Southwark business today April 2018

Southwark

BUSINESS TODAY

Issue 18: April 2018

Ambitious proposals for one of London’s largest ‘build to rent’ developments in the centre of Bermondsey Page 16

• Southwark Business Awards Southwark's glittering party of the year. Page 5

• Women in Business Clare Kelly from Southwark law firm Anthony Gold. Page 28

• Health & Wellbeing in the work place

Why it can benefit your business.

Page 31

Working with SMEs to access contract opportunities

A procurement project that brings together buyers and suppliers to

ensure a lasting legacy of economic growth in South London.

How we work with suppliers

• Free face-to-face business advice

• Help getting your business fit to supply

• Free events and workshops

• Access to contract opportunities • Access to well established business networks throughout London

How we work with buyers

• Access to a variety of local suppliers • Face-to-face engagement • Effective supply chain brokerage • Free events • Complimenting internal corporate responsibility • Measurable results through tracking, monitoring and evaluation of activity • Reducing carbon footprint

This is a free business support service that is funded by the Canary Wharf Group plc and Qatari Diar Development Company (UK) Ltd. ––––––––––––––––––––––– Southbank Place Project Office Elizabeth House, Level 4, 39 York Road, London SE1 7NQ E: info@slpn.org.uk W: www.slpn.org.uk

Welcome to

Welcome

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY The Southwark Chamber of Commerce magazine for all Businesses in Southwark

It is with mixed emotions that I write my valedictory Welcome, my 16th for this journal, as I am standing down from Chair after my second term, both being for 3 years so, a total of 6 years. I know it is a cliché to say that it has been an honour and a privilege to serve this role, but it really has. In particular I am pleased to have helped the Chamber to play its part in promoting the 18,000 businesses based within our borough. This in turn helps prosperity within this great location.

Southwark has so much to offer and has proved so adaptable during the years that I have been involved, yet it is very mixed, and some parts suffer considerable deprivation with both macro and micro ongoing issues that need addressing.

Under my recent watch we have had sell out Thames Cruises and Tours of the Palace of Westminster, numerous meetings helping businesses within their local environment; many other social meetings often held in one of the excellent restaurants now located in Southwark.

The one link is that the meetings have all aimed to provide a platform for networking and keeping business Southwark based.

I am pleased to leave the Chamber in fine fettle with a strong team, from our highly supportive President - Neil Coyle MP to our excellent and tireless Administrator - Sonia Sutton. We have an excellent

Disclaimer

Treasurer – Karon Cook, excellent Editor of this magazine – Susan Isaacs, superb vice chairs in Les Johnson, who along with Roger Beckett has done so much to organise chamber events and Yoko De Souza who looks after our highquality website. Past chair Ken Hayes, has helped with his tireless enthusiasm and connections. We have an excellent committee who put in a huge number of hours generally on a voluntary basis, there are too many other committee and associated members that I do not have room to mention here, but they have made it a pleasure to lead the chamber and I thank you all for your support.

My swan song is perhaps Southwark Business Awards, which is proceeding on the 21st of June, over 100 companies have entered the competition. This provides a great opportunity to celebrate the best of businesses in the borough and to promote a sense of civic pride.

Work in progress includes, despite sitting on the London Southbank University Advisory Board and working closely with Lewisham Southwark College, not being able to do more on education working with local schools, not being able to do more on diversification and working closer with the active BIDs in the area.

I have not yet persuaded the council of the merits of actively promoting the four key growth business areas in the borough being tourism, IT, speciality foods and the arts. Oh and my other regret is that Benham who generally do an excellent job in publishing this magazine failed to arrange for me to meet local resident and Southwark supporter Jenny Agutter!

Ongoing I am delighted that Peter Mantell from leading local solicitors, Anthony Gold & Co is designated as the new Chair, the backing of his company will add clout to the chamber. I am pleased to say that I have left him a great team to work with which I am sure he will lead forward to meet the opportunities and challenges that this great borough has to offer.

Southwark Business Today is mailed without charge to all Chamber members and distributed to businesses in the Borough.

All correspondence should be addressed to the Editor at Southwark Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Kalmar

Chairman Southwark Chamber of Commerce Views expressed in publication are not necessarily those of Southwark Chamber of Commerce. Reprinting in whole or part is forbidden except by permission of the Editor. © 2018.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of material published

Contents

5

13

16

19

4 5 6 7 8-9 10-11 13 14 16-18

19 20 21 22-23 26-27 28 29 31 32-33 33 34 Enquiries

Up Front Southwark Business Awards Richard Kalmar Economy Arts & Culture Skills & Education Canada Water Ask the Expert Spotlight on Grosvenor and Bermondsey Up Close with Alan Camp GDPR Remembering when...

New Member Profiles Hospitality Women in Business Voice from Westminster Health & Wellbeing Chamber Events Last Word Chamber Membership

Southwark Chamber of Commerce Southbank Technopark 90 London Road, London SE1 6LN Tel: 07477 581977 Email: admin@southwarkcommerce.com Web: www.SouthwarkCommerce.com

Editor

John Dean Email: deangriss@btinternet.com

Contributing Editor Susan Isaacs

Benham Publishing Limited Aintree Building, Aintree Way, Aintree Business Park, Liverpool L9 5AQ Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: admin@benhampublishing.com Web: www.benhampublishing.com

Publisher

Published

April 2018 © Benham Publishing

Advertising and Features

Karen Hall Tel: 0151 236 4141 Email: karen@benhampublishing.com

Studio

Mark Etherington Email: mark@benhampublishing.com Media No.1603

in this journal, Benham Publishing and its agents can accept no responsibility for the veracity of claims made by contributions in advertising or editorial content.

Benham Publishing cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in web or email links supplied to us.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

3

Up Front

Council funds Rotherhithe benefits from faster broadband arts bursary Businesses and residents in Rotherhithe have been among the first Students from Ark All-Saints Academy, in Camberwell, celebrated the launch of Southwark Council’s new Arts Bursary scheme.

Attending the launch were Harriet Harman MP, Cllr Johnson Situ, Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Social Regeneration, and Cllr Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council, on 20 February.

Southwark Council will be working with the University of the Arts London, specifically Camberwell College of Arts, to respond to the drop in the number of young people taking creative GCSEs, especially those from less affluent families.

The council has committed £25,000, to provide ten bursaries of £2,500, for students coming to the college from neighbouring Southwark secondary schools.

The bursaries will provide an incentive for young people to consider arts subjects at the college.

They will help to cover the cost of materials, trips to exhibitions and necessary technology for the course, during the 2018/19 academic year.

Cllr Johnson Situ said: “There is an exciting, burgeoning arts scene here in Southwark and this bursary will nurture creative talent and support young people, helping to forge early pathways into one of the largest growing sectors in the UK.”

Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham, said: “Southwark Council’s new grant for local young people going to Camberwell College of Arts will provide important opportunities for the hugely talented young people of Camberwell and Peckham to get involved in the arts, open up career choices, enhance the diversity of the student body and build on Southwark’s already vibrant arts scene.”

David Crow, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Head of Camberwell, Chelsea and Wimbledon colleges, UAL, said: “This scheme will directly support young people in the borough who might not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue arts higher education, and ultimately enable the creative industries to attract the new local talent that we very much value and need.”

4

to receive access to faster broadband connections as new wireless aerials go live in the borough.

London is seen as a digital city, but has a number of ‘not spots’ where broadband speeds are very slow.

Rotherhithe, in particular, is one of the worst affected parts of London when it comes to the issue of poor digital connectivity, meaning people living in the area are unable to access anything but the most basic broadband speeds.

Poor broadband also affects businesses in Rotherhithe, with many reporting that slow speeds and unreliable network connections affect productivity and limit their opportunities for growth.

Southwark Council has been working to tackle poor broadband speeds, setting out plans in its digital strategy to improve connectivity and broadband performance for residents and businesses alike. As part of these plans, the council has signed a

number of lease agreements with broadband provider Relish, enabling them to install wireless aerials on residential council buildings, which will deliver up to 40Mb broadband speeds across 70 per cent of the borough.

Cllr Fiona Colley, Cabinet Member for Finance, Modernisation and Performance, said: “We are delighted that more people can now access superfast broadband, particularly in Rotherhithe where the issue has been so acute.

“The rollout of wireless aerials is just one step in the council’s commitment to improve connectivity for residents and make Southwark a truly digital borough.

“Our ultimate long-term goal is a full rollout of fibre optic broadband across the borough and we have already made a start by submitting a joint bid with TfL, the GLA and several other local authorities

for funding from central government, as part of a national £200m challenge fund for broadband projects.

“If successful, the funding will be used in Southwark to improve digital connectivity in areas of the borough with poor broadband speeds, particularly in the Rotherhithe peninsula.”

In total, 23 new aerials and masts have been approved for installation across the borough, including four in Rotherhithe, with half already delivering Relish’s wireless broadband service.

Station investments reaps rewards Bermondsey Significant investment in London Bridge Station helped Network Rail record a growth in activity at its UK stations for the last quarter of 2017.

Figures show that total retail sales at grew by 3.5% between October and December and that between April and December more than 630 million people travelled through, or visited, Network Rail’s 17 managed stations, spending more than £594m in its retail stores.

This total sales growth is more than three times larger than the wider retail industry which grew 1.1%* over the same period.

More than 66 million people visited a retail outlet in a managed station between October and December spending almost £206m, with the festive season causing retail sales to rise significantly in the gifting (+9%) and stationery (+6%) categories.

There was a direct link between Network Rail’s investment in stations and an increase in sales and satisfaction. Four of the top five stations for total sales growth have seen significant recent

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

investment, with Paddington (44%) London Bridge (40%), King’s Cross (11%) and Birmingham New Street (11%) appearing in a top five that also includes Cannon Street (12%).

Customer satisfaction has risen in stations that have seen investment, with recent significant rises in Paddington and London Bridge.

David Biggs, Managing Director of Network Rail Property, said: “Our retail sales continue to illustrate the demand for travel point retail at our stations and this is further borne out in our impressive customer satisfactions scores.”

‘the place to be’

Bermondsey has been named as the Best Place to Live in London for 2018

by The Sunday Times.

The accolade is part of the newspaper’s Best Place to Live in the UK guide, which assesses factors including jobs, schools, broadband speed, culture, community spirit and local shops.

The regional list for London named ten locations across the city, including Bermondsey, which it said is an ‘area that epitomises the modern urban good life. Its residents are typically young, affluent and often reside in photogenic lofts in converted warehouses, while railway arches are fast being converted into galleries, bars and restaurants’.

Also among the top ten locations on the London list is Herne Hill.

The newspaper named York as the Best Place to Live in Britain.

Are you going to Southwark’s glittering party of the year?

Southwark’s vast and vibrant business community will come together on 21st June to celebrate a year of outstanding successes and achievements at a glittering Gala Dinner and Charity Ball.

The prestigious black-tie event at Hilton Bankside London is the finale of the first ever Southwark Business Excellence Awards, in association with Lewisham Southwark College. It is also the hot ticket of 2018 for the bustling borough’s businesses.

Launched at Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in March, the inaugural awards programme has already been a success, attracting a high number of entries across 15 different categories. The shortlisted companies are currently going through the second round of judging, and the winners, including the overall Southwark Business of the Year, will be exclusively announced at the Gala Dinner.

This fantastic event, hosted by a celebrity compere, offers 450 businesspeople the chance to join a prestigious guest list and enjoy a sparkling evening of great networking and entertainment.

Urging businesses to attend, Richard Kalmar, the Chair of founding partner, Southwark Chamber, said: “The awards give Southwark a unique opportunity to celebrate the business community’s achievements, and I hope to see as many businesses as possible coming together for the highlight of the programme, the fabulous Gala Dinner and Charity Ball awards ceremony.”

Tickets are already selling fast.

Guests on the evening will enjoy a three-course dinner with wine,

Southwark Business Awards

music and entertainment, a charity auction and dancing into the night with a live band.

The Charity Auction aims to raise thousands of pounds for local good causes, with a host of prizes donated by local businesses.

The highlight will be the Awards Ceremony, when the category winners and runners up – along with the Business of the Year – will be announced and receive their trophies.

Winning or even being shortlisted for an award, is a boost to any business, helping to raise their company profile, increase staff and client confidence, as well as offering great networking opportunities.

But the Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony is the icing on the cake – a great opportunity to celebrate with staff, guests and clients at a first-class event.

To book tickets for the Gala Dinner and Charity Ball go to: www.southwarkawards.co.uk/ ticket-booking

*The Southwark Business Excellence Awards, in association with Lewisham Southwark College, is backed by Awards Partners, Southwark Chamber of Commerce, Southwark Council, and White Label Creative. The awards are sponsored by: British Land; ENGIE, Grosvenor; London College of Communication, UAL; and Sellar.

The programme is supported by Shangri-La Hotel, Jensen’s Gin and Media Partner, Southwark News.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

5

Richard Kalmar

Richard Kalmar - twice Chairman looks back at the Larder of London

by Susan Isaacs - Arts and Culture correspondent It will be sad to say goodbye to Richard as the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Kalmar has served twice as Chairman and has done a huge amount for the Chamber. I asked him to compare the Chamber during the two periods, and how he first got involved.

“Well I first came to a meeting with my father, back in the nineteen eighties. I saw it as an opportunity to help the local community and, of course, as a business opportunity.”

How did it differ being Chairman then?

Richard explained how the business activities in the area have changed dramatically. Then North Southwark was at the tail end of its role as the Larder of London, members included large companies that had been importing grains, tea, spices etc. with associated food manufacturing businesses including making jams, biscuits, vinegar and large scale brewing.

They had grown up around working docks, which closed in the 1970s due to

containerisation which required deep water ports. The last vestiges of the leather and furriers industry, which being smelly and land hungry, had moved out of London leaving cheap space to be occupied by the antiques trade. Business in the South of the borough included some big manufacturers making products like fire extinguishers and cigarette machines. These were also moving out as they needed more space, leaving cheap land which was developed for low density service industries like printing. In short, the areas was in decline but fortunately this was a real turning point when the council began to change its policy, and a new breed of pragmatic politicians like Jeremy Fraser (who went on to become a vicar) recognised that modern service 'offices', once a dirty word, were the way of the future. Richard recalls Jeremy saying at a Chamber meeting, “The leopard can change its spots but it takes time, we want the Southbank to be as strong as the City', Southwark has achieved this goal as now global leaders like EY, PWC, Norton Rose and numerous other smaller international companies made it their home.

The conversion of the former Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern, a world class international art gallery, has acted as a huge cultural draw, helping regeneration of the whole Bankside area. This is still ongoing, as developments like the former Vinopolis, part of which Richard's father let for storing dried eggs, is turned into a vibrant leisure and retail centre, alongside the outstandingly successful Borough Market. These changes have altered the nature of the Chamber’s members, which today reflect the business community and are largely service office businesses.

What does Richard think is the key to running the Chamber successfully?

Like most things in life, you get out what you put in and hard work is required to realise the potential of the Chamber.

6

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Amongst many other things a Chamber needs:

• Great meetings, relevant to our members, held regularly throughout the year,

• High quality communications (such as this magazine), and an updated modern website.

• Working with the local educational bodies and other organisations.

• Engagement across the political spectrum to get our message across.

Back in the 1990s the Chamber did not have designated roles on the committee, it was mainly run by the secretary who was a great character called Nancy Hammond.

She had a sense of humour, but one did not want to cross her and she had a strong disdain for any machine that used a mouse.

She was determined to fend off any rival networking groups.

“I was a bit naive about just how difficult it was sometimes to get people to join. People might work in the area, but they lived outside London, so getting them to hang around afterwards for meetings was a tough job.

We often struggled to be quorate at meetings which is never a problem now.”

“I think one of the key factors is to have meetings in attractive locations, and interesting speakers. The worst meeting we ever had was at the gas board in Elephant and Castle.”

What was the most successful?

“Well we did have a question time meeting with Harriet Harman, and Simon Hughes, and the paymaster general about matters that affected business. We worked with the council leader Peter John and cabinet member Johnson Situ has sat on our board, which has been very helpful. We had a big debate on Brexit, and voted against, it really got quite heated.”

Do you think the price of the meeting is important?

“Price is always a factor but you have to be really careful about that. Cheaper is by no means better. We once organised a trip around Tower Bridge for ten quid.

Another group organised the identical trip, charged £20, and got double the number of people.”

Has the format of the meetings changed much?

“Generally the issues remain the same and the main focus is still networking. We have our anchor events (pun intended) with an annual river cruise and a trip around the Houses of Parliament.

I restructured the committee so that everyone has their own portfolio which is much more effective. At the end of the day, unlike running your own business, virtually everyone is voluntary so to get things done one has to carry them with you showing the merit of action. It is much easier to contact people now with email and other technology. But the technology can never replace what the Chamber really provides, the opportunity to meet people in person, get involved, and of course do business together.”

Has the Chamber been responsible for any tremendous deals?

“Although joining the Chamber in itself will not bring in deals the connections one makes has that potential, it has certainly oiled the wheels for me on occasions.

A client of mine bought a property for £225,000, and sold it for a million within a year. He turned to me and asked me what fee I would like to charge.” Whilst one may think it is all about winning new business, the Chamber also gives one the opportunity to secure trustworthy suppliers, and we all need them even if it is an outgoing.

How does he see the future?

“I am very glad that Peter Mantell as designated Chair will be taking over. We have had a lot of discussions about the future, and I think it is great that a person with a strong business background will be at the helm providing a pair of safe hands.”

Let us hope Richard will stay closely involved. He has done such a huge amount for the Chamber which has flourished under his leadership.

Economy

Tigger or Eeyore?

What is the future for our economy?

The British Chambers of Commerce reacted with cautious optimism when Chancellor Philp Hammond struck an upbeat tone as he delivered his Spring Statement to Parliament.

According to Mr Hammond, the economy grew by 1.7% in 2017, compared to the 1.5% forecast at the Budget, and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have revised up their forecast for 2018 from 1.4% to 1.5%.

Forecast growth is unchanged at 1.3% in 2019 and 20, before picking up to 1.4% in 21 and 1.5% in 2022, leading the Chancellor to describe himself as being at his ‘most positively Tiggerlike’ when he contemplated the future of the economy.

He said: “The economy continues to grow, continues to create jobs and continues to beat expectations. The economy has grown for five consecutive years and exceeded expectations in 2017.

The OBR has increased their forecast for growth this year.

“Manufacturing has had the longest period of expansion in 50 years. Employment has increased by three million since 2010, which is the equivalent of 1,000 people finding work every day. The unemployment rate is close to a 40-year low.

There is also a joint record number of women in work – 15.1 million. The OBR predict there will be over 500,000

more people in work by 2022. Britain now has a manufacturing sector enjoying its longest unbroken run of growth for fifty years.

“But forecasts are there to be beaten. As a nation, we did it in 2017 and we should make it our business to do so again.

Our remarkable jobs story is set to continue.”

Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), was more guarded in his response.

He said: “Businesses will be encouraged by the Chancellor’s report on the UK’s fiscal health, with lower projections for the deficit and falling national debt, as well as his full-throated defence of the market economy and the role of the private sector in delivering prosperity.

“Yet as deficit and debt levels improve, the Chancellor must resist calls to pour money into politically-attractive, short-term spending priorities. Any headroom the Chancellor has must be used to leave a lasting mark on the UK’s infrastructure and to attract investment – particularly with the challenges and changes of Brexit ahead.

“A far stronger push is needed to fund and fix the fundamentals here in the UK over the coming months, and business wants the Chancellor to use his Autumn Budget to double down and spend to improve digital connectivity,

deliver further road and rail improvements, strengthen the UK’s energy security and build more houses. Existing plans alone are not enough.”

Suren Thiru, Head of Economics for the British Chambers, said: “Taken together, the OBR’s latest forecasts suggest that the UK will remain locked onto a low growth trajectory for the foreseeable future. While GDP growth for this year was upgraded slightly, their projections for 2021 and 2022 have been downgraded.

“The OBR’s latest outlook also highlights significant challenges facing the UK economy over the near term.

Their projections implies that UK economic growth will remain unbalanced throughout the forecast period with business investment and trade expected to add little to overall UK growth.

“UK productivity is still expected to remain subdued

over the next few years and could weigh more on overall economic activity than the OBR’s GDP growth forecast currently suggests.

Productivity continues to be hampered by the deep-rooted problems in our economy, from the skills gap to chronic underinvestment in the UK’s infrastructure.

“The OBR is right to highlight the risk of a disorderly Brexit, as a sudden departure from the EU would be likely to trigger a marked weakening in economic conditions.

“Against this backdrop, the focus of the Autumn budget must be on delivering a fiscal consolidation plan that achieves a more sustainable balance between deficit reduction and boosting productivity and growth, including using its greater fiscal headroom to deliver urgently needed infrastructure investment.”

“UK productivity is still expected to remain subdued over the next few years and could weigh more on overall economic activity than the OBR’s GDP growth forecast currently suggests.”

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

7

Arts & Culture

Cuddly Pink Ears and a Wall Dripping with Blood Goldilocks and the Three Pigs, the opera at the Copeland Gallery in Peckham

By Susan Isaacs – Arts and Culture Correspondent I am transfixed by the beauty of the music, and the power of the story. A brown haired, orphaned Goldilocks (soprano Alice Privett) wanders through the woods in a pair of fashionably slashed at the knee jeans. She comes to the home of a family of pigs, Mummy, Daddy, and Baby pig, and in her hunger, standing outside, gulps down worms for food. She does show some compassion for the worm, wondering if it too has lost its parents.

This does not last very long.

“Everyone dies,” says Manuel Fajardo, co-founder of innovative opera company The Opera Story. He beams at us cheerfully, as he hands us a glass of white wine before the performance.

And just in case we should be under any illusion that the performance will be a happy one, there is a stern notice on the theatre wall warning of violence, sexual assault, and strobe lighting.

We take our seats on a snowy press night in Peckham, and are offered transparent plastic anoraks, and blue hospital like covers for our shoes. The rumour runs swiftly round the audience that this is to soak

8

up any blood, a.k.a tomato sauce, that may splash onto our clothing. I begin to wish I had stayed at home.

On the stage a huge tree log is suspended on chains, and this flips round ingeniously on its side to form a kitchen top.

The Mummy pig of the story (mezzo soprano Carolyn Dobbin) fries tomatoes, and chops up food on it.

The knife looks threateningly sharp, but Mummy pig rocks a knitted balaclava hat with pink ears, and she looks reassuringly cuddly.

The room is cold, warmed only by portable storage heaters, and the blue arctic like lighting looks chilly. But from the moment the singers come onto the stage,

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Daddy pig (wonderful baritone Nicholas Lester) plays a deliciously sinister, and yet playful father and husband.

He sports large furry feet, a natty jacket, and wheels a suitcase onto the stage which, when unzipped, shows some large dead animal inside.

He proceeds to gnaw large chunks out of it. His son, played by counter tenor Daniel Keating-Roberts, draws red and black stick men and worms on the wall at the back, a wall that ominously drips with blood. Baby pig perches childishly on his father’s lap, and plays games.

But do not be deceived.

The worst is yet to come.

When Baby pig wanders off into the woods, and Mummy Pig is left alone to guard the home, the whole tragedy begins.

The powerful haunting music of Vahan Salorian, keeps the pulsing tension continually on the up.

This is the second opera by fascinating new opera company The Opera Story, created to give new opera composers, writers, and singers, a voice. They have wisely used a framework for their operas, that of the fairytale.

The first one, Snow was based on Snow White, and this one Goldilocks and the Three Pigs, is an amalgam of two tales. This second opera is a slimmed down version, with just one composer, and one location, whereas Snow had three acts, composers, and locations.

But this is an improvement, as this second opera is more powerful, and memorable.

The libretto by Dominic Kimberlin is biting, and the direction of the play by Pedro Ribeiro is imaginative and original. Each of the characters in the opera develops frighteningly before our eyes. I must take issue with Manuel’s comment at the beginning though. They do not all die. One survives.

And I recommend you see and hear this opera to find out exactly who.

Arts & Culture

Reception to mark the refurbished Glaziers Hall in Southwark

It Started With a Tiff New Work, New Year, an exhibition at the Bankside Gallery, Hopton Street

By Susan Isaacs – Arts and Culture Correspondent

Half way round the gallery you land on a painting of orange flowers, each one so vividly painted, the flowers seem people’s faces who are sitting there gossiping.

Further along, a girl crouches on a red tennis court, poised tensely to return a shot. Then another character catches your eye. It is a woman clinging onto a red brolly, like Mary Poppins about to fly away. The artists are Jill Leman, Bridget Moore, and Julia Midgely, and the works are just a few of the ninety paintings on display at the exhibition New Work, New Year, at the Bankside Gallery.

I met up with Jill, the first female President of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS). She herself was originally a graphic designer, specialising in books.

“The RWS started with a tiff,” she explained to me. “The Royal Academy refused to accept watercolours in their annual exhibition, so in a huff, a group of water colour artists went off, and founded their own Society.”

That was in 1804, and the artists lobbied so successfully, that they received a Charter from Queen Victoria, and the current Queen is Patron to this day. The RWS now have their own gallery, which is the Bankside Gallery in Hopton St, just behind the Tate Modern.

I asked how they found the gallery space, and Jill smiled.

“There was meant to be a supermarket there. It’s a space under an office block, leased from Southwark Council.

One of the Society members just

happened to be sitting next to a property developer at a dinner, and that is how it all began.”

So why was the Royal Academy so sniffy about watercolours and do they still refuse to accept watercolours today?

“Oh no, that has changed,” explained Jill, “they have all sorts of things like video installations now. But watercolour used to be associated with amateur painters, because everyone could afford a box of watercolours.”

And are the paintings exclusively watercolours?

“No, we will accept acrylic, gouache, or ink, any waterbased medium.”

The current society consists of seventy five members, who, once they are elected, are in it for life. But it’s a tough call, and members start as associates. Jill herself submitted her work four times before she was successful, and it is very rare to be accepted first time.

Is there a magic formula?

“You’ve just got to be good artist,” replies Jill, with a twinkle in her eye.

The one thing the paintings do tend to have in common though is the gentle nature of the subjects. There are flowers, and portraits, landscapes and abstracts. Jill explained “They are aimed at domestic spaces rather than making a big splash in a bank.”

Once you have joined, membership has its privileges.

Members can show paintings

for the rest of their lives and the oldest member, June Berry, is still showing work at 93.

But membership does not come free. Members pay £285 per year, and the gallery takes a commission of forty per cent of anything they sell, fairly standard in the art world.

We wandered into the office to chat with Angela Parker, the director of the gallery, a talented linguist with a love of things Italian. She filled us in about running the gallery.

All of the employees are trained artists with other skills. Spanish speaking Ed Parsons Brown, for example, trained at the Camberwell School of Art and has been producing work ever since. He has become a dab hand at hanging pictures.

Digital co-ordinator Fay Brown deals with publicity, and her knowledge of German may have helped land sponsorship from German paint manufacturers.

Exhibitions tend to be planned two to three years in advance, and other revenue comes from renting out the gallery for events such as wine tastings.

I could not resist the delightful bookshop with cards, and notelets, and a lovely line in slim pamphlets of poetry by writers like Keats and Wordsworth.

I came home clutching several packs of cards of birds in exotic colours. The gentle atmosphere had me hooked. The Society may have started with a tiff, but the paintings make it end with a kiss. I for one, will be back.

The Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass, held a reception for Southwark and City businesses on 14th March, at the refurbished Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Place.

Glaziers Hall, is the only Livery Company Hall, that is situated in Southwark and outside the City of London.

The hall sits at the foot of London Bridge, which is owned and maintained by The City of London Corporation at no cost to the taxpayers.

The hall has undergone a complete refurbishment with two new reception rooms overlooking the river and the Georgian Wine Cellars, which have been opened up as event space, in addition to the Main Hall, Court Room Library and River Room. The Wine Cellars have been stripped back to the original brick arches, which are a work of art in themselves and back on to the foundations of the second Stone Bridge by John Rennie, built between 1824 and 1831. This bridge was replaced in 1973 by the current London bridge. This centrally located Conference and Event space with good transport links is versatile space for business events.

Information on the hire of these spaces can be accessed on their website.

www.worshipfulglaziers.com

Ken Hayes

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

9

Skills

Listen: the simple secret to winning stakeholders’ trust

By Emilio Galli Zugaro and Clementina Galli Zugaro 3.

EMMA.

E stands for Empathy, the ability and willingness to step into somebody else’s shoes.

The first M stands for Motivation. What drives your audience? Do they want to learn, to make money, to protect the environment?

The second M stands for Mentality. Who is your audience? Are they old, young, Germans, Aborigines, academics, healthy, disabled, female? A, finally, stands for Analysis. Find out as much as you can about your audience.

If you can, ask them directly.

Trust is the commodity of our age. It’s more important than oil, gas or rice. Without trust, trade is not possible, communities don’t work, businesses fail. In the past twenty years, the public’s trust has dwindled: businesses, the media, governments, even churches have lost the trust of the public, everywhere on the planet.

Can trust be regained once lost? A very difficult exercise, but not an impossible one.

These ten rules that may allow you to regain the trust of your stakeholders.

1.

Always set the example.

The more you climb the corporate or political ladder the more you are under scrutiny. Be the first to act upon your own words.

2.

Trust is a triangle made of competence, integrity, motivation.

Take away just one of these elements and trust cannot be established. Would you trust an insurance agent who acts with integrity, is motivated to help you but doesn’t understand insurance? Try taking out integrity or motivation and you’ll see what I mean.

4.

Walk the talk.

5.

Build and cultivate long-term relations.

Make your own position clear.

Never lie. If you promise something, keep your promise.

In business the only way to establish trust is to keep promises. Punctuality is such a test – testing your respect for keeping promises. This is something that can be immediately verified. It takes months and even years of kept vows and commitments to build a relationship.

6.

Accept and admit mistakes.

True leaders are able to admit mistakes, understand and explain them and, if necessary, apologise. This is true strength.

7.

Have consideration for and respect partners, competitors, stakeholders.

No badmouthing, please.

Competition is absolutely necessary, but lack of style isn’t. This definitely won’t gain you trust.

8.

Controls and feedback are necessary.

Who in a corporation wishes for nosy journalists, auditors, compliance officers or regulators? Probably very few people. But to manage human shortcomings, we need control mechanisms and we also need real feedback on the things we do.

9.

Say what you think and do what you say.

Don’t try to manage different agendas, a public and a hidden one. Better keep it simple and say what you think and do what you say.

10. Treat others as you would like to be treated.

In companies with different cultural and religious values it’s almost impossible to agree on ethics. So, better stick to the so-called Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.

The Listening Leader by Emilio Galli Zugaro and Clementina Galli Zugaro is out now in paperback and ebook, priced at £24.99.

10

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Education

Study for a Masters at Lewisham Southwark College Whatever your current role, a Masters degree in business can accelerate your career, enabling you to develop a higher level of knowledge and skills, and stand out in the competitive London job market.

Lewisham Southwark College, one of the largest colleges in London, is now extending its range of Higher Education (HE) courses with the introduction of two new postgraduate taught courses – an MA in Business and an MBA – available from September 2018.

The courses, which are based within the College’s HE hub at its £41m

Southwark campus, provide an excellent local option for postgraduate study in southeast London. Students benefit from smaller class sizes and higher teacher:student ratios than those offered at conventional universities, while tuition fees are considerably lower.

Above all, the focus is on employment. The College has partnerships with businesses across London, and works with them to ensure that its Masters level course content reflects

current business needs, while students on both the MA and MBA get the opportunity to work on real industry projects.

Whether you want to work at a higher level within your current sector or find employment in a more specialised area, Lewisham Southwark College’s Postgraduate courses provide a solid foundation.

To find out more, see www.lscollege.ac.uk

NEW MASTERS COURSES IN SOUTHWARK Starting September 2018

» »

MA BUSINESS MBA

Competitive fees | smaller class sizes | great location Southwark Campus, 25 The Cut, London, SE1 8LF

APPLY NOW LSCollege.ac.uk/higher-education

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

11

Connecting the community by recruiting local people for local jobs

EmploySE1 is collectively funded by three Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) – Better Bankside, Team London Bridge and WeAreWaterloo. We work with BID member businesses to connect them with the best local talent for their vacancies and training opportunities; facilitating more local employment in Southwark and Lambeth. Advertised job opportunities are also marketed to our partner agencies to ensure a wider reach to local residents.

COMPLETE SERVICE

Our service includes everything from the marketing of your vacancy through to the sourcing, screening and shortlisting of ideally matched, job-ready candidates.

RESPONSIBLE RECRUITING

“EmploySE1 are fantastic at securing the right people for your business” - James Wilkie, General Manager Premier Inn, London Southwark

We help businesses enhance their community engagement and social responsibility objectives, by assisting them to recruit local, talented individuals for their vacancies.

GREAT CONTACTS

We use multi-channel marketing and local partnerships to promote BID member vacancies to local Southwark and Lambeth residents.

For help nding the right candidates for your business, contact Sonia at: info@employ-se1.co.uk |

07852 714 822 |

www.employ-se1.co.uk |

@employse1

Canada Water

Evening view looking north east across the town square

Canada Water Masterplan The Canada Water Masterplan is a partnership between British Land and Southwark Council, working with the local community and other key stakeholders, to deliver a new urban centre for the area and for London.

The Masterplan covers a 46 acre site incorporating Surrey Quays Shopping Centre, the SE16 Printworks, Surrey Quays Leisure Park, the Dock Manager’s Office and 1 - 14 Dock Offices. The site has also grown further with British Land’s recent acquisition of the former Rotherhithe Police Station, which will be integrated into the plans and strengthen links between Lower Road and the Masterplan area.

The project will create a new town centre at Canada Water and over the next 15 years is expected to deliver around 2 million sq ft of office and workspace, approximately 3,000 new homes and around 1 million sq ft of retail, leisure, entertainment and community space, all set in a network of streets and spaces connected to the wider area.

The completed scheme expects to be home to around 20,000

jobs across workspace, retail and leisure and will create significant construction employment opportunities with an average of around 1,200 workers on site each month during construction periods.

In March 2018, Southwark Council’s Cabinet agreed the Master Development Agreement (MDA) for the Canada Water Masterplan. This agreement pools Southwark Council and British Land’s freehold and leasehold interests across the site and allows a new 500 year lease to be drawn down. This agreement also confirms the local authority’s stake in the project, and their additional right to invest up to 20% in each forthcoming plot; the agreement also confirms the location of a new leisure centre as part of the proposals.

The MDA was the culmination of several years of consultation between British Land, Southwark Council and the

local community in Canada Water. A vast number of people have contributed their thoughts on the Masterplan through five phases of consultation. There have been approximately 10,000 attendees at over 69 consultation events, with over 12,000 comments submitted.

A planning application for the outline masterplan will be submitted in the coming months. The submission will include detail of the project’s first three plots which are part of a major first phase covering a total of 1.8 million sq ft of mixed use space, comprising one million sq ft of workspace, 250,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space and 650 homes.

Also amongst the first detailed designs are plans for an improved wetland habitat in Canada Water Dock developed with the London Wildlife Trust.

These plans include improving the existing habitat and Site of Importance for Nature

Conservation (SINC) area, increasing biodiversity. Plans for the dock also incorporate a dock crossing to allow residents and visitors to interact with nature.

Subject to planning approvals, construction of the first aspects of the Masterplan could begin in Spring 2019.

View of the cuts

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

13

Ask the Expert

Broadband boost for Southwark The agreement will deliver gigabit-enabled full fibre broadband to over 53,000 residential homes and nearly 1,000 commercial properties across the borough. As a result of servicing these buildings, Hyperoptic’s network will also be available to an additional 46,000 homes and businesses, in total passing over 80% of all premises in Southwark.

Last year, consumer champion Which? named the London borough of Southwark as one of the 20 worst places in the UK for broadband speeds, with an average download speed of 10.4Mbps.

With full fibre from Hyperoptic, businesses will have access to symmetrical broadband speeds of 1,000Mbps. Southwark will go from being one of the slowest boroughs in London, to one of the fastest all within 12 months.

This is a game-changer for businesses based in Southwark.

With full fibre comes limitless potential. New and evolving businesses are succeeding through innovative models, which rely on real-time communications with suppliers and customers, datadriven cloud-based business processes, and high dependency on reliable, limitless broadband connectivity. When businesses experience gigabit broadband, they find that all these processes and interactions become instantaneous, giving them an immediate and significant productivity boost, measurable in net profits.

By installing fibre all the way to the building, Hyperoptic business customers gain access to a faster, more consistent, and more dependable connection.

Hyperoptic’s business team is

14

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure its business customers remain connected at all times.

Hyperoptic is already working with businesses in over 30 towns and cities across the UK, delivering the fastest business broadband at an affordable price.

With an ever-increasing footprint of availability, it presents a real alternative for businesses.

Businesses who wish to improve their connectivity are often held back by installation procedures and recurring monthly charges.

To this end, Hyperoptic offers two core products; leased lines and business broadband, from as little as £40 per month. 1Gb symmetrical business broadband is available at just £250 a month – enough bandwidth for 10+ employees. If taken with the phone service, it means that, for example, a business could run up to 100 conference calls at the same time without noticing any drop in speeds.

Businesses also do not need to worry about limitations – Hyperoptic does not impose any caps or restrictions on its business broadband services and upload speeds of up to 1Gb mean no slowdown for upstream traffic.

As Hyperoptic uses its own network infrastructure, it means it has better control over its resilience, so its reliable service rarely encounters unplanned downtime. And when it does, its support team have the tools and access to fix it promptly.

Its network operations team monitors the system 24/7 and has an extensive alerts system to flag any issues early, enabling

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Last month, Southwark Council agreed a landmark partnership with the UK’s fastest broadband provider, Hyperoptic.

swift resolution. The Customer Support team can diagnose and resolve router problems remotely, again reducing any customer downtime.

Each business is provided with a dedicated representative who they can ask for by name. Hyperoptic’s internal ticketing systems ensure traceability of customer contacts and resolutions, giving a seamless experience. All first line support staff are trained to handle technical issues to ensure queries are resolved at the first opportunity, so businesses can be confident they can remain connected and productive.

Hyperoptic’s customer satisfaction rating speaks for itself. It is rated at greater than 90% on a regular basis – the highest in the industry.

It has also been recognised as the ‘Best Superfast Broadband’ provider by the Internet Service Providers’ Association for the last five consecutive years and was crowned the ‘Most Innovative Provider’ in the 2017 Broadband Genie broadband survey.

Tom Lawrence, Director of SystemsIT (in SE1) explains the difference his business experienced after moving to connectivity from Hyperoptic: “Despite being in Central London, we previously only had access to slow broadband speeds. Moving to full fibre was a game changer for us as a

business - everything we have is reliant on technology systems so the fact that it just worked seamlessly meant that we were much more productive. Also, it has meant that we can deliver our cloud-based products to customers much faster. The role of digital infrastructure in business cannot be understated - in this digital age it’s more than on par with physical and you simply cannot reach your business potential without having fast and reliable connectivity in place.”

Steve Holford, Chief Customer Officer, Hyperoptic, adds: “We’re proud to be able to deliver full fibre connectivity into Southwark, and provide the opportunities that fast, reliable broadband can give businesses.

Instead of being hamstrung by poor connections, now Southwark businesses can utilise the internet and online tools and trading to grow. Look out for our engineers, posters and flyers – we are coming soon, and you will be amazed in the change in speeds, reliability and performance. When your broadband ‘just works’ it gives you the freedom to do the same!”

Visit Hyperoptic’s website at www.hyperoptic.com/business for more information or to register interest.

Fibre broadband that means business “Hyperoptic is the fastest internet provider we have ever had. I found them extremely easy to deal with and it made a real difference to our business.�

Richard Nichols Director, Vitamin London Ltd.

Same upload & download speeds

Unlimited usage

No traffic management

Static IP addresses available

24/7 business support

(1Gb & 150Mb plans)

Whatever your business does online, do it better with Hyperoptic full fibre broadband.

Choose from fast, superfast or hyperfast.

Register your interest today at www.hyperoptic.com/business 1Gbps speed is not achievable by a single device over wi-fi. If you are looking for a 1Gbps connection to a single device, a wired connection is required. Same download and upload speed applies to 150Mb and 1Gb services. 30Mb download and 1Mb upload speed applies to 30Mb service.

Spotlight on...

Grosvenor and Bermondsey We recently submitted ambitious proposals for one of London’s largest ‘Build to Rent’ developments right in the centre of Bermondsey. We want to transform and revitalise the iconic former Peek Frean Biscuit Factory and Lewisham and Southwark College sites, covering 12 acres of brownfield land, into an active, vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood.

16

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Spotlight on...

We believe our plans embody the best of Bermondsey’s energy and life, celebrate its rich history and create new opportunities for its communities. Our proposals will provide new homes for rent, educational and employment space alongside cultural spaces and retail uses, all knitted together through a network of high quality open areas.

If approved, the plans will result in a £500 million investment in Bermondsey and help ensure the neighbourhood’s future as an integrated, thriving local economy.

1,343 new purpose built rental homes are proposed, alongside a modern 600-place secondary school, over 10,000 m² of new office units and c. 10,000m² of retail, leisure, community and food and drink space. The neighbourhood will be better connected through over 20,000 m² of new and improved streetscapes, 2,000 m² of play space. Two new routes through the railway arches will also provide improved connections from Bermondsey tube station right up to The Blue (subject to all necessary consents). Overall, the plans could create 2,500 jobs and provide a significant boost to local spending to support economic growth in Bermondsey.

An introduction to Grosvenor

We are a property company which has been operating in the UK for over 300 years. We have a proven track record in delivering transformational change in some of London’s most celebrated urban neighbourhoods.

We believe in investing in, developing and renewing places in partnership with communities and have spent the last four years getting to know Bermondsey, learning about local priorities and ambitions and bringing under-used buildings back into use.

We have defined five principles that underpin our approach. These are;

A long-term approach - our involvement will not end once the scheme is built.

We will professionally manage the neighbourhood and the new homes.

In addition, our Local Legacy Strategy will help maximise the potential to improve the wellbeing of those that live, work and learn locally, and ensure genuine local benefit from the proposed investment.

We will be an active steward – we want to ensure that our neighbourhoods are great places to live, visit and work in for many years to come. We will have a dedicated management team on site who will take as much pride in the neighbourhood as the community does.

We will create a resilient community – we always promote a mix of uses and a range of residential and commercial units as we believe that diverse neighbourhoods are more resilient and sustainable.

We will enable easy living – by creating more walkable neighbourhoods and ensuring the local amenities serve genuine local community needs, we can make the everyday lives of residents easier.

We will nurture a sense of belonging and community pride – when people feel proud of where they live, they care for their neighbourhood and their neighbours.

This benefits everyone and we plan to invest in community facilities, encourage social entrepreneurs and continue to be an active member of the local community with strong local partnerships.

More on the proposals

2,500 new jobs and increased business opportunities

We are expecting to deliver up to 1,290 new jobs through the creation of new employment space and other commercial uses on the site. This will provide increased opportunities for local businesses, including space for start-ups and small retail units, ensuring diversity in local employment opportunities, critical to creating and maintaining a mixed neighbourhood. At the peak of construction 1,200 operatives are also expected to be on site, meaning there is potential for almost 2,500 new jobs in the neighbourhood in total.

We have been investing in skills development and enterprise programmes, from which 500 Bermondsey residents have benefitted.

This is an important start from which to build on as we are committed to ensuring that Bermondsey remains the thriving economic heart of Southwark.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

17

Spotlight on...

Up to 1,343 new professionally managed homes for rent The delivery of dedicated ‘Build to Rent’ homes can play an important role in diversifying the housing market, meeting London’s housing need and providing the range of housing necessary to cater for all Londoners. We want to breathe new life into Bermondsey and create a scheme that fosters a mixed community for people at different life stages, with apartments ranging from studios to three bedrooms.

We will offer longer tenancies and professionally manage the homes, regardless of rent level, which will simplify processes and provide a reliable service for all customers.

27.5% of the homes are proposed to be available at a discount market rent, and these would be spread across the new neighbourhood with equal access to all resident amenities. They will be made available to those living and working in Southwark, with a particular focus on key workers.

We have also volunteered a viability review mechanism to the London Borough of Southwark to ensure that affordable housing provision is maximised. This guarantees a review of the project once complete. Any uplift in its value will be reinvested to provide more affordable homes.

More spending in The Blue We understand the importance of The Blue to the neighbourhood and want to see it grow and thrive.

We are working closely with The Blue Bermondsey Business Improvement District and local stakeholders to help ensure its future as a thriving local high-street and market.

We are proposing to deliver a complementary and noncompeting range of retailers, experiences and uses to help re-establish this neighbourhood, and bring more spending to the local area. The additional footfall in the neighbourhood is expected to result in approximately £3 million additional spend a year in The Blue.

A new secondary school facility Since 2013, we have supported Compass School Southwark open up interim premises on part of the site.

18

Included in our proposals are plans to deliver a modern, purpose built new school building ensuring that existing and future residents benefit from an outstanding educational offer. The community will also have access to the school’s facilities out of hours with the opening up of sports facilities, activity studios and learning spaces to ensure the building actively contributes to the local community long after the end of the school day.

Design inspired by Bermondsey At the heart of our design team’s approach has been the desire to reflect the heritage of the iconic Biscuit Factory, and the architectural colours and character of Bermondsey.

Our proposals will retain parts of the historic Biscuit Factory complemented by a series of new buildings interspersed with wide, inviting streets.

New buildings across the masterplan range from 4-28 storeys creating different areas of character and a local marker for the new routes through to The Blue.

New community facilities In addition to the new school, we are proposing new facilities and shops including flexible community and cultural space that will be adapted to suit local need, a biscuit themed play area open to the whole community, a publicly accessible roof terrace, crèche and family friendly cafés. The layout and design will invite visitors, residents and workers into the Biscuit Factory and provide clear routes onto The Blue.

A reconnected neighbourhood We will invest in new routes to better connect the neighbourhood with Bermondsey station and The Blue, including two new pedestrian routes under the railway (subject to all necessary consents) in partnership with Network Rail. In addition, over 20,000 m² of public realm, and 2,000 m² of play space will offer places to explore, relax and play, and act as a stepping stone between the surrounding green spaces in the wider neighbourhood.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

A long-term legacy for Bermondsey Our vision for Bermondsey has always been longterm, with the aim of creating a sustainable urban neighbourhood with a strong sense of community.

Investment of this scale, combined with our ongoing commitment to the area and active local involvement will create significant social and economic benefits for the wider neighbourhood, and the potential to improve the wellbeing of those living, working and learning locally.

To help ensure the benefits are realised and maximised over the long-term, we have developed a Local Legacy Strategy focusing on four key themes: • Community wellbeing, • Education, • Skills & employment; and • Enterprise.

A draft can be viewed at www.belonginbermondsey.com, and we are now working with local stakeholders to seek

further input on the delivery of this strategy. At the same time, we are continuing our community engagement and investment programme.

A considerable sum has already been invested in, or committed to, community projects, events and training initiatives in Bermondsey, and over 3,000 hours of Grosvenor employee time has been spent supporting this programme since 2013.

This work is just the beginning of our commitment to long-term and active involvement in Bermondsey, working closely with its many communities to maximise genuine local benefit from our proposed investment.

We welcome feedback and input on our proposals and legacy strategy. You can contact us at Bermondsey@grosvenor.com

Community initiatives delivered so far:

• Over 100 Southwark residents and businesses have benefitted from our funding for enterprise courses and business surgeries supporting entrepreneurs and business owners in turning business ideas into reality.

• Over 50 Southwark residents have achieved City & Guilds catering qualifications at The Bermondsey Community Kitchen, which we have committed five years of grant funding to.

• We have provided facilities to enable the Construction Youth Trust to work with 124 Southwark residents in their Bermondsey Training Centre.

• 44 start-ups, small businesses and charities have access to free space, provided through specialist workspace operator 3Space, 26 of whom 3Space has allocated free of charge space to through its BuyGiveWork policy.

• Over 500 hours of free use of our Community Hall for local organisations and charities.

• Over 12,000 people engaged by The Old Vic Community Company from its Old Vic Workrooms hub in Bermondsey.

• We have organised 20 community events to date, and supported a further 13 wider community events, including our annual Summer Fete.

Up Close

Chamber member celebrates 25 years of creativity Alan Camp Architects LLP have flourished over the past 25 years.

Alan Camp Architects LLP have grown over the past 25 years. It started with Alan’s own house at Elephant and Castle where the practice began in the ground floor studio. The surrounding areas then developed to provide new community facilities and live work units.

For 25 years we have delivered a range of projects throughout the Borough which have established us within Southwark.

These included the conversion of the listed Pioneer Health Centre in Peckham which was a pre-curser to the NHS as doctors studied local residents health.

In the early years we converted and restored the 1930’s listed building into residential

Recently completed 368 homes in Canada Water for L&Q

accommodation keeping the central pool within the heart of the building. Also Zandra Rhodes Museum was successfully delivered by cross funding and working in partnership with Ricardo Legorreta.

Alan Camp Architects have similarly delivered school projects that are cross funded through the development of the residential accommodation above. The first of these schools was Dog Kennel Hill School in Denmark Hill where we provided 15 key worker homes above a new school hall and art rooms. At Friar’s Primary school Blackfriars, we have just started on site replicating a similar model of replacing the caretakers house to provide 2 floors of school accommodation with 8 flats above to fund the project.

We enjoy the concept design, formulating new ideas which respond to the many parameters of the site and the client’s brief.

Working closely with our clients, we solve these challenges by looking at different exciting ideas to push the boundaries in residential and mixed-use design.

We have been involved with a number of Community projects including the redevelopment of Docklands Settlements. Here we have introduced 28 residential dwellings for Peabody to enable the successful funding for the redevelopment. Working with the community and local action groups is important to us.

We have been working with the Peckham Coal line on a planning application for the Stable Yard in Peckham, their involvement has been instrumental in the design proposals for the scheme.

Our practice is involved in a number of high profile schemes on the Old Kent Road, an area which will see major development through the Councils’ development strategy and the intended extension of the Bakerloo line.

Our work now extends thoughout the whole of London.

We constantly review our schemes in-house with a varied design panel of our Architects.

This encourages vibrant debate and discussion to optimize the value that each scheme adds to the local community. Proposals are then fine-tuned in consultation with our clients before gaining support from other stakeholders.

Our practice fosters a culture of passionate debate about how to create great architecture in a positive, friendly and passionate environment. We like to sweep our clients up in our enthusiasm.

They, in turn, enjoy visiting the vibrant atmosphere of our studios to contribute and assist us in developing the brief and meeting the architectural challenges of their schemes.

25 years on from Alan completing his own house, his daughters are now following suit and have almost completed their own very distinctive new build houses /studios also within Southwark.

The development will champion both Art and Architecture with bespoke sculpted metal panels cut and mounted on the buildings façade sculptured by Alan’s wife Sokari Douglas Camp, CBE. Throughout this time we have also seen Southwark evolve and flourish dramatically from just another south-east London Borough into the best borough in London.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

19

GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation “It is clear that there are a number of considerations for GDPR but with a little forward planning, organisations can be ready.”

Data protection is embedded in our culture. Personal examples are when we deal with our banks, insurance and other service providers who hold our data. As a business, there are a variety of confidential records that are held such as employee files, supplier contacts and marketing lists.

It had been some time since the principles of the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) underwent any changes however the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which comes into force on 25 May 2018 certainly provides such a change.

Although a European law, and even thought the British public voted for Brexit, the UK will still be in the European Union (EU) when GDPR comes into effect.

In addition, even after the UK withdraws from Europe, many organisations will continue to need to comply as they process personal data belonging to EU citizens.

The UK’s own update to DPA by way of the Data Protection Bill 2017 serves to align with GDPR. Therefore, all businesses that process personal data need to be aware of GDPR and get the organisation ready for the changes that it brings.

This article aims to summarise some of the key points so that organisations may be complaint before 25 May 2018.

1. Awareness All decision makers and key people in an organisation need to be aware that data protection laws are changing and the impact that this will have. This can mean an update to inductions, policies and procedures and training.

2. What information have I got? And what do I do with it?

Think about what personal data is being held by the business, how this is stored, if this is shared with third parties and if the individual is aware of this. Consider whether a full Data Privacy Impact Assessment is required by familiarising yourself with guidance from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and/or seeking legal advice.

3. Notices to data subjects Do the individuals about whom you hold data know why you need it and how this is processed? The privacy notices that you provide to customers (and employees on joining the business) and policies and procedures need to explain this in line with GDPR updates.

4. Rights of individuals Procedures should be checked to ensure that the rights of individuals are included and that systems can deal with any requests in light of this. For example, how is personal data deleted or amended and how do the individuals access this?

Individuals are also entitled to make Subject Access Requests for their information. There are new timescales to deal with such requests and procedures will need to be updated to reflect this.

5. Lawful basis for processing personal data The lawful basis on which data processing is required needs to be identified, documented and your notices to individuals updated to reflect this. You can ask for consent but this is not necessarily the easiest and best option depending on the activity.

If you do ask for consent for certain processes, the way that this is sought, recorded and managed may need to be reviewed. It may be that existing consents are GDPR compliant but a business will need to show that they have checked this. Another thing to consider is whether there is a possibility that children’s data may be processed and if consent from parents is necessary.

6. What do I do if something goes wrong?

In any system, organisation or project, inevitably there are errors.

By having the right procedures in place to reveal, investigate and report on any data breaches, the effects of any data breach can be minimised. This is also a great opportunity to audit data security systems.

7. Data Protection Officers One of the new obligations under GDPR is to have a designated person to deal with data protection compliance. Depending on the size of the business and reasons for the processing of data, it may be necessary to employ someone for this purpose alone and formally register the post with the ICO. 8. International If the organisation operates in more than one jurisdiction, the lead data processing authority (i.e. the equivalent of the ICO in each country) should be agreed.

It is clear that there are a number of considerations for GDPR but with a little forward planning, organisations can be ready.

If you wish to discuss GDPR please contact Elaine on Elaine_O'Connor@anthonygold.co.uk

Anthony Gold Solicitors specialise in many different areas of law

Our solicitors are experts in their fields. We are negotiators and litigators,

committed to doing whatever is best for our clients.

T: 020 7940 4060

20

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Offices in London Bridge, Elephant & Castle and Streatham.

E: mail@anthonygold.co.uk

W: www.anthonygold.co.uk

Remembering when ...

Remembering when the area we know today as Southwark was a collection of villages south of the City of London

By Ken Hayes Honorary Secretary The area that is now the London Borough of Southwark was, from Roman times onward, a collection of villages to the south of the City of London. The area surrounding the southern end of London Bridge was from Roman times an extension of the City of London on the north side of the River Thames.

Beyond that were villages which supplied fresh produce to the City.

Part of this area was Thames tidal flood mashes, but the rest was agricultural land. Tributaries of the River Thames from the hills to the south provided fresh water to some of the area and spring wells to other areas.

The Industrial Revolution in the early late 18th Century brought change to this rural area and the villages were swallowed up by the spreading urban development.

The villages of Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Newington, Walworth, Camberwell, Peckham, and Dulwich which since 1965 form constituent parts of the London Borough of Southwark that all have a rich history.

Bermondsey. A village south east of the area around London Bridge, the name comes from the time of the Danish Occupation of England who called the high piece of land in

the Thames tidal flood mashes. who called it Beromund’s eyot, (island). Bermondsey Abbey was founded here in the 8th Century.

The area became the centre for Leather Tanning and a wholesale Leather Market for London.

In 1900 the area became the London Metropolitan Borough of Bermondsey Rotherhithe. A ship building area and dock east of London Bridge on the south bank of the River Thames.

The Mayflower set sail for America in 1620 carrying the Pilgrim Fathers.

Rotherhithe was originally a village and the name comes from Roth meaning Rose and Hithe a haven or Port, was also commonly called Redriff.

Rotherhithe became the site of the Surrey Commercial Docks and was where Brunel dug the first under water tunnel in the world, in the 19th Century.

Newington. The name is believed to originate from the Parish Church in Walworth being moved to a new site to the west of Walworth and a new town grew up around it.

Michael Faraday was born here in 1791, the son of the village Blacksmith. He was apprenticed to a Bookbinder and he got interested in Science from reading some of the books that he was binding.

He would go to Scientific lectures in the evenings to develop his knowledge of Science. In 1813 he became a live-in Chemical Assistant at the Royal Institution. He invented the Electric Motor and the Electric Generator and was appointed Superintendent there in 1821, and in 1825 he founded the Christmas Lectures for School Children, still held every year.

Another famous man, Charlie Chaplin was born in Newington in 1889. He became a Music Hall artiste who emigrated to America and went on to be a star of Silent Movies in the early 20th Century.

The area became the London Metropolitan Borough of Southwark.

Walworth. In the 1830’s the Royal Surrey Gardens were opened in the grounds of Walworth Manor House which was also the Surrey Zoological and Pleasure Gardens. The main building later became later became Music Hall where the famous Baptist Preacher Charles Spurgeon held services in the 1850’s attended by up to 10.000 people. The Gardens closed in !862 following a fire that destroyed the building in 1861 and the Gardens were sold for housing development in 1877. The area became a thriving commercial area in the 19th Century.

Camberwell. It is believed that the name Camberwell derives from the Spa well that was in the area, reputed to have healing powers. The Parish Church is dedicated to St. Giles, the patron saint of cripples the word Cam is the old English word meaning crocked.

Camberwell is also known for a species of Butterfly called a Camberwell beauty. In 1900 it became the Metropolitan Borough of Camberwell.

Peckham. The name derives from the River Peche, a small tributary of the Thames, now called the Peck and a hamlet that grew up in the area. Cattle being driven to Smithfield market were rested here before the railways came. It is now a thriving diverse community.

Dulwich. The name means, place where the Dill grows. The Dulwich Estate has owned most of the land in the area since Edward Alleyn bought Dulwich Manor in 1606.

Revenue from the Estate has been used for charitable purposes mainly education, namely Dulwich College and other Schools in the area.

Today the London Borough of Southwark is at the heart of the City of London for Business and Commerce.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

21

New Member Profile

SANCO Construction joins the Chamber Bermondsey company delivers your construction projects.

Sanco is pleased to join Southwark Chamber of Commerce as a new member. We are based in Bermondsey South East London and have a wide range of experience in the construction and delivery of commercial buildings, industrial buildings, hotels, schools, retail units, health care and residential projects both new build and refurbishment.

Sanco was founded in 2013

by Managing Director Emrah Coskun who has a wealth of experience gained through spending many years within

the construction industry working alongside well known contractors.

He holds a degree in Civil Engineering, is a Chartered Engineer, Member of the Chartered Institute of Civil Engineers and Corporate Member of the Chartered Institute of Builders.He also holds the NEBOSH Safety Construction Certificate.

Sanco is able, competent and equipped with resources to carry out the delivery of all construction projects up to £10M. Safeguarding the Health, Safety and Welfare of our staff at work is of

paramount importance and we strive to provide working environments which are safe and without risk to health.

This ethos is extended to the environment in general as well as the general public. Sanco specialises in maximising value for customers in the public and private sector, with an uncompromising focus on Health & Safety and quality

Sanco places equality and diversity at the heart of everything we do. We strongly believe that diverse, complementary teams are the most effective and this

belief is embedded in our values. Sanco is intent on promoting and effectively implementing positive policies that will foster equal opportunities and diversity in employment.

Emrah (pictured with Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London) is a leading local businessman keen to help local young people and apprentices find their path into the construction industry and will be working alongside local education providers and chamber to help the community he is proud to be part of.

DELIVERING YOUR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS Building Contractor based in Bermondsey

Our full service delivery includes construction of: • Industrial Buildings • Schools • Commercial Buildings • Residential • Hotels • Both new build • Retail Units and refurbishment

T: 020 8432 6918 E: info@sanco-ltd.com W: www.sanco-ltd.com A: 10 Market Place, Bermondsey, London, SE16 3UQ

22

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

New Member Profile

Aquarius Golf Club is pleased to become a new member of the Chamber A unique venue for your meetings and events with views across London.

Perhaps one of the best kept secrets in Southwark is the Aquarius Golf Club. Founded in 1912 the 9 hole course was laid out on the roof and around Beechcroft Reservoir, which was completed in 1909.

At the time it was Europe's largest under ground reservoir, still operational today and holding 55 million gallons of water.

Competitions have been played at the Aquarius since 1913, with breaks for both World Wars.

In 2007 the club successfully registered as a CASC,

Community Amateur Sports Club, a government initiative to aid sports clubs by giving rates relief.

The club is probably unique in that it is run by volunteers.

In May 2010, they were accredited with Investors in Volunteers assessment, not just the first Golf Club in England, but the first sports club in England to be awarded Investors in Volunteers.

Another unique point of the golf club is the fabulous views of London, from the O2 Dome to the London Eye.

We invite all Southwark Chamber of Commerce members to play a courtesy round.

You will be assured of a warm welcome so please don't hesitate to contact Jim Halliday on 020 8693 1626 or secretary@aquariusgolfclub.co.uk

Aquarius Golf Club

Aquarius Golf Club the ideal venue for your business meetings

The Aquarius Golf Club is a unique venue with a bar, patio and a function room ideal for your business meeting or networking.

There are good transport links by bus and train and there is free on-street parking.

We provide a professional service and can offer full catering and bar facilities for any business meetings.

For further information call Jim Halliday on

0208 693 1626

e: secretary@aquariusgolfclub.co.uk Marmora Road • Honor Oak • SE22 0RY

www.aquariusgolfclub.co.uk

In 1920, two schoolboys from Alleyn's School started playing golf at the Aquarius Golf Club. They were Leslie Cotton and his brother Henry Cotton.

Just three years later Henry Cotton won the Pilling Cup, the men’s knockout and the Club Championship, the Hutchings Trophy & Leslie won the Bogey Cup. In 1924 they became professionals.

Henry was to become one of the greatest players of his generation, winning the British Open in 1934, 1937 and 1948.

Leslie became well known as a teaching professional and was a legend in Johannesburg for over 40 years.

English Heritage erected a blue plaque to Sir Henry at his childhood home at 47 Crystal Palace Road in July 2017, making him the first golfer to be recognised by English Heritage.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

23

Scaffolding Services for Commercial and Residential across London

We are BCM scaffolding services Ltd and are one of the leading access providers within the Greater London area.

We are based in Southwark and as a company we not only aspire to be the best, we also strive to be the safest scaffolding company within the industry.

Our clients appreciate the efforts our staff go to in making your job as straight forward as possible.

BCM Scaffolding Services Ltd 69 Southampton Way SE5 7SW London T: 020 7252 4688 F: 020 7252 4644 E: info@bcmscaffolding.co.uk

www.bcmscaffolding.co.uk

Awarded the Gold Standard for the Considerate Constructor Scheme 2010/2013

PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE SOUTHWARK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR OVER 20 YEARS

D Did Di id you yo y know kn kno k

tha yyou th that yo ou ccan ca tr ttrai aand tra train an u upskil up ups upsk upski upskill you your yo existing eexist existi exi ex existin xis staff st sta staf s via v an vi a apprenticeship apprentices apprenti apprentice apprenticesh apprenticeshi apprentic appren apprent appre aap app appr fframewo fr framew frame fram framework? framework framewor ra An th And t b the bes be n best ne new news is i th that t w tha wi SSt wit with Ste Step Ah Ahe Ahea Ahead it i d doe doesn doesn’t does need do doesn’ n nee to ne t ccost cos you co yyo a penny! penny pen penn pe P PS. PS S. We W can ca c al aalso pr als p pro prov provid provi a ful provide ffullyfu fully full -fun ffunded funde fund u rre recruit recru rec recruitme recruitm recrui recruitmen recruitment ecr sserv ser se servic service servi ffor fo busin business businesse b bu bus busi busine busines businesses iin the t th Southwark Southwar South So Southwa Southw Sout Sou ar a are area

Contact us NOW to find out how we can help your business to thrive 07714 733677 sahan@stepahead.co.uk 07949 281151 mariam@stepahead.co.uk Renowned for Excellence in Recruitment & Training

Meeting and event spaces that inspire at QMUL Discover unique and unusual venues in central London at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) within zones 1 and 2.

QMUL offers the unique opportunity to share the facilities of a Russell Group university with a global reputation with your next event.

With QMUL you can choose from an extensive range of unusual space awaiting discovery moments from stations such as Bank, St. Paul’s and the Barbican along with facilities in Mile End and Whitechapel.

• Flexible venue space for up to 770 ideal for networking, private dining, away days, gigs, rehearsals and events.

• Residential availability for 1,200 each summer.

• Knowledgeable and passionate event professionals, committed to mutual success.

• Delegate packages and dry hire available.

• Unusual event space available for hire includes the Great Hall and Octagon.

• In-house event catering team, focused on quality ingredients and excellence in service.

Great Hall: the People’s Palace was unveiled following a £6.3m refurbishment. Home to the Great Hall, a technically advanced 770 seat theatre with retractable seating, dressing rooms and one of London’s largest stages and originally opened in the 1930s, this art deco masterpiece has seen the likes of the Rolling Stones and Damon Albarn grace its stage.

Victorian Octagon: with a flat floor of 450sqm the Octagon is suitable for networking and drinks receptions for up to 400 or as a spectacular backdrop for a dinner for 220 this versatile space offers flexibility and ambience.

To discover more about QMUL: visit www.qmhospitality.co.uk call 020 7882 8174, live chat on our website or email to enquiries@qmhospitality.co.uk or connect on social media: Twitter: @qmhospitality Facebook: /qmhospitality

020 7882 8174

QMHospitality.co.uk

ALL YOUR SUMMER CONFERENCE NEEDS ON ONE SITE IN CENTRAL LONDON Providing conference venues, accommodation and dining on one site in London E1 throughout the summer as well as year-round venue hire.

RESIDENTIAL DELEGATE RATES FROM

£102+VAT

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

25

Hospitality

An Aquarium in a Railway Arch

By Susan Isaacs Arts and Culture Correspondent

The Bar Douro in Union Street Blue and white fish painted on white tiles stare at you inquisitively, the minute you enter this jewel of a Portuguese restaurant in Flat Iron Square, Union St.

Some fish are small and plump, some long and thin, and they pass the time when the restaurant is not too busy, exchanging stares with the blue and white chickens and pigs painted on the tiles at the other end of the restaurant.

These tiles shout Portugal at you. In Portuguese they are called ‘azulejos’ and are a distinctive feature of Portuguese design.

There are swirly marbled work surfaces that weave in and out of the stools by the window.

The marbled theme continues when you go into the massive loo. It is so large, and so airy it seems a shame not to have a dinner party there too.

Stools by the windows look out onto the expanse of Flat Iron Square, an ingenious conversion of a railway arch

into a hip and happening place to go. Coloured vans sell icecream and sausages, and fairy lights give the yard the atmosphere of a shindig.

People stroll through the square wheeling push-chairs and licking ice-creams, despite the cold weather.

If you choose to sit by the bar facing away from the window, you can watch the food being prepared, and look at an impressive array of Portuguese wines from every part of the country. I sipped on a delicious glass of Soalheiro, Alvarinho from Minho in the North of Portugal. You face a huge black board chalked with the day’s delights, so high up that you wonder if they got vertigo writing the menu. The lights over the bar look like orange drops, edible in themselves.

If you glance upwards the roof has vast metal pipes, displayed like an art installation, with intriguing little blue buttons.

The three year old in all of us might be tempted to fiddle

26

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

with those buttons, but fortunately they are buried high enough in the ceiling to stop you from trying.

I must say my heart did sink when I saw the bar stools.

There are some people who are blessed with very long legs and small bottoms. They love bar stools. I am not one of them. But fortunately I got there early and located a nice comfortable low chair designed for mere mortals like myself.

I grabbed it quickly before someone else did.

Lunch started with a selection of petiscos(they called them snacks in the menu, but they would have made a delicious main meal in themselves.)

There were, to mention but a few, spinach pastries, Portuguese sausage, and salt cod fritters. The mixture of pickled and smoked tastes sharpened our appetites, and the vivid colours of orange, cream, green and brown, glowed on the white plates.

We were so full we could hardly manage to get down the main course of spicy piri chicken wings, char grilled tenderstem broccoli with ginger, and the onglet steak with confit egg.

By this stage my dining partner was bursting at the seams and could eat no more.

I was greedier and scooped out delicious spoonfuls of Pastel de Nata, a sweet custardy Portuguese dessert.

As I gulped it down, I could have sworn I saw one of the fishes on the blue and white tiles wink.

Do make it your business to try their delicious food at Bar Douro. I recommend the restaurant not just for the food. I love the ingenious and beautiful way the long narrow space has been converted into a celebration of Portuguese azulejos. And anyway, you would not want all those gorgeous blue and white fish to get lonely.

Hospitality

A Secret Hideaway, Buried Away in Borough Market

By Susan Isaacs Arts and Culture Correspondent

Arthur Hooper’s

Arthur Hooper’s is a discreet restaurant, only open since May. It is tucked away by the line of narrow shops to the left as you enter Borough Market from London Bridge. Unless you know it is there, you could easily walk straight past it.

The décor is discreet, black leather sofas, small tables, and dark walls. The one striking thing about it is an arresting image of a girl in a black coat, above our table. The girl is clasping her hands together, her face half hidden in an enormous cloud of black hair.

Could it be the pitted vinci olives, or the foccaccia that really make this restaurant fun?

The alluring list of small dishes that can be shared, and dipped into, are certainly a find. We tried friggitelli peppers with sea salt, baby spinach with radicchio and blood orange salad, as well as roasted cod, lentils and turnip tops, and lamb and bulgar meatballs with tomato sauce.

They were all delicious.

Cheerful deputy manager Angus and general manager Sergio talk about daily life at the restaurant.

“It’s a very datey sort of restaurant,” says Angus, “You see a lot of couples.

People like to share the small plates, and try each other's out. But we get all sorts of people, business people, tourists, and locals. And a lot of women. It seems a real favourite with women.”

It is the first venture for the owners, who have previously only run pubs, and they have used to the full the facilities offered by the market to bring fresh, beautifully cooked food, to the customers who regularly find their way to the restaurant.

So bread comes from Borough Market bakery Bread Ahead, and fruit and vegetables from a plethora of different market stalls just minutes away.

The menu is decided by the chef Lale, who has a background in Italian cuisine, as indeed has Angus, who worked for Italian restaurants prior to this. Wine is chosen by general manger Sergio, and this can be seasonal.

A rosé wine for example will fly off the shelves in spring and summer, but might linger neglected over the winter.

So what is the way forward for the restaurant, I asked Angus.

Are there plans to expand into a chain? Angus hesitates for a moment, and then throws

a glance towards the bustle in Borough Market, just outside.

“Bigger and better,” he says, “that’s the way forward and we would like to have more food outside.”

As I look round the market, bustling even though the weather is chilly, I can see exactly why. Arthur Hooper’s Restaurant was born in the heart of Borough Market, and draws its supplies from there.

What more natural thing than to move right into the heart of the world that gave it birth.

“You see a lot of couples. People like to share the small plates, and try each other's out. But we get all sorts of people, business people, tourists, and locals.

And a lot of women. It seems a real favourite with women.”

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

27

Women in Business

Successful Business Women in Southwark This issue we talk to a businesswoman who makes a difference in their field.

Handling complex cases amid strong emotions development

Clare said: “When I qualified 12 years ago, I was dealing with a wide range of Court cases and we only had occasional enquiries relating to disputes after death. I have always found those cases interesting, and so undertook further specialist training.

“Over the years the number of cases has increased significantly and now they can take up 80 per cent of my time.

Clare Kelly Lawyer Anthony Gold Few events in life prompt as much strong emotion as death and dealing with the legal disputes that can sometime arise from bereavement is the job of lawyer Clare Kelly.

Clare, who works for Southwark law firm Anthony Gold, specialises in probates and Inheritance Act disagreements, advising people on everything from disputed wills to arguments over property – and her workload is increasing as people live longer and rising property prices make them wealthier.

She moved into the role having trained with the firm before qualifying in 2005. She became a partner in 2011 and qualified as a mediator in 2012.

28

“Dealing with such disputes can be a challenge because there are strong emotions at work and you are often dealing with complicated family structures.

“An area like Southwark can be particularly complicated because it is very diverse and you have some complex family structures. We have, for instance, dealt with disputes involving polygamous West African families or Caribbean families with separate branches.

“There are many diverse backgrounds in Southwark and people have some fascinating stories to tell but it can make handling legal disputes more complicated.”

Clare believes that the relentless rise in property prices over recent decades is one of the reasons for a growth in disputed wills and probates.

She said: “People are getting wealthier. They might not have a lot of money as such but property prices have changed everything.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

“You have families that came to the area thirty or forty years ago, maybe fifty years ago, and bought a house that was worth £30,000 at the time, perhaps through Right to Buy. “Rising property prices mean that the same property can now be worth £300,000, maybe more. Whereas £30,000 might not have been worth arguing about when someone dies, a property that is worth £300,000 or £400,000 can be.

“I think we are also seeing more cases as people live longer, particularly as incidences of Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia rise.

“You may get someone with dementia who makes a decision when they are not quite in their right mind, which can lead to a dispute over the will when they die.

“I think another key reason for the increase is the number of people who remarry, often later in life, which can lead to complicated family structures and disagreements when it

comes to what has been left in a will.

“Ideally, you want to find common ground in cases like this and avoid them going to court but sometimes the law we deal with demands that a judge hears the case.

“All the signs are that the number of cases we deal with surrounding death will continue to grow in the years to come but I enjoy the work and I like the people “

Anthony Gold Solicitors is also growing. The firm was set up

by Tony Gold in 1963 with a staff of two but today there are 31 partners, all experts in their fields and recognised as outstanding individuals in the legal world by Chambers, The Legal 500 and their peers.

The firm, which is based in three London locations, specialises in diverse areas of the law, including personal injury, family, housing, commercial and employment as well as Clare’s area of expertise.

“There are many diverse backgrounds in Southwark and people have some fascinating stories to tell but it can make handling legal disputes more complicated.”

Voice from Westminster

Better protection for businesses needed Neil Coyle MP It has been nine months since the horrific terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market and the Government have finally listened to the concerns I have raised about the inadequate system of terror insurance. On 22nd March the Government announced it will bring forward legislation to close the loophole which left over 150 businesses in our community with insufficient redress.

In 1993 ‘Pool Reinsurance’ was established by an Act of Parliament requiring insurers to pay into a central, Government backed system. The legislation focused on ‘physical damage’ resulting from terror attacks of that period: Provisional–IRA bombs aimed at economic infrastructure like Canary Wharf and the Manchester Arndale Centre. More recent attacks deliberately target innocent civilians with vehicles and knives including last June, when eight people were murdered and 48 injured at London Bridge and Borough Market. The subsequent ten day police cordon prevented businesses and traders from opening.

Firms lost staff, stock, contracts and customers. Some employees left and bookings

were lost. These issues do not count under the current framework as ‘physical damage’ but their estimated costs to local businesses were over £2 million.

I am aiming for the Government to include these issues under the Pool Reinsurance system to better protect businesses from future attacks, but also hope that the Government will retrospectively extend the new coverage to help in Southwark and all areas affected by attacks last year.

If it wasn’t for the community stepping in then some firms would have gone under. One small trader even had their mortgage paid by public donations immediately after the attack. Almost £50,000 was donated and the Borough Market Trust donated a similar sum. Southwark Council also stepped in and provided over £100,000 in rates relief and Sadiq Khan has donated nearly

£300,000 as London Mayor.

Business to business support was also incredible with companies like NEWS UK giving their staff lunch vouchers to use in the market worth about £25,000. I am incredibly proud of this superb generosity from local people, firms and politicians but am exasperated at the Government’s attitude to date: not a penny has come from the Treasury or Ministers nationally despite meeting the employers directly affected.

I hope the new legislation will rectify that imbalance.

The Government also hit the area with a Business Rates

revaluation that has affected many local firms. Some face an 80% increase in the SE1 postcode.

After lobbying, the Chancellor committed £300m to help mitigate the damage and Southwark Council Cabinet lead for Business, Johnson Situ, has been working to help businesses worst affected. I am meeting a delegation of Borough High Street businesses to speak about this ongoing concern but if you are also affected please contact me by email: Neil.Coyle.MP@Parliament.UK or call: 020 7219 8733.

“I am incredibly proud of this superb generosity from local people, firms and politicians but am exasperated at the Government’s attitude to date: not a penny has come from the Treasury or Ministers nationally despite meeting the employers directly affected. I hope the new legislation will rectify that imbalance.”

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

29

Health & Wellbeing

Variety Act While your employees can certainly benefit from the more traditional facilities Everyone Active has to offer, we’re so much more than sports halls, swimming pools and gyms.

Discover precisely what else your employees can enjoy thanks to your corporate partnership with Everyone Active.

We all know the obvious benefits to linking up with a leisure operator and offering discounted membership to employees as part of their employment packages.

Not only will a happy and motivated workforce be more productive and profitable, but healthier employees will also take fewer sick days, further upping productivity, while saving the business cash at the same time.

But with discounted gym and leisure centre memberships such a common employee benefit at the moment, what can you do to ensure you attract the best new staff and help retain your best employees at the same time?

Well, Everyone Active isn’t the average leisure operator.

Beyond the standard offerings

such as gyms, swimming pools and sports centres, it offers a huge variety of activities for your employees to enjoy, even within the confines of Southwark.

Two examples of this can be found within a mile of each other in the desirable docklands area of the borough, namely the Southwark Athletics Centre and the Surrey Docks Fitness and Watersports Centre.

The former of this pair is the ideal place for any athleticsobsessed employees to hone their art – whatever discipline they may enjoy the most – while any that may wish to take up athletics can do so for a reduced price. The six-lane, 400m running track is ideal for sprinters, middle-distance and long-distance runners alike to hone their skills and fitness

levels, while the jumping pits are ideal for both triple-and long jumpers. The centre also boasts a shot put ring, meaning we cater for a range of different athletics disciplines.

Furthermore, it’s also the perfect location for a staff away day, or team-building sessions.

It’s here where the Fitness and Water Sports Centre excels too.

Alongside its superb dry facilities – which include a fullyequipped, ultra-modern gym and a group exercise studio – the 1km dock plays host to a variety of different water sports for you and your employees to enjoy. On hand are British Canoeing and Royal Yacht Club-accredited instructors to help you learn new skills out on the water. Available activities include sailing, power-boating, kayaking, rowing, canoeing and much more.

Not only will these make fantastic corporate days out, or team-building sessions with you and your employees (as well as being right on your door step), but with a corporate discount deal with Everyone Active, both prospective aquatic aces and more experienced mariners among your team will be able to enjoy these fantastic facilities at their leisure as part of your deal with Everyone Active.

As well as having all these fantastic facilities on your doorstep in Southwark, we have centres all over London and the south east too, meaning your employees can take full advantage of their discounted membership both at home and at work.

To find out more about corporate membership packages with Everyone Active, why it can benefit your business and how our fantastic variety of available facilities can help both you and your employees get active, have fun and improve your health, get in touch with Ben Moger at benmoger@everyoneactive.com

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

31

Last Word

The Last Word

Upcoming Events Join our informative and engaging range of events.

A perfect opportunity to make new business contacts.

We’ve designed our events to help you broaden your network, learn something new or get involved with key topical issues for businesses in Southwark.

Our networking events are great for regular members to make and maintain useful contacts, and we always welcome first-timers.

DATE

EVENT

Friday 20 April 8am - 9.30am Thursday 26 April 6pm - 8pm May (TBC) Thursday 21 June Tuesday 10 July Board 18.15

Please check the website www.southwarkcommerce.com for updated information.

Times and locations to be confirmed.

VENUE

Anthony Gold offices, Counting House, 53 Tooley Street, London SE1 2QN

GDPR SCC Annual General Meeting

Dinner at the House of Lords

Hosted by Lord Kennedy of Southwark Southwark Business Awards Black Tie Annual Riverboat Trip

The George Inn, Borough High Street, SE1 House of Lords

Hilton Bankside London, 2-8 Great Suffolk Street, London SE1 0UG Board at the Festival Pier

Southwark Chamber of Commerce welcomes its latest member companies Aquarius Golf Club

Jim Halliday Secretary Mamora Road, Beechcroft Reservoir London SE22 0YR T: 020 8693 1626 E: secretary@aquariusgolfclub.co.uk

Industrial Plastics Ltd

Mark Del Canto Director Unit 13 Canterbury Industrial Park 297 Ilderton Road London SE15 1NP T: 020 7252 9600 E: mark.delcanto@ipl-london.co.uk

Jan Towers Solicitors Ltd

Josephine Nonyelu Director Unit 3 Action House 53 Sandgate Street Peckham, London SE15 1LE T: 020 3887 9265 M: 07772587757 E: info@jantsolicitors.com

Sanco Construction

Emrah Coskun Director 10 Market Place, Bermondsey London SE16 3UQ T: 0208 432 6918 E: info@sanco-ltd.com

James Gill

bodytonic clinic

Director & Registered Osteopath

I came to London from Norfolk in 2002 to study a 4 year degree at the British School of Osteopathy (now the University College of Osteopathy) in Borough.

I graduated in 2006 and have been a registered osteopath for nearly 12 years. I opened bodytonic clinic in 2013 and we now have 3 clinic locations (Canada Water, Stratford and Wapping) and 20 therapists and staff. Last month we opened a large clinic space with a rehab studio in the Dock Offices in Canada Water SE16.

Q1 What was your first job and what was the pay packet?

My dad is a farmer so from a young age I worked on many jobs from painting barns to corn carting at harvest. I was paid minimum wage at the time so around £3-4 an hour.

Q2 If you were prime minister, what would be your first decision?

I would implement a package of incentives and help for local & independent businesses, especially in London. Such as more business rates help, faster processing of licensing and planning and better business advice and help. Also to hold big developments to account regarding their promise of support for local and independent businesses.

Q3 What is the biggest challenge in your business?

There are two – the first is staying relevant and up to date with all the changes that technology brings.

The second is recruitment especially at the initial stages. We find that candidates are ill prepared and usually have not checked or updated their CVs. First impressions are so important.

Q4 If you could do another job, what would it be?

It’s difficult because I love what I do but I also love photography so possibly a photographer who gets to travel the world.

Q5 What's your favourite London building?

Technically it’s not a building however the north side of Waterloo Bridge looking south is my favourite purely for the views from Canary Wharf to Battersea.

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

33

Join Us

Join Us

The Chamber is made up of active and successful business people from a wide range of sectors, who are based in Southwark, believe in Southwark and wish Southwark to prosper.

Our Committee Chairman Richard Kalmar President Neil Coyle MP

(MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark)

Vice President Lord Roy Kennedy

Making the most of your SCC membership

Once you’ve joined us you have access to the opportunities we provide to help support you and your business. Whether you simply want to attend our networking events, run a seminar or sponsor or run an event, we’d love you to get involved. We like our members to make the most of their membership and get as involved as much as they can.

(House of Lords)

Vice President Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP (MP for Camberwell and Peckham)

Vice President Baroness Jowell DBE PC

(Former MP for Dulwich and West Norwood)

Patron The Worshipful Mayor of Southwark Charlie Smith Patron Sir Simon Hughes (Former MP)

Council and Community Representatives Councillor Johnson Situ

(Cabinet Member for Business, Employment and Culture)

Abdul Mohamed

(Past Mayor of Southwark and former Councillor)

Executive Members

Vice Chair Vice Chair Vice Chair and Honorary Solicitor Honorary Secretary Honorary Treasurer Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Executive Member Administrator

34

Yoko De Souza Les Johnson

Peter Mantell Ken Hayes Karon Cook Roger Beckett Edward Cree Barrie Cunning Duncan Field Peter Hadfield Dan Harder William Harwood Susan Isaacs James Kislingbury Barry Langfield Cait Wilkinson Sonia Sutton

Southwark BUSINESS TODAY

Membership Application • Sole trader

£100 per annum

• Large companies - 51 employees plus

£300 per annum

• Small/Medium sized companies 2 to 50 employees £150 per annum • Corporate/PLC’s by agreement.

• All new members pay a one off administration fee of £25 Company:

Address:

Post Code:

Telephone:

Email:

Number of Employees: Full Name:

Position:

Payment Details: BANK DETAILS: SORT CODE:

HSBC - SOUTHWARK C OF C 40-06-21 ACCOUNT NO:

21357646

To join, please send your details to: Southwark Chamber of Commerce Southbank Techno Park, 90 London Road, London. SE1 6LN Tel : 07477 581977 Email : admin@southwarkcommerce.com www.SouthwarkCommerce.com Twitter : @southwarkcomm Facebook : southwarkcommerce

SOUTH LONDON'S LEADING AGENTS

KALMARs are an expanding firm of South London

estate agents and an independent property adviser.

Our expansion is being achieved through improving client service by planned growth and training. We have many years’ experience as South London estate agents with

average time for staff at the company being 8 years,

complemented by a young enthusiastic team. We have an

unrivaled record in sales and lettings of commercial and residential properties in the South London area.

AGENCY

Our principal objective is to provide a professional service

with quick results whilst maintaining complete integrity.

As South London Estate Agents we offer Development,

Office, Industrial, Retail and Residential Sales and Letting.

DEVELOPMENT

We offer a comprehensive package on development

projects starting at the site appraisals stage, often prior to

acquisition, working with other professions in developing plans, continuing with sales and marketing advice, and

concluding by arranging a letting or sale.

Jamaica Wharf

2 Shad Thames

London SE1 2YU CONTACT US

Telephone: 020 7403 0600

Email: info@kalmars.com

www.kalmars.com

Become a part of Everyone Active Southwark

All-inclusive corporate membership for only ÂŁ44 Unlimited gym, swim and classes Access to over 160 Everyone Active clubs Takes just five people to set up a corporate subscription To register your company or for more information: corporateteam@everyoneactive.com

*T&Cs apply. Limited availability. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers. Minimum of 5 new members required to set up a corporate company. Available to UK residents 18+.

See www.everyoneactive.com/terms-and-conditions for full terms.

everyoneactive.com

everyoneactive

@everyoneactive

Join now and pay no joining fee*