inbusiness Northamptonshire Oct Nov 21

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inbusiness @NorthantsCoC

www.northants-chamber.co.uk

THE VOICE OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BUSINESS

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

THE BEGINNING OF SOMETHING BETTER NEW COUNCIL STEPS UP TO SERVE REGION NEWS: CHARITY SECURES BASE SPOTLIGHT: CORPORATE CHRISTMAS MEMBER ZONE: NEW MEMBERS THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER

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INBUSINESS

CONTENTS inbusiness

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

20 BUSINESS REPORT

6

18

5 6 8 10

Workspace to offer accommodation

11 13 14

New premises for PR agency

15

Chamber Business Partners: ACS Office Solutions

16 17 18

Packaging firm unveils new range

Grant helps charity find a new home Law firm leads on acquisition Partnership boosts accountancy firm’s digital reach

Promotions at architecture firm Policy Matters: the latest views from policy executive Sean Rose

Expansion for care company Family PR firm helps local businesses

GOING GLOBAL 19

Understanding Rules of Origin

ISSUE SPOTLIGHT 20

CONSTRUCTION & REDEVELOPMENT The impact of the Local Growth Fund

22

CORPORATE CHRISTMAS Celebrating in style at Sedgebrook Hall

25

GROWING YOUR BUSINESS The importance of commercial thinking

TALKING BUSINESS 30

30

West Northamptonshire Council leader Cllr Jonathan Nunn

TRAINING & EVENTS 32

The latest comprehensive list of Chamber training courses and events

MEMBER ZONE

34

34

Helping the fight against hunger and food waste

35

Helping young people through the pandemic

37

Manufacturer celebrates anniversary

38

Member Profile: Matthew Rigby-White, Square Media Solutions Ltd

39

EMDR practitioner launches new organisation

41

Next Generation, plus member benefits

42

The Chamber welcomes new members

The Dec 2021/Jan 2022 issue of inbusiness will include features on: Logistics, Freight & Transportation, Recruitment & HR and Footwear & Leather The deadline for editorial submissions is: 6 October

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INBUSINESS

inbusiness

THE VOICE OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE BUSINESS

CONTACT DETAILS

VIEWPOINT

T: 01604 490490 NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Waterside House, 8 Waterside Way, Northampton NN4 7XD Editorial process managed by Ballyhoo PR EDITOR: Catherine Bontoft EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Katie Macdonald NEWS AND ARTICLES SHOULD BE SENT TO: inbusiness@northants-chamber.co.uk

PUBLISHED BY: Kemps Publishing Ltd Unit 8, The Courtyard, 707 Warwick Road, Solihull B91 3DA T: 0121 765 4144 W: www.kempspublishing.co.uk MANAGING EDITOR: Laura Blake DESIGNER: Lloyd Hollingworth ADVERTISING T: 0121 765 4144 E: jon.jones@kempspublishing.co.uk PRINTERS: Stephens & George Print Group FRONT COVER: Cllr Jonathan Nunn, West Northamptonshire Council See pages 30-31 COVER PHOTO: Jane Russell Photography ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE: inbusiness is a bi-monthly publication and digital magazine distributed to 6,000 Chamber members and key businesses in Northamptonshire.

The publication focuses on news and information about local companies and the initiatives and advice available to increase the prosperity of county firms. Northamptonshire Chamber welcomes newsworthy articles of business interest, giving preference to Chamber members. As editorial space is limited, inclusion cannot be guaranteed and the editor may amend or reject articles submitted.

FOLLOW NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER AT:

FACE-TO-FACE EVENTS MAKE A COMEBACK Since the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions it’s been great to see people out and about. This incredibly positive news for us all as individuals is vital for the economy and for businesses particularly as pandemic support packages begin to be phased out.

We were thrilled to run our Back2Business Exhibition in September which kickstarted the return of our own face-to-face events. We welcomed hundreds of local firms to our fully booked exhibition at Franklin’s Gardens and the sheer diversity of businesses at the event was incredible. Everyone was there from start-ups to charities, corporates and local stakeholders and it’s fair to say it was one of the very best exhibitions we have ever held.

We now look forward to celebrating the best of business across the county at our Northamptonshire Business Awards at a glittering awards ceremony at the Park Inn Northampton on Thursday, 11 November.

I know from experience that the Chamber has always provided a voice for business and that has never been more important than during the pandemic.

Our engaging Policy Hour calls have helped to give businesses a direct route into key figures over the past 18 months allowing business owners to talk directly to representatives from local Government, their MPs and also Government ministers.

Even during the times when we haven’t been able to come together, it’s been clear to me that people still buy from people and that, despite so much of our lives being online now, it is those connections that facilitate business growth.

That’s where the Chamber can add massive value to companies right across our patch and offer opportunities to meet new customers, suppliers and key contacts. And, even though the crisis isn’t over, it’s great to be bringing businesses across our region together again to support one another in helping to grow our economy.

Louise Wall www.facebook.com/northamptonshire.chamber @NorthantsCoC

Interim chief executive, Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce

www.linkedin.com/company/northamptonshirechamber-of-commerce www.youtube.com/NorthantsChamber You can also follow our International Trade Team on Twitter: @NhntChambExport For further information on Northamptonshire Chamber call 01604 490490 or visit www.northants-chamber.co.uk inbusiness is produced on behalf of Northamptonshire Chamber by Kemps Publishing Ltd and is distributed without charge to all Chamber members and other leading businesses in Northamptonshire. The Chamber and the publisher are committed to achieving the highest quality standards. However, views expressed in the magazine are independent and while every care has been taken to ensure that the information it contains is accurate, neither Northamptonshire Chamber nor the publisher can accept any responsibility for any omission or inaccuracies that might arise.

PRIVACY NOTICE: Kemps Publishing Ltd process personal information for certain legitimate interest purposes, which includes the following: • To provide postal copies of this publication to Chamber members and Kemps' customers; and • To offer marketing and promotional opportunities within this publication to Chamber members and prospects.

Whenever we process data for these purposes, we always ensure we treat your Personal Data rights in high regard. If you wish to, you can visit www.kempspublishing.co.uk to view our full Privacy Notice and to learn more about our legitimate interests and your rights in this regard.

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CHAMBER BUSINESS PARTNERS

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POLICY MATTERS

BUSINESS REPORT

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER keeps its members up to date with all the latest business news. Whether it’s through the pages of this magazine, via our website or by regular email updates, we will always endeavour to keep you in the picture and informed

THE DEPOT ADDS ONSITE AIRBNB An organisation which provides inspirational workspaces has opened an onsite Airbnb to make life even better for its tenants.

The Depot – formerly known as The Royal Ordnance Depot – in Weedon Bec prides itself on offering a range of unique office spaces and workshops ranging in size from 40sqm to 2,500sqm.

After months of hard work, it opened its new six-bed Airbnb premises in September to add another valuable resource to its site.

Group manager Trevor Dawson said: “This is a completely new venture for us and is really exciting. This is part of our long-term plans for the site to help us to engage with a wider range of people and provide improved facilities for our tenants. Many of our tenants have people travelling some distance to work with them and now they can stay onsite rather than have to look for accommodation elsewhere in the area.

“Our existing tenants have been eagerly awaiting our Airbnb’s opening and we’re confident it will help us to attract more tenants in the future.”

The historic site’s existing tenants include photographers, designers, furniture makers, theatre designers, antique dealers, mechanics and IT consultants. It also boasts its own boxing academy, climbing wall and crossfit studio where tenants can work out after work.

In addition, the site includes a Visitor Centre

One of The Depot’s offices

which focuses on The Depot’s rich military history which dates back to 1802 – just prior to The Napoleonic Wars.

Visit: www.the-depot.uk Call: 01327 341303

The view of the canal from The Depot

FINANCE FIRMS JOIN IN NEW PARTNERSHIP Two well-known businesses have merged to businesses by providing sound advice and being create a new dynamic force within the local available when needed. finance market, backed by a collective Paul said: “As a franchisee of Asset 30 years’ experience in banking Finance Solutions Ltd, we have and finance. immediate access to a large and Paul Cox of Asset Finance comprehensive portfolio of UK ‘WE ARE Northampton, and Ben Chilvers funders across the commercial NOT A FACELESS from Total Funding Solutions finance market. The benefits are ORGANISATION; have joined forces to form many such as access to over 65 Acorn Commercial Finance Ltd funders, including specialist WE ARE and are delighted to offer a full niche market funders.

ACCESSIBLE’ spectrum of finance solutions “In addition, our size, market that work to businesses across presence and reputation mean we Northamptonshire and Milton can bring our clients the most Keynes. competitive rates and we are fully FCA Paul brings his years of expertise in the compliant. Whether you are looking to fund a field of asset finance and Ben brings his highly commercial premise, raise equity or additional valued knowledge of commercial finance to the funds for your business, purchase capital new organisation. equipment or finance your fleet, we can support At its core remains the desire to support local you.

Marketing coordinator Sarah Griffiths, office manager Sarah West, director Paul Cox and director Ben Chilvers

“We are not a faceless organisation; we are accessible and want to be part of the success story that is your business.”

Email: enquiries@acorncf.com Call: 0345 565 2603 Visit: www.acorncf.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 5

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BUSINESS REPORT

GRANT HELPS CHARITY FIND A NEW HOME Scott Jones

SUPPORT FOR AWARDS WEBSITE 123 Internet Group, an awardwinning digital marketing agency based in Milton Keynes, are the surprise driving force behind this year’s SME National Business Awards.

The SME National Business Awards is an annual awards night celebrating the successes of small to medium enterprises across the country. With the 2021 Northamptonshire event set to take place on Friday 3 December, the SME Awards needed to find a way to increase event exposure, drive traffic to their website, and improve on-site user experience.

Supporting with web development and SEO services, 123 Internet fixed technical issues, installed the latest plug-ins and security updates, and indexed the website to start getting organic traffic through from Google and other search engines. 123’s inhouse developers also simplified site navigation.

Scott Jones, CEO of 123 Internet Group, said: “It was great to work with a leading awards night that’s so well known locally. With SEO on their side and a streamlined website that serves users’ needs, I’m confident that the SME National Business Awards will now attract even more fantastic organisations to their events. I’m looking forward to the Northamptonshire awards night, and wish all the nominees the best of luck!”

Founders Lorraine and Lee Lewis at the charity’s new home

A cancer charity has finally secured a base for its volunteers and supporters to work in thanks to a grant of £17,500 from the Postcode Places Trust.

The Lewis Foundation, set up by Lee and Lorraine Lewis, provides free gifts and support to adults going through cancer treatment in hospitals around the Midlands. The charity provides a variety of gifts for patients to select when they arrive at hospital, including overnight bags with underwear and essentials, puzzle books and blankets.

The charity has never had a space of its own and operated from the couple’s home, a storage unit and the Elgar Community Centre in Northampton. However, this has meant the charity was limited in how and when it could carry out its work and often opportunities to raise awareness and secure donations were lost.

Their plans to secure their own base were put on hold by the pandemic, as their financial focus was on providing their core service.

However, thanks to funding from the Postcode Places Trust, the charity now has a base at Bizspace Northampton KG House in Dallington to carry out its charitable activities, including gift packing, meeting with volunteers and team building exercises.

Lee said: “This funding means so much to us as it’s finally given us a place where we can bring our volunteers and community together to make a difference to people in hospital and the community.

“This will present us with so many more opportunities and we’re so grateful to the Postcode Places Trust for making our dream a reality.”

Visit: www.thelewisfoundation.co.uk/su pport Visit: www.postcodeplacestrust.org.uk

Visit: 123internet.agency

THINKING OF SELLING YOUR BUSINESS? CONSIDER KEEPING THINGS CONFIDENTIAL Shhh… it’s a secret! The importance of confidentiality in business transactions.

Confidentiality agreements, sometimes referred to as non-disclosure agreements, are important contracts that you may have only heard of in the context of the odd scandal on the news, used to keep people from spilling the beans on all kinds of unsavoury allegations.

In reality, they are also commonly used in everyday corporate and commercial work, particularly so in mergers and acquisitions when people are contemplating selling their business.

Trainee solicitor George Iles, of Wilson Browne 6 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

Solicitors, said: “When you decide to sell your business there are several reasons why you might want to keep your proposed deal confidential.

“If news of the deal gets out too early you risk unsettling your employees, your suppliers and your clients or customers. This could affect day-to-day commerce and drive down the value of your business before anything has even been agreed. In addition, you may be left to deal with those negative effects yourself if the deal falls through.

“When you sell your business it’s also very normal for potential buyers to ask you a wealth of questions about your business as part of the

due diligence process. This often means you will be disclosing detailed information relating to your business’ finances, contracts, employees, products or services and much more.

“It’s perfectly fine to release this information to them, but giving away sensitive information of this sort to your competitors without protection isn’t ideal when they’re free to pull out of the deal at any point and run away with that information. A confidentiality agreement can mitigate that risk.”

For further information call 0800 088 6004.

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BUSINESS REPORT

LAW FIRM LEADS ON FOAM BUSINESS SALE on the high quality service, ensuring we were protected Leading law firm Howes Percival has advised on the throughout the transaction.” sale of Corby-based foam conversion business Newly promoted partner, Matt Thompson, Technical Foam Services to the Vita Group. commented: “This deal follows a busy six months for The firm acted as legal advisers to Duncan and April our corporate team. We’ve advised on a range of Geddes, the outgoing shareholders of the acquisitions and disposals, across the region.

Technical Foam Services group. The Howes It’s definitely been a good time to sell, and Percival team included Matt Thompson vendors have taken advantage of the and Jeremy Hyde on corporate matters existing capital gains tax rates and a and Graham Irons and Sobia Ahmed ‘WE’RE REALLY who advised on the employment law healthy appetite from large aspects. corporates, private equity and external PLEASED WITH The Vita Group manufactures and foreign investment looking to acquire THE OUTCOME OF markets a wide range of flexible foam, and “bolt onto” their existing THIS DEAL’ latex and flooring products to create portfolios comfort, quality and functional “Northamptonshire has always had an solutions. enviable reputation for producing Owner and managing director, Duncan successful, profitable, privately owned businesses, opened and often still operated by Geddes said: “We’re really pleased with the local people with significant expertise in their fields. outcome of this deal and I’m pleased to be able to Technical Foam is no exception and the Vita Group continue working with Vita to help continue to grow have clearly seen that Duncan and Technical Foam is a the business over the next few years. We appreciate all the support provided by Howes Percival. Our deal with great addition to their portfolio of existing businesses.”

Vita happened incredibly quickly and the team helped us meet a really tight deadline, without compromising Visit: www.howespercival.com/services/corporate

Matt Thompson of Howes Percival

FIRST BIRTHDAY FOR HR DIVISION

Dominic Greenwood of HR Solutions

The health and safety division of an award-winning HR consultancy is celebrating its first full year of servicing clients as it aspires for continued growth.

Dominic Greenwood heads up the health and safety department of HR Solutions and has played an integral part in taking the section from a standing start to boasting more than 20 clients in less than 12 months.

Despite helping the company to launch the new services during the pandemic last August, Dominic was unfazed and determined to make a success of his task. He said: “Our greatest achievement so far has to be making the division financially viable from a standing start. Launching in the midst of the pandemic meant that there were some tricky times but having the confidence of the board and CEO has helped to get to this point.”

Just 12 months down the line, recruitment is underway for another new health and safety consultant to work alongside Dominic and there are plans for a second new starter by the end of the year – a health and safety advisor – so the Health and Safety team will start 2022 as a trio.

HR Solutions offers a range of professional services to more than 450 SME clients.

Visit: www.hrsolutions-uk.com

IS YOUR WEBSITE SUSTAINABLE? Creative agency YUMYUM are encouraging businesses to check their website sustainability.

The Blisworth based company uses a website which is stored on the Google Cloud platform. This is currently run on 100% renewable energy and is twice as efficient as a typical data centre.

Creative director Ricky Conaghan (pictured) said: “Websites have become a part of our everyday lives.

They are used for business, entertainment, and even research. But what most people don't know is how much damage websites can do to the environment.

“The average website produces 4.61g of CO2 with each page visit, thanks to power-hungry servers storing the content. Luckily, a more sustainable future won't 8 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

come at the expense of websites. Websites hosted on a local server have high carbon emissions, but major IT companies are switching to data centres that are run on renewable energy.”

YUMYUM suggest asking about a hosting provider when they approach a new web hosting service or designer.

You can also visit www.websitecarbon.com for a quick and easy way to check a business’ digital carbon footprint. Reduce your impact by investing in a green website host, minimising unnecessary content or adverts from websites to limit how much bandwidth it’s using and regularly updating websites.

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Mark Bramley

ACQUISITIONS FOR COMMS FIRM An organisation which acts as a one-stop-shop for all its clients’ business connectivity needs - from super-fast broadband to business phones and hosted telephony – has acquired two businesses this summer.

Croft Communications has acquired Boosh 365 Limited and UK Independent Telecom Limited. Boosh 365 is a Vodafone Total Communications Partner, known for giving their customers simple, clear advice on Telecoms, IT and Mobile Signal Solutions while UK Independent Telecom provides unified communication solutions and is passionate about delivering exceptional and personalised customer service.

Croft Communications CEO Mark Bramley said: “We are delighted to announce both these exciting acquisitions.

“Thanks to these mergers, loyal and valued customers of both businesses will be able to benefit from an even wider range of communication products, including super-fast broadband, hosted telephony, business phone systems, mobile solutions, fast and responsive IT support and more, without compromising on service.”

Visit: www.croftcommunications.co.uk

James Pinchbeck and Peter Watson

STREETS LEAPS INTO TOP 10 DIGITAL FIRMS embracing new and imaginative marketing techniques Streets Chartered Accountants and marketing experts and our understanding of the sector in which we Distract are celebrating after bursting into the top 10 operate.

UK accountancy firms for marketing, brand and digital “It’s a real achievement given the size of our team intelligence. and the strong competition faced from among Streets and Distract have collaborated on a those in the top 10 which includes the Big host of digital projects, including the launch Four firms and six of the largest firms in the of an innovative business podcast - the country. We’re currently ranked 36th in Streets Sessions, rebranding of ‘OUR SUCCESS the top 50 UK accountancy practices. messaging and use of video to COMES AT A TIME “Our success comes at a time when promote the firm’s services as well as personal branding for partners and we’re about to launch a new website WHEN WE’RE staff and digital event hosting to and new platform for sharing content ABOUT TO provide clear messaging. to support our clients, along with an LAUNCH A NEW Streets marketing partner James enhanced programme of social media WEBSITE’ Pinchbeck said: “The latest Living activity and digital content sharing.”

Ratings of the UK’s top 50 accountancy Commenting on the findings, Greg firms, from Living Group, sees us climb to Hobden, managing director of the Living number eight for marketing, brand and digital Group, pointed to a select group of distinct firms like Streets, who were able to adapt quickly and intelligence. smartly to how companies needed to now engage their “This widely-respected survey recognises the work of clients in the changing business environment. professional firms in terms of effective, innovative and engaging branding and marketing communications.

Being listed in the top 10 reflects our commitment to To read the report visit: www.living-group.com

PUBLISHERS ENTER INTO NEW PARTNERSHIP One of the area’s biggest magazine and newspaper publishers has joined forces with a fellow Chamber member.

Pulse Group Media, publisher of lifestyle magazines MK Pulse and NN Pulse and Business Times and Business MK - the leading business newspapers in Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, North Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire - has entered into a new partnership with Square Media Solutions.

The link-up will see Square Media bring its expertise in web design

and functionality to upgrade the leading publications’ websites, bringing them closer to their customers as they evolve to meet the changing demands and needs of their customers.

At the same time, Pulse Group Media will help promote Square Media to its total readership of more than 200,000.

“We’re genuinely excited at the opportunities that are presenting themselves,” said Pulse Group Media director Martin LewisStevenson.

“We see this as a long-term

10 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

partnership and us working together to grow each other’s business.”

Plans to transform the websites of Business Times and Business MK are under way and there are exciting ideas for the Pulse websites too.

“We work by understanding what the end user wants from the site and we encourage them to engage with us,” explained Square Media’s commercial manager Steve Rees.

A survey has already been emailed to selected clients and readers to establish the elements

that keep them coming back to the printed titles and the websites and to get feedback on how the sites could be improved.

“The chance to overhaul these sites is huge and it’s credit to Square Media that they’re ready to take this on,” said Pulse Group Media director Kerry LewisStevenson.

“They want to revive and improve our sites with ideas based on customer feedback and are approaching it from a customer experience perspective above everything else.”

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BUSINESS REPORT

NEW HOME FOR BALLYHOO PR A Northamptonshire-based PR agency has moved into new premises in Lamport, marking the start of a new chapter for its team.

Ballyhoo PR’s move into a 600 sq ft converted coach house at Lamport Manor has given the fourstrong team a base where they can all work side by side for the first time.

The company was previously based at the 3e Hub in Corby but terminated the lease in October 2020 after Covid-19 meant the team had been working remotely since March.

Prior to the pandemic, the team consisted of director Emma Speirs and PR executive Katie Macdonald.

During the pandemic Emma and Katie were joined by two new senior PR executives – Catherine Bontoft, who was previously PR executive at Northamptonshire Chamber, and Laura Smith who joined from Blush Digital in Aylesbury.

As the pandemic progressed, the team worked remotely, continuing to support their clients and keep them visible.

“After restrictions lifted a little, we started to get together in person,” said Emma. “We met for a walk in a park, hired meeting

The Ballyhoo team at the new office

rooms and enjoyed a meal in May to celebrate Ballyhoo’s fifth birthday.

“The more time we spent together, the more it became apparent that we needed to have that face-to-face interaction and everything that comes with it – collaboration and brainstorming,

increased productivity and even small talk.

“Our new office also has its own meeting room and space for further growth so we can welcome clients and visitors and offer internships and work experience placements.

“PR is all about building relationships, not just with the

media, but with our clients, the local community and each other. Our new working environment is everything we need at just the right time. It starts the beginning of a new chapter for Ballyhoo PR and a new way of working for the four of us.”

Visit: www.ballyhoo-pr.co.uk

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DOUBLE CELEBRATIONS AT ARCHITECTURE FIRM Northamptonshire-based architects, GSSArchitecture, are delighted to announce that, following recent successes and their continued growth, there have been a number of promotions.

Following 13 years at the practice, Tom Jagger is celebrating being promoted to a partner. Tom is actively involved with the Northamptonshire Society for Architects and the RIBA Mentoring Schemes and recently completed work on the expansion and redevelopment of Northampton Museum and Art Gallery.

Tom said: “It’s a privilege to have been made a partner. The practice has been delivering exciting architecture for over 140 years and I hope to help this continue into the future.”

GSSArchitecture has also promoted Andrew Vallis to associate within the Kettering head office. Andrew joined the practice back in 2019 and has been focusing on promoting GSS

Robert Wright

GUTTVAC IS SET FOR EXPANSION

Tom Jagger, Tom Lyons and Andrew Vallis of GSSArchitecture

in and around his hometown of Leicester.

Senior partner Tom Lyons said: “We’re thrilled to announce Tom’s and Andrew’s promotions and would like to thank them for their continued hard work and dedication to GSS. The practice has enjoyed significant successes within the Midlands recently, thanks to the

hard work and dedication of our entire team. We’re excited to see how the practice will continue to grow in the near future and are delighted that Tom and Andrew now have the opportunity to play an even greater part in this ongoing growth.”

A Northampton-based guttering and exterior cleaning specialist is expanding its business.

GuttVac owner Robert Wright said: “During the past year I’ve earned my City and Guilds Professional SoftWash Technician qualification and accreditations from IPAF and PASMA. We are fully qualified in the professional use of the chemicals used in exterior cleaning, driveway cleaning and UPVC cleaning and that we can safely use mobile access towers and elevated work platforms.

“We can now clean up to four storeys high, which has been great for our business as increasingly we’re seeing more commercial organisations wanting to use our services.”

Visit: www.gssarchitecture.com Visit: www.guttvac.co.uk

“WE CLEAN, WE SELL, WE HIRE AND WE PROVIDE A SPECIALIST SERVICE THAT GOES BEYOND 100%.”

T: 07594 886530 E: grant@gpcgroup.co.uk

Grant Phillips

Managing Director

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POLICY MATTERS

By Northamptonshire Chamber policy executive Sean Rose We’ve seen the economy opening up in recent months as Covid-19 restrictions have eased.

However, the economy is still short of its peak and there are undoubtedly many underlying issues that are going to weigh on businesses.

Firms across the region will still need support as they move from survival mode to looking to grow again.

The Government must remain agile in dealing with any unforeseen issues that arise as the economy recovers.

The latest GPD data confirms a robust rebound in output as the UK economy unlocked and restrictions eased.

The increase largely reflected a striking rise in household spending as the easing of restrictions helped consumers spend some of their ‘unanticipated’ savings accumulated during lockdowns, boosting output from consumer facing services firms.

Business investment remains short of pre-pandemic levels and means that it may be a weak point of the recovery, limiting UK productivity and competitiveness.

Against this backdrop, policymakers must guard against complacency over the underlying strength of the recovery.

The loosening of Covid-19 restrictions has, undoubtedly, helped businesses across all sectors but it has also presented fresh challenges too.

The ‘pingdemic’, as it has been dubbed, saw hundreds of thousands of people forced into isolation – despite having no symptoms and left many firms with staff shortages and fewer customers than they might have anticipated when they planned for reopening.

The Chamber has raised this issue with decision-makers – including with a number of MPs and there’s no doubt the Government has listened to the concerns of businesses and have tweaked the system accordingly.

It’s clear that Covid-19 isn’t going away completely any time soon so it’s vitally important we continue to find ways to navigate issues that arise and do everything we can to keep businesses growing and the economy moving forward.

It is Northamptonshire Chamber’s goal to represent your views to the people that matter so if you need our help contact our policy executive Sean Rose at policy@northants-chamber.co.uk

DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH ON YOUR PLATE RUNNING A BUSINESS? A SMART METER COULD HELP Running your very own restaurant, coffee shop or bar might be a dream, but you are up against huge competition, and it can be tough out there.

For survival and success, you may want to consider the following: • Find your niche: small independents can compete with the big chains – but you need to find your USP. How are you different?

• Location is key: aim for areas of high footfall with few competing businesses nearby • Build the right team: you need to find great staff who can deliver outstanding customer service – you can’t do it on your own • Pick your suppliers carefully: your customers will only turn into regulars if you’re offering quality food and drink • And finally, don’t forget your bottom line: you also need keep an eye on regular outgoings such as your energy bills Energy is a key expense for small catering businesses which makes it a crucial area for these businesses to save money and take control of their finances. Smart meters could give businesses additional visibility over energy use and costs to make it easier to identify where changes and savings can be made.

In addition, sustainability is a key focus for many businesses across Great Britain – the smart meter rollout is predicted to reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 34.4m tonnes – so by getting smart meters installed in your business you’re helping achieve this, making your business that bit more sustainable.

YOUR SMART METER WORKS AS HARD AS YOU DO Running an independent coffee shop, bar or restaurant is a round-the-clock job and supplying your energy readings is often not a top priority. Smart meters send your gas and electricity readings directly to your energy supplier, saving you time to focus on other jobs.

Firms with 10 employees or less could be eligible and installations can be arranged at a convenient time to ensure minimal interruption to your business and your clients.

Visit: www.smartenergygb.org You can also contact your energy supplier or broker. It could be one of the best calls you make this week.

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CHAMBER BUSINESS PARTNERS

BUSINESS PARTNERS

Chamber Business Partners are an exclusive group of influential companies from within the Northamptonshire Chamber membership. There are three levels of membership – Silver, Gold and Platinum

ACS HAVE THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS

ACS Office Solutions is a blended business with the marriage of its four pillars - Technology, Communications, Cyber Security, Interiors - combined with Service and Support.

They practice what they preach they are Microsoft 365-based, use 8x8 communications software, work in the cloud and have cyber security which allows them to educate their users as well as work from anywhere securely.

Their goal is to make sure all your technology, and the space you work in, merge seamlessly and give you a connected workplace which allows you to grow and develop.

In its 26th year, ACS has built a reputation based upon its core values of Attitude, Commitment, and Integrity. Throughout the pandemic their core goal was to support their clients and their proudest moment was being instrumental in the #TechTogether movement, collecting unused laptops, rebuilding them and distributing them to children who did not have access to a device for online schooling.

They are at the forefront of the return to work, growing their workplace understanding and developing new strategies for managing a dispersed workforce.

ACS managing director Jon Thorpe explained: “Working closely with our strategic partners we recognised the requirement for the Teams Booth, allowing office workers to video call with colleagues working from home while not disturbing other people in the locale.

“We see this as a sweet spot for ACS, blending software such as Microsoft Teams and Business

A recent project at 900 Pavilion Drive for Reed

ACS House Refurbishment Design and Marketing Suite

Voice, devices such as Surface and HP, infrastructure and Wi-Fi from Cisco, Meraki and Dell, and cyber security from KnowBe4 to Duo to Skout, to then apply the workplace knowledge, furniture design, space planning, acoustics and more through suppliers such as Orangebox and Senator.

“Bringing this together and getting the right outcome is not as simple as it sounds. A fact we’re aware of as ACS invests and refurbishes our own spaces.”

ACS continues to have remarkable success in the public sector and has been awarded places on several frameworks with the Crown Commercial Services.

The education sector is certainly

continuing a move towards a techbased way of learning and in the workplace world the firm often looks to the education sector for future pointers.

Jon added: “Our business blend allows us to merge developments in the technological arena with best practice and learning from a workplace standpoint to deliver the best outcomes.

“In terms of outcomes, delivery often gets tagged on to the end of a sales process but we take it more seriously.

“Our interiors division is one of only a handful of businesses in our industry who maintain their own warehouse, fitting and logistics team.

“A recent project at 900 Pavilion Drive for Reed, the UK's number one recruiter, proved we deliver no matter the circumstances. Our client is our priority and this can only be maintained when warehousing isn’t outsourced.

“We have logistical control, collating or holding deliveries to suit the client and their project. We take this theory into our service and support team who have achieved an increased customer satisfaction score the pandemic period (97%) while maintaining SLA levels.

“What’s become clear is the office will become something new, will develop or at least be used in diverse ways. What cannot be replaced are the social aspects, training, mentorship and possibly the most elusive of all, your culture.

“As we wrestle with these latest changes it’s clear that a blended business such as ACS will be part of that answer as agility, flexibility and mobility become bywords. “‘WE ARE WORKPLACE’ is an ACS mantra, and events from the last 18 months have only enforced our belief that a blended approach is the right one.”

Visit: www.acs365.co.uk

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BUSINESS REPORT

PACKAGING FIRM UNVEILS NEW RANGE Andrew Fruish

ACCREDITATION FOR NENE A company which protects organisations from cyber attacks has been awarded a top accreditation.

Nene Cyber Security Ltd launched last year and is dedicated to providing penetration testing services which are an authorised simulated cyber attack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of that system.

The firm has recently successfully met the CREST requirements for membership and is a full member organisation in the discipline of penetration testing.

Managing director Andrew Fruish said: “We are very proud of the work we do because we are helping companies to protect themselves from the evergrowing threat of hacking and cyber attacks.

“We’re thrilled to have met the requirements for CREST membership as it is a highly respected not-for-profit accreditation and certification body and trade association that represents and supports the technical information security market.

“It is recognised globally as the cyber assurance body for the technical security industry and all CREST member companies have to undergo stringent assessment.

“Being one of their members reassures clients that the work we carry out for them will be conducted by highly-qualified individuals with up to date knowledge, skills and competence to deal with all the latest vulnerabilities and techniques used by real attackers.”

PALLITE®, designer and manufacturer of the popular PIX® range of flexible warehouse storage solutions, is expanding the brand range to include PIX® SLOTS, to meet the demands of businesses storing small and lightweight products, such as the fashion and beauty industry.

PALLITE® launched the range over ‘IT’S THE two years ago to consolidate pickNATURAL faces to create more space in a EVOLUTION OF warehouse, ultimately giving operators a higher yield of SKU THE RANGE’ density per m2.

It is flexible, quick and easy to build without tools, is easy to bespoke and is PALLITE®’s PIX® made from over 85% recycled materials and SLOTS is 100% recyclable.

Innovation director David Rose said: “PIX® is now in Following sales of over 1,500 units and 30,000 over 300 warehouses in the UK but we know that with individual pick faces in the UK alone, and with a over 8,000 warehouses in the UK alone, it’s a drop in reputation for innovation, PALLITE® is proud to the ocean in terms of PIX® reaching its full potential. introduce PIX® SLOTS. “The beauty of PIX® is it maximises the use of space PIX® SLOTS is a lighter-weight, lower-cost version of in a warehouse thanks to its bespoke sizes and flexible the original PIX® range and focuses on consolidating pick-faces but we always knew it wasn’t going to be a pick-faces for lightweight and small items such as those ‘one size fits all’ for long. That’s why we’ve launched found in the fashion and beauty industries. Since the PIX® SLOTS - it’s the natural evolution of the range, and UK soft launch in March, PIX® SLOTS has sold over there are lots more innovations to come.” £135,000 of units in the UK alone, with a further £30,000 landed as part of PALLITE®’s ongoing international expansion.

Visit: www.nenecybersecurity.com Email: info@nenecybersecurity.com Call: 07551 977347

16 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

Visit: www.pallite.co.uk

KEY PROJECTS CONTINUE FOR ABI

ABI Equipment Ltd

A manufacturer of specialist piling and drilling equipment has been hard at work on a variety of key infrastructure projects.

ABI Equipment Limited is the UK subsidiary of the German manufacturer ABI Group and from their base in Northampton, they service clients across the UK and beyond.

During the pandemic they continued to work closely with several clients who were heavily involved in key infrastructure projects across the country.

Managing director Mark Lee said: “Those of you who use the M1 motorway through Northamptonshire will be aware that this stretch has recently been upgraded to Smart Motorway. If you’ve travelled along the route anytime in the last 18 months you will have seen a variety of ABI Mobilrams hard at work installing large quantities of steel sheet piling.”

Another key project that ABI’s clients have been involved with is the building of the new sea defences at Dawlish in Devon. These protect the stretch of First Great Western railway line that was washed away during the 2004 winter storms. For this project a Delmag RH34 drilling rig was used. The piling operation took place last winter and continued during the lockdowns.

Visit: www.abi-eqp.com

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BUSINESS REPORT SHORTLIST SUCCESS AGAIN

consider a career with us. For people with or without prior experience, we provide a full training programme so any compassionate, reliable people who are interested in working with us should get in touch.”

Home Instead caregivers come from a range of backgrounds, but one thing they all have in common is they want to make a difference and really give back to their local community. Caregivers’ duties are tailored to the needs of individual clients and ranges from companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, post-discharge care, personal care, shopping and errands.

No experience is necessary, as caregivers are provided with free quality training, including City & Guilds assured dementia and end of life training.

PragmatiQ Solutions, a Microsoft Gold Partner based in Milton Keynes, has been named as finalists at the CRN Channel Awards 2021, in the Cloud Services Provider of the Year category for the second year running.

Now in its 28th year, the CRN Channel Awards recognises the latest technology innovations and advancements in the UK tech channel.

They highlight the ingenuity and exceptional achievements across the industry over the past 12 months.

Managing director Stuart Goldwater said: “We’re truly delighted to have been named as a finalist for the second time at the CRN Channel Awards, which recognises the value we bring to our clients through the innovative solutions we deliver.

“This is a fantastic accolade for the business and our team is at the heart of this achievement, with every single person contributing to our success in different ways.”

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on 11 November at Battersea Evolution London.

Visit: www.homeinstead.co.uk/east-northants

Visit: event.channelweb.co.uk

Jackie Rafferty, Julie McDonald, Mark Darnell and Marie Franks of Home Instead East Northants

EXPANSION FOR CARE TEAM Award-winning care company, Home Instead, which provides care in people’s own homes, is currently looking to expand their care team, creating 50 jobs across East Northants.

Speaking about the need to expand their team of caregivers, Mark Darnell, co-owner of Home Instead East Northants, said: “We are a multi-award-winning family run business, who for the last 11 years have championed family values throughout. The way in which we operate is unique and allows us to offer a different working environment for our caregivers. For example, we match clients and caregivers, looking for common areas of interest or life experience so that there is an immediate connection.

“We have people requiring our care right now and so we’re very keen to encourage more local people to

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BUSINESS REPORT

FAMILY FIRM BOOSTS LOCAL BUSINESSES A new PR agency in Northampton is making its mark thanks to the family ties at the heart of the business.

Goldings Communications, which was founded in April 2021 by experienced PR professional Kim Hughes, has already built up a host of B2B clients who need help to boost their reputation or want to be better known for their work and achievements.

Having worked in PR for over 19 years across various in-house and freelance roles, Kim always dreamed about running her own business. Prompted by the pandemic, Goldings Communications – named after the area of Northampton she grew up in – was born.

“We are PR and reputation management strategists, which means we help businesses stand out from their competitors, be seen in all the right places, and known for all the right ‘OUR VISION things,” explained Kim. IS TO BUILD “Our client base includes Simon and Kim Hughes service-based businesses and A BUSINESS Northamptonshire Chamber WE CAN BE members that don’t have the inPROUD OF’ Northamptonshire and Warwickshire, house skills or time to nail their key and in communications roles in local messages and tone of voice. We help government and not-for-profits. them position their brand, gain media Simon added: “It’s great to join Kim in coverage, enter awards, create effective our new venture. Our vision is to build a business content and campaigns, overcome crises, and we can be proud of, and our strong core values are ultimately reach their target audiences.” at the heart of everything we do, driving the The rapid growth of Goldings enabled Kim to be approach we take with our clients and shaping our joined in partnership in July by her husband and ways of working.” former journalist Simon, who has over 15 years’ PR experience, most recently as the communications To book a free consultation email kim@goldingsmanager for a large Housing Association in Bedford. comms.co.uk or visit www.goldings-comms.co.uk Simon has worked as a regional news reporter in

Luke Kennedy

BRIGHT DESIGN WINS TOP AWARD Bright Design, the Northantsbased digital marketing agency, was ecstatic to learn that they had won the 2020 SME Northamptonshire Business Award for Employer of the Year.

Luke Kennedy, the company’s managing director was thrilled to be at the event to accept the award on behalf of the entire team.

Bright Design was recognised for its commitment to team-wide development and providing a work environment that encourages individuals to learn, advance and grow.

The senior team at Bright Design invest a huge amount of time into developing people aligned with personal goals and ambitions.

By being a proactive employer, Bright Design has provided opportunities for all employees to work on personal development.

With a dedicated afternoon each week for studying and accumulating additional qualifications, providing benefits for both the business and the team.

Luke said: “To become an industry leader in digital marketing we need to continue to nurture talent, developing outstanding internal skill sets that in turn will provide unsurpassed results and results for our client-partners.”

With an accelerated growth plan in action, Bright Design is continuing its recruitment drive, seeking fresh and ambitious individuals to join its ever-growing team.

The agency has already expanded its workforce across its marketing and account management teams to keep up with the demand for its expertise.

Visit: www.brightdesign.co.uk

THE TASTE OF THE SERENGETI An independent, family-run business which launched at the height of the pandemic is going from strength to strength.

Serengeti Spirits was started in May 2020 by Alex Wright and his wife Halima in celebration of the birth of their first child, MalaikaSalama.

The couple, who until recently were splitting their lives between the UK and Tanzania, say they founded the firm based on their passion for the Serengeti plains, the tropics of Zanzibar Island and the mainland of Tanzania. They combined this passion with the UK’s history of premium produced spirits and the result is their signature range of craft spirits which bring together their British and Tanzanian roots.

Alex explained: “Our signature range is based on the inspiration of the mesmerising animals found grazing on the plains of the famous Serengeti national park.

“Our products are paired with delicious fruits and flavourings that can be found across the tropics of

18 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

Halima’s homeland in Tanzania and the idyllic Zanzibar Island.

“Our ingredients, bottles and packaging are sourced from around the world and combined to produce excellent quality spirits for our customers’ enjoyment.

“Our gin is infused with a mouthwatering 14 botanicals and all of our ranges are made in small batches and prepared by hand. Our

custom top figure stoppers are even individually hand-painted, to deliver a truly unique and premium high-end product.”

The firm is also committed to donating five per cent of its profits to the Wright Foundation which supports a range of charity initiatives in Tanzania.

Visit: www.serengetispirits.co.uk

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GOING GLOBAL

GOING GLOBAL

The Chamber’s INTERNATIONAL TRADE TEAM will help you navigate your way through all of the regulatory procedures and documents that you’ll need for successful international trading

THE IMPACT OF RULES OF ORIGIN Rules of Origin (RoO) are putting a spanner in the works for UK exporters wishing to take advantage of the UK’s newly negotiated trade deals with the EU and all trade deals we had with the EU that have been rolled over.

The new trade agreements only allow goods of UK origin to move tariff and quota free.

Many UK exporters from a variety of sectors are finding that goods they thought they could export tariff and quota free do not meet the new origin rules putting their goods at a disadvantage compared to their EU competitors.

The rules define which goods can be counted as originating in the UK and therefore benefit from the negotiated agreements.

RoO are written into all trade agreements to ensure that reduced tariffs and other non-trade barriers covered by the agreement are only available to goods originating in the countries that have signed the agreement.

Without RoO, companies could just import

goods into a country that has a trade deal with another country they want to trade with then just export the goods from that country to bypass the system. For example, a US company wants to export to the EU, but the US and the EU do not have a trade deal. Without RoO the US company could export the goods to the UK and then on to the EU taking advantage of the UK EU trade deal.

With modern supply chains, parts come from all over the world, so if 50% of a product is from one country, that would be the country of origin.

When the UK were a member of the EU, then parts from EU counties counted towards the origin of the goods and in some agreements they still can as long as they processed in some way in the UK. This is called cumulation and is included in some format in most trade agreements. The issue UK businesses are having is that cumulation can only apply if the goods are processed and there is a list of minimal processes which do not change the origin of the goods.

In short, RoO are an added barrier to trade that many UK exporters have not needed to consider before. Not all goods can move tariff and quota free between our trading partners.

If you need help with international trade contact Northamptonshire Chamber’s International Trade Team on 01604 490490.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CONSTRUCTION & REDEVELOPMENT

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

In this issue we look at the CONSTRUCTION & REDEVELOPMENT, CORPORATE CHRISTMAS and GROWING YOUR BUSINESS sectors in the Northamptonshire area

Vulcan Works Concept

BUILDING OPPORTUNITIES By the year 2030 more than 40,000 new homes will be built, 22,000 people in new jobs and at least 9,000 more learners will have qualified across Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and in Milton Keynes.

A recent report, commissioned by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP), focused on the economic impact of SEMLEP’s £265m Local Growth Fund (LGF) investment programme.

The multi-million-pound pot of funding, which has funded 55 capital projects across the area between 2015 and 2021, has been used to support business growth and productivity, fund new transport schemes and homes, and generate new jobs and opportunities for students.

In Northamptonshire there is now a new centre for creative industries, a new college campus, digital academy, enterprise centre, aerodynamic research facility and much more.

SEMLEP chief executive Hilary Chipping said: “Our Local Growth Fund investment has transformed and continues to transform Northamptonshire and the wider South East Midlands, significantly boosting the economy and creating new jobs, apprenticeships, learning opportunities and commercial floorspace.

“This report demonstrates that with clear strategic direction, vision and collaboration, fantastic results can be achieved.”

SEMLEP chair Peter Horrocks CBE, added: “I’m immensely proud of the whole team for the

successful delivery of so many outstanding projects. In particular, I want to draw attention to one sentence in the evaluation summary, which I wholeheartedly agree with, ‘Programme management is overwhelmingly seen as extremely strong and an example of best practice. Relationship building and beginning to end involvement is exemplary and considered a key contributor to the success of the programme’.

“Having seen at the board how tightly the team manage the programme and on site how strong relationships are with all partners, I am not surprised by the findings - a real tribute to the whole SEMLEP team.”

Visit: www.semlep.com/local-growth-fund

THE ASBESTOS RISKS OF PLANNING REFORM One of the UK’s leading asbestos experts has raised concerns about new planning reforms which mean a wider range of commercial properties can now be converted into flats.

The reforms came into force earlier this year as part of a bid to regenerate city centres which struggled during the pandemic.

Major insurance groups and building experts have raised concerns nationally that the reforms could lead to the creation of poor quality homes which may be vulnerable to overheating in the summer and could put lives at risk.

Asbestos management experts,

Acorn Analytical Services, fear the reforms could also lead to more builders and future homeowners being exposed to the dangerous substance which can cause a number of life-threatening conditions.

Acorn director Neil Munro said: “Many of the units that are now fair game for developers to turn into flats are likely to contain asbestos.

“During the second half of the 20th century around six million tonnes of raw asbestos fibre was imported to our shores because it was used heavily by our construction industry. Although the use of asbestos is now banned in this

20 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

An Acorn Analytical Services asbestos surveyor undertaking an asbestos refurbishment survey

country, some legal experts have suggested that 50% of UK buildings constructed before 1999 may still contain asbestos in one form or another today.

“The danger with converting more commercial properties into homes is that this type of work is very disruptive to the fabric of the building and when asbestos is disturbed it can have potentially fatal consequences.”

To protect workers onsite and future homeowners, Acorn advises that developers arrange an Asbestos Refurbishment Survey prior to the start of any construction work. This will identify all asbestos-containing materials within the building.

Visit: www.acorn-as.com Call: 01604 648928

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CONSTRUCTION & REDEVELOPMENT

TRIPLE SUCCESS FOR CONSTRUCTION FIRM

The managing director of Bhangals Construction Consultants is celebrating after the company won yet another string of much-coveted gongs in this year’s industry awards.

Parm Bhangal (pictured), who offers award winning business coaching for construction industry professionals, said of the triple win: “We are truly grateful for these honours and none of this would be

possible without the years of dedication and commitment we have put in collectively alongside our amazing team.”

The quantity surveying firm, based in Northampton, took the prestigious Business of the Year Less Than 50 Employees title at the delayed SME Northamptonshire Business Awards 2020, in recognition of their sound management practices, impressive commercial success and sustainable growth.

Operations director Karen Bhangal was also named the Bronze Award winner in the Business Woman of the Year category at the ceremony.

Just a week later, the company were awarded Quantity Surveyor of the Year - Silver Award at the recent National Building and Construction Awards.

Bhangals Construction Consultants was born in 2010 by Parm, at the age of just 22. The firm now has offices in Northampton and London which employ around 30 people.

The latest coaching arm of the business allows Parm to share best practice with other industry professionals.

He said: “The construction business is booming and if you are in the industry you must have the right business strategies and methods to take advantage of the increasing demand. You cannot afford to be losing money due to an ineffective business model. To ensure that your construction business is growing and driving good profits, our business coaching can help you achieve outstanding results.”

Visit: www.parmbhangal.co.uk

REBRAND FOR CONSULTANCY A company which prides itself on providing efficient and wellengineered design solutions to the construction industry is reaping the rewards from making significant changes to its business.

BCAL Consulting was originally established in the 1980s as a civil and structural engineering consultancy practice.

Recent rebranding, which better reflects the company’s fresh new outlook, has brought about significant changes to its workforce and services to augment previously established ones such as Principal Designer role, CDM advice and Project Management.

Exciting projects which it has been involved with recently include several high-value multi-million pound school projects ranging in cost from £15m to £30m, a £30m industrial development and the Northampton Museum and Art Gallery redevelopment project.

Director Mohammad Ziauddin said: “We’ve retained the trusted name BCAL Consulting but there’s been lots of positive change.

“The directorial changes at the top have been transformative in a relatively short space of time, which has taken our product to a

different level. Our standard output is now completely different – we’re very much technologically focused with an acute focus on Building Information Modelling (BIM) and proactive engineering involvement.

“BIM has been a feature that’s been with the industry for around two decades now, but despite that, the utilisation of the wealth of information available to end users remains poor. In response to this,

BCAL have developed a product that provides an active link between the federated BIM model or ‘digital twin’ with the building manual information using a cloudbased platform.

“Anyone can access this information from anywhere, which makes it a fantastic potential resource for our clients.”

Visit: www.bcal.co.uk

BCAL Consulting’s recently completed museum project

Cheryl Loak

THE IMPORTANCE OF FIRE DOORS TUTS Training Group have just announced an exciting new course, available at their Corby training centre or nationwide in customer offices.

The new Fire Door Safety Training course was developed to provide contractors and construction companies with an understanding of the importance of proper fire door installation. The aim is to increase awareness among workforces and improve safety within buildings.

Cheryl Loak, director of TUTS, said: “Safety is a top priority in the construction industry. Fire doors are an important safety feature that must be installed correctly to prevent fires from spreading, but some people lack knowledge about the precautions that need to be taken when installing them.

“Poorly installed fire doors can trap smoke inside the building, which leads to an increased risk of death or serious injury. The door mustn’t restrict airflow and should be balanced so it doesn’t open easily against high heat, which could cause hot air from fires on upper floors to enter lower levels.”

TUTS want to make sure that contractors and installers are aware of the safety measures that should be taken when installing a fire door, to avoid serious consequences.

This course is essential for everyone who works with or near fire doors.

You can find more details about this course at www.tutsuk.co.uk/fire-doorsafety-training

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: CORPORATE CHRISTMAS

CELEBRATE THIS CHRISTMAS IN STYLE One of Northamptonshire’s most exciting venues is offering a range of options to help companies celebrate this Christmas in style.

Sedgebrook Hall is a beautiful manor house set in 13 acres of picturesque gardens in Chapel Brampton, which features all the modern amenities needed to host parties, conferences, weddings, events and meetings – including 22 flexible event spaces which are available to hire.

Its dedicated event coordinators are currently working hard on their Christmas offering which includes private corporate events and ‘Join a Party’ events which are open to companies or private groups.

Regional sales manager Elizabeth Harwood said: “All businesses have had to work incredibly hard throughout the pandemic, so we’re thrilled to be able to offer these fantastic packages to help them celebrate this Christmas in style with their staff.

“Our private Christmas party nights give businesses the chance to create a party that is special to them. We can build a Christmas event that is tailored to their individual needs for between 10 to 130 guests.

“Alternatively, businesses are welcome to sign up for one of our ‘Join a Party’ events which are open to corporates and private groups.”

Both packages cost from £29.95 per person and include an arrival cocktail, two-course meal and table novelties.

The ‘Join a Party’ events will include a DJ and dancing while the private parties will also feature a DJ and dancing for parties over 40 people.

The private party nights will take place throughout November, December and January.

Businesses wishing to take part in the ‘Join a Party’ events should supply their menu choices, including dietary requirements, four weeks in advance of the event.

For bookings or further information about the festive packages and accommodation options email sedgebrook.enquiries@thevenuescollection.co.uk or call 01604 821666.

Sedgebrook Hall’s manor house reception

CHARITY’S APPEAL FOR GIFT DONATIONS Northamptonshire Health Charity is looking for Christmas gifts to give to people in hospital on Christmas Day. The charity supports Northampton General and Kettering General Hospitals and the community and mental health hospitals across the county at Berrywood, Isebrook, Corby, and St Mary’s.

It works all year round to provide for all departments and wards, above and beyond what the NHS provides.

Now that Christmas is fast approaching, the charity would like to ensure every patient in hospital receives a present on the day. There are many patients, mostly elderly, that have nobody – this means no visitors and no gift. Last year, every inpatient received a gift bag, which helped raise a smile, reminding them they are in people’s thoughts.

Suitable items are puzzle books, slippers and socks, toiletries, lip balms and dominoes for elderly patients and toys, games and activities for the children’s wards and short break centres. For infection control, only new items can be accepted in the original packaging and not gift wrapped.

If you’d prefer to shop online, purchase from the Amazon Wish List at www.amazon.co.uk/hz/wishlist/ls/1VSCK7UYYD28B Alternatively, you can make a donation and a gift will be purchased for you.

Trish Ribano, service manager at Welland Centre for Adult Mental Health said: “We are so grateful for your support at Christmas. It makes our day when all the gifts arrive for us to give out as this can be a very lonely and difficult time for patients.”

The Cedar Ward team at Northampton General Hospital receiving the generous gifts donated by the community for patients in hospital on Christmas Day

22 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

Call: 01604 626927 Email: greenheart@nhcf.co.uk Visit: www.northamptonshirehealthcharity.co.uk

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INBUSINESS

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

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At PPX Consulting, we pride ourselves on enabling business owners to master the finances of their businesses.

Get in touch today and take control.

T: 01536 526419 E: info@ppxconsulting.co.uk W: ppxconsulting.co.uk

24 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

WHY COMMERCIAL THINKING IS CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS Our business environments are The Senior Management Team from McDonalds experiencing unprecedented change so smart commercial thinking has never been more important.

The quality and agility of thinking can mean the difference between success or failure in commercial transactions, with all of the ongoing implications to business performance.

This is why Competitive Edge ‘HANDS DOWN Training and THE BEST Consultancy has TRAINING developed its Commercial Agility COURSE I’VE there’s a view that consider the multiple aspects of Model, which has EVER BEEN ON’ it’s predominantly commerciality that are key to already provided about finance. In fact, success. multiple benefits for nothing could be “This is why we’ve created our businesses. further from the truth.

Commercial Agility Model. It Director Ian Wearne said: “The commercial impact of this develops higher-level awareness of “Unfortunately, businesses tend to is far reaching, as those involved in business acumen and provides hold a narrow view of what critical commercial decisions fail to meaningful insights into elements commercial acumen actually is, often

John Landers, Phil Jones and Kate Hoang

ADVICE AVAILABLE FOR START-UP FIRMS A new organisation has been launched to support company directors and sole traders entering the world of running their own company for the first time.

During lockdown, three highly experienced businessmen – John Landers, Peter Douglas and Phil Jones - launched The Startup Pack. It provides inexperienced start-up businesses with advice and guidance on how to set up and operate and information about local businesses which can provide the products and services they will need.

Director Peter Douglas said: “Start-ups regularly experience difficulties in finding out where to go for advice and guidance and this process can be very time-consuming and expensive for them.

“We receive information on new companies the day after they register with Companies House. We then immediately send them a free pack containing helpful information, advice and promotions from a range of professionals, whom we refer to as Contributors, most of whom are local businesses. The new start-ups are encouraged to directly contact the Contributors in the disciplines for which they have a need. The Contributors benefit from getting their name and services in front of the new start-ups.”

Start-up businesses and potential Contributors can find out about the benefits of the new service by calling 01604 435133, emailing info@thestartuppack.co.uk or visiting thestartuppack.co.uk

such as markets, organisations and customers, not to mention finance.

“The approach results in delegates thinking differently about the commercial decisions they make, which benefits them, their businesses and their customers.

“Even the most successful businesses can benefit from the Agility Model approach. For example, recently we worked with senior leaders from McDonald’s Restaurants.

Of course, McDonald’s is a hugely successful global brand, but that didn’t stop their senior managers engaging in a fun, challenging module of experiential learning.”

McDonald’s strategic finance manager Larn a Roberts added: “Competitive Edge were fantastic.

Hands down the best training course I’ve ever been on.”

Visit: www.yourcompetitiveedge .co.uk

SUPPORT ON OFFER AT NEW BUSINESS CLUB A coaching company in Northamptonshire has launched a brand new business club to offer workshops and group training for local firms.

Attain Coaching will host the monthly zoom sessions covering important topics such as leadership, management, personal efficiency, time management, mindset and handling change, as part of the new Attain Business Club.

The first workshop, held in September, was about how to hit quarter four goals and the upcoming December session will be on goal setting and planning for 2022.

Coach and founder Cate Gregory (pictured) said: “My passion is helping people and organisations to achieve their full potential. Working and networking with so many entrepreneurs and business owners over the last year I have seen how working in the business consumes them and they have trouble finding time to work on the business.

“The idea of the Business Club is to help them to set their business objectives and then create a workable plan to achieve them. The club then provides accountability to help them achieve their goals, a vital missing element for many. Most of all it provides a safe, supportive space to share and spend time working on their business.”

Attain Coaching launched last summer during the pandemic and celebrated their first anniversary in August.

They were recently one of just 19 Business and IP Centre grant winners.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

KEY APPOINTMENT AT RECRUITMENT FIRM A recruitment agency which specialises in recruiting accounting and financial professionals has made an exciting appointment of its own.

Warner Recruitment, based in Northampton, was launched by Julie Warner in June 2020, amid the challenging global pandemic.

Julie has over 15 years’ experience, working in the recruitment industry across Northamptonshire. She has now been joined in the business by her husband Haydon who brings a wealth of ‘AS A SPECIALIST experience of running a business and AGENCY WE recruiting staff REALLY TAKE THE having previously TIME TO worked as the UNDERSTAND managing director of for our an international recruitment OUR CLIENTS’ company. services has grown Haydon said: “When so much that it Julie launched Warner enabled me to join the Recruitment the business plan was business now, which is ahead of our for me to join her as the business original schedule. grows.

“Whilst working as a managing “Julie has done an amazing job director I gained experience of of not only getting the business off working directly with recruitment the ground but also achieving agencies when recruiting myself. stability. Warner Recruitment works This insight and experience is with clients across valuable and distinguishes Warner Northamptonshire and the demand Recruitment from other agencies.

Haydon and Julie Warner

HELP FROM YOUR LIBRARY

“As a specialist agency we really take the time to understand our clients and candidates. It is not just about filling positions; it’s about establishing long term relationships and changing people’s lives for the better.”

Haydon will be working with qualified and senior accountants; helping them achieve the next stage of their career.

Visit: www.warnerrecruitment.co.uk

GROWTH FOR SQUARE MEDIA Northamptonshire marketing agency, Square Media has finished a record year of growth - doubling their office and desk space, their headcount and turnover.

Owing to new contract wins, including the award of the marketing contract for a £1bn fibre broadband provider, Square Media is on track to smash through these new records in 2021-22.

Their office expansion has also enabled a smoother transition back into office-based working. The

Square Media’s new office

introduction of another new boardroom - fitted with an interactive whiteboard - has encouraged creative discussions and idea sessions not just internally but with clients. Within the past year, Square Media has doubled its resources internally, bringing new skills and experience to the mix.

Managing director Matthew Rigby-White said: “I’m proud of the business we’ve built. Despite adversity in the past year, I’m pleased to see that through sheer hard work, grit and determination, our team has helped us smash through the targets we set for this year. With the appointments of milestone projects, we’re set to have a fantastic 2021-22.”

One of the most exciting projects they’ve acquired has been their appointment for a marketing contract for an up-and-coming fibre broadband provider which has raised more than £1bn in capital to launch their network across the East of England. Square Media has been trusted to deliver the company’s new website and carry out ‘on the ground’ marketing activity across the region.

Square Media is also pleased to support Northamptonshire Chamber through its sponsorship of the Customer Commitment award at this year’s Northamptonshire Business Awards.

Libraries are not just full of books - they are full of ideas.

This autumn the Business & IP Centre Northamptonshire is encouraging locals to start, run and grow their business and join a thriving entrepreneurial community at their local library.

The BIPC Northamptonshire provides entrepreneurs and SMEs across the UK with free access to databases, market research, journals, directories and reports worth thousands of pounds. There is also a programme of free events and workshops on a range of topics, including business planning, marketing and intellectual property.

Business engagement and marketing manager Barry Crisp said: “Libraries act as engines for economic growth through helping businesses to start, run, innovate and grow.

“As part of the British Library Business & IP Centre National Network we help establish enterprises, create new jobs, increase turnover and boost our local economies. For every £1 invested in the BIPC Network, £6.95 is put back into the economy, which we believe represents a fantastic return on investment.

“So, if you would like oneto-one business advice, access to market research databases, webinars or intellectual property advice, all for free, then visit your local library to find out more.”

Email: bipc@westnorthants.gov.uk Call: 01604 361447 Visit: www.bipcnorthamptonshire. co.uk

Visit: www.squaremedia.solution Email: press@squaremedia.solutions Call: 03303 800 630 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 27

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS

DEMAND FOR HYGIENIC PLASTIC PACKAGING A family-run global company which specialises in protective packaging has seen a massive increase in demand for its products.

Having previously seen a shift towards paper products, perceived to be more sustainable than plastic, during 2020, Storopack saw its sales of plastic protective packaging increase by 42% compared to the previous year.

Storopack UK managing director Richard Pulfrey said: “Before the pandemic there was huge media focus on plastic, particularly in the packaging market.

“As a supplier of both paper and plastic products our approach has always been to promote an objective and fact-based assessment of plastics. Based on our own research on the environmental impact of different materials throughout the supply chain we’ve been confident in the sustainability of the products we supply.

“What was interesting last year was the shift in attitude of consumers. From seeing plastic as an unnecessary and wasteful packaging material, they were now looking for their goods to be displayed and delivered safely and hygienically. As a supplier to medical and pharmaceutical companies across Europe, Storopack have long championed the hygienic properties of plastic.

“Ultimately, consumers have very little choice of what packaging their products come in.

It’s the responsibility of retailers, 3PLs and packaging suppliers to ensure their procurement departments understand the importance of choosing the most sustainable products over the least expensive.

“As manufacturers, it’s our role to educate our business partners and ensure all packaging is clearly marked with recyclability, compostability or disposal instructions for the end-user to immediately know what to do with it.”

Visit: www.storopack.uk Richard Pulfrey

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: GROWING YOUR BUSINESS U See Me is a Digital Consultancy company focusing on delivering digital software solutions in the UK and abroad. Our objective is to 'help organisations bridge the gap between their businesses and the online world'. By harnessing the latest technology from our trusted digital partners we can help create bespoke software solutions that will help you take your business to the next level.

With nearly 10 years’ experience in the technology sector, we have seen how rapidly the digital ecosystem has expanded. With new technology constantly emerging, businesses and organisations are having to rethink about digital strategy and how to optimise the use of applications for both business sustainability & growth. Needless to say, digital tech has become a fundamental building block for any organisation, yet there are so many options to choose from. Where do you start?

From a digital perspective, it’s becoming increasingly important to

offer tailored solutions that are sustainable for the future. U.See.Me is about looking at your business through a lens to provide digital solutions that will put you ahead of the competition. Whether it is re-engineering an existing solution or building a bespoke digital application, we can support you.

Our recipe for success is having the right people working in tandem with your business to create synergy.

We have teamed up with some great digital partners to offer these solutions in the UK and internationally.

E: sangeet@useeme.uk W: useeme.uk

Burlington House • 369 Wellingborough Road • Northampton • NN1 4EU

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 29

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TALKING BUSINESS

SERVING THE COMMUNITY In April, Northamptonshire experienced its biggest local government shake-up in decades when the county’s eight councils were replaced with West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council. We caught up with West Northamptonshire Council leader Cllr Jonathan Nunn to find out what businesses can expect from the authority.

It’s been several years since Government inspectors decided the cash-strapped Northamptonshire County Council needed to be abolished. The decision also led to the county’s seven district and borough councils being swept away to make way for two new unitary authorities – West Northamptonshire Council and North Northamptonshire Council.

A massive amount of work went into launching West Northamptonshire Council to serve the people of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire and the new authority’s leader, Cllr Jonathan Nunn, is clear this must be the beginning of something better.

Cllr Nunn, whose background is in management, training and development in the private sector, explained: “It’s been such an enormous task to create a new unitary council so for me the promise of all that effort has to be that we’re creating something better.

“Previously, I don’t think any of the authorities in the area were doing a brilliant job of economic development, business engagement and selling Northamptonshire on the world stage. A lot of work the county council did in that area had fallen away because of its budget issues. Going forward we want to be ambitious about promoting our area to the Government and businesses.”

To further this ambition, the council is creating a new prospectus to showcase to the Government the area’s existing specialisms, including its highperformance engineering and logistics industries and historic shoe trade. It hopes the prospectus will help it secure opportunities arising from the Government’s economic plans for the OxfordCambridge Arc and lead to additional government funding for infrastructure improvements.

“The Oxford-Cambridge Arc is known for scientific innovation – those innovations need to be created somewhere and we want to show that West Northamptonshire is the ideal place for that,” argues Cllr Nunn. “This is also a great base for getting around the country and as a result is a great spot for logistics. It’s a highly technical industry and we want to push that so we can be a centre of excellence for logistical technology.

“When most people think about the OxfordCambridge Arc their first thought is often about new housing. What we’re saying to Government is we’re up for the challenge of new housing but it needs to help us to bring more jobs and businesses here and support us with new infrastructure.”

The authority is also working on other plans to support businesses and one of its first priorities is to help the area to recover from the impact of Covid-19.

In West Northamptonshire, £48m of grants have 30 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

been awarded to businesses so far and the authority is waiting to hear if more Government funding will be forthcoming.

The council is also currently working on proposals to develop South Northamptonshire’s Job Club into an employment support hub which will provide a supplementary service to Job Centre Plus because it knows many businesses struggle to hire the right staff.

It wants to develop networking in places like Daventry and is working with Britain’s Best Surprise to boost the area’s economy and tourism. In addition, it has secured Government funding to help social enterprises so they can help start-up businesses to become sustainable.

The council is also keen to press ahead with the multi-million pound regeneration plans for West Northamptonshire.

Cllr Nunn explained: “When we talk about regeneration people often focus on Northampton but there’s lots going on across West Northamptonshire. Work on Daventry’s £12.5m Mulberry Place development is continuing to take shape and we have plans to regenerate all our town centres.

“We do need to press ahead with Northampton’s regeneration plans though because it cannot be allowed to become a millstone around West Northamptonshire’s economy.

“It can stand on its own two feet and has bold plans to revitalise its economy which we want to see through so it can become an economic engine for West Northamptonshire.”

LEFT: Cllr Jonathan Nunn with assistant director for commissioning and performance Ashley Leduc and deputy chief executive and executive director of adults, communities and wellbeing Stuart Lackenby ABOVE: Cllr Jonathan Nunn is the first leader of the newly created West Northamptonshire Council

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TALKING BUSINESS PHOTOS BY: JANE RUSSELL PHOTOGRAPHY

FACTFILE ORGANISATION BACKGROUND: West Northamptonshire Council is the single unitary council responsible for providing a range of public services to residents and businesses in the areas of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire. It has replaced Daventry District Council, Northampton Borough Council and South Northamptonshire Council, and now delivers all the services which were previously provided by these councils.

ORGANISATION DESCRIPTION: West Northamptonshire Council provides a wide range of services, including collection of household waste, maintenance of parks and open spaces, street cleaning, environmental health and planning services.

The authority also delivers many of the services which were provided by Northamptonshire County Council, including Education, Highways, Adult Social Care and Libraries.

JOINING THE CHAMBER: “We joined Northamptonshire Chamber because of the fantastic opportunities it offers the council to meet with local businesses and to raise awareness about the work we are doing across West Northamptonshire.”

‘WE WANT TO BE AMBITIOUS ABOUT PROMOTING OUR AREA TO THE GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESSES’

The authority is also trying to support local businesses by working closely with the SEMLEP Growth Hub and hopes to award contracts to local firms wherever it can.

“Public sector procurement is very process driven but our ambition is to support the local economy by using our contracting power for the benefit of our communities wherever possible,” said Cllr Nunn.

“Local businesses often use their relationship with their local council to build confidence with their other clients and as a result they’re protective of that relationship and work hard to maintain it.”

The authority is also looking to reinstigate the HS2 Liaison Group so it can represent the views of local businesses and residents on the issue. Other priorities include the creation of a Climate Strategy and an Anti-Poverty Strategy to tackle the types of

poverty seen in places like Northampton but also the hidden poverty often experienced in rural areas, such as transport poverty.

Whatever the future holds, Cllr Nunn is adamant that businesses will play a key role in West Northamptonshire’s future success.

He said: “Our jobs and our economy rely on our businesses so they’re fundamental to our prosperity, our wellbeing and our happiness.

“If we genuinely want to make West Northamptonshire a great place to live, work and start a business we have to do all we can to support businesses – from those just starting off to our more well-established firms. Without a successful local economy, we have nothing.”

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TRAINING & EVENTS

TRAINING & EVENTS PERSONAL AND MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT SUCCESSFUL SUPERVISORY MANAGEMENT Date: 6 & 7 October (two days) Cost: Member £458 + VAT Non-member £598 +VAT The transition from team member to team leader is one of the most challenging. These pragmatic workshops teach you how to increase work output, improve the quality of work and achieve greater flexibility in working. It is essential training for established and newly appointed supervisory staff and is vital training for anyone about to become a supervisor.

MANAGING YOUR WORKLOAD Date: 12 October (one-day) Cost: Member £229 + VAT Non-member £299 + VAT Take a day to reassess the purpose of your role and how to achieve the key tasks. Look at ways to manage the less productive tasks and then pick up lots of tips and techniques to help make things run more smoothly. Take away a list of practical tasks and habit changes that you know will make a difference to the way you work.

TRAIN THE TRAINER Date: 1 & 2 November (two-day) Cost: Member £458 + VAT Non-member £598 + VAT This course will give staff who have recently been employed in a position of a trainer, or who are expected to train other staff in any areas such as procedures, skills or other core functions e.g. customer service or health and safety, the ability and confidence to deliver first class training.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE TRAINING METHODS OF PAYMENT AND LETTERS OF CREDIT: BCC ACCREDITED Date: 13 October (one-day) Cost: Member £299 + VAT Non-member £369 + VAT The course provides an overview of all methods of payment when

TRAINING COURSES All Chamber training courses are currently delivered virtually. Call the Training Team for more details on 01604 490490 or email training@northants-chamber.co.uk

Follow us on Twitter @NorthantsCoC

trading internationally to include the risks and benefits involved. It will then concentrate on the Letter of Credit aspect guiding you through the rules of managing a letter of credit, making sure documents are compliant and payment is successful.

CUSTOMS PROCEDURE, DOCUMENTATION AND RULES OR ORIGIN *2 MODULES Date: 28 October (one-day) Cost: Member £299 + VAT Non-member £369 + VAT This course covers the key information required to understand: • Organisations involved in International Trade • What is an Export?

• International Documentation and key Information • Rules of Origin • Customs Compliance, HMRC – their role, Export Declarations, Customs Procedures • Import Duties, AEO, Audit, Phased Import Easements, NI Trade

INCOTERMS 2020 *1 MODULE Date: 30 November (half-day) Cost: Member £299 + VAT Non-member £369 + VAT Incoterms is a physical movement of goods, and it is vital that you meet your responsibilities and have an awareness of the rules and implications. Come along and learn how these rules help importers and exporters around the world to understand their responsibilities and avoid costly misunderstandings.

HEALTH AND SAFETY LEVEL 2 HABC HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE Date: 21 October (one-day) Cost: Member £229 + VAT Non-member £299 + VAT The most basic requirement of any workplace is that it is a safe place to work. If this isn’t the case then your business is at risk from all kinds of legal cases and even worse, your employees may be risking their lives. Good health and safety rely on employers and their employees working together. This course provides a solid foundation

32 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

of knowledge that is required by everyone and provides essential knowledge of health and safety for employees working in any type of business sector.

EMERGENCY FIRST AID FAIB Date: 10 November (one-day) Cost: Member £229 + VAT Non-member £299 + VAT This course teaches the appropriate level of first aid required in low-risk businesses under the HSE 1981 legislation, delivered in line with the First Aid Industry Body (FAIB).

By the end of the course delegates will be able to manage the scene of an accident, treat any minor ailments and be able to think on their feet in times of an emergency, creating a safer workplace.

GETTING THE MESSAGE RIGHT DEVELOPING ASSERTIVENESS SKILLS Date: 14 October (one-day) Cost: Member £229 + VAT Non-member £299 + VAT Most of us have at least one person in our life whom we can’t communicate as effectively with as we would wish to. When this happens, it stops us achieving our own goals, our team goals, and can leave us feeling inadequate, stressed and angry. This course identifies the behaviour patterns that lead to these situations. It is a pragmatic course, built around action learning, enabling individuals to apply their own answers to their own communication goals.

HELPING DIFFICULT CUSTOMERS Date: 17 November (one-day)

Cost: Member £140 + VAT Non-member £180 + VAT We all know how hard it can be to handle difficult people. With many organisations automating their processes and procedures, customers are even more likely to become difficult when they finally get through to a person. They take their frustration out on the poor staff member who answers the phone, email, tweet or Facebook post. This course aids the challenge for staff to stay calm and deliver the level of service needed.

SALES AND MARKETING LINKEDIN FOR BUSINESS Date: 7 October (half-day) Cost: Member £140 + VAT Non-member £180 +VAT Utilise LinkedIn to grow your business by building deeper relationships with your current clients, get more referrals and connect with new potential clients.

Learn how to search effectively, use the reminder feature, are you publishing on LinkedIn and so much more. This is an interactive workshop to learn how to use LinkedIn as a marketing and business development tool.

EFFECTIVE TELESALES SKILLS Date: 19 October (one-day) Cost: Member £229 + VAT Non-member £299 + VAT Whether you are meeting your clients face-to-face or running sales meetings via Zoom it’s important to get an understanding of their issues/problems, effectively demonstrating how you can help them and ultimately close to win the business. How effective are yours? Are you winning business? If not, this is the workshop for you!

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MEMBER ZONE The CHAMBER EVENTS TEAM has worked hard to adapt and deliver a new format of events, increasing the range and availability of our schedule.

EVENT IN FOCUS SEO – BE SEEN ONLINE POST COVID Date: 28 October (half-day) Cost: Member £140 + VAT Non-member £180 +VAT By leveraging the fundamentals of search engine optimization (SEO), you can ensure that your business pops up in these all-important search results. This workshop is about mastering SEO fundamentals.

How to make improvements that boost your website's visibility on search engines, attracting the right kind of traffic to the right pages on your site.

THE ART OF NEGOTIATING BASICS Date: 3 November (half-day) Cost: Member £140 + VAT Non-member £180 +VAT Training within a sales arena, negotiation arises at some point, and if you are unprepared or inexperienced, you will find yourself giving in to your customer’s demands. This half-day workshop helps you to develop your negotiation skills for whatever scenario you come across in day-today dealings and helps to create more beneficial outcomes.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ADVANCED EXCEL Date: 18 October (half-day) Cost: Member £200 + VAT Non-member £230 +VAT Anyone who uses Excel regularly to produce a range of spreadsheets and who has a good knowledge of the topics covered on the intermediate level course will benefit from attending this course. This course will help users get to grips with the most useful features of this powerful program. They will be able to improve their productivity and maximise their time when producing complex spreadsheets. Users can master some of the complex Excel functions bringing users a new level to their ability to present, store and analyse data.

Open courses and bespoke training sessions on all Microsoft packages at all levels are available. Call the Training Department on 01604 490490 for details.

An inspirational group which supports young business leaders has unveiled the details of its next exciting personal development sessions.

Next Generation Chamber was created by Northamptonshire Chamber, and its sister Chamber in Milton Keynes, to help businesses nurture staff who are dedicated to advancing their careers through networking events and personal development sessions.

The personal development sessions are designed to help attendees develop essential business and leadership skills. They are free and exclusive to Next Generation Chamber members and are currently held online.

In October, Paul Beesley, of Beyond Theory: business training & coaching, will lead a session on Self Confidence in the Workplace and in November, Scott Jones, of Chamber Platinum Business Partners, 123 Internet, will run a session on Your Digital Footprint.

Northamptonshire Chamber marketing and events manager Cheyenne Angliss said: “Both of these sessions will be hugely valuable for our Next Generation Chamber members.

“Lacking confidence is arguably the biggest barrier to achieving peak performance at work. The session with Paul will help attendees understand what can inhibit their self-confidence and show them how to increase their own confidence and encourage others to do the same.

“Meanwhile, in the age of digital transformation and marketing, most people have turned to social media platforms like LinkedIn for marketing.

“Being authentic and creating a like-for-like digital persona is crucial. Our session with Scott will show attendees how to align their online digital footprint to resonate with their prospects and connections.”

Self Confidence in the Workplace will take place on 27 October and Your Digital Footprint will take place on 24 November. Both sessions will run from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.

For further information or bookings call 01604 490490 or visit the Personal Development Sessions section of the Next Generation Chamber page at www.northants-chamber.co.uk

FORTHCOMING EVENTS MEET THE NEIGHBOURS WITH BEDFORDSHIRE CHAMBER Date: Tuesday 5 October Time: 11am-12.15pm Cost: Free to attend online members only

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Venue: Northamptonshire Country Cricket Club Date: Thursday 7 October Time: 5.30pm-7.30pm Cost: Members £10 + VAT Non-members £15 + VAT

WOMEN WITH VISION NETWORKING Date: Wednesday 13 October Time: 10am-11.15am Cost: Free to attend online – Women With Vision members only

POLICY HOUR – MEET MINISTER – NADHIM ZAHAWI MP Date: Friday 15 October Time: 10am-11am Cost: Free to attend online members only

NEXT GENERATION (CPD) – SELF CONFIDENCE IN THE WORKPLACE Date: Wednesday 27 October Time: 3.30pm-4.30pm Cost: Free to attend online - Next Generation members only

WOMEN WITH VISION – PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT – MAKE NETWORKING WORK FOR YOU Date: Wednesday 10 November Time: 10am-11am Cost: Free to attend online – Women With Vision - members only

POLICY HOUR – MEET YOUR MP – GRAHAM STUART MP Date: Wednesday 17 November Time: 3pm-4pm Cost: Free to attend online - members only

NETWORKING LUNCH Venue: Kettering Park Hotel Date: Tuesday 23 November Time: 112pm-1.30pm Cost: Members only - £25 + VAT

NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER AGM Venue: Kettering Park Hotel Date: Tuesday 23 November Time: 2pm-3pm Cost: Members only – free to attend

NEXT GENERATION (CPD) – YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT Date: Wednesday 24 November Time: 3.30pm-4.30pm Cost: Free to attend online - Next Generation members only

MEET THE NEIGHBOURS WITH COVENTRY AND WARWICKSHIRE CHAMBER Date: Tuesday 30 November Time: 10am-11.15am Cost: Free to attend online - members only

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 33

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MEMBER ZONE

MEMBERZONE Latest news from NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER MEMBERS including award wins, relocations, appointments, new contracts, member profiles, mergers, company expansion plans, sponsorship deals and business success stories

FORTEC HELPS FIGHT AGAINST FOOD WASTE diverts the food to organisations Fortec is proud to be collaborating such as homeless hostels, children’s with FareShare, as the charity breakfast clubs and mental health works to tackle hunger and food support charities. waste in the UK. FareShare South Midlands, FareShare redistributes based in Milton Keynes, is good-to-eat surplus the closest warehouse food to frontline to Fortec, and has charities and ‘I’M CONFIDENT distributed food community WE CAN equivalent to over groups 950,000 meals throughout the CONTINUE TO since December UK, which is then OFFER GREAT 2020, supporting turned into meals VALUE TO around 60 local for those most in FARESHARE’ charities and helping need, providing nearly 7,000 people over two million over Christmas and into meals per week the first few months of 2021. through 11,000 charities As part of this fantastic work, across the UK. Fortec have transported over 200 FareShare works closely with the food industry, including major pallets of food, predominantly supermarkets, wholesalers, and containing produce that can be other food businesses, to help more difficult to transport, reduce good food needlessly going including items such as potatoes, to waste in their supply chain. It onions and bananas.

Fortec is working with FareShare to help fight hunger in the UK

FareShare chose to work with Fortec Distribution Network, which is part of the Pall-Ex Group, as they were looking to diversify their transport options.

Michelle Naylor, UK commercial director at Pall-Ex Group said: “The Fortec network’s hub-and-spoke model means that delivering to multiple locations across the

country is much more efficient. As we continue to see our relationship develop, I’m confident we can continue to offer great value to FareShare and we can play our part in helping even more people.”

For more information about Fortec and Pall-Ex Group’s hub-and-spoke model visit: youtu.be/Uz-b3YELhhs

SALES ACE SHARES HER SELLING SKILLS One is far from being the loneliest number for local sales specialist Julie Futcher (pictured), aka The Sales Ace. As the economy started to open up again Julie saw too many businesses that were struggling with their sales processes. So, she decided to do something practical about it. Her new brand, The Sales Ace, was created to reflect her unique approach and it has been a huge hit with Northamptonshire businesses.

Julie is a hands-on salesperson to her core and a practical approach to sales is the benefit she brings to her clients.

“I wanted to help Northamptonshire businesses by leveraging my experience and not just offering some generic, process driven solution,” said Julie.

“I rebranded as The Sales ‘Ace’ to reflect the idea that this is not a faceless process. It is about someone with the practical experience and skillset to help businesses grow through sales.

“After all that happened last year, it would be a brave person that dared to predict what will happen next. Whatever happens though, whatever life throws at us, if you have sales coming in you will thrive.”

Julie has over a quarter of a century of practical sales experience and has recently been accepted as a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Management. There is no doubting her pedigree, but it is her practical approach that is helping to fill the order books of her clients.

Visit: thesalesace.co.uk 34 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

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MEMBER ZONE

HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE

THE RISKS OF DATA LOSS

The charity sector has experienced a challenging 18 months, but Transitions UK has risen to the challenge.

During the pandemic the charity, which supports young people, has tripled in size through hard work and determination.

Chief executive Ron Overton said: “We focus on supporting

IT managed services specialists PCS Business Systems is encouraging local firms to test their server backups on a regular basis to avoid data loss.

Scott Hawkey of PCS said: “Having regular backups of your servers is a good thing, however can you be 100% sure that if the worst should happen you have everything you need? Just because your backup software tells you it “completed successfully” this doesn’t mean that in the event you really needed it, you could restore from it and without business disruption or data loss.

“By ensuring that you have all your data and that it is usable, in the event of a disaster, could be the difference in having days of system down time and data loss as opposed to minutes and zero data loss.”

vulnerable young people aged between 14 and 25 who are struggling with personal disadvantage.

“Unfortunately, during lockdown they were more at risk than usual, but we were there to support them through the projects we run locally. These include projects targeted at young people with learning

disabilities, those leaving care, young people at risk of criminal exploitation or offending and young people with mental health needs or emotional needs.”

“We will celebrate our seventh anniversary on 9 October with a gala dinner, silent auction, live music and dancing and we’ve also got a host of fundraising events coming up, including our Snowdon Charity Run on 30 October.”

For information on the gala dinner visit www.transitionsuk.org /events/annual-gala-dinner7th-anniversary-dinner To learn more about the Snowdon Charity Run visit www.transitions.org/events/ run-snowdon

They’re not trekking next time, they’re running up!

Speak to PCS for a free 30 day trial and demo - email ask@pcs-systems.com or call 01536 532900.

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

SHARE BUYBACKS: A CAUTIONARY TALE Share buybacks are a popular and effective way for companies to maintain control of their share capital, buy out troublesome shareholders, or return some capital to existing ones. However, the process of completing a share buyback is not as simple as many assume.

Unlike most transactions, share buybacks must be completed in accordance with a strict statutory procedure otherwise the entire transaction will be defective and the buyback rendered void. This means that:

process of unwinding and rectifying a defective share buyback is also costly and timeconsuming.

Over the past year, our Corporate team has come across several defective share buybacks, during either the sale of a business or a routine audit. These cases had their own specific issues, but the common denominator in each one was a failure by the company or the people advising them to properly execute the share buybacks in accordance with the legal requirements.

Fortunately we were able to fix the issues in most of the cases we’ve dealt with, but this isn’t always possible and it’s not unheard of for buyers to pull out of an acquisition because of issues with share buybacks.

If you are looking to buyback any shares in your company or are concerned that any buybacks you’ve done in the past may not have been done properly, do give us a call and we can help to save you any headaches further down the line.

• the buyback is treated as though it never happened; • all share transactions and company statements must be re-done or amended to reflect the pre-buyback position; • the bought out shareholder is treating as still own those shares; • there could be a claim for backdated dividends; and • the company’s directors could face personal liability for failing to comply with their statutory duties.

Unfortunately, most business owners do not discover that their share buyback is defective until they are trying to sell their business 10-15 years later and it comes up during a due diligence exercise. By this time, the departed shareholder may be dead, cannot be found,

Note of caution: Miles Barnes

For more information, please contact Miles Barnes on 01604 258066 or at miles.barnes@howespercival.com

unwilling to re-sell their shares or insists on being paid a much higher price. The company may also have to re-purchase the shares again, execute a new share buyback contract and pay more to the former shareholder. All of which can significantly impact the sale of a business. The OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 35

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MEMBER ZONE

FOR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES You can reach Qin at:

www.briwaytech.com or www.briwayfootwear.com Email: qjeffries@briwaytech.com or qin@briwayfootwear.com Alternatively, give her a call on:

01604 968 528 or 07395 958888 (WhatsApp)

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MEMBER ZONE ACCREDITATION FOR DISABILITY CHARITY

An example of one of Nevitec's projects at Hellidon Lakes Golf and Spa Hotel

REACH FOR THE SKIES WITH NEVITEC A renowned UK manufacturer of stretch ceilings is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

When Nevitec first launched, it initially distributed and installed ceilings, created by EU-based manufacturers, across the UK. It has since gone on to develop its own brand of stretch ceilings which are manufactured and designed in Northampton.

Nevitec’s stretch ceilings are a type of suspended ceiling which come in various forms. Essentially, a stretch ceiling is a fabric membrane that is stretched and inserted in a perimeter track that is attached to the four sides of a ceiling and can remain in place for up to 20 years.

Sales manager Jason Jacob said: “While stretch ceilings offer a unique design they also solve many technical issues too and we’ve installed them in new builds, shopping centres, gyms, pools and for exhibitions.

“We provide end-to-end solutions to our clients from conceptualization to installation and then follow up with our clients afterwards to ensure they are satisfied with our services.

“We offer quality craftmanship and our expert team is happy to contribute ideas for our clients’ projects but they also take the time to listen to our clients’ ideas too so we can create something that is right for them.

“Thanks to the use of advanced technology and our dedicated team our business has grown significantly and today we offer our fantastic products nationally and internationally.”

The manufacturers are also keen to team up with a trade partner to expand the business further in the UK and overseas.

Visit: www.nevitecstretchceiling.com Email: info@nevitecstretchceiling.com Call: 01604 762888

MAXIMISE THE POWER OF VOICE Smart Octopus Voice Agency is a Voice and Chatbot Consultancy, on a personal mission to help businesses maximise the latest voice and conversational sales techniques.

Founder Andrew Thomas (pictured) has been a lead topic educator since 2018 when the global products of Alexa from Amazon, Assistant from Google and Bixby from Samsung started to appear, but notably it wasn’t until

the pandemic that sales of these Smart Speakers really rocketed.

Andrew said: “It is predicted consumers will be interacting with voice assistants on over 8.4bn devices by 2024, which is why voice-based shopping is expected to reach $40bn in the US and $5bn in the UK by 2022. Can you, as a business, afford to miss out of this new way of shopping for your products?

“The big brands have already

created automated AI powered voice conversations with their target audiences in their homes, offices and even cars.

“When you add the growth in messaging chatbots generation Z and millennials love, providing prompt, concise 24/7 answers and support, the world is fast moving towards conversation-based marketing and sales.

“Voice Search is already affecting the way businesses are found online, with over 50% of searches being done vocally, requiring a new different SEO approach.

“It not often a brand-new marketing sector is created which is why we are starting to see lots of interest in our services for these new intimate, non-competitive conversation-based channels.”

Smart Octopus Voice Agency offers a full voice and messaging service together with workshops to help businesses embrace and leverage voice-enablement.

Visit: www.smartoctopusvoiceagency.com

A charity which empowers people affected by disability and health conditions to fulfil their potential and aspirations has received a top accreditation.

The Disability Resource Centre has been awarded the Level 3 Disability Confident Leader accreditation by the Department of Work and Pensions.

This is fantastic news for the charity which provides a wide range of services, including free training and development opportunities. At this crucial time, it is also offering online programmes designed to develop personal, IT and employability skills to help participants find work, through the centre’s Support into Employment programme.

Health, learning and work project coordinator Shaun McCarthy said: “We support people who are either an unpaid carer, over 50, have a physical disability, long-term health condition or mental ill health.

“We’d like to hear from any employers who have full-time or part-time work opportunities for our candidates. Our Employer Engagement Officer can refer candidates to you who are graduating from our Support into Employment programme and have the relevant skills and attributes you are looking for.

“As a Disability Confident Leader, we can also work with employers and provide a Disability Awareness workshop. We can provide expert advice and guidance to raise awareness within their organisation and we will also support them on their journey to becoming a Disability Confident Employer.”

Employers who are interested in working with the centre or anyone who has enquiries related about their online programmes can email hlw@drcbeds.org.uk Visit: www.drcbeds.org.uk

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MEMBER PROFILE

NAME: Matthew Rigby-White COMPANY: Square Media Solutions Ltd (Square Media) JOB TITLE: Managing director WHAT DOES YOUR ORGANISATION DO? Square Media are an outsourced marketing company based in Corby, Northamptonshire. The company offers a wide range of services including marketing consultancy, branding, design, programming, development, and SEO marketing.

HOW DID IT ALL START? Back in 2013, in the cupboard under the stairs. I started with the objective of helping small business owners, that otherwise couldn’t afford a marketing manager, achieve growth in their business.

WHAT’S YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT SO FAR? Hearing my staff telling me Square Media is the best place they’ve ever worked. We’re nothing without our people.

WHAT KEEPS YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT? Over the last year – Covid. Not just because of the potential impact on our own business, but also the impact on some of our clients’ businesses. Fortunately, we were able to work with those clients to help them with their recovery.

WHAT HAS SURPRISED YOU MOST IN YOUR JOB? My staff’s positive attitude to our own business’s growth. I do try to foster a sense of ‘ownership’ among my team but in the past year I’ve seen a sense of teamwork and ownership I’m truly proud of.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST RISK YOU’VE EVER TAKEN – AND DID IT WORK? Hiring my first member of staff. This was also the best decision I ever made. As a one-man band, the buck stopped with me. Imparting some of that responsibility onto someone else is a big leap of faith.

Now, the business is 16-strong and with every new addition, the business becomes more successful.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE STARTING OUT? Keep learning. Keep saying yes. Keep your motivation. If you’re willing to work hard and you’re able to have a ‘can do’ attitude you’re halfway to success already.

WHAT EXCITING PROJECTS IS YOUR ORGANISATION WORKING ON? A website build and marketing contract for a new Fibre Broadband provider who have raised more than £1bn in capital to launch their network across the East of England. It’s exciting to be involved in a project which will truly improve people’s lives across the East of England.

WHAT MADE YOUR ORGANISATION JOIN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE CHAMBER? We admire the support the Northamptonshire Chamber provide to businesspeople, young and old, across our county. Why wouldn’t we want to be involved?

T: 03303 800 630 E: m.rigby-white@squaremedia.solutions W: squaremedia.solutions

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YOU KAN OVERCOME YOUR TRAUMA A new organisation has launched in Northamptonshire to help people break free from trauma, phobias, anxiety, addictions and over-eating disorders.

YooKanToo has been started by Kellie Ceccarelli (pictured) who is a qualified and registered EMDR practitioner, cognitive behavioural psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist.

Since launching the business this year, Kellie has worked with clients face-to-face and via her teletherapy sessions which are delivered online.

Kellie said: “I use a variety of solution-focused therapies, plenty of kindness and lots of smiles to help people say goodbye to unwanted behaviours.

“I specialise in anxiety, disordered eating, junk food obsessions, insomnia, phobias, trauma and PTSD. “People don’t think twice about seeking help for a physical pain and yet they often hide the pain in their minds and expect things to change, but if nothing changes, nothing changes. Change can happen and with the right therapy, it can be completely transforming.

“Now, more than ever we live in a world where we need support. We’ve experienced disconnect like never before and need help to heal the hurt. I’m excited to work with my clients and help them take their power back.”

The first consultation with Kellie is free, she offers ‘unrushed sessions’ which last up to 90 minutes and clients can opt for online or face-to-face meetings.

Kellie also offers businesses Mental Health First Aid support so they can ‘NOW, MORE provide staff with care in the workplace and benefit from higher levels of THAN EVER WE staff retainment and productivity.

LIVE IN A WORLD Kellie added: “I’m also a motivational speaker offering powerful stories and life changing advice. I help guests walk away from business events WHERE WE NEED feeling motivated to make real change in their lives.

SUPPORT’ “I’ve delivered hundreds of talks and training to a variety of audiences and personalities and can provide bespoke talks to suit different needs.”

Email: kellie@yookantootherapy.com Call: 07480 067148

CALL FOR MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT Northamptonshire Mind is urging the business community to pull together to help ease the mental health crisis.

CEO Sarah Hillier said now is the time to act as the pandemic has hit the mental well-being of our communities starkly over the past year.

The recent merger of Northampton and District, Wellingborough, Corby and Rushden Minds has put the organisation in a strong position to support communities as they emerge into a post-lockdown world.

Sarah said: “The effects of lockdowns and restrictions have had a devastating effect on the mental health of thousands of people and demand for our services has increased dramatically, as people search for the support they need to improve their mental well-being.

“We’ve been proactive and innovative in continuing to offer advice and help in a variety of ways and have had to find funds and resources in new ways, as naturally, we’ve seen many of our traditional fundraising routes cut off.”

Northamptonshire Mind has been thankful for the support which many businesses, community groups and individuals have shown it over the past few months and is keen to work with more organisations.

Sarah added: “Business leaders are increasingly seeing the benefits of a workplace where mental health is seen as important and can be openly approached. For our part, we can help them achieve those goals and support them in supporting their employees.

“Good mental health and awareness helps businesses, it helps the family unit, it helps parenting, if helps the wider community, it has beneficial effects on crime rates and sociological issues. If we all pull together, we can achieve this.”

There are many ways businesses and individuals can offer support, including corporate partnerships, donations, fundraising activities and volunteering.

Email: nick.tite@northamptonshiremind.org.uk Call: 07714 823693

RECOGNITION FOR COLLEGE LECTURER Michael Knibbs, sports lecturer at Moulton College in Northamptonshire, is celebrating after receiving a silver certificate for BTEC Tutor of the Year in the 2021 BTEC Awards.

The BTEC Awards is an annual competition celebrating the fantastic achievements of BTEC learners, tutors, schools and colleges across the world.

Promoted by Pearson, a multinational publishing and education company, the awards feature 19 categories, including BTEC Tutor of the Year 2021.

Corrie Harris, principal and CEO at Moulton College commented: “It’s always fantastic to see our wonderful staff receive recognition at an international level for their hard work and dedication within the education sector. Michael has played an integral role within the College’s sports department and we’re thrilled that this is being acknowledged by BTEC.” Michael (pictured) said: “I’m delighted to have received this certificate. It’s touching to know I was nominated, let alone receive silver! I’m passionate about helping

the next generation to get into sports and I’m thankful to the Sports Department and the wider Moulton College leadership for its continued support.”

Visit www.moulton.ac.uk

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MEMBER ZONE

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NEXT GENERATION PROFILE

MEMBER BENEFITS CHAMBER FX Exclusive foreign exchange member package offering free health check, low transfer fees and free account opening. Key benefits include bankbeating exchange rates.

NAME: Nina Gandy

CHAMBER HEALTH PLAN

COMPANY: Cynthia Spencer Hospice Charity

Provided by Westfield Health, Chamber Primary Health Plan can give members cover from just £5.57 per employee, per month.

JOB TITLE: Corporate partnerships fundraiser

CHAMBER AA Chamber members can save up to 63% on roadside assistance for business vehicles in a scheme provided by The AA.

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT CHAMBERCUSTOMS

BACKGROUND I’ve worked for Cynthia Spencer for just over two years having previously worked for a large hotel group and the University of Northampton. I knew for some time I wanted to work for a charity but it was realising I had transferable skills to do so and someone taking a chance on me that gave me the opportunity. I’ve lived in Northamptonshire for almost 12 years, and I love the area and the people.

As much as I loved Essex this is my home now!

WHAT DOES YOUR JOB INVOLVE? I look after all the businesses who wish to support the charity. This could be working with them as their chosen charity of the year, supporting them with running their own event or ensuring they have everything they need to get involved in one of ours.

I also work with businesses who volunteer to support the work of the charity too. Creating awareness and understanding about the care and services the Hospice provides is hugely important too. Along with organising and running events, my favourite part of the job is relationship management. I get to work with so many different people and talk a lot, all for a good cause. What more could I want in a job?!

WHY DID YOU JOIN NEXT GENERATION CHAMBER? To have the opportunity to meet other young business professionals in Northamptonshire. It’s a safe space to allow your voice to be heard. It’s also a great opportunity to share ideas and learn too.

The personal development sessions have also made me look at things differently too.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVOURITE NEXT GENERATION CHAMBER EVENT AND WHY? The sandwich socials were a great way to interact with other members during lockdown. I’d only got the chance to attend a couple of face-to-face sessions before the lockdown, one which Paul Beesley ran and the other online session I really enjoyed was by Reemesh Patel.

WHICH NEXT GENERATION CHAMBER MEMBER DO YOU ADMIRE? Hannah Brady. I heard about Hannah soon after I started with the Hospice - thanks to her singing and fundraising efforts - but, also as someone with so much ambition and drive and a well-respected member of the local business community. I’ve got to know Hannah more throughout the pandemic via virtual networking and she’s shown me it’s good to talk about the good days and bad. It’s great to see The Brady Creative going from strength to strength.

WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU’VE LEARNED FROM NEXT GENERATION CHAMBER? Even if you’re unsure about something and it pushes you out of your comfort zone there are times you must go for it! Well-being has also been a huge thing during the pandemic, and it was important to see some sessions around this too.

SOCIAL MEDIA CONTACT LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nina-gandya5367264/ Instagram: cynthiaspencercharity Facebook: Cynthia Spencer Hospice Twitter: @CynthiaSHospice

NEXT GENERATION CHAMBER PATRONS

Your Chamber has been appointed as an official delivery agent for ChamberCustoms, which delivers a customs declaration service for UK importers and exporters of all sizes.

The service is offered direct to businesses and through UK Customs Agents, ensuring that customs clearance is accurate, timely and avoids additional costs through delays or errors.

With direct links to the HMRC Customs handling system and all inventory linked ports, we can ensure that your goods, no matter where they enter or leave the UK, will be cleared for onward transportation smoothly.

As ChamberCustoms agent, we offer: • A high level of compliance and assurance for customers • Confidence on tariff and data entry to remove fiscal risk; backed by the technical expertise of the market leader in this sector • A wealth of international trade experience and expertise from across the trusted Chamber of Commerce network UK. To find out more email chambercustoms@northantschamber.co.uk

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021 inbusiness 41

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NEWMEMBERS Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce would like to welcome its NEW MEMBERS. Membership offers your business a whole host of support services and ways to connect and network with other companies. Contact the Chamber membership team on 01604 490490 A-BAX Precision Engineering Ltd KETTERING 01536 310121 www.a-bax.co.uk Manufacture of component parts for automotive inject automotive industry Active Internet Marketing NORTHAMPTON 01604 765796 www.activeinternetmarketing.co.uk Digital Marketing Express Blue Lobster Consultancy NORTHAMPTON 07519 655921 www.bluelobsterconsultancy.co.uk Mental health first aid trainer, mental health awareness for line managers, managing resilience and absenteeism, mental health first aid two-day course Dandi London QUINTON 0845 5761982 www.dandilondon.com Manufacture and retail products G4S Custodial & Rehabilitation Service WELLINGBOROUGH 07385431890 www.g4s.com G4S custodial rehabilitation services will be running the new HMP Five Wells in Wellingborough opening 22 January GPC Group HEMEL HEMPSTEAD 07594 886530 GPC Group was established to help and support the cleaning industry, ensuring high-level areas are easily accessible for optimal dust removal GuttVac Guttering & Exterior Cleaning Services NORTHAMPTON 07751 732228 www.guttvac.co.uk Professional company based in Northampton. Their mission is to provide a prompt and high-quality guttering and exterior cleaning service to homes and businesses H&MV Engineering NORTHAMPTON 02034 814608 www.hmveng.ie Engineering specialist energy services to the highest international safety and quality standards, specialising in data centres, renewables and utility sectors Haus of HR Limited TOWCESTER 07846 656223 www.hausofhr.com

Providing HR consulting services to SMEs with particular focus on strategic partnering. Supporting with delivering effective HR solutions Health Hub Teams NORTHAMPTON 01604 930384 www.healthhub.com Health Hub Teams is a digital platform that improves employee wellbeing, health, and happiness and measurably enhances productivity Hellermann Tyton Data Ltd NORTHAMPTON 01604 706633 www.htdata.co.uk Telecommunication, LAN, FTTH Hilary’s Investigations NORTHAMPTON 07815889992 Professional, friendly and approachable process server.

Investigator and able to deliver on business-related issues. Member of ABI MATPAT Portable Appliance Testing Services NORTHAMPTON 01604 969795 www.mat-pat.co.uk As a leading provider of PAT testing in Northampton, MatPat keeps you, your staff, and your customers safe, for the price of a latte per electrical item Northamptonshire Sport NORTHAMPTON 07955 441485 www.northamptonshiresport.org We are a charity focused on helping the schools and communities of Northamptonshire to embed healthy, active lifestyles PPX Consulting Ltd KETTERING 07552 591621 www.ppxconsulting.co.uk Finance consulting services, primarily focused on process control for SMEs and start-ups Public Health Northamptonshire NORTHAMPTON 0300 126 3000 www.northants.gov.uk Public health service Reward-it Ltd NORTHAMPTON 020 8266 1600 www.reward-it.co.uk Customer loyalty is a driving factor in

42 inbusiness OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2021

retail success. For many independent retailers, the majority of business come from existing customers

government with their engagement and influence potential to inspire the next generation

Selva Fulfilment Ltd MILTON KEYNES 01908 648479 www.selvafulfilment.co.uk Fast, efficient and honest, a reputable and well-known fulfilment service.

Our team is up for every job, managing projects with skill and experience clients expect

Tilltech Systems Ltd PAULERSPURY 08712 211300 www.till.tech We are a close team of marketers, creatives, designers and developers who work together to create effective and engaging business solutions

Smart Octopus Voice Agency Ltd WALGRAVE 0800 038 6205 www.smartoctopusvoiceagency.com Our team develops effective voice and chatbot strategies for forwardthinking companies. We believe in an AI-Powered voice interfaced world and help companies plan Starting Off NORTHAMPTON 01604 622855 www.startingoff.co.uk Successfully recruiting and training office-based apprentices and graduates for over 30 years through Northamptonshire. With dedicated training centres Systems HR NORTHAMPTON 01604 891997 www.systemshr.com Independent specialists in HR systems - selection, implementation, and project management Target Electrical Contractors DAVENTRY 01327 707994 www.targetelectrical.org Since 2015 - Target Electrical Contractors have been working to design, install and maintain electrical solutions for the industrial and commercial sector The Nutrient Gap WELLINGBOROUGH 07814735489 www.thenutrientgap.com Food consultancy company working with food outlets consulting on food label compliance, front and back copy, nutritional tables, allergens, and health claims The STEM Project WELLINGBOROUGH 07969283092 www.thestemproject.co.uk Stem Education Consultancy Agency - Supporting education, business and

Tinderbox Ltd NORTHAMPTON 07889539814 www.tinderboxbusinessdevelopment. co.uk Tinderbox provides expert business advice, support, disciplines and training across a wide range of industries, helping businesses to grow profitably Tread Safe NORTHAMPTON 07502 770 106 www.tread-safe.uk Distributor, supplier and fitter of a puncture prevention pre-treatment Turners Window Stylings NORTHAMPTON 07891237077 www.turnerswindowstylings.com Turners Window Stylings have over 16 years’ experience in supplying and fitting all types and styles of window blinds, shutters, awnings, and external shading UK Business Forums NORTHAMPTON 01604 419603 www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk UK Business Forums is a place of knowledge, support and community for UK small businesses and sole traders to come together UK Timber Limited CORBY 01536 267107 www.uk-timber.co.uk Operating several sawmills within the UK and having partner mills on the continent allows us to offer you an extensive range of high quality timber products World Media Initiatives NEWPORT PAGNELL 07737750394 www.localmediainitiatives.org Media/Creative Sector training centre for young people from the age of nine. Media Production including documentaries, short films, commercials, and event coverage

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