Contact Jan / Feb 17

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Jan / Feb 2017

MARTIN BELCHER A family affair

TALKING TECH

KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY

THE CYBER THREAT

The first of our new IT columns looking at how companies can best approach the challenge of business continuity planning

We speak to local businessman and entrepreneur Martin Belcher about the evolution of his Channel Island businesses

We investigate why the islands take the threat of cyber crime so seriously

Local legal services in Jersey and Guernsey Business and commercial law Competition law Dispute resolution Employment law Offshore relocations Planning and environment law Property and construction law Regulatory law Trusts Advisory Group Wills, probate and estate planning

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A NEW YEAR. A NEW PAN-ISLAND CONTACT MAGAZINE

It is with great pleasure that I write to you, as the president of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, in this, the first edition of our pan-island Chamber magazine.

For a very long time, there has always been competition between the Channel Islands, and in business we all know competition can be and often is a good thing. However, partnerships, the meeting of minds and shared knowledge also breeds success and I am thrilled that our islands have a dedicated pan-island publication, to keep our members and the wider business community up-to-date with the work being done on their behalf.

Throughout my presidency I’ve been determined to shout about the good work Chamber is doing. In 2015, 36 weeks of voluntary work was done by our committee members, tackling business issues and lobbying government and no doubt when we review 2016 another astounding number of hours will have been devoted.

Since 1768, almost 250 years, the Jersey Chamber of Commerce has been representing the island’s business community and with circa 550 member organisations, which equate to 27,000 working people (almost half Jersey’s working population), our reach in the island is extensive. It is therefore imperative Chamber has this and other dedicated platforms to communicate with its members, to both inform business leaders and voice Chamber concerns about government proposals that do not foster enterprise.

In each Contact publication going forward, within our dedicated Chamber pages, we’ll be updating you about our lobbying efforts, open letters written to government ministers, ministerial meetings, press releases and forthcoming events.

As I said, communication from Chamber is key but we also need to hear from our members about the issues they’re facing, which is why in November we launched a dedicated member only email address listen@jerseychamber.com for our member organisations to get in touch and tell us about their concerns, issues such as work licences, access to funds and Brexit.

Concerns which are then fed into our committees and ministerial meetings.

As I say to all our members, Chamber can’t promise to get you the answer you’re looking for but we can promise to raise your issues and concerns with the right people.

Welcome to the first pan-island Contact publication. Although this opportunity came about relatively recently, the thought process started over a year ago. A few of us joined Jersey Chamber president, Kristina Le Feuvre, and colleagues for their monthly lunch. On the plane home, it was not the lead speaker Senator Gorst’s presentation of the Jersey budget that rang in our minds, but our discussion with both the senator and Kristina asking us simply: ‘how can we work better together?’

A good question. Readers on both islands will recall at will stories of tit-for-tat, winner-takes-all nose rubbing between the islands; our rivalry goes back a long way, stretching deep into oral history. However, that was the past, and today we live in an age where businesses span both islands. Professional bodies bankers, architects, insurers, accountants - examine students on “subject” rather than “territory” specialisms. The modern professional is expected to get to the nub of clients’ needs irrespective of the territory in which they practise.

In this respect pan-island businesses are a good place to look for ways to share risks and rewards between our islands; these businesses are the go-to people to explore where inter-island trade efficiencies are found.

At government level. whilst sharing public infrastructure could deliver cost savings, the knotty problem remains of how to transform competing interests into co-operative competition - what economists like to call ‘coopetition’.

So what would better inter-island coopetition look like? Both economists and business gurus alike will say the same thing.

Life is not a one-move winner-takes-all game; in the real world, trading relations are built on reputations developed over years.

The most trusted network wins the most business. It is no longer optimal to think and act in selfish isolation of your competitor, but to co-operate to achieve long-term pay offs and higher levels of trust. In political terms, it takes a larger intellectual capability to move beyond a populist winning move, to basing decisions on improving inter-island trading and trust.

So can industry work better together? All arrows point towards a commercial future in developing a more trusted, resilient inter-island commercial network, and, where possible, substituting people, capital and systems between us to grow inter-island trade.

As the largest business representative body in Jersey, I want every business leader in the island to know how their Chamber is structured and how being a member can be of great benefit.

So, enjoy the read on our dedicated Chamber pages, which explain the inner-workings of the Jersey Chamber in this, the first pan-island edition of our Channel Island Chamber of Commerce publication.

We hope that this exciting new pan-island Chambers magazine will represent both our individual local and joint interests to grow business Next, we are going to continue to reach out to Chambers in Normandy, then our Guernsey Expo 2017 in October will be an opportunity to showcase our vision to our wider global network. Of course, we welcome Jersey to join us at our expo for what will be, I hope, an exemplar for Anglo-Norman business.

Kristina le Feuvre, president, Jersey Chamber of Commerce

Martyn Dorey, president, Guernsey Chamber of Commerce

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E di to r Trish Grover editor@collaboratecommunications.com SALES Julie Todd sales@collaboratecommunications.com Desi g n & p ro du cti o n Mojoe joe@mojoecreative.co.uk

Contact is produced six times a year

by Collaborate Communications Ltd. To receive Contact magazine call Julie Todd on: 01534 858514 or email: sales@collaboratecommunications.com www.facebook.com/ContactmagazineGuernsey @collaborateCI

Contact is published by Collaborate Communications Ltd. Copyright 2017. All rights reserved. Any reproduction without permission is prohibited. Contact contains editorial content from external contributors which does not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers. Contact does not accept or respond to unsolicited manuscripts and photographs.

The publishers do not accept responsibility for errors in advertisements or third party offers.

Jersey Chamber of Commerce Chamber House 25 Pier Road St Helier Jersey JE2 4XW Telephone: 01534 724536 www.jerseychamber.com Guernsey Chamber of Commerce Suite 1 16 Glategny Esplanade St Peter Port Guernsey GY1 1WN Telephone: 01481 727 483 www.guernseychamber.com

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F E AT U RE S

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JERSEY CHAMBER NEWS

Viewpoint

With Richard Digard

GUERNSEY CHAMBER NEWS

MARTIN BELCHER A family affair

UNDER ATTACK

We investigate why the islands take the threat of cyber crime so seriously

Contributors Trish Grover writer Richard Digard writer Natasha Egre writer Chris George photographer Ian Le Sueur photographer

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CHANNEL ISLANDS NEWS

Channel Islands well placed to embrace China Growing global use of the renminbi (RMB) combined with Jersey and Guernsey’s strong business links with China is giving local firms a growing opportunity to support trade between Europe and the Far East, according to the head of HSBC’s commercial banking business in the Channel Islands.

A survey from HSBC commercial banking, the ‘RMB Internationalisation Survey 2016’, shows that almost a quarter of companies are now using the RMB to do business with China. The poll of 1,600 decision-makers across 14 countries, also showed that the use of the RMB has grown 7% around the world over the past 12 months.

Significantly from a Channel Islands perspective, 68% of businesses in Europe expect to see an increase in RMB business over the next 12 months, above the global average of 43%, whilst 66% of European businesses are planning to expand or start

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business with China this year compared to the global average of 40%.

However, the report also shows that few firms are capitalising on the Chinese government’s flagship ‘Belt and Road’ trade initiatives, the name given to a series of policy developments and infrastructure projects designed to spur USD2.5 trillion of cross-border commerce annually. Just 22% of European respondents said they understand the opportunities Belt and Road presents, whilst only 12% of those ‘aware’ businesses in Europe are working on a strategy.

Both Jersey and Guernsey have established strong connections with Greater China, positioning themselves as gateways to Europe for Asian investors and businesses, with both Jersey Finance and Guernsey Finance having representation in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Industry and government representatives from the jurisdictions regularly visit China, with Jersey Finance having hosted its Asia Roadshow in Hong Kong and Shanghai last month.

Warwick Long, head of commercial banking, HSBC Channel Islands and Isle of Man, said: ‘China remains an engine of economic

growth and the RMB has quickly become the world’s fifth most widely used payment currency. With London positioning itself as a European RMB hub and given Jersey and Guernsey’s strengths in cross-border finance, close relationships with the UK and knowledge of the Far East, there is a real opportunity for them to be significant supportive players in this growing and exciting area.

‘The Belt and Road projects in particular are already presenting huge opportunities for companies that can help develop physical infrastructure such as highways, ports and telecommunications networks. The islands should be alert to those opportunities and certainly HSBC, which has such strong roots in China and large presence in the islands, is keen to support this anticipated growth in RMB.’

First laid out by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road blueprint aims to develop two corridors linking China to the world. The ‘Belt’ refers to the historic overland Silk Road trading routes connecting China via central Asia to Europe and the Middle East.

The ‘Road’ refers to the maritime equivalents to the south, linking China, Southeast Asia, India and Africa.

CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS The judges commended Jersey for its high-ratings with international bodies and most topically its ability to gain full access to the European Single Market when such access is in the spotlight, adding: ‘International offshore centres must put a premium on reputational strength, great client service and leadership. This jurisdiction scores well on all these counts.’

Recognition for Jersey The ‘International Finance Centre – Editor’s Award’ at the WealthBriefing GCC Region Awards 2016 was awarded to Jersey, underlining its credentials as one of the world’s leading international finance centres.

Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance said: ‘It is an honour to have been recognised at WealthBriefing GCC Region Awards 2016.

Over the past 12 months, the island has not only continued to innovate and attract new business from within its key markets, but has also demonstrated its ability to respond quickly and appropriately in a rapidly shifting global market. This prestigious

Cooper Brouard has gained worldwide recognition after receiving a five-star estate agency award at International Property magazine’s event, held at London’s Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square.

Directors Ross Le Marquand, Matthew Brouard and company associate Karen Crawford received the honours from Malcolm Sinclair, 20th Earl of Caithness and Stuart Shield of International Property magazine.

Guernsey estate agency recognised

Sponsored by The Telegraph, the annual awards are open to residential and commercial property professionals from around the world. The judging panel of 90 industry professionals is headed by the Earl of Liverpool, Lord Caithness and Lord

Following the completion of the management buyout in September 2016, Bedell Trust has now undergone a rebranding exercise and is renamed Ocorian.

Chief executive Nick Cawley commented on the newly launched brand:

Bedell Trust becomes Ocorian

‘Through the sustained growth and diversification of our business we recognised the time was right to revitalise our corporate identity. Building upon our strong heritage, reputation and capabilities, the launch of our new brand is another exciting step in the

award is evidence to the fact that that Jersey remains a leading jurisdiction globally in terms of its reputational strength, excellent client service and robust regulatory regime.’

The awards recognised companies, teams and individuals which the panel of judges deemed to have demonstrated innovation and excellence during 2016. Presented by the guest of honour, HH Sheikh Mohammed Al Qassimi, from the Sharjah ruling family, the awards showcased the best of breed service providers in the global private banking, wealth management and trusted advisor communities.

Photo: Richard Nunn, business development director Jersey Finance (centre) collects the award from The Honourable Bruce Weatherill,chairman, ClearView Financial Media

Best, chairman of judging for the real estate categories.

After thanking the sponsors and organisers, Ross took the opportunity to stress Cooper Brouard’s continued commitment to clients and spoke of all that Guernsey has to offer potential new residents.

Matthew added: ‘This five star award is well deserved recognition for all the hard work and dedication of our staff, who have played a massive part in Cooper Brouard’s success over 20 years.’

The occasion coincided with the latest publication of International Property and Travel, which promotes Guernsey in their “World’s best places to live” feature.

evolution of our business.

‘This is much more than a simple name change and logo makeover, indeed over a number of months we have been rigorously engaged with defining who we are and what we need to be in order to enable the success of our clients.

‘While our new brand represents a number of fundamental principles, we recognise that our clients need us to be reliable and adaptable and this is at the very core of our new identity.’

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C H A N NEL ISLA NDS NE WS

Double success for Channel Island hotels Hand Picked Hotels is celebrating two wins at the recent Good Spa Guide Awards 2016. L’Horizon Beach Hotel & Spa in Jersey scooped the Readers’ Choice Best Spa Hotel for Families award, whilst St Pierre Park Hotel Spa & Golf Resort in Guernsey won Best Spa in the Channel Islands.

In total, six spas from across the Hand Picked collection of country house hotels were shortlisted for the national awards. Since the awards were first started in 2010, the Good Spa Guide has seen rising standards and a huge growth of popularity in the spa industry. Finalists are chosen by specially

appointed Good Spa Spies who review over 100 spas every year whilst winners are chosen by the public.

Speaking on L’Horizon Beach Hotel & Spa’s win, The Spa Spies said: ‘L’Horizon Beach Hotel & Spa commands the prime spot on one of the loveliest beaches in Jersey. The location and the hotel’s facilities make it the perfect destination for a summer holiday.

Kids can use the pool, and parents can sneak off for a treatment. The spa offers lots of great incentives and the health club has a real sense of community. With innovative treatments, lots of spa facilities and beautiful views out to the ocean, L’Horizon is an indulgent retreat for all the family.’

Commenting on St Pierre Park Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort’s triumph, The Spa Spies said: ‘The super modern spa at St Pierre Park Hotel is cool and calming, but what really makes the spa special is the extensive outdoor

KTG already had a strong presence in Singapore, undertaking corporate services, implementing cross-border structures with having locally resident directors for Singapore-incorporated companies. This latest development, however, means it can now offer clients specialist jurisdictionspecific fiduciary solutions.

Singapore licence for Kensington Kensington Trust Group (KTG), the Asian associate of JTC, has been granted a licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct trust business in the jurisdiction.

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JTC established a strategic association with KTG in 2013, giving it a broad platform for providing corporate, trust and cross-border structuring services to clients across the Asia region through its well-established teams of professionals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Labuan, Malaysia and New Zealand.

space. Swim a couple of lengths in the indoor pool, soak up the award-winning gardens from the hot tub and then heat up in the marbled steam room and volcanic sauna. The spa offers good quality treatments, lovely relaxation spaces, and lots of great ways to get active if you so choose.’

Lesley Bacon, group health club & spa manager at Hand Picked Hotels, said: ‘We are delighted with our recent success at the nationally recognised Good Spa Guide Awards. The awards are of great importance as they are voted for by anonymous guests.

It is fantastic to know we are consistently providing a high standard of service to all of our guests. The Channel Islands is an important market for us and we have invested heavily in St Pierre Park in particular this year. We recently completed a £2.5m redevelopment at the hotel and spa and it is excellent news that the investment has really made a difference.’

one of the most popular and credible international financial centres in the world.

Given JTC Kensington’s continued dedication to expansion in Asia, we are confident that obtaining this licence will prove to be a pivotal moment in our long-term growth.’

Iain Johns, head of private client services for JTC (pictured) added:

Linda Wong, managing director of KTG, and chair of STEP Singapore, commented:

‘JTC and Kensington are well-matched partners, thanks to their fundamental focus on finding the ideal services and solutions for clients. This new capability to offer Singapore-specific trust services is another significant step forward in that regard and I’m sure that many of our clients will directly see the benefits for themselves.’

‘This is a crucial and exciting step forward for JTC Kensington and we are all extremely pleased. Singapore is justifiably perceived as the leading trust jurisdiction in Asia and

Singapore is ranked as the third international finance centre globally and top in Asia, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index.

CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS

The IFS Group is a leading Mauritiusbased provider of fund and corporate administration services to corporates and alternative asset managers. Founded in 1993, the IFS Group provides services to more than 1,000 global entities, and has assets under administration in excess of $82 billion.

Mauritius deal for Sanne SANNE has entered into an agreement to acquire International Finance Services Limited and IFS Trustees (The IFS Group).

The transaction is set to complete by the end of March following regulatory and shareholder approvals.

Dean Godwin, chief executive officer of Sanne, commented: ’This acquisition enables SANNE to realise its ambition of building a leading, global business. The IFS Group is highly profitable, with a service offering and client base extremely complementary to SANNE’s. Mauritius is one of the leading international financial centres for foreign investment into Africa and India and this transaction provides us with a significant platform to both support clients in these attractive regions and grow our emerging markets presence. I am delighted to welcome the IFS Group team to SANNE and we are excited about the opportunities to come.’

Ashburton Investments has picked up the Investment Week Specialist Investment award for the global energy fund managed in Jersey

by Richard Robinson (pictured).

Award for Jersey fund manager

Channel Islands’ best kept secret wins special aesthetics industry award

Richard, who has been energy investment specialist at Ashburton Investments in Jersey for 12 years, was presented with the award, in the Natural Resources category, during a ceremony in London.

Mauritius is one of the leading international financial centres for foreign investment into Africa and India. This acquisition provides SANNE with a significant platform from which to expand the group’s exposure to the emerging markets and to clients looking for support with their emerging markets structuring requirements. The IFS Group will form the core of a new standalone division operating as SANNE’s new emerging markets-focused platform.

SANNE’s management team will work with the IFS Group’s management team (who will remain unchanged post acquisition) to integrate the group’s people, clients and systems into the SANNE operating model.

Following the completion of the transaction SANNE will engage with more than 950 staff internationally, administer assets in excess of £160bn and have global expertise spread across recognised international finance centres located in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

investment research company, Morningstar, one of only two funds to receive the highest five-star rating.

The Luxembourg domiciled UCITS fund is ranked number one in its peer group since inception and now has assets of over US$46 million under management.

2016 was an eventful year for the energy fund since it was given a five-star rating by

Jonathan Schiessl, CIO, said ‘This is fantastic recognition for Richard and the team from his peers in the industry, and reflects the differentiated approach to the energy complex that the team has developed.’

Cosmetic dermatologist Dr John Curran has been given a special achievement award at a celebration of the best medical aesthetics achievements.

on their medical wisdom over the years,’ said Dr Curran. ‘I am proud of having built the Aesthetic Skin Clinics to be a trusted medical cosmetic practice across the Channel Islands and Ireland.’

Marking 20 years as a pioneer and entrepreneur, Dr Curran was given the Schuco International Award for Special Achievement at the 2016 Aesthetic Awards in London.

A founding member of British College of Aesthetic Medicine, serving for a time as president and latterly as chairman of its ethics committee, Dr Curran is a champion of formalised training and standards in the aesthetic medicine and called upon as an expert witness by the General Medical Council.

‘It was an unexpected honour to be recognised by my colleagues. I was deeply touched and humbled but feel this really reflects the collective efforts of all those who have taken the time to pass

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C H A N NEL ISLA NDS NE WS The FiA is a starting point for school leavers who want to progress to obtaining the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Certified Accounting Technician Status (CAT) as well as the ACCA qualification but who have no experience in accounting.

Beneficiaries Henrietta Aldwell and Carter Rogers are the first students to be awarded the bursary from Saffery Champness and are now studying with BPP.

Two students helped onto first step on accountancy ladder Saffery Champness has awarded bursaries to two local students to enable them to study for the Foundation in Accountancy (FiA) certificate in Guernsey.

Henrietta said: ‘During my A-level studies at the Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre I became interested in pursuing a career in accounting but my options to study on island were limited. Saffery Champness’ bursary scheme has given me the opportunity to receive specialist training from a leading provider of professional education without having to go to university.’

Carter said: ‘Embarking on my studies with BPP has been an exciting experience and I’m grateful to Saffery Champness for giving me the opportunity to study while working for them.’

Head of business and economics at the Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre, Neale McCarley, said: ‘The scheme was designed to provide a number of talented young people on the island with the opportunity to gain a sound understanding of accountancy and start their journey into the world of work. Due to the generous funding of local firms like Saffery Champness, we have been able to offer this opportunity to eight students and with this continued support we hope to make the scheme available to more students in the future.’

Audit partner at Saffery Champness, Jeremy Ellis, said: ‘We are proud to be offering Henrietta and Carter the opportunity to gain their FiA qualification.

As a firm we have a strong culture of supporting the learning and development of our employees by providing opportunities to develop their professional technical abilities. We wish them every success as they embark on their careers in accounting with Saffery Champness and look forward to aiding their professional development.’

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CH AN N E L IS L AN D S N EWS

agent. The PIF dispenses with the formal requirement for information particulars such as a prospectus in recognition of that relationship, significantly reducing the cost and processing time of launching of a fund.

New financial product for Guernsey Guernsey has introduced a Private Investment Fund (PIF) regime which provides fund managers with greater flexibility and simplicity.

The PIF, which was developed in response to market demand by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) in consultation with the island’s £247 billion funds industry, recognises that certain investment funds are characterised by a relationship between management and investors that is closer than that of a typical

The PIF, which can be either closed or open-ended, should contain no more than 50 legal or natural persons holding an economic interest in the fund. A key strength of the product is that, where an appropriate agent is acting for a wider group of stakeholders such as a discretionary investment manager or a trustee or manager of an occupational pension scheme, that agent may be considered as one investor.

While there is a limit imposed on the number of investors in the PIF, no attempt has been made to limit the number of investors to whom the PIF might be marketed – a feature not available under comparable regimes.

The development of the PIF follows closely on the heels of the launch of Guernsey’s Manager Led Product (MLP), a regime designed in light of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which places the regulatory burden on the manager and not the fund.

Funds lawyer and Carey Olsen partner Ben Morgan welcomed the island’s recent product launches.

competition law may have been contravened by the arrangement.

The law in Jersey prohibits any agreement that restricts competition by fixing prices, limiting output, sharing markets, customers or sources of supply locally.

CICRA to investigate arrangement between airlines

Prior to 6 June 2016, Blue Islands and Flybe operated passenger air transport services between Jersey and Guernsey. Each also operated flights between Jersey and a number of other destinations. Blue Islands and Flybe operated under their own brands, set their own prices, carried out their own marketing and determined their own schedules.

The Channel Islands Competition and Regulatory Authorities (CICRA) will launch a formal investigation into arrangements between Flybe and Blue Islands announced last year.

Since the agreement came into effect on 6 June 2016 Blue Islands appears to have been operating services on terms that may have restricted competitive choices, including schedules and which routes the competitors can fly.

CICRA has come to the view that there is reasonable cause to suspect the Jersey

CICRA sent the two airlines an open letter in September 2016 asking the airlines to set

‘The MLP regime, recently introduced by the GFSC, will be tremendously useful once the third country passport is extended to Guernsey. In the meantime, this new PIF regime will be a fantastic boost for the Guernsey funds industry across all asset classes for the institutional investor fund market. The one-day fund registration turnaround by the GFSC will be a draw as will the absence of specific disclosure requirements.’

‘Institutional funds domiciled in Guernsey have enjoyed extraordinary growth, with tens of billions of pounds being raised by Guernsey funds over the course of the last six months. The PIF regime will undoubtedly generate further excitement and interest in Guernsey from a whole range of new and existing fund managers. It sends out a clear message that Guernsey is well and truly open for business.’

Guernsey Investment Fund Association (GIFA) chairman Andrew Whittaker, said: ‘The PIF is a fantastic addition to the Guernsey funds suite, which alongside the MLP allows a quick regulatory turnaround.

It ensures fund managers have a choice of products to meet theirs and their investor’s needs in the ever-changing global landscape. This product should prove particularly attractive to sub threshold managers under the AIFMD.’

out how a reduction in competition through cooperating rather than competing has delivered a net benefit to local consumers.

Both airlines responded and since that time CICRA has been considering the most appropriate next steps.

CICRA chief executive, Michael Byrne said; ‘We only initiate formal action as a last resort when other options have been exhausted.

The level of interest that our open letter generated also confirms just how important strong reliable air links are to the Channel Islands.

‘Having considered the information available to us, including the airlines’ responses to our open letter we have concluded that there is reasonable cause to suspect that there may have been a contravention of competition law.’

The Guernsey competition law exempts the airline sector from scrutiny which prevents CICRA from undertaking a similar investigation there.

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Business DIARY Coming up‌ A few key business events for your diaries January

Date

Event

Time

Venue

Booking / Information

11 Jan

Jersey Chamber of Commerce lunch Sponsored by Barclays

12.30 - 2.30pm

Pomme D’Or Hotel

www.jerseychambertickets.com

12 Jan Guernsey Speed Buzzing 6.30 - 8.00pm

16 Jan Guernsey Chamber of Commerce lunch 12 - 2.00pm

Sponsored by Stanley Gibbons

Le Petit Bistro www.thebusybeehives.com

OGH Hotel www.guernseychamber.com

19 Jan

Guernsey Chamber of Commerce 6.15 - 10.30pm St Pierre Park Hotel annual dinner

www.guernseychamber.com

25 Jan

Big Data and Data Science

www.digital.je

5.00- 6.00pm

Digital Jersey

February

Date

Event

Time

Venue

7 Feb

Guernsey Awards for Achievement

6.30 - 11.30pm

Beau Sejour Leisure Centre www.awards.gg

8 Feb

Jersey Chamber of Commerce lunch 12.30 - 2.30pm Royal Yacht Hotel Sponsored by ZEDRA

16 Feb Guernsey YBG Annual Launch 6.00 - 8.00pm

20 Feb Guernsey Chamber of Commerce lunch 12 - 2.00pm

Sponsored by Stanley Gibbons 28 Feb

Jersey Speed Buzzing

8.00 - 9.30am

Booking / Information

www.jerseychambertickets.com

Urban Kitchen

social@ybg.gg

OGH Hotel

www.guernseychamber.com

The Club Hotel & Spa

www.thebusybeehives.com

If you would like your event included in our diary please email details to editor@collaboratecommunications.com

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JERSEY CHAMBER NEWS

How Chamber works Gillian Martindale-Parsons, senior executive manager, Jersey Chamber of Commerce explains.

I’m often asked what it’s like heading up the Chamber of Commerce on a day-to-day basis. My answer is simple, no one day is ever the same and I love being in a position to really help shine a torch on areas of legislation that cause issues for our members. In short it’s wonderful being a part of an organisation whose primary motive is to instigate positive change for the benefit of the business community.

To give you an example of what one typical day at Chamber consists of, my to-do list on the day of writing this copy was as follows; attend two sub-committee meetings (building & development and HR), attend a meeting about the new GDPR (General Data Protection Legislation) with a view to how we can inform our members of the changes, write four pages of copy (for this publication) write an open letter to government, design an advert highlighting the benefits of being a member, hold a team meeting about our 2017 calendar of events, respond to a media request for comment and anything else that popped up.

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The Chamber office is a constant hive of activity but I expect you’d be surprised to know there are only three people employed

by Chamber, myself, and two part-time members of staff, Lisa Hamon our executive assistant and Hayley Mallet our events and marketing manager. Everyone else, including our president, vice president and sub-committee members are voluntary and give their time freely for the betterment of the business community.

As part of my role I try to meet at least two member organisations every week, to thank them for their continued support, update them on the work Chamber is doing on their behalf and learn more about their business.

With circa 550 members, it’s going to take me a while to get round everyone but to all our members reading this, please know Chamber does appreciate your membership and without your support we couldn’t do half the work we do.

At these member meetings I’m always surprised at how few members actually know about the inner workings of Chamber and so I wanted to take this opportunity to explain how Chamber works.

Finance HR Retail & supply Transport & tourism • Each sub-committee has roughly 10 – 15 members, made up of experts from within those fields.

•

The sub-committees meet either once a month, every other month or once a quarter and discuss issues such as newly proposed or changes to existing legislation, government reports, consultations and wider economic issues, such as Brexit.

•

I sit on each of those sub-committees and then feed the information to our president and vice-president (Kristina Le Feuvre and Eliot Lincoln, respectively), who I meet with on a weekly basis.

•

The three of us then regularly meet with the chief minister and government ministers to update them with the concerns of our business community.

There are six sub-committees

Due to our membership being so substantial and varied across all sectors of the economy I’m pleased to say government is keen to listen to what Chamber members have to say.

Building & development Digital

Long may this continue.

The Jersey Chamber of Commerce is the largest business membership forum in Jersey, representing businesses of all sizes.

Become a Chamber Of Commerce Member Member benefits: - Access to the most effective business networking community in the island, with regular networking events attended by more than 4,000 senior business people annually - Discounted Chamber Event tickets - ‘New Member’ promotion in Contact Magazine - Weekly communications, with links to the latest government reports & consultations that affect business - Dedicated Member email address listen@jerseychamber.com, to raise individual business concerns - Business listing on the Chamber website - Reduced rates on business services including obtaining Certificates of Origin & Letters of Credit - Member to Member discount offers - Reduced rate meeting room hire

For more information on membership please contact the Chamber Executive Team.

01534 724 536 | admin@jerseychamber.com

www.jerseychamber.com

2017 dirty dozen 12 New Year wishes for government For the second year in a row as president Kristina Le Feuvre, with the assistance of the executive committee (made up of the chairs of each of the sub-committees) and Chamber members, has produced Chamber’s dirty dozen for 2017!

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2

A grown up debate on the population in 2017. We cannot continue to avoid the question in case the answer is unpalatable. We need key indicators with which to plan for the future.

One from last year that we would like to re-visit would be a fair GST system for local businesses. Off-island companies get enough of a tax break so let’s play fair this time!

3

Test it out before you throw it about!

Test processes, documentation, policies and systems before they are implemented. Failure to do so is detrimental to all, a waste of money for government and businesses and a barrier to business growth.

4

Take the lead on a robust cyber security policy. This is one of the island’s biggest threats but could also be one of the island’s strongest selling points to new businesses.

5

Target five meaningful eGov improvements over the next 12 months.

Make them bold and beautiful, and market leading. Let’s not talk percentages but successful projects.

6 If you need a consultant, buy local!

Should the first opportunity to tender be given to local, tax paying businesses?

7 If you do hire a consultant, listen to their advice!

8

Create a proactive communication strategy. Go digital and ensure the island hears the positive and not only negative news. Find a way of communicating better with the public and let us celebrate achievement as well as failure.

9 Sort out licensing arrangements, to make it easier for those who drink sensibly to have a tipple or two.

10 Wait until March 2018 before any electioneering begins!

11 Review third party planning appeals, ensuring the merits of each appeal.

12 Our 12th and final wish would be to cut red tape and allow businesses to get on with the business of doing business!

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J ER S EY C HA MBE R NE WS

Sub-committees

Building & development Cathy Eliot, chair - director, Eliot Design Partnership.

1 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL).

The committee has major concerns regarding the introduction of this potential new levy, which will affect anyone wishing to develop/improve premises or land.

The committee intends to challenge the new levy if brought forward.

2 Health & safety policy. Seek clarity from government regarding the new H&S legislation, which is causing a great amount of concern and confusion within the industry, due to the lack of consistent advice and awareness of the legislation caused by misinformation and lack of coherent guidance.

3 Appeals system & planning fees.

Continue to lobby government to implement changes to the appeals system.

Review planning fees as they continue to increase without consultation, despite being the most expensive in the UK and Channel Islands and highlight industry concerns that the fees are preventing some development plans from moving forward.

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Digital

Finance

Eliot Lincoln, chair & vice president, Chamber of Commerce MD Greenlight.

Neil McCluskey, chair - head of local business banking & offshore corporates, Barclays International.

1 Help represent/articulate the views of the Jersey business community of what issues/support it needs to maximise the economic growth and minimise the economic risk of a changing business world that is being driven by digital innovation.

1 Brexit. Monitor government and States negotiations in order to ensure that Jersey is at the forefront of UK EU negotiations.

2 Help spread the word back to the Jersey business community of the value of embracing digital innovation both to grow and protect income.

3 To be a collective thought leader, encouraging debate, opinion and momentum on key issues relevant to the development of Jersey’s digital sector.

Facilitate updates between government and commerce, to ensure all sectors of the business community are kept abreast of the latest developments.

2 Cyber security/digital. To develop a strong relationship with the JFSC regarding best practice re cyber breaches and feed information back to Chamber members.

3 To have impactful relationships with key ministers and States officials to ensure the finance committee and in turn Chamber members are fully briefed on relevant issues.

J E RS E Y CH AM B E R N E W S

As well as each of our sub-committees responding to current business issues, they each have a set of pro-active goals for the year, which act as overarching targets that will be of benefit to members and the wider business community.

HR

Retail & supply

Transport & Tourism

Kelly Flageul, chair - MD, Law At Work (Channel Islands) Limited.

Mark Cox, chair - COO, The Channel Islands Co-operative Society Limited.

Andy Jehan, chair - director of operations, Jersey Post.

1 To work together with decision-makers to influence policy decisions and new legislation ensuring the interests of retailers are represented to support a viable and sustainable retail industry.

Seek to engage and influence on issues that remain important to consumers and retail and supply businesses such as parking provision, the Future of St Helier and the impact of further ‘user pays’ revenue generation by the States.

1 Continue to monitor the ferry and air services provided to the islands with regular dialogue with carriers and Ports of Jersey with particular reference to capacity, cost and service provision.

2 To work with government and other key stakeholders in a consultative and co-operative manner to develop and influence a suitable retail strategy for Jersey. Thereafter work on an appropriate plan for the delivery of the strategy.

3 Engage with the Future St Helier initiatives, in particular, any proposed changes to parking and or vehicle access to town.

1 Remind the appropriate States departments of the issues that our members face daily with regard to population consent for registered and licensed staff, to ensure that commercial as well financial objectives are considered and consistency of the immigration policy is applied.

2 To participate actively in consultation papers for the new disability discrimination law and disability strategy to ensure that our members’ views are taken into account.

3 To liaise with the social security minister in relation to her new proposals for phase two of the family friendly legislation.

2 Continue to work with Visit Jersey and Events Jersey to monitor their progress towards the objectives and specific initiatives detailed within their destination plan.

3 Working with the media and other stakeholders to raise the profile of the retail industry in Jersey, encouraging initiatives in training and adopting the latest technology for all sectors of the industry, encouraging excellence and high standards.

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J E R S E Y N E W ME MBE RS

TDS Ltd TDS Ltd is a well established contract work wear clothing company that has traded for 10 years.

Mercari Loci Limited

The company’s technicians use print, embroidery or sublimation techniques for garment decoration, and are able to create a logo, at no cost, or use customers’ own artwork to suit. Its Directors have 25 years’ experience in the garment trade.

With a customer base that covers States departments, hospitality, leisure, service industries and major sports bodies in the

islands (as well as local charities), TDS prides itself on friendly excellent customer service, offers free delivery and is open weekdays from 7.00am to 6.00pm.

Mercari Loci Limited, established by Andrew Ozouf and Nigel Quérée, has launched a local online marketplace called Search Jersey.

A local directory of products, often at prices that match or beat popular internet sites.

Search Jersey will enable customers to just search for a product and find it locally, saying ‘Double check - search Jersey first’.

With over £250 million being spent online by Jersey people, Search Jersey offers local vendors the opportunity to enhance their sales online: free to join and no monthly fees.

Established in Jersey since 2003, State Street employs c170 local funds, banking and custody professionals.

State Street Jersey Limited

ternevents ternevents is a boutique event, party and wedding planning, Jersey based company.

Isabela’s at The Union Inn 16

The operating model in Jersey utilises the technology, product, asset class knowledge and expertise available in State Street’s centres of excellence world-wide giving capacity at all levels, and the ability to service complex funds and structures across real estate, private equity, debt, fund of funds and

Tel: 01534 498849 or mobile 07797 717944.

Email: tdsltd@outlook.com www.tdsjersey.com

Tel: 01543 780080 Email: admin@searchjersey.je www.searchjersey.je

hybrid funds. With c $70bn AUA and 23% market share provides services to its sophisticated PE, RE and traditional (bond/ equity) fund structures. State Street also provides full banking and treasury solutions as well as being a global custodian with AIFMD support as needed.

Tel: 01534 609678 Email: nigel.hill@ais.statestreet.com www.statestreet.com

Specialising in providing full, luxury wedding and party planning and events management services for astute Jersey based clients and across the globe, ternevents has gained a reputation for designing, planning and delivering superb events to time and to budget, whilst making the whole process fun for all involved.

ternevents is happy to work with clients’ teams, PAs, families or whomsoever they wish to bring their ideal event to fruition.

Isabela’s Restaurant at The Union Inn in St Helier offers ‘the finest homemade traditional excellent food and Mediterranean specialities in Jersey.

The home delivery service is the perfect way to enjoy homemade pub food at home with family and friends at great value prices.

10% discount on the food bill for members of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce.

Isabela’s is especially proud of its great value menus, which are packed with everything from tasty grills to crunchy salads, including plenty of choices from the Portuguese menu.

Tel: 01534 747959 Email sandy@ternevents.com www.ternevents.com

Tel: 01534 864692 Email: unionpub1@hotmail.com www.isabelasrestaurant.co.uk

J E RS E Y CH AM B E R E V ENT S

January 2017 Chamber lunch Title: ‘Creating an education system that strengthens Jersey’s economy’ Speaker: Justin Donovan, chief education officer, States of Jersey Education Department Date: Wednesday 11 January Venue: The Pomme D’Or Hotel Timings: 12:30-14:30 Overview: Justin Donovan will discuss how the

February 2017 Chamber lunch Title: ‘Diversify or Die: because businesses are not protected species’ Speaker: Dr Lesley Dickie, CEO, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Date: Wednesday 8 February Venue: The Royal Yacht Hotel Timings: 12:30-14:30 Overview: Dr Lesley Dickie will discuss the complexity of running a visitor attraction that is also a

Education Department is educating and shaping the future workforce of Jersey. He will focus on how education should prepare all young people for adulthood and the world of work, with particular focus on preparing Jersey’s students for the digital world of the future.

Event Sponsor: Barclays Wine Sponsor: Dunell’s Premier Wines Coffee Sponsor: Cooper & Co Jersey

About the Speaker: Justin Donovan’s teaching career took him to West Sussex, Ealing and Richmond.

He became a senior education officer, responsible for raising standards in the East End of London. Before taking up his current post in Jersey, he was director of education for Hertfordshire for 10 years.

He has significant experience as an Ofsted inspector, leading inspections across the

IN BUSINESS

charity, discussing how she balances both aims and considers the challenges in income. She will also cover how Durrell measures both financial and mission impact, examining how to get the line to progress upwards for both.

About the Speaker: Dr Dickie began her career in zoos at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland as a records and zoo keeper at Edinburgh Zoo. After completing field work in Madagascar and finishing her doctorate she began working at the Zoological Society of London, latterly as the zoo conservation programme manager. From 2008 to 2014 Lesley was the executive director of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria,

Chamber lunch dates 2017 Wed 8th March

The Radisson Blu

Wed 19th April

The Pomme D’Or

Wed 10th May

The Radisson Blu

Wed 14th June

The Royal Yacht

UK and training and assessing UK school inspectors.

Wed 12th July

The Pomme D’Or

Wed 13th September

The Royal Yacht

Wed 11th October

The Radisson Blu

Wed 8th November

The Pomme D’Or

Wed 13th December

The Royal Yacht

based in Amsterdam, bringing in a number of strategic changes, particularly in developing a closer working relationship with the IUCN, as well as launching a research journal and training academy.

Event Sponsor: ZEDRA Wine Sponsor: Dunell’s Premier Wines Coffee Sponsor: Cooper & Co Jersey

For more information or to book tickets or corporate tables online for any of our events please visit: www.jerseychambertickets.com.

For more information about any of our events or for any queries contact: Hayley Mallet, events and marketing manager hayley.mallet@jerseychamber.com or call a member of the Jersey Chamber executive team on 01534 724536.

17

VIEWPOINT WITH RICHARD DIGARD

‘Gesture independence’ will hold back meaningful Guernsey-Jersey cooperation Closer inter-island working is now officially a priority for the governments of Jersey and Guernsey and a six-point plan has been announced to facilitate the process. Well, it’s a start, acknowledges Richard Digard – but where’s the vision?

Towards the end of last year, Guernsey’s chief minister was in Jersey addressing the Institute of Directors on the theme of ‘working better together’, picking up on the well-worn theme of joint CI cooperation.

I say well-worn because I don’t think we’ve had a chief minister who hasn’t spoken warmly about the benefits and the Absolute

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Necessity of greater cooperation.

Jersey’s Frank Walker, when he was in the same position, came up with a 10- or 11-point plan, which his Guernsey counterpart promptly screwed up and threw in the bin as soon as the cameras were turned off at the end of the press call.

So any cynicism you might detect at this stage is simply borne of experience and an

earnest desire to be proved wrong.

In fairness, Gavin St Pier gave a frank and honest assessment of the benefits of closer working when he spoke to the IoD and I have no doubt that the work being done by the joint pan-island working party will lead to some tangible cooperation.

That said, it was telling the example he chose

Having worked within a pan-island organisation, and again as a taxpayer, am I bothered whether I have a chief executive of the States of Guernsey or a resident deputy chief executive of the CI Governmental Authority? was a joint Medical Officer of Health. Why? Because it’s not much of a political sacrifice.

Actually, I’ll go further. In Guernsey, there is a lot of political hostility towards the MoH because he (they have yet to appoint a she) is independent and produces an annual report that infuriates deputies for pointing out their deficiencies: poor housing causing health problems; increasing deprivation; worrying levels of child abuse.

‘Unless there is an increase of wages for the lower paid, which does not seem likely currently, then the only way of counteracting this situation is through redistribution of income through the taxation and benefits services,’ he said on one occasion.

You don’t need that level of interference, do you? No, a joint MoH is not so much a hard-fought giveaway as a troublesome priest despatched.

And that’s really my point: significant cooperation will come only when taxpayers’ interests are put first and political vanity second. And for that to happen, Guernsey is likely to be the ‘loser’.

Deputy St Pier mentioned the duplication of management (and therefore waste) with each island running their ports separately but, if merged, where would a new CI Ports Authority be headquartered? Where would the power and influence rest?

From a Guernsey perspective, the fear has always been that Jersey would dominate merged services and, therefore, the politicians there would in some way be diminished.

It’s not an especially statesman-like argument, I agree, but over the years these things have been tremendously important and, depressingly, the ports example was quoted to me in the last couple of months as a reason to be wary of cooperation.

As it happens, I agree with Deputy St Pier that ‘Guernsey and Jersey must do more together’ and that’s for two reasons.

Firstly, we do not have the money to waste

on what you might term pointless gesture independence. Secondly, if you were starting from scratch, you certainly wouldn’t put in place the structures we currently have.

So if both islands are reforming their public sectors and making them fit for purpose in today’s world, the cooperation approach has to be visionary (again, to pinch a word from Guernsey’s chief minister).

As a taxpayer, I’m looking for satisfactory public services, available on demand and at a demonstrably economic price. Who provides them, or where the boss is based, is pretty irrelevant.

Do I care where the political control rests?

Only if or when something goes wrong or if the service is unfairly and visibly weighted in favour of the other island. Can those considerations be overcome? Certainly.

Having worked within a pan-island organisation, and again as a taxpayer, am I bothered whether I have a chief executive of the States of Guernsey or a resident deputy chief executive of the CI Governmental Authority?

Plus, creating a new employer like that would provide an opportunity to introduce contracts fit for today and (in Guernsey’s case) end the nonsense of having to deal with 14 individual and over-influential trades unions.

So if you start at the top like that, a single body providing policing and customs and border control is a no-brainer and potentially a warm-up exercise for merging additional parts of the civil services.

Health, I grant you, is more of a challenge because the systems in the islands are so different. But it also provides a perfect opportunity to look at best in class arrangements elsewhere and, in effect, start from scratch.

Whether that’s through a streamlined version of what we have now or outsourcing the running of the health service and hospitals to BUPA or the University Hospital Southampton NHS

Foundation Trust is also largely irrelevant.

Why? Because Southampton already looks after 1.9 million people. It provides specialist services such as neurosciences, cardiac and children’s intensive care to more than 3.7 million people in central southern England – and the Channel Islands – while the combined 170,000 population of these islands is only marginally more than the number of inpatients and day patients it treats every year.

In other words, we’re tiny and the focus should be on the quality, timeliness and cost of the services we consume and not where they’re headquartered.

Deputy St Pier, and by extension I assume the joint working forum, has put forward an imminently practical and sensible six-point plan for closer working. It is deliverable but not aspirational. It’s politically achievable but not ground-breaking.

As such, I don’t criticise where it’s coming from or the commitment to it from those involved. But it tacitly acknowledges the argument I’m making here: true joint working is a long way off.

And that’s because it’s a hard political sell given narrow departmental (self ) interests and, in Guernsey’s case, the impossibility of providing effective leadership or direction in a consensus government.

Perhaps we shouldn’t care and instead be pleased someone’s trying to make incremental but achievable change.

Well, yes, but I can’t shake off the feeling that in a few years’ time the next generation will be shaking its collective head and asking: ‘why didn’t you…?’

Just like the rest of us have been saying for the last 30 years.

Richard Digard is a local writer and commentator, keen voyeur of local politics and former editor of the Guernsey Press.

All views expressed are his own.

19

GUERNSEY CHAMBER NEWS

Welcome to Linsey Chamber is delighted to announce that Linsey Jenkins has joined the executive team, replacing Nicole Bromley who recently left us for pastures new.

Linsey is originally from South Africa and emigrated to Guernsey with her family in 2006. She attended Ladies’ College where she gained A-levels in English Literature, ICT, Economics and Afrikaans (the first Ladies’ College student to take this subject – maybe even the first in the island). She then returned to her native country to the University of Stellenbosch where she graduated with BA in International Relations in 2012.

Shortlists announced Chamber is delighted to see so many of its members on the shortlists for the 2016 Guernsey Awards for Achievement.

Barry Cash, Chamber director commented: ‘This event showcases the successes of our business community as well as the incredible diversity and range of companies and services offered in the island. On behalf of Chamber I would like to congratulate all shortlisted organisations and look forward to a great evening on 9 February.’

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On completing her degree, Linsey returned to Guernsey and driven by her passion for the subject, helped establish the Protect Foundation. During her time with Protect, Linsey worked to raise local awareness of global human trafficking, speaking at schools, churches, businesses and societies on Guernsey In 2014 Linsey joined the marketing team at Specsavers Optical Group Ltd, assisting in local planning and implementation of marketing strategies.

She has now joined Guernsey Chamber as head of client services and will be primarily looking after the Chamber memberships and helping out with events as well as supporting the wide variety of tasks and

Committee for Economic Development Guernsey Business of the Year Award Aon Insurance Managers (Guernsey) Le Mont Saint Garage Vets4Pets Excellence in Marketing Award Black Vanilla States of Guernsey The Guernsey Literary Festival BWCI Innovation Award Offshore FCG 1st CENTRAL Galaxy Computer Brokers

projects in which the small team of three gets involved.

John O’Neill, Chamber’s head of business development, welcomed Linsey to the team: ‘We are delighted that Linsey has joined us.

It’s exciting to have a new member of staff who I know will bring a new set of skills and new experience to add to the mix. As the new head of client services Linsey is now the key contact for our membership. I am sure the natural enthusiasm Linsey brings will be a real asset to Chamber and I look forward to working with her.’

In her spare time Linsey enjoys cycling, reading, watching films and making full use of the scenic cliff paths that island life has to offer.

Investec Sustainability Award Bijoux Boutique Galaxy Computer Brokers Condor Ferries Employer of the Year Award.

Sure Vets4Pets NatWest Best Small Business Award Bijoux Boutique Kings Beauty Avril Earl Dance & Theatre Arts Centre The winners of the 2016 Guernsey Awards for Achievement will be announced at the Gala Awards Evening on Thursday 9 February 2017 at Beau Sejour.

G U E RN S E Y CH AM B E R NEWS

In the spotlight with Rachel Richardson

Over the next few issues we are going to introduce you to some of our newer Council members.

For this issue we caught up with Rachel Richardson who joined Chamber last year.

What made you want to join Chamber Council?

‘I joined Council because I wanted to broaden my horizons in the Guernsey business world and get more actively involved. I have spent a number of years as part of the local legal community sitting on various committees in that specific sector.

Whilst I have got alot out of that experience greatly, Chamber allows me to step outside of the legal world, get a broader perspective on Guernsey’s business community as a whole and develop a better understanding of issues

that affect our various industries to a greater or lesser extent.

What sub groups do you sit on?

I am a member of the legal, tax & impact investing committee and I head up the renewal energy committee which I am really enjoying.

We hope that Guernsey will (in the not too distant future) be able to acquire green status on a par with jurisdictions like Denmark and Switzerland. We have no excuse really – we have an abundance of natural energy around us and we’re small enough to implement energy efficiency more easily than most. Being awarded that level of global status would be fantastic for the island.

Why is it important to get younger people involved in Chamber?

Chamber (and business) is ever evolving and we want to make sure we’re always moving in the right direction for the good of the business community and Guernsey as a whole. Input from young people is just as vital in this process as from more senior members of the community. The young professionals of today are of course the senior professionals and leaders of tomorrow so involving them in key debates early in their careers is vital.

What particular skills/contribution do you think you bring to Council I’m a lawyer for my day job and so will bring these skills/knowledge to the table wherever I can. I also recently headed up the Guernsey International Legal Association through which we brought several high profile individuals, such as Cherie Booth, Lord Woolf and Shami Chakrabarti to the island to talk to the legal community. I hope to be able to replicate these successes for the wider business community through Chamber and my role on Council.

And when you get any free time?

I like to take my lovely dog for long rambling walks, chill out with yoga (or SUP in the summer), eat steak and drink red wine!

And given half a chance I quite like to sing (plug for recently formed and very amateur Chamber band with Martyn Dorey and John O’Neill!).

And something that people might be surprised to know about you?

I’n really good at accent! Next time you see me put me to the test.

And, even more random...there is currently a very large picture of me having a picnic, on a billboard at Southampton airport.

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GU ER NS EY C HA MBE R NE WS

Have you booked your place yet?

As members are aware, Chamber has a new format for the annual dinner. The event has had a bit of a makeover and in its new format will feature two speakers as well as a panel discussion on key issues affecting the local business community. The new look event is a fabulous opportunity for members to have their voice heard.

The headline address will be from Will Walden, who up until the 23 June 2016 was the chief of communications and policy advisor for Boris Johnson. If you didn’t see his article in the last issue of Contact you can find it online via the Chamber website. It’s a good read and give fascinating insight into Will’s time working with Boris.

Joining Will on stage will be Dr Adam Marshall, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce.

Guernsey needs to continue to develop and diversify its business landscape as the United Kingdom negotiates its exit from the European Union. Guernsey is not part of either but how it trades with companies and organisations across Great Britain and Europe will have multiple and serious ramifications for the growth and continued health of the local economy, the employment of islanders and the education of the future generations.

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Who better to look into the crystal ball than Dr Adam Marshall.

Adam was appointed director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) in October 2016. His principal role is to represent and champion the interests of accredited Chambers of Commerce and their tens of thousands of business members – covering every size and sector of business, and employing over five million people in the UK. Previously, Adam served as the BCC’s executive director for policy and external affairs (July 2009 – March 2016), and as acting director general (March – October 2016) Adam initially took on the role on an Acting basis following the resignation of John Longworth in March 2016, and was appointed to the role on a permanent basis following a robust recruitment process.

Prior to joining BCC, Adam helped start up the Centre for Cities, built commercial links between industry and universities, and worked in the broadcast media. He holds a BA from Yale University and MPhil and PhD degrees from the University of Cambridge.

Adam is a national of the United Kingdom and the USA. Francis Martin, president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) was delighted that Adam was appointed to the role: ‘Adam is the outstanding choice to lead the BCC, at a time when the views of business have never been more important. Adam has a detailed knowledge of the Chamber

network and a strong understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing Chamber members across the country.

At a time of great political and economic uncertainty, I am confident that Adam has the ability and passion to enable the BCC to thrive under his leadership.’

And Adam added: ‘At this time of national transition and change, BCC will ensure that the diverse voices of business are heard - regardless of size, sector, region or nation. We will act to ensure that British businesses get every opportunity to grow and thrive, both here at home and across the world. And we will stand up for the many thousands of dedicated Chamber member companies who combine the best features of business and deep local commitment.’

Attendees are in for a treat with such an eminent line up of speakers and Chamber is looking forward to welcoming you there and to enjoying another successful event.

EVENT DETAILS Time & Date: 19 Jan 2017 6:15pm - 10:30pm Venue: St Pierre Park Hotel Price: £70 Per Person or £650 for a table of ten TO BOOK Tel: 728686 Email: emy@eventguernsey.com

G U E RN S E Y CH AM B E R N EWS

New event for this year As well as refreshing the format of our annual dinner, Chamber is also set to host an ‘expo-style’ event this year.

Details are still under discussion but the event is likely to take place in September or October 2017. For those who attended ‘Digital Guernsey’ in 2014 held at Castle

Keeping it local We are delighted to announce that this issue of Contact – aside from being the first pan island Chamber issue – is the first to be printed locally since the publishing was taken on by Collaborate Communications.

The Collaborate team, after seeking quotes

Cornet and hosted by BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones, this is the next step. The format will combine exhibition areas, plenary sessions and discussions with an impressive line up of speakers already in the pipeline.

The event will be an opportunity to showcase the latest technology innovations and developments and will bring together thought leaders and industry specialists to discuss what’s on the horizon in the digital landscape.

Barry Cash, Chamber director said: ‘This will be a ‘must see’ event which will place Guernsey firmly on the digital map. We already have some high calibre speakers interested in participating and the event will be a fantastic opportunity to push the boundaries in terms of how the island might benefit from latest innovations.’

More information will be available soon – watch this space!

from Jersey, Guernsey and UK companies, has been able to negotiate and secure a deal with local firm Colour Monster. Barry Cash, director of Chamber commented: ‘The magazine has been printed in the UK for the last three years due to a fairly substantial price differential. I am obviously delighted that a local company has secured the contract with Collaborate and that the business is staying in the island.’

Do it direct A note to members to remind you that you can now pay your membership fees via direct debit.

Please contact us on 727483 or email office@guernseychamber.com for more information.

Join Chamber today the voice of local business

Business support; networking events; business advice; business events; liaison with States departments; new interactive website.

Email: office@guernseychamber.com Tel: 01481 727 483

www.guernseychamber.com

@GuernseyChamber

GuernseyChamber

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G U E R N S E Y N E W ME MBE RS

Guernsey Employment Trust The Guernsey Employment Trust (GET) creates employment opportunities for disabled and disadvantaged people and assists them to prepare for, find, and maintain work in the local labour market

The service is designed to address the employment needs of not only disabled people but also to support local employers and the disability community.

GET can provide employers with a free professional recruitment service as well as provide advice, training and long-term support. Employers will be able to access untapped labour resources and will be able to enhance diversity within the workplace.

The recent appointment of an employer

Floral Guernsey was formed over 20 years ago as an extension of the States Tourist Board to promote floral events throughout the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

A change in focus saw the formation of the Floral Guernsey council, an independent organisation run almost entirely by volunteers and funded by a combination of States Grants, through Culture and Leisure and private sponsorship.

Floral Guernsey

Floral Guernsey is responsible for the Floral Community Competition, which is part of

thebestof Guernsey

It offers businesses an effective low-cost online presence with a host of other marketing initiatives and champions members to the community as loudly as possible.

thebestof Guernsey is an award winning marketing solution provider passionate about promoting and marketing the best businesses and events on the island, with exclusive special offers for all registered members.

The company encourages consumers to provide reviews for those local businesses that deserve support, and would encourage businesses to get in touch if they believe they should be featured as one of the best.

GB Consult is a digital marketing consultancy designed to offer bespoke, innovative and actionable digital insight to all business types and sizes.

GB Consult 24

Founded by George Bett in 2016 the concept is simple, to encourage all businesses to utilise the digital space and take advantage of the numerous benefits it offers.

disability advisor means that GET can support employers to be one step ahead of the forthcoming local disability legislation by advising on how to adopt good working practices.

If you would like to offer employment opportunities, please contact GET. Tel: 01481 247999 Email: Nicola.Ioannou.D@get.org.gg www. www.get.org.gg

the national RHS Britain in Bloom competition. It also works closely with schools to help educate young people through the Little Green Fingers project; it works to enhance public areas through legacy projects, and organises three festival weeks a year which offer gardening workshops, walks and talks, open gardens, family activities and expert advice.

Tel: 01481 701544 Email: patjohnson@floralguernsey.co.uk www.floralguernsey.co.uk

Services include: website feature; reviews; special offers; events; brand awareness; social media; blogs; newsletters; review cards; commercial photos; video; buses; online banners; certificates; networking events; campaigns; Facebook re-marketing; monthly competitions; mix and match; support and advice.

Tel: 07781 122852 Email: guernsey@thebestof.co.uk www.thebestof.co.uk/local/guernsey

GB Consult offers expert guidance in all digital disciplines including Search, Email, Social and Content.

Tel: 07439 700323 Email: george@gbc.gg www.gbc.gg

G U E RN S E Y N E W M E MB ER S

AP Group AP Group is one of the world’s leading offshore recruitment firms, with over 26 years of experience in specialist recruitment consultancy.

Intuitive

Established in Guernsey in 1990, AP Group has firmly established itself as a market leader and expanded to Jersey, Nicosia, Limassol, London, Geneva, Zurich, Luxembourg, Toronto and Singapore.

Operating in more than 55 international jurisdictions. AP’s divisions, specialise in recruitment for wealth management, trust, legal, executive level finance (AP Executive), IT and telecoms (AP Technical), mid level finance/commercial placements

(AP Personnel) and oil & gas (AP Global Energy). We also provide a selection of HR services to clients, including salary guides, payroll services and HR administration. As a member of the recruitment governing body, APSCo, we are committed to ensuring the highest standards of professional services.

Intuitive Ltd is a website design, build and hosting agency, based in the High Street (just above Mountain Warehouse).

running on Microsoft Windows servers with Internet Information server and SQL server.

Intuitive also has its own wholly owned and managed ultra-high availability/secure data centres for hosting, and provides all surrounding digital marketing services.

Intuitive designs websites of all types and sizes, but has particular expertise in building the more bespoke/technical websites, as opposed to relying on off-the-shelf/ templated tools. The company’s core technical skillset is ASP.NET/MVC websites,

Regular direct flights to Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) are available with Aurigny, connecting Guernsey with Yorkshire throughout the year.

Leeds Bradford Airport

Midshore Consulting Midshore Consulting was founded by Christopher Jehan in September 2016 after a 23 year career in finance.

Unlike other financial consultants, it offers a full business package including project management and marketing solutions.

The route launched in 2016 and is popular with both business and leisure passengers, providing quick and convenient air connectivity between the two regions.

Tel: 01481 715757 Email: info@apgroupglobal.com www.apgroupglobal.com

Tel: 01481 716699 Email: hello@intuitive.gg www.intuitive.gg

Centre and is central within the Leeds City Region – with York, Bradford and Harrogate also close by.

LBA has just had its busiest year ever, with 3.5m passengers travelling through in the last 12 months.

Tel: 0871 288 2288 www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk

LBA is located just few miles from Leeds City

Services include:

events as well as our RE:Finance programme

• Project management, for all sectors/requirements

• FinTech advice, industry partnerships and more

• Business services, start up advice, growth tactics, restructuring, administration and more • Regulation and compliance services – including regulatory change and implementation • Investment fund structuring, advice, distribution registration

Midshore’s professional experience in multiple sectors means it is able to deliver a highly dynamic approach.

Tel: 01481 730737 Email: enquires@ midshoreconsulting.com www.midshoreconsulting.com

• Training solutions and competence checks, including bespoke and regular training

25

Julie Fairclough, ZEDRA, Jersey

1. What have been the highlights of your career so far?

I have been very fortunate to have worked with some amazing people and had some wonderful experiences, so it’s hard to pick out just a few highlights. Qualifying as an accountant is certainly up there, as is having the opportunity to go to Harvard Business School – I was completely star-struck to be there (nerdy, I know…). However, it’s probably the people I have worked with along the way that have been the real highlight – I have been lucky to work for some truly inspirational leaders who have changed the way I think about my career and about myself.

2. What are your goals now?

I’d like to be able to support and inspire the next generation of leaders coming through.

Leadership is such an underrated skill, yet the impact it can have on the success of an organisation and on the careers of individuals is powerful stuff.

3. What is your view on diversity in the boardroom?

It’s really simple – companies with diverse boards make better decisions and outperform their peer group time after time.

Most (but thankfully not all) of the boards I work with are still dominated by white, middle aged men. Boards need to better reflect the demographic of their organisation and of their client base.

However, the challenge in making this a reality is that there needs to be a diverse pool of suitably skilled and qualified individuals from which to select when making board appointments. Whilst this is improving, it is painfully slow. In order to improve board diversity, we really need to be focusing our efforts lower down the organisation and making sure that we are growing that diverse pool of talent for the boards of tomorrow. ZEDRA is still a relatively new company; we only originated last January, but already we are seeing women take on senior roles, including

Wendy Sim our new MD in Singapore.

4. Does the glass ceiling still exist?

I don’t think so, but it’s a bit like climbing Everest, the air gets thinner the higher up you go. Interestingly, the number of women in senior positions drops off significantly once you get beyond a certain level.

I’d like to be able to support and inspire the next generation of leaders coming through. Leadership is such an underrated skill, yet the impact it can have on the success of an organisation and on the careers of individuals is powerful stuff The reality is that women are still overwhelmingly the primary carers for children, and until legislation changes to give men more entitlement to time off for childcare (and many men do want that) then the situation is unlikely to change.

6. Who are your role models?

The blind adventurer Miles Hilton-Barber, who believes in not accepting the limitations of others and just getting on with it (he inspired me to run my first marathon – be warned if you ever get to hear him speak!) and my grandma. She was a French immigrant, worked very long hours on a farm whilst bringing up five children and looking after my grandad, did all the domestic chores, including the painting and decorating, and was still laying her own carpet a few weeks before she died at the age of 82. She was quite a girl. I doubt she spent too much time worrying about her work-life balance. Like Miles, she just got on with it.

7. Is it possible to be successful and achieve a work life balance?

I think we are far too obsessed with this concept and actually it sets us up to fail.

“Success” will mean different things to different people, and at different times in their careers. In the real world people have to make choices. The important thing is to make the right choices for you and your family and to accept that this may mean compromise. So many women beat themselves up because they don’t feel they are achieving this mythical balance. If you make your choices and enjoy what you have rather than worrying about what you don’t have, then you are successful!

8. What is your philosophy in life?

Live, love, laugh and eat cake like it’s your last day on earth.

5. Have you encountered any obstacles in your career?

9. What is the most important thing you ever learnt?

I’m not sure I would say “obstacles” exactly, but I’ve definitely worked with some people who have made life more difficult than it needed to be! Whilst the diversity and inclusion agenda has moved on significantly over the last decade, in some ways the very covert paternalism that still exists is even harder to overcome.

The whole world does not revolve around me (still not entirely convinced about that one actually….)

10. Describe yourself in three words?

Loyal, hard-working, short.

Est. 1964

Global Reach Local Presence

12-14 New Street St. Peter Port Guernsey, GY1 2PF T +44 (0)1481 723 723 E info@walkersglobal.com

PO Box 72, Walker House 28-34 Hill Street, St. Helier Jersey JE4 8PN T +44 (0)1534 700 700 E info@walkersglobal.com

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T E CH N OLOGY

LET’S TALK TECH

Is your business BC fit?

in the first of Contact’s regular tech columns, Phil Heath from C5 Alliance takes us through some of the key things to consider when looking at your company’s business continuity needs.

Clients often ask me: ‘what is the best business continuity (BC) solution?’ but what they really need to consider is: ‘what is the best BC solution for my business?’

Business continuity is all about factoring in the potential risks specific to you, looking at all the available options and assessing your needs to design a business continuity plan (BCP) that meets your requirements.

Disruption in any way, shape or form has serious consequences. Being out of action can have a significant impact, with organisations reporting up to 68% loss of productivity and 37% loss of revenue.

Here are my top five considerations for organisations in the Channel Islands…

Power cut or telecommunications outage We’re all aware of the recent JT fibre-optic issues. With organisations increasingly relying on technology and access to the internet, an unexpected turn of events like this is an example of why BC is vital.

The power outage in Alderney earlier this year also highlights how vulnerable we are in the Channels Islands. The cuts left the island without internet or mobile signal for 13 hours, causing businesses to lose out on all potential business until the issue was resolved.

The Jersey Electricity Company are commissioning an additional electricity cable feed in January 2017 which is a great

example of Channel Island BCP to combat power disruption.

Island weather While we’re considered the sunniest places in the British Isles, Jersey and Guernsey are occasionally hit by some ferocious weather!

This can pose a risk no matter where you’re located, but organisations close to the sea are particularly exposed. The States of Jersey’s Planning and Building Services discovered this in March when strong winds blew away parts of the building’s roof.

Although this caused disruption that day, luckily they did have a BCP and temporarily relocated during reparation. Without BCP this could have compromised businesses for days, even weeks!

Embracing the cloud The cloud allows you to access office resources and documents remotely from any device. This offers a high level of flexibility and could allow employees to continue working from home or another location with access to the internet during a crisis.

In terms of cost, the cloud is cost-effective, and doesn’t require any tech infrastructure, just a device to access the service. This is a great option for smaller businesses, especially those that encourage independent working.

However, the cloud doesn’t mitigate all risks. Working from home splits up the workforce, which can effect staff morale and productivity if your business requires collaborative working. This BCP would not protect you during a telecommunications outage or power cut, as the internet is needed to access the cloud. This could put you out of action due to lack of resilience or a back-up generator, despite having a BCP in place.

Back up offices Having back up offices as BC can be a great solution. This works well for larger businesses, service desks and businesses that require a high level of collaboration. These are usually fully-functioning back up offices, containing technology resources, chairs, desks, equipment and staff parking, available 24/7 in case of an emergency.

Seats in a recovery centre like this can be shared or dedicated. Shared suites can reduce costs considerably but are often first-come-first-served if both companies experience a disaster at the same time.

Expert support Many local businesses rely heavily on IT, but BC goes beyond technology. It’s about having a strategy so you can continue to work without disruption and ensuring employees know what to do if the BCP is invoked. It’s important to consider all your requirements. While you might do this yourself, what you think you need may not accurately reflect what you actually need, and this could result in a BCP that doesn’t deliver on all your requirements. Therefore, it’s important to have an independent assessment of your BCP to ensure it’s robust.

For those considering implementing a BCP, think of it like insurance; no one wants to have to use it, but when you have your plan in place you can rest assured that you’re always protected in times of crisis! If you don’t have a plan in place to protect your business already, I hope these points have provided invaluable information and that you will consider implementing BC in the future.

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Andy Phillips, Stefano Bruschini, Tim Bichard and Sam Grayland Andy, Stefano and Tim have joined the bank as executive directors in the relationship management team, while Sam becomes executive director in the portfolio management team. All four move to Julius Baer from Credit Suisse.

Branch manager, Paul Van Neste commented: ‘The provision of private banking services through individuals located within Guernsey, providing a local point of contact, has always been key to ensuring a high level of service.

The addition of four further individuals to our relationship management and investment team will ensure that our strong position in servicing private banking clients in the island is further supported.’

Glyn Smith

Chris joins KPMG as an advisory manager.

With a strong background in project management and business analysis, he has run several insurance, fiduciary and banking projects in Guernsey and Jersey. Prior to joining KPMG, Chris, a local Guernsey man, worked for a Channel Islands management consultancy firm.

Glyn has been appointed as a director of Rossborough Insurance Guernsey after joining the firm as commercial manager in March.

Ashley Paxton, head of advisory for KPMG in the Channel Islands, said: ‘I am excited about the expertise and skills that Chris brings to the wider advisory practice.

We now provide a new range of management consulting services, including process improvement, project management, strategy, cyber security, IT infrastructure and business analysis to complement our traditional business lines.’

Glyn holds the Fellowship of the Chartered Insurance Institute and has 39 years’ experience in the insurance industry.

Ian Stewart, managing director of Rossborough Guernsey said: ‘Glyn has a wealth of experience and expertise, and is one of the most respected insurance specialists in the Channel Islands.

Since joining Rossborough in March this year, he has already made a significant contribution and we’re looking forward to Glyn’s valuable input as a board member.’

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Photo: l to r Andy Phillips, Sam Grayland, Tim Bichard and Stefano Bruschini

Chris Ash

JacquiE Walby

Tim Parkes and James Rouget

Craig Cordle

Jacquie is the company’s new managing director.With experience in multi-million pound projects, leading private, public and multi-sector teams working with schools, health services, hospitals, courts, custody suites and defence establishments, Jacquie was previously director of strategic business development for OCS UK. She replaces former managing director Paul Timms.

Tim joins the firm as a non-executive director.

His extensive experience in financial services includes the role of MD at both Barclays Private Clients and Barclays Wealth Management as well as a number of other senior roles. James joins the firm as director of client services with responsibility for leading the team on all high-profile/complex cases and the ongoing training and development of the client-facing team.

Craig has been appointed group partner joining Ogier from a major international London firm where he spent many years advising on the establishment and structuring of offshore investment vehicles, many of which were based in Guernsey.

Phil Taylor, chairman of OCS Channel Islands, said: ‘We are confident that Jacquie’s vast experience in designing and implementing operational and organisational solutions, both in the private and public sector, will provide huge opportunities for OCS as we continue to build our capability and serviceability in the islands.’

Managing director of Collas Crill Trust, Matt Litten, said: ‘This demonstrates our continued focus to grow the business organically as well as through strategic aquisitions. I am certain that James and Tim will bring a huge amount of passion and expertise to the team.’

Guernsey practice partner, Advocate Marcus Leese, said: ‘Craig’s many years of experience in the sector and his expertise in structuring, establishing and restructuring investment funds, as well as the listing of investment vehicles, is the perfect way to bolster our strong existing team. We are delighted to welcome Craig to the partnership and to the Ogier family.’

Meet the team Left to right Jenny Melissa Nadine Liga

Lisa Anna Becky Kirstie Patrick.

G U E RN S E Y PE OPL E

Mhairi assumes responsibility for the bank’s retail banking business and branch network across Guernsey, Sark and Alderney.

‘Mark has been with Ravenscroft since 2008 and is highly regarded by the board, by his colleagues, by our clients and more widely across the industry. His expertise, energy and enthusiasm is welcomed by the existing board and these attributes will be invaluable in his new role.’

Commenting on her new role, Sally said: ‘Our focus is very much on offering customers the best possible service. To that end, I am looking forward to drawing on the strengths of both our wealth management division and first class branch network.’

Photo l to r: Sally Spencer, Brian Sproat, Mhairi Thonsett

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Jon Ravenscroft, group chief executive officer said:

Paul Torode and Paul Lavin

Rick Denton

Paul Torode has been appointed as managed service and security head at the FCG development hub, joining from Sure where he was head of information systems.

Rick has been appointed as the first international representative on the Council of the Institute of Directors (IoD) in London.

Paul Lavin becomes financial accountant for the firm responsible for leading the production of group’s annual consolidated financial statements and the relevant accounting policies for all the group’s entities.

Rick has 30 years’ experience in the finance industry, including leadership roles locally with Coutts, Bank of Bermuda, Fortis Intertrust and Barclays. As IoD Council member he will represent the interests of the international communities in London.

Group deputy managing director Mike Leonard said:

Linda Johnson, chair of the Guernsey branch of the IoD, said:

‘We want our business to be about providing support, and an environment that’s fair to staff as well as building a caring culture where everyone feels valued. We welcome both Pauls and we’re looking forward to another successful year in Guernsey.’

‘Rick’s appointment is an incredible achievement and we are delighted that a Guernsey branch IoD member will be representing the interests of Guernsey and all international branches at the highest level of the IoD.

situations.gg

Wynand specialises in private equity structures and real estate funds; James works with a range of structures from limited partnerships to PCCs, trusts and unit trusts; Adam works with private equity clients and with listed and unlisted funds.

EY’s Channel Islands managing partner, Andrew Dann, said: ‘Since joining the firm, Wynand, Adam and James have worked hard and embraced opportunities available to broaden their experience. I would like to congratulate all those who have been promoted.’

Photo l to r: James Brown, Adam Knight and Wynand Pretorius

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In her new role, Sally will be helping develop local businesses and will also focus on service delivery for the bank’s local corporate customers.

EY has promoted Wynand to director, James to senior manager and Adam Knight to manager within its assurance and advisory team.

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Sally has been appointed as head of corporate banking, whilst Mhairi has been made head of retail banking.

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Wynand Pretorius, James Brown and Adam Knight

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The move is part of a natural progression that has seen Mark’s role within the business expanding for some time. In addition to his new role as group managing director, he will also remain head of Ravenscroft Investment Management.

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Nadine Gavey, Liga Berzina and Lisa Reynolds Lisa has been appointed consultant, Liga has been promoted to the role of senior consultant for temps and permanent staff and Nadine has been promoted to associate director.

Lisa will be dealing with the placement of permanent candidates and brings 15 years’ experience in HR. Liga will be responsible for the temp desk and together with Nadine they make up Situations’ team of consultants.

Director Melissa Campbell said: ‘We are delighted to have such a wealth and variety of experience amongst our consultants. Situations is very well placed to assist every level of permanent and temp candidates with their future careers.’

The recruitment people

email team@situations.gg, call us on 710639 or visit www.situations.gg

ON AIR

Tune in Mike Huston, Tindle Radio’s Channel Island station controller has his eyes (and ears) focused on an exciting 2017

It seems like hardly a day goes by at the moment without at least someone mentioning to me just how quickly the last year flew by. I do agree but they always do. The last 12 months have been no exception.

coming year. Our vision and strategy is very much to try even harder to thrill and entertain our listeners through our speakers but in addition we will be looking creatively at ways of engaging our existing and new audiences via different platforms.

I have to confess that although I find the weather at this time of year depressing, I find the start of any year an exciting time.

In the coming months we will be looking at providing a visual side to what we currently do audibly via a variety of digital platforms.

December is usually the busiest month for us at Island FM and Channel 103 and so if nothing else January enables us to catch our breath a little.

There is something quite therapeutic though in almost starting with a clean slate and looking at the year ahead with renewed determination and hopefully energy!

Usually I start the New Year by making a list of goals for the coming 12 months and I do this for work and indeed for my home life too. However, I do believe that the only time you should look back is before you plan ahead so I start my process by looking back at the last 12 months and look at what worked well and what worked less so.

I also look at my previous year’s list of goals and that provides a good dose of realism hopefully for plotting and planning a master plan for the following year.

If the year has been a brilliant one then I find there is an exciting momentum to build on.

If the year was a challenging one, then wiping the slate clean and starting again brings its own anticipation and freshness.

2017 will see both our radio stations celebrate their 25th birthdays and both stations saw great growth in 2016 that we will be trying to build on in 2017.

Digital will play an important part in the

Our vision and strategy is very much to try even harder to thrill and entertain our listeners through our speakers but in addition we will be looking creatively at ways of engaging our existing and new audiences via different platforms.

Channel 103 and Island FM now have their very own apps that can be downloaded.

As the year develops we will be creating exclusive content and competitions for these apps so I urge everyone to download them to ensure you don’t miss out!

Social media will continue to enable us as radio stations to engage in different ways with our audience. Facebook is still the most popular of all the current platforms and its vast audience and technology gives it great power. 2017 will undoubtedly see us get

cleverer and more creative and we will be providing a lot more compelling content via Facebook Live.

We will work hard at embracing new technology but we will also strive towards getting better at what we do on air and indeed what we do out and about across Guernsey and Jersey.

Watch out for our new broadcast vehicles across both islands in the coming months particularly across the summer.

We are absolutely blessed to be able to be broadcasting in such beautiful islands from so many events that have become important parts of our everyday lives.

We will strive hard to make our outside broadcasts visually better, more engaging, more entertaining, and more commercially attractive too!

We are privileged to work with so many organisations that put on so many events that do the Channel Islands proud.

Look at the wealth of musical talent, sports stars, celebrities etc. that visited our islands over the last 12 months. Each year the demand to improve and raise the bar gets greater and each year the islands (thanks to incredible amounts of hard work) pull it off.

I don’t believe anywhere else on planet earth is capable of putting on so many fabulous events.

I can’t hide my excitement for any New Year but I believe 2017 will contain the usual mix of ups and downs, good and bad, but undoubtedly the year ahead will contain great opportunities. We are determined to embrace these, to explore them and indeed enjoy them.

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J ER S EY P E OPLE

Ally and John become new trustees of the board. Previously a special needs teacher at Mont A l’Abbe school, Ally is a volunteer with the Jersey Alzheimer’s Association assisting with the weekly art therapy session for clients and their carers.

A former CEO of CTV, John is on board of trustees of the St. John Youth & Community Trust and a former trustee of the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Katie Le Quesne, chairman, said: ‘I’m delighted to welcome both Ally and John to the foundation board of trustees. I look forward to working with them in helping change lives for the better across the islands.’

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Fiona joins Collas Crill’s knowledge management team.

Garry is Ravenscroft’s new treasury manager with responsibility for Jersey and Guernsey.

A qualified solicitor, Fiona has worked at major law firms in Australia and Jersey. Her role will include maintaining and updating the firm’s knowledge management system, delivering regular updates to all the practice areas and undertaking specialist research and training on technical matters.

Garry Beardshall, who has 30 years’ treasury experience working for a cross-section of financial institutions, moves to the company from Brevan Howard where he was head of treasury. In his new role, he will be responsible for treasury and managing client cash held by the group.

Head of the knowledge management team at Collas Crill, Lisa Upham, said:

Haydn Taylor, MD of Ravenscroft’s Jersey business said:

‘The law is constantly changing and evolving and knowledge management is a vital support function. Fiona’s breadth and depth of experience in the legal and financial services industry makes her a great fit for this role.’

‘Our new stockbrokers are very experienced and have strong reputations locally and we hoped that it would lead to a substantial increase in business. It’s exceeded expectations and having Garry on board will only strengthen our offering.’

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Photo l to r: Lisa Upham, Fiona Wilson and knowledge management assistant Anne Kennedy

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Lorna Pestana

Jackie Maratier

Fred Milner

Lorna has been appointed director for the company bringing more than 20 years’ experience in human resources to the role, most recently as head of HR for the Guiton Group.

Jackie is Marbral’s new head of client experience.

Mourant Ozannes has appointed Fred as Counsel in its international trusts & private client practice.

During her career she has also served as HR manager at Jersey Dairy and personnel director at the Hotel de France. She is also a Fellow of and tutor/assessor for the Chartered Management Institute.

Lorna said: ‘In my new role, I will be developing the Law at Work Training Academy, adding to the current offering of bespoke training for clients.

We will be providing training on a variety of employment-related issues.’

A qualified project manager and client relationship manager, Jackie joins the growing team offering support to organisations and individuals to deliver effective change within the finance, legal, utilities, logistics, telecommunications and government sectors.

The company has recently opened an office in the Isle of Man and has a presence in Guernsey.

Co-founder Martin Bralsford said: ‘We have bold plans for international expansion in 2017, so Jackie’s recent appointment will be a real game changer for us as we continue to grow and develop our offering in Jersey and elsewhere.’

Fred is Jersey qualified and has a broad range of private client experience gained in London, Jersey and Geneva. He will be advising trustees, family offices, law and accounting firms, private banks and high net worth individuals on a wide range of succession issues as well as associated regulatory law.

Mourant Ozannes partner, Edward Devenport, said: ‘Fred’s appointment reflects the continued growth of our global trusts and private client team. His unique experience and contacts will be a valuable addition to our practice and I am pleased to welcome him to Mourant Ozannes.’

Meet the team

Left to right Ben Pastor, Marie-Clara Thaureux, Jessica Wilton and Kevin Goldswain

J E RS E Y PE OPL E

Kate Hamilton

Bill has been appointed group general counsel.

Kate Hamilton has joined Pinel Advocates as an associate in the corporate and commercial team.

Nigel Le Quesne, JTC group CEO and chairman said:

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‘Bill is a fantastic addition to our team. He has an exceptional appreciation of the issues affecting clients and extensive experience of the legal financial landscape, allied to his time spent working in governmental and quasi-governmental environments.’

As an English-qualified solicitor, she brings her commercial property experience to the firm’s corporate, commercial and finance legal services.

Advocate Andrew Pinel commented: ‘We are delighted that Kate has joined us.

Much of our work relates to UK property and therefore Kate will be able to provide significant experience and valuable guidance in such matters. We will look to grow the business further in 2017, particularly when we move to our new, larger offices in St Helier.’

ST MO EP O H RE EN S

Assuming responsibility as the organisation’s primary source of legal advice, Bill will apply his expertise across JTC’s operations as a whole, helping to minimise risk while enhancing technical output across the 18 jurisdictions in which JTC has a presence. A qualified English barrister, Bill joins JTC from his previous role at Jersey Finance, where he was head of technical.

BS JI Lee Morris, Richard Urban and Ben Bendelow The three appointments will strengthen the school’s faculty, as well as the curriculum of the university centre’s undergraduate and master’s degrees.

Lee is a senior investment manager in Smith & Williamson; Richard is a Jersey-based independent non-executive director; Ben is the former executive chairman of the Basel Trust Corporation Group and a former resident of the Offshore Institute.

Chris Usher, CEO of Jersey International Business School (pictured), said: ‘The school is proud to bring together such an exceptional group of adjunct professors, each of whom brings valuable talent and advice. We look forward to drawing on their knowledge and experience as we continue to grow.’

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Daniel Read

Angus Taylor

Mark Hucker

Daniel has been sworn in as an advocate of the Royal Court.

Angus becomes Moore Stephens (Jersey) Ltd’s new CEO following the business’s recent restructure.

Mark is Volaw’s new managing director following the retirement of Robert Christensen.

Daniel is a senior associate, who regularly appears before the Jersey Employment Tribunal. He took top marks in the Civil and Criminal Procedure and Succession papers in the Jersey Advocacy exams, as well as the joint top paper in Company Law. Nigel Sanders, the head of Ogier’s Jersey dispute resolution team, said: ‘We are delighted that Dan has been sworn in as a Jersey advocate, particularly after his outstanding results in the advocates’ exams.

Dan’s admission brings Ogier’s number of court facing Jersey Advocates to 10, which demonstrates our on-going growth across our practice areas.’

Angus is an experienced wealth management professional with extensive experience of running high-performing banking, investment, fund and trust businesses across multiple jurisdictions. He was previously the managing director of Kleinwort Benson and a director at JTC, Chairman of Moore Stephens International Limited, Richard Moore, said: ‘Our firm in Jersey is evolving to meet the needs of our clients. The restructure of the business represents a clear and positive commitment to the demands of the financial services environment and Angus’s appointment as group CEO is another crucial and positive step forward.

email us at: letstalk@glsrecruitment.com call us on: 01534 852 111 or visit: wwwglsrecruitment.com

Born and educated in Jersey, where he has spent the major part of his career, Mark has more than 20 years’ experience in the offshore financial sector.

Robert Christensen said: ‘Mark’s varied career with a number of senior roles in different sectors of Jersey’s finance industry makes him an excellent choice to be Volaw’s next managing director. He has proven experience in developing strategic vision and execution on corporate goals and he shares the ambition of Volaw’s board to drive Volaw’s growth more swiftly during the next five years.’

T R ANS P ORT

2017: looking ahead to the opportunities that await us Alan Donald, group marketing & communications manager, Ports of Jersey gives us a glimpse of some of the exciting plans for the coming year.

Ports of Jersey’s mission is ‘To enhance our island as a great place to live, visit work and do business, through keeping us reliably, safely and well connected.’

It’s been over 15 months since the successful incorporation of Ports of Jersey (PoJL).

2017 looks likely to be just as exciting and challenging as it has been during the company’s first full year of post-government involvement. Although the States of Jersey is still its major shareholder, PoJL is now run as a corporation allowing it to pursue the many commercial ventures and opportunities that present themselves across its entire portfolio, which includes Jersey Airport, Jersey Marinas, the commercial port of St Helier and the island’s outlying harbours as well as Jersey Coastguard.

Air passenger numbers have been steadily increasing over the past 18 months, with 2016 delivering the + 1.5 million air passenger mark, the highest number recorded since 2008. Our route development programme, first established in 2007 as a means of attracting new business to the island has achieved notable success over the years, clearly demonstrated by these positive air passenger numbers.

Working relationships with our business partners remain solid, especially among our established transport providers such as Flybe, British Airways and Condor Ferries while we continue to enjoy low-cost air travel with

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companies including Jet2.com and easyJet helping to boost our passenger numbers.

For an island the size of Jersey with its resident population, we have an enviable network of air services and in summer 2017 will be served by in excess of 40 departure points across the British Isles and mainland Europe, providing a mix of scheduled and charter air services.

Airport Master Plan finally coming to fruition.

As a business the need to make necessary safety improvements to remain operationally compliant is essential but the launch of the plan last summer provided us with the perfect opportunity to invest in the future and create an airport that everyone, including subsequent generations, can be proud of.

Our route development team is small but influential, having created valuable contacts within the maritime and aviation world over the years. It will continue its discussions and negotiations with existing and potential new transport providers, looking at further opportunities to expand our existing network while maintaining high capacity on existing popular year-round services. The London market in particular continues to flourish and we are experiencing continuing growth in Scotland, the north east and north west as well as The Republic of Ireland. Jersey continues to appeal to the German market and we will once again welcome a series of air services in 2017, including direct flights from Düsseldorf and Munich. Summer 2017 will also see the welcome return of flights to Switzerland with weekly direct services to Basel and onward connection options to Bern.

Work will start in 2017 on the construction of a new arrivals facility to replace the existing terminal, which currently impedes on the safety and operational capabilities of Jersey Airport and must be removed.

Although final designs have yet to be publicly released and planning approval for the construction work yet to be given, the new terminal could potentially be similar in its ‘art deco’ style to that of the current building with a larger overall floor space to accommodate more commercial operators as well as meeting rooms and offices. It is envisaged that the building could also provide a restaurant and viewing areas overlooking the taxiway and runway.

As Jersey Airport enters its 80th year (it was officially opened on 10 March 1937) this marks the start of an exciting era with the

As part of the overall programme of works, which will be carried out in stages, the airport’s passenger pier is also due to be refurbished and may include an expansion and creation of larger open plan departure ‘gates’ to accommodate the increasing capacity now available on larger aircrafts.

Ports of Jersey has recently completed a

T RAN S POR T

comprehensive tender process seeking partners for its retail, food and beverage concessions at Jersey Airport and 2017 will see the unveiling of this exciting new offering and customer experience.

Although recent attention has been directed at our aviation offering, 2017 will see an equal focus on maritime activities, notably, the public launch of the Harbour Master Plan.

The aim of this plan includes protecting the long-term viability of our harbour ports and marine leisure offering while at the same time optimising their future commercial opportunities. The Harbour Master Plan is due to be launched in the early part of 2017.

This spring sees the 10th anniversary of the Barclays Jersey Boat Show. First staged in 2008 as an opportunity to showcase Jersey’s marine leisure industry to a wider audience, the event continues to grow in terms of size and reputation, sitting comfortably alongside more established shows such as Southampton and London. Furthermore, consistently attracting in excess of 30,000 visitors over the three days the show remains the largest free-entry event in the Channel Islands. The 2017 Barclays Jersey Boat Show will take place in and around St Helier Marina and nearby Weighbridge Place over the bank holiday weekend of Saturday 29 April to Monday 1 May. The show will welcome in excess of 80+ exhibitors from across the Channel Islands, UK and mainland Europe,

boasting an extensive programme of activities both on and off the water that will appeal to all ages. The future of the Jersey boat show is guaranteed until at least 2019 thanks to a further commercial agreement with title sponsor, Barclays. This major commitment ensures the show will remain a free entry event, something that Ports of Jersey has strived to retain since the show’s inception.

Although recent attention has been directed at our aviation offering, 2017 will see an equal focus on maritime activities, notably, the public launch of the Harbour Master Plan.

Jersey Marinas has made great efforts in expanding its offering across its three marinas in St Helier. Not only do we have our own boat show to help showcase our offerings but we will continue to work alongside our nearby French colleagues by attending the annual Southampton Boat

Show and promoting our locations as the finest cruising ground in northern Europe.

As from spring 2017, Jersey Marinas is delighted to be joining Europe’s largest cruising network and becoming a member of the Passeport Escales programme of reciprocal berthing. Operated by French marina operator Sagemor, Passeport Escales is currently the largest European marina visitor discount programme, allowing annual berth holders to enjoy up to 10 free nights in 140 marinas across England, France, Belgium, Holland and Spain. As the only marina operator in the Channel Islands participating in the initiative, the reciprocal agreement will allow mariners from other participating marinas to take advantage of what Jersey, and in particular our award-winning marinas have to offer.

The acquisition of new state-of-the-art Multibeam Echosounder equipment by Ports of Jersey has been welcomed by both commercial and leisure port users.

The investment allows the organisation to become more self-sufficient in terms of seabed monitoring and allows for a greater commercial opportunity to market our services, capabilities and skills further afield. Our marine services business has now firmly established itself among marine sectors in the UK and the nearby French coast, in particular with the ever-increasing outsourcing of its workboat, the Duke of Normandy.

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T R ANS P ORT

Jon Ozanne, CT Plus’ marketing and PR officer gives us a peek into life on the buses.

At the end of each year I share five fab highlights with friends on social media.

For 2016 they were: • Directing a young peoples’ musical • Running every bus route in Guernsey • A trip to Barcelona • Presenting the BBC Saturday Morning Programme • Writing a children’s book If I were to do the same for CT Plus it would be: • Great uptake on the student puffinpass • Best September figures for 20 years • Renewed interested in advertising on buses • More schools involved in travel training • A year-long timetable put in place Not surprisingly for me, three on my personal list are still work related. This is Guernsey, after all and if the best elements of our careers fall into our social life, then so be it.

As someone involved in planning bus journeys for customers it seemed a good idea to get out there and see all of the 19 routes ‘face-to-face’. I started my bus travels in the summer and it soon became a charity fundraiser. I may have forgotten that Guernsey weather can deteriorate come the dark season, making the last few west coast routes slightly wind-blown and interesting.

The book writing is for a character called Puffin and he goes on an amazing journey around Guernsey with his puffinpass. The

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idea is based on the travel training CT Plus has been giving to local school children over the last year. The story is complete but the real magic, the illustrations, are still being done. Hopefully, Puffin’s Amazing Journey will be available later this year.

Career-wise, taking on the bus advertising has been a joy. I appear to have also taken it at the right time as there seems to be more interest than ever in advertising on the buses.

There have been some voices who want to question the current uptake of the service. However, hearing directly from those who benefit along the route gives me a real passion to do everything to retain this vital community link I’ve given it an online tie-in where possible, celebrating each new artwork as they get made and put on the buses. This was particularly successful for the ice skating at the Friquet and I was pleased to link the P2 route, which passes Le Friquet for people getting their skates on.

Which brings me on to the P2.

Connecting up extra-care housing La Nouvelle Maraitaine with the Bridge, hospital and Medical Specialist Group is something I continue to believe in.

There have been some voices who want to question the current uptake of the service. However, hearing directly from those who benefit along the route gives me a real passion to do everything to retain this vital community link. Connecting the P2 to the town terminus will hopefully help more to get on board, without changing the critical community element.

Lastly, those September 2016 figures.

That was a great day, seeing The States of Guernsey publish the best September passenger numbers for 20 years. Some may say the record breaking numbers are just because the students travel for free but I don’t think that matters. There is clearly a behavioural change in young people who now see travelling on the bus as another option for them. I believe that the high figure also came from the campaign ‘Explore Guernsey by Bus’, encouraging visitors onto a variety of buses other than the round island routes. Posters at the town terminus and the new year-long 2017 timetable also support the mixed bus route approach to seeing the best of the island.

I wonder what will make my list for this year’s top five? I’ll bet some will be ideas, campaigns and social engagements I haven’t even considered yet.

I know for sure Guernsey will keep me busy - and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

T RAN S POR T

Not your usual bus company LibertyBus general manager Kevin Hart talks technology, the importance of accessibility and listening to his customers.

As we start year five of our operation, it is time to reflect over the last four years.

Our biggest achievements being growing ridership by 32%, and winning the National Transport Award for Improvements to Bus Services.

The reason why getting more people onto the bus is so important here in Jersey, is that our island has more registered vehicles than people. We’ve worked hard to get people out of their cars and onto the bus – 57% of those who use the bus in peak time have access to a car but choose not to use it, which is brilliant.

Making sure that anyone and everyone can use the bus is at the heart of what we do – we have a real focus on customer service and accessibility. Our drivers are all trained in disability awareness, allowing them to support properly those who need assistance on the bus. We’re also just about to launch our Accessibility Card. This is a discreet, credit card sized notice that allows a disabled passenger to indicate to the driver that they need a bit of extra help, or patience – for example, that they may have a hearing impairment, or they have a condition that means it’s important they are seated before the bus moves off.

We have also developed Travel Training to support our customers. This a scheme that allows people who feel nervous about traveling by bus – perhaps due to disabilities or health conditions – to have support and orientation from our trainer, who takes them through how to use the bus. This could include anyone from a new wheelchair user to someone with a learning disability. So far we have collaborated with over 15 individuals who now are able to use the service confidently, which can be life changing.

As a social enterprise, we are heavily invested in the local community and how we can assist vulnerable groups on island, helping them to gain independence to get out by themselves.

Of course we are first and foremost the island’s bus service and as such, it is our responsibility to deliver a reliable, accessible and punctual service, and listen to public demand. Each season when the timetable changes, we welcome suggestions via yourviews@libertybus.je and run regular face-to-face consultations.

We’ve worked hard to get people out of their cars and onto the bus – 57% of those who use the bus in peak time have access to a car but choose not to use it, which is brilliant These consultations have been a fantastic opportunity for islanders to make a real difference to their bus service. One example of where customers have directly improved a service is the introduction of the route 22/X22. We’ve created a fast route to St Helier from La Corbiere via the Airport as a direct result of people’s feedback which now runs with a double decker.

Our travel smartcard, the AvanchiCard, was created to improve the customer experience and reduce boarding times.

The cards allow for pay-as-you-go and season ticket products that can be topped-up online, creating flexibility and allowing users to get a discounted rate of travel. We now have over 4300 student users, 9700 PAYG users and 5804 Unlimited card holders.

We are committed to the island’s needs as a whole and as well as disability awareness training for our drivers, we are the only accredited trainer on-island for Jersey’s taxi drivers, which means we’ve been working hard to assist the Department for Infrastructure to achieve its goal of getting more ‘purple badges’ on the public taxi rank.

Over the last six months, we’ve had 20 taxi drivers certified to carry wheelchairs on the Unit 4 Wheelchair Accessibility course.

This is a huge step forward for those who were previously unable to travel.

We know we can make a real difference in people’s lives, so as well as training our staff and the island’s taxi drivers we have been working with HM Prison La Moye to deliver disability awareness training to inmates who are preparing to come back in to the community. In addition we are also providing training to the Ports of Jersey.

The course covers discrimination, accessibility and assistance, and has been developed applying UK law and best practice.

Next year will bring the introduction of the concessionary travel pass for those with disabilities. We are currently in talks with the States of Jersey to finalise how we can assist with their offering, and look forward to its launch. We’re also exploring other ways to support the local community to get out of their cars and onto the buses – so 2017 is set to be an exciting year for LibertyBus and our customers.

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T R ANS P ORT

It’s fair to say life never stands still at Aurigny.

As Guernsey’s dedicated airline, and one that offers lifeline links to the business and wider community, it’s been a full-on year for its management and staff.

But there is plenty still to look forward to in the coming weeks and months ahead, with some exciting developments arriving in the new year.

From route planning and changes to the fleet, to the emergence of technology that could dramatically reduce fog delays, 2017 and beyond looks to be as exciting and challenging as ever.

There is also, of course, the Strategic Review of the airline, already underway by the States’ Policy & Resources Committee, and one of the major plusses for Aurigny should be that this brings into focus the financial benefit the airline brings to the Bailiwick, the social role it plays, and its lifeline links.

Aurigny CEO Mark Darby said as an airline it hopes the results of the Strategic Review, expected to be released in February, will outline plans and a clear direction for how the airline can progress, in continuing to achieve its goals for both Guernsey and Alderney.

It has already been actively engaging in the process and has proactively created three, five and 10-year plans in order to provide the best possible service for the Bailiwick of Guernsey in the years to come.

‘We welcome the Strategic Review which we anticipate will provide clearer direction for Aurigny within the States of Guernsey’s

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overall plans for the Bailiwick’s development.

‘We hope the review will provide that direction and give us a wide scope of things we could be doing going forward. Some may have to be subsidised, providing they prove to be good investments for the community.

‘We are an economic enabler and back in 2014 launched the London City route, at the request of the business and finance community. This service is now an established part of our network and is growing in popularity as the fastest way to the City.’

Being a robust and reliable service is always high on the agenda at Aurigny and there are new developments in technology which could see fog delays drastically reduced in the future.

This technology is being trialled on the ATR 600 series aircraft, the new generation of the plane, and ultimately gives a display system that will allow them to land in very limited visibility.

There is still work to do to get this certified for commercial operations, but the ATR pilots at Aurigny believe they might be able to land at least 50% or more of the currently diverted flights that otherwise would not be able to approach or land.

Mark said they were hopeful this could be

a development that would make a real difference further into the future.

‘Fog can have a real impact on operations of all airlines,’ he said. ‘Continued efforts to provide a robust and reliable service are so important for the Bailiwick economy.

‘Ensuring the islands are accessible for visitors and the business community is obviously a top priority.’

He said the emergence of this kind of technology could also provide savings for customers and Aurigny, by potentially cutting down on costs, such as overnight hotels, when flights are disrupted by the weather.

One thing that cannot be overlooked at Aurigny is the complexity of the operation for its size and the airline has a desire to simplify its fleet.

This brings with it another key milestone for 2017, with the last of the Trislanders being retired from service and replaced by the Dornier.

The Trislander aircraft first came into service at Aurigny in 1971 and to mark its long association with the airline, there are plans to put the Channel Islands’ most famous aircraft, Trislander G-Joey, on public display at Oatlands Village.

T RAN S PO R T

The Britten-Norman Trislander has had a long life in service with Aurigny spanning over 40 years, but due to the age of the airframes and high operating costs, there was no choice but to replace them.

Elsewhere in the fleet, Aurigny has most recently introduced a new ATR 72-500, which replaces the old ATR 72-200 (‘DB’).

The new aircraft, which is leased from Nordic Aviation Capital, has already had a smooth and successful introduction into service in November and is fitted with 72 new, all forward-facing seats that give additional legroom.

Mark said the old ATR had served the airline well, but the opportunity arose to sell it to a cargo company. This gave Aurigny the chance to upgrade to a more modern ATR, which is the same configuration as its other ATRs. ‘This will provide our customers with an improved travel experience.

‘This aircraft will also give us more options and flexibility during times of disruption, which is important.

‘We are delighted to welcome it to our fleet.’

Another big positive for Aurigny and its customers heading into the New Year, is the return of two UK routes that made their debut in 2016. The Leeds/Bradford service

will be in its first full year of operation in 2017, after its successful launch in May. The route is forecast to carry a total of 8,000 passengers to the end of the year, which represents around 73% of its seats over this period.The Norwich summer seasonal service is also set to return this year, after it also proved to be a huge hit with customers in its inaugural year last summer.

The number of passengers for this service stood at over 1,200 and again represented nearly 70% of the seats being sold.

Aurigny seized the opportunity to begin this seasonal service after Flybe decided not to operate to Norwich in 2016 and the number of passengers almost doubled under Aurigny, compared to the previous year.

Mark said it was great to see these new routes prove so popular with its passengers and could be repeated again for 2017.

‘These services have been a welcome addition to the Aurigny network and offer a gateway into other parts of the UK. ‘At the same time we are also keen to take advantage of opportunities to maximise services to London and looking further ahead, London Heathrow could be an opportunity, if and when a third runway is constructed.

visible changes customers will see next year.

The upgrade of the site is being carried out by the marketing agency Oi, which has been working hard on the redesign, build and management of aurigny.com The decision was based on Oi’s significant digital expertise and track record. This includes designing and building the THAI Airways UK & Ireland website and the agency’s ideas to reshape and refine aurigny.com.

The website is an important part of Aurigny’s service and interaction with its customers, accounting for over 80% of sales - all the time growing. Mark said this will give the airline more chances to refine the options for its customers.

‘There will be a lot of flexibility built into the system. This will enable us to respond to any issues highlighted by our customer base, increase our efficiency and bring changes and improvements with ease.’

The new website, which will be launched in Spring 2017, is also designed to allow the airline to better understand its customer and ensure it is providing the best service tailored to their needs.

A new and improved website is just one of

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TO

M A R T I N B E LC HE R

MARTIN BELCHER A family affair

M A R T I N B E LC HE R

Martin Belcher is a well-known face in the business community in both Guernsey and Jersey. With a business pedigree that spans several decades, he has been managing and investing in a range of insurance and financial service companies in the islands since 1985 and is now chairman of the Polygon Group in Guernsey and the (Polygon owned) Vantage group of companies in Jersey.

Polygon started in 1975 as Polygon Insurance Company, formed by airlines KLM, SAS and Swissair to underwrite the captive risks of the KSS airline group.

Polygon Group was created in 1997 as a holding company for the insurance operation and Martin spearheaded the company’s development and diversification into captive insurance management, insurance broking and trust administration. In 2001, he led a management buyout and formed the basis for a new company, Heritage Group where, as CEO, he drove its rapid expansion from 2001 to 2008 into a multi-jurisdictional financial services company.

In 2008 Martin stepped down as CEO of

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Heritage – becoming non-executive chairman – to concentrate on Polygon then, in 2011, when his fellow shareholders were keen to sell the Heritage operation in Jersey, Martin stepped in to buy it, eventually rebranding the company to Vantage.

Jackson advert

‘It was our managing director Richard Packman who came up with the name Vantage and it’s been a brand that has been easy to use across our various service lines as the group has continued to expand,’ said Martin. ‘I particularly like short one-word names – they are punchy and memorable which are big plus points for any brand.

‘Initially we were an insurance broking company – Vantage Insurance – and subsequently have added a number of

operations such as wealth management and pensions trust management as and when the market conditions were right and the opportunity arose to diversify into these areas. For example there was a natural opportunity to break into the pensions market when Jersey began to move into the QROPS space.’

The Vantage group of companies has more recently diversified into non-financial service areas but as part of a specific growth strategy and business model as Martin explained.

‘We have started a number of businesses which deliver services that we need within the group itself. These services can then be adapted and offered on a commercial basis to third parties.’

M ART IN B E LCH ER

Vantage Innovation – run by Martin’s son Alex – is a good example of how the business model has been put into practice. Serviced offices in Jersey, Forum 3 and Forum 4, are owned by Polygon and home to a number of Jersey businesses, including Digital Jersey. The buildings are managed through Vantage Innovation and Alex took the lead role in creating the Forum 3 ecosystem – the first of its kind in Jersey which is based on a concept that originated in Silicon Valley and is now found in many other jurisdictions including London, Berlin and Tel Aviv. The foundation of the concept is to enable embryonic business ideas to incubate in a supportive environment and accelerate into fully formed businesses.

This collaborative working environment seems to be a real success story.

‘Digital Jersey has run a number of teaching sessions to develop coding skills. Students are given real commercial projects to complete all of which are supplied by other tenants within the building who might need a new website built or some other digital project put in place. Two of the students were then offered a job by the company in question once the projects had been completed.

‘This is exactly how these things should work, everything coming together for everyone’s benefit. Companies aren’t always in a position to donate money or time to these training initiatives, but by supplying a project for students to work on is their way of supporting the programme.

‘As far as Vantage Innovation is concerned, Alex highlighted that we were spending quite a bit of money on external agents to support the management of our office blocks but we had no software to run the buildings. So putting it simply – he developed some, which was deployed for our own use initially. The next logical step was to market it to third parties.’

This IT solution is now something that Vantage Innovation is taking to the next level.

‘There is a need for a more comprehensive software solution. Most HNW individuals and family offices have a much broader range of assets than just property. Yachts, planes,

antiques often come into the mix and they all need some form of management which historically has been done via a large unwieldy spreadsheet. Our software manages things such as leases, insurance renewals, employment contracts, with a clear audit trail that is not possible with a spreadsheet. The product is already on the market and a number of family offices are currently looking at it.’

Vantage certainly appears to punch above its weight and Martin explained what he believes is the differentiator that facilitates the company’s success.

‘We are a very small company competing with giants – Rossborough and CCV (owned

by Towergate) for example are both huge organisations. But we as a group offer a much broader range of services. We have a wider financial service offering than any of our competitors; the next step was to consider other services which would be required by our financial clients – hence Vantage Innovation, Vantage Marketing (run by Martin’s daughter Verienne) and Vantage Personnel.’

Guernsey-based Polygon is now a family-owned investment company with 60% of its holdings being in Channel Island property. As well as Forum 3 and 4 in Jersey the company also owns Heritage Hall and Hadsley House in St Peter Port and the remaining 40% is made up of the Vantage group and a number of smaller angel investment companies.

I think if I have learnt anything from these investments, it is that if you are going to take a ‘gamble’ on a start up, the business needs to be close enough to your own comfort zone that you can step in and support or take over if it all goes wrong And Martin believes there will be a market for this product further afield.

‘It makes sense to start marketing locally to people who know us but once the product is tried and tested we may well look to other jurisdictions with family offices as a next step.’

‘We haven’t made any angel investments for a couple of years now but it has been a useful experience and interesting journey for me. Some of the organisations became increasingly time consuming – more so than I would have expected. When a company is stable you can to some extent leave it to tick along; when it’s in decline or growth you need to invest a lot of time.

‘I have learnt a great deal about how businesses work in difference sectors of which I had no prior experience and we have had a couple of real success stories.

MJ Hudson – a law practice specialising in alternative asset investments – is doing incredibly well; and a star performing investment is BookingTek which provides specifically designed software to manage large hotel groups’ meeting room rentals.

‘I think if I have learnt anything from these investments, it is that if you are going to take a ‘gamble’ on a start up, the business needs to be close enough to your own comfort zone that you can step in and support or take over if it all goes wrong.’

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M A R T I N B E LC HE R

Each island has its own strengths and weaknesses. I have to say that Philip Ozouf was incredibly supportive when we were setting up The Digital Hub for Digital Jersey. He eased the process of dealing with the various departments and was a delight to deal with

Martin is still open to future angel investing if the right opportunity were to present itself and works with Startup Guernsey at its angel pitch events.

Polygon launched a bond in 2015 with authorisation to raise up to £2.5 million.

It reached around £750,000 but things slowed with the pending Brexit debate plus the Providence situation hitting the headlines. These external influences meant the likelihood of further successful marketing of the bond was slim.

operation has been extremely successful.

Interestingly eight of our start-up tenants in Forum 3 were generated by Locate Jersey.’

Looking ahead the group is still growing.

Negotiation for a third office block in Jersey is on-going and there is a potential new Vantage in the pipeline – though that will be the subject for future publication.

With significant business interests in the islands, Martin is familiar with the process of setting up companies in both Guernsey and Jersey.

‘Each island has its own strengths and weaknesses. I have to say that Philip Ozouf was incredibly supportive when we were setting up The Digital Hub for Digital Jersey He eased the process of dealing with the various departments and was a delight to deal with.

‘I think Guernsey was rather late off the mark with the Locate Guernsey initiative compared with Jersey whose equivalent

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And the group is also looking to venture further into the digital economy. Another group company Advantage – an insurance underwriter - is booming and the plan is to

start to sell small insurance products online.

‘We plan to double the company income with no additional staff by selling online.

The team will be developing new skills and gaining experience in online sales,’ said Martin.

With much of the group’s client base being made up of family offices, Polygon with its various operating companies is a family office in its own right with most of family members being actively involved. Martin is optimistic and upbeat about the islands’ future but believes that they should look to other jurisdictions for quality benchmarking rather than comparing themselves to each other.

‘Malta is a good example of a jurisdiction whose financial sector has grown incredibly in recent years in fact we are currently investigating the possibility of opening an operation there ourselves.

It’s important that Guernsey and Jersey look beyond seeing each other as rivals but seek other comparators against which to measure our success.’

L AW

Domicile – where is your household furniture?

Raymond Ashton of abt Advocates tells us more.

This article will review an unusual case on domicile which was heard by the Supreme Court in Ireland , The Revenue Commissioners v Matthews and Others , The Irish Law Times Volume XCiL 1954.

It is not case which is widely reported in the traditional texts and only came to this writer’s attention in his capacity as an Irish lawyer.

The case involves an individual with a domicile of origin in Ireland who subsequently went to live on Brecqhou in or around 1935 but who then bought a house in Guernsey early in 1940, known as Les Touillets . Shortly after acquiring the house, as a result of the imminent occupation, he was forced to move, initially to England and then subsequently on to the Isle of Mull where he died in 1944.

The question was where did the individual, Captain Clarke, die domiciled? There are three candidates: Ireland where he had a domicile of origin, Guernsey or Brecqhou which he still owned on his death. The significance of the domicile issue was that

if he died domiciled in Ireland a substantial amount of estate duty was payable whereas in the other cases only the assets sited in Ireland would be subject to estate duty.

who lived in England for some 38 years without losing his domicile of origin, see Winans v Attorney General (No1) [1904] AC 287 H.L.

The case is not cited in the Conflict of Laws “bible” Dicey and Morris or the rival Cheshire and North. As such the case is a very useful piece of additional jurisprudence to the now rather staid analysis of both texts as it relates to questions which affect the islands .

The case is also relevant to domestic inheritance issues where a person has moved to Guernsey from say Ireland and then moved to Jersey to escape a “wife” and then returned to Guernsey where he subsequently dies. In terms of Guernsey and Jersey the forced heirship provisions have been repealed in Guernsey but not Jersey so this might be a major issue for beneficiaries where the deceased has made a will excluding certain loved ones. It follows that this case is very important to the issue of determining the issue of domicile.

Readers having difficulty sleeping might also consult the amusing case involving the Anglo-phobic US millionaire William Winans

Captain Clarke was born into a prominent Irish family near Cork. The family were tobacco manufacturers who eventually sold out to Imperial Tobacco. As a result of family business commitments Captain Clarke spent

The question was where did the individual, Captain Clarke, die domiciled? There are three candidates: Ireland where he had a domicile of origin, Guernsey or Brecqhou which he still owned on his death

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much of his early life and youth in England but despite this, the family retained substantial land near Cork. After serving in the Great War he returned to live on the family estate in Ireland. It seems that in early 1932 or 1933 he purchased the Island of Brecqhou where he built a large house and employed servants to manage it.

Presumably to finance this he sold all his landed interests in Ireland so that as from 1935 his only house was in Brecqhou although he retained a small amount of land in Ireland.

In the early part of 1940 despite the oncoming occupation by the German

L AW

forces he bought a house (with his wife and nephew) in Guernsey - Les Touillets. Shortly before the German invasion he left the island and initially lived in Kingsbridge before moving to the Isle of Mull in or around January 1942. At the date of his death in 1944 he owned the property on the Isle of Mull and the properties in Guernsey and Brecqhou. It seems that at the start of the period of his life on Mull he contemplated living for the rest of his life there but the adverse weather conditions were such that he resolved to move back to the Channel Islands as soon as possible after the war.

To this end he put his property on Mull for sale. The property at Les Touiillets needed extensive renovation works and it seems the architect was an English resident whom he contacted about completing it after the war.

Not surprisingly in the court litigation there was a degree of controversy about which house in the Channel Islands he would return to. Significantly the evidence from the tax authorities in England or Scotland indicated that he was treated as resident there but non-domiciled in either.

The English and Irish tax authorities accepted that when he purchased Brecqhou he acquired a domicile of choice but the issue then was whether he lost his domicile of choice by acquiring a new domicile of choice in Guernsey even thought his intention of living in Guernsey never materialised. Things were further complicated by a trust disposition in 1942 when he

indicated that he had changed his domicile to Scotland! In the discussions on the case the familiar cases were cited such as Udny v Udny L.R.1 Sc & Div 441 and Bell v Kennedy in the same volume at 307. The main point from the two cases was that less evidence is required to establish the abandonment of a domicile than is required to demonstrate an acquisition of a domicile of choice.

The evidence from his personal papers was that after the war he intended to live in Guernsey and sell Brecqhou. Indeed he had executed a will in 1940 which declared Guernsey as his domicile and had made arrangements for his former butler to live in a house on the estate of his house in Guernsey.

However, in 1940 whilst it was clear that Captain Clarke intended to live in Guernsey, at the time of his enforced absence the renovations were not complete and the Brecqhou had not even been put on the market.

This enabled the Tax Authorities to argue that as he intended to reside permanently in Guernsey but had not yet finished the renovation work, he had abandoned his domicile of choice on Brecqhou and as a consequence his domicile of origin - Ireland revived. What is clear from the judicial discussion is that in domicile cases the extrinsic evidence is absolutely crucial.

As a corollary where a witness does not stand up to prove it can be devastating. In this- case the judge made some adverse comments about some of the witnesses and Mrs Clarke

in particular. In the event, the court held that Captain Clarke had failed to establish a domicile in Guernsey before his enforced retreat to England and as a consequence had not abandoned his domicile on Brecqhou.

This was supported by the fact that his moveable furniture had remained in Brecqhou and, to quote the case, his “lares and penates” (household furniture) were still installed.

Les Touillets could not be regarded as his home nor did Brecqhou cease to be such even though he did not physically occupy it again but crucially all his furniture was there.

What is clear from this case is that domicile involves an analysis of an individual’s entire life and no stone is unturned and evidentially no claim to privilege can be made for any of the deceased’s documents, which as a result may be very embarrassing.

A further point often ignored is that the evidence of loved ones with an interest in the outcome will be treated sceptically.

These factors should be borne in mind when dealing with HMRC in England and Scotland and Revenue in Ireland. The final point which is extremely interesting and may form a future article is that as an Irish national he obtained permission in Guernsey to pay his retainers on Brecqhou throughout the war. This should not be treated as too exceptional as Ireland had neutral status during the war.

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CY B ER C R I ME

UNDER ATTACK Why the islands treat cyber security so seriously Later this month, the States of Jersey will be releasing a cyber security strategy while Guernsey is also working on this important area as both islands look to safeguard and enhance their trusted jurisdiction status. Richard Digard takes a closer look at why it’s necessary – and how it potentially affects everyone.

It was the November attack on Tesco Bank – the online raid on a trusted brand trying to take on the high street banks and which led to the suspension of transactions and 20,000 customers having money taken from their accounts – that triggered the inquiry.

If it could happen to Tesco, what’s the situation here in the islands?

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The short answer is that the risks to business, government and island reputation is the same as anywhere else – perhaps higher, given their international finance centre status.

Nevertheless, even as you read this, businesses in the Channel Islands are being subject to persistent and high-level attempts to breach their data. Not only are the attacks

being made hundreds or thousands of times a day, they are also costing some firms significant sums.

C5 Alliance Group, the largest provider of technology solutions in the Channel Islands, says that one local business had to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a forensic analysis to try to establish what data, if any, it had lost in a recent breach.

CY B E RCRI M E

Even as you read this, businesses in the Channel Islands are being subject to persistent and highlevel attempts to breach their data. Not only are the attacks being made hundreds or thousands of times a day, they are also costing some firms significant sums.

It concluded that it hadn’t, so customers didn’t need to be notified. Had it been a licensed entity, that also meant the regulator need not be contacted.

So reputational harm and possible regulatory sanction avoided then?

Not necessarily, says Matt Ferbrache, C5 Alliance’s Guernsey-based head of technical solutions.

‘If you don’t have the right visibility in place on your systems and don’t know what data has been taken, you may find two or three years later that it has been made available for sale and it’s only at that stage, after the criminals have finished with whatever they were doing with it and sell it on, that you become aware of the extent of the problem,’ he says.

A conversation with him and C5 Alliance MD Marc Lainé soon makes it clear that cyber threats are real and that too many of us aren’t aware of the risks we face as individuals and businesses.

That’s reinforced by Guernsey police urging

businesses to have appropriate levels of cyber security after what it called ‘highly sophisticated’ attempts were made to target local firms.

the need for businesses to manage cyber risk means that the steps that are, or are not, taken will be subject to the relevant JFSC codes of practice.

These were unsuccessful but the same criminals from an organisation called DD4BC had been pursuing various companies ranging from online casinos to banks and stepping up the frequency and nature of their efforts.

‘I would also highlight that we consider that the growing level of threat will justify increased monitoring in the future of how registered persons are assessing and mitigating the risks to their business,’ said John.

That’s one reason why the Jersey Financial Services Commission wrote to all licensed CEOs last year to highlight the growing importance of cyber security and its expectations of regulated entities.

‘Common risks involve data/information theft, misappropriation of client assets and reputational damage. These all carry financial costs, which may be significant, and may also result in breaches of the law and/or, for registered persons, regulatory requirements,’ warned director-general John Harris.

In other words, how regulated businesses deal with the dangers of cyber attacks is up to them but if they are subsequently seen to be lacking, they risk having the book thrown at them.

While the regulator has stopped short of issuing its own code on what’s required, largely because of the cost and complexity,

As a rule of thumb it anticipates a top down security culture driven from the board to senior management and to every employee;

C5 Alliance’s Marc Lainé went to the FT Cyber Security Summit Europe in London and says, however, that the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s attitude to cyber security and supervision is very proactive and prescriptive in terms of expectations.

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CY B ER C R I ME

good governance around cyber security in their firms, including senior management engagement and responsibility – and effective challenge at board level.

happen to them here in the Channel Islands, but it will. In addition, smaller businesses have to realise that they need the same level of security as bigger firms.’

Firms are expected to have identified their key assets and that the protections around them are appropriate, adequate detection capabilities are in place and firms should have systems and controls to ensure they can carry on in the event of an unforeseen interruption, and to be able to recover from these, preserving essential data.

That’s because cyber criminals in Nigeria, China, Russia, Eastern Europe and elsewhere can quickly and easily scan globally for weaknesses in systems. Where they detect a vulnerability, they seek to exploit it, whether that’s stealing useful data and personal client information or manipulating the computers to carry out other illegal activities elsewhere.

Logicalis, another leading CI IT services company, says the prevalence of increasingly sophisticated threats online will be the number one issue in the next 12 months.

The trouble is that people don’t think it will happen to them here in the Channel Islands, but it will. In addition, smaller businesses have to realise that they need the same level of security as bigger firms

Ricky Magalhaes, head of offshore security, said phishing, ransomeware and corporate extortion are all increasing and many people are not prepared or equipped to deal with them.

‘Digital is now such a large part of all our lives we are all effectively potential targets for cybercrime so it’s vital for everyone to take precautions to protect themselves.

A lot of the precautions we can take are quite simple,’ he says.

Make sure software and systems are up to date and that virus protection is loaded on all devices.

‘However, most cybercrime happens because someone clicks a fake link or attachment – something algorithms can do little to prevent. Thinking before you click is the best protection.’

C5 Alliance’s Matt Ferbrache agrees and says that ransomeware attacks – where payment is demanded to release data – can be particularly disruptive if companies haven’t proper safeguards in place. If, for example, daily backups are unsuccessful, a business with 100 employees could stand to lose over a thousand man hours depending on when the last archive was available.

Asked about the level of understanding in the islands, Matt said there is still a lot of complacency around.

‘The trouble is that people don’t think it will

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He said, however, that C5 Alliance has been extremely busy in the security space over the last two years.

In part, that is because larger corporations are now asking those they supply to meet minimum security standards.

2018 implementation date of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which strengthens and unifies data protection for individuals within the EU but which also applies to organisations based outside the European Union if they process personal data of EU residents.

In particular, the penalties for infringements are significantly higher than under Directive 95/46/EC, which it replaces, and can total up to 4% of worldwide turnover – a massive driver for ensuring compliance.

The pending implementation of GDPR is also cited by Stephanie Peat, director of digital and telecoms policy for the Chief Minister’s Department in Jersey, as one of the reasons why the States there is taking cyber security so seriously.

Stephanie, who before moving to Jersey was head of strategy at Freesat and spent over seven years developing telecoms and digital strategy at the UK’s Office of Communications, says the strategy is ‘hugely important’ for Jersey.

‘Cyber security comprises potential threats not just to areas such as data and systems in government and business, but also to the island’s critical infrastructure. Over the last few years the cyber security landscape has changed dramatically,’ she says.

‘Internationally, the frequency and complexity of cyber-attacks is increasing and it is therefore ever more important to ensure that information security both online and offline is considered a priority by governments, businesses and individuals.’

‘In turn, that means boards are able to put a value against cyber security – if a third-party supplier says it will stop doing business with you, you could be several million a year worse off,’ he said.

Jersey commissioned an earlier independent expert audit of its then levels of security.

It looked at the island’s current cyber resilience and the main risks that Jersey faces. It identified cyber security priorities and considered approaches to enhancing the island’s cyber resilience generally.

Similarly, when told that they need to take certain steps to retain that commercial relationship, it becomes much easier for local managers to understand the value – and necessity – of putting acceptable security procedures in place.

Matt says the other driver is the 25 May

When the strategy is published, it will be based on five pillars: secure government systems and strengthening what’s called ‘critical national infrastructure’. It will require working in partnership with the private sector to encourage and incentivise improved cyber security across the island’s

CY B E RCRI M E

Jersey and Guernsey Police developed a partnership in 2015 in order to make best use of specialist skills across both islands in combating cyber crime and the Jersey force secured €320,000 of European Union funding -for investment over two years to develop a network to fight the continued threat

businesses and ensuring appropriate legislation is in place.

More widely, it will require engaging with the international community to enhance international cooperation while domestically helping to ensure that people in Jersey are secure online by building cyber skills, knowledge and capability.

Assistant Chief Minister Philip Ozouf told Contact that advances in digital technology offered enormous potential to transform organisations in Jersey and improve islanders’ lives but everyone needed to be aware that there was a corresponding risk as we increased our use of and reliance on innovative new technology.

‘Cyber resilience is essential for Jersey’s continued success as an international financial services centre and for achieving our digital aspirations,’ he said.

The overarching vision of the strategy was to

ensure Jersey remained a safe place to live and to do business. ‘To deliver this strategy, the government aims to work in partnership with the States of Jersey Police, the critical national infrastructure, the Jersey Financial Services Commission, Digital Jersey and the private sector to encourage and incentivise improved cyber security across the island.

‘Successful delivery of the strategy will also enhance the island’s attractiveness to new business, underpinning the government’s efforts to increase economic growth and diversify the economy,’ he said.

In terms of the scale of the problem, Stephanie Peat said: ‘The States of Jersey Police have seen an increase in cyber crime generally and some local organisations will see thousands of attempts a day.’

Stephanie and the IT services providers agree that education is key with around 90% of all successful breaches being down to human

error – perhaps something as simple as clicking on an email attachment that then loads malware on an entire office system.

Guernsey has also completed a detailed cyber-security review which looked at government, businesses and individuals because the island is part of a global economy and a highly connected world.

Colin Vaudin, the States of Guernsey’s first chief information officer, is creating a single technology infrastructure for government, and is working with other parties in Guernsey and beyond on standards and benchmarks for demonstrating trusted jurisdiction status in terms of cyber security.

He agrees cyber fraud is a significant issue and by establishing a clear position as a trusted jurisdiction, which would embrace government, business and individuals, it would act as an important economic differentiator for the island.

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CY B ER C R I ME

Jersey and Guernsey Police developed a partnership in 2015 in order to make best use of specialist skills across both islands in combating cyber crime and the Jersey force secured €320,000 of European Union funding -for investment over two years to develop a network to fight the continued threat.

This will be used to establish a SINCERE (Small Islands Nations Centre of Excellence for Research and Education) centre, based on the EU model that includes, law enforcement, academia and industry and includes Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Cyprus.

A key element of security also rests with the telecoms providers and Sure’s chief digital officer, Justin Bellinger, said they treated this incredibly seriously, whether that was down to the physical design of submarine connectivity to the UK, Europe and beyond to ensure continual connectivity and network resilience or to the highly secure data centres they operated, with controls at every level.

Training and culture within the organisation were also very important.

‘We demonstrate our commitment to security not only through the structures that we have in place that touch all staff, all the way to and including the board, but through adhering to security standards such as ISO27001 and PCI DSS and maintaining certification in these areas.’

Unseen by customers, Sure also filters out known spam, removing more than 90% of it before it reaches our in-boxes and is part of the world’s largest and most advanced distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation service.

Justin said: ‘Sure was a pioneer of this type of service over a decade ago, initially protecting the company’s largest ecommerce customers in our data centres.

Now we are mitigating many thousands of attacks a year, many of such a size that they could easily have a major impact on the island’s businesses and digital infrastructure if

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they were not stopped from entering our local internet network.’

Business clients benefitted from Sure’s partnership with Mimecast, which offers an email solution that stores email in a secure, encrypted offshore data repository that incorporates intelligent anti-spam and anti-virus protection as standard.

Justin said that this, however, was a piece of a much wider security picture. ‘Because Sure’s infrastructure is part of a main trans-Atlantic cable system and also because of our links

People are the weakest link in the cyber-security chain so the more information that we can make available, either through the media or through seminars, the better equipped we, as a jurisdiction, will be to deal with the ever-changing threat landscape to very high-level security specialists, we receive reports of new cyber-attack types and developing attack vectors – which are the paths that enable hackers to exploit system vulnerabilities – that might not have been widely seen before.’

This information is shared with island governments, regulatory and industry bodies and customers to raise awareness and to help protect against these developing threats.

‘People are the weakest link in the

cyber-security chain so the more information that we can make available, either through the media or through seminars, the better equipped we, as a jurisdiction, will be to deal with the ever-changing threat landscape.’

What’s meant by cyber security…

‘Cyberspace’ describes the electronic medium of digital networks used to store, modify and communicate information.

It includes the Internet but also other information systems that support businesses, infrastructure and services.

Cyberspace lies at the heart of modern society. It impacts individual personal lives, businesses and essential services. A secure online environment is essential to the States of Jersey and Guernsey, which are providing increasing numbers of online services to islanders and businesses as part of their digital services transformation programmes.

The ability to conduct online transactions securely is central to the delivery of public and commercial services and communications. However, some individuals and groups use cyberspace for malicious purposes. They exploit cyberspace to conduct espionage operations or launch damaging computer network attacks.

Cyber security affects the public and private sectors and spans a broad range of issues related to national security, whether through terrorism, crime or state and industrial espionage.

E-crime, or cyber crime, relates to theft, hacking or denial of service to vital systems and has become a fact of life. The risk of industrial cyber espionage, in which one company makes active attacks on another, through cyberspace, to acquire high value information is also very real.

Cyber terrorism presents challenges for the future. According to the UK’s Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), communities need to be prepared for terrorists seeking to take advantage of increasing internet dependency to attack or disable key systems.

www.je.logicalis.com | www.gg.logicalis.com

Cyber Security.

Governance, Compliance and Risk Management

Before

During

Discover, Enforce and Harden

Detect, Block and Defend

Threat Intelligence

Network

After

Scope, Contain and Remediate

Point in time

Endpoint

Professional Services

Mobile

Managed Security

Continuous

Virtual

Cloud

Security Operations Center

If you would like more information on how Logicalis can provide secure and bespoke IT solutions for your business, call our experts in Jersey on 288088, or in Guernsey on 737000 for a no obligation and confidential discussion.

Guernsey +44 (0) 1481 737 000

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Email solutions@gg.logicalis.com

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Jersey +44 (0) 1534 288 088

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ogier.com

Proud of our roots Today Ogier exists in eight international locations, but we’re proud of our roots as a Channel Islands success story.

Whether it’s an established company, a family business, an entrepreneurial start-up or the local arm of a larger operation, what businesses in the Channel Islands need to thrive in an ever-changing economy are trusted advisors who understand how to take advantage of opportunity, manage challenges and mitigate risk.

Ogier’s local legal services team covers property, employment and regulatory law. We work with clients who are buying or selling a business, entering into a joint venture or restructuring, as well as advising on day to day issues from financing and corporate governance to contracts.

Local legal services Business and commercial law Competition law Dispute resolution Employment law Offshore relocations Planning and environment law Property and construction law Regulatory law Trusts Advisory Group Wills, probate and estate planning

H R & T RAIN ING

The challenges ahead The recruitment market has seen some significant changes through 2015 & 2016.

Marie-Clara Thaureux and Ben Pastor from GLS Recruitment give us their views on the challenges faced by employers and candidates in 2017.

Employers aren’t being too selective, the skills shortage lives on (Marie-Clara Thaureux) The UK economy grew by 2.2% in 2015, down from 2.9% in 2014 and is currently expected to have ended 2016 with an estimated growth of 2%. Not too shabby considering the changes 2016 has seen, with Brexit and the US elections to name just a couple.

However, with power comes great responsibility and the current rate of growth is doing nothing to help ease the chronic skills shortage the UK and Channel Islands are currently facing. In 2015, there were a reported 927,000 vacancies, a growing number of which have been left unfilled as employers report being unable to source candidates with the necessary skill set/qualifications to satisfy the roles.

Skills shortages have been a hot topic of conversation over the last two years with annual reports only confirming our worst fears and very little seemingly being done to rectify the situation.

In the REC’s/KPMG’s annual ‘Report on Jobs’, it was found that one in five employers surveyed chose to recruit and upskill internal staff, being unable to find the skills required externally. In addition, employers reported current skills shortages as having a direct financial impact, in addition to raising concerns over their ability to service client need’s effectively.

REC’s chief executive Kevin Green says: ‘Skills shortages are a real threat to continued economic growth for many industries [and that] businesses need to be prepared to hire staff with potential and invest in their development.’

In Jersey, we see a very clear skills gap, in junior to mid-management positions or for candidates with one to five years’ experience across all sectors, but particularly within funds.

In the UK, skills shortages in financial services sectors jumped up to 21% in 2015 (up from 10% in 2014) and the outlook for digital is somewhat worse. The BBC reported in June 2016 that the UK requires another 745,000 workers with digital skills by 2017 and that the skills gap costs economy around £63 billion per annum in lost income.

The evidence strongly suggests that we are lacking skills in many industries, furthermore, it reports that businesses are not doing enough to combat the current deficits, let alone address future ones.

Earlier this year, a well-known financial services company spearheaded an initiative abroad to recruit, for a pre-set number of vacancies, only men and women who had been out-of-work for the two previous years, whether this was due to parenthood, illness or other reasons. In doing so, it brought out of the woodwork experienced and competent professionals who may have otherwise been passed over for a candidate switching jobs. The company, who recruited for both part-time and full-time hours, hailed it a great success and hope to roll it out in other jurisdictions in the future.

Taking note of the above example, should we all be more open to drawing on the wholly underutilised part-time workforce?

By taking greater notice of transferable skill sets? In addition to investing more in current employees?

There is a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips, if only we find a way to benefit from it.

The rise of the part-time workforce (Ben Pastor) Throughout 2016, we have seen an increase in employees wanting more flexible working hours. I have seen a real change in candidate’s preferences; increased salary and benefits are no longer primary deal breakers, instead working hours are.

Increasingly candidates and employers hit a brick wall because employers can’t (or won’t?) offer flexible part-time hours. The result of this all too common occurrence doesn’t benefit anyone. Amongst the pool are individuals who could fill skills and experience shortages but remain unemployed or underutilised in another job.

There is solid evidence that employers need to reassess part-time practices.

Across the world’s richest countries, higher productivity correlates with shorter working hours so these candidates should be worth their weight in gold. Moreover, various studies have shown that mental well-being and general worker satisfaction are all higher in part-time workers compared with their full-time counterparts.

Some employers I speak to say they don’t have the structure for part-time workers, my response is can you afford not to benefit from this talent? Employers that are unwilling to adapt could find themselves left behind or in a ‘Blockbuster’ situation. Blockbuster continued to underestimate/ignore the rise of the internet and Netflix etc., they delayed, thinking it was a fad and inevitability, it cost them massively.

This is not a passing fad, the demand for part-time hours has been increasing year-on- year. It is now up to employers to adapt.

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HR & T R A I NI NG

Give your new colleague the best start Induction training is an important way of helping new colleagues get up to speed quickly but operational pressures can make this difficult. Alex Morel, managing director of ALX Training, explains A specialist training company can deliver induction programmes that make a real difference. Getting off on the right foot is as crucial in business as it is in our personal relationships.

When new starters join a company they want to make a good impression and they want to feel welcome but smiling faces and warm greetings are not enough. For your latest recruits to truly feel like they are in the right place, they need to know how to use the tools that they’ll be working with on a daily basis.

We all know what it’s like to be the new face and we also know what it feels like not to have been given the right training on software packages that we’ve never used before. As a new starter you don’t want to be continually asking questions about finding files, recording time or following the correct processes but if you’re not shown how to use specific applications, particularly those that are specific to you firm, then these questions will arise, putting your new colleague in an embarrassing situation.

The best way to ensure new members of staff feel comfortable in the shortest possible time is to provide the right induction training but given all of the pressures of every company’s daily operations, this can sometimes feel like a luxury that time simply cannot afford.

Small and medium-sized businesses often don’t have a dedicated human resources department that can design and undertake training programmes. In companies that do have HR functions, the many pressures placed on them can, at times, cause inductions to drift or new applications to be omitted because the department hasn’t got the necessary resources to design appropriate training.

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As a result, training on vital everyday business tools can often be left to the department in which the new recruits are working. This can have the advantage of ensuring that the training is focused on those functions that your new colleague will be using the most but it also has the disadvantages of placing greater pressure on teams and means that incorrect or inefficient user practices will be passed onto new staff members.

messaging systems, MS SharePoint intranet and several custom software packages including timekeeping and billing systems.

There is however, no question that comprehensive induction programmes bring enormous benefits to both the company and new members of staff, not least because they help colleagues get up to speed more quickly.

Importantly, the uniformity of training isn’t confined to local offices and is just as effective for multi-jurisdictional businesses.

By using conferencing packages such as WebEx and Skype, ALX trainers have taught people on three continents, which is enormously helpful to any business as they know that colleagues thousands of miles away will have the same knowledge and approach to using their workplace tools.

Reducing business pressure The answer to the induction challenge is to use a dedicated training provider that has the necessary expertise and capabilities to train your new staff on all relevant software, bringing everyone up to the same standard and ensuring that they adhere to best practice rather than adopting bad habits that may be passed on with in-house training.

A trusted third party training provider has the potential to make an enormous difference to the effectiveness of new staff members, which is why ALX is trusted by several Channel Island businesses to provide customised IT training programmes for inductions.

Our training experts work with a wide variety of applications, learning them inside and out so they’re then able to pass on the knowledge to your new recruits. As a result, hundreds of employees in Channel Islands companies have been given a head start in their new jobs learning about document management systems, CRM,

Multi-jurisdictional training The benefits to our clients have been enormous as they’ve found the quality and uniformity of the IT training gives their new staff members the knowledge they need to get on with their work confidently and effectively.

In the digital age, this comprehensive approach to induction training also gives peace of mind because senior management know that critical aspects of business such as data security, are being covered off at the earliest opportunity. As data regulations like the EU’s GDPR tighten, so it is vitally important that companies ensure they adhere to best practice and that means training staff. Failure to do so can, in the event of the lost or theft of client data, lead to large fines and a loss of reputation.

Given the operational pressures that all companies find themselves under, there is an extremely strong case for using specialist third party training suppliers to deliver the best possible IT training in company induction programmes. Throughout the Channel Islands, companies are realising the benefits of partnering with ALX and giving their new colleagues the best possible start.

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H R & T RAIN ING

Developments in Guernsey employment legislation Lisa Reynolds, consultant at Situations Recruitment looks at the pending changes and the potential effect these will have in the recruitment arena.

Recruiting in Guernsey has always had its challenges, mostly due to the limited size of the selection pool on such a small island.

As any Guernsey employer will know, it can be a constant challenge to find suitably qualified and experienced staff to fill all of the senior vacancies available. This has been made easier by our current housing law as employers have been able to request housing licences for the harder to fill positions. For many years, employers have had a good understanding of the requirements of the law, along with how our Housing Department operate on a day-to-day basis. The law was introduced shortly after the Second World War in order to preserve the island’s limited housing stock for locals. The law has been updated over time and has served its purpose well but is now considered outdated. From April 2017, there will be a new ‘population management law’ in Guernsey which has been designed to ensure that the population contains those with the required skill set and demographic.

This creates a challenge as employers will need to become familiar with the requirements of the new law including learning the new terminology: - what is a ‘Recognised Break in Residence’? ‘Will I lose my Open Market employees?’ ‘How does an Established Resident differ from a Permanent Resident?’ However, over time, the changes become familiar and ‘everyday’ and less of a challenge.

Another challenge for companies is the recent (and pending) change in employment

the relevant paperwork.

It is anticipated disability discrimination legislation is likely to come into force at some point during 2017. This should enable all people to participate fully in education, employment, social life and politics. Again employers will need to ensure that they have policies and procedures in place to ensure they comply with any law introduced, in order to ensure those with disabilities (and their carers) are protected from discrimination. This may include a full audit of all buildings to identify anything that may prevent access to disabled individuals.

It may include allowing those with caring responsibilities flexibility with their working hours. It may include writing a safeguarding policy to protect vulnerable adults from abuse or neglect within the work place.

law. In 2016 new maternity rights were introduced for women giving birth along with equivalent adoption rights. This required all companies to either review their current maternity provision in order to ensure it complied with the new law or introduce a new policy from scratch.

The majority of companies would feel the need to engage a legal resource to ensure they had actioned this sufficiently and this is time consuming and also costly.

From April 2017, there will be a new ‘Population Management Law’ in Guernsey which has been designed to ensure that the population contains those with the required skill set and demographic.

There will also be an increase in minimum wage from 1 January 2017 which will require companies to identify those employees who fall below the new hourly rate. This could be very easy for those smaller companies who may have to just quickly review their data on a small spreadsheet, but could be quite an onerous task for much larger companies. There is then the process of informing employees and processing all

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As a recruitment agency, all of these legal developments impact us as an employer and also our candidates. The new population management law could mean that more vacancies are available on the island, with recently arrived Open Market house sharers having to take a break from Guernsey in between periods of residence.

Also, as a small business with all female staff, the recent maternity law will most likely have an impact on us, as well as our clients, and the minimum wage increase may well mean that we’ll be seeing higher job offers at the junior end of the market going forwards.

So there are busy times ahead for everyone, however the changes will hopefully ensure that Guernsey is a better place to live and work.

HR & T R A I NI NG

First timers in the job market Tina Palmer from ASL talks about the challenges for the first time job seeker and how an agency can help When you’re starting out, talent is as much about attitude as it is academic results. With more school leavers and graduates entering the workplace each year a good education alone isn’t enough to secure a job when you’re competing against industry professionals who already have several years’ experience under their belt.

Finding your first role can be a daunting and bewildering experience and it’s not down to lack of information. With school seminars, careers fairs, audition days and websites galore bombarding and enticing you with what’s on offer, it’s hard to know where to start. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have so much information at your fingertips but with so many potential avenues to go down, how do you increase your chances of not only finding a job, but finding one you actually want to be doing?

The simple answer…use an agency!

Why use an agency?

If you’ve already started your job search, you’ll know how much time and effort it takes to customise each application (time that would be better spent, researching companies and preparing for interviews!)

So, if despite your best efforts you’re still not being called for interview, how do know where you’re going wrong? With a plethora of CVs to trawl through, it’s easy for employers to overlook your potential on the basis of your academic credentials and lack of experience. After all, they don’t

know you, who you are, what makes you tick. As recruiters we are trained to recognise potential when we see it and; whilst some companies aren’t willing to take a chance on an unknown, many are, and they trust the judgment of an agency to send only candidates of the highest calibre to integrate into their teams.

the ability to sit down with a market professional to discuss your strengths, tidy up your CV and identify the right roles for you.

A bad interview experience can really knock your confidence. A good agency will offer interview preparation so you can learn to present yourself in the most favorable light to a prospective employer.

The best agencies have their finger on the pulse of their specialist markets. They can give you real insight into your preferred employers - unpublished jobs, what it’s like to work there, team structures, benefits, social aspects and; most important of all, a feel for the culture. Companies invest big money in developing and marketing their brand and it’s important to understand where you fit in and what characteristics set you apart from the rest. If you don’t thrive in a particular culture, it doesn’t matter what your job title is, how much you’re being paid or which of your friends work there, the job can get toxic pretty quickly. It’s our job to understand our clients’ needs, their culture and to spot young talent with the potential to flourish in these differing environments.

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One of the best things about using an agency is…it’s free! Whilst it is your prerogative to register with as many agencies as you like, it’s always better to limit this to a select few. Be wary of agencies asking you for exclusivity, or those that suggest you give them carte blanche to send your CV out to employers without your prior knowledge or consent (that’s the commission talking!).

The more agencies you use, the higher the possibility of you losing control of your search and how potential employers see you, particularly when they receive multiple copies of your CV. It’s far better to build a lasting relationship with an agency that understands you and your aspirations and to work with consultants you can trust to act in your best interests. Our consultants at ASL are not on individual commission and work together with you to find the right role in the right organisation.

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE ISLANDS

A world first for Alderney Alderney is looking to the future as it welcomes PwC’s Know Your Customer (KYC) Centre of Excellence (CoE).

In what is hoped will be a world first for providing KYC checks for all financial institutions in a particular jurisdiction, PwC has chosen to pilot the concept on Alderney.

Globalisation, increased trade and money flows, the emergence of new technologies and the financial crisis of 2008 have collectively compounded the threat posed by transnational organised financial crime, which continues to increase year by year.

For financial institutions (FIs), the costly business of keeping pace with the required compliance, monitoring and control of financial transactions has similarly continued to increase. PwC’s CoE in Alderney will service FIs operating within the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The technologically-enabled CoE will perform KYC services as required by the local regulator, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC).

The KYC services will include identification and verification of clients as well as screening based on public/commercial sources.

David Grace, PwC global financial crime leader (pictured), said: ‘One of PwC’s mandates is to help in the fight against financial crime and to build and maintain trust in global financial markets. We want to

Founded in 1961, the Alderney Chamber of Commerce has grown from strength to strength and is now widely acknowledged as the official voice of Alderney’s business community.

Introduction to the Alderney Chamber

Its current membership of some 120 Alderney-based companies represents a large portion of the island’s thriving business community, encompassing: finance, legal, medical, e-commerce, building trade, hospitality and tourism, transport, professional services, retail and wholesale, media, marine and energy supplies and many other commercial activities.

ensure the reputation of the Bailiwick of Guernsey is seen by the international financial community as an offshore financial centre with strong and consistently applied KYC standards which meet the requirements of the GFSC.’ Stuart Trought, president of the States of Alderney, said: ‘The location of PwC’s KYC centre on the island reinforces Alderney’s reputation as an advanced jurisdiction for regulation and enhanced compliance. As and when the CoE expands, further employment and other opportunities will be created for Alderney.

Alderney is a proven location for the operation of Global Financial and Regulation services, and this new venture fits well with the island’s ambitious economic development plan.’

The role of the Alderney Chamber of Commerce is to act as a vital link between the States of Alderney and the island’s business community and to represent its diverse membership in all areas. Its aim however is not just to challenge and react to issues in government, but to assist in the proactive development of real business opportunities on the island.

Chamber’s structure is based on an elected council which in turn appoints sub-committees to deal with specific issues.

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N EW S F R OM A R OUND THE IS L AN D S

Tapestry on tour The 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings last year was marked by Alderney with the island exhibiting its tapestry panel in the historic towns of Battle and Berkhamsted.

While on prominent display at Battle Museum for two months it was seen and admired by over 1,000 people. From there it moved to Berkhamsted for two weeks and was visited by over 900 people, including many schoolchildren.

Sark digs deep for 2017 Britain in Bloom Sark returned to Floral Guernsey in 2016 after a 10-year break from the competition and what better way than by winning gold level recognition winning the coveted Lady Dorey Trophy and being nominated to represent the Bailiwick of Guernsey, as well as Sark, in the finals of Britain in Bloom 2017.

Top of the chocs

Alderney’s 10 foot community-stitched tapestry features an imagined final panel to the famous original.

History teacher Lucy Simson said: ‘Alderney’s tapestry stimulated exciting history lessons for pupils in the local area.

Year 7 pupils from Berkhamsted Girls’ School have enjoyed researching the Bayeux Tapestry. The Alderney tapestry shows the pupils how the Norman conquest is still important and relevant today, and through studying it, the pupils are engaging with a broader debate on how historical sources are produced and for what purpose.’

A well-attended public meeting last year confirmed there were many residents keen to be involved, many of whom had experience or expertise, and others who just wanted to be part of such an important event for the island. And work is already underway with a helping hand from Floral Guernsey and Rotary who gave the island 1,000 daffodil bulbs and a massive pile of crocus bulbs respectively – the latter as part of the ‘End Polio Now’ initiative. Around 24 people took part in the initial planting session including a number of children.

the range of chocolates she has been making since 1990.

Caragh Couldridge, Sark’s award-winning chocolatier, has launched a new range of handmade chocolates and truffles.

Caragh was inspired by Sark’s wonderfully rich cream that became the key ingredient in

Last year she worked with her son James to create a new look for the packaging and branding along with developing some new lines including special editions to celebrate Sark’s wonderful dark, starry skies. There are six tempting boxed selections to choose from and 10 different delicious bars.

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64

Corporate Dispute Resolution Property

A new approach to Guernsey Law With years of practice behind it

New Guernsey law firm launches with a people-focused, service-oriented commitment Ferbrache & Farrell LLP is a newly established, independent law firm in Guernsey. Its practice areas include corporate, property and dispute resolution. The ethos of Ferbrache & Farrell LLP is its people‑focused culture and commitment to delivering a premier, partner‑led, personal and cost‑effective service to its clients. The firm consists of highly respected individuals with decades of experience and who are all recognised locally and internationally for their levels of expertise. All of the firm’s partners and staff previously worked at other large offshore law firms and have worked together on a cross‑disciplinary basis.

Ferbrache & Farrell LLP Somers House, Rue du Pre St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1LU Call 01481 741 300 Email info@ferbrachefarrell.com

www.ferbrachefarrell.com Ferbrache & Farrell LLP is a limited liability partnership registered under Guernsey law. The registered office of Ferbrache & Farrell LLP is Somers House, Rue du Pre, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 1LU. Our register of members can be inspected at our offices during normal business hours.

BUS I N ES S I N THE C OMMUNI T Y

AFM In 2016 AFM undertook a number of charitable initiatives to give back to the islands in which they operate.

Focusing on it strengths, the facilities management company not only gave money but provided time and practical assistance to projects in Guernsey and Jersey.

At the end of 2015, AFM, the Channel Islands’ largest facilities management company, began its search for charitable partners in Jersey and Guernsey.

The company didn’t want to hand over a cheque. AFM, which celebrated its 50th year in the Channel Islands in 2014 and has more than 250 staff, wanted to utilise the skills it had to benefit a cross section of the community. Drawing on its employees’ professionalism, experience and manpower, the company set about finding charitable partners for whom it could help with fundraising initiatives, and also deliver practical support such as cleaning, planned maintenance or repairs for small projects.

‘As a long established business in the Channel Islands, AFM is committed to building meaningful and lasting relationships with local community groups,’ said Mark Edgar, AFM’s managing director.

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‘We have a range of hard and soft services capabilities at our disposal, which we knew could be of benefit to local charities who needed maintenance support or were thinking about project work in 2016.’

With the application process underway, AFM staff was already helping out on a huge community project that had captured the island’s imagination in Guernsey. More than a dozen local companies came together to help transform the historic La Vallette bathing pools. The project got underway in the first week of January and within six weeks the changing rooms were unrecognisable.

‘They were in a terrible state – damp and antiquated. AFM decided to get involved with the public/private partnership to overhaul the facilities at La Vallette as part of our 2016 corporate social responsibility programme. We wanted to give something back to the public and by enhancing the

changing rooms and kitchen area we felt this would assist the Legacy Team project being headed up by Pat Johnson and Andrew Pouteau,’ said Mark.

‘We totally gutted the internal areas of the changing rooms and kitchen area down at the Ladies’ Pool and handed back a much needed updated and refreshed facility which was better equipped and nicer for the public to use. We called upon local suppliers and clients to help us with contributions such as a new roof, electric water heaters and other much-needed items, and the response was incredible. It was a classic case of the local community pulling together and the results were outstanding, restoring the Victorian splendour of the area. ’The new look changing rooms were opened on 14 February by 88-year-old lifelong sea swimmer, Bernie Savage, and guests enjoyed a champagne reception on the terrace of

B U S IN E S S IN T H E COM M U N IT Y

Island Views Café. AFM added an extra surprise by having old photographs of the area taken from the Guernsey Press archives printed and hung in the changing rooms.

As the bathing pools project was progressing, 18 staff members at AFM were getting in shape to raise money for lifesaving treatment for a Guernsey teenager. Jonah Gillingham needed expensive off-island treatment for a rare blood disease called aHUS. Between them, AFM staff lost a staggering 10 stone in the first month of 2016, raising a total of £244.‘ After the Christmas and New Year festivity binge, drinking and eating, it was felt that some of us, including myself, needed to shed a few pounds and one way of encouraging everyone to do this was to make it fun and help to raise money for a charity – so we chose the Jonah Fund,’ said Karen Girdlestone, business development and PR manager for AFM. AFM Guernsey has also recently installed a brand new fire alarm system in the hangar at the Channel Islands Air Search & Rescue Service.

In Jersey, AFM donated time, resources and skills capability to enhance facilities at the St Brelade Scout Group. A new decking area was installed around the perimeter of the hut, and staff undertook some decoration work to help tidy up these much-used premises.

In March 2016, AFM announced its

charitable partners for the year in each island. After going through a large number of applications, it was decided that in Guernsey AFM would support Riding for the Disabled, and in Jersey staff chose the Jersey Brain Tumour Charity (JBTC).

The charity, formed in 2011, is self-funded and needs to raise between £60,000 and £80,000 per year to cover the costs of running its core services, comprising of the monthly ‘brain buddies’ support group, 24/7 help line, specialist face-to-face support and critical finance support, which funds the specialist care of each individual patient.

AFM wanted JBTC to benefit from a range of planned initiatives, including support with fundraising activities and practical assistance such as office cleaning, planned maintenance, DIY and health and safety advice. ‘One of the main reasons for choosing the JBTC was that as well as acknowledging the excellent work that they do, a number of employees’ friends and ex-colleagues had been diagnosed with brain tumours,’ said Niall McClure, operations director.

‘Our entire staff team was asked to vote and agreed that the personal connection that some AFM employees shared with JBTC, and the work they do for brain tumour patients in the island, made them the perfect partner for us. ’In Guernsey, staff chose to partner with the Guernsey group of Riding for the Disabled (RDA). The company bought new

promote the charity’s name and attended riding sessions as lead rein workers on a number of occasions.

In terms of fundraising, AFM held fancy dress events, dress-down days every Friday and repeated the weight loss initiative from earlier in the year. The company also made new dressage markers for the charity, bought a spinning wheel for its tombola events and gave RDA the proceeds of its Christmas raffle, which raised more than £1,000.

In 2017, AFM is turning its attention to GROW Limited in Guernsey. After receiving numerous applications for support, the Guernsey team chose this particular charity based on the work it does in the local community.

‘GROW Limited is such a credit to the island.

It offers training and support to individuals who may well get left behind and it gives them a purpose and offers them employment in a safe environment,’ said Karen.

‘We want to help them grow their exposure in Guernsey and help to fundraise for them.

We are also hoping to help support them by purchasing uniforms, plants and equipment throughout the year, and will attend functions and events to help boost their name.’

AFM’s chosen charity for 2017 in Jersey will be announced in the New Year.

riding helmets for all riders, put advertisements on its fleet of vehicles to

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BUS I N ES S I N THE C OMMUNI T Y

Over 100 turn out for the EPIC Moonlight Marathon

St John’s teams victorious at Jersey primary schools break dancing competition

RBC wins the inaugural Ashburton Stock Market Challenge

27 Jersey primary schools share £10,000 from JEP’s Care4Schools competition sponsored by One Foundation

Hawksford staff support campaign to get people to give blood

Sure sponsors Ormer FC kit

Vauvert School pupils’ hampers help people with dementia

B U S IN E S S IN T H E COM M U N IT Y

NGIT director runs Jersey Marathon for cancer charity

Vantage’s cake sale raises £700 for Jersey Alzheimers Association

Guernsey Electricity Calendar to raise money for Wigwam

CI Co-operative Society funds lighting for youth outreach programme

Carey Olsen raises £16,000 for Priaulx Premature Baby Foundation and Guernsey Disability Swimming Saffery Champness staff help clear up Delancey

Butterfield raises £1,600 for Teenage Cancer Trust

Shop at Waitrose and leave the heavy lifting to us Use the Waitrose Delivery Service and we’ll bring it home at a time that suits you.

Ask for details at the Welcome Desk in store.

Delivery costs £3 when you spend £50 or £5 for smaller shops.

Terms and conditions: Delivery Service; Book a delivery slot at the Welcome Desk before you start shopping in store. Shopping must be completed at least 2 hours before booked delivery. Hot food and large bulky items are excluded. Food that should be consumed on the day of purchase must be delivered on the same day. For same day deliveries you will need to complete your shopping by 5pm. For next day delivery you will need to complete your shopping at least 1 hour before the branch closes. Charges; Spend of £50 or more will be subject to a charge of £3. Less than £50 will be subject to a £5 delivery charge.

U O Y G N I T D T R E G AND HEA N E E S

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nd o y e b and

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• Copywriting • Events • Marketing • PR • Publishing • Sales

Meet us for a coffee and chat.

Guernsey: 01481 715222 Jersey:

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E julie@collaboratecommunications.com E trish@collaboratecommunications.com www.collaboratecommunications.com

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A new year.

A new directory.

As agreed with all C.I. Chambers, the directory listing of all current Chamber members will now appear as a separately published insert twice a year: May and November.

This directory will contain membership details of ALL the Channel Islands’ Chambers of Commerce, listed on a per-island basis for ease of use.

In addition to being inserted within Contact magazine during those months, additional copies will be available at every Chamber office for your collection.

The directory is an ideal source of data for all businesses, and we already know how popular it is. If you wish to advertise within the separate directory publications twice a year, please contact us and we will be pleased to explain more.

Contact: Julie Todd on: 01534 858514 or email: julie@collaboratecommunications.com

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