C&W In Business March 2016 by Benham Publishing Limited

Issue 51

February / March 2016

Europe in or out? - page 20

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Foreword

CONTENTS February/March 2016

Exciting initiatives for 2016

Go for Growth News Events

4-5 6-7 8-9

Dear Member, Wishing you a very Happy and Prosperous 2016. Your Chamber of Commerce has much to offer your business this year, as we grow and continue to improve our products and services. You may have already seen the launch of our Go for Growth 2016 Campaign, a campaign focused on lobbying and influencing those in local and national Government (and other bodies and institutions) for better conditions for business growth. As your voice of business, your Team here at the Chamber of Commerce believe it is critical that we have the right kind of investment in skills and infrastructure, whilst operating in a environment of low interest rates and low business taxation. 2016 will be a year when we will continue to strengthen the work of our International Trade Business Hub, offering you all of the advice and support you need to export (or, indeed, think about exporting for the first time). We are already very excited by the prospect of the UKTI-led Trade Mission to San Francisco, in March, focused on nurturing export opportunities for companies in the gaming / media / ICT sector/s.

Look out for the launch of our new Business 'Big Breakfast Club' on 23rd February where we will be joined by Lord Rose who will discuss, with Members, why he believes that remaining in the EU is good for business. I am delighted to advise that the Big Breakfast Club will be run in partnership with the WASPS and the Ricoh Arena. I look forward to see many of you attend what will be a prestigious network. There will be many b2b and networking opportunities available to our Members, this year, not least at our next Business & Trade Expo on 11th March where we will be joined by over 160 exhibitors and a footfall of some six hundred. An event not to be missed. With your Chamber of Commerce key message in mind - Going for Growth 2016 - please do not hesitate to get in touch on 02476 654321 or by contacting me direct on louiseb@cw-chamber.co.uk and I/we will be pleased to offer you unrivalled and impartial advice and one-stop-shop support. Kind regards Louise Mrs L Bennett-Bayliss OBE, DL Chief Executive

Service of the Month

Chamber Training

International Trade

Business Support

News

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Legal &Finance

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Property

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Profile

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Policy

Skills

Around the Region News

Business Direct

News

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New Presidentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Hello 42-43 People New Members

www.cw-chamber.co.uk

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Go For Growth ‘16 Campaign

CONTACTS

Growth

At the Chamber

News desk

Members are encouraged to send any news about their firm - new orders, staff, new products, expansions or relocations - for publication in C&W in business.

“The idea behind Go For Growth follows the Chamber’s final Quarterly Economic Survey of 2015 which suggested businesses in the region were at their most positive at the turn of any year for over a decade.”

Whilst every effort will be made to publish submitted articles, we cannot guarantee inclusion. Send them to: news@cw-chamber.co.uk Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce Chamber House Innovation Village Cheetah Road Coventry CV1 2TL T: 024 76 65 4371 F: 024 76 45 0242

At the publishers

Publisher

Ian Fletcher

Benham Publishing Limited 3tc House, 16 Crosby Road North, Crosby, Liverpool L22 0NY 0151 236 4141

Advertising Contact Karen Hall karen@benhampublishing.com 07801 788880 Production Manager Mark Etherington Accounts Director Joanne Casey Media Number 1434 © Benham Publishing 2016 C&W in Business is produced on behalf of Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce by Benham Publishing Limited and is distributed to members free of charge. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in C&W in Business, neither Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, nor the publisher can accept responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies it contains. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Chamber. C&W in Business is printed and distributed by Headley Brothers Limited The official publication of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce

The official publication of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce 4

The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has launched a major campaign to ensure the region hits its economic growth potential in 2016 - and beyond. The Chamber recently revealed that companies in the region were at their most confident in quarter four of 2015 than they had been at the turn of any other year for the past decade, according to its Quarterly Economic Survey (QES). But, despite that buoyant mood, the Chamber says there are obstacles in the way of growth in Coventry and Warwickshire and that its ‘Go For Growth 16’ campaign will raise the profile of those issues and look to address them. Chief executive Louise Bennett said: “The indicators at the end of 2015 were positive. The QES threw out very confident predictions from businesses, and unemployment continued to fall across Coventry and Warwickshire. “So there are plenty of reasons to look forward to 2016 with great optimism that this can be the best year for business

across the region since the recession. “But while we see the opportunities on offer in the forthcoming year, we also see the barriers to the city and the county fulfilling their potential. “The idea of the campaign is to raise the profile of those businesses who are achieving success but also to shine a light on those matters that could stunt our growth.” The Chamber has split those barriers into six categories and will be engaging with local authorities, MPs, ministers, business groups and other key bodies to help tackle them. The Chamber is highlighting skills, infrastructure, property & land, identity, international trade and finance as the six key areas to be addressed throughout the year. Louise added: “If you look at a business that is in a position to grow, it needs new staff, it may need new premises, it may need finance and it might need to expand into new markets.

“As a region, we have to be geared up for that – so is there the supply of skilled people? Is there the land to allow our businesses to expand and to attract new ones to the area? Is the finance available and through which channels? “Some issues are going to be very local - some even unique to each of our five branch areas of Coventry, Rugby, mid-Warwickshire, south Warwickshire and north Warwickshire. “Others, however, will be on a much bigger scale, such as the whole issue around EU membership and how that affects our members. “It is fantastic to be going into 2016 with such optimism from business and, as a Chamber, we want to help ensure that those aspirations can be realised and not blocked by some of those issues we’ve highlighted. We can’t leave it to chance that it will happen, we have to make a concerted effort to Go For Growth.”

“The idea of the campaign is to raise the profile of those businesses who are achieving success but also to shine a light on those matters that could stunt our growth.” www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Policy Go For Growth ‘16 Campaign

campaign is launched Business leaders behind Go For Growth Business leaders across Coventry and Warwickshire have thrown their weight behind the Chamber’s Go For Growth campaign. The Chamber held a President’s Lunch with Strategic Partners and Corporate Members at Coombe Abbey where it showcased the campaign to key businesses from across the area. The idea behind Go For Growth follows the Chamber’s final Quarterly Economic Survey of 2015 which suggested businesses in the region were at their most positive at the turn of any year for over a decade. And, while welcoming that sentiment, the Chamber believes there are obstacles to growth that could hold back companies across Coventry and Warwickshire from growing.

The Chamber has split those barriers into six categories and will be engaging with local authorities, MPs, ministers, business groups and other key bodies to help tackle them. The Chamber is highlighting skills, infrastructure, property & land, identity, international trade and finance as the six key areas to be addressed throughout the year. On top of that the Chamber also wants to hear from businesses that are growing either on social media by using the hashtag #goforgrowth or by emailing news@cw-chamber.co.uk in order to showcase positive news from across the region.

Branches to support campaign The Chamber’s five branches will be a key element of the Go For Growth campaign. The Chamber has branches in Coventry, Rugby, mid-Warwickshire, south Warwickshire and north Warwickshire and holds regular meetings in those areas. And while the campaign will be focussing on national and regional issues, the branches will help to home-in on local matters that can act as a blocker to growth.

They will range from traffic and infrastructure issues through to supporting companies with issues around being able to expand into new properties. The Coventry branch has already held an event surrounding a lack of commercial property in the city to help companies grow while the Rugby branch has achieved notable success in raising an issue around traffic in an important commercial area of the town.

“While the campaign will be focussing on national and regional issues, the branches will help to home-in on local matters that can act as a blocker to growth.” www.cw-chamber.co.uk

David Penn (Coventry branch chair), Paul Carvell (north branch chair and Chamber president), Louise Bennett (chief executive), Glenn Bourne (Rugby branch chair), Blake Timms (branches & policy officer), Lee Corden (Advent Communications).

News sponsored column

How “Hot Hands” Can Stunt Your £ Growth

Good news for SMEs in the HR dept’s annual customer survey Small businesses in the UK and Ireland are showing positive signs in confidence and growth, according to a survey of 900 companies by the HR Dept.

Surprisingly, studies show that most people are: 1. Overconfident about their own abilities and 2. Unreasonably optimistic about their futures. Whether you are an athlete preparing for the Rio Olympics or a CEO preparing this year’s strategy, you need confidence but what if you are overconfident? There is plenty of well-documented evidence linking confidence with success, but it is easy to make the mistake that its confidence alone that creates success. Most overconfident people are this way because they don’t know what they don’t know. This puts their business at risk. The more knowledge you have the more confident you feel and the more able you are to generate the results you want. In basketball, a player who has just made a successful shot is said to have a “hot hand”, the player believes that their next shot is more likely to be successful. Statistically, the hot hand doesn’t exist but the player believes it does so he takes greater risks which leads to more missed baskets. Successful organisations generate and act on new knowledge. The ability to do this enables you to stay ahead of the competition while building confidence and counteracting high-risk overconfidence. New knowledge can be gained from many mediums, one being the “How to Upgrade your Sales Force” workshop which explores new ideas, many 180 degrees to anything you have previously heard. It won’t be right for everyone, but by attending there is a chance you could learn how to avoid ‘hot hands’ and instead develop a vision and culture to prepare your business for stepped growth. 9.00am - 12.30pm, Feb 23, Hampton Manor, Solihull For further information or to register your place visit www.central.sandler.com. Price £197.00 or £97.00 for chamber members ••• Written by Neil Liddell of Sandler Training. Providers of Sales and Management Training

E: nliddell@sandler.com T: 0845 0573563 M: 07547 227442 •••

The company, which provides practical HR advice and support in Coventry and Warwickshire and beyond, runs a survey among its growing customer base of SMEs each year. Among the key findings of the 2015 survey are: • an 8.3% year-on-year fall in respondents using redundancy services, at 32.7% in 2015 the figure was down from 35.4% in 2014 and 38.4% in 2013 • continued growth in planned recruitment, with 58.3% of companies surveyed planning to take on staff, up from 56.7% the previous year and just 48.9% the year before • only 2.7% planning to decrease staffing levels, down from 4.7% in 2014 Further good news for the living standards of SME employees came from survey results which showed that almost two thirds (66.2%) of responding companies nationwide were planning pay rises for their staff in 2015. More than a third (34.7%) of respondents expected to raise salaries by up to two per cent, with over a quarter (27.8%) opting for between two and five per cent and 3.7% promising pay rises of over five per cent. Tracey Hudson, Director of the HR Dept in South Warwickshire, said: “The results suggest rising living standards for employees of small businesses and their families, which is great news for them and

also for the businesses, as wage rises are likely to increase employee retention and profitability. “It is also encouraging news for the small business sector as a whole, as the wage rise figures combine with the statistics on recruitment and falling redundancy to demonstrate that small businesses are finding life a little more

comfortable following the trials and tribulations they have faced since the double-dip recession. “It’s commonly accepted that small businesses and entrepreneurs have been, and will continue to be, the ones which drive our nation’s continued economic growth so all signs of positivity from the SME sector must be extremely welcome.”

“More than a third (34.7%) of respondents expected to raise salaries by up to two per cent, with over a quarter (27.8%) opting for between two and five per cent and 3.7% promising pay rises of over five per cent. ”

Housing pledge among those welcomed

Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have welcomed the Chancellor’s commitment to investment in housing, apprenticeships and infrastructure. Companies from across the region met at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to watch and analyse the Autumn Statement and Spending Review. Businesses at the event, sponsored by Burgis & Bullock, were widely supportive of the overall plan but said further detail was needed on certain aspects of the statement. Chamber chief executive Louise Bennett said: “The general tone of this Autumn Statement/Spending Review is one that business across Coventry and Warwickshire will be behind. “More apprentices, more spending on infrastructure and more housing will all be welcomed as we look to grow our economy and create more wealth and more jobs that pay for the public services we need. “As the chancellor said, there are no jobs without a successful private sector and this statement was very much about

moving the UK from a country that borrows, to a country that invests in the infrastructure it needs to pave the way for growth. “This wasn’t the budget so it wasn’t big on the detail, especially around changes to taxation, that we would normally see and the fact that it was combined with the Spending Review meant that this was very much about the plan rather than a great deal on the delivery. “The changes to business rates - the fact that local authorities can now keep the money raised and will have the ability to lower the rates, while metro mayors will also be able to raise them - will need further detail to explain how this will work, and uncertainly is never good for business. “The Chancellor said that mayors will only be able to raise them for infrastructure projects but that must be agreed by local business - again the mechanics of that needs to be thought through and explained. We have said from the outset that having Chambers of Commerce as statutory consultees when it comes to Combined Authorities would be the right way forward and this underlines that.

“As we do for each Budget and Autumn Statement, we invited a panel of business people to watch the speech at the Chamber and then react afterwards. “The consensus was that the Chancellor’s overriding message of getting the deficit down and investing and creating jobs is, of course, the right one. “Some expressed concern at where the money was coming from to cover some of the increases in spending he mentioned and, also, at some of the omissions particularly the lack of any real detail on how we improve our digital infrastructure, which is vital. “What is clear, however, is that the next five years are going to be about rebuilding our economy - ‘we are the builders,’ the Chancellor was keen to tell us. “It’s also clear that the landscape is changing with Combined Authorities and the wider devolved powers they will bring. “So it’s vital at this time that the voice of business in Coventry and Warwickshire is heard louder than ever if we are to continue to grow and create the jobs the region needs.” www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

News

Business people back investment goal Firms across Coventry and Warwickshire believe the Chancellor is right to move the UK from a country that borrows to one that invests. Companies from across the area met at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to watch the Autumn Statement and Spending Review in which George Osborne vowed to invest in infrastructure, apprentices and housebuilding. The event, which was sponsored by Burgis & Bullock, gave firms the opportunity to then put their views on the statement and how it might affect them. Anne Rose, of Burgis & Bullock, said: “There wasn’t much on tax changes but that was to be expected in this statement. I think that, in face of so much talk about cuts, it was surprising that it wasn’t as bad as many were expecting. That begs the question of where the money is coming from?” Kevin Johns, of Prime Chartered Accountants, said: “The U-turn on tax credits was very good and very welcome.

The changes around capital gains tax could be quite significant too. The Chancellor is clearly trying to bring his tax revenues forward.” Increasing the number of apprenticeships from two million to three million by 2020 was welcomed by Fleur Sexton, of PET-Xi. She said: “It was a very good statement from an education point of view. It is great to see this increase in apprenticeships and there was also help with childcare with three to four-yearolds so there is assistance at both ends of the spectrum.” Amrik Bhabra, of ADECS, said the Government’s proposed digital tax system was a good idea in principle but added: “I am sceptical about any Government IT project - they don’t have a great track record on that!”

Paul Blore, of Netmetix, added: “There was no mention of the digital infrastructure, which was disappointing as broadband is so important.” Louis Smith, of the Wigley Group, said businesses would applaud the commitment to new housing but said there should have been more on offer in terms of commercial property. He said: “For the economy to grow, companies need space to grow and as well as being a shortage of housing, there is a shortage of commercial space, too. There was no real mention of that.” Angela Tellyn, partnership manager at the Chamber, said: “We thank all of the businesses who gave their views. It is always great to hear such a wide range of opinions from a cross sector of companies.”

“Companies from across the area met at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce to watch the Autumn Statement and Spending Review in which George Osborne vowed to invest in infrastructure, apprentices and housebuilding.”

Boss hopes review will prove to be a catalyst for growth The managing director of a leading specialist construction contractor hopes the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement and Spending Review will finally spread growth in the sector across the UK. Julie White, the managing director of diamond drilling and concrete sawing company D-Drill, said the industry still hadn’t felt the positive effects of the ‘socalled’ Northern Powerhouse.

D-Drill has offices across the UK including in London, Wales, the Midlands, the South West, the North East and the North West - and Julie says the branch in the capital is still the most successful. But after a major commitment from the Chancellor to increase spending on infrastructure and housing, Julie believes that could be about to change. She said: “There has been lots of talk of the Northern Powerhouse in recent years but in our sector, we haven’t seen the same level of growth in our branches in that area as we have seen in London and the South West. “London is still as hot as ever and our team is flat out there while in the North West we are growing but it’s nowhere near as at the same rate.

“Like all companies in construction, we want to see much more investment in infrastructure - in roads, rail, energy and homes - and the Chancellor has made a very strong commitment to do that. “But I tend not to judge this type of announcement on the words spoken at the dispatch box in Parliament but on the actual knock-on effect it actually has for the industry. “During the economic recovery, construction in the UK hasn’t seen the sustained growth that other sectors have but I hope that we may finally see that happen - if this level of investment is delivered.”

“There has been lots of talk of the Northern Powerhouse in recent years but in our sector, we haven’t seen the same level of growth in our branches in that area as we have seen in London and the South West.” www.cw-chamber.co.uk

sponsored column

What should SMEs learn from Talk-Talk’s mistake?

Network security is big business, corporates employ an entire department to look after the security of their IT systems, and still high profile breaches become headline news. In reality many never make the front pages as they don’t involve consumer data.

In October 2015, the Government announced it was pulling the plug on the Super Connected Cities voucher scheme. HBT Communications takes a look at other funding opportunities available to Coventry and Warwickshire businesses. Super Connected Cities was launched at the end of December 2013, and it granted businesses up to £3000 of free funding to upgrade their internet connection to super-fast. Connection vouchers were applied for through Coventry City Council and only businesses with an eligible postcode could apply. The scheme was slow to take off, but momentum built and by the time the scheme finished we calculated HBT had secured nearly £322,000 in voucher funding for our clients.

If you missed out on Connection Vouchers or found you weren’t eligible, there are new funding opportunities for you to explore. Free Installation A number of network providers have put their own funding in place to soften the blow of the removal of the connection vouchers. One of our solution partners, Gamma, who provide telephone and broadband connections, is offering businesses free installation up to the value of £2,800. The advantage of the Gamma scheme is that unlike the Government scheme, its funding is not location specific. Access to Finance HBT works closely with Coventry and Warwickshire Growth Hub who are able

to assist growing and developing businesses with access to finance schemes delivered by alternative sources, including that of the private sector. This funding can be used to invest in new technology and staff development, with the sole aim to create business growth. HBT Communications is able to provide expert, impartial advice about the best funding opportunities available for your business, working with you as you invest in your IT and telecommunications solutions to future-proof your business and give yourself an edge over your competitors. To discover what funding is available for your business register your interest by visiting www.hbtcommunications.com/funding

CWRT launches Innovation Loan Fund for technology sector Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust (CWRT) has launched an Innovation Loan Fund to support technology, manufacturing and engineering companies in Warwickshire and the West Midlands. A recipient of the new fund is Coventry’s PowerKut Ltd, a family-run business that designs and manufactures products for a number of sectors including mining, rail, construction, aerospace and automotive. When seeking £50,000 finance to grow its business, PowerKut was unable to obtain finance through its commercial bank. Suresh Chauhan, Controller of Operations and Finance at the company, said: “We needed a loan to increase our skilled and local workforce, so that we could grow manufacturing orders and increase plant utilisation.” This funding helped PowerKut to further the business towards becoming a truly global company. www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Suresh said: “We have increased our employment from 28 - 34, which is a 21% uplift. Turnover has increased and we are on target to record a 25% year on year increase. Also just as critically, our precision engineering business will be processing new purchase orders for the likes of Babcock International, Rolls Royce Submarine and Ford Motors, as well as ESRF and CERN in our export market.” Tim Powell, Chair of Access to Finance business group within the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP, said: “CWRT is filling a gap left by traditional lenders, who have found it difficult to apply their lending criteria to companies less than three years old, turnover still growing but often below £1m, little or no security and accounts that reflect their early stage of development.” Craig Tracey, Member of Parliament for North Warwickshire and Bedworth

commented, “PowerKut is a great local success story, growing and creating high quality jobs in an extremely competitive industry so I am delighted that they are being supported by CWRT to enable their growth.” Mike Musson, Chief Executive of CWRT, said: “We are delighted to help finance and support businesses such as PowerKut, that are let down by mainstream funders. Our Innovation Loan offers flexibility for companies that are starting up or have been in business for years, so it’s great to see companies like PowerKut thriving after our cash injection.” CWRT’s Innovation Loan Fund is available for both start-ups and existing business and lends between £1,000 and £75,000. Start-up companies are also eligible for mentoring support pre and post loan application.

As a business owner the biggest mistake you can make is thinking that it will never happen to you and that hackers are only interested in high profile organisations. High-profile cases are completed to create kudos for the hacker, therefore they target specific organisations however there are thousands of no-specific attacks every day that would bring an unsuspecting SME to its knees. When explaining IT Security to business owners I use the analogy of locking your house. At home you will have different levels of security, for instance locks on the doors, locks on the windows, you may have a safe where you put your most valuable items or an intruder alarm. In the same way you need different elements to your IT strategy. An important part of any security strategy is a Firewall. A basic description of a firewall is that it stops unwanted access to the network, however a badly configured firewall is like locking the front door as you leave the house, but leaving the windows open at the back of the property. Understanding the risks will allow you to make educated decisions, just as you may choose to leave a bedroom window open on a hot summer’s night but would never leave the patio doors wide open and go to bed.

To learn more about how a Firewall can help you protect your business visit http://www.zenzero.co.uk/itconsultancy/firewalls/

Zenzero Solutions are a Microsoft Gold partner, based on the Warwick Technology Park

Legal

Law firm helps with takeover

Accolade Brethertons for Michelle

rated one of the providers

A Coventry solicitor has been recognised for her expertise in advising older clients after earning a professional accreditation. legal services provider, Leading Michelle Gavin, partner and head of Brethertons, is celebrating afterHatton being wills, trusts and probate at Band namedin asWarwick one of the top law firms has in Button Road, Coventry, the central by leading received theregion Older Client Careindustry in Practice publication, The Legal 500 Clients (OCCP) award. Guide to the UK Legal Profession. The award, which is accredited by a Brethertons is, once again, ranked as leading lawyer training organisation a top tier firm forElderly Family (SFE), law in the West Solicitors for the Midlands, Partnerin Linda Jones recogniseswith experience advising older being listed as a ‘recommended and vulnerable clients including lawyer’ for her expertise inpotential “complexphysical financialand understanding the disputes various types of the cognitive involving limitations that may affect assets.” way advice is given. The firm’saccreditation, Employmentall team has To receive participants moved up one tier in the West Midlands are required to sit an exam which covers and head of practice, David Hodge, is three key areas, client relationship, “highly recommended by clients [forolder client communication and interview his] specialisms [which] include techniques, and undue influence, tribunal representation, management safeguarding and protecting exits, TUPE compliance and the clients’ interests. actions.” disciplinary Michelle “Having been a full Partner said: Simon Craddock has been member of SFE over eight years, listed in the Elitefor Leading Lawyers listI recognised the value gaining for the 7th time - Theof Legal 500 guide accreditation saw itnationwide as an extra- for to outstandingand lawyers endorsement my skills. his work in theofhighly specialist field of international child abduction. “It was an opportunity to not only introduce new layer to my In total,a19 of the firm’s legal membership to recommended, also develop advisors havebut been interpersonal skillsColin that are highly and including solicitors Witherall valuable in the Sally Clark whoprofession. have all been ranked for“The the certificate first time by the Guide. reinforces Band Hatton Button’s commitment to investing in its Brethertons’ CEO Shaun Jardine, staff as well as the firm’s for himself recommended asreputation a specialist providing service to all for in Litigation, said:excellence “It’s really helpful clients.”to see how we are clients benchmarked against competitors Michelle is also a member of the and take an informed decision whichof worldwide association, theon Society solicitor to use.” Trusts and Estate Practitioners (STEP), a group of lawyers and accountants which promotes best practice and professional integrity to those who advise and deal with families. Philip Costigan, senior partner at the firm, added: “We are very pleased that Michelle has been awarded the Older Client Care in Practice Award which demonstrates her ability to guide older and more vulnerable clients through the legal process. “She has the specialist client care skills needed to support older and vulnerable clients and is experienced in understanding the additional needs and considerations that are often required. “Band Hatton Button places great emphasis on the importance of communication and building strong relationships with clients and the accreditation from Solicitors for the Elderly enables us to add another string to our bow.”

Ray Duffy from Mask-arade (front left) presented personal face masks to Steve Halkett (front right) and Luke Moulton from law firm Wright Hassall

Two Warwickshire corporate solicitors were seeing more than double after playing key roles in a major takeover deal. Steve Halkett and Luke Moulton, from Leamington-based Wright Hassall, acted for the shareholders of the leading mask company Mask-arade on the deal which has seen costume manufacturer Rubie’s acquire the Southam-based firm. Steve and Luke were each presented with personal face masks after supporting Ray Duffy, Dean Walton and Chris O’Nyan from Mask-arade to negotiate the deal with Oxfordshire-based Rubie’s. Steve said: “Mask-arade is a fantastic success story with the business growing rapidly. We’re delighted that Wright Hassall

has been able to play a part in the company’s success over the years including acting for the management team on this deal. “Ray, Dean and Chris have worked extremely hard to drive the company forward and create strong demand for its high quality and innovative products, which has culminated in the company becoming part of the Rubie’s group. “It was a nice surprise for Luke and myself to be presented with our own face masks, although we’re not expecting these particular ones to be in demand!” Mask-arade first rose to fame after pitching on the BBC's hit TV series Dragon's Den and now currently boasts

licenses for a wide range of movie stars, characters, sports stars and politicians. The firm has joined Rubie’s group of companies with immediate effect with Ray remaining with the company as commercial director, while Dean and Chris have exited the business. Mask-arade will continue to operate out of its Southam headquarters. Ray said: “The team at Wright Hassall have been supportive with every step of the process. “We wanted to give Steve and Luke a special thank you and what better way to show our gratitude than by offering them a personalised reminder of what Mask-arade does best.”

Lodders’ lawyers given highest rankings in new guide The 2015 edition of Chambers UK, the legal professions’ top guide to solicitors, firms and barristers, has voted lawyers at Lodders Solicitors amongst the best in their specialist areas, and given a clutch of new top rankings for its teams. The latest Chambers UK guide praises Lodders in four specific areas - Private Client, Real Estate, Real Estate Litigation, and Agriculture & Rural Affairs, with eight of its lawyers given top ranking and recognition for their legal skills and knowledge, and the inaugural listing for its newest office in Cheltenham. Lodders’ Stratford upon Avon based Private Client team is once again the only one placed in Band 1 in Coventry and the surrounding area, and is recognised specifically as ‘a first class outfit and a delight to deal with’. Private client department team head, and Lodders’ senior partner, Martin Green is described as ‘an outstanding’ private client practitioner, and is known for his expertise in trusts and inheritance tax planning.

Also in the private client team, Stephen Brignull ‘brings practical and commercial approach to difficult technical issues, rendering them understandable to those less familiar with the law’ according to clients. Ian Flavell, a specialist in estate planning and taxation advice to numerous landed estates in the West Midlands and further afield, receives Band 2 ranking within the guide’s review of top specialist lawyers. In the South West, Chambers highlights Robin Beckley, a partner in Lodders Agriculture and Estate team, as an ‘up and coming’ lawyer in the area. Clients praise him for his ‘constructive advice’, ‘great knowledge’, and ‘practical application of the law’. Lodders’ Agriculture & Estates team is placed in the top Band 1. It is described as ‘very helpful’ and with having ‘lawyers one can trust with total confidence’. The teams’ partner David Lodder is described by clients as ‘at the top of his game’ and valued for his ‘authoritative strategic guidance’ in farm sales, probate, option agreements and development matters. Three of Lodders’ Real Estate partners receive special commendation - they are head of the department Nick East, who has significant experience of acting for developers and investors; Paul Mourton, who heads the firm’s real estate team and

specialises in development work, acting for developers and landowners and well versed in landlord and tenant matters; and newest recruit Jane Senior whose clients describe her as ‘very pragmatic and good to deal with’. Commenting on Lodders’ rankings in the 2015 Chambers UK Guide, Martin Green said: “It is excellent for the firm that so many of its team, and individual leading lawyers are recognised so favourably again by Chambers UK. The rankings are based on the results of thousands of confidential interviews with clients, so to have such positive feedback to secure the placings is truly valued. “Our Private Client team has once again been given particularly high praise by clients, and is on its own as a Band 1 firm in the region. Lodders is known as a firm with a friendly atmosphere and the highest quality services are our hallmark, both values also recognised in this year’s Guide.” Lodders Solicitors LLP is an established and thriving law firm based in Stratford upon Avon, Henley in Arden and Cheltenham. The firm is recognised as a leading private client law firm, offering specialist advice to both private individuals and privately owned businesses, including its highly regarded work in the agricultural and real estate sectors. For more information: www.lodders.co.uk.

www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Finance

National Living Wage By Louise Barnes, Senior Employment Consultant, Croner National Minimum Wage (NMW) a rise of 50p an hour from April 2016. This new National Living Wage is different to the existing Living wage scheme (as supported by the Living Wage Foundation) which is voluntary and set at £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 elsewhere. The biggest challenge for many employers affected by this change is how they will fund the increase. For some organisations they will pass the costs on to customers, however this might not always be possible. Therefore they will need to look at other ways of meeting these new demands, for example looking to achieve savings and efficiencies in other ways, e.g. investment in equipment / machinery / technology. The eagerly anticipated introduction of a new, and compulsory National Living Wage (NLW) has thrown many employers into a state of frenzy given that it will entitle all employees who are aged 25 and over and who are currently paid only the

Minimum wage compliance is calculated over a reference period and the ability to “spread” earnings out can result in an employer who appears to be in breach actually being able to meet their legal obligations. Where this is not the case employers may seek to reduce hours

(or alternatively, amend pay rates such as overtime and shift premium), reduce staff or, at its most extreme, close down a business. As the introduction of the NLW draws closer employers are running out of time to make changes to individuals’ terms meaning that they will either look at rushing changes through or simply have to absorb the increase in costs. Employers should be mindful that if they seek to make changes to an employee contract there are procedural requirements dictated by law. The Government has also announced tough new measures to ensure compliance with the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage which include increasing the penalty for underpayment from 100% of the underpayment up to 200%. Although no indication as to when this could happen has been confirmed. Croner is the UK's leading provider of workplace advice, information and software. For more information visit www.cronersolutions.co.uk

Midlands Business Awards success for accountants Grenfell James Associates, accountants and business advisors, based in Stratford upon Avon have proven their customer service skills and company ethos to go ‘Above and beyond’ in the recent Midlands Business Awards. GJA have been announced as one of six finalists in a category that attracts many applications from all sectors. The company, having rebranded less than two years ago, are going from strength to strength. Acquiring 2 new practices and expanding the team has ensured the skills and knowledge available are second to none. Each client is allocated a ‘client manager’ and, if necessary, the manager with specific knowledge in the sector will be made available. The team really do get to know

those involved and their business needs. Complexity made simple’ really is the key. The aim is to help solve problems, recommend solutions and simplify the complexity accountancy can bring to a business. All fees are agreed in advance, and clients are actively encouraged to call at no extra cost. Fee protection is complimentary. Throughout the company the focus is on approachability, communication and an ‘open door’ policy. In testament to the team and service levels, over 80% of new clients have engaged with GJA via referrals from existing clientele. The award winners will be announced in February.

Moore Stephens celebrates success at British Accountancy Awards 2015 West Midlands firm Moore Stephens is celebrating double success at the British Accountancy Awards. The firm, based on Calthorpe Road in Birmingham, has won the Top 50 Audit Team of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards 2015 - a year on from picking up the Top 50 Tax Team of the Year accolade. The latest award was open to firms placed within the 2014 Accountancy Age Top 50 survey, and recognised the audit advice that has delivered the greatest measurable benefit to clients over the past 12 months. Paul Fenner, partner at Moore Stephens, said: “We’re proud the achievements of our team has been recognised at the British Accountancy Awards. “Moore Stephens recognises the commercial importance of providing assurance on business controls and we use our audit findings and expertise to offer value adding advice.

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“Winning this award clearly demonstrates the quality of the advice our clients receive.” The British Accountancy Awards is now in its fifth year and attracted hundreds of accounting professionals of the highest calibre to celebrate and recognise individual, team and firm-wide accounting expertise. The criteria for the awards have been designed to pinpoint professional development and to highlight those that have demonstrated excellence in their profession during the last 12 months. Firms were shortlisted from all over the country including the small local firms to the larger regional, national and global players.

Left to right - Comedian Rufus Hound handing the award to Geoff Woodhouse from Moore Stephens

HB&O: Supporting You and Your Business As experienced chartered accountants and business advisors, award-winning firm HB&O specialises in supporting businesses and individuals across Coventry and Warwickshire through every stage of their professional and personal life. The team combines big firm expertise with a cost-effective, customer-focused service. HB&O’s one-stop-shop approach offers accountancy, tax and advisory services designed to help businesses across Coventry and Warwickshire improve business performance, while their Financial Services team can help individuals protect and grow their wealth and pass it on in the most tax-efficient way. 2016 will see the launch of HB&O’s new Virtual Financial Office service, providing a cost effective solution for businesses looking to outsource their financial management tasks from bookkeeping and payroll to annual accounts. HB&O Financial Services will be supporting even more businesses as they embrace auto enrolment, and will also be launching a new mortgage advisory service from January. These new services build on a strong track record of providing innovative solutions. As one of the early-adopters of cloud accounting systems, HB&O has developed close links with leading software providers which is now widely used by clients, from contractors to larger organisations. Managing Director Rob Kendall is passionate about customer service. He said: “What makes us different is our personal approach and our commitment to first class customer service. Our team of enthusiastic and experienced individuals thrives on getting to know our clients and their businesses to ensure we provide the best possible advice. “We have a strong track record of assisting owner-managed and family businesses. From starting up, through growing, investing, selling or retiring from a business, we provide insight and advice to help clients make informed decisions and spot growth opportunities.” In addition to employing more than 60 members of staff, HB&O is committed to investing in young people. As well as taking apprentices and trainees from school or university, the HB&O team supports ad hoc business fundraising and ‘dragons-den’ style sessions for students and postgraduates. HB&O also supports a number of charities through their own corporate events, individual challenges as well as corporate donations as part of their commitment to the Coventry and Warwickshire community. “We thoroughly enjoy getting to grips with new challenges and helping clients succeed and we’re looking forward to helping even more businesses make 2016 their best year yet,” Rob said.

Property

O’Brien Contractors wins Property and Regeneration prize

Council buys offices Warwickshire County Council has purchased a seven-storey office building in Bedworth for an undisclosed price. The Council has bought the long lease on Kings House, which is situated in King Street in the town centre, from the King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, which instructed commercial property agents D&P Holt to act on its behalf. Warwickshire County Council had previously occupied the building on a 15year lease and part of its Communities and People Groups are based there. It also provides a “hot-desk” base for mobile staff to use when they need to be in the office. The council will continue to utilise the building in that way but at a dramatically reduced cost now it owns the property. Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council's portfolio holder for property, said: “The building provides us with an excellent base in the north of the county and when the opportunity came along to purchase the property’s long leasehold, it made perfect sense. “It will deliver cost savings - something the council is working hard to achieve across the board - in the short, medium and long-term and also provides the council with an asset rather than a liability. We are delighted, therefore, to have completed the deal to purchase Kings House.” Luke Hedderwick, of D&P Holt, who acted for the vendors on the deal for the 24,225 sq ft property which also included car parking spaces, said: “This is positive news all round. The King Henry VIII Endowed Trust were in a position where they wanted to sell the property and it made perfect financial sense for Warwickshire County Council to make the purchase. “We are delighted to have played our part.”

Civil engineering and groundworks specialist O’Brien Contractors has been awarded its second Property and Regeneration award in three years at the 2015 Birmingham Post Business Awards.

The award marks a major transition which has seen the company adopt a more strategic approach with a number of Midlands-based leading organisations, including: Morgan Sindall, John Sisk & Son, Aston University,

Kier Group, Galliford Try, Birmingham City University and Lovell Partnerships, with the aim of providing value for money by delivering the most appropriate economical solution for the particular set of circumstances for each specific project. This approach has enabled O’Brien to deliver the highest standards across projects in Birmingham, including St. Modwen’s Longbridge Town Centre Phase 2 scheme, Alumno Developments’ Number One City Locks, Aston Student Village scheme and The New Assay Office. Mick O’Brien, Director, O’Brien Contractors, said: “Our aim for all projects is delivery, on time and with zero defects, zero accidents and zero unexpected costs. The fact that 85% of our customer base is now from repeat business shows that our approach works and does deliver the best value for money.” The achievements that have resulted in O’Brien winning the award for a second time in three years.

Demand high in UK’s flourishing property sector, but supply and infrastructure still a problem Demand for commercial and industrial property is high, driven by the growth in internet shopping and the shift in how retailers are meeting sustained growth in online shopping, but supply and finance for vital infrastructure present a continuing challenge, according to speakers at one of the property industry’s flagship events. Keynote speaker at Lodders Annual Property Seminar was Jason Dalby, a chartered surveyor and managing director of Roxhill Developments, a specialist industrial and distribution developer with a track record in taking large scale projects to completion. He said that the UK’s commercial and industrial property market is in good shape, a significant improvement over the last 12 months, but highlighted the continuing problem in supply of the right premises to meet demand, predicting that land values and lease lengths are set to rise in 2016. The seminar in Warwickshire was attended by more than 140 residential development, industrial and commercial property agents, developers, investors and land agents. In his presentation on the industrial distribution development market, Jason told them: “The biggest change to the UK market in the last 20 years has been the introduction and establishment of e-commerce, e-tailing and Omni-channel retailing. In 2010, approximately 10% of retail sales were online. In 2015, this represented 20%, and by 2036 it will have grown to account f or 50% all UK retail sales. “E-tailing has and will continue to have a huge impact on the UK’s property sector. There’s a new demand for large Regional Distribution Centres (RDCs), notably for pure online retailers such as Amazon and Asos. In turn, this has led to huge demand for space for parcel delivery units on the supply chain, whilst the food retailers themselves need warehouse space for their ‘dark stores’. “The growth in online sales has also created new demand for internet returns, with 30% of non-food items acquired online being returned. “All of this has combined to create significant demand, and the trend for growth is set to continue in 2016. There is now confidence in a speculative market,

(L-R) Angus Huntley (Savills), Jane Senior (Lodders) Jason Dalby (Roxhill Developments), Simon Horan (Savills), George Campion (Lodders) and Alastair Frew (Lodders).

so when there is capital in the market, developers and institutions will build out. With the increase in demand, even with capital available, it is still difficult to increase the supply under the current system Government needs to react to the changing landscape by updating UK Planning Policy to cope with the increase in demand. Many brownfield sites have gone to housing to support the growing need for new private and social housing. But what is holding back many of the big industrial developments is a lack of infrastructure which continues to be difficult to finance.” Guest speakers were Savills’ head of residential development in Birmingham Simon Horan, and Angus Huntley, a member of the firm’s National Investment Team. Angus explained that Savills’ latest research also revealed a positive outlook for the UK’s property sector. He said: "The outlook for GDP growth is robust. The drivers for commercial property are UK real earnings and BCC investment intentions, and both are looking good.” Whilst he acknowledged that central London offices will continue to out-perform the regions, Angus said: “Regional rental and

staff cost differential will spur further decentralisation, and regional business parks shouldn’t be written off.” In his examination of the current residential property market, Simon Horan highlighted the biggest impact on property purchases can be attributed to a downshift in mortgages amongst the under-35s, who are moving into the private rental sector which is consequently growing significantly, with in the region of half of the under-35s opting to rent rather than buy their homes. Lodders’ Alastair Frew, a partner in the firm’s real estate team, and Jane Senior, a partner and specialist in real estate litigation, profiled a number of recent High Court and Supreme Court cases to illustrate some of this year’s most significant legal updates. Chairing the seminar was George Campion, Lodders’ non-executive Chairman, who said: “The theme consistent amongst all our speakers is one of a very positive outlook for the sector, both in the Midlands but also on a national scale. Commercial property looks set to experience sustained demand, a rise in land values and a potential increase in lease lengths. The market is buoyant, particularly in Birmingham and other major West Midlands locations.”

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Property

Welcome for development

David Penn (Bromwich Hardy), Simon Poole (AJA Architects) and Peter Burns (Chamber)

The start of work on a new commercial development in Coventry was heralded as a “tangible sign of returning prosperity”. A new phase of the successful Pilot Business Park just off the Tollbar interchange

sees the creation of 14 new business units designed for growing commercial and industrial companies. The development is the second phase of Pilot Business Park following the successful

completion of the Royal Mail unit which serves the south of the city, while two further phases are in the pipeline. David Penn, of agents Bromwich Hardy, said a number of factors had influenced the decision of developers to press ahead with the scheme of smaller units. He said: “There is no question that there is a pent up demand from business owners and investors for this type of scheme as the economy recovers and companies look to grow and expand.” The units have been designed by AJA Architects for trade counters, industrial or warehousing use and include features such as timber cladding. The first units will be ready for occupation in May. Peter Burns, former president of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, who visited the site said that a pipeline of suitable land and development was vital for the economy. “Companies want to plan their futures in a strategic way and with as much certainly as possible, and to be able to do that, it is key that they have suitable accommodation that suits their purposes,” he said.

O’Brien Contractors launches work experience initiative for school leavers

Leading civil engineering and groundworks company O’Brien Contractors has launched a work experience programme to provide school leavers with an insight into careers in the construction industry. The new scheme is designed to provide young local job seekers with practical experience and skills that cannot be taught in a classroom. It will also offer

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them a sense of belief, demonstrate that they can be valuable members of a working team, but most importantly, provide them with a passage into an apprenticeship scheme or employment. The latest Government statistics have found that across the UK, 963,000 people aged 16-24 are not in employment, education or attending a training scheme, with 61% classed as unemployed. It has therefore never been more important to help younger people get a foot on the employment ladder, through work experience and apprenticeship schemes. Tony Mitchell, Operations Manager, O’Brien Contractors, said: “The company has been fortunate to have great success over the years and we are keen to ensure we give back to the community whenever possible.” “We have set up the programme to help and inspire young job seekers in their pursuit of employment. Employers look at experience gained when interviewing potential new members of staff and

attending a work experience programme will make their credentials stand out.” said Tony Mitchell. Each placement delivers high quality on-site experience related to the person’s training requirements. They are assigned to a site supervisor, who mentors them passing on the relevant skills, introduces them to the structure of working life and demonstrates the value of working in this sector. At the end of the week, trainees come away with a genuine learning experience, highly motivated and a better awareness of their career aspirations. Louis Gray from Central Construction Training was the first pupil enrolled on the scheme and experienced a week on-site at the Accident and Emergency development at New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton. Louis said: “I found the work experience programme very helpful and it gave me a better understanding of what I can expect from a career in construction. I have learnt so much from my site supervisor in just one week and I feel inspired to continue developing my skills and apply them in a career in construction.”

James Davies, director The Wigley Group

New acquisition for The Wigley Group A thriving centre for small businesses in Rugby has been sold at auction. The Craft Studios at Hillmorton Locks in Rugby was acquired at a Loveitts sale for £275,000 after owners the Canal and River Trust put the site up for sale. New proprietor The Wigley Group aims to offer an improved service to tenants which will allow the bustling 3,163 sq ft estate of small businesses to thrive. Built in 2001, the 11 small craft studio units, located off Brindley Road in Hillmorton, are fully let to seven tenants including a furniture upholsterer, IT consultants, physiotherapists and dog groomer. There is onsite parking and a nearby canal side café. The Wigley Group director James Davies said: “This is a really high quality development and I’m delighted we have been able to acquire the site. “There is a wide range of established businesses in the units and the position next to the Oxford Canal is fantastic. Crucially the location - just outside Rugby - is very close to the motorway network including the M1 and M6. “Having acted for the tenants for a number of years we are keen to ensure they get the most from their service charges. I know that tenants had been uncertain about the future of the estate and a number have already told me they’re delighted that we’ve been able to secure this investment. “We’re now looking forward to meeting the owners of all the businesses and getting a better understanding of their plans and how we can help the site to develop.” The adjacent Hillmorton Locks are part of the Oxford Canal opened to trade in August 1840 and today thousands of leisure boats still pass through the locks.

This isn’t just any decision…

At some point in the next two years, the UK is set to make its mind up on its future in the EU in an in/out referendum. This isn’t just any decision, according to the former Marks & Spencer chief executive and chairman Lord Stuart Rose, it is the ‘most important decision Britain has had to make in the last 40 to 50 years’.

Lord Rose is fronting the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign to promote the benefits of staying within the EU and is travelling the length and breadth of the country along with a team of campaigners, to convince the public to vote to stay in when the referendum is eventually held. He will be in Coventry on Tuesday, February 23, when he will be speaking at the Ricoh Arena as part

of a Chamber Business Big Breakfast Event, in partnership with the Ricoh Arena and Wasps. It follows on from a meeting between the Britain Stronger In Europe campaign team and local business leaders held at Chamber House as the Chamber looks to help shape the debate and inform members of the arguments for and against staying in the EU.

The date of the referendum had, at the time of writing, still yet to be announced (it will take place at some point before the end of 2017) and appears to be dependent on what Prime Minister David Cameron can achieve in his negotiations with fellow EU leaders around a so-called better deal for Britain. Those talks have featured heavily in the media over recent weeks with both sides insisting more work needs to be done before any ‘deal’ can be announced and put to the country ahead of a referendum. But whatever comes of those discussions, Lord Rose – who spent a brief part of his childhood in Rugby – is convinced that only an ‘in’ vote will secure Britain’s economic future. “It’s the most important decision Britain has had to make in the last 40 to 50 years,” he said, when asked why he decided to front the campaign. “It’s about our future, our children’s future and our grandchildren’s future. “Most people, myself included, will make a hard-headed, practical calculation in the coming referendum on what is best for the British people. "I believe that Britain is stronger in Europe. The choice in the coming referendum is between remaining stronger, safer and better off inside Europe, or taking a leap into the unknown, risking our prosperity, threatening our safety, and diminishing our influence in the world. “My message to business people in Coventry is that if you think your business is stronger and better off in Europe, sign up on our business supporters’ page: http://www.strongerin.co.uk/business”

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Profile: Lord Stuart Rose

“To claim that the patriotic course for Britain is to retreat, withdraw and become inward-looking is to misunderstand who we are as a nation. I will not allow anyone to tell me I'm any less British because I believe in the strongest possible Britain for business, for our security and our society.”

The page appears on the campaign website which also states: “The ‘EU’s single market benefits the UK economy, boosting UK trade, investment, incomes, employment and growth. Independent analysis showed that UK goods trade with the EU is 55 per cent higher because of EU membership. “This ‘EU effect’ amounted to £133bn in 2014, which is the equivalent of over £670,000 in extra trade on average for each business which exports or imports goods with the European Union.” But, while wanting to keep the campaign positive, Lord Rose feels it necessary to point out what he sees as the risks of an ‘out’ vote. "They (those who support an ‘out’ vote) have no idea whether we would be able to access Europe's free trade area, or what the price of admission would be," he said. "They cannot guarantee that jobs would be safe and prices wouldn't rise. "They cannot explain how we could stop free movement and simultaneously keep our access to the world's largest duty free market." Naturally, those arguments are dismissed by those looking to pull out of the EU and even Rose admits that it’s not a perfect institution but believes there is no more patriotism in promoting an ‘out’ vote over an ‘in’. “All organisations need to change and refresh themselves,” he said. “Remember the EU has moved from nine members to 28 members so all of us need to adapt. “To claim that the patriotic course for Britain is to retreat, withdraw and become inward-looking is to

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misunderstand who we are as a nation. "I will not allow anyone to tell me I'm any less British because I believe in the strongest possible Britain for business, for our security and our society.” Lucy Thomas, deputy director of Britain Stronger In Europe, added: “This referendum will not be won in Westminster, but in cities, towns and villages across the West Midlands and the rest of the country. “Having grown up in the area, I want to see the West Midlands continue to thrive, and by staying in Europe it is stronger, safer, and better off than it would be outside. “Trade with Europe, which faces no barriers or tariffs, supports over 380,000 jobs in the region. Businesses like Hogan's Cider, who we met during the visit to Coventry and Warwickshire, can flourish by trading freely across Europe and the rest of the world. "It was great to be able to talk to businesses at the Chamber too and to get their take on our membership of the EU and how they feel they and their staff could be better informed to make the decision.” Rose, 66, is calling on all his corporate experience, which started with M&S as a management trainee and took him to the very top of one of Britain’s most well-known retailers, to run a very business-like campaign. “I have been lucky to work with some great retail entrepreneurs. M&S in the 1970s was a great training ground,” he said. “Like many people, my career has developed by chance, although I have always enjoyed fast-moving

businesses and change. Retail fits that bill.” And, in that time, he’s seen what the UK can achieve on the global stage but believes that the race is never won. “Britons are great entrepreneurs and traders and have a candid attitude, but the world is getting more competitive and we will have to run faster to make progress,” said Rose.

The Business Big Breakfast event with Lord Rose is taking place on Tuesday, February 23, from 7.45am to 9.30am at the Ricoh Arena and will cost £45 to attend. For more information or to book a place at the event, call 024 7665 4321 or email events@cw-chamber.co.uk

Biography: Lord Stuart Rose Born: Educated:

March 17, 1949 St Joseph’s Convent School, Dar es Salaam; Bootham School, York Career: Joined M&S in 1972 as a management trainee. Rose through the ranks, then moved to Burton Group as chief executive in 1994. Took over Argos in 1997 and the Arcadia Group in 2000 before becoming chief executive of M&S in 2004. Knighted in 2008 and became M&S chairman, then stepped down in 2010. Became chairman of Ocado in 2013. He was made a Conservative peer in 2014 and his report for the government on the NHS was published in July. Married: Divorced Children: Two Hobbies: Wine and walking Favourite book: The current read – always have one on the go Favourite film: The older you get the longer the list… Last holiday: Cricket in South Africa Favourite gadget: iPad

Policy

Year starts full of confidence Business have say on the economy Firms across Coventry and Warwickshire have met the Bank of England to give their take on the state of the economy.

Ten businesses met Graeme Chaplin, the Bank of England’s agent for the West Midlands and Oxfordshire, at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce in order to provide insight on the issues facing business and how much they expect to grow over the next 12 months. The meeting helps to inform the Bank of England when, among other things, it comes to set interest rates which have been at a record low of 0.5 per cent for almost seven years. Chaplin meets the Chamber twice a year to help build a regional picture and Angela Tellyn, policy and partnership manager at the Chamber, said it offered a very useful insight. She said: “The detail of the meeting is very much private because businesses want to be able to talk candidly and openly to give Graeme a very real and honest view of the situation. “The general feeling is that the economy will continue to grow but there are some areas of concern that could hinder that. Skills and the general labour market was one of those as well as, still, the hesitancy of banks to lend in certain sectors. “Infrastructure and the real need to get goods and people moving around the country better was another topic. “I know Graeme found the meeting extremely useful and will use the feedback to help inform colleagues at the Bank of England.”

Andrew Starnes (Coventry CORE), Louise Bennett (Chamber), Sarah Wilson (HB&O), Geoff Spooner (Warwick Castle), Peter Deeley (Deeley Group).

Coventry and Warwickshire companies are heading into 2016 more confident than they have been at the turn of any year in over a decade. The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce conducted its final Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) of 2015 and companies have delivered a positive outlook for the region. The QES is used as a barometer for the regional economy and also feeds into the British Chambers of Commerce’s national statistics. In the latest survey, 77.2 per cent of service sector companies said they expected turnover to rise in the next 12 months while 73.3 per cent of manufacturers are predicting a jump in turnover over the course of the next year. That’s a higher percentage in both services and manufacturing than in any fourth quarter survey, dating back to 2004. Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber

of Commerce, said: “This is a very confident outlook as we move into 2016. “When you look back over the statistics, you can really chart how companies felt as we went into the recession and started to come out again - perhaps this latest QES indicates that we are finally getting over the effects of that. “Of course, there is no room for complacency. There are frailties in the world economy which no country is protected from and, closer to home, there are issues around skills and infrastructure. We also need to get more companies exporting in order to drive a real re-balance in the economy. “But, overall, it is good to hear that companies from across our patch are buoyant going into 2016 as we all look forward to a very prosperous year.” When it comes to advance orders, 48.3 per cent of service based businesses said they were up domestically with just 9.2 per cent saying they had fallen. In manufacturing, 46 per cent of firms

said they had risen while 20 per cent had seen a dip. On the international front, 27 per cent of service sector companies said advanced orders were up and 12.6 per cent were reporting a fall. In manufacturing, half the businesses surveyed said advanced international orders were up and 15.6 per cent said they had dropped. In terms of the jobs market, around a third of service sector companies expect to increase their headcount in the next quarter with only 4.1 per cent reporting a possible fall in employees. Just 7.3 per cent of manufacturers believe they will need to shed staff in the next three months while 43.6 per cent say they will be increasing staff levels. The findings of the QES were presented to businesses at the Chamber’s CEO breakfast for strategic partners and corporate members. The event was held at Warwick Castle and was attended by around 40 firms.

Continued economic growth is likely but manufacturing optimism dips The growth prospects of the services and manufacturing industries continue to diverge and the Government’s plans to rebalance the UK economy are increasingly at risk, according to the latest Business Trends Report by accountants and business advisers BDO LLP. BDO’s optimism index - which predicts growth six months ahead - remains above its long term trend at 101.9, indicating that UK businesses expect their order books to continue to grow strongly. However, this is driven by the buoyant services sector, masking serious concerns among manufacturers. Manufacturers’ optimism is deep in negative territory at 90.2, showing that manufacturers are gloomy about the future. In contrast, the services sector is expecting rapid growth, with optimism scores well above the trend at 104.2. Short term economic prospects - as predicted by BDO’s Output Index - are more positive, with all sectors expecting

strong growth and output over the next three months. The BDO Output sub-indices sit at a healthy 103.8 and 103.9 for manufacturing and services respectively. The contrast between the manufacturers’ Output Index - which reflects actual experience of order intake - and the Optimism Index - which reflects judgements as to how orders will develop - is stark. It seems that the UK’s makers fear a sudden contraction as we go into 2016, even if trading remains strong today. These trends could see the Coventry & Warwickshire economy become more unbalanced as sluggish manufacturing growth becomes entrenched and the area becomes more reliant on the service sector for growth. Roger Buckley, Partner, BDO LLP, said: “These figures show that Coventry & Warwickshire and the UK in general, need to act now to support our manufacturing industry. “Coventry & Warwickshire is rightly proud

of its Advanced Engineering sectors and we must all do more to encourage investment and help the sector to grow. The plans to encourage a more balanced economy are clearly right, but need to be accompanied by far more action. For instance, incentives to invest and plan for future success should be increased significantly.” BDO’s Building the New Economy Report calls for a greater role for manufacturing in helping to rebalance the economy and makes a series of policy recommendations, including: • Zero VAT for supplies to exporters: The UK currently allows manufacturers to zero rate their exports. However, it is less generous with reliefs for domestic companies that supply to UK exporters. In contrast, Ireland has a more generous relief for regular exporters, where a qualifying exporter is able to inform its suppliers of its export authorisation and those suppliers can then zero rate their supplies to the qualifying exporter.

The report recommends that the UK introduces a similar relief. • Increasing the annual investment allowance: Productive manufacturing needs investment, and government must encourage this in every way possible. The report strongly supports the steps taken in this direction by increasing the annual investment allowance to £200,000 (and a temporary increase to £500,000), but this step is not yet the game-changer we need to unleash manufacturing might. Government should take the bold step of increasing the annual investment allowance for expenditure on plant and machinery to £5 million for five years.

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Skills

Programme targets skills

WMG Academy students celebrate its Skills for Employment grant by visiting Aston Martin’s facilities at Gaydon

A major programme launched in Warwickshire to encourage businesses to help equip youngsters with the skills employers need is reaping rewards. Warwickshire County Council has pledged to invest £2 million in the Skills for Employment scheme until 2017 to provide

grants to schools and colleges to help improve their careers services. The Jobs & Skills Business Group of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has supported the programme as part of its aim of developing skills in the area and improving the

relationship between employers and schools, colleges, universities and training providers. Grant funding from Skills for Employment has led to students from the WMG Academy for Young Engineers (Coventry) being invited to Aston Martin in Gaydon, Warwick. The two organisations have created an initiative called Enjoyneering which started with students and teachers visiting the global automotive giants’ Warwickshire headquarters. They met engineers and craftsmen who create luxury performance cars and two students were then selected for a week’s work experience which involved interviewing senior managers. The students had the chance to find out more about the creative, technical, production, logistic and marketing skills needed to develop a new Aston Martin. Karen Botting, Head of Learning and Development at Aston Martin, said: “The new relationship with WMGA offers the potential win-win in sharing ideas and resources that develop employability skills of students and apprentices.” Glenn Robinson, Skills for Employment Programme Manager at Warwickshire County Council, said this grant scheme has a key part to play in improving the work skills needed by the next generation. He said: “The relationship between the WMG Academy for Young Engineers and Aston Martin is a perfect example of the benefit this project has for both parties.

“Students are improving their awareness of business and self-confidence in the interview process which will increase their employability skills while Aston Martin is helping to shape the skills needed for future apprentices. “The skills grant we gave has led to the Academy buying ten dedicated laptops for production and design engineering courses to increase and develop CAD skills and practical workshop tuition. “The Skills for Employment Programme is investing in young people to raise their skills level which will make them more employable.” Rachael Stewart, Skills Executive at the CWLEP, said Skills for Employment was an exciting initiative which was giving students a real taste of work as well as developing closer working relationships with employers. “By talking to businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire, we know employers want to improve the skills of young people before they enter the world of work,” she said. “One of the objectives of the CWLEP’s skills strategy is to promote the development of a highly-skilled workforce and this programme is designed to equip students with the skills that employers are looking for which will prove extremely useful during interviews. “This will help to reduce the skills gap because businesses will be employing young people with the necessary knowledge and abilities they need.”

Employer engagement in education Jobless fall is welcomed boosts students’ job prospects As business and education leaders came together at the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) first Business and Education Summit, the BCC published findings from a major UK-wide survey of more than 3,500 businesses and educators highlighting the significant benefits of partnerships between schools and businesses. The vast majority of educational establishments (88%) partnering with businesses said the most important benefit was improved outcomes for their pupils. The education leaders surveyed also stated that employer engagement has a clear benefit for their pupils, including: greater awareness of the soft skills that businesses value (74%); increased motivation in lessons (73%); better careers information (52%); and lessons which are more relevant and connected to the world of work (46%). Business leaders reported that the main reasons for partnering with a school were to demonstrate Corporate Social Responsibility (43%), to identify future employees (38%), and to increase awareness of different jobs and career paths (35%). However, both business and education leaders reported a number of barriers preventing them from building lasting and effective partnerships. For businesses and educators respectively, this included staff time (53% / 64%), and administrative burdens (36% / 41%). Businesses also cited cost as a factor (38%) while some educators identified a lack of interest from business (42%). www.cw-chamber.co.uk

John Longworth, BCC Director General, said: “Long-lasting and effective partnerships between schools and employers improve young people’s job prospects and provide businesses with the skills they need. “Our survey highlights the many benefits of employer engagement for businesses, educators and pupils, and there are already some great examples of effective school and business partnerships across the country. “However, successive governments have focused too narrowly on academic outcomes alone, allowing the gap between education and business to widen in the name of testing. We must overcome the perceived hurdles, such as staff time constraints and a lack of interest from business, to encourage more schools and firms to bridge the gap. “We are proud to bring together leaders from the world of education and business to discuss how we can overcome the

obstacles and promote partnerships at our first Business and Education Summit. It’s time for business and education to stand together and make skills shortages a thing of the past.” Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to support the British Chambers of Commerce in its efforts to Bridge the Gap between business and education. “Our Chamber has been working very closely with the BCC on this and has held two events in the past year to look at how we can help to tackle the issue. We have submitted evidence from those events to ensure the views of the many business, civic and education leaders we have spoken to. “We had several delegates attending the summit because we felt it was an event of great significance when it comes to addressing the needs of business and, indeed, our young people.”

“Long-lasting and effective partnerships between schools and employers improve young people’s job prospects and provide businesses with the skills they need. ”

Business leaders in Coventry and Warwickshire have welcomed another fall in unemployment. In Coventry, the figure fell from 4,184 to 4,007 and, in Warwickshire, it dropped from 2,708 to 2,472 in the month to November. Louise Bennett, the chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said it was another welcome fall in unemployment ahead of the turn of the year. She said: “The economic news in the region is, generally, very positive and this latest fall in unemployment reflects that with another 413 people across Coventry and Warwickshire coming off the count. “That’s not only good news for the region but also great for those individuals who now have employment. “The figures bear out the strong outlook that our members reported in our most recent Quarterly Economic Survey - with many saying they anticipate growth in terms of profitability, turnover and headcount in the New Year. “What is vital, therefore, is that we ensure we have the people and the skills available in the region to allow our economy to get stronger and continue to see this fall in unemployment.”

Area Focus: Coventry

Hereward College reaches gold standard for work experience

Left to Right: Jessica Rexworthy, Marketing and Membership Manager at Fair Train; Debbie Jones, Job Coach at Hereward College; Natalie Read, Student Services Manager at Hereward College

Young people at Hereward College in Coventry are continuing to access a very high standard of work experience opportunities according to independent work experience body, Fair Train. The College has recently been awarded Fair Train’s Gold Level Work Experience Quality Standard, the highest possible level for this national accreditation. The award is recognition of the College’s commitment to providing high quality work experience schemes and contribution towards driving down youth unemployment. Hereward has real focus on employability with a programme of internal and external work placements and career focussed activities available to all learners throughout the year. The College also has strong links with local employers, recently launching a Supported Internship

programme with University Hospitals Coventry & Warwickshire (UHCW) where Hereward interns take part in a 12 month placement providing a platform for them to further develop their skills and experience in a structured way. Tilly Neill, Employability Manager at Hereward College, said: “Our Supported Internship programme is going from strength to strength and really complements the range of work experience opportunities we are able to offer our learners. A number of key regional employers including Severn Trent, Network Rail, Airwave and BAM construction also want to get involved and we are always keen to hear from other organisations interested in taking part. “We are delighted to receive this award - it is a real reflection of the hard work of the team at Hereward and their commitment to ensuring

our students develop the skills and experiences needed to reach their potential.“ Beth Gardner, CEO of Fair Train, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Hereward College, and would like to congratulate them on achieving the Work Experience Quality Standard accreditation at gold level. With the employment rate for disabled learners at an alarmingly low rate of seven percent, it is really important that specialist colleges work with local employers to offer high quality work experience opportunities for their learners. The Work Experience Quality Standard demonstrates Hereward College’s commitment to helping its learners increase their confidence and gain valuable experience of the working world.”

Chance to Coventry Chairman Wins Community Hero Award discuss concerns Cheryll Rawbone, Chairman at the Coventry Business owners and commercial tenants from across the region are being invited to discuss commercial property and HR concerns at a free advice clinic in Coventry. Leading commercial property, risk and facilities management company, The Wigley Group, is hosting the free advice clinic in partnership with The HR Dept, which offers outsourced HR support to small businesses. Attendees will take part in a 20 minute consultation where they can access information and advice on a range of topics including leases and renewals, dilapidations, employment tribunal insurance, commercial insurance and HR advice. The event is being held at The Wigley Group’s headquarters at The Cobalt Centre on Middlemarch Business Park, Coventry, on Thursday, February 11 between 10am and 4pm. The Wigley Group provides commercial property advice to landlords and tenants and offers commercial insurance and financial services to businesses across the Midlands. James Davies, director at The Wigley Group, said: “It is a great opportunity for local business owners to access free and independent commercial property advice and also talk through any concerns or questions that they may have. “We will be on hand together with our partners at The HR Dept to offer one-toone advice on a variety of topics, in a professional and entirely confidential environment. “Whether you are a tenant with concerns about dilapidations or an employer who would like to review your practices, we have the expertise and experience to help.” To find out more information or to book a free consultation contact Krishma Kapoor krishma@thewigleygroup.com or by ringing 02476 224600 or Jacqui Murtough at jacqui.murtough@hrdept.co.uk or on 01926 353131.

branch of insurance broker and risk management specialist Arthur J. Gallagher, has been recognised as a ‘Local Community Hero’ for her contribution to children’s charity, The Friendship Project. The Friendship Project, operating in Coventry & Warwickshire, provides friendship and support to children in need; giving them the opportunity to enjoy activities that many take for granted through a mentoring and friendship programme, whilst developing the child’s self-esteem. Support for a child can often span years and it is estimated that around 1,500 children have been helped since the charity started. Cheryll, who is from Leamington Spa, was nominated for the internal Arthur J. Gallagher ‘Local Community Hero’ award by her colleagues due to her 29 years of dedication to the charity. She started working with the charity in 1986, after the late founder - one of her clients at the time - asked for administrative help. She soon became the Honorary Secretary - a role she held for 25 years - before becoming Vice Chairman, and then Chairman in 2013. Cheryll was replaced as Honorary Secretary by her fellow Arthur J. Gallagher colleague Valerie Wallace-Burrows, from Leek Wootton, who was able to bring her valuable HR and organisational and administrative skills to the role. Cheryll, who is married with two grown up daughters, juggles her responsibilities at the charity with her job, often working on weekends and after work. Despite being Chairman, Cheryll has a very hands-on role,

and not only manages the employees, promotes volunteer recruitment and formal aspects, such as guidelines and procedures, but also works tirelessly in fundraising, promotion, and helping with organising events for the children. Cheryll faced stiff competition from other colleagues put forward for the award, with more than 100 nominations across the UK, but it was felt her dedication, enthusiasm and passion to help others - not to mention the long-term nature of her support for the charity - set her apart. The charity will be celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2016 and, without her and her team, The Friendship Project would not be in existence today and many children in Warwickshire would be living in social isolation.

Cheryll received her award at a ceremony in London, and was also presented with a £1,000 donation for the charity from Arthur J. Gallagher. She said: “It is great to receive this award, and for the charity that I have been closely involved with for just over 29 years to benefit from this donation. It will be used to help support interesting and fun visits for the almost 50 disadvantaged children we support in Warwickshire, and will mean approximately 100 visits being possible for disadvantaged children accompanied by our volunteers. “ Recent events organised for the children to enjoy include a visit to the Snowdome in Tamworth, and Three Musketeers show at Playbox Theatre over Christmas, plus a visit from Father Christmas.

Bumper year sees workforce set to double for Coventry recruiter Soaring demand for jobs has seen Coventry recruitment experts eResponse preparing to double their own workforce. The Coventry-based recruiter, which helps to place people into industrial, office and administration roles, only opened in the city in 2014 but the number of clients has grown consistently with them helping almost 1,000 local people into a variety of jobs. The Queen Victoria Road-based firm is now looking to take on more consultants to cope with the growth and the faith local businesses are placing in the team. In the coming months the team will go from

six to 12 workers with the recruitment process about to kick-off - with eResponse offering full training and pitching jobs to people who may be looking for a change of career or new challenge. Tina White, Commercial General Manager for eResponse Group, said: “It has been a fantastic first year here in Coventry and more and more employers are coming to us to find the right people, with the right qualifications and experience, to fill new jobs. “We’ve been winning contracts and new clients because we offer training and development so people arrive on day one completely work ready. And now we’re

delighted to be in the position of expanding our own workforce. “This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who may be considering a completely new career or change in direction.” Formed in 2003, eResponse Group has grown to employ over 100 people at its seven branches in Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Northamptonshire. In 2014, the Group was placed at number 44 in the Sunday Times Virgin Fast Track 100 and was voted one of the UK’s top employers.

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Area Focus: Coventry

Commercial stock uptake on the rise

A Coventry property, risk and facilities management company has witnessed a substantial uptake in commercial stock with occupancy levels rising to 96 per cent. The Wigley Group, which owns and manages several business and industrial parks across the Midlands, has let around 200,000 sq ft of space across ten different lettings through Coventry-based commercial property agent Bromwich Hardy.

The deals, completed over the last 12 months, signal the returning strength of the Coventry commercial property market, bringing fresh inward investment to the area. The largest transaction for The Wigley Group included the letting of 88,000 sq ft premises, located off John Wigley Way in Foleshill, Coventry, to London-based recycling and haulage firm Dancebuy. Other deals include the letting of 4,537 sq ft of space to Italian manufacturing firm Atlantic Fluid Tech and 4,320 sq ft premises to Interserve Fire Services at Henley Park Industrial Estate, in Hall Green. James Davies, director at The Wigley Group which is based at The Cobalt Centre in Siskin Parkway East, said: “We are very pleased to have witnessed a hive of activity over the last 12 months with substantial demand for high-quality office and warehouse premises. “Henley Park Industrial Estate has become a hub for large international companies looking to open in the UK with both Atlantic Fluid Tech and Interserve Fire Services able to expand at the site. We only have one unit left available at the estate and are expecting significant interest in the 4,000 sq ft premises.

“We are now looking at a range of development opportunities after occupation levels rose from 73 per cent to 96 per cent and have outlined plans to build additional warehouse premises at Henley Park in the next year.” Bromwich Hardy is at the forefront of activity, having won the 2014 Estates Gazette Award for Warwickshire and finished top of Commercial Property analyst’s listing for Coventry and Warwickshire with 112 leases, sales and purchases over the past 12 months, almost double its nearest competitor. James Brookes, of Bromwich Hardy, added: “We have been successful in attracting a variety of businesses to several estates across Coventry with the premises on site suitable for industrial and warehouse use. “We have certainly witnessed a renewed strength to the commercial property market and it is great to have been able to bring new inward investment to Coventry. “It is, however, important that we continue to identify development opportunities as the recent influx in activity is already leading to a shortage in high-quality stock.”

IMPACT event a success

Coventry’s Positive Youth Foundation (PYF) celebrated its third year in operation through its showcase evening; ‘IMPACT’. On Wednesday 9th December PYF presented an evening of youth performances, audience participation, guest speakers and short films capturing the essence of PYF’s work. Since their maiden show back in 2014 (entitled the ‘Launch’) ‘IMPACT’ was an opportunity for the foundation to demonstrate the effect their intervention has had on its recipients. More than 120 young people from across the city came to perform, volunteer or simply watch the show. The evening’s entertainment included a number of guest speakers who support the work of PYF for a variety of reasons. Speakers included two ex-participants (from PYF’s previous standing as Positive Futures); BBC1 Apprentice contestant Mergim Butaja, and BBC Asian network British comedian Guzzy Khan. Evening highlights included a laid-back acoustic music set from the Changing Trax choir complete with guitars and bean bags. The choir were held back on stage to witness the breaking news that funders, Youth Music, had granted a further two years of funding for music related PYF sessions. Matt Griffiths, CEO, Youth Music said: “We are delighted to offer Positive Youth Foundation a grant of £93,900 for their work focusing on practical and structured music-

making opportunities for young musicians from a diverse range of backgrounds. We’ve seen from previous PYF projects that the offer of high-quality music-making opportunities delivered in a supportive, creative and welcoming environment has a real impact on the lives of the young people”. An audience of more than 250 watched on as awards were handed out to those young people the organisation felt had excelled in certain categories over the year. Amraiz Baz winner of the PYF Outstanding Contribution Award had racked up over 100 hours of volunteering for the organisation. Other winners were: Aaron Ali (Male sports personality), Badria Raja (Female sports personality), Tayyibah Mota (Creative award), Nazmal Hussein (Highest Attendee), Whitney Lewis (Raising Aspirations Programme Award). Marisha Russell, winner of the Volunteering Award, said: ‘This award makes me feel sky high, I feel like PYF has done so much for me, but they’re telling me I’ve done so much for them! It makes me feel incredibly special’.

The evening also included the official launch of ‘Involved’, a two year Health and Well Being Project that supports newly arrived, asylum seeking and refugees aged between 8-20 years. The project which includes activity sessions, health and well-being clubs and volunteering opportunities is funded by the Tudor Trust. PYF Development Manager, and co-host for the evening, Susie Murphy commented; ‘we wanted the evening to capture the true PYF ethos; young people are at the centre of all we do. To have PYF participants backstage, on stage and supporting from the audience, mirrors the breadth of opportunities open to all young people in our service.’

Next generation take on Coventry Scale Company Ltd

A Coventry-based weighing scale company has a new management team in place after its original owners recently retired. Coventry Scale Company was ran as a partnership for 40 years before employees Tom Marren and Neil Keegan, bought the

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business in November, setting it up as a limited company. Tom and Neil, who themselves have clocked up more than 40 years service between them, have played an active role in running the business for the last five years, so buying the company together was a natural next step. In addition, Tom is helping to keep the business a family affair because it’s his dad, Joe Marren, who set up Coventry Scale Company with partner, Richard Regan, in 1975. Joe and Richard started out supplying and servicing cash registers and weighing scales for the city’s butchers and greengrocers. They grew the business over the next four decades, moving into supplying and

maintaining industrial equipment for companies such as Jaguar Land Rover, Unipart UTL and Brose. Neil and Tom both joined the company as apprentices, Neil started in 1992, before Tom came on board in 1997. Tom Marren comments: “The work my dad and Richard have done over the last 40 years has built a successful business, giving us a great platform to work from. It’s an exciting time for the weighing industry because technology has developed that rapidly in recent years that we’re now able to write software that can provide a solution for any weighing scenario. We’re really looking forward to growing this part of the business, taking on new customers, while continuing to work with all of our existing customers.”

Show to make a return

The UK’s only exhibition for the logistics industry is returning to the Ricoh Arena this year. Cutting-edge technology from an increasingly thriving sector will be showcased at IntraLogisteX in the Jaguar Exhibition Hall between 9.30am-4pm on Wednesday, March 16 and from 9.30am until 3.30pm on Thursday, March 17. New products will be on display from around 60 logistics and transport exhibitors who are involved in warehousing, handling materials, picking and sorting, IT and software, storage, warehouse infrastructure and services, and packaging. Live demonstrations will take place along with a packed seminar programme with a focus on giving a practical insight into technological innovations. Visitors will have the opportunity to find out more about innovations which are reducing costs and improving technology at the show. Andy Gibb, managing director of the Ricoh Arena, said this was the second IntraLogisteX show to be held at the venue. “The launch event was a tremendous success since it proved to be a crucial two days for those professionals involved in the industry who are looking to stay ahead of their competitors in a competitive sector,” he said. “The 2016 exhibition will once again give exhibitors from across the UK the opportunity to unveil their latest products and services. “With more and more people buying items on the internet, it is increasingly important for UK companies to ensure they have the right logistical systems in place to deliver to customers on time whether that is picking, IT or packaging. “This exhibition, for those who work in the industry, also hosts seminars which are a great opportunity for experienced professionals to pass on their advice and answer questions. “Since the show takes place over two days, there are plenty of opportunities to network and make new business contacts with the high calibre of exhibitors who attend which is really important in all industries and not surprisingly it led to exhibitors winning new work.” He added: “The Ricoh Arena continues to attract exhibitions from a wide variety of business and leisure sectors whose visitors are travelling from across the UK. “The venue is one the most accessible venues in the UK and situated within a two-hour drive time for 75 per cent of the UK’s population. Our location in the heart of England and near the major motorway networks means we are easy-to-reach for visitors and exhibitors alike which is really important.” Passes to the exhibition are free for intralogistics professionals and ensures fast track entry - to find out more and register please visit www.intralogistex.co.uk

Area Focus: Coventry New Uni centre aims to boost enterprise and entrepreneurship

Coventry University is to further boost its award-winning work in enterprise and entrepreneurship with the launch of its new International Centre for Transformational Entrepreneurship (ICTE). Building on recent accolades including the Queen’s Award for Enterprise and being named Entrepreneurial University of the Year ICTE will support communities, as well as staff and students, to transform their local areas and contribute to sustainable social and economic growth. ICTE will continue to build on the successful foundation of the Institute of Applied Entrepreneurship (IAE) - which has merged into the new centre - and will focus on teaching and research activities while pioneering fresh ways of doing business for the 21st century. The centre’s academic programmes and modules will focus on knowledge transfer, and are fronted by two flagship undergraduate and postgraduate courses - the Enterprise and Entrepreneurship BA (Hons) and a master’s degree in Global Entrepreneurship. Research activities will be centred around building knowledge, with a particular focus on how to apply that knowledge and use it to impact on policy development. The centre is also in the process of implementing a doctorate programme for those interested in systemic and transformational entrepreneurship. Through both the teaching and research dimensions of the centre, the aim is to support local and international communities, help them to revisit existing entrepreneurial practices, and develop new entrepreneurship instruments and systems where needed. Professor Gideon Maas, the director of ICTE, said: “Finding answers for renewed socio-economic growth in the current global landscape seems to be a daunting task. Re-thinking the way entrepreneurship is promoted is therefore called for and the focus of this drive is through transformational entrepreneurship. Through transformational entrepreneurship, a broader holistic and heuristic approach can be achieved leading to improved policy formulation promoting sustainable socio-economic growth.” Professor John Latham, vicechancellor and CEO of Coventry University, said: “At Coventry University we are truly engaged with business and the wider community. Through transformational enterprise and entrepreneurship, which is embedded in our teaching and research, we aim to address global and societal challenges. Through its activities, ICTE will strive to address systemic challenges, making sure that we approach them in an innovative and sustainable way.” ICTE strengthens Coventry’s mission statement that focuses on being dynamic, global and transformational. The centre will work alongside the University’s existing research and teaching initiatives, while linking with partner institutions locally and internationally.

Inspiring talk in culture bid preparation

A woman who delivered a successful UK City of Culture bid has told Coventry to ‘do something extraordinary’ as it bids for the title itself in 2021. Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Culture Company 2013 that delivered DerryLondonderry’s City of Culture, spoke to a packed audience at The Box in Fargo Village. She said winning City of Culture led to a ‘Wizard of Oz moment’ for Derry-Londonderry as it transformed the city from ‘black and white’ into ‘glorious technicolour’.Shona urged the people of Coventry to get behind the bid and to make the most of the process of bidding

as well as the possibility of winning. The event attracted double the expected audience and was standing room only. She said: “I’d only been in the city for a few hours and I was taken aback by places such as the Cathedral, the Belgrade, The Herbert and the Transport Museum. “There is a real power in the process, regardless of whether you win. Prior to my time with DerryLondonderry, I actually worked on the bid for European Capital of Culture when Belfast lost to Liverpool. “But it means the city started a conversation about itself and although it didn’t win the title, it enjoyed great benefits from the process. “From what I have seen and from the fantastic turn out for this event, Coventry deserves this process. There is clearly the passion and clearly the desire. “You’re not Hull, you’re not Derry, you’re Coventry and this process can help to bring out the story and what the city is all about. “I’d say go out and mobilise and galvanise

your communities. Make this authentic and about Coventry - it’s your place. Everybody needs to do their bit - this is not something that needs to be run by a central group of people. “There was a huge legacy in terms of economics and in terms of profile for DerryLondonderry but there was also a very tangible change in the way people feel about the place where they live. “I hope you can achieve that here. I wish you every success with the process and I hope you can do something extraordinary for Coventry.” David Burbidge, the chair of the Coventry 2021 steering group, said: “We were absolutely delighted to hear Shona’s and DerryLondonderry’s story and we were thrilled with the interest from the people of Coventry. “It’s been great to hear what people love about Coventry and the step changes they want to see from this process to help overcome the challenges the city faces.” The event at Fargo Village was followed by an evening event at the Broad Street Community Centre, in Foleshill. David added: “This is about the whole city not just the centre and it’s important that we listen to and reach the whole community. We want everyone involved.”

Celebrating a year of growth A Coventry concrete company has cemented a record year of business growth by doubling its size and acquiring new offices. Rock Solid Concrete has landed a number of large scale contracts over the past year which has led to the addition of six more members of staff, in effect doubling the team’s size, which led to a need to move to larger offices at Phoenix Park, Bayton Road Industrial Estate. The firm, which was assisted in its move by Coventry-based commercial property agents Shortland Penn + Moore, say that more jobs will be created before the end of 2015. Bobby Saundh, managing director of Rock Solid Concrete, said: “Following the recruitment of six new members of staff, our previous office space was simply no longer adequate. “With the additional space at Phoenix Park, we are now able to turn part of our old premises into a ready mix plant which will see our business expand further and create additional jobs in the workshop by the end of the year. “We chose the Phoenix Park site as it was a clean, new and professional site that will

enable us to attract even more large scale high-profile clients. “As we continue to expand, the new offices at Phoenix Park will enable us to build on Rock Solid’s image and take the business to the next level. “Even better, it is just a stone’s throw from our old site which is also located on the Bayton Road Estate. Since we are continuing to operate on those premises as well, the close proximity of the two sites allows us to operate smoothly and have ultimate control over both premises.” Rock Solid, which has been established for 11 years, specialises in the production and supply of ready mix concrete to SMEs and domestic customers as well as local authorities and the Highways Agency, but have recently secured large scale wins with larger housebuilding firms.

Justin McVeigh, of Shortland Penn + Moore, said: “We are extremely pleased that Rock Solid Concrete has been able to acquire the site on Bayton Road. The good quality office and warehouse space is in a prime location which we are sure will prove highly beneficial to the company. “We have been glad to assist the team with the move and look forward to seeing them continue to grow in future.”

PR company signs sponsorship deal

Leader Communications is looking forward to the new Aviva Premiership rugby season with an extra buzz of anticipation after agreeing a deal to sponsor Wasps centre James Downey. In a first venture into the world

of sports sponsorship the award-winning Henleyin-Arden based PR, design and marketing consultancy will be the official sponsor for Downey during the full 2015/2016 season. As part of the sponsorship package Leader will carry their company logo on Downey’s Wasps website profile page and across other marketing collateral relating to the player and the Wasps club. Leader Communications will also have the opportunity to see their newly sponsored player in action with hospitality packages booked in for Wasps European

Rugby Champions cup fixtures against reigning champions Toulon, Bath and Leinster. James Holden, Leader Communications Managing Director, said: “As a consultancy that has spent over 50 years in Warwickshire as a business, we pride ourselves on supporting the region. “With Wasps becoming the latest addition to a region with a long history of sporting excellence, we relish the opportunity to support them in achieving success on and off the field. “The sponsorship package for James Downey enables us to play our part in the club’s push for honours this season and

hopefully a real buzz of anticipation in seeing James play a pivotal role at the centre of Wasps on-field efforts. “It all adds up to an exciting new sports sponsorship direction for the Leader brand and one we look forward to seeing over the line.” Leader Communications is an award-winning consultancy, with a turnover in excess of £750,000. Originally founded by Managing Director James Holden’s father Bryan, it employs six client facing directors, each specialists in their field, plus a hub of support staff working from a rural headquarters just south of Henley-in-Arden, in the Warwickshire region.

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Area Focus: Coventry

Area is transformed

From the left, David Soutter (Coventry University), Coventry’s Lord Mayor Councillor Michael Hammon and Councillor Rachel Lancaster (Coventry City Council)

A major new improvement project in the centre of Coventry has been given a seasonal opening. The nine-month, £5 million programme has transformed the area between Gosford Street through to the Coventry University Engineering and Computing Building to the old Whitefriars Monastery.

A new spine walkway has been created complete with seating areas, new lighting and an enlarged and improved pond. It has been designed to also improve safety and will incorporate new entrances to Coventry City Council’s car-parks, additional lighting and full CCTV coverage. The project, funded by the University and the European Regional Development Fund, and managed by Coventry City Council, has been finished on time and on budget. And it was given a festive opening complete with carols from the Pattison College choir and free mince pies for people using the new space. David Soutter, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources) of Coventry University, said the project had totally transformed the area. “This work has totally transformed this area of the city and the University campus,” he said. “There had been a lot of development in the area, but with Gosford Street and the elevated ring road and the car-parks it needed some radical work. “This scheme has changed it beyond all recognition and is now the perfect environment for everyone who uses it. Not only is it a very pleasant space to spend time in, but it forms a

perfect link between key parts of the University and the city. “The Council and the University have invested heavily in the public realm in recent years and that, combined with the insistence that all projects should be of the highest quality, is making a telling difference to the city centre.” Balfour Beatty undertook the nine-month project which was finished off with a planting of a tree by Coventry’s Lord Mayor Councillor Michael Hammon. Councillor Rachel Lancaster, Cabinet Member for Public Services at Coventry City Council, said: "I'm delighted with how this work has gone. We have created a wonderful new connection between Gosford Street and our wonderful historic Whitefriars as well as the University's engineering and computing building. “It's gone from quite a narrow and dark walkway to a wide, tree lined walkway with impressive new lighting and quality paving. "We have moved the entrances to our car parks, widened the pavements and installed some great new lighting under the ring road. The area really has been transformed."

Bridge PR on point with new precision engineering client win A national PR and marketing business based in Coventry has cemented its position within the manufacturing sector after securing a new contract to work with a rapidly growing precision engineering specialist. Bridge PR & Media Services has successfully secured a deal to work with precision engineering specialist, MNB Precision. The addition of MNB is the latest in number of recent contract wins for Bridge, which has seen its manufacturing client portfolio grow significantly over the last 12 months. As part of the agreement, Bridge will deliver a number of strategic PR and marketing campaigns to raise the profile of MNB Precision with its key markets and audiences. Managing Director of MNB Precision, Luke Benton, commented: “We are extremely pleased to have the support of Bridge PR. They have a proven track record for successfully working with businesses in the manufacturing sector, and we are confident they will play a vital role as we look to further raise our profile in our existing markets as well as entering new market sectors following heavily investing in our operational capacity and capability.” MNB Precision is a leading manufacturing and precision engineering specialist with more than 35 years’ experience, working in a

number of sectors such as oil and gas, rail and aerospace. The company has also previously worked alongside Aston Business School, to implement its own servitization programme at a time when the manufacturing industry is continually looking for ways to retain its competitive edge Denise Taylor, Managing Director at Bridge PR, commented: “At a time when the manufacturing industry embraces servitization as a way to remain competitive, it’s incredibly exciting to be working with such a forward thinking business as MNB. We are really excited to be able to share their stories with the relevant trade publications, helping them raise their profile as a thought leader within their field.” The new win comes at a time when Bridge has recently strengthened its own team with the addition of Gráinne Roper as Account Executive. Gráinne has joined the team with considerable experience in marketing communications, having previously managed social media and marketing for a large energy company and gaining marketing experience in the professional services sector before that. On her appointment to the Bridge team, Gráinne commented: “It was Bridge’s manufacturing and automotive experience that

drew me to the business, as these are sectors I have keen interest and experience in. The business has a strong stable of loyal clients that I am already enjoying getting to know.” Bridge is also continuing to produce results for businesses in the automotive sector and has recently renewed its contract to provide PR and marketing for Trust My Garage, which recently received final approval from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute’s consumer code approval scheme.

New challenge for David A former head of the British Chambers of Commerce is bringing his focus on enterprise, employability and education to the board of Coventry University College (CUC). David Frost CBE, who was chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce prior to becoming director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), has been appointed a nonexecutive director of Coventry University College. He brings vast experience of business at the highest level to the position, along with active involvement in adult education on a national scale, and a deep understanding of the wider West Midlands region.

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CUC, a subsidiary of Coventry University, opened in September 2012 as an innovative model in higher education, delivering a range of academic courses and professional qualifications in a more flexible and affordable way to suit the lifestyle and needs of adult learners. David, who is a Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands and chairman of the Stokeon-Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “Coventry University has a top-class reputation and is extremely innovative in higher education, and CUC is a great example of that. “It is tapping into a segment of the market which has clearly got enormous potential in the need for a very flexible form of higher education leading to a degree but with a strong vocational slant. “CUC fits rights at the heart of my focus on enterprise, employability and education, which is why the opportunity to join the board was so appealing. I have already been

impressed by the commitment of the staff and the sheer possibilities for CUC.” John Dishman, chief executive of CUC, said: “It is a major coup to attract David to the board of CUC. He brings a wealth of expertise and interest in business and education, and strong ties with Coventry and the wider region, which can only strengthen CUC. “CUC has already made its mark on the higher education landscape as a new model of delivering high quality university education in a flexible and affordable manner, and David’s involvement will enhance its future standing.” Yvonne Rose has also been made a director at CUC and brings vast experience in education and training including with Warwickshire County Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Learning and Skills Council, and the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce.

Two award nominations complete the Jigsaw for mail specialist

A Coventry direct mail specialist is continuing to push the envelope after being nominated for two awards at the 2015 Midlands Family Business Awards. Jigsaw CCS, which was founded by mother and daughter duo Lorna Harling and Rebecca Fahy, were shortlisted in both Employer of the Year and Director of the Year categories. The accolades, which are held annually and founded by the Wilson Foundation, complete a great year for Jigsaw CCS, which not only relocated to larger premises, but also recently expanded its team, appointing five new members of staff. Managing Director Rebecca Fahy said: “While Jigsaw CCS was founded by both myself and Lorna, the notion of family is something we have always extended beyond ourselves. For us, family is more than our relationship, instead it encompasses each and every member of the team, we are more than colleagues, we are the Jigsaw CCS family. “This is something we have personally believed in since Jigsaw CCS was founded all those years ago, but for the panel to also agree with us, and shortlist us for Employer of the Year is a fantastic testament to both our ethos, and our great team. "I am also delighted to have been shortlisted as Director of the Year. A huge part of my personal success in business comes from my fantastic relationship with my Mum (and Business Partner) and the support of an amazing team." The notion of family is echoed in the company’s high staff retention levels, with a number of the original team of six still working at the company. One such member of the Jigsaw CCS team is Finance Assistant Anita Sant, who has been part of the team for nearly nine years. Anita said: “Being part of a united team means we are much more than colleagues. The team ethos means everyone pulls together to get the job done, resulting in not only getting the best results for our clients, but also a great sense of team satisfaction too.” Jigsaw CCS is committed to continually investing in both the business and also its team, having more than doubled its workforce over the past 18 months including appointing a dedicated Business Development Manager to focus on the company’s future growth plans. Jigsaw CCS’s most recent appointment of five new members of staff comes after the company recently made a five-figure investment in new equipment to enable the business to meet growing demand for its services in the direct mail and hand fulfilment industries. The two awards come as Jigsaw CCS prepares to celebrate its 10th anniversary. During the months leading to the official anniversary in November, the company plans to work with a leading charity to raise the awareness of the creative print industry within local schools.

Area Focus: Mid Warwickshire

MP meets engineering apprentices

Project given the golden touch The crucial phase of a major development project in Warwick has been given the golden touch. Warwick School is creating a new £7.5 million school hall on its Myton Road site to replace the Guy Nelson Hall which had served as the central meeting space for the school since the 1960s. The project, which his set to be completed in time for the next academic year, has reached a crucial phase with the completion of the supporting steel work.

Chris White MP for Warwick and Leamington has been to meet the first engineering apprentices at a new £3 million college partly funded by the Government’s Growth Deal. Mr White visited the Warwick Trident College Centre for Product Creation in Poseidon Way, Warwick, along with Dr Richard Hutchins from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP). Two hundred and ten apprentices from Jaguar Land Rover and SMEs plus 60 full-time students from Warwickshire College have started a variety of engineering courses at the threestorey building, which has been financed by the Growth Deal and the Warwickshire College Group. Mr White met Thomas Fletcher, an apprentice at Westmoreland Mechanical Technical & Research in Banbury, and Noppawee Wadee, who is an apprentice at Kigass Aero

Components in Warwick after completing a BTEC level three in engineering at Warwickshire College. Mr White said: “I was delighted to see the apprenticeships engineering block fully functional which is a testament to the great team at Warwickshire College. “Apprentices are very important to the region and this will help to deliver significant numbers to some of the large manufacturers based nearby. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity to speak to some of the apprentices who are already clearly very positive about their experience here.” The 1,800 sq ft building, which has been developed by AC Lloyd from Warwick and built by Coventry-based Deeley Construction, features specialist engineering workshops and 18 teaching, computer and specialist engineering technology labs.

From the left: Chris White MP for Warwick and Leamington, apprentices Thomas Fletcher and Noppawee Wadee, Richard Hutchins (LEP) and Angela Joyce (group principal and chief executive of the Warwickshire College Group)

Richard Hutchins, board lead of the Jobs & Skills Business Group at the CWLEP and director of Jaguar Land Rover Programmes at WMG, said this was the first Skills Capital project funded by the CWLEP via the Growth Deal. He said: “Skills is one of the key focuses for the CWLEP and it was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic apprentices with a love of engineering who will be

Coventry printer eyes growth

To mark the occasion Chris Ainslie, Campaign Chairman for Warwick School, was asked by contractors Deeley Construction to come and fit the final ‘golden’ bolt. Chris, who is leading the drive to raise £1.1 million towards the total, said: “It is great watching the new hall take shape. It is a very visible site so the school community as well as local people can see it coming out of the ground. “We have a concerted campaign underway to help reach our target and it is going very well. We hope that as the building really takes shape that will only increase. “It was a kind gesture of Deeley to ask me to make a very small contribution to the structure and the finishing of the steelwork is certainly a significant moment - but I can now justifiably claim I helped build the new hall!” The new hall, designed by Birmingham-based Associated Architects, will be able to hold all 1,000 pupils in the senior school and will be used for exams, concerts and will feature performing arts studios, exhibition space and improved acoustics. Martin Gallagher, managing director at Deeley Construction, said: “The build is progressing well and at this stage it is changing on a daily and weekly basis. New changes can be seen each week which is highly rewarding for us. “The new development will have a big impact on the life of students and staff at Warwick School while providing minimal disruption during construction. “It is a stunning design and I have no doubt that the completed project will lift the aspirations of everyone that uses it.”

filling a demand among local employers for engineering apprentices. “The Warwickshire Trident College tutors are training the next generation of engineering and product design apprentices in an industry-focused environment which will only prove beneficial as they start their careers in a fascinating industry.”

From the left: Bethany de Thierry (Chamber) with Craig Colledge, Caroline Taylor and Megan Holland.

A Coventry company has designs on future growth after landing more than 20 new clients in the past year. warwickprint, which was set up in 1964, works across a range of sectors offering a state-of-the-art print and design service to clients from across Coventry and Warwickshire and beyond. And while social media and digital marketing is becoming increasingly important in winning new business, the company is finding face-to-face networking is still proving to be the best way to build business bridges. warwickprint has attended a range of events organised by the Coventry and Warwickshire

Chamber of Commerce - including its business and trade expos - and that has led to winning business with over 20 new clients in the past 12 months. Membership of the Chamber has also allowed the company, which is the commercial arm of The University of Warwick based on the Westwood Campus, to break into a number of new industries including charity, HR, healthcare, chemicals, finance and IT. Caroline Taylor, sales consultant at warwickprint, predicts that business demand will continue to rise as a result of the recent client wins.

“We began working with the Chamber around six years ago after we assisted them with the print and design for one of their projects, and the relationship developed from there,” she said. “The advantages of being a member were clear for us as we recognised the opportunities their events presented by networking with other businesses we’re able to gain major local exposure as well as establish and build relationships. “This is shown by the fact that in the last year alone we have added a substantial amount of new clients to our books and the list continues to grow. “We also benefit from the seminars and talks that are given at events. We make sure we attend as many as we can as we find them highly interesting and beneficial in terms of business advice. “We now have a great rapport with the Chamber and couldn’t recommend them enough. It is a great, cost-effective platform for businesses to engage and network as well as find out what is going on locally.” Bethany de Thierry, of the Chamber, said: “Of course, the web, social media and the digital age in general have revolutionised the way businesses can market themselves and the way they can contact potential new customers. “But what warwickprint have proved is that meeting face-to-face is still vital when a business is looking to win new clients and Chamber events are a great way of doing that.”

New direction for Warwickshire energy firm Based in Warwick, Eneco UK is a sustainable business in renewable generation, incorporating both large-scale onshore wind and solar assets. Since 2008, Eneco has built an impressive portfolio of five wind farms all based in Scotland amounting to over 200MW of capacity and an innovative direct supply 10MW solar project in partnership with Honda of the UK Manufacturing Ltd (HUM) in Swindon. The Warwick business also supplies high profile businesses

including Heineken, AkzoNobel, Uniliver and Scottish Water. This year Eneco UK will also be looking at innovative products and services aimed at helping businesses manage their energy more effectively. This is in line with Eneco’s group strategy which focuses on ‘energy as a service’ for retail and business customers. UK Country Director Zoisa Walton said: “This is an exciting time for Eneco UK as we can offer tailored energy services for businesses of all

sizes. There is a perception that only large corporate businesses can benefit from purchasing energy from renewables or products that help them to manage their energy requirements, however there is a number of ways SMEs can also tap into this market. “Energy plays a key part in helping any business function; by managing it effectively and sustainably, it can save money, while improving green credentials and enhancing brand reputation.”

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Area Focus: North Warwickshire

Expansion goes ahead

From the left: Jenny Hooper (Managing Director, Independent Freight) and Brian Mountford (of UK Trade & Investment) holding Leader of the Year Award.

An award-winning Nuneaton logistics company has gone full speed ahead with expansion with the purchase of new work premises as well as a drive in staff recruitment. Independent Freight, which specialises in imports and exports for a range of companies, recently moved to new premises on the Attleborough Fields Industrial Estate and added three new members to its team

after doubling turnover year on year to its current six figure annual turnover. Plans are in place to take on another apprentice by the end of the year. The company has been steadily expanding since its inception 11 years ago and support from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has helped to speed up the firm’s growth. The chamber’s help has included assistance from the UK Trade and Investment team (UKTI) at its International Trade Hub which organised a trade mission to the Middle East where Independent Freight explored business opportunities that will secure further growth in future. The firm also received advice and guidance from the Chamber’s training arm, CWT, which boosted company growth by assisting with the recruitment and training of a new apprentice. The team are now working towards recruiting another in the next six months, which will be the company’s third in just two years. Jenny Hooper, managing director of Independent Freight, said: “I started Independent Freight 11 years ago and since then have built a national and international customer base. “To have doubled our turnover year on year during tough economic times is a massive achievement and would not have been possible without support from the Chamber, UKTI and CWT.

“Their guidance has helped us to multiply and upskill our team as well as purchase larger warehouse premises, which has allowed us to provide a more integrated service for our customers that covers all parts of the logistics process. “Our trade mission with the UKTI also proved invaluable. We were given insight into trading in territories we hadn’t seen before and significantly increased our knowledge in the area. “We even gained major new contacts as well, ensuring we continue to grow our client base and provide the best service to our customers in future.” Jenny and Independent Freight recently celebrated a prestigious award win after being recognised for their outstanding contribution to the logistics sector, with Jenny named as Leader of The Year at the Freight Transport Association’s (FTA) annual Every Woman in Transport and Logistics awards evening. Brian Mountford, an international trade adviser at the Chamber’s International Trade Hub, said: “We are delighted to see Jenny pick up this award and with the way Independent Freight is growing. “It’s great to see our support assisting a firm in the region discover new markets and we look forward to working with Jenny in the future.” For more information on support from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and the UKTI team call 024 7665 4321.

Award Winning accountancy firm strengthens its presence The Coventry and Warwickshire based two office accountancy practice of Armstrongs Accountancy Limited are actively strengthening their position and presence across the North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire area through a series of growth and networking initiatives. The business has recruited five new members of staff to its new Nuneaton office within the past year, after having relocated from its previous office in Hinckley. The most recent recruit is a qualified local girl, Jodie Tyler. Jodie hails from Nuneaton’s Higham Lane School and began her accountancy training soon after leaving school, qualifying six years later. Jodie is actively involved with all clients at the Nuneaton office and is assisting the partners at Armstrongs in growing the firm’s presence within the area. Jodie is known for being hands on and continues the Armstrongs’ ethos of being personable, yet still professional in her approach to dealing with client matters. Her ability to take charge and communicate effectively has secured her the position of assistant manager at Armstrongs. Armstrongs have just secured the BNI Nuneaton chapter’s accountancy seat in a bid to reach out and build upon its existing connections within the Nuneaton and North Warwickshire business community. Paul Farmer, a partner at Armstrongs, said ‘We pride ourselves on being a modern, growing and dynamic accountancy practice. We are making strides to grow the business by investing in new staff who will be working with our innovative office systems and practices taking our business and client service standards to the next level. We are

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actively becoming a paperless cloud based office which gives key staff the flexibility to offer our clients a true 24 hours a day service.’ Armstrongs has a diverse range of clients and looks after the affairs of audit group companies, SMEs, partnerships, sole traders, and charity accounts. The company also offers tax compliance services and advises high-net worth individuals on tax strategy and planning. Armstrongs are the first accountancy practice in the West Midlands and

Warwickshire area to have won the 2014 Midlands Independent Firm of the Year award at the British Accountancy Awards in London last November. Additionally, Paul Farmer was a finalist for UK Practitioner of the Year award making him one of the top nine practitioners in the UK. The company is actively involved in fundraising for various charitable causes for its local community and is currently supporting Nuneaton’s Ambleside cricket club.

Business views sought Businesses in Nuneaton and Bedworth have been urged to feedback to the borough council on three consultations. The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s North Warwickshire branch hosted Ash Baldwin from Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council’s planning, policy and economic team at the offices of Stewart Fletcher Barrett. He presented three consultations to the 40 business people gathered at the event and asked for feedback on the Borough Plan, the plan for Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople and the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL). The Borough Plan details how Nuneaton and Bedworth will aim to meet its target for more than 10,000 new homes to be created in the area before 2031 but Baldwin also explained that a further 4,000 could be needed as Coventry is unable to meet its target. He also highlighted where 52 hectares of employment land will be integrated into the borough. Baldwin presented where possible traveller sites could be situated and fielded a range of questions on the topic, particularly from companies based on the Attleborough Fields Industrial Estate which is situated close to one of the proposed sites. He then outlined how the new CIL would help the Borough Council raise money for infrastructure from new housing and commercial development. It is proposed that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council will charge £50 per square metre on new housing scheme and £100 per square metre on warehousing and retail. But Baldwin said that - like with the Borough Plan and the plan for travellers - feedback from businesses was wanted. He said: “We want to hear from businesses - as well as members of the public - on all of the consultations. Time is running out when it comes to the Borough Plan but we want feedback from companies all on all three because that will come into consideration.” Paul Carvell, the chair of the Chamber’s North Warwickshire Branch and recently appointed president of the Chamber, said: “It was an excellent presentation and we were very grateful to Ash, who fielded some tough questions and didn’t shirk any of them. “I would only echo what he said - that it’s vital for all businesses to take a look at the consultation documents and offer considered feedback to the council on all three.” He added: “This is what the Chamber is about - bringing businesses together to inform them of what is happening in their area and also to help provide a voice on issues that affect them.”

Area Focus: South Warwickshire

MP seeks better future for young people

Building a secure future Students from Henley School are learning valuable practical skills during weekly classes at Stratford-upon-Avon College. Since September 2014, they have been attending the College every Tuesday, taking the New Start course – studying for a BTEC Level 1 Diploma in Vocational Studies. The course, which will continue throughout the academic year, involves studying a variety of skillbased areas including Art and Design, and Construction and Engineering, alongside English and Maths. The majority of course units are tailored to suit the main vocational subject chosen, with students assessed on a portfolio of evidence.

Nadhim Zahawi, the Member of Parliament for Stratford on Avon, spelt out his aspirations for young people and urged local businesses to keep lobbying Government at a special session with business. The meeting, organised by Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce at the town’s Arden Hotel, included around 20 businesses from varied sectors and covered topics ranging from local business rates to apprentices and from tax to combined authorities. Speaking at the event, Mr Zahawi said it was key that local businesses continued to inform their politicians of important issues. He said: “The work of the Chamber and others is invaluable and the Government knows it is important that we continue to support the Chamber network locally and nationally, so we can act on issues. “I know that businesses want Government to provide stability, certainty and consistency so that they can execute their plans without having to constantly refocus.

Lord Digby Jones appointed college’s chairman of governors

It is designed for students who benefit from learning in a more adult environment and who wish to concentrate on the skill-based subjects in which they have a particular interest. Since the start of this academic year, the students have been studying construction skills. Connor Daly, 14, from Henley sees the course as the stepping stone to his future in the construction industry: “I want to take over my Dad’s construction company when I’m older. I always go onto site with him, but this course is helping me to gain the skills I need.” For Ethan Paine, also 14 from Henley, it has helped him picture a possible future: “I’ve really enjoyed this course and now I’m thinking about construction as a future career. I really think it might be for me.” Peter Lowry, construction lecturer at the College, is impressed with the attitude of the students: “The College is always delighted to work with local schools in developing their pupils, by teaching them the practical skills that employers are looking for. When they work with the enthusiasm and commitment shown by these students, I am confident that we are preparing them for a future of secure employment.”

“To achieve that it is really important that we have an open dialogue with business.” Several businesses raised the difficulty in hiring suitable young people and Stratford’s MP said that a cultural shift was need as well as changes to the system. He added: “I would like to get to a stage where young people and their parents were as proud when a letter dropped through the letter box offering an apprenticeship, as if one came through with a university place. We have to attach that level of value to these opportunities” Larry Coltman, chair of the South Warwickshire branch of the Chamber, said: “This was a very valuable session – hopefully for the members present and for Nadhim. “He is always prepared to listen to views and it is refreshing to hear new and honest thinking on the issues to confront business. “If businesses want change or help, they have to communicate that to decision makers and the Chamber is the ideal avenue by which to do that.”

Stratford-upon-Avon College has announced the appointment of distinguished business entrepreneur Lord Digby Jones as their new Chairman of Governors from 1st January. Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham - a businessman and politician who has served as Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Minister of State for Trade and Investment - has a keen interest in education and has frequently expressed support for vocational education. Born in Birmingham, he was educated at Bromsgrove School, where he was Head Boy, and then read Law at University College London. After graduating with upper

second class honours, he worked for 20 years at Birmingham-based law firm Edge & Ellison. He serves as Chairman of numerous major companies including Stratford-uponAvon-based industrial group Grove Industries and Triumph Motorcycles Limited. Lord Jones’s connection with Stratfordupon-Avon College has already helped enhance its impressive business and educational strengths. In May, he officially opened its refurbished lecturing facilities for the teaching of Art and Design, Sport and Uniformed Public Service students, and in September he visited the College to help launch its Apprenticeship Academy alongside Stratford MP Nadhim Zahawi, who has been recently appointed Prime Minister's Apprenticeship Adviser. Lord Jones’ association with the College was further strengthened in October with his appointment to the Board of Governors. Lord Jones also recently attended the South Warwickshire at Parliament event at the House of Commons, alongside College Principal and Chief Executive Nicola Mannock. Organised by the Stratford and Leamington Business Forums, this annual event enables business leaders to meet government ministers and provides local companies and organisations the opportunity to showcase what the region has to offer. Together, Lord Jones and Nicola forged many beneficial parliamentary and employer links, ensuring the College’s continued prominence in the area. Moving forward, Lord Jones will lead a drive to build links with employers across

the Midlands given his Trade Ministerial and Confederation of British Industry background. He was also on campus throughout 16 December to further strengthen his relationships with staff and students. Lord Jones said: “The solution to the UK: productivity problem; poverty gap; nation’s finances – especially to the maintaining of our area; and record of sustainable near full employment, is to maintain a supply of more, better skilled people. The path to selfrespect and personal freedom is education. That is why I am delighted to accept the position of Chairman of Governors. I share Stratford-upon-Avon College’s commitment to providing the best possible skill-based learning and apprenticeship opportunities, ensuring all students secure successful job opportunities. I am confident that by working together, we will succeed in preparing our young people for future employment and a successful career.” College Principal and CEO Nicola Mannock said: “We are honoured and delighted that Lord Jones has agreed to become Chairman of Governors. His wide-ranging business acumen and experience, together with his support for vocational education, have already proved great assets for the College. As Chairman, he will help us ensure that we continue to enhance the employment prospects of young people and work in collaboration with the local economy to respond to the needs of the community.”

Welcombe Hotel shortlisted in prestigious Pride of Stratford Awards

The Hallmark Welcombe Hotel Spa & Golf Club in Warwickshire has been shortlisted as a finalist in the prestigious Touch FM Pride of Stratford Awards 2016. The country house hotel has been shortlisted in the Hospitality

Business of the Year category and will find out if it has won this highly coveted award at a gala dinner and ceremony on Friday 5 February at the Holiday Inn in Stratford-upon-Avon. The Welcombe Hotel won a Pride of Stratford Award in 2013 and was also a finalist in 2015. The awards, which are in their

fifth year, celebrate the best achievements in business and the community across the District. In the presence of the 'who's who' of Stratford-upon-Avon, the prestigious swan awards are given out to the best businesses, individuals and organisations in 14 different categories. Shaun Van Looy, General Manager at The Hallmark Welcombe Hotel said: “We are delighted to be nominated as a finalist in the Pride of Stratford Awards. 2016 happens to mark the 150th anniversary of the hotel

so it will be an incredibly important and exciting year for us. Winning this award would be a fantastic acknowledgment of how hard the Welcombe works in maintaining its reputation and we look forward to hearing the results in February”. Set within a private estate of 157 acres, the 4 star Hallmark Welcombe Hotel Spa & Golf Club is acknowledged as one of the leading luxury country house hotels in the Heart of England, located on the outskirts of Stratford-upon-Avon.

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Area Focus: Rugby

Automotive CEO named as Manufacturing Champion for the Midlands

The CEO of an independent automotive component manufacturer in Warwickshire has been recognised by the national manufacturers’ organisation EEF for his significant contribution to the industry. Jim Griffin of the Rugby based Autins Group, who develop and manufacture heat and sound solutions for the automotive, marine and commercial vehicle sectors won the Manufacturing Champion Award at the Midlands round of the EEF Future Manufacturing Awards. The event was held on 2nd November at the National Space Centre in Leicester.

Sponsored by British bank Aldermore, the award celebrates the achievements of an individual who, through vision, dedication, hard work and tireless involvement, has made a significant contribution to UK manufacturing. Jim was selected by a panel of judges drawn from business leaders, industry experts and academics. Jim has worked at The Autins Group for more than 25 years and was part of a management buyout in 2006. Under his leadership, the company has experienced a period of rapid expansion, moving to new £6m purpose built premises last year. Since 2011, Autins has set up additional sites abroad in Sweden and Germany to supply European and global markets. As a result, turnover has increased almost sevenfold and the work force has expanded from 60 to around 160. Although singled out for the award, Jim feels that the accolade also belongs to the Autins staff. “I am honoured to have received this award and delighted to play my part in British manufacturing which has a well-deserved reputation for innovation and quality,” he said.

“However, it is testament to my team as much as to me and recognises the value and contribution made by people who work hard to drive UK manufacturing forward. Manufacturing offers fantastic opportunities for jobs, growth and economic security – it deserves to be recognised and I look forward to the national awards next year.” Jim is also active in the local business community as Vice Chair of the EEF West Midlands Region Advisory Board and Chair of the High Value Manufacturing Committee for Coventry and Warwickshire LEP as well as a member of the Business Advisory Board for the Warwick Manufacturing Group Academy for Young Engineers. Carl D’Ammassa, Group Managing Director - Business Finance at Aldermore, said: “Jim Griffin has worked tirelessly to promote manufacturing in his local community and the UK. Ambitious leaders like Jim are driving the sector forward and reinforcing its importance to the economy. As industry’s ambassadors, they are underpinning recognition of the careers, wealth and opportunities that a dynamic and diverse manufacturing base generates.”

Company joins network A forward-thinking Rugby logistics company has joined the pioneering UK and European palletised freight distribution network owned by a former star of Dragons’ Den. Exact Logistics on the Dunchurch Trading Estate in London Road is now delivering its freight through Pall-Ex, which was founded and is still owned by Hilary Devey CBE, who spent two years on the popular BBC 2 programme Dragons’ Den. Pall-Ex members operate under unique, joint ISO accreditations for quality and provide a wide range of pallet distribution services to blue chip, SME and public sector customers across a vast range of industries. Customers of Exact Logistics, which was established in 2009, will have their pallets of freight processed for onward delivery through Pall-Ex’s flexible, purpose-built, £12 million hub operation in nearby Ellistown, Leicestershire, near J22 of the M1. Adam Shuter, managing director of Exact Logistics, said they have joined the Pall-Ex network in order to improve the company’s

communications, delivery and care to its customers. He said: “The main asset of any business is its people and as soon as we met the Pall-Ex team, we felt they were people we wanted to work with. “They share our passion for customer service and our commitment to quality and we have been impressed by their helpfulness and co-operation. “We believe our business at Exact Logistics is about people – we care about our customers as people because we are an SME which puts our customers at the heart of everything we do. “This decision will improve the range of services we can offer to our customers which is vital for our business to continue to grow. “Membership of Pall-Ex will mean freight will be delivered more efficiently since it will be processed in a purpose-built hub. Freight is protected from adverse weather conditions since vehicles are loaded and unloaded under a canopy.

“Our customers are based in Rugby, Coventry, Leamington, Southam, Warwick and Stratford and trust us to deliver on their behalf throughout UK and Europe so our local expertise is being backed by Pall-Ex’s resources. “Pall-Ex has demonstrated a strategic and financial commitment to the long-term benefit of the freight network, its haulier members and service-users. “We are confident that the transition to Pall-Ex membership will be seamless because the company shares our values focused on communication, deliver and care.”

Oliver bowls over his colleagues

The first apprentice at a logistics company in Rugby has bowled over his new colleagues. Oliver Fowler, who has joined Exact Logistics on the Dunchurch Trading Estate in

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London Road, is a current member of the England Under-18s indoor bowls team. The 16-year-old won team gold in the British Isles Indoor Bowls Council’s Under-18s Mixed Championship in Northern Ireland. “It was very exciting,” the teenager said. “It was my debut so to win gold was fantastic – it doesn’t get any better than that. “I have had three England trials and have made it this year and I really enjoyed it. My next goal is to play for the under-25s’ senior team. “I started playing the game with my grandad, Graham Howes, and I have been a member of Rugby Thornfield Indoor Bowls Club for five years.

“The club has made it through to the first stage of the Denny Cup in the national fours and triples which is run by the English Indoor Bowling Association so I am playing five times a week at the moment to practice hard.” Oliver has been recruited at Exact Logistics as a traffic apprentice to become part of the 13-strong team. The former student at Rugby’s Ashlawn School said: “I am learning a great deal. I check all the deliveries are on time for customers and help out in the warehouse and I have weekly objectives to meet as well as part of my apprenticeship. “I am enjoying working here and it is a great place to learn because everyone is really helpful. Since it is a family-run company, people always have

time for you if you need help which is really encouraging.” Karen Shuter, sales and marketing director at Exact Logistics, said Oliver was a keen and enthusiastic member of the team. “Oliver is our first ever apprentice and he has settled in exceptionally well,” she said. “It is great to be able to teach him how we run our business and help him progress and learn the skills we need. “He is mature for his age and his success and dedication with England’s indoor bowls team is mirrored in his work at Exact Logistics. “We are all taking a keen interest in his progress and wish him the best of luck in future competitions.”

Left to right – Alex Williams (Warwickshire County Council), Jon Bass (Chamber), Glenn Bourne (chair of the Chamber’s Rugby branch) and Kevin Mullan (The Rugby Hotel)

Cybercrime the focus for businesses

Rugby’s business community has been urged to be extra vigilant to help beat the threat of cybercrime. The Rugby branch of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce held its latest meeting of members at the Rugby Hotel on Sheep Street and invited a business crime expert to brief businesses on the latest online threats. Alex Williams, business crime advisor at Warwickshire County Council, told Chamber members a simple stream of online security measures can go a long way to protecting businesses online. He urged companies to not underestimate the ever-changing cyber threats and to look into protecting assets with cyber liability insurance. Glenn Bourne, chair of the Chamber’s Rugby branch, said the briefing provided a strong reminder of the importance of being as alert as possible when it comes to cyber security. “Cyber threats present a massive danger to any business, and can bring a company to its knees if adequate safety steps are not in place,” he said. “Hundreds of new threats are being created by cyber criminals on a daily basis, so it was extremely useful to hear from Alex on what we can do to put our businesses in the best possible place to prevent attacks. “Alex visits businesses across the borough to carry out online health checks and offer cyber security advice and we are thankful to him for taking time to brief our members with some expert advice we could away to protect our companies.”

New Directions opens new community space

The opening of New Directions’ latest community space The Exchange took place on Wednesday 4th November where guests watched Rugby Mayor Cllr Richard Dodd cut the opening ribbon. The Exchange is a new ground floor space in the heart of Rugby town centre provided by leading local learning disabilities charity New Directions (Rugby) Ltd. New Directions and HB Architects have worked together in partnership on many new developments including The Exchange and are now neighbours within this building with HB Architects based on the first floor. The Exchange is centrally located in Albert Street, Rugby with high quality, accessible and affordable multi-purpose rooms for local groups to use. By sharing the facilities New Directions has designed a space that will cater for meetings, activities and local community groups. The formal opening was attended by special guests and the local press where they all had the opportunity to look around and see the wide range of opportunities available for the people that the charity supports. The Exchange is a newly refurbished community space making it light, bright and welcoming with wheelchair access, on site car parking and wifi connection perfect for the charity's day activities/ opportunities service Community Choices Network to now be based there. Kyle, one of the charity's customers, said: "The Exchange is wicked. I can get around easier in my wheelchair because the doors are wider. I like meeting my friends and learning about computers." Manager Laura Nisbet said, "We are delighted to be able to provide such a valuable space to the local community and also our day activities customers at Community Choices Network. Rooms could be used for a variety of activities such as after school activities, slimming clubs, dance groups, fetes or even a polling station.” New Directions offers a wide range of services which include home care, supported living, respite, day activities, residential services, dementia and transitional support to adults with learning and physical disabilities aged 16 and over.

News

Take 50 - have you got what it takes? Want to challenge yourself in 2016? The Myton Hospices is looking for innovative and entrepreneurial employees to take part in their annual Take 50 challenge. Now in its sixth year, the Take 50 Challenge has raised in excess of £157,000 over the past five years for the charity. Last year’s winners raised more than £5,000have you got what it takes to beat them? Teams of three or more have 50 days to turn £50 into as much money as possible for Myton. Not only is the challenge an exciting, valuable team building opportunity but it also gives teams the chance to network with a range of other local businesses. During the Take 50 Challenge, Myton’s fundraising team will organise staged events to help maximise each team’s chances of raising as much as they can for the charity. A launch evening will be held on April 5th where those taking part will have the chance to discuss and share ideas with past and present teams. Once the challenge is completed at the end of the 50 days, all teams will be invited to celebrate their efforts at the awards dinner on 26th May where a variety of awards will be presented. Myton touches the lives of almost 4,000 people each year across Coventry and

Warwickshire through the family support services provided for patients and their loved ones across all three hospices in Warwick, Coventry and Rugby as well as in the community through Myton at home.

Myton has to raise over £8 million each year to run the services they provide. Myton welcomes businesses of every kind to take part in the Take 50 challenge so if you are looking for an opportunity

to showcase how much talent lies within your business whilst simultaneously supporting a local charity, call Rosie Houghton on 01926 838817 or email rosie.houghton@mytonhospice.org.

Conference is a call to action

From the left: Michael Rowlinson (Michael Rowlinson Associates), Stuart Goodman (Lucion Environmental), Nick Blenkarn (Severn Partnership), John Cave (EH Smith), Stephen Trinder (Calford Seaden) and Philip Harris (Wright Hassall)

Leading figures from construction were told at an industry conference that they need to turn on the TAP to ensure future success. Technology, Approach and Productivity (TAP) were the main topics of the session organised by leading law firm Wright Hassall. About 100 professionals from all strands of the sector attending the conference were told that all three were key in all areas of construction. Philip Harris, who heads Wright Hassall's specialist construction team, said: “The technological advances in key areas such as three dimensional mapping and modelling, and signposting of hazardous materials are quite phenomenal but it is fair to say that, as with all new innovations, take up is not instant and sometimes requires a leap of faith. "But it is clear that there are massive savings in time and efficiency, but they come at a cost. The question facing the industry is whether those savings are translated into improvements in the bottom line and also health and safety. "Some serious questions were posed by our speakers in that area and, again, it was a very stimulating session." Speakers included Stephen Trinder (Calford Seaden), Nick Blenkarn (Severn Partnership), Stuart Goodman (Lucion Environmental), John Cave (EH Smith) and Michael Rowlinson (Michel Rowlinson Associates Limited).

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Business Direct is sponsored by Opus VL

Open Source predicted to grow in popularity throughout 2016 “Open Source software enables businesses, regardless of their size and sector, to drive efficiencies and develop connected and automated solutions to support their evolution and growth.” Ambitious businesses looking to achieve growth throughout 2016 are being told to remain positive and leverage technology more effectively if they are to overcome the challenging economic situation. That’s the message from Open Source specialist OpusVL, who are advocating Open Source as a key enabler of business growth this year, for leaders seeking a scalable and flexible business management system. The statement comes at a time when, despite recent speculation of further economic issues, a recent survey conducted by The Financial Times found that four out of five economists are predicting 2016 to be a good year for UK growth. Stuart J Mackintosh, Managing Director of OpusVL and Chairman of the Open Source Consortium, is also expecting business growth to continue throughout 2016 and is advocating Open Source software as an effective and flexible approach on which businesses can lay foundations for growth.

Open Source approach, crucial for any business looking to scale up either a project, or their whole operation. Figures suggest that more businesses are becoming aware of the benefits of streamlined business management applications, with more than a third of IT professionals now using Open Source software, according to a report from Scale Computing. Northbridge recently reported their results from the Ninth Annual Future of Open Source Survey which shows as many as 78% of businesses already rely on Open Source for their core operations, a percentage which continues to climb. In the super computer space, 494 of the top 500 super computers already run on Linux, and even at home, most user devices including TV's, phones and broadband are based on the free operating system. Stuart J Mackintosh, concluded, “Companies are becoming increasingly reliant on Open Source software for their

daily operations yet only recently have the business people inside these organisations started to actively procure it. Although some companies are falling behind and still investing in locked-in proprietary technology, it is now evident that the migration to Open Source and Linux is enabling organisations to scale up their operations. Open Source should be the first choice for businesses looking

to implement a scalable infrastructure in order to achieve growth. By investing in high quality, joined-up and scalable solutions, companies have the opportunity to get much more from their technology investments than ever before, providing the ability to quickly respond and innovate in rapidly changing business environments.”

About Opus VL Established in 1999, OpusVL are a leading Open Source specialist implementer of business management systems and the primary UK Odoo ERP integration partner. The company provides a reliable process of implementing technology to meet business needs and works with organisations looking to scale up in both the private and public sectors.

For further information, please contact:Editorial - Mickey Clarke, Business Development Manager, Opus VL on 01788 298450, or John Edden, Bridge PR & Media Services on 024 76 520025, or e-mail john@bridgepr.co.uk.

He commented: “Open Source software enables businesses, regardless of their size and sector, to drive efficiencies and develop connected and automated solutions to support their evolution and growth. By leveraging Open Source technology in the right way, a company can benefit from the innovation and value experienced by companies already using this approach to scale up on demand and achieve measurable growth this year". Even the cautious financial sector has started to make the move to Open systems. Mackintosh points to a Sunday Times report where banking giant Barclays is achieving savings and growth with Open Source software. Barclays has reported a 90 per cent cost saving on IT since the implementation of their project which they have been able to use to invest in other areas. The project includes moving computers away from Microsoft to the Linux operating system and developing their own internal secure cloud. The success of this project is a clear demonstration of what can be achieved by moving to an

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Communication

How do you know what the right internet connection is for your business?

As the reliance on cloud computing and remote solutions continues to grow, businesses are increasingly looking at their internet connections to make sure they can support their growing bandwidth needs. Connectivity is no longer simply about internet access, it now underpins a business’ entire operational capability.

But with so many options available and digital dependence only increasing, how does a business chose the right solution to meet its current and future needs? Below is a brief guide to the different types of connection available. This should help you navigate the minefield of options and make an informed decision on what the best connection is for you.

The most basic technology used to deliver broadband is DSL (digital subscriber line) which uses copper telephone lines to transmit digital data. The oldest and poorest option available to most businesses, DSL is painfully slow with download speeds at a maximum of 20Mbps and upload speeds are just 2Mbps on a good day. DSL will strangle the digital capabilities of all but the smallest businesses. The next step up on the connectivity ladder is Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC). FTTC does what it says on the tin; data runs at the speed of light through fibre until it reaches the street cabinet where it is translated into slower electrical signals passing across a copper cable into your building. The technology means that speeds are inconsistent, dropping at peak times, and will tend to max out at 80Mbps. For many businesses, FTTC can meet their basic requirements but for those becoming more reliant on cloud services or supporting larger numbers of staff, it can prove sluggish and unreliable. Larger businesses seeking greater reliability, consistent speeds and crucially, symmetrical upload speeds, have had no choice but to opt for a Leased line. Typically delivered over pure fibre, leased lines provide dedicated connectivity to businesses that can’t risk the roller-coaster of FTTC. They come with a hefty price tag though and businesses taking 100Mbps leased-lines, and faster, can find themselves paying thousands of pounds a year.

More recently however, a new breed of products have emerged to provide many of the benefits of leased lines for a fraction of the price. Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) brings pure fibre directly to your building. With no copper to slow data down FTTP networks can easily run at Gigabit speeds – that’s up to 1000Mbps. Rather than slowing them down, some innovative internet service providers are offering gigabit connectivity for a little more than the cost of a fast FTTC line. While not a dedicated connection, these Gigabit internet services provide ultra-fast speeds that will make light work of remote backups, data heavy cloud services and VoIP while simultaneously serving a large number of users. If available in your area, these are well worth considering to futureproof your business connectivity - and you’ll have bragging rights with one of the fastest internet connections in the UK! FTTP is currently being rolled out in locations across the country by CityFibre, the largest independent provider of pure fibre infrastructure in the UK. Speeds of up to 1000Mbps are already available to businesses in Coventry.

If you’d like to find out more about moving to a pure-fibre connection, register your no-obligation interest at coventrycore.com

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Business Direct: Business Services

Pooling Partners set to build on 2015 successes

Pooling Partners in the UK and Ireland saw strong growth in 2015, winning numerous new customers and extending services to existing customers. Today, the company has a wide range of coverage across all major FMCG sectors: fresh, chilled, frozen, ambient and DIY. The continued recovery of the UK economy last year was evident across all sectors with

pallet trips being an excellent barometer. Overall, 2015 was a good year. The strong growth in the work done for customers is not only a reflection of the rising demand for smart pallet solutions but also of the focus for over a decade in the UK on customers’ needs and satisfaction. Pooling Partners has significantly invested in its pallet pool. In 2015, more than one million new pallets were produced and

added to stock. The company also expanded its repair facilities, strengthening its ability to ensure the quality of pool pallets during their entire lifecycle. Pooling Partners in the UK provides simple, streamlined service solutions to pallet users. With a special focus on delivering and collecting pallets at the right place, at the right time, it is recognised across the supply chain. The company’s customers seek reliable supply and want to ease their daily pallet operations. Since the service provided usually improves overall efficiency, customers teaming up with Pooling Partners often see significant cost savings. Pooling Partners continues to invest in its pooling network. Having a dense network for collection and supply of pallets reduces transport miles: a common target shared with customers. Innovation is still to the fore. The company was the first in Europe last year to introduce a receptacle that complies with the latest requirements for transporting waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The team in the UK has earned a good reputation for the excellence of its customer service and the win/win relationships it has established with its customers. A good sign is the increasing numbers of customers using the company’s pooling services.

2015 saw high customer satisfaction with the level of service provided by the team. It set development benchmarks and it’s satisfying that the team reached and surpassed those goals. Pooling Partners is growing and retaining the right skills and experience to maintain its momentum and continually improve customer satisfaction. 2016 promises to be another year of double-digit growth.

Telephone 01676 524000 www.poolingpartners.com

Primary Goal Scores First! Our ‘Primary Goal’ is to bridge the gap between IT, Education and Training.

Primary Goal is very excited to be working in partnership with Head Teachers and IT industry experts, offering a unique and specialist training programme that focuses on the delivery of the revised Computing Curriculum and resolving ICT issues in schools.

Louise Campton, Managing Director explained, “Throughout my time in the careers, education and training field, I have seen many young people leaving school and college who have a true passion for Computing and ICT. Our programme allows these young people to utilise their existing skills and knowledge to teach and inspire future generations by implementing technology at the core of their curriculum programme and to support teachers by easing the burden of technology issues and building their confidence to introduce technology and innovation into class delivery”.

Contact Information:

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Website: www.primarygoal.co.uk Call: 02477 717 487 Email: louise.campton@primarygoal.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

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Official opening for Warwick Trident College Centre for Product Creation

A new centre which will train the engineers of the future was officially opened on Friday 11 December at Warwick Trident College. Nick Rogers, Group Director Engineering at Jaguar Land Rover, cut the ribbon to officially open the centre, which has been purpose built to provide capacity to train hundreds of advanced and higher apprentices in the manufacturing, mechanical, electrical, electronic, automotive and product creation sectors. More than 200 apprentices from Jaguar Land Rover and SMEs are already enjoying the industry-standard facilities including engineering workshops, teaching labs, computer labs and specialist engineering

technology labs, which have been tailored to the high quality courses offered by the college. The £3m building was partly funded with £1.3m from the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, the first Skills Capital project funded by the Growth Deal. The event also saw Warwickshire College Group announced as a partner in the Jaguar Land Rover Academy, alongside University of Warwick and EEF. This new academy defines career development programmes for all employees and aims to provide the skills the company needs. Angela Joyce, Group Principal and CEO at Warwickshire College Group said: “Our role as a college group is to support the local economy,

to meet the skills and educational needs of our localities and apprentices are key to this. We now have even more capacity to train the engineers of the future that the country needs.” Richard Hutchins, board lead of the Jobs & Skills Business Group at the CWLEP and director of Jaguar Land Rover Programmes at WMG, said: “The Growth Deal is investing in schemes across Coventry and Warwickshire and the opening of Warwick Trident College will help to improve the skills of the next generation of apprentices in the area. “Improving technical and engineering skills is one of the CWLEP’s key strategies and the skills the students learn will prove beneficial in their careers as well as providing employers with work-ready employees. “The facilities at the college are fantastic and will further enhance Coventry and Warwickshire’s reputation as a world-class area in advanced manufacturing and engineering.” Nick Rogers Group Director Engineering spoke at the event, which was attended by many of the Jaguar Land Rover apprentices who study at the new centre. He spoke of his own apprenticeship journey, saying: "I'm really proud to be able to open this centre. It is fantastic to see so much young talent and, having begun my own career as an apprentice, it's great that we now have 750 Jaguar Land Rover apprentices working with us."

Bit10 expand their digital offering through ‘10 Digital Studio’ Midlands-based award-winning digital agency bit10 is expanding their portfolio with the introduction of new services and a key International affinity partner under their newly created department called ‘10 Digital.’ 10 Digital has been created with a focus on digital marketing and communications and technology and will incorporate strategic and traditional digital marketing services, including search engine optimization, e-mail marketing, display, pay per click and content, together with technology solutions in augmented reality, 360 video capture and micro-location technology. In addition, 10 Digital will offer express ‘digital on the go’ services, enabling clients to mix and match services and to hire their digital experts for the day to investigate, analyse and solve their digital marketing problems, whilst providing a strategy for the future. The agency has seen a huge rise in business over the past year with a clear focus on user and customer experience through web, digital marketing and communications - and by building on its services and developing a strategic partnership with Localz, the leaders in using location technology, will ensure that it is

in pinnacle position in providing the best digital solutions for its clients. Localz, founded in Melbourne, Australia with its base in London provides the bridge between the physical and digital world delivering microlocation technology that triggers actions and notifications across multi-platforms and provides a greater user experience. The company set up by banking technologists to build robust and scalable solutions for enterprise will integrate its innovative technology with BIT 10’s solutions to deliver a greater holistic experience and customer journey for their clients. Mick McLaughlin, who is Head of Digital Marketing, Bit 10, said, "We are delighted to introduce our new services and partnership with Localz, the leaders in using location technology. “Digital and innovation are key drivers for Bit10’s strategy and with the introduction of our 10 Digital studio and by working closely with Localz we can provide greater user experiences allowing for a smarter online and offline journey.

“We are looking forward to sharing our creativity, enthusiasm, passion and innovative solutions to drive brands, increase engagement and generate real return on investment for our customers.” Jason Parnwell, Sales & Business Development at Localz, said: “We are excited to work with Bit10 as they understand the need to provide a seamless user journey from online to offline. “Bit10’s vision keeps their clients ahead of the pack by incorporating location technology to enable great user experiences."

Safeguarding vulnerable people Following the death of Olive Simcock, an elderly Staffordshire lady in a fatal house fire in 2006, the Olive Branch initiative was launched. The aim of the initiative was to help prevent unnecessary deaths like Olive’s by helping the Fire Service, Social Care and Health Service to work more closely together. It was determined that service managers and home visitors should be equipped with the essential tools, training and skills they would need to be the “eyes and ears” for partner organisations. Coventry company , E-Learning Studios, the leaders in learning technology created a training solution for Let’s Work Together in partnership with Staffordshire Public Services featuring an interactive, educational and stimulating e-learning course. Utilising leading virtual reality technology, E-Learning Studios created an innovative and engaging course which incorporated animations, 3D virtual home visits, interactive scenarios, real life stories and interactive activities, all designed to stimulate the learner and provide enhanced practical “real life” scenarios. The course featured five modules covering a variety of risks that home visitors may observe within a client’s home and how and who to refer clients to once the risks have been identified. The virtual reality element also allows the home visitors to learn through experience by being immersed in a “real life” environment. Sandra Payne, Let’s Work Together Project Manager, Support Staffordshire (Lichfield & District) said: “Working with E-Learning Studios has been invaluable in creating a really informative, engaging and interactive training solution to educate all partner organisations’ staff and volunteers with the essential skills they need, to enable them to support and signpost local people to help them live healthy and independent lives.” Nitin Thakrar, Managing Director, E-Learning Studios added: “We are delighted to work with Let’s Work Together, providing an engaging, informative, interactive cost effective learning solution to help identify vulnerable situations - we’re honoured to be part of the cause and an incredibly important partnership.”

In words and pictures After meeting at the C&W Expo in March, Tantamount CEO Gwyneth Box and Firefly photographer Jay Deeley were both sure there must be projects they could work on together. The apps and digital brochures that Tantamount produce are a perfect vehicle for show-casing high quality photographs - precisely Jay's speciality. Gwyneth is also working on expanding another side of Tantamount, offering complete digital and brand image services to writers, artists and other freelance professionals via authorbranding.co.uk. A poet herself, Gwyneth knows that time spent

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learning technicalities eats into creative time: sometimes it's just easier to turn to an expert for help. Combining her writing and business activities, Gwyneth is Council member and digital advisor to the SWWJ, the UK's oldest professional association for women writers, founded in 1894. She has led writing and digital skills workshops for the SWWJ and Tantamount have worked with the Society and its members on projects including graphic design, corporate image and brand collateral for print and web. Seeing Jay snapping the proceedings at #LeamingtonHourLive, it occurred to Gwyneth to ask him to

take pictures at the Society's AGM at the National Liberal Club in London. Jay also does architectural photography and was excited about the “fabulous backdrop” the NLC's Victorian premises offered. His photos of the event will be passed to the Society to add to their extensive archive, which includes pictures of such household names as Joyce Grenfell, Nina Bawden and Vera Brittain. Current membership includes writers from our own area, too, including Nuneaton-based Ann Evans, a prolific journalist and young-adult writer. http://annevansbooks.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

News

Coventry based NSL Automotive components announces new acquisition

Remanufacturing firm NSL Automotive Components has expanded its Coventry operations after acquiring a local car parts supplier for a six figure sum.

The fast-growing business, which specialises in the remanufacturing of steering systems, has taken over neighbouring firm Coventry Core Supplies as part of its latest drive to extend its offering in the city.

According to boss Mick Parsons, the deal will not only help the business to further expand its product range and services, it will also streamline the supply chain. Mick believes the acquisition will also provide the company with a competitive advantage as he will be purchasing his own core – effectively taking out the middle man. And the company will also be able to supply and sell core to other dealers and remanufacturers across the country. The new acquisition will also see Mick offering a consumer option arm to the business together with a new advice column – Dr. Core! Mick said: “The acquisition of Coventry Core Supplies is tremendous news for both companies as the deal will place the business in an even stronger position going forward - forming part of NSL’s ongoing drive to grow and build the business. “This investment will allow us to expand our offering so we can continue to meet the increasing demands of the automotive industry across the UK, as well as safeguarding jobs in the city.” NSL Automotive Components, which was formerly known as Coventry Powering Steering Specialists, was acquired by Mick – who was an employee – in August 2013.

Within its first year, NSL passed the £1million a year turnover milestone and in the last two years, Mick has quadrupled turnover. The business has also benefited from major investment with the entire operation moving to a factory unit on the New Inn Bridge Industrial Estate off the Foleshill Road - three times larger than its previous base. With orders pouring in for its reconditioned steering systems, Mick was able to invest £45,000 in a range of new equipment earlier this year to improve productivity and efficiency while giving customers a higher level of service. And since acquiring the business, Mick has taken on new staff as well as a number of apprentices to help steer the company in the right direction. Mick said: “Over the past two years, the business has gone from strength-tostrength to become a trusted and wellrespected name in the remanufacturing of steering systems. We have very much remained focussed on improving and growing the business and this latest acquisition is an exciting new chapter in our ongoing success story.”

WarwickNet helps small businesses Company win big with superfast connectivity is Midlands It may look like a modest modern office block on an average business park, but the CV5 building in Coventry, is far from run-of-the-mill. It is, in fact, one of the UK’s most connected office suites boasting 1G of internet bandwidth - which is 10 times faster than the current business grade broadband. Firms in CV5 can now compete with the biggest companies in the world on a level playing field, a fact denied to most UK business parks that still rely on so-called ‘Jurassic Park dial up’ speeds that are far slower than most British householders would enjoy in their own homes. CV5 is the first office building of its type, a guinea pig experiment in ‘what good looks like’ in terms of internet connectivity brought about by WarwickNet. The company has been able to steal a lead on many of its competitors by winning a number of enabling telecoms powers which accelerate superfast broadband capability – some of which are yet to be bestowed upon the UK’s larger ISPs. In June WarwickNet became the first ISP in the UK to commercially deploy vectoring; a new technology for VDSL which avoids cross-talk between wires and reduces congestion by up to 30% while offering the organisation a competitive edge over larger national providers. In September OFCOM granted WarwickNet Code Powers, the ability to lay cable infrastructure on business parks with poor connectivity without the landlord’s approval. Another first came in November when WarwickNet deployed fibre in BT duct using Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA). This provided CV5’s 10 tenants some of the fastest - up to 1G, or ten times faster than www.cw-chamber.co.uk

before - broadband speeds in the UK. Ben King, CEO of WarwickNet, said: “As a relatively small company, we have been agile enough to access some of these enabling powers ahead of our larger competitors and the major beneficiaries are businesses such as those in the CV5 building on Coventry Business Park who now have the world at their feet in terms of their ability to compete on an even playing field. “Although this is great news, we still have a long way to go in terms of getting UK business parks the bandwidth they desperately want and need. We have

ambitious plans to offer this sort of capability across hundreds of UK business parks which will be a real game changer in terms of our nation’s competitiveness and will contribute top greater internal investment as businesses relocate to parks that offer this level of connectivity as a hygiene factor.” WarwickNet provides internet to a large number of business parks and industrial estates across the UK, with points of presence throughout the West Midlands, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Derbyshire and Surrey.

Business awards finalist

Grenfell James Associates, accountants and business advisors, based in Stratford upon Avon, proved their customer service skills and company ethos to go ‘Above and beyond’ in the recent Midlands Business Awards. GJA was announced as one of six finalists in a category that attracts many applications from all sectors. The company, having rebranded less than two years ago, are going from strength to strength. Acquiring two new practices and expanding the team has ensured the skills and knowledge available are second to none. Each client is allocated a ‘client manager’ and, if necessary, the manager with specific knowledge in the sector will be made available. All fees are agreed in advance, and clients are actively encouraged to call at no extra cost. Fee protection is complimentary. Throughout the company the focus is on approachability, communication and an ‘open door’ policy. In testament to the team and service levels, more than 80% of new clients have engaged with GJA via referrals from existing clientele. The award winners will be announced in February.

News

Business is booming for fundraising students Drawing room is restored

A restoration project has taken place to reinvigorate the Cedar Drawing Room at Warwick Castle. Over the past 345 years, dirt and general wear and tear had left the ceiling in a fairly poor condition. However, with an investment of more than £50,000 from Merlin Entertainments, the room has been transformed back to its post-civil war condition replicating its 1670s style. One of the main features of the room is the gleaming chandeliers, which were taken down and deep cleaned for the first time in more than a decade. Aaron Manning, Head of Historical Interpretation at the Castle said: “Restoration work highlights Warwick Castle’s continuous commitment to preserving the State Rooms to their true glory.” ••••

Welcombe Hotel creates replica of Shakespeare’s birthplace

The Hallmark Welcombe Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon created a giant edible gingerbread house to celebrate Christmas. The house, which measured 85cm long, 35cm high and 55cm in width, was a replica of Shakespeare’s Birthplace and was created by the pastry chef Petar Stoykov. It took two days to bake all the components and a further three days to assemble and decorate it.

Second year L3 BTEC Business students from Stratford-uponAvon College have been working tirelessly to raise money for charity. Working in teams of 5 or 6, the students ran a variety of fundraising events across Warwickshire to raise a total of £1377.08. The fundraising activities formed part of the students’ course and were designed to

develop their teamwork and event management skills. After choosing a charity themselves, each group worked to plan, market and run a stand-alone event. Four charities were chosen: Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Macmillan, Barnardos and Children in Need. Events run included raffles with live music performed by the College’s own Musical Theatre and Music students as well as quizzes and a primary school fete.

Tom Hall, 17, from Broadway helped raise £501.48 for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and is rightfully proud of his group’s achievement. “We’ve been working non-stop on the project since September. It’s been really good. We had to apply everything we learnt at College from last year. It’s been challenging but everyone worked well together and met their objectives.”

Bradley Empson, 17, from Wellesbourne raised £398.16 for Children in Need. He is quick to point out the benefits of working on a project that benefits the local area. “It was difficult at times but everyone learnt to come together in this project. We were always able to keep motivated because we knew we were giving something back to the community and using our skills for a good cause.”

Florist Claire named best in the UK at The Skills Show A student from Moreton Morrell College has won Gold in the WorldSkills UK Skills Competition Finals at The Skills Show. Claire Hammond, from Claverdon won the accolade after beating off stiff competition from all over the UK over three days of competition at The Skills Show, which took place from 19 to 21 November 2015 at the NEC Birmingham. Claire secured a place in the WorldSkills UK Skills Competition Finals after coming first in the regional floristry heats - she was joined by fellow student Emily Deacon in the finals. Claire, who has just completed her Level 4 qualification in Floristry and runs her own shop in Wootton Wawen, said, “It was very intense. I've been telling everyone it was like Masterchef for florists! We had to make five pieces altogether on the theme of ‘Festival of Lights’ but we didn't know what we were making in advance and we didn't know what flowers and materials we had. “I felt like I had done a good job with my pieces, but then everyone's work looked good and I wasn't sure exactly what the judges were looking for. I did hope I had done enough to get a medal, and I have to admit that a

small part of me secretly hoped I might have done enough to win gold. “In August I opened my own flower shop called 'Flowers on the Green' at Yew Tree Farm, in Wootton Wawen near Henley-inArden, so this proves that I can handle stress and still produce good floristry which is so important in business when you're working to a deadline.” Claire and Emily have been supported by Jane Benefield, floristry lecturer at Moreton Morrell College who was also recently named Floristry Tutor of the Year by the BFA. She said, “I never doubted Claire’s ability at competing as she is a dedicated, forward-thinking and creative florist but we just didn't know who she was up against and how she would cope under the time pressures at The Skills Show. “Claire has the dedication to practice practical pieces over and over again as well as a willingness to experiment with new ideas. She takes on board every training opportunity and remains focused on each task.” Claire follows in the footsteps of fellow Moreton Morrell College student Zoe Rowlinson who also picked up a Gold Medal

in 2013. Jane said, “I feel very lucky to have taught all three of our students who have competed at The Skills Show in the last few years. They are all brilliant florists and a pleasure to have students who show such a willingness to learning and a dedication to developing their own techniques and styles.” www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

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O’Brien Contractors shows its support for local charity Myton Hospice

Leading midlands civil engineering and groundworks specialist, O’Brien Contractors, has supported Warwick Myton Hospice in giving the centre a makeover. Through its’ patient and family support services, the Coventry and Warwickshirebased charity provides vital assistance to 1,000 patients and their families each year, from hospices in Warwick, Rugby and Coventry. The initiative has presented O’Brien with the opportunity to give back to the community by donating members of staff to decorate sections of the Myton Hospice in Warwick.

Tony Mitchell, Operations Manager, said: “The specialist care Myton Hospice gives to people who are terminally ill is magnificent. We were delighted to have the opportunity to help maintain one of their first-class facilities, helping ensure their patients have a comfortable environment to be cared in.” Over the last couple of years, O’Brien Contractors has adopted a more strategic approach with a number of Midlandsbased leading organisations, including: Morgan Sindall, John Sisk & Son, Aston University, Kier Group, Galliford Try, Birmingham City University and Lovell Partnerships. The change in policy has

enabled the business to deliver the highest standards across projects in Birmingham, including: St. Modwen’s Longbridge Town Centre Phase 2 scheme, Alumno Developments’ Number One City Locks, Aston Student Village scheme and The New Assay Office and in-turn, grow turnover by 59.98%, from £17.5m to £28.03m. This financial success has been the driving force behind the company backing a wealth of community support initiatives, including: • Sponsored two primary schools in Cubbington as part of the ‘For Schools Warwickshire Road Safety Club’. • Entered a 14-strong team in the 10K Warwickshire Wolf Run Challenge and raised £1,758 for the West Midlands Alzheimer's Society. • Funded four assisted holidays for South Warwickshire charity, ILEAP. • Supported Leamington-based The British Blind Sports charity in their 40th Anniversary, to assist blind and partially sighted children and adults in their pursuit of sports participation. Phill Jones, Myton Hospice, Estates Manager at the Warwick Hospice, said: “We would like to say an extremely big thank you to Obrien Contractors who have spent almost three weeks helping transform our Warwick Myton Hospice. Their voluntary labour has saved Myton a significant amount of money. We greatly appreciate their hard work and generosity.”

The Inspiration Agenda - your local schools need you! What are the Inspiring Activities? Schools use the activities to enhance their curriculum and request support from employers to help inspire the young people taking part. The activities are informative, insightful and relevant to the career choices young people are faced with. The more typical activities being Inspiring Talks; Employer presence at careers fair ; Career talks and presentations; Labour Market Insight Talks; Employer Workplace visits to mention a few.

On 1st October 2015 the Inspiration Agenda celebrated its first birthday with an event at Ninestiles Academy in Birmingham. The school has welcomed the employer brokerage work co-ordinated by the Inspiration team. To date nearly 500 employers have been engaged across the West Midlands with more than 3,000 young people being involved in activities. The Inspiration Agenda is a Government initiative aimed at brokering relationships between employers, schools and colleges; and unemployed adults in the community; and in custody to deliver inspiring activities that provide up-to-date career, job, sector www.cw-chamber.co.uk

knowledge and information to motivate and inspire the current and future generation. The National Careers Service Inspiration Team in the West Midlands co-ordinate and broker the activities. Employer engagement is a vital part of the programme; employers are continually raising their concerns about the growing skills gap between students leaving school or college and joining the world of work. By working together employers and the inspiration team aim to address some of these concerns and in turn can help prepare the future workforce for the nextstep.

Why do Employers become involved? There are many benefits for employers who engage in the Inspiration agenda, some of these being: • The future workforce will gain a practical insight about the world of work direct from employers • Employers can be more engaged in their local community • Employers can work with education services to identify skills and qualifications needed in the future • Raise awareness of their sector, jobs and the career paths available to a new audience

If you are interested in becoming involved or would like more information please contact: inspiringwestmidlandsNCS@prospects.co.uk

Family farm fuelling growth for generations A family farm has turned to renewable energy in a bid to expand its business thanks to a new funding package from Yorkshire Bank. Channing and Sons farm has been in the family for four generations and has now made the move to install an anaerobic digester as a means of growing its operation. Anaerobic digester installations are considered an effective solution for dealing with the millions of tonnes of bio-waste in the UK and converting it into energy and bio-fertiliser. The UK government is working to ensure financial incentives are in place for providing electricity to the grid via the Feed-in- Tariff scheme. That, in turn, will also aid government efforts to source 15% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources by 2020. Channing and Sons has continually evolved over the years, with experience ranging from dairy farming to cultivating cereals and potatoes. Currently, the farm grows maize and grass to feed the energy generator but also produces wheat as well as housing 20 beef cattle. Yorkshire Bank has provided the business with 100% of the funding in a £2.3 million deal to support the venture. The 700 acre farm, situated on the outskirts of Coventry, has been a customer of Yorkshire Bank since 2011. The funding for the development was organised by Davinia Horner, Relationship Manager at Yorkshire Bank’s business and private banking centre in Northampton. Andrew Channing, Managing Director of Channing and Sons said: “The farm has been in the family since my great grandfather’s time and in an attempt to make the business more viable for our kids and the generations to come, we’re excited about taking the business in a new direction.” “We’re thrilled to have received the funding from Yorkshire Bank to make this opportunity become a reality.” Simon Moore, Head of Yorkshire Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre, said “We are proud to assist with Channing and Sons’ diversification and the opportunities this will create for the business.” “We look forward to working with the family and supporting the growing ambitions of this thriving family firm.”

News

Doing things differently at Nomad

Accolade for education company

Do you want to be an employer of choice? As the director of Nomad HR and Recruitment Ltd, Amy Foster believes you should. Nomad is the newest and brightest kid on the HR and Recruitment block, having launched in August, and it believes in doing things differently. Amy believes passionately in the benefits of creating a positive working environment, with high retention and low sickness levels at the top of the list. Managing Directors and CEOs of SMEs who need HR functions honing or put in place, or even larger companies who already have HR functions but need extra help with specific projects, should look no further. No ‘people problem’ or HR requirement is unassailable for Nomad HR and Recruitment Ltd. Amy said: “I believe people should want to go to work. I believe in a healthy workforce and investing in people. If you believe this too, we can help.” And that’s not all Nomad can help with. Amy Foster not only has a proven track record in designing policies, procedures and processes but has won and been shortlisted for a number of top industry awards. She has also helped the companies she has worked with to achieve awards and top accreditations. Amy said: “If you want your business to go for awards which will require extra time and need specific skillsets to write, we can also help with that. “Perhaps you need internships setting up? We also have experience in that area, having done just that with organisations such as Coventry University.” ••••

Netmetix wins National award with WatchGuard

Netmetix were awarded the Rising Star of the Year accolade out of more than 65 Silver, Gold and Platinum WatchGuard Partners at the UK & Ireland WatchGuard Partner Conference, held at the Williams F1 Conference Centre in Grove, Oxfordshire. The team at Netmetix have established themselves as leading experts in the field of IT security, threat management and defence in the Midlands region. The award recognises their expertise and commitment to protecting small and medium sized businesses from ever more sophisticated cyber threats and attacks.

Warwickshire-based education company Inclusion Expert has been recognised at the national Education Investor Awards, winning their 2015 “New Kid” award. Described as “up and coming” by the 26 industry experts on the judging panel, and finalists in three categories, the consultancy was recognised for their promotion of social mobility in schools. CEO Daniel Sobel said: “The attainment gap between the most disadvantaged pupils and

their peers remains a significant challenge to most schools – as the judges commented, ‘Schools probably need external assistance in this area more than any other’.” Founded in 2013, the company’s work grew out of founder Daniel’s experiences both as a pupil struggling at school himself and later as SEN expert and Deputy Head working in schools. He says “teachers are overwhelmed with a tidal wave of information about the needs of

students. Schools need constructive, practical help to see the wood from the trees.” The industry experts commended the company for their “excellence in delivering support to schools through both consultancy and resources such as the Pupil Premium Handbook” Client Relationship Manager for the company, Holly Parrott, said “It’s really wonderful to be recognised by the experts in our industry for the service we are providing – we know we’re making a huge difference, with one school reporting we’ve cut their attainment gap by half in just six months – but to have industry experts acknowledge us feels amazing”. Inclusion Expert works with schools all over the country and provides and extensive range of support, from one off consultancy to support packages, resources and training. COO Isabelle McKenzie said “It’s been an incredible journey for us and we’re really excited for our future. We’ve been listening to all the schools we work with about their biggest need for training and we are ready to launch a new, unique practical online programme for teachers and TAs – so I hope we’ll be at the Awards next year for continuing to help schools transform outcomes for all pupils.”

Acquisition is announced CityFibre has announced a £90 million acquisition of KCOM’s national fibre and duct network assets and has secured financing of £180 million to facilitate the acquisition and continue to commercialise its national network. These transactions will immediately increase the number of CityFibre’s metro footprints to 36 cities and enable CityFibre to target a total of 50 cities by 2020, reaching 20% of the UK market. The new financing comprises £80 million of new equity and £100 million in debt facilities. Both the financing and acquisition transactions are scheduled to complete in mid-January, making CityFibre the UK’s largest wholesale infrastructure provider after BT and the first challenger to the national incumbent, nearly 10 years to the day since the formation of BT Openreach.

The acquisition of KCOM’s national communications infrastructure (excluding Hull and East Yorkshire) will extend CityFibre’s UK footprint by more than 300 per cent. The physical infrastructure assets comprise 1,100 km of duct and fibre network in 24 UK cities, as well as 1,100 km of national long distance network that connects these cities to major data-centres across the UK and to internet peering points in London. On completion CityFibre’s expanded footprint, spanning 36 cities and interconnected by the national long distance network, will address more than 7,000 mobile cell sites, 24,500 public sector sites and 245,000 businesses. Furthermore, it positions CityFibre as an enabler for gigabit speed, ultrafast broadband to support FTTH deployments to 3.5m homes. In line with CityFibre’s shared infrastructure

strategy, the physical network has abundant capacity to support the UK’s unrelenting demand for high-bandwidth, ultra-low latency services. CityFibre CEO Greg Mesch said: “This is the most significant event to take place in the UK’s digital infrastructure market in a decade. The UK now has a secure independent infrastructure alternative. Cities, service providers, mobile operators and investors have boldly embraced a new model of future-proof infrastructure provision and paved the way for its acceleration across the country. “With our enlarged footprint and strong pipeline of cities demanding better infrastructure, we will continue to grow, offering existing and new partners an ever increasing opportunity to capitalise on a pure fibre future.”

Work will help charity A Warwickshire firm of accountants and business advisors will be putting its frontline charity services into action after securing a new national client. TASC, The Ambulance Services Charity, has been established as the leading UK charity to provide support to men and women in the ambulance services and ambulance services families in times of severe difficulty, crisis or bereavement. The charity, which has its Head Office in Westwood Way, Coventry, has appointed Harrison Beale & Owen (HB&O) as its accountants and business advisors. HB&O will act as the charity’s

auditors as well as offering advice to ensure TASC remains up-to-date with relevant changes in legislation and accounting formats. Mark Ashfield, Charities Specialist and Director at HB&O which has offices in Coventry and Leamington, said: “Charities are always conscious of making every penny count and our experienced charities team will be on hand to help TASC as it continues to establish itself as the leading UK charity for the ambulance services community.” Lorna Birse-Stewart, Chief Executive of TASC, said: “With the support of HB&O, TASC will be able to focus on providing the very best support services and advice to the ambulance services community who turn to us for help. “

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

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Providing more opportunities for independent living Guide Dogs service, My Guide supports people with sight loss to get out and about. Research has shown that more than 180,000 people who are visually impaired never or very rarely go out alone. My Guide helps people with sight loss

get out of their homes and back into the community, rebuilding confidence and independence. This service is seeking volunteers in Warwickshire who may have a couple of

hours to give on a regular basis to help a person who is blind or partially sighted. Almost anyone can become a My Guide Volunteer, as long as you are over 18 and agree to a Criminal Records Bureau check. There are two training sessions which are interesting and great fun. The first gives you the skills to safely and confidently guide a person. The second deals with the knowledge, boundaries and safeguarding around delivering My Guide to a service user. Each session lasts around 2 to 3 hours. When the training is completed you will receive a Certificate endorsed by Vision 2020. The service works by a visually impaired person being matched to a sighted volunteer in their local area who is willing to take them out and about to places they would like to go. Twenty-four-year-old Harriet, who lives with her family, enquired about applying for a guide dog, the My Guide service was recommended to her. Before Harriet met her volunteer, she had a meeting with a member of staff from Guide Dogs who explained the service in more detail and what it involved. Then, a couple of weeks later Harriet had a further meeting where she was introduced to my guide volunteer Diane. The purpose of this

meeting was to see how well they got on together and whether they would enjoy each other's company. Harriet feels the service is going well. She has been on two outings with Diane since their first meeting, and enjoyed both of them. One of the things she is aiming to do with Diane is to catch the bus so that she becomes more familiar with it. As she lives in a rural area catching the bus is something that Diane will help her to build her confidence with. As time goes on Harriet is looking forward to exploring the local area and perhaps visiting some different places. She believes the My Guide service will be of benefit because it will help to increase her independence when she is out and about. It will also be a good way of developing her confidence towards getting a guide dog. Harriet is also looking forward to the companionship it offers, and to have the opportunity to go out with someone different other than my family. For further information about how you can get involved please contact Jackie Elshaw, My Guide Ambassador, on 0771 781 5579 or e mail her on Jackie.elshaw@guidedogs.org.uk

All change The recent Jingle Bell Ball at the O2 in London once again utilised a 10m diameter revolving stage and static square surround stage for the two-day event. With multiply acts playing over the two days, the revolving stage provided by the Revolving Stage Company was used with a dividing wall across the centre to quickly change acts. By setting the next band up behind the dividing wall whilst another act plays to the crowds. At changeover point, the revolving stage is rotated 180 degrees to bring the next band in with all of their equipment ready to go.

Top local translation company helps exporters conquer global markets

Translators are the invisible force providing businesses with opportunities in international markets that they wouldn’t necessarily have otherwise.

Many local, national and international companies have benefited from professional translation services in their quest for successful exporting, including Midlands-

based Ishida Europe, Volumatic and Hydrogarden. Having experienced the difference that translation has made to their businesses, opening doors and facilitating entry into global markets, they have continued to add new languages to their brand. There are still many businesses out there that haven’t yet discovered the value of good translations. According to James ForemanPeck of Cardiff University, the potential income lost from international trade due to a lack of language proficiency could be as great as 3.5% of GDP or £59 billion. This is partly down to the lack of emphasis put on the need for language learning here in the UK. Translation services are therefore the way to tap into this shortfall. Rachel Coleman one of the founders of Solihull based company ALM Translations discussed, “we understood the issues faced

by customers wanting to deal with their overseas customers when we created ALM Translations. Our company combines linguistic skills and technical knowledge and along with years of translation industry experience Lisa Williams and I, formed a company offering know-how, excellent translation skills, topped off with superb customer service. Foundations which are firmly set within our company 13 years later”. ALM Translations is now rebranding to reflect its consistent growth in the translation sector, offering companies a streamlined way of finding out about the benefits of translation services. Their new brand is also a reflection of our philosophy and the new website is bold, but professional, inspires trust and is userfriendly. Professional translation doesn’t have to cost the earth either. The latest translation technology can ensure cost savings without compromising on quality.

Is big business benefitting at the expense of small business?

Rebecca Seddon, Managing Partner at business improvement consultancy Process Management International (PMI), has been interviewed by the CBI as part of their national trust-in-business campaign,

www.cw-chamber.co.uk

‘The Great Business Debate’. The CBI is the UK’s premiere business lobbying organisation, providing a voice for regional business people and their businesses on a national and international level. Rebecca was elected to the CBI’s West Midlands Council back in 2014 and is also an active member of the CBI’s Enterprise Forum. In the interview Rebecca talks about the symbiotic relationship that exists between businesses big and small and their supplier

network. She says: “Small and medium companies drive the economy and employ a massive amount of the workforce. All businesses are connected. Appreciating and cultivating the powerful symbiotic relationship between suppliers and customers, whatever their size, will help us all drive the economy forward.” Healthy, positive, trusting relationships are not only good for the reputation of the business but they also foster good economic growth, good sustainable performance, and employability and deliver high quality products and services for their customers. “At PMI, we are seeing more and more businesses wanting to strengthen their relationship with their supplier base because they recognise that the long-term sustainability of their business hinges on it.” Talking about her reasons for contributing

to the campaign Rebecca said; “The impact that large business can have on smaller ones is something members of the Enterprise Council have been discussing and I saw the Great Business Debate interview as a good opportunity to take this debate further. It’s important not to lose sight during our negotiations and everyday dealings that

President & People

Looking forward to the challenges ahead

Dear member, I would like to start by wishing you a happy and prosperous new year. I hope that 2016 is a successful year for you and your business.

Terex Construction welcomes Allison Tucker Leading equipment solutions provider Terex Construction has appointed Allison Tucker to the role of Global Product Marketing Manager for its UK facility in Coventry. With more than 15 years’ experience gained with manufacturing businesses operating across the retail, construction and material handling industries, she brings a wealth of knowledge from organisations such as Linde Material Handling and REHAU Ltd. Neal Nowick, General Manager of Terex Construction’s Coventry facility, said: “As world economies continue to recover, it is essential that Terex and our channel partners are well placed to deliver the products and solutions required to deliver growth for the future. Allison will play a key role in that journey.” Allison said: “With a globallyacclaimed name and enviable portfolio of products, Terex continues to focus on its customers. It’s a privilege to join the company at such an exciting time and I look forward to playing a part in its continued growth in the future.”

I am truly honoured to take on the role of President of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce. In this, my first Chamber column, I’d like to thank my predecessor Peter Burns MBE. Peter provided valuable support and guidance throughout my time as vice president and during the handover process. I am really thankful that this support has continued. I am also delighted to remain chair of the Chamber’s North Warwickshire branch. The branches are a fantastic part of the Chamber and I urge you to attend your local one and get involved. I have been in post for a couple of months now. During this time, I’ve had the privilege of meeting a number of Chamber members at Branch meetings and networking events. I am truly inspired by the wealth of skills and expertise within our Coventry & Warwickshire business community. For those members I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting, I’d like to offer a brief introduction. Born in Coventry, I am a ‘local lad’ whose first job was working at my father’s engineering company. It was here that I experienced the highs and lows of running a business which prepared me well for the future. I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1985 and after several roles including a period at Ernst & Young, I joined Nuneaton based firm Stewart, Fletcher & Barrett chartered accountants in 1990. I took over as managing director in 2007 and have spent the last eight years

leading the firm on a journey of growth – The SFB Group now offers accountancy, wealth management, commercial insurance and business growth services from offices based in five counties. Through my own business, I deal with an increasing number of overseas companies. I frequently find that firms are wary of exporting, as the perception is that it’s more complicated than it actually is. It is this experience that leads me to my theme as president - I plan to use my time to encourage more companies to export. There has never been a better time to export. The Chamber’s International Trade Hub, which includes our regional UKTI advisers, provides fantastic support for businesses. I would encourage every member thinking about exporting to make contact to find out how the team can help. A variety of exporting services are available including valuable assistance with completing export documents. The Chamber also run a number of export themed events to help members understand how easy it is to export with the right advice and support. I also want to use my time as president to encourage companies to invest some of their profits back into their business. Investing a little often, is more efficient to a business than investing a lot infrequently. Regular investment is something that businesses should do to keep their company moving forward. The Government’s Annual Investment

Allowance means that businesses can invest, tax free, up to a certain level and I would encourage more businesses to take advantage of this! Looking forward, I’m really excited about my invitation to number 11. I look forward to reporting back in the next edition! I’d also like to remind members about the upcoming Chamber Business & Trade Expo on Friday 11th March. It’s going to be a fantastic event with a real opportunity to network and create business opportunities. If you haven’t registered to attend, please contact the events team on events@cwchamber.co.uk to reserve your place! To close, I’d like to comment on my experience of the Chamber prior to taking on the President’s role. The Chamber is many things to many people. One thing that’s evident to me is that the Chamber truly is the voice for business across Coventry & Warwickshire. I would implore anyone with any business related issues to contact me directly on president@cwchamber.co.uk so that we can get your message across to the right people! I hope you found this column useful. The Chamber does an amazing job supporting local businesses. The more I get to know and work with the Chamber, the more I would liken it to a ‘family’ and I am extremely proud to be a part of it! Paul Carvell

Lodders announces new head for agricultural team

Midlands and South West law firm Lodders has announced that partner, James Spreckley, is to head its specialist and top ranking Agricultural and Landed Estates team. James Spreckley takes over the role from David Lodder, who continues to work as a consultant in the team, advising the firm’s portfolio of agricultural sector clients that includes farmers, landowners, farming, rural and real estate businesses. Lodders’ Agricultural and Landed Estate team operates across the Midlands, the

Cotswolds and the South West from its Stratford upon Avon and Cheltenham offices, and is one of the largest and most experienced teams of legal specialists in the region. It has consistently received the highest rankings and accolades from the law profession’s top guides The Legal 500 and Chambers UK. James will work alongside David and other partners in the team including Caroline Nemecek and Robin Beckley, and Rod Bird, the firm’s managing partner. Caroline Nemecek became a partner in July 2015 reflecting the continued growth of the team and the success of the firm at attracting high quality lawyers. James joined Lodders earlier this year from the Birmingham office of SGH Martineau, where he was a partner specialising in property work for private individuals, charities, landowners and farmers, as well as commercial clients. James said: “Providing advice to private and commercial clients in all areas of the agricultural and landed estates sectors has been at Lodders’ heart throughout its 230 year history. Taking up the mantle as team head from David represents a significant and important step for the firm and its own succession planning for the next phase of its existence.

“David has led the team very successfully for many years, establishing it as the go-to place for specialist, informed and excellent legal advice for individuals and enterprises in the agricultural and landed estate sectors and in broadening the range of legal support now available to include tax, planning, property litigation and family advice. He has also been instrumental in building the current team, which combines relevant legal excellence and skills, ambition and creativity to support the continued growth and best advice and service for our clients. “I feel both excited and honoured to lead the team into its next chapter. From my own experiences on the family farm, I am more than aware of the challenges facing the rural community and the need to provide timely and pragmatic legal advice. I am particularly looking forward to working with Caroline and Robin who are both talented agricultural law specialists and also the wider team to build on the highly regarded support and help to the sector which it has offered under David’s leadership.” James is a member of the Country Landowners and Business Association, the Countryside Alliance, and the Investment Property Forum. www.cw-chamber.co.uk

Coventry & Warwickshire in business

President & People

Law firm welcomes new recruits

Midlands law firm Wright Hassall has expanded its top ranked family and matrimonial team. The 267-strong firm, based in Leamington Spa, has made a hat-trick of appointments with the additions of solicitor Assimiea Hussain, senior associate Mercedes KingJones and the promotion of paralegal Simone Bartha. Mercedes, formerly of Benussi Law, has 20 years of family law experience with a particular specialism in financial disputes, while Assimiea, who is a member of Resolution – the national organisation for family lawyers committed to a non-confrontational approach on divorce, separation and other family law matters – has joined from Jackson West Solicitors in Stratford-upon-Avon. Mercedes said: “I’m delighted to join a firm which has such a strong private client team and an agricultural heritage. “I have worked on some complex matrimonial disputes involving significant farm portfolios and I am looking forward to being able to help any of our agricultural

clients who are facing similar disputes as they can be very challenging.” Assimiea added: “Wright Hassall has a strength in collaborative law and it’s great to be able to provide our clients with different options in the way that matrimonial disputes are handled. “Finding non-confrontational ways to achieve a settlement is often the best course of action for the whole family and we will always look to do that where we can.” Peter Lowe, matrimonial lawyer and Head of Private Client at Wright Hassall, welcomed the trio to the firm. He said: “ Our family team was already top ranked by the independent legal directories for the depth of the family law expertise we have and this has been strengthened even further by our new recruits. “The team is well placed to be able to provide valuable family law advice to anyone who finds themselves in the difficult position of having to deal with a dispute with their spouse or partner over children and divorce, financial and property issues.”

Bit10 appoint new Head of Digital Marketing Back left to front right - Justin Creed, Christine Livingstone, Peter Lowe, Simone Bartha, Mercedes King-Jones, Assmiea Hussain

New Head of Clinical Negligence & Personal Injury for Law Firm Alsters Kelley LLP, one of Coventry and Warwickshire’s leading law firms has announced the appointment of Tony Hall as Senior Solicitor and Head of Clinical Negligence & Personal Injury. Tony has joined Alsters Kelley from Birmingham based firm Anthony Collins where he had been head of the clinical negligence and personal injury team throughout his time, accruing vast experience as a clinical negligence and personal injury specialist. He has a reputation of dealing with very complex cases ranging from cerebral palsy, meningitis and other brain injury cases, cancer mis-diagnosis, spinal injuries, fatalities, inquests and medical ethics in terms of switching off life support machines. Cathy Wahlberg, Operations & Finance Member said, “Tony will be a great asset to the firm with his extensive experience not

only in law but in managing people – readily equipping him to successfully lead, manage and expand our clinical negligence and personal injury teams. His reputation of fighting cases other lawyers would not is highly regarded within the legal profession. He is ranked as a leading individual in the top band of solicitors for both the Chambers and Legal 500 directories of the legal profession for the Midlands for 2015, being described in one directory as ‘standout’.” Tony said: “Alsters Kelley has an excellent reputation for clinical negligence and personal injury and the opportunity to head up the department is very exciting. I am looking forward to my future responsibilities to my team who are thoroughly engaged in achieving the best possible results for all of our clients who have sustained injuries through no fault of their own.”

Alsters Kelley LLP has offices in Leamington, Coventry and Nuneaton and Tony will primarily be based in Leamington but will spend time in all three offices.

Prominent Leamington lawyer retires A prominent Leamington lawyer is retiring after a career spanning more than four decades in Coventry and Leamington Spa. Tim Fillmore is leaving Alsters Kelley’s Leamington office, where he has been based as a Private Client Consultant since 1999. Tim qualified as a solicitor in 1972 whilst working for Rotherham & Co and within a couple of years of qualifying, the Leamington Spa office of the firm became Major, Gracey, Fillmore & Co and Tim started his career as a partner. During his career, Tim has worked in a variety of areas of law including; Company, Partnership, Licensing, Litigation, Crime and Divorce.

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Tim said: “My wife Elizabeth, who has also worked and been involved with the firm for more than 30 years, is also retiring and we have both been overwhelmed by the generosity in both words and gifts from our colleagues and many clients. “We will certainly miss all the wonderful clients we have helped and worked with over the years but we are looking forward to spending more time sailing, a passion which we both share and perhaps more travelling.” Neil Raiseborough, Member and Head of Private Client Department, said: “Tim and Elizabeth have both been real assets to the firm, their knowledge and experience has been invaluable and they will both be missed.”

Marketing specialist Mick McLaughlin has been appointed to the senior management team at award winning creative agency bit10 at The Innovation Village in Coventry as Head of Digital Marketing His remit is to increase the digital side of bit10 through the development of digital marketing channels by utilising new and emerging technology, including ultimate immersion and micro location technology. The industry heavyweight brings with him invaluable experience within various sectors, which include education, utilities, retail, tourism, inward investment and local government, in addition to technology and B2B and B2C environments. Mick said: “I really like what bit10 creates in terms of web, apps and technology and it’s a great opportunity for me to bring my skills together to help to shape its direction and progression. “Their fantastic team of dedicated professionals and great management leadership ensures they know exactly where they are going as a business and I’m looking forward to developing key partnerships and relationships further in a very exciting and progressive space.” His previous role at Serious Games International enabled him to promote serious games and simulations, augmented reality, mobile technology, and intelligent avatars on a B2B basis through national and International activity. Mark McKeever, Commercial Director Digital at bit10, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce that Mick has joined us. “By combining his digital and traditional marketing and PR skills we can capitalise on his creative and innovative ideas, quickly create new business development opportunities and generate clear return on investment for our clients, within the digital arena.“

New Members

Welcome to new members Corporate Members Absolute HR Solutions Ltd Debra Wyatt 1 Whateley's Drive, The Business Centre, Kenilworth, CV8 2GY www.absolutehrsolutions.co.uk 01926 748040 hr@absolutehrsolutions.co.uk BDO LLP Helen Hancock 125 Colmore Row, Birmingham B3 3SD www.bdo.co.uk 0121 3526200 helen.hancock@bdo.co.uk Coventry Chemicals Ltd Steve Quinlan Woodhams Road, Siskin Drive, COVENTRY. CV3 4FX www.coventrychemicals.com 02476 639739 info@coventrychemicals.com Covpress Assembly Ltd Carol Henderson Renown Ave, Coventry Business Park, COVENTRY CV5 6UF www.covpress.com 02476 671400 carol_henderson@covpressassembly.com 3Twenty Ltd Abhilasha Punj 43 Touchstone Road, Heathcote, Warwick CV34 6EE www.3twenty.co.uk 07477 036436 abhi@3twenty.co.uk Aerospa UK Limited Roger Golby 20A Moat Way, Barwell, LE9 8EY 01455 699027 aerospauk@hotmail.com Alan Weaver Communications Alan Weaver 129 The Long Shoot, Nuneaton CV11 6JQ www.alanweavercommunications.com 07722 824217 alan@alancomms.com Allsorts CIC Lou Lyson Unit 10, Fargo Village, Far Gosford Street, Coventry CV1 5ED www.allsortscoventry.org.uk 07539 289729 lou@allsortscoventry.org.uk Alphaquad Ltd Robin Painter Wixford Business Park, Georges Elm Lane, Bidford on Avon B50 4JS www.alphaquad.co.uk 01789 491610 robin@alphaquad.co.uk Automotive Japanese Spares Peter Witherow 110 Eastcotes, Tile Hill, Coventry CV4 9AS www.autojapspares.co.uk 02476 474848 sales@autojapspares.co.uk Beatrice & Clementine Vintage Interiors Julie Lowe 92 High Street, Henley In Arden B95 5BY www.beatriceandclementine.co.uk 01564 795979 julieann365@hotmail.com Bizzing Del Young Sparkenhoe House, Southfield Road, Hinckley LE10 1UB www.bizzing.co.uk 01455 614000 delyoung@bizzing.co.uk Business Growth Fund Aaron Baker 45 Church Street, Birmingham B3 2RT www.bgf.co.uk 0121 2338727 aaron.baker@bgf.co.uk

Deeley Group Ltd Edward Hudson George House, Herald Avenue, Coventry Business Park, COVENTRY CV5 6UB www.deeley.co.uk 02476 718718 edward.hudson@deeley.co.uk

Health Matters (UK) Ltd Simon Hurley-Smith 4 The Cobalt Centre, Siskin Parkway East, Coventry CV3 4PE www.health-matters.co.uk 02476 516083 simon@health-matters.co.uk

Pera Technology Emma Rynberk Pera Technology Park, Nottingham Road, MELTON MOWBRAY LE13 0PB www.peratechnology.com 01664 501501 e.rynberk@peratechnology.com

GTG Training Limited Jeanette Breckles Bearing Drive, Wolverhampton WV11 3SZ www.gtg.co.uk 01922 471302 Jeanettebreckle@gtg.co.uk

HSBC Bank Plc - Corporation Street branch Debbie Harper 55 Corporation Street, Coventry CV1 1QJ www.hsbc.co.uk 08455 845015 steve.b.williams@hsbc.com

Harrison Beale and Owen Limited Sarah Wilson Highdown House, 11 Highdown Road, LEAMINGTON SPA CV31 1XT www.hboltd.co.uk 01926 422292 info@hboltd.co.uk

Marks & Clerk LLP Samantha Collins Fletcher House (2nd Floor), Heatley Road, The Oxford Science Park, Oxford OX2 7DY www.marks-clerk.com 01865 397900 scollins@marks-clerk.com

Radio Station Rugby Johanne Thomas C Building, BT Radio Station, Rugby, CV23 0AS www.urbanandcivic.com 020 75095555 johanne.thomas@urbanandcivic.com

HBT Communications Rene Wheeler HB House, Foleshill Enterprise Park, Courtaulds Way, COVENTRY CV6 5NX www.hbtcommunications.co.uk 02476 867400 r.wheeler@hbtcommunications.com

Net Visibility Neil Curtis Jubilee House, Smalley Place, Kenilworth CV8 1QG www.netvisibility.co.uk 07887 641317 neil.curtis@netvisibility.co.uk

Cambron Limited Carolyn Reily 69 Leamington Road, Ryton-OnDunsmore Coventry CV8 3FN 02476 306943 carolyn.f.reily@gmail.com Catherine Martin Communications Ltd Catherine Martin Highdown House, 11 Highdown Road ,Leamington Spa CV31 1XT www.cmcomms.co.uk 01608 495955 catherine.martin@cmcomms.co.uk Cocks Lloyd Janet Kirtley Riversley House, Coton Road, Nuneaton CV11 5TX www.cockslloyd.co.uk 02476 641642 j.kirtley@cockslloyd.co.uk Concept Consultants David Hammond Unit 8, Warple Mews, London W3 0RF www.conceptconsultants.co.uk 02088 112880 david.hammond@conceptconsultants.co.uk Coventry Fitness Centre Limited Harjinder Sehmi 914-916 Foleshill Road, Coventry CV6 6GS www.coventryfitnesscentre.co.uk 02477 719900 hssehmi@yahoo.co.uk Coventry Rugby Limited Sue Woolnough Butts Park Arena, The Butts, Coventry CV1 3GE www.coventryrfc.co.uk 02476 231001 swoolnough@coventryfc.co.uk CV22 Limited Oliver Taylor 2 Lawrence Sheriff Street, Rugby CV22 5EJ www.cv22rugby.com 01788 221408 oliver.taylor@cv22rugby.com Envertis Richard Ansell 5 Countryside, Braunston, Daventry NN11 7JU www.envertis.co.uk 07925 160902 richard.ansell@envertis.co.uk George & Co (Surveyors) Limited Alistair George 62 Regent Street, Rugby CV21 2PS www.georgeandcompany.co.uk 01788 554455 info@georgeandcompany.co.uk

Godiva Build Mark Rexworthy 93 Hearsall Lane, CoventryCV5 6HF www.godivabuild.com 07545 386342 info@godivabuild.com Hall Reynolds Solicitors Katie Taylor 18 High Street, Bidford On Avon B50 4BU www.hallreynolds.co.uk 01789 772955 katie.taylor@hallreynolds.co.uk Harrison Dandridge Ltd Anthony Dandridge 1160 Elliott Court, Herald Avenue, Coventry CV5 6UB www.harrisondandridge.co.uk 02476 997494 tony@harrisondandridge.co.uk Hawkes Mill Sports & Social Club LLoydMcGrath Allesley, Coventry CV5 9FN 07977 426930 lloydmcgrath@hotmail.com Homemaker Lettings (Earlsdon) Ltd Kevin McMullan Kensington House, 50-52 Albany Road, Earlsdon, Coventry CV5 6JU www.homemakerproperties.com 02476 100930 info@homemakerproperties.com Inclusion Expert Limited Isabelle McKenzie Lumonics House, Valley Drive, Rugby CV21 1TQ www.inclusionexpert.com 01788 297003 info@inclusionexpert.com Jems Photography Limited John Fox 60 Moat Farm Drive, Hillmorton, Rugby CV21 4HG www.jemsphotography.co.uk 01788 535749 info@jemsphotography.co.uk Keelers Michael Keeler Dunns Pitts Farm, Hollis Lane, Kenilworth CV8 2JY www.keelers.co.uk 01926 853555 info@keelers.co.uk Mind Over Matter Coaching Ltd Janice Keyes C/O Astute Services Ltd, 4 Daventry Road, Dunchurch, Rugby CV22 6NS www.mindovermattercoaching.co.uk 07779 258260 janice_keyes@hotmail.com

The Vital Agency Cathy Clarke 14A Clarendon Avenue, Leamington Spa, CV32 5PZ www.thevitalagency.co.uk 01926 338811 jeremy@thevitalagency.co.uk Warwick Castle Lucy Lawson Warwick CV34 4QU www.warwick-castle.com 01926 406617 lucy.lawson@warwick-castle.com

Newdigate Builders Contracts David Coventry Coventry House, Main Street, Lutterworth LE17 5AE www.newdigatebuildersltd.com 07540 929696 newdigatebuilders@btinternet.com Nomad HR and Recruitment Ltd Amy Foster 107 Coleshill Road ,Nuneaton, CV10 0PG www.nomadhrandrecruitment.com 07979 823224 amy@nomadhrandrecruitment.com Primary Goal Louise Campton Binley Business Park, Business Innovation Centre, Coventry CV3 2XT 02477 712040 louise@headtechsolutions.co.uk Pure Harmony Clinic Ltd Paulina Worgacz 56 Regent Street, Rugby CV21 2PS www.pureharmonyclinic.co.uk 01788 537176 paulina@pureharmonyclinic.co.uk Regal Staffing Ltd Richard Dune The Techno Centre, Puma Way, Coventry CV1 2TT www.regalstaffing.co.uk 02476 100090 rdune@regalstaffing.co.uk RX Cosmetics Limited Angela French 7 Clarendon Square, Leamington Spa CV32 5QJ www.rxflawlesseyes.co.uk 01926 311535 info@rxcosmetics.co.uk Signature Sales Support & Services Kathryn Clarke 59 Laurence Way, Bidford On Avon B50 4FG www.signaturesales.co.uk 07968 358961 Kathryn@signaturesales.co.uk Sjolander da cruz architects Maria Sjolander River Studio, Old Milverton Lane, Blackdown, Leamington Spa CV32 6RW www.sjolanderdacruz.co.uk 01926 332580 maria@sjolanderdacruz.co.uk SmartPA Charlotte Holme 18 Red Lane, Burton Green, Kenilworth CV8 1NZ 07799 005981 charlotte.holme@smartpasupport.com

Splash Tim Dempsey 14 Montrose Road, Rugby CV22 5PB 07944 677039 splashrugby@gmail.com Stratford Antiques Richard Biggs Dodwell Trading Estate, Evesham Road, Stratford Upon Avon CV37 9ST www.stratfordantiques.co.uk 01789 297729 hello@stratforduaantiques.co.uk The Old Laurentian Society Jon Bass Fenley Field, Lime Tree Avenue, Bilton, Rugby CV22 7QT www.oldlaurentian.org 01788 810855 oldlaurentians@sky.org The Royal Bengal Shahin Ahmed 170-174 Albany Road, Earlsdon, Coventry CV5 6NG www.royal-bengal.co.uk 02476 712345 dine@royal-bengal.co.uk Three Sixty HR Ltd Stewart Smith 135 Coombe Park Road, Coventry CV3 2PD 07557 330813 admin@threesixtyhr.ltd.uk Ultimate Finance Simon Hooks 82 Eversleigh Road, Coundon, Coventry CV6 2BG www.ultimatefinance.co.uk 07765 282928 shooks@ultimatefinance.co.uk Warwickshire Association of Youth Clubs David Skoppek Jubilee House, Westlea Road, Leamington Spa CV31 3JE www.wayc.org.uk 01926 450156 info@wayc.org.uk WorkCare Paul Simmonds 31 John Simpson Close, Wolston, Coventry CV8 3HX www.workcare.org 02476 543188 paul@workcare.org

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Coventry & Warwickshire in business

Events CWT Training Dates 2016

Chamber Member + VAT

Non-Member + VAT

Duration

March

April

May

Understanding Budgets

£95

£120

Half Day AM

Problem Solving Skills

£95

£120

Half Day PM

Google Analytics

£215

£240

Full Day

Telesales - Getting Results

£215

£240

Full Day

Microsoft Excel Advanced Plus

£110

£140

Full Day

Emergency First Aid in the Workplace (EFAW) HSE Approved

£105

£130

Full Day

Communicating Assertively

£95

£120

Half Day AM

Complaint Handling

£95

£120

Half Day PM

Understanding Export and Import Procedures

£260

£295

Full Day

Health & Safety in the Workplace (CIEH Accredited Level 2 Award)

£175

£195

Full Day

Appraising People & Performance

£215

£240

Full Day

Marketing and Promoting your Business

£215

£240

Full Day

Managing Effective Meetings

£110

£120

Half Day AM

Succcessful Sales Techniques

£215

£240

Full Day

Risk Assessment - Principles & Practice (CIEH Accredited Level 2 Award)

£175

£195

Full Day

Microsoft Word - Intermediate to Advanced

£110

£140

Full Day

Export Documentation - Getting it Right

£260

£295

Full Day

Online Marketing

£215

£240

Full Day

Finance for Non Financial Managers

£215

£240

Full Day

Investment Appraisal / Financial Decision Making

£215

£240

Full Day

"Social Media Strategy - Facebook, Twitter and Blogs"

£215

£240

Full Day

Microsoft PowerPoint

£110

£140

Full Day

Internal Quality Auditing ISO9001:2008

£215

£240

Full Day

Professional Telephone Techniques

£95

£120

Half Day AM

Business Email Writing

£95

£120

Half Day PM

Presentation Skills

£215

£240

Full Day

Letters of Credit for Exporters - A Practical Guide

£260

£295

Full Day

Course dates for the quarter are shown above, please contact CWT Chamber Training on 024 7623 1122 or visit www.cwtcov.co.uk for other course dates and further information

Speed Networking

Meet Your Chamber Networking Lunch

Warwickshire Chamber are joining forces to bring you Networking With The Neighbours. Tuesday 1st March 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm The HR Dept, Camden House, Warwick The purpose of this event is to Road, Kenilworth, Warwickshire, CV8 1TH Friday 8 April 11:30 am -2:00 pm encourage attendees to: Mallory Court Hotel, Bridgeway House, Free of charge • Establish connections with Bridgeway, Stratford-upon-Avon, clients and prospects from a Speed networking is a fun and fastCV37 6YX neighbouring borough paced way to grow your professional Free of charge network. This popular event is ideal for • Raise your profile and make This event will give new and existing Tuesday 23 February new contacts generating new leads and creating Chamber members the opportunity 9:30 am -12:30 pm long-lasting business relationships. • Share ideas and experiences to understand how we can support Cheylesmore House, 5 Quinton Road, •••••• Businesses are increasingly using your business and help you make the Coventry CV1 2WT social media and online networking most of your membership. It offers Free of charge as a means of growing their circle of members a fantastic chance to Technology is changing the world, but business contacts, however many network with local companies and professionals still tend to prefer the not always in the most positive way. expand their business network | Friday 11 March 10:00 am -3:00 pm tried and tested face-to-face over lunch. Cyber Security is far too often The Ricoh Arena, Phoenix Way, networking with the potential for •••••• becoming the subject of headline news Coventry CV6 6GE building quality relationships, knowing and it is only going to get worse. Free entry and meeting who they may intend Do not let yourself become a victim £190 + VAT to exhibit member rate to do business with and ‘putting a of cybercrime, let ACUTEC inform you face to the name’. Your Coventry & Warwickshire of everything you need to know for your Chamber of Commerce would like to Friday 15 April 9:00 am -11:00 am •••••• business to operate safely and securely invite you our biggest ever Business National Motorcycle museum, Solihull, As a Chamber member you can as possible when there are new threats & Trade Expo. With 150 exhibitors West Midlands B92 0EJ exhibit at any of our events for just to your systems every single day. Join Member rate £15 + VAT £50 + VAT. from a wide range of sectors this is us for our security masterclass where a B2B event you can’t afford to miss. Non member rate £25 + VAT Stand out from the crowd and book our IT experts will educate you on With circa 600 visitors expected to Would you like to expand your business your stand today. cybersecurity and what the systems network? attend, it’s an ideal opportunity to Find out more information or to book that are critical to your business expand your business network. Promote your business and gain new a place please see the events pages are up against. For more information please visit contacts in a new area Solihull at www.cw-chamber.co.uk or contact Chamber and Coventry and www.cwexpo.co.uk •••••• events@cw-chamber.co.uk

Events

ACUTEC Cyber Security Masterclass

Business & Trade Expo 2016

Networking with the Neighbours