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North sees fall in foreign investment since scrapping of RDAs THE North has missed out on 120,000 new jobs linked to foreign direct investment (FDI) since the abolition of regional development agencies (RDAs). That is the claim in a report by think-tank IPPR North. The report – ‘UK First? Improving Northern access to Foreign Direct Investment’ – shows that securing FDI has been a key element of eco-
nomic development in the North. But the number of FDI projects secured over the past few years has declined, particularly in the North where the drop has been 27% since 2010, when the Coalition replaced RDAs with Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), compared with a 19% increase in London in the same period.
IPPR says this trend is increasing the North/South divide and since 2004 London and the South East have secured more foreign investment than the rest of England in total. To help encourage greater inward investment the report recommends more Whitehall resources should be devolved to strengthen the capacity of
city regions to seek foreign investment; changes to the way Government monitors investment; and a pan-Northern investment body to develop key trade and investment priorities for the North at a significant scale, improving co-ordination between local authorities, local enterprise partnerships and UKTI specialists.
IPPR North director Ed Cox said: “It is very worrying that a key element of the North’s economic success in recent decades has been declining. If it continues this can only make the imbalance in the UK economy even worse than it is already. It is clear the Coalition’s approach to attracting inward investment in the North is not working.”
Growth is on the horizon for niche Mersey manufacturers by Neil Hodgson
POST BUSINESS STAFF
neil.hodgson@liverpool.com
BIRKENHEAD manufacturer H&O Plastics is expanding after assistance from banking group Santander. And Liverpool’s oldest manufacturer, RS Clare, is celebrating a key contract win in South Korea. H&O was formed more than 18 years ago and makes plastic buckets and containers for the food, industrial and agricultural sectors. Managing director Bob Lavender has overseen the firm’s latest growth plan with the help of Invest Wirral, the council’s business support team, and Santander. During an Invest Wirral event he was introduced to Paul Norman, relationship director at Santander Corporate & Commercial. Mr Lavender was keen to acquire new plant, a 500-tonne Sandretto moulding machine, which will cut energy costs by £3,500 a year and increase productivity by 10%. He said: “I undertook a Europeanwide search for a specific machine and once I had identified it I needed to secure it and bring it to Wirral as soon as possible. I invited Paul to our site and soon after a deal was in place.” Santander provided £26,000 towards the £38,000 cost of the machine which Mr Lavender said will help continue H&O’s steady growth. Turnover has risen from £1.58m to £2m over the past four years and he said projected sales for 2013 are £2.46m. Mr Norman said: “Manufacturing is a sector we strongly believe in and H&O Plastics is a great example of a strong and innovative manufacturer.” Meanwhile, Toxteth lubricants specialist RS Clare which was founded in 1748, is continuing its impressive overseas growth with a prestigious new order from South Korea. Chief executive Ian Meadows undertook a tour of the Daewoo Shipyard at Busan and was successful in clinching orders worth $500,000 for the firm’s Bimagrip Antiskid product with the
Bob Lavender, managing director of Birkenhead-based H&O Plastics world’s largest shipbuilder, Hyundai. He said: “South Korea is a world class country of 50m people, and their shipbuilding capability is second to none. “Both shipyards I saw were producing a range of 70 ships per annum, from car carriers to container ships, drill ships and floating production and
storage vessels, which take seven years to complete and sell for $2bn-plus.” He said: “After a lack of orders due to the global economic crash of 2008 the market for car carriers is growing again. “In recent months we have gained several orders, and options for many
Bacs in Bank Holidays warning to firms BUSINESSES are being urged to plan to avoid missing crucial payments or collections around the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Bacs Payment Schemes, the company
behind Direct Debit and Direct Credit, is reminding firms which pay or collect via an automated system to ensure they allow for the extra non-processing days caused by holidays.
The Easter weekend, along with the Spring Bank Holidays in May, means payment files will need to be submitted earlier to avoid leaving customers, suppliers and staff waiting for
expected debits and credits. A 2013 processing calendar is at: http://www. bacs.co.uk/Bacs/ Businesses/Resources/ Pages/Processing Calendar.aspx
more are in the pipeline. “Penetration of global markets for our speciality lubricants in the oil and gas and rail sectors is also growing fast, and further growth of 25% anticipated is forecast for 2013,” added Mr Meadows. RS Clare announced record profits of £2.5m in 2012 on a turnover of £25m.
Liner upgrade BIRKENHEAD-based SeaKing Electrical has completed a month-long upgrade of holiday firm Thomson’s cruise liner ‘Thomson Dream’. The 1,500-passenger vessel operates in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Eight SeaKing staff delivered the work in Tenerife and Hamburg.
Funding for R&D in Mersey clusters THE Technology Strategy Board is making £2m available for innovative research and development schemes centred on two Merseyside sites. Organisations in the materials and manufacturing sector around the Sci-Tech Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus and the Runcorn Heath Business and Technical Park are being targeted for the latest funding package. It aims to stimulate the North West hotspot of materials and manufacturing industries by drawing investment and people into the area and encouraging networking to strengthen the cluster. Projects that companies could not fund without broader support, or that may take them into new areas will be eligible for funding. Up to 60% of project costs in industrial research projects will be covered up to a maximum of £100,000. Projects are expected to last from one to two years, led by micro, small and mediumsized businesses in the early stages of their development. A launchpad event was held this Tuesday at Sci-Tech Daresbury to provide details about the project. Launchpad competitions are open to smalland medium-sized firms that are in a cluster, plan to start up in a cluster, move into a cluster, or plan to collaborate with a company already in a cluster. Details are at https: //connect.innovateuk. org/web/materials-and -manufacturing-northwest-launchpad
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NatWest funding improves business landscape for Massams A HALSALL firm has expanded with financial help from NatWest Bank. Massams Supplies was formed by farmer Steve Massam and his wife Janet in 1988 and specialises in the landscaping sector. The business now has a national presence with offices in West Lancashire, Winchester and Devon. The acquisition of a Japanese supply company and growth in both client base and turnover triggered the need to consolidate to one site which could act as a headquarters and distribution yard and, importantly be owned by the business. Working with NatWest senior relationship director Jim Moore the bank offered a commercial mortgage loan of £214,000 and, together with Regional Growth Funding of £66,000, the business purchased a site at Renacres Hall Farm in Halsall, near Ormskirk. Mr Massam said: “We’ve seen so many businesses move away from the local area and this has really hit the local economy. We think it’s important to keep local jobs in the area and our new site will allow us to do just that.” Massams also hopes to expand into London and the South East later this year.
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STEP INTO MY OFFICE Dion Padan, owner and manager of Hooka salons in Liverpool
From left: Steve and Janet Massam and Jim Moore from NatWest Bank view plans for the new site
Executive travel service aims to create 100 Liverpool jobs by Neil Hodgson
POST BUSINESS STAFF
neil.hodgson@liverpool.com
HUSBAND and wife team Craig and Becky Richardson aim to create 100 jobs with an executive travel venture. The pair have moved to Liverpool from the South East of England to set up Exquisite Hotel Solutions. Ms Richardson works in the import department of a Liverpool shipping company and her husband is a flight operations controller for a London aviation company. But almost four years ago they began setting up affiliation deals with hotels and now have links with 26,000 hotels in 178 countries. They opened their office in Old Hall Street’s Plaza Building two months ago and use a 60-seat call centre in Ipswich.
But Mr Richardson said they hope to move the call centre to the city: “We want to set up a sales team of 10 here in Liverpool and then have our reservations, customer service and sales all here, which could lead to up to 100 jobs.” The firm provides UK or worldwide business travel solutions for chief executives, directors and management. Mr Richardson said: “If they travel more than five times a year on business it can be advantageous for us to manage that for them because we can get business rates on hotels and give them a hassle-free itinerary, including local weather when they arrive, directions from the airport, a courtesy phone call 24 hours before they arrive to make sure everything is on schedule, and 24 hours after to make sure their hotel was pleasant and if they want to use that hotel in the future.”
He added: “We keep a personal profile so we can find the best hotel to match the client. It is a hand-holding service.” They are also working on a deal to dispense with late cancellation fees so clients are not penalised for changing their schedule. Exquisite makes its money through an annual subscription fee from companies, covering individuals and small or large groups. Mr Richardson said: “Business is very good at the moment, particularly the US market where we have a sales support office in Newark, New Jersey. “We’re looking to have a very good first year.” He believes their service will see off competition from comparison websites: “Long-term the market will bottom out when it comes to comparison sites.”
Craig and Becky Richardson
Training pledge
THE Atlantic Tower by Thistle hotel in Liverpool city centre has appointed two new managers to its team. Sales manager Scott Montgomery and revenue manager Elizabeth Flitton have joined the hotel, which is celebrating
LIVERPOOL housing provider SLH Group will quadruple the number of apprenticeships it provides over the next four years. It made its commitment in last week’s National Apprenticeship Week and said it aims to provide more than 60 new opportunities for local people to gain training, qualifications, work experience and a working wage.
Ms Flitton, from Southport, has also previously worked for several national brands including Kelloggs, Jurys Inn, Marriott and Novotel. She said: “It’s a great time to be involved with such a well known hotel.”
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VCA uses trustees’ database
Pair start work at city centre hotel its 40th anniversary. Mr Montgomery has spent the past 15 years working within the UK’s hospitality industry for well-known hotel brands including Radisson Blu, De Vere Hilton Worldwide and Guoman Hotels.
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INFRASTRUCTURE support group Voluntary and Community Action Wirral (VCA) has joined forces with Wirral chartered accountants McEwan Wallace to help not-forprofit organisations find credible trustees. McEwan Wallace has launched an online match-making database to marry charities with experienced trustees. VCA, part-funded by Wirral Council, works with more than 1,000 charities and will use the new match-making facility. VCA spokesman, Karl Rooney, said: “It is rare for an appropriately skilled trustee to walk through a charity’s door and offer their services.”
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
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Bill Gleeson AstraZeneca’s R&D move is bad news for Cheshire towns THE CHESHIRE towns of Knutsford and Alderley Edge are home to some of the most prosperous people in the North West of England. Alderley Edge is cluttered with fast sports and big executive saloon cars. The area has also been home to AstraZeneca’s research and development laboratories, employing 1,600 staff. That’s a big number for a town the size of Knutsford. The company’s decision to close its Alderley Park site is therefore very bad news. While some posts will be relocated to nearby Macclesfield, the majority are moving to Cambridge. The pharmaceutical firm also plans to move its London head office to Cambridge in a move designed to consolidate its operations into a new £300m facility. We could have done with that in this region, but the appeal of Cambridge to knowledge-based industries is obvious. When ICI moved out of its Runcorn research labs 15 years ago, the premises were bought by a management team led by Dr Peter Cook that turned them into business units suitable for smaller firms. That strategy proved very successful. Earlier this month the University of Chester took over the former Ellesmere Port research labs of Shell, which no longer needed them. Hopefully something similar can be done with the Alderley Park site.
accounts of ordinary Cypriots will be money saved from earned income. In other words, it has already been taxed. To tax it again strikes me as unfair. Furthermore, the original plan for an across the board tax rate that applies to everybody is not exactly progressive. What about those who may have meagre savings, scrimped from a low wage? Why should they be treated in the same way as northern Europeans or others who may have deposited larger sums in the island’s banks? As with many other popular tourist destinations around the Mediterranean, Cyprus experienced a property boom a few years ago as holiday makers bought second homes there. The average Cypriot, however, will not have come close to getting even a sniff of this wave of investment and cash deposits. Yet they are being asked to pay the price to put it right. The sums of money involved in Cyprus’ financial crisis are relatively small, so it’s all the more surprising that Europe’s governments see the need to be harsh in their bail out terms. It has set a dreadful precedent. People in other countries with weak banking sectors will be wondering whether they will come next and they may be making plans to relocate their savings at a time when Europe’s banks could do with a period of stability.
THE move by the Cypriot government to tax the bank deposits of its people was always going to be a tricky one to get past the country’s voters. It’s no surprise that many have tried to move their cash to other banks outside the reach of the Cypriot authorities. However, that option turns out to be too late as banks on the island are required to withhold 6% of all balances. Savers may as well keep their cash in Cyprus. The idea is a bad one for other reasons too. It is inequitable. Most of the money held in the deposit
MORE evidence, if it were needed, that while Europe languishes under the effects of the sovereign debt crisis, other parts of the world are looking to the future. Airbus has won a record $24bn order for 234 single-aisle passenger planes from Lion Air, an Indonesian airline. An increasing appetite for travel in a populous nation that is seen as one of the next wave of emerging economies will support one of our region’s leading manufacturers for several years to come. At least something is going right.
Game changer Tony McDonough looks at new legislation designed to boost the social enterprise sector
Rosie Jolly, chief executive of Social Enterprise Network and, inset top, Cllr Nick Small, and, below, solicitor Graeme Hughes
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PEAK TO many businesses who regularly bid for local authority contracts and they will dismiss the notion that councils focus on so-called “best value” – the main factor, they claim, is always price. Introduced by the last Labour Government, best value was intended to ensure that quality of work and service were key factors in procurement decisions. Now the coalition Government is intending to take this one stage further. Presumably as an extension to Prime Minister David Cameron’s much-derided Big Society concept, a new piece of legislation has just come into force that should, in theory, make best value more of a reality. It also opens up potential opportunities for the UK’s growing social enterprise sector. The Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012, known more commonly as the Social Value Act, came into force on January 31. According to Graeme Hughes, charities and social enterprise solicitor at LIverpool law firm, Brabners Chaffe Street “the Act requires public authorities, before the procurement phase is commenced when looking to commission services, to consider how what is being procured might improve the economic, social and environmental well-being of an area and how, in conducting the process of procurement, such improvement might be achieved”. The legislation has been welcomed by Rosie Jolly, chief executive of the Liverpool-based Social Enterprise Network, which is an umbrella and lobbying organisation and has more than 400 social enterprises as members. However, she adds that before we see any benefits from the act both local authorities and the social enterprise sector need to undergo cultural change. “The social value act only applies to contracts worth over £173,000,” said Ms Jolly. “What we are trying to do with local authorities, particularly here in Liverpool, is to try to ensure that social value is embedded into everything that the councils do – all the contracts at all levels. “And it is a challenge for the sector to embrace the new legislation. “I think that the challenges are around them being able to put into a narrative what their social value actually is as a business. “There are tools they can use such as social return on investment, social audit – however some of those are quite a costly exercise. “So it is really important that they develop the skills themselves to be able to put together a narrative that demonstrates what their social value is.” At a conference at Blackburne House in Liverpool earlier this month, Liverpool’s elected Mayor, Joe Anderson, made a very public commitment to embracing the Social Value Act. Ms Jolly was encouraged by this and
has since met with Mayor Anderson as part of an ongoing dialogue with the council. She added: “I think most of the local authorities in Merseyside understand how important social value is and are trying to make some headway and manage how they interpret the act and build it into their contracts. “Knowsley has been working really hard on this and has now come up with a formula on weighting social value as part of the tendering process. “In Liverpool, we are working with the commissioning teams and preparing some literature for them so that they better understand social value. “I have had conversations with him (Mayor Anderson) where he has made it very clear that he will set up a task force in the council and that social enterprise will be embedded right the way through the council. “The challenge, of course, is for commissioners to do something with that.” Ms Jolly is hopeful that the social enterprise sector will eventually be able to compete for all kinds of contracts but stresses the culture shift will take time.
‘It is really important that they develop the skills’
She said: “You could argue there should be an element of social value in all type of provision that is directed at communities but I think at this moment in time probably the health and social care sectors are the ones that stand out as having to get their act together in terms of social value.” Ms Jolly’s colleague at SEN, communications and policy officer Matthew Donnelly, made the point that the act specifically says that social enterprises can only supply services or goods and services – not just goods on their own. He added: “The previous Labour Government introduced best value into the procurement process and this builds upon it. “A lot of it is about a culture shift and changing mindsets both in local authorities and among the social enterprise sector.” Liverpool City Council’s cabinet member for employment and skills, Cllr Nick Small, insisted the authority was now working hard to fully embrace the spirit of the social value act. He said: “There is lots of work to do around procurement. “We began updating our policies a few months ago ahead of the introduction of
Thursday, March 21, 2013
big feature post business
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for social enterprises?
Robbie Davison, who runs Can Cook, says getting finance is tough for social enterprises
Access to finance presents a major barrier as social enterprises look to gain from new act
the act and we recognise the need to keep on monitoring how that is going. “Where the public sector is right now with the effects of the Government cuts, it means we are having to redouble our efforts – we need to do much more with less and make sure we are supporting as many local businesses and local jobs as possible.” Cllr Small acknowledged that councils had been more focused on price but claimed there was now a determination to change that culture. He added: “Focusing on price was how the system worked in the past and that was because local authorities were constrained by legislation. “Now the new act will allow us to do things differently and we acknowledge there is still a cultural change that needs to take place. “There also needs to be a cultural change from the social enterprise sector – recognising that it is not about a grants culture any more. “I am hearing that ambition from micro businesses and we will support them in that process.” Graeme Hughes from Brabners also
points out that, under the act, local authorities are also required to consider whether to undertake any community consultation on their proposals. He said: “It is intended that the act, by introducing this new duty for commissioners to consider social value, will benefit social enterprises and charities who have increasingly become marginalised in a public services market dominated by large corporate providers. “Inevitable concern exists that as continued cuts are made, cost, as opposed to ‘social value’, will continue to be the key factor for commissioners and it is possible that this new duty will simply result in arguments about the criteria that should be used to determine the economic, social and environmental well-being of an area and how this can improved. “However, the creation of the new social value taskforce in Liverpool and the comments of Mayor Anderson should be welcomed and no doubt the community and voluntary sector in Liverpool looks forward to benefiting from this new approach.”
‘There is a cultural change that needs to occur’
ROBBIE DAVISON runs one of Liverpool’s most successful social enterprises – Can Cook. Based at the Matchworks in Garston, Can Cook runs courses and workshops to teach people how to prepare and cook healthy food. Its latest initiative is Kitchen Share which will allow fledgling food firms access to its kitchens. Mr Davison is sceptical about how much difference the Social Value Act will make – at least in the short to medium term. He believes most social enterprises will struggle to be able to effectively compete for public service contracts. “The biggest barriers are finance, capacity and implementation,” he said. “Can Cook turns over £500,000 a year and I don’t think we would have the financial probity demanded by local authority commissioners. “I would have to be able to submit a social value report and that would cost between £10,000 and £15,000. “Bigger companies have an
advantage because they will be able to spend that kind of money.” This touches on a wider issue for social enterprises – access to affordable finance, an issue that is also a concern to SEN. Mr Davison has written his own report: Does Social Finance Understand Social Need? Most banks – with the exeption of the Co-operative – will not touch social enterprises. A number of social finance providers have been set up for this purpose – most notably, Big Society Capital, launched in a fanfare by Prime Minister David Cameron a year ago. However, Mr Davison claims: “It is nigh on impossible for a social enterprise to raise finance.” In his paper, Mr Davison points out that as the amount of grant money available dramatically recedes, social enterprises face “significant challenges” in attracting finance under the right terms. SEN’s Rosie Jolly has secured £5,000 from Santander to organise a conference in Liv-
erpool on social investment later in the year. Of social investors she said: “There is still an issue with some of the products and whether they will meet the needs of the future – where there is a need for working capital.” He colleague Matthew Donnelly added: “We continue to see a major disparity between the reality of investment demand on the ground and the rhetoric emanating from this emergent social investment marketplace.” One local funder that says it is prepared to offer finance to social enterprises is Merseyside Special Investment Fund. Chief operating officer Lisa Greenhalgh said: “MSIF has always supported social enterprises and continues to do so now. “As with all businesses, for us to invest in a social enterprise the business must be able to show that it has a sustainable business model and a cash flow that shows the ability to service our loan repayments.”
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
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Will a shift to ‘Great Rotation’ leave global investors in spin? market analysis
by Derek Gawne
BRANCH MANAGER, LIVERPOOL OFFICE OF CHARLES STANLEY IT HAS always been a case that as the markets/asset classes move through cycles the smart money moves from one to another to maximise returns over the long term. In balanced portfolios this may mean a re-balancing between the different types of investments – Equities, Gilts, Corporate Bonds, Cash and Property being the main building blocks. More money flowed into equities than fixed income in the last four months of 2012 according to Investment Management Association (IMA) data. This is a pattern that has also been noted in the US prompting some commentators to suggest that we are at the beginning of a ‘Great Rotation’ from fixed income and into equities. If this is correct this move could potentially decimate future returns for fixed interest investors. We will only know with the benefit of hindsight if this is the slow beginnings of ‘The Great Rotation’. Fixed income assets have certainly lost their sparkle but there is still a substantial demand, which seems unlikely to slow in the near term.
Derek Gawne
Institutional requirements, from pension funds and banks in particular, remains very strong and despite the increased flows into equities at the end of the year, retail fixed income funds continued to attract money. On a valuation basis, the argument for rotation is compelling. Since the financial crisis fixed interest securities across the credit quality spectrum have made significant gains, resulting in decreased yields and compressed credit spreads. The yield spread of the global investment grade corporate bond market over government bonds has declined from a peak of 5.09% to just 1.45% – below the 10 year average of 1.57%. Nominal yields on many fixed interest securities are now so low as to be near or below zero when inflation is taken into account. For example, 10 year UK gilt yields are 2.0% – lower than the inflation rate of 2.7%. There seems no reasonable investment call to invest in gilts now. However, pension funds are compelled to buy them through actuarial constraints. In contrast equities have become more attractive on a relative basis. It is possible for equities to achieve inflation-beating income from a strengthening dividend stream and there is also the potential for long term capital growth. On many measures equities are also reasonably priced relative to historical levels. The FTSE 100 is on a trailing P/E ratio of 13.9 and pays a dividend yield of 3.4%. We do know that equities, and other risk assets, have seen strong inflows in recent months as worries over the US Fiscal Cliff, Eurozone and other crises have abated and as the economic news has improved modestly. However, there is no certainty that any of these crises have reached their nadir. The UK market has climbed to a five year high recently and it is also usually good news for the rest of the year if equity markets rise in January, as they did this year. However compelling the case for switching from fixed interest to equities, only time will tell if this is the start of ‘The Great Rotation’, a short-term rally or the start of a new bull market. But in the short term, valuations are supportive and momentum looks strong.
appear to be feeling the squeeze, with savers aged 25 to 34 having an average balance of £2,712, representing less than half of the current cash Isa allowance. Those aged between 35 and 44 have an average balance of £4,389, with typical savings levels steadily creeping up in the higher age groups to reach £15,035 for savers aged 75 and over, the research conducted at the end of January found. The highest customer Isa balances across England and Wales were in East Anglia, where people typically had £9,512 put away.
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HOUSE sellers’ asking prices are at the highest they have ever been for the month of March as confidence returns to the market, property search website Rightmove said. New sellers lifted their asking prices by 1.7% month-on-month to reach £239,710 on average, beating the previous record high for the month which was set in March 2008 by £55. With asking prices also at 1.2% higher than they were a year ago, the spring boost should result in a sales pick-up in 2013, Rightmove said. While the volume of new sellers coming to market has increased by 12% month-on-month, the amount of unsold homes has stayed broadly the same, suggesting that the number of properties for which sales are being agreed is growing. The website, whose house price study has been running for more than a decade, found that the number of home-movers who believe that prices are set to increase this year is double those who believe it is set for a dip.
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Could this be the start of a new bull run in the markets?
People are leaving Isa allowances unfilled ONE in six cash Isa savers have managed to use their full allowance this year, research by Halifax among its customers has shown. The provider said that just 15% of customers who took out a deal with it during this financial year had saved up their full £5,640 allowance for 2012/13. With just a few weeks of the current tax year left, stagnant wages and high living costs have been blamed for the struggle many people are having to put any spare cash aside. Younger people in particular
notes
This was 16% higher than the lowest average balance of £8,220, which was recorded in the North East. Women’s typical balances were slightly lower than men’s, at £8,816, compared with £8,973 for male savers. But women’s Isa savings were the equivalent to 43% of their gross average earnings, compared with 26% for men. Four years of the Bank of England base rate being held at a record 0.5% low had made life tougher for savers generally and driven down any real returns they were seeing.
HOUSEHOLDS have reported the first increase to their pay packets in two-and-a-half years, a financial information firm said. However, the boost came from private-sector workers, who saw the strongest uplift in workplace activity recorded for three years, Markit found. Some 27% of private-sector staff reported that work became busier in March, compared with 18% who saw a fall. Activity increased particularly in the services and construction industries, according to the findings.
Crackdown on whiplash MPS are launching a new investigation into how the number of whiplash claims can be cut to make people’s car insurance cheaper. The Transport Committee is calling for evidence on how whiplash costs can be reduced. The committee wants to know whether descriptions of the UK as the “whiplash capital of the world”, are accurate and what proportion of costs are built up due to people faking their injuries. MPs will look at the likely
impact that clamping down on exaggerated claims would have on access to justice for people who are genuinely injured. Last week, insurers called for people making a whiplash claim to be forced to undergo medical examinations by independently-appointed experts to cure the UK’s “epidemic” of cases. The Association of British Insurers wants to see all whiplash cases dealt with by medical professionals who have been accredited by a special board.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
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State-of-art unit eases treatment AN Ellesmere Port firm has designed and built a state-of-the-art mobile chemotherapy facility to help cancer experts deliver treatment closer to patients’ homes. EMS-Healthcare provided the unit for “Clatterbridge in the Community” which aims to improve care for patients by making treatment as accessible and easy as possible. The mobile unit offers specialist treatment away from a hospital setting and will enable patients from Chester and the surrounding area to have access to care in a more convenient location. The unit, housing six chemotherapy stations, will treat about 25 people each day. Keith Austin, EMSHealthcare partner, said: “This unique facility will help reduce the burden and strain that travelling can bring while delivering first class patient care close to people’s homes.”
THE POST L I V E R P O O L
REGIONAL BUSINESS AWARDS2013
Don’t miss the chance to attend top awards night by Bill Gleeson
POST BUSINESS STAFF bill.gleeson@liverpool.com
St George’s Hall is the grand setting for our Regional Business Awards
NOW that the deadline for submitting entries for this year’s Liverpool Post Regional Business Awards has passed, it’s time to reserve your place at the big event before all of the tickets are snapped up. Tickets have traditionally been in strong demand at this stage in the runup to the popular event. It is important to act now to avoid disappointment. The awards final will take place in the grand setting of St George’s Hall. Some 500 guests, including some of the region’s top movers and shakers, will be present at the black tie dinner that takes place on the evening of June 13. Hosted by former BBC broadcaster Peter Sissons, the night will see awards handed out to the winners of 11 categories. The categories are open to businesses of all sizes and cover a range of business activities, including employment practices, environmental policies, export initiatives and investment record. Judges will also consider the financial performance and growth prospects of firms. Now in their third decade, the news-
paper’s awards are an established part of the region’s business calendar. Former award winners include Redrow founder Steve Morgan, haulage entrepreneur Steve O’Connor, Bibby Line Group and shipyard Cammell Laird. Liverpool Post editor Mark Thomas said: “We are looking to recognise those firms and entrepreneurs whose endeavours are making a difference to the local economy. “It is all the more important that we do that in these difficult times. “It is precisely the sort of people that will be gathered in St George’s Hall this June who will help this region build for its post-austerity future and create the jobs that will give hope to thousands. “The Regional Business Awards are a fantastic night and always a sell-out event – so don’t be slow to sign up for seats now for the big night itself. “As always we are grateful to our sponsors for their continued support, without which this event would not happen.” To buy tickets for the awards dinner visit our special awards website at www.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk or email events@liverpool.com or call 0151-472 2570. You can also follow the progress of the awards on Twitter at @LP_RBA
Education for entrepreneurs aDvERTISINg fEaTURE
Having a great idea, a new product or service is not enough to guarantee your business is a success. You also need business acumen, good financial sense, customer focus and access to a top-notch business team. Now Liverpool John Moores University is offering both budding entrepreneurs and more established businesses access to all this and more through its new Entrepreneurship Masters degree programme. Entrepreneurs and SMEs are vital to the continued economic growth of the city-region. In consultation with regional business leaders and small businesses, Liverpool Business School has identified that local entrepreneurs and new business start-ups need additional skills in order to maximise their full business potential. Now LJMU is launching a new MSc Entrepreneurship to do just that.
and more established business we have produced a degree which meets the demands of a competitive business sector and gives entrepreneurs the confidence and knowledge to make their business idea a success,” he explained. “Whether you are starting a social enterprise in your local community or launching the next big consumer product, this course will help make your business a success.”
The course can be studied part-time over two years or full-time over one year and gives entrepreneurs a vital academic grounding in contemporary business areas, such as business analysis, marketing, crowd-sourcing, setting up a social enterprise and using innovative techniques in communications, marketing and financial planning. The course is backed by the Institute of Directors and students will receive free student membership during their studies giving them access to a range of benefits including events and resources.
In addition to the expertise and facilities available in the Liverpool Business School and the new £38million Redmonds Building, where the course is taught, students can also make full use of the University’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and its well established network of contacts and mentors across the city-region.This combination of expert guidance delivered within a supportive community of like-minded business professionals will help to hone your business plans and ideas into ventures with real competitive advantage.
Applications are now being taken for the MSc Entrepreneurship starting in September 2013 (subject to validation). For more information, come and talk to Seamus and his team at the LJMU Postgraduate Open Day (Art and Design Academy, Duckinfield Street, L3 5RD) on 21st March between 2:30 - 3:15 pm.
Seamus added: “Studying this course represents an investment in the most powerful, effective and best business and marketing tool at your disposal - you.”
Or call the Admissions team on 0151 231 5175, email: apsadmissions@ljmu.ac.uk or visit: ljmu.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate and search under ‘Entrepreneurship’.
Programme leader, Seamus O’Brien worked closely with business leaders when devising the degree. “In consultation with fledgling
7
Since 2007, LJMU has helped establish and continues to support approximately 200 graduate start-up companies, employing 250 people (FTEs), including China Pearl, a Chinese arts and cultural organisation, established by graduate Fenfen Huang.
“This course will help make your business a success”
8
Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business the bottom line
notes ■
SAINSBURY’S posted betterthan-expected sales figures this week after a quarter in which no horsemeat was found in any of its products. The grocery chain said it increased market share in the 10 weeks to March 16, with 3.6% growth in like-for-like sales and an improvement in the average number of transactions per week to a record 22.9m. Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day were particularly strong. Chief executive Justin King said: “The issues experienced by the industry over the last quarter underscore the importance of our detailed understanding of our supply chain.” Total revenues were up 7.1% when including petrol sales and an increase in trading space of about 5% over the last financial year.
Losses deepen at the Barclay family’s Merseyside interests
■
HOUSEBUILDER Berkeley said it is on track to meet expectations for the year to April 30 and its long-term plan to return £13 a share to shareholders. Work in progress continues to closely match forward sales, which are now in excess of £1.4bn.
The sale of Home Delivery Network was one of the highlights of Shop Direct Holdings’ financial year
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THE holding company for the Barclay family’s Merseyside-based business interests posted its latest accounts at Companies House earlier this month. Shop Direct Holdings, formerly known as March UK, owns the family’s Merseyside-based retail, financial services and print operations located at Speke, Netherton and Huyton, respectively. The accounts reveal figures that show a relatively static top line performance, but a declining bottom line as current slow economic conditions continue to frustrate the group’s ambition to make a profit. The figures cover the year to last June, but the previous year’s comparative figures are for a 61-week accounting period. Turnover in the 12 months ended June 2012 was £2.1bn versus £2.5bn for the longer 2011. On a like-for-like basis,
the figure would be virtually unchanged. In addition, the group made sales of £423m from discontinued operations. It sold its Prescot-based Home Delivery Network at the end of the year. Shop Direct Holdings made a gross profit of £526.8m, down from £810.5m a year earlier. Net operating expenses before goodwill, amortisation and exceptional items were £625.8m versus £965m in 2011. When these items are included, operating expenses rise by £185m in 2012 and £85.7m in 2011. As a result, Shop Direct Holdings made an operating loss of £284m, substantially worse than the £240.2m loss recorded in the 61 weeks to June 2011. Once interest and a few other smaller items are included the loss on ordinary activities before taxation was £300.5m against £242.1m. The company pointed to declining margins as price competition remains tough and raw material costs rise, along with an increase in its advert-
ising activities. In the report and accounts, the group’s directors state: “Economic conditions remain tough in the markets in which the group operates. “The retail environment has seen considerable inflationary pressure from raw materials and increased promotional intensity.” The group continues to invest in its IT platforms, particularly for its online brands Littlewoods, Very and ISME. The report adds that the group will be looking to make cost savings through significant integration and rationalisation. On the upside, Shop Direct Holdings reported a continued improvement in adjusted EBITDA for the year of £33.6m, an improvement of £53.1m from the 61 weeks of 2011, which reported a loss of £19.5m. It said customer service measures have also continued to improve during the year. As was the case last year, no dividend is to be paid to the Barclay family. During the period, £280m of intercompany loans were capitalised into 280m £1 ordinary shares, helping the total net asset position of the business stay positive. Breaking down its review by business areas, Shop Direct Holdings said its online and catalogue retail arm “weathered the current turbulent economic conditions”. Reported sales for the financial year on a 12 month likefor-like basis grew by 0.4% on the division’s continuing activities. While sales were restricted due to the implementation of a tighter credit policy, growth in sales from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets was strong, as were sales at its very.co.uk and ISME brands. Looking ahead the group anticipates the difficult trading conditions will continue, “exacerbated by further inflationary pressures and an increasingly promotional retail environment.” Significant cost pressure on household budgets has left customers with reduced disposable income. As a result, the group says it is cautious about the year ahead. Shop Direct’s strategy has seen it transform itself from a struggling oldfashioned catalogue retailer into an internet-based business. While online sales now account for the majority of turnover, the directors warn: “The group’s internet-led approach is not immune to a slowdown, but the group’s performance over the last two years shows that multi-channel web, mobile and paper are more resilient.”
BUSINESS to BUSINESS
Juice FM reports ‘robust’ results
BUILDING TRADE
UTV, the Belfast-based media company that owns Liverpool independent radio station Juice FM, reported “robust” annual figures for the year to December 31 this week. The group’s revenues were slightly down from £121.6m in 2011 to £120.1m, while pre-tax profits of £21m compared with £23.3m the previous year, although these were transformed into a £21.6m loss after
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£45m of exceptional charges in 2011. It said its operating profit for its Radio GB division, which also includes talk-SPORT, was up 5% to £13m. Chief executive John McCann said: “This is a robust performance in what continues to be a challenging economic environment, especially in Ireland. “We have maintained effect-
ive control over costs coupled with strong cash management and continued debt reduction. “We’ve continued to invest in the development of our businesses, in particular the establishment of talkSPORT International; concluded the Network Affiliation Agreement with ITV; acquired and integrated Simply Zesty and proceeded with the renewal of the Channel 3 TV licence.”
9
Thursday, March 21, 2013
small business post business
notes
small
business of the week
■
UP TO 500 employers at a time will be able to join live webinar sessions on Real Time Information (RTI) hosted by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) experts during March. The interactive sessions last up to an hour and allow employers and agents to ask questions on RTI – the new PAYE reporting system. From April 6, employers will report in real time each time they pay employees, rather than annually. This updates the PAYE system so that it is quicker, easier and more accurate. Find more information and the webinar timetable at http://www. hmrc.gov.uk/press/ online-advice.htm Ruth Owen, HMRC’s Director General Personal Tax, said: “The webinars allow employers to participate in a live seminar and ask questions of RTI experts. “During March we are holding several RTI sessions a day so that employers can join in when it is convenient for them.” The webinars are free but users must register in advance. A range of support is available for employers, including webinars, YouTube video, face-to-face events and online interactive sessions, including Twitter Q&As. More information on RTI can be found at hmrc.gov.uk/rti
by Neil Hodgson
POST BUSINESS STAFF
neil.hodgson@liverpool.com
S
OME say the cup cake fad is over, but Laura Worthington begs to differ: “I don’t think cup cakes has hit here yet.” She is on a personal crusade to elevate the art of cup cakes from passing fad status to recognition in the pantheon of great cakes. She said: “I think a lot of the big coffee shop chains that sell cup cakes give them a bad name. My aim is to make cup cakes not a fad, but an acceptable cake.” Which is ironic considering, until recently, the mother of three young daughters was certainly no fan of cup cakes. Her baking journey began two years ago on a trip to New York. She said: “The cheesecakes there are amazing and I tried to find something to match them back here, but couldn’t, so I thought I would try myself.” Then, for her ninth birthday, one of her daughters asked her to bake cup cakes for her party. Ms Worthington said: “I didn’t like them myself before I tried baking them, and it went from there. Friends and family said I had to do it as a business.” So, Laura’s Little Bakery was launched from her Mossley Hill kitchen which is now a hive of industry with three ovens constantly on the go. She secured her first key customer by trailing the Twitter account of Bold Street Cafe: “On their timeline someone said, ‘love your place, but get nice cakes’, so I contacted them.” They loved her cakes and that was the start of a sales pitch that now includes Bold Street Coffee, Tavern on the Green, Fletcher’s Tea Rooms in Woolton and Pistachio on Lark Lane among her regular customers. The ECHO Arena, Alma de Cuba, Liverpool One, Empire Theatre, Noble House Hotel and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic also use her for various functions. A keen exponent of social media, she started publicising her business on her Twitter account which now has 6,500 followers. “I’m a big Liverpool FC fan and fancied doing some LFC cupcakes. I took a picture and it got 10,000 views and it snowballed from there. “Social media has made my business.” She added: I’ll be baking and then doing Twitter. I am a woman, I can multi-task. I manage the levels of chaos as they come.” Ms Worthington bakes for Liverpool players and their wives and admits she has worked for Everton FC: “Everton are great what they do for the community – but I would never do anything for Manchester United. I have got my principles.” Cup cakes are 90% of turnover but Ms Worthington also creates conventional cakes and says her best seller is a chocolate and red velvet fudge cake: “It’s chocolate butter cream in the middle and chocolate ganache and layers of chocolate and red sponge cake. “Salted caramel is my top selling cup cake – the frosting makes it special.” She added: “I am very passionate about food. I love cakes and for me I want my cup cakes to be the best that people have had, so I am constantly
■
Laura Worthington’s cup cake bakery business is on the rise, with expansion on the horizon
Business is a piece of cake for baker Laura tweaking recipes and frostings. “Every order that goes out I always worry about because I want to make sure that people love what they get. They are paying for it. There’s nothing worse than a disappointing cake.” Her biggest order was for 1,000 cup cakes, which explains her 17 hour days. She is now considering expanding to a dedicated unit and taking on staff: “When you work from home it becomes every waking hour. If I had a unit I would have no choice but to lock up and come home.” Her business has been self-funded so far but Ms Worthington is talking with the Social Enterprise Network about a funding package and already has plans for any forthcoming support: “I have a 15-year-old car I do my deliveries in.”
Laura’s tweets from the stars Gary Barlow (@GBarlowOfficial) the cakes are amazing, thank you David Morrissey (@davemorrissey64) thank you so much for the cakes. They are wonderful Melanie C (@MelanieCmusic) Thank you so much for my lovely cupcakes. The best I’ve tasted delicious
A selection of Laura’s cup cakes created in her Mossley Hill kitchen
HMRC is also urging new businesses in the region which need to register for VAT to do it online, rather than on paper. Registering for VAT online is easier, more secure and faster than using a paper form. As well as avoiding postal delays, the online system provides on-screen help and you get an immediate on-screen acknowledgment that HMRC has received your application. If you apply for VAT registration online, HMRC will also enroll you automatically for its VAT Online service, so you can submit VAT Returns online. In addition, your certificate of registration will be available to you online. HMRC has also revamped its VAT Online service so that it now offers a new variation service – allowing businesses to change their VAT registration details – and a new online de-registration service, for businesses who want to cancel their VAT registration. Visit the HMRC website at www.hmrc.gov. uk/vat/start/register/ signup-online.htm
10
Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business creative & digital
Social cafe returns for digital chat DIGITAL meet-up Social Media Cafe Liverpool returns next week after its winter break. The event aims to provide an informal forum for people to debate matters relating to social media and the online world. Speakers will include Mandy Philips, head of business and information systems at Liverpool John Moores University, who will discuss the challenges organisations face when people use their personal digital devices on corporate networks. It will also be addressed by “journalist turned digital evangelist” Deborah Mackay, founder of digital content company Digital Polish. The event, organised by How Why DIY and backed by support agency ACME, will be held on Wednesday, March 27, at Hannah’s Bar in Leece Street. For free tickets, visit www. socialmediacafeliver pool.wordpress.com
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Digital sector driving growth in Liverpool’s office market by Alistair Houghton POST BUSINESS STAFF
alistair.houghton@liverpool.com
REGENERATION officials have credited the digital and creative sectors with helping to drive Liverpool’s office market to a successful 2012. The recently-published Liverpool Commercial Office Market review showed there was a 40% surge in demand for office space in Liverpool city region last year. Overall office market take-up rose from 382,592 sq ft to 534,730 sq ft. The report said “creative, media and digital” take-up in the region rose from 5.9% (22,703 sq ft) to 16.5% (88,482 sq ft). That figure also includes IT and telecoms firms. Companies who took space during the year included marketing and communications agency Corporate Culture, promotional specialist Access Point UK and web agency PH Creative. The report was produced by Liverpool Vision, Liverpool Commercial District Partnership and Professional Liverpool. Vision’s head of creative and digital, Kevin McManus, said: “The region’s creative and digital sector is maturing rapidly and it is integral to Liverpool’s growing economic diversity and this is reflected
in the 2012 office market review. “The sector is now even more established and is of growing importance to the city.” Stuart Keppie, the chairman of Professional Liverpool’s property group, said: “This offers further evidence of the extent of recovery underway in the city. “The public sector and professionals are still important sectors but they no longer dominate the office market. Demand is now more evenly spread over several business sectors including financial services, shipping and distribution, media and creative and now the outsourcing and call centre sectors.” Accountant Jonathan Ford & Co, which specialises in working with the creative industries, has recently taken 500 sq ft at Liverpool Innovation Park in addition to its current premises in Rainhill. Jonathan Ford said: “The creative and digital sector makes up 75% of our client base so it was important for us to be in close proximity to this sector. “The sector’s strength is great news for the city and for us. Its growth has enabled our growth and we have recently been able to expand our offices because of their ambition.”
Jonathan Ford’s accountancy firm has opened a Liverpool office to be nearer to the city’s digital and creative firms Picture: JAMES MALONEY
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11
Thursday, March 21, 2013
creative & digital post business
Ben Hatton
Jason Kingsley
From left: Jon Eggelton, Andrew Jones, Michael Humphrey and Karl Jones of Sawfly Studios
Dr Richard Wilson
Games growth means region ‘has everything to play for’ by Alistair Houghton POST BUSINESS STAFF
alistair.houghton@liverpool.com
VIDEO GAMES trade body TIGA says the games industry has returned to growth thanks to the small firms that have risen from the ashes of industry giants such as Bizarre Creations. The number of creative staff working in UK studios stood at 9,224 at the end of 2012 – up 4% on a year earlier. Annual investment by studios rose from £411m to £427m, while the sector’s contribution to the UK’s gross domestic product rose from £912m to
£947m and the number of studios rose from 329 to 448. Many small video gaming firms have been set up in Liverpool in recent years following the closure of Bizarre Creations in Speke and downsizing at Sony’s Liverpool site. They range from Lucid Games, the biggest single spin-out from Bizarre that now employs tens of staff, to Sawfly Studios, founded this year by four top developers from Sony’s Liverpool studio. TIGA led the campaign to persuade the Government to introduce tax relief for the video games sector. The trade
Fund will help IT firms create healthcare apps SUPPORT agency Creative England has launched a £250,000 fund to help digital developers to create apps for use in the healthcare sector. Next month developers will be invited to bid for cash for “health and wellbeing related apps aimed at NHS customers”. The projects will be assessed by representatives from the NHS Commissioning Board and arts therapy group Creative Skills for Life (CSL), as well as senior officials from NHS trusts. Creative England hopes the project – funded through the Government’s Regional Growth Fund – will support five healthcare apps. The investment will
fund 50% of each project, with the individual SMEs funding the rest. Creative England’s director of business development, Jim Farmery, said: “Creative England is always looking to link creative businesses into new market opportunities and this partnership with the NHS Commissioning Board and CSL will provide a great stepping stone for the companies selected.” This initiative follows the success of last year’s NHS Hack Weekend in Liverpool, at which dozens of doctors and software specialists discussed ways to use technology to make the health service work more efficiently.
body says the UK has been losing out on investment to countries such as Canada which do offer such support to development studios, Jason Kingsley , TIGA chairman and CEO and creative director at Oxford-based studio Rebellion, said: “The UK games development sector is back on track. Mobile and internet based gaming provide opportunities for growth, we have access to a highly skilled and creative workforce and Games Tax Relief will give a further boost to employment and investment from April 2013. “The UK has everything to play for.”
Dr Richard Wilson, chief executive of TIGA, said: “The UK economy may be on the verge of a triple dip recession but the recovery in the UK games development sector has taken off. “Employment, investment and start-ups are up. The games development industry is growing again.” Dr Wilson said the sector had been helped by the growing demand for games that can be played on mobile devices. He added: “Jobs and investment in the games industry are set to grow further once Games Tax Relief comes into effect from April.”
Wirral firm rides to growth with success of its live events business CREATIVE production house Mills Media says its conference and live events department saw sales grow by more than half last year. The Birkenhead group secured new and repeat contracts from organisations including the Royal Statistical Society. Managing director Andrew Mills said he expected the department to grow still further this year. He said: “In February alone, Mills has produced awards ceremonies and conferences for three prestigious clients in British Cycling, UKinbound – the UK’s largest tourism trade association – and the Credit Services Associ-
Mills Media organised the British Cycling annual awards dinner in Birmingham last month, above ation. The outstanding calibre of our clients is a tremendous endorsement of Mills Media and the services we deliver.” As well as the British
Cycling Annual Awards Dinner in Birmingham in February, Mills also managed that organisation’s international gala dinner in October.
Keep social media in your mix OVER the past decade, social media has been regarded as the rising star of digital marketing, but after Unilever recently raised concerns, platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have come under scrutiny. Questions have been asked regarding social media’s return on investment (ROI) in comparison to in-store promotions. Unilever discovered the equivalent spent on in-store promotions produces an ROI up to 50% higher than that of social media. This has led some brands to reassess their investment in social media. But the bigger question is how effective direct ROI indicators actually are. Yes, the results reveal that in-store promotions deliver a higher ROI, but how relevant is this to the overall success of the brand? Laurent Francois, a teacher of social media marketing at the ESCP business school, says brand success should not be measured solely with direct ROI indicators. He urged brands to remember that consumers still want a personal connection. Brands can help, teach and support a consumer throughout their life – that keeps consumers loyal. The point is not that social media is less effective; in fact it is quite the opposite. Social media has now entered the wider mix of brand marketing, along with direct marketing, promotions, events and PR. It allows brands to communicate and interact with their consumers, but brands need to realise that taking a strict stance for or against is completely futile. To ensure long-term success, brands must create the perfect marketing recipe and social media will remain integral in the way that brands communicate, engage and sell to their customers. ■ INTERNET entrepreneur Ben Hatton is founder and managing director of digital agency Rippleffect. Follow Rippleffect on Twitter @rippleffected
12
Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business the big interview
Alistair Houghton meets RICHARD POTTER, managing director of Ena Shaw in St Helens
E
NA SHAW’S flagship store in St Helens may be impossible to miss, but it’s just part of an Olympic contractwinning family firm that’s one of Merseyside’s hidden gems. The furniture and curtains store inDuke Street, founded by Ena more than 80 years ago, was reopened this week after a £250,000 refurbishment. It now boasts a huge illuminated sign that takes up more than half of its frontage and is an unmissable landmark at The Landings roundabout on the edge of the town centre. But that store is now just a small part of a family business, led by Ena’s grandson Richard Potter, that today employs 180 people. Since the 1980s it has predominantly been a manufacturing business, producing curtains and blinds at its plants in Lea Green. It supplies curtains and fabrics to chains including Next and BHS as well as to hundreds of independent stores. More recently, the group has developed a contracts business, supplying curtains to commercial customers and developers. And it was that arm that sealed the deal to make all the curtains for the athletes’ village in London last year – that’s 14,500 windows in all. It was, Potter recalls now, a tough tendering process as Ena Shaw battled much bigger rivals while working to meet LOCOG’s stringent sustainability criteria. “We’d only been doing contracting for 18 months,” said Potter, still visibly proud at his firm’s success. “It was a massive achievement for us. It put us on the map and gave us so much credibility, and we saw a lot of demand from clients.” “In St Helens, the store is what people know us for. Most people don’t know the other side of things exists in Lea Green. “It’s a very labour-intensive business. Our turnover for the last few years has been in the £12m territory, so from a turnover point of view we’re not one of the largest out there, but with 180 people we’re a reasonably significant employer.”
E
NA SHAW, Potter’s grandmother, founded the store between 1929 and 1932 – the precise date seems to be lost in the mists of time. “It was rare in itself to have a woman founding a business,” said Potter. “The store then was a curtains and loose covers shop. “The arcade window that’s now the front of the shop in Duke Street was the shop. There were a couple of machines upstairs and that was it.” Ena married Harold Potter and in the 1960s their sons, Jim and Barrie, joined the business. They led the expansion of the business at its Duke Street site, expanding it into the floorspace occupied by two neighbouring cottages. “My uncle still has some old cinefilm of the work that happened here in the 60s,” said Potter. “We’re trying to edit that down at the moment. “During that period, we expanded from being a retailer essentially of fabrics and curtains to the sort of mix of products we have now – furniture, carpets and everything else.” The next step change for the business came in the 1980s when it started making curtains for other people.
Curtain firm flying an Olympic flag for town centre retail
An undated picture of Ena Shaw, right, in her fabric shop in Duke Street, St Helens “We’d always manufactured out own curtains,” said Potter. “Initially, we started manufacturing some curtains for some friends in the carpet trade. “It was at a time when a lot of the carpet companies were getting rid of roll stock in their shops – the big rolls of carpet that came off the
broad looms. We said ‘Get rid of one or two of those stands and we’ll put a curtain department in’. “That grew nicely, and we started to go to carpet exhibitions to sell curtains to other carpet retailers. “The first group we picked up was Allied Carpets. From that point we were predominantly a manufactur-
q&a Age: 45 Highest educational qualification: BSc in management and administration studies at Aston University, Chartered Institute of Marketing diploma Biggest achievement in business: Winning the Olympic contract. We won that against some much more experienced players and having only been doing contract work for some 18 months Biggest regret: Wallpaper (laughs). It can be difficult to say no
to opportunities and it’s very easy to get distracted. There’s been a number of occasions when it would have been better to have concentrated on our core business. One example is we extended our fabric range to include wallpaper, but we didn’t have the expertise and we were competing against specialists Still to achieve: To make this a sustainable business for the next 20 years. And to demonstrate that independent retail can still work in St Helens
ing business rather than a retailer.” Potter’s father Jim ran the manufacturing arm while his uncle Barrie ran the store – a role he still holds as MD of Ena Shaw Home. At Lea Green, Ena Shaw produces traditional made-to-measure curtains and blinds and also offers a “more economical” Curtain Express made-to-measure service with a lead time of seven days. It has designed some fabrics itself, while it is the exclusive UK importer for other ranges. While that business grew to become the foundation of the Ena Shaw group, despite tough and ongoing competition from overseas rivals, the store kept its loyal customer base but fell behind in investment terms. “We probably haven’t given the store the attention it needed,” said Potter. “It’s fair to say it was past its best. It really needed this investment to bring it into the 21st century. “People aren’t going to come to the shop just because it’s always been here. We’ve got to do a lot more to market ourselves as a destination
and get people to travel here. “When the store was first developed, this was the town centre. It isn’t now – it’s moved about a quarter of a mile away. “Fortunately, we have a car park out the back. But we have got to be worth the visit. “Our loyal customer base is very much based around service and trustworthiness, all those heritage-based benefits. But it was also clear that there was a large proportion of people locally that had written us off as too expensive and old-fashioned. “We had to find a way to appeal to a new generation without alienating our existing customers.” So the store has been given a new look, complete with new sign so big it covers up the former first-floor windows. And the store now features a range of what Potter calls “good value more contemporary products”, alongside the classic ranges, to appeal to a wider client base. “This kind of business has been generally drifting to retail parks over
13
Thursday, March 21, 2013
the big interview post business Richard Potter hopes the refitted Ena Shaw shop in St Helens will bring more customers into the town centre. The site of his grandmother’s original store is visible behind his left shoulder Picture: JAMES MALONEY
Alex
Turner HMRC calls shouldn’t be taxing THE criticisms of HM Revenue & Customs by the Commons public accounts committee will not come as a great surprise to businesses that have had to correspond with them. There are the unanswered phone calls and letters, the long delays in replying and the use of expensive 0845 numbers so that it costs money as well as time to not have a call answered. But the scale of the tawdry communication is staggering. Last year, 20m phone calls weren’t answered – in the time it will take you to read this column, somewhere between 40 and 80 callers will have rung, and rung, and rung off. Letter-writers fared no better, with HMRC replying to just 66% of letters within 15 days despite having their own, incredibly generous, target of responding to 80% of letters within that timeframe. This creates a vicious circle – millions of phone calls will be avoidable, because they are people trying for the second, third, fourth, fifth time to get through or to chase up a letter that has gone unanswered. HMRC has responded to the report by saying it relates to “a previous poor standard of service from which HMRC has already recovered”, which seems a bit churlish given the criticisms relate to its performance in 2011-12. That chippy response is undermined by its new target of answering 80% of calls within five minutes, which Margaret Hodge, the chair of the committee, called “woefully inadequate and unambitious”. Comic would be more accurate. The Budget puts a focus on the Government’s role in managing and stimulating the economy but most of the numbers George Osborne talked about are largely outside his – or anyone’s – control. It doesn’t make for a good headline, but massively improving the performance of agencies like HMRC would free up millions of hours for British business. Demands from lobby groups for “cutting red tape” can aim for the wrong targets – often what is really desired is a reduction in bureaucracy, especially inefficient bureaucracy. The solution can be as simple as responding in a timely manner to telephone calls and letters. Calling HMRC must stop being such a taxing matter.
‘Millions of phone calls to HMRC are avoidable’
the years,” said Potter. “But this is where we started out. “We don’t want to give up on it. We want to show that it can be successful and that you don’t have to be a multiple retailer on a retail park. “We can whinge all we like about the fact the town centre has moved, or that customers want to shop at retail parks. But there’s a point where we’ve got to do something about it. “If we don’t do something, nobody else will – hence the decision to invest.”
P
OTTER remembers his grandmother Ena from his childhood, when she had already left the family firm behind. He studied at Aston University in Birmingham before joining the graduate trainee scheme at Sainsbury’s. Potter spent more than two years as a food buyer, handling products from ice-cream to baked goods, before he moved on to the buying
department at rival Safeway to work on some of the chain’s most important product lines. “I was buying milk when the Milk Marketing Board was disbanded,” he said. “And I was buying washing powder – dealing with the likes of Procter & Gamble was challenging in its own right.” But after five years, Potter was persuaded by his father to return north to join the family firm as commercial manager. “I was doing pretty much anything that nobody else did,” he smiled. “It was a bit of a culture shock. I was used to working for a large company where we had a department for everything, whereas when I moved up here, if you wanted something, you had to do it yourself. “It’s definitely not without its challenges, but it’s very rewarding.” As a long-standing family business, the firm also has many loyal staff members. “We do tend to keep people for a long time,” he said. “That does allow us to take a long-term view.”
Potter later became commercial director, and succeeded his father as managing director two years ago mid-recession. “We’ve done ok,” he said. “We’ve maintained our turnover. “When it first hit, we did have to make a small number of people redundant, but we have since employed more people. “We’re certainly holding our own. We’re growing nicely in few different areas. We supply such a variety of customers and they have responded to the recession in different ways. Some are doing very well, others have closed down.” Potter, who lives in Hale, near Altrincham, with his wife and two daughters, is a Liverpool FC season ticket holder, a keen cyclist and an occasional half-marathon runner. His dedication to fitness and his company’s commitment to community work came together last June when he and three of his colleagues raised thousands of pounds for Ena Shaw’s chosen charities, Willowbrook Hospice and Macmillan Can-
cer Support, by cycling in relay from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The team covered the 874-mile distance in just 52 hours. “I’d been racing on bikes for 15 years, so it wasn’t as big a challenge as it sounds,” he added, modestly. Potter was a regular cycle racer on the road and on track , but says he stopped after feeling he was “getting a bit old” for the competition. “I got to a certain age when I didn’t bounce quite as well,” he smiled. “I used to crash once a year or so, and it wasn’t a pleasant thing. “I remember exactly when I stopped racing. “I had a weekend in the Lakes with my best man. It was a really nice October. He’s not a cyclist, so we had a leisurely day on our bikes. “And I had an epiphany. I remembered why I rode a bike. it wasn’t because of all the training I was doing to race, it was because I enjoyed it. And I haven’t ridden since then. “I only ride because I enjoy it – it’s actually quite refreshing.”
■ Alex Turner is the general manager of financial training firm Ambitious Minds
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business legal
www.ldplegal.co.uk
Record-breaking shortlist for Liverpool Law Society Awards
Group picture of the winners of the Liverpool Law Society Awards which was last held in 2011
by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF
tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com
LIVERPOOL LAW SOCIETY has published the shortlist for its biennial awards and says it has had a record number of entries. The awards are being held in association with the Liverpool Post which is also sponsoring the Work in the Community Award. This is the fourth time Liverpool Law Society has held the awards to celebrate legal excellence in the city. The competition has been “fiercer than ever” this year with more firms and teams wishing to be shortlisted in one of the 12 categories than before. The winners will be announced at a black tie ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Saturday, May 18, with BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Roger Phillips as the
compere for the evening. Liverpool Law Society says it is “proud” to have such diverse expertise among its members and congratulates all of those who have been shortlisted. President Alistair Fletcher said: “Merseyside is a centre of legal excellence and these awards are a celebration of that excellence. “The increase in the number of entries this year is testimony to the high regard in which these awards are held by both lawyers and clients.” This year’s nominees are: ■ Family Law Award: Brabners Chaffe Street; Heaney Watson; Morecrofts. ■ Employment Law Award: EAD Solicitors; Morecrofts; Weightmans.
‘Society is proud to have such diverse expertise’
■ Private Client Award: Brabners Chaffe Street; Hill Dickinson; Morecrofts. ■ Dispute Resolution Law Award: DWF; Hill Dickinson; John Pickering & Partners. ■ Property Law Award: Berrymans Lace Mawer; DLA Piper UK; Rowlinsons. ■ Commercial Law Award: DLA Piper UK; Hill Dickinson; Weightmans. ■ Niche Law Firm Award: Heaney Watson; John Pickering & Partners; Tracey Miller Family Law. ■ Work in the Community Award: DLA Piper UK; DWF; Hattons Solicitors. ■ Solicitor of the Year Award: Elkan Abrahamson, Jackson & Canter; Jonathan Berkson, Hill Dickinson; Helen Broughton, Morecrofts. ■ Small Law Firm Award: Heaney Watson; The Keith Jones Partnership; Tracey Miller Family Law. ■ Medium Law Firm Award: Jackson & Canter; Morecrofts; Rowlinsons Large Law Firm Award – DWF; Hill Dickinson; Weightmans.
President Alistair Fletcher
Brabners’ man to head up cross-border group A PARTNER at Liverpool law firm Brabners Chaffe Street has taken on the role of Secretary General of the Association of European Lawyers (AEL). AEL is a network of 37 independent law firms, including Brabners, who work together on cross-border transactions and multi-jurisdictional cases.
Jeff Gillbanks heads the commercial property team at Brabners in Liverpool. He specialises in advising investment landlords on acquisitions and developments and works closely with the renewables sector dealing specifically with the development of wind farms and biomass power plants.
He has also worked on a number of cross-border transactions. His AEL role is a three-year appointment. He has always been an enthusiastic supporter of AEL, having been a member since 1991. He became a director of the executive committee, which steers AEL, in 2000 and com-
pany secretary in 2004. Mr Gillbanks said: “As a result of sharing information, working closely together on a regular basis and providing expert local lawyers, I believe that AEL can provide advantages to multinational clients which one law firm with branch offices across Europe cannot.”
Personal injury firms set to close ALMOST a fifth of the North West’s specialist personal injury law firms are considering shutting up shop due to the financial impact of Government reforms this spring. This is one of the findings from a survey of more than 300 North West law firm managing partners by sector specialist law firm O’Connors LLP. Government reforms will impose a ban on lawyers paying third parties to refer personal injury claimants to them – 62% of the firms surveyed currently pay referral fees. More than 68% say they intend to continue doing business with these referrers and are in discussions with them to find the best way to structure their relationship. According to the survey 71% of managing partners are actively trying to restructure arrangements so that cases are self-referred by potential claimants on the recommendation of the referrer in the hope that this will avoid the ban. The survey found 53% were planning to increase their own direct marketing spend to attract new clients, rather than buying them in. The pressure on the sector has been compounded by the reduction in Road Traffic Accident portal fixed fee rates. More than 91% of firms surveyed handle portal work and most believe the changes will reduce the profitability of their personal injury divisions. More than a quarter believe profitability will drop by 50%, and 10% believe it will drop by 80%. Faced with the prospect of a downturn in volumes and profitability, 19% of managing partners are considering ceasing to trade.
Firm backing reform HILL DICKINSON has welcomed Government plans to reform drug-driving laws, which will introduce a new offence of “driving or being in charge of a motor vehicle with a specified controlled drug in the body”. Forming part of the Crime and Courts Bill the reforms will seek to tackle the rising
number of drug-driving offences. Derek Millard-Smith, associate at Liverpool-based Hill Dickinson, said: “Driving offences involving alcohol have relatively clearly defined parameters, however, the same cannot be said of the drug testing procedure.”
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
women in business
Victoria is in the frame for a top UK photography award THE owner of a Liverpool photography business is a finalist in the Professional Photographer of the Year 2012 Awards. Victoria Tetley, who spent more than eight years working as a staff photographer for Trinity Mirror, discovered the news after finding an email in her spam folder. “I was just about to delete it but something told me that it looked important so I opened it up and I couldn’t believe what I was reading,” said Victoria who has run VJT Photography since 2009. She had entered the competition, which attracts professional photographers worldwide, back in January but had not expected to be selected after seeing the standard and the number of entries on the Professional Photographer website. She said: “I entered three pictures of a little boy from one of my children’s photography sessions, with permission from his mum of course.” Victoria will find out if she has won her category and ultimately the Photographer of the Year title at a ceremony held on March 28 in Cheltenham.
Victoria Tetley, inset, is hoping this picture will help her win a top award at the end of this month
Yoga master Estelle turns up the heat at her city business by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF
tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com
SOME entrepreneurs have a lifelong ambition to run their own businesses but some end up running sucessful businesses almost by accident – usually when they discover a life-changing passion. Estelle Cartlidge would probably fall into the latter category. For the few years after graduating from university, the mother-of-two had built a career working with children. Since she was 19 she had practised various forms of yoga and in her late 20s she signed up for a course to become a Hatha Yoga teacher. “I was a stay-at-home mum at that time and I though it would be something I would do part-time,” said Estelle. However, the recession was by then in full swing and the course was cancelled when not enough people signed up for it. “I was so disappointed,” she added. “I began looking around for something else. I saw Bikram Yoga on the internet so I went along to a class in Manchester to give it a try.” The experience was transformational for Estelle who knew she had discovered what she called her “soul yoga”. The journey that followed took her to Los Angeles, Brighton and then back to Merseyside where, last September, she opened her Bikram Yoga Liverpool studio. Hot yoga is a craze that has been
sweeping the country for some time and Bikram Yoga is a distinct form which takes it on to another level. It was invented by Indian-born Bikram Choudhury, now a multi-millionaire businessman based in LA. Whereas most hot yoga classes are an hour long, Bikram Yoga is 90 minutes and is practised in a room heated to 104 degrees Fahrenheit. It comprises 26 postures and is claimed to have a number of both physical and mental health benefits. Bikram Choudhury insists anyone wanting to open a Bikram studio has to be personally tutored by him in the US. So that’s what Estelle did, for 10 weeks – joined by husband Michael and children Michael and Jasmine, now aged four and three, and her mum Jackie. She was then mentored in Brighton and began planning a year in advance of the opening of her studio in Great Crosshall Street in the city centre last September. It was a steep learning curve. She said: “Things can take a lot longer than you think they are going to and the main thing I learned from the process was patience. “It had to be the right location. We wanted nice facilities and we wanted to make sure we had enough space for when the business started to grow.” Backed by private investors the centre now has a regular and growing clientele and runs several yoga classes a day. It employs five people as well as Bikram instructors who work on a freelance basis. On March 22 Estelle is urging members to take part in its 30-day chal-
post business
A need for more engineers, says EEF A BUSINESS group is calling for a national campaign to encourage more girls to study subjects such as technology and engineering under moves to increase the number of women on company boards. A study by the EEF manufacturers’ organisation found that the UK faced a “major challenge” increasing the number of women in industry in jobs such as engineering Of 29 manufacturing firms in the FTSE 100, women accounted for 19% of board positions, slightly higher than the average of 17% for all the companies, it said. GlaxoSmithKline topped a list of manufacturing firms, with five women on the board, a third of the total, followed by Diageo with four female directors out of 11. Nine out of 10 engineers are male and just 20% of the manufacturing and engineering workforce is female, the research found. The number of female engineers has increased by just 1% to 6% since 2008, compared with 26% in Sweden, 20% in Italy and 18% in Spain. The EEF partly blamed the failure to encourage young women to study science-related topics, which it said had left half of UK state schools having no girls studying A-level physics. EEF chief executive Terry Scuoler said: “There is no getting away from the fact that women are substantially under-represented in manufacturing at a time when industry needs to be tapping into every potential talent pool to access the skills it needs.”
POST MOBILE Estelle, left, and, right, showing one of the Bikram Yoga postures lenge – a session a day for 30 days which she claims accelerates your development. She said: “It has been such an exciting journey. On the day we opened I was very emotional – we had family and friends and other Bikram teachers. The energy in the room that day was fantastic. “Michael and my mum have been so amazing. Balancing the business and the children is of course a challenge and everyone has been so supportive. “I am pleased with how it has gone so far and we are moving in the right
direction. It would be amazing to open more studios but I am not focusing on that at the moment. Our aim is to grow the business we have here now.” ■ NEXT month Bikram Liverpool is launching Yoga Bear, sessions aimed at children which incorporate the principles and practice of yoga into fun and interactive stories. These have been specially developed to improve confidence, engagement and explore the imagination. Yoga Bears starts during the Easter holidays on Wednesday, April 10, and Friday, April 12.
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16
Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business location
Government needs to rethink its idea of converting offices into homes
view point by Lewis Denton, consultant at Liverpool law firm Weightmans THE Government’s proposal to allow offices to be converted to homes without the need for planning permission has gone down badly with some of our big city councils.
Tower block on market AGENTS at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLS) have been instructed by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) to market a 14-storey residential building in Liverpool’s Sefton Park. Merebank Tower comprises 58 flats. The HCA is seeking a bidder to refurbish the vacant properties for sale or to let on the open market. Built in the 1960s, the majority of the properties feature three bedrooms and balconies, with the upper floors enjoying panoramic views JLS says the deadline for tenders is set for Friday, April 5.
Ministers told councils to apply for exemptions from the proposal by February 22. Bodies such as the City of London, six other London boroughs and the city councils of Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol have applied for parts of their areas to be exempt on the basis that once the conversion has taken place, it will be difficult to get the buildings back into office use when the economy picks up. It is easy to see why the Government has looked on this proposal as another “quick fix” for the current economic downturn. Historically, there is a chronic
shortfall in the number of new houses being built of about 150,000 per year. On the other hand, the demand for office space has fallen off dramatically in the last few years, and many office buildings are lying vacant. Solution: why not turn the offices into flats? But when we look at how the proposal would work in practice, it begins to unravel. There may be a huge pent-up demand for residences in the centre
of cities such as London, where it may be more profitable to provide expensive apartments rather than office space, but if this carried on unchecked it would start to erode the business base of the city. That is why many city councils understandably want exemptions and to retain control in such areas. In other situations, such as small office premises in town centres or the upper floors of small office blocks, the use of vacant premises for residential
‘It could start to erode the business base’
purposes may be acceptable. However, the bare right to change the use will be worthless in many cases if there is no corresponding right to alter the exterior of the building. An example of this would be replacing windows or doors. Such alterations will require planning permission, which of course then defeats the whole point of the policy. Perhaps the Government should re-think this one. Solutions that simply seem too good to be true often turn out to be just that.
North West top of the league in a tough industrial market Appleton Industrial Estate in Warrington and, left, Anthony O’Keefe of DTZ
by Tony McDonough
BUSINESS to BUSINESS
POST BUSINESS STAFF
tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com
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THE North West’s industrial and logistics market recorded the highest level of activity among the UK regions in 2012 – however, take-up of space still plunged 12.4% The region saw 12.5m sq ft of space let in 2012, according to the latest research from Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). The news comes as it is revealed DTZ has secured a 45,000 sq ft letting at Appleton Industrial Park in Warrington. Nationwide Platforms has taken units C and D on the estate on 10-year lease. The latest transaction follows earlier deals to M&S Transport and Francis Flower resulting in more than 80,000 sq ft of new leasehold transactions on site within the last nine months. Anthony O’Keefe at DTZ said: “Nationwide Platforms is the UK’s market leader in access platform hire, equipment sales and IPAF training and this latest deal underpins Warrington’s continued draw due to its strategic location.” The LSH report reveals the most significant downturn in activity was seen in the Greater London and South East markets where activity was down by 41% and 45% respectively The North West proved more resilient, aided by improving levels of demand from the manufacturing sector. Take-up of medium-sized business units up to 50,000 sq ft fell significantly with overall activity in the UK down 34% on the previous year. The North West registered a decline in
excess of 50% on the previous year’s figure. This is partly explained by the lack of stock, but also due to the performance of the SME sector being affected by the economy. Prime rents continued to remain stable in the North West with secondary rents also stabilising. Availability increased 6% but grade A supply continued to reduce, falling to 3.2m sq ft. This was reflected across the UK with only 10% of grade A stock available on the market, despite attracting 30% of overall demand. The manufacturing sector was particularly active in 2012 with companies such as Tygavac, Ferguson Polymer, and Comfy Quilts all taking space in the North West. Other key deals included Asda’s purchase of a 600,000 sq ft distribution centre in Rochdale for £325,000 per acre and the letting of a 405,365 sq ft industrial unit in Ellesmere Port to Jaguar Land Rover for £4.45 per sq ft. After a decade in obscurity the mid-box market (warehouses of 50,000 to 100,000 sq ft) appears to have made a resurgence with both manufacturers and particularly internet related logistics companies taking space in this category. Andrew Aherne, head of industrial & logistics in the LSH North West office, said: “We believe the lower levels of activity in 2012, were due to the reduced stock of grade A space, down 60% from five years ago. “Several developers have begun preparing sites for the next development cycle. “Canmoor, owners of SEGRO’s Trafford Park and Heywood portfolio, are preparing sites for development. “It is anticipated that there will be further small scale speculative schemes starting in 2013 to meet increasing levels of demand.”
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
location post business
Bruntwood’s new man focuses on city growth by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF
tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com
SUCH is the popularity of the office space at Bruntwood’s The Plaza in St Paul’s Square, Liverpool, that the firm’s own team has had to move out. Manchester-based Bruntwood owns 11 properties in Liverpool including The Plaza, Oriel Chambers, and the Cotton Building and Cotton Exchange, making it one of the biggest operators of commercial space in the city centre. Its team in the city is 40-strong and is now being headed up by Colin Sinclair, who replaces David Guest. Mr Guest is taking up another role within the company. Its headquarters was at The Plaza but in an interview with Post Business, Mr Sinclair said the team was now having to relocate. “We have had to move into the Cotton Exchange because The Plaza is nearly full,” he said. Mr Sinclair is something of a business heavyweight in the region. He started out managing bands in Manchester for the legendary Factory Records. He then owned the famous Boardwalk Club which was the launchpad for bands such as Oasis, James and the Happy Mondays and prior to joining Bruntwood was chief executive of Manchester’s inward investment agency, MIDAS. He is now tasked with attracting tenants to Bruntwood’s space in Liverpool which totals around 900,000 sq ft, including the 365,000 sq ft Plaza. “There is no doubt the market is tough at the moment – we are having to work twice as hard to do any deal,” said Mr Sinclair. “I think to compete in the current market it is not enough just to provide the basic office space – you have to provide some add-on value. “I look to see what is special about each building and enhance it. Make sure we offer something different.” In recent weeks Bruntwood, a family-owned firm, has published its annual results. It reported a 10% surge in profits
A computer-generated image of a refurbished Cotton Exchange office to £12.4m and said 2012 had been its best year for lettings since 2007. In Liverpool, it secured the biggest office letting of the year with law firm Weightmans which took 95,000 sq ft at The Plaza. This momentum is continuing into 2013, claims Mr Sinclair. He added: “We have 170 customers (the company prefers this word to tenants) in Liverpool – that is 10% up on a year ago. “There are definite signs that the market is returning.” He added that lettings were strongest at the bigger and smaller ends. “I think our focus will be on the 1,000 to 2,500 sq ft lettings,” he said. “I think at the moment people in Liverpool are a little bit wary of moving. They are making do with the space they have rather than relocating. “We want to try to convince those people that we can make moving hassle-free.” Bruntwood’s main rival in the Liverpool market is Downing which also owns a number of buildings including The Cap-
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ital in Old Hall Street. It is fair to say that both firms have raised the bar in terms of the quality of their refurbishments and can rival grade A accommodation with lower rents. Headline rents on good quality secondary space in the city is around £14-15 per sq ft. Mr Sinclair said: “What we are doing for the smaller occupiers is simplifying things. Rather than just giving them a price per sq ft we are are giving them a price inclusive of all overheads.” He added that Bruntwood was continuing its push to keep improving the quality of the accommodation. Oriel Chambers has benefited from investment and the Cotton Exchange and Queens Buildings, off Dale Street, are due for more improvements. “Liverpool is now a city of opportunity,” said Mr Sinclair. “It needs to keep marketing itself and make sure it gets maximum help from the Government – that is what Manchester has done. “Liverpool needs to make sure it continues to position itself as a European city in a global market.”
Colin Sinclair, top, and The Plaza entrance, above
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business economic development
Driving region’s growth, focus on
growth
by Neil Hodgson
POST BUSINESS STAFF
neil.hodgson@liverpool.com
T
HE Liverpool City Region, and Wirral in particular, could become a national centre for offshore wind energy, generating billions for the regional economy. Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird outlined its intentions in 2011 to grab a share of the offshore windfarm sector in a deal with energy company RWE to provide port facilities for its 160-turbine £1.72bn Gwynt y Môr windfarm being installed off the North Wales coast. The contract is worth £5m to Cammell Laird, but it sees it as a springboard to £5bn-worth of work and an extra 2,000 jobs in future schemes. In 2011 the then inward investment agency The Mersey Partnership predicted offshore windfarms would create 3,000 jobs across the Liverpool City Region by 2015. Offshore windfarms have also been estimated to be worth £75bn to the UK by 2020. The next big project in the North West will be a 1,000-turbine windfarm, proposed by energy company Centrica, off the Isle of Man. Cammell Laird business development director David Williams said in 2011 that the yard will bid for construction contracts to build 30 huge seaborne substations at £6m each, as well as 1,000 foundation units for turbines, at a cost of £2m each. He said Laird’s massive construction hall has the capacity to build eight substations at a time. And he said the business has huge potential: “We have an advantage through location and skills. We know we have more than a fighting chance to deliver. There is no-one else on the West coast of the UK who can deliver this.” Last week Wirral Council unveiled plans for a multi-million pound business park next to Cammell Laird focusing on the offshore windfarm industry with the capacity to create hundreds of jobs in its own right. A four-acre site has been earmarked to fulfil demand from supplychain businesses. The council is proposing to buy the Maritime Business Park land and Cllr Pat Hackett, cabinet member for regeneration, said: “This will be fantastic – next to the world-renowned Cammell Laird with all its great history and a site which is now being used in a much more modern way. “But of even more importance will be the opportunity to create new jobs. We are talking about hundreds of new jobs which will be muchneeded at a time like this.” The council believes its proposal will open up supply chain and export opportunities in an expanding industry which it values at £18bn for the region and delivering 4,500 jobs. These two projects could develop an invaluable resource for the region in terms of economic and employment benefits, says Jim Teasdale,
Energy company RWE undertaking installation work at the Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm off the North Wales coast chief executive of Birkenhead’s Mersey Maritime Group which represents hundreds of firms in the maritime industry, including training functions. The region’s superport strategy predicts 20,000 new jobs – in addition to the 34,000 people currently employed in the superport community – by 2020 linked to the Port of Liverpool’s Seaforth extension, Liverpool2, and other initiatives. Mr Teasdale said: “The offshore energy opportunities are equally exciting as the superport opportunities.” His group will double its training activities over the next two years,
but he said opportunities from offshore windfarms could last much longer: “Cammell Laird is growing and thriving and it is now beginning to have a much wider range of services and a broader range of engineering services. “The skills that the workers have in fabrication, general engineering and wider engineering can be applied to ship building, repair, offshore energy and nuclear manufacturing. “Cammell Laird has invested in their workforce, so instead of having peaks and troughs in the past, they can manage a range of services using the same workforce.
‘Proposal by Wirral Council will help Lairds’
“The council’s proposal will enhance Cammell Laird,” he said. “In 2007 we relocated from Liverpool to Wirral because we wanted to be adjacent to a developing maritime business park and we are seeing Cammell Laird shipyard being used, and areas around it are being used as opportunities arise and increase. So it is all complementary.” Most wind turbines are manufactured in Germany and transported by barge to installation areas. Cammell Laird wants to break into the turbine making sector and Mr Teasdale believes for the Centrica windfarm the yard could produce a quarter of the requirement, with another quarter made in Belfast and the rest in Germany. But he also believes the sector
offers further growth beyond the Centrica project: “The city region, with Wirral a key part of it, is developing a wind energy hub that would need port and harbour facilities and a skilled workforce and a vibrant supply chain to support all of that. “Even after installation, ongoing operations and maintenance would continue, but elsewhere there would be other opportunities for offshore. “There’s massive activity going on in the North Sea as well. “The UK is only a small island and Cammell Laird also owns A&P which has facilities on the Tyne and Tees. “At present these companies are separate, but there could be a transfer of skills as things develop.” No-one from Cammell Laird was available for comment.
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
economic development post business
with fair wind
Jim Teasdale, chief executive of Mersey Maritime Group, sees even more job prospects in energy
Accelerate 2013 is set to be yet another show-stopper for city by Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision IT’S 12 months since Liverpool became the first European city to host the prestigious Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC). More than 3,000 people from 125 countries attended the main day of the week-long festival designed to inspire and, as we called it at the time “Unleash the will to win”. A decade or so ago, I’m not sure Liverpool would have even bid for such an honour never mind hosted a celebration of enterprise that the GEC’s founders, the Kauffman Foundation, said was their best ever. Liverpool and business? We were hardly in the race. Yet, the Liverpool GEC success was another marker on the city’s remarkable journey which has included significant milestones from hosting the most successful European Capital of Culture to date and an award-winning presence at the World Expo in Shanghai. Clearly Liverpool has unleashed its own will to win, remembering that we are proud and passionate, a city of firsts, a city of creativity and innovation and in so doing rediscovering our confidence and burning ambition. In little over a year’s time, Liverpool and the city region will host the International Festival for Business (IFB) which will be the largest business festival in this country for more than 60 years. But before then, we step forward with what I believe will be another show-stopping event in Liverpool’s economic development. GEC to IFB is a big leap and in preparation for that we have created a vitally important stepping stone – Accelerate 2013 – a legacy from last year and an opportunity to keep up the momentum as we countdown to what will prove to be a game-changer’ for city region business in the way 08 has been for our image. Accelerate, from June 23-27, will bring together world-class speakers from the world of business and beyond, and provide inspiration and the tools to take business to the next level. It will motivate high potential
businesses to become world-beating organisations that will lead the economic fightback in Britain, the latest stage of which was mapped out by the Chancellor yesterday. As at the GEC there will be a fringe festival giving our businesses and organisations, both large and small the chance to host their own events adding real value to the Accelerate programme – 60% of GEC delegates attended at least one fringe event and saw the city’s ambition at work. At the heart of the festival though will be the inaugural meeting of the Accelerate 250, the UK’s “vital 6%” of businesses which create more than half of the nation’s new jobs and have the greatest growth potential. Accelerate will also be a key element of IFB next summer and this year’s event, like GEC 2012, will show that we are more than in step with the times, but leading the way. What other UK city outside London would have the confidence and assurance to take on and turn around a project like IFB and in the middle of it throw in another huge business festival? What we are attempting over the next 15 months is more ambitious than anything we have done thus far. Its importance is not only local and regional, but national and international. And we will succeed, because we have learned how to work together. The Prime Minister said when he launched the IFB in January: “Some will be left behind in this (global) race.” We share the ambition to ensure that it will not be the UK, it will not be Liverpool. In Liverpool, it’s all about the people. It’s our greatest strength, whether it’s the warmth of our welcome, the collective power of our voice, or our willingness to help others and each other. And now is the time to bring this unique characteristic to bear, to react decisively to the “fierce urgency of now” to help secure our future prosperity.
Cammell Laird’s David Williams, third left, with guests at the launch of the RWE contract in 2011
Jury is still out on the efficiency of wind farms ARGUMENTS over the efficiency of wind farms have raged for years, with even Environment Secretary Owen Paterson admitting to doubts. Last September he claimed wind farms are “inefficient” and suggested that using wind turbines to cut carbon emissions is not the best way to deal with the problem: “My concern is … measures we are taking
to counter (climate change) may be doing considerable damage.” He supports offshore wind, but said he was against wind farms onshore because there is not enough wind. He suggested wind farms can be “inefficient” and fail to cut carbon emissions because they have to be backed up by gas turbines. A report from think
tank Civitas last year claimed wind farms cause more carbon emissions because turning back-up gas power stations on and off to cover spells when there is little wind produces more carbon than a steady supply of energy from an efficient modern gas station. But a report from another think tank, IPPR, claimed that wind has already cut carbon emis-
sions in the UK by 5.5m tonnes in 2011 alone. Also, energy suppliers say modern combined cycle gas turbines are able to operate efficiently at a low level and ramp electricity up and down effectively. And it is pointed out that other technologies, like coal and nuclear, have to be backed up by gas or other technologies to deal with repairs.
Max Steinberg of Liverpool Vision
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business professionals
Hitachi hires new head for the North
Scraperwiki is based at Liverpool Science Park
HITACHI Capital Invoice Finance has appointed Martine Catton as head of strategic new business for the North of England Ms Catton is an experienced invoice finance professional and joins Hitachi from Aldermore. She has also worked as a corporate manager for Barclays. She has been brought on board to manage Hitachi’s new Inspired Cashflow offer, specifically managing the £200m cashflow fund which is available for businesses in the North West.
Hi-tech firm looks to lawyers and financiers for US growth by Alistair Houghton POST BUSINESS STAFF
alistair.houghton@liverpool.com
DIGITAL pioneer Scraperwiki is pitching to the professional services sector as it bids to grow its business in the United States. Liverpool Science Park-based Scraperwiki helps companies to collect and analyse online data. The company’s services are now in demand from firms who want to use public sector data to generate leads. And the company’s chief executive, Francis Irving, says that data science could one day become a professional services discipline in itself alongside law and accountancy. Scraperwiki’s chief marketing officer, Aine McGuire, said it was working to grow its business in the US. The company has a growing presence in North America. In 2011 it won $280,000 from Florida’s Knight Foundation to help it develop its “data mining” tools, while it has also worked
with the Washington Post. “We have got some interesting projects in the US,” she said. “Professional services companies all have an appetite for information that will help them sell their services. “We provide data for financial services in the US and for lawyers in the US. It’s data that helps them to develop their business. “We’re doing work for a large building supplies company that is using state data about building permits to target their work. “They can target potential customers when building permits are given out. They can say ‘we see you’ve got a building permit, we’ve got these building supplies’. It’s all about lead generation. “A lot of the inquiries we get are about lead generation. “Or in Minnesota, the state publishes a PDF every month of all the businesses that have become insolvent. “We have created a software code. The lawyer automatically forwards it
to their Scraperwiki box. We have a script that picks up the data and puts it into an Excel file, then does a mail merge so the lawyers can target their services to those people that have gone insolvent.” Chief executive Francis Irving said that as companies realise the power of the data that is available online, they will increasingly want to hire data science consulting companies to make sense of it. He said: “There are accountants and lawyers and management consultants, and there will be data science consultants. They’ll become increasingly commonly used. “Everyone now has access to large quantities of data with datasheets of millions of rows. You cannot manage it by hand. “Partly, companies will have more data scientists, but there will also be more outsourcing. “If you have a problem with law, you’ll find a lawyer. If you have a problem with data you’ll find a data scientist.”
Francis Irving of Scraperwiki
Martine Catton Her main task is to meet the cash needs of small to medium-sized enterprises, manage key relationships within the accountancy sector and head up the Northern sales team. Ms Catton said: “Hitachi has a market-leading product offer and reputable brand image. “The new award-winning Inspired Cashflow facility will appeal to many North West businesses as a simple, no hidden cost, funding package, opening up access to a much-needed cash injection. I can see huge potential in taking the this to a wider market including introducing the offer to accountants.”
on the move ■
GREGORY Abrams Davidson Solicitors, which has three offices across Liverpool and one in London, has announced a series of appointments and promotions following a successful quarter. Partner Lisa Lunt, who has been 17 years with the firm and started out as a legal secretary, has been promoted as the new head of clinical negligence in Penny Lane.
Ian Kay has been promoted to partner status heading up the personal injury team at the Garston office, while Alison Flaherty has dual qualified as a Chartered Legal Executive Lawyer and Solicitor. London School of Economics-trained Richard Jones has also joined as a consultant with more than 35 years’ experience.
■
THE Courtyard tapas restaurant and
bar in Oxton Village is expanding with two new appointments. Sue Adams, from Storeton, who began her career in hospitality with British Airways, has been taken on as business manager, while Helen Lamb, from Oxton, is the new restaurant day manager. Ms Lamb previously owned a hair salon in Wallasey and worked with her husband run-
ning his dental surgery.
■
WARRINGTONbased purchasing company CEL Procurement has appointed Andrew Carlin as its commercial director. This is a newly-created job and in his new role Mr Carlin will be responsible for building the company’s presence in new markets such as public sector health and social care and higher education.
Lisa Lunt – has been given a new role
Helen Lamb – joins The Courtyard Tapas
Andrew Carlin – CEL commercial director
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
style
Business folk with a growing appreciation of fine wines Tony McDonough speaks to the merchants servicing Liverpool’s ‘lovers of the grape’
S
TAYING in is the new going out, apparently. That’s certainly the view of Liverpool city centre wine merchant, Devin Stewart. Devin is the founder of the recently-opened Robert & Henry Fine Wines, located in Queens Avenue, a small arcade just off Castle Street. He was manager of the nearby Oddbins wine shop, which is now closed, and he believed there was a thriving local market for fine wines among Liverpool’s business community. “I think many people are not going out as much as they used to so they are prepared to spend a little bit more on a decent bottle of wine,” he said. “I think in recent times there has been a bit of a backlash against the convenience store sector. “People want to look beyond more than what Tesco might have to offer.” Devin specialises in selling organic wines by smaller producers. They mainly come from what wine buffs will call the “old world” – that is Italy, Spain and France. “People love the old world wines and they love the stories that go with them – the Spanish wines are particularly popular with customers here,” he added. Given the location of Devin’s shop, it
Devin Stewart, founder of the recently-opened Robert & Henry Fine Wine is quite popular with the business community and he says he has got to know people quite well. “I find people who come into the shop tend to be quite open-minded and are happy to experiment a little bit with different wines,” he said.
Kelly Warner is manager of Vinea, a wine merchants in Liverpool’s Albert Dock. She says its clientele is a mixture of tourists and people from the local business community. “A lot of people like coming to the shop because we do specialise in some
Picture: JASON ROBERTS
quite obscure wines,” said Kelly. “Our bestseller at the moment is a red wine made from a grape called Carignan, which originates in Spain. “People can come in and taste the wines and when they try this one, they like it – it is very moreish.”
post business
Wine is my passion ... ■
LIVERPOOL solicitor Andrew Lee has been passionate about wine tasting for the past 20 years. He practises family law for Gregory Abrams Davidson in the city centre. Outside of his professional life Andrew, pictured below, attends wine-tasting sessions on a weekly basis. He said: “I was introduced to by my wife around 20 years ago. “She attended a wine appreciation class once a week and then we began going together after I was persuaded to give it a go. “Joining the wine appreciation class was a great move for me and would recommend anyone interested in wine to follow suit. “It was a great introduction to wine and you meet a real cross-section of people.” During the wine-tasting evenings Andrew’s group will sample a number of wines in unmarked bottles – to remove any preconceptions. He added: “Each week there will be a theme – maybe the same grape from different countries for example. “Blind tasting can help you appreciate the flavours.”
past business – nostalgia
How Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès’s tasty success spread to a Wirral Stork
Lord Leverhulme, founder of the Stork Margarine plant
IT LOOKS like something from a sci-fi film, but this image, right, is actually of one of Wirral’s bestknown food factories – the Stork Margarine plant, Bromborough. French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriès patented margarine in 1869 and margarine production was pioneered by Dutch firms Jurgens and Van den Berghs. Wirral’s Lever Bros watched with interest, particularly as butter shortages during World War I boosted demand for margarine. So Lord Leverhulme chose Bromborough ahead of Trafford Park as the site for the company’s biggest margarine plant, which opened in 1918. An article from the American and Commonwealth Visitor of December, 1952, recounts: “In so doing he was backing his judgement, firstly on the future of a young industry, and secondly on the industrial potentialities of the then somewhat unfashionable left bank of the Mersey.” In 1927 Jurgens and Van den Berghs merged to form the Margarine Union and, in 1929, that group merged with Lever to form Unilever.
By the outbreak of World War II, Bromborough’s Stork was the UK’s top-selling margarine brand. During the war, the nationalised plant produced just two types of margarine, Standard and Special. In the 1950s, it was expanded to become the largest edible oil refinery in the world. Reporting on the stone-laying ceremony in 1952, we said: “Samples of groundnuts from Nigeria, coconuts from Indonesia, palm fruit from Sierra Leone, sunflower seeds from Turkey, cotton seed from the Sudan and soya beans from Manchuria were carried in small panniers by natives of the countries – actresses and actors brought from London – in their distinctive dresses.” The site remained a margarine specialist until the 1990s when Unilever converted it into a wider baking ingredients factory as part of a £15m investment. It was sold to CSM in 2001 – but that Dutch firm has now put its European baking arm, including Bromborough, up for sale. ALISTAIR HOUGHTON
An undated image, circa 1950s, of the compounding unit at Unilever’s Stork Margarine works in Bromborough
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
post business endpiece
trading gossip ■
THE pub quiz is normally, quizzers’ egos aside, a fairly low-key affair – far from the “crash bang wallop” of big-budget TV gameshows such as the Million Pound Drop. But a legal quiz next month is getting all the breathless hype you’d expect of the latest Ant and Dec vehicle – and all, thankfully, for a good cause. Liverpool law firm EAD Solicitors is holding a quiz for solicitors, barristers and support staff at The Liner Hotel on Friday, April 26. It will raise cash for AvMA (Action against Medical Accidents), which supports people affected by medical accidents. But it’s not being billed as just a quiz. Instead, it’s being called “a clash of the legal titans”, participants are being urged to “do battle,” and the winner will, we’re told,
be crowned mastermind of all law firms”. It’s even, firms are told, going to be their “greatest legal challenge”. Trading Gossip half expects to hear that Judge Dredd, above, will be quizmaster. Still, despite the hyperbole, someone involved has a sense of humour – the whole affair is called the Battle of the Briefs. Any lawyers who want to put their knowledge up to the test can visit www. battleofthebriefs.co.uk
■
PUTTING pool tables or sofas in your office isn’t just trendy – it can also help you to recruit staff. At least, that’s what recruitment giant Hays is claiming. Hays polled 754 visitors to its site earlier this year – and says a quarter of those polled were likely to pick a new employer “based on the attractiveness of their office”. It said features that proved attractive included said pool tables, “break out areas” and bars and restaurants. But if you run a featureless call centre in a giant shed, or operate from a windowless bunker, then don’t panic – another fifth (19%) of those polled said the quality of the office was not important to them when job-hunting. Swings and roundabouts.
Superheroes and castles all part of Chris’s tasty hobby
Chris Hanratty, right, presents his cupcakes to MP Louise Ellman, left, watched by Hobs CEO Kieran O’Brien and Hobs Exchange MD, Ben Blackwood
myday off Chris Hanratty is a supervisor for Hobs Exchange in Brunswick Dock, but in his spare time he’s likely to be found in the kitchen making cakes
W
HEN my son Dylan had his first birthday I wanted to make him a really special cake, so I spent hours designing and baking a cake with a Button Moon theme, as that was his favourite TV programme. He absolutely loved it and I felt a huge sense of satisfaction at a job well done. I guess my wife Leanne saw the potential for me to have a creative
hobby that I enjoy. Leanne organised a Facebook page and my sister, who is a graphic designer, designed a logo and Strongman Cakes was born. Four years on from that first cake and the hobby has grown and developed. I make the cakes for friends and family and even for my wife’s clients (she’s a make-up artist). I make a mean sponge cake, but we now have a fantastic system where Leanne bakes the cakes and I decorate them. It’s very labour-intensive work, so for example, Dylan’s fifth birthday cake was baked on Thursday and I was putting the finishing touches on Friday night, through to the early hours of Saturday morning. It was a three-tier cake with an Avengers theme, so Captain America’s and Superman’s fists appeared to be punching through the cake. I also made models of superheroes looking over the cake. I love the more challenging, modern cakes, but can also make traditional round-tiered cakes with beautiful icing too. A recent commission was for my employer, Hobs Exchange, the document management and scanning company. I made 120 cup cakes featuring the Hobs logo, plus a large centrepiece cake too, for the opening of our new 8,500 sq ft production space and offices at Brunswick Dock, Liverpool. Louise Ellman MP, was the guest of honour for the opening and certainly seemed to enjoy the cake that I personally served her.
Chris Hanratty says a castle cake, above has to be carefully built with Rice Krispie bricks to make sure it stands up I like to make a variety of cakes for events including birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, from individual cup cakes to large themed cakes, in a variety of textures and flavours. I always take a brief from the customer, and then it’s a case of looking at what is possible and practical, while developing the theme. One cake I was particularly proud of was an anniversary cake with various personal jokes modelled in icing, such as a pile of knitting, a gym bag and a microwave and fridge with “mine” on them.
I’ve learnt a lot of the tricks of the trade as I’ve gone along. It takes a lot of planning for a castle cake for example, as it has to be structurally sound so it doesn’t collapse, so we use Rice Krispie squares for the walls, which are then iced. I have to really think about the symmetry and this sort of cake is usually challenging at the start, but gets easier as the construction takes place. Of course, everything is 100% edible. I recently made a pink castle cake with a whole scene surrounding it with a pond, goats, grass and bushes.
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
endpiece post business
networking
Brazilian restaurant Viva Brazil, Liverpool
my favourite lunch Spicy celebration ZAAFFRAN Indian Restaurant in Allerton Road, Liverpool, celebrated its first birthday with a “city and suburban” networking event. Above, from left, Nichola Lee of the Interesting Eating Company
(IEC), David Macmillan of Aspire Sports, Andrea Edwards of IEC and Richard Dickinson of Ology Coaching. Pictured left, Zaaffran owner Ash Verma, centre, with Damijan Goljat and Jenny Niblock of Vision4children.
Smashing breakfast FAST-GROWING digital agency Studio Mashbo held a business breakfast at its Henry Street headquarters, Liverpool. From left, Steve Williams,
of Stratosphere, Gavin Sherratt of Studio Mashbo and Wayne Malcolm, of Bread Media. Also attending was Mike Edwards, of Kaleidoscope.
LIVERPOOL FC’s Joe Allen, along with Everton’s Leighton Baines and Steven Naismith, pictured from left, visited the Vauxhall car plant in Ellesmere Port. The visit was organised as
THURSDAY, MARCH 21
CHESHIRE Society of Architects is holding a conference considering a range of topics such as, “do architects and planners deserve praise or criticism for the quality of new buildings in Chester’s historic centre?” and “are we adding to the stock of buildings and spaces that are cherished by locals and visitors alike or are we squandering the opportunities for good design provided by earlier generations?” The first in a
series of events is at the University of Chester’s Binks Building, from 6pm. There is a £5 charge and details and registration are at www.csaparry.event brite.co.uk, or contact the organiser at csa@andy fosterarchitects.com
TUESDAY, MARCH 26
WATERLOO hair and beauty salon All Woman is hosting an open evening with networking to celebrate the launch of its new IPL range of treatments. It is a chance for busy female
Q What is your facourite lunch venue? A Viva Brazil in Castle Street, Liverpool city centre. Q Why is this your favourite venue? A I like that you can go and help yourself to some food, then people bring you meat that they carve in front of you – it just has a sense of occasion and fun about it. Q What is your favourite dish and why? A My dad once taught me “never bet against the cheese”. What he meant was that, if you aren’t sure between two choices, go for the one with melted cheese on top! That advice has stood me in pretty good stead over the years.
Trio in visit to plant
business diary
Andy Bounds, author, speaker and consultant
professionals to unwind, make some new contacts and learn more about All Woman's services and products. More information and booking details are at http://allwoman. eventbrite.com
THURSDAY, APRIL 4
LIVERPOOL Chamber of Commerce is staging a hospitality day during this year’s Grand National meeting. Priced at £195+VAT for chamber members, or £215+VAT for non-members, the full day package, starting from 11am, includes a free Bar, excluding champagne and
part of the carmaker’s commercial link to home nations football with England, Wales and Scotland being represented. The players met workers and posed for pictures.
liqueurs, race card, Tote facilities, hospitality hostess, morning coffee/refreshments, four course luncheon with wine, exclusive fully furnished hospitality suite, closed circuit televisions, afternoon tea, viewing of the parade ring and winners enclosure, entertainment and car parking. To book, contact 0151-224 1860, or events@ liverpoolchamber.org.uk
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10
INVEST Hong Kong and a range of local and national partners are visiting Liverpool to highlight the business opportunities avail-
Q What is the best bit of business you have done over lunch? A Via a telephone lunch actually – one of my customers and I were on the phone, eating our sandwiches. He said he wanted me to do some work for him in Chicago. I said I wanted to help, but I couldn’t do the day in question because it was going to be our first day back from a family holiday. His reply was: “I’m not putting a price on the love you have for your
able in Hong Kong and China in the Year of the Snake. Hong Kong is a dynamic city with strong growth prospects, it is a gateway to opportunities in mainland China and also Asia, and is the first stepping stone for mainland Chinese companies when going global. The event, at Peel Ports’ Maritime Centre in Seaforth, lasts from 4pm to 7pm and offers insights into the region, panel discussion and open forum, and networking over drinks. For further information please contact Ms Theresa Li via theresa_li @hketolondon.gov.hk
Andy Bounds family. But I know there is one. So, let’s find a price that’s big enough to get you to come over, and then I can get on with enjoying my lunch.” It was pretty persuasive. Q Who would you most like to have lunch with? A I would be interested to meet up with some of the dynamic business experts, the likes of Richard Branson etc. I would love to pick their brains, not just about the way they do business, but about the way they inject such positivity and fun in it. Q Where else do you like to go for lunch? A I like things that are a bit different so restaurants like Fusion, 60 Hope Street and The Noble House.
THURSDAY, APRIL 11 LIVERPOOL Hope University has arranged a breakfast briefing on how changes to the National Health Service could affect Merseyside companies and their staff. Matt Ashton, acting Director of Public Health for Knowsley, will be talking on the NHS Reforms 2013 – challenges and opportunities. Contact Becky Rawlinson on rawlinb@hope.ac.uk
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17
THE British Council of Shopping Centres is in Liverpool with a research seminar, ‘Multi-Channel Retailing
and Implications’. The event will explore retailer responses to things like implications for retail space and retailer hierarchy; strategic asset management; challenges for retail leasing and lease structures; financial implications, and more. It takes places at 5 Wall Street, Liverpool One and is free to BCSC members or £35+VAT for non-members. Book on http://www. bcsc.org.uk/event_form_ open.asp?event_id=569 ■ Send your diary events to neil.hodgson @liverpool.com
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Thursday, March 21, 2013
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