BUSINESS
ECHO
★★★★
Tanning firm glows with pride PAGE4
Start Survive Thrive
Community store is Toxteth triumph PAGES2&3
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FUSION21, the Huyton-based procurement body that enables member housing associations to cut costs on maintenance and works projects through its combined purchasing power, is holding a free “meet the buyers” seminar at its Link Road base on July 22 for any firms interested in joining its supplier frameworks. Fusion21 says it has so far helped to deliver more than £45m of efficiency savings and created about 750 jobs in its clients’ communities. Phone 0151- 481 3000 or email sarah.whelan@ fusion21.co.uk for details of the event.
Firms hit by copper thieves MORE than half of Liverpool’s plumbers have been hit by recent thefts of copper piping, it has been claimed. Plumbing specialist Uponor polled the city’s tradesmen and said 52% had reported that they had suffered at the hands of copper thieves, or knew a friend in the profession who had. Thefts can amount to hundreds of pounds worth of copper piping. Uponor’s managing director Peter Roberts said: “The issue of copper theft is a very real one. A length of copper on a worksite will be appealing to thieves in the area.” His comments follow a number of high-profile stories of copper thefts with Network Rail revealing a loss of £35m in the past five years.
A LIVERPOOL firm ● has been hailed by the Costa Coffee chain
VALUABLE RESOURCE: Liverpool plumbers have suffered at the hands of thieves in a recent spate of copper thefts
RACE ON TO FUND SIROLLI PROJECTS EXCLUSIVE
By NEIL HODGSON Industry Reporter
MOVES have begun to a clinch funding lifeline for Liverpool’s three Sirolli projects. They centre on establishing a Community Development Finance Institute (CDFI) to attract investment for entrepreneurs of the future. Acclaimed Italian business guru Dr Ernesto Sirolli set up three projects in Liverpool in 2006. The Sirolli model encourages communities to shape their own future by pooling resources to help create new
Investor model could replace Stepclever cash
businesses that contribute to the area’s regeneration as they grow. Each institute is spearheaded by a facilitator aided by a board of local people. Enable North covers north Liverpool, Dream High focuses on the east of the city and Waves looks after
central and south Liverpool. But their funding runs out with the ending of Stepclever next March. So Enable North chairman Mark Rea, 29, has suggested a CDFI to attract new investment. He explained: “CDFIs have been around since 1999 but because of the Objective One money Liverpool has never needed one before.” CDFIs attract community investment tax relief, so an investor giving £1,000 for five years would get 5% tax relief over the period and their money back. Mark said: “We’re hoping to be able to add a little bit more as a bonus to involve more people, so low earners could consider it as an investment.”
He said the proposal is just at the “baby steps” stage and is more of a proving concept, but he wants to involve organisations like Liverpool Vision, the council, the chamber of commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses: “We want to work in partnership with these people. We need to grasp this with both hands and do it properly.” CDFI’s can provide funds from £500 to £50,000 for start-up businesses, overseen by the current community panels that assess business risk. The proposals could move closer to reality at the Community Development Finance Association’s annual conference being held in Liverpool’s Crowne Plaza Hotel this September.
for its quality of service for the second year running. Franchisee Optimum Coffee picked up the Costa Check Champions prize in London and Alan Rawling, who manages 12 Costa outlets in Merseyside, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for all our staff. Our latest branch on South Road, Waterloo, is already proving to be another popular hit with our customers.”
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ELLESMERE Portbased E&P Painting Contractors has triumphed for the second year running in a key industry awards event. The Rossmore Industrial Estate firm claimed the Industrial category in the Painting and Decorating Association’s annual awards for its work at Ferrybridge power station in West Yorkshire. It was also commended in the decorative category.
SCANTEC ● Personnel, the Birkenhead-based
technical and engineering recruitment specialist, has appointed two new account managers in Shereese Doyle and Chris Stanley, and promoted Leanne Stewart, who joined the company more than 10 years ago, to the role of payroll supervisor.
2 NEWS
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
★★★★
BUSINESS NAME AND SHAME LATE PAYERS, URGES FPB
THE Forum of Private Business (FPB) is calling on all smaller suppliers to anonymously “name and shame” late paying companies. It says many suppliers fear that speaking out individually will lead to reprisals and cost them business. But it says its Late Payment Hall of Shame provides a way for them to identify late payers, yet still protect their identities. The call follows the latest Business, Enterprise and Skills Committee hearing into moves to protect suppliers of large supermarket chains. Jane Bennett, FPB head of campaigns, said: “We are urging all small suppliers who have suffered to come forward and provide us with evidence that they have been squeezed, and we can absolutely guarantee their anonymity. “Late payment destroys companies, yet it is often seen as normal practice by big supermarkets and other companies, which believe it is acceptable to create lines of credit at the expense of their smaller suppliers. We certainly do not. “We are committed to helping small firms and the economy as a whole by building a momentum for change, and that means shedding light on the epidemic of late payment in the UK.”
TOP HONOUR FOR GARETH
GARETH WILLIAMS, an apprentice joiner with Speke-based Bramall Construction, is celebrating a top industry honour. He was named Apprentice of the Year at the UK Contractors Group awards ceremony in London for his outstanding work on a new-build housing project in Rainhill. Gareth, 23, from Warrington, has achieved distinctions in his NVQ Level 2 and 3 exams at Warrington College.
SMALL
BUSINESS of the Week
H
AVE you got any of those little loaves that you had in yesterday,” enquired the elderly shopper, with a hint of hope in his voice, but probably already anticipating the worst. “No,” replied the assistant. “Sorry, we sold out.” Then he added: “But, how many do you want? If you can hang on we can make some more.” This was customer service – with bells on. And it is just part of the offer that makes Omar’s Continental Store in Toxteth the successful community resource he has developed since stepping behind a counter almost 13 years ago. Situated on the junction of Upper Stanhope Street and Berkley Street in the shadow of the Rialto centre which was developed on the site of the former Rialto ballroom destroyed in the Toxteth riots 30 years ago, Omar’s boasts its own in-store bakery as well as a delicatessen and a specialist halal meats counter overseen by 31-year-old owner Omar Elmi. But things could have been so much different for Granby Street-born Omar had his father, Adam, and eldest brother, Abdi, not decided to start up their small fruit and veg retail business in Berkley Street in 1998. Omar had studied mechanics and was planning to go to university to study business for a Business Information Technology degree. He explained: “The family set this up but didn’t have anyone to run it, so I came in.” He was willing to lend a hand on a temporary basis before heading off to university, but he admitted that once he got behind the counter he was well and truly bitten by the retail bug and he got a taste for the business. “To start with, I was just working on the till and on the floor.” But after three months running the small store he realised that he wanted to make a go of it so he bought out his father and brother and took over the venture in his own right. By September 1998 he had moved the shop the short distance to its current location and, he says, has been serving the community for almost 13 years. Once in full control of the shop he began to diversify and develop his store into the cosmopolitan operation it has become today. He studied and honed his skills as a halal butcher, establishing his Makkah Halal butchers in the rear of the store that provides halal meats and poultry. Omar said: “I get the finest meat
Omar finds shop floor experience serves his ambitions Neil Hodgson hears how Omar Elmi swapped university for retail success from north Wales and we do all the continental goods as well, like herbs, spices, rice and fish. “We stock a whole range of olive oil and olives for different types of cooking and we have Mediterranean ingredients as well as West Indian, Caribbean and African.” He remarked on Raggas, the Caribbean-style restaurant in Smithdown Road and now Lark Lane which featured as the ECHO’s small business of the week three weeks ago,
saying: “We do all the ingredients that somewhere like Raggas would be using in their menus.” He said: “Halal meat is our biggest seller and separates us from other retailers. “There is a lot of preparation work for halal meats, but we are very strong on hygiene and wrapping. “It takes time and effort, but, like they say, people buy with their eyes, so the preparation is everything.” And, completely oblivious of the
earlier exchange between the customer and his assistant, added: “Customer service is also a big factor.” The two USPs have served to establish Omar’s as a successful Toxteth trader. He revealed: “When we started in 1998 we probably carried about £2,000 of stock. Today we carry about £15,000-worth.” Turnover has reached about £300,000 and is growing, which gives Omar the confidence to plan for the future, with more stores on the horizon. “Our aim in the next 13 months is to open a Halal superstore in this area. “We have two or three locations in mind at the moment and we are just sorting out the small details.” Regeneration agency Liverpool Vision is advising Omar on his business plans Open seven days a week, he believes
FSB calls on government to assist its ‘heropreneurs’ A SMALL business lobby group has called on the government to do more to help ex-services personnel to become self-employed. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says it will also strengthen the recovery, in a joint report with military charity Heropreneurs. With 2.5m people currently
unemployed and 75,000 people set to leave the Armed Forces in the next two years, the FSB and Heropreneurs say the government must work with the region’s business community to ensure its resettlement programme is fit for purpose and to ensure that all service leavers are given adequate help to find a job
or to set up their own business. The report makes a series of recommendations, such as setting up a Discharge Commission to co-ordinate opportunities; ensure support is tailored to the individual and not a “one-size-fits-all” approach; help service leavers to translate military
experience and qualifications into a format that future employers or business backers understand; and create an entrepreneurial culture within the forces from cadet stage so that starting up a business is seen as a viable option. Merseyside FSB development manager Neil
Dutton, said: “Merseyside and Cheshire has long been a popular recruiting ground for the Armed Forces. It is vital that the similar energy is given to those leaving the services. “It is more important than ever that people are given the skills and the opportunity to start their own businesses.”
★★★★
NEWS 3
TACKLING DEBT-DRIVEN SUICIDES
TOXTETH
30
YEARS LATER
HOMEGROWN SUCCESS: Omar Elmi runs Omar’s Continental Store in Toxteth. The popular store is near the site of the Rialto dance hall which was destroyed in the riots of July 1981, right Picture: JAMES MALONEY
Do you want to be our Business of the Week? Contact Neil Hodgson 0151 472 2451 or email neil.hodgson @liverpool.com
in optimising his resources and says demand warrants his ambitious expansion plans: “People come to us from as far away as north Wales and Cheshire.” And he says providing he gets it right for Liverpool there’s no reason why he couldn’t expect to replicate the model further afield: “If we could get two strong superstores in Liverpool we could then look at Manchester and look at having a superstore there. “It is getting the first one off the ground, though. “We have done the business plan and we are identifying properties now. Liverpool Vision are helping guide us in the right direction.” And despite the parlous economic situation and a dearth of banking finance he reckons his expansion strategy would impress even the most cautious of bank managers. “I believe the way the business is going at the moment, and with the business plan, I would hope for a positive feedback from the banks.” He has no regrets about missing out on university: “This has been a big eye opener for me. People go to university, but the way the economy is going, I could have gone to university and been out of a job now.” He said his family are happy for his success, but added: “In another way, they’re probably thinking they should have stayed in the business. “But it is all down to hard work and determination.”
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
LIVERPOOL coroner André Rebello is supporting a campaign to address mental health issues caused by unmanageable debt which could lead to suicide. Debt recovery professionals, accountants, academics and politicians are involved in the nationwide campaign Camiad – the Campaign for awareness of mental illness among debtors – which is being spearheaded in the North west by Ian Williamson, an insolvency practitioner and partner with Campbell, Crossley and Davis, who has offices in Northwich and Blackpool. He is working with health professionals to develop a bespoke mental health “first aid” course that will be rolled out in Cheshire this summer and will provide a template for the rest of the UK. He is concerned people who have face-to-face contact with clients do not have the skills to recognise the “cues and clues” that could be driving people to suicide because of debt. André Rebello said that, while there were no national statistics kept by coroners indicating why people committed suicide, he believes that there is powerful “anecdotal evidence” that debt was a major factor.
SEFTON PLANS OUTLINED
FAMILY VENTURE: Omar honed his skills as a halal butcher
SEFTON firms can learn about new investments planned for the borough next Tuesday at a free event at Atlantic Park. Sefton Economic Forum will hear a presentation from Royal London Asset Management, the developer behind the business park scheme in Netherton, and council chief executive Margaret Carney will outline Sefton's draft core strategy which will shape housing, services and investment until 2028. To book to attend the 11.30am event, visit www.business plussefton.com or call 0151 934 3470.
4 NEWS
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
★★★★
BUSINESS
ECHO Business to Business Commercial Premises
VEGAS TRIP A WINNER
Business For Sale
FOR SALE On the instructions of the Joint LPA Receivers
Industrial Workshop Unit Unit 10 Box Works, Heysham Road, Bootle, L30 6UR 299 m² (3,217 sq ft) Good transport links to M57 and M58 Established industrial location Contact John Shaw or James Cole 0161 831 1690
eddisons.com/property
Major 2 day
Auction SALE Manchester - Wednesday 20 July Leeds - Thursday 21 July
162 LOTS including: TAN-TASTIC: Link Beauty boss Alan Foster with some of the Tantowel products
by NEIL HODGSON Industry Reporter WIRRAL firm Link Beauty is glowing with pride after clinching UK and Ireland rights to a tanning treatment. The Thurstaston operation is run by Alan Foster, who worked for US-based Tantowel eight years ago until it pulled out of the UK over patent issues. He stayed in the industry, but this January travelled to Tantowel’s Las Vegas HQ with the aim of persuading it to consider a return to the UK. He not only won that argument, but he came back with the UK and Ireland rights and has also struck supply deals with TV shopping channel QVC’s operations in
US gamble pays off for Link Beauty Italy and Germany. Selftanning treatment Tantowel is applied by towel, cream or spray and contains a chemical that produces a natural glow on contact with skin over four hours, lasting up to seven weeks. It is one of the largest selling self-tans in America, shifting more than 60m treatments. Alan has already struck a deal with high street chain Superdrug that will see Tantowel on its shelves within
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE LIVERPOOL'S Hope Street plays host to myriad businesses, from internationally recognised performing arts venues to awardwinning restaurants, but what you might not realise is that it is also home to one of the country's leading social enterprises. Nestled in an impressive Grade II listed building, you can find Blackburne House using business means to bring about positive social ends. Initially established in 1983 as the Women's Technology and
Education Centre (WTEC), it began life as a centre for unemployed and lowpaid women, offering training and education, especially in unconventional sectors such as electronics, IT and construction areas of the economy that commonly see women significantly under-represented. After realising that social enterprise could be used as a means of funding and supporting this valuable work with vulnerable and excluded women, Claire Dove, founder
weeks, and the product has been accepted by Tesco and Top Shop to be stocked by them from early next year. Stocks are currently handled on a “pick and pack” basis by a Birkenhead warehouse, but Alan said once the big orders begin to roll in he will set up his own operation that will generate sales and warehousing jobs. He said: “It has taken a lot of footwork and travelling going to see buyers and retailers. “But it will explode once a high street brand like Superdrug gets hold of it. “In this business, all the other retailers watch each other and when one gets it they all want it. “There’s only a couple of companies doing anything similar, but not the full range that Tantowel does.”
with Jo McGrath, chair of the Social Enterprise Network
of WTEC, pushed for intensive development and growth. Blackburne House now runs a number of businesses on site including a bistro, conference centre, health spa, web design company (Brava Design) and a nursery. Profits from these businesses are then reinvested in further training and development opportunities for local women. And it works! Today, the needs of women remain at the core of everything that Blackburne House
does. It remains a training-led organisation that delivers a range of more than 50 courses. By utilising the entrepreneurial flair and penchant for radical innovation of the many different businesses within, Blackburne House has been able to break free from the shackles of funding and charitable donations and use the power of business to deliver truly inspirational results for the women of Liverpool and beyond.
Various Retail, Industrial, Residential Development and land lots on behalf of private clients, LPA Receivers, liquidators and administrators including: 41 Claude Road, Liverpool, L6 0BT. Industrial investment. Rent £7,800pa. Guide Price £45,000 plus. 16 Apartments at Baltic Square, Shaws Alley, Liverpool, L1 8DG. 16 modern tenanted city centre apartments. Rental income £85-100,000pa. Guide Price £500,000 plus. Residential properties from £10,000 throughout the North of England
Visit eddisons.com/auctions for the online catalogue 0845 505 1200
Eddisons
SHOP TO LET
WELLINGTON RD L15 Variety of Industrial units available now 0151 227 2875
PRESCOT ROAD, LIVERPOOL
PENNY LANE Small office to let. £60pw. 07836 369919
NEW LEASE FLEXIBLE TERMS/ RENT FREE
INDUSTRIAL UNITS To Let. South L’pool 500 to 4000 sqft, monthly tenancy, competitive rents. From £50pw Tel: 0151 427 5051
TO LET Nursery, 3,600sqft. Up to 80 child capacity. Next to Belle Vale Shopping Centre, Job Centre, Police & Fire Station. Fr only £500pw. Call 07949 689802 3 STOREY OFFICE BUILDING TO LET Crosby Road North, L22. 11 Offices Approx 2500sq ft Rent £1500pcm Call 0151 920 9999 or 07900 424441 BURTON BELL L17 Retail Shop with storerooms with flat over. Large yard & warehouse, freehold, vacant £385,000. Tel: 0151 427 9653
OFFICES TO LET Next to Bellevale Shopping Centre. Singles from £30pw, inc Car Parking. Call 07949 689802 2 LARGE RETAIL SHOPS Busy location, elec shutters, Rice Lane & Tuebrook. From £400pcm 07767 888808 PRESCOT SHOPS/OFFICES 1 large £400pcm, & 1 small £200pcm. 2 months free rent Tel: 07710 815649
L 2 0 S H O P Full take−away planning. Great location. £100pw. Tel 07710 498311 COMMERCIAL UNIT/WORKSHOP Rainhill to let £65pw, £750sq ft 0161 980 1912 UNITS TO LET 5,000−15,000 sqft. Initial Rent free period. 0151 486 0004 S H O P S T O L E T SpekeLiverpool, excellent deals. Call Michael. 07538 279150
Taxis/Cab & Plate N E W E 7 & Lpool Plate 6 seater, Lpool spec, a/c, good on fuel, £58,995, other used C&Ps available. Finance available with deposit. Trade cabs to clear. TX1 £1250, TX11 £2750. Taxifix 0151 482 5101.
SEFTON PRIVATE HIRE available Focus Estates, full garage facilities including spare cars. £160pw fully inclusive. Established 15 years. Over 25’s only. 0151 526 0470
CITY LONG COLLAR TX1 vgc, £270pw. New badge holders, any age. 07701 017910 KNOWSLEY CAB & PLATE for sale finance arranged. 0151 298 3450 WIRRAL CAB & PLATE for sale finance arranged. 0151 298 3450 KNOWSLEY LONG COLLARS Available, Peugeot E7 & TX1. 07788 755570
LONG COLLAR TX1 Dave 07757591836 LONG COLLAR TX1 £260. T: 07775 777 900 DAY COLLAR REQUIRED 51 Plate TX1 07400 372323 DAY COLLAR with c/o also long collar. 07957 636549 CITY CAB & PLATE FOR SALE 07500 444600 CITY CAB Long Collar 07809 464860 CITY DAYS/NIGHT/LONG COLLAR 07789 884399 L O N G C O L L A R 02 Plate 07873 200893 TX1 CITY DAYS/ NIGHTS L/ COLLAR 07715 172487 BOTANIC CARS Requires owner drivers 0151 220 2020
Eddisons
NORTH WEST base Hygiene Supply company for sale, suit 2 person team, specializing in care homes and schools, lots of potential, great opportunity. Call 07887 755882 for details.
CAFE FOR SALE Est 40 yrs, by T J Hughes London Rd. Seats 40, fully equipped. Offers invited 07511 218725
Business For Rent HOT TAKEAWAY FOODSHOP Aigburth Rd. Shop has Council permission. Needs refurb. 07938 877632
Business Opportunities TANNING AND BEAUTY SALON LEASE FOR SALE Great Georges Road, Waterloo, L22. Includes: Sunbeds, Salons equipment. Ingoing: £5,000 Rent: £500pcm. Call 0151 920 9999 or 07900 424441 FORMER HAIRDRESSERS TO LET Prime location, South Rd, L22, No Business Rates* For all details Call 0151 920 9999 or 07900 424441
Commercial Property On the instructions of Dermot Power and Tracey Pye of BDO
FOR SALE
Warehouse & Storage Land Everite Road, Widnes, WA8 8PT • • • • • •
GIA 2,113.70 sq m (22,752 sq ft) Site Area 1.77 hectares (4.38 acres) £950,000 (subject to contract) Large Secure Surfaced Yard Suitable for Waste Management/Scrap or Haulage Yard/Open Storage uses Suitable for sub-division
Contact Rory Dillon or David Murray rory.dillon@sandersonweatherall.com
0161 259 7000 sandersonweatherall.com
Accountancy / Bookkeeping
Building Trade
ACCOUNTS & TAX. Problems with HMRC? Accounts & returns late? For help and advice from experienced chartered accountants call Barry or Gavin on Tel: 0151 493 9700.
FRAMELINE TRADE SUPPLY COMPOSITE DOORS
Loans / Finance / Mortgage CASH LOANS Secured against your car. Loans for any purpose. 0 1 5 1 2 2 0 4 4 8 8 www.mobilemoney.co.uk
Industrial Property INDUSTRIAL UNIT/YARD TO LET Strand Road, Bootle L20. Approx 3,000 sq ft unit with large yard. Rent £1000pcm. Call 0151 920 9999 or 07900 424441
UPVC
WINDOWS, DOORS, CONSERVATORIES. 5 Day Turnaround Tel 0151 546 5577 Fax 0151 546 5588 ACCREDITED WITH BS7412 & BS7950
KITCHEN & BEDROOM FITTINGS from a hinge to a full kitchen/bedroom. 3D plans now available. Showroom & Trade Counter at 3 Rockley Street, Kirkdale, L4 0151−207 0008. www.brosna.co.uk
BUSINESS TO BUSINESS
0151 472 2746