Business Edge 6

BUSINESSEDGE The magazine of Sussex Enterprise

Building an airport for growth Supporting businesses on the international stage Turning the spotlight on the banks in tough economic times

British Chambers of Commerce Accredited

DECEMBER 2011 JANUARY 2012

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Contents

Welcome

04 09 22 44 04 05 07 08 09 12 13 15 16 19 21

Economic Overview Upfront Upfront World View Upfront Policy News BCC Focus Ask the Expert Spotlight On… The Steam Room Start Ups

Contacts Business Edge is a Sussex Enterprise publication.

If you have any stories you would like to tell us about or any comments please drop us an email at businessedgeenquiries@sussexenterprise.co.uk

SUSSEX ENTERPRISE Greenacre Court, Station Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9DS

22 24 36 38 41 43 44 48 50

The Big Interview Cover Feature Training Courses Premier Member View Events Movers and Shakers MP View New Members The Last Word

This issue focuses on the financial world and looks at how the economic turbulence has impacted on businesses.

We spoke to Grant Thornton about UK Mergers & Acquisition deal flow and Barclays Bank about what the bank is doing now and its view on the economy. And we visit Chichester to hear some good news stories about industry and enterprise in the area.

And don’t miss the Big Interview with Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint, Trade and Investment Minister, where we ask him about the issues that shape the UK’s trading links with the rest of the world. We also hear from RDF Group and Focus Group about how to protect your business, particularly looking at risk management and disaster recovery.

We have been very pleased with the response we have had to calls for stories over recent months, but we are always looking for more. So, if you have anything you would like to tell us, please get in touch on businessedgeenquiries@ sussexenterprise.co.uk.

Our next issue, due out at the end of January, will focus on the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. We look forward to hearing from you.

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

FEATURE EDITORS

Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU Tel: 0845 884 2384 www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk

John Dean & Francis Griss email:deangriss@btinternet.com

ADVERTISING Helen Longley, Business Development Manager, Distinctive Publishing, 8th Floor, Aidan House, Sunderland Road, Gateshead NE8 3HU

T: 0845 884 2332 F: 0191 478 8301 E: helen.longley@distinctivepublishing.co.uk

E-BOOK www.distinctivepublishing.co.uk/publications

British Chambers of Commerce Accredited

BUSINESSEDGE 3

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ECONOMIC OVERVIEW

Quantitative Easing and all that! individuals wanting to borrow is not growing.

What does this QE thing mean? Very simply it means that there is more cash in the economy to borrow and spend.

Given the limited appetite for both businesses and individuals to take on more debt coupled with banks reported reluctance to lend I am not sure what the impact of more QE is. I think the government needs to find a mechanism to boost demand and boost confidence for both the consumer and for the business investor.

The problem in the economy is no longer a bust banking sector. They have largely repaired their balance sheets, are making profits and have started to make provision for any default in Greek debt, or other countries defaulting. The problem is a lack of confidence and a reluctance for individuals or businesses to take any risks at all. Hence the number of businesses and

Despite all this sales to the consumer and purchases by business are not declining.

Consumer spending is rising slowly. But people are generally nervous. Most are still in that frame of mind where they want to pay down debt and not take on new commitments, just in case. This is entirely understandable given the last three years, the concern over the Eurozone financial sector and the hyperbole that our national newspapers and Robert Peston love to put about regarding how close to the edge of a financial and economic cliff we are.

Now I am not saying that the future is rosy.

I think times will continue to be tough for the next couple of years and we will see a continued reluctance to invest and take risks. But this means what is going on is that we are all recalibrating what growth and risk is.

What comes with that is uncertainty and what comes with uncertainty is prevarication. So we appear to be locked into a cycle where no one is quite sure where growth is coming from.

What is required?

The Coalition Government have stuck to their Deficit Reduction Plan, but we have

now gone beyond the need to ensure that the markets believe that there will be a sovereign debt crisis in the UK. We need some signals to the consumer and the business community that for those that have a pile of cash behind them (yes there are some businesses out there in this fortunate position), they can start to spend.

So any investment in the next 12 months by businesses accrues no capital gains tax, and all new private sector jobs created in the next 12 months attract no employers NIC, and the lower earnings limit for PAYE is raised by 10%.

In themselves this will cost the government little. It will though build confidence in the future. That now is the crucial issue.

This is not a solution that finds favour with the Coalition Government who are rigorous in their pursuit of deficit reduction. They do not want to increase the public debt. However, by not growing the private sector as fast as they predicted they run the risk of the debt being higher as tax receipts will decline. A bit of a catch 22. I have set out some ideas above regarding what I would do if I were George Osborne.

What would you do?

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UPFRONT

Brighton & Hove Architects are Finalists in 2011 Startups Awards Brighton & Hove practice a:b:i:r architects has been selected from a strong field of young businesses as one of three finalists in the Service Business category of this year’s Startups Awards a:b:i:r architects are a dynamic and forward looking architectural practice who believe passionately in creating a high quality, sustainable and contextual architecture. Formed in 2009 by Simon Atkins, Olli Blair, Giles Ings and Matthew Richardson (who between them have over 65 years experience in the architectural design and construction industry), a:b:i:r architects aim to deliver responsible, design led architecture that is rooted in its local community.

The Argus is seeking out the best new businesses in Sussex to award

THREE MONTHS FREE ADVERTISING AND A PROGRAM OF DEDICATED BUSINESS MENTORING If your business is between one and three years old and you can tell us why three months free advertising would benefit your business, apply now.

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CLICK HERE Every day local newspapers are helping to generate business in their communities.

33 million people up and down the country rely on their local newspapers to learn about products and services in their areas. What’s more, 60% of readers act on the advertising within those newspapers.

Local Business Accelerators is a groundbreaking, national initiative that harnesses the power of local newspapers to give a much needed boost to local economies.

a:b:i:r architects have already won many awards for their architecture including a CABE run design competition for Boscombe Beach Huts (as part of a collaborative team with AEREA) and a shortlisiting for the RIBA Awards 2010. a:b:i:r architects are an RIBA Chartered Practice and are ISO9001:2008 accredited Startups Awards 2011 recognise the most successful new businesses in the UK.The start-ups that made this year’s shortlist demonstrate innovation, guts, determination and sheer brilliance.

Now in its eighth year, the Startups Awards has earned a reputation for recognising some of the UK’s most promising entrepreneurial talent.

Many previous winners have gone on to enjoy phenomenal success, including Glasses Direct, Wonga.com, Home Instead Senior Care, Ella’s Kitchen, Three Sixty Entertainment and Naked Wines. a:b:i:r architects website: www.abirarchitects.co.uk facebook twitter Startups Awards: www.startups.co.uk/startups-awards

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UPFRONT

Funds Awarded for Brighton Entrepreneurs A grant has been awarded by an international innovation body to a Brighton business advisor for developing an entrepreneurs toolkit for students.

The toolkit will help young people demonstrate to employers evidence of their skills in creative enterprise management.

The award of five thousand pounds has been given to a Brighton Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts Manufactures and Commerce. Clive Bonny, MD of Strategic Management Partners, submitted the bid for RSA funding in competition with 30 other social enterprise projects across the UK. The award follows Clive’s previous successful bid for RSA funding a schools project called Self Made Creative Clothing. This resulted in 500 primary and secondary students recycling and redesigning old clothes into new items which were resold back into the community. The Award aims to improve employability opportunities for young persons who will be able to show proof of their abilities to make sellable products from low cost materials. It will also improve skills in recycling and re-use of materials.

Successful RSA applicant Clive Bonny says “young people have immense entrepreneurial talent which is not always recognised by conventional examinations. The toolkit will enable students to show to potential employers proof of their practical skills in designing, making and marketing new products with low cost materials. The students can add real value by applying these skills across a business to

reduce waste, save costs, and improve resource management. Employers are more likely to hire someone who can prove the application of these key business skills, and the toolkit will help them do this.” Darren Fell, Entrepreneur of the Year and Founder & MD of Crunch.co.uk adds “Crunch is proud to support this initiative that will help turn potential entrepreneurs into real business people ready for the real world”

World first for Sussex micro brewery Award-winning microbrewery WJ King has become the first brewery in the world to put their head brewer into every pub.

Exploiting new technology, the Brewery has added a unique QR code to the pump clip and bottle label of each of its 25 beers.

Scanning this code with a smartphone enabled by the freely available QR App, automatically links to a video of Head Brewer, Ian Burgess, talking about that specific beer and the ingredients from which it is made.

Real Ale is the fastest growing sector in the pub trade and new style microbreweries like WJ King are attracting a new generation of real ale fans all over the South East of England. This new generation of beer drinkers is passionate

about what they eat and drink and they have a real thirst for knowledge about the provenance, ingredients and manufacturing process of what they are drinking.

Marketing Director Orla Lambe said: “This is such a fantastic and obvious way to communicate with our customers at the point they are deciding which beer to choose, that we are sure other brewers will follow our example.

It will be great for the consumer and we are very proud of being the first brewery in the world, we believe, to put our Head Brewer in every pub.”

WJ King Head Brewer, Ian Burgess, said: “We want to ensure that customers really understand the style and flavour characteristics of each of our beers and how they are made, to allow them to make an informed choice of which beer to try. Being able to see me in the brewery talking about each beer will hopefully help them to develop their palate and understand a little bit about the art of the brewer.”

The videos of Ian talking about the beers are also available to view on the Brewery website at www.kingbeer.co.uk and on YouTube at youtube.com/user/WjkingBeer for customers who do not have smartphones.

Member Testimonial “I’ve found the Regus Gold Card absolutely invaluable. It’s not practical for me to have a permanent office but with the Regus Gold Card, I’m not sure I’ll ever need one.” Ben Fry, Director, Expert Thinking Ltd For information about the membership benefits available, including Regus Gold Card, call Sussex Enterprise on 0844 375 9550.

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WORLD VIEW

not just the European Commission and NATO, has acted as a draw card to a young, educated and multilingual work pool being available to companies.

As always at the “SITF” sessions, alongside the main market presentation the delegates had the opportunity to widen their knowledge of the support services that any business trading internationally requires. Lev Denker, International Trade Advisor from UKTi outlined the services that UKTi offer to exporting businesses, including the “Passport to Export” scheme and the new follow on scheme “Gateway to Global Growth”. He outlined how companies involved with these schemes could benefit from the cost effective Overseas Market Introduction Service (OMIS) operated through the British Embassy network worldwide.

Concluding the presentations was Clive Smith from HSBC, the forum sponsor outlining the opportunities for international finance service available through HSBC banking, including new schemes for finance in China.

A warm welcome to UK companies The latest meeting of the Sussex International Trade Forum was for the first time held in Brighton – at the Innovation Centre on the Campus of the two Universities.

The delegates were treated to more than just Belgian Chocolates when Ben De Smit commercial attaché from the Belgian Embassy in London outlined why Belgian offered a warm welcome to UK companies and why it made such a logical European base for many companies. Ben explained how the location of

Belgium with its ports of Antwerp, Oostende and Zeebrugge fed into a road and rail network across Europe, resulting in many pharmaceutical and other high technology industries using establishing European headquarters within the country. The location of many thousands of international institutions in its capital Brussels,

Rob Fryatt of Xenex Associates who chairs the forum commented “We were pleased with the attendance from both the Brighton area and around Sussex for our first meeting in Brighton.

Next year we intend to hold the forum for the first time in Chichester. Our goal is to give all Sussex businesses that have an interest in international trade an opportunity to attend meetings close to their base. The quality of the speakers we are now attracting is evidence of the growing reputation of the forum.” He concluded “We have such a range of delegates from the experienced international traders who gladly share their views to companies just considering exporting for the first time. I continually hear comments that make it clear that everyone attending gains something from the meetings.”

The forum, which meets quarterly and moves around Sussex, is growing in reputation. During the last few months Sussex Enterprise received a delegation from the JingJiang TainCheng Entrepreneur Association seeking collaboration with Sussex businesses for their development zone in the Shanghai Region and from the Australian Trade Development Board. This will be reflected in the 2012 meeting programme currently under development, which will include meetings focusing on Japan and Australia and well as continued updating on the fast growing BRIC economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. The dates for 2012 will be available on the Sussex Enterprise website.

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UPFRONT

Varian Suppliers Recognised at Gala Evening Suppliers to Varian Medical Systems’ manufacturing facility in Crawley have been honoured at the annual VMR (value managed relationships) awards evening; three of the four winners were South East companies.

Representatives from 33 companies attended the gala event, along with Varian personnel and local dignitaries.

Based in Crawley, Varian Medical Systems is the world’s leading supplier of advanced radiotherapy equipment and software for treating cancer.

The Gatwick Road facility manufactures high performance couches for treatment machines, brachytherapy afterloaders and treatment simulators.

“This event is a great opportunity for us to celebrate the achievements of our suppliers and reward them for their continuous improvement, especially in difficult economic times,” says Simon Pett, supply chain manager.“We are continually striving to get better performance and the most competitive prices from our suppliers and their response has generally been outstanding.This is a way of recognising their importance in our success.”

Many of the companies who attended this year’s event at South Lodge Hotel, near Horsham, were local businesses but there were also representatives from companies as far afield as the US, Canada and Slovakia.

Robert Wood,Varian’s new head of global manufacturing, delivered the keynote speech, stressing the importance of all Varian’s suppliers and describing how their components touch the lives of cancer patients worldwide.“You and your employees are all instrumental in helping to save lives,” he said.

“This was one of the best VMR events ever and the feedback from attendees was terrific,” said Andy Partridge,Varian’s manufacturing manager.

“It’s important that we get together once a year to update the supply chain on progress within Varian and to recognise their tremendous efforts helping us succeed as a manufacturing company.”

The 2011 award winners were from Reliance Precision Ltd (Huddersfield), MacGregor Industries Ltd (Maidenhead), CC Precision Engineering Ltd (Crawley) and Key Fasteners Ltd (Wrotham, Kent).

The awards winners with Andy Partridge, Simon Pett and Robert Wood are Alasdair Kenney, MacGregor Industries Ltd; Dave Coleman, CC Precision Engineering Ltd; Jeff Keys, Key Fasteners Ltd and Tom Sharrock, Reliance Precision Ltd

Brighton Science Festival A big man entered the room with his two young children and surveyed the turmoil around him.

It was the Family Fun Day at Brighton Science Festival and Hove Park Upper School was heaving with a thousand mums, dads and kids, playing with sixty different kinds of science delight. In this particular room the challenge was to build a bridge across a 40 cm gap strong enough to support as many Mars bars as possible, using only four sheets of paper. Big Dad’s eyes lit up. He said “stand aside kids. This one’s for me”. For the next fifteen minutes he was immersed in the task, his children on either side, looking at him as if to say “but… you’re a Dad, not an engineer.”

As I watched I didn’t worry that the kids were being ignored. I knew that they were

going to be engineers when they grew up.

Why? Because imitation is the key to career.

What the parents enjoy, that’s what the kids will enjoy. Indeed, after a few minutes they were working on their own bridges, unprompted.

The Brighton Science Festival is building its own bridges, between science and the people.You should come. Actually you should bring a demonstration of your own.

In point of fact, if you care for the future of manufacturing in this country, you should become a sponsor. Get in touch with Richard@BrightonScience.com to find out more. The Festival runs from Feb 11 – 26th.

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POLICY NEWS

Gatwick Airport:

Building an airport for growth You couldn’t have helped notice that the issue of aviation congestion in the South East has been a hot-topic in recent months.

As many of you will know, Sussex Enterprise has campaigned relentlessly for additional capacity at Gatwick Airport. With the 2012 Olympics looming on the horizon and projections for increased air travel, we turn our attention to what the future holds for the airport and local business.

To meet the increased demand for air travel, Gatwick Airport is currently preparing a vision for investment and growth to 2020. It’s consulting with residents and businesspeople alike to find out want they want from the airport (visit www.gatwickairport.com/ masterplan).

Gatwick Airport gained its independence in December 2009, when it was sold by BAA to a group of international investment funds, the largest shareholder being Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The airport inherited the long standing agreement formed in 1979, to not build a second runway before 2019 but is also under increasing pressure to provide additional capacity.

One of the remarkable things about Gatwick is it’s the busiest single-runway airport in the world with around 32 million passengers flying to or from it every year. With plans to increase capacity by 20% from today’s levels, it will carry 40 million passengers per annum by 2020. Crucially, the airport believes all of this can be done without expanding the airport’s boundary or changing the general layout of the airport to accommodate the additional passenger numbers. Instead, and very cleverly, expansion would be achieved by using innovative new techniques and technologies such as finding ways of using the runway more efficiently and using larger and newer aircraft.

So what’s the big deal?

If you’re a fan of big numbers, it generates £2 billion for the economy of London and the South East every year! Its expansion plans should add an additional £300 million to this figure by 2020. It plays a major role in our local economy and is the largest employer in the area, directly employing 2,500 people with an additional 23,000 indirect jobs. So, what happens at the airport, will ultimately affect us all in one way or another.

Will transport links to the airport cope?

Undoubtedly, the numbers of people travelling on the road and rail network will increase. It is important that the non-stop Gatwick Express service to London is retained. Work starts on

2012 on a £53 million upgrade of the rail station and the airport’s planning improvements to encourage more people to come to the airport by public transport. With some improvements to the key junctions near the airport, the road network is expected to meet additional demand in 2020.

How’s Government helping?

By a strange twist of fate, Ministers are considering the option of a high-speed rail link between Heathrow and Gatwick – which would closely follow the route of the M25.

The scheme would cost an estimated £5bn and offers a cheaper solution than building a new airport in the Thames Estuary. Sussex Enterprise believes that the proposals for a “Heathwick” aircraft hub are interesting and certainly worthy of examination. The Government’s review of aviation policy is to be published for consultation in the spring of 2012.

But, as with all new ideas, there are always opponents. A spokesman for BAA, which owns Heathrow, warned “A virtual hub between Heathrow and Gatwick faces seemingly insurmountable technical, operation, political and financial challenges, and would take many years to deliver” and not solve the problem of runway capacity. Some may say BAA’s statement smacks of self-interest rather than for the holistic benefit of UK Plc! There can be no doubt that Gatwick’s gearing up for the future of air travel!

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BCC FOCUS

An Autumn statement that delivers for business When the Coalition Government arrived in power, it swiftly announced that it was abolishing Gordon Brown’s autumn Pre-Budget Reports, which often contained as many major policy announcements as the springtime Budget itself.

From now on, we were told, there would be a low-key 'Autumn Statement' and some updated forecasts instead.

But times have changed quickly. The deterioration of the economic recovery in recent months, coupled with the Eurozone crisis and continued global instability, mean that George Osborne was under pressure to deliver a strong set of pro-growth measures when he stood up before the nation on November 29th. In effect, the Autumn Statement and the accompanying ‘Growth Review’ represented a unique opportunity for the Government to deliver a timely confidence boost to the UK’s business community as a whole.

The BCC and the Chamber Network, including Sussex Enterprise, are urging the Chancellor to move towards a 'Plan A+' that combines on-going deficit reduction with a radical new set of policies to boost growth and jobs in the private sector. We have been robust in defending the need for deficit reduction, and supportive of the new round of Quantitative Easing by the Bank of England announced just a few weeks ago, provided it results in more money being injected into commercial markets.

However, we have also been clear that Ministers must do more to support a business-led recovery over the months ahead - and that they must have controversial plans tucked away in

their back pockets should business conditions worsen substantially.

In our letter to the Chancellor, we highlighted three areas where the Government must be ready to act: First, deregulation. Companies constantly tell us that the rhetoric they've heard to date is miles away from the reality. Businesses continue to face new regulatory burdens, and these are particularly damaging to employment intentions. We have urged Ministers to use the Autumn Statement to set out a comprehensive deregulation plan - telling business what they're planning to attack, by when, and what the concrete outcome will be. Civil servants worry that this would create a rod for their backs, but frankly that's exactly what we want to see.

We won't let this rest until businesses see real change, on the ground, when it comes to both regulation that's already on the statute book and the 'flow' of new regulations coming forward from both Whitehall and Brussels.

Second, we are urging speedy incentives to promote both exports and business investment.

We all know that government and consumer spending will not be the building blocks of future growth. So we've asked ministers to reprioritise small amounts of money to help get more first-time exporters into the game, help companies access new and unfamiliar markets, build up the UK presence at global trade shows, and smooth changes to capital allowances so that businesses do not put off key investments at the time when they matter so much to the economy as a whole.

Third, ministers must be ready to re-examine 'sacred cows'. If conditions worsen, the Government will have to put everything on the table to boost growth, including its cherished political commitments to rising health and overseas aid spending. If Ministers have more room to manoeuvre, they could take more radical steps - including lower payroll taxes, extended allowances for enterprise investors, time-limited capital allowances to bring forward investment, or expanded infrastructure spending.

Not all of these moves would need to be implemented at once.Yet it is clear that businesses want to see both immediate moves to support growth, as well as contingency plans at the ready in case of need. The UK economy is still growing - albeit at a very low ebb - and every action that the Government takes needs to support businesses, large and small, to turn things round. BCC will be inside the Treasury a great deal over the coming weeks, pushing the Chancellor's team to deliver for business - and deliver for growth.

Dr Adam Marshall is Director of Policy and External Affairs at the British Chambers of Commerce (www.britishchambers.org.uk).

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ASK THE EXPERT

A Quick Guide to Company Pensions Auto-Enrolment I am aware that workplace pensions law is changing from 2012 and that every employer will have to act. What do I need to do to prepare for the changes?

Q

Mike Oliver

Auto-Enrolment is one of the most radical of company pensions reforms and comes into force between 1 October 2012 and 2016 affecting all businesses – from those with just 1 employee.

There are rules for individual workers who wish to opt in and out of the schemes.

I thought it pertinent, therefore, to spell out the legal obligations in a rather black and white fashion, so here goes!

Workers

A

Legal Duties of Employers under the Pensions Act 2008: n Register with The Pensions Regulator within 2 months of the staging date defined by the size of company.

Those that are not eligible jobholders can become active pension scheme members.

n Work under contract of employment (an employee) n Have a contract to perform work or services personally and are not undertaking the work as part of their own business.

Jobholders Non-eligible jobholders

n Identify and automatically enrol ‘eligible jobholders’ into a qualifying pension scheme or the new National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).

n Aged 16-21 or SPA-74

n Make contributions on behalf of workers

Or

n Communicate information and options at the right time. An IFA can help with this.

n Aged 16-74

n Comply fully with the law to avoid fines and prosecution even if you have a workplace pension scheme.

n Earning above £5,035

Employers must NOT: n Discourage Membership n Give joiners the opt-out form n Encourage opt-outs n Use “prohibited recruitment conduct”

n Working in UK n Earning above £7,475

n Working in UK n But below £7,475

£5,035 Lower earnings level for qualifying earnings* £7,475 Earnings trigger for automatic enrolment* SPA State pension age The size of a company will be measured by the number of PAYE (pay as you earn) workers.

By planning early and getting the right advice you will be prepared – if not you are at risk of incurring an endless series of daily penalties until you comply and could: n Negatively affect your cash flow; the Government has set a minimum percentage to be contributed phased to equal 8% by 2017. You need to start budgeting now. n Require you to alter your employee contracts after consulting staff and Trade Unions about these changes.

Have the right to opt in

n Give rise to legal claims from employees if you fall foul of the regulations.

Eligible Job holders

n Cost you a lot of money every day if you don’t comply.

n Working in UK Must be automatically enrolled

Employers will at the very least have to look at their existing provision or if they have no existing provision, set something up. At MOA we have up to date information.

Entitled Workers

Contact us on 01444 449222 for your FREE compact e-guide to Auto-Enrolment.

n Aged 22 – SPA

n Earning above £7,475

n Offer Advice ‘Eligible jobholders’ are aged between 22 and State Pension Age (SPA) and have qualifying earnings from £5,035-£33,540 p.a. in 2011/12 terms. Assessment of earnings includes salary, overtime, commission, bonuses, sick pay, maternity, paternity and adoption pay.

Key:

n Aged 16-74

n Working in UK n Earning below £5,035 Have a right to join

BUSINESSEDGE 15

BE 6.indd 15

9/12/11 11:47:48

SPOTLIGHT ON…

Chichester’s lookin Despite difficult economic times, Chichester’s business landscape is looking bright and, to date, it has faired far better than some other areas.

T

he district has very low levels of unemployment, 2.1% in September 2011 compared to the regional average of 2.6%, and the national average of 3.9%. It has also stayed one of the top in the country for lowest number of empty shops.

Chichester and the surrounding area has a diverse economy spread across different sectors, including a good history of exporting luxury goods. This could explain the increase in jobs in 2009-2010 of more than 7%. In the same period, Chichester saw some of the highest increases in the country of private sector jobs of 8%, and was in the highest increase in manufacturing jobs as well.

Kenrick Garraway, Assistant Director of Economic Development and Tourism at Chichester District Council, said: “We believe that the future overall is looking good for Chichester’s economy and it has so far faired well. Of course, we know that some businesses within our district have struggled in the current economic climate, but a large majority have not only coped well, but have been able to extend and grow.

“The key growth for Chichester is in luxury goods manufacturing, internet businesses and luxury goods retail. We have a good history of luxury goods within the district, including Rolls-Royce, NorthShore Yachts and Ocean Air. There are certain types of businesses that do tend to struggle in difficult times, such as those that specialise in white goods.

“We recognise that the wealth of the community is generated by its successful businesses. Our Business Contact Programme was established to support businesses and help develop economic prosperity within the district. We work in close partnership with

other business support agencies throughout the county, offering support and information on the range of issues that affect businesses.

“We have worked hard to establish business networks, including the very successful South Coast Design Forum (SCDF), which now has more than 400 members. The SCDF is a non-profit design community run for and by designers and creatives. We also have a very active and supportive Chamber of Commerce, a first class University and an excellent further education college in the city centre. This leads to a highly skilled and educated workforce, thanks to strong links between residents, businesses, the University and college.”

Recently the council won the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) regional Small Business Friendly Award for Surrey and West Sussex for its support to local businesses. It went on to become the overall winner for the South East of the country. Paul Formstone, from FSB Surrey and West Sussex Regional Chairman, said: “The awards are designed to recognise and reward projects that demonstrate innovation and excellence in supporting small businesses.

Chichester District Council clearly demonstrated both these qualities in the range of projects they put forward.They are a shining example of what support can be given to small businesses through innovative ideas, effective leadership, excellent partnership working and a genuine understanding of the needs of the small business community.”

16 BUSINESSEDGE

BE 6.indd 16

9/12/11 11:47:56

king bright

n further development at Graylingwell, one of the largest zero carbon schemes in the country; n new Midhurst Community Leisure Centre and housing; n the Novium, the new museum in Tower Street, Chichester, which includes the relocation of the Tourist Information Centre; n creating more retail space at Barnfield Drive, on the outskirts of the city centre; and, n Enterprise Gateway at Terminus Road – supported business space for creative and innovative industries.

Faith is repaid One of the companies that has shown faith in the area is Rolls Royce Motor Cars.

Marco Jahn, Corporate Communications Officer, said: “Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and the Chichester area seem like a natural fit.

The decision to choose Goodwood was based both on solid practical factors and aesthetic reasons.

Tourism is also a strong part of the economy, and the Chichester District is full of rich heritage and culture, including the Chichester Festival Theatre, Pallant House Gallery and Chichester Cathedral. It is also home to Midhurst, which is the heart of the South Downs National Park. There are six million visitors to the district each year, worth just over

£450 million to the economy and supporting 9,000 jobs.

Kenrick said: “Anywhere with such a beautiful environment and rich heritage will always face issues with growth and expansion. However, due to the pro-activity of the council, these can be worked through. Being so close to the sea can sometimes create a 180-degree mentality – where businesses think their only target market is from the sea towards Chichester. This needs to be overcome through the Internet and exporting, to show businesses that the whole world is a potential market.”

And there is plenty of investment into the area.

Businesses in Chichester city centre voted in favour for a Business Improvement District (BID) in October. About £1.3 million over the next five years will be invested in the city to deliver projects and initiatives that will help boost the local economy. The money will be spent on priorities identified by businesses, such as attracting more visitors to the city and making environmental improvements.

Over the last five to ten years, Chichester has had more than £200 million invested in property development and job creation.

Currently, there are several key sites that are in negotiations, and if they go ahead, they will bring around a further £200 million investment. These sites, which incorporate some council projects, include:

“When the BMW Group became custodians of the Rolls-Royce marque in 1998, a decision was quickly made that its home should be in Great Britain and the search began for a setting that would be entirely suitable.

“Naturally, good transport links to and from the major ports, access to a motor circuit for testing and proximity to a suitable workforce were important, but so was choosing an area and setting which would suit the brand. A large proportion of Rolls-Royce customers choose to visit the plant, so it was important that it should be in an attractive and thoroughly English part of the country, with excellent facilities and other attractions in the vicinity.

“When measured against these criteria, Goodwood was a clear choice over the other sites under consideration. The £65 million initial investment in the Goodwood site illustrates the company’s commitment to the area. During the planning application an economic impact study estimated that the new plant would generate at least £25 million per annum extra revenue in the local economy.

“Rolls-Royce Motor Cars is committed to supporting the West Sussex region, playing an active part in the economic life, welfare and development of the local community.”

BUSINESSEDGE 17

BE 6.indd 17

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18 BUSINESSEDGE

BE 6.indd 18

9/12/11 11:48:09

THE STEAM ROOM

On the contrary I was at a reception recently when a politician, aware of my service background, said to me; “it must have been a real blow to our troops on the front line when the Defence Minister resigned, he was a great leader”.

It was one of these moments that took me by complete surprise and I had to feign a coughing fit to cover up the spluttering of the champagne!

“On the contrary”, I said; I should think that most were delighted with the departure of a man who has done more damage to our defence capability than anyone since John Nott’s attempts pre Falklands.

From the political perspective; Dr Fox waded into an MoD whose budget was out of control, made cuts and has delivered for Government their desired savings under the banner of a so-called strategic defence review. It should however, be absolutely clear that this was no rational review, just cuts in spending and more importantly in capability.

Our armed services have been fighting on and off for the best part of two decades, some of the campaigns have been extraordinarily intense, asymmetric warfare has delivered new threats and consequently demanded new technologies to deal with them.

This has come at an extraordinary cost, and successive Governments have failed to properly fund their overseas adventures, instead they have rather buried their collective heads in the sand and ignored the mounting pressure on the MoD. Of course there has been political posturing aplenty; “our troops will get everything they need”, but rarely the quantities of cash to pay for it.

The capability cuts fail to recognise many things and probably one of the most striking failures in understanding the Country’s needs was the decision over the RAF Nimrod. Our dependence on the seas for trade and our ability to ensure that trade can take place unhindered is vital to the UK economy but weakened by a poor decision.

Ordering aircraft carriers for the future (whilst good news) because we need them, is completely at odds with removing the current platforms, either we need the capability or we don’t.

I could go on; but the real point here, is how little we actually get for our defence expenditure. Ministers triumphantly cut programmes but not one has ever tackled the real malaise of defence procurement and the internal shambles that typifies many departments of the MoD.

My own company has been asked on more than one occasion to deliver stores to the home address of a member of a ship’s company because there would be no guarantee of them receiving the item in time if it entered the normal stores system. I have been called by project managers, who have asked; “as it is a small item is there any chance of you just giving it to us”.

These are professional people, some that I have known for years, who are embarrassed to make such a call, but have been instructed from on high to do so. Morale in some projects is so low, and the back-log of problems so significant, that staff turnover has reached unsustainable levels.

The

Steam Room!

Each edition we invite a visitor to ‘The Steam Room’ to let off steam on the issues that are bothering them and their business.

On the industry side; the UK is dominated by the few big players in defence, do they really offer value for money and is there really such a thing as a truly competitive tender? The big companies generally lack innovation, bring enormous costs and are often reactive rather than pro-active.

That said; industry gets blamed for spiralling costs, but when you tool up to produce something, start training the workforce and procure long lead items; a three year government delay is going to cost significant money.

Collectively we still struggle with the dichotomy of Cheap of The Shelf (COTS) or Bespoke Systems (BS) and have never achieved the correct balance. The scientists and engineers, both MoD and Industry, always want the latest technology but in reality it doesn’t necessarily deliver the most robust capability.

As an example; an internal communications system in a ship used to consist of hardwired phones with switches to route the call to the correct recipient. Now we must have a software controlled system (latest technology) that at the critical moment has to be re-booted before you can talk to anyone, that in my opinion is not progress.

We need a proper defence review in the UK, not based on finance but on our nation’s needs, then we need to look at the various cost models for delivering that capability, mixing the correct level of COTS with bespoke technology to deliver the outcome.

MoD needs to be completely restructured and Industry needs to step up to the plate in a more transparent partnership.

BUSINESSEDGE 19

BE 6.indd 19

9/12/11 11:48:14

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20 BUSINESSEDGE

BE 6.indd 20

9/12/11 11:48:39

START UPS

that would be thrown away at the end of the day. Even those professing to be organic or alternative, would opt for throw away instead of grow away. What could be nicer than to see and smell the herbs used in your food growing on your table and perhaps, even have a nibble while you are waiting!

What’s more, Lettuce Flowers also offers recipe suggestions with its flower displays in keeping with its mission to encourage customers not only to grow their own but also have the confidence to use herbs and edible flowers in their own cooking.

The challenges of being green It’s not easy being green – Kermit the Frog put his finger right on it - but sometimes an idea is just so obvious that you have to go for it, which is why Lettuce Flowers was founded by Sushma Windsor in 2009 in her potting shed in Billingshurst, West Sussex.

She tried the idea first at her own wedding that year – she had wanted it to be a really natural affair and its location in a field with guests sitting on hay bales at wooden tables interacting with pigs could not have been more so. A real talking point was the table decorations – potted edible herbs and flowers – that the guests were

then given to take home and replant, creating sustainable memories of the event. Many were also used to beautiful and delicious effect in the salads during the wedding feast.

The amount of interest made Sushma think about the many weddings and restaurants she had been to with wilting flower displays

With the current interest in eco issues, Sushma, a member of Sussex Enterprise, thought it should be straight-forward to interest local businesses in the idea and indeed has already supplied to several events. But she has learned some quick lessons and inspiring thinking to help with her start-up company from attending the organisation’s networking meetings, which she can now put into action. For example, the marketing budget needed to be a lot more substantial than she had originally planned, the events industry is not very open to new ideas and sustainable businesses take longer to succeed than any conventional counterpart.

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BUSINESSEDGE 21

BE 6.indd 21

9/12/11 11:48:48

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Supporting busin e on the internation a Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint took over as Trade and Investment Minister at the beginning of 2011 and is responsible for ensuring the delivery of the Government’s overall strategy for trade.

F

ormerly Group Chairman of HSBC, his role includes a major focus on international trade.

On taking up the challenge, he said: “This Government is committed to ensuring that trade and investment play a key role in driving balanced and sustainable growth in the UK economy.

I believe this challenge can be met.“Britain has strong intrinsic competitive advantages in the world economy which is taking shape in the 21st century.

As we all recognise, British commerce at its best is driven by levels of creativity, efficiency, flexibility and dynamism which are nothing less than world class.”

Business Edge asked him about the issues that shape the UK’s trading links with the rest of the world.

How important is international trade to the UK?

The UK Government has made clear its intention to become a more export orientated economy.

Rebalancing the economy away from debt fuelled spending to investment and exports will be crucial towards achieving long term sustainable economic growth.We are in no doubt of the scale of the task ahead and trade has been a fragile component of the British economy for a very long time. However, this is a national challenge we must rise to.

UK Trade & Investment, the government department tasked with supporting businesses, large and small, to export, works closely with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Exports Credit Guarantee Department (ECGD) to provide the right framework and support for businesses.

Over the last 12 months, we have introduced several measures to help incentivise exporting, including a series of ECGD products targeted at SMEs.This is truly a whole of government approach which is being led by the Prime Minister, who himself recently led trade delegations to India and China.

Britain’s future prosperity will be built on its success in international markets and encouraging more British firms to export must be at the heart of the Government’s economic and foreign policies.

Do enough companies trade internationally?

It is very important for more UK firms to see the potential of trading abroad. Only 20 per cent of UK SMEs currently trade abroad compared to the European average of 25 per cent. The Government’s intention is to bring the UK average up in line with Europe by 2015. Growth for the foreseeable future will only come from exporting. It will not come from domestic growth or be the debt-fuelled growth of the past.

There are great opportunities around the world.

Growth in traditional markets such as Europe and the US is slow but in India, China and the Far East growth is strong and the countries are prosperous.

There are opportunities there from UK companies in a wide range of sectors; from infrastructure to professional services to advanced engineering.

What, in your view, stops more companies from trading internationally?

Most companies simply have a lack of knowledge about how to go about exporting abroad. Many businesspeople are very busy with the day to day running of their businesses and researching export markets is time consuming and it can be a difficult thing for businesses to find time for.That lack of knowledge can put people off.

It is important that companies remember they are not on their own. UK Trade & Investment can help with researching and advising companies on the export strategies to follow. Programmes like Passport to Export are aimed at first time exporters and will help get firms ready for taking their first steps abroad.

Their experts can put them in touch with potential suppliers and customers. It can take a lot of the work and uncertainty out of exporting for the first time.

How do you see the Eurozone crisis impacting on international trade?

The troubles in the Eurozone show how important it is for companies not to rely on traditional export markets or a single market but to look further abroad. Nearly 45 per cent of our exports go to the Eurozone and it’s clear no one, including the UK, is immune to the crisis. Finding a solution to the current problems is in everyone’s interest.

But the crisis reminds us that for long-term prosperity we need to be looking beyond our traditional export markets to the fast-growing emerging economies around the world.

What piece of advice would you give to a company seeking to trade internationally?

We know that businesses that begin to export gain 34 per cent uplift in productivity; achieve stronger financial performance and are 11.4 per cent more likely to stay in business. In essence, businesses that get involved in the international market become more dynamic, innovative and successful. It helps generate growth and helps to strengthen the backbone of the economy.

On a more practical level, I would say speak to your regional UK Trade & Investment contact to see what help is available to make the process easier.

They are there to help you take your first steps into the global marketplace and can offer a wealth of expertise and advice to ensure your strategy is right.

What more can the Government do to promote international trade?

There is always more the Government can do to promote trade but we also need others to help get the message out. That is why in November I hosted a SME summit with my ministerial colleagues to get the message out about the benefits of exporting through the intermediaries that deal with SMEs every day.Those are the regional lawyers, accountants, bankers, chambers of commerce, LEPs (Local Enterprise Partnerships) and trade bodies that can encourage and support SMEs to play a role in the global marketplace.

22 BUSINESSEDGE

BE 6.indd 22

9/12/11 11:48:49

n esses n al stage

“This Government is committed to ensuring that trade and investment play a key role in driving balanced and sustainable growth in the UK economy. I believe this challenge can be met�

BUSINESSEDGE 23

BE 6.indd 23

9/12/11 11:48:58

COVER FEATURE

Turning the spotl i on the banks in to u economic times It’s the major concern for many businesses as they battle through tough economic times - where will they get the finance to fund expansion plans?

A

ccording to Simon Nicholson, of Barclays, the answer is still banks.

He said: “A fundamental contradiction exists in the debate around business lending in the UK today. Risky lending practises are recognised as a key cause of the credit crunch but widespread calls abound for banks to relax their credit criteria and lend more to businesses to jump start the economic recovery.

“Much of the insistence on increased lending comes from genuine concern amongst politicians and business groups and through business surveys that reveal that a significant proportion of companies remain concerned about their ability to obtain bank lending if required.

“At the same time, there is general agreement that pre-credit crunch lending became too relaxed, with credit conditions lowered to the point of irresponsibility by some lenders to get more business through the door.”

Simon says that his bank recognises the current need. He said: “A key point in deciding where the balance in lending lies is who should determine the right level of lending in the economy. Is it banks, business groups or politicians? Our answer is ‘none of the above’; it is businesses themselves who must make the right lending decisions.

“Our approval rates for loan applications have remained consistent over the last two years and for the nine months up to the end of September 2011, we have advanced £33bn to UK households and business, which includes £11bn to SMEs. “We are open for business, ready and able to meet lending requirements of viable businesses in any sector. But we are also clear that to ensure economic recovery is sustainable, it will be the result of responsible, not reckless, lending support.”

One of those organisations which needs the banks to deliver is Southdown Housing Association, one of the largest employers in Sussex, with 800 staff.

Nick Hawes

Director of Finance Nick Hawes said: “Since the banking crisis, long-term funding available to housing associations has been a lot harder to come by. Banks have been increasingly reluctant to lend for the long-term without break clauses being included which allow for the terms of the deal to be renegotiated part way through the loan term. Margins on loans have widened considerably and the days of sub 1% funding are well and truly

gone. In addition loan agreements are now likely to be multi-page documents with a large range of strict conditions which must all be adhered to in case of triggering default and financial covenants have become much more robust.”

Changes to the way social housing is funded presents challenges for housing associations and lenders alike. Nick said: “The new funding regime challenges the industry to become more creative in the way they seek to raise funds and recently we have seen the advent of housing association corporate bond issues, either in sole names or in syndicated issue, and we may see equity fund raising in future. From the bank’s perspective, we may, therefore, in future begin to see the emergence of alternative, non-bank-led, sources of funding for housing.

“Southdown has a good relationship with their bankers. We recently took out new long-term financing to fund developments in shared ownership housing and a couple of other small scale property developments. The process took a long time to complete, but the result was ultimately worth the effort on both sides, with Southdown obtaining the long-term funding it

24 BUSINESSEDGE

BE 6.indd 24

9/12/11 11:49:08

l ight o ugh

required and with the bank’s staff demonstrating an understanding of our business requirements throughout the negotiation.

“We do find, however, that the bank attempts year on year to raise the costs of our banking activities either through increasing arrangement fees on facilities which roll over or through increasing bank charges. We seek to resist such increases, not always with success.”

Not everyone appreciates what the banks do.

One Sussex businessman, who asked to remain anonymous, said:“Banks do not understand real business. I’ve always said that if they had to deal with anything other than money they couldn’t do it and, guess what, they can’t even look after money.

“Our company has been trading for fifteen years.

We make unique, innovative and ethical products, the company has been turning over in excess of £4 million for several years and employs more than 50 people from the local area. Due to extended time to the market of a new product, we needed £150 -200K against no existing overdraft or loans.The bank doesn’t want to know without guarantees from my dead Gran.The bank made it deliberately difficult so we went to ‘friends’.”

South East merger and acquisitions buck the trend

In September 2011, 1,671 Mergers and Acquisitions transactions worth £63.8 billion were recorded. By comparison, 1,873 transactions worth £71.7 billion were recorded for the first nine months of 2010.

Rupert Rawcliffe, Corporate Finance Director at Grant Thornton UK LLP said: “One of the reasons I can see for the drop in deal activity is that the economic turbulence we experienced in the dark days of 2008 has returned in 2011.

The unrest in the Middle East, rising inflation in the UK, an unstable US economy, failing of undercapitalised banks, austerity cuts and, of course, the problems facing us in the Eurozone have all been major negative events that have affected capital markets and generally eroded the optimism that we saw returning to the market during the latter part of 2010 and first half of 2011.“ Grant Thornton’’s recent report, The Financing Flow: Will money start moving in 2011?, reveals that although the economy is showing signs

of improvement, the banks need to do more to help, with small and midsized companies needing the most assistance.

The survey of 200 CEOs and CFOs in the mid-corporate market revealed that more than half of overall respondents (56%) view the financing environment as improving, while less than a third (31%) thought the market remained static.

The South East has weathered the storm better than other parts of the UK and Grant Thornton’s Gatwick based corporate finance team led by Rupert Rawcliffe has been busy in the region and has experienced a willingness from banks and increasingly from alternative sources of debt funding such as Asset Based Lenders and mezzanine houses to support businesses.

Rupert said: “We are seeing quality businesses emerging from the economic downturn with stronger balance sheets and positive cash flows making them attractive to lenders in the current financial climate.

“Banks remain open for business at this current time which is aiding growth for businesses and M&A activity.”

BUSINESSEDGE 25

BE 6.indd 25

9/12/11 11:49:14

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FINANCE FEATURE

Cautious optimism in a tough financial sector As businesses struggle to finance expansion plans in a tough economic climate, there are increasing reasons for optimism for those companies prepared to put the work in.

One of the optimistic signs is that the Government has taken steps to make it easier for small businesses to access equity finance, a move seen as crucial at a time when they are finding it difficult to access the cash they need.

Conscious that many businesses are daunted by the challenges of seeking that investment, Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban has announced that two deregulatory amendments to the EU Prospectus Directive have been brought into effect a year early by the UK. Mr Hoban said that the move demonstrates the Government’s commitment to helping small UK businesses.

Under the changes, SMEs will be able to raise equity finance up to 5 million (doubled from 2.5 million) before a costly prospectus must be produced. They will also be able to target a larger pool of investors, up to 150 from 100).

Mr Hoban said: “I’m delighted to announce that the UK is taking the lead in Europe by introducing these deregulatory measures early, saving UK SMEs £12 million per year.

“Reducing the regulatory burdens faced by business is vital in making the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a company. In order to play their part in the wider economic recovery, small businesses have to be able to access the finance they need - that includes making it easier for such businesses to tap into capital markets.”

John Walker, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said he hoped that such measures would encourage smaller businesses to seriously consider financing expansion.

He said: “We welcome the fact that the Government is leading the way in Europe by making it easier for small business to access finance.

“More small firms should look at equity finance as an alternative route to accessing credit, and these simple changes will help firms who are looking to grow and invest.

“Extending the number of investors and increasing the prospectus value will help more small businesses access equity finance and show there are more options than just going to the bank for credit.What’s important is that small businesses are aware of the alternative routes to finance.”

The move come as banks and other financial institutions reiterate that they are still prepared to make money available for those businesses that think their proposals through carefully and are able to present a sound business case.

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AISBY & CO

Understanding Customer Value is Key to Setting the Optimum Price Myles Ford of Sussex based marketing consultancy Margin Squared explains how understanding how customers value your product is key to setting prices that win sales without missing out on valuable profit.

As the economic downturn starts to bite and opportunities for volume growth are limited, companies of all kinds are increasingly looking to pricing to create opportunities to increase profit. However, identifying the right price is one of the most challenging activities in business but also the most impactful, enabling businesses to take simple steps that translate almost immediately to the bottom line. This has been demonstrated by a recent study by the Monitor Group who suggested those companies that ‘achieved true excellence in their price execution capabilities . . . earned operating profits 24% higher than their industry peers’. Fundamental to the success of pricing activity is the understanding of what happens when a purchase is made and how customers’ value a product or service.

Myles Ford, Director

the higher the price premium you can potentially offer. However, before setting a price, entrepreneurs need to be confident that the benefits they have identified are considered to be relevant by the customer, making the role of customer research extremely significant. Businesses also need to consider the risks and effort that a customer has to make to use their product. For example, do customers require training before they can use a new piece of software, how far do customers need to travel to visit a retail outlet or is the customer using the product for the first time so is not certain that it will work. Both effort and risk potentially undermine the value calculation so may require a reduction in price to secure a sale.

Before we explore this in more detail, let us consider what happens each time a customer makes a purchase. In each sale, the customer is makes a mental calculation of the value they will gain from buying a product.

The price offered is therefore fundamental to the customers’ calculation, a moment of truth where theory becomes practice as customers balance the price offered and the value delivered.

If the challenge is to understand how customers balance the price of a product with its value, it is therefore vital to understand the unquantifiable nature of value (most customers cannot describe it but they know it when they see it), and that every customer makes their own personal value calculation that constantly changes with customer needs and competitor offerings.

These characteristics set a challenge to those trying to apply value based pricing, but if you exchange the word ‘value’ for ‘benefit’, this challenge becomes clearer, particularly when benefit can be classified in one of three ways: Either Economic – cash benefits judged by how much money the product will save compared to the competition, or Functional – measurable benefits related to product performance e.g. faster, more efficient or higher quality and finally, Intangible – emotional benefits relating to brand, image or experience.

To adopt value-based pricing, businesses need a deeper understanding of how customers value their products and what they are willing to pay, so market research and an active on-going dialogue with your customers is vital. It is more challenging than simply adding a desired margin to current costs or following whatever competitors charge but it delivers far more.

If you would like to learn more about marketing strategy, price positioning or price analysis, please visit www.marginsquared.com, contact info@marginsquared.com or follow us on Twitter @Margin2

All three of these benefits potentially justify higher prices, but the more intangible the benefit, the harder it is for your competitors to replicate and

“Those companies that achieved true excellence in their price execution capabilities . . . earned operating profits 24% higher than their industry peers.”

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Make Chestnut Tree House your charity of the year

Estate agents: to pay or not to pay?

T h a n k y ou

Chestnut Tree House is the only children’s hospice in Sussex and cares for children and young people with progressive life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. Sadly, these children will probably die before they reach adulthood.

Make Chestnut Tree House your Charity of the Year Adopt Payroll Giving for your employees Corporate Volunteering days at Chestnut Tree House Pay for a Day at Chestnut Tree House Join our Lottery Donate your unwanted items to our charity shops

Contact Terrina Barnes, Corporate Fundraiser, today on 01903 871846 or email terrina.barnes@chestnut-tree-house.org.uk

Enjoy a range of benefits exclusively negotiated for you

Registered charity no 256789

Your business can really make a difference by getting involved with Chestnut Tree House.

Estate agents often complain, particularly in hard times when every penny counts, about sellers who try to get out of paying their fees. A cautionary tale recently highlighted a pitfall into which an unwary seller fell when he tried this on.

A seller (S) instructed an estate agent to sell a commercial property and, as often happens, the agent’s agreement stated that S would have to pay the agent’s commission if he sold to anyone who was introduced by the agent.

The agent found a buyer (P) but he was unable to proceed because he could not raise the finance (familiar story ?) but he later went into a joint venture with two others who could provide the funds. They wanted to convert part of the property into a restaurant. The sale eventually took place and the property was taken in the name of one of the other joint venturers, not in the name of P. The agents wanted their commission because they introduced P to S, even though P did not take the property in his name. S said that he was not liable for the commission. The Court of Appeal disagreed. It said that P and his two co venturers were partners and that the partner who had taken the property in his sole name held it in trust for the partnership. Therefore the agents had in fact introduced the true purchaser which was the partnership. Game over and commission payable by S.

For more information about becoming a member, call us on...

However purchasing venturers also need to be aware of unforeseen consequences. They might in fact be partners, something which they may not have intended, and this may have implications for tax,VAT registration and legal relationships. Always talk to the lawyers and accountants before rushing off to do handshake deals involving large sums of money ! It’s much cheaper than talking to them afterwards.

0844 375 9550

Mark Barrett is Senior Partner of Blaker Son & Young, Solicitors in Lewes

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Want to work while you travel?

Want to fly business and drive business?

Want to arrive on time, every time?

EXECUTIVE CARS has been built around the needs of the business man and woman. We understand that when your journey starts your business does not stop. With WiFi installed in our vehicles, the wheels of business can keep on turning; prepare for a meeting, catch up on emails or even sit back, relax and watch a movie. A bottle of spring water and the morning’s newspaper complete the mix.

With first class customer service, Executive Cars has grown to become the South’s leading executive chauffeur company, simply by meeting the needs of our customers.

T. 01903 694040 M. 07824831491

www.ExecutiveCarsofWorthing.com

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FOCUS ON ENGINEERING

TFC LTD

How can TFC help to improve your business?

For over 50 years TFC Europe Ltd has been supplying technical fasteners and fixings to industries throughout Europe.

TFC’s strategic approach to location and efficient distribution streams has enabled the Sussex based company to position itself as a leading technical and logistical supplier to Europe and beyond. Servicing a wide range of industries in over 30 countries with its products, TFC has been at the forefront of supply to industry with technical fixing and fastening solutions, taking the company beyond being a 'distributor' to that of a 'technical partner', equipped with the knowledge and expertise to deliver innovative product and supply solutions.

It is the in-depth skill base that TFC provides its clients adds a level of service beyond that of being a distributor and builds on the platform of trust the company has with leading

manufacturers such as Smalley with their unique Wave springs and Spirolox retaining rings. TFC works closely with its partners to ensure it draws on a wealth of expertise and knowledge to provide solutions when they are needed.

TFC's comprehensive product training ensures our sales team are aware of the latest product knowledge and design solutions. We are always available to give advice and discuss specific fastening applications.

TFC's logistical out-reach stems from the locations of its key distributions centres in the UK and Europe and the company has focussed on ensuring that it provides systems for clients which make ordering and reordering components a thing of the past. With an eye on saving client’s money, TFC's flexible Supply Chain Assist systems take the pain out of replenishing stock and helps drive down cost through channelling orders via a one stop shop approach. Whether you operate a track-line feed, direct-line feed or point of use twin-bin operation, TFC can arrange multi-weekly visits to sites, with automated direct or remote re-ordering to ensure an efficient, continuous, and worry free supply of stock.

TFC has made strategic acquisitions to encourage growth and increase product range and form part of the increased customer’s service portfolio to offer customers an increased knowledge base and distribution platform. As TFC moves into 2012 its strategy ensures a continuous improvement to processes, ensuring projects are delivered to agreed timescales and continuing to be ambitious for growth from organic and invested platforms. Key focus for the group will be:

As well as holding individual approval from some of the world's leading companies, TFC has been a BS/EN/ISO 9002 Approved Supplier since 1990 and has also achieved ISO 9001:2000 approval incorporating design status.

n Growing the business and being passionate about its quality reputation n Continuing its customer focus and developing important partnerships n Leading with innovative product marketing and with technical sales n Developing the service centre opportunities n Continuing the acquisition strategy through complementary growth opportunities For customers this approach means greater choice and the opportunity to consolidate their own product purchasing, saving time and money through simplifying the order process.

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TRAINING COURSES

Learning And Development With Sussex EnterpriseSet Yourself Above The Competition

If you want to compete in today’s market, you need to stay ahead of your competitors. Therefore, a highly trained and motivated work force is vital.

When times are hard invariably the first thing deemed a luxury is the training budget, however this is definitely not the most cost effective route. If you invest in your staff with the relevant skills - productivity, morale and profitability will inevitably follow.

Let our expert trainers enhance your skills with our fresh new practical 2012 training courses.

31st January – Health And Safety for Directors and Senior Managers Looking after H&S and welfare makes commercial sense. Failing to manage this properly can be far more costly than getting it right in the first place.This course ensures the most senior people understand the importance of managing H&S in the workplace and their legal responsibilities. Delegates will also learn about the principles of managing H&S and risk assessment.

1st February – Finance For Non Financial Managers This course aims to provide a basic awareness and understanding of the way finance affects your company’s business objectives and your role in relationship to your company’s finance.

Suitable for managers who have little or no understanding of company financial matters.

7th February – Present With Confidence In business there are few people who don’t have to make a presentation as part of their role: it may be a manager imparting information or encouraging their team; it may be an individual presenting at a seminar or conference. But most people are not born with innate presentation skills, they have to be learnt, and this is where this course can help. With practical exercises and clear feedback, we can ensure your presentation is delivered to maximum impact.

18th January – Communication and Assertiveness Who doesn’t need to communicate effectively every moment of every day at work?

And who doesn’t come across difficult people either within the workplace or at client businesses? The trick is to understand how to communicate effectively and professionally to ensure you achieve your desired outcome.

This course is ideal for those who wish to learn these skills or refresh them.

23rd January – An Introduction To Export Operations The course is designed to provide an overview of the Terminology, Procedures and Documentation used in the exporting process and to promote awareness of the responsibilities and obligations of all parties.

Attendees should gain an overview of the exporting process from first enquiry to arrival of the goods at destination and the course will highlight the possible pitfalls that can await the unwary. It will include a summary of The New Incoterms®2010 Rules 25th January – Successful Selling Skills Wouldn’t you like your sales team to be more productive? You know you have the right product or service, now all you have to do is translate this into money in the bank. So if you have a team member new to sales or an experienced salesperson in need of a refresher, then this is the perfect course for you and your team.

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REEVES

Raise finance for your business with Reeves Reeves seek to support businesses at all stages in their development. One of the main ways that we can help is with raising finance. This can be done either by negotiating loans from banks and third parties or by raising equity finance particularly via the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

EIS allows a business owner to raise monies by effectively selling a part of the business to outside investors.This is done by the Company issuing new shares and receiving a cash injection in return.The exact number of shares sold and the monies paid would be a matter for negotiation.

The investor in turn can receive very attractive tax breaks on their investment.

These include income tax relief at up to 30% on the value of their subscription and potentially complete exemption from any capital gains tax on the eventual sale of their shares. In the unfortunate circumstances of the Company failing completely, the investor can claim back up to 65% of his investment via different tax reliefs.The Scheme is even flexible enough for the investor to retain an influence over how their investment is spent.

EIS can be complicated; however we can help you navigate your way through the legislation to ensure that you comply with all the legal requirements.

We are very experienced in all matters relating to EIS, including structuring, negotiating with HMRC and all issues relating to the tax implications.We can even obtain Advanced Assurance from HMRC that a share issue will qualify for EIS. At a time when banks are increasingly reluctant to lend in certain sectors we are seeing a significant increase in client interest in EIS.

Shirley Smith

Paul Roe

A quick example often helps…

In December 2011 Mr Ashton decides to support a local trading company and invests £250,000 into new share capital n Mr Ashton (and the company) both qualify under the EIS rules n The company is sold to a third party in 2015 with Mr Ashton receiving a cheque for £850,000 for his shares, with the following results: n In the year of purchase (2011/12) a 30% income tax credit… worth up to £75,000 n The ability to defer earlier capital gains n Receipt of sales proceeds… entirely tax free! …And…. had the investment become worthless, Mr Ashton’s loss (net of tax relief) might be as little as £87,500.

Contact details For further information on EIS and to see whether it would be suitable for you, or to arrange one of our free ‘Business Issues Surgeries’, please contact Paul Roe or Shirley Smith, Partners at Reeves, on 01293 776152 or via their emails, paul.roe@reeves.co or shirley.smith@reeves.co

For award winning tax DQG ÀQDQFLDO DGYLFH Contact Paul Roe or Shirley Smith on: 01293 776152 paul.roe@reeves.co shirley.smith@reeves.co www.reeves.co

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PREMIER MEMBER VIEW

Protect Your Busi n The Unthinkable Business continuity planning and disaster recovery solutions are a vital component of any IT budget.

O

ver 90% of the companies that failed to adequately plan for contingency have either never recovered or went out of business within 2 years after losing their data. It is an investment best made today to avoid massive losses in the future. Richard Scott from Focus Group and Terry Bower from RDF Group give their thoughts.

With winter on its way, and the adverse weather, power faults and travel issues that come with it, risk management and disaster recovery plans are important for a business of any size. The aim of disaster recovery is to ensure that you can restore your business critical IT and Telecom systems and infrastructure as soon as possible after a disaster occurs, which in many cases can be done in real-time. Disasters may range from deliberate disruption, such as unauthorised access to your systems, to loss of utilities and service such as power failure, equipment or system failures, through to environmental disasters, where your infrastructure remains intact but people cannot get to the workplace.

As Enterprise Members and preferred Telecom and IT suppliers, Richard Scott from Focus

Group and Terry Bower from RDF Group give their thoughts on why disaster recovery is so important for businesses. The Focus Group was established in 2003, and has grown organically to provide a host of telecoms solutions to over 4500 businesses, including over 100 Sussex Enterprise members. Key services include fixed line telecoms, mobiles, broadband, inbound call solutions, and VoIP. RDF Group is a Brighton based software development house specialising in providing businesses, both local and UK wide with a complete and comprehensive IT Solutions Service. Bespoke solutions include hardware sourcing, support and maintenance, mobile, tablet and app creation, and IT infrastructure consultancy.

In Richard’s view, business continuity planning and disaster recovery have never been so important to businesses. “Due to the snow last year, UK businesses lost over £6bn in lost sales and staff costs, so it is important that businesses of all sizes have a disaster recovery plan in place. For start-up businesses it is crucial that every phone call and email is received so that every possible order is taken. For a large company, a single missed call due to adverse weather conditions could cost the company millions. In this tough economic climate all businesses need to maximise their sales opportunities.”

Inbound call solutions can easily be implemented for any business, allowing them to control the handling of their inbound calls from anywhere so that no orders are ever missed again. “With the snow last year many employees could not get into their offices, so their calls were not answered.

From as little as £10 per month it is possible to re-route your calls instantly to any other location, for example your mobile or home phone, so that a call is never missed again and your business is kept running at all times.”

your organisations IT infrastructure? Email?

Firewalls and Network Security? Backup and archiving of critical data? The ability for your staff to work from home via a secure VPN connection? Keeping your website up and running so that your customers can still purchase your products or services online?

Or being able to pay your staff through your payroll system? The answer is simple, all of the above! The cost to the UK economy of restoring business data that has been lost due to either human error or IT failure has been estimated at more £4bn per year, so risk management and having relevant recovery plans in place is critical.” We can work with you to define and implement strategies to ensure that your historic data is archived safely and securely. We can design and deploy automated backups of your critical data, and implement processes to ensure that your backed-up data is safely stored off site, so that in the event of a disaster, it can be restored quickly to get you up and running again.

As part of Focus and RDF’s partnership with the Enterprise, we offer a free comprehensive health check of your critical systems and give you an honest and unbiased assessment of your present contingency capabilities. Then, advise and recommend a disaster recovery solution that is right for your specific needs giving you complete peace of mind in the knowledge that should the worst happen, you will still function as a viable organisation.

Along with free health checks we have special rates for Sussex Enterprise Members for all IT and communications services including line rental and call charges, broadband, mobiles, IT support, web design, bespoke projects and software development. For further information call 0844 880 4571 or visit www.chambertelecomsit.co.uk

This thought is echoed by Terry, “Ask yourself, what systems are most critical to

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PREMIER MEMBER VIEW

si ness Against

(Left to right) Terry Bower (RDF Group Plc), Mark Froud (Sussex Enterprise) and Richard Scott (Focus Group)

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HAYS RECRUITMENT

FOCUS ON RECRUITMENT

Recruiting for growth Sussex organisations are recognising the business potential of recruiting, says Helen Kirk-Brown, Director for recruiting expert Hays in Sussex.

“As organisations in Sussex hope to welcome in 2012 as a year of growth for the region, businesses need talented people more than ever to help them prepare.

The level of demand for professionals in Sussex has remained relatively consistent, and the latest unemployment figures from the Office of National Statistics show that the South East has the lowest rate of unemployment in the UK. We are seeing more employers across the region recruiting for permanent staff than a year ago, which is an encouraging sign for Sussex. Demand for skilled IT professionals has remained steady, with specialist technical skills always needed by businesses.

Major projects have created demand for skilled professionals in construction, with the work at Gatwick airport and investment into Crawley town centre generating roles for many in the local area. Highly skilled professionals in the health and safety field, and estimators and quantity surveyors are particularly sought after.

What is apparent from the discussions we are having every day with businesses is that while employers are hiring, they are increasingly concerned with identifying the right people for every role. Many employers are looking for people who can bring with them new ideas and contacts, as well as skills and experience, offering new opportunities for their business. At a recent forum held by Hays for Sussex business leaders the key question being asked was, “How do I hire the right person, first time?”

One of the challenges that leaders discussed is how to identify professionals who stand out and ensure they select the best. While the current economic climate has created a larger pool of jobseekers for employers to choose from, the number of applicants for each vacancy has also increased, meaning effective selection processes are vital to running a cost and time effective recruiting process. We work with employers to improve their assessment processes, for example by developing techniques such as competency based interviewing, to give a more accurate

view of how an individual will perform in a real life situation, and minimise the chances of employing the wrong person.

We are committed to supporting Sussex employers in the challenges they currently face, and hold quarterly seminars for local businesses to meet and discuss the challenges they face. We recently held a seminar on the introduction of the Agency Workers Regulation and how it will affect local employers with temporary staff.

Hays has offices in Crawley, Brighton and Chichester with over 45 consultants in Sussex. We recruit for roles in the public and private sector across a range of sectors, including construction and property, education, accountancy and finance, office support, HR, and IT.” For more information about future regional seminars or to discuss your recruitment needs please contact Helen Kirk-Brown on 01273 711866 or visit www.hays.co.uk

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EVENTS

Sussex Enterprise events 26th January 2012 The Grand, EASTBOURNE 07.30 – 10am Protecting Your Business: your business MOT Do you have the tools to protect your business?

Delivered by Penina Shepherd from Acumen Business Law, this presentation focuses on Business Law matters and includes legal tips to safeguard your business. In this interactive presentation, Penina uses real life case studies and audience interaction to illustrate how the tips can be utilised in every size of business.

The event will cover; ideas on how to use the law to your business advantage; brand protection tips (including trademarks); legal essentials to secure your business; guidance on contracts with clients, suppliers and other parties and cost effective dispute mitigation.

This event is ideal for business owners and decision makers from any size or structure of business. Free for members and those sampling events for the first time. Breakfast on arrival.

PREMIER MEMBER 31st January 2012 The Arora Hotel, GATWICK 07.30 – 10am

High Profile Breakfast with John Longworth, new DG of the British Chambers of Commerce We welcome John Longworth, new Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce to address our Premier members in the first High Profile event of 2012. Mr Longworth has held a number of high-profile roles in business and public life, including stints as a senior executive at Asda and Tesco. He is currently a non-executive director of the Co-operative Group Food Ltd and Nichols plc, is a member of the Competition Commission, and is active in both social enterprise and a Midlands-based venture capital-backed company, SVA Ltd. 1st February 2012 Europa House, Southwick 6pm – 8.30pm Sussex Quality management Forum When asking a client organisation what issues trouble them most or what they would like to manage more effectively, Supplier Management often comes out near the top. It’s true that for many organisations they can only be as good

as their suppliers, so if their supplier let them down it can affect the whole supply chain. Join us at this informative event to find out how you can manage these situations better.

7th February 2012 Venue tbc, BRIGHTON Optimising Video for the Web As the second largest search engine in the world after Google,YouTube offers a variety of opportunities to increase website traffic, leads and referrals and business PR. Online video consumption has doubled in 12 months, with it now rivalling the format of television and has become the most popular online activity in Europe.

YouTube is free, but your resources are costly, so optimising your videos will ensure you get greater ROI (Return On Investment) from your video endeavours.

The event will be delivered by the online marketing gurus from White Hat Media. As

such, the importance of optimised video will be enforced by the benefits and use of SEO and Social Media.

Quality networking opportunities and breakfast provided.THIS EVENT WILL SELL OUT FAST - BOOK NOW TO SECURE YOUR PLACE! This event is free for members and those sampling events for the first time.

On the horizon...Lunch club launch event coming soon for Sussex Enterprise members, plus the reintroduction of MP lunches, free to Premier members and £25 for Member Plus.

See the website for further details coming soon.

Contact details For full and up to date details on all our events and to book, please visit www.sussexenterprise.co.uk/events

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“You’ll fall in love with our coffee ... and our snack vending services” To find out how we can supply you with a delicious range of refreshments, call ...

0800 195 3170 www.westwaysvending.co.uk

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Fiona goes back to her farming roots Businesswoman Fiona Malcolm has returned to her farming roots as the Commercial and Marketing Director of the South of England Agricultural Society.

Fiona said: “I have a great deal of empathy with farmers and the farming heritage of this country.

“My great-grandfather and my grandfather farmed in West Wales and all my uncles and cousins have been involved in farming for as

long as I can remember. My father proved the only exception when he joined the RAF but, even then, when he was away, I spent my time in the countryside with other members of the family.

“I have a keen interest in the aims and objectives of the South of England Agricultural Society. Coming from a farming background, I understand the importance of preserving our rural heritage and increasing awareness of and promoting knowledge of agriculture and rural communities. My new position is a challenge I find very exciting.”

Fiona Malcolm at the 2011 Autumn Show

Fiona, who lives in Hove, joined the Society after ten years at Sussex Enterprise where she fulfilled a number of roles, most recently as Director of Commercial Services. She played a key role in strategic and business planning including financial forecasting, marketing and resource planning. Previously she managed Business Link Sussex, a £4.5 million per annum grant funded programme delivering support services to businesses.

Brian Williams, Chairman of the South of England Agricultural Society, said: “As a charity, the Society is committed to its role to work for the benefit of all who are employed in agriculture in the South East, for all who care about its future and the countryside we cherish.

Fiona’s personal knowledge and experience of farming and rural life is one of the reasons we chose her for this important role.”

Barclays Corporate make key appointment Simon Nicholson has been appointed as the regional business director for Barclays Business in the South East.

Simon Nicholson

Based in the corporate office in Crawley, and covering Kent and Sussex, Simon will lead a team of business managers who support 850 customers with turnovers of £2-5 million.

responsible for a team managing Barclays major retail customers, he then moved to a role as regional business director in London before moving to cover the South East.

Simon has an unconventional background for a senior Barclays manager, having started his own delivery business in his spare room at home in Hove in 1992. Over the next 15 years he expanded the company to a major fulfillment business. In 2007 he sold the business and started looking for a new challenge.

Simon said: “This business sector is fascinating and many of the customers I have met are really inspirational entrepreneurs. There is no doubt that the growth in the UK economy will depend on these businesses expanding to fulfill their potential and my team is perfectly placed to help their customers achieve this.”

He said: “At that time Barclays was looking to recruit people with serious business experience into leadership roles and I was approached to see if I was interested. It seemed like a fascinating challenge so I joined the company.”

He is married with two children and lives in Worthing and has an unusual hobby. At the weekends, he races Go karts and has competed in the Go kart equivalent of the Le Mans 24 hours. The team for which Simon drives won the Masters European Championship last year.

When Simon first joined Barclays he was

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MP PAGES

From Austerity to G Eighteen months into its term of office, the Coalition government can take considerable credit for establishing its economic and financial credibility with the markets.

A

t a time of crisis in the Euro zone, and with the US government having suffered a downgrade of its credit rating, British government debt is keenly priced, giving us the benefit of low long-term interest rates.

The government has started on this path, but needs to do more. It set out its initial thinking in its ‘Plan for Growth’ in the spring. I have argued for a more vigorous approach, and George Osborne’s speech to the Conservative Party conference in October gave some encouraging signs that the government is moving further in this direction. The Autumn Statement will provide some crucial signals on this.

Under the last government, just before the election, Alistair Darling made clear that he would cut spending plans to tackle the deficit.

It is unclear, however, just how much stomach there was within his party (and especially his then neighbour in Downing Street) for taking the measures needed. Since taking over, George Osborne and Danny Alexander have set out and started to deliver a strategy for bringing our budget deficit under control.

An effective strategy for economic growth must embrace tax (especially simplification of the system, which has grown much too complex in recent years), labour markets, financial regulation, energy (including climate change, where we must avoid doing economic damage through unilateral policies), transport and other policy areas.

However, accountancy is not enough. Getting our finances in shape is an essential step, but we need to do more to revive the most wealth creating parts of our economy – above all the small and medium-sized enterprises that I see in my constituency that are the driving force of the British economy in the long-term.

No economic policy can be complete without tackling banking reform. We have to accept that the last crisis resulted from mistakes made across the board – by the bankers themselves, certainly, but also by regulators, rating agencies, politicians, the Bank of England and by borrowers.

There is now a responsibility on policy-makers to ensure that past mistakes are not repeated. The

government has sought to ensure this through the work of the Independent Commission on Banking, whose proposals the Treasury Select Committee is examining in detail.

More immediately, it is important that we maintain the flow of credit in the economy; there are worrying signs that the application of international rules designed to strengthen the banks, coupled with over-hasty withdrawal of some of the measures brought in to tackle the crisis in 2008 are squeezing banks’ liquidity and, with that, their willingness to lend. As Chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, I have written to the financial authorities urging them to monitor this. Local businesses, eventually, will be hit if regulators get it wrong.

By tackling the deficit, the government has earned itself a breathing space from the relentless pressures of the financial markets.

It must use the opportunity this gives to set out bold measures for enhancing the supply side of our economy and boosting long-term economic performance.

Government must also focus on what matters most to the wider electorate: sustaining and improving their standard of living, and seeing better prospects for their children.While wages and working hours have been under pressure, inflation has been relatively high. It is widely accepted that inflation is likely to fall rapidly, perhaps halving from its recent peak (and it might yet fall further if the Euro crisis deepens); even so, general living standards could come under more pressure.

With the United States economy only now showing modest signs of recovery, and the relentless crisis in our biggest export market, the Euro zone, there is less external support for growth than policy makers would like. Unsurprisingly, both the Office of Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England have cut their growth forecasts.The Bank has initiated another bout of Quantitative Easing.

What we need is a supply side strategy - improving incentives and efficiency in the economy for the long-term. I do not doubt that we will recover eventually; the question is how quickly and how strongly. Supply side policies offer the government its main lever for raising the long-term growth rate.

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MP PAGES

o Growth

“By tackling the deficit, the government has earned itself a breathing space from the relentless pressures of the financial markets�

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FOCUS ON MARKETING

FRESH EGG

Insightful tools to help track ROI and make better business decisions The wealth of data available for online businesses today provides a staggering improvement in terms of visibility, accountability and flexibility.

a

In the pre-internet era, above-the-line advertising was the FEATURE only option to promote businesses, and SMEs had to rely heavily on word of mouth, trade shows, press and radio where it was significantly easier to spend money than it was to measure the return on investment (ROI).

However, thanks to the fast paced growth of internet technology over the past 15-20 years, businesses with online sales channels can now take advantage of excellent measurement and tracking solutions. These tools are invaluable in assessing the performance of online marketing campaigns and the overall performance of company websites against business objectives.

Over the same time period, the web analytics landscape has evolved, with the market now dominated by major technology companies including Google, Adobe and IBM. Google Analytics is the most ubiquitous of the modern web analytics platforms, largely due to the fact that the standard version is free to use and offers businesses a huge amount of critical marketing data. It is estimated Google Analytics is used on approximately 50 per cent of the top one million websites online today, but anecdotally this is more likely to be higher for SMEs. As a Google Analytics Certified Partner (GACP), Worthing-based internet marketing agency, Fresh Egg, has direct communication with the product team at Google, access to new features before they are made public, and a worldwide community of fellow partners to ensure the agency can keep up to date with all the advanced features. This allows Fresh Egg’s dedicated insight and analytics team to use the product to its full potential and in turn provide a robust and comprehensive tool to measure the performance of its clients’ businesses online.

The data provided through the Google Analytics interface can range from very top line statistics such as the number of visits to a website and the average time spent per user, to more advanced data including conversion rates (visit to sale conversions) for specific online marketing channels. For example, it can analyse the data for email or affiliate marketing, while

Figure 1. A tracking issue resulted in paid search under-reporting and non-paid (organic) search over-reporting.

segmenting different audience groups such as new versus returning visitors, or visitors using mobile devices versus those using computers to access a website.

There are naturally limitations with Google Analytics, as with any technology platform, but these limitations are rarely hit by most companies due to a lack of resource and expertise in the product.

However this rich source of data can be a double-edged sword. More often than not implementations of Google Analytics are handled badly and this can lead to inconsistent or incorrect tracking, which subsequently leads to data corruption, as Dara Fitzgerald, Head of Insight at Fresh Egg, explains.

He says: “Many companies trust the data reported by Google Analytics without understanding that it is entirely dependent on a complete and correct implementation.

Furthermore, there are many key online marketing channels which are not tracked by default within the platform, for example email marketing and even Google Adwords.

“Other areas that can go awry include the tracking of subdomains - where the standard tracking code does not always suffice - and redirected web pages, which can cause the original source of traffic to be misattributed.”

can also cause one channel to be reported incorrectly as another, such as paid search reported as organic (natural) search.

Dara continues: “These issues may appear to be simple technical issues on paper, which would not tangibly affect the bottom line, but it would be a mistake to assume this. Many businesses are starting to take web analytics data for granted and are using it to inform business decisions such as marketing budget allocation.

“While a brilliantly insightful tool, Google Analytics must be correctly administered to support a business’s ability to measure ROI effectively and avoid making bad business decisions. This is a complex subject matter but when handled correctly it can give businesses real competitive advantage.”

Fresh Egg is a leading internet marketing agency, specialising in web design, search engine optimisation, social media and insight. As one of only 27 Google Analytics Certified Partners in the UK, the agency is a specialist in the field of web analytics. If you would like to discuss your analytics requirements with Fresh Egg, please get in touch on 0845 373 1077.

The issues mentioned above can cause artificial inflation or deflation of traffic figures and

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UPFRONT

Lewes Accountants volunteer for local animal centre Knill James distributes Raystede campaign leaflets across Lewes.

A team of Lewes accountants from Knill James distributes 500 leaflets door to door in Lewes this month, to help raise awareness and funds for the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare near Ringmer.

“Raystede has a real challenge on its hands, taking on over 1500 unwanted and abandoned animals every year and looking after them while they try and find them caring new homes, so we offered to help in a way that we knew we could make a difference,” said Sue Foster, one of Knill James lead charities partners.

“Knill James has a specialist team working with charities and not-for-profit organisations, providing financial advice and accountancy services to a sector which faces ever-changing legislation at the same time as providing important and difficult work, so we work as closely as we can with local organisations.”

Said Nigel Mason, CEO of Raystede, “We aim to prevent and relieve cruelty to animals and to protect them from unnecessary suffering. We find dogs, cats and other companion animals new caring homes, while others remain in Raystede’s care for the rest of their days. “ The Raystede Centre is a charity and relies totally on voluntary support and we are

delighted that Knill James can support us in this way – offering their own valuable time to help our centre.”

Raystede is open to the public between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m every day and visitors can enjoy various walks and see the centre’s work with horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, rabbits, chipmunks, tortoises, terrapins, many different exotic birds and there is also a wildfowl sanctuary with several lakes for ducks, geese and moorhens.

Knill James is a leading Sussex accountancy firm providing services to business and private clients across the South East. A modern and progressive partnership, in addition to charities and not-for-profit enterprises, they specialise in providing expert service to a large number of owner managed businesses and private individuals. They are known for their personal service, unrivalled expertise and friendly approach, providing clients with all the expertise and services they need under one roof.

There is a Visitor Centre where films are on show and pictures and information displayed.

Raystede also has a coffee shop, gift shop, picnic area, parking and toilet facilities. It is situated in East Sussex on the B2192 between Ringmer and Halland.

Signs are positive for award winner The Sussex Sign Company was formed on the 1st January 1995 and since grown from a small sign company working from the bedroom of a house to a million pound turnover organisation working from a state-of-the art factory in Brighton and serving the South East of England.

Sussex by way of excellent customer service and value for money, offering the best quality products your money can buy.

The Sussex Sign Company is a full service sign business specialising in shop fascias, vehicle signwriting, banners, exhibition graphics, screen-printing, estate agent boards, web design, graphic design service and sign manufacture.

As previous winners of the Sussex Small Business of the Year award, we offer exceptionally high quality products with customer service, which is second to none.

The ethos of The Sussex Sign Company is that we want to be the best sign company in

If you would like a company who cares about the way you are looked after, then we are the sign company you should choose.

To see some of the projects we have done please visit www.sussexsigns.com or telephone 01273 424900 so one of our team can look after you personally.

For the best company in the south coast to complete your latest signage project contact The Sussex Sign Company

Whether it is signwriting for 1–60 vehicles or completing your latest signage project or company name change from 1 – 50 shops, The Sussex Sign Company can project manage this.

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NEW MEMBER LISTINGS

360 Degree Vision High quality learning & development programmes Unit 4, 8 Cavendish Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2HS Nicholas Brice T: +44(0)1273 770032 E: nick.brice@virgin.net W: www.360degreevision.co.uk 4A Law Specialist Immigration Business & Property Lawyers 136 Langley Drive, Crawley, West Sussex, RH11 7TG Vijesna Rohit T: +44(0)1293 409305 E: info@4alaw.com W: www.4alaw.com

Certitude Risk Services Ltd Risk Management 24 Nutbourne Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14 7HS Jenna Wells T: +44(0)7950 396480 E: jennawells@certituderickservices.co.uk W: www.certituderiskservices.co.uk Clean Thermodynamic Energy Conversion Ltd Internal Combustion Engines Unit 7 West, New Road, Newhaven, East Sussex, BN9 0EX Mike Burns, Managing Director T: +44(0)1273 511150 E: mike@ctecenergy.co.uk W: www.ctecenergy.co.uk Clear-View Ltd Glass Manufacturer Unit 3, 16 Maple Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 6NY Paul Birchall T: +44(0)1323 641163 E: pbirchall487@aol.com

Barebones Communications Ltd Communications New Bond House, 124 New Bond Street, London, W1S 1DX David Bone, Director T: +44(0)845 557 0533 E: dave.bone@barebonescommunications.com W: www.barecomms.com

Hardware Store Dudley House, High Street, Handcross, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH17 6BL Christina Hampstead, Manager T: +44(0)1444 400212 E: handcrosshardwareandcraft@xlninternet.co.uk W: http://handcrosshardwareandcraft.co.uk Hays Recruitment Recruitment International House, 78 - 81 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XE Helen Kirk-Wood, Director T: +44(0)1273 207352 E: Helen.kirk-wood@hays.com W: www.hays.co.uk Higher Nature Ltd

Andrews Accountancy Services Ltd Accountancy 14 Hackwood, Robertsbridge, East Sussex, TN32 5ER John Andrews, Owner T: +44(0)1580 883800 E: johna@enterprise.net

Handcross Hardware & Craft

DGH Recruitment Employment & Recruitment Agencies Jubilee House, 56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AS Janice Collier T: +44(0)1444 251100 E: jcollier@dghrecruitment.co.uk W: www.dghrecruitment.co.uk

Supplements & Vitamins Burwash Common, Etchingham, East Sussex, TN19 7LX Angela Saunders, Sales Support Manager T: +44(0)1435 883484 E: asaunders@higher-nature.co.uk W: www.highernature.co.uk Kallista Electronics Ltd Connectors & Electromechanical Products Naldred Farm Offices, Borde Hill Lane, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 1XR Steve Bacon T: +44(0)1444 443233 E: steve.bacon@kallistaelectronics.co.uk W: www.kallistaelectronics.co.uk

BOX IT Document Management Oad Street, Borden, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME9 8JP James Mair, Director T: +44(0)1795 841010 E: enquiries@boxit-se.co.uk W: www.boxit.co.uk BPE Business Connections Virtual Office The Business Suite, Enterprise Centre, Station Parade, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1BD Joy Aldridge T: +44(0)843 289 1723 E: joy@bpebusinessconnections.co.uk W: www.bpebusinessconnections.co.uk Cascade Training & Coaching Ltd Training Podium House, 61 Chapel Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1HR Jules MacMillan, Owner T: +44(0)1903 251066 E: jules@cascadetraininguk.com W: www.cascadetraininguk.com

Equi Cycle Organic fuel and fertiliser Leatham Farm Oast, Leatham Lane, Playdon, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7UE Allison Riches T: +44(0)1797 225715 E: alli@equicycle.net Expense Reduction Analysts Consultants 3 Smith Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 8HJ Simon Perkins, Director T: +44(0)7950 450321 E: s.perkins@erauk.net W: www.expense-reduction.co.uk Global Water Conservation Ltd Water Treatment Equipment & Service - Leakage 2 Stairbridge Court, Bolney Grange Business Park, Stairbridge Lane, Bolney, West Sussex, RH17 5PA Steve Gayler, Director T: +44(0)1444 244646 E: stevegayler@gwcltd.com W: www.gwcltd.com

Lark Insurance Broking Group Insurance Advice & Solutions Ibex House, 42-47 Minories, City of London, EC3N 1DY Stuart Williamson T: +44(0)207 543 2800 E: stuart.williamson@larkinsurance.co.uk W: www.larkinsurance.co.uk Market Place Marketing Marketing 1 Leburnum Villas, South Bank, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8DY Chris Allwood T: +44(0)7779 999556 E: chris_allwood@hotmail.co.uk Masteri Leadership Training & Development Training 9 Winterfold, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 6PL Mervyn Murray T: +44(0)7739 177678 E: mervyn@masteri.co.uk W: www.masteri.co.uk

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NEW MEMBER LISTINGS

Mulberry Cottages Holiday Homes Sackville House, High Street, Hartfield, East Sussex, TN7 4AD Julie Hawkins T: +44(0)7889 723711 E: julie.hawkins@mulberrycottages.com W: www.mulberrycottages.com Newick Packers Limited Export Packing Unit 7 Gatwick Metro Centre, Balcombe Road, Horely, Surrey, RH6 9GA Jeremy Raynard T: +44(0)1293 772473 E: enquiries@newickpackers.co.uk W: www.newickpackers.co.uk Nicki Paddy & Co Ltd Bookkeeping & International Trade Accounting Services 3 Worcester Road, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 5DJ Nicki Paddy, Director T: +44(0)7810 525335 E: nicki.paddy@sky.com Now Marketing Global Ltd Marketing Digitally 25 Vale Avenue, Brighton, East Sussex, BU1 8UB Michael Cressey T: +44(0)7815 675203 E: michael@nowmarketing.co.uk W: www.nowmarketing.co.uk Play It By Ear Video Production 1 The Jordans, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4BX Martin Buchanan, Owner T: +44(0)1342 326234 E: martin@playitbyear.net W: www.playitbyear.net Rans Dynamic Ltd Consultancy, Training and Corporate & Business Coaching 100 Courtwick Road, Wick, Littlehampton, West Sussex, BN17 7NX Amina Chitembo, Managing Director T: +44(0)7919 114312 E: amina.chitembo@ransdynamic.com W: http://ransdynamic.com Red Pencil Marketing & Advertising 2 Poplar Mews, Bolnore Village, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 4GZ Peter Nash, Proprietor T: +44(0)1444 480603 E: peter.nash@red-pencil.co.uk

Ricardo UK Ltd Multi-industry engineering provider of technology, product innovation & strategic consulting Bridge Works, Shoreham Technical Centre, Old Shoreham Road, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 5FG Andrew Swayne, Senior Manager T: +44(0)1273 455611 E: andrew.swayne@ricardo.com W: www.ricardo.com Ridgeford Consultants Ltd Consultants Holbrook Cottage, Old Holbrook, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4TW Ian Williams, Managing Director T: +44(0)1403 267955 E: ianwilliams@ridgefordconsultants.co.uk

Sustrain UK Ltd Business Coaching 39 Roman Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 4LB James Garrett, Owner T: +44(0)7768 142376 E: james.garrett@sustrainuk.co.uk W: www.sustrainuk.co.uk The Fed Centre for Independent Living Voluntary Organisation Montague House, Montague Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 1JE Jane Binns, Project Leader - City Guide T: +44(0)1273 296747 E: jane.binns@thefedonline.org.uk W: www.thefedonline.org.uk The Wandering Monkey Co. Ltd

Shire Business Group Complete range of commercial services 1 Calico Business Park, Sandy Way, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B77 4BF Robert Mansell T: +44(0)1827 300323 E: info@shirebusinessgroup.co.uk W: www.shirebusinessgroup.co.uk Shirts Group Clothing & Promotional Safe Store, 51 Brampton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN22 9AF Mark Ward, Proprietor T: +44(0)208 133 4647 E: mark.ward@shirtsgroup.co.uk W: www.shirtsgroup.co.uk South Downs Photo Shop Photo Prints 18 Woodward Avenue, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 0PE Mark Armitage T: +44(0)7805 010008 E: superfruit@blueberry7.plus.com W: www.clikpic.com/southdownmark

Retail Sales & Distribution C/O Page & Sons Ltd, Unit R, Rudford Industrial Estate, Ford, Nr Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 0BF Jonathan Corbett, Director T: +44(0)845 094 6296 E: jonathan@wanderingmonkey.com W: www.wanderingmonkey.com Unleashing Dragons 12 Heron Close, Ridgewood, Uckfield, East Sussex, TN22 5QF Claire Dolph T: +44(0)7973 798167 E: claire@unleashingdragons.co.uk W: www.unleashingdragons.co.uk VG Scienta Ltd Scientific Manufacturing Maunsell Road, Castleham Industrial Estate, Hastings, East Sussex, TN38 9NN Caroline Knight, HR Manager T: +44(0)1424 856499 E: caroline.knight@vgscienta.com W: www.vgscienta.com

Stevens Son & Pope Solicitors Jubilee House, 56-58 Church Walk, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, RH15 9AN Frances Adam, Office Manager T: +44(0)1444 876958 E: frances@ssandp.com W: www.ssandp.com Sussex Business Advisors Business Consultancy April Cottage, High Street, Upper Beeding, Steyning, West Sussex, BN44 3WN Peter Johnson T: +44(0)7714 093406 E: peter.johnson@sussexbusinessadvisors.com W: www.sussexbusinessadvisors.com

Enjoy a range of benefits exclusively negotiated for you For more information about becoming a member, call us on...

0844 375 9550

BUSINESSEDGE 45

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THE LAST WORD

THE LAST WORD… Each edition we invite one of our contributors to answer some key questions we all want to know the answers to.

This time it’s the turn of Rupert Rawcliffe Director Grant Thornton

Which words or phrase do you most often overuse? In the current uncertain

7

2

Karaoke song of choice.

8

3

What’s your biggest regret?

1

of humour.

times “Opperchancity”. Also the expression “It would take wild horses to…………………”

4

“Can’t take my eyes off you” Fankie Valli and the 4 Seasons”

Buying UK bank shares at any point in the last three years, they probably have further to fall, watch this space and of course Greece.

5

When was the last time you lied?

6

What talent would you most like to have? My enthusiasm for cricket never seemed to

Which virtue is the most overrated? Plato’s original virtues of Wisdom,

Courage, Temperance and Justice spring to mind. Of these, it seems that when a corporate finance transaction completes, Temperance seems most overrated at that point.

9

When and where were you happiest? 16 July 1995 when she said “yes” (My soul

mate and now wife agreed to get engaged), widely considered that I was batting above my average.

What quality to you most admire in a person? Resilience, coupled with a good sense

Early mornings or late nights?

Late nights. An early morning is capped when the day starts in earnest, a late night can run and run, and when a deal is there to close a late night often does the trick (eventually).

10

Deal or no deal?

11

Tell us a secret...

Easy, answering question 2, it would take wild horses to get me in front of a Karaoke machine!

Deal, there are no prizes for coming second. That does not mean don’t walk away if the deal is wrong and tactically that is the right decision. No Deal, is like the bride that never makes the altar.

Despite the aura of invincibility of the Corporate Finance world, I have a heart of gold.

lead to the sound of willow on leather. Being able to play cricket to a decent level and to play at Lords, the Home of Cricket, would be great, yet alone being Captain of England and leading your team out onto the hallowed turf.

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Audi A6

2.0 TDI SE Saloon

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