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Tourism a year on How has Merseyside’s visitor economy fared post-2008?
Crunch credit: Biscuit firm’s boost Big interview: Lloyd Whiteley looks to the future Record-breakers: City’s young professionals
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NEWS
Cash boost for biscuit maker
BUSINESS
EDITOR Bill Gleeson 0151 472 2319
9 BIG INTERVIEW
bill.gleeson@liverpool.com
Lloyd Whiteley, Edward Billington
DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR Tony McDonough 0151 330 4918
14 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Taking technology to market
tony.mcdonough @liverpool.com
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BUSINESS WRITERS Alistair Houghton
BIG FEATURE
Merseyside tourism post-2008
alistair.houghton @liverpool.com
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Barry Turnbull
Wirral firm’s South American deals
24 CAMPAIGN
Pilot scheme for entrepreneurs
barry.turnbull @liverpool.com
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Neil Hodgson neil.hodgson @liverpool.com
Alex Turner
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HEAD OF IMAGES Barrie Mills
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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
MARKETING EXECUTIVE Litza Gorman 0151 742 2352
Revival for Chester plan
28 HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?
ADVERTISEMENT DIRECTOR Debbie McGraw
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ADVERTISMENT SALES Jackie McMahon 0151 330 5077 Trudie Arlett 0151 472 2476
Firms escaping EPC penalties
PROFESSIONAL SECTORS Record for young professionals
33 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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Focus on St Helens
40 EDUCATION
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46 NETWORKER
Barry Turnbull’s festive moan
CHRISTIAN church leaders have been busily advising us all to be wary of taking on debt this festive season. Sound advice. The churches’ distaste for debt is understandable. People can get themselves into some very miserable circumstances if they’re not careful. It can take many years to work off past indulgences. But economists would tell you that debt played a huge part in stimulating the golden period of economic growth that we enjoyed between the early 90s and 2008. Nor was it just Britain that enjoyed an unprecedented period of growth fuelled by debt. The United States and Ireland did, too. Both of those nations benefited even more than we did. Personal debt helped drive Irish productivity upwards to the point
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EDITOR’S LETTER that economic output per capita almost matched that of the US. In contrast, nations that don’t have the same credit culture as Britain didn’t experience so much growth. British GDP exceeded that of France, and its per capita income partially closed the long-standing gap with Germany during that golden era. The big difference is that, in those nations, you don’t find consumers paying for their sofas with credit cards. They are more likely to use
debit cards instead. And yet, despite what went before the global recession, it is France and Germany that are pulling most sharply out of the recession. Indeed, the recession has not been as deep in those countries, partly because the sector most adversely affected by the economic recession was financial services, which is bigger in Britain than it is in France and Germany. There is a sort of poetic justice to that. After all, it was the City of London that pedalled debt to us and the rest of the world on a gigantic scale. But I’m not a puritan. Debt has a bona fide role to play in, for instance, business investment
and household budgets. Virtually everybody has a mortgage, for example. Without mortgages, most of us couldn’t afford to buy a house. Debt is like everything at Christmas. In moderation, it can even be beneficial. Taken in excess, it can be catastrophic. One bit of festive cheer is the development in employment trends locally and nationally. France, Germany and the US may be enjoying rising economic output, but that has yet to feed through to their labour market statistics. Britain’s employment data, however, seems more robust. Employment opportunities are increasing,
albeit most of the increase in advertised vacancies is for part-time jobs. But why is it happening? It has been a long-established feature of the UK economy that the employment market has been more flexible than Europe’s. We are cheaper to hire and fire, making British employers more likely to take the risk of recruiting. Indeed, in the past, that flexibility has been a selling point used by local economic development agencies when pitching to potential inward investors to our region. Such flexibility may be standing the country in good stead right now. 2010 should turn out better than 2009.
BILL GLEESON 3
NEWS
TMP gives Duke special award for Liverpool One
The Duke of Westminster, centre, with TMP’s chairman Rod Holmes and chief executive, Lorraine Rogers
THE man behind the £1bn Liverpool One development has been presented with a special award by economic development agency The Mersey Partnership (TMP). The Duke of Westminster was guest of honour a at special dinner held in the crypt of Liverpool’s Metropolitan Cathedral. He was presented with the award on behalf of TMP’s public and private sector members to recognise his role in what was the city’s biggest-ever single private sector investment. Liverpool One opened in May last
year and has proved a huge hit with shoppers. TMP chief executive Lorraine Rogers told the audience of more than 120 guests: “No-one has made a greater and more effective contribution to the transformation of Liverpool city centre than our guest of honour this evening. “Liverpool One is a very tangible reminder of the progress we have seen over the last few years.” Ms Rogers presented the Duke with a framed and inscribed print of artist Ben Johnson’s famous Liverpool Cityscape.
Grant is a real cracker for United Biscuits RODUCTION of Jaffa Cake Bars and TUC Biscuits is transferring from mainland Europe to Liverpool, thanks to a Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) grant. United Biscuits, which makes the snacks, is to receive £425,000 from the NWDA as part of its Grants for Business Investment (GBI) programme. UB is one of two north-west firms to share £675,000 in development grants under GBI, which is helping to increase productivity, skills and employment in the region. GBI is part of Solutions for Business, the Government’s package of publicly-funded business support designed to help companies start and grow. United Biscuits is a multi-national manufacturer of biscuits, cakes and savoury snacks. The GBI grant will assist the company’s production at the Aintree operation. The GBI grant will allow United Biscuits to increase the output of TUC crackers, creating 28 jobs, and allow the site to begin to manufacture Jaffa Cake Bars, safeguarding 39 jobs. The project will increase the use of the Merseyside site, creating United Biscuits’ centre of excellence for cracker production, which the company hopes will increase sales and grow the local economy. Andrew Hawley, manufacturing director for biscuits at United Biscuits UK, said: “As a result of securing the GBI support, our Aintree factory can now look forward to over £2m of new investment. This will enable the repatriation of Jaffa Cakes Bars and TUC Crackers from northern Europe.” Meanwhile, Bolton-based Peter Hunt’s Bakery will invest in equipment to diversify new markets.
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Aintree will increase its production of TUC biscuits at Aintree
Chancellor Alistair Dowling – urged to help build up momentum in recovery
Darling is urged to back industry MANUFACTURERS’ association, the EEF, is calling on Chancellor Alistair Darling to support the “productive sectors of the economy” in his Pre-Budget statement next month. The EEF says Mr Darling must use the statement to “build momentum behind the recovery and pave the way for a more balanced economic future”. Publishing its submission in advance of the Pre-Budget report, EEF says the government needs to address both the need to restore the public finances and provide continuity of support to the “productive sectors of the economy that are vital to the UK’s long-term economic health”. EEF director of Policy, Steve Radley, said: “We have been
through an unprecedented period of instability from which we have yet to emerge. “With the road to recovery likely to be long and uncertain, the need for a stable business environment will be just as important during the upturn as it was in the recession. “Failure to do this risks pulling the rug out from under companies, just as growth looks set to return. “We must now see policy consistency to rebuild confidence across the economy. “But it is also critical that the tax system, forward spending plans and financial system all pull in the same direction to support investment that will support the shift to a more balanced economy.”
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Enterprise offers new start
Elixir Foundations provides essential social support and guidance with a little help from Stepclever STEPCLEVER is an initiative to generate an enterprise culture in North Liverpool and South Sefton, by offering free business advice and support, as well as grants and other financial assistance for existing enterprises, start-up companies and individuals. Here we look at an exciting venture which is being helped by Stepclever. IT WAS through tough, personal, experience that Ben Donnelly realised there was a worrying gap in the market. When he kicked his drug habit, Ben found there was a lack of a comprehensive service in the North-West which offered accommodation, support and a full recovery programme which would help get his, and the lives of others, back on track. A year ago, Ben set up Elixir Foundations in Bootle, a social enterprise dedicated to helping drug addicts, ex-offenders and the long-term unemployed rebuild their lives.
The idea behind it is to give everyone who takes part the opportunity to take back control of their lives. Accredited life coaches are on hand to help their clients overcome issues from the past, while also setting out enjoyable and achievable targets for the future. At the same time, people are encouraged to get back into work and can get involved in Elixir’s large-scale recycling project in which they collect UPVC windows, cardboard and metals that would otherwise be sent to landfill. Once they process the material, it is then sold on. The aim is to provide employment for 90 people in the first year of operation, and they are well on the way to achieving this. Elixir Foundations also offer abstinent homes (premises where drug use is forbidden) and, in April this year, they received a £10,000 grant from Stepclever which they used to renovate their first house. Up to six people
could live in this high quality, comfortable accommodation which provides communal areas and individual living spaces and personal support. Ben, who is Elixir’s chief executive, said: “Stepclever have been fantastic and we wouldn’t be where we are today without their help. “The money was, of course, vital to us being able to offer the high quality service to our clients, but the guidance and support we received from the Stepclever team was invaluable. “Setting up a social enterprise is never easy, particularly in the current financial climate, but we’ve had a great response from clients so far and I really believe we’ll really make a positive difference to those who are trying to change their lives for the better.” ■ FOR more information about Elixir Foundations, visit www.elixir foundations.co.uk or call 0151 550 0062.
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Ben Donnelly, above, realised an important community service was required
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5
NEWS
TOTALLY
FRANK
Frank McKenna is the chairman of Downtown Liverpool In Business WOULD a “city region” mayor be better? There has been a longrunning debate in Liverpool, going back at least ten years, about the pros and cons of an elected mayor for the city. This week the MP for Walton, Peter Kilfoyle, issued a report that concluded the need for a Mayor – but one that represented the whole of the Liverpool city region. In this scenario, the mayor would be given the same powers that Boris Johnson enjoys in London, and would be responsible for major planning, transport, economic development and policing issues in Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, St Helens and Halton. Kilfoyle argues, with some justification, that the current arrangements for city region co-operation and co-ordination do not, in any practical sense, operate effectively, citing the fall-out between the Merseyside authorities over the issue of Everton Football Club’s proposed move to Kirkby. He could also have used the Merseytram fiasco to illustrate his point. Kilfoyle is not the influence he once was, and he is likely to be an opposition Member this time next year. Nonetheless, he raises important issues that will need to be addressed by a future Conservative Government as they embark on the restructuring of local government structures that, in this part of the North West at least, simply do not work. In the city of Liverpool, it would appear, the appetite for an elected Mayor is growing. Downtown Liverpool In Business (DLIB) polls have consistently shown that over 70% of the business community support the idea. Also, a recent consultation exercise undertaken by Liverpool City Council showed a similar percentage of respondents in favour of such a
position being created. With the Tories promising a referendum of all Liverpudlians to decide how they should be governed locally in the future, my money is on Liverpool having an elected Mayor by 2012 at the very latest. Merseytram – it’s up to us I was part of a delegation of political and business leaders that met with Government Transport Minister Sadiq Khan in Liverpool this morning, and I came away believing that there is still every chance that Merseytram can be built, if we can demonstrate support for the scheme across the city region. With £70m already invested in the Liverpool-Kirkby Line One route, it has always seemed crazy to me for our political leaders not to go the extra mile and deliver a project that would improve the area’s transport infrastructure, improve our environmental performance, create jobs and give a major boost to the local economy. What Merseytram also does is offer parts of Liverpool that have not benefited from the tremendous improvements seen in the city centre over the past decade an opportunity to connect to the city and witness direct regeneration in their own communities. There was clear support this morning from Labour Council Leaders Joe Anderson and Ron Round; alongside business voices such as David Wade Smith, Chamber chairman Ed Oliver, and Phil Redmond. The Minister was left in no doubt that there is still a good deal of support for a Liverpool tram, from right across the private sector. Let us hope similar unity and support is demonstrated from our political leadership from across the city region.
‘I believe there is still every chance that Merseytram can be built’
Fab Four teaser wows Delhi in tourism push NDIA’S capital, Delhi, said “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” to a week-long Beatles festival celebrating all things Liverpool. The “Imagine” presentation was organised by Albert Dock-based tourism hot-spot Beatles Story and transport authority Merseytravel, and supported by tourism body The Mersey Partnership, early in November, in a bid to attract more Indian tourists visiting the UK to Liverpool. More than 250,000 people visited the festival, which featured Delhi-born ex-Beatles drummer Pete Best and his band, as well as the original Beatles Madame Tussauds waxworks. With the growing prosperity of middle-class Indians, more and more are venturing abroad. Last year, more than 400,000 Indians visited the UK – but less than 1% travelled to Liverpool. Clare Ireland, Beatles Story general manager, said: “Pete Best is a brilliant ambassador for Liverpool, the crowds loved him and were singing and dancing to his music. “This event attracted over 250,000 visitors and the media coverage it gained has confirmed that Beatlemania is alive and well in India. “We are now working with VisitBritain on phase two of our campaign, which will have both a strong football and Beatles flavour.” Jerry Goldman, Beatles Story managing director, added: “For the third year running, Indian tourists to London outspent their Japanese counterparts, spending £149m in the capital in 2008. “The Indian tourist market has huge potential for Liverpool and we want to push the city sky high as a must-see destination for Indian visitors.” The Beatles Story is also eyeing the Australian and US markets.
I
Albert Dock-based Beatles Story managing director, Jerry Goldman
Pay freeze staff are recession’s ‘unsung heroes’
Matt Dunham, of Grant Thornton and R3
6
WORKERS who have taken unpaid leave or accepted a pay freeze are the “unsung heroes of the recession”, according to the North West chairman of insolvency trade body R3. Its research showed that more than half of workers in the North had taken action to help their companies survive the recession. Matt Dunham applauded their actions, which have taken place at firms from multi-nationals such as BT and British Airways to small businesses with just a handful of employees.
He said: “These people are the unsung heroes of the recession. In some cases we’ve seen, they’ve made the difference between survival and collapse. “A few people in a company taking pay freezes in the short term can prevent insolvency and job losses in the long term. “ With record numbers of insolvencies and rising unemployment, these people make a significant contribution to their companies, their colleagues and the economy as a whole.”
NEWS
Entrepreneurial spirit ‘better than ever’ LIVERPOOL businessman Steve Morgan praised the high calibre of entries in the 2009 Morgan Foundation Entrepreneur Awards which featured several Merseyside success stories. The awards ceremony at Cheshire’s Carden Park named Speke’s Five Children and Families as Best Entrepreneurial Charity or Social Enterprise, while the Birkenhead- based Rape and
Sexual Abuse Centre was named runner-up. It was also a Merseyside one-two in the Best New Business category, when Greengrape Solutions, from Liverpool, grabbed top spot, followed by The Novelty Warehouse, from Wallasey. Alison McCausland, of Warrington’s Relationships Centre, won the Best Individual Entrepreneur Working in a Charity or Social
Enterprise. And Megan Finlinson, of Finn’s Cheesecake Company, in Liverpool, was named Best Young Entrepreneur runner-up. Redrow boss Mr Morgan said: “Despite, or maybe because of, the current economic climate, there were a record number of entries this year and the overall standard was higher than ever.”
Steve Morgan, second left, with Greengrape’s Emma Loizidis, Charlotte McDonald and John McDonald
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THE BIG INTERVIEW
Variety is the spice of life BY BILL GLEESON
▲ ▲
Edward Billington & Son group executive chairman, Lloyd Whiteley, has had to meet the challenges of keeping a traditional business competitive in a modern age.
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THE BIG INTERVIEW LLOYD WHITELEY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 OUNDED in 1858, Edward Billington & Son is one of Merseyside’s oldest familyowned companies. From modest beginnings as a sugar and coffee importer, the group now makes, trades and sells a wide variety of products that can be found anywhere from Waitrose supermarkets to school boiler rooms. The geographical spread of its operations and markets ranges from the UK to the United States. Through its US subsidiaries Billington Sugar and Wholesome Sweeteners, based in Houston, the group is still active as a leading supplier of unrefined and organic and Fair Trade cane sugars, and in the UK is one of the largest suppliers of agricultural products. More than 150 years on, it still regards itself as a growing group of trading and manufacturing businesses. Billington’s website claims the company’s success has been built on a “tradition of entrepreneurship – spotting and seizing business opportunities, sharing and gaining expertise through joint ventures and balancing a willingness to take risk in investment and innovation with broad and long-term financial prudence”. Based in the Cunard Building, at Liverpool’s Pier Head, Billington is one of the UK's largest, privatelyowned companies. Billington’s current full-time chairman is Lloyd Whiteley, a fifthgeneration direct descendant of the eponymous founder. Whiteley graduated from Exeter University in 1981 with a degree in chemical engineering, just in time for a recession. Yet, despite the hard times, he was keen to avoid going straight into the family firm, preferring instead to prove his credentials in the big wide world. “It was extremely difficult to get a job. None of my friends found work,” he recalls. He eventually got his first job as a trainee salesman at Courtauld’s International Paints division. “We had a sales campaign. I had not sold anything before,” said Whiteley. He recalls being really pleased with himself when he clinched his first, albeit modest, sale. He went straight back to the office to boast about his success, only to find everybody else had finished a long time before and gone to the pub. In 1984, he had his first stint with the family business when he took over the running of a small contract sugar packing factory, in North Wales. It had experienced production difficulties, went bust and failed to hit its sugar packing targets. “It only employed 12 people, but it was packing icing sugar for us in the run-up to Christmas, and we needed it to ensure that it was all done for the Christmas trade. “I put them on an incentive scheme. Production went up and we managed to produce enough stock to meet demand. “That experience gave me confidence and a sense of personal achievement,” said Whiteley. The following year, he used his experience at the sugar packing factory as part of his application to study for an MBA at Wharton Business School, in Philadelphia. “My wife supported me through business school. I had two fantastic years there. America was where it was all happening. I developed accounting skills, learned to write
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Lloyd Whiteley – says Edward Billington & Son’s products can be found everywhere from Waitrose supermarkets to school boiler rooms and it gave me tremendous confidence” On returning to England in 1987, he worked as a management consultant with Price Waterhouse in London. But then, two years later, he succumbed to what some would say was his destiny and rejoined the family firm. “It was always in the back of my mind that I could go into the family business, but it was not inevitable. At that time, the previous generation was still on the board. One of the family asked me if I would like to
take on the agricultural division. So I came into the family business in 1989. “I am a great believer that, if you come into a family business, you first need some outside experience. There are a lot of family businesses in Liverpool. If you automatically pass it to the next generation and they are not up to it, the business will disappear. We will take on family members, but they have to get the job on merit. We have hundreds of people, including many good managers, so we have to be every bit
as good as them, or even better, or our good people will leave us. “One of the first things I did was to close a business. It was a factory set up to manufacture pizza toppings in Skelmersdale that was unprofitable, called Carousel Food Service. “It was losing money. “We could not see how it could make money. The production line was set up in such a way that, even if you took it to full capacity, it still could not make any money. “It was a difficult decision, but it
was the right one,” said Whiteley. He became a director of the company in 1991 and then chairman in 2000, after his father’s second cousin, John Billington, retired. “Being fifth generation, we are now from quite diverse lines through the family tree. So some of the relationships are distant, more so than most people expect,” said Whiteley. He started running the agricultural side of the business in 1994, which supplied 200,000 tonnes of animal foods to dairy and sheep
THE BIG INTERVIEW LLOYD WHITELEY
Group founder Edward Billington
Edward Billington is based in Liverpool’s Cunard Building farmers from six factories around the country. He said: “We had six factories but needed to rationalise them. We closed factories in Anglesey, Warrington, Oswestry and Tetbury (Gloucestershire) but kept Carlisle and Stone, in Staffordshire. It was much more efficient. “We needed factories which could mill 100,000 tonnes of feed stuffs a year, so we had to close the smaller factories that could only mill 30,000 tonnes.” While the business case for the
closures sounds obvious enough now, the idea was not universally welcomed by traditionalists in the business. Whiteley recalls: “There was a lot of resistance to it. It was not in the culture of the business to lay staff off. In family businesses, people can get emotionally tied up, but if you don’t do what is right, everybody else is affected. If you do what is right, then it’s better for those left behind.” Corporate governance can always be a tricky business in a family firm. While Whiteley is chairman and his
third cousin, another Edward Billington, is also a senior director, the rest of the board is drawn from non-family members. Whiteley said: “I am responsible to the shareholders. We only have a small number of shareholders. But we are run like a plc. “We employ 600 people. Only two of them are family members.” Non-family directors include Cambridge University graduate Mark Cashin, who joined from PA Consulting, and David Marshall, who is finance director. Rob Twomey, a
non-executive director, was formerly venture capitalist with 3i before spending many years as Billington’s finance director. Gary Blake is managing director of subsidiary English Provender Company (EPC). He was recently appointed from Princes Foods. In 2004, the company went through some dramatic changes resulting in the closure of its packaging and meats businesses and the sale of its travel and UK sugar division, Billington Sugar. “Sugar was our star business, but
we received a lot of money for it,” says Whiteley. They did indeed receive a lot of money for it: about £30m. After the sell-offs, the group is now left with four divisions. Its English Provender Company was acquired in 1997 and now operates factories in Newbury and Chester, making spices, condiments, chutneys, jams and preserves. Billington subsequently acquired two mayonnaise makers, which are now part of EPC. It was an acquisition made with part of the proceeds from the sale of the sugar business. EPC is now a leading supplier of supermarket own label dressings, including 30,000 tonnes of mayonnaise a year. Whiteley explains: “We have put a lot of money into building up the mayonnaise business, about £20m.” The majority of the ready-made sandwiches with mayonnaise in them sold by UK retailers have Billington mayonnaise in them. There has also been a foray into the US, when Billington bought the stock of a struggling sugar business in Chapter 11 (a form of bankruptcy protection). That was Wholesome Sweeteners, in 2001. It was an opportunistic purchase. “We did the deal in six weeks,” he said. “The key was that we got a guy out there who was highly motivated and wanted to do it. It was doing $4m sales at the time. It’s now at $70m, selling organic and fair trade products. We have now donated $1m to growers in Latin America. “That has worked well for us. It makes me very proud. We saw the opportunity and we reacted very quickly and got the right person out there to run it. “We decided not sell the US sugar business when we sold the sugar business here. It was then a small operation. We retained the Billington brand in the US and Canada. The timing was right. It has grown strongly since and was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made, backing Mark Cashin’s judgment,” said Whiteley. The other big change brought about under Whiteley’s leadership was the merger of Billington’s animal feeds business with Carr’s Milling Industries, to form a 50:50 joint venture known as Carr’s Billington, in 1998. The deal was done to benefit from economies of scale. It’s a deal that Whiteley describes as “very successful” and today it enjoys a turnover of £180m. The joint venture has since acquired two other animal feeds businesses and now has turnover in excess of £200m. “It’s a highly profitable business in a very competitive marketplace,” said Whiteley. Billington also owns Criddle, which trades 800,000 tonnes of commodities a year, used in the animal feeds industry, including wheat, barley, soya and rape. “It’s a trading business and the key there is to attract and retain the best traders by incentivising them,” said Whiteley. In addition to its traditional agricultural commodities businesses, Billington has developed the retail business it acquired at the time of its merger with Carr’s Milling Industries. The group has opened a chain of shops in rural areas that allows farmers to buy everything they need in one place, from feed, fertiliser, and dairy chemicals, to animal health and clothes. Whiteley said: “We have specialists in our branches who can
CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
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THE BIG INTERVIEW LLOYD WHITELEY
Lloyd Whiteley with some of the wood chip bio-fuels produced by Edward Billington
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11 serve farmers who may want anything from weed killer to worm remedies.” There are currently 14 stores in Scotland and northern England, with sales in excess of £1m each, with plans for more to come. But Billington is also actively searching out the next big thing, and they think it might be Bio Fuels. It certainly is an area where there are clear signs of growth potential, with an increasing number of big institutions turning to wood chip burners to help them meet environmental targets.
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Billington has developed a wood chip product that is used to fuel the boilers of schools, hospitals, office blocks and other large buildings. Wood is seen as eco-friendly because it is renewable and carbon neutral. The carbon released by burning the wood would have been released into the atmosphere anyway when the wood decayed. Whiteley said: “We see that as a big market. “There are synergies with our distribution and manufacturing processes in animal feeds. “We have started small, but the potential is enormous because the market is about to explode as the Government provides incentives to get people to use renewable fuels
over the next five years. It will definitely happen, but we’re not quite sure where it will all end up. By being in there from the start, we have a chance of coming out on top in the end.” Like any business today, Billington has had to bide its time during the credit crunch and recession. Whiteley argues that family businesses like his can prove to be a bit more resilient. They are, for example, able to adopt a long-term perspective about economic conditions compared to their stock market-quoted rivals, who must respond to the pressures created by fund managers eager to see ever rising earnings.
Whiteley explains: “Everything we do, we can look four to five years ahead. “On the other hand, we don’t have the same access to capital. We can’t raise it from the City. That’s an issue for us. “So we have to rely on the banks, but we never over-borrow. We never overstretch ourselves to the point where the whole group is at risk. “We have to grow our profits, but we have to do it in a managed and structured way.” As the move into the infant bio-fuels market demonstrates, Billington is willing to try new things, giving credence to its claim to still being an entrepreneurial business.
“We do take risks. We do try new things,” said Whiteley. “We have made mistakes. “We have tried things that haven’t worked, but we are happy to have a go. “We tend to make mistakes when we move into things that are remote from what we normally do. “If you try new things, you need to get the right people in and make sure they are motivated. “My father was a great trader. He once went to New Zealand and saw their mussels. “He brought three container loads over to Britain, but we couldn’t sell them. “They ended up going to Chester Zoo.”
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Taking hi-tech research to the
Businesses help universities spin out new technologies ACADEMICS and businesses are working more closely than ever on developing new technologies with practical applications. At the University of Liverpool, the Knowledge Exchange programme has seen the institution connect with a variety of companies including many leading multi-nationals. Projects include developing more fuel-efficient car engines, creating hi-tech rotor blades for helicopters, and helping oil companies prospect for black gold. AstraZeneca, Akzo Nobel, Pilkington, Unilever and Agusta Westland are among the companies that have collaborated with scientists and researchers. Mark Ratcliffe, head of marketing at the University’s Business Gateway group, said: “Universities are responsible for a huge amount of knowledge generated within our society. How this knowledge is developed, disseminated and applied can have a major impact on the UK’s ability to build a thriving knowledge-based economy, competitive on a global scale. “The University of Liverpool has a long-standing track record of ensuring that the expertise developed though our research programmes is available to business. Over many years, the university has accumulated significant capabilities in areas such as health and life-sciences, manufacturing, engineering, management and science. “Much of our work with companies is in the form of collaborative or contract research, which is valued in the tens of millions of pounds
each year. In addition, the university has a track record of supporting smaller businesses, particularly those with a focus on cutting-edge science or technology. “The university is strongly committed to adding value to the local economy and this forms a key part of our core mission, which includes the commercial application of our expertise.” One initiative has been the launch of the Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry, in partnership with the Universities of Manchester and Bolton, Daresbury Science Park and the Chemistry Innovation Knowledge Transfer Network. Funded by a £7.9m grant from the North West Science Fund, the centre will enable businesses to access the specialist expertise of all four academic partners. Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Jon Saunders, said: “Our success in Knowledge Exchange activities is helping us to increase the global reach of our research. The Knowledge Centre for Materials Chemistry is an excellent example of a group of world-class research universities and other organisations consolidating their skill base to benefit industry on an international scale.” The University is also collaborating on an £8.8m helicopter technology research and development programme. The Rotor Embedded Actuator Control Technology (REACT) project sees Liverpool, Bristol and Leicester universities working with helicopter giant Agusta Westland to develop new rotor blades technology.
Professor Stephen Flint, left, and Dr David Hodgson, of the University of Liverpool, carrying out research in South Africa
Liverpool team helping oil giants solve the riddle of the sands to find new reserves
Researchers are investigating ancient submarine channels now above ground in South Africa
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SCIENTISTS at the University of Liverpool are working with leading oil companies to develop better ways of finding black gold reserves. Professor Stephen Flint and Dr David Hodgson, from the Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, have been awarded £1m by a global consortium of 11 of the world’s leading oil companies to study how sand is transported through and deposited in deep-sea submarine channels. Scientists will study ancient channel systems in the Karoo area of South Africa, which are now exposed above sea level. Submarine channels
transport sediments such as sand, mud and silt from shallow marine waters to the deep sea and contain much of the recently discovered oil and gas reserves outside the Middle East. The cost of drilling a well to extract new reserves in slope channel reservoirs can cost over £29m, and so it is crucial that exactly the right position is targeted. Only sand-filled channels can produce oil, and so scientists at the university are working on predicting which channels contain sand and which are filled with mud and silt, based on analysis of the characteristics and setting of
the Karoo terrain. Professor Flint said: “We are using the latest laser imaging, satellite mapping, helicopter-based high resolution photography and 3-D computer modelling in our field work to capture the data required to understand and predict sand transfer and storage mechanisms.” The computer models will be used by companies to guide development of new oilfields throughout the world, in order to increase the efficiency of oil extraction. The team will also use the data to improve understanding of the mechanisms of sand transfer from shallow shelf to
deep ocean floor, in order to predict how landslides and related natural hazards, such as tsunamis, occur. Professor Flint said: “It is important that new and efficient ways of increasing recovery of oil reserves are found. “Many factors can disrupt the supply of oil, such as increased costs, disputes, and natural disasters. Our research will help in providing accurate identification of areas of interest to oil companies, but it will also help us explain and better predict how sediment is distributed to the deep oceans.”
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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The LJMU Liverpool Telescope
Telescopes hunting black holes and revelations THE Liverpool Telescope project was spun out from LJMU and eventually sold to Google millionaire Wayne Rosing. The world’s first robotic telescope was built in Birkenhead at the site of LJMU’s astrophysics department, and then shipped to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. It has operated there for five years working
on a variety of projects, including the National Schools Observatory programme. Meanwhile, the company that was established as a spin out, Telescope Technologies, was absorbed into the US-based Las Cumbres Observatory network, but still remains in Birkenhead where it has developed four more telescopes that
have been deployed in Hawaii, South Australia, India and South West China. Five more are in the pipeline, underlining the success of the university-led project. Mr Rosing, who was involved in the development of AppleMac and the Java programing language and was director of engineering at Google, now concentrates on his
interest in astronomy. He said: “The unique aspect of our science is having a global network of telescopes at our disposal. “The areas of astronomy most interesting to us are those which take full advantage of this sort of network; targets which appear suddenly and without warning like supernovae and gamma-ray bursts;
objects which need to be observed for long periods in darkness like exoplanets and binary star systems.” The Liverpool Telescope has been at the forefront of detecting gamma rays – the most luminous objects in the heavens. They are thought to be the afterglow of star deaths, prior to the formation of black holes.
FUNDING FOR COMPANIES THERE are currently a number of Government schemes specifically designed to help fund business and university collaborations. One of the most successful schemes is the Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme, a UK-wide programme enabling businesses to improve their competitiveness, productivity and performance. Companies can also apply for the Northwest Regional Development Agency’s innovation vouchers, designed to help North West businesses to purchase a knowledge provider’s expertise to develop innovation and enhance
business performance. The NWDA has recently enhanced its funding from £3,000 to £10,000 per voucher, and the University of Liverpool is one of the “knowledge providers” where these vouchers can be used to access knowledge and expertise. Ulive was established by the University to help academics to make a real impact from the results of their research. The company works in close partnership with the Business Gateway, who promote and support all other aspects of Knowledge Exchange for the University. Increasingly, universities are
recognising that intellectual property commercialisation brings real benefits for academic community in terms of generating income and additional resources. In order to support this, Ulive is staffed with IP experts who can help identify, assess and manage the commercial and legal matters which can become a barrier to success. The Proof of Concept Fund is also managed by Ulive. This is intended to support the early stage development of intellectual property by testing specific applications, market assessment and development of business plans.
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THE BIG FEATURE
Tourist information
Giant spider La Machine was one of the highlights of Capital of Culture year – tourism chiefs now need to build on last year’s successes
BY BARRY TURNBULL
▲ ▲
Our timing couldn’t have been worse. Liverpool’s big year of Capital of Culture 2008 coincided with the credit crunch and a deep recession. However, our tourism planners are thinking long-term.
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THE BIG FEATURE TOURISM CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 HE success of Liverpool’s Capital of Culture Year, 2008, has been followed by altogether leaner times. Even so, the tourism economy has stood up well to the ravages of the downturn, thanks to Liverpool One, and the Arena and Convention Centre, as well as a host of new hotels. The framework for the tourism economy embraces the forthcoming decade and has two key objectives: to increase visitor spending from £1.3bn to £2bn and to boost the sector’s number of jobs from 23,000 to 37,000. It is also envisaged that the city region will break into the top 20 European destinations from its current position of 39th. So who is leading the strategy? The Northwest Development Agency provides the strategic lead for the region, with specific responsibility for the sub-region in the hands of The Mersey Partnership’s (TMP) tourism board chaired by Liverpool FC’s Ian Ayre. The board, now called the Visitor Economy Committee (VE), is also supported by a VE panel with 60 members drawn from interest groups across the region. In addition, some of the five councils each have their own district plans and tourism supremos. In Liverpool, the city has recently appointed a Destination Liverpool director, in the form of Alison Macrae. The city also produces an annual Destination Management Plan that sets out a rolling three-year programme of tourism priorities and actions. TMP’s acting director of tourism Pam Wilsher explained: “The old tourism board and management system has been dispensed with, and we now have a new two-tier structure, with a panel drawn from various sectors such as hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions. They are much like shareholders who have a say in the decision-making process. “The committee, headed by Ian Ayre, is a group of nine people who manage the strategy. Outside of these organisations, some of the local authorities have their own tourism departments which are active, particularly Liverpool and Sefton. “Liverpool is, of course, central to the tourism offer and so it has some specific roles such as for cruises and the new destination director, and we will work closely with them.” In fact, the relationship between TMP and the city council is to be formalised by the drawing up of a draft protocol. Ms Wilsher believes the region can, and will, step up to the next level and reach the objective of growing tourism business by 60% in the years ahead. She said: “The city has so many opportunities and so many assets that are the envy of others. There is a lot going for us, but at the same time we realise that, for many people, especially small independent operators, things are still pretty tough out there.” As far as figures are concerned, 2009 in a recession was never going to match the success of 2008, but feedback from the hotel sector, in particular, has been encouraging. In September, room occupancy was actually 1% more than in the corresponding month last year and the August rate of 75% easily eclipsed Manchester, which was 62%. The acting director added: “What has helped us undoubtedly is that we are very strong in the leisure sector but less so on business and
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A new addition to Liverpool’s skyline, the big wheel in Liverpool One, towers over the iconic Radio City Tower corporate. Of course, we need to grow that area, too, and we will with the Arena and Convention Centre. There is a big challenge in that new hotels are coming on stream, with others in the pipeline, but there are lots of positives.” There is expected to be further growth in terms of short breaks from both UK and European visitors, thanks to the low-cost strength of Liverpool John Lennon Airport. The
expansion of the tourism economy is expected to be reflected by the fact that the airport is looking to accommodate up to 12m potential passengers in the decades to come. Tourism chiefs are also looking closely at the profile of visitors. Many travellers are younger than traditional visitors to city destinations such as London and Edinburgh, but, at the same time, the concentration of cultural assets
means the region also attracts those not just interested in partying. Ms Wilsher added that it will be important to build further on the success of Capital of Culture. She said: “There were an estimated 15m visits to cultural events and attractions, with a quarter of all visitors making their first ever trip to Liverpool. Total economic impact was estimated at £800m and over-night stays increased
by 28%. However, there needs to be further improvement in the short break market, which is already valued at £420m, and overall tourism, which is worth £1.3bn.” Hotel occupancy to June, 2009, was 66.3%, compared with 75.81% the previous year, while rooms sold for the half year were 414,588, compared with 2008’s whole year of 915,000. There are currently 36 city hotels, which will be augmented by a
THE BIG FEATURE TOURISM
City ‘has struck gold’ with tourism chief Alison McRae takes charge at Destination Liverpool
Pam Wilsher, acting director of tourism at The Mersey Partnership – Liverpool has ‘so many assets that are the envy of others’
LIVERPOOL’S “inspirational and entrepreneurial” new tourism chief can make sure the city takes its place among the very best city destinations in the world – that’s the view of leading city councillor, Gary Millar. Scottish tourism entrepreneur Alison McRae last week started work as director of Liverpool City Council body Destination Liverpool (DL). Her aims are to build on the boost the city received from Capital of Culture, and to grow the city’s visitor economy, which is valued at £1.3bn. Cllr Millar, the council’s executive member for enterprise and tourism, says Ms McRae’s success in promoting Scottish tourism means she is ideally suited to grow Liverpool’s tourism offer. Ms McRae previously worked with Scottish Enterprise and as project director for the Scottish Government initiative “Homecoming Scotland” – a year-long programme of events to drive tourism growth. She studied architecture at Trinity College, Cambridge, and attended Harvard Business School before setting up tourism consultancy Blue Toucan. Speaking on being appointed in September, she said: “Liverpool has developed a fantastic reputation as a must-see destination following the phenomenal success of its year as European Capital of Culture. “The city's tourism offer is already strong, and it’s great to see that it is continuing to invest in assets such as new the Museum of Liverpool. “My challenge now is to develop this unique brand and work with partners to take the city where it needs to be in 10-15 years’ time – which is among the very best city destinations in the world. “I’m looking forward to working in the city and
Alison McRae, the new director of Destination Liverpool helping to shape the next chapter in its success story.” Cllr Millar, the council’s executive member for enterprise and tourism, told LDP Business Ms McRae would bring a “breath of fresh air” to the city. He said: “We needed somebody well-respected in relationship-building and able to take us in an even more powerful direction. “Alison has done that at Homecoming Scotland, and has done it very well. She has done so well that the First Minister of Scotland actually phoned us to recommend her, even though she had already been given the job.
The Queen Mary 2’s visit to Liverpool in October. The city is keen to attract even more cruise ship visitors further seven by 2011. In terms of paid-for attractions in 2008, Mersey Ferries ranked number one with 697,000 customers, while the champion of the free venues was the Tate Gallery, with more than 1m visitors. In future, the intention is to focus on attracting higher-spend markets with a programme of cultural events and attractions. Events and festivals will endeavour to pull in national and international visitors. The city
will also capitalise on the opportunities to host major blockbuster events that will include the Titanic Centenary in 2012. A twin-pronged attack will see Liverpool and Southport as key drivers of conference business. Both will build on investment that has already taken place. ACC has already attracted the TUC in 2009, and will host both the Lib-Dem and Labour party conferences.
An artist’s impression of the new Museum of Liverpool
“She’s inspirational and entrepreneurial. On a regional, national and international level, she’s well-respected. I think we’ve struck gold.” Tourism is one of the man functions of The Mersey Partnership (TMP), and Liverpool City Council’s decision to appoint a tourism director caused surprise when it was revealed earlier this year. Cllr Millar said Ms McRae would be working closely with TMP and other bodies such as Visit Britain. She has already begun meeting key players in the region’s tourism sector. He said: “This appointment is not duplicating anything. It’s complementing what’s being done. “It’s also been recognised through the Liverpool City Region Multi-Area Agreement that a key ambition is to create 14,000 new jobs in the tourism industry in Liverpool city region. “That’s being led by TMP, which is great. But we can offer additional support and we can share the responsibility.”
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THE BIG FEATURE TOURISM
Antony Gormley’s Another Place is one of the most popular visitor attractions on Sefton’s coastline
Spotlight on Merseyside’s other
SEFTON: A coastline that boasts tourist hot-spots from golf courses to holiday camps and iconic ON’T be fooled into thinking that tourism starts and stops in Liverpool city centre. The waterfront and galleries are massive attractions, but other areas also have teams dedicated to selling the best of the rest. Sefton, Wirral and St Helens all have their own tourism teams promoting the merits of their particular boroughs. Sefton is home to the Grand National and hosts the Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale – in fact, one of the chief selling points is the Golf Coast with its rich array of courses. Its premier resort, Southport, has been rebranded as a “Classic Resort” in an attempt to reflect both its heritage as well as the development of new facilities. The town is famous for shopping,
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boasting not only the beautiful Lord Street but also the pedestrianised Chapel Street quarter and several shopping arcades. Other attractions include the Pier, Splash World and New Pleasureland. Hotels range from traditional B&Bs to the boutique Vincent Hotel, which brought a breath of fresh air to the town when it opened last year. A council spokesperson said: “Southport is England’s premier classic resort, presenting an excellent resort experience tuned into the expectations of the 21stcentury UK visitor looking for a weekend away by the sea. “Visitors can enjoy the range of family-friendly activities and attractions on the seafront, while others spend time browsing the well-preserved Lord Street shopping area packed with interesting and
unusual independent shops and cafes. “They can also hire a bike and take a ride out along the seafront to explore the Sefton coast. Southport has also become one of the UK’s most successful conference resort destinations with excellent conference facilities, new boutique and 3-4 star hotels.” Sefton also promotes its 22-mile “Natural Coast”. As well as nature reserves, sandhills and dunes, it boasts one of Merseyside’s most popular sights – the “iron men” of Antony Gormley’s Another Place. In nearby Ainsdale, plans for the complete re-development of Pontin’s holiday park are under discussion with the council, prior to the submission of a detailed planning application. The potential investment for this
development will be in excess of £100m and will create an additional 250 park jobs and 600 construction jobs. The plans include a hotel and conference facility, retail units, bars, restaurants and cafes as well as a Lido leisure facility and sports/health club. It is also envisaged that the facilities will be available to non-guests. Ian Smith, chief executive of Pontin’s owner, Ocean Parcs, said: “Initial refurbishment has been taking place across all our parks. We are very excited about 2010 and beyond, when, subject to planning approvals, our investment and job creation will increase substantially above that announced in February this year – at our Southport park alone, we intend to invest over £100m and create over 850 jobs.”
Southport Pier is one of the key attractio
THE BIG FEATURE TOURISM
Undiscovered pearl has more to offer than rugby and coal
ST HELENS: Public art and laser tagging to help boost borough economy
places sculptures
ons in ‘England’s Classic Resort’
WHILE Southport is well-known as a tourism hot-spot, St Helens is perhaps not often seen as a must-visit destination. But the town’s tourism champions reckon it’s an undiscovered pearl with lots to see and do – and it even claims to have more golf courses than Southport. The World of Glass has been around for nine years, but the borough has more recently seen investment in a giant piece of public art, a golf village and a laser gaming centre. One way of encompassing the town’s industrial heritage with a modern twist was the participation in Channel 4’s Big Art project. Sutton Manor colliery was nominated as a gateway site for public art by former miners. Dream was conceived and designed by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, who has completed major commissions across the globe, his most famous work being The Crown Fountain in Chicago. The intention from the outset was to put St Helens “on the map”, symbolise the area’s positive post-industrial transformation, become an iconic new regional landmark, and generate direct economic benefits, while also serving to reinvigorate local pride. The entire sculpture weighs 373 tonnes and is supported by eight piles, each driven 38 metres down through the colliery spoil to the solid earth below. At the North West National Golf & Country Club, an investment of more than £5m has transformed 268 acres of land into the UK’s first golf village. It includes a 28-bay driving range and a golf academy with its own nine-hole course. A championship course, together with extensive clubhouse and gym facilities will open in May, 2010. Director of Golf, Glenn Turner, who commentates on golf for TV and radio, and holds the world record for playing the most 18-hole golf courses in a 12-month period, has spent five years designing and
preparing the course, including planting 22,000 trees, creating 12 lakes and establishing nature reserves. He said: “This is an ideal location for us, the transport links to the rest of the UK are excellent, the surroundings are really beautiful and, of course, the North-West is already very well known for its great golf courses. “This is a championship quality course and our aim is to attract a major event within three to five years. However, we are more than just a golf course. We will also be the largest coaching academy in the north of England. Five golf professionals will be based here and we will have an indoor coaching facility.” The land forms part of the historic Knowsley Estate and a converted barn, built in 1850, is the centrepiece of the clubhouse, which will also include an a la carte restaurant, specialising in local produce, a sports bar and conferencing facilities. The Northwest National Golf and Country Club, which will employ 150 full and part-time staff, has worked closely with St Helens Council as the development has taken shape. St Helens is also home to Darkstar, the UK’s largest laser tag arena, and features a multi level “Hex” arena equipped with the world’s most advanced equipment. Players enter an indoor network of corridors, bridges, tunnels and ramps filled with special effects and amazing features. They then compete to “tag” one another, with shots coming from every direction and points are scored for every hit. The 13,500 sq ft arena is spread over three floors. Manager Lynn Yousef said: “This really is the next generation of Laser Tag which will provide everyone from skilled players to total beginners with a completely new experience. “This is the ideal location for us as we are easily accessible from all parts of the North West and the rest of the UK.”
Artist Jaume Plensa with his St Helens sculpture Dream
WIRRAL: Attracting visitors from golfers to gourmets
Tiger Woods won the 135th Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake, in 2006
WIRRAL is no shrinking violet either when it comes to trying to boost the tourism coffers. Next year, it hosts an international golf championship with 300 of the top amateur players trying out the borough’s best courses. The five-day championship next September is part of a massive tourism and marketing campaign which has been designed to attract more visitors to the borough and help local businesses. The marketing campaign will also see Wirral’s Year of Food launched in January and will culminate in a Gourmet Food Fayre at Port Sunlight. Juggy Landay, Wirral’s destination marketing manager, said the projects remain in the early planning stages, but the aim was to help local businesses during the current recession.
The council has been working closely with The Mersey Partnership and the other Merseyside boroughs to develop a joint three-year Partners for Tourism Growth bid for European funding. Mr Landay said: “The whole idea for the European bid was developed on the back of the economic downturn.” The Golf Classic event will see leading amateur players invited to play courses at Caldy, Heswall, Wallasey and the final at the Royal Liverpool in Hoylake – although it is also hoped players will use a rest day to try some of the borough’s other courses. The event is to be marketed nationally and internationally, and is based on a similar championship held in Northern Ireland which has around 900 competitors.
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THE BIG FEATURE TOURISM
Merseytravel steers its way to ferry tourism success Spaceport, U-Boat and Beatles Story exhibitions help organisation attract more passengers MERSEYTRAVEL’S strategy of creating a tourism trail based around the Mersey ferries appears to be proving a success. There was concern that passenger numbers were dropping, but in the last two years figures have rocketed by 30% to pass the 700,000 mark. The transport authority has created the £10m Spaceport exhibition at Seacombe, as well as a U-Boat attraction at nearby Woodside and has also acquired the Beatles Story. A second Beatles draw for tourists has also been put in place at the new Pier Head ferry terminal. General manager Martin King said the ferries enjoyed a successful year. He said: “We had 7,200 passengers on the ferries for the visit of Queen Mary 2, which is the highest number for quite some time. These events are really good business for us, especially when there is an animated waterfront. A lot of people on the ships go on the ferries, too. “We have opened the terminal building and the new Beatles museum. The U-boat has already surpassed this year’s projected numbers and is profitable. Spaceport has also been successful. “The whole idea of having attractions like these is to get people on to the ferries. Look at the Manchester Ship Canal cruises, which have also been very successful with a 92% occupancy level, which is quite impressive bearing in mind it is a six-hour trip. In four years, we have doubled the numbers from 10,000 to 20,000. “The ferries, of course, used to be the mode of travel before the tunnels were built, so now 65% of our passengers are in the leisure market. Figures for this year are almost up there with 2008, which is encouraging given that Culture year was always going to be a hard act to follow. At the Pier Head, we plan to develop the top floor as a restaurant, which again is all part of reinventing the ferries experience. “I think the fact that Liverpool itself has been reinvigorated by Liverpool One and the Arena has helped. One other factor to consider is that we are a weather-dependent business as well. However, it is pleasing to note that business is up 30% from two years ago, which is a healthy sign, and this may also have something to do with the fact that less people are holidaying abroad.”
Martin King takes to the wheel of Mersey ferry the Royal Daffodil
WIRRAL ATTRACTIONS FROM SUBMARINES TO SPACESHIPS
The U-534 on display at Woodside Ferry Terminal, Birkenhead
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THE German submarine U-534 was acquired by Merseytravel after her previous home, the Historic Warships Museum, in Birkenhead, went into voluntary liquidation. To move her to the new berth, U-534 had to be cut into four sections and transported by barge. A specially built viewing platform allows visitors to see inside, and alongside the U-Boat is one of the three T11 Zaukonig advanced homing torpedoes found on board – the most
advanced torpedoes in the world at the end of World War Two. An adjoining newly-built exhibition centre contains artefacts from U-534, including an Enigma coding machine, interactive displays, filmed interviews with survivors, a pictorial history of life on board and personal effects of the crew including clothing and playing cards. ■ AT SPACEPORT, the latest exhibition, One Small Step,
celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Man’s first steps on the Moon. The display, another world first for Spaceport, uses images, film and detailed models to explain the landmark stages from the earliest concepts of space travel, to the historic moment of the Moon landing on July 20, 1969. One Small Step features original film, detailed models and interactive displays. The exhibition also showcases the future of space travel, and the hope for travel to other worlds.
INTERNATIONAL TRADE
South American joint ventures enable Viridian to fill in local expertise holes Wirral landfill services provider creates operations in Columbia and Brazil SOUTH American landfill sites are benefiting from UK expertise after a Wirral company set up two joint ventures in the region. Viridian Systems, based in Wirral Business Centre, in Birkenhead, is a major landfill service provider in the UK, supplying pipework and drill wells and providing safe, efficient pneumatic pumping systems to drain leachate – the contaminated end product of rainfall flowing through landfill waste. The firm employs 45 people and turns over £4m a year from its predominantly UK-focused operations. But, at the start of 2008, a visit to a trade exhibition in Germany by its managing director, Roger Dixon, changed the firm’s direction. He met a Columbian organisation, Plataforma, which was looking for a partner with expertise in the landfill management sector. This opportunity was moved forward, with assistance from UK Trade & Investment and the Strategic Alliance Service, which offers north-west companies comprehensive practical help with every aspect of forming joint ventures overseas. Viridian’s technical manager, Paul Williams, said: “We realised that we had an opportunity to introduce good UK engineering practices and leachate treatment processes to the landfill sector in Latin America, where the environmental legislation is much less strict at the moment than it is in Europe. “We could have competed for business in the more saturated European markets, but we soon realised that, if we got in at the ground level in the Latin American market, we could pioneer a more efficient way of doing things in a territory where the potential for future business is great.” Viridian is introducing its technology in to Latin America
through the Columbian joint venture, and a second joint venture is about to finalised with Brazilian firm Doxor. Both partnerships have been undertaken with compatible industrial engineering consultants in Columbia and Brazil. He added: “UK Trade & Investment persuaded us to further explore markets in South America after our initial success in Columbia, and, after looking at the research, we could see that there was a lot of potential in Brazil as a market – it is a country with a massive population, high rainfall – which increases the presence of leachate in landfill sites – and a lot of waste products.” Clive Drinkwater, regional director for UK Trade & Investment North West, said: “Viridian is an exceptional company, and a great example of the technological excellence and innovation that we are so proud of in the North-West. “UKTI has been proud to help them on their export journey, bringing in two specialist advisers, in addition to our core international trade support, to ensure their success in what is an exciting market for them. “Our work with Viridian is an excellent example of the sort of joined-up, thorough assistance that UKTI North West can offer. “We are the only UK region to have both a Specialist Adviser on Latin America – recognising the importance of this growing market – and a Strategic Alliance Service to help businesses negotiate the complex business of forming joint ventures overseas. “Both of these services are funded by our partners in the Northwest Regional Development Agency, whose robust support is helping us to provide a truly first-class service to north-west businesses and ensure that the region remains at the forefront of British exporting excellence.”
Roger Dixon, managing director of Viridian Systems – exhibition visit changed firm’s direction
Canadian research makes Stewart’s mining for opportunities worthwhile
John Notman-Watt, right, at the Stewart Group’s laboratories
A KNOWSLEY metals firm has continued its global expansion by forming a “significant partnership” with a Canadian research company. Stewart Group, the inspection, analysis and assaying group formerly known as Alex Stewart Group, has joined with research laboratory G&T Metallurgical Services, a mineral processing facility and research and development service in British Columbia. G&T was established in 1990 to provide a range of services to mining companies seeking to develop new mineral deposits or to improve its mining processes.
John Notman-Watt, managing director at Stewart Group, said: “It is increasingly important to broaden our service offering and adapt to changing markets as the search for new mineral deposits intensifies to meet future global demand for minerals and to replace aging mining assets. “This partnership will bring significant new skill-sets to both companies, and help us enhance the services we are able to provide to our clients internationally.” Stewart Group tests metals, minerals and ores for mining and other industries.
It analyses samples on behalf of mining companies who want to know just how much of a particular metal or element can be found in a particular mine. Since Mr Notman-Watt led a buy-out in 2006, the firm has continued to develop its overseas operations. In July, 2008, it bought Canadian testing company Eco Tech, and this May it bought out its joint venture partner in South Africa with the aim of expanding its African operations. He said: “Becoming the sole owner of our operations in South Africa allows us to consolidate our business in the
region, while leaving us well positioned to pursue further exploration and expansion plans in sub-Saharan Africa.” The firm is headquartered in Knowsley Business Park and employs more than 1,000 across four continents. The group has plans to continue to expand, both organically and by acquisition. “We will continue to grow and expand the business, both in its technological applications and in its geographical coverage,” he added. “There’s some key markets we’re not yet in, particularly in Asia and South America.”
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LDP BUSINESS CAMPAIGN
Ellen Kerr, centre, universal services outreach team leader at Business Link NW, with team members Dylan Powell and Sheryl Clare
Pilot scheme to help firms fly
Business Link Northwest to work with entrepreneurs who may not know where to find assistance N INITIATIVE to encourage entrepreneurs to engage with business support services has been launched in Merseyside. The pilot scheme is being run by Business Link Northwest and headed up by Ellen Kerr, the founder of Women in Business for Merseyside and a former Merseyside Woman of the Year winner. She and her team aim to raise awareness of Business Link so that entrepreneurs know there is somewhere to turn to after the initial start-up support offered by other agencies. They are targeting those communities across Merseyside who may not have previously considered contacting the business support service. She said: “As a team, we’re working hard to establish relationships with the business support services that already exist across Merseyside. We see ourselves as being able to add to
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the existing provision and hope to be of benefit to many budding business owners in the area. “We aim to raise awareness of Business Link and the services we can provide, and how we can work in partnership with other agencies to give everyone the same opportunities to grow their business.” In particular, the initiative is targeting women and those in minority groups who run their own businesses to offer support to help them develop their companies. She added: “Removing barriers and signposting people to be able to access the right business information is my passion and whether it’s at the school gates, in a community centre or at the supermarket check-out, if I hear a sound business idea, I’m always willing to help wherever I can by using the network of contacts that I have available.” Ellen will be supported by Dylan Powell and Sheryl Clare in her new
role as Universal Services Outreach Team Leader. Together, the trio will provide expert assistance to individuals from minority social and ethnic groups with new or developing companies. Sheryl Clare, who worked in the manufacturing and service industries for more than 20 years and has joined Business Link from St Helens Chamber of Commerce, said: “It’s really exciting to be part of a team that’s focused on helping businesses to grow. I hope to be able to share my experience of networking to encourage business owners to become really involved in the extensive business community that exists across Merseyside.” Dylan Powell has more than 20 years’ experience of running his own businesses in the sales and telemarketing arena and in his spare time, worked with The Prince’s Trust, mentoring young people who were setting up their own businesses.
HOW TO GET HELP BUSINESS Link’s service can be accessed by telephone and email from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, as well as from 8am to 2pm at weekends and Bank Holidays. Businesses can access face-to-face support from a Business Link adviser with specialist industry expertise. Call Business Link on 0845 00 66 888 or e-mail advisers at info@businesslinknw.co.uk Firms can also find information at www. businesslink.gov.uk/northwest – from tools to create employment contracts to guides on sales, marketing and finance.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
City’s regeneration steps up
Liberty Properties’ HQ project includes office space, a hotel, leisure outlets and apartments
Council set to move into landmark HQ building while Northgate project is set for revival CHESTER’S regeneration is being kick-started by two major initiatives after delays and uncertainties. The £460m flagship Northgate scheme, which collapsed due to the recession, is being revived but in a more modest format, while the redeveloped former police headquarters is to get a new tenant – Cheshire West and Chester Council. Northgate was to be the prime mover in the city’s renaissance, spearheaded by ING group and including a raft of ambitious proposals including a new department store and 60 retail units along with a performing arts centre, market, new bus station, restaurants and bars. But timing proved to be the biggest stumbling block, with ING announcing last autumn that the scheme was no longer viable. Now, in partnership with Land Securities, ING says it will bring forward revised plans next spring that will be far less ambitious. Meanwhile, another key element of the historic city’s transformation has been the redevelopment of the former Cheshire Constabulary headquarters. Liberty Properties has created HQ, a 250,000 sq ft site including office space, a hotel,
leisure outlets and apartments. It has been given a major boost with news that County Hall has been sold and all local authority employees will be transferring to the 80,000 sq ft of office floors at HQ. The migration of staff will begin in spring. The £50m HQ landmark will also include a prestige Abode Hotel. Liberty’s development director, Paul Norman, said: “From the outset, we strived to create a scheme which would form a landmark at the gateway to the city, yet sit comfortably within its surroundings. Working closely with the planners, as well as Pochin Construction and the design team, we have accomplished our objective. “Abode’s decision to come to HQ demonstrates the build’s appeal, and will certainly act as a catalyst in transforming this scheme into a hub of activity for the area.” The knock-on effect of the sale to Chester University means County Hall itself will be transformed. The £10m deal will mean it will become the centre of the University’s Faculties of Education and Children’s Services and Health & Social Care. In addition, the council will soon
Cllr Mike Jones outside County Hall, in Chester announce its choice of consultants to undertake the study into the feasibility of a £30m state-of-the-art theatre and conference centre on the near by Little Roodee site. Council leader Mike Jones said: “The city’s residents, business community and retailers have told us that Chester needs kick-starting into life if it is to have a future as a tourist and retail centre. “We have had to take some difficult decisions and doing nothing
has never been an option for the new council. I believe that, six months down the road, Chester is moving in the right direction again. “At a stroke we have opened the door to the regeneration of Chester, helped our successful university to expand and provided a purpose-built headquarters for the new council, with major savings on energy and maintenance costs”. Work has also started on a major refurbishment of the fabric of the
town hall, which, in addition to its traditional role as the Lord Mayor’s civic base, will also house a state-ofthe-art tourist information centre, function and performance facilities, together with a heritage display. It is expected that the phased programme of work will allow the town hall to re-open to the public next spring. Cllr Richard Short, executive member for culture and recreation, said: “At a time when other cities across the country appear to be paralysed by the economic recession, we are striving to enhance Chester’s appeal to the national and international market. “We can not undo years of stagnation at a stroke, but we are certainly attempting to give Chester a firm foundation for progress when the financial climate finally improves.” The authority’s sale of County Hall will eventually save an estimated £750,000 a year. Loan interest costs will be paid from energy and maintenance savings, and the capital involved in the purchase will be paid off from the sale of redundant building as the council rationalises its property portfolio.
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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY
Land Securities chief executive predicts property values will rise for five years Recovery is under way, says Salway ONE of Merseyside’s biggest commercial property owners says an increasing number of buyers is boosting the sector. Land Securities, owner of Liverpool’s St John’s and Clayton Square shopping centres, says the UK commercial market is finally showing real signs of emerging from the vicious downturn. Chief executive Francis Salway claimed there were now more buyers than sellers in the sector, and predicted that values would rise for the next five years. He added: “The increases will not be in a straight line, there will be ripples along the way, but we are increasingly confident.” His comments come as the latest report on commercial property values published in the UK suggests that the market’s recovery has begun. According to a report on commercial property values, published by the IPD UK Quarterly Property Index, the 3rd quarter of 2009 resulted in a 1.5% rise in capital values, marking a 5.6% improvement on the second quarter of this year. The level of ROI – return on investment, including capital growth and income – was 3.4%. The figure is up from -2.2% in the second quarter
of 2009, and brings the total ROI level to -18.2%. These data indicate that the third quarter of 2009 was the first time when growth in capital values and returns had been registered since 2007. The IPD report also suggests that quarterly and annual capital growth for the major sectors of the UK commercial property market was as follows: 2.1% and -24.1% for retail; 0.7% and -24.8% for offices and; 1.5% and -22.1% for Industrials. As for rental yields, they remained in the negative territory, as rental values in the third quarter reached -1.6. This figure, however, represents a significant improvement on the falls in rental values registered in the first two quarters of 2009. Malcolm Frodsham, IPD research director, said that the situation on the UK commercial property market is in contrast to the US market of commercial property, which is not expected to recover earlier than in mid-2010. Land Securities reported significantly reduced half-year losses last week. The deficit was £4.6m, compared with £1.6bn this time last year. The group of planning a £100m revamp of St John’s in 2012.
lames Kersh – positive after latest auction raised £3.45m
Kersh sees a brighter future
A LEADING Liverpool property auction house claims the local market is now showing genuine signs of recovery. Sutton Kersh generated receipts of £3.45m from its latest Liverpool property auction. The firm held its penultimate event of the year at the city centre Crowne Plaza Hotel. Pre-auction activity was
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“unusually high”, with 17% of the 71 lots available selling beforehand. A further 23 lots sold in the room. One vacant piece of land sold for £210,000 – more than four times its guide price. Kersh director James Kersh said: “The room was busy and we remain positive. The market has come a long way from where it was a year ago.”
Liverpool’s St John’s shopping centre – £100m refurbishment planned in 2012
ADVERTISING FEATURE
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?
Firms escaping EPC penalties
Survey finds councils offer guidance on energy legislation, rather than issuing fines LOCAL authorities across Merseyside have yet to issue any fines to companies for breaching Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) legislation. The findings come from Freedom of Information requests conducted among five Merseyside local authorities for Envos, the environmental management and compliance specialist. The company claims councils are adopting an advisory rather than rigid compliance stance on EPC legislation. Liverpool City Council confirmed this had been its policy so far. A spokesman added: “Government guidance has been that we should offer advice and guidance in the first instance. “If there is non-compliance, then we will look at issuing penalty notices from early next year.” Last month, Envos talked to Liverpool property owners, managers, local authorities and property agents at the Property Update Conference 2009, at Aintree Racecourse, to advise them of their responsibilities following recent and future environmental legislation. The research reveals that some local authorities do not have an official policy in place for issuing penalties to organisations for breaching EPC legislation, despite it now being illegal for commercial property to be sold or let without a valid EPC in place. Envos is warning that the lack of enforcement of the regulations may lead to abuse of the legislation by property owners. “Enforcing EPC legislation is down to local authorities and those in Merseyside have clearly decided to adopt a collaborative approach, working with commercial property owners to educate them about the requirements of the law rather than issuing fines for non-compliance,” said Darren Neild, regional director of Envos. “While this may be a pragmatic response, in reality firms are breaking the law if they market property without an EPC, and this mixed approach to enforcing the legislation sends a confusing message to the property market. “The main incentive of obtaining an EPC should be the environmental and economic benefits of acting on its recommendations to make your property more energy-efficient, but often it takes a regulatory stick to
WHO NEEDS AN EPC?
Liverpool City Council claims it will get tougher on non-compliance in the New Year force companies to act. We fear that if property owners don't face any punishment for flouting the regulations then they will continue to be abused, which will do nothing to help achieve the legislation’s objectives. “The Government is clear that EPCs are a key part of its response to the EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive but has left enforcement down to local authorities and we urge the
Government to set clearer guidelines on the implementation of this law to ensure clarity for the property industry and also ensure EPCs have teeth and do actually drive forward the environmental improvements in commercial properties originally envisaged.” Envos, which specialises in environmental and energy use audits for commercial and residential property, including Energy Performance Certificates, BREEAM,
EVERY building that has been sold, built or rented from October last year has been required to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). According to the Department for Communities and Local Government, the certificate provides energy efficiency A-G ratings and recommendations for improvement. The ratings – similar to those found on products such as fridges – are standard so the energy efficiency of one building can easily be compared with another building of a similar type. Acting on an EPC is important to cut energy consumption, save money on bills and help to safeguard the environment. EPCs were first introduced for the marketed sale of domestic homes, as part of the Home Information Pack. If you are buying or selling a home, it is now law to have a certificate. From April, 2008, this was extended to newly-built homes and large commercial properties. Since October 1, 2008, when buildings are built, sold or rented, an EPC has been required. This includes homes on the market before the phased introduction of EPCs for domestic properties in 2007. EPCs are produced by accredited energy assessors. Since October, 2008, Display Energy Certificates (DECs) are required for larger public buildings enabling everyone to see how energy-efficient public buildings are. The DEC should be displayed at all times in a prominent place.
Display Energy Certificates and Code for Sustainable Homes undertook the Freedom of Information Request research after its own experiences suggested that many local authorities were being left to interpret how they enforced compliance with EPC legislation. Envos has previously called for greater clarity in environmental legislation and for EPC recommendations for environmental performance to be enforceable,
ensuring that property owners and tenants have to make the carbon saving improvements outlined, and that EPCs are more than just an administrative exercise. “Come April, 2010, further environmental legislation, in the form of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, will mean that 5,000 of the UK’s heaviest energy using organisations will have to apply for carbon credits at a price of £12 per tonne of the CO² they emit.”
Liverpool Chamber publishes the Little Green Book AS A culmination to the Year of the Environment, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce has launched the Little Green Book. Printed on recycled paper using a green printing process, the book is a directory for businesses who are seeking to improve their green credentials, become
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more efficient and explore the opportunities of a low carbon economy. Maresa Molloy, head of policy and information at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce said: “This year, more than 100 companies have signed the pledge. “For those still on the sidelines, or looking to take their commitment further,
the Little Green Book provides all the guidance and reference material that they will need.” The book offers an A-Z guide from energy suppliers to business support organisations and funding for innovation, it also includes information on forthcoming changes in legislation to awards that
greener businesses can enter and an all important glossary of green terminology that will increasingly affect businesses on a day to day basis in the coming years. To request a copy of the book, e-mail: thegreenedge@liver poolchamber.org.uk
Maresa Molloy, head of policy and information at Liverpool Chamber of Commerce
HOW GREEN IS YOUR BUSINESS?
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead says the ENWORKS project has been recognised as a model of best practice on a national and European level
Extra £10m for ENWORKS to help SMEs NWDA-backed project will help firms save an estimated £60m
A PROJECT to cut the carbon footprint of businesses is aiming to help north-west firms generate cost savings of £60m over the next four years. ENWORKS, the north-west environmental business support service, has received approval for a £9.9m investment to extend its existing service and continue to offer specialist support to the region’s small firms (SMEs) until 2013. Funded by the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) with £6.4m, the programme has also received £3.5m from theEuropean Regional Development Fund Programme (ERDF). ENWORKS will underpin the delivery of the Improving Your Resource Efficiency (IYRE) product,
part of Solutions for Business, the Government's package of publicly funded business support designed to help companies start and grow. Established in 2001 by the NWDA, ENWORKS enables businesses to achieve resource efficiency savings by managing and reducing their use of energy, water and raw materials. It supports businesses to review in full their environmental impacts – from the products manufactured, to the processes used and the waste generated. It will also reduce the region’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and reduce commercial and industrial waste to landfill. A further aim is to increase the knowledge of resource efficiency amongst employees.
Since 2001, ENWORKS has helped over 3,600 businesses, with £75m cost savings identified. The aim now is to generate a further £60m of cost savings by 2013 and support a further 1,250 companies across the region. Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: “ENWORKS is already a well-established project within the North-West and has a good track record. It has clearly demonstrated its ability to help businesses adapt the ways in which they work. “To date, for every £1 the NWDA has invested in ENWORKS resource efficiency programme, £13 of cost savings have been identified. ENWORKS has also been recognised as a model of best practice on a
national and European level.” In the next four years, the project will target savings of 255,000 tonnes of CO² and more than 2m tonnes of water. It will aim to create an additional 240 jobs in the region and safeguard a further 500. ENWORKS director Todd Holden said: “We’re delighted that the NWDA and ERDF is continuing to invest in the future prosperity of the region through the ENWORKS programme. “This investment will pay dividends in terms of generating substantial economic and environmental benefits for the North-West. “With £60m of cost savings for north-west companies, the project not only provides a substantial
return on investment, it will also ensure the region retains its position as the lead on this agenda.” ENWORKS will continue to be delivered through a range of partners working collaboratively with other ERDF funded projects to identify businesses for support. The services offered by the project will be available to a number of sectors including food, chemicals, aerospace, automotive and textiles, as well as businesses that have been identified as having a high environmental impact. The ERDF programme is backed by the Programme Monitoring Committee (PMC) to monitor, oversee and advise on the delivery of the programme and provide support to the development of the new fund.
Low-carbon action plan aims to safeguard jobs in Cheshire A NEW plan has been published that identifies 30 actions that could create or safeguard more than 1,100 jobs and will help to move Cheshire and Warrington to a low-carbon economy. The plan has been produced by the Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance (CWEA) working closely with the Cheshire and Warrington Climate Change Group and a network of private, public and community sector organisations. The actions include:
■ Developing local skills in auditing and installation of energy efficiency measures and micro-generation; ■ Improving levels of energy efficiency in public sector buildings; ■ Ensuring public sector procurement policies take account of climate change and local sourcing where possible; ■ Investigating improved transport links between transport hubs and tourist attractions;
■ Establishing sources and quantities of biomass waste available from local forestry, farming and local authority operations and investigating the potential for anaerobic digestion systems on farms; ■ Enabling more businesses to access resource efficiency support from Groundwork Cheshire . Kate Radford, climate change programme manager at CWEA, said: “Climate change is a very broad topic covering energy,
water, waste and transport issues as well as how we adapt to future changes in our climate. “This action plan will give us a focus for our activities and we look forward to continued working with our partners on projects that deliver the plan.” The project is being funded by the Northwest Development Agency.
Kate Radford, climate change manager
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PROFESSIONAL SECTORS
BUSINESS MATTERS with Steve Sankson, of The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest in Merseyside AS THE recession has progressed, so, too, have the priorities of our customers. They have started to shift from survival to stabilisation and planning for the future. NatWest recently commissioned MORI to undertake a research project with a sample of its SME customers from across the country. The purpose of the project was to understand how these businesses have coped with the recession and what actions they have taken as a result. The majority of SMEs interviewed confirmed that it has been much tougher than they initially expected. However, they have been able to withstand the difficult economic climate by making their business as efficient as possible and increasing their understanding of how the recession impacts upon their finances. Understanding finances is a key component when a business is looking to secure new funding or refinance an existing loan with its bank or financial services provider. The recession has affected each business differently and there is a need to reflect the challenging economic environment when looking for funding. Regardless of how big your business is or how sophisticated your financial systems are, there are three key pieces of information you will need to provide. Current trading performance Even if you don’t have sophisticated management information systems ensure that you can provide your bank with basic sales figures such as monthly run rates, stock levels and monies owed. Be honest when presenting this information and include details of any issues such as sales fluctuations, bad debts, etc. Highlight your own Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) Identify what are the real drivers in your business? These could include stock turnover, weekly sales, cash collection. Your outlook If you do not regularly produce your own internal budgets, most banks will be able to provide forecasting
tools (cash flows, budgets) to help you demonstrate your views of the future. It’s important to be able to demonstrate the likely profitability and cash flows within the business over the next six to twelve months. Once you have drawn up a budget, don’t leave it in a drawer gathering dust. Ensure that it is updated regularly with details of actual performance versus budget and discuss it with your bank and other advisors. This helps keep everyone involved so they are better equipped to respond quickly to opportunities or threats. As we hopefully near the end of the worst economic downturn of a generation, this is arguably the best time to invest; cost pressures and funding costs are historically low, the shape of how consumers and businesses act has changed, new markets are opening up and new products and services are coming to the fore. Competition will become ever more intense, due to weakened demand. Growth of the internet means that entrepreneurship is easier to undertake than in previous recessions. Recession, redundancy payments and the internet will increase the number of entrepreneurs in the market. Businesses should avoid making cutbacks on innovation or marketing as these are more important during a recession and the early stages of recovery. Investing for the future is crucial. ■ FOR further information on how different types of businesses are coping with the recession, changing working practices and planning for growth, please visit www.natwest.com/ recessionstrategy/ and download a copy of the report. NatWest also recently launched a telephone hotline service for SMEs regardless of whether they are a bank customer or not. Any SME business can now contact NatWest to discuss their application for credit which may have been declined by another financial institution. You can call the business hotline on 0800 158 5977 or one of the local NatWest managers on 0151 242 5457.
‘There are new products and services coming to the fore’
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Young professionals get networking Organisation sees membership rise despite recession
LDP Legal
For the latest from the legal sector
Merseyside Young Professionals’ annual ball organising committee with chair Nicola Bates, centre HE chairman of Merseyside Young Professionals (MYP) says the organisation’s membership has reached record levels as it continues to expand its reach beyond city centre lawyers and accountants. Helen Kelly, a real estate lawyer at DLA Piper, says the organisation is benefiting as more people use networking as a tool to advance their careers. More than 200 individuals and companies are members of MYP, a not-for-profit group led by a committee of volunteers that organises monthly networking events. Those events include its annual ball, held last month, and a forthcoming Champagne tasting event. Ms Kelly said: “We are trying to push into new sectors. “We’re doing a big push into the creative industries at the moment, and Ed Ford, from Rippleffect, has just joined our committee. “We have had conversations about getting more into manufacturing – people who work on the periphery of the city, rather than the city centre. “We want to get away from
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the fixed view of MYP as being for bankers and lawyers.” MYP does not have an age limit for membership. Ms Kelly said: “Our predominant audience is people in their 20s and 30s in junior or middle-end positions in their careers. But we do have more senior people there because they enjoy our events and they want to access our audience.” MYP’s committee includes secretary Nicola Bates, a director with Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, and treasurer Richard Gormley, of Duncan Sheard Glass. Its past events have attracted speakers including Bank of England governor Mervyn King, while 120 people attended MYP’s Question Time-style political debate at FACT in June. Ms Kelly says young professionals are paying more attention to networking events, including those run by MYP, as they try to build connections to help them grow their careers. She said: “People have got to take a bit more responsibility to say ‘What skills do I have? What are the extra things I can do to make sure I’m special or valued?’
www. ldplegal. co.uk
Helen Kelly, left, chairman of Merseyside Young Professionals, with entrepreneur Tony Caldeira “People have started to realise all the more how important their contacts and networks are. “I’ve seen with my own eyes when people have been made redundant. There officially aren’t any jobs. But people will make room for good people. “People have realised they’ve got to be known and respected – not just that they’re great socially, but that they’re good at their job. “The way networking is going, there’s less focus on
glamorous and expensive events and it’s more back-to-basics. It’s about face-to-face meetings, having a coffee, making really valuable connections. “We try to do different things to get people networking without realising they’re networking.” ■ THE MYP Champagne Tasting event will be held at The View Two Gallery, Mathew Street, Liverpool, on December 3. For information, visit www.myp.org.uk
PROFESSIONAL SECTORS
LEGALLY
SPEAKING
with Bill Chandler, commercial property partner at Hill Dickinson
Q
I OWN a commercial property, which was purchased as an investment a few years back. Like everyone else, the tenant’s business has been struggling and the tenant has now ceased trading. The tenant claims that the rent payable under the lease is higher than the premises are worth in the current market, but he has found someone who is prepared to take a sublease at a lower rent. Do I have to agree to this? NOT necessarily. It is vital that you check the precise terms of the lease relating to subletting. It would be most unusual for a commercial lease to allow the tenant complete freedom of subletting, although some commercial leases prohibit subletting altogether, in which case you have absolute discretion to refuse the proposal. It is far more common for the lease to permit subletting of the whole premises with the landlord’s consent. The lease will usually say that the landlord may not unreasonably withhold his consent, although that will be implied by law in any event. If the lease permits the tenant to sublet with consent, the landlord is under a statutory duty to decide within “a reasonable time” and to grant consent unless it is reasonable not to. The onus is on the landlord to demonstrate that his refusal is reasonable and he may only rely on the reasons given in his initial decision. The legislation does not dictate what a reasonable time is for the landlord to decide. The courts have regularly stressed that what is reasonable depends on the precise facts and circumstances of each case, although “even in complicated cases it should be measured in weeks rather than months.” Certainly, anything longer than 28 days from the tenant’s written application, is likely to be considered unreasonable, and possibly less. In addition to the general provisions requiring landlord’s consent, some leases also specify pre-conditions with which the tenant must comply. You will need to insist that these are
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BTG Tax employment lawyer John Hill – warns that the definition of an employee is ‘the elephant in the room’
‘Elephant’ on site AMBIGUITY about the definition of an employee is causing fears over big tax bills for contractors. John Hill, employment director of BTG Tax in Liverpool, who assists contractors in negotiating with HM Revenue and Customs, says that at the root of the problem is the absence of a definition of an employee. Former Master of the Rolls,
Lord Denning, once said: “An employee is like an elephant, difficult to describe but you know one when you see one”. Sub-contractors can be considered employees for tax purposes due to their working arrangements. “Since this is now the centre of even more HMRC activity, those working in the construction industry must ensure that all contractual and working arrangements
truly reflect the tax status of their workers.” The issue often arises when a worker has genuinely been taken on as a sub contractor initially, but falls into the category of being an employee over time – for example, by being hired to undertake other tasks. HMRC is currently considering ways of defining an employee and the result is expected shortly.
“It is likely that, if implemented, this will result in a large proportion of current sub-contractors being re-categorised as employees,” said Mr Hill. “While some certainty will be welcomed, any mass change from self-employment to PAYE will do little to improve conditions for an industry that is already under enormous financial pressure.”
Landlords warned to look for signs of trouble
Be alert for signs of insolvency
LANDLORDS must be vigilant to protect themselves from the effects of a tenant becoming insolvent, a Liverpool property lawyer has warned. Simon Murphy, of law firm Mace & Jones, warns that, in the current
market, it is crucial that landlords protect themselves by being fully informed about their tenant’s financial situation. Signs that a tenant may be in financial trouble can include if a company tenant
changes its registered office address to that of an accountant or an insolvency practitioner, persistent late payment of rent, or an attempt to renegotiate terms of the lease. He said: “Once a
tenant has gone into administration, there is a statutory freeze on virtually all remedies available to a landlord to secure payment of rent without the consent of the court or an administrator.”
complied with. Commonly, this includes restrictions on the form and content of the actual sublease document, but may even require that the sublease rent is not less than the passing rent under the headlease. Passing rent requirements have become unfashionable in recent years. The Commercial Lease Code disapproves of them, while the British Property Federation encourages its members to waive them in existing leases. A market rent test is now the norm, but if your lease contains a passing rent restriction then you may refuse the tenant’s application, however unreasonable that may be. The courts have, however, confirmed that the landlord must still formally refuse the application in writing within a reasonable time, citing the pre-condition as his reason, to satisfy the statutory duty. I would strongly advise you to consider very carefully whether you are prepared to consent to the proposed subletting. If not, you need to consider exactly why you are unhappy with the arrangement and ensure that your refusal includes every possible reason you may wish to rely on if challenged. I would recommend that you take early legal advice on the strength of your case, the likelihood of challenge and to ensure that the refusal is documented in a manner and in a timescale which satisfies both your statutory duty to the tenant and your contractual duty under the lease. Ultimately, even if you have strong legal grounds for refusing consent, you need to decide whether to pursue that course of action in the current market. Refusing consent may result in the premises lying empty and falling into disrepair, or the tenant ceasing to pay rent and possibly becoming insolvent. You could end up with no income, a dilapidated property and a liability to pay empty rates if the lease is eventually forfeited or disclaimed. And, finally, remember that the terms of any mortgage on the property will probably require you to obtain the mortgagee’s consent before granting any consent to the tenant.
‘It would be unusual to allow the tenant freedom of subletting’
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Connectivity, Catchment, Cost. Lake District
• Direct access to the arterial M6 & M62
Preston M6
• The most car-friendly place in the whole region*
M65 M6
M61
Southport
M6
M66
Bolton
Wigan
M61
M60
M58
Manchester
Salford
M57
St.Helens Liverpool
M62
M62 M6
M60
M62
Warrington M56
Wirral
Runcorn
M53
M6
M56 Glasgow
M56 M56
Leeds
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North Wales
Chester
Birmingham Cardiff
London
• Within 45 minutes of two, expanding, international airports and the UK's largest Freeport zone • Within an hour's drive of 4.3 million prospective employees & 6.8 million potential customers • A relatively low cost & cost-effective location in terms of premises, house prices, & labour *2009 Virgin Money Survey
For more information about investing in St.Helens please contact the St.Helens Business Location Team. Tel: +44 (0)1744 742 041 Email: enquiries@investinsthelens.com
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Knowsley Road has been the home of St Helens RLFC for 120 years, but 2011 should see the club move into a new stadium in the town
Ambitions are not just Dreams
St Helens has built monuments to its past, but is increasingly proud of what it is achieving today T IS uncommon for a statue of a living person to be unveiled – and even rarer for that person to be aged just 33. But the bronze sculpture of St Helens and Great Britain rugby league player Keiron Cunningham will be completed imminently and placed prominently in the town centre. While Cunningham was selected among a shortlist of club legends by a public vote, the choice of a current player is a clear reminder that, despite the coal and glass heritage of the town, the town has much to be proud of in the 21st century. His statue will be moved to its permanent place in a couple of years, where it will be sited at the new
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Rugby League stadium. The 18,000-capacity stadium is the town’s landmark project which is expected to boost the revenues of the club and the profile of the town. The project, which includes a new Tesco supermarket next to the stadium and a housing development on the land of the existing Knowsley Road stadium, received planning permission last summer and is now scheduled to be completed by mid-2011. Tony Colquitt, the chief executive of St Helens RLFC, said: “Because it’s an inter-connected scheme, it’s the key to kick-start the regeneration of the town. “The site of an abandoned glass factory is a blot on the landscape and
it’s what you see when you come into the town. To get a flagship development on there is important. “The longer-term plan is that it opens up space. What’s happening in the economy has slowed it down, but there are clearly plans for phases two and three.” The stadium is seen as critical to the long-term survival of the club, which has lost more than £1m in the last three years and seen its turnover fall by more than 10%. “It is well documented that the club haemorrhages money so the intention is to stop doing that,” he said. “The challenge is to not have a stadium that is used once every two weeks but to make it a 365-day business so we can continue to invest
in players, facilities and the youth teams.” However, until then, there is an acceptance that the directors will have to continue funding significant losses for the next couple of years. “The directors bankroll the club so if they are comfortable to sustain [the losses] in the short term, that’s what we will do,” he added. “The reason we are moving is because this place is economically unsustainable. It ensures the long-term survival of the club because it puts it in the position of being able to pay for itself.” There are six firms putting the finishing touches to their tender submissions for the scheme ahead of Friday’s deadline. The winning firm
will be named at the end of January, with construction scheduled to begin in April. The club is planning to hold its last game at Knowsley Road in 2010 and wants to move in to its new home in 18 months. By then it will have completed a rebranding exercise – to “make sure that the brand and the club looks like a 21st-century club”, said Mr Colquitt – and, with the extensive changes required on the non-playing side of the club, he acknowledges that “we will be almost relaunching the business come 2011”. “We will acknowledge and respect the past,” he added. “We are just the
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FOr SALE /TO LET
MERE A570 ST HELENS LINKWAY OFF J7 M62, ST HELENS MAJOr NEW OFFIcE pArK SELF-cONTAINEd OFFIcES 3,400 - 10,100 Sq FT dESIgN & BuILd OppOrTuNITIES pLANNINg pErMISSION FOr up TO 300,000 Sq FT To find out more about Mere Grange visit
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In partnership with
The easy way to grow your business If you are planning to set up a business, or have recently started trading and are looking for high quality office accommodation, then hit the ground running and visit the Enterprise Greenhouse in St Helens.
75%
Rent subsidy available
Managed by St Helens Chamber, the Enterprise Greenhouse comprises 31 fully equipped business units accommodating between two and four people. The units provide fully serviced office accommodation allowing new businesses to concentrate on the important things.
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All units are fully furnished and benefit from • Reception / Switchboard service • Secure car parking • On site café • Easy in / Easy out licence arrangement • Internet access • Free IT equipment and support • Free business advisory service
For further information please contact Gillian Warburton on 01744 742000
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ST HELENS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
A RANGE OF HELP IS ON OFFER TO ASSIST ST HELENS FIRMS’ GROWTH
Dream is a 20m monument marking the former Sutton Manor colliery site, which closed in 1991 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 current keepers of the rich heritage of the club. There will be significant areas of the stadium that will celebrate the past but the environment will be a modern facility.” Bob Hepworth, director of urban regeneration and housing at St Helens Council, agrees that the development is of huge importance to the town. He said: “The stadium is very important from two angles – because Saints is such a big part of St Helens and it is important to see them playing in a stadium that is fit for a club of their calibre. “But it is also important from a regeneration perspective. It’s on a gateway site and anywhere that has had a new stadium has had a lift – they do add tremendous impact into an area.” The second project which is dominating the town is the plans for the former Parkside Colliery in Newton-le-Willows. Described as “the biggest development scheme in St Helens’ history”, the 740,000 sq m rail freight interchange alongside the M6 motorway could create 10,000 jobs and attract £400m of investment in the local area. It will have warehousing and distribution on site and a multi-modal terminal. The site, which has been earmarked by the Northwest Development Agency as a strategic regional site – that is, it is a development site which is important to the North West – did suffer a recent blow. ProLogis formally stalled the project in October, citing “prevailing economic conditions” as the reason for revisiting its plans. Mr Hepworth is confident that the result will only be a shift in focus, rather than a reconsideration of the development’s worth.
“Parkside is still very positive, that’s the important thing,” said Mr Hepworth. “The developers have asked us to put it on hold while they revise parts of it. It was designed five years ago and demand has changed. “While I don’t expect the overall scheme to change, there are likely to be more smaller buildings and fewer large sheds. But the focus is still absolutely on rail freight which is why as an authority we are supporting it. It’s not just another logistics park.” Other commercial property in the town is also being affected by the recession. The speculative development at Mere Grange by Langtree that has brought 50,000 sq ft to market in its first phase has been slow in adding to its first two tenants. However Langtree say they have a letting under offer and are in talks to let an entire building, with “significant developments” expected in the first quarter of 2010. One scheme where the recession has stalled the development is the long-planned Westpoint leisure scheme. Plans by Grantmaster Developments – originally approved in 2004 – were for a mixed-use scheme including a ten-pin bowling alley, a 64-room Travelodge hotel project and 111 apartments In April last year, contracts were exchanged on the £30m retail, leisure and residential project with it scheduled for completion this year. The site remains untouched, apart from an increasingly weathered sign outside, although Travelodge say the hotel will open in summer 2011. Mr Hepworth said: “It appears to be one of the victims of the recession. Some of the businesses they had hoped to sign up haven’t materialised. It’s too early to say for definite but I would expect it has stalled indefinitely.” However across the rest of the
town centre the outlook is not as bleak, with the core retail area in particular holding up quite well. He said: “We have seen some changes in and around the town centre and that has been reflected on a national level. The closures in St Helens have been nowhere near as bad as elsewhere – it has held its own in a difficult retail climate. “That has a lot to do with the fact we have very loyal shoppers and we have seen new traders and retailers coming into the town centre, such as Virgin Media in Church Street, and we have a number of independents who have made some fairly hefty investments.” Mr Hepworth believes these investments have been grounded in the redevelopment of the public areas around Church Square in the last couple of years which has led to an increase in town centre events, including an annual urban beach and a continental market. “The work we did in Church Square has helped,” he said. “When we said we would spend £6m in the town centre we were saying that we had confidence in the town centre and it gave retailers the confidence to invest. “There are lots and lots of empty shops in the core retail area in other places but in St Helens – if you take Woolworths out of the equation – the gaps that have been around for a while have been filling up. “Things are starting to improve. The owners of both the major shopping centres, Church Square and Hardshaw Centre, are both telling us St Helens is performing strongly. ING said Church Square is the second-best performer while London and Cambridge Properties said the Hardshaw Centre is one of their best. That gives me a very strong message.” Positive messages are also coming from sites outside of the core retail
A SIX-STRONG taskforce is at the heart of St Helens Chamber’s efforts to assist businesses in the town. The programme is funded by the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative, and the team is specifically targeting established companies with growth potential. Sara Williams, director of enterprise development at St Helens Chamber, said: “We have a team of people who are experts in finance, HR, health and safety, marketing and IT. “They can go in and talk to a company about those topics, and either signpost them to other agencies or to the bank of consultants we have got to help them address the problems they are facing.” It is one facet of the Chamber’s work to assist firms, which also includes an incubator for start-ups and an online business networking facility. The 31-unit enterprise greenhouse, based at the Chamber’s headquarters, launched in February. It offers affordable space for start-up businesses, including computers, telephone, receptionist and on-site business advice. “It’s going well,” said Ms Williams. “We have got about 12 companies in the greenhouse at the moment. We wanted to do it as a steady build. “We have got an interesting range of companies in there and they are benefiting from the support we give them.” The Chamber has also launched a business network website to make it easier for its members to trade, network and share opportunities with one another, which has more than 1,000 St Helens companies registered. “We want to encourage local companies to be more proactive in seeking out new business opportunities,” she added. “They can simply enter the nature of work they can do and then hopefully they will be found by the national network of companies registered on the site.” Sara Williams
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ST HELENS
The annual urban beach, in Church Square, is part of ongoing efforts to animate the town centre to encourage the town’s shoppers to stay loyal
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 area. On St Helens Retail Park, Homeware and soft furnishings firm Dunelm Mill is opening a 29,500 sq ft store on December 3, creating 65 jobs, while Halfords is moving to a new, larger building on the park. On the Linkway – the main route into the town centre from the M62 – Polar Ford has recently opened a 17,400 sq ft showroom, near to the stadium site. On the other side of the borough, two developments have opened which have added to St Helens’s offer. Phytobotanica’s national wildflower farm in Rainford, with the UK’s first organic lavender farm, is less than a mile away from the North West National Golf and Country Club. The £7m development includes a championship course, 28-bay driving range and a golf academy with its own nine-hole course. “St Helens has got more golf courses than Southport has,” said Mr Hepworth. “It’s a very positive element in terms of the leisure sector. “Phytobotanica and North West National add diversity. “St Helens in the last 20 years has become a much more diverse economy and the whole tourism economy has added a new dimension
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that we didn’t have previously.” To the south of the town is the much-vaunted Dream statue, a 20-metre high girl's head with her eyes closed, which stands on the site of the Sutton Manor Colliery. Dream faces due south, in the direction of the coal seam which runs to Fiddler's Ferry power station and beyond into Cheshire. It’s a monument to the past, but also stands as a marker to how the town has changed and adjusted to its largely post-industrial status. A positive factor of this change is that the decision by Pilkington’s owner, Nippon Sheet Glass, to shed 15% of its global workforce has not been the hammer blow that it once would have been. It caused the loss of nearly 200 jobs locally – reducing its Merseyside workforce to below 1,300 – but has not caused the same effects of the large-scale job losses of the early 1990s. Mr Hepworth said: “We are not a one-industry town any more, we are a very diverse economy. I don’t think we will be at risk of big job losses in one sector as we were in the past. “It has not been an accident, it has been a definite policy – but we want Pilkington to stay for as long as possible. “Pilkington is still a world leader
The North West Golf and Country Club, in Rainford and that’s a huge plus for the town. Their technology and innovation expertise is extremely important.” In response to the evolution of the town’s economic base, there has been a focused effort on driving enterprise in the town. He added: “We have always been seen as being at the forefront of new enterprise and we are continuing to do this. And it’s as important as ever. “We were asked by the Govern-
ment to bid to be a pilot for the Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) on the back of the success we had had with the City Growth Strategy (CGS). The gap in the CGS was around the enterprise sector.” LEGI, which is controlled by the council and delivered by St Helens Chamber, has helped sharpen the focus around enterprise. Its key performance indicators show encouraging progress in the
first three years of its scheme. More than 1,000 businesses have been started – nearly 20% above target – with more than 300 in priority areas, which was 75% more than planned. Job creation has also been strong – totalling 2,122 in three years, compared with a target of 1,400, while the 751 jobs created in priority areas are almost double the number targeted. It is a good example of how the strategy has shifted from bringing in new developments to enhancing what exists or is latent in the borough. Mr Hepworth said: “There aren’t the same opportunities for major developments that there were in the past. “There was a lot to be done in St Helens. A lot of sub-standard buildings and a lot of dereliction – that needed to be sorted and it has been. “We have done a huge amount in greening the borough, like where Dream is, where we have created an urban forest. “We have done a lot of the big projects. Parkside is potentially the last of the big schemes. “Over the next 10 to 20 years, there will be a lot of refining of what we have got and looking at opportunities.”
ADVERTISING FEATURE
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TRANSPORT
in association with
MARK DOWD THE last few months have shown the benefits of effective lobbying, and lobbying hard, in the corridors of power. From a transport perspective, Merseyside has reaped the rewards of Merseytravel’s commitment to bringing ministers to the region to see for themselves the problems we face. No notes or beautifully written briefing papers can replace the reality of seeing a difficult problem with your own eyes. It gives emotional context to a campaign for greater investment. In the current financial environment, this is more important than ever. This year alone, I have welcomed many transport ministers to the region. These include Lord Andrew Adonis, Sadiq Khan and Chris Mole. What is more, I have done so standing shoulder to shoulder with our local MPs, such as Louise Ellman and members of all the political parties on our authority. This lobbying campaign has been in part responsible for a £100m project to electrify the line between Liverpool and Manchester being placed at the top of government investment priorities. At last, we can celebrate the fact that journey times between the region's two major economic powerhouses will be down to 30 minutes when the rail line opens in around four years’ time. It will also mean a new fleet of trains and hopefully the end of outdated Pacer (142) trains on a line that could and should be reflecting better on this region. Only last week, Lord Adonis travelled to the city to announce new plans to invest a much-needed slice of a £50m funding pot into the redevelopment of
Liverpool Central station, something we at Merseytravel have been keen on. During his visit, Lord Adonis said: “Train travel has improved a good deal in recent years, but more needs to be done to improve conditions and services for passengers at stations.” We couldn’t agree more, and this has never more true than in Merseyside. We have the most successful rail network in the UK. I share Lord Adonis’s aims that every station should be a good station – a hub of local community life and somewhere that you wouldn't mind spending time, with adequate facilities. That’s why we are continuing to invest in new stations, like Liverpool South Parkway, St Helens Central, Sandhills and Bootle Oriel Road, among many others. And we are looking forward to doing more, with this financial backing, at Liverpool Central. I think people appreciate that the pot isn't limitless, but continued investment in our rail network remains absolutely vital to the region; to the public, to businesses and to the economy. All these investments make commercial and environmental sense and come at a time when the economy is in difficulty and investment in public services is essential. These are two campaigns we have worked on tirelessly to make sure they are on the lips of our local MPs and ministers. But we don’t stop here. We know our voice is being heard and government ministers are listening, but we must continue to make sure that the words on their lips are Liverpool and the wider region beyond.
Clive Drinkwater, from UKTI, with one of UKTI’s liveried buses, at JLA with Peel Airports’ Neil Pakey
Taking it to the world
Liverpool John Lennon Airport backs export campaign LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport (JLA) is backing the “Take it to the world” message from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) as the airport emphasises its role as a gateway to destinations across the globe. The UKTI campaign is urging North West businesses to make the most of their export potential, with JLA well-placed to play a key role in firms’ international plans. Clive Drinkwater, UKTI’s regional director met with Neil Pakey, the deputy chief executive of Peel Airports, to discuss the importance of developing overseas trade links in the current climate, and the advantages that the region’s excellent transport links lend to businesses hoping to explore new markets. Mr Pakey said: “Here at JLA, we are always looking at ways to help
stimulate air travel and get the region’s businesses moving again. “We are able to offer businesses a range of great travel options from leading carriers such as easyJet, Ryanair and Wizz Air, and can now also offer the convenience of being able to start journeys to all five continents from here with KLM, so there has never been a better time for businesses to maximise international trade opportunities.” Despite the difficult economic climate, JLA is continuing to attract new routes and new opportunities for the region’s business community. Mr Drinkwater said: “As I looked around JLA, I saw a number of expectant businessmen nervously checking their figures, thinking of what pitch they’re going to give. How will that proposition sound in a different language and to somebody
from an entirely different cultural background? “Maintaining international trade links has never been more important. The excellent transport infrastructure of the North-West, with two major airports, makes this a great place to do business from, and I urge more businesses to make use of their regional airports. “Selling is about developing and maintaining relationships, and in exporting the added complication is that your customer is often a long way away. “It’s impossible to beat meeting your customer in person and shaking them by the hand. “That’s why airports are so important, not to mention the growth in air cargo – which is expected to more than triple by 2025.”
Ryanair expects to soar above rival in 2010 Pacer trains have reached the end of the line
RYANAIR has drawn its battlelines for 2010 with new routes that it says will see it overtake Easyjet as Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s (JLA) largest carrier. Easyjet currently carries more passengers at JLA, despite Ryanair’s 41
routes outnumbering its competitor’s 23 links. In the first six months of 2009, Ryanair carried 1.3m passengers, 36,000 fewer than its rival. But the addition of two extra Boeing 737-800s, boosting Ryanair’s JLA fleet to eight aircraft, is
expected to take the Irish carrier’s annual passenger levels to more than 2.5m. “We are delighted that we are still in a position that we can grow here in Liverpool,” said Ryanair deputy head of sales and marketing for Europe, Dara Brady.
“We should overtake Easyjet in April after the new routes come in.” In March, Ryanair will introduce two twice-weekly flights to Italian destinations Rimini and Trapini. It will also reinstate its route to Lodz, in Poland, in April.
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH
EDUCATION
Gem of an idea helps students The founder and fans of a ‘matchmaking’ website explain to Neil Hodgson how under graduates
Titus Iudean, the Edge Hill IT student who gained a four-month contract by posting his details on the StudentGems website, which matches students with business owners HRISTMAS is tradtionally the season when university students pound the city streets on postal rounds to supplement their income, or, more recently, to reduce their burgeoning loans. But an increasing number are turning to different employment opportunities, including a website that was set up to match students with employers seeking specific skills to grow and develop their businesses. StudentGems.com was founded in High Wycombe, in September, 2007, by Joanna Ward and Sue Harrison, but owes part of its development to Waterloo financial broker Peter Burke. He met Sue early on in StudentGems’ formation through a networking forum and remains in close contact as the venture continues to expand. The website currently has more than 3,000 employers as registered users and in excess of 15,000 students. Mr Burke, head of CBF
C
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International, in St Johns Road, said: “I helped StudentGems early on with business advisory services after meeting one of the directors, Sue Harrison, early on in their concept stage. “I gave them advice on the financial side of their business and kept track on their progress and still advise from time to time, especially when they were looking for ‘Angel investment’. “I became quite good friends with Sue and we often chat about business.” He added: “I always knew StudentGems was a good concept and it would work and just needed time, which is the advice I gave them from the start. “They just needed the right model to start with – students are always looking for work and money.” He said: “There is not much opportunity for ‘work experience’ for students, especially in their chosen field of (future) work – how valuable that a student can add specific experience to their CV while gaining qualifications.
“Also, in my business role, I see the needs of start-up and trading businesses every day. “The opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is great as they can get project work done, without actually employing people full time. “In the current climate, this must be invaluable, but in any climate for an SME the opportunity to get niche work done, at a slightly reduced rate, will make any of our investors smile. “I recommend that all my new clients look at StudentGems – I'm just about to start hunting for a graphic designer to design my wedding invitations, so it works as well for business or personal life.” StudentGems co-founder Sue Harrison explained the concept behind the site which allows students to register their particular skills and interests and CVs, as well as view offers of work or appeals for expertise from employers, free of charge. Also, employers can post their requests or view CVs for free. However, once they have chosen a
potential candidate, they must then subscribe to the site in order to make contact with them. Mrs Harrison said: “When people hear about the site, they think it is a bit different. “It has been very positively received by businesses who will save money because students don’t charge the going rate, while students will get more from work such as this than pulling a pint.” Wallasey student Titus Iudean, 42, worked for about four months on designing a new website for an exclusive London removals firm after registering with StudentGems earlier this year. Mr Iudean was originally from Transylvania, but moved to London 20 years ago where he worked in an administrative role for a large company. However, after 17 years in the capital, he decided to move to Merseyside and undertake a Web Systems Development Degree at Edge Hill University. He has since set up his own freelance business, Iudean.net,
which he intends to begin promoting once he graduates. In the meantime, he has worked on several freelance IT projects from the study of his Wirral home. Mr Iudean explained: “I saw a website that recommended StudenGems, so I put my details on the site and also browsed the job requests that are out there where you can offer to help and get a message back.” He said he had some dialogue with a variety of potential employers. Some discontinued their proposed projects, while some failed to respond. But he was eventually contacted by Jonathan Ramsay, founder of the bespoke Moving By Appointment agency and Clutterbee, a service that “de-clutters” homes and businesses, helping to improve efficiency, both based in the Muswell Hill area of London. Mr Iudean said: “Jon had a list to choose from and finally he decided to choose my CV, which was great. “We worked together for about four months, depending on both our
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
EDUCATION
to earn and learn with ease
and employers can reap the benefits of the pioneering initiative in equal measure
Peter Burke, Waterloo financial adviser, who has worked closely with the StudentGems founders availability. I designed the website for his company, Moving by Appointment.” Mr Iudean explained: “A lot of IT work is conducted over distance so it was good practice for me working as an independent doing this. “This industry is heading for a lot of offshoring, so it was a good experience overall. “I felt comfortable because it gave me freedom to concentrate on the work when I was available and communication was always available by email or phone. “Communications between us was very good. “For the future, it gave me some experience for working in a distributive environment, and learning how to communicate for work is very important and best done by actually doing it and not learning it in school.” He added: “I had to juggle the project between course work and preparations for my exams, but it also contributed to my portfolio for university and my employment process.”
From the employer’s point of view, Mr Ramsay said he was impressed by StudentGems and will use the service in the future and added that he will probably contact Mr Iudean again. Mr Ramsay established Clutterbee about five years ago, but more recently formed Moving By Appointment, a “high-end” business which carries out house moves for wealthy people in opulent areas like London’s Knightsbridge, to locations like New York or the south of France. Mr Ramsay said: “These are people who are time poor and want someone to organise the whole moving process. “I deal with things like car parking permits, or transferring services and utilities, as well as sorting out what they will take with them. “I don’t employ people but take people on, on a freelance basis when I need them. “The thing is, that Moving By Appointment is a very personalised service.
Jonathan Ramsay “You are in people’s homes and you have to have a personal service and most clients want a one-to-one service.” Mr Ramsay logged on to StudentGems for the first time when he was looking for an IT expert to
design a new website for Moving By Appointment. He said: “I wanted a new website built and one of my friends who had used StudentGems recommended them. “I put an ad up on there and there were a number of students who put up their CVs. “They were all very enthusiastic and there were some very good ideas. “People request lots of different things on the StudentGems website and when I put up my ad there were people doing all kinds of courses, and that is how I came across the student from Merseyside earlier this year.” He confirmed: “I will be using Titus again. “He was very good and he now knows my line of work as well. “The contract lasted about four to five months and if I need anything else I know that I can email and contact Titus for another contract.” Mr Ramsay explained why, as a business owner, the site appeals to him: “I think students have a cost element, but more than a cost element they have their finger on the
pulse and they are really immersed in things because of the courses they do. “They are in among students who are thinking and talking about doing these things.” He explained: “They get a lot of freedom from this arrangement. “I gave Titus the brief and said, ‘give me some ideas. This is the concept, can you come up with something’? “And I feel that is what they appreciate most, and working from the bottom up. “I think that freedom is very important. “If you corral people too much, it stifles their imagination.” He added: “We also had a very good working relationship – it is very important to build a good working relationship. “I have used students for stationery design and probably will use students again for search engine optimisation. “It was a positive experience for me. I would go to StudentGems again.”
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THE NETWORKER
THE BUSINESS LIST Tuesday, November 24
Striding Out is holding a workshop on how to become an excellent networker, led by Simon Ireland-Davies. He will provide tips on what to do and shouldn’t do as well as explaining how to turn networking into revenue for your business. The event is at Liverpool Science Park from 5pm-7.30pm. For more information, see tinyurl.com/stridingnetwork
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 9 / 2010 WORLD EXPO BREAKFAST BRIEFING
Friday, November 27 An International Capabilities Programme open day is at St Helens Chamber and includes an exhibition of business support providers including banks, solicitors, the Institute of Export, China Britain Business Council, “The Americas”, Central Europe, Enterprise Europe Network and Chambers of Commerce. This programme will assist SMEs in Merseyside wanting to improve their international trade performance. It is from 10am-2pm. For more information, call 01744 742000.
Monday, November 30 Baker Tilly is hosting a seminar for charitable organisations at the Daresbury Hotel. The seminar, aimed at senior people across the not-for-profit sector, will provide an update on the Charity Commission’s testing of public benefit. For more information, contact Ross Moorlock at ross.moorlock@bakertilly.co.uk.
Tuesday, December 1
Organisers of Liverpool’s presence at the 2010 World Expo expect to welcome 1m visitors to its pavilion
Halton Chamber of Commerce’s 1stuesday networking group is having a Christmas lunch at The Heath Business and Technical Park. Presentations start at 11am with lunch at 12pm. It costs £10 for members and non-members. To book, contact Nicola Holland at Halton Chamber on 01928 516142, or e-mail nicolah@haltonchamber.com.
THE 2010 World Expo, in Shanghai, has been positioned as a great opportunity for Liverpool on the international stage. A breakfast briefing for SMEs is being given by Mike Taylor, director of investment and
Thursday, December 3 A seminar about how to grow your business through ICT is being held by West Cheshire and North Wales
enterprise at Liverpool Vision, who is heading up Liverpool's World Expo project, on why the six-month exhibition is also for small and medium-sized firms. Mr Taylor said: “We are not shy in saying the economic climate is
Chamber of Commerce. It will cover building a successful web business, assessing your computer network, and cloud computing. The seminar
difficult, but we are finding businesses that realise that, if they want to grow in the future, they have to understand how to operate in the emerging markets. “People are increasingly realising it’s a long-term proposition.
It’s the easiest way to start dealing in these markets.” Running from May to October, it is expected to attract 70m visitors to a city at the hub of the world's fastest growing and most dynamic economy.
It will look at the true costs and benefits and will be providing practical advice and guidance for employers. It is from 8am-9.30am at Hard Day’s Night Hotel, North John Street. To book your place at this free event, call Lesley Martin-Wright on 0151 282 2831.
is from 8am-1pm at Mollington Banastre, Chester, and costs £15, which includes breakfast and lunch. To book, call 01244 669988 or e-mail info@cepnwchamber.org.uk
Thursday, December 3
Liverpool Science Park
A half-day course by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales will provide an update of recent tax changes. It will cover changes and proposed changes in legislation, together with relevant HMRC statements and consultation documents. The speaker is Marion Hodgkiss, from Kaplan Financial, in Liverpool. The event is at the Britannia Adelphi Hotel, Ranelagh Place, from 9.30am-12.30pm and costs £55+VAT. To book, contact Alex Pilkington on 01942 497015 and alex.pilkington@icaew.com.
The World Expo is often dubbed the business Olympics, and Liverpool is the only UK city to have its own presence. The briefing is from 8am-9.30am at the BT Convention Centre. For more details, call 0151 227 1234.
Friday, December 4
Phil Blything, of Glow New Media, will try and stop people being a twit on Twitter
Friday, December 4 JST Lawyers and Randstad are holding a workshop, Social Networking Sites in the Workplace.
The 60 Really Useful Minutes series, run by Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, continues with a free seminar led by Phil Blything, from Liverpool digital marketing company Glow New Media. He will introduce you to Twitter, explaining how the micro-blogging website can be the latest online tool to help market your business. It starts at 9am, for more details call 0151 227 1237.
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THE NETWORKER
BUSINESS LUNCH Tony McDonough takes a trip down memory lane with Sue Weir, at Merchants, in Liverpool city centre HERE are some places that just take you right back to a certain point in your life. Merchants is such a place, although it wasn’t called that back in 1996. Then it was called Trials, a well-known but seen-better-days bar, part of the hotel with the same name, that at lunch times offered an ever-dwindling bunch of regulars an uninspiring menu of limp sandwiches, chips and baked potatoes. In the evenings, it felt even more desolate. The local lawyers that had once made up the bulk of its custom had long since moved on to more up-market hostelries. However, it retained a certain charm. With its marble columns, luxurious, if a little worn, leather couches and huge windows overlooking the Crown Court in Derby Square, there was still a hint of the grandeur of times past. I loved it. It was here that I wooed the lady who was to become my long-term partner. We had worked together but sought to keep our relationship secret from our colleagues. Just after 5pm, I would get up from my desk, put my coat on and give her a knowing look. I would then make my way to Trials and she would follow 10 minutes later. Some weekday winter evenings, we would have the place to ourselves. The only other regular I recall was an ageing dandy with a penchant for flowery shirts who drank alone but always seemed to have a smile on his face. The establishment limped on into the new century, but it was inevitable that Liverpool’s economic renaissance and new-found confidence would catch up with it sooner or later. In the spring of 2006, a new boutique hotel opened on the site, known as 62 Castle Street, at a cost of £2.5m. The bar I had known so well was given a makeover and re-christened as Room – an up-market eaterie with prices to match (£1.80 for a diet Coke). It was clean, smart and stylish. The place had been interior-designed to death. I hated it. The food was good quality (although the size of the portions once had me wondering whether there was a war on) and the service friendly but as for the atmosphere – it seemed cold and insipid. Some of the Grade II-listed Georgian features had been retained but its character had not. Room was mercifully short-lived
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and now the venue’s latest incarnation is another posh-nosh eaterie which goes by the name of Merchants. I was joined there for lunch by Sue Weir, chief executive of Liverpool-based Medicash. The mutual, which operates out of Lord Street, has been in existence since 1871 under various names including Hospital Saturday and Sunday Funds and the Penny in the Pound Fund. It offers cash plans to individuals and businesses that allow people to pay small regular premiums and then claim the cost of a trip to the dentist or optician or for stays in hospital and physiotherapy. “For things you will need on a regular basis,” said Sue. “It is something we do well because we have been doing it for so long. We have that history behind us. “Because we have close links with the NHS, we have evolved as they have evolved. If they change their tariffs, then we have to adapt to that.” Sue joined Medicash as finance director in 2004, moving from a similar role at Merseyside Special Investment Fund. She took the top job last year. Her approach has been to make the mutual more dynamic and innovative while retaining the link with its traditional roots. She added: “Recently we have brought in something called Best Doctors, which means that if you have had a diagnosis on a particular condition you can get an expert second opinion through your health plan. We also want to extend the services we provide to businesses and to help them look after the health of their staff. “One thing we are looking to launch is something that would sit alongside private medical insurance (PMI). “Under PMI, you often have to pay for the first £50 of treatment. “Through our plan, we would pay that excess fee.” Sue said Medicash had not been too adversely affected by the recession. She added: “In some cases we have benefited, as some firms are offering staff Medicash benefits instead of an annual pay rise. “However, there are some that have said to us ‘yes, we love the idea of what you can provide but not just now’.” Sue is particularly proud of the charitable side of the business. Since 1871, it is estimated the
Merchants Restaurant, on Castle Street – I may just go back again organisation’s charity efforts and contributions have been worth more than £70m to good causes and she is keen for that to continue through its charitable trusts. “We want to retain the caring side of the business but at the same time we have to continue to modernise. People can be wary of change but now we find our staff have wholly embraced it.” Maybe it was the return of some leather upholstery just to the side of the main dining area, but I felt a little of the old warmth of 14 years previous. Sue ordered her food from the extensive a la carte menu, while I decided to try the special lunch menu which offers two courses for £8.95. I
Pride: Sue Weir
plumped for the Merchants Caesar salad, a tasty offering with a generous serving of chicken. Sue enjoyed her pea and mint soup, but didn’t finish. “I always like to leave enough room for the main course,” she said. For my main, I ordered the 8oz onglet steak. This is a steak, so Wikipedia tells me, that is cut from the centre of the diaphragm and is “flavourful and very tender”. The menu recommended that it was best served rare. Now I like a rare steak but it has to be done properly, a feat seemingly beyond the capabilities of many restaurants. I usually play safe, ask for a well done steak and cover it in pepper. This time I went with the recommendation and ordered rare. My daring was well rewarded. It was tender, juicy and delicious. Although I did spend about five minutes trying to saw my way through one gristly section. It came accompanied by some of the chunkiest chips I have ever seen. Sue ordered the pan-fried sea bass for her main. I recently ordered this dish at another very swish Liverpool restaurant which shall remain nameless. The fish was so salty I had to ask the waitress for a bucket of
water to drink afterwards. Fortunately, Sue was more than happy with her serving. “It was absolutely gorgeous,” she said after clearing her plate. The bill, including drinks, came to a modest £34.65. The two courses for £8.95 deal I thought to be especially good value. We passed on dessert. Service was friendly and efficient and without any of the intrusive fawning (Is everything all right with your meal, sir?) you get in some other establishments. I have to concede that the Trials I once knew has disappeared for ever, but the operators of Merchants have made a decent stab at creating a venue with some of the warmth and charm of the old place. I may just go back again.
DETAILS Merchants Bar & Restaurant 62 Castle St, Liverpool, L2 7LQ Tel: 0151 702 7897 www.62castlest.com
SOCIAL DIARY THE NETWORKER
From left: John Haynes, Phil Sheard, Jenny Stewart of Liverpool Chamber, Dave Fanning and Ed Oliver, Chamber Chairman, at the Chamber lunch in the Mayur restaurant
Surgeon Max McCormick, Andrew Collinge (MD, Andrew Collinge) and Andy Cross (Brabners), at the Collinge salon male grooming launch
CAROLYN HUGHES Victoria Barrett with Ria Parker (Living Room, Liverpool) at the business women’s networking lunch
ANDREW COLLINGE Hair and Beauty, in Telegraph Road, Heswall, has launched a new Male Grooming section at the stylish Wirral salon recently. The 100-plus guests, including the Mayor of Wirral, celebrated the welcome addition to this hugely popular salon. ■ Forty-five of Liverpool's business women attended a networking lunch at the Living Room, Victoria Street, last week. ■ The lush surroundings of Mayur Indian Restaurant in Duke Street provided a stunning venue for October’s Chamber of Commerce Platform lunch. The day’s three speakers
were Phil Sheard (Hill Dickinson), Dave Fanning (Merseyside Fire and Safety Ltd) and John Haynes (Liverpool Coaching Academy). ■ Downtown Liverpool in Business held its final Members Reception of the year recently at awardwinning Il Forno restaurant, on Duke Street. A truly delicious four-course meal was served in style to a full house of more than 30 business guests. ■ Stylish bar and restaurant GUSTO, in Heswall, was the venue recently for the Ultimate Girls Night In ladies event, which raised £2,470 for Wirral Witches.
Jan Ross and Anne Wright enjoy the networking lunch at the Living Room, Victoria Street
Edward Ford (Rippleffect), Conor O’Donovan, of A2Z Rooms and Urban Chic, and Vicky Jaycock, of Live’Smart, at the Downtown Liverpool in Business Members Reception
Andrew Hodson (Mayor of Wirral) joins Andrew Collinge at the male grooming launch in Heswall
Steve, of Bemybutler.com, and Mandy Molby, of Wirral Witches, at the Girls Night In at GUSTO restaurant
Andrew Hodson (Mayor of Wirral), David Greensmith, Gordon Cole (QC), Mark Gorton and Andrew Collinge
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THE NETWORKER
BARRY TURNBULL . . . in which our hero mulls over the way email has changed the world – though not necessarily for the better OMEONE from the Royal Mail told me recently that the number of letters being sent each day has dropped from 84m to 75m in three years. That trend is going to continue, due to growing email use. Even I have resorted, when pressed for time, to sending electronic birthday cards. Many firms now send Christmas greetings by email for the convenience, as well as the cost savings. It’s also environmentally friendly, saving on forests of trees that would otherwise be cut down for paper and card, not to mention all those gallons of fuel saved by the reduced weight in mail sacks. I suppose the argument against this is that it all becomes a bit impersonal. In the dark days before the internet, people used the phone or the mail for communication. On the other hand, email is so much easier to use that it can, in an instant, result in a pleasant surprise. Recently, for instance, an email landed in my in-box from a school chum I hadn’t seen for 30 years. There was no preamble, either. It went straight into a question: “Do
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you remember that shop in London we visited before you went to the Cup Final, I think it was called ‘Dark They Were And Golden Eyed’?” It rang a very faint bell, although the day was more memorable for the fact I witnessed a soul-destroying last minute winner by Arsenal against United at Wembley. I sent a reply and it transpired that he had Googled reviews for the rock band, Def Leppard, and found I had written something from a concert at the Echo Arena. The contact was like a supernova, a brief flashing light before disappearing down a black hole, but not before one or two other acquaintances were mentioned. One is now an international tax consultant who went to Oxford and lists his hobbies as polo and bridge. How things have changed. From what I recall, he was heavily into Subbuteo. Another is still writing and recording songs in his bedroom, as he did at school. Maybe it’s better not to stray too far down memory lane. With a mention of Christmas, I wonder whether this year will be as bleak as recent ones? I mentioned earlier that the practice of sending ecards and telling you that the office
Def Leppard, a veritable rock supernova
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Christmas card budget has been donated to charity seemed to creep in a few years ago. The days of offices festooned with greetings cards seem to be gone, which is a pity as it was a good way of finding out how popular you were. PART from that, will the goose be getting fat? He certainly didn’t last year as the credit crunch seemed to rip a hole in most entertainment budgets. In fact, I can’t remember a time like it for the lack of seasonal spirit in the corporate quarter. Usually, the in-box would be groaning with tinsel-tasty goodies, but in 2008 treats were in very short supply. It seemed to hark back to the days when people were grateful for a pencil case and an orange. One of the honourable exceptions were investment firm Rensburg Sheppards, who didn’t let the recession get in the way of a good knee’s up. I remember more than 20 years ago I would leave the office staggering under the weight of bottles of whisky and wine to hand out to contacts. How times have changed. Merry Xmas!
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