North East Times Magazine - October 2013 by North East Times Magazine

CONTENTS

October 2013 8

BUSINESS NEWS –

SAVE THE DATE –

Business events – mark them on your calendar.

NORTH EAST VIEW POINTS –

Thoughts from the region’s business community.

SPOTLIGHT –

Nissan gears up for the Infiniti

10 QUESTIONS FOR... –

Stefan Lepkowski of Karol Marketing.

ONE TO WATCH –

Sean Brown of Newcastle Falcons.

ON THE MOVE –

New executive appointments.

STATE OF THE ART –

THE LONG GAME –

Geoff Watson of Doree Bonner.

BUSINESS LUNCH –

The Stables Restaurant & Brewery

COVER STORY –

102

A new academic year for Dame Allan’s Schools

INTERVIEW –

112

Ramy Zack, owner of The Biscuit Factory.

MOTORS –

114

GET TO KNOW ME –

130

Nigel Hudson, drector of Mintprice.com

CREDITS

Directors: Mike Grahamslaw, Mick O’Hare Commercial director: Martin Stout Editor: Alison Cowie Senior account manager: Chris Turner Editorial: Jessica Laing, Alexis Forsyth, Deborah Johnson, Liam Thomas Senior designer: John Haxon Feature photography: Chris Owens Illustrations: Low Moon Over High Town (www.lowmoonoverhightown.com)

Office: 11 Causey Street, Gosforth, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE3 4DJ. | t: (0191) 284 9994 | f: (0191) 284 9995 www.northeasttimes.co.uk | @NETimesmagazine Front cover: Dame Allan’s Schools

All photos taken by North East Times staff are copyright North East Times Ltd, and are taken solely for use in North East Times magazine or products published by the Accent Magazines Group. If you wish to use or publish a photograph taken for North East Times, please contact the sales department on (0191) 284 9994. Photo charges: £50 for a single image, £295 for full buy out of a photo shoot. Advertising charges: There is a £25 charge for every set of amendments, following the first initial set of amendments, which is free of charge, for adverts designed by North East Times Ltd. Cancellations: If an advert is cancelled by the booker within a seven day period prior to our print deadline, the advert will be charged in full, plus VAT.

Editorial: Contributions should include a fully stamped addressed envelope. No responsibility is accepted for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during transmission, or while in the Editor’s or Printer’s hands. Editorial must be received by the 12th of the month or no responsibilty is accepted for errors. Advertisements: Although every care is taken to ensure accuracy, the Publishers regret that they cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage caused by an error in the printing or damage to, or loss of artwork, transparencies or photos. Complaints: regarding advertisements will only be considered for up to a week after publication. Advertising must be received by the 15th of the month. No responsibilty is accepted for errors. © 2013 Published by North East Times Ltd.

BUSINESS NEWS

Tips for managing your business property RICS launches guide to support SMEs with their property assets.

ICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) has launched a guide to help small businesses take better control of their finances through managing their property assets differently. Property costs – such as business rates and rent – are one of the most significant expenses incurred by SMEs and failure to take professional advice as to how to manage them could costs businesses thousands of pounds. The guide, which is free of charge for business owners, covers all aspects of the property process. It has been endorsed by the Federation of Small Businesses, the British Retail Consortium and the Association of Town and City Management. Included within the guide is advice on: finding the right premises, business rates, tax allowance on property, rents reviews and valuations. Paul Bagust, RICS associate director

(pictured), said: “Times are still hard for many small businesses across the UK. Property costs are both one of the biggest overheads and one of the most

complex assets to properly manage and we hope that this guide can prove an invaluable resource.” The guide is available at www.rics.org/smeproperty

Funds for hundreds of promising NE businesses Entrust makes £5m available to new and expanding North East enterprises.

ntrust is aiming to support around 350 new and growing small businesses in the North East with available funds totalling £5m over the next two years. The Newcastle-based business support and enterprise agency has provided loans of £3.6m to help over 300 businesses launch or expand against the backdrop of the recession since 2011. It is now making £5m available in the form of £2.6m to micro-businesses and start-ups and £2.4m from the Growth

Fund for expanding existing businesses. The North East Microloan fund provides loans of between £1000 and £25,000 and is targeted at new and existing businesses which have faced difficulty securing funds from mainstream lenders. Sole traders, partnerships, third sector enterprises and people from disadvantaged backgrounds are being particularly encouraged to apply. The fund is part of the £125m Finance for Business North East Programme, financed by European money.

A Winn-ing partnership

inn Group, based in Newcastle, is to go into partnership with international investment companies JZ International (JZI) and Souter Investment Group. The investment means that it will be able to continue to expand its onestop shop for accident management services nationally. Jeff Winn, founder of Winn Group (pictured centre), said: “We aim to expand the business significantly in the next few years, creating even more new jobs in the region, and this investment gives us the backing to do that.”

Barbour teams up with Falcons

arbour has teamed up with the Newcastle Falcons to become their Official Clothing Partner. In a three year deal, commencing with the 2013/14 season, Barbour will provide jackets, shirts and trousers for the team to wear when representing the club off the pitch. Helen Barbour, vice chairman of Barbour (pictured with Falcon’s chief exec Paul Varley and team members), said: “We are delighted to be working with the Newcastle Falcons as rugby is synonymous with the Barbour brand.”

Charity is born

he unsung heroes and heroines of North East business are to be celebrated in a new awards ceremony on November 20, at As You Like It. Nominations are now open for the Superstar Awards – organised by Entrust and Pitman – with categories including Number Cruncher, PA Extraordinaire and the overall 2013 Superstar.

Best removals service

Pop-up market launched

oree Bonner International Group, which has offices in Newcastle, has been awarded Best Removals Service in the 2012 Down Under Awards. The Down Under Awards are voted for by the readers of emigration title Australia & New Zealand Magazine, as well as visitors to the Down Under Live Expo’s and subscribers to their websites.

record number of visitors to this year’s South Tyneside Summer Festival helped boost the region’s economy. The festival, which offered free live music and family focussed activities across South Shields from June until the end of August, was attended by 101,900 people during its three month run – a 35 per cent increase on the same event last year. Event organiser, South Tyneside Council, estimates that the event, combined with its Sound Waves 2013 concert, contributed approximately £1.3m to the South Tyneside economy.

Rewarding unsung superstars

he Tiny Lives Fund at the Community Foundation has built up such a strong following and supporter base that the decision was made to set up Tiny Lives as a charity in its own right. The Tiny Lives fund was started in 1983 and the newly formed charity will continue to help raise funds for special care babies at the RVI.

Record summer

new pop-up business market that will give young traders and start-ups the opportunity to showcase their talent has been launched. Organised and funded by Business Sparks, along with Solar Learning, Space2 and Newcastle Enterprise Club, The MarketPlace, located at Space2 on Clayton Street, will be running the second Tuesday of each month.

Bees kept busy at Quorum

he prolonged good weather of the last few months has meant that the bee colony on Quorum Business Park has enjoyed a successful summer producing a bumper honey crop, which is being sold for charity. The Quorum bee project is part of a national initiative to encourage more urban bees into the North East region.

Accolade for Vic Young

South Shields based motor retail firm is celebrating after receiving one of the top honours at the South Tyneside Business Awards 2013 last month. Vic Young was named Service Company of the Year Award, which recognises the service excellence companies have demonstrated to achieve business growth.

DIARY

DIGITAL CONTENT ADVICE Oct

Business & IP Centre, Level 3, Newcastle City Library Tel: (0191) 277 4100 Web: www.bipcnewcastle.co.uk Email: bipcnewcastle@newcastle.gov.uk Price: Free If you do not currently use digital video content to communicate effectively online, this consultation session will help you understand the best approaches you need to take to achieve this and present your business successfully. Guests will receive expert advice from Three Motion Newcastle, which works with global brands such as Bacardi and MTV.

GOING GLOBAL

Save the date Charity balls, business dinners and seminars.

DESIGN MEANS BUSINESS Oct

Northern Design Centre, Gateshead Tel: (0191) 499 8383 Web: www.designmeansbusiness.org Email: enquiries@designnetworknorth.org Price: £90 +VAT

MARKETING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES Oct

North Tyneside Business Centre, Saville Street, North Shields Tel: (0191) 605 3110 Web: www.businessfactorynt.co.uk Price: Free This three-hour practical and theory based workshop, set up by the Business Factory, is targeted at small business owners and entrepreneurs. Specialist marketing and communication professionals, with over 15 years’ experience, will provide guests with advice and the tools to help promote and grow their new and recently established businesses.

NECC GOLF DAY

Oct

Sandgate House, 110 Quayside Tel: (0191) 500 7780 Web: www.entrepreneursforum.net Price: Free (members) £15+VAT (members’ guests) £50+VAT (members) Interested in knowing how to break into high growth markets and making the most of overseas opportunities? If so, this three-hour open event is for you. Guests are invited to hear, from a panel of experts, how to trade effectively on an international scale and how businesses can survive and flourish outside of the UK.

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON Oct

Rockliffe Hall, County Durham Tel: 01325 729999 Email: enquiries@rockliffehall.com Web: www.rockliffehall.com/whats-on/ Price: £22.50 per person

De Vere Slayley Hall, Northumberland Tel: 0300 303 6322 Web: www.necc.co.uk/events-and-news Price: £100+VAT per person for a team of 4

The aim of this annual conference, held in association with Design Network North, is to demonstrate the true value and benefits of design to local businesses – no matter what level of design experience they have. This year’s conference includes a bumper speaker programme, featuring senior figureheads and leading practitioners from global brands and some of the country’s top design agencies. Throughout the day, there will be opportunities to meet, discuss and generate business with other delegates from all types of businesses, through structured and informal networking activities.

Guests are invited to this relaxing ladies luncheon, set in the hotel’s award-winning Orangery restaurant. The luncheon includes a sparkling reception, a two-course meal and a talk from guest speaker, mind detox practitioner and mind calm coach, Kate Schott, who will be sharing her strategy and relaxation techniques for stress reduction.

Following the success of the NECC Golf Day event in June, another date has been added to the calendar. The event will commence at 12pm with a shotgun start at 1pm. Included on day are hot sandwiches and refreshments on arrival, 18 holes of championship golf and a private dinner with prize giving. Early booking is strongly advised.

DOING BUSINESS WITH RUSSIA Oct

The Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle Tel: (0845) 07688330 Email: gemma.bainbridge@necc.co.uk Price: Free NECC’s events schedule of interactive seminars and workshops kicks off with this invaluable seminar, highlighting the business opportunities available for North East businesses interested in trading with Russia, Brazil and India. Business owners, with firsthand experience of trading with Russia, and the executive director of the Russo British Chamber of Commerce will be on hand to inform, advise and inspire.

Email jessica.laing@accentmagazines.co.uk with your events

OPINION

North East view points BRIAN LAIDLAW PARTNER TAIT WALKER

Local business people share their thoughts ...

I don’t believe it has. To me the North East is still about hard working, loyal and skilled people, especially in our world class manufacturing and engineering businesses. What it may have lost is the ability to convey this message to the region and beyond. Like it or loathe it, One North East gave the region a voice and affirmed its identity with initiatives such as the ‘passionate about’ campaign and its demise has left other organisations to attempt to fill in the gaps. The North East knows what it is about, it just needs to get that message out!

DAN BROPHY CEO ENTRUST When the coalition abolished regional development agencies, with the consequent demise of campaigns like Passionate People, Passionate Places, the question of us losing our sense of identity was raised. As I explained to a Whitehall mandarin at the time, unlike areas like the east of England (where’s that then?) the North East was a recognisable region before One North East was invented and would stay a region long after the agency’s death.We have lot of strong local identities (Tyneside, Wearside, Teesside etc) but for most of us, when travelling we are from the North East – and proud of it.

ANDREW LITTLE PARTNER ROWLANDS ACCOUNTANTS No! If anything the understanding of the North East identity has become stronger, causing more people to love and embrace it. At a time when being part of something is part of our social make-up, the North East badge is high on the list of most wanted. Our identity is built on the people of the North East who are creative and enterprising, and open to opportunities and challenges. Genuine, warm and authentic; these values help drive business and tourism into the heartland.

TERRY MCSTEA

Has the North East lost its sense of identity?

MANAGER DESIGN NETWORK NORTH The North East has lost its identity – if that identity is mining, shipbuilding, flat caps and whippets. The new identity is a vibrant, innovative region full of talented people designing, developing and building great things, new technologies and ground-breaking products. There is a flourishing design and creative community in the North East, with companies of all shapes and sizes working together to develop products and solve problems. And in that respect the North East has retained its sense of community and collaboration.

HILARY FRENCH STEFAN LEPKOWSKI

HEADMISTRESS CENTRAL NEWCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL GDST

MANAGING DIRECTOR KAROL MARKETING

The North East is far from losing its identity. On the contrary, the focus on investment and regeneration in the region has both reinforced and developed our regional identity. In addition to our beautiful beaches, ancient castles, Hadrian’s Wall, Holy Island, Durham Cathedral and pride in our industrial heritage, we also have several new iconic buildings and structures which are strong regional identifiers: Sage Gateshead; the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Arts; the Millennium Bridge, The Angel of the North and Sunderland Glass Centre to mention a few. Our universities also have strong identities linked to our region.

Identity depends on perspective – in whose eyes will the North East have lost its identity? In the eyes of people working in science, technology or renewables, the region’s identity is being strengthened by the work of Science City in Newcastle, or the National Renewable Energy Centre in Blyth. As an economic powerhouse however, the region’s identity could be perceived as weak, and following the demise of One North East, its identity as a tourist destination is under threat. A region’s identity should not be perceived as any kind of generic entity – there’s a lot more to it than that!

SPOTLIGHT

Gearing up for Infiniti A major expansion of Nissan’s Sunderland plant will support Infiniti European production pproval was given to build a major new extension to the recordbreaking production facility in Sunderland. This new production area, designed to manufacture the first ever Infiniti built in Europe, will cover 25,000m2 and will house specialist equipment in the body and final assembly areas of the production line. The extension forms part of the previously announced £250m investment by Infiniti which will create over 1000 new jobs in the UK automotive industry. Fintan Knight, vice president of Infiniti Europe said: “The Q30 Concept signals the next step in our strategy to significantly extend into new premium segments – and the production car will fully deliver on the concept’s promise.” “The compact segment is crucial for our future growth plans and the decision to invest and build the vehicle in the UK further

Infiniti Q30 Hero

underlines our long term commitment to Europe”. Kevin Fitzpatrick, Nissan’s vice president for Manufacturing in the UK, said: “The arrival of Infiniti will mark a new chapter in

our operations in Sunderland. “The Q30 Concept represents a new direction for this premium segment and for the Infiniti brand. Equally, this expansion reflects how Infiniti production will enhance manufacturing capability not only in our operations but throughout our supply chain.” This latest phase in the expansion of facilities at Sunderland comes after the plant cemented its place as the biggest UK car factory of all time by surpassing 500,000 vehicles built in 2012. When production begins in 2015, Infiniti will become the first new car brand to be manufactured in the UK on this scale in 23 years. Nissan’s Sunderland Plant was chosen as the production location for this model in recognition of the workforce’s productivity and quality achievements over many years. The new model is set to fulfil the highest Infiniti quality standards for the premium market.

INTERVIEW

10 questions for ...

Stefan Lepkowski Stefan Lepkowski founded Newcastlebased Karol Marketing in 1992, following a successful career with Berghaus. Twenty one years later, the full service PR and marketing agency has more than 70 awards to its name and has been named PR Consultancy Team of The Year five times.

What was your first break in business?

What attracted you to your current role?

What has been your career highlight?

And your career lowlight?

What do you enjoy most about your role?

My first real break in business came in 1986, when Gordon Davison, the managing director of Berghaus, plucked me off a beach in Corsica where I was working at the time, and offered me a job. He saw something in me that I didn’t know I had, and I grabbed the chance with both hands and made everything I could of it. I had no academic qualifications at the time and had been travelling around Europe since I left home as a teenager, so it was a huge opportunity for me.

I worked in every area of Berghaus at that time, from the warehouse to retail, product development and sales and knew every inch of the company, so I would liaise with members of the media when they needed a ‘guided tour’ of the business – but even then, I didn’t fully realise the value of PR. It was David Udberg, marketing director of Berghaus at that time, who identified that my skills lay in communications, and he put me in charge of developing the PR department of the firm, as well as funding my Marketing Diploma at Northumbria University. However, I didn’t really understand the opportunity I had been given until Andrew Geere, a colleague at Berghaus, handed me a book on PR by the broadcaster, John Dunn. I was hooked, and realised that PR could be a very powerful tool in the marketing mix.

There hasn’t been one highlight in particular, but I’m very proud of the fact that I’ve worked with some of the world’s most successful companies and biggest brands, which are at the vanguard of their sectors, especially considering how I got to this point in my career, which wasn’t via the traditional ‘academic’ route. Karol’s success has been down to a lot of hard work and creative thinking – nothing has come easy. I’m also proud to have spent three years as Chairman of the North East branch of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) – a true pinnacle of professional achievement – and to have been made a Fellow of the CIM.

I think that when you run a successful company, you can’t dwell too much on disappointments – you should learn from them, which is what I try to do. However, I would say that at times, I’ve been disappointed by people who I’ve put faith in, but who have not behaved in an ethical manner - something which I’m sure many business people will have experienced.

I love the fact that I work with people from all walks of life, and from such a wide range of businesses. I can go into a meeting with a solicitor one day and a ball bearing manufacturer the next – no two days are the same, and working in that way constantly stimulates the mind.

What's your biggest challenge?

Who are your heroes, in and out of business?

What is the best piece of business advice anyone has ever given you?

What does the future hold for Karol Marketing?

What do you do to relax?

There are many challenges involved in running a company, and I treat all of them as equally important, from generating new business opportunities to ensuring that our systems are running smoothly. You have to spin quite a few plates at the same time when you run a business!

When I was a child, a lot of my friends had ‘heroes’ usually footballers, cricketers or rugby players - but I’ve always thought, ‘I’m me, I don’t need a hero to look up to’. There are a lot of people in business who I have an enormous amount of respect for, but I also greatly admire ‘unsung heroes’: people who dedicate their lives to helping others in their local communities or in the wider world, and who do it out of a sense of altruism, rather than for personal gain or career advancement.

In the early days of Karol Marketing, when I was worried I wouldn’t make it to the year end, my father said to me: “Don’t be afraid to fail. If you do, pick yourself up, dust yourself down and get on with the next opportunity.” They were wise words. If you have a constant fear of failure, you are less comfortable about taking risks.

Put simply, who knows? At one time I was running the agency as a ‘one man band’ from home, and now Karol Marketing is one of the biggest and most longstanding PR and marketing firms in the North East, with an enviable client list. I never thought when I founded Karol in 1992 that it would evolve into the company it is now. Of course we have plans, and will embrace opportunities, but I can’t imagine what the future will hold.

Anything that takes my mind off work - I have three young children and they demand a lot of attention! Aside from spending time with my family, I greatly enjoy extreme sports, such as paragliding, windsurfing and diving.

For more information tel: (0191) 265 7765, email: info@karolmarketing.com or visit www.karolmarketing.com

PROFILE

One to watch

Sean Brown In a series of interviews with talented professionals set for major success in their careers, Deborah Johnson talks to an 18-year-old rugby player who, in just three years playing the game, has enjoyed an unprecedented rise to stardom at Newcastle Falcons.

fter his dreams of being a professional footballer were crushed aged only 14, Sean Brown is now being tipped for the top in a sport he admits to having no interest in until being persuaded to give it a go. As part of Newcastle Falcons' Academy, 18year-old Sean is rising quickly through the ranks. Having come into rugby late at the age of 15, and having to learn the rules of the sport from scratch, the young winger has already represented England at Under 16s, Under 18s and Colleges level. While the Academy - which has produced a host of international rugby players including Mathew Tait, Toby Flood, Jamie Noon and British and Irish Lion Geoff Parling - is wary of weighing down Sean with expectation, there is a definite and tangible excitement within the club at discovering such a talent. With his unique style of play and lightningquick speed, the rapidly-rising star is being talked about by fans and fellow players alike, and has seen his hard work rewarded with a Falcons contract. It is all a far cry from four years ago, when the then-schoolboy was left devastated after being released from Sunderland AFC's Academy, where he had played for four years as a goalkeeper. Sean remembers: "I was totally crushed. All I'd wanted to be was a footballer and having your dreams shattered like that is the worst feeling ever. But I knew working in an office wasn't for me, all I had ever wanted to do was to play sport. Although I had a few weeks feeling really down, it made me even more determined that I was going to succeed in something else, if not football." While never having watched rugby before, and having had no interest in playing, Sean was persuaded by Alan Rogers, a Tynedale rugby player and PE teacher at Prudhoe Community

High School, to take part in a school rugby match one day. It turned out to be the opportunity Sean had craved. "I absolutely loved it. Although I knew nothing about rugby, Alan saw that I had something and really encouraged me and pushed me - I'll always be grateful to him. A little while afterwards, I got the opportunity to get involved with Ryton Rugby Club, but I don't think they realised what a beginner I was," says Sean. "I turned up for a match one day and they asked what position I played - I said I didn't know, I could just run and would play anywhere. They were probably thinking 'What's he doing?' but gave me a place on the bench anyway, and I got on for the last ten minutes. The first time I got the ball, I scored a try. I'll never forget that." Playing rugby at county level followed soon after, and while Sean had come into the game much later than most boys, meaning he had evaded the attention of scouts so far, his raw talent caught the attention of the Newcastle Falcons Academy. While significantly disadvantaged through his lack of experience and initial shortage of rugby skills - "I couldn't do much, I definitely couldn't pass, I could only run" - the hugely determined young sportsman refused to let that hold him back. "I enrolled at college to do a sports diploma, but I quickly realised I didn't want to do that - I wanted to catch up with the others. I knew they had better skills and knowledge than I did. Every single day, I would come to training, while most other lads my age were in college. I was determined to work and work until I started seeing some success. Then, after every training session, I'd go into the computer room and learn as much as I could about the rules and theory behind rugby. My mam would give me money for my petrol so I could get to training - I didn't want to get a job because I wanted to put absolutely everything into rugby," says Sean. Supported by his parents Debbie and Gary,

and former boxer brother Lewis, Sean's efforts quickly began to pay off â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as well as breaking into England's Under 16 and Under 18 ranks, and England Colleges during his time as a student, the Prudhoe-born player attracted even more attention on his first appearance for the Falcons A team when he scored two tries. Now on the fringes of the first team squad, and playing for Falcons As as well as Blaydon RFC which is affiliated to the Academy to help give its young stars regular rugby - Sean is exceeding all expectations from when he joined the Falcons as a raw talent two years ago. Ask Sean about his future goals and his characteristic determination comes to the fore. He knows exactly what he wants from his blossoming career. "I want to be in the Falcons first team and I want to play for England. I have developed a unique style to my game because I don't want to be compared to anyone else - I really admire players like Chris Ashton and George North, and think I combine aspects from both their games, but I just want to be known as Sean Brown and for being myself." Sean is sponsored by leading Newcastle law firm Sintons, which is a keen supporter of emerging sporting talent in the North East, as well as being one of the main sponsors of the Falcons. "I am really grateful to everyone for putting their faith in me. I will keep working and learning until I get to where I want to be - I have been rejected once, and I will make sure it won't happen again," says Sean. A number of Falcons Academy players are still available for sponsorship during the 2013-14 season. For more information, or to join Sintons on the exclusive list of Falcons player sponsors, contact Falcons' Commercial Manager Nick Mather on (0191) 214 2812 or nick.mather@newcaslte-falcons.co.uk.

APPOINTMENTS

On the Move Your monthly guide to appointments and promotions.

LOUISE BROWN & ELOISE RAMSEY Energy efficiency specialist, Best4eco Renewables, has made two key appointments. 21-year-old Louise Brown (left), and Eloise Ramsey, also 21, will head business development and client relations at the Birtley-based business. The pair will be based at Best4eco’s locations in Gateshead and Darlington. The business is dedicated to providing a variety of services, from the installation of solar panels to draught proofing, in homes across the North East.

MARK THOMPSON Gateshead College has strengthened its executive team with the appointment of HR director, Mark Thompson. In his new role as director of people and organisational development, Mark will be responsible for managing the provision of HR services at the college. His remit covers a wide range of areas including recruitment, employee engagement and people development. Mark joins the team with 25 years’ experience in the HR industry, including performance management, competence and behavioural frameworks, recruitment, training and learning and development.

NAZILA WILSON & TORI GILL

JESSICA WILLIAMS & GILLIAN MARSHALL

North East-based PR and marketing agency, Harvey & Hugo, has strengthened and expanded its team with the appointment of first class multimedia journalism graduate, Nazila Wilson (right), and development manager, Tori Gill. Nazila, who is currently completing a Masters degree in marketing management at Durham University, joins the team as a PR executive. Tori, who has an impressive social media following and experience in business development, will help drive the firm forward in the region and throughout the UK.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum, which supports hundreds of business owners in its aim to make the North East the number one region for entrepreneurship, has appointed two new business development managers to drive its own growth plan. In addition to recruiting and supporting members, Jessica Williams (left) and Gillian Marshall will arrange access to the Forum’s highly regarded mentoring programme, both for those seeking support and established business leaders who want to give something back.

DOUG TIDSWELL

MATTHEW CRANWELL

Multi-disciplinary consultancy, Patrick Parsons, has appointed Doug Tidswell as a director. Having spent 33 years in the property industry, Doug brings a wealth of experience to the role. Doug’s appointment adds building consultancy to the already extensive range of services offered by the company, including structural and civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering and geotechnical advice.

After completing his training at Stagecoach North East more than six years ago, Matthew Cranwell has returned to the local bus company as operations director. Matthew, who originally joined Stagecoach nine years ago through the company’s Graduate Training Programme and has since worked at Stagecoach North West, joins the company’s Sunderland head office, where he will oversee the everyday operations of the company by working closely with the operations managers at each of its six depots.

BUSINESS

In the boss’s chair

Paul Tognarelli Group managing director, Adderstone Group

Briefly, what has been your career to date? My business career has been spent in three organisations. The first, in 1985, was with Northern Rock, then a building society. I graduated from university and was selected by them to join their Graduate Fast Track Programme. The programme taught me about discipline, work ethic and standards of behaviour – all skills which would serve me well in my future career. An opportunity to broaden my skills into commercial banking came along in 1989 in the shape of Allied Irish Banks in Teesside, although I would spend another 22 years in the Newcastle office. During this period, the bank and I would deal with two economic booms and, inevitably, two recessions in the economy. The highs and lows of these ‘interesting times’ and the people I met along the way would shape my understanding and knowledge of the business world and the North East economy. I would have several roles at Allied Irish Bank but I most enjoyed leading a team of Corporate and Relationship Managers who I encouraged to invest time and energy getting to know and understand their clients’ businesses. I was appointed as head of North East – Corporate Business for Allied Irish Banks in 2007 where I was responsible for two corporate offices (Newcastle and Teesside), before moving to Adderstone in 2012.

What attracted you to the role at Adderstone Group? I knew the Adderstone business was a serious player in the North East real estate scene so I was delighted when I was offered the role of group managing director. The opportunity to further develop the existing profitable business activities and exploit the real estate opportunities was compelling. I knew some of the people at Adderstone and the opportunity to work with and develop them personally was a strong factor in joining. The business mix of the group makes Adderstone unique in its ability to develop

property services for its clients and yet also possess the agility to pursue the many varied projects we are offered. The business is well placed to forge ahead in the coming months and the board and I are delighted with the progress we have all made in rationalising overheads and focussing on our core activity.

What skills and attributes do you need to do your job ? Leadership and communication are key skills in this role. The business employs over 100 people across the group and since my appointment I have implemented some changes to how we work. It is important that the new ways of working are fully communicated, understood and embraced by everyone. It is important to share my vision for where Adderstone, the business, is going and where I intend to take them. In this role it is critical that you want to lead, that you are passionate about the future and the way forward. You must then possess the energy and resilience to see plans through to fruition and to inspire those around you to see success also.

What’s been your highlight in the role? There have been several which have been really rewarding for me. The growth in development of our leaders around the business has been inspiring. They have taken to our new culture and established their own vision of their future and have set about achieving this vision. They are passionate about their future success and how their teams can be involved and I have no doubt they will succeed. The board approved the commencement of the development of Union Square, our 228bed student accommodation in Upper Ouseburn (which will open in September 2014). This will provide the highest quality student accommodation in the city with easy access to both universities – a very exciting

addition to our strategy of enhancing our services to the student population in Newcastle. We have also succeeded in agreeing partnerships with blue chip corporates across the UK which will enhance Adderstone and its Property Services division offering to the Property Sector and will greatly assist in the regeneration of the North East.

What has been your biggest challenge ? As we look to increase our market share in our Property Management division, we need to access our future customers and we need to do so effectively. We need to establish the correct marketing channels and then send out the correct message. We have recently recruited a head of marketing who will help us succeed and, as a result, I am confident that our organic growth from existing and new customers will develop.

How has the property development industry changed since you began in the industry? The funding of property activity and in particular development finding from conventional sources is very modest with no real appetite from funders. Development activity has largely stalled on the back of this with the exception of family housing and student accommodation. At Adderstone, I have needed to adapt strategy to take into account the current environment. Our development programmes are realistic and achievable and in tune to this market but I would welcome any consideration given by the planning authorities to develop a set of initiatives which can eradicate the barriers to our sector such as removing onerous planning requirements and restrictions or enabling land release in high demand locations. For further information on Adderstone Group visit www.adderstonegroup.com

BUSINESS

Where is your business going? Asks Rod Findlay, consultant at Your Sport Consulting.

EXPERT VIEW Rod Findlay Consultant Your Sport Consulting Twitter: @RodFindlay

usiness continuity management planning is an essential companion to your organisation’s strategy. And that needs regular review. As does your strategy. Your strategy is for when things go right and your business continuity for when things go wrong. When did you last review your strategy? It is vital to take a moment away from the day-to-day and to stop and contemplate what you are trying to achieve and the strategy you employ. Strategy comes from the Latin for war council; convene your war council. The time a business spends analysing strategy is repaid several times over. Good practice would suggest that this is done at least annually. Unless you force yourself to go through this exercise or engage someone to work on it with you, there is a real risk you will just accept where your business is and fall foul of hedonic adaptation. In his excellent book The Upside of Irrationality, Dan Ariely gives over a chapter to adaptation. This is the theory that you get used to your situation – good or bad – and accept it for what it is.

What is our vision? Without getting into the debate about what exactly visions and mission statements mean and whether or not they are the same thing, every business needs to set out a vision of

what it is trying to achieve. Do you want to be the most highly regarded niche firm in your industry or perhaps a national general practice? Setting out a long term ambition for your organisation, whatever the industry, is important. Every organisation will have a different vision. Ideally you would want all of your staff to know and understand your vision. If they have played a part in forming it or at least understand how their role helps deliver the overall vision then you will have a more motivated workforce. Newcastle United must have a strategy but you get the impression that it doesn’t filter through the organisation. On the other hand, Newcastle Falcons, last season, the promotion season, seemed to unite everyone behind getting back into the Premiership.

How do we achieve that? So, once we have a vision or we have redefined it, it is then time to look at how this might be achieved. The vision is likely to be a long term target and the strategy needs to make decisions as to how the company will get there. It will also set interim targets – this might be to grow sales by 10 per cent each year for the next five years, for example. Each company and industry will have different elements required of a strategy but they are all likely to be underpinned by ‘business

strategies’ covering marketing, financial management, IT and human resources.

The benefits of a fresh pair of eyes You will know your business better than anyone else. However, having someone question your assumptions and be a sounding board for your ideas can be a real benefit. Having worked at a sports club where the governing body provided feedback on the adopted strategy and having performed that role myself, I am a great believer in the benefits of external input. Dan Ariely has two chapters in his book called the Ikea Effect and the Not Invented Here Bias. In summary, he suggests that people place greater value on things they have created themselves over the identical object created by someone else and how businesses accept internally developed ideas as more useful than those from other organisations. He gives the example of Edison’s love for DC electricity, which he created, and his campaign against AC electricity, which he could have patented as the inventor Nikola Tesler worked for him. AC came to prevail as it had the scale and scope for extensive use of electricity and Edison lost out. Review your strategy and have your assumptions challenged so that you don’t commit the modern day equivalent.

BUSINESS Eaglescliffe Station, which is awaiting redevelopment.

Life on track Jessica Laing talks business, hobbies and challenges with Alex Nelson, station master of Chester-le-Track. customer remains the same. I very much doubt I would ever want to take over a third station, though. Two is quite enough!

What were your career ambitions when you were younger? I think my first preference was to be the chief cashier of the Bank of England, until I realised I would have to spend a vast amount of time signing banknotes! I was 16-years-old when I covered the switchboard and mailroom at my father’s office, in London, for a few weeks in 1977. Later, I worked as a messenger at British Petroleum and a booking clerk at London Victoria Coach Station. I began studying Geography at University College, Durham, in 1980 and later completed an MBA at Newcastle University in 1992. After graduation, I was recruited on to the National Bus Company’s Senior Management Training Scheme and, after two years in Norfolk, I was posted back to the North East to join, what was then, Go-Ahead Northern in a series of management positions.

whether they want full flexibility or the cheapest journey.

In a small business, cash flow is king. I get a text from the bank at 7.03am every weekday, showing the balance and the recent payments in and out, and I mentally have to calculate what will be the requirements of the business over the next few days.

Tell us about Chester-le-Track.

What is your role at Chester-le-Track?

How do you spend your free time?

Chester-le-Track grew out of a tour operating business, which I started in 1996, called Mayfair Group Travel. We arranged travel mostly by coach, but many of our customers wanted to travel by train instead, and group rates were no better than what they could buy for themselves at stations. The solution was to create our own independent station at Chester-le-Street and, in 2012, another one at Eaglescliffe with five trains a day to London. We cater for anyone who chooses to travel by train, especially people who do not want to book on the internet and who want to speak to a real person about their journey and

As station master, I run the retail side of the rail business, but I also get involved with policy and planning and grow the internet business.

I am active in Rotary and, this year, I am president of the Rotary Club of Chester-le-Street. I am also a member of the Clothworkers’ Company - one of the senior livery companies of the City of London - and have done many charity visits assessing grant applications from the North East. I also arrange events for the Royal Society of St. George and enjoy being at home with my wife, Pauline, and getting out on the old railway track on my mountain bike.

What is your favourite thing about your job? I appreciate the variety and enjoy the travel, but I enjoy coming home, too. I don’t work shifts at the station, but I do get involved with planning and policy work. I also write articles and travel widely.

…and the most challenging?

How has Chester-le-Track evolved over the years? The main thing is that it’s much bigger. In 1999, we started with just three members of staff and we now have ten at two locations: Chester-le-Street and Eaglescliffe. The commitment to personal service and finding the best ticket for the

For more information, visit www.chester-letrack.co.uk

LEGAL & FINANCIAL NEWS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Apprentices join PwC The Newcastle office welcomes 18 graduates as part of its training progamme.

wC’s Newcastle office hired 18 graduates last month as part of its Higher Apprenticeships programme. Paul Woolston, office senior partner, PwC Newcastle, said: “We are very proud of our graduate scheme and continually develop and invest in it so it remains market leading. This will ensure we attract and retain the best graduates who will, in the future, help our clients grow and achieve their objectives. “Our Higher Apprenticeship scheme, which has increased the number of recruits this year in Newcastle, has also enabled us to attract talent from a wider pool than ever before. It is an exciting time to be joining the Newcastle office, as we continue to recruit specialists across all levels, as well as look forward to our office move next year." The graduates join the firm across its tax, assurance, consulting, actuarial and advisory practices.

Nominations for Evolution

ees Valley-based business and tax advisory firm, Evolution LLP, is in the running to be named Employer of the Year and Independent Firm of the Year (North) at the British Accountancy Awards 2013. Partners of the firm, together with some of the team members, will be attending the awards ceremony in London, on November 20. Martin Barber, managing partner at Evolution, said: “We are very proud to have been shortlisted for two British Accountancy Awards, where we, a regional company, will be recognised alongside much larger and more established national accountancy firms.”

Archers Law welcomes accreditation

rchers Law has welcomed moves by the legal profession to introduce quality standards for wills, probate and the administration of estates. The Law Society has launched a new accreditation scheme, which places solicitors at the heart of will-writing by introducing practical guidelines and recommended best practices. David Collier, a partner at Archers, said: “This accreditation is about positioning knowledgeable and experienced solicitors as the natural place to go. Otherwise you could end up paying a lot more for someone who doesn’t know what they are doing.”

Sintons advises on £62.5m sale

aw firm Sintons has advised on a £62.5m deal, which saw a North Eastbased healthcare property developer and investor acquired by a rival. Trinity Medical Properties, which owns 32 medical centres, has been bought by Assura, based in the North West. The Newcastle firm has worked with Trinity Medical since 2002, and advised the selling shareholders in this deal. Some of the properties operated in the North East by Trinity Medical include Redburn Park Medical Centre, in North Shields, and Woodlands Park Health Centre, in Wideopen.

LAW & FINANCE

Freshers, fees and funding Lucinda Connell from Major Family Law tackles the issue of maintenance for university-aged children.

EXPERT VIEW Lucinda Connell Senior solicitor Major Family Law Tel: (01661) 824582 Email: Lucinda@majorfamilylaw.co.uk Web: www.majorfamilylaw.co.uk

t’s that time of the year again when Britain’s motorways are littered with cars stuffed to the gunnels with duvets, suitcases, books and kettles, as tearful parents deposit their fledglings at university to start the next stage of their journey into adulthood. Sending your child to university is a significant financial commitment. Despite the fact that they have reached the legal age of majority, and no doubt consider themselves independent adults, many remain financially dependent upon their parents throughout their three or four year or longer degree, relying on them for assistance with the cost not only of tuition fees and accommodation costs, but with general living and travel expenses. Some of this may be covered by a student loan but it is rare that the loan on its own is enough to support even the most budget conscious of students. When you and your child’s other parent are separated or divorced, the worry of funding a student lifestyle can seem even more burdensome. There is a general misconception that maintenance for children ends without

exception when that child leaves school, either at 16 or after A levels. Most child maintenance matters are now dealt with by the Child Support Agency (CSA), and it is true that their jurisdiction ends when the child reaches 16 or 19 if still in full time education. However, if the non-resident parent is unwilling to continue to assist financially by voluntary agreement, it is possible to apply to the court for a maintenance order, which can cover the child’s time in higher education. Primarily, it will be the parent with whom the student resides (when not at university) who will make the application to the court, although there is provision for the child himself to make an application. It is also worthy of note that any application will need to be made before the child turns 18, and in the case of an already existing order, before the terms of that order expire. If the court is satisfied that a child has a financial need and that the non-resident parent has the ability to pay, then it is likely that the court will require the parent to provide support during a gap year and/or university course. The availability of student loans and grants or the

possibility of a child working is not an argument against an order being made. Unlike CSA payments, the court has the power to order not only ongoing regular payments, but also if appropriate, a one-off lump sum payment. It can also specify that the payments are to be made direct to the child as opposed to the parent with whom the child normally lives. The Times Higher Education recently reported an increase in divorced mothers seeking legal advice as to whether their former husbands can extend child maintenance payments for children at university. Although there are legal costs associated with making an application to the Court for a maintenance order, it would seem that these are deemed proportionate to the cost of maintaining a child through university. If your child is contemplating university or equivalent beyond school, then plan ahead and don’t discount the opportunity because you are now a single parent. If in doubt, always seek early expert legal advice. Many local solicitors offer free initial appointments which will enable you to gain general advice before deciding which route to take.

LAW & FINANCE

Boosting your savings Is investing in stocks and shares the answer to low interest rates? Asks Ian Lowes of Lowes Financial Management.

n his first major speech since becoming Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney told business leaders that interest rates would not rise from 0.5 per cent unless unemployment falls to 7 per cent. He added that there was a one in three chance of this happening within the next two years. While this is great news for borrowers, it brings no joy to savers with money in low interest paying cash deposit accounts. With inflation measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) at 2.8 per cent, research by Which? in August revealed that out of 804 cash accounts just one had a rate that would beat inflation for a basic rate taxpayer. As a result, many more savers are becoming investors and transferring their Cash ISAs to Stocks and Shares ISAs and investing. For anyone who has built up a substantial pot of cash in ISAs over the years, transferring a proportion into Stocks and Shares ISAs could allow them to benefit from better returns while balancing their overall savings portfolio. Savers making the transfer have to accept that they are giving up the relative security of saving in cash for the potentially better returns they can achieve through investments, which are generally perceived to be riskier. The paradox being that taking no risk could transpire to be the biggest risk of all as the current environment dictates that money held on deposit is as good as guaranteed to lose value in real terms. It should never be forgotten that the acceptance of stock market and other risks does not always transpire in the best possible outcome. Investors need to be prepared to accept the worst case scenario and that there may be periods when investments do not out-perform depositbased returns and/or losses are ultimately realised. Those prepared to ride out the vagaries

EXPERT VIEW Ian Lowes Managing director Lowes Financial Management Tel: (0191) 281 8811 Email: enquiry@lowes.co.uk Web: www.lowes.co.uk

of market movements have a chance of maintaining the real value of their capital and may just profit substantially. There are many stock market-based investments in the market with varying degrees of investment risk. Many will try to beat or track a stock market index, and if those stocks and shares or the index they invest in fall, then that can affect your capital. One potential way to achieve better than cashbased returns without exposing the capital directly to the stock market is to use structured products. In general terms, a structured product is

linked to a stock market index – often the FTSE 100 – which means that they can offer higher potential returns than most cash deposit accounts because they expose the capital to investment risk but, unlike most other stock market-based investments, they can provide a degree of protection against all but the most extreme market risk. There are two types of structured products – structured deposits and structured investments. Structured deposits typically offer a fixed return or a percentage of the rise in the stock market and return a gain as long as the index is higher at the maturity date than it was at the start of the investment. The deposit returns the invested capital no matter what the stock market has done. So even if stock market falls dramatically, although this might affect a potential gain, investors will not lose their capital. Structured investments are linked to a stock market but typically offer greater potential returns as they carry risk of potential loss. Such could be from the stock market suffering a fall to the extent that it loses half its value over the investment term or the bank behind the contract failing (noting that structured deposits have the potential protection of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in such circumstances). There are comparison websites where you can learn more about structured products but keep in mind that they’re not all the same – and buying direct from the bank rather than from an Independent and Chartered Financial Planner is not likely to be in your best interests. Putting your money in investments can seem more daunting than opening a deposit account but remember that an investment portfolio shouldn't be seen as a complete alternative to deposit accounts but a complement to them. If you have any doubts then seek advice.

LAW & FINANCE

The monthly report With Richard Clark of Barclays.

Towards a more balanced growth In August, markets continued to reflect investor uncertainty about monetary policy normalisation. The Bank of England (BoE) – following the lead of the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve (Fed) – formally introduced forward-rate guidance signalling to markets that rates should remain low until approximately mid-2016. However, three conditions were attached to the guidance and, along with the bank’s upward revision to its UK GDP forecast and the harder-line of Governor Mark Carney, meant that the announcement had less impact than anticipated. In fact, sterling (GBP) rallied on the news. Economic data in the UK seems to have very closely followed the weather in recent times. Through a gloomy winter (coldest in 50 years) and spring (coldest in more than 100 years), UK economic data consistently surprised on the downside as the economy teetered on the edge of recession, with some even arguing that the economy never left recession. However, with this summer proving the warmest since the scorching summer of 2006, the UK economy has clearly heated up with upside surprises in GDP, manufacturing and services surveys, industrial production and consumer spending. Despite the recent upside news, we remain cautious about the UK’s medium-term growth prospects. Given the disappointment of 2012, when the euro crisis caused significant harm to UK net trade and business investment, some recovery in 2013 was always likely, but

EXPERT VIEW Richard Clark Private banker Barclays Web: www.barclays.com/wealth

this is a recovery predicated more on the absence of bad news than the emergence of significant positive developments. The eurozone economy moved out of an 18-month-long recession with Q2 GDP growth in positive territory. A breakdown of the result showed that net exports and domestic demand both contributed positively to growth. The positive contribution from domestic demand was on the back of positive growth in investment and consumption, including both private and public consumption. Investment growth was stronger than expected, even if some improvement had been anticipated on the back of an abnormally weak Q1 due to harsh weather (which led to abnormally low construction investment). August proved a difficult month for equities, with the MSCI World down 2.3 per cent although, year to date, the index is up by almost 9 per cent. The US’ S&P 500 fell by over 3 per cent during August. The 10-year treasury yield rose slightly to 2.8 per cent. Emerging market bonds also continued to sell off, with yields rising on concerns that tightened global liquidity – from US

monetary policy normalisation – along with prospects of a strengthening USD, will not bode well for countries with large USDdenominated debt. As we enter the final third of 2013, we continue to see the prospective tapering of quantitative easing at the Federal Reserve – and perhaps even the limitations of ‘forward guidance’ in the US and Europe – as a welcome step on the road to monetary normalisation. Economic growth is probably not dependent on central bank support – recent data on both sides of the Atlantic have shown some improvement – but still-high bond prices likely are. When the dust settles, we expect stocks to outperform further. We can see the possibility of a short-term rally in bonds, and renewed nerves in stocks – perhaps as the German election on September 22 looms closer. However, we would use this as an opportunity for underinvested portfolios to rebalance towards stocks, both tactically and strategically. We doubt the election result will fan the stillsmouldering euro crisis back into flame. We also think that the narrow economic implications of the tragic events again unfolding in the Middle East will be limited, despite the high cost in wider, human terms. Emerging markets are cheaper than they were, but we still prefer developed stocks (and bonds). Several high-profile countries have disappointed – although not China (for a welcome change this month) – and emerging markets generally are sensitive to further portfolio outflows triggered by that monetary normalisation.

Barclays Wealth Management is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member of the London Stock Exchange. Share prices and the income from them can go down as well as up. Readers are advised to seek professional investment opinion before entering into dealings in securities mentioned in this article, which may be unsuitable in their personal financial circumstances.

LAW & FINANCE

Championing dementia across the region Rebecca Harbron-Gray of Gordon Brown is helping people in the North East understand dementia and support those families living with the disease.

t is estimated that over 800,000 people live with dementia in the UK with numbers set to rise to over one million by 2021; so it’s no wonder that a growing number of volunteers are participating in an initiative that improves peoples understanding of dementia and, more importantly to one volunteer, highlights the important role communities can play in helping suffers. Earlier this year, head of Wills and Probate at Gordon Brown Law Firm, Rebecca Harbron-Gray, became a Dementia Friends Champion, an Alzheimer’s Society initiative funded by the Government and has been doing her bit by encouraging local MPs to sign up for the campaign. The Government-funded scheme aims to improve peoples’ understanding of dementia and its effects by working with volunteers and organisations. By gaining this qualification individuals can make a real difference by hosting support groups for those dealing with dementia in whatever shape or form that might be. Rebecca says: “It’s really important people take notice of what a Dementia Friends champion volunteer can do to make a

difference. Support groups are not only there for those affected by dementia, but also encourage others to make a positive difference to people living with dementia in their community. “The North East is a very important place to me and I want to make communities aware of those affected in the region. Talking about the personal impact of dementia and giving out advice on how people can help is just one way a Dementia Friends champion can make a difference.” Further to her role as a Dementia Friends champion, Rebecca has been hosting dementia care clinics to inspire people with the skills and information to support people living with dementia. Rebecca continues: “It was staggering to discover that globally there are more clinical trials on hay fever than on some of the most common forms of dementia. “We need to conduct more research into this condition so we can discover more effective treatments to help people manage it.” Dementia Friends is aiming to recruit one million ‘champions’ by 2015 so that people

living with this condition can feel included in their communities. It has recently engaged four more of Gordon Brown Law Firm’s employees, to support Rebecca at her sessions and host joint discussions with attendees. Having five representatives as Dementia Friends champions provides a great opportunity for the firm to host sessions at its regional offices in Newcastle and Chester-leStreet, to further spread the awareness. Rebecca, already a qualified Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), is one of the region’s few solicitors for the Elderly (SFE) and will be holding a series of seminars and talks over the coming months, to get the message out there to support and connect future generations with dementia support and equip them with the skills and information to maintain the region’s awareness. Gordon Brown Law Firm will be announcing its forthcoming schedule of dementia seminars soon. Anyone interested in attending future talks should call (0191) 389 5181.

LAW & FINANCE

Moving business funding forward Peter Cromarty, head of sales at Bibby Financial Services North East, reveals how the invoice finance specialist is helping SMEs access funds through its Forward Finance product.

Peter Cromarty

ollowing the economic downturn of 2008, businesses in the UK are leaner and tougher than ever before and, according to a recent study by Freelancer.co.uk, the number of people setting up micro-businesses has increased by up to 24 per cent over the past 12 months. The UK’s growing army of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) is now starting to look ahead to the future and there have been encouraging signs in the economy, with growth across sectors throughout the first half of the year. But many small and micro-business owners still talk of a lack of credit available to them and this threatens to stifle the Government’s plans for sustained economic growth. A recent survey of 1000 SMEs by Bibby Financial Services found, of businesses which have applied for bank funding in the past six months, almost one in five had been refused. Poor personal credit history was the reason given to 37 per cent, with over a quarter being declined because they were new ventures. For new startups or businesses in their infancy, this is an almost impossible predicament. Of the North East businesses that took part in the survey, 50 per cent said that maintaining cash flow was their biggest concern. It is therefore crucial that SMEs are able to spread their gaze

beyond the banks to secure funding which is both flexible and suitable for their needs. Last month, Bibby Financial Services launched Forward Finance – a new invoice finance solution developed for businesses with turnover of less than £300k and a funding requirement of up to £50k. This new funding facility is being managed from our North East office in Sunderland and it works by helping businesses to quickly release cash tied-up in unpaid invoices. We have spent time researching the market and businesses have told us the speed at which funds can be released is critical to their choice when selecting a source of funding. With this in mind, Forward Finance can be set up within five working days and once in place, funds can be released within 24 hours of an invoice submission. The businesses we have spoken with say they want a clear and transparent charging structure, so there is one simple fee and no setting up charges. Our research also shows that SMEs require flexibility and do not want to be tied into long term contracts. Forward Finance offers this flexibility through a rolling 28 day contact, enabling businesses to access funding as and when they need.

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, there are over 4.8 million businesses in the UK. Each SME is unique and all have differing funding requirements to one another. It is therefore crucial that business owners are aware of the options available to them when considering how to improve their cash flow situation. It’s evident that traditional lending channels aren’t always available to SMEs – particularly new start-ups - but invoice finance can form an important part of the funding mix for those in any stage of the business life cycle. This isn’t to suggest that invoice finance is the right solution for every business, but for the vast majority of SMEs, unlocking value from unpaid invoices can provide them with working capital they require to grow and to operate more efficiently. Forward Finance has been extremely well received in the market and we are delighted that we have been able to develop a finance solution managed in the North East, but meeting the needs of small businesses throughout the country. For further information on Forward Finance contact the North East team on (0191) 516 5925 or email pcromarty@bibbyfinancialservices.com

LAW & FINANCE

Red letter days ahead? Could the Royal Mail sell-off deliver handsome results to investors? Asks Brewin Dolphin's Steven Keppie.

EXPERT VIEW Steven Keppie Assistant director Brewin Dolphin Tel: (0191) 279 7431 Email: Steven.keppie@brewin.co.uk Web: www.brewin.co.uk

ecent news outlining the Government’s plans to sell-off Royal Mail for £3bn later this year could present an investment opportunity for private investors as well as employees and institutions. The chance to buy shares at a discount and the potential for rapid growth following flotation could prove attractive to investors. While the sale of such a massive and socially critical institution has been criticised by the Communication Workers Union, it would give Royal Mail access to the financial markets, and allow it to raise capital in order to grow and compete in today’s market place. Crucially, the Government will retain a minority stake in Royal Mail. An additional 10 per cent will be offered free to eligible employees with the rest of the shares available to private investors. The sale is reminiscent of the privatisations under Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s and in particular the Tell Sid campaign for British Gas. Back then the notion of selling nationalised industries into private ownership was largely

untested and there was uncertainty whether the public would support the issues. There were concerns that private investors would not get involved, leaving large institutional investors able to pick up the shares at bargain prices. Thankfully, this turned out not to be the case. In 1984, BT was the first well known public sector company to be sold and private investors welcomed the offer. More than two million people participated keen to purchase the discounted shares offered at a price of 130p. The success of the BT sale paved the way for further privatisations during the 80s and 90s, the majority of which were floated successfully. The wave of sell-offs then presented opportunities for investors and the Tell Sid advertising campaign for British Gas can now be regarded as an investment success story. Many of the other privatised electricity, gas and water companies also performed well and most have since been taken over by larger European utilities, or infrastructure funds resulting in investors receiving cash, usually on a premium valuation. However, this time around there will be no

mass drive to get the public to buy into Royal Mail and a Tell ‘Pat’ advertising campaign, so far, looks unlikely. Announcing profits of £403 million last year, following a programme of modernisation, Royal Mail has slowly adapted to a digital future. Although the volume of letters posted in the UK has dropped dramatically with the advent of email, text and social networking sites, by contrast, parcel deliveries have boomed as a result of the take-off in online shopping and this side of the business now accounts for half of all turnover. The parcel industry is believed to be worth around £75bn in total, although Royal Mail will have to fight hard to remain ahead of the game, with stiff competition from firms such as DHL. The real question for investors is whether buying shares in Royal Mail will be a money making opportunity. As the sale process gets under way we can expect the Prospectus to be thoroughly analysed and pundits argue as to the merits of an investment. However, it will be the issue price which ultimately will decide whether investors give it the stamp of approval.

LAW & FINANCE

Left to right: Alok Loomba (Sintons), Geeta Ral and Dave Coulson (Peace and Loaf) and Katrina Hopkin (Sintons).

Peace and Loaf on Tyneside A restaurant which boasts innovative new cuisine – headed up by its very own master chef – is opening in the North East, with the help of Sintons law firm. eace and Loaf, based in Jesmond, will open its doors in early autumn. As a partner in the new venture, and its head chef, the Peace and Loaf menu is crafted by 2010 Masterchef: The Professionals finalist, Dave Coulson. Working in partnership with Bob and Neeta Arora, the team that brings Punjabi perfection to the region at Sachins, on Forth Banks in Newcastle, Dave and business associate Geeta Ral are bringing their extensive experience and passion for exquisite dining to North East diners. With an investment of over £250,000, the 50-seat restaurant, set over three floors, will boast a modern and vibrant layout, offering raw and simple British fayre, with new ideas. Geeta Ral, sister of Neeta, director and business manager, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming our guests into Peace and Loaf. We’ve all worked day and night to ensure that everything is completely perfect. “We’re currently recruiting three chefs, ten front of house staff – as well as offering three apprenticeships to catering students from

Gateshead College - for the best possible team to ensure each visit to our restaurant is memorable for all the right reasons. It’s a really exciting time and we’re thrilled to be able to offer this opportunity to those looking to follow in Dave’s footsteps.” Dave said: “There’s a lot of pressure on youngsters to perform well in exams; I don’t have any formal qualifications, I’ve just been fortunate to gain invaluable experience. It is with that we decided we’d take on apprentices in the restaurant, being able to share my knowledge and vibrant career history with young chefs is a dream come true.” Newcastle law firm Sintons has handled all of the legal aspects of the opening of Peace and Loaf. Alok Loomba, partner in the real estate department, led the transaction, assisted by Katrina Hopkin of the Company and Commercial Department, in respect of the commercial law aspects of the new venture. Sintons has worked with Bob, Neeta, David, Geeta and the team throughout the duration of the project.

Alok said: “Peace and Loaf promises to be a fantastic venue which will offer a unique mix of informality and a welcoming atmosphere, alongside serving outstanding food cooked by a nationally-regarded chef. Bob, having years of experience with Sachin’s Restaurant, and Geeta, with her design flair, have worked hard over many months drawing up plans for how Peace and Loaf will look and operate. Alongside David with his culinary brilliance and excellent reputation, this promises to be a very exciting new venture. “Together, they have done an excellent job in creating a venue of this calibre, and I am very pleased that Sintons could support them in achieving this.” Dave concludes: “It is with great anticipation that we put together the Peace and Loaf menu, and I ask that you keep your mind and heart as open as the doors to our restaurant, and as well as your appetite you bring your eagerness to try our new take on classic cuisine.” For further information on Sintons visit www.sintons.co.uk

LAW & FINANCE

Front Row, from left: Mohammad Malik, Meenu Malhotra, Bunty Malhotra and Atul Malhotra (Malhotra Group). Back Row, from left: Christopher Welch (Sintons), Dan Jewitt (EY), Martin Greenwood (RBS), Paul Chamberlain (EY) and Alok Loomba (Sintons).

Major restructuring for Malhotra Sintons helps the Malhotra Group restructure and secure multi-million pound funding in its search to gain PLC status. he Malhotra Group owns and runs divisions specialising in care, leisure and commercial property investment and development. The Group has grown over the years to become a business with a consolidated turnover of about £40 million across the various companies and businesses which make up the Group. Now, following a major restructuring operation, involving over 100 properties and numerous businesses, all of the Malhotra holdings have been consolidated into one formal group which in due course will obtain PLC status. RBS have structured the funding using the bank’s Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) which is a Government backed scheme launched by the Bank of England and HM Treasury last July to provide more accessible funding to support SMEs with growth plans. The group restructure has been overseen by Newcastle law firm Sintons, which has worked with the Malhotra Group and its divisions for several years. The creation of Malhotra Group PLC which employs 1000 staff, comes at a time of significant progress for the business, particularly in its care and leisure operations. It is intending to invest

£57 million in care and a further £43 million in leisure over the next five years. This demonstrates the ambition of the Group as well as its continued commitment to the region and new job creation. Meenu Malhotra said: “As a family, with my brother Bunty and sons Atul and Varun, we have been working closely with our advisors for two years to bring about the restructuring with the ultimate intention of running all of our businesses and investments under the umbrella of Malhotra Group PLC. “This is a very exciting time for the Malhotra family and all our divisions. Our achievement and growth would not have been possible without the hard work and loyalty of our dedicated staff. We are also very appreciative of the support from RBS, Sintons and Ernst & Young. “We are proud to be forging strong links with RBS who in spite of the all the negative publicity are lending to local businesses like ours.’ Martin Greenwood, director of Corporate Banking at RBS, said: “The Malhotra Group’s standards of care are unparalleled to most of its competitors in the North East and we were very impressed with the quality of care and the impressive interiors of each home.

“They have an extremely strong business portfolio and we are delighted to be supporting the family as they enter a new period of growth and help Meenu and Bunty secure solid foundations for the next generation of the business with their sons Atul, Varun and Manav.’ Alok Loomba and Christopher Welch, partners in the Real Estate and Corporate departments respectively at Sintons, oversaw the restructure. Alok Loomba said: ‘We have worked closely with the Malhotra Group for a number of years and have seen significant growth throughout the many divisions in their portfolio during that time. “We are very pleased to be able to assist in the latest stage of their progress, which we hope can support Malhotra Group PLC in achieving its growth aspirations regionally and nationally.’ Gordons acted as legal advisors to RBS. The detailed tax and re-structuring advice was provided by Ernst Young (EY). Simon Whiteside, director at EY, said: “The reorganisation of the Malhotra Group will deliver significant operational efficiencies and provide a cleaner and more visible corporate structure in the market place.

LAW & FINANCE

Small businesses thinking big By Greg Bolton, head of corporate finance at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors Ltd. t’s always nice to be able to report some positive news in challenging times, and new research suggesting that increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are expecting to grow over the next 12 months definitely falls into that category. According to the latest Finance Monitor from research company BDRC, 51 per cent of the SMEs that they questioned said they were planning on expansion within their business in the coming year, up from 48 per cent in the previous quarter, which can only be good for both the UK economy that is mostly made up of such business and the bolstering of the ‘market confidence’ that has proved so elusive recently. Another interesting revelation in the BDRC report was the fact that many SMEs appear to be turning away from traditional funding in favour of alternative methods of finance. Just one in three SMES, it suggests, are

Greg Bolton

using loans, overdrafts, commercial mortgages and credit cards to further growth, a figure which has remained almost unchanged from the last quarter, while the research suggests there was a five per cent increase in the number of businesses turning

to friends and family for finance over the same period. Whether this says more about the traditional providers of this type of finance or the SMEs that are approaching them is difficult to say from just bare numbers, but the fact remains that appropriate access to capital remains one of the key drivers for encouraging SMEs to grow, and thus sustain and create employment. Regardless of national trends, SMEs in the North East have an additional avenue to explore for obtaining this capital, in the shape of the Finance For Business North East Fund. The golden rules for making yourself an attractive proposition to potential investors remain constant, whether you’re a small business or a major corporation Being a small business is clearly no bar to thinking big, and it’s in everyone’s interest that our SMEs receive every encouragement to do so.

Tackling late payments A North East business finance expert is backing Government plans to tackle the problem of companies late payments to suppliers. usiness Secretary Vince Cable has recently announced plans to introduce fines for firms that fail to pay invoices on time were under consideration. Modelled on a scheme currently used in Sweden, the penalties system is one of a number of different options being considered by the Government to help reduce the estimated £30bn in outstanding payments that is owed to UK small businesses. Recent research by the Forum of Private Business found that 35 per cent of the SMEs said they had seen a reduction in profits as a result of late payment or bad debts, while 16 per cent reported a noticeable reduction in turnover A voluntary Prompt Payment Code was introduced last year to provide advice and guidance to both suppliers and purchasers, but fewer than half of Britain's biggest companies, who are viewed as being characteristically more likely to pay their bills late, have so far signed up to it.

Stephen Slater

Other proposals under review include initiatives targeted at specific sectors such as construction, where the issue of late payment is believed to be particularly prevalent. Stephen Slater, director of Commercial Services at Gosforth-based RMT Accountants

& Business Advisors, says: “Cash flow is clearly crucial for companies of any size, especially in an economic climate where cash is very much king, but for hundreds of small firms across the region, getting invoices paid on time can mean the difference between staying in business or going under. “With so much emphasis being placed on small businesses’ role in driving the UK’s continuing economic recovery, the Government is acting now to stop late payments becoming an unnecessary and unwanted brake on the whole process. “There are a number of steps that SME owner/managers can take to help solve their late payment problems, and rather than just wait and hope, we would very much recommend that they take proactive steps to resolve such problems before an inconvenience becomes a major issue for the business.” For further information on RMT visit www.r-m-t.co.uk

ADVERTISING FEATURE

Strengthening the team St. James’s Place Wealth Management has recruited three new Partner representatives.

MICHAEL DICKINSON

GAVIN MAHER

JOHN WIGHT

Michael Dickinson of Michael Dickinson Wealth Management provides expert bespoke advice to individuals and businesses in and around the North East. He makes recommendations to clients based on what is important to them and is able to help clients in a number of areas including: building and preserving capital, protection, retirement planning, inheritance tax and estate planning and mortgage advice. Michael commented: "I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to align my business with St. James's Place Wealth Management. “I recognise that each individual client and business has unique requirements, so that's why Michael Dickinson Wealth Management offers a bespoke personal service tailored to our client's specific needs and aspirations. I am busy building excellent relationships with my clients based on trust and the highest levels of on-going service, and I always ensure that my clients are at the very heart of every transaction and that I am there to help them along every step of the way.” [Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage].

Gavin Maher joined St. James’s Place Wealth Management in August 2012 as an Associate Partner. With more than twenty years’ experience working in the financial sector he has dedicated his working life to helping others make the most of their money and realise their financial goals. Over the years, Gavin has worked for some of the most recognised High Street banks, gaining essential experience and numerous qualifications along the way. Gavin is now aiming to grow his business and he has every confidence in his future success helped by the support of his existing clients and regular word of mouth introductions as a result of the superior service he provides. Gavin said: “It is a pleasure to join a talented, focused and experienced team who have provided me the advice and support needed when moving from a banking background into a wealth management environment. This along with expert head office assistance, relating to complex matters such as taxation and trusts* can only serve to benefit my clients.” [Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority].

John Wight is a financial planning specialist serving individuals, families and businesses. Recognising that every client is unique, John Wight Wealth Management offers bespoke advice tailored to client’s individual requirements and circumstances. He is committed to building long-term relationships built on foundations of trust and the highest levels of service and professionalism. John offers advice in all aspects of financial planning, particularly building and preserving capital, personal protection, retirement planning and inheritance tax and estate planning. John said: “In an environment where professional face-to-face financial advice is becoming rare we can give you peace of mind that your finances are in capable professional hands.”

Contact Michael on 07545 628 609 or visit www.michaeldickinsonwealthmanagement.co. uk for more information.

Contact John on (0191) 260 5373 or visit www.johnwightwealthmanagement.co.uk for more information.

Contact Gavin on (0191) 260 5373 or visit www.gavinwmaher.co.uk for more information.

Michael Dickinson Wealth Management, Gavin Maher and John Wight each run separate businesses within St. James's Place and do not operate in legal Partnership with each other. Representing only St. James's Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group's wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group's website at www.sjp.co.uk/products. The title 'Partner' is a marketing term used to describe St. James's Place representatives.

LAW & FINANCE

Big Society benefits for communities How social enterprises can help maintain services and facilities in your area, by Muckle’s Andrew Cawkwell. ommunities concerned about losing services due to public funding cuts can, with some imagination and the right advice, take control of Government-owned assets. Just as businesses should consider restructuring as an opportunity to emerge healthier, communities can also use restructuring to create better community-owned organisations. David Cameron’s Big Society idea is empowering people to take control of the assets that are important to their community – if they choose to take it. This type of restructure is about the imaginative use of resources, getting people together and executing a project to safeguard facilities and services in communities. In a similar way to how schools are becoming academies, standing alone outside of local authority control, the Government is also enabling communities to take control of local assets. Deerness Gymnastics Academy was created when Durham County Council decided to close the leisure centre. The gymnastics academy, which had been using the facilities, decided to take ownership of the infrastructure. It used powers under the Localism Act, which enables

EXPERT VIEW Andrew Cawkwell Partner and head of the Restructuring and Insolvency Muckle LLP Email: andrew.cawkwell@muckle-llp.com

communities to purchase Government-owned assets. The building is now used just for gymnastics, with many children attending the academy, safeguarding a valuable community resource. The most successful social enterprises are run commercially. To do that, it’s best for communities to take the lead, to think about facilities in their local area and consider how to protect, revive or change them. If the asset shuts down because funding reduces, it’s much harder to re-start it than if they take control before closure. Anyone setting up a social enterprise must have the right structures and processes in place from the outset. Often things are organised in a sporadic way, which isn’t the best approach. With the right guidance, people can take control and safeguard assets important to them, reinvigorating communities. At muckle, we can help communities explore possibilities, with advice on the legal structures needed to create Community Interest Companies, a company limited by guarantee, or charities. We provide advice about the formalities of compliance for the charities commission – as well as insight into accessing funding.

ADVERTISING FEATURE

A wealth of knowledge ... By Chris Buckland of Global Wealth Management. s a financial adviser based in the North East of England, my wealth of experience and knowledge in the financial sector enables me to provide my clients with the best possible financial guidance. Through a series of monthly financial advice columns, I now plan to share this knowledge with readers of North East Times. In 2009, I established my own Practice, Global Wealth Management. At the height of our success, I was invited to become an Associate Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management. This relationship has benefited my clients by enabling me to provide them with a holistic personal wealth management service along with access to an approach to investment management that includes some of the leading fund managers from across the globe. I strive to provide sound, honest and reliable wealth management advice to personal and business clients, which is specifically tailored to

both their individual and corporate needs. Through the breadth of wealth management and planning services that I offer, I assist my clients in securing the stability of their financial futures. This includes providing financial solutions for investments and savings,

retirement planning and inheritance tax planning. Over the coming months I hope to be able to provide you with an overview of some of the financial issues many of you will be facing today, whether it be the search for income from your savings, the importance of a will, or planning for a successful retirement. The value of an investment with St. James’s Place may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested. The levels and bases of taxation and reliefs from taxation can change at any time and are generally dependent on individual circumstances. To find out more about the services we provide, how we can help you assess your financial situation and prepare you for your future, visit www.chrisbuckland.co.uk. Alternatively, I am available at my office, on (0191) 2605373. If you’d like to speak to me in person, you can visit our offices at One Trinity Gardens, Broad Chare, Newcastle, NE1 2HF.

The writing of a will involves the referral to a service that is separate and distinct service to those offered by St. James's Place Wealth Management and are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. The Partner Practice represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The ‘St. James’s Place Partnership’ and the titles ‘Partner’ and ‘Partner Practice’ are marketing terms used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.

Rooms with a view Northumberland photographer, Chris Lishman, has helped UNW create the right impact in its new meeting facilities. n entrepreneur is forging a blossoming new career in photography, five years after selling one of the North East's best known garden centres. Photographer Chris Lishman’s work has been added in UNW’s new bepoke meeting rooms, creating an impressive statement wall. Chris, whose family owned and ran the Heighley Gate Garden Centre, near Morpeth, Northumberland, for 45 years before selling to a national operator in 2008, is now applying his retail skills to his fledgling photography business. The 46-year-old, who studied Commercial Photography Practice at Leeds Metropolitan University for three years, following the Heighley Gate sale, also supplies postcards and greetings cards of the black and white panoramic image for UNW's clients to take away. The reception mural was printed and installed on the convex wall by Newcastlebased large format digital printing company, The Rip, and provides a talking point for visitors of the Citygate accountants.

Chris Lishman said: “We sold the garden centre because we had been actively pursued by a large, national chain. As a family, we would have been foolish not to consider it and, given the recent economic climate, I certainly think we made the right decision in deciding to sell.

“I had two options at that stage; either to study for an MBA at Durham University or to pursue something I was passionate about but didn't know a lot about. I decided to go with the latter. “When you see your work in print, like on the UNW wall, it really gives you a buzz and makes you so pleased you decided to follow a passion.” Chris supplies greetings cards of local images in several small retail outlets, including the Holy Island Post Office, The Links Gallery in Whitley Bay and T&G Allan in Morpeth. The former rugby captain has been photographing the Newcastle Falcons this season and is also breaking into tourism photography with several commissions for chalet, villa and hotel photography abroad. UNW managing partner, Andrew Wilson, said: “We advise lots of the region's entrepreneurs on their accounting issues, but it's nice to work with two of the region's small businesses on this purely creative project, which adds an eye catching local focal point to our new reception.”

LAW & FINANCE

Breaking up is hard to do Hay & Kilner’s Nicola Matthews explains some of the options available, when seeking a divorce.

EXPERT VIEW Nicola Matthews Partner and head of Family Law Hay & Kilner Tel: (0191) 232 8345 Email: nicola.matthews@hay-kilner.co.uk Web: www.hay-kilner.co.uk

ivorce is well known as being one of the most stressful life events. We often hear of ‘divorce battles’ but it need not be that way, and choosing the right lawyer is key. At Hay & Kilner, we demystify the legal process and provide you with clear advice about your options. It may be possible for you and your spouse to amicably agree a financial settlement so you may only need a lawyer to draft a legally binding agreement. Your spouse can then choose whether they wish to employ their own lawyer to provide independent advice on the contents. The lawyer who drafted the agreement can only represent one party, not both. Sometimes a couple agree most of their settlement directly but are not sure how to deal with certain aspects, such as shares in a business, pension funds, or maintenance if one party earns substantially less than the other. If this is the case, it is advisable to take specialist advice from a family lawyer who can explain the law in this area, and suggest possible solutions. You can then use your new found knowledge to continue discussing the settlement directly with your spouse.

Alternatively, your lawyer can continue the discussions on your behalf, either with your spouse directly, or their lawyer if they have appointed one. Collaborative family law is a process where parties are willing to talk to each other to reach settlement, but want help from their lawyers during the discussions. This process involves both parties and their lawyer signing an agreement at the outset to say they will be honest, open, civil, and courteous throughout the process and put their children first. They also agree to do their very best to reach a settlement without going to court. If this is not possible, they can go to court, as a last resort, after giving 21 days’ notice. However the sting in the tail is that they would both have to instruct new lawyers. This often incentivises parties to compromise rather than start all over again with new lawyers. Family mediation is where both parties try to reach agreement with an independent third party, who can give them legal information to try and reach their own agreement. The mediator cannot give legal

advice, so it is wise for people undertaking mediation to also appoint a lawyer. If an agreement is reached the lawyer can then be asked to make the agreement legally binding. If you do not feel comfortable with the idea of meeting your spouse, a further option is to employ a lawyer to advise you and communicate on your behalf. If this is your preference it is best to choose a lawyer whom you can trust to have constructive and effective communication with your spouse or their lawyer. This way, you are far more likely to result in a settlement being achieved sooner than you would, when using an aggressive, confrontational lawyer. Going to court to resolve the financial side of your divorce should be the last resort. Unless you negotiate a settlement in the initial stages, the final decision is made by a stranger who knows very little about you and your family. They often do not take into account points that are very important to you. You lose control and the judge declares what assets you are going to get, whether you want them or not. This process is the most expensive and slowest of all of the options.

LAW & FINANCE

A sweet future Andrew Twineham uses a case study – Tommy from Treacle’s Toffees – to illustrate the effects on business owners of some of the imminent changes to employment law. n August we heard how ‘Tommy’ (Alexandra Besnard’s article) at Treacle’s Toffees, was struggling with his finances and facing up to how to best implement redundancies. Thankfully, that nightmare is over. After taking advice, and following it, the process was very emotional for Tommy but, at least it resulted in no legal action. With Christmas on the horizon, things are at last beginning to look up. Orders are buoyant and cash-flow has recovered. It is back to the humdrum of boiling vats of sugar. Over lunch, Tommy puts his feet up and reads his beloved trade paper, Toffee Times. He is alarmed to see a number of changes to employment law in the pipeline. So much for the less ‘red tape’ promised by the Coalition Government! With 70 employees his staff will be automatically enrolled in a pension scheme from July 2014. Thank goodness the redundancies took the figure below 90, otherwise, it would have been May. Larger employers are even sooner. From September 1, 2013 he can offer employees shares in the company in return

Andrew Twineham

for them giving up certain rights. The national minimum wage increases as ever, on October 1, 2013. It will be £6.31 for those who are aged 21 or over. At least he doesn’t have to worry about contractors harassing his staff anymore. From October 1, 2013 the protection from harassment by third parties set out in the

Equality Act is repealed. But where does that leave him? He remembers reading in the papers way before the Equality Act came into force that companies had been in trouble where a guest speaker at a dinner had verbally abused waitresses. TUPE changes are afoot as well. That need not bother him; he thinks: he has no plans to sell the business. But what about when the contracts for the factory caterers and cleaners are up for renewal in 2014? Further down the line it looks as though from April 2014 there will be a universal right to request flexible working. Tommy can’t even begin to contemplate that at the moment. He has Christmas production to get out of the way first. Tommy knows and accepts his own limitations. He moaned at the time but, with hindsight he was glad to have spent a few pounds up-front dealing with the redundancy exercise and will do so again the next time he feels a bit nervous about ‘employee rights’. For more information on employment law, contact Langridge Employment Law on (0191) 222 1221.

Corporate finance briefing ... with Mark Irving, director at Irving Ramsay Limited.

was at a board meeting recently and, as we discussed another month of really good growth for my client coupled with another month of frenzied activity by the directors, I knew it was time to talk about this company starting to implement some systems. As we discussed how this might work, where our initial focus should lie and, critically, how you actually start such a process, I realised that the conversation we were having mirrored another I had been involved in only a couple of weeks earlier with another client at another board meeting. At that moment I knew what this month’s column would address. It is not really part of my role to deliver expert advice on system implementation but, if your business has grown significantly over a period of time, I can tell you firsthand how challenging it makes the process of selling a business if there are no systems in operation so that everything (not just the big decisions) goes through the owner. If, as an SME owner, you are critical to the ongoing day-to-day operations of your business it is going to be tough to prise the premium price you desire out of potential acquirers

because, unless you are prepared to remain heavily involved for a significant period of time post sale, you are going to leave something of a vacuum. Doing so would clearly not bode well for the post completion performance of the business, the integration of the business into a new group or the earnings growth the acquirer was most likely hoping to achieve post acquisition. On this basis, I would urge SME owners

not to fear implementing systems because of a perception that you may lose control of critical business processes but, instead, embrace them. If you adopt a thorough approach to designing, implementing and maintaining systems your company should still operate effectively but without as much granular input from you. This might even create some spare time for you to think more strategically about the development of the business and so actually help deliver greater levels of financial performance. Doing so might then just have enhanced both the multiple on which your business will be valued and the earnings figure to which the multiple is applied – not a bad outcome, I would suggest. If you are thinking about selling your business or grooming it for sale and would like a candid view from a team of experienced professionals, contact Mark at mark.irving@irvingramsay.com or call 07730 437 617. Alternatively, visit www.irvingramsay.com or twitter: @IrvingRamsay.

LAW & FINANCE

Lifting the lid on Patent Box Jon Dudgeon, co-owner of Blu Sky Chartered Accountants in North Shields, reveals how a little known form of tax relief could help your company.

t Blu Sky we are constantly updating our knowledge to ensure we offer our clients the best advise and tax guidance. We have previously identified the potential opportunities available to our clients claiming research and development tax credits. Patent Box came into force in April this year, and it is still relatively unexplored by most. Put simply it offers a reduced rate of corporation tax on profits that are derived from patents. This can be as low as 10 per cent. It works in two ways – a company that has been involved in the development of a patent can claim, as can a company that owns the patent or exclusive rights to use one either in the UK or elsewhere in the EU. Tax relief can be claimed through Patent Box on the income or the sales of items incorporating something that is patented,

There is also relief around the ‘single item’ rule. This can be generous and states that a single item such as a car, power tool or machine be sold including a component that has a patent then the profits derived from the sale of the entire product qualify for inclusion as patent box income. Once any eligible income has been identified then that’s when the fun really starts as the Patent Box profit needs to be calculated via the application of a several complex formulae that adjust the Patent Box income for associated expenditure. It can make a huge difference to your end of year tax bill, and any accountant worth their salt should be all over this right now for any qualifying clients.

licence fees from other users of the patent, sales of patent rights and damages for infringement of the patent.

Further information on Blu Sky visit www.bluskytax.co.uk or call (0191) 258 7676.

EVENT

Lit & Phil summer dinner The historic library hosts an event at the Copthorne Hotel Newcastle opthorne Hotel Newcastle hosted the prestigious Lit & Phil Library’s Summer Dinner Party on August 22. This event was special for the library, as it was the first external dinner party it has held, starting what is planned as an annual summer highlight from here on. A truly great night was had by all who attended the event, which was devised and organised by Santander and Alma Devine, who manages fundraising and memberships for the library. The key priority for the event was to raise local awareness and much-needed funds for the library, which needs new members to ensure sustainability for its future, as the largest independent library outside of London. Sir Philip Mansel, Bt. spoke after dinner to both entertain guests and remind everyone of the very real need to show support for the library as a key educational charity, which started as gentlemen’s conversation rooms in 1793. A prestigious attendee list for the evening included a significant number of key supporters of the library, with members of its Board of Trustees in attendance to support the event. Following a drinks reception supported by Santander, guests enjoyed a delicious dinner prior to a charity auction and musical entertainment from Christine Kay and her band. Ken Ellington, general manager of the Copthorne commented: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with both Santander & Alma Devine on this event. As a key hotel partner within the city, it is always beneficial to work with such important organisations to drive cultural awareness and to support such an event”.

For any enquiries regarding the Lit & Phil Library, Alma Devine can be contacted on almadevine@litandphil.org.uk, (0191) 232 0192. For any enquiries regarding the Copthorne Hotel Newcastle, Ken Ellington can be contacted on ken.ellington@millenniumhotels.co.uk, (0191) 222 0333.

BUSINESS

Don’t just work in your business, work on it ... says Mike Jobson of Oxford Innovation. ost people I see in business are fully committed to excellent customer service. However the most successful leaders also make sure they spend time looking after their own business. It’s especially important to have this in mind in those heady early days of a business start-up. With only the best intentions, that’s when the new entrepreneur can often find themselves multi-tasking in all aspects of production, finance, business development, admin and more. It’s incredibly difficult to retain focus on all of these aspects of a business and it doesn’t get any easier when a spinning plate falls to the floor and there are pieces to pick up. Good quality customer service is essential in business and delivering on time, in full and to budget is a prerequisite for success. However to sustain growth in your business, you need to work on it as well as in it. Just being aware of the risks of neglecting your own business is a good start. Once you

Mike Jobson.

acknowledge you need to look after your own interests as well as those of your customers, there are steps you can take to ensure your organisation remains on course to maximise its growth potential. It might be as easy as just allocating a small part of your

day or week to your own basic business development. For example, when did you last look at your own website to check it’s still functioning and topical? If you have staff, manage and motivate them effectively. That starts with your recruitment process and extends throughout their personal development. If you get that right, you can delegate with confidence and therefore free-up even more of your own time to lead rather than to do. Of course, it’s not always so simple and that’s when you should consider additional support. So ask yourself, ‘how much time do I spend working on my business?’ You’ll know if it’s enough. If it isn’t, I’d encourage you to take some expert advice from an experienced, qualified business coach. Mike Jobson is manager of the Business Northumberland High Growth Programme. Contact him at m.jobson@oxin.co.uk or on (01670) 528403.

TECHNOLOGY NEWS IN ASSOCIATION WITH

The sky’s the limit Funding helps local company develop pioneering eco product.

atural Technology Developments Ltd (NTD), based in Ponteland, has secured a total of £180,000 from Northstar Ventures’ Finance For Business North East Proof of Concept Fund and a private investor to design develop and manufacture its new product, Solar Angel, in the North East. The new slim line dual generation panel combines solar PV and solar thermal technologies to allow consumers to generate both electricity and hot water from the sun’s rays, and its unique cooling system helps generate more electricity than PV on its own. NTD’s managing director Paul Laidler said: “Once certified, Solar Angel will better match the growing clean-tech demands of the UK and international markets. It is the slimmest profile PV-T currently being tested and it can be fully integrated with other natural technologies such as wind turbines and heat pumps.

Solar Angel’s Jo Walters and Paul Laidler

CCTV on the move

North East taxi company has installed state of the art CCTV in its fleet, thanks to Hadrian Technology. C&D Taxis, which operates across Tyne and Wear, has installed cameras in its cars, which record both inside and outside the vehicle, helping to reduce insurance costs for the company. Gary Trotter, general manager at Hadrian Technology said: “Local councils around the UK are discussing legislation that will require all licensed vehicles to install CCTV, ensuring the safety of passengers.”

Aspire hires

teve Laverick has joined the senior management team at Gatesheadbased Aspire Technology Solutions as Technology Solutions Manager after working in the IT industry for 26 years. Steve previously worked for Croft Technology and TSG and has worked with many high-profile companies during his career such as Barbour, Jewson, Newcastle Airport and even the Royal Household. Nigel Begg, Aspire managing director, said: “It’s great to have a man of Steve’s calibre and experience on board. He’s a serious player in the regional IT world and will enable us to give an even better service to our customers.”

Quest set for take off

mble-based QuestUAV – which manufactures small unmanned aircraft that carry digital photographic equipment for mapping and surveillance purposes – has turned to Oxford Innovation in search of specialist business coaching. QuestUAV founder Nigel King’s brief to Mike Jobson, Oxford Innovation's programme manager, was to support him and his team in developing a strategy to take QuestUAV's innovative product range into new markets Nigel explained: "Mike's wealth of experience in marketing has been so helpful and his ongoing support is providing us with the commercial focus we were previously lacking.”

TECHNOLOGY Steve Nelson

ICT firm shows its Calibre Newcastle-based Calibre Secured Networks Ltd is seeing strong demand for local expertise and consultancy services in ICT solutions. alibre provides ICT solutions for public and private sector organisations, working across the UK and Europe with clients building long term strategic relationships to deliver added value solutions which provide lasting user benefits. This includes services and solutions which enable schools, local government organisations and companies to maximise their return on investment through the deployment of technology to meet their business challenges. Solutions architect Steve Nelson, who is an ICT industry veteran and anti-cybercrime expert, joined Calibre in its first year in 2008. He has seen demand grow over the last few years, particularly from public sector organisations, for the company’s highly engineered bespoke solutions which not only provide value for money but the flexibility to adapt to changing needs and requirements. Steve says: “This is a critical requirement for today’s solutions’ provider. We work with a team of industry leading experts and contractors on a long term basis, providing a choice of high quality network and data storage among other services. These ensure clients in the education sector, for example, are able to meet the current and future needs of students and teaching staff. “Our capability to design, supply and support flexible solutions, offers great value-for-money and is the foundation on which we have

nurtured and built genuine long-standing partnerships with clients.” A new contract to provide a Sunderland school with a new cloud-based wireless and local area network and data storage system reflects continued strong growth for Calibre. Turnover has more than doubled in the last year for the Charlotte Square-based Cisco premier partner with expansion set to continue for the next 12 months on the back of continued new business and organic growth. The firm employs the latest technology, including cloud-managed network infrastructure company Meraki, as an integral part of the solutions it provides. The use of cutting-edge technology enables education clients, among others, to retain the management of mobile devices belonging to students and staff, enabling installation of software, apps relevant to subjects and antivirus programs. Innovative technological integration like this enables Google Safesearch and educational You Tube services to be available on demand and send tailored messages to different groups and even locate lost or misplaced devices. Certified to ISO 27001 (information security), Calibre utilises the latest know-how, advanced technology and software systems from Cisco and other leading vendors to deliver integrated and bespoke security solutions, too. These not only protect systems which operate

and control email accounts, IT and internet equipment, Voice over IP and other services from cyber attacks but also improve productivity, save money and provide peace of mind. Steve Nelson is also an expert in ethical hacking and an offensive security professional, drawing on experience of working for BT, Virgin Money and HBOS among other multinationals. He believes that IT security is one of the biggest threats organisations of all sizes face today – some organisations are receiving hundreds of attacks on their systems on a daily basis – adding that many North East firms are unaware that they are targets of cyber criminals “Organised cyber crime has become an industry, showing staggering maturity but companies like ours have responded, investing heavily in highly skilled and talented people who can deal with the growing threats,” he says. “In my experience, thousands of businesses across the North East could be at risk from the criminals, costing them dearly in terms of financial loss and damage to reputation. “Owners and managers need to be far more proactive about the issue rather than simply reacting to an attack which could come at anytime, day or night.” For more information visit www.calibre-secured.net or call 0845 5576355.

TECHNOLOGY

State of the Art What’s new in the world of technology and gadgets.

APPLE 5S AND 5C his autumn, Apple has brought out not one, but two new iPhones in an attempt to claw back some of the lost market share from the increasingly popular Android phones. The iPhone 5s (from £549) features a 64-bit A7 chip that offers more desktop-like capabilities on your smartphone, an all-new 8 megapixel iSight camera with true tone flash, as well as Touch ID Fingerprint Sensor - an innovative way to lock and unlock you phone will the touch of a finger. The slightly cheaper, less flashy 5c model (from £469) has a A6 chip and is available in five colours: blue, green, pink, yellow and white. Both phones feature the new iOS 7 software which boasts a new interface, colour palette and design.

www.apple.com/uk

GARMIN VIRB ELITE he VIRB Elite is GPS giant Garmin’s first venture into the action camera market. The action camera allows you to capture three hours of HD quality 1080p video per battery charge. On board image stabilisation and lens distortion correction boost image quality which can be reviewed directly on the VIRB Elite’s 1.4 inch colour screen. Thanks to a waterproof construction, a variety of mounts, built-in GPS and Wi-Fi the VIRB Elite is ideal for those interested in high octane outdoor adventures. RRP £350

www.garmin.com

WINDOWS 8.1 ollowing on from the troublesome 8.0, Windows newest update, 8.1, comes with lots of handy new features. Single search brings users results from pc, web and app whilst the new look Windows store is much more user friendly and comes with a whole host of new apps. With SkyDrive the default location for storage, files can also be easily accessed from any location or device.

www.windows.microsoft.com

NURVO TABLETS f all your techno-savvy children want for Christmas this year is a tablet PC of their own, try Nurvo's British-designed affordable Android devices. The Android enabled range includes a 7-inch and 10-inch tablet which have dual-core processors , 16GB storage, and both retail at under £100. The 8-inch Nurvo Mini, (RRP £125) offers more processing power for internet surfing and online books. Or the 10-inch Nurvo Horizon, available for £230 (pictured), which has all the performance, storage and features you could need in a tablet PC.

www.nurvo.co.uk

MEDIA NEWS IN ASSOCIATION WITH ITPS

Happy birthday Karol The marketing agency celebrates 21 years in business.

ewcastle-based Karol Marketing Group celebrated a landmark anniversary last month. The full service PR and marketing consultancy marked 21 years in business with a party for clients and staff. Karol Marketing was launched by Stefan Lepkowski in 1992 after leaving Berghaus and since then has worked with Newcastle University Business School, Newcastle Great Park, JR Holland, The Toffee Factory, Darlington Borough Council and Newcastle International Airport, as well as brands such as Nike, Reebok, Karrimor and O’Neill.

The firm, which has its headquarters in Newcastle’s Ouseburn Valley, has won more than 70 industry awards and was named PR Consultancy Team Of The Year five times. Stefan said: “I never imagined Karol would have been as successful as it has been, but 21 years later I realise we have still only scratched the surface. “I am extremely grateful to all those clients who have placed their trust in us.”

Stefan Lepkowski, managing director of Karol Marketing (pictured bottom left) with members of the team.

New faces at OPR

ewcastle integrated PR agency OPR has welcomed two new faces to its team as New PR account executives. Lauren Hedley was offered the new role in August after completing a sixmonth placement at the Ouseburn creative agency. Lauren graduated with first class honours in Marketing BSc from

Newcastle University last year. Amy Jackson joined OPR in August after previous employment with two other regional PR agencies where she worked on several clients including Ross’s Pickles and the Festival of the North East event last year. Previously Amy graduated from Northumbria University with a 2:1 in English literature and journalism.

Lauren Hedley and Amy Jackson

Blue Kangaroo is jumping for joy

eals with a Qatari children’s TV channel and world famous retailer Harrods are among the new clients that have led to expansion for a Gateshead based design firm. Brand licensing and product

development specialist Blue Kangaroo has won 24 new clients in the last 12 months including local firms Tyneside Safety Glass and Esh Group among the latest to add to a list that also includes Disney, Vue cinemas, Sega, Warner

Brothers and Cartoon Network. Three new staff (Deborah Swindle, Deborah Hannant and Sarah Bright)have also joined the Blue Kangaroo ranks to help accommodate the expanded workload.

MEDIA

How healthy is your marketing? Samantha Davidson, managing director of Horizonworks Marketing, explains why continuously reviewing your marketing strategy undoubtedly helps your company stay in front.

unning a business without a marketing strategy is a bit like organising a dinner party without a menu or setting off on a long journey without directions. In every case planning is the key to success. A good strategy will help you understand your position in the market, as well as helping you get more from the time and money you spend on your marketing activity. Clear and focused, your strategy will provide a framework to plan for the future. Sometimes it can be tempting to think ‘job done’ once your marketing strategy is in place and then move on to the next thing on your to-do list. However, if you don’t review it on a regular basis, your marketing strategy can quickly become out of date as your business and the market develops. So you’ve got your marketing strategy and plan in place and things are ticking along nicely. So far so good, but is this all you want for your business? A review of your marketing performance can help you perform better, so here are a few questions to ask yourself: Revisit your marketing strategy – are you doing everything you originally set out to do? If there have been any major developments in your company or the market does the strategy need to be revised to take this into account? Is your marketing activity being carried out in a planned and coordinated way, or is everything happening as and when the opportunity comes up, or as and when you get time? If so, it might be worth putting a schedule of activity together to help keep things on track. Ensure you’ve got the appropriate mechanisms in place for evaluation – is the activity you’re carrying out contributing towards achieving your objectives?

EXPERT VIEW Samantha Davidson Managing director Horizonworks Tel: 08450 755955 Email: hello@horizonworks.co.uk Web: www.horizonworks.co.uk

Consider the customer journey – are there any opportunities being missed for repeat business, or to incentivise your customers to refer new customers to you? Put yourself in the position of one of your customers – are they getting the right amount and type of communication, value and service from your company? Brand awareness is one of the most important factors of your plan and measures your brand’s reputation and level of recognition in the marketplace. An increase in brand awareness over time often indicates successfully executed marketing initiatives, and may lead to higher sales and revenues. How is your brand measuring up? Look at what your competitors are doing and look at their strengths and weaknesses in comparison to your own. What is it that they’re doing that you’re not? Could your marketing campaigns be improved to compete with them? Consider developments in the market and do some horizon scanning to see what is coming up over the next year, two years, three years that could impact your company, your products, your customers and start to plan for

this. If you don’t plan for change in the market, your competitors will. One of the most important reasons for measuring your marketing performance is to learn and improve. Results gathered will allow you to identify changes that can be made, new marketing trends that may be emerging and new ways to influence prospects and customers. Making time to review your marketing strategy on a regular basis and ensuring it is constantly tuned to meet the needs of your customers can undoubtedly help your company stay in front. At Horizonworks, we will work with you, taking the time to get to know you and your business. Our experience of working with businesses from many sectors has taught us to approach everyone with an open mind and ask lots of questions. What we learn about you will form the basis of your marketing strategy. So whether you want to increase your profile, improve communication with your customers or gain a better understanding of your competitors, our strategy based on customer insight and industry knowledge, will help you shine. Drawing on our expertise across the full range of marketing channels, why don’t you take advantage of our free marketing health check and gain some invaluable feedback from marketing experts. Our marketing health check includes a review of your marketing strategy and feedback on what improvements are required in order to achieve your overall business objectives. Combining a strategic approach with creative thinking, we can provide recommendations and ideas that will make your business stand out.

MEDIA

Yes or no? Sarah Hall, managing director of Sarah Hall Consulting Ltd, looks at how using surveys and opinion polls can benefit your business.

EXPERT VIEW Sarah Hall Managing director Sarah Hall Consulting Tel: 07702 162704 Email: sarah@sarahhallconsulting.co.uk Web: www.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk Twitter: @hallmeister

urveys and opinion polls make their way into the news every day, whether they’re related to a political party’s approval rating or how companies feel about the economy. For a business, they can be a valuable tool for collecting information you can use in your marketing plans and public relations material. What’s more, commissioning a poll isn’t just for big brands. If you sell a product or service, a poll can tell you what your customers do and don’t like, providing evidence for improving how you work and informing how you communicate with the audience that matters most. I spoke to Fiona Raglan, founder of Other Lines of Enquiry North in Hexham about why polls are a valuable PR tool, and asked about the nuts and bolts of carrying one out. Other Lines of Enquiry North uses its own in-house panel called Panelbase to deliver upto-the-minute reliable poll data, covering everything from education and politics to food and leisure. Its polls are regularly used by some of the UK’s leading business and consumer press, including The Sunday Times, Travel Weekly and The Journal. Fiona explains: “Polls can be used by a wide range of organisations in a variety of ways, from

understanding the awareness levels of a specific brand to customer satisfaction ratings. “It’s always important to know as much about your target market as possible. Polls are a cheap, quick and effective way of understanding how your consumer thinks.” When you’re commissioning a poll, you need to have a clear idea about what you want to find out from the results and how you want to use them. Is your poll designed to inform your marketing efforts, or do you want a poll you can use as the basis for a news story about your business? As Fiona says: “Question wording is key. It’s important to be as clear and concise as possible without leading respondents.” Similarly, you should also have a list of questions to ask polling companies about the way they plan to carry out your research. If you’re going to make business decisions based on the data, you need to be confident the results are accurate. Panelbase is a member of the British Polling Council, which has a strict code of conduct that members must follow to ensure that they are completely transparent about their methodology. When members publish polls, they have to include details about when it was carried out, how many people were in the survey sample and where they’re based, and whether they were

interviewed in person, by phone or online. You should also ask pollsters about: • Their experience in your market • Their bench marking data • Their breadth of knowledge on types of methodology suitable for your business. Fiona added: “One of the most important questions you should ask your chosen research agency is about the demographic make-up of the sample. “It is important that if you want to want to understand a specific audience, that audience is represented appropriately. For instance, if you want to evaluate what a sample thinks of a certain TV programme, then it’s important that they have actually seen the programme and are in a position to provide a valid opinion.” If you follow these guidelines, you’ll get an accurate survey that you can use, whether you’re after a quick snapshot of opinions about items in the news or a heads-up on new trends relevant to your business. Used properly, polls are an important part of your PR and marketing toolbox, whatever the size of your business you run. For more PR and marketing related news and articles, please visit http://blog.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk

EVENT

Newcastle United Legends v AC Milan Glorie Muckle LLP helps organise Steve Harper's 20 years' charity match. teve Harper celebrated 20 years at Newcastle United with a charity match raising over ÂŁ300,000 for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, The Great North Children's Hospital and Newcastle United Foundation. Steve Harper commented: "John Devine and the Muckle LLP team were involved right from the start, helping me to pull the event together and arrange a formidable opposition team in AC Milan Glorie. Thanks again to everyone at Muckle for your help and support." Â Franco Baresi added: "I was very keen for us to be part of the celebration. I spent the same amount of time at AC Milan so I understand what it means. AC Milan had never played at St. James' Park before and it was an incredible experience. We were delighted with the support given to us and our agent, Carl Dunn, by the Muckle LLP team." Muckle advises many high profile athletes and professional players, clubs and governing bodies in football, rugby and cricket. This includes The FA and many of the clubs in the Premier League and Football League.

MEDIA

The business

fame game Mike Owen from onebestway helps you de-clutter your thinking and sidestep marketing agency jargon so you can focus on simple principles that will help you to spend less, and make more.

orting the wise marketing investment from the not-so-wise marketing investment is an age old problem for business. Even John Wannamaker (1838-1922), the acclaimed US retailer, considered by many to be the father of modern advertising was uncertain. “I know that half of my advertising works, I just don’t know which half” is attributed to John. Nowadays, it’s a bit different. It is possible to track what works with increased accuracy. But there are still some fundamentals to fathom first.

Fame for your name?

Start where you want to end up

Being famous is an idea that we have all pondered. Some of us with envy, some of us with a chilly fear. Fame – as a person – is not for everyone. For a business though, it’s different. All businesses are famous for something whether they like it or not. The thing to get your head around first is to avoid the fundamental error for your business of just wanting to be famous for,well, just anything. If you crave ‘fame for your name’ then please think again. There’s a much better way.

OK, so famous businesses do better than unfamous ones. We agree on that. But those that ‘engineer’ what they are famous for are the real superstars. They are the real brands. They are the entities that are not just known, they are wanted. They are in control of their own destiny and profitability. And also – they have that very special kind of word of mouth.

That special kind of word of mouth (WOM) referral You will meet a lot of business owners that talk

about the power and effectiveness of word of mouth referral. Our agencies call it ‘pass along’. It’s great – our clients tell us – because it’s organic, it’s viral, it’s free flowing and it’s free. To be honest we can’t argue with any of that but all we’d ask you to consider, more than anything else, is not how much is being said, but what is being said.

What are you famous for? If it’s random, disparate, complex things you are not maximising. If you have created what is being said about you – and it’s consistent and simple – that’s excellent. This is brand. Brand building (back to the issue of what these words really mean) is what you stand for. It’s what makes you different and amazing. It’s what makes you stand out. It’s your promise. It’s what people say about you. It’s the ‘Business Fame Game’ that we refer to in this article. But it’s actually a great way for a business to be – to pause and to think about this issue. Even if just for a moment as you read this.

Keep your marketing money in your pocket. While you are thinking about this, keep your marketing money in your pocket. The reason is perhaps best illustrated by DFS, the sofa

people that we all know. In 2011, no one spent more than DFS on marketing in the UK. DFS spent over £30 million. It taught us two things: firstly, that they sell sofas and secondly, that they had a sale on. This is trying to be famous for being DFS. If you do that, it’s really expensive. There are other DFS-es about you see. They are called SCS and CSL. And because they are all just trying to be famous for being who they are – as opposed to why I should choose them – they are forced to spend huge amounts of money trying to shout louder than the competition. They’re trapped inside ‘marketing déjà vu’. Spend, spend, spend. None are real brands. But for you, it can be different.

Defining you Work out why you are amazing before you invest in marketing. Don’t spend a penny on design, advertising, tactical marketing or strategic marketing until you’ve sorted your brand out or ‘who you are’. Don’t say anything until you have something to say. Then get your distinct messaging wrapped up inside stand-out design and creative and you are away. Lynx did it. They stand for ‘seduction’. Duracell is doing it; they last longer and Dyson is doing it; no loss of suction. And some local heroes that you may have heard of are doing it too: Sage Gateshead is

(acoustic supremacy), Gateshead College (employment edge), Serious Engineering in Newcastle (reliability) and First Class Supply Teachers (ready, already).

So how do YOU play the Business Fame Game? Step one is get a brand position – or brand promise – that is distinct, compelling and motivating. ‘Distinct’ as in different (it’s better to be different than it is to be better). ‘Compelling’ as in it connects on an emotional level; it’s inspiring and interesting. ‘Motivating’ as in your position will actually rouse your targets to act. They will do what it is that you want them to do. Use a Brand Consultancy for this. Step two is integrate your brand position into your messaging and your business behaviours. Keep things simple, clear and consistent. Use a Design, advertising and marketing agency for this; one that understands brand. Then, monitor and review. And because communicating like this drives marketing spend down and profit up then yes, in business at least, fame is all that it’s cracked up to be. Contact Mike on mike@onebestway.com. Alternatively, call (0191) 276 6627 or visit www.violetbick.com or www.onebestway.com

MEDIA

Dr. Martens puts its stamp on the Toon The icon brand opens a store in Newcastle city centre, with the help of OPR.

ritish footwear and clothing label Dr. Martens broke a global world record in launch day sales at its Newcastle city centre store opening last month, which was organised by local creative agency OPR, which also took care of the brand’s local PR and celebrity relations. The first independent Dr. Martens store in Newcastle was celebrated with a VIP launch party that saw the North East’s top fashion, music and cultural trendsetters witness the unveiling of a striking in-store artwork by Prefab77. OPR commissioned Prefab77 as the artists to work with Dr. Martens for their shared passion for anti-establishment spirit, rock ‘n’ rebellion and British youth movements, as well as their unique visual style of street art that can be discovered in and around Newcastle. The artwork is now splashed across three walls in a special section of the store where customers can sit and try on Dr. Martens shoes and boots, read magazines and listen to the in-store jukebox. The event was tied firmly into the region’s roots with North East bands Frankie and the Heartstrings and HATI performing live in store. Food was served up by Newcastle’s street food restaurant Electric East and drinks were supplied by Morpeth-based Anarchy Brew Co and Hexham-based Fentimans – and this was all topped off with an after party hosted by Newcastle’s new independent gin palace, Pleased to Meet You, where the tables were decorated with real Dr. Martens as vases of botanical herbs and flowers. Prefab77 also supplied three highly sought after unique print works and a one-of-a-kind hand-made printed leather stool for a charity auction at the event which helped raise over £700 for the Sunshine Fund, which enhances the lives of local children with disabilities in the North East by supplying specialist equipment. Dr. Martens UK retail marketing manager Amy Nelson said: “We are delighted with how Newcastle has taken to the arrival of Dr. Martens. We broke and DM’s world record for openingday sales, and was a brilliant party in true Dr. Martens style.” OPR’s Kari Owers said: “Dr. Martens has been a dream project to work on as the brand is on a big UK retail rollout and international wave of popularity. The OPR team brought their local knowledge of fashion, music, media and street culture to the project and the launch party was packed with press, bloggers, musicians, celebrities and fashion fans.”

STYLE

Get the look Fashion and accessories for men. By Jessica Laing.

River Island, £95

House of Fraser, £59

Burton, £58

Marks & Spencer, £199

t’s that time of year again when the sun goes into hiding and the frosty weather comes out to play. With temperatures (most likely) plummeting, it can be tempting to pile on the mismatched layers and leave your style out in the cold, but there are some simple ways to stay on trend and keep the shivers away while you’re at it. If you only buy one new item this season, it has to be a staple winter coat. While women’s coats are bigger and boxier than ever this year, men’s are longer, smarter and, thankfully, thicker. Snug and office-friendly, double-breasted coats are a smart choice: wear one over your suit for work, or pair it with jeans and a jumper at the weekend. When it comes to colours, stay trend savvy by sticking to a masculine palette of dark plum, ox-blood and slate grey: not only are these three shades smart yet subtle enough for the boardroom, they also look seductively stylish worn in the evening.

Next, £50

MODEL ATTIRE Autograph coat, £135 Autograph shirt, £32.50 Autograph suit, £149 Shoes, £69 Beanie, £15 All from Marks & Spencer

Burton, £30

WORKSPACE & CONSTRUCTION NEWS

Deal agreed The first phase of the £200m Mount Oswald is set to begin.

detailed proposal for the first phase of a £200m development in Durham City is set to be submitted, after the Durhambased Banks Group reached a development agreement with a North East housebuilder. David Wilson Homes is looking to build 61 detached, four and five-bedroom homes on a 12-acre portion at the southern end of the Mount Oswald site. The proposal would also include opening of the first public open spaces and footpaths that were included in Banks’ Mount Oswald masterplan. A public exhibition of David Wilson Homes’ plans will be held in the near future, with work expected to begin on site early in the new year, subject to the details of the scheme being finalised with Durham County Council. The first occupants could be in their new homes before the end of 2014.

John Ruddick, senior development planner at The Banks Group, and Mike Wilson, managing director at David Wilson Homes North East.

Niven works with Teesside Uni

iven Architects has been working with the Teesside University Knowledge Transfer Programme to help develop Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM provides a single set of three dimensional plans, accessible via the internet, for building schemes of all sizes. It offers one point of reference containing vital information for the many contractors

working on a scheme, ranging from wall sockets to wiring ducts, drainage, materials and dimensions. Director of Niven Architects, Simon Crowe (pictured), said: “We recognised the value of BIM very early in its development and have been working with Teesside University allowing us to become one of the leading exponents nationally.”

Fitz to design luxury homes

award-wining architect practice, Fitz Architects, has been appointed to design homes at Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club. Fitz Architects has been commissioned to design luxury homes on a new residential development overlooking one of the region’s top golf courses.

The practice is to design several of the large 4-6 bedroom houses on the private development on land at Ramside Hall Hotel and Golf Club. The bespoke designs for the stylish family homes will include games rooms, libraries and gyms and range in size from 3500 to 9500sqft. Regional hotelier and entrepreneur,

John Adamson, is behind the executive development and is delighted work has started: “The property venture at Ramside is an exciting new development for the group and I’m delighted that we’ve moved on site. Building work has already started and we expect the first of the homes to be complete as soon as Christmas.”

PROPERTY

Assessing your fire risk Amanda Haldane from Building Surveryors Limited advises on getting your Fire Risk Assessment right.

Fire Risk Assessment of a building or buildings may be used to satisfy a Building Control Body and/or the Fire Authority as to the adequacy of the fire safety solutions. In certain circumstances a Fire Authority may require sight of a Fire Risk Assessment. Achieving fire safety is often a matter of common sense, but in more complicated premises or those with many people at risk, such as care homes, more expert help is required to ensure compliance with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

What is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005? The Government is committed to regulating only where necessary and in a way that is more suited to the needs of modern businesses. It replaces most of fire safety legislation with one simple order. It means that any person who has some level of control in premises must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk from fire and make sure people can safely escape if there is a fire.

Where does the order apply? The order applies to virtually all premises and covers nearly every type of building, structure and open space. For example, it applies to: • Office and shops • Premises that provide care, including care homes and hospitals. • Community halls, places of worship and other community premises. • The shared areas of properties several households live in. • Pubs, clubs and restaurants. • Schools and sports centres. • Tents and marquees. • Hotels and hostels.

• Factories and warehouses. It doesn’t apply to: • People’s private homes, including individual flats in a block or house.

What are the main rules under the order? You must: • Carry out a fire risk assessment identifying any possible dangers and risks. • Consider who may be especially at risk. • Get rid of or reduce the risk from fire as far is reasonably possible and provide general fire precautions to deal with any possible risk left. • Take other measures to make sure there is protection if flammable or explosive materials are used or stored. • Create a plan to deal with any emergency and, in most cases, keep a record of your findings and review when necessary.

Who is responsible for meeting the order? • The employer for those parts of premises they may go to. • The managing agent or owner for shared parts of the premises or shared fire safety equipment such as fire-warning systems or sprinklers. • The occupier, such as self-employed people or voluntary organisations if they have control or any other person who has some control over a part of the premises.

You must still carry out a fire-risk assessment but any fire certificates you may have may be useful as a starting point. If your premises have been designed and built in line with modern building regulations (and are being used with those regulations), your structural fire precautions should be acceptable. You will still need to carry out a firerisk assessment and make sure that you keep up all fire precautions and maintenance routes.

Enforcing the order Fire authorities will be the main agency responsible for enforcing all fire-safety legislation in non-domestic premises. They will target their resources and inspections at those premises that present the highest risk.

People with mobility needs You should also make special arrangements for people with mobility needs, e.g. make sure there are specific people to help wheelchair users get down the stairs if there is a fire.

Who are we? Building Surveyors Ltd was established in 2003 by local Chartered Building Surveyors. In addition to Fire Risk Assessments, we also provide a comprehensive range of building surveying services for both residential and commercial clients. These include; Party wall matters, Project Management, Building Condition and Defect Diagnostic Surveys, newbuild and refurbishment design and CDM-C.

How do I meet the order? The order says that you must manage any firerisk in your premises. Fire authorities no longer issue fire certificates and those previously in force will have no legal status.

For free property related advice or a no obligation quotation please call Building Surveyors on (0191) 267 9108 or visit www.buildingsurveyorsltd.co.uk, Twitter @BuildingsLtd

INTERVIEW

The long game North East Times asks successful business men and women, with more than 25 years’ experience in their field, what their industry was like when they first started, how it has changed and where they see their sector going?

Geoff Watson Joint managing director of removals company, Doree Bonner International.

PAST

PRESENT

left St Mary’s Tech school in 1977 age 17 and joined the DHSS at Long Benton as clerical officer for 18 months; these were my university days! I changed direction completely in 1979 when I was offered a position as trainee manager with Hoults Removals. My early days were spent on the vans as a porter learning the job from the bottom up. In 1981, I was offered my first management position with Hoults and moved down to London to take this up. Shortly after this, Pickfords acquired Hoults removals which at the time were the largest privately owned moving company. In 1998 I was appointed managing director of Hoults, one month after Black Monday and a recession hit. A couple of years later, I was promoted to the main board of Pickfords as UK operations director, and when, Pickfords decided to develop its interests in Europe, I was then relocated to Brussels to acquire, manage and develop its European Operation. Despite a successful career with Pickford’s, my ultimate ambition was to own my own company and so in 1994 I returned to the UK and with my long term friend and business colleague, Gordon Lyall, raised the finance and acquired a small family mover in Kent , Doree Bonner. We started in a portakabin which was on top of an old Bren gun factory which was our warehouse and situated between a council tip and a landfill site with 20 staff and six vans.

ver the last 19 years my company and the moving industry have changed beyond recognition. Doree Bonner International now has 10 locations throughout England and Scotland , employs 220 people, 65 vans and 130,000 sqft of warehousing. The working practices of the industry have changed immeasurably over the years with communication now by email and drivers contacted by phone and text. The internet has changed the basic fabric of the industry and while there are many positives it has destroyed brand loyalty within the moving industry through the emergence of ‘Bedroom Brokers’ that pass themselves off as professional movers, attract enquires and then sell these leads to numerous removal companies. Remarkably, many people moving house are still prepared to use the services of companies that are not members of the British Association of Removers and have no other industry accreditations, national or International . Many curve balls have been thrown at the removals sector, such as the emergence of selfstorage companies, which has severely diminished this area of business for removals companies. There have been positive moves from organisation such as the British Association of Removers ( BAR) to tighten up regulation within the industry, to try and improve the professionalism of the members companies and to make entry into the industry and the BAR more stringent.

FUTURE xpect the regulations and red tape that already engulf our industry to become even more onerous with the expansion of low emissions zones and the banning of large vehicles from city centres. Pricing will continue to be extremely competitive across the market, and we will always face the battle of ‘man and a van’. The ‘removal’ as part of the overall moving process is very often one of the last things that people arrange, and the public often under estimate just how important the actual move of their precious personal effects are. We as a company and an industry have to heighten awareness of the ‘removal’ as an integral and important part of the moving process. Technology, social media, communications will all continue to develop beyond mine and anyone else’s wildest dreams and we have to fully embrace this. However, it is my belief that no matter how advanced, nothing beats face to face communications, that the personal touch which I hope my Company is renowned for. I have to believe that the reason why private customers moving house and Companies relocating their employees, locally, nationally or Internationally have continued to use us for the last 19 years is because people buy people, great service is important and most people will pay a little more to get that little bit extra.

TIMELINE 1979: Trainee manager Hoults Removals 1981: Junior management positions with Hoults Removals 1988: Managing director, Hoults Removals 1990: Board director , Pickfords Removals 1994: Acquired Doree Bonner

PROPERTY

Register your interest at West Park There’s already a buzz about the new 200-home Taylor Wimpey development, set to open in West Monkseaton this Autumn. aylor Wimpey is receiving a lot of interest in its West Park development in West Monkseaton. The 200-home development will feature 11 superb styles of four and five bedroom homes and is due to open in Autmun this year. Set in an ideal location close to Whitley Bay, prospective buyers are being urged to register their interest early to ensure they don’t miss out on a property at this exciting new development.

Location Joan Peart, regional sales and marketing director at Taylor Wimpey believes that the surge of early interest in the development is in part, down to its fantastic location. She comments: “West Park is a highly anticipated development of spacious, executive homes located between Earsdon Village and West Monkseaton. “Very close to coastal Whitley Bay with its superb blue flag beaches, the development is close to many good local schools and offers excellent road and rail links to Newcastle City Centre, which will give it added appeal with commuters.” The house-builder has already experienced a large number of enquiries about West Park and is confident that the growing interest is a sign of great things to come when the development opens later in the year.

Properties The exclusive properties available at the West Park development will include 11 styles of spacious four and five bedroom detached properties. The five bedroom Troon will offer spacious accommodation throughout. The two and a half storey home will comprise an impressive an open-plan dining kitchen ideally designed for entertaining, with the added convenience of a separate utility room and cloakroom. There will be a study to the front of the house together with a large living room, opening on to a separate dining room. On the first floor there will be three wellproportioned bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms, including an impressive master bedroom, which features a walk-through dressing room. A bathroom and two further bedrooms will be found on the top floor. With a large private garden to the rear as well as a downstairs clockroom and detatched single garage, these homes will be ideal for families or those looking to upsize. The four bedroom Cavendish will also be available at West Park and will offer spacious living accommodation as well as an integral double garage. This home will also offer an impressive open-plan dining kitchen with separate family room. On the first floor there will be four wellproportioned bedrooms including an impressive

master, complete with fitted wardbrobes. This stunning house will also feature a private garden and will make an ideal family home.

A helping hand Thanks to Taylor Wimpey’s Easymover scheme, prospective buyers will be able to reserve a new home at West Park without having to sell an existing property. Joan adds: “The Easymover scheme relieves many of the costs associated with buying a house, including stamp duty and legal costs. Not only this but the scheme allows us to sell your house for you, and then help you move!”

Don’t miss out With an exclusive collection of family homes available at West Park, prospective buyers are urged to register their interest early to avoid missing out. Joan concludes: “Given the high local demand for quality housing and the levels of early interest, we would encourage anyone interested in finding out more about West Park to get in touch sooner rather than later.” To receive updates about the site and the homes available, register at www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/newhomes/north+ea st/earsdon/

L E I S U R E & H O S P I TA L I T Y N E W S

Hotel Indigo awarded AA Rosette

elebrity chef, Marco Pierre White, visited Newcastle last month to host a lunch and dinner service at his Steakhouse Bar & Grill restaurant, within Hotel Indigo Newcastle, Fenkle Street. Marco, who’s visit came just weeks after the restaurant was awarded AA Rosette, said: “It always gives me great pleasure returning to Newcastle. The restaurant has enjoyed great success since it opened in the city and every time I visit, I can’t help but be touched by the warm nature of its people and marvel at its stunning architecture.” Speaking about Newcastle’s growing restaurant scene, he added: “The food on offer here is phenomenal and the choice of restaurants is quite unbelievable.” George Liddle, restaurant manager at Marco Pierre White Steakhouse Bar & Grill Newcastle, said: “It was great to have Marco in Newcastle with us. He’s an iconic chef and our diners enjoyed sharing cooking stories with him and asking for cooking tips. A favourite was how to cook the perfect turkey, which must mean Christmas is around the corner!”

Business bespoke

almaison has launched its brand new meeting and events offering,‘Business Bespoke’. Since last month, the luxury boutique hotels have moved away from set meeting packages to a more custom-built service, in which the hotels’ teams of meeting and events specialists can tailor-make meetings and events for a diverse range of businesses. The events team can arrange everything from post-meeting whiskey tasting to food for guests. Business Bespoke offers a range of Malmaison food collections for businesses to choose from, including the London collection, which features individual pork pies and honey roast gammon, to New York and Milan.

£17million catering development

lanning permission has been granted by Newcastle City Council to refurbish and redevelop two of the current malls within intu Eldon Square: the Sidgate and High Friars malls. Intu plans to create a destination dining quarter, set over two levels, providing 21 new catering units for the whole family. The covered dining space will incorporate the Grad II listed facades and views over Old Eldon Square, Greys Monument and the Grainger Town Conservation Area. It is expected that works will start on site in early 2014, creating approximately 250 jobs, for an opening around Easter 2015.

Four-star honour

ynyard Hall, Tees Valley, has been awarded four red stars – the highest possible honour for a four-star hotel – and named as ‘one of the best in the UK’ at the AA Hospitality Awards. The award, which places the hotel in an elite Inspector’s Choice category, comes just months after its renowned Wellington Restaurant was awarded a highly sought after third AA rosette. The upgrading of Wynyard Hall’s former four yellow stars to red stars puts the 25bedroom hotel and spa among the UK’s top 150 hotels.

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY

Take pride in your premises Victoria Rought, of Creative Event Partnership, reveals the benefits of holding an event at your place of work. ow many of us would let our birthday or wedding anniversary go by without marking it even in a small way? When it comes to celebrating a major milestone in the life of your business, it's even more important that it doesn't go unrecognised. It's a great opportunity to reward staff and customers with a special event, to thank them for their loyalty and to look forward to more celebrations in the future as you grow. The right kind of event can also serve to send a message about the quality of your organisation, its status and the level of success you've achieved. As well as marking the length of time you've been established, an occasion might also celebrate your move to new premises, the launch of your latest product or growth into new overseas markets. Whether you opened your premises one year or 50 years ago, celebrating this anniversary is a way of showing everyone just how far you've come. Many of your customers and suppliers may

not have visited your site before, so an event gives you the chance to shout about who you are, where you are, the infrastructure and equipment you have and the culture in which you operate. When it comes to new product launches, unveiling your latest innovation at the place it

was created, by the people who created it, can be a rewarding experience for everyone involved. Likewise, the ambition you can display if your event is marking a new venture abroad can be done best when it's backed up by the people, innovations and logistics that will support it. Clearly there are cost benefits too, in using your own premises for an event, but that doesn't mean that it can't be of the same high quality you'd expect from holding it in a hotel, quirky bar/restaurant, warehouse or conference centre. Indeed, the savings you make on the venue can be invested in ensuring everything else is of a high standard, from the food to the entertainment, to any exhibition materials you want to use. As with all events, the checklist is the same: clearly define the purpose, keep the messages simple and don't lose sight of the small details. Victoria Rought is co-founder of The Creative Event Partnership and can be contacted on (0191) 264 4000 or via victoria@creativeeventpartnership.co.uk

CHARITY

Making

charity its business

Chris Pay reveals how Newcastle-based Shared Interest Foundation’s latest project is helping African smallholder farmers work themselves out of poverty. ost small business owners I've met tell me that running a business is equally the toughest and most rewarding thing they have ever done. That's as true in Nairobi as it is in Newcastle. Growing a business can be challenging, but providing employment also changes people's lives. That's why Shared Interest Foundation has worked to build thriving businesses in developing countries for the last nine years. Having worked in seven countries across three continents, we have improved the livelihoods of over 10,000 individuals. As a small charity based in Newcastle's Groat Market, that's a track record we can be proud of. Over that time, our work has taken a variety of forms, from helping with policies on employing staff with HIV/AIDS, to mentoring roadside stallholders to build their business and support their family. Whatever the project, our desire has been the same – to remove barriers that stand in the way of businesses reaching their full potential. And in so doing, to create employment opportunities, giving people the chance to work their way out of poverty. Our latest project sees us lift the scale of our ambition to a whole new level. Working across five African countries, our plan is to work with smallholder farmers producing tea, coffee, chocolate and a range of other commodities. The potential impact of this work is significant. The sad irony is that while individual smallholder farmers collectively supply over 70 per cent of the world's food, more than half of the world's hungriest people are themselves smallholder

Chris Pay

farmers. The growth in the market for Fairtrade products has helped, ensuring a minimum price for farmers. And the growth in the sale of such products (averaging over 30 per cent annually since 2008 in the UK) is a real success story. With that growing market comes opportunity, but only if there are the financial resources to invest in business growth. So our project is about equipping smallholder farmers in Africa with the skills that they need to secure business finance to help them grow. We've joined forces with Fairtrade Africa, who has already identified 90 businesses that would benefit from this, and together we have developed a programme of training now being delivered in all five countries. We're proud to have secured the backing of Comic Relief to help us put this into action and with their support we plan to train 150 businesses

over the next two years, and mentor 45 of these to provide support in securing appropriate business investment of over £1million. Of course, it is the stories behind these numbers that are important - stories of real people in communities across Africa who will have more secure livelihoods as a result. As we've seen from previous projects, more secure livelihoods mean children going to school, food on the table every day, or being able to save for the future. We'd love your help in reaching even more businesses with this practical support that has such far-reaching impact. Whether you'd like to help us extend this programme by one more business or by a whole new country, we'd love to talk to you. There is a range of simple and practical ways in which you and your staff could be a part of the solution. You can contact me on (0191) 233 9115 or chris.pay@sharedinterest.com. Shared Interest Foundation was established as a charity by social lender Shared Interest Society, which has more than 20 years’ experience in providing affordable finance to the fair trade movement. Shared Interest Society's innovative model has been recognised this year by achieving the Queens Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development for the second time. Working together, Shared Interest Society and Foundation provide a unique combination of financial support and practical capacity building, making livelihoods and living standards better for disadvantaged communities in some of the world's poorest countries. Find out more at www.shared-interest.com

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY

The view from Hotel Indigo This month, we talk to Melissa Horberry, sales manager of Hotel Indigo and the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse. alking about her role as sales manager of Hotel Indigo and the Marco Pierre White Steakhouse in Newcastle, Melissa Horberry says: “At Hotel Indigo, the brief for me was to give the business a ‘glocal’ feel glocal meaning that you take a recognised worldwide brand, such as Indigo, and combine it with a local neighbourhood feel, and I think our customers would agree that we really have achieved this. The way we train our staff has been a key part of this ethos: we constantly get positive feedback about the ‘customer experience.” Melissa originally hails from Yorkshire, but now considers the North East to be her adopted home. She is well-known in the hotel business and is bubbly and outgoing. “I started at the Hilton as an events co-ordinator and was lucky enough to get a role in business tourism at the NGI in the conventions bureau – it elevated my reputation in the hotel industry in the region on an impartial footage, which allowed me to get to know everyone and helped me become entrenched in the North East and it’s culture.”

So, what’s inspired this charismatic young woman, who has been such a force in the hotel industry so far? “I’ve been inspired by influential female leaders in the North East, such as Wendy Benson at Rockcliffe Hall, who I adore, and my parents who taught me a great work ethic at an early age. I’ve worked for the IHG group since I

was 17 years old when I left home and got my first job as a receptionist. I’m also especially grateful to my parents: they encouraged me to work from 14 as a stable girl and waitress in a brasserie in the 80’s. My father was a self-made man in the car and commercial property industry. Sadly, my mother died suddenly when I was 25 and this left me feeling more determined than ever to make something of myself. And, of course, my father took on the role of my mother as well as my father.” And Melissa’s next biggest role? “Many of my contemporaries reading will have attended my wedding by the time this is printed. “It’s been strange to plan my own wedding, rather than someone else’s and it’s going to be a marriage of hotel minds, because my husband-tobe, Richard, is the general manager of Holdsworth House Hotel and Restaurant in Halifax. There is absolutely no doubt that the conversation on the honeymoon will be about the GP and average room rate!” We wish Melissa a wonderful wedding day.

EVENT

Thistle Newcastle, The County menu launch The city centre hotel invites guests to sample the new menus for conference delegates. ocal businesses and key clients of Thistle Newcastle, The County were invited to an evening launch to sample the new menus on offer to conference delegates. The hot and cold buffets offer a selection of healthy, balanced and tasty nutritional items which make any conference or meeting guest feel refreshed and recharged for the day ahead. Break times are no exception, with morning smoothies and breakfast focaccias to start the day and afternoon sweet treats to look forward to. Thistle Newcastle has all you need for a successful event in a prime location. Contact the hotel on (0191) 206 7691

T R AV E L

me, you

From to

Mike Grahamslaw revisits Hotel Indigo Liverpool to indulge in some famous Merceyside hospitality. he Grahamslaw family enjoyed our first ever visit to Liverpool earlier this year so much that I decided to take us all back as part of an extended summer break, taking in five hotels in 12 nights – our very own Magical Mystery Tour, if you like. What better way for the first leg to commence than in the 151-bedroom Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel set in a great location on Liverpool’s waterfront just seconds away from the iconic Liver Building and the Albert Dock. I was looking forward to comparing it with our own Hotel Indigo in Newcastle with which the magazine has worked very closely with since it opened last year.

A warm Scouse welcome greeted us on arrival as we were shown to our comfortable and well-appointed rooms with king size beds, spa inspired bathrooms and everything else you would expect from a top four-star boutique hotel within the InterContinental Hotel Chain. For the first time, the kids had been allocated their own separate room which illustrated that they've grown up and want some independence. After a late afternoon livener in the hotel’s terrace bar, we ventured into the city where the girls hit the Liverpool One shopping complex. My son, Jack, and I feigned interest before we headed for the obvious delights of the Albert Dock bars.

On returning to the hotel, we showered, changed and headed for its Marco Pierre White Steakhouse. As regular Times readers will know, I am somewhat of an expert on what constitutes a good fillet steak and mine was outstanding and probably the best I have had anywhere. Exemplary food and memorable service is a winning combination. Despite feeling somewhat lethargic from the previous night’s over indulgences, Jack and I met up before breakfast and hit the hotel’s well equipped fitness suite. Jack is currently pursuing a health and well-being path and the session certainly put a spring in his step. Unable to match his youthful enthusiasm or his amazing stamina, I watched on with admiration. After a “full monty” breakfast, we took a short walk to board the legendary ferry across the Mersey. What a blast this was and very evocative of the swinging sixties. The audio commentary proved a fascinating insight into the history of the River Mersey and all the family really enjoyed the experience. After reluctantly disembarking, we enjoyed a return trip to the internationally famous Cavern Club which had proved such a hit with us earlier in the year. The club has live music daily from 2pm and is a must visit for all fans of the Fab Four – and that is definitely me. After yet another obligatory shopping fix,

we returned to the Hotel for another superb early meal, several vinos and the customary family holiday game of Monopoly. All good stuff - apart from the shopping, that is. Following a great night’s sleep in a huge comfy bed followed by a very satisfying leisurely breakfast, we set off for a visit to the upmarket seaside resort of Southport. For a change, we left the car in favour of a local train service that literally stops 30 seconds away from the hotel’s door. This nostalgic trip took just 40 minutes and brought back a lot of happy memories of when I last visited it some 26 years ago with my best pal and his family. I sported a Beatles mop-top haircut back then - but then, most of us did. This was turning into a wonderful family day out. We had a few absorbing hours in the local funfair including a ride on the log flume (a family favourite) and then adjourned to the adjacent go karting track. Holly accompanied me and the fact that our kart was carrying the most weight accounted for our last place finish. Well, that’s our story anyway and we are sticking to it! Jack and I then had a very enjoyable thwack around the seafront par-3 golf course, where of course, he beat me by four shots. While practice hasn't made perfect in my case, Jack makes it look so easy. That said, I continue to aspire to greater things and a lower handicap.

After the short train ride back, we freshened up and thoroughly enjoyed a final supper in the Indigo restaurant. The food and service in all parts of the hotel is impressive and consistently good. As ever, following a most enjoyable break, time had passed by far too quickly and we wished we could have stayed longer but Scotland beckoned as the Magical Mystery Tour continued tounfold and we had to hit the road again for the long drive to our next leg over the border. After checking out, I passed my congratulations onto general manager, Steph Corcoran, for running a great ship and thanked her and her staff for a memorable stay. Amazingly, Steph turned out to be the sister in law of one of my longest clients. It’s a small world. As we headed back across the M62 to the poignant strains of the Sgt Pepper CD in our ears, to a man we all agreed how much of a family favourite Liverpool has become. The excellent Hotel Indigo had ticked all the boxes for us and we had experienced a first class family mini break which we couldn’t fault in any way. We will definitely return. For further information on Hotel Indigo Liverpool visit www.hotelindigoliverpool.co.uk

EVENT Left to right: Selwyn Cooper (Volvo Cars UK), Alan Davies (Mill Volvo), James Shires (Volvo Cars UK), Jeff Tabb (Mill Volvo) and Bob Nicholson (Mill Volvo).

Peter Byers (Ko’olau Golf Club, Hawaii) and Bill Walker (Beamish Park Hotel).

Left to right: Ian Jeffrey (Tynemouth Golf Club), Paul McIlduff (Carson’s), Kevin Berry (Tynemouth Golf Club), Martin Rankin (Whickham Golf Club) and Andy Mason (Whickham Golf Club).

Mill Masters The winners of the Mill Masters are set to tee off at Wentworth

Left to right: Willard Wright (Walter Wright Insurance), David Pay (Volvo Car Credit), Bob Nicholson and Selwyn Cooper.

olfers Stewart Thompson and Rosie Kipling have earned the right to play a 4 ball at the world famous Wentworth Club, following in the footsteps of the game’s greatest players, thanks to their victory in the Mill Masters. Held on September 11, the annual golf tournament took place at the magnificent Close House Hotel in Heddon On The Wall, an elegant 18th Century mansion set in the stunning Northumberland countryside, that is also home to world number 3 Lee Westwood. The tournament itself was competitive and compelling with Stewart and Rosie taking home the victory for Richmond Golf Club.

Left to right: Paul McIlduff, Alastair Gibson (Gibson Media), Jeff Tabb and Steve Curren (Supaguard).

Left to right: Daniel Balbi, David Balbi (Rudding Park Golf Club), Dave Hall (Billingham Golf Club) and Paul Kellett (Billingham Golf Club).

Left to right: Steven Ashley (Arcot Hall Golf Club), Simon Johnston (Arcot Hall Golf Club), Greg Waugh (Ponteland Golf Club) and Chris Espiner (Ponteland Golf Club).

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY

Business lunch

The Stables Restaurant & Brewery Alison Cowie visits the converted Stables Restaurant & Brewery at Beamish Hall. he Stables Restaurant may be a bit of a trek out of town but it’s well worth the journey. Part of Beamish Hall, The Stables is (unsurprisingly) located in the converted stable block that adjoins the elegant AA four-star country house hotel. The restaurant is set around a delightful courtyard area and manages to straddle the line between an elegant restaurant (ideal for celebrating a special occasion or impressing business clients) and a cosy traditional pub, thanks to charming stone floors, rustic furniture beams and roaring wood-burning stoves that immediately put you at ease. The Stables even has its own mirco brewery on site, the nectar of which you are able to enjoy along with your meal. You can even take a tour of the working brewery, if the expert brewer is around.

The menu at The Stables offers fine dining fare and homely pub grub, helping to satisfying the tastes – and whims – of most. My colleagues and I opted for fine dining for our starters which were all well conceived and presented. The pea and mint panna cotta with the pan seared scallops was inventive and flavoursome, the butternut squash with sage cream was well cooked, as was the mushroom won ton that came with the griddled asparagus. Two of us continued with the fine dining for our mains. My pan-fried rump lamb with lentils was well cooked, although the potatoe puree did lack seasoning. Flavour was no issue with the delightful chicken breast with spicy chorizo mouse, though. The third member of our group chose the more rustic chicken, leek and ham pie with

‘real’ chips and vegetables for his main. The billowing puff pastry lid of the pie covered an abundance of succulent meat filling, which was much enjoyed. The chocolate tarts and the cheesecake we ended our meals with were treats for the eyes and the taste buds, leaving us mightily impressed with our dining experience. I must also mention the service that we received on the day. Friendly and attentive throughout, it felt that nothing was too much trouble and it really added to a winning experience. The Stables Restaurant and Micro Brewery is located at Beamish Hall Country Hotel in Stanley, County Durham. For bookings call (01207) 223 733 or visit www.beamishhall.co.uk

Roast butternut squash ravioli with a nutmeg and sage cream

Pan seared scallops with pea and mint panna cotta

Marinated chargrilled asparagus and wild mushroom won ton

Well cooked pasta and lovely autumnal flavours.

A very inventive dish.

Good flavours, well executed.

£5.95

£6.95

£6.50

Pan-fried rump of lamb, lentils de pays, pommes puree, fine beans and Chantenay carrots

Chicken, leek and ham pie with chips and vegetables

Breast of chicken, chorizo mouse, thyme roast sweet potato and broccoli florets

Proper rustic fare; no complaints!

Succulent chicken and great combination of ingredients.

Perfectly cooked lamb but the potatoes lacked flavour.

£14.95

£8.95

£9.95

Bitter chocolate & orange tart with chantilly cream

Passionfruit cheesecake with blackberry sorbet

Chocolate tarts with praline and chantilly cream

Rich chocoate and zingy orange.

Lovely creamy cheesecake with sharp contrast from the fruit.

Winning combination of rich chocolate, salty praline and sweet cream.

£4.95

T R AV E L

If it’s good enough for

Tiger ...

Mike Grahamslaw stays at Craigielaw Golf Club to walk in the footsteps of some legends of the game.

accommodation overlooking this splendid links course, which was to be our base for the next three days. The Lodge at Craigielaw is a fantastic place to enjoy all the wonderful opportunities of the golfing country that epitomises East Lothian, as well as all the attractions of Edinburgh. Attached to the clubhouse, the lodge boasts 25 well-furnished rooms. Thirteen of them enjoy views across the course to the River Forth, Gullane golf courses and the Kingdom

ollowing a long drive from Liverpool, broken only by a welcome break for lunch in the Toon, the Grahamslaw family headed on up the A1 and finally arrived at Craigielaw Golf Club which is close to Edinburgh’s very own Magical Mystery Tour, if you like. I have played the course twice before, most recently in April as part of a lads’ golf weekend. The course has recently seen the introduction of some new, impressive

of Fife, while the other 12 rooms enjoy the quiet and secluded view across a decorative courtyard. Inspired by the great links courses of Britain, with challenging greens and cavernous bunkers, Craigielaw Golf Club is an experience not to be missed, no matter what your handicap is. After a typical cheery Scottish welcome, we checked in and made our way down to the welcoming clubhouse for a late dinner. With its relaxing and large brown, leather sofas and low coffee tables, it is very pleasing on the eye. A large sculpture of a hare (The Craigielaw emblem) greets you as you walk through the entrance and, tucked in the corner, is a red sandstone fireplace with comfy seating. At the far end (some 20 metres away) is the bar and food counter with tall bar tables and stools. Located to the right of the lounge, is the restaurant dining area, with its wooden floors and striking high glass wall looking out to the grassed courtyard. This is a glorious sun trap in the summer months. The menu is simple, hearty food, which was just what the doctor ordered after such a long drive. Being somewhat tired after one too many vinos with dinner, I regaled the family on how I was going to tear the course up the following day and would go close to breaking the course record for an amateur in the process. This proved so fascinating to them that, after much over exaggerated yawning, I

was hastily whisked off to bed in our welcoming rooms for some much needed shut eye. Surprisingly, we were all up with the lark the following morning and following a fulsome Scottish breakfast, I enthusiastically dug the clubs out of the boot of my car and warmed up on the practice range. As many fellow hackers of the turf will testify, my golf is still a work in progress, but I do sincerely believe that, if it was based on enthusiasm alone, I could win a major championship. Well, maybe. On this day, my son Jack was in selfimposed golfing semi-retirement, so I pleaded and begged my daughter, Holly, to caddy with me for the morning to which, after much protestation, she reluctantly agreed. We set off on the par-3 tenth hole, which runs parallel to the on-site luxury lodges, where Tiger Woods et al had stayed during the previous week’s Open Championship. After being inspired by the thought that I was treading in his footsteps, reality dawned and I carded double bogey five, but I fared much better on the long, par-5 eleventh hole. My press-ganged caddy turned out to be a revelation, after going through a gamut of attitudinal objections. Holly is a real ‘girly girl’, who adores shopping and fashion, so she was soon complaining about the task at hand. All that grass and sand! After the first two holes, she enquired how much longer would it take. When I told her that it would be a minimum

of three hours, it went down like the proverbial lead balloon. Two holes later, she informed me that she couldn’t understand what I found so appealing about golf. That said, she soon realised that she was stuck with the situation for the next couple of hours, so she resigned herself to embracing her situation and rose to the challenge. Amazingly, by the end of the round, the transformation was complete and she was actually choosing my clubs, telling me about my lie and the cambers of the greens. She even announced that she might even consider playing a round herself, as long as she got a nice outfit out of it. On completing my round, I gave her the obligatory caddy’s wages and, while she hurried off to the shops to spend it, I was left reflecting on what a wonderful time we had had. The fact I played pretty well for my limited standard was an added bonus, but the real pinnacle of my day was some quality time with my daughter. Over the next two days, we used Craigielaw as a base camp for two trips into Edinburgh and the last night ended the same way as the day we arrived: with a lovely meal in the Clubhouse. Throughout our stay, all the staff were very friendly and most accommodating and, after picking up some souvenirs from the shop, we set off south of the border again to home. For more information on Craigielaw Golf Club visit www.craigielawgolfclub.com.

LEISURE & HOSPITALITY

Simply divine Mike Grahamslaw visits Hotel Du Vin Newcastle. ewcastle is a vibrant and exciting city so working on the premise that you don’t need to go too far to have a good time, I settled the Grahamslaw family into the Hotel du Vin on the City Road. Being a glorious day, I was pleased I had taken the decision to stay ‘at home’ as when the weather is good, there is no place like it. Rob Tait, the hotel’s general manager, is an old acquaintance of mine and a well-known figure about the town. He has now turned his expertise and enthusiasm on making the Hotel du Vin one of the leading hotel and eating establishments in the city. The 4-star boutique establishment is situated on a prime site just a stone’s throw away from the buzzing Quayside area and iconic bridges. Within five minutes walking distance of the city centre, it sits on the former site of the Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company and has been stylishly converted into 42 classy bedrooms and suites. It also boasts a trademark bistro, the intriguing Laroche wine tasting room, two impressive private dining rooms, the Bubble bar, a courtyard for alfresco dining and an outstanding wine cellar. After a friendly welcome, we checked into the Le Grande Dame suite. This is one of four large open-plan suites complete with its own huge bathroom comprising twin free standing roll top baths and a large walk in shower. There is a large seating area to sit and

relax in or watch TV as well as a mezzanine level. All the hotel’s mattresses are handsprung for ultimate comfort. It certainly had a wow factor and I could happily have stayed in the room all day - but there was exploring to do. On the afternoon in question, the test match against the Aussies was on a knife edge so my son, Jack, made use of the huge LED Smart TV while I went in search of a livener with Lisa and Holly. A lovely feature to HDV Newcastle is its large courtyard area which is perfect for alfresco dining or a drink with family and friends. It also comes complete with its own cigar shack and humidor. Having slaked our individual thirsts, we showered, changed and made our way for dinner in the superb Bistro du Vin. For the ambiance, think natural daylight, reclaimed dark-stained floorboards, restored fireplaces, framed pictures and paintings, soft lighting and comfortable chairs. I think you get the idea. Perusing the extensive menu, I was impressed to learn that they invest heavily in fresh, seasonal, locally-sourced produce. It’s all about supporting those who support you and that’s my philosophy too. The setting is most relaxing and there was a pleasing convivial hum about the place when we took our seats. There was a wide selection of starters on offer but after much deliberation, we all

opted for a seafood option. Holly and I chose the smoked salmon classic, Lisa opted for a traditional prawn and crayfish cocktail and Jack indulged his passion for mussels with the very aromatic Moules Du Vin. This was seriously good food. Our delicious starters had set our expectations high and these were easily realised by our main course choices. Normandy chicken in a mustard cream sauce, perfectly cooked fillet steaks with peppercorn sauce and a towering Bistro Burger were all summarily dispatched with indecent haste but when food is this good, it always is. While my wine knowledge has improved in recent years, one of the joys of this evening was working with the sommelier to wine match our food. It doesn’t matter how knowledgeable a wine buff you are, you can always learn something new from an expert. We skipped some amazing sounding desserts and adjourned to the tastefully furnished lounge for coffee. It doesn’t get much better than this. I also noted that the hotel offers fantastic Sunday brunch and afternoon tea menus which I am sure we will sample in the not too distant future. Overall, a very impressive experience. With the unusual venue, great accommodation, food and service, the Hotel du Vin is well worth a visit, whatever the occasion. Log onto www.hotelduvin.com/newcastle for more information.

WINE & DINE

Recipe of the month ... Try this celebrity chef’s Divine Chocolate cake in aid of National Chocolate Week.

Divine Chocolate has teamed up with celebrity chefs to create four recipes for National Chocolate Week (October 14-20). Here is Sam Stern’s delectable chocolate, chilli and orange cake which can be easily customised to suit tastes - for extra heat, add more chilli for a sweeter tooth, add fudge icing or for more decadence add the bitter chocolate icing. 150g Divine Dark Chocolate ½ teaspoon coffee granules 1 tsp chilli flakes (increase if wish), crushed with pestle & mortar/ bash with end of a rolling pin 125g butter 125g caster sugar 5 eggs, separated 75g self raising flour 1 pinch bicarbonate of soda 1 ½ tsp baking powder 2 tablespoons Divine Cocoa Powder 1 tablespoon rum or orange juice or water 1 teaspoon vanilla essence 1 tablespoon water Peel of half a medium orange, finely grated For the glaze: 2 tablespoons of good orange marmalade For the fudge icing: 300g icing sugar 25g Divine Cocoa Powder 125g butter 4 tablespoons of water Or For the bitter chocolate icing: 180g Divine Dark chocolate

powder into the bowl and then add the grated orange rind. Fold the mix gently together with a metal spoon using big scooping movements. Add the rum, vanilla and water. • Whisk five egg whites until stiff (don’t over whisk). Add to the mixture by beating in the first tablespoon to loosen the consistency. Then fold the rest in very gently using a metal spoon. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect as it can be hard to combine the two.

125g unsalted butter 1 tablespoon golden syrup Method: • Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C and line and grease a 20-22 cm tin (springform or loose based). • Melt chocolate in a bain marie by placing the pieces in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water, not allowing the bowl to touch the water. Add the coffee granules and chilli. Let the mix melt then stir with a wooden spoon. Remove bowl and leave to cool. • Meanwhile cream the softened butter with the caster sugar in a food mixer or with a wooden spoon, until light and white. Gently stir in the cooled chocolate and four egg yolks. • Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa

• Pour the mix into the tin and put it into the oven for 45-50 minutes (check after 35 – ovens vary!). To test it, prick with a cocktail stick. It should come out clean. Don’t worry if the top of the cake has cracked a bit – you’ll be icing it. Remove and place on a cooling rack. Take out of the tin after five minutes. Leave to cool. Brush the glaze on while still a bit warm. • To make the glaze, put the marmalade into a saucepan and melt over a low heat until it’s runny. Brush this onto the cooling cake base with a pastry brush. • To make the fudge icing: combine the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder in a bowl. Melt the butter and water and pour into the icing sugar mix. Beat until combined. It should be easily spreadable but not runny so you might not need all the liquid. Cover the top of the cake and sides generously with the icing, tip it then finish using a spatula. • For the bitter chocolate icing: melt chocolate pieces in a bain marie with butter and golden syrup. Pour it over the cake for a smooth finish. Let it set.

EVENT

Left to right: Mike Booth, Cory Davison, Steven Davison, Neil walker and Norman Huntington (Bedlington Bandits)

Left to right: John Heslop, Jennifer Dixon, Keith Dixon and Ian Johnson (Durhamonians)

Left to right: Tony Thornton, Jane Baillie, David Roxburgh and Neal Holloway (Radisson Blu Durham)

Variety Golf Day A day of golf at Close House in aid of the children’s charity ariety, the children’s charity, held a fundraising golf day recently at the new Lee Westwood Filly Course at Close House Hotel and Golf, Newcastle. Attendees were treated to bacon butties in the morning and a sumptuous two-course dinner at the end of the day. BBC commentator Maureen Madill, was guest speaker at the event, where she recited many of her fun, anecdotal stories from her career in golf. The event proved to be a huge success and, thanks to donations from local businesses and match funding from Barclays Bank, the day raised over £3000 for the charity, which assists sick, disabled and disadvantaged children in the northern region.

V Left to right: Fiona Southern, Clair Whitfeild, Fiona Hall and Jill Archer (Bamburgh Bangers)

Left to right: Bob Moore, Lewis Moore, Ken Marley and Chris Buckland (St James’ Place Wealth Management)

Left to right: Brian Dickenson, Alan Hynd, David Tabiner and Mike Grahamslaw (North East Times)

Left to right: Sully Reader, Kenneth Reader Jr., Julie Reader and Kenneth Reader (Reader Royals)

Left to right: John Ruddick, Matt Flinders, Simon Johnson and Julien Christopher

Left to right: David Smith, Mike Humble, John Wardle and Steve Nicholson (Team Lovejoy)

Left to right: Julia Roxburgh, Tessa McKeag, Cathy Lorains and Anne Herbert (Golden Bellas)

WINE & DINE John McDonough

Fit for a king Spey Whisky might be a global brand loved by millions but its roots and rich royal history begin in the North East of England. lmost 200 years ago on January 2, 1815, the famous poet Lord Byron married Lady Annabella Milbanke at her family home, Seaham Hall, on the rugged North East coast. In celebration of his wedding – and knowing his Royal friend’s preferences - Lord Byron sent a cask of whisky, believed to be Spey, to King George III, who was living in Kew Palace at the time. This gift began a royal relationship that continues today with Spey’s support of two Royal charities - Historic Royal Palaces and the Prince’s School of Traditional Arts – and the creation of the exclusive Royal Choice brand. Royal Choice single malt scotch whisky is produced in Spey’s boutique distillery, which nestles at the foot of the Cairngorm Mountains in Aviemore, under licence from Historic Royal Palaces, the organisation which looks after the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace. Managing director of Harvey’s of Edinburgh – the company behind Spey Whisky – is John McDonough.

John says: “Our relationship with Historic Royal Palaces is unique and extremely important to us. As well as keeping the Spey brand true to its original roots, it enables us to bring to market one of the best single malt whiskies in the world today. Although Royal Choice is only available from six outlets in the

UK, we urge people to try it if they get the chance. They certainly won’t be disappointed.” Everything about Spey Royal Choice exudes quality. Made from the finest locallysourced ingredients, using traditional, handcrafted distilling methods, Spey Royal Choice is aged in sherry casks from Spain, giving it a smooth, silky flavour with lingering notes that reminds you of biting into butterscotch candy. And each bottle comes in a beautifully hand-crafted wooden box with a certificate of authenticity. Currently Spey Royal Choice, which retails at £86, is only available to purchase through Historic Royal Palaces at the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace and Kew Palace and in the North East at Seaham Hall. For more information contact Historic Royal Palaces direct on 020 3166 6848 or visit www.historicroyalpalaces.com. Alternatively, contact Seaham Hall on (0191) 5161400 or email info@seaham-hall.co.uk.

Tasting notes • Hue: brilliant golden colour

• Aroma: light toffee with subtle hints of gooseberry

• Taste: smooth silky wheat and lingering dense creamy flavour

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• Aftertaste: warm lingering notes

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COVER STORY

A NEW YEAR TO

SHINE DR JOHN HIND, PRINCIPAL OF DAME ALLAN’S SCHOOLS, LOOKS FORWARD TO THE NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR WITH THE HOPE OF CONTINUED EXCELLENCE, THANKS IN PART TO THE SCHOOLS’ PIONEERING DIAMOND STRUCTURE.

The autumn brings the exhilaration and potential of new beginnings for pupils and staff alike. The first day of the autumn term is always special, filled with promise and, for me, one that brings to life the reality of a diamond school.

STABILITY Ten years ago, I found myself facing an entirely new situation in my teaching career, as I stood in front of an assembled girls’ school. After just over twenty years spent in single sex boys and coeducational schools, it was quite an experience. Twenty minutes later, I found myself in the same hall – the same introductory speech in hand – beginning to address a boys’ school assembly. This was the reality of the diamond school. Dame Allan’s diamond model is one that continues to shine today, shaped from our experience of over 300 years of educating boys and girls. This ‘diamond’ structure evolved to provide all the academic benefits of single sex education, combined with the social and cultural advantages of co-education. It really does deliver the best of both worlds.

HAPPINESS At the base of the diamond is the superlative new Junior School and Nursery, set in extensive grounds, which opened in September 2012. Here, the fundamental belief is that learning should be fun. The young boys and girls grow and learn to develop during their fun, formative and playful days in the Nursery. As they move through the Junior School, they feel happy and secure, giving them the confidence to learn and develop new skills. This ethos of enjoyment continues when the pupils move up to the separate Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, the core of the diamond, at the age of eleven. Here, the dedicated staff inspire and guide

them to set and achieve challenging academic goals. They encourage pupils to set high standards, tailoring their teaching to suit boys’ and girls’ recognised different ways of learning, based on the findings of research into different learning styles and preferences, that show the value of single sex education between the ages of 11 and 16. Pupils are taught by teachers who understand well the educational and emotional needs of teenage boys and girls. The single sex main schools give pupils the scope to develop at their own pace and gain confidence to flourish in their chosen subjects, without the pressures of gender stereotyping. The separation into Boys’ and Girls’ Schools encourages a self confidence and happiness that contributes to high academic development and achievement. The boys and girls come together again in the co-educational Sixth Form, at the tip of the diamond, the culmination of their journey. They are based in the superlative purpose built Queen’s Building, which was designed to create a stimulating environment for older teenagers.This year’s sixth formers will be the first to take part in the Bring Your Own Device scheme, introduced to give students greater access to online research and learning resources. This is the time students develop their talents and leadership skills too, preparing them to take their place in an ever-changing world.

EXCELLENCE The success of this diamond structure can be seen in the excellent exam results our students achieve. This January Dame Allan’s was the top performing school in Newcastle in the Government’s league tables for A levels, based on the average A level point score per pupil. This means that for five of the last seven years, Dame Allan’s has been placed first in this table, coming second in the other two years.

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This is a remarkably consistent achievement and a testament to the commitment and talent of our staff who have inspired, guided and supported our students. These tables do, however, have important limitations and I sympathise with parents who are trying to interpret these statistics. They are becoming increasingly complex and contain anomalies caused by varying criteria added in year by year. However, I believe the biggest anomaly of league tables is their inability to reflect the many extra-curricular commitments our students make, an important consistent measure of their achievements. Earlier this year, for example, the Girls’ School Under 15 and Under 19 squash teams and the Year 9 netball teams all reached national finals. Our students have shown outstanding business acumen and enterprise too, with a team of girls from Year 11 representing the region in the final of the Girls’ School Association’s ‘Ahead of the Game’ competition, while Year 12 student, Thomas Boyle, created a Northern Business Leaders’ Forum, giving sixth form students and guests from neighbouring schools an unprecedented opportunity to hear advice on starting out on the career ladder. One highlight of the plethora of charitable efforts of pupils from all the Schools was the Bubble challenge, a city wide competition to raise money for the specialist ‘Bubble Unit’ at Newcastle’s Great North Children’s Hospital. Dame Allan’s Junior School won the challenge, raising £4600 for the charity in a fitting finale for their first year, at Hunter’s Moor. All this activity requires energy, enthusiasm and effort to develop each pupil’s talent. However, this is not a chore. A fundamental element of all their achievements at Dame Allan’s is joy. Yes, the students work hard. Yes, it’s challenging. But when they enjoy their endeavours, students can achieve their best. Further information on Dame Allan’s Schools can be found at www.dameallans.co.uk

Dr John Hind

COME AND SEE WHAT DAME ALLANâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S SCHOOLS ARE MADE OF: Dame Allan's Boys' School Open Morning Saturday October 5

Dame Allan's Girls' School Open Morning Saturday October 12

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Dame Allan's Sixth Form Open Evening Thursday November 7

EDUCATION

First steps of education Why one of the North East’s leading childcare providers changed its approach to pre-school learning. n 2012, Kids 1st Nurseries made the decision to formalise the delivery of its pre-school units with a more structured approach to learning. This was in response to the revision of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) which highlighted the importance of children’s readiness for school. The EYFS learning programme is based largely on the premise that children are at their peak learning potential between the ages of one and six years old. Kids 1st believe that it is vital that they build on what children have already learned at home and continue to a lay a solid foundation for formal education in the following ways: Emphasis on both adult led and child initiated activities

The importance of good manners and positive behaviour Home learning packs for continuity of care between home and nursery Parents information evenings to help support their child’s learning journey They also offer some addition curricular activities such as educational outings each term, music and movement sessions and an

introduction to modern languages, to help your child get a head start in life.

Technology and Learning In September last year, Kids 1st Nurseries invested in new interactive whiteboards for each of their nine pre-school units. Allison Winship, head of Childcare at Kids 1st, said: “The whiteboards are used to support all seven areas of learning in the EYFS and through careful planning from our staff it provides the children with an additional source of education.

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“Since they were installed last year we are really seeing the benefits; children are already able to independently navigate their way around the boards, change programmes and explore other uses.” The children are fully supervised and supported throughout each session to ensure that they are given the opportunity to explore the potential of the whiteboards and to help them find the information they are looking for. Staff are able to access news, pictures and stories via the Internet and these are used to encourage the children’s awareness of current affairs and the world around them. Next year it will be ten years since the first Kids 1st Nursery opened on Rake Lane in North Tyneside and Allison is proud to say: “At Kids 1st we always have and always will invest in our nurseries and our childcare provision to ensure that we continue to offer the highest quality of care and education.” Kids 1st Nurseries is a family run business with nine purpose-built nurseries located across the North East of England. In 2011 and 2012 Kids 1st was named the ‘Highest Quality Childcare Provider in the UK’ by Nursery World. For further information about the nurseries please call: (0191) 461 8877 or visit: www.kids1st.net

SPORT

The changing face of NUFC Roger Tames of Box to Box Media reflects on Newcastle United under Kevin Keegan and its present regime. he warm wave of nostalgia that swept across St James’ Park at goalkeeper Steve Harper’s recent testimonial match provided an obvious contrast to the cold chill that often permeates the current mood at Newcastle United. Any player who spent time in the golden glow of the Kevin Keegan era is guaranteed hero status on Tyneside. It wasn’t just the Bearsdley, Ferdinand and Shearer ‘superstar’ players whose appearance were greeted with such genuine affection. KK signings such as Brian Kilcline, Scott Sellars and Paul Kitson were also welcomed home with spontaneous enthusiasm. Yet the bond with Keegan’s time in charge owes more than simply the footballing skills of the players he attracted to the club. The Premier League was in its infancy with Sky Sports new-age television coverage making watching football in the pub a new weekly experience. Football was exciting again and Keegan launched Newcastle as a ratings winning team.

The timing was perfect all round. The city of Newcastle was changing rapidly with the rebirth of the quayside. The football club did much to give Tyneside an attractive image – and Geordies’ instinctive civic pride swelled accordingly.

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The players too were dashing (Cole), glamorous (Ginola) and even exotic (Asprilla). Stars like Les Ferdinand, Warren Barton and Rob Lee reversed the talent drain by leaving London and heading north up the A1. Gascoigne and Waddle had been obliged to use the southbound carriageway only. There was an openness about the football club, too, fostered not only by the manager but chairman Sir John Hall. Fans could just roll up to watch training. The media was welcome to talk to players who were genuine characters with something interesting to say. You could even bump into the team on a night out in town but without the more modern excesses of footballers’ behaviour. The football climate has changed much, in fairness. The game was more simple then. The differences with the current regime at Gallowgate though, are still blindingly obvious. Sometimes it’s not just results that matter. Newcastle United is not primarily a brand or a business – it’s a club. And at a club, people belong.

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INTERVIEW

FROM

P L A S T I C TO B SCU T NORTH EAST TIMES TALKS TO THE OWNER OF THE BISCUIT FACTORY, RAMY ZACK, ABOUT CREATING A CREATIVE HUB IN THE EAST END OF NEWCASTLE. venue that can seat up to 300 people for events and functions, and the Biscuit Box where we will open 50 studios and 20 music studios.

WHY DID YOU OPEN THE BISCUIT FACTORY? Having had a keen interest in art from a young age, I thought the building in Stoddard Street, on the edge of the Ouseburn, would be the perfect venue for artists’ studios and a gallery. The Baltic, which opened in the same year, didn’t appear to help local artists much, so I thought this would be the perfect venue to showcase their work. The Biscuit Factory opened in November 2002, so we are about to celebrate our 11th anniversary.

HOW DOES THE BISCUIT FACTORY PICK ITS FEATURED ARTISTS? After nearly 11 years, many artists find us. They send their CVs to the gallery and our team of curators decide whether and when we can accommodate them. From the start, we have tried to be very region friendly although because of the size of the gallery, we can offer the widest possible choice with a great array of artists.

WHAT WAS YOUR BACKGROUND BEFORE THIS? My background is in plastics: I have a manufacturing company specialising in the horticulture industry. Both Marilyn, my wife, and I became keen art collectors in our late teens and our love for the visual arts took us to many galleries at home and abroad. The next step to open a gallery seemed logical.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE LOOKING TO INVEST IN ART? First and foremost: buy what you like. It is not easy to predict which artists will make it big, but in the meantime you can surround yourself with beautiful pieces which you love. Visit as many galleries as you can and build up a relationship with the staff, they are in tune with the market and will keep you posted when new interesting pieces arrive. Also, read art magazines, go to exhibition openings and add your name to galleries’ mailing lists so they can keep you posted of their latest news.

THERE WASN’T ANYTHING QUITE LIKE THE BISCUIT FACTORY IN NEWCASTLE AT THE TIME. DID IT FEEL LIKE A RISK? I knew from our research that there was a demand for artists’ studios in the area; opening a gallery where the artist could show their work was a part of that. I knew that the people of the North East had a healthy interest in original art, so I thought it was worth the risk.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE ARTIST/STYLE?

HOW HAS THE GALLERY DEVELOPED SINCE IT OPENED?

Fortunately, my wife and I have a similar taste in art. Our style is very eclectic; we buy what we love, from seascapes over portraits to abstracts. At the moment, we tend to buy more sculpture and 3D as our children are now older and we are running out of wall space.

The Biscuit Factory is a continuous project: it now includes 35,000sq ft, over four floors of gallery space, over 30 studios, an award-winning restaurant, a café with its own terrace and flexible areas for event hire and conference facilities. The Biscuit Factory is run by manager Rachel Brown and a 20-strong dedicated team of curators and assistants. As the demand for artist’s studio’s grew, I further opened The Biscuit Tin (40 studios) in nearby Warwick Street and The Newsroom Studios (nine studios) in the former Chronicle buildings. In 2010, in partnership with The Methodist Church, The Biscuit Factory developed The Holy Biscuit; a cultural hub for the community that works collaboratively with professional partners, regional & national organisations, charities, universities, schools and artists to present a full and varied program of exhibitions and events. The Biscuit Factory Foundation is another initiative we have created. It is a charity with the aims of nurturing and developing the practice and appreciation of the visual arts in the North East. That is to provide a professional platform for new and emerging artists to develop their artistic practice in addition to presenting opportunities for the wider public to engage with cultural events and activities. We are also currently developing the Biscuit Rooms, a multi-purpose

WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS/ASPIRATIONS FOR THE ‘BISCUIT’ BRAND? We hope that The Biscuit Factory will continue to be the artistic hub it is now. There are constantly new and exciting artists emerging, so we will have art to show for many years to come. Once our new projects are finished, everything will have its own place within the Biscuit group. We also hope to expand the works of our charity The Biscuit Factory Foundation in supporting the visual arts in the North East. We hope to help to make the Ouseburn area into the arts quarter of the city, a place where locals and tourists alike can wander surrounded by creative hubs. We are also planning a Plazza square for art events behind The Biscuit Box studios. We are also on the verge of re-launching our restaurant, which will be called ARTisan with award-winning chef Andrew Wilkinson at the helm. So watch this space.

For further information on The Biscuit Factory visit www.thebiscuitfactory,com

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MOTORS

Behind the wheel by Jessica Laing

F.Y.I. Max power: 134bhp Max torque: 160nm Max speed: 127mph CO2 emissions: 149g/km

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LOTUS ELISE 1.6 ffering exhilarating top-down motoring at an affordable price, the Lotus Elise 1.6 is the perfect choice for anyone wanting supercar performance combined with city car economy. Power is provided by an eager 1.6-litre engine, which controls valve timing and lift to vary the volume of airflow, ensuring optimal performance. Inside, you’ll discover a host of exciting features, including 6-speed manual transmission, which features sports ratios, ergonomically designed sports bucket seats and contoured steering wheel. Aluminium features strongly inside the model – you’ll see a machined aluminium handbrake grip and gearlever knob, as well as perfectly positioned pedals – and black cloth is fitted as standard. The purebred sports car also features face-level vents, a 4speaker system and Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management), which offers extra stability when high levels of grip are exceeded.

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ADVERTISER’S FEATURE

The heart of the home Make your kitchen the centre of your world, with Walter Dix & Co. t’s no secret that regardless of the size of your house, the one room you spend most of your time in is the kitchen. Whether it’s lovingly creating a family dinner, or relaxing with friends over a takeout, Walter Dix & Co has been helping to personalise kitchens across the region for over 125 years. This is the room that gets the creative juices flowing and where culinary masterpieces are made. Whether a special occasion or a simple family meal, it is important to love the place that joins your family together as one. With this in mind, Walter Dix & Co prides itself on helping to realise customers’ dream kitchens by providing specialist advice and an extensive product range to build their vision. With 125 years of knowledge and experience in supplying cooking and heating equipment, this family-run business is your dedicated range cooker specialist. Walter Dix & Co is an accredited AGA stockist, which are unique and stylish appliances and, contrary to belief, you do not have to have a large kitchen to house one. From their innovative refrigeration

envisage how you would like to transform your home. With their team of specialised industry professionals rest assured, you’ll be in the best possible creative hands. The highly skilled and welcoming team are on hand to deal with all of your equipment requirements, large or small, Monday to Friday, from 8.30am to 5pm and Saturday from 9.30am to 1pm. Walter Dix & Co has also recently announced that, for the next 12 months, it will be suporting he work of regional children’s charity Dreamflight, to improve the lives of sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across the North East.

equipment to their beautifully crafted cookers, an AGA appliance can instantly transform the heart of your home. The company’s Team Valley showroom, at 1 Stirling Court, Eleventh Avenue North, is the only authorised AGA dealerships premier cooker showrooms in the North East: when you enter the showroom, you can start to

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For more information on Walter Dix & Co, the services and products on offer, upcoming events and demonstrations as well as some great money saving deals and promotions, please visit the website www.wdix.co.uk, call (0191) 482 0033 or email sales@wdix.co.uk For regular posts, special offers and product information you can ‘like’ Walter Dix & Co on Facebook or ‘follow’ @WalterDixCo on Twitter.

MOTORS

The trio of Nissan Leafs supplied by Benﬁeld Nissan that led the ﬁeld in the Bupa Great North Run.

Leading the race Nissan Leaf and Benfield play pivotal roles in the Bupa Great North Run. he Nissan Leaf – the world’s best selling 100 per cent electric car has again led the field in the iconic Bupa Great North Run. For the second year running a trio of the Sunderland-built models played high profile roles at the heart of the world famous half marathon, helping to make the event one of the greenest on the sporting calendar as well as the most popular. The three vehicles led the 56,000 male, female and wheelchair elite athletes along the 13.1-mile route from Newcastle to South Shields and again all three vehicles were provided by Benfield, which operates Nissan dealerships in Newcastle,Gateshead and Carlisle.

Martin Watson, general manager at Benfield Nissan in Newcastle, said: “As a family-owned North East business it was a great honour that Benfield was able to play such a pivotal role in this high profile event that has come to symbolise the spirit and passion of the region. “Dozens of members of the Benfield team also took part in the run and it was a real thrill for the company to be at the heart of the action.” Eric Wilkins, chief executive of Nova International, the organisers of the Bupa Great North Run, said: “We are delighted that Benfield and Nissan once again supported the Bupa Great North Run both with their vehicles and their team of runners in what is always a

great weekend for the North-East of England.” Launched in the UK earlier this year, the second generation Nissan Leaf features more than 100 improvements on its trailblazing predecessor and is now even more appealing, practical and affordable than ever. The new Leaf can be fully charged in as little as four hours when using a specialist charging point. What’s more, the model now comes in three distinct trim levels for greater choice, while a new battery leasing option makes financing more flexible and an enhanced battery warranty gives added peace of mind. For more details about the Nissan Leaf or to book a test drive, visit www.drivebenfield.com

Run Geordie Run Australian charity challenge gets a massive boost from Benfield Motor Group ... he North East’s very own running machine, Run Geordie Run, aka Mark Allison, has taken a giant leap forward ahead of his amazing 2600 mile charity run across Australia... with the announcement of a major partnership with the North East’s largest Motor Group, Benfield. Mark has teamed up with the family business to help raise funds and awareness for his chosen charities, The Children’s Foundation and The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation, before he fly’s off to Australia on October 8, for his latest incredible challenge. The planned 70 day trek starting in Perth on October 16, is due to finishon Christmas Eve in Sydney and follows Marks amazing 3100 mile run acrossthe USA in 2011. Mark said: “I’m getting really excited now and at the same time very nervous. The prospect of running 41 miles per day in the

Mark Allison, of Run Geordie Run with representatives of the The Children’s Foundation and The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

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heat of the Australian Summer is a challenge that I'm looking forward to immensely. I’m also looking forward to taking people on the virtual journey across Australia via take www.rungeordierun.com and my social media feeds. “I am delighted that such a large and respected North East business like Benfield has become my main sponsor for the run. Mark King, Benfield Motor Group, said: “Run Geordie Run has captured the hearts and minds of not only the North East people but around the world too. “Benfield is a North East family business and Mark is a great ambassador for the region and we are delighted to support him and to help raise as much money as possible for The Children’s Foundation and The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.”

MOTORS

Chris Nixon, franchise manager at Jennings Kia in Washington, with the new pro_cee’d GT model.

Turning up the heat New hot hatch pro_cee’d GT model is available at Jennings Kia. ia’s latest model – the new high performance three-door pro_cee’d GT hot hatchback is turning heads at Jennings Kia, part of the Jennings Motor Group. The group’s Parsons Road dealership in Washington and the new Stockton showroom located on Concorde Way, has Kia’s most performance orientated, yet practical and affordable model on display and readily available for customers to test drive. Priced from £19,995, the latest unique-looking model sits at the top of the popular cee’d range and comes with Kia’s market-leading seven-year peace of mind warranty package. Designed in Europe under the direction of president and chief design officer, Peter Schreyer, the pro_cee’d GT builds on the sophistication of the rest of the range with a bolder more athletic styling. This is enhanced with distinctive LED daytime running lights, dual exhaust pipes and 18-inch alloy wheels and eye-catching red brake callipers. Powered by a turbo-charged 1.6-litre direct injection petrol engine, the new pro_cee’d GT is capable of accelerating from 0-60mph in 7.4 seconds and can reach a top speed of 143mph. Customers can choose from two trim lines: the GT and GT Tech. The GT model comes with an impressive level of specification as standard including, 18 inch alloy wheels with graphite finish, Recaro® front seats and part leather/part faux suede upholstery, Ice Cube LED daytime

running lights, electrically folding, adjustable and heated door mirrors with LED indicators and kerbside lights, speed and multifunction LCD full colour display with GT performance mode, Bluetooth® with voice recognition and music streaming, reversing sensors, black headlining and privacy glass, cruise control and speed limiter and driver and front passenger power lumbar support. The GT Tech model adds a 7 inch touch screen satellite navigation with European mapping, reversing camera system, heated steering wheel, heated front seats, engine start/stop button with Smart entry system, exterior door handle illumination, dual automatic air conditioning with Ioniser, rain sensing front wipers, Xenon adaptive front lighting system with automatic levelling and front wiper de-icer. The Kia pro_cee’d GT’s safety features give customers complete peace of mind motoring. Specification as standard includes six airbags, seatbelt reminder warnings for all five seats and Isofix anchoring points, in addition to speed sensing door locking, impact sensing door unlocking and height adjustable headrests. Chris Nixon, who has recently taken over as franchise manager at Jennings Kia in Washington, said: “The new GT model has a very distinctive design and unique look. “It’s sporty, it’s sleek and despite it being Kia’s most performance orientated model, it still remains affordable, practical and comfortable for everyday use, in addition to offering an array of

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technology and features.” In addition to the GT and GT Tech trim, customers are also being given the opportunity to take advantage of a limited model – the GT 1st Edition. Only 500 models are being manufactured, with 50 available in the UK. Customers can also look forward to a GT version of the five-door cee’d model, which is expected in early 2014. Jennings Kia dealerships in Washington and Teesside are responsible for selling the entire Kia model line-up to customers. Other models in the range, which are on display and available to test drive at the dealerships, include the Picanto, Rio, Venga, Soul, cee’d, pro_cee’d, Carens, cee’d SW, Sportage, Sorento and Optima. All of the models are available with Kia’s seven-year peace of mind warranty package. Customer’s aftersales needs are also catered for with service, bodyshop and parts departments. Fully trained and approved Kia technicians are available to carry out work to the highest standards on customer’s vehicles. For more information about the range of products and services available at Jennings Kia, contact the Parsons Road dealership in Washington on (0191) 5525810 or the group’s new Concorde Way Stockton showroom on (01642) 632299. Alternatively visit www.jenningsmotorgroup.co.uk

H E A LT H

Best foot forward With over 41,000 people completing the Great North Run last month, Spire Washington Hospital’s specialist physiotherapist in lower limb problems, Andrew Appleyard, discusses common running injuries, treatments and prevention. What sort of injuries do you see after the Great North Run? The reality is that most people don’t prepare properly for something like the Great North Run. We see a variety of problems from pelvic pain, ITB syndrome (a common runner’s injury on the side of the thigh) to anterior knee pain, shin splints, achilles tendon problems and plantar fasciitis, which affects the fascia that runs under the foot. One common problem is that people attempt to manage their injuries and think they’ll go away on their own, but if you are getting into running, you need to explore the reasons why the problem occurred in the first place. Generally, it’s down to training errors or the mechanics of how you run.

What sort of treatment do runners generally require? We analyse why the injury occurred but after the Great North Run, the cause is obvious. It’s very rare that a person will need surgery. The key message is to allow the injury to settle down and it then comes down to what you want to do afterwards. It may be a matter of letting it get better without any intervention – if you were pretty sedentary before and you go back to doing very little active exercise, then rest, professional advice and some soft tissue therapy should see everything heal, depending on the severity of the problem. Seeking advice quickly is important to ensure

best management and quick recovery, and we can see people at Spire Washington Hospital within a couple of days. Sometimes, just getting the right advice as a first port of call can help you start to manage your injury properly and speed up the recovery process.

What sort of people are most likely to suffer from running-related injuries? Running is a fun thing to do and often people (especially amateurs) don’t pay too much attention to potential problems, but anyone can end up with injuries. People who have sedentary lifestyles who then start high impact exercise that their body isn’t ready for tend to hurt themselves. We see lots of people with injures from boot camps, too. It’s worth knowing that the more training you do without a proper training plan in place, the more likely you are to get injured. If you are training five or six times a week, you are probably not giving yourself enough recovery time. If you train every other day, you are allowing your body the opportunity to repair itself. People who have been doing sport for a long time are less likely to be injured because their body is used to it and they are more likely to be informed about their chosen activity and its impact on the body.

Can you help runners prevent future injures?

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If you intend to continue with regular running, we can definitely help and would look at the way you run. Are you flat-footed, what sort of strength do you have, what is your training regime? We would identify the most significant problems and help the runner to correct them. We use exercises and a full clinical assessment, including an assessment of the leg stance. For example, I may ask people to do one-legged squats. Can they control those? Remember, five times your body weight is coming down on your leg when you’re running so that’s quite an impact. If you don’t have great strength, your body is good at compensating to deal with small problems, but not when there are a lot of problems happening at once. Injuries always come down to a combination of issues. We look at whether your training regime is correct, and we can give guidance so that you progress appropriately and don’t overload your body. It’s really about the work you do leading up to a much bigger run. Our job is to make people aware that we are here if they do need any advice about their training or help to recover from injury. All the advice we give is evidence based and personalised to the individual. If you’ve had a running injury or want to improve your style for the future, contact Spire Washington Hospital on (0191) 415 1272. Alternatively, visit www.spirewashington.com

WELL-BEING

A culture of care Christine Henderson, the manager of Eothen residential care home in Whitley Bay – which provides Christian care for the elderly – talks to North East Times. What are Eothen Homes and how are you different? Eothen Homes is a Christian organisation and this immediately sets us apart from other residential homes because it gives us a completely different ethos. We’re a small company focused on a very personalised service. We have a rule that everyone coming into contact with us matters, whether they are employees, residents, families or other professionals such as healthcare providers or solicitors. We often hear, ‘thank goodness we found you’ from people and have relatives asking whether they can book in to one of our homes for the future. The fact the majority of our business comes from word of mouth says a lot.

Picking a residential home can be difficult for a variety of reasons. Why is this? Picking a home can be a very difficult decision for those involved for a range of reasons. Emotionally, it can be challenging for the individual and their family and on a practical level, it’s often the first time they have ever had to do this so it can be a step into the unknown. It’s for this reason we try to provide as much guidance as possible during the search and settling in phases, and remain on hand as much as necessary. There has also been a lot of bad press about care homes so people can be quite fearful of

what they will find. You’d be surprised at how many are concerned by what they have seen in the media – people are immediately reassured on their arrival here. We try very hard to dispel all the misconceptions and fill in the blanks about what is good about residential care.

What should people consider when searching for a residential home for themselves or someone they love? The first thing anyone should do is look at the standard of care that’s on offer. We always recommend just turning up at a home without making an appointment the first time because what it is really like will become apparent very quickly. You can get an immediate feel of whether it might suit from the attitude of the staff, to how the place looks and how the residents are being treated. It might sound silly but also the person who will live in the home should also go on the visit – this doesn’t always happen. Looking at the Care Quality Commission website and also Care Homes UK can be beneficial. Both sites can help you create a decent shortlist to research further. Looking at the comments people are making about each home can be useful too. Location should factor into the decision – do you need a residential care home near local amenities and transport? Does the environment suit? A modern design can wow families but we find our traditional furnishings

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are just right for those who stay with us. We keep our care homes homely for a reason – it’s how our residents want it.

Is the culture of a home important? Culture is hugely important. Sometimes it can be hard to see past the ‘hard sell’ but our advice is to speak to the staff and watch how they behave and interact with residents. We have staff who have been with us for years and those who live here appreciate that continuity. Furthermore, people should ask residents their views too because they are already living the experience. We carry out an annual satisfaction survey in which we score highly and are happy to share this with anyone. We keep a copy up on the noticeboard for all to see. Every home should make this type of information as accessible as possible. Finally, check out what else is on offer. We provide a range of activities such as life history and drama and arrange meals out locally. Coming to a residential home does not mean losing your independence but achieving a safe and happy lifestyle for the future. Making sure everyone is happy and secure is our ultimate goal. Eothen Homes is a charity, established in 1950. It has residential care homes in Gosforth and Surrey and Whitley Bay. For further information visit www.eothenhomes.org.uk

BUSINESS

Green cleaning South Shields-based Newlife prides itself on its eco-friendly approach. ewlife Cleaning Systems regularly test new technologies and using ecofriendly cleaning supplies is one of its top priorities. With over 30 years of experience in the field, the range of services and fully trained employees has established an unrivalled level of customer satisfaction. Newlife avoids the use of chemically reactive and toxic products and instead choose to invest in biodegradable products, which are designed to preserve human health and environmental quality. Offering a wide selection of specialist cleaning services, including office cleaning, industrial parts cleaning and high level cleaning, as well as medical and clinical cleaning and floor treatments, the cleaning company can ensure that your cleaning requirements are understood and organised efficiently to enhance the running of your business, in an eco-friendly way. All staff members are also fully trained and given NVQ qualifications as well as being CRB checked for those venues that require it. Newlife is pleased to offer a complimentary, no obligation cleaning services quote to assess your needs, address your requirements and provide an entirely tailored package. Quotes can be provided by contacting one of the Newlife team on 08000 189 099 or by emailing sales.national@newlifecleaning.com. To find out more about Newlife Cleaning Systems and to view the services offered, visit www.newlifecleaning.com. Alternatively, for regular posts and updates @NewlifeClean can be found on Twitter. Newlife Cleaning Systems Limited is located at Town Hall Chambers, 7 Beach Road, South Shields.

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WELL-BEING

Pain after running? Antonia Pellegrino of Be-fit explains how tackling muscle imbalances can help runners achieve their goals. few months ago, I spoke about golf and the muscular imbalances created by the nature of the swing. The force of the swing over time causes muscles to become tight and strong or stressed and weak. If you did the Great North Run, the chances are that you will have a niggle somewhere in your body. To be able to be good at any activity, certain movement patterns must be drummed into to nervous system. Practice makes perfect, but it can also make imbalances! The week after the GNR, we see many new clients with tight hips, sore knees, tight necks and shoulders and sore feet. Being strong/fit and being structurally balanced should go hand in hand. For the body to be balanced, each muscle has to be free to do it’s desired function. We will always over recruit certain muscles and favour one side of the body. At Be-fit, we perform Structural Balance assessments instead of fitness tests. We determine muscular imbalance before you train. This helps to minimise injury and also gives us insight into what your body needs to be doing during your sessions.

Do you want to get to the root of your knee and hip niggles? If you look at the picture of a runners leg (circle photo), you may notice that the ankle is twisted in and the knee points the opposite direction.

We have four main muscles on the upper part of our legs, hence they are called the quads. In many athletes, in particular runners, the muscle on the inside of the knee is ‘fast asleep’. This muscle is called the vastus medialus or VMO for short. It is responsible for knee and hip stability, changing direction and deceleration, all things that we need for running effectively! If, for example, your knee hurts coming down the stairs, it is often because this muscle is weak. Of course, there are many muscles in the legs, as well as cartilage and connective tissue than can cause stability issues. However, on the whole, getting this muscle strong can help lots of knee issues. A quick and easy way to strengthen the VMO

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is to perform step ups. You can even start with the bottom step in your home. If you have chronic knee pain or are unsure of this exercise we can help you. Try ten repetitions on each side, keeping the working leg on the step and trying to drive your foot through the step. Another element of leg and back pain is the imbalance of the ITB or iliotibial band. This stabilising part of our anatomy, runs down the outside of the leg. When the muscles in the leg are imbalanced, the body often recruits this connective tissue instead of the correct muscle. This is another reason that in the runners image, the knee comes across instead of straight over the toes. To stretch the ITB iliotibial band: Place a foot on the bottom step and turn the foot outwards, keeping the leg straight. Gently bend the knee of the supporting leg and keep your back straight. Very gently, lean forwards, keeping your leg straight and feel the stretch up the leg. There are many muscles in the hips, legs, ankles etc that can be responsible for imbalance and pain. At Be-fit, we can asses this in your first session and see what your individual needs are. If you’re planning to do the Great North Run next year, then it’s worth thinking about structurally balancing your body now in preparation for the 13.1 mile challenge. For your running-specific structural balance assessment, call us at Be-fit on (0191) 2135300 or email info@be-fit.co.uk

SPORT

My favourite golf hole ... In a series for North East Times, Stephen Charlton of Stokoe Rodger reveals his top golfing locations.

he golf course that has been rated in many golf publications as number one in the British Isles is Turnberry. Although I had been a spectator at three Open Championships there, I hadn’t played it so I made Turnberry the destination for this year’s annual golf trip with my friends. Turnberry is located on the southwest coast of Scotland in the county of Ayrshire near the small fishing town of Girvan. There are two courses; the Kintyre and the Ailsa (the Championship course named after the enormous granite rock formation, Ailsa Craig, which sits alone in the sea ten miles offshore. Both courses were redesigned in the late 1940s after they had been turned into an airfield during World War II. The stretch of holes on the Ailsa that stood out to me were the 4th to 11th which hug the dunes and coastline. They are all quality but the most outstanding was the 9th, named Bruce’s Castle. Leaving the 8th green the sound of the sea can be heard breaking against the rocky

shoreline. A narrow footpath then takes you out to a small teeing area perched on top of the rocks, surrounded by the sea, with the other famous landmark, Turnberry Lighthouse, to the left and, beyond that, the ruins of a castle (after

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which the hole is named). The drive is daunting; it is partially blind, you aim at a cairn stone set in the fairway. It requires a carry of some 200 yards over rocks and sea to a fairway that is hogbacked, making it difficult to stay on. The second shot is played slightly downhill to a long narrow green which is surrounded on both sides by mounds and hollows. Interestingly for a links course, there are no bunkers on the hole. I must also mention the dining room at the Turnberry Hotel, said to have the finest view of any in the world of golf. The hotel is painted white with terracotta tiles on the roof which makes for a striking contrast. It stands on a hill overlooking the courses and this affords a spectacular vista, especially from the formal dining room. Whilst enjoying the sumptuous food and fine wine, we had a panoramic view over the courses below, the lighthouse, the Firth of Clyde, the Mull of Kintyre in the distance with the sun setting over the mountains of Arran – I would recommend it to anyone.

INTERVIEW

Get to know me ...

Nigel Hudson Managing director of Mintprice.com, the online price comparison site for office supplies.

When i was growing up, i wanted to be, believe it or not, a magician. I had the Paul Daniels set as a kid and thought it was fantastic – even though it was nothing like what I saw on television. Even now, I love the mystery, especially of close up magic. It’s a real skill and great fun.

My first job was assembling fire extinguishers on a youth opportunity scheme. Looking back, my younger self would never have expected me to turn into an established entrepreneur, that’s for sure. I wonder what I would have thought about the fact I now sell all sorts of office supplies!

I'd tell my 18 year old self to pay attention at school and knuckle down. I had a typical teenage attitude and should have paid more attention to my studies. That said, it didn’t affect my prospects – I did my MBA at the age of 28 and have since then played

my part in establishing some highly successful North East businesses, which I’m proud of.

I’m inspired by people who leave a positive legacy and that’s across all walks of life, not just in business. I have a lot of time for Bill Gates, because he achieved incredible business success and now spends most of his time helping make the world a better place for less fortunate people. He’s doing something useful with his money and is very proactive about it.

My greatest achievement is getting my kids through their education in one piece (unlike me). They’re happy and healthy and following their dreams, which is what I always hoped for.

When i need a helping hand I have a number of colleagues who I can bounce big ideas off. I also look around for support from organisations, such as

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the Entrepreneurs’ Forum.

My favourite book has to be Dr Seuss – The Cat in the Hat. It’s full of fantastic advice (for adults and kids) and just wonderfully illustrated. In fact, I bought it the other day for my nephew, and as always, the first reading with him was very special. Everyone should have the whole series in the house.

In my spare time, i love to play golf, spend time with family and travel. I’d better say not necessarily in that order.

In five years time, I’ll, hopefully, be taking Mintprice.com to new heights or even building another business, depending on what opportunities arise. Following on from my earlier answer, hopefully I’ll also be doing something of lasting value that is charity-based. For further information visit www.mintprice.com