LDP Business Magazine, May 2010 by Liverpool Post & Echo

LDP

M O N T H LY R E G I O N A L B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E

BUSINESS

Global vision

Liverpool gears up for Shanghai showcase: Six-page special report

w w w . l d p b u s i n e s s . c o . u k M a y 2 0 1 0

Taking on the world chief executive Sir Terry Leahy tells his story

● WOW factor: JMU’s boost for business ● Clean and green: Johnsons transforms stores ● Out to lunch: Tortilla de Scouse1

Making a splash!

Come along and see why...

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INSIDE 4

LDP

NEWS

Regional Business Awards

BUSINESS

EDITOR Bill Gleeson 0151 472 2319

BIG FEATURE

Liverpool heads for Expo 2010

bill.gleeson@liverpool.com

Succession planning

DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR Tony McDonough 0151 330 4918

BIG INTERVIEW

BUSINESS WRITERS Alistair Houghton

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS

tony.mcdonough @liverpool.com

Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

alistair.houghton @liverpool.com

Peter Elson

peter.elson @liverpool.com

Cavern Walks fills up

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Heath firm secures £100,000 grant

Neil Hodgson neil.hodgson @liverpool.com

Alex Turner

alex.turner@liverpool.com

HEAD OF IMAGES Barrie Mills

barrie.mills@liverpool.com

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

MARKETING EXECUTIVE Litza Gorman 0151 742 2352

Focus on Chester

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Debbie McGraw

Prism wins Queen’s Award

ADVERTISMENT SALES Jackie McMahon 0151 330 5077 Trudie Arlett 0151 472 2476

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS? Johnsons cleans up

TRANSPORT

What will takeover mean for Arriva?

EDUCATION

JMU has WOW factor

BUSINESS CLUB INQUIRIES 0151 472 2352 PUBLISHED BY Trinity Mirror NW2, PO Box 48, Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L69 3EB.

RESTAURANT REVIEW Lunya, in Liverpool

THE LIST

TELEPHONE 0151 227 2000

FAX 0151 330 4942

NETWORKER

Alistair Houghton ponders queues

LDP Business is printed monthly and distributed with the Liverpool Daily Post. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission of the publisher.

SOCIAL DIARY

Carolyn Hughes out on the town

COMPARED to America, British politics can appear relatively dull. That’s because many of the big debates about matters like health and welfare have been resolved here decades ago. None of our parties, for example, advocate a private insurance system for paying medical bills. In America, in contrast, Barack Obama has had to fight tooth and nail to persuade Congress to pass legislation to make healthcare more widely available. At present, tens of millions of Americans don’t have access to doctors. Even after the President’s reforms are enacted, they won’t amount to universal healthcare, free at the point of delivery, like our NHS. Nor have Bill Clinton’s

PHOTOGRAPHY Trinity Mirror

EDITOR’S LETTER welfare reforms prevented jobless Americans from having their homes repossessed and being thrown out on the streets, or at least onto the mercy of relatives, friends or charities. In Britain, the healthcare debate rumbles around matters such as whether there are too many NHS managers or whether patients should pay for hospital car parking. There is even a degree of

consensus about those big political issues that have emerged more recently, such as saving the planet. British political parties agree about the need to protect the environment. In contrast in America, the Republicans, the voice of the oil and car industries, are in a state of denial about global warming. The biggest issue that faces us all for the next few years is the economy. Coming out of recession is going to take time and careful management. Yet none of the parties sound convincing about the scale of cuts and/or tax rises needed to restore public finances

back to health. One party says it will prune £12bn from public spending while another talks about £24bn. Yet the deficit is £160bn, so the savings Labour and the Tories are quoting are not enough. The truth about the sums that need saving is unpalatable. But, given the consensus that exists in this country, you wonder what the parties will haggle over, should there be a hung Parliament. A hung Parliament would be a disaster. It would mean urgent decisions about the economy being put off far too long, causing a loss of British government credibility in the

global money markets, together with economic chaos and the likelihood of another election in the autumn. It is therefore important that the nation’s voters act decisively first time round. In other words, don’t vote Liberal Democrat – unless you want more bike lanes, Trident scrapped, higher taxes, a hung Parliament and another election campaign. Indeed, it seems odd to me that any potential Conservative voter would consider voting Lib-Dem. Surely the Lib-Dems are further to the left than Labour on the political spectrum, making Labour a better alternative.

BILL GLEESON 3

NEWS

Cheshire Farm Ice Cream in £600k revamp

Ice cream produced at the farm

CHESHIRE Farm Ice Cream has relaunched its visitor attraction following a £600,000 refurbishment. The farm, a family-run business just outside Chester, has been producing its award-winning real dairy ice cream since 1986. Running alongside the successful wholesale business is its tourist attraction – the Ice Cream Farm. The combined business turns over nearly £1.5m a year and brings over 300,000 visitors to Cheshire each year.

The Fell family’s investment in the visitor attraction is already leading to an increase in footfall. On the manufacturing side, the production unit is one of the biggest in the North West and is capable of producing over 1,000 litres of ice cream an hour, comprising more than 30 flavours of ice cream and sorbets. Made using fresh whole milk and cream from the farm’s 300 dairy cattle, the ingredients are selected to ensure they are free from artificial colours and flavours.

Region’s successes to be recognised

HE achievements of businesses large and small will be highlighted at the Liverpool Daily Post Regional Business Awards. Nine awards will be announced at the ceremony, which is being held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral on Thursday, May 27. Daily Post editor Mark Thomas said: “As a salute to Liverpool’s involvement as the only UK city to take part as an exhibitor in the World Expo in Shanghai, in 2010, we are giving this year’s event an Oriental theme. “The year ahead promises to be a more positive one for the business community in our city region, after the difficult times we have all had to fight our way through over the last 18 months. “Fragile though they may seem, the signs of recovery are out there, and the businesses who have shown the drive, foresight and courage to steer the most effective course through the recent economic downturn are those who will be best placed to prosper.” Last year’s big winners were Sir Michael Bibby, chief executive of Bibby Line Group, who was named Businessperson of the Year, while resurgent shipbuilder Cammell Laird was named Business of the Year. ■ THE evening is a great opportunity to entertain clients and network with the business community. The keynote speaker is Liverpoolborn former cabinet minister Steven Norris. Broadcaster Peter Sissons will once again be the host. Tickets for the awards dinner are on sale now, priced £95+VAT, with tables available with 10 or 12 places. To book, call 0151 472 2422 or e-mail events@liverpool.com ■ LDP BUSINESS List: Page 39

Sir Michael Bibby – named 2009 Businessperson of the Year

James Dow, left, with Bruce Scott

Partnership in dash for growth CORPORATE finance boutique Dow Schofield Watts (DSW) has formed a partnership with management due diligence consultancy Diligencia. The partnership will offer a range of due diligence services, including financial, management, operational and commercial work. The team has worked with clients that include leading private equity houses and major high street banks in the UK. James Dow, of DSW, said: “Our aim is to create the broadest and deepest due diligence service to support the corporate finance market. “We believe Diligencia should be on the pitch list for every deal across the UK. The market has bottomed and we are ready to ride the next

wave of deal making. We are poised to take advantage of a weak and fragmented market and are ready to grow aggressively.” The overall value of UK buyouts fell by 72% in 2009 to £5.5bn, compared to £19.7bn in 2008, representing a return to 1995 levels, according to the latest data published by the Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR). The partnership, which has its headquarters in Daresbury, brings together more than 20 dedicated specialists, with plans to increase this number. Bruce Scott, who acquired Diligencia from the Jefferson Smurfit Group in 1995, said: “There was an obvious synergy between our teams in terms of offer and culture.”

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Bright future for judo club Waterloo Judo Club goes from strength to strength thanks to support from Sefton MBC

WATERLOO Judo Club was established in 1958 and now, over 50 years later, the club is celebrating its first year in its new dojo. The club boasts a proud history of international and national standard players dating back to the early 1980s, when Ann Hughes won the women’s world title. Since then, a procession of players has made it through to international standard, representing the club at cadet, junior and Paralympic level. The club suffered during the late 1990s when the Savoy Hall in which members trained became so dilapidated the club needed to move out. The Committee embarked on an ambitious project of rebuilding the dojo into a purpose-built building and, through the determination of the then secretary, Clare Radford, secured over £470k in funding towards the project. The hard effort seemed to have paid off but yet more trouble lay ahead. Initial investigations into the land and a global increase in

world steel lead to the project falling behind in timescales and in jeopardy of being abandoned. Sefton MBC stepped in with support and together with the Committee lobbied the Sports Lottery for further support. The success meant the project could be completed and the doors to the Peter Edwards Dojo finally opened in 2009, with Liverpool Football Club’s Jamie Carragher attending the opening. Since then the club has grown, now offering four practices a week for juniors and seniors, and it is in negotiations to provide non-judo specific training during daytime to open the doors to the community. The club recently had its first junior member qualify for the National Championships since opening the new club, and it recently won medals at the County Championships. The club also has ties to Liverpool University with one of the coaches teaching there weekly and some of the university students visiting the club for extra practices.

If you don’t know much about judo, here’s a brief introduction. Judo means “the gentle way” and was invented by founder Jigaro Kano. Originally a form of self-defence, it has developed into a full contact Olympic Sport in which Great Britain has performed well in recent Olympics and Paralympics. Britain’s heritage in the sport was recently celebrated when British Judo Association President, George Kerr, 72, was named a “10th Dan” – making him only the fifth non-Japanese judoka ever to receive the honour. The aim of the sport is to throw or pin your opponent until you score maximum points or to armlock or strangle them until they submit. This may sound a far cry from “gentle”, but the sport is highly skilled and controlled, and etiquette is of paramount importance. If you fancy trying a sport that will increase your fitness and give you a sense of belonging regardless of ability, then pay Waterloo Judo Club a visit.

Get to grips with judo by visiting the Peter Edwards Dojo

Waterloo Judo Club A Place to learn new skills, get fit and meet new friends

waterloojudoclub.co.uk 5

NEWS

Liverpool FC and Everton FC are two of the city region’s most famous brands, and will be used to promote the city at the World Expo, in Shanghai

City brand must keep value

Business leaders tell DAVID BARTLETT that cheap is not always cheerful LIVERPOOL must not market itself as a cheap place to do business as it seeks to attract investment at the World Expo, leaders have warned. The city will be the only UK city to have its own stand at the World Expo, in Shanghai, which starts on May 1, and the brand of the city will be crucial to how it sells itself. In March, the Daily Post chaired a debate on branding at the world’s leading property convention, MIPIM, in Cannes, with key figures. Those present were Mike Taylor, director of investment for Liverpool Vision, which is leading the Shanghai effort; John Kelly, executive director of regeneration at Liverpool City Council; Lindsey Ashworth, development director of Peel Group; Maggie Mullen, of architects Austin Smith:Lord; Robert Gordon Clark, managing director of London Communications Agency; Richard Arman, director of development at

Intercontinental Hotels; and Michael Divers, the managing director of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA). Mr Taylor introduced the session by explaining the city’s brand had evolved from the Capital of Culture celebrations. Last year, Liverpool launched a new logo which was intended to embody the city’s brand. “When I first arrived in Liverpool six years ago, the city didn’t do much to market itself and that goes back to a time when it was hard to brand,” said Mr Taylor. “The farther away from Liverpool you get, the more comfortable people are with the image of the waterfront. It could be mistaken for Toronto or Shanghai. “We have seen a massive change in the last 12 to 18 months. All the local authorities are happy to stand behind the Liverpool city region.” He said Liverpool’s

relatively low cost base was one of a number of factors, including quality of life, which might attract investment. But Mr Ashworth, whose company is the main sponsor for Liverpool in Shanghai, warned that the city should not be promoted as a cheap place to do business. “I would never promote low cost for Liverpool. It might be low cost in terms of what you might pay in London, but I would be very careful about looking like a budget city,” he said. “The World Expo can’t be about looking back. Manchester started to rebrand itself 20 years ago and now it is the UK’s second city.” Ms Mullen said the city’s brand also needed to incorporate well-known features from the city. “You have got very strong brands in the city region like Liverpool Football Club and Everton Football Club.” Mr Arman said that branding was crucial to the

success of companies as well as cities. “The brand is a promise of some sort,” he said. “We are a brand company – we are successful in building brands and marketing them. We are happy to be in Liverpool, it’s a vibrant and lively place.” His company already has a Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, and will open its Indigo brand next year, because it sees Liverpool as a good place to invest. Gordon Clark congratulated the region on agreeing to allow Liverpool to be used as the main brand, instead of Merseyside. He said there had been problems in London getting all the 33 borough leaders to sign up to the same agenda. “It’s important because otherwise you end up with one hand tied behind your back.” He said it can often take times to get things done and for perceptions to change. ■ HOW will the World Expo boost Liverpool? See Page 13

City’s brand has evolved – Mike Taylor, of Liverpool Vision

The Knowledge Quarter is developing as a unique focal point for learning, business and cultural pursuits.

Hope Street

High-specification laboratories

THE BIG FEATURE

Expo-nential possibilities BY ALEX TURNER

David Baker, left, and David Slater, from EDM Ltd, who built the Haibao mascots for the 2010 Shanghai Expo, deliver one to Liverpool Town Hall

▲ ▲

Liverpool has invested a lot in being at Shanghai’s World Expo – and hopes the Chinese whispers will become a clamour

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

Liverpool and Shanghai – the story

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

■ 1865 ■ 1834 One of the earliest conduits The trade links between China and Britain via the ports for Shanghai sailors and other Chinese seafarers to land of Shanghai and Liverpool up and eventually settle were instrumental in the in Liverpool was Alfred establishment of a Holt’s “Blue Funnel Chinese community. Line”. Founded in 1865, The main trading goods its ships were were silk and cotton affectionately known as wool. The first vessel “The China Boats” and arrived in Liverpool operated from the direct from China in Port of Liverpool 1834. until the early 1980s. Alfred Holt

■ 1970s Nelson Street became the new hub of Chinatown and the business area extended into Berry Street, Duke Street and Upper Pitt Street.

■ 1944 First Chinese bank in Liverpool ■ Post-1945 After WWII, the Chinese settlement spread slowly inland into the side streets such as Cornwallis Street and Dickenson Street. WWll's Blitz destroyed much of the Pitt Street and Cleveland Square area, hastening the end of the old Chinatown.

■ 1994 The Liverpool and Shanghai Chambers of Commerce twinned

■ 2000 The friendship between the two ports is now famously symbolised by the Imperial Arch (also called the Chinese or Friendship Arch) at the entrance to Liverpool’s Chinatown. It is the largest outside China, standing at 15 metres (50ft), spanning Nelson Street.

■ 1999 The two cities become International Sister Cities

What is being at the Expo worth?

■ 2007 A memorandum of understanding was signed in Shanghai between the two cities, adding new impetus to the sister city relationship. ■ 2008 Liverpool confirms plans to take part in the Expo in 2010

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 OMORROW’S opening ceremony of the World Expo, in Shanghai, had its roots in Liverpool more than 10 years ago, and is the culmination of at least three years’ work. From Saturday, there are 184 days of action when Liverpool will try to directly persuade about 1m people that the city, and the North West region, is the place to come to visit, study at and invest in. The World Expo – colloquially referred to as the business Olympics – is preparing to welcome 70m people to listen to what more than 200 nations and international organisations have to say. For Liverpool, it is a major investment that has seen more than £1.5m of public money invested in its presence, with tens of thousands of man hours spent developing a plan to put Liverpool’s message across. The city’s pavilion is within the Urban Best Practice Pavilion, which brings together cities including Barcelona, Cairo and Sao Paulo under the linked theme of regenerating cities full of heritage. It all sits under the main Expo theme of Better Cities, Better Life. For Liverpool, it is not just an opportunity to showcase its progress in recent years, but to act as a launchpad for its future aspirations, aided by its relationship with Shanghai. Liverpool Vision’s director of investment and enterprise, Mike Taylor, is leading the city’s presence at the Expo, alongside project director Philip Southward, who has been on secondment from the Northwest Regional Development Agency. Mr Taylor said: “Liverpool Vision’s board recognised that Liverpool’s brand is underplayed on the world stage. “Part of the rationale for us is to continue to support all the private sector organisations with how they can work over there, promoting the Liverpool brand. “Also, our experience will be a major determinant of what Liverpool Vision sees as its global strategy. “Our experience at the Expo will help us spread the Liverpool brand out there and how we do that as an economic driver.” It is hoped that Liverpool will see economic benefits of up to £50m over the next decade from its presence at the Expo, generated from four key areas: exports, foreign direct investment, students and tourists, see panel. “I see Expo as key to building

■ 2006 The Liverpool-Shanghai Partnership (LSP) was established

Estimates range from £5m to nearly £5 0m

A computer-generated image inside Liverpool’s pavilion at the World Expo, in Shanghai the brand,” said Mr Taylor. “It’s the start of a very long process. The Expo is the start of that next phase of turning those connections into real economic growth. “That’s why the £50m [economic benefit] is over the next 10 years, before it’s all turned into economic growth. It takes that long to exploit the relationships.” Starting relationships and building on existing ties, especially between the private sector, is an important part of Liverpool going to the Expo. There are more than 65 companies utilising the platform of the pavilion to make connections with China and the rest of the world’s major markets, which will all be present. This private sector support has

been crucial in providing funding to enable the organisers of the Liverpool Pavilion to put on the show they were looking for. Mr Taylor said: “It’s £650,000 of sponsorship at a time when the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce is telling us we are only just coming out of recession. “That level of private sector support is fantastic.” Mr Taylor expressed the belief that the economic benefits acruing to the city from its presence at Shanghai are likely to exceed the optimistic end of predictions contained within a report prepared by consultants Scott Wilson. “That means we are en route to the £50m [GVA uplift] over the next 10 years,” he added. As lead sponsor, Peel has

invested £100,000, while four organisations, with one more still to be finalised, have signed up for the main sponsor packages worth £75,000: Arup, Enterprise, Merseytravel, and a university collective that is made up of Liverpool’s three universities, plus Edge Hill, Chester and Salford. “We have focused on engaging with as many private sector organisations as possible,” he said. “Many have stepped up at the £3,500 mark, but we have got a dozen-plus of the silver, gold and platinum sponsors, so we have got a really good level. “We have had to be flexible. Every sponsor has a tailored package. “From Peel to the £1,500 corporate delegate, we have a

really good mix. If someone told me six months ago, this would be where we would be, I would have taken it. But it has been tough.” Hoped-for support from across the North West hasn’t materialised, as Liverpool has been unable to persuade organisations to swap parochialism for partnership. He said: “We have been less successful than we had imagined we would be, to be honest. Manchester is focused on what Manchester is planning to do,” he said. “We have done a really good job in making sure that the North West is represented in the audio-visual etc because we have wanted to play that card that the North West of England is a viable region for investment.

“We are using that in the right way, a 60/40 split – 60% about the city, 40% about the region. The dynamic of Liverpool being twinned with Shanghai – 436,000 people twinned with 30m people. It only makes sense in economic geography in terms of the North West as a whole. “People don’t understand on the other side of the world how two world-class cities can be so close as Liverpool and Manchester. “Sometimes I think we get a bit small-minded about the rivalry of Liverpool and Manchester. The real game is out there in the global economy.” Now, on the verge of welcoming the first visitors to Liverpool’s Pavilion, there is a quiet confidence that the city has got

its message and its medium right. Mr Taylor said: “The real issue is are there foreign students out there – there are. Tourists? There are. Is there a real potential for foreign direct investment? There is. Is China going to be the world’s largest economy and is every major economy represented at the Expo? Yes. “We are not going into a market that’s unknown. We know the power of the Chinese economy. “We know we will be able to meet up with every other major and emerging marketplace. “We have a story to tell and a clear business message. “The only thing we can be 100% certain of is we would have delivered nothing by not being there.”

QUANTIFYING the benefits Liverpool will receive from being at the World Expo is not straightforward. While it is the first time Liverpool has taken part, the evidence of economic benefits from previous Expos is not strong. It is also difficult to assess the value of any relationships that are begun, or moved forward, because of the Expo. However, international consultancy Scott Wilson has produced a plan which projects the boost to the region’s gross value added (GVA) – a measure of economic output – to be between £5.5m and £47.5m over the next decade. It first reviewed the performance in terms of changes in economic Liverpool City Council leader War activity following UK ren Bradley meets participation in the senior Chinese officials on a 200 8 visit to Shanghai previous five Expos, and concluded that it showed four years and then scenario, it argued that it declining – a cumulative “mixed results and is possible the GVA trad e increase of £3.1m; illustrates the point that increase could range there is limited statistical ■ securing additional between £15.6m to Chinese foreign direct evidence to support £47.5m. inve stm ent of four participation”. The lower figure would average sized be a result of a 1% It said: “The limited investments (at eight evidence on the impact increase in exports and jobs supported per of Expos underpins a also increases the inve stm ent and an cautious estimate of the attributable number of average GVA per potential regional inward investments from employee of £30,000) in economic impact.” four to eight. the regional priority It identified four The £47.5m figure was sec tors ove r three years outputs which it believes arrived at by applying the from 2012. can be achieved, up to NWDA’s investment ratio The report concluded 2018: from its 2007/08 trade ■ a 10% or a 380 visitor that the total value was project, which produced £5.54m. increase in inbound £38 of directly It said : “Given the tourism from China; attributable new sales for nature of the potential ■ 100 additional every £1 invested. benefits – such as trade students per annum Therefore, Scott and inward investment – arriving from 2013 Wilson concludes, the pote ntial outcome onwards; app may be more significant, NW lying that ratio to the ■ a 0.25% increase in DA’s £1.25m but are difficult to annual regional exports investment “would pred ict.” from 2012, peaking after equate to additional Using an upside sales of £47.5m”.

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

Liverpool and Shanghai – the story

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

■ 1970s Nelson Street became the new hub of Chinatown and the business area extended into Berry Street, Duke Street and Upper Pitt Street.

■ 1994 The Liverpool and Shanghai Chambers of Commerce twinned

■ 1999 The two cities become International Sister Cities

What is being at the Expo worth?

■ 2006 The Liverpool-Shanghai Partnership (LSP) was established

Estimates range from £5m to nearly £5 0m

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO The Eiffel Tower, arguably Europe’s most famous landmark, was designed and built for the 1889 World Fair

Britain drives home ‘green’ message

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

Showcasing world cities

Liverpool will exhibit in the Urban Best Practice Area

LIVERPOOL’S pavilion is in the Urban Best Practice Area, which brings together cities from across the world that can demonstrate regeneration and development which has been built on its heritage or environment. Venice, Italy and the Egyptian capital, Cairo, join Liverpool alongside Chinese cities Suzhou and Hangzhou in what is expected to be a popular part of the pavilion. Also among the 32 exhibitors in the UBPA are the Spanish city of Barcelona – which hosted the Expo in its Olympic year of 1992 – Hong Kong and Pondicherry, India.

National pavilion emphasises sustainability THE UK has adopted the slogan, Building on the Past, Shaping our Future, to fit in with the overall Expo theme of Better Cities, Better Life. It is emphasising the historic development of public parks and garden squares as demonstrating how integrating nature into cities is a way of making them healthier places in which to live and work. It has built an eye-catching national pavilion, dubbed the Seed Cathedral, to promote the best of the country. As well as providing a platform for the consideration of global issues, including sustainability and climate security, the UK is also seeking to strengthen the UK-China relationship and showcase the country’s innovation and creativity. It is a six-storey high object formed from 60,000 slender transparent rods, which extend from the structure and, apparently, “quiver in the breeze”. Each of the 7.5m long rods use daylight to light up the pavilion, while light sources at the end of each rod will make the whole structure glow at night. Once inside the pavilion, visitors are taken through the UK’s urban landscape by travelling along a walkway through the four UK capitals from west to east – Belfast, Cardiff, London and Edinburgh – by a series of green maps, which show the cities with all the buildings and roads taken out. A second walkway shows a typical British city, with its lack of

The UK has created a landmark pavilion for the World Expo

CITY TAKES ON OLYMPIC CHALLENGE SHANGHAI is using its time as World Expo host to make its mark on the global stage. China’s second city, and financial hub, wants to make a similar impact as the

2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Its £40bn budget for the event is a measure of how important it sees it, as it prepares to welcome up to 10m foreigners to the city.

high-rise buildings common in many major cities. A key part of the Seed Cathedral, investing in nature, promotes the UK’s role in conservation, specifically the Kew Millennium Seed Bank partnership, the largest collection of wild plant seeds in the world. It encourages visitors to imagine how plants of the

It has transformed the 5.28 sq km Expo site on the banks of the Huangpu River – relocating 18,000 households – creating 3.28 sq km of enclosed space.

future could offer solutions to climate change and other global concerns. Near the exit of the pavilion is the 2012 Legacy Corner, which explains how the London Olympic Park will be made into one of the largest urban parks created in Europe for more than 150 years.

A global showcase since 1851 THE history of the World Expo dates back to the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace and, under the label of World Fair, they aggressively promoted industrial and technological advances. The Eiffel Tower is the enduring legacy of the Exposition Universelle held in Paris in 1889, while many other cities have kept part of the infrastructure developed for the exhibitions.

For half a century from the 1939 New York World Fair, they took on a more cultural focus, in tune with an interest in the future for humankind. During this period it was taken outside of Europe, the United States and Australia for the first time when Osaka, Japan, hosted the 1970 Expo. Since the 1988 Expo, in Brisbane, the Expos have had a much greater focus on brand positioning, promoting the benefits of countries and cities. There are two types

of Expos, of which the universal expositions – or World Expos – are the most important. Since Hanover 2000, they have only been held every five years with Aichi, Japan, hosting in 2005 and Milan selected as hosts for 2015. There are also registered expositions, which are much smaller and held in between the World Expos. The most recent was held in Zaragoza, Spain, in 2008, with the next one to be in Yeosu, South Korea, in 2012.

Liverpool’s six key messages EVENTS at and trade delegations to Liverpool’s pavilion are being organised around a monthly thematic calendar. The key messages for the six themes have been worked on for more than a year, with the thematic groups responsible for much of the detailed content exhibited within Liverpool’s space. May: gateway to the North-West, ports and airports, led by The Mersey Partnership’s director of operations, Mark Basnett; June: advanced technology and science, led by Chloe Young, business development director of Liverpool Science Park; July: culture, health and sport, led by Liverpool City Council’s executive member for enterprise and tourism, Cllr Gary Millar; August: the knowledge sector, led by Prof Kelvin Everest, the University of Liverpool’s director of academic affairs for China; September: professional services, led by Professional Liverpool chief executive Mark Chadwick; October: urban regeneration, led by Nigel Lee, planning manager at Liverpool City Council. Also in October is Liverpool Day, when the city will co-ordinate a series of activities to make its mark on the exhibition. The city will be able to expand outside of its pavilion on October 16 to spread its message over the Expo site. The main event will be a concert by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO), which will perform in Shanghai for the first time as part of a series of concerts in the region.

Sir Paul McCartney has recorded a video greeting for visitors

Pavilion pyrotechnics Liverpool hopes its £1.1m investment will light up the city’s offer

LIVERPOOL’S pavilion has drawn upon its major cultural jewels and cutting-edge creative technology to put on a show to entice Expo visitors to learn more about the city’s story. The £1.1m stand combines The Beatles, football, maritime and a 3-D film made with the assistance of the crew behind blockbuster movie Avatar, as it aims to become a must-see part of the Urban Best Practice Pavilion. An estimated 1m people are expected to visit during the six months, up to 6,000 a day. Visitors coming into Liverpool’s pavilion will be greeted by a video message from Sir Paul McCartney welcoming them to his city. They will be able to have their picture taken with the backdrop of a team-shot of Liverpool FC stars, past and present, or with celebrating Everton players as they wait to enter the main attraction. There is also an image of HMS Liverpool, a destroyer built at

Cammell Laird which was the only ship to enter Shanghai during the 2003 SARS outbreak. A 10-minute 3-D film produced by Liverpool creative agency River Media will be shown in a purpose-built cinema, featuring a Chinese dragon and a Liver Bird flying over the North West, visiting major attractions. Visitors will then be ushered into the main exhibition space, where the stand has a number of touch screens displaying more than 80 films showing off the best of Liverpool. They can also take virtual penalties against the Everton or Liverpool goalkeepers, Tim Howard and Pepe Reina. The pavilion also has a marketing suite and meeting rooms, where businesses will be able to meet potential business partners. Liverpool’s sponsors can also use the Pavilion for events, with more than 20 already scheduled and organisers expecting to hold about 50 during the Expo.

SCHOOLCHILDREN TO VISIT SHANGHAI MORE than 60 students – two from every school in the city – have been chosen to go to the Expo for a week. The schoolchildren will go out to China in five delegations for a week at a time during the Expo. They will spend some time every day in the Liverpool Pavilion, greeting visitors and talking to them about the city. They will engage in cultural events across Shanghai and visit Chinese secondary schools to forge links with youngsters there. Peel Holdings has also sought to engage with children, with eight-year-old Hannah

Hannah Barlow with Lord Mayor Mike Storey, and Naomi Peck, from Peel Barlow winning a competition for the best design of Haibao, the World Expo mascot, with a Liverpool slant.

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO The Eiffel Tower, arguably Europe’s most famous landmark, was designed and built for the 1889 World Fair

Britain drives home ‘green’ message

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO

Showcasing world cities

Liverpool will exhibit in the Urban Best Practice Area

The UK has created a landmark pavilion for the World Expo

CITY TAKES ON OLYMPIC CHALLENGE SHANGHAI is using its time as World Expo host to make its mark on the global stage. China’s second city, and financial hub, wants to make a similar impact as the

2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Its £40bn budget for the event is a measure of how important it sees it, as it prepares to welcome up to 10m foreigners to the city.

It has transformed the 5.28 sq km Expo site on the banks of the Huangpu River – relocating 18,000 households – creating 3.28 sq km of enclosed space.

Sir Paul McCartney has recorded a video greeting for visitors

Pavilion pyrotechnics Liverpool hopes its £1.1m investment will light up the city’s offer

Hannah Barlow with Lord Mayor Mike Storey, and Naomi Peck, from Peel Barlow winning a competition for the best design of Haibao, the World Expo mascot, with a Liverpool slant.

THE BIG FEATURE WORLD EXPO Peel’s Lindsey Ashworth with the model of the Wirral Waters development

Developer expects ‘something special’ Peel looks for Chinese investment and expertise to deliver its plans for Liverpool and Wirral Waters THE thrust of Liverpool’s presence at the World Expo is about encouraging ambition – and no-one has more ambitious plans than lead sponsor Peel Holdings, who are looking for partners for its Liverpool and Wirral Waters schemes. The plans, which are for £10bn investment over 30 years housing more than 40,000 jobs at the sites on both sides of the River Mersey, are well progressed on paper. Peel, whose interests include Liverpool John Lennon Airport, Media City, Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal among its £6bn portfolio, first started exploring options in China three years ago. They are now looking for the Expo to provide a platform for their pitch to the investors and specialists in the country. Lindsey Ashworth, development director at Peel, said the Expo was only a part – albeit an important part – of their plans. He said: “This is a long term

effort to do business with China. I don’t expect over six months for things to materialise. “The Chinese have experience in some of the businesses we are in. There are opportunities both ways. “The Expo has landed in the middle of us getting to know China. It’s a great stepping stone. “The long-term aim is to get partners on Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters, and particularly the Shanghai Tower. “There’s a lot of tall buildings there and a lot of experience there. Peel always bring in partners for the things it does. “Peel hasn’t got a lot of experience doing high-rise developments, Shanghai has – it’s the right place to go for architectural expertise, as well as equity partners.” Mr Ashworth believes that the Liverpool Pavilion provides the right platform for Peel to promote the attractiveness of its proposals – and of the region.

“When I have been over there, I have been to different firms to explain what Liverpool and Peel is about,” he said. “The Pavilion will have all the facilities about what the North West does, people digest things easier if it’s set up well. We have had proper films made to get those messages across in an easy way – it’s much better than Powerpoint. “The region is becoming a super-region – Manchester at one end and Liverpool at the other. We will be explaining why you should come to the region and why it will get even stronger over the next 20 years. “London is now on a decentralisation process – so why would an incoming business go to London? There are great benefits to not being in London.” Mr Ashworth looks forward to enticing visitors and potential investors to the North West, building on a number of delegations who have already

visited the region in the last couple of years. “I am hopeful that different groups of Chinese people will come across to the UK to see what we are demonstrating. That has already happened over the last couple of years,” he said. “We have already had interest. We have to trust and be friendly with people before we can move forward. And I hope after the Expo that will be the case. “I am hopeful that there will be ongoing visits and dialogue. Business doesn’t happen overnight. If people think we will go to Shanghai and come back with a contract, they are wrong. “I am convinced that something special will come of it.” The economic problems, which have seen the property and development markets particularly hard hit, aren’t expected to impact on Peel’s plans for too much longer, which Mr Ashworth believes will be formalised within 18 months.

He said: “We are still in a recession and will be in one until next spring. Until then, we haven’t got the economy on our side. “Moving business forward is very difficult and it will be for 12 months. Then people will start to look to the future. We would be at the start of a growth economy. “Sometime during 2011, we would look to crystallise business commitments as it will be, particularly the summer, good for all sorts of reasons to start to do business around the world.” The potential upside of being at the Expo has persuaded Peel to invest a significant amount of money in its presence, above the £100,000 spent on being the lead sponsor of Liverpool’s Pavilion. “We haven’t bottomed out a figure. It’s many hundreds of thousands of pounds – over £250,000,” said Mr Ashworth. “It’s a difficult time to do that in, it’s not something we like to do in a recession. But we can’t start the future when it suits us.”

Shanghai: home to some of the world’s tallest buildings

Shanghai’s Pudong district is not short of tall buildings

THE centrepiece to Peel’s Liverpool Waters scheme is the plan to build the tallest building outside London. Shanghai Tower is a 60-storey development to be located at Princes Half-tide Dock, on the edge of the city centre. It would house a five-star hotel, as well as offices, apartments, bars and restaurants. Liverpool currently has just three buildings

standing above 100m, with Beetham West Tower, at 134m, the tallest among structures, none of which areremarkable for their height by international standards. The height of Shanghai Tower is undecided, but it would be a major landmark in the North West – taller than Manchester’s 170m Beetham Tower and its planned 188m

Piccadilly Tower. But it would still be in the shadow of several of Shanghai’s tallest buildings. The 421m Jin Mao Tower is the world’s 11th-highest building, but that is looked down on by its nearneighbour, the 492m Shanghai World Financial Centre – the world’s third tallest. The Chinese port has more than 30 buildings

over 200m, with another dozen under construction. That includes the 632m Shanghai Tower which will be China’s tallest building when it is completed in 2014. It is the expertise behind these ambitious developments that Peel will be looking to tap into, as it makes sure its plans don’t come up short for Liverpool and Wirral Waters.

PROFESSIONAL SECTORS

LEGALLY

SPEAKING

By Andrew GlynnWilliams, solicitor/ mariner within marine trade & energy, at Hill Dickinson

MY BUSINESSMAN uncle recently travelled on a ferry where his car suffered severe damage whilst onboard. It was an expensive car but he was only offered a few thousand pounds in compensation by the ferry company, why was this?

Ferry companies, like some other forms of transport, such as airline companies, often limit their liability to compensate for damage caused by them. In this case, it is likely that the terms and conditions that governed your uncle’s contract of carriage to take him and his car to his destination were incorporated under what is known as the “Athens Convention”. The Athens Convention, relating to the carriage of passengers and their luggage by sea 1974, came into force internationally on 28 April 1987 and it is incorporated into UK law through the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The Convention applies to contracts of carriage made with, for example, tour operators, ferry companies or cruise ships. The Convention essentially limits the damages payable to a passenger by the wrongdoer, in this case, the ferry company. This applies even though the damage was caused by the fault of the ferry company. The Convention covers damage not only to vehicles, which fall within the definition of luggage, but also items such as cabin luggage and also death and personal injury to the passenger. Due to the international element to the Convention, the level of damages are set out in a currency unit called a “special drawing right” (SDR), which is based upon a mixture of currencies. There are different maximum levels of compensation for: death or personal injury, loss or damage to cabin luggage, loss or damage to vehicles,

and for other items of luggage. The present maximum liability for damage to a vehicle – and hence the maximum the ferry company will be liable to pay out to your uncle – is 3,333 SDRs, which at the current rate of exchange is equivalent to approximately £3,300, far less than it might cost to repair the damage or replace the vehicle. The ferry company can lose its right to limit its liability if it is proven that the ferry company did something deliberately to cause the damage or acted recklessly with the knowledge that such loss would result from its actions or admissions. However, this is very difficult to prove, as it is the company itself that has to have acted deliberately or recklessly and not its servants. In addition to passenger shipping, other shipping company types, such as container line companies, are generally able, through international cargo conventions or rules incorporated in contracts of carriage such as the “Hague or Hague/Visby rules”, to limit their liability to compensate for loss or damage caused to goods carried by them. This is something that businesses involved in the international transportation of goods by sea ought to be aware of. The reason shipping companies are able to limit their liability through the various passenger and cargo conventions is because operating a ship involves operating in potentially harsh maritime environments such as storms and ice, exposing these companies to greater risks not found ashore. By limiting liability, a shipping company is effectively reducing the exposure to those risks. If shipping companies were not able to limit liability, they may decide not to go into the shipping business, which would be detrimental to the economy given its reliance on trade, particularly international trade.

‘Ferry companies often limit their liability for damage’

‘From clogs to clogs in only three generations’

Husband-and-wife team, Gaynor and Steve Lyth, provide lifestyle financial planning for business owners

Protecting entrepreneurial wealth for the grandchildren BRITISH banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild understood about making and protecting wealth. He started his business career as a textile merchant in Manchester at the start of the 19th century but, via financing victory over Napoleon, went on to create an international banking dynasty. Mr Rothschild said: “It requires a great deal of boldness and a great deal of caution to make a great fortune; and when you have got it, it requires 10 times as much wit to keep it.” The problems of multigenerational wealth continue today, with the saying – attributed to being a Lancashire proverb – “from clogs

to clogs is only three generations” remaining a useful rule of thumb. Successful, historic family firms like Liverpool’s Bibby Group and Edward Billington and Son are exceptions, with 95% of family firms failing to survive beyond the third generation. Gaynor Lyth, of Wirral-based Alchemy Advisory Services, is spearheading the promotion of the family office to manage the wealth of family businesses – to protect and grow it over several generations. Mrs Lyth said: “Family issues always affect a family enterprise and it is pointless treating a family and their enterprise as if they were entirely separate entities.

“Family office is the term that was originally used to describe the employment of professionals to help run the business and the family finances. “A family office can be multi-disciplined, with accountants, solicitors, investment managers and other advisers. “Is there anyone who has a true handle on all family financial affairs? “The family office brings the right people together to sit down and look at lifestyle financial planning. It ensures joined-up thinking and a long-term plan for educating and handing over to the next generation.”

Directors and auditors bonding in recession COMPANY directors say their relationship with their auditors has improved since the start of the recession, according to a new survey by KPMG. More than 40% of company directors polled said their bond with their accountants had strengthened, while more than 60% said that auditors had become more cautious

over the last two years. The poll also found that 51% of organisations expected to spend more on control and assurance services over the coming year, showing companies were still cautious about their prospects for the future. Ian Goalen, office senior partner at KPMG in Liverpool, said: “The fact that

auditors have become more cautious is a function of the credit crunch – and also a sign that they have been doing their job. “The balance an auditor is always trying to achieve is to objectively and independently scrutinise a company’s financial data while at the same time maintaining a

constructive working relationship. “It is encouraging to see these survey results, which would indicate that this is happening.” KPMG’s researchers, Incisive Media, polled 198 financial directors and financial controllers from a range of listed and private companies and the public sector.

THE BIG INTERVIEW

Staying close to customers BY NEIL HODGSON

▲ ▲

Tesco’s Sir Terry Leahy reveals the primary school hero who inspired the boy who went from a Belle Vale prefab to the pinnacle of global retailing success.

THE BIG INTERVIEW SIR TERRY LEAHY

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RGUABLY the most successful British businessman of the past century could have been the trade union movement’s greatest loss. Liverpool-born Sir Terry Leahy has transformed the Tesco supermarket business from a second rate also-ran into the second most successful business in the world, behind US giant Wal-Mart. From humble beginnings in a tiny pre-fab maisonette on Endbrook Road, in the Lee Park council estate in Belle Vale, the 54-year-old has driven Tesco to a worldwide business leader, employing nearly half a million people from Tewkesbury to Thailand. He said he always wanted to go into management, gaining a management degree at The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), but when pressed by LDP Business on alternative career paths, his response, fittingly for a dyed-in-the-wool Evertonian, comes right out of the blue. “Probably a union leader,” he said. “I always have an opinion and I’m sure I would have expressed an opinion wherever I was, on the shop floor or in the office.” Sir Terry is relaxing before delivering the inaugural lecture to students at Liverpool John Moores University’s new Liverpool Business School’s guest lecture series. It is one of his frequent visits to his home city, either in the guise of Tesco chief executive touring one of the many new outlets the supermarket giant is developing; business adviser to the city’s regeneration body, Liverpool Vision; or as a fan of his beloved Everton FC, where he also confers on business matters with chairman Bill Kenwright. He possesses a constantly inquisitive nature that manifests itself most overtly in his sensitivity to customer feedback, which is considered the rudder of Tesco’s company-wide policy. Today, he is quizzing LJMU vice chancellor Prof Michael Brown on the university’s plans for its business school, in between small talk with staff in the “green room” prior to his lecture. He admits that he was always driven towards a career in management, which even he finds puzzling, given his family background. “I didn’t know what management was because nobody from my family had ever been in management and I didn’t know anybody in business. “And people from the prefabs, if they worked at all, they worked in manual work.” It is generally perceived that West Derby’s St Edward’s College provided the foundations for Sir Terry’s soaring ambitions. But he reveals that the seeds were sown even before then – by a primary school teacher who provided the inspiration and belief that has driven him to the top of his profession. “Tony McCann was a teacher of mine at Our Lady of the Assumption, who sadly died this year, and he went on to be headmaster of the school,” Sir Terry said. “He was somebody who really

Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy admits the fact that he ‘always has an opinion’ means he could have easily become a trade union leader – ‘I would have expressed an opinion wherever I was, on the shop floor or in the office’ lifted the aspirations of the children and gave them a real sense that they could look beyond their local council estate, look beyond their local environment and go and make a big impact on the outside world. “And then I was fortunate enough to win a scholarship to St Edward’s, which was a very fine school, and still is. It quickly gives you a sense that you are as good

as anybody else in the world and gives you a chance to go to university.” Sir Terry admits that his family upbringing was fairly unremarkable. He revealed that his father was a ship’s carpenter. “He was severely injured in the war and he was invalided and actually got tuberculosis, too, and so he was never really able to keep regular employment, but he

was a greyhound trainer on the local dog tracks,” he said. Sir Terry was the third of four brothers. He explained: “They live in the area. One was a shopkeeper but now he works at Liverpool University, and another brother has just retired. He worked for Unilever in Warrington. “And the third brother is a manager in a business that does a lot of PFI work building schools

all round the country.” Terence Patrick Leahy was the only one of his brothers who did not leave school at the age of 16. He graduated from UMIST with an upper second BSc in management studies in 1977. In between school and university, he took a summer job in Tesco’s Wandsworth store as a 17-year-old shelf stacker. “You couldn’t even get casual

work in Liverpool in the 1970s, so I came down to London,” he said. He admits his deep disappointment at having to leave his home city for his first taste of the world of work. “It was a depressing time to grow up in Liverpool because, of course, you knew all of the great stories of its past and you could see the great buildings, but the world I grew up in was one of

firms moving out, and a growing sense of irreversible decline. You just didn’t believe you could find a career here and you had to move south and that’s why I’m so delighted with the progress that the city has made at an increasing rate in the past 10 years, where there’s a completely different sense of the city and the community and what is possible.” He added: “Now people want to

come here rather than leave here.” After graduating, he returned to work full-time for Tesco, first as a marketing executive. He has driven the company’s incredible rise from lagging well behind what was then the world’s most profitable retailer, Marks & Spencer – which commanded a then market capitalisation of £5bn – to the second biggest retailer in

the world behind Wal-Mart, with a market value of more than £36bn and a 30.3% market share in what is regarded as one of the greatest turnarounds in British retail history. One of his best initiatives was the introduction of the Tesco customer loyalty Clubcard, a valuable tool that has helped the supermarket giant retain huge swathes of its customer base, even

through this most recent damaging recession. Being head of such a business behemoth does attract critics – he was once dubbed “the Robert Mugabe of retail” – and Sir Terry’s Wikipedia page claims that apart from registering the shopping habits and movements of customers, the Clubcard can also monitor the “political opinions and even sexual activity of Clubcard holders”. Bearing in mind Wikipedia can be updated at whim – Manchester United star Gary Neville’s page has been locked due to “editing” by rival fans – Sir Terry laughs off the claim, saying: “No, I think someone’s tampered with it.” But the Clubcard is just one example of an impressive diversity undertaken by Sir Terry and Tesco to follow the customer into services such as banking and mobile phones. He said this is just part of Tesco’s continued expansion. “Most of Tesco’s future growth will be outside the UK,” he said. “We’re a very successful British company overseas now, and we have more space outside the UK than within. “By most measures, we’re the second retailer in the world after Wal-Mart, so it’s a real business success story and that means we’re able to invest now in Asia, Korea, China, Malaysia, in America and in Europe, so that’s a privilege. “But also we’re investing in new areas of activity on the internet: into services, banking, telephones, things like that.” His meteoric rise saw him join the board in 1992. By 1995, Tesco had become the UK’s biggest retailer and in 1997, Sir Terry was appointed chief executive. Sir Terry’s role in the supermarket’s surge was unlikely to go unnoticed and he reveals that he was head-hunted on various occasions. He said: “In the early years, yes, I was head-hunted, but I have only ever wanted to work for Tesco. “And then people realised that I only wanted to work there so they stopped bothering.” Understandably, a queue of fellow supermarkets around the globe were the most eager to tempt Sir Terry away, but he joked: “I never got offered the Everton job. I may have been tempted there.” We’ll never know what an Everton FC run by Sir Terry may have achieved, but his track record at Tesco is indisputable, and his recipe for success is simple, but highly effective: stay as close to your customers as possible and monitor your competition scrupulously. He said: “Customers can change overnight. “They can change their taste in fashion, media, celebrity and can make an organisation redundant overnight and there’s nothing you can do about that. “The only thing you can do is stay as close to your customer as you can. “Wherever they go, you go, follow the customer.” He backs this up by claiming that changes in the supermarket sector have all been due to changes in society. “People are busier, they have less time and plan less,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

THE BIG INTERVIEW SIR TERRY LEAHY

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

CONTINUED ON PAGE 24

THE BIG INTERVIEW SIR TERRY LEAHY CONTINUED FROMPAGE PAGE23 22 CONTINUED FROM “Tesco Express was developed for young males who don’t plan anything. When they get hungry, they want food.” There are 2,000 Express stores around the world, including Japan, Korea, Thailand, China and Europe and Sir Terry revealed that their raison d’etre was also created on another key emerging societal change, that of environmental issues. “We know 80% of people who use Express stores walk to them, which is good for the environment.” The Fresh and Easy chain currently being rolled out on the west coast of America follows a similar pattern. He said: “Energy has got more expensive and will get more expensive in the future. “Before, people would drive 50 miles to a Wal-Mart. And Americans are concerned about their neighbourhood. “They are also worried about obesity. Our stores are small in the neighbourhood, the food is made fresh by us and moved out in just a few hours into the stores. “The direction of people in the US is towards more local shopping and the US will see this growth in convenience retail. The results have been very, very good.” Tesco’s penetration of the US market would have been even bigger, had it not been the for the credit crunch, Sir Terry insisted. “We would have been further ahead. We opened in the west, in California, Nevada, Arizona, and they were hit hard by the housing crisis,” he said. “We were hoping we would be opening about four stores a week by now but we’re only able to open between one or two a week. So we are growing fast, but we would be growing at a much faster rate.” Cynics dismissed Fresh and Easy’s entry into a market dominated by world leader Wal-Mart, but Sir Terry believes competition with the best can only benefit a business. He said: “Competition is good. “The best possible world is where you have lots of competition and really good competition. “They force you to be the best you can possibly be, or you go out of business. So your competitors are the best management consultants you will ever have – and they are free. “The trick is, you have to learn more from them than they learn from you. You have to look for their strengths and admire their strengths. “We have learned from Wal-Mart, Aldi, Sainsbury, to become a stronger business.” He adds: “The worst circumstance you can be in is when you’re in a competition and you don’t know it. “US supermarkets didn’t know they were in a competition with Wal-Mart before it was too late. “Today, a lot of businesses don’t realise they are in competition with the internet before it is too late.” Sir Terry’s ethos is stamped throughout Tesco’s internal structure, almost to the point of micro-management, to inspire staff and managers to greater goals. He insists: “Audacious goals are

Sir Terry pictured at Liverpool John Moores University – his links to his home city remain strong much more exciting than small, incremental changes. “If you set your sights low you don’t really excite anybody or change enough to beat your competitors.” Sir Terry uses the example of Grosvenor’s £1bn Liverpool One retail development in the city as an example of setting ambitious goals, which he sees as a symbol of the city’s regeneration. He said: “The decline of Liverpool started with the sinking of the Titanic. It affected the shipping industry and it didn’t recover. “But the council set a huge goal with Liverpool One – seven times

more retail space than what was thought required.” Although often perceived as an autocrat, Sir Terry surprisingly actively encourages widespread involvement in the management of the business and insists that leadership can be learned. He said: “You can become a better leader. “It’s not what you say that matters, it’s what you do. People will watch your behaviour. They don’t have to like you. “You don’t want one leader, you want as many as you can get. “If you can make people feel confident, they will step forward and lead the business.”

Which begs the question of a Tesco without Sir Terry at the helm. He ponders briefly when quizzed about his legacy at Tesco, before replying: “I’m not sure I want a legacy. “I have never seen the business as a personal thing. “Tesco employs nearly half a million people around the world and they all work very hard every day.” After a further pause, Sir Terry continued: “What you genuinely hope for is that you leave a business stronger than you found it. “All businesses have a period of

success and then they decline, that’s the nature of business, and so if, in your period, things were getting better it’s a good achievement.” Would Sir Terry recognise decline? “I hope so, it’s very difficult to see outside and see changes taking place and that’s why you have always got to be very vigilant and even paranoid,” he said. “And that’s why I have always found that customers are your most honest guide, because they have no vested interest and will tell you the plain, unvarnished truth, and if you are not doing things right they will tell you.”

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

The Capital Building, in Liverpoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Old Hall Street, which is to be home to the UK Border Agency, which has taken 223,000 sq ft

NW market is on the turn

RICS reports improved confidence among North West commercial property surveyors DATA released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) show signs of a turnaround in the North West commercial property market. According to the latest RICS UK commercial property survey, rental expectations for the three main sectors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; offices, retail and industrial â&#x20AC;&#x201C; have all improved slightly in recent months. The figures for the first quarter of 2010 reveal that, while rental expectations are still in negative territory, they have improved on the last quarter of 2009. The net balance of chartered surveyors reporting rental

expectations has risen from -22 to -16. The year-on-year improvement is dramatic, however, as in Q1 2009 the net balance figure was -78. The net balance is calculated by subtracting the percentage of chartered surveyors reporting a falling figure over the previous three months from those reporting a rising figure. The last time rental expectations were positive in the north of England was the third quarter of 2007. Within the northern region, there is a wide difference in market conditions but, in general,

the figures for the first three months of the year show that enquiries are improving across the board, and, while availability has decreased, it is still showing a positive net balance. This echoes the national picture, where available space is also declining. However, even though the amount of available commercial property space has declined in the North, surveyors still reported a wide portfolio of office, industry and retail property available in the region. In the Daily Post last week, a survey by agents GVA Grimley

showed that within Liverpool there was currently around 500,000 sq ft of office space being built or created. Agents believe the city is in particular need of more Grade A space to meet fresh demand as the recovery gathers pace. Take-up of Grade A space in the city last year was an impressive 404,000 sq ft, also this figure was boosted by the 223,000 sq ft taken by the UK Border Agency at the Capital and 140,000 by Merseytravel at Mann Island. The RICS survey also revealed that confidence in the outlook for lettings increased this quarter,

and enquiries for all areas of commercial property space also rose, especially for office space, where 24% of surveyors in the North reported a rise in enquiries, up from a net balance of zero back in January. And 8% of surveyors also reported a rise in demand for offices, compared with 4% last quarter. However, demand for industrial and retail space slightly declined, with some surveyors voicing concerns of the impact that the upcoming election will have on regional lettings activity, following the anticipated public sector employment cuts.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

SpheriTech’s specialist laboratory at The Heath Business and Technical Park, in Runcorn

Grant for Heath firm SpheriTech secures £100k helping hand from NWDA FLEDGLING Runcorn firm SpheriTech has secured a £100,000 grant to continue its research into the manufacture of polymeric microspheres. The company, based at The Heath Business and Technical Park, in Runcorn, is developing the technology for use in a number of areas including DNA synthesis, polymer synthesis, biopharmaceutical purification and cell culture. The grant for more research into its patented technology is coming from the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA). Since its launch, in June, 2009, SpheriTech has enjoyed a steady growth in business. In November, the firm secured a six-figure backing from a private investor which enabled founder and chief executive Don Wellings to expand operations, hire specialist staff and apply for matched regional development funding. Now it has won the NWDA grant, SpheriTech can push forward with its expansion plans. Mr Wellings said: “These are

exciting times for SpheriTech. The funds will enable us to relocate to a larger laboratory at The Heath and continue our research programme.” SpheriTech was launched as a one-man operation but, after funding from the private investor four months ago, Mr Wellings was able to employ two specialist staff – one joined at the end of 2009, the second is due to start next month. The company currently holds a portfolio of intellectual property covering a diverse range of technologies including peptide synthesis, DNA synthesis, biocatalysis and cell culture. As part of its work, the company offers laboratory-based contract research and development, and provides custom synthesis of peptides and contract purification of any molecule, large or small. SpheriTech has made progress in the development and commercialisation of its new novel platform technology for spherical particle design. The company is researching novel inexpensive processes for manufacture of polymeric

microspheres that are used in a range of applications in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Mr Wellings added: “We have a busy schedule ahead of us. We hope to launch several new products for commercial use before our two-year project timeframe is complete. “The grant should see us through the two years, and we may be in a position to launch the first of those products later this year.” He has more than 30 years’ experience working in scientific roles for high-profile, blue-chip companies, including ICI. He is no stranger to The Heath, having worked for site residents such as Zeneca and Avecia. Before launching SpheriTech, he founded Chromatide, where he worked as chief scientific officer for three years and is credited as the sole inventor of all the company’s intellectual property. Mr Wellings is internationally recognised as an authority on peptide synthesis, polymer particle design and chromatography, and is a regular speaker at conferences.

SpheriTech chief executive, Don Wellings

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Diversity pays dividends Chester’s heritage and history is important to its economy – but the city is also determined to look forward and diversify its offering

Chester’s wide-ranging economy is keeping up with trends to ensure financial prosperity

HE broad base of Chester’s economy has protected the city from the ravages of recession in a way not enjoyed in most areas. From retailing in the medieval centre of the city to petro-chemicals, avionics and agriculture, its diversity is astonishingly wide. All this comes with very attractive places in which to live. Prof Phil Harrison, chairman of Business, Enterprise and Lifelong Learning at the University of Chester, said the city is now starting to internationalise. “Before, it had a regional county city perspective, but this is now changing.

“The modern business mix rubs along with the area’s traditional agricultural industries. “A big winner is our access to the motorway network and, over the last year, Virgin Trains’ highly-improved London rail service to Euston. “There is also a rival service from Wrexham through the borders to London Marylebone, run by the Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway Co. “But we haven’t got all the northern cities connected and we need other rail spurs sorted out, for example to Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which is tricky.” The heavy influence of Grosvenor estates in city centre retailing is positive, he thinks.

“They are good long-term landlords, doing a good custodial job,” he said. When shops on The Rows – Chester historic double-deck streets – struggled, they were revived by the Duke of Westminster’s estate company. “Under somebody else they would probably have gone under, Grosvenor takes the longer view. “However, I should say I occupy the Westminster chair of marketing and public affairs! “Both Liverpool and Chester have avoided knocking down their old city centres to entirely replace them with purpose-built shopping centres. “Timing is crucial. Bradford knocked down its inner city, but

because of the recession is now left with a big brownfield site and a hoarding. “It’s demoralising. You can’t even get a curry there now.” Chester has a very large mixed bag of retailing, including Cheshire Oaks retail outlet park. “The largest new Marks & Spencer out-of-town development is being built near Ellesmere Port,” said Prof Harris. “This will probably mean rationalising one of its Chester stores, although these are very popular and handy. “Retailing held up well during the recession, and has retained good occupancy of city centre shops. Like many places, not only Woolworths has gone, but general

retailers have been squeezed out. “The retail cost base is also squeezing many smaller shops. “There is an issue about getting quality retailers into the city centre, as these are what up-market visitors into the city demand.” In spite of the credit crunch, Chester’s vast array of financial companies, including Marks & Spencer Money and Bank of America, are sustaining themselves. “There is even talk of Bank of America expanding here. Lloyds Bank concentrated on regional bases, which has benefited us,” said Prof Harris. “This sector has been

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHESTER

People flock to Chester Racecourse in their thousands for the regular meetings held throughout the spring and summer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27 established for nearly 20 years. “We should be grateful for the council leadership shown back then in attracting innovative businesses. “It’s not all banking, the business community brought in a lot of customer services and middle management companies. “The Stanlow Oil Refinery ownership is at last sorted out, with it becoming Indian. “At the other end of the area, Airbus at Broughton is also holding up well, with a swathe of avionics and marine industries.

“These subsidiary industries and specialist composites now stretch from North Wales to south Manchester. “Besides the chemical industry, there is small-scale engineering and chandlery. “The agri-food sector is also proving remarkably strong and we still have a surprising amount of manufacturing going on.” Tourist attractions such as Chester Racecourse, Chester Zoo and Tatton Park – home of the northern Royal Horticulture Society show – have become increasingly important economic drivers.

“Tatton Park is also staging modern outdoor art shows which just catch the public mood perfectly,” said Prof Harris. “The Zoo is a big success with about 4m visitors a year. “Its Vision concept will be a major benefit to our economy. “The concept is to turn it into an eco-centre with two great glass geo-desic domes, with a riverway system and a hotel. “It will look a similar scale to the Eden Project. “Luckily, it has got reasonable land capacity around to expand. “Not only does the Zoo have mass visitor appeal, but is of high

academic standing as a proper zoological gardens. It has successfully plugged into animal gene pools around the world, for example Indian elephants. “If you look at weather system predictions, we have 30 years of wet summers ahead, so these quality indoor experiences are vital. “We need to be lobbying for public and private money for these projects. “Chester doesn’t have a convention centre, but it will come. “You only have to look at the performance of the racecourse

Chester Zoo has established a huge international reputation complex to see how Chester could follow Harrogate’s lead in hosting conferences. “The hotel sector is already geared to the upper end of the market, so this would fit in with such ambitions. “Of course, we have our areas of poor employment and sink estates, but our economic diversity has kept the area in good shape.” Banker Mike Jones was put into Chester Chamber of Commerce to get it back on track after a drift into the business wilderness. Now it is known as West

Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce after Chester, Wrexham and Ellesmere Port merged together. “Our catchment area is huge, covering West Cheshire and North Wales,” admits Mr Jones, Chamber interim chief executive officer for the last six months. “But we feel it will be much more effective for members to work together rather than as scattered groups.” Mr Jones was seconded to the Chamber from Bank of America’s Chester office, where he is management partner. The Chamber’s board decided it

needed a strategic review to better meet the 600 members needs. These members range from the big international banks in Chester’s finance sector to small, rural businesses. “We needed to refocus on our core objectives, asking the basics like: why do we exist, how do we go forward and what are our obligations to members,” said Mr Jones, who is a life-long Cestrian. “There was also a need to put in best business practices which had been missing from the Chamber’s previous activities. “We also initiated a business plan which the next permanent

chief executive will carry forward when I finish at the end of this month.” The Chamber is based in Sealand Road, Chester, and represents 90,000 employees through its members. “We took a step back and have taken a tough look at our business processes,” said Mr Jones. “The fundamental problem was the Chamber was trying to do too much, yet hadn’t recognised the changes there have been in business. “So we’ve focused on bringing in things like new training programmes, new marketing

products, a new credit with Bank of America with no annual fee and a Moneypenny answering service at a very competitive rate. “We also offer help with legal and human resource matters and business start-up.” A new website is about to be launched, a quarterly magazine and monthly bulletins have been introduced, plus networking events. “Our other role is to lobby government and local authorities on behalf of members,” said Mr Jones. “A vibrant Chamber is needed to help business to thrive and

prosper in an area. “There’s a lot of goodwill out there for us, but, as with most Chambers, the actual penetration of potential members is quite low. “But we do need stability and longevity to ensure that members get good value for their money. “Although we have a big mix of industry sectors, with a big diversity, I see this as a challenge not a difficulty. “Without small businesses we would not have the diversity which has helped this area ride the recession. Its crucial to help those small businesses, which can grow for the future.”

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CHESTER

INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Queen’s Award success comes from seeing global plans through a Prism Cheshire consultants expand as the medical business gets on a Swiss roll MEDICAL consultants Prism Ideas have won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for their international trade, after seeing “outstanding growth in overseas markets”. The Cheshire firm opened a second office in Basel, Switzerland, earlier this year, to boost its presence in a key hub for the pharmaceutical sector. Dr James Sawyer, chief executive of Prism Ideas, said: “Our office in mainland Europe is a first step in the globalisation of Prism’s business to match our client base. “I’m looking forward to following the opening of this office with further sites in the US and beyond.” Prism, which was established in 2001, has delivered projects for a global client base of more than 40 pharmaceutical companies. Its consultants provide guidance for clinical development programmes, delivers medical support for clinical trials, and provides marketing and communication services. Prism uses its in-house scientific expertise, which includes specialist pharmaceutical physicians, meaning it can link research activities with medical communications services to provide a complementary range of services. The Queen’s Award is recognition of Prism’s significant increase in sales to international markets. Its success has resulted in a 169% rise in the company's overseas sales in the last three years. Dr Sawyer added: “Prism is delighted to have been selected for a Queen's Award for Enterprise. “The team has worked relentlessly to develop an innovative approach to exporting the company's services to the international pharmaceutical industry, and this is a real testament to the commitment of our employees and their thorough understanding of the industry. “We have experienced tremendous growth over the past three years, both in term of sales and locations, opening up a new office in Switzerland and with plans to expand to the US this year. “This independent and very prestigious endorsement of our achievements has instilled pride throughout the organisation.” Prism was one of 143 Queen’s Awards winners – selected from 1,169 applications – of which 95 companies have won Awards for international trade, 38 for innovation and 10 for sustainable development.

We have experienced tremendous growth over the past three years – Prism Ideas chief executive Dr James Sawyer

Chinese trade mission plans prove a big ‘hit’ with prospective delegates

DAILY website hits for the Liverpool Chinese Business Association (LCBA) doubled to 2,000 after LDP Business revealed details of its nineday trade mission to the east China province of Shan Dong. In what is believed to be the first such trip organised by the community organisation, LCBA is visiting the city of Linyi – with a population of

10.2m – which is an established distribution hub for trade from the US, Japan and Europe. Shan Dong is situated between Beijing and Liverpool’s twin city of Shanghai, and the LCBA party will visit Liverpool Vision’s Shanghai Expo pavilion as part of its June 4-13 mission. “This is complementary to

what Vision is doing,” said Alan Seatwo, of LCBA, which has organised the visit with Jack Cai ,who forged links with Linyi two years ago through his Dong Sheng UK Trading group, on Liverpool Innovation Park. Mr Cai said: “Linyi is quite an opportunity for business development. “The municipal government

can offer project help or land to build up businesses.” Mr Seatwo added: “It is still quite new to Western investment, so in terms of competition it won’t be as great as the major cities. “Individuals with a sound business idea can speak to the municipal government, who can source local partners.

“Linyi also has a welldeveloped logistics sector and is the third biggest wholesale market in China. “Linyi is also interested in what opportunities are in Liverpool.” There are 12 delegate slots available for the mission, and Mr Seatwo said: “We welcome non-Chinese businesses to join.”

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

A clean break with the past Johnsons Cleaners’ GreenEarth programme gathers momentum

Kays Medical managing director Ben Ludzker – has overseen the refurbishment of the firm’s city centre premises

Kays’ investment gains recognition Liverpool medical supplies firm spend £750,000 upgrading its city HQ LIVERPOOL-BASED Kays Medical has invested £750,000 in a renovation of its head office, and scooped two top green accolades as a result. Kays Medical provides first aid medical supplies and training and also infection control and biohazard decontamination products. The firm employed awardwinning Liverpool architects Denovo Design to manage the project, which took just over six months to complete. It won a silver award in the International Green Apple Awards 2009 for the Built Environment and Architectural Heritage in the Builders and Developers category, and was

shortlisted in the Northwest Business Environment Awards 2009. Based in Shaw Street, family firm Kays has occupied a 3½-storey Georgian terrace of two townhouses and an adjoining twostorey warehouse for nearly 30 years. Constructed in the 1700s, the buildings were in need of internal and external restoration. Kays managing director, Ben Ludzker, said: “We investigated the option of relocating the business to another premises, as renovating buildings of this age can be costly. “However, Kays’ roots have always been in Liverpool, so we decided that remaining on Shaw

Street was best for the business and the additional investment was worthwhile. “We wanted to work with Denovo Design because of their proven track record in conservation and restoration, and their commitment to produce sustainable developments. “The renovation was also an excellent opportunity to make the building energy efficient and maximise the use of new eco-friendly technologies and products.” The refurbishment of the premises included the creation of a new first aid training facility, office space, staff lounge and kitchen, showroom and an upgrade to the adjoining

warehouse. The building has also been successfully adapted to be fully accessible for any disabled staff or visitors. Director of Denovo Design, and the Kays’ project architect, Frank Olchowski, said: “We are very proud of the Kays renovation project as it perfectly illustrates both company's’ commitment to environmentally conscious design. “The eco-refurbishment has not only produced an architecturally aesthetic building, both externally and internally, but has also introduced long term benefits for Kays in terms of noticeably reduced running costs as efficiency of the building has been vastly improved.”

■ ENGLAND’S Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) have welcomed plans which set out how every Government department will address the challenge of climate change. The Carbon Reduction Delivery and Adaptation Plans detail each department’s commitment to minimise the damage of climate change, by reducing emissions and by preparing for inevitable change in the UK climate. Robert Hough, chairman of the Northwest Development Agency, said: “I am very pleased to see Government’s ongoing commitment. “The RDAs are playing a major role in helping to meet national carbon reduction targets.”

Directors to adopt green strategy following buyout A WIRRAL engineering firm is gearing up to go green following a management buyout. Wainwright & Gibson, which was founded almost 50 years ago, has been bought in a secondary buyout by directors Gary Dawson and Tony Lynam who have ambitious expansion plans. Mr Dawson led the original buyout in 2007

when the business was acquired from construction giant Carillion. Advisers on the deal were North West law firm Pannone. W&G, based in Birkenhead, manufactures and distributes motors, pumps and gearboxes to a number of industries including automotive, aerospace, nuclear and manufacturing to a wide

range of major blue chip companies. Turnover is projected to top the £2m mark in the next financial year. As part of its expansion, Wainwright & Gibson has linked-up with the Carbon Trust to help customers reduce their energy bills and cut carbon emissions by installing energy efficient motors. Mr Dawson said: “There are a number of

government incentives available to companies to install energy efficient motors including interest free loans through the Carbon Trust. “The manufacturing sector wastes a huge amount of energy, and while there is a perception that new motors are very capital intensive, return on investment can be as quick as eight months.”

THE last few years have not been easy for those in the dry cleaning business. In Merseyside we are home to the biggest of them all – Johnson Cleaners – which operates more than 500 outlets across the UK. Both the smoking ban and the increasing availability of cheaper clothing from places like Primark have meant many people do not visit the dry cleaners as often as they once did. Prescot-based Johnson has accordingly seen a fall-off in profits while still maintaining its dominant market position. And despite the uncertain climate the company has demonstrated its commitment to pursuing a more environmentally-friendly agenda with the continued roll-out of its GreenEarth brand. The company is investing £6m in the brand which sees conventional dry cleaning outlets converted into the new format. The aim is to have 300 branches converted by 2012. GreenEarth cleaning is available for the same price as traditional dry cleaning but Johnson claims it is proven to be kinder to clothes, skin and the environment. It uses liquid silicone cleaning solvents that come from naturally-occurring sand and gives fabric a softer feel, with no tell-tale dry cleaning smell. There are currently more than 100 GreenEarth outlets and Johnson recently reported a 4.9% leap in sales at those that had been converted. Paul Ogle, managing director of Johnson Cleaners, said some experienced staff were initially wary of the change but soon came round when they realised the benefits. “For years when you have walked into a dry cleaners there has been that traditional smell,” he said. “But with Green Earth you don’t get that. “Also, the traditional processes we used were quite aggressive on the fabrics. The Green Earth process has been well received by both customers and staff.” In November, the Johnson Cleaners outlet in Dale Street in Liverpool city centre was relaunched as a GreenEarth store. It is well used by the city’s

Pursuing a more environmentally-friendly agenda – Paul Ogle, managing director of Johnsons Cleaners, says GreenEarth has been well received by staff and customers business community. Branch manager Dawn Doherty, has worked at the firm for 13 years, and has managed the team of three at Dale Street for 11 years. She said: “It’s fantastic we’ve been chosen to be an official

GreenEarth store. A lot of hard work has gone into refurbishing the branch and we’ve all received additional training on the benefits of using greener cleaning technology.” Mr Ogle added: “The re-launch

of our Dale Street city centre store is part of a nationwide programme of transformation across our 500 branches and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in the future of the business.

“Our customers are demanding more environmentally-friendly products and services and, as the market leader, we take our responsibilities seriously – to our staff, customers and the environment.”

Peel achieves the Carbon Trust Standard

Tony Lynam, left, and Gary Dawson

NORTH West property and ports giant Peel Group has achieved the Carbon Trust Standard. The Standard is the world’s only independent certification for organisations which are taking action to cut energy emissions. Peel is the owner of Mersey Docks and

Liverpool John Lennon Airport as well as the Trafford Centre. It says achieving the Carbon Trust Standard was a “complex process” David Glover, Peel’s construction director, and chairman of the sustainability steering group, added: “As a group we are committed to

measuring, managing and reducing our energy use going forward. We realise this is just the start of a challenging process.” Harry Morrison, general manager for the Carbon Trust Standard, said: “Being certified with the Carbon Trust Standard is proof an organisation has taken genuine action.”

Peel Group’s operations at the Port of Liverpool

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?

A clean break with the past Johnsons Cleaners’ GreenEarth programme gathers momentum

Kays Medical managing director Ben Ludzker – has overseen the refurbishment of the firm’s city centre premises

of our Dale Street city centre store is part of a nationwide programme of transformation across our 500 branches and demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in the future of the business.

“Our customers are demanding more environmentally-friendly products and services and, as the market leader, we take our responsibilities seriously – to our staff, customers and the environment.”

Peel achieves the Carbon Trust Standard

Tony Lynam, left, and Gary Dawson

Peel Group’s operations at the Port of Liverpool

TRANSPORT NEIL SCALES

THERE is one common theme in the general election campaign – a need to make big savings wherever we can. I would like to suggest a simple method of making savings of £33m which would have immediate benefits to the people of this region – give Merseytravel full local decision-making powers over the Merseyrail Electrics network. Full Local Decision Making (FLDM), also known as vertical integration, means our taking responsibility for track and signalling on the system, which is currently the responsibility of Network Rail. It is a move which has already received the support of a House of Commons Transport Select Committee report on rail franchising. Merseytravel has already made a sound case for FLDM, in which we showed how savings of £33m could be made over the life of the 25-year franchise which is currently held by Serco Nedrailways. The saving would be achievable through an improved maintenance and renewals regime, made possible by the integrated management of trains, stations, track and signals – and the aligned interests of the train operator and track operator. We accept that vertical integration is not something that would work across the country, but it is admirably suited to the Merseyrail network which is selfcontained and largely separated from the rest of the UK network. But we have also argued forcefully that FLDM would provide a benchmark against which Network Rail’s own performance could be measured – currently there is no reliable method by which this can be done. FLDM could therefore provide wider benefits across the UK network. Seven years ago, Merseytravel made transport history when we took over the responsibility for Merseyrail from the former Strategic Rail Authority. We awarded a

25-year concession to Serco Nedrailways. Our reasoning was that a longer franchise period gave a potential operator time to plan a long-term strategy that would allow them to invest and plan for a decent return on that investment. Every other rail franchise was – and still is – for shorter periods. We believe the policy of long- term franchises would benefit all parts of the UK rail network. It is working admirably in Merseyside. The network is receiving record investment with benefits including a fully secure network with every station staffed from before the first train arrives until after the last train leaves; refurbishments of many stations to include lifts for improved accessibility and fares have been capped to the retail price index for the length of the concession. Merseyrail is one of the most intensively used networks in the UK, with over 780 trains on weekdays, and more than 30m passenger journeys a year. However, there are times when inconsistent infrastructure performance has caused train performance to drop below its PPM (public performance measure) benchmark. With control over track as well as train, we believe this could be reduced – at a lower cost – and make us even more efficient and attractive to passengers. An efficient, integrated public transport system which is accessible to everyone is imperative because it brings enormous benefits to a region. It attracts inward investment from potential employers which in turn creates jobs, it provides access to existing employment opportunities across the region, and improves the quality of the social life of the people who live here. This is Merseytravel’s objective. Full Local Decision Making is a bonus which would benefit both Merseyside and UK plc.

in association with

ART’s tasty pallet

Bulk food distributor swallows up Knowsley haulier

‘Longer franchise means a long-term strategy’

TRANSPORT

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

The combined transport operations of Arriva and Deutsche Bahn will see 10m passengers carried each day across the UK and mainland Europe

Merger will create a giant Merseyside bus operator Arriva set to become part of Europe’s biggest transport group

ART’s Steve Granite – expects the deal to ‘add value to existing, and establish new, relationships’ BULK food distributor Abbey Roadtanks (ART) has bought Knowsley-based TP Farrell Transport as part of its ongoing expansion strategy. The Bootle haulier transports raw food ingredients – liquid chocolate, oils and syrups – to manufacturers, mainly around the key North West, Hull and London areas. It has enjoyed impressive growth in the last five years, doubling its turnover through steady annual increases of between £1.6m and £2.4m. In the year to June, 2009, it made pre-tax profits of £808,000 on a turnover of £19m. The acquisition of TP Farrell will increase ART’s turnover by £1m, with 12 employees and 10 HGVs transferring to ART. TP Farrell offers a palletised

transport service from its Knowsley base, which will complement ART’s existing service which carries products such as refrigerated convenience foods and speciality cooking oils. ART’s managing director, Steve Granite, said: “This acquisition will combine TP Farrell's experience and knowledge of the palletised transport market with the strong reputation and market position of ART in the food industry. “The opportunity to now offer our current clients a palletised transport service, in addition to bulk liquid transport, is intended to add value to existing relationships and establish new relationships with clients who do not operate in the bulk liquids market.” ART’s expansion strategy is targeted at three markets – bulk

powder transport, palletised transport and bulk dairy transport. Mr Granite added: “At the moment, 95% of our business is in bulk liquids. I’d like that to be 60-40 in five years, with either dairy or bulk powders. “It won’t be easy. The milk industry will be more difficult because it’s very regionalised. “We have an excellent reputation in the food industry, which is very similar to the dairy industry, and we have a solid network. We are going in to add value to the businesses.” ART has also recently achieved registration to OHSAS 18001, the internationally recognised assessment standard and specification for occupational health and safety management systems, as part of the firm’s commitment to workplace safety.

IF ARRIVA shareholders approve a £1.6bn takeover by German group Deutsche Bahn (DB), it will create the biggest public transport group in Europe by passenger numbers. The combined business will carry more than 10m passengers a day on bus and train services in the UK and across mainland Europe. Merseyside is sure to be one of its key strategic regions. Arriva is by far the largest bus operator in the Liverpool city region, controlling around 60% of the market. This is a long way ahead of its nearest rival Stagecoach, which has less than 30%. Arriva also formerly ran the Merseyrail network until 2003 when it lost the franchise to Serco. DB carries around 1.9bn rail passengers a year and 800m bus passengers. Arriva carries more than 1bn passengers annually through its bus and train network. Based on revenue figures for 2009, the new company would

have total revenues of £28.5bn, profits of £1.6bn and around 285,000 staff. DB earlier fended off criticism from politicians in Germany over the deal, which is the most expensive in the its history. Chief executive Ruediger Grube said: “If it was too expensive, we would not have done it.” Mr Grube added that Deutsche Bahn-Arriva, as the enlarged business would be known, would become one of just a few strong players in the rail, bus and logistics industries. DB is looking to expand internationally to take advantage of a more liberalised transport market in Europe. “We intend to be the drivers and not the driven," he said, adding that the deal was aimed at growth, not cost cuts. Sunderland-based Arriva – Britain’s third-biggest bus company, also runs franchises and other services in 12 European countries, making it one of the Continent’s few stock-exchange listed transport operators with a wide international footprint.

DB, already Europe’s biggest transport group, is looking to its transport and logistics businesses to boost revenues by 5% this year after the recession cut sales by 12% to 29bn euros in 2009. Mr Grube said the German rail operator was determined to buy Arriva, but was not prepared to enter a ruinous bidding war should another suitor emerge. France’s SNCF showed interest earlier this year but broke off talks in March. It is unlikely the deal will have any initial big impact in Merseyside. Mr Grube added Grube the Arriva brand was “very, very valuable” and would be kept outside Germany. OTHER facts and figures about the two businesses include: ■ DB’s main business is in Germany, where it runs 31,000 trains on a 34,000km network. It has more than 5,700 passenger stations. ■ The German firm also carries more than 1m tonnes of rail freight a day, as well as 5m bus and train passengers.

Ruediger Grube ■ Alongside Chiltern Railways, DB’s UK interests include the running of the open access operator Wrexham and Marylebone Railway and it is the joint operator of the London Overground service. ■ DB also bought the EWS freight company – which runs the Royal Train – in 2007, rebranding it DB Schenker.

■ In the UK, Arriva has more than 7,000 buses and over 200 trains, as well as 23,300 employees. ■ Its bus business operates services in major UK cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow and Newcastle, as well as around a fifth of London’s buses. ■ Arriva’s two UK rail franchises, Arriva Trains Wales and CrossCountry, cover around 2,500 miles of track in total. ■ Its Welsh services stretch from Manchester, through Wales to Birmingham and Gloucester, while CrossCountry covers routes from Aberdeen to Penzance, and Stansted to Cardiff. ■ Arriva began in 1938 when the Cowie family opened a second-hand motorcycle shop in Sunderland. The firm grew by acquisition before taking on the Arriva name in 1997 and moving into the European markets. ■ DB traces its roots back to the foundation of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920. Deutsche Bahn was created in 1994, after German reunification.

TRANSPORT NEIL SCALES

in association with

ART’s tasty pallet

Bulk food distributor swallows up Knowsley haulier

‘Longer franchise means a long-term strategy’

TRANSPORT

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

The combined transport operations of Arriva and Deutsche Bahn will see 10m passengers carried each day across the UK and mainland Europe

Merger will create a giant Merseyside bus operator Arriva set to become part of Europe’s biggest transport group

EDUCATION

Liverpool JMU ‘WOW-ing’

employers the world over

Neil Hodgson learns about the employability certificate designed to give Liverpool students

a unique advantage over UK peers in their foray into the post-credit crunch world of work

IVERPOOL John Moores University’s “WOW” factor is attracting national and international attention after a hugely successful pilot programme. Pioneered by vice chancellor Prof Michael Brown, WOW offers “World of Work” skills to students in a unique collaboration with business leaders designed to address what employers perceive as key skills gaps among the country’s nascent workforce. Prof Brown trumpeted WOW’s emergence as a world first, and now other university’s around the world are keen to learn more. Central to WOW is JMU’s Graduate Development Centre, in Hatton Garden, where the first pilot of 25 students embarked on the programme to develop work and life skills that will set them apart as more employable candidates in a highly competitive jobs market. Centre director Terry Dray is Prof Brown’s WOW “disciple”, and says the unique programme is “taking hold” at JMU which, with 25,000 students, is the 10th largest university in the UK. Of the 25 pilot graduates, 24 are now in work, on post-graduate courses or are self-employed. The university is funding the WOW project so students incur no extra cost and, after the proof of concept stage, Mr Dray said 3,007 students have now signed up for the next WOW programme which Prof Brown describes as a “globally unique model of higher education”. Mr Dray explained: “Businesses don’t just want academic theorists, they want people who can apply learning in the workplace, so work-related learning is now part of our offer to all our students. “There’s been a lot of research done on graduate skills and transferable skills and many universities will claim that simply by studying an academic degree, graduates are acquiring these skills. In other words, the degree is enough. “The world of business tells us, frankly, the degree is not enough any more. “They’re saying we need good academic students and graduates who have something else. They can expressly articulate and prove with evidence that they not only are very bright academically and understand their subjects, but that they also possess key graduate skills.” Mr Dray describes WOW as a labour market matching model of employability. “It is informed by the world of work, co-designed by them and designed to give them more of what they want. “And this university has said, ‘OK, we will work with you’.” After 2½ years of research

Terry Dray, who delivers JMU’s WOW initiative to students at its dedicated Graduate Development Centre, in Hatton Garden with employers on developing WOW, the university identified three clusters where business felt graduates were deficient. Mr Dray said: “The first where students were struggling was in self-awareness, that includes things like strengths, weaknesses, emotional intelligence. “The second area was organisational awareness. “They might be self-aware, but when we asked them for the bare bones, the basics, they could not do it – things like business ethics and understanding the context of the organisation. “And the third major area was what we called ‘making things happen’ – what we mean by that is project management. Can graduates pick the ball up and run with it, plan something from start to finish, cost it, etc, or be entrepreneurial?” So, with the aid of industry, LJMU has identified eight key

graduate skills essential to employers: analysis, or problem solving; team working; verbal communication; written communication; personal planning and organising; initiative; numerical reasoning; and IT. To enable the university and students to develop all eight key skills, academics examined all LJMU’s 400-plus courses and mapped out where each of the eight required skills is taught, practised or assessed. Mr Dray said: “Many universities would claim to be business-engaged and have a really effective dialogue with employers. “What WOW proves is that LJMU is a truly business-engaged university because WOW has been designed and is being delivered in partnership with employers.” This ranges from working

opportunities – such as the first 12 work placement students to be taken on for a year by Liverpool City Council – to a steering group of national business heavyweights from top organisations such as CBI director general Richard Lambert, United Utilities chief executive Philip Green, Institute of Directors director general Miles Templeman and Shop Direct chief executive Mark Newton-Jones. A local support group includes the likes of transport authority Merseytravel, Royal Mail and the Co-operative Group. Mr Dray explained: “They are influencing our work, and moreover the WOW certificate carries the logos of many of those organisations which say ‘we think this guy is pretty employable’, and I don’t know of any other university that is offering an employability

certificate.” The scheme has also been endorsed by organisations from Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business Innovation & Skills and the CBI, to the National Student Forum. Employers have become so intrinsically linked to WOW that they even have the final say in awarding the “employability certificate”. To achieve the certificate, students must write a persuasive statement on their understanding of the three key areas of self-awareness, organisational awareness and “making things happen”, which is marked against criteria set out by LJMU’s employer partners. The final stage is a filmed one-on-one interview with an employer partner who decides whether or not the student has earned a WOW certificate and is employable. Mr Dray said: “The university

Liverpool JMU vice-chancellor Prof Michael Brown, the architect of the WOW liaison with employers steps back from the process. If you like, it has enough trust in our employer partners in making the decision, which I think is key. It’s a big step for a university to go down that road.” The pilot has proved an unqualified success, but Mr Dray said his challenge now is to engage LJMU’s student community and convince them that taking their future employability seriously is something they should do. So far, 3,007 students have signed up, but Mr Dray said the most pleasing factor is the variety of participants. “This is not just about the final year of three or four-year degrees. “We have almost equal numbers of first years, second years, final years and postgraduates registering, so we have students coming into their first year saying straight away, ‘My employability is important’ and

signing up to this straight away. This isn’t a quick-fix final year programme. “Students are saying, ‘This is something that I want to develop over the lifetime of my career at LJMU’. “I am delighted that students at all levels are voting positively to get engaged.” WOW is also attracting international interest. Following a presentation by Prof Brown to fellow vicechancellors and civil servants in Malaysia last year, Mr Dray was invited to expand on WOW in a return visit this February. He said: “There was considerable interest in the model because the Malaysian government are very keen for Malaysian universities to produce highly employable graduates for their economy. “They saw in WOW a model that offered potential to produce

such graduates, a model that’s completely business-engaged.” He added: “The vice-chancellor and I presented the WOW initiative to the Minister for Higher Education in Malaysia, and the result is that the Ministry of Higher Education has agreed to fund a pilot programme to introduce the WOW certificate into the University of Technology in Malaysia, which is the largest public university with over 120,000 students.” The pilot involves LJMU working with 100 Malaysian students and training academic staff over the next year. “This is LJMU exporting or sharing an innovative model of employability and sharing knowledge, as a good university should do.” Links have also been established with Malaysian employers. “I was very keen, if we were to

take WOW to Malaysia, to be assured that the model was relevant to Malaysian employers and not just UK-centric. “So, with the Malaysian employers’ federation, we conducted a research survey asking whether WOW graduate skills were as relevant to them as they are to UK employers.” Mr Dray said 236 employers from all sectors responded and 95% of them rated the WOW skills as very important. “So what we got was a mandate from Malaysian employers saying this model is something that we think is very relevant to our businesses. “We’re very excited. For LJMU to reinforce its international reputation through an innovation like WOW was part of the objectives the university has. “A number of other countries are quite interested in what we’re doing, including Thailand.”

But, while WOW is proving exportable, LJMU remains reluctant to share its unique model with other UK universities. Mr Dray explained: “I have been visited by over 70 UK universities in 18 months to find out more about WOW and we present at conferences all the time. “But we are mindful of what we mustn’t do: LJMU has invested a lot in the development of WOW and we’re very keen to protect our USP (unique selling point). “It’s an important differentiator for the university and it’s an excellent model, so we’re not inclined to share the details with our UK competitors.” He added: “It’s very much of the moment. “Young people and others looking to choose a university quite rightly will look at all of the variables. And WOW sets LJMU apart.”

EDUCATION

Liverpool JMU ‘WOW-ing’

employers the world over

Neil Hodgson learns about the employability certificate designed to give Liverpool students

a unique advantage over UK peers in their foray into the post-credit crunch world of work

THE NETWORKER

BUSINESS LUNCH Alistair Houghton meets Colin Ling, business consultant and adviser to the Liverpool Chinese Business Association

HE Mersey may not have a Mediterranean climate, but our diners seem to love the taste of the Med. And now, in the form of dishes such as “Tortilla de Scouse”, the two cultures are being brought together at new independent Liverpool eaterie Lunya. My guest for a Lunya lunch was Colin Ling – business consultant, adviser to the Liverpool Chinese Business Association (LCBA), one of the city’s best-known networkers and a fan of Tapas. Tapas, of course, isn’t new to these shores, while Catalan capital Barcelona has become one of the UK’s favourite city-break destinations. But Lunya says it is the first to put those two facts together in a dedicated “Catalan fusion restaurant and deli”. It is housed in an old brickfronted building near Waterstones, in a part of Liverpool One where a sense of the area’s history mingles with the shiny new edifices that have transformed shopping in the city. Colin was making his first visit to Lunya, and I met him at a table inside the restaurant’s warm, brick-walled ground-floor dining area, which boasts a screen showing live images of Lunya’s upstairs kitchen. As well as its full menu, Lunya offer two lunchtime special deals – soup and a sandwich for £7.95 and three Tapas, plus bread, for £10. I chose the former and persuaded Colin to try the latter – including the Tortilla de Scouse. Drinks-wise we settled for a jug of water, though Lunya offers a range of soft and alcoholic drinks including the tasty Moritz beer from Barcelona. As we waited, Colin told me about his life. His father, originally from Shanghai, was a seaman in the Blue Funnel line who came to Liverpool after World War II. After school, Colin joined the then Midland Bank, where he spent 18 years and ultimately managed branches in Huyton, St Helens, Kensington and Dale Street in Liverpool city centre. After moving into the retail sector, he moved to Business Link, where he spent 14 years. He became head of

enterprise development for greater Merseyside, responsible for start-up advice and also for sectors including women, ethnic minority communities, the over-50s, and social enterprises. In 2008, Colin left Business Link during a major restructuring and set out on his own under the name Colin Ling Associates. “I work with anybody from one-man bands to big corporates,” he said. “Some people want to know how to access finance. Some want to know how to grow their business and network. “If I don’t know the answer, then I will know somebody who does. Having worked across Merseyside for 32 years, I have a wide network of contacts.” Colin has worked with the LCBA for seven years. The organisation, run by volunteers, is best known for its role leading Liverpool’s colourful Chinese New Year celebrations, but is now stepping up its work promoting Chinese businesses. As well as restaurants, which Colin refers to as the community’s “traditional” businesses, Chinatown firms range from property developers to importers and exporters doing trade with China. Colin sees his job as linking businesses and potential entrepreneurs with the “mainstream” business support services. “People from the Chinese community rely a lot on the infrastructure from within the community,” he said. “They don’t really access mainstream services that much. “We believe there are probably several hundred graduates – both from here and from China – who are working in traditional industries, mostly catering, because they find it difficult to access the mainstream. “It’s easy to start a restaurant business as a Chinese person because people will come to

The interior of Lunya, in Liverpool One

that restaurant. But, if they start a design or a web design business, how will they attract the business? It’s outside the norm.” LCBA is now working with Liverpool City Council to create the new Liverpool Chinese Business network, which will launch within weeks. It will link entrepreneurs from the Chinese community with other firms from across the city region. Colin says the network will also help the broader Merseyside economy by building closer links with China. It is no accident that the network will be launched during World Expo 2010, the massive Shanghai event at which Liverpool will be the only UK city to have its own pavilion. Then our food arrived. Our eyes were immediately drawn to Colin’s Pincho Moruno tapas – billed as “spiced pork kebabs”. What arrived was, in fact, two small pieces of meat on a small skewer. Colin and I exchanged glances, and perhaps should have questioned the waiter on the portion size, but instead we got stuck in. The Pincho Moruno comprised, Colin made clear, of two tasty pieces of meat. “But two small pieces of meat doesn’t

Colin Ling

warrant being called kebabs,” he said. Otherwise, he enjoyed his patatas bravas and the Tortilla de Scouse – a thick Spanish omelette made with meat and spices traditionally used in Scouse and served with pickled red cabbage. It tasted, he said, of Cornish pasty – but that was no bad thing. My sweet pepper and chilli soup was tastily zingy, but the highlight was my sandwich made with morcilla – Spanish black pudding. Served on sourdough bread with rocket and a piece of sweet pepper, the smoky and crispy morcilla was a delight. The standards of service at Lunya are also high. Enthusiastic waiters shared details of the menu, topped up our glasses and even brought us unordered dips of balsamic vinegar and lemon-infused olive oil. Another of Colin’s ambitions is to see a physical regeneration in Chinatown. The Chinese arch is a symbol of Liverpool, but it sits next to the derelict Scandinavian Hotel, one of the city centre’s most infamous eyesores. Colin is convinced the dilapidated state of some of Chinatown has put off potential investors and residents in the past. In his 30-plus years in

Merseyside’s business community, Colin has seen the economy move away from traditional manufacturing and towards the service, digital and creative sectors. Despite the recession, he says the diversity of business in the region is as great as it has ever been. And, as ventures like Lunya testify, Liverpool’s dining scene is also on the up. “Twenty or 30 years ago, if you went out in Liverpool after 10pm it was dead,” said Colin. “If you wanted to eat, you went to a Chinese restaurant – you wouldn’t get anything else. “Now it’s absolutely thriving. You’ve got places like this, or Chaophraya in Liverpool One, or places in Hope Street or Hardman Street. The economy is buzzing.” And with that, we headed out into the spring sunshine, thoroughly content with our taste of Catalonia.

DETAILS Lunya 18–20, College Lane, Liverpool One, Liverpool www.lunya.co.uk Cost: £17.95

THE NETWORKER

THE BUSINESS LIST Friday, April 30

The Daresbury Business Breakfast brings together around 100 people working for hi-tech companies and their supply and support communities. The breakfast is at Daresbury Innovation Centre, starting from 8am. For more details, see www.daresburysic.co.uk/events

THURSDAY, MAY 27/ 2010 DAILY POST REGIONAL BUSINESSAWARDS

Wednesday, May 5 Liverpool Science Park’s knowledge economy business breakfast is from 8.30am. It will feature presentations by Chris Fitzgerald, from Astbury Wren, and Helen Cornah, from Workforce Recruitment Solutions. It takes place at ic2, on Brownlow Hill. To register, visit http://tinyurl. com/may5science

Thursday, May 6 St Helens Chamber is holding an internet crime seminar which will highlight areas that may potentially cause financial damage in today’s economy. These will include denial of service attacks, website hacks, Trojan attacks, social engineering and attacks on wireless networks. The seminar, which is from 8.45am-12.30pm, will be delivered by ex-police officer turned entrepreneur, Chris Sullivan, of E-crime Solutions. It costs £11.75 for members and £23.50 for non-members, and includes lunch. To book, visit sthelenschamber.com/events

Thursday, May 20 A free seminar, MS Excel: what every accountant should know, is being held by ACCA at Radisson SAS, Old Hall Street. Andrew Berkley, of business education firm Ambitious Minds, will provide an accountant’s toolkit to help spot and fix spreadsheet problems, and also look at good design, helpful, unhelpful and underused formulae, and approaches to effective sensitivity analysis.

LIverpool’s Anglican Cathedral – the venue for the 2010 Daily Post Regional Business Awards THE Liverpool Daily Post Regional Business Awards are this year being held at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. The evening is a great opportunity to entertain clients, network with the

region’s business community and celebrate your company’s success. The keynote speaker is Liverpool-born former cabinet minister Steven Norris. He served as an MP for 13 years until 1997

It is from 6.15pm-8.15pm. For more information and to book, visit http://tinyurl. com/may20acca

and spent four years as Minister for Transport in London, where he was responsible for the Jubilee Line extension. He is now a director of a number of quoted and private companies, including non-

name during 16 years at the BBC. ■ TICKETS for the awards dinner are on sale now, priced £95+VAT, with tables available with 10 or 12 places. To book, call 0151 472 2422 or email events@liverpool.com

Friday, May 21

Wednesday, May 26

How story telling can help your business in 60 really useful minutes, organised by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, will see Martin King, from The Verbal Journey, run a masterclass in how the art of storytelling can help your business. It is from 9am-10am and is free to members and £5 for nonmembers. To book, visit http://tinyurl.com/may21story

A half-day seminar, Connecting digital, creative and aerospace companies, is being held at Darebsury Science and Innovation Campus. The free event is a pitching and networking opportunity for companies and is from 11am-2pm. For more details, see www.daresburysic.co.uk/events

Tuesday, May 25

Daresbury SIC

executive chairman of Jarvis. The awards will be hosted once again by Peter Sissons. The Liverpool-born broadcaster worked for both ITN and Channel 4 before becoming a household

The West Cheshire and North Wales Chamber of Commerce is holding its business breakfast at Mollington Banastre, from 7.30am-9am. There is a fiveminute presentation from a

Thursday, May 27 Andrew Berkley member company followed by structured networking. It costs £11.75 members / £23.50 non-members. Book online at http://tinyurl.com/may25chester

An introduction to international trade is being held by St Helens Chamber. The free one-day course will cover the process for exporting and importing, terminology, VAT and getting paid. To book, visit sthelenschamber.com/events

THE NETWORKER

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

. . . in which a ‘bolshie Scouser’ and a High Sheriff tell business leaders that charity begins at home

‘I

T’S well-known in the academic world”, smiled University of Liverpool head honcho Professor Sir Howard Newby, “that the most dangerous place for a vice-chancellor to stand is between his colleagues and the offer of a free drink”. So he sent the new High Sheriff of Merseyside to stand in the way of their drinks instead. The occasion was last week’s launch of the Community Foundation for Merseyside’s new report on corporate philanthropy. It’s a fascinating history of the great business donors who helped build Merseyside, from Sir William Pickles Hartley to Eleanor Rathbone. The main event at last week’s launch was the Fred Freeman memorial lecture by lawyer and self-confessed “bolshie Scouser” Cherie Blair. As ever, her speech swung between lawyerly analysis – this time of Merseyside’s rich philanthropic history – and witty asides. An aside of my own here, to point out that Cherie’s somewhat po-faced reputation is a trifle unfair. As a cub reporter in Hull, I went to the opening of a hospital where Cherie was the star speaker. She was

presented with a large metal trophy in what seemed to be the shape of an apple and, to laughter, she ventured a remark which we hacks heard as: “It looks like J-Lo’s bottom.” Everyone laughed, and us journos and PR types at the back of the room compared notes – did she really say J-Lo? We thought so and, impressed with her pop culture nous, I filed my copy. After that, I set off to another job, returning to the office that evening to find one of the strangest e-mails I have yet received. An NHS PR wrote, apologetically, that Mrs Blair’s people had told him she had, in fact, said “baby’s bottom”, and wanted the copy amending accordingly. So that’s what went in the paper – a good joke regardless, but I still think the pop reference won her more Brownie points. But there were definitely no pop culture posterior references from Cherie at the Community Foundation event, either in her speech or in the short Q&A session afterwards including Sir Howard and the inevitable Phil Redmond. With questions out of the way, Sir Howard took to the mike to make his comment about standing in the way of drinks. Audience members sat, muscles tensed, waiting to spring

Cherie Blair – stressed the importance of philanthropy

towards the foyer, like schoolchildren waiting for the bell that signals freedom or at least a smoke behind the bikesheds. But instead he asked Roy Morris, who had become High Sheriff of Merseyside just four days earlier, to make his way to the podium. It was the only place he could have stood – but it meant he was standing behind Cherie Blair and Co, addressing the audience over their heads, leaving the VIP guests uncomfortably craning their necks. Morris, to his credit, kept his speech short – “the biggest thing I’ve learned today,” he said, “is never to talk after Cherie Blair” – before Sir Howard returned to tell the audience to “follow the crowds” to find their drinks.

JOINED said crowd, filing politely down the steps of the lecture hall and out into the foyer. But then, in a moment of madness, I decided I should wander over the to the window and check my iPhone for e-mails. This, it turns out, was an error. By the time I turned to enter the restaurant, I saw there was a queue stretching into the foyer. A queue to network? That’s a first for me. But, dedicated correspondent that I am, I joined it. And, after several agonising minutes, I gained my glass of wine and entry to the inner sanctum, with its bowls of crisps and nuts. Among the dignitaries were Mr Morris’s predecessor as high sheriff, David McDonnell. But there weren’t too many familiar faces around – a sign that this was a different kind of event. It wasn’t about showing off current successes but was instead about businesses leaving legacies for the future. Among the crowd were relatives of the late Fred Freeman – the Liverpool department store owner who founded payroll giving agency United Way to make it easier for people to give to charity, and who gave his name to the lecture I attended. Roy Morris, of course, is a former chief executive of Rathbones, whose founding family is well-known for its philanthropic work. And the Community Foundation report, clutched by many at last week’s reception, lists many other great philanthropists from Lord Leverhulme, who built Port Sunlight, to Sir John Moores and Henry Tate. It’s a great reminder, in an age where businesspeople are so often blamed for the world’s ills, that those who have been successful in business can be forces for good. And that’s a fact worth raising a toast to, however many vice-chancellors may stand in your way.

SOCIAL DIARY THE NETWORKER

Red Door neighbourhood bar owners Tim Bacon and Dave Hinds celebrate the opening of their new venture with Radio City presenter Pete Price

Simon O’Donnell and Mark Downey, with Tina and Natalia Chiocchi, at last week’s Red Door opening party

CAROLYN HUGHES SUCCESSFUL entrepreneurs Tim Bacon and Dave Hinds celebrated the opening of The Red Door neighbourhood bar and kitchen in West Kirby last week. The former funeral parlour, on Grange Road, was bought by the pair last year, and has been transformed into a stylish bar in an eclectic hybrid of a traditional pub. ■ DESPITE clashing with Liverpool's big European match, well over 100 people descended on the Sir Thomas Hotel last week for Downtown's second “sexy” networking evening of 2010. The Best Dressed Male and

Female award, sponsored by stylist Martine Alexandra, was won by Paul Nixon (Perfect Blinds) in the men’s category and Victoria Brown (High Performance Consultancy) for the women. ■ OVER 100 glamorous ladies, and one brave man, enjoyed the dockside sunshine last week at a lunch at Gusto, Albert Dock, in aid of the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. The Fashion and Fun Lunch, organised by CHPR, showcased fashion from Kirsty Doyle, with accessories from Benna Harry, as well as mini-manicures and mini-pedicures from Lash Out Lashes.

Hugh Frost, of the Beetham Organisation, with Cathy Frost, at the party to celebrate the opening of the Red Door

Actress and comic Pauline Daniels, with Nic Smith, of Philip Armstrong Couture, at the Gusto lunch

Debbie McGovern and Katherine Atkinson, of Liverpool Dental Spa, at the Gusto restaurant lunch, at the Albert Dock

Frank McKenna, Downtown Liverpool in Business chairman, with colleagues Chris Wilcox and Chris McKenna, at the ‘Sexy’ Networking get-together

At the ‘Sexy’ Networking evening, from left: Sarah Hall, of Halliwells; stylist Martine Alexander; and Sarah Hegarty, of Halliwells

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