Business Connect Magazine - October/November 2015 by BusinessConnectPublishing

GREATER MANCHESTER’S FASTEST GROWING BUSINESS TO BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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October/ November 2015

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All Together now! Cheadle Royal’s best-kept secret has aligned its brands under one name – Together. We interview commercial director Chris Baguley about the specialist lender’s impressive new brand.

Connectworking Charity Lunch GM Business Connect celebrated their own re-brand at Hotel Football on 11 September. Full review inside.

Supersonic Conferences

Interview with Robert Pattison, head of Runway Visitor Park and home of Concorde at Manchester Airport.

Tony Husband

Manchester’s award winning cartoonist joins the Team as regular contributor. Interview inside.

North West Business Expo 2015 GM Business Connect sponsor the next business Expo on 26 November at Emirates Old Trafford.

Apprenticeships Builders and Developers Seddon take on fifteen apprentices through Salford City College. Full story inside.

Together commercial director Chris Baguley pictured outside headquarters at Lakeside in Cheadle Royal Business Park

CONNECTING BUSINESSES ACROSS GREATER MANCHESTER

Secured loans

Residential mortgages

Nick Jones

Tracey Bailey

Auction finance

All together now.

Buy-to-let and commercial mortgages Irene Thomas

Scott Hendry

If you liked us as Bridging Finance, you’re going to love us as Together.

Bridging finance Chris Baguley

As a group we’ve been lending for over 40 years and we’re able to help with commercial and buy-to-let mortgages, residential mortgages, secured loans and finance for properties purchased at auction. There’s a new name and still the same dedicated team. When your client requires short-term funding, they’ll often need it fast. We go the extra mile to deliver funding that is right for their needs. You can rely on us to provide a truly professional service – we won’t let you down.

If you have a client that needs short term funding call our team on 0161 933 7152 For other products visit togethermoney.com For professional use only. Together is a trading style of Bridging Finance Limited. Bridging Finance Limited is registered in England and Wales - Company Registration Number 03166982. Registered office address: Lake View, Lakeside, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 3GW. In respect of regulated mortgage contracts, Bridging Finance Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

contents 4 news

From Greater Manchester and beyond.

connect

16 features

Together Interview with Chris Baguley, Commercial Director of the specialist lender on their new re-brand. Tony Husband Meet our newest regular contributor. Leavitt Walmsley Associates Interview with Sale’s award winning accountants and their recent expansion. Supersonic Conferences In depth look at Runway Visitor Park’s iconic resident, Concorde, and it’s role as an unusual event and conference venue. Connectworking Charity Lunch Full report on GM Business Connect’s first big charity event at Hotel Football. K-Club in Salford Review of the latest networking breakfast at the AJ Bell Stadium. The North West Business Expo 2015 Preview of the latest Expo scheduled for Emirates Old Trafford in November. Trafford Park Networking Full report on Trafford Park Connect and Trafford Park Business Network. Apprenticeships Salford City College feature article.

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Here at GM Business Connect we are on the lookout for both news articles relating to business activity within Greater Manchester, or educational articles that can help businesses at any level. If you regularly send out press releases, or if you are looking for press coverage of a newsworthy event, please get in touch either by phone or send an email to editorial@ gmbusinessconnect.co.uk

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October/November 2015

news

£40m fund for ambitious Greater Manchester SME businesses delegation showcases the region’s global assets in New York Enterprise Ventures has launched a new private capital loan fund with £40m backing from Santander UK plc and Greater Manchester Pension Fund.

access to multiple sources of finance, our support of Enterprise Ventures allows us to fill a gap in the market and provide a breadth of innovative solutions for all ambitious SMEs.

Enterprise Ventures SME Loans will provide up to £1m to established and ambitious SMEs in all sectors and in all areas of the UK.

“Enterprise Ventures SME Loans are available now to established businesses which have been trading for three years or more and which have current or anticipated £100k operating profit and a minimum turnover of £1 million.

Santander’s investment is part of its Breakthrough initiative, a unique suite of financial and non-financial services and products for the country’s most ambitious businesses. Damian McGann, Divisional Managing Director – North of England, at Santander UK Corporate & Commercial said: “SMEs need

“Loans will be available for all purposes, including acquisitions, asset purchases, operational improvement and business development.” For further information contact Paul Taberner on 0345 094 8886

Cardiac Science moves UK head office to Stockport Leading defibrillator manufacturers Cardiac Science have moved their UK facility to Stockport. The move to larger premises on the Heaton Mersey Business Park in Stockport comes after a period of sustained growth for the UK business, which provides life-saving automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to a myriad of clients from emergency services to corporate organisations, sports facilities and many more. According to figures from the Arrhythmia Alliance, up to 100,000 lives are lost each year in the UK from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), with approximately 13% of UK SCA incidents happening in the workplace. Defibrillation can increase the rate of survival to as high as 75 per cent, according to the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. Demand for Cardiac Science’s products, in particular its ground breaking Powerheart G5 AED, is being driven by increased instances of cardiovascular disease, an ageing population, and a move by private and public sector organisations towards general access to defibrillators as part of their health & safety agenda.

boosted interest in AEDs, as Cardiac Science Managing Director Shaun Ingram explains: “Leasing is one of the best ways of getting state-of-theart life-saving technology into every business. It is particularly useful for contractors requiring an AED for a short-term project, such as a building contract.” The new premises in Stockport includes a larger warehousing and distribution area from where Cardiac Science UK services the needs of its clients. The larger distribution centre facilitates faster delivery times and increases the amount of stock available for shipment across the UK. Shaun adds: “The move to a larger UK base is a result of our success in highlighting the need for AEDs in every walk of life. As a result of our move, we expect to increase workforce with new posts in sales support, warehousing and distribution roles to better service our customers.”

Another growth driver for Cardiac Science UK is the launch of its hire and lease deals under which organisations can own an AED from £1 per day. The launch of the new scheme has

MD Shaun Ingram

A delegation from Manchester visited New York in September to highlight the growing relationship between the two cities. Led by MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency, the delegation sought to leverage the city’s sporting and cultural assets to open a dialogue on the wider investment opportunities available in the area. The group consisted of members from Deloitte, the University of Manchester, Manchester International Festival and Jacobs Construction. The visit coincided with the presence of two of Manchester’s greatest exports - City Football Group and Manchester International Festival (MIF) in the city. The delegation will join forces with Manchester City FC to host a business reception at Yankee Stadium during the New York City FC match with Toronto FC. Over 45 US and Canadian companies attended the event. The Yankee Stadium is home to City Football Group’s newest club NYC FC, which forms part of its global football network. Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, was joined by Tom Glick, president of New York City FC and former chief commercial and operating officer of Manchester City FC. The event explored how strong sporting brands provide the opportunity for cities such as Manchester to tell their story globally, whether that be about infrastructure, skills, science or education. Culture as a magnet for growth and investment was the topic at a second business reception. This was held in partnership with MIF prior to a performance of Tree of Codes, a new contemporary ballet. Guest speakers at the event included Alex Poots, the founding director of MIF, and soon to be the director of New York’s Culture Shed when it opens in 2018. The reception highlighted how events such as MIF, the world’s first festival of original, new work and special events, have enabled Manchester to take its cultural offer to the world stage.

Speaking about the visit, Tim Newns said “In a world where a city’s assets are no longer just its own, but instead are globally accessible, the way they are leveraged is crucial to urban growth. This is true whether the assets be cultural, sporting or science institutions, or indeed our populations in terms of talent or health research. “Manchester, the capital of the UK’s Northern Powerhouse has recently secured significant new devolved powers from the UK Government which will allow the city to innovate and develop its assets more rapidly for global benefit. Manchester City and Manchester International Festival are two of the region’s greatest assets, and their appeal is global. “These assets provide us with the opportunity to engage with target businesses from the financial and professional, life sciences and creative and digital sectors to showcase Greater Manchester as an innovative business destination that offers more than just football to the world.” David O’Leary, partner at Deloitte, who will be accompanying MIDAS at the event, added: “Manchester has long been a cornerstone of UK culture, having harnessed its reputation for subversive underground arts and music scenes to produce some of the most exciting cultural venues and events in Europe. “As the growth of Manchester International Festival continues to draw more diverse worldwide audiences, now is as good a time for the city to fix its gaze on securing a credible global presence. Manchester is also seeing its sports teams claim fans in the world’s major cities, which is driving more investment into the city. “The prize is a significant one with the US-UK trade corridor continuing to be extremely vibrant; a position that is evidenced from the fact that as well as New York, the Deloitte Manchester team will have delegations out in Boston, Chicago and Washington in the coming weeks, strengthening our ties with the US even further.”

October/November 2015

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TransPennine and Midland Cyber security training for procurement professionals Mainline electrification works to resume After progress on the TransPennine Express electrification work bringing Manchester and Leeds closer together was halted in June by Network Rail, the government have announced that after a review the work is to now go ahead with immediate effect. This decision also covers the electrification work on the Midland Mainline, linking London with Sheffield. New Northern and TransPennine rail franchise awards will also be announced before the end of the year. The new franchises will deliver new train carriages and remove outdated Pacer trains, introduce free Wi-Fi in carriages and offer a onethird increase in capacity with 200 additional services on weekdays and Saturdays and 300 more train services on Sundays. The total programme of rail electrification and upgrades is promised to completely transform the railways for passengers in the North and Midlands. Secretary of State for Transport Patrick McLoughlin said: “As a one nation government we are making sure every part of Britain benefits from a growing economy.

“Connecting up the great cities of the North is at the heart of our plan to build a Northern Powerhouse. “This government will see the job through and build a better, faster and more reliable railway for passengers in the north and Midlands.” Chairman of Network Rail Sir Peter Hendy said: “The temporary pause in the programme has given us the space to develop a better plan for passengers. People can expect more services and faster journeys. We face some difficult challenges, and there is more work still to do, but the Secretary of State’s decision means we can now move forward with our plans to electrify TransPennine and Midland Mainline.” The expected benefits from the upgrade will mean capacity for six ‘fast’ or ‘semi-fast’ trains per hour, and will reduce the current journey time of 75 minutes down to one hour between York, Leeds and Manchester. The work is expected to be completed in seven years and the result will ensure the whole route from Liverpool to Newcastle (via Manchester, Leeds and York) will be fully electrified by 2022, resulting in significantly reduced journey times.

The government has launched a new online cyber security training course to help the procurement profession stay safe online.

50% of the worst breaches were caused by inadvertent human error.

reported an information security breach in the past year.

To access the new online training visit www.cips.org/cybersecurity

Procurement professionals deal with a wide range of sensitive commercial The new interactive course will help and financial information which is people working in procurement central to the successful operation protect themselves, their businesses of many businesses. The course and their suppliers from cyber attack. will increase awareness of common cyber risks and threats procurement Developed in partnership by government and industry, the training professionals may experience in the workplace and how to prevent is freely available online and will help UK businesses protect themselves from and deal with them. It provides information breaches and other threats advice on how to safeguard digital potentially costing millions of pounds. information, raise awareness of cyber issues with suppliers and gives The government’s recently published examples of how to deal with issues 2015 Information Security Breaches Survey shows 74% of small businesses such as information breaches in the workplace. and 90% of large organisations

Former AGI CEO joins Informed Solutions Following a 25 year career in the geospatial sector working in a variety of high profile roles both in the UK and Japan, Chris Holcroft has joined Informed Solutions based in Altrincham as Principal Consultant. Former CEO of the geospatial industry’s representative body, the Association of Geographical Information (AGI), and of the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS), Chris was most recently Director of

Strategic Business Development for Ordnance Survey (OS) International. Speaking of his new role, Chris said, “I am delighted to be joining Informed Solutions and be part of their scale up and global expansion. They are among Europe’s leading GIS consultancies with an outstanding reputation in both the Public and Private sectors.” Award-winning cartoonist Tony Husband and his interesting friends are available for live presentations at your open days, training events, product launches, etc. Tony can offer a totally unique and humorous touch to your marketing literature, calendars, reception art, portraits, and christmas cards.

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news loans for staff in clothes2order’s new benefits package new National Living Wage but we recognise that people are sometimes faced with unforeseen expenses.

MD Michael Conway

“We are offering the loans to give our staff peace of mind that we can assist them if necessary. We are pleased to be able to offer this low-cost borrowing safety net. Clothing supplier Clothes2order has unveiled a new employee benefits package which includes the offer of emergency loans to help staff facing sudden or unexpected domestic bills. Cash advances of up to a month’s wages are being offered to the Trafford Park firm’s 90-strong workforce, with repayments being made from their salaries over a sixmonth period. Managing director Michael Conway said: “Our rates of pay are above the level of the government’s

“The stress of being faced with unexpected bills can be a huge headache, and we believe this initiative is a good way to reduce the impact and is a welcome alternative to payday lenders or other highinterest loans.” The loans are available at two per cent above the Bank of England base rate, which has stood at 0.5 per cent since March 2009. Other benefits in the new package include financial rewards for employees who suggest ways to improve the business. Michael

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said several ideas have been implemented and have been wellreceived by customers. One of the most successful innovations has been sending email photographs of uniforms in production to update customers on the progress of their order. The benefits package also includes an additional day’s paid holiday for every three years of service, attendance bonuses, extra money for first-aiders and fire marshals, and health cash plans enabling employees to recover costs associated with various types of medical treatment, such as eye care and dental charges. Michael said: “We are committed to creating an environment where people feel valued, respected and happy, and where contributions and achievements that help drive the progress of the company are recognised and rewarded. “Employee participation and engagement, and the well-being and happiness of our staff, are critical for our continued success. “People who enjoy coming to work are more productive and less likely to leave, and higher staff retention levels in turn benefit the company.” Clothes2order’s workforce has doubled in the past year in line with soaring sales, and employee numbers are on course to top 100 by the end of 2015.

October/November 2015

Trafford Park TV launched Following the recent ‘soft-launch’ at the Trafford Park Business Network event on 9 July, Skylab (based in Trafford Park Village) is inviting businesses located in Trafford Park to participate in Trafford Park TV. Trafford Park TV is a new digital platform, designed to promote and showcase the wide range of businesses based in Trafford Park – both to other local businesses and to a global audience. Essentially a video-based business directory – it will group businesses into ‘channels’, based on business sector and activity, helping customers to navigate more easily and identify supply chain or other commercial opportunities. This initiative is based on Skylab’s award-winning MediaTank video platform. Trafford Park is one of the largest industrial estates in the world, and is home to over 1,300 businesses. Trafford Park TV presents an exciting new opportunity to highlight the variety of businesses based in the area with the aim of promoting trade regionally, nationally and internationally. For further information, or to submit your own video, please e-mail davidj@ studioskylab.com

National Minimum Wage goes up by 57 pence to £3.30 for apprentices From 1 October, the apprentice rate of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) goes up by 57p to £3.30 and the NMW rate for adult workers will rise by 20p from £6.50 to £6.70 per hour. The boost for apprentices is the largest ever and means that those working 40 hours a week will now have £1,185 more in their pay packet over the year.

the average wage than ever before. The new rate means that a full time employee, working 40 hours, will see the largest cash increase in their annual pay packets since 2008. From 1 October 2015: • The adult rate will increase by 20p to £6.70 per hour • The rate for 18 to 20 year olds will increase by 17p to £5.30 per hour

By implementing a rate higher than the Low Pay Commission’s (LPC) recommendation apprenticeships will deliver a wage that is comparable to other choices for work.

• The rate for 16 to 17 year olds will increase by 8p to £3.87 per hour

The 3% increase in the adult rate is the biggest real increase since 2006 and moves the NMW more closer to

• The accommodation offset increases from the current £5.08 to £5.35

• The apprentice rate will increase by 57p to £3.30 per hour

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October/November 2015

Conservative Party Conference worth £29m to city-region economy The Conservative Party returned to Manchester at the beginning of October for its Annual Conference, an event expected to generate £29m for the local economy. Prime Minister David Cameron, the cabinet, Conservative MPs and around 12,000 delegates and exhibitors will met at Manchester Central from Sunday 4 to Wednesday 7 October. This is the fourth Conservative Party Annual Conference that has been held in Manchester since 2009. The conference and extensive programme of fringe events is expected to provide a boost to hotels, restaurants, attractions and bars across the city. Andrew Stokes, chief executive

of Marketing Manchester, part of Manchester Growth Company, said: “We are proud to be welcoming the first major political party conference after the general election. The Northern Powerhouse is firmly on the political agenda and this is an opportunity to showcase the best Manchester has to offer. “As well as boosting our city’s profile the conference will also boost its economy as delegates and exhibitors spend in our hotels, bars, restaurants and shops.” Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, said: “Manchester’s status as a host city for major events has been firmly established in recent years, whether it’s cultural and sporting spectaculars or political conferences such as this or the Labour Party Conference.

“Large scale events such as this represent a significant boost to the city both in economic and reputational terms. I’m glad that thousands more delegates will have the opportunity to experience what Manchester has to offer.”

in 2013 for the Greater Manchester economy. It also supports Greater Manchester’s £7bn tourism industry attracting over 109 million visits per year and supporting 88,915 jobs.

Angie Robinson, chief executive of Manchester Central, said: “The team at Manchester Central has nearly ten years’ experience in putting on highly successful party conferences and is primed to deliver another outstanding event for the Conservative Party. “The venue will well and truly be under the media spotlight and we’re looking forward to showing off the very best that Manchester Central and the wider city has to offer.” Business tourism generated £823m

Altrincham BID reaches crucial stage

Altrincham’s proposal to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) in the town centre is approaching a crucial stage, with the full Business Plan for the project now having been released and the forthcoming ballot of all eligible businesses opening on Thursday 8 October (open until 5 November). A Business Improvement District (BID) is a defined area where businesses come together to collectively invest to improve their trading environment over a period of five years. During this term, occupiers of all business properties defined within the BID area are required to pay the mandatory levy, irrespective of whether they cast a vote in the ballot. All eligible businesses in

Altrincham town centre were invited to a meeting about the BID in September at Altrincham Town Hall prior to the vote, where a full update of the proposal was given and an opportunity to discuss it in more detail with members of the BID Steering Group took place.

few years. The BID presents a fantastic opportunity for the business community to build on this momentum and create more reasons for people to visit Altrincham more often, especially with a full calendar of events and high profile marketing planned.”

Martin Duff, Owner of Randalls Jewellery and Chair of the Altrincham BID steering group commented: “The BID group is dedicated specifically to furthering business interests in Altrincham town centre. As an independent business, I am proud to be chairing the steering group that has led on the development of this. We have the rare opportunity now to help shape our own future and we must not waste this chance. That is why I will be voting “yes” and I hope you will join me.”

Full information (including the detailed Business Plan available as a download) can be found on www.altrinchambid.co.uk

Charlotte Atkinson, Store Manager of Boots Altrincham and member of the BID Steering Group said: “With the redeveloped market, new hospital, new interchange and now improved public realm, Altrincham has come on in leaps and bounds over the past

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October/November 2015

Cancer-related discrimination solicitor shortlisted for top legal award for pioneering work A young solicitor dedicated to fighting cancer-related discrimination in the workplace has been short-listed for a top award. Sarah Collier, a 32 year-old employment lawyer with Gorvins Solicitors in Stockport, has been recognised for her ground-breaking work defending and advising people who have faced prejudice at work after being diagnosed with the disease. Her nomination for the Law Society Excellence Awards 2015 also acknowledges Sarah’s weekly probono (free) employment surgeries at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and Beechwood Cancer Care Centre in Stockport where she gives support and legal advice to cancer patients who believe they have been discriminated against at work as a result of developing cancer. With an estimated 2.5 million people in the UK currently suffering with cancer and with one in three expected to develop the disease, cases of discrimination are on the increase. In 2014 Manchester was deemed cancer capital of the UK. Whilst employees diagnosed with cancer should automatically be protected under the Equality Act 2010, many cancer patients still find themselves facing issues with their job such as being side-lined for promotion, discovering that they have lost some of their pre-

diagnosis responsibilities/duties and even dismissal. This does not only happen in small businesses but Sarah, who joined Gorvins six years ago, has also acted for cancer patients against some of the UK’s leading retailers and blue chip companies. With a growing reputation as the leading lawyer in this area, Sarah was appointed as keynote speaker for ACAS (the UK employment advisory body) where she has presented to employers in Manchester, Leeds and Nottingham on issues such as dealing with cancer in the workplace - including the legal obligations that employers owe to their employees who have been diagnosed with cancer. As a result, further discussions about collaboration with ACAS on this issue at a national level are anticipated. Sarah also provides a first port of call for referral of patients for a number of Macmillan Information Centres throughout the North West. Partner and Head of Employment Law, David Walton at Gorvins describes this as a “phenomenal achievement”. David added: “Through her indefatigable dedication to vulnerable clients facing a distressing illness, Sarah has become a pioneer in offering niche legal support for cancer

patients who feel they have been discriminated against because of their disease.” Sarah is currently setting up a dedicated website, ‘Working with Cancer’ which will provide a forum for people to record their stories and share experiences of discrimination/ dismissal because of their diagnosis. Says Lorraine Lockie, Managing Partner of Gorvins “Both her colleagues and clients have so much respect for Sarah. At a time of intense anxiety for her clients, Sarah relieves stress caused by their employment issues and gives cancer patients the confidence to pursue justice.” The prestigious awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 22 October at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel in London where the best of the best legal talent will gather to discover the winners. Law Society president Jonathan Smithers said: “The Law Society Excellence Awards are a reminder of the value of the all too often unsung work of solicitors. “I am proud that my profession has so many impressive individuals who continue to innovate and thrive even in challenging economic and legislative environments, seeking to serve their clients and communities in the best way that they possibly can.

“I am delighted, on behalf of the Law Society and the profession, to have this opportunity to celebrate the contributions made to society, to business and to the legal sector by this year’s nominated individuals, teams and firms. “It is inspiring and motivating to read of the fantastic work being done by solicitors across the country and the profession. I congratulate this year’s finalists and look forward very much to meeting them at the awards ceremony in October.” Commenting on the nomination Sarah said: “I am overwhelmed to have been shortlisted for Solicitor of the Year alongside some phenomenal and talented solicitors. The work I do gives me a great sense of satisfaction just knowing that I am helping people get through what is one of the most painful and stressful moments in their lives.”

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October/November 2015

Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy OBE opens the new Manchester Visitor Information Centre Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy OBE and Councillor Andrew Fender, Chair of Transport for Greater Manchester Committee took part recently in the opening ceremony of the new Manchester Visitor Information Centre (MVIC), supported by NOMA, as it combines with Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) office at One Piccadilly Gardens. The shared site will work as a common point of contact for tourists in the city, offering the same service as the former visitor centre but with complementary support from TfGM. Nick Brooks-Sykes, director of tourism at Marketing Manchester, part of the Manchester Growth Company, said: “Visitor Information Centres across the country are adapting to meet the changing needs of visitors who are

increasingly collecting information via digital means rather than traditional walk-in centres. Manchester is no exception to this rule and the increased web traffic to sites such as visitmanchester.com – up 144% from three years ago – shows clearly that the archetypal tourism model has moved on.

TfGM to offer an integrated service and one-stop shop for all travel and tourism needs.”

city – hopefully making all visits to Manchester as pleasurable and simple as possible.”

Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Paul Murphy OBE said: “The new visitor information centre will offer everyone who comes to our city the warmest Mancunian welcome possible.

“Whilst we acknowledge this and are investing in improvements to our digital channels we also know that there is still a significant proportion of the population who prefer to access visitor information in person and the new MVIC is here to provide those services.

“Manchester is the most visited city in the country outside of London, attracting a diverse number of people. The new centre, which builds on the existing partnership between Manchester City Council and Marketing Manchester, will make all their visits easier and ensure Manchester remains a destination of choice.

Cllr Andrew Fender, Chair of the Transport for Greater Manchester Committee, said: “I’m delighted that the new MVIC is opening right next door to Piccadilly Travelshop. This can only be a positive thing for visitors to the city as they’ll be able to find out about the many things Manchester has on offer and how to get there quickly and easily.

“One of the top questions asked by visitors to the MVIC is about travel and how they can get around Greater Manchester, so it makes perfect practical sense for us to partner with

“Working with TfGM will mean the new centre is able to provide tourist information alongside details and advice for getting around our

“It’s testament to how Manchester is growing that year on year we see an increase in the number of visitors coming to this great city. I’m sure that the new centre will be a huge success and TfGM is proud to play its part in making people’s visit as enjoyable as possible.”

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October/November 2015

news FT Finley completes Altrincham sheltered scheme improvements for Trafford Housing Trust Residents living at a sheltered housing scheme in Altrincham have been celebrating the completion of state-of-the-art improvements to their homes by leading North West refurbishment specialists FT Finley. Leverett Close, a popular Independent Living Scheme which consists of 32 one-bedroom properties, has recently undergone a 30-week transformation by the Stockport-based contractors on behalf of Trafford Housing Trust, which manages the scheme. The contemporary redecoration included the fitting of a new hair salon for residents, an extension to the main entrance, refurbished bathrooms, communal restrooms, and new stairs and floor fittings. New stair lifts have also been

added, along with sensor-based lighting, new doors and windows, and a fob entry system into each of the bedrooms. Steve Swift, scheme manager, Trafford Housing Trust commented: “The Trust is committed to ensuring the external and internal areas of our sheltered schemes are of the highest standard. We want our residents to feel proud of where they live, and we are thrilled to see the excellent work completed by FT Finley at Leverett Close. These changes were made as part of the Trust’s customer promise to upgrade its facilities to the standard of a modern, contemporary hotel.” Jay Finley, managing director of FT Finley, said: “It’s always a pleasure to undertake projects on our doorstep here in Greater

Greater focus needed on rural crime, says FSB

Manchester and even more so when they’re as progressive as the enhancements that were carried out at Leverett Close. The transformation of the property has been exceptional and many of the residents have commented on how their accommodation now feels more homely.” “As well as ensuring minimal disruption, we’re always mindful that our end result is to make a genuine difference to the lives of the people who live in the homes we work in and we are pleased with such positive feedback from the residents.” The residents at Leverett Close celebrated their redesigned homes and the completion of the project with a drinks reception and buffet. FT Finley donated £250 towards the spread.

Commenting on the National Rural Crime Network’s (NRCN) recent report to focus on crime in rural areas and its impact on businesses, FSB Regional Chairman for Manchester & North Cheshire, Simon Edmondson, said: “All crimes against businesses must of course be taken seriously. But rural businesses need particular attention to reflect the challenges they face. “The new definition of ‘business crime’ adopted by the police in April is a real step forward, but we would like future reports to set out the specific concerns of business owners so the issues they face can be seen clearly. If a firm does experience crime, we encourage business owners to report it, and for the police to treat those reports with the same levels of priority as they would with other similar crimes.”

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

news Finance and professional sectors drive regional occupier demands Office pre-letting returned in strength during the first half of 2015, led by a spike in demand from the banking and finance sector, according to CBRE, the commercial property and real estate services advisor. Strong economic growth and widespread business confidence during 2015 have resulted in strong levels of occupier take-up, most notably across the key cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. Deals from the banking and finance sectors (19%), along with business services (16%) and professional services (24%), accounted for 59% of total activity in H1. Transactional volumes were particularly high in Birmingham, which saw the largest single deal in H1, the 212,000 sq ft pre-letting of

Other major UK cities that have benefited from this acceleration of office take-up by financial and professional services include Manchester, where PwC prelet nearly 50,000 sq ft at No.1 Spinningfields. Leeds also saw Equifax pre-let 19,784 sq ft at 6 Wellington Place.

generation of office buildings that are about to appear. This regional appeal has been bolstered by an influx of regional infrastructure investment and regeneration projects, cementing the North’s and the Midlands’ position as alternative hubs for large corporations. These deals also go some way to counter the perception that these sectors are looking to downsize their UK footprint or offshore operations.

Ashley Hancox from CBRE, said: “Through the first half of the year, UK regional office markets have continued to build upon the growth that firmly took hold last year. In many of the core cities in the Midlands and North of the UK, large professional services and finance organisations have taken advantage of availability of a well-educated, diverse workforce and a new

“We expect strong levels of preletting activity to continue in H2 2015, which will inevitably put pressure on the limited availability of existing Grade A space across the country. Approximately 2.7m sq ft is currently under construction in the South East and approximately 3.4m sq ft across all other regions to help meet this demand.”

Two Arena Central by HSBC as the new UK headquarters for its retail banking division.

One Advice Group donates to local charities Leading Manchester-based financial services firm, the One Advice Group (OAG), has donated computers and food hampers to local organisations as part of its ongoing work in the local community. Local project Wythenshawe Digital, which helps residents to enjoy the benefits of the internet by providing affordable computer equipment, were given 12 computers by the OAG, whilst Tree of Life Wythenshawe, which works with local partners to create sustainable resources to improve the health and wellbeing for people in Wythenshawe, were given a further three computers by the Group. Carys Roberts from the Tree of Life Centre, commented: “It is great to see that a company as large as the One Advice Group has a strong local focus and has remained true to its roots.”

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October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

MMU seeking businesses to recruit 2015 Graduate Interns MMU’s graduate internship scheme ‘GradMatch’ helps organisations across the North West to recruit a recent Graduate for at least 8 weeks and receive £1,000 towards their salary. MMU’s Employer Liaison Team offers support with the job description, promotion and provides organisations with a shortlist of suitable graduates. Businesses are asked to contribute an additional £1,000 to provide the graduate with the National Minimum Wage during their internship. As well as supporting local businesses, the scheme allows recent graduates to gain paid work experience in a range of industries and sectors, utilising the skills and enthusiasm gained from their recent studies.

Employers from last year’s scheme commented that they found the process “easy to use” and a “very worthwhile experience”. Some employers remarked that the scheme helped them to complete projects where they didn’t have the funding to recruit permanently, whilst many others used the scheme as a method for trialling new recruits, with nearly 80% of graduates being offered extensions at the end of their internships. Applications are now open for organisations to take part in the scheme. Once all arrangements have been confirmed Interns are scheduled to start in their roles between Monday 23 November 2015 and Monday 11 January 2016.

payments of £500 towards their graduate’s salary throughout the internship. To find out more, visit the GradMatch

website at www.mmu.ac.uk/ gradmatch or contact the Employer Liaison Team at gradmatch@mmu. ac.uk or call 0161 247 3485

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

Designs for Altrincham Health and Wellbeing Centre unveiled Altrincham Town Hall was the venue for a two-day display of outline design and architectural concepts for the planned new Altrincham Health and Wellbeing Centre which will be located on the site of the former Altrincham Hospital. The drawings were unveiled to the public at the beginning of August by developers Citybranch who were keen to hear feedback from local residents on the proposals. The Altrincham Health and Wellbeing Centre will help facilitate the co-ordination of public health services, enhanced community facilities and General Practice (GPs) provision within south Trafford as part of the move to address social and health care integration across the borough.

Trafford Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) will be commissioning healthcare and wellbeing services that will be based within the building. Trafford CCG aims to ensure that people living in Trafford have the best possible healthcare outcomes through commissioning high quality, equitable and integrated services. Over the two day exhibition, the developers for the new centre, Altrincham-based Citybranch Ltd, shared visuals, floor plans and layouts of how the new centre could look internally and externally. A representative from Trafford CCG was also in attendance answering any questions from the public regarding facilities in the Centre when it opens in Spring 2017.

RealityMine secures £750,000 investment Trafford Park-based RealityMine said business has boomed ever since it secured a £750,000 investment from The North West Fund. The provider of mobile research technologies and behavioural data landed the cash just over six months ago and has since opened offices in Sydney, Chicago and San Jose. As a result turnover has doubled while plans are afoot to grow its headcount to 250 by the end of 2016. Chief executive Garry Partington said, “The funding package we received has enabled the business to focus on expansion, and to set ambitious growth targets. We are in an exciting position, expanding our business across three continents simultaneously, and I’m looking forward to growing our Manchester team over the next year.” Fred Mendelsohn, investment director at AXM Venture Capital, which manages The North West Fund for Digital & Creative, added: “RealityMine has demonstrated enormous growth potential in the last three years, and operates an impressive operation across the Atlantic and in the UK. “By providing an extensive funding and support package, we are able to demonstrate our impact on the firm’s operations in the North West, offering RealityMine the opportunity to maximise their growth at home and overseas.”

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

QUALITY DRIVEN DIRECT MAIL NCC Group bring global technology credentials to XYZ Global information assurance specialist NCC Group has announced that it will create its new 60,000 sq ft headquarters within Allied London’s new XYZ building in Spinningfields, Manchester.

on innovation, and by situating ourselves within the heart of Spinningfields we are aiming to create and stimulate a hotbed of tech creativity in the surrounding community.”

Rob Cotton, CEO at NCC Group, said: “As a rapidly growing, FTSElisted business at the forefront of technology we needed a space that could match our ambitions and keep up with us as we continually adapt to the rapid pace of technological change. We found that space in XYZ.

As one of the biggest technology employers in the region, NCC Group’s decision to remain within Manchester is a huge endorsement of the city’s business and technology credentials.

“We will create some of the most exciting workspace ever seen in Manchester and most importantly provide a quality space for all staff to work and continue to develop, create and inspire. “Our company’s success is based

Rob continued: “We are fiercely proud of our Manchester roots, and the decision to invest in a new flagship headquarters reaffirms our commitment to the region and ensuring the city is becoming seen globally as a hotspot of security tech innovation. We want to lead Manchester in becoming the security heartland of Europe.”

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

interview

Cheadle Royal’s Together is the new brand name for Jerrold Holdings, based at Lakeside in Cheadle Royal Business Park. The new identity brings all the existing brands, including Auction Finance, Bridging Finance, Lancashire Mortgage Corporation, Blemain Finance and Cheshire Mortgage Corporation, under one forward-facing brand – Together. GM Business Connect caught up with commercial director Chris Baguley to find out more about Together: “The business has been established over 40 years, and started as a small traditional lending company in the vehicle finance market. Then came a number of subsequent property transactions and the company started to expand in the property lending arena. The original business was established as Blemain Finance, which has seen tremendous growth since inception. Other areas of lending have grown over the last four decades and were developed into additional complimentary brands, each strong in their own sector. “I joined the company 10 years ago and was asked to create a new arm aimed at supporting introductions from the professional sector called Bridging Finance Limited, and from there we developed Auction Finance Limited to support the property auction market.” Why did you decide to re-brand under a single name? “Having multiple brands was becoming quite cumbersome and the market perception did not appreciate the impact we have, as a business, on the property lending market. With so much growth in diverse areas, we accumulated a significant number of different

names operating under one business, and the idea behind the new brand was to pull all those together under one single identity. “It suited us historically to focus on the separate brands as the business grew organically, but now we feel the time and marketplace is right to tell people who we are and what we’re all about - to highlight the impact and importance we have in the property lending sector. We’ll still have the same great product offering, but all under one name.” Do you feel the synergy between your many different historical brands will work under a single brand identity, especially as those brands have been successful within their own specific markets? “It’s true that the different brands were performing exceptionally well in different marketplaces, but they were essentially doing the same thing. We are a business that offers mortgages, secured loans, short-term funding and vehicle finance. So, it made complete sense to pull them together under one new name.” Has the management structure changed significantly in bringing the different brands together?

best kept “No, the structure is the same and we’ll still have different distribution channels for our products; for example, we’ve got professional sector distribution where business comes from accountants and solicitors, an auction distribution, an intermediary distribution and a direct distribution. Behind all of those product offerings we actually already have a single corporate governance structure. We share Marketing, HR and Finance, for example. Our corporate structure won’t need to alter, just the way the marketplace perceives us. “We’ve created the unified brand, Together, to make it easier to do business with us and make us more recognisable. It’s also helped internally to focus our identity with our own staff, plus externally it gives us the opportunity to remind people that we are a very sizeable influence in the lending market.” How large and how widely is the business spread?

“Our head office is in Cheadle Royal Business Park, with just under 400 staff. We’ve got a very sizeable loan book of £1.4billion. Historically we’re North West focused in certain areas of the business, but we now have an expanding team covering the Midlands, South and Southwest, and we’re currently recruiting for London and Yorkshire. It’s an exciting place to work.” What makes you decide as a business to grow into these additional regions? “In the past, we’ve worked very effectively with the funding capacity and we’ve had to ensure controlled growth. We’ve enjoyed an excellent relationship with our banks and funding sources, which has in turn resulted in the growth of our funding facilities, allowing us to expand across wider areas of the UK. “The interesting thing for our business is that we operate successfully in many different economic climates. In good times there is a lot of activity in terms of growth and expansion in the economic marketplace, and in more difficult times the traditional routes to finance

October/November 2015

assess every single transaction personally. Everything we do is secured with either first or second charges, but the underlying reason we would progress on a lending decision is feeling comfortable with that customer. It’s a personal thing with us.” The company itself has been working towards the launch of the new brand over many months.

secret are more restrictive, giving us an opportunity to reach new customers. We pride ourselves on delivering to our introducers and customers and have some amazing clients that we are always here to support.” You mentioned Together has a current loan book of £1.4billion, how are your current figures looking in the present rapidly expanding private sector? “Last year, Together lent just under £725million; over double the previous year’s figure of £350million. That equates to a profit of approximately £70million. We have also increased our funding facilities, and recently agreed a new securitisation of £255million. “This provides the capacity to grow the business massively. The fact is people don’t know about the size and scale of the business. Up to now we’ve had a fairly limited profile, but we need to change that. We need to get the message out that we are a sizeable business with ambitious plans for growth, and here to support the property market.”

GM BUSINESS connect

Who do you lend to? “The vast proportion of our clients are residential and commercial investors. We also lend to private individuals, limited companies, SME’s and pension schemes. In terms of a commercial and residential split that would be about 75/25, but we do view some residential investment in terms of commercial activity. We tend to look for good quality clients, and lend conservatively. The skill for us is that we underwrite every single application that comes in.” Does that mean you don’t use external credit scoring? “We do standard credit searches and detailed due diligence on all applications, including Equifax. We’ve got Hometrack which gives us some valuation methodology, but essentially we follow old fashioned principles of banking. We operate a common sense approach and

A major exercise of this scale is not a straightforward overnight change. However, when GM Business Connect dropped in to meet Chris, everyone within the organisation seemed really excited, incentivised and keen to support the changes. We were shown a large wall full of magnetic jigsaw pieces, each one featuring a member of staff, which had been created to celebrate the brand launch. Every employee also received a personalised branded goody bag on the day of the announcement and enjoyed a host of celebratory events throughout the launch week. In the reception area, a long service

history board lists members of staff, some of whom have been with the business over 30 years. Pride of place outside the main door is the ‘employee of the month’ parking space. Small touches, attention to detail. Crucially, Together has addressed the need to keep all staff included in the process of re-branding, just as much as ensuring the outward-facing message is positively received. It looks like Cheadle Royal’s best-kept secret is secret no longer.

GM BUSINESS connect

interview It’s quite a departure from our normal style of editorial to feature an interview with one of the UK’s most famous and enduring cartoonists Hyde’s very own Tony Husband. Tony has agreed to come on board and direct his gently sarcastic (and all encompassing) gaze over the often far too serious business community of Greater Manchester. Perhaps it’s very apt that for the first edition of our newly expanded GM Business Connect magazine we march our newest regular contributor through a typical ‘Business Connect’ interview involving a hearty lunch at Sam’s Chop House, one of central Manchester’s iconic gastro-pubs. So, accompanied by Roger Ward, owner of all three chop houses (Sam’s, Mr Thomas’s and recent addition Albert’s), plus commercial photographer Paul Husband (Tony’s talented Son) we all got down to a bite to eat and a chat to see how an award winning cartoonist ticks. Tony – firstly many thanks for joining GM Business Connect magazine as our regular cartoonist. Shall we start at the beginning..? “I started drawing with my first job in Advertising. My first work was with the 1960’s Manchester hippy magazines Grass Eye and Mole Express. They didn’t pay with money – they gave albums that had been reviewed, or other ‘supplies’ that were rather illegal at the time! I then started sending cartoons to the Mirror and the Mail. When the Mirror actually bought one I felt great! I could pack in my job (as a window dresser) by then. I got £3.10 for it, however, I wasn’t to sell anything else for a whole year, so I ended up back

working this time as jobbing jeweller. “That period of time had many, many magazines in circulation and I sent my cartoons to most of them hoping to get published (and paid). Magazines like Titbits as well as the newspapers. There was the Sun, and the Daily Star that started in 1978. I started getting up to 10 cartoons a week into the Star, then the Mirror and the Sun started buying, followed by the men’s magazines like Knave, Fiesta, etc.

October/November 2015

Drawing

“There were two titles I couldn’t get in – Mayfair and Punch – and I sent a letter to both to see why they wouldn’t publish me. It turned out that Punch liked my jokes but not my drawings, and Mayfair liked my drawings but not my jokes! At that point I decided to stop trying to please everyone, and that change in attitude seemed to help me move forward. I published my first book (100 ways to use a severed head!) and when Ian Hislop took over Private Eye in 1986 things started to take off. In those days I sent

Courtesy of Private Eye

completed cartoons on a speculative basis, and started with titles that paid the most, like Private Eye. I remember getting a rejection slip from them, after which the cartoons went down the list of top payers to not quite so good payers until someone bought them. However, Private Eye had in fact published two of my cartoons, and I had to phone them to ask why? They were very apologetic but I said don’t worry, that was great! I was over the moon! Long serving secretary Hilary Lowinger looked after me from that day on, and the doors were opening now at other publications. Punch came next, and then Playboy – who actually wrote to me saying they loved my cartoons – and they paid

far more than any British publication! I had got to the point by then that I’d also start publishing books.” So what about ‘Yobs’ – your regular strip in Private Eye? “I was a hippy in my younger days – long hair, buckskin jacket like Dennis Hopper in Easy Rider – and I remember getting beaten up by skinheads at a festival. This stuck with me, and I started to do the odd cartoon having a go at the skinheads in the only way I knew – through my cartoons. Ian Hislop came up with the suggestion to do a regular strip called ‘Yobs’ and to see how it went. That was 31 years ago it’s still going strong. “From there I started doing children’s comics with IPC and Thompson, and

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

on Inspiration Birmingham Philharmonic with the Black Dyke Brass Band and he did a poem called ‘Brass’. There were 2,000 people in the audience while my cartoons were projected behind me as I drew them. I have to be quick, very quick.”

ended up doing my own comic with Patrick Gallagher and Mark Rodgers called ‘Oink!’ This was a great success and when it finished we ended up doing a TV show through Denise O’Donoghue with Jimmy Mulville and Rory McGrath called ‘Round the Bend’. We were winning awards and I next did a play with playwright David Wood with which we toured the country. After that was a series of roadshows with Poet Ian McMillan and we are still working on these today. We have also worked on a number of books together, and more recently gear the roadshow to corporate events and business conferences. The last event we did recently was for Hallmark Cards.” Bringing the story up to recent times, what have you been up to? “One of the biggest events recently was losing my Father to dementia. The most apt way I had to deal with this was to literally draw my experience, and out of this came a book 18 months ago called ‘Take Care, Son’ - the last words my Dad said to me. The book is currently raising money for many dementia groups around the country, and I am very active supporting those groups by giving talks and promoting the book. There are

plans for an animated film to be made too, with the people who did ‘The Snowman’ producing it. We’ve got Elbow doing the music, and Christopher Eccleston doing one of the voices. “I’ve also been working for a management consultancy called Cirrus Connect in Wilmslow. They are working with a number of cartoonists and illustrators by sending us to corporate and training events for different businesses, essentially drawing what we see during the course of the events.” This quite a generic question – do you rely on clients advising content for your cartoons, or do you come up ideas from scratch? “I obviously take commissions. However, what I still do, every day, is to go in my studio, shut the door, lie on my thinking couch with a blank piece of paper which I block off into six sections. I then fill all those sections with ideas and try to sell them. In the old days there were loads of magazines and I learnt to become incredibly prolific. People ask where my ideas come from and I simply don’t know. I don’t want to know - I’m just happy the ideas simply happen!” How easy is it to concentrate those ideas on one track – ‘Yobs’ for example?

Courtesy of Private Eye

Tony’s workload is currently still very prolific. His cartoons feature in a current Ocean Finance TV campaign, he has moved more into corporate events and conferences, plus still gets published and exhibited regularly. He’s also taking commissions giving talks and workshops with various projects with the NHS, Universities and other organisations.

“I can simply seem to focus. I did a regular cartoon for the The Times Sport for 20 years and they would send me a subject at 4 o’clock – football, golf, tennis – any sport. It would be the story of the day, and I would send them 4 ideas in rough form. They would then choose one, and I would have that worked up and delivered by 5 o’clock.”

It will be interesting to see how he deals with Greater Manchester’s business community. We suspect that his services will be very much in demand in the near future. Courtesy of Private Eye

All photography courtesy of Paul Husband 07921 239147

I’ve seen you work and it seems you can create a finished cartoon almost quicker than you can think of the idea itself. Would you say your speed is a result of decades of practice? “I’ve always been quick. When I go on the roadshow with Ian McMillan to a corporate event, Ian would work his poems off the cuff with the audience and I would create cartoons instantly on a display board to match the subjects of Ian’s poems. One time we did an event at the

Tony’s book is available through Amazon. Proceeds are supporting dementia groups round the country.

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

interview Growing client partnerships

strengthens North West presence for LWA LWA seem to have a winning formula leading from the front. Both Directors have a great mix of business acumen and experience. GM Business Connect caught up with Les Leavitt and Steve Collings to find out more. What is driving your rapid growth? “Several factors really, the takeover of a smaller practice 12 months ago and significant growth in demand from existing clients for additional services. This has enabled us to continue to meet our double digit growth targets. As a result the business has had to overcome its own challenges especially in recruiting the right staff who share the LWA mantra of ‘family values’.” Les comments. “I have to say the number of client referrals we get is phenomenal, with regular testimonials thanking us for our personal approach. It makes me proud to say I’m part of the team at LWA. We are an extended family all working together to help each other. Without great clients and fantastic staff, none of this would be possible. We love what we do and take a genuine interest in our clients businesses, always thinking, “how can we help”? I truly believe

this willingness to help is key to the quality of clients wins we’ve had, which continues to fuel our referral pipeline.” What do you think you bring to the market that’s different? Les continues: “Our philosophy is based upon developing long term relationships that are built around the concept of know, like and trust. By having a dedicated team member for each client, this allows a relationship to grow and give confidence in the services provided. If you’re asking for something tangible that’s different, then a great example would be our outsourced Financial Director solution, which allows growing businesses to reap the benefits of having round-the-clock financial support without having to make too much of a dent in their budget. This solution means we can offer guidance to a company’s board members when it comes to situations such as taking ownership of the finance function, determining the corporate objectives of the business, or projecting financial effects on the business goals.” Steve’s vast technical knowledge allows him to provide practical support to larger clients dealing with and implementing changes to both accounting and auditing standards. He is able to provide non exec audit committee services and this is something we believe many firms can’t match. How has Steve’s literary success affected the business? Steve Collings is an award-winning

renowned author of many accountancy books. These include three for the world-famous ‘For Dummies’ series, and he’s been recognised at a number of awards ceremonies including winning the global accolade of Outstanding Contribution to the Accountancy Profession at the Association of International Accountants (AIA) annual Founders Lecture & Awards 2013. Steve responds: “The past five years has been unbelievable and it still amazes me that people really want to read about, or hear me talk of my passion and geekiness for the real nitty gritty and technical elements of auditing and accountancy.” As well as publishing many books on the subject, Steve continues to have input into how the accounting rules are drawn up by the UK’s accountancy regulator, the Financial Reporting Council. He also has a diary packed with bookings for speaking and lecturing up and down the country. “But I still make time to apply my knowledge to client work, as that’s what I love to do after all!”

‘‘

What’s in store for LWA in the future? “We’re investing more into technology and we will hopefully have some exciting developments for clients expanding from our online portal. Technology really is a big part of the professions future, real time reporting and continual interaction with clients via electronic means will strengthen the bond between us and our clients.” Les concludes: “Our Sale office continues to see strong growth, whilst we’re also seeing increased demand from Warrington and surrounding areas. It therefore seemed obvious to expand with a second office and Birchwood Park was the ideal choice, situated in a prime location to service those business districts. We’ll have easy access to the M6 and M62, and we’re very excited about how the additional location will positively impact on the continued growth of LWA.”

Our philosophy is based upon developing long term relationships that are built around the concept of know, like and trust.

‘‘

Sale-based accountants Leavitt Walmsley Associates (LWA) have been gaining not just a local reputation for exceptional business advice and support, but are steadily coming to the attention of the wider business community of Greater Manchester and beyond. So much so that the firm are about to open a new office in Warrington.

L-R Steve Collings and Les Leavitt

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

interview

Supersonic

Conferences The beginning of September saw GM Business Connect invited to look round the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. Principal attraction is of course Concorde decommissioned and housed in a purpose built hangar. The unusual aspect to this is the corporate offer of conferences and events.

Robert Pattison, Runway Visitor Park Manager and Cheryl Garnett, Conference Sales and Events Co-ordinator

We caught up with Conference Sales and Events Co-ordinator Cheryl Garnett, and Runway Visitor Park Manager Robert Pattison for a chat and tour of one of the most iconic aircraft of the 20th Century. Rob - can you tell us how and why Manchester Airport got Concorde? “15 years ago the Airport acknowledged there was a need for creating a space for Aviation Enthusiasts. For years they had to make do trying to spot aircraft from positions round the airport, and it was decided to create a space for the local community to view the aircraft safely with car parking facilities available.

“In 2003, British Airways decommissioned the Concorde, and offered the fleet on long term loan to any organisations that could put a business proposal forward. Manchester Airport were successful, and the Concorde was flown in to the Airport on its final flight in 2003 and parked up at the Visitor Park. Part of the loan agreement was that people were able to view the plane, and from there the Visitor Park grew. “By 2008, it was decided to build a hangar, restaurant and visitors’ shop on the site costing £1.2 million, which was by that time economically viable against the visitor numbers.”

“From the first few years of delivering smaller events and dinners the Conference business has been very successful and grown year on year. As well as meeting rooms and the large hangar space we have our own in house catering team offering catering options for all sorts of events. It has grown to the point where we are now looking at expanding to offer even more facilities. “We are working on a masterplan over the next 5-10 years to introduce more conference spaces, a bigger and better education centre, more aircraft for people to see (there are currently 5 on site including Concorde), plus bigger catering and retail facilities.

How did the event facilities develop? “It’s been quite a journey over the past few

Captivate your audience under the wings of an icon... at this truly unique venue... • Accommodating up to 750 guests • Over 1,600 square metres of flexible space • Experienced events planning team • Perfectly located a short drive from Manchester Airport, rail links and M56 Motorway Corporate Events • Product Launches • Dinners • Weddings • and more Talk to our experienced events planning team on 0161 489 8299 or concorde.conferences@manairport.co.uk

October/November 2015

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years. We are certainly the No.1 facility in the UK, if not Europe, for Aviation Enthusiasts. We attract over 370,000 visitors a year, we’re No.7 in the top 10 visitors’ attractions in the Northwest, and we’re in our second year of certificate of excellence from Trip Advisor. In terms of growth we have a great opportunity to push forward with expansion plans in the same way the Airport is currently doing.” Where does the Visitor Park sit within the Manchester Airport Group as a business? “We are part of the Group, sitting within the retail and commercial division. This works well as we host on-site internal events, conferences and meetings for the Group.” Will that change when Airport City is finished? “I don’t know of any plans for large events facilities within the proposals. I’m hoping this will give us a great opportunity to service the corporate sector of that development with facilities that would be unique and right

on the doorstep of essentially an international business hub. “We need to service that opportunity with investing now in a business centre, more meeting rooms and to develop the conference facilities and offering that would give our clients a range of options for their events.” How do you view yourselves in

terms of conference facilities? “We have grown significantly over the last 5 years, with over 35,000 delegates attending events each year. The main conference space can accommodate up to 1,000 people depending on the event and catering requirements. It’s a very flexible space, with a unique

attraction in Concorde that is in a very accessible location for National and International clients as well as the North West.” It looks like the Visitor Park is about to invest heavily over the next few years and it’s not hard to see why its shaping up to be a very unusual and progressive venue for conferences and events.

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review

October/November 2015

BUSINESS

Kicking off for Charity CHARITY LUNCH

Charity lunches tend to be a bit of a mixed experience when it comes to the promotion of a particular charity or organisation.

It can be said doing one in the midst of a re-brand can be particularly challenging, but judging from the response of most attendees, the GM Business Connectworking Charity Lunch at Hotel Football on 11 September seemed to be a fantastic success on many levels.

In many ways it was a seminal moment for the Magazine, celebrating two years since incorporation, plus the aforementioned re-brand from Trafford Business Connect to GM Business Connect Magazine – a celebration of growth into all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. Rather than simply an excuse on a Friday afternoon for a drink and chance to earn a few pounds for some well deserving charities, this was an event firmly following the

ethos of GM Business Connect. Most know us now as the B2B Magazine that ‘connects’ businesses. We are all about networking, grass roots meeting and greeting, and when close on 200 business people take the time, effort and investment to get together on a Friday afternoon we ensure the event is all about raising profiles not just of the three charities, but for every single person that puts on a badge and gets themselves noticed at what we like to think as a great tribute to free business networking. The event ran very smoothly, starting with drinks courtesy of Hotel Football on the unique rooftop 5-a-side pitch known as Heaven. Glorious sunshine followed us up and the roof panels were

opened. This was a great space for networking, and the call to lunch was almost missed due to everyone enjoying the unique atmosphere. Moving everyone down from the 9th floor to the first floor Stadium Suite was a logistical challenge – which Hotel Football managed to achieve without breaking into a sweat. After a welcome from our very own Paul Mirage, John Ashcroft, noted economist and CEO of promanchester took over compare duties and wasted no time in inviting everyone to enjoy an excellent two course lunch. Then it was on to introductions to our three charities. However, before their 5 minute presentations he introduced Dennis Tueart who was promoting his autobiography from

his days at Manchester City, both as a player and Club Director. All of Dennis’s profits were going to The Christie, another fantastic charity we were more than happy to support. The charities then had 5 minutes for their presentations, with Jean Mills from Forever Manchester, Danielle Carney from the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity and Dave Hulme from the Alex Hulme Foundation. They were then followed by an after dinner speech from Phil Jones, Managing Director of Brother UK and President of Forever Manchester. Phil gave an impassioned 20 minutes speaking about the nature of change in business and the issues concerning leadership within a modern business environment. He observed “Entrepreneurs often start businesses

October/November 2015

Jean Mills Forever Manchester

L-R Jon Cheetham, John Ashcroft and Paul Mirage

by themselves. They then grow to 5, 10, 20 people. And what they’re having to become is someone who used to do all the work, but actually no longer does all the work. They now have to lead. When this is successful, you start to contribute to this thing called the productivity puzzle. However, one thing the productivity puzzle doesn’t always solve is happiness. Happy people in happy organisations are available and ready to take on anything. At Brother, we use a word called alacrity, which stands for a happy state of readiness. So, we focus on being happy, but we’re

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Phil Jones

Danielle Carney Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital Charity

Dave Hulme Alex Hulme Foundation

0161 214 0955 www.forevermanchester.com 0161 276 4522 www.rmchcharity.org.uk 0161 973 1343 www.alexhulmefoundation.co.uk

ready for anything. This whole culture is a designed process which we have developed over the past few years.” Phil as always managed to pack a lot of observations (as he described ‘musings’) in his speech, and hopefully the assembled business audience took away some great information. Finally, we were on to raffle prizes and auctions – for two original canvases from award winning cartoonist Tony Husband who was

kind enough to bring them along in person, and our star auction prize of two transatlantic return flights to any destination in the US or Caribbean. The afternoon then carried on with

networking at the table, and the celebrations continued afterwards at the Victoria Warehouse.

Many thanks to everyone who supported the event. A total of £3,600 was raised for the three charities.

Dennis Tueart and Wayne Shaw from the Window Company

Auction winners Matt Dell from Freedom Cars with Brenda Jackson from the Alex Hulme Foundation pictured with Tony Husband

Auction winner of the Virgin flights Sam Madeley from Accident Claim Expert (UK) Ltd

All photography courtesy of Martin Hambleton 07766 815703

In association with Phil Jones with Darren Gilbert from Virgin Atlantic

Many thanks to

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

No nightmares - just challenges plus

Powerhouses and all that... Angie Robinson and Brian Lewis

An early start at the AJ Bell Stadium on 14 September saw networking organisation K-Club welcoming a great mix of business professionals for their regular networking breakfast event. As well as the chance to meet and mingle, plus a great breakfast, there were keynote presentations from two very engaging speakers – Angie Robinson, Chief Executive of Manchester Central and Brian Lewis, founder of the Cash Generator chain. Angie Robinson started proceedings with a presentation entitled ‘Powerhouses and all that…’: “In my role which is to attract conferences and seminars to Manchester Central, the impression that we put forward is critical in attracting business to our venue. We’re up against Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham – plus many International destinations such as Barcelona or Frankfurt for example. “The perception of the North by London and the Southeast is still ‘By ‘eck it’s grim up North’, and in order to take advantage of the overheating Southeast and London, to ensure business comes here in the North as opposed to Barcelona and Frankfurt, we need

to address this false perception of our region. “The Northern Powerhouse is a great basis for us to work from. It’s just a phrase at the moment, however, it does have relevance to the people who work here. We know that we are an engine of growth. We know of a proud history as architects of the industrial revolution. We know all the elements to make us the centre of a Northern Powerhouse is there. It’s about being recognised for that which is so crucial. In order to be recognised we need to exercise the positives of devolution to become a Northern Powerhouse. We have the opportunity to develop a brand that will attract external and internal investment – a real chance for real growth.” Next to present their story was Brian Lewis. Brian’s story was fascinating. Originally from Moss Side, he started his career as a petrol attendant. From there he became Assistant Trainee Manager at a tyre depot, and worked his way up under then manager Stephen Boler, who became one of Manchester’s most dynamic Entrepreneurs. “I learnt a lot from Stephen, and when

he left to form his own business in Longsight, I decided I’d had enough of working for other people and joined him as a minor shareholder of the new business. “However, four years later I found myself out of work and starting from scratch. There really is a combination of things that affect our business lives. You can plan all you like, do strategy, write business plans, but that very rarely becomes an absolutely clear and easy journey. “Next for me was financial services. There was a saying in the late sixties ‘Financially fireproof at 40’ – I thought this was a great thing to aim for.” Brian then went into business with partner Stephen Choularton, buying a small retail credit company in Cheadle. He started with a 1% stake but during the course of a number of years became sole owner. He then sold the business in 1989, aged 39, and became a millionaire – finally achieving his ambition of becoming ‘Financially fireproof at 40’. Brian took cash rather than shares, then saw the business shares quadrupling in 6 years. Another 7 years and the company was worth £1billion - yet a further

2 years on and it was insolvent. “Timing is everything, however, you can guess ahead, and you can guess correctly, but it isn’t until much later that you can see exactly how lucky you were. No matter how good you are in business, you have to accept that you are very fortunate. Nobody can do really well in anything without good fortune. You can increase your chance of success with hard work and ability, but its not a guarantee.” From there Brian got involved with a business in the serviced offices industry, based on Deansgate. Again a rapid rise to become a successful company, and an even quicker drop with the next recession. With the one business now coasting, Brian invested in a few more in different sectors. It was at this stage he realised he’d become a jack of all trades, master of none. So, from this point he put all his efforts into building the renowned Cash Generator empire which became a massive success. Brian quickly sold his other businesses to concentrate on Cash Generator, which he eventually sold to a large US company in 2010.

For further information please contact Amanda Manson, Communications Director on

07754 069 829

amanda.manson@k-club.co.uk

www.k-club.co.uk

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October/November 2015

preview The North West Thursday 26 November will see the first North West Business Expo launched at Emirates Old Trafford.

There are more than 80 Exhibitors expected, with 8 keynote speakers, 7 workshops and 3 speed networking sessions! The event is expected to attract over 900 businesses from across Greater Manchester and beyond, and can boast the following in terms of added value for visitors:

Business dedicated workzone (free Wi-Fi) • Wonder Women Business Panel Smashing the glass ceiling

• Free subscription to Talk Business Magazine worth £40 • Free email subscription to GM Business Connect Magazine Amongst the workshops featured are the following:

• Over 80 exhibitors

• Free to attend business breakfast sponsored by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

• Network with over 900 regional businesses

• Benefit from the Slow Networking Opportunities

• Email Marketing 101

• Be inspired by 8 keynote speakers • 7 industry leading workshops • Meet new contacts at 3 speed networking sessions

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October/November 2015

Expo 2015 ambitious business people in one place the atmosphere is going to be electric. that we have had across the UK with our regional business expo’s, we have chosen Emirates Old Trafford as a world class business location and a natural choice for the North West Business Expo. “The region is home to a community of established and aspiring global brands and top global organisations, and so it follows that opportunities at this year’s North West Expo are extensive! “For many visitors it is a chance to discover why some of the world’s top international brands and most innovative fastest growing companies are choosing the North West region as their European hub and headquarters, and with so many

“There is an amazing choice in our line-up of Keynotes to present this year’s exclusive series of seminars throughout the day. When it comes to business advice, it pays to listen to people who have a track record of unique success and experience. People who have demonstrated again and again a natural talent for rising to the top, whatever the circumstances. People who continue to push the limits of achievement, or are the driving force behind the biggest brands. “We’re proud to bring a fantastic selection of business leaders in Britain today delivering an essential mix of

advice, ideas, and inspiration that will benefit any business.

day full of new business opportunities and possibilities.”

“We’re also featuring industry leading workshops, all of which have been designed to address issues that affect many different areas of business.

As well as featuring excellent opportunities for networking with the exhibitors and other visitors, there are no fewer than 8 speakers announced:

“Not only have our workshops been created to be an interesting and enjoyable way of gaining practical hands-on experience, they are also a way of picking up the knowledge that your company may be lacking.

Brad Burton - best selling author and one of the UK’s best motivational speakers. MD of 4Networking - the UK’s largest ‘joined-up’ business network.

“Don’t miss one of the region’s largest 2015 business shows. It is ideal for anyone thinking about starting a business or expanding their current business. With over 80 exhibitors, advice, opportunities, and much more, can you afford to miss out? “We’re looking forward to enjoying a

Michelle Mill Porter - presenting ‘Phone Genius - the art of non visual communication.’ This is not for people who spend their whole day on the phone - this is for people who want to make their important calls count!

Article continues on next page

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October/November 2015

N E W S L E T T

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Jackie Chappell - telling the story of becoming the first ever women CEO in the rail industry as the Chief Executive of the Industry’s Training and Competence Company. Steve Clarke - his story of taking his own businesses from start-up to stock market flotation. He grew his last business to £30m in annual sales in just 8 years, sold out and was able to retire at 45. Debbie Huxton - How do you overcome the feeling of overwhelm? This compelling seminar will give you rapid solutions to take away with you and apply easily to overcome ‘that thing’ that holds you back and develop a mind-set that will allow you to take action and achieve what it is you desire. Neil Clough - most known for winning the hearts of the nation and the respect of Britain’s business titans in the BBC’s Apprentice. He talks

N E W S L E T T

LEAFLE

about making the final five, smashing sales targets and finding a silver lining in even the most difficult and demanding situations. Jordan Daykin - one of Dragon’s Den’s youngest entrepreneurs talks about his £80,000 investment from Deborah Meaden, and the story of taking his business to a Global market. Registering for free entry to the Expo is a straightforward visit to www. northwestbusinessexpo.co.uk

DON’T MISS THE Thursday 26 November - The Point, Emirates Old Trafford

JOURNAL

We are delighted to announce the launch of The North West Expo on Thursday 26 November, 9am - 3pm. This is a FREE event open to all businesses across Greater Manchester and beyond. To register FREE as a visitor, or to enquire about exhibiting (spaces are going fast) visit:

www.northwestexpo.co.uk • Over 80 exhibitors • Network with over 900 regional businesses • 7 Keynote Speakers • 7 unique industry leading Workshops • 3 speed networking sessions • Dedicated WORKZONE with free Wi-Fi

• Wonder Women Business Panel Smashing the glass ceiling

N E W S L E T T E R S

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• 2 FREE Tickets to Newbury Racecourse • A Delegate Goody Bag upon arrival with over £100 of promotional offers

• Free online subscription to Trafford Business Connect Sponsored by magazine

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

focus Trafford Park Connect There are currently two regular networking events based on Trafford Park and both are fully supported by GM Business Connect. St Antony’s Centre on Eleventh Street, situated in the heart of Trafford Park, is the venue for a monthly lunchtime get together of like minded businesses who want to get connected and do business in the Park. This event is open to all businesses both in and out of the area, and is based on a couple of hours free networking, a bite to eat with a 20 minute presentation by a quality speaker to add value to the event. Exclusec Security Solutions are ongoing sponsors and registration

Bringing Trafford can be made through EventBrite, either by searching for Trafford Park, or www.traffordparkconnect.co.uk. The last two events took place in August and September. On August 12 the renowned Networking expert Will Kintish gave a great presentation on how to use LinkedIn for business. Will covered not just the basics, but many interesting aspects that offer the chance of making a huge impact

in business with very little investment in terms of time and effort. Another great speaker gave a presentation on 8 September - Rob Sethna from the Business Growth Hub. Rob gave us an overview on how the Growth Hub operated and what was on offer for many Greater Manchester based businesses. The next event is scheduled for 13 October - full details below.

Will Kintish Kintish Networking Skills 0161 773 3727 willk@kintish.co.uk

Rob Sethna Business Growth Hub 0161 359 3050 rob.sethna@businessgrowthhub.com

MONTHLY NETWORKING IN TRAFFORD PARK

GET YOUR BUSINESS NOTICED! Trafford Park Connect is a monthly business networking lunchtime event recently moved to St Antony’s Centre on Eleventh Street, in the heart of Trafford Park.

Each event, taking place at the beginning of each month, will provide a relaxed networking opportunity between 12noon and 2pm to meet businesses not just from Trafford Park but beyond, and is open to all businesses to attend. There will be a keynote speaker at each event, featuring a great range of respected names from many different businesses. For more info please email Paul Mirage on paul@businessconnectpublishing.co.uk If you would like to attend please register at Eventbrite through:

www.traffordparkconnect.co.uk

Trafford Park Connect is a networking initiative hosted by GM Business Connect Magazine and sponsored by Exclusec Security Solutions Limited.

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Trafford Park Connect, St Antony’s Centre (behind NatWest Trafford Park branch), Eleventh Street, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1JF

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

Park together Manchester Growth Company. Mark Pearson – Business Improvement Manager for STaR Procurement – offering an introduction to Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale Councils’ shared procurement service, advice on tendering for local authority contracts, and an overview of their forthcoming pipeline of procurement opportunities.

Trafford Park Business Network The Trafford Park Business Network continues to be a great success, with over 150 attendees having attended the first two events.

A complimentary breakfast is served and guest speakers at the event will include:

Lizzi Long – Group Sales Manager for LDeX Datacentres, who have recently invested in a new 20,000sq. ft datacentre in Trafford Park – discussing the reason for choosing to locate and invest in Trafford Park and an introduction to the range of data hosting services on offer to local businesses.

Mark Hughes MBE – Group Chief

This event will also feature the official

Executive of the Manchester Growth Company – providing an overview of the impact of devolution on the business support landscape in Greater Manchester, including information about the wide range of support available from the

launch of ‘Trafford Park TV’, a new video directory website that aims to broadcast showreels, promotional videos or corporate videos of every company in Trafford Park.

8am on Wednesday 21 October.

Mark supported by Hughes Trafford Council MBE and Trafford Economic Growth Board, Trafford Park TV is designed to promote and showcase businesses based in Trafford Park both to other local businesses and to a global audience

A selection of information stands will also be available, helping businesses to access a range of support from organisations including Trafford Council, GM Chamber of Commerce, Business Growth Hub and Trafford College. Trafford Park businesses can register to attend the next Trafford Park Business Network at trafford-parknetwork.eventbrite.co.uk.

Open exclusively to businesses based in Trafford Park, this group helps local businesses build relationships with their neighbours and develop new local supply chain opportunities. A number of businesses have already reported generating new opportunities as a direct result of the previous events, and excellent feedback has been received, including: “A great event… the best networking experience I have ever had!” Matthew Fletcher, The Digitex Group “Superb… showcases the best of what we have here in Trafford” Chris Brindle, Trafford Rubber Products The next Trafford Park Business Network event will be held at Hotel Football at

For further information about the event or Trafford Park TV, contact business@trafford.gov.uk.

Developed by Skylab (a digital agency based in Trafford Park), and Trafford Park is the world’s first planned industrial estate and remains one of the largest business parks in Europe. It is home to over 1,300 businesses and 35,000 employees, from a wide range of business sectors including manufacturing, logistics, retail, leisure, digital and creative, office and professional.

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

apprenticeships

Seddon Apprentices build a future with Salford City College into the industry like Seddon has helped me.”

Builder and developer Seddon welcomed fifteen directly employed apprentices to its ranks this September with the help of Salford City College. On 9 September the apprentices were given an introduction to the College with a tour of its City Skills Sixth Form Centre, where they will complete their day release once a week.

Allan Milne, Head of Work Based Learning at Salford City College, said: “We are delighted to welcome the new intake of Seddon apprentices to Salford City College. Seddon have a fantastic national reputation for their Apprenticeship programme and is a great honour to be their main apprentice training partner.”

Competition was fierce for the apprentice positions, with more than 500 people applying for the posts. The chosen few will now go on to complete a 3.5 year traineeship with the company, working to NVQ Level 3 standard.

Are you an employer who is looking to enhance their workforce by hiring an apprentice? Call the Salford City College Apprenticeships Team for more details, on 0161 631 5555.

Since founding the partnership

IS YOUR BUSINESS INTERESTED IN HAVING AN APPRENTICE? · · · ·

in 2011, Salford City College has assisted Seddon in taking on 55 new apprentices. Ninety five per cent of Seddon trainees stay with the company after the initial three years. Mark Watson, 23, of Little Hulton in Salford, joins Seddon as a ground working apprentice. He said: “It’s amazing to know that I was chosen out of 500 people to take up this place. Seddon has an amazing reputation in the North West, especially in Salford where the company began. “My grandad was over the moon

when he found out; he knows what an Apprenticeship with Seddon might mean for my future. I am so excited to get started, the job will give me a reason to get up in the morning and help me provide for my family.” Joining Mark is 18-year-old Maria Thompson, who has been awarded a painting and decorating Apprenticeship. She said: “An Apprenticeship with Seddon is not just a job, it’s a career. I am really excited for the future, in three years I will be fully qualified and be able to help more women

Gain cost-effective, skilled and qualified staff Offer a young person a great opportunity We manage the recruitment for you Grants available

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Employers that we work with include: Salford City Council, Seddons, ITV, The Lowry, Salford Royal and City West.

Contact the Apprenticeship Team today on 0161 631 5555 or apprenticeships@salfordcc.ac.uk

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

digital marketing

Google 3 Pack - good news or another set back for local marketing? What’s all the fuss? August saw a major change in the appearance of local search results. Google launched a new update which effectively eliminated all local 7 pack listings and condensed them down to a 3 pack format. Now all local searches exclusively feature the 3 pack listings directly below pay-per-click advert slots. This gives the local companies that appear in the 3 pack section less competition and leaves a whole lot more room for these companies to take a larger share of these local organic searches.

opportunity for local companies to have their organic results achieve greater visibility on the search result page.

Who wins from this? All those companies who have retained their pack listing and visibility will have a real competitive edge. Many consumers still view the local pack listings as somehow ‘approved’ by Google and are more likely to click. Those businesses which have adhered to Google rules and guidelines and have good organic ranking have had a boost traffic to their website and higher click through rates.

accurate and relevant to the searcher as possible. They are looking to accommodate the rising number of mobile searchers and make search results as accurate as possible to all users. To this end the basic SEO elements of a website are now even more critical to increasing visibility to potential new clients and customers. Accurate listings, relevant information, strong quality backlinks and true location are to the fore.

and strengthen their existing position. For those without a local pack listing, use Google “My Business” to raise your profile and force your way onto this prime search engine real estate and boost your organic search ranking. Give Google exactly what they want, prove your website is what should be shown to the searcher through citations, quality content, a good SEO structure, correct geo-location information and strong social endorsement.

The Google platform “My Business” can help with all these aspects. It is a simple way for Google to really identify, catalogue and rank local business. Each business is eligible for their own Google + page which hosts, company details, location, information and strong social signals by way of citations and reviews. For all those businesses that have achieved a local 3 pack listing they should concentrate on Google “My Business” to augment, supplement

Where did that come from? As radical as it may seem, the whole process has been many months in coming and follows on from the infamous Penguin update of June 2014.

As there are now just 3 instead and not 7 in the local pack listings, businesses which rank well in organic search and appear in this section have effectively seen their page position rise by four places.

First analysis showed that Google local listings had become much more Who has lost out? dependent on user location, backlinks As Google now places greater and the knowledge graph data results. emphasis on true location for these pack listings, many national Consequently, search results were to become much more mobile friendly as companies with local branches have seen their rankings disappear and the forerunner to the way the new traffic drop. 3 pack looks now. Later in August of 2014, phone numbers were removed from local pack listings to leave them virtually identical to the 3 pack we have today.

Why was this done? Well, Google does pride itself on offering the best user experience and most relevant search results for their customers worldwide. With the huge and growing upturn in mobile usage and searches, this update provides a far better experience on mobile devices. The condensing of the 3 pack listing makes navigation and legibility easier on a mobile device and returns only the most relevant searches to the user. In addition the reduced local pack format also allows for greater

Merely relying on multiple listings for each branch or office and dominating the search results through sheer volume is a thing of the past. Google wants to keep search results as relevant and targeted as possible to the searcher; specific geo-location listings are now the way forward. Local directories have seen a small drop in traffic not because they have been eliminated from these pack listings (they have never featured highly there anyway), more so because targeted results are gaining far greater prominence in both the local pack and organic results.

The best way forward? Google is a hard and fickle task master, though it remains true to making their search platform as

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

social media

What are the current trends in Social Media? “How do you keep track of Social Media?” is something I’m asked on a daily basis. For many it’s the ever-shifting changing world of Social Media that’s hard to keep up with, but if you live and breathe it 24/7 you get to witness the changes that slowly come through and patterns and trends that start to emerge. So what is happening at the moment in Social Media? What are the signals to the future of Social Media? What will be coming soon? Here are the current trends in Social Media as we reach the end of 2015 and move into 2016.

1. Live Streaming is becoming more popular At the start of 2015 the words Meerkat, Periscope and Blab meant something else entirely, and now they’re firmly on the Social Media landscape, battling it out for world domination. Even Facebook jumped onto the Live Streaming trend albeit with a limited audience of influencers and celebrities rather than the mass public. Live Streaming has it’s detractors surprisingly by people who’ve read about it, but never used it - and usually is focused on the question “but is there any ROI from Live Streaming?” To us Live Streaming is about a return on effort and a great speaker, influencer or orator will be able to command an audience via Live Streaming and work out the Return On Investment later. For us we’ve actually seen Live Streaming have an impact on real world events. Just last month we ran a Social Media Marketing and PR event in South Manchester - we scoped for 3 minutes in the morning whilst the venue was being set up - 1 hour

later and 2 people walked through the doors of the event off the back of the Periscope Stream - instant, quick and effective is what we say.

2. Video Marketing goes mainstream The emergence of Live Streaming will get people at ease with being on camera and then they will look for something more permanent to use as part of their online marketing campaigns. By 2018 it’s believed video will take up 79% of consumer internet traffic. And think that’s just for B2C - more than 80% of senior executives watch more online video than they did a year ago. Those are pretty compelling stats. As to why video will come more to prominence - there’s the fact that the cost is coming down with high quality smart phones making it possible to make DIY business videos. We’re not saying every video will be DIY, but a number of Video Production companies are offering workshops on how to get the best videos out of a smart phone and basic editing equipment. Expect to see a lot more video content from businesses over the next 12 months.

likes and comments - it’s the visual ones. Twitter images get twice the level of engagement and it’s easy to see why, especially for the 80% of twitter users that use twitter on mobile. Take your mobile, open up the twitter app and see the screen space that photos take up on Twitter. Whether it’s canva, pablo, wordswag, quozio or photoshop there are plenty of tools out there to flex your creativity on.

4. Paid Social Media advertising becomes the norm Remember those glory days when organic reach for Social Media was sky high and paid advertising was just something you did offline. Well, as many businesses’ organic Social Media reach drops even with gold standard content, Paid Social Media Advertising is something that many businesses are experimenting with and will become the norm rather than the exception soon. Social Media advertising excels because of the sheer amount of data that we voluntarily give away as we use Social Media daily - Social Media companies know more about you than your family does at times.

3. If you’re not visual, you’re invisible

But just as that data can be used by others to sell to you, you can use that data to sell to them.

You may have spotted a theme in the first 3 Trends in Social Media at the moment - in that if you’re not visual, you’re invisible.

If you can pin point your demographics, your copywriting and your visuals - then Paid Social Media Adverts are well worth trying.

And whilst photos and images have worked for a long time on Facebook, you can’t help but notice more and more visuals on LinkedIn and Twitter LinkedIn used to be this flat, grey, dull landscape, and now just take a scroll down your LinkedIn newsfeed and look at the posts with all the

narrative, a compelling storyline, a winning hook and tell you something you don’t already know. But so often it’s a deluge of nontent (that lovely buzzword to describe zero quality content). Blogging has to mature. It has to offer value and it has to offer something new. The natural order and survival of the fittest will ensure that blogging matures, and those that try to game LinkedIn pulse with low quality content and blogs will see their reach dropping.

6. The gulf between great Social Media and poor Social Media widens There used to be a gulf between those that used Social Media and those that didn’t. Now the huge gulf is between those that are Great Social Media Marketers and those that are just ticking a box. I think that gap will widen as years go on, between the creative and the adventurous and the pedestrian. 2015 for Social Media is the year of return on effort, where the X Factor is actually hard work and where early adopters win big. Think about how your Social Media can be GREAT!

5. Blogging is maturing In many ways I think blogging should be way ahead where it is now, but small businesses were slow on the uptake and therefore it’s stuck in the teenage GCSE debate period rather than graduate stage. A great blog should have a great

Alex McCann Altrincham HQ www.altrinchamhq.co.uk

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

finance

Festive finances “Is it that time of year again already?” We hear many of our clients say that Christmas always seems to appear just around the corner, and unfortunately business owners’ thoughts very rarely turn to the tax implications of employee and customer gifts or staff parties Although there are benefits of rewarding your members of staff for their hard work implemented throughout the year, it is highly important to be aware of, and set aside a budget for, the tax bill attached to the festivities that most UK firms will indulge in at this time of year.

Annual staff parties When organising your work’s Christmas party (or any annual event open to all staff generally), there are a number of elements that are important to take into consideration when it comes to the associated tax implications. Ideally, you should consider keeping the cost below £150 per head as it will be noted as tax free for the employee and also be tax deductible for Corporation Tax. The good news is that the Vat content will also be fully recoverable. Don’t forget to include the associated costs often overlooked such as taxis and accommodation in the calculation of the cost.

If your company is holding more than one annual function with a total cost per head exceeding £150 (across all the events) then any amount over that figure will be taxed. You need to be aware that if the costs of the second or subsequent event exceeds the annual limit the cost of the whole event exceeding the limit will be taxable. For example say you have an annual Christmas event costing £100 per head and annual summer barbecue costing £60, the whole of the £60 will be taxed as a benefit in kind, not just the excess over the £150. It is important to take note of the fact that the figure of £150 is not an annual allowance and the criteria set out in Section 264 of the Income Tax (Earnings & Pensions) Act 2003 must be satisfied to meet exemption requirements.

Giving and receiving gifts from third parties Christmas is the season of goodwill to all men and women, it is not uncommon for third parties to reward your staff. This is likely to be tax free providing the following conditions are met:

• Vouchers and Tokens If the gift being given consists of a voucher or token which is only capable of being used to obtain goods, it will be eligible to be tax free for the employee.

• Value

The gift will be considered tax free if it cost the donor (employer or supplier) £250 or less, or the total cost of all gifts made by the same donor to the employee, or to members of the employee’s family or household, during the Income Tax year, is £250 or less.

• Performance The gift must not be made either in recognition of the performance of particular services in the course of the employment or in anticipation of particular services which are to be performed in order for it to be tax free for the employee.

• Connections Clarity must be made as to the person making the gift – is it the employer or a person connected with the employer? Also, has the gift been directly or indirectly procured by the employer or by a person connected with the employer?

Bribery

of nice wine. It is possible with buy one get one free and a little imagination to create a small seasonal hamper to fall within the limits of this exemption. Remember it is the cost that dictates the triviality of the exemption from tax. These seasonal gifts should not be charged as a benefit, but anything considered more lavish in quality or quantity remains chargeable such as a case of expensive wine or a lavish Christmas hamper. There is currently no monetary limit to determine what a trivial benefit is. HMRC are currently reviewing this and it is hoped an amount of £50 per annum will introduced. A cash benefit, or a benefit with money’s worth, is never treated as a trivial benefit. As the festive season approaches, our advice is to bear the tax implications in mind when it comes to the planning and implementation of events and gifts – you don’t want the Tax Man to be the one ‘party pooper’ that will inevitably arrive on your doorstep uninvited!

Although the UK Bribery Act does recognise that corporate gifts and hospitality play an essential part in many businesses, it is important to be wary of the implications of gift giving to avoid putting your business in a vulnerable situation. So what may be construed as a bribe? The Act highlights that it may be disguised through frequent or lavish gift giving, or if there is intention behind the gift for the person giving it to gain an advantage of some sort. So when it comes to Christmas, it is unlikely that this is something to be concerned about, but is definitely something to bear in mind throughout the rest of the year.

Trivial Benefits

MARTIN HAMBLETON I COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER info@martinhambleton.com

07766 815703

www.commercialphotographynorthwestblog.co.uk

Strictly all benefits are subject to tax and NICs, unless there is a specific exemption. However, some benefits are of a trivial nature, such as a seasonal gift of a turkey or an ordinary bottle

Les Leavitt Leavitt Walmsley Associates Chartered Certified Accountants www.lwaltd.com

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

networking

The top 10 habits and skills of world-class networkers In today’s highly competitive world, being a confident and effective networker sets you apart from the crowd. You become more visible, always feel in control and will always create more career and business opportunities than the average.

plan my day to arrive early. That way I feel in control of the situation as there is always someone alone at the start of the event. They are the easiest to approach and will be grateful to have company.

somebody’s somebody you just never know who you are going to meet. Spend more time being interested than ‘interesting’. The most interesting people we meet are those most interested in us

99% of people dread this vital activity or find they don’t create enough opportunities from their investment of time. So what does it take to be a world-class networker?

2. They are proud of the work they

do and the company they represent. Always think “I am here to offer my services or products which will add value to the business of prospects”. Most people who attend events do it in their own time so if you’re not proud of representing your business or yourself in fact maybe you’re in the wrong job or the ambassador for the wrong company!

4. They share, they’re kind and they

1. They have good self-belief when

attending events. Many people have negative voices in their heads. Don’t. Talk up your strengths and value to others and believe you have as much right to be in that room as everyone else. Virtually everyone is nervous to some extent or other. I hate walking into the room already full so I always

3. They are friendly, courteous and polite to everyone. Networking is simply building relationships so don’t dismiss anyone. Everyone is

Are you looking to promote your business within Altrincham, Sale and the surrounding area? Then join the Chamber today and start saving £££s Did you know the Chamber can provide you with: • Business Support • Business Mentoring • Unrivalled Networking • Training Sessions • Local Knowledge • Invaluable Database And huge savings across a range of services from telephone costs and accountancy to meeting rooms and video conferencing; VAT checks and printing costs to advertising and radio commercials and much more...

The Chamber really is the ‘One Stop Shop’ to service your business. To enquire about membership contact Paul at the Chamber on; 07708 987518 or call 0161 941 3250 Follow us on Twitter @altichamber paul@altrinchamchamber.co.uk www.altrinchamchamber.co.uk

are generous. If you want to build rapport give compliments, give your time and attention to the person you’re talking to. Offer free advice where appropriate ; it’s the best way to market yourself

5. They are reliable. To build trust at the start of a relationship they follow up their commitments quickly. Speed stuns!

6. They are persistent. When they

spot a potential opportunity they follow up. If you spot an opportunity to further the relationship ask permission to call with a view to meeting sometime soon after the event. People don’t follow up for fear of rejection or worrying they will pester. When you think ‘help’ and not ‘sell’ the follow up should be easier for you. Keep asking permission to keep in touch and if they start to ignore you then offer an escape route. Something like ‘Please give me guidance; if you would rather I didn’t follow up any more tell me and I won’t.”

7. They are patient. Don’t think

business will ensue on a first meeting unless you’re very lucky. If you attend networking groups regular attendance is required before sustainable relationships are formed. The 3 key steps to building relationship are firstly getting to know someone i.e. attend the event, then secondly start to build rapport and in due course trust will begin to form. The only thing we sell at the start of a relationship is ourselves if you start traditional selling you are bound to be vey unpopular

to ‘when’ plan your time of arrival and more importantly your time to leave. My experience tells me staying late creates more opportunities than any time during an event. People are relaxed there are less people in the room , the main event has finished and you can have a serious chat to find out if, what you do, is needed.

9. They ask intelligent and searching

questions. This is the key to creating opportunities when attending events. Start with the ice-breaker which should relate to the event itself. Find common ground to build rapport and then move to business questions. Ask about their present situation, then something about their career and company history. ‘Where do you see your business / career going in the next couple of years?’ will come at the end of business questioning.

10. They listen carefully and respond positively. Compared to asking questions the skill of listening is much harder. We listen at 3 levels 1 we don’t or pretend! 2 We listen selectively where we filter what is important for us. The 3rd level is ‘full body listening’ where , having asked, what we think is, an important question don’t just listen but watch the body language and gauge the tone of voice. If I have to sum up in one sentence it would be a quote by Dale Carnegie - author of the timeless ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’. He said “Let the other person do most of the talking; be a good listener and encourage others to talk about themselves”.

8. They plan and prepare carefully

before attending events. All responsible people prepare before a business meeting so do plan if you think the event is important for you. Answer the ‘who, what where when why and how’ questions. With regard

Will Kintish Kintish Networking Skills www.kintish.co.uk

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

lead generation

The Leaky Sieve? So you have been to a networking event, you have picked up a business card, you have had a referral, a web enquiry, you quoted for work that you did not win.

There are some customers that you would like to work with but have not contacted yet, you have generated some web traffic from google ad words but not had time to check up on google analytics. It only tells you somebody from Derby has been on your website – so how is that helpful? Your sales funnel could have loads of leads in the top but things have gone cold and there are so many other things going on that your funnel has turned into a Sieve and leads have dropped out, gone cold, not been followed up - life has moved on and you still have not written that newsletter! The problem with most companies is that sales is something that happens a little reactively and sales pipeline and business development often has little structure in place and defined areas of responsibility and communication amongst the sales function. There are normally some basic scenarios - not enough sales leads, not harnessing existing data

sources or too many sales leads that you do not know where to start.

In both of these situations the same principles apply. Ensure you have an efficient CRM (not an off the shelf package with little customisation - this is an investment and will help you harness existing data) and that there is a defined policy on logging, qualifying and reporting leads.

Qualify and re-qualify If you are getting too many leads prioritise them properly and communicate this to your team. It is amazing how sales people from the same business will see sales potential differently for the same prospect. This can mean that you spend a lot of time as a business not effectively chasing down the right business. Try splitting your leads into 3 basic categories - it could be something like ‘Ideal customer, Long term development, avoid if possible’. How you rate these customers could depend on financial standing, account management time required, competitor importance, sector or strategic value, fit with your existing knowledge, values and track

sales and marketing support

secret weapon 0161 929 6269

record or simply profitability.

On the reporting side, have you defined clearly the different stages of the pipeline? Can you accurately report what the stages are and what value is at each stage and what amount you are likely to close in the next few months. If you are not getting enough leads make sure you are capturing and working all your data assets properly. Ensure that you have an integrated marketing and sales plan. If you have met a prospect and its gone gold, still communicate through a centralised activity to nurture that prospect.

date and you are ringing one week before. Reach Communications helps companies to build CRM systems and effective Sales Campaigns and structured pipelines. If you want a FREE consultation to understand how you can maximise results get in touch James@reachcommunications.co.uk

The important sales statistics that 80% of sales are made between the 5th and 12th touch rings true. So simply by having a good follow up process and post sales communications will improve your conversion rates no end.

Timing is everything… Do have a system to alert you when to get back in contact with people to follow up at the right time. Do not badger people when you have not identified who the decision makers and the budget holders are, and missed the fact that this will be discussed at a board meeting on a particular

Julie Cook Reach Communications www.reachcommunications.co.uk

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GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

wellbeing Are you struggling with post-holiday blues? The weeks after a holiday can sometimes seem a little bleak. There may be the prospect of long months ahead with no break to look forward to. If the holiday was amazing it may simply serve to highlight the contrast with the tough reality of day-to-day life at home. If the holiday was a disappointment it may serve to reinforce the sense of being stuck on a stressful treadmill. To add to the mix did you know that post-holiday times are one of the busiest periods for divorce lawyers, second only to post-Christmas and New Year? Prolonged periods of time, like holidays, spent in each other’s company can underscore how much we’ve grown apart from our partner, how little we’re aware of what’s happening in each other’s lives. Let’s look at some positive ways to cope when you’re struggling with post-holiday blues. Many people find that they use some of their holiday to reflect on their quality of life, to consider the direction they’re going in. They may reach valuable insights about their lives, start to appreciate what needs to happen to improve their situation at work or with family and friends, consider ways to really benefit their overall health and happiness. Might this be you, be why you’re struggling with post-holiday blues?

If you’re unhappy with work could it be time to book an appointment with your boss or manager and discuss your career options. Ask for an appraisal to discuss the possibility of further training or of widening your experience by taking on a different role. Or you may feel it’s time to reduce your hours to allow more opportunity to develop and focus on other interests and areas of your life. Self-employed people can find holidays quite stressful due to concern at being out of touch with their customer base. Whilst away there can be a temptation to continually check on what’s happening in the office, but holidays should be about spending quality time with loved ones, nurturing those relationships. Holidays often remind us how special those relationships are and how fragile they can become if neglected. Post-holiday can be the perfect time to implement decisions about finishing work at a ‘reasonable’ time, taking regular breaks having discovered how much better you feel afterwards, and committing your energy effectively, rather than saying ‘yes’ to everything and spreading yourself too thinly. Family are an important part of our support structure and they deserve dedicated time and attention. Maintain the post-holiday ambiance

by keeping in more regular touch once you’re home. Aim to be there for family meals or children’s bed time as often as possible. Look after your relationship with your partner by texting affectionately throughout the day and having real conversations, not just information exchanges whenever you can. Someone I know who worked away all week used to commit to having dinner at home every Friday night with her husband. They dressed nicely, set the table and discussed each other’s weeks. It demonstrated that they valued their relationship and gave them time to reconnect and catch up with each other’s news without distractions. It worked well for them. It’s important to find effective ways to invest in your relationship.

Evaluate how you spend your time. Calculate how much time you use productively. Do you waste time responding to situations in a haphazard or random way? There’s no merit in appearing busy for the sake of it or delivering a panic response to situations. Far better to take a break and read a book, listen to music, go for a walk and then return to work feeling energised and happy, having learned some valuable, long-term lessons from your holiday that you can implement. Introduce positive ways to manage stress and improve your day-to-day life, then post-holiday blues will be a thing of the past.

Friends may seem at times to expect too much from our friendship, but they know us well, help keep us grounded and are often a great source of comfort and advice. Maintaining these relationships matters, but over the years our priorities often change as partners, business interests and children come increasingly to the forefront of our minds. Aim to diary your friends and see them regularly, even if it’s only once a month. Holidays often remind us of the importance of fun and play, and having friends is a good way to remind us to have fun as a regular part of our lives, as a great way to de-stress. And what about some ‘me’ time? Yes, spending time building the business, travelling to promote your brand can be very satisfying, but whilst on holiday you probably found time to read a book, walk miles along the sand, wander aimlessly around markets, eat a leisurely lunch, people watch for an hour over coffee or a glass of wine. Why not commit a little time to reconnect with yourself and do some of these things once you’re home?

Susan Leigh MNCH (ACC)

Susan runs Altrincham based Lifestyle Therapy offering a tailor made combination of counselling and hypnotherapy on a one-to-one or group basis. She works with stressed individuals to promote confidence and self belief, with couples experiencing relationship difficulties to improve communications and understanding and with business clients to support the health and motivation levels of individuals and teams. For more articles, information or to make contact please call 0161 928 7880 or visit

www.lifestyletherapy.net

October/November 2015

GM BUSINESS connect

diary dates 4 Networking

Carrington Business Park

City Centre - Fridays Fortnightly - 16 Oct, 30 Oct, 13 Nov... 12noon - 2.00pm Venue 48 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2EG £15 Cost Contact Alison Tilzey 07565 948 943

Networking Tuesdays - 13 Oct, 10 Nov, 8 Dec 9.30am - 11.30am Venue Carrington Business Park, Carrington, Manchester, M31 4DD Cost Free Contact Susan Renshaw 0161 776 4000 susan.renshaw@cbpl.co.uk

Cheadle - Fridays Fortnightly - 16 Oct, 30 Oct, 13 Nov... 8.00am - 10.00am Venue De Vere Cheadle, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3FS £12 Cost Contact Ian Lavin 07731 837936 Didsbury - Thursdays Fortnightly - 22 Oct, 5 Nov, 19 Nov... 8.00am - 10.00am Venue Grosvenor Casino Didsbury, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury M20 5PG £12 Cost Contact Jim Frayne 07773 967757 Stockport - Fridays Fortnightly - 23 Oct, 6 Nov, 20 Nov... 8.00am - 10.00am Venue Bamford Arms, Buxton Road, Stockport SK2 6NB £12 Cost Contact Rachael Chiverton 07756 772950 Trafford - Tuesdays Fortnightly page - 20 Oct, 3 Nov, 17 Nov... 8.00am - 10.00am 8 Venue Mersey Farm, Carrington Lane, Sale M33 5BL £12 Cost Contact Paul Bercik 07816 282816 www.4networking.biz

6 Key Steps in Developing a Great Business Business improvement seminars 28 Oct, 26 Nov 9.00am - 12noon 1 Dec 8.30am - 10.30am Venue The LifeCentre, 235 Washway Road, Sale M33 4BP £25+VAT Cost Contact Mark Dyble 07565 948 943 www.markdyble.eventbrite.co.uk

Altrincham & Sale 38 Chamber of Commerce

page

Breakfast Matters - Networking and breakfast Thursdays 5 Nov, 3 Dec 8.30 - 10.00am Venue Cresta Court Hotel, Church Street, Altrincham WA14 4DP £10 Cost Chamber Business Awards 2015 15 Oct 6.45pm – Late Venue Cresta Court Hotel, Church Street, Altrincham WA14 4DP £45 Cost Christmas Lunch - 11 Dec 12noon – 2.00pm Venue Mercure Bowdon Hotel, Langham Road, Bowdon WA14 2HT £30 Cost Contact Anne Jardine 0161 941 3250 anne@altrinchamchamber.co.uk

Bowdon Business Group 3rd Thurs monthly - 15 Oct, 19 Nov 4.00pm - 6.00pm Venue Bowdon Club, South Downs Road, Bowdon WA14 3DT £5 Cost Contact David Bellin 0161 883 0308

Bowdon Business Club Weekly every Friday - early networking includes full breakfast 6.45am - 8.30am Venue Mercure Bowdon Hotel, Langham Road, Bowdon WA14 2HT £10 Cost Contact Members@BowdonBusinessClub.co.uk

Business over Breakfast Networking - Fridays fortnightly 23 Oct, 6 Nov, 20 Nov... 7.00 - 9.00am Venue La Vina, 105/107 Deansgate, Manchester M3 2BQ £15 Cost Contact Tracy Heatley 07812 076946

Dynamic Networking

Women in Business Networking 21 Oct 5.30pm - 7.30pm Venue Elliot House, 151 Deansgate Manchester M3 3WD Cost £10 (inc VAT)

Free Business Networking Sale - 3rd Tuesday monthly - 20 Oct, 17 Nov, 15 Dec 5.30pm - 7.30pm Venue The Boathouse, Sale Water Park, Rifle Road, Sale M33 2LX

Women in Business Lunch 18 Nov 12noon - 2.00pm Venue The Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS Cost £50+VAT

Stockport - 2nd Tuesday monthly - 13 Oct, 10 Nov, 8 Dec 6.00pm - 8.00pm Venue The Old Rectory, 48 Churchgate, Stockport SK1 1YG

Stockport Breakfast Club 10 Dec 7.15 - 9.00am Venue Alma Lodge Hotel, 149 Buxton Road Stockport SK2 6EL Cost £30+VAT (Members £15+VAT) Contact events@gmchamber.co.uk 0161 393 4343

Wilmslow - 1st Wednesday monthly 7 Oct, 4 Nov, 2 Dec 5.30pm - 7.30pm Venue Hallmark Hotel, Stanley Drive, Wilmslow SK9 3LD Contact Natalie Lewis natalie@dynamicnetworking.biz www.dynamicnetworking.biz

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Action for Business Trafford 5 Nov 12noon - 2.00pm Venue Emirates Old Trafford Talbot Road, M16 0PX Cost £15 (members free) Action for Business Stockport 24 Nov 12noon - 2.00pm Venue Village Hotel Cheadle Cheadle Road SK8 1HW Cost £15 (members free)

Business Networking at Regus - Last Thursday every month - 29 Oct, 26 Nov 8.30am - 10.30am Venue Manchester Business Park, 3000 Aviator Way, Manchester M22 5TG Cost Free for guests chris@theindependentratingscompany.co.uk

The Talk

K-Club Manchester

M62 Connections

Timperley & Sale Business Club Weekly Networking every Friday - early networking includes breakfast 6.30 - 8.30am Venue Bean and Brush Café, The Old Sorting Office, 12 Hayfield Walk, Sale M33 7XW Cost £5 for guests Contact Jon Cheetham 07971 575977 Laura Evans 07976 894419

6 June 2016 10.00am - 4.00pm Venue The Point, Emirates Old Trafford Talbot Road, Old Trafford M16 0PX Cost Free (pre-registration required) Contact James Caldwell 0844 887 1550 james@innov8-conferences.co.uk

Contact Amanda Manson 07754 069829 amanda.manson@k-club.co.uk PAYG Networking Wednesdays Fortnightly 21 Oct, 4 Nov, 18 Nov... 9.30am - 11.30am Venue The Coach House, Wilderspool Wood, Trafford Centre M17 8WW Cost £10

Working Lunch Networking 29 Oct 12noon - 2.00pm Venue Gusto Manchester, 4 Lloyd Street (off Deansgate), Manchester M2 5AB Cost £22+VAT office@thetalkofmanchester.co.uk

Trafford Business Expo 2016

Women’s Business Lunch - hosted by DWF LLP Thurs 26 Nov 12noon - 2.00pm Venue 2 Hardman Street, Hardman St, Manchester M3 3HH Cost £20.00+VAT

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Trafford Park Business

33 Network B2B Networking - Trafford Park businesses only Thurs 9 July 8.00am - 10.30am Venue 99 Sir Matt Busby Way, Old Trafford, Manchester M16 0SZ 14 Oct, 28 Oct, 11 Nov... 8.30am - 10.30am Cost Free (pre-registration required) Venue The Garden Restaurant, The Centre, Contact To register visit: www.trafford-park Birchwood Park, Warrington WA3 6YN -network.eventbrite.com page Cost £10 32 Trafford Park Connect Contact Bill Dove 07932 044 743 B2B Networking - Open to all businesses www.m62connections.co.uk Tues 13 Oct 12noon - 2.00pm

GM Biz Expo 2016

Action for Business Manchester 28 Oct 7.30am - 9.30am Venue National Cycling Centre Manchester Velodrome Stuart Street, Manchester M11 4DQ 9 Dec 7.30am - 9.30am Venue Cloud 23, Hilton Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LQ Cost £15 (members free)

The Office Next Door

26 Entrepreneur’s networking breakfast Thurs 12 Nov 7.30am - 10.00am Venue AJ Bell Stadium, Barton-Upon-Irwell, Salford M30 7EY Cost £30.00

Women’s Networking Power Business Breakfast Club - 1st Wednesday Monthly 4 Nov, 2 Dec 9.30am - 11.00am Venue The Alchemist, 3 Hardman Street, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3HF Cost £10 Contact 0845 6434 940 enquiries@forwardladies.com

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Business Lunch 29 Oct 10.00am - 2.00pm Venue The Midland Hotel, Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS Cost £39.95 19 Nov 10.00am - 2.00pm Venue Emirates Old Trafford Talbot Road, M16 0PX Cost £39.95 Contact Helen Bennett 0870 751 7523 helen@business-network.co.uk

Branding for Business - Angela Kelly 9 Nov 10.00am - 12noon Venue The Enterprise Centre, 34 Benchill Rd, Wythenshawe M22 8LF Cost £5.00 Contact Jenny Matthews 07984 872325 info@handbagsandbriefcases.co.uk

Forward Ladies

Greater Manchester Business Expo 15 March 2016 10.00am - 4.00pm Venue Hilton Hotel Deansgate, 303 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4LQ Cost Free (pre-registration required) Contact team@thebixexpos.com www.gmbizexhibition.co.uk

The Business Network Manchester

Women’s networking The Apprenticeship Panel 21 Oct 10.00am - 12noon Venue Grosvenor Casino Didsbury, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury M20 5PG Cost £5.00

Networking and Music - 16 Oct 7.00pm - Late Venue On the 7th, The Landing, Blue Tower MediaCityUk, Salford M50 2ST Tickets Robert.Downes@fsb.org.uk

Bring a buddy networking 26 Oct, 30 Nov, 14 Dec 6.00pm - 8.00pm Venue The Lowry Mill, Lees Street, Pendlebury M27 6DB Cost Free Contact Simon Edmondson 07766 493 428 Simon.Edmondson@fsb.org.uk

1st Weds monthly - 7 Oct, 4 Nov 4.00pm - 5.30pm Venue Bianco’s, 1 Hereford Street, Sale, M33 7XN Cost £5 Contact Alex McCann 07806 774279 alex@altrinchamhq.co.uk

Handbags & Briefcases

Federation of Small Businesses

Bring a buddy networking 19 Oct, 16 Nov, 7 Dec 6.00pm - 8.00pm Venue Bizspace, Empress Building, Chester Road, Stretford M16 9EB Cost Free

Sale Business Group

Action for Business Salford 4 Dec 12noon - 2.00pm Venue On the 7th, The Landing, Blue Tower MediaCityUk, Salford M50 2ST Cost £15 (members free)

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North West Business

28 Expo 2015 26 Nov 9.00am - 3.00pm Venue The Point, Emirates Old Trafford Talbot Road, Old Trafford M16 0PX Cost Free (pre-registration required) Contact Alec Jones-hall 0161 207 2087 www.northwestexpo.co.uk

On the 7th Networking Breakfast Networking 14 Oct, 11 Nov, 9 Dec 9.00am - 11.00am Venue On the 7th, The Landing, Blue Tower MediaCityUk, Salford M50 2ST Cost £10 Contact Alisha 0161 686 5500 hello@onthe7th.co.uk

Rotary Club Sale Networking, Dinner - Every Tuesday 7.00pm Venue The Belmore, Brooklands Road, Sale M33 3QN Contact Peter Munday 0161 969 1391 Mari Griffin 0161 962 6078

Venue St Antony’s Centre, Eleventh Street Trafford Park M17 1JF Cost £5.95 (pre-registration required) Contact To register visit: www.traffordparkconnect.co.uk

Women’s 20/20 Women’s networking - second Wednesday each month - 14 Oct, 11 Nov, 9 Dec 12.15 - 2.30pm Venue Mercure Bowdon Hotel, Langham Road, Bowdon WA14 2HT Cost £20 for non-members Contact Julie Gray enquiries@2020network.co.uk

Don’t forget your Business Cards! Please note If you plan to visit any of the above events please ensure all details are correct in advance. Whilst every effort has been made to confirm accuracy some details may be subject to change.

GM BUSINESS connect

October/November 2015

places to meet Albert Square Chop House Address Contact Facilities

Memorial Hall, 14 Albert Square, Manchester M2 5PF 0161 834 1866 Function Room, Restaurant, Pub

Bean and Brush Art Café

DeVere Venues Address Contact Facilities

Cheadle House, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3FS 0161 492 100 Conference, Leisure, Restaurant

Eaton Place Business Park

Address 12 Hayfield Walk, Sale M33 7XW Contact 0161 973 2140 Facilities Café, Food, Drink

Address 114 Washway Road, Sale M33 7RF Contact 0161 905 1424 Facilities Meeting Rooms, Offices

Bizspace

Elliot House

Atlantic Business Centre

Address Atlantic Street, Altrincham WA14 5NQ Address 151 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WD Contact 0161 926 3600 Contact 0161 393 4352 Facilities Conference Rooms, Café Facilities Meeting Rooms, Private Dining

Bizspace

Address Contact Facilities

380 Chester Road, Manchester M16 9EA 0161 877 5579 Meeting Rooms, Offices

Bossco Address Contact Facilities

Empress Business Centre

Business Design Store

13 Stonepail Road, Gatley SK8 4EZ 0161 282 0011 Tea/Coffee, Web Design, Print, Business Support

Bowdon Rooms The Cinnamon Club Address Contact Facilities

The Firs, Bowdon, Altrincham WA14 2TQ 0161 282 0011 Conferences, Boardroom, Live Music

Café Gourmand Address 221 Ashley Road, Hale WA15 9SZ Contact 0161 929 6050 Facilities Coffee and Patisserie Shop

Carrington Business Park Address Contact Facilities

Carrington Lane, Carrington, Manchester M31 4DD 0161 776 4000 Café, Conference Rooms

Friends’ Meeting House Address 6 Mount Street, Manchester M2 5NS Contact 0161 834 5797 Facilities Meeting Rooms, Conference Venue

Gastronomy Address 191 Ashley Road, Hale WA15 9SQ Contact 0161 928 7870 Facilities Deli, Coffee Shop

McGregors Address Contact Facilities

29 Stamford New Road, Altrincham WA14 1EB 0161 928 1487 Natural Organic Food Served

Manchester Airport Marriott Hotel Address Contact Facilities

Hale Road, Hale Barns, Cheshire WA15 8XW 0161 904 0301 Leisure Club, Spa, Conference Centre, Restaurant

Manchester Escalator

Costa Coffee

Address 233 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EN Contact 07711 556913 Facilities Coffee, Food, Meeting Room

Address 75 School Road, Sale M33 7YF Contact 0161 973 2259

Mercure Bowdon Hotel

Address 33-35 George Street, Altrincham WA14 1RN Contact 0161 929 0382 Address Century House, Ashley Road, Hale WA15 9SF Contact 0161 926 9913 Address Golden Way, Urmston, Manchester M41 0NA Contact 0161 926 7707 Facilities Coffee, Snacks

Cresta Court Hotel Address Contact Facilities

Church Street, Altrincham WA14 4DP 0161 927 7272 Snack, Rest, Hotel, Free Parking

Address Langham Road, Bowdon WA14 2HT Contact 0161 928 7121 Facilities Hotel and Leisure, Free Parking

Mersey Farm Address Contact Facilities

Carrington Lane, Ashton On Mersey, Sale M33 5BL 0161 962 8113 Restaurant, Hotel, Free Parking

Midland Hotel Address 16 Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS Contact 0161 236 3333 Facilities Function Rooms, Hotel

Mr Thomas’s Chop House Address 52 Cross Street, Manchester M2 7AR Contact 0161 832 2245 Facilities Restaurant, Pub

On The 7th The Landing

Runway Visitor Park

Address Contact Facilities

The Blue Tower, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays M50 2ST 0161 686 5500 Bar, Restaurant, Conference Room

Red Rooms

Meeting rooms for hire across a range of Bruntwood properties

Address Station House, Stamford New Road, Altrincham WA14 1EP

Booths Hall, Chelford Road, Knutsford WA16 8QZ

Landmark House, Station Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire SK8 7BS

111 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2HY

Centurion House, 129 Deansgate, Manchester M3 3WR

City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1 4BT

Lowry House, 17 Marble Street, Manchester, M2 3AW

Manchester One, 53 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3LD

St James, 61-95 Oxford Street, Manchester, M1 6FQ

Contact 0843 504 4753 Facilities Offices, Meeting Rooms

Regus

Meeting rooms for hire across a range of Regus properties Address 82 King St, Manchester M2 4WQ

Pall Mall Court, 61-67 King St, Manchester M2 4PD

Peter House, Oxford Street, Manchester M1 5AN

10th Floor, 3 Hardman St, Spinningfields, Manchester M3 3HF

Digital World Centre, 1 Lowry Plaza, Salford Quays M50 3UB

Adamson House, Towers Business Park, Wilmslow Road, Didsbury, Manchester M20 2YY

Holdsworth Mill, Reddish, Stockport SK5 6DA

5300 Lakeside, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3GP

Manchester Business Park, 3000 Aviator Way, Manchester M22 5TG

Hilton Hotel, Manchester Airport, Outwood Lane, Manchester M90 4WP

Contact 0845 300 3585 Facilities Offices, Meeting Rooms

Sunbank Lane, Altrincham WA15 8XQ 0161 489 3932 Conference Room, Conference area underneath Concorde, Restaurant, Concorde Experience and Tours, Meeting Rooms

Sam’s Chop House Address Contact Facilities

Back Pool Fold (off Cross Street), Manchester M2 1HN 0161 834 3210 Restaurant, Pub

St Anthony’s Centre Address Contact Facilities

Eleventh Street, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1JF 0161 848 9173 Conference Rooms

San Carlo Fiorentina Address Contact Facilities

Manchester Airport, Marriott Hotel, Hale Road, Hale Barns, Cheshire WA15 8XW 0161 904 5043 Bar & Restaurant

The Coffee House Address Contact Facilities

Warburton House, 14 Eagle Brow, Lymm WA13 0LJ also at 102 School Road, Sale M33 7XB 01925 551797 Coffee, Snacks

The Life Centre Address 235 Washway Road, Sale M33 4BP Contact 0161 850 0770 Facilities Meeting Rooms, Café

The Little Deli Company Address Contact Facilities

42 Stamford Park Road, Hale WA15 9EP 07921 717548 Meeting Rooms, Café

The Mere Golf Resort & Spa Address Contact Facilities

Chester Road, Mere, Knutsford, Cheshire WA16 6LJ 01565 830 155 Meeting Rooms, Conferences

Victoria Warehouse Event Space and Hotel

Address Contact Facilities

Trafford Wharf Rd, Stretford, Manchester M17 1AB 0161 660 7000 Conference, Leisure, Hotel

A new name. The same great service you’re used to.

To find out more visit togethermoney.com For professional use only. Together is a trading style of each of the undernoted companies, which have their registered office address at Lake View, Lakeside, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 3GW. Auction Finance Limited is registered in England and Wales – Company Registration Number 04949929. Blemain Finance Limited is registered in England and Wales - Company Registration Number 01185052. Blemain Finance Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of second charge loans secured on residential property. In respect of regulated mortgage contracts, Blemain Finance Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Bridging Finance Limited is registered in England and Wales - Company Registration Number 03166982. In respect of regulated mortgage contracts, Bridging Finance Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited is registered in England and Wales - Company Registration Number 02613335. Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority - Firm Reference No 305253. Lancashire Mortgage Corporation Limited is registered in England and Wales - Company Registration Number 02058813. In respect of regulated mortgage contracts, Lancashire Mortgage Corporation Limited is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.