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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS The business NEWSpaper for Kirklees
Building brighter prospects for jobs
A CONSTRUCTION company has teamed up with a group helping people with learning disabilities to find work. Award-winning specialist public sector contractor Bermar joined forces with REAL Employment to enable one of its clients, Kyle Mitchell, to gain work experience. Now he is undertaking paid employment through Bermar to work on a major refurbishment of Kirklees Council’s Civic 1 in Huddersfield. Bermar has 40 years experience in the Yorkshire construction industry and is one of only eight chartered building companies in the region. The Bradford-based firm, which has turnover approaching £10m, works on schemes in sectors including education, housing, health and community buildings. Samantha Hunter, of Bermar Building said: “The company has d e d i c at e d s c h e m e c h a m p i o n s responsible for ensuring everyone involved in a project receives excellent communication and involvement. “These roles range from on-site health and safety information and site set-ups, school competitions and visits, work with local communities and general PR involvement. “This year, we discussed branching out and working with local communities around employment, training and work placement initiatives.” She said: “Having had a previous back ground in social care, I chose to make links with the supported agencies in the region and looked to work with marginalised groups to help give opportunities that may sometimes be hard to find.” Samantha teamed up with Jayne Lodge, of REAL Employment to help its clients access opportunities in the
■ NEW RECRUIT: Kyle Mitchell (above, front, and right) has landed paid work with building group Bermar following a link-up between the firm and Real Employment in Huddersfield. Also pictured above are (from left) Samantha Hunter, of Bermar, Real Employment’s Michael Hutchinson and Jayne Lodge
work place. REAL Employment put forward Kyle as a candidate for work experience and after interviewing him, Bermar offered him a two-week work placement at the Civic 3 building in Huddersfield town centre. “He proved himself to be reliable and hard working,” said Samantha. “He was given a written reference from myself at the end of the placement. This summer, our successful
placement was offered paid employment through Bermar to work on Civic 1.” Kyle has been involved in several aspects of construction, working with a demolition team, labouring and assisted bricklayers. “Both organisations are supporting him through his employment to ensure this is sustainable and successful for his future,” said Samantha.”Collaborative working has
proven to be a great success and the way forward for businesses to find good employees and build strong links with the local community.” REAL Employment, with offices at Market Street in Huddersfield and Commercial Street, Batley, has been helping people with learning disabilities into work for the past 25 years and has build up good working relationships with a number of employers. Said Jayne: “REAL offers customers a unique package of support to help them to gain and maintain employment in the ‘open’ jobs market. “The service offers a range of support to both employers and to its customers. Support includes job matching, health and safety advice a n d t ra i n i n g , i n t e r v i ew h e l p, one-to-one help, on-the-job training, continued monitoring and support, benefits advice, job breakdowns and work routines, risk assessment and relationship building in the workplace.” Jayne said: “When Sam contacted me I saw this as a fabulous opportunity for REAL Employment service to get involved and link up. “From meeting up with Sam we worked very closely and did a job analysis of the type of work experience expected. This enabled me to identify and do a suitable job match for Kyle. “As a result of this excellent working relationship this gave Kyle an opportunity to gain valuable work experience – and all credit to his hard work and dedication to the job and the involvement from Sam. This moved into a six month contract providing him with paid employment with Bermar Building.”
Yorkshire hospitality businesses ‘at risk’ THe hospitality sector in Yorkshire remains sluggish, says insolvency industry body R3. Almost a quarter of the 417 hotels in Yorkshire and the Humber are “at risk” of failure, according to figures quoted by R3 from Bureau van Dijk’s “Fame” database. Nationally, 22% of the UK’s 1,660
hotels are “at risk” of failure in the next 12 months. The figures for Yorkshire and the Humber show a slight deterioration from last year when 20% of hotels in the region were “at risk”. C h r i s Wo o d , R 3 r e g i o n a l chair-chairman and partner at Clough Corporate Solutions in
Cleckheaton, said: “The hotel sector across the UK has suffered from weakened demand in recent years with problems in the eurozone resulting in falling demand from overseas visitors in both business and leisure travel. With domestic consumers also feeling the pinch, there has been
increased pressure on room rates as well as greater competition from the expanding budget chain brands at the expense of regional hotels.” But he said hotels in Yorkshire should get a huge boost when next year’s Tour de France visits the region, visiting parts of Kirklees and Calderdale.
INSIDE Right on the tiles A TILE manufacturer and distributor has opened a new showroom and offices. British Ceramic Tile is switching up to 40 staff from premises in George Street, Brighouse, to new facilities at Low Moor, Bradford. The new showroom houses the firm’s extensive wall and floor tile collection as well as The Hub, its design-led conferencing and meeting facility. The new premises also accommodate the marketing, sales and design teams and staff from the supply chain department.
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Bursary boost STRATEGIC brand consultancy Propaganda has recognised its roots in Huddersfield – with a £10,000 bursary for students taking marketing or graphic design at the town’s university. Propaganda, established in 1993 by Huddersfield entrepreneur Julian Kynaston, is an award-winning creative and strategic brand consultancy.
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Retailer plagued by ‘zombie’ stores LOSS-MAKING fashion retailer French Connection has revealed that it is saddled with a number of underperforming stores that it cannot afford to close as it reported another sales slump. The chain, which has 74 stores in the UK and Europe, is allowing the “zombie” outlets to stagger on because it would be more expensive to close them. It made the disclosure as it unveiled like-for-like sales in its UK and Europe outlets down by 4.5% in the six months to the end of July, while pre-tax losses narrowed only slightly from £6.3m to £6.1m. The company has been targeting a return to the black by 2015 and founder and chief executive Stephen Marks said there had been “considerable progress” – although it was handed a “must try harder” verdict by retail analysts.
Mr Marks said: “There is still obviously some way to go until we reach profitability. “Performance in the UK has certainly not been helped by the overall market conditions which remain particularly volatile, but importantly we are on an improving trend.” The fact that one of Britain’s best-known clothes retailers is operating a number of zombie stores will add to concerns about the state of the high street and other shopping areas. Recent figures revealed one in seven shops were vacant. French Connection, which recently appointed new finance director Adam Castleton, closed four stores in its UK and Europe division during the period and plans to shut three more by the end of the year. But Mr Marks revealed that further outlets had been granted a reprieve from the axe only because closures by
■ SHOP TALK: Analysts say French Connection must try harder
other businesses meant that French Connection was unable to offload its shops without incurring further costs. He said: “We will continue to consider further closures of non-contributing stores in the future when this is economically viable, but this effort is hindered by the current rental market in a number of the areas and other
space available there due to closures by other businesses.” The group revealed that towards the end of this year it would look again at the costs of restructuring. Mr Marks said a new team brought in last year had already achieved positive changes in in-store processes and staff management, reducing costs, while focusing on boosting sales. Profit margins in the UK and Europe had improved thanks to more items being sold at full price and a shorter sales period, he added. Operating losses from the retail division in the region fell by £1m to £8.2m. Retail analysts Conlumino said the group had made efforts to reduce its reliance on the “discounting drug” to shift stock, but added: “While these results are, therefore, a step in the right direction, French Connection will have to work far harder if it is to swing back into profitability.”
New chief executive for UKFI
Shares offer for 13,500
THE son of a former Bank of England governor has been appointed chief executive of the body that manages government stakes in the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group. James Leigh-Pemberton, who is currently UK head of Credit Suisse, will take the helm at UK Financial Investments, the body created in November, 2008, as part of the UK’s response to the financial crisis. He is the son of Robin Leigh-Pemberton, who was Bank of England governor for a decade until 1993. His appointment was announced shortly before the Government
SOME 13,500 Royal Mail employees in the Northern England will receive free shares in Royal Mail – following the Government’s decision to float the operation. Nationally, about 150,000 eligible Royal Mail employees – the overwhelming majority of Royal Mail Group Limited employees in the UK – are being sent an information guide which sets out the details of the employee share offers. The free shares offer makes 10% of shares in Royal Mail available to eligible employees – who have not opted out –, automatically and for free at the time of flotation.
revealed plans to sell 6% of Lloyds Banking Group – cutting the Treasury’s stake from 38.7% to 3.27%. UKFI pulled the trigger on the sale of 4.28bn shares after the stock market closed. The Government also owns an 81% stake in RBS. Mr Leigh-Pemberton replaces Jim O’Neil at UKFI, who is taking up a position at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The chairman of UKFI, Robin Budenberg, is also stepping down. Mr Leigh-Pemberton will become executive chair man when Mr Budenberg leaves at the end of the year.
More employees will be able to take part in the free share offer than in any other UK privatisation for almost 30 years. It is the largest free allocation of shares of any major UK privatisation. Moya Greene, chief executive officer at Royal Mail Group, said: “Our people are the heart of our business at Royal Mail. By owning 10% of the company, together we will have a meaningful stake in the business. “I think this will engage everyone and encourage us to continue to work together to build a great future for Royal Mail.”
Page 2 Barclays faces fine BARCLAYS has revealed it is facing a £50m fine over claims it acted “recklessly” in its multi billion-pound bailouts from Qatar in 2008. The Financial Conduct Authority accused it of agreeing £322m of secret payments to Middle Eastern investors to secure their support for cash calls totalling more than £5bn at the height of the financial crisis. Barclays, which contests the FCA’s findings, said the fees relate to advisory services over five years. It is also being probed by the Serious Fraud Office and regulators in the US and admitted it does not know how much the final cost will be. Barclays was warned about the potential fine on Friday and told shareholders yesterday in a prospectus document for a rights issue that will tap investors for another £5.8bn to plug a £12.8bn hole in its finances. The FCA ruling follows its £290m penalty last year for rigging the Libor interbank lending rate. The bank turned to Qatari investors in 2008, helping it avoid the same fate as Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, which were bailed out by the taxpayer. It entered “advisory services agreements” with the Qataris in June and October 2008, but the fees were not disclosed at the time. The bank revealed the latest blow as it warned it remains “cautious” about the trading climate.
SHARE PRICES NORTH AMERICAN American Express £47.68 +0.41 Gannett 1614.04 +13.81 Hess Corp £49.24 +0.45 Microsoft £20.79 +0.05 Motors Liquidation 47.08 Wal-Mart Stores £47.05 +0.37 AEROSPACE & DEFENCE Avon Rbbr 524 +11 BAE Systems 4461/2 +27/8 Rolls-Royce 1106 -19 AIM Brady Plc 631/4 -1/4 AUTOMOBILES & PARTS GKN 3585/8 +51/4 BANKS Barclays 3053/8 +33/4 HSBC 7031/4 +11/4 Lloyds Banking Gp 773/8 +3/4 1 Ryl Scotland 366 /2 +51/8 Stan Chart 1510 BEVERAGES Diageo £201/8 +1/8 SABMiller £317/8 +1/2 CHEMICALS Croda £261/2 +1/4 Elementis 98 2625/8 +67/8 3 Johnsn Mat £29 /8 +1/8 CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALS Balfour Beatty 2781/4 +41/4 Costain 2721/2 -11/4 ELECTRICITY
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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS
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Bitten by the travel bug! TRAVEL broadens the mind, they say. Natasha Aspin would certainly agree. Travelling and working abroad helped set her on the path to self-employment as a personal holistic therapist – typically helping busy mums, businesswomen and teachers reduce their stress levels via a range of treatments. Now she is reaping the benefits with a growing business, based at her Fixby home. “A lot of us these days are living life at 100 miles an hour,” says Natasha. “A lot of people find that this kind of therapy helps them de-stress. They also like to feel looked after.” Huddersfield-born Natasha grew up in Edgerton and Lindley, but attended Bradford Girls Grammar School before starting A-levels at Greenhead College – then dropping out. “My mum said I would always be working in the caring profession, right from school days,” she says. “I went to Greenhead, but decided it wasn’t for me. I didn’t want to go to university.” Instead, she took a course in beauty and complementary therapy at the White Rose School in Huddersfield. “It was a full-year course doing beauty and holistic treatments,” she says. “From early on, I wanted to go down the ‘complementary’ side rather than beauty treatment. “It was the healing aspect that appealed to me. It was the physical benefits of massage, for instance, to relieve stress and muscle tension that interested me.” Natasha met Stephanie Barraclough, her tutor and mentor, founder of the Northern School of Aromatherapy, and at the age of 18 started working for her when Stephanie set up her own spa at Eastthorpe, Mirfield. She went on to gain a diploma in holistic aromatherapy. She was there for two years before the travelling bug struck. “I spent a year backpacking in Australia,” says Natasha. “I started in Perth and Broom and went on to Darwin and the Northern Territories, then to Sydney.” She returned from Australia and spent the next five years living in Spain, working at a
number of spas and hotels – mainly in Marbella, providing treatments for British holidaymakers. Says Natasha: “I knew it was only going to be temporary. Eventually, I wanted to have my own business. I wanted to provide a personal service to my clients – rather than working at a big spa where it felt like being on a production line.” Now her dream has come true. Natasha runs her own business from her home at Fixby. Family and friends – and the bank – have rallied round to help her convert the cellar of the property into a welcoming treatment room. “The ground at the back of the house had to be dug out to provide access so that the treatment room is separate from the rest of the house,” she says. “It had to be tanked, plastered and flooring fitted. It all started in April last year with a local builder doing the work and it opened for business in July. I had four open nights before the official launch and it has been going great. I couldn’t be more happy.” Former clients have rallied round while new customers are arriving though word-of-mouth. Natasha is also spreading the message via Twitter and is putting together a website as well. “It is working out quite well,” she says. “I don’t want to become a big spa operation. I don’t want to have a million customers. I don’t want clients to feel rushed. I want to be totally focused on
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Natasha Aspin
each client, chat to them and have a cup of tea without them feeling they have to leave quickly. “There is also a counselling aspect to it. The only way someone gets the full benefit from the treatment is if I make them feel safe and they can put their trust in me. You have to have people skills in this industry and that’s something I have also learned over the years.” “I have been practising holistic therapies for 15 years and I have wanted my own business for the past two-and-a-half years. I have worked for large companies for a long time, which has been good because it has given me experience and helped me gain my qualifications.” As well as learning from Stephanie, Natasha has absorbed the teachings of other leaders in the field, including Renee Tanner, founder of the International Federation of Reflexologists and Gerry Pyves, originator of the “no hands” massage technique. Providing treatments such as facials, body massages, Indian head massages, back, neck and shoulder massages may relax and invigorate her clients, but its hard work for Natasha. “I get worn out,” she admits. “It is a very physical job, providing massages and back scrubs and so on. It can be quite draining.” Natasha is also coming to terms with the humdrum “business” side of things. “I am learning about how to run a
business,” she says. “I have a business plan, I have targets in mind and I know what I have to do each day and each week.” Natasha takes justifiable pride in her achievements. “The satisfaction comes from knowing you are reaping the rewards for putting so much into your training,” she says. “Every course I have been on was privately-funded, so you are putting your own resources into it. I am so glad that I was able to know what I wanted to do early on in my life, but it has taken a lot of hard work to get to this point.” And Natasha certainly has no regrets about dropping out of college. Travel provides a great education, she says. “It really does broaden the mind,” says Natasha. “I love to travel. As a girl, my mother and father encouraged me to travel – we went to Kenya when I was a little girl – and I’ve never been frightened of going anywhere on my own. I have been to Thailand, which was an opportunity to learn about the Far East, which is where the kind of therapies I practice originated. I was in heaven. They are such genuine people – and the wisest people on the planet, to me. Their philosophy on life was a powerful message for me. I spent three weeks touring there and it opened my eyes. Yes, travel is the best way to learn.”
Role: Proprietor Age: 32 Car: Golf TDi Holidays: Somewhere hot! First job: Saturday job aged 14 at All Sports in Huddersfield Best thing about job: I enjoy the caring aspect of my job and the feeling I get from making a difference Worst thing about job: Book-keeping Business tip: You have to be passionate and love what you do. A lot of my clients say they can see how much I love my job. Set yourself high standards and keep to them. You can never be complacent.
Natasha Aspin Personal Holistic Therapist Work: Holistic therapy Site: Fixby Phone: 01484 350536 Email: natasha_aspin@yahoo.co.uk Web: www.natashaaspin.co.uk
HENRYK ZIENTEK
Who will be the next Business of the Month? If you are proud of what your business has achieved; why not tell us about your success story and you could be a winner of our prestigious award. For further details please contact: Ian Greenwood, Eaton Smith Solicitors, 14 High Street, Huddersfield HD1 2HA T: 01484 821389 E: iangreenwood@eatonsmith.co.uk ■ HAPPY IN HER WORK: Natasha Aspin says “people skills” are essential in her role as a self-employed holistic therapist
Business Of The Month Awards - Rewarding Success Since 1995
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Collaboration works A HUMAN resources consultancy in Huddersfield has linked up another business across the Pennines. Shepley-based JCS HR, owned by Julie Sykes, has joined forces with Oldham-based consultancy The HR Company, led by Amanda Longden, to provide extra capacity when either company requires assistance. JCS HR provides HR services to companies of all sizes throughout Yorkshire and Lancashire. The new arrangement provides both businesses with additional resources when workloads or the size of contract requires it.
KIRKLEES BUSIN
‘Shares for rights’ just won’t work! THE BUSINESS BATTLEAXE Amanda Vigar
HERE was a lot of brouhaha T in the spring about “shares for rights” recommendations by
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a lesser-known governmental adviser called Adrian Beecroft. Those proposals, widely derided at the time, have this month snuck into law. The general idea is that shares for rights would offer business start-ups some degree of deregulation. In return for losing certain rights and protections, including unfair dismissal, statutory redundancy pay and the right to request flexible working, employees are offered shares worth between £2,000 and £50,000. It all seems fine and dandy in principal, but how many start-ups are able to conjure up shares to the tune of several thousand pounds at the very least? How big a slice of their business would they need to give away to make this even possible? Imagine the bureaucracy! It seems almost as if a new admin post will have to be created simply to deal with all the extra work. It all seems a bit
like a modern-day serf’s contract and a questionable way to “bribe” workers into keeping quiet if they have a grievance. Unsurprisingly, small businesses have shown a considerable lack of enthusiasm. A consultation by the business department showed the policy had full support from fewer than five out of 209 businesses asked to respond. Only a “very small number” said they were interested in taking it up. I can’t remember the last time there was such a scheme where there are so many unanswered questions. What happens when the share price plummets as well as rises? What happens when an employee has a genuine grievance? Are disgruntled employees able to go to the European Court of Human Rights to plead their case? I
bet they are! Now that is has been implemented (as of September 1) how many employees are likely to go for it? The idea is, of course, to foster more of a stake in a business, with all the productivity and motivational gains that should result. However that’s in an ideal world and we are most certainly not living in a perfect world. In fact, I can’t help asking if the people who dreamt up this scheme have ever lived in the “real” world! Unfortunately, as a nation, we are not born entrepreneurs. Mr or Mrs Average will not take the inherent risk of giving up something tangible in the form of rights for something more uncertain in the form of shares. Only time will tell if this new scheme is the expensive white elephant I expect it is!
Amanda Vigar is managing partner at Holmfirth-based accountants V&A Bell Brown LLP
Speed the key at seminar FOUR expert presenters will take to the stage for a quick-fire presentation at this year’s Kirklees Business Conference. Each presenter will focus on one of the four disciplines of social media – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Google Plus. They will each have 20 slides, which only appear for 20 seconds each. The images will advance automatically with the speakers talking along to the images. Event director Danny Matharu said: “This seminar is fast, furious, focused and fun. It will cover hints, tips and the know-how to utilise social media straight into your business for results. “We launched this at Calderdale Business Conference in May and it went down a storm. We then ran it again at Bradford Business Conference and both times the seminars were standing room only. “The feedback has been tremendous as the speakers are not self-proclaimed ‘gurus’. They are individuals who use social media to gain business results for themselves and others.” This social media presentation comes on the back of the announcement that Huddersfield Town manager Mark Robins is to also star at KBC13. KBC takes place on Wednesday, October 16, and is a key fixture in the second Kirklees Business Week. Monday, October 14, sees the start of KBW, an “Open Source” Business Week, full of sector specific seminars all run by different businesses and all free to all. The aim of KBW is to provide a platform for Kirklees businesses to share their knowledge across the district over the course of the week in a way that is convenient for all sectors of business in Kirklees. All venues will be
■ BUSINESS TALK: Some of the delegates at the Kirklees Business Conference last year supplied free and all event delegate places will be free. Businesses wanting to submit their event to KBW should visit the website at www.kirkleesbusinessweek.co.uk
Limited may be
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Page 5 In a party mood
d status e answer
TWO children’s party venues in Huddersfield are winners in a competition run by online parenting site mumsnet.com. Popkidz at Marsh and Party Dreamz at Milnsbridge, were regional winner and runner-up respectively.
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■ SCREEN TIME: AV technology is connecting businesses at Huddersfield's 3M Buckley Innovation Centre
Investing in technology
A PIONEERING business centre in Huddersfield has invested more than £500,000 in state-of-the-art audio visual technology to help Kirklees businesses connect with the world. The 3M Buckley Innovation Centre at Firth Street provides a hub for high-tech, high-growth businesses – with meeting rooms and conference spaces catering for 14 to 100 delegates and available for all businesses, not just tenants at the centre. All meetings and conference spaces are now kitted out with the latest AV technology, including touch screen monitors allowing easy navigation through presentations and a system enabling participants to wirelessly share content from their laptops and other mobile devices to the rooms’ high definition screens. Businesses with overseas contacts can benefit from a three-camera Polycom 7200 TelePresence facility in the board room which enables them to communicate with international associates without the need to travel – saving money on air fares. For larger events, the presentation and exhibition spaces offer full HD projection systems, complete with a three-metre wide screen. Two wall mounted HD 42-inch screens allow those at the back of the room to see the main presentation, all supported by a speaker system linked to radio microphones. The smaller, more informal rooms, come with video conferencing systems while the 3M Room also has whiteboards and an interactive graffiti wall for creative design. Dr Michael Wilson, technology director at the 3M BIC, said: “The TelePresence system in the board room is unique as the height of the screens gives the impression of everyone being in the same room. It also allows simultaneous speech, which normal video conferencing usually can’t cope with. This is ideal if you are speaking to overseas associates and the line needs to be clear due to the language barrier. He said: “Our newly installed AV facilities complement the technology on our Innovation Avenue, which houses revolutionary equipment for the manufacturing and engineering sectors, including our recent addition, the 3D printer.”
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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS
property
Bright sparks in bid for top award
AN inventive family firm is making its second appearance in as many years on the list of finalists at the Electrical Industry Awards. Lockwood-based Surewire Ltd has been shortlisted in the category for Innovative Commercial/Industrial Product of the Year. Last year, one of its products was a finalist in the same category – as well as the category for Innovative Residential/Domestic Product of the Year. Surewire Ltd manufactures pre-wired maintenance-free lighting junction boxes designed and developed to replace single junction boxes, the loop-in ceiling rose system and downlighter junction boxes. Director Matthew Thompson, 32, said Surewire junction boxes made wiring a lighting system less time consuming, simpler, and cheaper. All cables can be cut and stripped to the same length with most wiring completed on the first fix and just one cable to wire at the light on the second fix. They can be used for all lighting systems in
■ HOPEFUL: Surewire Ltd director Matthew Thompson
domestic, commercial and industrial premises. Mr Thompson said: “Surewire is the only product on the market which is pre-wired and one of only a few junction boxes which are maintenance free and complied fully with the latest wiring regulations.” He explained: “A number of
years ago I bought my first house, which is a mid-terrace in Netherton, and decided to do a full renovation which included a full re-wire. “To help cut costs and under the supervision of a part-P electrician, my dad completed the first fix wiring. One of the most time consuming processes was wiring all the individual junction boxes to create the lighting circuit. My dad thought there must be a quicker and simpler way of doing this and started to put his ideas and ultimately his invention down on paper. “I became involved and used my background in product engineering to design and develop a premium product which offers many benefits at a lower total cost than any other wiring system. “In 2011 and 2012 I worked most evenings in conjunction with my current employment and designed the Surewire products. All of my dad's savings, including some of my dad's pension fund has paid for
patents, registered designs, trademarks, prototypes and BSI testing.” Mr Thompson said efforts to secure funding from electrical distributors, retailers and banks to start manufacturing had failed. “To start manufacture, my parents have had to remortgage their house and invest all the money,” he said. “One of my uncles has a manufacturing unit and has given us some space free of charge se we don't have many overheads while we start-up. Also, for start-up we’re having to work evenings and weekends in conjunction with our current employment until such a time the business can support us to join full time.” Mr Thompson said the Surewire products were now set to appear at a number of electrical distributors from October and will be listed on the firm’s website,. Winners of the Electrical Industry Awards will be announced at a gala dinner at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on October 24.
Page 6 Miller lights on better times CONSTRUCTION business Miller Group reported “good progress” in the first half of the year with higher revenue and a bigger order book. The group, which has interests in housebuilding, general construction, property development and mining, lifted interim profits before tax and one-off items to £14.2m – up by 51% on the figure of £9.4m for the same time last year. Revenues rose by 27% to £361.5 from £284.1m last time. The housebuilding arm, which is currently building hundreds of new properties at Weatherhill Road, Lindley, completed 819 units in the first half, which is in line with last year’s 820. Sales have accelerated since the half year, resulting in 92% of target sales being secured for 2013. Housing operating profit increased by 50% to £6.6m. Construction revenue rose by 70% to £193m against £113m last time while the order book was £1.8bn – an 18% increase on 2012. Property developments posted a 15% rise in operating profits to £6.9m. although mining saw a dip in both revenues and profits. Chief executive Keith Miller said: “The group made good progress during the first half of 2013 with increased profits, a longer land bank, strengthened order books and reduced debt.”
Firm keeping its cool over safety TO LET/FOR SALE
Units 1-4, Lock Way
Ravensthorpe, WF13 3SX 1 Modern Warehouse/workshop units 1 Units from 143 – 2,536m2 1 (1,500 – 27,300 sq ft) 1 Generous yard provision 1 Substantial rental incentives available Rents from £2 psf – Price: On Application
TO LET
Unit 1, Hagg Wood Stone Quarry
Honley, HD9 6PW 1 Hybrid office/workshop unit 1 232m2 (2,498 sq ft) 1 Frontage to busy A6024 Woodhead Road 1 Flexible terms available Rent: On Application
FOR SALE
Land at Macaulay Road
Birkby, Huddersfield, HD2 2US 1 Residential development site with PP for 14 houses 1 0.62 Hectares (1.7 Acres) approx. 1 Ease of access to local amenities 1 Would suit alternative residential scheme (STP) Price: On Application
A COMPANY in Huddersfield providing air conditioning and refrigeration services has been recognised for its commitment to health and safety. Crowther & Shaw, based at Queenmill Industrial Estate, Lockwood, has received accreditation from safecontractor – the third party accreditation scheme which recognises very high standards in health and safety management amongst UK contractors. Crowther & Shaw, which has 23 employees, is principally involved in the commercial air conditioning, refrigeration and ventilation sector and has a turnover in excess of £2m. Clients include RBS, McDonalds and several local authorities, NHS trusts and universities. The safecontractor accreditation will enhance the company’s ability to attract new contracts – and its commitment to safety will be viewed positively by its insurers when the company liability policy is up for renewal. Safecontractor is applicable to most sectors, although it is particularly relevant to food manufacture, property, facilities management, retail and leisure sectors, all of which are big users of contracted services. John Kinge, technical director of safecontractor said: “Major organisations simply cannot afford to run the risk of employing contractors who are not able to prove that they have sound health and safety policies in place. “More companies need to understand the importance of
adopting good risk management in the way that Crowther & Shaw has done. The firm’s high standard has set an example which hopefully will be followed by other companies within the sector.” Under the safecontractor scheme, businesses undergo a vetting process which examines health and safety procedures and their track record for safe practice. Those companies meeting the high standard are included on a database, which is accessible to registered users only via a website. Client organisations signing up to the scheme can access the database, enabling them to vet potential contractors. Clients agree that, as users of the scheme, they will engage only those with accreditation. More than 170 major businesses from several key sectors have signed up to use the scheme when selecting contractors for building, cleaning, maintenance, refurbishment or electrical and mechanical work.
KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS
property
Tile business opens brand new premises A TILE manufacturer and distributor has opened a new showroom and offices. British Ceramic Tile is transferring up to 40 staff from it premises in George Street, Brighouse, to new facilities at Low Moor, Bradford. The new showroom houses the firm’s premises extensive wall and floor tile collection as well as The Hub, its design-led conferencing and meeting facility. The new premises also accommodate the marketing, sales and design teams and staff from the supply chain department. The company, which has its manufacturing site in Heathfield, Devon, and supplies customers in the UK and overseas, began as Candy Tiles and has been through several transformations since its inception. In 2011, it acquired the shares of Ceramic Prints Ltd, based in Brighouse – a move which created the UK’s biggest tile manufacturer, drawing on Ceramic Prints’ sourcing and supply chain experience. Chief executive Tony Taylor said: “This is an important new development for the company and provides us with a strong geographical presence from which to better service our customers.
■ HUB OF OPERATIONS: British Ceramic chief executive Tony Taylor at the new premises
“The Hub is integral to our business growth. It gives the sales teams a professional, design-led customer meeting facility in the North and the product development team a creative space in which they can plan and launch new collections.”
British Ceramic Tile supplies an extensive range of ceramic, porcelain and natural stone wall and floor tiles as well as glass and decorative products to major multiples, national house developers and the trade, including independent tile retailers, contractors and specifiers.
Offices
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Industrial
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Page 7
House sales are on the up DEMAND from househunters is boosting the housing market in Yorkshire, says a survey. Figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed a rise in the number of homes sold in the region during August. Despite the holiday season, would-be buyers continued to return to the market as a net balance of 30% more surveyors in the region reported an increase in enquiries. Alex McNeil, of estate agency Bramleys in Huddersfield said there had been a “summer breeze of change” in the market “ with a far more positive outlook than even six months ago”. Luke Whitaker, of Jowett Chartered Surveyors in the town, said: “Investors seem to have less bargaining power at the moment due to the current lack of supply, renewed confidence in the market generally and an upturn in market appraisal requests.” The RICS said 82% more surveyors reported a rise rather than a fall in newly-agreed sales – compared with 50% in July – as finance becomes increasingly accessible. In tandem with improved buyer confidence, the number of homes coming on to the market also remained positive – with a net balance of 27% more surveyors in the region reporting increases rather than decreases in new instructions. RICS members expect to see prices increase over the next three months – with a net balance of 32% more surveyors predicting higher house prices. Some 31% more surveyors expect the number of sales to increase rather than fall in the coming quarter. All UK regions saw an increase in supply last month as the housing market recovery continues to spread from the South East of England to other areas.
KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS Dave Furlong & Kate Grimoldy
Lloyds Bank TWO senior appointments have been made by Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking to its north of England acquisition finance team. Dave Furlong joins the team as director with Kate Grimoldy (pictured) joining as associate director. They will support mid-market leveraged financing, including buyouts, bolt-on acquisitions and refinancings, with private equity firms and companies across Yorkshire, the North East and the North West. The pair will report to Neil Price (also pictured), managing director and head of acquisition finance in the north of England.Mr Furlong has 10 years’ industry experience. He joins from HSBC where he was deputy head of leveraged finance for the North of England, arranging facilities to support sponsor-led deals across the three regions. Before that, he held director and associate director roles in HSBC’s leveraged finance team. Ms Grimoldy has six years structured finance experience and arrives from RBS, where she was a director in the northern corporate transactions team responsible for executing leveraged deals. She was previously an assistant director in RBS’ Manchester-based structured finance division.
Wil Richardson
PwC ACCOUNTANCY firm PwC has appointed Yorkshire-based partner Will Richardson (pictured) to head the deals team in the region. His role will be to oversee the whole of the deals practice, which includes corporate finance, transactions services, business recovery services and forensic services teams. Mr Richardson, who has been with the firm for 20 years, leads the firm’s forensics practice across the North and will now also oversee the deals team in the Leeds, Newcastle, Sheffield and Hull offices
Movers and shakers
Students enjoy a Propaganda coup STRATEGIC brand consultancy Propaganda has recognised its roots in Huddersfield – with a £10,000 bursary for students taking marketing or graphic design at the town’s university. Propaganda, established in 1993 by Huddersfield entrepreneur Julian Kynaston, is an award-winning creative and strategic brand consultancy. Over the past 20 years, the Leeds-based business has helped its clients to unlock transfor mational business growth through its proven model, Brand Discovery, a unique process to create, build and grow brands. Propaganda’s senior team members have given their time to share their insights into the marketing and brand industry by inviting the university’s bursary students into the agency. The 20 students attended a day of presentations and discussion. Mr Kynaston said: “We are proud to work with the University of Huddersfield in this way. Businesses should support higher education institutions and we are passionate about ensuring a continuing stream of exceptional talent in to our industry.” The university has a strong reputation for attracting students of the highest calibre and Propaganda said it was keen to remain close to the talent pool stemming from its regional home of Huddersfield. Creative links are already strong
■ MARKETING FORCE: Huddersfield University students visiting Propaganda in Leeds
between the university and Propaganda – with senior art director Ben Bateson graduating from Huddersfield with an MA in creative imaging. Carol Cloughton, senior lecturer in marketing at the university’s Business School, said: “Support and links with successful local businesses such as Propaganda give our students the opportunity
to experience current brand and marketing practices as well as focusing their ambitions. “We are delighted that Propaganda recognise the talent of our students and we welcome their continued support.” Propaganda has worked with some of Yorkshire’s biggest brands, including Huddersfield-based FMG.
Insurance firm takes guard
Work in progress MANUFACTURERS in Kirklees and Calderdale have been urged to support a series of free workshops to help them boost their businesses. The workshops are being staged by the Manufacturing Advice Service and are open to members of Calderdale and Kirklees Manufacturing Alliance. The workshops cover a wide range of subjects and the plan is to run the full set if there is enough take-up. The first, titled Lean Awareness, is scheduled to be held from 9.15am to 4pm on Thursday in Huddersfield while the second, Workplace Organisation, is due to take place between the same times on Wednesday, October 23, in Elland. CKMA spokeswoman Philippa Coultish (pictured) said: “These unique events should be attended by directors, senior managers or people who need to understand the key elements of the workshop.” Only one person from each company can be accepted and there are only limited places available. Contact Tom Moore at MAS on 01664 501 213 or email tom.moore@mymas.org
Page 8
■ WINNERS: Caravan Guard director Louise Menzies and head of relations Neil Menzies (right) receive their award from Rob Kay (second right), of sponsor ULR Additions, with awards host Stephen K Amos (left)
WEST Yorkshire-based insurance intermediary Caravan Guard Ltd beat off stiff competition from some of the UK's largest insurance brokers to win the Investment In People Award at the 2013 UK Broker Awards. The caravan, motorhome and holiday home insurance specialist pipped giants such as Hastings Direct to the post – as it was recognised for several successful staff training and team building initiatives. Caravan Guard, based in Halifax, was also able to demonstrate how its initiatives had resulted in improved staff work-life balance, customer satisfaction and business growth. One such initiative is Caravan Guard’s support of all staff to undertake insurance qualifications. Thirty-nine employees have been granted time to study for Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications during
working hours with professional tuition and examination fees also paid for by the company. In addition, all managers have been offered funding for high level leadership training - with 63% of managers having completed or working towards to an ILM 5 Award Certificates in Leadership & Management. Caravan Guard head of relations Neil Menzies, who picked up the award at the event at The Brewery in London, said: “We aim to make Caravan Guard a fantastic place to work and winning an award which says we're the UK's number one insurance broker for investment in people shows we're on the right track.” The company is ready to step up its investment in people again as it looks to recruit 11 new insurance advisers ready for 2014.
Partnership adds fresh insight A MARKET research agency has renewed its partnership with Huddersfield Town following a successful first year. During the first year, Huddersfield-based Ask Insight produced a comprehensive online Fan Engagement survey designed to explore many facets of fan experience. It also conducted a series of interviews with a quota sample of Town’s
business partners – with the findings used to shape the club’s 2013/14 business partner package. This season, Ask will work with Town to undertake two surveys to provide insight into the business side of the club. Research will be carried out with former club partners to explore reasons for non-renewals and research will also be conducted to explore reasons why local
businesses haven’t taken up the opportunity to work with the club. Huddersfield Town commercial director Sean Jarvis said: “We are delighted that Ask Insight has chosen to continue its affiliation with the club. They conducted some very important and insightful research for us last season, the data of which has helped us improve our offering to the fans.”
Susan Kenyon, director of Ask Insight, said: “As a Huddersfield Town partner during the 2012/13 season, we enjoyed many tangible and intangible benefits as we worked alongside the Town team on the fan survey and partner survey. “We now feel a strong sense of belonging to one of the most productive business networks in the area.”