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Thursday, May 30, 2013

More youngsters headed for self-employment, study finds MORE young people are planning to build their own business empires in the wake of the economic crisis, new research has suggested.

Problems finding work have led to an increasingly “entrepreneurial mood” among young people, the Prince’s Trust said.

The charity’s study of more than 1,600 people aged 16 to 30

found nearly a third (30%) believed they would be self-employed in the future.

One in four (25%) said they expected to be their own boss within the next five years.

Despite just 5% of 16 to 30-year-olds in the UK currently being self-employed, more than a quarter (27%) of those surveyed claimed they were “increasingly” thinking

of setting up their own company.

Meanwhile, more than one in four unemployed young people (27%) said they would rather try to set up their own business than continue to seek work in today’s competitive job market, according to the study carried out in conjunction with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Martina Milburn, chief executive of The Prince’s Trust, said: “This research reveals an increasingly entrepreneurial mood among young people.

“Five years on from the start of the recession, youth unemployment remains high and many are seeing self-employment as a way to break the cycle of joblessness.

“It is critical we nurture young people’s passion for business and invest in the next generation.”

Statistics published by the Office for National Statistics have shown there were 842,000 self-employed 18 to 34-year-olds in the country between April and June last year. This was up 9% on the 2008 total.

Siemens man issues rallying cry to Mersey small firms

by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

SMALL manufacturing firms in Merseyside have “huge opportunities” to cash in on opportunities in the global marketplace.

That was the message from Andrew Peters, divisional director of the drive technologies division of Siemens, delivered to an audience of business owners at Liverpool Science Park LSP).

Siemens makes everything from MRI scanners to gas turbines and invests across the UK. It is involved in the wind farm projects in Liverpool Bay. Mr Peters was speaking at one of LSP’s regular Knowledge Economy Business Breakfasts.

He told the audience: “If small firms can understand the global drivers of urbanisation, demographic change and globalisation and can innovate to create new technologies to address these challenges, we can begin to transform the fortunes of many of our SMEs. “There are huge engineering and manufacturing challenges out there and SMEs have the opportunity to be involved in developing some of these new technologies, from rapid prototyping, 3D printing and near net shape manufacture right through to designing complete factories using digital simulation.”

As well as identifying key innovations to get “Britain back on the map”, Mr Peters outlined the key skills needed such as the ability to move quickly and be agile as well as understanding the importance of an integrated supply chain where the UK can operate more effectively than some of our foreign competitors.

He identified one example of a global “megatrend” which throws up a manufacturing and innovation opportunity is demographic change.

He said: “With people living longer there will be an ever increasing need for medical support and general healthcare, which could for example give rise to opportunities in the medical device market.”

Mr Peters also pointed to climate change and sustainability as another example where innovations can play an important part.

He added: “Oil is running out and by 2040 most of it will have disappeared.

“With two thirds of the world’s population having to deal with this reduction, renewable energy like offshore wind represents a ity, and with this comes a huge engineering challenge and a massive opportunity for North West and UK supply chains.

“A lot of true innovation unfortunately still comes from Germany and Japan, automotive being a great example. We have world class car manufacturing here, but true innovation and R&D still takes place elsewhere.

“By developing closer links between our world class universities and industry, we can start to commercialise much more of this primary research and development in the UK. “For example, offshore wind power provides an excellent opportunity for the UK to do this.

“The aim is to also simplify the link between industry and academia so we can create these new innovations.

“As an industrialist we need to engage and collaborate more to get more SMEs involved in these schemes as often smaller companies are just too busy trying to make a living.”

200bn-euro opportun-

award as part of the fifth national Future Manufacturing Awards competition.

The EEF/RKHIS award will be given to the company that has made the most signific-

ant progress in improving the health and safety culture of the workplace by introducing, or developing existing, ideas.

The Future Manufacturing Awards is now

THE First Ark Group’s “innovative” work has been spotlighted as a key example of best practice in the sector

by Northern Ireland’s major housing provider.

Northern Ireland Minister for Social Development Nelson McCausland visited the group in Merseyside, which includes Knowsley Housing Trust (KHT), to find out about its pioneering work in improving lives and communities.

He was able to see the work KHT has carried out to revive communities and create opportunities since it was formed from a stock transfer from Knowsley Council in 2002.

He will take his experiences back to the Department for Social Development and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, which manages 80,000 homes, to help improve services and create thriving, sustainable communities.

Both the Department for Social Development and Housing Executive wanted to learn from KHT’s experiences of stock transfer and the benefits that has brought for customers and communities.

First Ark chief executive Bob Taylor said: “This was a great opportunity for us to share our vision, values and all that we have learned over the past 10 years.

“KHT has achieved many successes over this time in improving homes and services, and in the way we provide added value to our customers and neighbourhoods.

“We hope the Minister has taken back some new ideas about improving services.”

POST

MOBILE Divisional director of the drive technologies division of Siemens, Andrew Peters, pictured at Liverpool Science Park

EEF announces health & safety award EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation and RK Harrison Insurance Services (RKHIS), the official insurance provider to EEF and its members, have launched a new health & safety

Minister taps into Knowsley expertise

in its fifth year.

It offers manufacturers and apprentices across the UK the opportunity to showcase their achievements across seven different award categories.

Services surge A SURGE in consumer spending boosted activity in Britain’s vital services sector as hotels, bars and restaurants enjoyed the biggest leap in trade for nearly six years. The CBI’s quarterly services sector survey showed output from the services sector improved in the second quarter.

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Survey lifts lid on companies struggling to achieve growth KNOWING the best way to achieve growth is the top business challenge for company leaders from North West England, a newly published survey has found.

The poll, conducted on behalf of the GrowthAccelerator scheme, found 33% of business owners in the region citied “a clear stratey for

growth” as an obstacle to increased success. The survey also found one in 20 companies did not have a written business plan.

Andy Campbell, the GrowthAccelerator scheme’s North West team leader, said: “For business leaders in the region, knowing the best way to achieve growth is a sizeable

challenge and an added pressure in changeable economic times.

“This combined with the time-consuming demands of ensuring a business is running smoothly on a day-to-day basis means looking forward with longer-term planning can slip down the to-do list, but it is essential for success.”

Mr Campbell added: “Mapping an attainable path to growth is an invaluable process that enables businesses to move forward and invest confidently in their future success.”

The survey results, published this week, also showed 18% of business owners questioned spent the “majority” of

their time planning for growth, 60% said they did not work regularly or at all on improving their business strategy, and 39% said they only revised their business plans “occasionally”.

Meanwhile 60% said they could not recite their firm’s objectives for the next year “off the top of their head”.

Tech firm named one of UK’s top 250 expanding businesses

by Joshua Taylor

POST BUSINESS STAFF

joshua.taylor@trinitymirror.com

TECHNOLOGY firm Human Recognition Systems (HRS) has been named by Lord Young, the Government’s enterprise advisor, and Sir Terry Leahy, the former chief executive of Tesco, as one of the 250 fastest growing companies in Britain.

HRS, based in Liverpool’s Wavertree Technology Park, has been unveiled as a member of the Accelerate 250, a group of businesses selected by Lord Young and Sir Terry for their rate of growth and propensity to create jobs.

HRS supplies biometric technology, including eye and fingerprint security scanners, to customers in the aviation, construction, military, government, educaiton and oil and gas sectors. It supplied equipment that was used in the London 2012 Olympic Village.

John Tonkiss, the company’s chief executive, said: “This is a really exciting time for HRS as we continue to develop and deploy several of the largest biometric projects in the UK. “The need for advanced and intelligent identity recognition systems continues to grow and to have been nominated as one of the UK’s fastest growing businesses by the likes of Sir Terry Leahy and Lord Young is a fantastic achievement.”

The Accelerate 250 will meet for the first time at the Accelerate 2013 festival, due to be held at Liverpool’s Arena and Convention Centre on June 27. The group of 250 firms has been described as the ‘vital 6%’ for creating around half of the nation’s newest jobs.

Mr Tonkiss said: “We are looking forward to joining forces with other businesses in the Accelerate 250 and using the festival as a chance to champion innovation within British industry and explore new opportunities for growth that will help boost the UK economy.

“The fact that the first Accelerate festival is taking place on our home ground of Liverpool is testament to the city’s growing reputation as a hub for entrepreneurship.”

HRS was founded in 2001 by Neil

Human Recognition Systems founder Neil Norman pictured at the business’s head office in Wavertree Norman, who now serves as the company’s vice-chairman and head of innovation, having preceded Mr Tonkiss as chief executive.

Announcing the Accelerate 250, Sir Terry, who famously rose to the top of Tesco’s boardroom after beginning his

career as a shelf-stacker, said: “It’s our belief that Britain’s prosperity in the 21st century global economy is going to be built on the success of high-potential, fast-growth businesses.

“That is why, this coming June, we will be assembling a new group of Bri-

Charities ‘need to commercialise’ MERSEYSIDE charities will face increasing pressure to commercialise, delivering profit for corporate supporters as well as clearly measurable outcomes over the next decade.

Some may struggle to meet

the challenge, according to a new futures report from Charities Trust.

The research, The Charities Trust Future for Corporate Giving Report, analysed community investment trends and aspirations nationally.

The report found that business will play a bigger in driving delivery from the charities it partners. Part of the challenge for charities and causes will be finding “robust evaluation methods” to show progress against agreed targets.

tain’s brightest and best businesses to put them at the heart of Britain’s economic renaissance.

“It is our ambition that June 27 will be just the start of the journey.”

post business

SMEs are ‘reluctant to invest’, says study A THIRD of UK companies are turning down orders rather than investing in new equipment according to research from asset finance provider, Lombard, part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group.

The research, focused on businesses in the North West, shows that nearly half of those businesses surveyed which are not investing in capital assets cited their reluctance to invest in the current economic climate.

Despite this, a third of the surveyed businesses said they were operating with equipment that needs replacing, and of those two thirds said this is costing them in terms of higher maintenance bills, with nearly half saying it is resulting in lost orders.

Awareness of asset finance is low with only two in five of those surveyed being familiar with this type of finance Ian Isaac, managing director of Lombard, said: “We can boost the economy to the tune of billions of pounds and support small and medium-sized businesses to be able to take on lucrative deals, which will help the economy growth and sustain a global competitive edge.

“Our international competitors are ahead of the curve in both their investment in manufacturing as well as their greater use of asset finance.

“As the UK’s leading asset finance provider, Lombard has been working closely with sectors such as technology, manufacturing and commercial transportation to raise awareness.”

POST

MOBILE

■ Accelerate 2013 – p18-19

House price rise HOUSE prices recorded their strongest increase in a single month for six years in May as a shortage of homes for sale strengthened buyer competition.

Prices rose by 0.4% month-on-month, marking the strongest uplift since May 2007, with the drive coming “almost exclusively from London and the South East”, Hometrack said.

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post business big feature

Bill Gleeson More scrutiny of large corporation taxpayers needed SPEAKING on BBC Radio 4’s Start the Week programme this week, Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt professed himself perplexed at the furore around how much – or how little – the firm had paid in UK corporation tax over recent years.

He shouldn’t have been perplexed.

The level of corporation tax paid by foreign companies trading in the UK has become a bit of a hot topic in the last couple of years, as Amazon and Starbucks have discovered.

Multinational companies have traditionally sought to minimise their tax bill by declaring as much profit as possible in low tax economies. Ireland has been a corporation tax haven for many firms in recent decades.

It’s also important not to overlook the fact that company directors have a duty to their shareholders to minimise the tax bill. They cannot go volunteering tax payments when the law allows them to pay less.

Good tax planning is good management.

Nor should we forget that tax avoidance is not a one way street. Speak to any representative of a developing world government and you will hear how western multi-nationals have used transfer pricing to spirit profits out of poorer countries back to low tax regimes in Europe. The developing country doesn’t dare object because to do so would risk the western company taking its trade elsewhere.

All of this raises the question about fairness.

What should the guiding principles be?

One potential principle is that multi-nationals should pay their taxes in the country where they have their operational base. So if a firm dispatches computers sold online from a warehouse in Ireland, it should pay Irish tax. Clearly, this gives the company plenty of scope to take account of tax law differences between countries.

Another principle would be for companies to incur tax based on where it sold its goods. So if the Ireland based online computer business sold the majority of its

stock to UK consumers, then it would have to pay taxes here.

These issues are clearly all the more crucial in this era of austerity as governments everywhere seek to hold on to as much tax revenue as possible.

The idea that we need a permanent parliamentary committee examining the tax affairs of big business is a good one.

I HAVE had a long standing interest in F Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby.

It was one of those novels that held a deep resonance for the generation that brought me up. One aunt in particular would frequently allude to both the novel and character of James Gatsby approvingly, which is odd, because she would certainly not have approved of his behaviour had she come across it in real life.

She was herself slightly too young to be a flapper girl, but the book and the early film versions will have made an impact on her generation.

The novel is set in the boom conditions of the 1920s that preceded the Wall Street crash.

At its heart is the quest for a modern day economic Garden of Eden.

People wanted to believe that they were living in an era of plenty, where the good times could roll forever. Gatsby’s circle was awash with cash, parties, big houses, fast cars and women.

The recently released Baz Luhrmann film evokes this sense of plenty. It feels like the good times of the yuppie boom of the 1980s or the golden era enjoyed during Tony Blair’s years in power. Businesses, banks and many consumers acted as if money grew on trees and in the firm belief the good times would never stop. Yet it did stop, with one hell of hard landing too.

History has never taught the human race about the need for moderation. Instead, the lesson of history is that human nature is such that once the good times start rolling again, which they will, we will forget all about the bad times and make all the same mistakes all over again.

By the way, if you haven’t seen the film yet, don’t listen to the reviewers. It is very good.

Sayers expands Bakery chain capitalises on £1 concept to revive its fortunes, as Bill Gleeson reports

O

VER the last few years, Sayers the Bakers, which was formerly based in Liverpool, has staged a bit of revival in its

fortunes.

Sayers went bust in 2008, forcing the closure of the firm’s Norris Green factory, the loss of more than 600 jobs and the closure of 40 shops throughout its traditional North West market place.

It was rescued from administration by its chairman and chief executive Sandy Birnie and Michael Quinlan, who bought the company back on the day it went bust. Since then they have gradually rebuilt the century old firm, including using a new trading brand to expand into parts of the country where Sayers hadn’t had a presence before.

Over the past two years, Sayers has opened 60 Poundbakery stores around the North West and Yorkshire. Last week, it opened its first Poundcafe at St Chads Parade in Kirkby.

The concept behind the new café is similar to the idea behind the now long established pound shops, where everything costs £1. It is capitalising on the firmly established trend that has developed during the recent recessions for thrifty spending by consumers and the availability of cheap shops to rent.

Poundcafe customers will be able to choose from a menu where most of the items cost £1.

Sayers says the simplified pricing structure for the eat-in meals makes things easier for both the customer and the bakery staff behind the tills.

Depending on how trade goes at St Chads Parade, the outlet could be the first in a large chain of Poundcafes around the north of England.

Examples of what is on offer at Poundcafe include a sandwich for just £1, pie and baked beans or pie and gravy for £1.

Additional items, such as cup of tea or a serving of chips also cost £1 each, meaning a meal of pie, gravy and chips with a cup of tea costs £3.

Mark James, chief operating officer of Sayers the Bakers said: “For me, it does what it says on the tin.

“Everyone gets a £1 shop, so it’s building on that concept.

“The simplicity of the pricing structure appeals to people.

“If I have £2 in my pocket, I know what I can get for lunch.

“It’s also more efficient for us. If you have to give change you slow down the whole process.

“Straightforward price points are very fast. Our customers like it.

“You can sit down in a really nice cafe. It’s really modern and very different from the past.

“The real winner today is the kids’ meal deal which is just £1 for a sandwich and a few chips.”

For dessert, customers can choose from Sayers’ range of cakes that include Victoria sandwich cake or Strawberry tart for a £1 or doughnuts or cookies for 50p each.

Mr James added: “It’s a comeback for Sayers.

“It has just celebrated its 100th year.

“It’s very important to our business and Liverpool and it’s very successful in neighbourhood areas.

“Sayers needs Poundbakeries and Poundbakeries need Sayers.”

According to its latest accounts, Sayers parent company, STB Holdings, show a strong rise in sales last year but a big drop in profits.

Turnover rose 4% to £42.5m for the year to last September compared to £40.7m the year before. Profit on ordinary activity before tax was £121,000, down from £353,000 in 2011.

Cash at bank was £1.56m, down on the £1.84m recorded 12 months earlier.

In their statement, the directors said they were pleased with the performance of group “during a year in which there were significant adverse changes in the high street.”

The statement added that sales were helped by the opening of the first of the Poundbaker.

The plan is to further increase the number of Poundbakery stores and also expand the group’s geographical footprint.

However, its balance sheet is in the red.

At the end of its financial year, the group had reduced its net liabilities to £720,000 from £780,000 at the 2011 balance sheet date. No dividend was paid or proposed.

In the accounts of the trading subsi-

‘A strong rise in sales but a big drop in profits’

diary Sayers the Bakers, the directors say they are confident that the bakery chain will make an operating profit in the current financial year.

Walk through Kirkby town centre and the effects of the downturn are apparent.

While plenty of shop units are occupied and open for business, many others are boarded up. There are other “pound” shops and discounters like Home Bargain, pawnbrokers and cheque cashing services. It is a town that is still in urgent need of major regeneration.

The town, however, is no different from many others around the north of England, where the high level of retail voids has allowed new enterprises to spring up and take advantage of the low rent levels.

Mr James explained that this was even true of his own business.

He said: “I don’t think we would have opened some of the shops we have in Yorkshire if it had not been for the economic environment we are trading at now because of the discounted shop rents.

“Councils have been very supportive because nobody wants a high street full of shut shops.

“We only open shops on high streets.

“We are totally committed to the high street and neighbourhood locations.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

big feature post business

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£1 concept into new cafés Sayers the Bakers chief operating officer Mark James outside the new Poundcafe in St Chads Parade, Kirkby

The frontage of a Sayers shop in Liverpool

A successful marketing ploy by Sayers that offers shoppers a cheap and cheerful bite “Councils can give rate incentives.”

It’s not just Poundcafe and Poundbakery that are expanding during the recent recessionary years.

At a time when many high street retailers have gone under or are struggling to keep their heads above water, Poundland’s strategy has taken it from strength to strength during the past five years.

Poundland bought many of the stores left vacant when Woolworths went bust in 2008. It has continued to open more stores throughout the country and currently has about 400 shops and hopes to reach 1,000 stores. Having started by selling end of line oddments, it now offers fresh meat, bread and milk.

It’s not just the growing ranks of hard pressed and increasingly thrifty consumers and the availability of cheap rents or bargain basement freeholds that have allowed pound shops to thrive.

Sourcing goods from low wage economies is also a part of the business model.

Many assume that all the goods on sale in a £1 shop are a bargain. That’s not necessarily the case.

For some lines, £1 is a steep price.

The likes of Gillmoss based Home Bargain and B&M Bargains have also thrived in the recessionary years. Both offer heavily discounted prices and both have grown substantially throughout the downturn.

Indeed, Speke based B&M Bargains has attracted new investment from an American private equity house and is currently using the new capital to build a massive new warehouse at Estuary Commerce Park to accommodate all of its extra stock.

The cheap and cheerful strategy, however, is easy for rivals to copy. Poundbakery sells two sausage rolls for £1, exactly the same price charged

by Greggs on the other side of St Chads Parade.

Similarly Poundland has found it too faces competition from the likes of PoundWorld and The 99p Store, among many others.

Poundland has recently launched its own competitive response in branches located on high streets where competition is particularly intense, displaying signs that read Welcome to Poundland, where everything costs 97p.

‘Simplicity of the pricing structure appeals’

ST CHADS Parade in the heart of Kirkby town centre is home to the first branch of Sayers the Bakers new Poundcafe venture.

Located directly next door to the bakery chain’s Poundbakery shop and within a hundred metres of a Poundland and a PoundWorld, the new cafe seems to complement the town’s existing stores.

Opened just last week, the Poundcafe was bustling with shoppers and young families looking for cheap and cheerful refreshment. A primary school boy told his father that the new place was better than their usual haunt as he munched his way through breakfast.

Everything on the menu was priced at either £1 or less. It offered a breakfast choice of any four items from a selection of bacon, egg, plum tomatoes, sausage, baked beans and hash browns for £1. Additional items from the list cost 25p each. It sounds great value.

However, if you want a hot drink with your breakfast it

will cost another £1 as will two slices of buttered toast. A cup of tea and two rounds of toast for £2 isn’t such great value.

Visiting the Poundcafe felt a bit like booking a ticket on a no-frills airline. The advertised ticket price might be £9.99 but by the time you have bought the return and added in taxes, baggage charges, priority seating, an airline meal, using the loo etc the cost can add up to something close to a full service airline’s fare.

My breakfast of bacon, egg, hash brown, beans, toast and cappucino cost £3. The lovely fresh toast was the best bit of the meal. The bacon, egg and beans were fine, but the hash brown was tasteless and the coffee, made from fresh beans, had a strange after-taste. There was no decaffeinated available and the froth on top of my drink was thin.

The decor had a local theme with pictures of The Beatles, a photograph of the Liver Building and a photograph of Anthony Gormley’s Ironmen.

As well as the usual cafe seating, there were also some soft chairs available.

Those looking for lunch could buy a pastie and gravy or beans for £1. Chips and a mug of tea or coffee are another £1 each. Jam doughnuts and cookies cost 50p, while jam tarts and cream cakes were £1.

The marketing ploy behind the name of the store is good.

Everybody understands the idea of the pound shop. It seemed to be working last Friday morning. The store is certainly well placed for footfall.

On its launch last week, posts on social media mentioned concerns about how the food might be produced so cheaply. People were wondering about the welfare of the hens, pigs and other creatures involved.

However, even the cheapest places have to be profitable.

There were a number of boarded up shop premises nearby. Perhaps rents are cheap at the moment. If it goes well, the concept will be rolled out to other towns.

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

post business wealth management IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Patience is required as global markets ignore the turmoil market analysis

by Mike Taylor

LIVERPOOL OFFICE OF CHARLES STANLEY HAVING patience and discipline as an investor is always important, but alas never easy.

In a rapidly rising market driven more by quantitative easing than fundamentals, it becomes harder than ever but absolutely crucial, irrespective of the recent large falls.

While there are a number of reasonable quality equities at acceptable valuations still available, eleven months of rising prices coupled with declining earnings forecasts have reduced that number of opportunities to a much smaller list.

The beginning of March, saw the US government pass the sequester date that cuts its spending by a cumulative $1.3trillion between 2013 and 2021 and equates to a fiscal tightening of 2.5% of GDP in the next year.

Since then, the economic data from the US has been very weak and yet the S&P500 duly finished the first quarter up 10% and has subsequently gone on to reach a new all-time high.

Cypriot banks were shut for several weeks during the last quarter whilst the EU forced through a bailout which seized the assets of some of the bank’s depositors and imposed capital controls to prevent money leaving the country. In addition the Government of Cyprus was forced to dispose of its gold reserves which Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem described as a template for future bank rescues, yet still the markets move upwards.

Mike Taylor

China and Japan are locked in a dispute for the Senkaku Islands that has escalated to the point that a Chinese naval frigate recently locked its fire control radar onto a Japanese ship near the disputed islands yet the Nikkei has just reached a five-and-a-half year high despite having the largest one day fall in two years it is still up 35% this year.

Meanwhile, North Korea is threatening and sabre rattling and just last week fired three more short range missiles in tests designed to crank up the tension one more notch. No prizes for guessing which way that market is going then.

According to the bulls, the fact that the markets just shrugs off each of these crises is positive as “bull markets climb a wall of worry”.

The logic is that if investors are still worried about these trifles, then there is clearly still cash on the sidelines which is yet to come into the market but which when it does, could drive prices even higher. There is an alternative explanation, however, being that investors have yet again become dangerously complacent.

Investors appear to believe in the omnipotence of the central banks to prevent anything bad happening through monetary stimulus, but this is not a new phenomenon.

This reduction in fear led to both a disastrous mis-pricing of risk and a dangerous level of complacency amongst many individuals and firms in 2007 and 2008, yet here we are, just five years on and investors seem keen to have another go at the get rich quick schemes that were so disastrous in 2008. The worries are rising but the FTSE continues to rise, hitting a 12-year high just last week.

The tsunami of cheap money has lifted all asset classes but in some areas, the excesses are easier to identify than others but the conclusion has to be that this level of profitability is only sustainable if the government continues its Quantitative Easing programme. We saw just last week what happens when they indicate they may slow down.

As governments and consumers around the world continue to tighten their belts, it is possible that corporate profitability will be negatively impacted. Large numbers of companies have the same profile with earnings forecasts being downgraded whilst share prices continue to climb.

This divergence in prices and fundamentals rarely continues forever which is why patience and discipline remain important.

how to count out money and know that it is used to buy goods.

They have also worked out what it means to earn money and what an income is.

Most seven-year-old children in the UK are also capable of planning ahead, delaying a decision and understanding that some choices cannot be reversed, although they do not yet understand the difference between “luxuries” and “necessities”, the study found.

■

FAMILIES have suffered the worst deterioration in their spending power in 12 months, driven by a sharp decline in wage growth.

Households had £155 a week of discretionary income in April, marking two months of annual declines in a row Asda’s latest income tracker found.

The recent worsening trend follows a series of improvements to people’s finances which had been recorded over the last year.

Families are now £1 a week worse off than the same month last year and have £10 a week less than they did during a peak in February 2010, the report said.

Weak income growth was the “primary driver” behind people’s budgets taking a turn for the worse, with wage growth falling at the fastest rate since the start of the economic crisis, the report said.

Employment prospects have weakened and average pay rose to just 0.8% over the year to April, marking the lowest rise since comparable figures began in 2001.

■

Tensions around North Korea have not held back the markets

Children displaying financial awareness MOST children’s money habits have been formed by the time they reach seven years old, research from a Government-backed body found.

The Money Advice Service (MAS) urged parents not to underestimate the influence that the good and bad ways in which they handle their finances have on their young offspring.

It published a report compiled by behaviour experts at Cambridge University, which found that most seven-year-olds have already grasped

notes

The MAS was set up by Government in 2010 as an independent service to give people free money advice.

It is funded by a levy on the financial services industry.

It said helping people to manage their money better is at the heart of its business plan this year and the report was commissioned to give it a “deep understanding” of how early habits can impact on financial capability in later life.

THE housing market is being “choked” by soaring stamp duty costs, a report has warned.

Campaign group the Homeowners Alliance found the typical stamp duty paid when buying a home had rocketed more than tenfold since the mid-1990s.

The average stamp duty paid by home buyers had risen from £532 in 1995/96 to £5,957 by last year, the Stamping on Aspiration report found.

The report argued that rising stamp duty costs had been a major factor behind a sharp drop-off in home ownership rates.

Odd holiday home claims A HOLIDAY home insurer has revealed some of its strangest ever claims, including a swan crashing through the roof and guests creating an “indoor beach”.

Provider Schofields said that one of the most unusual claims it saw was from a holiday home owner in Spain, whose guests aged in their 20s had brought the beach indoors by piling sand and water into the house. The guests said they had done this because their

local beach “hadn’t lived up to their expectations”.

In another case, a holiday cottage in the UK needed to be redecorated because the guests decided to hold an indoor barbecue, due to the poor British weather.

Another claim involved a cow being winched out of a swimming pool, while a swan crashed through the roof of another holiday home after flying into some power cables.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

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THE Cheshire-based Forum of Private Business (FPB) has pledged to help printers struggling with cash flow issues by issuing free copies of a new credit control package it’s produced.

The not-for-profit employer support organisation says it has identified the print sector as a sector severely affected by late and slow payment, and is one which could gain the most from the free bundle, which includes hints, tips, and advice on how small business can manage all their credit needs, from being paid on time, to accessing external finance.

The bundle contains a copy of the FPB’s credit control guide, which features templates for invoices, tips on how to handle bad debtors, and ways to negotiate shorter payment times. There’s also a guide on what firms can do to improve their credit rating.

Nick Owen of Aspire Creative, left, with Chris Walters of MSIF outside the firm’s headquarters

Expert urges ‘grandlords’ to be wary

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by Tony McDonough

TRADE, UPVC WINDOWS

POST BUSINESS STAFF

DOORS, CONSERVATORIES.

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

AN EXPERT in the residential lettings sector is warning the increasing number of pensioners looking to become landlords that they may be taking on more than they realise.

Wirral-based Richard Globe, an experienced landlord who offers free advice to others coming into the sector, says so-called “grandlords” are renting out without taking proper advice.

He cites research commissioned by Simply Business which showed that the number of new landlords aged over 60 had increased by 33% since 2009.

“With more pensioners feeling the pinch, increasing numbers are belatedly becoming landlords or landladies as they try to find ways to boost their retirement incomes,” said Mr Globe.

He added there was now a whole raft of legislation that landlords need to be compliant with including regulations on electric, gas and fire, deposit protection and environmental standards.

“Some grandlords are not

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The 20 Effect is a speed reduction campaign aimed at reducing the speed limits on residential roads in Liverpool to 20mph. The campaign also aims to encourage drivers to drive safely and create awareness of the importance of driving at 20mph on residential roads. The campaign is jointly run by Liverpool City Council and the Public Health Team.

As the majority of those who returned their questionnaires were in favour of reducing the speed limit in their road to 20mph, the legal order for Area 1 has now been advertised. The closing date for this advertisement is the 6th June 2013. Below are the answers to some of the queries that were raised during the residents consultation.

Will there be traffic calming measures?

We will not be introducing traffic calming measures; instead the scheme will use signs only. There will be large 20mph signs as you enter the area from a main road and smaller repeater signs on lamp columns/posts in the area. The 20 Effect campaign is also run alongside the scheme.

Why aren’t main roads included?

Each individual road will be assessed on a case by case basis with careful consideration given to the nature and usage of individual roads. However roads that are classified as A and B roads are not included in this scheme at this time.

Richard Globe simply renting out their own homes, but investing in properties to secure a steady income and later, capital gains,” he said.

“With the current squeeze in pensions, being a grandlord is proving to be a good source of income for people of retirement age.

“Buy-to-let can be a tough market to enter but there is a great deal of support available for those looking to take the plunge.

Mr Globe will offer advice to landlords 9am to 10pm, Monday to Saturday on 0151 639 6253.

Why can’t this funding be spent on other council services?

The funding for this scheme has been specifically given by Liverpool PCT’s Accident Prevention budget and Liverpool City Council’s Transportation budget (provided by the Department for Transport) to fund a 20mph speed limit scheme on Liverpool’s residential roads.

Please visit the City Council website www.liverpool.gov.uk for more information.

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FPB gives help to printers

Aspire expands into new countries with MSIF backing A WALLASEY education venture is expanding into new countries thanks to financial backing.

Aspire Creative, which sells educational conferences, curriculum programmes and professional development packages to international markets, has received a £36,000 loan from Merseyside Special Investment Fund (MSIF) to enable it to grow its operation.

Aspire Creative Enterprises (ACE) was set up in 2011 as the trading arm of Aspire Trust, a social enterprise and registered charity founded in 2002.

The MSIF loan will enable Aspire to operate in other countries including the Caribbean, Brazil, Italy and Malaysia.

Dr Nick Owen, who leads the company, said: “MSIF’s investment has made an immediate impact. ” Aspire has recently organised three international education conferences, the most recent was to Rio de Janeiro last week where delegates visited schools. The Aspire Trust is holding an educational conference from October 5 to 12 entitled All Our Futures with the aim of furthering mutual work between countries.

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

post business the bottom line

Strong growth in investment arm boosts Investec profits

by Bill Gleeson

POST BUSINESS STAFF

bill.gleeson@liverpool.com

FUND management firm Investec enjoyed a rise in pre-tax profits last year on the back of improvements in the performance of its wealth and investment management arm, which has a substantial base in Liverpool, and banking divisions.

The South Africa based specialist bank revealed a 21% increase in its adjusted operating profit in its final results for the year to March 2013.

The biggest growth was seen in the company's wealth and investment business, which recorded an increase in adjusted operating profit of 31%, up to £50.7m. Specialist banking was close behind, with a rise of 30%, at £224m, but asset management only managed 4.8%, up to £140m.

The group had gross interest revenues from its banking operations of £2.13bn, down slightly on the £2.3bn in the previous year. However a reduction in interest expense from £1.6bn to £1.42bn meant net interest revenues were held steady at £702m in 2013 compared to £699m the year before.

Fee and commission income was £1.1bn up from £1bn.

Fee and commission expense was £144m, up on the £129m.

Investment income was £182m against £174m in 2012.

This gave a total operating income of just over £2bn, against £1.9bn in the previous year.

Investec wrote of £251m of bad debts, down from the £325m written off the year before.

Operating costs of £1.3bn up from 1.2bn the year before produced a an operating profit of £436m, compared to £347m the year before. Once other one off write offs are taken into account profit before tax came in at £393m, up from £291m in 2012.

Investec chief executive officer Stephen Koseff said: "I am encouraged by the progress we have made over the past few years in realigning our business model.

“Our capital light businesses now account for 49% of the group's operating profit, providing a sustainable base for our recurring income. We have continued improving our efficiencies, streamlining our processes, eliminating duplication and building scale, notably in our specialist banking businesses.

“Maintaining a sound balance sheet whilst driving growth in our return ratios remains a key focus. Our priority is to ensure each division and geography achieves an appropriate return. The recent improvement in

The Plaza on Old Hall Street, home to the Liverpool office of Investec and, inset, the firms sponsors major sporting events

equity markets bodes well for our business and we are well positioned to take advantage of a sustained market upturn."

Group managing director Bernard Kantor at Investec added: “Global markets remained volatile and challenging throughout most of our reporting period.

“The Rand depreciated 13% which impacted our results in Sterling terms.

On a neutral currency basis our earn-

ings increased 28% supported by net inflows of £4.9 bn in our asset management and wealth and investment businesses and a significant decline in impairments in our banking businesses.

“We have a strong franchise which is recognised in all our markets and we continue to build business depth in our core areas of focus.”

Mr Koseff said the integration of Williams de Broe, the wealth manage-

ment business that was part of Evolution Group – which Investec purchased at the end of 2011 – was complete. Investec paid £211m for Evolution, and said costs associated with the acquisition in the year were £12.3m.

He said the group was not looking at any further acquisitions at the moment.

“The recent improvement in equity markets bodes well for our business and we are well positioned to take advantage of a sustained market upturn,” Mr Koseff added.

Analysts said the results were slightly better than expected. Numis Securities analyst James Hamilton said that the recent market rally and inflow of funds would generate “very strong growth” this year in Investec’s wealth management division.

He added: “As the back book diminishes and as the true return potential of the banking business becomes apparent, there is significant scope for earnings growth.”

Irn-Bru maker AG Barr outperforms a flat drinks industry IRN-BRU maker AG Barr shrugged off the freezing start to the year and intense competition to report market-beating sales growth.

The group, which dates back to 1875 and also makes Tizer and Rubicon, said sales grew 2.4% in the 15 weeks to May 12, outperforming a flat soft drinks market that was hit by the prolonged cold spell.

Barr, based in Cumbernauld, near Glasgow, said it expects tough com-

petition to continue into the summer as it awaits clearance from the Competition Commission on its merger with Robinson’s squash maker Britvic.

The fizzy drinks group added profit margins are on track and it continues to build its core brands.

It told shareholders at its annual meeting in Glasgow: “Whilst it is still early in our financial year, our core brands continue to perform well despite the weather, economic challenges

and significant increases in competitor promotional activity.

“As we now enter the key summer trading period we anticipate that the marketplace will remain highly competitive. ” It said it was making “excellent progress” with a new £41m plant in Milton Keynes and expects the new canning and logistics site to launch within eight weeks, creating up to 100 jobs.

Barr’s merger with Essex-based Britvic - which aims to create one of the leading soft drinks companies in Europe - has been on hold while the companies await clearance from the Competition Commission. It expects a ruling in early June.

Barr said the strategic attractions of the tie-up are unchanged. “The board will accordingly reconsider the transaction once the Competition Commission findings are available,” it said.

notes ■

LITTLE Chef could disappear from Britain’s roadsides after more than 50 years after fast food bidders tabled offers for the restaurant chain.

Bidders, thought to include McDonald’s, KFC and Costa Coffee are not expected to retain the brand, after turnaround firm Rcapital put it up for sale.

Little Chef has gone through a deep overhaul - including a menu revamp by celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal - since it plunged into adminis tration in 2007 and was bought by the London-based private equity group.

But Rcapital said while the chain, famous for its chubby chef logo and “Olympic” breakfasts, has returned to profit, diners have “voted with their feet” and increasingly choose to eat at rival fast food chains.

Rcapital said: “The aim of the sale was to find a buyer that would take the business and the brand on to the next stage.

However the market is changing and fast food and coffee houses are growing in popularity.

“It is not a surprise that the majority of the offers for Little Chef are from companies that may want to re-brand.”

■

PHONEBOOK publisher Yellow Pages could fall into the hands of hedge funds, banks and bondholders within weeks under a sweeping debt overhaul.

Creditors are poised to seize control of Hibu, the Reading-based owner of Yellow Pages, in a deal which would wipe out shareholders and more than halve its £2bn debt pile.

The debt-for-equity plan would see more than 300 creditors become new owners of the former FTSE-100 Index group, which last year changed its name from Yell.

The group has been hampered by slumping revenues amid intense competition from internet search engines, while it staggers under a heavy debt pile built up by an overseas acquisition spree.

Hibu had debts of more than £2bn at the end of 2012, and the deal with lenders is expected to see them write off as much as £1.5bn in return for ownership of the business. That would see the group, which has about 13,000 employees, quit the market.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

small business post business

notes

small

business of the week

■

A NEW business guide has been launched online by a Cloud and IT service provider to help businesses in Liverpool survive a potential disaster.

Managing costly power outages, IT failure, flooding and even terrorism are some of the potentially damaging scenarios examined in the ‘Would Your Business Survive?’ study produced by InTechnology.

Designed to provide a vital resource to businesses of all size and sector in Liverpool the guide is free to download and offers advice on areas such as risk management and strategic business planning.

Research has shown UK businesses lose £2bn each year due to IT downtime and service failures, while £374m worth of fraud was committed by individuals against their employer – just some of the business risks tackled by the guide.

Stefan Haase, InTechnology product director, said: “There have been many high profile cases where firms have been badly impacted and have even not survived due to outside forces such as IT downtime caused by power outages that were never planned for.

“Hopefully, this guide provides the road map and strategic guidance for firms to tackle a disaster and mitigate disruption – to ensure that business continuity can be maintained.”

Both the guide and the accompanying infographic can be downloaded for free at InTechnology.co.uk

by Neil Hodgson

POST BUSINESS STAFF

neil.hodgson@liverpool.com

C

AMPING is considered almost recession-proof, but one of the UK’s top exponents warns of gathering storm clouds.

Tony Witterick set up Outdoor Megastore on Bootle’s Rimrose Road 20 years ago with wife Jeanette and late business partner Ken Seddon.

At 32 he was a director of Kwik-Fit, but keen to strike out on his own.

Scouting potential new sites he found a Bootle warehouse and, emboldened by forecasts that the leisure sector, coupled with the fledgling internet, was the future, he took the plunge.

He saw outdoor shops selling camping gear as fragmented, confined to a garden centre field which shut in the winter: “We wanted to do it much bigger with lots of products on display.”

They opened in May 1993 and Mr Witterick said: “No-one would give us credit and we were running out of money doing up the building that was really crummy but on a really good road. Everything was on the line, but one supplier gave us a chance.

“We got broken into the first night we opened and I was on the roof at 4am. It was scary at the beginning.

Some days we were taking just £10 but, bit by bit it got going.”

In 1995 they expanded after buying a neighbouring site: “We got our first member of staff and then another. The economy was slowly picking up.”

IT-savvy friend Paul Roberson, who worked for the Department of Industry, joined in 2000 to spearhead the website: “Within two years the site had eclipsed the shop. This was in the days before Google, and it went boom.

“We were the major player in the UK and were becoming international, sending stuff to Europe and the US.” Expansion led to a move 50 yards away to their current premises which are five times bigger.

Mr Witterick said camping had always been steady: “People went camping anyway and when they couldn’t afford foreign holidays they still went camping. It is a good business when the sun shines. We can double turnover in a week when the sun shines. In a recession people might not buy a new tent, but they buy new sleeping bags or a stove.”

Even the advent of cheap flights failed to impact the business: “Ski wear went ballistic. People who could not afford to ski now found they could do it when Liverpool John Lennon Airport got going. Lots of people, including me, went skiing.”

The business now provides a range of camping gear, winter gear – like ski wear and snow boots – and leisurewear: “For kids, anything black.”

And it has become a festivals specialist. Paul Finnigan, who bought into the business in 2005 when Mr Seddon retired, said: “The younger generation is more flexible. My nephew goes away every month to places like festivals in Spain and takes a tent on the plane.”

Outdoor Megastore is now a £3m turnover business, employing 20, which Mr Witterick said is built on old-fashioned foundations: “We’re a friendly business, not a clinical department store. We’re open seven days a week and if someone has a problem with something, they bring it back and we fix it. Customers have been with us for 10 and 20 years.”

However, he said changing business conditions are putting independents

9

■

All set for the weekend – Outdoor Megastore co-founder Tony Witterick in his Rimrose Road showroom

Making a pitch to ride out new competition like him under increasing pressure.

“More people now ask for discounts and it affects independents like us, not people like Asda.

“Over the next five years, to try and be a quality independent is going to be more and more difficult because you are squeezed everywhere.

“People use the Amazons of this world as a search engine. It costs us 15% to be on Amazon so you dump margin to get a sale.

“And Tesco are in the process of trying to be an Amazon. People will buy through these conglomerates and it is difficult to keep on going.

“Our rents and rates are up and electricity has doubled in the past five years, but our prices haven’t doubled.

People don’t realise, but they are killing off small independents.”

From left: Paul Finnigan, Tony Witterick and Paul Roberson

SMALL building firms need fairer access to the Green Deal (GD) market if the shortage of installers is to be addressed, warns the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the latest statistics from the Department of Energy and Climate Change.

Almost 19,000 GD assessments were carried out by April, yet there are only 942 GD installer companies approved to carry out this work – not enough to deliver energy-efficiency improvements to Britain’s 26 million existing homes by 2050, says the FMB, whose chief executive Brian Berry said: “There are more than 240,000 companies in the construction industry that employ fewer than 14 people. These companies are often best placed to carry out Green Deal work, but because it is difficult to access the market they are reluctant to train the number of approved installers needed to retrofit Britain’s building stock.”

10 post business creative & digital

Thursday, May 30, 2013 IN ASSOCIATION WITH

comment

by JOHN CLARK

Internet dangers explained THE issue of online pornography and the role of schools in protecting our children has been prominent in our press.

The Office of the Children’s Commissioner issued a report which suggests that increasingly children are exposed to pornography whilst still at primary school. The Association of Head Teachers also published a survey revealing that 88% of parents questioned wanted schools to address the issue of pornography.

The arrival of the smartphone, iPad and other tablets has revolutionised how we access information.

Birkenhead School has recently joined forces with national charity Union Saints to offer parents the opportunity to attend a seminar on the importance of protecting our children. Crucially, the seminars provide the opportunity to discuss all issues surrounding the web.

Matt Sommerville, chief executive of Union Saints, has recognised that there is a danger of trying to take too much control of our children when it comes to online activity. Instead, communication is the key.

Union Saints gives hour-long seminars to talk to parents about how to set boundaries.

With the help of Union Saints, Birkenhead School has also been able to talk to our students about the value of making friends in social media platforms. Matt attended our assemblies and highlighted the importance of making genuine connections.

Hopefully, these values will be carried into their professional world.

The arrival of the smartphone and other internet-enabled platforms has resulted in everyone having the benefit of better access to technology. It is up to schools and all adults to ensure that this technology benefits our young people and does not turn into a dangerous tool.

■ JOHN CLARK, headmaster, Birkenhead School

Digital firms have to be creative to win funding for growth Alistair Houghton chairs the first Post digital debate – and hears how firms have to plan ahead to attract investment

T

HE digital world is all about innovation, but when it comes to business success the old advice is still the best – “fail to plan, plan to fail”.

Last week, the Post’s held its first Lunchtime Round Table session for the creative and digital industries, in which some of the sector’s key players discussed access to finance.

The paper has teamed up with Liverpool Vision’s creative industries support agency, ACME, to hold a series of debates bringing together business experts and leading entrepreneurs.

Finance is a hot topic for all entrepreneurs, but many in the creative sector – particularly in video games – feel that banks and financiers often fail to understand their businesses.

At Friday’s debate in Baltic Creative, one clear message was that companies needed to make clear business plans if they wanted to impress potential investors.

Morgan O’Rahilly, chief executive of video games finance specialist Standfast Interactive, has invested some £34m in development capital over his career, generating £300m in profits.

He said developers sometimes felt writing a business plan was a chore, but insisted that if they did it properly and kept it updated then it would help them to win investment.

He said: “I’ve done two that have generated considerable amounts of funding and one of them that did very well, and the first thing I did in both instances and it took me a lot longer than three weeks to do.

And it was just because I knew that’s what I needed to do.

“I’d done the pitch presentation. I knew how to talk to friendly investors and thought I’d better get it written – and it always took much longer than I thought it would do.

“But having done it, every year I would revise it. It really is about having your marketing plan, having your business model, having your core proposition. And it’s not like you need to do it every day or anything like that.

“But quarterly you need to revisit it and say ‘that’s changed, that’s changed, that’s changed – what does that mean to me?’

“Then you’re in a position where you know and live your business plan.

And pulling it together for any venture capitalist or investor is going to take a day or two, it’s not going to take three weeks.

“But then your business is your business plan, as opposed to ‘the business is a thing that happens and then

we need to write this new business plan to meet whatever you think an investor wants’. I suspect that’s where people come unstuck with investors.”

Music publisher and licensing specialist is one of Liverpool’s creative success stories and today works with 45,000 songwriters in the UK. Chief executive Chris Meehan explained how he had secured funding from several sources, including the North West Fund, since founding the business in 2006.

And talking about his business plan, he said: “There’s a difference between writing something you think someone’s going to like and just writing what you do.

“If you just write what you’re doing, and you’re doing it anyway, that’s good enough for everybody.”

The £15m North West Fund for Digital & Creative has made 17 investments since it opened in 2011.

Rupert Wingate-Saul, investment manager at fund manager AXM Venture Capital, added: “The investor would like you to deliver the business plan that you put in front of them because that’s what they’re backing.

“If the business plan isn’t what you’re doing or intending to do, you’ve got a massive disconnect in there.”

Dave Brown, of Apposing

Morgan O’Rahilly

T

HE debate began with the digital entrepreneurs explaining how they got the funding they needed to get their businesses off the ground.

Clemens Wangerin, managing director of Setgo, started his business with two fellow former Sony staff.

He said: “When we started out it was the three directors who put money into the business to get it off the ground to take on some staff. We were unfortunate in that grants-wise the landscape had completely dried up in 2010.”

But Setgo did get some prototype funding and, once it saw early successes with its Pingflux analytical software, secured North West Fund backing.

Apposing has become one of the North West’s best-known app developers thanks to its work with companies including Carphone Warehouse, CSL and Liam Gallagher’s Pretty Green clothing label.

Founder Dave Brown said the company had been self-funded so far, but that he was now considering funding options.

He said: “We’re at that stage now where we’re looking to see what the next path is for us for growth. And we have had a few offers of investment

Joanne Phoenix, of GrowthAccelerator addresses the debate, watched by Rupert Wingate-Saul of AXM Venture Capital and mainly London digital agencies who want to understand mobile a bit more and want to embrace what we’ve done.

“We’ve had discussions and it’s been very interesting and it’s been a learning curve for myself as well. We’re still in the process of deciding how we want to grow, whether we want to carry on the way we’re doing or do we want to take it to that next level and accelerate the growth either through some form of investment from another company or something like the North West Fund.

“But I’m probably going to make a decision on that by the end of the year.”

Fejiro Bateren was the newest entrepreneur round the table, having founded Bandtrail last year after losing his job when Sony closed its Liverpool

development studio. He is developing a digital ticket store that also helps people find the latest news about their favourite bands.

He said: “My initial form of funding was my redundancy pay and savings.

In the first six months it was a difficult mix between making sure that money didn’t run out and also making sure that I had documents such as a business plan and all that kind of stuff.

“I had to at least be in a position where, if these conversations (about investment) started to happen, I could respond.

“But, especially early on, it was difficult weighing that up because I was essentially a one-man-band. Every day I’m not writing code the project just grinds to a halt. And then you realise that writing a business plan isn’t as simple as you’d like it to be.”

creative & digital post business 11

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Ben Hatton

What is the price of ‘cool’?

From left, Jon Wetherall, from Onteca, Fejiro Bateren, from Bandtrail, Dave Brown from Apposing, Chris Meehan, from Sentric, financier Morgan O’Rahilly, co-chairs Alistair Houghton, from the Post, and Enda Carey, from Fisano, Rupert Wingate-Saul, from AXM, Joanne Phoenix, from GrowthAccelerator, Kevin McManus and Cathy Skelly from ACME, and Clemens Wangerin from Setgo Pictures: JAMES MALONEY He added: “In the next couple of months we’ll be looking to take on investment just to speed things up because I think we’ve got a strong product – it’s really just a case of getting it out there.”

Jon Wetherall, managing director at Liverpool games developer Onteca, has successfully raised funding for several projects developed in partnership with the Technology Strategy Board (TSB).

He said: “The Government may give you £60,000 but they’ll still expect you to put in £40,000 of your own money.

“We’re in a position where we can continually match any funding we need to do.

“We have an overdraft from the bank. We put some of our own money in as well. It’s been quite tough because you’re continually competing with people who’ve got very deep pockets who can throw money at any problem.”

T

HE panel then moved on to discuss bank funding. Mr O’Rahilly said he was frustrated some entrepreneurs were not prepared to take a risk and said everyone involved in a business had to “put some skin in the game”.

“I had a company set up in 2000 that got money from the bank,” he said, “but it involved a personal guarantee.

“Is there anything wrong with that?

No. Why? Because they’re lending money. Lending. If there isn’t equity in the business when the business is supported then a personal guarantee is involved.

“If you’re not prepared to put your name on the block then why should you get the money?”

Joanne Phoenix, growth manager at the Government’s GrowthAccelerator start-up advice service, added: “If you need finance you’ve got to understand what is involved in that. So if it’s bank finance then it’s personal guarantees, if it’s equity finance you’re going to need to give up a portion of the equity.

“And that’s another thing you get – ‘Oh, I’ve had to give away part of my company’. No, you’ve not given away part of your company, you’re taking in investment to deliver something, and I think a lot of the companies don’t actually appreciate that there’s a risk share going on.”

Mr O’Rahilly said firms needed to be clear about what their ambitions are. He said: “There’s no point trying to raise £1m if you’re just trying to run a butty van. You might have the nicest van in the world but you can only sell so many butties.

“If you’re going to build the next Facebook, don’t ask for half a million quid and promise £2bn return because nobody will believe it.

“But it makes sense to say well it’s going to be the next Facebook I’m going to need £150m. Actually, you know what, if you went to the right people with that pitch they’d listen.

Because that’s their job.”

Mr Wangerin said that after years at cash-rich Sony, having to find his own sources of finance was a “culture shock”.

He said: “The fundraising side of things was hugely time-consuming. If you do the rounds and do the meetings, prepare your pitches and have follow-ups, it’s hugely time consuming and you get a lot of ‘death by slow no’.”

Kevin McManus, head of sector development at ACME, said: “Any funding that comes via government, whether it’s national, regional or local, is very form-heavy because everybody wants to cover themselves.”

Mr Brown said the amount of form-filling needed could be frustrating for entrepreneurs.

But Mr O’Rahilly said: “If you are the best app development company in the world then you are beyond filling in forms, because form-filling type fundraising is on the lower end of fun-

No point trying to raise £1m for a butty van

draising . The most senior end is private equity gentlemen’s handshake in a club in London. There’s a lot in between.”

Mr Wingate-Saul added: “I take Dave’s point that it shouldn’t be form-filling. That’s a waste of everyone’s time.

“But there is a need to be able to very clearly tell us what you’re going to take our money for and what you’re going to do with it.”

Mr Wetherall added: “Don’t just get money because the money is there – that’s always a temptation, or it has been in the past. You want to do the work that’s going to develop your business in the correct direction.”

Finally, panellists shared a top tip for funding success.

Mr Wetherall said: “Have a very clear vision of what you want to make and what you want the business to be.

It’s like any selling exercise. You’re selling a vision of the promised land.”

Mr Bateren said: “Find people who know what they’re talking about and listen to them.”

Mr Meehan said: “In order not to waste anyone’s time along the process – including your own – know what you want and see people as partners along the journey rather than taking this ‘us and them’ approach people seem to take when someone’s got some money and you don’t.”

THE news that internet search behemoth Yahoo is to buy blogging site Tumblr for $1.1bn caused a sharp intake of breath for many of its users. A leading criticism that it is acquiring the site only to make the company seem “cool” once more.

Within moments of the news being announced, more than 72,000 switched their Tumblr accounts to rival platform Wordpress and many more expressed their dismay on the site.

This fear is not irrational – almost every social media platform to have been acquired has lost money for the buyer and subsequently shed users in droves – myspace, Bebo and Livejournal to name a few.

Tumblr is still organic, with a high percentage of young, cool and creative types who use it to showcase pictures, video and text acting as a perfect platform between Twitter and a traditional blog.

That is why so many are unhappy with Yahoo’s acquisition.

Users will leave platforms in their droves if they feel a site is overrun by adverts and so far many have expressed dismay at the thought of this happening to Tumblr.

This should not be an opportunity for brands to rub their hands at the thought of open season for advertising being declared on Tumblr and its 100m users.

Instead, this represents an opportunity for brands to use the platform appropriately to really engage with their target market without overwhelming them with advertising.

People want to be amused, impressed and informed. Tumblr can do this in an elegant, creative and simple way.

Social media allows brands to interact with audiences like never before. This outcry could be the wake-up call for brands to do so.

■ INTERNET entrepreneur Ben Hatton is founder and managing director of digital agency Rippleffect. Follow Rippleffect on Twitter @rippleffected

12 post business big feature

Tony McDonough meets DEAN ROGERS, managing director of building firm, Frank Rogers

W

HEN Dean Rogers first came into the building business his father started more than 40 years ago, he was very conscious of the fact that he had no formal training in the building sector.

More than a decade on and that remains at the back of his mind – but what he has developed in that time is a clear sense of the skills that he brings to the business and a high level of confidence in the abilities of those around him.

The Liverpool-based business – Frank Rogers – still carries the name of his father, who died in 2009.

But Rogers junior, as managing director, is now shaping the firm very much in his own image, diversifying into new areas such as energy efficiency.

“My dad was very well known and very well liked and respected – there must have been more than 1,200 people at his funeral,” said Rogers.

“However, there was never any expectation for me to live up to him.

He always told me that I should run the business how I wanted – and I want to drive it forward.”

And drive it forward he has. When Rogers joined the back office operation of the firm, which is based in Clubmoor, back in 2002 its turnover stood at around £2m.

That figure has now passed the £9m mark and the 36-year-old is aiming to push that higher still.

It employs 54 staff across three divisions. Its traditional expertise has been in refurbishment contracts with social housing providers and this still accounts for around 70% of turnover.

It also has a growing commercial refurbishment operation, working in private hospitals and schools.

As part of that, the firm provides painting and other refurbishment work for Aintree Racecourse in the run up to the Grand National each years. It also has a small unit producing photo wall art for hotels.

And the newest addition is the move into energy efficiency which Rogers believes offers real potential for growth.

The division is being called FR Green Solutions.

“This year we have seen the next avenue we want to focus on is ECO. We have just gained Green Deal approval so we are working with housing associations doing external wall insulation,” he added.

“One part of Green Deal is called ECO and that stands for energy company obligation.

“The big six energy companies have an obligation to offer something back. So for those people living in what you might call the more deprived areas there is funding available to do work on their properties.

“That could be a new boiler and loft or wall insulation. This has been opened up to the private market now – it is not just for social housing.

“We are talking to one of the big energy companies now about working on energy efficiency projects for whole communities.

“The idea is that the energy company would go into an entire area – say, Anfield for example – and do all the homes and that is what we are discussing with them.

“Often the most amount of energy lost in homes is through the walls so we think wall insulation could be a really big thing for us.

“We are also working with the Fire Support Network which is the char-

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Son who returned to the family fold to make his mark

Dean Rogers outside his Clubmoor headquarters and, inset, the firm makes sure Aintree Raccourse is spruced up ahead of the Grand National itable arm of the Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service.

“They have an eco arm called Maison Verte – French for ‘green house’. They do a lot of smoke alarms and upgrades to properties

under scheme called Safe and Sound.

“They want to be able to offer more services and we are going to partner up with them.”

Rogers is determined to be involved as much as possible in the

q&a Age: 36 Highest educational qualification: Degree in business studies gained while working for electronics giant, Plessey Biggest achievement in business: Growing and sustaining the business since my dad passed away in 2009 Biggest regret: Not coming into

this business earlier than I did and not getting construction qualifications Best advice received: Learn from your mistakes and never beat yourself up over them Family: Married to Chantal and the couple have three children.

Rogers says: “I always wish I had met my wife sooner than I did”

day-to-day operations of Frank Rogers but admits as the firm gets bigger that is becoming more difficult.

“I will meet with clients and potential clients – prepare and deliver presentations,” he said.

“And I also like to stay involved with the jobs – run with them at the beginning and them hand them over.

“However, as we grow that will become harder to keep up.

“And I know it is a cliche but my door is always open. I know every one of our staff.”

R

OGERS was born in Liverpool and the family moved to Crosby when he was younger and he attended Manor High School.

He left there at 16 and continued his education at Hugh Baird College

in Bootle, undertaking a business studies course.

He said: “I had opportunities to work in my dad’s business but I decided I wanted to do my own thing.

“My dad had been successful in his own right and I wanted to be too.”

Aged around 19 he joined electronics giant, Plessey (later Marconi) at its Liverpool site in Edge Lane.

He said: “The company sponsored me to do a night school degree in business studies and during the day I was moved around different departments to get a feel for the whole business.”

After spending time working in divisions such as marketing sales and production, he moved into the purchasing department and stayed there for the next few years.

“I enjoyed what I was doing but I still wasn’t exactly sure where I

big feature post business 13

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Dean Rogers, managing director of Frank Rogers, and behind him is an example of the photo wall art the firm can produce for hotel clients

Alex

Turner

Picture: GARETH JONES

A showbiz lesson for businesses IT IS now a cliché to declare theatrically “the show must go on” but that was precisely the position the cast of Brilliant Adventures found themselves in at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre.

A flood in the theatre meant there was a delay in it starting and when it did there was no lighting while there were two buckets on the stage catching the dripping water (which was less problematic because the play was based inside a bedsit on a feral North East estate).

But it didn’t really matter.

After all, the play was centred around a socially-awkward geek who had invented a time machine, so it required the audience to collectively suspend its disbelief.

Instead the audience seemed to be willing the cast on, wanting to see them overcome the difficulties and delighted by an ad-libbed line about the water coming through the ceiling.

The production inadvertently provided an insight into customers’ expectations, and about how much they can ignore and overlook when they want to.

A combination of an unforeseeable event and, more importantly, an energetic response to dealing with the problem is usually sufficient to satisfy all but the grumpiest of customers (on the other hand, foreseeable problems and ostrich-like responses justifiably bring out the Victor Meldrew in all of us).

Business is never perfect, and there are always glitches and mistakes along the way. But it is how a problem is dealt with that is the much bigger factor than the problem itself.

The theatrical maxim that demands the performance continues come what may is a good starting point because it immediately removes the option of stopping and also requires people don’t down tools to conduct an investigation into what went wrong.

Something’s gone wrong, get back on track as quickly as possible, get to the end, then you can hold the post-mortem – although often that’s not required, with even relatively short periods of time being sufficient to provide enough perspective to downgrade the crisis mountain to a molehill.

Creating that culture in the workplace is invaluable, combining teamwork, shared responsibility, and a united ethos about how everyone is going to work together.

‘Audience seemed to will the cast on’

wanted my career to go,” Rogers added.

By 2002, Rogers had gained considerable experience in business procurement and it was these skills his father believed could prove invaluable in a building sector that was undergoing considerable change.

Rogers explained: “For many years winning building contracts was pretty straightforward.

“Firms would submit tenders and the one that put in the best price would get the work.

“Then it all became about framework agreements (where firms have to apply to be placed on a list of preferred contractors) and the process became more complicated.

“My dad wanted me to come in and help with that and work in the back office.

“I did and I also took a pay cut

from my previous job. When I came in we managed to get on the Fusion 21 framework and we are still on that now.

“I am more worldly-wise now than I was then.

“Yes, I am aware that I don’t have the skills of a tradesman. I could not tile a wall or hang a door but I can tell you exactly how many people it will take to do a job and how much it will cost.

“And I definitely have the right people with the right skills around me.”

E

STABLISHING and maintaining a reputation for quality is important to Rogers. He is aware of his responsibility of keeping the good name of the firm that his father spent decades building up.

Like many firms, Frank Rogers was not immune from the effects of the recession, however it has managed to keep turnover on an upward trajectory.

Rogers said: “During the recession I noticed that the building sector became a lot more competitive and we needed to look to purse other avenues.

“At one point three or four contractors collapsed and so for a time there was more work for us and our turnover actually went up.

“However, of late we have started to notice how it has become more competitive again, hence why we are trying to just spread the risk.”

Rogers and his wife, Chantal, have three children – Ben, seven, Liam, four and Frankie, two.

Much of his spare time is spent on family-related activities and Rogers

is also a Liverpool FC season ticket holder.

The company is also very community-focused. Any job that is undertaken includes a budget for projects to help local people.

For example, during one job in Wallasey, they built a hut for the local scouts.

Making a contribution to the local economy is also high on Rogers’ agenda.

He said: “We have a couple of apprentices and we would like to have more. I think perhaps the Government could offer a little bit more funding so that process can be more viable.

“We work across the North West and always try to employ local people. We always look to use local contractors as well – keeping money in the local economy.”

■ Alex Turner is the general manager of financial training firm Ambitious Minds

14 post business legal

Thursday, May 30, 2013

www.ldplegal.co.uk

Law firm’s ambition to open its 150th branch later this year

by Joshua Taylor

POST BUSINESS STAFF

joshua.taylor@trinitymirror.com

A LAW firm that relocated to Liverpool city centre nearly 12 months ago has doubled its turnover and staff numbers since the move.

GT Law, which one year ago was a single-office personal injury claims company based in the Knowsley Industrial Park, now has 77 branches across Britain. The firm has ambitions to open its 150th office by the end of 2013.

Marketing consultant Tony Evans said: “Since last year we have gone from being a back-street personal injury law firm on an industrial estate to a 77-location nationwide law firm, dealing with every single discipline under the sun. This is a massive achievement.”

The company employed between 70 and 80 people this time last year. It now has more than 200 members of staff, including 27 apprentices taken on during the past three months.

“I want to get to 150 branches and then we can call ourselves a high street brand,” Mr Evans said.

GT Law’s offices are as far flung as Basildon in Essex and Cardiff. It is also soon due to open sites in London and Edinburgh, while premises in Newcastle upon Tyne are also being considered.

Mr Evans said: “We now have in excess of 200 staff across all our locations. Turnover has doubled in the past year and we have invested a lot in infrastructure.”

GT Law shot to prominence when it joined three other Merseyside law firms to launch legal proceedings against the Sonae woodchip factory in Kirkby, which was allegedly spewing out harmful emissions. The proximity of GT Law’s own offices to the Sonae site formed part of its decision to relocate in June last year to its current headquarters in Castle Street.

After gaining an appetite for class action cases, GT went on to become one of the firms now representing members of the Kenyan Mau Mau population, who are suing the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for alleged mistreatment while the nation was under British occupation.

Mr Evans said: “We were purely a personal injury firm, but now we deal in so many other areas of law. To do all this in 12 months is huge.”

The company now also specialises in fields including family law, wills and probate, commercial law, conveyancing, motoring and immigration law.

The legal sector has been hit in recent months by Government reforms to the legal aid system in an attempt to

Tony Evans, marketing consultant for Liverpool-based GT Law, pictured outside the firm’s head office stamp out what was seen by some as a spurious compensation culture.

“The legal aid system has been abandoned for many people,” Mr Evans said. “We get walk-ins all the time, but the only way often is for people to represent themselves because legal aid has gone.

“I don’t see why civil litigation shouldn’t be taught in our schools. It forms such a big part of our lives.”

Asked what the next 12 months had in store for GT Law, Mr Evans said the company was examining ways it could offer estate agency services. He also said the firm wanted to open its 150th

branch by the end of this year -- a goal he described as ‘achievable’.

The firm also hopes to expand the number of apprentices on its books, completing qualifications in fields such as business administration.

“We hope the next 12 months are as good as the last,” Mr Evans said.

Manager changes marked in ceremony MORE than 200 people have attended a ceremony to mark management changes at the top of a major Liverpool city centre legal firm.

Ian Evans, a senior partner at Weightmans, based in Old Hall Street, has retired after 40 years with the company, while Patrick Gaul has stood down as managing partner to return to a fee-earning role with the firm’s professional risk team.

A service to mark the changes and pay tribute to the two men was held at Liverpool Town Hall.

Mr Evans said: “I am proud to have been at Weightmans for my whole career. I joined as an articled clerk in 1973 when the firm had no more than 40 people and one office in Liverpool.

“Today, we are a major UK law firm with more than 1,250 people and offices throughout the country. I am very proud of all we have achieved so far and what the firm will go on to achieve in the future. It’s been a great adventure.”

Mr Gaul, whose 10-year tenure as managing director saw the company’s fee income rise from £27.7 million to £82 million, added: “This is a firm with a great history, a great heritage and one which will continue to thrive under the guidance of the new management team.”

Mr Gaul will be succeeded as managing partner by John Schora, who said: “Weightmans is a firm accomplishing great things and I am looking forward to what the next chapter will bring.”

Weightmans operates in areas including commercial and insurance law. Its client list includes NHS trusts, fire authorities and police forces.

Finding the barrister for you just became easier Gong winner speaks A BARRISTERS’ chambers in Liverpool city centre has joined an online forum to allow members of the public and business owners to pick members’ legal brains.

Barristers at Atlantic Chambers, based in Cook Street, are now listed on www.thisismybarrister.com.

The website allows people

with legal issues to contact barristers directly, instead of first going through a solicitor.

Lee Cadwallader, head clerk to Atlantic Chambers, said: “Direct access to barristers means that individuals and businesses alike can tap into a vast pool of legal expertise.

“Barristers are an underused resource and now this

website makes it possible for the general public and business owners alike to find a highly effective problem-solver and advocate.”

Chris Bean, the website’s chief executive, added: “We wanted to dispel the myth that all barristers are posh, male, ridiculously expensive, based in London and should only be

involved when a case ends up in court. Now people in Liverpool and the surrounding areas have the opportunity to benefit from easy access to some of the brightest legal minds in the country.”

Atlantic Chambers has barristers working in fields including criminal, commercial and family law.

THE winners of a Liverpool Post-sponsored award have spoken of their pleasure at being crowned champions.

More than 240 lawyers gathered at Liverpool’s Crown Plaza Hotel for the biennial Liverpool Law Society Legal Awards 2013.

Amongst the successful firms was DWF, winner of

the Work in the Community title, sponsored by the Post.

Executive partner Paul Rimmer said: “We are delighted to receive these awards, which are held in high regard in the Liverpool legal market.

“It is fantastic for the office to receive this recognition.”

women in business post business 15

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Mums in Business attracting cross-section of entrepreneurs

by Helen Davies

POST BUSINESS STAFF

helen.davies01@trinitymirror.com

A NETWORKING group for career-minded women is going from strength to strength.

Mums in Business is the brainchild of solicitor Claire Currie, partner at Kirwans, which has offices across the region.

Claire, who has a three-year-old son, says family commitments can mean women miss out on valuable business opportunities.

She said: “I set the group up a couple of years ago when I came back from maternity leave having had my son primarily because I found a lot of networking groups were in the evening or early morning.

“I also found in a many of the groups it was hard to talk to people because a lot of the people already knew each other.”

The events, which are held at lunchtime, normally attract between 30 and 40 women from a wide range of professions.

These include accountants, those working in PR, beauticians and a vintage clothes shop owner.

Claire, 36, said: “We’ve done a couple in Liverpool and some on the Wirral too because there seems to be

Advertising Feature

less chance for people to network there.”

Now the events have built up a loyal base of attendants and Claire is thinking about expanding to Southport.

The last event was held at The Wro in West Kirby and featured talks by guest speakers Sandra Venables from Green Frog Consultancy and Lisa Evans, commercial property solicitor at Kirwans. Lisa Evans said: “As a new mum working in professional services, Mums in Business was the perfect event for me to be part of.

“It is clear there are many women interested in looking for commercial property, and the discussions I had following my talk reiterated the fact that the region’s businesswomen are keen to learn more about how what to look for when acquiring new business premises or purchasing a business and how they can improve their businesses.”

Claire said it was good for working mums to be able to chat with others about returning to work after having children.

“Before I went on maternity leave I thought it would be fine,” she added.

“But then you get the guilt, both because you don’t want to let your company down and want to be performing as you were before but at the same time you don’t want to let your child down.”

Suzanne Bradshaw (McWallace FS), Jane Croft (Handelsbanken), and Claire Currie (Kirwans) at the event in West Kirby

Independent financial advice

Are you saving for the long term? Well done!

G LYN Jones of Vale Financial Services says if he ever needed more convincing that committing for the long term when it comes to investing is one of the most important considerations contributing to success, he saw it recently.

He recalls that someone had the foresight to start saving £10 per month more than 30 years ago into a personal pension plan.

That modest investment has produced an income of more than £2,000 per annum for life.

Glyn says: “Of course, everyone then wishes they had paid more in, but that’s not always possible.

“The principle is the same whatever amount you have available, although larger amounts obviously give you more scope and choice of investments.

“You may be closer to taking your pension than starting to contribute, but there are still some vital points to consider. Are you close

enough to be worried that your funds could fall in the next couple of years? If so, it may be worth looking at moving your money into a lower risk fund.”

Glyn says when you do decide to start taking your pension (commonly referred to as an annuity), there are far more options available today. We have many examples, for instance, of people who may wish to take their tax free lump sum but defer taking the income.

He explains: “This could be because they don’t need the income yet. Traditionally, annuity rates increased with your age, but rates generally have been falling for some years. We don’t know what will happen to rates, but deferring could mean you will see them higher in future.”

Glyn explains that health issues could also arise with increasing age, and many people now qualify for ‘enhanced’ annuities due to their state of health. “You don’t have to be at ‘death’s door’ to potentially achieve a higher income, so it’s important to disclose any

and all health issues and medications to ensure you get the best rate available,” he says.

He says congratulations are due if you have your own pension plans giving you options. You may choose to save in a different way, for example, into ISAs. These are more flexible, in that there is no minimum age for taking the money out and there are no taxes on exit, unlike pension payments which are classed as taxable income. There is however no tax relief added to ISA contributions, unlike pensions. Ideally you would have both so the pension saving is more disciplined and can’t be accessed before age 55 and the ISA provides more flexibility.

He adds: “If any of these points raise a query or you would like specific items addressed in future articles, please contact one of the firms on this page.”

■ VALE Financial Services is a trading style of pi financial ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Book ‘will help to attract women’ A BOOK to help male-focused businesses target female customers has been published.

The Daring Book for Boys in Business, published by the Pretty Little Head marketing consultancy, explains women are a missed commercial opportunity in markets such as technology, automotive and financial services where men are typically defined as the primary audience despite evidence that women control the majority of global spending in these sectors.

Philippa Roberts, who co-founded Pretty Little Head with Jane Cunningham, said this was because they “either target men and worry that targeting women will undermine their appeal to men or they are considered masculine as cultures and therefore find it difficult to do what is needed.”

Independent Financial Advisers in your area Anglesey Security Financial Services

Ty Llwyd, Llanfaelog,Ty Croes, Anglesey LL63 5TY Contact: Richard Jones Email richard@security-financial.co.uk Phone: 01407 811268 Mobile: 07710 468970

Denbighshire Vale Financial Services

info@valefinancialservices.com Studio One,Town Hall, Crown Lane, Denbigh LL16 3TB Tel: 01745 814962 Fax: 01745 814446 Contact: Glyn B. Jones info@valefinancialservices.com

Liverpool Investec Wealth & Investment

The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9AB. Tel: 0151 227 2030. Fax: 0151 227 2444 Email: paul.brokenshar@investecwin.co.uk Website: www.investecwin.co.uk Contact: Paul Brokenshar

Why choose an independent financial adviser

Because it pays to take an unbiased view

Glyn Jones

Those listed above are either an appointed representative of a network or national which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority or are directly authorised and regulated

16 post business location

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Office to residential conversions will help alleviate UK housing crisis

view point

by Matt Kerrigan, partner at Hitchcock Wright & Partners THE need for planning permission to convert office buildings to residential will no longer be required – a relaxation that will come into force

Another letting at Oasis RIVERSIDE Truck Rental and Direct Tyre Management have acquired a new group head office at the first phase of the Oasis Business Park in Skelmersdale.

The 8,100 sq ft deal was secured on a 10-year lease and is the second major letting at the park in recent weeks.

The letting will see the organisations occupy the entire ground floor of the 17,000 sq ft building.

Sid Sadique, managing director of Riverside Truck Rental, said: “Oasis Business Park offers the organisations, which are both part of the NRG Fleet Services group, affordable, quality grade A offices.”

across much of the UK from the end of this month.

What does this mean and what benefits will this bring to those involved?

Firstly, I guess the main benefit a move like this will bring is the impact it will have on the severe housing shortage in the UK. It is widely acknowledged that housing availability is in a desperate state and that there is a need to increase the rate at which new homes are being built.

Meeting housing needs is paramount and the Government firmly

believes that this intervention to relax the process of office-to-residential conversions will provide a real opportunity to contribute to these needs.

Eric Pickles, communities secretary, said: “There is huge untapped potential in the many disused existing buildings we have and we are determined that every one of them is put to good use.

“We’re providing a great opportunity for outdated, redundant or under-used offices to be

brought back to life by converting them into homes, protecting the green belt and countryside at the same time.

“This will also increase footfall and provide knock-on benefits to the wider community.”

Throw into the mix the associated costs and timescales of submitting planning permission.

Removal of these elements is likely to encourage developers to release more buildings for housing use.

‘Removal of these is likely to encourage developers’

The significant reduction in applications will also positively impact on local authorities, allowing staff to devote time to other work streams.

That said, some local councils do not look on the development in such a positive light.

A number, including the City of London and Manchester, are concerned that they will lose planning restriction controls and are fearful that this move will have serious economic implications by diluting business districts and putting off the potential for inward investment.

Liverpool Innovation Park unveils summer events list Liverpool Innovation Park and, left, Chris Musson

by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF

BUSINESS to BUSINESS

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

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A SUMMER of events is scheduled to take place at Liverpool Innovation Park (LIP).

The programme kicked off last week with the Eastern Approaches Business Leaders Group Meeting to officially launch the new Liverpool Cycle Scheme.

Featuring a talk by the scheme’s champion, cyclist Chris Boardman, the launch is the first of a number of high-profile events to be held at the park in the next few months.

On June 6, a Forum for the Built Environment event will be sponsored and hosted by Liverpool Innovation Park.

The United Kingdom Science Park Association chairman, Dr David Hardman, will join Ashtenne Space Northwest’s director Wayne Locke and Liverpool Science Park’s chief executive, Chris Musson, to discuss the future of science and innovation parks in the North West.

Following this, a seminar on employment

law and health and safety legislation will be held on June 20, which will provide business owners with information, tips and advice to assist them with their legal obligations and how to use the law to their business’s benefit.

As part of Liverpool Vision’s Accelerate 2013, LIP will also host a fringe event designed to help businesses in Liverpool tap into markets in London and the South East. This will take place on June 25.

Also coming up in the autumn is a workshop and lecture with American multiple-business owner, entrepreneur, investor and academic Neil Campbell, who will be at LIP to provide tenants and guests with a series of business development workshops that will really test their “blue-sky” thinking.

Delyth Lloyd, innovation manager at LIP, said: “We’ve got some really exciting events over the coming months.

“We pride ourselves on being able to offer our tenants and the wider business community with an exciting events calendar.

“All of our forthcoming events promise to really showcase what the business community in this area has to offer.”

Development site on the market AGENTS at Edward Symmons are marketing the freehold interest of a residential development site in Southport.

The 1.8 acre site is on the corner of Oxford Road and Palace Road in Birkdale.

It comes with two sets of planning permissions.

One is for a four-storey block of three large self-contained flats and five pairs of large villa-style semi-detached houses.

Oxford Road leads to Lullworth Road, which is the main arterial road leading north to Southport town centre and south via Crosby and ultimately to Liverpool city centre.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

location

Civil engineer opens its first base in Liverpool city centre CIVIL and structural engineering consultancy, Thomasons, has opened an office in Liverpool city centre.

It has taken office space in the Exchange Flags complex in the heart of the city’s commercial district.

Ian Booth, a structural engineer with more than 35 years’ experience, has been appointed as associate to lead the office.

He has been involved in many high profile local projects including new-build, extensions and refurbishments for the University of Liverpool and Liverpool John Moores University.

He also acted as engineering project director in providing sports halls and accommodation for the academies of Liverpool and Everton football clubs.

Richard Levery, director of Thomasons’ Manchester office, said: “Our business in Liverpool has grown substantially in recent years and it was therefore a logical move to open a Liverpool office to be closer to our clients.

“The construction market in Liverpool is expanding and we look forward to offering our extensive expertise in engineering to new projects.”

Thomasons is currently providing structural engineering services for the conversion of Liverpool College of Art.

Thomasons has taken space at Exchange Flags and the operation will be headed by Ian Booth, inset

post business 17

BPF seeks changes to judicial reviews THE British Property Federation (BPF) has called for the Government to consider further reforms to streamline the judicial review process and reduce the unnecessary delay and cost to development projects.

Last month, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling announced a number of changes to the judicial review process which acknowledged the inefficiency of the present system and its susceptibility to “cheap delaying” tactics. The proposals include halving the time limit for applying for a judicial review of a planning decision from three months to six weeks.

BPF chief executive, Liz Peace, said: “Changes to the judicial review process are long overdue and while these reforms mark a step in the direction, further consideration needs to be given to measures that would expedite the process.”

HWP wins place on project team

by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

LIVERPOOL commercial property agency Hitchcock Wright & Partners (HWP) is to join the development team on British Land’s Canal Corridor North regeneration project in Lancaster city centre.

Playing a pivotal role in the development, HWP, which specialises in all aspects of commercial property and development, will be providing valuation advice.

It will also be negotiating with existing owners to put the site together, with work due to start in 2015.

HWP partner, Eric Wright, said: “The plans for the regeneration of the Canal Corridor North site in Lancaster will provide a real boost to the area and we are looking forward to working alongside such an esteemed team to bring the exciting plans to fruition.

“The new team, which British Land has put together, is determined to deliver a viable and successful scheme for the town.

“Our involvement, in what looks set to be a hugely successful project, will see our team of specialists working closely with development manager Centros, British Land and the other consultants.”

The project, which was bought into by British Land in 2012 by securing the Mitchell Brewery 2.68 acre site, has been in discussions for some time.

A mixed use scheme that will look to incorporate retail outlets and parkland, while retaining many of the site’s original historic buildings and features, is proposed which will

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The British Land commitment is crucial to moving the site forward following the difficult period for commercial property development in the last five years.

HWP has experience working on similar projects, having carried out work with Legal and General to deliver the extension to St George’s Centre in Preston in the 1990s and having advised Grosvenor in the land acquisition valuation disputes for Liverpool One.

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18 post business economic development

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Business heavyweight who focus on

growth

by Helen Davies

POST BUSINESS STAFF

helen.davies01@trinitymirror.com

O

NE of the key speakers at a national business festival has endorsed Liverpool as an ideal place to hold the landmark event.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra beer, will be giving a speech at the inaugural Accelerate 2013 taking place in the city next month.

He says the conference, which will feature other speakers such as Michael Cawley, deputy chief executive of Ryanair, and Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com, is an ideal way for those looking to success in business to learn the tricks of the trade.

Lord Bilimoria said: “I think it’s really good that we have an event like this happening in Liverpool.

“I’m a great fan of London and very proud of it and what it achieves in every way.

“But I think London gets so much attention and there’s so much to the UK beyond the capital, I think holding this event in Liverpool highlights that.”

More than 1,000 delegates are expected at the city’s Arena and Convention Centre on June 27 for a programme of speeches and debates aimed at fast-growth businesses.

Headlining the festival, which is being sponsored by wealth management firm Coutts, along with the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), will be Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales.

“I think events like this are invaluable,” said Lord Bilimoria.

“I know as someone who has built a business from scratch there was nothing better than hearing from other entrepreneurs talking about their successes and failures.”

He added that at a time when many feel negative about the state of Britain’s economy, Accelerate was a chance to celebrate the nation’s successes.

“What I feel is Britain is going through a horrible time at the moment bumping along the bottom of the economy but what people often forget is the amazing strengths of the country,” he said.

At the heart of the event, created by the city’s economic development company, Liverpool Vision, will be the inaugural meeting of the Accelerate 250, the UK’s ‘vital six per cent’ of businesses which create more than half of the nation’s new jobs and have the greatest growth potential.

Each has been nominated by leading business figures and organisations and been invited to take part in the festival by Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco and Lord Green, Trade Minister, patrons of Accelerate 2013.

The members of the Accelerate 250 come from across the UK, and represent industries ranging from food to fashion, pharmaceuticals to finance, and retail to recruitment.

The group will be working closely with one another to address the key issues facing all growing businesses, meeting for a series of interactive discussions and debates.

A fringe programme will take

Former Tesco chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy, is one of the patrons of Accelerate 2013, along with trade minister, Lord Young place in the three days leading up to the main summit day where the 250 will meet, with scores of events being hosted in the Liverpool city region.

Among the offerings on the fringe line up are a breakfast event which will discuss Liverpool’s ambition to become Europe’s safest and most resilient city, a seminar on how to use social media for marketing and a finance advice session.

51-year-old Lord Bilimoria, who came to Britain aged 19 before coming up with the idea for Cobra as a student, recalls listening to Bill Gates speak when he first started out in business and says he believes the

talks on offer at Accelerate 2013 will be equally exciting..

“It was really inspiring and I think that’s what Accelerate will achieve,” he said.

“I really think events like this are fundamental to powering Britain’s entrepreneurial community.”

Among the topics covered in his speech will be how to overcome hurdles in business.

“One of my favourite sayings in business is good judgement comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgement,” he said.

“I nearly lost my business three times.

‘I think events like this are absolutely invaluable’

“The last time was four years ago.

“I will be talking about bouncing back from when you’ve nearly lost everything and what it takes to get through that.”

The event has been described as a boot-camp for businesses and organisers say it will also offer an ideal opportunity for networking,.

There is a full line up for Accelerate 2013, with highlights including AKQA founder Ajaz Ahmed examining the impact of the digital age on British Business and Lord Young, the Prime Minister’s enterprise advisor, leading a session on how the government backs fast-growing companies.

General Sir Mike Jackson, former chief of the General Staff, will reveal the secrets of building the teams

behind successful businesses ahead of a panel debating the most effective ways of brand building, featuring Ella’s Kitchen founder Paul Lindley, Betfair founder Ed Wray and Morgan Motor Company chairman Charles Morgan.

Elsewhere, former Dragon’s Den panellist Doug Richard will discuss the mind-set behind a successful business with Dr Shailenda Vyakarnam, director of the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

“It’s just gold dust for start ups,” said Lord Bilimoria.

“If I were an entrepreneur anywhere in Britain I would be heading for Liverpool.”

For more information go to www,accelerate2013.co.uk

economic development post business 19

Thursday, May 30, 2013

is backing city

Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra beer, said it is vital to hold such events outside London

diary of an entrepreneur I AM firm believer that to reach the top in business, the best place to start is at the bottom, learning your craft and working your way up.

My father helped to found NSG – which is now Altrad NSG – in the 1970s. When I came to work for the business I started out as a labourer, learning the practical skills of the scaffolding trade, while also taking the opportunity to learn about the business side of the operation.

I think I’ve done every job possible in the company since I started more than 29 years ago. This was essential for me to move up the career ladder as I’ve learned so much about every aspect of the business.

I am now the managing director of Altrad NSG, which is headquartered in Deeside and provides total scaffolding solutions for the construction and industrial sectors, while also offering a range of industrial services including rope access, painting and blasting, thermal insulation and specialist cleaning.

Myself and my fellow directors Rob Trotter and Rob Callaghan led a buyout of NSG UK in 2010. In May 2011 the business was sold to the France-based multinational Altrad Group and we rebranded as Altrad NSG. The three of us have remained at the head of operations and continued to oversee the growth of the business. In May we announced a group turnover of £23 million and we now employ 500 people across the UK. I am also very proud of our health and safety record – we continue to win awards and certificates for safety excellence and this is a key part of our success in retaining and winning new clients.

Although my father helped to found NSG – which stands for Northern Scaffold Group – it was never set in stone that I would

Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of lastminute.com, will be one of a number of speakers

Accelerate 2013 as a step-up event for IFB 2014 ACCELERATE 2013 is a follow-on from last year’s Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), which saw political figures and corporate leaders share their knowledge with the business world.

It is also a ‘step-up’ event to The International Festival for Business 2014 (IFB), being promoted as “a global gathering of the world’s

most inspiring businesses” which will also include cultural exhibits.

It is estimated 250,000 visitors from across the globe will come to next year’s 61-day urban festival and bring £100 million worth of investment.

Max Steinberg, chief executive of Liverpool Vision, said: “It reflects not only our continuing commitment to helping

our citizens reach their potential and to be enterprising, but the city’s leading role in the national effort to win the global race we are in.

“It is an opportunity to inspire more businesses to grow and to export and the opportunity to show the world what the UK and Liverpool have to offer.”

The original IFB concept, to showcase the

best of UK business to the world, emerged from a report published in October 2012 by Lord Heseltine and Sir Terry Leahy – ‘Rebalancing Britain – Policy or Slogan?’ and is seen as an important element of the government’s strategy to double the UK’s export growth by 2020.

The first draft of the IFB programme is due to be released next month.

Mike Carr

follow him into the family business.

My first foray into the world of work was actually retail rather than construction.

I was born in Liverpool and my family definitely had a work ethic.

I could have gone to university and did consider it, but in the end I wanted to get a job and start a career. I made sure though that I finished my A-levels at Gateacre Comprehensive before leaving school.

At the time I had been working shifts at Sainsbury’s and they asked me to join their management trainee scheme. But I was also offered a place on the John Lewis scheme so I opted for that. I spent two years working at the chain’s Liverpool city centre George Henry Lee store, before leaving to join NSG as a labourer.

This is one reason I fully support apprenticeships and other work based education programmes for young people. There is no better way of learning skills than doing it on the job. We have a partnership with the Shrewsbury Youth Centre in Everton which involves young people who are unemployed going on a 12-week training and apprenticeship programme. We have already taken on a number of apprentices and are always looking at ways to continue training a new generation of talented scaffolding and construction workers.

In terms of developing the business, we continue to secure new clients and are enjoying further expansion into sectors such as rail, social housing, maritime and oil and gas.

This has been a dynamic year for us despite the rough waters. I have invested a lot of time into the company but I love the job and feel proud to have worked my way up.

Mike Carr is the managing director of scaffolding company Altrad NSG

20 post business professionals

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Training aim for president of society THE partner of a Birkenhead-based accountancy firm has been named the new president of the industry’s body in Liverpool.

Paul Cochrane, of McEwan Wallace Chartered Accountants, will serve for the next year as head of the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants.

He succeeds Paul Christian, director of assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mr Cochrane said of his hopes for his year in office: “A key prior-

Manufacturing is a key growth sector for the North West, says Steve Thompson, right

Private businesses leading a return to North West growth

by Tony McDonough POST BUSINESS STAFF

tony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

MANUFACTURERS are leading a revival among private businesses in Merseyside and the North West, according to a study by banking giant Barclays.

The second Barclays Entrepreneurs Index shows a 23% rise in number of growing private businesses in the region with shareholder changes from second half of 2011 to second half of 2012 – the second largest increase in the UK and Ireland after London However, despite increased shareholder changes, average profitability of North West companies fell slightly from £1.3 to £1.2m in the same period The report said the North West industrial sector, led by a revival in manufacturing companies with shares changing hands, saw a 45% increase in activity

The index is the second in an ongoing series, which tracks one component of the entrepreneurial lifecycle, examining shareholder changes of growing businesses with turnovers of £5m to £200m.

Taking data from Companies House, the report works on the basis that the driving force behind a partial or full change of shareholding in a growing company is likely to be a liquidity event, triggered by individuals selling or transferring their stakes in businesses.

Steve Thompson, Liverpool director of Barclays Wealth and Investment Management, said: “Since our first Entrepreneurs Index report last autumn, we have watched with interest how the picture for both business activity in the North West, and the UK and Ireland, has shifted.

“It is encouraging to see that active

companies in Liverpool have shown not only resilience in the face of instability, but even remarkable growth in entrepreneurial activity and employment.

“The resurgence of traditional industries, as well as reinvestment made by entrepreneurs post-exit, is further proof that entrepreneurs are the engine room of the economy.”

A number of expert panellists quoted within the Barclays Entrepreneurs Index report attributed the boost in entrepreneurship activity in the North West to the creation of a £75m mayoral investment fund to support economic development in Liverpool.

Mr Thompson added: “As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, we know that the North West’s economy is underpinned by the manufacturing sector.

‘Showing resilience in the face of instability’

“From our work on the ground with local clients, we are seeing a noticeable shift in activity and confidence within the industrial sector, which has a knock-on effect for other businesses in the region.”

The report also identified “significant” growth in employment among privately-owned businesses, which now employ some 4.5m people – providing around 14% of total employment in the UK and Ireland.

The number of people employed by growing North West companies recording shareholder changes also increased, at just over four people for every 100 in the North West, up from just over three in the second half of 2011. he North West saw the highest proportion of entrepreneurial activity take place in the industrial sector, which consists mainly of manufacturing companies, with 595 growing industrial companies recording shareholder changes.

Paul Cochrane ity is improving access to our profession. This will involve maintaining traditional links with universities and graduates.

“However, we will also be looking at ways of increasing the number of apprenticeships which are currently being offered by professional service firms here in Merseyside.”

John Nolan, from the RSA Insurance Group, will serve as Mr Cochrane’s deputy and Philip Silver, from Pennington Silver Chartered Accountants, will be vice-president for the next year.

The society is the oldest of its kind in England and represents 3,580 accountants across Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales.

POST

MOBILE

on the move ■

NORTH West law firm Stephensons Solicitors has promoted five associate solicitors to the partnership, bringing the total number of partners to 36.

Claire Johns, head of the family team in St Helens, qualified as a solicitor at Stephensons in 2001 and has developed her role as an outstanding family solicitor, specialising in the law relating to children.

The other partners are fraud and regulatory solicitor Rachel Adamson, based in Wigan; Leigh estates and tax planning specialist Rob Gore; commercial litigation solicitor Alistair Gregory; and property litigation specialist Louise Hebborn, both based in the Middlebrook office in Bolton.

■

JANE Moss has been appointed gen-

eral manager of the recently opened Z Liverpool, on North John Street.

Part of the Z Hotels portfolio, Z Liverpool is the third property in the UK hotel chain and joins its sister properties in London – Z Soho and Z Victoria. Prior to joining Z Liverpool, Ms Moss was conferencing and finance manager at The Life Conferencing Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

For News, Sport and Business on your phone Claire Johns – Stephensons

Jane Moss – Z Liverpool

Text LDP to 67800

style post business 21

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Transferring football skills to business

Helen Davies asks whether or not skills seen in football can be replicated in business

W

E all know “transferable skills” has become one of the buzz phrases for people looking to vary their careers.

But can the talents of our favourite sports stars really provide lessons for the business world?

The organisers of a new management course certainly think so.

Liverpool Football Club has joined forces with London School of Business and Finance (LSBF) for a new series of leadership and management training programmes.

The five-day ELITES (Education and Learning Initiative Training Entrepreneurs in Sport) programmes, kicking off on Monday June 3 at Liverpool FC Academy, are supported by guest lecturers and LFC legends such as Ian Rush and Alan Kennedy.

Michael Schofield, founder of the Coach Business, said: “Students will benefit from the world-class skills of experienced LSBF lecturers as well as from those at the helm of one of history's most iconic football club.

“With eighteen league titles to their name, the entire LFC team know a thing or two about teamwork, personal growth and management.”

Students will spend the first half of each day exploring management theory with LSBF lecturers and the second half applying what they have

learned to the sporting world with LFC coaches.

But what does the world of football really have to teach those working in management?

Do we really want our leaders replicating the red card tactics all too often used on the pitch by foul-mouthed players?

Bad behaviour aside though, it’s pretty clear there are transferable skills which can be taken from football - think teamwork, motivation and leadership to name but a few. It’s a theory agreed with by Glen Walsh, managing director of Axis recruitment agency.

He said: “I’m from a football background and I put my business success down to my short footballing career.

One of my internal interview questions is actually ‘What sort of sporting background do you have?’”

Mr Walsh, who was a reserves player for Queen of the South FC in Scotland as a teenager, added: “The main skills sport gives are drive and competitive edge. With football it’s not about the singular but about the team but there’s that chance for individuals to shine.”

Following a series of programmes, which cost £1,300 per person, taking place throughout June, July and August on home soil, the project will set off for an international tour of institutions in Japan, Toronto, Boston, Copenhagen and China.

Prof Maurits Van Rooijen, chief executive of the London School of Business and Finances, said: “We intend to expand and create additional programmes and qualifications gradually. With LSBF’s innovation and leadership in education, combined with Liverpool FC’s expertise in sport’s management, we aim to give students and professionals the chance to develop their careers worldwide.”

Steven Gerrard has a motivational talk from Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers

past business – nostalgia

Why ‘live Yankee’ Frank Woolworth chose Liverpool over Manchester

The first Woolworth’s store, Church Street

WHEN retail legend Frank Winfield Woolworth decided to export his pioneering retail model to the UK, there was only one place to start – Liverpool.

Woolworth made his first visit to the UK in 1890, and soon told his executives back in the US that UK shoppers would welcome an American-style shopping experience.

He wrote: “These stores we have seen are nothing but little shops ... not much like our fine stores. I think a good 1d (one penny) and 6d (sixpence) store run by a live Yankee would create a sensation here.”

British shoppers were unused to the idea of popping into a shop to look round. Woolworth wrote: “The moment you go in, you are expected to buy and to have made your choice from the window.

They give you an icy stare if you follow the American custom of just going to look round.”

But Woolworth was convinced that British shoppers would soon adapt to the new style and so, in 1909, he and his team grabbed a copy of the Woolworth’s Atlas of the World and travelled to the UK.

At first, they looked to open a store in centrally-located Northamptonshire – but a media frenzy meant negotiations collapsed.

Online archive the Woolworths Museum (www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk) recounts how both the Daily Mail and the Draper’s Record mocked Woolworth, suggesting his stores were “sideshows” and warning landlords to steer clear.

But Woolworth and his cousin Fred Moore Woolworth persevered, looking at locations including Southampton, Croydon, Brighton, Birmingham, Reading and Manchester.

But ultimately Liverpool won out, with Frank and Fred noting its similarities to New York. Frank noted, “Manchester city does not look as lively and up to date to us as Liverpool”.

So he signed a lease on the former Henry Miles hat store in Church Street.

As the Woolworths museum notes: “The landlord was prepared to ignore the newspaper stories once he received the offer of a year’s rent in advance and a 25-year lease.”

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Liverpool in 1908 – showing the thriving city centre that attracted Frank Woolworth

22 post business end piece

Thursday, May 30, 2013

trading gossip

LIVERPOOL POST BUSINESS LUNCH DIRECTORY

Call the brasserie 0151 299 5000 to book and quote ‘The Daily Post’.

£10 full rodizio lunch between 12 noon and 4pm, Monday to Friday. Terms and Conditions apply.

Malmaison Extra Extra! Find out what Sundays are really about with the delicious 4 course Sunday Brunch menu at Malmaison.

Including our renowned hors d’oeuvre buffet, eggs and pancake station, the incredible Mal Roast and a delicious selection of desserts from £19.95 or £7.95 for children under 12.

William Jessop Way Princes Dock, Liverpool, L3 0BG Viva Brasil The award-winning Viva Brazil restaurant is situated in the heart of the business district in Liverpool’s Castle Street. It is a firm favourite for business lunches providing fast and efficient service. With a menu to suit all tastes, including more than 15 cuts of meat and 20 salads, you are guaranteed not to go hungry.

Liverpool Restaurant: 36 Castle Street, Liverpool. L2 0NR Tel: 0151 236 8080 www.vivabrazilrestaurants.com Radisson Blu Radisson Blu Hotel Liverpool launches brand new Lightning Lunch menu. Indulge in a main course and a drink for just £6.95.

Best of all is the guarantee: if the meal has not been served within 15 minutes, it is completely free!

Lightning Lunch Offer £6.95 per person

Radisson Blu Hotel Liverpool Tel, 0151 966 1500 Email: info.liverpool@radissonblu.com 107 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9BD

CROWNE PLAZA Princes Dock Pier Head T: +44 (0) 151 243 8000 enquiries@cpliverpool.com

CROWN PLAZA BRASSERIE Our Chef and his team have a passion for food and offer a wide variety of dishes that draw on modern international flavours and ingredients.

The Hotel Restaurant is very stylish and recently refurbished. Bar Lounge serving a mouth-watering range of food, speciality coffees and teas and a huge variety of cocktails, wines and beers, the lounge provides a stylish, comfortable environment in which to do business or simply to relax

Thistle Liverpool City Centre The Vista Bar & Restaurant is the ideal location for any gathering.

Displaying spectacular views over the River Mersey and Liver Building,

Enquiries/Reservations, please call: 0871 376 9025

please call Tel: 0151 559 0111

the restaurant offers a wide choice of dishes to suit all palates.

Your experience here will be an unforgettable one Hotel Indigo Marco in Minutes - Express Lunch Menu Time may be of the essence but that shouldn’t mean you have to compromise on quality. With the new Express Lunch Menu, you can feast on the finest cuisine using the freshest of ingredients, and still have time to meet all those deadlines! With two courses for £10 or a main meal and a drink for £10 It’s a menu with little fuss - just good, honest, simple food for those who have very little time to stop.

To promote your location please email : neil.johnson@trinitymirror.com

■

AGED just 26, Liverpool entrepreneur Daniel Reilly (not David as his own PR people called him in the picture caption in their press release) is set to be the UK’s next aviation tycoon.

Daniel launched his airline JetXtra.com last year, and this week launched new routes from Humberside Airport to the holiday

destinations of Alicante and Majorca.

Such is his confidence, he is already comparing himself to Sir Richard Branson.

He said: “I am a year younger than Sir Richard Branson when he launched Virgin Atlantic, so I think I have a head start.”

He also seems to have developed Sir Richard’s liking for dressing up to publicise his ventures.

Daniel is pictured, right, at the launch of the routes at Humberside Airport wearing a large sombrero hat and flanked by a couple of flamenco dancers. He’s raised the bar now.

Cycling is the perfect ending to a busy day myday off Chris Walters is an investment director for the Merseyside Special Investment Fund and has been an avid fan of bike riding ever since her childhood years

M

ERSEYSIDE Special Investment Fund (MSIF) is a great place to work. No day is ever the same and I really enjoy meeting new businesses and helping them to flourish.

My days are always jam-packed though and it can be quite stressful.

For me, there’s no better way to de-stress at the weekend than to pack up a picnic (or make my destination a country pub) and head out into the countryside on my bike – it gives me a great sense of freedom.

As well being a good form of exercise, it’s a great way to see the world and take in the environment.

On average I probably do around 50 miles on each trip. It’s a nice to do as a family – my husband and daughter both have bikes too and we often go out together, although my daughter’s now in her teens so she’s not as keen as she was to spend time with us!

We often cycle the trans-Pennine trail and my husband and I are currently planning a trip cycling along the coast of Wales in the summer holidays.

I first got into cycling as a child, both as a hobby and a sport to follow.

My older brother was a huge cycling fan and fanatical about the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong was one of my heroes and I was so disappointed last year when he confessed to cheating his way through his seven Tour wins.

Chris Walters got into cycling as a hobby and later used it for sport The 2012 Olympics really raised the profile of the sport with the British team stealing the show in the cycling events. I actually got to meet my hero, Sir Bradley Wiggins, last year when he came to Merseyside as part of his Tour of Britain. There are lots of fantastic role models for the sport such as Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Dame Sara Storey.

I don’t just cycle as a hobby or to keep fit, it is also a form of transport.

During the week I cycle to work as often as I can. MSIF operate the Bike to Work Scheme, which is an initiative where they pay the cost of a bike upfront and I then repay directly out of my salary each month. The repayments aren’t taxed or subject to national insurance contributions so it’s a good incentive. I got my first bike two years ago and I’m just in the process buying a new one.

Cycling as a mode of transport should be encouraged – it’s a much greener way to travel and keeps you

fit. I think some people are put off because they think it is dangerous.

Obviously there are risks but there are with any form of transport.

However, I do see lots of cyclists who don’t take basic precautions such as wearing a helmet or protective and high-visibility clothing. I came off my bike last year and sustained afew injuries but it would have been much more serious had I not been wearing my helmet.

And a real pet hate of mine is cyclists who ignore basic Highway Code rules such as jumping red traffic lights.

Something I would really like to raise awareness of is the lack of cycle lanes in the city.

There was a national campaign recently to get more cycle lanes in London and I think this is something that should be extended to other cities.

My cycle to work wakes me up so I’m fresh when I get in the office and is the perfect end to a busy day.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

end piece

23 post business

networking

Olive in Castle Street, Liverpool

my favourite lunch

Social networking

BRAND Ubiquity hosted a networking event at Hanover Street Social, sponsored by Jackson Canter. Pictured, above, are Hazel Dyble, Jackson Canter, John Bul-

lock, City Lets Liverpool and Michael Sandys, Jackson Canter.

Left, Joy Lorenz, Green Wedding Fayre and David McMillan, Aspire Sports.

Global over breakfast PEOPLE running small businesses joined professionals at Liverpool Science Park for a business breakfast event.

As well as taking the opportunity to network, those attending heard

Andrew Peters from Siemens talk about “key global challenges”.

Pictured, from left, Margaret Bourke, Kirsty Barr from Liverpool John Moores University and Jane Harland from Baker Tilly.

Q What is your favourite dish and why?

A It’s an Italian inspired menu and has lots of dishes that I enjoy, but I do love the mozzarella and plum tomato salad, a good healthy option and it tastes great too!

OTTERS EATERY celebrated its first birthday offering a new menu to feed both those on Active Adventures’ “playground” pursuits plus guests from Liverpool’s city business community.

THURSDAY, MAY 30

SOUTH Liverpool Business Network’s breakfast briefing at Enterprise South Liverpool Academy, Garston, features Cllr Nick Small, cabinet member for employment and skills, as guest speaker. The event starts at 8am and costs £5 for members, or £10 for non-members, which includes breakfast. To confirm your place ring 0151-203 3429.

THURSDAY, MAY 30

EXPORT Sales – winning orders overseas, is a course offered by Liverpool

Chamber of Commerce that is aimed at companies involved in the manufacturing or services sectors; business development or sales managers and senior personnel responsible for identifying and winning international business; and those new or inexperienced in international marketing as well as more established exporters looking to develop their sales techniques and learn practical new skills.

Examples and exercises are used throughout the workshop to illustrate the key elements, and consideration is given to the

Q What is your favourite lunch venue?

A I travel all over the North West looking after the Jockey Club’s racecourses but still a firm favourite for lunch is Olive on Castle Street.

Q Why is this your favourite venue?

A It’s everything from the great salads and pizzas to the relaxed atmosphere.

Birthday gathering

business diary

Debbie Slee, events manager at Aintree Racecourse

individual objectives of participating companies with delegates encouraged to share their own experiences. The course takes place from 9.30am to 4pm at the chamber’s Old Hall Street offices and costs £200 for chamber members, or £250 for non-members. For more information visit www.liverpool chamber.org.uk/eventitem. aspx/ show/473 or to attend email export@ liverpoolchamber.org.uk

TUESDAY, JUNE 4

ST HELENS Chamber of Commerce is staging an advanced online marketing workshop aimed at

From left, Hiren Patel, ASA Therapies, Dion Padan, Hooka, Ian Wilkinson, WPA Health Insurance, Dan Kirkham, Active Adventures, Raoul Hamilton-Burke, David Roberts & Partners.

people who already possess a basic understanding of online marketing and wish to build on it. It will help attendees understand how to design and build a truly search engine optimised (SEO) website and discover how to maximise the number of relevant website visitors through advanced SEO techniques and practices. It costs £49 (excl VAT) for chamber members or £99 (excl VAT) for non- members. Visit www. sthelenschamber.com/ booking to book.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

PRIORY Business Forum is a free monthly business breakfast event for entrepreneurs and busi-

Q What is the best bit of business you have done over lunch?

A I do a huge amount of business over lunch, particularly at the racecourses themselves. Lunch is an opportunity to showcase the work of our chefs to prospective clients who are looking to hold meetings and conferences. It’s hard to pick out one element of business, but we have won some major national exhibitions and conferences,

nesspeople and has been running on the Wirral for nine years. The event takes place at MEC North West, Monks Ferry, Birkenhead and starts with registration and networking at 8am, with the presentation starting at 8.30am. Visit http:// priorybusinessforum.event brite.co.uk/ to register.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6

Debbie Slee

LIVERPOOL Hope University has organised a business breakfast event, from 7.30am to 9.30am, on the impact of the Atlantic Gateway. Aimed at the construction, charity, creative, international trade, environment, retail, tourism, manufacturing, pro-

through a coffee and sandwich at Aintree!

Q Who would you most like to have lunch with?

A Alan Sugar, firstly I love the Apprentice and Alan’s no nonsense attitude, secondly I think Alan is an inspiration, a self made millionaire, you’ve got to admire that.

Q Where else do you like to go for lunch?

A Liverpool has lots of venues, I do enjoy London Carriage Works but I am on a huge health kick at the moment, so I’m trying to go out less and stick to home made, healthy options.

fessional, and transport sectors, it will feature as keynote speaker Susan Williams, executive director of Atlantic Gateway, who will talk on “The Potential of Atlantic Gateway”. For further information please contact Becky Rawlinson at rawlinb@hope.ac.uk or 0151-291 3005.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19

ENTERPRISING Merseyside is staging a free workshop aimed at helping people become their own boss . Be Your Own Boss is being hosted at the St Helens Chamber of Commerce offices, in Salisbury Street, from 6pm to 8pm. For further information call: 0845 340 9980.

TUESDAY, JUNE 25

A WORKSHOP aimed at helping firms do business in Russia is taking place at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, from 9.15am to 1pm, including breakfast.

Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation last year will open markets further. This event will give an overview of the practical considerations to start exporting, or increase current exports to Russia. It costs £10 for chamber members and £15 for non-members. Visit www.mychamber.co. uk/liverpool/event/view/id/ 3252#book to book.

■ Send your diary events to neil.hodgson @liverpool.com

24

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Come and celebrate the dynamic, passionate and inspirational businesses from across the region at a gala awards dinner and awards ceremony.

Hosted by Peter Sissons onThursday June 13, 2013 at St George’s Hall the awards are a must attend event.

To book your table call 0151 472 2570 or to request more information email events@liverpool.com For more information about the awards visit www.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk or follow us @LP_RBA Thursday June 13, 2013 is about business in our region.