TopicUK October 2018 Edition by Yorkshire BusinessWoman & TopicUK

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YORKSHIRE EDITION

D I S T R I B U T E D

No34 BI-MONTHLY

BUSINESS

BRAND YORKSHIRE Special

To p i c U K PA RT N E R S THIS YEARS BUSINESS CONFERENCE

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FROM BUSINESS IDEA TO

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Y o rNews kshire

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Contents &Comments

This Issue 25 Jobs for Selby PAGE 8

Digital Shift in Calderdale PAGE 17

From business idea to Bubbles PAGE 43

welcome 06 Warm to Yorkshire

Chair 13 New for Yorkshire Society

Banking on success PAGE 48

Brand Yorkshire Conference PAGE 56

Challenge leads to success PAGE 90

Cover: SIOBHAN GREENE

Siobhanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got the X-factor

To the Manor re-born

The views expressed by the contributors are not necessarily those held by the publishers and therefore, no responsibility can be held by the publisher for misinterpretation. Reproduction of this magazine without the express permission of the publisher is prohibited. Whilst every care is taken in the production of this magazine, the publisher/editor and staff cannot accept any responsibility for errors in articles, advertisements or programme schedules. To subscribe to this magazine contact 07711 539047 or email editor@topicuk.co.uk. Published by Ghost Publishing Limited, Paragon Point, Paragon Business Village, Red Hall Crescent, Wakefield WF1 2DF. Law pages are written by Chadwick Lawrence & Ramsdens Solicitors LLP and TopicUK is not responsible for any advice given.

Editors notes By Alex Mason

Hi everyone, Welcome to the October edition of TopicUK. I can’t quite believe we’re heading into the final quarter of what feels like the shortest year yet; where has 2018 gone? Our inaugural ‘Yorkshire-wide’ edition of TopicUK in July received a fantastic reception from readers and partners alike, and the past monthor-so has seen us ‘topping up’ many of our distribution points across the region with additional copies of the magazine after it went out of stock. Not a bad start at all, so thank you for all your ongoing support. We’re looking forward to this year’s Brand Yorkshire exhibition on 4th October at Pavilions Harrogate where we’ll have a stand. Do come and say hello if you’re coming along. In the meantime, turn to page 57 for a guide to this year’s conference to help you plan your visit. We hope to see you there! Having seen her speak recently at

Kirklees College in Huddersfield, I was lucky enough to grab half an hour with Siobhan Greene, Head of Entertainment at ITV, for this month’s Big Interview. Siobhan was born and raised in Huddersfield, and has gone on to help create some of ITV’s biggest shows including The X Factor, Saturday Night Takeaway and I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Find out more about her fascinating job on page 24. If you’re after somewhere new to eat, we’ve got restaurant reviews galore. Group Editor, Gill, puts the Manor House in Lindley to the test on page 46, and Kevin Trickett reports back on Horbury’s Bar Bicarri on page 48. Have a read and get your taste-buds going. In this edition, we’re also delighted to welcome on board HR, employment law and health and safety specialists, Howarths, as a TopicUK partner. The team specialises in supporting SMEs, with clients including national footwear retailer, Moda in Pelle and the John Smith’s Stadium. On page 55, head of employment law, Charlotte, discusses how Brexit could affect the people you employ in your business.

Gill Laidler

Editor Alex Mason Design Rob Blackwell

The Arts Murray Edwards The Grand Theatre

Legal Matters Ramsdens Solicitors Chadwick Lawrence

Food & Drink Kevin Trickett MBE Create Restaurant

Recruitment First Choice Recruitment Stafflex

It Paul Heigham, Bellingham It

Education Ackworth School

Banking Barclays Bank

To Partner TopicUK

Tel: 07711 539047

I hope you enjoy this edition, and as always, please get involved by tweeting us @Topic_UK.

Alex

For a full list of where you can pick up your free copy visit our website: www.topicuk.co.uk

TopicUK \ October 2018

Group Editor

Printed By: Charlesworth Press Wakefield

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“An airport is the entrance to the rest of the world, but we are equally proud and privileged to be here as the Gateway to Yorkshire.” The refurbishment is a joint investment between the airport and Welcome to Yorkshire as part of a long -standing partnership, working together to attract greater levels of leisure and business tourism to the region. The tourist information centre - officially opened by Welcome to Yorkshire CEO, Sir Gary Verity - and the in-terminal décor sporting the striking branding, features stunning imagery of coast and countryside, and famous landmarks of God’s own county.

Forty years in business HOLMFIRTH BASED A+DP (ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN PARTNERSHIP) HAS CELEBRATED 40 YEARS IN BUSINESS WITH AN EXCLUSIVE EVENT.

Visitors will receive a warm welcome on arrival and they’ll be able to get lots of information about the county together with an abundance of offers and promotions to venues, museums, country estates and attractions across the region. Returning passengers can enjoy a lovely reminder that there’s no place like Yorkshire.

Attended by local companies, clients, partners and past employees, the event was in recognition of the business’ 40 years and its contribution to the local economy. The firm was established in 1978, by partners Russell Earnshaw and Steven Greaves. Russell said: “Some of our first projects took us as far as Iraq. However, more recent projects have included the design of a series of luxury car showrooms across the world, the transformation of petroleum forecourts across the country and the renovation of countless heritage buildings.”

WARM WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE

Natalie Garside, Partner, added: “This evening has given us the opportunity to thank those who have contributed to the success of the business over the years and collaboratively celebrate our achievements. We have been involved in some fabulous projects, and as a team are now keen to build on the success of the last 40 years”.

YORKSHIRE’S AWARD WINNING DONCASTER SHEFFIELD AIRPORT WILL BE GIVING PASSENGERS AN EVEN WARMER WELCOME TO THE REGION, FOLLOWING THE INSTALLATION OF THE ICONIC WELCOME TO YORKSHIRE BRANDING IN THE TERMINAL AND A REVAMPED TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE.

Sir Gary’s official opening represents another major milestone in a close partnership that began in March 2016, marking DSA as official airport partner and Flybe the official airline partner of Welcome to Yorkshire. Flybe’s stunning liveried Embraer 195 jet has been spreading the ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ message across Europe. #PurplePlane has flown the equivalent of 32 times around the planet, travelling over 800,000 miles, showcasing Yorkshire across 15 different countries and the UK, including France, Holland, Portugal, Italy, Ireland and the Channel Islands. DSA has been a strong supporter of the Tour de Yorkshire over the last three years. In May, a branded DSA/Flybe Welcome to Yorkshire car took part in the pre-race caravan and ambassadors’ tour. As guardians of the Gateway to Yorkshire, both the airport and the big yellow ‘Y’ were proud to feature in day two of this year’s tour. Steve Gill, CEO of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “We take our role as ambassadors of Yorkshire very seriously. We already know how fortunate we are to live and work in the area and it is up to us to make sure that every visitor who arrives here through our airport, has the opportunity to learn about what’s on offer.

Award for business leader JO HAIGH HAS BEEN AWARDED THE INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS YORKSHIRE & NORTH EAST NON-EXEC DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR AWARD. This regional recognition solidifies Jo’s hard work and dedication over the last 28 years of supporting SMEs all over the country to help improve their board performance, strategic direction and practice good corporate governance. Jo is the CEO of fds, a corporate finance boutique with bases in Wakefield, London and Birmingham. The Non-Exec Director award recognises individuals that have made significant contribution to the organisation’s strategy, impacted on the financial success of the company, demonstrated high ethical standards and promoted the practice of good corporate governance. Jo commented “as with everything, no award is a solo achievement. My amazing team and great clients are the ones who provide me with the support and the opportunities to achieve”.

“An airport is the entrance to the rest of the world, but we are equally proud and privileged to be here as the Gateway to Yorkshire. Our new facility allows us to showcase everything that is wonderful about our part of the world. Our knowledgeable terminal team will be able to share their enthusiasm for the region, so we can make sure that our visitors get a great Yorkshire welcome as soon as they arrive. “We’re absolutely delighted that Sir Gary is officially opening our Welcome to TopicUK \ October 2018

Winners of each of the Yorkshire & North East Awards are automatically entered into the national finals, showcasing the ‘best of the best’ in British business and take place in London on the 16th October.

Yorkshire TIC, his legendary enthusiasm for the region sets us off to a great start.” Sir Gary Verity DL, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “The striking new branding throughout the terminal is a magnificent way to officially welcome people to Yorkshire when they arrive. It’s been a pleasure to continue our strong partnership with Doncaster Sheffield Airport and unveil the newly refurbished tourist information centre, which is sure to inspire visitors to explore the many highlights that the county has to offer during their stay.”

L-R: John Huddleston and Sir Gary Verity relax in the new Welcome to Yorkshire seating area.

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PLANET HOLDINGS BRINGS 25 JOBS TO SELBY PLANET HOLDINGS, COMPRISING OF PLANET-U (ENERGY SUPPLIERS), PLANET-E (ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION) AND PLANET-C (CONSTRUCTION) HAS ANNOUNCED ITS HEAD OFFICE RELOCATION FROM LEEDS TO SELBY, AS A PART OF A NATURAL BUSINESS MOVE. The move from Leeds has opened up 25 new jobs in Selby in trade and construction roles under companies Planet-E and Planet-C. Planet Holdings has an annual turnover of £17 million and has clients including the Headingley Emerald Stadium, Yorkshire Building Society and Sale Sharks. The new head office, located in Selby Business Park, is at the epicentre of surrounding economic hubs, with close access links to Leeds, Sheffield, York and Hull. One of

the most recent projects Planet-C has undertaken is the acquisition of plots of land suitable for housing developments in the Selby area which is expected to create up to 125 affordable homes. Grant Nicholson, CEO said: “The decision to move was easy, with great access to the A1(M) and the M62 so it was a very strategic business decision. I grew up in the area so I’m really excited for this opportunity to bring new jobs to Selby.”

BEVERLEY BUILDING SOCIETY REWARDS BUSINESSES Beverley Building Society has increased the rate on its Business Postal and Business Online Accounts. And as well as rewarding businesses with the new, improved rate, it is also pledging to donate a proportion of new deposits to the Beverley Community Lift (BCL) transport charity.

balances received by 31 December 2018 to BCL, up to a maximum of £3,000, helping the Beverley-based good cause to fund maintenance work on their fleet of minibuses.

The Society is upping its Business

The charity helps elderly and disabled people get out and about. For many, it is their only link to the outside world and provides them with friendship and a social outlet too.

Postal and Business Online Account rates to 0.55% gross/AER variable from 0.25% gross/ AER variable), on balances over £1,000, with effect from 17 July. And it will donate 0.1 per cent of all new

The accounts represent part of Beverley’s

commitment to supporting – particularly local – businesses, in an environment where many struggle to make any return on excess business funds. And the Society has added the BCL donation because it cares deeply about supporting its local community. Chief Executive Karl Elliott said: “We’re acutely aware that the current environment is a challenging one, particularly for smaller, independent businesses, not least in the

NEW CONTRACT FOR SKINCARE COMPANY HARROGATE BASED BRAND MYROO SKINCARE HAS SECURED A NEW CONTRACT SUPPLYING UK CHAIN, PURE SPA. Myroo is a young brand, founded only two years ago, but has seen dramatic growth in that time. The company provides plant based skincare for sensitive and allergic skin. Pure Spa is the UK’s premier spa and beauty provider offering spa and beauty treatments for timestarved individuals in urban locations. They have 8 outlets across Scotland and London and the chain has ambitious plans to expand across the UK. Myroo is the first brand to hit the shelves in their new pure beauty zone retail concept. The concept will showcase the best of natural and vegan fact that many company bank accounts pay little or nothing in interest, and often also charge a monthly fee. “We wanted to help a little by increasing the return businesses can achieve on any excess funds they have in their account. “We also know that the kinds of businesses we serve care as deeply about community good causes as we do, which is why we are offering to donate a percentage of the new balances we receive on the account over the next six months, to BCL.” In May, BCL appealed for urgent help from the East Yorkshire community as it works on a strategy to TopicUK \ October 2018

beauty and Myroo will be a core brand. Founders Rachael Dunseath (Myroo) and Becky Woodhouse (Pure) share a passion for natural, clean beauty and entrepreneurship. Pure Spa representative Raquel Wing said: “We are very excited to work with Myroo. Their products are beautiful, affordable and work with all skin types, our customers already love them!” Rachael said: “This is a big win for us and has the potential to take our growth to the next level. We’re delighted to partner with another ambitious company that shares our values.”

R e l yi n g o n l u c k t o g e t yo u r bra n d o u t t h e re ? DO YOU RELY ON DIGITAL MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE IT’S A CHEAP OPTION? DO YOU RELY ON YOUR WEBSITE FOR SALES? Ask yourself this question. If you have a product or service that I don’t know about, how can I search online for it? We all know when we need to buy new shoes, double glazing or a software package to run our accounts, we head to Google to find a solution. But what about those products and services that people don’t know exist, they can’t be searched online for. You may have an amazing solution to my business problems but I don’t know that it exists, so I don’t know I need it! When that product or service is printed it is seen. In print, not only do you remind people of your brand, you might just be telling someone something they never thought to look up online! An example recently was when we visited a company who told us about something they sell that we were unaware of. “But it’s on our website they said” but we didn’t know you sold that product, so why would we look on your website was our answer! Had we seen it in print, we would have visited the website. Ask today about becoming a TopicUK partner and have the best of both print and digital across Yorkshire for less cost than you think!

overcome the impact of EU transport rules that are threatening its financial stability. The charity is battling to maintain its local services, which provide a lifeline for many local people. EU legislation means it can no longer maintain the commercial contracts like school transport that, for years, have contributed vital income to sustain its community transport services. In order to continue with those contracts, it would need to apply for an operator’s licence or ‘O licence’, which is not feasible for such a small organisation. As a result, as well as appealing for community help, BCL is restructuring and considering adding other services to its repertoire of help.

Charity Chief Executive Jan Stainforth said they are deeply grateful for the support of organisations and individuals, who have really rallied round since their May appeal. “We’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness people have shown since we called out for assistance,” said Jan. “We can’t thank Beverley Building Society enough for donating a proportion of deposits into its Business Saver account, and we’d say to any companies thinking of opening one: ‘come on and help us reach the maximum of £3,000, and reap rewards yourself at the same time!’”

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RELO C AT I O N FOR GR O W I N G F IR M A Sheffield company is tripling the size of its premises to cope with an unprecedented period of growth. It’s boom time for confidential waste shredding, archiving and recycling experts Russell Richardson, with over 200 tonnes of paper waste now arriving at its Attercliffe headquarters on a weekly basis – more than double that of two years ago. The company, in its 40th year, is relied on by thousands of SMEs across the country, the head office of the Formula One Grand Prix team, numerous police forces, motor giants and even famous British fashion designers. The effects of GDPR, and the company’s growth strategy, which has seen over £500,000 of inward investment in new machinery, staff and trucks, has led to business going through the roof, says MD Jonathan Richardson. “Attercliffe has been a great location for us logistically and when we set up our site here eight years ago we never dreamed we could outgrow it. But work is coming in at such a rate, our 13,000 sq ft warehouse and yard are no longer big enough.” The whole operation will move to a spacious site in Tinsley previously occupied by national delivery giants Yodel.

Avenue HQ has announced plans to open its second workspace hub with an expansion into the city.

DEMAND FOR SPACE LEADS TO EXPANSION AN INNOVATIVE, FLEXIBLE WORKSPACE COMMUNITY IS HEADING TO LEEDS CITY CENTRE TO CATER FOR THE REGION’S THRIVING BUSINESS SCENE.

Opened in late August, its customisable spaces will provide Leeds’ growing business scene with more than 200 co-working spaces and 35 offices varying in size. Situated over five floors and 35,000 sq ft, the building on East Parade will be the business’ biggest to date. Matthew Kennedy, CEO said: “Leeds is an exciting and vibrant city which has become the perfect base for growing businesses. “We pride ourselves on being a community-driven business facilitating an informal business environment,

FINANCIAL PLANNERS BACK SHARKS FOR SECOND YEAR Future Life Wealth Management is backing the Sheffield Sharks with a sponsorship deal for a second year. The company, which is based in Renishaw, will sponsor the basketball team’s shirts for the new season which started in September. Jillian Thomas, Managing Director, said: “Having sponsored the team for a year I have seen at first-hand how exciting basketball is and it makes me realise that there is more to Sheffield as a city of sport than just football. “I have also been impressed by how family-friendly the games are and by the amazing community work the club does. It makes me

proud to be associated with the Sharks.” Jillian, who is a past president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, set up Future Life Wealth Management in 2010. They have won numerous business awards and last month Jillian won the regional Institute of Directors Corporate Social Responsibility award. Sheffield Sharks head coach Atiba Lyons said: “We are really pleased Future Life are backing us for another year. Sponsorship is so important to our success. And our success on the court means we can put more back in to the community. We are looking forward to the season and the challenges that brings.”

where like-minded professionals, no matter what sector or size your business is, can work together.” The project will cost £3 million and create 20 jobs across the business. The interior of the building is being managed by Paragon Interiors Group. Listed in the Inc 5000 Europe list of fastest growing companies in 2018, Paragon is the first business to take space in the building having committed to a 10-person office. There are a variety of event spaces available throughout the building including meeting rooms, a secret garden, downstairs theatre and onsite eatery – available to tenants and the public.

TopicUK \ October 2018

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SENIOR HIRES FOR SOLICITORS LEEDS-BASED LAW FIRM BLACKS SOLICITORS LLP HAS STRENGTHENED ITS PROPERTY OFFERING WITH THREE NEW HIRES.

PROPERTY AND COMMERCIAL SOLICITOR JOINS WILKINSON WOODWARD Huddersfield law firm Wilkinson Woodward Norcliffe and Co has announced the appointment of solicitor Helen Atkinson. Helen brings with her over three decades of experience in commercial and property law. After studying at Manchester Polytechnic and the Chester College of Law, Helen began her legal career as an articled clerk. After qualifying as a solicitor in 1984, Helen began to specialise in property law and, over the past three decades, she has developed an in-depth specialist knowledge in all aspects of residential and commercial property.

The Commercial Property team has been bolstered with the arrival of Marc Warren as Partner and Kevin Hostford as Legal Director. Marc has extensive experience in commercial property and acts for a wide variety of clients including corporate occupiers, investors, lenders, borrowers and developers. Marc joins Blacks from the Leeds office of a national law firm. Kevin joins Blacks from a previous role at Whitaker Firth and specialises in commercial acquisitions and disposals, as well as residential purchases and sales for high net worth individuals. The Property Litigation team has also

expanded with the appointment of Samantha Bell as Solicitor. Since qualifying in 2013 Samantha has been dealing with property related legal disputes acting on behalf of landowners, developers, landlords and tenants. Samantha specialises in adverse possession, boundary disputes, protecting property interests and has extensive experience working in the retail sector. Marc said: “Having the opportunity to work as Partner is a real privilege. They are well established and a strong property focussed firm and I am really looking forward to working with such a fantastic team and the new opportunities this role will provide.”

Helen, who lives near Brighouse and is married with two grown up children, said: “I am delighted to be joining Wilkinson Woodward Norcliffe and Co, a trusted name in Huddersfield.” Managing Director Maureen Cawthorn extended a warm welcome to Helen commenting: “We are pleased to welcome Helen to our busy Huddersfield team. Her appointment forms part of our continuing plans to expand in Kirklees.” Wilkinson Woodward, has offices in Brighouse, Huddersfield and Halifax. It was established in 1886 and houses a team of lawyers with specialisms ranging from family law to wills, probate, employment law, commercial law, personal injury and conveyancing.

L-R Marc Warren, Kevin Hostford, Samantha Bell and Nick Dyson

SIR RODNEY WALKER ANNOUNCED CHAIRMAN OF YORKSHIRE SOCIETY A Yorkshireman through and through, Sir Rodney Walker, has been appointed Chairman of The Yorkshire Society.

and long-time supporter of the Society, the opportunity to assist the ambitious plans of the new committee is one I could not resist.

Established in 1980, The Yorkshire Society is a not-for-profit organisation that celebrates and promotes everything that is great about Yorkshire and aims to protect both the character and characteristics of the nation’s biggest and proudest county.

“It is right that at the outset I pay tribute to the outgoing chair, Keith Madeley MBE, who has worked to build the reputation of the Society over many years and I send him my best wishes for the future.

Sir Rodney brings to the Society a vast amount of experience gained over a long and illustrious career in business, sport and community service, during which he has led campaigns raising more than £40 million for charities and good causes.

“The Society’s newly formed committee has a strong desire and determination to change its future direction and will be implementing new ideas designed to establish it as the champion of the County’s people and businesses, locally, nationally and even internationally.

The worthy recipient of many accolades, in 1996 the honour of Knight Bachelor was conferred upon him by the Queen for his services to sport. Sir Rodney said “Having been a vice-president

“It is my earnest wish that the Society looks to work constructively and collaboratively with all other organisations promoting the values of Yorkshire and its people”.

“We are delighted to have Sir Rodney on board,” said CEO Phil Bell. “His contacts and leadership will help us implement a host of pro-active plans for Yorkshire, whilst his established relationship with HRH the Duke of York, the Society’s Patron, makes Sir Rodney an ideal Chairperson. We are all looking forward to working closely with him.”

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DCS WINS AN AWARD AT PARTNER CONFERENCE Boston Spa-based Deans Computer Services (DCS) is celebrating another industry award after winning Best Renewal Rates at the 2018 ESET Partner Conference. Held at the Alton Towers Theme Park Hotel, the 5th annual event recognised the best performers amongst ESET’s nationwide network of partners and associates. ESET is a global supplier of IT security solutions including a range of antivirus, disk encryption and firewall products which DCS offers to its clients as a reseller. The conference also featured a range of seminars presented by senior ESET management as well as guest speeches from former international footballer, Gordon Strachan, and sports journalist and broadcaster, Ian Stafford.

Various awards were given in each category for Bronze, Silver and Gold Partners. DCS technical manager, Guy Brook, attended the event to accept the company’s fifth ESET Partner award in as many years. Guy said: “DCS have attended all five ESET Partner Conferences – each event gives us a chance to learn more about their latest product developments and their insight on the latest security threats which we can pass on to our customers. DCS is an ESET Gold partner, which means that we’re recognised as offering highest level of product and technical skill. Our consistently outstanding renewal rates speak volumes for the quality of ESET’s products as well as our customers’ trust in DCS to advise and supply the right products for their IT needs.”

£4708 FOR CHARITY FROM SAINSBURY’S TRINITY WALK

The money raised, including a £400 community grant awarded to the trust at the start of the partnership, will be used to fuel the stars of the future and utilise the power of sport to engage with people, especially, though not exclusively, those who are disadvantaged or deprived and divert them towards more FOLLOWING A SUCCESSFUL YEAR healthy, fulfilling and positive WORKING WITH WAKEFIELD TRINITY COMMUNITY TRUST, SAINSBURY’S TRINITY lifestyles. WALK HAS RAISED A BUMPER £4708 FOR Dee O’Brien, Store Manager THE CHARITY. said: “We’ve really enjoyed working with Wakefield Trinity Community Trust over the The group was chosen by customers and colleagues in 2017 and received support from the store for the past year including fundraising and awareness raising. Customers and colleagues took part in a range of activities to raise money for the charity

including buying books from the instore charity book table, raffles and dress up days.

NEXT CHAPTER OF GROWTH FOR TECHNICAL PR SPECIALIST Huddersfield-based Scriba PR has reported an increase in turnover, which has resulted in the firm’s next wave of expansion. past 12 months. Our customers and colleagues worked really hard to help raise vital funds for the charity and we’re really proud with everything we’ve achieved.” Craig Shepherd, Wakefield Trinity Community Trust Manager added: “We’d like to thank Sainsbury’s customers and colleagues in Wakefield for their support over the past year. It has made such a difference to the charity and we’re extremely grateful for the donations and awareness we’ve been able to raise.” The Local Charity scheme is now entering its ninth year and has raised over £13 million to support local charities since 2009.

TopicUK \ October 2018

At the 2017-2018 year end, the technical PR agency’s gross revenue had increased by 49%, and the net profit had seen an uplift of 40%. As a result, Scriba has appointed its second new team member of the year – PR assistant Luci Ownsworth – taking the business’ numbers up to eight. Luci has come onboard to support the business with research tasks, targeting the media and collating client coverage, as well as building on her own knowledge of the industry. Commenting on the appointment, managing director Katie Mallinson said: “After our strong finish at the end of last year and our continued growth throughout 2018, it felt like the right time to welcome a new person to the team. Luci has already immersed herself within the company, quickly picking up the tasks that surround our technical clients, so I am excited to watch her progress in her role.”

Following the latest addition, Scriba has promoted Amy Lloyd to account manager. Having joined the firm almost six months ago, Amy has rapidly developed her knowledge of clients and has become independently responsible for key accounts, including national organic waste specialist Tidy Planet. “Myself and the team are incredibly proud of Amy’s fast progress!” added Katie. “Amy’s promotion coupled with Luci’s appointment will put us in good stead to further allow us to cement our position as a leading PR firm for the technical world. “I am excited for our next chapter of growth and what the future holds for Scriba. We’re in the process of planning a charity initiative to give something back later this year – watch this space.” The addition comes shortly after the business’ fifth year of trading. Scriba has 32 clients, including global waste shredding brand UNTHA, decommissioning consultancy RVA and fast growth tech firm Vapour Cloud.

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our vision of delivering fantastic student accommodation for a vibrant and thriving community. Phase 2 of the development will include a Chinese Incubator Unit which is expected to provide significant inward investment from China and will see a partnership in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University once complete.” New Era Developments employs fifteen people locally and completion of New Era Square is expected to create around 400 jobs. Ashley Airey, Barclays Property Relationship Director put together the funding package for the deal and said: “This is our first step in to the student accommodation market with Jerry and his team and we are delighted that Phase 1 is already complete. We have a great track record in the property sector and we’ve worked hard to understand the specific needs of the project in collaboration with local stakeholders. This enabled us to provide a tailored funding package to help build one of Sheffield’s newest student accommodation offerings as well as allowing us to add value by way of the introduction of a ‘pop-up’ branch to assist incoming students open UK bank accounts on arrival.”

NEW ERA DEVELOPMENTS

SECURES £27 MILLION FUNDING FROM BARCLAYS

SHEFFIELD BASED BUSINESS NEW ERA DEVELOPMENTS (NED) HAS SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED NEW BANKING FACILITIES AND FUNDING OF £27 MILLION TO SUPPORT THE CONTINUING DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENT ACCOMMODATION WITH BANKERS BARCLAYS.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell advised New Era Developments on the deal with Dean Gormley, Banking and Finance partner, and Andrew Wallis, Real Estate partner, leading the team.

Established in 2000, New Era Developments recently completed Phase 1 of New Era Square which provides state of the art accommodation for students. The funding from Barclays will enable the company to complete Phase 2 of the development Andrew Wallis said; “We were delighted which will take the number of student beds to work with New Era on this project. It is going to be to 656, in addition such an iconic to the provision of We have a great track for leisure and office record in the property sector development the city and play accommodation positioned around and we’ve worked hard to a huge part in the of an impressive central understand the specific needs regeneration the London Road/ square. of the project in collaboration Bramall Lane area of the city. It has Jerry Cheung, with local stakeholders. been privilege to Managing Director be able to play a of New Era Developments said: “Building New Era part in the delivery of New Era’s exciting Square in the heart of Sheffield has been vision.” an amazing journey and we’re thrilled that Barclays has been able to support this development, enabling us to complete

NEWS

PA R T N E R S H I P DELIVERS A DIGITAL SHIFT IN CALDERDALE UP AND COMING OR POTENTIAL NEW BUSINESSES IN CALDERDALE WILL SOON BE ABLE TO TAKE PART IN AN EXCITING NEW INITIATIVE OFFERING FREE, EXPERT SUPPORT.

The new Digital Shift programme will provide hands-on practical support, unmissable opportunities to access grant funding, workshops and expert mentoring for entrepreneurs in Calderdale. Free for eligible businesses to access, the Digital Shift programme is delivered in partnership with Calderdale Council, Leeds Beckett University and AD:VENTURE, the ERDF funded programme that provides support for start-ups and young organisations across the Leeds City Region. Ambitions for partners are that Digital Shift will create a legacy of success for the creative and digital sectors. Accessed through the Halifax University Business Centre at Piece Mill, the programme will grow these key sectors in Calderdale and aims to work with digital-based businesses to create jobs and increase profitability. It will also establish Calderdale as a location of choice for start-ups in digital and TopicUK \ October 2018

creative industries, increasing collaboration between local businesses, boosting digital and innovative capabilities, embedding a legacy of success while engaging and retaining young talent in the borough. Calderdale is already a thriving area, partly thanks to its location between Leeds and Manchester and within an hour’s travel of a quarter of a million businesses. Being in easy reach of eight million people with a combined economic worth of around £150m, it’s no surprise that Calderdale is becoming the place of choice to start and grow digital innovative companies. Simon Baldwin, Head of Enterprise & Operations from Leeds Beckett University comments: “There is clear evidence that shows that the presence and influence of a university in an area helps to raise levels of aspiration and attainment, as well as supporting the retention of skilled graduates. “We are excited to be a part of such an excellent

programme which is free for eligible businesses to access, extending Leeds Beckett Unive rsity’s geography and spreading commercial expertise and innovative practices into new and unexplored areas. Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Strategy, Cllr Barry Collins, adds: “The Digital Shift programme offers a great opportunity for new or potential businesses in Calderdale; with the help and advice on offer helping them develop from start-up to the next stage.

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exporting, product development, innovation, identifying minimum viable product, branding, networking and business planning. Further to this, a Digital Shift Summit is planned for September and will be a three-day festival of activity including specialist events and access to expert seminars and speakers. The schedule is being developed and more details will follow. More information and booking links are available from www.ad-venture.org.uk/ digitalshift

“Calderdale’s talent and creativity have led to record levels of investment and startups, which play a vital role in boosting our local economy and making the borough a great place to live, work and visit. It’s hoped that through this initiative we can build on this enterprising spirit and create new jobs and businesses that will have a positive impact in and around Calderdale.” The programme will provide access to information to identify growth opportunities and set action plans, access to grants of up to £25,000, one-to-one mentoring and specialist events, including a monthly digital breakfast at the University Business Centre. The programme will focus on sales, marketing, internet search engine optimisation,

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FIVE AWARDS FOR BRADFORD BUSINESS THE TEAM AT TONG GARDEN CENTRE IS CELEBRATING AFTER WINNING FIVE AWARDS FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR AT THE NORTH EAST AND NORTH WEST REGIONAL GARDEN CENTRE ASSOCIATION (GCA) AWARDS.

Tong collected awards in five out of nine categories for the North East region. It won Garden Centre of the Year in Destination Garden Centre Category, was awarded the Indoor Lifestyle Award for Best Indoor Lifestyle Retailers and the ifse Award for Catering Excellence for Best Garden Centre Restaurant. The Tong Lane centre also won The GIMA Award for Best Garden

Products retailer and the Outdoor Living Award for Best Outdoor Living Retailer. The Catering Excellence award rewards centres for the appeal of the catering offering and surroundings, hygiene, friendliness and minimum waiting periods whilst the Outdoor Living award focuses on display, range, link selling, inspiration and instore signage and information. Tong’s Commercial Director, Sharon McNair was delighted to receive the awards at the presentation evening. She said: “We were over the moon to win! The fact that we were only awarded membership of the GCA in May 2016, just one year after the centre was acquired by Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson, and have gone on to win five awards for the second year running is testament to our terrific team.”

The recently appointed GCA Chairman, Mike Lind from Monkton Elm Garden and Pet Centre in Somerset, congratulated the team on their outstanding performance: “You have made remarkable progress in the three years since acquisition and your investment in the centre and in your team has paid off. You are worthy winners.” Tong’s Managing Director, Mark Farnsworth concluded: “All of the

The national winners will be announced at the annual GCA conference in January 2019 that will be held at Luton Hoo in Bedfordshire.

“Partnering with one of the UK’s largest print suppliers has opened up so many opportunities for Mr Flyer.”

L EAFLE T F I R M SI G N S MAJO R P R I NT D E AL

“As a result, we can now deliver an extensive range of quality print products to our clients not only locally, but nationwide.”

Mr Flyer, the Huddersfield based leaflet-marketing company has signed an exclusive deal with one of the UK’s largest print companies, printing.com.

“Not only does this partnership offer our clients choice, but it really helps our clients to stand out from the crowd when utilizing some of printing. com’s unique product range.”

Earlier this year, Mr Flyer was approached by printing.com to become a printing partner and was successfully selected out of a handful of businesses to become their preferred partner. printing.com is the largest print franchise in the UK, which offers a large portfolio of print facilities predominantly designed for businesses. They offer a vast range of products including standard print products along with unique products such as vinyl floor graphics, scratch cards and personalised products.

Peter Gunning, CEO of printing.com commented, “We are delighted to have a thriving business like Mr Flyer join the network. There is a clear synergy that makes this a win win partnership.”

As a result of this new partnership, Mr Flyer has been able to expand its print offering not only in Huddersfield, but nationwide.

Andrew Robinson, Director at Mr Flyer, pictured right with Jonathan Cobb, printing. com Development Manager said:

accolades that are coming our way are great recognition for all the hard work that goes into the centre both before and during the season. It’s really pleasing to see that we are now setting the standards in the North East.”

Mr Flyer was set up by Director, Andrew Robinson seven years ago to capture a gap in the market for providing reliable leaflet distribution, initially in the Huddersfield area but has since seen significant growth into other areas nationwide. Furthermore, the company has expanded their service offering, which now incorporates national leaflet distribution, design and print.

01484 598555 andrew@mrflyer.co.uk

“This is a fantastic example of how local investment makes a dramatic and tangible difference to smaller businesses...” has created 28 jobs for the local community, invested in a 5,500 square foot manufacturing facility and is developing its company website. Wakefield Councillor for Castleford, Central and Glasshoughton, Richard Forster, said: “This is a fantastic example of how local investment makes a dramatic and tangible difference to smaller businesses, delivering remarkable results for everyone involved. Castleford has a proud history of industrial heritage and Nationwide Curtain Makers have now managed to add a chapter to this.”

CURTAIN MAKERS H AV E S U C C E S S ALL SEWN UP NATIONWIDE CURTAIN MAKERS – RECIPIENTS OF A SIZEABLE GRANT FROM ERDF FUNDED PROGRAMME, AD:VENTURE – CELEBRATED THE COMPLETION OF ITS NEW OFFICES AND SHOWROOM WITH A STAR-STUDDED RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY.

After successfully applying for the full £25,000 AD:VENTURE grant, the Castleford based curtain makers used the funds to facilitate the building of new meeting rooms, offices, reception area and trade showroom. The company’s rapid growth was also thanks to support from TopicUK \ October 2018

Mindir Paul, Business Advisor for AD:VENTURE, adds: “Nationwide Curtain Makers recognises the importance of its staff and works hard to recruit and retain the right people. The business has identified that seamstresses are hard to find these days, so they invest directly in local talent which is great news for Castleford as it provides the community with quality, skilled

jobs. The grant process took around four to five months to complete but it is now wonderful to see that everything has come together.” Nationwide Curtain Makers have also recruited staff through the Works Better programme, which helps people who want to secure employment overcome the barriers that are stopping them and is a collaboration of six partners and councils across the Wakefield district. Nicola Boyd, who co-owns Nationwide Curtain Makers along with her husband Stephen and son James, comments: “This is our first birthday in the modern premises and we couldn’t have asked for a better turn out. We invited over 1,000 people altogether and it looks like most have them are here, which is fantastic. Guests have spent most of the day looking around the workroom seeing how we make curtains, leafing through the pattern books in our new showroom and exploring the different fabrics.”

a number of regional support p ro g ra m m e s i n a d d i t i o n to AD:VENTURE, namely the Leeds City Region LEP, Digital Enterprise and the Manufacturing Growth Programme, which were also instrumental in taking the business forward so quickly. Now the family-run business

A DV E RTO R I A L

OUR CONNECTED LIVES By Andy Starnes, Head of City Development, CityFibre

Earlier this year CityFibre announced that Huddersfield would be the first town in Yorkshire to benefit from our partnership with Vodafone to reach one million homes and businesses with full fibre internet connectivity by 2021.

applications we can expect to enjoy as residents of one of the world’s bestconnected towns.

As the project progresses and we edge closer to build start I want to talk about the impact ultrafast connectivity will have on our town and the changes we can expect to see in our daily lives.

Home is where the heart is, and connectivity can only help bring us closer together. Yes, we all feel guilty about looking at our phones a little too often and we’ve all glued our eyes to our TV screens to binge watch our favourite TV shows. Nevertheless, while we all have our technology vices, it doubtlessly has a positive impact on our lives too.

According to a new report, Huddersfield could be in for a multi-million pound windfall. The study by economic consultancy Regeneris examined how the economy is likely to benefit from ubiquitous full fibre connectivity, quantifying its impact on the town over a 15-year period.

HOME LIFE

Full fibre connectivity is a real enabler for technology; it allows us to do things smarter, faster and more efficiently. It’s time for us to change the conversation we’re having around technology and think about the great ways we interact with it. We all like to enjoy our favourite shows and movies together too, and with ultrafast connectivity, the latest HD blockbuster can be downloaded in 8.5 minutes instead of 6 hours. You can stream content almost instantly and with a more reliable connection, there’s less buffer time too. Now that’s a great excuse to get the family together for a movie night.

CityFibre Home owners and the wider property Control Room market can expect to reap huge rewards.

Up to £26m could be added to the value of local homes, as access to reliable, high speed broadband becomes ever-more critical to buyers. With all eyes on Huddersfield’s digital transformation, now is a great time to consider the role connectivity plays in our lives and communities and the

What about communication? We all like to stay connected with friends, family and colleagues living in different towns and even countries, and technology can help us spend quality time with our nearest and dearest at the touch of a button through apps like Skype. The Regeneris report also highlights that Smart City initiatives – including home automation technologies, smart energy networks and intelligent transportation systems – could add as much as £11m in benefits locally.

So, let’s have a think about the Internet of Things (IoT). Wouldn’t it be great to save more time on our daily tasks with smarter homes? Intelligent homes can help us wake up on time, manage our refrigerators to minimise waste, control room temperature and lighting, improve energy efficiency and help us save time, effort and money so we can focus on what really matters to us. Full fibre connectivity brings IoT to life, providing the high-capacity connection required for products to work. With town-wide connectivity, smart city initiatives such as autonomous vehicles and intelligent traffic detection become a reality. UK cities like Milton Keynes are already trialling driverless vehicles, so this could easily be a next step for Huddersfield, alongside smart traffic lights that detect congestion and alter patterns to ease traffic flow. Again, full fibre infrastructure underpins these smart city initiatives. WORK LIFE

The Regeneris research shows that access to full fibre connectivity in Huddersfield could unlock £8m in business productivity and a further £10m in innovation by helping local businesses boost their customer and employee experience through newer, faster and more reliable technology. For example, more businesses are moving their services and data to the cloud, as well as using it for apps and hosting which both make quality connectivity essential. The speed and bandwidth capabilities of full fibre internet also means faster access to data and smoother running of applications stored on the cloud. A further £11m in growth could be driven from new business start-ups, with enhanced connectivity making

Inconel or other alloys. The two metal AM printers will complement the centre’s existing 3D printing technologies and will allow businesses to perfect their product in less costly polymers before committing to printing in metal.

it easier and less expensive to set up base and run efficiently. The increased ability for companies to support flexible working could also add £10m. This will not only help to reduce barriers to work, but improve employees’ worklife balance, which, in turn, improves motivation and retention. Increasing employee productivity is high on the agenda of most organisations and Ofcom research highlights more than half of businesses feel they would benefit from better connectivity. With data usage and web traffic rapidly increasing, great connectivity is now vital for the future. Home working finally becomes a reality thanks to full fibre connectivity too, and although we love to talk about the benefits of speed, we know reliability is essential for those working from home. Fibre is significantly more reliable than outdated copper networks. It’s stronger, quicker and less susceptible to weather conditions. With our daily lives enriched by new technologies and the town’s business community poised to benefit enormously from full fibre connectivity, all eyes are on Huddersfield - and so they should be – it has a very bright future ahead. To find out more about the Gigabit City infrastructure in Huddersfield visit: www. cityfibre.com/huddersfield or follow @ gigabitHudds

A D VA N C E D T E C H N O LO G I E S N O W AVA I L A B L E FO R YORKSHIRE BUSINESSES Businesses across the Leeds City Region involved in innovative product development now have access to metal additive manufacture (AM or 3D printing), imaging and microscopy as the 3M Buckley Innovation Centre (3M BIC) announces the availability of its new advanced technologies. Now available at the 3M BIC on Firth Street, Huddersfield, the new technologies will enable businesses to consider adopting additive manufacture and to print protoypes in metals such as titanium and stainless steel, as well as check for inaccuracies in products. The new pieces of equipment are part of investment through the Huddersfield Innovation and Incubation Project (HIIP), a £2.9m grant from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Growth Deal – a £1bn package of government investment to accelerate growth and create

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jobs across Leeds City Region. AM in metals is becoming a method of choice for some major manufacturers, particularly in high-value, low-volume industries such as specialist automotive, motorsport, aerospace, medical devices, dentistry and jewellery and is becoming increasingly widespread in the UK and elsewhere. Renishaw, a leading UK based engineering and technology company, has supplied the 3M BIC with its RenAM 400 and RenAM 500M selective laser melting (SLM) systems, the former will print in stainless steel (316L), the latter in titanium. The RenAM 500M is also fitted with advanced in-process monitoring abilities making it possible to view and analyse a build for consistency or anomalies in real time. Both systems will accept a reduced build volume permitting builds of smaller parts in other metals such as aluminium, nickel,

As part of the product development and verification process, businesses can also access a range of technologies in its new Zeiss Imaging Suite. Equipment includes microscopes for biological studies and part investigations and the Nikon X-Ray CT for the precision measurement of internal and external features of a component to ensure correct dimensions and internal features are present and anomalies such as stress cracks are not present. Michael Wilson, 3M BIC centre manager and HIIP director, said: “Metal AM is becoming a major addition to a manufacturer’s arsenal and will be of great benefit to businesses across the region, as well as the microscopy and imaging equipment. “All are great tools for product development, so we’re excited to be able to include them as part of our overall technology offering. We can now offer the whole package, from prototyping in plastics and metals to correcting stress fractures or imperfections in products. Businesses will be able to ensure their new products are cutting edge and safe before they embark on large scale production.”

our region

On The Move New Appointments throughout 22

TRINITY KITCHEN BOOSTS THE TEAM

M AT T H E W J O I N S FINANCIAL FIRM

Michelle Rennoldson joins Trinity Leeds as Corporate Sales & Events Manager for Trinity Kitchen, a newly created role that will see her coordinate corporate events and drive additional sales at the unique street-food destination in Leeds.

Sheffield based Future Life Wealth Management has appointed a new financial planning administrator.

Michelle brings with her over 12 years’ experience within the industry, having previously worked as Sales & Events Manager for Science Museum Group before founding her own company, Colourful Cactus Events. David Maddison, General Manager said: “We are extremely pleased to be adding such a talented and experienced member to our team. Michelle arrives at an exciting time as we look to expand Trinity Kitchen and open the streetfood experience to corporate events, including, networking events, company celebrations and drink receptions. Her industry knowledge, know-how and contacts will make a valuable contribution to the launch and add to the ongoing success of Trinity Kitchen.” Speaking about her new role, Michelle said: “I am thrilled to be joining the team. The shopping centre is a fantastic destination with many unique concepts, including its street food experience, and with the introduction of corporate events, I cannot wait to start work.”

Twenty-year-old Matthew Dack joins Future Life from Santander, where he was a customer service adviser. Matthew, who is from Bolsover, will be studying towards a diploma in Financial Planning. Managing director Jillian Thomas, who is also a past president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: “Matthew is a great addition to the team and will help us continue to give the best service we can to our clients. “The average age of financial planners is 57, so we have got to bring through the new blood or there will be nobody left in the industry in a few years’ time.” Matthew said: “I am really excited to be joining such a prestigious firm and one that obviously cares about its staff and trains them. It’s a really friendly place and I have settled in already.”

N E W S T R AT E G Y DIRECTOR FO R D I G I TA L AGENCY Larissa Green has joined Blueclaw’s senior management team as Strategy Director, following 10+ years as a global agency and client-side digital performance specialist. Most recently Head of Digital at Carat, Larissa joins the Leeds-based agency to “deliver more award-winning work for our clients, and take performance to new heights”. “In the past seven months our client work has resulted in wins in the SEO, content marketing and PR categories of the European Search Awards, UK Search Awards, Drum Search Awards and Northern Digital Awards,” explains Blueclaw CEO and founder Fergus Clawson. “With Larissa onboard, we’re looking forward to delivering further value for clients, and (of course) building strategies and campaigns that win more global recognition.” “We were looking for an industry-leading Strategy Director with experience across all of the digital disciplines that we work in; the timing was perfect for Larissa to join the team,” Clawson adds.

N E W M A N AG E R AT JET AIRE

GARDEN CENTRE A P P O I N T S P L AY MANAGER

Jet Aire Services has appointed Gavin Brook as business development manager to assist the company’s continued UKwide growth.

Following its win in the Bradford means Business Job Creator of the year award, Tong Garden Centre has announced another key appointment.

Gavin joined Jet Aire four years ago as a lining supervisor and was promoted to lining manager within 18 months. He has now moved into a new role within the sales division as the company seeks to build on its established presence in commercial, industrial, domestic and highways sectors. Gavin has wealth of previous experience in the drainage industry, including a period as CCTV survey supervisor at Enviroflow prior to his arrival at Jet Aire.

Caroline Ellis has been appointed to the newly created position of Play Manager at Grass Hoppers Adventure Playground.

Jet Aire Services director, Keith Ferris, said: “Our sales division continues to strengthen in line with the company’s successful expansion and targets for future growth. It’s an exciting move for Gavin and a fresh challenge which, as a dynamic and driven individual, I’m sure he will relish. Gavin will bring impeccable technical knowledge and operational experience to the task of business development. This will benefit new and existing customers across all of our services, from high-pressure water jetting and CCTV surveys to patch lining, remedial works, epoxy spray Ultracoating and civil engineering.”

Caroline is excited about the opportunities that lie ahead: “It’s an exciting time to be joining the Grass Hoppers team as we have invested in new play equipment, have launched a summer holiday pass and have increased our party offering.

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Managing Director, Mark Farnsworth said: “Caroline joins us with a wealth of experience in creating fun for children and we’re looking forward to seeing her lead and develop the team as we introduce more ways to play at Grass Hoppers including events and experiences for children to enjoy.”

“Grass Hoppers is a fantastic outdoor space with a great atmosphere and I love to see children and families using our facilities and having fun together.” When she’s not working, Caroline, who lives in Liversedge, enjoys Zumba and watching her son play cricket and football.

NEW CEO FOR WESTFIELD H E A LT H Leading provider of corporate health and wellbeing solutions, Westfield Health, has appointed a new Chief Executive. David Capper assumes the permanent role (subject to regulatory approval) after a sixweek period as interim CEO, following the retirement of Jill Davies in May 2018. David, who re-joined Westfield Health in 2015 as Commercial Director, has been integral to driving the organisation’s new brand proposition and strategy, which is to design exceptional health and wellness programmes, delivered by experts in areas including mental health and resilience, physical activity, nutrition and sleep. Commenting, Chairman of Westfield Health, Graham Moore said: “David’s appointment, is a huge vote of confidence by the Board in our strategy to become a go-to health and wellbeing provider of choice.” “In David we have a leader who is passionate about our vision and strategy, who understands the market we operate in and has a network of contacts, both nationally and internationally to continue our journey of becoming a world class health and wellbeing company”. David said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be appointed as CEO, it’s an exceptionally exciting time, as we continue our journey to becoming a leading health and wellbeing organisation in the UK.”

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Siobhan’s got the

Takeaway creatively”, Siobhan says. I work with the production teams to come up with the content and format, and then make the call about what talent we hire to front each show to ensure it pulls in the viewers.”

FROM A TYPIST’S COURSE AT HUDDERSFIELD TECHNICAL COLLEGE TO HER POSITION AS HEAD OF ENTERTAINMENT AT ITV, HUDDERSFIELD-BORN SIOBHAN GREENE NOW HOLDS ONE OF THE MOST SENIOR ROLES IN BRITISH TELEVISION. TOPICUK EDITOR ALEX MASON FOUND OUT MORE ABOUT HER JOURNEY.

Siobhan has been involved in closing deals that have attracted some of the world’s most well-known talent to work on her shows, including securing Ant and Dec for Britain’s Got Talent when the show first aired in 2007, retaining Black Eyed Peas rapper Will.i.am for The Voice when it found its new home at ITV in 2017 and most recently, securing pop superstar Robbie Williams as part of the new judging line-up for the 2018 series of The X Factor.

X-FACTOR

“I’m proud to be a Northerner”, proclaims Siobhan Greene as we begin our chat on how she rose through the television ranks to her current role as Head of Entertainment Commissioning at ITV. “We cut to the chase, we’re honest, know how to graft and we’ve got heart”, she proudly adds. It’s precisely that no nonsense, straighttalking yet empathetic “Yorkshire grit and determination” that Siobhan credits for helping her to progress to one of the most senior roles that exists at ITV’s London headquarters. And she’s certainly got her work cut out. The job sees Siobhan take overall responsibility for the success of ITV’s entertainment programming lineup. She’s the creative brains behind some of the channel’s most popular ‘Saturday night shows’ including The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here!, The Voice and Dancing on Ice, and was part of the team that brought back the hugely popular ITV2 hit, Love Island in 2015. “My role is, in-part, steering shows like Britain’s Got Talent and Saturday Night

But things haven’t always been so high-brow for Siobhan. Hailing from Huddersfield with an Irish Catholic family, she attended St. Josephs’ primary school in Dalton, before moving on to All Saints High School in Fixby. Accomplished She explains: “No matter where I’ve gone with the work, my heart still lies in Yorkshire. All my family live here and all my years in education were spent here. After leaving All Saints I studied for a typist qualification and learnt shorthand at what was then Huddersfield Technical College.” It was that typist qualification that would mark the beginning of Siobhan’s accomplished career in television. “Once I’d got my qualification, I applied for two typist positions; one at Yorkshire Television which had its regional office in Leeds, and one at The Lawrence Batley Theatre in Huddersfield. I got down to the final two at the Lawrence Batley Theatre, but didn’t get the gig, but I did get in at YTV – and once I got in the door I knew it was what I wanted to do.”

Siobhan spent two years at YTV, “working on the bottom rung of the ladder and I loved it”. “Because I could type I was very useful to different people, which meant I could stay in the building and secure roles as a PA, as a production secretary and transcribe interviews too. It was the start of building my knowledge of how things worked in the industry and I’ve stayed curious ever since.” Fast forward a few years, and Siobhan moved over to Granada Television in Manchester, where she worked as a researcher on nineties TV hit, Stars in their Eyes. “I’ll always thank Jane MacNaught, who was also from

thinking about it, but stepping back during my treatment gave me the opportunity to think about wanting to ultimately make my own decisions and become my own boss. Almost at the same time I was offered the chance to run ITV Studios Entertainment”, Siobhan explains. Success “It was a huge decision emotionally to leave Simon after almost a decade of running the company, and especially as the shows and their success were at their white heat, but what I’ve learnt is that you have to trust your gut instinct. It felt right, even though it was extremely challenging to let go of everything I knew. Having done so I have never looked back.” And despite criticism from many around an overpopulated reality TV and entertainment genre, what is it that Siobhan thinks makes these programmes so appealing to viewers? “I think people like to see talented people, who deserve a break, doing well. One of the best examples is the Susan Boyle audition on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. She was the ultimate underdog, but she took her chance and wowed us all. Her audition clip was not only viewed here in the UK, but around the world, which proves to me that no matter where you’re from, we all connect with that feeling of wanting a chance to be seen and heard.”

Huddersfield, for giving me that first break into an entertainment show”, Siobhan adds fondly.

at the time it felt like a leap of faith. I wasn’t just leaving Granada; we also moved to London, and I was very homesick.

Popular From there, Siobhan’s career in entertainment flourished, and she began to lead on some of ITV’s most popular early reality shows, including You’ve Been Framed and Popstars: The Rivals. In 2003, a chance meeting with pop mogul Simon Cowell, who was a judge on new show Pop Idol, led to a change of direction. She explains: “I met with Simon, and we just hit it off. He told me he was setting up his own TV company and asked if I would join as a founding member. It seems an easy decision in hindsight and with all the success that was to come, but TopicUK \ October 2018

“During our first week together, he called me up to say that he was thinking about a new entertainment show based loosely around a ‘young singer versus old singer versus a group’. That idea went on to become The X Factor.” The X Factor has since gone on to become one of the biggest global talent formats of all time. “From there, in 2007, Britain’s Got Talent followed, and I was executive producing shows both here in the UK and in the USA.” But it was a breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 that proved a turning point. “Getting such a shock diagnosis put things into perspective. I was already

Siobhan emphasises: “I know I live in London now but I would like to think that my Northern Yorkshire roots have had a huge part in staying connected to real life. I have seen so many times how shows like Saturday Night Takeaway can unite and uplift us all when you get it right.” So, with such an impressive CV and the legacy of some of the UK and America’s most popular entertainment shows behind her, what advice would Siobhan give to someone wanting to give her industry a go? “In TV, but to be honest it applies for any industry, you have to find something you love. Find your passion, work hard and people notice. Nothing gets handed to you on a plate, and that’s a good thing. It also makes the victories, when they do come, even sweeter. If success was guaranteed, what would be the point?

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It’s important that remote employees can continue to work together and share information in a remote working environment which is just as effective as if they were physically in the office. BT’s recent announcement that it is pushing ahead with plans to switch off its traditional telephone network is all the evidence you need of the digital revolution we find ourselves in. BT wants to move its customers over to IP telephony services by 2025. This will see all voice calls delivered via an internet connection.

Continuity

D I G I TA L I N N OVAT I O N IN THE WORKPLACE By Dean Harrop, director, NGC Networks

n just two years, artificial intelligence (AI) will create more jobs than it destroys by delivering more business value. That’s according to Gartner, the leading research and advisory company which is also predicting an increase in the number of employees who will prefer to work remotely.

The increase in new technologies such as full fibre gigabit internet speeds and cloud services is transforming the way we live and work, providing greater flexibility and the prospect of improved worklife balance. Added to this is the smartphone r e v o l u t i o n . In f i v e y e a r s , t h e

smartphone will be the most used digital device globally. More than 90 per cent of adults in the UK alone are expected to have a smartphone by 2023, says professional services giant Deloitte. Its 2018 Technology, Media and Telecommunications reports says that for half of the UK’s workforce, ‘the smartphone may be the ideal digital tool: its me rits are its portability, biometric security and constant connection’.

Strong Businesses across all sectors are having to adapt and embrace these digital innovations to support how they and their employees will operate in the years to come. Remote working – whether it be from home or in the field – means ensuring your staff enjoy strong digital connectivity to enable them to access records and systems that support the work they do.

Voice over IP ( VoIP) is already favoured by most organisations who recognise the benefits of its reliability and, of course, its ability to allow businesses to adopt remote and mobile working by enabling employees to work from any location at any time. With BT’s announcement, more businesses need to consider switching to VoIP which also provides business continuity and disaster recovery. As a CityFibre partner, NGC Networks is witnessing at first hand the difference full fibre gigabit speeds are making to businesses across the Yorkshire region via its network of Gigabit Cities. We are connecting businesses to the Gigabit City networks, enabling them to take advantage of new technologies, vastly improving their digital capabilities and revolutionising the way they do business. Communication is at the heart of all businesses. The next generation of flexible business communications tools and technology will enable us to work smarter, not harder.

BRADFORD GARDEN C E N T R E R E N E W S PA RT N E R S H I P The team at Tong Garden Centre has renewed its partnership with Welcome to Yorkshire’s prestigious Y30 group of Yorkshire-based businesses who work with the UK’s leading tourism agency to achieve more together for the county. In the course of the last three years, Tong’s owners Mark Farnsworth and Tom Megginson have invested over £2 million to transform the

Tong Lane business and have created over 100 new jobs. Of the renewed partnership, Mark said: “We’re very proud of our Yorkshire roots and our association with Y30. This group of businesses are ambitious, innovative and share Tong’s passion for championing Yorkshire. “The renewal coincides with our exciting plans to make further investments that will

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bring even more tourists to Tong and the surrounding area.” Sir Gary Verity DL, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said: “Tong Garden Centre has gone from strength to strength. It provides a first-class experience for the whole family thanks to a superb offering of retail, food and play. I’m delighted that our partnership is set to continue.”

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TopicUK \ October 2018

YORKSHIRE YOUNG ACHIEVERS AWARDS The 2018 Yorkshire Young Achievers Awards were launched this summer with a reception for sponsors and guests at the West Park Hotel, Harrogate. The Awards, sponsored by McCormicks Solicitors of Harrogate, mark the achievements of outstanding young people aged under 35 from across Yorkshire and the winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner at Leeds United Centenary Pavilion on Thursday 8 November. The Awards are organised by the Yorkshire Young Achievers Foundation and have raised more than £1.2 million to support young people in

Yorkshire, with grants made to both individuals and organisations supporting them, including sportspeople, those involved in the arts and disabled youngsters. On hand to launch the 2018 Awards were the 2017 Youngster of the Year, Evie Addelman who campaigns to raise awareness of Crohn’s disease, and grant recipient Jessica Mayho, a hammer thrower who is aiming to compete in the Olympics. Tickets for the dinner are now on sale priced at £600 for a table of ten and are available by visiting www.yorkshireyoungachievers. co.uk or telephoning Sonia Jones on 01423 530630.

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Upper Calder Valley Renaissance - Networking in the Calder Valley

HEBDEN BRIDGE BUSINESS FO R U M L E A D S T H E WAY

IN HOW TO SHOWCASE YOUR TOWN AND ITS BUSINESSES

From some seed funding by the Upper Calder Valley Renaissance (UCVR) some three and a half years ago to winning £5k in the Great British High Street awards and having that matched with a Calderdale council flood recovery grant and additional lottery funding, the Hebden Bridge Business Forum (HBBF) have paved the way for other networking groups in the valley to emulate their growth and influence in representing the town. From a standing start initiated by the Hebden Bridge Partnership around five years ago the HBBF has built a cross industry team who have created one of the best locally promoting websites in the north. The town, perhaps best known for its visitor economy has a less visible vein of local, top quality digital and graphic talent which produced a website likely to win awards. The website covers all aspects of the town: shops and businesses are featured of course, but there is much more about its visitor offer: walking, cycling, food and drink, what’s on, festivals, heritage and plenty more. TopicUK \ October 2018

Speaking for the UCVR business support team, Stephen Curry said “whilst we have a funded but time limited role to support and help our business groups grow and become sustainable in the valley, Chair of the HBBF Geoff Matthews we have little to offer Hebden now say’s “we didn’t want there to be a as the Business Forum has grown loss of momentum following our impressively quickly with a strong great team effort to win the Small team of capable members and we Market Town, Great British High are not in the business of teaching Street award. The businesses and ‘grandma to suck eggs’. UCVR hosts people of the town got behind us a network leads’ group where there during the competition, so we are opportunities for peer group wanted a lasting legacy of being support and all groups get the able to keep the town’s profile up chance to learn from each other’s as a place to live, trade and visit, development. HBBF has had much one which continues to support to offer in terms of their journey to and grow the economy so badly stability and influence. hit during the 2015 floods”. We think It’s really worth taking time The business forum has such a to review the HBBF website. strong base within the community it now has a designated place on For more information on: HBBF the town development board where visit www.hebdenbridge.org it can influence policy on such For information on business things as, street cleaning, parking, networking facilitating in the Calder Valley contact: UCVR business support and a whole range of other Tel. 01422 417286 matters where their consultation Email: info@ucvr.org.uk is recognised as important to the Web: ucvr.org.uk Twitter: @UCVR_ town and local economy.

Additionally, it will be self-funding by business advertising as it is already being recognised as a site which is a “go to” place for local and business information.

LEEDS AGENCY JOINS NORTHERN POWERHOUSE PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMME Creative Marketing Services has joined a network of likeminded organisations promoting the regional economy as part of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Programme. The agency has signed up to a joint effort to proactively highlight and publicise Northern successes in support of the government’s Northern Po w e r h o u s e i n i t i a t i v e . Partners are committed to advocating the strengths of the North, as well as new and exciting developments, in various key areas including connectivity and transport, quality of life, culture, skills, science, innovation and devolution. Creative Marketing Services managing director, Andy Batty, said: “Having operated in the North for 36 years, we are firm believers in the region’s economic potential. We wholeheartedly support this combined effort by government and business to realise that potential. It is important promote and

celebrate major projects in the North which really help to demonstrate the tangible growth of the Northern economy. The programme’s network of partners covers different institutions, businesses and sectors – Creative Marketing Services are proud to represent the region’s creative sector as one of its longest-established marketing agencies.” The Northern Powerhouse forms part of the government’s industrial strategy. Its core aims include modern transport links, a new style of governance and increased investment. The initiative seeks to bring together cities, towns and rural communities of the North of England and Wales to become a powerhouse for the UK economy.

CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF BUSINESS WOMEN IN THE NORTH Forward Ladies has announced the winners of the National Awards and Summit for 2018, sponsored by HSBC UK. The Awards took place at a celebration lunch at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Newcastle before an inspirational audience of senior and influential business leaders. Managing Director Griselda Togobo said: “It is 100 years since women first got the right to vote in the UK, but gender equality remains elusive. Whilst we have clearly made progress over the years, our mission to achieve equality and bring diversity to leadership roles is not yet complete. That said, this has been another fantastic year for women and that should be celebrated.” Jennifer Crawley, Head of Performance for Small Business Banking at HSBC UK and chief judge said: “We’re proud to be working with Forward Ladies as part of our ongoing commitment to support women in business across the UK.” The eleven category winners will now take part in a judging day in Manchester in November, before a distinguished panel of business leaders, where they will join finalists from regional events across the country. The overall national winner will be announced at a grand finale to be held in Leeds on 7th December. Trophies were presented to the winners in each category: Emerging Leader Category: Helen Roberts

Principal Bid Manager & Team Leader at Telefonica Corporate Winner Category: Ann Hough Huddersfield Town Football Club, Operations Director. STEM Rising Star Category: Naomi Morrow Head of Innovation at Sunderland Software City (Digital Catapult NETV). STEM Leader Category: Victoria Woodings Global CEO for the Principle Group. International Entrepreneur Category: Rebecca Bonnington Partner at Shirlaws (UK) Social Entrepreneur Category: Jackie Irwin Co-Founder of Dearne Valley Personal Development Centre Start Up Category: Ellie MacDonald MacComms Founder and managing director Young Entrepreneur Category: Tamma Carel Director and Senior Environmental Consultant at Imvelo Female Entrepreneur Category: Sharon Needle Managing partner at Needle Partners. Public Sector / Academia / Not For Profit Category: Alex Miles Managing director of West Yorkshire Learning Providers Diversity Champion Category: Noor Ali Senior Buying Manager - World Foods, Morrisons.

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TopicUK \ October 2018

R EC RU I T M E N T

U P DAT E

STA F F LEX RE C R U I TM EN T NEW S U P D ATE Every month, our experts comment on the biggest and most interesting recruitment news across the country. In this edition, business development executive, Harry Chahal looks at retail giant Amazon’s plans to employ an additional 2,500 staff in the UK by the end of the year and news that accountancy giant PwC has banned all-male job shortlists in an effort to improve its gender pay gap. It has been reported that retail giant Amazon will create 2,500 permanent jobs in the UK taking the total workforce to 27,500 by the end of the year. The recruitment drive will cover a wide range of roles including software developers, engineers and technicians from highly skilled to those seeking

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entry level positions.Chancellor Philip Hammond called Amazon’s announce me nt “a clear vote of confidence” in the UK workforce and economy. Amazon said it has invested more than £9.3 billion in its UK operations since 2010. Amidst all the negative Brexit talk at the moment, it’s great to have big multi-national company such as Amazon commit to long term recruitment plans in the UK. All-male job shortlists banned by accountancy giant PwC Accountancy giant PwC has banned all-male job shortlists in an attempt to increase the number of women in senior roles at the firm. It is the first of the big four accountancy firms including (Deloitte, KPMG and EY) to ban all-male shortlists. It said the move was prompted by its recent pay gap report showing men on average earned 43.8% more than women. The firm also plans to ban all-male interview panels as a way to narrow the gap. Recruitment agencies working with the firm were told that they would have to provide ‘diverse’ shortlists if they wanted to retain their contracts. PwC must be applauded for making the decision as this is a big step in creating an equal society for men and women. Hopefully the other big accountancy firms will follow suit leading to many other businesses reviewing their policy to ensure fair recruitment processes.

By Andy Turner Managing Director First Choice Recruitment

YO U ’ R E N E V E R T OO O LD T O LE A R N N EW TRICKS Whatever industry you work in, times change!

for work, I felt like a fish out of water, everyone else in the Job Centre was 16 or 17. That’s where the services of an agency helped, quickly finding me some work to get me back on the career ladder.

The latest technology is installed, new systems and processes are introduced. Whilst this often makes a role easier, this can make it harder “I have to be honest, I’d just for individuals looking for new about given up but then on my roles and challenges later in life. last attempt I was successful at ‘You’re never too old to learn the age of 50! Now what’s great is that when agency workers new tricks’ and here’s why. come to Rexam I am able to Over the years employers have train and help them – after all, recognised that there is a lot I’ve been there.” to learn from older candidates who have the knowledge and Paul has been in his position expertise that comes from for three years and still working in an environment for enjoys every single day. He many years. Just one example has become a Team Leader that we have come across and is passing on his insight is Paul McTiernan who has and experiences to younger enjoyed a career at Rexam (now members that can benefit from Ball Packaging) for over 7 years. the things that he has learnt along the way. Paul was born in Wakefield and has lived in the district for 53 This is just one real life example years. Like many people he of a candidate that could so had been in work since leaving easily have ended up without school at 16 when he completed work due to his age but instead an apprenticeship in mining. has become an enthusiastic, Unfortunately, he was made knowledgeable and reliable redundant at 42 but wasn’t member of the team – just too worried as he still felt that some of the qualities that he had a lot to give, he simply agencies look for in the perfect didn’t know what he wanted to candidate. be for the next 20 years. Next time you have the chance Paul comments: “At 42 I was to consider an older candidate, neither young nor old, but I maybe it’s worth thinking really did feel that I still had a ‘You’re never too old to learn new tricks’. lot to offer. When looking

YUM! TURNS TO LEEDS AGENCY Award winning Leeds digital agency, Bolser, is celebrating being commissioned by the US. mega chain Taco Bell as part of its ambitious growth plans, as it continues to open multiple sites across the UK. Fo l l o w i n g B o l s e r ’ s s u c c e s s f u l relationship with KFC, owned by the same American parent company as Taco Bell (Yum!), Bolser was commissioned to redesign and rebuild the Taco Bell UK website to help improve the customer journey and user experience, and scale the site to be able to respond to the brand’s growth. Working with the UK marketing team, Bolser have brought the site more inline with the US, using brand photography, icons and animations to give the site a

younger, fresher feel, which has already proven its value with the new site experiencing a 26% increase in traffic within the first four weeks of the new site going live. Taco Bell is currently embarking on a growth plan and the UK market is a key part of this. There are now 25 restaurants within the UK and digital activity is at the forefront of its brand building. The site uses a bespoke CMS, making it highly adaptable and straightforward to manage. The menu has the ability to choose meat or meat free options and nutritional information will change as you select options, to create a better user experience. The website also takes into account the brand’s growth plans, including features such as the ‘Find us’

filter – making it easier to find the best suited Taco Bell. Ashley Bolser M.D at Bolser Agency said: “We’re delighted to work on another exciting Yum! project to bring our digital expertise to enhance their already strong marketing. As Taco Bell continues to expand globally, it’s an honour to work in partnership with them and bring our digital expertise to the forefront in strengthening their UK brand.” Jorge Torres, GM at Taco Bell Europe said “Bolser was the perfect partner to deliver a website that is reflective of the Taco Bell in the UK; relevant, distinctive and easy. A great balance between innovative design, proactive functionality and easy navigation, paired with an open and enthusiastic account team, made this journey seamless.”

E AT, SH OP, SAV E R ETUR N S A N D I N C LU D E S S AVV Y YORKS H IR E SH O P P ER K AT E HA R D C A S T LE Consumer advice series Eat, Shop, Save returned to our screens this month for a brand new series with presenter Ranvir Singh, joined by chef and nutritionist Dale Pinnock, fitness consultant Tom Pitfield and savvy Yorkshire shopper Kate Hardcastle MBE. The team once again offer families around the UK advice on how to change their lifestyle to help them get fitter, eat better and save money on their shopping. Each week, the team of experts meet a new family who are facing a range of issues. They are then set an eight-week challenge with the experts on hand to offer tips along the way. One family featured lived off ultra-processed food and a dad addicted to sugary energy drinks. Step in Kate who takes the family TopicUK \ October 2018

of a district of RSPCA, a trustee for the Diana Award, founder and chairwoman of The Charity Dreamgirls and founding partner of business transformation organisation Insight with Passion. Adept at working in the independent sector, or with multi-nationals, Kate has combined a ‘back-to-basics’ pragmatic approach with a career built on helping brands expand and raise their profile.

shopping and shows them how to purchase better food affordably. Kate said: “every penny counts and if you look after them, the pounds look after themselves. Families deserve to save money and eat well and I want to help them take easy steps to feeling more in control of the weekly shop. Retailers should put their customers at the heart of the shopping experience, both with

more marketing ‘tricks’ than ever - I can share my ‘insider’ knowledge to help get you the best savings.” Kate, who lives in Wakefield, is a retail and commercial expert, respected nationally and internationally. She is a regular contributor and industry commentator to Sky News, BBC as well as many prevalent trade publications. She is also patron

This year Kate was honoured with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2018. “I was humbled to receive such recognition from the Queen. I thank everyone who has supported me with my charities and the community projects I support,” she told us. We are delighted to announce that from our next edition due out in early December, Kate will become a regular columnist in TopicUK offering both business and retail advice.

Why asset finance might be right for you: Asset finance is suitable for SMEs because it enables them to get hold of the equipment they need to operate, trade and grow without having to access lines of secured or unsecured credit elsewhere. Payments are made over a fixed period, making budget planning much more manageable. Start-ups and new businesses want to be able to buy equipment or machinery required to begin operating before any money is coming in from the venture. Business owners who are risk averse: If there is any danger of defaulting on your asset finance agreement, you would only lose the business asset but wouldn’t be personally liable with your home or other personal property at risk. The benefits in a nutshell:

WH AT IS A SSET F I NAN C E A ND HOW CAN I T H EL P M E GROW MY B USI N ESS? ANDY REDMAN IS JOINT MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ABL BUSINESS, COMMERCIAL FINANCE BROKERS BASED IN CLECKHEATON, WEST YORKSHIRE.

Business growth can present entrepreneurs with something of a dilemma – especially those who rely on having the right equipment to keep them ahead of the game. Will spending on new assets, refurbishments or other developments deplete your capital to a risky level? No-one wants to end up with an empty kitty on a proverbial “rainy day.” Fortunately this is no longer an either-or choice. More and more companies are using asset finance to fund business purchases without digging into their reserves. In fact, asset finance is becoming one of the

most popular forms of borrowing in the UK, reaching record levels in 2017, with growth of 5% during the year reported by the Finance & Leasing Association. Companies borrow against a whole range of assets including plant and machinery, vehicles, and equipment. You can even fund ‘soft’ assets such as the installation element of a project. This opportunity removes a massive barrier to achieving rapid growth. With asset finance you can use the equipment while making regular payments on it. This means you can keep your cash in the bank while generating additional income from your new asset. Or you might want to use your capital to buy more stock and fulfil more customer orders thus fuelling growth and boosting cash flow.

•

Asset finance can be a fast, easily-accessible and costeffective way to improve cash flow and provide stability through periods of income fluctuations. This type of finance deal is usually agreed much more quickly by lenders – often within just a few days – which of course means quicker delivery of machinery, vehicles and equipment. Using asset finance to lease machinery, equipment or vehicles can also be a handy tax-saving device. Any lease payments can be offset against profits, because they count as business expenses.

To find out more about asset finance visit www.abl-business. co.uk/asset-finance or give us a call on 01274 965356.

TopicUK \ October 2018

L AW FIRM L AUN CH ES IN YOR K S HIR E established the company to utilise her expertise to help businesses with a transparent and jargonfree approach. With almost a decade’s industry experience, Jodie cross-qualified from barrister to solicitor in 2013. She is also a law lecturer at Leeds Beckett University, as well as a London Expert Law tutor and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health for her work supporting mental health awareness.

A specialist employment law firm which focuses on mental health in the workplace has launched in Yorkshire.

Thrive provides HR services, employment law guidance and insurance, health and safety support, as well as guidance and training on mental health in the workplace. Thrive Law held its official launch party in July at Issho, Victoria Gate, Leeds which was attended by 60 people.

Leeds-based solicitor and entrepreneur, Jodie Hill, has launched Thrive Law to support business owners and employees across the region to thrive in the workplace. Having specialised in employment law, HR and mental health throughout her career, Jodie

Jodie has been nationally recognised for her campaign to make mental health training compulsory in businesses, as well as being nominated for an Inspiring Women Changemakers award.

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TopicUK \ October 2018

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Ramsdens Solicitors

Rip off wills

A RECENT ARTICLE IN THE DAILY MAIL HAS INDICATED THAT UP TO 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SOLD “RIP-OFF WILLS” BY OUR HIGH STREET BANKS. You may recall that during the 1990’s and early 2000’s a number of banks were offering will writing services as an added extra to their accounts and mortgage deals. Some banks offered free wills provided that you had a certain account with them or offered wills at what was considered a discounted rate compared to those offered by solicitors and will specialists. Although initially confirming your wishes about what would happen to your money and property when you passed away, some of these wills included onerous provisions in the small print

successfully argue a reduction in the fees charged, especially in the event that the estate being dealt with is relatively simple, i.e. there are very few assets or the assets are generally being passed to a surviving spouse. However others have had to pay the full fees.

Rachel Brook that could end up leaving your proposed beneficiaries with a lot less than what you had intended. Wills from one bank allegedly added a provision in the small print that they reserved the right to act as executors of your estate when you passed away. This would mean that the bank rather than trusted family, friends or your local firm of solicitors would be responsible for dealing with your estate and dealing with any inheritance tax or the sale of property. In return for acting as executors, this bank would charge an administration fee of £1,500.00 and then 2.5% of your total estate. A different bank reserved the right to charge 4% on estates up to £500,000 and then an additional fee of 3% for the next £500,000 and then 1.5% on anything over £1,000,000. Given that in 2017, the Land Registry stated that the average house price in the UK was £223,257 this would mean that you could be paying at least £7,000.00 plus VAT, without even considering any bank accounts or investments! The Daily Mail have indicated that a number of people have contacted the various banks who included similar provisions. They generally were told that they will have been advised about the fees involved at the outset, but this does not appear to be the case for all. Some people have been able to

A further concern is that a number of banks are now refusing to act or offer legal advice where there are disputes between beneficiaries of the wills. This means that despite still being required to pay the banks fees, the family may need to instruct an additional solicitor and pay their legal costs as well! What you need to do: Rachael Brook, Partner in the Private Client team commented: "The general advice that has been given is that if you purchased or received a will from your bank, you need to check the terms of the same carefully to see what fees will be charged if they act as executors. If you have any issues, write to your bank and either ask them to reduce the fee or ask them to stand down. "Please note that they may charge an administration fee for this.In the event that you no longer wish the bank to act as executors, you should look at making a new will." Here at Ramsdens, we have a number of will specialists who would be happy to help. The majority of our will clients tend to request that their proposed executors are friends and family. This is perfectly fine and we are able to offer them support and assistance in dealing with the estate when required. No charges will be incurred following your death unless your executors specifically ask us to assist. In the event that you believe that a professional executor is required (for example where the estate is made up of multiple accounts, trust and investments, or where you feel no one

else would be able to deal with the same) then please let us know and our trusted solicitors can provide you with full details of any fees that may be charged when dealing with your estate. Whether or not you decide to appoint a trusted family member or friend and/or a professional executor, we would charge the same fixed fee for the preparation of your will. Finally, we offer a free storage facility for your wills and any deeds for property that you may have. A small charge may be requested if you or your executors decide not to use Ramsdens to assist with your estate but at least you’re safe in the knowledge that no fee will be paid for the time being! To speak to someone about updating your Will or making a Will for the first time call us on 01484 821 500, text LAW to 67777 or email willsandprobate@ ramsdens.co.uk.

H ET E R OS E X UA LS A N D CI V I L PA R T N E R S HIPS’ The Supreme Court has recently ruled that restricting civil partnerships to same sex couples is discriminatory, and a breach of an individual’s Human Rights. At present, heterosexual couples may only marry, while same-sex couples can either marry or take up a civil partnership. The case which has brought this to light is that of R (on the application of Steinfeld and Keiden) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for the International Development (in substitution for the Home Secretary and the Education Secretary) (Respondent). With a unanimous Supreme

Helen Thewlis Court victory, civil partnerships between heterosexual couples may now be recognised within the UK. Currently, the only jurisdiction in the British Isles that permits opposite-sex civil partnerships is the Isle of Man. Some couples have travelled there for ceremonies, but the unions have not previously been recognised in the UK. Other countries such as South Africa, New Zealand and the

TE RMINAT I O N NOTI CE : N E W T ER M TO BE IMP L I E D I N A L L E M PLOY M E N T C ONT RAC TS to terminate employment will only start to run from the date that an employee has received a letter and has had a reasonable opportunity to read it.

Gareth Dando The Supreme Court in the recent case of Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood held that a new term is to be implied in all employment contracts in relation to terminating employment. It was held that notice TopicUK \ October 2018

In this case Mrs Haywood had worked for the NHS for 30 years. Following the merger of two NHS bodies, Mrs Haywood was informed that she may be made redundant. If Mrs Haywood’s employment terminated before her 50th birthday she would not be entitled to receive a reduced early retirement pension in the sum of approximately £400,000. Mrs Haywood was entitled to 12 weeks statutory notice to terminate her employment. The Trust issued notice to terminate Mrs Haywood’s

employment on 20th April which was sent by recorded delivery and to her husband’s email address. As Mrs Haywood was away on a preplanned holiday from the 18th April to 27th April, the letter was collected from the Post Office by her father and she read the letter on the 27th April when she arrived back from her holiday. If the written notice of dismissal was taken to run from the 27th April then Mrs Haywood would have been entitled to receive the reduced early retirement pension. The Trust therefore argued that the notice was effective from the date of delivery which in this case was the 26th April however Mrs Haywood argued that it was effective from the date that she had read the letter.

Netherlands allow couples to choose either civil partnership or marriage. In the Netherlands last year there were 64,400 Marriages and 17,900 civil partnerships, suggesting there is demand for both arrangements. Discussions are taking place with the Home Office minister in respect of this matter, and a private member’s bill has been submitted, which has Government support, and commits ministers to carrying out an investigation into different civil partnerships. To discuss Civil Partnerships and Matrimonial Law please call our family helpline on 08000 147720, send us an email or text LAW to 67777 to book a free information session at any of our offices. The High Court and Court of Appeal ruled in Mrs Haywood’s favour as this was reasonable. The Supreme Court held that this will now be implied into every contract of employment unless the contract between the parties expressly provides otherwise. This case highlights that although an employment contract consists of express terms, terms can be implied into a contract where epress terms are incomplete and therefore clarity is key. It is important to ensure that contracts of employment set out how notice can be served and when it be deemed to have been received to avoid implications arising from implied terms. If you’d like further information, please contact Gareth Dando on 01484 558 060 or email gareth. dando@ramsdens.co.uk.

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AM PUTE E S AN D E FFE C T I V E REHABIL ITAT IO N CHADWICK LAWRENCE HAS A SPECIALIST DEPARTMENT ACTING FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUFFERED A SIGNIFICANT INJURY DUE TO CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE COMMONLY KNOWN AS MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE. We have represented and continue to act for individuals who having suffered an injury have sadly resulted in the amputation of a limb that could have been prevented. NHS England published a document in March 2016 ‘Commissioning Guidance for Rehabilitation’. In summary the document outlines: what rehabilitation is, i.e. scope, breadth and depth the components of good quality rehabilitation how to know whether the services that are being commissioned are of good quality how to compare rehabilitation services locally, regionally and nationally.

Benefit NHS England identifies that rehabilitation involves working in partnership with the person and those important to them so that they can maximize their potential and independence, and have choice and control over their own lives. It is increasingly acknowledged that effective rehabilitation delivers better outcomes and improved quality of life………

Unfortunately, although our clients do have access to the NHS rehabilitation services, the NHS is stretched and the amputee’s time is limited with the physiotherapist, usually there are multiple patients being treated at once in a large amputee class, and not on a one to one basis. Although such sessions do offer the individual the benefit of meeting and working alongside other amputees this type of system lacks sustaining individual assessment and care as the clinicians are often only able to afford individuals small amounts of individual treatment during each session. The longer period of inactivity that the amputee endures, the longer that individual would remain sedentary in the wheelchair, the body then becomes deconditioned and the harder it will be for him/her to achieve the maximum ambulatory potential.

Enthusiasm Our clients’ tell us that the prosthesis provided by the NHS is usually cumbersome and heavy, which is not untypical. It usually consists of a

It is increasingly acknowledged that effective rehabilitation delivers better outcomes and improved quality of life...

independence and ability to use the prosthesis to the greatest extent and safety in the first week of the intensive physiotherapy session. Residential rehabilitation is usually recommended which consists of a comprehensive intense course of inter-disciplinary rehabilitation to fast track clients to their goals.

Experience Gait re-education and learning how to get the most out of a prosthetic limb is a huge part of the rehabilitation course and teaches clients how to optimize their function to suit their lifestyle and personal goals, with the assistance of an experienced team of clinicians. Our clients can then practice at home and thus continue to progress with their fitness and lead an independent lifestyle as best as they can.

belt that has to be worn around the waist. The reality is that the sooner our client is given the opportunity to unde rgo an appropriate rehabilitation and maximum intensity of physical activity, including the use of an optimal prosthesis, the greater chance the individual has of returning to being a regular user of the prosthesis. Our prosthetic experts can recommend the necessary prosthesis which is custom made for our client. The prosthesis would be made in terms of a socket design and fit, prosthetic knee and foot technology, our clients’ benefits TopicUK \ October 2018

from private rehabilitation training and input. Once given this opportunity to progress with optimal prosthetic componentry and rehabilitation process, the more chance there is of harnessing our clients’ enthusiasm and determination for engaging in the process and gaining some independence. The custom made prostheses has a socket suspended from a seal in liner which has a dual function in that it will offer a comfortable interface of silicone between the individual’s residual limb skin and the hard internal surface of

the prosthesis. The suction seal allows the prosthesis to be held securely in place.

Responsibility There is no belt, which vastly improves the comfort of the prosthesis, it also reduces the inconvenience of our clients donning and doffing the NHS prosthesis. Our clients’ have remarked that through accessing rehabilitation with the private physiotherapist, it has brought them on in leaps and bounds. The y have see n significant improvements in their mobility,

Chadwick Lawrence’s specialist team of clinical negligence lawyers have years of experience in medical negligence compensation claims, and have obtained substantial compensation for our clients. Not only do we represent clients in Yorkshire, but because of our reputation we also represent clients nationally. If you believe that you or a relative may have been injured as a result of clinical/medical negligence, please call for free legal advice from our medical negligence solicitors on our dedicated free phone number 0800 304 738. Article prepared by Carol J Simpson, Associate, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (carolsimpson@chadlaw. co.uk), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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As two trained accountants working for the same firm, which specialised in servicing larger organisations, the pair had become frustrated with the number of small businesses that were often turned away and left to look elsewhere for support.

Wendy comments: “What is great about the AD:VENTURE events and workshops is that you know everyone is in a very similar boat. It’s good to share experiences and to learn about the different skills you need, which you would otherwise not have come across.

But, little did they know at the time that this would start a journey that would see them launch a company and never look back.

“The programme is also supported by Selby District Council, so that gives you extra confidence that the events you are accessing are credible and delivered by professionals.

It was during this particular night out that Cassie and Wendy started to talk about their concerns and realised that they could pick up these start-ups and young businesses and provide them with a professional service that they could rely on. Cassie comments: “We had no intention of talking about work, we were simply on a work night out to have fun and to let our hair down. Yet, after a glass of fizz we started to discuss how frustrating it was to send people away to find help when we were perfectly capable of offering it ourselves! “Our existing employer didn’t cater for smaller businesses or one-man bands so the more we thought about it, the more we realised we could manage these clients in our own time and earn some extra cash in the process. It made perfect sense and before we knew it, we had a business.” Waking up the next day both ladies had time to consider the decision that they had made but were still adamant that this was the right thing to do.

FROM BU S I NE S S I D E A TO BUBB LE S AND BAC K AGAI N! WHEN SELBY BASED WORK COLLEAGUES, CASSIE FENNELL AND WENDY LANGFIELD, WENT OUT FOR DRINKS WITH A FRIEND ONE FRIDAY NIGHT THE LAST THING THEY EXPECTED WAS TO WAKE UP WITH A SORE HEAD AND A BUSINESS - BUT THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED.

WJC Solutions went from being a plausible idea to an exciting reality. It was while on holiday in Benidorm that Cassie met with a local friend who recommended networking and although she initially felt it wasn’t right for her she went along when she got home and found that it wasn’t half as bad as she had expected. As well as the usual introductions, Cassie was introduced to Heidi Green, the Business Adviser from Selby District Council and Growth Manager for Leeds City Region LEP, who put them in touch with

AD:VENTURE, the ERDF funded programme that offers practical and match-funded grant support to start-up and young businesses throughout the Leeds City Region. As a result of that they had their first meeting with Lisa Whalley, the regional adviser and then registered on to a selection of workshops that would give them the practical support and confidence that they felt they needed to start and run a business. They also accessed sessions that would teach them certain specialisms that they felt would be important including marketing.

“As well as understanding more about how to market our business, we are also looking forward to accessing training about social media. In addition, we are working with an AD:VENTURE Business Advisor to look at possible ways in which we can access funds to support the design and development of our website. This will be a further big step in our journey.” In just over a year WJC Solutions now has over 45 clients and although, like all businesses, it has come across a number of challenges, the founding Directors say that they would not change a thing. Their decision to start a business during a night out turned out to be less hangover and more happy ending. For further details about the AD:VENTURE progamme please visit www.ad-venture.org.uk and for regular updates including case studies of the businesses that have benefited from practical and matchfunded grant support, please follow @ADVENTURE_LCR.

Ta k i n g t h e n e x t s te p , t h e y approached their boss and explained the situation. Rather than be annoyed or upset, he gave his support and that is when TopicUK \ October 2018

FOOD

DRIN K

TopicUK recipes October 2018 Well it’s fair to say that we have had our fair share of sunshine this year isn’t it?! As we head into October after one of the best summers for decades we thought that you may want to hang onto the long sunny days with a couple of sun inspired recipes. The foody recipe this month was our special here at Create Café in July and it went down so well we thought we would share the

Jamaican Jerk Veg (or chicken) Salad Ingredients: • • • • • • • • •

Jamaican jerk seasoning 1 Sweet potato ½ Butternut squash 2 Chicken breast (optional) 1 Finely sliced red pepper 1 Finely sliced red onion 100g Frozen peas Handful of rocket Giant cous cous – Allow 40g uncooked weight per person

For the dressing: • • •

Juice of 1 lemon 1 tablespoon of honey 150ml of oil

secret with you so that you can reminisce back to the long sunny days of July this year. For the drink recipe a summer classic – frozen strawberry daiquiri. Seeing as the strawberry season will soon be coming to a close you may as well put some fine UK strawberries to good use before we are back with the tasteless strawberries that winter gives us!

Method •

Dice the sweet potato and butternut squash and add a teaspoon of the jerk seasoning and mix thoroughly. (Be careful a little goes a long way…. It is HOT!!) Roast this in the oven until the veg is cooked, probably about 30 minutes. If you would like chicken as well, then dice the chicken up and add jerk seasoning, then roast until cooked through.

•

Cook the giant cous cous by putting in a pan of cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 7 minutes. Add the peas during the last two minutes to cook them, then drain and cool using cold water.

•

Make the dressing by putting the lemon and honey into a mixing bowl and whisk while slowly adding the oil.

•

Finally combine all of the ingredients, add a little dressing and mix thoroughly. Place nicely into a bowl or plate and enjoy!

Frozen Strawberry Daiquiri A very simple cocktail to make this is essence of summer and you don’t even need a cocktail shaker! All you need are the ingredients and a blender.

Ingredients • • • •

50ml White rum 12.5ml Strawberry syrup or sugar syrup 5 Strawberries (green bits removed) 12.5ml Lime juice

Method

Add all ingredients to a blender with a glass full of ice, then blend until smooth. Pour into a rocks glass or hi-ball glass and garnish with a strawberry and lime wedge then sit back and relax!

TopicUK \ October 2018

S PEC I A L

FE AT U R E

To the Manor

Reborn TopicUK editor Gill Laidler was recently invited to visit the beautiful Lindley Manor House and restaurant in Huddersfield, to see how this once derelict building has been turned into a fabulous 11 bedroom hotel and enjoy a sumptuous dinner in one of the two elegant restaurants. Here’s what she found. A former Victorian mill owner and philanthropist’s residence in the village of Lindley, Huddersfield has undergone a £4.5m investment to transform the`grade II listed Georgian period property, known as Manor House, into a luxury boutique restaurant with 11 individually designed rooms.

partner, bringing the building back to life, finally opening as a hotel on 30 March 2018. “When we acquired the building we couldn’t go into the cellar or upstairs because the building was completely ruined. We had to rip out all of the features, including the architecture,” said Sara, “but because of its listed status it all had to be restored and put back. In terms of style we started off Victorian and traditional, but because I traveled to China for 20 years with my job, without meaning to, a lot of Asian influences crept in.

Perfect

For twenty years, Manor House was allowed to fall into disrepair, the once beautiful home became a wreck until it was spotted by Sara Presley when she passed by on her running route.

“We have a lot of metal dividers and Chinese style fabrics, particularly with wall coverings and textures. I think one of the best places is our cellar bar. This has been made into a lovely gin palace with a Boudoir style, lots of aubergine, tan leather and velvet.”

Sara, an entrepreneur and interior designer saw the buildings potential, despite its appalling condition, and spent the next few years, alongside Terry Robinson, her builder developer

Although this is Sara’s first hotel project, every room she has created is perfect and complements the old houses heritage with fabrics, stunning colours and glittering accessories.

There is a space to suit every mood, dark and dramatic, bright and elegant, couture or vintage, there is a perfect space for all. The main house is now complete with it’s elegant bar and formal dining room. Rooms can only be described as exquisite, each individually designed, some with roll-top baths with TV’s built into the wall, luxury throughout and one designed over two floors with its own bath and wet room in the eaves. Leading from the main building which also boasts a roof terrace is a central courtyard for al fresco dining or evening drinks and beyond is a less formal food concept with a large focus on wellbeing, yoga studio and wedding and events venue. The opening of Manor House has

seen 30 jobs created, with a further 20 recruits expected to join before the end of the year. As well as high profile staff, many with backgrounds in luxury hotels across the UK including chefs with Michelin backgrounds, many of the staff are local, creating a really friendly welcome for all. This has ensured the support from the local community, really taking the hotel into the heart of the community. The hotel manager is Mark Ayre who is credited with successful openings in senior manager positions at The Grand Hotel York, The Raithwaite Estate Whitby, and the Swinton Country Club & Spa, Mark is thrilled to be opening a hotel a little closer to home. Events Manager is Claire Blackburn, who is also local, living just 5 minutes

chatting with Mark and Jaine about this beautiful hotel, and it was clear from their passion that both of them had fallen in love with the place. It was then time for us to return to the restaurant where Mark and Jaine left us to be seated to enjoy dinner from the A La Carte Menu. There is also a Taster Menu and I suspect we were served dishes from both due to my fussy ways! It does prove though that everyone can be catered for as all food is prepared from scratch in the kitchen.

So what did our Group Editor think? From the moment we stepped into the elegant reception, it was obvious we were stepping into somewhere special. Here we were greeted by General Manager Mark before being escorted to the bar for a quick chat about the hotel before being joined by Jaine, Executive Assistant for the grand tour. We started with a quick peek into two of the elegantly designed bedrooms and summed up in one word - WOW! exquisite furnishings, elegant decor and each one unique in style, size TopicUK \ October 2018

Before the main course arrived, Craig the Food & Beverage Manager popped over to check we were enjoying our food and of course the wine.

Our waiter arrived introducing himself as James I. Now you might be wondering why James I, well he explained that he arrived at the hotel first before the other James, who worked in the Cellar bar had become known as James II.

Then came an intermediate course of Halibut served with beans, artichoke & tomato puree. I’ve never had Halibut before but I know I will certainly order it again. It was cooked to perfection and delicious. 9pm and the restaurant is becoming pretty full, it is becoming very popular James I told us, with many locals returning to sample the different dishes.

Drinks first and we decided on a lovely crisp Sauvignon Marlborough from New Zealand that was delicious. We decided to keep this wine throughout the courses, although we could have gone for the wine pairing that was offered.

We both chose the same main course, Yorkshire Pork served with Apple, Fennel and Black Pudding. Amazing! Pork and apple are one of my favourite, but I have to say this was one of the best yet. I started to agree with my fellow diner, best food ever tasted. I nice twist after a short rest was the mini Lemon Meringue pie, served to help clean the pallet before dessert. Sharp and fresh and just the right size so not to fill up before the main dessert.

From there, it was up an external staircase to the rooftop terrace area for those summer evenings, then down into the enclosed courtyard used for drinks or al fresco dining.

Snacks arrived first. For me Caramalised Onion & Truffle Gougere, prepared specially without the Gougere as I don’t eat cheese, Broccolli with Shallots, and lamb served with carrot, these were delicious bite sized, served on a small block. My companion enjoyed the raw Mackerel with Squid Tapioca, the Caramalised Onion & Truffle with Gougere and Oyster Kimchi, Thai Basil.

Leading off this courtyard is the yoga & fitness studio, the informal bistro and the beautiful event space that can be used for weddings, business dinners and parties. Back into the courtyard, we descended the stone steps into the cellar bar that had just opened to enjoy a glass of champaign whilst

Next came the Amuse. Delicious Whitby Crab and coastal herbs. This was served with warm bread and herb butter served on a hot stone, that was so fresh and tasted like it had just come from the sea. For starters, I chose Carrot, Lamb, Fresh Curds and Mustard, again

Delicious

up the road. Claire ensures that every visitor with an enquiry for events, weddings and parties are professionally catered for and given a tour of this beautiful venue.

without the curd and it was perfect. For my fellow diner it was the Roast Scallop, Pigs Head, Cauliflower and Grape, which was devoured within seconds. Then came the comment: ‘This is the best food I have ever tasted!”

and layout. My favourite was the split level room with bed downstairs and a beautiful bathroom upstairs featuring a roll top bath with TV built into the wall, leading into another area with toilet and twin sinks before entering the final area, a huge wetroom with shower.

The final course was Alpaco Chocolate, Cherry Financier and for me, Apple, Creme Fraiche and Almond. These were just the right size with the right amount of sweetness to round off what I can only describe as a wonderful dining experience. Several courses, all spaced nicely apart with the right portion size to leave you fully satisfied but not too full. To reserve your table call: 01484 504000 or visit the website: www. manorhouselindley.co.uk

FO O D

D R I NK

BANKING ON SUCCESS: Wakefield Civic Society President, Kevin Trickett MBE visits Bar Biccari in Horbur y

I’m going to start my wider investigation of Yorkshire’s eateries with an Italian restaurant and bar in the centre of Horbury: yes, I know, it’s still part of the Wakefield metropolitan district, but, baby steps and all that: I have to begin somewhere! The written history of Horbury appears to start with the Domesday Book of 1086 in which it is recorded as Orberie. The fact that the settlement already existed to merit an entry in Domesday suggests, of course, that the town’s history goes back even further. The name derives from the Old English word ‘horu’ which means dirty or muddy land and ‘burh’, or burg, which means a fortified settlement or habitation. So, Horbury can be said to indicate some form of stronghold on muddy land. Its proximity to the River Calder probably attests to its strategic and etymological origins – it was possibly a place where the river could be forded before bridges were built. Today, Horbury is a busy town of around 10,000 inhabitants with an interesting and eclectic mix of buildings dating from medieval to modern times and with some fine Georgian and Victorian properties, including the handsome St Peter and St Leonard’s Church by John Carr (1723-1807), often referred to as ‘John Carr of York’ (where he was to become Lord Mayor in 1770 and again

in 1785) but who was actually a son of Horbury. Bar Biccari is one of the more prominent buildings on the town’s High Street, not least because this former bank building is situated in a commanding position on the junction of Highfield Road and Westfield Road. Boasting an imposing domed tower and oculus window, the building, in brick and stone with leaded windows featuring stained glass, dates from 1910 when it was built for the United Counties Bank (absorbed by Barclays in 1916). When the bank moved out, the building became a pub for a while but was transformed once more some eight years ago when Bar Biccari opened its doors for the first time. The business is owned by David and Judith Rayner together with Lindsay Dawson. On a day-to-day basis, it is managed by general manager Wil Frost who looked after my partner and me on the night of our visit one pleasant summer’s evening in July ( just a week before Wil’s wedding to David and Judith’s daughter!). We were greeted by bar man Eddie who quickly made us feel at home as we ordered some drinks and perused menus while we waited for our table. The restaurant was already throbbing – all the tables were either occupied or reserved (so take a hint and book early if

OK, there are going to be some changes around here! Now that TopicUK magazine has a Yorkshire-wide distribution, I’ll need to explore what’s on offer in other towns and cities around the county. But with a whole region available for me to pick from, the choices of where to go next are dizzying so I’m open to suggestions! If you’d like your restaurant, gastro-pub or diner to be covered in these pages, do get in touch.

hunger pangs and a few minutes later head waiter Massimo was showing us to our seats and taking our orders. Sometimes, it’s the simplest dishes that satisfy and my partner began with an Insalata Caprese (buffalo mozzarella, fresh beef tomatoes with balsamic reduction, fresh basil and green oil) while I had Bruschetta ai Pomodorini (toasted slices of altamura bread topped with vine cherry tomato, garlic and finished with basil oil). Both were fresh and light, getting us off to a very good start. For mains, we moved on to sample a vegetarian Pasta Forno (slowly baked penne pasta with mushrooms to ‘nonna’s secret recipe’ – also available with meat!) and a Gnocchi Ortolano (baked roast vegetable gnocchi with crumbled goats’ cheese). Again, both perfectly cooked by head chef Gianluca Chiarelli and his team. Gianluca hails from Settimello, a little village seven miles from Florence. He trained in Florence and gained experience working in restaurants in Italy and on board a cruise ship where Gianlucca met his English partner. In England, Gianlucca has worked in a number of successful restaurants, including Gordon Ramsey’s in Chelsea, The Box Tree in Ilkley with Simon Gueller and Oulton Hall in Rothwell. This led him to open his own café bistro which he ran for 4 years before taking up his current position at Bar Biccari.

you don’t want to be disappointed!). Meanwhile, a garlic-and-tomato pizza bread helped to stave off the TopicUK \ October 2018

By now we were beginning to feel the pull on our waistbands but couldn’t resist the desserts – a classic Tiramisu for my partner and Italian Gelato for me. Coffees to finish the meal and we were replete. All that was left was to speak to Wil

about the restaurant to get some more background on the restaurant and the family. First the name: Bar Biccari takes its name from Biccari, a town in southeast Italy where, it turns out, David Rayner’s mother comes from, so Biccari is a place with which the Rayner family (and now Wil) are very familiar, so it is no surprise that they wanted to recreate something of the feel of Italy in their restaurant. Wil explained that they would like to open an Italian-style deli counter within the restaurant from where they can sell imported Italian foods to local residents. He feels there would be a demand for quality Italian foodstuffs, and I’m sure he’s right. Until then, customers will just have to make do with having their meals cooked for them in the restaurant which can accommodate 50 diners at a time and is open evenings Tuesday to Sunday and lunchtimes Thursday to Saturday. There’s an à la carte menu, a mid-week menu (with two courses for £12.95 or three for £15.95) and a specials board. If you’re just looking for a drink and light nibbles, there is a spacious

upstairs Prosecco Bar with an outside terrace, where a range of drinks, antipasti and pizzas can be enjoyed. There are also special event nights – have a look at the website for details. So there you are. Bar Biccari was a real treat and we enjoyed our visit. If you’re looking for good food and a friendly welcome, try Bar Biccari. I’m sure that you too will love it. In fact, you can bank on it! Kevin and his partner dined as guests of Bar Biccari. Follow Kevin on Twitter @MrTrickett Need to know:Bar Biccari, 2 Highfield Road, Horbury, WF4 5LU Email: info@barbiccari.co.uk Website: www.barbiccari.co.uk Telephone: 01924 263626 On Facebook Twitter: @barbiccari Opening times: Monday: Closed Evenings: Tuesday to Thursday 17:00 to 22:00 Friday and Saturday 17:00 to 22:30 Lunchtimes: Thursday 12:00 to 14:00 Sundays: 15:00 to 21:00

C R E AT I N G O P P O RT U N I T Y, CHANGING LIVES

AT KIRKLEES COLLEGE OUR MISSION STATEMENT IS: ‘CREATING OPPORTUNITY, CHANGING LIVES’ AND THIS IS AT THE CORE OF EVERYTHING THAT WE DO. We are a people orie ntated organisation who focus on meeting not just the needs of our students and staff, but also those of local employers and the wider community.

We ensure inclusion for all and successfully help students overcome barriers to accessing education and learning. Starting with recognising students who might struggle and has taken targeted action to help them succeed, including: a mentoring team specifically dedicated to offering emotional, pastoral and mental health support, a programme to ensure positive supported transition to college from school, mindfulness mentors work with at risk students. There is also a focus on staff development with specific training in areas such as mental health first aid, anger management, stress and anxiety, depression and low mood, coaching and positive listening.

celebrating the most inclusive practice for young people with special educational needs and disabilities in Further Education at the National Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Awards 2018.

Therefore, we were especially thrilled to recently receive a prestigious national award

Polly Harrow (pictured), Head of Student Support said: “We are delighted to be recognised for our

The impact of these initiatives, is reflected in the outstanding outcomes for our young people and Kirklees College currently has the highest achievement rates of any general Further Education college in West Yorkshire for full time students aged 16-18.

inclusive approach in ensuring that our most vulnerable young people have equal opportunities and positive life chances and are fully included in college life. Through dedicated support we’ve witnessed young people who would typically not join or stay in an education settings access and manage courses which lead to success and positive progression”.

Kirklees College were also recently Awarded the Times Educational Supplement Award for Best Support for Learners.

DINE DELIVERED S C O O P S C AT E Y AWA R D Dine Delivered has scooped the Award for Best Use of Technology in the prestigious Catey Awards 2018 - held at JW Marriott Grosvenor House Hotel, Mayfair in July. The biggest awards of their kind in the hospitality industry, the internationally renowned Cateys, presented by The Caterer (in partnership with Bunzl Catering and Hospitality Division), recognise the strongest performers, latest emerging brands and highest flyers in the sector, as determined by the industry itself. Dine Delivered’s Managing Director,

Daniel Gill was presented with the award, sponsored by Bookatable, by DJ and Host, Trevor Nelson in front of an audience of 1,250 guests. Daniel said: “We are absolutely delighted to win such a prestigious award for our new company, Dine Delivered ™, particularly within its first year of operation. My Father won a Catey Award for Restaurateur of the Year 22 years ago, so to win one myself means so much to both of us.” Daniel’s father Michael Gill, along with his mother Hanni, ran Michelin-starred restaurant Pool

Court for 40 years, so these are very big footsteps to be following in! The award is a true testament to the hard work of the entire team, and the

fantastic suppliers and companies that have supported us in developing this new company over the past 12 months.

and new product development,” he added. Coeur de Xocolat also presented David with the unique opportunity to marry his vocation with the experience gained working in the food and drink industry. “Team building was the most obvious add on to the brand creating a product with a strong foundation in professional development and the cohesive qualities of chocolate.”

Sweet success...

Next came the after dinner speaking opportunities to offer enthusiasm and gusto from a gifted storyteller. Finally, David increasingly found more and more demand for food festival demonstrations and conference compering and energising.

with the best job in the world

Think back to when you were younger. What did you want to be when you grew up? An astronaut? A fireman? A policeman? How about a Chocolate Consultant? That’s exactly what David Greenwood-Haigh, 56 from Wakefield, does for a living and it really is the dream job. So how can you be a Chocolate Consultant too? Well, David started Coeur de Xocolat, a Chocolate Business and Team Building Consultancy, 6 years ago following a long career in the food and drink industry. His professional career began at Catering College in Wakefield, understanding the science behind food and cooking. From there, David started his working life as a chef in hotels and restaurants. This was where the Yorkshireman earned his stripes TopicUK \ October 2018

doing long hours in a hot kitchen to fully immerse himself in all the possibilities and nuances of what it takes to compile a great menu; these experiences would serve him well in his later career. David left the kitchen in his mid-20s to start working on the manufacturing side of the industry where he would flourish for the next 25 years. Throughout this period on his CV, the next Willy Wonka worked for some of the world’s most prestigious food businesses such as Unilever, Young’s Bluecrest and Campbell’s. “This stage of my life afforded me indepth knowledge of business cycles, product research and development, go-to-market strategies and an intrinsic understanding of the sales environment,” David told TopicUK. You could argue, however, that it was his final employed role that really paved the way to his chocolatey calling. David worked in sales for Divine Chocolate, a UK-based ethical

chocolate business. This position really appealed to his strong moral compass and passion for enhancing opportunities in underprivileged growing regions. This position wasn’t your typical sales role, or not at least the way David did it. He quickly developed a niche for himself and a penchant for being more of a chocolate raconteur than a corporate face. A huge thirst for knowledge led David to be considered an expert in the field and to the conclusion that Coeur de Xocolat was what was really in his heart.

More recently he has been arranging and leading chocolate safaris, which involves taking groups of people on a chocolate safari to cities like Bruges, Paris and London and immersing (enrobing) them in the world of chocolate Now, when David looks back on the first 6 years of Coeur de Xocolat he can boast about having worked with some of the most recognisable businesses in the UK and globally including a Team Building event for Danone overlooking Lake Geneva, events with Propercorn and KPMG and consulting jobs in Haiti and Sao Tome.

Coeur de Xocolat was originally incepted as a platform for David to share his infectious passion for a wonderfully versatile food stuff through talks, tastings and demonstrations however it quickly evolved into much more.

It’s safe to say that when that Freshfaced chef started on his first day of catering college he really didn’t know he’d end up earning a living travelling the world evangelising about his favourite things; but David can now say that he is very lucky to have his dream job.

“The business developed into a portfolio of different functions from educational talks in schools and universities to business consultancy

If you would like to book David for an event email: david@coeurdexocolat. com or visit his website at: www. coeurdexocolat.com

FO O D

D R I NK

A GEM IN NEWMILLERDAM

We arrived early and had a choice of where to sit, we settled in and were handed both food and drink menus. Both were extensive. I chose a crisp white Sauvignon Blanc and my dining companion a glass of cider. We decided to skip the starter, not that they werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t tempting but we decided three courses were too much and we had already had a sneaky look at the dessert menu and made our minds up on that!

It was a beautiful warm evening when TopicUK paid a visit to the recently refurbished Dam Inn at Denby Dale. Sitting beside the Dam Resovoir, popular with families, joggers and dog walkers, this traditional pub restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy a home-cooked meal and a well deserved drink following a stroll around the historic lake.

For main, I chose the chicken, leek and ham pie served with fresh seasonal vegetables which was not only huge, it was delicious. My colleague chose fish pie and was directed to the buffet where a cavery was also being served, unusual for mid-week, to select her vegetables. Both meals were perfect, hearty

and equally tasty and the vegetables cooked to perfection. Once cleared by our efficient and friendly server, we were allowed a rest and time to select from the dessert menu. We both had already selected. It had to be the apple crumble with hot creamy custard. These arrived and again, portion sizes were huge with the custard served in a small jug on the side. The apple was spiced and there was a lovely warming cinnamon flavour sprinkled in the crumble topping. Divine! Verdict: A must visit village pub for delicious hearty food and a warm friendly welcome. With the carvery served on Sundayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s I would guess it becomes very busy, so making a reservation is adviseable and the car parks around the pub do get busy because of the popular dam. www.classicinns.co.uk

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S U M M E R T R E AT S F R O M SAINSBURY’S

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Range never disappoints, so when the box of treats arrived in the TopicUK office this edition for us to sample, we knew we wouldn’t be disappointed. First to be opened was the tub of Rocky Road mini bites. These popular sweet treats were deliciously chocolately with just the right amount of crunch, liberally sprinkled with marshmallow pieces. Great for sharing and only £2.50 per tub. Accompanying the Rocky Road, staff dived into the tub of brownie mini bites that were as perfect as a brownie should be, slightly crisp on the outside with a gooey centre. A bargain at £250 for a 246g tub.

Moving away from the sweet, it was time to try the fig & spelt crispbread. These were delicious and you could really taste the fig. We tried them with cheese, and a dash of chutney, perfect! £1.75 for a 150g pack. Now all these treats and we needed something to wash them down with. What better than a bottle of Taste the Difference Prosecco Conegliano at £8.50 for a 75cl bottle. Fresh and vibrant, this wine was elegant and crisp with a fine bubble mousse and a delicious apricot, pear and citrus flavour. Perfect to serve with antipasti. With a number two dry rating, this Italian wine was a hit!

New rooftop bar for Leeds EAST PARADE SOCIAL, A NEW BAR AND EATERY OFFERING INCREDIBLE VIEWS OF THE CITY AND OF LEEDS’ GRADE II LISTED ARTS GALLERY, IS SET TO OPEN IN LATE SUMMER. Part of Avenue HQ Group, the bar will be on 10-12 East Parade and offer a range of incredible food, drink and organised social events. The rooftop bar is just one of six event spaces available throughout the 35,000 sq ft building, which also includes a ground-floor café providing locally sourced food and drink from morning to night. Leah Dottie, Head of Hospitality for the Avenue HQ Group said: Leeds is a vibrant and exhilarating city with a thriving, world class independent food and drink scene, which we’re excited to become a part of.

“This particular area of the city, with its fantastic combination of business and social activities, has inspired our new business hub

to include an eatery and multiple onsite bars. “Our perceptions of work life balance have continued to evolve over the years, and our hospitality spaces aim to create an extension of your daily working environment; be it for your morning coffee on the way to the office, through to after work drinks with friends and client meetings. Working life simply isn’t just 9-5 anymore. “We can’t wait to open our doors and invite tenants and guests to enjoy some of the best views in Leeds from our rooftop bar.” The offering is part of the new Avenue HQ business hub which will provide Leeds’ growing business scene with more than 200 coworking spaces and 35 offices varying in size. The rooftop bar is currently planned to open as we went to press across the August bank holiday weekend. For more information visit, www. eastparadesocial.co.uk.

WHY LACK OF INVESTMENT IN YOUR MANAGERS IS DAMAGING YOUR PROFITS by Katie Fletcher, HR advisor at Howarths

the issue hasn’t been dealt with and clients continue to get a service which is not representative of the company values. The colleague still thinks nothing’s wrong, and – as a manager – you’ve wasted time by not acting straight away, distracting you from making money. Now work out the cost

Giving constructive criticism is not easy. Most of us don’t like having difficult conversations. It’s awkward and uncomfortable. Much easier to stick to positive feedback which feels good for everyone, or where that isn’t possible, say nothing at all and let the issue get better by itself, right? The problem is, it doesn’t get better. You’re wasting time by not doing anything. Example: You’re sat at your desk one Friday afternoon and you see an email pop up that’s been sent to a client, from a colleague, copying you in. The re’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the content of the email, but the style is much more formal than expected, and what you feel your company stands for. There’s no warmth, empathy or compassion, no ‘Hi Robert, I hope you’re well” or “how was your holiday?” Just bang, bang, bang. Points made, job done, “regards, Paul”. The colleague concerned can be a very tricky character, you’re tired from a long week TopicUK \ October 2018

and you convince yourself it’ll be fine. The client might like that style of communication anyway? The week after, you see the same thing happen. Again, content okay, but the style and feel well off the mark. When you get home, you mention it to your partner and ask their opinion; “would I be harsh if I addressed it?”

“You cannot expect individuals to automatically be brilliant managers without upskilling them on the essential skills of management” “What would you do?” You sleep on it for a further week, Google ‘handling difficult conversations’ and read some guidance. But business moves on, you get busy and forget to deal with it. Have you ever sat back and thought about ho w this lack of management and indecisiveness is actually impacting your business? The truth is it is multifaceted;

Apply a notional cost to the manager’s time for the example above. Based on time wasted b y the manager being indecisive and procrastinating, let’s say a figure of £500. Not unreasonable, I would suggest. You have 5 managers in your business and a small incident like this happens once a month for each manager where there is inaction/indecisiveness through lack of confidence in their management skills. £500 x 12 x 5 = £30,000 worth of lost time over the period of a year. So train your managers. It’s as simple and obvious as that! You cannot expect individuals to automatically be brilliant managers without upskilling them on the essential skills of manage me nt; in this case, how to handle difficult conversations and give feedback. Lack of investment in your people will impact your profitability; there’s no doubt about it. Just because it’s not immediately obvious, doesn’t mean it’s not there. For more information or support on how to upskill your managers, contact katie@howarths-uk.com or call 01274 864999.

HOWARTHS MD UPDATE SINCE WINNING TWO NATIONAL FAMILY BUSINESS AWARDS IN LONDON IN JULY, IT HAS BEEN ALL GO AT HOWARTHS. Winning the awards has given us a new impetus to keep improving in everything we do; we’re in the process of rebranding, redecorating parts of the office, introducing new marketing features such as ‘live chat’ on our website, and widening our reach by engaging with strategic partners such as TopicUK! Fantastic Plus, we are expanding our team across HR, employment law and sales. Howarths is built on its brilliant people and we can’t wait to welcome some new faces to join us on our journey. Over the summer, we have begun working with some fantastic businesses across the region including Dencroft Garages, Angel Health Care Solutions and FM 247. Working with local SMEs is what we do best and we can’t wait to get started with our newest clients. Fame We’re excited about having engaged with the University of Huddersfield in a Europe-wide HR project looking at how businesses in Yorkshire deal with HR. Our input will facilitate knowledge-sharing but also highlight to the new generation of graduate HR practitioners that there are fantastic HR careers waiting for them at SMEs across our region; HR on the coalface! Finally, myself, Andy and Natalie recently had our 11 minutes of fame on BBC Radio Leeds with the brilliant Stephanie Hirst. We talked all about The Howarth Foundation and our quest to provide meaningful employment opportunities for those who have been homeless and are ready to take the next step. If you didn’t catch the show, we might still be on the iPlayer somewhere! Onwards and upwards. Gavin Howarth

Conference 2018 With a fantastic line up of inspirational speakers sharing practical advice and business strategies, combined with 97 exhibition stands, this year’s conference promises to be the best year ever. With over 1500 delegates attending, the conference provides a great networking opportunity to make new contacts and find new customers as well as the opportunity to develop new skills and business strategies. Brand Yorkshire helps people and businesses develop personal and business development strategies, whilst delivering top quality marketing activities. We have a contact database of over 60k people and if you haven’t already done so, please join our LinkedIn group and group discussions on Twitter where we have over 41k followers. Brand Yorkshire’s main goals are to help disadvantaged young people around our region and to support local charities. If you are looking for a partner for your CSR policy and would like to make a real difference to people’s lives, please see one of our team. Enjoy the day Richard & Mona Norman

BRAND YORKSHIRE BUSINESS AWARDS Join us for the first ever Brand Yorkshire Business Awards ceremony at The Village Hotel, North Leeds on 5th December 2018. Entries have now closed but tickets are still available for the 3-course dinner, where you can witness winners pick up their awards, whilst networking in this relaxed environment. T h e B r a n d Yo r k s h i r e Aw a r d s provide the perfect opportunity to be recognised for the extensive work your business does and showcase to 50,000 contacts. Make a diary note for next years’ entry dates. The cost for a single ticket is £65; five is £295 with a table of ten £495. All money raised from the event will contribute

to the development of a school at Hemsworth Miners Welfare to help disadvantaged and disenfranchised children. For more information or to book call Richard on 07748 117979 or email: richard@cigroup.cc or Mona on 07748 117977 or email: mona@ brandyorkshire.com

THE CATEGORIES: • Best new business (trading for less than two years) • Best micro business (no more than 9 employees) • Best small business (no more than 50 employees) • Innovation for the future • Young business owner (30 and under) • Property & construction small business • Property & construction medium business • Charity of the year • Out of their league

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KEYNOTE SPEAKERS Adeem Younis 10.40 - 11.00 Entrepreneur and philanthropist Adeem Younis is the award-winning Chairman of humanitarian charity Penny Appeal. Celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2019, Penny Appeal provides emergency medical aid, food, shelter, clean water and much more to 30 counties across world, as well as providing emergency aid and food/care packs here in the UK, for the homeless and those vulnerable. Setting up his first business at just 17-years old, one that is now one of the largest in its sector, at just 37-years-old, Adeem’s incredible journey is most awe-inspiring.

Guy Phoenix 09.40 - 10.00

Simon Darlaston 10.10 - 10.30

Jane Keogh 11.10 - 11.30

Andrew Sherratt Nigel Greenwood Michelle Mook 11.40 -12.00 12.50 - 13.10 12.20 - 2.40

Don’t let cyber crime affect your business

Increase your sales in 4 easy steps

Unplugged - why Measuring Market unplugging from Effectiveness stress is vital for your well-being.

The most recent focus for Guy and his IT businesses has been cyber security. Coupling this with his marketing expertise, his presentation at Brand Yorkshire will discuss the challenges companies face from a Brand perspective in the face of incessant cyber-attacks and in the event of a cyber breach.

Simon will share 4 Techniques you can take away and implement immediately into your business to increase your sales. He will be sharing tried and tested content developed by the world’s leading experts in sales and sales management, used in some of the world’s fastest growing companies.

In a fast paced world, unhelpful emotions like anger, frustration, fear, & disappointment create stress and anxiety and become barriers to achievement. Stress not only clouds vision & creativity, it is also the single largest cause of employee absence in the UK and is now linked to serious mental and physical illnesses. Everyone can improve their resilience with effective tools and techniques.

In this seminar Andrew will look at how and why we should measure marketing effectiveness. Marketers use data for insights to inform decision making and utilisation of marketing resources. It is now essential for marketers to be able to prove the results of activities and justify expenditure.

Why and How to Map Your Customer Journeys

How engaged are your team?

He established Simply Customer in 2014 to help SMEs grow through mapping customer journeys and improving the customer experience. Local SMEs he has worked with have seen up to 100% improvement in lead to sale conversion, 80% improvement in customer retention and up to 700% increase in turnover.

Whether you are looking to recruit in the future or already have a number of employees, Michelle Mook will help you to identify how you can release more of the capability and potential of the people you work with and support the continued success and growth of your business.

Our speakers will share their positive stories, skills and knowledge, helping you develop both personal and business strategies, these sessions are a great opportunity to listen to and learn from some of the most interesting and brightest business minds.

Janet Doran 13.20 - 13.40 The purpose of strategy is to create competitive advantage This session will take you through a simple model designed to focus on three key elements that can make your business stand out from the crowd. You will leave armed with some ‘health check’ questions designed to challenge your current strategy and highlight opportunities to maximise your unique competitive advantage.

Sally Roberts 13.50 - 14.10

Jo Tomlinson 14.20 - 14.40

Winning Ready, Steady, business is easy Grow! Selling today is easy. Having many happy customers is easy. Winning business is easy. You just need to know how to do it and how to work efficiently. In twenty minutes, Sally will share a proven process that has been used to source and close business worth millions.

TopicUK \ October 2018

Jo Tomlinson is an experienced Growth Coach with her own growing business and she can help you to understand why your business isn’t growing in the way you want it to, and how you can achieve the dreams and aspirations you had when you started your business, before the day job got in the way.

Louise Turner 14.50 - 15.10

Steve Philip 15.20 - 15.40

Jo North 15.50- 16.10

Improving your business award strategy

How to get to the right decision makers in your prospects’ businesses

Think creatively to move your business forward

Having written and won a clutch of awards for her own and her team’s work while a communications manager for a large public sector body, Louise added awardwriting as to her portfolio when she set up the business in 2011. However, Louise will reveal why winning is overrated anyway, as well as giving away tips and tricks to move your next award entry up a league.

From his experience of working with companies such as FedEx, Harley Davidson, Toyota GB, The British Red Cross, Deloitte and other significant brands, Steve will share with you what it really takes to make platforms such as LinkedIn work so that you can locate, connect and engage with more of the right clients.

Dr Jo North is Managing Director of The Big Bang Partnership Ltd a commercial innovation consultancy that works with businesses to help them to innovate and grow. Dr Jo North will share innovation tools and techniques to help you think more creatively about how to move your business forward.

SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS BOOT UP FOR SUCCESS

YORK S H I R E C H I L D R E N OF COU R AG E AWA R D S I S AL L SET FO R T H E B I G N I G H T ON 1 2 O CTO B E R ! We have a fantastic entertainment line up including The Mini Big Band who will be performing live swing and jazz! There will also be plenty of surprises during the evening! Our Ambassadors Paul Elliot, Hannah Cockroft MBE and Jack Carroll will all be supporting us during the evening along with a host of local celebrities from the worlds of Business, Entertainment and Sport. The event is set to be a night to remember in addition to raising funds for St. James’s Place Charitable Foundation. We can’t wait to see who, from our

truly inspirational nominees, has won the Awards this year. We have a few tickets available for the Awards Dinner at New Dock Hall priced at £85 each with a table for 10 at just £850. This includes a full Indian Banquet provided by our Sponsors The Aagrah Restaurants Group. If you would like to attend please contact Jane Clynes on 07703 271238. Mo r e i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t Yorkshire Children of Courage Awards can be found at www. yorkshirechildren.co.uk

Co-founded by business mentor, Gary King (pictured) of Tendo, with marketers Clare Taylor and Mike Hall of ThinkSmart Marketing, Business Squad is a Facebook group that supports small business owners as they plan for growth. Since launching, the group already has more than 1,100 members and encourages entrepreneurs to ask for advice, share experiences and celebrate successes. The team also ran an action-packed training

realising that to be more successful, they needed to plug some skills and knowledge gaps. We did that.”

day of practical tips and learning. The #BeMore Bootcamp addressed the demands of trying to scale while enjoying a work life balance by helping business owners learn how to be more efficient, profitable and successful. “It was a huge success,” says Gary. “Full of great people – all with different strengths and goals – but all

Over 50 small business owners from Yorkshire came together to share ideas, work on their business plans and learn new marketing skills, ending the day with a list of practical actions. “The feedback’s been amazing and we’ll be running it again in the future.” For more information, join the ‘BusinessSquad’ group on Facebook.

GLITTERING NEW CAREER FOR SCUNTHORPE JEWELLER A SCUNTHORPE-BASED ENTREPRENEUR HAS EMBARKED ON A GLITTERING NEW CAREER AS A BESPOKE JEWELLERY DESIGNER AND MANUFACTURER FOLLOWING RECEIPT OF A £750 GRANT FROM THE UK STEEL ENTERPRISE (UKSE) KICKSTART FUND. Victoria Markham officially launched Silver Orb Jewellery after using the funding to commission her own personal jewellers stamp. She has since started helping others create their own pieces by delivering jewellery making workshops at the popular Café INDIEpendent. She said: “I am so grateful to have received the funding from

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ACCE S S N O RT H ST R U C T U R ES R ELO CAT E S AS T U R N OVE R H I TS NEW H E I G H TS Following a 35% uplift in turnover, rope access specialist Access North Structures has relocated to a new office in Armitage Bridge, Huddersfield as it prepares for further expansion. Newly released figures for 2017-18 demonstrate significant growth for the work at height experts, with client numbers reaching 54 – a 38% increase on the previous year. To facilitate a marked upturn in service demand over the last 12 months, the firm has also welcomed three new recruits on board, bringing the in-office headcount up to eight. With technical project manager Richard Knight having been appointed last spring, the latest additions to the growing team of specialists are Diane Basnett and Tara Calvin. Joining as a project manager, Diane will be a single point of contact for clients and work closely with Richard to plan and manage assignments. Meanwhile, office administrator

Tara will be responsible for providing essential support to the whole team.

Growth Re q u i r i n g a d d i t i o n a l s p a c e to accommodate its internal expansion, the firm has relocated to a larger unit at Brooke’s Mill in Armitage Bridge, where it has been based since 2013. The new office is twice the size of the previous base and will provide scope for further recruitment – a key focus for the company in the year ahead.

Winning

M anaging director Be re nice Northcott commented on this continuing growth: “2017-18 was a brilliant year for us and with client numbers rising, we’re expecting our turnover to increase even more over the next 12 months.

Notable names to have joined the firm’s growing client roster in the past 12 months are the British Racing Drivers Club – which is headquartered at the worldrenowned Silverstone Circuit – along with the University of Huddersfield, Denbighshire County Council and The Bulwell Academy, Nottingham.

“Further recruitment is on the cards for 2018 – especially for our on-site team – so our relocation to a new, larger office will provide us with ample space to expand our core workforce. We’re also looking to

Berenice elaborated: “We’re already working and winning contracts with small, local companies and blue-chip clients throughout the UK – spanning an array of different sectors – and we have the expertise

UKSE without which I would not have been able to make the transition from enjoying making jewellery as a hobby to creating a business centred on it.” Alan Stanley of UK Steel Enterprise added: “It’s been a pleasure to support Victoria as she establishes Silver Orb Jewellery and gets her jewellery making workshops off the ground. “She has a clear vision for growth, and I have no doubt that her bespoke designs TopicUK \ October 2018

increase the number of vehicles we have, in order to fulfil nationwide demand for our services.”

and quality craftsmanship will continue to attract custom across the UK and beyond. “The Kickstart fund was established to support start-up businesses and budding entrepreneurs, such as Victoria, by providing grants of up to £750 alongside guidance and advice from Growth Hub advisors at North Lincolnshire Council.” UK Steel Enterprise also provides equity and loan finance up to £1M to established

to provide fully tailored assignments to them all. “Having such a varied customer base requires us to be versatile, so we’re constantly balancing our professionalism with our trademark down-to-earth approach, in order to deliver our work at height services safely and efficiently.” Established in 2011, Access North Structures specialises in the installation, inspection and maintenance of complex structures, ETFE facilities and tensile fabric canopies via rope access techniques. The company additionally deploys fall protection solutions and is an approved partner of SFS intec – provider of the industry-renowned SOTER safety systems.

and growing companies to facilitate expansion and create job opportunities. Established businesses in need of growth finance can contact the UK Steel Enterprise team on 0800 915 1188.

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Ho Chi Minh City &Mekong IT’S THE PERFECT BALANCE OF OLD AND NEW, FROM INCENSE-FILLED TEMPLES AND COLONIAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS TO ROOFTOP BARS AND INFINITY POOLS THAT OFFER SOME OF THE BEST VIEWS OF THE CITY. IT’S PRECISELY WHAT MAKES THE FORMER SAIGON, NOW KNOWN AS HO CHI MINH CITY, THE MOST PERFECT STARTING POINT FOR THOSE LOOKING TO DISCOVER THE WONDERFUL VIETNAM - WHERE MOTORBIKES & THE MEKONG MEET.

There are over 5 million registered motorbikes in the city, proving the most popular way to get around. They’re even used like taxis by tourists and locals! The Mekong River meanders through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia before hitting Vietnam on its way to the South China Sea. It’s the 12th longest river in the world, and a lifeline to those who reside along it. Plenty of boat tours from Ho Chi

Minh City exist – allowing visitors to catch a glimpse into the daily life of the inhabitants of settlements along its banks. Discover floating markets, monkeys, rice paddies, cocoa plantations, traditional handmade crafts and so much more, whilst peacefully cruising along the still waters – under the leaves of the jungle canopy. Perfect for history lovers, attractions

Ho Chi Minh is famed for it’s street food. Bot Chien - rice flour cakes fried in oil with an egg, and topped with shredded green papaya, is considered a musttry when visiting. You’ll also find fried pork buns, spring rolls and Pho - a noodle soup usually made with Beef or Chicken.

such as the Cu Chi tunnels display a glimpse into life during the country’s turbulent, infamous war that ended in the 1970s. This narrow network of underground we’re used as supply lines to travel between villages, and to offer discrete living quarters and medical centres to soldiers. While they’re now a fascinating day trip for visitors, they certainly aren’t for the claustrophobic!

BREXIT AND RASH DECISIONS DON’T AFFECT U N D E R LY I N G C O N F I D E N C E We had a deal cancelled at the point of signature last week. All the reasons for completing the contract remain; the rent and terms are fine, the size is what is required and the location was perfect. The reason given was that (if true) the company’s accountant had advised that because of Brexit they should find somewhere to buy. “No names, no pack-drill” but of all the reasons to buy a new factory/warehouse and office, Brexit would be the last on my list and I cannot understand this reasoning knowing how difficult it is to find the right place to buy for any one specific business. The decision to buy rather than lease has more to do with whether a company wants the property on its own balance sheet or not. True, industrial/ warehouse property yields are significantly higher than other forms of investment and, commonly, a property can be bought over a period of ten to twelve years. Nevertheless committing capital to the purchase of a building is to remove working capital from a company’s operations and TopicUK \ October 2018

should not be made lightly. The banks have, for over fifteen years, been steadily selling off property and leasing it back because they know that they can get a better return by lending money rather than having the capital sat in buildings. If the concern about Brexit has to do with uncertainty following Brexit, should not the advice be to take a building on a lease and be sure to negotiate a degree of flexibility allowing for uncertainty? We are all in the Brexit boat together and a decision not to take a lease of a building in favour of trying to find something to buy prevents the very flexibility one would look for in a lease; tie up working capital that would otherwise be used in the business and, unless someone is very fortunate, forestall the time with the move (and presumably expansion) at a point when, by definition, it is most beneficial to the company. By all means try and buy if you wish but the decision, so far as I can see, if generally

based upon Brexit is particularly difficult to understand but I may, of course, be missing some vital part of the context in which the advice was given. In the meantime, Bridge Business Park at Colne Bridge in Huddersfield has been completed by Frank Marshall Estates Ltd providing 37,500 sqft of first class industrial/warehouse accommodation in 6No units from 2,500 sqft. The merged firms of Walker Singleton and Hanson Chartered Surveyors are marketing from £8 per sqft per annum. This will be formally launched at the end of September. Despite rather than because of Brexit, owning one’s own factory remains a popular choice for some and the shortage of land has drawn Aflex Hose from its home in Sowerby Bridge to Bradley Huddersfield where they have taken 11.5 acres, sold by Walker Singleton on behalf of Kirklees Council for a new factory of 206,612 sqft.

Hanson Chartered Surveyors was established in October 1989, by Mark Hanson BSc FRICS to service the needs of clients expecting direct and uncomplicated advice. Hanson Chartered Surveyors is a Walker Singleton Group Company

Confidence in the West Yorkshire area and Huddersfield remains positive.

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Savour Puglia: Authentic Italy by Zeina Hechme

If you want to avoid throngs of tourists wielding selfie-sticks, and enjoy ‘la dolce vita’ without the long lines, then head to the southern region of Puglia.

Each year, swarms of tourists descend upon Italy, and make a beeline for famed cities, like Venice, Rome and Florence. Sure, these bucket-list destinations remain unrivaled in historical and cultural treasures, but they’re usually teeming with visitors.

Puglia may be slightly-under-theradar, but this underrated gem won’t disappoint – especially if you crave a languid, sun-drenched Italian holiday. Puglia is located at the heel of Italy’s boot, where the waters of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas lap at its shores. Puglia is where the Italians take their vacation. The region has it all: magnificent architecture, whitewashed coastal towns set against jewel-hued waters, and a rustic cuisine that showcases Puglia’s bounty of land and sea. There are over sixty million olive trees in Puglia, making the region Italy’s top olive oil producer. The place has a fascinating history: the Greeks, Romans, Normans and Aragonese have all left their imprint on the region in the form of crumbling ruins, amphitheatres, medieval castles, and baroque churches. Puglia, with its flat, roadside stretches of olive groves and vineyards, has an unassuming, subtle beauty. In the narrow streets of Bari Vecchia, you can find local women sitting outdoors, making fresh orecchiette or “little ears” pasta. Social life still

revolves around the town piazza or lungomare ‘seafront’, where families dress up to take an evening stroll or a passeggiata. Puglia is also the land of the traditional ‘pizzica’ tarantella folkdance. Puglia may be a lesser-known destination, but the region is no stranger to visitors, thanks to direct flights from London to Bari or Brindisi on British Airways, Easy Jet,

and Ryan Air. Here, in the remote stiletto heel of Italy’s boot, you’ll discover laid-back Italy at its best. Perhaps that’s why Italians keep this secret to themselves.

Must-Sees if in Puglia: Lecce: It doesn’t get more elegant than Lecce. Think pale colours, charming

While in Lecce, take a stroll over to the striking Santa Croce Basilica and Piazza Duomo. Grab a coffee or aperitivo at Caffé Alvino, in Piazza Sant’Oronzo, and visit the Roman amphitheatre, built in the age of Emperor Augustus.

Alberobello: Alberobello, literally “beautiful tree,” is hands-down one of Puglia’s most enchanting and idyllic towns, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tucked away in the Itria Valley, Alberbello is famous for its endless sea of hobbit or elven-like ‘trullis’ – whitewashed, cone-shaped dwellings that were constructed in the 1400s, and are crowned with mysterious symbols. Explore the cobblestone pathways, and rows of trullis, many of which have been converted into boutiques, museums, and first-rate artisanal shops. For panoramic views over the town, head up to the Belvedere Trulli.

Polignano a Mare:

of Christ.” The sprawling clusters of ‘sassi’ or stone dwellings carved out of limestone, are perched on high cliffs overlooking a deep ravine. Matera’s stark landscape of valleys, pastures and sassi is dramatic, and awe-inspiring: it’s where nature meets architecture. Today, Matera’s sassi are used as small hotels, shops, restaurants, homes, and holistic spas. A good way to explore Matera is on a ‘Piaggo Ape’ or an Italian three-wheeled rickshaw. You can hail one down at the church piazza.

More Puglia Tips: Visit the delightful towns of Ostuni, Trani, Gargano, and Otranto, where the city buzzes at night. Puglia also boasts a long list of castles, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Castel del Monte, an octagonal structure built by the Emperor Frederico II, and the Castello Svevo in Bari, built by the Norman King Roger II.

Soak in the sun at Poligniano a Mare. This small coastal town has all the ingredients for a languorous beach day: dazzling seas, great seafood restaurants, and a bright, dreamy atmosphere. Domenico Modugno, the writer and singer of the famous song “Volare” hails from Poligiano. There’s a bronze statue of him near the seafront.

17-century piazzas, and striking facades embellished with stone leaves, chubby cherubs, and wild beasts. Nicknamed the “Florence of the South,” Lecce, the capital of Salento, embodies the splendour of the Baroque era. Walk down cobbled streets lined with palazzi made from creamy-gold Leccesse stone, and fall in love with its refined architecture. Lecce is also known for its papermache or cartapesta workshops of intricate puppets and figurines. TopicUK \ October 2018

Puglia hosts many unique annual events throughout the year: the medieval parade of nobles, jesters and knights in Oria in August; ‘Speleonight,’ where visitors can take night excursions in the vast, magical underground cave, Grotto di Castellano; and la “Notte della Taranta” Festival in Salento in August, where you’ll get to experience Puglia’s fiery There’s not much to do in Polignano, except eat, folk dancing, and joyful music of tambourines swim and explore, if that’s your kind of thing. and accordions. The main beach, Spiaggia Lama Monachile, is flanked by soaring, dramatic limestone cliffs, Lastly, mangia tutto! There’s no shortage of and boasts blue-green crystalline waters. food to try in Puglia. The focaccia, mozzarella Wander through the whitewashed centro and and grilled seafood will be some of the storico, or historical city center, and discover best you’ve ever tasted. churches, boutiques, and the cute ‘poetic staircase.’ If you feel for a memorable lunch, Getting Around: dine at the “Grotta Palazzese,” an upscale restaurant set in a limestone cave carved by For those who want to arrive at a specific the waves of the Adriatic Sea. destination in Puglia, the public transport system (trains and buses) is well-connected, and fairly reliable. For more flexible Matera: explorations, visitors can rent a car from Bari Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Basilicata region, borders Puglia. The or Brindisi airports, though bookings should ancient town of cave dwellings recently won be made in advance. If you’d rather have a the bid to become the 2019 European Capital hands-free, yet informative driving adventure, of Culture. Matera is one of the world’s oldest opt for “Experience Puglia,” a personal escort continuously inhabited cities, and was the and tour guide company, to get you around site where Mel Gibson filmed “The Passion the region.

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Two Brothers: One Destiny Based on the MGM heart-warming Oscar winning motion picture, made famous by Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, the classic screen to stage production of Rain Man is coming to the Leeds Grand Theatre. Beginning in Windsor Theatre Royal before embarking on its UK tour, Rain Man will arrive in Leeds on 29 October, showing until 3 November. Starring Gavin and Stacey’s Matthew Horne and Downton Abbey’s Ed Speleers, Rain Man is a story about two brothers, self centred salesman Charlie Babbitt, who discovers that he has a long-lost brother Raymond, an autistic savant with genius for numbers who has inherited the family fortune, he sets out to ger ‘his half’. Charlie ‘borrows’ Raymond from the institution where he has spent most of his life and the two brothers embark on a trip across America where Charlie soon discovers that Raymond is worth more than he could ever have imagined. TopicUK group editor Gill Laidler was lucky enough to catch up with Ed Speleers ahead of his stage debut. Ed is best known for starring as Jimmy Kent in the Golden Globe award-winning series Downton Abbey. He is also credit with Outlander, Wolf Hall, Beowulf, Zoo, Throught the Looking Glass, Partners in Crime and Eragon to name a few. Ed, who is married with two young children, three-and-a-half year old Jude and Dusty, their daughter who was just a few weeks old at the time we spoke with him, always knew he would become an

actor. He got ‘the bug’ whilst still at school. “I was always in a school play, there was a certain thrill about being on stage, perhaps I enjoyed the attention, but I certainly got a buzz from it.” Ed’s lucky break came when he was 17. His teacher was a part-time actor and secured him some auditions. “Because I was lucky enough to get auditions and a few minor roles, I didn’t go to drama school, which I sometimes regret, but I have learnt on the job so to speak, and have been lucky enough to work alongside some very talented people.” Although Ed has worked on lots of films and television series, he is best known for his role as Jimmy in Downton Abbey. “I don’t think anyone knew when it started what a phenominal success the show would become. I was honoured to be a part of it, working with an amazing cast of talented actors.” Rain Man is Ed’s first major stage role and he knows it will be both fear and a buzz! “I am looking forward to it, albeit nervously,” he laughed. “Matthew Horne is a great actor, so between us I know the performance will be just great.” Ed and his family will be heading to Leeds and is looking forward to exploring more of the city. Leeds is great and I know that just 20 minutes drive I can be exploring the beautiful countryside. I’m also looking forward to visiting the attractions of York with the family. To book your ticket call the box office on 0844 848 2700 or visit: www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

A new cultural curriculum in Bristol aims to reverse the decline in arts education By Murray Edwards - Art and business consultant Wakefield

I was very interested to read of a new initiative in Bristol spearheaded by Bristol Music Trust, that is seeking to try and remedy the relegation of creative arts subjects in the curriculum. Pupils learning about maths through dance Bristol often appears in lists of top destinations to visit and places to live. When people visit the city from other parts of the UK, they always comment on how rich and vibrant the cultural scene is. It’s undoubtedly a key driver in Bristol’s success, but despite the obvious popularity of arts and culture in Bristol, many of the schools feel forced to relegate the position of creative arts subjects in the curriculum in favour of STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths). At the same time, schools are reducing funding for cultural enrichment at the very time they should be increasing it, despite the extremely positive feedback teachers about how liberating this way of teaching can be. Dance, drama, music and art are being pushed into paid-for, after-hours sessions, a situation which is compounded by the implementation of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) that requires students to study English, maths, a language, science and history or geography at GCSE. This is likely to exacerbate an existing trend of decline in arts education. Taking music as an example, according to The Economist (1 March 2018) the UK’s music industry is worth £4.4bn each year, yet the number of music GCSE students has fallen to its lowest level since 2007, at just 5.5% of the overall pupil population. A cultural curriculum Arts education and delivering results in STEM do not need to be mutually exclusive. In response to a lack of curriculum time being devoted to arts education, Bristol Music Trust TopicUK \ October 2018

is working with partners to pilot the Bristol Cultural Curriculum. Developed in cooperation with artists and teachers, it combines creative arts and STEM subjects, putting arts right back on the teaching agenda and enriching the classroom experience for students and teachers alike. In partnership with Bristol Old Vic (drama), Chango Music (music), Theatre Bristol (dance), Room 13 (art) and teachers from E-ACT Multi Academy Trust, which runs four schools in Bristol, 72 tailored lesson plans covering 300 activities have been created. They give teachers adaptable resources that use the creative arts to teach STEM subjects. As an example of how the subjects are being combined, power dynamics in engineering are demonstrated through the shift of power between two pupils dancing. In another lesson plan, the physiological mechanisms of the voice box and diaphragm are explained through performing poetry and song, and mathematical formulas are taught using musical instruments to decode a ‘mysterious alien language’.

Evaluation and refinement To properly evaluate the impact of the programme, work is being undertaken with the education department of the University of the West of England (UWE), whose trainee teachers are piloting the lesson plans on placements in schools across Bristol. This has not only provided vital feedback as to how the plans are working in practice but is also helping to further refine and evaluate the programmes before the curriculum resources are made available from September.

UWE is also embedding the programme in its initial teacher training degree course, thereby ensuring that when students start out on their professional careers, they will be taking these teaching principles into schools as part of their practice, enabling creative and critical thinking, skills that are vital to the economy and personal development.

Careers and creativity The belief is that this approach will inspire students to continue to seek careers in the creative industries, which are so vital to a city like Bristol. The idea that a career in the arts is somehow less stable than any other job must now be redundant. In his book Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future, author Martin Ford speaks about what jobs will be safe from technological advances and automation. He believes that the safest, most resilient jobs will involve “genuine creativity, such as being an artist”. The creative arts offer meaningful employment pathways, but only if people see them as an option. That starts at school. Schools are facing enormous cuts due to the government’s new school funding formula (£32m in Bristol alone), and there is great pressure on the curriculum due to the implementation of the EBacc, but the creative arts offer a path towards excellence. Arts subjects provide a way for children with boundless imagination to find focus and purpose, and for more academic children, a way to excel through deep thinking and creativity. Schools and multi-academy trusts need to see the connection between creative arts subjects, school improvement and an enriched education for pupils. I hope this will be a lesson that others will follow before it is too late!

Murray Edwards Arts & Business Consultancy & Services

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worldwide and has been seen by over 25 million people, is packed with their hits including: Beggin’, Sherry, Walk Like a Man, December, 1963 (Oh What a Night), Big Girls Don’t Cry, My Eyes Adored You and many many more. Jersey Boys is the 12th longest running show in Broadway history. Michael Watson who made his West End debut in We Will Rock You stars as Frankie Valli and TopicUK group editor Gill Laidler, was lucky enough to catch up with Declan Egan who plays Bob Gaudio ahead of his performance. Declan is not new to the role however, he originally hails from Australia, where his first appearance in theatre was playing the role of Bob Gaudio in his native country at the age of 19.

Oh what a night!

THE JERSEY BOYS HEAD TO THE GRAND THEATRE

D Declan Egan

ue to overwhelming demand, the UK and Ireland tour of the Tony, Olivier and Grammy Award-winning musical Jersey Boys is extending its tour to March 2019 and you can see this spectacular production at The Leeds Grand Theatre between 20 November and 1 December. Jersey Boys first opened in London at the Prince Edward Theatre ten years ago in March 2018, before moving to the Piccadilly Theatre in 2014. It closed in March 2017 following nine years of

amazing success and embarked on the first UK and Ireland tour. This is a remarkable true story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and their rise to stardom from the wrong side of the tracks. These four boys from New Jersey became one of the most successful bands in pop history, were included into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and sold 175 million records worldwide, all before they turned the age of 30. The show, winner of 57 major awards

“After I graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) playing Bob Gaudio was my first performance,” he told us, so to win the part in the UK was just brilliant.” When the production finished in Australia, Declan decided to head off to the US where he toured with The Book of Morman. “I am a travel addict,” he continued, “so this was a perfect role for me and I got to see a huge part of the United States.” Around the same time, Declan also appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s film, The Great Gatsby. When we caught up with Declan he was appearing in Newcastle. “The cast of Jersey Boys are amazing and a real pleasure to work with. I am loving Newcastle, I love visiting new cities and I am lucky enough to be touring the United Kingdom. I have heard fabulous things about the city of Leeds, so can’t wait for the production to settle there so I can explore!” Tickets are still available, albeit limited. The show runs from 20 November to 1 December and tickets can be ordered online at www. leedsgrandtheatre.com or from the box office: 0844 848 2700.

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TopicUK \ October 2018

A DV E RTO R I A L

WH Y WA K EF IELD FO R TH E C A R BU YING G RO U P ? Spotting a gap in the market for an organisation which offers consumers a fair, fast and hassle-free way to sell their car online, The Car Buying Group has come a long way since its inception in 2014. Using a purely 100% collection model for the buying and selling of its cars, we spoke to Tom to find out why Wakefield was chosen as a key location for his business and how being based in the Wakefield District has positively impacted upon The Car Buying Group’s bottom line.

As CEO and Co-Founder of The Car Buying Group, which also happens to be one of the fastest growing tech companies in the north of England, Tom Marley’s accomplishments are already more than many of us could dream; what’s more, at only 39 years of age and with a £43.7 million-pound turnover organisation to his name, this young entrepreneur certainly knows a thing or two about running a profoundly successful business empire.

Maintaining its customer centric, transparent approach to selling cars, coupled with the business’ commitment to providing a fun and rewarding environment in which to work, has seen the organisation earn its place as the number one fastest growing online car buying company in the UK. Tipping the location and close p rox i m i t y o f Wa kef i el d to other major cities as a huge draw, along with access to exceptional professionals who have been educated at some of the outstanding educational institutions which reside in and

around the city, Tom appreciates the value that being based in Wakefield has afforded to his business.

ever-growing list of accolades, we’re sure that we’ll see even bigger things from the business over the years to come.

Tom comments: “Wakefield is such an exciting growth area with superb transport links - Sheffield is less than 30 minutes away and London less than two hours! There’s also some great work going on in the education sector which is not only nurturing talent from Wakefield, but also attracting future professionals from Leeds, York and all the way from Sheffield so it really is a central hub for the Yorkshire area.”

Melissa Armitage, Manager of Bondholders, a not for profit membership organisation made up of private-sector businesses and public-sector partners, comments: “Wakefield is home to vibrant, dynamic businesses that are doing great things, The Car Buying Group is a great example of this. From nationally recognised brands to hidden gems that are leaders within their sectors our district supports a range of organisations as they start out and flourish – put simply it is a great place to Live, Invest and Visit.”

Noting that the benefits of the location come without the heftier price tag that can be seen in other major cities, utilising Wakefield as a key location for the business has undoubtedly played a priceless role in the astounding success that has been enjoyed by the organisation – which, unbelievably, is still only in its fourth year. Despite being only four years young, having more than doubled its turnover in a single year from 2016 to 2017, the business has accomplished an exceptional amount. What’s more, with an

Oh and did we mention that The Car Buying Group is a member of the most vibrant group in town who are also dedicated to promoting the district as a great place to visit, invest and live? Yes, you guessed it, as a recent addition to the Wakefield Bondholders network, we’re looking forward to seeing what else this pioneering young business has up its sleeve! To find out more about The Car Buying Group, please visit the website.

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WA K E F I E L D C E L E B R AT E S U N S U N G H E R O E S The Community Foundation for Wakefield District held its second awards evening at Unity Hall Wakefield recently. This was followed by the main awards of which there were five: •

•

An emotional and enthusiastic audience of over 200 applauded the short-listed candidates for their remarkable contribution to a multitude of activities being undertaken by voluntary group across Wakefield District. Hosted by Wakefield’s Kate Hardcastle and current Yorkshire Business Woman of the year, those present were given a rare insight into the work being undertaken by the 10 short-listed nominees for the Main Awards.

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Chris Hall – for his work with Wakefield Tr i n i t y P h y s i c a l D i s a b i l i t y Te a m (sponsored by BID Wakefield) Erna Steele – for her work with the Homeless Pontefract Support Group (sponsored by Penny Appeal) Tom Long & Josie Hemingway - for their work with the Horbury Senior Citizens Support Group (sponsored by Wakefield Council) Phil Taylor – for his work with Wakefield & Pontefract Guide Dogs for the Blind (sponsored by Jolliffe Cork) Sheila Wainwright – for her work in raising funding for the appointment of Admiral Nurses to support those in the district suffering from dementia (sponsored by Chadwick Lawrence)

Of over 500 votes cast, the final, public award, by a significant majority went to:

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Wayne Cunningham – for his work with the Spinal Injuries Unity at Pinderfields Hospital (sponsored by Yorkshire Telecom/ Biscuit)

Chair of the Community Foundation David Dinmore welcomed a number of key guests including the Mayor of Wakefield Councillor Stuart Heptinstall and Consort Councillor Olivia Rowley, Sir Rodney Walker (President o f t h e C o m m u n i t y Fo u n d a t i o n ) a n d Lady Walker, Mary Creagh (MP for Wakefield) and Adeem Younis (Chair of the penny Appeal). Concluding the evening, Chair of the Foundation David Dinmore thanked everyone for their attendance and in particular all the shortlisted nominees who were making a very real difference to many people’s lives. He thanked the numerous sponsors, raffle prize donors and others without whom the event could not have taken place and encouraged everyone to make a note in their diaries that next year’s event will take place on Friday 7 June 2019.

This was preceded, for the first time, by the Tim Henman Award for young people aged 12-18 who were similarly making a major contribution in providing fundraising and support for those in need. In a surprise announcement, Tim Henman announced that he was unable to select a single winner from those shortlisted, so all three received an award to the delight of the audience. The three winners were: • • •

Chloe Ellam (for her work with Stride Theatre) Mackenzie Millington (from Airedale Academy) Evelyn Slater (from Ackworth School)

In the absence of Tim Henman who was unable to attend due to filming commitments in London, Anton Maree Headmaster of Ackworth School, presented the three young people with their awards. TopicUK \ October 2018

I N FO R M AT I ON

T EC H NO LO GY

WHY DOESN’T MY PC WORK AS WELL AS IT USED TO? By Paul Heigham - Director of Bellingham IT

One of the biggest frustrations for business owners is staff productivity. In this article our IT expert Paul Heigham of Bellingham IT explains why computers slow down over time and the impact of this on the business. How much time do staff waste with slow computers, and how frustrating can that be for them? Shouldn’t PCs just keep working and do the job they were bought for? The thing is, when you first get a new computer and set it up it works really fast, because it doesn’t have much on it. Regardless of whether you have a PC or Mac, over time as you download files, install software, and surf the Internet, your computer gets filled with files that take up space on your hard drive.

programs on your computer and it’s still going slow?

• •

There are many other things that contribute to systems slowing down. Not having enough RAM and running out of hard drive space are the most obvious. Bugs in the operating system, corrupted RAM, static electricity (from carpets etc), power surges, failing hardware, and for Windows users, normal operating system slow down with age.

If you’re updating your software regularly, that can contribute to a slowdown because the updates themselves take up more space and require more system resources. If you have a spinning hard drive, they will slow down fail at some point as they are mechanical. An SSD (Solid State Drive) will be much faster and reliable.

•

Of course, we as users also contribute to the clutter on our PC’s that slow them down installing unnecessary software will fill up your hard drive, causing you to run out of space at the price of speed. There are useful free programs that help you easily identify what is taking up space on your hard drive. But what if you don’t have a lot of apps or

We also can’t ignore that fact that for PC users malware and viruses can also contribute to a computer slowing down. Besides checking what is taking up space on your hard drive and practicing safe browsing you should also:

•

Regularly clear your cache, internet browsing history, and temporary Internet files.

•

Empty the Recycle Bin. Check which programs are running at start up Check which services run automatically in the background Run Disk Cleanup periodically

We have to face the fact that as time goes on, our computers will slow down. As software and applications develop the resources need to run them increases as do other programs and updates that we install. Regular housekeeping can help prolong the lifespan of your PC but eventually they will simply have to be replaced to enable you and your staff to work efficiently.

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workforces amidst the introduction of Automation in the Logistics sector.

5 Days 1 District Its time to work on your Business not in it! Wakefield Business Week 2018 gives you 15 chances to take your business to the next level?

15 SEPARATE EVENTS ACROSS THE CITY AND ITS DISTRICT INCLUDING WEST BRETTON, CASTLEFORD, OSSET AND STANLEY. THE WAKEFIELD DISTRICTS REPUTATION AS A RISING STAR OF THE NORTHERN REGION, THRIVING BUSINESSES AND COMMERCIAL HUB WILL TAKE A FURTHER BOOST WITH ITS 5TH ANNUAL BUSINESS WEEK ORGANISED BY WWW.WAKEFIELDFIRST.COM

Running from 01 – 05 October, the week launches at Unity Hall Wakefield at 08:45 with a presentation focusing on the Economic Strategy moving into a Q & A Panel with key figures in Yorkshire including Councilor Peter Box CBE - Merran McRae CEO Wakefield Council - Margaret Wood MBE founder of ICW (UK) Ltd to design and manufacture specialist industrial and commercial sight and access solutions - Mark Ridgway OBE DL Chairman and CEO of Group Rhodes, a Wakefield headquartered engineering group. Tom Stannard Corporate Director, Wakefield Council - Roger Marsh OBE Chair of The Leeds City Region and Tom Marley CEO the car buying group, as the panels compere. Entrepreneurs and organisations from the city are coming together to

showcase exactly what the district has to offer when they champion the ambition and potential that the area holds, while sharing in the successes of the world leading organisations who have chosen the city as their preferred place to do business. The week will hi-light sectors such as, Creative and Digital on the Tuesday 2nd October with High Profile, interactive events at Wakefield’s famous Hepworth Gallery presented by the Internet Giant Google at the UK’s leading open air Gallery, Yorkshire Sculpture Park - presented by Production Park the districts community of studios, businesses and educational facilities, as well as Reflex Arc the collective of award winning and BAFTA nominated developers, working on VR, AR and mobile applications. Thursday October 4th sees Logistics, Automation and Skills where you’ll no longer feel In The Cold with a tour of NEWCOLD, a worldwide partner in the frozen food supply chain followed by an afternoon bringing together several of our partners and leading skills organisations to discuss and present on Future proofing the districts

The Food and drink sector will close a spectacular week including a spotlight on Ossett Brewery an independent brewery specialising in award winning real ales in the heart of West Yorkshire followed by quite simply the only closing party you should attend in 2018, OH YES IT IS! Exit stage left at Wakefield Theatre Royal will round up the Week led by Yorkshires very own Sir Rodney Walker a key figure in Sport, Business and for leading campaigns which have raised over £40 million for a variety of charities and good causes – the evening promises a fun, interactive, musical and Wakefield Gin filled event with a visual round up of the week from Nightingales Gin, Shared Harmonies, Yorkshire Productions & Wakefield Bondholders Having received critical acclaim for several of its achievements Wakefield is the city of choice for many of the countries global organisations. Manufacturing provides 11.5% of Wakefield’s employment. The logistics sector including Argos, Asda and Next has a turnover of 163M. The district is home to over 8700 active businesses with leading organisations including Coco-Cola Enterprises, Harvard Engineering, Burberry and HARIBO to name just a few. Wakefield Business Week and the Wakefield Business Conference will bring together those who are passionate about the city and the district within which they work and have chosen to be located. To book onto the week’s events visit www.wakefieldfirst.com spaces are limited The week is sponsored by – Sponsored by OE Electrics experts in designing and manufacturing power and data distribution solutions and Aston Barclay experts in Vehicle Remarketing

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FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION SKILLS FOR FUTURE WORKFORCE

‘Team Audi’ member Cosmin Dragu, who is a University of Hull Computer Science graduate, said: “Ours is an ambitious project that has seen us combining technologies in ways that have not been done before, involving both machine learning and image recognition to create an interactive user experience, showing them how to construct an engine from scratch. “For me personally, this is a new area of research I have wanted to get into for some time now and I’m excited because I’m also having the chance to use technologies I’m familiar with in new ways.”

Hosted by the University of Hull, the Mixed Reality Accelerator began in June and has seen 24 pioneering students working with leading tech company VISR, Microsoft and major companies including AUDI AG, AB InBev UK (the world’s largest brewer and maker of popular beers like Budweiser, Corona and Stella Artois); Centrica and Indian training innovator LearningMate, on groundbreaking proof of concepts. The results could mark the start of a revolutionary shift in the way billions of workers operate, as part of a borderless global economy fueled by intelligent systems. Stephen Willis, Chief Finance Officer at the University of Hull, said: “It’s not every day an opportunity presents itself to be at the forefront of such a step change and play a part in building the capabilities tomorrow’s workers need to make it happen. “The Mixed Reality Accelerator has offered exactly that. The students involved have learnt from world-leading experts in Mixed Reality and spatial computing, including Microsoft; have privileged access to cutting-edge technology and the opportunity to develop their work-related skills by applying that to real challenges in collaboration with some of the biggest companies in the world. “The blend of skills and hands-on experience they

have gained makes them uniquely employable and in the future they will be able to go out into our regional, national and international economies and act as catalysts for the large-scale adoption of this game-changing technology. “We are delighted to have been able to provide this world’s first experience for our students and in particular to do it in partnership with VISR (a company created by one of our graduates) using their groundbreaking platform VERTX.” He added: “The fact all of this is taking place here at Hull opens up a multitude of opportunities for new applications to boost industry in the region, attract fresh inward investment and kickstart fresh global trade opportunities.”

University of Hull Computer Science student Sijan Shrcosh Rana, from ‘Team LearningMate’, added: “Having the opportunity to develop applications in this field and work with Microsoft and so many other major businesses to create something that could have massive implications across industry, is something that will really stand out on my CV.” Jan Pflueger, Coordination AR & VR, Center of Competence AR & VR at Audi AG, said: “For us at Audi, innovation and using leading edge technology is a key to success. Mixed Reality will have a big influence on our future way of working.” Michael Codd, AB InBev’s Digital Marketing and Innovation Lead for Europe, said: “We’re looking at using the technology in the future to empower the pubs by targeting and optimising their activities, benefiting us as a supplier, the outlets themselves and, importantly, the end consumer, whose needs will be better served.” Greg McKenna, Managing Director of Centrica Storage Ltd., said: “There are a number of potential benefits for us. This technology will enable us to achieve greater cost efficiencies in engineering projects, as well as enhancing safety, which is our top priority.” LearningMate’s Santosh Vishwakarma, Technical Architect, and Design Specialist Swapnil Nilajkar, said: “We’re very excited to be among the first companies of our kind deploying such Mixed Reality capability to the teaching and training industry.” VISR Founder and MD Louis Deane added: “Being involved in the change curve that is Mixed Reality development is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the students involved in our accelerator and they’ll be able to look back in 10 or 20 years’ time and say ‘I helped create that’.”

Topic tomorrow Teams from Bradford Academy were asked to pitch to a team from Asda as part of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s (the LEP) Enterprise Adviser Network programme.

P u p ils gi ve As d a tech n o l o gy b o s s e s fo o d fo r th o u g h t Pupils from a Bradford school have given Asda technology bosses food for thought with their competition entries.

The contest saw the Year 8 pupils present their ideas to use smart speaker app technology for the benefit of the retailer and its customers. The winning teams were given a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of Asda House, the retail giant’s headquarters in Leeds.

“This is particularly important with STEM subjects which are key to the future economy and need greater uptake in schools to satisfy the needs of employers. “We know that inspiring young people at an early age really pays off and there tends to be more scope to be flexible in the school day in lower years, so more opportunity for these kinds of experiences. I absolutely support the call for more businesses and employees to volunteer their time to join the network and help our young people gain these employability skills they need.”

One of the joint winning teams proposed a smart speaker that synchronises a family’s weekly meal plan with the weekly shop and creates a shopping list of ingredients. The other joint winners suggested a smart system that would attach to a shopping trolley and act like a satnav to find products, as well as scanning barcodes to tot up the cost. Enterprise Advisers work closely with the senior leadership team in a local school to support them in developing their careers and enterprise strategies and employer engagement plans.

skills for the economy to grow.”

Jonathan Galluci, Project Manager from Asda Technology who works as an Enterprise Adviser with Bradford Academy, said:

Jonathan is one of 160 Enterprise Advisers working within schools across Leeds City Region as part of the Enterprise Adviser Network. The network, which works in partnership with business, was founded in 2015 and has influenced over 90,000 enterprise encounters with pupils.

“We were really impressed at the ideas the pupils came up with and are even looking at whether we can incorporate some of them into the technology we already use.

Jonathan and the team at Bradford Academy have also run engagement sessions on careers in STEM subjects including technology and mock job interviews.

“It’s really important that as an organisation we encourage the next generation to take up Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects; as we know at Asda and other organisations, we need the right

The Enterprise Adviser Network programme is designed to meet the Government’s ambition that every young person has around one encounter with an employer every year they are in education. To meet this ambition, which was outlined

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in the Department for Education’s Careers Strategy, December 2017, around one in every 20 employees would need to volunteer. Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leader of Bradford Council, said: “One of our key strengths as a region is our young population and I am passionate about ensuring there are opportunities for all young people. I’m delighted with the success of the Enterprise Adviser Network which is a fantastic way to help make sure we have students who are ready to join the workforce and have the skills to match the needs of employers. The involvement of organisations like Asda with our school pupils is a great way to increase the employability of our young people.

Samantha Taylor, Progressions Manager at Bradford Academy, said: “We were linked with ASDA through the LEP earlier on this year and the relationship we have built with them so far is already beginning to benefit to our young people. “Through our involvement in the STEM smart speaker competition learners developed many skills such as communication, team work, confidence and resilience which will transition with them as they move on into the world of work. The competition challenged their thinking and illustrated to them how the subjects they are studying now relate to employment.”

Life in the fast lane

with an ABL Business finance deal

period then make lower payments during the quieter winter months”.

A super car hire company has been able to drive its offering up another gear thanks to a tailored finance deal organised by brokers ABL Business.

Luke Rogers, a Commercial Finance Executive at ABL Business explained: “When you buy a prestige car from a company like Lamborghini it is specially built on order and delivered to their premises, then the customer is expected to collect it immediately.

The West Yorkshire-based company, one of Yorkshire’s top car hire firms, has added a stunning new Lamborghini Huracan Spyder to its top-of-the-range fleet, which can be hired for various important occasions. The prestige cars are particularly sought-after for Asian and traditional English weddings.

“Because of this, we had to work very quickly to get the finance in place, then our client would have his cash on hand when the car arrived, so there was no danger of them letting it go to anyone else.

The Lamborghini retailed at more than £200,000, with the business owner putting down a 20% deposit to secure his prestigious purchase. ABL Business then financed in excess of £150,000 towards the purchase, to ensure he could quickly seal the deal.

“Another factor about the car hire business is that there are huge fluctuations in income between summer and winter, with most people organising their dream weddings and other glamorous events during the summer months – so we tailored a programme of seasonal payments. This means the client can pay off more of the loan during the summer peak

ABL Business, based in Cleckheaton, has been supporting the well-established family-run car hire firm since the start of 2016. The new Lamborghini will be the fifth vehicle that they have financed for them, having previously supported the purchase of the fleet’s Audi Q7, Audi RS6, Mercedes GL63, and Audi R8. Luke added: “If you’re looking to finance a dream car, or any other major purchase for your business, do please give us a call on 01274 965356 and we’ll put you on the right road to getting the best finance deal to meet your needs”. ABL Prestige is a specialist arm of ABL Business, focusing exclusively on prestige asset finance. It offers finance on a range of vehicles, planes and yachts to high net worth individuals.

ABL Business Ltd is a member of NACFB (National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers) and is regulated and authorised by FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). Find out more on www.abl-business.co.uk

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Bu s i n e sse s in spire t he nex t ge n e r a t io n STAFF FROM PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FIRM GRANT THORNTON WENT BACK TO THE CLASSROOM TO HELP ENCOURAGE THE ENTREPRENEURS OF THE FUTURE. school leavers have the right mix of skills needed by employers and are ready to join the workforce. In turn this ensures that the Leeds City Region remains a competitive location for talent when compared national and internationally.

Fifteen staff from the company’s Leeds office spent a day at Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School running workshops for more than 120 Year 7 pupils, as part of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s (The LEP) Enterprise Adviser Network programme. During the day the Year 7 pupils had to pitch a micro-business idea to a panel from Grant Thornton, with the winning team given a £50 seed-fund to launch their business and any profits being invested in an entrepreneur in the developing world. The winners, Tote-ally Awesome, were a group who made customised canvas bags as a way of reducing plastic bag use. The LEP’s Enterprise Adviser Network, working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, has been running since 2015 and sees senior business leaders link up with schools to develop careers and enterprise plans that embed entrepreneurial skills in the classroom to inspire pupils. Enterprise Advisers are now working with over 160 schools across Leeds City Region, with 32,000 new activities delivered to students last year. The programme meets the Government’s ambition that every young person has around one encounter each year they

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“For the staff at Grant Thornton, giving as little as a few hours of their time a year spent going into schools and giving inspiring talks, mentoring young people and running these workshops, can make a huge difference to the employment prospects of young people in the City Region.” are in education (Department for Education’s Careers Strategy, December 2017) and around 1 in every 20 employees in the country volunteer to this kind of activity. Research b y Education and Employers Taskforce shows that young people who regularly meet business people are much more likely to be in work and will earn, on average, 16% more than those who do not. These increased interactions safeguard the skills pipeline of the economy and in turn support the future workforce in the City Region. Richelle Schuster of Grant Thornton, who works with Cardinal Heenan as an Enterprise Adviser, said: “Encouraging young people to be entrepreneurs is not just a job for teachers and parents, employers

can really add value too by working together and helping to influence and shape young people’s experiences. By doing this we are assisting young people to build the skills needed for a vibrant economy in the future. “We were really impressed by the students’ hard work, ingenuity and motivation. We also liked that they could see that business is not just about profit, but also about having a purpose and a positive impact on your community locally and globally.”

Rosie Evans, Achievement Champion at Cardinal Heenan, said: “Working with companies like Grant Thornton is invaluable for schools. The Enterprise Advisor scheme has helped our Year 7 students to develop a number of critical skills essential for the workplace and the encouragement to progress with their education.” The Enterprise Adviser Network forms part of the LEP’s ambition to improve the relevance of learning to the economy through building skills in education.

Roger Marsh, OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “It is fantastic to see staff from Grant Thornton taking part in our Enterprise Adviser Network. This activity helps to guarantee that our

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Visit www.wakefield.ac.uk/business-school or call our Course Information team on 01924 789111 *For more information visit: www.gov.uk/advanced-learner-loan

Topic tomorrow Huddersfield University Graduate

hile hurrying down the motorway flanked by most of my possessions, I took some time to reflect on the last three years of my life I had spent at university. It was both the best and worst of times. The most exciting and fun-filled experiences stacked amongst some of the most difficult and harrowing. I felt that despite all the trials and challenges I had been faced with, driving away from my adoptive home for the last time felt wrong, perverse even. Moving away from home for university had always been a no-brainer for me, the chance to push myself and experience an immersive, three-dimensional encounter with student life and all the highs and lows that accommodate it. However, since then, part of me has felt like this has created a void. Having two homes has meant that I would always long for one whenever I spent an extended amount of time in the other, and coming home to the town that I grew up in to that find that in my absence shops have changed ownership, and things have been knocked down to build new housing estates, returning to find that things are different is a surprisingly sobering and sombre feeling. Being back at my mom’s house itself though, is always comforting. Familiarity and smiley faces can go a long way to making you forget that you’ve just moved home, unemployed, shackled to the ground with thousands of pounds worth of debt. Having your old bed dressed in fresh sheets will take a lot of the sting out of your new favourite pastime; mindlessly scouring the internet for jobs, which often seems about as productive as stapling your CV to your head and banging it into a wall. I am however, glad that I went to university, or at least trying to convince myself than I am. The assumption is that eventually work will come because of the hard work I have done to obtain my degree, and until then, I am writing and working hard to keep myself occupied and flesh out my body of work in order to increase my chances of employment, which, in a bizarrely self-referential way, is what I am doing right now. TopicUK \ October 2018

Ar t o f g o l d at Wo o d Ban k S cho o l

image: Halifax Courrier

KIERAN ROGERS

Wood Bank Special School in Luddendenfoot has been awarded a gold standard Artsmark Award by Arts Council England for the its commitment to arts and cultural activities. Artsmark aims to inspire young people to create, experience and participate in arts and culture. There are three levels of Artsmark awards – silver, gold and platinum. Wood Bank School has been named as a gold Artsmark School for its high quality arts and cultural offering. Pupils at the school have enjoyed a number of different arts activities, including working with local artists and musicians, participating in major singing concerts at the Victoria Theatre and dance classes and drama activities. Only 478 schools in the country have an Artsmark. 88 schools, including Wood Bank, received the award this time, with just 38 being awarded gold. Assessors recognised the significant impact that the school’s curriculum and commitment to the arts has

on children’s confidence, progress and wellbeing. Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, Cllr Megan Swift, said: “This is a great achievement by everyone involved at Wood Bank Special School. It’s a testament to the hard work put in by staff at the school to ensure that pupils are able to experience a diverse range of arts and cultural activities. Well done to everyone involved - you should all be very proud of gaining this award!” Head teacher of Wood Bank Special School, Richard Pawson, said: “At Wood Bank we are committed to promoting the Arts as we recognise its value in terms of supporting pupil progress, particularly in the area of Communication and Interaction and the opportunities it provides for social inclusion within the local community. We are therefore thrilled to have this officially recognised by the Arts Council.”

T H E YO R K S H I R E B R A N D TA K I N G O N T H E D E S I G N E R S IN AN AGE WHERE WE ARE EXPECTED TO ACHIEVE MORE AND MORE AT AN EVER YOUNGER AGE, STARTING A NEW CAREER LATER IN LIFE CAN BE A DAUNTING PROSPECT.

Sat on a beach in 2016, designer Paul Lenihan was just about to make a decision that would massively alter his career path. He’d just tragically lost his father, he no longer felt engaged in his career and didn’t know where his next steps lay. Between a rock and a hard place, and realising he was not in love with his life anymore, he felt he had to make a change. That change was NOTINLOVE. Paul, aka Leni, immediately set out creating his sunglasses brand based on living life to the full: working hard, playing hard and living the high life. The exact ethos he was wanting to live by himself, but until this point hadn’t had the push to go for it. “Losing my dad was one of the toughest moments of my life. It made me realise that life is short; too short to waste on a career you don’t enjoy. I wanted to make each day count. “I started sketching out the designs and before I knew it, I had the whole brand mapped out.” Leni said. “I wanted to create something to rival the top designer brands. He created NOTINLOVE inspired by that day on the beach. The stylish range of sunglasses mirror top fashion labels, with sleek lines and glamourous shapes.

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FUSION CELEBRATES MILESTONE BIRTHDAY A Brighouse IT business is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and it has plenty to shout about following a significant recruitment drive, a growing client base and a financial forecast nearing the £2 million mark. Jamie Watson, founder of Fusion has spearheaded the development of the firm to offer IT support to UK and international clients – with a particular focus on the legal sector. As the company celebrates 15 years in business, it is enjoying a purple patch following the recruitment of 12 new additions, the development of its cloud-based solutions and a projected turnover for 2017/18 of £1.92 million – a 20 per cent increase on 2016/17. Jamie said: “I am incredibly happy with the growth, acquisitions and developments we’ve made

But coming to the finish product wasn’t always straight forward. I n i t i a l l y, f i n d i n g r e l i a b l e manufacturers proved a challenge. “Making sure they made the product to the quality I needed was tricky. I wanted to create a luxury feel and for that I needed the best manufacturers I could find. “It took a lot of trial and error, a frustrating time for any designer. “But the finished products speak for the hard work. NOTINLOVE has five collections, all based on classic eyewear shapes and crafted from durable, high quality materials. “The main idea behind the TopicUK \ October 2018

as a business and how we’ve strengthened the Fusion team. I feel proud to mark our 15th birthday and am excited for the future plans we have in place.” The company’s 30-strong workforce now includes Ian Eskriett as Technical Team Leader, who joined the company in February and brings experience from RBS, ComB and Provident Finance. Shakeel Sadiq joins the team as Software Developer to head up the client portal project side of MatterSphere 3E – a robust client and matter management system. The firm’s latest contract is with Ramsdens Solicitors – Jamie’s first ever client – who have enlisted Fusion to install a secure and reliable IT platform and upgrade its telephone system to VOIP at its new office in York.

collection was a luxury feel without a designer price tag. “It’s a challenge starting a business on your own, and competing with some of the biggest designers is enough to frighten anybody. But I’m determined to get there. “In the next few years I’d love to see NOTINLOVE fully established as a UK premium brand, and perhaps I’ll branch out past sunglasses too. “For anyone thinking about a change in career- I say go for it, and give it all you’ve got. I never thought I’d reach this point when I was sat on that beach. In 2 years from now- who knows how far I’ll go.”

Historic public school revamps digital presence An independent educational establishment has revamped its digital presence, as it marks almost 200 years since its construction. Silcoates, situated in Wakefield, provides academic learning to pupils aged between three and 18 years of age. But the website required a complete redesign to adequately reflect the forward-thinking approach of the school. Creative agency The Bigger Boat was appointed to provide the digital revamp for the school. The three-month project involved the design and development of a mobile-optimised Wordpress website – containing stripped back content and eye-catching images of Silcoates’ facilities and pupils – to better appeal to both current and prospective parents. Already, statistics have shown a marked improvement on the previous site’s

performance, with engagement quality up by 25% and a significant increase in the number of enquiries. Commenting on the redevelopment, The Bigger Boat’s co-founder and director Andy McCaul said: “The purpose of the new look site was to showcase the amazing facilities at Silcoates, as well as reflect its friendly and inclusive approach. One of the primary objectives was

Rastrick head joins Calderdale Council as Assistant Director The Headteacher of a high school in Rastrick has been chosen to help lead the strategic improvement of schools across Calderdale. Steve Evans, Headteacher at Rastrick High School and Sixth Form, has commenced a nine-month secondment as Assistant Director – Learning Services with Calderdale Council. The role will see him work alongside Calderdale Council’s school improvement team, OFSTED and the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) to lead the strategy to support schools, while challenging them to improve.

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Philip Rowe, headmaster added: “We’re thrilled with the new website, which shows Silcoates for the place it is – academic, welcoming, and inclusive.” He added:“I will still very much be head teacher at Rastrick High School, and the skills I develop in this role will be important in maintaining our relentless pursuit to improve teaching and learning.” “Deputy Headteachers Mat Williams and Matt Crowther will step up to the role of Associate Heads, and my continued role in the days I am at the school will be to challenge and support them and all our leaders to ensure we continue to consistently deliver the very best teaching and pastoral care to our fantastic students. “This is a new challenge, but one that we are planning carefully for and one which will ensure that our school moves from strength to strength.”

Commenting on his appointment to the role, Steve Evans, said:“I am delighted to have accepted the position of Assistant Director – Learning Services at Calderdale Council. “My work will focus on strengthening relationships between Calderdale schools, the local authority and key external agencies such as the RSC and Teaching School Alliances across the region.

to increase the number of potential customers visiting the school. “To achieve this, we have given the website a clean and contemporary feel, and added clearer calls to action throughout.”

“It also presents an excellent opportunity for me personally to gain experience in another challenging role, in turn, creating opportunities for continued professional development and creating a great environment for staff retention.

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, Cllr Megan Swift, said: “I’m pleased to welcome Steve to the Council and I’m confident that his wealth of experience will see him thrive in this vital role. “Steve will bring fresh new ideas to the Council and help us to continue to ensure the best outcomes for children and young people in Calderdale.”

YO U N G

E N T REP R ENEU R

Challenge L EA DS

E NTR E PR E NE U R I A L

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At 18 years old, Rose Dyson, founder of Pura Cosmetics, has won raft of business awards and has only just finished her A levels. TopicUK spoke to her to find out more about her journey so far. 90

Topic tomorrow TOPICUK: Hi Rose. First up, how old are you and what’s your company? ROSE: I’m 18 years old, and my company is called Pura Cosmetics.

in Barnsley have helped me with their financial advice. I’ve been extremely fortunate that lots of organisations in the Yorkshire area have been willing to help a young, start-up teen entrepreneur like me in any way they can.

TOPICUK: Can you yell us a bit about how you came to be running your business?

TOPICUK: How many customers do you currently look after? Tell us a bit about them

ROSE: Three years ago, when I was studying for my GCSEs at Horizon Community College, the opportunity to enter an inter-school enterprise competition called ‘I Know I Can - Barnsley Big Challenge’ arose. With just £25 investment, I conceptualised a lip cosmetics range based on my love of quality, ethical beauty products and my frustration when my pocket money as a teen could never stretch to their often-extortionate prices. This became the basis of the business for the competition. I worked on the business for 8 months, generating sales from trading at local craft fairs and markets as well as through a small following on social media. At the I Know I Can finals in June 2015, I came away with four awards for Best Final Business Report, Most Profit, Winner of Key Stage 4 and the overall winning title of Barnsley’s Best Young Business 2015. When the competition was over I had definitely caught the ‘bug’ for being an entrepreneur and obviously didn’t want to leave the business behind so I decided to turn what was once a school business project into a venture which is now my full-time job!

ROSE: I sell to the general public at large trade shows and artisan markets all over the North of England and through my e-commerce website. I also operate wholesale and supply many local independent gift shops, department stores and salons in Yorkshire. One of my main stockists is the beautiful Sandersons Department Store at Fox Valley Shopping Centre in Stocksbridge. It’s a gorgeous, premium shopping environment created by a lovely aesthetic and welcoming allfemale sales team. I couldn’t imagine a more delightful place for my product range to be sold. I also work with Essential Soaps situated in the Victorian Arcade in Barnsley Town Centre and several other outlets. In addition, I regularly supply nationwide beauty subscription boxes.

TOPICUK: What areas of the business do you specialise in? ROSE: I’m the manufacturer of my lip care cosmetic products and also the retailer. I’m a ‘jack-of-all-trades’ – I’m responsible for the initial production of the item right through to the sale to either individual consumers or the stockists we operate business-to-business with. I manage my own social media pages and my e-commerce website as well. TOPICUK: Who has provided you with help and support along the way? ROSE: Barnsley Council’s ‘Launchpad’ business support programme has provided me with lots of support along the way through the mediums of networking, business development workshops and much more. Also, Harris & Co accountants based TopicUK \ October 2018

TOPICUK: What would you say has been the most challenging part of growing and running your business so far? ROSE: I would definitely say balancing my education with running a rapidly growing business has been my biggest challenge so far. For the past two years, I have been studying A levels in Business, Geography and French at Greenhead College in Huddersfield. During my time at Greenhead, so many developments were happening with Pura which meant I really did struggle to manage my work load. However, having now completed my final exams this summer, I am ecstatic to be running my business full-time without any other commitments. TOPICUK: And what has been the most rewarding part? ROSE: The incredible ‘pinch-me’ moments I’ve had in terms of receiving rewards and recognition. Last year, I was named the UK National Young Trader of the Year – a title which led to an invitation and visit to the Houses of Parliament earlier this year where I spoke to raise awareness for young enterprise and teenage entrepreneurship. I’ve also been named one of the Inspiring Juniors UK 2018

- a list which recognises and celebrates the top ten most inspiring girls in tech in the country. I’m also the youngest ever recipient of Theo Paphitis’ Small Business award and Jacqueline Gold CBE’s Women in Business award. And finally, I’m fortunate to be the youngest ever person in history to be on the Yorkshire Business Insider’s 42 Under 42 list! TOPICUK: Do you use social media for your business and if so, to what effect? ROSE: Of course! Being a young person, I have grown up knowing how to use social media and I’ve never known the world to be any different. So when I started out with Pura, I remember automatically creating Twitter, Facebook and Instagram business pages as if by instinct! I would say social media’s been my most effective marketing tool as my primary demographic is 1830 year olds and therefore the ‘internet-savvy’ generation. It has allowed me to reach consumers all over the country within seconds and navigate them to my e-commerce website. Our poutpleasing products have even caught the eye of celebrities on social media such as the stars of ITV’s Love Island! TOPICUK: What advice would you give to another young entrepreneur starting out in business? ROSE: Never give up no matter how many obstacles you come across. Believe in your idea and know your product/service inside out. Make the most of every opportunity that comes your way and also, go out there and seek out new opportunity for yourself. Also, never be afraid to ask for help, advice and support as so many people in the industry are willing to guide and assist you along the way. TOPICUK: And finally – where do you hope to see the business in five years’ time? ROSE: I hope to see the business stocked in the big high street retailers within five years’ time and also to be exporting to other countries within Europe, perhaps the Baltics where the problem of dry lips is prominent due to colder temperatures. Overall, I’m aiming for Pura Cosmetics to be an instantly recognisable international beauty brand in the future. Find out more about Pura Cosmetics by visiting www.puracosmetics.co.uk

Tyne’ of her life for Olesia as committed German teacher scoops top accolade occasion and I really enjoyed listening to the guest of honour, Ian McEwan CBE, who delivered half of his speech in German. It was very impressive!” Olesia’s enthusiasm to learn German and teach others began at an early age when she first fell in love with the language whilst at school. wShe has since worked at Prague British School teaching German, before moving to Hipperholme Grammar School in Halifax in 2015. “I am passionate about my subject

and want to pass the enthusiasm and love for learning languages to my pupils,” Olesia added. Following the award, Mrs Griffiths said: “It’s absolutely fantastic to see Frau Tyne praised for her hard work and dedication when teaching German. She’s a credit to the brilliant Modern Foreign Languages department and the amount of pupils taking the language has increased at our school thanks to Frau Tyne’s inspirational attitude and first-class teaching.”

Big Panto giveaway TopicUK have teamed up with Theatre Royal Wakefield to offer readers a chance to win one of three sets of 4 family tickets for their amazing Christmas Pantomime production of Cinderella. This sparkling and magical tale is crammed full of breathtaking sets and dazzling costumes.

A passionate German teacher from Hipperholme Grammar School has said how “thrilled” she is to be recognised on a national scale – after winning a prestigious award. Olesia Tyne was invited to the German Embassy in London to receive the Peter Boaks Prize which recognises exceptional primary and secondary school teachers at the beginning of their careers. The 32-year-old was put forward by Hipperholme Grammar

School Headteacher, Jackie Griffiths, and her Head of the Department, Christine Crossan, as an outstanding teacher of German. “It is a fantastic feeling to be recognised for the hard work I do to promote German and to inspire children to learn languages. I was thrilled that I was able to represent the school at a national level,” said Olesia, who has taught at Hipperholme Grammar School for three years. “The ceremony was a splendid

Our tickets are for the 7pm performance on Saturday 15th December.

To be in with a chance of winning, just sign into Twitter and tweet: “I’m going to Theatre Royal with TopicUK to see Cinderella.” So we can inform you if you’re a winner, you must follow us and still follow at the time of the draw in November. Tickets are not transferable and there is no cash alternative. The winners will be the first drawn at random after the closing date and the editors decision is final.

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KIRKLEES COLLEGE STUDENT E N T R E P R E N E U R W I N S N AT I O N A L TITLE Kirklees College student Adam Ali has been named joint National Entrepreneur of the Year at Entfest after wowing judges – including Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones CBE - with his business idea. Adam, a student on Kirklees College’s Level 3 Peter Jones Enterprise course, jointly won the title at the Entfest final in Buckinghamshire last week, alongside Dudley College student Santis Romanis. Both students will receive a £5,000 investment from the Peter Jones Foundation, along with a full scholarship to the University of Buckingham. Judges – including Peter Jones CBE himself - were impressed by Adam’s company DigiSee, which provides bespoke digital signage solutions to SMEs in the retail industry. Both Adam, 21, from Huddersfield, and his partner Annalise Wilson are Peter Jones Enterprise graduates. They met on the course

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and now have a baby son, Deen. Adam said: “The USP for my business is me. It’s about building a one-to-one relationship with the customer, finding business solutions tailored to them and using technology to transform retailers. “When I do business I feel alive, I get such a buzz out of it. I loved doing the course at Kirklees College - the environment is fresh and you feel professional. “I was really excited to win – it didn’t register at first but then I went on stage and I was shaking hands and I saw my partner in the audience nearly crying and it got to me. “I wanted to do the course and build up the business for my family. I’ve had to put a lot of time into it and it has been a lot of hard work so nice to have been rewarded for my achievement.” Adam is also taking part in a docume ntary about young entrepreneurs for a BBC iPlayer.

by Group Editor Gill Laidler I hope you enjoyed reading the last edition of TopicUK, the first to go Yorkshire wide with an increased circulation. We now reach many more businesses, particularly in York, Harrogate and Bradford and this edition, this will spread even further across Yorkshire. I would like to start by welcoming new TopicUK partner Howarths, who are based in Cleckheaton. They are a family run business, founded by Andy and Helen and is now run by their son Gavin. The family place significance on traits such as trust, respect, honesty and integrity and these core principles run right through their business. Check out their website at: https://howarths-uk. com/ to learn more about them.

in attending, along with the other expected 1500 delegates. We are also looking forward to attending the events of our other partners, Children of Courage Awards on 12 October, Yorkshire Young Achievers awards on November 8 and Forward Ladies national finals on 7 December.

If you are interested in becoming one of our trusted partners so we can spread your message across Yorkshire affordably, not just in print but digitally and across social media, do get in touch.

September saw the launch of our new sister publication Urban Market. Urban Market celebrates the many food and drink business that can be found across Yorkshire. Distributed free through farm shops, deli’s garden centres etc, Urban Market will promote all the fabulous produce that is produced in Yorkshire to our readers, we will have experts on hand to guide you through the perils of growing your own fruit and vegetables and talk about the environment and how we can do our bit to make sure we look after our planet for future generations. To view the digital version visit: www.urbanmarket.uk.

As we put this issue to bed, we are looking forward to the ninth Brand Yorkshire Conference at Harrogate Pavilions on 4 October. This is the second year we have worked with them as media partner and you can find out who is exhibiting and who the speakers are on page 56. There’s still time to register your interest

As TopicUK grows, so do our sections so we are looking for a number of sponsors in the field of food & drink, The Arts, Travel, Banking and business. If you’re interested in featuring your business within these sections, not just in print but digitally too, reaching up to 50,000 businesses, do let me know.