Business Leader Magazine: June/July 2023

THE RISE OF TIMO ARMOO

EDITOR’S COMMENT

When Gerald Ratner took to the stage at the 2023 Scale-Up Awards networking event, a hush went over the 100-plus entrepreneurs and business leaders gathered in the lower level of the private members’ club, Home Grown, in Marylebone. For the next 20 or so minutes, he entertained with anecdotes from his infamous speech, how he ended up owing the bank roughly £2bn, and more. Being able to look back at that eye-watering debt, and one of the biggest mistakes in the history of business, really does prove that time heals all wounds.

I was blown away by Timo Armoo when we met for our cover interview with him a month or so ago. Entrepreneurs growing and selling a business at a young age aren’t a new phenomenon, but it was fairly easy to see why Timo has achieved the success he has before his 30th birthday. He was one of the most curious and reflective guests we’ve had on this platform, and I couldn’t recommend highly enough that you follow his journey because he’s destined for greatness.

We also took a deep dive into the choppy waters of the London Stock Exchange and asked if the UK is an investable destination. We highlighted some of the nation’s top scale-ups to watch, asked how you can effectively handle change within your leadership team, and questioned if search algorithms are going to nullify the ChatGPT revolution. Thanks for picking up this edition of Business Leader Magazine and be sure to join the conversation on LinkedIn.

Josh Dornbrack Editor

Editorial@businessleader.co.uk | @JDornbrack

EDITORIAL

Josh Dornbrack - Editor

E: josh.dornbrack@businessleader.co.uk

James Cook - Digital Editor

E: james.cook@businessleader.co.uk

Patricia Cullen - Senior Business Reporter

E: patricia.cullen@businessleader.co.uk

Alice Cumming - Editorial Assistant

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DESIGN/PRODUCTION

Adam Whittaker - Head of Design

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SALES

Sam Clark - Head of Awards Sponsorship

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DIGITAL & WEB

Nick Barnes - Video Editor

E: nick.barnes@businessleader.co.uk

Gemma Crew - Marketing Manager

E: gemma.crew@businessleader.co.uk

Rosie Coad - Marketing Executive

E: rosie.coad@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

DIRECTOR

Oli Ballard - Director

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MANAGING DIRECTOR

Andrew Scott - Managing Director

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LACK

OF

PREPARATION:

94% NOT TAKING STEPS AS AI LOOMS OVER WORKFORCE

A survey conducted by ID Crypt Global has revealed that over 80% of UK office workers are unconcerned about AI replacing them in the workplace. While 45% view the use of AI positively, 55% are sceptical.

However, 81% believe AI will not render their job obsolete, leading 94% to take no action to prepare for AI’s impact. If

widespread job loss occurs, 52% believe employers and the government share responsibility for retraining.

Opinion is divided on whether AI is good or bad for society, with 47% perceiving harm, 36% perceiving benefit, and 17% remaining uncertain. The rise of chatbots, including Chat GPT, has intensified the global debate on AI’s implications.

DEMAND FOR TEMPORARY STAFF ON THE RISE

According to a survey by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), UK businesses are showing increased demand for temporary staff due to recession fears, surpassing the employment of full-time workers. The survey indicates a significant decline in permanent placements, while the index for temporary placements has seen a slight increase.

Despite the UK economy outperforming experts’ forecasts and avoiding a technical recession, concerns remain, impacting business confidence. In response to these concerns, many businesses are adapting their strategies by opting for temporary staff instead of long-term contracts. The survey also reveals a rise in demand and pay for both permanent and temporary staff as businesses compete for talent.

VODAFONE’S NEW CEO UNVEILS AMBITIOUS PLAN: 11,000 JOB CUTS AND FOCUS ON REVITALISING PERFORMANCE

Vodafone has reported a modest 0.3% growth in full-year revenue, reaching €45.7bn. The increase was driven by growth in Africa and higher equipment sales, but was offset by lower European service revenue. However, underlying cash profit declined by 1.3% to €14.7bn, primarily due to higher energy costs.

Vodafone experienced a free cash inflow of €1.4bn, down from €3.3bn the previous year, and reduced net debt by €8.2bn to €33.4bn, largely due to gains from acquisitions and disposals. The company’s new CEO, Margherita Della Valle, acknowledged the unsatisfactory performance and announced plans to cut approximately 11,000 jobs over the next three years as part of a strategy to improve results.

Analysts have expressed concern, emphasising the need for tangible outcomes in the coming year to restore market confidence.

LOW VALUATIONS SEE FOREIGN FIRMS ON BUYER FRENZY FOR UK COMPANIES

A report from EY found that in 2022, the UK recorded 929 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, a drop of 6.4% from 993 in 2021. Foreign takeovers of UK companies are on the rise as economic challenges and a weaker pound make British businesses attractive to foreign investors. Despite a slight drop in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects, the low valuations resulting from economic uncertainties have sparked increased interest from foreign firms.

The M&A sector has seen a surge in deal value, with £13bn recorded in Q1 compared to £9bn the previous year. Notable acquisitions include French company Edenred purchasing Reward Gateway for £1.15bn and Canadian private equity group expressing interest in Center Parcs and Dechra Pharmaceuticals. While concerns exist among UK investors, foreign-owned businesses contribute significantly to the UK economy.

WILL AI DOMINATE THE JOB MARKET? BT’S MASSIVE LAYOFFS

RAISE CONCERNS

UK REVEALED AS NATION OF ‘NEPO WORKERS’

BT has announced plans to cut up to 55,000 jobs by 2030, with a fifth of the cuts expected in customer services, to be replaced by AI and other technologies. The majority of the job cuts will occur in the UK, where BT employs around 80,000 people.

The reduction includes 15,000 cuts related to the completion of fibre networks, over 10,000 due to new networks requiring less maintenance,

another 10,000 resulting from the use of AI, and around 5,000 from restructuring.

BT CEO Philip Jansen sees AI as an opportunity for increased efficiency but acknowledges the need for caution. The move follows similar job cuts by other big tech companies, raising concerns about AI’s impact on employment.

A survey by hiring firm Applied reveals that 42% of UK workers have obtained a job or job offer through personal connections, indicating the prevalence of nepotism in the workforce. Men are 33% more likely to benefit from personal connections compared to women, while younger workers, particularly those in Gen Z, are more likely to leverage personal connections to secure employment.

The research shows that personal connections help younger workers gain entry-level positions and quickly progress up the career ladder. However, younger workers also express moral conflict regarding nepotism. The study emphasises the importance of fair hiring practices based on skills rather than personal connections to create equal opportunities for all candidates.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING: GET READY FOR THE UK’S LANDLINE PHONE NETWORK SWITCH-OFF IN 2025

Businesses are urged to make the digital transition ahead of the UK's landline phone network switch-off in 2025. Colin Hewitt, BT Product Specialist with Integrity IT Solutions, says “The change is taking place to ensure that the UK’s communication network meets the demands of the 21st century. For businesses, this means taking steps sooner rather than later to ensure they are prepared."

The switch to an all-digital network is driven by the need to meet the demands of the modern era. Companies are advised to identify devices reliant on the analogue network and consider digital alternatives. Moving to digital phone systems offers benefits such as reduced costs, easier maintenance, flexibility, and enhanced security. Openreach has already initiated the process, with the switch-off affecting the entire UK, including rural areas.

SURVEY SHOWS 42% OF IN-HOUSE LEGAL TEAMS HAVE NO LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE

According to a survey conducted by Summize, a Contract Lifecycle Management disrupter, 42% of in-house legal teams lack a legal representative on their organisation's board. The research also revealed that basic tasks dominate legal departments' workload, leaving little time for strategic work. Additionally, 74% of legal professionals believe their teams are lagging in digital transformation, and 81% emphasise

the importance of better collaboration between legal and other business departments. The absence of legal representation on boards is seen as a missed opportunity to leverage legal expertise strategically. The report highlights the need for legal teams to embrace technology and invest in innovative solutions to enhance productivity and efficiency in the dynamic legal landscape.

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BOUNCE BACK LOANS WORTH £3.8BN ARE IN DEFAULT

145,000

A Freedom of Information request to the British Business Bank by Purbeck Personal Guarantee Insurance has revealed the current debt and arrears associated with the UK's Covid-19 loan schemes. The analysis shows that over 145,000 Bounce Back Loans worth £3.8bn are in default, with 9% of loans currently in default.

For the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, under 2% of loans are in default. The Recovery Loan Scheme has an average borrowing amount of £210,000, with business owners committing an average personal guarantee of £472,000. The statistics highlight the financial challenges faced by businesses as they continue to navigate economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic.

NEW REPORT REVEALS BOARD RECRUITMENT DROP AMIDST MARKET VOLATILITY

Heidrick & Struggles, a global executive search and leadership advisory services provider, has released its annual Board Monitor Report UK 2023. The report highlights the challenges faced by FTSE 350 boards amidst market volatility and analyses board appointments from January to December 2022. The data shows a decline in board recruitment due to the unpredictable operating environment, with a notable shift towards appointing executives with prior public board experience.

Boards are prioritising experienced senior leaders who are actively dealing with current business challenges. The report also reveals progress in gender diversity, with the share of board seats going to women reaching a record high. However, progress on ethnic diversity has been slower. The best-in-class boards are focused on diversity, sustainability acumen, and considering younger directors to bring fresh perspectives.

MAJOR MILESTONE AS THE ASCOT GROUP REACH 100 EMPLOYEES

Leading media, marketing and technology company, the Ascot Group, is pleased to announce that it has recruited its 100th team member.

This impressive business milestone places the South-West based firm as a top 0.3% employer in the whole of the UK and follows an impressive 20% year-on-year growth across all seven of the Ascot Group companies –disproving the narrative of a marketing ‘extinction risk’.

Andrew Scott, founder and MD of the Ascot Group, comments: “When the company first started in 2004, we had just a handful of employees so it’s fantastic to see how we’ve grown and evolved.

“Despite the naysayers, I’ve always believed we would build a world-class business. Hitting the 100-employee milestone is testament to the hard-work and dedication the whole team has put into the company over the years.

“At the Ascot Group, we’re shaping the future of the UK marketing landscape; offering unrivalled opportunities for our team, and creating hundreds of new, high value jobs in an area with lots of potential.”

COMFORTABLE OPENING UP AT WORK, RESEARCH REVEALS

Over half of Brits (51%) feel uncomfortable opening up about sensitive issues at work, according to research by Unmind. The top three taboo topics are personal finance (37%), grief (25%), and women’s health (23%). Mental health is twice as likely to be an uncomfortable topic as physical health, with 21% feeling uncomfortable discussing it. Fear of judgment (36%) and concern about career progression (24%) contribute to the workplace stigma.

Despite this, 68% of Brits consider it important to discuss these topics at work, and 44% would consider leaving their job if sensitive topics were mishandled. The research highlights a lack of trusted avenues for discussing personal challenges, with 18% feeling they have no one to turn to. Employers need to improve provisions and empower employees by providing well-trained designated contacts, such as a wellbeing champions network.

51% OF BRITS DON’T FEEL

▴ Andrew Scott, Founder & MD of the Ascot Group

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FROM TEEN ENTREPRENEUR TO MULTI-MILLION POUND EXIT

TIMO ARMOO’S JOURNEY IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTION

Social media. Influencers. Gen Z. There are many businesses and their leaders who still don’t fully grasp the importance and scope of these influential terms. One young entrepreneur was on the ground floor of the social media revolution and built and sold a company worth tens of millions of pounds.

Timo Armoo is a name you should get to know. We met with him at Servcorp’s beautiful office at The Leadenhall Building in London to discuss building his company Fanbytes, the importance of baking IP into a business, what it’s like when money hits your bank after an acquisition and much more.

COULD YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR CAREER TO THIS POINT?

I got into business quite young, and I’ve always done entrepreneurial things. I was 14 when I first started a teaching company, which helped tutor fellow students, but at 17 I started a company called Entrepreneur Express. It was an online media company but alongside that I’d grow Facebook pages that drove people to the website.

I sold that business after 11 months to a company called Horizon Media in the US for £110k and that was huge. I was like, “whoa, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.” In my second year at university, I started the social media and influencer marketing agency Fanbytes.

I scaled that from zero to 75 people, grew it to one of the UK’s leading agencies and sold it in 2022. My whole career has been about discovering stuff, realising that I’m good at it, iterating on it further, and then growing from there.

COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE JOURNEY GROWING FANBYTES?

I recruited my Co-Founder, Ambrose Cook, to start the business and then we brought on a CTO, Mitchell Fasanya, with the idea to help brands reach the Gen Z audience.

In 2017, the maximum that we got the company to was five people. In 2018, it was 15 and then 2019/2020 was where we hit our stride. I think the team grew to about 60 people in 2020. So, by the time that we sold the company there was about 75 people based in the UK, and eight figures in revenue. Then we sold the company for tens of millions.

It was a very interesting journey because I remember speaking to a VC who wanted

to fund founders and I actively said no. The reason I did this was because I had a very clear idea of what the exit could be for Fanbytes, and I knew it wouldn’t be hundreds of millions, but I was confident that it’d be around the mid-eight figure range because the market is here and we’re going to be able to achieve this amount of revenue. If we can then achieve this general amount of market penetration too, we can definitely hit the mark.

That is something that I didn’t realise was very uncommon amongst entrepreneurs. A lot of entrepreneurs start their company, and they’ll basically take money from anyone. They will play a game and say, “oh, well, I have this business, we have to go for a seed round, then we have to go for a Series A and then, obviously, we have to go Series B.” But I say no. I ask, “what is the outcome that you actually want?” I think, for me, the outcome that I wanted for our business was to scale it up for between five to seven years. And then when the market is ready for consolidation, we’re going to sell the company, and that’s exactly what happened.

With a lot of entrepreneurs, I spend a lot of time telling them to be a lot more realistic. Don’t try and play a completely different game. Try and play a game that you want to win rather than one that others want you to.

WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE ANGEL INVESTORS OVER VENTURE CAPITALISTS, IS THIS SOMETHING THAT WAS PREMEDITATED OR WAS THIS SOMETHING THAT DEVELOPED OVER TIME?

It was completely premeditated. I think I knew specifically that we needed ‘x’ amount of revenue to achieve this sort of exit value. How much do we actually need to do that? And then just work backwards.

The other thing is I had heard nightmare stories about founders who would raise VC money, but they’d have liquidation preferences. So, what that means is even if they sold the company, for whatever amount, the VCs get paid first before the founders. From an ego perspective, I didn’t like the concept of coming up with the idea and doing the work, but potentially having a VC that just chills, gives out cash, and is in a more privileged position than me.

From an angel investor perspective, especially if you’re building your first really significant company, one of the big competitive advantages you can have is the experience and help from other people. With so many of the angels I worked with, it could be 2am and I’m thinking about something, I shoot them a voice note, and they will reply with advice straightaway.

We were approached by a VC that wanted to fund us. They valued us at a £80m valuation. However, in the VC game, for us to then make real returns from their perspective, we’d have to have sold for about £100m. As I got into business as a vehicle for my broader life, I was able to be very objective about it and not get emotionally tied to the starryeyed narrative that tech startup people do.

WHEN YOU DECIDED TO EXIT THE BUSINESS, DID YOU BUILD IN AN EXIT STRATEGY TO THE BUSINESS, OR WAS THERE A LIGHTBULB MOMENT DURING YOUR JOURNEY?

I think Fanbytes was always built to have some kind of exit, and there were a few frameworks that I used. I believe that there are four outcomes for any business: either the business fails, you pass it on to your kids, you take it public, or you sell the company.

Fanbytes was not going to fail. I started when I was 21 and I still have no kids, so no one to pass it on to. It wasn’t the sort of company that could go public, given the timeframe, so the only thing was to achieve some kind of exit.

The second part was that when I started the company, I had written a note to myself. It essentially said, “by the time I’m 30, whether it’s Fanbytes or some other company, I want to have sold a business and be financially set”. By 27, this had happened, which is great.

We picked an industry which was nascent, but it was growing. My whole theory was that there was going to be a time in the industry where there’s going to be consolidation, and that is very important. Too many entrepreneurs pick a business with no inherent exit value.

I also realised I had taken the business as far as I could. As a founder it’s very important to understand that the skillset required to get to the next stage may not be yours. Fanbytes had become a beast and for it to thrive bigger, it needed to be in a broader ecosystem which included paid

media, and other forms of marketing. When we spoke to Brainlabs, it was as clear they were the right home for Fanbytes because they were indeed one of the premier digital marketing companies in the world.

WHAT WERE THE CRAZIEST MOMENTS FROM THE ACQUISITION?

The first crazy moment was when we officially signed everything. I don’t know why, but deals always seem to be kept quite late, so we were up until around 2am on a Friday just signing documents. It was all done virtually, so when the final doc came into sign, I got on Zoom with Mitchell and Ambrose and I had this speech in my mind to deliver but I was so frazzled that I just said a bunch of words like, “God, it’s so great. It’s amazing”.

We signed it and that was that. All the years and the heartache, stress and all the stuff that we put in has culminated in this

“FANBYTES WAS NOT GOING TO FAIL. I STARTED WHEN I WAS 21 AND I STILL HAVE NO KIDS, SO NO ONE TO PASS IT ON TO. IT WASN’T THE SORT OF COMPANY THAT COULD GO PUBLIC, GIVEN THE TIMEFRAME, SO THE ONLY THING WAS TO ACHIEVE SOME KIND OF EXIT.”

moment. That was a very crazy experience.

The second one is when the money dropped. There is quite a big gap of two weeks or so after you’ve signed the deal, but the money hasn’t dropped, so there’s this weird limbo stage. We were walking around waiting for the money to come in and we just kept checking, scrolling up and refreshing but nothing was showing. Later, Ambrose checked, and then he was shouting, and then Mitchell checked, and he shouted.

Then I checked, but because Mitchell and Ambrose were with a different bank to me (I had opened a bank account specifically for this transaction), my balance still showed as zero. I had to keep refreshing and then there it was, more money than I’ve seen in my life. I remember just shouting - I guess that’s all I did.

The final surreal moment was when I stood in front of the team, and I said that we’d sold the company. Pretty much everyone was happy, and that, in turn, made me happy. It made me feel like we had done something good, we had done something positive, we had chosen the right partner.

More importantly, I thought about the scale of the opportunity that we wanted to hit. Technology was our way of being able to scale the business without scaling people. By the time the company was acquired, 40% of our revenue was coming from the US, but we didn’t have a single person there, and it was because we were using technology to scale and deliver.

IS THERE ANY PART OF YOU, NOW THAT YOU’VE EXITED, THAT WOULD TRY AND IMPROVE THE VC LANDSCAPE?

No, I have no intentions of doing that. I think a big part of the reason why people go the whole VC route is just a status game. People want to work with name brand VCs because they think that’s what equates success, and it probably comes from school. People

want to go to Oxbridge because they want to be associated with the name. That was something that I was always wary of. Don’t play the status game because you could go down the path getting a huge office. Why? Because you want to have a huge office. One thing that annoys me is when I read something about someone who’s raised money, and they say, “we’ve raised this amount. We are currently 35 people, and our aim is to get to 100 people by the end of the year”. I thought they got into business to make profit and then potentially sell, but they’re basically saying, “we’ve now raised money to triple our costs”. It’s such a silly way of thinking about business, and I think more people should think the inverse of that. 

I found this important for two reasons: the first one was that I knew that when you start a services business, if you were to sell it, it would be valued on a multiple of EBITA, net profit, etc; secondly, I knew that for us to really achieve the outcome we wanted, it made more sense for the company to be more revenue-based.

watch the full interview here

WHY DID YOU FIND THAT CREATING YOUR OWN TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS WAS SO IMPORTANT?

“THE FINAL SURREAL MOMENT WAS WHEN I STOOD IN FRONT OF THE TEAM, AND I SAID THAT WE’D SOLD THE COMPANY. PRETTY MUCH EVERYONE WAS HAPPY, AND THAT, IN TURN, MADE ME HAPPY.”

IS THE LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE TOXIC?

The UK is a powerful country. Placed fifth in the world in terms of GDP, it recorded £2.23trn in 2022 and with more than 30 million adults in the labour market, it boasts the second-largest talent pool in all of Europe. However, it also has an Index losing out to its US counterpart and an inadequate tech climate for VCs and investment.

Numerous British companies seek to delist from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in a further blow to the Prime Minister’s hopes to set London up as a global financial centre. With outstanding universities, exceptional talent, and incomparable research, the UK has a lot to offer young businesses looking to scale. Why then, do companies leave and list elsewhere?

JUMPING SHIP

There is little growth in the FTSE100. In offerings Stateside, the top companies are technology, innovation, and consumer goods. Meanwhile, the FTSE companies look outdated and obsolete.

David Newns, one of the UK’s most successful serial entrepreneurs and investors, reveals the danger of disruption.

He says: “If you look at the S&P 500, eight out of the top 10 companies are founder-led (or were until fairly recently), built by Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. They’re modern, game-changing businesses too: Apple, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia, Alphabet. Compare that to the FTSE, none of the top ten companies are innovative, and they’re dominated by old economy businesses; literally half of them are mining and tobacco firms, led by career CEOs. They’re massively at risk from disruption by bright entrepreneurs whose companies are likely to come from outside the UK.”

SoftBank halted plans to explore a London listing of the Cambridge-based chip designer Arm, because of the political upheaval in the UK Government.

Rene Haas, CEO of Arm confirms: “After engagement with the British Government and the FCA over several months, SoftBank and Arm have

determined that pursuing a US-only listing of Arm in 2023 is the best path forward for the company and its stakeholders.”

Gambling group Flutter and Shell are also considering a move Stateside. It’s not hard to see why. There is no incentive to list in the UK if the main target market is the US.

A LOSING STREAK

This follows building materials giant CRH transferring its main share listing from the UK to the US, battering an already weakened FTSE. The firm said North America accounted for three-quarters of its earnings and was ‘a key driver of future growth’. CRH said the move provides “higher profitability, returns, and cash” for shareholders.

Shares in Associated British Foods were trading down nearly 6% in London after the company reported a 3% fall in its first-half profit, coinciding with plans to ramp up its US expansion. Fellow retailer JD Sports Fashion share price is also sliding.

WHY IS THE FTSE SUCH AN UNDERPERFORMER?

Is it because the UK left the EU? Or because of a spate of bad decisions? Maybe because UK lending isn’t as liberal as it is in the US? Or is it because the UK doesn’t back itself enough? It’s likely to be all of this and more, including the burnout driven by Covid-19, market dynamics, and a recognition that sometimes the grass is actually greener on the other side.

David Belle, Founder at Macrodesiac, thinks the toxicity of the FTSE says less about the FTSE and more about the US.

“We could be here for hours talking about why the LSE doesn’t have as great a market cap as the US, but at the end of the day, it’s because people are willing to write big cheques in the US in the VC space with the business model being that many will fail but a few will lead to unicorn status. Here we are far more conservative – but the biggest issue is the US takes all the decent talent! What we need is for our Britishism to take a backseat and to follow our US counterparts a little.”

The UK market presents a paradoxical picture. On the one hand, the market is one of the most mature in the world. On the other, many unicorns are leaving the UK, blaming the state of the financial market. The recent events with THG hints at how the LSE is damaging UK businesses.

Chief Executive and Founder of THG, Matthew Moulding, insinuated that there is a predetermined motivation to talk down UK-listed companies.

“The purpose of the game is simple, to bet that a share price will fall, and make sure you win the bet by doing everything possible to discredit the company,” he claims in a LinkedIn post.

Accusations of (purposeful) mismanaging of UK-listed firms are increasingly commonplace. According to the Tulchan Stewardship Report, 30 years ago pension funds held 55-60% of UK equities. Today it’s 2%. You do the maths.

EYES ON THE PRIZE

UK-listed companies have had their heads turned. Why? They have issued 75 profit warnings between January and March this year, the highest first quarter total since the early stages of the pandemic in 2020, according to the EY-Parthenon’s latest Profit Warnings report. As several large companies desert London, the Index is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Out-dated blue-chip stocks deliver good dividend returns and steady growth, but in the current market it doesn’t compete with other large-cap indexes.

A recent study by EY could point to another reason for the exodus. The study revealed the lack of credible transition plans towards sustainability among FTSE 100 companies. According to the research, only a handful of companies have set out a clear roadmap to achieve their sustainability goals. Considering the growing importance of ESG factors for investors, this is not a good sign.

HOME OR ABROAD?

Recently, there have been many high-profile examples of businesses choosing to go public off home turf. Also, secondary listings are increasing. This should come as no surprise – the US stock market has generally outperformed the UK for decades now.

The FTSE 100 market value is approximately £2.55trn. Taking united profits and earnings into account, it would be worth £460bn more were US share values used. There are 460 billion reasons to choose the US right there. This is a shocking gap in valuations between the US and the UK.

Ashley Ramrachia, Co-Founder and CEO at Academy reflects on why companies are packing up and going overseas:

“Businesses that list in the US enjoy high levels of liquidity, making it easier for them to grow quickly. They also benefit from regulation that is less complicated and easier to navigate compared to the UK.”

Naureen Zahid, Director, Investor Relations at OpenOcean outlines some of the reasons why the US is winning the race:

“THE PURPOSE OF THE GAME IS SIMPLE, TO BET THAT A SHARE PRICE WILL FALL, AND MAKE SURE YOU WIN THE BET BY DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO DISCREDIT THE COMPANY.”

Matthew Moulding

“Historically, many firms have opted to publicly list their companies within the US over choosing to list within the UK. The US has offered access to a much larger pool of capital, as well as a market with far more tolerance for risk in backing new and innovative products – even at earlier stages in their growth trajectory. This move has been perpetuated by the shifting UK market dynamics and important concerns about the trading environment within the UK, including the effects of Brexit,” she says.

DOLLARS, DOLLARS, DOLLARS…

Effectively, the FTSE is a boomer Index, with most of its sales conducted in USD (75%). Why then, would you care about listing in London if this is the case?

As an entrepreneur interested in huge, visionary ideas, Newns knows that to try and create the next big, global businesses of tomorrow, you go to the US, not the UK, to raise money privately or to list publicly.

“Innovator, Arrival left to list on the NASDAQ as did 4D Pharma (via a SPAC). We have incredible entrepreneurs and innovation talent here, but to keep them we must transform the landscape. We have to change the FTSE to make the UK the best place in the world to raise public money,” he says.

It’s already a challenging time to list, with risk aversion increasing given rising inflation and central bank monetary tightening.

“In this environment, firms are more likely to take a chance on New York for public future, particularly given listings on US exchanges have raised far more than in London, for example. But it doesn’t guarantee that there still won’t be a bumpy ride, given the volatility right now in financial markets,” warns Susannah Streeter, Head of Money and Markets at Hargreaves Lansdown

CHANGE IS AFOOT

More incentives to keep domestic start-ups in the UK before they reach the listing stage are vital to growing a pipeline of IPOs.

“The perception is growing that it’s harder starting off as a listed entity in London than New York. The City had been pedalling hard to attract new IPOs with help from the Government’s listing rules shake up but it’s an uphill struggle. Two key reforms have been passed and brought in, with rules relaxed to permit dual-class structures and enable more SPACs to operate,” says Streeter.

According to Streeter, the Government is considering more proposals, such as eliminating the two-tier listing structure. One option being reviewed is to soften the current rules requiring three years of revenue history. This could help attract more biotech firms in particular.

“But more incentives to keep home-grown start-ups operating in the UK before they reach the listing stage are also considered to be crucial to develop a stronger pipeline of IPOs,” she adds.

TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE?

Ramrachia warns that the time to implement change is now.

“While it is promising that Jeremy Hunt has announced that he will put forward a plan to make the UK a more attractive listing destination in his Autumn Statement, change cannot wait until then. The UK cannot afford to lose out to competitors such as China or the US. If the Government is serious about boosting economic growth and nurturing the UK’s innovative spirit, it must take action now,” she advises.

New reforms to increase the attractiveness of the LSE, with more specific details to be outlined in the 2023 Autumn Statement, may be too little, too late. To encourage growth in the UK market, and for firms to list domestically, we must create a business environment that fosters innovation, provides access to capital and supports growth, suggests Zahid.

“This will likely require changes to the FTSE listings rules, which are starting to look antiquated compared to other markets. Alongside it, we need more ambition from the UK Government in encouraging the titans of private capital to back UK plc. Recent ideas, such as the efforts to get major pension funds to back a proposed UK sovereign wealth fund, are the type of bold steps that will help make the UK a more attractive destination for firms looking to raise funds and grow their businesses,” she adds.

RISKY BUSINESS

Fears are growing of a new stock market crash in 2023. Inflation rates were meant to drop, bringing interest rates down with them. That hasn’t happened so concerns over base rates rising remain. High interest rates make cash and bonds more promising and borrowing more painful. This creates doubt. Uncertainty pushes cash away from the stock market and into safer havens.

As one of the worst-performing indices in recent years, London’s equity benchmark is unexciting for investors. Money and reputation are always at risk in the stock market – valuations change daily and nothing is set in stone. But some risks are much more exciting than others.

“Let’s be a bit more brash, let’s take more risk and let’s really capture what we are missing which is our ingenuity coupled with the US’ desire for having a go,” advises David Belle.

When approached for comment, Julia Hoggett, CEO at LSE plc, remained optimistic about the future and the impact of the FCA’s proposed changes to its UK listing rules:

“The FCA’s proposed changes to the listing rules, which include a single segment and a disclosure-based approach, are a meaningful step forward towards ensuring the UK remains a leading global capital market.

“THE PERCEPTION IS GROWING THAT IT’S HARDER STARTING OFF AS A LISTED ENTITY IN LONDON THAN NEW YORK.”

Susannah Streeter

“We believe this approach strikes the right balance in creating a simplified listing regime for companies whilst giving investors the information they need to make informed investment decisions and creates a level playing field for UK companies competing with international peers. These proposed rule changes are just one element of the reforms needed to improve the competitiveness of the UK’s capital markets. We look forward to engaging further on this agenda through the months ahead.”

While London is still a major international financial centre, it has been a challenging few months for the LSE. Something needs to change soon before the market becomes irreversibly inferior. 

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LIVING THE DREAM OR CHASING THE HIGH: THE DILEMMA OF A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR

Technology entrepreneur, author and investor Fiona Hudson-Kelly gives an honest account of the entrepreneurial itch in her recent Business Leader column.

Since I sold the last company I founded, Smart Apprentices, for a life-changing sum of money I’ve been living the dream. I have everything anyone could wish for, health, wealth, and family. I’m single so I can do anything I please when and how I want to, I’m not beholden to anyone.

My children are grown up with fulfilling lives of their own, I have two gorgeous grandchildren and, having come from an impoverished background, I will never have to struggle financially again.

The first year after I exited my business, I was busy navigating how to manage this new wealth, making new friends through my angel investing networks, mentoring younger founders, and supporting worthy causes that appealed to me. I’m not a materialistic person, on my wish list were two desires, firstly to travel more extensively – without having to be on call – and secondly spend more time with my children, 2 of whom live in Australia.

Sounds like the perfect life – right? What we are all working our socks off to achieve? And it was for a brief time.

But I feel unfulfilled, as though I’ve lost my purpose in life. Running my own companies for 30 years as a single caregiver and provider to 4 children, whilst studying for a master’s degree and renovating an old property, has kept me busy. I’m lost without the pressure, stress, stimulation and emotional highs and lows leading your own company from nothing to immense success provides. Should I be ashamed that I don’t get a kick from gardening, painting, cooking, pottery, or volunteering? I never have never enjoyed these things, I’m an entrepreneur. My head is full of ideas of how I can change the world and then get on and do them.

FROM SUCCESS TO PURPOSE: THE ENTREPRENEUR’S DILEMMA

I love business. I love living on the edge. I love taking risks not knowing how they will pan out but having absolute certainty that whatever happens I’ll be okay and bounce back. Being an entrepreneur is at the core of my DNA. It’s who I am. I don’t fit comfortably watching from the sidelines. I want to wake up in the morning with a passion. I miss the camaraderie of having a team around me who are as motivated as me grow a successful start-up and see it through to a successful sale.

Maybe with the passing of time, the most painful memories become dulled, forgetting the frustrations of discovering you’ve hired the wrong person into your innermost team, losing a key customer to a competitor because you took them for granted, so close to not being able to make payroll, working late into the night to meet a deadline?

I would trade all those low times to experience again the thrill of creating something from nothing that making a difference to so many people, being able to get back onto what I call the entrepreneurs’ emotional roller coaster.

Am I crazy for thinking I could do this all over again, start another business, grow it and sell it for many millions? For wanting to?

Am I alone in still being super ambitious as an entrepreneur at the age of 61?

SCAN HERE TO READ FIONA HUDSON-KELLY’S REGULAR COLUMNS

BUYING, FUNDING & SELLING We Make it Happen!

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BUYING A BUSINESS - ACCELERATE GROWTH

Whether it’s to become an owner, strengthen your market position or to expand your existing portfolio, our M&A experts help individuals and management teams to buy a business at the right price, on the right terms, and with the right funding in place. Here’s how we can help accelerate your growth:

• Acquisitions

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SELLING A BUSINESS - MAKE YOUR LIFE’S WORK COUNT

When it’s time to sell the business you’ve grown, our ‘sellside’ advisory services help owners sell to the right buyers, at the right price, and on the right terms whilst maximising and protecting the value you have created. Here’s how we can help you sell your business:

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£26M TRADE SALE OF KEEP IT SIMPLE TO THE PANOPLY HOLDINGS PLC

Our entire approach is focused on helping you achieve your greatest ambitions. We succeed only when you do – whether raising finance, buying a business or selling one you have grown.

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CHALLENGER CREDIT CARD RAISES £62.5M IN SERIES A FUNDING ROUND

Yonder has raised £12.5m in equity and £50m in debt in its recent Series A funding round. The round was co-led by Northzone and RTP Global, with participation from angel investors Joseph Moore and Kunal Shah, among others. This funding brings Yonder's post-money valuation to over £70m. The company plans to utilise the investment to double its team, expand its credit rewards offering into new verticals, and launch in new UK cities. The company has obtained FCA authorisation and uses Open Banking for credit evaluation, enabling a more accurate assessment of customers' spending habits.

TRAVEL INNOVATOR SECURES FUNDING TO DOMINATE EUROPEAN MARKET

Seatfrog, a travel innovator, has raised £6m in funding to support its expansion plans following a year of remarkable growth. Investors such as Pembroke, Praetura, and Octopus Ventures, with guidance from finnCap's Private Growth Capital team, have backed the company.

The new funding will enable Seatfrog to launch a recruitment campaign and meet the needs of operators throughout Europe, advancing its platform to become the choice for rail travel across the continent.

Eco-smart home technology manufacturer, myenergi, has secured a £30m funding package from HSBC UK to support its development and production of innovative smart home energy products. This investment will fuel myenergi's growth and reinforce its leadership in the smart home technology industry. myenergi aims to provide affordable and sustainable smart home solutions that reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption. With rapid growth and international export business, myenergi has been recognised as one of the UK's top 10 fastest-growing private companies, with an average annual turnover growth exceeding 180% in the past three years.

▴ (L-R) Harry Jell, Theso Jivajirajah, and Tim Chong Co-Founders of Yonder

UK’S FASTEST-GROWING PRIVATE COMPANY SECURES £30M FUNDING

▴ (L-R) Iain Griffin and Dirk Stewart, Co-Founders of Seatfrog

▴ (L-R) Jordan Brompton, Co-Founder and CMO of myenergi, Frances Howell, Managing Director of Head of Corporate Banking, Midlands Region at HSBC Commercial Banking, Lee Sutton, Co-Founder and CEO of myenergi, Melissa Hemming, Relationship Director for the East Midlands Corporate Banking at HSBC UK, and Emma Dutton, CFO for myenergi

CROWDPROPERTY’S VISION SUPPORTED BY £15M INVESTMENT

British Business Investments, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank, has pledged £15m to specialist property development lender CrowdProperty. This investment aims to improve access to finance for small and mediumsized housing developers, ultimately facilitating more housebuilding projects. With a customer-centric funding proposition and property expertise, CrowdProperty has already facilitated the development of over 3,000 homes worth more than £675m throughout the UK, with the majority of lending taking place outside of London.

ONEDAY RAISES £5M IN FUNDING TO LAUNCH INNOVATIVE MBA FOR ENTREPRENEURS

GAME-CHANGING AI-POWERED PLATFORM RAISES £20M TO TACKLE TECH TALENT GAP

Full-stack technical hiring platform, hackajob, has secured £20m in a Series B funding round led by Volition Capital, a growth equity firm based in Boston. The investment will support hackajob’s expansion plans in the US. Since its US launch, hackajob has already built a substantial talent pool, with US-based candidates comprising 25% of the platform’s tech talent. The funding round reflects hackajob’s progress and positions it for further growth in both the UK and US markets.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT CONSULTANCY RECEIVES £40M FUNDING INJECTION

Pioneering entrepreneurship education platform, Oneday, has announced the launch of its accredited MBA program following a successful second round of fundraising. The recent funding round secured £5m in investments from prominent firms such as Ananda Impact Ventures, Brighteye Ventures, Outward VC, Flint Capital, and Sparkmind.vc, bringing the total investment to £8.25m to date. Co-founded by Ranbir Arora and Taras Polik, Oneday's MBA program is overseen by Stephen Kosslyn, former Dean of Harvard. The programme offers an 18-month curriculum that includes personalised mentorship from successful entrepreneurs, enabling students to launch their own revenue-generating businesses while earning a fully-accredited MBA degree.

Ridge and Partners LLP has secured over £40m in funding from Horizon Capital LLP, a specialist private equity investor. The investment will support Ridge in implementing its "Quality, Innovation and Growth" vision, focusing on expanding expertise and nurturing talent. With this investment, Horizon Capital expands its portfolio to include built environment services, adding to its existing technology and business services companies. The deal was advised by a team from Shakespeare Martineau, including experts in corporate, employment, property, and commercial matters.

▴ Mark Chaffey, CEO of hackajob

▴ (L-R) Ranbir Arora, CEO and Co-Founder & Taras Polischuk, COO and Co-Founder of Oneday

▸ Michael Bristow, CEO of CrowdProperty

WHY FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE UK LOOKS LIKELY TO FALL IN THE YEARS AHEAD

Following Brexit, the UK has become synonymous with political turbulence. What was once a safer market for foreign investors has become increasingly difficult to predict and ever-changing governments have only exacerbated this issue. But despite this, the UK continues to be one of the most popular destinations in the world for foreign funds. So, what does the rest of the world really think of the UK as a destination for investment?

POLITICAL TURMOIL

Typically, investors like to put their money in stable markets, where it’s easier to predict how their money will perform. Over the last few years, the UK has been anything but stable. In addition to the seemingly never-ending saga that is Brexit, we’ve had three Prime Ministers in the last year alone, one of whom oversaw a mini-budget that led to the pound falling to an all-time low against the dollar.

Sam Smith, founder and former CEO of finnCap Group Plc & Champion of UK Entrepreneurship, believes such drastic political change is devastating investor sentiment.

She comments: “The constant changing of policy and leadership over the last year is a disaster on top of the previous years of uncertainty. When it appears to the world, we don’t know what we are doing, i.e., Truss/ Kwarteng, this exacerbates the problem. Sentiment is very important. Some overseas investment into UK funds stopped overnight after the release of the mini-budget. This is a big problem for confidence.” However, Smith says we are starting to see improvement as things settle.

Sukhendu Pal, Chairman of Sirius & Company, further elaborates on the effect frequent political change is having on investors that are looking at the UK.

Brexit divided the nation, injecting acrimony and toxicity into our national life. They see our economic malaise, with Britain lagging behind, facing the same pressures of post-Covid recovery and inflation as our neighbours, but suffering more, with a 5.2% shrinkage in GDP and a fall in investment in 2022, compared with the projected numbers had we not left the EU – all attributable specifically to Brexit, rather than the pandemic or war in Ukraine.”

According to EY’s Attractive Survey 2023, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stagnated in Europe in 2022, with the UK taking a significant hit. Despite retaining its spot as the second most popular European destination for FDI, investment into the UK was down 6% year-on-year. Conversely, France, which retained the number one spot, saw an increase of 3%, whilst FDI into third-placed Germany dropped 1% compared to 2021 levels.

As a result of Brexit, average UK FDI inflows as a share of GDP between 2017 and 2020 plummeted to their lowest levels since the 1980s, according to the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

Furthermore, Pal says experts have estimated that Brexit has reduced investment by about 11% over the six years following the June 2016 vote. They also estimated that productivity in the UK has decreased by between 2% and 5%.

He says: “The whole world sees our political dysfunction, with five prime ministers in seven years. They see the way Cont. 

BUT ALL IS NOT LOST

Although Brexit and political turbulence are putting some investors off, Dr Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman, Lecturer in Economics at the University of Salford Business School, says the UK is still an attractive place to do business, as it consistently remains in the top positions of the World Bank’s ease of doing business rankings.

He continues: “Compared to European rivals, it is far ahead. As a result, after the financial crisis in 2008-09, globally it has been the third-highest destination of FDI after the USA and China. Although Brexit negatively impacted FDI, the positive impacts of lower exchange rates outweighed the negative ones.”

Obediah Ayton, Director of Dhabi Hold Co, also believes the UK is very safe from a regulation standpoint and this is attractive to investors.

He says: “For anybody who has the right ticks and balances when it comes to regulation, we in the Middle East know how much hard work you’ve put into that. So, if you’re a tech company that has been funded by one of the UK’s top universities, you’ve got all these reference points. In Dubai, for example, there are lots of big names (like Middlesex University and London Business School) that have facilities out here because they love UK universities. A lot of people look at the UK as credible because if a company has performed well in the UK, investors know how hard it is to get where you are.”

But that’s not all: the number of scaleup businesses is increasing each year, according to Smith, and UK tech firms are still managing to attract plenty of funding. She says: “London tech firms attracted £16bn in VC funding in 2022 despite the economic downturn, and we still see more fintech VC funding than any other city in the world. The amount raised was double that of any other European city and ranked fourth globally. The total amount of VC funding secured by UK tech firms in 2022 was £24.2bn, making it the third-largest country for tech investment behind the US and China. This was down by 33% on 2021 levels, but this trend was not UK-centric.

“The total amount of fresh capital raised by London-based VCs in 2022 was £5.3bn, more than any previous year. This takes the overall total raised in the past years (2021 and 2022) to £9.2bn. Some of the world’s largest investment firms have also established new funds or a presence in London in the past year, which should be showcased.”

LOOKING AHEAD

It’s good to see that all is not lost for the UK,

despite political turbulence having a knockon effect on investor sentiment. The big fear, however, is that investor sentiment will continue to be stifled as political uncertainty continues. There is also concern that recent actions taken by the government will negatively affect FDI in the UK.

For example, Rahman believes raising the corporate tax rate from 19% to 25% during the current inflationary environment could reduce investment.

He elaborates: “The inflation has been mainly caused by cost-push factors, such as Brexit and the war in Ukraine, resulting in increased production costs. This has led to lower business profits, despite the high aggregate demand caused by Covid-19 support. Thus, increasing corporate tax further reduces profits and could have negative impacts on the economy, such as reduced foreign direct investment.”

Changes to the R&D tax scheme also came into effect at the beginning of April and research by R&D tax advisor ForrestBrown found that 41% of UK businesses believe the changes will make the UK less attractive as a location for investment in R&D, which will hamper the UK’s ability to be part of global R&D programmes and discourage foreign direct investment.

Clearly, there are reasons for business leaders to be cautious about what lies ahead, but there are also steps they can take to mitigate the potential damage caused by the government’s policies.

Ayton says: “2024 is going to be a better year, so if you’re a UK start-up, keep bootstrapping, look after the clients you have, do a good job and collaborate, which is something that doesn’t happen very often. Everybody’s looking to charge high fees. Charge lower fees but get more people. Go back to the basics and stop burning cash. It’s horrendous but if you were to get rid of a few people in the company, would that bring you closer to breaking even? If they’ve worked well in your organisation, they’ll find other jobs.”

Ayton also believes there has been a geopolitical shift to the Middle East, where there are hugely underserviced markets available to UK companies.

But the responsibility does not lie solely with business leaders...

“To help businesses thrive, the government needs several plans to be implemented,” says Rahman. “These include cancelling the corporation tax rise, extending special tax regimes, enhancing tax breaks and reforming regulations that may be holding

back investment. Additionally, cuttingedge regulatory frameworks should be introduced to capture new markets, while creating a competitiveness unit at the heart of government is needed to promote investment. Further plans regarding empowering cities and regions are needed to promote themselves as investment destinations. Reviving the Oxford-Cambridge Arc could also be a vital plan to promote business-finance-university clusters across the UK.”

With the UK continuing to attract high levels of investment, especially in certain areas, there are reasons to be hopeful for the future. But it’s impossible to ignore the impact the lack of political stability is having on investor sentiment and unless UK politics stabilises anytime soon, or investors somehow becoming attracted to consistent inconsistency, the likelihood is that foreign direct investment will continue to fall in the years ahead. 

88% NO 10% OTHER 2%

Business advisers for the modern age

BUSINESS RECOVERY: THE OPTIONS

Steve Elliott Partner

The WHO says that the Covid-19 emergency is over. But, with ongoing supply-chain issues – and eye watering energy prices compounding problems – it doesn’t seem that way. In the Southwest, we are seeing an increase in the demand for business recovery and insolvency services.

The business recovery process typically involves stabilising a company’s finances and repositioning it in the marketplace. Or it might be that a business owner wants to the wind things down because they have exhausted all options. Either way, working with a specialist is invariably the way to achieve the best outcome.

WHAT CAN THE BUSINESS RECOVERY PROCESS INVOLVE?

Analysing costs

The first step is identifying areas of the business where performance is lagging. Removing underserving parts of a business can mean staff redundancies but recovery advisors have the experience to navigate this in the most sensitive way possible.

Insolvency payments

An insolvent limited company can use a Company Voluntary Arrangement to make payments to creditors over a fixed timeframe, usually 3-5 years. This can be helpful for companies that have struggled with the burden of historic debt.

Liquidation

If all other options have been explored, liquidating the business involves selling off all assets, paying off all liabilities, and distributing any remaining funds to stakeholders. It can be a complex and draining route to go down, but with the right professional advice and regulations met, clients can move on. Our advice for business owners is to speak to their accountants and advisors regularly on the options available. Successful recovery can lead to a stronger and more resilient company that is better equipped to weather future challenges.

If you need support, or just want to talk through your options with one of our experts, reach out to us today. The first step is a completely free and confidential consultation.

With more than 100 years of Accountancy and Business Advisory experience, Monahans has the knowledge and understanding to anticipate your needs, no matter what.

ARE SEARCH ALGORITHMS GOING TO NULLIFY THE CHATGPT REVOLUTION?

With innovative, new technology and the pace of adoption happens quickly. Over the past 20 years, new platforms and tools, from the iPhone to TikTok, have seen progressively faster adoption rates.

ChatGPT is the new kid on the block. The AI chatbot was developed by OpenAI and is already causing a stir.

ChatGPT exploded onto the scene, generating enthusiasm from those working in and around AI, especially around its capacity to transform the way businesses interact with customers. However, it has also caused a lot of uncertainty.

VIDEO KILLS THE CHATGPT REVOLUTION

Ever since November 2022, ChatGPT has taken the world by storm; garnering over one million users in its first week. But is video still king?

Video is one of the most popular mediums for businesses to interact with customers.

Businesses produce engaging, clever, and entertaining video content that appeals to their target audience thanks to YouTube and TikTok. Google’s algorithm continues to favour video-based content, as it hones in on what both businesses and consumers want. With social media platforms prioritising new features such as live streaming, video could become one of the most dominant content types this year.

Stephen Robinson, Owner of Outrank, a SEO and digital marketing agency, reiterates the importance of video, but doesn’t think businesses should put all their marketing eggs in one marketing basket.

“Even though video content is king, a comprehensive digital marketing strategy should include a range of tactics, including written content, social media, email marketing, and other channels to be truly

effective and have the widest possible reach”, he advises.

Video is more time-consuming and harder to get right, but it puts businesses above the competitors who are cranking out content generated by ChatGPT.

THE HUMAN TOUCH

Don’t underestimate the power of the human element. First-person experience and trust are essential for unique, impactful, and audience-resonating products and services. Technology creates new conflicts. Humans are needed to solve the problems that automated devices can’t.

While ChatGPT brings new possibilities, businesses need processes to enable humans and AI to work together effectively.

Will ChatGPT replace humangenerated content altogether? A fine balance between where AI-generated content can thrive and where humans will still dominate is the most successful blend.

Businesses have a choice to make. They can use only AI-generated content, or find a balance between using advanced tools and partnering with influencers. This way, businesses can stay in touch and connected to their audience.

THE INFLUENCE OF INFLUENCERS

The nature of how consumers search for things has changed. Google used to be the first port of call, today billions of consumers start their purchasing journey much earlier on. They discover brands and products on their personalised social feeds recommended by influential third-party sources, such as the press, influencers and celebrities. Jenny Tsai, CEO and Founder of WeArisma reveals the importance of influencers.

“48% of Gen Z say they discover new products through influencers and this number will only continue to grow. Much of this content is now in the form of review and how-to tutorials in videos, whether on YouTube or TikTok”, reveals Tsai.

With the growing prominence of influencers, where products rank amongst social feeds is vital, businesses must build a strategy to improve their performance in a similar way to Google’s ranking.

With consumers spending so much time on social media, influencer marketing remains robust despite the cost-of-living crisis. A well-defined influencer marketing strategy across channels is key.

Done well, influencer marketing can help your company reach a new audience, attract customers and increase brand awareness. Done badly, it’s a waste of money with little return.

AI tools like ChatGPT create a lot of content, making it hard for businesses to stand out, whilst influencers bring a personal touch to the online world. However, do not underestimate the ongoing impact of experts and those with specialist knowledge.

“Even with social media like TikTok becoming top, I don’t think influencers on these platforms should be the main focus of businesses. While influencers can certainly help shape consumer opinions and drive sales, I don’t believe that they will necessarily become the future of search, and that businesses should focus on creating content that establishes them as thought leaders in their industry instead if they want real impact on their SEO,” advises Robinson.

WHAT CAN BUSINESSES DO?

There is room (and need) for various formulas. ChatGPT offers businesses the opportunity to streamline processes, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. Influencer assets will grow audience numbers, live for a short time frame on social channels, while expert assets are timeless and live on-site, to help educate and convert.

Businesses should never rely fully on AI. Use it sparingly, throughout wider strategies, but rely on experts to write content, create

images and record videos. Search engines will get better at recognising AI-generated content, and they won’t reward businesses for using it.

“As speculation over possible changes to Google’s algorithm grows, decision-makers must prioritise the delivery of hyperpersonalised customer experiences to ensure that their message is cutting through the noise. We believe algorithms will be updated to follow these changes. This could mean search engines will reward personal content over AI content, whether it is video or text,” says James Matthews, Country Manager for UK & Ireland at CM.com

Innovative, generative AI programs integrate into customer service software to provide more precise, professional and personal communications. This will increase customer engagement. Businesses that take the initiative and invest in conversational AI tools stand to benefit longterm from ChatGPT.

Cont. 

“48% OF GEN Z SAY THEY DISCOVER NEW PRODUCTS THROUGH INFLUENCERS AND THIS NUMBER WILL ONLY CONTINUE TO GROW.”

Jenny Tsai

“WHILE INFLUENCERS CAN CERTAINLY HELP SHAPE CONSUMER OPINIONS AND DRIVE SALES, I DON’T BELIEVE THAT THEY WILL NECESSARILY BECOME THE FUTURE OF SEARCH.”

Stephen Robinson

Dani Peleva, CEO of Franchise Fame advises against the use of fully AI-generated content, particularly for SEO purposes. This is because it’s easy to recognise machine-generated text. So many tools for this purpose are already out there and can easily catch businesses out.

Dani Peleva said: “As an agency that has carried out search engine optimisation (SEO) for over 12 years, our years of experience show us that it’s highly likely that the next Google algorithm will include detecting AI-generated texts versus humangenerated ones. As such, this is going to have a major impact on website rankings because AI-generated content is most likely to be flagged and penalised basically as severely as duplication and plagiarism have been to date.”

ChatGPT is better used to unlock content’s potential instead of being directly used for SEO purposes. Businesses that address the technical, legal, and ethical challenges that ChatGPT exposes, will prosper as that’s where product differentiation will happen.

WHAT NOW?

ChatGPT is still in its infancy, and it can’t compete fully. It’s this intelligence and the nuances around how it’s applied (alongside the use of existing AI capabilities) that are key to successful campaigns. This is something AI and ChatGPT cannot do alone – at least not today.

Tom Richards is the VP of Global Product at MiQ added: “In its current form has limited use in digital advertising and publishing. What becomes clear is that it provides nowhere near the level of depth and complexity that a trading team can deliver due to their skills in applying the right business context, domain knowledge and historical understanding.

“In the cold light of day, ChatGPT is simply yet another innovation that will impact our world like many before and after, it will still be there once the initial furore subsides. Don’t get sucked in. Look at the issues as they stand and how they might affect you, not the hyperbole. Only then can you minimise the negative effects and optimise the positives of what is a fascinating innovation.”

CHATGPT VERSUS GOOGLE

Typing a search phrase into Google is the go-to way to find answers to things ranging from ‘how to build a website’ to ‘how to build resilience’.

As ChatGPT gets more sophisticated, so too does Google. ChatGPT offers a conversational approach, so the AI answers queries directly, whereas Google merely fetches results. However, there are practical and legal challenges before new tools reach the size, strength, and steadfastness of a proven search engine such as Google.

Publishers are at war with Google, claiming the search giant exploits their content for free as Google News results. ChatGPT is likely to amplify this problem, further affecting publisher earnings and their business model.

Prepare your business now, to avoid repercussions later.

AI ISN’T TAKING OVER... YET

There is growing concern around ChatGPT replacing individuals, but technological unemployment hasn’t happened yet and looks unlikely. The advance of generative AI will continue, and new capabilities will benefit consumers, enterprise, and society as a whole. The focus isn’t whether AI will be good enough to take on more cognitive tasks, but how businesses adapt. 

LINKEDIN POLL

DO YOU THINK SEARCH ALGORITHMS ARE GOING TO NULLIFY THE CHATGPT REVOLUTION? YES 33% NO 67%

“IN THE COLD LIGHT OF DAY, CHATGPT IS SIMPLY YET ANOTHER INNOVATION THAT WILL IMPACT OUR WORLD LIKE MANY BEFORE AND AFTER, IT WILL STILL BE THERE ONCE THE INITIAL FURORE SUBSIDES.”

Tom Richards

Certain events transform how business is done. While the pandemic accelerated digital transformation out of necessity, artificial intelligence (AI) is making headlines for rapid advancements in how it is transforming business on many levels.

While we have unknowingly used AI in the background of many functions in our lives, it’s only now that it has come to the forefront of business.

Generative AI platforms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT — which has gained significant awareness in recent months has gained notoriety for its controversial ability to streamline the functions of knowledge workers at all levels.

Automation and labour-saving devices have risen in popularity as investments that streamline operations and there are many more reasons to adopt AI to help gain a competitive advantage as a business leader. These early adopters will progress faster than those that maintain a wait-and-see attitude. AI can innovate how companies do business by using big data to streamline operations, ordering and inventory. AI can innovate how they connect with customers from marketing content to customer service. And AI can create efficiencies in how work is done, and having this technology accessible to employees can help attract and retain top talent.

Here are some of the most common types of AI used by small businesses as defined by ChatGPT. (Yes, we asked it.)

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS

AI-powered predictive analytics tools can analyse large volumes of data and identify patterns and trends that people may miss. This can help businesses make more informed decisions about product development, pricing, marketing and other areas.

CUSTOMER CARE ASSISTANCE

AI-powered chatbots can handle routine customer inquiries, freeing up people to focus on more complex issues. This can improve customer service and reduce response times.

PERSONALISATION

AI algorithms can analyse customer data and behaviour to create personalised product recommendations, marketing messages and offers. This can improve customer satisfaction and loyalty.

AUTOMATION

AI can automate repetitive tasks, such as data entry or invoice processing, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic tasks. This can improve efficiency and reduce costs.

FRAUD DETECTION

AI-powered fraud detection tools can analyse transaction data to identify suspicious activity and prevent fraud. This can save businesses money and protect their reputation.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

AI can analyse data from sensors and other

By Steve McNulty, UK Managing Director of Vistage

sources to optimise inventory levels, shipping routes and delivery times. This can improve efficiency and reduce costs in the supply chain.

With this newest technology, SMBs need to get ahead of the curve and understand how this capability impacts strategy, how it can drive innovation, supplement their talent, help connect with customers or even streamline operations.

However it’s also important to recognise that just as AI can improve a variety of functions across your organisation, it has the potential to scale and grow the capabilities of hackers at exponential speeds as well. Balancing risk and opportunity is critical, and cyber mitigation should remain a top priority.

NOW IS THE TIME TO EXPERIMENT

Small and midsize businesses should not wait to take advantage of these new technologies to streamline efficiency, drive productivity, inform decision-making and improve their customers’ experience. As AI technology is rapidly evolving and increasingly accessible, SMBs that test these capabilities as early adopters and discover innovative use cases will gain a competitive advantage.

Big-picture implications: Transforming business with artificial intelligence

‘WE’RE ENTERING THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION’

WHAT ARE THE CHALLENGES FACING SCALING TECH

There are pertinent challenges facing technology businesses, such as inflation, a shift towards focusing on profitability from investors, labour challenges, and pressure to achieve net zero.

To hear how leaders in this space are navigating these challenges, we partnered with PKF Francis Clark for a topical event that looked at how you can successfully scale a tech business in 2023.

BUSINESSES?

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The conversation started with Jeremy Richards, who is a Director at PKF Francis Clark. Richards set the scene by discussing the challenges that tech companies he works with are facing. He explains: “The pinch points I am seeing from tech businesses are around cash burn, spending on research and development and the challenge around where capital comes from to fund growth. Attracting and retaining good people is also a key challenge.”

Interestingly, Richards also said that supply chain issues are still rife, and this means that getting hold of hardware and chips for technology has proven difficult in the last six to twelve months.

Despite these challenges, many tech businesses continue to flourish, and Richards says he is seeing commonalities: “For funders, tech businesses with a recurring revenue model and wide customer base remain attractive, especially if they are converting profits to cash and have a good team of people.

“It’s not rocket science about what makes a good business and funders are also looking at management teams more acutely, to see if they have the expertise to be able to scale the business.”

WHAT IS BEHIND AMDARIS’ SUCCESS?

One tech business that is flourishing and scaling fast is Amdaris. Andy Rogers is the company’s co-CEO, which is international in its operation but with its headquarters in Bristol, in the UK. In its previous financial year, it achieved a whopping 94% growth and is profitable. Rogers explains more about what is driving this fastscaling business: “In 2021, we invested heavily in the business and particularly around people, sales, and marketing. In 2022, we saw the realisation of that investment. It was a good year for us but when you are growing this fast, you need to keep your finger on the pulse and continue to deliver customer service at a quality your customers have become accustomed to.”

Rogers says that macroeconomic factors have stunted their growth: “We found that as the year went on the mood began to change and the short burst of post-pandemic buzz was replaced by the energy crisis, the rising cost-of-living, and

then the talk of recession brought negativity into the marketplace.”

Rogers continues: “As you would expect, this slowed decision-making when it came to our sales pipeline and people haven’t stopped buying but we are seeing delays. Although it appears that this is starting to change.”

Aside from the investment he says they’ve made in the business and its operations, what else has allowed it to scale fast?

He says: “We have a culture that is built around resilience. It is easy to cut back and take the fear on during challenging times but instead, we chose to invest and drive through it, and I believe that is what is allowing us to scale very quickly.”

87% GROWTH FOR XLEDGER

Another tech business that has experienced very fast growth is XLedger and their Sales and Marketing Director, Ian Halliwell, says that in its last financial year, the company posted figures that showed 87% revenue growth, compared to the previous year.

Halliwell tells us more about what is driving this scale-up: “To scale and grow cost control is always critical but what we recognise is that you need good people too. You need to invest in your people, now more than ever.

“Outside of our product and ensuring that it is the best it can be, allocating resources towards our people is one of the most important things.”

Halliwell says that, like Rogers, he has seen a slowdown and longer decision-making cycles, which means they are tempering growth expectations for the year ahead but not to a serious extent.

SHIFT TOWARDS PROFITABILITY

For years, tech businesses in the UK and abroad have benefitted from a laissez-faire funding ecosystem where it was easier for pitch decks to secure major funding rounds that created outlandish valuations and a culture of celebrating raises and revenues. Cont.

There has now been a shift towards tech businesses having to focus more on profitability and more scrutiny from investors and funders.

Andy Peddar, who is CEO of Deazy, agrees with the shift: “The market has corrected itself in my opinion to focus on companies that are profitable, and we are certainly focused heavily now on delivering EBITDA. We have put in processes that allow us to scale but also deliver quality and we are closely watching our cash burn as we move to being profitable.

“You shouldn’t be celebrating a fundraise and valuations need to re-align too. It is correct what is happening.”

A tech business that hasn’t brought on external fundraising is a rare thing and one such business is Carescribe. An assistive technology business, its Co-founder Chris Purcell says the business has seen 100% year-on-year growth but has not taken on any external funding. Sensible management and, with 4.9 million people in the workplace in the UK with a disability, it hasn’t found any issues finding product/market fit.

Purcell says: “We didn’t want to fundraise unless we needed to get into a market where we didn’t have the expertise, and so we have focused on the fundamentals and being cashflow positive since our third month of trading. The UK market is big, but the global assistive tech market is even bigger at £16.2bn.”

On whether they will raise going forward, he says: “We have a 12-18 month runway planned where we don’t need to raise and we’re investing all our profits back into the business. However, there are two scenarios where we would say yes. The first is if it allows us to enter a target market where we have no current expertise and the second is if we can put £1 into Google PPC and get £10 out in a growth flywheel scenario.”

THE NEIGHBOURLY STORY

People, money, and product are of course vital ingredients to scale in the tech space but a company that has also demonstrated the importance of being a business driven by social values is Neighbourly.

Zoë Colosimo, who is the company’s Chief Operating Officer, says that putting social values at the heart of the business has allowed it to grow quickly and remain profitable.

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She says: “When you look at the future workforce, by 2025 75% will be made up of millennials and this generation favour purpose-driven brands. Statistics show that 64% won’t take a job unless the company they are joining have a strong CSR policy and contribute to social and environmental issues.

“By being a business that understands this, you will win the race and retain talent, appeal to funders and be profitable.”

FUTURE

As part of the discussion, the panel were also asked about their future.

Andy Rogers says Amdaris are keen to continue their sense of adventure: “We would like to expand into other markets, and this will bring opportunities for further investment and acquisitions. We’re looking at how we continue to expand and build our business. We already have a strong footprint in Eastern Europe; Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. With the latter, we feel we have a responsibility post-war to be part of that rejuvenation and we are committed to our people there.”

Colosimo says that alongside growth, Neighbourly is acutely assessing the potential impact of AI.

She explains: “The impact of ChatGPT and AI will be transformative. Generative AI will

complete tasks for us and, beyond that, AutoGPT will deliver not just text translations, but it will be able to deliver a task on your behalf without any intervention.

“The World Economic Forum predicts that we are entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution and that three million jobs could be replaced globally. It’s incumbent on business leaders to start thinking about what AI will bring to new ways of working and how we support and prepare for it because your skills will be relevant for a shorter period.”

Purcell believes that AI has already had a transformative impact, but he has concerns.

He says: “You can’t deny that AI is delivering productivity improvements but there is some concern with business and education. It can write an essay and be more productive but is it delivering the outcome that we want and does it help learning?

“How do we ensure we get the outcome we want? We seem to be focusing on how we get to answer quickly but are we thinking enough about what the question is?”

Regarding AI, Rogers says: “We see it as a real value-add and it’s important to recognise the difference between humans and AI. Humans are amazing and unique and will always be able to solve problems that AI can’t. There is a concern about the accuracy of AI and the danger of using it as we have used Google. It doesn’t always have the right answer and switching your brain off blindly is a worry. However, there is no doubt it will help in many ways, especially administration tasks.” 

YOU’LL NEVER BE A PERFECT LEADER, BUT YOU CAN BE A PRETTY GREAT ONE.

The GM Leadership Hive’s fully funded programmes empower you with the tools, skills and knowledge to run your business as successfully as possible in Greater Manchester.

Dawn Duggan, Head of People, Skills & Talent at GC Business Growth Hub, shares what she’s learnt over her 25 years of experience in organisational, business strategy and skills development for businesses.

WHAT IS GM LEADERSHIP HIVE AND WHY IS LEADERSHIP SKILL DEVELOPMENT SO IMPORTANT FOR BUSINESS LEADERS?

GM Leadership Hive is a one stop shop for business leaders in Greater Manchester. Support is offered by the GC Business Growth Hub and the wider GM landscape, from the national Help to Grow management courses to online academic leadership that universities offer.

Nobody is an expert at everything. Every business leader starts being good at something, often in a practical aspect, which leads to success and growth. But just because your business is successful and growing, doesn’t mean you developed those leaderships skills along the way.

Lots of leaders don’t think twice about keeping up to date with technical or professional certifications – leadership skills are the same, they need to be refreshed, revisited and sharpened.

We’re here to help business leaders to develop themselves, as well as their leadership strategy, to think strategically about what’s next and how they, their staff and their business can continue to grow.

WHAT ARE THE MOST CRUCIAL SKILLS FOR LEADERSHIP IN THE COMING FUTURE?

Our research shows that one of the biggest needs is in digital skills, we live in a digital world and to be able to lead you need to know more than just the basics.

On another level, it’s more important than ever to have strong emotional soft skills because of that increase in digitisation. Hybrid, remote digital working isn’t going anywhere, and leaders need to know how to manage that – it’s all about building trust and confidence within a team.

Data shows that people are more productive at home rather than in the workplace, and their work life balance is better – leaders must get on board with the digital world we live in to empower their performance.

HOW CAN BEING A MENTOR CAN HELP A BUSINESS LEADER TO DEVELOP THEMSELVES FURTHER?

Mentoring should be a two-way relationship. Whilst a mentor might have skills and tonnes of experience, a mentee will have their own experiences too. Mentees can help refresh their ideas – it’s about coming together and working something out.

It’s also never been easier! You can use iMentor - an innovative platform matching mentors and mentees across the city-region which is totally adapted to the digital world.

With iMentor there are no set hours or commitment, it can be as much or as little time as you want. You can do it in person, virtually, over the phone or even via text. We welcome the mentors from all around the UK to connect with mentees from different background and grow together.

YOU’VE WORKED WITH MANY BUSINESS LEADERS, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THEM TODAY?

Leadership is about being able to give people a platform for ideas. Happy staff spread their ideas and have opinions, and they have good ones! It’s really important that as a leader you don’t try and do everything yourself.

You can’t pour from an empty cup – you need to step back before you’ve exhausted your own ideas and become burnt out to protect your own mental health and wellbeing and develop resilience. By allowing your employees to step up onto the platform and share their ideas you are drawing on a wealth of experience and knowledge and not just relying on your own.

If you’re doing everything in your business, you aren’t an effective leader, you’re just a very busy one.

Why investing in your own leadership skills will make you, your ‘business, and your staff’ ‘(and happier).’

FLIGHT STORY ACQUIRES FLIGHT PERFORMANCE TO SUPERCHARGE GROWTH

DEAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED

Flight Story, the marketing and communication company Co-founded by Steven Bartlett (BBC Dragons’ Den) and Oliver Yonchev (former MD of Social Chain), has acquired Flight Performance (formerly Mint Performance Marketing), a move which signals a launch into the US market.

Flight Performance is a performance marketing offering that accelerates growth for disruptive brands through cutting-edge strategies across creative, influencer marketing, paid social, paid search, email and SMS.

Flight Performance will join the Flight Story ecosystem, with the sole aim of keeping its clients at the forefront of the changing digital media landscape. Part of the digital and social media landscape since 2004, Daniel James founded Mint Performance Marketing in 2019 and will lead Flight Performance from the LA headquarters.

INTERNET FUSION GROUP ACQUIRED BY BRANDALLEY UK

DEAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED

BrandAlley, the UK off-price premium and luxury brand e-tailer, announces the purchase of certain assets of Internet Fusion Group, a global multi-platform e-commerce business that includes Country Attire and Surfdome, as part of its expansion plans. BrandAlley will not trade from IFG domains and will not be purchasing IFG’s existing payables or stock, however customer orders currently with carriers will be delivered.

The investment comes at a time of focused growth for BrandAlley, following 15 consecutive years of successful trading and multiple acquisitions including Achica, Cocosa, Lombok and BrandAlley France. The acquisition was delivered in conjunction with Director of M&A Advisory, Simon Smith of Full-Pitch Consulting. Legal advice was provided by Rob Russell, DLA Piper.

LEPAYA BOLSTERS MARKET REACH AND CLIENT BASE WITH KRAUTHAMMER MERGER

DEAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED

Lepaya, the corporate upskilling company, has successfully acquired Krauthammer, a training provider for senior leadership and commercial excellence, to further advance Lepaya’s mission to connect people’s potential to business impact. The combined company has more than 400 employees across offices in Amsterdam, London, Berlin, Munich, Stockholm, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, and Shanghai, and serves 1000+ global clients, including ING, Dell, Maersk, Backbase and Freudenberg.

Since its foundation, Lepaya has complemented organic growth with successful acquisitions. From acquiring AI technology companies like Munich-based VCoach (now Lepaya AI-Coach), and Amsterdam-based Smartenup to the recent acquisition of London-based SpeakFirst, Lepaya has successfully integrated product portfolios and helped existing, world-class portfolios and solutions to accelerate their societal impact by scaling faster and reaching more companies and learners.

▴ (L-R) Steven Bartlett, Co-founder of Flight Story, Daniel James, Founder & CEO of Flight Performancee, Oliver Yonchev, Co-founder & CEO of Flight Story

BUILDING CONTROL SECTOR TRANSFORMED AS SWECO ACQUIRES BALL & BERRY

DEAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED

Engineering, environment, design and regulatory consultancy, Sweco UK, has strengthened its reputation in the Building Control sector with the acquisition of Ball & Berry. As a combined business, Sweco will now become the Building Control consultancy of choice delivering the technical and compliance standards across the industry. The acquisition will also strengthen Sweco’s competencies in all sectors and extend its geographical presence in England.

Established in 2007 and with six offices in England, Ball & Berry provides Approved Inspector services in several sectors including commercial, residential, education, healthcare, hospitality, industrial and leisure.

Paul McNeill, Director at Ball & Berry, part of Sweco, said: “Coming together with Sweco – a company with the same passion for excellence – was an easy decision. Our combined expertise, and united values, culture and ethos will deliver incredible strength in our marketplace.”

BLINKIST JOINS GO1 TO CREATE A GAME-CHANGING CORPORATE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

DEAL VALUE: ESTIMATED TO BE $100M (£80.4M)

Go1 has announced the acquisition of Blinkist, a mobile-first learning app that summarises key ideas from professional books and podcasts which is used by tens of millions of people worldwide. The acquisition forms the foundation of a new model of corporate learning which seeks to engage learners throughout their day-today lives.

Go1 has made a name for itself as an aggregator of learning and development content, offering access to tens of thousands of short-form courses that are

typically consumed in a corporate setting. The acquisition of Blinkist expands Go1’s appeal to an audience that seeks to learn new skills and stay up to date on business and self-improvement topics with bitesized content, consumable on demand.

Learners can access Blinkist content through their corporate learning management system (LMS) but, for the first time ever, they will also be able to access content on their mobile, in CarPlay, or wherever and whenever they choose to learn.

BABBLE ADDS TO £100M REVENUE WITH PAIR OF ACQUISITIONS

DEAL VALUE: UNDISCLOSED

Babble has confirmed the double acquisition of Tewkesbury-based Midland Comms and a carve-out of the IT Managed Service Provider (MSP) business of Fife-headquartered Cloudstream Technology Limited.

Babble has made five acquisitions in the first quarter of 2023, as the company continues to establish itself as a UK Cloud Service Provider (CSP) with scale in both Comms and IT. The two new acquisitions collectively add £4.5m of revenues, 90%+ of which is recurring, taking Babble’s overall revenue run rate past £100m per year.

18,000 customers,

Babble now has more than

primarily in the mid-market space, with a sizable and growing base of enterprise customers.

▴ (L-R) Andrew Barnes, Co-CEO of Go1, Tobias Balling, Co-Founder of Blinkist, Holger Seim, Co-Founder & CEO of Blinkist, Chris Eigeland, Co-CEO of Go1

▴ Matthew Parker, CEO of Babble

CHANGING THE C-SUITE:

HOW TO SHAKE UP SENIOR LEADERSHIP WITHOUT DISRUPTION

The senior management team is an integral cog in the machine of any company. Overseeing much of the day-today running and responsible for strategic direction, as companies look to innovate and adapt to new trends, changes in the C-Suite are sometimes inevitable. For executives joining a new company, it can also be difficult to enact change without stepping on the toes of the status quo. We take a deep dive into how changes at the senior management level can be best navigated.

DOS AND DON’TS

In the words of Dr Hitendra Wadhwa, the Founder and President of global leadership development and organisational

transformation group Mentora Institute, “Managing organisational change is highly sensitive and complex, and this is especially true of managing senior leadership change.” So, what are the dos and don’ts when it’s time to make a change to the C-Suite?

“When there are changes to the team, enough care and time should be invested in every new team member to onboard them, not simply around their role and responsibilities, but this shared ethos that binds the team together,” continues Wadhwa.

“Executives should be mindful that every new person on the team brings their own mental models of how things are supposed to work, based on the cultures they have

been part of in the past. It will be important to unpack these from time to time, and even to invite the executive to unlearn some of these mental scripts to approach this new environment with a fresh, open, attuned perspective that helps them accelerate trustbuilding and gets them to fit in smoothly.”

For Doug Lennick, the CEO of highperformance leadership development firm think2perform, when preparing the entire workforce for change in the C-Suite, the first thing to do is to accept that real people, not the company, are dealing with other real people.

He continues: “Real people come fully equipped with real emotions. The executives themselves, as well as their employees,

experience a wide range of emotions when there is change at the top.

“Effective leadership of others is a function of effective management of oneself. What leaders say, how they say it, the expressions on their faces, and more will impact how people feel and how they behave. What you should not do is rely on written communication to carry the day. Writing, reading, speaking, listening. Those are the ways humans communicate. Use them all. And as my mom used to say, ‘watch your voice’.”

According to Investor, Chairman, and Mentor David Pattison, the considerations when changing executive positions depend on if the business is in a good or bad position.

He continues: “When companies in a bad position make changes, sometimes they feel they need to be radical, so they want to change the strategy or culture, not just the person. But they fail to look at the person they’re replacing. They might have a perfect strategy, but the current executive hasn’t done a good job, so they should just find someone that is good enough to carry out their current strategy. Also, if you’ve got a strong culture, you don’t want to bring a counterculture in, particularly at the top of an executive team, because it will completely alter how the business conducts itself. Unless, of course, the business is in such a bad place that dramatic change is necessary.

“For companies in a good position, a common mistake is promoting the number two to CEO. Whilst promoting internally gives good signals that you want to develop your own staff, great number twos don’t always make great number ones. For example, when Terry Leahy left Tesco and they hired from within. So, look externally to see what the options are and take your time, even if the company is doing very well.”

CULTURE SHOCK

One of the most common pitfalls when changing an executive team, according to Wadhwa, is integrating executives in a way that preserves culture, whilst also creating an open space for new ideas, fresh insights, and the intentional disruption of long-held practices that may be holding an organisation or team back.

This can be especially difficult as changes to the C-Suite are often made in response to wider societal trends, which can happen suddenly as we saw during the pandemic. For example, a LinkedIn study of US hiring patterns from 2019-2022 found that four C-Suite positions experienced hiring growth of more than 100% during this period. Covering more than half a million hires, these positions were Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer (168.9%), Chief Delivery Officer (165.6%), Chief People Officer (144.3%), and Chief Growth Officer (117.5%). From 2021-2022, the number of Chief Growth Officer hires also grew 37.7%, the most out of any position, which perhaps reflected the slowing global economy.

But that’s not the only issue. Lennick says it’s common for existing team members, including the CEO, to under-lead new members of the team or under-lead existing members of the team that are changing roles.

He continues: “Don’t forget even the most cerebral executives are human beings. That means taking the time to understand the new executive, and then actively helping the new executive get a lay of the land will increase the odds of successful onboarding.”

NAVIGATING CHANGES DURING M&A

Trends in wider society are not the only drivers of change at management level. During a merger or acquisition, unless it is decided that the acquired company will continue to operate as a standalone entity, what usually follows is a restructuring of the senior management team, and getting this right is important for the next phase of growth.

This can be difficult, and according to Wadhwa, avoiding power-play concerning who stays and who goes is vital. He

continues: “Leaders should strive to create a post-merger management team that can rise above the politics to dispassionately assess what is a good future state for the company, the path the company needs to take to get there, and who may be the right mix of people in the executive team to get there.”

Alternatively, such power play can be avoided by following Pattison’s advice for navigating management changes following a merger or acquisition.

He comments: “You need to pick the culture and strategy of the strongest company and that has to prevail. Joint CEOs don’t work: you must select your team and go with it. If you compromise on people’s roles, they will sit there, undermine, and be negative about what’s going on. When you merge two companies together, the weaker company doesn’t become as good as the stronger one. In fact, the stronger company becomes a bit weaker and then takes time to build up again.”

JOINING THE C-SUITE

We’ve touched on some of the things business leaders need to consider when making changes to senior management, but what about those joining a company’s leadership team? How can executives joining a new company implement change without rocking the boat, especially considering that this delicate balancing act is one of the common problems when changes are made at the executive level?

For Pattison, one of the best things to do is say you’re going to take however many days to talk to everybody, get used to the company, understand how it works, and understand the people. “It’s all about communication,” he comments. “One of the things that bothers people when new leadership comes in is they feel like they don’t know what’s going on. So, addressing the company and senior management is key.”

“EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP OF OTHERS IS A FUNCTION OF EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT OF ONESELF. WHAT LEADERS SAY, HOW THEY SAY IT, THE EXPRESSIONS ON THEIR FACES, AND MORE WILL IMPACT HOW PEOPLE FEEL AND HOW THEY BEHAVE.”

Doug Lennick

“WHILST PROMOTING INTERNALLY GIVES GOOD SIGNALS THAT YOU WANT TO DEVELOP YOUR OWN STAFF, GREAT NUMBER TWOS DON’T ALWAYS MAKE GREAT NUMBER ONES.”

David Pattison

Lennick says that changing a company’s leadership team is rocking the boat. However, engagement with any new changes will improve if the executive coming in has good answers to the following questions:

1. Where are we going?

2. What’s in it for me to go there with you?

3. What’s in it for you?

4. What’s expected of me?

5. What can I expect from you?

6. If I have a problem or want to advance an idea, where do I go for help?

Wadhwa also has three tips for those joining the C-Suite:

“Firstly, win the trust of the people. Let them see you not just as competent, but as caring - as keenly interested in listening, learning, adapting, and accommodating their perspectives.

“Secondly, when you are making the case for change, do not do so by invalidating certain people or practices. Instead, guide people to honour the past and embrace the future. Couch your change recommendations in the larger frame of seeking to preserve the company’s core principles, the legacy of its founding days and vision, by re-expressing it in the best ways for present times.

“Thirdly, co-opt others to work with you and contribute to shaping the change agenda and pathway. The more people are invested in it, the more they will be supportive of it.”

Changing the C-Suite of a company is not easy, particularly when a culture has been in place for some time. However, careful consideration when choosing whom to bring in will ensure positive change can occur and help bring that business to the next level without causing too much disruption to what might be a longestablished senior team. 

NEW STUDY REVEALS A 277% SURGE IN FUNDING ENQUIRIES AMID ECONOMIC CRISIS

A recent study conducted by Charles & Dean, an independent finance broker, reveals that despite the challenging economic climate in the UK, businesses are prioritising investment to stimulate growth. Enquiries into funding have surged by a staggering 277% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year. Decision-makers have taken decisive action, with the total number of transactions rising by almost a third (30%), and the total amount funded increasing by 11% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

The study demonstrates that investment appetite has increased throughout the UK. The South East region is the primary hotspot for asset finance investment, accounting for over a fifth (21%) of total enquiries.

Northern Ireland and the West Midlands are leading the way in year-on-year investment growth, with increases of 500% and 467% respectively in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

At a county level, areas such as Lancashire and Kent have seen a tenfold increase in enquiries compared to the first quarter of 2022. Essex and Bristol have also experienced substantial growth of 650% and 600% respectively.

Various sectors are exploring funding options, with construction demonstrating the highest demand, representing nearly a third (31%) of all requests. The water supply, sewerage, waste management, and remediation sector, as well as the accommodation and food service industry, have witnessed significant growth in finance enquiries, both seeing a 1,000% increase compared to the first quarter of 2022.

“FIRSTLY, WIN THE TRUST OF THE PEOPLE. LET THEM SEE YOU NOT JUST AS COMPETENT, BUT AS CARING - AS KEENLY INTERESTED IN LISTENING.”

Dr Hitendra Wadhwa

Since then, I’ve increased my revenue by 500%, doubled my time off, and, best of all, get to spend every night and weekend with my daughter.

x x x

Cancelled holidays. Evenings and weekends spent away from your family.

Burnout and stress that never seem to end.

None of these are the reason you became a business owner. But as it is for many others, this has become your reality. But what if there were a better way — a way for you to grow your business without sacrificing your personal life, time, or freedom? Luckily, there is.

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HOW HAVE THE TOP 32 BEEN CHOSEN?

For each edition of our print magazine, we ask our readership to provide suggestions for our chosen list. We have also asked companies to provide their turnover, EBITDA and staff headcount to decide on the final list.

However, if you think someone is missing from this list, please send an email to editorial@businessleader.co.uk and they will be added to the digital version on businessleader.co.uk.

This list is in no particular order.

TOP 32 SCALE-UPS TO WATCH

History tells us that some of the world’s best companies were forged in the fire of recessions and hardship. Airbnb, Groupon, Revlon and Morgan Stanley are just some of the household names that broke out of these seemingly impossible conditions. In this Top 32 list, we highlight some of the scale-up companies that are powering through these troubled waters and forming the backbone of the economy despite the turbulent economic climate.

TALKING TABLES

Talking Tables was founded by Clare Harris in 1998, offering ‘tablescaping’ decorations and items to help furnish small gatherings at home. The company offers products ranging from paper plates and outdoor rugs to candles and games.

Now a certified B Corporation, Talking Tables has successfully grown since it was founded over 20 years ago. With 50 staff, offices in three counties, and almost £20m in revenue, Talking Tables products can be found in places like Tesco, Amazon, and Oliver Bonas.

SPROUT.AI

Sprout.ai is an end-to-end claims automation technology solution delivering fast, accurate decisions to better serve its customers. The company works in partnership with insurers to deploy AI and data-powered products. This provides accurate decisions to customers, driving high customer retention and improved claim handler efficiency.

Raising more than $15m to date from top-tier investors like Octopus Ventures, Amadeus Capital Partners, and Playfair Capital, Sprout.ai makes sure their technology can be used across any insurance vertical, extracting relevant information from claims documents provided by the customer.

KEYNEST

Operating in 12 countries and recognised as one of the Financial Times’ Tech Champions, KeyNest aims to simplify the process of securely storing and exchanging house keys with contractors, guests, friends, and cleaners. With over 5,000 KeyNest Point locations, accessible 24/7 at newsagents, cafes, and petrol stations, KeyNest makes a point to be widely available.

Developed originally in 2016 for Airbnb hosts, KeyNest has expanded to become necessary for anyone who needs to keep a spare key close to home. With over 1.5 million users so far and the statistic of facilitating a key collection every 30 seconds, KeyNest is successfully expanding its services.

▴ Roi Amir, CEO - Sprout.ai

IGNITE YOUR BUSINESS POTENTIAL WITH 500 INFLUENTIAL MINDS!

HURR

A community-driven marketplace reinventing ownership and founded in 2018, HURR aims to build the world’s most circular home for fashion. The company operates a hybrid model combining peer-to-peer marketplace, whilst powering fashion rental for the UK’s retailers including John Lewis and Flannels. Focusing on sustainability, HURR taps into trends with access to 45,000 items of clothing on rotation, aiming to close the gap for circular fashion. In 2021, HURR Collective raised over £4m in seed funding, a round led by Octopus Ventures, which helped their aim of disrupting the global women’s fashion industry.

PUREGYM

PureGym Group is one of the largest gym and fitness operators in Europe. Founded in 2008 by Peter Roberts, the Group now has approximately 1.6 million members across over 500 gyms, with the selling point of affordable membership fees, no fixed-term contracts, and 24/7 access to facilities.

The Group is a scaled leader in growth markets, occupying top positions in each of its main markets: the UK, Denmark, and Switzerland. PureGym looks to double its number of sites, reaching more than 1,000 clubs by 2030 after securing over £300m worth of equity investment from KKR in 2022.

STRIPE OLT

Stripe OLT has dedicated the last three years to growth and innovation. Evolving from its IT provider roots, the company has developed into a major Microsoft cloud and cyber security provider.

Having grown significantly, from 15 employees in 2019 to 70 in 2023, Stripe OLT now offers a broader range of secure solutions from Managed IT and Cyber Security to Incident Response and attack Simulation services. The cyber security specialist supports critical infrastructures in established organisations for the likes of Hargreaves Lansdown and National Rail.

HAMILTON BARNES

Hamilton Barnes is a provider of talent to the network engineering sector, working with organisations that are powering the internet, such as BT, Sky, and Vodafone. During Covid-19 the company was able to triple its turnover and grow its headcount five-fold, from 20 to over 100 employees.

With offices recently opening in Austin, Texas and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Hamilton Barnes has expanded its offering to a global scale, partnering with large telecoms companies, alt-nets, and ISPs to build a safer and more secure internet.

▴ Victoria Prew, Co-Founder and CEO - HURR

KIRSTY’S

Kirsty’s, a free-from ready meal manufacturer, increased its turnover by 26% last year despite challenging market conditions. Established 12 years ago with funding from Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne on Dragons’ Den, Kirsty’s expanded to take on its first ‘free-from’ factory in 2010.

Kirsty’s has grown 149% over the past three years, with a team of 49, thanks to the successful launch of new categories, retailer listings, and increased consumers. The company’s sales growth has been matched by EBITDA growth of 197% due to careful cost control and overhead management.

INTEREX

Founded in 2016 by Jamie Fraser, InterEx is a global staffing and talent delivery company specialising in cloud technologies, Microsoft, security, business intelligence, and data and consulting services.

Over the past four years, the company has placed more than 1,400 candidates in 38 countries. InterEx’s rapid growth has enabled expansion into the US with the opening of a Miami office, and the company looks towards a New York expansion in 2023.

Headquartered in Bolton and listed on the London Stock Exchange, AO World plc is an online electrical retailer whose mission is to be the global destination for electronics. AO sells major and small domestic appliances and a range of electrical products in the UK, as well as ancillary services like installations and collections.

AO has a majority equity stake in AO Recycling, a WEEE processing facility, allowing the company to ensure customers’ electrical waste is dealt with responsibly. This is just one of the ways AO looks towards sustainable practices, apart from the obvious consumer electrical circular economy. AO are also committed to becoming a Net Zero company and has plans for mapping greenhouse gas emissions and transferring to renewable energy.

ALTERNATIVE AIRLINES

High-growth global flight-booking brand, Alternative Airlines, offers a wide range of airlines, destinations, and payment options, with an innovative approach to design to make booking flights as easy as possible.

Alternative Airlines continues to experience international growth with increased revenue in 2022 due to the significant increase in booking volume globally, which grew more than 200% compared to pre-pandemic 2019.

GREEN POWER SOLUTIONS

Green Power Solutions Ltd is a B-Corp accredited company specialising in renewable energy solutions. With two sub-brands, iJo Power and Maximisemy.energy, the company has experienced strong growth since its inception.

iJo Power design and deliver solar battery options for homes, businesses, and farms, which significantly reduces electricity bills for customers with an average return on investment of four to five years for domestic properties. Maximisemy.energy is a SaaS platform that helps customers optimise their energy usage through automation and forecasting.

▾ Kirsty Henshaw, Founder & CEO - Kirsty’s

SHAPE THE FUTURE OF LEADERSHIP, GROWTH, AND INNOVATION.

VERTO HOMES

Co-Founded by Tom Carr and Richard Pearce in 2010, Verto is a zero-carbon housebuilder based in the South West. Verto holds the title of the first UK housebuilder to specialise in the design, build, and sale of smart homes that produce zero carbon emissions.

With the promoted message of ‘living zero’ being at the heart of their Zero Carbon Smart Homes for over a decade, Verto are looking to reach Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) with ratings of up to 125A, 35% more than the minimum score for an A-rated home. Since inception, this product has delivered revenues of £76.9m for the business, with its current pipeline having a total GDV of £378.9m.

ROCK

One of the largest technology consultancy firms in the UK, ROCK aims to empower its clients to navigate the digital age by continually evolving their capabilities. Since 2008 and beginning in a garage belonging to the Founder Rob Dance’s parents and with £1,000 in the bank, the company has evolved to a team of over a hundred people.

With the heart of their ethos being to transform the lives of their clients, this mission has led ROCK to have a 10X increase in profits from 2021 to 2023 and over 30% growth in revenue and headcount in the current financial year.

▾ Rob Dance, Founder & CEO - ROCK

N2S

n2s has seen sales turnover double over the past three years to £10m. With significant private investment in place, the business is strongly positioned for rapid growth by leveraging the demand for reducing the environmental impact of IT hardware equipment and cabling, used in delivering enterprise, data centre, and cloud computing.

Central to this growth is their Technology Lifecycle Management solution that includes a sustainable ‘bioleaching’ solution to enable ‘urban mining’ of valuable metals from printed circuit boards. This will ensure hardware manufacturers and their users can meet their ESG objectives and obligations including Scope 3 emissions.

EXPERIENCE THE POWER OF INSPIRING SPEAKERS AND VISIONARY

AMDARIS

Amdaris is an extended delivery teams outsourcing partner providing software development, strategy and consulting, product development, data solutions, and managed services to companies around the world. Amdaris’ international expansion led to 94% year-on-year revenue growth in 2022. Run by co-CEOs Vlad Nanu and Andy Rogers, and headquartered in Bristol with locations in five additional countries, Amdaris is committed to maintaining a positive company culture and showing dedication to upskilling through mentorship and growth schemes.

CONNECT WITH THE UK’S FOREMOST BUSINESS TRAILBLAZERS

Co-Founded by CEO Babs Ogundeyi and CTO Musty Mustapha in 2019, Kuda is a fintech company that aims to make financial services more accessible, affordable, and rewarding. In 2021, Kuda raised $50m at Series B, bringing its total funding raised to $90m.

With ambitions beyond Nigeria, Kuda has styled itself as the money app for diasporic Africans over the world, and with their expansion plans, the company aims to operate across borders, connecting with customers across the world.

ACE MONEY TRANSFER

An Authorised Payment Institution recognised by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, Australia, and Canada, ACE Money Transfer provides remittance services to over 100 receiving countries, aiming to connect families and friends across the world through secure and costeffective money transfers.

Founded in 2002 in Bolton, with minimal services and a small customer base, ACE Money Transfer has expanded to build a network of over 350,000 pay-out locations and 1.3 million customers worldwide.

VIRGIN INCENTIVES

Virgin Incentives, the corporate arm of Virgin Experience Days, looks to offer fun days out for the masses. Partnering with UK and US corporations to create a thriving employee culture, Virgin Incentives offers flexible corporate reward solutions to help businesses reward their employees.

Over the past two years, Virgin Incentives hired new staff at managerial levels to boost brand awareness and client retention. Recently, Virgin Experience Days acquired US experience gift provider Cloud 9 Living to boost US experiences.

▴ Danni Rush, COO Virgin Incentives

▴ Babs Ogundeyi, Co-Founder & CEO Kuda Bank Cont. 

ARE YOU A DECISION MAKER OF A BUSINESS SCALING FAST?

TO FIND OUT MORE, EMAIL: SPONSORSHIP@BUSINESSLEADER.CO.UK

MRS BUCKÉT

Founded by Rachael Flanagan when she was 17, Mrs Buckét is a commercial cleaning business delivering services to businesses in the public and private sectors across the UK. Now worth over £7.5m and with more than 120 partnerships with successful companies, Mrs Buckét strives to be the UK’s first choice in commercial cleaning. With 360 people working for Mrs Buckét, the company has grown by more than 40% already this year, with expectations to exceed £10m in revenue by the end of 2024 with an additional 120 people employed.

CHECKATRADE

Founded in 1998 in West Sussex following a tornado strike, Checkatrade is a digital marketplace designed for finding quality tradespeople from plumbers to painters. Transforming the business from a paper-based directory to a digital marketplace, Founder Kevin Byrne sold the company to shareholder Homeserve Group in 2017.

Checkatrade now has over 500 employees across Portsmouth and London with over 47,000 trade members across the UK. The company has experienced much success with the website having over 24 million visits a year and six million customer reviews.

GO.COMPARE

A website that allows you to compare the cost and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products, and energy tariffs, Go.Compare was the first comparison website, formed in 2006, to focus on displaying policy details. Making money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on the site as opposed to charging people for its services, Go.Compare has proved successful in the market. In 2021, Go.Compare agreed to a £594m takeover of the company from Future plc, expanding the company’s price comparison e-commerce capabilities.

NORTH PROPERTY GROUP

A fast-growing, independently-owned property agency in the UK, with a CAGR of 84.6% over the last three years, North Property Group aims to digitalise property sales and letting.

Founded in 2017 by Oli Banks and Tim Coen, the pair have grown their initial £4,000 investment into a business with revenue exceeding £5.5m. The business has sold more than £500m worth of UK property over the last six years. Specialising in new-build property sales and lettings, primarily buy-to-let investors, North Property Group looks to grow its headcount of 75+ staff by the end of 2023.

▾ Rachael Flanagan, Founder Mrs Buckét

INFORMATIVE PANEL DEBATES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR NETWORKING

GA PET FOOD PARTNERS

GA Pet Food Partners is a European premium dry pet food manufacturer, providing solutions from new product development to manufacturing and dispatching. GA also provides private-label pet food opportunities for partners across the globe, and as a result, exports to over 50 countries with some of the biggest and smallest pet food brands.

Compared to GA Pet Food Partners’ beginnings in 1992 as arable farmers, in 2023 the company now employs over 860 people and sells 80,000 tonnes of pet food per year.

BUSINESS DESIGN CENTRE

The Business Design Centre Group (BDC) is a family-owned business founded in 1854 that began mostly in manufacturing and commercial property. In the 1980s, the Group rescued the Royal Agricultural Hall, which dates to 1862, and reopened it as the Business Design Centre in 1986, becoming an integrated trade and exhibition centre for events and showrooms.

Most recently, BDC was awarded Superbrand status in the 2022/23 listings, putting this company alongside some of the UK’s leading brands and businesses, and they are also looking to reduce their carbon footprint to net zero by 2030.

JUST EAT

Just Eat Takeway.com was created in early 2020 after the merger of Takeaway.com (founded in 2000 in The Netherlands) and Just Eat (founded in 2001 in Denmark). The company is now a major global online food delivery marketplace, with its platform operating in 20 countries. Just Eat has over 692,000 connected partners offering consumers a wide choice of food.

In 2021, Just Eat acquired Grubhub in the United States, expanding its North American facilities.

BELL CONTRACTING

Bell Contracting is the Contracting Division of K. W. Bell Group, aimed to diversify the company’s service offering. Bell Contracting is the largest division under the company, with an annual turnover of around £50m per year and almost 500 skilled operatives in their workforce, who operate across the South West and South Wales.

Over the past 18 months, Bell Contracting has invested almost £3m into tech that aims to cut down labour costs and create a quicker and safer way to carry out complex tasks.

IDVERSE

IDVerse (formerly OCR Labs) uses generative AI to empower true identity globally. Using Zero Bias, AI-tested technology, the company trains neural network systems to protect against discrimination. They help automatically verify users in seconds using their face and smartphone in over 220 countries.

Following their Series B investment in 2022, IDVerse has grown across EMEA and APAC, launched US operations, and hired staff to drive international growth.

(L-R) Matthew Adams and Daniel Aiello, Co-Founder of IDVerse

Cont. 

JURO

Juro is an all-in-one contract management platform that enables business teams to agree and manage contracts in one unified workspace. Since its founding in 2016, Juro has raised more than $32m in venture backing from US and European VCs, including the investors and founders behind Twitter, Coinbase, SoundCloud and Indeed.

Juro’s headcount has tripled in the last two years, with employees now working in its London, Lisbon, Riga and remote hubs. Having more than doubled revenue in each of the last three years, Juro now powers contracts for more than 6,000 companies in more than 100 countries, with customers including Trustpilot, SoundCloud, WeWork and Deliveroo.

RSK

A global company responsible for delivering sustainable solutions, RSK is a conglomerate of more than 175 environmental, engineering, and technical service businesses, with more than 12,000 employees in over 40 countries. These companies provide practical and innovative solutions to some of the key challenges faced today.

The company operates in most sectors of the economy, including those critical to the future of global sustainability like water, infrastructure, mining, and waste.

ARGUS MEDIA

Argus, founded in 1970, is an independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets offering price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, and more. Headquartered in London with 1,300 staff, Argus has 29 offices in the world’s principal commodity trading hubs and is trusted by companies and governments in 160 countries. Some of their most recent achievements include launching a non-Russian origin diesel price, partnering with OMJ to add transparency to UK/Ireland downstream petrol prices, and completing the Peruvian switch to Argus for fuel import pricing.

PETS PUREST

Oli Bristowe, Founder of Pets Purest, a natural supplement, treats, and grooming product for pets, has grown the company to £10m in turnover and a £1m EBITDA business in less than six years. With 130% sales growth over the last three years, Pets Purest has supplied over one million dogs with natural, healthy products globally.

Despite economic challenges, the company’s ability to navigate these tough times has led to successful global expansion, growing the team from two to 10 people and securing a six-figure growth investment in 2021. 

▴ Richard Mabey, Founder Juro

▴ Oli Bristowe, Founder Pets Purest

THE UNBEATABLE STRATEGY OF LOVING CUSTOMERS: FRED

REICHHELD TALKS NPS AND SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

Fred Reichheld is a legend in the field of customer loyalty. If you’ve ever received a text or email asking to rate a product or service, you can thank Fred for that. Although the system isn’t without its critics, it’s estimated that NPS (Net Promoter Score) is now used by two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies.

Since its initial development in the early ‘90s, Fred developed the NPS system to measure how likely customers were to recommend a company to a friend. His latest book, Winning on Purpose: The Unbeatable Strategy of Loving Customers, builds on the early system and is a must-read for any businessperson pursuing sustainable success.

In this exclusive interview, we talk to Fred about the good and the bad of the NPS system, how it’s developed over time, how NPS is a key indicator for the quality of a company’s leadership, and much more.

WHERE DID YOUR PASSION FOR CUSTOMER LOYALTY COME FROM?

My uncle ran a series of large Fortune 500 businesses. As I got to know his colleagues, investors, and customers, I felt like those business communities were the best communities I had ever encountered. They were better than churches, schools, and nonprofits; they really treated people right but there was a high-level of accountability. That model just wasn’t widely shared in business school.

The idea that your primary duty was to your shareholders and maximising shareholder value made everything else okay, even if it was ethically shady, was just so inconsistent for me. So, I suppose the drive was, how do I reconcile these two worldviews? Which one is right?

As I’ve come to recognise, the only way to build a prosperous and sustainable business is that high road of treating people right.

So, I’ve tried to develop tools, techniques, frameworks, and practical solutions that help leaders take that path. But, although I’m proud of what we’ve achieved, still only 10% of business leaders today believe that the primary purpose of a business is to make their customers’ lives better. That’s just mind boggling to me because it’s the only purpose that actually leads to positive outcomes in the long run.

quartile, like a car dealer does. When their employees innovate and succeed in making customers love doing business with Apple, they want them to feel the love in a way that they know their bosses, and their bosses’ bosses are going to be able to see and celebrate.

Take that concept and multiply by the 1,000s of practitioners who have used NPS effectively, and you build a whole foundation of ideas of how a business should be run. As I mentioned, it’s so revolutionary to traditional MBA thinking. It’s fashionable today to talk about all your stakeholders as equally important. That’s just wrong. Obviously, you have to serve all your stakeholders, but your purpose has to be to make one of those stakeholders’ lives better; and the customer is the only one that makes sense.

ARE YOU PROUD OF THE ADAPTATION OF THE NPS SYSTEM?

We’ve made good progress. I’m astonished at how this community, who has adopted these ideas, has grown, put them to work, and shared them. Apple was one of the early adopters of NPS, because their mission was to enrich the lives of their customers, and when they saw the system, they said, ‘finally, here’s a practical way of measuring progress on this mission.’ The idea that every Apple store employee gets instant feedback from a customer shows that they get how to use the system.

It’s designed not to get people in trouble. They don’t rank everybody by their score and embarrass the people on the bottom

Because when you when you solve a customer’s problem and make them happy, not only does it encourage them to come back and recommend the experience to friends and family, but it also makes it a better place. When you put your team in a position where they can enrich the lives of their customers, you, in turn, have enriched those employees’ lives because of that act of service.

YOU CAME UP WITH THE NPS SYSTEM AROUND TWO DECADES AGO, HOW HAS IT DEVELOPED SINCE THEN?

When I started by focusing on the economics of loyalty, the metric I used was retention rates. It’s a good metric. Retention continues to be an important way of measuring whether you made customers happy or not, but it was too late in the process. Often, your customer leaves after a long period of disappointment, and so it’s hard to assign accountability, it’s hard to get that customer back and solve the issue in a timely way.

I was searching for what would help businesses get a snapshot in real time. I

“APPLE WAS ONE OF THE EARLY ADOPTERS OF NPS, BECAUSE THEIR MISSION WAS TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF THEIR CUSTOMERS, AND WHEN THEY SAW THE SYSTEM, THEY SAID, ‘FINALLY, HERE’S A PRACTICAL WAY OF MEASURING PROGRESS ON THIS MISSION.’”

Listen to the interview here

came, probably grudgingly, to the idea it had to be a survey, because I’m not a fan of surveys; I think they often waste people’s time. I spent a lot of time in my graduate courses at Harvard, understanding sampling issues and statistical accuracy, and know that most people won’t go to the trouble to understand all those things.

That said, I worked out that if I must have a survey, how close could I get to perfection with just one question? The answer was pretty darn close. The question we found was that the best signal of a customer’s life being enriched was: how likely would they recommend this to a friend? We developed it on a scale zero to ten. It saves people the hassle of answering 5, 10, or 20 questions and gets the friction out of the way.

But where did the system go wrong? Customers stopped thinking about the difference between the overall relationship between NPS versus an individual transaction. They would also start linking survey scores to frontline bonuses, which creates bias in the system and leaves it open to gaming or cheating. Nevertheless, people need accountability. Now, of course, every Net Promoter survey done by my rules will have a why and open text verbatim to explain why and how to get better, and that’s where the real feedback and the richness comes from.

DESPITE ITS CRITICISMS, COULD YOU GIVE US SOME EXAMPLES OF THE BEST USES OF THE NPS SYSTEM THAT YOU’VE SEEN?

A good example is Apple. The traditional thing that big companies do is buy tech that makes the headquarter-based employees more powerful and have smarter insights. However, the best ones, such as Apple, empower frontline teams with apps as they want the information out in the front line.

Enterprise RentA-Car is another great example, they were the company that had what was really the forefather of NPS. They had two questionnaires that went out to a sample of customers at every branch, and they held the team accountable in an appropriate way, because the scores were in front of them. Andy Taylor, who was the CEO of the company at the time, explained to me that they call customers who give a failing grade. The branch manager calls them, apologises, probes for the root cause, tries to figure out how to learn, and then shares that with the branch team. That idea of local learning and closing the loop is very powerful.

One of the best examples I’ve seen recently is from my daughter. She ran a customer service operation for an America wine retailer called Total Wine & More. She knows I like just one question, but she told me she added a second one; and the questions is, “is there anything we could have done better or to make your experience even better?” These questions led to some very powerful insights.

For example:

Why did you give us a 10?

“Jerry at the checkout was incredible.”

What can we do better?

“The light is out in the streetlamp behind your store where I park, and it makes it feel creepy at night.”

That’s a problem worth solving.

WOULD YOU SAY THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN NPS AND GOOD LEADERSHIP AT A COMPANY?

I can talk to a leadership team for 20 minutes, and a handful of their frontline employees for another 20 minutes, and I’ll know straight away where they stack up in NPS versus their competitors. It is purely a cultural belief system. Often, there’s a lot of people in an organisation that want to put in an NPS system, but leadership doesn’t really believe in customer centricity. Some leadership even think of it as a tick-box exercise. They put in NPS but then they keep putting in policies that are abusive of customers, such as banks charging crazy fees and hotels tacking on a hidden resort fee.

I was talking to a young finance reporter, and she said something just totally brilliant. She said, “so what you’re saying, Fred, is that when you encounter one of these bad prophets, techniques, or someone is begging for a score, that’s really a signal that the leadership of that company is not high quality.”

That’s the signal that you shouldn’t be buying from a company like that, you don’t want your kids working at a company like that. Those bad behaviours might make accounting earnings go up this quarter, but they essentially ruin the potential of that business to achieve long-term sustainable growth, because the only sustainable profitable growth is this flywheel of treating customers well, so they come back for more and bring their friends. 

“Without exception, every deal we have done with Karen and her team has been efficiently handled and competitively priced. Professional, no fuss lending at its best” Borrower, Wales

TAKING THE NON-HIERARCHICAL APPROACH GROWTH THE STORY OF APPLIFTING

Jan Hauser CEO – Applifting

Hauser elaborates on the effect of such “We believe in creating an environment where everyone is treated as an equal whose voice, opinion, and concern are always valid and welcome. We help one another out, share knowledge, and encourage and support

everybody in focusing on what matters the most to them.”

But that’s not all – the salaries of all Applifting employees are disclosed, which has also been of benefit to the software development firm.

Hauser explains: “Transparency is very important to us, and we believe having this sort of information out in the open for everyone at the company to see and discuss makes for a much more relaxed and pleasant working environment. It’s been beneficial in building mutual trust and establishing fair and just baselines for all roles and levels.”

However, full transparency has made it challenging for the firm to ensure a truly level playing field. Applifting, as a result, has iterated on the specifics as people expand their knowledge and the company grows more robust.

KEEPING THE CULTURE

Hybrid working is now commonplace for UK businesses, although many leaders have fears over whether it means workers are less productive. A Microsoft survey from last year found that 80% of bosses think workers are less efficient when working from home; but Applifting’s CEO is not one of them.

In fact, despite hybrid working not being a requisite at the firm, Hauser says they actively encourage it amongst their staff and clients.

Hauser explains: “Fostering a working relationship based on open communication and trust is important to us. We share all know-how from the get-go, enabling our clients to fully take over when the need arises.

“Clients can first give the hybrid setup a try with just a small team and then expand as they see fit. At the same time, we are not above admitting when there is something we are not suited for; we will happily recommend another company we trust to do the job well. In general, the end goal is to bring value to the client and ensure long-term satisfaction and success.”

Retaining culture has been a concern for many business owners when implementing a hybrid working policy. As such, it may not come as a surprise to hear that a

company that encourages this modus operandi has also experienced difficulties when implementing culture throughout its business.

Hauser comments: “One of the recurring challenges we’ve faced over the years is making sure our culture is at the forefront of everything we set out to do. The more people we bring into the fold, the more complex and intricate the parameters to take into account when making any major decision that affects us all.”

However, Hauser says this challenge has also provided chances for Applifting to develop.

He continues: “We have had our fair share of missteps and misjudgements, but we like to think of those as opportunities to learn and grow, both on an individual level as well as a collective one. It is therefore less of a challenge to ultimately overcome and more of a continuous effort to maintain what we believe is the way to do right by people.”

time by 5%. Nevertheless, at the end of the year, the declining market conditions threw us for a loop. We fought tooth and nail to make sure no one would have to worry about losing their job. Luckily, our clients gave us a helping hand with allocating as many of our people as they could, and together, we weathered the storm.”

The IMF has predicted the UK economy will be the worst-performing of all the G7 economies in 2023. So, despite managing to weather the current economic storm, Applifting’s CEO has some uncertainty regarding what happens next.

Hauser comments: “It is difficult to predict how exactly the year will unfold and what it will bring. It stands to reason that if the market or our clients get affected, so will we in turn, which is why there is no one clear scenario. Given our cultural setup, we share regular updates on the company’s financial situation, and we are doing our best to stay as stable and secure as we can. We are also immensely grateful to have outstanding longterm relationships with our clients.”

FUTURE PLANS

One certainty, however, is Applifting’s plans as they navigate this tough economic period. AI developments, such as ChatGPT, have been one of 2023’s hottest topics, and taking advantage of them is of key importance to the firm that builds apps and web solutions for global companies including Škoda.

TOUGH ECONOMY

Like many companies operating in the UK, Applifting has not been immune to the tough economic climate, which has seen inflation reach 40-year highs and interest rates hit 4.25%. Hauser says they took measures to deal with rising inflation but were fortunate to have some outside help to combat these challenges.

He says: “To compensate for inflation, we raised salaries twice across the board, each

Hauser concludes: “The landscape is changing rapidly with recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. We are working to carefully adapt our software development processes to include the newest AI tools. That way, we are hoping to accelerate delivery and reduce costs by a significant margin. We believe this is the natural next step in the industry—or at least something to be reckoned with.” 

“IT CAN BE LONELY RUNNING A BUSINESS AND MOST ENTREPRENEURS TEND TO NOT WANT TO SHARE THEIR PROBLEMS WITH THEIR TEAMS. IT HAS BEEN USEFUL TO HAVE SOMEONE ELSE TO DISCUSS SENSITIVE MATTERS WITH, ESPECIALLY IF IT RELATES DIRECTLY TO YOUR SENIOR TEAM.”

‘TO EPC B OR NOT A B’ – THAT IS THE QUESTION

This article is by Steven Oliver, Director at Peritus Group.

In my last two articles, I have started with a song title but in this one, we have sought to up the ante and begin with (an approximation) of a very famous quote. So, to start this month, I would like to open with ‘To EPC B or not a B, that is the question.’

Previously, we briefly touched on the role that Energy Performance Certificates (“EPC”) are having on the real estate market, but now we are going to look at the impacts of the legislation and what we think this means for property value and property obsolescence.

The Government’s Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (“MEES”) Regulations came into effect on 1 April 2018. This legislation outlawed the renewal of existing tenancies or the grant of new tenancies within buildings that have an EPC rating of less than ‘E’ (i.e. properties with an ‘F’ or ‘G’ rating). More recently, existing leases within commercial buildings that do not have at least an ‘E’ rating became unlawful from 1 April 2023.

The Government has further released consultation regarding the improvement of EPCs for commercial property to a ‘C’ or above from 1 April 2027 and ‘B’ or above from 1 April 2030.

WHAT IS AN EPC?

An Energy Performance Certificate is a certificate that sets out the energy efficiency of a property. The attached EPC report also makes recommendations in how the energy efficiency of the property could be improved. The report is carried out by a qualified assessor.

Legally, all domestic and non-domestic buildings constructed, rented, or sold from 2008 must have an EPC. As with any rules there are exceptions linked

to certain buildings (listed for example) but let’s assume it is a legal requirement unless advised otherwise.

EPC ratings are based on several factors, from how the building was constructed and its size, through to how the building is fitted out, including factors such as lighting and plant and machinery such as air conditioning.

EPC Certificates are assessed on a scale of A to G. The best result you can achieve is an A grade (most efficient) and the lowest being G (least efficient).

Buildings must have a valid EPC at all times and an EPC lasts for 10 years. However, a new EPC must be prepared on any new letting or on a sale/purchase.

A LENDERS VIEW

Banks and real estate lenders are very focussed on a buildings EPC for a number of reasons.

1. If a building is likely to breach the EPC rules during the term of the loan, Lenders will want to ensure that the borrower has sufficient free equity to bring a building back within the legislation. Failure to do so may mean the building becomes unlettable.

2. Lenders now want to see detailed business plans about how a borrower will improve a buildings EPC during the life of the loan. No lender wants to have an unlettable building as security for a loan.

3. However, some lenders are now looking at Green Loans which cover:

a. Bringing a building back into the correct EPC rating.

b. Residential Development Lenders can now offer facilities where there is an interest rebate if the property achieves either an A or B rating which can save a large amount in interest costs.

c. Much larger property companies have, in the past, issued ‘Green Bonds’ at very low interest rates to allow them to update their property stock.

In short, this is a major area for Lenders who, in the current market environment, are already more risk adverse than they were a few years ago, and who are also worried about how higher interest rates will impact their borrowers and their business plans.

SO HOW BIG A PROBLEM IS THIS?

According to Property Alliance, there is 7.35bn sq. ft. of commercial property in the UK and according to Reuters in 2022, the UK Commercial Property market was valued at $1.6trn (£1.3trn). So, in terms of space and value this is a major issue, but we need to drill down further to understand which asset classes are most vulnerable and which locations.

ASSET CLASS ISSUES

There are numerous asset classes in the UK but to keep things simple we are going to focus on Industrial/Distribution, Office, and Retail assets as the largest asset classes.

INDUSTRIAL AND DISTRIBUTION

In the Big Six markets outside of London (Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, and Manchester) the last few years have seen significant new developments come on-stream for both speculative development and owner occupier sites. This new development will have been built to higher EPC standards and, as such, many of the larger and newer built scheme will already be achieving high EPC’s. This is reflected in the graph below which shows a larger percentage of industrial units are rated between A to D.

For smaller units outside of the Prime markets and with older stock, meeting the new EPC standards will become progressively harder.

EPC RATINGS BY PROPERTY TYPE, PROPORTION OF TOTAL FLOORSPACE

Build costs for industrial and distribution tend to be far lower than for offices or retail, and as such, works to meet compliant standards should be less costly.

OFFICE

As with industrial and distribution, London and the Big Six will have comparatively newer stock and this will be built to a higher environmental standard. In addition, buildings which have been refurbished recently will likely incorporate better EPC ratings.

Older stock in secondary and tertiary locations will be far more susceptible to poorer EPC ratings and costs to reach compliant standards will be far more material, especially if this includes renewing plant and machinery.

RETAIL

Newer shopping centres and ‘big box’ retail units should meet the changing requirements moving forward. However, aging stock in secondary/tertiary locations will struggle with both EPC requirements and footfall which will expedite the demise of the smaller local high street.

LOCATION ISSUES

The Cost of Compliance

This is a question that has been posed but remains unanswered in the marketplace. The difficulty for identifying the cost is driven by so many factors, the age of the property, the size of the property, the type of construction, the existing plant and

machinery in the property (air-con, lifts, lighting, wiring, plumbing), and much more, all make a difference.

There is more granular data in the residential property market where various studies have estimated costs to bring a building from say a D to a C is estimated at £6,155 (Habito estimate) but we do not, yet, have this granularity of data for commercial property.

The Growth of Obsolescence

The one certain factor that runs through these legal requirements is that a large number of buildings will become unlettable and therefore not fit for purpose as we move forward. Our view is that there will become a divide between areas which have benefitted from material developments in the past few years (London and Big Six cities) and those secondary locations which haven’t benefited from new stock and have an oversupply of older and less efficient properties). How this will impact valuation and turnover in the markets is still to be seen, but we should expect material price reductions to represent the costs of bringing the property back in to the MEES regulation.

Conclusion

Our view is that early engagement to address the problems of compliance with the MEES regulations is very important. At the moment there is time to implement a plan to bring the building into compliance with time to spare, but the longer landlords wait, the more challenging this will become, and potentially more costly. 

leader in focus

john amaechi

ORGANISATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST AND FOUNDER, APS INTELLIGENCE

I don’t think there are many organisational psychologists in this world that can claim to be endorsed as a Jedi by Mark Hamill. Professor John Amaechi OBE can. On top of this, John is also an awardwinning, international best-selling author, a sought-after public speaker, an executive coach, and the Founder of APS Intelligence.

John’s CV and list of achievements is a fitting testament to this big thinker (and that’s not a reference to his 6 ft. 10 in. stature). Often outspoken, and frequently driven crazy by people who think facts and evidence should bow to opinion, John Amaechi’s talks have garnered millions of views online. His passion for topics including building high-performing teams and effective organisational design that maximises productivity have seen him become a frequently cited LinkedIn influencer and bestowed with the accolade of being a LinkedIn Top Voice since 2020.

COULD YOU TELL US WHAT LED YOU TO CREATE YOUR BUSINESS, APS INTELLIGENCE?

Originally, it was simply a vehicle for me to do stuff with businesses. At the beginning, this stuff was me doing advisory services, comms advisory, as well as the regular business, leadership, and culture advisory, followed by a bit of analytics, speaking, and coaching. I enjoyed it, but when I’d leave, it felt like I should have done something more substantive, something that means we can ensure the penetration of this intervention.

I’ve spoken, you’ve been inspired, but you don’t have access to me after that. So, what about if I had a team of truly brilliant people that could do some amazing stuff, who could come in and do additional training, additional

advisory, additional coaching, and at a price point that would make the entire intervention more long lasting, with a better ROI, but not break the bank. That’s what built this new idea.

However, nothing really changed with the organisation until I stepped out of the way as CEO. I was CEO by name, but in reality, I’ve got no business being a CEO. I’m smart when it comes to governance and in a lot of other areas, but the current CEO is the one who’s really made the transformative difference.

It’s one of those hard things that some people in business go through. I knew what I wanted it to look like in the future, but I also knew that I’m not at the head of the company if it’s going to look like that. Now, I am no longer doing the logistical, day-to-day stuff but instead, focusing on R&D, oversight, and strategy. This means that my ability to focus on that has risen exponentially because I’m out of the way.

SOME PEOPLE BELIEVE THAT YOU NEED TO BE AN EXTROVERT TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN BUSINESS. YOU’VE DESCRIBED YOURSELF AS AN INTROVERT, SO WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THIS BELIEF?

I think this is such an important topic, and especially when it comes to people’s perceptions of introversion and extraversion. Personality inventories are bollocks, and we simply shouldn’t be using them. It doesn’t matter how many ‘reds’ or ‘blues’ or ‘greens’ you have on your team, that is not the relevant factor.

However, it does matter if you only have one type of person with one perspective; homogeny is bad. The idea that you can assess people’s personalities on the basis of colours… I liken these tests to those online surveys that say, “Which Jedi would I be?”

Introversion is not a statement about the capability of a person to deliver in front of crowds, or to be assertive when the time comes. It is a statement about the energy that is required for that to happen, and even that’s a broad generalisation. For me, introversion means that I find human beings’ energy expensive, but entirely worth it. What it means is, at the end of the day, when everybody else might be like, “Oh, you’ve had a great day. We’ve done some amazing collaboration. Let’s go out for a drink,” for me that is akin to asking me to wander to Mordor. It’s not because I don’t like the people. At APS Intelligence, we always talk about refilling your cup, and I need to refill my cup so I can be really good again tomorrow.

I coached somebody who almost didn’t get a C-Suite job that they are perfect for because their Hogan Personality Inventory said that they were an introvert. This is such a disservice to leadership and it’s such a disservice to the organisations that we’re trying to build.

ALONG WITH BEING AN INTROVERT, YOU’VE ALSO DESCRIBED YOURSELF AS A LAZY PERSON. COULD YOU TELL US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOUR SELFDIAGNOSIS AS A LAZY PERSON?

I am definitely lazy. Given a choice of an easy path or a hard path, I’ll invariably pick the easy path. But I like to win and most of the time, only the hard path will get you through to victory, whatever that is in your context. The acknowledgement of laziness was really important for me, because otherwise you blunder into poor decisions, not knowing why you’re making them. Whereas when you know that fundamentally, you’re lazy, and if given the easy out, you’ll take it, so you need to build structures to stop that from happening.

My diary is a marvel of engineering and it’s almost daily Tetris for my team, I make sure that what it tells me to do is what I will do, I will show up and get it done.

This structure, paired with the fact that I know how I’m contributing to the bottom line, is very important. When I’m QAing a document, because it requires my expertise – for the best of us, that can feel like that’s a bit beneath you – but then you realise how you are supporting your team. How your insights will polish the piece and make it perfect.

That team has put in massive amounts of time, and I’ve just got this tiny contribution, but it will help us have a better chance of winning. That’s really important to me; how does this meeting or task in my diary collectively help us win?

HOW HAVE YOU FOUND THE EXPERIENCE OF SECURING THOSE KEY PEOPLE FOR YOUR BUSINESS?

I should probably start off by saying, the first thing is that, how bad we’ve been at times. I’m very plain and direct about my demands, and I think thoughtless errors are unacceptable. As an organisation, we talk about having a very small ‘say do gap’; if you say you’re going to do this, it’s going to get done. If you say it’ll be done at this quality and by this time, I won’t have to check with you because it’ll get done.

We had a stage where we grew very, very quickly and we brought in five new people and we were telling them this, and they would nod vociferously and say, “Yeah, that’s what I’m into.” But these guys churned in and churned out in like six months, saying, “This is the worst place, it’s too demanding, we worked 1,000 hours…”

The 1,000 hours part certainly wasn’t true, but the demanding part was. The frustrating thing for us was that we told people that attention to detail really is a dividend here, and we demand that. So, we started to talk about the precursor qualities that were required from the very beginning; attention-to-detail, diligence, and describing exactly what that meant in the context of our organisation and putting a premium on accountability. We found doing so has paid dividends in the kind of people we’ve got.

“THE IDEA THAT YOU CAN ASSESS PEOPLE’S PERSONALITIES ON THE BASIS OF COLOURS… I LIKEN THESE TESTS TO THOSE ONLINE SURVEYS THAT SAY, “WHICH JEDI WOULD I BE?”

Dorothy Agnew Partner

YOU DEAL WITH A NUMBER OF BUSINESS CLIENTS AT APS INTELLIGENCE. IS THERE A TREND THAT YOU’VE NOTICED AMONG YOUR CLIENTS THAT GETS YOU REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE?

I’m very interested in the future world of work. I did an exercise about six or seven years ago where I looked at how organisations are going to shift and change over time. The idea was that workplaces are shifting and they’re moving from transactional resource management to authentic people leadership. They’re moving from hub working with everybody heading from the outskirts of a major city into the centre of a major city to work five days a week and 10 hours a day, to remote bespoke working. This was a movement that was happening before Covid-19 because it’s expensive and impractical for families to live within two hours of where they’re going to work.

We’re moving from homogenous cultures; big corporates with 100 to 2,000 people who think that everywhere they are, in every jurisdiction, in every geography, they’re going to have the same culture. Instead, moving to a more dynamic and adaptable culture; I likened it more to dialects of the same language, as opposed to different languages entirely.

One of the biggest shifts is the movement from a utilisation culture to a learning culture. You may be familiar with a 2017 McKinsey study that said between 75 to 375 million job roles globally will shift by 2030. People having their heads down doing billable hours in the face of a workplace, and a world, that is going to require some fairly radical shifts in almost every sector, is short-sighted.

Your cultures have to move with this dynamic, agile learning culture. That’s what I’m interested in, and that’s the future world of work, not a new normal. There are a lot of people doing really exciting work in this area. 

Dorothy Agnew, partner and data protection specialist at Moore Barlow, explains what businesses need to do if they’ve been the victim of a cyberattack or data breach.

There is still a misconception that small or mid-sized businesses fly under the radar of cyber criminals who are looking for bigger fish to fry. The fact is, whether you’re big or small, a data breach – caused by a hack, IT glitch or user error – is a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’. Having processes in place to manage the aftermath of a breach is as vital as having robust cyber defenses.

Notifying the ICO

Businesses must notify the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours of a data breach, or ‘without undue delay’, if personal information has been put at risk.

The process is simple enough. You download the form, fill it in and send it. The complicated bit is knowing what to include and what not to. At this stage, no one has been judged at fault and a business only needs to divulge what is necessary.

It’s vital not to rush into the notification process and come up with a plan for addressing the breach. Sending too early can make a business look out of control, encouraging the ICO to step in.

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) says 72 hours ‘where feasible’. So, it’s ok to delay if you can provide a valid reason like needing more time to investigate.

Notifying individuals

UK law states the owners of the data involved in a breach must be notified if a breach poses a ‘high risk’ to them. For example, could the stolen data be used to create a fake identity?

How likely the lost data is to fall into unscrupulous hands is also a factor – stolen data is inherently higher risk than data lost in an IT glitch.

All of these factors need assessing, ideally before notifying the ICO – demonstrating that you have good systems in place and understand the gravity of the breach will be viewed favorably. Sending out information on the breach unnecessarily can cause panic so it’s important to understand the impact before speaking to customers or suppliers.

Importantly, notifying data subjects may not be necessary at all if the risk is low. A data breach is an incredibly stressful situation. Acting quickly and being proactive is important, but even in a seemingly dire situation, there is normally time to think and ensure your business is positioned in the best way possible.

For more information on data breach notifications, contact dorothy.agnew@moorebarlow.com

YOU’VE BEEN HACKED: WHAT’S NEXT?

“I’M VERY PLAIN AND DIRECT ABOUT MY DEMANDS, AND I THINK THOUGHTLESS ERRORS ARE UNACCEPTABLE. AS AN ORGANISATION, WE TALK ABOUT HAVING A VERY SMALL ‘SAY DO GAP’; IF YOU SAY YOU’RE GOING TO DO THIS, IT’S GOING TO GET DONE.”

DELIVERY PERSONAS: HOW CONSUMERS REALLY THINK ABOUT HOME DELIVERY

When it comes to consumers’ expectations for home delivery, there are a lot of opinions and little concrete data. Needless to say, the conversation typically devolves to “free and fast”, but that’s not what is really happening for most retail markets, nor do all consumers think about delivery in the same way. Instead, consumers have different delivery personas and preferences, and these can vary by the products being delivered. Descartes, the global leader in uniting logistics-intensive businesses in commerce, conducted a study of 8,000 consumers in Europe and North America to better understand their delivery personas and what types of delivery options garnered consumer attention.

Chris Jones, EVP, Descartes explains, and reveals key findings from Descartes’ recent study, “Dear Consumer: How do you feel about home delivery now?”. It shows that consumers are open to options that can help reduce costs and improve revenue, customer loyalty and sustainability. Further, the research highlights that retailers need to stop treating home delivery monolithically to reap the rewards.

FACTORS MAKING UP A DELIVERY PERSONA

Delivery personas involve a combination of factors. They include cost, delivery speed, precision, value-added services and information about delivery options (e.g. most environmentallyfriendly), to allow retailers to craft a number of delivery experiences that best fit their customers’ preferences. By providing multiple delivery options during the buying process, customers will happily self-select the one that best fits their delivery persona.

To get a sense of how consumers identified with several different delivery personas, respondents were given choices that had tradeoffs reflecting real-world home delivery capabilities. Of the options, lowest cost, speed less important was the highest-rated delivery preference (see Figure 1)

Delivery speed, something mentioned frequently in the press as very important to consumers, was ranked considerably lower as the third preference, and also as part of the fourth preference.

Indeed, delivery precision scored higher than speed, which makes sense when compared later to how consumers rated current delivery performance (see study). Age also has a significant impact on delivery preference. For lowest cost, speed is less important, only 30% of younger consumers (18 – 34) identified with that persona compared to 50% of older consumers (55+). Speed resonated with younger consumers, as the fastest, timeliness less important and fast and precise, cost less important personas received 11% and 7% higher scores, respectively, compared to older consumers.

PRODUCT TYPE IMPACTS DELIVERY PREFERENCE ACROSS PERSONAS

Figure 1: Consumer delivery preferences

50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%

Precise delivery window, speed less important

Fastest, timelines less important

Source: Lower cost, speed less important

Fast and precise, cost less important

Most environmentally friendly, speed less important

(29%) and groceries (28%). Medicines (26%) and groceries (23%), however, received the highest scores for speed. White goods and furniture (tied at 26%) were the top product categories for delivery precision followed by groceries and electronics (tied at 23%).

SUSTAINABILITY CONCERNS VARY BY AGE AND GEOGRAPHY

Across all respondents, 63% had concern for environmental impact when purchasing online and having the order delivered; however, there’s a wide degree in variability by age (see Figure 2) and geography (see Figure 3). Retailers selling products to younger generations need to consider sustainability an important delivery persona.

Age Group 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ 2022 85% 76% 66% 57% 53% 47% 2023 84% 76% 69% 58% 50% 49%

Source: Descartes/SAPIO Research

DELIVERY OPTIONS THAT ARE INCREASINGLY OF INTEREST TO CONSUMERS

When it comes to delivery, consumers are more flexible than many retailers think, and they are willing to take delivery options that can reduce costs, increase revenue and help the environment (see Figure 4 for the kinds of options)

For example, 39% say they would be interested in delivery options that combine orders into a single delivery at the end of the week; and 37% show interest in combining orders over a period for a single delivery when there are multiple deliveries in their area. Moreover, the two “combining options” had the greatest consumer interest and a double benefit: they’re not only lower cost but are also more environmentally-friendly. What is more, for 2023’s study, we included a new answer option to have the retailer highlight the most environmentally-friendly delivery option and it came in a close third (36%).

Incidentally, these results are consistent with Descartes’ study Retailers: Sustainability is Not a Challenge, It’s an Opportunity, which examined consumer sentiment of retailers’ sustainability practices around their delivery operations. In addition, the answers for faster and more convenient delivery times are consistent with what Descartes sees in its customer base. While the numbers may appear small, they’re actually significant because it doesn’t take a lot of customers to make a lot more money. For example, Descartes’ customers offering premium delivery services are generating additional income as large as tens of millions of pounds.

CONCLUSION

Corroborating research provides more credence to the power of delivery personas too. A study conducted by researchers at Erasmus University in The Netherlands called, “Going green: the effect of green labels on delivery time slot choices”, examined how the presentation of eco-friendly delivery windows during the booking process had a significant impact on consumers’ delivery choices.

The work was based upon analysing retailers who have employed delivery persona concepts. They then created simulations to test their hypothesis. The Dutch study said, “Our simulation findings suggest that green slots, compared to price incentives or no incentives, offer providers a way to effectively steer consumer time slot choices to yield shorter routes, fewer delivery vehicles used, and more percustomer revenue.” Delivery personas, therefore, represent an opportunity to better align with the consumer sentiment about home delivery and help protect retailers’ margins and the environment.

With that in mind, how many opportunities do retail businesses have to win the trifecta and succeed with home delivery? Home delivery, based on personas, provides retailers with a chance to get ahead.

Figure 3: Sustainability concerns by country when purchasing with home delivery

Figure 4: Delivery service options with highest (quite/very interested) level of interest

UNVEILING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET: SILVIJA

MARTINCEVIC’S JOURNEY OF IMPACT AND SUCCESS

Building a company is a difficult task. Whether starting their own or growing an established business, these leaders have made a name for themselves as some of the best of the best. So, what makes business leaders tick and what are they aiming to achieve when all is said and done? We spoke to Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy, about her journey in business.

WHEN DID YOU LAUNCH YOUR FIRST BUSINESS AND WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO START IT?

I grew up in Croatia during communism and at 17 (after the Balkan wars), without knowing English, immigrated to the USA on my own. I was determined to learn English and get a college education, something that no one in my family, or my town, had done. I was fortunate to be chosen as one of just ten students in Croatia who were awarded a full scholarship by the Rotary Club to study in the United States. This experience changed the trajectory of my life and inspired me to dedicate my life to making an impact in industries that support economic empowerment.

I began my career in 2003, running an investment management firm called Zenna Financial, which was focused on supporting sociallyresponsible index investing. I grew the company from zero to over $250m in assets by investing the retirement funds of teachers, police and state employees in the State of Illinois. I sold my business in 2007 just before the Great Recession to another investment firm which was solely focused on investing in women and minority-owned funds.

Over the course of four years (20072011), our company invested over $1.5bn USD in women and minority funds because it was an area that was often ignored by larger funds, and also happened to be counter-

cyclical during the 2008 financial crisis. The story here is about how personal passion, inspiration, grit and purpose can often lead to winning outcomes and building big businesses.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THAT YOU HAVE FACED IN YOUR CAREER?

The most pivotal moment in my career was becoming a mother to two kids in two years. This came at the same time as I was also finishing my MBA. It was then that it became clear to me how precious time is. If I was away from my family, I needed to focus on something that I could be passionate about and something that could make them proud.

Since then, I have continued to focus on purpose and impact-driven companies that are dedicated to improving the lives of others – whether it was Groupon and their dedication to small business owners and entrepreneurs all over the world, Affirm which provides honest financial products to improve lives, or now at Deputy, where we help shift workers and their employers thrive – this means we have the potential to impact over 2.7 billion shift workers and millions of business owners all over the world.

I have learned that work/life balance does not exist for working parents – instead, we need to create an integration of work & life in a way that is aligned with our values and needs at work and at home.

IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WISH YOU KNEW BEFORE YOU STARTED?

As an entrepreneur, you experience the highest of highs and lowest of lows – it is a rollercoaster of epic proportions financially, emotionally and intellectually when you’re running your own business, sometimes in a matter of days.

The important thing is to remain steady through those peaks and valleys as they are a part of the entrepreneurial journey. Managing your mental fitness is key – and always remember to take one step at a time as things are never as bad as they seem, nor as good!

WHAT IS YOUR TOP TIP FOR OTHER ENTREPRENEURS?

My best advice to every entrepreneur is to remember that you can’t do it alone. No matter how passionate you may be, without the right team – at home and at work – you will not be successful. Surround yourself with those that you can trust – people who will be honest with you and who challenge you to continue to grow and learn. And remember, culture eats strategy for lunch. Nurture and cherish the right culture in your company – it will pay many dividends in the toughest of times.

WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?

My plan is to continue to focus on bringing positive social impact to the world through Deputy technology. The future of work – and especially, the future of shift work, has yet to be written. While we often talk about the digitization of knowledge workers, there has been little attention given to shift worker technology – until now. We spend more time at work than we spend anywhere else. For this reason, Deputy has a unique opportunity to make a powerful impact on society. Our products are used daily across 330,000 workplaces and by 1.3 million workers around the globe to improve people’s lives at work. This type of impact is a rare thing, and we are just getting started. Shift workers account for over two-thirds of the world’s workforce, totalling 2.7 billion people, and as we grow our business, the impact we make on the world will be momentous. Technology-empowered workers are not a luxury; they’re a necessity for companies to succeed in today’s digital economy. Creating a technology-enabled, thriving workplace for both shift workers and employers is a good thing to do and is good for business.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR LEGACY TO BE?

Deputy is bringing all my passions together — my lifelong obsession to work on problems that help underserved communities, to work on making the world better, and to do so with the help of exceptional technology and a purpose-driven culture.

Ultimately, I’d love to be known as a leader who used technology to build companies that improved the lives of the most vulnerable population stricken with poverty, a community that raised me. I would also like my legacy to be in those who I’ve mentored over the years. More than anything, I am passionate about giving people opportunities to grow and achieve the things they never thought possible. I myself have been lucky to be surrounded by an empowering group of leaders who have offered endless support, wisdom and inspiration.

When I approach mentorship, I like to think of the inspiring words of Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” 

“SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THOSE THAT YOU CAN TRUST – PEOPLE WHO WILL BE HONEST WITH YOU AND WHO CHALLENGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO GROW AND LEARN. AND REMEMBER, CULTURE EATS STRATEGY FOR LUNCH.”

A majority of voters cite the economy as their top issue in deciding how they will vote at the next General Election. It is always key here and elsewhere.

In the run-up to the 1992 US presidential election, James Carville, Bill Clinton’s strategist, famously coined the phrase: “It’s the economy, stupid.”

The message was meant for campaign workers, to remind them that the economy was key to beating incumbent George H. W. Bush. The phrase was so popular it became a de-facto campaign slogan. The other two phrases were “change vs. more of the same” and “don’t forget health care.” All other issues were peripheral. Clinton won, taking 32 states to Bush’s 18.

It’s the economy that will determine the outcome of our next General Election. Also in 1992, John Major, the Conservative Prime Minister, held on in that year’s General

LESSONS FROM RECENT ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL HISTORY

THIS ARTICLE IS WRITTEN FOR BUSINESS LEADER BY FORMER MP, BUSINESSMAN AND AUTHOR, SIMON DANCZUK.

Election even though they’d been in power 13 years. He beat Neil Kinnock’s Labour by 65 parliamentary seats.

The UK had been in recession with unemployment at over three million. The housing market was hit by repossessions and negative equity, and yet voters preferred to stick with what they knew, rather than risk putting Labour in control.

Is Keir Starmer going to be more like Clinton and convince voters “more of the same” is not what they want, or is he going in the same direction as who the tabloids called “the Welsh windbag?”

Since the December 2019 General Election, the UK economy has suffered major damage from a global pandemic and the war in Ukraine. The former has driven government borrowing, which now has to be re-paid, and the latter has driven a cost-of-living crisis through higher energy prices.

After steering the UK through a period of prosperity in the early 2000s, the Labour Government was hit by the great global recession of 2007-09. Gordon Brown, as Chancellor then Prime Minister, played a major role in keeping not just the UK economy, but the western world’s

economies, buoyant. With Brown’s dour personality and 13 years of Labour control the public were unforgiving and ousted him at the 2010 General Election.

Will voters use the Conservative’s handling of the pandemic as a reason to reject them? It’s doubtful. The public know that Starmer pushed for more economically expensive draconian lockdown measures than Boris Johnson introduced. People also know that Russian aggression in Ukraine is far from Rishi Sunak’s fault.

It surely can’t be denied that Brexit has also impacted our economic fortunes in the short-term, though if we get it right, it could still be the right decision in the medium to long-term. Then we’ve had the short-lived Liz Truss premiership, which took a major toll on UK PLC.

Again, this does not automatically result in advantage for Labour. Voters are aware that Starmer is pro-Europe and has wanted to reverse the people’s referendum decision. Plus, electors will be unimpressed by the snide commentary from many on the left that Brexit voters made the wrong choice and should repent.

The recent local election results show that the public wanted to give the Conservative Party a bloody nose over the disastrous Truss-Kwarteng mini budget and its economic fallout. Having delivered those results, which weren’t quite as good for Labour as they’d hoped, it is feasible that many voters will return to the Conservative fold.

It seems there is all to play for from a Conservative Party perspective. If they get the economy right then they could just cling

on to power come the General Election, as John Major did.

Jeremy Hunt, the Conservative Chancellor, has managed to steady the economy in recent months. We’ve avoided recession, contrary to what the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were predicting. Whilst inflation remains 8.7%, Rishi Sunak has promised to halve that this year, and predictions by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects it to reach just 2.9%, the Bank of England predicts 4%.

there is still no solution for getting older people back into work. Increasing the economically active addresses employer’s workforce shortages and increases the government’s tax take.

Sunak’s promise to cut illegal immigration, whilst you might not realise it, also helps the economy. Many of those arriving and disappearing end up working in the informal economy, where they compete with legitimate business, and add nothing in terms of taxes, all the time being a drain on the NHS and other services. Labour doesn’t have a coherent policy on this.

Labour Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is clearly very competent, though her key promise of ‘securing the highest sustained growth in the G7’ hardly translates into a vote winning slogan. Electors don’t relate to the G7, and they’re more bothered about their day-to-day finances, rather than international comparisons.

Whilst interest rates are now over 4%, and electors are feeling the effects, some experts are predicting rates coming back down to around 2.5% or 3% by early 2024.

The unemployment rate remains low at 3.8% which is good for Sunak, though those economically inactive remains relatively high – that’s why he’s introduced additional childcare support. This should help get parents back into the workforce, though

Labour Shadow Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, another competent politician, conceded in a recent interview with The Guardian that: “I feel people do not yet understand the scale of Labour’s ambition on the economy,” then went on to say they will tackle late payments by big business – whilst important, hardly an election-winning policy.

With the Conservatives’ hands on the levers of power, the ability to get the economy back on track, and Labour still offering very little, it seems Sunak could just pull off an, albeit, small Conservative majority at the General Election. 

RANKS FOURTH GLOBALLY AND SECOND AMONGST G7 ECONOMIES FOR IMPACT OF ENTREPRENEURS ON ECONOMY

UK

The UK ranks fourth globally and second among G7 economies in terms of the impact of entrepreneurs on the economy, according to Shopify's Entrepreneurship Index. UK entrepreneurs within Shopify's ecosystem generated £28.8bn in business activity and contributed £14.3bn to GDP in 2022. The index, developed with Deloitte, provides rankings and data on 40 countries, making it a timely and frequently updated measure of entrepreneurship worldwide.

UK businesses within Shopify's ecosystem defied economic trends by increasing exports by 8% in the past year, with £3.2bn worth of goods sold, second only to the USA. Additionally, British businesses on Shopify directly supported over 78,000 jobs and nearly 200,000 jobs in total in 2022, contributing to a global job count of 5.2 million.

“THE RECENT LOCAL ELECTION RESULTS SHOW THAT THE PUBLIC WANTED TO GIVE THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY A BLOODY NOSE OVER THE DISASTROUS TRUSS-KWARTENG MINI BUDGET AND ITS ECONOMIC FALLOUT.”

UNLEASHING CHINA’S EV POWERHOUSE: CHINA’S PLAN TO CREATE JOBS AMIDST US RIVALRY

Christopher Tang is a thought leader in global supply chain management with over 30 years of experience in different sectors across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. In the higher education sector, he is a university distinguished professor at UCLA and the former Dean at the National University of Singapore. He has also consulted with numerous global firms including Amazon, GKN, HP, IBM, and NASA in the technology sector.

China’s decision to end the zero-Covid policy in December 2022 was a bold move that helped its economy grow by 4.5% in the first quarter of 2023. But the economic recovery is not without its challenges.

As the US diversifies its supply base away from China to other countries, such as Vietnam or Mexico, China faces a decline in its exports to the US. Moreover, the US-China tensions that started under Trump have continued to worsen, covering issues such as trade, tariffs, tech rivalry, and alleged spying.

China is looking for ways to create jobs for its young people as the tech-war with the US continues. One of the potential solutions is to increase the production of electric vehicles (EVs), intelligent connected vehicles, and robots for both domestic and overseas markets.

To achieve this goal, China has announced a new plan to develop a world-class industrial cluster in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, also known as Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ). The JJJ plan is not a new idea. It was first proposed in 2013 with the aims of reducing the income gap and the pollution in this region.

The plan involves two major projects: Beijing’s new municipal administrative centre and the Xiongan New Area. The former will relocate some of Beijing’s non-capital functions to ease its overcrowding and overpopulation. The latter will build a new city that will showcase innovation-driven development and green urban planning.

▴ Xiongan New Area

The JJJ plan aims to transform the Xiongan New Area from a traditional heavy industry and manufacturing hub to a modern industrial cluster for EVs, EV chargers, and robots. This cluster will complement the innovation cluster in the Greater Bay Area (Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau) in the South.

The Xiongan New Area will also leverage its proximity to Tianjin, a port city with strengths in logistics and shipping. To prepare for this transformation, the Chinese Government has invested in various infrastructure projects in the Xiongan New Area over the last 10 years. These include new railways that connect Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, creating a mega-city that integrates the three areas.

The Government has also encouraged universities and enterprises to set up their branches in the Xiongan New Area. For example, Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU) and Remin University will build new campuses there in the next few years. Meanwhile, Alibaba, Tencent, China Satellite Communications Co., China Huaneng Group, and Sinochem Holdings are some of the private and stateowned firms that have established their presence there since 2013.

The JJJ plan aims to boost China’s technological self-reliance and competitiveness in global production chains by focusing on EV development and manufacturing. As part of this plan, China’s State Grid Corporation and China Southern Power Grid have established the country’s largest EV charging operator, Xiongan Lianxing Network Technology Company, in the Xiongan New Area.

Located at 105 kilometres from both the capital Beijing and the coastal metropolis Tianjin, the Xiongan New Area is expected to be comparable to the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area.

The next phase of the JJJ plan is to produce EVs for the domestic and international markets. The ports of Tianjin can facilitate the export of Chinese EVs to Europe and beyond, where Chinese brands such as BYD and NIO have gained popularity in Norway and Denmark, and captured 14.5% of the EU’s EV market in 2021.

The JJJ plan and the Xiongan New Area project have shown promising results, but they also face several environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks that need to be addressed.

The JJJ plan has two main goals: to reduce pollution and traffic congestion in Beijing and to reduce the income gap in the region. However, the plan also faces several ESG challenges that could undermine its effectiveness and sustainability.

First, the plan could create environmental problems in the Xiongan New Area, which already suffers from air pollution, water scarcity and land degradation due to its natural conditions and historical development. The rapid urbanisation and industrialisation of the area may exacerbate these problems and affect the health and wellbeing of the residents. Therefore, the plan needs to adopt green and low-carbon development strategies and invest in environmental protection and restoration.

Second, the plan needs to address the social issues of the region, which has a large population of migrants, especially from rural areas of Hebei province. These migrants often face discrimination, exclusion, and lack of access to public services and opportunities. The plan needs to ensure social inclusion, public service provision and cultural diversity for all residents. Moreover, the plan needs to foster a sense of identity and belonging among the residents of the new megalopolis.

Third, the plan requires coordinated and cooperative support from political leaders in these three units, which have different interests and priorities. Cooperation and coordination can be difficult to achieve among different levels and sectors of Government. In addition, the plan also needs to balance the benefits and costs of development among different stakeholders, including local Governments and private sectors. The plan involves huge investments in infrastructure, industry relocation and environmental protection, which could pose fiscal and debt challenges for the local Governments. Therefore, it needs to establish a unified leadership mechanism, a clear division of responsibilities and a transparent system to facilitate collaboration among different constituencies.

The JJJ plan follows the precedent of the Yangtze River Delta integration project, which was launched in 2019 to integrate Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. The project aimed to achieve urban-rural integration and integrated development of high-tech industries, infrastructure, the ecological environment, and public services in the region by 2025. However, the project faced many obstacles due to regional competition, policy inconsistency and institutional barriers. For example, Shanghai was reluctant to share its financial resources with neighbouring provinces, and local Governments lacked coordination on environmental protection and urban planning.

The JJJ plan is even more ambitious and complex than the Yangtze River Delta project. It entails environmental, social, and financial risks. But it has the potential to create new jobs to sustain China’s global dominance in the EV market.

Knowing that Rome was not built in a day, the JJJ plan requires careful and proactive planning that addresses the challenges and opportunities of regional integration. 

“THE JJJ PLAN AIMS TO BOOST CHINA’S TECHNOLOGICAL SELF-RELIANCE AND COMPETITIVENESS IN GLOBAL PRODUCTION CHAINS BY FOCUSING ON EV DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURING.”

Luke Cheyne

Head of Player Development and Wellbeing at the RPA

Established in 2004, the RPA Gain Line programme is delivered by the Rugby Players Association (RPA) and backed by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and Premiership Rugby.

The Gain Line programme helps players to be proactive, prepared and committed off the field as well as on it. Through the programme, players are supported with their welfare and off-field personal development, education, and career exploration. It benefits players by encouraging them to pursue a balanced lifestyle and prepare for life after rugby, while enhancing their playing performance.

For the last two consecutive seasons, player engagement in their own off-field development, be that through education, career exploration, work experience or indeed entrepreneurship and players embarking on business ventures, has peaked at 91%, with engagement continuing at a similar rate as we head towards the completion of the 2022/23 season.

The Gain Line programme is delivered by a team of eight independent Player Development Managers (compared with only 1 in 2004) and a full-time Wellbeing & Transition Manager, plus the Head of Player Development and Wellbeing, who oversees the programme.

The primary focus of the Player Development Managers is to provide independent and tailored one-to-one support to players, as recognised by the World Player Association’s Development, Wellbeing, Transition and Retirement Standard:

“The role of the Player Development Manager is to promote the personal development and wellbeing of players through empowering them to take ownership of their own development both on and off the sporting field.”

The Player Development Managers deliver the Gain Line programme to promote a ‘Dual Career’ philosophy for players, which is a core theme of Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson’s 2017 Duty of Care in Sport report:

“Dual Career is about taking on the responsibility to provide choice and enabling and empowering an individual to fulfil their potential. Performance Directors and people running sports talent programmes should encourage the uptake of the Performance Lifestyle service by participants and ensure sports performance doesn’t limit its role and influence.”

Our Mental Health First Aid trained Player Development Managers also often act as a first point of contact for players with heightened welfare issues, signposting players to the appropriate welfare assistance. This ‘safety net’ function is vital for our members and forms an essential part of the Development Manager role in delivering the Gain Line programme.

“The Gain Line Programme has been a massive help to me, as it has helped me grow and develop myself off the field, as I start to think about options post rugby. The support I have gained from my Development Manager has been invaluable.”

Lewis Ludlam Northampton

Saints & England

“This is where the performance gains will be seen within sport in the next 20 years. It will be in the wellbeing and welfare area and I don’t think they will be marginal gains. I think it will be much more significant than marginal gains.”

David Lavallee Professor of Duty of Care in Sport, Abertay University

Business Leader gives a rundown of recent appointments and promotions across various sectors.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

TWO MAJOR IMMEDIATE MEDIA APPOINTMENTS

ANNOUNCED

Immediate Media Co has named Sean Cornwell as its new CEO and Tom Bureau as Chairman. Cornwell, who previously held leadership positions at Direct Ferries, Travelex, and eHarmony, joined Immediate in 2021 as Platforms CEO.

Bureau, the founding CEO of Immediate, will also serve as Chairman while continuing to hold the CEO position at Burda International. Immediate Media Co is known for its digital businesses and prominent brands like Radio Times and BBC Good Food.

TECHNOLOGY

WORKNEST APPOINTS NEW CEO AND CFO

The specialist in Employment Law, HR, and Health & Safety has announced Iftikhar Ahmed as its new CEO and promoted Gary Jones to CFO.

Ifti, previously the COO, succeeds Gavin Snell and aims to bring his experience from Capita and Aon to the company’s future. Gary replaces Andy Gunson, both moving to new roles within Marlowe plc. WorkNest, based in Chester, has over 500 employees nationwide.

ELON MUSK CONFIRMS NEW TWITTER CEO

Linda Yaccarino has been appointed as the CEO of Twitter and XCorp. She is a US media executive with an extensive background in advertising. Graduating from Penn State University in 1985, she joined Turner Entertainment Company for nearly 20 years, eventually becoming Executive Vice President and COO of Ad Sales.

In 2011, Yaccarino moved to NBCUniversal, where she played a pivotal role in generating over $100bn in ad sales and overseeing the launch of Peacock streaming service.

ZEN INTERNET BRINGS ON BOARD TELECOMS VETERAN

The UK’s largest B Corp accredited technology service provider has appointed Phil Male as its new Chair. With over three decades of experience in the telecoms industry, Phil brings valuable expertise in technology and media services.

The appointment comes as Richard Tang transitions back to the CEO position, further strengthening Zen’s position as a trusted technology service provider focused on growth and independence in the UK.

EMPLOYMENT & SKILLS TECHNOLOGY

▴ (L-R) Ifti Ahmed, CEO and Gary Jones, CFO - WorkNest

▾ Phil Male, Chair of Zen Internet

COMPARETHEMARKET.COM FOUNDER TAKES THE HELM AS CHAIRMAN OF PRIMA GROUP

Prima Group, a rapidly growing insurance brand, has chosen Matthew Donaldson, founder of Comparethemarket.com, as its Chairman. The appointment aligns with Prima Group’s new organisational model, aimed at supporting its global expansion. With over 25 years of experience in finance and insurance, Donaldson brings valuable expertise. Prima, a top car insurer in Italy, entered the UK market in 2022 and plans to replicate its success in other European regions.

GOOGLE VETERAN KELLY DUCOURTY JOINS UIPATH TO LEAD CUSTOMER SUCCESS AND GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS

INDUSTRY VETERAN JOINS ANDAZ LONDON

Kerem Suner joins Andaz London Liverpool Street as Director of F&B. He brings extensive industry experience from prestigious roles at Hyatt, Hakkasan, and Harvey Nichols Istanbul.

With a focus on exceptional customer service, Kerem will oversee all five dining outlets, plan menus, maintain quality standards, and collaborate with the events department. His goal is to foster a positive work environment and create meaningful connections with customers and colleagues while upholding the hotel’s luxury standards.

UiPath, the enterprise automation software company, has appointed Kelly Ducourty as its Chief Customer Officer. In her new role, Ducourty will lead customer operations, success, professional services, enablement, incentive design, and global partners.

With extensive experience at Google and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Ducourty brings expertise in go-to-market strategy, sales operations, and driving business growth. She is also dedicated to promoting STEM+C education and women’s career development.

Louise McCoy has been appointed as the Commercial Managing Director, Small Business Lending, at the British Business Bank. She previously held roles at the Start Up Loans Company, which is now part of the British Business Bank, and brings extensive experience in relationship management and customer service from her tenure at Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank.

NEW COMMERCIAL MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR SMALL BUSINESS LENDING APPOINTMENT AT BRITISH BUSINESS BANK

▴ Matthew Donaldson, Chairman of Prima Group

LEADERSHIP

▴ Kelly Ducourty, Chief Customer Officer - UiPath

FOOD & DRINK

▴ Louise McCoy, Commercial Managing Director of Small Business Leading

▴ Kerem Suner, F&B Director of Andaz London Liverpool Street

MANCHESTER ROCKS TO THE BEAT OF HOME GROWN CLUB’S ROCKSTAR SERIES

SHOWCASING GREEN & BLACK’S CO-FOUNDER JO FAIRLEY

Home Grown is a private members’ club situated in the heart of Marylebone, dedicated to fostering the growth of businesses in a luxurious, businessfocused environment. With its blend of elegance and contemporary design, Home Grown combines the best of both worlds to create a space that is both refined and dynamic. With 35 bedrooms, private dining rooms, business lounges, and meeting suites, the club is designed to foster professional introductions and collaborations. With a membership package that offers an extensive array of benefits and events, including exclusive business talks, leadership seminars, and invite-only dinners, it’s no wonder that the club has attracted over 1300 seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and global business leaders.

What sets Home Grown apart from other business members’ clubs is its unwavering commitment to entrepreneurial growth. Through strategic partnerships with some of the most prestigious organisations in the business space, including Harvard Business

Alumni, Coutts and Beauhurst, Home Grown provides unrivalled access to the best in the business, allowing members to take their businesses to the next level. The club also offers tailored members’ benefits, such as marketing and leadership coaching, scaling up strategy and brand development. With initiatives such as Green Shoots, supporting businesses with a sustainable focus and the Investment Series, Home Grown goes beyond in its mission to foster growth, providing expert workshops and guidance to promising businesses looking to make their mark.

Home Grown’s Rockstar Series, has been welcoming entrepreneurs such as Levi Roots, Kelly Hoppen and Richard Farleigh to name a few. This time round, they took their flagship series to the stage, sharing their challenges and the good the bad and the ugly side around scaling and exiting a business on the road to Hotel Gotham in Manchester.

But why Manchester? According to reports, Manchester’s tech startups raised a staggering £532m in 2022, making it the largest UK amount outside of London. The city is an ideal place to start a business, with

access to talent from five universities and the largest campus in Europe, access to grants, funding and support. On top of that, it is also less expensive than London. Businesses in the North West account for 10% of all companies across the UK, and the Greater Manchester area has the highest number of businesses with 443,649. It therefore comes as no surprise, then, that they chose Manchester as their city host.

▴ (L-R) Jo Fairley, Co-Founder - Green & Blacks

Guests and members, who had come from all over Greater Manchester, wasted no time exchanging business cards and ideas. The stage was set for a night of electric insights from one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.

During her conversation with ScoreApp Co-Founder Daniel Priestley, Jo Fairley, the co-founder of Green & Black’s, shared her story from start, scale to sale to Cadbury and learnings and much more.

Some key takeaways from the conversation:

• Being underestimated can be a blessing in disguise. When others don’t believe in your abilities or potential, it creates space for you to surprise them and prove them wrong. This can be a powerful motivator to push yourself beyond what you thought was possible and achieve even greater success.

• Knowing who to sell to is essential. Understanding your customer base allows you to tailor your messaging and approach to best resonate with them and meet their needs. This is necessary for building a successful business that truly connects with its audience.

• Remember to stay true to your values even as you grow. By scaling up small business values and practices, even unintentionally, you can have a positive impact on the industry as a whole and inspire others to follow suit.

• Take rest and prioritise hobbies and exercise. In today’s hustle culture, it’s all too easy to burn out and sacrifice our health and well-being in pursuit of success. Taking care of ourselves and making time for activities that bring us joy is essential for sustaining success and avoiding burnout.

• Having to be flexible in business as rigidity in an idea doesn’t always work. Whilst it’s important to have a clear vision and strategy, it’s also important to be willing to adapt and pivot as circumstances change. Being too rigid in your thinking or approach can hold you back and prevent you from taking advantage of new opportunities.

Jo’s insights served as a reminder that success in business requires not only hard work and dedication, but also a strong sense of purpose and values.

As guests departed from Hotel Gotham, they left with a sense of fulfilment and enlightenment, eagerly anticipating what more is to come.

Home Grown will continue to foster further London-Manchester cross-activities, fuelled by the belief that expanding an entrepreneurial community to the UK’s capital city can create boundless opportunities.

Paul Manivannan, a Manchester based Home Grown member and CEO of RPeople is no stranger to the Home Grown community and often visits to explore the vibrant opportunities London has to offer.

“The vibe at Home Grown is incredible,” Paul has said. “Everyone exudes warmth and a genuine care for the club. The service is top-notch, the rooms comfortable, and breakfast excellent. Everything is effortless, even responding to emails at 3am. Events are fantastic, with great speakers sharing valuable insights. It’s a brilliant place and I look forward to spending more time here.”

Home Grown has an unwavering commitment to providing exceptional service, networking opportunities and access to successful entrepreneurs like Jo Fairley making it the go-to destination for ambitious entrepreneurs and scale-ups seeking to expand their businesses beyond their cities.

After the success of the first Rockstar on the Road in Manchester, Home Grown, continues the series bringing it to the South West to Bristol on Thursday 27th September, in partnership with Business Leader. 

“Everyone exudes warmth and a genuine care for the club. The service is top-notch, the rooms comfortable and breakfast excellent. Everything is effortless, even responding to emails at 3am.”

Paul Manivannan

View the Business Leader Bookshelf here Bookshelf

REAL LEADERS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

BY: KAREN MEAGER AND JOHN MCLACHLAN

Co-Founders of Monkey Puzzle Training and Consultancy, Karen Meager and John McLachlan share their expertise in leadership development and organisational design in this book. They offer a concise guide for entrepreneurs and business leaders, exploring psychological and behavioural traits and providing practical guidelines to develop effective leadership styles.

Whether a novice or experienced leader, this book is essential for those seeking to enhance their team management skills.

and human leader in a complex world.” –Michelle Harradence, Director of Learning for Carnival UK (P&O Cruises & Cunard)

GROW: 12 UNCONVENTIONAL LESSONS FOR BECOMING AN UNSTOPPABLE ENTREPRENEUR

BY: MIKE FATA

Mike Fata, Co-Founder of Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods and host of the Founder to Mentor podcast, shares his entrepreneurial journey and expertise in his new book. Drawing from his personal experiences, Fata provides valuable insights and guidance for natural products entrepreneurs, offering unconventional lessons that can lead to success.

“This is a must-read for any leader, creator, or entrepreneur. Mike has distilled his revolutionary tactics into a path you can follow to craft a stellar business.”

Julie Daniluk, TV Host and Best-Selling Author

THE VALUE EQUATION: A BUSINESS GUIDE TO WEALTH CREATION FOR ENTREPRENEURS, LEADERS & INVESTORS

BY: CHRISTOPHER H. VOLK

Chris Volk, a Co-Founder of successful companies like STORE Capital, shares his expertise in corporate finance through this book. This concise guidebook provides valuable insights for business owners and entrepreneurs on creating wealth. Volk simplifies complex subjects by incorporating his wealth creation formula and using illustrative case studies to explore crucial business and financial concepts. With advice on business assembly, mergers, and guidance on business models, this book is an essential addition to any entrepreneur’s library.

DEALS:

In this book, Brad Feld and Jason Mendelson, Co-Founders of Foundry Group, draw on their venture capitalism experience to provide valuable insights. They explain the intricacies of venture deals and venture capital financing using real-world examples.

This essential read is aimed at aspiring entrepreneurs, business leaders, and investors seeking to expand their businesses, benefiting from the authors’ practical expertise and personal histories in establishing successful ventures.

“Every venture capitalist believes they know how to do venture deals. Jason and Brad, however, actually have deep knowledge and insight and are willing to share the details of how to get deals done right. While this book may not actually make you smarter than your lawyer (assuming you have a good one), it is an essential read for entrepreneurs, lawyers, and venture capitalists who want to be successful in a critical part of building a great company: raising money.”

VENTURE

BE SMARTER THAN YOUR LAWYER AND VENTURE CAPITALIST

This is Frank. He’s one of many business owners who already use a smart meter to feel more in control of their budgeting, because smart meters help you track your energy use and costs over time. So like Frank, you can spend less time guessing and instead know how much you’re spending on your energy bills. Search ‘get a smart meter’ today.