contact Together We Grow Stronger
August-September 2018
DAVID NICHOLSON:
One man's drive for business excellence Plus LIFE'S A GAS JACQUELINE GALLAZZIRITCHIE'S BID TO BRING POWER TO BRITAIN LAST WORD JUDITH DOYLE'S CAMPAIGN FOR QUALITY CAREERS COUNSELLING 60 SECONDS RICHARD ROBSON ON CLIMBING THE PROPERTY LADDER
Welcome... Chamber president John McCabe Twitter: @John_fusionPR
Since the previous edition of Contact, our chief executive has written to the Prime Minister to convey the Chamber’s grave concerns regarding the lack of clarity and progress on Brexit. His letter sets out the issues that Chamber members are raising with increasing regularity and urgency. As I write, we still await a reply. Hardly a week goes by now without a major employer speaking out to express frustration, often accompanied by a warning on future investment and jobs. These aren’t so-called Remoaners. These are the innovators, producers and job creators who are the bedrock of our economy. We want to see politicians holding their party leadership to account to ensure our future relationship with Europe is as advantageous as it can be. Based on what members are telling us, that means frictionless trade in goods and services that can best be delivered through full and unfettered access to our biggest export market. As a Chamber we are doing all we can to get information on future customs arrangements. With our Partner member Square One Law we have developed a Brexit guide to ensure our members know exactly what they can prepare, on the limited information available, in advance of leaving to protect their businesses. The impact of Brexit is starting to trigger widespread concern with many businesspeople, not just me, as our latest Quarterly Economic Survey results revealed. Figures show manufacturers’ confidence falling considerably with a decline in export sales and orders. Given these changes in export performance, it is not surprising that confidence levels among manufacturers have taken a hit. When we have seen this previously, our members’ resilience and ingenuity have been sufficient to quickly reverse the trend. I hope these same characteristics are not overstretched in the coming months.
John McCabe, Chamber president EDITOR Jane Pikett EDITORIAL TEAM Dean Bailey Jane Hall Paul Robertson Contact is the magazine for North East England Chamber members. News and press releases should be sent to submissions@ neechamber.co.uk ADVERTISING Colin Rutherford 01661 844 115 colin@offstonepublishing.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY Kevin Gibson Nicky Rogerson Dave Charnley Gilbert Johnston Peter Skelton
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“I remember sitting at home wondering where our first job was going to come from. It was like jumping off the White Cliffs of Dover with my eyes shut" Jacqueline Gallazzi-Ritchie
Profile: Jacqueline Gallazzi-Ritchie
Last word: Judith Doyle
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30
Profile: David Nicholson
Contents
06 60 seconds
34 Profile
Lugano Property Group's Richard Robson
Getting to know Jacqueline Gallazzi-Ritchie
08 In my view
38 Success
With James Ramsbotham
Berger Group's Richard Swart
11 Inbox
41 Special focus
News and views from the world of business
Our region's greatest innovators
12-21 News
51 Special focus
News from the Chamber and its members, including Partners and President's Club updates, record results, Chamber reports and updates, plus much more
Counting down to Christmas
54 Motoring Our pick of summer 2018's convertibles
28 Chamber policy
58 People
Inspiring Females Conference 2018
Movers and shakers across the region
30 Profile
65 Last word
Nicholson Group's David Nicholson
Gateshead College's Judith Doyle contact 5
60 seconds
Climbing the property ladder Richard Robson, chairman of Lugano Property Group, shares his inspiration, his career highlights and his love of skiing As head of one of the largest property investment and development companies in the region, with a portfolio worth more than £120m stretching from Cheshire to north Northumberland, it’s fair to say Lugano Property Group chairman Richard Robson has reached the top of the property ladder. Having started his career in town and country planning before becoming dual qualified in economic development and regeneration, he was appointed chief executive of Tynedale Council in Northumberland in 2002. Following the reorganisation of Local Government in 2008, he was appointed executive director to the new organisation leading a range of services with an overall budget of £110m and more than 3,000 staff. In 2011, he left Northumberland to join Lugano as development director and today oversees the business as its chairman. We sat down with him for 60 Seconds to hear more about his journey and to learn the secrets behind his success…
now deceased, gave me opportunities and challenges that I always thought were beyond me, but actually ended up being the stepping stones that helped to advance my career.
Q If I were meeting you for the first time, how would you describe yourself? I’m friendly and always have a positive attitude. I also don’t take myself too seriously.
Q What’s the best job you’ve ever had? This one – working for Lugano. Professionally, there is nothing better than working with a great team on a wealth of fantastic projects that make a positive difference to the regional economy. For example, we are based in the Lugano Building in central Newcastle. It was a derelict warehouse and former music venue (the Riverside) that we have converted into state-of-the-art business space.
Q Who did you look up to as a child? Sir David Attenborough. I have a degree in environmental biology and he was the person who first sparked my interest in nature. He has been a hero of mine for as long as I can remember. Q Who has inspired you? When you take your first step on the career ladder, it’s important to have someone who not only looks out for you, but who believes in you and your abilities. One of my first bosses, sadly 6
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Q How do you compare to your 21-year-old self? I’m obviously older, but I think that experience, both professionally and personally, means that hopefully I’m also a little wiser - although my wife would probably add ‘but not much’. Q How would you describe yourself? I’m easy going and fair, but also definitely driven. Nobody likes to own up to weaknesses, but I do have a tendency to take on too much and find it difficult to switch off. Q What would you be doing if you weren’t in your current job? Without doubt, I’d be outdoors – probably up a hill or a mountain somewhere. I’d preferably be doing some combination of skiing, cycling or walking.
Q What do you enjoy most about your job? Working with my colleagues. Lugano specialises in technical, some would say difficult projects, and when we combine our skills, experience and knowledge, there’s nothing that we can’t overcome. www.neechamber.co.uk
Q What’s the hardest part of your job? Managing my time and creating a decent work/ life balance. Q What’s the best decision you’ve made and why? Professionally, joining Lugano. I really enjoyed the various roles I’ve had working in local government, but the variety of projects we work on here is fantastic – whether we’re converting former TV studios into apartments or creating a modern designer hotel in the heart of the city centre, no two days are the same. Q What’s the greatest moment of your career to date? Hard to pick just one and I think the greatest moment is always yet to come. However, if you www.neechamber.co.uk
put me on the spot, I think I’d have to say it’s a tie between the development of Dalton Park retail outlet centre, near Seaham, and the royal opening of the new swimming pool and leisure centre in Hexham during my time with Tynedale Council. Q If I were to tell you that you couldn’t fail, what would you do? Buy a lottery ticket. Q What scares you most? It’s easy to get daunted by the scale of some of the projects we work on, but I think my real fear is letting people down. On a more practical level, after a major skiing accident a few years ago I’m more wary of heights than I was previously (and have two metal plates and 22 screws in my arm and shoulder). contact 7
60 seconds
Q How do you spend a day off? While I love walking and/or cycling, my real passion is skiing. At university I was awarded university colours for competing in the men’s slalom and I try to get away a few times a year as well as the occasional trip closer to home in the Pennines. Q What’s been your most embarrassing moment? They are far too numerous to mention, but picking one unfortunate incident involved spilling gravy over a disgruntled senior politician when I was working as a part-time waiter; I didn’t do it on purpose and it still gives me nightmares. Q Which possession do you cherish most? That one is easy - my health. 8
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Q What’s your guilty pleasure? I don’t believe that the things that you derive pleasure from should make you feel guilty – I certainly don’t feel guilty about eating chocolate, having a nice meal out, drinking a few glasses of wine or having the occasional whisky. Fortunately I’m a pretty active person so I don’t end up piling weight on from all of those! Q Who would be at your dream dinner party? My wife and a few close friends – they matter the most. But if you’re after more famous faces then Sir David Attenborough, Ross Noble, Meryl Streep and Dawn French. Q What does the future hold? Happiness, opportunity and hopefully lots of fun. Possibly a new pair of skis! www.neechamber.co.uk
Commercial Profile
Brewin firmly in the driving seat with the FinTech Accelerator Programme Gareth Johnson, Brewin Dolphin’s head of digital channel and investment services, based in Newcastle, has been appointed to the advisory panel of Velocity, a new accelerator programme aimed at FinTech. “The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again,” said Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister at Davos earlier this year. It is for this reason, the Investment Association, the trade body that represents 200 firms that manage assets worth £7 trillion, has created a Gareth Johnson, Head “Velocity” FinTech Accelerator of Digital Channel and Investment Services programme. The programme will bring together leading figures from across the industry to help shape the strategy of FinTech innovation and adoption within asset management and the wider buy-side sector. As part of this, Brewin Dolphin’s Head of Digital Channel and Investment Services, Gareth Johnson, based in their Newcastle office, has been appointed to the Advisory Panel. The primary role of the Advisory Panel will be to help determine the most innovative FinTech organisations into the Velocity programme. “This is an exciting time to be involved in FinTech and I am delighted to take a role on this key industry accelerator panel,” said Gareth. “I am also keen to unlock the potential of the Newcastle FinTech scene to solve problems within asset and wealth management. I hope my appointment will give the region a further opportunity to participate in this key accelerator programme.” Ultimately, the Velocity FinTech Accelerator programme aims to create an industry centre of excellence for the advancement and utilisation of the best tech solutions for the benefit of the industry and its consumers. The programme launched] in July with the first cohort expected to be reviewed in Q4 of this year. Fintech can be defined as the application of digital technologies to create, record, transfer and manage financial value and risk. There are three areas of Fintech that are of particular interest to the investment management sector. The first area of focus is the distributed ledger technology also known as blockchain;This combines digital technologies that originated in cryptography and computer science. The second area of focus is digital identity. Fintech examines the attributes of digital identity and looks at what the future might hold. www.neechamber.co.uk
The third area is digital money and digital payments. Central banks and regulators around the world are preparing the groundwork for the issuance of digital currencies. The accelerator programme looks closely at how various technologies are changing what is considered valuable in the digital space and what regulators might support. Gareth, joined Brewin Dolphin in 2002 and has worked in numerous different parts of the business. “I’m very fortunate that I’ve grown up in the business learning about the entire infrastructure of a large wealth management business as well as selling our proposition to our customers. This gives a real sense of the end to end.” In addition, Gareth has been responsible for the Group’s Managed Portfolio Service for the last eight years which has grown from around £10m to almost £3bn during that time. “I like to think of myself as an intrapreneur; creating new business units from within. To that end, you go through all of the challenges a start-up goes through and that will hopefully allow me to have empathy with those starting their own business or trying to scale up.” Gareth’s enthusiasm for innovation and change saw Brewin Dolphin CEO David Nicol put him forward for the Advisory Panel for the Velocity. “I was delighted to be asked to join the panel by David. The desktop picture on my computer is a Forbes magazine front cover dating back to October 2007. The headline is “Nokia – One billion customers – can anyone catch the cell phone king?” This was not even a year after the launch of the iPhone … and we all know what happened!” said Gareth. “It serves as reminder not to be complacent but also, the customercentric innovation that genuinely solves challenges will always succeed.” The prospects for FinTech and also, Newcastle as a city, is fantastic. With the new National Innovation Centre for Data en route as well, I think there’s a lot to be excited about.”
For more innovation on the accelerator programme, go to www.iavelocity.com, follow on twitter @IAVelocity or contact Gareth @Brewin_Gareth or Gareth.Johnson@brewin.co.uk contact 9
In my view
Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham makes a rallying call for clarity over Brexit
Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham
We have had a lot of terrific news over the past two months. One of the most significant and hardwon may seem a strange success to celebrate when it is over 200 miles away from our region, but make no mistake, Heathrow’s third runway is great news for North East England. The decision to expand Heathrow will provide a real asset for the North East. On behalf of our members we have campaigned long and hard for this result. It will provide vital connectivity to the rest of the country, Europe and the world. Our businesses know Heathrow is an essential hub for so many routes and, as the current airport is at capacity, the new runway is needed urgently to meet evergrowing demand. The construction work on a project of this scale is also likely to provide a massive economic benefit to our region and it needs to start as soon as possible. We also achieved another success in a different field with our members hitting the target of 30,000 learner-hours provided for the Esh Building My Skills programme, which gives young people
"The economic climate postBrexit has the potential to be very different"
10 contact
in the region key employability skills. Well done and thank you to all those businesses who kindly gave their time to help us reach this milestone. On a much less positive note, our Government is no nearer to its target of narrowing the gap between the North and South of the country, not helped by the lack of progress on Brexit. On page three, our President John McCabe has set out, in no uncertain terms, the damage this lack of clarity is bringing to our businesses. The message is certainly being spread by the major employers in the country and the Government needs to take heed of their concerns just as it needs to take heed of our own. The recent Quarterly Economic Survey showed some worrying trends as well as some positive news for this latest quarter which could also be set at the Brexit door. The results for Q2 2018 show that the regional economy is continuing to grow, with all our key indicators still in positive territory, but the rate of growth has slowed markedly. One of the biggest contributing factors has been a big slowdown in export sales growth from last quarter’s strong results. We’ve also seen a fall in domestic sales growth, albeit at a lower level. Despite this, businesses have continued to invest in both plant and training during www.neechamber.co.uk
Heathrow Airport © Shutterstock.com
the second quarter, although these scores have fallen back a little since the start of the year. There is a similar story for recruitment, with workforces still growing but at a slower rate than in Q1. We need to boost our economy. One of the ways to do this is for more businesses and organisations to buy local. In July, with Partner Member Womble Bond Dickinson, we launched a major report into public procurement and how it could provide a huge boost. The recommendations include major procurement organisations breaking down tenders to enable smaller businesses to put forward bids. Our public sector has a huge spend in this region and a few small changes to its procurement systems could be an www.neechamber.co.uk
enormous benefit for many businesses. The economic climate post-Brexit has the potential to be very different and we need to take full advantage of the opportunity for much more flexible procurement. Finally, congratulations to our members who were honoured in the Queen’s Birthday honours. Well done to Professor Chris Brink, Colin Herron, Heidi Mottram, Andrew Davison, Neil Warwick, Emily Cox, Mohammed Ishaq and Albi Pattison. Our longest-serving member of staff, Jill Smith, who co-incidentally also went to Buckingham Palace for the Royal Garden Party last year, has just retired after almost 40 years with the Chamber. We thank her for all her hard work and send our very best wishes for the future. contact 11
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Inbox Have you got something to say about Contact magazine or about business in general? Then this page is the place. Email your news, views, comment and gossip to submissions@neechamber.co.uk
Charity champions
St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle has picked up a national retail award and launched a new Better Together Business Club. The charity triumphed at the 2018 Charity Retail Awards, bagging the Innovation and Technology prize in Charity Retail award for its Shop Takeover scheme, which invites businesses to takeover one of the charity’s 25 regional shops for the day. Meanwhile, membership of the new Better Together Business Club is £20 a month, with a sliding scale of benefits for those who hit fundraising targets. The hospice hopes sufficient funds will be raised to pay the equivalent annual salaries of two nurses. By joining the Better Together club, businesses receive a framed certificate, a banner for their website, a personalised email banner and their logo on the hospice’s website. They can then choose to move up from a member to a Champion, Hero, Superstar and All Star member by getting involved in Hospice events and campaigns and helping to raise funds to support hospice nurses.
Student hits top gear A Teesside engineering student is starting a dream placement working to help create Formula Kalani Ajisafe One power units at one of the most elite engineering firms in the world. Kalani Ajisafe, who has just completed the third year of his Electrical and Electronic Engineering degree at Teesside University, will start a year-long placement at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains (HPP) in September. He will be part of a team of more than 500 people responsible for the design, manufacture and testing of Formula One power units for Mercedes AMG Petronas, Sahara Force India and Williams Martini Racing. www.neechamber.co.uk
TWEET TWEET
Have you been keeping an eye on social media? Here's a taste of what you've been posting recently Carolyn McGregor (@carolynNELfund): Couldn’t be a lovelier place to network than @NEEChamber event at Little Haven Hotel, Sam @BluSkyTax and me enjoying the sunshine! @NELFundManagers @neechamberjac1 Michelle Ord (@NEEChamberMiche): Thank you for the wonderful personal thank you card @NewcastleHigh it was a pleasure to support your year 12 event. Your students are a credit to the region! Lucid Technology Solutions (@TechnologyLucid): Had a great morning at @NEEChamber Exchange, sponsored by #TeesBusiness, meeting lots of new businesses and getting to know some lovely people. Teesside Uni news (@TeesUninews): Fantastic achievement for Professor Jane Turner who has been officially presented with her OBE by Her Majesty the Queen Michael D. Williams (@mdwilliams1971): Thanks so much for the @Ringtons gift @NEEChamberLes! The @NEEChamber has offered invaluable support to @VidereGlobal & @theVeroGrid and the North East should be proud to have such a wonderful organisation backing it! Thanks also to @NEEChamberJames
The PC Richardson team
Century of success A Teesside family business is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Fourth-generation business PC Richardson in Stokesley, which specialises in steeplejack services, began when its founder Percy Richardson realised a gap in the market for building chimneys. The company later moved into high-level repairs as industry on Teesside developed. Today the company is ranked 38 in the Sunday Times SME Export Track 100, employs a workforce of 75 and operates in overseas markets including in the Middle East.
Help for heroes PD Ports has signed a pledge to support former members of the armed forces to find local jobs and enhance their employability skills once they leave military life. As one of the UK’s major port operators and logistics specialists, PD Ports understands the value employing former military workers with around 8% of its 1,200 workforce being service veterans and reservists. contact 13
News NEWS IN BRIEF
Arcinova secures £5m investment BGF, formerly the Business Growth Fund, has invested £5m in pharmaceutical company Arcinova following a period of rapid growth and development at its life sciences site in Alnwick, Northumberland. Arcinova will use the funding to drive innovation as well as international expansion as it continues to spearhead the use of intensive manufacturing technology processes to support the development of drugs for the treatment of life-threatening illnesses including cancer. Arcinova works with a range of biotech and pharma companies and has more than doubled its customer base to 125 in two years, generating revenue of close to £9m.
Graham Conway
To the max The North East’s largest independent contract cleaning and facilities management firm, Maxim Facilities Management, has grown its turnover to more than £10m. Maxim FM provides services to the public and private sectors, and works with a growing number firms and organisations including Hitachi, Pendragon plc, Quorn, Paragon Group, Gentoo and the Scottish Prison Service. After buying up a local rival based on Tyneside in June, Maxim has acquired the cleaning division of Swindonheadquartered Gillsbrook FM Services Ltd. The Sunderland-headquartered business now employs around 1,200 people and is continuing to work towards its goal of becoming a £20m turnover company with around 2,000 employees within the next three years. 14 contact
GROWTH PLANS Cloud hosting provider Atlas Cloud is aiming to continue its growth having secured investment and funding of £2.2m over the last three years. The company achieved 80% growth over the last 12 months thanks to partnerships with the likes of Microsoft, Citrix and Sage. IT INVESTMENT IT Professional Services (ITPS) is expanding its data centre in Co Durham thanks to a £3m financial package from HSBC. Experts in information and communication technologies, ITPS will use the funding to meet increasing national and international demand. The new data hall, in ITPS’ high security ISO27001certified data centre, will include over 3,000sqft of fully-serviced rack space and sit alongside its onsite dedicated workspace recovery centre. RECRUITMENT RECORD Nigel Wright Group, the region’s largest recruitment specialist with 126 permanent staff in 13 sites across Europe, has celebrated a record year. The company achieved a gross profit of more than £13m in the year ending 30 April 2018.
Growth spurt for Franks Franks the Flooring Store has invested in new stores, revamped existing ones and created new jobs across the North East. In January Franks opened a new store in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough bringing the total number of North East stores to 28 with the £140,000 investment. Franks has also expanded into bigger premises in South Shields and revamped its flagship store in Portrack Lane, Stockton.
Preserving our local heritage Gateshead College students are doing their bit to preserve and restore the region’s natural, industrial and cultural heritage. Bricklaying and catering students have been working on The Land of Oak & Iron, a conservation project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund and hosted by environmental regeneration charity Groundwork NE & Cumbria. So far students have learned traditional skills in dry stone walling and making traditional treats as part of the four-year programme. www.neechamber.co.uk
Rachel Anderson (Chamber) and Kathrine Eddon, head of procurement at Womble Bond Dickinson
Unlocking opportunities North East companies can unlock multi-million pound opportunities by working with public sector procurers, says a new report by the Chamber and law firm Womble Bond Dickinson. The report - entitled Procurement: Challenges and Opportunities, Driving Engagement and Growth in a Post Brexit World - says SMEs are too often prevented from bidding for work because contracts are too large. The report recommends major procurement organisations such as local authorities and the NHS break down tenders where possible to enable smaller bids. Rachel Anderson, Chamber assistant director - policy (Tees Valley and energy), says: “We need to look at how the procurement process can help to drive innovation and growth
without undue constraints on buyers or suppliers. “We don’t have many major companies capable of delivering multi-million pound tenders in our region, but we have many businesses which would do a great job and grow substantially with the right opportunities.” The report asks for project briefs to be sufficiently specific to enable companies of all sizes to state their interest. It highlights greater standardisation of procurement documents and meaningful feedback on unsuccessful bids. It also asks buyers to make greater use of preliminary market consultations provisions in the procurement rules to inform their market knowledge before going out to tender.
Welcome to Teesside Middlesbrough freight logistics firm AV Dawson has signed a multi-million pound deal with British Gypsum. The contract with the UK’s market leader for plaster and plasterboard products will see AV Dawson import materials through its site in Middlesbrough, store the products and manage daily deliveries to the East Midlands by train. www.neechamber.co.uk
Construction begins on the £1m rail canopy at AV Dawson in Middlesbrough
The new agreement has created 10 new jobs at AV Dawson and the company has invested more than £2m in new facilities and equipment.
Tourism growth New figures have highlighted the importance of tourism to the NewcastleGateshead area. Tourism is the fourth largest sector in the North East and the industry continues to see significant growth with a total of 18.03m people visiting NewcasteGateshead last year – up 3% from 2016. Tourists visiting the area in 2017 contributed £1.62bn to the economy, an increase of 3% from 2016. As well as making a large contribution to the economy, tourism continues to be a significant employer with 15,481 people directly employed in tourism.
Kick-starting regional growth Sunderland University has secured £5.1m to deliver its Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing project, which is set to create jobs and unlock growth in the region. The scheme will support the region’s manufacturing base of SMEs to be more productive and sustainable by finding solutions to their research, innovation and development challenges. The project will have a significant emphasis on sustainability and digital manufacturing with SMEs able to access the University’s facilities and expertise as well as its academic, research and technical networks. contact 15
News
Partners update I N A S S O C I AT I O N W I T H
It's been a fantastic few weeks for President's Club and we have a lot more to look forward to. We have welcomed Nigel Wilson, chief executive of Legal & General, to our most recent lunch where we heard about L&G’s partnership with Newcastle City Council and Newcastle University. Meanwhile, I must say a huge thank you to Learning Curve Group for sponsoring the incredibly successful President’s Club Golf Day, which was held at Slaley Hall with the team of Andrew Fox, John Lee, Martin Greenwood and Michael Watson taking the trophy; while it was great to visit A V Dawson in Middlesbrough recently and congratulate them on their recent contract win with British Gypsum. Finally, Brewin Dolphin, one of the leading wealth management firms in the UK, offers Chamber President’s Club members a free, noobligation financial planning review with one of its experts. For more information email James Cartmell at James. Cartmell@brewin.co.uk 16 contact
With Tom Warnock, Chamber partnerships manager Chamber Partners form an exclusive group from a range of sectors across the region, working closely with us to maximise their impact on the North East
This will be my final column as partnerships manager, with Jennifer Rycroft returning from maternity leave, so I have to start with a huge thank you to all our Partner members for their fantastic support. There have been more great achievements by Partners in recent weeks. Esh Group’s Building My Skills programme has reached 30,000 hours of support contributed by Chamber members; Square One Law welcomed Liz Truss to Teesside to officially open the firm’s new Tees Valley office; and Heidi Mottram, chief executive of Northumbrian Water, has been awarded a CBE - we're looking forward to hearing from her at our Partners lunch later this year. Meanwhile, Newcastle International Airport has launched an ambitious 2035 Masterplan, which projects passenger numbers doubling and revenue growing by £190m; and Martin Gilbert has taken up the post of MD at Go North East. We’re wrapping up our town centre retail work with Lichfields, with our report due in autumn; and plans are in place for a Business Growth event later this year, with expertise from Lichfields and other Chamber members to help our business navigate through their next stage of growth. Pulsant helped to deliver a successful Cyber Crime prevention seminar, with guest speakers including a Durham Police detective and a former hacker, which made for a thoroughly interesting dynamic! In the next phase of Partner projects, we plan to work alongside Northumbrian Water and Banks Group on two separate energy projects. Lots to come in the next few months.
OUR PARTNERS
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News ‘Press’tigious Print Jules Smith
C M Y K
We have the power The sixth Chamber Inspiring Females conference has celebrated 100 years since women got the vote with its theme of The Power to Change. The event included speeches and workshops led by North East female entrepreneurs and business leaders plus a keynote speech by Jules Smith, head of people services at Virgin Money. CONTACT YOUR RELATIONSHIP MANAGER TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP
#SPECIALISTA4&A5PrInTErS www.acornweb.co.uk 01924 220633
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Medium Membership Manager Julie Digman - tel 07912 478 964 julie.digman@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberJules Teesside Rachel Thompson - tel 07833 480 474 rachel.thompson@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberRachT Northumberland & North Tyne Claire McCabe - tel 0191 374 6487 clare.mccabe@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberClare Newcastle Lynsey Fairless - tel 07834 444 627 lynsey.fairless@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberLyns Gateshead & Durham West Victoria Barrett - tel 07912 478 961 victoria.barrett@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberVic Sunderland & South Tyne East Coast Julie Charlton - tel 07980 25 991 julie.charlton@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberjac1 Darlington and North Yorkshire Susan Anderson - tel 07736 799 727 susan.anderson@neechamber.co.uk
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Presidents Club - Senior Relationship Manager Michelle Ord - tel 07392 317 728 michelle.ord@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberMiche International Les Dixon - tel 07850 740 645 les.dixon@neechamber.co.uk Twitter @NEEChamberLes www.neechamber.co.uk
NEWS IN BRIEF
Hitachi Rail's Newton Aycliffe plant
Bidding to build Britain's bullet trains In a landmark move for the UK rail sector, Bombardier and Hitachi Rail have confirmed they intend to submit a joint bid to design, build and deliver state-of-the-art trains for HS2. The partnership builds on recent high-speed success in Italy and could boost the sector in our region with Hitachi’s rolling stock assembly plant in Newton Aycliffe. Hitachi Rail MD Karen Boswell says: “HS2 will form the backbone of Britain’s future rail network. By joining together we will draw on a huge wealth of UK experience and the best in modern technology. Our aim is to deliver a new British icon that will be recognised around the world – a Spitfire for the British railway.” The HS2 project, worth £2.75bn, would provide a launch pad for new investment in education and learning, and the formal tendering process is due to start later this year with a contract awarded in late 2019.
Port driving growth The Port of Tyne has announced a return to business growth two years after the end of imports of coal as it remains the UK’s second largest car exporter. Four of the port's five business areas achieved increased revenues and the fifth remained steady. Container volumes increased by 8%, mainly due to increased volumes of manufacturing parts, recovered materials and tea exports to Canada. The Port also saw investment of more than £100m completed in 2017 while it contributed £700m to the region's economy in the last 12 months. www.neechamber.co.uk
LEAP INTO ACTION A new initiative to help ambitious Tees Valley businesses grow to their full potential is being led by Teesside University. Eleven businesses are the first to take part in LEAP 50, a programme delivered by the University and the Tees Valley Combined Authority to support CEOs and business leaders in scaling up. GREEN FINANCE Banks Renewables, the renewable energy division of Banks Group, has secured an £82m refinancing deal with lenders National Australia Bank and Santander. The deal covers seven wind farms across northern England, five of which were built using external finances. LEGAL EAGLES Ward Hadaway's healthcare team has been reappointed to the NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) legal services framework for the second time. The 60-strong team at the Top 100 law firm, which has offices in Newcastle, Leeds and Manchester, will continue to work with NHS Trusts and other organisations that are part of the NHS SBS framework across the country.
Park life Blackett Street in Newcastle will be unrecognisable for six weekends this summer as NE1 transforms the busy bus route into a pedestrian only family park and playground equipped with 1000sqm of artificial grass, seating, fairground rides and outdoor games. The programme is part of NE1’s commitment to make the city greener while delivering a family-focused summer events programme which includes the return of the Newcastle Motor Show Aug 4-5. Blackett Street will be closed to all traffic for a total of 10 weekends Jul-Sept as part of the Great Exhibition of the North.
Social conscience North East businesses interested in enhancing their corporate social responsibility (CSR) but lacking the necessary skills and resources to implement an effective plan can now access effective tips thanks to a partnership between the Chamber and Go North East. Stephen King, commercial director at Go North East, says: “We hope through this partnership many other companies considering CSR are encouraged to see the value for their business too.” More information on CSR projects is available on the Chamber website. contact 19
Export
Confidence drops in latest QES The North East’s only independent barometer of business, the Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey, shows manufacturers confidence falling considerably compared to the previous quarter as businesses report a decline in export sales and orders. John McCabe, Chamber president, said: “Given these changes in export performance, it is not surprising that confidence levels among manufacturers have taken a hit. When we have seen this before, our members’ resilience and ingenuity have been sufficient to quickly reverse the trend. On this occasion, with Brexit very clearly the cause of such longer-term uncertainty, we have renewed our call on the Government to urgently provide the clarity our businesses demand.” There was some positive news in the results with businesses overall reporting growth and confidence, but some marked difference between sectors and a degree of slowdown over the last three months The results for Q2 2018 show the regional economy is continuing to grow. However, the rate of growth has slowed markedly. Among business concerns, taxation has seen the biggest increase of 5.6% over the last three months. Brexit remained the most frequently mentioned factor hindering business success, expressed as uncertainties surrounding future market conditions and exchange rates. 20 contact
Neil Warwick OBE
Preparing for Brexit Comprehensive research has revealed a number of North East manufacturers are not prepared for Brexit. In order to protect the region’s international trade, the Chamber in partnership with Square One Law has produced a detailed Brexit Ready Tool Kit. The information is a clear, step-bystep guide detailing what companies need to do in order to protect their business once the UK leaves the EU. Neil Warwick OBE, Head of EU and Competition Law at Square One Law said: "We know that Brexit is very fluid. However, time is potentially running out and we would advise that it is essential that businesses have a contingency
SMEs boosting exports on Amazon SMEs based in the North East achieved export sales of more than £67m in the last year by selling on Amazon, according to independent research published during the first Amazon Academy in Newcastle. The research conducted by economics consultancy Keystone Strategy also found that North Eastbased SMEs employ more than 2,000
plan, even if they are not yet ready or willing to implement it." Chamber chief executive James Ramsbotham said: “What is very clear from our research is how far-reaching the impact of Brexit will be in our region. The likely new bureaucracy post-Brexit will be a very difficult minefield for many businesses who have enjoyed frictionless trade with the EU. We hope this toolkit gives them the essential tips going forward.” The Brexit Ready project covers four main areas of concern for businesses highlighted in the research - marketplaces, labour market, regulatory issues and access to finance.
Lutsenko_Oleksandr/Shutterstock.com
people to run their sales activities on Amazon. www.neechamber.co.uk
News
nesma BUILDING MARKETING KNOW-HOW
Banking on profit boost Co Durham-headquartered property and energy firm The Banks Group has marked its 40th anniversary with a strong rise in pre-tax profits. The family-owned business has reported group profit before tax of £14m for the financial year ending October 1 2017, up from £6m thanks to strong returns across its three business areas. Group sales rose to £95m, up from £74m. Banks Property increased its year-on-year sales by £1m (to £24m) as it progresses with a growing number of projects around the North East and its first residential property development in North Yorkshire. Improvements in both demand for, and the price of, coal supported a strong recovery in the firm's mining business with turnover improving from £34m in 2016 to £53m in 2017. Despite increasing available generating capacity from its wind farms, lower wind speeds together with lower commercial power prices meant that turnover for the firm's renewable energy division fell by £1m (to £14m).
Going underground Sirius Minerals has begun construction on its 23mile fertiliser transport tunnel at Tees Valley’s Wilton International site. Northern Powerhouse Ben Houchen and Jake Berry minister Jake Berry MP was joined by Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen to break ground at the £3.2bn Woodsmith Mine project. When production begins, the tunnel will be used to transport polyhalite, a fertiliser, from Sirius’ mine near Whitby to Tees Valley via a high-capacity conveyor belt, where it will be stored and exported across the world. www.neechamber.co.uk
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Knowledge
Mind your own business Chamber knowledge development manager Arlen Pettitt highlights the economic impact of mental health in the workplace
Arlen Pettitt Knowledge development manager, North East England Chamber of Commerce @NEEChamberArlen
As a nation, we have been having a lot of difficult conversations lately, but the one about mental health has been notable in its positivity and the progress it has prompted. Sports people, actors, musicians, even royalty have shared their experiences of poor mental health, and many of us will be familiar with the key statistics. For example, the mental health charity Mind’s research which reveals that one in six of us is experiencing a mental health problem like stress, depression and anxiety. That alone tells us this is a significant challenge, one which would be of immense societal value to overcome. There are huge economic arguments for taking action too, and substantial benefits for businesses which put employee well-being at the centre of what they do. According to Thriving at Work - an independent review commissioned by the Government and published last year - 300,000 people with long-term mental health issues lose their jobs every year and the total cost to the UK economy of absenteeism, presenteeism (the practice
“The economy can grow through a happy, healthy workforce”
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© shutterstock.com/LINGTREN IMAGES
Prince Harry has spoken out about his own troubles with mental health
of being present at one's place of work for more hours than is required, especially as a manifestation of insecurity about one's job) and staff turnover is £74-99bn. For individual businesses, depending on sector, those costs can top £2,000 per employee per year. Why is this important? Because the UK is facing a productivity crisis. Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics had the UK 16.3% behind the average for the G7 nations in terms of output per hour worked. In the North East, our regional gross value added (GVA) per head – the typical measure of the value of activity in the economy – is the lowest in England. In that context, it is vital that we work efficiently and effectively - and ensure we’re getting the best out of every member of the working population. With unemployment nationally at a record low and more people in work in the North East than ever before, the only way the economy can continue to grow is by facing up to the challenge of creating a happy, healthy – and therefore productive – workforce. Over the coming months, we’ll be offering support to help businesses do just that – starting by encouraging them to follow our lead and sign the Time to Change employer pledge. www.neechamber.co.uk
Chamber AGM & Member Showcase 2018 20 September 2018; 10:00-14:30 The Grand Marquee, Wynyard Hall Don’t miss out on one of the region’s biggest annual networking events. The Chamber AGM is an excellent opportunity to grow your network by meeting hundreds of other Chamber members from across our great region. With presentations from our CEO and President, at this hugely popular annual event we hear from a regional business who have recently enjoyed national success. This year our guest speaker is Nagma Ebanks-Beni, Director at Prima Cheese Ltd. Exhibition Spaces: Following on from huge successes in 2016 and 2017, members once again can showcase at a very reasonable rate. Book your exhibition stand for £65 + VAT. For registration and more information visit neechamber.co.uk/events Event sponsor
Property
in association with
Open for business Newcastle City Council and Legal & General have appointed GVA and Cushman & Wakefield as joint agents for the marketing and letting of the Lumen building at Newcastle Helix, formerly known as Science Central. The Lumen is the first phase of development by Legal & General at Newcastle Helix - a £350m project comprising a 108,000sqft eight-storey, Grade A office building which will provide workspace for 1,200 people. The Lumen is the largest private sector-funded speculative office building to be constructed in the city centre in the last decade.
Meenu Malhotra
l-r Stephen Brown, Richard Scott and Geoff Hogg
Team appointed to lead TeesAMP development The team behind the forthcoming TeesAMP advanced manufacturing park has been chosen. Property agents Dodds Brown and Cushman & Wakefield will work on the project, one of the largest commercial property projects of its kind in the UK. The park will offer 180,000sqft of accommodation across 17 buildings in its first phase. Stephen Brown of Dodds Brown said: “This project holds such
significance. It is about much more than accommodation – it’s about providing a wrap-around package of support including skills and training.” TeesAMP is the result of a partnership between Middlesbrough Council, Tees Valley Combined Authority and Cleveland Property Developments. Middlesbrough Council has provided £12.5m for the project while Tees Valley Combined Authority has provided £7.6m.
Malhotra move
£6.5m sale of Generator Studios
Newcastle hospitality and leisure giant Malhotra Group plc is relocating following the £4m purchase of 42-50 Grey Street. Its aim is to relocate head office staff from its existing city centre sites at Groat Market and at Scottish Provident House following a refurbishment. The Group already owns several sites on the street including Grey Street Hotel, in addition to a chain of hotels, bars and restaurants, along with residential care homes under its Prestwick Care division.
Metnor Group has completed the £6.5m sale of its Grade II Listed Generator Studios in Newcastle city centre to Vengrove Group, a London-based real estate investment management firm. Generator Studios, in Trafalgar Street, was originally built to house the generating station for Newcastle’s electric tramway. It was converted into offices in 2002 and became a hub for tech and creative industries. Metnor expanded it in 2009 with the addition of a 26,000sqft extension known as Generator 2. The building is home to communications agency Gardiner
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l-r, Muckle LLP partner Will McKay and Keith Atkinson, Metnor Group MD
Richardson, web app design company Hedgehog Lab and technology company Atlas Cloud, among others. www.neechamber.co.uk
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Skills
Racing certainty Primary school children across the North East have been challenged to become racing car designers, engineers and pit stop coordinators to earn a place in the national finals of a new programme set up by Jaguar Land Rover. Newcastle High School for Girls became the region’s first Jaguar Challenge Hub, where teams of six11-year-olds took part in a challenge to design and build the fastest car possible. An all-girl crew, Pearl Squad, from Redhouse Primary School were first over the line.
European champion Teesside University has been recognised among the best in Europe in the Times Higher Education (THE) European Teaching Rankings 2018. Vice-chancellor and chief exec Prof Paul Croney says: “This is further evidence that our vision to be an internationally renowned university is becoming a reality.”
Front row l-r Ellen Thinnesen, Heidi Mottram and David Baldwin Back row l-r Sarah Glendinning, Ryan Gibson, Clare Hutchinson and Thomas Graham
Great Gatsby The North East and Tees Valley have been selected to host hubs designed to improve careers education. The hubs are part of a national initiative led by the Careers and Enterprise Company, which aims to ensure schools meet eight crucial standards for careers education, known as the Gatsby Benchmarks. Careers Hubs are central to the Government’s Careers Strategy published last December and findings from the pilot scheme will inform future policy. Delivered in partnership with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the North East Ambition Careers Hub will comprise 40 secondary
schools with a separate hub serving all nine FE colleges in the North East and one sixth form. Co-ordinated by Tees Valley Combined Authority, The Tees Hub will support schools and colleges in accessing employers, while bursaries will be available to develop careers leaders. Claudia Harris, chief executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: "If employers, schools and colleges can better prepare young people for the world of work, we're not just benefiting the future economy, but improving prospects for thousands of young people.”
Raise your profile with Member to Member offers Share your offers and get your business noticed. The Chamber website has over 16,000 hits each month. Upload your offers in the member area, and view a full list of Chamber member offers at neechamber.co.uk/our-members/offers
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Delegates visit a Lookers site
l-r Mayors Ben Houchen, Andy Street, Sadiq Khan, Steve Rotheram, Tim Bowles and Andy Burnham
Mayors call for skills funding devolution Tees Valley mayor Ben Houchen has joined metro mayors from around the UK to call for greater devolution of powers and skills funding. Representing nearly 42% of all economic activity in the UK, the mayors met in Liverpool to sign a joint statement calling for control of Apprenticeship Levy funds to boost skills in their areas and full devolution of 16-18 skills funding. Tees Valley Combined Authority has already secured £30.5m per year in Government funding for post-19 adult education in the region. Ben Houchen said: “There have been 1.2m new training starts since 2015, but more needs to be done. The Government has
put its faith in regional mayors to deliver for local people, but we need all levers possible to finish the job. The people who are best placed to solve the issues facing our area are those with first-hand experience. Further devolved decisionmaking would help our city regions fulfil potential and develop home-grown talent, in turn helping the entire UK.” London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “We believe that devolution is key to unlocking future growth and improving productivity across the UK, so we are calling on Government to grant further devolution of powers on skills, including the power to spend £1.3bn of unspent Apprenticeship Levy money in our regions.”
That’s a wrap North Shields-based Industrial trainer AIS is helping to prepare much-needed riggers for the film industry on the west coast of Ireland. AIS worked with Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board and with Troy Studios to deliver a 10-day filmrigging course. Ireland’s film industry is booming and filming on the €53m budget production of the television adaptation of George RR Martin’s Nightflyers was recently www.neechamber.co.uk
AIS Training instructor Gary Burke (left) with delegates on the new film-rigging course
completed at Troy Studios. The muchanticipated Syfy series, produced by NBC Universal and Universal Cable Productions along with Wild Atlantic Pictures, is expected to screen on Netflix this autumn.
Take a look Lookers North East Repair Centre teamed up with social justice charity Nacro to inspire disadvantaged young people into the workplace. Head of business David Morallee welcomed young people to the site to encourage them back into education and training. Last year, through education and support, Nacro helped more than 38,000 disadvantaged young people and adults change their lives for the better. Lookers doubled its apprenticeship intake last year and is the only motor retailer to feature in the Centrica Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list.
Career insight Newcastle commercial law firm Watson Burton has hosted a Career Insight Day in partnership with the Social Mobility Foundation. The foundation, which has an office in Newcastle, aims to make a practical improvement in social mobility for 6th form and university students. This is the first of many activities planned by Watson Burton and the Social Mobility Foundation to support the career aspirations of students in the North East. Watson Burton partner Chris Graham says: “Many young people don’t have the same opportunities as others when starting out in the legal profession, and the Social Mobility Foundation is helping to overcome this.” contact 27
Commercial Profile
GDPR – It’s not too late The GDPR came into force on Friday 25th May 2018, amid a raft of mixed messages and media coverage.
Ben Jackson
A flurry of activity around that time suggests businesses were frantically trying to get their houses in order. The dust has settled and there are now three types of organisations; those that are GDPR-compliant, those that are in the process of becoming so, and those that have yet to begin. Whichever category your organisation falls into, it’s not too late. There are simple steps that can be taken to ensure your business is moving in the right direction.
The dreaded data audit The term “data audit” was used an awful lot in the run up to 25th May and whilst it sounds like an overwhelming task, a data audit is essentially about getting a handle on what data you hold and where it is stored. Delegate this task to a responsible individual within each department and put together a uniform template setting out what the data is (e.g. customer/client, employee or supplier) and where it is stored (e.g. electronically, filing cabinets, a box in the loft).
The spring clean Once you have rationalised what data you hold, put together a data retention schedule. This should be categorised into customer/client, employee and supplier data. The GDPR does not prescribe specific retention periods and it is therefore a case of your organisation justifying its retention of personal data based on its specific needs and legal requirements. Delete, shred or anonymise any data that is surplus to requirements. Those responsible for IT need to carry out an electronic clear out, and physical files should be securely destroyed or archived. This process will help hugely if you ever receive a subject access request from an individual, as you can’t be expected to disclose data you no longer hold.
help to pre-empt any subject access requests. You need to inform employees, customers/clients, and suppliers what data you have, how it was collected, why it is processed, where it is transferred, how long it is stored for and what their rights are as individuals. A layered approach should be taken, with a privacy notice containing the above information situated on your organisation’s website and issued directly to individuals where practical.
The “consent” myth Review your employment contracts to identify any clauses under which an employee consents to the processing of his or her data. Consent is rarely the most appropriate legal basis to rely upon when processing personal data. The GDPR recognises the potential imbalance in the employer-employee relationship and makes this approach unsustainable going forward.
Policy matters Introduce a dedicated data protection policy and make sure staff are aware of what is expected of them through internal or external training and seminars. It is vital to create a “culture” of data protection alongside putting in place robust policies.
It’s not too late Whilst implementation will result in widespread changes in the vast majority of UK businesses, it’s not as radical a departure from existing data protection regulations as has been portrayed. The above are some of the key steps you can take, but there are many more areas that fall under the remit of the GDPR. The imposition of fines by the Information Commissioner’s Office is not reserved for personal data breaches alone and can result from failure to implement internal procedures and non-compliance with the principles of transparency and accountability. Although the 25th May has been and gone, the GDPR is here to stay.
Be transparent A key driver for the GDPR is to give individuals enhanced rights. Consequently, your business is required to tell individuals what data it holds about them. Again, this will 28 contact
For more information, please contact Ben Jackson ben.jackson@hay-kilner.co.uk 0191 232 8345 www.neechamber.co.uk
Policy
Inspiring Females Chamber international trade director Julie Underwood highlights the success of the Chamber's sixth Inspiring Females Conference Working in the North East for more than 20 years, I have been fortunate enough to help unlock the potential of both male and female colleagues. However, there are gender imbalances across our economy. If we can address these, we can boost businesses and ensure women are able to contribute so much more. The Chamber's Women’s Advisory Board and regular Inspiring Females events support businesswomen in a range of ways, including getting outstanding entrepreneurs to share their success stories - as they did at this year's Inspiring Females Conference with more than 100 members joining us at Ramside Hall. The event featured a variety of speakers from a range of sectors and backgrounds, who shared their stories to help encourage the next generation of women in the workplace. Some of the speakers gave us statistics I found staggering - such as only 19% of digital workers are female. But the answer, according to Naomi Morrow from Sunderland Software City, was not setting artificial quotas, but addressing the fundamental reasons why women are turned off by the digital industry. www.neechamber.co.uk
She had some great tips and advice including attending courses such as Go Reboot to develop skills in a once seemingly closed sector. It was very clear from the speakers that a diversified workforce is undoubtedly a force for good in business practice and development. As well as promoting an image of fairness and respect, as Jules Smith of Virgin Money said, diversity encourages new lines of thought. Greggs head of learning and development, Kevin Haynes, also spoke about his mantra in work focusing on fairness and discipline. He outlined the steps Greggs has taken to eliminate the gender pay gap and to encourage women in the workplace. This has been an internal challenge, but running coaching sessions and modifying working patterns have all helped. We shouldn’t see diversity as some social duty - but as an opportunity to develop and improve. We will be celebrating the great women in our region at the North East Businesswomen of the Year (WIN) Awards later this year and there is still time to enter or nominate someone. Let’s spread the message about the tremendous Inspiring Females in our region. contact 29
Profile
Driving success David Nicholson has not only built Nicholson Group into one of the North East’s biggest independent transport companies, he also specialises in the development and growth of other SMEs. Jane Hall meets the self-effacing entrepreneur He left school at 16 with no qualifications having spent most of his childhood bunking off, yet in his mid-40s David Nicholson overcame severe dyslexia to gain an MBA in Business and Entrepreneurship at Teesside University. His first job had been as a farmhand, before he was fortuitously offered a post as a truck driver, going on to build up one of the North East’s most successful family-run transport and warehousing businesses. He nearly lost it all in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, but through grit, determination and an unerring ability to spot an opportunity, he dug himself out, got back on the road and transformed his fortunes, taking turnover back up to pre-recession levels of £5m. David Nicholson may describe himself as an introvert - happiest in his own company, opting to holiday alone at least a couple of times a year in remote parts of Scotland and Wales where he has space to think, plan and implement - but there is nothing quiet about his rise from agricultural worker to Billinghambased Nicholson Group, parent company of seven businesses and long-standing member of North East England Chamber of Commerce. Businesses under its parentage include Nicholson’s Transport, launched in 1987, with a fleet of 20 trucks serving 300 businesses and 70,000sqft of warehousing servicing clients which include KP Crisps. The storage firm Box Clever provides secure stowage for everything from children’s toys to caravans (500 at the last count, parked in neat rows at the Nicholson Group headquarters). 30 contact
Nicholson Hiab, meanwhile, is a leading mobile crane operation and a backbone of the wider business for the past 20 years operating mainly in the gas, electricity, oil and wind farm installation and maintenance sector. The commercial driving academy Learning in Logistics (LiL) provides training and development courses, while the online furniture business J N Rusticus, run by Nicholson’s 21-year-old son Joe, trades in ethically sourced home and office furniture. The newest venture under the Nicholson Group umbrella is an eco-fuel business, Burnside Wood Pellets, launched in summer 2017 to tap into the growing interest in woodburning stoves and biomass boilers. Nicholson has a philanthropic streak, nurturing young companies through tailored support packages including advice and mentorship, warehouse and office space, and delivery services - all for free. His latest project is Sunderland-based Love Tide Water and along the way, he has also been a founder member of both the Pallet and Hazchem Networks. The dictionary definition of an entrepreneur is, “one who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit”, and Nicholson certainly ticks those boxes. But is he a born entrepreneur or someone who got lucky? “It depends on what you mean by an entrepreneur,” he says. “I haven’t built a business of huge wealth up and sold it on for a lot of money, if that is the definition of an entrepreneur. But I have built businesses up, failed, and built them up again. www.neechamber.co.uk
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contact 31
Profile "Does that make me an entrepreneur?” No doubt it does, and having almost gone to the wall in the 2008 financial crisis, he is keen to avoid putting all his eggs in one basket. Blood and sweat have gone into building the Nicholson Group up over the past 31 years, and lessons having been learnt and tough decisions taken, the expectation is that it will be around for another three decades and beyond. Nicholson’s father John was a tipper truck driver, and the young Nicholson was adamant he wasn’t going to follow in his footsteps. His passion was farming, and still is, so he went to work on a farm with the ambition of one day having his own place. Then fate intervened, when a timber merchant in Hartlepool offered him a delivery job. “Working on a farm, especially on a YTS wage, wasn’t great. I could earn £40 a day as a truck driver, which was a lot then. I took the plunge and bought a truck.” Destiny again stepped in when he lost his driving licence. He employed one of his friends as a driver, but there wasn’t enough money for both of them, so he bought a second truck, brought in another friend, and Nicholson’s Transport was born. The next big milestone came in the millennium year. Nicholson was looking for a compound to park his trucks. ICI had sold off much of its business on Teesside and he met with the man tasked with getting rid of the ICI West Gate site. “He said, ‘What about that shed and that building?’ I said, ‘That’s way too big. I can’t afford that! All I want is a compound’. But he persuaded me to have a look. He said it looked like I was going somewhere as a business, so how about it?” Before he knew it, Nicholson had acquired 10 acres. “I had all this land and didn’t know what to do with it,” he says, but it didn’t take him long to start filling the site on Chilton’s Avenue with its view over the distant Cleveland Hills and what remains of ICI’s once vast chemical works. The next crossroads came in 2006. “The business was doing okay. I employed a business coach and drew up a list of the things I wanted from life: my own farm, four or five holidays a year, a Range Rover, and lo and behold, I achieved them in a relatively short period of time.” Then came the financial crash. “We were being propped up by Yorkshire Bank. We’d had a great relationship with them until then, but then we were told they were calling in all their loans and mortgages and we had 48 hours to come up with a plan.” 32 contact
Nicholson sold the farm it had been his life’s ambition to buy, sold the Nicholson site and leased it back, and put the transport arm into a Company Voluntary Arrangement. “I was advised that if we did that, we would never come out, but it was always our intention that we would.” A board of directors was pulled together and the Nicholson Group established, so each of the businesses could grow with a separate bank. Luckily, firms kept supplying them, and with much work and diligent planning, the CVA was paid off and the land bought back. Today, the business has again grown to what it was before the crash and is, says Nicholson, on the point of scaling up. “We have reached our capacity on this site with Box Clever and have our eye on two other locations. Rustica is in its infancy, but is doing well, we have set up Burnside Pellets and Hiab has been the core of the business.” North East England Chamber of Commerce has been a long-standing partner of the www.neechamber.co.uk
❝I could earn £40 a day as a truck driver, which was a lot then. I took the plunge and bought a truck ❞
Nicholson Group, providing, he says, "well informed and pertinent advice and guidance so important to a growing SME. Their specific assistance for a range of HR and insurance issues over recent years has provided professional comforts in complex situations when challenges reached beyond our range of experiences and circumstances. It's good to know that they always respond and usually have answers - or know someone who does." The Nicholson Group is very much a family concern. Nicholson’s mother, Anne, works in accounts along with his wife, Moira, a former district nurse in Hartlepool. Their elder daughter, Charlotte, 26, is a fabric designer and is collaborating with her younger brother Joe on Rustica projects. Their second daughter, Emily, 25, who has a fashion marketing degree from Aberdeen University, is currently working for Next and for the Daisy Chain Charity, but like her dad would like to set up her own business. Nicholson has been keen to keep www.neechamber.co.uk
his children out of the transport side, however. “It’s a tough life. You have to put in a lot of hours and deal with a lot of people for often little financial reward,” he says. Joe seems to have his father’s entrepreneurial streak. “He has gone from sweeping the warehouse to managing Box Culture, and he scaled it up to what it is now. I taxed him with coming up with a new idea and he came back with some weird and wonderful things before eventually settling on importing furniture.” Talking of imports, what does the future hold for the Nicholson Group with Brexit looming? “Brexit is a funny one. I voted in, but as business leaders we have to take it on the chin and get on with it. We import furniture from beyond the EU. We do some work in the EU with the cranes, but that’s with an American firm so that won’t impact on us. We will get on with it.” Given the hurdles Nicholson has already faced and successfully jumped, one imagines he’s already 10 steps ahead. contact 33
Profile
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Turning up the heat She swapped life as a London lawyer and turned her hand to being a landlord before spotting a gap in the market and launching a UK-wide central heating maintenance business. Jane Hall meets Jacqueline Gallazzi-Ritchie Jacqueline Gallazzi-Ritchie sees herself as a mother first, a wife second and an entrepreneur third. This may not go down well in all circles, where for some running their own business is an allconsuming mission, but it was motherhood and a desire for a better quality of family life that was instrumental in her founding All England Gas Services - an active member of North East England Chamber of Commerce and fastgrowing Teesside business name. Now the former London lawyer is enjoying the best of all worlds back on her native Teesside, working alongside her husband Paul Ritchie and seeing more of her son Maximus, 17, and 13-year-old daughter Ellie than would ever have been possible if she had remained in the legal profession. She is also a two-time North East Business Woman of the Year Awards’ winner, taking home the Best Small Business accolade as well as the overall Susan Dobson Award for Entrepreneurship at the 2016 event. Founded in 2009, All England Gas Services, which is headquartered in Stockton, installs, services, maintains and carries out safety checks on gas boilers, and deals with plumbing, drainage and electrical works for commercial and domestic customers, most buying into one of its four insurance cover plans. By far the biggest player in the UK boiler cover and breakdown market is British Gas and GallazziRitchie is the first to acknowledge that All England Gas Services is a long way off that. “But we are at a point where we can start to www.neechamber.co.uk
make some headway and be on their radar. A lot will depend on the next two or three years,” she says. She has big plans – some of which are coming to fruition and have turned the All England Gas Services name into something of a misnomer. For the business has recently spread its tentacles across the whole of the UK, which means the GB map on the wall by GallazziRitchie’s desk, which has England swathed in coloured push pins like a military campaign map, is now redundant. “We did what we said on the tin when we started,” she says, “but now we are covering England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.” Their work can include stepping in to handle call outs in busy periods for other firms operating in the boiler cover and breakdown market. Recently, All England Gas Services has achieved a raft of ISO quality management accreditations, as well as Financial Conduct Authority authorisation for when they move into the boiler sales market at the end of August this year, timed to coincide with the traditional upsurge in heating maintenance and sales before the cold weather kicks in. And moving into the renewables energy market one day may not be out of the question. All England Gas Services already works with three of the top six energy firms, helping them to fulfil their Ofgem safety check obligations. Gallazzi-Ritchie says: “I have thought about it, and who knows, there may be scope to go into contact 35
Profile it for ourselves.” The firm is already looking to the future in other ways, ensuring it keeps up with the latest technological home heating advances. It’s all part of a long-term plan which in the next decade should see All England Gas Services taking on the big players. “Would I like to see myself sitting shoulderto-shoulder with British Gas?” Gallazzi-Ritchie says. “The answer is yes, I do want to get as big as British Gas. We have a way to go, but I am a great believer that you have to set your sights high. It's good to know that we are now up there with the leaders in the industry when we are tendering for contracts.” Clients include big accommodation providers such as the Progress Housing Group, which owns and manages nearly 11,000 homes, and the Haig Housing Trust, the charity which provides living quarters for ex-servicemen. If you had said to Gallazzi-Ritchie 15 years ago that she would be running a company providing boiler and heating services, she would probably have laughed in your face. Born in Stockton, her family moved to Colchester when she was six, and then to London. Educated at an all girls’ school in Westminster, Gallazzi-Ritchie has no hint of a Teesside accent. She qualified as a lawyer and worked on a number of high profile criminal cases, some of which are still making the news headlines today, though she politely refuses to discuss them. All she will say is that “they were the sort of cases where you left the office with a newspaper over your head due to all the press and public attention.” Gallazzi-Ritchie (her great-grandfather was Italian and emigrated to Scotland having escaped the horror of Monte Cassino in the Second World War) later moved into land law. “Some of the criminal cases were very hardhitting, and when you become a mum your perception of everything changes. I found I no longer wanted to do criminal law, so I came out of it altogether. “I wanted to do something quite procedural and methodical, where I knew I could go home and sleep at night.” She also wanted to spend more time with her son Maximus and her husband Paul, who was himself working long hours as a retail manager. So it was that in 2002 the couple left London behind and moved north to Teesside for a better quality of life. They already owned a home in the area, and with the money they 36 contact
made from selling their house in London, invested in 10 rental properties around Stockton over a period of 18 months. They gutted and refurbished them, and on the back of that experience set up a property services company looking after not just their own portfolio, but those of other professional landlords and private homeowners. This included boiler work. When Ellie was born in 2005, GallazziRitchie scaled down her involvement with the property business. But in the meantime she had identified a gap in the market for what was to become All England Gas Services. She recalls: “We were being approached by other people to carry out gas safety checks across the country, and I thought, ‘we can do better than them, we can provide a more personal service’.” Initially, they delivered leaflets promoting the new venture, but it was word of mouth that really got the business off the ground and has been its mainstay. She is proud that over the years they have never lost a contract. The business has grown year-on-year and its www.neechamber.co.uk
❝In terms of achieving what we set out to do originally, we have been hugely successful❞
network of some 75 engineers handles on average 300 gas services a week, with call-outs, other maintenance, and boiler installations. “We aren’t the cheapest, but we aim to be the best at what we do,” she says. If it all sounds seamless, it wasn’t. “This was all started with nothing and our first big hurdle was getting customers. I can remember sitting at home with my desk, computer and phone, building a website from scratch and wondering where our first job was going to come from. I felt like I had jumped off the White Cliffs of Dover with my eyes shut.” The turning point came when All England Gas Services was featured on TV. "I was at home because I was feeling unwell, and Paul had taken the kids to school. I was sitting with a cup of coffee watching morning television when the money saving expert Martin Lewis came on and started talking about boiler cover insurance. “He said, ‘remember, it’s not only available from the big guys, there are others out there too’. The camera panned to him scrolling down a computer screen and lingered on All England www.neechamber.co.uk
Gas Services. The phone went crazy after that; it never stopped. “If you were to ask me to pinpoint our success, I would say hard work, dedication, and a little bit of luck. I think they all play a big part in everything you do.” The Chamber has also been a key part of All England Gas Services' story. "Being a Member of the Chamber is great for networking, it's so easy to find the people and businesses you need in order to develop your own business. I also feel valued and very well represented," she adds. Does she miss her old life as a high-flying lawyer? “I don’t miss working for other people,” she says. “One of the main reasons for moving back to the North East and becoming selfemployed was so that Paul and I could be at our children’s sports days or look after them if they were ill. “I am very proud that we haven’t missed one parents’ evening or sports day, so in terms of achieving what we set out to do originally, which was to have a family life, we have been hugely successful.” contact 37
Success
Hot metal Richard Swart left a job as a Sunday newspaper journalist in South Africa to launch metal giant Berger Group’s Peterlee operation in 1988. Kay Wilson meets him as he marks 30 years of global trade from the North East In terms of career changes, Richard Swart’s move from political journalism on a South African Sunday paper to running a manufacturing company in North East England is right up there. Berger Closures is part of the Berger Group owned by Stock Exchange-listed global group Ringmetall AG, one of 12 locations manufacturing metal closing rings which seal drums carrying sensitive material all over the world. Swart's global role as head of sales and quality demanded 180 flights last year, visiting numerous of the more than 50 countries supplied by the group. 30 years ago, the call which set Swart on his path came from a contact who knew a Herr Berger in Germany. He needed a manager for Berger’s first plant outside Germany and Swart, then 26, came to the North East for an initial two years. He has never left. “It was a steep learning curve, but I had support from the German parent and began to supply key players over here," he says. "Berger is now the largest manufacturer of these products in the world and Peterlee is still my baby, despite my global remit. I oversee our global sales and quality from here and the workforce here is the best, the most flexible and the most experienced. “I learnt on the hop in the early years, but I also managed the German business for four years and commuted to Karlsruhe. We have established or bought companies where our core customers have required us, whether that be Europe, the USA, China or Turkey, and will continue to do so. “Berger was essentially a family business until 2000 when the Berger family sold it to its first holding company, which launched on the stock market for better access to capital. This fuelled our growth and we began to increase our market share by acquisition. The challenge is to grow market share further and protect our global 38 contact
brand. There are challenges with different cultures, systems, legal frameworks, languages, machine capabilities and management competence levels.” Setting up factory in China was one of his toughest challenges. “From conception to having a location with contracts underway took five years. I travelled around the country extensively, including in remote areas. I learnt about local customs, identifying ways of working in a challenging society so different to what I was accustomed to. Key to doing well there is understanding and respecting the culture. You also need people with language and management skills. Can you do business the Western way? No, you have to adapt to the challenges of the local conditions.” Further acquisitions followed in Turkey, Spain, Italy, and more recently in Birmingham (Alabama), Houston, Pennsylvania, more in Germany and another in China. Group turnover – currently at €100m - has risen, with a targeted €200m by 2020. There are also more EU acquisition announcements on the way. Sectors of interest are industrial packaging and handling and UK acquisitions are now being researched. Swart, a remainer, has strong views on Brexit, but is equally determined, noting the damage so far, that sitting back and saying ‘we told you’ so is www.neechamber.co.uk
not an option. “Brexit is on track to be the greatest act of self-harm a top nation has done to itself in recent times, perhaps rivalled only by the Americans electing Donald Trump. In 2015, we were the fastest growing economy in the G7. Now we are the slowest. Every impact scenario commissioned by this Brexit-supporting Government confirms we will be worse off, particularly in the North East. We owe it to ourselves to do whatever we can to change track. We all have an obligation to help engineer a way out of this quagmire by speaking up for what is right. People always have the right to change their mind. We had a black and white vote on a rainbow of issues. The UK attempting to come out of the EU is like trying to take an egg out of an omelette messy, damaging and unnecessary. “Since the vote to leave, the currency has devalued and pushed up import costs dramatically. As the UK is by far a net importer, most of us have become poorer by the day. People did not vote to become poorer or for the country to become weaker. The UK received the most FDI in the EU because it was a great place to access hassle-free the largest single market in the world. Sadly, we appear on track to give this up and the impact on jobs and communities over time will be huge. The current lack of clarity is incredibly damaging to FDI and everyday business decisions for key multinational businesses and the supply chains “ www.neechamber.co.uk
From his arrival in the North East in 1988, North East England Chamber of Commerce has been a key part of Swart’s business life. “I used the Chamber from the outset as I didn’t know anyone north of London. My job meant I had to learn about the region in a hurry and the Chamber helped me enormously.” With the Chamber and Newcastle City Council’s support he has developed productive links with the Durban Chamber in South Africa, an MOU between Durban City and Newcastle and successful trade missions in both directions. “My biggest achievement has been setting up Peterlee from scratch, as I knew nothing about manufacturing or our product," he says. "Now my challenge it is to protect our brand in the global markets where we operate and ensure consistency throughout our rapidly expanding group. “I loved being a journalist on a Sunday newspaper, dabbling in any area and doing investigative stories undercover. Dealing with the far left and far right in South Africa was fascinating, sad and incredibly dangerous as the apartheid government crumbled under international pressure and internal unrest. Through that job I learnt about a country and how it worked. Those lessons have stood me in good stead and continue to guide me in my work around the world.” contact 39
North East Innovation Fund, Supported by The European Regional Development Fund
Looking for funding? We’re looking for founders with strong teams and scalable businesses based in County Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. We offer early stage investment of up to £500,000 (in a first round) plus the support of our team and network of experts. We already support entrepreneurs building the region’s most exciting businesses in various sectors.
What they all have in common is innovation.
Interested? Get in touch for a chat. E: hello@northstarventures.co.uk | T: 0191 229 2770 www.northstarventures.co.uk Our Partners:
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Focus
Thinking outside the box This month’s special focus takes a look at some of region’s most innovative businesses www.neechamber.co.uk
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Commercial Profile
Brexit: Is your intellectual property protected? By Helena Peat, Chartered Trade Mark Attorney, Murgitroyd If you are a UK business owner, Brexit will never be far from your mind. Not least because of the distinct lack of clarity in several areas, with intellectual property (IP) being one. Although there will be little change to patent protection, there will be an impact on EU Trade Marks, Community Helena Peat, Chartered Trade Registered Designs and EU Mark Attorney, Murgitroyd Design Rights, which cover all 28 member states of the EU, including the UK. Working as part of a global firm of European patent and trade mark attorneys means we can provide detailed insight and expertise on the UK’s exit from the EU. For businesses, having a trade mark (although not mandatory) can provide business confidence, help your customers identify you and turn your brand into an asset. And, it seems UK-based companies and individuals clearly recognise these benefits, as the UK is the second highest user of the EU Trade Mark system behind Germany. So take note as potential changes could see UK businesses find that EU Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs will lose effect in the UK after Brexit.
Is your trade mark valid? The EU Commission’s Draft Brexit Withdrawal Agreement has proposed that any EU Trade Marks registered or granted before the end of the UK’s transition period would automatically convert to a UK registration or application, with no fee or formalities. This would of course be an ideal scenario for both the UK and the remaining 27 EU member states. The Draft Withdrawal Agreement will potentially extend the cover of EU Trade Marks in the UK until December 2020. Additionally, as recently as July this year, Ministers have announced that the Government does intend to convert or “clone”, free of charge, all EU Trade Marks, Community Registered Designs and unregistered EU Design Rights to equivalent UK rights. This said, it is still not entirely clear whether or not the Government would do so if the UK and EU fail to reach an agreement on the withdrawal terms. With all of this in mind your next steps and options depend on which route you went down in terms of your 42 contact
trade mark protection or Registered Community Designs. If your business has only sought EU Trade Mark protection or Registered Community Designs, it is possible that the UK part could fall away in line with the EUIPO position. However, you can still rely upon it in the 27 remaining EU member states, even though you’re based in the UK. And, you can also rely on the UK national Unregistered Design Right, which will continue to be in place. If this scenario sounds like you or if you’re a business looking to register a new trade mark, with interests in both the UK and wider EU, seeking protection in both territories will remove the risk and the need for further action down the line. If your business ventured into trade mark protection by first seeking a national UK registration ahead of considering additional protection in the EU, you may have reduced your risks. As long as the protection in both territories is identical you won’t need to re-register your EU registration in the UK to maintain the rights. You should also take this time to review how your trade marks are used within the EU and collect evidence of use, should you find them under attack on the basis of non-use. It would also be beneficial to review all existing agreements and licences to ensure that they will remain in force, regardless of Brexit. At present, the position remains that EU Trade Marks and Registered Community Designs, as well as Unregistered Community Designs, remain valid in the UK until at least the end of the transition period – 31st December 2020. The Government’s current intention seems to be that EU rights will be converted, free of charge, to UK rights in any case. However, until all Brexit-related issues are agreed between the UK and EU, the caveat remains that this position is still subject to change. Consequently, whilst steps would appear to be being made in the right direction, risks to EU right holders will continue to linger until we have clarity.
Murgitroyd, one of the very few IP attorney firms with wellestablished offices throughout Europe, including Newcastle, is closely monitoring all developments. More information can be found on www.murgitroyd.com or you can request a meeting with one of our trade mark attorneys on +44 (0) 191 211 3550. www.neechamber.co.uk
Focus
Case study: ZeroLight and Northstar Ventures Automotive visualisation specialist ZeroLight is one innovative North East company to receive investment from venture capital firm Northstar Ventures. Zerolight CEO Darren Jobling says: “One simple application form started everything off and Northstar was supportive throughout. Northstar always takes a commercial viewpoint and maintained a get the deal done attitude. “A focus for us was to ensure we had access to the right talent to move into new markets. We had over 20 years’ experience in our previous sector, but realigning our focus was pivotal in our successful transition. Northstar was exceptionally helpful in this. “We got far more from Northstar than simply funding. We gained access to considerable expertise and an established network. Alasdair Greig in particular has become a key mentor and has helped to guide us through a number of funding rounds. "He has been remarkable in his ability to get to grips with key features of the business and introduce us to the right companies and investors to expand our horizons. We have a very valuable partnership which exists to this day.” www.neechamber.co.uk
Micropore Technologies CEO Dai Heyward
Formula for export success Micropore Technology has its sights set on expansion in India after seeing its export sales increase by 150% over the past three years. The award-winning Teesside manufacturer designs and produces machinery for making particles and emulsions for customers across the pharmaceutical, food and drink, household chemical and fragrance sectors. The business currently exports to customers across the Americas, the Middle East, Europe and Asia from its HQ in Redcar, Teesside and its US office in High Bridge, New Jersey. Exporting currently accounts for 50% of the company’s total revenue, up from 20% in 2015. In the coming year, Micropore is projecting its income from exporting to reach £200,000 and is aiming to increase its export turnover to £1m by 2023.
Life sciences gathering The North’s innovative life science sector has been celebrated at an event in Newcastle. The BioFocus Conference, organised by Bionow and sponsored by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), brought together businesses from the life sciences and pharmaceuticals sectors with experts from the region’s universities and healthcare organisations. Bionow CEO Geoff Davison says: “The life sciences sector is one of the success stories of the North East and we have leadingDr Geoff Davison edge research happening in the region aimed at tackling everything from cancer to ageing. BioFocus is a chance for the life science sector in the North East to share knowledge on these important areas of the economy, research and policy as well as the factors affecting the sector today such as funding opportunities and Brexit.” contact 43
They’re your ideas. Don’t let someone else take the credit. For a chat or free consultation on protecting your brand, your trade secrets and the way you do business, please get in touch.
Call 0191 211 7777 or email advice@muckle-llp.com
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Commercial Profile
Pssst! Can you keep a secret? We all have secrets. From that cheesy band you secretly love to the alternative route to work that misses all the traffic, there are things you would rather no one found out about. Businesses are no different with their trade secrets. But while disclosure of our personal secrets could lead to teasing remarks from friends or a slightly later arrival time at the office, disclosing corporate trade secrets could have more far-reaching and severe repercussions. That’s why businesses like to know that they are protected by law and can take action if trade secrets are disclosed. It’s all part of protecting your intellectual property, including your brand, company identity and unique ways of working. New rules for trade secrets On 9 June 2018, new regulations relating to the protection of trade secrets came into force in the UK. The new Trade Secrets (Enforcement etc.) Regulations 2018 implemented many of the provisions set out in the EU Trade Secrets Directive, introduced in 2016 to harmonise the divergent laws on the protection of trade secrets in EU member states.
Why does this matter? In short, under the new regulations the onus is on businesses to demonstrate not only that the information in question is confidential, but also that they have taken reasonable measures to keep it secret. The difficulty is that reasonable measures has not itself been defined. What constitutes reasonable measures will become clearer in time when cases are brought before the courts. In the meantime, there are certain things businesses can do to ensure that their secrets remain so and that, in the event of disclosure, they are protected under the new regulations. Top tips for businesses 1. Identify trade secrets and keep an updated inventory of them. How are they stored? Who has access to them? Identify any areas of risk and create an action plan of how to deal with them.
2. Review and update internal policies to mitigate risk. 3. Train employees. Employees should understand the importance of confidentiality and the impact that disclosing trade secrets can have on the business. What measures are in place to ensure that employees don’t misuse important information? Consider procedures such as ‘clean desk’ policies and protect important documents with secure passwords or encryption. 4. Review contractual agreements with employees, clients and third parties. Consider non-disclosure and non-compete provisions to restrict disclosure to third parties.
The UK’s existing framework for protecting confidential information under common law already provided for some of the provisions in the EU Directive. Rather than replace the existing common law framework, the new regulations seek to fill in any gaps and will run in parallel. One important change that the regulations have introduced is a new statutory definition of what constitutes a ‘trade secret’. Under the new regulations, a trade secret is defined as information that is secret; has commercial value because it is secret; and has been subject to ‘reasonable steps’ to keep it secret. Significantly, the regulations don’t refer to breach of confidence, and rather refer to the unlawful acquisition, use or disclosure of a trade secret. www.neechamber.co.uk
To find out more call intellectual property lawyers Alex Craig or George Festing on 0191 211 7777 or visit www.muckle-llp.com. contact 45
Say hola to your International Trade Adviser Whether you’re a new or experienced exporter, Department for International Trade can provide you with the knowledge and expertise of highly experienced international trade specialists who will support your entry into new markets with confidence. Call the Department for International Trade North East on 0345 136 0169 or email northeast@mobile.trade.gov.uk
Focus
Commercial Profile
Entrepreneurs Taste Sweet Success
Team Tyne, l-r Guy Clack, Claire Hughes, Phil Kite, Dave Higgins
Rowers turn to North East innovators North East innovation is helping a team of rowers take on the world’s toughest ocean challenge. Team Tyne, led by Phil Kite, will be rowing more than 3,000 miles as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in a specially designed boat packed with innovative products, equipment and design developed in the North East. The team's sponsors include Womble Bond Dickinson, Deloitte, Power Roll, International AkzoNobel and Natural Nutrients and they have worked with Cubix Eyewear from Darlington, which has developed their eye protection; The All-in-One Company from Ashington, supplier of the crew’s sleeping kit; Jotron UK from Cramlington, which has provided transponders and VHF radios; and Mammoth of Newcastle, which provides scientific mattresses.
Up to the challenge The Government has announced the first round of challenges to be tackled through the £20m GovTech Fund. The fund is seeking tech firms with innovative solutions for public sector problems. Successful companies will be awarded up to £50,000 to develop their ideas and those providing the best potential solutions will then be awarded R&D contracts of up to £500,000. Durham County Council, in collaboration with Blaenau Gwent Council, will be delivering the challenge of ‘intelligent data to transform Local Authority service delivery’, exploring how realtime data routinely captured by residents and vehicles can be used to improve public service delivery while reducing costs. Catherine Johns, innovation director at Business Durham, says: “The GovTech Fund Catalyst competition sits perfectly with our approach to providing tangible solutions to real problems. We are excited to get underway.” www.neechamber.co.uk
Liam Watson and Simon Bishop
A Newcastle-based entrepreneur has featured on ITV’s ‘Give it a Year’, a factual series featuring business leader Karren Brady CBE, who follows ambitious new companies in their first year of trading. Canny Drinks Ltd was founded by Liam Watson and Simon Bishop after they recognised a gap in the market for milkshakes containing natural ingredients. During their first meeting, Liam explained to Karren that Canny Drinks were selling over 20,000 cartons of milkshakes per month, in four different flavours and he was aiming to double those figures in the first year. Customers included Virgin Trains as well as 300 independents stocking their range. One year on, and the company had temporarily stopped production to concentrate their efforts on their bestselling flavour – chocolate. In order to remain unique and to stand a better chance of selling to supermarkets, Liam decided to work on a brand new recipe and felt it imperative to develop a sugar free version of the drink without using any artificial sweeteners. Talking of his appearance on the programme, Liam said: “It was a fantastic opportunity and I’m thankful for the experience. The exposure it has created for us has been great and hopefully we can continue to build on that. During the development stages, Canny approached the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) to access funding from the SME Innovation programme. Liam added: The support we received from the Innovation Programme really helped us to achieve our ambitions and get the product to market.” Find out more about our Business Community www.ne-bic.co.uk T 0191 516 6066 contact 47
Commercial Profile
Innovation talk leads to £37,000 saving for software firm John Sherban always thought research and development tax credits tended to go to the ‘men in white coats’. It was only while attending one of Business Durham’s innovation talks that the software company co-founder realised they could benefit his business too. John, director of Quorum Development Ltd, was put in touch with an independent accountancy and business advisory firm at the event, which led to the business successfully applying for their £37,000 credits from the Government tax relief that rewards UK companies for investing in innovation. Says John: “It was a revelation to find we could successfully put a claim in. We used to think that R&D tax credits only went to men in white coats but as we now know, that’s not the case. The power generation industry we work in is constantly changing due to new regulations so we’re always developing new software in response. If it hadn’t been for the innovation talk, we might not have realised that we were entitled to the credits.” The software firm, which was established in 2002, is one of 51 companies based at the North East Technology Park (NETPark) in Sedgefield, County Durham, and supplies expert advice, software and services to organisations such as EDF Energy, Orsted and Centrica. Janet Todd, manager at NETPark on behalf of Business Durham, the economic development organisation for County Durham, says it was fantastic to see Quorum receive their research and development tax credits as a result of one of their monthly innovation talks. “Companies often don’t realise they’re entitled to claim them but it can make quite a sizeable difference, as Quorum has shown,” she says. “We have an excellent relationship with all of the companies at NETPark and work closely with them from the enquiry stage, when we discuss their specific requirements and identify the type of space they need through to fit out. We provide a mixture of lab and office space and can support them as they work on a lab fit, and offer project management, or we can simply introduce them to the right people. We can also advise on a range of other issues, from health and safety to IT solutions, grant applications and finance and, as their businesses grow, we can help them grow into bigger space. We can even help them to raise their profiles in the press with our complimentary PR service.” Another plus of being on a Business Durham-managed park is that it’s part of Durham County Council. Adds Janet: “One of the positive aspects of being part of the local authority is that we can put you in touch with the right people quickly, such as in planning or building control, which is really useful if a company is managing their own 48 contact
(l to r): Business Development Director at Quorum Development Paul Usher, NETPark Manager Janet Todd and Commercial Director and Founder of Quorum John Sherban.
design and fit out. We know the right people to speak to so it can make the process smoother. “Our role at Business Durham is to offer tailored advice and support. At NETPark, it’s a very supportive environment for companies to work in – whether they’re in the Incubator or in larger premises such as Kromek. The support doesn’t stop at a certain level of growth – it continues as the business develops.” Quorum currently employs 14 staff and has clients in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. The company turns over £1.3m per year, with plans to turn over £2m in two years’ time. John is looking ahead to the company expanding into bigger offices at NETPark. And he knows that when the time is right, he will have the support he needs from Business Durham. “NETPark has been a great place for us,” he says. “The location is great for our clients who fly into Newcastle Airport and the staff at Business Durham have been fantastic and have done everything they can to make the business run better.”
www.northeasttechnologypark.com 01740 625250 enquiries@northeasttechnologypark.com @NETParkUK www.neechamber.co.uk
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Christmas planning It's Christmassssssss... almost! Now's the time to plan your celebration - here's how
Ford Engineering apprentice Rhys Donald
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Focus The essential Christmas party planning checklist It’s time to start planning this year’s festive bash. Here’s our essential checklist… 4 Set the date Get in early to secure your venue, and so your colleagues can plan their annual leave well in advance.
4 Speeches and awards Keep them short and entertaining – no one needs a 45-minute story of the year when they’re trying to enjoy themselves.
4 Style and theme This all depends on how complicated you want to make things – are you going Friday lunch or fullblown masquerade ball?
4 Invites and itinerary Get your invites out as soon as you have all the details in your itinerary so you can confirm numbers and table plans.
4 Venue and food The earlier you book, the better. As soon as you have an idea of your numbers and theme, pick up the phone. Themed food is great but it should match the style of your party.
4 The extra bits Do you want pictures from the event – get some selfie sticks, a photobooth or a photographer. Goodie bags always go down well too. Are you travelling to a location away from work – think about booking transport to the venue, and back if necessary.
4 Entertainment and music If you’re going big, get a band. If not, everyone loves a disco still, don’t they?
Christmas 2018
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JOINER CHRISTMAS PARTIES TIME TO CELEBRATE Ultimate Party Nights include live entertainment and DJ Two drink vouchers per person with 50% discount Sparkling drinks reception Three course dinner Bar until 12.30am carriages at 01.00am
FROM £19.95pp
CORPORATE CHRISTMAS PARTIES EXCLUSIVE CELEBRATIONS FOR UP TO 220 GUESTS
Private Bar & DJ until 01.00am Tailor-made menus Red carpet on arrival, crisp white table linen, candelabra’s Stage, screen & projector Car Parking
FROM £27pp Christmas party stayover starting from £79 bed and breakfast Tel: +44 (0)191 372 7200 Email: events.durham@radissonblu.com radissonblu.com/hotel-durham
Motoring
Scorchio! The sun is shining, and every convertible has its top down. Should you be in the market for a topless drive, here’s Jane Pikett’s pick My husband is the proud owner of a 1970 Triumph Spitfire called Lucy. She is white with a black fabric folding top and, after a little coaxing when she comes out of winter hibernation, she rivals today’s convertibles in looks, if not green credentials. Sadly, however, Lucy’s yearly worsening coughs and splutters indicate that her end may be nigh, which has inspired us to consider what we would spend our hard-earned cash on if we were to invest in a younger model. The following have all earned acclaim from the critics - but are they enough to inspire us to say goodbye to the Spitfire? You be the judge... MINI Convertible Our favourite by a long way, the MINI Convertible serves up the good looks and go-kart driving dynamics of the hatchback with the added joy of an electric folding fabric roof. You don’t invest in a MINI for rear seat or boot space, so don’t expect much of it, particularly with the top down, but the tech, infotainment and custom choices are something to write home about, with standard equipment including rear view camera, LED headlights, Union Flag rear lights and an improved satnav screen. You can also opt for customisable 3D-printed doorsills, dashboard panels, puddle lights and inserts for the side indicators. Models range from a frugal 74.3mpg diesel to the 6.6 second 0-60mph John Cooper Works special. Rolls-Royce Dawn Should you have a spare £264,000, the Dawn is right up there at the silly end of the convertible scale. The Wraith in opentop form, its designer Giles Taylor says the idea of this motor is to make its occupants look like rock stars – a noble aim in which it succeeds in spades. There is masses of room to luxuriate front and back, while its twin-turbo 6.6-litre
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563bhp V12 delivers you VIP-style, rapidly yet entirely smoothly, with barely a ruffle to your rock star coiffure. VW Beetle Cabriolet Back to cute and compact models, the Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet, like the MINI Convertible, revels in its retro styling, its roof folding back on top of its rear like its 1960s forebear. It has more room in the back than the MINI, and though it doesn’t drive quite as well, it's a lot of fun, and there is a long list of engine alternatives including 2 litre diesel. Obviously, this car is more about looks than performance, though, and our Dalmatian dog suits the passenger seat of the cherry red one to a T. Aston Martin DB11 Volante Back to luxury, and the DB11 is as beautiful as one would expect, more so with its top down. It goes without saying that it also delivers in terms of drive and handling, particularly the V8, and is sportier than most in its class. The V8 gets better writeups than the V12 for handling and style, though neither offer much in terms of leg room. As effortless with the roof down as up, this is 007’s choice of drop-top – never shaken or stirred. BMW i8 Entering the space age design class, the i8 is the epitome of new-generation sports car, combining electric power and a 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine with a top speed of 155mph. The BMW 2 and 4 series both get better write-ups for their convertible features, but the i8 has the looks to beat both of them. Blessed with looks and intelligence, you can charge it in a couple of hours and enjoy a choice of five driving modes, including Comfort, which claims to offer optimum balance between dynamics and efficiency, giving a combined range in everyday conditions of more than 310 miles.
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Motoring Powering ahead
North East organisations are involved in a national scheme to encourage electric car drivers to engage with Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technologies. Newcastle University, Northern Powergrid and Teessideheadquartered energy market monitoring specialist EnAppSys are involved in a new £400,000 government-funded project to investigate the influence of gamification, including virtual currencies, competitions and raffles, on EV drivers’ appetite for engaging with V2G technologies. The project will analyse the business case for V2G technologies and their impact on the National Grid. The project is a partnership between Ecotricity, Gengame, EnAppSys, Newcastle University and Northern Powergrid.
Gone exploring Lloyd Motor Group has launched a new campaign to encourage people to share what they have been up to while out and about around the region. #ExploreYourWorld is a pioneering campaign designed to encourage people to share activities that promote health and wellbeing. From walking, running and cycling to a Sunday night drive, Lloyd Newcastle BMW and Lloyd Newcastle MINI wants people to inspire others.
CITROËN C3 PureTech 82 manual Flair
Participants are asked to share a photo of their car or motorcycle while out exploring the area and share it to any Lloyd Motor Group social media page using the hashtag #ExploreYourWorld. Every month there are prizes for the best photos which fit the health and wellbeing theme. Each month Lloyd Motor Group chooses winners based on the popularity, engagement and content of each post with some of the photos going on to feature on the Lloyd Motor Group website.
From only
and
+ VAT deposit
+ VAT per month
£801 £134 6,000 MILES PER ANNUM
48 MONTHS TERM
Official Fuel Consumption in MPG (l/100km) and CO2 emissions (g/km); Highest: Citroën C3 Range: URBAN 65.7-46.3mpg [4.3-6.1L/100km]; EXTRA URBAN 88.3-67.3mpg [3.2-4.2L/100km]; COMBINED 78.5-57.6mpg [3.6-4.7L/100km]; CO2 emissions 93.110g/km. MPG figures are achieved under official EU test conditions, intended as a guide for comparative purposes only, and may not reflect actual on-the-road driving conditions. *Terms and conditions apply. All rentals are subject to VAT at the current rate. Vehicles must be registered by 28th September 2018, subject to any price adjustment by the manufacturer, interest rate movement or changes to Government Excise Duty. Quotation is for Business Users only and is subject to status. guarantees may be required. Should the contract mileage be exceeded by over 30% then the excess pence per mile shown will be doubled. The 50% blocking of input VAT may apply to certain elements within the services included in the above service rental. The 50% blocking of input VAT applies to RLF and Contract Management included in the above service rental.
TOWN CENTRE AUTOMOBILES SUNDERLAND, FERRYBOAT LANE, SUNDERLAND, TYNE & WEAR, SR5 3JN
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Telephone: 0191 5168822 www.towncentreautomobiles.com
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THE ALL-NEW VOLVO V60
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People l-r Associate Amanda Adeola and trainee legal executive Leanne Walker
Appliance of science Multi-service contract research and development organisation (CRDO) Arinova has appointed Dr Gareth Jenkins as its new chief scientific officer. Jenkins joins the Alnwick-based firm, which operates globally, from Britest, a manufacturing process consultancy, where he was CEO.
The case for law BHP Law in Darlington has expanded its team of family law specialists with Amanda Adeola and Leanne Walker. Nigerian-born Amanda Adeola relocated to the UK to pursue her career in law, while Leanne Walker studied for her degree while working full time.
On the ladder
Top trio
Gordon Brown Law Firm LLP has promoted property litigation specialist James Godden as a partner. He will combine his management of the firm’s property litigation department with ambitious plans to expand the department's offering. He will also assist with the wider development of the firm.
Creative marketing agency Narrative has appointed three new staff. The client partnership team has welcomed Rachel Roberts, while Claire Turnbull and Briony Cragg have joined the creative delivery team. Rachel is a client partner, Claire is a media buyer and Briony is PR and comms exec.
l-r Zac Aldridge and Charlie Collins
At the helm Derwentside College has appointed Zac Aldridge as vice principal curriculum and quality and Charlie Collins as marketing and PR manager. Aldridge joins from Gateshead College where he was assistant principal and Collins' extensive experience includes a nine-year tenure at Durham University.
Money matters Graham Thrower has joined regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers as its new non-exec chair, following extensive board-level experience in the global investment, economic development and creative industries with Citigroup, Societe Generale and Lloyds Bank.
Deborah Kirtley with colleagues Nik Tunley (left) and Nigel Williams
Teaming up
Working out
In the swim
Endeavour Partnership will become Teesside’s only specialist banking legal firm with the arrival of Deborah Kirtley as a partner. She will lead the banking team, providing legal advice to banks and borrowers. She previously headed the banking team at Dickinson Dees and was a partner at DWF.
Tyne & Wear Sport has appointed Muckle LLP solicitor Alex Blenkinsop and Ward Hadaway partner Matthew Cormack to its board. Chair Andrew Walton says: “Both appointments come as we launch our new strategy focusing on creating a more active, healthy and productive sub region.”
Tees Active, which manages leisure services for Stockton Borough Council, has appointed Leon Jones as its new MD. He joined Tees Active in 2010 as commercial manager and brings with him more than 20 years of leadership and leisure industry experience in the private and public sector.
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Barrie Hensby with NEL chief executive Yvonne Gale
Sunderland signing Sir David Bell has been named as the next vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Sunderland. He joins the university from the University of Reading, where he has been vicechancellor since January 2012 and where student numbers, research activity and overall income have grown substantially. He was appointed director of education and libraries at Newcastle City Council in 1995 before serving as Her Majesty’s chief
inspector of schools in 2002 and then as permanent secretary at the Department of Education from January 2006 to September 2012. In the midst of controversy over vice-chancellor's salaries, Sir David is transparent about his salary package at Reading. He will maintain this when he joins Sunderland, where his salary will be £260,000 plus an allowance of £35,000 in lieu of pension contributions.
Moffatt moving on The chief executive of Port of Tyne is leaving at the end of the year after 10 years - as the company reports an increase in revenue and EBITDA following a period of investment. Under Andrew Moffatt, Port of Tyne has invested more than £200m in infrastructure, equipment and people. He said: "I will be leaving knowing that the port is in much better shape than when I joined and it is an appropriate time to pass on the leadership." Meanwhile director of corporate affairs, Susan Wear, is also leaving the port to explore new business opportunities. She said: “I am proud to have been part of a great team that has positioned the Port at the centre of the North East economy. The Port is in good shape for the future and it seems like the ideal opportunity for me to purse new challenges.”
Doctorate duo Teesside University chancellor Paul Drechsler CBE has been awarded an honorary degree at Trinity College Dublin alongside former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton. Drechsler was conferred with a Doctor in Law alongside former US presidential candidate Clinton. Drechsler, who was installed as chancellor of Teesside University last year, is also chairman of the Bibby Line Group and former chairman and chief executive of one of the UK’s largest construction firms, Wates Group. www.neechamber.co.uk
Paul Drechsler and Hillary Clinton
Dealmaker retires One of the North East's bestknown dealmakers is retiring after 28 years investing in regional business. Barrie Hensby has stepped down after three years as chairman of regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers plus 24 years as the company's chief executive. Since he joined NEL in 1991, it has successfully managed and closed 13 investment funds with a total value exceeding £95m. Today the company is responsible for two of the five funds that make up the new £120m North East Fund Supported By The European Regional Development Fund - the £18m North East Growth Capital Fund and the £9m North East Small Loan Fund.
In the news Former news executive Bob Cuffe has joined Jacksons Law Firm as non-exec consultant. Cuffe, former regional MD of Trinity Mirror, will work with the partners and marketing team to develop their business development strategy. Following his departure from Trinity Mirror, Cuffe has been a non-exec director at Darlington Building Society and non-exec advisor at Recognition PR. He is also a governor of Teesside University and sits on the board of the South Tees Development Corporation. contact 59
Events Inspiring Females Seminar
Chamber Exchange
May 9, SAFC
September 13, Slaley Hall, 11:00-14:00 FREE This is the Chambers flagship networking event encouraging an exchange of experiences, ideas and offers between members. A round-table networking event with two table changes held the second Thursday of each month across the region. The first table 'Sharing a Success' – delegates are encouraged to share a recent business success. The second table 'Discussing a Challenge' – delegates are encouraged to discuss current or recent challenges, how you may have overcome this challenge or if someone is facing a current challenge, those around the table are encouraged to offer advice and guidance. Chamber staff including senior management and partners will lead each table. Venue sponsor
Alison Shaw (North East Futures UTC), Nickie Gott (Shes Gott It) and Karen Marshall (Accenture)
Sarah Cooper (Barclays) and Nicola Kilkenny (Natwest)
Chamber Golf Day June 20, Linden Hall, sponsored by Emirates
The Emirates team
The winning team from Waymark IT
Chamber Exchange October 11, Sunderland Marriott, 11:00-14:00, FREE
The Brewin Dolphin team
The NE Youth team
The United Carlton team
Venue sponsor
Event sponsor
Steve Watson (Gateshead FC) 60 contact
The Marsh team
The Razorblue team
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Chamber Exchange in association with Durham Business Group June 14, Radisson Blu, sponsored by Northern Skills Group
Alison Gittins (DBG) and Lauren Crowther (Radisson Blu)
Lee Finan and Debbie Foster (Instore Radio) and Claire Foster (MAC Security)
Dawn Fairlamb (New College Durham) and Kay Carrick (St Cuthberts Hospice)
Chamber Local June 27, The Hastings
Peter Evans (The Hastings) and Clare McCabe (Chamber)
Sam Grigg (Blusky Tax) and Lawrence Clack (Franks Portlock)
Kevin Coombs (Meadow Well Connected) and Steve Air (Diamond Business)
Joy Dowdell and Mark Dowdell (Hadrians Capital Finance) and Graeme Jordan (STO Consulting)
President’s Club Golf Day July 4, Slaley Hall, sponsored by Learning Curve
Members gather before teeing off at Slaley Hall
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Eamonn Leavey (Chamber), John McCabe (President), Jon Cummins (Learning Curve) and Andrew Fox (Slaley Hall)
Andrew Fox and John Lee (Slaley Hall), Martin Greenwood (Malhotra Group), Michael Watson (Barclays)
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Events FEATURED EVENT
FEATURED EVENT
FEATURED EVENT
Chamber AGM & Member Showcase
Chamber Exchange
North East Expo
September 13 Slaley Hall FREE
November 7 Newcastle Falcons £180 stand, free to attend
September 20 Wynyard Marquee £65 stand, free to attend
TO BOOK
www.neechamber.co.uk/events
Networking
0300 303 6322
Skills, Knowledge and Information Network
07.08 - CHAMBER LOCAL 08:30-10:30 • ESLINGTON VILLA, GATESHEAD
FREE
17.08 - MAXIMISING YOUR MEMBERSHIP
09.08 - CHAMBER SUMMER SOCIAL 15:00-17:00 • MIDDLETON LODGE FREE 14.08 - CHAMBER LOCAL (NEWCASTLE) FREE
06.09 - CHAMBER ANNUAL DINNER 2018 SOLD OUT
16.11 - NORTH EAST BUSINESS WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2018
14.09 - MAXIMISING YOUR MEMBERSHIP
10:00-11:30 • COMMERCE HOUSE, MIDDLESBROUGH FREE
Flagship
18:00-00:00 • DURHAM CATHEDRAL
08:00-10:00 • NEWCASTLE GATESHEAD MARRIOTT METROCENTRE FREE
07.08 - CHAMBER LOCAL (TEES VALLEY MONTHLY)
events@neechamber.co.uk
18:30-00:00 • HILTON NEWCASTLE GATESHEAD
£75*
08:00-10:00 • THE WORKPLACE, NEWTON AYCLIFFE FREE
International
19.09 - HR KNOWLEDGE
08:30-10:30 • THE VERMONT, NEWCASTLE
09:30-11:00 • LUMLEY CASTLE, CHESTER-LE-STREET FREE
06.09 - EXPORT PROCESSES, COMPLIANCE & DOCUMENTS
23.08 - CHAMBER SUMMER FIESTA
09.10 - BEHIND THE SCENES
09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
16:30-18:30 • REVOLUCION DE CUBA, NEWCASTLE FREE
08:30-10:30 • DANCE CITY, NEWCASTLE FREE
£350**
19.09 - CUSTOMS COMPLIANCE, PROCESSES & DOCUMENTS
29.08 - CHAMBER LOCAL 10:00-12:00 • THE HASTINGS, SEATON DELAVAL
FREE
Area Meetings
04.09 - CHAMBER LOCAL (TEAM VALLEY)
11.09 - MIDDLESBROUGH 08:15-10:00 • TBC FREE
08:30-10:30 • AREA NORTH, TEAM VALLEY
FREE
04.09 - CHAMBER LOCAL (TEES VALLEY MONTHLY)
18.09 - DARLINGTON 08:15-10:00 • TBC FREE
11.09 - CHAMBER LOCAL (NEWCASTLE) FREE
19.09 - NORTHUMBERLAND 16.00 -18.00 • ELLINGHAM HALL FREE
10.10 - NORTH EAST VENUE EXPO
20.09 - INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMITTEE
10:00-15:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
FREE
£350**
11.10 - AUTHORISED ECONOMIC OPERATOR 09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
£350**
12.09 - HARTLEPOOL 16:00-17:30 • TBC FREE
10:00-11:30 • COMMERCE HOUSE, MIDDLESBROUGH FREE
08:30-10:30 • THE VERMONT, NEWCASTLE
09:00-16:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
Department for International Trade Events 04.09 - DOING BUSINESS IN THE USA 08:30-12:30 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
FREE
08:00-09:30 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
17.10 - TEESSIDE BUSINESS SHOW 10:00-15:00 • MIDDLESBROUGH FOOTBALL CLUB
FREE
FREE
21.09 - DURHAM 08:30-10:00 • ST HILD & ST BEDE COLLEGE
11.10 - CHAMBER EXCHANGE 11:00-14:00 • SUNDERLAND MARRIOTT
FREE
12.09 - YOU CAN EXPORT: INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL TRADE 11:00-17:00 • NATWEST, NEWCASTLE
FREE
25.09 - STOCKTON BUSINESS FORUM 16:00-17:30 • TBC FREE
FREE
25.09 - MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR INTERNATIONAL TRADE TEAM 08:30-11:00 • DURHAM COUNTY CRICKET CLUB
FREE
*Chamber Member Price+VAT ** Global member price £240+VAT. Foundation Award in International Trade: Global Member Cost: £640.00+VAT (3 courses) £800+VAT (4 courses) Standard Cost: £900.00+VAT (3 courses) £1000+VAT (4 courses)
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7 November 2018, 09:00 - 16:00 Newcastle Falcons Kingston Park The Chamber have once again joined forces with member Fresh Start Events, on the region’s ultimate event for small and medium sized businesses - The North East Expo, which is taking place in November 2018. With more than 200 companies exhibiting and around 1,500 delegates in attendance, it doesn’t matter what part of the business community or industry sector you’re from, this event is for you. Chamber members can exhibit on level 2 from £180 or attend the event as a delegate completely free. The event will feature a variety of seminars, masterclasses and workshops throughout the venue, including a presentation on business leadership from James Ramsbotham, Chamber CEO. For more information about the event and to book your stand or free place visit www.northeastexpo.co.uk/chamber-showcase
Think Bigger, Go Further, Get there Faster. Power up your business.
If you’re ready to grow, get in touch. We’d love to help. Call 0300 303 6322 Visit neechamber.co.uk Connect @neechamber
Last word
Business needs a careers advice revolution Judith Doyle CBE, principal and chief executive of Gateshead College, explains why the Government’s careers strategy needs to go further if the region’s business community is to successfully upskill its workforce…
Judith Doyle CBE
Last year the Government launched its longawaited blueprint to provide high-quality careers advice to every young student in the UK. While the sentiments in this blueprint are well-intentioned, it’s clear that several months on, they haven’t gone far enough – for students or employers. Without access to high-quality careers guidance in the classroom and experience of the workplace, children will continue to be held back and be unable to fulfil their potential, which in turn means that businesses will not have access to the skills they need. The best primary schools are providing work experience opportunities by linking up with colleges, universities and employers. Gateshead College, for example, invites primary school classes onto its campus to make pupils aware of the importance of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) in everyday life. Recently more than 80 pupils from Rowlands Gill Primary School were given the opportunity to spend the day at the college’s Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering,
"Around 80% of young people who come to Gateshead College say they have no idea about the range of careers on offer"
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Manufacturing and Logistics, where they undertook various activities aimed at stimulating their interest in STEM including spray painting a car, programming a robot and trying out virtual reality technology. Businesses need other schools and colleges to follow suit, particularly employers in sectors with severe skills shortages. It’s vital that young people experience these industries so they can decide if this is an appropriate career route for them; otherwise, they will automatically assume – wrongly – that A-Levels are the only viable option. Careers advice must impress upon young people, their parents and teachers that vocational training is the equal of academic qualifications – a view widely acknowledged by employers. Too many young people are being encouraged down an academic path that just isn’t suitable for them. Businesses across the North East have recognised the quality of vocational training at Gateshead College – training that has given them access to the skills they need to grow and be successful. Many young people, however, have been denied the chance to study here due to the inadequacies and inequalities of the current careers system, which goes against Government’s desire to give all children access to impartial careers contact 65
Last word
Judith Doyle, principal and chief executive of Gateshead College, wants careers advisers to encourage as many youngsters into vocational training as they do into university
advice regardless of social status or ability. Parental engagement is crucial. Schools must educate mum and dad on the range of career options available to their children. Parents’ advice carries influence so it is vital that this advice is not one-dimensional. The current system is far too rigid. As the economic landscape changes, businesses need access to new skills to ensure they can capitalise on commercial opportunities. Students must therefore be made aware of these opportunities. Those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds may be hindered by a combination of limited help from their parents and woefully inadequate and subjective school careers advice. While the creation of Career Leaders - people who are responsible and accountable for the delivery of their school’s careers advice - is to be welcomed, they must be allowed to offer the best counsel and independent guidance. Currently, schools that hang on to their students secure extra funding and therefore have no commercial incentive to make them aware of the alternatives. This could potentially deny employers the chance to hire gifted individuals who have been encouraged to 66 contact
go down a career path that hasn’t made the most of their talents. Quality, impartial careers advice is essential for students and businesses but this is not freely available despite the Baker Clause, which obliges schools to open their doors to FE providers to let them advertise their services to pupils. At Gateshead College, we have four highly experienced, independent careers advisors who can help young people explore the full range of options. In many cases, that means studying at the college but if we can’t offer what they want, we suggest other organisations. Young people must also be able to access information on careers guidance from sources outside of their own school. Currently there’s a lack of information on apprenticeships and other vocational training. The Government needs to review current information channels and either build on them or replace them. Around 80% of young people who come to Gateshead College say they have no idea about the range of careers on offer. This shows how outdated the current system is – and this must change, for the good of employers and young people. www.neechamber.co.uk
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