GLOBAL B U S I N E S S
VOLUME 5, ISSUE 9
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F I N A N C E
B U S I N E S S
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S E C T O R
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I N S I G H T WWW.GBUSINESSINSIGHT.COM
PDR PROPERTY LAWYERS
The Research Management and CRM Genius of Today ANALEC is a leading financial technology company providing platforms and solutions in investment research, client-related servicing space and Customer Relationship Management.
MOST TRUSTED IN PROPERTY CONVEYANCING SERVICES 2018 - UK
OXFIRST
ČERMÁK A SPOL.
LACOURTE RAQUIN TATAR
WORKING CAPITAL
WINNER OF BEST IP MANAGER UK 2018
WINNER OF IP LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR 2018 - CZECH REPUBLIC
THE FRENCH LAW FIRM TURNING THE FRENCH MARKET ON ITS HEAD
REAL PEOPLE DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
WWW.OXFIRST.COM
WWW.WORKINGCAPITALPARTNERS.CO.UK
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CONTENTS 11 17 37 45 53 57 65
oxfirst
Winner of the award top IP manager 2018.
SMART APPRENTICES
Most innovative e-portfolio software developer company 2018 - UK
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lacourte raquin tatar The French law firm turning the French market on its head.
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primex
Leaders in development projects
parkside chambers
Best in business crime defence law 2018 Hong Kong
Learn to trade
Come join the forex trading family.
smiles all round
for Frank Taylor & Associates.
FIRST AID ASSOCIATES
First aid training provider of the year 2018 United Kingdom
Silver screen success
Film production & distribution company of the year 2018 United Kingdom
customers the day after tomorrow
How to attract customers in a world of AI, Bots and Automation.
RATE RISE COULD COMPOUND INTEREST Problems for ‘Zombie Companies’
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Čermák a spol
Winner of 2018 IP Law Firm of the Year.
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working capital partners ltd
Real people dedicated to supporting you and your business.
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pdr property lawyers
Most Trusted in Property Conveyancing Services 2018 - UK
VOLUME 5 ISSUE 9 WWW.GBUSINESSINSIGHT.COM FOLLOW US @ GBUSINESSINSIGHT
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THE RESEARCH MANAGEMENT AND CRM GENIUS OF TODAY ANALEC ANALEC is a leading financial technology company providing platforms and solutions in investment research, client-related servicing space and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology in the sales & trading domain. They work with a range of broker-dealers and investment banks all across the globe, combining their deep domain knowledge of their client’s business and their ability to leverage the most appropriate technologies and servicing solutions. ANALEC has been playing the role of a “change agent” in the stock [brokering] and capital markets’ theatre since its inception; relying on technology to drive business process efficiencies as well as enhancing their clients’ abilities to better engage with their customers. ANALEC’s research management and CRM software solutions make the clients more competitive and productive. Their mission has been to be the preferred technology partner for banks and brokers when it comes to meeting their intricate business process automation challenges in the areas around investment research and client servicing within business. They continue to invest in delivering solutions and capabilities that enable their clients to deliver a better service to their end customers. “We are delighted to receive this recognition by Global Business Insight and every bit of recognition in the marketplace is a vindication of our efforts to remain committed to our long-term goals. Our customers remain our strongest referees and supporters and we work hard to earn their trust and support daily. I take this opportunity to thank all our customers for their support and sponsorship and making such recognition possible.” Indy Sarker, CEO of ANALEC. ANALEC have consistently demonstrated that they pay careful attention to their clients’ needs and expectations. Working with their clients as a partner in their endeavours ensures ANALEC can play a role in helping them realise their ambitions. Many of ANALEC’s competitors have been found to shy away from undertaking specific client-driven requests; whereas ANALEC deliver on their specific needs swiftly. Looking at other firms in the Research Management and Client Servicing industry, it is clear to see that ANALEC differentiate themselves through their product mix, superior customer engagement philosophy and going the extra mile to meet customer expectations. Their Research and CRM technology platforms, both licensed individually or as an integrated offering, has clearly proved to be a significant advantage to their customers, not to mention lowering their total-cost-of-ownership on their technology spending decisions. With the number of success projects continuously growing, ANALEC’s customers are recognising the power of their integrated service packages and this is creating a lot of positive momentum for the business; making them the most obvious choice for this award. Unfaltering innovation and staying ahead of the competition are not easy tasks in the best of times: “We believe it is important to pick a few areas of excellence and focus on getting them right on a consistent basis. In that regard, we have been able to build a reputation with our customers for being very receptive to their demands and requirements and delivering platforms that are known for their reliability and superior user experience.” Indy Sarker, CEO of ANALEC.
INDY SARKER CEO OF ANALEC
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ANALEC as a company is deeply rooted in a strong family value system build on transparency, customer focus, integrity and teamwork. They recognise that if you find great intellectual talent but fail to get comfort around ethics or teamwork, one should not make that hire. By doing so, over the years, they have ensured that their reputation is never at risk in the market place across all stakeholders – customers, service providers and employees.
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We believe it is important to pick a few areas of excellence and focus on getting them right on a consistent basis. we have been able to build a reputation with our customers for being very receptive to their demands and requirements and delivering platforms that are known for their reliability and superior user experience.
Regulatory change in Europe driven by MiFID II regulations as well as competitive pricing pressures have brought about a fundamental change in the revenue model driving stock brokers, this in turn has brought a more acute focus on the internal workings of brokers and banks. ANALEC have remained relevant throughout this shift and continue to deliver added-value and solutions that cater to the new realities of the market place. When asked what the future holds for ANALEC, Indy Sarker shared : “We remain very excited about our prospects in North America and the progress we continue to make on the customer acquisition front. As a new entrant in the US market place a few years back, it was never an easy ride to win backers. However, we have stayed committed to our plans and the fruits of our labour are now beginning to emerge. Our future over the next few years remains extremely busy with an aggressive customer acquisition plan; coupled with a product innovation and expansion plan that will further cement our competitive position in the market place as well as allow us to expand our addressable market opportunity.” ISSUE 09 | 9
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One of the most important aspect of technology products/services business is attracting and retaining top talent. As a small company with, what would seem to be, larger than life ambitions, it has been very important to find people that can identify with said ambition and bring the same drive and energy to make things happen within ANALEC. They have been very successful in building a world class team spread across multiple countries and continue to offer exciting career prospects for their high achievers.
WINNER OF THE AWARD
BEST IP MANAGER 2018
Under the leadership of Dr Roya Ghafele, Managing Director, OxFirst helps turn Intellectual Property into a business opportunity. The award-winning advisory firm ensures that firms, governments, international and supra-national government institutions leverage intellectual property for growth. They do this by offering high-quality economic analysis of intellectual property. This enables IP commercialisation and IP driven business strategy. The insights gained through OxFirst Analysis help shed light on otherwise untapped business opportunities. A mere legal perspective on IP is not enough to unleash the untapped wealth offered by intangible assets. OxFirst is highly experienced in the valuation of IP, the preparation of Expert Testimonials for licensing, litigation, damages analysis and IP driven investments. They also focus on IP management and IP policy formulation for growth
The Valuation of Intellectual Property Dr Ghafele attested that an early stage high-tech firm was able to raise over 10 Million US Dollars based on its IP valuation. At another instance, the estimate of the IP undertaken by OxFirst formed a cornerstone of a patent acquisition, which gave the seller a significant boost to its cash reserves.
Accredited Expert Testimonials for Commercial Disputes, Litigation and Licensing Negotiations OxFirst has frequently been involved as an economic expert in commercial disputes, litigation and licensing negotiations. Their economic analysis formed the cornerstone of price formation in licensing negotiations, helping Courts identify the fair value of a damage award and also allowed to assess the financial risk of litigation in mergers and acquisitions.
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Economic Analysis of intellectual property and competition policy formulation OxFirst has had a substantial contribution to policy formulation. In the copyright space for example; OxFirst economic analysis contributed to the formulation of a New Directive on Collective Rights Management. Additionally, OxFirst has systematically established the commercial element in commercial law. The global market for patent filing is growing consistently at a rate of about 10%, but evidence shows that only a small fraction of that IP can be linked to commercial activity! This IP commercialisation gap can, to a large extent, be explained by the fact that there are not enough economists in this area who can bridge the gap between IP law and economics. This gap indicates that many firms do not even know the value of their IP assets, let alone how to manage their IP assets for wealth generation. By consequence, many IP projects sit gathering dust and IP departments are often perceived as a mere cost centre. Essential elements to change that include the usage of Key Performance Indicators, the valuation of IP and then extracting value from it. IP related economic research plays a crucial role in this process. Q: How does it feel to have won this award? A: “I feel very privileged that our hard work, dedication and commitment has been recognised by such a prestigious analyst as Global Business Insights. We attribute this success to the dedication and commitment we continuously offer our clients in their search to extract maximum value from their technology.” – Dr Roya Ghafele.
McKinsey & Company was founded in the 1930s with the idea to bring the concept of a law firm to the world of Management. But what the world has been missing for a long time was ‘Management Consulting for IP.’ In 2011 OxFirst brought this concept to the world of commercial law. Just like McKinsey, the Boston Consulting Group or Accenture, OxFirst offers highlevel economic analysis; however, solely directed towards the strategic management of intellectual property assets. With such highly-specialised expertise, there are hardly any firms that can genuinely compete with them. Since its inception in 2011, OxFirst has maintained very close relations with the Oxford University, given that its Founder herself, Dr Ghafele, taught at Oxford University. As such, her firm is able to tap into a wealth of expertise, unparalleled elsewhere. Oxford University has been educating leaders for over a thousand years, and the team at OxFirst do their best to assure such high-level expertise is adequately disseminated in the market. What makes OxFirst unique is the individuals on the team that have worked in the IP space for decades and gained substantial experience in the ‘real world of Academia’, but also in practice. Very few can offer such depth of knowledge on IP and competition law and economics. OxFirst will always offer an opportunity to those that are eager to grow. Dr Ghafele nurtures talent from day one and provides a wealth of opportunities to develop one’s skills in an open and creative environment. She is keen to reassure that a flat hierarchy gives way to a very steep learning curve in a very short time and hence rapidly grows one’s career. Intellectual property (IP) will play a key role in upcoming technology spaces such as Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Driving or the Internet of Things and it is crucial to address how various approaches to IP strategy and policy can lead humanity to substantially different social and economic contexts. The question of IP strategy and policy is particularly pronounced as the nature of wealth generation is radically changing. While at the end of the 19th century, the richest man in the world, John D. Rockefeller, made his wealth in the petrol industry, one of the richest men of much of the 21st century, Bill Gates, possesses primarily one resource: intellectual property. This alone seems reason enough to identify economic approaches to IP and competition law systematically. IP bears the potential to be the currency of the knowledge-based economy, but for this to happen, it is crucial that we start treating it as an economic asset and use it to foster inclusive growth and assure strategy and policy measures to achieve this.
Dr. roya ghafele oxfirst
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Čermák a spol. is a top Czech and Slovak intellectual property law firm and has been since 1990. Their caseloads range from intellectual property (IP) to prosecution and litigation, as well as consulting in patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, unfair competition, regulatory aspects of pharmaceuticals, etc. They also provide services in commercial, business and civil law. Čermák a spol.’s clients include top global corporations from different industries and services ranging from small to medium sized companies and individuals. The company’s mission is to help other businesses and individuals obtain and protect their IP assets and represent them before the Czech Industrial Property Office, Slovak Industry Property Office, Czech and Slovak courts as well as the European Patent Office in Munich and EUIPO in Alicante. They pay equal attention to routine work, such as filling trademark applications, managing trademark portfolios, validating European patents and starting national phases of Patent Corporation Treaty applications. While these two types of work require partly the same expertise, they need different approaches to task management and communication with the client. Čermák a spol. law firm has two core departments: Patent and Trademark department which deals with routine IP cases; mainly IP prosecution, and the Legal department which handles the more complicated cases that require litigation, including trademark
WINNER OF 2018 IP LAW FIRM OF THE YEAR DR. KAREL ČERMÁK JR.
“We are pleased to have been awarded
the 2018 IP Law Firm of the Year and we perceive this as a recognition, by Global Business Insight, of our hard work, dedication and professionality in the past and present.”
oppositions, invalidation and revocation actions, declaration proceedings, preliminary injunctions, IP infringements, domain name disputes, challenging IPO decision before administrative courts, constitutional complaints etc. Čermák a spol. believes in traditional legal and firm values. While they closely observe developments in the IP world in the Czech, Slovak and European legislation and adapt their practice accordingly, they do not seek innovation for its own sake and wherever it is possible, the firm sticks to their traditional and time-proven approaches and principles. They believe that tradition, reliability and stability are key values especially in IP industry because there are some clients for whom Čermák a spol. ISSUE 09 | 12
manages IP portfolios over decades and some cases evolve in a time span of more than 10 years, with all their ramifications and repercussions. Hence why it is important for their clients to know that Čermák a spol. is still relevant and providing the same high level and reliable services. Given their reputation and their chief seat in Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, the firm receives many CVs of talented young lawyers or IP experts wishing to work for the firm, not only from the Czech Republic but from Slovakia and many other countries. The company’s employees and associates also include some of the leading personalities in IP in the Czech and Slovak Republics, especially many former employees of the Patent Office including its former president Mr Karel Čada. “We try to integrate all the talented minds into one team at our firm and to create an informal, friendly, yet efficient and professional working atmosphere. We pay a lot of attention our fee earning departments, i.e. legal department and trademark and patent department, but also to auxiliary departments which are, in IP practice, equally important to achieving the high level of professionality and reliability we strive to achieve.” There is a particular department of central docketing, operating every working day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., which ensures that every case is immediately tested as to potential conflicts of interest, duly filed and managed, streamlining the required processes in the fee earning department. The firm’s high-profile case handlers, especially lawyers and patent attorneys, regularly attend international and domestic IP events within the framework of AIPPI, LIDC, Marques, FICPI and other organisations. Every year, Čermák a spol. organises internal training and other social events, such as much beloved Christmas parties and firm excursions.
“Most importantly, we are committed to maintain and develop our bespoke and highly professional approach to each client and each case, paying full attention to each client’s specific situation and requirements, and to maintain the same high quality of service for many years to come.”
Čermák a spol. foresees a great potential in IP litigation and IP consulting services. In these two fields, the firm is continuously elevating their standards of services as they are gradually gaining more experience. The company encourages its employees to exchange their experience among their colleagues and develop an internal library of cases and expertise. Čermák a spol. also tries to build their Slovak business, especially by attracting many young Slovak professionals living and working in Prague.
DR. KAREL ČERMÁK JR.
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SMART APPRENTICES is an integrated suite of technology platforms, used to recruit, track and assess apprentices. The company was formed just 7 years ago and has emerged as the leading technology platform within in the sector, with 50 employees and more than 190,000 users, including Further Education colleges, training providers and employers. Their core product is the Smart Assessor, which captures evidence of skills and knowledge obtained throughout an apprenticeship, keeping the learners engaged. Their latest product, however, is Not.A.CV, a unique searchable digital CV. This innovative technology platform allows apprentices and apprenticeship candidates to create a dynamic and personable digital CV, showcasing their personality and capabilities more effectively and creatively than a traditional paper CV. The service will always be free to use for candidates, as revenue is generated from employers and training providers
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Candidates can create: • A 30-second ‘why me’ video pitch (with an app to give them advice on making this). • A portfolio of evidence of their skills and competencies, to show employers what hey can do: e.g. public speaking or charity fundraising. • A brief personal statement, with key words then plucked out into a visual ‘wordcloud’ for greater impact. They add: • Qualifications and experience, with Not.A.CV serving as a safe place to upload andstore their certificates. • Personal interests displayed through dynamic visuals. • References and testimonials. The service also benefits the employers, as they can find the most suitable candidates in a much faster manner, thanks to Not.A.CV’s unique searchability. The lengthy and laborious process of reading hundreds of applications is replaced with an instant deep-dive search into all of the candidate digital CVs to pinpoint relevant information, discarding applicants who do not fit the bill and homing in on those who do. For a monthly fee, employers can register on the Not.A.CV hub, which boasts a unique algorithm and database engine, unlike anything on the market, to sift and sort hundreds of applicants against a range of detailed search criteria, including sector and job role experience, core competencies, personal interests and qualifications. Employers can then view the digital CVs of their results in a more interactive and engaging way to find the perfect recruit. The company’s business model is to create technology platforms for training providers delivering the Government’s apprenticeship scheme, charging for annual licences based on the number of concurrent apprentices using the platform. Demand for the technology platform is increasing since the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy in 2017, as boards are questioning how businesses are using the funds in their apprenticeship service account. They want to know that the best candidates are being recruited in the most streamlined and cost-efficient manner, without unnecessarily depleting management resources. This is what Not.A.CV delivers. “It feels amazing to have our innovative technology platforms recognised because it inspires both us and our clients to strive and continuously innovate to disrupt delivery models.” The company cites passion about high performance, an entrepreneurial spirit in solving problems to get things done and an enjoyment in one’s profession as attributes that have helped them to become successful and able to provide the best possible service to its clients. This entrepreneurial flair allows the employees at Smart Apprentices to think differently, using technology to disrupt delivery models instead of migrating to current delivery models. Focusing less on the competition and more on leading the way with new innovations led to the creation of the first bespoke technology platform for the new apprenticeships end point assessments. Smart Apprentices is proud of attracting and maintaining the best talent to their company, by exciting them on an entrepreneurial journey where everyone knows where the company is going and how the employees play an important part of that journey. By introducing agile working practices across the business, they have developed fluid project teams that work in different groups for different projects, where everyone has daily stand up calls and work is segmented into sprints, enabling them to pivot and realign priorities easily. The recent introduction of the employer levy and end point assessments is the biggest macro- environmental change to the apprenticeship landscape for a generation. Though this paradigm shift may have caused problems for some, it has presented Smart Apprentices with the opportunity to create the first end-point assessment technology platform, increasing their revenue by £1m in just 8 months The future also appears to be bright and exciting for the company with a new digital mark-up technology ready to launch this December.
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PDR PROPERTY LAWYERS
MOST TRUSTED IN PROPERTY CONVEYANCING SERVICES 2018 - UK
PDR Property Lawyers are a conveyancing firm based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire that supplies professional and cost-effective conveyancing for all types of properties, from freehold to leasehold. We profile the firm to explore the secrets behind their success. When buying or selling a home, choosing the right conveyancer can make life easy! Whether it is a first-time purchase or a relocation, PDR Property Lawyers pride themselves on providing the highest level of service at all times, which is both friendly and approachable in nature. They have established themselves in the UK as an award-winning conveyancing practice. Believing strongly in a one-to-one professional service, they make sure to work alongside you, in order to meet the needs, goals and concerns of the client. In an environment that is constantly changing for conveyancers, PDR Property Lawyers is a pro-active and not re-active firm, utilising the latest technology available on the market. Dealing with home movers across England and Wales, they communicate via a medium that is most comfortable for the client, whether that be by letter, email or telephone. They offer a fixed fee guarantee, ‘no completion, no fee service’, with no hidden extras in their estimate of legal costs, while also providing a national service, so that no attendance is needed to sign documentation, as it can all be finalised through email, post and/or phone calls. Additional services offered include: auction property, re-mortgaging, transfer of equity, help to buy, new builds, leasehold and freehold matters. Rural/Equestrian Property transactions can be complex, as it is necessary to pore over numerous legal documents and agreements, however PDR Property Lawyers house a specialist Rural/Equestrian Lawyer, who can convert this complicated process into one that is taken care of both quickly and efficiently. Ultimately, PDR Property Lawyers draws on the immense experience of its employees to guarantee that clients receive a service that not only meets their needs but exceeds their expectations.
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CONTACT
MICHELLE RICKARD PHONE
01733 203873 WEBSITE
WWW.PDRPROPERTYLAW.COM CONTACT EMAIL
MICHELLE.RICKARD@PDRPROPERTYLAW.COM ADDRESS
5 MARKET STREET, WHITTLESEY, PETERBOROUGH, PE7 1BA, UK
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WORKING CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD REAL PEOPLE DEDICATED TO SUPPORTING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
“We pride ourselves on providing a fast, efficient but personal service and on making critical funding decisions quickly.” Perry Burns, MD
WCP strive to give the best customer service possible to all their clients which resulted in their fantastic 5* rating on TrustPilot.
PERRY BURNS
FOUNDER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR Working Capital Partners (WCP) has wholly re-engineered the working capital finance market by offering selective ‘invoice finance’ and ‘purchase order finance’ that provides affordable and flexible working capital to smaller businesses. Most factoring companies insist on financing the whole debtors’ ledger and are usually not interested in financing confirmed forward orders. However, at WCP, they focus on offering complete flexibility to their clients; allowing them to choose which invoices to discount as needed. Founded in 2010, WCP has since grown rapidly, lending more than £90m to businesses in practically every sector. WCP offer working capital and support to businesses all over the United Kingdom and currently have clients based from the Outer Hebrides through to Plymouth.
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WCP have built their business proposition on innovation. They have 6 unique offerings:
Selective Invoice Finance
Traditional factoring companies insist that invoice discounting should be applied to all invoices issued. WCP was the 1st UK company to fund single-invoices as a matter of course, and remain the only company to allow clients to finance (and thus pay for) ONLY the invoices they want to without a minimum fee or monthly administration charge. They believe in equipping their clients with the tools to control how they run their businesses, therefore, providing them with the flexibility they need. Furthermore, WCP allows their clients to retain control of payment liaison (including chasing) as this is pivotal for relationship building, particularly for Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Export Overdraft
WCP is the ONLY Company in the UK to offer import/export factoring through an Export Overdraft product, thereby supporting small businesses to grow their international sales. This comprehensive offering includes full insurance, verification and collection services and is designed to give SMEs the opportunity to get into exporting without the usual complications of documentary credits.
24/7 systems
WCP has invested heavily and as a result are the only selective factor able to assist clients with trade finance in a completely integrated process. They are based entirely online, and their clients can access WCP systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Purchase order finance
WCP is the only independent selective financier to provide an end to end working capital product that integrates ‘purchase order finance’ and ‘invoice finance’ in a seamless product.
Bad-debt protection
WCP is the ONLY small-business provider to offer bad-debt protection to their clients at no additional charge. WCP is the ONLY selective factor to have national UK geographical spread, covering all four parts of the UK; England, Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland. Their mission is to provide Owner-Directors with a Fast, Friendly, Flexible cash flow solution so that they can run their company without worrying about how they will pay their day to day bills and m their customers’ requirements. First and foremost, being in this industry is about understanding the stresses and pressures on the client. Running a business is tough. There aren’t enough hours in the day, and new problems crop up all the time.
“Our job and passion is to make our clients lives as easy as possible.” Perry Burns
WCP know all of their clients personally. They feel confident in knowing that when their clients contact them, they have the satisfaction of speaking to a ‘real person’ who can offer a definitive solution. The WCP systems and processes are simple and straightforward. While WCP does abide by the UK Finance code of conduct and behaves as a responsible lender, the firm still remembers that they are dealing with real people – with real problems and, as such, do everything they can and deliver the best service to their clients; at the fairest price of course. How has WCP maintained this over the past 8 years? Innovation. Time is everything to every business in every industry. Moreover, WCP systems and processes are continually under heavy scrutiny and, therefore, are upgraded accordingly to ensure that clients are receiving the most appropriate and leading-edge service.
“This award by Global Business Insight is recognition of the investment we have put into our people and systems. We are proud to have been selected and are determined that this will be just one more step in our ambition to be the SME funder of choice for owner managed businesses.” Perry Burns
Every WCP staff member goes through the UK Finance training, and the firm has regular team lunches where they discuss all aspects of the business from credit underwriting, dispute resolution, systems and processes. Everyone has an equal voice and if something has to change the firm implements it quickly and efficiently. That’s the advantage of being small with a flat management structure. UK Finance has managed to steer through Section 1 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and bring the regulations into force. Meaning that from 31st December 2018, large businesses will no longer have the ability to refuse smaller enterprises the right to assign their invoices; which currently leads to restricting the cash flow of the smaller business. This change will give WCP, as a Factor, more scope to help their clients. Small companies will always need cash and WCP are the leading source of finance for owner managed companies in the UK. They intend to stand four-square behind directors that are eager to grow their businesses and willing to take advantage of all opportunities that BREXIT will deliver in the coming years.
“We are a family firm and ensure that everyone who works in the team becomes part of this family. We work hard but have fun too. Also, our Chief Relaxation Officer, Spike (an Australian Silky Terrier) is always on hand if someone wants to take him out for a walk to relax or just let off steam.” Perry Burns.
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THE TIME-TESTED IT SUPPORT COMPANY FROM NEW ZEALAND TOTAL COMPUTERS - BEST FOR SMALL IT BUSINESS SUPPORT
Total Computers (TC) provide IT support to small businesses in Auckland, New Zealand. The firm’s experts have 25 years of IT experience. They are Microsoft Certified professionals for small business, and their team members also hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Information Technology. TC is passionate about all aspects of Information Technology and is proud to provide effective and affordable IT support services to its clients. The company offers a free initial consultation so that it can discuss each client’s specific IT system requirements in detail. This is a fair and reasonable firm that is always aiming to implement what suits best in the particular IT environments of its clients.
A company like TC has to be very flexible when providing IT support to small businesses, as their client-base consists of a wide range of business types. Therefore, TC often requires a different approach for each specific client and their projects. TC has acquired an excellent mix of IT experts which the firm has combined with various IT tools that allow them to ensure their customers’ needs are met quickly and efficiently, and, of course, without a high price tag. This also provides that the TC team is on the same page and working in the same direction, towards achieving the same goals right along with their clients. The company has, not long ago, joined a larger Small-BusinessIT-Community which is based in the US and continuously exchange challenges and solutions between their respective IT members. “We are expecting new regulations around IT security and customer privacy concerns, of which we are already well aware thanks to our Small-Business-IT-Community based in the US, where those regulations are already in place, so we know how to deal with those issues and which adequate solutions to apply.” Given that TC is a small business itself, it can administer a level of flexibility with its employees in a way that would be difficult for a more massive conglomerate. This means that those working for TC are rather appreciative of their position with the organisation and happy to remain with them out of loyalty. IT security is increasingly coming into focus with nearly daily news about various cyber-attacks and related security breaches, so TC is more involved in providing cyber security solutions to both their ‘new and old’ customers.
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VINKO BUZAK
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SENIOR IT CONSULTANT
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Q: How does it feel to have won this award? A: “We are very humbled by this recognition that has come as a surprise after so many years of our dedicated work in supporting small businesses and tending to their specific needs, which are quite different from large enterprise corporations. All while still providing a secure and stable IT infrastructure.”
Our mission is to provide small businesses with a secure IT environment which will allow them to run their business efficiently and smoothly.
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lacourte raquin tatar, the french law firm turning the french market on its head
With more than 50 qualified lawyers and legal practitioners, 15 of which are partners, Lacourte Raquin Tatar law firm is organised around three major areas of expertise; mergers & acquisitions, real property transactions and tax, assisted by recognised experts in the field of financing, regulatory/asset management and public business law. Year after year, Lacourte Raquin Tatar success has been reckoned throughout the loyalty and development of its client base, which primarily consists of significant groups and professionals with the highest expectations. Lacourte Raquin Tatar advises on domestic and international deals for French and foreign clients also. Lacourte Raquin Tatar is involved in asset management (in particular - structuring and marketing collective investment schemes) and in financial regulatory matters (banking regulation, investment services, crowdfunding, fintech) on behalf of credit institutions, investment companies, portfolio management companies. Damien LuquĂŠ, an experienced financial and regulatory lawyer, working at Lacourte Raquin Tatar, focused his practice on financial regulation (including banking activities) and Asset Management. He worked closely with credit institutions, management companies and institutional investors in the structuring of investment vehicles in the form of AIF, other AIFs, UCITS and other collective investment products. Damien joined Lacourte Raquin Tatar as a partner in January 2018. From 2008 to December 2014, he developed his practice in the Financial Market department at his previous place of employment. On this occasion, he was also seconded as an associate in the AXA REIM SGP legal team (2012).
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List of Lacourte Raquin Tatar clients which can be disclosed: 1. AXA REIM. 2. LaSalle Investment Management. 3. Milléis Banque (ex Barclays Bank France). 4. Oddo. 5. Aviva Investors. 6. Unibail Rodamco Westfield. As mentioned above, Lacourte Raquin Tatar has vast experience in real estate and corporate activities, and they work for different “regulated entities” (investment funds, banks, portfolio management companies). Last year, the tax partners Jean-Yves Charriau (Hall of Fame in Legal 500) and David Sorel (Best Lawyers), joined Lacourte Raquin Tatar. Lacourte Raquin Tatar then launched this new department “financial regulation and asset management” nine months ago and are quite surprised by the rapidly growing positive feedback they have received from their clients. “I did not use specific techniques ensure to comply for any matter implemented nine months ago: 1. High technicality 2. High standard 3. High value added
(or tricks) to win this award. I just and client with the guidelines we 4. Rigour 5. Responsiveness 6. Availability.
I am delighted to see that Global Business Insight Awards (“GBI”) methodology is not just focused on a “name of an international law firm which also has an office in Paris”, but is focused on quantitative and qualitative concrete studies on the French market. I am also proud to see that our guidelines, our visibility on the French market (for illustration, 6 of the 10 most important real estate transactions in Paris for 2017 are advised by Lacourte Raquin Tatar), and my effort to develop the regulatory and asset management activities in France make sense for GBI.” A law firm that wishes to become truly successful in financing and regulatory law must know its market perfectly and its clients’ expectations. You cannot just “offer” a standardised product, but must be in the capacity to continuously innovate to propose to your clients the best and “relevant” options. For Lacourte Raquin Tatar, “High value added”, means offering something that you cannot find everywhere. This is something that all their clients can agree on; at the end of the day, the advice rendered is innovative and tailor-made for them. If you look at the French market, Lacourte Raquin Tatar is one of the few French law firms having its own “in-house” regulatory and asset management department, in support of their tax, real estate and corporate teams.
Damien Luqué
Partner in charge of the Regulatory and Asset Management Activities.
The strategy of the new regulatory and asset management team is to compete with the French offices of major UK and US law firms having a regulatory and asset management activity in France and to position themselves as a credible alternative to other law firms in the fund’s formation activity which is a significant difference with other competitors.
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Lacourte Raquin Tatar is an independent French law firm, recognised for its expertise in France and is not part of a network. Therefore, Lacourte Raquin Tatar is free to choose its best friends for their knowledge only which, in their view, makes another significant difference with other international law firms. To maintain a position at the forefront of such heavy competition, Lacourte Raquin Tatar ensures to comply with its guidelines (high technicality, high standard, high value-added etc.) at all times and for all clients. For example, when a real estate magazine communicates on the fact that Lacourte Raquin Tatar advised on the 6 of the 10 most important real estate transactions, the firm’s reaction is just to say: “Next year we will have to do better!”; or when they finalise a very complex and innovative regulatory set-up, their reaction is not to say: “How can we sell this set-up to new clients?”, but “How can we improve this set-up?”. To be attractive to prospective employees, a law firm needs to make a mix between high-level expertise, capacity for the associate to be actors and not exclusively performers of the development of the law firm and of course…a suitable remuneration. “I am personally involved in the training of my associate, to ensure that they are “up-to-date” on the French regulation.” - Damien Luqué, “I also ensure that my junior associates attend meetings, meet clients and not just produce documentation. I think that an associate who is deeply involved throughout the case allows for better quality work.” Financial regulation in Europe changes very quickly (e.g. UCITS V, AIFMD, MIFID and MIFID II, DSP2 etc.) so you need to keep it in mind, and you must develop your activity with these parameters. If you want to be a leader in your industry, you need to be better than your competitors, and you must innovate in your practice. “In my view, the key point is to try to anticipate such changes. For example, I started to work on ICOs few years ago, when cryptocurrencies were just a “concept” or a “new great idea”. I tried to anticipate the legal constraints vis-à-vis token, and now if you look at the European or French legislative works, the issue of crypto-currencies is reality and will be included in the future legal environment.”- Damien Luqué. Lacourte Raquin Tatar’s mission is quite simple: they are a young and ambitious team, and they will do their absolute best to be ranked among the top regulatory/asset management teams for France, and of course, they hope to be named in the future by Global Business Insight as best in Regulatory-asset management…again.
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LEADERS IN DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS PRIMEX
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RIMEX is one of Asia’s leading international management consulting companies and perhaps the only 100% Filipino consulting firm that has worked in 33 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Since its establishment on 7 August 1989, PRIMEX has built an enviable reputation with international financing institutions and public and private sector clients in the Philippines and overseas, based on its consistent and outstanding performance in the design and management of development projects. PRIMEX works across a wide range of sectors, including agriculture and rural development, natural resources and environment, health, education, and infrastructure and urban development. It renders services at the different stages of the project cycle–from project identification to project preparation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E). It also conducts policy reviews and institutional assessment, training needs assessment and design and delivery of various training courses, independent verification and audit, and development of computerbased management information systems. PRIMEX has successfully competed against large firms from developed country in the international competitive bidding for consulting services conducted by multilateral organizations, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and various United Nations (UN) agencies, as well as the major bilateral organizations, such as Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). PRIMEX has persistently been among the Top 5 Philippines-incorporated consulting firms conducting business with ADB, both for technical assistance (TA) and loan-funded projects. Since 2012, PRIMEX has been the No. 1 Philippine consulting firm in ADB, outranking those firms set up by large global engineering consulting firms in the Philippines. “Our company’s mission is to provide world-class technical assistance and project management services to international financial institutions, government agencies, and private sector clients across a range of sectors in developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region. We have achieved this mission in 29 years of our existence, having completed over 300 assignments in 33 countries in Asia (East, Southeast, South, Central and West Asia) and the Pacific (e.g., Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu). We have worked with the major international financial institutions (ADB, World Bank, various UN agencies), bilateral agencies (USAID, JICA, AusAID, EU, and others), various government agencies, and private sector clients, and we have partnered with international and national consulting firms in the bidding for, and implementation of, projects.” Elvira C. Ablaza, CEO of PRIMEX. In the early years, PRIMEX focused their efforts on marketing work to introduce their firm to prospective clients. They registered with ADB, WB, JICA, USAID and with the Philippine Government’s Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS). They sought out international consulting firms already in business with ADB and offered to be their national associate or subconsultant in the Philippines or their international subconsultant in projects outside the Philippines. The CEO of PRIMEX, Ms Ablaza, travelled to other countries to market the company’s services and to identify national consulting firms that PRIMEX could associate with for specific projects. “We made sure we did well in the contracts that we won because we have always believed that a good job is the best marketing tool. We worked very hard, we gave our best to meet our clients’ needs and often went beyond our terms of reference. Our clients were wholly satisfied with our performance. Not only did we cultivate repeat business, word got around that PRIMEX is a good firm with highly professional, quality-oriented, committed and dedicated consultants and staff.”- Elvira C. Ablaza. Receiving the Global Business Insight award has meant a great deal to PRIMEX, “we are both pleased and proud of this award because it is proof that we have achieved our Vision to be the PRIME consulting firm in the Asia-Pacific region. It is a significant achievement for a ‘boutique’ consulting firm like us (with only 30 regular, full-time staff) operating in a highly competitive industry. This award is also special since we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary next year. We are happy that our work has been recognized and we hope it inspires others as well.” In a highly competitive industry such as consulting, it is important for a firm to set itself apart from the competition. PRIMEX has been able to establish their reputation as a highly professional and reliable consulting firm both in the Philippines, where they are based, as well as with their major clients like ADB. The name PRIMEX has been equated with quality outputs, excellent management commitment and support to consultant teams during project implementation, and willingness to go beyond the terms of reference of a project. ISSUE 09 | 36
Their successful partnership and collaboration with international and national consulting firms have allowed them to have a foothold in a large number of countries. Strong partnerships are critical to quickly and effectively respond to challenges on the ground. Working with teams that share their vision and their values, they not only provide more resources to support projects but also have more minds on deck to help them solve problems creatively. Partners open doors to new possibilities. PRIMEX adheres to the highest standards of quality and excellence and carries out all its assignments according to the highest standards of professionalism and integrity. In its 29 years of operation, PRIMEX has not had any record of unsatisfactory performance, and every effort is exerted by management and staff to keep it that way. They have an internal review process, where reports prepared by team leaders assigned to specific projects are reviewed and vetted by the assigned project manager or project coordinator, then forwarded to the designated project director, and finally to the PRIMEX CEO, who gives the final approval before a report is submitted to the client. Unlike the large, global consulting firms with hundreds or thousands of staff scattered in different parts of the globe, PRIMEX is not constrained by the presence of an internal bureaucracy and can respond immediately to the needs of its consultant teams, wherever they may be. PRIMEX’s top management, led by its CEO, Ms Ablaza, is fully committed to provide technical, administrative, and financial support to its projects, regardless of their size and contract amount, and the responsiveness and accessibility of its senior executives and staff have been highly appreciated by its clients. At the closing event of an ADB education project in Vietnam, the Vietnamese Project Director, in his closing remarks said that he has worked with many consulting firms, but PRIMEX is different from all others in that the PRIMEX CEO responds to his emails within a short time and is always available for a call whenever it was necessary to address certain issues. At the ADB, the Director General of one department told one of his staff, who was handling a project where PRIMEX was the Lead Firm that she need not worry about the project outcome because “PRIMEX has always delivered a quality product and its top management is very much hands on.” PRIMEX has boldly ventured into new sectors and new countries to diversify its portfolio and to pursue growth opportunities outside its core sectors. “We are not afraid to start with small contracts to help us gain a foothold in a sector or a country. We are not easily fazed by challenges. We leverage the company’s experience in the region, and we partner with firms with prior experience in the sector or country to help us provide the best service to our clients.”
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PRIMEX has boldly ventured into new sectors and new countries to diversify its portfolio and to pursue growth opportunities outside its core sectors. “We are not afraid to start with small contracts to help us gain a foothold in a sector or a country. We are not easily fazed by challenges. We leverage the company’s experience in the region, and we partner with firms with prior experience in the sector or country to help us provide the best service to our clients.” In order for PRIMEX to be a leader in innovation, PRIMEX officers regularly attend events organized by multilateral agencies such as ADB’s Business Opportunities Fair and their Annual Meetings. It provides them with the space to renew ties, network with prospective partners from different regions, and understand emerging trends and changing needs of different agencies. They are also active members in certain organizations, such as the Institute of Management Consultants of the Philippines (IMPHIL) and the Council of Engineering Consultants of the Philippines (CECOPHIL). Furthermore, they send their staff to regular training courses and seminars to learn new methods of working and implement new techniques in their assignments. When asked how they have managed to gather their remarkable network of staff, Elvira revealed, “We do not just rely on the Internet to find good people. We often ask trusted consultants for referrals and we are open, honest, and sincere in communicating and doing business with them. We also treat our consultants as members of the PRIMEX family. We take pride that many former staff of multilateral agencies have chosen to work with us as consultants after their retirement because they know the quality of our work and the high level of support that we give to our teams. This is one of the reasons we have established an excellent reputation with our clients.” The PRIMEX culture is characterized by a passion for excellence, a commitment to quality, and a ferocious drive to succeed. Ms Ablaza has been leading by example and has inspired her staff to give their best in everything they do. She constantly reminds them that mediocrity is totally unacceptable, and that everyone has to strive for perfection at all times. She also makes sure that PRIMEX staff are sent to attend trainings and seminars to learn new skills or to improve upon their stock knowledge. The staff also work closely with local and international consultants, which is a valuable learning experience for them. They do not just stay in the office when providing technical support to project teams. They have the chance to travel overseas during missions and workshops, so they can have a deeper understanding of the project and also improve their cross-cultural communication. They learn from the field, from the client, the consultant team, and local partners. Some of them have also been nominated as consultants, which has helped their career growth, and PRIMEX by extension. “We also consider our management and staff as family, the PRIMEX Family. In the Philippines, as in most of Asia, family is central to an individual’s existence. In PRIMEX, we support and nurture each other, derive strength from each other, and help each other in dealing with the day to day challenges that are common in this business.” The recent coming into force of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) presents an opportunity for PRIMEX, being a Philippine company (and the Philippines being a member of the ASEAN), to expand its involvement in the other ASEAN countries. They are also looking to extend/expand their geographic reach and actively search for project opportunities in Central and West Asia (the former Russian states), South Asia, and the Pacific, whilst also strengthening their niche in the Greater Mekong Subregion (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam). In terms of PRIMEX’s sector involvement, they expect to do more projects in infrastructure and urban development, education, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk management. They also hope to participate in investment projects funded by other development partners like the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, and the World Bank in addition to those funded by ADB, which has been PRIMEX’s major market in the last 29 years.
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CEO OF PRIMEX
ELVIRA C. ABLAZA We worked very hard, we gave our best to meet our clients’ needs and often went beyond our term of reference
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THE STATE OF DIGITAL PLAY GETTING AHEAD IN A WORLD OF DIGITAL CHANGE The digital and social media landscape is in a constant state of change. In order to stay relevant and effective, businesses need to be on the ball, taking advantage of new technology as soon as possible. James Sheppard, Internet Marketer at leading digital marketing agency, Adtrak, highlights the biggest changes that have recently impacted the world of digital marketing and offers key advice to businesses.
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Social Media Facebook recently announced a significant change to the way it values user experience, with the aim of making social interaction much more meaningful. This is one of the biggest developments of the past few months and it will have a detrimental impact on any businesses relying on outdated social marketing methods. Following the same path laid down by Google over the past few years, Facebook will now value quality over quantity content, meaning that businesses will see a drop in engagement and reach on company Facebook pages, unless they adapt to the new algorithm now. We understand that this is easier said than done but there are factors which businesses can easily incorporate. Businesses can stay ahead of the game by adding video to social posts (a proven and accepted way to enhance engagement), utilising Facebook community groups relevant to the industry, or ensuring its business page is targeting people who may be genuinely interested. Posts and messages should always be drafted carefully and businesses should avoid engagement bait such as ‘tag a friend’ posts, focussing instead on encouraging natural conversation and interaction among clients and customers.
mobile friendly The internet is accessible on a variety of different devices and more than 60 per cent of internet users access it via smartphones or tablets. Users will get a very different experience when they land on a website via a mobile device compared to a computer or laptop, unless the site features responsive (mobile-friendly) design. If a site doesn’t have this design, the business risks alienating a huge portion of potential visitors.
Website Speed Businesses also need to respond to Google’s new speed update, to ensure their website is not left at the bottom of the rankings.In January this year, Google targeted the increase in mobile phone use and prioritising website speed. The update, which came into effect in July, involves a new ranking algorithm designed specifically for mobile search. This means that Google ranks web pages based on certain elements, such as search terms, content and security. If two sites are considered equally relevant to a search, Google will give preference to the site that loads faster - placing it higher in the search results pages.
HTTPS A change in Google policy now means that any site which starts with an HTTP rather than an HTTPS in the address bar will be deemed ‘not secure’. The ‘not secure’ warning will only appear for Google Chrome users, but with an estimated 59% of all desktop internet users choosing Google Chrome, the potential impact could be quite considerable - especially for e-commerce and lead generation websites. As a result, it is now vitally important for companies to check if their website is securely coded, particularly if they handle online transactions and other confidential information. By not implementing these changes soon, businesses could receive a lower ranking on Google, a reduced number of visitors and ultimately missed business opportunities. Although migrating a website from HTTP to HTTPS coding could be quite a costly and timeconsuming project, it is definitely worth prioritising, in order to avoid missing out on valuable website visitors.
Voice Search Voice search has seen a surge in popularity recently, thanks to mobiles and home assistants like Google Home and the Amazon Echo. As a result, it’s essential that businesses are catering to users using voice capabilities to search, interact with and even buy from websites. So far, much of the focus has been on ensuring voice searchers can access information directly from Google - such as to find local restaurants. However, as voice technology becomes more advanced, and people become confident using it, we would advise businesses to integrate voice capabilities to allow easy navigation, contact and purchasing on their site. According to Google, 20% of all Google searches are completed by voice. So if you want your business to stay ahead of the digital marketing game, business websites should be designed with voice integration now, to accommodate the users of the very near future. ISSUE 09 | 43
PARKSIDE CHAMBERS
best in business crime defence law 2018 - hong kong
Founded in 1983, Parkside Chambers is one of the leading sets of barristers’ chambers in Hong Kong. As independent barristers, we do not all practice in the same field. Being one of the largest sets in this international financial centre (with over 50 members at present), the areas of our collective expertise cover every aspect of dispute resolution, litigation (both civil and criminal), arbitration and mediation, as well as non-contentious matters. We serve individuals and businesses seeking solutions to all kinds of dispute resolution challenges. We also provide advisory service to clients, so as to equip them with the necessary information to design their business strategies. Our broad range of expertise allow us to handle cases which raise multiple issues across different fields, swiftly respond to clients’ needs and provide professional solutions in an efficient manner. We are capable of providing written work and conducting hearings in both English and Chinese, the two official languages of the jurisdiction. Additionally, a number of us are fluent Putonghua speakers and thus we cut across language barriers and serve the needs of clients from the Greater China area. Currently, a considerable percentage of the work that we undertake is connected with finance, whether in the realm of financial crime of different types, market misconduct, corporate and personal injury areas that deal with financial issues, or regulatory compliance. Members of Chambers who specialize in finance-related matters, a large and ever-developing area in Asia, are well known in the community, both for their experience and strategic thinking. Not only have they rigorously defended their clients’ CEO OF HONCHO interests, they have also contributed greatly to the jurisprudence in this area.
GAVIN SEWELL
Our members have also served leading positions in society, regularly acting as Deputy Judges in the Courts, chairpersons or members of statutory tribunals. We have also played an active role in the administration of the Bar. A number of us have been members of the Bar Council and various sub-committees of the Hong Kong Bar Association. Besides, our junior members often teach at local universities to educate the next generation of lawyers. Not unlike its counterparts in London, tenancy at Parkside Chambers is extremely competitive. We look for two specific attributes. The first of course, is scholastic background. Parkside Chambers now houses graduates from all leading law schools, including Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge and Cape Town. For those who have already practiced in Hong Kong or the United Kingdom, their degree of success in attracting business would also be taken into account. The second aspect that we look for is personality. Parkside Chambers is known for its collegiate and friendly atmosphere and in particular the way in which younger members of Chambers enjoy opportunities to work with the more senior members. At the same time, senior members nurture junior members by sharing with them their experience, skills and connections. Ultimately, we strive together to build an ever improving set of Chambers - to provide quality professional services to clients, and to actively contribute to society. Parkside Chambers is very honoured and proud to have received the Award. We are also extremely grateful given the intense competition. The publicity that goes with the Award will no doubt redound to the benefit of everyone in Parkside. We believe this is the beginning of even greater things for Parkside Chambers. ISSUE 06 09 | 44
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TRAIN DATA HOW DO WE SHARE ITS BENEFITS?
The Department for Transport (DfT) recently published its ‘Joint Rail Data Action Plan’ setting out a number of objectives and associated timescales, which an industry-led taskforce will work towards in order to improve the quality and openness of rail data. The plan focuses on train operating companies (TOCs) and other rail entities addressing the following five barriers to wider data sharing.
1. Data Transparency The Data Action Plan refers to a “general caution” exercised by TOCs in identifying data that is commercially sensitive, which in turn has led to the incorrect classification of datasets that, it is suggested, would “improve efficiencies across the railway” i.e. “missed opportunities” to use data for the benefit of customers. The DfT proposes to navigate this dilemma by establishing clear guidelines on the types of data that are commercially sensitive. By introducing a Rail Information Governance Framework, the DfT proposes to create a transparent process of classifying the sensitivity of data and aims to develop an “industry agreed definition” by October 2018.
2. Data Use and Access Another barrier highlighted by the DfT is the limited clarity over ownership of data. This can be exacerbated by commercial relationships because, for example, third party suppliers may sometimes reserve the right to access and share the data harvested with third parties. Therefore, it may sometimes be the case that data is not the TOC’s to share. The Data Action Plan suggests that the DfT will set out a coordinated approach towards greater data sharing generally within the industry, with the goal being that this will “reduce the need for third party contracts to access data that could already be available”. The DfT is exploring the role that franchise agreements could play in enabling greater data sharing, while the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) will be charged with creating a central list of rail datasets and their owners. Additionally, the DfT is developing a data sharing policy for the industry, which would potentially remove licensing restrictions, preventing entities from charging third parties for their data. There is a parallel here with the UK bus industry, where bus companies are now required under the Bus Services Act 2017 to publish more data (and of greater quality) about their services (e.g. punctuality and performance statistics). The DfT has predicted that a greater availability of open data will result in an increase in bus passenger numbers. ISSUE 09 | 46
3. Data Quality and Standards The DfT draws attention to the fact that we do not have a full picture of what datasets exist, let alone have a full understanding of their true value. The Data Action Plan also briefly highlights the lack of conformity in the industry when it comes to data publishing standards. It references variations in software and inconsistencies in coding for railway stations as barriers to new entrants. The taskforce aims to combat this by developing a common standard for data and metadata.
4.Data Value and Principles The Data Action Plan infers that the value of data is often underestimated, where in actuality it promotes innovation and expansion. For example, future funding is not being provided because of the costs associated with data sharing. To combat this issue, the Data Action Plan proposes that each rail organisation appoints an “open data champion” who raises awareness of the benefits of open data from within a company.
5.Rail Culture and Information / Data Skills The Data Action Plan notes that the appetite for openness and information exploitation is limited in the rail sector. It asks for greater collaboration with “innovators”, such as tech start-ups and tech partnerships like the National Skills Academy for Rail, and introduces the idea of a Rail Data Challenge which invites innovators to solve these current data barriers in the rail industry.
What does this mean for the passenger and the wider industry? The Data Action Plan’s tagline is “addressing barriers to make better use of rail data”, with the intended beneficiaries being the passengers, and the intended consequences being greater accessibility, efficiency and reliability. For example, the DfT hopes to make data regarding fares and the “lowest-cost-route” available to technology providers to allow travel planning apps and ticketing sites to offer lower priced tickets – thereby driving competition. Similarly, there is a “rich and comprehensive” – but undisclosed – data source that underpins the ORR’s aggregated figures on the Origin-Destination Matrix. The release of this underlying data would give passengers an indication of station/route utilisation and would allow outside businesses the opportunity to judge the commercial viability of setting up a concession in or near a station.
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THE POWERHOUSE OF TODAY’S MOBILISATION WITH TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY ISEC7 GROUP The ISEC7 Group is a global provider of mobile business services and softwarte solutions. They were one of the first movers in mobilising company and business processes. ISEC7 experts advise industries, public organisations as well as federal authorities and service providers on all issues regarding the enhanced protection of mobile infrastructures that are now available. Co-founded by Marco Gocht, in Germany in 2003, the ISEC7 Group have since expanded their offices to USA, Australia, Great Britain and continue to grow still. ISEC7 has been developing mobile solutions for enterprise customers, for more than 16 years now, some of which are: The ISEC7 Enterprise Mobility Management Suite (EMM) is a comprehensive, globally applicable Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution, presented as the “Most Innovative Enterprise Application”. by the UEM manufacturer BlackBerry The ISEC7 Mobility Cloud is an innovative and ground-breaking Managed Service to provide customised Enterprise Mobility infrastructures based on EMM solutions like the ISEC7 EMM Suite, BlackBerry, MobileIron, Samsung EMM, Microsoft EMS or Airwatch. As one of the top players in the mobility sector, ISEC7 is familiar with all aspects of mobilisation, offering top-quality services for integrating, optimising and extending mobile business processes based on their experiences and extensive expertise. They continuously invest in the assessment and advancement of new technologies. This has paid off given that the ISEC7 solutions, such as ISEC7 EMM Suite, ISEC7 Mobile Exchange Delegate, ISEC7 Mobility and many others, have proven to be ground-breaking in the mobility sector. “We thank Global Business Insight for this award. ISEC7 has been in business for more than 16 years now. Each award we receive honours our hard work in the mobile business ecosystem. Awards like the Global Business Insight Award 2018 show us that we are on the right path to achieving our goals.” Marco Gocht ISEC7 started with a vision of their client’s employees being able to work while being on the road, away from the desktops. However, they had not predicted the ‘inevitable’ replacement of the desktops, only wanting to allow people to stay connected to their data from everywhere. They were probably years ahead of the technology back then but progressed just in time to play a vital role in the mobile landscape. ISEC7 had a vision and carried out their plans to become a global player. Due to their years of specialisation in their field, they are now in a position to win customers from the established IT conglomerates. When asked about the pillars that were essential in helping ISEC7 become the success story it is now, Marco Gocht shared: “Engagement with clients and being involved with the industry ecosystem is critical. Listening to the client’s perspective as a daily practice and learning what challenges are emerging guided our solution developments. Each client and company is different from the next, hence bringing a different set of needs to our attention.” ISEC7 offers a 360-degree mobility collection including infrastructure, professional services, managed services, app development and mobilisation of business processes. Beside their portfolio, their international footprint is unique for a company of their size. Operating their own legal entities in North America, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and Pacific Region countries, allows them to serve mid-market companies and large enterprises that run businesses on a global level. ISEC7 is familiar with the current challenges and expectations regarding security, and every customer is expecting a first-class solution and the best practices for their businesses with niche target audiences. As their customers are with them on a longterm basis, ISEC7 works with them in the model of a partnership rather than being just a service provider. Being part of an ever-changing industry, ISEC7 invests a lot of research in mobile IT and IoT to ensure they maintain their competitive position. They solicit the expertise of leading analysts and their partners on a regular basis to identify upcoming trends to stay relevant. What is even more important: They talk to their clients to determine their business needs and then tailor an entire mobile strategy to guide them towards the digital age.
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Of course, none of this is possible without a solid team of world-class employees. ISEC7 appreciate’s the power of a well-assembled crew that works in tandem. It’s all about the team as a whole and also each individual employee. It is the job of the forerunner of each team to explain their visions, to motivate and to guide their group, providing them with the best tools in the market, and of course – share the success and the positive feedback from their customers. Quite simple! Working for the ISEC7 Group is a notably coveted position worldwide. ISEC7 follows an open-minded culture to ensure customers are happy and get the best possible service. Every employee has to attend regular mandatory skill enablement regarding data protection and security to ensure customer data is confidential and secure. ISEC7 employees also have to prove their knowledge of the enterprise mobility market – according to their roles with a sales or technical focus – by passing all available certifications of the EMM vendors. ITIL¹, Prince2² or other project management skills are available for employees working in project-based departments. ISEC7 ensures that every employee gets the proper training which is required to secure customer expectations. When their employees advance, they lift ISEC7 to bigger and better places. In times of rising cyber-attacks and higher IT compliance demands, enterprises need to raise their awareness of mobile security issues. Mobile security is one of ISEC7’s core issues: the increasing number of mobile devices, hybrid infrastructures and the growing processing of portable data documents on smartphones and tablets comes along with the companies’ need for protection. From extended data encryption to enterprise identity to app reputation or auditing – ISEC7 is a qualified partner for the rising demand. During the past months, ISEC7 has expanded its portfolio with a focus on mobile security and mobile productivity in order to consult their customers during their digital transformation process.
MARCO GOCHT CO-FOUNDER
Looking to the future, ISEC7 will continue to deliver the best mobility services and solutions, become the number one vendor for enterprise mobility solutions and continue to grow their business organically and through further acquisitions. They plan to exercise the new and effective methods available to better consult their customers during their digital transformation process into the refined age of modern technology. This is especially crucial for their clients from highly regulated industries that heavily rely on ISEC7 expertise. “On behalf of the global ISEC7 team, we are proud and dedicated to serving our loyal clients. We look forward to continue to bring the industry’s best in
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ISEC7 has been in business for more than 16 years now. Each award we receive honours our hard work in the mobile business ecosystem. Awards like the Global Business Insight Award 2018 show us that we are on the right path to achieving our goals.
“ISEC7 Mobile Exchange Delegate provides access to Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, calendar, emails, contacts, tasks and notes from third parties via smartphones. With ISEC7 Mobile Exchange Delegate, authorized representatives can confirm, establish or change appointments for employees, colleagues or team members. Also, they can access their contacts and reply to their emails.”
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LEARN TO TRADE COME JOIN THE FOREX TRADING FAMILY
Learn to Trade (LTT) is an award-winning forex education and training specialist firm. Offering a range of courses that help people learn about and understand the forex market and the opportunities and risks within it, LTT runs a variety of courses across the UK that are taught by trained and experienced traders. This company was set up in 2003, they have since trained more than 250,000 people in forex and trading so far. With their headquarters is in the London, UK, LTT also has offices in Australia, Philippines and South Africa.
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FOUNDER
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Their mission is to provide people with the high-quality education in forex and trading, providing them with the knowledge that will help them trade in the market. LTT has designed a full range of courses that can help people gain insight into the market and to understand all of this is crucial before anyone starts trading their own money. Greg Secker, the founder of LTT, philanthropist and public speaker, set up this firm to provide individuals with the ability to traverse the complex world that is the forex market confidently.
GREG SECKER
Our dedicated team pride themselves on providing the very best training and ensuring people are equipped to have the best chance of success in the market.
Q: Is there any 1 project or specific technique you have used that you would attribute to your success and winning this award? A: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won this award. Our dedicated team pride themselves on providing the very best training and ensuring people are equipped to have the best chance of success in the market, and this award by Global Business Insight is a reflection of their hard work and the quality of courses we are offering to help change the lives of many.” – Greg Secker. The fundamental part of all the trading courses taught by LTT is the understanding and management of the risks of trading in a volatile market such as the forex. This volatility offers a lot of opportunities to trade the market yet LTT specialise in teaching tried and tested trading strategies. They support their clients in helping them understand and demonstrate how to use them, giving people the best chance of success. It is not always about ‘going big or going home’ with LTT. Every day the markets change, but LTT has the very best traders on hand to discern what is happening and provide guidance on how to read the market. This alone sets them apart from their competition. One of the other areas that they focus on is the psychology of trading. They often observe students letting their emotions take over when trading, rather than relying on the quantifiable data they see, know and deduce to be happening in the market. Many other organisations, and online courses, in particular, fail to cover this specific factor in their training adequately, yet it is absolutely crucial to successful trading and one of the most popular modules of the courses run by LTT. Carovus operate in a specialised segment of private banking and wealth management business, ready to break new ground and try out innovative tools to pursue their objectives: As one of the largest trading educators in the business, LTT has been lucky to have potential employees often actively seek them out, looking to join their team. As a global company, LTT also offers unique opportunities to work in other regions, learn from their entities across the world. This makes working for them not only exciting but fulfilling. One of the most significant parts of the LTT culture is their focus on corporate social responsibility. 10% of pre-tax profits from LTT go to the charitable foundation, set up by Greg Secker, which aims to empower young people. Many of the employees have supported The Greg Secker Foundation’s various projects and initiatives, including the building of 100 houses in the Philippines for people affected by the Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, as part of the 52 paid volunteer hours they are entitled to each year. “We find that this not only means we are supporting a charitable foundation that is changing lives but also motivates our team to continue teaching our craft and giving back to those less fortunate.”– Greg Secker. LTT has seen a 30% boost in the number of people looking to learn to trade with them over the past six years, and while they expect this growth curve to continue, they don’t expect it to maintain the same speed it has been. This is primarily due to a reduction in available leverage as specified by ESMA¹ and the MiFID II² ruling, which further strengthens the appropriateness test for amateur trading and this reinforces the need to attract a more serious type of trader, one that can afford to trade, considers risk appropriately and undertakes training before starting to trade. It’s an exciting time for the trading industry right now, and LTT expects to see further growth yet. With advancements in new technology being introduced in the coming months and years, LTT will have even better tools and software to help their students trade. Later this year, along with Smartcharts³, LTT will be launching version 2 of their trading software, which features some of the latest technology available, for the people who learn to trade with them. With many global expansion plans, more people across the 1 - European Securities and Markets Authority is a European Union financial regulatory institution and European Supervisory Authority, located in Paris. 2 - Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2004 is a European Union law that provides harmonised regulation for investment services across the 31-member states of the European Economic Area. 3 - Smart Charts depicts a stock’s current technical condition, identifies trading signals and includes a complete set of customizable technical indicators and studies.
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SEARCHING FOR THE BEST NJF - EXECUTIVE SEARCH FIRM OF THE YEAR 2018 - UK Award-winning search firm NJF, has a first class reputation among many of the world’s leading institutions resulting in a prolific demand for their recruitment services and the continued expansion of their enviable international network. Overall the firm’s focus is within the Trading and Technology markets, with their interrelated teams employing rigorous research methodologies to ensure that they are at the forefront of the latest trends in both spheres. They pride themselves a team of devoted consultants who unearth world-class talent and guide the right people into the right jobs. With their goal firmly in sight, NJF always make the individual their priority. In doing this they are able to strengthen their comprehensive knowledge of the market and drive their continuous research efforts.
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Not only do NJF concentrate on gaining a deep understanding of each candidate’s technical skills and market experience, they also ensure that they get to know them as people. The knock-on effect of this strategy means long-term, lasting relationship for both client and candidate. Their Trading Practice coordinates the careers of high-performing traders, quants and data scientists across the upper echelons of quantitative managers: hedge funds, proprietary trading organizations and tech firms. Alongside this, their Technology Practice has a track record of finding the very best developers and infrastructure experts to build world-class systems and frameworks for high frequency proprietary trading firms, hedge funds and technology start-ups. Fundamentally NJF recognize that organizations want their staff to reflect the world’s diverse population. As such they are committed to identifying, attracting and cultivating promising talent from the broadest possible spectrum of professionals. This continued success has enabled them to build long-standing relationships and to expand their list of contacts in a wide range of communities; further enhancing their ability to deliver and cement their focus on developing this further going forward.
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CUSTOMERS THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW: HOW TO ATTRACT CUSTOMERS IN A WORLD OF AI, BOTS AND AUTOMATION We have now entered the third phase of digital evolution, and it is changing the behaviour and expectations of customers, fast. The first phase was all about the internet, and making information accessible. The second phase was all about mobile and social media, and how they connect people. This third phase is about data and Artificial Intelligence, and how it is creating a world of fast-than-real-time customer service, intuitive user interfaces and the ultimate in customer convenience. Many of the world’s leading companies have already moved from a ‘mobile-first’ to an ‘AI first strategy,’ but how can all other businesses transform the power of automation and artificial intelligence into customer benefits? Now an innovative new book, Customers The Day After Tomorrow, has been published to guide you through this new phase of digitalisation, help you combine technology with your invaluable human element and keep your company ahead of the game in The Day After Tomorrow. The author, Professor Steven van Belleghem is a best-selling and award winning author, and is widely regarded as one of Europe’s thought-leaders in the field of customer engagement in the digital world. In his new book he not only shares his own insights, but also exclusive interviews with some of the world’s leading experts in data, AI, automation and technology to reveal how they are shaping the future of marketing, the workplace, customer behaviour and wider society. Presented in a visually engaging and very accessible style, Customers The Day After Tomorrow uses fascinating real life examples to demonstrate how innovative organisations are leading the way and disrupting markets. It explores technologies like driverless cars, Blockchain, virtual assistants, Augmented Reality and bots in a way that will help even techno- phobes to think about the future of relationships between companies and customers, and start preparing for The Day After Tomorrow, today.
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OPEN BANKING TO BOOST UK ECONOMY BY 1BN Bringing the book to life with AR:
Not only does Customers The Day After Tomorrow explain the practical benefits of emerging technologies, it also demonstrates them, as one of the first books to use Augmented Reality. By integrating the Aurasma app, readers can view the book through their smartphone or tablet and see the pages come to life.
Steven van Belleghem is an expert in customer focus in a digital world. He is a popular speaker, giving keynote presentations to companies and conferences around the world, taking his audience on a journey to the world of modern customer relationships in a clever, enthusiastic and inspiring way. He also organises inspirational trips, taking business leaders and executives to visit pioneering companies, from Silicon Valley to China, to experience first-hand the technologies that will shape customer relationships in The Day After Tomorrow. Steven is a marketing professor at Vlerick Business School and the author of four bestselling books, selling more than 100,000 copies in 7 languages. His previous book, When Digital Becomes Human won the Commuter Read prize at the prestigious CMI Management Book of the Year awards.
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marke2ing Marketing Specialists in Software, Technology and Service-based Companies
Marke2ing offers strategic and hands-on support through a team of experienced part-time marketing directors working as sales’ closest ally within the senior executive team, penetrating businesses to transform their business-to-business (B2B) marketing performance. Their range of clients spans across industries such as; software and technology, finance, service-based business and other B2B sectors, including ambitious start-up businesses to established corporates. Clients bring Marke2ing in to build their marketing function, to problem-solve, to boost performance and mentor their sales teams. Common problems that Marke2ing tackle lack of clarity around marketing performance, demonstrating returns on investment, breaking down levels of leads generated for new projects and inadequate messaging or storytelling. “Our mission is to support innovative and ambitious businesses. We want to prove that growth that can be achieved through professional marketing.’’ Founder and Director, Linsay Duncan. Marke2ing adopt the following 3 pillars to ensure this happens: 1. Apply Marke2ing’s tried and tested processes and marketing models 2. Bring the collective brainpower of their experienced team together to problem-solve 3. Work in partnership with their client’s sales leaders to understand their clients and their business challenges. Linsay shared how much this Global Business Insight award has meant to her and her team, “We couldn’t be more pleased to receive this acknowledgement. We already enjoy the work we do with our clients, so to receive an award for doing something we love so much is an incredible bonus.”
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Companies which genuinely tune into - and actually listen to - their clients and nuances of their particular industry, are far more likely to succeed. Surprisingly there are many marketing firms which remain internally focused, talking about the merit of their products rather than taking a ‘Customer First’ approach. It is crucial to foster agility where possible to adapt to new trends, industry changes and most importantly the ever-changing minds of their clients and their new business direction to stay ahead of such competition. What sets Marke2ing apart? It is simple – “We’re not an agency, we’re a team of B2B marketing professionals, each with a minimum of 15 years in-house experience. We understand the ins and outs of a business, the processes, the structures, the systems and much more. We have also heard that our clients like our flexibility - they can increase or decrease our support levels to suit their needs at any given time. There are no set project fees, no longterm contracts, no human resource ties.” – Linsay Duncan. Collectively, these aspects give the Marke2ing model the edge needed to succeed. Marketing technologies and trends are always changing so, of course, Marke2ing dedicate time to staying current and in-the-know. Through their brilliant partner network, they are kept very well informed on new technologies, trends and B2B marketing benchmarks by tuning-in to publications, forums and networking events, as inquisitive marketing directors are wont to do. All the while, they regularly run team sessions for knowledge-sharing, keeping each other on top of best practices and any new b2b marketing developments. With GDPR having changed the marketing landscape, this will continue to challenge marketers. Not only will robust contact data rules and processes need to be carefully managed, but more innovative ways of reaching people should become a priority. Revisiting more traditional channels should be a consideration as is having experienced legal advice at hand to assess new routes to market and remain GDPR compliant. Looking ahead, Marke2ing plans to continue growing and supporting a select group of brilliant businesses. They expect to see a few of their clients making headlines with some market-shaking propositions thanks to the new sales professionals they have lined up to join their team in 2019. This means that they can offer the same flexible support to their sales and commercial
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LINSAY DUNCAN FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR
LOTUS FLOWER CONSULTANCY THE ROOT OF THEIR SUCCESS LOTUS FLOWER CONSULTANCY - DEVELOPMENT COACHING COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2018, UK
A key area of work for the firm is the provision of mentoring and coaching for teams and individuals. As a trusted partner they are invited into small and medium sized businesses, across a plethora of industries and sectors – both private and public, which include financial services, healthcare, professional services, education, utility and manufacturing. By being so diverse in their work and gathering skills and knowledge whilst sharing and developing expertise, Lotus Flower Consultancy credit this collective experience to the success they have had in maintaining their unique and bespoke approach and to ensuring that they can meet the individual needs of each client or project.
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WENDYANNE SHAPIRO DIRECTOR AND CONSULTANT
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we remain steadfast that our service is a long-term investment and that true value will be realised when businesses have a multi-skilled workforce that is not only compliant and competent but also futureproofed.
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Lotus Flower Consultancy specialise in organisational design, leadership and management development. As a boutique business, they are happy to be small and exclusive, offering a customized and expert service across varying disciplines from design and delivery of training interventions to consultancy and bespoke solutions. With a proven track record of success that spans 15 years, they now lead the charge in the UK for development coaching companies, we spoke to them about their success.
The company, which has always worked predominately in the UK, is now stepping out into European and worldwide markets. Director, Wendyanne explains the firm’s overall mission and the steps they are taking to achieve it - “Our primary aims are to drive cultural change and to increase performance and efficiency, through the engagement and enablement of employees. Ultimately, we work with people within a business regardless of their role or title and our alignment remains on corporate objectives, performance outputs and outcomes.” She goes on to describe their use of a tripartite model; where they look at the individual, the team and the organization with whom they are working and establish the ways to maximize the relationships between the three. As a business, they believe in being truly customer centric and that the customer should always be at the heart of every decision; by working with individuals and encouraging them to be the best that they can be, they conclude that success and results are simply a ‘by-product’. Things however are not always plain sailing and Lotus Flower Consultancy have not been exempt from the affects that legislation can have on a business but Wendyanne explains that this does not been deter them from helping clients. – “Access to funding, support from local authorities and a general lack of skill, experience and resources are just some of the changes and challenges affecting our business. It is the ‘people strategy’ that is being most affected across the corporate landscape. We are being asked more often to help with maximizing efficiencies and running costs for businesses, and as most people know – training and development is usually the first thing to disappear when finances get tight. We remain steadfast that our service is a long- term investment and that the true value will be realised when businesses have a multi- skilled workforce that is not only compliant and competent but also futureproofed.” Acknowledging that Brexit and the impact on the economy is a concern for many businesses, they maintain that they aren’t running scared. They recognise that the general lack of clarity and uncertainty about what exiting means does have an adverse effect on the businesses that they work with, particularly as any change in legislation is likely to affect existing business relationships and will need to be considered for new markets. But in an effort to face these challenges head-on, they are already actively working with clients to build their business readiness for pending changes, focusing on commerciality, sustaining competitive advantage, professionalising services and collaborating across differing environments. Considering broader aspects of the ever-changing world such as, discrimination, diversity and equality as well as highlighting new generation approaches and thinking, Lotus Flower Consultancy recognise that in fact their most common challenge, is ensuring they understand exactly what businesses need and warranting that they fulfill their role to act consciously and critically – “We will consult and challenge to clarify expectations and requirements, then design and deliver around that”. The business pride themselves on being authentic and demonstrate this by maintaining their key values of integrity, respect and fairness, not only that but they encourage their clients to hold them to account in everything they do and the results are telling. Approximately 90% of their business is coming to them direct from client recommendations, proving that the company’s reputation speaks for itself. Ensuring they stand out from their competitors, Lotus Flower Consultancy focus on helping people to look at their business through a different lens. The firm are ultimately invited in to their clients’ world to provide another perspective, as they strive to develop positive business relationships for the long term and become an accepted part of the team. Their goal is to get to know and understand their clients, rather than listing a portfolio of products that they can provide. In doing all of this they believe they can create consistent and measurable solutions that maximise on performance and maintain a competitive advantage. When reflecting on what the future holds for the firm, they explain that they are looking to grow their portfolio as well as looking at how they can diversify as an organisation. With work in the UK and Europe, the firm also has work lined up in the United States and Singapore but Wendyanne maintains that they want to remain “big enough to cope, yet small enough to care”. Proud winners of the Global Business Insight Development Coaching Company of the Year 2018, UK award, Lotus Flower Consultancy describe how fulfilling it feels to be recognised in the industry. Explaining that they were delighted to have been nominated and recognised for this award, having worked incredibly hard to get their name recognised and then be acknowledged in such a highly competitive industry. They go further to say - “We have always considered that we have a privileged role and honestly love what we do, this award has provided the endorsement that we are doing it right”. ISSUE 09 | 63
RATE RISE COULD COMPOUND INTEREST PROBLEMS FOR ‘ZOMBIE COMPANIES’
The Bank of England is currently dominating financial headlines, with the news that Mark Carney has extended his stay as Governor of the Bank of England until 2020 adding to comments made by the Governor to the UK Cabinet that interest rates could inflate beyond August’s rise of 0.25% in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Whilst the recent 0.25% increase in interest in and of itself is unlikely to cause companies severe financial difficulties, it has again proved particularly concerning for heavily indebted companies, who will find the cost of servicing their debt just that little bit more expensive – particularly if it proves to be the first step in a gradual tightening of monetary policy from the central bank.
Tightening belts But which markets are most vulnerable to more expensive debt repayments? Having analysed 1,600 different UK markets, business intelligence company Plimsoll Publishing was able to identify the industries where the level of debt (as a percentage of sales) was worryingly high. Within these sectors, problems are likely if monetary policy tightens aggressively. The following is a breakdown of the 10 markets in the UK economy with the biggest average increase in debt taken on by companies in the latest year:
Industry
decline in average debt
Payroll Services 97% Accident Repair Centres 94% Construction Management 76% Cold Storage 74% Risk Management 74% Retail Butchers 62% Funeral Directors 57% Ceiling Contractors 54% Opticians 53% Lighting Retailers 52% ISSUE 09 | 64
Christopher Evans, Senior Analyst at Plimsoll explains the findings of the research, “The recent increase should be a shot across the bows of many companies and industries where there is a growing tendency to run based on debt. “One of the phenomena of the post 2008 economy has been zombie companies surviving by fueling themselves entirely with cheap debt. If monetary policy were to continue to tighten going forward and further increases are announced, it could signal that period is coming to an end as debt becomes more expensive to service. The industries we have listed here certainly have an increased appetite for debt recently, and so further rate rises could stop momentum in those markets pretty quickly.”
Losing interest However, there are many industries where debt is being reduced on a significant scale. The following 10 industries have seen the biggest decline in average debt in the latest year:
Industry
decline in average debt
Cosmetic Surgeons 64% Electrical Distributors 58% Print Finishers 56% Garden Buildings 54% Pest Control 53% Roller Shutter Manufacturers 53% Carpet Planning & Fitting 52% Contract Hire & Vehicle Leasing 52% Powder Coatings 51% Communication Towers & Masts 50% Evans explains, “Clearly, there has been a concerted effort in some industries to get debt as a percentage of sales down to a more manageable level while monetary policy is still loose, as the availability of cheap money does actually allow companies flexibility to move away from reliance on it. Companies have had significant time to get rid of their debt before it has becomes expensive to service, which removes any threat posed by interest rate rises in the future and should see them better placed to grow should monetary policy tighten.”
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LEADING LEAFLET DISTRIBUTOR ARE LITERALLY STRIDES AHEAD JOGPOST - LEAFLET DISTRIBUTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2018, UK
London-based JogPost is the leading leaflet distribution company in the UK, primarily delivering leaflets, flyers and magazines across the country and in the belief that they do this more efficiently and faster than their rivals. We spoke to them to find out more. JogPost was the brain-child of Henry Buckley and JJ Harding, who together founded the company in 2008. Having owned a pizza delivery company, JJ was all too aware of the urgent need for a professional leaflet distribution company whose service would be both efficient and dependable, so when Henry came up with the idea they realized that they could develop the concept into something that would potentially change the shape of the door drop industry indefinitely. With efficiency being a key factor in the infancy of the JogPost dream, a straight forward booking process was quickly developed to ensure a quick turnaround time of as little as one day. Couple that with the quick-footed JogPost joggers’ ability to complete in 5 hours a drop which would take a walking team 8-10 hours to complete, Jogpost clients are guaranteed a much bigger return for their investment. Committed to excellent customer service JogPost clients have a devoted account manager for bookings and queries and a dedicated, supervised jogger team. By offering a solus, never-shared distribution on a chosen day, JogPost can guarantee to deliver media quickly, efficiently and completely. Recognising the importance of every client they work with without exception, JogPost aim to provide unrivalled service throughout and explain that “time and time again we have proven to meet our customers’ need for a reliable and efficient distribution partner, with these clients regularly seeing as much as three times the results of other distribution methods, with many of our distributions leading directly to record breaking sales”. To deliver quality to every campaign, JogPost assign each distribution team with its own non-distributing supervisor, this affords clients with the confidence that all jobs are completed thoroughly and there is no negligent wastage. An incomparable service, these supervisors act as a support pillar from branded vehicles, using iPads and GPS software. JogPost has a vast and diverse workforce, not to mention fit! All distributors are fully briefed prior to delivery to ensure that during business deliveries they can competently promote a clients’ product or service or if they are asked adhoc. Rigorous training is also provided and professionalism is at the forefront with all distributors donning the distinctive JogPost branded clothing. The media delivery industry is however not without significant challenge and Jogpost explain that the main problem being faced by customers in this industry is trusting that the company delivering is reliable, and the very real fear of uncertainty that their product is actually being delivered. Poor pay and unsupervised distribution are factors that are scarcely addressed by their competitors, with many of them working to notably tight margins that prevent them from providing anything close to passable systems. JogPost addressed and solved the main problems affecting the industry through innovation and by initiating a new approach, with their objective being to increase the results of their clients. By using faster, jogger teams, JogPost can obtain larger margins and use this advantage to give an unmatched service to their customers. Always striving to work faster and smarter than their competitors these industry innovators attribute their success to a number of factors, not least to the development of the unique systems that they have in place which afford their customers unparalleled confidence in the service that they are providing. Their award-winning RideAlong® service, which allows their clients to ride with a supervisor to see their dedicated distribution team in action, works coherently with the Supervisor System which sees every team tracked by a supervisor who checks the quality and speed of the team’s work. Heading up Distribution and Logistics, Karan Gavali explains “We believe in Kaizen which means continuous improvement. This allows us to innovate our operations through the use of trackers, iPads and response tracking solutions”. Not least innovation, but their 80% customer retention is also owed to JogPost’s ethical and transparent service, “Our clients use us time and time again as they not only get record breaking responses but also because they trust JogPost and its marketing services”.
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JogPost believe in employing only the best, most committed staff who, in return are paid well and their employee satisfaction is given significant weight. They recognise that this extra staff commitment directly impacts the success of the company as it has proven to hugely decrease waste and non delivery, which in turn has increased their customers’ return on investment dramatically, ultimately believing that happy staff equal a more motivated workforce who deliver results. Undoubtedly JogPost are leaps and bounds ahead of their competition, delivering more efficiently and faster than anyone else - the clue is in the name. All things considered, their solution is simple but their approach is ultimately slick, meaning that for the time being it is impossible to deliver leaflets faster, more accurately and at better value than JogPost. They have proven time and time again to meet their customers’ need for a dependable and effective distribution partner and their plethora of awards over their past ten years of business are testament to that. Proud winners of the Global Business Insight Leaflet Distribution Company of the Year 2018, UK award, JogPost can only delight in yet another accolade of their proven success and unrivalled achievements within this industry. They explain that receiving this awards further cements their desire to open JogPost branches all over the United Kingdom so that they can provide the same quality service nationally to all, at the uniform prices.
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LEADING ACCOUNTANCY FIRM IN ABERDEEN
Infinity Partnership is an award-winning accountancy and business advisory practice in Aberdeen. The have worked on international projects in the United States, the Middle East and Japan. Their mission is a simple one: to exceed client expectations in a way that encourages them to recommended Infinity to other companies. This is how Infinity has increased turnover year-on-year since 2011, despite the drop in the oil price which affected thousands of companies in the north-east of Scotland. The business required new revenue streams. Infinity developed a successful process for research and development (R&D) tax credit claims, largely for firms in the oil and gas sector (£80m worth made so far). This shift in strategy was led by the managing director, Simon Cowie, which helped the business achieve further growth. The company recently moved to stand-alone offices twice the size of its previous location. Infinity can only achieve goals by offering an exemplary service. Since 2011 Simon Cowie has sought to establish a firm that offered far more than the traditional accountancy practice. He sees his firm’s role as business partners to clients, advising on a range of projects including financial processes, grant funding, R&D tax claims, investment opportunities, business strategy and sourcing investors. This commitment to customer service has led to a 99% client retention rate - Infinity is currently adding a client at the rate of 1 per day. Infinity Partnership supports regular staff training, covering accountancy qualifications such as ACCA (certified accountants), CMA (Chartered Management Accountants) and AAT (Association of Taxation Technicians). Currently 7 staff are in training. In 2017, Infinity partnership was delighted to achieve ACCA Employer Status and become a platinum approved learning partner. Therefore, they have experienced staff (or are continually developing team members) to deliver their services to a high level.
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“After such a positive 2017, we are delighted to win this prestigious award. Our processes for research and development tax credit claims has helped us stand out from the crowd. The business has a 100% success rate using our model for claims. In addition, clients have said that the ‘windfall’ we generated has allowed them to continue trading through one of the worst economic challenges to hit the region due to the low oil price.” – Simon Cowie. An example of a specific project was for McMenon Engineering Services’s acquisition of a division of a global business – a process that took 15 months. Infinity suggested to one of the McMenon director to contact his former employer AAB to see if they had any divisions they were wishing to sell off. The deal was completed, and Infinity continue to support the business. Infinity set up the accountancy function (including the implementation of manufacture-specific software called ProgressPlus) from scratch following the acquisition and the turnover in its first year is expected to be approximately £8m. Having successfully implemented an accounting system for the handover period, Infinity has been working with other providers to ensure the client has robust accounting and manufacturing systems which link and streamline their process. The CEO and founder of McMenon Engineering Services, Anand Puthran, shared: “Infinity Partnership was instrumental in us acquiring a division on great terms from ABB, thanks to Simon and his team. They were involved from commencement through completion to taking on the entire finance department for the new company. They arranged everything so that the company could commence trading from group VAT Registrations to arranging the financial package and are now implementing a new accountancy package to allow the business the best chance of success. The company is on target to achieve an £8m turnover in its first year and with the systems in place, I am confident that the finances are prepared for this. Outstanding! Thanks to Infinity Partnership.” There are some basic attributes that a firm such as Infinity Partnership should possess. Trust, honesty and transparency are values that form Infinity’s foundations. The feedback they have received from clients is that they appreciate Infinity being up front about costs from the beginning.
Infinity continues to punch above its weight by investing in training and development, IT and accountancy software. It is already proactively supporting 170 clients as part of the ‘Making Tax Digital’ transformation. In addition, the company operates a flexible policy to support staff working from home allowing their employees a healthy balance between their home and work life. Investment in IT solutions means staff can work from home and maintain access to client accounting software via cloud computing solutions. Flexi-time is offered to all staff and is managed to accommodate school timetables and holiday periods. Infinity Partnership actively supports the professional development of its team and ensures everyone in the business not only understands the importance of adhering to professional codes but applies those principles at all times without room for error. This culture of support and development, coupled which a proactive and supportive management team that outlines goals through appraisals, has led to continued growth of a successful business that has a staff retention rate of more than 95%. A positive working environment is critical to the continued success of Infinity Partnership. This comes from the top down where everyone is treated with respect. Any issues can be immediately raised with managers and team members are encouraged to put forward comments and ideas at regular meetings. Infinity is already planning ahead with the Making Tax Digital transformation. It has identified the clients that will need the most support and is working with them to plan ahead. In addition, GDPR legislation was a considerable investment in time and infrastructure but Infinity recognised the importance of having quality systems and procedures in place to deal with the change in regulations. Infinity is seeing a return to investment, merger and acquisition activity. A total of 20 such deals were completed in 2017. One example was Infinity setting up a Dragon’s Den-style investment opportunity where the owners of a product in the food and drink sector gave a presentation offering 6% of the business for £300,000. Of the 10 business executives that attended, 9 invested various amounts from £20,000 to £50,000. Infinity secured Enterprise Investment Scheme and Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme reliefs for all nine.
Infinity puts the client first, for example, a due diligence project was taken on a contingency-fee basis. Infinity advised the client not to proceed with an acquisition due to the lack of detailed information in the firm’s accounts. It meant there was no fee on this occasion but strengthened the relationship between Infinity and said client. This commitment to customer service is reflected in Infinity’s growth. It is not always about the bottom line at the end of the quarter but ensuring the client’s livelihood and success. This commitment to customer service and Infinity’s ability to adapt to market conditions sets it apart from others in the market. An example of this was the quick response to client needs following the drop in the oil price. Infinity immediately offered advice on improving cashflow and reducing costs. In addition, it supported companies with research and development tax credit claims. This has allowed Infinity to remain malleable and fill the gap in the service supply created by the everchanging markets. Deals are once again starting to form a core part of Infinity’s activity. Managing Director and Partner of the Year at the 2016 British Accountancy Awards, Simon Cowie is one of the leading dealmakers for Infinity. Simon was named Scottish dealmaker of the year in 2009 and 2014. He has completed more than 80 deals worth more than £300m combined.it is important to not only work hard but to also work smart, as demonstrated by Simon himself.
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REVEALED:
THE CONCERNS PREVENTING BRITS FROM OWNING SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY Smart home devices/appliances which can remotely be controlled over Wi-Fi by smartphones and tables, have conveniently enabled property owners to automate everyday tasks like the recording of gas/electricity consumption, adjustment of room temperatures and control of lights (on or off at set times). In turn, these ‘smart home technologies’ - have provided individuals with more comfort, better energy efficiency and added security within their homes. The increasing popularity of smart home technology can be exhibited by findings from ‘Tech UK’, who discovered that 44% of UK consumers now astonishingly have more than three smart home products. With regards to the impact of smart home technology, 40% of Brits feel it has improved their standard of living, according to research by ‘Thomas Sanderson’. Interested in prospective smart home technology adopters, bathroom and showers experts Showerstoyou.co.uk analysed recent findings from YouGov, who surveyed Brits that do not own smart home devices/appliances to find out the smart home product features they are most aware of. Showerstoyou.co.uk found that ‘digital assistant’ is the feature non-users are most aware of when it comes to smart home devices and appliances at 71%. Perhaps unsurprising this ranked top, given digital assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa (e.g. on Amazon Echo) and Apple’s Siri (on e.g. on Apple Homepod) having a prominent presence in each company’s respective advertisement/promotion campaigns. Thereafter, ‘voice recognition/control function’ (64%) is the next best recognised aspect of smart home devices and appliances according to Brits who do not own any in their house. Moreover, with many consumers hesitant to purchase a smart home product due to the supposed negative impact they think it will have on their energy bill - just 38% understand they have the ‘ability to regulate power use’ on certain smart devices and appliances to overcome this apparent problem.
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Contrastingly, the capability of some smart home devices/appliances to ‘make smart decisions based on contents’ (17%), is the least known feature by non-owners. Slightly above, only 19% of Brits not in possession of any smart home technology, acknowledge that they can gain ‘feedback on processes’ about the information, methods, instructions or tasks they have inquired about on topics/issues related or not-related to the smart home device/appliance itself. Further on, the British pubic also revealed their biggest concerns about smart home technology. Showerstoyou found that 39% of Brits are reluctant to buy smart home devices and appliances because they believe they are vulnerable to potentially devasting ‘cyber-attacks/hacking’. Despite an active effort by manufacturers and retailers alike to make smart home technology more affordable, 36% still consider them to be ‘over-priced’. Equally, 36% are worried about ‘data privacy’ when it comes to managing smart home technology – with the risk of a serious cyber-breach potentially exposing their personal details (name, address, bank details etc.) to opportunist criminals. On the other end of the scale, the need for the ‘internet and electricity to function at the same time’ for smart home technology products to fully work, is influencing 23% of British consumers to not have even one smart device/appliance in their living environment. 27% are being swayed away from smart home technology because they are bothered about ‘getting locked out of devices’ as well as ‘having more passwords/security to remember’. Martin,the Managing Director of Showerstoyou.co.uk commented: “Smart home technology has come leaps and bounds over the last decade. Now the market has a range of smart devices and appliances to make everyday tasks at home easier and efficient. As they have advanced in their development, more features have been included to provide added value for existing and potential customers. The research certainly shows that there are features Brits are more aware of than others, despite not owning any smart home technology themselves. Perhaps more interestingly, it highlights how the risk of a cyberattack or breach, is factoring prominently in the decision-process of consumers to adopt the technology in their home. Looking into the future, as the understanding and security of smart home devices and appliances significantly improves, non-users will undoubtedly become less skeptical and more willing to try the technology”.
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SMILES ALL ROUND FOR FRANK TAYLOR & ASSOCIATES FRANK TAYLOR & ASSOCIATES - DENTAL VALUER & SALES AGENT OF THE YEAR 2018, UK
Frank Taylor & Associates specialise in practice valuations, sales, purchases and business consultancy services for dental professionals. The Hertfordshire-based firm has established itself nationwide as the most successful independent valuer and sales agent in the industry owing to its involvement in the sale and valuation of thousands of dental practices nationwide. We spoke to them about their business and their success. Founded in 1988, Frank Taylor & Associates (FTA) have recently celebrated their 30th anniversary and the company who offer an unrivalled range of services to both buying and selling clients and an unmatched level of dental sector experience, remain committed to being the most successful valuer and sales agent within their market for the foreseeable future. With a wealth of experience and countless UK dental practice sales under their belt the firm have been afforded a unique knowledge of the demand for practices in different geographical areas. They have also built an extensive database of almost 5,000 qualified potential purchasers, enabling them to match people with opportunities in the open market, whilst guiding them from start to finish to achieve the best results whilst protecting their interests at all times. Striving to deliver a customer-focussed service at all times, they pride themselves on their transparency by ensuring that all of their clients can be confident of their ways of workings, their fees and who they are working with. FTA expertise doesn’t end there however and with several independent businesses now operating under the FTA umbrella, as a group they are able offer more and more additional services outside of just buying or selling. These include; advice and training for new practice owners in running a successful practice, support to secure additional funding or personal mortgages, advice to meet ever-changing CQC (Care Quality Commission) regulations, recruitment assistance, personnel management, the legal aspects of employment and HR issues, specialist tax planning, as well as investment, financial and pension planning advice. Citing four key principles – honesty, integrity, reliability and value – as the key to their success, FTA recognise that these all play a major part in strengthening their relationships with their clients. Their focus is to ‘Assess, Protect and Enhance’ personal and practice circumstances at all times, whilst prioritising confidentiality and professionalism particularly when
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discussing a dental practice or plans for the future. Finally, they recognise that every situation and every individual is unique and then tailor their range of services specifically to their clients’ needs, irrespective of complexity whilst enjoying the development of an excellent working partnership. FTA recognise that the dental sales market is now highly competitive and in order to set themselves apart from their competition their priority is to enhance their customer service with a focus on providing completely tailored solutions. Offering more and more additional services to clients outside of just buying or selling a dental practice, FTA are also committed to the ‘Practice Sales Promise’, a voluntary code of conduct that was introduced to create a level playing field in the dental sales market that ensures that everyone can make fully informed decisions, having had access to all the relevant information - “Our clients can trust us to be honest, open and reliable; and always enthusiastic about achieving their goals and from the very start”. They work closely with their clients to prepare accurate and comprehensive information that clearly reflects the unique elements of their business to potential purchasers. They go on to explain “we also work with them every step of the way so that we fully understand what they wish to achieve by selling and we don’t stop there - we also provide specialist tax planning advice to mitigate and minimise any resulting tax liability once their practice has been sold”. Finally, those looking to sell their dental practice can rest assured that the firm will always deliver a highly professional and honest service, vigorously ensuring that there’s never any conflict of interest in who our clients are. Maintaining a position at the forefront of the competition is vital to any business and FTA are no exception making it clear that their commission structure differs greatly from that of their competitors. Unlike many of their rivals, they are very clear that they do not accept a commission fee from a purchaser, commission is only payable by the vendor once a sale is completed. They explain “we are very clear in our duty to our clients; they instruct us to sell their practice. By charging a buyer commission there is a clear conflict of interest and it is often not in the best interest of our clients, the vendors”. Reflecting on the challenges that they face in the current market, FTA explain that despite seeing a significant demand for dental practices, there has also been a change in the availability of personal investment funds. In the past banks had been known for generous loans of up to 110% of the purchase price and the need for a cash deposit didn’t exist. Today however, things are slightly different and a larger contribution is commonly expected and with the need for a deposit presenting challenges for the young buyer, they have seen an increasing use of the ‘bank of Mum and Dad’ in recent years. Changes in the regulatory environment and more vigilant CQC regulations
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Recognising that a businesses success is often significantly attributed to the team who work within it, FTA explain that their fantastically high retention rate highlights how much their staff enjoy working within the firm and with each other. Believing that skills can be taught, FTA make it clear that finding the most suitable personality match is a major factor when employing new team members who can be invested in by way of training and development. Being careful to ensure a total consistency within the business, management not only lead but also work closely within the team, actively encouraging personal development and providing one to one coaching on a regular basis. When asked what the future holds for FTA they describe that with the constant changes to the dental market with regards to values and buyers and with potential changes to the NHS contract on the horizon affecting the majority of dental practices in the UK, that they will need continue to adapt to these changes and also remain vigilant to identifying and implementing new ideas and services to benefit the profession and to continue to be the leading providers of business services within the dental profession. Proud winners of the Global Business Insight Dental Valuer & Sales Agent of the Year 2018, UK award, FTA elaborate that being nominated was a privilege in itself so to have won the award gave them a huge sense of achievement and a feeling of great honour. They put their success down to the hard work and dedication of their entire team in supporting their clients on their personal journey within the dental market, whether it be in purchasing, building and running or selling a practice and endeavour to continue to excel and grow in this market for years to come.
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FMCONSULT
BEST IN COMPLIANCE CONSULTING 2018 - UNITED KINGDOM
FMConsult, established in 2004, is a specialist compliance, collective investment schemes and operational and investment risk management consultancy that services a whole host of global financial services firms. “We have made it our mission to provide solutions to our clients so that they can continually meet regulatory requirements.� With their headquarters in London, FMConsult also has offices in Ireland and USA, with an associate in Italy. Their highly qualified team has firsthand experience in asset management, wealth management, financial regulations and investment risk which essentially means that they have the allround expertise needed for consultancy. FMConsult is an independent regulatory, product development and operational risk consultancy that is committed to assisting clients in aligning financial service processes with regulatory requirements. They provide risk and compliance solutions that enable senior management of financial services firms to demonstrate that they are currently (and will continue to be) compliant and conducting business in a legal and moral manner. They focus mainly on wholesale firms and finds industry but also have the capacity and experience to assist retail and market infrastructure companies. Some examples of the type of work the FMConsult carry out for their clients to date include: Corporate Authorisation, Compliance Outsourcing and Interim Resources, Due diligence and Expert Witness assignments, Fund Establishment and Authorisation, Consumer Credit and finally Compliance Monitoring and in-depth investigations. To run a machine as smoothly as FMConsult operates requires an impressive team, on which we have done a mini profile below.
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DALLAS J MCGILLIVRAY
ANDREW J HICKS
COLETTE PANEBIANCO
GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR
GROUP DIRECTOR
DIRECTOR FMCONSULT USA
Experienced international regulatory and business manager. Previous Global Head of Compliance and Operational Risk at a major asset management company for all business outside of the Americas with circa 30 years’ experience in the UK and global regulatory issues, covering both retail and institutional sectors. Over 8 years with Coopers & Lybrand (now PWC) in four different countries covering audit, accounting services, insolvency and regulation. He is a specialist in providing corporate governance and operational risk services to asset management and investment companies.
More than 10 years’ experience as a manager for a major international asset management company, covering compliance monitoring/ advisory, internal audit and operational risk roles. This role primarily covered the UK market place but also extended to USA, Irish, Luxembourg, German, French and Italian regulated businesses covering both retail and institutional clients. A further 8 years as a financial and regulatory auditor for a medium sized audit and accountancy firm based in London. He is a specialist in providing accountancy, audit, compliance monitoring, regulatory, advice and operational risk services to asset management and investment companies.
Colette is an experienced financial services executive. With circa 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Colette has a detailed knowledge of the US asset management industry from working with high-level investment advisers, hedge funds, broker-dealers and family offices both domestic and offshore. Colette specialises in designing the compliance infrastructure for startups and established, registered and unregistered, US and non-US funds and also investment advisors and private equity firms. Colette has proven to bring personalised and assured quality services tailored to
JOHN CLARE FMCONSULT IRELAND John is an experienced financial services executive and has a detailed knowledge of the Irish Financial Services Industry with over 22 years of proven business experience. John has been registered with the Central bank since 1996 and is a member of the Association of Compliance Officers Ireland.
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FIRST PLACE FOR TRAINING FIRST AID ASSOCIATES - FIRST AID TRAINING PROVIDER OF THE YEAR 2018, UK
Whether you’re an organisation looking to train your staff, a community group or an individual wishing to learn new skills First Aid Associates work withh a variety of clients ranging from GP Surgeries to Construction Groups, Primary Schools to Engineering businesses and offer a comprehensive range of first aid courses that are specifically tailored to suit the requirements of each.
STEVE WILSON FOUNDER
Founded by Steve Wilson in 2006, First Aid Associates is one of the country’s finest providers of First Aid training in its field, providing a variety of different courses to a range of companies nationwide. The business draws on the experience and skills of fully qualified trainers and assessors and has grown from strength to strength in the past 12 years. We spoke to them to find out more.
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As an approved AoFAQ training centre, all courses are delivered to the highest standards and the ultimate goal of the professional teams is to furnish all participants with the knowledge, skills and confidence to be a successful first aider wherever they are. As well as being a top class training provider, FAA also provide first aid cover for small events, ranging from small music festivals to street fairs; short 10k runs to Ultra Marathons. Not only an invaluable service but it also adds value to their courses by actively practicing the techniques that are being taught.
In the First Aid industry, professionals are faced with obvious challenges every day but like many other training industries, these aren’t the only obstacles they need to overcome. The deregulation of First Aid Training a few years ago saw the flood gates open for anyone to start ‘teaching’ first aid to the public. Steve explains that he has seen a surprising number of people start up businesses in the industry assuming it is an easy option, consequently teach to an inadequate standard and then ultimately find it wasn’t so easy and go out of business. The consequence of this kind of bad practice is that it falls short of maintaining standards within the industry and devalues the qualifications for all, even those who are ardent professionals. Steve feels that the standards around those who teach need to be tightened in order protect the industry in the future. First Aid Associates also acknowledge that they have a responsibility to keep their training programmes flexible and up to date. Now and again the industry sees slight changes to first aid techniques and as such these changes need to be quickly incorporated into any given course to ensure the client is receiving the most current information. When discussing success, the levels of repeat business and client referrals alone are a testament to the success that Steve and First Aid Associates are used to. Steve explains that most qualifications need to be renewed every three years and therefore much of his business is repeat business which has seen his client base grow significantly over the years; cementing the business’ good work. By then receiving referrals from these existing clients, it further bolsters his reputation of providing high quality training programmes. The industry is however not without significant competition but their reputation and portrayal of their key attributes holds the key to their success in providing an unbeatable service to clients within the industry. Acknowledging that First Aid is a serious subject, Steve explains that ironically humour is fundamental. Reminiscing about when he himself was first taught first aid many years ago, he recalls a trainer who was so dry and tedious that most of his audience were falling asleep. Ensuring that people have fun whilst learning has proven to help with information retention and combat any sleepyheads! Flexibility is also vital with customers needing to know that they have the option to organise their training around their own commitments and not have to try and fit in with rigidly set dates and times. Keeping group sizes small also relieves the pressure on participating firms; if businesses have to release a large number of staff at the same time it can significantly impact on workload and the customer’s ability to maintain their own standards, so FAA pride themselves on more intimate groups. Recognising that in order for any business to achieve success, they have to have a strong team behind them; Steve is firm in his desire for his colleagues to have complete autonomy. Being careful to ensure that all staff are fully skilled and qualified in their own roles, FAA staff are ultimately left to their own devices with the assurance that if they need anything from Steve in terms of advice or guidance, then it will be provided. By ensuring that his colleagues feel valued in their roles and by providing them with continual professional development, maintenance of performance and standards is almost certain. Proud winners of the Global Business Insight First Aid Training Provider of the Year 2018, UK Steve elaborates that it allows new and existing customers to see that the service being provided by First Aid Associates is not only of a high quality but it is also first class. Not only that but it affords his business with the drive to continue to provide the best possible service to current and future clients and endeavour to exceed their expectations in the years to come.
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HOW IMPROVING DIVERSITY COULD PROVIDE THE BOOST THE UK TECH INDUSTRY NEEDS
1. Diversity can help stem the spread of biased or fake information More diverse companies can better check algorithms aren’t biased, like the convict sentencing programme in Florida that inaccurately predicted that black offenders were more likely to commit another crime than white offenders.
TONY PROPHET
CHIEF EQUALITY OFFICER AT SALESFORCE At a time of Brexit, potential skills shortages and increasing transparency and regulation, the UK tech sector needs friends. But it’s easy to miss a friend you’re not looking for. Diversity is a free resource available to help boost UK tech - and here’s why.
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More diversity can help ensure image searches don’t mistakenly identify black people as apes, like Google did in its original version of its online search product. This is not only morally beneficial, it can help appease regulators.
2. Diversity can help address the pipeline problem There are still a disproportionately higher percentage of women and minorities with degrees relevant to tech than actually work in the industry. In the US for example, women earned 36% of computer science degrees in the 1990s, but still hold less than 25% of computing jobs.
Even if we go more broadly than purely computer science, women have made up about 50% of science and engineering degrees since the 1990s (though there was a decreasing trend for many years) but only represent 30% of the science and engineering workforce. For ethnic minorities the statistics are even worse – they represented over 20% of all science and engineering degrees, but only 11% of science and engineering jobs. There are now many organisations dedicated solely to increasing the numbers of women and minorities in tech and giving them access to organisations. Partner with them.
3. Diversity can fuel start up growth The tech industry is still quite young and new startups are emerging all the time. Globally between 2009 and 2017, more than 43,000 tech companies were founded and received initial rounds of funding. As such, these startups can embed diversity and inclusion right from the start. This is a much easier way to create an inclusive culture than trying to change a culture that already exists. For example, at the US-based tech startup Plastiq, diversity and inclusion was a consideration right as the company was being founded. As a result, inclusive behaviours are embedded in the company’s culture and the way it makes decisions. One of the company’s founders, Eliot Buchanan, says that diversity and inclusion were important from the start also because they knew they wanted to have as much debate as possible in order to make sure they were making robust decisions. The best way to make sure those debates took place was to ensure people were coming from different backgrounds and felt comfortable bringing their different points of view to the table. That definitely meant inclusion of visibly diverse people, but also the inclusion of introverts, for example. To facilitate this, Plastiq has created many different ways of giving feedback that can cater to different people’s ways of communicating, including in person, in written form, anonymously, and other methods.
4. Diversity can be your ‘get out of jail free’ card Uber first came into the spotlight around diversity and inclusion because of a public essay that went viral in early 2017 written by a former engineer employee, Susan Fowler. In the essay, Fowler relates her experiences working at Uber for a year and describes an incredibly toxic and misogynistic culture. Her experiences describe not only regularly experiencing sexual harassment along with more subtle sexism, but also that when she reported even the more outrageous behaviours to HR they did nothing to rectify the situation. Her manager threatened to fire her (despite the fact that firing someone for reporting things to HR is illegal in the United States). In the end, she decided to leave the company and go public with her story. When the story went viral many other women at the company (and in tech broadly) started to relate similar experiences, and Uber was gaining a reputation as a terrible place for women to work. It eventually contributed to the resignation of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick only five months after the publication of Fowler’s essay, and eventually the departure of multiple other executives and board members in the company over the next year. Since then, Uber has been trying to rebuild its reputation and become a more inclusive company.
5. Diversity can inspire your employees and customers Salesforce has a Chief Equality Officer, Tony Prophet. At first glance, this may seem merely like meaningless nomenclature – a way of trying to set the company apart in terms of D&I without actually doing anything special. But when asked about this name, Prophet explains that it was about saying Salesforce trying to go beyond the typical organisation’s diversity and inclusion agenda: “Diversity is absolutely essential… but once you have diversity you’re not done. Then you have inclusion, where you’re really getting the very best out of every employee… Equality goes beyond that. Equality asks the questions, ‘Are you standing for my rights when I step outside my workforce? Are you fighting for equality for me?’” Prophet is suggesting we use work to push for equality in society. This view of the role an organisation has is certainly a radical one, but it is also a powerful concept. This mindset could completely alter the role of organisations in society as not just drivers of the economy but active drivers of social good. And good work has initiated a virtuous circle. Tech Nation, the UK agency tasked with building and supporting the British tech sector, has run workshops for tech start ups on embedding inclusion in their modus operandi. This has created feedback loops in the sector about what works best in practice. On a global platform, Web Summit, held annually in Lisbon, has dedicated more and more programming time to diversity and inclusion and is trying to embed it in their core curriculum. As it becomes more normal to think pre-emptively about diversity and inclusion in tech, this can hopefully benefit individual companies, the sector, and society at large.
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ELITESCO
TRANSLATION AND FINANCIAL COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2018 - HONG KONG Elitesco is a Hong Kong based translation and financial company, founded and operated by professional linguists. They provide superior financial translation services to corporate clients and public bodies. Ms. Jacqueline Ng, the Chief Operating Officer, has over 20 years of versatile experience in financial and legal translations serving capital markets in Greater China. The core mission of Elitesco is to maximize efficiency and performance with satisfactory services delivered to their clients under tight command. To provide the best possible language services, they pay close attention to the use of words in the global financial market and ensure that their clients have a comprehensive understanding of the proceedings. Each member of their team is well versed in the specialist vocabularies of numerous professions and services; from financial documents to legal instruments, press releases to reports - Elitesco is a name to trust. “Elitesco is so delighted to have won this award, which recognizes the hard work of all our employees. I believe the reason behind our success is that we take the quality and speed of our work to be our top priority. Backed by a strong team of experienced language experts, we turnaround in a fast and accurate manner valuing the importance of quality and timeliness and catering to the pressing schedules of the business world in this day and age.” When asked what attributes she thought were most important in the translation and financial industry, Jacqueline expressed, “I believe the best possible service is to understand what the clients need. Paying close attention to the clients’ need and providing high-quality work at the earliest possible time are the most important factors”. This is further demonstrated by Elitesco’s operating hours; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year without interruption. “We are here whenever you need us!” With this level of dedication, there is no doubt whatsoever that Elitesco are more than deserving of the Global Business Insight Award 2018. Jacqueline expanded on the company’s encouragement of their employees to express their ideas and share their knowledge openly. “I believe that the most powerful tool for promoting employee innovation is to tolerate mistakes and expect failure, as well as reward implementations of lessons learned. Both successes and failures should be shared with each employee in the organisation in order to get the maximum learning value from the exercise. Elitesco adopts a human-asset approach to their employment of driven and productive individuals, leading to many success stories with regards to strategic management. They give their employees the option to work from home and this flexibility has attracted quality translators based in Hong Kong. As mentioned earlier, Elitesco considers its employees as its assets. Jacqueline went on to say, “We preserve a peopleoriented attitude towards our staff. We provide a variety of welfare and allowances to support a competitive remuneration package. We listen to our staff and try our best to satisfy their needs.” Currently, the local market is highly fragmented, now with a lot of small firms operating, as there are no entry barriers in this industry. The influx in competitors tends to reduce the price in order to compete for orders. On the one hand Elitesco appreciate the importance of remaining price competitive and on the other, they aim to excel in their services to such a level that their clients will be willing to pay a premium for the best. One major way they differentiate themselves from others in their field is to concentrate on their reputation as much of their business is generated more by word of mouth than any other form of marketing. When queried about what the future holds for Elitesco, Jacqueline shared, “Our business is directly linked to the development of the capital market in Hong Kong. With the further expansion of the city as a financial centre for companies in China to raise their funding, we will seek translators around the world, that are well-versed in English and Chinese, to fill the obvious supply gap.
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OPEN BANKING TO BOOST UK ECONOMY BY 1BN
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camden associates best in biotech corporate finance 2018 - uk
Camden Associates is a boutique investment banking firm started in 2003. We specialise in International financing. The market has changed a great deal in the last few years and several transactions just do not get completed because market segmentation does not permit it. We offer various services from pure advisory to financing to private and public companies alike. Initially the company was focused on Eastern Europe and on large groups (Bouygues, Rosatom, Gazprom, Lukoil, Rushydro), they then expanded their range to smaller, more innovative deals and broadened their scope on a sector basis e.g. technology and biotech are worldwide sectors. Humbled by this acknowledgement from Global Business Insight, Camden Associates are encouraged to continue their work; protecting, building and managing their clients’ financial futures. Jean-Claude Gonneau from Camden Associates expressed how competitive the world of finance advice is and growing yet. “I would not assume to know what the right way for all investment banking companies is because every firm has different goals due to which they face a unique set of struggles to be tackled by a team with specialised abilities. As for Camden Associates, we are fundamentally project driven and believe that behind the specifics of each sector that we deal with, there is a unique management style. We simply strive to help them solve a singular problem they have at one point in time.’’
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When asked why clients would choose Camden Associates over another firm that offers their services, Jean-Claude revealed:“Basically, we take time to understand the story, discern what the clients want to achieve and see how best we can help them. We never feel pressure in entering a deal that we do not believe in. We then use statistical data to predict how the market will react and act accordingly, ensuring our decisions are always backed up by sound research”. “The overall mission is to get deals done, and then we take all the necessary and compliance-regulated steps to make the deal a success. It does not make us ‘leaders in innovation’ as such but it does keep us focused on what the latest technologies can bring to a deal and we are always looking to use newer and more efficient tools available to us to satisfy the clients’ objectives.” Jean-Claude went on to explain how the firms work ethics are always evident in their employees, “People are working because they want to. It is a matter of enthusiasm and responsibility to and for our clients. Camden Associates does not try to make sure its employees remain with us yet stay they do. It is all down to the team spirit that carries us all throughout the day and I am inspired by the loyalty they have showed so far”. Being in the Finance sector, regulations and legislations are constantly being updated and to remain on top of our compliance Camden Associates must adapt alongside each change. Mifid 2 certainly upset the profession and the competitive landscape. “In my opinion, these legislations are made by people that may not have a comprehensive grasp of how our business operates but we do not fight them either. I have come across some investment firms that gave up due to the laborious and sometimes inane changes to our requirements”. Always looking ahead, Camden Associates are venturing towards new oil saving technologies that are all the rage in Continental Europe. Jean-Claude further discloses that they are currently working with a company which developed the ‘passcare’, the first portable patient record. Blockchain crypted will empower patients to control their medical record and their data. This has even attracted the attention of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Another project they are involved in is completing and financing for a company using hydrogen-based techniques to effectively reduce car consumption by 30% and pollution by 75%.
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JEAN-CLAUDE GONNEAU MANAGING DIRECTOR
BEER ADVOCATEN
AVIATION LEGAL ADVISORS OF THE YEAR 2018 - NETHERLANDS
Veeru Mewa is an expert in Personal Injury law with international aspects and over the past years he has frequently handled cases in the United States and UK. He is also the author of several publications discussing international fundamental rights of Dutch personal injury victims. Since 2014, Mr Mewa is the first personal injury lawyer, for Dutch victims, to be ranked amongst prestigious international aviation lawyers. Beer advocaten have been the leading lawyers in representing victims of air crashes in countries as wide spread as Amsterdam, Lybia, Ukraine, etc. In the last 10 years, they have expanded to taking on board cases consisting of not just multiple victims of entire commercial airlines but also single aircraft accidents and helicopter crashes all over the world.
VEERU MEWA Beer advocaten is a well-renowned law firm in the Netherlands, leading in liability and personal injury law. Veeru Mewa, an equity partner at Beer advocaten, breaks down how the firm is committed to purely representing the interests of plaintiffs that have sustained injuries either abroad or foreign nationals involved in accidents in the Netherlands.
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When asked to detail the company’s mission, Veeru shared “In international cases, victims need to know that we have the quality and know how to handle their cases in the Netherlands or to find our way to a forum abroad. We may be small country, yet we are becoming an important player in this highly competitive market”.
Beer advocaten have spared no expense in learning all there is to know about International legal systems and aligning themselves with the impressive network of international lawyers. This has allowed them to serve their clients seamlessly through, what could otherwise be, rigorous legal proceedings of liability and personal injury law. “I´m very humbled and honoured to be receiving this award. It shows that our clients are satisfied with our work. The only technique I used was just being honest to the clients about what is possible. Do not make promises you cannot keep or reach and just deliver a top-notch quality service.” Many law firms face a common struggle; conflict of interests within their own client list. Beer advocaten simply choose to represent plaintiffs only. Choosing to fight for the David’s against the Golaith’s of the world. It is not common for companies to make such a transparent choice which sends a clear message: Our goal is to offer clients the most professional and specialist legal assistance in the Fight For Justice. Maintaining a position at the forefront of the competition over the course of 10 years is no small feat, yet Beer advocaten continue to deliver. Veeru explains that they achieve this by accepting that each client has specific needs and this requires being creative to not only meet their expectations but exceeding their expectations whenever possible. At every stage, they remind themselves of their focus; the client’s objectives are to be fulfilled above all else. In order to advocate for their clients, Beer advocaten relies on its lawyers to do a flawless job. This is further honed-in by attracting the very best talent to the company in the first place, promoting positive in-office vibes once they join the team and informing the public about their high standards through media. This ensures their lawyers choose to remain working for the leading law firm in liability and personal injury law in the Netherlands.
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an investment fund that supports sustainable growth france
Alter Equity3P, provided by Alter Equity, is a French Investment Fund company that was established in 2013. They currently manage €41.5m that they raised from institutional investors and entrepreneurs. The 3P in Alter Equity3P stands for “People, Planet and Profit”. Alter Equity is actively building a portfolio of impact investments (socially responsible), while seeking an attractive return for its limited partners. The fund targets French companies generating a yearly turnover of above €1m, with a strong potential for profitable growth. The following are some of the companies that Alter Equity are currently invested in: • Magic Makers - teach children how to code; • Innovafeed - produce insect-meal for aquaculture in substitution of wild fish flour; • Sports Etudes Academy - the leading French private sport-study education provider; • Nino Robotics - manufacture carefully designed two-wheeled electrical wheelchairs; • NED - provider of tailored renewable energy solutions; • Green Creative - manufactures waste sorting machines optimizing the value of waste; • Eficia – provide solutions for building energy performance, achieving energy savings of between 15-50% for its clients; • Remade Group – leader in the refurbishment of the French iPhones; • OpenAirlines - develops a set of software solutions improving the fuel efficiency for airline companies’, leading to 5% kerosene savings per flight; and • bo.ho green - a cosmetics brand that is natural, eco-conceived and affordable. There is an obvious pattern that can be seen in the list above, “People, Planet and Profit”. Alter Equity stay true to their mission. We invited [INSERT ROLE IN COMPANY], Fanny Picard, to talk us through the firm and the investment options that Alter Equity provide. Fanny explores how the fund works alongside the companies it invests in to ensure excellence for every stakeholder. “Here at Alter Equity, our values are at the core of our philosophy when conducting business and managing our relationships with our stakeholders. The strong partnership that we have fostered with our portfolio companies is noticeably based on goodwill, respect and support”. ISSUE 09 | 92
To ensure strong returns for its investors, Alter Equity’s active involvement is translated into monthly meetings with said investors, addressing key growth challenges to develop the value of the companies it invests in, including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and/or opportunities. Overall, the impact-investment sector has been rapidly developing in the past few years, attracting a wide variety of investors, both individual and institutional. Unsurprisingly, Alter Equity must work not only hard but smart, to stay at the forefront of emerging developments and remain a leader in their field. Fanny shared further; “To remain ahead of the cutting edge new developments, at Alter Equity we rely on our 4 pillars.”
Pillar 1 Alter Equity’s scope of investment embraces 15 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and target. They constantly improve their impact-assessment methodology to stay on par with the state of the art SDG guidelines.
pillar 2 The company’s deal flow is vigorously managed so as to generate the best investment opportunities on the market for its clients. This is achieved through diversified sources to which they are well connected.
pillar 3 Alter Equity strives to maintain an entrepreneurial mindset within its organisation. First and foremost, they are proud to rely on a strategic committee that is composed of successful business-people who guide them in their investment decisions. Once the investment has been made, they team up to strengthen the partnership with the management team and champion the company’s potential.
pillar 4 The fund company endeavours to maximise its investments’ financial return. Their net Internal Rate of Return (IRR) target is 10% but their current expectations are well above this target. By working towards all of these goals, Alter Equity are able to ensure that clients receive exceptional support that meet their needs. Alter Equity aims to demonstrate that sustainability is not only compatible with financial returns, it is also a source of growth. The success of their portfolio companies and the fund’s unwavering commitment to their investment thesis is a testament in and of itself. When asked what the future holds for Alter Equity, Fanny expressed “We will be seeking to build upon our current success in nurturing our ideals and keeping our clients in profit, and there is widespread optimism amongst the team about the times ahead.”
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SILVER SCREEN SUCCESS
FILM PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION COMPANY OF THE YEAR 2018
Global Business Insight Magazine talks to the MOVIE ON’s founder Enrico PINOCCI, who has a 30 years’ experience in the entertainment industry about their award-winning approach to the silver screen. Over the years the company has developed its activities at international level by adopting a trade expansion policy and buying the rights of film Library with genres for the various licensing theatrical, TV, Home video and all media. MOVIE ON has 300 movies intended for the international market and is in touch for acquiring and licensing with many broadcasting companies. 2018 sees Movie On in production for the movie: “THE DOG OF CHRISTMAS”, in pre-production: “DADDY DON’T MARRY AGAIN”, “2 HEARTS AND 3 PUPPIES AT CHRISTMAS”, “TEEN STAR ACADEMY 2”, “THE FABULOUS CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS”. At the beginning of the year Movie On concluded an agreement for the distribution of the films produced together with the Premiere Entertainment Group from Los Angeles, USA. Movie On also acquired for the purpose of distribution some films by TRICOAST USA, CARNABY UK ,13 FILMS USA, BLEIBERG (USA), VOLTAGE(USA) ,DOUBLE DUTCH ( ) , VISIT ( USA) and SHORELINE ( USA) . Enrico PINOCCI commented; “The purpose of Movie On is to enhance its activities of film production and distribution, providing products to any broadcasting platform, by implementing trade agreements with international providers. And the latest results continue on this path. Starting on September, three movies produced by Movie On will be released on all media in US, Canada and many other countries. Our company has a tradition in results: it is solid, and its main feature is the high potential in its results, in terms of performance.’’ “It is very important for us always to look for new, innovative solutions. We’re permanently committed to the product development, and we’re always pioneering in technology and market trends. But it isn’t always easy, the biggest challenge is the capital for required for the group, the coordination among the different branches, the integration, dedication, flexibility and the specific skills in the field by many different professionals, working all together to make creative products of high artistic quality, that have as main aim the result. “But the dynamism of the company allows us to catch major professionals: to make them stay in the team, financial and professional rewarding are crucial. Our team is crucial to making the company as success! Movie On is made up of divisions, and each of them has the responsibility within its field, and they all contribute to the finalization of the product. The final result is the answer to the high-quality service. That’s why I’m so glad I’ve won this award. The results we’ve achieved until now are a consequence of the strategic study in our field on the market demands, and of focusing our producing business on the family orientated movies, enhancing values and feelings.” To say that 2018 had been Movie On year is an understatement and we are only at the beginning of the third quarter! With activity like this no wonder Movie On was voted Film Production & Distribution Company Of The Year 2018 at this year’s 2018 Global Business Insight Awards. Enrico PINOCCI concludes what’s in store for the company: “The U.K. is a very dynamic country in the film industry, and there is a great interaction with the U.S., that represent 60% of the market to our products. Regarding the logistic corporate setting, England is outstanding. Rules are very clear, so it is enough to have the right professionals and to follow the rules. The company’s agenda focus on development and enhancement of the two main business sectors we work in. First of all, production, with the finishing of three films in 2018, and the making of six films in 2019, since we’ve already concluded agreements with stunning locations in Kenya ( Watamu) and USA (Los Angeles, San Luis, Obispo). The second one is distribution, with the licensing of 90 films in the countries we work in, and the main are: U.S., England, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, BENELUX, China.”
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OPEN BANKING TO BOOST UK ECONOMY BY 1BN
enrico pinocci
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PREMIER CARE LLC The Non-Medical Home Care Provider in Greenwich, Connecticut
Premier Care LLC finds professionally trained and highly qualified caregivers to provide home health care support to clients living at home, in assisted living or in nursing home facilities. Premier Care has over a thousand registered caregivers and an international group of European, Russian, Georgian, American or African/American companions and home health aides. They design their clients’ care plans based on their personality, health history, lifestyle and any unique needs they may have, and then pair them with the individuals that will lead to the best possible outcome. The founder and CEO of Premier Care, Tamara Mosidze, has a master’s degree in medical studies [please confirm] and 17 years’ work experience in health care. She has been able to build a successful business that has grown to the powerful entity that it is now through her unwavering work ethic, honesty, good reputation, devotion to her company, passion for helping people and unparalleled knowledge of her field. Premier Care started off growing gradually by not concentrating on profits and the bottom line. Instead, they focussed on creating a circle of happy clients by providing high-quality bespoke service each and every time. ““It’s a great honour to be nominated by Global Business Insight for this award, thank you for choosing our company! It makes me believe that devotion and hard work do pay back and I’m very proud to be nominated again.” - Tamara Mosidze.
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Tamara painstakingly chose the right people to trust with her company’s reputation. This meant that not only was it essential to have the best careworkers but also the right kind of families to work with. The bonds that are forged between Premier Care employees and their clients can last generations - if the relationship is nurtured with respect and Premier Care is the company for that. They have found that potential clients are likely to choose them based on word of mouth; real, human experiences, over the ease of finding them on Google’s first page. This was made possible by making sure that their existing clients and their families are always satisfied with the services rendered. Once Premier Care hire their employees, they administer comprehensive training, updating their workers with new methods and technology and of course reviewing each individual’s daily reports and giving guidance and support accordingly. We have all heard horror stories from care workers about terrible working conditions, but there is none of that at Premier Care. By hiring intelligent, educated, highly skilled employees, Tamara feels comfortable knowing that the brand and image of Premier Care will remain intact. In turn, she takes good care of her employees, not just through financial support but boosting morale when a job has been done well. This fosters loyal workers, and loyal workers innately work harder for a company that they feel believe in them. Marketing technologies and trends are always changing so, of course, Marke2ing dedicate time to staying current and in-the-know. Through their brilliant partner network, they are kept very well informed on new technologies, trends and B2B marketing benchmarks by tuning-in to publications, forums and networking events, as inquisitive marketing directors are wont to do. All the while, they regularly run team sessions for knowledge-sharing, keeping each other on top of best practices and any new b2b marketing developments. Providing care for the disabled and elderly is a highly competitive industry and maintaining a strong foothold in this sector requires more than just qualified employees and positive reviews from clients. Premier Care was nominated for [specific names of awards] awards multiple times and have had 5-star reviews on Google over the past 3 years. Recently, they received the Top 10 smart Health Care Companies Award in the nation and several publications. This has helped Premier Care remain in good standing, giving their customers the confidence that they made the right choice. Premier Care is the right choice. Laws and regulations are constantly changing in and around the healthcare industry, so Premier Care is actively involved with these organisations, by taking part in educational seminars and annual conference’s which informs them of the newest changes. For this purpose, Premier Care became members of several organisations such as CT Geriatrics Society, CT chapter of American Association of Home Care – ACHA, National Care Planning Council, Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, etc. Looking back at the past 3 years and how much Premier Care has accomplished, Tamara feels like she is in a much better position to expand across the country, opening branches in the nearby states or even franchising her brand.
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CAROVUS GMBH BEST IN FINANCIAL RECRUITMENT SERVICES 2018 - GERMANY
Carovus GmbH is a specialist service provider for businesses and firms in the financial markets and banking sector. They assist their clients with recruiting new staff and supporting job candidates in their search for potential employers and attractive job opportunities that suit their career goals. In addition to this, Carovus also provide communication and marketing services as part of their critical business areas.
Q: How does it feel to have won this award? A: “We are very pleased about this kind of praise for our work and the services we provide to a special segment of the asset management business. I am sure that one of the reasons why we got this award was our dedicated work and our continuous provision of valuable services to asset managers. This keeps us motivated, thanks to Global Business Insight.”Managing Director, Thomas Vogl. ISSUE 09 | 100
THOMAS VOGL MANAGING DIRECTOR
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we remain steadfast that our service is a long-term investment and that true value will be realised when businesses have a multi-skilled workforce that is not only compliant and competent but also futureproofed.
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The responsibility that comes with their field of business requires Carovus to act with due diligence and still continue to strive to live up to the expectations of all parties involved. This has meant that any assignments that do not align with the values of Carovus are, therefore, not undertaken by Carovus. Given that they are renowned for their commitment, reliability, communication and consistency, Carovus ensures that their company mission is righteously upheld through their projects.
Recognising how difficult it is for job applicants to find the best employer, and from practical experience; Carovus are fully aware of the challenge that companies may face when it comes to the recruitment of new staff. “Classic” personnel recruitment agencies are found to be more or less unable to act in the financial advisers’ area as they are either unfamiliar with the job applicants’ needs and requirements, or their clients are refusing to accept them as outright industry experts. Whereas Carovus has succeeded in doing just that and continues to close this gap between employers meeting their future employees. On the other hand, when it comes to their future careers, well-trained bank clerks, excellent asset managers and experienced account managers may qualify for more job alternatives than you may be aware of. And Carovus supports them in finding those alternatives. In today’s world, this search for alternative career options is becoming increasingly important and valuable for job applicants as banks and finance-institutions are cutting jobs and laying off staff in quite a rigorous and sweeping manner. Carovus operate in a specialised segment of private banking and wealth management business, ready to break new ground and try out innovative tools to pursue their objectives: “Our greatest achievement is being able to find highly qualified personnel for our clients in the wealth management segment even though we do not operate as a classic personal recruitment agency.” - Thomas Vogl. When it comes to approaching promising job candidates, Carovus perceive them as individuals and treat them with personal attention and in a respectful manner. They shortlist potential candidates from a wide range of options and carefully analyse the ones that will fit best when it comes to presenting suitable candidates for their clients. In doing so, they make use of the whole spectrum of economically viable alternatives. Carovus will be the company that wealth management businesses will approach when recruiting new employees in the financial advisory sector and in the field of corporate communication and presentation. Their ability to enter and conclude personnel recruitment contracts with numerous companies and businesses helps them to build on their reputation as specialists in this field. The entire financial industry is undergoing drastic changes, and this state of upheaval started right before the European Central Bank’s policy of quantitative easing. Banking institutions are cutting jobs in high numbers, digitalisation is moving forward in great leaps, and convenience is increasingly gaining in importance - thus an entirely new breed of competition is entering the scene. Carovus are confident in their strength and capacity to ride these changes. “We at Carovus see this as an opportunity because we excel in accompanying our target group; independent asset managers – as they negotiate through new developments in legislation, meaning they need to recruit appropriately qualified staff, and we specialise in supporting them in this. Our clients can always count us to have their back through it all.” - Thomas Vogl. ISSUE 09 | 101