SMEs & Entrepreneurs by French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain

I N F O

the magazine for anglo-french business french chamber of commerce in great britain

august / september 2012 www.ccfgb.co.uk

in this issue 5 minutes with

HĂŠlĂ¨ne Conway-Mouret

Alastair Campbell

the success story of

CEO Breakfast with

Waddesdon Manor

Herve Ochsenbein, MD of Ubifrance UK Sagemcom UK

itw with the French Minister

Carolyn McCall OBE, CEO of easyJet

Strategy is God

A place to discover

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Arnaud Vaissié

editorial

President, French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain, and Chairman & CEO, International SOS

he French president’s first visit to London took place on the 10th July when he met with the British Prime Minister and the Queen. Last June, David Cameron created controversy with his suggestion of rolling out the red carpet and welcoming new French businesses to Britain should the French government go ahead with a 75 per cent top rate of tax. Despite this recent turmoil, François Hollande and David Cameron emphasised on the friendly nature of their meeting stating that both countries would continue to work together with a focus on the energy sector and defence co-operation. This is very good news. However, it is interesting to stress that the two leaders hold sharply different views on how to get back to economic recovery. The French president is an opponent of austerity, while the British Prime minister is making sweeping cuts. François Hollande is to introduce a 75% tax on income beyond the 1 million € mark, while David Cameron has just softened the UK’s top rate. In this issue of Info you will read about small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs, a topic which is very close to my heart as I founded a company more than 25 years ago. SMEs are the cornerstone of our economies. They account for 4.8 million entities in the UK and around 3 millions in France, and they make up almost 60% of overall employment in our two countries. Entrepreneurship must be an explicit policy priority because it is key for economic growth, innovation and employment. These are difficult times for economies and two countries such as Britain and France with much in common can only gain by pursuing policies of mutual interest and learn from each other. The Chamber plays a very important role in this collaboration by bringing together leading British and French business people in friendly yet constructive forums. With ten events organised in just two months, the Chamber has been more dynamic than ever. As the French President stated recently “The French Chamber of Commerce is the largest foreign Chamber of Commerce in Britain with more than 600 members”. Besides numerous club and forum meetings and joint events at La Residence, we benefited immensely from the latest CEO breakfast meeting with Carolyn McCall, CEO of Easyjet and one of Britain’s most charismatic business women. The Chamber is gearing up for a very busy September. Until then, we wish you all a great summer of sport in London.I

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Contents issue 202 / August - September 2012

Cameron rolls out the red carpet for French president

Beillevaire: Like father, like son

Bradley Wigginswins the Tour de France and Olympic Gold

British and French SMEs: comparison and contrast

recent news

French nationals abroad1 now have their Minister Hélène Conway-Mouret is the new Minister for French nationals abroad. For INFO magazine, she explains what this new Ministry is for and what her role will be members of government, and of course the French economic and cultural actors. This is an exchange in both directions. The French abroad are effective relays for our country. The French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, wants to give our economic diplomacy a new ambition and new tools. The challenges of growth play an important part in the international realm, and we will be listening to all economic actors of “Team France”. The existence of the French community abroad can bind us internationally. My department also seeks to serve the mobility of our compatriots, especially young people who need to be competitive in the job market. Hélène Conway

Does the French government really intend to tax the rental income of non-French residents?

There are now 11 MPs and 12 senators for French nationals abroad. What is the ministry for French nationals abroad in charge of and what are your priorities?

This measure aims to restore equality of treatment between non-residents and French tax-payers. Nonresidents will pay their taxes and social security contributions on their property income (such as rental income) and real estate capital gains, on the same level as locals. This is not a surcharge, but a measure of fairness.

In France we have a bicameral system. It is therefore normal for French nationals abroad to be represented in both Houses. On the government side, creating a fully-fledged ministry allows French people living abroad to be represented at the Cabinet level. My attribution covers all areas of interest to our compatriots abroad, including their representation, administration, security, education and all aspects of diplomacy. I plan to concentrate my efforts on adapting the consular network to the needs of users, including education abroad and the reform of the Assembly of French nationals Abroad.

What do you think about the remarks made by David Cameron about rolling out the red carpet to high net worth French individuals?

The English have a lot of humour, as noted by Mr Hollande. There are more than 1,600 French companies in the UK, representing some 460,000 jobs. I am pleased that mutual attraction continues between our two countries.

How can a ministry represent the French community abroad from Paris? Does it require traveling regularly to meet them? In what context do you intervene?

For more than 12 years you were an elected representative of the Assembly of French People Abroad (AFE) in the UK. What are your memories from that period?

Being based in France is necessary for efficient governmental action and helps when we work with other jurisdictions. I will travel and meet the French who are living outside in order to implement major projects that I have identified, and improve our public services abroad. Moreover, an important part of my job is to engage in dialogue with local authorities,

I noticed a growing attraction for the UK, and a desire to discover a country that offers real opportunities. There were 70,000 French here in 2001; now more than 118,000 are registered at the consulate. French people like this country where many have chosen to settle permanently. I

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The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that French Nationals abroad are between 2 and 3 millions (including 1.5 million registered with the French Consulates). Because the registration is optional, it is difficult to have exact figures. 1

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p o rt l a n d p e r s p e c t i v e s

From this issue onwards, we are pleased to announce that we will be featuring a regular column written by Portland, a patron member of the Chamber

Alastair Campbell is a member of Portland’s Advisory Council, and was previously Press Secretary and senior advisor to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair

Strategy is God: Alastair Campbell looks to sport to illustrate the crucial role strategy plays in leadership

hen an Englishman wins the Tour de France, you know something special is happening. For a sports-obsessive like me, it’s a truly fantastic summer and hard, as my family can testify, to get me to concentrate on anything else. In my defence, my fascination stems not just from enjoyment but also because sport teaches us so much. Not everyone, however, learns its lessons. I sometimes fear that politics and business pay lip service to sport but its real importance and potential impact are often missed. If not, there would be less need to worry about whether the legacy of the Olympics on a whole raft of policy areas will be wasted. Sport, for example, shows us so much about leadership, not least the ability to set clear objectives, the capacity for boldness, and the gift of building and inspiring teams. Communication matters too. Individual post-match interviews with football managers may often be an exercise in saying the obvious but, over time, character emerges. It is not hard to spot the winners - and losers. Look at Jose Mourinho to see the difference. As the Special One repeatedly demonstrates, being ready to lead from the front is a key principle of leadership. I am not sure this is yet fully understood in business where a critical and largely negative media can persuade all but the bravest to keep their heads down wherever possible. This is the approach, for example, Rupert Murdoch followed over the phone-hacking scandal. Murdoch

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may be one of the media giants of the age. Yet he has operated largely through an old-fashioned head down, never apologising-nor-explaining attitude. This is fine when life is going well. But as Murdoch has learnt to his cost, it is very different when the situation changes. His company’s recent performance in the UK will be a global case study in how not to handle a crisis. For top politicians, it should all be more straightforward. They are actually called leaders and are expected to take the main decisions and explain them to the voters. But the difference in the style and quality of recent British Prime Ministers can lead to a belief that leaders are born rather than made. It’s a bad mistake, however, to believe performance can’t be improved. Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair may have been stronger and politically more successful than their successors. But John Major and Gordon Brown also had huge strengths. Their mistake was not playing to them nor crucially doing enough to address weaknesses. It was a mistake that François Hollande did not repeat and Nicolas Sarkozy did. All, of course, had the challenge of operating at a time of much greater media pressure on leaders, not least in relation to the need for greater visibility and transparency. Churchill, de Gaulle and Roosevelt were remarkable leaders. Yet I wonder how these very different characters, with no shortage of flaws, would have coped with the 24/7 analysis and negativity which can surround their modern day successors.

p o rt l a n d p e r s p e c t i v e s

What each of these giants had, however, was an understanding of the need for clear objectives and the courage to focus on them, no matter how tough times got. So too did Bill Clinton. I can vouch for this because at the very height of the Lewinsky scandal, I listened in to a phone call between Clinton and Blair, in which they discussed the decommissioning of Soviet nuclear weapons. Years later I interviewed Clinton and asked how he kept his focus. He told me he had a clear objective - survival. His strategy was to get up every day and concentrate on those things only he could do because he was President. His tactics were to ensure the US people knew that this was what he was doing. It worked. Not only did he survive but I suspect he would have won a third term had the US Constitution allowed it. So what are the qualities a good leader needs, whether in business, charity or any other walk of life?

What can sport and politics teach us? First, they must possess a strong vision and an ability to communicate those ideas both inside and outside an organisation. It is not enough any longer to be a good manager or expert in your field. You need clarity of thought and the ability to explain those thoughts clearly. Second, they need the resilience to hold their nerve when times get tough. Together these attributes provide the foundation for leading in a crisis. It is also at times of crisis when the strength of the team counts most. The knack of picking the right people and welding them into an effective unit is critical. No matter how good the team, however, they will flounder without knowing the objectives and strategy. Nor can you chart your way through a crisis without a clear sense of direction. Setting clear objectives and formulating robust strategy must be the cornerstones of any successful leadership. But it is amazing how many organisations lack an agreed strategy which is so simple that it can be summed up in a sentence or on the back of a postcard. This is usually because of major disagreements and the lack of courage to address them. The result is confusion and failure. It is no surprise that people have different views

but they must be thrashed out and agreement reached. Deciding strategy is the time to have arguments, not to avoid them. Once strategy is agreed, it becomes much easier to put in place the tactics to deliver it and to ensure the organisation is not knocked off course by events or competitors. It’s a lesson sport shows us time after time. The foundation for the stunning success of Bradley Wiggins was laid by British Cycling supremo Dave Brailsford. The lesson is simple. Have a vision. Set clear objectives. Build a team and strategy to meet them – and then work your balls off. The result was the Tour was won not in five years as he planned but three. Don’t let anyone ever say you can’t make change happen. I by Alastair Campbell

About Portland Portland is a leading communications consultancy, trusted by some of the world’s most successful organisations and high-profile individuals to advise on communications, engagement, and public affairs. With an 80-strong team recruited from the highest levels of the media, politics and government; offices in London, New York and Nairobi; and a global partner network; we have a track record of helping our clients achieve their goals in the UK and internationally. For more information about Portland’s services please visit www.portland-communications.com, email info@portland-communications.com, or telephone 020 7842 0123.

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n e ws i n t h e ci t y

Libor-gate, the latest global scandal to hit the financial world Since 2007, the financial world has never left the spotlight. After the bail-out of major banks, the reports of staggering bonuses received by some Wall Street CEOs, the lack of system regulations and the sense of impunity, “Libor-Gate” is the latest banking drama

he London Interbank Offered Rate – also known as Libor - is the main reference benchmark interest rate used in the financial markets and calculated daily by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA). It is the average price that 16 major international banks are willing to pay in order to borrow cash from other banks. Libor is used as a benchmark rate for £350 trillion of financial products traded every day, which represents the value of everything produced on the planet in a year. It can also affect the mortgage lending rates to the public and businesses. After discovering that the Libor rate had been manipulated, Barclays’ chairman, Marcus Agius and his chief executive, Bob Diamond, resigned. Several world banks are apparently involved in this Libor-gate, the new banking scandal that has hit the financial world. Since then the two Barclays’ directors have acknowledged being aware that between 2005 and 2007, fifteen traders from their bank had apparently been rigging the Libor

in order to increase their profits. Then between 2007 and 2009, during the height of the financial crisis, several banks were suspected to have under-reported their borrowing cost. Fifteen major banks including Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, JP Morgan, and Barclays, as well as Japanese, Canadian and European lenders are currently being investigated for allegedly manipulating Libor, Eurobor and Tibor (Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate). The US Department of Justice has confirmed that criminal investigations into “other financial institutions and individuals” were ongoing. The Commons have announced a parliamentary commission of inquiry, and the Serious Fraud Office will conduct a criminal investigation into Libor. Some investors and governments ask for sanctions that will not be just simple financial penalties on this occasion, while British Bankers’ Association plead for new measures to calculate the Libor. I V-GH

Banking culture needs a shake-up ||| The Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King has appealed for “a real change in culture” within the banks after the Libor-gate. He spoke derisively of those who had resorted to “deceitful” methods to make money as well as excessive salaries. “What I hope is that everyone now understands that something went very wrong with the UK banking industry and we need to put it right … We need a real change in the culture of the industry”, stated Sir Mervyn King. He announced that central bank governors and regulators should discuss possible reform of Libor at a meeting in September. I

The Bank of England

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news in the cit y

Profile

Leading Veni Partners through the crisis Stéphane Rambosson, The former M&A and equities banker, now co-owner of advisory and executive search firm Veni Partners, is growing it to be a unique consultancy across all sectors

outside financial services, given hen Thomas Drewry founded Veni Partners ten years ago, the risks and technical barriers. the City was a more respected Major events, such as the recent place; the economy was booming; “LIBOR-gate”, should have huge effects, including re-regulation. ‘banksters’ did not exist and most financiers were “fit and proper”, observes Stéphane Rambosson Coping with cuts who joined the firm as a partner As margins erode, revenues have dropped significantly in 2012 in in 2008. Since then, the world most key areas of financial services, has been hit by the most severe with structural implications. financial crisis; large financial institutions collapsed; banks Surgical measures are now being implemented. Credit Suisse, for were bailed out by Governments instance, has cut close to 30 and stock markets took a severe downturn. However, through percent of its investment banking careful navigation, Thomas and workforce in Europe, including at Stéphane Rambosson senior level. Stéphane managed to capitalise It is likely that most of the major banks will follow on new opportunities and lead the expansion of suit with more cuts over the next three months. Veni Partners from Financial Services into Corporate Leadership and Not-for-Profits. This raises questions around the business model: a large London hub, generally populated with sector and product teams, and easier to rationalise, versus. Reinvention and re-regulation maintaining a local presence in all countries across Financial institutions need to restructure as never before. In the United Kingdom, the Vickers Commission Europe? has recommended that retail activities be ring-fenced The remuneration model is also still at the centre of the debate. The latest proposal from some EU from investment banking. In this context, Veni started countries is for a maximum 1:1 bonus to salary ratio, to advise on such transformations, including how to shift the focus from a revenue culture to a profit though the UK Chancellor, George Osborne, opposes and loss one. The firm also suggested strengthening this. “If pay is over-regulated and undermined, certain key financiers will migrate to the US or to Asia, or set risk management, improving cost allocation and up their own ‘deregulated’ entities such as ‘boutiques’” optimising business and team structures. “In an asserts Rambosson. industry where people are the main assets, our strategy has been able to match those with the right cultural However as a result of either desired or enforced fit to the right institutions” says Rambosson. departure from financial services, new opportunities will undoubtedly arise for talented Caesars in The “shareholder spring” has helped boards and Corporate Leadership and Not-for-Profit sectors... Veni senior management teams to revamp. However, there has been limited new talent coming from Vidi Vici. I SR

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news in the cit y

A more patriotic test to become a British citizen ||| From this autumn, immigrants the responsibilities of the citizens and applying for United Kingdom citizenship requiring people to have British historical will have to answer a set of questions on knowledge. “Putting our culture and British cultural figures, and historical history at the heart of the citizenship and political events, including Winston test will help ensure those permanently Churchill, William Shakespeare and the settling can understand British life, battles of Trafalgar and Waterloo, as allowing them to properly integrate well as the requirement to learn the first into our society”, said a Home Office verse of the national anthem, God Save spokesman. the Queen. About 80,000 people a year take At the beginning of July, the Home the UK citizenship test. The test was Sir Winston Churchill Secretary, Theresa May, announced a introduced by the Labour party in 2005 major revision of the citizenship test to become as an essential part of applying to settle permanently a more “patriotic guide” for migrants, focusing on in the UK and acquiring a British passport. I

UK: Economic growth still too slow ||| The latest Quarterly Economic Survey published by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) showed that economic growth remains too weak, despite the fact that British businesses are growing. Although businesses continue to develop, the pace is sluggish and inadequate for a sustainable recovery. The survey comprised responses from 7,805 businesses and showed that although many of their balances were in positive territory, they are still below the levels seen before the recession in 2007. However, it was not all bad news; the survey showed there has been a surprisingly good improvement in exporting activity, suggesting that businesses are looking to exporting as a source of growth.

The five key points highlighted by the report were: domestic orders are weak; exporting activity has increased; business confidence is still lower than prerecession levels; the landscape of employment is varied; fewer firms are looking to raise prices but concerns over exchange prices and inflation have increased. John Longworth, BCC’s Director General commented on the results, saying “growth cannot wait. The government must take an imaginative and brave approach to stimulate the economy and help businesses thrive.” He recommended measures including the creation of a state-supported business bank and investment in infrastructure, as critical to kick-start the economy. I Delahaye_Ad_82_62

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5 m i n u te s w ith ...

Hervé Ochsenbein Over the last four years, Ubifrance, the french agency for international business development, has tripled the number of French export companies it assists. Hervé Ochsenbein, Director of Ubifrance UK, describes how partnership with UK firms could help France meet the challenges ahead

Why was there the need to separate?

True, some said that it was good to have crossfertilisation between the disciplines, yet companies are so much more complex today. Fifteen years ago big conglomerates did everything. Now you have subcontractors, and these themselves have subcontractors. So you need to specialise too. Clients expect an accurate description of the market and expert research. When they look for an importer, they want one now! That is our real priority. We look out for the small guy. Could you assess the success of Ubifrance in assisting French companies doing business abroad?

Hervé Ochsenbein Could you tell us about the origins of Ubifrance?

Before 2008, we existed as a building in Paris without a global network. We worked with the foreign network of the French Ministry for Economy, Finance and Industry, which simultaneously analysed foreign budgets and policies, dealt with multilateral issues, large global public-sector contracts, and found partners for SMEs. Over time the French government realised that you cannot be good at everything, or chase two hares at the same time, as they say. So on 1 January 2009 we split into two divisions. The Ministry kept the macroeconomic part and we focused on the daily activities of French companies abroad under the aegis of the Ministry. Immediately we began building our own network abroad, and in just three years we have set up 77 offices in 57 countries. 20 - info - august / september

In the four years since Ubifrance was set up as an independent organisation, the number of companies we are helping has increased three-fold. That is significant. But we cannot claim all the credit. We give subsidies to other operators, and we could never have achieved this if we had stayed in our own world, ignoring others who were working in the same area. Where does Ubifrance fit in? What is its contribution?

We are just one part of the “export team”, along with COFACE, Oséo, the French Foreign Trade Advisers, and Chambers of Commerce at home and abroad, among others. So there was a synergy: as soon as everybody had the same goal, the figures grew threefold! Have you increased France’s status as an exporting nation?

Well, over the last ten years, the number of French exporting companies has declined. However, it is now back to 100,000 (2004 figures) and keeps on rising. But the number of Italian exporting companies is 200,000, and in Germany 400,000. So why is Germany doing better? They do not export much more than we do

5 m i n u t e s w i t h H e r v é O ch se n be i n

to China, the rest of Asia or the emerging markets. Europe remains Germany’s prime destination, as it is for the UK and France. We also sell consumer goods, food and wine, planes and nuclear technology, and Italy probably sells more machine tools overseas. No, the answer is that we cannot export more with fewer firms! France has big companies, huge brands, but fewer exporting SMEs compared to Italy or Germany. So the government asked us to assist, and in 2010 the number of new exporters overtook those leaving the field. That marks a real turning point. So how could you close that gap with Italy and Germany?

We cannot do so all by ourselves. But regional Chambers of Commerce in France encourage companies to view the world as an opportunity, not as a risk. Ubifrance comes at the end of that chain: firms need to realise the value of exporting in the first place! Happily, more French business students now study international trade, and universities demand that they spend time abroad.

be if they are in this sector. Just imagine, 38 percent of the world’s internet traffic passes through the UK! This is huge. There are amazing opportunities for working together. Similarly in defence, nuclear energy, or transportation – you have the oldest subway in the world - it makes sense to co-operate with Britain, especially now, when its system needs renovation. In the 21st century you must collaborate with those who have the expertise. Where the product is sophisticated, you cannot do everything by yourself. Take one example, the video games industry. In the past one person would design a video game at his desk; now it involves millions of dollars and teams of hundreds. Why not find areas where the French can specialise alongside the British? Britain has the second largest market in the world for video games and legendary production studios, but we have expertise too: the number one and number three video companies in the world are French. That spells huge opportunities in the UK. Where else can you see future co-operation?

More French firms find that operating in industrial clusters really adds value. And many more French people now speak English. Once it was rare and considered a real advantage; it has now become essential.

Partnership through subcontracting could apply in energy and infrastructure. Any French biotech firm that wants to grow globally should come to Oxford and Cambridge, the leading clusters of expertise. The new way of doing things is sharing ideas and projects.

How does Ubifrance specifically help exporters?

But how to win market share outside the country?

We use two tools, collective operations and individual support. We suggest B2B trade shows to French companies, and then we subsidise those who sign up, gather them under one French roof, and help them find a partner, importer or distributor. Our publicity generates a positive snowball effect. At our own trade shows, we recruit both the showcase companies and potential buyers. In addition, Ubifrance conducts market studies for companies seeking partners, whether they are French or English.

France still has world class companies in consumer goods, luxury brands and highly specialised technical fields. When we are good, we can sell. And where British industry is good, we can co-operate.

You mentioned other factors for success...

What distinguishes Ubifrance from other export-support agencies like UKTI?

We all benchmark with each other. If one has a good idea, it is soon copied. We are not really “competitors” – more like partners. French companies have their peculiarities, true, yet the difficulties we face, the problems we share, are exactly the same. Even if Britain is just two hours away by train, it is always difficult to sell, especially in an unknown market. Which French sectors have the greatest export potential?

Paradoxically, we have the best chances in two fields where the British are also very good. One is new technology. Britain is where French companies must

What is the main thing that French companies need?

In a word, “time” – they can now find financial resources, but time is crucial. In the UK you cannot close a deal in two seconds; it is a very open market so there is huge competition. It is also a reference market. When you sell to the UK you are considered a serious partner in other countries. That is why importers here are so courted. So do you have a cultural or educational role?

Definitely – if you really want to do business in the UK you must be prepared, and keep the dialogue flowing. Don’t disappear after a meeting. Send an email thanking the person. If you don’t have enough time to invest, don’t come to the UK. British people are serious, hard-nosed, and pragmatic. They will engage with you because they want to earn money, not because they fall in love with you or your products. Now more French export managers have got to know the trick! I NK info - august / september - 21

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Olympic News

The August/September issue of INFO will be printed after the torch is lit and the Games have commenced. This means we are too early to report the results and too late to discuss all the gold medalist hopefuls. Instead we have chosen to give an overview of the Paralympic Games, which will take place in London from August 29 to September 14

The 14th Paralympic Games is coming home

ondon is preparing to host the largest Paralympic Games in history, a great leap forward compared to the very first ones which were also held in London 64 years ago. It was indeed in 1948 that Sir Ludwig Guttman organised the first sporting competition between paraplegics. During the 2012 Paralympics, approximately 4,200 athletes from 165 nations will take part in the competition. They will push themselves to the limit and give their best to receive one of the 499 gold medals from one of the 21 represented sports. The public will be entertained by showcase sports such as rowing, judo or The Paralympic mascot Mandeville wheelchair basketball. This 14th Paralympic games will mark the return of “intellectual disabilities” in goalball, one of the most popular Paralympic sports, others are not represented, including triathlon, boxing, four sports: athletics, swimming, rowing and table tennis. They had been banned from competition after gymnastics or wrestling. Despite these differences, the the Sydney 2000 Paralympics when it was found that Paralympic Games share the same rules and values some members from the Spanish basketball team of the Olympic Games, in focusing on the athletes’ skill, instead of their disability. According to this were not disabled. philosophy, Olympic and Paralympic athletes share All athletes are in pursuit of exceptional performance. Their strength and determination will the same accommodation and sport facilities during invite the world to celebrate this sporting event on a their respective Games. The city of London has taken all the necessary measures in order to host Paralympic grand scale. It is worth noting that while some sports are exclusively a part of the Paralympic competitions, athletes comfortably, which includes access to public such as boccia, which is similar to petanque, or transport. I www.london2012.com/paralympics info - august / september - 23

Olympic News

French Paralympians hope to win up to 18 gold medals Gérard Masson, a former Paralympic table tennis world medallist, is chairing the French Federation of Disability Sport and the French Paralympic Comitttee. He talks about France’s medal chances What is the mindset of the French team before the beginning of the Games?

We want to get medals from day one, and quickly try to distinguish ourselves, including in judo and swimming. The spirit is pretty good, especially after the last world championships. The training camp of Lille opened on August 5 last year and brought together all the athletes. This has helped to strengthen the team spirit before the beginning of the Games. How do you compare the organisation of the 2012 London Games with the 2008 Beijing Paralympics?

Gérard Masson expects a ‘beautiful Games’

What are France’s chances for medals?

The French delegation is composed of 164 athletes involved in 16 different sports, including three collective sports. Our goal is to win between 16 and 18 gold medals and to rank ninth. In Beijing, we won 12 gold medals and we were rewarded in 11 of 13 sports. Competition is fierce in the Paralympics. China and the UK are often first in this discipline, followed by Ukraine and the United States. We hope to be in the top-10 nations participating.

Both are pretty similar. London is really well organised in terms of infrastructure, as was Beijing. The reason is quite simple. Since 1992, the Olympic committee is behind each competition and every Paralympic village around the world is built according to the same brief. Our only concern is the buffet which is open 24 hours a day and which is always a temptation for the competitors who should be on a diet! What will be the legacy of the London Paralympic Games?

It has been thought through extremely well. Some places will be reusable and others will be dismantled. London has worked a lot in terms of environmental protection. In my view, these Games will be beautiful. Our only worry is the rain! I

Medals winning at Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games China

Great Britain

France

Rank

1st

2nd

12th

Total medals won

211

102

Gold

Silver

Bronze

24 - info - august / september

British Paralympic hopes Swimming: Sacha Kindred, James Crisp, Eleanor Simmonds; Sailing: Hannah Stodel, Stephen Thomas; Table Tennis: Will Bayley, Jane Campbell, Paul Davies; Powerlifting: Zoe Newson; Athletics: David Weir French Paralympic hopes Athletics: Marie Amélie Le Fur, Assia Al Hannouni, Arnaud Assoumani; Sailing: Damien Seguin; Swimming: Hayri Simsek; Wheelchair tennis: Stephane Houdet; Archery: Fabrice Meunier Cycling: Olivier Donval; Judo: Sandrine AurièresMartiner; Table tennis: Thu Kamkasomphu, Pascal Pereira

Olympic News

EDF Olympic Pavilion ‘The Magic of Electricity’ London 2012 partner EDF proudly unveiled its Olympic Pavilion, which uses the latest technology to entertain, inform and inspire ||| From July 27 and throughout the Olympic and Paralympic Games period, EDF helps visitors understand what goes into ensuring that we have the reliable, safe and clean electricity we need to live our lives. The EDF Pavilion shows how each of us can manage the use of energy better. From 9am to midnight, visitors can power thousands of LED lights, which form part of a dynamic light installation by using hand pedals, or show off their best dance moves on a special dance floor. People can also experience the latest augmented reality The EDF pavilion is intended to inspire and inform technology and take pictures with virtual British cycling champion Victoria Pendleton about their London 2012 experience. or French swimming champion Yannick Agnel. For Gareth Wynn, EDF’s Director for London A ‘Tomorrow’s World’-style zone showcases futuristic 2012, ‘Electricity is so fundamental to our daily lives energy-saving products designed by some of the world’s and yet most of us take it for granted. We want leading research and design institutes, which could visitors to the EDF pavilion to be entertained, but soon become part of our everyday lives. And ‘real life’ also to understand a bit more about the remarkable Olympic and Paralympic stars – fresh from competing engineering, organisation and creativity that means – are expected to pop into the Pavilion to talk to fans electricity is always there when we need it.’ I

Raymond Blanc OBE Carries the Olympic Flame ||| On the 10th July, Raymond Blanc OBE , Corporate member of the Chamber, joined the long list of prestigious figures to carry the Olympic Flame in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic Games. He carried the flame in Wallingford, Oxford, in front of a crowd of more than 7,000 supporters and well-wishers. This was day 52 of the Olympic Torch relay, which saw the torch touring Britain, from 18th May until the opening ceremony on July 27. The torch covered all areas of the UK over the three weeks and was carried by 8,000 inspirational people; some well-known figures

and some members of the general public, who had been nominated for their contributions to their local area. Raymond Blanc commented: “This is a huge honour for me and I’m thrilled to be part of this historic time – which shows Great Britain at its very best.” Other noted carriers included: Chef Heston Blumenthal (Slough), football legend Ray Wilkins (Egham) and Sir Steve Redgrave who received the flame in Henley. Raymond Blanc was born in a tiny rural village near Besançon, in eastern France. He moved to England in 1972, where he has become one of Britain’s bestknown and best-loved Chefs. Passionate about fresh, seasonal produce and authentic French flavours, he founded the Brasserie Blanc restaurant chain, Maison Blanc pâtisseries and the restaurant and hotel Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons based on these ideals. He was awarded an honorary OBE in 2008 in recognition of his services to the British food industry. I info - august / september - 25

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news Compiled by Priscilla Petit

Bradley Wiggins wins the Tour de France and Olympic Gold

||| Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win the Tour de France. Since the race began in 1903, never before has a British man crossed the line first. His win came just in time for the beginning of the Olympics and is said to have been a huge boost for the morale of Team GB. Covering 2,173 miles over three gruelling weeks, Wiggins was greeted by crowds of fans who had crossed the Channel to celebrate his victory with him after watching him glide down the Champs-Elysées. After being presented with the trophy, he said: “I just want to say thank you to everyone for the support all the way around. It has been a magical couple of weeks for the team and British cycling.” Bradley Wiggins, the first British winner of the Tour de France During the Tour, the French media referred to him as ‘Le Gentleman’, after his sporting response the family when Bradley was just two. From a young to an attempt to sabotage the race. When he saw a age, he had dreamed of winning the Tour de France rival’s tyre be punctured by tacks deliberately scattered and went as a boy with his mother and brother to across the road, Wiggins signalled to the peloton Paris to watch the final stage. behind him to slow down. “No-one wants to benefit A few days after the 2012 Tour, Bradley won an from other people’s misfortunes,” he remarked later. Olympic Gold medal, thus becoming one of the most Bradley Wiggins was raised on a council estate in decorated British athletes of all time with seven Kilburn, North West London by his mother, Linda. His Olympic medals. father, an Australian professional cyclist, abandoned A true hero with a big heart! I

Fourth time lucky? Mike Golding OBE prepares for his last Vendée Globe ||| “I took care of the boat, the boat took care of me, and I am happy with my 3rd place!” Such were the words of Mike Golding, as he completed the podium of the 2004 Vendée Globe, the single-handed, non-stop sailing race around the world - and what an emotional finish that was! Two weeks before, on his way back home, he had taken the lead of the ‘Everest of Sailing’ when forced to back off into third place due to gear failure, only to lose his keel 80 nautical away from the arrival in Les Sables d’Olonne. Miraculously, Mike escaped capsizing and managed to nurse his boat across the finish line. This was his second attempt at the pinnacle of singlehanded sailing, and one of the iconic moments that shaped the myth of the race. His third attempt in 2008 was not so bittersweet and remains his bleakest sailing

memory. He dismasted and had to abandon racing, yet again just after taking the lead. The Vendée Globe stands as one of the few exceptions in the world of professional sailing. During the three months of the race, it offers a level of media coverage comparable to a tennis open or a F1 event, at least in France, hence its appeal to sponsors. At 52, armed with the support of Gamesa, leader in wind energy, the former fireman turned sailing legend has still got it. Could his fourth attempt be the successful one? Mike Golding says “I am not doing a last Vendée Globe because it is a beautiful thing to do, which it is. I am only doing it because I believe I am still capable of winning it. It is in me.” I By Alban James info - august / september - 27

news

Thales’ A400M simulator contract awarded by UK MoD ||| Last July the UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a multi-million pound contract to supply the first fullflight simulator (FFS) for the Royal Air Force A400M military transport aircraft, recently designated Atlas by the European purchasing nations. The FFS employs state-of-the-art visual and motion technology developed and produced by Thales UK at its facility in Crawley, West Sussex. This order confirms Thales as a leading military training service provider…” It is expected that a contract for a further FFS will follow, with both simulators being delivered to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. They will be maintained through a training service by a joint venture company comprising Thales and Airbus Military. “This order confirms Thales as a leading military training service provider for the UK MoD. The order

secures more than 50 jobs for Thales UK and its supply chain, and a further 300 UK jobs expected to be secured once the long-term training service is in place”, says Marion Broughton, head of Thales UK’s military aerospace business. Thales, as a long-standing Airbus partner, is the main supplier of the A400M’s cockpit display systems. Its technology can also be found throughout the aircraft’s avionics system, covering navigation, flight controls, electrical systems and utilities such as door management systems. Thales UK provides military training and simulation services for a number of the MoD’s aircraft, both rotary and fixed-wing, including the Lynx helicopter, the Tornado GR4 and Voyager (Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft). I

EADS presented ALM technologies and careers forum at Farnborough Airshow ||| On 12th July, at Farnborough Airshow, EADS Innovation Works has presented the prototype of a portable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) produced by Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technology, also known as 3D-printing. The plane with a wingspan of approximately 1.5m has been designed by students from the University of Leeds. The small, portable drone will be capable of being controlled via wireless video communication over a short distance. Powered by batteries, it could serve as a tool for surveillance, search and rescue or disaster control. The four students from the University of Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering have developed an initial concept of the UAV, created the design and performed an aerodynamic analysis under the supervision of EADS expert Martin Muir. Using ALM technology in the production of such a small drone opens new possibilities for aerodynamic optimisations such as wing twist, which would otherwise be difficult and expensive to design for an aircraft of this scale. Different, detachable wings can be “printed” in a relatively short time to adapt the UAV to missions with different requirements. The ALM revolutionary manufacturing process of EADS has developed the technology to the extent that it can manipulate metals, nylon, and carbon-reinforced plastics at a molecular level, which allows it to be 28 - info - august / september

applied to high-stress, safety critical aviation uses. The Farnborough International Airshow was also the occasion for displaying the EADS’s flagship Airbus A380 aircraft, showing expertise and highlighting the aerospace and defense group’s career initiatives. This year EADS is planning to create 5,000 recruitments and welcome 4,000 interns. Airbus alone plans to hire 4000 people and the other divisions gave a total of 1000. A series of forums and workshops at Farnborough Airshow were given job seekers a wide range of opportunities to discuss their future career paths with HR professionals, engineers and business experts. I

news

Académie Accor, the world first Hospitality learning network arrives in the UK ||| Shortly after rebranding the Novotel London St Pancras under its Pullman offering (the first UK property for Pullman), the group ACCOR is now in the spotlight with the Académie Accor. In line with its plans to increase the number of hotels from 185 to 300 and create 3,500 jobs looking to 2015, Accor United Kingdom inaugurated a training and career development centre in London on 21st June 2012. After a 10 year presence in the United Kingdom, the new centre will allow the Académie Accor to offer Group employees a totally unique space, with training rooms equipped for e-learning and working sessions for small and large groups, with modern, comfortable and fully modular furniture and plug and play technology to facilitate exchanges and encourage creativity. Accor, the world’s leading hotel operator and market leader in Europe, has been providing learning and development solutions through its Académie Accor since 1985. Twenty-seven years later, the world’s top hospitality school relies on its 17 entities to roll out its programs in 72 countries, delivering more than 435,000 days of training a year (an average of three days per employee), and invests almost £35 million (€45 million) every year in training its employees. Last year, over 145,000 Group employees were trained through modules adapted to the specific local challenges of each country

Accor break space

and covering more than 100 hotel industry jobs. Sophie Flak, Executive Vice President Sustainable Development and Académie Accor explains: “Today, more than ever, identifying, developing and retaining talented people is a crucial guarantee for Accor’s strategy of conquest. With 40,000 new rooms every year, our mission is to train our employees on the ground, where they work. The Académie Accor therefore offers an increasingly varied mix of training approaches brought together under the name “blended learning”. We train all our employees, whether they work in owned, managed or franchised hotels, face-to-face or remotely, via e-learning modules or virtual classrooms”. I

easyJet teams up with Airbus and Nicarnica aviation to test a volcanic ash detection device, the AVOID ||| Airbus A340 test aircraft may help keep UK airspace open if a volcano erupts at any time. easyJet and Nicarnica Aviation have entered a partnership with Airbus to test the AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Imaging Detector) ash detection equipment on their A340-300 test aircraft at the speed and altitude of commercial aircraft. The first phase of testing took place last July and initial test flights at altitudes of up to 40,000ft were successful. The tests on the A340 include mounting the equipment externally on the left side of the aircraft fuselage, with recording equipment and real-time monitors placed inside the cabin allowing viewing of the sky ahead. The flights have been performed near Airbus’ home base in Toulouse, France - where easyJet has one of its French bases - to first assess the sensor’s physical behavior when mounted on the aircraft and exposed to flight

environment and then the performance of the detection system without the presence of volcanic ash. easyJet, Nicarnica Aviation and Airbus have been able to commit to providing this ash detection support. The AVOID equipment was fitted to the Airbus test aircraft, which the Civil Aviation Authority asked to be made available during the Olympics. In the event of a volcanic eruption sending ash towards UK airspace, AVOID would give vital, real time information on the actual amounts of ash in the atmosphere. When incorporated into the safe fly protocols now agreed by the industry and overseen by the Civil Aviation Authority and other ash measurement data and prediction models operated by the Met Office, this could enable aircraft to fly safely to and from London and the rest of the UK. I info - august / september - 29

news

Vinci Construction UK completes a steel framework for Doncaster’s new cultural venue ||| After completing the bus station in Stoke-on-Trent last month, Vinci Construction is now undertaking a £20 million performance venue with the completion of the structural steel frame of the new Civic Cultural Quarter at Doncaster, which should be entirely completed by spring 2013 The 5,250m² venue forms part of the first phase of the Civic and Cultural Quarter (CCQ), which is redeveloping Waterdale in Doncaster’s town centre. VINCI Construction UK is the principal contractor for this Doncaster Council and Muse Developments led project. The modern building aims to offer something for everyone with its multiple uses and facilities open during the day and in the evening. It includes a 600 seat main auditorium, a 200 seat/400 standing flexible performing space, dance and drama studios, education spaces, foyer, bar, box office, dressing rooms, circulation and ancillary spaces and a café. The venue is constructed from 740 tonnes of steelwork built to a hybrid design of concrete walls. This will help produce the right acoustics. The roof is now going on and the impressive glass façade is being installed which will offer visitors uninterrupted

views of the new Sir Nigel Gresley Square. “The new venue is really taking shape as the transformation of Waterdale continues. This imposing building will be the cultural heartbeat of the new quarter and complement our new square and the new civic offices. Doncaster is thriving with new developments, infrastructure projects and investment” said Peter Davies, Mayor of Doncaster. Keith Shivers, Regional Director, VINCI Construction UK, Building Division – North, added: “Once completed, the cutting-edge performance venue will provide a cultural landmark for Doncaster and will be a key feature in the redevelopment of the region. The multipurpose venue will not only attract local schools, shows and performers but will also facilitate exhibitions, conferences and workshops, boosting the local community.” The CCQ project is being part funded by the European Union, as part of the European Regional Development Fund’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme. Arts Council England has provided £2.1m of National Lottery investment for this project. I

EDF Energy announces nuclear revival could boost the UK economy

Mark Prisk, MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise

30 - info - august / september

||| The research also suggestedthatrebuilding new nuclear energy capacity in the UK could create more than 32,000 additional jobs while giving a significant boost to annual exports. As well as bringing economic benefits, the increased use of nuclear power would help the UK government meet its energy and climate change objectives. The Institute for Public Policy Research

conducted the research and their report showed that if nuclear power met all the additional capacity required, the result would be a boost to UK GDP of up to 0.34% per year and an annual economic gain of £5.1 billion. Moreover, the investment could result in job gains of more than 22,000 a year, together with up to 10,000 jobs a year created by increased economic activity and the report suggested that export activity from the energy sector could more than double: from around £700 million annually currently to between £1.2-£1.7 billion by 2030. “This research demonstrates the compelling business case for investing in the UK’s energy infrastructure. This much-needed investment could create significant numbers of jobs for years to come as well as increase UK export potential…” explained Mark Prisk MP, Minister at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. I

news

CBRE to sell two hotels overlooking the London 2012 Olympic Park ||| CBRE Hotels EMEA have been appointed to sell The Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites Westfield, on behalf of Patron Capital and Cycas Hotel Partners. The hotels are located in the heart of Westfield Stratford City, Europe’s largest urban shopping centre (1.9m sq ft) and part of the leading urban regeneration project in London. They are close to London’s iconic 2012 Olympic Park and less than five minutes walk from the station. The Holiday Inn and Staybridge Suites opened in May 2012. The Staybridge Suites is already ranked 4th of all London hotels on TripAdvisor. Owen Pritchard, Associate Director for CBRE Hotels EMEA commented: “Stratford is set to become London’s most exciting new business address and is a part of London with limited existing hotel supply. The legacy of the Olympics for the area is huge and will include five permanent sporting venues, and up to 11,000 new

The Holiday Inn, Stratford

residential units and half a billion square feet of new office space.” I

Eurostar reports a resilient performance in the first half of 2012 ||| Eurostar, the high speed rail service between the UK and mainland Europe, reported continuing growth in passenger numbers and a resilient performance in sales revenues in the first half of 2012. In the first six months of the year, passenger numbers rose by 2% to 4.8 million from 4.7 million in 2011. Sales revenues remained robust growing by 1% to £425 million in 2012 from £421 million in the same period last year. The growth over the first half of the year has been driven by leisure travel as customers on both sides of the channel continue to enjoy leisure breaks. Business travel, which was broadly flat in the first quarter of 2012, weakened in the second quarter as the number of public holidays and the eurozone crisis impacted on many business customers’ travel plans. Travel on Eurostar continues to be a major attraction for international travellers coming to London with the number of passengers originating outside Europe growing by 11% in the first half of 2012 compared with last year. This was driven in part

by a strong increase in the number of passengers originating from the US and the Far East who see a trip on Eurostar as an integral part of the European tour, particularly in an Olympic year. As a sponsor of the London 2012 Games, Eurostar has also played a key role in bringing both spectators and athletes to the Games and has transported the French and Belgian Olympic and Paralympic teams. “Whilst leisure sales have held up over the last six months, there is no doubt that corporate clients and business travellers, particularly in the financial services industry, are feeling the squeeze and are cutting back on their travel budgets as they adapt to the economic environment. The combination of economic pressures and the London 2012 Games has meant that we are seeing different travel patterns this year. The traditional European summer close-down for business is kicking in earlier as all eyes turn to the Olympic celebrations in London,” said Nicolas Petrovic, Chief Executive of Eurostar. I info - august / september - 31

news

||| Chanel, one of the world’s most iconic fashion houses, opened its first standalone beauty store in Covent Garden this July. Whether it’s the latest nail polish or one of their signature red lipsticks, the Chanel pop-up shop has everything their customers could want. Centrally located in Old Covent Garden Market, there are 50 square metres devoted solely to the brand’s beauty products. In addition to their makeup, this store is the home of London’s first Chanel nail bar, where clients can redeem the price of their luxury manicure against their purchases. If that wasn’t enough, the shop features interactive shopping services and plans to host special events in the coming months. Chanel promises to keep its visitors on trend and plans to preview its new products in store, host make-up classes and include an area for facials and pampering. Further plans for the store include an area emulating the atmosphere of backstage at a catwalk show and a special festive surprise in December, before the store closes. I

Chanel opens pop-up beauty store in Covent Garden

The Chanel store in Covent Garden

Amazing cars to discover at the Chelsea Autolegends show ||| This year will see the third edition of Chelsea Autolegends where over 500 cars will be on display. This show has become a much-loved event in the automotive social calendar – an enthralling weekend of cars and cool fashion and food. This is an amazing day to be spent in the breathtaking surroundings of the Royal Hospital. But don’t come on your own. Bring the family, bring a friend – you won’t be disappointed by an event that is brought to you by real enthusiasts who share a love of motor sport and cars that set the heart racing. With it comes the understated cool that could only emanate from an event based just yards from London’s King’s Road. Attractions for 2012 include Stars’ Cars, 70s ‘Cool’, Le Mans and Formula One Celebration Tributes, Fast Ladies, Techno Park and Restoration Corner, as well as

much, much more. Come and be a part of something exciting, something unique, something special... I

Europ Assistance team has unveiled its new brand name: Aria Assistance ||| Following recent authorisation by the Financial Services Authority, the team behind the management buy-out of the UK and Ireland and International Health Solutions business of Europ Assistance officially unveiled its new brand in June: Aria Assistance. Aria Assistance is a new innovative force in the 32 - info - august / september

assistance market, bringing together a vision of a single source of insurance and assistance services delivered with a promise of superior service. Aria Assistance in the UK offers both insurance and assistance solutions across all of its existing lines of business. I

news

Hats off to...

Pascal Boris

Pascal Boris CBE, co-founder of le Cercle d’outre-Manche and Honorary President of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain Pascal Boris has been promoted to officier de la Légion d’Honneur on the Bastille Day 2011 List; the insignia were bestowed upon him during a ceremony in Paris in March 2012 attended by members of the French and international business communities. In his letter, then-French Foreign Affairs Minister Alain Juppé emphasised Pascal’s contribution to international banking and finance as well as his long standing involvement with charities. I

hello, goodbye... Jeremy Schwartz, Managing Director L’Oréal UK & Ireland replaces Pierre-Yves Arzel

n A in ow pp Se to ly pt st 20 art 12

Jeremy Schwarz

||| Jeremy Schwartz joined L’Oréal UK in 1993 and achieved success as a marketer for L’Oréal Paris. In 1997, he decided to leave the Group and continued to build his consumer and management expertise working successively for Coca-Cola, J. Sainsbury and News International. In all these roles, he was recognised for his ability to challenge conventional thinking and push innovation. So it is no surprise that he decided to come back to L’Oréal 13 years later. For 2 years on Garnier Maybelline, Jeremy has been instrumental in establishing a stronger Garnier brand, revisiting the consumer approach and driving innovative ways of developing both Garnier and Maybelline. Jeremy is also a manager full of passion and energy and he is an inspiring leader for his teams. I

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info - august / september - 33

news Schools

Sciences Po, the UK Trust Charity Gala ||| The 5th Sciences Po Alumni UK Trust Charity Gala will be held on the 27th of September in the Great Hall of Lincoln’s Inn, under the Patronage of H.E. Bernard Emié, French ambassador to the UK. The Gala raises funds for the Trust aimed to advance education at Sciences Po and promote links between the institution and the UK. During the evening, the Assia de Juniac and Roger Seydoux scholarships will be awarded. The trust has also supported The Vincent Wright Chair, a visiting professorship, to promote academic and scientific exchange between France and Great Britain. This comprises of visiting professors (including Sir Howard Davies) from prestigious UK universities (notably LSE and Oxford University) at the Sciences Po School of Law, the Paris School of International Affairs and the Sciences Po Economics Department. There will be a seminar at Goldsmith University

of the SPEAP (Programme of Experimentation in Arts and Politics) led by Bruno Latour, and research at Oxford University for a PHD student from Sciences Po. In addition there will be a three-year scholarship for an outstanding student from a British secondary school wishing to complete a BA at one of the Sciences Po’s Collèges Universitaires for Professor Guillaume Piketty’s research program at Oxford University. The guest-speaker at the Gala will be Michel Pébereau, Chairman of the management board of Sciences Po and honorary Chairman of BNP Paribas. Sponsors of the Gala include Amber Capital, Charles de Croisset, Bertrand Coste, Ondra Partners, International SOS, Omega and Veni Partners. I Bookings: http://sciencespoalumniuktrustcharitygala2012. eventbrite.com. For Corporate bookings please contact Cécile d’Angelin (cbdangelin@yahoo.co.uk)

The Financial Times ranked EDHEC Master’s in Finance 6th worldwide ||| EDHEC Business School got off to an excellent start for its first participation at the Financial Times Global Master in Finance placing its Msc in Finance 6th worldwide. Career progress, programme satisfaction, school diversity and international experience are measured via business schools data and a survey conducted on their alumni who graduated three years ago.

LIVE LONDON! LOVE LONDON! INVEST IN LONDON!

34 - info - august / september

In addition, EDHEC is ranked #2 for international course experience and features among the top 5 for placement success. This excellent debut undeniably ascertains the quality of its programme on a global scale. It positions EDHEC Business School among the leading schools in the world, part of the top group of pre-experience Masters in Finance providers. According to Dean Olivier Oger: “In such a competitive global environment, this result reflects the high quality of our Finance programmes, which rely on the excellence of our finance faculty and the relevance of the curriculum to the needs of the companies and banking industries.” The Msc in Finance programme, based on the CFA curriculum, is a one-year full-time comprehensive programme designed to prepare participants for a wide variety of international careers in finance. Its broad curriculum gives equal attention to corporate finance and capital markets and allows participants to develop expertise in corporate financial strategy, investment banking, financial accounting, reporting and analysis, risk management; and equity and fixed income portfolio management. I

news UK Regional Review

Highland fling with a French twist… reputedly the first bidet used north of the border. ‘It is exquisitely chic and opulent, almost an authentic rural French style’, said Mal Burkinshaw, head of fashion at Edinburgh College of Art. Scotland in turn influenced Coco’s fabric and footwear designs. As it happened, the creator who pioneered trousers for women, the “little black dress”, distinctive pink blazers and bags, and the immortal fragrance, Chanel No 5, never married her lover. ‘There have been several Duchesses of Westminster. There is only one Mademoiselle Chanel’, she declared. Maybe soon fashionistas will flock to the restored property in search of the genuine Chanel touch, and say: ‘There is only one Rosehall House’. I © L ipn it z sk i

||| You would expect to find evidence of Coco Chanel in Paris or even London and Edinburgh, but in Scotland’s most sparsely populated and northernmost Highland province? This July, however, the Scottish architects Bell Ingram Design announced that they would restore a 20-room Sutherland mansion and transform it into a £6m boutique hotel and catered apartment complex. Coco Chanel Known as Rosehall House, this was where Chanel and Britain’s wealthiest man, the 2nd Duke of Westminster, used to elope during the years 1923 to 1928. Chanel left an indelible mark on her Highland love-nest, with its hand-painted floral, pinstriped and deep beige wallpapers, its bijou bathrooms and

Sopra brings online clarity to farmers ||| A Chamber Patron member and panEuropean IT services organisation has won a major tender to deliver more efficient online services to Northern Irish farmers. Sopra Group, which is headquartered in Paris and has an important office at Airport Road West, Belfast, will deliver a corporate GIS (Geographic Information System) to the Department of

Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD). Their system will use open-source tools to improve accuracy of land management, help process EU grants more efficiently, and simplify online forms. More generally, GIS will assist with animal welfare and promote sustainable growth in the nation’s food, fishing and forestry sectors, while also meeting the needs of consumers. I

Colas Rail on track for expansion in Wales ||| Colas Rail, a leading provider of European rail infrastructure and Patron member of the Chamber, has acquired one of Britain’s most respected engineering firms, Pullman Rail of Cardiff. The latter is a major employer in South Wales with annual turnover exceeding £10m; the former, an evergrowing consortium which began life in Britain as a subsidiary of the French conglomerate SECO. Not only will this latest move boost the Colas fleet, it will also enhance its capacity to provide upgrades, overhauls and maintenance of rolling stock for train

owners and operators. In early 2008 Colas Rail was rated owner of Britain’s largest fleet of modern ontrack plant when it took over Carillion’s plant business. The purchased company has continued to trade as Pullman Rail since contracts changed hands this May. Additionally its Canton depot, near Cardiff Central station, represents a prime asset that serves Britain’s entire rail network. Charles-Albert Giral, CEO, Colas Rail Europe commented ‘With this acquisition we are deepening our ability to offer a one-stop-shop to our clients… and confirming our particular [investment] focus on Wales’. I info - august / september - 35

s u cc e s s s to ry

Meeting consumer expectations is a key ingredient to success. ‘Our devices are both smart and simple to use.’

Sagemcom connects the home of the future Matching consumer’s desires and spearheading the totally connected home… these are lessons that one originally French tech firm is sharing with the British. Yet the traffic runs both ways, says Raphaël Fainac, MD of Sagemcom UK…

n excellent product is a good start for any company, but it is not enough. ‘You may have the best ideas in the world, but they mean little if you cannot persuade others’. So says Raphaël Fainac, Managing Director of Sagemcom UK, one of the most exciting consumer electronics specialists operating in both Britain and France.

Playing to your strengths Meeting consumer expectations is a key ingredient to success. ‘Our devices are both smart and simple to use. We aim to bring technology to life and create excitement and value from the start,’ explains Fainac. Another element is playing to one’s strengths. Innovative and aesthetically appealing appliances produced by expert engineers differentiate the firm from competitors. Previously Sagemcom found that competing on price and volume, or importing Frenchstyle products to the UK wholesale, was not a great strategy. Now it targets a discerning premium market. Reinventing the projector Besides meeting expectations, Sagemcom also creates new expectations. Take for example PicoPix projectors: portable, palm-size devices that elevate multimedia capabilities to another level. They carry music, pictures, movies and videos and project bright images up to 120 inches in size. “We created this market from scratch. In a sense, 36 - info - august / september

we are the market!” says Raphaël. Sagemcom is responding to cultural change, too. PicoPix can access your laptop, iPad, iPod, iPhone, camera, games console, SD card or USB stick. “With Facebook, people want to share what they have seen and done, so why not with your other devices?”

Heeding the customer In the UK Sagemcom provides fast broadband wireless routers under licence for BT and Sky, and the latest generation of set-top box recorders with Freeview and Freesat. As Raphaël explains, ‘Our aim is to deliver something that everyone can enjoy, regardless of their technology know-how.’ Another element is listening to the end-user. ‘We have specifically incorporated consumer feedback in the development’, says Fainac. Now 40,000 users participate via their online Interactive Support Community or Facebook page. Point-of-sales demonstrations and videos at Comet, Tescos or Asda entice potential purchasers. All-hours after-sales service is another pivotal feature. ‘The crisis has taught us that shifting a box alone did not suffice’, notes Fainac. ‘We offer a complete solution. The result is a simple step by step set-up process and an intuitive user interface with clear menus’. Responding to change… In Britain, Sagemcom aims for the “fully connected

s u cc e s s s to ry

Safran, in 2008, the statistics are impressive. Overall Sagemcom employs 6,000 people across 60 countries, and recorded a worldwide turnover of €1.5bn last year, up from €1.1bn in 2009 and €1.3bn in 2010. While 85 percent of the business is still in Europe, they are rapidly moving into emerging markets where barriers to entry are lower and consumers are keen to leapfrog existing technologies. Moreover, Sagemcom exploits its swift set-up logistics to partner with local players. Turnover at Sagemcom’s Brazilian base has risen from nothing to €100m over 18 months. Now they are exploring markets in Argentina, Venezuela and Columbia. R&D takes place in France while production is organised from Tunisia, China and Brazil. Having manufacturing close to the market keeps the supply chain as short as possible. Sagemcom is exceptional within France in producing electronic hardware that competes internationally with American, Korean and Chinese companies. The company “chooses its battles”: it dominates certain fields, like fax and specialist printers, and aims for top spot in connected TV, home energy management, or Pico projectors; but it will not compete in mass markets, such as TV panels. Raphaël Fainac

home” with integrated media player, home networking (DLNA) and internet. ‘This will change the way consumers use their TV. They can decide what to watch, when and soon where, without missing their favourite programme, thus giving them more freedom, more options’. Later this year Sagemcom will roll out Freesat boxes which customers need only plug into their existing dish to instantly access many more channels. Satellite TV without a contract or monthly payments is good news in hard times, Fainac notes. Now his company is spearheading a hybrid cordless home phone that mimics the smartphone and is simple to use. Another departure is “Sixty”, a telephone which combines retro design with latest technology, and humour. A 2012 model for the Jubilee and Olympics sports a Union Jack design that “pays tribute to our host nation”.

Niches and new markets Sagemcom prides itself on finding markets. Being the biggest is not always the best. As Fainac admits ‘We don’t want to be a giant brand. We act as a specialist and know our niche markets better than anyone else. We understand how to fill a gap and create value, and we can support our customers. Yes, small can be beautiful’. For a firm that set up in Britain in 2000, and only became independent from its parent company,

Personal journey Raphaël Fainac gained a taste for business at his family’s fur and leather firm at Saint Germain, outside Paris. He graduated with a Masters in Finance, worked in Brussels and Paris for Essilor since 1998, and then came to Sagemcom UK in 2006. Over six months he audited the market, drafted a plan and embarked on a growth strategy. After 12 months the results were measurable. He is proud to have made an impact, yet admits he could only do so with a fine team – colleagues, stakeholders, the supply chain, ‘everyone you need to implement change. So chemistry is key: people need to see they have a role to play in the success of a company’. Plus he has learned from his host country’s entrepreneurial risk-taking approach and stress on the consumer rather than the product. France’s education system structured his thinking and made him a specialist, while Britain’s made him a generalist. Raphaël believes his MBA from the London Business School gave him invaluable business skills. ‘I think the mix of the two education systems gave me a broader view on business.’ As for any would-be entrepreneur, Raphaël has clear advice: ‘Don’t just copy-paste other corporate models or products. Good ideas are vital, but 90 percent of success is in the execution of a plan. And assure investors that you know where you are going!’ I LRJ info - august / september - 37

focus SMEs & Entrepreneurs

The Time is Right B

ringing together the Focus section is always an interesting process for us here at INFO magazine. We learn a great amount about our subject at hand through different channels, with the help of our valuable contributors; by bringing in our own expertise, knowledge and interest; and through a huge amount of research. What you are about to read on the following pages is a result of a dedicated team working together with the aim of equipping you with useful information on why Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) matter, and should matter. Trends in business may come and go, but small businesses and entrepreneurs are as important as ever on the path to recovery from our current economic downturn. Small businesses are the backbones of our economy; they provide, on average, two-thirds of total employment in OECD countries in 20071. That is enough reason for policy makers to turn their attention towards this vital segment of the economy, and to cultivate a nurturing climate. After the past 30 years of modern economic globalisation, the new credo seems to favour local and small business development. SMEs, it is hoped, could well provide a r emedy for the growing unemployment rate. Some analysts feel that SMEs could even make up for sluggish government revenues, and become the foundation for future growth. The role of government is undeniable in creating a fostering environment for SMEs at all stages of their development. The aim of governments is similar both in France and in the UK; their differences lie in the course of actions they choose to take on how to reach their hoped-for destinations. These differences could arise from ideological differences, available resources, historical contexts, and previous political affiliations.

38 - info - august / september

Governments that seem to do better in creating an SME friendly environment are the ones that employ a comprehensive approach in tackling the problem. Among other steps to be taken, the first and perhaps most important could be the promotion and development of an entrepreneurial culture2. While doing this, it is also important to remember that many other forms of assistance are needed for setting up and running successful SMEs. One avenue to pursue is creating a supportive legal and financial framework, which sometimes means being able to balance seemingly contradictory objectives. The perfect example is on the one hand, increasing the funds required by small businesses, and on the other, the latest instalment of the Basel Accords with its new bank regulatory requirements. As you will discover the subject has many other facets as well. Large corporate firms, for instance, enjoy access to credit and economies of scale that SMEs, by definition, cannot match. Yet SMEs enjoy the advantages of nimbleness and innovation, qualities that are so essential to any recovery, which we explore in our many case studies. Moreover, the growing numbers of incentives introduced in the UK are making it the right time to start an SME; or at least to take the next step and embrace that ever so famous “Can Do” attitude. Whether entrepreneurship is innate or can be taught is a debate that has no end. Yet more and more undergraduates are opting for courses that teach a management approach to setting up one’s own business. I OECD (2011), Entrepreneurship at a glance 2011, OECD Publishing. The Nice Côte d’Azur 2011 Entrepreneurship Barometer www.ey.com/GL/en/Issues/Business-environment/G20-Entrepreneurship-Barometer2011 1

sme timeline

1723

17 76

1807

First reference to the term “entrepreneur”, a person who builds capital through risk, appears in ‘Jacques des Bruslons’ “Dictionnaire Universel de Commerce”

Adam Smith publishes his seminal economic text, “Wealth of Nations”

Napoleon labels Britain a ‘nation of shop-keepers’

1923

1907

1884

The Comité Permanent des Foires à l’étranger, renamed Ubifrance in 2001, is formed

The Union of French Chambers Abroad (UCCIFE) is created. The French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain was created 24 years before (1883)

Marks and Spencer begins as market stalls in North-West of England

194 4

1945

1949

Léon Gingembre creates the Confédération générale des petites et moyennes entreprises (CGPME), British equivalent of FSB

Foundation of CNPF, or what is now known as MEDEF, French equivalent of the CBI; currently 90 percent of MEDEF’s 700,000 member firms are SMEs

Joseph Schumpeter publishes “Economic Theory and Entrepreneurial History”, praising entrepreneurs for introducing “creative destruction” into modern economies

1974

197 1

1965

The British Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is formed and becomes the UK’s leading business organisation representing SMEs

Bolton Report commends ‘the birth of new enterprises in substantial numbers’ and warns that ‘an economy totally dominated by large firms could not for long avoid ossification and decay…’

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is formed

2003

2005

2006

UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is created to help SMEs overcome barriers in accessing global markets

European Commission adopts definition of SME and accepts distinction between SMEs and micros

Launch of the first Enterprise Capital Funds (ECFs) the UK, designed to help SMEs bridge the “equity gap” when approaching banks for loans

201 1

2009

2008

New Enterprise Allowance (NEA) created to help unemployed people set up their own business and gain access to a volunteer business mentor and financial support

Six years after the launch of the UK Government’s first national strategy for women’s enterprise, 29 percent of self-employed people are women and 15 percent of businesses were female owned

EU adopts a US-style ‘Small Business Act’ for Europe to improve market conditions for SMEs; in Britain, ECFs come under Capital for Enterprise Limited

focus contents Part One: UK Global Overview

Part Two: learning from examples

40 British and French SMEs: comparison and contrast

53 The Role and Making of Entrepreneurship

44 Big Business is not always beautiful

54 Recipe for International Business Success

46 New Banking Regulations: SMEs at risk

55 Get to know your market

48 Britain: a competitive financing ecosystem

56 The Chamber, helping SMEs every step of the way

49 Tips for SMEs looking to access finance

58 Beillevaire: Like father, like son

50 The changing landscape relating to employment

60 Olivier Cadic chose the UK 16 years ago

legislation for SMEs

51 Teaching Entrepreneurship 52 HEC, helping over 60 ventures a year

info - august / september - 39

focus Part One: UK Global Overview

British and French SMEs: comparison and contrast The UK and France have sharply different views on how to develop their SMEs, argue Philippe Chalon, Managing Director of the Cercle d’outre Manche, and Nathan Boublil, Associate at EP Capital

ince 2008, economic performance and employment figures are univocally poor on both sides of the Channel. While the scope of public action narrows, large firms are tempted to expand overseas, in more favourable economic environments. Yet, in both France and the United Kingdom, the matter is clear: SMEs account for 99 percent of all firms and nearly 60% of total employment – and as such represent the driving force of economic growth, employment and exports. In this area however, Britain and France present some structural differences. Unlike France, family tradition does not play as active a role in Britain, and corporate shareholdings are typically more scattered for both SMEs and larger firms. Yet, entrepreneurs on both sides of the channel share the same concerns: a desire to feel encouraged, to operate with adequate legal and fiscal platforms and to obtain facilitated access to funding. These factors contribute to fostering entrepreneurs’ confidence in the country in which they operate -

a key determinant of entrepreneurial drive. Yet, as reported by the World Bank and Ernst and Young, France stands at the lowest level of G20 countries in terms of entrepreneurs’ confidence (below Italy and Russia), which results in an average level of new business density (the UK being number 1 in terms of new businesses created with one new business started every minute in the UK). Similarly, the UK is historically seen as presenting an overall business friendly environment: it has consistently ranked in the top five on the influential World Bank’s Doing Business Study (France ranking only 25th).

Measures for British Entrepreneurs Yet, despite this already encouraging backdrop, PM David Cameron has placed British SMEs’ competitiveness at the heart of his policymaking agenda for economic recovery. As he recently stated, it is his ‘duty to roll up his sleeves to make Britain the most competitive country worldwide to start and grow businesses’. Despite

SMEs in Europe (2012)

SMEs in growth contribution (2011)

France

30%

20% 20 10%

Germany 0

Number of enterprises (million) Number of employees (million) Sources: INSEE, Ministère de l’Economie et des Finances, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Cercle d’outre-Manche

40 - info - august / september

France

Added value growth rate (2010-2011) Average added value (M€) Source: Ernst & Young/ESCP Europe, Cercle d’outre-Manche

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public finances under strain, the UK’s policy strategy for enterprise since 2008 has in fact been proactive, aggressive and comprehensive - and spanning across companies’ full development cycle. For instance, access to financing, often mentioned as one of the most crucial issues for SMEs, has been addressed by the UK through a series of measures blending the incentivisation of a self-organised ecosystem of private investors (business angels), hybrid venture capital funds (partly government funded) and direct cash injections in 100% government funds to address more urgent financing gaps. Grant making through the Technology Strategy Board is as active as ever and the SBRI procurement scheme (a mechanism for connecting innovative SMEs with Government departments) was reformed to better match its US counterpart. Crucially, David Cameron also announced a cut in corporate tax to 22% in 2014 (against 33.3% in France), giving the UK the lowest rate in the G7 countries again a strong signal to the world’s ‘job creators’. The Entrepreneurs’ Relief (reduced capital gains tax on disposals) is also a powerful incentive for entrepreneurs to exit – and often turn into serial entrepreneurs. Cameron’s media strategy for an ‘enterprise-led recovery’ has also been extensive with the official StartUp Britain campaign encouraging everyone to ‘create their own jobs’ and turning entrepreneurship

into a more credible – and encouraged - career path. The government was then quick to embrace newly launched (privately sponsored) entrepreneurial programmes for young entrepreneurs (such as Entrepreneur First1 and New Entrepreneurs Foundation2). The global promotion of East London’s TechCity (‘the digital capital of Europe’) and of the ‘Cambridge phenomenon’ through UKTI media campaigns to attract foreign entrepreneurs has also been proactive. The government also put in place a series of visas (with lower requirements than the US equivalent) to lure entrepreneurs and investors to the country, one of which being crucially a ‘prospective entrepreneurs’ visa allowing to enter the UK to secure funding and start the process of setting up their business before beginning the actual visa process.

The French Entrepreneur Admittedly, the French can boast about their work productivity. Their infrastructures are imitated all around the world, and their technical expertise is widely recognised. French entrepreneurs also benefit from a highly innovative environment both in R&D expenditure level and in share of R&D researchers - encouraged by a groundbreaking R&D tax credit system (Crédit Impôt Recherche) launched well before its UK counterpart. The development of Paris-Saclay as a compact innovation centre is also very encouraging, info - august / september - 41

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complementing the existing Grenoble and Sophia Antipolis clusters. The gradual development of targeted entrepreneurship programmes in top French Grandes Ecoles is also very positive. In terms of financing, OSEO3 has emerged as a powerful and centralised (public) actor in the equity and debt financing of French SMEs. Another bright spot is the success of the autoentrepreneur status for starting a small business. It has introduced new measures aiming at reducing taxes and financial costs of running a small business or being self employed in France. This scheme applies to almost one million beneficiaries active in summer 2012 and has already generated 6 billion euros in revenue and 600 million euros in tax revenue for public finances in less than three years. However, it is fair to wonder whether France is indeed making use of the full policymaking artillery to turn start-ups into growth enterprises. In the aftermath of the French presidential election last May, some tax issues such as the 75 percent top income tax rate are still pending. Is private investment in young SMEs being encouraged? At a time when France counts 6 times less business angels (and 4.5 times less business angel networks) than the UK, will the TEPA4 law be overlooked? There’s also nothing new under the sun when it comes to (rigid) labour laws, compared to Germany or the UK. Finally, the differential in business taxation (10 points above German or British rates) has also become abyssal. These differences

– and their perception evidenced by international rankings - certainly do not contribute to foster a pro-business environment to encourage business creation, innovation and job creation in France, at a time when entrepreneurship is dematerialising and thus increasingly geographically mobile. Not to mention that - ‘red carpet’ or not - British businesses are, for obvious reasons, intrinsically more inclined to international (especially US) expansion. It is still too early to know whether the targeted mechanisms implemented by David Cameron and his advisors will produce the mechanical effects initially envisaged. However, one can objectively say that Britain has taken a bold approach to policy making on enterprise, deploying a full spectrum of initiatives targeted at SMEs, in a nation which already enjoyed a favourable overall business environment. That alone may be enough to turn the term entrepreneur into a truly English word. I Philippe Chalon, Managing Director of the Cercle d’outre-Manche. Nathan Boublil, Associate at EP Capital. 1 Entrepreneur First is the national graduate scheme for aspiring entrepreneurs. They aim to make launching a startup the most exciting career option for the UK’s top graduates 2 New Entrepreneurs Foundation helps develop a new generation of outstanding entrepreneurs who will play a role in Britain’s future growth and prosperity 3 OSEO is a French public agency which provides assistance and financial support to innovative SMEs 4 The French Law for the promotion of labour, employment and purchasing power (2007), known as the “TEPA law”, institutes a tax exemption regime for employees.

UK Funding for Lending Scheme: Opening sluice gates for easier credit? ||| On 1 August the Bank of England rolled out a plan to make business loans and mortgages more affordable and more available for small non-financial firms and households. The £80bn Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) offers banks and building societies cheap finance on condition that they pass on benefits to borrowers. The idea is that easier credit will encourage expansion and revive the “real economy”. The FLS will see the BoE lend banks UK Treasury Bills during an initial 18-month “drawdown period” and the overall scheme runs until the end of 2013. Banks in turn must provide collateral to the BoE, and can borrow up to 5 percent of their existing stock of loans (valued at £80bn across the sector). According to the BoE, risk aversion and market uncertainty have driven up funding costs for banks. The FLS thus aims to reward flexibility. Access to the scheme depends on how much each

42 - info - august / september

bank lends; those that lend more can borrow more, and do so at a much lower cost. Risk for the loans, meanwhile, remains the responsibility of the originating bank. The Scheme complements existing actions, such as maintaining interest rates at historical low levels. Where the FLS differs is in addressing the bottleneck in access to credit for smaller players. Reactions were mixed: many business groups welcomed the news, especially hard-hit construction firms, and Chancellor George Osborne expected FLS to ‘inject new confidence into our financial system and support the flow of credit to where it is needed – showing that we are not powerless to act in the face of the Eurozone debt storm’. Others, however, worry that the FLS will repeat shortcomings in previous anti-recessionary measures, called Project Merlin. I

focus

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A South African ex ecutive and his fa mily had been living an d working in Libya for the past three an d a half years. He was shocked when ne ws came of violen ce against citizens. “Th at’s when I realized I had to get out an d get my family to safety,” he says. Hi s company is unab le to arrange for them a flight back home and he waits for the Go vernment to rescu e him and his family.

info - august / september - 43

www.internationalsos.com

focus

Banks are hanging onto the cash Britain’s businesses need to grow the economy out of recession

Big Business is not always beautiful Pierre Williams, Head of Media at Federation of Small Businesses, talks about the struggles for small businesses in the UK and how the FSB is looking to protect their best interests

s far as the media is concerned, what small businesses generally think comes a poor second to what big businesses have to say. But given that the small businesses in the UK produce more than half the country’s GDP, this is a mentality which makes little sense. Recent events such as the exposing of highly-unsavoury practices by some of Britain’s largest businesses – its High Street bank – might have taken off some of the gloss off the notion that “big is beautiful”. But while politicians might be slightly less in awe of “Big Corp” than they were, this does not automatically mean they will turn their adulation towards smaller companies. However, it has now been a couple of years since Prime Minister, David Cameron, first stated that small businesses are the backbones of the UK economy. And it has become an ever-increasingly popular phrase as

the FTSE 100 Index has faltered. Recognition is all very welcome. But getting a politician to match words with actions is an altogether different proposition, which is why there is – and probably will always be - a need to impress upon policymakers that without a healthy small business sector, there really cannot be much of a UK economic future.

A practical view Small businesses almost retain the entrepreneurial spirit, drive and ability to respond to and seize opportunities that made them succeed as startups. They almost invariably take a practical view. Although they may – indeed should – have an interest in macroeconomics for their long-term future, what they really want is a regulatory environment that is able and willing to respond quickly to whatever concerns they are faced with. Perhaps the most pressing concerns are the squeeze on consumer spending driven by falling or static incomes and relatively high inflation and the dramatic collapse in public confidence and job prospects. Combined, the two have severely affected small businesses margins and profits. But the malaise goes deeper than this. Here at the FSB we regularly survey our members on their levels of confidence. The real surprise is that despite four years of recession or near zero growth, there’s a remarkable resilience and optimism about the future. Right now, six-in-10 small firms are hoping to expand their operations over the coming 12 months.

Pierre Williams, Head of Media at Federation of Small Businesses 44 - info - august / september

focus

Finding the source of finance However, that optimism is not translating into reality; the reason being they cannot access the finance and credit they need for the necessary investment. The banks are either unwilling or unable to lend. The banks might be making the right noises about being open for business but the reality is different. Their primary focus is to shore up their cash reserves; following the reckless lending practices they all were party to prior to the credit crunch. Ministers have introduced numerous measures to overcome this problem. One is quantitative easing, and an extra sum of £50bn was injected in early July. Another is the Funding for Lending Scheme (see box on p43), launched on 1 August, under which the Bank of England offers banks low interest rate funds over a four-year period. All have been welcomed – but more for the recognition that there is a problem than for their effectiveness. The principal problem is that the conduit for the government cash are the very banks that created the problem in the first place. The banks have a perfect excuse. “There is simply not enough small businesses wanting to borrow and, anyway, it is our job to ensure we do not lend to risky ventures”, they insist. This might sound plausible at first but the argument soon falls down thanks to a survey we carried out earlier in the year. It showed that 40% of small firm loan applications are being turned down but that of those appealing to an independent adjudicator, four-in-10 are successful in overturning their rejected applications. That figure rises to six-in-10 for micro businesses. Proof, therefore, that banks are hanging onto – rather than passing on – the cash Britain’s businesses need to grow the economy out of recession.

Of course even if the banks were – finally - to admit their hoarding cash, they would have another excuse available: the government’s demands for them to build up their capital reserves to protect themselves and the taxpayer from suffering a bank run. So it’s a thought situation for the government, which is both wanting banks to lend more and save more at the same time. Such an intractable problem will require what small businesses have been demanding for a long time: more competition in the banking sector. How this can best be achieved, is a matter for debate. But the current situation of a banking system that has too few players and too little competition is one which is hindering Britain’s future growth. And it’s a situation that is wholly unacceptable. I PW

About the FSB ||| The Federation of Small Businesses is Britain’s largest business organisation with 200,000 members. There are now 4.8 million small firms in the UK and 99% of companies employ fewer than 40 staff. Yet collectively, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) produce more than 50% of GDP and employ 60% of the nation’s workforce. A further three million businesses are sole traders. Running a small business is a liberating and empowering experience for many entrepreneurs. However, small business owners face unique challenges that larger companies are better placed to deal with. Without dedicated HR departments,

for example, small business owners are likely to find the process of taking on employees more difficult. The FSB exists to provide practical help in all sorts of areas to allow entrepreneurs and small business owners to get on with running their companies in a profitable manner. At the same time, the FSB is a lobbying organisation that works constantly to highlight the position of its members to government and ensure that new policymaking and regulation is carefully designed so as to encourage the growth and confidence of the small business sector and to discourage government from adopting policies that threaten its future. I

info - august / september - 45

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New Banking Regulations: SMEs at risk Patrick Gougeon, UK director of the ESCP Europe and co-chair of the Chamber’s Finance Forum, explains that given the new financial regulations, such as Basel III, the banks have to reduce their risk exposure

recent article published in the Financial Times set the scene unambiguously: “Although the extent varies significantly from country to country, Europe is the worst- affected region, and a looming credit crunch for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could impact economic growth significantly, bankers warn.”1 And lending data confirm this assertion.

Lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in the UK and France In the UK, as a consequence of the crisis, total lending to Public Non Financial Companies has slowed down and started to decrease in July 2009. SMEs have followed the general trend; however whereas the trend is now upward for all PNFCs it is still decreasing for SMEs and particularly small businesses. In France the situation is somewhat different, since the trend for SMEs lending entered again in the positive area

early in 2010 – which is probably due to state influence on banking activity – it is now slowing down again, in particular for SMEs in the manufacturing industry.

Basel III What are the explanations? To which extent is the credit crunch at work? There is no clear cut answer. Rather than the reluctance of banks to provide loans, maybe the lack of enthusiasm of SMEs to invest, and therefore to borrow, in a context of low demand and economic uncertainty is a key explanation. Also, increased business risk provides good reasons for banks to refuse lending to small enterprises which are likely to face difficulties in the near future. The many surveys carried out on the SMEs lending issue in Europe partly back up these explanations. However new financial regulations, above all Basel III, seem to have a foremost influence.

Trends in lending

France

United Kingdom

10 Total PNFCs

5 0

All SMEs

-5

Small businesses

-10 Jan 07 Jul 07 Jan 08 Jul 08 Jan 09 Jul 09 Jan 10 Jul 10 Jan 11 Jul 11 Jan 12

Independent SMEs

Group entities SMEs

AII SMEs

SMEs in manufacturing

Source: Bulletin Trimestriel de la banque de France, March 2012

46 - info - august / september

Mar

July Nov. Mar. July Nov. Mar. July Nov. Mar. July Nov. 2008 09 10 11

Source: Bank of England, January 2012

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As an answer to the financial crisis, Basel III introduces new capital, leverage and liquidity standards to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks2. Following a Risk Based Capital approach, banks need to hold an amount of “eligible capital” representing a certain percentage of their risk exposure – as measured by their “risk weighted assets”. The new regulation proposes a higher percentage for this prudential ratio, a more restrictive approach to the definition of eligible capital and new assessment principles leading to higher values for risk weighted assets. Due to the resulting increase in equity required for banks, one can predict a higher cost of Basel III is a global regulatory standard on bank capital adequacy, borrowing. With more equity, bankers claim stress testing and market liquidity risk they need to increase their interest income to important fees without increasing equity needs. maintain a reasonable return for shareholders. As stressed by most experts today, this situation is Furthermore, the introduction of the Liquidity alarming since SMEs play a major role in European Coverage Ratio (LCR3) and the Net Stable Funding economies by offering the many jobs needed to Ratio (NSFR4) will force banks to maintain more liquid compensate for the impact of outsourcing and positions. All of that makes sense when considering productivity measures in large companies. In the the financial exuberance that prevailed in the recent short term, a number of small companies may fail past. However regulators may have underestimated if they cannot finance their working capital. In the the so called “unintended consequences” of their longer term, surviving SMEs are likely to reduce propositions. their investment expenditures to the detriment of Indeed the strategic response from bankers is economic growth and employment. straightforward: deleveraging and a selective approach Let’s note that SMEs also suffer from low gross to lending. In particular they will reduce their risk margins – particularly in France – which have exposure – that is refuse to finance risky projects – to significantly decreased over the recent years to reach a limit their equity needs and give a priority to short level which is now too small to generate the minimum term financing to comply with liquidity standards. level of operating cash needed to invest. In this context Having said that there is no need to explain further borrowing is all the more needed, but for the long term why SMEs will be most impacted: they are seen as this profitability issue needs to be tackled. riskier than large companies. Unfortunately, unlike What are the solutions? The common view in the large companies, they have no or limited access to banking community is that market financing should the bond market as a substitute. Incidentally, large progressively become dominant in Europe rather than companies are presently taking advantage from very traditional bank lending, but how long will it take? low interest rates on the bond market, where investors Governments in Europe seem to be well aware are desperately looking for returns, so that the gap in financing conditions between SMEs and large listed of the need to take action urgently, and hopefully creativity is at work. Be it through pooling for a companies is widening. collective access to the bond market – a kind of securitisation of a bundle of individual loans – the Alarming situation for SMEs launch of special dedicated funds benefiting from To some, discrimination against SMEs is not justified. state support, or thanks to the interest of private Representatives from credit insurance institutions investors for SMEs, a number of initiatives are on the insist that a well diversified portfolio of loans to many way forward. But all these solutions may not replace SMEs appear to be statistically less risky than loans the unique “relational contract” between the banker to large companies. Therefore allocating a higher risk and his small client. I PG factor to SMEs would be unfair. Still, banks have other Financial Times, May 23, 2012 , Bank lending goes into reverse for SMEs good reasons to favour large clients: administrating For a short presentation of Basel III see MOODY’s Analytics, Basel III New Capital large customers is proportionally more cost efficient. and Liquidity Standards - FAQs LCR ensures liquid assets are sufficient to cover potential cash needs Furthermore, unlike SMEs, these represent a large NSFR relates to a proposal within Basel III that requires banks to maintain a minimum proportion of long term assets that are funded by long term, stable potential of business opportunities, generating 1

funding

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Britain: a competitive financing ecosystem Despite an uncertain overall economic environment, financing for UK-based SMEs remains relatively strong and much more active than its continental counterparts

enture Capital activity, essential for innovative industries in the technology, internet and life sciences sectors, illustrates this well. Britain has historically represented a third of total Venture Capital investment in Europe, with around £1bn invested each year (twice as much as France, in second position) and 180 active VC funds. London is in fact the fourth Venture Capital hub in the world (after Silicon Valley, Boston and NYC) and the first in Europe. Earlier down the “corporate development chain”, the picture is similar: Europe is estimated to total ca. 100,000 business angels (vs. 250,000 in the US), of which half are in Britain (only 10% in France). Britain historically benefits from several key assets: a strong financial centre, a recognised business friendly environment, the language of technology and internet, a strong link with the US, several university clusters renowned worldwide (Cambridge, Oxford, University of London) with large endowments. While start-up costs are constantly decreasing, access to financing does remain a key priority for most early stage entrepreneurs and is positively correlated to growth potential. The domination of Britain in the financing of highly innovative ventures is now set to accelerate given the strong emphasis placed by the current government, which has not hesitated to proactively review its incentivisation policies. The Enterprise Investment Scheme1 for business angels, already very advantageous, was boosted in 2011 to become one of the most powerful programmes worldwide. Today, a UK-based business angel only risks a maximum loss of 35% of its investment in a British SME (and any capital gain is tax free). The British government added another layer in 2012 by launching the S-EIS2 scheme, targeting seed stage financing (max 2 year old companies) with business angels only risking a maximum of 25% loss of their investment in a worst case scenario (and tax free capital gains). These investments typically range anywhere between £5,000 and £100,000 and - crucially - often come together with mentorship and advice (formal or not). These incentivisation schemes are indeed important, in order to encourage a greater wealth transfer towards “illiquid” and early stage private companies (highly innovative or not) and encourage the creation in the long run of a virtuous ecosystem of cross shareholdings between entrepreneurs and business angels, themselves 48 - info - august / september

often serial entrepreneurs. They are also particularly efficient in terms of resource allocation as the role of the government stops at the policy-setting level - all business angel transactions being privately negotiated. The recent launch of the Angel CoFund3 by the UK (on the same model as the highly active Scottish Enterprise) means that business angels can approach this government body for fund matching only - but the government must invest on the exact same terms as private investors. Other European countries (such as France) have taken a more centralised approach (through more preponderant public bodies) and while such organisational structure does present some advantages in the short-term, there remains an obvious issue of scalability in the long run. The British government now seems focused on actively addressing issues related to larger SMEs, with direct cash injections by the Government in so-called Enterprise Capital Funds4 (£1bn) and Regional Growth Funds5 (£2.4bn) which target less economically active areas. The bank lending shortfall has also benefited from a series of initiatives: the Enterprise Finance Guarantee, a £140bn Funding for Lending scheme (see box on p43) and the launch of the £2.5bn (equity) Business Growth Fund5 by Britain’s six largest retail banks. While the overall environment for British SMEs is far from ideal (particularly given concerns surrounding exits), it is fair to say that the UK government has taken a proactive and holistic approach to strengthening an already privileged financing ecosystem. The effects of such policies can only be beneficial. I Nathan Boublil, Associate at EP Capital and Philippe Chalon, Managing Director of the Cercle d’outre-Manche. 1 The EIS is designed to help smaller higher-risk trading companies to raise finance by offering a range of tax reliefs to investors who purchase new shares in those companies 2 The Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme is a tool for a small group of investors and entrepreneurs that will aid them in bringing on a few businesses that might otherwise never gain funding 3 The £50m Business Angel Co Investment Fund (Angel CoFund), launched in November 2011, has been created to boost the quality and quantity of business angels investing in England, and to support longterm, high quality jobs in growing companies 4 Enterprise Capital Funds address a market weakness in the provision of equity finance to SMEs by using Government funding alongside private sector investment to establish funds that operate within the “equity gap” 5 Regional Growth Fund (RGF) is now a £2.4 billion fund operating across England from 2011 to 2015 which supports projects and programmes with significant potential for economic growth that can create additional, sustainable private sector employment

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Tips for SMEs looking to access finance Finding different sources of finance is often a stumbling block to SMEs. Sophie Gucciardo, Corporate Banking Manager from HSBC,explains that the Sino-British bank supports businesses in their growth plans through the “International SME Fund”

oday’s business world is one characterised by change and uncertainty. The economic picture for many countries in Europe remains difficult and, as a result, businesses are finding themselves negotiating a difficult path. There are also reports that some businesses are facing challenges in accessing finance, but at HSBC the reality is that there is funding available for strong, viable businesses. Indeed, despite the UK market shrinking over by 6%, HSBC continues to grow and our net lending to UK SMEs grew by 4% between 2011 and 2012. In fact, the bank provided £3.1 billion of gross lending to UK Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the first quarter of 2012, an increase close to over £200 million on Q1 2011. HSBC also launched a £4 billion International SME fund in February supporting ambitious businesses in their growth plans and encouraging economic growth through international trade. Furthermore the bank committed itself to lend at least £12 billion to UK SMEs in 2012, more than we lent in 2011.

Five paths to happiness That said, what does it mean for your company practically and how can you access this finance? To make sure your application for funding is successful; five key areas are to be considered: Build a strong business plan:

A business plan should contain information on where the company is now and where you see it in three, five, ten years time. Make sure that your business plan is up-to-date and includes historical performance, key figures and trends. Have a realistic budget and forecasts:

Use last year’s figures as a guide. When forecasting, review your sales so far and consider economic factors, such as changes in the market and how your competitors are faring. Banks will expect to see forecasts for the next three years, so demonstrate that you are forward planning. Look after your cashflow:

Demonstrating you have good cashflow management skills will prove that you are able to cope with any

HSBC building in Canary Wharf, London

unforeseen expenses or delays in payment. Have a clear rationale:

Be very transparent about why funding is needed and how it will help your business to grow. Include your growth expectations for the business and show how you have come to your conclusions. Seek professional expertise:

The lynchpin of accessing finance is seeking professional advice. A strong working relationship with your bank is a good starting point as they will have knowledge helping businesses to access finance. To ensure SMEs customers are fully supported, HSBC recruited Business Specialists and has over 200 International Commercial Managers, located throughout HSBC’s network of commercial banking centres. Simultaneously, as a subsidiary is different than a standalone company, HSBC recently established the International Business Team (IBT) that welcomes, manages and assists UK-subsidiaries of overseas SMEs and MMEs (Mid Market Enterprise), whether a start-up or an existing business locally. Your contact will be a specialist for its region or country (whether in France, Germany or China…) and will be able to understand and work with you on the challenges you may face while being part of an international group. I SG info - august / september - 49

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The changing landscape relating to employment legislation for SMEs Anything that can alleviate red tape and legal costs for small businesses is welcome. Olivier Morel, Partner and Head of International Corporate Investment at solicitors Cripps Harries Hall LLP, considers how recent changes in legislation may affect hopes of recovery.

Ease of firing to encourage hiring: a virtuous circle? Any employee who started work after 5 April 2012 must have completed two years’ employment before they can bring an unfair dismissal claim – the period used to be one year. This should give employers more flexibility to adjust their workforce, at a time of constantly shifting and unpredictable demand. By making it easier to fire, the Government hopes SMEs will not hesitate to hire. Some observers worry that it may actually increase the number of discrimination claims – which can be brought by employees regardless of their length of service – and these tend to be more complicated and costly to defend.

Easy-to-use and cheaper settlement agreements The Business Secretary Vince Cable intends to propose changes to increase the use of settlement agreements and to make it easier for employers to part company with their employees. His plan is for employers to be able to approach employees before a dispute arises to offer a settlement agreement if they leave. Many employers feel restricted from doing this at the moment for fear that the discussions will be used against them in an employment tribunal. Under Cable’s proposals, the discussions would be protected from being referred to in later legal proceedings.

This should be good news for employers, but it seems the new settlement agreement would only protect the employer against unfair dismissal claims, while still leaving the employee free to bring a discrimination claim. Employers are unlikely to want to pay an employee out under such a new-style settlement agreement, only to find that the same employee is using the money to fund a discrimination claim against them. The Business Secretary also announced that he may introduce measures to make the use of settlement agreements cheaper for employers, with a simple settlement agreement template and guidance. This seems sensible for straightforward settlement agreements, but the more complex agreements are still likely to require legal input. A similar proposal is the “compensated no-fault dismissal”: a dismissal would be deemed automatically fair if the employer gave the employee full notice and paid them an amount equivalent to statutory redundancy pay. Employment legislation alone will not revive the economy, but the British Government, faced with the dreaded ‘double-dip recession’, believes its role is to reduce red tape and costs so that British SMEs are not unnecessarily burdened with additional bureaucracy when competing with the rest of the world. I OM

Learn how to become an entrepreneur ||| Here in the UK, Cambridge Judge Business School sits at the centre of the Cambridge Cluster, often referred to as ‘Silicon Fen’ and has set up its own Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning. In 1984 Warwick Business School established a Centre for SMEs, an Innovation & Entrepreneurship Group is a core part of Imperial College Business School, and at London Business School the Entrepreneurship department offers 1,000 places annually on entrepreneurial electives. In France as well, entrepreneurship education has dramatically developed since the economic boom:

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INSEAD launched the Maag International Centre for Entrepreneurship in January 2003, HEC launched an incubator in 2008, and ESSEC created ESSEC Ventures in 2000 with an incubator, post incubator and seed fund. At ESCP Europe, a chair in Entrepreneurship was created in February 2007, thanks to the financial support of two sponsors, Ernst & Young and the ESCP Europe Foundation. Incube Inside develops and manages the ESCP Europe business pre-incubator. Each year, between 25 and 30 start-up projects are mentored by faculty and alumni, and benefit from workspaces. I Florence Mele

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Teaching Entrepreneurship are we born with the skills of an entrepreneur or can we acquire them? Florence Mele, UK Director of Studies for ESCP Europe explains why there are more and more students who want to start their own business

an you teach entrepreneurship? This question was asked to an ESCP Europe alumnus, Pierre Humeau, who set up his own marketing agency in London, Goodpilot. Looking back at his studies, he thinks the most useful thing he learnt was working in a team, learning about other team members’ strengths and weaknesses and making the best out of it. Also, as the programme was very generalist, it equipped him with the basic tools one needs to run a business. However, he believes that beyond anything you can learn, part of being an entrepreneur is innate. For him, a great deal of the motivation of being an entrepreneur is self-driven. It may be argued that an entrepreneurial spirit has more to do with personality than with education. Knowledge can be taught in school, but what about the skills that represents the ability to transpose and apply what you have learnt in the real world? If one is naturally good at doing something or is self taught, with more coaching may he become even better? At the beginning of the 1980s Professor Stevenson, from Harvard Business School, argued that entrepreneurship should be understood as a management approach, rather than an innate personality trait. For him, entrepreneurship consisted of skills and attitudes that could be taught and researched. As far as entrepreneurship education is concerned, if we look at what has been offered in Business Schools, Harvard was a pioneer. As far back as 1937, they offered a course called ‘Manufacturing’ by George Doriot, which dealt with entrepreneurial issues. Then, from 1947, Myles L. Mace designed a course on ‘Management of Small Enterprises’ (MSE), as an elective course to MBA students. The origin of this course stems from his experience of returning home from World War 2 and meeting many

GIs who wanted to start their own businesses, at which point Mace realised that the skills and knowledge necessary to create and run a company, could be taught. At that time, the term entrepreneurship was not in use, however a ‘Management of New Enterprises’ course was created in 1963, and also a ‘Smaller Company Management Programme’. These courses have always been extremely popular with students. Harvard Business School may have paved the way to entrepreneurship education; however many business schools in the UK and France, successfully followed suit during the economic boom of the 2000s. Their approach is to offer entrepreneurship courses, as well as to provide infrastructure to start-ups created by students and alumni, in the form of Incubators or Accelerators. Entrepreneurship courses are very popular: they attract students who are keen to start their own business at the end of their studies. This may be a result of the economic crisis and a consequently more competitive job market, but also students are now more and more willing to ‘work for themselves’. This new mindset started to develop in the years 2000s, with the start-up frenzy of the dotcom bubble, and survived the burst. Another factor for the success of entrepreneurship courses could be the internationalisation of students, with many Italians and Germans being familiar with family businesses. Entrepreneurship requires both knowledge and skills, and most of them can be taught. In the present context, governments hope that bringing in SMEs will drive the economy. Business schools, with the contribution of their alumni, play an important role in the dissemination of the entrepreneurship spirit amongst the new generation. I FM

What is an SME: definitions vary European definition: An SME has a headcount of less than 250 and a turnover of not more than 50 million € or a balance sheet total of not more than 43 million €.

British definition: An SME hs a turnover of not more than £25.9 million, a balance sheet toal of not mor than £12.9 million and not more than 250 employees. I

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HEC, helping over 60 ventures a year Frédéric Iselin, Affiliate professor at HEC Paris and Managing Director of the HEC Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation tells us what lies in store for new entrepreneurs

1) When and how was the entrepreneurship strategy for HEC developed? HEC Paris was a pioneer in the teaching and training of entrepreneurship. The Master’s degree “HEC Entrepreneurs” was launched in 1977 (with 1,400 graduates since inception) and the “HEC Challenge+” programme of continuous education for entrepreneurs followed in 1990. In parallel, other programmes were since started by HEC: the HEC Family Business Center (in 2003), and the “Université du droit d’entreprendre” (in 2007): an affirmative action programme dedicated to entrepreneurs from underprivileged neighbourhoods. In 2010, HEC became a founding member of the “Paris Saclay” super campus, an ambitious project gathering near Paris in a multidisciplinary academic and research cluster, several important organisations such as Ecole Polytechnique, Commissariat à l’énergie atomique (CEA), Ecole Centrale Paris. One of the cluster’s main goals is to facilitate IP transfer from academia to new ventures, with HEC linking that process through entrepreneurship. In this context, HEC launched in 2010 its Center for Entrepreneurship, a transversal group supporting activities related to entrepreneurship at the school. 2) How is HEC differentiating itself from other French and European institutions? The HEC Center for Entrepreneurship is itself innovative. For instance, in 2011 we launched the groundbreaking “HEC Start-up InVitro” programme. The project acts as a platform linking start-up projects (technologies from labs and spin-offs from mature companies) to HEC students and alumni looking for entrepreneurial projects. HEC designed a dual selection process, in order to gather the best entrepreneurs and the best assets. HEC is also in the process of launching, in partnership with French Venture Capital firm ISource Gestion, the “HEC Source” programme, a VC fund 52 - info - august / september

focusing on low-tech and seed projects (pre-revenue, incomplete teams) with an average level of funding of 300K€. The project selection process will also include HEC students. To our knowledge, although many other schools provide students/alumni with programmes focused on entrepreneurship (and increasingly so), very few (and none in France, according to our benchmark) have taken such a holistic approach in their offering.

3) What are the results on the ground? Every year, the HEC Center for Entrepreneurship supports more than 60 entrepreneurial ventures through the HEC Incubator (25 projects), HEC Challenge+ and HEC Start-up InVitro. At the HEC incubator alone, from 2008 to 2011, 57 new ventures projects’ were admitted, 90 percent of which are still running today. Since 1990, the “HEC Challenge+” programme has trained nearly 400 projects: 80% were incorporated and 72 percent are still running. 4) Beyond HEC, what would be your key policy recommendations for the newly elected French government to encourage business creations and SMEs’ growth? There are today (according to the French Audit commission) more than 5,000 entrepreneurship or new ventures-focused programmes in the country, set up by the government or local authorities (financing, training of entrepreneurs). Reviewing and rationalising could be worth exploring, in order to make these helpful resources more accessible to busy entrepreneurs. It could also be beneficial to involve the entrepreneurial community more in the enterprise policy process. Entrepreneurship is a fast-moving world (and increasingly so in the digital age). Therefore, engaging more with the community itself would be advantageous to ensure that policy measures remain relevant. I FI

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The Role and Making of Entrepreneurship Khaled Soufani, Affiliate Professor of ESCP Europe, explains why entrepreneurship is considered to be one of the most important pillars which support the structure of our economies

ntrepreneurial ventures contribute to the generation of innovation and the injection of financial investments in many developed and emerging economies. Small firms contribute immensely to the gross domestic product, and they provide a wide variety of goods and services to the national and international economy. Historically, smaller companies have shown great ability to adapt to change, to diversify and grow, and also to adopt and produce new ideas. The role which they play in employment creation and innovation, is an essential process in the creation of a countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wealth. The basic assumption underlying the continuous interest in stimulating entrepreneurship, and the formation of new businesses in particular, is that entrepreneurial ventures provide the means of entry for new entrepreneurial talent. Smaller companies also grow into large firms, which can challenge established companies of the industry, consequently enhancing the overall competitive environment. A report on the state of SMEs in Europe by EIM Business and Policy Research (2009) shows that there are over 20 million enterprises in the EUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s non-financial business economy. It is discussed in the report that the majority of the enterprises (92 percent) are micro firms (up to 10 employees and generating up to 2 million euros according to the EU definition of micro enterprises).

Taking risks, keeping control Analysing entrepreneurship in general requires a good understanding of the traits and the factors that contribute to the making of an entrepreneur. Professor Ibrahim, in his book entitled Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, highlights the entrepreneurial traits and motivation by giving the examples of the founders of Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft. Through these examples are gleaned a number of traits, such as a high need for achievement and independence, a moderate risk-taking propensity, an internal locus of

control, and tolerance for ambiguity and innovation. In addition, an entrepreneur would have excellent intuition, and would typically possess the characteristics that contribute to achieving productivity and efficiency. Many factors might contribute to these traits, such as culture, family, and the environment. But in addition to those, the motivation and drive of an entrepreneur for success prompt many to improve their management skills through education, training and the enhancing of practical business experience. Entrepreneurialventuresfaceuniquefinancialbarriers to their survival and growth. Often start-up companies experience disadvantages in their relationship with the capital market, for example the existence of credit rationing or a finance gap in the provision of capital, both in terms of debt and equity. Entrepreneurial firms possess an essential dynamism and willingness to take business risks. They have provided job opportunities and contributed to overall economic performance and growth, at a time when large companies restructure, outsource and downsize. Given the impact of the financial crisis on the provision of capital for entrepreneurship, much of the small business enterprise sector will not be able to achieve the levels of growth that is required to foster further development in our economies. Therefore, it is important that small enterprises establish an efficient system of financial management that shall reduce their overall costs, whilst increasing liquidity in the business, in order to deal with funding constraints. Sound financial management is vital to the survival and well being of enterprises of all kinds. The process includes cash flow control, credit and debt management, working capital and the overall financing policy of fixed term loans and necessary overdraft facilities. Courses in entrepreneurial finance can help, by introducing entrepreneurs to alternative methods of financing and improve the efficient financial management. I KS info - august / september - 53

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Recipe for International Business Success Michael Ward, UK Trade & Investment Director for France, recently had the privilege of hearing first-hand from a Frenchman about what a small business investor needs – an inspiring story for any French entrepreneur looking to expand into the UK and here is his recipe

ngredients and quantities needed: - You should have absolute passion for what you are doing and a belief that you can make a difference to the quality of people’s lives – a very big dollop - Your vision for future success should be properly clarified and sifted - Networking is key; surround yourself in a nice, big, tangled web of people and keep adding more - You must have humility, a willingness to learn, and to share what you have learnt. Exercise these qualities on a regular basis; it will put you in good standing with others, especially in the early stages - Knowing your demographic is crucial. Attain as much precise local knowledge of customers and their habits as you can possibly get, based on intelligent painstaking research - Don’t forget: make some noise, preferably nice noise. If no one knows about you, then there’s no chance for success. Be seen and be heard!

About UKTI ||| The Government is committed to nurturing investors. This is where UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) come in. UKTI is committed to helping UK business build success in France and helping new and established investors from France to grow in the UK. From the British Consulates in France to local offices across the UK, UKTI provides a bespoke service to internationally-owned business to support them in making the best commercial decisions when investing in the UK. We support businesses with specialist market intelligence, tailored property search, targeted recruitment, insights into local issues, referrals to soft-landing schemes, angel funding and more. Once established in the UK, the Investor

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- All businesses need technical business expertise. If you do not have it available in the kitchen, you can buy this ready-made at the best quality you can afford. (UKTI can supply some of this either directly or through its extensive partner network.) - Finally, you need to have the confidence and the willingness to just give it a go. Any apprehension could spoil the flavour. When these ingredients are all ready; mix, stir in a large bowl, season to taste and watch it rise. The Entrepreneur in question was none other than Michelin star Chef Raymond Blanc who is just one of 300,000 to 400,000 French living and working in the UK. The UK is open for business. The World Bank found that it takes just 13 days to set up a business in the UK, compared to the European average of 32 days. With one of the most flexible labour markets in Europe, the UK is also a world leader in innovation, ranking second only to the USA for the quality of its research base. I MW

www.ukti.gov.uk

Development service actively engages with internationally-owned companies, offering an initial point of contact around policy and business issues, connecting companies into a larger network of business support. This includes UKTI’s award winning export services. Recognising that every business and market is unique, UKTI offers a range of services. Our key offerings are: Gateway to Global Growth - our flagship experienced exporter package; overseas Market Introduction Service - research, embassy facilities, contacts and more; export Marketing Research Scheme - for exporters who want to perform their own research; business Opportunities - export sales leads, with alerts sent direct to you. I

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SMEs: Get to know your market Understanding customers relates closely to knowing yourself, argues Raphaël Fainac, MD of the consumer electronics firm, Sagemcom UK Ltd. In fact, SMEs’ adaptability, specialist skills and ability to attend to customer needs can really help target new opportunities

“K

now your market” applies to you rather than your competitors. Find everyone” but when it comes to out what issues they are facing and how Small can be more SMEs and entrepreneurs, this aspect of you can help address these. What will enthusiastic, more the business can’t be left aside as every enhance their loyalty and keep them single decision is paramount to future coming back? New business is great flexible and quicker success. Other issues arise quickly and but repeat business is even better. A to react. Even big take an overwhelming importance small business has key advantages over businesses would do for smaller firms. Convincing banks, well to think small incumbent big players as they can adapt shareholders or investors to raise and make the most of a more personal, from time to time. money, understanding the legal aspects customised and immediate relationship of the industry, setting up an office in a with customers. Small can be more new area or country, recruiting the right enthusiastic, more flexible and quicker individuals and so many other day to day decisions to react. Even big businesses would do well to think are all substantial distractions from what should be small from time to time. the key focus of their business: their market. With all this information, start preparing your Many argue that they already know their market SWOTs: your strengths, your weaknesses, opportunities as they are experts in what they do or their new and threats. Identify positives and negatives of your business idea. These are essential starting points, but competitors and try to predict their next moves. What things which appear obvious can quickly go wrong. they don’t have, you do, and knowing this will enable For example: You may be an excellent chef but fail you to answer your customers’ needs better. You at running a successful restaurant. Should you bring should also try to take advantage of any competitors other aspects to the party? You can be an excellent weaknesses and play down their strengths. Likewise tax adviser but just one of too many generalists to make the most of your own strengths so that you take a proper share of the opportunity. Should you become unique in some respect. That way you start to specialise? You could even be performing brilliantly in differentiate your proposition. your local market but fail at exporting or expanding. Should you adapt or target a specific channel? You’re special, be special Knowing your market is ‘key’ as it will allow Once you define this, you will know how/what your you to understand everything about targeting each business does best and how this will fit customer opportunity: Who, what and how. requirements. As SMEs or entrepreneurs, you will find out what makes you a specialist in your market. Time for an Audit You might find a niche – something that no one else Don’t just ‘know’ these things but document them. is offering or a gap in the market – and make it your Specifically quantify your knowledge of market own so that regardless of your size, you can expect to statistics, segments, trends, channels, competitors of grow. You will be delivering this unique solution that course, the customers – the buyers and the consumers. will create value to your customers. Specialisation is Research is invaluable, and should be your starting the key factor for success in many smaller businesses. point. Talk to both your existing customers and It gives real focus (a topic we started with), early potential customers and find out precisely what are success and subsequently confidence to talk to more the key factors that will influence them to buy from prospects and build more opportunities. I RF info - august / september - 55

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The Chamber, helping SMEs every step of the way For the past 130 years, the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain has stood alongside SMEs and entrepreneurs, providing them with advice, support and guidance at every stage of their business life-cycle

hen setting up in France or Great Britain, small businesses need to be accompanied in their journey. With 600 member companies and 130 years of experience, the Chamber has a wealth of expertise to share with these new economic players. In order to help them better understand the local market and to share their experiences with fellow members, the Chamber has launched an SMEs & Entrepreneurs Club in April 2009. Over the past three years, the Club has been very active and held no less than 17 meetings. One particularly valuable aspect of the Club is the chance for all Chamber members, SMEs and Entrepreneurs, to network with fellow members and brainstorm ideas on common and relevant concerns. These topics range from “How SMEs can boost export performance in emerging markets” to “How they can find opportunities in the run-up to the Olympics and the legacy that follows” or “How they can raise

their profile and thereby attract investment”. The Chamber’s Club is the perfect port of call for French and British SMEs who wish to export or relocate to the UK or France.

Business Support Services The Chamber’s Business Consultancy Department’s role is to provide and disseminate information to any businesses willing to develop their activities in the UK. We offer market research and partner search (agents, distributors, importers) to those who want to to sell their products and/or services. Using its experience and knowledge of the British market and a dynamic multicultural team, the BCD assisted a total of 159 SMEs in 2011. Around 30 B2B meetings were organised by Chambers of Commerce in France, allowing our team to inform and advise over 100 French companies on opportunities in the British market.

Take part in the 2012 Franco British Business Awards ||| The French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain and the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce in France have been jointly organising the FrancoBritish Business Awards (FBBA) for the last 12 years. These awards are designed to encourage and promote bilateral trade and economic links between France and the UK by recognising the expertise and success of French and British companies, both blue-chip and SMEs. This year, the awards ceremony will take place in London on 21 November under the patronage of the British Ambassador to France and the French Ambassador to the UK.

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For more information about these Awards please go to www.ccfgb.co.uk. The 2012 competition will feature the following prizes: - SME/Entrepreneur Award - Award for Innovation - Jury’s Special Award Who is eligible to participate? All British and French companies, blue chip and SMEs, which have been involved in Franco-British trade and services for at least 2 years. Deadline for applications: 28 September 2012

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Stay Informed VIE platform Companies which decide to settle in the UK have the opportunity to recruit a VIE. This scheme enables them to send a graduate aged between 18 and 28 on a working assignment abroad for a flexible period of 12 to 24 months, with the advantage of a public protective framework. It enables many French SMEs to gain a commercial foothold or presence in the UK, and to acquire beneficial fiscal advantages from the French government through UBIFRANCE. The Chamber has set up a VIE platform with a total of 21 desks within its offices in Central London. When a VIE arrives at the Chamber, not only is he coached by our team but the company he represents automatically becomes a Chamber member. This allows him to get very practical information about the British market through networking opportunities and the SMEs & Entrepreneurs club. Soft landing services For SMEs who wish to develop their presence or set up a subsidiary or a branch in the UK, the Chamber offers a large choice of services, ranging from domiciliation to accountancy and payroll services or VAT management. Our team currently provides such services to 114 French SMEs in the UK which break down as follows: 40 percent for Accountancy services; 45 for Payroll; 14 for Vat Management and 15 for Domiciliation. The Chamber has more than 400 employees in its clients’ payroll, including Sandro, Maje, Mobalpa, Maped, Bonpoint and Caudalie, to mention just a few.

||| The Chamber publishes three very practical guides for the Franco-British business community: Grande-Bretagne l’indispensable: Written in French by experts who offer advice and information to professionals and individuals wishing to settle, relocate or work in the UK. France on the Move: Aimed at British expatriates who want to set up a home and/or a business in France. This guide, written in partnership with Invest in France agency, offers expert guidance about domestic and professional matters involved in relocating to France. Light at the End of the Tunnel: Practical Reflections on the French and British in Business: Behaviour that is perfectly normal in one culture can seem unusual, even disturbing, in another. The result for businesses is all too often catastrophic. In order to help SMEs and entrepreneurs avoid such pitfalls, the Chamber’s Cross Cultural Forum produced this structured guide based on the reallife experiences of Chamber members as to how French and English cultures relate to each other in business, law, recruitment, organisational structure and office etiquette. I

La Journée Implantation

Recruitment service

The innovative format of the “Journée implantation” offers the perfect opportunity for a French SME to acquire bespoke information in order to create a structure in the UK. This “all in one day” package includes customised B2B meetings with FrancoBritish and bilingual experts such as lawyers, bankers, accountants, real estate agents as well as HR experts. Essential questions are answered, including: How to manage an account abroad? In what ways does the English system of recruitment work? What is the best legal structure? Which region may best suit your business, both in terms of proximity to a potential consumer market and a skilled workforce? Which regulations apply and what legal structure would best suit your enterprise in Britain? This format has resulted in a considerable gain of time and money for participating businesses and allows them to meet with potential long-term partners.

The Chamber offers a recruitment service to help member companies recruit talents or find flexible employees. This service is unique because it provides an innovative and extremely competitive recruitment package to micro companies (up to ten employees). In conclusion, the Chamber makes sure that SMEs are well equipped with the tools and information they need to successfully develop their business on either side of the Channel. Indeed, we are also expanding our services to UK companies who seek to develop their business in France. With the support of the Chamber and the cooperation between the different departments, SMEs can carry on growing and keep calm, no matter how choppy the economic waters may seem right now! I For more information please contact Sabrina Mimid at smimid@ccfgb.co.uk

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Beillevaire: Like father, like son When Pascal Beillevaire opened his own dairy in a small village located in Vendée in 1980, he did not expect that, 30 years later, he would be running a successful business, nor that his son would be opening a branch in London

eillevaire is the tale of a family business, just the way the French like it. It is the story of Pascal Beillevaire, a French farmer from Vendée who started to manufacture his own dairy products and sell them at his local farmers’ market in Machecoul, Western France. This was in 1980. His search for diversification and a thirst to be closer to the consumer led him to develop direct sales of his farm products. Three years later, with all his savings and the financial support of his family, Mr Beillevaire was able to buy his first truck and set up his first plant.

How Fabrice Beillevaire opened his shop in London ||| The process is complicated and takes time. First, the most important and probably difficult aspect was to understand how the English market works. We had to answer a few fundamental questions. What are British food customs and eating habits? Is cheese something they enjoy on its own or only with other food? And who would be our target purchasers: young professionals, middle class or a more general audience? Second, before opening a shop, it was essential to draft a business plan and to define precisely the image that we wanted to convey. The third step, no less complicated than the previous two, was to find the perfect store at the perfect location. It took me a long time. Between the time taken to research places and think about a loan ... I must have visited over a hundred places and bargained with quite a few landlords before being able to go to the bank, adds Fabrice. The last step and by no means the least was the financing. If in France, we never had a problem in getting a loan, in Britain the situation was totally different. Banks were not helpful. It took me ten months to open my store, and honestly I admit that without the support of the Chamber, it would have taken me much longer. If the UK is a paradise for some SMEs, this country can also be hostile to others. I

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After opening his first shop in 1987 and a second one in 1989, his first stumbling block occurred in 1995, when the company’s activity outstripped its ability to grow. Like most other SMEs, the development of Beillevaire’s business required time and some phases were critical. A born manager, Pascal Beillevaire was eventually able to restructure his company and learn from his mistakes. Today, with more than 200 employees and a turnover of €40 million, the “Fromagerie Beillevaire” is one of the top ten cheese makers in France. He owns 20 stores, has ten stands in different covered markets open daily and over a hundred green markets. Thirty years after he set up his first dairies, his expertise led him to London in 2010 to try and expand his business venture with his son Fabrice.

New perspectives On January 2010, Fabrice Beillevaire, 27, arrived in London with the intention of breaking into the UK market. He was given nine months to achieve his objective. He rented a desk at the French Chamber offices as a VIE (see p57), and thanks to the members’ network, Fabrice made a lot of useful contacts, including the Managing Director of Harrods and his future lawyer. Supported and helped by the Chamber, he joined the SMEs & Entrepreneurs Club, where he received invaluable advice on the local markets. Despite these pieces of precious advice, Fabrice still remembers experiencing culture shock. “Here, if you want to succeed, you have to be able to read between the lines. No one will ever tell you what someone is thinking”, he explains. During the nine months, Fabrice followed his roadmap step-by-step. First, he completed his market research by analysing the potentiality of the market for dairy products, visiting his colleagues and competitors and trying to understand the British market as a whole. He then visited more than 100 shops in total. The first challenge for the company was to adapt its image and visual identity to the British customers; the logo and packaging were entirely redesigned. Beillevaire became a local brand. “It was a difficult experience for the French employees who have been

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From Loire to Luton, Valmy makes its mark Combining cutting edge science and the nimbleness of a family-run concern, Valmy has put down roots in Britain

Pascal Beillevaire at the beginning

His son Fabrice in his first London store

working for the company for more than twenty years. Changing a logo, an image [...] that goes to the very fundamentals of any business”, explains Fabrice. “The most difficult is to distinguish between ‘being exported’ and just ‘exporting’”, adds Fabrice, who is happy with his international experience. The first store in London opened in 2010, close to Harrods. The beginnings were rather promising and after two years and-a-half in London, the company now sells 150 different kinds of dairy products, supplies sixty hotels and luxury restaurants (such as Capitol Hotel, Joël Robuchon, Bulgari) and has opened 12 concessions, including one in Harrods and Harvey Nichols. Three people work full-time in London and, despite the financial crisis, the company is doing well. “Beillevaire is the only French dairy company which still manufactures and sells its own products”, emphasises Fabrice, who is currently negotiating contracts for new concessions to open next year. London is an excellent laboratory for Beillevaire to test their products, before a potential breakthrough into the US or the Asian markets. I VG-H

||| Valmy is the example of a French firm that thrives in a British environment. It sells, from Luton, top range Personal Protective Equipment produced at a factory in Mably, Loire. Vianney Brillat, Chairman, established Valmy SAS in 2006 Today Valmy makes dust masks, gas masks, air-supplied masks, surgical and hygiene masks, mob-caps and shoe covers. Besides technical competence, being a family business helps immensely, explains Priscille Brillat, Vianney’s daughter and MD of Valmy UK. ‘Each decision is taken in agreement with all five family members, who are exclusive shareholders’. Whether in Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, United Arab Emirates or eastern Asia, she adds, ‘we are permanently in contact via the Internet and other communication methods. Thanks to our familial flexibility, when an issue is raised we are all aware of it within two hours, and can solve it quicker than our competitors, who face hierarchy.’ Valmy UK began in 2007 and expanded by visiting exhibitions, joining the British Safety Industry Federation (BSIF) and seeking contracts with NHS UK, NHS Scotland and HSE Ireland. It also accommodated cultural differences by “giving our colleagues enough adaptability and autonomy”, says Priscille. Valmy SAS’s Green I concept, meanwhile, resulted in the efficient and comfortable Spireor 100% recyclable mask, which won the 2012 Innovation Award at Préventica Strasbourg. Priscille explains: ‘While everyone is wondering how to save the planet, we present a new ecological concept, adaptable for one of the most polluting activities in the world: hospitals. We are proud to share this image of the French manufacturer.’ I

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Olivier Cadic chose the UK 16 years ago After creating his first company in France in 1982 and making a huge success, Olivier Cadic settled in the UK in 1996. He tells INFO what lies behind his decision and what makes Britain so special for him

livier Cadic, 50, is one entrepreneur who is much more passionate about his profession than merely accruing profits. He created his first company selling printed circuit boards in 1982, at the age of 20 years old. Despite initial difficulties, he succeeded in this niche market; and within a few months he had won contracts with giants such as Matra, Dassault and Thompson. After 1992 and the opening of French borders to the European Union member states, competition became tougher. At the same time, French companies had to pay higher national insurance contributions for employers. “In France contributions were around 48 percent against 10.7 percent in the United Kingdom”, said Mr Cadic. The rapidly rising costs, combined with increased competition, pushed Olivier choose to move his company Info Elec to Kent. “That was in 1996. I kept a production workshop in France and moved the management and the research & development to England”. He was immediately seduced by the British system. Meanwhile, cornered by high taxes, more and more French SMEs and entrepreneurs were closing down. In order to increase public awareness of this issue, Olivier created “La France libre d’entreprendre”, an association to fight against heavy taxes and to support start-ups. “It was important for the French tax system to evolve”, Olivier Cadic assesses. Source: CCFGB

Faced with high costs, tough competition and the bankruptcy of some of his customers, Cadic decided to sell his business in 2003 to one of his main French competitors.

Reconversion into comics It was a new beginning for Olivier who decided to turn his passion for reading and writing, into his new business. He created “Cinebook” in 2005, which is today the first comic publishing house of Franco-Belgian Ninth Art in English, and has published three times more albums of Lucky Luke over five years than other publishing houses have managed in 50 years. He financed his new project from a fund he had raised at his previous company. “The UK is a paradise for entrepreneurs. The administration is here to help. Fiscal controls and procedures are simplified. My new company was created in just 48 hours, after a single phone call”. Olivier Cadic also decided to work from home, in order to save costs. “In this way, I could avoid the property taxes that are placed on businesses”. Here in the UK, the publisher feels free to be enterprising. A freedom that he had never felt while living in France, considering the Sword of Damocles that the French government places on the entrepreneurs’ heads, he points out! I VG-H

United Kingdom

France

Growth Rate

+0.4%(target. 2012)

+0.7% (target. 2012)

GDP/Capita

2 472 Mds USD (2011)

2 808 Mds USD (2011)

20% (since the January 4th 2011)

Normal rate: 19,6% Intermediate reduced rate: 7% Specific rate: 2,10%

3% (April 2012)

2.4% (April 2012)

Unemployment rate

8.2% (1st trimester 2012)

10% (1st trimester 2012)

Corporate tax rate

24% (since April 2011)

33%

13,8% (since April 2011)

Between 40% and 45% of the gross salary

• Between 0 and 34 800 GBP : 20% • Between 34 801 GBP and 150,000 GBP : 40% • Above 150 000 GBP : 50% (45% from April 2013)

• Between 0 and 5 963 EUR : 0% • Between 5 963 GBP and 11 896 EUR : 5.5% • Between 11 896 and 26 420 EUR : 14% • Between 26 420 and 70 830 EUR : 30% • Above 70 830 EUR : 41%

VAT Inflation

National insurance contribution for employers Individual income tax rates

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir Girl with a fan c 1879

r oya l a c a d e m y o f a r t s

A Taste for Impressionism ||| This summer, the Royal Academy of Arts is presenting an exhibition of Impressionism paintings showcasing 70 major works, many of which have never been on public display in the UK before. Masterpieces by Manet, Monet, Pissarro, Degas, Sisley and Morisot accompany an exceptional group of more than twenty paintings by Renoir from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts. The exhibition incorporates works by pre-Impressionist artists such as Corot, Rousseau and Millet, as well as examples of highly polished ‘academic’ paintings by Gérôme and Bouguereau. The paintings in the exhibition are presented by genre; the groups of works include: landscapes and cityscapes, marine views, nudes and portraits, including self-portraits of artists central to the exhibition such as Renoir and Degas. Highlights include Monet’s The Cliffs at Étretat, 1885 and Alfred Sisley’s, Banks of the Seine at By, c. 1880–81. The Clark collection dates back to 1910, when Sterling Clark settled in Paris and began collecting works of art. Together with his wife Francine, they founded the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in 1950 to house their vast collection. I From Paris: A Taste for Impressionism Paintings from The Clark, Royal Academy of Arts, 7 July - 23 September

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w h at ’ s o n

british museum

n at i o n a l p o r t r a i t g a l l e ry

Shakespeare staging the world

The Queen Art & Image

In keeping with this summer’s theme of all things British, the British Museum is the setting for a major exhibition on the world and works of the most famous playwright, William Shakespeare. The exhibition is organised into Shakespeare’s imagined places and seamlessly combines artefacts and films to transport the visitor into his life and times, as well as the settings for his most famous works. The result is a unique combination of an extraordinary array of objects, from lavish paintings and priceless manuscripts to modest, everyday items of the period and plays and characters with a cultural legacy richer than any other in the western world. I 19 July – 25 November 2012 Open daily: 10am - 5.30pm, Fridays until 8.30pm Full Price: £14

The Queen is one of the most portrayed people of all time and this landmark exhibition brings together some of the most significant and extraordinary images of her during her reign. Organised to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, this exhibition brings together sixty years of press, paintings and everything in between. I Now open until 21 October Open daily: 10am - 6pm, Thursdays and Fridays until 9 Full Price: £6.60

design museum

Designed to Win Design to Win explores the various ways in which design has shaped the sporting world, celebrating the introduction of revolutionary new materials. The exhibition presents an array of sport design items, created to reach peak performance and break records, from F1 cars to running shoes. I 26 July – 18 November Open daily: 11am - 7.30pm Full Price: £8.80

fa s h i o n a n d te x ti l e m u s e u m

Pop! Design . Culture . Fashion Fashion and Textile Museum celebrates the impact of music, art and celebrity on 20th-century fashion, from Rock ‘n’ Roll to Punk. POP! Design . Culture . Fashion celebrates the times when British popular culture first captivated the world, from the poodle skirts and embellished leathers of the rockers to the cool styling of the Mods and the kitsch glamour of 1970s. It showcases the influence of Pop culture from 1955 to 1976 and shows the changes in youth clothing, attitudes and aspirations, through an array of Pop artists’ work, such as Andy Warhol, Peter Blake, Vivienne Westwood and Betsey Johnson. I 6 July - 27 October Open: Tuesday – Saturday: 11am – 6pm Full Price: £7 62 - info - august / september

q u e e n ’ s g a l l e ry at b u c k i n g h a m pa l a c e

Leonardo da Vinci: Anatomist Almost 500 years after his death, Leonardo da Vinci’s ground-breaking studies of the human body are on display in the largest-ever exhibition of his anatomical work. The exhibition features 87 pages from Leonardo’s notebooks, including 24 sides of previously unexhibited material. It is common knowledge Leonardo was one of the greatest artists The Royal Collection © 2011, Her Majesty Queen of the Renaissance, but he Elizabeth II was also a pioneer in the understanding of human anatomy. The exhibition tells the story of his greatest challenge as he embarked upon a campaign of dissection in hospitals and medical schools to investigate bones, muscles, vessels and organs. I Until 7 October Open daily: 10am - 5.30pm Full Price: £8.35

r oya l a c a d e m y o f a r t s

The Weird the Wacky and the Wonderful An astonishing, playful, refreshing and sometimes provocative exhibition, an example of ‘quirkitecture’, which challenges the architectural norms and stimulates the imagination. Often on the edge of architectural taste, these intriguing projects connect with our emotions and experience. I 22 June- 16 September Open daily: 10am - 6pm, Fridays until 10pm Free

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Bronze This autumn, the Royal Academy of Arts will present Bronze, a fresh and unique landmark exhibition that celebrates this enduring medium. The exhibition will bring together exceptional works from a 5,000 year period and celebrate the remarkable historical, geographical and stylistic range of bronze. No such cross-cultural exhibition on this scale has ever been attempted; more than 150 bronzes from Asia, Africa and Europe will be featured, including archaeological excavations and pieces never before seen in the UK. The exhibition will feature stunning pieces from key periods throughout history; Ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan bronzes will be displayed alongside those from the Medieval period and the Renaissance. Artists featured include Donatello, Cellini and De Vries from the Renaissance period through to Rodin, Picasso and Bourgeois representing the best from the 19th century to present. Different sections will focus on the human form, animals, objects, gods, reliefs, groups, heads and busts. Bronze has been used as an artistic medium for over five millennia and a section of the exhibition will be devoted to the complex processes involved in making bronze, enabling visitors to explore how models are created. The exhibition offers a unique display of artistic practice and the rare opportunity to see the very best examples in one place. I 15 September - 9 December Free

s a at c h i g a l l e ry

Korean Eye 2012 The Saatchi Gallery presents 100 selected contemporary works of art by 31 Korean emerging artists. The Korean Eye, created in 2008, is a worldwide exhibition held in 11 different locations across the globe this year including the New York’s Museum of Art and Design. I 26 July – 23 September Open daily: 10am - 6pm Free

s e r p e n t i n e g a l l e ry pav i l i o n

The 12th annual commission of the Serpentine Pavilion brings together architects Herzog & Meuron and Ai Weiwei for their first collaborative work in the UK. The team was responsible of the architecture of the famous “Bird’s nest” stadium in Beijing, specially created for the 2008 Olympic Games. The 2012 Serpentine Pavilion, which is encased by a reflective roof that appears to be floating above it, attracts visitors a few feet below and thus offers them an exploration of the “hidden history of its previous Pavilions”. I Until 24 October / Free

somerset house

The Rolling Stones: 50

The Buddha Shakyamuni in Abhaya-mudra, probably Bihar, Gupta Period, India, 6th century

On 12 July 1962, the Rolling Stones performed their first live gig in London. 50 years later, Somerset house is paying tribute to the half-century career of the legendary band, presenting seventy prints ranging from reportage photography, live concert and studio sessions to contact sheets, negatives strips and outtakes of the band’s history. I Until 27 August Open daily: 10am - 7pm / Free info - august / september - 63

w h at ’ s o n

tat e b r i ta i n

tat e m o d e r n

Another London

The Tanks gallery, new at Tate Modern

Discover London as it was between 1930 and 1980 through the eyes of some of the world’s biggest photographers. The exhibition brings together 180 classic photographs of the 20th century and highlights the energy and diversity of London. I 27 July – 16 September Full Price: £10

||| On the 18th July, the Tate Modern opened the first phase of its new extension to the public: The Tanks. With the opening of its £90m exhibition spaces, Tate aims to bring live work and performance art into the mainstream, providing space for the kind of large, complex film and video installations that the museum has struggled to display in the past. Nicholas Serota, Tate’s director, says this should mark a new chapter in the way contemporary art is captured, studies and, most importantly, experienced by the public. From 18th July, The Tanks will provide the backdrop for a 15-week opening programme of live art, performance and installations, entitled ‘Art in Action’. The first specially commissioned installation supported by Sotheby’s, showcases the unique work of Korean artist Sung Hwan Kim and can be visited until 28th October. I

& a l b e rt m u s e u m

t h e n at i o n a l g a l l e ry

v i c to r i a

Metamorphosis: Titian 2012

Arthur Bispo de Rosario

In a unique collaboration between contemporary artists Chris Ofili, Conrad Shawcross, Mark Wallinger and The Royal Ballet, this project celebrates creativity across art disciplines. It draws on the powerful stories found in Titan’s masterpieces. ‘Diana and Actaeon’, ‘The Death of Actaeon’ and the recently-acquired ‘Diana and Calllisto’ depict stories from Ovid’s epic poem ‘Metamorphoses’. The paintings will be seen together for the first time since the 18th century and the newly-created works reveal how they continue to inspire modern day artists. The exhibition is part of the London 2012 Festival. I 11 July – 23 September 2012 Open daily: 10am – 6pm, Fridays until 9pm Free

This summer, the Victoria and Albert Museum presents the first UK exhibition of one of Brazil’s most famous and inspiring artists. Arthur Bispo de Rosario’s artistic life started with his admission to a psychiatric hospital for paranoid schizophrenia, where he spent 50 years. With no previous artistic training and confined from social contact, he created his pieces with nothing but what the hospital environment could provide him. His work transformed asylum uniforms, buttons, bottles, bed sheets and even cutlery into creative sculptures and elaborate hand-embroidered garments. The exhibition showcases over 80 pieces of his work and celebrates his peculiar creativity and innovation. Arthur Bispo de Rosario’s exhibition is part of the London 2012 Festival. I 13 August – 28 October Free

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book reviews

Bed of Nails

The rebirth of history

by Antonin Varenne, translated by Sian Reynolds. Published by MacLehose Press.

by Alain Badiou, translated by Gregory Elliott. Published by Verso.

||| It’s as if he’s being mocked from beyond the grave. When John Nichols arrives to identify the body of an old friend, he is immediately caught up in the detritus of Alan Musgrave’s life, the side of Paris the tourists don’t see, where everyone has a past but very few count on a future. But what can he expect from a man who bled to death in his own excruciating S&M stage show? Now there’s a maverick police lieutenant on the prowl who thinks that Musgrave’s suicide was murder. Guérin might not look like much, but he’s one of the few honest officers on the force. As the horrific extent of police abuse is revealed, the race is on to find the link between a slew of recent suicides - and the key to it is buried deep in Nichols’s past. Bed of Nails does for Paris what James Ellroy did for vintage America, shining a light as never before on the seedy underbelly of La Ville-Lumière. I

||| In the uprisings of the Arab world, Alain Badiou discerns echoes of the European revolutions of 1848. In both cases, the object was to overthrow despotic regimes maintained by the great powers - regimes designed to impose the will of financial oligarchies. Both events occurred after what was commonly thought to be the end of a revolutionary epoch: in 1815, the final defeat of Napoleon; and in 1989, the fall of the Soviet Union. But the revolutions of 1848 proclaimed for a century and a half the return of revolutionary thought and action. Likewise, the uprisings underway today herald a worldwide resurgence in the liberating force of the masses - despite the attempts of the ‘international community’ to neutralise its power. Badiou’s book salutes this reawakening of history, weaving examples from the Arab Spring and elsewhere into a global analysis of the return of emancipatory universalism. I

The Man who walked through Walls by Marcel Aymé, translated by Karen Reshkin. Published by Pushkin Press.

||| A fantastical and darkly humorous collection of stories, by one of the greatest French writers of the twentieth century. The excellent Monsieur Dutilleul has always been able to pass through walls, but has never seen the point of using his gift, given the general availability of doors. One day, however, his tyrannical boss drives him to desperate, creative measures—he develops a taste for intramural travel and becomes something of a super-villain. How will the unassuming clerk adjust to a glamorous life of crime? Aymé’s genius lies in imagining the practical unfolding of bizarre and difficult situations. In each story, anarchic comedy is arrested by moments of pathos, only to descend into anarchy and hilarity once more… I

Best of enemies by Jean-Pierre Filiu & David B., translated by Edward Gauvin. Published by SelfMadeHero.

||| It was an American who first described the “Barbary” lands of the Mediterranean basin as “the Middle East” – a region by which America, ever since its own revolutionary foundation, has always measured its power. Acclaimed historian Jean-Pierre Filiu and award-winning artist David B. here tell the story of the blockades, broadsides, and betrayals of this foreign affair – a wary co-dependency that, from the Epic of Gilgamesh to the Eisenhower era, and from gold to oil, has continued to define our modern world. I

These books, written in french and recently translated into english, were selected by the French Institute info - august / september - 65

w i n e p r ess

Sea, Wine and Sun Thibault Lavergne talks of unknown wines in small regions of France, the food that goes with them and the people who want to enjoy them; accompanied with a cool sea breeze and a big, hot sun

here is no doubt that many French Chamber members will head off to mainland Europe, somewhere along the coast...for their summer holidays and for some sun ! Whether it be the Riviera or île de Ré or the crowded Costa Brava beaches, I am guessing that many will also take the

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time to sample the local wine on a sunny terrace. In fact, most tourists prefer to drink local wines during their stay in a particular region. If you check out the tables at any restaurant in the historic harbour of La Rochelle or at Saint-Martin de Ré on the Atlantic coast, you will have almost no other choice on the wine list but local “Vin de Pays Charentais” being enjoyed with the famous local oysters and mussels, despite the fact that these wines are very little known outside the region. It is the same story in Cadaques, the pretty fishing port of Catalugna, where people drink the local wine from Emporda with their Tapas. In Sicily or Sardinia you will find a similar style of wine to accompany your fried calamari. Even in Malta, which is hardly known as a wine paradise, most visitors drink wine from one of the dozen producers of Maltese wine. But what types of wine do holidaymakers mainly drink? Most of the time, Rosé or dry, crisp white wine. To cool down, we generally look for something refreshing and chilled. With a good level of acidity, these wines are also ideal matches for fried fish or seafood platters. Rosé wines such as Cotes de Provence or Coteaux Varois en Provence go well with the local “Pisaladiere”. There are definitely some good wines in areas such as Provence and Corsica, but most of the time they are pricey and difficult to find outside the region. As a wine buyer, I am always surprised by the excessive cost of wines from touristic regions, such as Rosé de Provence or Bandol in the Riviera, for example. I remember being invited to this region by local professionals. I was to taste their wines, in an effort by them to develop their share of the UK market. They tasted good but the export prices were disproportionately high for an international market.

w ine pr ess

Speaking with local professionals, I understood that these producers were not actually looking to export big volumes to the UK, as they didn’t have enough wine to sell. In fact, almost 80 percent of the wines from the main tourist areas are sold locally and sometimes over only three months during the summer holidays. So why bother exporting? It seems the only reason is to caress the ego of certain producers, who get tremendous satisfaction from having their wine served in famous restaurants abroad. During their holidays, consumers are more relaxed and take time to eat and drink more. At home, people try to prolong the holiday spirit by bringing back some wine. But as you have probably experienced, it never tastes quite the same back home. To appreciate sea-side wines, you definitely need to be in the “mood for wine”. I Thibault Lavergne is the Managing Director of Wine Story Ltd

Largest Grand Cru Bordeaux Estate Sold ||| Since the passing of its owner in September 2011, rumours about the sale of the third Grand Cru 1855 Calon-Ségur have circulated. Now Crédit Mutuel Arkéa has confirmed the purchase of Calon-Ségur, the largest-selling Bordeaux estate, through its life-insurance subsidiary Suravenir. An agreement with the family Capbern Gasqueton was signed on 29 June and should be completed in November. The transaction includes the Chateau Calon-Ségur inventory, including the second wine of Calon Marquis and Cru BourgeoisCapbern Gasqueton. This purchase represents the first investment by Credit Mutuel federation in the wine industry. Having spoken to the Wine Spectator, Florence Eckenschwiller (spokesperson for Arkéa) states “that this purchase is a long-term investment and we will not resell in the next ten years.’’ I

Cheese of the month by La Cave à Fromage: Brin d’Amour ||| Only a Corsican could name a cheese “twig of love.” For those who have been privileged enough to visit the Island of Beauty, you will know that nothing in Corsica appears familiar or similar to anything you have seen before. Everything looks and smells and tastes incredible. For such a small territory, heritage and culture are in abundance. They have one of the most fascinating pasts in French society, without even mentioning their somewhat turbulent history. Corsican Food is simple, relying on natural ingredients, and Corsicans have a unique savoir faire for transforming nature into paradise. Take Brin d’Amour, made from ewe’s milk. The ewes graze freely in the hills and mountains in the centre of the island. It tastes sweet and delicate... possibly a child’s treat? But Corsican cheese-makers then coat the freshly made cheese with wild savoury local herbs. They finish by sprinkling a few juniper bays and tiny chillies on top. It looks wonderful! It smells wonderful! It tastes wonderful! I

Brin d’Amour

A wine to enjoy with Brin d’Amour by Wine Story ||| Imagine that your yacht is moored in the harbour of Porto Vecchio in the South of Corsica... The table is set on the pontoon between the sea and sun of the Mediterranean. The local “maquis herbs” of a “Brin d’Amour” fills the air. A friend comes with a bottle of white wine. A Corse Figari that he has just bought in the wine shop, close to the harbour, owned by the wine producer Jean Baptiste Peretti Della Rocca. This dry wine, made from Vermentino grapes, has floral and aniseed scents and is ideal for our cheese. The freshness of the palate is due to the close proximity of the vineyard to the coast, which brings coolness to the Corsican heat. Baudelaire was definitely thinking about Corsica when he wrote: “lá tout n’est qu’ordre et beauté, luxe, calme et volupté”. I

Charles Baudelaire

info - august / september - 67

News @ the Chamber I

t is hard to remember a busier period in the Chamber’s recent history than the past two months. Nor was it simply a question of quantity. The calibre of speakers and the quality of the discussions generated were often compelling, displaying cutting edge analysis with the prospect of follow-up reports and website treatments to come. Our second joint economic seminar with HSBC for instance, saw top financial interpreters, Janet Henry, Chief European Economist and David Bloom, Global Head of Foreign Exchange, report with wit and insight about currency trends. Equally topical, given the ongoing Eurozone crisis, was the second meeting of our Finance Forum. This one debated the credit crunch and its effect on smaller firms, and featured Prof. Patrick Gougeon of ESCP Europe and Alexandre Lheritier of HSBC as speakers. A Climate Change Forum meeting, chaired by Richard Brown, Chairman of Eurostar International, revealed that, further to the survey recently conducted by the Chamber and contrary to “received wisdom”, businesses remain passionate about a green agenda. The concept of fairness and the latest British initiatives on employment law occupied our Human Resources Forum, with presentations by Sharokh Koussari, partner at Howard Kennedy, and Claudia Jonczyk of ESCP. Even “fun occasions” had their serious side. The French Ambassador’s ResidencehostedtwoChamberevents that were as entertaining as they were informative. A Cross-Cultural

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Forum debate between Lady Sylvia Jay, Chair of L’Oreal UK and Vincent de Rivaz, Chief Executive of EDF Energy, moderated by Peter Alfandary, described to a rapt audience the amusing yet economically relevant contrasts between Britishness and Frenchness. The same venue celebrated French Olympic prospects, with addresses from French National Olympic Committee Chairman Denis MassegliaandOlympicsilvermedallist, swimmer Malia Metella. And our enjoyable Summer Champagne Reception at St Ermin’s Hotel, near St James’s Park, came with a sparkling talk from the purveyor of the bubbly on offer, Virginie Taittinger. Andaz Hotel is another favourite setting for Chamber events, the latest being an inspiring CEO Breakfast with guest speaker Carolyn McCall, CEO of the ever-growing airliner, easyJet. Now a new location has surfaced, Waddesdon Manor, one that perfectly blends the best of French and British traditions, as befits the Chamber. Run under the aegis of Lord Jacob Rothschild and the National Trust, and packed with amazing artworks, the Manor hosted a special tour and dinner for Chamber Patron members. Special thanks to Renault for cosponsoring this excellent day out. Combined with our earlier AGM and SME Club talks on Olympic business opportunities, there was enough to suit all tastes. So hearty congratulations to the hardworking Chamber team who arranged such a varied feast of activities. I

new members 2 new corporate members:

DMS www.dmsfrance.com Represented by François Leaute, CEO DMS is leader in Mystery Shopping techniques and specialist in Customer Experience Quality. 15 years experience in running worldwide programs for brands, leaders in their industry. DMS is focused on helping brands know and understand what truly happens to customer in the field.

United Kingdom Sotheby’s International Realty www.sothebysrealty.co.uk Represented by Charlotte Eaton, Marketing Manager The Sotheby’s International Realty brand has become known around the world for the distinctive properties it represents. Our business is founded on the principles of the very best service, holding true to the values people would expect from the Sotheby’s brand.

26 new Active members: Albatross Global Solutions Market Research Provider for Luxury Brands Represented by Christophe Cais, General Manager www.albatross.fr

Auditel Business Consultancy Cost reduction programs Represented by Michael Jones, Director www.auditel.co.uk

Beaney Pearce Residential Estate Agents, Sales, Letting & Management Represented by Nicholas-Charles Pearce, Director www.beaneypearce.co.uk

BrainJuicer

Century 21 (Parracel Estates Ltd) Estate Agent Represented by Gérard Ditton, Managing Director www.century21uk.com

Cours Ado Education Represented by Isabelle Dumas, Director www.cours-ado.com

DCS IT UK ICT Support Services Represented by Raffi Derderian, International Division Head www.dcist-group.co.uk

Favero Di Gioa Clinic Dental Clinic Represented by Dr Giacomo Favero, www.faverodigioiacostaclinic.com

Market research agency Represented by John Kearon, CEO www.brainjuicer.com

Groupe Raynaud

Candia

Indigoblue Consulting

Dairy products Represented by Marie Garidou, Country Manager www.justmilk.com

Cap Finance Consulting Finance, management control and IT performance improvement Tools and processes Represented by Caroline Penneroux, Founder www.capfinanceconsulting.com

Industrial Wiping Represented by Romain Arakelian, International Sales Management Consultants in Agile Business Change Represented by Alban James, Consultant www.indigoblue.co.uk

Krystel Ann Properties Management Property Consultancy Represented by Chrystelle Merabli, Managing Director www.krystelannpropertysearch. co.uk

L’ atelier de Joël Robuchon Michelin star, French Cuisine, restaurant with bar & terrace Represented by Peggy Li, Marketing and Communications Manager www.joelrobuchon.co.uk

La Maison du Chocolat Confectionery - Luxury Chocolate Retail Represented by Danielle Roussel, Director UK www.lamaisonduchocolat.com

Michael Horwitz Co Retail Property Represented by Michael Horwitz, Director

Netvitesse Enabling integrated Communications Represented by Laurent Pipitone, President www.net-vitesse.com

Options Ltd Event and Catering Equipment Hire Represented by Francisco Serrano, Managing Director www.options.net

Pemberton Greenish Legal Represented by David de Maupeou, Solicitor www.pglaw.co.uk

Prime Purchase (Savills) Property Represented by Hugo Thistlethwayte, Managing Director www.prime-purchase.com

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new members SK United Ltd

Store Electronic Systems

Smartphone application business solutions Represented by Jules Minvielle, CEO Founder www.surikate.com

Electronic System Represented by Aurélie Brissau, HR Manager www.store-electronic-systems.fr

Sommer Needle Punch

Industry Represented by Guy Kuster, Managing Director www.systar.com

Floor covering solutions Represented by Peter Joris, Sales Manager www.sommernp.com

Systar UK Ltd

The Royal Park Hotel Hotel Represented by Laurent Boutonne, General Manager www.theroyalpark.com

Transnations Multicultural consulting Represented by Rob Davey, Senior Advisor www.transnations.fr

chamber shorties Sealing a pact for sporting and business success

Denis Masseglia, Bernard Emie and Arnaud Vaissié

On Thursday evening, 14th June, the Chamber publicly signed a partnership agreement with the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF). The occasion was a special reception at the Résidence de France, kindly hosted by the French Ambassador, H.E. Mr Bernard Emié, and organised for our Patron and Corporate members. Its twin aims were to bring together the worlds of sport and business, and to cheer on the French team before the 2012 Games! M. Emié said ‘sport contributes to France’s international influence and is a place for cohesion and sharing, regardless of differences. Sport also embodies values of excellence, of reaching new personal heights, of perseverance, of equal opportunities and of solidarity’, he added. ‘It shares all these values with businesses that succeed’. The agreement was signed by Chamber President Arnaud Vaissié and Denis Masseglia, President of the CNOSF. Both gave presentations, as did Malia Metella, France’s swimming champion and silver medallist at Beijing, who described training and the joy of Olympic success. The partnership outlines the Chamber’s involvement in the Committee’s activities during the Games, and its promotion of Club France and Club Ambition Sport. The CNOSF encompasses 180,000 sport associations and their 16 million members. After a sumptuous dinner, there was a raffle for prizes, including sports events tickets. For the Chamber, this was the perfect occasion to show their support to the CNOSF and the French team. I

Thank you Nathalie! The Chamber wishes to thank Nathalie Zimmermann – Nénon for her dynamic chairmanship of the SME & Entrepreneurs Club. As a founding Member and Co-chair since 2009, Nathalie has been one of the driving forces behind the success of the Club. She has decided to step down and will now focus on other activities. Once again, the Chamber thanks Nathalie and wishes her all the best! 70 - info - august / september

chamber shorties

French Chambers of Commerce abroad: an annual meeting cementing a global network Chairmen and Managing Directors from over 60 countries, gathered at the Hotel Potocki in Paris on 25 June, to join in the prestigious Annual General Meeting of the Union of French Chambers of Commerce Abroad (UCCIFE), chaired by PierreAntoine Gailly. Delegates of those Chambers joined Senators and MPs as well as heads of institutions. Moreover, the recently appointed French Minister of Foreign Trade, Mrs Nicole Bricq, was the guest

Last Call for Directory entries Our new Franco-British Directory 2012-2013 will be launched soon. So this is your last chance to extend your visibility by adding your company logo or an advert; and to add and update your details if you have not done it yet. As ever, these 300 pages will provide you with valuable information about 600 Chamber members and their 1,500 representatives. Do not forget that the Directory also lists useful contacts of the entire Franco-British community and other British institutions of value to business. I For information about logos and ads please contact ppetit@ccfgb.co.uk; For information about updating your details, please contact directory@ccfgb.co.uk

Charter for Business Support Services The French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain has recently signed the “Charter for Business Support Services” with its counterparts in France (CCI International). This Charter aims at harmonising both parties’ business support services and practices. I

Renewable Energies Trade Mission The French Chamber of Commerce is organising a trade mission in the renewable energy sector from 16 to 19 October, in partnership with Ubifrance UK & Ireland and the French Chamber of Commerce in Ireland. After a visit of the International Conference

of honour. The occasion was also marked by the signature of six public service agreements between Ubifrance and representatives of French Chambers in Nigeria, Peru, Venezuela, Jordan, Morocco and Madagascar. This meeting, followed by the annual Managing Directors’ seminar that took place in Lille, was an opportunity for all the participants to connect and share best practices. I

on Ocean Energy in Dublin on the 16th and 17th, the participants will be invited to London where they will meet with local leading actors in the energy sector, including offshore wind, solar and biomass. I For more information, please contact our Business Support Team: commercial@ccfgb.co.uk

Finding the perfect job or ideal staff The Recruitment Service of the French Chamber is launching its new webpage. By creating an account, candidates can view and manage their applications online. Member companies can post their vacancies, browse our list of services and soon view candidates’ mini-CVs from our database. They can also access bespoke services that the Chamber provides, to help them find the ideal personnel. The service prides itself on being people-centered, and focuses on transferable skills and flexibility. By being restricted to members, it adds extra value to belonging to the Chamber! In additional to “classic recruitment” – fixed-term or permanent contracts for bilingual speakers – our service also caters for a “spouse mission”. This specialised provision helps finding family-friendly positions for the wife or husband of French people whose partner has already found a post in Britain. I Browse our job offers, view our testimonials and register on our database: www.recruitment-ccfgb.co.uk

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recent event h sbc seminar - 20 ju ne

Reporting from the Forex frontline… The euro will survive, but what of the dollar? That was the daring conclusion and alarming prospect posed by expert economists at HSBC, 78 St James’s Street, on 20 June

Martin Tricaud, David Bloom, Janet Henry, Alexandre Lhéritier

||| The topic of this joint Chamber and HSBC seminar, “Which Perspectives for Europe? Economic and Forex Considerations”, could hardly have been more prescient. Debating these issues were Janet Henry, HSBC Chief European Economist, and David Bloom, the prize-winning Global Head of Foreign Exchange Strategy for HSBC. Their discussion came literally hours after the creation of a post-election coalition government in Athens, whose policies, many hoped, may stave off Eurozone meltdown. After a champagne reception in the bank’s atrium, Cécilia Gonzalez, Head of CCFGB PR and Events, introduced Lord Janvrin, Deputy Chairman of HSBC Private Bank, who welcomed guests and described how the splendid Italian-styled bank was built as a gentleman’s club in 1834. Then Martin Tricaud, global head of multinationals at HSBC, introduced Janet Henry, and lauded her experience analysing the Asian crisis. She reminded everyone that Europe’s woes have lasted for too long. ‘There is no quick fix’, she said. ‘It needs tough decisions and hard work’. Even after restructuring, Greek debt would still hover around 160 percent of GDP and only reduce to Italian levels by 2020, if lucky. Whether Greece stays or goes, either option could damage Europe. However, Greece was today’s test case, and in the long run maybe a positive one. ‘The Eurozone was never an optimal currency. 72 - info - august / september

Now we need political decisions’, she said. Capital flowing from the periphery to Germany created “enormous divergence”, while devaluations solve little without strong global demand. Now Spanish banks needed recapitalisation and unemployment was soaring. Italy had a worryingly high debt to GDP ratio, yet its primary surpluses were second only to Germany’s. So austerity there would be a mistake. Ultimately, she said, Europe needed ‘democratic legitimacy and genuine integration’, not interventions that ‘only affect symptoms’. Franco-German co-operation was essential, too. ‘People are waiting for the German consumer to come through and boost European exports – yet Germans buy mostly from China, like everyone else!’ David Bloom agreed that ‘the euro is here to stay and we are all connected; by saving Greece or Spain we are really saving ourselves.’ There was a lot of blamecasting, what David calls the “ugly sisters contest”. In a presentation that blended thorough analysis with mordant humour, he showed that FX is relative. ‘In economics exams the questions never change, but the answers always do’, he joked. Governments, unlike individuals and businesses, can tax and print. They can also borrow continuously. But printing money fuels inflation and even borrowing has limits. ‘If there is austerity, suddenly the music stops and you realise you won’t get paid’ he said. David described the dollar as “bad but stable”; despite America’s ever-rising “debt ceilings”, the dollar is the world’s reserve currency. Nervous investors crave liquidity. Yet at least Europe is painfully learning to change its ways. Not so the US. ‘Eventually there will be a dollar crisis, and then the current euro crisis will look like a Sunday picnic’, he warned. David and Janet ably fielded questions that ranged from household saving, eastern Europe and democratic confusion, to Chinese slowdown, contingency plans, the Hollande presidency and British delusions. Canapés afterwards crowned an evening of much food for thought! I LRJ

recent event c e o b r e a k f a s t - 5 j u ly

A business model that flies high Since it began life as mould-breaking low-cost airline 16 years ago, easyJet has become Britain’s busiest carrier and the fourth largest in Europe. CEO Carolyn McCall OBE revealed more to Chamber members over breakfast…

Arnaud de Saint-Exupéry, Arnaud Vaissié, Carolyn McCall and Peter Alfandary

||| To describe the rise of easyJet as meteoric would be something of an understatement. Turnover increased 16 percent over the past twelve months, despite financial uncertainties, fuel price hikes and the after-effects of the Icelandic volcano, to name just a few impediments. EasyJet’s on-time performance, moreover, leapt from 51 percent to 94.2 percent, ever since Carolyn McCall came onboard as the airline’s CEO two years ago. So the Chamber was delighted to welcome her as special guest speaker on Thursday 5 July, at its eighth CEO Breakfast meeting. Introduced by Arnauld Vaissié and Peter Alfandary, a self-confessed “easyJet fan”, Ms McCall delivered a memorable speech at the Andaz Hotel, Liverpool Street, after 90 attentive guests had finished a breakfast courtesy of Ladurée. EasyJet’s success, she explained, lay in its reliable and carefully balanced operational model. ‘Passengers want the easiest, safest, most convenient way of flying’, she said. ‘They make their choices based on value, price and schedule’. ‘Passengers demand a punctual, reliable, quick, efficient service’, she added. ‘They also like a friendly smile and 99 percent of emails we get say our crews are fantastic; but they don’t want gold-plating or frills.’ Serving champagne on short-haul flights makes no sense, she argued. ‘That world really is past’. McCall, who in 2008 won an OBE and was voted Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year, insisted

that easyJet must stick to its essential model yet also rethink its global position. She was equally frank at question time, with topics ranging from allocated seating, baggage fees, problematic ground staff and competition from high-speed rail, to fast-track boarding, the need to attract older passengers, and the way easyJet tailors its product to different cultures. Vowing to deepen ties with the Franco-British business community, McCall highlighted France as ‘a core part of our strategy’. These days half of easyJet passengers begin their voyage in Europe. McCall is particularly proud that her firm has integrated regional airports into the European network. EasyJet opened bases this year in Nice and Toulouse, she announced, and will increase spending in France, easyJet’s number two market, ‘because there is more to gain there’. McCall’s business approach is ‘pragmatic, no nonsense, hands-on and absolutely uncompromising on brand’, observed Peter Alfandary. No one could fail to agree after hearing her speak. Brand identity, however, raises challenges. True, easyJet now carries 57 million passengers annually, more than Virgin and BA combined; it runs 600 routes between 130 airports to destinations as far as Edinburgh, Tel Aviv and Morocco. Yet could it shake off its reputation as a “budget carrier”? Yes, said McCall. ‘We still offer the lowest cost on nine out of ten routes. But now our advertising conveys more about the vibrant, fun feel. The passenger must come first. We look after customers in a special, nonsubservient way, and map their experience from end to end. We have to de-stress their journey. Now our mobile apps can even warn you of delays before you reach the airport.’ Robust balance sheets secure easyJet’s position as it competes with legacy “flag airlines”, she added. Business travellers, 18 percent of the carrier’s customers, save precious time on journeys into town because easyJet uses airports near to city centres. Nor is easyJet anchored to a particular nation, which helps its image as a truly pan-European operator. Under McCall’s captainship it seems the sky really may be the limit…. I LRJ info - august / september - 73

recent event pat r o n v i s i t t o wa d d e s d o n m a n o r

6 j u ly

Waddesdon Manor comes up trumps ||| Waddesdon Manor, a Buckinghamshire stately home, is overseen by Lord Jacob Rothschild and run by the National Trust. Created in Loire chateau style by the eclectic collector, Ferdinand Rothschild, in 187489, it matched the Chamber’s ethos to a tee. The occasion began with an exclusive tour guided by Pippa Shirley, Head of Collections, and her staff. The Rothschild Collection includes a kaleidoscope of art, blending old and contemporary, tradition with innovation, an amazing collection of Sevres porcelain as well as many Gainsboroughs and Reynolds stand besides Japanese-style displays by contemporary ceramist, Edmund de Waal, paintings by Lucian Freud, and chandeliers by German designer Ingo Maurer. Patrons caught the last week of an amazing exhibition celebrating canvases of card-players by the 18th century French Master, Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin. After that, some visited modern sculptures set against a backdrop of breathtaking gardens and aviaries, terraces and parterres. Presented in co-operation with the auction house, Christies, this “House of Cards” exhibition remains till October. Pieces include Joana Vasconcelos’ gigantic teapot on the front lawn (2012), Tony Smith’s geometric Moon Dog (1964), and pieces by Ai Wei Wei, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. Other visitors explored the award-winning Windmill Hill, one of the most recent additions to the Manor, housing an Archive, Reading Room and the offices of the Rothschild Foundation as well as a special display of 18th century French printed board-games, “Taking Time”, and works by Richard Long, Anish Kapoor, Andy Goldsworthy and Angus Fairhurst. A third party sampled Grands Crus in the cellar, and all were soon replenished by a champagne reception at the Dairy, followed by a sumptuous dinner. Sadly Lord Rothschild was taken ill and could not welcome guests, so Fabia Bromovsky, CEO of the Rothschild Foundation at the National Trust, stood in for him. As she told French visitors: ‘This should be your cultural home from home, to which you can return whenever you feel homesick!’ Before dinner, Chamber Deputy Chair Peter Alfandary thanked all who made the event possible, including 74 - info - august / september

An escape to the country couldn’t come soon enough for dozens of Chamber patrons on a hectic Friday afternoon in London. Assembling on 6 July at the Landmark Hotel, they left in a fleet of Renaults, and one hour later arrived at Waddesdon Manor

Windmill Hill

Fabia Bromovsky and Lord Rothschild, , Francesca Guglielmino, Florence Gomez, Laurent Burin des Roziers, Director of the French Institute and Thierry Sybord, Managing Director of Renault. Alfandary recalled his first trip to Waddesdon as a teenager, and noted that Jacob Rothschild’s passion for the arts and philanthropy made him ‘a true Renaissance man who sees and doesn’t need to be shown’, noted Alfandary. ‘Waddesdon offers an Aladdin’s cave that you cannot take in at first, but have to return to time and again,’ he added. ‘Chamber members now follow in the illustrious footsteps of Queen Victoria, Bill Clinton, François Mitterand and Warren Buffet’, he added, hoping for future joint events at a place he called “infinitely more exciting than others which are more on the radar”. Sentiments that guests doubtlessly shared as midnight beckoned and they were borne from the Manor into the night. I LRJ

recent event s u m m e r c h a m pa g n e r e c e p t i o n

11 j u ly

Bubbly and raindrops for a sparkling reception Quintessential examples of the best of France and Britain, Champagne Virginie T and St.Ermin’s Hotel proved a winning double act to host our Summer Champagne Reception

||| The Chamber could hardly have chosen a better venue for its annual Summer Champagne Reception on Wednesday, 11th July… unseasonable rain notwithstanding! Recently reopened and refurbished, St. Ermin’s Hotel offers remarkable vistas of St James Park. Today it evokes the romance of a bygone age yet with all the requisites of a 21st century four-star establishment. Nor was there any problem deciding how to toast the occasion, as our partners were Champagne Virginie T, whose guiding light, Virginie Taittinger, gave a delightfully passionate talk. Her business model is simplicity itself: selling extra-dry champagne directly to individuals, rather than to cellars, restaurants or retailers. By using the internet and keeping staffing to a minimum, she can pass on savings to the end-user and thus make even the finest bubbly affordable. Virginie was born into the Taittinger family from Reims who have produced champagnes and wines since 1734. After studying law and commerce, she spent 21 years promoting Taittinger in Germany, Belgium and Switzerland, in between roles as television presenter and champion of fashion, food and culture. In 2008, aged 47 and keen to set off on a “new adventure”, she formed her own company with “a niche idea which could work quickly”. Virginie drinks champagne every day, she told INFO, and would never sell a product she did not enjoy herself. She also realised that more people prefer to sip champagne at home. However, the first years were challenging. She invested heavily and laid down champagne with lower sugar levels to reduce acidity. She also had to overcome banking and currency hurdles, not to mention different national VAT and even recycling coding. Despite lacking a distribution network, she can send six-bottle cartons to their destination within 48 hours. Most importantly, she knows how to spread the word. But might someone steal her model? ‘That would be difficult because I am not going to divulge my real business secrets!’ she laughed. Guests also enjoyed hearing Christina Tselepou, Corporate Sales Manager of St. Ermin’s, who described

the hotel’s history and hidden delights. St. Ermins, she said, was built in 1889 and converted into a hotel ten years later. A Grade II listed Victorian building, it is located in a quiet courtyard set back from the bustle of nearby Westminster. St. Ermin’s theatrical style neo-Baroque raised veranda leads into a double-height foyer, reception rooms and an undulating balcony at gallery level. Walls and ceilings are decorated with thick rococo and Art Nouveau plasterwork. Guests can access the ballroom via a double staircase redolent of an Agatha Christie film set. Perhaps that is no surprise, as during World War II the hotel was the secret headquarters of the Special Intelligence Service and later M16. Less clandestinely, Chamber guests at the reception popped business cards into a jar as they entered; and later, following a brief talk by Chamber Deputy Chair, Peter Alfandary, lucky winners were called forward to receive their prizes. The top one was a return-flight for two persons to any scheduled easyJet destination. Next came a two-night stay in a Deluxe Room including English Breakfast for two at St. Ermin’s Hotel, a bottle of champagne Virginie T, a prestige box of 37 Macarons Ladurée, and lastly, a set off Caudalie Beauty Care Products. Many regard St. Ermin’s as one of London’s hidden gems. For some 120 happy Chamber members, that secret is now out. I LRJ info - august / september - 75

f o rt h co m i n g e v e n t s

Annual Gala Dinner 23 October 2012, 19.00 - 23.30 at the Landmark London Hotel rd

Guest Speaker: Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer, WPP Group Gold Sponsor: International SOS Silver Sponsors: Accor, EDF Energy, Ernst & Young, HSBC Special thanks to Chanel for the gift bag Champagne & Wine partners: Perrier-Jouët Champagne, Les Vins du Médoc, Les Vins de Graves £175 per person. A table of 10: £1650. A table of 12: £1900 The French Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and CEO of WPP Group, will be the guest of honour and speaker at its most prestigious event of the year: the Annual Gala Dinner. This event, which gathers around 400 decision-makers from the Franco-British business community, is the premier black tie dinner and most glamorous event of the Chamber. Every year it features a Champagne reception, live entertainment and a tombola with amazing prizes and for the fourth consecutive year, it will take place in the sumptuous Landmark Hotel.

Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder of WPP

About Sir Martin Sorrell & WPP Sir Martin Sorrell founded WPP, the world’s largest advertising and marketing services group in 1985 and has been chief executive throughout. WPP companies, which include some of the most eminent agencies in the business, provide clients

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with advertising, media investment management, consumer insight, public relations and public affairs, branding and identity, healthcare communications, direct, interactive and internet marketing, and specialist communications services. Collectively, WPP employs over 158,000 people (including associates) in over 2,500 offices in 107 countries. Clients include 344 of the Fortune Global 500, 63 of the NASDAQ 100 and 33 of the Fortune e-50. In 2011, WPP had revenues of $16.1 billion and billings of $71.7 billion. Sir Martin actively supports the advancement of international business schools, advising Harvard, IESE, the London Business School and the Indian School of Business. He has been publicly recognised with a number of awards including the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award. He received a knighthood in January 2000. Sir Martin contributes to many important organisations and charities. In 2006, he was appointed a non-executive director of Alpha Topco, the Formula 1 company. In 2008, he was appointed by The English Football Association to the Board of the bid to stage the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He is on the Executive Committee of the World Economic Forum International Business Council and a member of the Business Council in the US. He is a Trustee of the British Museum, a member of the corporate Advisory Group of the Tate Gallery, and on the International Advisory Board of The Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. In 2010 he was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Bloomberg Family Foundation. He is vice-chairman of IBLAC 2011. He is a non-executive director of Sorrell Capital. In 2011 he was appointed a member of the Advisory Board of Stanhope Capital. In 2012 he was appointed a nonexecutive director of Alcoa.

f o rt h co m i n g e v e n t s

International Wine Tasting

12th September 2012, 18.00 - 20.00 at Chinawhite Co-organised by the Austrian, Argentinian, French and Italian Chambers of Commerce in Great-Britain Members: £30 +VAT, Non-Members: £40 + vat Following the great success of the first editions of our International Wine tasting, we are pleased to invite you to take part in the fourth edition of this very international event. On this exceptional occasion, you will have the

unique opportunity to taste a selection of wines from around the world... while staying in London! It also gives you a chance to meet members from other Chambers and network in an even wider international environment.

Take part in our 15th Franco-British Intercultural Trophy 26th September 2012, 18.30 - 21.00 at the May Fair Hotel Champagne sponsor: Fresne-Ducret Members: £40 + VAT, £60 + VAT for 2 people

This year’s Intercultural Trophy will be awarded during a Champagne reception sponsored by AXA, a great representative of the Franco-British cross-cultural relations having established the “Vive la Différence” campaign.

WHO SHOULD APPLY: If you feel that your company has made particular efforts to develop stronger ties between our two countries or to promote Franco-British cross-cultural relations, then why not take part in our competition?

“Vive la Différence” recognises and celebrates differences between French and British social and business cultures. Under three themes, Food & Wine, National Celebrations, and Language, AXA delivers an annual calendar of cultural and social events, and facilitates discounted French language courses in association with the Institut Français.

HOW: Should you wish to participate, please submit your application to kdarragon@ccfgb.co.uk before 7 September and set out, in no more than 15 lines, why you feel that your company should receive this award. Traditionally, this trophy - designed by Cartier - is handed over by the winner from the previous year.

Previous winners include: Mazars (2011); Bouygues (2010); Cinémoi (2009); Eurostar (2008); Saint-Gobain (2007); EDF Energy (2006); Renault UK (2005).

Annual Financial Lunch

3rd December 2012, 12.00 – 14.30 at The Dorchester Guest Speaker: Benoît Coeuré, Executive Board Member of the ECB Sponsor: Société Générale / £95 + vat. A table of 10: £900 Launched 15 years ago by the French Chamber and Société Générale, the AFL is the regular gathering of French and British senior representatives from the international banking, legal, accountancy, industrial and commercial communities. This year we have the pleasure to welcome Benoît Coeuré, Executive Board member of the European Central Bank, as our guest of honour and speaker. About Benoît Coeuré Benoît Coeuré has been a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank since 1 January 2012. He is responsible for Market Operations, Research, Information Systems, and Payments and Market Infrastructure. Prior to joining the ECB, he served in various policy positions at the French Treasury. He was the Deputy Chief Executive, then Chief Executive, of the French debt management office, Agence France Trésor, between 2002 and 2007. From 2007 to 2009, he was

France’s Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Trade and Development, co-chair of the Paris Club and G8 and G20 Finance Sous-Sherpa for France. From 2009 to 2011, he was Deputy Director General and Chief Economist of the French Treasury. Mr Coeuré co-chaired the G20 working group on reforming the World Bank and the other multilateral development banks in 2009, and the G20 sub-working group on global liquidity management in 2011. info - august / september - 77

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COMPETITION 2012

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c r o s s c u lt u r a l r e l at i o n s f o r u m

12 j u n e

Decoding cultures at La Residence Often the short distance from Dover to Calais seems like an insuperable cultural chasm. Happily an exclusive event at the French Ambassador’s Residence on 12 June dispelled fears, and in a serious yet good humoured way, suggested tips for a better understanding ||| The occasion was a debate under the French enterprises. Only they reach their aegis of the Chamber’s Cross Cultural destination in different ways. As one French Forum, graciously hosted and introduced questioner later remarked, British pub by Ambassador Bernard Emié and adroitly culture uniquely engenders commerce and chaired by Chamber Deputy President trade, even via chatting with rivals. Another Peter Alfandary. Nor could the speakers difference was the allegedly haphazard be more apt: Vincent de Rivaz, the French nature of French as contrasted with British CEO of EDF Energy in Britain, an “integral meetings. Yet the sides may be converging: part of the infrastructure of this country”; French are imbibing the value of discipline and Lady Sylvia Jay, Chair of L’Oreal UK, a and agendas; while Brits now value longdirector on several boards and a Britishterm context and Gallic politesse. Perhaps born former civil servant with the French the very rigidity of an Anglo meeting might Treasury who helped set up the European Peter Alfandary hide important side discussions. Bank of Reconstruction and Development. Each holds Moreover, old clichés no longer apply: French boards a British CBE and a French “Chevalier de la Légion are less hierarchical and often more cosmopolitan than d’honneur”, and both feel at home in each other’s American ones, thus easing former language barriers. countries and cultures. True, French business people often express emotion in English has become the universal business lingua direct ways that alarm their Anglo counterparts; but was franca, it was agreed, and Facebook and Twitter “Latin spirit” not sometimes an excuse for rudeness? suggest that boundaries have been abolished forever. Similarly, was English understatement not a sign of Yet misinterpretation has, if anything, multiplied. insincerity, even hypocrisy? Again, one must learn to The issue is a worldwide one. Misunderstanding decode: ‘In Britain if someone tells you “We have a slight occurs between all cultures although this particular problem”, it means we are on the brink of catastrophe!’ evening was dedicated to the often perceived Questions from the floor covered a similar gamut of differences between the British and the French. So topics, from French education (more “rounded” than what distinguishes a French outlook from a British? British?) and straight speaking versus florid rhetoric, Can cultural differences impede the communication to state influence in business, EU membership, of ideas? Which benefits could each side learn from shareholder power, blame cultures, diversity, gender the other? quotas, corporate responsibility, greater UK pay Such questions informed a spellbinding evening differentials, and patriotism. One English observer where, to quote one guest, ‘People were so attentive; envied the solid French sense of identity, while a you could have heard a pin drop’. Listeners were French counterpart was charmed by the understated urged never to assume that others think exactly the unity of the Royal Jubilee. way you do. Besides IQ and emotional intelligence, All agreed that business teams only succeed an appreciation of “cultural intelligence” was sorely when individuals feel respected and can speak freely. needed if both sides wished to get in synch. But how Sharing information, it was said, was preferable to nurture this critical skill when troubled times lead to hoarding contacts. Above all, blending humility, many to revert to stereotype? patience and openness to change with a confident One cliché was that French foster trust over fine sense of purpose could work wonders – a theoretical meals whereas the British invest less time in building model evidently put into practice one evening at La relationships. In fact, bonding is key to both British and Residence de France… I LRJ info - august / september - 79

forums recent hr

clubs f o r u m - 19 j u n e

HR Forum: Open Conversation on Fairness Fairness is the current buzzword in HR, but what exactly does it mean? Must it apply only to employees’ rights or might companies feel mistreated too? Moreover, can it survive the chill winds of economic uncertainty? ||| These and related questions unfairness which is translated in were the subject of a fascinating discriminatory behaviours. Ultimately, HR Forum “open conversation” though, cultural attitudes have yet to morning. Introduced by HR Forum catch up with legal requirements. Chair Rose Gledhill, HR Director for Prof. Jonczyk’s remarks stimulated Northern Europe at International a vibrant discussion, after which SOS, and held at Lincoln House on Sharokh Koussari, Partner at Howard Tuesday, 19 June, the debate was Kennedy, analysed key points from framed by two presentations. The the Beecroft Report on Employment first, by Claudia Jonczyk, Associate Law. Recently unveiled (or rather Professor of Organisation Studies at prematurely leaked) this document ESCP Europe, considered unfairness may foreshadow the Coalition’s as anything from public anger at future legislative agenda; already taxpayers bailing out banks to two of its 15 recommendations have feelings of discrimination in the Rose Gledhill, Chair of the HR Forum become law. workplace. Critics say that implementing Jonczyk outlined two assessment approaches: Beecroft would wipe out 40 years of equality law and distributive justice (why did some get paid more than workers’ protections. Yet Koussari argues that the others?) and procedural (how did we arrive at this report at least acknowledges the challenges facing outcome?). Interestingly, research shows that as long smaller firms. Furthermore, Beecroft may actually as the process is transparent and follows accepted increase fairness by streamlining opaque and timecriteria, employees can accept differences in terms of consuming practices. Koussari stressed that ‘there promotion and salary. One would be less happy, noted is a fundamental misunderstanding about the law’s Jonczyk, if he realised that the newly promoted team purpose. Redundancy is not just a tool to dismiss member only succeeded because ‘the CEO is his best people; it is there to keep people in if possible, unless buddy and they play tennis twice a week’! there is no other solution’. Perceptions, the ever-sensitive human aspect, thus A poorly executed monetary pay-off need could profoundly affect competitiveness and productivity. ‘If lose a firm reputation, while a litigious employee the cake is not distributed fairly, there is low morale, lack may worry a potential future employer. So both firms of job satisfaction, poor teamwork, more absenteeism and workers should avail themselves of avenues such and burnout, and less willingness to go the extra mile as conciliation, consultation and mediation, before or represent the organisation’, she added. matters reach the courts or labour tribunals. British Turning to specifics, the wage-gender gap is slightly firms enjoy greater leeway than other companies narrower in France than in Britain – 16 percent to implanted in other European markets. However, nearly 20 percent – and more women appear on boards flexibility should not necessary come at the expense than a decade ago. Yet in almost all countries, bizarrely, of fairness, and understanding psychology, alongside disparities increase the higher up the corporate or an ever-changing law, just might help employers professional ladder you climb. Many reasons are offered get the balance right – wise words from a frank and to explain this phenomenon: favouring of traditionally informative session. I LRJ male engineering students in France, more part-time For more information about the Beecroft report, please work by women and longer career breaks but also visit www.bis.gov.uk 80 - info - august / september

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clubs f o r u m - 26 j u n e

Challenging myths about business and the green agenda A new report from the Climate Change Forum suggests that business is well ahead of the curve when it comes to environmental matters. CCF members considered possible future action based on these findings at their 26 June meeting… ||| Are businesses too worried about the say that legislative requirements financial crisis to care about climate drive their actions. Nearly 80 percent feel that customers influence them change? That is certainly a commonly held view. Another holds that only by demanding sustainable products government, not private enterprise, and services; two-thirds cite pressure can address the environmental from employees. But less than a quarter think investors and boards challenge of global warming. Yet the contrary is true, on both are much interested, while not a counts, suggests a revealing new single business reported concern report from the Chamber’s Climate from unions. Richard Brown, Climate Change Forum More than 90 percent of Change Forum. It was that survey Chair businesses say that investors and of business opinions, based on the responses of 118 Chamber members to a questionnaire, shareholders must put a higher value on sustainability which exercised minds at the latest CCF meeting on and tackling climate change. Boards, they added, should Tuesday morning, 26 June, at Lincoln House. After hold management accountable, and a surprisingly clear presenting the results, Forum members debated a majority (64 percent) favour carbon pricing. Similar strategy of action. numbers feel that businesses should take the lead in Richard Brown, Chairman of Eurostar International tackling climate change alongside government. Only that way, they feel, can one reach a “tipping point” and Ltd, led the discussion. Quoting from the report, he prevent a potential global disaster. said that seven out of ten businesses polled believe that climate change is a more serious issue than it was Forum members felt gratified at the higher than three years ago. Scientific evidence is most commonly expected response rate. The results suggested that cited for this attitude. Further, two thirds of businesses mainstream companies had “nailed” the waste management issue and accepted scientific arguments. are paying greater attention to environmental More could be done, though, to inform companies concerns; while 40 percent say they are doing more than is legally required of them – a “powerful message” of the Forum’s work; and while most knew about and that confounds the view of many politicians! welcomed the government’s landfill tax, confusion over The CCF is the first Anglo-French think-tank on other specifics, like the CRC energy efficiency scheme, reflected itself in skipped questions. Full marks for this vital topic, and its survey threw sobering light on what businesses believe ought to be done. One sincerity, but evidence of more work ahead! As to future action, many favoured lobbying chief demand was that governments need to act more vigorously in setting a clear price on carbon government, media and unions, to alert them to emissions. Some 85 percent of businesses say they are business concerns, to emphasise that the green agenda creates jobs, and to address barriers such currently taking action, especially by improving waste management and reducing electricity consumption as competing priorities and lack of public sector support. Lastly, participants discussed the idea of and business travel. About 40 percent of those polled admit that they are thoroughly investigating different public policy motivated by a desire to reduce costs. Others quoted a approaches in France and Britain. In short, handy sense of corporate environmental responsibility and the pointers for the next CCF meeting, scheduled for 25 September… I LRJ need to maintain trust in their brand. Only one in four info - august / september - 81

forums recent finance

clubs f o r u m - 9 j u ly

Finding pathways to credit for SMES Uncertainty about the future, currency woes and tighter banking regulations could squeeze SMEs and mid-caps’ financings. Yet the latest Finance Forum meeting revealed helpful signs amidst the credit market’s many paradoxes ||| Banks have been very much in the a deterioration, in particular for SMEs news of late, and not always for the best in the manufacturing industry. Quoting from a French survey, of reasons. Financial upheaval and the Gougeon deduced that SMEs were Basel III stipulations have compelled some financial institutions to reduce uncertain about the future and thus their risk exposure (RWAs – Risk Weighted were not presently seeking investment. Assets). Yet SMEs can depend on them Longer term, nearly half said they were for vital loans, so the result is a double reconsidering their credit lines, and squeeze: caution among bankers coupled may seek finance from institutions with dwindling access to investment for other than banks. The recent survey smaller firms. commissioned by the Forum revealed confusion over recent regulatory Making sense of this complex situation were two informative presentations, Patrick Gougeon, Finance changes, though SMEs polled realise it Forum co-Chair delivered under the rubric Mid-Caps and will have an impact, and some thought Corporate Financing, at the latest Finance Forum of trying shadow banking. meeting on Monday, the 9th of July. Happily the In his presentation Alexandre Lheritier explained that the crisis has also forced some firms to reconsider ensuing discussions suggested that solutions did exist, if only SMEs, mid-cap companies and financial their investment plans and to optimise their cash from institutions were willing to “think outside the box”. generation and profitability, to reduce their debt ratios. Hence a lower demand for credit. Paradoxically, LIBOR Patrick Gougeon, UK Director of ESCP Europe and Forum’s Co-chair, gave the first address, drawing rates and spreads charged by banks are still at an allon recent surveys of SMEs. Alexandre Lheritier, the time low indeed when compared to the past 10 years. Multinationals Sector Head for HSBC, then gave a Participants noted that SMEs are so vital to recovery, yet vulnerable to bankruptcy. SMEs do not have much graphically illustrated talk on trends in the changing latitude to adjust their balance sheets, nor can they world of credit and loans. Both speeches provoked lively debate from representatives of small businesses, negotiate as easily as bigger companies, but instead banks, academia and the French Embassy.Also are saddled with fixed repayment fees. Conversely, one contributing was John Peachey, Forum’s Co-chairand participant argued that from a portfolio perspective SMEs can be more resilient in a crisis, even though such HSBC Global Head of Financing Solution Group. Prof. Gougeon began by stating that large a perspective can hardly be kept when financings are companies in Europe rather benefit from the present decided on a case by case basis. One way out may be private investors, because they conditions on the capital market where they can issue bonds at historically low rates, for these bank loans lack regulatory constraints, or so-called hybrid capital, as in Asia. Another option was to move to invoice/asset represent now only 20% of their funding, very much like the US benchmark. However, smaller firms face financing, and to encourage specialist SME markets real problems. In the UK total lending to Public Non where firms pool data and get advice from business angels. Big pharmaceuticals, interestingly, are favouring Financial Companies (FNFCs) has slowed down and started to decrease in July 2009. SMEs have followed the emergence of a network of associated SMEs to better identify new business opportunities (e.g. on research). the general trend, however whereas the trend is now upward for all FNFCs it is still decreasing for SMEs and Emerging markets may boost Europe’s recovery, but particularly small businesses. In France the situation investing in small companies and designing responsible is somewhat different due to a closer relation between channels of financing for mid-caps and corporate is banks and the state, however recent figures reveal also crucial to deliver a sustainable recovery. I LRJ 82 - info - august / september

f o rt h co m i n g f o ru m s & c lu b s SME & Entrepreneurs Club

Quarterly Economic Update

5th September 08.30 - 10.00am at the Chamber Chaired by Frédéric Larquetoux, Senior Manager, E & Y

4th October, 8.30 - 10.30 at the Chamber Guest speaker: Stephen Nickell CBE, FBA, Member, UK Budget Responsibility Committee. Chaired by Philippe Chalon, Director of External Affairs at International SOS & Managing Director of the Cercle d’outre-Manche

Luxury Club - Diner des Chefs £105 + VAT per person, limited number of seats 11 September, from 17.00 - 23.00 at the Manoir aux Quat’Saison Special thanks to Citroën and Pernod Ricard for transportation and Champagnes and Cognacs

Climate Change Forum 25th September 2012, 10.00 - 12.00 At the French Chamber Chaired by Richard Brown, Chairman of Eurostar Theme: “Smart metering, smart grid” By application only

Finance Forum 27th September 2012, 08.30 - 10.30 Co-chaired by Patrick Gougeon, UK Director ESCP Europe and John Peachey, Managing Director and Global Head of Financing Solution Group HSBC Theme: “Infrastructure Financing”. By application only

HR Forum 9th October, 08.30 - 10.00 Chaired by Rose Gledhill, HR Director, Northern Europe International SOS. Theme: “Staff Engagement” Open to HR Directors and HR Professionals only

Luxury Club - Cocktail Reception 10th October 2012 at the May Fair Hotel Walpole and the French Chamber of Commerce, in association with the Financial Times, will host a Cocktail reception celebrating British and French Luxury. With the generous support of Pernod Ricard UK and the May Fair Hotel. By invitation only For more information, please contact Karim Mijal, kmijal@ccfgb.co.uk

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renaULt 110 YearS OF va va vOOM

Ever since Louis Renault’s Type K victory in 1902, we’ve been on a bit of a roll. We’ve pioneered the turbo-charger, started the hatchback revolution, dominated numerous F1 Championships, and pushed the boundaries of design. Va Va Voom, it’s taken us this far, and with even more innovations on the horizon we have no intention of slowing down.

FinD OUt MOre at renaULt.cO.UK

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