Business 30 October 2013

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GIVE SHOPS A (TAX) BREAK

BRIDGE ON A WIRE

VIRGIN TERRITORY

How business rates are holding back retail sector growth

Tech firm etches landmark onto wire thinner than human hair

New start-up partnership that could help your idea take off

Business bristolpost.co.uk

www.

30 OCT 2013

AVONMOUTH & SEVERNSIDE SPECIAL

PORT OF CALL FOR INDUSTRY From the thriving docks and giant distribution centres to the growing green energy sector, Avonmouth is a powerhouse of Bristol’s economy

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www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Legal

Retail doctoring

We’re delighted to be recognised with award

Footfall on up – thanks to revamp

● GREGG Latchams LLP has been awarded Law Firm of the Year (under 15 partners) at this year’s Bristol Law Society Awards.

The title was awarded in recognition of the Queen Squarebased firm’s commitment to developing services targeted to the needs of its clients and the business community, including its innovative in-house lawyer service which offers SMEs access to legal services for an annual fixed fee.

Senior partner Andrew Gregg said: “We were delighted to be recognised for our achievements and the high standard of service we provide. We are constantly innovating and developing to stay ahead of competition and are proud of our ability to compete with much larger firms.”

A FRAMING shop in Stokes Croft has benefited from the work of a retail consultant, thanks to a new initiative by the local business forum.

Niche Frames has new waiting areas, films, signage and views for customers to see inside the workshop, thanks to a six-month project organised by the Stokes Croft Traders and Business Forum.

The scheme, led by Destination Bristol, saw Jane Brewerton and her team at Niche Frames working with London-based retail doctor Alan Kilby, from Way Ahead.

Last week the final installations were completed at the Niche Frames store and workshop.

Ms Brewerton said: “Implementing Alan’s suggestions has taken some time and has been a gradual process but we have definitely had more footfall in the shop which has led to an increase in sales and a higher profile for the company.”

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● Jane Brewerton, director of Niche; Peter Brewerton, MD of Niche; Alan Kilby, Way Ahead Retail Doctor

Asset management Meet the Buyer

Small firms’ chance to pitch to big boys ● SMALL businesses are being given the chance to pitch their wares to a host of the region’s biggest companies at a special Meet the Buyer event in Bristol.

Bristol City Council has teamed up with the Federation of Small Businesses to stage the event at the Regus, Temple Quay, on Wednesday, November 20.

They are appealing for smalland medium-sized enterprises to sign up by Wednesday, November 6.Visit http://bristolmeetthebuyer. eventbrite.com/ to do so.

Get in touch Assistant Editor (Business) Gavin Thompson Call 0117 934 3336 Email gavin.thompson @b-nm.co.uk Twitter @gavin_thompson1

Writer Rupert Janisch Email business@ b-nm.co.uk Advertising Robert Rodgerson Call 07828 941469 Email rob.rodgerson @b-nm.co.uk

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Advertising Jane Chapman Call 01179 343025 Email jane.chapman @b-nm.co.uk Advertising Simon Coy Call 07736 900 705.

Email simon.coy @b-nm.co.uk

Floatation target for funding experts Gavin Thompson Assistant Editor (Business) gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

A

PILL-based firm is aiming to float on the stock market – having been run from the founding partner’s house only eight years ago. Clifton Asset Management, which moved to the North Somerset village in 2005, employs 100 people – but intends to embark on a recruitment drive in the new year, hiring as many as 40 more staff in 2014.

Chairman Adam Tavener, 51, said: “Eight years ago we moved here – and before that we were based in my house. We had to build an office outside. There were 20 people coming

and going every day in my house. In the end my wife said ‘Either they go or I go’.

“We moved here eight years ago and rattled around in the place. Within three years we had run out of space and had to buy the place next door.

Then we bought the one the other side.”

The business was founded at Christmas 1985 in Whiteladies Road – hence the name.

The firm has gone from strength to strength since, carving out a niche in pension-led funding for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Pension-led funding allows business owners to invest in their company using their personal pension pot rather than, or in addition to, borrowing from a bank.

Mr Tavener said: “It is an empower-

ing way of accessing funding because business owners have to ask themselves some searching questions about whether their business is worth investing in. It can also help people secure other funding – if a bank knows they are willing to put their own money in.”

Eighty per cent of the firm’s business now comes from pension-led funding. And the company has been highlighted by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills as a leader in the non-bank funding sector.

Turnover for last year, to December 31, was £6.3 million, projected to rise to £7.35 million this year. But it needs to go higher before the company is ready to float on the stock market, following the example of Bristol success story Hargreaves Lansdown.

Best deals - How the numbers stack up Business savings Inflation Business current CPI accounts accounts Bank of India

Cooperative Bank

1.01% Bank of £10,000 deposit Cyprus

1.75% £1,000 deposit

0.25% United Trust £1 deposit Bank

1.55% £500 deposit

0.12% United Trust £1 deposit Bank

1.5% £500 deposit

0.1% Bank of Unity Trust £25,000 deposit India Bank

1.49% £10.000 deposit

1.45% 0.05% Earl Shilton £1 deposit B. Society £10,000 deposit Allied Irish Bank

0.05% Aldermore £500 deposit

1.1% £1,000 deposit

Source: Business Moneyfacts - moneyfacts.co.uk

2.7 0.5 0.5 3.99

Weekly earnings

The target figure for floatation is turnover of £25 million – and Mr Tavener is confident the firm will get there sooner rather than later.

Employees have been told that a 10 per cent equity stake will be put aside for a staff share scheme, so they can reap the rewards in future. But after any floatation, Mr Tavener – who with a fellow investing partner owns 90 per cent of the company – intends to keep a controlling interest.

He said: “That is mainly because I have a low boredom threshold.”

FUNDING TIPS

VIDEO ONLINE Adam Tavener’s advice for businesses looking to succeed in Bristol

Corporation tax % %

%

Base interest rate % Ave mortgage rate %

23 20 13 10

Main rate

%

Small profits rate – below £300,000

Employer NI rates .8%

Standard rate on earnings above £148 per week

.4%

Employees in salary-related pension scheme earning up £770 p/w

bristolpost.co.uk/business

National average petrol prices .83p

131 139 140 71

Unleaded

.00p Diesel

.10p

Super unleaded

.10p

LPG

Source: PetrolPrices.com

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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Case study: Nanoscope ● NANOSCOPE Services works with technology so small it can etch an image of the Clifton Suspension Bridge on to a gold wire just 13 microns wide – a fifth of the diameter of a human hair.

The Kingswood-based firm uses focused ion beam technology to provide services to the clients in the semiconductor, materials science, nanotech, and microscopy industries.

The technology is used to etch tiny structures on to computer chips or other materials.

Founders Lloyd Peto, 43, and Alan Miller, 50, attended Venturefest Bristol last year.

Mr Peto said: “There were a few key organisations we knew we wanted to speak to – SETsquared, Silicon South West, the Microelectronics iNET, business mentors and funding organisations. We saw them all in one day at Venturefest. The South West is one of the leading European areas for nanotechnology and

● Lloyd Peto and Alan Miller of Nanoscope semiconductor development. At Venturefest this year, we hope that by showing technical innovators the advanced techniques now routinely available, we can extend the reach of this technology.”

● The piece of gold wire carrying a nano-engraved suspension bridge

Venturefest

The best in hi-tech innovation on show Gavin Thompson Assistant Editor (Business) gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

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ORTY amazing hi-tech ideas will be showcased at Venturefest, an investment event backed by the University of the West of England. Venturefest is a free, not-for-profit event that brings together entrepreneurial companies, which have a technology bent, with potential investors or other business backers.

Companies across the South West were invited to apply – and the organisers have chosen 40 to feature and pitch to the audience.

The chosen entries cover a range of fields from robotics to agriculture, as well as energy, manufacturing, biotech and gaming.

Alastair Watson – director of Science City Bristol, which is organising the event – said: “The quantity and quality of the applications

we received for the innovation showcase provide a real demonstration of the strength of the Bristol region as a location for hi-tech business starts. Last year, showcase winners told us they made valuable contacts with business advisers and investors at the event.

“We expect that real business will result from the contacts made and conversations started at Venturefest Bristol 2013.”

As well the innovation showcase, the event will feature workshops, speakers and a mini version of The Pitch, a competition in which entrepreneurs can hone their all-important pitching skills. Speakers include Ben Taylor from Renishaw, Bristol mayor George Ferguson, and Tim Harper from the World Economics Forum’s Emerging Technologies Global Advisory Council.

The event will take place on November 14 at the UWE Conference Centre. Visit www.venturefestbristol.com for more details.

The Bristol Post will be running a live report on the day on bristolpost.co.uk.

Case study: Open Hand Project tendons. 3D-printed plastic parts work like bones, and a rubber coating acts as the skin. All of these parts are controlled by electronics to give the hand a natural movement that can handle all sorts of objects.

The hand can be connected to an existing prosthesis. It uses stick-on electrodes to read signals from the remaining muscles. The fingers are individually powered and each can sense when an object is impeding its movement, giving it the ability to grasp objects gently. It means the fingers can really wrap around unusual shapes to grip them firmly.

Costs have been cut in a number of ways, from using cheaper materials in the construction, to 3D-printing component parts.

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● THE Open Hand Project aims to develop a low-cost, robotic, prosthetic hand which could change the life of amputees.

The Dextrus hand is a working prototype resulting from 23-year-old Joel Gibbard’s Open Hand Project, an open-source hardware initiative that aims to dramatically lower the cost of robotic prosthetics, making them more accessible to amputees.

Dextrus is a fullyfunctional robotic hand, with features and capabilities similar to leading advanced prosthetics but at a fraction of the cost.

The hand works much like a human hand. But it uses electric motors instead of muscles and steel cables instead of

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www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Property

Retail

City’s office market on the up, say advisers

Slashing business rates ‘is key to filling Bristol’s empty shops’

● THE Bristol office market is seeing an upturn, according to one firm of advisers which is celebrating clinching a number of deals.

CBRE’s latest report revealed take-up of office space in the city centre to be 138,187 sq ft for the third quarter of 2013, helped by its first grade-A deal of the year that saw Barclays Bank take 18,759 sq ft at Bridgewater House in Finzels Reach.

The firm vacated its previous offices in Queen Square and at Parkway North to combine staff in one modern, city-centre, building.

It showed total take-up of office space in Bristol city centre so far this year to be 427,673 sq ft, as compared to 409,225 sq ft during the same period last year.

CBRE also oversaw a deal in which Semperian relocated from Bath and London, taking 10,084 sq ft on the third floor of Broad Quay House on flexible terms.

Philip Morton, pictured, head of office agency and development at CBRE Bristol, said: “Semperian’s new office overlooks the floating harbour and is at the heart of Bristol’s business district. It is particularly pleasing to have been involved in such a major inward investment deal for Bristol.”

The office-agency team at CBRE has played a role in promoting the £2 million refurbishment of the 120,000 sq ft office building at 101 Victoria Street.

Property

Land for the people? ● BUSINESSES with unwanted land could put it to use for the community, a summit hosted by Bristol property agent Bruton Knowles heard.

Paul Matthews, head of the firm’s Bristol office, said: “Many businesses have a small piece of land that they cannot use commercially and which cannot be developed. Often it could be used by the community as a play area or piece of recreation land, or a quiet place where people can sit.”

The event was held at the Homes and Communities Agency, in Rivergate, Bristol.

● Shoppers in Cabot Circus Gavin Thompson Assistant Editor (Business) gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

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USINESS rates should be cut in order to help Bristol’s shopping areas fill empty units. That is the call from the people who run Cabot Circus and Broadmead.

John Hirst, chief executive at Destination Bristol, which incorporates Broadmead, told Business: “Business rates are crippling some of our businesses and discouraging many people from taking that step from thinking ‘Should I start a new business?’ to actually doing it.”

Business rates are collected by councils but set by central Government, which then takes the money and redistributes it to local authorities.

Rates are based on the value of business properties. The value of these properties is supposed to be reassessed every five years.

The last valuation was carried out in 2008 – before property values crashed. That has led some traders to say the figures are too high as real

“ Rents are more flexible than they have ever been in my career and business rates are as inflexible as they have always been.

John Hirst values have fallen, yet rates have risen with inflation. Instead, many retailers have looked to drive down rents – and there have been threats to pull out if they do not get a better deal.

The highest-profile local example saw the Arcadia Group, which owns brands including Burton, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Dorothy Perkins, decide not to renew leases for several stores at Cribbs Causeway.

And the situation is made worse by the Government’s refusal to revalue

properties until after the next general election, as it fears a drop in tax take.

Mr Hirst said: “Rents are more flexible than they have ever been in my career, and business rates are as inflexible as they have always been.”

Broadmead, like many shopping areas, has a number of empty properties, with the vacancy rate at 9 per cent based on square footage. It is a problem which Mr Hirst believes could be alleviated by rate reform.

He said: “If we can work towards a serious review of business rates it could address the issue we currently have regarding empty properties in town and city centres throughout the UK.” Mr Hirst said that he applauded landlords who had been more flexible, cut some rents and offered empty properties at low or even no rent for short-term occupancy just to fill the shops. But he said those landlords could only go so far.

He said: “Any empty store is one where everybody loses. Let us get around the table and talk about how we can compromise.”

His view was backed by Stephanie Lacey, centre director for Cabot Cir-

cus. She said: “If business rates could be reduced that would be of huge benefit to retailers.

“At Cabot Circus we always look at affordability of retail with the centre, so we do look at business rates in relation to their overall costs.

“Reducing business rates would be of great benefit to retailers because it would help them to lower their costs and be more successful.”

Ed Miliband recently pledged to reverse a planned rise in business rates in 2015, if Labour wins the next election. But he would do so by reversing a proposed cut in corporation tax from 21 to 20 per cent.

On a visit to Bristol, Skills Minister David Willetts rebuffed the Labour plan. He told Business: “What Labour is talking about is an increase in corporation-tax rates. Our pitch to big companies around the world looking to invest is that we have pulled down corporation tax. It is quite dangerous for Labour to propose increasing it.”

But Mr Willetts rejected calls for a rates rethink. He said: “We are providing start-up loans, lowering national-insurance costs for people starting businesses and lowering the costs of taking on first employees.”

Index rating

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City’s business confidence reaches ‘the highest in four years’ CONFIDENCE is rising sharply among businesses in the city, according to an office space provider.

Back in April, confidence had slipped to a rating of 91 in the Business Confidence Index, produced by Regus.

But it has now risen to 120, the highest in four years, with 49 per cent of firms saying profits have risen compared with 38 per cent six months ago.

The report shows efficiency savings remain firmly on the agenda for the city’s firms over the next 12 months, as they strive to make business growth sustainable by keeping costs down.

Of those who responded, 64 per cent

● Temple Quay

of firms say they will focus efficiency efforts on finding more cost-effective service providers, especially in the area of IT and telecoms.

While 45 per cent will demand a higher return on investment from marketing and advertising spend, 40 per cent will focus on ways to improve staff retention, and 20 per cent will aim to reduce fixed office space.

John Spencer, chief executive officer at Regus, said: “The national economic outlook has improved significantly since April and this is clearly reflected in our report’s findings for Bristol.

“But firms have learnt to be cautious and not overstretch themselves at this crucial stage of recovery.

“Their priority is to continue making efficiencies and keep growth on track. It is worth scrutinising every business process, especially ingrained daily routines like commuting and working fixed hours which can have a negative impact on efficiency and staff well-being.”

Regus provides flexible workspace for companies small and large and has four sites in the city, including at Temple Quay.

Mr Spencer added: “The main motivation these days for firms using our business centres is to work more flexibly; and most find that flexible workspace helps them keep costs down and creates happier, healthier and more efficient staff.”

www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Business West partnership

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Growth

Cautious welcome for economy’s recovery BRISTOL business leaders say the economy is on the up, but we cannot be complacent.

The UK economy grew in the third quarter by 0.8 per cent, the Government revealed last week. Digging beneath the headline figure shows encouraging longer term trends for the South West.

Unemployment among over 25s is down to 4.2 per cent, the second lowest in England; higher education application rates stand at 31.3 per cent; 156,080 people have been through apprenticeships since 2010; and exports are up 19 per cent since 2010.

Russell Jones, pictured, director of UK Trade and Investment in the South West said: “The region has made impressive progress in several areas, including exporting, and there are

● Sir Richard Branson dresses down Phil Smith by removing his tie

Picture: Owen Billcliffe

Virgin territory Sir Richard’s start-up loans come to town Gavin Thompson Assistant Editor (Business) gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

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● Sir Richard Branson and James Caan lead the star-studded panel forward to seeing this service, which will enable many to fulfil their dream of starting up their own business.”

Virgin StartUp is backed by Virgin’s UK companies including: Virgin Trains, Virgin Money, Virgin Media, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Active, Virgin Care and its not-for-profit foundation Virgin Unite.

These companies will provide access to staff mentors, marketing and media support, business advice, as well as space to host networking and promotional events.

Sir Richard added: “I started my first business with a handful of coins out of a phone-box at school, but it was the £300 from my mum that really kick-started our student magazine and sparked the Virgin adventure 40 years ago. Today, young people need that same help and I believe Virgin StartUp will provide it – with access to early capital, strong mentorship, advice and promotion.”

“Who says banks aren’t lending?

Ours has £250m for owner managed businesses.”

We’re not surprised to hear that our bank has set up a loan fund for businesses like ours. They funded the launch of our specialist care centre six years ago and they recently lent us almost £2m to expand, creating 50 new jobs. Like us, they care for the individual.

Dr. Angela Nall, General Manager, Pathfinders Complex and Specialist Care

0845 045 0900*

Visit our website or call 8am-8pm Monday to Friday to contact your local branch Jason Fleming, Senior Branch Manager, Bristol branch, 19 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PB

Our business is business banking

aibgb.co.uk

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IR Richard Branson has teamed up with Business West to help young entrepreneurs in the city. The Bristolbased support service and business champion, which represents companies in the area, is working with Sir Richard on Virgin StartUp, a not-for-profit company offering financial support, mentoring and business advice to young entrepreneurs.

Working with The Start-Up Loans Company as a delivery partner, Virgin StartUp will provide loans to entrepreneurs aged 18 to 30 across the UK as part of a collaboration with local partners, including Business West.

Sir Richard said: “Virgin StartUp is pleased to be working in partnership with Business West, the leading not-for-profit business support provider in the South West region.

“The combination of Business West’s experience in providing early stage businesses advice together with the Virgin brand and our company’s support, will be crucial in securing the success of many young entrepreneurs.

“We look forward to working together to set up many new ventures.”

Phil Smith, managing director of Business West, based at Leigh Court, said: “Virgin StartUp has natural synergy with our Ready for Business Programme and I am delighted to be part of this great service for start ups.

“Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economy of the South West and I look

positive signs that this momentum will continue. The South West saw a 3.5 per cent growth in exports in the year to June 2013 compared to the previous year. The second quarter of 2013 marked the fourth successive quarterly increase in exports from the region, with the value of export goods reaching £3.45 billion.”

However, Phil Smith, managing director of Business West, said: “If we are to have a high-skill-highwage economy, then infrastructure investment must improve.”

Ben Taylor, assistant chief executive of Renishaw, based in Wottonunder-Edge, said: “These are very positive figures, especially the low unemployment rates amongst adults. It is vital that businesses focus on developing the skills of young people.”

*Telephone lines open from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays in England and Wales. Calls may be recorded and monitored for security and training purposes. BT landline calls to 0845 numbers will cost no more than 5 pence per minute. Charges from other service providers may vary and calls from mobiles usually cost more.Allied Irish Bank (GB) and Allied Irish Bank (GB) Savings Direct are trade marks used under licence by AIB Group (UK) p.l.c. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c.), incorporated in Northern Ireland. Registered Office 4 Queens Square, Belfast BT1 3DJ. Registered Number NI 18800.

Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

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Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Avonmouth and Severnside special

WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE Think of Avonmouth and you imagine the port, industry and warehouses.

It’s not the greenest picture. But several firms in the area are working to change that.

Rupert Janisch found out how Avonmouth and Severnside is becoming more sustainable.

Case study: Sita UK

R

ECONCILING the disparity between an environmental agenda and the pursuit of profit can be a conundrum for today’s businesses. But the proponents of such initiatives insist that genuine business benefits can still be realised alongside an underlying ethical and social policy.

In and around Avonmouth, a group has been set up to effect such changes in the businesses and their surrounding residential workforce.

SevernNet, chaired and co-ordinated by Kate Royston and including a “champions group” of 14 businesses and organisations, including major companies, police and local government, aims to promote sustainability, community and enterprise throughout the vicinity.

The challenges are fourfold: firstly,

● Sita UK has recently opened a recycling facility at Avonmouth

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● SevernNet chair Kate Royston to improve transport; second, to support community engagement and improve access to work for local people; third, to promote resource efficiency and develop a “circular economy” across the area; and finally, to enable engagement with the strategic development of the Avonmouth Severnside Enterprise Area.

Essentially, Kate’s mission is to get businesses and the community communicating and working together for each other’s benefit, collaborating in a way that these disparate and isolated entities have failed to do until now, and helping each other revitalise and energise that part of the city.

Collaboration isn’t necessarily something British businesses do nat-

RECYCLING and resource management company Sita UK has recently opened a recycling facility in Avonmouth as part of its nationwide zero waste vision.

The £22 million facility can accept and sort a wide range of dry recyclables, including cardboard, paper, plastics, cans, glass and polythene. It uses advanced technology and high-speed processes to identify and separate materials, including glass and fine particles. The materials are then gathered together by a baling machine and readied for collection by reprocessing companies who can give the materials a new life.

urally – they tend to keep ourselves to ourselves.

But when SevernNet first started, a group of businesses around the port sat down and discussed how they could put each other’s waste products to use. They left the meeting with dozens of ideas and resulting get-togethers have been even more productive.

“Even though they were neighbours”, said Kate, “many of them had

The facility has already created more than 30 new jobs and Sita is planning to introduce a second shift later this year to manage an increasing volume.

James Pike, Sita UK’s general manager processing for the South West, said: “Our new facility can handle 80,000 tonnes of materials each year so there is ample opportunity for businesses to put their waste to good use and reduce their landfill tax bill at the same time.”

Sita UK is particularly keen to secure reliable streams of uncontaminated dry recyclable materials from customers in the

never met. Now they work together quite closely. In ports in places such as the Netherlands there’s a much stronger spirit of co-operation and collaboration, more public ownership and participation.

“All of those people who are involved in key decisions tend to come together and form a group that then shares a vision for the area that people then work towards and people are committed to.

region, so that it can provide a consistently high quality product to reprocessing companies. It is inviting businesses to get in touch for a free waste audit to understand how they may be able to reduce what they send to landfill.

Sita UK delivers solutions to 12 million residents and 40,000 business customers throughout the UK. It operates in more than 300 locations, from household waste recycling centres, transfer stations and landfills, to energy-from-waste, recycling, composting and secure shredding facilities.

“Here, it’s more fragmented and ports, as well as the businesses around them, are generally very private.

“A lot of these businesses are here because the port is here. But while you’ve got all that going on, you don’t necessarily get people connecting together, to be able to understand and address challenges across the area and do things about it.”

But Kate believes there is a huge

amount of potential for major industrial sites like Avonmouth, Portbury and Severnside to share resources, promoting industrial ecology for change and strategic development.

Another major issue to tackle is transport. Unless you drive, it is challenging to get across the area.

Cycling is treacherous, due to a lack of cycle lanes and the presence of so many large vehicles.

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

7

Avonmouth and Severnside special

A GREENER PORT ENVIRONMENT Case study: Nisbets in the Community NISBETS Next Day Catering Equipment was established 30 years ago and now employs more than 800 people, turning over £180 million per year.

Chairman Andrew Nisbet is keen to develop positive relationships with areas in and around Avonmouth.

In 2012 Nisbets in the Community (NiC) was formed, a scheme that enables the company and employees to get involved in community work in the local area.

The scheme is intended to become a long-term charitable project dedicated to giving back to the local community through time, donation and skills, including supporting young people.

NiC is chaired by Anne Nisbet and representatives from across the organisation make up the committee.

Among the highlights of NiC’s activities have been the renovation of Avonmouth Community Centre, where more than 50 volunteers spent three days undertaking basic maintenance work, painting and putting up new curtains.

A Christmas party in Avonmouth Community Centre for more than 150 local residents has become an annual event for Nisbets colleagues to support.

A group of volunteers also spent a day supporting a refencing project at Lawrence Weston Farm.

And a £5,000 donation was made to Oasis Academy Brightstowe in Shirehampton for its Rowing Academy, which serves four communities in Bristol.

Zoe Joyner, project innovations manager at Nisbets, said: “Supporting the local community is something colleagues at Nisbets are passionate about. NiC was established to encourage our colleagues to get involved in local projects and make a difference, not just by raising money but also volunteering their skills and time.”

Nisbets has seen considerable recent growth.

With three sites in Avonmouth, it is soon set to take on sales, call centre and warehouse staff.

Case study: The Children’s Scrapstore CHARITY The Children’s Scrapstore, based in St Werburgh’s, collects safe waste from businesses to be re-used as a low cost creative resource for children in play areas around the city.

And companies in Avonmouth and Severnside play a crucial role in providing the charity with its raw materials.

The Children’s Scrapstore has conducted a weekly tour of a number of businesses across the SevernNet area for the past three years, gathering a wide variety of waste materials which are taken to the charity’s scrap warehouse ready to be used for art, craft, play and educational purposes.

Including everything from shredded cardboard to colourful plastic inner tubes, the waste materials are distributed via the charity’s Artrageous shop and regular play sessions held at its headquarters.

The charity collects 100 tonnes of waste materials a year from local businesses.

Three SevernNet members who regularly provide safe materials to take away are Toyota Import Centre, John Lewis Distribution and DS Smith Packaging.

people need to be able to get to work but they can’t.”

In the surrounding communities, meanwhile, relatively high unemployment affects a potentially huge workforce. Why is that?

Kate’s research has shown that there was a widespread problem with access to the internet, not only in the home but publicly, and an ensuing struggle to keep up with modern job application techniques.

So SevernNet is supporting work clubs by mentoring and reporting vacancies. The clubs help people fill out jobs applications and update their CVs, with businesses posting available roles at the job centres.

There is a proposal being developed for a not-for-profit employment agency in the area. It being developed

by Ambition Lawrence Weston and supported by SevernNet, with, hopefully, backing from local firms.

Finally, there is a strategic requirement for major schemes such as new flood defences, a new junction on the M49 and shared infrastructure so the development of the area is carried out in synergy with what is already there.

In the short term, SevernNet is producing a business directory, a resource directory, information around resource efficiency, travel information and developing events and peer

networks so that key personnel at businesses and in the community can link up and start to realise the potential that’s on their doorstep.

Eventually, working with Bristol City and South Gloucestershire councils, as well as the police and the major businesses in the area, the plan is to get Avonmouth, Severnside and Portbury to really reach its potential as a thriving and prosperous hub of new and growing business.

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Walking is unpleasant in such an industrial area and often unfeasible given the vast area to cover. Public transport, meanwhile, is infrequent and extremely limited.

“We need to get public transport running across the area, cycle paths, a shuttle bus and car-sharing schemes,” said Kate.

“There’s huge concern, particularly over the link between Lawrence Weston and St Andrew’s Road –

● David Burbidge, Children’s Scrapstore; Jon Micklefield, Toyota GB; Charlie Mason, manager, Children’s Scrapstore; and Mark Bradford, production systems manager for Toyota GB

Mark Bradford, production systems manager from Toyota Import Centre, said: “This is a great initiative, and one we are delighted to be involved with.

“We estimate that around 110kgs of safe materials are diverted from waste into reusable play resources each year.

“We encourage our employees to identify and save suitable materials which are then sorted on site before being collected, free of charge, by the Children’s Scrapstore team on a weekly basis.”

Charlie Mason from Children’s Scrapstore, said: “The Portbury, Avonmouth, Severnside zone is a great sourcing area for Children’s Scrapstore due to its extraordinarily diverse range of businesses.

“From manufacturing to logistics, wholesalers to service providers, it offers a concentrated zone of companies generating unwanted resources often erroneously categorised as ‘waste’.

“SevernNet has been invaluable to Children’s Scrapstore in connecting us with numerous businesses in the area that generate unwanted safe clean materials and items.”

8

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

9

Avonmouth and Severnside special The Big Interview

THOROUGHLY MODERN PORT BUILT ON OUR RICH HISTORY As the man in charge of the Bristol Port Company, Simon Bird is in the business of making other people’s businesses happen. Rupert Janisch talks to the man who sees everyday life pass by his office in thousands of shipping containers each day.

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RISTOL’S port at Avonmouth is home to one of the city’s major businesses. And in the area lying adjacent to the Severn Estuary, it’s a landmark in itself.

From the trio of wind turbines which stand by the water’s edge to the thousands of cars filling land by the Portbury Hundred, you can’t miss the presence of a major industrial hub.

At the centre of the area is the Bristol Port Company. Bought from the city council by two shareholders in 1991, last year it turned over £78 million and the company employs 550 people full-time, giving work to another 6,500 or so who are on the estate on a typical day.

Bristol is home to one of the UK’s major deepwater ports. Competitors include the mainstays of the UK Major Port Group, such as Southampton, Immingham in Lincolnshire, Liverpool, London Gateway and Felixstowe in Suffolk. These ports are capable of docking some of the biggest boats around, not just Panamax vessels which squeeze through the narrow Panama Canal between the Americas but also Capesize ships which can safely corner the southern tips of South Africa and Chile.

In shipping terms Bristol is one of the most modern ports around, with Royal Portbury Dock opening just over 25 years ago.

But in some ways the Port Company’s trade remains romantically old-fashioned, accepting ships, unloading them and sending them away, occasionally carrying new cargo. It’s work that dockers in the city have done for hundreds of years.

And for Simon Bird, the company’s CEO, his business offers an insight into our own habits – what we consume as a nation and also what we produce.

Mr Bird also sees first-hand the discrepancy between the UK’s exporting shortfall, versus what we bring into the country.

“The trend, sadly, has been that way,” he said. “Jaguar Land Rover, which we export out of here, is a fantastic success story for the country. We export Airbus, Rolls Royce and JCB out of here as well.

“But 15 or 20 years ago there were a lot more of those companies.

“UK ports generally import more than they export. It’s a fact of life.”

Bristol’s history remains an integral part of the port’s unique offering.

In former times our city was a crucial part of the nation’s economy because of its port, its transport links, its proximity to London and the industrial heartlands of the north west of the country. And today, Bristol Port remains unique in the country, being serviced both by a motorway and a major railway line.

As our economy changes, so does the firm’s trade. Some industries grow, some fall – the key for the port is to adapt accordingly.

Take cars, for example. A decade ago, the car parks at Portbury were completely full with vehicles. Today, there are huge expanses of empty lots. You might suspect that is because trading is down. But Mr Bird insists that the change in appearance reflects different market trends.

He said: “We have seen manufacturing locations change in the time I have been here – there’s a lot more in India, China, Turkey and Europe now. Companies operate different logistics structures, with lower stock levels since 2008. They aren’t willing to take big stock on their books.

“It changes all the time. We are doing more exports as a percentage of imports now. Our job is to work with our clients to help them keep their businesses successful, try and give

“ We would recognise what is being said in the media about a recovery.

We have taken 50 people on in the last couple of months and have a healthy and thriving apprenticeships programme.

Simon Bird Bristol Port Company CEO them what they need and look at the market to try and stay ahead of our competitors.”

The weather also affects business.

Last year’s British harvest was poor and resulted in a massive decrease in the amount of grain exported.

As with many British business leaders, Mr Bird is frustrated by legislative interference from Europe.

“If you are a customer here and you fell out with us,” he said, “you could go to Liverpool or Southampton or several other deep water ports in the UK. In Europe you just have Rot-

terdam, Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Amsterdam – four ports, and the competition between them isn’t there.

“Those big ports are owned by the local governments and they let the ports to a local operator.

“The shipping lines are saying they want more competition on the continental ports. But we don’t need more competition here.

“The model is different because it’s all private sector and we fund ourselves through our shareholders.

“So for once the UK ports have all joined up to say that Europe is unhelpful. We have support across the Channel, in ports in Germany and in France, for that as well.”

So what does the future hold for the Bristol Port Company?

For at least the next five years the Deep Sea Container Terminal which would let the port accommodate the world’s biggest ships is on hold.

Something similar is opening at London Gateway next month and, in any case, Mr Bird believes global demand is not there.

“If I was CEO of a big container port that is going to be affected by London Gateway then I would be concerned,” said Mr Bird.

“But it won’t affect what we’re doing over here. We’re certainly not

going to be spending any money on that while capacity is not required.

“But the new terminal will play a role in the future of this business, I have no doubt about that.”

What is vital is constantly adapting to market trends and attempting to stay one step ahead of competitors.

“There are lots of plans and we always have a variety of commercial issues running,” Mr Bird said.

“Given the extent of the Hinckley Point C programme we expect to play an important part in that.

“We have a number of planned expansions and a lot is determined by the energy sector, which could affect our major investments.”

As the economy recovers tur nover at the Bristol Port Company is up on last year and continuing to rise.

“We would recognise what is being said in the media about a recovery.,” he said. “We have taken 50 people on in the last couple of months and have a healthy and thriving apprenticeships programme.

“It’s a very competitive marketplace. If we are looking to grow we have to take business away from our competitors.

“Fundamentally we move cargo from A to B and we are trying to become better at it.”

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Avonmouth and Severnside special The past

● Construction of the lock gate at Avonmouth Dock

● View from Penpole Point of the opening of Avonmouth by the mayor, Mr G W Edwards. The Juno is pictured entering the dock

DOING BUSINESS FOR 2,000 YEARS The story of ports in Bristol stretches back to Roman times, with the establishment of Portus Abonae at what is now Sea Mills. Rupert Janisch looks at key moments in the history of the city’s docks

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HE story of ports in Bristol stretches back almost as far as British history itself.

Portus Abonae (Latin for Port of the Avon) was established by the Romans and existed up until the year 4AD in the mouth of the River Trym, at what is now Sea Mills.

This was a staging point for the Roman invasion of Wales and was at the western end of the Roman road from Silchester in Hampshire.

It was a long time until the initial docks were created in the city centre, when in 1239 the first quays were built along the River Frome.

John Cabot set sail from Bristol for the Americas in 1497. Although history records a short-lived attempt by Joshua Franklyn to open a commercial dock at Sea Mills in 1712, not much changed at the docks until the early 1800s when William Jessop proposed fitting a dam and lock at Hotwells. The Floating Harbour was opened on May 1, 1809.

Major modifications made by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1830s and 1840s increased the city-centre docks’ capacity. But the wreckage of the ss Gypsy on the silt of the Avon Gorge in 1878 demonstrated the need for something bigger.

In 1877, Avonmouth Old Dock was opened, and in 1884 the Bristol Corporation acquired the Avonmouth and Portishead docks.

The Royal Edward Dock was built

● Aerial view of the Avonmouth area

● The wreckage of the SS Gypsy in the River Avon, 1878

● Feed stuffs from Burma being discharged at West Wharf, Royal Edward Dock at Avonmouth to the north of the mouth of the River Avon in 1908, offering direct access to the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel.

The port prospered, thriving off the import of diverse commodities such

as French and Portuguese wine, tea, exotic foods, tobacco, molasses from Cuba, cocoa and timber from West Africa, and Burmese feed stuffs.

During the Second World War the annual tonnage of the port almost

● Roman remains of Portus Abonae doubled to just under 9 million tonnes per year.

The Royal Portbury Dock was opened by the Queen in 1977, stepping up the size of ships that could be accommodated.

Since then the city-centre docks have become redundant. With the exception of Portishead, the ports at the mouth of the Avon, which were taken over by the Bristol Port Company in 1991, have expanded greatly.

www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

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Avonmouth and Severnside special The future

ISN’T IT TIME THIS SLEEPING GIANT BEGAN TO WAKE UP? Rupert Janisch looks at how Avonmouth could be the next powerhouse of the Bristol economy

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LL over Bristol there are developing areas of business potential which hark back to the city’s former industrial glories. Think of the Georgian former merchants’ homes of St Paul’s and the area surrounding Brunel’s Temple Meads station.

Another is Avonmouth and Severnside, based around the port area, which has historically been the gateway to the city’s trading glories.

Nowadays, the sprawling area covering 1,800 hectares of land over five miles between the M5 and the M49 is a sleeping industrial giant of almost boundless promise.

As such it has been identified as one of five Enterprise Areas, as well as well as the Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone, all of which fit together to help realise the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership’s vision for our city area.

Under the Government’s City Deal, the Bristol city region has newly-devolved responsibilities to help attract private investment, close skills gaps and attract new jobs.

The Avonmouth Severnside area is one part of the city expected to contribute towards the target of 40,000 jobs and £1 billion of investment to support local growth over the next 30 years. In 2010, there were some 14,200 people employed within Avonmouth Severnside. The three largest sectors in terms of employment were transport and storage (23 per cent), wholesale (22 per cent) and manufacturing (18 per cent).

These key components of employment in Avonmouth Severnside reflect its attractiveness as an area for

“ That is the challenge ahead of us really. In order for the place to really realise itself in terms of becoming a major growth area there are some issues to be worked through and solutions found. But I think the LEP is taking a lead to try and take forward these issues.

James Durie West of England LEP large-scale industrial, warehouse and distribution, energy and waste processing uses, in addition to the activities of the port and its associated storage and distribution facilities and associated industries.

The Enterprise Area will benefit from significant forthcoming infrastructure investment including an already approved deep-water container terminal at the port and improvements to provide direct access to strategic road and rail networks.

The area predominantly services activities including storage and distribution centres, energy and waste schemes including biomass power plants and general industrial development.

The advantages to Avonmouth Severnside are of course its motorway links, its proximity to the port and its suitability for warehousing, distribution, industrial and environmental technologies.

The plan is to deliver 277,168 square meters commercial floorspace in the 84 hectares of Avonmouth within 25 years, creating between 2,000 and 4,000 new jobs in 2026.

In Severnside, which covers 462 hectares, more than 1.3 million sqm of commercial floorspace is planned, bringing up to 8,000 new jobs.

But there are challenges to overcome too.

Among them is an increasing risk of large- scale flooding as well as

nature conservation and ecology issues.

Planning consents for the former ICI chemical works in Severnside, in place since 1957, could jeopardise the co-ordination and strategic development in the area as they would allow the landowner to go ahead with schemes that don’t play a wider role in the development of the area, as well as limiting the ability of the local authorities to realise infrastructure improvements such as a new motorway junction.

The lack of a motorway link is another major issue. Many believe that a new junction on the M49, to take traffic directly into the heart of Avonmouth, is badly needed.

It is a measure highlighted by James Durie, a director of Business West and also a board member of the West of England LEP, who described Avonmouth and Severnside as “potentially the largest regeneration area in Western Europe”.

Speaking about the development of the land by where at new M49 junction could be, Mr Durie said: “There have been many attempts over the years to really try and get a consensus and some sort of agreement.

“The landowners have to be willing to contribute to some degree, as well sourcing public funds in terms of paying for some of that infrastructure. That is the challenge ahead of us really. In order for the place to really realise itself in terms of becoming a major growth area there are some issues to be worked through and solutions found.

“But I think the LEP is taking a lead to try and take forward these issues. It’s early days but there’s quite a lot of work going on in the background. There’s potential for quite a lot of employee growth not just for distribution but also waste energy and other industrial uses.

“It complements the aerospace areas in Filton and the science part of the city at Emerson’s Green quite nicely. There’s a big sense that trying to pull all the industry together and having a West of England strategy is where we are going.”

But such measurements don’t come cheap. Planning consultancy WYG reckons that at 2011 prices more than £100 million is needed – just under £60 million for flood defence work (and that’s the cheap option) as well as £42 million for infrastructure.

WYG’s report goes on to say: “It is evident from the assessment that considerable potential exists for Avonmouth Severnside to develop further as an economic growth point.

“However, it is equally evident that without a concerted effort from a wide range of bodies and groups to comprehensively address the constraints to development this potential will at best be much slower to be realised but more realistically will not be achieved.

“An integrated strategy is required that can protect and enhance the areas national and international ecological standing, while simultaneously enhancing its flood defences and maximising its economic development potential.

“Such an approach will generate significant benefits for local residents and well as local, regional and national businesses.”

So to attract the investment which can unlock the area’s potential, initial investment is needed to make it suitable for growth.

So for big business and the smaller companies who want to benefit from the area’s exceptional transport links and potentially bright future, the future looks good for Avonmouth and Severnside. Funding needs to be secured and plans need finalising, but it appears this sleeping industrial giant could soon be waking.

Case Study: Dantek Environmental Services Legionnaire’s Disease at offices all over the South West and South Wales, it is looking to move into larger premises.

But director Amy Williams said there was a need for more office space for small businesses like hers, to enable companies which wanted to take advantage of the area’s transport links to stay out of Bristol.

She said: “We love being in Avonmouth and it’s the perfect place for our business, so we welcome any investment which is coming to the area.

“We’re in the process of moving to a bigger unit here but it’s quite difficult to find the right space because there’s so much competition.

“If there were more of the small industrial

estates here rather than the massive warehouse buildings used by the logistics companies, that would be what we’d like to see.

“One option is to move to the middle of Bristol but we’d really like to stay here – it just means we have to try a bit harder and wait a bit longer.”

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● So what about the small companies in the area? How are the minor players feeling about Avonmouth and Severnside’s future?

Dantek Environmental Services is a small business in the area, employing 20 people at its offices on the Avonbank business park.

A growing company, which provides water treatment services to prevent and control

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sustainable treatment and recycling of their food waste.

We transform packaged and unpackaged food waste into renewable energy and a nutrient rich fertiliser for local farms.

Commissioned in October last year our facility in Avonmouth offers supermarkets, local authorities, manufacturing organisations, restaurants, clubs, pubs and offices a cost effective and convenient local solution for the

Our facility is located at Bristol sewage treatment works and is the first co-located food waste and sewage treatment works in the country.

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Making food waste work For further details please visit our website www.geneco.uk.com or call us on 01225 52 4560

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

13

Avonmouth and Severnside special Utilities

“ It is a remarkable success story for us to have created such a specialised business ... we feel we have proven that zero waste to landfill can be possible Mohammed Saddiq general manager of GENeco

Business ‘proves that zero waste to landfill is possible’ Rupert Janisch Business@b-nm.co.uk

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NERGY created by Wessex Water’s waste-to-energy business GENeco has doubled since it started in Avonmouth four years ago. GENeco, which has been operating from Wessex Water’s sewage-treatment works since 2009, was formed to help its parent company reach the point of being carbon neutral and sending zero waste to landfill by 2020.

And since it has been in operation, energy now generated from sewage has doubled from 26GWh to 52GWh – the equivalent of powering 15,000 homes.

The sewage-treatment works, which also treats commercial liquor wastes, is now self-sufficient from an energy perspective. Surplus energy is put into the national grid.

Last year GENeco developed the first co-located food-waste recycling plant to be built at a sewage-treatment works, providing cost-effective and environmentally-friendly solutions for disposing of waste from supermarkets, schools, local authorities, restaurants and pubs in the area.

Mohammed Saddiq, general manager of GENeco, said the food-waste treatment plant had treated and recycled more than 22,000 tonnes of inedible food waste, saving it from landfill.

He said: “The plant allows us generate even more energy while at the same time produce a nutrient-rich fertiliser that is used by local

farmers. Facilities at the site are all environmentally beneficial and have placed GENeco as a leader in the South West for energy generation and recycling.”

In the last year GENeco’s food-waste recycling facility has generated more than 6GWh of green, renewable energy, displaced over 3,000 tonnes of fossil-fuel-derived chemical fertiliser and avoided the use of almost 4,000 tonnes of C02.

This year GENeco bosses struck a deal with Bristol-based Triodos Renewables to build four

● GENeco’s Avonmouth site wind turbines. The 2.05MW turbines were constructed this month and will start exporting power to the national grid during the winter.

Mr Saddiq said: “It is a remarkable success story for us to have created such a specialised business that has grown from strength to strength in the past four years. We are really proud of the success, as are our partners. We feel we have proven that zero waste to landfill can be possible.”

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Wednesday, October 30, 2013

In pictures: Business people out and about

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Lord Digby Jones spoke on the subject of What Business Needs to Succeed in Asia’s Century at a Rotary Club of Bristol dinner held at Gloucestershire County Ground

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

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www.bristolpost.co.uk/business

Up and coming

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Movers & shake-ups The future of business

The latest appointments news. Send your news to business@b-nm.co.uk

Internships

Top training Unpaid roles can prove to be a great benefit to graduates Rupert Janisch Business@b-nm.co.uk

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WO young interns are midway through a three-month trial period with a Bristol recycling company which could end up offering them permanent employment.

The unpaid internships with Collect and Recycle, which has offices in Temple Quay, see university graduates Callum Rees and Emily Stone working 20 hours a week in the company’s new marketing department, with a view to potentially becoming permanent members of staff in six weeks’ time.

The pair work from home and have weekly meetings at Collect and Recycle’s offices, where a further seven people are employed.

Callum is a 23-year-old graduate in international business management.

He studied at Swansea University and lives in Bedminster.

He said: “The work is unpaid but if I have to do it for three months to get a permanent role then that is certainly preferable to trying to get on a graduate scheme.

“Relevant experience is becoming even more important than education these days.

“The fact is that the average graduate job attracts 73 applications – more for a fixed scheme – leading to around only 10 per cent of postgraduates being able to secure such a position.

“Whether this internship leads to a permanent job or not, it is giving me

● Callum Rees and Emily Stone with director Kevin Basham, centre Photograph: Barbara Evripidou great experience – working with flexibility and involvement at top-level decisions because of interactions with owners.

“The mutual benefits of providing an opportunity are vast.

“They should be considered seriously before unpaid internships are mocked by human-resources managers.

“There are thousands of graduates desperate for experience in their desired field of work who would jump at the opportunity of an internship scheme, especially in a society where it is becoming more acceptable to align with more niche and forward-thinking companies.”

Emily, 22, from Lockleaze, said: “I chose an unpaid internship because

it offered the most valuable industry experience without the pressure of meeting lots of deadlines.

“It was a more flexible choice and I think focuses more about the journey and what valuable knowledge you can gain from it, instead of being a 9-to-5 job for money where you learn a specific set of skills and do the same every day.”

Education

Training

Consultation begins on college

Career in motors drives students

youngsters in Year 10 in 2015. It will A CONSULTATION exercise has grow incrementally until it reaches begun for the new North Somerset capacity in 2017 with 300 pupils in Enterprise and Technical College, as Key Stage 4 and 400 in the sixth prospective pupils are invited to subfor m. mit applications for the institution’s The 700-pupil college will have a opening next year. focus on science, technology, enginThe exercise is a statutory requireeering and maths combined ment ahead of the funding with a strong business ethos. agreement with the GovTECHNICAL Children will be able to ernment being comCOLLEGE PLAN personalise their pathpleted. way with expert careers It began on October HAVE YOUR SAY advice.

21 and ends in The way forward or a step Young people will mid-December. back? Comment online wear business attire and Prospective pupils bristolpost.co.uk/business will be expected to atand their parents, tend from 8.30am to 5pm, carers, employers and rather than traditional anyone else interested in school hours, in order to the opening of the new colstart to prepare them for the lege are invited to participate world of work. in the consultation by completing a With a longer working day, the questionnaire on NSETC’s website.

NSETC pupils will also be offered lots Prospective pupils are also invited of opportunities to develop to register their interest in a place. work-ready skills through a proThe NSETC will open in September gramme of clubs in sport, music and 2014 with an intake of 200 children in drama alongside competitions in Year 12. design and engineering.

It will then have an intake of 100

A FORMER Renault garage has been transformed into a state-of-the art education centre for Weston College motor-vehicle students.

The £1 million refurbishment at the South West Skills Campus in Locking Road includes two large workshops, two computer suites and two high-tech classrooms.

Applications have doubled for motor-vehicle courses. And now lecturers are seeking more employers to offer apprenticeships and work experience.

Motor-vehicle lecturer Ian Aldridge said: “Last year we had 60 full-time students. This year we have more than 120 training with us.

“Many want to be an apprentice and are in desperate need of an employer to support their training.

“The Government wants to add work-based experience to full-time education and we want more employers who need Level 3 students to help them access the working environment. Ideally employers would offer a learner an apprenticeship or a

Last year we had 60 full time students, this year we have over 120 training with us.

Ian Aldridge week’s work-experience placement.

However, we can accommodate single days through our new programmes of study.”

The year-long courses on offer include Level 1, 2 and 3 vehicle-maintenance and repair.

The refurbishment is part of ongoing £11 million works at the SWSC which includes Weston College Business Enterprise Centre, and Construction and Engineering Centre of Excellence.

Other developments include plans to create an eco-house at the rear of SWSC, which can show students practical examples of green technology in action.

● A FORMER boss of General Motors has joined business advisor Grant Thornton’s automotive advisory team in Bristol.

Bill Parfitt CBE, a former chairman and CEO of General Motors UK, is joining automotive manufacturing specialist Neil Barrell and his team to work as an adviser to automotive manufacturers, their supply chain and motor retailers.

Mr Parfitt said: “Grant Thornton’s automotive advisory team is unique in terms of its dedication to the sector and focus on providing bespoke solutions to what are often very complex situations.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I’m incredibly passionate about the UK motor industry and I want to see it rising to the challenges currently being presented.” ● BRISTOL-based Triodos Bank has appointed Rebecca Pritchard as its UK head of business banking.

She will be responsible for managing the team which lends more than £500m to some of the UK’s leading sustainable businesses and charities. “It’s an incredibly exciting time to join a bank that’s setting the sustainable banking agenda,” said Ms Pritchard. “There’s huge enthusiasm for a truly alternative approach to finance from businesses across the UK and the broader public alike.” ● THE Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has re-elected retail consultant Ken Simpson as the chairman of its 1,800 strong Bristol branch.

The FSB is the biggest business representation group in the city and Mr Simpson says he hopes under his chairmanship it will continue to grow to ensure the issues facing SMEs in the Bristol area remain firmly on the local agenda.

Mr Simpson was selected to the continue in his post at the annual meeting for the branch which took place at Arnos Vale Cemetery. He will be joined on by other Bristol business owners and entrepreneurs Carlton Bodkin (vice chairman), Caroline Brewer (secretary), Ron Pemberton (treasurer), Paul Turner and Ray Turner.