade deal with the US looks no closer now than it has ever been.

“Democrats are not by instinct in favour of freetrade, so there is little reason to expect US-UK trade deals to suddenly open up.”

Richard adds: “You are never going to get a US-wide trade deal as so much is done at a state level. Agreement with individual states in the US is the way forward,” Richard argues.

Other items on his wish list include a review of IR35 (off-payroll working rules) and a root and branch reform of business rates. “We need a major review of how the government taxes business but that is Royal Commission territory so that will not happen quickly.”

Backing small business

More support for SMEs is something that Richard would particularly like to see.

“We still haven’t cracked the problem of opening up capital equity markets to SMEs. The mechanisms aren’t there to enable SMEs to tap into this market. The UK government needs to make it easier for SMEs to access capital rather than most of the money going to bigger businesses.”

He concedes that fledgling high-tech businesses might attract capital from investors without too much difficulty since there is the opportunity for stellar growth followed by relatively swift merger or acquisition. However, for most companies attracting financial support is a hard slog. “If your business is in plumbing or retail, your reward comes from the return of your investment rather than the sale of your business.”

And finance from other sources might not only be difficult to secure but the other downside is there is there is little in the way of a buy-in to the venture. For instance, banks will only lend, they won’t invest – the only risk they take is on a default.

For high-tech businesses that may find it easier to access capital, Richard has concerns that while the concept might offer enormous potential, a lack of business acumen could prove a stumbling block.

“You have a tech business run by a group of 25year olds, they have no HR skills – why would they at that age? They often lack soft skills - how to engage with people which is essential in running a successful business. It is something that should be taught in schools but isn’t. Teachers have a lot on their plate as it is, but we need to look at equipping young people better in this area.”

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

BUSINESS - The voice of Kingston’s business community

Photo by Amaar Saleem on pexels.com

Partners coming together

Funded by South London Partnership, Kingston and Merton Chamber of Commerce have been working with Kingston and Roehampton Universities to explore new business models that can contribute to the value-enhancement of local businesses and building of a strong trust-based network with the Chambers. The outcomes from this research offer a number of pathways.

On December 6th, a workshop was hosted to discuss this research. This was a unique morning, bringing together Merton, Wandsworth, Hounslow and Kingston Chambers, with representatives from local BIDS, stakeholders, business voices and officers from local Councils. The event was hosted at the award winning Town House, Kingston University.

Context of the project

Chambers of Commerce have a long history of supporting businesses and representing their interests, and since the 1980’s, have been the main conduit for governmental business support policies and funding. However, the more recent years have witnessed a transformation of the

very form of business support services, and their access, thus, threatening the sustainability of the local Chambers. With digital transformation of many of the support services, accelerated further by the recent Pandemic, and a parallel mushrooming of other institutions mimicking the offer of the Chambers, many businesses seem to be choosing alternative ways in accessing business support services as well as their networking strategies.

Using an online survey of businesses in five South London boroughs: Merton, Kingston, Richmond, Sutton, and Croydon the project reached out to local businesses, both members (continuing) and non-members of the Chambers.

The results

The research showed that business support services are varied, both across types of service and geography (boroughs). The prime concerns of the businesses remain arounds profitability and sustainability of their businesses, with gloomy economic outlook as a major environmental challenge. As much as 53% of businesses in South London areas need support in marketing/ sales, finance, and growth strategy. Quite starkly, around 40% of the South London businesses noted to have difficulty in getting business development advice. In terms of the sources of business advice, the online sources were top rated and popular source of advice,

- The voice of Kingston’s business community

The research showed that business support services are varied, both across types of service and geography (boroughs).

followed by accountants, and other business network of the organisations surveyed. There is a general lack of engagement with the local Chambers although those who have engaged with the Chambers reported to have benefited, mostly from ‘networking’ and expert ‘sign-posting’. More than a third of the businesses surveyed lacked awareness of the services that the local Chambers provide creating a barrier for engagement.

The bigger picture emerging from the study is the apparent mismatch between demand and supply of business support services. The research found that the arrival of new market information, multitude of sources of information, multiple shocks of varied magnitudes, and depth of uncertainty have created information overload, often confusing, leading to insipid engagement with the Chambers of Commerce. This is exacerbated in the case of small/ micro businesses where the time and resources are of essence. This entails a bigger effort in bridging the gap by strengthening the partnership between the businesses and the local Chambers. The research offers a number of pathways to re-build the network by depicting clear leverages of positive externalities for both businesses and local Chambers leading to long-term sustainability of both.

The next steps

The morning hosted five break out groups which explored the research recommendations and focused on finding practical outcomes that the Chambers can utilise to bridge the gaps that the research highlighted. There were some very insightful feedback and comments which are being collated and will be fed back to all

the attendees and their respective Boards and partners. The four key areas to develop further were communications, diversity and appealing to a younger entrepreneurs, partnerships and providing a much clearer local business proposition.

Our thanks go to BIG and South London Partnership for their support with this project, Roehampton and Kingston University and Merton Chamber - their collaborations made this a really productive morning, with a strong clear message do this again.

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

- The voice of Kingston’s business community

There is a general lack of engagement with the local Chambers although those who have engaged with the Chambers reported to have benefitted, mostly from ‘networking’ and expert ‘sign-posting’.

Skills shortages are impacting businesses across all sectors

Clive Lissaman, Head of Employability at Kingston College, spoke about how work experience had evolved from just a few days with a company into the extended industry placement which was more beneficial for students and businesses.

He said: “With an industry placement you actually get to work with a young person for about a year before deciding whether you want to employ them.”

Cat Hinchliffe, HR Manager, The HR Dept, suggested that to retain staff business could look at their non-financial offer for employees.

There is “now quite a clamour” from skills providers and councils involved in the discussion around the skills gap, he said, adding: “We’ve got skills providers that can provide your business with the skills to deliver what you want to do in future. But at the same time, skill providers really need to know what your needs are.”

Kingston Council is also changing its approach to employment services, Sean said, to

Ideas on recruiting and retaining employees were a central part of the discussion at the Barwell Business Breakfast: Recruitment & Skills, held in partnership with Kingston Chamber of Commerce.

Welcoming attendees to the event at unit 50 on 22 November, Chamber Chief Executive Forbes Low, said: “The point of this is really to start and to continue the conversations which many of us have had internally, about skills, retention of staff, future employability, and what is going on in this particular sector.”

Ken Butcher, Asset Manager, Aviva Investors, which owns Barwell Business Park, added: “There are estimated to be over a million unfilled roles in the UK at the moment, yet a very low unemployment rate of only about 3.6 per cent. This is reflective of a national issue and one likely to be just as relevant for people and companies at the Park, as well as for the wider area.”

Martin Randell, Employment Adviser, Kingston Job Centre Plus, invited businesses facing challenges with recruitment to contact the centre which this year alone has supported 600 people into employment.

He said: “I can book you in for a recruitment session either individually or at a monthly jobs fair which is attended by between 200 and 300 people. These are all local people, looking for jobs at all levels, from retail and hospitality up to senior management roles.

“The service we offer is free, it’s professional and it works.”

She said: “It doesn’t have to cost much and it really is worth looking at a wellbeing policyinitiatives that you can bring into the organisation to show your employees that you actually care about them, that you’re willing to spend time talking to them and that your managers are trained to deal with mental health discussions.”

“What we call employee value proposition is going to attract people and retain them. For very little money, you could offer your employees an employee assistance programme. It doesn’t cost much for you to run each year but gives your employees something that they can go to, a confidential helpline where they can get support.”

“Having an awareness of things like bereavement or menopause, or what’s going on in people’s lives shows that you do actually care about them. The more you focus on wellbeing, the more engagement you’re going to get from staff, as well as more productivity, better performance and loyalty.”

Sean Gillen, Corporate Head of Employment, Skills and Enterprise, Kingston Council said the council wanted to know what challenges business were facing because “there are increasing opportunities for us to help”.

“a more targeted approach towards those with barriers to employment, and that could be young people leaving care, people with mental health problems, people with disabilities, ex-service personnel, all sorts of cohorts of people that are further from the job market and might need that bit of extra support”.

He asked businesses to consider supporting individuals further away from the job market, saying: “We’ve all got hearts and we want to be part of our community and actually have impact. There are sometimes huge benefits to taking that step further from just going to the jobs market and thinking ‘actually, how can the job provide help to someone that may have more of a barrier to employment’ and if you want to think like that, there is support in place for you to do that to through the services that the council provides and through our partner organisations.”

“The point of this is really to start and to continue the conversations which many of us have had internally, about skills, retention of staff, future employability, and what is going on in this particular sector.”

Chamber Chief Executive Forbes Low

EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS AND WORK EXPERIENCE: creating employees of the future

There are many benefits to embarking on a relationship with STCG (South Thames Colleges Group), including:

• E xtra Resource – Work experience students can help to support current staff in tasks

• New Expertise – Our students can provide your company with up-to-date expertise. For example, you may be going through a company re-brand and need a graphic designer

You can offer student placements from as little as one week, or up to 45 days for those students studying the new T Levels. The length of time is dependent on the sector you are in, what the student is studying and the skills you will find useful. If you are not sure where to start, contact our work experience team. We can help you decide what you need and introduce you to suitable candidates.

Beauty Therapy students provide manicures to residents at Galsworthy House Nursing Home

The College is delighted to work closely with employers and organisations and is always keen to discuss opportunities with contacts looking for support or to raise the profile of their business by meeting our students or hosting them for work experience.

At Kingston College we run biannual Employability Weeks when students can attend talks from a vast range of employers as well as workshops on improving CV skills and mock interviews.

We most recently held an employability week at Kingston College where students enjoyed talks from JP Morgan, Brentford FC and National Physical Laboratory amongst others. Employability focus weeks really help to develop the employability skills of our students, improving their communication and teamwork skills.

• Recruitment Opportunity – Hosting work experience students allows you to trial potential future employers

• Community Reputation – Students share good experiences with friends and family which could enhance your reputation as a business in the local community

• S taff Development – Encouraging current staff to mentor or supervise work experience students can contribute to an employee’s continuous professional development and help them into line management

• New Ideas – Young people often bring fresh ideas and approaches and may help revitalise your organisation

When organising a work experience placement for you we will carefully work with you to select the most appropriate candidate for your business needs. We can provide students for placements with a variety of key skills to contribute to specific business departments.

If you are available to offer a talk at our next Employability Week starting 6th March 2023 or would like to enquire about work experience opportunities, please contact Clive Lissaman, Head of Employability at Kingston College: Clive.Lissaman@stcg.ac.uk

Kingston College BTEC Graphic Design student, Harry Lloyd-Jones undertook recent work experience at A&B Waters Kitchen and Bathroom Specialists in Surbiton. Harry’s lecturer Nicky Hillard said: “Harry loved the experience, and the employers were impressed with his creativity, commitment, aptitude and professionalism.”

Harry commented: “It helped me grasp the concept of working with a client. Asking questions and being able to adapt to late changes. I love that environment and the challenges that come with it.”

Level 2 Beauty Therapy students have been visiting elderly residents at The Galsworthy House Nursing Home on Kingston Hill, providing manicures to the residents but also lots of friendly company and conversation each Friday afternoon. Beauty Therapy Lecturer, Grace Klos-Lim, commented: “It’s a great benefit to the residents but also to the students who are learning how to communicate and care for elderly clients.”

For students studying at Kingston College employability skills development and work experience is a compulsory and incredibly valuable element of their study providing them with the real progression opportunities that they crave in an ever more competitive employment market.

The Royal Borough of Kingston

BTEC Graphic Design student, Harry Lloyd-Jones was a useful resource during his work experience at A&B Waters Kitchen and Bathroom Specialists in Surbiton.

How the Employee Ownership Trust Offers the Ideal Exit Strategy at ZERO Tax

How the Employee Ownership Trust Offers the Ideal Exit Strategy at ZERO Tax

to a trade sale or an

The Latest Triumph for Employee Ownership

The initiative to introduce the EOT through Schedule 37 of Finance Act 2014 emerged from the Coalition Government as the single most significant triumph in the development of employee ownership since Enterprise Management Incentives (EMI) and the Share Incentive Plan (SIP) were introduced by New Labour in 2000. Unlike EMI and the SIP, which deliver direct employee share ownership to individual employees, the EOT offers indirect employee share ownership.

The unique feature of the EOT is that the sponsoring company’s shares are held in a discretionary trust as a collective arrangement for the long-term benefit of the company’s total workforce in stabilising the company’s ownership structure and securing its independence.

Although different in kind from EMI and the SIP, either of these two scheme arrangements can, if the company so chooses, operate alongside the EOT and offer direct employee share ownership to complement the collective ownership by the EOT.

Notably, the grant of EMI options to senior employees, properly implemented and communicated, can act as a motivational empowerment for executives, thereby ensuring that the shareholder succession is matched by a management succession that is so essential for a successful exit. Nevertheless, the EOT can operate without any accompanying taxadvantaged (tax-approved) employee share schemes, and still offer, courtesy of its own 2014 legislation, if the company so decrees, tax-free bonuses to its employees.

The initiative to introduce the EOT Schedule 37 of Finance Act 2014 from the Coalition Share introduced EMI and the direct share offers share feature of the EOT is that the sponsoring shares are held in a arrangement total independence. in kind from EMI and the SIP, of these two scheme and offer act that the shareholder succession is matched by that is so essential for a successful exit. can without advantaged (tax-approved) employee share and of its own 2014 decrees, tax-free bonuses to its employees.

The Headline Capital Gains Tax Exemption: ZERO Tax Charge for the Selling Shareholders

The Deferred Consideration

Under Section 236M, TCGA 1992, the Controlling Interest Requirement secures a complete exemption from capital gains tax for the seller of the shares for the sale of the 51% (or more, up to 100%) controlling share interest to the EOT in a defined single tax year. This exemption is available for persons who are not companies.

Provided the statutory requirements are met, notably that the shares are in a trading company or the parent company of a trading group, then the capital gains tax exemption is available to an unlimited extent. The fact that the exemption is unlimited is a particularly attractive feature, even if the seller has access to Business Asset Disposal Relief, for the simple reason that the sale of shares to the EOT attracts zero capital gains tax on an unlimited amount of value.

The Income Tax Exemption for Qualifying Bonus Payments to Employees

Chapter 10A within Part 4 of ITEPA 2003, introduced as a new EOT insertion, is devoted to the rules for the tax-free status which accord to qualifying bonus payments to employees. The tax-free status is given as an exemption from income tax for up to £3,600 for each employee in any given tax year, operated for all employees on a same-terms basis.

Although it is the establishment of the EOT that provides the opportunity for the company to introduce qualifying bonus payments, it is the company that pays the qualifying bonus payments to the employees and not the EOT trustees.

Under secures a complete capital gains tax to share year. This exemption is available for persons who not companies. Provided the statutory requirements are are in a then fact that the is attractive even if the seller has access to Business Disposal Relief, simple sale shares attracts zero capital gains tax on an unlimited amount value. Part 4 of introduced as a new to the rules for the tax-free status which accord to to employees. The as an from income tax for each in tax year, for all employees on a same-terms basis. it the company to and not the EOT trustees.

Kingston’s

The Sale and Purchase Agreement for the sale of the shares is between the existing shareholders and the EOT trustees acting on behalf of the EOT. Although the company is not a party to this agreement, it is the company that funds the EOT through an arrangement that must be non-binding in order to ensure that monies received by the EOT from the company are not subject to income tax.

The Sale and for the sale of the shareholders and the behalf of the is not a company that funds the EOT through an arrangement order to ensure that monies received EOT from the company to income sale to

The whole of the sale proceeds, linked to the whole company value, will be paid to the existing shareholders immediately following the sale if the EOT has the available funds, albeit supplied by the company. Alternatively, though, the sale proceeds may be paid as a series of deferred consideration payments over whatever time-period is manageable for the company to fund the EOT.

Given that the deferred consideration does not have to appear on the balance sheet, the creditworthy status of the company is protected in the eyes of the business community. This piecemeal payment profile is an appealing feature for a company that, at the actual date of the sale transaction, does not have the full amount of the available cash to fund the EOT.

existing shareholders immediately following the sale if the EOT has the available company. be deferred payments whatever to the EOT. not to appear protected in the of the business community. This feature a of the sale does not have the full amount of the available cash to fund the EOT.

The Growing Popularity

Since 2014, 1030 companies have taken the EOT route to a company sale. The ownership by the EOT of the shares of the company in perpetuity stabilizes the independence of the company and reinforces the employees’ confidence of continuing employment. In a consultation on exit, as well as discussing the advantages of the EOT, discussion should also be given to the Employee Share Trust (“EST”) which allows a more gradual sale approach over several years. The capital gains tax rate for the sale of shares to the EST (as distinct from the EOT) is the Business Asset Disposal Relief rate of 10%.

Since 2014, 1,030 companies have taken the EOT of the shares perpetuity and on exit, as EOT, Share which allows a more gradual sale approach over rate for the sale of EST from the

David Craddock, M.A. (Oxon.) is a recognised authority in the UK and worldwide on employee share schemes and the author of Tolley’s Guide to Employee Share Schemes.

In this article, David identifies the role that the Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) can fulfil in facilitating the ideal tax-efficient and cost-effective exit strategy as an alternative to a trade sale or an initial public offering.

David Craddock is one of those rare people who has not only a first class grasp of legal and technical issues but also the ability to explain and advise on them in a practical way. ❜❜

LAUNCH NIGHT

KINGSTON GREEN BUSINESS COMMUNITY

The Kingston Green Business Community (KGBC) was set up near the end of 2022 as a free-to-join community of Kingston-based businesses of all sizes, sectors, from wellestablished to start ups. The main aim is quite simple; to share knowledge, skills and bring together people driven to make a stronger environmental impact.

Collaborative work with academia, experts and other organisations will lead to co-creation of solutions to reduce local emissions and access funding. Instrumental will be the role of ‘green champions’ with a focus on particular industries or locations (i.e. a high-street, or an industrial park).

What members will get out of it?

The main value is brings together a community of like-minded people who are driven to make a stronger environmental impact, reduce their resources and costs. The other benefits include

• Expansion of business networks, collaboration, and commercial opportunities

• Capitalising on commercial opportunities from transition to a green economy

• Knowledge sharing and peer to peer support

• Ability to influence the skills agenda and access skilled people

• Benefit from collaboration and free and/ or low-cost support from educational institutions

• A stronger voice for lobbying aiming to address the business challenges to transition to a green economy

• Accessing funding for business support for eco-innovation and decarbonising the supply chain

What does being a member involve?

We would encourage members to be involved. Like any form of networking, the trust and

familiarity strengthen ties and bonds. An important commitment is that member attends over 50% of scheduled Kingston Green Business Community meetings and events, nominating deputies if relevant. Other ways a member can be involved include:

• Championing the ‘greening’ of businesses and organisations within our Borough

• Sharing relevant communications and information to Community members & other businesses through their networks

• Endorse the Community and attract new members

• Share their knowledge about challenges & barriers to decarbonising and eco-innovation and suggest solutions to complex problems

• Making timely decisions and taking action

BUSINESS - The voice of Kingston’s business community

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

SUPPORTED BY:

Our 2022-23 Action Plan

As we look at 2022/23, there are some broader, thematic areas that underpin the Kingston Green Business Community activities.

• Greening Kingston’s economy - innovating, growing & decarbonising

• Developing and promoting Green skills & employment

• Decarbonising business transport

• Exploring how we save and/or generating energy

• ‘Deep green’ - creating a unique, vibrant destination with green planting at scale which helps local businesses to thrive

These all contribute directly to the Kingston Climate Action Plan

The main value is brings together a community of like-minded people who are driven to make a stronger environmental impact, reduce their resources and costs.

Keeping connected

There are a number of ways that the KGBC members can be connected.

• Discord Communication platform for members; this is a new online platform for members to share knowledge and skills and set up by IQ in IT

• Kingston Council Business Newsletter

• Kingston Council & Chamber of Commerce Websites

• Kingston Council Business Community email address: business@kingston.gov.uk

Think Green Roundtable Discussions

These engaging online webinars bring together different businesses who are practicing sustainable processes. It is supported by Kingston Council, Kingston Chamber of Commerce and great business contributors. The discussions coming up include:

• Effectively communicating your environmental achievements

• Community Energy Opportunities

• Food Waste Management in Hospitality Sector

• Zero Waste (SLP Zero Waste Map)

• Healthy & Green Workplaces

Watch out for these announcements in 2023!

Other activities

There will be a number of other activities that Kingston Council and the KGBC will be utilising and signposting. These include:

• The Innovation & Growth in the South London

• Green Mark Re-Certification

• Environmental Reviews of Kingston Businesses pilot programme with webinars on:

• Energy Crisis Management (with Kingston Council, Better Futures+, and CREW)

• How to decarbonise your website (with Kingston Council and Better Futures+)

• Funding Green Projects: an EV case study (Virtual) (with Kingston Council, Better Futures+ and Concept Vehicle Leasing)

• Green Skills & Jobs

• A two-month short-term course in the area of engineering, surveying and construction – KU

• Introduction to Solar Technology –South Thames College Group

• Introduction to Electrification of CarsSouth Thames College Group

• Introduction to InstallationSouth Thames College Group

• Roofing and Voltaic PanelsSouth Thames College Group

• Introduction to RetrofitSouth Thames College Group

• Introduction to Waste ManagementSouth Thames College Group

• Introduction to Sustainable FashionSouth Thames College Group

• Green Launchpad/ MentoringStay Nimble - Kingston Council, South Thames College Group and Kingston University

• L1 Award Environmental Sustainability - 2 half-day course X 2: L2 Certificate Understanding Climate Change and Environmental Awareness - 15-week course: Kingston Adult Education

• Young People and Green Career Opportunities - Coombe School, Kingston Council and business partners

How will we grow our community?

There will be many areas of exciting work to be done in the coming year and the KGBC need contributors. It will need to utilising existing business networks, social media platforms, and personal contacts.

The KGBC will need to provide benefits and advantages that businesses will clearly find by joining community and, though this is in its early stages, the enthusiasm and interest across the Borough is heartening and encouraging.

Instrumental will be the role of ‘green champions’ with a focus on particular industries or locations (i.e. a highstreet, or an industrial park).

The Royal Borough of Kingston Chamber of Commerce

BOROUGH BUSINESS - The voice of Kingston’s business community

Kingston committedCouncil to supporting the local economy

Kingston Council is committed to supporting the local economy and our town centres, to ensure the borough continues to be a sustainable, resilient and successful location where businesses, large and small, can emerge, evolve and prosper.

Shaping the future of Kingston

Supporting our local economy and making sure our town centres are vibrant and diverse places in the future is a key part of the draft Local Plan, which has just been published. It sets out a vision for how we want the borough to develop and change over the next 20 years.

It will guide and shape what can be built, and where, including how we protect existing and create new employment spaces and support the future of our town centres and local shopping parades. We want to hear if local businesses support the policies set out, and if you feel there is anything which is missing or needs changing.

Visit our website or come to one of our online or in-person events to speak to us. The consultation runs until 28 February. Visit www.kingston.gov.uk/localplan

A vision for the Kingston town centre area

Kingston Council, in partnership with Kingston First, is creating a detailed plan for how we all want to see Kingston town centre and the surrounding area change and improve. We have been engaging with businesses and the wider community and will soon be publishing a draft vision for your comments. For more information please visit www.kingston.gov. uk/a-plan-for-Kingston

BUSINESS - The voice of Kingston’s business community

Bringing people into our town centres

Attractive riverside spaces coming forward in Kingston

Kingston Council and Kingston First are looking to transform Eagle Brewery Wharf, on Kingston’s riverside, into a place that everyone can enjoy. Engagement will start in Spring 2023, and you can visit our website to find out more: https://transformkingston.co.uk/eagle-brewerywharf/

We are also creating a more accessible, creative and safer public space along the riverside next to the John Lewis Partnership building. The works are due to be complete in early 2023, and will provide a great entrance to the new undercroft spaces that have been created in partnership with local arts charity Creative Youth, business development experts Town Square, and the John Lewis Partnership.

Boosting our local economy

Kingston has one of the country’s top performing town centres, with relatively low levels of unemployment. We constantly work to help our residents upskill and benefit from a range of job opportunities generated in the borough, and will be enhancing our support for those with barriers to employment in coming months.

Starting and growing new businesses will always be the lifeblood of our local economy, so we’re providing practical advice and support for early stage businesses, through programmes like Booster+ with the Chamber of Commerce. During 2023 we will introduce even more practical support for businesses dealing with rising costs, and for people that may face additional barriers to enterprise.

For businesses which need support and information right now, we’ve created a dedicated Cost of Doing Business page on our website: bit.ly/RBKBackingLocalBusinesses

We also encourage businesses to connect with us at business@kingston.gov.uk and tell us about your needs, expectations and challenges you experience. You can also sign up for our business newsletter here:

bit.ly/RBKBusinessSubscribe

Co mmunity Leisure Complex another step further

Demolition of the Kingfisher Leisure Centre is complete, and we are currently looking to appoint a construction partner. Construction is due to start in late spring 2023, based on designs by architecture practice FaulknerBrowns.

Their recent Britannia Leisure Centre development has been named as New London Awards overall winner 2022, and we look forward to bringing these high standards to our project in the heart of Kingston town centre.

Business sustainability

Kingston businesses can capitalise on commercial opportunities by transitioning to a green economy, and joining the Kingston Green Business Community.

The free-to-join group has been created to help local businesses of all sizes to innovate and grow. The 40-strong membership is currently making the most of local and national commitments and programmes that encourage businesses to achieve net zero emissions.

The council is working toward becoming carbon neutral by 2030 while helping the wider borough do the same by 2038. Working together with our local partners and businesses, we can ensure that our business community will have the right skills and knowledge to transition to a green economy and thrive.

You can find out more about the Kingston Green Business Community and apply to join for free at www.connectedkingston.uk/services/KingstonGreen-Business-Community.

Our team ensure the best quality care is delivered with compassion and kindness

Our team ensure the best quality care is delivered with compassion and kindness

Set within acres of beautiful Surrey countryside, West Hall luxury care home is a lovely blend of our older listed Manor House, complimented by our modern state of the art lodges. We bene�t from a quiet location, idyllic surroundings and acres of exquisite private riverside gardens, for the enjoyment of our residents, their visitors and our colleagues alike.

Set within acres of beautiful Surrey countryside, West Hall luxury care home is a lovely blend of our older listed Manor House, complimented by our modern state of the art lodges. We bene�t from a quiet location, idyllic surroundings and acres of exquisite private riverside gardens, for the enjoyment of our residents, their visitors and our colleagues alike.

Our team ensure the best quality care is delivered with compassion and kindness. We know it’s the small things that can make a big di�erence to the people in our care, like taking time to have a friendly chat or share a joke. As well as supporting new residents on their move into care, our team are here to assist their loved ones every step of the way. We’re happy to answer any questions regarding our residential care or care for people living with dementia.

Our team ensure the best quality care is delivered with compassion and kindness. We know it’s the small things that can make a big di�erence to the people in our care, like taking time to have a friendly chat or share a joke. As well as supporting new residents on their move into care, our team are here to assist their loved ones every step of the way. We’re happy to answer any questions regarding our residential care or care for people living with dementia.

We are very proud that West Hall was rated as Outstanding in the areas of Caring, Responsive and Well-Led and overall in our most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in June 2019. The CQC inspector’s report praised how compassionate our care is, as they observed sta� hugging people automatically to give them reassurance and remarked that it was clear there was genuine friendships between our residents and colleagues. One of our resident’s relatives commented, “We just can’t speak highly enough of the care we are receiving.”

We are very proud that West Hall was rated as Outstanding in the areas of Caring, Responsive and Well-Led and overall in our most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in June 2019. The CQC inspector’s report praised how compassionate our care is, as they observed sta� hugging people automatically to give them reassurance and remarked that it was clear there was genuine friendships between our residents and colleagues. One of our resident’s relatives commented, “We just can’t speak highly enough of the care we are receiving.” We have selected admissions o�ers for new residents.* More information is available on our website at www.WestHall.org.uk. You can arrange an in person or virtual show round, simply by contacting us on 01932800772. West Hall luxury care home is located O� Parvis Road, West By�eet, Surrey KT14 6EY.

We have selected admissions o�ers for new residents.* More information is available on our website at www.WestHall.org.uk. You can arrange an in person or virtual show round, simply by contacting us on 01932800772. West Hall luxury care home is located O� Parvis Road, West By�eet, Surrey KT14 6EY.

*T&C’s apply. Please see website for details.

*T&C’s apply. Please see website for details.

health and wellbeing

New Year, New Goals

After the hype of the festive season, being around family and loved ones for long periods of time, some people’s mood can drop with the imminent new year on the horizon. This has been known to be called the “January Blues and Blue Monday”. This negative outlook is attributed because of bad/ cold weather, shorter hours of daylight, the start of another year, carrying your troubles into a new year and not knowing what lies ahead can be daunting.

So how can we help to change our mindset to a more positive state for this time of the year and to ensure it has continuity. Rather than looking at it as a time of negativity, it should be focused

upon as a time for a new start, new change and new beginnings. This can be achieved by setting realistic goals rather than new year resolutions and making them ones that are achievable. For example, losing weight, rather than set goals to lose unrealistic amounts of weight in a short period of time, start the goal with the loss of weight, being small and increase the weight loss gradually.

This way you are more likely to stick to the goal and have a better realistic chance of achieving it. Whereas if you set your sights too high, you’re less likely to achieve them and this will contribute to your low mood and make the goals inconsequential. This will also feed into your negative mood and can make you feel

justified that the goal setting exercise was never going to work in the first place.

The importance of setting goals is imperative in having a positive mindset. This is because when you set a realistic goal it gives you something to focus and aim towards, also when you achieve it, the motivation and confidence within builds and inspires you to continue and set further goals.

We all deserve to have something to look forward to because that incentivises us to know we have something planned in the future which we are aiming towards. This can be a short break, meeting up with friends, attending a spa day/retreat. All these motivate you to look forward rather than focusing on the past.

Enjoy some quality ‘ME’ time with a bespoke retreat

Achieving a work-life balance is challenging, especially if running your own business. Switching off mentally for just 15 minutes a day and enjoying your own company has a multitude of physical and mental benefits. To further enhance your wellbeing why not have a dedicated pamper day just for you with a Bespoke One Day Wellbeing Retreat.

The day retreat includes: Two spa treatments, a one-to-one yoga session, a one-to-one physical fitness session, a one-to-one Life Therapy Session. Two mini group talks focusing on topics including positive thinking and healthy eating. Lunch is

provided plus a goody bag to take away with you! There is also a fun quiz for everyone to enjoy and the winner gets an extra goody bag!

Retreats are available to book throughout the year, as they run bi-monthly with the first one schedule for Saturday 21st January 2023.

To find out more information or book your retreat contact:

Reeta Minhas-Judd Master NLP Life Therapist & Company Director Email: reeta@rmjwellbeing.com Website : rmjwellbeing.com

Kingston’s business community

Alex Bertha unsplash.com

It has always been known that the onset of negative moods for some can be felt more greatly at the start of the year, normally around January.

A plan for Kingston town centre area

Shaping the future of Kingston town centre and the surrounding area

Kingston Council is working with key partners including Kingston First to create a 10-year plan for the Kingston town centre area, which will include a vision for how we all want the town centre to transform and change. To ensure the plan is community-led, deliverable and owned by all, we are following a new national best practice design process, engaging with a wide variety of people.

In 2022 the council set up a Citizens’ Panel, which represents the demographic make-up of the borough. This brought together 40 people to discuss the issues and together create their vision for the future of the town centre area.

We are now talking to more people including residents, workers, visitors, community groups, businesses, landowners and developers, to make sure there is wide local input into the vision.

As well as the engagement currently underway the work is also being informed by feedback we received during the further engagement on the Local Plan in summer 2021 and an economic development report which Arup were commissioned to do pre-Covid looking at the changing nature of the town centre economy over the next 15 years.

Why do we need a plan for the Kingston town centre area?

Kingston town centre area is currently experiencing significant levels of change.

We need a plan to be proactive and ensure we:

• Find sustainable ways to adapt and breathe new life into our town centre, making it is resilient to climate change so our local economy and communities can thrive

• Invest in and create memorable places and spaces for everyone to enjoy and benefit from

• Celebrate and enhance Kingston’s rich heritage and cultural diversity

• Respond to opportunities emerging through the major development of Unilever HQ, council led development and the educational offering at Kingston University and Kingston College

• Require all new development to be of the highest design quality, environmental sustainability and inclusivity to all people

• Secure a balanced mix of commercial spaces, homes, green spaces and infrastructure

The Plan for the Kingston Town Centre Area will be made up of three parts.

1. A vision - setting out what we want the town centre to look and feel like, bringing together the different strands of engagement into one clear document.

2. A planning framework - this will be supplementary to the Local Plan, providing area based guidance to manage new development and infrastructure in and around the town centre and secure the most benefits for our communities.

3. A delivery plan - this will set out the public sector projects we want to fund and deliver in partnership with key stakeholders to make our vision a reality.

Next steps

The draft vision will be published in early 2023 for comments. Work will then focus on creating the planning framework. For more information about the engagement and reports from the workshops and to share your views visit https://kingstonletstalk.co.uk/ hub-page/aplanforkingston

“Dancing Tulips”

The artist’s favourite medium is oil on canvas because of the slow drying process that allows her to create layers of paint. This adds to her understanding and expression of the complexity of our feelings, emotions and reactions. Irina’s paintings are bold and textured as she paints with palette knives rather than brushes.

arts and culture

Irina Taneva Iri IR is an internationally renowned artist, art teacher and designer, currently living and working from her studio in Kingston upon Thames. Irina, Master of Art, BA (hons) in Teaching art and BA (hons) in Fashion design, has studied in UAL, Central Saint Martins, London, and in the National Academy of Arts, Sofia. Her works are collectable and can be found worldwide in museums and private collections.

Irina’s latest series of paintings are named “Dancing Tulips” and feature flowers in imaginary spaces. She started working on these series during lockdown when she realised how much she misses nature and being surrounded by its beauty. The artist has no interest of painting realistic flowers, instead she uses their shapes as a basis for creating an emotional connection between nature and the inner self. Explosion of colours is what we see in her art works, explosion of emotions is what we feel instantly looking at each painting that tells a different story.

Iri IR

She influenced many people to follow in her footsteps and continues to do this through her other passion of teaching others. At a recent exhibition some of the best artworks of her students of over 100 drawings and paintings in different mediums and themes were on display.

The talented artists range in age from 4 to 64 years. A tour through the art space, you will display paintings of nature and natural phenomena, animals, children, favourite cartoon characters, and vehicles; on themes like favourite games and friendship.

Irina has had many exhibitions in different countries so far, but for the first time she was showing her works alongside her students. Whether creating colourful paintings, tutoring people in art and fashion, Irina attracts an international audience.

For further information, please see the artist’s website: www.irinataneva.com

New mural by local artist takes shape outside New Malden Station

A mural celebrating New Malden has been created outside the town’s station with funding from Kingston Council.

The piece is by renowned street artist and mural painter Lionel Stanhope, who was brought up in New Malden. The mural was commissioned by New Malden Residents Association (NMRA), with funding from the council’s community grants scheme awarded by the New and Old Malden Neighbourhood Committee in June.

Natalie Walton of New Malden Residents Association said:

“In 2019 NMRA voted to adopt New Malden station and we are delighted that this mural is the first project we have undertaken, in partnership with South West Railway and Network Rail.”

Residents were invited to vote for one of four designs based on the iconic station signage the artist is known for, to enhance the approach to the train station and brighten up the high street.

Councillor Lesley Heap, Chair of the New and Old Malden Neighbourhood Committee said:

“New Malden is a unique place with a vibrant community and this wonderful mural is a fitting

way to celebrate the pride we feel in our town.”

“Making our town centres more attractive is a key part of our work to regenerate our borough and support the local economy. I’m really proud that.”

“The easiest flowers to look after are painted ones.”

The Royal Borough of Kingston

The voice of Kingston’s business

Natalie Walton and friends standing outside New Malden’s new station mural

5 minutes with

5 minutes with... Giselle Monbiot

Q1-Who are you?

I am Giselle Monbiot. I am an Integrative Therapist, Wellbeing Lecturer and Specialist

Q2-What’s your business all about?

My business is a combination of 1 to 1 therapy, wellbeing teaching within the community and running bespoke programmes for organisations who want to improve the health of their employees and the organisation as a whole. The therapy sessions are to guide and support my clients to overcome negative belief patterns and heal open trauma wounds that are causing emotional pain, dysfunction or stuckness somewhere in their life. The group courses and programmes are a way to empower the attendees to understand themselves and find ways to live happier and more fulfilling lives. The connection and safety the groups create together is always a delight to be a part of. When we are struggling we can believe that we are broken or have limited choice to create more fulfilled existence. My role is to show people they are not broken. And there is always a way through with the right support, awareness and tools.

Q3-Three words to describe yourself?

Enthusiastic, Intuitive and passionate

Q4-Ideal customer?

Whether I am working 1 to 1, or running groups, the ideal person is always those that fully engage and are not passive with the process. The more engaged my clients are the more they get out of the time spent with me. This means that they continue the work outside of the sessions, are honest to me about the reality of what they are experiencing, and they treat themselves with self-compassion. The recognition that the healing comes from within them creates a deeper sense of resilience, purpose and liberation from what is keeping hold of them. All of these traits might need some nurturing to become fully present, so patience and faith in the process is always beneficial.

Q5-Biggest achievement?

I don’t have one achievement that comes to mind. For me, whenever anyone reports that their lives have improved by working with me, that to me is the biggest achievement I could ever want. To be part of their journey of emotional healing and reconnecting to life with curiosity and engagement gives me the greatest personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

Q6-Biggest gripe?

Not enough hours in the day!

Q7-Your inspiration?

I have many inspirations, but the person currently having the biggest inspiration on myself and my work is Dr Gabor Mate. His insights to the origins of our emotional pain and disconnect and how we reconnect to ourselves can be life changing. He is so honest about his own struggles with life but remains present and engaged with everyone he works with.

Q8-Philosophy in business?

In my line of work, I need to be consistently present with everyone I work with to ensure they feel safe, seen and held. I give a full 100% to everyone I work with and everything I develop. Because along with supporting people with their emotional healing comes a huge responsibility to ensure everyone feels they matter, they’re worthy and they know I believe in their capacity to heal.

Q9-Sporting hero?

Alex Honnald - his pure determination to achieve his climbing goals is something else. He is constantly mastering his craft, focussed on what he needs to do but listens to his body’s signals about whether to push forward or to recognise he has reached his limit. For more information visit: www.gisellemonbiot.com

Q10-Biggest tip for success?

To be successful you must be consistent in what you are doing. The word success has so many different connotations, depending on who you are talking to and how they measure success. For me, achieving success is being consistent whilst focusing on internal motivations such as purpose, what is important to me and how I make a difference to everyone I work with. So become connected to what your internal motivations are to ensure this brings the greatest personal satisfaction as well as energy to navigate through the ups and downs. And selfcare is a priority - give yourself time, every day, to have presence with yourself. Whether through meditation, journaling or breath work, this enables your nervous system to reset, reduce stress and burnout.

THE PERFECT DINING EXPERIENCE

whatever the season