Sussex Business Times - Issue 412 - May 2017

SBT

MAY 2017 ISSUE 412

FREE

SUSSEX BUSINESS TIMES

STEM CAREERS:

BRANCHING OUT FOR THIS MONTH’S EDUCATION FOCUS, SBT EXPLORES THE RISING NEED FOR FEMALES ENTERING STEM RELATED CAREERS

HANDELSBANKEN THIS MONTH IT CELEBRATED ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SERVING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS BANKING CUSTOMERS IN BRIGHTON

TEST DRIVE:

SBT GOT BEHIND THE WHEELS OF THE PEUGEOT 308 GTI AND, INTRODUCING A COMMERCIAL VEHICLES FOCUS, THE VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER

THE SUSSEX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:

ANA CHRISTIE

FOR THIS MONTH’S COVER FEATURE, SBT WELCOMES SUSSEX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND CATCHES UP WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ANA CHRISTIE, WHO TALKS ABOUT HOW THE SUSSEX CHAMBER IS PROUD TO BE AT THE HEART OF SUSSEX SERVING THE SUSSEX BUSINESS COMMUNITY SINCE 1975

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SBTWelcome MEET THE TEAM

Lee Mansfield, Managing Director/ Publisher

Clare Fermor, Operations Director

Jon Dawson, Sales

Elliott Mansfield, Sales

Amy Watson, Production Manager

Tom Alexander, Web Designer/ Developer

Jess Saunders, Editor

David Beckett Sales

CONTRIBUTORS

The first quarter of 2017 was quite a time for events taking over the business calendar, and this hasn’t yet come to an end.

Here, in your May issue, Sussex Business Times takes a look at the aftermath of the Big Futures Show, hearing from some of the event’s visitors, and feeds back on the Sussex Digital Awards 2017, of which Sussex Business Times was a proud partner.

Elsewhere in this issue and ahead of Father’s Day, we take a look at the difficulties dads face with maintaining a healthy work-life balance and the consequences of wanting to spend more time at home. Our education section this month looks at the need for an increase in females taking on STEM related careers, with input from engineering company, Cox Powertrain, while our health and wellbeing feature explores the wellbeing training initiatives businesses can take on as a means of establishing a healthy and happy workforce. Finance this month looks at Metro Bank, and Sussex Business Times catches up with Managing Director of Business Banking, Ian Walters, who answers some of our burning questions.

Our cover feature this month focuses on the Sussex Chamber of Commerce and SBT hears from Cheif Executive, Ana Christie.

Grace Lawless, Managing Director, Veriteam Ltd

Nick Rawson, Partner, Knill James Chartered Accountants

Andy Lord, Chartered Richard Newell, Physiotherapist Director, and Quality, Safety GDPR-INFO Ltd and Improvement Manager, Sussex MSK Partnership East

Steve Amos, Business Writing Coach, Katimira Ltd.

Alongside all of this, we provide you with your regular Ask the Expert columns and Made in Sussex feature, this month with Green People. Also, for May’s motoring reviews, Sussex Business Times got behind the wheels of the Peugeot 308 GTi and – introducing a Commercial Vehicles section – the Volkswagen Transporter, putting both motors through their paces and reporting back on our findings. Of course, also included in this issue are our usual hotel and lunch reviews, this month featuring Brighton’s Artist Residence and the Rose Cottage Inn, Alciston, plus your regular local, national, motoring and Chamber news sections.

Jess Saunders, Editor

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 3

SBTContents

Issue 412

SBT

MAY 2017 ISSUE 412

FREE

SUSSEX BUSINESS TIMES

STEM CAREERS:

BRANCHING OUT FOR THIS MONTH’S EDUCATION FOCUS, SBT EXPLORES THE RISING NEED FOR FEMALES ENTERING STEM RELATED CAREERS

HANDELSBANKEN THIS MONTH IT CELEBRATED ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY SERVING PERSONAL AND BUSINESS BANKING CUSTOMERS IN BRIGHTON

TEST DRIVE:

SBT GOT BEHIND THE WHEELS OF THE PEUGEOT 308 GTI AND, INTRODUCING A COMMERCIAL VEHICLES FOCUS, THE VOLKSWAGEN TRANSPORTER

THE SUSSEX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE:

ANA CHRISTIE

FOR THIS MONTH’S COVER FEATURE, SBT WELCOMES SUSSEX CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND CATCHES UP WITH CHIEF EXECUTIVE, ANA CHRISTIE, WHO TALKS ABOUT HOW THE SUSSEX CHAMBER IS PROUD TO BE AT THE HEART OF SUSSEX SERVING THE SUSSEX BUSINESS COMMUNITY SINCE 1975

Cover: Ana Christie, Chief Executive, Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Managing Director/Publisher: Lee Mansfield lee@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Operations Director: Clare Fermor clare@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Sales: Jon Dawson jon@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 David Beckett david@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 014 Elliott Mansfield elliott@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 012 Editorial: Jenny Ardagh jenny@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 011 Jess Saunders jess@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819019 Production Manager: Amy Watson amy@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 018 Web Designer/Developer: Tom Alexander Subscriptions: Linda Grace linda@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 015 Accounts: Anne Greenwood anne@lifemediagroup.co.uk 01323 819 007 Published by Life Media Group, Unit1, Swan Barn Business Centre, Swan Barn Road, Hailsham, BN27 2BY Printed by Gemini Print A1, Dolphin Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 6NZ 01273 464884 www.gemini-print.co.uk

All material in this publication is strictly copyright and all rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The views expressed in Sussex Business Times Magazine do not necessarily represent the view of Life Media Group LTD. Every care is taken in compiling the contents but the publishers of Sussex Business Times Magazine assume no responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from the participation in any offers, competitions or advertisement contained within Sussex Business Times Magazine. All prices featured in Sussex Business Times Magazine are correct at the time of going to press.

Copyright Life Media Group LTD 2017 ©

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News

View the latest local and national business headlines.

Spending it

SBT looks at how to treat that special person come 18th June with SBT’’s top Father’s Day gift ideas he’s sure to love.

Money Matters: Metro Bank

SBT introduces Metro Bank, discussing their journey since being founded back in 2010, and speaks to Managing Director of Business Banking, Ian Walters.

Education: STEM Careers

For this month’s Education focus, Sussex Business Times introduces Cox Powertrain and explores the rising need for females entering STEM related careers.

Wellbeing Training: What Works?

Now, the first systematic review of wellbeing training has shown which types and formats of training are most effective to support wellbeing in addition to learning. We take a look at the findings.

Cover Feature: Sussex Chamber of Commerce

SBT welcomes Sussex Chamber of Commerce and catches up with Chief Executive, Ana Christie, who talks about how The Sussex Chamber is proud to be at the heart of Sussex.

BHAFC Celebrates Premier League Success

Following on from last month’s news that Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club have moved up to the Premier League, Sussex Business Times provides you with the latest.

Dad’s the Word

Here, we explore the problems males face with regards to maintaining a work-life balance.

Tried and Tested in Sussex

SBT’s Jess Saunders and Amy Watson took to the Rose Cottage Inn, Alciston whilst Managing Director, Lee Mansfield enjoyed an overnight stay at Brighton’s Artist Residence.

Chamber News

Sussex Business Times has partnered with Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce this month, informing readers of what to expect as it celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Motoring

For this month’s motoring reviews, Sussex Business Times got behind the wheels of the Peugeot 308 GTi and, introducing a commercial vehicles focus, the Volkswagen Transporter.

Ask the Experts

Local Sussex business experts advise on relevant issues.

Made in Sussex

This month’s home-grown hero is Green People.

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SBTLocal News Coffin Mew Completes Merger With Charles Lucas & Marshall

Coffin Mew has completed its merger with Charles Lucas & Marshall (CL&M), creating a £15m legal business across eight locations with more than 220 employees. The merger positions Coffin Mew as one of the largest law firms in the central South region, with a 30% increase in turnover and close to 40% increase in staffing levels.

The deal will significantly bolster the firm’s Private Client offering, with 58% of the combined firm’s work dedicated to Private Client, including a weighty focus on Wills, Trusts and Probate and Wealth Management.

Recognising CL&M’s experience in the Rural Land and Landed Estates sector, this merger signals not only the growth of Coffin Mew in real terms, but the expansion of the firm’s expertise and service provision.

Managing Partner of CL&M, Hemant Amin said: “The integration of CL&M staff has been my key focus and I have been delighted with how seamless the process has been. The combined firm’s talents, expertise and experience will certainly make it a legal force to be reckoned with in the South.”

Showcase Event Helps Care Providers Tackle the Challenges Facing Adult Social Care In one of the most hotly anticipated seminars at the annual Surrey and Sussex Care Showcase, the Care Quality Commission’s Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care, Andrea Sutcliffe, outlined her views on how quality care can be sustained in the face of increasing challenges to the sector.

With the theme of Developing Resilience in Health and Social Care, the Showcase’s seminar programme offered care providers a unique perspective on a wide variety of topics including dementia and end of life care, technology,

staff recruitment and leadership, and even a look at Australian models of home care.

Attracting over 600 care providers and care staff from across Surrey and Sussex, this year’s Showcase was officially opened by The Mayor of Brighton & Hove Councillor Pete West. The showcase’s extensive exhibition area also offered a ‘one stop shop’ for information and advice on products and services from over 65 training providers, legal and business advisors, care associations and suppliers to the care industry.

Grant Thornton Launches Innovative New Business Space in Gatwick Grant Thornton UK LLP has moved to a new office space as part of a firmwide evolution to further facilitate and support new, vibrant business growth across the UK. The dynamic new space, located in St. John’s House in the centre of Crawley, offers a contemporary hub for business professionals to meet, connect and access expert advice and follows the launch of similar venues in Chelmsford and St Albans by Grant Thornton last year.

Ellen Walsh, Practice Leader at Grant Thornton, Gatwick said: “We are deliberately doing things differently at Grant Thornton.

We want to steer away from the usual idea of an office with everyone working at desks to create an informal, relaxed space where our people and clients can make connections, have open and insightful conversations and develop relationships. We think of the office very much as a place to do business rather than a place to work.”

Local Eco-Architecture Firm Hiring Extra Staff To Keep Up With Demand Koru Architects has hired an extra assistant to their small but expanding team due to increased demand for their services.

Aylin Metin joined the team this month as an architectural assistant to work on sketches, drawings and 3D modelling for Koru’s projects. She will also be working on PassivPod, the zero-carbon multi-use modular building being developed by Koru.

Aylin said: “What I particularly like about Koru is the aim to design life enhancing,

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genuinely sustainable architecture. I am truly inspired by this approach and I hope this role will give me an insight into how to integrate sustainability into design.”

Koru Architects have had a stint of sustainable growth over the last year.

Director, Mark Pellant began 2016 with just one architectural assistant, Christina. That Spring he hired Tegan as a Marketer and Issi as an Architect.

This expansion helped to bring in more business.

SBTLocal News Komedia Brighton was crowned ‘Best Venue’ in the South with ‘Best Club’ going to their monthly, gay-friendly comedy club, Bent Double. The winners were announced following an online poll of six thousand comedy fans, from a shortlist chosen by independent industry experts.

Komedia’s ‘Best Club’ award marks the fourteenth win for the venue, cementing its reputation as one of the top venues in the UK to see big names, as well as upand-coming comedians.

Komedia’s Managing Director, and Founder, Colin Granger had

the following to say: “I’m thrilled that Komedia has been voted best venue in the South for the 14th time, it’s a real honour. A big thank you has to go to our amazing comedy audience who support us yearround, Stephen Grant and the Krater Comedy Club, and the hundreds of acts we have every year. Thanks also to our team here at Komedia and of course everyone who voted for us.

For full details about this year’s Chortle Awards please see www.chortle.co.uk

Celebrating 55 Years at Richard Place Dobson Richard Place Dobson has celebrated 55 years of service by their longest standing employee, Maggie Reid. Maggie joined the team in late 1961 as a Secretary. At the time she was one of just six employees, plus one Partner and has seen the firm grow to its current size today of three Partners and 29 employees.

Maggie’s role over the years has also evolved from purely secretarial work to taking on the Firm’s bookkeeping, completing tax returns, company formations, property management and payroll matters.

Maggie commented: “I have watched

the firm grow from a small firm dealing with accounting, tax returns and company secretarial matters to now dealing with many specialist areas such as tax planning, financial services, charities and probate matters. I have also seen many changes in technology and have always embraced those changes.”

Over the 55 years Maggie has observed the transformation from the typewriter to the word processor, the introduction of the internet, three office moves, the introduction of VAT, celebrated the 100th year anniversary of the Firm in 2008 and has also seen the UK join (and now leave) the EEC!

£3m Funding Boost as Work Starts on Phase One of Royal Pavilion Estate Project Creative Commons - flamenc ©

Komedia Wins Big at Chortle Awards 2017

Brighton & Hove City Council, Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival have announced that the first phase of their joint vision to revitalise the Royal Pavilion Estate has been awarded £3m from the Coast to Capital Local Growth fund.

The grant award will go towards a major refurbishment of the Grade 1 listed Brighton Dome Corn Exchange and Grade 2 listed Studio Theatre as the first phase of an ambitious heritage project at the city’s Royal Pavilion Estate.

The improvement works, which will restore long-lost heritage features as well as provide new, state-of the art facilities, began on-site in March following the appointment of Britain’s oldest and most established building company, R. Durtnell and Sons Limited, as contractors.

The £3m grant joins funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England (ACE) and Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), along with money from the city council, charitable trusts and individual patrons.

West Sussex manufacturing firm invests in high-skilled jobs and automation Littlehampton plastics design and manufacturing company, SI Protech, is set to invest £500,000 of NatWest and Lombard funding into automation and manufacturing improvements.

The investment will enhance the design and implementation of the company’s products, leading to increased productivity. It will also support the introduction of operational improvements that will advance the company’s business procedures and help drive efficiencies.

These refinements will lower SI Protech’s cost base and allow the business to hire high skilled employees through the expansion of its technical team. The firm currently employs over 25 local staff and is set to begin a moulding technician trainee scheme to help combat the technical and engineering skills shortage.

Managing Director of SI Protech, Alan Edmonds, said: “This funding will be the key to ensuring that we remain at the cutting-edge of manufacturing and design technology.

NatWest and Lombard were able to provide us with flexible facilities and continual support throughout this process, and have been instrumental in the development of the business.”

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SBTNational News Moneymailme Launches Merchant Payment Solution for Online Retailers

Online retailers are now able to offer a new way for their customers to pay on their website by using the Moneymailme app.

The new simple, fast and secure method will offer an attractive instant payment option for Moneymailme’s customers around the world and keep fees as low as 0.75% per transaction for retailers.

Online merchants can implement the innovative e-payments system to optimise the costs and speed of transactions. Once M3 Pay is added to the online store there is no processing time or delays.

When the user pays, the money will be instantly shown in the merchant’s account.

Moneymailme CEO Mihai Ivascu said: “Online retailers, particularly smaller merchants, are often stung by high fees when people use debit and credit cards to make purchases. Having another option with a fixed rate of just 0.75% and no monthly fee will enable them to keep more of their profits and grow in a very competitive marketplace.”

More than 1 in 4 have beenTo Inspired

by TV Shopping On Mobile Top £53bn Shows to Start a Business By 2024 TV shows such as Dragons Den and their panel of business giants are inspiring a new generation of job seekers, according to new research.

A survey of 2,012 British adults published in the Careers on the Box report by Fletchers Solicitors has revealed that more than 1 in 4 (27%) millennials have considered starting a business as a result of watching a TV show or film.

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35% of those aged 18-30 confessed to taking inspiration for their career path from their favourite TV shows and box sets, with business and law among the top careers to pursue as a result. However, despite nearly two thirds (62%) of people saying they have researched a job or career path they have seen on the telly, for 38%, the reality of working life and setting up a business differed from the silver screen, as they felt the television made their job look better than it is.

UK Companies Can’t Find People with the Right Skills to Expand A survey found 86% of manufacturing firms and 59% of service firms are seeking to expand but the majority can’t find the right people.

The report published by the British Chambers of Commerce found that 86% of UK manufacturing firms and 59% of service firms are seeking to expand, but the majority can’t find the right people, leading to a squeeze that threatens to damage the economy.

Official figures also revealed that EU nationals make up 7% of the UK workforce. The Office for National Statistics said migrant labour was particularly important for the retail, hospitality, public administration and health sectors.

If Adam Marshall, BCC Diretcor General said: “Businesses continue to report recruitment difficulties, and while we’d like to see greater investment in training across the board, without access to a sufficient talent pool, companies are restricted in their development ambitions.”

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Edinburgh Ranked as the Best City in the UK to Start a New Business Speedy internet connections, reasonable office rent and a substantial pool of tech-savvy university students means that Edinburgh is the best place in the UK to launch a startup, according to a new study. The report by Expert Market, a firm that specialises in providing business solutions, also cites efficient transport links as one of the reasons why Edinburgh was rewarded the title of best location for budding entrepreneurs to get their businesses off the ground.

Bristol came in second, ahead of London, Liverpool and Brighton. Norwich was the worst-ranked of the 43 cities

analysed, behind Worcester, Exeter, Canterbury and Gloucester, however the best first five-year survival rates for new businesses were found in Chichester, according to the study.

“As costs in the capital continue to soar, naturally we see other cities come to the fore”, said Adelle Kehoe, Head of Research at Expert Market. She also said that Liverpool’s and Brighton’s relatively speedy commute times helped them into the top five.

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For

Simply Stunning…

If a weekend retreat or fortnight away in the beautiful French countryside is something you’re looking for, then this could be your perfect property. Located a ten minute walk away from the historic town of Châteaubriant and in between the cities of Nantes and Rennes, this beautiful property can cater to anyone’s needs.

It comes hand in hand with huge outside space, with an additional generous amount of land across form the house itself, along with two large reception rooms, a lavish lounge and unconnected kitchen, it’s own library and separate ‘gîte’, which is currently interconnected. There is also scope for at least another two or three upstairs bedrooms, showing that residents really would have the possibility to make it their own.

All of this could be yours for €200,000!

For any further information, please contact Liam via liamstewartbarham@hotmail.co.uk or call 07737605223

Spending It

Fathers Day Gift Guide

Stuck for ideas of what to give that special person come 18th June?

Here are SBT’’s top Father’s Day gift ideas he’s sure to love

BMW M Driving Experience A true high-performance day; experience the adrenaline delivered by BMW M models. Take the racing line in the BMW M2, M4 and M6 and enjoy hot laps in the BMW M235i. Reignite your passion for driving with this full-throttle official BMW track day.* A treat for yourself or as a gift; it will be unforgettable. £595. *Driving practices performed in the course of the BMW Driving Experience event are: 1. Performed exclusively in a safe environment, namely a secluded and separate circuit, not on public roads.

2. Performed only after introductory training and under strict supervision of a professional.

3. Must not be performed on public roads.

https://drivingexperiences.bmw.co.uk

Craft Gin Club Show your Dad just how much he means to you with a membership to Craft Gin Club.

Every month, Craft Gin Club hand picks a full-sized bottle of one of the world’s finest small batch gins, including rare and exclusive bottlings, and sends it to their members in a surprise box. www.craftginclub.co.uk

The Vinci Key Wallet The Vinci leather key case offers a smart and functional way to keep your keys safe and quickly accessible. This small leather key organiser opens with a classic zip and features six hooks, suitable to hold several keys. £48. www.maxwellscottbags.com

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anCnoc Highland Single Malt Scotch Unique and distinct in flavour, Rascan is a whisky with a difference that will titillate the taste buds. Part of anCnoc’s Limited Edition Peaty Collection, Rascan derives its name from the tool used to harvest peat which gives this whisky its distinctive smokines. RRP for a 70cl bottle: £52. https://ancnoc.com

Spending It

Peerless TrackR Collection The Cross Peerless TrackR contains a Bluetooth chip which tracks its location. Using the TrackR app, which tracks the last seen location with the date and time stamp, you can ring the pen if it gets lost. This will give fathers peace of mind, not having to think about mundane things such as where they last left their pen, and reduce the stress of finding their lost phone. £215. http://www.cross.com

English sparkling wines Bolney Wine Estate and the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, have combined their exceptional expertise to launch a new range of premium English sparkling wines, which will be available to purchase in Spring.

The Bolney Kew Sparkling collection includes a sparkling white and a sparkling rosé. RRP starts from £31. www.bolneywineestate.com Thorpe Granite Long Sleeved Made from 100% merino wool woven in the brand’s trademark piqué, this dapper running top is wonderfully warm, dry and itch free.

An in-seam valuables pocket keeps keys and credit cards safe, whilst fold down cuffs with laser cut thumb holes shield hands from the elements without friction. Featuring Iffley Road’s signature tri-stripe hanging loop and embroidered with the Iffley Road roundel, this top is the perfect fusion of form and function with a nod to nostalgia in the styling. £120. www.iffleyroad.com

Soho Mens Sterling Silver & Onyx Chain Cufflinks Complement muted work wear with these Mens Chainlink Cufflinks SS and Onyx. Perfect for Father’s Day, add a touch of style to their work attire with these cufflinks. £225.

www.linksoflondon.com

Small Shagreen And Bone Cufflink Box Specialising in materials such as shagreen, shell and other opulent surfaces, Simon Orrell Designs has carved out a niche for distinctive finishes and in addition to a furniture/ home collection has created a selection of fine gifts.

Choose from jewellery, ring, watch and cufflink boxes as well as striking containers for the storage of precious trinkets. £155. www.simonorrelldesigns.com

The Verzino 15” Laptop Case The Verzino is a slim-line, simplistic leather laptop case, handmade in Italy using luxurious Italian leather. The zip opening opens to reveal a padded interior, designed to protect a 15” laptop or MacBook from scrapes and bumps. £154. www.maxwellscottbags.com

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Money Matters

Metro Bank

For this month’s finance section, Sussex Business Times introduces Metro Bank, discussing their journey since being founded back in 2010, and speaks to Managing Director of Business Banking, Ian Walters Finance is one of the, if not the most important factor to Finance consider for any business owner, and it’s crucial that entrepreneurs and established business leaders have trust and confidence in whichever bank they choose to deal with their finances. As the first new high street bank to launch in the UK for over 100 years, Metro Bank has made its mark since being founded

by Vernon Hill back in 2010.

Just to provide you with a little bit of history – if you can call it that – Metro Bank was granted its license by the Financial Services Authority in 2010, making it the first high street bank in over a century to be granted such a license.

Metro Bank planned to open around 110 stores in London and the South within 10 years of starting up, while its first ever store opened on 29th July 2010 in Holborn.

In 2012, Metro Bank went on to raise an additional $200 million in funding from investors and in the same year, Fortune Magazine reported that Metro Bank’s flagship Holborn store had “...garnered $200 million in deposits, four times the total at the average mature American branch”, gaining recognition from brands and organisations worldwide, and in such a short space of time.

Metro Bank is now proud to be the

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Moneywise Most Trusted Financial across its stores every year. Furthermore, Provider for 2016, amongst earning itself kids and family life matter to Metro Bank; many more awards over the brief few it’s not just your standard business bank. years it has been established. Of course, Every year the franchise helps thousands the fact that Metro Bank has only been of children to take their first steps with on the block for seven short years makes money, encouraging them to save and all these rewards and achievements that count their coins using their free Magic bit more impressive, just some of which Money Machines, while learning about including Best Branch Strategy Award budgeting with the financial education at the 2015 Retail Banker International programme. It’s clear to see that Metro Awards, Moneywise Customer Service Bank really does have the interests of Award 2015 for Most customers – whether Trusted Challenger a business point of “In nearly seven from Bank, PLC Awards view or not – in mind. years we’ve 2016’s New Company The outcome? A of the Year, Business different kind of high grown to over Lender of the Year at bank; one with 900,000 business street the 2017 Corporate stores that are open and personal Livewire Finance when it suits you, seven Awards and Fintech accounts, with days a week, one where Finance’s Best Bank £8bn in deposits you can walk in without Branch 2017. appointment and and £6bn in loans” an Metro Bank pride walk out with a working themselves on being account, debit card and committed to providing customers all. with unparalleled levels of service and Here, Sussex Business Times caught convenience, hence incorporating stores up with Ian Walters, Managing Director that are open 7 days a week, and from of Business Banking at Metro Bank, 8am to 8pm on weekdays, offering who provides you with answers to all super-quick account opening, on the your burning questions for Metro Bank spot card printing as well as 24/7 locally as a relatively new establishment in the based contact centres. Giving back to business world… the communities it serves is also one of Metro Bank’s most important elements, Metro Bank is a relatively new bank which leads them to host thousands of for both the general public and charity and business networking events businesses. Can you tell us a little bit

Money Matters

about your history, from the start to now?

Metro Bank launched in July 2010 as the first new high street bank in more than 100 years. Our focus is on providing customers with the very best banking experience in the market. We opened our first store in Holborn on July 29, and now have 48 stores across London and South, all of which are open seven days a week, 362 days a year, early in the morning to late at night. In nearly seven years we’ve grown to over 900,000 business and personal accounts, with £8bn in deposits and £6bn in loans. We currently employ over 2,500 colleagues who are empowered to provide customers with the very best in service and convenience, and we have exciting plans to hire around 500 more colleagues this year and open up to 10 new stores in communities including Canterbury, Oxford and Bristol.

What makes Metro Bank different to other banks?

Great customer service and convenience sit at the core of everything we do and as a result, we combine traditional banking services with amazing technology. Customers don’t need to book an appointment to see us and with the right documents they can open an account quickly and receive a working debit card on-the-spot, as well as having their internet and mobile banking set-up for them. Each store also houses free coin-counting machines, for use by everyone as well as safe deposit boxes to store valuables.

As a community bank, we make sure everyone is welcomed in to our stores, children and pets too, with lollipops and dog treats available to all. This community ethos extends to hosting an array of business networking events at all our stores, throughout the year.

What values does Metro Bank follow? How do these manifest themselves in the business community?

The customer is king at Metro Bank.

We recognise how important faceto-face relationships are to business owners and we work in partnership with them to help them realise their business goals and growth potential.

We place great emphasis on service

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Money Matters

and convenience – not rates and targets.

Every business customer has their own local dedicated relationship manager, who takes the time to really understand the customer as an individual, their business and how they can best meet their needs. They often visit clients at their offices or place of business, to really get to the heart of what they do and the unique challenges they face.

Metro Bank calls itself the Entrepreneur’s Bank – what benefits do start-ups and entrepreneurial business people receive with Metro Bank?

We understand entrepreneurs are busy people, therefore one of the things we do to make their lives easier is open business accounts in a matter of hours, not weeks. Our stores play a crucial role when it comes to the services we provide, from transactional services that are fundamental to the day-to-day running of trading businesses, to offering support and expert advice. What’s more, business owners are able to visit their local store at a time convenient to them.

With our extended opening hours, they’re able to fit banking around their busy work schedules.

We also believe that customers should be given choice about how they do their banking, so if they don’t have time to visit a store, they have the option to phone our 24/7 locally based contact centres and if they’re out and about, they can use our innovative mobile app or our internet banking.

Over the past year we have seen record levels of demand from business customers and at the beginning of the

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year we announced that we had ringfenced £1bn of funding for businesses, as well as boosting the number of business managers in our stores by 30%.

Ultimately we’ve hired more people to listen to our business customers and made sure there are sufficient funds to be lent.

How does the bank help with business growth or cash flow issues?

Whether a customer wants to buy more equipment, increase headcount or just needs a cash flow boost – we’re here to help. We offer simple and transparent solutions for business borrowing and we also have strong invoice and asset finance teams that work in tandem with customers to provide the right solution for them. Our lending process is quick and transparent and customers have direct

access to our underwriters and decision makers, which means they can speak to the person making their loan decisions.

Uncertainty is an issue at the moment, with article 50 just triggered and businesses not knowing where the market will lead them. What are your thoughts on how banks can/ should support businesses in times of uncertainty?

We’ve seen no impact to the bank or our lending following the EU referendum and the triggering of Article 50. It’s essentially business as usual for us and we’ll continue to support our customers as we always have.

How can banks continue to keep up with the 24/7 demand whilst still providing a customer-centered and excellent service?

In this current banking climate, providing excellent, customer-centric service is not an option, it’s a must. There are three things that are key to the success of Metro Bank – a differentiated model, a unique culture and fanatical execution.

Ultimately, for us it’s about relationship banking, it’s this approach that enables us to really understand our customers and their needs. Rather than viewing them as an account number, it’s important to pay attention to the end-to-end customer experience. At Metro Bank we’re interested in that customer’s business journey, so we’re able to make a tangible difference to their organisation and deliver value to that customers consistently to ensure they have a flawless banking experience at every touchpoint.

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15

Advertorial

Relationships Count As Handelsbanken Celebrates 10 Years in Brighton Handelsbanken, the local relationship bank, this month celebrated its 10th anniversary serving personal and business banking customers in Brighton Handelsbanken, the local relationship bank, this month Advertorial celebrated its 10th anniversary serving personal and business banking customers in Brighton. Since opening its doors initially in Queen Square in 2007, the branch has grown rapidly through recommendation. The branch was delighted to move to new, more central premises in Bartholomews late last year. Customer feedback on the new location is really positive.

Handelsbanken has over 800 branches in more than 20 countries. In Britain, the bank has been able to more than double its branch network since the financial crisis began, today supporting customers in over 200 branches across the country.

Due to its strong focus on long-term relationships and high levels of personal service, Handelsbanken was recently rated top for customer satisfaction for the eighth year running in an independent survey of British banks’ personal and business customers*.

The Brighton branch’s experienced team of 11 local bankers has developed steadily and today supports a wide range of customers with their banking needs. Branch Manager, Simon Howe, puts this success down to a unique combination of customer satisfaction, local decision making, and the bank’s

“We’ve been greatly encouraged by the response of local firms, individuals, and the professional community”

financial strength and stability, commented: “We’ve been greatly encouraged by the response of local firms, individuals, and the professional community. It demonstrates a clear demand for our traditional values of excellent personal service, long-term customer satisfaction, and sound banking advice based only on our customers’ needs.”

Handelsbanken’s strongly decentralised approach gives branch teams full power to make decisions locally, meaning customers benefit from genuinely bespoke banking and swift, clear decisions.

At a time when financial strength and stability are crucial to customers, Handelsbanken was named the world’s fourth safest commercial bank,

by Global Finance magazine**. This reflects the bank’s long-term focus and prudent, consistent approach to banking throughout all economic conditions.

Simon also added: “We always try and enjoy our jobs and I think customers also benefit from that. For instance, at the end of April, 8 of us ran in the “Warrior Run” and helped to raise nearly £3,000 for Albion in the Community. We were supported by several of our customers for which we were very grateful. The day itself was a great experience and there was a lot of mud around as well as lots of aching muscles for a couple of days!”

* EPSI Rating (Extended Performance Satisfaction Index) is a system created to collect, analyse and disseminate information about how an organisation is perceived by its stakeholders. The assessment is done in terms of image, preferences and perceived quality as well as loyalty and attractiveness by customers, employees and other interested parties. With a system of databases including more than 70,000 indices derived from some 2 million interviews taken during surveys in numerous country studies over almost two decades, ESPI Rating is the European leader in stakeholder management and benchmarking. For more information on EPSI Rating visit www.epsi-rating.com ** Global Finance, World’s Safest Banks, November 2016.

For more information contact Simon Howe on 01273 779903

16 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Or email siho03@handelsbanken.co.uk www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

17

Irwin Mitchell

The GDPR Race has Begun...

Root and branch data protection reform is coming under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Irwin Mitchell LLP explain some of the key changes to come Root and branch data protection reform is coming under Irwin the General Data Mitchell Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Even though the GDPR is European legislation and following the triggering of Article 50 divorce proceedings with the EU, the Government has confirmed that the GDPR will still be implemented in the UK. The GDPR will be in full effect in the UK from 25 May 2018. Whilst this may sound a long way off, in light of its wide ranging effect the clock is now ticking for businesses to ensure that they are compliant in time.

The GDPR will apply to all businesses that process personal data, i.e. information about individuals, which will affect more businesses than might first be thought. The perception is that it will only apply to consumers, but it has a far wider application than that. It will also apply to the use of personal data in the

18 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

HR and IT fields as well as in a business context, e.g. if you deal with any suppliers or customers who are sole traders or partnerships.

There is a stick and carrot in relation to GDPR compliance. There are some hefty fines for non-compliance of up to €20 million or 4% of annual worldwide turnover, whichever is greater. But there are also some positives. You can use your compliance to build trust and confidence with your customers and clients. In addition, if you get the right permissions you can shape your offering to clients and take advantage of Big Data, making your data work for your business. The GDPR should not therefore be seen as all doom and gloom. There are positives to be taken from compliance and it could possibly even save or make your business money.

Some of the key changes to be introduced: • Compulsory notification of data breaches to both the regulator and the

individuals affected within 72 hours of the breach happening. Breaches can range from a customer database being hacked to putting a letter in the wrong envelope.

• The need to ensure that any consents are compliant and refreshed appropriately.

Consents must be explicit and freely given. Each purpose needs a separate consent and individuals must be given simple easy-to-access ways to withdraw their consent at any time. Recent draft guidance issued by the ICO indicates that the ICO will take a hard line with consent and it will not be easy to obtain. This is a key area for businesses to look at.

• A key provision of the GDPR is the obligation to be more transparent with individuals as to how their personal data is used. This requires a review of your privacy policies and fair processing notices. An individual should be informed of every activity and purpose for which their personal information is used, as well as being provided with information

Irwin Mitchell

on anyone who you may be sharing the data with. The information must be provided in any easy-to-understand and accessible way and must be tailored for its audience.

• Increased rights given to individuals to access the data held on them.

Individuals already have a right to access their data under the subject access procedure. Under the new changes you will not be able to charge a fee for these requests and will have to respond in a shorter timescale.

• The introduction of new rights, including the right to be forgotten, which can require you to erase an individual’s information from your systems, and the right to data portability, where individuals have the right to receive their personal data from you in a commonly used and machine readable format. The right to be forgotten is not as wide ranging as you might think and businesses need to understand its scope and be prepared for any requests they may receive.

• Obligations to ensure that tighter contracts are in place with businesses which process on your behalf the personal data you hold on individuals.

One size does not fit all. Compliance for each business will look different in that the data they collect and how they use it will be different. One thing which is common to all, however, is that virtually all businesses need to take action in relation to this reform, and soon. Businesses will be in a far better position if they have proactively tried to

implement procedures to comply with the GDPR rather than bury their heads in the sand.

Businesses should be looking at this now, and action points include: • What personal data do you have and are there any rogue (and non-compliant) databases in the business?

• How do you collect personal data and what are the individuals told about how that data will be used? Is the information given sufficiently transparent? This will involve a review of privacy policies and fair processing notices.

• What is the legal basis of using the personal data? Can the business bring its use into one of the lawful purposes laid down by the GDPR?

• Where any data is processed on the basis of consent, the consents will need looking at to make sure that they comply with the GDPR and the new (currently in draft) guidance issued by the ICO. This will make consent tough to obtain, particularly where data is to be shared.

As drafted each third party the data is to be shared with will need to be named.

• Retention policies need to be reviewed and updated. The retention periods for data need to be looked at, as does how often consents are refreshed.

• Businesses should review how personal data is kept, whether this is by paper or electronic files, and how secure these systems are.

• Data breach policies and procedures as to how a data breach would be detected and dealt with need to be put in place.

• Processes need to be put in place to deal with the enhanced rights individuals have e.g. the right to be forgotten.

• Reviewing contracts relating to data processing including contracts with cloud providers, mailing houses, analytics businesses.

Joanne Bone, Partner, joanne.bone@ irwinmitchell.com

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 19

How Much is my Business Worth?

Kirsty Wilson, Senior Manager in Corporate Finance at Knill James Chartered Accountants explains how you as a business owner can work out the financial worth of your company

“How much is my business worth?”

A seemingly Insight straightforward question, and I always wish that I could give my clients an equally straightforward answer.

Expectations of speed and simplicity are fuelled by the abundance of apps, providing the answer to every question at the press of a button, or these days by a conversation with Alexa or Siri. And there is, indeed, a multitude of apps available, which claim to provide business valuations at the press of a button.

I therefore have to resist the temptation to quickly produce a figure, and I need to sit down with the client – ideally over a cup of coffee – to have a discussion.

And the discussion starts with my own question: “why are you asking?”

As business valuation is an art rather than a science, the final answer to the question will change as the conversation develops. But more importantly, it may

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transpire that it is the wrong question to be asking. Indeed, this is becoming increasingly likely in the post-Brexit period of uncertainty, where buyers will want the ongoing uncertainty reflected in the purchase price, driving down values.

This reality is demonstrated in the recently released “Small and Medium Enterprises Valuation Index” from the UK200Group. This SME valuation index is the result of UK200Group member firms providing key data on actual corporate finance transactions involving the purchase or sale of real UK businesses (in the form of asset or share deals). Knill James is a member firm of the UK200Group and with David Martin, our Corporate Finance Partner, being a member of the Corporate Finance Panel, we have access to this data, which is a useful indication of up-to-date valuation trends in the SME market.

Since the referendum and the vote for Brexit the economic uncertainty has generated pressures on deal multiples causing them to fall, and in some cases

“There are now many more opportunities to capitalise on a business, and partial divestments are set to be the cornerstone of 2017-2018 Corporate Finance planning”

Money Matters

this has resulted in the sales simply not happening. The latest UK200 SME valuation index highlights the pressure on deal values in the latter part of 2016, which resulted in the median EBITDA multiple (multiple of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) falling to 4.8 as compared to 5.4 in the previous year. This means that all other things being equal, a business valued at ÂŁ1,750,000 a year ago could now be valued at only ÂŁ1,555,000.

The starting point in any sale negotiation will have been drastically reduced, simply because of the surrounding economic climate. It is then necessary to find out whether the particular business should be distinguished from the norm. There are, after all, businesses that will be unaffected or, indeed those that will clearly benefit from the Brexit decision.

But I said just now that the business owner might be asking the wrong question. Why might that be the case?

M&A is changing. The days when an entrepreneur owned and built a business

for life and then passed it on to family at retirement have passed. There are now many more opportunities to capitalise on a business, and partial divestments are set to be the cornerstone of 2017-2018 Corporate Finance planning. Against a backdrop of Brexit-fuelled economic uncertainties, well-advised businesses are now generating capital through strategic divestments and using the capital generated from such divestments to buy-in ready made innovations. This enables them to continually adapt their strategic goals for the post Brexit era.

The ability to respond more swiftly to economic changes is essential in the rapidly evolving world in which we now live. The businesses that not only survive, but also thrive and grow, will be those adopting innovative financial and strategic solutions in response to the changes in their economic business environment.

For some, a business valuation and full sale will still be the answer and the conversation will focus on possible reasons why the particular business might merit higher valuation multiples. In those circumstances, we will work with the client to identify the best potential purchasers and to generate the highest possible sale price.

But for many businesses we will conduct a thorough review of the possibilities and will explore financial options, which could mitigate the impact that has been felt so keenly by other business owners over the past year.

It is also important to remember that there are two sides to every transaction.

While the falling valuations have been bad news for sellers, they have been welcomed by the buyers who have used the period of economic uncertainty to drive down prices. Where we are representing entrepreneurs seeking to acquire new businesses, our access to a valuation index like this is essential as we advise our clients on the current, rather than the historic value of the target business.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that some valuation discussions are not with buyers or sellers, but with HMRC. The UK200 SME valuation index is a useful tool in supporting the valuation decision.

In some cases, the falling index can the help in persuading HMRC that a much lower valuation was justified; and nobody wants to pay more tax than is correctly due.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 21

Company Pensions

Act Now on Company Pensions Sussex Business Times got into contact with Mark Jury, owner of small business tax specialists, TaxAssist Accountants in Crowborough, who urges urges businesses to be proactive in contributing to their staff pension schemes to avoid the possible consequences More than 750,000 employers face new responsibilities this Pensions year to contribute to their staff pension schemes, so it’s vital that small business owners across Sussex who have yet to act, do so now to avoid large fines and potential prosecution.

A record number of businesses reach their so-called ‘staging date’ this year for the new workplace pension scheme.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) predicts at least 156,000 small businesses will have reached their staging date between January and March 2017.

Business owners who fail to provide a qualifying pension scheme could face a £400 fixed penalty from the TPR, escalating to daily fines set at a minimum of £50 per day, with the possibility of civil penalties and court action.

It is a major new responsibility and a further challenge for the small business community who are already facing a number of other challenges, including

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digital tax reporting, changes to dividend taxation and the National Living Wage.

Local business owners will have received their date from the TPR and must automatically enrol eligible employees and contribute to their pension pot. Business owners whose staging date was in 2014, will also need to automatically re-enrol certain staff and complete a re-declaration of compliance this year.

We’ve been advising Sussex small businesses since the pension changes were first introduced five years ago and many business owners have planned well in advance. Business owners need time to shop around for the right pension scheme for their business and to get

their employees and processes ready for the change, so we have recommended starting those plans at least 12 months ahead of the staging date.

But for local business owners who haven’t yet put a scheme in place for their eligible staff, we’re urging them to do so soon to beat the inevitable rush and avoid hefty penalties. Pension providers are likely to be overwhelmed with enquiries and many will not cater for the small business market.

Auto-enrolment far exceeded expectations when it was first introduced in 2012, with more than 5.47 million individuals enrolled into workplace pension schemes across over 60,000 employers in the first three years.

Company Pensions

“In its most recent Compliance and Enforcement Bulletin, the TPR reported it issued 15,073 compliance notices, 3,728 fixed penalty notices and 576 escalating penalty notices from 1st July to 30th September 2016”

Employee opt out rates were also much lower than originally forecasted at between 8% and 14%.

And with this year representing a peak in the number of companies expected to comply with auto-enrolment legislation since it was first introduced, it is going to be an even busier time in the pensions market.

We work with a firm of independent financial advisers who can advise on the right scheme for your business and we can also help with the day-to-day running of the scheme. Business owners need to be confident that their firm is compliant with the legislation, so they can concentrate on running and growing their business.

The TPR has recently been flexing its muscles as increasing numbers of small businesses have been leaving it until the last minute to prepare for their staging date and then failing to meet their obligations.

Unlike larger organisations, smaller businesses often do not have the financial resources or staff dedicated to look after their payroll and pensions commitments, so it can often be overlooked.

In its most recent Compliance and Enforcement Bulletin, the TPR reported it issued 15,073 compliance notices, 3,728 fixed penalty notices and 576 escalating penalty notices from 1st July to 30th September 2016.

A number of employers have unsuccessfully contested their fixed penalty notices at a tribunal, citing their non-compliance was unintentional and that they had a ‘reasonable excuse’.

Among the circumstances given in their defence were illness, being shortstaffed and confusion between the employer and payroll administrator.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) also uses the idea of a reasonable excuse for appeals against tax penalties, but the tribunal has made it clear that HMRC and the TPR are two distinct regulators.

The same basic principle may apply, in that a reasonable excuse is a factor that was unexpected or not within the control of an employer and prevented them from meeting their statutory duties. However, as automatic enrolment and tax duties are different, what may be deemed a reasonable excuse for HMRC, may not be enough to avoid an automatic enrolment penalty.

For example, the TPR is far stricter than HMRC and will not accept IT issues as a reasonable excuse, because it offers an alternative telephone service and issues a series of reminders to employers ahead of their staging dates.

Local business owners will want to avoid fixed penalties, daily fines and the possibility of civil penalties and court action at all costs, so the best solution is to avoid any issues of non-compliance in the first place.

To help them achieve this, we’ve been urging Sussex business owners to protect their hard-earned income by planning ahead for their auto enrolment staging date and understanding the effect it will have on their business.

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 23

Education

STEM Careers: Branching Out For this month’s Education focus, Sussex Business Times introduces Cox Powertrain and explores the rising need for females entering STEM related careers Businesses should not ignore 50% of the potential recruitment Education pool and need to attract talent from as broad a population as possible to create a workforce of mixed perspectives. The key to supporting women in engineering is raising awareness of STEM subjects as a career option for girls and it’s down to businesses to do this by sending female engineers into schools who can explain the benefits of STEM careers to them and to the economy. Young people love hearing about a typical day for a female engineer working for a world leader in missiles and missile systems. Establishing strong links with colleges and secondary schools – and even primary schools – where the children are inspired by technology is crucial.

Most studies show that girls have already decided their future career path

by the age of 14, therefore action must be taken in primary schools and early years.

The Government has begun to make some good progress on the curriculum and advice for teachers to ensure that girls get additional support when taking STEM subjects in school. When girls are making that critical decision, mentoring schemes and proper career advice and guidance is critical. This should not stop at the point of a decision, it should continue well into further/higher education and the workplace.

Any manager or leader should search for a team with a good gender or ethnic mix, as incorporating mixed perspectives challenges the way things are done and drives new ideas. Businesses need to create an environment that lets both genders flourish and see the innovation and creativity necessary to drive a business forward. Having men become more actively involved in the campaign to attract young women into STEM careers, including encouraging more female apprentices, and to foster a level playing field of equal respect and opportunity for all will drive such activity.

It’s clear to see more so now the benefits businesses can acquire from a diverse workforce, so why have we only seen a small increase in the number of female engineers since the 1980s? All the arguments point to the advantages that a more balanced workforce will bring, increasing productivity and making the work environment a better, more equal place. The business world shouldn’t be questioning this, but the unfortunate reality is that with only a small proportion of the STEM workforce being female, we urgently need to have the debates and take action to address

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Education

“The Government has begun to make some good progress on the curriculum and advice for teachers to ensure that girls get additional support when taking STEM subjects in school”

the imbalance. More has to be done to create a culture to encourage the next generation of women into STEM subjects.

A company rises or falls on the talents of its workforce. So attracting, retaining and motivating the right team is fundamental. For a company like Cox Powertrain, facing an engineering challenge to develop a first-to-market 300hp professional diesel outboard engine, they understand that the need for individuals that are creative and imaginative and who are inspired by engineering is crucial. They have turned their focus to “rewriting the rulebook” on what can be achieved by a diesel engine, which takes an open-mind and relentless determination to succeed where others have failed. Cox Powertrain is based

in Shoreham-by-Sea and their facility at Brighton City Airport is a hotbed of activity as the pressure is on to prove their design is going to transform the market.

David Cox, a Formula 1 racing designer, founded cox Powertrain in 2008 and their team now shares the highenergy Formula 1 philosophy; winning motivates them. And, for a business about to launch a new engine, winning means the engine must be robust, reliable and powerful, even in the most unforgiving environments; it must work beautifully, pass stringent tests and appeal to customers worldwide, so it’s fair to say that the pressure is intense.

Cox Powertrain have established their long-term goals to address other

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 25

D

Education

engineering challenges and to achieve those, and will need to continue to grow their workforce, which leads on to one of the reasons they work with The Girls’ Network; to look at encouraging the next generation of professional women to see engineering as an attractive career choice. Women make up 51% of the UK’s available workforce but, as is so often reported, they are woefully underrepresented in high tech and engineering businesses. Why does that matter? Cox Powertrain wants to get the best team, and to do that they need to select from the widest pool of talent male and female.

A mere 9% of the UK’s engineering workforce is female, and according to the Institution of Engineering & Technology, the country requires an extra 1.82 million engineers to meet demand over the next seven years. It’s not practical or fair to ignore such a large portion of an available workforce.

Few women want to work in a company that is dominated by one gender and are turned off by professions that have traditionally been portrayed as masculine. But there is nothing to say that engineering is a masculine skill. Cox Powertrain has attracted an international team with experience that ranges from those with decades at some of the world’s leading engineering brands to graduates and apprentices.

The company doesn’t hire any member of staff because they need a diverse workforce, but instead hire the best person for the job and the result is always a multi-gender, international team. For many people, it’s laughable to think that in the past certain jobs were seen as exclusively male. Surgeons, pilots, newsreaders and so on were not seen as jobs that were appropriate for a woman, but it’s reassuring to know that most of us have moved on from such closed-minded thinking. The balance is not yet there in many exciting professions and it’s important that we remove any barriers to entry that dissuade young women from considering a career in certain professions. Sometimes the biggest barrier is a lack of understanding of what the job is like on a day-to-day basis and the rewards that a career in that profession can bring, amongst many other factors…

The Girls’ Network is a mentoring group that works with over 1,000 girls

W

Y B

R b l

“A mere 9% of the UK’s engineering workforce is female, and according to the Institution of Engineering & Technology, the country requires an extra 1.82 million engineers to meet demand over the next seven years” a year to remove barriers that young women face as they start their careers.

These include the pressure to conform to ideals; a lack of confidence or self-belief; and a shortage of professional female role models in their networks. The founders of The Girls’ Network believe that girls need a greater access to opportunities, but also the confidence to seize those opportunities and the skills to thrive in them. As well as working as a mentor with The Girls’ Network, Cox Powertrain’s Marketing Manager, Reena Bayley has been putting plans together to bring young female students in to visit Cox Powertrain’s facility, to meet the engineers and find out more about the work they do.

“The UK has a heritage for engineering excellence. We’ve maintained a reputation for quality work in the engineering field and continue to play a major role in world innovation. Cox Powertrain is tackling a seemingly impossible engineering challenge but as a group, we’re inspired by the challenge and to see our innovation turn into a very real working engine,” said Reena. She continued: “Most professionals don’t get the chance to move the needle so significantly and work on a project of such dramatic importance.

It’s exciting and stressful in equal measure.

The ideas and inspiration of the team are what is going to make it happen. For any young engineer, male or female, it’s an exciting place to work.”

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Y 26 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

T

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Wellbeing Training: What Works?

Workplace wellbeing has been a heavily covered topic in the pages of SBT. Now, the first systematic review of wellbeing training has shown which types and formats of training are most effective to support wellbeing in addition to learning. We take a look at the findings, which finally provide some solutions to keeping staff well in the workplace We are all aware that keeping our brains Health & stimulated helps us Wellbeing to thrive in our daily lives, and learning throughout our lives is inevitably good for wellbeing. Research has shown that taking a part-time course for work over the past year has been estimated to give wellbeing benefits the equivalent to £1,584 of income. Continued learning provides people with greater satisfaction and optimism; a greater ability to cope with stress; more feelings of self-esteem, hope and purpose; more positive feelings of achievement; and even stronger social relationships due to interacting more.

So it’s safe to say that learning improves our wellbeing. However, many people don’t think about the ins and outs of their wellbeing, often leading to

wellness being put on the side line and to teach people about and therefore forgotten about. Improving wellbeing at improve wellbeing is effective. Finally, we work has been a large focus for the UK have a solution! recently, with the impact of declining The study, from the What Works mental health in the Centre for Wellbeing workforce becoming at 41 published “Improving wellbeing looking more and more of papers on the subject, at work has been a a problem. We’ve revealed that regardless discussed the topic of what kind of training large focus for the of mental health in UK recently, with the is used, the majority the workplace time of techniques had a impact of declining and time again, but positive impact: from there’s rarely been mental health in the mindfulness to problem a solution for what workforce becoming solving, life skills to employers can do There were more and more of a happiness. to combat staff some stand out positive problem” wellbeing issues. findings for particular Perhaps education is professional roles and the key... sectors. For example: sleep training was An international review of evidence on very beneficial for teachers, relaxation workplace learning recently showed that of benefit to health workers, stress workplace training specifically designed management for manufacturing and

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 29

Health & Wellbeing

government departments, empowerment training and mindfulness for social care workers, resilience for Junior Doctors, and meditation awareness training for middle management.

However, the success of wellbeing training was not found to be universal, and equally there was some training that simply didn’t improve wellbeing. Four published studies showed no positive wellbeing benefits. Online training without additional interactive elements were limited in their effectiveness, reflecting the importance of how the training is carried out and supported. E-learning may be cost effective, but early evidence suggests that leadership or manager support training was far less likely to offer wellbeing benefits when the online training was only self-directed.

There were some training topics that weren’t compatible with certain sectors or roles also. For example, Self Awareness training wasn’t effective for various roles, Resilience Services wasn’t effective for sales managers’ wellbeing, and neither was stress management for manufacturing or identity training for stress management for Nurses.

The review also found that in some sectors, training to improve professional capabilities, such as emotional intelligence or conflict management, may also have positive wellbeing benefits for the learner.

Theory would suggest that an individual’s wellbeing could improve after professional development, where the learnt skills can be put into practice.

However, despite the positive findings so far, we still need the evidence to understand impacts in a work context.

Very few studies outside of the health and social care sector measure ‘wellbeing’ outcomes after training. Evidence is limited to the health and social care sector, where professional skills tend to relate to wellbeing.

It seems obvious that training managers to support their staff, training in mental health awareness, and leadership training would improve wellbeing of the leaders and their reporting staff. However, businesses still aren’t investing enough in this type of training.

Olga Tregaskis, Professor of International Human Resource Management, UEA said: “Workplace training and development has the potential to deliver wellbeing benefits in addition to improved organisational

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performance. Employee wellbeing is critical to sustainable performance and leading firms recognise the importance of embedding wellbeing within their management practice.”

Training employees to better cope is not the end of the story though.

Wellbeing is also highly dependent on job quality, including autonomy and social relations, where employers should focus effort. Equally, employers need to understand what the best approach for their staff is, and which training would be of most benefit when.

Head of Evidence at What Works Centre for Wellbeing, Sara MacLennan agreed that continuing on this course of research is the best way forward for businesses: “We have strong evidence that training for wellbeing is effective and a wide range of approaches work. But we don’t yet have enough evidence to rank approaches and say which works better for different groups and contexts.

This is where we turn around and ask

the business sector to make sure they are evaluating any wellbeing training they carry out, and share the results with us, so we can continue to build the evidence base on what works.”

She added: “Employers need to understand what the specific issues are for their employees in each context to find the training which is likely to be most effective. A particular teacher may have challenges ‘letting go of work’ at the end of the day and would benefit from relaxation and sleep training to help with the restoration process. However, this will be less relevant for other teachers.

Another group of distributed employees may have challenges in the workplace stemming from communication - a training to improve communication methods may be most appropriate.

“We need to build the evidence base to understand which types of approaches in different contexts can be most effective - and try new, innovative approaches and methods of delivery.”

Why buy insurance for Private Healthcare?

Sussex Business Times introduces health insurance advisors, SJA Health Insurance

Private Healthcare is often seen as an expensive alternative Advertorial to the National Health Service but not all private healthcare needs to be expensive and there are many advantages.

The UK’s NHS (National Health Service) provides medical treatment to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay. Whilst the NHS provides a valuable service, paying for private health insurance offers many advantages: • Shorter waiting times • Quicker diagnosis • Better facilities, such as private rooms with ensuite facilities • Access to the newest approved drugs and treatments many not available on the NHS

• Low risk of infection from MRSA and C.Dificile • Flexibility

and insurers offering different levels of cover, premiums and propositions on the market, even ones that can cover you abroad. Each plan has its own terms but some are common to all and this is where SJA Health Insurance can help guide you through the process and point out the benefits and limitations - even those that are not apparent - to find the right one for you and your budget.

Once you have bought a plan through us, we give you the highest level of personal service and will guide you and look after you for as long as you remain our client.

Private Healthcare’s overarching aim is to provide patients with comfort and reassurance from initial consultation through to aftercare.

Buying insurance or considering moving insurer?

Private Healthcare insurance covers the cost of most treatments for most illnesses.

It is designed to cover you for new conditions that arise after you start the policy but it is sometimes possible to be covered for existing and past conditions if you move insurer to a more affordable plan, as long as they are not on a list of serious conditions that may vary from insurer to insurer.

There are a bewildering array of plans

Next month private healthcare insurance for companies Andrew Leach has over 30 years’ experience in Health insurance and is the MD of SJA International Ltd, Sussex’s leading specialist Healthcare insurance broker.

We are based in Sussex and offer impartial advice and pride ourselves on giving expert guidance, friendly and professional service and a high degree of customer care. As we usually earn UK and International Insurance for Groups and Individuals

commission from the insurers our services are usually free of charge.

Our experience and high standing with insurers, developed

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A selection of our partners

www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk 31

25/04/2017 09:10

Victoria Healthcare Management Ltd.

Here, Sussex Business Times introduces Victoria Healthcare Management Ltd., an Eastbournebased independent brokers, specialising in Private Medical Insurance

Having worked in the Health Insurance industry for many Advertorial years, Victoria Nicol decided to take the plunge and open her own Private Medical Insurance brokerage. Victoria Healthcare Management Ltd is based in Eastbourne, but has a clientele nationwide and is soon approaching its 2-year anniversary.

The brokers’ is unbiased and independent, which means that the advice that you receive will be based on having compared the market; they are not tied to one provider and have access to all the leading market providers. The service is provided with no fee, comes with no obligation and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Not only is the service available to individuals and families, but also companies who provide employee benefits to their members of staff.

Private Medical Insurance is so specialist that it really is invaluable to have an ‘independent’ broker on side.

The experienced and knowledgeable service that you will receive from Victoria Healthcare will be that of a friendly one.

At time of policy renewal, Victoria Healthcare will be there to ensure that you continue to receive the most cost-effective and appropriate policy to meet your needs. Victoria Healthcare is a proud member of the Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (AMII); the only registered member in Eastbourne!

Victoria Nicol, Director of the company strives on helping people and saving

them money, whilst always putting the clients first. With all the uncertainty surrounding the NHS, now is a great time to protect your health with the assurance of having Private Medical Insurance.

Contact us: Tel: 01323 301270, email: info@victoriahm.co.uk or visit our website at www.victoriahm.co.uk

Private Medical Insurance can be a minefield for many people, so why not use our specialised service to work on your behalf?

We have combined experience of over 30 years and have witnessed many changes within the industry over such time; our 32 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk knowledge is invaluable!

Victoria Healthcare Management Ltd is an appointed representative of Jade Mortgage Services Ltd who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. FRN 303414.

How to Exhibit Yourself

How to Exhibit Yourself, the Right Way! On a recent visit to a business exhibition I noticed that several Insight stands had been left unstaffed. This wasn’t for just a couple of minutes – I went round again and still found nobody there.

At least one of these stands was for a company I was really interested in talking to, so they lost the opportunity to get my business.

Other stands were occupied, but by people who seemed more engaged with their mobile devices than potential customers. Their eyes were focused on the screens, not on making contact with people as they went by. In some cases I got the impression that this was quite people. These welcoming signals will deliberate, and that they weren’t going encourage people to stop and find out to engage with anyone unless it was more about you and your business. absolutely unavoidable.

At least on this occasion I didn’t notice 3. Ask questions. Instead of launching anyone munching their sandwiches, but I straight into your sales pitch find out a left before lunchtime, so who knows? bit about your potential It costs a fair bit to customer first. People exhibit at these events, “It costs a fair bit feel more at ease if they and you will only to exhibit at these are invited to talk about get a return on your investment if you put in events, and you will themselves, and you the effort once you’re only get a return on may gather some useful information about which there. your investment if aspects of your goods or you put in the effort services may be of interest So what constitutes once you’re there” to them. good practice when exhibiting?

4. Give them your full 1. Be there! A stand attention. Most people think it’s rude if the with no-one present is worse than no person they’re talking to suddenly seems stand at all - and much more expensive. more interested in someone else. Don’t Make sure there’s always someone be distracted by other people passing by present.

- if they are interested in your stand, they will come back to it.

2. Smile and make eye contact with

Here, Sussex Business Times introduces Steve Amos, Business Writing Coach at Katimira Ltd., who explains the steps and methods businessmen and women can take to ensure they represent their brand in the right way

5. Don’t talk at length about the features of your goods or services, however fascinating they may be to you. Instead find out a bit about your potential customer, then focus on how your goods and services might benefit them.

6. Follow up afterwards. After visiting a business exhibition it often all feels a bit of a blur, and hard to distinguish one exhibitor from another. Prompt follow-up will act as a reminder and distinguish you from other exhibitors.

Following these steps will help you to ensure that your investment in exhibiting will pay off, by generating interest in your business and creating new contacts and potential customers.

Steve Amos, Business Writing Coach at Katimira Ltd.

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Cover Feature: Sussex Chamber of Commerce

The Sussex Chamber of Commerce:

Ana Christie

For this month’s cover feature, SBT welcomes Sussex Chamber of Commerce and catches up with Chief Executive, Ana Christie, who talks about how The Sussex Chamber is proud to be at the heart of Sussex

It has been exactly 3 years since I joined Cover the Sussex Chamber of Commerce and Feature frequently I get asked: “what does the Chamber do?”

Ultimately we exist to help provide the business support needed for the economy to grow and thrive. We are a not-for-profit membership organisation and we are accredited by the British Chambers of Commerce. We have a network of Chambers in every nation and region in the UK and in key markets around the world. As an accredited Chamber this means that we can provide assurance to business users that we have met an important, strict, high-quality standard. We are required to evaluate and improve our performance continuously to promote good practice and ensure we provide all the products and support services required by business members to be successful. Our mission is to help business “Grow, Develop, Discover and Influence.”

GROW We sit at the heart of local business communities, helping hundreds of companies of every size and sector to grow and thrive. There are over 80 networking events throughout the Sussex County to choose from, which provide businesses opportunities to network, gain key contacts, learn from inspirational speakers, pick up tips and ideas as well as providing forums to gain insights as to what is happening in the local community and beyond. Our sector-based forums are so popular they sell out weeks

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Entries opened on Monday 13 March and in advance. From our manufacturing will run until Friday 30 June. This year’s forums to our construction forums, we Awards were launched at the London open doors to allow SME’s to be part of Stock Exchange, where last year’s winner the supply chain and work with larger of Business of the Year, Scientifica, organisations. We recently introduced won the special honour of opening the conferences, which have brought the Exchange as a prize. Next year’s winners audiences inspiring entrepreneurs and will have the same chance to do so, a business leaders. rare opportunity for a private business.

Membership provides scope to www.chamberawards.co.uk increase brand awareness through a variety of forms. You can promote your DEVELOP news stories through our social media Our training consultants have been with channels, thus reaching out to a wider the Sussex Chamber for many years and audience or through our bi-monthly provide quality training, from scheduled magazine, Business Edge, which courses to bespoke provides fascinating courses tailored to suit news stories from our “We sit at the heart your needs. Training members. courses are a great Furthermore, the of local business way to improve the British Chambers communities, effectiveness of your have negotiated some helping hundreds of current workforce and outstanding national contracts, which are companies of every motivate ambitious people. Training either provided for size and sector to benefits your company free to business or grow and thrive” and your employees heavily discounted. who will have an From HR support, increased ability to respond effectively to HR documentation, to legal expenses change and develop their skill set which insurance, health plans, roadside in turn will allow them to undertake a assistance to foreign exchange, there is greater variety of work. something to help businesses of all sizes.

We offer management and leadership Businesses from across the UK skills training, personal development are invited to compete in the annual and communication skills, sales and Chamber Business Awards hosted by customers service, HR, business skills the British Chambers of Commerce. and computer skills training and also The prestigious competition is one of international trade courses. Furthermore the showpiece events in the business we are very pleased to announce that we calendar, recognising and promoting the will shortly be offering e-learning courses best of British business through a series as well as funded learning. of regional heats, culminating in a Gala Development also extends to finding Awards Dinner, which will take place at effective ways to connect businesses the Brewery, London on 30 November.

Cover Feature: Sussex Chamber of Commerce

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Cover Feature: Sussex Chamber of Commerce

DISCOVER The Sussex Chamber is licensed to certify and arrange legalisation of export documentation. We will also assist exporters throughout the process of completing the documentation; from choosing the right documentation to ensuring it is correctly filled in. Export documentation is required to comply with import regulations in the country of arrival, evidence the country of manufacture of the goods and ensure payment under a Letter of Credit.

We can help you with: • Certificates of Origin • Certificate of Origin preparation service • Electronic Export documentation • Certification, Legalisation & Notarisation of Export Documentation • EUR1 & ATR customs authentication • Letter of Credit processing service • ATA Carnet

O Left to right: Mandy Hickson, Marc Koska OBE, Ana Christie, Janina Cooper

with schools, tapping into the knowledge, skills and experience of local firms through our Young Chamber membership to help students succeed in the world of work. The purpose is to help bridge the gap between business and the education sector and help schools and colleges. Students will gain insight into the world of work, and get the chance to learn about the different careers they could have, as well as the routes that they can take to get there. They will also learn what skills - both technical and soft - that they need to pursue a successful career once they leave education. Best of all, Young Chamber helps schools and colleges meet Ofsted (or relevant school inspectorate) requirements around provision of careers advice, preparation of pupils for employment, and engagement with employers. Furthermore, the Sussex Chamber has brought students and business together through its Careers Fairs.

Annually the British Chambers hold a Business & Education Summit, providing an inspirational and interactive forum to explore key issues, engage with latest best practice through expert speakers, panel debates and informative breakout sessions. The summit takes place on the 6th July in London: www.bccbusinesseducation.com

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“The Chambers can help influence policy decisions ensuring the interests of businesses are represented” Our International Trade training courses can provide those looking to export or assist well-established exporters with the key skills required in understanding the paperwork, tariff codes, an introduction to export procedures, using documentary letters of credit, drafts and bills to understanding the rules.

We can connect business with British Chambers throughout the world and provide market snapshots, quarterly trade outlooks and market seminars.

The Sussex Chamber holds regular International Trade forums, providing business with updates and case studies and can help you on your export journey. Furthermore, there is an annual International conference which brings British Chambers and business from around the world together. This will be held in October and will be announced shortly: www.exportbritain.org.uk

members in government. The Chambers can help influence policy decisions ensuring the interests of businesses are represented. There is a quarterly economic survey, which is the UK’s largest and most authoritative private sector business survey. We provide almost daily policy updates and reports as well as podcasts, carry out surveys and trade research and monthly economic reviews.

By working together with the Local Enterprise Partnerships, local authorities and councils, town Chambers, MP’s and other organisations, we can help represent business interests where needed.

The Sussex Chamber is proud to be at the heart of Sussex, providing business the opportunities it needs to grow the economy, to develop its employees and the future workforce, to discover new markets and influence key decision makers.

INFLUENCE Through the British Chambers who have a high profile policy and lobbying team, we can help represent the interests of

For more information please contact us on 01444 259 259 or email us on info@sussexchamberofcommerce. co.uk

36 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

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CONNECT WITH THE LARGEST BUSINESS ORGANISATION IN THE COUNTY GROW Open the door to new business opportunities through our networking, business events,

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through the powerful and influential British Export Chambers of Commerce network.

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Local and National Representation

24/03/2017 15:21:08

BHAFC Celebrates Premier League Success Following on from last month’s news that Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club have moved up to the Premier League, we provide you with the latest

Brighton and Hove Albion sealed promotion to the Insight Premier League last month after a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic.

The promotion came 34 years after the club reached the FA Cup Final but was relegated. Thousands of fans celebrated on the pitch at full-time after the club beat Wigan.

It took until the very last day of the 1996-97 season before Brighton could breathe easy, as a 1-1 draw with Hereford secured their league status.

Despite the result, Brighton’s former owners went ahead with the sale of their old Goldstone Ground, leaving the club to share Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium for two seasons. The club then moved back to Brighton, playing at the Withdean Stadium, a site not originally built for football, before finally switching to their current Amex Stadium home in 2011 under the ownership of Tony Bloom.

Brighton had looked destined to complete their journey from bottom to

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top 12 months ago, but a draw on the final day of the regular season meant they missed out on goal difference.

Further disappointment was to follow, as their hopes of reaching the Premier League were dashed with a loss against Sheffield in the play-off semi-finals. It was not an unfamiliar feeling for Brighton fans, who had suffered defeat at the same stage in both 2013 and 2014, “I’m incredibly proud of the way they’ve bounced back - but there are no surprises. We’ve got a group of lads that are capable of doing it, but being capable of doing it and doing it are two different things,” said Brighton Boss, Chris Hughton. “They’ve been good all season. They’ve bounced back, they’ve shown a really good determination and a real desire to want to win as many games as possible.”

Brighton & Hove Albion Chairman, Tony Bloom spoke of his immense pride at seeing the club reach the Premier League for the first time, and praised the tremendous effort involved from everyone to make the dream a reality. He

“Everyone at the club has been working very hard to get to this position, and I think we absolutely deserve it. We were this close to going out of the Football League and who knows what the future would’ve held if we were in the Conference without a stadium, so this is a truly amazing feeling as a fan and chairman of this football club” - Brighton & Hove Albion Chairman, Tony Bloom

BHAFC

first stage of what he needed to do was to keep us up, which he did and it wasn’t pretty or easy. It was a very tough season, but you have that in football and as a club we’ve recruited very well in the last few windows.

“The team spirit in the squad is fantastic and he’s done remarkably well in a very tough league. We’ve thoroughly deserved it and I think he’s done magnificent.”

Brighton Captain, Bruno concludes: “It’s been five years now for me and it’s been hard because we were really close to getting promoted for three seasons.

“Last season was tough for us and we were really close - but this season we’ve been outstanding.”

said: “Myself, the 30,000 people here, the tens of thousands of other people in the city and Brighton supporters living across the world will be elated that we’re in the Premier League.

“Days like this are never inevitable, you can go close six or seven times on the spin. Everyone at the club has been working very hard to get to this position, and I think we absolutely deserve it.

We were this close to going out of the Football League and who knows what the future would’ve held if we were in the Conference without a stadium, so this is a truly amazing feeling as a fan and chairman of this football club.”

The Chairman also heaped praise on Albion boss Chris Hughton for the outstanding job he’s done since taking charge of the club, and believes the playing squad thoroughly deserve their place in the Premier League. He continued: “He’s been here for two and a half seasons and has done a magnificent job. We were in a bad position in early January two and a half years ago when he came in. The

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 39

Dad’s the Word In the last issue of Sussex Business Times, we looked into the importance of female entrepreneurs in the UK economy. This time around, we explore the problems males face with regards to maintaining a healthy work-life balance

40 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Nearly half of working fathers revealed they wanted to downshift Insight into a less stressful job so they can spend more time caring for their children, a study has found. More and more fathers are struggling to balance the demands of work and family life, and around one third also reported that they would take a pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance, according to the Working Families charity.

The same study found that a quarter of fathers drop their children at school or nursery every day, with just over a quarter collecting them more than half the time.

However, for many fathers involved in this study (which identifies workplace culture in the UK as a key problem), work-life balance is increasingly becoming a source of stress. Many fathers claim that they work extra hours on a regular basis because it is the “only way to deal with their workload” and that “being seen to do long hours is important where they work.”

So what are employers doing to help working dads achieve a healthy work-life balance?

Apparently not enough; according to the Modern Families Index report, of the 2,750 parents surveyed, one third of fathers said they regularly felt burnt out, and one in five were working extra hours. For nearly one fifth of working fathers, employers are unsympathetic about childcare, expecting this to have no disruption to their work. Some even admitted that they would not tell their employer they had childcare problems for fear of being viewed negatively.

A spokesperson for the Working Families charity said: “For many fathers, the workplace is unsupportive of their aspirations for a better work-life fit, running the risk of creating a ‘fatherhood penalty’, where fathers are willing to follow a career that is below their skill set and reduce their earnings.” This could also lead on to elements we have spent so long trying to get away from, such as the ‘motherhood penalty’, which gender quality charity, the Fawcett Society identified as being one of the core causes of the disparity in pay between men and women. To prevent a ‘fatherhood penalty’ from occurring in the UK, and to help tackle the motherhood penalty at the same time, employers should ensure that work is designed in a way that helps men and women find a good worklife fit.

Dad’s the Word

Organisation for employers, the Institute of Directors, agreed with Working Families, saying bosses should design jobs that let both men and women work flexibly. Seamus Nevin, Head of Employment and Skills Policy at the organisation claims the Government should also reform shared parental leave, which is “far from perfect and offers fathers no individual personal entitlement to time off with their child.”

“The benefits, to individual families as well as companies and the overall economy, of sharing parental responsibilities equally between mothers and fathers are clear,” said Mr Nevin, “The number of stay-at-home fathers has almost doubled since the mid-1990s.

However, it’s still the case that women are far more likely to take the lion’s share of parental responsibilities.”

Making roles flexible when it comes to what can be done in the hours available is vital for working fathers. A first step to take would surely be for the Government to create a new, properly paid and extended period of paternity leave?

It seems that things might be soon to change for the better as MPs on the

“Making roles flexible when it comes to what can be done in the hours available is vital for working fathers” Woman and Equalities Committee have launched a new enquiry into fathers in the workplace. Committee Chairwoman, Maria Miller said that investing in policies to let men and women share childcare will reap financial benefits as well as reducing the gender pay gap. She said: “Many fathers want to take a more active role in caring for their children. Clearly more needs to be done. We are keen to hear views from individuals as well as organisations about the changes they would like to see.”

Sussex Business Times caught up with Dan Flanagan, a father of a young family with first-hand experience of struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

18 months after quitting his job to spend more time with his son and less on the

daily commute, he launched a dadcentric PR agency and a magazine for young dads. Here, he answers some of our burning questions…

Dan, could you introduce yourself, your business history and explain how you came about quitting your job as a Senior Analyst?

I’m Dan Flanagan, Father, Journalist and part-time Revolutionary. My first role after leaving college back in the 90’s was in trade media. Then, over the next 20 or so years I developed my experience over a number of different PR related roles, taking me through the music, tech, lifestyle and finance sectors.

Throughout all these positions, the overwhelming theme has been the fusion of the traditional and digital areas of PR and marketing. This is where I come into my element.

When I ran my own start-up agency back in 2012, I worked with clients such as LivingSocial and Brighton Racecourse on event-led PR campaigns. This is where print, broadcast and digital media all played an equally important part of its DNA. Two years later I was approached

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 41

Dad’s the Word chance to work more flexible, childfriendly hours, can make a real difference to productivity and staff retention. It’s the simple things like being able to do work from home so they can do the school runs without having the stress of being up against the clock, or being able to pick the kids up early and go to the park or the beach for tea as a family. Things like this are what make memories.

to join an international media agency, part of the Hearst publishing group, as a Senior Analyst. Here I was able to do what I had been doing, but on a much bigger stage with household name brands. I ended up running huge campaigns for their biggest clients, including LG, Visit Wales and the Barclays Bank group.

I left 18 months later after realising I was never meant to be part of a corporate world, with its commutes, stress burnout and endless red tape. I prefer the excitement and freedom that building a startup brings.

What are your views on the general topic of fathers maintaining a healthy work-life balance?

In my previous role the work-life balance was pretty much non-existent. I’d leave early in the morning only to return late at night to see my son be put to bed.

I missed out on so much of his early years, because my mind was always on work. I’d be out the door at 7am and home at 7pm if I was lucky. In the life of a busy three-year-old, that’s pretty much the majority of the time they’re awake.

I’d get to hear second-hand about the games he played, the things he learnt and what made him laugh. Now I’m around to help teach him or instigate that laugher, rather than hearing about it.

Now it is the complete opposite. I do the majority of the school runs, where I am able to build a real bond with my son by playing an active part in his life.

We are very fortunate to live just by the beach, so often we finish school and head to the beach for a swim or dinosaur hunting.

Is it becoming harder? Why is this and what are the effects? Are fathers taking on careers that they may not wish to get to spend more time at home?

Actually, I think the reverse is true. I’m part of a huge worldwide community called ‘The Happy Start-Up.’ It is made up of entrepreneurs focused on being purpose, rather than profit-driven. Many of the members are dads who have opted out of the 9-5 in order to build businesses that allow them to be around for their children more.

What do you think employers can do as a means of taking the pressure off of fathers struggling with this issue in their daily lives?

Understanding that if dads are given the

Do you think employers should be taking a more active role in childcare costs?

Childcare costs are expensive, and cause a great deal of stress for many parents. It would be great if employers took an active part in alleviating that pressure. It helps with health and wellbeing, so wouldn’t you want to help your staff?

Can you give us a brief explanation of Don’t Believe The Hype and what it aims to do?

Don’t Believe The Hype is the word’s first agency of dad. It is a new breed of publishing company, one that is built around the concept of Dad 2.0. We are a media platform made for and by dads that were 70s and 80s kids, and our aim is to provide dads with a voice to tell and share stories that matter to our generation.

My whole business has the idea of ‘dad’ at the heart of it. I am very fortunate that I am able to build a company that operates around a family friendly ethos – there aren’t enough of these around!

P S

St •U •P •C •E •C •P •C •M •F •L •M •S

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Working Lunch:

Rose Cottage Inn

Address: South Downs National Park, Alciston BN26 6UW Tel: 01323 870377 www.therosecottageinn.com

For this month’s review, SBT’s Jess Saunders and Amy Watson took to the East Sussex countryside to enjoy a lunch at Rose Cottage Inn, Alciston The Rose Cottage Inn is a traditional ivyLunch covered, 17th Century inn located in amongst Review the picturesque cul-de-sac village of Alciston, in the heart of the East Sussex countryside and granted access by a country lane just off of the A27. Situated approximately 1.5 miles from Drusillas Park and around 10 miles North-West of the coastal town of Eastbourne, while the villages of Selmeston and Berwick sit either side, this Sussex country pub poses the perfect setting for a summer – or winter – pit stop.

Alfriston and Firle are equidistant and offer the opportunity for great walks through the villages and the unspoilt countryside that surrounds them, and throughout the year the pub-comerestaurant sees events at Charleston Manor, (home to the Bloomsbury Group), which is some 5 miles distant, and Firle Place – approximately 3 miles away and open to visitors during the summer

44 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

months for various events. Glyndebourne Opera House is also situated some 5/6 miles away, and so from this alone, it’s clear to see that Rose Cottage Inn is in a prime (yet secluded) location.

Now run by Keith Medhurst and his wife, Lesley, Rose Cottage Inn comprises of four public rooms; three with tables and chairs as dining areas and one as a bar area, offering a very relaxing and homely atmosphere. With a wellfurnished front garden with views towards

the Downs also, I couldn’t picture a better place for a lunchtime bite.

Upon arriving, it was obvious to see that Rose Cottage Inn lives up to its name; small and intimate, featuring beamed ceilings and outdoor seating, with intertwined branches and beautiful ivy surrounding the main entrance. The interior boasted a large log fire, numerous wooden tables (all of which set up neatly with cutlery, napkins and salt and pepper), carpeted floors and curtains draped from each window. Guests will find a large patio with seating to the front of the property for al fresco dining – weather permitted, of course – and the possibility of accommodation in their two selfcatering apartments located to the rear of the property with uninterrupted views of the surrounding settings. Of course, a stay at Rose Cottage Inn is subject to availability and comprises of a minimum of a two-night stay.

While serving real ales and locally sourced, modern British fare, Rose Cottage Inn offers award-winning local beer in Harveys Best, brewed for

therefore creating the perfect ambiance. generations in the local town of Lewes.

We were then presented with menus and Premium lagers and ciders can be found informed of everything on the specials on draught, with various bottled beers board, providing us with plenty of options. and ciders, and an extensive wine list After sizing up the ranging in price from generous meals that £18.00 to £35.00 per “Taking everything into passed us, we opted bottle. Rose Cottage consideration – from to share a starter; Inn also offers a range the setting and service Toasted Ciabatta of house wines by the to the quality of food Garlic Bread, which glass, all usual spirits, arrived very soon soft drinks and a range of and location – Rose after. The bread was teas and coffee.

Cottage Inn really is Upon walking in, the perfect venue for a perfectly toasted, moist with oil and full we were greeted with lunchtime bite all year of flavour, yet not too a friendly smile from round” overpowering. one member of the For my main I opted front of house staff and for the Home-cooked Gammon, Two the owner, Keith, himself. After being Eggs and Chips, served with Piccalilli, offered a drink almost immediately, we while Amy decided on the Harveys Beer were shown to our table, and we were Battered Cod with Chips and Mushy pleasantly surprised to see how busy Peas, served with Tartar Sauce. Both the restaurant was; full of conversation meals arrived at our table promptly, piping and happy customers, but not too loud,

hot right to the centre, which in my eyes, is a clear sign of a well-cooked meal.

With no exaggeration necessary, the Gammon was among the best I have ever had the pleasure of tasting; thickly sliced and deliciously salty. The Eggs were deliciously runny and chips light and fluffy, while Amy’s Cod Fillet came surrounded in a crunchy but creamy Batter. While both mains tasted and looked amazing, my only comment would be with regards to the portion sizes, which would have been slightly too large for anyone hoping to devour three courses, but could you really justify complaining about something like that? Definitely not.

While neither of us actually ordered anything from the sweet menu – subsequent to plentiful main courses we devoured earlier on – on numerous occasions we overheard other customers asking which desserts were available.

While a number of the desserts on the menu were not available or had recently run out, to me that suggests that everything is freshly made. We also got to witness a few of the desserts as they arrived at nearby tables, and all of them looked spectacular.

Taking everything into consideration – from the setting and service to the quality of food and location – Rose Cottage Inn really is the perfect venue for a lunchtime bite all year round, with excellent outdoor seating or a cosy fire for the colder months. My only critique would be the lack of parking, but of course this is to be expected when dining in the heart of the countryside. Rose Cottage Inn gets five stars from SBT, and we’ll be sure to return soon!

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 45

Hotel Review:

Artist Residence

For this month’s hotel review, Managing Director, Lee Mansfield enjoyed an overnight stay at Brighton’s Artist Residence Artist Residence is an eccentric franchise of fun and friendly, Review intimate hotels situated in various locations across the UK, with venues in London, Cornwall and Oxford. This month, Sussex Business Times got the chance to stay at the chain’s Brighton hotel.

Artist Residence Brighton is a 23-bedroom townhouse hotel and cocktail bar centrally located in historic Regency Square, with sea views over the iconic West Pier. The original Artist Residence was opened in 2008 and has been a constantly evolving story.

In 2012 they expanded the building, creating an additional 8 house rooms and The Cocktail Shack, which is very popular with local creatives. Although a small hotel, the staff at Artist Residence Brighton do everything in their power to

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make all of their guests feel right at home.

We’re a small hotel at heart and want you to feel right at home.

Set within the backdrop of Regency splendour, Brighton was once home

to the King of England and is now an eccentric cultural hub with many nooks and crannies to explore. Artist Residence Brighton takes great pride in offering down to earth hospitality, comfy beds, cool artwork, reclaimed vintage style and tasty home cooked breakfasts in a fun and friendly atmosphere.

The venue also serves as a hub and meeting point for the neighbourhood, with thanks to its prime location, hosting regular supper clubs and art workshops, making it the perfect pit stop for anyone out on business – or pleasure, for that matter.

Of course, one of the common problems when staying in Brighton is parking – unless the destination has its own designated spaces of course, and despite arriving at 7pm (prime time for dining in the city and hotel itself, we were able to find a secured space directly outside, with locked gates, offering some reassurance.

Tried & Tested in Sussex

The hotel itself boasts a very underwhelming exterior, but the interior makes up for it entirely. Upon walking in, we were greeted by a member of the front of house staff, Jennie, who welcomed us in with open arms and a big smile, which was refreshing to see and made us feel at home instantly. The whole hotel had a buzz about it and I could tell that all guests and visitors were just as excited to be there as myself. While we knew prior to arriving that we wouldn’t be able to dine in the hotel’s restaurant that night due to it being fully booked, this was made harder upon arriving as the delicious smells coming from the kitchen invaded the rest of the hotel.

The wallpaper throughout the hotel was bespoke; I’m assuming old-fashioned pieces reclaimed to create an artistic feel – the whole aesthetic was very different to any other hotel I’d stayed in.

We were shown straight to our room, which was what can only be described as outstanding. The room boasted a very quirky deisgn, with unicorn themed wallpaper, white washed doors to the en-suite and best of all, a perfect window view of Brighton’s seafront and the impressive i360. It was also very clear to see the outstanding level of hygiene; the bedding was fresh and there wasn’t an inch of dust or dirt to be seen.

After settling into our room, we made our way down to the cocktail bar, which I later found out had won last year’s Cocktail Bar of the Year. The bar itself was tiny (yet plentiful with different liquors) and heaving with people, which was to be expected for a Thursday night in the city, but what was surprising was the varied clientele; young couples, elder men and women plus your usual corporate crowd.

It was lovely so see such a wide range of people, but of course it’s very clear to see why the Artist Residence would attract such custom. The barman was incredibly friendly and attentive, but not only this, seemed to be very knowledgeable as to what ingredients were in each beverage, which made it easy for us to trust his recommendations.

I opted for the Charlie and the Cocktail Factory, which consisted of Vodka and Peach with a Cream Soda top, while my wife chose the Lawn Bell, comprising of Red Pepper, Gin and Apple. Both were beautifully refreshing and the dehydrated fruit added that little bit extra. We took our drinks, sat on the comfortable sofas in the bay window and watched the

“Although a small hotel, the staff at Artist Residence Brighton do everything in their power to make all of their guests feel right at home” world go by – the perfect way to spend a Thursday evening.

During the evening we also came across a second, ‘secret’ bar if you like.

Downstairs behind a wooden bookshelf sat an unexposed bar. This was, again, unlike anything I had ever seen before, like something out of a film and adding to the whole ambiance.

We dined at Brighton’s Salt Room, which is approximately a five minute walk away from the hotel. Whlie it was slightly disappointing not to be able to dine at the hotel’s restaurant, I take my hat off to the fact that it is obviously in popular demand. However, the hotel’s location makes up for it, with easy access to many of the city’s best restaurants.

Breakfast the following morning stayed on par with the rest of our Artist Residence experience; beautiful to say

the least. The restaurant is small and intimate, with just 23 covers. I myself opted for the Full English breakfast, while my wife chose Eggs Florentine, both of which were divine.

All in all, Artist Residence Brighton is among some of the nicest hotels Sussex Business Times has had the pleasure of reviewing. Taking everything into consideration – location, cleanliness, staff, fun-factor and so on – I’d definitely give it five stars, and I can’t wait to return!

Address: Artist Residence Brighton, 33 Regency Square, Hove, Brighton BN1 2GG Telephone: 01273 324302 Web: artistresidencebrighton.co.uk

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 47

PEACEHAVEN & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

NEWS

Sussex Business Times has partnered with Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce this month, informing readers of what to expect as it celebrates its 10th anniversary

A Chamber of Commerce is quite extraordinary. As well as being a hub for networking and a magnet for all types of business people to get together to discuss what’s important to them, it’s also a voice for the community and an effective lobbying organisation.

Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce is probably one of the smaller Chambers across the county.

Members are predominantly drawn from Peacehaven, Telscombe Cliffs and the immediate area. Directly to the east are neighbours, Newhaven Chamber of Commerce and bordering them is Seaford Chamber of Commerce. All three

Chambers are proud of their individual identities but from time to time, come together to work on mutually beneficial projects and events.

One of these is the Seahaven Business Awards, which takes place annually in May. Joint leisure and fun events including an inter-chamber Go Karting Challenge also take place, and recently with Seaford Chamber, Peacehaven Chamber worked in partnership with Madison Solutions – a Peacehaven-based website development company – to share the cost of creating a new website for both Chambers.

This year is the 10th anniversary for Peacehaven & District Chamber

of Commerce. The Chamber was the brainchild of the then Mayor of Peacehaven, Cllr Elayne Merry. Now Deputy Leader of Lewes District Council, Cllr Merry thought a town the size of Peacehaven should have its own Chamber of Commerce. The Town Council organised a series of meetings with business people and these meetings clearly demonstrated that there was an appetite for this type of organisation.

She had awoken a sleeping giant and in February 2007 a committee was formed and the Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce was born.

Currently membership is around the

www.peacehavenchamber.co.uk

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Chamber News

50 mark but the chamber is active and visible and for the most part. Recently, it fought a campaign against the development of several of the town’s car parks into apartment blocks. Chamber Ambassador, Nigel Enever, who is also Chairman of Lewes District Council, was at the forefront of this fight, which if the development had gone ahead, would in the Chamber’s opinion and that of traders, severely damage business for retailers in the town.

Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce is similar to most Chambers whereby it runs a successful Breakfast Club. This takes place on the first and third Tuesday of the month at Peacehaven Golf Club. Speakers come from within the group and from outside and our MP, Simon Kirby who is currently the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, is a regular speaker. He last spoke in April of this year. Recently, Cllr Andy Smith, the leader of Lewes District Council, spoke to the Breakfast Club, as did the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne.

Economically, the area is quite buoyant.

There are very few empty retail units in the town and the town’s population keeps increasing. The pressure the country as a whole is under to build more homes has been widely reported. But this is a double edge sword. application to build 450 new Barratt Research suggests that for each new homes in the area is at best controversial. home built, around £10,000 is added to People must live somewhere – that the local economy per annum. Within we all agree. With the 450 new homes the Lewes District area, Peacehaven has will come around 700 cars and the local land available for building, but with more roads cannot be improved to take the building and a larger population comes increased traffic flow. the added pressure In recent years on the only road in “Chambers of bus lanes have been and out of the town, Commerce like added to the A259 to the stuttering A259.

Peacehaven’s, improve the reliability It is quite an obvious support, encourage of the bus service and observation, but with to tempt people from a coastal town like and fight for their Peacehaven, hemmed members and help their cars, but with little And within the in by the sea to the give them the best impact. current building plans south and the South possible chance to there is no provision Downs to the north, succeed” for improved medical access in and out of the services, school places town is either east or or other vital areas of infrastructure. west on the A259.

From the Chamber’s viewpoint, more Locals can all tell tales of horror about people in the town means more business the A259. For around three hours at and will in the main be beneficial for morning and evening peak times every day the road is clogged. If there’s any sort members, but the Chamber’s position regarding this development will be that of of vehicle incident, the road comes to a a lobbying organisation. It will campaign standstill. There is no viable alternative in for the appropriate facilities to support or out of the town, so the latest planning

the influx of between 1,000 and 1,500 people into the town in the knowledge that this development will bring more prosperity to the area. But to build at any price just to satisfy government quotas is not an option as far as Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce is concerned.

Successful business people are positive people who will always say yes and then work out a way after they have said yes as to how they will deliver!

Chambers of Commerce like Peacehaven’s, support, encourage and fight for their members and help give them the best possible chance to succeed. And when the time comes, they also fight for what they believe in and for what is good for business and the community they serve.

Find out more about Peacehaven & District Chamber of Commerce at www.peacehavenchamber.co.uk

Tel: 01273 586 222 | Email: info@peacehavenchamber.co.uk www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

49

Test Drive For this month’s motoring reviews, Sussex Business Times got behind the wheels of the Peugeot 308 GTi and, introducing a commercial vehicles focus, the Volkswagen Transporter

Peugeot 308 GTi What a car! If this wasn’t a review Peugeot for readers who relish the detail our reviews usually include, I could sum this up quite quickly.

Put simply, I love this car.

On first look, it’s pleasing to the eye, looking sturdy, comfortable yet also a bit sporty, with side skirts, front bumper and rear diffuser and a large twin exhaust. Extensive use of LED technology creates a unique lighting signature at the front and rear of the car, with full LED headlamps positioned alongside distinctive direction indicators and fog lamps. It’s curvy and sleek, and just the right level of dramatic.

It’s got a tiny engine – a 1.6 turbo – but it’s quick and provides as much power as you’d want from a GTi. Now, usually when I press the sport button on any given car, I rarely notice a massive change. However, on the 308,

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this button transforms this car into a bit of a speed demon – not to mention the red dash that glows when you push the button. Once the demon eyes have opened, you’re in for a real treat.

The little car and engine produces

270 bhp and 0-62 in 5.7 seconds and a top speed of 157 mph. It may not out-run a lot of competitors on the road, which include the VW Golf GTI and Seat Leon Cupra, but what it lacks in simple pace, it makes up for

Motoring

in fun due to its light weight and suspension. It handles well on the road, taking corners smoothly, with a lot of grip, and switching between its 6 gears effortlessly, although other Peugeot models will grip harder and then slip gently but more playfully from the rear axle whilst taking corners. Also, perhaps it could do with a tiptronic steering wheel and flappy paddles for seamless gearshifts.

Overall, you can tell that Peugeot have tried to maintain the rally feel from the 205 GTi. They’ve done a sterling job with this. The interior hosts all the aspects you’d want too, including half-leather/half-Alcantara upholstery, heated and massaging front sports seats (of course who wouldn’t want a quick massage whilst driving), cruise-control, dualzone climate control and Peugeot’s

Volkswagen Transporter T30

“It handles well on the road, taking corners smoothly, with a lot of grip, and switching between its 6 gears effortlessly” 9.7 inch touchscreen infotainment system complete with sat nav. It also has a DAB radio, reversing camera, plus USB and Bluetooth capability.

The only thing I found quite unresponsive and a little disappointing was the AV. However, having spoken to Peugeot, which claims that the AV is due to be updated come September, I’ll be interested to see the improvement.

On another plus point, there’s plenty of boot space and room in the cockpit to feel like you’ve got the space to move about.

All in all it’s a great car, and one that provides stability as well as a lot of fun on the road. I personally think this is one of the best cars that Peugeot has produced, if not one of the best hatchbacks on the market.

It’s a bit pricier than its competitors, however it’s worth every penny and with a small upgrade to the AV, we can definitely call this one a winner.

It’s not often we review commercial vans, however Volkswagen we had to get our hands on the new VW Transporter.

Thanks to the cult that VW campervans have collected over the years, this medium-sized van competes with the likes of the Ford Transit, Mercedes Vito and Vauxhall Vivaro. The Transporter is Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ best-selling model in the UK and worldwide and we can now agree that this is the best commercial van on the road.

So aside from the lure of the VW badge on the front, the first thing that hits you as you climb in is the sheer comfort of it. This may sound surprising, but I assure you, the seats are set in a high position and they are highly comfortable too. The panel

van features a single front passenger seat (or optional two-seat bench) and adds to the vehicle’s flexibility by offering removable rear seating for a further three passengers. All panel van models provide a spacious load compartment with volumes ranging from 5.8 m3 for the short wheelbase low roof, to 9.3 m3 for the long wheelbase high roof.

Also coming as a bit of a surprise – given a lot of vans provide a, let’s say limited amount of comfort in their drive - the gearbox is smooth and the ride is seamless. The inside of the van itself has all you would expect from a top of the range VW car or SUV, including a new touchscreen infotainment system that offers smartphone connectivity and standard Bluetooth.

With a low load bed, maximum opening width of 1,473 mm and maximum load height of 1,940 mm,

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 51

Motoring

the Transporter is designed to make work easier. All panel van models provide a spacious load compartment with volumes ranging from 5.8 m3 for the short wheelbase low roof, to 9.3 m3 for the long wheelbase high roof return 47.9 mpg on the combined cycle and emits just 153 g/km of CO2.

These are great-added bonus features, which make you feel that you have really spent your money in the right places. The AV is one of the simplest to get to grips with that I have used in any vehicle.

OTR Price Engine capacity Transmission 0-60mph Max speed

To boot with its mean-looking appearance is the power. Having a sixspeed gearbox from the punchy engine delivers well and it seems pretty effortless to get up to some decent speeds. With a well above average fuel economy.

As a work van you have acres of space in the back and 3 seats in the front. It’s difficult to find a negative for this van, but if I were going to say something I would say that it would have to be the amount of over steer.

But all in all this is the best commercial van on the road.

Peugeot 308 GTi

Volkswagen Transporter

£29,404 1598cc Six-speed manual 6 seconds 155mph

£26,345 excl. VAT 2.0L Six-speed manual 11.1 seconds 113mph

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“Also coming as a bit of a surprise – given a lot of vans provide a, let’s say limited amount of comfort in their drive - the gearbox is smooth and the ride is seamless.

The inside of the van itself has all you would expect from a top of the range VW car or SUV, including a new touchscreen infotainment system that offers smartphone connectivity and standard Bluetooth”

Here are some of the organisations we are in partnership with in 2017

For Outstanding Quality & Service

01273 464 884 info@gemini-print.co.uk www.gemini-print.co.uk Gemini Print, Unit A1, Dolphin Way Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 6NZ

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 53

SBTMotoring News Vauxhall Reveals All-New Insignia Country Tourer The latest addition to the all-new Insignia range, Vauxhall’s all-wheel drive Insignia Country Tourer will debut at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show (14th – 24th September).

The Country Tourer is more spacious and considerably lighter than its predecessor, thanks to an all-new architecture, and comes with a wide range of innovative technologies. With all-round black protective cladding and silver front and rear skid plates, the newcomer has a tough and rugged off-

SEAT Sales Soar to Record Heights

SEAT has rewritten its record books with new car registrations reaching unprecedented heights in March and the first quarter of the year. The super-stylish Spanish brand saw 11,200 new cars registered in the past month – an increase of 29.1% on the same period in 2016.

These results complete a hat-trick of record performances from SEAT in the first three months of the year, taking the brand’s UK total up to 16,782. The year-on-year increase of 25.3% is the best for any brand in the British market, outside the premium segment.

Richard Harrison, SEAT UK Director said: “Our sustainable growth strategy is right on plan, thanks to the awardwinning products coming out of Barcelona, a massive boost in brand awareness and the hard work invested by everyone in our business and our dealer partners to make more customers aware of the great range of products we can now offer them. 2017 is set to be a record-breaking year for the SEAT brand.”

54 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

road appearance. It comes with a broad powertrain portfolio, including a brand new top-of-the-range diesel engine.

In addition, the newcomer will also be available with the new eight-speed

automatic transmission and groundbreaking all-wheel drive technology.

Additional ground clearance of 20mm, plus the innovative all-wheel drive with torque vectoring and new five-link rear suspension caters for those who want to leave the city and explore the countryside. Also, instead of traditional rear differential, the Vauxhall Insignia Country Tourer boasts two electrically controlled multi-plate clutches that enable a more individual and precise transmission of power to each wheel.

50 Years of Velar: The Story of Range Rover Land Rover has opened a new visitor attraction at its Solihull manufacturing plant. ‘The Range Rover Story’ is an interactive exhibit created to celebrate 50 years of the world’s most revered luxury SUV. Range Rover has been manufactured at Solihull since 1970 but its history with the site goes back to 1967, when the first secret prototype was conceived, codenamed Velar. The new exhibit will take visitors on a time-travelling voyage from its inception in the mid 1960s,

through to the introduction of the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque.

The exhibition culminates in an exciting unveil of the new Range Rover Velar, celebrating British design and engineering integrity.

Nigel Blenkinsop, Operations Director at Solihull said: “We are hugely proud to build the Range Rover Velar at Solihull, the birthplace of both the Land Rover and Range Rover. Here, we have invested over £2 billion in recent years to enable us to triple production.”

B

C

Special Edition One-of-One Aston Martin VanquishB O U T I Q Volante Goes on Sale at H.R. Owen Leading luxury dealer group, H.R. Owen has welcomed a completely individual and exceptionally rare Aston Martin to its Reading showroom. The Vanquish Volante AM37 Edition by Q is a one-ofone model that can’t be seen anywhere else but Aston Martin Reading – part of the H.R Owen Group – featuring striking Concours Blue paintwork and a unique Q exclusive Semi Aniline leather interior and Chestnut Tan and White Essence.

It features numerous touches that make it a totally unique prospect, too, including a full Q exclusive interior

featuring one-off colours and quilting, Q Conker Saddle carpets with Q exclusive Conker Saddle overmats, Q Rosewood High Gloss Fascia, Q Fender and Buckle Badges with white enamel infill and a full Q matching tailored luggage set. The car also comes complete with a special plaque in honour of its status as a one-of-one model, reading: “Specially commissioned by Q to commemorate the AM37 yacht launch – 1 of 1.”

The Aston Martin Vanquish Volante AM37 Edition by Q is available to purchase for £236,950.

@blanchhousebrighton @blanchhousebrighton @blanchhousebrighton @blanchhouse @blanchhouse @blanchhouse

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17 Atlingworth Atlingworth Street, Street, Brighton, Brighton, East East Sussex, Sussex, BN2 BN2 1PL 1PL 17 01273 603504 603504 01273 info@blanchhouse.co.uk || www.blanchhouse.co.uk www.blanchhouse.co.uk info@blanchhouse.co.uk

17 Atlingworth Atlingworth Street, Street, Brighton, Brighton, East East Sussex, Sussex, BN2 BN2 1PL 1PL 17 17 Atlingworth Atlingworth Street, Street, Brighton, Brighton, East East Sussex, Sussex, BN2 BN2 1PL 1PL 17 Atlingworth Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN2 1PL 17 @blanchhousebrighton @blanchhousebrighton www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 33355 @blanchhousebrighton @blanchhousebrighton @blanchhousebrighton www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk @blanchhousebrighton 01273 603504 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 01273 603504 603504 01273 603504 01273 603504 01273 @blanchhouse @blanchhouse www.blanchhouse.co.uk @blanchhouse @blanchhouse @blanchhouse info@blanchhouse.co.uk www.blanchhouse.co.uk @blanchhouse ||| www.blanchhouse.co.uk info@blanchhouse.co.uk |info@blanchhouse.co.uk www.blanchhouse.co.uk info@blanchhouse.co.uk |info@blanchhouse.co.uk www.blanchhouse.co.uk

SBT

ASK THE

SBT Ask the Experts is sponsored by

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WE ASK THE EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED

EXPERT

Nick Rawson, Partner, Knill James Chartered Accountants What are the main challenges of the Making Tax Digital programme?

While we embrace technology, and see that there are benefits associated with maintaining business records in a digital form and online reporting, we are concerned that HMRC has not considered the impact on small businesses and has set an unrealistic timeframe, even with the one year grace period given in the Spring Budget to unincorporated businesses with turnover under the VAT threshold.

software such as Sage. The only change for these businesses under MTD will be to report on a quarterly, rather than an annual basis. The survey also revealed that 27% of participants use computers for their bookkeeping but may need to change software and retrain staff to input data into a new system.

The greatest change, however, falls to the 16% of business owners who use the ‘shoebox method’ – they do nothing to record business transactions and their accountant collates paper receipts and bank statements to be able to complete their tax returns. Our advice to these businesses is to take the next step and start using software, because by 2018, their accountant will have to both digitise paper records and to report this quarterly to HMRC, increasing compliance costs dramatically.

What is the Making Tax Digital programme?

HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) ‘Making Tax Digital’ (MTD) programme, which starts to come into effect from April 2018, is one of the most significant changes to the UK’s tax system in years and will see most businesses having to report their tax digitally.

How should businesses be preparing for the Making Tax Digital programme?

The UK200Group’s (the UK’s leading membership association of independent chartered accountancy and law firms) recent survey showed that 35% of its members’ SME business clients already use accounting

EXPERT

Andy Lord, Chartered Physiotherapist and Quality, Safety and Improvement Manager, Sussex MSK Partnership East estimated that sick days cost the economy around £14 billion a year and if you are a small business the absence of just one staff member can impact on productivity and morale.

However, there is a lot of evidence to suggest that you can reduce sick days by building a healthier workplace. A key element of this is encouraging your staff to be more active, but for people doing a sedentary job, this can be easier said than done. Here are a few ideas to create a health-conscious work place and boost the wellbeing of your employees:

How can I create a healthier workplace?

Every year some 9.5 billion work days in the UK are lost owing to staff illness.

The impact on productivity is huge - it’s

info@checkaprofessional.com 56 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk

1. Encourage movement – get up and go and talk to a colleague rather than call or email them. If your staff see the boss doing it then they are more likely to follow suit.

2. Put a ban on lunching at your desk – if employees have to take a lunch break then they are more likely to leave the office, go for a walk and come back energised for the afternoon.

3. Introduce a cycle to work scheme – there are tax incentives available for employers who buy bicycles for their employees.

4. If possible, install a shower and changing facilities so that people can cycle or run to work.

5. Use exercise as a team building activity – enter a team into a race or do a sponsored walk to raise money for charity. sussexmskpartnershipeast.co.uk

0808 901 9042

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Grace Lawless, Managing Director, Veriteam Ltd we have developed this quick 3 phase guide to help you through.

It is essential to start planning your approach to GDPR compliance as early as you can to stay ahead of the inevitable changes, which apply from 25th May 2018. You may need, for example, to put new processes in place to deal with the GDPR’s new rules, which could have implications for your budgets, systems, and teams. Based on our experience, the broad challenges are often the same so

EXPERT Why is good writing important to my business?

Shoddy writing, containing basic mistakes and errors, irritates people. Bristol’s ‘apostrophe vigilante’ has received a great deal of attention for his campaign of direct action, going out at night with his paint pot and correcting the misuse of apostrophes. Lynne Truss’s book ‘Eats, Shoots and Leaves’ advocates a “zero tolerance” approach to incorrect punctuation. While these may

info@checkaprofessional.com

1. Prepare: Start increasing awareness now of the main differences between the current law and the GDPR across your business by tapping into and sharing the support resources out there.

The Information Commissioners Office is producing regular helpful guides to what you need to do. Your current compliance approach will be a good foundation, however there are a number of changes so you are likely to have to do some things differently. You will start to develop an assessment of the GDPR’s applicability and likely impact. We recommend you take legal advice at this phase.

2. Implement: Once you’ve established what you’re going to have to do, you’ll need to make sure you have the budget,

people and skills to effectively deliver the necessary changes. This can be difficult when you have other priorities, which need to happen within your business, however it is essential in order to be compliant. You’ll need to do a detailed gap analysis to identify the exact changes you’ll need to make, and then use these to create an action plan, which you’ll then follow.

3. Review: At the end of the implementation you’ll need to validate that the changes you have made meet the regulatory requirements of the GDPR. This may involve independent assurance testing and steps to transfer activities over to business-as-usual.

You’ll also need to check your policies have been updated correctly and that your team have been trained so that they fully understand how they contribute to compliance with the new regulations.

Steve Amos, Business Writing Coach, Katimira Ltd be seen as extreme examples, poor writing can damage the reputation of your business.

Here are five simple ways to improve your writing: 1. Shorten your sentences. Short sentences are easier to understand than long ones. Aim for an average sentence length of around 15 words. If a sentence is longer than 25 words it should probably be split into two shorter ones.

2. Use straightforward words and phrases. ‘End’ is shorter and clearer than ‘terminate’. ‘In the event of’ sounds impressive, but the word ‘if’ has the same meaning. Your aim should always be to clearly communicate your message to your reader.

3. Use punctuation correctly. As mentioned, apostrophes are often misused. An apostrophe should be used either to denote ownership – e.g. ‘Bob’s house’; or the omission of the word ‘is’ – e.g. ‘it’s mine’.

4. Use bullet points and numbered lists.

In a business document these will help your reader to quickly identify the main points.

5. Proof read. Before finalising a document run the spelling and grammar check, but also get someone else to read it. They will usually spot mistakes that you have missed.

Contact info: steve-amos@live.co.uk or call 07734 503621

0808 901 9042 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk 57

SBT

ASK THE

SBT Ask the Experts is sponsored by

EXPERTS

WE ASK THE EXPERTS TO GIVE YOU THE ANSWERS YOU NEED

EXPERT

Richard Newell, Director, GDPR-INFO Ltd Yes! The DPO does not have to be a full-time member of staff and can even be shared across several companies.

Organisations such as ourselves provide such support.

Does the GDPR apply to B2B data in the same way as B2C? Yes! Processing of personally identifiable information relating to living individuals is included.

How long does a consent last for?

Is it two, three or four years?

“Once GDPR comes into effect, you’re going to have to rethink your strategy, unless you’re willing to pay a hefty fine!”

By now, most of us in the business world have heard of the GDPR. It’s the new Data protection legislation.

Below are some of the most common questions we’ve been asked about it.

What is going to change?

Currently, if a person’s address or email address is in the public domain you can use this for marketing or sales purposes.

Once GDPR comes into effect, you’re going to have to rethink your strategy, unless you’re willing to pay a hefty fine!

GDPR states that you MUST obtain the individual’s explicit consent for you to contact them and you MUST have a record of them stating that you can. So, whether you ask for consent over the phone, in person, have opt-ins on your website, is up to you. Another thing to remember is that you must record the consent somewhere.

info@checkaprofessional.com 58 www.sussexbusinesstimes.co.uk

Will the GDPR apply to all SMEs or only ones over a certain size?

It applies to any organisation collecting or processing personal information on UK/ EU residents regardless of size. There are some small exceptions, but our advice right now would be to assume that it applies to any organisation.

Will Data Protection Officers (DPOs) not always be required depending on the business type or size?

The GDPR does not state a specific period but seeks to ensure that ‘data subjects’ understand at the point of collection the purpose and duration of the processing. You must explain to the ‘data subject’ how long you will use the data for and how they can object if needs be.

What will the penalties be for failing to comply with GDPR? The maximum fine a company can face is 4% of their annual global turnover, or €20 million, whichever is the highest.

Less serious violations, such as having improper records, or failing to notify of any breaches, can be fined a maximum of 2% of their annual global turnover, or €10 million.

What effect, if any, does Brexit have on GDPR?

This is correct, however, anyone carrying out “regular and systematic processing of data subjects on a large scale” must have a designated Data Protection Officer.

Brexit will not affect the introduction of GDPR. The government has already stated that the UK will be going ahead with the legislation, regardless of our departure from the EU.

Could the DPO for a business be a third-party provider and do companies that will provide external DPO support exist?

richard@gdpr-info.com 01444 245415

0808 901 9042

BFS 2017:

The Aftermath

A few weeks on from the Big Futures Show 2017, Sussex Business Times again reports back on the success of the event, this time hearing from some of the event’s visitors and exhibitors

The Big Futures Show 2017 was yet again a huge Events success. Around 1400 visitors – comprising of students between the ages of 14 and 19 from 17 schools and colleges, carers and members of the public – visited 108 exhibitors, covering almost every sector, offering inspiration and advice to young people from all walks of life and with every kind of interest.

This included the new Disability Confident zone, kindly supported by Caroline Ansell MP and sponsored by Legal & General. Also new for 2017 was the Employability Hub jointly run by Hastings Direct and the team at Sussex Downs College, which helped to provide context for the day and allowed students to leave understanding new skills for their journey ahead.

The show’s organisers engaged Shopper Anonymous to visit exhibitors during the day and judge them based on their display and engagement criteria.

They found that a high proportion of exhibitor presentation was good and engaging, and among the best was Help Me I’m A Medic, John Young Media and harnessVR.com.

Although next year promises to be bigger and better than before, the challenge still remains for finding a suitable venue for the Big Futures Show

James Neetar, harnessVR.com: “harnessVR had a blast and I hope all that tried our VR Roller Coaster enjoyed the experience. We received wonderful feedback!”

David Underwood, SIGTA: “Once again an excellent event and a huge thanks goes to the team for running another great show for us to promote apprenticeships.”

Chloe Attrill, Willingdon Community School: “Thank you for inviting Willingdon to the Big Futures Show. The students and staff really enjoyed it and the organisation meant that it was very easy to bring such a large volume of students with us.”

2018, but all will be revealed in due course so keep your eyes peeled!

The Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex, Peter Field commented post-event: “Congratulations on an excellent show in Eastbourne. It was a terrific occasion and it was so good to see first-hand the massive number of stall holders and so many youngsters showing such an interest.”

Further to the very positive remarks made by the Lord Luitenant, visitors of the show have been adding their comments and suggestions via an online evaluation facility – here’s what a few of them had to say…

Caroline Austen, Sussex Downs College: “Students really enjoyed the experience as show hosts and have commented on a range of employability skills that they have used and improved.

For many it was a real eye-opener to what a full day’s work actually involves!”

One parent commented: “The Big Futures Show was well set up and informative. As a parent I found out information about further updating in my trade, which I didn’t know about. It was good to know that there are so many different options out there for different ways into careers!”

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Money Matters

SDA 2017: The Winners!

The online achievements of some of the most progressive organisations across Sussex have been honoured at the first annual Sussex Digital Awards Accolades across 14 categories including “Website”, “Use of Sussex Video for Business”, Events “Mobile App” and “Use of Social Media for Business” were presented to businesses, charities and schools at Pelham House in Lewes, on April 13.

Hosting SDA17 was former BBC broadcaster, Robin Bailey who handed Gold, Silver and Bronze prizes to a group of worthy winners.

Special guests included Ana Christie from Sussex Chambers of Commerce,

60 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Lee Mansfield of Sussex Business Times and Dan Wallman of Sussex Council of Training Providers, all of whom presented awards.

The Sussex Digital Awards was launched last year solely to showcase online work from across Brighton, East Sussex and West Sussex.

Walking away with the Gold award in the flagship “Website” category was Brighton-based digital agency Boz Boz, who won for their work on behalf of TV presenter, Jeremy Paxman.

The Disabilities Trust, an autism charity in Burgess Hill, scooped the top prize in the “Use of Social Media for Business”

category and East Grinstead agency, Magnify Creative, won “Online Retailer” on behalf of Campania Food and Wine.

Also on stage, claiming Gold in the “Use of Video for Business”, were Midnight Communications for BRITA Vivreau, and Advantage Air Systems from Horsham were victorious in “Website: Small Business”.

The top award in “Mobile App” was picked up by Carousel for Curing Perfect, an online graphic novel.

Gold in the “Blog” classification went to full-time digital writer, Tom Briggs for “Diary of the Dad” and “Responsive Website” went to 5and3: Integrated Communication Solutions from East Grinstead.

The “Website: Marketing & Creative” Gold went to Brighton branding studio, Made By Spoken and “Website: B2B” to 4D Data Centres in West Byfleet.

Also on top of the podium were The Cookshelf by Superlative Design in “Website: Lifestyle & Culture” and Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, from Brighton, in “Website: School, Education or Charity”.

Cheryl Piper, PR & Communications Manager at Rockinghorse Children’s Charity said: “We are so pleased to have won this category, it was a tough category with loads of great competition and this

Entrepreneurial Spark

will take pride of place in the office.

We’re so grateful to everyone who judged the award and found us worthy of winning it.”

SDA17 host, Robin Bailey described the sell-out event as a “smash-hit success”.

He added: “We are absolutely delighted with the reaction to the first Sussex Digital Awards.

“We received a very large number of high quality entries, the presentation evening was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was electric.

“This has been a great evening of celebration for the talented people of Sussex, bravo!”

“We received a very large number of high quality entries, the presentation evening was packed to the rafters and the atmosphere was electric” “Website: Tourism & Hospitality” Gold was landed by Brighton’s Pragmatic Agency for their project on behalf of luxury hotel business, Condé Nast Johansens.

There was also a special “Spirit of Sussex” award, which is given to one organisation chosen for attracting significantly positive exposure to the county and this was presented to the Goodwood Festival of Speed, the annual motor racing event on the Goodwood Estate, which attracts more than 200,000 visitors each year.

They were recognised for their use of digital platforms in promoting the county of Sussex as a destination.

Sussex Digital Awards 2017 – The Winners BLOG Gold - Diary of the Dad Silver - Denyse Whillier Bronze - Muddy Stilettos Sussex MOBILE APP Gold - Curing Perfect by Carousel Silver - MyTeamSafe by Hillingar Bronze - M-Tickets by Brighton & Hove Buses and Metrobus ONLINE RETAILER Gold - Campania Food and Wine by Magnify Creative Silver - Cowdray Estates by 247 Creative Bronze - Vinscovery by Nik Hannay Ltd & Ollie Hyde

Gold - Jeremy Paxman by Bozboz Silver - Internet Matters by Pragmatic Bronze - 5and3: Integrated Communication Solutions WEBSITE: B2B Gold - 4D Data Centres Silver - Infigo Software Bronze - Ticketmedia by Made By Spoken WEBSITE: LIFESTYLE & CULTURE Gold - The Cookshelf by Superlative Design Silver - Woman Alive by CPO Bronze - SixtySix Productions by ifour WEBSITE: MARKETING & CREATIVE Gold - Made By Spoken Silver - Jeremy Paxman by Bozboz Bronze - 5and3: Integrated Communication Solutions

RESPONSIVE WEBSITE Gold - 5and3: Integrated Communication Solutions Silver - Focus Digital Media Bronze - Turner & Hoskins by Magnify Creative

WEBSITE: SCHOOL, EDUCATION OR CHARITY Gold - Rockinghorse Children’s Charity Silver - TeamUp Bexhill by Rother Voluntary Action Bronze - Internet Matters by Pragmatic

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS in association with Sussex Business Times Gold - The Disabilities Trust Silver - Barfoots by Kitch Media Bronze - Arundel Castle by Midnight Communications

WEBSITE: SMALL BUSINESS in association with Sussex Council of Training Providers Gold - Advantage Air Systems Silver - Brighton Digital Women Bronze - Matthew Page Photography by Dan Gorham Creative Design

USE OF VIDEO FOR BUSINESS Gold - BRITA Vivreau by Midnight Communications Silver - Egg Media Bronze - IBDrelief

WEBSITE: TOURISM & HOSPITALITY Gold - Condé Nast Johansens by Pragmatic Silver - Cowdray Estate by 247 Creative Bronze - Coast B&B by Studio Polpetto

WEBSITE in association with Sussex Chamber of Commerce

SPIRIT OF SUSSEX Gold - Goodwood Festival of Speed

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 61

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club’s official business networking group, powered in partnership with Network My Club. One of the fastest growing business clubs in Sussex, Network Albion offers exciting and unique networking opportunities for business of all sizes.

Benefits

Upcoming Networking Events

- A place at monthly networking events at the Amex Stadium - Company listing in the match day programme at every Albion home match (approx. 9,000 sales per match) - Full company profile page on Network Albion website - Exclusive use of Network Albion logo - Discounted access to attend or join other Network My Club groups throughout the UK

Thursday 1st June – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 6th July – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 3rd August – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 7th September – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 5th October – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 2nd November – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 7th December – 8:30am-10:30am

Cost

Annual Membership per Company £600+VAT (1 month free) or £55+VAT per month

To join Network Albion, or to find more information, visit www.networkalbion.co.uk or contact info@networkalbion.co.uk.

Learn more about Network My Club and the rapidly expanding group at

62 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Want both b to join usin clubs? ess

Fontwell Park Racecourse’s official business networking group, powered in partnership with Network My Club. Network Fontwell offers members unique networking opportunities, on both race days and non-race days, as well as a host of other benefits to promote and showcase their business.

Save £60!

Benefits

Upcoming Networking Events

- A place at monthly networking events at Fontwell Park Racecourse - Company listing in the race day programme at each race meeting (approx. 3,000 sales per race day) - Full company profile page on Network Fontwell website - Exclusive use of Network Fontwell logo - 1 x use of corporate box at Fontwell Park for external meeting/conference purposes - 6 x tickets to a Fontwell Park race meeting, for your company to enjoy, entertain clients or reward staff - Discounted access to attend or join other Network My Club groups throughout the UK

Thursday 25th May – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 15th June – 12:00pm-5:00pm (race day) Thursday 13th July – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 10th August – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 14th September – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 12th October – 8:30am-10:30am Thursday 10th November – 12:00pm-5:00pm (race day) Thursday 14th December – 8:30am-10:30am

Cost

Annual Membership per Company £385+VAT (1 month free) or £35+VAT per month

To join Network Fontwell, or to find more information, visit www.networkfontwell or contact info@networkfontwell.co.uk.

www.networkmyclub.co.uk or contact them on 01903 898025

www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk 63

Networking in Sussex

SBT

Society Young Enterprise Awards Day

Davison High School for Girls were crowned South Downs Best Company and Seaford College won Best Company for Arun & Chichester at the Young Enterprise Area Finals on March 28th.

The students’ company from Davison, Lunaria, sold unique hand-made flower crowns. The team from Seaford College, To Dye For, were selling tie-dye t-shirts and socks as well as a range of tie-dye kits. The teams beat off stiff competition from six other teams to be the overall winners.

For the first time this year Young Enterprise were also able to award Best Company Team Programme to Oak Grove College in Worthing. Their company produced a range of greetings cards using artwork created by pupils in the school.

Over 14,500 young people aged 15-19 from across the country have set up and run a real business over the academic year as part of Company Programme. Students have made all the decisions about their business, from deciding on the company name and product, to creating a business plan, managing their finances and selling their products.

Young Enterprise research shows Company Programme participants develop key employability skills and a longitudinal study of Company Programme alumni has shown that in the two years following their company’s closure, 95% are in education, employment or training – 7% higher than the national rate of 88%.

Madeleine Mills, Young Enterprise Manager said: “We had some great companies started up by students in the West Sussex area this year and the judges were incredibly impressed with the products and services they had developed and the presentations they gave at the Awards.”

Josef Amin from Seaford College collecting the Ivor Page award, presented by Zoe Cornish, Chair of the Arun & Chichester Area Board

64 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

Lunaria from Davison High School collecting their Best Website award

Lunaria from Davison High School collecting their Best Governance award

Phillip Potter, Head of Oak Grove College, holding Phenomenal Bulldog’s trophies for Best Trade Stand, Best Presentation and Best Company

Spice Garden Exquisite Indian Cuisine

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Made in Sussex

Made in Sussex:

Green People

Sussex based organic beauty brand, Green People is celebrating its 20th year in business in 2017. Here, in this month’s Made in Sussex, we find out more about the driving force behind the award winning brand – owner, Charlotte Vøhtz – and the launch of its anniversary campaign to pass on positivity to communities across the UK Back in 1997 Charlotte Vøhtz launched Brand her organic beauty Focus brand with a range of pioneering remedies for her daughter Sandra’s sore, irritated skin.

Having searched the high street for natural products that would be gentle on Sandra’s sensitive skin, she found many so-called natural brands used almost entirely synthetic ingredients and, shockingly, many ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ cosmetics contained as little as 0.1% natural or organic products. This inspired Charlotte to start her mission to positively change the skincare market and Green People was born.

The first products created by Green People were gentle salves for sensitive and trouble prone skin.

Using a combination of natural and organic ingredients such as Calendula, Chamomile and Beeswax, Charlotte developed her own remedies to soothe her daughter’s skin ailments.

Since the development of the first natural salve, Green People now makes over 100 certified natural and organic products that cater for all the family.

Versions of their original salves, such as Organic Babies Soothing Baby Salve, still exist today and have remained firm customer favourites for their gentle, effective soothing properties and natural healing ingredients.

Green People’s first stockist in 1997 was a small independent health shop in Horsham called The Natural Way. From one tiny shop to the shelves of many national and international retailers, including Waitrose, Whole Foods and Ocado, Green People products can now be found across the UK and abroad.

Charlotte said: “I see Green People as

‘a mission’ – I am meant to be doing it.

We continually receive feedback from customers and it is so satisfying to be sent testimonials telling us how we have helped transform a customer’s skin problem. The buzz we get from knowing we have made a difference makes it all worthwhile.”

Now in their 20th year of trading, the West Grinstead-based beauty business is hoping to spread the positivity message by giving 20 people the chance to receive £1,000 each to make their dream a reality, and change the world for the better by uncovering great ideas for making positive change in the communities around them.

Called ‘Change the World in 20 Ways’ the national campaign is being supported by renowned anatomist and TV presenter, and Green People’s official advisor on science communication and brand ambassador, Professor Alice Roberts.

Alice said: “This is a chance for people to think of a way they’d like to make a positive change and to get some support to make that dream a reality. I’m delighted to be helping Green People in their quest to spread positivity and inspire people to change the world for the better.”

To find out more or to get involved with Change the World in 20 Ways visit www.greenpeople.co.uk/change.

66 www.sussexbusinessgroup.co.uk

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C O N V EY A N C I N G · P R O P E R TY · E M P L OY M E N T · B U S I N E S S · L I T I G A T I O N · W I L L S A N D P R O B A T E So Legal A4 Ad ii.indd 1

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