e' iv f ot e o S: m r U to u tu PL s Au e f stry h e s g t du in in in us ss e 'B sse th a
South West Edition
Jan - Feb 2020
Business in the fast lane BLM talks to Christian Horner OBE – Team Principal of Red Bull Racing on leading an 800-strong team to global success
Would workers on the board increase productivity? Page 46
How is VR & AR changing the face of business? Page 62
'I've had to fight for my money.' BLM talks to boxer Luke Campbell Page 78
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IN THIS ISSUE
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Contents IN THIS EDITION 2 8
Latest News Breaking business news from around the region and UK Agenda: Gig Economy Law changes loom for UK's Gig Economy
10 Cover Story: Christian Horner OBE BLM visits Red Bull Racing HQ in Milton Keynes to talk to Team Principal Christian Horner OBE
FINANCE 16 Feature: M&A Sector What are the trends impacting the SW M&A Sector?
GROWTH 24 Report: Scaling Up What is stopping UK Scale-Up businesses? 30 Fast-Track: Warners Gin Meet the British innovators of one of the largest global drink trends Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
BUSINESS LEADER VISION: INSPIRE
INFORM
CONNECT
36 Debate: Future of the region What does the future hold for the South West?
60 Report: Mental Health Why mental health care must become a business priority
42 Report: International Trade How to launch your business in Romania
TECHNOLOGY
LEADERSHIP 46 Feature: On the Board Does the workers on the board model have a future in Britain? 50 Interview: CEO in Focus BLM talks to Lucy Franklin of Accordance about her ambitions and innovative staff wellbeing initiatives
62 Debate: Future of AR & VR How can businesses harness the potential of AR & VR?
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT 66 Feature: Exeter A city where you can live a good life, and also do good business
HR 52 Feature: Working with further education providers BLM looks at how education providers can work more effectively with businesses
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LATEST NEWS
Inspire • Inform • Connect EDITORIAL Simon Angear - Editor E: simon.angear@businessleader.co.uk Barney Cotton - Digital Editor E: barney.cotton@businessleader.co.uk DESIGN/PRODUCTION Adam Whittaker - Senior Designer E: adam.whittaker@businessleader.co.uk Melissa Larkin - Website Development E: melissa.larkin@businessleader.co.uk
Connecting and inspiring
entrepreneurs
Ben Matthews - Digital Communications E: ben.matthews@businessleader.co.uk
New scale-up conference announced for entrepreneurs
SALES Sam Clark - Business Development Manager E: sam.clark@businessleader.co.uk Emma Filby - Business Development Manager E: emma.filby@businessleader.co.uk CIRCULATION Adrian Warburton - Circulation Manager E: adrian.warburton@businessleader.co.uk ACCOUNTS Jo Meredith - Finance Manager E: joanne.meredith@businessleader.co.uk DIRECTORS Oli Ballard - Publishing Director E: oli.ballard@businessleader.co.uk Andrew Scott - Managing Director E: andrew@businessleader.co.uk No part of Business Leader Magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the editor. Business Leader magazine will make every effort to return picture material, but this is at the owner’s risk. Due to the nature of the print process, images can be subject to colour variation of up to 15%, therefore Business Leader Magazine cannot be held responsible for such variations.
If you would like to get involved or have any news you would like to share, please contact us on 020 3096 0020 or email: editor@businessleader.co.uk. Follow us on social media
Business Leader Magazine has confirmed the much-anticipated ScaleUp UK conference will take place in June 2020 in Central London.
have vast experience in building and advising scale-ups, from product development and funding to international expansion.”
Announced at the official launch event of the Amazon ScaleUp Awards in November 2019, ScaleUp UK aims to build on the success of the ScaleUp Awards by bringing together the UK’s most ambitious and talented scaleup entrepreneurs with some of the world’s leading experts in scale-up strategy.
In addition to keynote talks and panel debates, delegates will be able to meet the speakers at a special networking session in the afternoon.
Andrew Scott, CEO of Business Leader Magazine, said: “Scale-up entrepreneurs are a unique breed of visionaries with relentless focus on growing their companies and building products that have real impact at scale. ”ScaleUp UK is a powerful one-day summit with expert speakers who
Scott said: “This is an incredible opportunity for investors and advisors to meet Britain’s most ambitious companies while giving entrepreneurs fast-track access to invaluable contacts and the opportunity to connect with like-minded founders." The ScaleUp UK conference includes refreshments and a buffet networking lunch, but places are strictly limited for the exclusive event.
Visit www.scaleupuk.com to book your tickets.
Bristol is best for UK start-up survival rates New business start-ups in Bristol have the best chance of surviving beyond the five-year mark, new research has revealed. Data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed just four out of ten UK start-ups survive their first five years in business. 2
However, research by corporate pricechecker firm BusinessComparison has revealed that Bristol is at the top of the pile. 44.4% of Bristol companies launched in 2013 were still operating in 2018, placing Bristol ahead of Brighton (44.1%) and Leeds (42.9%) in the UK. Issue 12: January - February 2020
LATEST NEWS
Major growth ambitions for Ascot Group Ascot Group Founder and Chief Executive Andrew Scott wants to grow the company from its current 75 employees to more than 200. The company has already agreed a deal to expand into a neighbouring office after outgrowing its current base, but ultimately aims to create a bespoke development.
“We hope to finalise our office plans early next year after discussions with all the relevant parties.”
These ambitions are the next step in a rapid growth journey for the South West firm, which provides specialist marketing and media services to customers across the UK and globally. Scott said: “Since taking on our first employee in 2007, the Ascot Group has grown every year.
Marketing and technology firm the Ascot Group has revealed plans to nearly triple in size by creating a further 125 jobs over the next five years.
“We’ve created more than 20 skilled tech and creative jobs over the past few months alone, with plans for another 125 over the next five years.
The company has enjoyed substantial growth over the past decade, but now aims to further accelerate its expansion plans.
“Ideally we want to build a new hi-tech campus over the next three years to accommodate 200-plus local people, and provide a great work/life balance without commuting.
These ambitions were revealed to the Ascot Group team at the company’s annual conference in December. The event saw directors from each of the group’s companies – Business Leader Purplex Marketing and Insight Data – present an overview of achievements in 2019, as well as discussing plans for 2020. Those plans include major investment in jobs, technology and infrastructure.
Bristol unveils plans for UK's third largest arena
£15m restoration of iconic Bristol harbourside setting complete
Formal plans for a 17,000-seat Bristol arena, predicted to create 500 jobs and boost the regional economy by £1.5bn over the next 25 years, have been submitted. Malaysian investment firm YTL Developments has unveiled its blueprint for a state-of-the-art music venue at the Brabazon Hangars site at Filton. The project, if approved, would be the third-largest music venue in the
UK, behind only Manchester Arena and the O2 in London. YTL Developments Managing Director Andrew Billingham said: “Our vision is to put Bristol on the world stage for live music and entertainment. The birthplace of Concorde, the iconic Brabazon Hangars will be reimagined and brought back to life, celebrating their historic past and reinvented as the home of supersonic for future generations to enjoy."
Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Galliard Homes and Acorn Property Group have completed the restoration of Brandon Yard, a housing harbourside development in Bristol and the latest part of the area’s regeneration. Located on the site of a former Grade II-listed 19th century gasworks, the £15m restoration and transformation of the site has taken two years, guided by contractors Speller Metcalfe and architects AWW. Brandon Yard overlooks the harbour with nearby restaurants, bars and independent shops just moments away. It combines restored listed buildings with new build elements to provide 58 one, two and three bedroom apartments.
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LATEST NEWS
ETM ends record year with new HQ investment Bristol highways maintenance and waste management firm ETM Group has invested £1m in new premises as part of a major expansion. The familyrun company has celebrated a record-breaking year by completing a deal for the new base on Hartcliffe Way.
Merger leads to new growth at Avison Young A growth drive following a recent merger has seen real estate firm Avison Young welcome a host of new starters to its Bristol office.
The new premises will be completely refurbished to be used as the new head office as the company has outgrown its existing building. Last year, ETM completed a £4m investment on a new recycling facility in Ashton Vale, which is designed to allow the company to further increase waste operations and provide more space for the established highways maintenance division. The new site will
Avison Young merged with GVA earlier this year, and has since been growing its workforce with a number of new recruits across the company’s multi-discipline teams.
also allow the company to create new jobs across its divisions. Amy McCormack, ETM’s Commercial Director, said: “ETM has had an excellent year with turnover now exceeding £21m; acquiring this new premises is essential to continue the rapid growth of our group."
LISTEN
Gordon Isgrove, Managing Director at Avison Young in Bristol, said: “It’s a real pleasure to welcome such a strong cohort of young professionals to Avison Young.”
THINK
CREATE
Creative communications for businesses with ambition Sprague Gibbons is a creative agency that helps ambitious businesses be heard. Whether you’re communicating with clients, customers, investors, staff or potential recruits, we’ll help you find a voice that cuts through the noise. Our simple LISTEN | THINK | CREATE approach ensures we consistently produce stand-out work that delivers results. Want your business to speak louder? Find out how at www.spraguegibbons.co.uk
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Issue 12: January - February 2020
CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS, TAX CONSULTANTS & FINANCIAL PLANNERS
The success of your business stems from hard work
Let us help you branch out Expert advice for your business T: 0330 333 5039 www.albertgoodman.co.uk @AG_LLP TAUNTON BRIDGWATER BRISTOL BURNHAM-ON-SEA CHARD WEDMORE WESTON-SUPER-MARE WEYMOUTH YEOVIL
LATEST NEWS
ADVERTORIAL:
WHY 2020 MAY OFFER OPPORTUNITY TO AMBITIOUS EXPORTERS
Ocado announces Bristol as location for new hub Ocado has announced the location of its new Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) in the UK to support the growth plans of Ocado Retail.
Whether they voted to remain in the EU or to leave, the big question for businesses this year is whether the government will manage to seal the Brexit deal once and for all by the end of 2020? Experts are already saying that it’s going to be a tall order, so the economic uncertainty that has dogged industry for the past few years isn’t quite over yet. However, entrepreneurs are used to uncertainty – and the best of them tend to use times of change to push themselves in directions that others may not have even considered. We are, without doubt, approaching a time when the old rules of international trade will be giving way to new ones, and businesses that start this year with a flexible approach can seize the advantage when it comes to exporting. Of course, new customers in new markets often bring with them some fresh challenges. Payment terms may be more onerous, or potential contracts may be considerable in value, but may seem out of reach because of the pressure the lag between your investment and payment puts on your cashflow.
“One of the most established ways of funding is Invoice Finance – which releases the cash tied up in your invoices rather than having to wait to get paid. An additional product, Trade Finance, has been developed specifically for those companies who use Invoice Finance but now want to stretch their wings further afield. “For clients who do import or export, Castle’s Trade Finance facility is an attractive offer,” he says. “It’s a cash facility that allows clients to bridge the cashflow gap between paying suppliers and being paid by customers for up to 90 days, and can be provided in multiple currencies.
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The Bristol mini-CFC, consisting of a 150,000 sq ft warehouse in Avonmouth delivered by St Modwen, is expected to support around 815 jobs in the local area. Tim Steiner, CEO of Ocado Group, said: “Ocado’s technology is dynamic and constantly improving, delivered through tried and tested solutions with proven and attractive economics. Our mission is to deliver the future of online shopping today, and we believe we are succeeding.”
“Trade Finance is particularly reassuring to suppliers, and also gives scope to negotiate great rates and early settlement discounts. “Our many years of experience in business finance means we are able to keep down the costs of borrowing for our clients. Whilst your competitors wait, early 2020 could be exactly the right time to make the step-change you want.”
Jeremy Coombes, Chief Executive of Castle Business Finance, says his firm focuses on developing specific products to help more businesses build their own futures, whether working with customers inside the UK or beyond it. “We know from long experience that having affordable access to the cash needed to make that next business step is critical, particularly if you don’t have large reserves to draw from,” says Jeremy.
This will be Ocado Retail’s first mini-CFC and will be located in Bristol. The facility will have the capacity for over 30,000 orders. This facility is being built in an existing warehouse and is expected to go live at the end of 2020.
Aston Martin opens new plant in St Athan Aston Martin Lagonda has opened its new manufacturing facility at St Athan in Wales. First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford joined AML President and Group CEO Dr Andy Palmer at a ceremony to officially open the British luxury marque’s new plant. St Athan is now the home of Aston Martin’s first SUV, the DBX. The St Athan site will create up to 600 new highly-skilled jobs, rising to 750 at peak production.
To find out more about invoice and trade finance, visit Castle’s new website at www.castlebusinessfinance.com or call 01275 390 665
Dr Andy Palmer said: “Opening our new manufacturing facility at St Athan today is a pivotal day for Aston Martin Lagonda and a vote of confidence in the UK, with the facility projected to employ up to 750 highly-skilled workers at its peak.” Issue 12: January - February 2020
ADVERTORIAL BARCLAYS
How is Barclays supporting Sativa Group PLC? BLM recently sat down with Henry Lees-Buckley (CEO) and Joseph Colliver (CFO) from Sativa Group PLC to talk about the medical cannabis movement, being the first company of its kind in the UK and how Barclays has helped the business.
Can you give an overview of the company? JC – We are a leading UK-based CBD wellness and medicinal cannabis company. Our CBD wellness business is called Goodbody Botanicals and we distribute CBD products to independent pharmacies, wellness businesses and health food shops across the UK. We also have three Goodbody wellness retail stores across the South West, and we are looking to roll that out further across the country through a franchise model. We also have Tessellate Collective, which is a direct selling business. All three businesses are underpinned by PhytoVista Laboratories, which is our own commercial customer-facing laboratory, which tests the CBD and cannabinoid content for manufactures of CBD across the UK and Europe, as well as our own products. Looking to the future, we have a medicinal cannabis business where we are doing a lot of research and development through our partners at King’s College London. Was the goal to always be the UK’s first listed medical cannabis company? JC – Yes, it was always our intention to be listed. Geremy Thomas, the founder of the company, has a strong entrepreneurial background – he saw a gap in the market which others had filled in North America, but not in the UK. He then wanted to take advantage of the relative immaturity of the marketplace that was present two years ago.
Has being the first company of its kind in the UK provided many advantages to grow? JC – It has on the ‘city’ front, as we are publicly listed on the NEX Exchange. We have had more opportunities when it comes to speaking to potential shareholders and investors, as well as regulators, lobbying groups and partners like King’s College. It has given us an elevated credibility as we are the first to market. It has also boosted our brand from a commercial standpoint. HLB – As a PLC, we are held to the standards of the public markets, which is significantly higher than someone operating out of their own home. As this is a new industry, and being a leader in the marketplace, we are going to continue taking this high road into the future. By sticking to this, we will produce and sell the highest quality products and maintain that position in the marketplace. This is why we have the relationship with Barclays. They are a top tier financial firm, and we want to be associated with top tier firms. What does the future hold for the company? HLB – It is simply to be the market leader in the UK with the highest quality CBD products. That means leading on the high street pharmacies and grocers with our Goodbody Botanicals brand. It means providing a premium shopping experience with our company-owned and future franchised Goodbody Wellness shops.
T: 01373 486595 El: enquiries@sativagroup.co.uk
It means being the market leader in the direct selling channel with our Tessellate Collective brand. These are all brands we have in the market today and we will continue to expand the product offer within these brands. The future is equally exciting as we bring to market new veterinarian and human medicinal products after all the necessary regulatory approvals. Additionally, we want to be on the London AIM Stock Exchange Market – something we are actively engaging on. Assuming we will be successful, we will be the first CBD wellness and medical cannabis company to be listed on the market. That is a stamp of quality, and shows our level of compliance is very high. This opens up our market to a broader range of investors. How has Barclays helped the business? JC – We joined Barclays as we wanted to upgrade the level of software and back office support, and it has been great for us. Their security systems and user control, in terms of providing a governance structure, has been incredible. It has enhanced our operation. What comes with that is the relationship management – having access to that wealth of knowledge and expertise on tap provides a commercial advantage. They have experts in treasury, FX, day-to-day banking, corporate banking and we also have access to their network. Having that credibility of Barclays associated with the brand is important – people respect that.
To find out more about how we can help your business success, please contact Stuart Rowland, Relationship Director: Mobile: +44(0)7920 267685 Email: stuart.rowland@barclays.com
www.barclayscorporate.com
Barclays Bank PLC is registered in England (Company No. 1026167) with its registered office at 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Barclays Bank PLC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register No. 122702) and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Barclays is a trading name and trade mark of Barclays PLC and its subsidiaries January 2020. + Please note: this is a mobile phone number and calls will be charged in accordance with your mobile tariff.
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AGENDA
'A BALANCE MUST BE STRUCK' –
LAW CHANGES LOOM FOR UK’S GIG ECONOMY
C
hampioned for empowering contemporary workers, yet simultaneously criticised as precarious and exploitative – what does the future hold for the UK’s gig economy and zerohours contract workers?
Arguments in favour of the gig economy appear at first glance to be both plentiful and convincing. Proponents praise its flexibility and versatility, the opportunities it creates for companies, and the freedom it offers to workers.
Some predictions even suggest these models will take over as the prevalent form of employment, with more firms eschewing a full-time workforce in favour of a permanent leadership core supported by gig workers on short-term contracts.
The statistics seemingly speak for themselves. An estimated five million people in the UK currently maintain freelance – or ‘gig’ – careers across a multitude of sectors, while nearly 900,000 people work on a zero hours contract basis. The latter figure has grown by 358% since 2012, and now amounts to 2.7% of the nation’s workforce.
So, why do zero-hours contracts and gig employment continue to prove so divisive?
That growth is due in large part to the rise of app-based platforms like Deliveroo and Uber, which have opened up the gig economy on an unprecedented scale by effectively making work available to all, regardless of skills or experience.
It could stem from high-profile news stories and court rulings where firms have effectively been accused of withholding employment rights – like paid holiday or sick pay – from workers through manipulation of legal loopholes. It could also be a consequence of frequent smears evident in politics and popular culture. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has attacked zero-hours contracts as ‘exploitation’, while film director Ken Loach – whose latest film Sorry We Missed You
highlights the risks of zero hours working – has slammed the practice as ‘modern slavery’. ‘Increasingly one-sided’ Susie Al-Qassab, Head Of Employment Law with Londonbased Hodge Jones & Allen Solicitors, believes the system can work – but concedes it is often exploited. She said: “Ostensibly, gig work is a good thing for both employees and employers – but the advantages seem to be increasingly one-sided. “The criticism that the gig economy is exploitative is easy to understand – they are labelled ‘self-employed contractors’, but are often being treated as workers, without the benefits and protections.
"THE PROBLEM WITH THE SO-CALLED GIG-ECONOMY IS IT HAS BECOME A CATCH-ALL TERM FOR CONTRACTED EMPLOYMENT, WHICH HAS TARRED SOME GOOD COMPANIES WITH THE SAME BRUSH AS THOSE CONSTANTLY UNDER MEDIA SCRUTINY FOR POOR PRACTICES."
Scott Mullins
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Issue 12: January - February 2020
GIG ECONOMY
“In many cases, it seems employers are taking advantage of the weak position of such workers, as there will always be someone else to do the job. The balance has tipped too far on the side of businesses.”
tradespeople are not dependent at all, even if they are contracting solely to one company, as they can easily take their skills elsewhere should they feel they are not getting a fair deal.
This can, Al-Qassab believes, mean workers can put themselves at risk.
“It is a model that has worked exceptionally well for Pimlico, and we have a very loyal and dedicated workforce of self-employed contractors. They have the choice to go elsewhere if they wish, because their skills are always in demand, but they know they will get consistent, high-quality jobs from us as well as many benefits from being part of the Pimlico family.”
She continued: “The paradox of gig work is the flexibility and apparent autonomy which makes it so appealing is also its biggest flaw. “A gig worker will not necessarily know how much they will be able to earn month on month and this uncertainty can lead to stress. “As they are often ‘self-employed contactors’, they receive none of the benefits of with employee status – national minimum wage, holiday pay, sick leave. “If a delivery driver becomes sick and unable to work, they will have no income. This can lead to scenarios where people are continuing to work despite health risks – they simply cannot afford to not.” ‘Good companies have been tarred’ Employers insist the system offers as many pluses to workers as companies, and argue it benefits all when implemented responsibly. Scott Mullins, Managing Director at Pimlico – a firm which lost out in the Supreme Court in 2018 in a dispute over workers’ rights for its freelance plumbers – said: “The problem with the so-called gig-economy is it has become a catch-all term for contracted employment, which has tarred some good companies with the same brush as those constantly under media scrutiny for poor practices. “The public’s impression of the gig-economy is that employers are exploiting people’s desire for flexible working, paying low wages and also not offering good working conditions. “However, in some sectors, such as the home services and construction industries, where the responsible use of self-employed contractors is the norm, the situation is very much different. “For those in jobs such as food delivery, the workers are dependent on the employer. It’s not the same in sectors like mine. Skilled Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Deliveroo is one of the UK’s most high-profile gig employers; it has more than 25,000 riders on its books, and fields ‘thousands’ of fresh enquiries every week. The firm says 85% of its riders treasure their flexible terms. A spokesman told Business Leader: “Deliveroo’s flexible model is giving riders greater controls around how they work. “Riders can choose to work for Deliveroo while working with other companies; there is no other type of work which allows you to work when you want or allows you to work for a competitor at the same time.
entitled to, what they are earning and how they are earning it. “There are various things in the next wave of changes which may help – but equally, I think it’s going to be an ongoing dialogue for some time.” Scott Mullins agrees the law needs to change, but says it needs to do so in a way which is fair to both employer and worker. He said: “The law has to evolve to reflect the changing culture of work and employment. It needs to understand there is a legitimate class of self-employed contractor, who may work predominantly for one employer – they may even wear a uniform, carry an ID badge – but they are more of a contractor than a worker. “I’m all for the government finding changes in the law to protect the poorly paid, poorly treated and poorly appreciated workers – but there needs to be clarity on how it will relate to the highly-skilled self-employed contractors in industries like ours.”
“Unlike a zero-hours contract, riders decide for themselves when they ride and how much they ride, by simply logging in and choosing whether to accept orders. This is genuinely two-way flexibility.” What next? Gareth Edwards, Head of the Employment team at law firm VWV, says legislation changes due in April 2020’s Good Work Plan could make a difference. He said: “I can see there is a place for zero hours contracts, or for being able to contract on a job-by-job basis; I don’t think those two components of people’s working lives are going away. But I think the regulation around it will probably increase. “From an individual’s point of view, I think sometimes there’s a concern they are not making an informed choice. “Part of the reforms talked about includes giving people a statement of terms from day one, and itemised pay statements so they understand more about what they are
And Susie Al-Qassab believes workers will gain more control over their status. She added: “There may be more deals such as that between the GMB Union and the delivery company Hermes, which allows gig workers the choice as to whether they want to be self-employed or ‘self-employed plus’. The latter offers union representation, minimum wage and holiday pay. “What is clear, is that as the gig economy continues to grow, there needs to be more of a balance struck between work that is flexible and work that is simply insecure.” 9
COVER STORY
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Issue 12: January - February 2020
CHRISTIAN HORNER OBE
DRIVEN TO SUCCESS
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LM visited Red Bull Racing HQ in Milton Keynes, to talk with Team Principal Christian Horner OBE. He opened up about his ‘non-confirmist’ team culture, managing ‘pop star’ drivers, and the highs of winning four Constructors’ World Championships.
CAN YOU GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF YOUR CAREER? I started racing go-karts at the age of 12, went through the various categories, and won a scholarship from Renault in 1991 to move from karts into car racing. I was relatively successful in the junior formula, but the higher you went the harder it got. Of course, motor racing is an expensive business, and unlike other sports, drivers are expected to bring funding with them in the lower categories. Part of the challenge was raising sponsorship. By the time I reached Formula 2, I didn’t have a budget to go to a good team, so I decided to buy a single car and become an entrant. I created the Arden team in 1997. I raced on my own that year and brought in a teammate in 1998, and then decided I had gone as far as my talent and funding was going to take me, so decided to step out of the cockpit and focus on building the team. We went on to win three consecutive championships in that category. One of our drivers was also a young Red Bull driver, and I guess that put me on the radar of Red Bull, so when they acquired what was then the Jaguar team at the end of 2004, they approached me to run the team. WAS IT ALWAYS YOUR AMBITION TO MOVE INTO TEAM MANAGEMENT? I never envisaged a career in management, my focus was on driving. I left school at 18, I didn’t go to university, my focus was very much on racing and forging a career as a driver. Cont. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
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COVER STORY
WHEN DID YOU FIRST CONSIDER THAT TEAM MANAGEMENT MIGHT BE A CAREER FOR YOU? At the beginning of the 1998 season we were testing at Estoril. There was a very fast right-hander, and a driver called Juan Pablo Montoya came past me into the turn. It was a sixth-gear corner, and the angle his car was at, the commitment he had, was one I knew my brain and foot just wouldn’t be able to do. I recognised that I wasn’t prepared to take that risk. Once you start thinking like that… it was pretty early on in that season that I knew. It was then about establishing the team, getting the right engineers and mechanics in place, and then I could focus on running the team. I had to hustle and go and find commercial sponsorship, I was booking hotels, I was doing the VAT returns, even cleaning the truck on some occasions; it was a tremendous education from a grass roots level, getting into the nuts and bolts of how a race team operates. HAVE YOUR COUNTERPARTS IN OTHER FORMULA 1 TEAMS PROGRESSED IN THAT SAME WAY? No, I think others are from far more managerial or corporate backgrounds. When I look around there are not many what I would call old-school racers. WHEN DID YOUR AMBITIONS BEGIN TO CRYSTALISE AROUND FORMULA 1? Formula 1 was always the pinnacle, always the goal, to get there as a driver or to get there as a team. It was always something I wanted to be involved in. WHEN YOU JOINED RED BULL, WAS IT THE AMBITION FROM DAY ONE TO BE CHAMPIONS? It was a very young team. I was 31. Red Bull had ambitious aspirations, they did not just want to be a mid-field runner, and (Red Bull Co-Founder) Dietrich Mateschitz wanted to have a competitive team to promote his brand on a global platform. That meant winning. He’s a competitive guy. Of course, there were so many manufacturers out there when we came into the sport, huge teams. Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, Toyota, Honda, Renault; we were a minnow in comparison in those early days. 12
BECAUSE IT WAS SUCH A YOUNG TEAM, DID THAT GIVE YOU GREATER OPPORTUNITY TO SHAPE IT HOW YOU WANTED? It was a question of looking at where the strengths and the weaknesses were. There were real pockets of talent within the team. What it needed was clear direction – we had lots of subsets of departments that weren’t working in unity – and getting the right people established in the right places. WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE IN THOSE EARLY DAYS? Establishing credibility. I’d come into the sport very young and nobody really knew who I was, and this is a team that wants to achieve, it wants to win. My peers were the likes of Ron Dennis, Jean Todt, Flavio Briatore, Frank Williams, Eddie Jordan, big names and entrepreneurs in many respects. DID YOU HAVE A TIMEFRAME FOR HOW LONG YOU FELT IT MIGHT TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANTED TO BE? You can come in with a five-year plan,
all that jazz, but everybody in this sport is impatient, so there was no definitive time-scale. We wanted to get there, and we wanted to get there as quickly as we could. CAN YOU PINPOINT A MOMENT WHEN YOU FIRST REALISED THE CHAMPIONSHIP WAS GENUINELY WITHIN REACH? I think there were a few factors, but first and most significant was the recruitment of Adrian Newey at the end of the first year. He was the world’s best Formula 1 designer, so attracting him and getting him to join the team, that signified serious intent, because people thought ‘wow, if Adrian Newey’s going there, these guys are serious’. Then it was a matter of building a team around him. WAS IT DOWN TO YOU TO SELL YOUR VISION TO ADRIAN? I could see Adrian was restless where he was at McLaren, and I’d always been a fan of his and his cars from before I’d arrived in Formula 1. I got to know him, we became friends, and then I introduced him to the Red Bull world. I think the less Issue 12: January - February 2020
CHRISTIAN HORNER OBE
Actor Daniel Craig gets a tour around the Red Bull Racing garage
Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner OBE talks with Max Verstappen
corporate structure of Red Bull appealed to his creativity and freedom. What you don’t do with an Adrian Newey is tell him how to do his job, and I think we have provided an environment for him which has fed that creativity. YOU WON THE TITLE FOUR YEARS IN A ROW. HOW DO YOU KEEP YOURSELF MOTIVATED DURING SUSTAINED SUCCESS? When you’re on top, if you win a race, you enjoy it for the evening, but by the time you’re back in the office on Monday morning, it’s about the next event and wanting to build on that performance. It’s so fast-moving, this sport, that you’re always focused on the next target, you never
get the chance to look backwards. There almost becomes a fear of losing, and there becomes an atmosphere of expectancy going into a race. YOURS IS A HIGH-PRESSURE ROLE, WITH HUGE EXPECTATIONS ON YOUR SHOULDERS. HOW DO YOU COPE WITH THAT? What experience has taught me is to focus on the things you can control, rather than worrying about the things you can’t. It’s prioritising, it’s about keeping the group focused on their objectives, and just taking things one at a time, day-by-day, because I think if you project too far forward, you lose sight of what’s going on today. For me, that’s incredibly important.
"RED BULL HAD AMBITIOUS ASPIRATIONS, THEY DID NOT JUST WANT TO BE A MID-FIELD RUNNER, AND (RED BULL CO-FOUNDER) DIETRICH MATESCHITZ WANTED TO HAVE A COMPETITIVE TEAM TO PROMOTE HIS BRAND ON A GLOBAL PLATFORM." Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
WHAT SORT OF TRAITS DO YOU LOOK FOR TO BUILD YOUR LEADERSHIP TEAM? Very much team players, not individuals. Adrian Newey is quite unique because he has a unique skill-set, but when you look at the management team, it’s very much people with a can-do attitude, a glass-halffull mindset. It’s about working with people, this business, so they have got to have the skills of interaction and communication. It’s not just an email culture; if there is an issue, it’s a case of sitting in a room, discussing it, and coming up with solutions. DO YOU SET YOURSELF TARGETS? Of course you set yourself targets, but you’ve got to be prepared to move them as well. Our target certainly for next year is to be the challenger team to Mercedes. We don’t know what the opposition will do, we can only focus on ourselves, so it’s head down and do the best job you can to come out in February with your new car in the best shape you can be. Cont. 13
COVER STORY YOU SOUND OPTIMISTIC FOR 2020 – DO YOU THINK A BREAKTHROUGH YEAR COULD BE ON THE CARDS? In the past 10 years there have only been two constructors who have won the championship, which is Mercedes and ourselves, but sport is always cyclical, and at some point Mercedes will stop winning. We have to make sure we’re the team there ready to pick up the baton again. AND YOU’RE CONFIDENT YOU WILL BE? I think we have the right people, the right team, the right structure, the right tools and facilities, the right drivers, to do that. HOW MUCH CAN YOU PERSONALLY INFLUENCE? IS IT ABOUT BUILDING A CULTURE, OR EXERTING A DIRECT INFLUENCE? It’s many, many things. It’s setting a tempo, common goals and objectives, and having the right team around you. I am fortunate to have a very good team of men and women around me. Formula 1 is the biggest team sport in the world; there are over 800 people in this business to produce two Grand Prix cars. The technology involved in these cars is so advanced, and the pace of development is so intense, that those are the sort of numbers of personnel required to feed the machine. WITH 800 PEOPLE IN THE TEAM, INCLUDING WORLD-LEADING EXPERTS AND BIG PERSONALITIES, HOW DO YOU BIND THE TEAM TOGETHER? Communication is vitally important. After every Grand Prix we get the entire business together to talk about what went well, what our immediate targets are, and having the right communication channels to my direct reports, and being accessible, is the most important thing. We have a team culture where there is no room for individuals’ egos. There is no vanity; it is very much the team that wins here. We have a culture of each department supporting each other, because when we do win a Grand Prix it’s a realisation of all those 22 departments coming together and having delivered. IS THAT CULTURE SET BY YOU? Ultimately yes. There’s obviously Red Bull DNA in there as well, the style that we are, the slightly non-conformist values of Red Bull. You’ll see more people here in jeans and T-shirts than you would at McLaren or Mercedes for example, so it’s creating that culture, that ethos. We invest in our employees and we look after them, and they respond to that. There’s nobody 14
Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner OBE, FIA President Jean Todt and actor Daniel Craig talk on the grid
watching the clock here, because we’re not making standard components, it’s a competition. DO YOU CELEBRATE TOGETHER WHEN THINGS GO WELL? Absolutely. It’s important to enjoy and embrace success, and to celebrate success. HOW IS TEAM MORALE RIGHT NOW? It’s very good. Everybody is going into this winter with their tail up because we’ve had a great first year with Honda, it’s been a transitionary year for the team, and we’ve learned an awful lot of lessons. I think you sense within the business a sense of confidence and ambition. We’ve made great progress, and it just feels that we’re on the cusp of being a real challenger to Mercedes in 2020. HOW WILL THE BUDGET CAP, SET TO BE INTRODUCED IN 2021, IMPACT UPON RED BULL RACING? It’ll force efficiencies within the business. It will encourage us to look at cost-effective design. We will bring more production inhouse. We’re still evaluating, but we feel we can cope with the cap responsibly by making ourselves more efficient. It’ll be a mindset change, but we believe we can take that on. HOW DOES A CHANGE OF DRIVER INFLUENCE THE TEAM CULTURE? The drivers are the pop stars, but they are one element of the team. They have the
privilege of driving the cars people here produce, so of course the driver is the most visual element, but they also have a huge responsibility as they are carrying the hopes and dreams of those 800 people. DRIVERS CAN, IN THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT, BE OUTSPOKEN. HOW DO YOU PREPARE FOR THAT? That again is part of the Red Bull ethos; we want the drivers’ personalities to shine through, we don’t want to constrain them, so as long as they are not being offensive in any way, we want people to see their character. You see with Max Verstappen that he’s very much a free spirit, and that enables us to get the best out of him. HOW BIG HAS THE RED BULL INFLUENCE BEEN ON THE BRAND? From a marketing perspective it’s been pretty strong, but Dietrich has been very good in just saying ‘build the best team that you can’ so there’s no insistence things have to be done in a certain way. YOU’VE ENJOYED MUCH SUCCESS – BUT DO YOU STILL HAVE UNFULFILLED AMBITIONS? Yeah, absolutely. We want to make sure we are challenging and beating Mercedes in the years ahead. We would like to have the youngest world champion, and we have that opportunity with Max next year. Red Bull is still a young team. We have a cabinet full of trophies, but we’d like to make some more cabinets. Issue 12: January - February 2020
CHRISTIAN HORNER
CORPORATE PENSION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFIT SPECIALISTS Quantum Advisory is a national, independent financial services consultancy with a strong commitment to quality and value for money. As an industry-leading firm we offer a wide range of employee benefit services to employers, scheme trustees and members. We pride ourselves on the quality of people we employ, our personal approach to client care and the smart solutions we come up with, which allow us to offer greater choice, more flexibility and personal tailoring. We have offices in Amersham, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and London. If you are interested in finding out more, why not contact Stuart Price on 0117 905 8766 or visit our website at www.quantumadvisory.co.uk to see how we can help you with your pension and employee benefit challenges.
E: stuart.price@quantumadvisory.co.uk
WWW.QUANTUMADVISORY.CO.UK
FINANCE Ned Dorbin - BGF
Martyn Fraser - Smith and Williamson
David Ferris - Osborne Clarke
What are the trends impacting the M&A sector?
F
or its first South West finance feature of 2020, BLM looks at the M&A sector and what trends we can expect going forward. To do this, we brought together a panel of experts.
HOW WOULD YOU SUM UP DEAL ACTIVITY IN THE REGION OVER THE LAST YEAR? Ned Dorbin: "Despite the wider economic uncertainty, 2019 has been a fantastic year of growth across our South West portfolio, a reflection on the resilience and ambition of the region’s entrepreneurs. Now, more than ever, growing businesses need adequate support to execute a sustainable, long-term growth plan, and we have continued to partner with them and provide that funding and support needed to scale-up and go for growth." Martyn Fraser: "Perhaps surprisingly given
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the wider economic uncertainty during the year, our experience is that deal activity held up strongly. In terms of transactions completed, 2019 will be our strongest year since before the EU referendum and I know that is common across several firms in the South West." David Ferris: "The deal activity we have seen in 2019 in the region has been busy and held steady, even amid the national and international political turmoil. We have seen deals taking longer from inception to completion, but interestingly the reasons for this have varied, but perhaps reflecting a degree of caution because of that turmoil." Andy Killick: "We saw businesses deciding to get on with their plans rather than delaying any further, in part due to the continuing strong liquidity in the funding market and no doubt also spurred on because of the uncertainty around Entrepreneurs’ Relief.” Andrew Hodgson: "Despite a marked reduction in national deal activity, the South
West deal market has remained buoyant. We don’t see that changing. In fact, there may be a bounce in deal activity in 2020." HAS THE NUMBER OF DEALS COMPLETED INCREASED OR DECREASED THIS YEAR, COMPARED TO LAST? Andrew Hodgson: "There’s probably been an overall decrease. From an advisor’s perspective though, you only need a modest number of high quality deals to keep the team busy so a single organisation’s perspective can be misleading." David Ferris: "The number of deals has been about the same as 2018, which was also a busy year. The sector mix has perhaps varied though, with very slightly fewer renewable energy deals due to changes in the subsidy regime, but a step up in the number of private equity deals."
Cont.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
LOCAL HER OES. NOT S UPER HE R O E S Some firms get their big-hitters to fly in and woo clients, never to be seen again. Not us. As one of the largest firms of accountants and business advisers here in the South West, we believe in building long-term, personal relationships with each of our clients. We’ve just opened a new office in Bristol, so if you want a truly local, partner-led team that knows your business inside out, let’s talk. 0330 134 4870 (or call straight through to our new Bristol office on 0117 403 9800) www.pkf-francisclark.co.uk
Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
17
REVIEW ARE THERE ANY SECTORS THAT ARE PARTICULARLY ACTIVE? Ned Dorbin: "Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria is high on the agenda and this will no doubt be reflected in the types of businesses presenting as attractive to investors. Innovative companies such as Exeter-based Lightfoot, the connected car technology company, are increasingly in the spotlight for their environmental credentials." Martyn Fraser: "Investor appetite remains high for innovative and disruptive technology businesses. We have also been involved in a series of transactions during 2019 in the cyber security space, involving both financial and strategic investors. "Valuation is driven principally by the specifics of each deal and so broad brush statements around trends in deal sizes are not really meaningful. We have sold businesses during 2019 on what traditionally would be regarded as very high multiples." David Ferris: "The mix of sectors has not varied hugely but the focus on digital transformation as the purpose or driver of those deals has been the really noticeable element – across all sectors, whether energy, financial services, real estate, transport and/or infrastructure." Andrew Hodgson - KPMG
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS Andrew Hodgson: "In some ways it is easier to be clear about the difficult sectors, like property and construction and general consumer businesses such as traditional retail and casual dining. Having said that, technology will continue to boom, so will anything that is generally market disruptive." Andy Killick: "In terms of sectors, technology continues to be one of the key areas of growth. The UK boasts world leading experts, products and services in this area and investors are seeking opportunities from the innovative smaller angel-type investing end through to larger institutional deals. Another growth area for us is in cyber security as part of due diligence. Our red flag cyber security reviews now comprise a regular part of our scoping as investors increasingly require this as part of risk assessment." DO YOU SEE ANY M&A TRENDS EMERGING IN THE FUTURE? Andrew Hodgson: "Now the election is out of the way, I expect to see a renewed focus by entrepreneurs on their tax planning. For many this might just mean a change to the way they hold their investments. For some, it might mean selling the business in the short term. There is a real risk of changes to Entrepreneurs' Relief… and it certainly won’t be getting more generous!" David Ferris: "We are already seeing, and expect to see even more, deal flow relating to strategic moves by corporates, particularly around digital transformation which is a major area of focus for Osborne Clarke." Martyn Fraser: "Anecdotally, you hear of vendors who delayed the launch of sales processes pending clarity around Brexit. Likewise, trade purchasers are said to be taking a more cautious approach to M&A for the same reason. If both are true then you might expect to see an increase in
"INVESTOR APPETITE REMAINS HIGH FOR INNOVATIVE AND DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESSES. WE HAVE ALSO BEEN INVOLVED IN A SERIES OF TRANSACTIONS DURING 2019 IN THE CYBER SECURITY SPACE, INVOLVING BOTH FINANCIAL AND STRATEGIC INVESTORS." Martyn Fraser
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Andy Killick - PKF Francis Clark
transactions involving strategic buyers in the coming years." WHAT WERE THE STANDOUT DEALS YOU COMPLETED LAST YEAR? Ned Dorbin: "Earlier this year, we invested in Equilaw, the UK’s only dedicated equity release legal adviser, to support its business growth plan. It’s a fascinating business model – the equity release market has grown substantially in recent years and Equilaw has positioned itself at the top, with an excellent reputation and track record. Led by an experienced management team and supported by market-leading technology, we’re excited about the opportunity for the business to capitalise on a growing industry." Andrew Hodgson: "We sold Francis Flower to LKAB in Sweden – this was a £100m sale to an overseas trade buyer. It’s always great to get those over the line. We also sold a large building materials business in South Wales to private equity and acquired Plimsoll for LDC in Bristol. It’s been a great year for us, having also advised Acquis, Vistgate, Molson, PJ Davidson and others on various transactions in the last 12 months."
Cont. Issue 12: January - February 2020
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REVIEW
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
David Ferris: "The sale of Caerphilly aircraft parts provider Aerfin to CataCap, following the exit of CarVal Investors – we advised Founder and Chief Executive Bob James, who will retain a significant equity interest in the business. "Advising Creo Medical Group, based in Chepstow, on its £50m fundraising, which will help it capitalise on opportunities presented by the emerging field of surgical endoscopy and provide a platform to explore potential strategic acquisitions "Advising management and the purchaser vehicle on the management buyout of Newport-headquartered Acquis Insurance Management, an independent insurance broker and administrator that provides specialist solutions to the finance and leasing industry." Martyn Fraser: "The disposal of Swanseabased RAP International to the Japanese listed business Yokogawa Electric Corporation is typical of the deals we have been involved in during 2019. That saw the acquisition of an innovative technology business by a strategic buyer with a view to accelerating growth within a global market." Andy Killick: "A stand-out local deal for us at PKF Francis Clark, was our involvement with Eden Geothermal, where we acted as lead financial adviser on the £16.8m financing required to drill the first well for their pioneering geothermal heat and power project. This will bring clean, green technology to Cornwall.
"WE ARE ALREADY SEEING, AND EXPECT TO SEE EVEN MORE, DEAL FLOW RELATING TO STRATEGIC MOVES BY CORPORATES, PARTICULARLY AROUND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION WHICH IS A MAJOR AREA OF FOCUS FOR OSBORNE CLARKE." David Ferris
"Phase one will supply a district heating system for Eden’s biomes, offices and greenhouses with phase two enabling Eden to generate sufficient renewable energy to become carbon positive by 2023, as well as aiming to be able to provide heat and power for the local area." 20
BUSINESS LEADER COLUMNIST
STARTING A BUSINESS? YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT YOUR EXIT
Jackie Fast is an award-winning entrepreneur, investor, prolific motivational speaker and bestselling author, who shot to fame after making it to week nine of the hit BBC show The Apprentice. Starting a business for the first time is daunting. It keeps you awake at night. When you finally pluck up the courage and start thinking ‘why not?’ and start planning, the last thing you are likely to think about is your exit strategy. Yet that really ought to be first on your list. Unlike life where the motto 'it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey' rings true for most – a business very much is about the destination. Without understanding your ambitions, you are unlikely to fulfil them. If your strategy is to sell after five years, then your focus needs to be on growth and profitability. If you aim to take over the world in 20 years’ time, then your focus is on product development and hiring the best people. My top five tips to planning your exit at the outset: ASK YOURSELF TOUGH QUESTIONS Why do you want to start a business? Every entrepreneur has a driver and it’s important to remember what makes you happy. Your exit strategy should reflect the reasons you set it up in the first place. BUSINESS PLANNING Your exit should form part of your entire business plan with key performance metrics measured against the end goal. As your business adapts and grows, these can be changed but it’s important to have this within the business DNA. YOU CAN’T HAVE IT BOTH WAYS Want a work/life balance while also selling your company for millions a couple years on? That is an unrealistic goal. Selling a business is very different to running one and scaling to sell is no mean feat. It likely will involve significantly reducing your salary and working more hours than you ever thought possible. Buyers want proven profits – and that takes work. YOUR STAFF ARE YOUR LIFELINE Buyers are not interested in a one-man superhero that closes all the big deals while simultaneously running the HR department. A buyer wants a business that can scale and run without you. You need to ensure clear processes are in place and that your staff each have clearly defined roles so when the time comes to step away, it’s a smooth transition risk to the buyer. GET ADVICE Every exit is different. Talk to other entrepreneurs who have managed to sell and find out what challenges they faced. You are unlikely to have many exits so it’s not something you can learn by experience. Therefore, learn from others to build your own strategy. Issue 12: January - February 2020
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Ten major M&A deals from 2019
F
ollowing an exciting year in the M&A market, Business Leader Magazine has highlighted ten of the most eye-catching deals of 2019.
LEISURE & TOURISM
ENERGY
eBay agreed to sell StubHub to Viagogo for £3.1bn in cash. StubHub is a worldwide ticket marketplace for live sport, music and entertainment events.
Ovo Energy announced the acquisition of SSE's retail business in a £500m deal. Together, the companies serve almost five million households across the UK.
RETAIL
FOOD & DRINK
Mike Ashley's Sports Direct acquired designer clothing brand, Jack Wills, for £12.75m. Ashley beat retail rival Philip Day in the deal to bring the struggling fashion company out of administration.
British pub giant and brewer Greene King has been bought by a subsidiary of CK Asset Holdings. Greene King owns over 2,700 pubs and restaurants across the UK, and the deal values the company at £2.7bn.
FOOD & DRINK
LEGAL
Just Eat and Takeaway.com have announced a deal in principle which would see the two rivals combine to create one of the world's largest food delivery businesses. The value of the new company would be around £8.2bn.
BDO completed its merger with Moore Stephens LLP, creating one of the largest accountancy and business advisory firms in the UK. The merged firm operates under the BDO brand and has a total revenue of £6.9bn.
MANUFACTURING
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Dorset-based aerospace and defence manufacturer Cobham has been acquired by Boston-headquartered Advent International for £4bn.
British global payment processing firm Worldpay has been sold in a £32bn deal to Florida-based Fidelity National Information Services (FIS).
RETAIL Luxury designer handbag brand Mulberry announced it bought out its South Korean partner, SHK Holdings, following an initial joint venture project.
Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
LIFE SCIENCE Speciality chemicals company Synthomer has reached an agreement to acquire Omnova Solutions for £654m. The acquisition will expand the company's reach worldwide.
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ADVERTORIAL
New Year’s Resolution –
COMMUNICATE LIKE NEVER BEFORE
W
elcome to 2020 and hopefully a resolution to Brexit. Even if Boris hits all his deadlines, the process will not be plain sailing and your customers are going to face new challenges and uncertainties, so you are going to need to communicate with them more than ever before. That is, of course, easier said than done, but one organisation which is proving a massive asset to UK companies in these interesting times is Konnexx. The Lincolnshire-based company built its reputation on a system known as Virtual Territorial Management – VTM – which for years has been proven to save costs and increase sales. Some of its clients read like a who’s who of global blue chip conglomerates including Pepsico, Johnson & Johnson, AkzoNobel and Mars to name but a few, plus a string of much smaller organisations. Konnexx is the brainchild of Managing Director Simon Morris who said: “Our job is to increase sales and distribution, to be a more cost-effective route to market and to build long-term, profitable relationships for companies of all sizes. “In essence VTM does what a rep does without a visit, so it is a very cost-effective route to market. We keep and develop the customer relationship much better than a face-to-face meeting with a rep would do. “There is a new reality about the whole sales environment and, generally, sales people are much more efficient when they are working 22
from inside than outside. Also, customers don’t really want a salesperson to arrive on their doorstep unless they think a face to face visit is critical, which they rarely do.” Konnexx has also recently launched a new package – Brexit Customer Communication Service (BCCS) aimed at safeguarding a company’s business during the Brexit process. “Even after the resounding Tory election success, companies of all sizes are still apprehensive as to what lays ahead but the one certainty is that communication is vital, and that is where our Brexit service comes in,” said Mr Morris.
customers whether the target is to sell more products or help them through the Brexit process." Konnexx’s core service, VTM, builds a long-term customer relationship, creating intelligence on buying habits and building in-depth data sets around an individual customer. He continued: “Back in the 60s, field sales were key. They were providers of information and added value by ferrying information backwards and forwards. If a business wanted to sell something, it had to send salespeople to the customer. “Modern technology has broken down the divide and a customer can get all the detail he or she wants via social media or many online platforms.”
“Trade agreements will change, regulations will change and the way a lot of us operate will have to change, but all this will take time and during the transition companies will need to adopt strategies on how they communicate with their customers. “That communication must be through professional, high-level interaction which is a service at the core of Konnexx. This is what we do. Our role is to look after our client’s
To find out more please call Konnex on 01780 483310
www.konnexx.co.uk Issue 12: January - February 2020
Business Leader launches
Connecting and inspiring
entrepreneurs
New scale-up conference announced for entrepreneurs
To find out more about this one day summit call 020 3096 0020 or email editor@businessleader.co.uk
WWW.SCALEUPUK.COM
GROWTH
WHAT IS
STOPPING UK SCALE-UP BUSINESSES?
F
or the UK economy to thrive, scaleup businesses must thrive. As part of its scaling up series Business Leader asks – what are the barriers that scaleup businesses are facing? A scaleup business is one that has achieved year-on-year growth of at least 20% for three years and has more than twenty staff.
Mike Dias is the founder of ScaleUp Valley, an influential community that supports businesses in the UK that are looking to scale-up. On what he feels are the critical ingredients needed for businesses looking to scale, he says: “World class leadership across all layers, radical focus and a bold culture of lifelong learning that inspires execution are key. And the most common barriers to growth are the opposite of these values. They are leadership development, having a complex strategy where you are always chasing the next big thing and a culture of excuses that leads to sloppy execution.” On what differentiates the winners and 24
losers in the scale-up space, Mike goes on to say: “The teams who win are the ones who don’t get distracted with the next big thing and stay loyal to a clear strategy with radical focus. Look at Zoom. Videoconference solutions were not the next big thing. Yes, but they are on their way to $1bn after IPO this year.” Access to capital Christine Hockley, Director of British Patient Capital believes that access to funding is also one of the main reasons that stop businesses from scaling up. She comments: “Britain has a proud tradition of being among the best places in the world for entrepreneurs and innovators to start their own business. However, once those businesses become established
many are unable to fulfil their high growth potential, due to a lack of patient capital. “They might have an innovative idea they want to prove through investment in R&D, or a new product to bring to market, but struggle to obtain the larger amounts of long-term, venture and growth capital required to scale their businesses. It often means too many high-growth potential businesses are forced to grow at a slower rate or look abroad when they want to scale-up. “With £2.5bn of funds to invest into venture and venture growth capital funds over the next decade, we’re working alongside institutional investors with the aim of attracting a further £5bn of patient capital investment, unlocking £7.5bn of finance.” Issue 12: January - February 2020
SCALING UP
Mentorship Rob Perks, who is the CEO of Inspire, agrees that access to capital is a major barrier to growth alongside access to good mentors. He comments: “In a recent survey conducted across the UK, two of the biggest barriers raised by entrepreneurs for scale-ups to break through nationally are access to capital and access to mentors with practical experience in growing businesses. “Access to appropriate finance and growth capital is often necessary to scale a business at a pace that can keep you ahead of the competition. When businesses are scaling up, it is often difficult to find funders who understand their challenges and are prepared to come on the journey with them. Often, this stunts their growth and can cause huge frustration. “Getting the right expertise, help and advice, into a business is also difficult. Where do you find successful businesspeople and entrepreneurs who are willing to devote time to helping you grow? Demand for opportunities to network with peers, to recruit non-executive directors and receive mentoring is high and increasing, particularly the ability to access them easily and locally.” Looking into the crystal ball On what the future holds for scale-up companies and what trends we can expect, Christine says: “The UK equity ecosystem has developed over the last decade and is now better able to support companies at all stages of their development. Since 2016, the UK has been ahead of the US in terms of GDP-weighted VC deal numbers, and the UK now has a similar proportion of companies receiving follow on funding at each stage as the US. “But the amount of capital received at each Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Mike Dias
Christine Hockley
funding round is larger in the US than in the UK – ranging from 1.5 times at earlier rounds to 2.4 times at the fifth funding round. This means UK companies receive less funding and so are less capitalised compared to their US counterparts. “Over the next 10 years, it is vital that more institutional capital is brought into the venture and venture growth industry to enable long-term investment in innovative companies across the UK. “While much of venture capital is still focused on areas like enterprise software and fintech, there are significant market opportunities in areas that tackle global issues like efficient energy, sustainable consumption and health and social care. Not only are there social positives from investing in these types of companies, there are also potentially very large commercial returns for investors.” Exporting for growth Rob Perks says that exporting is a trend that is also taking hold amongst scale-up companies. He comments: “For the first time, all regions of the UK are experiencing a growth rate of greater than one additional scale-up per
Rob Perks
100,000 of population, according to the most current data (2017). There are now 36,510 scale-ups – a rise of 34% on the previous year. “We are entering a time of economic challenge and unpredictability. This is underlined by the overwhelming perception among scale-up leaders that Brexit will have a negative impact on their businesses. “Scale-up companies are hungry to export and to collaborate with government and large corporates, but 80% tell us that market access – particularly in the UK – is a major issue and rates of collaboration are low. “The barriers are time-consuming and complex procurement processes, as well as a lack of identifiable opportunities. We need to pull down these barriers. “Access to talent and skills remains another stubborn barrier to continued growth. It is the factor cited by the greatest number of scale-up leaders when asked to name their top three barriers. Almost seven in ten scale-up leaders say it is important to bring in talent from the EU.” Cont. 25
REPORT BUSINESS LEADER COLUMNIST
GETTING INVESTOR READY John Stapleton is an entrepreneur, angel investor, business leader and speaker with over 30 years’ experience in pioneering new FMCG categories and growing successful consumerled businesses in the UK and USA.
The business perspective So what is it like to run a scale-up business and what are the main challenges? Pat Lynes is the CEO and founder of Sullivan & Stanley. He comments: “In the last year, Sullivan & Stanley has transitioned from a start-up into a scale-up, so I’ve experienced first-hand just how hard it is to cross the desert. One of the biggest barriers I’ve noticed is access to talent - you need A players to grow. This is because people issues hold scale-ups back. While the right people, with the right mindset, drive the organisation forward, as you trust them to make the best decisions. “I’ve also seen personally, and through the leaders and associates I work with, how the wrong leadership team can be a barrier in itself. As a leader, you can’t do everything - who and what may have worked before, may no longer have a place in this new phase. Too many businesses find it hard to let go. However, bringing in an executive team, with different strengths to navigate this growth is key.
"TOO MANY BUSINESSES FIND IT HARD TO LET GO. HOWEVER, BRINGING IN AN EXECUTIVE TEAM, WITH DIFFERENT STRENGTHS TO NAVIGATE THIS GROWTH IS KEY."
“An ongoing journey up and down the change curve. This is because the culture and essence of the original business changes. The desert is a dry, horrible place between 15 and 50 Pat Lynes people. Businesses have the legacy people, who want to try to keep the startup vibe, but with layers of governance and new hires bringing, there is always going to be a shift. The old ways of working are no longer fit for purpose, so change has to be continuous. However, if businesses hold true to their vision, including people honestly and openly on the ride, they’ll come out the other side.” 26
One area I’m often asked for help is, 'How do I get my business investor-ready'? Many start-up entrepreneurs are keen to get in shape to face this significant step with confidence (and also secure a strong valuation). Others ask: “Why do I even need investment? I can build my business on my own.” That can be true, but it absolutely depends on your growth ambition. In the FMCG world (where there’s been a recent explosion in start-up brands), you really need to invest ahead of the curve to build brand awareness and attract consumers. If your product is good enough, they’ll buy it again. Almost always, you need external investment because your brandbuilding will result in a loss-making venture over the initial years. So long as you can demonstrate a progression to break-even within a sensible timeframe, based on reasonable assumptions, you should be able to find investors to back you. The key is to build alignment between you and your investors. To do that you need a strong business plan and a shared exit plan. But it’s not so much about a smart document – rather it’s more about the work, research and judgement used to generate the plan. This is what investors are really interested in; that you have considered all angles, figured out the likely challenges and setbacks and come up with a well-considered plan to implement your business vision. Once you’ve raised the cash you’ll want to spend it wisely and not throw it at numerous initiatives (many won’t work and those that do will often be confused with those that don’t). That means you don’t just need to attract money, but you need ‘smart money’. You will need advice to spend the investment appropriately. This will also be something investors will want to see evidence of (unless they are bringing the smarts themselves). Getting investor-ready means you have figured out most key issues relating to product; commercials; brand; manufacturing; marketing; your team… and much more besides. Ultimately, if you have these issues covered and can demonstrate ambition, your business is scaleable and you really understand your target market, then you stand a good chance of convincing investors to back you (and achieve a healthy valuation to boot). Meeting entrepreneurs who have figured this out is always a joy. They are prepared, realistic and understand their plan. Valuing start-ups is notoriously difficult and can be quite subjective. The benefit a good plan brings, is the confidence that this team might just be capable of delivering it! Issue 12: January - February 2020
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INTERVIEW
NICK GOODE
A COMPANY WITH INCREDIBLE STRENGTH, BREADTH AND DEPTH OF PRODUCT PORTFOLIO those types of customers has complex and bespoke needs, so you need a solution that can adapt quickly and extremely flexibly to suit. What we see over and over again is the ability for partners to extend and customise the applications in the way that customers need. That’s extremely powerful.
Nick Goode, EVP
N
ick Goode is EVP of Sage X3, a global market leader in cloud-based business solutions. He lives in the UK, and works with Sage customers around the world to drive the business forward. CAN YOU RUN US THROUGH YOUR CAREER HISTORY? I’ve been at Sage just shy of 10 years, but have been in the software industry for 25 years. Over the years I’ve held different roles at Sage; I led the Sage business cloud accounting product, I’ve led product management, also product marketing worldwide, and I was recently leader of marketing for the UK, Sage’s home region. Since the beginning of this fiscal year I’ve been the global leader of Sage X3, which is Sage’s medium segment financial and ERP solutions. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT SAGE X3? One of the key strengths of Sage X3 is its flexibility; we are very strong in what we call product-centric organisations. Companies that make, build, ship, service products – be that in food and beverage, hard goods, chemicals, just as some examples – each of 28
WHEN YOU MOVED INTO YOUR CURRENT ROLE, WHAT WAS THE BRIEF? We have a global operation with Sage X3; through partners we have deployment in over 80 countries. We have been on a strong growth trajectory, so moving the business to a recurring revenue model is a priority. That’s a big part of the brief, alongside continuous innovation in the technology itself and driving cloud adoption of the solutions. RECURRING REVENUE SAW BIG GROWTH LAST YEAR. IS THAT A BIG FOCUS? Very much so. In plain terms, this is moving away from the old school perpetual licence, big payment up front and then renewal, to a monthly subscription. This is what our investors are looking for, and what our customers are looking for, and something we’ve adopted very successfully across the business.
"WHAT WE SEE OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS THE ABILITY FOR PARTNERS TO EXTEND AND CUSTOMISE THE APPLICATIONS IN THE WAY THAT CUSTOMERS NEED. THAT’S EXTREMELY POWERFUL."
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU’VE FACED AT SAGE? Sage is a company with incredible strength, breadth and depth of product portfolio, and we trade in many, many countries through hundreds of partners as well as direct sales force. Moving a company of that size,
from what used to be a perpetual desktop business to a cloud subscription business, is a journey that we’re on, and it’s going really well – all the metrics are going in the right direction. There are few companies who have made that transition. YOU MENTIONED THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS INNOVATION. HOW DOES SAGE STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE? We’ve made a strategic, significant investment in technology over the past few years and that will continue. Steve Hare, our CEO, announced a £60m investment in R&D and we’re really spending that extremely wisely. SAGE DOES A LOT OF PHILANTHROPIC WORK. HOW IMPORTANT IS THAT TO THE COMPANY? The Sage Foundation was built on the notion that Sage is a company with very strong ethical standards. Many of our customers are small businesses and really what we consider to be the heroes of the economy, and we wanted to find a way to give back to communities in which we work in a way which is not just giving money, but giving time and expertise. This has really snowballed in a positive way into an absolute force for good. People say time and time again that Sage Foundation is one of the key reasons they love working at Sage. It is a win-win, because it helps a lot of people, but also helps us attract and retain talent. It’s a real differentiator. WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS GOING FORWARD? Sage’s ambition is to become a great SaaS company; that’s our stated aim and we’re very much on that journey. With Sage X3… full subscription, high revenue growth, high adoption of the latest technology, working closely with our partners, and being a fully modern platform able to integrate fully with anything our customers need… I think if we can achieve all of that we’ll be in a good place. Issue 12: January - February 2020
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN. RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST DETAIL. Platinum Sage X3 Partner Northgate House, Bath 0122 561 4470 www.synergerp.com
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BLM FAST TRACK
LEADING THE
‘GINAISSANCE’ The Warner’s story
I
n each edition of Business Leader Magazine, we profile a UK business experiencing exponential growth in a feature called BLM FastTracks. This time, we looked into Warner’s, one of the UK’s leading gin brands.
Over the past decade in the UK, there has been a resurgence in the popularity of gin, with the market in the UK now worth in excess of £3bn a year. In the past five years alone, the number of distilleries has risen from 140 to over 500, sales have doubled, and over 50% of spirit sales can be attributed to gin. Year-on-year sales have increased by 41%, and Brits now buy 76 million bottles a year. But, who is leading this gin revolution? And will the UK remain in high spirits over its favourite tipple? Leading a movement Founded in 2012 and led by husband-and-wife team Tom Warner and Tina Warner-Keogh, Warner’s has risen to become the UK’s leading ‘superpremium’ flavoured gin brand. It currently owns 23.5% of the UK's superpremium gin market.
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The company recently reported annual revenues of £10.9m, a figure that is the end result of a 142.58% increase in annual sales over the past three years. It is also now selling to 17 international markets in five different continents. The farm-born company creates its nine gins on-site in a 200-year-old barn on Falls Farm in Harrington, Northamptonshire, which has been in the family for generations and is still operational as a cattle farm run by Tom’s father. The Warner’s team has risen to 50 people – double the number of employees compared to two years ago. So, how has Warner’s risen to prominence in this crowded market?
Tom explains: “When we started out, the gin category wasn’t what it is today; it wasn’t as trendy with consumers, so it wasn’t crowded. We’ve benefitted from an early starter advantage and were hungry from the outset. We have always been hard-working and innovative, with a clear vision and goal of creating something extraordinary and building a social, emotional connection. “As we didn’t have the big budgets or contacts to begin with, we got inventive – realising from the get-go that our strengths came from authenticity and innovation, particularly with flavour. You can trace our flavoured gins back to my mother. She had picked elderflower from the farm hedgerows, so we added it to the gin as we enjoyed it with family. This then inspired our elderflower gin, the first modern day flavoured gin and the first of that flavour at the time.” He continues: “Despite being the UK’s largest independent gin brand, we are still very much a nimble, small, farmbased craft distillery: we’re able to try new things and stay ahead of the curve.”
"WHEN WE STARTED OUT, THE GIN CATEGORY WASN’T WHAT IT IS TODAY; IT WASN’T AS TRENDY WITH CONSUMERS, SO IT WASN’T CROWDED. WE’VE BENEFITTED FROM AN EARLY STARTER ADVANTAGE AND WERE HUNGRY FROM THE OUTSET." Tom Warner
Issue 12: January - February 2020
WARNERS GIN
Innovating an industry That ability to be able to manoeuvre in such a fast-moving industry has been primarily driven by its family values and the desire to constantly evolve its products. Warner said: “We’ve always been inspired by nature’s bounty and what we could source from and grow on the farm. My background is in produce. I worked in the fruit and coffee businesses for ten years, whereas Tina assisted her family to diversify the potato farm in Ireland to a crisp brand. We married our experience together, with the ambition to diversify the family cattle farm here in Harrington. As a result, we’ve continued to innovate and evolve, looking to the land for natural ingredients and flavour inspiration.” The mix of family-driven innovation and being an early market leader has led to Warner’s being able to rise above the competition to dominate the market. This has largely been down to the company introducing many industry ‘firsts’. Tom explains: “We’ve been doing a lot of firsts, and if anything, have become more authentic and farm-grown as we’ve matured, and solidified what we stand for. This is probably due to being more selfcritical as time goes on, but also thinking about what truly matters – which is where biodiversity and our botanical gardens come in.” Authenticity and innovation come hand-inhand for market leaders, and Warner’s is no exception. The brand is legally confirmed as inventors of rhubarb gin and for creating the modern ‘pink gin’ craze, which continues to grow. Currently 68.6% of the industry’s gin sales growth is accounted for by pink gin.
Founders Tom Warner & Tina Warner-Keogh
"DESPITE BEING THE UK’S LARGEST INDEPENDENT GIN BRAND, WE ARE STILL VERY MUCH A NIMBLE, SMALL, FARM-BASED CRAFT DISTILLERY: WE’RE ABLE TO TRY NEW THINGS AND STAY AHEAD OF THE CURVE." Falls Farm, Harrington
Tom continued: “We triggered the current pink gin craze when the company launched the world’s first all-encompassing ‘pink gin’ with Warner’s Rhubarb Gin in 2014. "The soft pink colour of the liquid is because a third of every bottle is pure rhubarb juice, with no synthetics, and nothing artificial – it’s as nature intended. This has subsequently led to a plethora of copycat products – including rhubarbinspired drinks across the board.”
Cont. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
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BLM FAST TRACK "We’ve seen firsthand the positive consumer response to authenticity and a brand story they connect with. We’ve found that audiences want to keep things real and choose brands that are honest and doing something for the planet, which is what we’re all about.” Where next for the ‘ginaissance’? The past ten years have seen gin become the nation’s go-to alcoholic drink, with Warner’s leading the way – however, where will the industry go next?
Falls Farm, Harrington
Exponential growth It is clear to see that Warner’s has not only risen to become market leaders, but is very well aware that in such a competitive and growing market, the need to constantly improve is crucial to achieving major growth. But, how did Tom and his wife achieve this and maintain the company’s success? He explains: “The growth of the gin industry has been stratospheric. In the first five years we saw 30% compound growth – which is huge. The category has since tripled and has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our growth has predominantly been down to passion, innovation and experimenting with flavour.
Tom comments: “There’s a lot of talk around non-alcoholic beverages, as well as ready-to-drink cans and a focus on packaging becoming more recycled and sustainable.
“For us at Warner’s, as well as keeping an eye on these trends, we’re championing natural ingredients and biodiversity. "Beginning as a farm diversification project, Warner’s gin is crafted with water drawn from our own spring on Falls Farm, where we grow many of our own botanicals and harvest honey from 20 beehives. Our goal is to become as self-sufficient in as many botanicals as possible.” The company plans on leveraging this to continue its growth by doubling the size of its operations over the next three years through an increase in UK distribution, increasing its e-commerce offerings and international expansion. Tom concludes: “Our immediate future is all about international expansion. We have grown export from seven to 17 markets across five continents. We have just gone live in Australia in their largest off-trade retailer and are launching into the US next year. "We’d love to become one of the most loved drinks brands in the world, connecting people to what’s real and truly matters with authentic, British farm-grown gin.”
"For consumers, there’s an element of gin becoming social currency. From a business perspective, there’s an opportunity: consumers are wanting to connect with authentic brands and are happy to go for a premium option if the quality is there.
"FOR CONSUMERS, THERE’S AN ELEMENT OF GIN BECOMING SOCIAL CURRENCY. FROM A BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE, THERE’S AN OPPORTUNITY: CONSUMERS ARE WANTING TO CONNECT WITH AUTHENTIC BRANDS AND ARE HAPPY TO GO FOR A PREMIUM OPTION IF THE QUALITY IS THERE."
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Issue 12: January - February 2020
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INTERVIEW
"BLOOD, SWEAT AND BEERS"
B
usiness Leader recently sat down with Chris Davies, Managing Director of multi-award winning brewery, Ascot Brewing Company, to talk about the company’s incredible decade, its future plans, and the company’s new Tap Room – a new 8,500 sq ft event space and brewery that is open as a new premium business venue for the South East. CAN YOU GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY? Ascot Brewing Company is a producer of exciting, award-winning real ales and experimental, hop forward craft beers. By brewing with unbridled passion and unbounded enthusiasm, our mission is to deliver supreme customer satisfaction through remarkable beverages and memorable brewery experiences. We have been brewing in Camberley, Surrey for more than ten years and recently moved the brewery to an 8,500 sq ft unit. Our 20 tap, elevated tap room is located on a 2,500 sq ft mezzanine floor where you can see all the brewing action unfold whilst drinking delicious tasting beer. WHAT SEPARATES ASCOT BREWING FROM THE COMPETITION? A successful brewery isn’t just about making great beer – it needs great people. That’s why we recruited an elite brewer, John Willatts, a former CAMRA Champion Brewer of Britain (2016). Since he’s joined the team, he’s successfully refined the original 34
Ascot recipes and developed new batches to elevate the entire Ascot stable. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE GROWTH OF THE COMPANY? The recent and very promising growth of the brewery has been down to blood, sweat and beers. Doubling revenues each of the last two years has been achieved by concentrating on our strengths – brewing great tasting beers and strengthening our loyal customer base through pubs, bars, clubs and our original in-house Tap Room, The Black Horse. CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE COMPANY’S NEW TAP ROOM? When looking to relocate the brewery we wrote up a wish list. Over 7,500 sq ft, plenty of head room, easily accessible with multiple transport links. Amazingly just half a mile away we found 4 Lawrence Way. And even more remarkable was the fact the previous business had built a 2,500 sq ft mezzanine floor. After persuading the landlord to let us keep the mezzanine floor, we embarked on building what we hoped would be a truly immersive beer drinking experience. A Tap Room high up in the brewery, where you can stand against the balustrade and see all the brewing processes take place whilst you taste all the amazing flavours and aromas that culminate in a truly elevated feeling. WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS? We wouldn’t be where we are without our very supportive 700+ shareholders. Ascot
Brewing Company has run two successful crowdfunding campaigns. In our first raise we overfunded by 35% and then the Ascot 2 raise by 23%. Raising over £500,000 in total we have used the money wisely to get where we are today. In our last raise we said we would double our revenue, move the brewery and buy new larger brewing equipment. We achieved all three and more than that we successfully launched our craft beer brand, Disruption is Brewing, and built ‘probably’ the largest brewery tap room in the South East. We plan more of the same and now with three revenue streams (Ascot Brewing, Disruption is Brewing® and the Tap Room) in place we can really start galloping to even greater success. We are actively developing our latest crowdfunding pitch (Ascot 3) and will use Crowdcube once more. We will use the money to grow our sales and marketing team, promote the Tap Room and push forward into the export market. Finally, we will maximise the assets we have using the uniqueness of our Tap Room to attract corporate events by giving clients something different by way of a meeting experience. Most companies I have worked for use the same old hotel groups, reception halls and bland buildings with no heart or rememberability. With the Ascot Brewing Tap Room as an option, no longer can management be accused of not being able to organise a p*ss up in a brewery!
Issue 12: January - February 2020
Considered Longleat as a corporate venue?
• Conferences, parties, dinners, exhibitions, fun days, and so much more • 12 – 10,000 delegates
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GROWTH FUTURE OF THE SOUTH WEST SPONSORED BY BRISTOL AIRPORT CONNECTING SOUTH WEST BUSINESSES WITH THE WORLD T: 0371 334 4444 | E: ENQUIRIES@BRISTOLAIRPORT.COM | WWW.BRISTOLAIRPORT.CO.UK
What does the future hold for the South West?
F
or each edition of Business Leader Magazine, we look at the future of a key region in the UK. For this edition we teamed up with Bristol Airport to provide analysis around the future of the South West.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN BARRIERS TO GROWTH BUSINESSES IN THE SOUTH WEST? AND WHAT ARE THE POSITIVES TO BEING BASED IN THE REGION AND UK? Dave Crew: "Weston College has grown substantially in past ten years; from a £9m to £60m turnover. Regarding the challenges we have faced it always comes back to recruiting and retaining good people, not only for us but also for the 2,000 partner businesses that we work with.
cautious. But despite that there has been many positive developments and signs that people are making significant decisions. Visually you can see it in the centre of Bristol, as there is a plethora of cranes, which is an indicator of activity." Andrew Scott: "We look at the challenges from a regional, national and international perspective. Regionally, our challenge is around talent acquisition, as our business is heavily reliant on technology and specialist skills. Our office is in Westonsuper-Mare, so that does bring challenges around accessing the skills we require. "Another challenge is around office space, as we are constantly hitting a point where we’re outgrowing our premises. Nationally, our challenges lie around operations and transport links across the UK can be a challenge. Internationally, we’re looking to expand to other territories, so political instability can play its part."
"There isn’t anybody around the table that hasn’t had to think about how they find talent. Interestingly, this period of uncertainty we’re going through has prompted many businesses to look inwardly at their workforces and culture, and ask the question – is it fit for the future?"
Nick Taplin: "As a country we’re loved all over the world, but the impact of Brexit is worldwide, and people are looking at us and saying that they consider us to be dynamic, but are surprised by how poorly we have dealt with the referendum decision to leave the European Union (EU). Hopefully, now we have a majority government, this will happen.
James Durie: "The pretty turbulent environment that we have had in the last few years has held back investment and made businesses and investors more
"Fundamentally though, people love the products we produce and buy into ‘Brand Britain’ and we do things a lot faster in the UK than many other countries do.
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"Regionally our business is doing very well, and we’ve also expanded internationally into Dubai and the Middle East." John Turner: "In the UK we can tell stories about our myths, legends and history and from a tourism perspective it’s something we’re capitalising on as a region. "Visit Britain is reporting a 40% decline in people coming to the UK on holiday from Europe, but from a China and international perspective demand from tour operators wanting to find out about the region and the UK is growing. In the South West, Bath is the honeypot, but they are now pulling down into rest of the county." Rebecca Bozeat-Manzi: "There is a huge question mark around Brexit that is affecting hospitality and that won’t go away until Brexit goes away – whatever the decision. England is always going to be a desirable place to come to though. "From a groups and tours perspective, our Asian market is growing, but it is very rates driven and prices are being pushed down Issue 12: January - February 2020
DEBATE FUTURE OF THE SOUTH WEST SPONSORED BY BRISTOL AIRPORT CONNECTING SOUTH WEST BUSINESSES WITH THE WORLD T: 0371 334 4444 | E: ENQUIRIES@BRISTOLAIRPORT.COM | WWW.BRISTOLAIRPORT.CO.UK
The Panel James Durie – Business West Mandy Summers – Alliance Homes Group Martin Boddy – UWE Simon Earles – Bristol Airport Chris Walford – Albert Goodman Vanessa Moon – Moon Executive Search John Turner – Visit Somerset Andrew Scott – The Ascot Group Dave Lees – Bristol Airport Ben Sanders – Holiday Inn Bristol Rebecca Bozeat-Manzi – Holiday Inn Bristol Nick Taplin – Black and White Hospitality John Chaplin – Bristol Port Dave Crew – Weston College Toni Riddiford – Stride Treglown/ Women in Property (WIP) Jenny Hutchinson – Ashton Gate/Bristol Sport Artists impression of the proposed Bristol Airport forecourt and footbridge
as competition grows and everybody wants a slice of the pie. "Bristol is also now becoming a destination. You could argue that it wasn’t before and didn’t have an identity like Manchester and Liverpool." IT’S INTERESTING YOU MENTION THAT BRISTOL HAS CREATED AN IDENTITY. SPORT CAN PLAY A ROLE IN THAT. CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR PLANS AT ASHTON GATE? Jenny Hutchinson: "Four years ago, Ashton Gate underwent major refurb which allowed us to roll out a hugely successful concert series, in which we welcomed 120k people through the gates. The economic impact of this has been significant. "The next phase of development is underway and hopefully by 2022/23 we will have a convention centre with a capacity of Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
four or five thousand. This will allow us to accommodate big international events and compete with Manchester and Liverpool in this space."
"THERE IS A HUGE QUESTION MARK AROUND BREXIT THAT IS AFFECTING HOSPITALITY AND THAT WON’T GO AWAY UNTIL BREXIT GOES AWAY – WHATEVER THE DECISION. ENGLAND IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE A DESIRABLE PLACE TO COME TO THOUGH." Rebecca Bozeat-Manzi
Rebecca Hacker – Soap Creative
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY ARE THE MAIN BARRIERS TO GROWTH BUSINESSES IN THE REGION FACE? AND WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE OPPORTUNITIES? John Chaplin: "At Bristol Port, we have been closely involved with government since Brexit became announced and ready to advantage of the opportunities this will bring. Interestingly, Brexit has highlighted how important ports are to the UK regions. "There are major opportunities for growth – the largest export of grain that we’ve ever seen came through Bristol to Saudi Arabia for example. "We have a huge export market for materials like this and cars, for example. We employ 550 but across dock estate there are 10k and 20k people across the UK are dependent on the port for their living." Cont. 37
GROWTH FUTURE OF THE SOUTH WEST SPONSORED BY BRISTOL AIRPORT CONNECTING SOUTH WEST BUSINESSES WITH THE WORLD T: 0371 334 4444 | E: ENQUIRIES@BRISTOLAIRPORT.COM | WWW.BRISTOLAIRPORT.CO.UK Vanessa Moon: "We’re 20 years old this year and one thing that has stood out to us is how much the importance of values and culture has really come through for businesses. Organisations really need to think about their image.
Martin Boddy: "The main challenge we face is making sure we’re connecting with business needs – not just in the region but for the whole of the UK.
"Interestingly, we’re also seeing companies coming to the region to set up offices post-Brexit from outside of the UK. The two most recent companies operate in the manufacturing and financial services sectors.
"We haven’t grown in terms of student numbers in the last year but this mirrors the country as a whole and other universities."
"We also need to continue to champion our links with China, and in 2020 we’re leading a delegation to Guangzhou to support this effort." Mandy Summers: "I’m coming from a different perspective – looking at things from the people side. There is a misrepresentation when we look at areas like Weston-super-Mare. We have got relatively low unemployment, but the problem we have is that we have low-skilled jobs and zero-hour contracts. There is a mismatch between the people that live in North Somerset and the opportunities that are available. How do we bring our customers closer to the labour market?"
"We have around 8,000 students every year that graduate and 97% of them get jobs in the region, but we need to continue working with industry to ensure these students have the required skills.
Chris Walford: "The challenges we’re facing as a business and typically our customers too are predominantly around finding the talent and office space needed to grow. We have excellent transport infrastructure here in the South West, but it’s far too challenging to find suitable office space for expanding companies. "Also, in Weston-super-Mare, every morning you drive in you see a skills migration heading out of the town and this isn’t good for work/life balance and it’s not good for the environment."
HOW DO WE SOLVE THIS ISSUE AROUND SPACE? James Durie: "There is a lack of less expensive space for businesses looking to scale-up and move to bigger premises. "We’re in discussions with a raft of businesses that are telling us this. We need to make sure the public and private sector is working in tandem to try and solve this issue." CAN YOU TELL READERS ABOUT THE PLANS FOR THE AIRPORT AND ITS EXPANSION? Dave Lees: "I have been impressed by growth aspirations from business leaders in the region, and our vision for the airport is to service the needs of the people. If you look around the world regions and sub regions that are successful are reliant onair connectivity. "We’re absolutely committed to that and we see air travel as a fundamental force for good to support business, education and inbound tourism and the broader socioeconomic benefits you get from flying. "The biggest challenge we have looking forward is our level of capacity, as we are currently at 90% of planned capacity. We want to go beyond our current cap of ten million passengers, but we want to do that in a phased manner. "The first phase is to take us to 12 million. So many people currently use the airport in the London region which exacerbates the issue and has a carbon impact. The expansion will help to offset this."
"WE’RE ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED TO THAT AND WE SEE AIR TRAVEL AS A FUNDAMENTAL FORCE FOR GOOD TO SUPPORT BUSINESS, EDUCATION AND INBOUND TOURISM AND THE BROADER SOCIO-ECONOMIC BENEFITS YOU GET FROM FLYING." Artists impression of the proposed Bristol Arena
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Dave Lees
Issue 12: January - February 2020
DEBATE FUTURE OF THE SOUTH WEST SPONSORED BY BRISTOL AIRPORT CONNECTING SOUTH WEST BUSINESSES WITH THE WORLD T: 0371 334 4444 | E: ENQUIRIES@BRISTOLAIRPORT.COM | WWW.BRISTOLAIRPORT.CO.UK HOW ARE YOU DEALING WITH THE PRESSURE ON THE AVIATION INDUSTRY TO REDUCE EMISSIONS? Dave Lees: "Aviation is targeted as people are asking - do we really need to travel by air? "It seems to be an easy target and I can assure you that aviation is absolutely focused in this space and using technology to improve efficiency and decrease our carbon footprint. "For example, we’re committed to being carbon neutral by 2025 and we’re doing this by increasing our use of solar, and from January and will be carbon offsetting all the journeys from the airport. "easyJet is the first airline in the world to be carbon offsetting all the journeys by their aircraft at a cost to them of £25m per annum. People want to travel, but they want to have a cleaner conscience and the aviation industry is laser-focused on delivering this." WHAT WOULD BE THE IMPACT TO NOT DELIVERING THE AIRPORT’S EXPANSION PLANS? Dave Lees: "If growth beyond the current cap is not possible, it would ultimately degrade the gateway status of the airport and this would have a negative impact on the region by degrading its competitiveness. People would have to continue to travel to and from London for many journeys as we would not be able to reverse this trend. "There is significant jeopardy to doing that as it would hurt the growth of the region. 4k people are employed by the airport and you also need to consider the broader 20k that are employed in the supply chains." Simon Earles: "There is a naïve view that the airport can happily just stop at ten million passengers per year and if you spoke to our airlines, their interest is in growth. If we have a cap, some Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
"WE HAVE EXCELLENT TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE HERE IN THE SOUTH WEST BUT IT’S FAR TOO CHALLENGING TO FIND SUITABLE OFFICE SPACE FOR EXPANDING COMPANIES." Chris Walford
Panel in the new Bristol Airport Administration Building
of the business we currently have will be taken elsewhere.
frustrated by our capacity limit they will look elsewhere."
"We want to tell a positive story about the growth and the benefits the airport expansion will have. Our purpose is to help the region realise its full potential and there will be dire implications to capping the ongoing growth of the business. The demand is there, and the population is growing.
James Durie: "Flying is often put up there as a worst evil and a tall poppy that people are looking to cut down, but when you look at the carbon emissions it’s a large chunk, but all the investment from aerospace and companies like Airbus and GKN are going in to reduce this and we’re moving into hybrid and electric aircraft.
"Airlines also want to take up capacity at Bristol airport as they see it as a growing region. We have higher-than-average wage levels and fantastic talent pool here." WHAT WILL 12 MILLION PASSENGERS LOOK LIKE AS AN OFFER? Dave Lee: "Seven million passengers currently go to London and Birmingham, but why do people go to London to fly? A small number may go for brand reasons, but the main issue is around flight frequency and destinations. Our key aspiration is to increase flight frequency and add in some new destinations. "We want to add destinations such as New York and Dubai. The question is - do you want to invest for the future? Airlines don’t just want to put in one flight per day, they want to put in multiple, so if that’s
"There is a need for that narrative to be talked about. Business needs to be the solution and not the problem. Flying is just seen as something which is bad and should be reduced, but that’s not necessarily the case when you look at the future." Dave Lees: "The technology improvements being made by aviation are incredible and many of the airlines are becoming more efficient. Having said that though, achieving electric aircraft does have some significant challenges, because getting 70,000 tonnes at 30k feet needs a huge amount of power. "The best brains are working on this, but it will be a phase in programme. I expect us to be fully electric by 2030 for short haul, but long haul is much further away because it’s hard to sustain an aircraft in the air for that long." 39
GROWTH
America Made Easy NEWABLE /
The majority of UK SMEs want to expand overseas – but many lack the in-house knowhow. SMEs are currently considering establishing their businesses overseas as a way to drive growth. The major concern was that many lack the in-house know how to make this become a reality.
Chris Manson, Chief Executive
The prevailing news narrative in 2019 was all about a UK economy being in a state of frozen uncertainty. Newable works with over 20,000 companies each year, and at a firm level, we did not think that the news was telling the whole story. In the world of Newable Private Investing, we continue to see new cohorts of ambitious, emerging businesses. In the world of America Made Easy, our events have been sold out, full of companies wishing to learn about how to establish their business in the world’s largest economy. In the world of the Department for International Trade, our International Trade Advisers continue to support companies in London and the South East looking to export, and our Going Global events have seen incredible interest from businesses. This was the inspiration behind Newable’s inaugural Overseas Expansion Barometer which surveyed over 300 companies. A key finding was that nearly six in ten UK
40
In terms of markets, almost one-third (27%) of respondents selected the US as their preferred market destination. This was perhaps unsurprising given that the US is the world’s largest economy and the UK’s single largest trading partner. The US was significantly ahead of France (6%), China (4%), Australia and New Zealand (2%), and India (1%). Despite 58% stating they are open to launching overseas, 41% of respondents admit to a general lack of confidence in how to go about it. An overwhelming 68% expressed unfamiliarity with the regulatory risks associated with overseas expansion for example. General enthusiasm to expand was tempered by a number of concerns. Brexit remains the prevailing fear according to 22%. Unknown costs associated with establishing a business overseas was the second biggest worry for 21% of respondents. Other topics worrying SMEs included regulation (15%), risk of failure (10%), lack of in-house expertise (8%) with economic uncertainty, management time and commitment, access to finance, and recruitment challenges also featuring. Legal advice was overwhelmingly identified as the most useful form of advice when setting up overseas, with 46% selecting it as its first choice. Market and finance advice were identified by 19% and 16% of respondents respectively, followed by
industry advice, employment advice and other. Importantly, SMEs recognise that help is at hand: 45% stated that Government organisations (Gov UK or the Department for International Trade – DiT) represented the best form of advice. Chris Manson, Chief Executive of Newable, comments: “With an important Brexit milestone now approaching, attention will turn to how UK companies are placed to expand their business overseas. Our survey shows that many SMEs harbour the ambition and many have identified the US as the land of opportunity. "Equally, many SMEs do see it as a ‘leap into the unknown’. The good news for SMEs is that help is out there. Newable, for example, is proud to support the excellent work that government organisations, namely the DIT, are doing. America Made Easy is a service that, precisely, is designed to de-risk overseas expansion for SMEs." 303 SME professionals took part in the inaugural edition of Newable’s Overseas Expansion Barometer. 74% of respondents were senior figures at their organisations which is defined as director or above. The barometer was produced by Newable, the leading provider of space, money and advice to businesses working at the heart of the economy. The Barometer temperature checks attitudes towards key issues surrounding overseas expansion including geography, regulation, finance, management, legal factors, recruitment and more.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
EXPORT SURVEY
DO YOU HAVE A CLEAR IDEA ON WHICH COUNTRY YOU’D LIKE TO TARGET FOR EXPANSION?
United States - 27.06%
DO YOU CONSIDER ESTABLISHING YOUR BUSINESS OVERSEAS AS A WAY TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS?
Sample Size: 303 SME professionals. 74% defined as director or above.
No - 41.91%
France - 5.94%
Yes - 58.90%
Other - 14.52%
No Clear Idea - 45.54% China - 3.63% Australia/NZ - 2.31% India - 0.99%
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST FEAR WHEN IT COMES TO EXPANDING YOUR BUSINESS BEYOND THE UK?
IN THE PERIOD SINCE THE BREXIT REFERENDUM HAVE YOU BECOME MORE OR LESS LIKELY TO EXPAND OVERSEAS?
Recruitment - 1.32% Access to advice - 2.31%
Less likely
58.28%
Access to finance - 5.61%
More likely
42.38% ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE REGULATORY RISKS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH OVERSEAS EXPANSION?
No - 68.23% Yes - 32.34% Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Management time and commitment - 7.26% Economic uncertainty - 7.59% Lack of in-house expertise - 7.92% Risk of failure - 9.90% Regulation - 15.18% Unknown costs - 20.79% Brexit - 22.11%
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HOW TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS IN
M A NIA
REPORT
appr
BU
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oved NE
S S T RIP
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ROMANIA
F
or our latest business trip feature, where we look at the UK’s most interesting export markets, Business Leader gives you an indepth look into everything you need to know about doing business in the country of Romania.
Since joining the European Union (EU) in 2007, Romania has steadily shrugged off its reputation as one of Europe’s poorest economies and export nations. In recent years especially, the country has seen impressive year-on-year growth in GDP value as well as an increased number of international trade deals. The country’s economic growth has been one of the highest in Europe with an average of 3% each year between 2010 and 2018. The result of this has made Romania the world’s 40th largest economy, 41st largest export nation (valued at £53.8bn), and 39th import nation (valued at £62.1bn) – a far cry from its time in the early 1990s following the collapse of the USSR. With a population just shy of 20 million (seventh most populous in the EU), and being positioned at a strategic crossroads between Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the county has seen an influx of more than 5,500 UK companies having an 42
operation in the country. So, is now the time to expand your operations into this evergrowing European country? What makes it an attractive location for British companies? In recent years, Britain has become one of Romania’s leading business partners despite the fact that it is a relatively new market. Britain is now the 10th biggest direct investor in the country, up from 14th just six years ago. This shows that there is a precedent and clear pathway for British companies to make a mark in Romania. Britain is also one of the top five countries with business activities in Romania, according to the Romanian National Statistics Institute. So, what is behind this recent surge in British interest in Romania? Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, Andrew Mitchell CMG explains: “The new government in Bucharest is committed to attracting foreign investment and to creating a more predictable and dependable business environment. The new Prime Minister and the Ministers of the Economy, Finance and Health have made it clear that a business-friendly environment is right at the top of their agenda.” This new approach to international business has created several favourable benefits for British companies looking at expanding operations into Romania.
Gabriel Sincu, General Manager for Romania at TMF Group comments: “Romania has a very attractive tax system when it comes to the personal income of expatriates. In addition, if these people are expatriates from an EU country, no social charges are due in Romania, as according to EU rules, these are paid in the home country. In terms of legislation, the Romanian labour code is harmonised with EU law meaning its provisions are balanced between the employee and the employer. In addition, for entrepreneurs wanting to start a business in Romania, it is possible to set-up a freelancing structure, or a micro-enterprise, offering both a reduced administrative burden and low tax rate.” Romania has clearly made itself open to entrepreneurial expansion from outside its borders. This, accompanied by the world’s fifth best broadband speed, has made the country an appealing location for businesses looking to expand.
"THE NEW GOVERNMENT IN BUCHAREST IS COMMITTED TO ATTRACTING FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND TO CREATING A MORE PREDICTABLE AND DEPENDABLE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT." Andrew Mitchell CMG
Issue 12: January - February 2020
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Andrew Mitchell
What sectors are most prevalent in Romania? Due to the incredible broadband capabilities, there has been a surge in tech and IT companies moving into Romania. Sincu comments: “IT is seen as ‘the star’ of the Romanian business environment, due to several factors including a skilled labour force, tax, some state aid schemes implemented by the government and the large number of multinational IT companies investing in Romania. At the same time, more and more Romanian entrepreneurs are starting their own businesses – the most famous being UiPath which was a business process automation start-up which is now a unicorn, valued at $10bn (£7.7bn).” UiPath is a global software company that develops a platform for robotic process automation. The company has more than 50 offices in 25 countries around the world. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Vargha Moayed, Chief Strategy Officer, said: “The IT sector has seen an extraordinary growth during the past 10-15 years. It has been for years the star sector of Romanian economy, contributing a large proportion to the national GDP. Witness to this growth are the large number of IT companies that have set a foothold here even since the 1990s, and, why not, our very own existence, as the first tech unicorn to emerge out of Romania.” However, the success of British companies looking to move into Romania shouldn’t be limited to tech – as the country has seen a boom in many other sectors including, agriculture, aerospace, automotive, transport infrastructure, energy, professional services and manufacturing. Sectors that align with the success Britain has had on the international stage. According to the Trade Commissioner, there
Gabriel Sincu
Vargha Moayed
are five main sectors that UK PLCs have had particular success with in Romania; infrastructure, energy, automotive, healthcare and life sciences, and defence. Does Britain has a positive relationship with Romania businesses? The respective nations have been building a strong commercial bond across a wide range of sectors in recent years, and this looks set to continue. Mitchell said: “British expertise is highly regarded and valued in Romania, and the British Embassy in Bucharest is also on hand a ready to assist businesses across all sectors. Transport links to the country have also significantly improved with direct flights daily into Cluj, Iasi, Timisoara and Brasov. Strong transport ties are a significant facilitator of trade, and this is true in the case of Romania and the UK.” Cont. 43
REPORT
INTERNATIONAL TRADE products which bring significantly more added value to the economy. “The UK customer is faced with topclass services, so they have very high standards. We see this as a great opportunity to understand what it takes to develop a world class product.” Calin Huma
Tamas Vasile
This proves that the British-Romania relationship – despite being relatively new – has had a lot of attention from businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking at expanding their businesses. Calin Huma, Head of the Romanian Honorary Consulate in Winchester, comments: “The business relationship between the UK and Romania is still in its infancy and can be greatly improved. “There is a platform called BRIDGE that helps companies in Britain and Romania cooperate on trade or investments. It is a regional approach, county-to-county, with Hampshire having a number of offices in Romania through which it promote its interests. Romanian companies have the opportunity to use the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce as an entry point into Hampshire and also use the Winchester Business Centre to open up LTD companies here in the UK.
"IT IS SEEN AS ‘THE STAR’ OF THE ROMANIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT, DUE TO SEVERAL FACTORS INCLUDING A SKILLED LABOUR FORCE, TAX, SOME STATE AID SCHEMES IMPLEMENTED BY THE GOVERNMENT AND THE LARGE NUMBER OF MULTINATIONAL IT COMPANIES INVESTING IN ROMANIA. " Gabriel Sincu
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This proves that Romania provides opportunities to gain commercial success and take advantage of Romania’s highly skilled workforce as well as the tax benefits. It also shows that Romanian market is open to British influence and market knowledge. What are the challenges? However, despite the embracing nature of Romanians towards British businesses, there are certain issues any company looking to move into the country need to be aware of.
Fortunately, due to British success in the country, there is help available for new companies to the Romanian market. “With clarity on the process of delivering Mitchell comments: “In Romania, the big bilateral negotiations after Brexit, there projects in infrastructure, energy, defence will be a lot of interest from companies and security are managed by interested in each other’s the state. As an EU member markets. Romanian "THE BUSINESS state, Romania applies EU businesses are seeing the UK rules on public procurement. market as abundant, stable RELATIONSHIP and accessible.”
BETWEEN THE UK AND ROMANIA IT IS STILL IN ITS INFANCY AND CAN BE GREATLY IMPROVED."
One Romanian company that has had success through partnerships with UK companies is Beez – a fintech firm which saves e-commerce shoppers money through its app.
"Our advice is either to sign a partnership with a Romanian company as it can overcome language barriers, or to use local knowledge and consider opening an office. It is always Calin Huma advisable to consult and even hire one of the international law firms based in Romania. The Embassy team of course are more than happy not only to set the scene for Romania, both politically and economically for any British company considering the country, but also to give you advice on how to proceed.”
Tamas Vasile, CEO of Beez, comments: “Looking at the UK market we see a more mature ecosystem, a big market with better access to capital, and well-developed business ecosystems, but with expensive resources. On the other hand, Romania is a much smaller market, with a growing economy, but still, an incipient business ecosystem which remains focused on a short economic cycle with less added value. Oriented to outsourcing raw materials and human resources to more advanced markets that incorporate resources in
Moayed echoes this: “Foreign companies doing business in Romania need to be aware that the uncertainties in the political climate have an impact on legislation – laws change frequently, and you need to rely heavily on external counsel or on outsourcing parts of your activity to companies that know how to navigate this. Laws are fast to change, but slow to be implemented – that is another factor. And there is a certain level of bureaucracy and lack of digital transformation of the public sector that are very frustrating.”
Romanian view of British businesses With major political and trade changes on the horizon in the UK, it could be argued that this consistent growth of business between the two countries could slow.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
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LEADERSHIP
TIME FOR FRESH FACES IN THE BOARDROOM?
I
t’s a system employed by the majority of European countries, but one which has so far failed to gain any legislative traction in the UK – so does the Workers On The Board model have a future in Britain? BLM investigates.
A company’s board exists for one fundamental reason – to make the business profitable for shareholders. Add employees to the boardroom makeup, and can it do that job as effectively?
The current picture Back in 2016, Theresa May pledged to make employee representation mandatory in major UK boardrooms – before backtracking just months later.
Such appointments were one of three options made available to companies in the Corporate Governance Code in 2019, along with the appointment of a workforce director or a workforce advisory panel.
There will be many who say it can; indeed, they may even argue that worker representation – and the fresh perspective it can offer – can actually improve a company’s performance.
Her earlier argument that Non-Executive Directors provide ineffective scrutiny because they largely come from within ‘the same narrow social and professional circles’ as other board members was abandoned; watered-down replacement proposals instead approved designated Non-Executive Directors as a valid alternative to the system she had previously espoused.
However, there was in effect a fourth option. Companies were given the option to ‘comply or explain’, meaning they could decide not to adhere to the code if they outlined why.
But do the statistics support this view? Would British companies back such a move? And what would be the challenges – or even barriers – to introducing a Workers On The Board model for UK industry?
Tom McPhail - Hargreave Lansdown
For those pushing to see workforce boardroom representation formalised in legislation – and there are many – the code was one of half-measures. The arguments in favour Workforce board representation is the norm across much of Europe. Some 19 out of 28 EU member states include statute to that effect, while for 13 of those countries, such rights apply in the bulk of the private sector. The particulars vary from nation to nation, but the principles remain broadly similar. The idea is that input from the shop floor keeps senior management in touch with their workforce and customers, and boosts staff morale and commitment.
Janet Williamson - TUC
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That theory seems to be borne out by data which shows countries with high levels of worker participation score highly in other areas too – including employment rates, R&D expenditure, and employee engagement. The latter, especially, is an area where the UK traditionally scores poorly, lagging well behind global economic Issue 12: January - February 2020
ON THE BOARD
powerhouses like the US, China and India. Indeed, workers’ rights in general is not a UK strength. A 2019 global study by the ITUC rates the UK behind the likes of Togo, Malawi and the Republic of Congo for its respect of employee rights. On British soil, the TUC has long campaigned for boardlevel worker representation, arguing it can go a long way to giving workers a meaningful voice in conditions, terms and working practices. Crucially, however, the body’s All Aboard report – written by Senior Policy Office Janet Williamson – says companies would benefit as much as staff from such an arrangement, not least because happy workers are proven to be productive workers.
a concrete difference to the culture and priorities of company decision-making and the lives of working people.”
The TUC is not alone in believing deeper governance review could have a meaningful impact. Andy Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England, has argued that limited diversity "CHANGE HAS TO in boardrooms can stifle START SOMEWHERE, growth both for companies and the wider economy. AND WE BELIEVE
THAT INTRODUCING WORKERS’ VOICE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF THE COMPANY WOULD BRING REAL BUSINESS BENEFITS"
It said: “Given the contribution of workers to company success, and the proven link between staff motivation and performance, measures to boost the voice of the workforce in company decision-making look like good, old-fashioned common sense and economic justice rolled into one. “Change has to start somewhere, and we believe that introducing workers’ voice at the highest level of the company would bring real business benefits and make Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Janet Williamson
He said: “If power resides in the hands of one set of stakeholders, and they are short-termist, then we might expect high distribution of profits to this cohort, at the expense of ploughing back these profits (as increased investment) or distributing them to workers (as increased real wages).
“To some extent, this matches the stylised facts on rising inequality – rising executive and shareholder compensation and faltering real wage growth. “One avenue worth considering further is corporate governance reform. A set of corporate incentives which had as its fulcrum long-term company value and which more fully reflected the interests of a wider set of stakeholders might help rebalance the scales – for example,
towards investing rather than distributing.” Workers on the board in operation A handful of UK firms are ahead of the curve on worker representation, though. Transport firm FirstGroup, for example, has blazed something of a trail by reserving a boardroom seat for an Employee Director since its inception in 1989. A spokesman told Business Leader: “In our experience, the perspectives and input of Employee Directors aids decision-making and demonstrates the company’s desire to hear from our workforce. Directors and workers alike find Employee Directors invaluable in providing a closer link between the depot and the boardroom.” FirstGroup remains the only publicly-listed UK firm to integrate workers in company governance in this way, and says it believes ‘a considerable part of its overall success is attributable to such involvement’. But is there data to prove worker board members increase the odds of success? In short, it’s difficult to draw any causal conclusion – an extensive review of the impact on company performance, conducted largely in Germany where such models are considered well-evolved, can pinpoint no direct correlation between employee-level boardroom representation and financial performance. Cont.
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FEATURE
ON THE BOARD
Nor does it guarantee transparency or ethical conduct, it seems, as the 2015 Volkswagen emissions scandal played out amid allegations of selective blindness in the boardroom from both sides of the executive/worker divide. The arguments against Quite simply, UK companies don’t want workers in their boardrooms. Research by the Chartered Governance Institute – a UK body for governance professionals with 14,000 members – reveals overwhelming opposition, with 70% of member respondents saying ‘no’ when asked whether they believed having workers on their boards would be a good idea. Confidentiality issues were cited as a major concern, along with doubts over whether workers with the right skillset could be found to make a meaningful boardroom contribution. Practicality issues were flagged too, especially for larger firms, where it would be impossible for a single voice to effectively represent thousands of staff working in a wide variety of functions, locations and pay grades. There are also likely to be times when a board faces tough decisions that could leave a worker representative unable to reconcile their responsibilities to both their colleagues and the collective good. Julian Hemming, Partner at law firm Osborne Clarke and co-chair of the firm’s employment law group, agrees that could be a challenge. He said: “All directors have duties under the Companies Act 2006 which include: to promote the success of
the company; to exercise reasonable care, skill and judgment; to avoid conflicts of interest. “Complying with these duties can sometimes involve the board in making decisions that are not always approved of by employees and can put the employee representative in conflict with the employees and fellow board members.” Rigorous selection criteria is applied to UK board appointments too – something Hemming says would be difficult to enforce when electing employee board members. He said: “In the UK, the Financial Reporting Council sets the UK Corporate Governance codes for listed companies, which requires that all appointments to the board should be subject to a rigorous procedures and should be based on merit and objective criteria and should promote ‘diversity of gender, social and ethnic backgrounds, cognitive and personal strength’. “Similar care will need to be taken to ensure a breadth of potential candidates stand for the board, to avoid the selection of the one candidate who stands and who otherwise may not fulfil the above criteria.” What next? Further government-led reform on boardroom composition seems unlikely, at least in the short term – not least after Boris Johnson stripped a workers’ rights clause from the UK’s EU Withdrawal Deal.
Julian Hemming - Osborne Clarke
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A wave of voluntary private sector employee boardroom appointments should not be expected either, after the Chartered Governance Institute's study showed 91% of
firms have no current plans to do so. However, with more and more firms waking up to the need to do more to engage and retain staff, a middle ground could emerge. Financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown is one firm with a clear policy of valuing worker input – albeit outside of the formal boardroom. Head of Policy Tom McPhail said: “The broad principle of managing a business on a collaborative basis between board and workers is a good one, with the board both taking input from employees and sharing key insights regarding its decision-making. This not only enables the board to take into consideration input from a critical group of stakeholders, it also strengthens employee buy-in to corporate strategy. “Hargreaves Lansdown has adopted the approach of a colleague forum, which draws on structured input from a broad representative sample of employees. Views are sought in a structured format, with a briefing ahead of the meetings, an anonymised report submitted to the board (so employees feel free to speak openly) and with a board response returned to the colleague forum after the board meeting. “We believe this strikes the right balance of engagement between employees and the management of the company. Ultimate accountability to stakeholders should reside with board members who have been recruited and paid to run the company."
Issue 12: January - February 2020
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INTERVIEW
CEO IN FOCUS:
LUCY FRANKLIN Lucy Franklin is CEO of Brighton-based Accordance, a company aiming to become Europe’s leading VAT provider. She talks to BLM about her ambitions and her innovative staff wellbeing initiatives.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT ACCORDANCE AND WHAT IT DOES? Accordance is an international tech-enabled compliance and consulting firm. We ease the burden that cross-border VAT creates by offering clarity from complexity. We have been established for 13 years, and I have been in the CEO position for one year. Culturally it’s a very diverse and intellectually-stimulating environment. We care about the people here, and we want them to prosper.
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CAN YOU ALSO TALK US THROUGH YOUR PATH TO THIS ROLE? I’ve been in this profession for about 20 years, essentially driving growth for sales functions in other industries. I started as a Sales and Marketing Director here about eight years ago, and moved my way into the Managing Director role, and more recently the Chief Executive Officer position. My background is around strategic growth, how to maximise people’s potential through their empowerment. I think businesses
often fall into the loophole of focusing their strategy on building a plan without their people at the heart of it. Plans don't work if people are not motivated to fulfil them.
"I STARTED AS A SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR HERE ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO, AND MOVED MY WAY INTO THE MANAGING DIRECTOR ROLE, AND MORE RECENTLY THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER POSITION." Issue 12: January - February 2020
CEO IN FOCUS
to make sure it’s still frictionless. That is the most we can hope for. It’s a case of making sure Europe is still prospering, whether we are inside the European Union (EU) or out. For me, the deal we already have – being part of the European Union – is the best we can have, and that is the deal we should be sticking to. I am absolutely a Remainer, and anything outside of that is not a good deal for me. Economies thrive because of trade. It’s that basic. If you put a blocker in the way, we’re not going to thrive to the same degree. YOU’VE DONE A LOT OF WORK AT ACCORDANCE AROUND EMPLOYEE WELLBEING, INCLUDING TRIALLING A FOUR-DAY WORKING WEEK – CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT? I think, ultimately, if you have people’s wellbeing front and centre of any business, those people will be happier and therefore more efficient. If I can make sure people have the right work/life balance, what should follow is that when they are at work they’re more engaged, they are more productive, and the result is that we grow as a business through people’s empowerment, rather than by pushing them up a hill. A four-day week is part and parcel of people’s wellbeing, and I’m really passionate about it. We’ve run two trials; we increased productivity, people are feeling happier, they’re doing more in their private life, everything you would expect, really. The next step will be a company-wide trial for a three-month period.
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING AROUND INTERNATIONAL TRADE AT THE MOMENT? We are in a challenging period as being prepared for Brexit has been difficult given the uncertainty; for us and for the businesses we help to trade confidently. In some instances businesses have stopped trading, or re-routed their supply chains. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE POST-BREXIT FUTURE MIGHT HOLD? I think all we can ask for is that we get a deal which allows us to continue trade and
Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
It’s categorically not about compressed hours. I’m looking for them to do four days for the same salary. It’s a genuine four-day week, a 30-hour week. On the whole it’s been received extremely positively, but there’s also a thought process about ‘What does that mean for me? What does that mean for my pay? What does it mean for our clients?’ There have also been concerns about whether such a progressive change could affect our professional credibility within the sector. AND WHAT’S YOUR ANSWER TO THAT? Absolutely. This is the way in which the professional world needs to be moving, and
I think most companies will do well to put in these types of initiatives for wellbeing themselves. DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOMETHING WHICH COULD WORK IN ALL INDUSTRIES, AND FOR BUSINESSES OF ALL SIZES? I think it can absolutely work, but it needs commitment, it needs thought, and it needs a change management approach. But ultimately it goes back to simple things for me; if people are happier and healthier, the natural next step is that there will be the production of better work, your sickness rates will decrease, all the research suggests your retention rates will increase, and you will be able to attract talent in a way which perhaps you were not before. There are huge amounts of benefits to businesses. It comes back to boardroom mentality, and not being afraid to step outside of the norm – I really believe this will be the norm eventually, though. HOW HAVE YOU FOUND BEING A FEMALE LEADER IN A TYPICALLY MALEDOMINATED INDUSTRY? Honestly? Hard. I think predominantly women tend to dominate support functions in finance and professional services, and those obviously are really important roles, but there are not enough women in senior positions in this industry at all. As a result of that it has been a challenge for me and, I imagine, other women. I think there’s scepticism about whether or not I’m going to be able to do as good a job as my male counterparts. That’s disappointing in 2019, really disappointing. WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS? I would like Accordance to be Europe’s leading specialist VAT services provider. I think we’re well on our way. Since I came into post in January 2018, I have put in a lot of change in terms of putting people at the heart of the business, making sure our technology offering is positive, that our service offering is at the forefront, and expanding our European footprint. For all of those reasons, I think we’ve got a really, really good shot at doing that, and I intend for that to be my legacy.
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HR WORKING WITH FURTHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS SPONSORED BY UWE BRISTOL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS 0117 965 6261 | INFOPOINT@UWE.AC.UK | WWW.UWE.AC.UK
Working with education providers
For its first HR feature of 2020, BLM looks at how education providers can work more effectively with businesses.
D
o graduates leave further education ready for work? Are company expectations too high? What can be done to enhance relations between business and education? BLM investigates. HOW CAN BUSINESSES BEST INTEGRATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY LEAVERS AND APPRENTICES INTO THEIR BUSINESS? Ana Bakshi, Director of Saïd Business School’s Oxford Foundry, Oxford University’s entrepreneurship centre, said: “Through collaborative partnerships, and engaging early with student societies and student groups. “The Foundry is led by a Student Advisory 52
Board and entrepreneurial Advisory Board, which includes world-leading entrepreneurs such as Reid Hoffman CBE, Co-founder of LinkedIn and Biz Stone, Co-founder of Twitter, and our Academic Steering Committee which includes academic Heads of Division and innovation leads from across the University and Oxford colleges. “Businesses are able to engage with our multi-disciplinary community of students and share invaluable knowledge and expertise. They also have access to talent pools, creativity and ideas and building entrepreneurial mindsets.” Dave Crew, Head of Growth and Employer Partnership at Weston College, said: “Having a talent strategy is important for all
businesses, especially in a time of record low levels of unemployment, creating a candidate-driven market. A talent strategy is an essential part of business growth plans and the simple answer is engagement with education providers. “There are plenty of opportunities to integrate college/university leavers into a business but it all starts with a conversation. At Weston College, we’ve seen employers offer placements to students, integrate them into their teams, and offer apprenticeships when learners finish their course; an example being digital technology students who progress from an industry placement alongside their course, to a degree-level apprenticeship with Weston College, with Issue 12: January - February 2020
FEATURE WORKING WITH FURTHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS SPONSORED BY UWE BRISTOL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS 0117 965 6261 | INFOPOINT@UWE.AC.UK | WWW.UWE.AC.UK
“It’s also important that businesses take opportunities to raise the profile of their business within the student population, so they’re seen as an employer of choice. Guest lectures are a simple way to begin a relationship.”
Ana Bakshi
HOW DO YOU ENSURE EDUCATION LEAVERS HAVE THE SKILLS NEEDED FOR THE WORLD OF BUSINESS? Crew: “We have placed an emphasis on recruiting staff from industry, with many of our lecturers still running their own business, and each member of staff spends time with employers as part of our professional development programme. “There is a strong focus not only on teaching technical skills, but also wider business skills such as communication, digital skills and teamwork. Employers regularly visit classrooms to talk about the reality of life in business and expectations of graduates. “In addition, our course content is designed around the needs of industry and we’ve created the best training facilities in the region, working side by side with business every step of the way.”
Dave Crew
Bakshi: "We do this through the Oxford Foundry’s five-step model of learning: •
training funded by the apprenticeship levy providing an incredible return on investment for employers.
"THERE ARE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO INTEGRATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY LEAVERS INTO A BUSINESS BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH A CONVERSATION... GUEST LECTURES ARE A SIMPLE WAY TO BEGIN A RELATIONSHIP. " Dave Crew
Peer-to-peer – creating an environment for knowledge exchange between students and alumni;
•
The Zone of Proximal Development – the theory that learning is most effective from people a couple of steps ahead on their journey;
•
Through facilitators and our broad network of established industry experts and talented mentors;
•
Experts in residence and a strong network of academic champions;
•
Inspirational speakers.
“This focuses on creating an entrepreneurial mindset, plus critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving skills, tech skills and using tech for good, and the capability to innovate.
"This reflects on the changing skill sets needed for our future leaders, employees and entrepreneurs to succeed in the wake of accelerating technology development and globalisation.” CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP YOU HAVE ESTABLISHED WITH A BUSINESS, AND ITS IMPACT? Crew: “Weston College works with over 2,000 businesses of various size in all industry sectors, regionally and nationally. "There are so many examples of successful partnerships, and the word partnership is so important, as creating a bespoke programme for a business does require both parties to invest time, and understand culture and ethos, and what we’re trying to achieve. One example is our partnership with Thatchers Cider who created a Young Talent Programme reaching thousands of young people in schools to raise awareness of careers at Thatchers. "This included the creation of a bespoke business apprenticeship programme with Weston College that won regional and national awards in the past two years. If both parties invest the time to build that relationship, the results can not only see incredible business benefits but also change lives.” Bakshi: “We work at the intersection of industry, academia and student talent. We leverage on Oxford’s research, innovation and talent and look at commercial and market needs and gaps to identify and solve some of society’s biggest problems. “It’s important students are exposed to real societal and commercial challenges. To this end, we run an AI Impact Weekend in collaboration with EY. The AI Impact Weekend brings together 100 students from all divisions and colleges to work together to solve a challenge. In 2020 it will be about how AI can be used to tackle climate change.
Cont. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
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HR
FEATURE
WORKING WITH FURTHER EDUCATION PROVIDERS SPONSORED BY UWE BRISTOL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT FOR YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS 0117 965 6261 | INFOPOINT@UWE.AC.UK | WWW.UWE.AC.UK
"This challenge was chosen by our student thought-leadership roundtable and we know there’s potential for big impact here.” WHAT MORE COULD BUSINESS LEADERS DO TO SUPPORT EDUCATION PROVIDERS? Bakshi: “Businesses could build new collaborations with Higher Education. This would focus on innovating and building solutions to some of the most pressing challenges we face in society today, together, whether that be in healthcare, education, or climate change. “Beyond skills and training, we are witnessing a growing trend in students and education leavers starting up their own businesses. At the Oxford Foundry
alone we have accelerated more than 19 ventures who have gone on to raise £8m in investment and create over 70 jobs in less than 20 months. “Students increasingly want to work for themselves and grow ventures, so business leaders need to evolve with this trend and find new ways to attract talent and show best practices in diversity, inclusion and creating the environments and culture students are looking for.” Crew: “It’s a simple answer and that is engaging with education providers. Like any business partnership, building trusted relationships is key.
“Further education colleges like Weston have so much to offer businesses, and collectively across the South West of England alone, there are thousands of students that will move into the workforce with technical skills. That is the future workforce. However, it’s important that education providers listen to business leaders and embrace their input. “The business benefits are fantastic for employers. From accessing free recruitment services, offering student placements, to students delivering live business projects as part of their courses, apprenticeships and upskilling existing staff, the opportunities are endless but always start with a conversation.”
An employer’s perspective to-date yearly salary surveys for free. These can be used to educate and prepare the candidates for their next step. Practical skills are also useful; skills such as CV and application writing. It can take a few months to get your first job after university. A better prepared candidate pool would help.
Steve Preston is Managing Director of Heat Recruitment, a specialist recruitment consultancy operating in financial services, legal, IT, insurance and engineering. He spoke to Business Leader about how further education providers can ensure graduates are work-place ready when they enter the jobs market. WHAT COULD COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES DO DIFFERENTLY? Although universities and colleges have great career hub functions, it would be good to see graduates better prepared for the working world. This would start with realistic salary expectations for roles and regions. Many recruitment agencies, including us, offer up54
Universities and colleges should also work closely with recruitment agencies. We are always seeking top-tier, graduate talent, and this can help build pipelines and encourage graduates into employment faster. DO YOU USE APPRENTICES? We do hire apprentices. They typically come in on an entry-level resource role, overseen by team managers. All apprentices are given on-the-job training and support to enable them to grow into the role gradually – the last thing we want is to overwhelm them. Due to our effective training and positive culture we see many progress into senior or even consultant roles. Apprenticeships are a positive talent source for us. DO GRADUATES HAVE THE SKILLS YOU REQUIRE? All newcomers require a fair amount of
training to get them up to speed. This is simply because they haven’t worked in the industry. Recruitment has many different elements; once we break these down and teach them, and it is then down to the candidate to execute them effectively. Graduates certainly have the aptitude and mental ability to do the job at hand, and so long as they have the motivation and drive, they can absolutely succeed. HAVE YOU RUN ANY INITIATIVES WITH EDUCATION PROVIDERS TO HELP BRING TRAINED RECRUITS INTO YOUR BUSINESS? We have partnered with a variety of schools, universities and colleges to boost awareness around a career in recruitment. We have hosted business days, talks about the industry and Q&A sessions to educate young people on the career benefits on offer. When you consider the recruitment sector is worth almost £36bn a year, the earning potential really is huge, and the key is making young talent aware of this. Our biggest lesson though, is that resilience and drive will get you far in a career in recruitment.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
ADVERTORIAL
WORKING WITH EDUCATION PROVIDERS By Adrian Grove, Business Development Director, Qube Learning As we move into 2020, business owners should be open to the idea of re-badging existing and future employment vacancies as Traineeship or Apprenticeship vacancies, in an effort to attract young talent with fresh ideas and enthusiasm. By offering these programmes, the recruitment process can focus more on a candidate’s potential and will allow for opportunities to learn new skills and knowledge outside of the basic employed role. For example, at entry-level, a traineeship is a great way of introducing young people to a particular business sector. This work placement programme is aimed at 1624-year olds who may not yet have some desired workplace skills and experience; they gain these skills during the programme and learn how to apply them at work, with progression routes including employment or an apprenticeship. When businesses and training providers collaborate, it ensures that there is better
understanding of which skills are required in the modern world of work. Many employers believe that soft skills are often lacking when they interview candidates for roles within their business, but with the introduction of T-Levels in September 2020, students can now be offered a mixture of classes and ‘on-the-job’ experience within an industry placement of at least 315 hours. This provides the knowledge and experience needed to move into skilled employment, further study, or a higher apprenticeship, with all the required skills, knowledge and behaviours. It’s also important to remember that often businesses can access government funding and incentives to enable them to recruit an apprentice into their organisation. This is an effective way to recruit new staff and there is clear evidence that employees who join a business through an apprenticeship stay loyal to that business longer than those employees who do not.
Alongside these government-funded programmes, many providers now offer smaller bitesize development programmes that can be delivered remotely through e-learning. Qube Learning has recently launched its ‘Vision’ platform, which features a range of short courses that have been developed to complement more traditional training programmes and are ideal to upskill employees. This is of great benefit since Qube has seen increased demand from employers for leadership and management programmes, primarily due to the rise of the ‘accidental manager’ who has found themselves promoted into a more senior role but without the necessary skillset to manage their teams. For more information on how introducing Traineeships, Apprenticeships and eLearning could benefit your team and business, please visit www.qube-learning.co.uk or email tellmemore@qube-learning.co.uk
With over twenty years’ experience in the education sector, we are an Ofsted grade 2 training provider that specialises in vocational courses, short courses and e-learning. Awarded numerous contracts by the Education Skills Funding Agency, we provide programmes which are focused on employed positions and therefore take place within a work environment.
vision NEW for 2020!
Upskill Your Workforce With an Apprenticeship from Qube Learning
Qube Vision is an online course catalogue offering a choice of online training courses in Leadership & Management, Health & Social Care and Transport & Logistics. Upskill your team via self-paced online learning today!
For more information visit www.qube-learning.co.uk Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
55
ADVERTORIAL
SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND COLLABORATION
How is UWE Bristol working with businesses to find solutions to real-world challenges?
A
partnership with a university can prove to be hugely beneficial for businesses, and the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol) offers an exciting and broad range of possibilities for collaboration. Businesses from across all sectors can benefit, as well as tapping into specialist knowledge from across the University. UWE Bristol has always been ahead of the curve where business/university collaboration is concerned and is recognised for having a long-standing commitment to supporting industry, as well as engaging with businesses and setting up opportunities for enterprise, innovation and growth. Within its University Enterprise Zone (UEZ) sits Future Space, a work space that helps smaller, high-growth companies access facilities, business support, and opportunities for collaboration with university research teams, and for companies that are at an earlier stage in their development,
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UEZ’s Launch Space offers a workspace and support for graduate start-ups.
their residents’ independence and improve their quality of life.
Another way to access expertise through UWE Bristol is via a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP). This programme involves the recruiting of a graduate for a specific innovation project within a company. At the same time, the University supplies technical knowledge through its faculties, from engineering all the way to through to the creative industries.
The technology will include intelligent sensing systems that could determine when someone falls in the home. Other interactive systems such as smart assistants and assistive robots are to provide reminders for medication, support rehabilitation activities, or take voice commands to turn appliances on, or close the blinds for those with mobility impairments.
Up to two-thirds of project costs can be met by the UK government, and the programme is suitable for businesses from most industries and sectors, as well as not-for-profit organisations. The University is involved in numerous KTPs, which address a range of challenges including how best to provide expertise in the installation of robotics in a company to increase productivity, or how to ensure the survival of a traditional print technique on pottery, using digital printing technology.
The two-year project, which covers over 15 ExtraCare retirement villages in the UK, will see it work with the University's Assisted Living Studio, based in Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL). The Assisted Living Studio is a facility to develop, test and implement assistive robots and intelligent sensor systems.
One ongoing KTP is a partnership with the ExtraCare Charitable Trust, which builds, operates and supports large-scale retirement villages throughout the UK, to help it incorporate innovative technologies into its properties to sustain and prolong
These partnerships with businesses lead to increased profitability and strategic growth, as well as creating hugely beneficial opportunities, both for businesses and for the business leaders of tomorrow. By working together, universities and businesses have the chance to develop and influence the future workforce, and be a force for positive change. 
Issue 12: January - February 2020
INTERVIEW
MARTIN BODDY,
PRO VICE-CHANCELLOR FOR RESEARCH AND ENTERPRISE AT UWE BRISTOL also to network with industry professionals, employers and the best business leaders in the country. Our Bristol Distinguished Address Series (BDAS) brings in CEOs from all sectors to speak on campus, which is a brilliant chance for our students to hear from national and international stars, ask questions and meet our guests. At a recent event, Deanna Oppenheimer, Chair of Hargreaves Lansdown, was extremely impressed with the calibre of questions from students and generously stayed to meet them and share her thoughts on how they could meet their future goals. It’s that level of engagement and connections we’re aiming to offer. WHAT SETS UWE BRISTOL STUDENTS AND GRADUATES APART AS THEY ENTER THE WORLD OF WORK? We are repeatedly told by businesses we work with that UWE Bristol students are highly desirable employees, which is fantastic to hear and a sign we are doing something right! The feedback we get is our students arrive prepared and fully equipped to start their careers – they’re enterprising, keen, and ready for work. Studying at UWE Bristol is not just about the course they study, but about the wider skills and attitudes we equip them with. Six months after graduation, 96% of UWE Bristol students are in work or further study – well ahead of the national average. HOW CAN STUDENTS BEST PREPARE THEMSELVES FOR THEIR FUTURE CAREERS? Employers will always need strong subject skills, but graduates also need to be enterprising, digitally agile, have good interpersonal skills, and have the attitude to hit the ground running. At UWE Bristol, we work hard to give them opportunities to learn and develop these key skills, but Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES FOR A BUSINESS TO TAKE ON STUDENT PLACEMENTS? We aim to give all students the opportunity for a placement with an employer or equivalent experience. We know this really turbo-charges their potential to secure employment. But we also know – because they tell us – that employers really value the opportunity to host students. Businesses find placement students make an impactful contribution to their activities, maybe help them to think a bit differently – but also contribute on the longer term to the bottom line. We are confident our students add real value. A placement can also be an eight-week long interview, and students are often offered employment where they have placements. UWE BRISTOL IS THE LARGEST UNIVERSITY IN THE SOUTH WEST, AND A MAJOR REGIONAL EMPLOYER – HOW IMPORTANT TO YOU IS THE UNIVERSITY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOUTH WEST ECONOMY? Very important – in fact, it’s a vital part of how we operate, by recognising and developing our role in the region. We are
among the largest employers in the South West, the largest purchasers of goods and services and we have nearly 30,000 students, many of whom live locally and contribute to the economy through their spending. We commissioned an economic impact survey which revealed one in every 79 jobs in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath & North East Somerset and North Somerset was dependent on UWE Bristol's existence. Altogether, the university supported 8,280 jobs in the region and contributed £400.1m to its economy in 2014/15. We’ve grown in size and ambition since then, so I’m sure that has only increased and that’s a huge source of pride for us. We’re a university for Bristol and the wider region. HOW IS UWE BRISTOL LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, AND PREPARING STUDENTS FOR NEW CHALLENGES? We are hugely ambitious, and have a clear vision for the next ten years outlined in our 2030 strategy. We’re focusing on our contribution to addressing key challenges, both regionally and globally, including sustainability and climate change, the future of creative and digital sectors, engineering, health and wellbeing, and the ageing population. Our aim is to work with businesses to meet future skills needs, aligning what we teach our students to what employers will need. It’s also a priority to equip students for major changes in technology. How do we prepare our students for an ever-changing workplace? We know they will need to be adaptable to unknown and challenging futures – how can we embed these skills across all courses? In an increasingly competitive jobs market, these things help our graduates stand out.
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ADVERTORIAL
PLANTFORCE BENEFITS FROM WESTON COLLEGE SUPPORT CAN YOU GIVE US A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PLANTFORCE? Plantforce is a leading plant machinery hire company based in Weston-super-Mare with national coverage and strategic depots in Cornwall, Exeter and the Midlands, supported by satellite depots in Warrington and Inverness.
Plus Health and Safety Awareness course, quick hitch and lifting operation training, guidance systems operation training, height and slew restriction training, and efficiency dynamics.
Having just been ranked number 75 in the Sunday Times top 100 companies in the UK, we are very successful on major projects around the UK such as Hinkley Point C and HS2.
We feel only a collaboration with Weston College gives the expertise needed for such an advanced training program.
WHAT’S THE THINKING BEHIND THE PARTNERSHIP WITH WESTON COLLEGE? Plantforce has always been at the forefront of technology and innovation; we feel that a fleet of top grade machinery combined with highly-advanced plant operators sets us apart within the construction industry.
WHAT OUTCOMES ARE YOU TARGETING? We want to be the first partnership in the UK to deliver an advanced simulation-based, technology-focused training program fit for 2020. With HS2 due to start very soon, not only will there be a demand for modern machinery but also for technology-advanced operators, and we feel we will be perfectly placed to deliver the required training at requested numbers.
With the new Weston College Construction Training Centre only situated a mile down the road, we felt we had to be involved from the start. We already had an established in-house training arm which focused on simulation-based GPS training for our own operators helping meet the new high standards set for the UK’s major tier one projects, but wanted to partner with a training provider who shared our outlook to embrace the future technologies. The new Ofsted Outstanding Site Ready Programme is a collaboration of Weston College’s training experience, combined with our plant machinery and technology expertise. The course focuses on taking new and experienced plant operators and building a bespoke profile, supporting them to become a safe and efficient operator. The course consists of an induction, a full medical, including a toxicology report, CITB Site Safety 58
TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION ARE IMPORTANT FEATURES OF THIS COLLABORATION – CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THIS? No longer do engineers use paper drawings and spray paint to mark out a road formation on the ground, or a stick to measure the fuel level in an excavator; it’s all about fuel efficiency and communication systems. The excavators use telematics systems to report on fuel economy, engineers are designing buildings in cloud-based 3D CAD software which is then loaded on to the machine remotely. In the very same way a satnav tells you where to go, the same tech is used to guide an excavator to grade, manage materials and plan work flows. This is all well and good but nobody has
focused on the guy who is driving the machine. Traditionally these guys are aged between 45-65, and through no fault of their own, they have missed the tech revolution and need specialist training programs to bring them up to date on advancements in construction technology. This is something that has not been done anywhere in the UK. HOW SUCCESSFUL IS THIS PARTNERSHIP PROVING TO BE? So far, the courses are proving to be a great addition to the already successful training schedule at Weston College. Currently we run at least one course a week. WHAT ARE YOUR LONG-TERM AMBITIONS FOR THIS INITIATIVE AND YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE WESTON COLLEGE CONSTRUCTION TRAINING CENTRE? The overall plan is to develop the training, further invest into trending technology and work forward with major projects to establish a one-stop training location that covers all bases from inductions, medicals and sitespecific technology. Issue 12: January - February 2020
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HR
WHY MENTAL HEALTH CARE MUST BECOME A BUSINESS PRIORITY
M
ental ill-health is costing UK employers up to £43bn year – but the business world is only now waking up to the need to take the issue seriously. It’s difficult to think of any single issue which could be allowed to undermine every worker’s worth to their employer by £1,500 each year without prompting urgent action – yet that is the impact of mental ill-health on UK businesses. New data shows absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover are costing employers £33-43bn a year, a sum which amounts to between £1,205 and £1,560 per worker. Stress, depression, anxiety and burnout all contribute to these staggering numbers, yet typically go unaddressed, with few companies offering support for those affected, and fewer still offering preventative 60
help to halt problems before they take root. That could, however, be about to change. Mental health has made headlines on an unprecedented scale in recent years, as a number of celebrities have campaigned or spoken out on their own experiences. This has helped break down taboos and encouraged others to seek help – Google trends reveals ‘mental health support’ has shown fourfold growth as a UK search term over the past five years – yet despite this, mental health as a workplace issue commonly remains overlooked. “I think the stigma is an enormously important aspect,” says Ry Morgan, Co-Founder of workplace mental health platform Unmind. “All the stats suggest 9 in 10 employees
wouldn’t feel comfortable speaking to their employer about a mental health condition; that speaks enormously to the stigma. If they don’t feel they are in a culture where they can broach it, they’re just going to sweep it under the rug and fail to pro-actively seek help. “Then things get worse, and then, when they do finally get to breaking point, it’s far harder to tackle because so many issues become much more deeply ingrained.” ‘A dark rabbit hole’ Morgan knows the subject well. He grew up with a parent who suffered from clinical depression, and his own career has twice been interrupted by the same condition. During one ‘really dark’ time he was rated a suicide risk, and knows his professional life was a big contributing factor. He said: “Workplace pressure can absolutely contribute to someone’s overall mental health. It’s a huge factor. Start-up folk and ambitious people can be guilty of being their Issue 12: January - February 2020
MENTAL HEALTH own biggest critic, feeling you’re not doing well enough, and that can create a negative cycle that drives you into a bit of a dark rabbit hole.” Since those difficult days, Morgan has teamed up with two other experts to launch Unmind, a platform delivering preventative mental health care in the workplace. Clinical psychologist Dr Nick Taylor and wellbeing coach Steve Peralta joined Morgan in creating Unmind in 2016, and the platform has since grown to win clients like John Lewis, British Airways, Just Eat and William Hill. Its services enable employees to confidentially track, measure and understand their mental health through practical exercises, while also allowing employers to understand trends, support their teams and mitigate against stressors. The ambition, Morgan told Business Leader, is to help ‘build happier and healthier workforces’ worldwide – and it is well on the way, with recent funding of £3m helping to grow a London-based brand now operating in 30 countries and supporting more than 250,000 people. Morgan continued: “Within the workplace there’s been little focus on preventative initiatives to help individuals that aren’t really dealing with a clinical condition but just want to bolster their everyday health and be more focused and productive. “The best intervention is early intervention. If you break your leg, you want to get to the doctor as soon as possible, not wait three months to get it fixed, but the equivalent when it comes to mental health isn’t nearly as clear. People don’t know where to turn.” Companies ‘must work harder’ Dr Mitesh Patel, Medical Director at global health benefits provider Aetna International, agrees companies must take a more proactive stance on mental health to protect their reputation as a caring and progressive employer. Dr Patel said: “As we enter a new decade, the expectations surrounding physical and mental health provision at work will undoubtedly increase. “This means businesses will need to work harder to understand and reflect the needs and priorities of their workforce, implementing health and well-being support Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
and workplace policies that are relevant to contemporary working culture. “Companies need to treat mental health care as a priority if they want to remain competitive. They can start by encouraging openness and acceptance to overcome mental health stigma in the workplace.” More employers now recognise mental health issues as the biggest cause of workplace absenteeism – and awareness is growing, says Morgan. However, a key step towards Unmind’s goal of making mental health ‘universally understood, nurtured and celebrated’ will be ensuring people devote time to the issue – which will mean undoing a lifetime of past learning.
"ALL THE STATS SUGGEST 9 IN 10 EMPLOYEES WOULDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE SPEAKING TO THEIR EMPLOYER ABOUT A MENTAL HEALTH CONDITION; THAT SPEAKS ENORMOUSLY TO THE STIGMA." Ry Morgan
Morgan said: “If we think of something like dental health, we are all brought up as kids to focus six minutes a day working on our teeth to avoid trips to the dentist, but when it comes to our brains, we don’t do that. “Our teeth are one of the most basic parts of our physiological makeup, yet we spend daily time working on them; our brains are one of the most complex things in the known universe, so it’s bananas that we educate and create a cultural narrative on the importance of preventative dental care, and yet not on mental care. “Mental health is the coolest thing about being a human being; it’s literally what differentiates us as a species from everything else on the planet. So how has it ended up as a less sexy subject than a toothbrush? That seems really backwards. “Our mission is to help people live happier, healthier, more human lives. Fundamentally, we want to be the de facto category leader of workplace mental health. “When someone talks about this subject, we want Unmind to be what they talk about, because we’re providing services that are absolutely clinically valid – it’s not jazz hands, it’s not snake oil, it’s with the utmost academic vigour, and it’s improving the mental health of everyday people.”
MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE
91%
OF WORKERS SAY STRESS NEGATIVELY IMPACTS THE QUALITY OF THEIR WORK
87% 70% ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT THEIR WORK, YET 64% STILL EXPERIENCE ‘FREQUENT’ STRESS
OF WORKERS SAY THEIR EMPLOYER IS NOT DOING ENOUGH TO PREVENT BURNOUT
84%
OF MILLENNIAL'S HAVE EXPERIENCED BURNOUT AT WORK AND HALF HAVE QUIT BECAUSE OF IT
80%
OF WORKERS ARE WORRIED MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES COULD IMPACT THEIR ABILITY TO WORK
68% 33% WOULD NOT JOIN A COMPANY WHICH LACKS A CLEAR POLICY OF MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT
SAY THE SUPPORT ON OFFER FROM THEIR EMPLOYER TO HELP MINIMISE STRESS IS ‘POOR’
12.8M
WORKING DAYS WERE LOST TO STRESS IN THE UK LAST YEAR ALONE 61
DEBATE
TECHNOLOGY
GLOBAL #1 UNIVERSITY BUSINESS INCUBATOR
HELPING GROWING COMPANIES ACCESS R&D FUNDING, INVESTMENT AND TALENT
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HOW CAN BUSINESSES HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF AR & VR?
F
or this technology feature Business Leader has teamed up with SETsquared to give readers an insight into how different technology advances are changing the way business is being carried out.
WHAT TRENDS ARE HAPPENING AROUND VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) IN A BUSINESS CONTEXT? John Collomosse: "We work on new technologies that will be applied to the creative industries such as Performance Capture Technology - which can be used in the film sector. This new technology will allow you to capture a 3D model of a performance and use that as a digital asset in a computer game or virtual reality experience. 62
"It’s an exciting time to explore immersive technology like AR and VR, as you have equipment like the headsets, but there is very little content, and we see this as a way that you can bridge that content gap and create highly immersive experiences. "We’re also doing lots of work in blockchain, which is something people typically associate with cryptocurrencies, but has applications beyond finance such as tracking IP rights and content. This will allow you to trace content back to its origins
so you can make better decisions about whether you trust the content. "Fundamentally, immersive technology is a new way of storytelling,and there are real world applications already in fields such as training and the heritage sector. "It’s also worth noting that one of the features of being based in Guildford, is that it’s the centre of the UK games industry, and you could say the industry was born here with Peter Molyneaux and Bullfrog. Issue 12: January - February 2020
FUTURE OF AR & VR
GLOBAL #1 UNIVERSITY BUSINESS INCUBATOR
HELPING GROWING COMPANIES ACCESS R&D FUNDING, INVESTMENT AND TALENT
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The Panel Stephen Mayers SETsquared Chris Pett SETsquared Prof. John Collomosse Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing. Dr Haiyue Yuan University of Surrey Rupert Howe Watch and Replay Steve McCarthy Brandwidth Dominic Deane The Leadership Network Janosch Amstutz Holo Me Charlotte Randall Stats Bomb Jeremy Brassington Note Taking Express Stavros Paschalakis Visual Atoms
entertainment and using it for enterprise instead – museums, health and training for example." Dominic Deane: "Our story is interesting because we are using AR and VR as a tool in our business. We have been around for eight years and provide in-house for Fortune 500 companies around the world. Primarily this is for presidents and vice presidents in large global companies.
environment where they can be put on a production line or a process and be hands on with the training and immersed in it.
"FUNDAMENTALLY, IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY IS A NEW WAY OF STORYTELLING AND THERE IS REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS ALREADY IN FIELDS SUCH AS TRAINING AND THE HERITAGE SECTOR."
"It also answers the problem of how you convey the knowledge that a handful of people have in a company to their hundreds of thousands of staff. VR and AR allows you do to that quickly and effectively.
"You often hear about this technology being a fad, but it isn’t if it is actually "The training we provide responding to a problem or is intensive and covers challenge that a business subjects like innovation and has. I believe we’re a way Industry 4.0 – these are off from it being used in a transformative ideas that personal capacity because businesses need to adopt if putting on a headset is they are to stay relevant in intrusive, but in a business John Collomosse this fast-changing world. space – where you are often trying to find space for clarity "The challenge has always been how do and focus – it allows you to do this. The you deliver that training most effectively direction of this technology is towards the and also how do you scale-up and scale-out enterprise space." their learning? We’ve done this by utilising AR and VR through a produce called Cont. GEMBA. It puts users in an immersive
"There are huge companies involved in the sector based here like EA and Epic, and lots of SMEs too." Rupert Howe: "Our application is a writing and delivery tool for producers and writers so they can map out non-linear stories. "There is potential for an explosion in nonlinear stories, but they are very hard to create, and this tool helps to do that. It is similar in its impact to what WordPress did for websites. "People come with great ideas but can’t see an output, and they go through a horrible technical experience, and what they get out the other end isn’t what they expected. VR and AR and new technology can change this and transform content creation. "In a broader sense, I would say that people are giving up on immersive for Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
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DEBATE
GLOBAL #1 UNIVERSITY BUSINESS INCUBATOR
HELPING GROWING COMPANIES ACCESS R&D FUNDING, INVESTMENT AND TALENT
SCALEUP@SETSQUARED.CO.UK | SETSQUARED.CO.UK/PROGRAMME/SCALE-UP-PROGRAMME
Rupert Howe: "I saw a very good example of this at the national gallery. It was busy room at a conference but with a headset on you can shut out and have the curator talk about the painting or a monk talk about the religious significance. It’s about being in a busy space and being able to immerse yourself in the moment." Janosch Amstutz: "We work in multiple sectors and we create content for creatives and license our products to them. What we’ve seen in the last five years is a fundamental issue with AR and VR at an early stage. "This is because companies were overpromising and underdelivering on experiences because of three major barriers to mass adoption of this technology, which is that content creation is very tedious, the data sizes required to created good content, and the hardware required to deliver it. "In last two years, many companies in the sector have been addressing those pain points, unlike the Silicon Valley model, where you try and create the most futuristic experience as possible and one day hope it is adopted. "We’ve seen a few earlier companies have failed due to that reason. BLIPPAR, for example, failed because they created a solution that the market hadn’t caught up with yet. It’s good to see that these pain points being addressed, and people are taking a step back and looking at how this technology can solve business problems." YOU MENTIONED BLIPPAR, WHICH IS VALUED AS A UNICORN, AND RECEIVED LOTS OF FUNDING. HAS ITS FAILURE MADE INVESTORS MORE CAUTIOUS ABOUT THIS SECTOR? Janosch Amstutz: "There is definitely more discussion around this now as lots of money was invested, but it didn’t yield any results. Attracting investment in this sector was still an issue last year, but people are starting to see more deployments that are sticking now, so they are willing to invest in them again. 64
"Niche industries like education, health and training are the ones where you are seeing how it works and working with the tech long-term."
heavily on ourselves and angel funding. We have a built a web-based app programme that helps students who have learning disabilities to make notes.
Charlotte Randall: "I would say that "Our biggest problem is how do we scale investors backing away from technology this up. Now we are finding that institutions businesses. We have are coming to us and we want a system for seen a slowdown in the every student." levels of investment "IN LAST TWO YEARS MANY that are available. COMPANIES IN THE SECTOR Steve McCarthy: "We The success of failure are a digital innovation HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING happens in the last agency, and if you THOSE PAIN POINTS UNLIKE 10% and is around the look at the idea of accuracy part, and this THE SILICON VALLEY MODEL Martec’s Law and means that as well as WHERE YOU TRY AND CREATE believe technology is great technology you also changing exponentially THE MOST FUTURISTIC need the people element but organisations are EXPERIENCE AS POSSIBLE in place and it needs to changing much slower, solve a market problem." AND ONE DAY HOPE IT IS then we try to bridge ADOPTED" the gap in between. Jeremy Brassington: "There is a lot of talk Rupert Howe "We work with big blueabout content and chip companies such technology, but how as Toyota, and we look at what problem many people are thinking about the they have and come up with a technologyaccessibility of that content with people based solution to try and solve it. with disabilities? I believe that is important. "On the funding question we’re raising in a difficult market which is EdTech. We rely
"We’re tech agnostic and the word 'need' is very important for us. We start with the
Issue 12: January - February 2020
FUTURE OF AR & VR
GLOBAL #1 UNIVERSITY BUSINESS INCUBATOR
HELPING GROWING COMPANIES ACCESS R&D FUNDING, INVESTMENT AND TALENT
SCALEUP@SETSQUARED.CO.UK | SETSQUARED.CO.UK/PROGRAMME/SCALE-UP-PROGRAMME
customer and user pain first, and then build the tech around this. It sounds obvious, but this can often be overlooked when there are lots of nice shiny technologies that are available on the market. "This is where the future for this technology lies, and it means that any industry is up for grabs in regard to its deployment." DO YOU FIND IT EASY TO ATTRACT THE SKILLS YOU NEED TO GROW YOUR BUSINESSES? Dominic Deane: "We have had challenges in London because you’re fighting everyone for development talent. "To counter this, we have leveraged a group up in the North East as there is a VR and gaming hub. We have built a team up there around the higher education centres as in
London it’s a financial fight to get specific talent you need. For us, it’s about working with universities and ecosystems." Stavros Paschalakis: "Getting the right development talent is always a challenge, but having links with universities helps a lot. Brexit does worry me slightly though, as more than half of people that worked in visual atoms were in Europe. "I do hope we can still find the talent and can retain the talent without subjecting them to months of waiting times and paperwork." HOW CAN INCUBATORS AND SUPPORT GROUPS HELP EMERGING TECH BUSINESSES? Stephen Mayers: “SETsquared is a partnership with five research intensive
"COMPANIES WERE OVERPROMISING AND UNDERDELIVERING ON EXPERIENCES BECAUSE OF THREE MAJOR BARRIERS TO MASS ADOPTION OF THIS TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS THAT CONTENT CREATION IS VERY TEDIOUS, THE DATA SIZES REQUIRED TO CREATED GOOD CONTENT AND THE HARDWARE REQUIRED TO DELIVER IT." Dominic Dean
universities, and is the world’s leading University business incubator. We have raised over £2bn of investment for our companies and to date we have supported more than 4,000 companies and created thousands of jobs. We have business acceleration centres at each of our universities and I run the Scale-Up programme which provides investment support for companies developing their R&D growth strategies.“ Chris Pett: "I am an Entrepreneur in Residence for SETsquared at the University of Surrey and I work with a dozen startups. They are all at different stages of development. Currently we have 60 start-ups being incubated, a mixture of residential and virtual members. "My role is to help them see the bigger picture and opportunities they have, and form networks with business partners and to also find niche areas where they can build their company. "Ultimately, we boil it all down most important thing, which is helping them to distinguish between investors and customers and help them learn the difference. It’s about telling the right story about their product and idea in the right context."
67 tech firms represent UK at world's biggest trade show A 67-strong delegation of UK businesses promoted the UK’s technology sector to international buyers and investors at CES, the world’s largest consumer technology trade show in Las Vegas to kick off 2020.
DiT at CES 2020, Las Vegas
Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
British companies in the technology and automotive sectors, as well as the Department for International Trade, are expected to sign millions of pounds of deals following the event.
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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
Exeter: ‘A city where you can live a good life, and also do good business’
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ne of the UK’s leaders in employment and productivity growth, cultural spending and green initiatives, Exeter tops the table for qualifications and boasts the second lowest unemployment out of 320 cities across Europe.
In the first of a new city spotlight series, BLM asks: What is driving Exeter's success?
How would you assess Exeter as a place to do business? Matt Roach, Managing Director of Exeter Airport and Chairman of Exeter Chamber of Commerce, said: “Exeter is the growth hub of the South West. It is a dynamic city, with science and tech, environment, health, big data and education as sectors core to its growth. The city and its wider region, Greater Exeter, is a vibrant centre for small business and entrepreneurialism. “The creative industries and wider creative 66
economy are at the heart of business and innovation shaping the products and services of the future.” Phil Bialyk, Leader of Exeter City Council, said: “We’re a very good place to do business and we, as local authority, have a lot of contact with businesses and stakeholders.
What are the city’s strengths and weaknesses? Roach: “Exeter is very well connected, with the airport, two mainline railway stations into London and motorway links. It offers all the lifestyle attributes of the coast, moors and countryside but is only two hours from London.
“Our attitude is that the answer is yes – now what’s the question? We try to look for reasons to do something. That contributes to a very successful city here in Exeter.”
"This is helps the city to attract high-calibre business and individuals looking for their next move and makes Exeter one of the fastest growing UK cities.” Issue 12: January - February 2020
EXETER
Matt Roach
Phil Bialyk
"We are reaching out to people to come and look at us, come and invest and work with us, you’ll love what we’re doing.” Roach: “Alongside people relocating here, as the region’s main employment hub there is a high volume of people commuting into the city each day, both of which bring challenges and opportunities in housing, and congestion. The Liveable Exeter Place Board (which I sit on) is looking to address these challenges through ‘Exeter’s Vision 2040’, which sets out its aim to be recognised as a leading sustainable city and global leader in addressing the social, economic and environmental challenges of climate change and urbanisation." Bialyk: “We are a young city. Digital jobs are coming forward – there are more digital jobs in Exeter than in the rest of the South West – and data is an area we are working on. We’re bringing forward developments all the time and working with business.
Bialyk: “It’s not just about producing an industrial estate with a building in it for businesses. Workers want leisure, they want a decent environment, and Exeter has great coastline, great moors, and so it’s about trying to give the people who work in these businesses the right quality of life. “Businesses want to retain their staff, and wages are very important to retaining staff, of course they are, but quality of life for people with families is important too, so we’re tying to give that all-round package. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
"One of the key anchors is the university. Very successful. We’ve got Exeter College, which is one of the best colleges in the country and expanding. We’ve also got the Met Office, which brings a lot of skills. “The South West has a lot more going on than just Doc Martin on ITV – we are a place where you can live a good life, but also do good business.” What are the main challenges and opportunities of evolving Exeter? Lawrence Dean, Head of South for midmarket investment firm LDC, said: “One challenge Exeter faces is that, to some
Lawrence Dean
extent, it’s competing with vibrant business hubs in Bristol and Cardiff when it comes to attracting the best talent. Bristol, for example, has become a hotbed for growing TV production companies, whereas Exeter, despite being home to a highly-regarded university, doesn’t quite yet have the kudos of its South West counterparts. “Exeter’s exports are also mostly dependent on the European Union, with 70% of all of its exports going to EU countries, so it will be interesting to see what effect Brexit has. This will be a challenge, but we’re confident the region’s business community will tackle it head on.” Roach: “Exeter’s employment area is large with 37,000 people commuting in each day – this brings significant challenges and opportunities. “Exeter City Council has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030 – a significant but necessary challenge. The Chamber of Commerce is launching an initiative to help businesses reduce their environmental footprint. “The city’s education providers are key to its future. Exeter College was recently recognised as the top FE College in the country, Exeter Maths School is similarly feted. The University of Exeter is a global leader and its impact on the city is considerable as a business and employer. We have an opportunity to encourage more of its graduates to stay in the city and join the workforce, increasing the pool of talented employees and entrepreneurs. Cont. 67
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
“The new multi-million pound South West Institute of Technology will revolutionise digital, engineering and manufacturing technology education across the South West, bringing more opportunities for the city and further increasing Exeter’s identity as a centre for education.” Balyk: “All of the development brings a problem – traffic. We are an ancient historic city, which we are very proud of, but that means we do not have big dual carriageways as boulevards through the middle. That is a challenge. “Another of our issues is to retain graduates. Once they leave university they see the bright lights of some of the metropolitan areas, but there’s a lot of business here – we want to be an international centre for digital and climate change, keeping those students in Exeter. That creates the sort of environment where businesses want to relocate.”
"THE SOUTH WEST HAS A LOT MORE GOING ON THAN JUST DOC MARTIN ON ITV – WE ARE A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN LIVE A GOOD LIFE, BUT ALSO DO GOOD BUSINESS." Phil Bialyk
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What future developments are planned and how will they impact the area? Dean: “With a departure from the European Union on the cards, the city’s resilience may well be put to the test in the coming months. But, South West firms’ confidence in their own business prospects remains on the up, according to recent research from Lloyds Bank, and we expect this to improve with greater clarity in the near future. “Exeter was also recently one of five cities chosen to work with the National Infrastructure Commission to develop strategies to improve transport connections and unlock job opportunities, as well as provide new homes, which will no doubt help to accelerate its growth. “It’s certainly a city that’s up-and-coming and has the potential to be competing with the likes of Bristol and Cardiff before long.” Bialyk: “We’re hoping to get away a £300m-plus investment to redevelop next to the new bus station and leisure centre we are building to revitalise our city centre. We want community spaces, work spaces and retail, to redefine our centre to make it a destination centre people want to come to. I’ve set up a steering group to bring forward a vision for the next 20 years to develop 12,000 homes in Exeter on eight strategic sites. A new way of urban living – climate-ready, sustainable, proper transport, car-free areas.” Roach: “The recent response to the UK Industrial Strategy, ‘Greater Exeter: the
EXETER
engine for regional growth’ states the city has the capability to deliver further growth and increased productivity. An aim is for the city to be a world leader on climate change, building on its strengths in environmental science, which we are well placed to do. “As a relatively small city we have experience in acting as a test bed for solutions in environment and urban planning – and I can see Exeter leading on this on a national, if not global, scale. “Growth to the east of the city is key to its development. Skypark, Airpark, and Exeter Science Park are now well established. Exeter Science Park expects to be home to 700 employees in the next year with a vision to grow to 3,500 on site in 15 years. “A vibrant city centre with the £300m redevelopment of the bus station site underway and further investment through the successful extension of the InExeter BID helping secure the city’s position as a leading retail and leisure destination.” Bialyk: “In five years, I would hope we would be well on the way to reshaping our city centre to make it a destination. Hopefully we would have a new entertainment venue, be on the way to our project for 12,000 new homes, we’d be moving to a more inclusive society, and transport links would be better, so people’s first choice would be a bus or a train. It’s a big challenge for us, but we are enthused by it.” Issue 12: January - February 2020
ADVERTORIAL
Are South West businesses ready for the workforce of the future? Future Talent Today 85% of the jobs in 2030 will be invented between now and then1. King Recruit is an independently minded recruitment and search agency, covering Exeter and the whole of the South West. We partner with professionals and companies alike to deliver exceptional results in entry level management appointments through to executive level. Technology is changing every aspect of our lives, and our careers are no exception. Estimates predict that 85% of the jobs in 2030 will be invented between now and then and that 65% of the jobs that our children will do in the future don’t exist today1. Keen to find out what our clients think, we conducted The Future Talent Today survey, asking business leaders in the South West to share their ideas and options with us and to consider if their workforce is prepared for the so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’? The results uncover the concerns about future skills shortages and the dissolution of current workplace roles. The key findings are as follows: Skills shortages: • 68% of businesses reported skills shortages among their workforce (26% reported a skills shortage in managers and team leaders). • 42% reported a skills shortage in nonmanagerial specialists. • 58% said their workforce is not currently equipped with sufficient technical and/or digital skills. Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Roles at risk: • The main roles at risk in the future, are support and admin positions which respondents saw as positions which can easily be replaced by technology/ automation. Skills of the future: • Communication was identified as the top soft skill for the future, with 58% ranking it in their top three, closely followed by leadership (37%) and personal productivity (32%). • Businesses noted that an increase in technology could lead to more technically skilled roles emerging such as developers and programmers. • The results from the Future Talent Today survey provide a fascinating insight into the skills required in the workplace now and for the future. King Recruit advice: It is surprising to see that nearly 70% of businesses report that they have skill shortages in vital areas of the business and that 58% say that their employees aren’t fully equipped for the workplace of the future. • Upskill your workforce: Research shows that 84% of employers will be upskilling their workforce in 2020*. Upskilling your employees can help identify how technology can be used to deliver better value and service to your customers.
• Expand your Search: We also encourage businesses to consider looking further afield, outside of the immediate talent pool, for the specific set of skills they require. • Investing in Tech & Digital Skills: The survey revealed only 32% of businesses have a plan in place to incorporate rapidly-emerging technical and digital skills. Now is the time to start thinking about how your business will change in the next five or ten years, taking an innovative approach and investing in the development of roles and the appointment of future talent will undoubtedly help to narrow the gap between the workplace of today and the future. 1. The Future of Jobs report 2018, The World Economic Forum. * The ManPowerGroup
If you have questions about how to future proof your recruitment strategy contact the team at King Recruit: 01392 790725 Helen Plumridge MD email: helen@kingrecruit.com For some further advice on 2020 recruitment strategy: https://www.kingrecruit.com/how-toace-your-2020-recruitment-strategy/
WWW.KINGRECRUIT.COM 69
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
EXETER
Exeter – Six of the best Founded more than two centuries ago, Brewin Dolphin has grown to become one of the UK’s leading wealth managers. The company’s success has been built on the strength of its relationships with clients, and says its Exeter office ‘continues the tradition of exceptional personal attention while actively helping clients to achieve their long-term goals’. Experienced investment managers offer a service which fully reflects the needs of each client. Services included discretionary management service charities investment management service, SIPP/pension and income drawdown management, services for professional intermediaries and ethical investments.
Winner of a host of awards in 2019 celebrating their success in tech and innovation as well as business achievements, Degould is an engineering and software company focused on the automotive sector. The company offers automated vehicle imaging solutions installed with leading OEMs and supply chain partners across the world. At the same time, its team continues to develop its technology, and is leading the way in delivering AI-led solutions – based on real data to an ever-growing customer base.
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‘Building trusted relationships’ sits at the core of BCR Associates – a cost and risk management consultancy which works with clients in a wide range of sectors, including manufacturing and industry, care, hospitality, professional services and education. It works to help reduce spending, free up time and manage risk by making sure clients fully understand the terms and conditions of service contracts they sign. BCR says it aims to increase efficiency throughout the lifetime of a business by delivering a fully-managed service for all procurement needs.
Award-winning Littlepod provides highquality vanilla, coffee and chocolate extract, specialising in real Madagascan vanilla paste – and has remained true to its ethical values during its growth story. The firm continues to adhere to its three key, founding values: • To create products which promote exciting new ways of using vanilla in the kitchen; • To inform people of the diverse applications of vanilla and describe the benefits of using the natural stuff over its artificial counterparts; • To help communities which rely on vanilla cultivation and conserve the fragile ecosystems where it's grown.
Home to dozens of fast-growing and innovative STEMM companies, Exeter Science Park offers incubation space, support and specialist facilities for high-growth businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. Tenants are able to capitalise on world-class research, create high-value jobs, attract and retain talent and drive enhanced productivity and economic growth. Opportunities and resources include high-quality office and laboratory space, intensive business support, collaboration and innovation events, and plenty more, with further expansion in the pipeline.
‘Our passion, your future’ is the mantra at independently-minded recruitment agency King Recruit, which runs from Exeter and covers the South West region. The company works with ambitious companies and professionals, and its mission is to help drive success, with growth at the heart of everything it does. King Recruit – a company forged on its values of trust, partnership and integrity – works with talented individuals and focuses on a broad range of commercial positions, all the way through to senior management. It pledges to ‘find people who will make the biggest impact on your bottom line, add value to your teams and drive positive change’.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
FINANCIAL PLANNING AND INVESTMENTS
WHATEVER YOUR FINANCIAL PLANS, MAKE THEM WITH US. brewin.co.uk/exeter
1S T F LO O R , VA N TAG E P O I N T, P Y N E S H I L L , E X E T E R E X 2 5 F D
The value of investments can fall and you may get back less than you invested. Brewin Dolphin Limited is a member of the London Stock Exchange, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Register reference number: 124444).
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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
EXETER
Raising the bar in science and tech
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xeter Science Park is the result of a vision to develop a science park to facilitate the growth of innovative, fast-growing STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical) companies that exploit world-class research, create highvalue jobs, attract and retain talent, and drive enhanced productivity and economic growth.
Its first building, the Science Park Centre, was completed in 2015 and provides 30,000 sq ft of flexible workspace for high-growth businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. Since then, Exeter Science Park has developed a further three Grow-on Buildings (the Hedy Lamarr, Isaac Newton 72
and Alan Turing buildings) and the Met Office has developed its Supercomputer and Collaboration buildings.
• Bookable conference space and meeting rooms • Business and social activities
The Park’s science-based ‘Gateway Policy’ maintains the STEMM focus and culture. Eligible companies at the Park must be able to demonstrate that they are science-based companies incorporating one or more of: the research and development of products or services; active collaborations with universities, higher education, institutes, research or similar organisations; and a technology-based service.
Exeter Science Park continues to develop swiftly with the fully-funded VSimulators and Ada Lovelace buildings, as well as its ongoing plans for the second phase of the Science Park Centre and another grow-on building. Its longer-term ambition sees the development of a further 165,000 sq ft of office, laboratory and production space by 2027 hosting over 2,000 people.
Businesses at Exeter Science Park benefit from: • High quality office and laboratory space • Intensive business support • Collaboration opportunities • Open innovation events • Resilient high bandwidth internet • Onsite café, open to tenants and the public
The VSimulators facility The University of Exeter’s VSimulators facility is due for completion early in 2020. VSimulators offers a state-of-the-art facility, using virtual reality (VR) technology capable of immersing up to nine occupants simultaneously in headset projected VR scenarios. A 4×4 metre custom designed motion platform, linked to the VR scenarios, enables users to perceive realistic motion Issue 12: January - February 2020
ADVERTORIAL
Exeter Science Park – ‘innovators, entrepreneurs and talent’ as they move around in a virtual world, while optical and inertial motion capture systems and an array of force plates, will record their experiences. The Ada Lovelace Building Construction of the Ada Lovelace Building will begin in February 2020 – 20,000 sq ft of multi-occupancy, high-quality office and laboratory space. Its aim is to attract and retain local, national, and international, knowledge-based businesses. It will be a prime location for companies already located at the Science Park that are looking to grow, and new firms wishing to take the next step in their journey. When it is completed in November 2020, it will support up to 150 new jobs. The Ada Lovelace Building is partly funded by the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership’s (HotSW LEP) Growth Deal Funding and the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone. Working in partnership Exeter Science Park Ltd, is the park developer on behalf of its four shareholders: Devon County Council, East Devon District Council, Exeter City Council and the University of Exeter. Its two strategic partners are the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership and the Exeter and East Devon Enterprise Zone. The latter provides business rate relief to Exeter Science Park clients worth around £55,000 per year until 2022, simplified planning and many other measures to encourage enterprise and productivity.
Find out more at www.exetersciencepark.co.uk or contact 01392 247047 / contact@exetersciencepark.co.uk Exeter Science Park, Clyst Honiton, Exeter, EX5 2FN Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Exeter Science Park is growing rapidly. Tell us more about the Park and its tenants? Exeter Science Park helps innovative science, technology, engineering, maths and medical (STEMM) businesses to deliver extraordinary growth. The Park provides inspirational incubation and grow-on space, as well as offering support for innovative businesses specialising in STEMM. We are proud to host a range of companies working in sectors including security and cyber, energy and environment, healthcare and pharmaceutical, geospatial, and business productivity. These range from one and two man-bands to global companies, as we offer space from hot-desks to office space to bespoke buildings. Exeter Science Park covers 60 acres of East Devon parkland, currently provides over 60,000 sq ft of high-quality incubation and grow-on space, and is home to more than 50 innovative STEMM businesses. Tell us more about your role? As Chief Executive Officer, my role is to facilitate the development of Exeter Science Park as a hub for innovative STEMM businesses and lead our team to deliver new jobs, enhanced productivity and economic growth.
Dr Sally Basker, Chief Executive Officer
We understand businesses’ needs, whether that means offering incubation space and innovation support services to help fledgling businesses prosper, or providing facilities designed to give global companies the space to succeed. We can be flexible to suit clients’ needs, from developing bespoke workspace and fit-outs, to flexible lease lengths and office sizes. Clients also benefit from innovation support from SETsquared Exeter, which provides dedicated support staff delivering business acceleration services to clients at all stages of development. The SETsquared Partnership, the enterprise collaboration of the Universities of Bath, Bristol, Exeter, Southampton and Surrey, has three times been ranked as the 'Global No 1 University Business Incubator'. What is the vision for the future of Exeter Science Park? During 2020, we are working on a new masterplan for the Science Park campus and with this, a new business strategy, which will allow us to provide the best space, support and skills to our tenants.
I work closely with the executive team, board members and shareholders to deliver the vision for Exeter Science Park and grow a community of likeminded businesses.
We are on track to have 700 tenant staff on site by 2021 and, by 2035, expect more than 3,500 people will work for companies at Exeter Science Park. Over 2,500 of these will be new, high-quality jobs.
What can Exeter Science Park offer businesses? We provide businesses with the space, support and skills for success.
The Science Park is more than just a collection of buildings, it is the people within it; the innovators, the entrepreneurs, and the talent. 73
REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
EXETER
The campaign for real vanilla
B
usiness Leader Magazine recently spoke to Janet Sawyer, the founder of LittlePod, a Devon-based vanilla business that is hoping to change the world.
WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS FOR THE COMPANY? We have just celebrated our first decade in business, and within those ten years we have established ourselves as the leaders of the natural vanilla product industry. We have gained a reputation for quality, being responsibly sourced as well as being the voice for the ‘Campaign for Real Vanilla’. In 2018, we won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for our work. We will continue to drive the business forward for the next decade with our core values; sustainability, education, quality and innovation. In the immediate future, we are heading to Japan! We will be a part of a trade mission with the Department of International Trade (DIT) in March. We have the intellectual trademark rights for our products in the country. In order to sell within Japan – you need to have that. LittlePod's business ethos aligns with Ikigai, a Japanese concept that means 'a reason for being'. The phrase indicates the source of value in one's life or the things that make one's life worthwhile – and for us, that is LittlePod.
WHAT CHANGES ARE HAPPENING AT THE COMPANY? We are bringing in some new machinery to help expand our operation and the building is almost complete – it is a very exciting time for the business. The new machine was flown in from Milan and everyone involved in the company helped with the installation – all 11.5 tonnes of it! They have all been a part of the journey the business has been on over the lpast decade, and it is a celebration of our success. We are prepared for the next generation of LittlePod. WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS? I am stepping back as the Executive Chair of the business, and I have helped train up Olly Aplin to be our new CEO to take the company forward into the future. He is a young guy and this is a millennial business. He can now charge forth and make the company grow and promote our purpose – the ‘Campaign for Real Vanilla’. That is to help make more and more people aware of real vanilla and our role in the industry. We want to get the public to come on this journey with us and educate people on the benefits of using real vanilla.
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HOW DO YOU PLAN ON SPREADING THE MESSAGE OF REAL VANILLA AND ITS BENEFITS? It has taken ten years to get people in the West to understand that 97% of vanillin used in our food is artificial. It has taken a decade to establish the company and get the message out there about real vanilla. Before we started, it was discovered that we could lose real vanilla within a generation if we didn’t act on it. Our campaign and mission from the beginning has made a difference to the future of vanilla. We have created a community here in Devon – people and local businesses are aware of what we do – but the future is about spreading the message worldwide. We have recently been to Tanzania, we are heading to Japan, and we are launching non-alcoholic versions of our product for the Middle East. Growing vanilla on the equatorial belts will have so many benefits including helping the local community, increasing reforestation on the equatorial belt, and helping climate change. We are building a global community to help people use real vanilla instead of vanillin.
Issue 12: January - February 2020
Celebrating their their Celebrating first decade decade 2010-2020 2010-2020
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no In Innovvatio a t i onn “Isn’t inin aa “Isn’tititfantastic fantasticthat thata asmall smallcompany company village impact villageininEast EastDevon Devoncan canreach reachout outand and impact on the world, whilst doing social good at home.” on the world, whilst doing social good at home.” David DavidFursdon, Fursdon,Lord LordLieutenant LieutenantofofDevon. Devon. #CampaignforRealVanilla #CampaignforRealVanilla tel.01395 tel.01395232022 232022www.littlepod.co.uk www.littlepod.co.uk twitter.@little_pod twitter.@little_podinstagram.@little_pod instagram.@little_pod Founder Founder receives receivesBEM BEM
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REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT
ADVERTORIAL
‘BUILDING LONG-TERM, TRUSTED RELATIONSHIPS’
Exeter-based BCR Associates, is a cost-management consultancy which creates tailor-made solutions for SMEs and larger corporates looking to increase efficiency, manage risk, ensure compliance or rationalise procurement costs. Founder and Managing Director Richard Dormer, tells BLM how his vision of leading ‘an ethical, responsible and sustainable business’ has taken shape, and outlines his ambitions for the future. CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT BCR ASSOCIATES? Your two biggest core costs, when running a business, are your staff and the stuff you do – so if you’re in manufacturing, that’s buying raw materials. That’s your core expenditure. Outside of that, you’ve got large costs, but no expertise – and that’s where we come in. Profits haemorrhage out of many businesses as many don’t understand the opportunities and pitfalls when buying relatively complex services – that’s our expertise. We look at your purchase ledger and where money is going out of the company, and see what we can optimise and rationalise – it’s a big technical ‘tidy-up’ operation. Ours is a professional consultative service, not a price-brokerage. We will take a company through a professional purchasing programme aimed at dropping costs. 76
WHY MIGHT A COMPANY ENGAGE YOUR SERVICES? For most, cost is ‘king’, so the main reason they may come to us is, because at some level, they feel a loss of control on costs in some way, or don’t have the skills to tackle these costs. Second is ‘change’ because of company growth or the world and the regulations in which they operate are changing. So costs, a changing world and legislation are the three main drivers that lead them to decide they need a professional pair of eyes on something. Saving money is great, but making the right decision is better. Doing it right first time with expert involvement saves money, jobs and time. That means we do not jump in with the cheapest thing on the market, we will spend a lot of time understanding your business and where you want to go and what is right for you. If you want cheap, we can provide ‘cheap’, but we let you know the risks. In most cases, if it ‘looks too good to be true’, it probably is too good to be true, and there will be risks that come with it. YOU WON THE CUSTOMER EXCELLENCE AWARD AT THE 2019 BUSINESS LEADER AWARDS – HOW MUCH DID THAT MEAN TO THE TEAM? We were really, really pleased. As it says on our website, we’re about building long-term, trusted relationships. Don’t call us as your last resort, call us as your trusted partner.
It’s like having a good marriage. You get married because it feels good, it’s the right thing to do, you want to make a lifetime commitment with somebody because it’s going to benefit both of you in the long run in so many ways, and your partner is your focus for the rest of your life. It’s a bit trite I know, but that’s the relationship we encourage with our clients. We are here for the long term; the customer is everything to us. WHAT ARE BCR’S AMBITIONS MOVING FORWARD? Our growth is focusing on those clients who will benefit the most from what we can do. Larger, more complex clients, whose growth needs our help. We give every client the same love, but where there’s a bigger purchase ledger we can show them more value.
For more information on our full range of services we can offer, please call 03330 433 233 www.bcrassociates.co.uk Issue 12: January - February 2020
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Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
77
INTERVIEW
so I know it doesn’t come easy…
H
e’s an Olympic, Commonwealth and European champion boxer – but Luke Campbell is also a commentator, motivational speaker, and owner of the Coolhand brand. He’s now a property investor, and rolling out a healthy eating chain and boutique gym. BLM learns more.
YOUR BOXING ACHIEVEMENTS ARE WELL DOCUMENTED, BUT CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE OF THE RING? I've got a property business, where we own a number of properties which we rent out, and have a healthy eating business called Feast, that I am growing. I also have a couple of other things I’m working on, like my own boutique gym, where I will be able to give back and help people. That’s important to me. I like to give back, help kids that need help, and try to put them on the right path. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT FEAST? Traditionally, the takeaways you get are curries, Chinese, pizza. People work all day, they’re tired, they’re hungry; they’re trying to be good, but they just want to order some food. But you eat it, and you feel guilty, you feel rubbish for eating it. We’re offering healthy food as a takeaway. As a boxer, my whole life I’ve had to eat clean, live a strict life. So I have a passion behind eating well. It represents everything I’ve been doing for 20 years. 78
Issue 12: January - February 2020
LUKE CAMPBELL HOW BIG CAN THIS GROW? CAN IT GO NATIONAL? That’s our ambition. We want to be able to franchise it and put it everywhere, and we’re putting 100% into this and have a lot of passion for it. WHAT MADE YOU INVEST IN THIS WAY WHILE STILL FIGHTING? Boxing is one of those things where injuries mean your career could be over in a heartbeat, so the plan is to be smart with what we’ve got. What I have today, I’d like it to last me a lifetime. I don’t want to give my life to boxing for 19-20 years and then come out of the sport and have to get a job. I’ve dedicated my life to boxing so I’ve got that luxury of not having to do anything if I don’t want to, and still living the life I want. THAT SHOWS A WISE HEAD. DO YOU COME FROM A BUSINESS FAMILY? I’ve not come from a business background, but I’ve always been a little saver. It started when relatives came over from Canada when I was 10 years old. They said to me, my brother and my sister, ‘why don’t you guys come over for the next summer… but, you’re going to have to save up. You’re got the whole year, and if you save enough money, you can come and spend the summer with us’. I was the only one who saved the money. I had to learn that if I wanted something, I couldn’t just live like the rest of them and have the sweets and go to the swimming baths. I learned I had to sacrifice. YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY DISCIPLINED, THEN? Definitely. I see some boxers who have been in one big fight, and then they’re driving round in a Rolls-Royce. But we’re trying to invest the money in a way that brings us a monthly income; that’s the key, and we’ll keep building. But I’d be lying if I said I was the brains behind my businesses. What I have, I put down to my wife. She’s a successful woman, and was a business director with her own family business. It is her who has been investing it all. She’s the brains behind everything I’ve got. WHICH OF THE ATTRIBUTES THAT MAKE YOU A TOP SPORTSMAN ALSO HELP YOU IN BUSINESS? I’ve learned a lot of lessons through sport. If you want something, you’ve got to work. You Business Leader - Inspire • Inform • Connect
Luke Campball with his wife Lynsey
have to put your hours in and sacrifice to get to the goal.
the world; that’s my bread and butter. Everything else just works around it.
I’ve learned about being disciplined and dedicated, and that persistence pays off. Having the right mindset too – not giving up at the first hurdle. If you fall over, if you’re down a little bit, you’ve got to keep going.
DO YOU HAVE AN AGE WHEN YOU PLAN TO RETIRE FROM FIGHTING? Obviously I love the sport, and I have got all the passion in the world to be the best, so once that desire goes, I’ll know it’s time for me to go.
DO PEOPLE UNDERESTIMATE YOU BECAUSE YOU’RE KNOWN FOR ACHIEVEMENTS IN SPORT RATHER THAN BUSINESS? When I’m getting prices, people might thing that ‘he’s alright, he’s well off’ or whatever, and they try to charge me over what it should be. They think they can do that because I’ve got it, but they don’t realise I’ve come from nothing. They forget I’ve earned my money the hard way. I’ve had to fight for my money, so I know money doesn’t come easy – but I don’t let it go easy. WHICH OF YOUR VARIED PORTFOLIO IS LIKELY TO PROVE YOUR MAIN FOCUS? My main aim is to be the best I can be at boxing, to put on the best fights and be the most exciting fighter in this country. That’s my ultimate aim. Putting on big, exciting fights for everybody in the country, if not
I don’t want to be getting punched in the face for the rest of my life; I have got a family. But I’ve still got goals and ambitions in boxing, and that includes being crowned world champion. I’ve still very much got a desire to be the best, and I’ll keep going until that goes. TEN YEARS FROM NOW, WHAT FURTHER AMBITIONS WOULD YOU HOPE TO HAVE REALISED? I’d definitely be a world champion, and I’d also be one of the most exciting fighters. If you were to ask a boxing fan who they love to watch, then, within the top two names I’d love them to say my name – across the world. Beyond boxing? More properties in the portfolio, a franchise of Feast – I think that’d be plenty.
79
FINAL WORD
PETER NIXON
What was your motivating factor behind setting up an interview with... IC Resources? The only ‘deep tech’ recruitment companies in the UK were providing a poor service and had a litigious modus operandi. We saw the need for a recruitment organisation that worked in the long-term interests of companies and individuals and operated as a member of the technology community rather than FOUNDER | DIRECTOR an external supplier. IC RESOURCES Philip Morris International (PMI) is one of the world’s leading tobacco companies with revenues in excess of $80bn. However, five years ago the company made a global industry hasn’t hugely changed The recruitment You position that IC itResources asselling a recruiter since 1999. Technology has become an enabler that announcement wanted to stop cigarettes asthat fast as possible and focus operates within the technology industry, rather than saves a lot of paper (remember faxes?!?!). instead on selling its smoke-free products. Business Leader spoke to Petertime Nixon,and the UK simply serving it. What’s the difference and why is There always be a small minority of people & Ireland Managing Director about the company’s radical plans and how will it is changing this important? who refuse to engage with recruiters entirely, but smokers lives for the better. What’s the difference between a good song and a ultimately I think there is greater recognition now truly great song? It’s hard to define and it’s subtle, that a specialist, well connected, ethical Peterrecruitment Nixon, Managing Director but it exists and it means everything. Being a partner is a necessary business ally in the battle at Philipfor Morris Limited member theME technology than CAN YOUof TELL ABOUT THE community rather company that justtalent. sells cigarettes to one anCOMPANY’S external supplier everything we – we HISTORYinforms AND ITS RECENT thatdo is completely focused on alternatives. give advice that is in the best long term The interest of business is a simple one. SELF-DISRUPTION? traditional alternatives, like the heated tobacco that we the and clients Wecandidates are best known as the sellerswe of work with, The start-up in the a huge growth You even harvestifthe leaves, roll themtech up, industryoffer, or UK the is vaping solutions we have. Once the result is less optimal for us in the short term. area the moment. do you support start-ups Marlboro – that is what our history is built package them and thenatsell them across Howwe have more awareness, the interest will One example: in our first year of trading I sent a CV and why is it such aasbig focus for you? on to become one of the biggest tobacco the world. It is now completely different grow rapidly. Internally, we are very excited, to a new client. The CEO contacted me to say the Startups are invariably 100% focussed on the companies in the world. We originally wehad have electronics involved and we have a and externally, and when customer we meet people they candidate was perfect……and he already the challenges of product development started on Bond Street in London by a man whole new division dedicated to this. They candidate on a ‘list to call’, he just hadn’t had time understand the difference and why this acquisition. They need a business partner called Philip Morris. constantly working on new designs and and was going to make the call on the are upcoming solution that we offer makes sense. representing them in the ‘employment market’ portfolio. weekend. heout ‘should’ haveupgrades paid ustoaour smoke-free and also educating them about the skills picture in Five years Contractually, ago, our CEO came and If you can move people over to these less fee for our introduction but had we added any value? recruitment process in announced that we were going to stop The last five yearsgeneral have feltand like Iabout have their own harmful alternatives, rather than them Not really. So we waived our fee and organised the particular. They also need a partner who understands selling cigarettes, and we then put all of been working at a completely different failing then itclient is better for everyone interviews anyway because the CEO was so busy. their struggles. We hadtoaquit, startup that ourthen focus worked into sellingwith smoke-free products. company. beingfunding a start-up, but We that CEO as a client for It17is likeneeded in the long run. There is a genuine to hire a senior technical person in order drive This included heated tobacco being a massive global company at the years until hise-cigarettes, recent retirement. for people join usthe to make a difference to obtain funding, but they didn’ttohave money products, like IQOS, and some new same time. Disruptive thinking but from for–the smokers. The government to pay a recruitment fee classic Catch 22. We have technologies. We are transforming the within the business that leads the the industry. reached a point where theywe’d have increased undertook assignment on the basis that whole company. This created arecruiting shockwave challenge What’s been the biggest thatnormally Companies to outside taxation on cigarettes through the roof and onlyreact invoice once they had secured their funding. aroundfaced the world and within the company you’ve so far? disruption, but this is a unique business have strict regulations, but they are unsure Toitself. be honest, challenge is consistency. When youthe havebiggest 80,000 employees transition that we have gone through. We what to do next – they now understand Byand definition, filling180 themarkets, 10th requisition inare the same operate across to then on your that blog about alternatives the need isto trying to avoidYou’ve our ownspoken Kodak moment. supporting the best skill-set forthat a company is a to lotsell harder the first, announce we aren’t going those than attract skilled workers outside of the We have the disrupter technology in house from way to get people to UK. stop What smoking. That is because the talent pool has been shrunk by 9! So the anymore one day was a surprise. However, if – so we are goingsingle thing do you feel awould to use it. This means massivemake changethe frombiggest a decade ago, and biggest isaachieving success, difference when it comes to attracting the skilled you thinkchallenge about it, it is logical move.consistent there will be less smokers and cigarette something that they have actively changed year on year, to great companies such as Qualcomm, workers the UKindustry. so desperately needs? sales –have but that is the future of the their mindset on. New tech is now coming fast, people ARM, Graphcore and so Ultraleap, all of whom The government has finally woken up to the value The UK has around 7.2 million smokers. exceptionally high will come up with thestandards. products that will of the graduate visa scheme the need for HOLD WHAT DOand THE NEXT FIVE YEARS They are looking international for less harmful,professionals yet replace cigarettes and reduce the harm across all technical fields. FOR THE COMPANY? satisfying, alternatives smoking. We will associated with smoking. Our CEO had the Whattowe need now is clarity - and a rise Our on endBrexit goal is for there to bein no cigarettes You sponsor highthat profile, give them that choice. vision, and decided we wouldspecialist go all out technology the pound to make the UK a viable option. at all and so we are currently working trade fairs including World Summit AI, AESIN to build a smoke-free future. Since 2008, a 25% market share for our towards that. The government has and GSA Exec Forum. You also donate We to have UKESF, What are the biggest challenges that you foresee we’ve invested more than £4bn into the traditional conventional business. For the to end smoking England by support their campaigns and sponsor awards, year to recruitment within the committed technology industry in in the science and research of developing smokenew marketplace, we control 60% of it. in, year out. Why do you feel it’s so important to 2030. We want to get there as soon as next five years? free products, and we employ than support the industry in thismore way? However, in this new tech-focused world, possible by drivingin as much change as we The biggest challenge is the increase demand 400challenge world-class scientists, The of ‘deep engineers tech’ isand in the the name, it’smoves industry incredible speed. The can people forat‘generalist specialists’ – and for helping example fullswitch stackto alternative technicians to help us. deep, it’s ‘under the hood’. So it’s not in the general market share candevelopers, shift in very short periods products. immediate goal is to sell firmware engineers or Our system architects. consciousness of society large and of politicians time – that is the power of innovation. more alternatives than cigarettes. Once that IQOS itself now makes up 60%at of the global in particular. They don’t understand the We value that from a stable marketplace are moving happens, we can talk about phasing out Reduced Risk Products market with a technology companies deliver to the economy where hope to from see the IC Resources to a volatile one, Finally, and that is why wewould have you cigarettes business – that is our £10bn retail value last year. and that the UK leads the world in many cuttingin ten years’ time? innovation at the heart of what we do. end goal. edge (which CHANGED unfortunately Brexit has HOW domains HAS THE COMPANY IN We’ve built an outstanding team of seniors / leaders eroded but YEARS? by no means destroyed). WHAT Therefore DOES THEwho FUTURE FOR THEfor heading People view as a8dusty, old company – THOSE FIVE are HOLD responsible upusour different supporting organisations that drum INDUSTRY? however,Semiconductors, we are more like a new-age tech My job is to lead the transformation herebeat the divisions; Software, Electronics, AI, ofin‘deep is a great waywith to the give back an Creative, andwith Marketing), IT and and self60% oftosmokers want to quitCommercial and try every (Sales start-up constant innovation the UK tech’ and Ireland. I have been industry love. Operations. 20, I hope tostill see a 30-the industry, year, but only 2-3% will succeed. So, Mostas we turn disruption. We are leading companythat for 16we years, but when I came year IC Resources in abut place can’t imagine right to the UK, we looked at transforming a of the time as they are old unaware of the in a Icompletely different way. How has the recruitment industry changed since IC now, because our leadership team has taken it into Resources first started out? areas I never would have dreamed of. 80 Issue 12: January - February 2020
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