Northern Insight - November 2015

INSIGHT NORTHERN

NOVEMBER 2015

The Power of Being Understood business property media technology motors leisure issue 5

No17 Northern Insight Magazine (273x180mm) w\c 12\10\15

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NORTHERN INSIGHT

foreword Welcome to the November edition of Northern Insight Magazine.

5 issues in and we are going from strength to strength which is due to the fantastic support from readers and advertisers alike.

This months edition features much to enjoy and enthuse.

We showcase party fashion from Intu Metrocentre, an Entrepreneurs interview with United Carlton, dining out from Yolo, golf from Ravensworth and all your social event coverage alongside much much more.

Thanks to all for your support on the journey so far.

Enjoy!

Michael Grahamslaw, publisher

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contents october 15

Business News - 6 Cover Story - 12-13 Baker Tilly

Entrepreneurs Interview - 22-23 Mark Bryce

Fashion - 26-27 Technology News - 54

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Arts News - 62-63 Leisure News - 66-67

credits Managing Director - Michael Grahamslaw Design & Web - Louise O’Rourke, Ruairi McGuinness Lead Photography - Crest Photography Additional Photography - Gordon Taylor

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Editorial Contributors Ken Spearen, Jack Grahamslaw, Holly Grahamslaw, Gordon Taylor, Alex Nelson, Alastair Stewart www.northern-insight.co.uk

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@ninsightmag

All photos are copyright MJG Publishing Ltd and are taken solely for use in Northern Insight. If you wish to purchase a photograph please contact Michael Grahamslaw on mjgrahamslaw@outlook.com 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 are free of charge, for adverts designed by Northern Insight (MJG Publishing Ltd) Cancellations: If an advert is cancelled by the booker within a 7 day period prior to our print deadline, the advert will be charged in full, plus VAT. Editorial Editorial Contributions should include a stamped addressed envelope. No responsibility is accepted for drawings, photographs or literary contributions during transmission, or while in the Managing Directors or Printers hands.

Editorial must be received by the 15th of the month or no responsibility 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, a loss of artwork, tranparencies or photographs.

Complaints will only be considered for up to a week after publication. Advertising must be received by the 20th of the month. No responsibility is accepted for errors.

© 2015 Published by MJG Publishing Ltd

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BUSINESS NEWS

City and private sector partnership bringing jobs and growth to Newcastle A city-wide partnership is bringing quality jobs and training to Newcastle through the first completed phase of the £200m Stephenson Quarter development.

Quarter multi-storey car park has also recently opened.

Around 130, predominantly local people now work at the newly opened Crowne Plaza Newcastle hotel. Training for existing and future staff is being provided by a unique partnership between the hotel, Gateshead and Newcastle colleges and Brenikov Training.

Michelle Percy, Managing Director of Stephenson Hotel Ltd and Director of Clouston Group, explained: “This was a vision and development borne out of the recession, which with valuable City Council support, has started to come to fruition, creating new business premises and hospitality attractions for the city and wider region.”

Clouston Group, the developer behind the project, have now started marketing the nearby office building, The Rocket, which may accommodate up to 350 new jobs when fully occupied. The adjacent 360-space Stephenson

Cllr Ged Bell, cabinet member for investment and development at Newcastle City Council, who recently visited the site, said: “The Stephenson Quarter is a prime example of what can be achieved through a strong and committed public

private sector partnership. We’ve taken advantage of powers granted to us by securing a City Deal for Newcastle. We look forward to working together with Clouston Group in the next phases of the development.”

IHG, parent group of Crowne Plaza, embraced the vision of Clouston Group and has confirmed it will establish Newcastle as its 200th IHG Academy in Europe.

Andrew Fox, General Manager at Crowne Plaza Newcastle, explained: “For our site to be named an IHG Academy is a big coup for both us, our partners and the wider city. It shows the commitment to raising the standards of training and customer service.”

Hat trick of industrial business wins for PR consultancy Leading North East PR and marketing consultancy, MHW PR, is celebrating winning three major new accounts within the last three months. The success has come at a time of growth and during their 15th year of operation.

MHW has just been appointed to undertake a national PR campaign for Blaydon-based electrical engineering business, Slaters Electricals.

This family business recently restructured for an ambitious growth programme.

Bespoke glass manufacturer, Romag, have also recently appointed MHW to help its range of specialist media. The Consett-based company have been making specialist glass products since 1943.

And during the summer, Lucion Environmental, a fast-growing asbestos surveying and risk management company, appointed MHW for a range of PR activities.

Wayne Halton, director at MHW, said: “The business landscape has altered since we started

It pays to advertise...

15 years ago. But fundamental to all activity is intelligent thinking to design the right strategy to get the client’s message in front of new and existing customers.”

Fellow director, Ian Watson, added: “We’ve always had a strong business-to-business background to offer. But our expertise in certain trade and technical environments is helping us win new business and put our skills to work for some great specialist, national companies.”

1996

...but you have to do it with the right people.

2015

THE MEDIA PLANNING & BUYING SPECIALISTS

www.mikelynchadvertising.co.uk

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BUSINESS NEWS

Tynemouth mum launches ethical dog beer brewery

A relationship blossoms at Bealim House’s networking event

A leading law firm recruit a successful new partner

Canines from around the North East came in their packs to try a new innovative dog beer at a privately owned pet store in Tynemouth.

Woof Dog Beer is the brainchild of Gabrielle Imerson (Gabby), a Tynemouth mum who has taken a drastic change in career direction. Woof is the dog beer with a difference to the other chemically based gimmicks currently available.

As well as looking for pet shops to stock Woof, Gabby is accepting orders from Doggy friendly bars and pubs around the area, as well as family venues, cafes and delis.

The specialist business advisory and accountancy practice, Ryecroft Glenton, has raised a glass to the Newcastle business community at Bealim House’s first networking event. Leading figures from an array of business sectors across the region joined together for an evening of networking and fine drinks at the venue.

The Vaulkhard Group, the owner of Bealim House, has an established relationship with Ryecroft Glenton, which supplies its accountancy department with tax and audit advice. Ryecroft Glenton offers a range of services delivered by experienced experts and provides a comprehensive range of accountancy and financial planning services for private and business clients.

Square One Law is delighted to welcome its new partner, Camilla James, a lawyer who specialises in succession and estate planning.

Camilla will head up the private client team at Square One Law, who specialise in advising high-net worth families and individuals in regard to succession planning and set up the relevant structures so that they can achieve their aims.

Originally from the Borders, but having spent much of her career in London and in the Thames Valley, Camilla was keen to move back to the north and was attracted to the North East because of the continuous growth in the region.

Gateshead factory spreads a cheesy smile for charity

Get Carter for Tyneside niche IT recruiters

Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Newcastle upon Tyne opened

Gateshead food manufacturer Kavli, makers of Primula Cheese, has selected a special set of tubes to spread a smile to help sick children.

The special edition “Just Say Cheese” tubes hit stores in October, and Primula is donating 20% of the profits sold to Make-A-Wish® UK. This is the charity that grants magical wishes to enrich the lives of children fighting life-threatening conditions and helps them to get through an incredibly difficult time.

Ambitious Newcastle IT recruitment firm, SearchBI, is targeting further growth in the business intelligence (BI) software market with the appointment of specialist consultant, Iain Carter.

Iain Carter brings considerable expertise and sector understanding to the role. He will be responsible for developing the company’s niche recruitment activity and targeting software consultancies and resellers alongside BI partners.

A key focus will be to build a specialist national team that will deliver a quality service to clients.

The Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Newcastle upon Tyne was officially opened recently by Latvian Ambassador Andris Teikmanis in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Newcastle, Councillor Ian Graham, and other dignitaries.

Latvia’s Honorary Consul in Newcastle, Mr Stephen Gillie, was appointed earlier this year, serving the Consular district of North East of England. Mr Gillie has been the Managing Director of G.T.Gillie and Blair Ltd since 1991.

technology solutions that TRANSFORM & MODERNISE WWW.SYNERGI.IT 0191 477 0365

business

Shouting louder than your budget will allow.

1996

2015

THE MEDIA PLANNING & BUYING SPECIALISTS

www.mikelynchadvertising.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHT Mark Harbottle (right) says the businesses SearchBi works with expect a knowledge-led, high value offering as a given

IT recruitment: Meeting changing needs Demand for expertise in recruiting agile business intelligence specialists is driving success for Newcastle’s SearchBI. It also means the firm remains a step ahead of an evolving landscape to deliver client service. Director Mark Harbottle explains more.

Unquestionably, the use of what’s called Agile business intelligence (BI) software such as QlikView is having a profound effect on improving business value and helping organisations worldwide respond and adapt ever faster to changing circumstances, enabling project teams, managers and stakeholders to make strategic and ever quicker decisions using data.

So against this backdrop, it is not only critical for businesses to retain skilled talent possessing the requisite expertise in BI software engineering and development but also that flexible and adaptable recruitment policies remain paramount to satisfying this exponential demand.

This, in turn, is heralding change within the niche recruitment sector that supplies talent to the BI software sector. Strategies and techniques for finding and selecting the right people are evolving to keep pace with one of the fastest growing parts of the IT sector - a landscape that

is far different to that of just a year or two ago.

The path to recruitment success is based on finding the right people for the right roles but in today’s climate, additional dynamics come into play: the role of firms such as SearchBI is to ensure that both they as the recruiter (and their candidates) are attuned to the client’s key messages as well as the traditional duty of making sure that potential talent is of sufficient quality to perform the demands placed on them.

The rise of technology too is making an impact on our sector, reflected by analysis from McKinsey & Company showing that online talent platforms are reshaping recruitment practices and sweeping away traditional approaches. In the face of this, the added value expertise offered by niche operators such as SearchBI is going to help recruiters stand out in a tough and competitive sector.

Recruiters need to be smart and tuned in to their clients to be able to open up access to everricher talent pools. For instance, the demand for agencies to have an understanding of their client’s needs that goes way beyond the superficial can be seen when it comes to strategic issues such as the drive for greater diversity and equality in the workplace. This is an important agenda that

companies of all shapes and sizes face, so smart recruiters have to respond with tailored strategies in order to deliver talented candidates from diverse and culturally rich backgrounds.

IT recruitment, not only around BI and Agile technologies, is facing irreversible changes.

If recruiters lack the nuances, subtleties and understanding of the key issues facing their clients, how can they hope to pass on the message to top talent that there are no barriers to their progression, regardless of their background?

Mark Harbottle says: “The businesses we work with expect a knowledge-led, high value offering as a given with fully briefed and prepared candidates and an emphasis on long term relationships. There are too many recruitment companies who cannot deliver this intangible added value, and ultimately it’s the client that suffers.

“To meet these challenges and survive, in a time of constant change and flux, we have to ensure that we not only understand all the dynamics of the sector in which we work – from the technologies themselves to the long term strategic aims and ambitions of our clients – but provide flexible solutions to be able to meet these demands.”

SearchBI specialises in niche IT recruitment, supplying professionals such as developers, consultants, project managers, business analysts and sales and account management executives, to specialist markets throughout the UK. This includes recruiting for professionals skilled in QlikView data visualisation technologies as well as those experienced in advanced BI systems.

More at www.searchbi.co.uk or contact 0191 481 3888.

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BUSINESS INSIGHT The Office Co’s Rebekah Milne has ambitious plans for the company as its targets start-ups and SMES for growth

The space for growth Ambitious start-ups and small businesses have to be creative, smart and flexible to succeed. The same can be said of their workspace requirements. One firm that recognises this is Gateshead’s managed and serviced accommodation specialists The Office Co. New sales and marketing director Rebekah Milne explains.

For nascent enterprises, working from home or out of someone's living room is fine at first to get things off the ground. Eventually, though, most will want to leave home and graduate to offices where employees can report every day.

But the prospect of finding good quality office space can be intimidating, even for the most assured; and it's even harder to find something in an affordable price range that meets needs when budgets are under pressure and time is tight.

One alternative is to opt for co-working space, a shared office where multiple businesses, usually similar in size and scale, can work together under the same roof at a lower cost than that of a traditional office lease and on very flexible terms. These home-from-home places can be inspiring, creative hubs, providing a stimulating environment where intellectual ideas and ambition flourish.

At the Office Co. we recognise that one size doesn’t fit all and that the way to growth for our clients is to provide quality managed and serviced office accommodation, built around flexible all-inclusive rents and the core values of a community driven business environment. We offer a range of serviced and managed offices, virtual offices and meeting rooms for a diverse client base that includes Checkatrade, First Contact, Utilita and Toma Fund.

And we are investing in the future with ambitious plans to ensure clients benefit even more from our expertise and services. This will see the expansion of customer facilities at our Gateshead site, Metropolitan House, following an undisclosed five figure investment, to extend and improve conference facilities alongside the development of social workspace for creative industries.

The move is being supported by additional investment in superfast wireless broadband services to deliver high-speed fibre connectivity for upwards of 50 tenants. IT and engineering specialists Advantex, who have worked with The Office Co. since 2006, are delivering these services alongside Virgin Media.

The plans are part of an ambitious strategy to double the size of the business, which currently has sales of approximately £500,000, in the next three years to meet the needs of creative industries and other fast growing small businesses. Growth will come on the back of the firm’s expertise in securing occupancy levels that are among the highest for commercial property in the North East (85 – 90%), in the face of an improving economic landscape and the increasing demand for flexible business space, while expanding the firm’s reach, targeting demand for services in the burgeoning sectors in London and Manchester.

Latest Business Growth Service figures reveal that SMEs such as those in creative industries and IT are growing at their fastest rate since the economic crisis in 2008, as private sector firms added over 600,000 new jobs across the UK in 2014.

Rebekah Milne said: “With the emerging creative sector on our horizon coupled with plans for national brand expansion, we are committed to building a team of like-minded entrepreneurial leaders enabling the core values of The Office Co. to widen its reach and inspire a new generation of business.”

Contact Rebekah Milne, sales and marketing director, The Office Co. Email: rebekah@theofficeco.co.uk www.theofficeco.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

Spend your time where you are most successful (and we’ll do the same) Managing Partner – Richard Lane from sales performance company durhamlane maintains businesses shouldn’t just stop at outsourcing their IT or HR solutions, but should also look at some of their other business functions, including sales and business development.

In these post-recessionary times, current industry trends indicate that companies want, and perhaps need, to be as lean as possible and therefore focus on their core areas of business - sharpening their product and service offerings and gearing for growth. We have seen a steady rise in the number of businesses turning to companies like ours for help in starting new sales conversations. Kick starting and maintaining pro-active sales activity is, in some businesses, recognised as a challenging and a specialist area requiring expertise and is not something they wish to manage in house.

This may be seen an odd thing to do but more of those responsible for the sales function now understand the real value of turning to outsourced services to better sweat their assets. The rationale behind this is simple: it keeps a lid on costs and comes as a new generation of entrepreneurs

and senior management, particularly in fast moving ambitious sectors like software, modern manufacturing and professional services, are avoiding traditional ways of doing business and are instead looking to maximise time and money by having their people focused where they can add most value. These business leaders are more open to harnessing outside skill and resource to deliver successful ways of customer prospecting, sales management, and lead generation.

Sales management isn’t just about sales, it’s a full-time job!

Also, the dynamics of recruiting and running a sales team are rapidly changing. Recruiting, managing, training, and motivating salesminded professionals has increasingly become a full-time job in itself for those trying to build a viable commercial venture, particularly so in ultra-competitive sectors like cloud computing, software, and more recently utilities, which are dominated by ambitious start-ups, SME’s and the aggressive offshoots of larger established firms.

This is the point where I say to our Selling at a Higher Level trainees “Spend your time where you are most successful” – this is one of the most

important lessons I’ve learned in business. By sticking to what you are good at and outsourcing the areas of business in which you are less proficient, you save yourself an immense amount of time, cost, and get to focus on where you can have most impact.

Outsourcing will in my opinion continue to grow and become more prevalent for companies where the sales function is limited or even nonexistent, perhaps firms who might have plateaued and need to explore new markets and outlets for their services in order to move to the next phase of growth, but don’t want to invest in in-house sales. The people running these businesses really value, in my experience, the outsourcing approach as a measurable and accountable path to growth, producing a more demonstrable and quantifiable return on investment through improved – and better quality lead generation.

I have no doubt that the rising trend to outsource sales will continue to be driven ever more by pressures on time and resources and will become progressively more commonplace as the economy continues its resurgence, confidence grows further and the Northern Powerhouse we are all working to create begins to take shape!

For more information about durhamlane and their range of outsourced sales solutions, visit www.durhamlane.co.uk or call their business development team for a free consultation on 0191 481 3800. Alternatively you can follow durhamlane on twitter and join in their sales conversations via their LinkedIn group - ‘Selling at a Higher Level’.

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The Coast al Account ant s

ReadMilburn & C O M PA N Y

Chartered Accountants & Registered Auditors

71 Howard Street, North Shields, NE30 1AF t: 0191 257 0355 e: info@readmilburn.co.uk Annual Accounts • Self Assessment • PAYE Compliance • VAT Compliance • Management Accounts • Statutory Audits • Tax Planning • Revenue Investigations • Contribution Agency • Investigations • VAT Investigations • Company Formations • Business Start-Ups • Information technology • Forensic Accounting • Special Assignments

INTERVIEW

The power of being understood A leading provider of audit, tax and consulting services to North East businesses has recently changed its name as part of a global rebranding exercise in more than 110 countries.

On 26 October 2015, Baker Tilly adopted the name RSM, and a new logo and brand positioning – “The power of being understood” - was rolled out in all of the firm’s 35 UK locations as well as across the entire RSM network, comprising 37,500 people in 730 offices in more than 110 countries.

So with a new global brand in the North East market, what does this mean for the local business community?

“For many of our clients, it will merely be a case of the same firm, just a different name” says Steve Railton, Managing Partner of the North East office of RSM. “Although our name has changed, we continue to stay true to our roots and to maintain the core essence of our business. In the North East, our focus is on the local mid-market and our dedication to our current clients remains the same. They will continue to be advised to the same high standards by their existing client team.”

choose RSM when looking at their service providers.

“A recognisable global brand not only provides greater confidence in a business’s choice of accountant and business adviser, but in the case of RSM also means that they will benefit from increased sharing of global best practice, expertise and resources” says Steve.

It’s not only clients and prospects, however, that will gain from RSM’s recent rebrand. It also means that the firm can recruit, train and retain the best talent in the region. RSM can now offer local talent the opportunity of overseas experience via secondments of which there have been many since the firm joined RSM International. There are plans to expand this secondment programme in the future.

The brand positioning adopted by RSM - “The power of being understood” - underpins this commitment. The statement reinforces the firm’s belief in building strong, collaborative relationships based on a genuine understanding of a client’s needs, strategy and aspirations.

“Building a trusted adviser relationship, particularly with entrepreneurial, growing businesses in the North East, is something we have always taken pride in” explains Steve. “Our approach has always been to understand at the outset what our clients are looking to achieve and to tailor our services to support this.

“Our people are key to the success of our business” says Steve.

“Locally, as well as nationally, we endeavour to find the right people with the flair, experience, integrity and dedication to service our clients.

In turn, RSM can provide a great platform for a long and successful career in professional services.

What is going to strengthen, however, is our ability to be able to provide those clients with an international element to their business with a blend of global expertise and local knowledge through RSM’s united network of specialists. This dual perspective approach will empower our clients to move forward with confidence.

We take our obligation to attract and retain talent in the North East extremely seriously. Our recent intake of eight graduate trainees is a demonstration of our commitment to investing in employment for the region. These trainees are the future of the firm and it is important that we continue to invest in the best talent that the region has to offer.”

As RSM, our clients can be sure that wherever they do business in the world, whether it’s solely in the North East, across the UK or worldwide, they will receive a consistently high quality and seamless service from firms that share the same values and understanding of their local market.”

So whether you are a middle-market business in the North East or looking for a rewarding career in professional services, the arrival of the new global brand on the North East scene provides a promising outlook.

“Our aim is for our clients to be able to make better, more confident decisions through working with RSM” Steve concludes. “We achieve this by having a deep understanding of our clients and their business, developing a strong collaborative relationship with them and delivering increased value through ideas and insight. This is the power of being understood. This is RSM.”

Prior to the rebrand, research carried out on RSM’s clients identified that clients and prospects see great value and benefit in a single, consistent and identifiable global brand, something which Steve considers will provide the local mid-market with greater confidence to

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INTERVIEW

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BUSINESS INSIGHT Katie Buckley

Rowlands explain inheritance tax Inheritance Tax was once associated with the super-wealthy but it is increasingly likely to affect ordinary families.

Katie Buckley, an associate at Rowlands Accountants, specialises in this area and looks at ways to lessen its impact.

You specialise in Inheritance Tax Planning.

Why is inheritance tax now affecting more ‘ordinary’ people?

Essentially what happened is the ‘nil band’ – how much wealth you can have on your death before paying inheritance tax – was frozen at £325,000 in 2009 and it won’t be reviewed again until 2021. Historically, it rose with inflation but it has now been stagnant for a number of years.

The problem is that family home prices are rising faster than the inheritance tax cut off point and they are not keeping pace with each other.

Back in the day, inheritance tax would only affect people who had accumulated a lot of wealth, but obviously with property prices as they are, it is now an issue for more ordinary families who have bought a nice house.

What are the recent changes to inheritance tax and trusts (IHT)?

The freezing of the nil rate band of inheritance tax until April 2021 was announced in the Summer Budget.

In the same Budget the Government also introduced a main residence nil rate band because it realised a lot of people were going to be affected by inheritance tax on their family home. This additional relief from inheritance tax will apply when the family home is passed on to direct descendants so it will essentially help people who have children.

The nil rate band relief for a main residence will start at £100,000 in April 2017 and rise by £25,000 each year until it is £175,000 in April 2020. This will help shelter the family home from inheritance tax and is available in addition to the £325,000 inheritance tax nil band.

There have also been changes to close a loophole in the legislation around trusts. New rules were introduced as people were taking advantage of this loophole and setting up multiple trusts and if they were set up on different days, they would each benefit from their own inheritance tax exemption of £325,000.

Now any trusts that are set up in this way will share an inheritance tax exemption if assets are passed into the trusts on the same day, as is the case when somebody dies.

Are people aware of how they’ll be affected?

There have been a lot of articles in the press about the inheritance tax changes but many of them are very technical and difficult to apply to your own circumstances. There is still a preconception that inheritance tax doesn’t concern the average person. We need to get the message out that it does.

The general public tends to think inheritance tax and trust planning is overly complex and involves expensive schemes, but a lot can be done to reduce someone’s exposure to inheritance tax. Ideally planning needs to be done during

someone’s lifetime as there is much less that can be done after death.

Small changes can make all the difference, and it’s important people recognise that inheritance tax probably will affect their families to a greater or lesser extent.

Rowlands acts as a consultant to other smaller practices to advise on inheritance tax and trusts. Why is it such a complex area of accountancy?

Many general accountancy practices historically haven’t addressed the issue because they haven’t really needed to as it didn’t affect the masses. But now more ‘ordinary people’ are affected they are getting questions.

If it’s something you don’t know about, it can be quite daunting and if you get it wrong it can be very, very costly. It is much more effective trying to mitigate inheritance tax when someone is alive and you can plan ahead rather than relying on the limited options available for varying someone’s Will after they die.

A lot of non-specialist accountants often look at the best tax planning advice for the here and now without considering the future and possible IHT implications.

But many recognise they need bespoke, specialist, up to date advice, which is where we come in. As a firm we are acknowledged as experts in this area, which is what attracted me to work for Rowlands.

For more information, please contact Katie on 0191 411 2468 or visit www.rowlandsaccountants.co.uk.

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Over 100 years of accounting experience at your side.

At Rowlands, our years of experience mean we’re committed to accounting excellence. But our expertise doesn’t stop there.

We’re also big on personal service, that’s why you can count on us to be at your side.

With six offices in our region, you can rely on us to provide up-to-the-minute knowledge and advice. So if you’d like to see what we can do for your business, get in touch.

Hexham 01434 602 230 | Ponteland 01661 871 919 Sunderland 0191 565 1870 | Yarm 01642 790 790 rowlandsaccountants.co.uk

Crook 01388 762 478 | Portobello 0191 411 2468

Audit & Accountancy

Taxation & Planning

Restructuring & Insolvency

Development & Consultancy

BUSINESS INSIGHT Graham Brown, Anthony Andreasen, Maxine Pott (RMT Accountants & Business Advisors Ltd) Nick Swales (Rathbone Investment Management)

RMT Accountants retain North East Corporate Finance Team of the Year Award The Corporate Finance team at RMT Accountants & Business Advisors has been named as the best in the region for the second consecutive year – and for the third time in the last four years.

Having been chosen as Corporate Finance Advisory Team of the Year at the Insider North East Dealmakers Awards in both 2012 and 2014, the RMT team beat a shortlist of five industry rivals to pick up the 2015 award in front of an audience of over 400 professional services industry peers at the Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel in Newcastle.

Major deals on which it has worked in the last year include the sales of long-standing North East technology firm Knowledge IT to infrastructure and support services group The Onyx Group, and of market-leading social care case management software developer Corelogic to The Servelec Group plc for a total value of £23.5m.

The Dealmaker Awards recognise the achievements of those individuals and firms whose skill, creativity and sheer determination have stood out over the past year.

The team works predominantly with owner-managed businesses, and has also helped companies from across the region secure investments from the seven Finance For Business North East funds, as well as from the traditional funding institutions.

Led by Maxine Pott, RMT’s CF team provides the full spectrum of corporate finance services for clients both within and outside the North East, from buying and selling companies and raising finance through to business valuations and transaction support.

Mike Pott, managing director at RMT, said: “Winning this award once in competition with the high quality corporate finance teams we have in the North East would have been a real achievement in itself, but to retain it and be chosen as winners for the third time in four years

says everything you need to know about the quality of our team and the work they do.

“As the economy has continued its recovery over the last 12 months, there’s been a noticeable pick up in the market, and our Corporate Finance team has helped a growing number of businesses of all sizes and types achieve their acquisition, disposal and investment ambitions.

“Our aim is to help clients of all sizes and from all business sectors to achieve their commercial and personal goals in the simplest, most straightforward way possible, and we’re able to call upon colleagues with specialist expertise in every area of finance to help make this happen.

“The ambitious clients with whom we work are creating and sustaining employment across the region by taking a proactive approach to their commercial development, and it’s exciting to see our business progressing well alongside them.”

RMT provides the full range of financial and business advisory services through its Corporate Finance, Recovery & Insolvency, Medical and Specialist Tax divisions. For more information, please visit www.r-m-t.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

UNW hosts charity concert for Caring Hands independence and quality of life of older and disabled people the firm continued their support of Caring Hands for another year.

The charity concert, which included a mixed programme of popular classics, band and show tunes, was suggested by a UNW staff member, who has already taken her acappella singing group to entertain members of Caring Hands' weekly lunch club.

Administrator Helen Blades hopes the money raised from this event will continue to make a great difference to the little known charity, which now has bespoke donation envelopes, new telephones and identification badges thanks to funds raised last year by the business advisers.

Business advisers UNW hit the right note - and raised more than £1,300 for elderly and disabled people in the East End of Newcastle - after hosting a concert with a pie and peas supper.

The Newcastle-based firm of chartered accountants laid on the event earlier after it chose small community charity Caring Hands as its annual charity for the second year running.

It hopes events such as the evening of music, which featured The Newcastle Concert Band, and a sponsored adventure challenge later this year will help it push its 2015/16 fund raising beyond the £7,400 it managed to raise for the Shieldfieldbased charity last year when it became its first ever corporate supporter.

UNW usually supports a different small, local charity each year but after seeing the impact last year's donation had in helping sustain the

UNW project manager Julie Paddon said: “We had a great 12 months helping Caring Hands last year and have already handed over £1,765 so far this financial year following a number of fundraising initiatives including an Easter cake sale, selling Wimbledon cream teas and dress down days.

“The concert was all Helen's idea. It was a tremendous success and we raised another £1,344 from it.”

Caring Hands manager Dawn Henderson said: “The support from UNW has been extremely helpful and we're so grateful for all their efforts.”

Corporate & Commercial Funding Solutions With more than 25 years of experience in the asset finance, banking and cashflow finance sectors we are well placed to facilitate the right funding solution for your business needs.

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

The ‘New’ Three Counties Universal Tax & Wealth LLP Team

In 1989 Three Counties was launched as a new provider of wealth management and financial advisory services to private and corporate clients by Peter West. Peter had become increasingly uncomfortable with the attitude and ethics of an industry which was dominated by high initial commissions, product selling and selfemployed sales people. His focus was to provide an innovative service based on recurring fees - as opposed to productdriven sales commissions - alongside longterm client relationships and so the new company was born.

Three Counties has grown to be one of the most highly respected independent financial advisory firms in the region. Peter has worked tirelessly with his team over the past 26 years to deliver ever-increasing service standards and to advance the business. His driving ambition is to secure the long-term future of Three Counties as an independent company, continuing to provide the same high quality financial planning advice and wealth management to its clients.

But nothing remains the same and even the best have to evolve into something better.

With an eye to the future Peter has secured

additional resource in growing his legacy. He has teamed up with two high profile North East veterans of the financial services industry in David Hughes and Peter Rutherford. They both have the same core beliefs as Peter and both have proven track records of running successful IFA firms in the region. David, previously CEO and a principle shareholder of the Ellis Bates Group, with offices in Newcastle and Harrogate, developed the business into a Top 20 UK IFA. Peter Rutherford was the founder and CEO of Rutherford Wilkinson and a non-executive director of the Universal Building Society before its merger with The Newcastle Building Society. He continued in various non executive roles with the Society until retiring from the Pension Trustee Board last year.

He also wrote The Journal’s own Since You Ask column for many years and has been a regular editorial contributor to Northern Insight since its inception.

directors, Philippa West as company secretary and Andrew Alexander as head of investments, with David Heppell as head of technical research and compliance.

Hughes and Rutherford have known each other since their days at Norwich Union in 1979.

Both have known Peter and Three Counties for more than 20 years. The new management structure will see Peter West remaining as chairman, with David Hughes becoming CEO and Peter Rutherford commercial director.

Remaining with Three Counties are the existing

Regionally unparalleled and nationally respected, Three Counties will continue to offer a unique and bespoke independent financial planning and wealth management service, maintaining its friendly, approachable and easy-to-understand service. Call 0191 230 3034 or visit www. three-counties.co.uk

With Jonathan Bray and Paul McAtominey on board as two of the leading regional pension experts, Hanna Witty, Michelle Chambers and Martin Howe all moving closer to the highest qualification of chartered financial planner, Three Counties have created arguably one of the strongest teams in the region.

The ethos of Three Counties will not change; the client will always be at the centre of its proposition. Service standards will be continually developed utilising modern technology, along with the existing, market-leading and innovative in-house investment proposition. The Three Counties team will also be strengthened with more specialists and advisers in the pension, tax and investment arenas.

Peter Rutherford is a partner in Universal Tax Strategies LLP and Universal Tax and Wealth LLP (authorised and regulated by FCA) and can be contacted on 0191 374 0333 or email peter.rutherford@utsllp.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

Looking ahead might just be the way forward...

Vinay Bedi

One of the great advantages of a major sporting tournament is that it is not unusual to find yourself in a public house with a good group of friends watching the game. I did just that on a number of occasions during the RWC 2015 and it never ceases to surprise me how much people's knowledge of the laws and intricacies of the game are frequently and ignorantly in short supply…and that was just me!

For example, the eight city regions only contribute 15% of the Information and Communications industrial sector in this country.

Logic surely says that we target the "new" industries, the "new" sectors; the areas where we can gain some global competitive advantage?

Luckily, as England embarrassingly crashed out of the tournament early, the conversation didn’t just focus on the Rugby. Indeed, I was particularly taken by a discussion amongst a group of gents in our vicinity who decided to cover the concept of a Northern Powerhouse and regional devolution (have you noticed how the two appear to be getting interconnected quite a lot?)

Various attitudes relating to politician's "powerhouses" and "grasping" for control, as well as leaving the North East as the poor relation versus Manchester all received a good airing.

Whatever your views on the subject I prefer to

ONS publication from the end of July. Yes, we all know that London produces more "output" (measured as gross value added) than England's eight largest city regions (West Yorkshire, Liverpool, Manchester, North East, Sheffield, Nottingham, West Midlands and Bristol). Most also know that gross disposable household income per head is much lower in those regional areas than it is in London. But what may be less well known is the apparent disparity between the regions and certain industrial sectors.

consider facts and look for opportunities and I came across one the other day.

I am indebted to the UBS Chief Investment Office which has informed me of a very helpful

For information purposes only. This feature does not reflect a UBS offer or solicitation of an offer to make any investment.

Extract based UBS House view, August 2015.

And it can be done, it happened in Consett, for example. Painful it may have been, but would they wish to revert back now to how they were thirty years ago? The Northern Powerhouse is trying to find a focus, a target, something it can tangibly achieve. Wouldn’t bringing "new" industries; "new sectors", to the region be a good place for it to start?

Vinay Bedi, Executive Director, UBS Wealth Management.

Tel: 0191-211-1015. Email: vinay.bedi@ubs.com www.ubs.com/northeast-uk

BUSINESS INSIGHT Jonathan Gold

Investing is a local business; the North East is good at it Most investors like to be able to visit the business they invest in, and they like to talk to the people running it, face to face.

There are, of course, exceptions but often, if you have an investor in your business, you might want to meet them regularly too. After all, there are other benefits an investor can bring apart from money.

Small and start-up businesses need people or venture capital funds who can add value and advice and who know the environment around them.

This is one reason why the North East of England suffered a huge disadvantage compared to London and the south for many years. The money was not where the businesses up here needed it, locally. The Government began to do something about this more than 20 years ago recognising that there was a national ‘equity gap’, but also a need to stimulate and grow investment communities outside of London.

This locally-based approach to funding is what brought me up to Newcastle in 2003.

Several others like me followed in the years since then and we have the seeds of a growing investment community. This could not have been built without several hundred million pounds of EU and UK Government capital. The latest £130m of funding in the last 5 years has attracted around £150m of additional private cash into some 800 businesses, and even more jobs.

So let’s shout about our success. It has been done by local fund managers, teams appointed in firms like mine investing in businesses like yours with local networks. If we don’t shout about it, we will continue to be defined by our problems, not our achievements.

We need to defend our success and point out that we want to do it again. For once, the model here is not broken so don’t try and change it.

I’m referring to the JEREMIE Funds, the original £142m and the potential £130m + that is being, we hope, put in place for the North East by the Government and EU. The Northern Powerhouse, if it is to mean anything, must facilitate local investment activity here in the North East and not just build on the Manchester-Leeds axis. True, we are a lot smaller up here in economic terms but have demonstrated we can control our own cash and investment climate. There is no point to the Northern PowerHouse if we just swap control

by Westminster to delegation to Manchester or Leeds.

Over the last months I have argued with a passion that the North East must reach out to the other parts of the north. We can’t do things alone but equally we need to control our local investment base in order to work well across the north.

Yes, we can do more. Tech City North, the offshoot of the London and Government sponsored initiative to support the IT and tech sector, says the north is the right focus for new investment funds and the region is failing to attract the private investment it should. I disagree, but I only disagree because we need local management of funds. The north is not a uniform economy; Newcastle is not the same as Middlesbrough and Manchester is a city region almost unique in the north. I firmly believe that

we need to grow more investment, but building on what we have achieved already.

For example, Rivers Capital has now invested £9.5m with an additional £8m of capital raised with investors into 66 businesses in the region.

To do this we have seen over 1000 business plans and entrepreneurs and helped a significant number to other investors. We also run the £6.5m North East Micro Loan Fund and have lent to almost 500 businesses to date that would not have managed to attract a bank loan. We can do more but all this is only possible with the help of North East Finance who manage us and the other 4 fund management businesses locally.

By the time this has been published the debate may be over, for now at least, and devolution settlements put in place. Or perhaps not. Our local politicians have not kept pace with Manchester and others when it comes to putting its case to central Government.

What won’t have changed is the dedication and success of my team at Rivers Capital and our other home-grown regional fund managers in NorthStar Ventures and NEL who have built the investment community so successfully with local angels and networks like Hotpsur over the last almost 6 years. I just hope James Wharton the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and others support their own part of the north and build with us on the great investment climate we have made here.

Jonathan Gold is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Rivers Capital Partners; contact him on 0191 230 6370 or via www.riverscap.com

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INTERVIEW

An entrepreneur interview with:

Mark Bryce, United Carlton When five colleagues decided to unleash their entrepreneurial spirit and start their own venture in the mid-90s, it was the beginning of a business that now has four sites across the North of England, employing 105 people, and continues to grow.

Team Valley-based United Carlton is a sales and service provider for leading brands of digital photocopiers, printers, audio-visual and video conferencing products, with over 4,000 clients across the UK. But when Mark Bryce, Warren Colby, John Watson, John Ellis and Michael Nelson took the leap to start out on their own, they had support from an investor they later bought out, and from their first supplier, Sharp UK.

Can you tell us about when you started out?

Our first premises were on Eleventh Avenue, Team Valley in Gateshead. We opened the door and started acquiring customers by going out and knocking on doors, the old school way, mainly in the North East. The five of us used to cover different areas of the region and we continued to do that; we were all sales-oriented guys.

Creating four additional jobs from the start, the first major growth came in 1999 with an acquisition that brought with it problems, as well as opportunity.

We acquired Carlton Business Machines, a local Toshiba dealer with a good reputation. It was a difficult time, because we allowed somebody else to manage the acquisition and made some fundamental mistakes, probably overpaid for the business and the sales team walked out and set up against us, making the first few months very difficult.

How did you finance that first acquisition deal?

We had an investor when we first started, who invested some more capital and, when he did that, it allowed us to buy Carlton, for which we borrowed some of the cash as well. When we came to buy his shareholding out, we were supported by the manufacturers, who supported us throughout this process. We have grown every year since we started, even throughout the recession.

Your growth has also taken in a North West office. How has that fitted into your growth plans?

When we came out of the recession, we realised the next step is for our business to be a truly national organisation, as we already have accounts across the UK. The Greater Manchester area seemed to be the next logical place to go. Warrington is pretty neutral between Manchester and Liverpool and the office is close to both Toshiba and Sharp, so it is ideal and we already had a decent customer base across there.

Once Warrington is up and running and firing on all cylinders, we are probably going to be looking at the South East and London.

How do you find working with four other equal partners?

I see these guys nearly every day, they are like brothers to me, so we have our moments like anyone would but we do work well together as a team. I suppose we all have different traits but that provides a good balance. With an odd number of directors, you are always going to get a decision and that works well for the business.

What are your business’ USPs? We have built our reputation around being client centric. Looking after the customers is one of the things we have been really good at. We don’t lose a lot of customers, but at the same time we also balance that with being very good at hunting down new business.

We have never knowingly had an upset customer and I think one of the advantages we have got as a business is we are able to deal with every single company out there. When we are up against the big nationals and manufacturers, we are big enough to compete, but at the same time the customers can get through to decision makers. We are a lot more nimble than a large manufacturer is, in addressing clients’ issues.

How do you keep your growing workforce motivated and drive staff retention?

We have got very high staff retention. Throughout our business we have great people working with us, it’s a fun place to work, we adopt an ethos of collaboration with all of our people and embrace their ideas. Intrinsic motivation is key to our staff wanting to turn up for work and help us drive our business forward. Gone are the days where you can just pay people a salary to be motivated to turn up for a day’s work. I think we respect our staff more than that. Our sales team are always incentivised to win new business, as well as managing our existing client base. We were one of the first employers in the area to implement the Living Wage too.

What about your own motivation?

I really enjoy the job; I enjoyed it as a sales guy and I enjoy it now. I must admit I do still feel a great buzz when we win new opportunities or I see comments coming in from our existing clients telling us about great things our team has done, it’s very satisfying.

You won an award for mentorship in 2011, how important do you think such peer to peer support is for businesses?

I have been a mentor to a few people in the past, particularly in the field of sales, because I have good experience developing a sales force. I think it’s very important that mentors exist, especially for new entrepreneurs. Some early mistakes can be avoided by just picking someone’s brain that’s been there and worn the t-shirt already.

What about your own development, as you progress towards a Master’s Degree in Sales Leadership?

It’s a bit strange going back to school but I enjoying standing back and reflecting on how I am as a leader. I’m learning a lot of new things, including the nuances in sales and leadership, as well as sales management.

There are lots of new ways of working as a leader that work better in today’s workplace than the old ways of simply rewarding people for just turning up for work. Staff have to buy into where the business is going and the strategy and they need to be part of it. I think companies need to collaborate more with their teams and empower them to make decisions. We’ve just built a new sales strategy and have involved the sales team in that, it’s working really well because they all buy into it as they helped us create it. I think it’s good to stand back and see yourself through other people’s eyes, some people find this hard to do but you’ll be surprised what you find out by researching this in the right way, and the degree course has allowed me to do that.

Mark Bryce is a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, a unique group of like-minded people who come together through peer-to-peer mentoring and a series of inspirational events to share best practice, create valuable connections and grow their business.

For more information, visit www.entrepreneursforum.net

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

The importance of supporting growth businesses in the North East

by Nigel Mills, Chairman of The Entrepreneurs’ Forum

Start-up businesses and those in a position to scale-up, grow and create jobs are the lifeblood of economic growth in the North East and across the UK. The Government’s latest Business Population Estimates have shown strong long-term growth in the number of businesses in our region; from 123,700 in 2010 to 135,500 in 2015. The report also said that the number of businesses in the UK had risen to a record 5.4 million, with the North East having 1,000 more businesses employing people than it did in 2014.

This was very encouraging, but with 629 businesses for each 10,000 people in the North East, compared with 1,072 nationally, there is still work to be done, and we should be looking to encourage growth in the SME market to stimulate the biggest possible impact.

SMEs represent 25% of the UK’s GDP, but account for somewhere around 60% of employment. Taking into account that all net new jobs are being created by businesses in their first five years, this SME growth focus - in terms of both numbers and size - becomes increasingly apparent.

Boosting the SME market by 30% in the North East would bring us in line with the rest of the country. It would also boost UK GDP overall, and with year-on-year forecasts being revised down to 2.4% at the end of September, GDP growth is an important ambition.

Regionally, there is a lot of help for small those with less than 50 staff - and medium - up to 250 employees - enterprises, aimed at increasing their ability to grow. However recent research still shows that 56% of adults don’t know where to go for business growth advice.

The new North East Local Enterprise Partnership online information ‘Growth Hub’ has been launched to make finding the right kind of business support easier, whilst Tees Valley Unlimited, the LEP for the Tees Valley, also has subsidies available to encourage business development and employment.

Additionally, the Entrepreneurs’ Forum holds a number of events throughout the year, alongside a programme of peer-to-peer mentoring, aimed at supporting growth and helping business owners to scale-up existing businesses.

Sherry Coutu CBE recently prepared a report for the Government’s Scale-Up programme, which aims to identify businesses with high growth potential, provide support and use ‘role models’ to stimulate their peers and help to generate scale.

The programme officially recognises High Growth Firms (HGFs) as “enterprises with average annualised growth in employees or turnover greater than 20% per annum, over a three year period, and with more than 10 employees in the beginning of the observation period”. That’s powerful growth in itself, and the aim is to build upon that starting point.

According to the report, this programme could generate “between £70bn and £225bn for the UK economy in cumulative GDP terms between 2015 and 2034”. It added that this was consistent with 45,000 to 150,000 additional jobs in the UK in 2034.

Yes, these figures show huge variables, but even at the lower end of £70bn and 45,000 jobs, the benefits ranging from those experienced by individual people to the wider UK economy are substantial.

Let’s not forget that the result of each person gaining employment is far wider than money in their pocket. It is how they use that money and the increase in spending power in their local supermarkets, shops, petrol stations etc. All of this feeds into the wider economy, helps to grow those businesses and creates further potential growth.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum autumn conference in November is titled Fortune Favours the Brave and there are few braver in our business community than those who act upon that desire to start a business and have the drive to fulfil its potential.

They deserve our support, because these are the people who can create a stronger North East for the good of the whole economy.

The Entrepreneurs’ Forum supports North East business owners, helping them to develop, create new opportunities and grow their business. For more information, call 0191 500 7780 or visit www.entrepreneursforum.net

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Come and play this Christmas Available from our Customer Services Desks or intu.co.uk/metrocentre Š 2015 Intu Properties plc

Jacket with gold edging House of Fraser Biba heritage leather jacket - £189 Biba green lace shirt dress House of Fraser - £125 Silver shoes Dune - £85

Starburst statement necklace Accessorise - £22

Pretty Polly tights various stockists - £13.34

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Cigarette pants Next - £38

Sequinned cami top Next - £30

Black dress with embellished sleeves Debut at Debenhams - £399

Party from day to night!

The party season is almost upon us - and that often means there’s no time between ending work and going out for the evening.

Michaela Dale, stylist at intu Metrocentre, believes that’s not a problem and with a few fashion tips you can go from day to night seamlessly.

It’s happened to us all, an early evening invitation which means it’s impossible to get home and put on your glad rags before heading off for the evening.

That’s certainly true as the festive season approaches, but the good news is that with a bit of preparation you can be good to go with the minimum of effort.

This season there are lots of fabulous dresses around with detailed sleeves and even a low back, which means that you can wear them for work with a simple blazer or jacket and then just remove it after hours.

27

Cigarette pants can be teamed with loafers and a shirt or roll neck during office hours, then just swap for a pair of killer heels and a sparkly top and you’re good to go.

Or why not buy a statement jacket which you can add to a pencil skirt to take an already elegant look to another level.

Accessories are the easiest way to lift a daytime outfit to a party one. A statement necklace, shoes and clutch bag are the three simple tools needed to work it. Make sure they complement each other and you can't go wrong.

The simplest and most dramatic way to alter a look from day to night is with stockings and stilettos. Ditch the black opaque tights for patterned or coloured ones to add personality and fun. Slip on your heels and step out for a night of fun!

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Rise of the Working Mum Bryony Gibson

Bryony Gibson, managing director of Bryony Gibson Consulting, discusses how a more flexible approach towards working women could unlock a whole world of business benefits.

It’s no secret that boys and girls are different…very different!

In business, this regularly presents itself in the way we develop new ideas or solve problems, which when brought together into diverse teams, often helps increase innovation, widen customer appeal and ultimately grow profit.

Of course this is nothing new, but common sense is not always common practice.

Too often we continue to hear about the ‘glass-ceiling’ preventing women from progressing to leadership and board roles.

I’m not sure how true this really is, but if equivalent numbers of men and women go into business and work equally hard, there is a problem to solve when we have such a big gender divide at the top.

It seems there is a ‘snake’ amongst the career ‘ladders’ and women are slipping down around the time they begin to start a family.

Take a moment to consider whether, in your organisation, you believe it’s possible for a new mother to continue progressing her career as quickly as a new father? Why is that?

Well the reason I ask is, for more than a year, the UK’s flexible working laws have been changed.

Whether people know it or not, every employee with over six months service has the right to ask for working hours and patterns that suit their lifestyle, regardless of any employment contract.

Of course employers don’t have to grant these wishes, but they do have an obligation to give requests ‘reasonable’ consideration provided they don’t generate extra cost, affect quality and performance or damage the business due to a reduction in activity.

Rather than becoming lost to the world of work when they have children, for women with young families, there is a lot to love about this idea.

For businesses, there is a choice between losing employees with valuable expertise and experience, and embarking on a journey to develop independent-minded staff that are committed to their cause.

Simply put, priorities change for people when they have children and to get the best out of them you need to understand their motivations.

Many companies are switched on to the benefits maintaining a diverse workforce will bring. They are willing to make the leap from hours worked to impact made being the true measure of success.

Flexible approaches include everything from part-time, annualised, compressed and staggered hours, to job sharing and working from home.

Of course there is a need for women to drive themselves forward rather than step away from business when they have children, but by offering the opportunity to create a better worklife balance, companies can hold on to valuable

Contact Bryony for help finding the right tax & accountancy role or recruits on (0191) 375 9983.

Alternatively, visit www.bryonygibson.com, connect on LinkedIn or follow @bryonygibson.

staff, reduce the level of absenteeism, increase commitment and productivity and become a more desirable employer; giving them a wider talent pool to choose from.

I believe we all have a responsibility to help women continue to excel in work, regardless of the way their working hours are scheduled.

Unfortunately, many employees still believe taking advantage of flexible working will have a negative impact on their career and, until this becomes the norm, they will shy away from it to protect future progression.

With a growing economy in danger of stalling due to skills shortages, now really is the time we should be opening our eyes to the talent that is in front of us.

While mothers returning to work may not be the ideal recruitment solution you had in your mind, it can bring with it so many benefits with the only extra cost being a little bit of flexibility.

Yes, it may appear challenging to implement at first, but with trust, clear objectives, accountability and a good IT infrastructure, the long-term benefits could be a better company culture and an engaged and happy workforce; and as we all know: “People are a company’s greatest asset…a company is only as good as the people it keeps.”

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Budget’s K.P Shakeup As taxation experts, at KP Simpson we will look at your accounts and tell you exactly what the changes mean for your books on an individual one-by-one basis. The tax system is a complicated minefield at the best of times and at KP Simpson we aim to make it less of a chore working through your accounts.

The summer has come and has all but gone and as those memories of sun, sea and sand drift away, another summer memory is coming into force.

The summer budget took place in July of this year with changes occurring at an ever increasing speed. As certified public accountants, at KP Simpson we know that these changes will affect our clients when they come in. We also understand that the stats and changes can be a little overwhelming so we are here to take some of the confusion out of the 2015 summer budget and set down what it all means.

Another of our specialities is business accounts. The majority of our clients are from the small to medium sized business sector, and these are set to be the sectors that will see a lot of the changes thanks to the budget’s introductions. One of which is great news for employees.

The national minimum wage (from October 1, £6.70 for over 21s) is set to be replaced by the national living wage come April 2016 and while employees have jumped at a pay rise, businesses fear the move – especially those small to medium businesses that we so focus on.

One of the big things of any budget is taxation, and this edition was no different. First off the chancellor George Osbourne announced the amount you are able to earn tax free is to rise to £11,000 annually (up from £10,800) from April 2017. This applies to anyone earning up to £100,000 and is set to rise to £12,500 by 2020. Similarly, the higher tax rate threshold is to rise by £615 up to £43,000. This means that the 40% tax rate will only be applicable to those earning above £43,000 annually as opposed to the previous amount of £42,385.

For anyone over 25 years of age at the introduction of the wage, they will be guaranteed £7.20 an hour. It means hikes in wage bills for companies which the Office for Budget Responsibility say will cost 60,000 jobs. Perhaps now more than ever then, for those companies expected to be hit by the increase in wages, it would be a good idea to stop and plan ahead. At KP Simpson we will look at the facts and data and will help you find a way forward for your business and your staff alike.

For those among us who are savers, the Government also plans to implement a number of changes come April. A £1,000 personal savings allowance will be introduced, and protects the first £1,000 saved from income tax. At current, banks and building societies automatically deduct 20% income tax from savings. Following the introduction of the changes, the 20% tax will be scrapped. As the Chancellor says himself: “People have already paid tax once on their money when they earn it.

They shouldn’t have to pay tax a second time when they save it.”

So if you have any queries about the budget, how it will affect your company and your accounts, give us a call at KP Simpson a call and let us ease your worries and find a solution.

You can call us at KP Simpson on 0191 420 0550 or email us on info@kpsimpson.co.uk.

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Newcastle Falcons Legends celebrate Rugby World Cup with Muckle LLP The Newcastle Falcons Legends joined guests of leading commercial law firm, Muckle LLP, for a day of Rugby World Cup celebrations.

A drinks reception and lunch at Muckle's offices were followed by everyone heading to the South Africa v Scotland match at St. James' Park. The evening then followed with the screening of the England v Australia match at the Sandman Hotel.

The final scores couldn't dampen the fantastic atmosphere between the players and guests of Muckle LLP.

BUSINESS INSIGHT Deb Tweedy, HR Manager

North East law firm is trained and able A North East law firm has proven commitment to its staff development plan by providing 24 members of the team with extensive training across disciplines in 2015 to date.

Deb Tweedy, HR Manager and head of Gordon Brown’s human resources consultancy, Hadrian HR, is currently undertaking a three year programme with Northumbria University to complete her Masters in Employment Law.

Gordon Brown Law Firm has harnessed the potential within its management team by providing official training to its solicitors, in addition to traditional legal training requirements.

Following the successful completion of BSL Level I Sign Language legal secretary, Christine’s Pearson, has gone on to study BSL Level II Sign Language with Newcastle College.

Internal training will be rolled out across the business over the coming months, to those interested in learning the skill, making significant progress towards Gordon Brown’s fully accessible service pledge.

Thirteen employees have succeeded in the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Leadership and Management Level 3 qualification already this year, with nine employees going on to complete a SFEDI Award in Social Media for Business Use. Benefits of the course include fast-tracking progression and targeting training to the precise needs of the future leaders of the firm.

Other recent qualifications gained within the firm include the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Level 4 Professional Distinction, Cilex Certification at Levels 3 & 6 in Family Law, Conveyancing and Commercial Property.

In addition to this, Gordon Brown will also look to offer advanced opportunities to Level 5 ILM Diplomas for individuals interested in developing their knowledge of the business arena in the near future.

Gordon Brown Law Firm managing partner Kathryn Taylor said: “We’re taking the next step in reaching our goal to offer a fully accessible service. Investing in people is at the heart of our unique business model and as they continue to grow their skills portfolio, we continue to invest in them.

Three younger employees have completed a first year of study with Damar Training. Receiving one of the highest marks in the country, Sophie Gray passed both exams with distinction and all three will go on to undertake undergraduate study in the legal realm over the coming years.

“Gordon Brown has always taken an employee-centric approach and we believe the more resources and knowledge our staff have, the more we can help our clients find clarity on their legal issues. It also empowers them to fee earn in their own right.”

www.gblf.co.uk

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

How to help your property purchase go smoothly Sharon Pannu

In a recent survey listing the 10 most stressful experiences in modern life, buying or selling a property came out at number one, ahead of divorce or even being made redundant!

Square One Law’s residential property expert, Sharon Pannu, offers her top five tips to ensure a smooth transaction and minimise any stress.

There are many reasons for purchasing a new home, you could be upsizing, downsizing, investing for the future, helping your children to take their first steps on the property ladder or buying a property abroad. Regardless of your motivation, anyone that has purchased property will tell you that the process needs to be properly managed to avoid the stress and anxiety that can be associated with the property market.

Dealing with solicitors and paperwork for weeks on end, means the deal could collapse at any moment and constantly chasing estate agents for updates was ranked in the survey as more traumatic than getting sacked.

I recommend you work with a team of professional advisers who you know work well together, which will mean you will be kept informed and have access to practical advice as well as the expertise and experience to help you make informed decisions.

As clients regularly ask similar questions, I have summarised these below in my top five tips:

Don’t underestimate the impact of stamp duty Stamp Duty is one of the largest additional costs you need to pay for when buying a home, yet research suggests that one in four homebuyers don’t budget for the tax.

Anyone who buys a home over £125,000 has to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax on the purchase.

How much you pay is staggered depending on the price. You pay 0% for the first £125,000, 2% on

the portion up to £250,000, 5% up to £925,000, 10% up to £1.5m and 12% on anything above that. So a property worth £275,000 would cost an additional £3,750.

This is good news for those investing in property but for those looking at a large purchase, the impact of Stamp Duty should not be underestimated.

Properties can also be purchased in trust for children under the age of eighteen. The process although relatively straightforward can come with a myriad of tax implications so advice on how best to manage this should be sought. Camilla James, head of Square One Law’s private client team, can help you decide on the best course of action when it comes to setting up trusts.

Do your research on the conservation issues that come with listed buildings

Be prepared to move quickly in the London market

Buildings are given a listed status to mark their historical and architectural interest and to protect them from damage and inappropriate alterations that may detract from their special interest. According to English Heritage, “The older a building is, the more likely it is to be listed.”

Owning a listed building can make carrying out alterations more complicated than a standard property and it is important to consider the restrictions and their corresponding cost when making a purchase. Make sure you have all of the information to be able to make an informed decision.

Over the last five years London has dramatically outstripped New York and every other major city in the world on prices and sales.

Be clear on gifting funds to children To successfully transfer a title that is good and valid, a large amount of complex paperwork must to be processed correctly and in the right order. One area that is often overlooked when pulling together this necessary paperwork is information regarding the gifting of funds to a child to fund a purchase.

There are strict requirements around receiving gifts when a mortgage is involved and regardless of the size of gift it must be properly documented as not doing so could invalidate the mortgage.

Working with our London clients or investor clients, it is clear that the market is moving quickly and that demand is consistently outstripping supply, making this a very good time to be a seller in London.

When buying in London, whether for yourself, your family or as an investment it is important to remember that most properties in the capital are leasehold only which should be considered during the decision making process.

Build up a team of advisers Clear and pragmatic advice is essential to maintaining a smooth conveyancing transaction and what’s better is the knowledge that your advisers are working together to get the best result for you. At Square One Law we have excellent working relationships with the regional private banks as well as surveyors and land agents.

By communicating well and working together we can ensure the best levels of service and added value to ensure the process runs to time and within your expectations.

For further advice on residential conveyancing either in the region, nationally or internationally, please contact Sharon Pannu on 0843 224 7949 or sharon.pannu@squareonelaw.com www.squareonelaw.com @SquareOneLaw

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“explain complex issues clearly” The Legal 500

BUSINESS INSIGHT Jonathan Flower

Sarah Crilly

‘Hidden wealth’ - are we set for a flood of reassessed divorce deals?

Sarah Crilly and Jonathan Flower, family law experts at law firm Ward Hadaway, examine two important Judgements issued by the Supreme Court on whether divorce settlements can be reassessed.

Two wives who said their husbands had hidden the true extent of their wealth at the time of their divorce settlement agreements have seen the Supreme Court rule that their agreements can be re-opened.

The cases of Alison Sharland and Varsha Gohil both involved findings or strong evidence of nondisclosure and deliberate concealment on the part of a husband and the wife’s subsequent application to set aside an existing order.

Ms Alison Sharland accepted £10m in her 2010 divorce from her husband Charles, a software entrepreneur.

Under the settlement, she would also receive 30% of the proceeds of shares held by her husband in his company, when he sold them.

She believed that represented half of his wealth, but it later transpired he had concealed his company’s true value, as well as plans to float it on the stock market. It was valued for the purposes of the proceedings at £60m. However, after the agreement, reports appeared in the press that its true value was about £600m.

Ms Sharland sought to re-open the agreement but the Judge refused and Ms Sharland appealed.

The Court of Appeal ruled the misleading evidence would not have led to a significantly different divorce settlement. Ms Sharland appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court found that the nondisclosure which was discovered prior to the sealing of the Consent order should have caused the case to be re-opened and it was made clear that had the husband’s circumstances been known, a different outcome would have resulted so the consent order should have been set aside.

The court made it clear that a victim of fraud in a family case should not be treated any differently from a victim of fraud in a civil claim.

The facts of the second case are that Ms Varsha Gohil accepted £270,000 and a car as a settlement when she divorced her husband in 2002.

In 2010, Mr Gohil was convicted of money laundering and jailed for 10 years.

At his criminal trial, evidence revealed he had failed to disclose his true wealth during divorce proceedings.

The Court of Appeal had ruled that information that emerged at his criminal trial could not be used to overturn the couple’s settlement.

However, the Supreme Court has now determined that the original order can be reopened as there has been sufficient evidence of material non-disclosure of assets. This case too

has now been remitted back to the courts for a rehearing.

Divorce settlements should be based on the true value of the parties’ assets. Parties are under a duty to make full and frank disclosure of all relevant information to one another and to the court.

However, it appears the Supreme Court’s intention is not to open the floodgates for all cases where there has been non-disclosure for it makes clear that orders are not to be set aside on the ground of non-disclosure if the disclosure would not have made any substantial difference to the order which the court would have made.

We as family lawyers are not likely to be inundated with enquiries from former clients seeking to re-open Orders. It will only occur in those few cases where significant wealth has been hidden which, had it been known at the time, would have resulted in settlements to the other spouse being significantly higher.

What constitutes “significant” will be relative to the facts of an individual case so it is difficult to comment on a particular figure. For example, failure to disclose £50,000 in a case where there are only total assets of £100,000 would be deemed significant but failure to disclose £50,000 in a case involving £100m of assets would not be significant.

Moving forward, there is now clear guidance as to how hidden wealth in divorce settlements will be treated.

For more information on the issues raised by this article please contact jonathan.flower@wardhadaway.com or sarah.crilly@wardhadaway.com

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BUSINESS INSIGHT

Protecting creditors’ interests Andrew Cawkwell

At Muckle LLP, we can help enforce your rights as a creditor. The more involved you get in an insolvency procedure, the better the outcome is likely to be, so it’s important to maintain regular contact with the appointed insolvency practitioner.

Chances are at some point in the life of your business, at least one customer will go into liquidation, owing you money.

When a business does fail, usually one or all of three things will happen. The company is placed into administration, put into liquidation or enters a compromise with its creditors.

It’s also vital to maintain a presence at creditors’ meetings so that nothing is agreed – at least without you knowing - that may be to your detriment. We have a network of accountancy practices who can attend those meetings without charging, and report on their outcomes for you.

After a company is unable to pay its debts, directors are required to act in the best interests of the creditors. All too often, when creditors get notice of insolvency they assume they have few rights with respect to their claim against an insolvent company.

Once you have a better understanding of the situations, you can plan courses of action to address your areas of influence.

When a business has failed and an investigation follows into why that has happened, a creditor is able to play an active role in that process.

Business understanding and effective cooperation is an important success factor in recovering monies and increasing the chances of that happening. The first step is to always come and talk to us.

It’s important that all creditors actively engage in the insolvency process as it can increase the chances of debts being paid or rogue directors being brought to justice.

Andrew Cawkwell Partner and Certified Turnaround Professional Banking and Restructuring Team Muckle LLP e: Andrew.Cawkwell@muckle-llp.com @CompanyRescue

Some insolvency proceedings are aimed at giving a debtor time to rearrange their affairs, such as through a compromise with creditors.

Other procedures are designed to close down companies that aren’t financially viable.

Be the boss - not bossy Joanne Howe

A manager should be bold and unafraid to stand up for what they believe to be true but should also maintain a level of compromise that will keep everyone in agreement, if not necessarily happy.

So how do you go about diffusing yourself as a walking talking HR time bomb?

First off, listen to others. As the elder statesman of sorts, you really should be willing to take on suggestions and listen to issues and problems that may be arising. They may be small things to you but they could be one of the most important things in the world to the staff involved so simply taking in the information is the first step.

However, if that ‘bold’ demeanour is used to maintain an almost iron fist on the workplace then you may need to re-evaluate your approach to management and consider a method that will allow for healthy debate among the workforce and enable a scope for making changes which will benefit everyone.

So, what can you do to loosen that grip on the co-workers?

There is nothing wrong with being assertive; honesty is the best policy after all, but draw the line and be fair at the same time. Don’t belittle but don’t make a mountain out of a molehill either.

Remember ‘praise in public’ and ‘reprimand in private’.

A survey by aboutmoney.com found that a number of characteristics regularly came up in discussions about ‘bad managers’. They revealed that bad managers: L ack the necessary communication skills to properly delegate jobs and implement change in the company. veruse punishment methods and don’t give O even simple praise and/or reward when it is earned.

F ail to accept the blame when something is their fault yet accept the praise for other’s work.

the problem is diffused as quickly as possible. In the case of bad bosses, the problem may be you!

All of these things may cause something seemingly trivial to snowball into something bigger than it needs to be, so it’s important that

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Last but not least if you need any help with your workplace and its HR issues, do not hesitate to give Howe Consultancy a call. We will look after all aspects of your HR helping you to become the boss your staff deserve.

Call us on 07921 256981 or email us at info@ howeconsultancy.co.uk to find out more.

BUSINESS INSIGHT Anna Hunter

Some major advice When should I see a solicitor?

It is never too soon to seek legal advice when you have concerns about your family situation; whether you are just contemplating separation or have already made a decision to divorce. If you are wondering whether you should consult a solicitor, then the answer is almost invariably yes. If you seek advice from an expert, then they will not be afraid to give you one-off advice or just discuss your options for the future, whatever your situation requires. There will be no pressure to take steps if you’re not ready to take or incur costs that aren’t necessary at this particular time.

Knowledge is power. Obtaining advice and information at an early stage may help you to feel more confident when making decisions about your future whether the issues relate to children, finances or both.

But I want to save time & money?

Early advice can make it quicker for you to reach agreement with your spouse directly. It can help you have informal discussions with your spouse without allowing misunderstandings to arise. It will allow you to know the parameters that you need to work within and can save you time in determining whether the negotiations between you and your spouse or partner are fair and realistic.

Our clients often find making an early investment in our advice proves far more cost-effective than coming to see us at a later stage when differences or stumbling blocks have arisen which in turn reduces some of the stress which can naturally occur when dealing with a separation.

What if we’ve reached an agreement between us?

If you have managed to reach agreement between you, that is certainly a preferable route and will save a lot of heartache and expense. We still recommend that you seek expert advice on the terms of the agreement you have drawn up and we will assist you in formalising the agreement to make it legally enforceable. The court will need to approve any agreement that you wish to make binding so there are certain legal issues that will need to be considered.

What if I already have a solicitor but I’m not happy?

If you have a solicitor already but you are unhappy with the advice you have been given, the way in which they are conducting your case, or if you feel you just don’t get on, then you should seek a second opinion. It’s important that you feel able to trust the person who is giving you advice.

Many people are unaware that they are perfectly

entitled to seek advice from a second source or change solicitors once their case is under way.

It is entirely possible to obtain a second opinion without your current solicitors needing to be informed. Then, ultimately, if you would like to change, your new solicitor should be able to handle the transfer on your behalf without you even needing to speak with your current solicitors (subject to your account being paid up to date).

Doesn’t instructing a solicitor mean I’ll end up going to court?

One should not follow the other. Court should always be a last resort. At Major Family Law, our level of expertise makes us one of the leading family law practices in the North East. You can be confident that you are receiving top flight advice from a team with a record of over 80% of their cases being successfully resolved by way of negotiated settlement without ever needing to go to Court.

Enjoy total discretion in our relaxed and welcoming offices with both free parking and access at the rear of the building.

Whatever your concern, be assured that we will give it our full attention so that you can move forward confidently and in control of your own affairs.

Anna Hunter is a Director at Major Family Law, the Divorce and Family Law Specialists, 12 West Road, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne. T: 01661 82 45 82 www.majorfamilylaw.co.uk Twitter: @majorfamilylaw

38

BUSINESS INSIGHT

Eye of the tiger This month, Northern Insight’s Michael Grahamslaw journeys into the jungle of accountancy and chats to Jason Croan, Managing Director of Tiger Support. challenge any new business, such as advertisement, office space, working time around family, but if I was to pick one, I would say getting my name known, seen and talked about in my own town. Even now, I may have several local clients, and be well placed on social media and my website is fantastic, but my business is still young compared to the old established firms in Seaham.

Describe your journey through business prior to the inception of Tiger Support?

I left school at sixteen after my GCSEs and walked into a Business Administration Course with The Durham Business Club, with a placement in a local Solicitors firm, and even won the first student of the year award in 1999. After this, I knew I wanted to be involved with Accountancy, and this involved moving to a local Accountants up the road and starting my AAT studies. During this time, I spent the next seven years in practice, and experienced Chartered Accountancy, after which, I was given the opportunity to be an In-house Accountant, being Finance Manager at a Sunderland based Estate Agents. Shortly after a year in this role, I was asked by a Photocopier company in North Shields to be their first Finance Manager, but after few months this was updated to the role of Finance Director. After two years in this role, I was made redundant, a bitter blow in my career, as I knew times were hard in employment, and my experience on CV made me difficult to place. This is when we as a family gambled, and took chances which have most definitely paid off, my wife started work after being a stay at home mum to three children for 6 years, and Tiger Support was born, in the dining room I may add. I worked out of the kitchen alongside juggling the childcare of my 18 month old daughter. At times, this was really tough but Tiger has grown and is now providing for my family and we now look back and appreciate that things happen for a reason.

Did you always have a desire to form your own business?

I would have to say yes, I often thought in my head what I needed, costs, income, how many clients needed, but was always put off with loss of income and protecting family. I did have small Bookkeeping jobs and that was going to be the start, but with my FD role, I passed most of them on and continued my employment with a dream of being own boss one day, working hours that suit, and when needed.

How would you summarise the ethos of Tiger Support?

As the name may suggest, our main ethos is to protect and support businesses with their Accountancy needs, just like a Tiger would protect and look over her cubs.

You describe Tiger Support as ‘The One stop shop for all your accountancy needs.’

What is it that gives you an edge over the rest of the field?

What services do you provide?

I cover a vast range of services, and pretty much offer everything, apart from Audits. So we cover Accounts preparation for Sole Traders, Partnerships and Limited Companies, Bookkeeping to Management Report level, Payroll, VAT, Tax Returns and now we specialise in Cloud/Online Accounting.

What do you enjoy most about working within accountancy?

I enjoy several aspects of my job, but to pick one, would be to see growth in my clients, seeing their business flourish and knowing I've been part of that by being as proactive as I possibly can.

What is Tiger Support’s greatest achievement to date?

Not sure I can pick just one, and it may not be big to some people, but I've just been voted NorthEast Sageone Partner of the year, my social media presence has seen my tweets used in presentations by Sage to help promote Sageone, and never mind the fact that we now have our own office so I'm not cluttering up the kitchen with my files. In all honesty, just seeing the business grow and turnover - the client base increasing year on year is a big achievement in its own right.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Nothing stands out on its own that doesn't

Whether it's traditional or online Accounting, Tiger support does both, and can look after businesses from start to finish, whether it's yearly accounts, or full service, such as Bookkeeping, payroll, VAT returns done, accounts prepared and into Tax Returns, and if you need any help in year, such as Cashflow, or Forecasts, we are here to help. If my existing clients or potential clients have questions at night and need answers, we are only an email/call/tweet/text away and aim to be proactive enough to be available to reply, usually within a couple of hours or the following morning. With online accounting, figures involved can be accessed anytime anywhere.

What does the future hold?

In November, we are re-branding the trading name to Cloudaccounts123, it will be the same people involved, same company as no change in entity, but to fit in with Cloud/Online Accounting that is on the up, we feel it's time for a change.

We may also have additions to the business over next quarter, but will just have to wait and see for that.

When not in the swivel chair, what are your interests?

I like to spend time with the better half and my wonderful three children, and this tends to be involving a movie as we all love the big screen, so are visitors to Cineworld quite a lot, and there’s nothing better than popcorn and a home movie on those wet horrible days. I love football but don't watch as much as used to, and in particular Newcastle United. I just wish players at club were more like legends such as Shearer, Beardsley and Lee but that's dreaming, not interests!

For more information www.cloudaccountants123.co.uk

39

RESIDENTIAL SALES * LETTINGS & MANAGEMENT * INTERIOR DESIGN * NEW-HOMES SPECIALISTS

Call us today for a FREE “Property Review” on your home. One of our team will discuss the housing market in your area. We will review your property and offer our opinion whether it’s time to rent, sell or improve. www.urban-base.com NEWCASTLE 65 Quayside Newcastle City NE1 3DE

DURHAM 61 Saddler St Durham City DH1 4NU

INTERVIEW

In Conversation With...

Jan Dale Michael Grahamslaw meets Jan Dale, Owner of Urban Base.

What were your career ambitions growing up?

I love my four dogs and two Indian Runner ducks, and always wanted to be a Vet, of course I couldn’t handle the reality of the animals being sick most of the time and fortunately I got a break in property and the rest is history.

Can you briefly outline your career path for the readers?

In brief; The Halifax bank where I worked had a property department which naturally fulfilled my passion of property, and I entered the world of estate agency. I was invited to a meeting at the Wynyard Park estate where Sir John Hall was creating his vision for the re-birth of Wynyard Hall, and where I was very fortunate to handle the land sales, and at the same time meet some of the rich and famous of our region (including Kevin Keegan and Alan Shearer) and I had an absolute ball (no pun intended) – which included one day asking a man to step off the newly seeded golf course …unknown to me the man on the course was the owner, Sir John himself. Once the land was sold, from Wynyard I was fortunate to be given a management position at Bellway Homes where I worked with a superb team and had a learning curve which was both steep and enthralling. I was then headhunted by “Bryant Homes” (now part of Taylor Wimpey), and as Sales Director had what I thought was a position for life – until the recession hit and the Newcastle office was closed.

There came an opportunity to enter the world of being an entrepreneur, and due to the support of my husband, and family as well as business colleagues such as the infamous Mike Lynch I took the leap of setting up my own company; Jan Dale Property Specialists. This naturally lead back to completing new-homes land feasibilities, along with sales and marketing support to my old colleagues who were now at various national house builders. Ironically I never ever wanted to own an estate agency, however due to demand from my clients and the desire to offer a genuine customer-service driven estate agency I decided to create an agency based on these values. The

agency today has evolved beyond any recognition of the early brand value which was focussed on the investment new-build market, and now we act for some of the finest luxury homes within our region. Continuous recommendations from our clients is so very rewarding.

What attracted you to a career in property?

It was a very natural passion, with no eureka moment – I simply adore the property market.

Can you describe a typical day in the life of Jan Dale?

The words typical day do not exist. Every day is an unknown delight of meeting new people, seeing new properties, and being inspired along the way with clients homes and developers visions for our region.

business excellence, and as such most weeks offer challenges and rewards. However at home my feisty mum has to be one of my biggest influences in everything I do. She has always been so very proud of me and from a very young age she has taught me to aim to be the very best at everything I do. At junior school she allowed me to visit France and write the winning story of our French Tour, to which I won the Head Masters award, and the pride on my mum’s face has lead me to want to continue to impress her every single day. Impressing my mum is no easy feat as she has such high expectations – she has a lot to answer for!

What are you currently working on?

Sir John once said in a meeting “there is no such thing as a problem, go and find the solution” and I truly live my working day by this…every day can raise new problems, and we do indeed find the solutions, some just take a little longer than others.

Oh my goodness, the region’s property market is really taking a turn in the right direction and there is so much activity in the property market this year. I am working on several new build schemes with developer clients which include the amazing re-development of the Ouseburn Valley, along with various new developer clients with schemes across our region from exciting conversions of city architecture to green-field housing schemes. Combined with acting for some superb clients with amazing homes, including an eight bedroomed luxury castle, and a Million pound penthouse in Harrogate.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Do you have a favourite hotspot for a business meeting?

Is there a mantra you always aspire to when doing business?

Urban Base was TEN years old last month – we have survived through what has in main been a major period of recession. I am very proud to have grown the business and established a highly regarded brand through such a difficult economic climate.

Who are your biggest influences both in and out of business?

The urban base team (including husband, son and daughter-in-law), and the business-partners we work with inspire me every day. I am so very lucky to have a very varied and extended team of business colleagues who can often be aiming to push boundaries and achieve new levels of

41

Most of my meetings take place in my fabulous office at Peter Chandler’s “Rivergreen” in Durham, however our mezzanine office on the Quayside with views towards the River Tyne is of equal splendour. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting a new client regarding some TV sponsorship at Ramside Hall’s new Spa, and wow – what an amazing job John Adamson’s team have done there – it truly is world class.

Outside of the office, what do you do to relax?

Anyone who knows me knows I do not relax – I am a fully confessed work-a-holic – and love every second!

Gentoo celebrates £1 billion of investment in Sunderland This year marks an exciting milestone for social enterprise Gentoo Group as the company reaches its billionth pound invested in the City of Sunderland, on a variety of property related activity.

In 2001, the Group purchased its housing stock from Sunderland City Council for £240 million, as then Sunderland Housing Group. The Group soon invested a further £219 million on new housing, £562 million on modernisation of existing properties and £15.5 million on PV Schemes.

A total of 1,829 new homes have been built by Gentoo Group to date in Sunderland alone, including 1,406 social rented homes and 423 properties for sale. This was complemented with nearly £60 million invested through Gentoo Ventures, transforming Sunderland City Centre buildings into modern homes which otherwise may have remained empty.

The Group recently marked this incredible achievement with an official opening of its latest innovative extra care housing scheme, Haddington Vale in Doxford Park, Sunderland.

Haddington Vale is a £12.2 million development that provides residents with a safe and secure place to live, whilst also enabling them to live independently in their own homes.

A total of 96 homes have been built consisting of 42, two bedroom extra care and 40, two bedroom elderly person apartments, all available for rent

by Gentoo customers. 14 bungalows have also been built with four for rent and 10 for sale bringing some much needed housing of this kind to the area.

The exemplar scheme is designed

by Gentoo based on HAPPI (Housing Aged Persons Panel for Innovation) principles. It is designed to encourage socialising with the space cleverly planned to have large open central areas full of natural light, no internal corridors and importantly make them

L-R, Ian Self, Vice Chair of Gentoo Group; The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Sunderland, Councillor Barry Curran; The Mayoress, Mrs Carol Curran; John Craggs, Acting Chief Executive of Gentoo Group, outside Haddington Vale.

more easily legible for residents with dementia.

John Craggs, Acting Chief Executive of Gentoo Group said: “From day one we set out to deliver far more than bricks and mortar. We believed in our ability to create sustainable communities people would be proud to call home – where future generations could have the lifestyle they deserve.

“Improving the Art of Living has been at the forefront of our investment and we are proud that our modernisation programmes, new build schemes and PV programmes have delivered wide spread benefits to the local economy, members of the community and the environment.

“Our investment and commitment doesn’t stop there. We are passionate about the delivery of excellent housing products and services like Haddington Vale as well as making a lasting difference to society and the city.”

The Right Worshipful the Mayor of the City of Sunderland, Councillor Barry Curran officially opened Haddington Vale, he added: “Haddington Vale provides residents with a homely, sociable and safe place to live, and allowing them to remain independent.

It truly is an innovative scheme.”

Karen Anderson, Area Manager at the Homes and Communities Agency

said: “The opening of Haddington Vale shows how Gentoo meets the needs of everyone in the communities their serve. High quality supported accommodation for older people is just as important as family and starter homes, and Gentoo is providing these across the city as part of the £1 billion investment that they have made along with our help.”

The Group continue to deliver even more high quality, affordable new housing for residents with developments recently underway at Doxford Park, Downhill and High Ford.

Its future renewal plans include further new homes at Houghton-le-Spring, Chester Road Pennywell, Glebe and Broomhill.

In terms of Gentoo’s existing homes, in the last year alone they have invested £24 million on maintaining its properties and have committed a further £26.8 million to deliver its extensive planned maintenance programme in this financial year.

Gentoo Group will continue to use resources, be they people, properties, relationships or networks to make the maximum positive difference to society and continue to create great places to live.

To find out more about Gentoo, visit gentoogroup.com or follow @gentoogroup on Twitter.

More than £219 million spent creating high quality new build housing for 1,829 families.

Just one example of Gentoo’s £1 billion property investment in Sunderland since 2001.

But our investment doesn’t stop there. By utilising suppliers in the area to build homes like Sarah’s, we have a positive impact of £2.9 million per year on the local economy.

Our commitment to the success of the city continues…

Find out more about Gentoo’s work in Sunderland at: gentoogroup.com/billionpounds

A SUPERB DEVELOPMENT OF LUXURY NEW HOMES IN A UNIQUE RURAL SETTING

SHOWHOME NOW OPEN Thursday to Monday, 10.00am - 5.00pm Hill Top Farm, Off Pittington Lane, Carrville, Durham, DH1 5TD

e. jangill@derestreethomes.co.uk t. 07983 080952

www.derestreethomes.co.uk @derestreethomes

derestreethomes

DEDICATED TO DEVELOPING HOMES OF CHARACTER & INTEGRITY

INTERVIEW

In Conversation With...

Sarah Hall Owner-manager of dynamic PR and marketing consultancy www.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk and mum of two Sarah Hall has earned a reputation as a pioneer of best practice, ethics tsar and gender and diversity advocate within the PR industry. She talks to Northern Insight about the fast moving landscape that is a life in comms and her latest exciting project. that I ended up chairing the CIPR’s Professional Practices Committee which sets and upholds the Institute’s Code of Conduct.

Tell us about your business and how it has grown.

I established Sarah Hall Consulting six years ago, operating originally from my spare bedroom. Since that point the team has grown, the client portfolio has grown - and so has my family.

I’ve also never been able to stand inequality and the PR profession has a real issue with a gender pay gap which stands at £8483 in favour of men.

Today I have a team of nine advising a diverse range of organisations which include the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, Sage Gateshead, Newcastle City Council and Rowlands Accountants. We work across most sectors and our core services include reputation management, media and influencer relations, social media and video production.

As an industry we are not great at attracting those from BME backgrounds or at creating opportunities for those from less fortunate backgrounds. I guess that because I have an opportunity to do so, I see it as my duty to play my part and push for change.

The fragmenting media landscape and new digital technologies have created a real shift in how we communicate. We help organisations to be publishers and broadcasters in their own right and have genuine two-way engagement with the people that matter to them, rather than push sales messages out all the time.

That doesn’t work any more, if it ever did.

I’ve been curating and editing a book called #FuturePRoof – a go-to guide for managers of agencies and communications teams which launches this November via www.futureproofingcomms.co.uk.

You’re not known for staying still. What’s next?

The aim of the book is to demonstrate the inherent value of PR and to increase awareness of the role it plays in driving business success. Alongside this, the book is designed to provide a practical guide to some of the key issues facing the managers of comm’s teams today.

You’re known for your voluntary work.

Why is this important to you?

Its purpose is to drive up standards and professionalism, engender innovative thinking and to encourage PR practitioners to create disruption, not just embrace it.

I’ve volunteered for years with the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and am a Trustee with the Sunshine Fund, which provides specialist equipment for children with disabilities in the North East.

There are 33 chapters on a range of subjects all by different authors who are at the top of their game in the industry. It’s a stellar line up and I can’t believe so many brilliant people jumped on board. I shared a book spec and everyone signed up within a week.

Throughout my career I’ve been lucky to have different mentors who believe in making a difference and have seen first hand the positive change individuals can make. When you give it a go, the rewards inspire you to continue on.

As far as I know there is nothing out there like this best practice guide. It’s the biggest conversation around the future of PR to date. I know I’ve learned a lot from pulling it all together and I hope others derive just as much value.

While admittedly donating time and expertise can sometimes be challenging, the benefits are huge. With both voluntary commitments I’ve grown my network, generated new business and learnt the core skills required to be a non-executive director. You can’t ask for more.

A quick Google search shows you’re vocal about ethics and gender and diversity – why are these such an area of focus for you?

I’m actually a bit of a goody two shoes and believe in doing the right thing. Rules are in place because they’re there to guide and protect. I guess it makes sense

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INTERVIEW

MEDIA INSIGHT

Christian Cerisola

Volkswagen owner? I am.

Sturdy, middle-of-the-road German performer. Not flashy, not crappy.

A big boot for golf clubs and kids stuff. It does the job for me.

But they’re not green. Not green at all.

They’ve cheated the testing system, see.

You may have heard about it.

Am I bothered their cars don’t appear to be eco-friendly as they said they were? Well, yes, but only slightly. And I’d wager that many others who buy a Volkswagen don’t have its green credentials as their number one priority either.

More damaging is the feeling that, as a customer, I’ve been lied to. And there are now millions and millions across the globe who also feel that way too. What that lie is about almost becomes irrelevant. I don’t like the thought I’ve given many thousands of pounds to a liar.

I’m not here to assess what long-term damage this might do to their business. I am, however, watching how they’ve handled the PR fallout.

When news broke in America, it was a full 24 hours before that market heard from Volkswagen.

And when they did, it was in German. It stops mattering how that translated. It was late, clumsy, misguided and cold.

BBC business editor Kamal Ahmed summed things up brilliantly at a recent talk he gave to

the PRCA National Conference (one of the bodies overseeing professionalism in PR) when he said they’d forgotten to ‘speak human’.

What does that mean? Well, he went on to explain that communications advisers “can be a great cause for good” but “the operation can so easily be undone in that moment when you don’t remember about honesty, transparency and information”.

Honesty, transparency and information. Three key words. No matter how horrific the crisis, this is what the public crave at a time like this. And so often, the media will be your mouthpiece to that public.

The instinct is to clam up and revert to silence or the bare minimum. It rarely works well, because the media then start filling in the gaps, with speculators or members of the public. They draw their own conclusions on your silence. Those conclusions are rarely good.

Compare this response, and perhaps the remorseless Thomas Cook handling of the death of two children during a holiday in Corfu, to something like the accident at Alton Towers at the start of the summer. Within an hour or two, Merlin’s chief executive, Nick Varney was fronting

the media with an admission of guilt. He was not off the news for the entire week. No faceless spokespeople, no anonymous statements. He made himself available to whomever wanted him.

There’s a great clip of Varney during an interview with Sky News a couple of days after the accident where interrogator Kay Burley, so often faced with evasive politicians and business bosses, attempts to ‘nail’ him on their safety measures, but he maintains a line which is honest, transparent and deeply remorseful.

It’s quite long, but worth a watch to learn from how he kept his cool, despite severe provocation (stick ‘Kay Burley and Nick Varney’ in your YouTube search box). So much so that public opinion switched after this interview. A petition to have Burley sacked for her ruthless line of questioning gained more than 50,000 signatures within hours.

I’m sure we’d all like to think nothing will ever go wrong in our own business, and we’re probably well prepared for eventualities if worstcase scenarios are realised. But here’s the news for you. The days of pulling up the shutters on the media and therefore on the public, is no longer an option.

Christian Cerisola is director at GluePR. www.gluepr.co.uk

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NOT ALL

PR FIRMS ARE THE SAME

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MEDIA INSIGHT

To each, their own Jackie Marston

of flexibility. It’s not a case of simply finishing and sending it off. You should allow the client to review the strategy and suggest any changes which could be considered important, if not vital.

Marketing and PR can be a strange old beast. What works for one may be an utter disaster for another. One company’s gold may be another company’s donut. That’s why each client should have an original strategy drafted for them.

This flexibility will leave the client in no doubt as to what is to be done for them and will also build a degree of trust.

But what makes a good, individual marketing strategy that will get the best for the client and deliver exactly what they want?

A marketing strategy isn’t just about what, it’s also about who – that is who will be responsible for what. While it’s the marketing firm who will be responsible for carrying out the marketing, make sure the client knows they have a responsibility to feedback to you on everything you do. After all, how will you know about changes that might need to be made?

First off, don’t simply twist an existing strategy to fit a new client – think square pegs and round holes. Each client, no matter how similar they may seem, will have a different set of requirements. This means that any attempt to fill their requirements with solutions to previous client’s problems will only end in tears. In a way it would be like fighting a fire with petrol, it just won’t work.

Finally, don’t be afraid of details. If an aspect of the strategy will take a number of steps and time, include each and every step. This will not only show the exact workings to the client, but will also allow you to know exactly where you are on the timescale and where you stand in terms of completing the client’s strategy.

The content of a strategy should be based around a client’s base needs and wants. If they are looking to drive sales numbers and raise their profile, it would be a good idea to include things such as more advertising to get an awareness of their product, or running competitions on their social media in order to get the products out there for example.

A strategy is the backbone of a campaign, and is a work in progress right up until the moment you start to carry it out.

With that said, nothing is set in stone and should allow for a little bit

If you are in need of marketing, be it advertising or editorial services, don’t hesitate to get in touch with the team here at JAM Marketing on 0845 900 2127, or email at info@jam-marketing.co.uk.

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MEDIA INSIGHT

What public relations practitioners have learnt from Silicon Valley Sarah Hall

Not too long ago in public relations, standard practice was to fax out press releases and stick captions on the back of photos before posting them to picture desks. Clippings were cut out of newspapers and glued onto A4 sheets as part of client reporting.

Account information was printed out and stored in an office filing cabinet, while media databases were in paper format only.

Mobile phones were available but they didn’t have apps or cameras. Networking was done over lunch or at events.

Fast forward twenty or so years and new technology has enhanced our capabilities and created a vast array of opportunities.

Here are four ways in which public relations has evolved thanks to Silicon Valley:

1

Business practices Agile leadership is arguably the biggest change.

Many public relations professionals have watched companies like Facebook and Twitter go from strength to strength, as well as start ups like Yo and Periscope grow and thrive.

The lesson has been clear; disruption leads to opportunity and those that adapt quickly to market and operational changes and are resourceful in the face of change can gain significant market ground.

There’s also a lesson around failure too. One of Google’s sayings is: ‘fail fast and fail forward.’

Businesses who learn from their mistakes and move on quickly are much more likely to succeed next time around.

2

Technology Practitioners can work quickly and efficiently from anywhere as long as they have access to a smartphone and Wi-Fi. Cloud technology means that client data can be securely stored and

Tel: 07702 162704

accessed at the touch of a button.

The quality of our work has been significantly enhanced too. Forget the hard copy databases or the little black book of contacts developed over years, a burgeoning market of third party tools now help practitioners identify influencers around a product, topic or issue in a network within a matter of minutes just by going online.

Tools such as Bluenod, Lissted and Traackr are just a few examples of planning tools enabling practitioners to identify and engage successfully with communities that matter to their employers and clients.

For those focused on media relations, the painful days of creating clipping books are no more – Coveragebook.com and its competitors pull together coverage into simple reports in less than quarter the time it would take to do it manually.

Reputation management has also been revolutionised. Listening tools such as Brandwatch and Sysomos allow professionals to monitor mentions of a brand, product or service across different forms of media and offer reach and scale.

3

Workflow Technology continues to transform how public relations practitioners actually work. A gradual shift is taking place away from management by Excel spreadsheets to collaborative environments such as Slack and Asana.

Let’s take Slack as the example. Slack puts all

sarah@sarahhallconsulting.co.uk

communication and content in a single place for a team whether internal or both agency and client-side. Open channel conversations create transparency and ensure everything is trackable.

What’s more, these types of communication tools index the content of files so you can easily search within PDFs, Word and Google documents, creating real efficiencies. There’s no excuse for organisational silos any more.

4

Social Media The rise of digital has arguably created the biggest disruption for the PR industry in recent years.

Social media enables public relations practitioners to connect organisations with publics in the widest sense. Platforms such as Facebook or LinkedIn have generated the most significant opportunity for modern public relations practice that we’ve had in more than a generation.

As practitioners we have been quick to focus on the reputational impact of social media on organisations and to use it as a means to disseminate corporate messaging but the future could hold much more.

By using monitoring tools to understand conversations that are taking place we can deliver powerful insights to an organisation. These insights are valuable not just to communication teams but other departments within an organisation such as marketing, sales, product development, research, human resources and customer service.

www.sarahhallconsulting.co.uk

@hallmeister.

MEDIA INSIGHT

Ask Silver Bullet John Dias, Managing Director of Silver Bullet

As an established business based in the North East, we are investing in a new web site - what do I need to consider for SEO? SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, is the process of improving search traffic for a website and increasing the website’s online visibility. The short answer to this question is that there’s very little point in investing in a new web site if no-one knows where it is or visits it, so investment in SEO is highly recommended to attract NEW visitors.

In June, we wrote about the changes that Google had made in its search criteria, ranking mobile friendliness as one of the most important of their 200 or so criteria so that responsive sites, ie those sites that were designed to respond to the different sized screens that mobile devices use, would inevitably be placed higher than nonresponsive site with all other factors being equal.

So, our first advice for SEO is to make sure your site is responsive – with over 70% of web site visits now coming from mobile devices, this isn’t just for purposes of SEO but also just common sense, why build a web site that doesn’t look at its best to over 70% of the visitors?

In the real world, however, web site visitors do not all come as a result of the mighty Google and other search engines and one very effective means of improving online visibility is to promote it offline whether this be through advertisements, PR or direct mail to your own database. This is especially true when you deal in a niche market, whether this be in B2C or B2B environment. If you can effectively promote your web site for, say, organic sausage skins or hazardous area lighting,

for example, to the albeit limited audiences for those products, then you’re not really bothered about other visitors to your web site who aren’t interested in your niche products – you’ve profiled your customers and effectively reached them.

Google Analytics provides a perfect starting point to find out where your visitors are coming from and what they’re looking at and I’d advise any client to invest in understanding how to use this free tool. You should then properly analyse the results.

You now have a responsive site which you’ve promoted offline to your own database and in all marketing collateral and you’re tracking the traffic results via Google Analytics and fully understand the results, but what else can you do to increase traffic?

In essence, there are two routes to SEO. The first, and highly preferred, is organic SEO, whereby relevant keywords and content integral to the site will be picked up by search engines. Links to and, especially from, other sites are also important to increasing the site’s ranking as is the frequency of updates, but at the end of the day, and we can’t over emphasise this enough, content is king - your web site has to be fresh, interesting and relevant. If it is, it will move up the pages over time, but this doesn’t happen overnight.

Two points of caution here – firstly, overoptimisation will cost the website - if the website is crammed with keywords, Google will find it difficult to read and understand the relevance, creating lower quality score. Secondly, whilst

creating links to and from the website is effective for organic SEO, if bad links or link farming is used, Google will recognise this as unnatural, costing position as a result.

To achieve instant results, however, sites have to invest in paid-for Search Engine Marketing, often referred to as Pay Per Click (PPC) or paid search advertising.

Google Adwords is perhaps the most common platform, with your web site then featured in the paid for advertisements sections at the top and right hand side of the Google results. The costs vary enormously dependent on the phraseology chosen for the search. Once decided, advertisers can then set their budget that will determine how many times the advert appears and is clicked on to direct traffic through to their own web site.

Is it successful? Well, given that it is Google’s main source of revenue, creating an eye-watering $43.7 billion in 2012, you’d have to say overall, yes, but it is expensive, making it difficult for companies with more modest marketing budgets to compete with the big boys who can bid higher and longer for the key words required to increase online visibility and drive traffic.

The whole purpose of SEO is to get visits to create business, whether this be a purchase or a client making initial contact so if traffic levels aren’t resulting in more business, it comes down to content again – relevant and interesting content will reap dividends (and higher ranking) over time as the website becomes a trusted resource for visitors.

So, are you worried about search engine marketing? Do you need to review your strategy or do you have another marketing question we can help with? Talk to us. Email your questions anonymously to us today hello@silverbulletmarketing.co.uk or Tweet us (not so anonymously) @SilverBulletPR and use the hash tag #AskSB

52

Strong ties

Having moved to St. Peter’s Marina recently, we can’t resist the odd nautical reference. This is a Reef Knot by the way, the knot of choice for many a sailor. We like to think of the said Reef Knot as a bit like our client relationships. Once welcomed aboard our clients tend to stay aboard, joined together through mutual respect and trust. We’re in the business of making our clients’ brands stronger by applying creativity to their marketing objectives. Give us a call if you’d like to join the crew.

2 St Peter’s Wharf, Terrace Level, St Peter’s Basin, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 1TZ Tel: 0191 265 7542 hedleymcewan.co.uk

53

creative communication

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Calibre builds in housing sector on back of new contract A Newcastle IT services firm is eyeing growth in the social housing sector after winning a contract to provide Wi-Fi and related services to Manchester’s Eastland Homes.

The work will see Science Central-based, Calibre Secured Networks Ltd, deliver a raft of IT infrastructure technologies that will enable the housing association to improve on-site services to customers living in thousands of properties across the North West of England.

The contract is part of the Government-backed digital inclusion funding for voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations and will enable customer service staff to boost planning and property management.

Fast growing Calibre, which will be building the new services around advanced Cisco-based wireless technology, is seeing strong demand for its IT provision and expertise as part of a three year growth strategy.

Directors Karen and Steve Nelson will be targeting the social housing sector further as they look to secure £1 million turnover within the next 12 months.

Iain Nelson, ICT officer at Eastlands Homes, said: “Our investment with Calibre will put fast and efficient digital services at the heart of our customer services, enabling frontline staff to have access to corporate resources wherever they are, whatever time of day.”

Investment as super-fast broadband service delivers business Advantex A fast growing Gateshead IT firm has launched a wireless service to enable city centre businesses to benefit from access to new superfast broadband.

The £150,000 investment is the latest move by Gateshead-based, Advantex Network Solutions Ltd, to deliver wireless-based services to help Sunderland and Middlesbrough businesses improve online access and increase their competitiveness.

It has already attracted interest from several of Sunderland’s commercial districts.

On Teesside, Advantex has signed-up several commercial districts to its service, including Riverside Park and Southlands Centre. Plans are also being finalised to roll out the service later this year to support businesses in Newcastle and Northumberland.

The news comes in the light of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) announcement that it wants to see businesses equipped with faster broadband to tackle the problems holding back UK companies.

Advantex’s new service will see city businesses access superfast broadband for under £50 per month, enabling them to benefit from safe and reliable wireless enterprise grade hosted voice, data and IT services.

Companies are also able to utilise the Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme to enable them to apply for up to £3000 to pay for the super fast broadband connection.

North East IT specialist gains international recognition North East businessman and technology specialist Justin Short has won international recognition for his skills and expertise.

Justin, a Director at Tyneside based technology company Synergi IT, has received a top accolade at Microsoft Ignite in Chicago, the biggest Microsoft conference in 2015. The 5-day event brought together more than 23,000 IT people from around the world to train and hear about the latest Microsoft and partner technologies.

Justin was awarded the title of Nintex Virtual Technology Evangelist (VTE), one of two in the UK to achieve such recognition and among only 17 in the world.

Justin, already one of the UK’s foremost specialists in Microsoft Cloud, Office 365 and SharePoint, is also a skilled user and adviser in Nintex, an innovative workflow platform and third party tool for SharePoint and Office 365.

Ready to reduce costs and achieve more from your IT spend?

Call us now and find out how.

Nintex used the Microsoft Ignite event to exhibit and showcase new cloud and mobile capabilities of its product. Justin Short attended the event and was on the stand passing on advice to other IT professionals.

Justin, who has worked with Nintex technologies since 2008, said: “It is a real honour to be named among the inaugural Nintex VTE class. Essentially, it acknowledges my professional expertise in the technologies and reflects the depth of expertise within Synergi IT. “It recognises our ability to successfully develop and deliver innovative client solutions, helping businesses take the work out of workflow processes, using technology to make business systems easier to use.”

Nintex is a global leader in workflow technology built on Microsoft’s versatile SharePoint and Cloud platforms. It enables users to automate dozens of business critical processes.

IT Professional Services Ltd. Axwell House, Waterside Drive, Metrocentre East Business Park, Gateshead NE11 9HU. E: contact@itps.co.uk Follow us on

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@ITPSltd

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Presenting the future of Intelligent Business

Garry Sheriff, Managing Director – ITPS

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If you want something doing, give it to a busy woman 56

INTERVIEW

In Conversation With...

Susan Jopling Director of Corporate Strategy and Policy at infrastructure and data centre experts ITPS.

How did you start your working life?

I left school at 16 and started as a trainee accountant, studying at night school. I was keen to get started on a career. I then moved into the public sector working for English Partnerships and One North East. I’m passionate about the region and about making our business a good place to work.

given me confidence in my abilities. Encouraging young talent is something we try to do here at ITPS, through work experience programmes and an in-house apprenticeship scheme that sees up to six young people at a time training to go into careers as engineers. The majority of them go on to be offered permanent jobs either with us or with our clients, and we are looking at expanding this scheme across other areas of the business.

Lists or winging it?

I run my life around lists, without them I wouldn’t be able to juggle work, family life and my voluntary activities. I genuinely believe women have more of a talent for multi-tasking. ‘If you want something doing, give it to a busy woman’ is very true.

Would you call yourself a feminist?

If that means placing equal value on the talents, experience and worth of men and women, then yes I would. There is still a very real lack of women at board level, despite the fact that we bring diversity and a different viewpoint which changes the dynamics of a board and its governance. Although women’s representation on FTSE 100 boards now stands at 23.5%, almost double the figure for 2011, we still have such a long way to go.

Hilary French, Head of Newcastle High School for Girls, recently issued a rallying cry in The Journal, urging the North East business community to help improve the job prospects of young people in the region by sharing their knowledge and professional expertise with pupils at schools across the region. I am on the Advisory Board at Newcastle’s Discovery School, which is an industry-driven centre of excellence in STEM subjects for 14-19 year olds.

Initiatives like this one address the root causes of gender imbalance and encourage more girls to make the right career choices, which will help to create a situation that is good for all of us.

Have you ever had a mentor?

Not officially, but I’ve worked with people who have encouraged me to push myself, which in turn has

57

Is giving something back important to you?

Absolutely, as a business we support three local charities - the Sunshine Fund, the Percy Hedley Foundation and St Oswald’s Hospice. I’m on the board at Percy Hedley and as well as using my experience and knowledge to benefit their organisation, I gain insight that I can bring back to our business so it works both ways. We also get involved with various smaller charitable activities throughout the year, steered by a staff charity team made up of volunteers drawn from throughout the business. Everyone’s life is fast-paced these days, but we can all make time for things that really matter and as a business we try to support our staff in that.

What holds women back?

I’d say some of it is stereotyping ourselves and others.

I see too many talented women who lack confidence and belief in themselves and their abilities. I’m firmly behind things such as the Chronicle’s Glass Slipper awards, which by highlighting the achievements of inspirational women give others the encouragement to believe they can do great things too.

Your best piece of advice for other women?

My advice is to surround yourself with positive people, and seek out older and wiser heads who can support you. Shake off people who bring you down and prioritise your time so you can spend it doing things you want to do. Life is short.

TECHNOLOGY INSIGHT

Time to transform your business?

NEW ALLIANCE l-r Justin Short and Peter Joynson of Synergi with Garry Sheriff of ITPS

Despite the great leaps in technology over the last two decades there are still many businesses that carry on doing things in the same old way. And guess what? Unsurprisingly, it leads to the same results.

We all have the same aim, to get the job done as quickly and efficiently as possible. Laudable thought that is, it often involves paper-based systems where people touch the same piece of paper multiple times, and a situation where people seem managing pain points that are easier to live with than to fix.

We think it’s time that changed, and we are working with Synergi IT, experts in speciallydesigned business applications, utilising Microsoft technologies, to deliver a series of free seminars at our new 33,000sq ft data centre and workspace recovery facility. The aim of these free seminars is to demonstrate the simple steps businesses can take to drive improvements through better management of data, faster and more secure communications, and the integration of onsite systems and cloud-based solutions.

When the technology is there for the using, it seems short-sighted not to take advantage of it, particularly if you have already paid for it. For instance the thousands of UK businesses that are using Microsoft Office 365 already have tools such as SharePoint available to them (in most cases pre installed) but are not using them, despite such an application delivering multiple advantages such as the ability to create class leading intranets, extranets and collaboration solutions that mean staff can share common information and data from anywhere.

When we sit down with businesses looking to make improvements the biggest issues we come up against are security, a fear that change will

be too radical, time consuming and costly, or uncertainty about the right way forward.

We will be addressing those concerns amongst others in our seminars, but meanwhile let’s take a quick look at those points one by one:

Security: today’s data centres are the new digital fortresses, with features such as 24/7 manning and cctv, swipe cards, fob and biometric security, onsite power backup, fire prevention and high-spec cooling systems. If your data is held in a modern ISO27001-certified data centre you can be sure it is protected by highest levels of stability and security. You are benefitting from someone else’s investment that gives you the facilities, the network and the know-how to support your growth. ‘An extension of our own organisation, at a fraction of the cost and without the risk’, as one of our clients summed it up.

Affordability: Technology advances combined with market forces have driven down costs so that what businesses now have at their disposal, at very cost effective rates, is an unprecedented range of tools and functionality. Everyone from the smallest of SMEs upwards can easily buy into services and connectivity that put them on a level playing field with their bigger rivals, and without the need to invest large capital sums into new hardware and software every few years.

Fear of cloud technologies: The term cloud is a misnomer, conjuring up visions of data floating around the ether in some vague, unspecified location. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Cloud is simply the term for business services

delivered via the internet, and this is what terms such as SaaS (software as a service) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS) describe.

People are often surprised to hear that their businesses do not have to switch 100% cloud to take advantage of new technologies. We can design your solution, your way with models ranging from on-premise to hosted offsite, or solutions that combine public, private and hybrid cloud with on-premise. All of them form essential components of a business continuity and disaster recovery strategy.

Connectivity: Even in our ‘always on’ society, businesses in some areas are still hampered by poor connectivity, which is where initiatives such as Connection Vouchers that can offer up to £3,000 towards the cost of superfast broadband are useful. Others find themselves lagging behind competitors because their own communications infrastructure has simply not been designed in the most efficient way.

Our expert services in designing and implementing connectivity solutions are the engine that powers business improvement and minimises the threat of disruption through backup, storage and recovery solutions.

Time: While every situation and every timescale is different, clients often tell us how pleased they are with how quickly they see tangible results of making business improvements. In most cases they already have silos of information held throughout the business, and we make it accessible, visible and more useful.

I hope some of this has given you food for thought, we look forward to sharing our experience and that of our clients with you during our seminars. If top quality technology is now both accessible and affordable, what’s holding you back? Start planning now, and 2016 could be the year you transform your business from good to great.

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Models shown are 2015 Avensis Touring Sports Business Edition 5 door 1.6 D-4D Manual £23,335. Metallic paint £495 extra. 2015 Auris Hybrid Business Edition 5 door 1.8 VVT-i Auto £21,895. *Business users only. Initial rental and VAT applies. Available on new sales of models shown when ordered and proposed for finance between 1st October and 17th December 2015, registered and financed by 31st March 2016 through Toyota Financial Services on Toyota Contract Hire. Advertised rentals are based on 2 year non maintained contracts at 8,000 miles per annum over 2 years with an initial rental of £1,116+VAT for 2015 Avensis Touring Sports Business Edition 5 door 1.6 D-4D Manual and £1,230+VAT for 2015 Auris Hybrid Business Edition 5 door 1.8 VVT-i Auto. Metallic or pearlescent paint are not included. Excess mileage charges apply. Other finance offers are available but cannot be used in conjunction with this offer. At participating Toyota Centres. Toyota Centres are independent of Toyota Financial Services. Terms and conditions apply. Indemnities may be required. Finance subject to status to over 18s only. Toyota Financial Services (UK) PLC. Registered Office: Great Burgh, Burgh Heath, Epsom, KT18 5UZ. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. 5 year/100,000 mile manufacturer warranty subject to terms and conditions. Protection pack includes mud flaps, boot liner, scuff plates and rear bumper plate. †Free service and maintenance pack is available on model shown when used in conjunction with a Toyota Contract Hire agreement. Ordered and proposed for finance between 1st October and 17th December 2015, registered and financed by 31st March 2016. Cover includes scheduled servicing, maintenance and tyre replacement due to fair wear and tear, available up to 24 months or 40,000 miles, whichever is soonest. Toyota Roadside Assistance is available up to 24 months.

2015 Avensis Touring Sports Business Edition 5 door 1.6 D-4D Manual. Official Fuel Consumption Figures in mpg (l/100km): Urban 55.4 (5.1), Extra Urban 74.3 (3.8), Combined 67.3 (4.2). CO2 Emissions 110g/km. 2015 Auris Hybrid Business Edition 5 door 1.8 VVT-i Auto. Official Fuel Consumption Figures in mpg (l/100km): Urban 80.7 (3.5), Extra Urban 80.7 (3.5), Combined 78.5 (3.6). CO2 Emissions 82g/km. The mpg figures quoted are sourced from official EU regulated test results. These are provided for comparability purposes and may not reflect your actual driving experience.

HODGSON TOY A4 NORTHERN INSIGHT MAG NOV.indd 1

13/10/2015 15:48:56

MOTOR INSIGHT

Nigel McMinn, Managing Director of Lookers plc, the new owners of Benfield and Jonathan Wallis, Teenage Cancer Trust celebrate the launch of Benfield’s sponsorship of the Christmas concert with members of Tyneside based teenage youth choir, The Swing Bridge Singers.

Benfield gives its Christmas ‘presence’ to support Teenage Cancer Trust concert Newcastle’s festive celebrations have been given a welcome ‘head start’ thanks to the region’s largest motor group, who are lending their support to sponsor the annual Christmas concert held at St Nicholas Cathedral in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust.

The new main sponsors of the fourth Christmas at the Cathedral concert will be Benfield, now part of the Lookers plc family, who are providing the ‘drive’ needed to make the concert a one to remember !

The concert brings together a wealth of stars to help raise vital funds for the cancer charity and takes place on Tuesday, December 15 at St. Nicholas’ Cathedral. The concert will include performances from popular entertainers, choirs with traditional carols and festive readings.

Jonathan Wallis from Barnard Castle is organising the event but isn’t giving away any details of who may or may not be appearing.

“We like to keep the audience guessing right up to the night. However, if I said that in previous years, the sell out audiences have been entertained by established stars such as Tim Healy, Chelsea Halfpenny, Charlie Hardwick, Helen Skelton and Lindisfarne’s Billy Mitchell, it

gives you a feel for the caliber of talent on show.”

One set of performers who will definitely be on the bill for the night is the Tyneside based teenage youth choir, The Swing Bridge Singers.

The talented youngsters led by Andrew Scott have performed in front of the Queen and have worked alongside Aled Jones, Ant and Dec and Barry Manilow.

“This is a great experience for all the choir,” said Andrew.” We are practicing already and we’re all proud to be helping such a good cause.”

Ex Lindisfarne drummer, Ray Laidlaw will once again produce the show that has always delighted the packed out audience.

Ray, said: “This is our fourth year and every penny goes towards helping young people with cancer. The Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to improving the quality of life and chances of survival for young people with this terrible disease. Every day, seven young people aged between 13 and 24 are diagnosed with

cancer. That number is far too big and the charity makes sure that young people with cancer get the best quality care, support and advice there is.”

Teenage Cancer Trust has two specialists units in the North East within NHS hospitals that brings young people together to be treated by teenage and young adult cancer experts in a place designed just for them. The first is for 13-18 year olds and is located at the Great North Children’s Hospital (RVI) and the other is for ages 18-24 at the Freeman Hospital.

Nigel McMinn, Managing Director, Lookers Plc, Motor Division, “Benfield are absolutely delighted to continue our community activity in the North East by supporting this year’s Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual Christmas Concert. Benfield have a long association with the St. Nicholas Cathedral through its significant Charitable Trust donations, so it is therefore very fitting that we develop our relationship further by sponsoring this year’s Christmas Concert in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.

“We are planning to raise as much awareness as possible for this fantastic event and are hoping to raise some more valuable funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust with some joint fund raising activity across our 30 dealerships and the 1600 staff we employ across the region.”

Christmas at the Cathedral will take place on December 15 at 7pm. Tickets £15 plus booking fees are now available from the City Hall box office on 0191 277 8030 or online at www.newcastlecityhall.org. Any companies wishing to support the event either through sponsorship or by VIP ticket packages, should email jonathanwallis@georgefwhite.co.uk

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www.JenningsMotorGroup.co.uk Official fuel consumption figures in mpg (l/100km): Focus 1.5 TDCi (120 PS) Urban 65.7 (4.3), Extra Urban 83.1 (3.4), Combined 74.3 (3.8). CO2 (g/km) 98. Kuga 2.0 TDCi (150 PS) Urban 47.1 (6.0), Extra Urban 60.1 (4.7), Combined 54.3 (5.2). CO2 (g/km) 135. Mondeo 2.0 TDCi (150 PS) Urban 61.4 (4.6), Extra Urban 76.4 (3.7), Combined 68.9 (4.1). CO2 (g/km) 107. Standard EU test figures for comparative purposes and may not reflect real driving results.

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ARTS NEWS

Billy Elliot’s coming home! connections there is no doubt that this inspiring and moving production will strike a chord with audiences across the region.”

Based on the highly successful film, the show is set in a Northern mining town against the background of the 1984/’85 miners’ strike and follows Billy’s journey from boxing to ballet class, where he discovers a passion for dance. This inspires his family and community and changes his life forever.

Acclaimed by audiences and critics alike, Billy Elliot the Musical has now been seen by over 10.5 million people across five continents and is the recipient of over 80 awards internationally, including ten Tony Awards and five Olivier Awards.

Billy Elliot the Musical is brought to life by a multiple award-winning creative team including writer, Lee Hall, director, Stephen Daldry, and choreographer, Peter Darling. They are joined by Elton John who composed the show’s score.

Universal Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions are delighted to announce that the international smash-hit Billy Elliot the Musical will visit the Sunderland Empire for a limited four week run from Wednesday 6 – Saturday 30 April 2016. Tickets will go on sale at 10am on Friday 9 October.

Eric Fellner, producer, commented: “Having recently celebrated ten extraordinary years of Billy Elliot the Musical in London, we are delighted to have the opportunity to bring a new touring production of this inspiring show to fans across the UK and Ireland and the chance to delight new audiences along the way.”

Ben Phillips, General Manager of Sunderland Empire, said: “We are extremely excited to announce that the Sunderland Empire has been chosen as the North East theatre to host the smash-hit Billy Elliot the Musical as part of its first ever UK and Ireland tour. With such strong local and regional

Double award win for Newcastle Theatre Royal

Strictly Come Dancing The Live Tour returns for a fab-u-lous ninth year

Bryan Adams ‘The Get Up Tour’ is set to hit the UK in 2016

Newcastle Theatre Royal is celebrating after winning two top national awards.

BBC One’s popular entertainment show, Strictly Come Dancing, has returned to TV screens for an exciting new series.

Multi-platinum recording artist, Bryan Adams, is set to hit the UK in April/May next year with ‘The Get Up Tour’ in support of his new studio album ‘Get Up’. The 10date arena tour will reach Newcastle at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday 13th May 2016.

My Theatre Matters! are the only nationwide awards to honour outstanding achievement in regional theatre across the UK. Newcastle Theatre Royal was selected as the region’s Most Welcoming Theatre from 11 North East nominations.

Newcastle Theatre Royal also won Receiving Venue Team of the Year in the prestigious Technical Theatre Awards, which give credit to individuals who work behind the scenes.

It has been a good year for the Theatre Royal. The ticket sales have been the best ever.

Judges from the TV series, Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli, will be back together again for the 2016 dates! With all of the showbiz sparkle, breathtaking choreography and incredible live music, audiences can experience everything that they love about the TV show live on stage.

The tour will feature many of the celebrities from the thirteenth series, as they take to the dance floor and recreate their most popular TV dance routines.

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Bryan Adams released his thirteenth studio album, ‘Get Up’, on Friday 23rd October. Produced by famed ELO frontman, Jeff Lynne, and co-written with his long-time collaborator, Jim Vallance, the album features nine new songs and four acoustic versions.

ARTS NEWS

Broadway’s legendary Kiss Me, Kate heads for Newcastle showdown

What’s on this November?

Queen Extravaganza November 6 Newcastle City Hall T: (0191) 277 8030 www.newcastlecityhall.org Kiss Me Kate November 6-7 Newcastle Theatre Royal T: (0844) 8122 121 www.theatreroyal.co.uk The Nutcracker November 10 -14 Newcastle Theatre Royal T:(0844) 8122 121 www.theatreroyal.co.uk Three Sisters November 10-14 The People’s Theatre T: (0191) 265 5020 www.peoplestheatre.co.uk Foals November 11 02 Academy T : (0844) 477 2000 www.o2academynewcastle.co.uk

A major new production of one of Broadway’s greatest treasures, Kiss Me, Kate, is heading for Newcastle Theatre Royal in November, so prepare for high heels, high jinx and outrageous musical mischief! The show will appear for three performances only on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 November 2015.

Cole Porter’s classic musical comedy is set both on and off-stage during a performance of The Taming of the Shrew. The show revolves around the tempestuous love lives of actor-manager Fred Graham and his leading lady and ex-wife, Lilli Vanessi. Throw in Fred’s current paramour Lois Lane, her gambler boyfriend Bill and a couple of gangsters who somehow get caught up in the show and the stage is set for a funny and farcical battle!

The production’s witty, jazz-inflected score features hit after hit, with show-stopping numbers including Another Op’nin’ Another Show, So in Love, Always True to You in My Fashion and Too Darn Hot. Performed by a cast of truly outstanding opera and West End singers, with the full scale orchestra of co-producers Opera North, the show brings the magical sound of Broadway and the golden age of MGM musicals back to life on stage.

Record of The Month- Bryan Adams ‘Get Up’ Ahead of his recently announced date at the Metro Radio Arena next May, The Groover from Vancouver returns with ‘Get Up’ – his first album of new material since 2008. Despite sticking firmly to his blueprint of radio-friendly “belts and braces” rock n roll, Adams delivers with real energy and exuberance as he dazzles us once more with the carefree upbeat sounds that once made him such a household name. Infused with feel-good guitar chords and catchy lyrics “Brand New Day” and “You Belong To Me” prove to be real toe-tappers whilst “Yesterday was just a dream” is another soaring power ballad. The real standout however is “Don’t Even Try” with its almost Beatles-esque hook and powerful vocal.

Produced by ELO’s Jeff Lynne the album isn’t pretentious or overcomplicated - just effortless freewheeling fun. A thoroughly enjoyable revisit to his glory days.

Shrek The Musical November 11-22 Sunderland Empire T: (0191) 566 1040 www.atgtickets.com/venue/sunderland-empire Fawlty Towers – The Dining Experience November 16-21 Newcastle Theatre Royal T: (0844) 8122 121 www.theatreroyal.co.uk Mary Poppins November 18-January 3 Northern Stage T: (0191) 230 5151 www.northernstage.co.uk Paul Weller November 25 Metro Radio Arena T: (0844) 493 6666 www.metroradioarena.co.uk The Prodigy November 26 Metro Radio Arena T: (0844) 493 6666 www.metroradioarena.co.uk Michael McIntyre November 27-28 Metro Radio Arena T: (0844) 493 6666 www.metroradioarena.co.uk Bill Bailey November 28-29 Newcastle City Hall T: (0191) 227 8030 www.newcastlecityhall.org Ronnie Spector November 30 Sage Gateshead T: (0191) 443 4661 www.sagegateshead.com

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LEISURE INSIGHT

Creating the perfect retail Christmas...

Christmas is undoubtedly a boom time for retailers – which is why Sunderland’s Business Improvement District is pulling out all the stops to ensure the city’s businesses are full of festive cheer.

“It’s about making it as attractive and as interesting as possible to bring people in and then it’s also about the retailers taking advantage of this opportunity and finding ways to get visitors to spend more time here.”

Christmas may traditionally be thought of as a time for children and families, but it’s equally as important to businesses.

The BID has certainly played its part, coming up with an exciting range of activities which is part of a wider programme of events taking place across Sunderland.

The festive season is the period where they can make a respectable profit, as shoppers go on an annual spending spree.

With so much competition in the retail sector across the North East, it’s important for every town and city to offer some added value to ensure that the gift buying frenzy comes their way.

And that’s exactly what’s on the agenda in Sunderland, where the city’s Business Improvement District has created a busy programme of events which they hope will attract local people and visitors.

Ken Dunbar, Chief Executive of Sunderland BID, said that Christmas was a hugely important time for city centre businesses.

“It’s really important that the city makes best use of this time of year and we come up with ways to let the city shine,” he said.

The new Keel Square will be transformed into an ice rink which will launch with a Gala Ice Extravaganza on November 26, with daily sessions aimed at all ages – and all levels of expertise – running right up until Christmas Eve. There’ll be professional coaches available to teach ice novices, ice discos and events with cartoon characters, with private sessions for school parties or for groups wanting to host a seasonal party with a difference.

The ice rink is the jewel in the crown of what will be Sunderland’s Frost Village, which will include a Christmas market featuring dozens of craft, food and drink stalls along with a fun fair on the former Vaux Brewery site.

Ken believes that the retailers themselves also have a part to play in making Christmas successful.

“It’s about how businesses take advantage of

this opportunity,” he said.

“They also need to get creative and embrace the activities and see how they can attract people to their businesses along with looking at ways to ensure they will come back.”

The Christmas programme for Sunderland city centre has been a year in the planning, taking into account at every stage that what’s on offer needs to entice people to visit the city.

“We’ve created events that will suit people of all ages, with an ice rink that can also be used for everything from school outings to office parties ” said Ken. “It means groups can come and book an evening or a day time session at the ice rink and then perhaps go off and enjoy dinner or lunch in one of the city’s restaurants.

“We have pulled out all the stops to ensure that Christmas in the city centre will be something to remember and hopefully will be a huge boost for local businesses.”

The activities organised by the BID are being supported by the Bridges, with a number of late night shopping evenings planned and the reintroduction of the “free after 3pm” parking in council car parks and from 5.30pm until 9pm in the shopping centre cark parks.

For further information visit www.sunderlandchristmas.co.uk

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LEISURE NEWS

Terry Laybourne opens a fishmonger and fish bar A new fish bar and fishmonger has opened within Fenwick’s multimillion pound redevelopment of the Newcastle store’s Food Hall.

Chef and North East restaurateur, Terry Laybourne, is expanding his 21 Hospitality Group with the opening of his new venture, Saltwater Fish Co. For Fenwick this sees the welcome return of a retail fish outlet within the Food Hall; for Terry Laybourne the move reflects a return to his roots with fish and seafood, which is where he built his reputation on returning to Newcastle in the early 1980s.

Saltwater offers fast, casual seafood dining. Developed with London-based design consultancy CADA Design, there is counter seating for 23, an open kitchen, creative chefs and knowledgeable service staff.

Head chef is Chris Eagle who, up until recently, had been head chef at The Broad Chare since it opened in 2011 on The Quayside, Newcastle.

Fish will be cooked from the counter ensuring a lively, dynamic environment throughout the day. Diners will have the opportunity to see and discuss how seafood is prepared and cooked.

Joining him, heading the fishmonger is well known chef and fish specialist Ian Lowrey, who worked with Terry Laybourne when he first received his Michelin star in 1992.

Depending on the season and daily catches, menu choices will include freshly prepared fish, oysters from different beds, French-style fruits de mer platters, salt and pepper squid, seafood cocktail, crab sandwiches and salads. A fish focused wine list will accompany the menu.

Terry Laybourne explained: “Our chefs will work hand in hand with the fishmonger, taking a ‘we cook what we sell, we sell what we cook’ approach. We have brought together a skilled and experienced team to select the best of seasonal seafood and go wherever it takes to find the best.”

Guests are asked to make their minds up to support North East charity One of the top bands of the 1980s is returning to the scene of their near-fatal bus crash, to support a leading North East brain injury charity.

Chart toppers Bucks Fizz were involved in a serious collision in 1984 following an appearance in Newcastle, which left band member Mike Nolan with a brain injury.

But now three of the original foursome, who perform as formerly Bucks Fizz, are heading back to the city to appear at a charity ball in aid of North East Headway.

On November 12, the group will appear at the WonderLAN Ball at

Newcastle’s Discovery Museum, which is being organised by Durham based EMG Solicitors to raise funds for Headway’s annual Look Ahead In the North (LAN) event.

The LAN weekend of activities allows members who have suffered a brain injury to enjoy a few days of entertainment and activities at The Calvert Trust at Kielder.

Three members of the original line-up, Mike Nolan, Jay Aston and Cheryl Baker, will be appearing at the Alice in Wonderland themed black tie event, which also includes a topsy turvy dinner and a range of other surprises.

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LEISURE NEWS

Oyster Festival raises £27,000 for Marie Curie More than 1200 people from local businesses gathered at the 12th annual North East Oyster Festival to help raise vital funds for Marie Curie.

The Irish-themed event, organised by Ramside Estates, took place on Friday 25th September at Science Central, Newcastle and included a champagne reception and a three course fruit de mer dinner.

Live entertainment ran throughout the afternoon, including performances by Al Murray, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers, the Dublin Raiders and the JJ Galway Band.

The event raised £27,000 for Marie Curie’s North East Nursing Services and the Newcastle Hospice.

Landmark luxury hotel adds its support to North East Entrepreneurs The Entrepreneurs’ Forum has welcomed the North East’s newest luxury hotel, Crowne Plaza Newcastle to its list of renowned corporate partners. Corporate partnership is a commitment to supporting the Forum’s membership and other entrepreneurial businesses to achieve their growth and job creation potential.

Crowne Plaza Newcastle, which welcomed its first guests at the start of September, has already created ties with the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, wowing 300 members and guests as the host venue for the North East Entrepreneurial Awards.

Marketing coordinator appointed at Wynyard Hall A digital and social media expert has joined the marketing team at one of the North East’s leading hotels and visitor attractions.

Beckie Andrews, from Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, has been appointed marketing coordinator at Wynyard Hall Hotel and Spa, Tees Valley. She will be a key member of the team marketing the

venue’s recently opened Walled Garden and its Grand Marquee.

Beckie, a Teesside University graduate, joins Wynyard Hall from corporate uniform supplier Simon Jersey Ltd, where she was a digital marketing executive.

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Recruitment and renovations for the Assembly Rooms Newcastle’s Assembly Rooms is stepping into the spotlight following new appointments and continued refurbishment works as the venue prepares to celebrate a very special birthday.

The iconic building will mark its 240th birthday next year, standing as a landmark venue for corporate and social functions in the heart of the city centre.

The latest additions to The Assembly Rooms coincide with a recent investment to enhance the venue’s interior as it approaches the busiest season in the hospitality calendar.

The business has also strengthened its team with the promotion of Dean Waterworth from operations manager to functions and events manager.

LEISURE INSIGHT

Beautiful Beaujolais!

For many, Beaujolais is synonymous with Beaujolais Nouveau a phenomenon that was started in the 1970’s and was initially not only great fun but also a superb marketing tool for the region.

The vineyards of the Beaujolais region lie to the north of the city of Lyon, France’s second city and a huge gastronomic centre, and every year in November there would be great rivalry among the city’s multitude of restaurants to be the first to serve that year’s young wine.

In a short time the race to be the first to have nouveau spread with the British wine trade being particularly enthusiastic about the whole thing!

For several years in the 70’s and 80’s Richard Granger would usually be the first merchant in the North East to have nouveau having brought it from France in borrowed Rolls Royces, Aston Martins and even once in a private aeroplane – fun days!

Sadly, in recent years, the quality of nouveau has often been dubious and this has turned many away from the delightful wines that this region can produce. So what exactly are the wines of Beaujolais like and why are they worth revisiting?

Production is almost exclusively red wine made from a single grape variety, the Gamay, a variety that is especially at home on limestone and granite soils.

However, the region is not homogenous and can be divided into 3 distinct areas.

The largest, southern area produces the lighter, straight Beaujolais wines whilst the more centrally located vineyards of the BeaujolaisVillages produce more characterful and interesting wines. The third area is that of the 10 cru villages that are in the north of the area and produce what the region is really all about – flavoursome, ripe and juicy reds named after the villages that produce them.

The general characteristics of the cru wines are, from north to south: JULIENAS Solid, defined, raspberry flavoured wine.

SAINT-AMOUR Well coloured, ripe, voluptuous wines for early drinking.

CHENAS The wines are spicy and warm.

MOULIN-À-VENT Robust, generous wines that age well.

FLEURIE Silky and delicate wines.

CHIROUBLES Elegance, and finesse for early drinking.

MORGON Substantial wines that age.

RÉGNIÉ The wines are soft and forward with good fruit.

CÔTE DE BROUILLY Warm, soft reds with raspberry and strawberry flavours.

BROUILLY Fruity reds with a fresh grapey flavour.

All are versatile and very approachable wines that are equally at home with a light salad in the summer or a rich casserole in the winter. They are also reds that are often best served lightly chilled – this lifts the freshness of the wine which is what Beaujolais is all about.

If you prefer white wines then don’t despair, there is a small amount of Beaujolais Blanc to be had as well as Saint-Véran, some of which is produced in the vineyards of Saint-Amour. Both wines are 100% Chardonnay but made without the use of wood – soft and refreshing and absolutely delicious.

Whatever your preference give the wines a try, you won’t be disappointed!

Further information about the aforementioned wines can be found at www.richardgrangerwines.co.uk or instore at Richard Granger Fine Wine Merchants,West Jesmond Station, Lyndhurst Avenue, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE2 3HH

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RESERVE THE BEST PLACE IN NEWCASTLE CITY CENTRE’S NEWEST MULTI-STOREY CAR PARK A £6 all-day tariff lets you park in the City’s best and newest, large multi-storey located on Forth Banks.

Adjacent to the new, luxury Crowne Plaza Newcastle hotel, The Rocket office building and Newcastle Central Station. It’s close to Metro Radio Arena, the International Centre for Life and the beautiful Quayside.

Be among the first to reserve your space at Stephenson Quarter Car Park, a new 24-hour, multi-storey car park, now open for business.

For more details please visit

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The car park is part of the larger Stephenson Quarter, a mixed use development from Clouston Group.

0191 221 2211

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LEISURE INSIGHT

A new festive jewel in Newcastle’s Crowne The approach of Christmas gets everyone looking at diaries, preparing for corporate dinners, and planning for client lunches and staff parties. It’s the culmination and celebration of another busy, business year.

The challenge is to either go to an old favourite or find somewhere new for that great luncheon or party. It’s all about impressing your top clients or the boss.

This year there is one luxury venue in Newcastle that has an edge over others - Crowne Plaza Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter and its fashionable brasserie Hawthorns, enjoying their first ever Christmas in this, its opening year.

This stunning new hotel, with its fashionable brasserie and stylish cocktail bar, The Gin Bar, are the new kids on the block, providing a great treat for corporate diners…along with families and friends.

We spoke to head chef Chris Wood to get his take on the new venues and what is entailed in the big, festive build up.

Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter and to our brasserie, Hawthorns. We have designed a simple, attractive menu that should appeal to most tastes, meat eaters and vegetarians. There is a big nod to the traditional but we have added our own twist.

What has struck you most since joining Crowne Plaza Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter?

I’ve worked in a few hotels over the years, large and corporate along with the smaller more boutique venues. Being part of a global hotel brand like IHG, I expected more restrictions in the restaurant with the food styles we could offer. What has struck me is the flexibility they have allowed me to have; allowing me do things my way and to tap into the regional food market.

We’re presenting food that isn’t typical of a big hotel. Very refreshing!

How do you surprise and make a Christmas menu different each year?

Customers come to various venues with different expectations. You can be bolder and more ambitious at some. But, it’s fair to say that at Christmas, the majority of customers expect a nod to the traditional. Here at Hawthorns and Crowne Plaza Newcastle – Stephenson Quarter we’ve done just that.

We’ve resisted a turkey main, but have a modern chicken dish with some cheeky twists, incorporating turkey and truffle in the stuffing; this comes with ‘pigs in blankets’ and seasonal vegetables. We have a rich, beautiful festive pudding, with a twist; it’s a sticky pear and ginger pudding, with cider toffee sauce and a Christmas pudding ice cream.

What does Christmas mean for a chef, hotel and restaurant?

In truth Christmas is a stressful time for chefs and a tough time for all teams in kitchens in most hotels and restaurants. Equally, it’s a time when spirits are high and everyone is running on adrenaline, working at a high pace and serious volume and determined to ensure our customer have a great time.

How do you maintain quality when there’s a seasonal demand for volume?

We aim to deliver good quality food and service, consistently, whatever the time of the year. Clearly, the festive period has any team working at pressure for its longest period in the year; but consistency is essential. The design of menus is critical to managing this. Once you’re into November and December your day time and evening menus can overlap a little. You keep the dishes seasonal and fresh, but carefully manage the range. It’s also important to manage the kitchen team and ensure there’s always a senior chef looking after every shift or banquet.

How will Christmas be different at Hawthorns and Crowne Plaza Newcastle - Stephenson Quarter than other venues around the city?

It’s not for me to comment on others. But I know we have big ambitions to raise the bar on hospitality and delivery. This is our first Christmas in the city, but this hotel and Hawthorns brasserie are taking things to a new level.

As head chef, my team and I are determined to design menus and present food that will surprise and delight. We want a Christmas at Crowne Plaza and Hawthorns to be one to remember and one that will be in people’s diaries for next year – whether that’s a great business lunch or an office party.

And you have a special Christmas luncheon and dinner menu?

The business/corporate audience is very important to Crowne Plaza

Crowne Plaza Newcastle - Stephenson Quarter, Hawthorn Square, Forth St, Newcastle, NE1 3SA Tel 0191 562 3333

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If you’re looking for a new challenge, or someone to help drive your business forward, why not get in touch on info@bryonygibson.com or (0191) 375 9983. www.BryonyGibson.com

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Bryony Gibson Consulting Recruiting specialists, helping you grow.

LEISURE INSIGHT

A Great Golf and Stay Experience

by Michael Grahamslaw

A father/son bonding day for the Grahamslaw duo is very successful but not without incident.

With Jack now firmly established on the magazine’s team, we took a day out of our busy schedule for a bit of family bonding.

Jack and I have not played a round of golf together since he departed for Uni over a year ago so I decided I’d reacquaint him on how the game should really be played.

With many local golfers enthusing about 18-hole championship golf course at the George Washington Hotel, we checked in on a Monday afternoon after a business day from hell.

The 100+ room hotel is an independentlyowned hotel, golf and leisure complex located on the outskirts of Newcastle. It has recently joined management marketing forces with Mercure Hotels, part of Accor, Europe’s leading hotel group with over 4,000 hotels so top standards are assured.

Apart from the obvious delights of the golf course and all its accompanying facilities such as club house, driving range and a par 3 academy course, other hotel benefits include a fully equipped gym, an indoor heated swimming pool, a health and beauty spa, a first class new Orangery restaurant and bar. It even has a helipad for those who really want to make an entrance.

We arrived tired, exhausted and tetchy but on being shown to our stylish twin bedroom with

every conceivable mod-con, our mood was lifted and the talk soon turned to the following day’s golf.

We decided that having a pre-dinner swim and a sauna was a great way to re-energise ourselves and work up an appetite. But that was not achieved without incident. The lay-out of the leisure facilities meant we had to parade right through the gym in our Speedo budgie smugglers in order to get to the pool area. We now know how women must have felt passing a building site in the less PC times of the 60s as we suddenly became the centre of attention of perfectly honed men and gorgeously slim young women in the gym. The only thing missing was a wolf whistle and a builder’s bum but come to think of it, that was probably my contribution to the occasion. I’m taking a dressing gown next time.

After our exertions, we sought out the comforting bar to settle the nerves and repair our self-esteem. The ritual humiliation over, two showered, shaved and fully clothed, chastened men headed to the very impressive Orangery Restaurant for an evening meal. We just hoped no one recognised us with our clothes on!

For starters, we opted for carpaccio of gincured salmon. The thinly sliced salmon drizzled with a creamy dressing was an absolute delight.

Our mains were equally impressive. Jack opted for the rump of pan-seared lamb with puy lentils

and a side of vegetables. Suddenly feeling more health aware, I chose roasted half duckling in a smoky BBQ marinade with healthy, non-calorific, string fries.

After such a memorable meal perfectly complemented by a great bottle of Shiraz, we felt reenergised and ready for anything, even a return walk through the gym was not out of the question (well, perhaps not!) but being mindful of the following day’s exertions, we gave in to the irresistible mixed feelings of tiredness and well-being and retired to bed instead. In the morning, I bounced out of bed full of the joys and breakfasted in the traditional Grahamslaw fashion of a full English but I did notice that Jack opted for the lighter continental version, perhaps trying to psych me out before our round of golf? Paranoid? Who me?

Before setting out for a round, we made good use of the hotel’s all new driving range which certainly got the metabolism going.

Set less than one mile off the A194(M) motorway, this relaxed golfing hotel ticked all the boxes for me. Within striking distance of central Newcastle for business and leisure travellers alike, its stylishly subdued rooms feature free Wi-Fi, flatscreen TVs with satellite channels plus tea and coffee making facilities. Upgraded rooms include whirlpool baths and some offer 4-poster beds.

The George Washington Golf and Spa Hotel is located on Stone Cellar Road, High Usworth, Washington, (SatNav: NE37 1PH) T: 0191 402 9988. Check it out for yourself by logging on www.georgewashington.co.uk.

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INTERVIEW

Meet The GM -Phil Cuomo, Caledonian Hotel In our first Instalment in a series of features, Northern Insight’s Michael Grahamslaw meets seasoned hotelier Phil Cuomo of The Caledonian Hotel, Jesmond and asks him all about his path to the top, his proudest achievements to date and what lies ahead for both himself and Peel Hotels.

Whilst growing up did you always envision yourself working within the Hotel Industry?

We imagine that working in hotels can be exciting and varied. Is it really true that each day offers something different?

Initially I was interested in architecture but followed my brother who is 8 years older than me into hotels as I thought it offered an exciting line of work.

Most certainly. There is always some challenge to meet but I always try and look at problems as golden opportunities.

Can you briefly outline for the readers your career path to date?

I initially had a lengthy and enjoyable spell with Holiday Inn which took me all over the Country from Aberdeen to Slough! I then left to work at a conference centre in the South of England before coming North. After a period at the old Silverlink Hotel - which was a Stakis, Hilton and Menzies brand at one time or another - I joined the Caledonian in 2008.

Is there a mantra you always aspire to do business by?

Very simple. Always put myself in the customers shoes and give them what they want.

What do you feel is The Caledonian’s greatest asset?

Our people who offer great service whilst still maintaining a small hotel ethos.

Can you summarize some of your greatest achievements to date?

I couldn't single out one but the ongoing development and continual improvement of the property has given great satisfaction.

Which ideas are you currently working on?

Hotel life is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge... you’re never done! We are currently giving a new image to the bar and upgrading the bedrooms.

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The Caledonian Hotel has been central to the fabric of Osborne Road for many years now, can it be challenging ensuring that this remains the case?

Most definitely. The City is evolving enormously and its difficult keep the same levels of business coming through. The challenge is to retain the buoyancy when the sun isn't out!

With various new hotels emerging only recently in the region can you outline how you adapt to the changing trends in the hotel industry?

We maintain a high internet profile but at the end of the day it comes back to service, service, service!

How do you relax after hours?

My wife and I have been doing ballroom dancing for 5 years and are slowly making our way through the ranks. I also enjoy making furniture which I find very therapeutic.

The Caledonian Hotel

Pâté de Campagne, warm brioche bun and cornichons

•

Medium fillet steak, sliced potato cake, baby vegetables and a red wine jus

•

Trio of chocolate desserts Start the evening off with a French Martini cocktail Followed by a 3-course meal and the following entertainment • Can Can Girls • Fire Artist • Ring Master • • Recreation of the Lady Marmalade • Show Girls • • Fun Casino • Table Magician • Choice of two discos until the small hours Glass of bubbly to welcome in the New Year

Tickets £69.00 per person

Pre-ordered vegetarian option available Stay the night for £250 in a standard room, inclusive of two tickets to the party, chocolates, bubbly and brunch the following day New All Inclusive Package £360.00 per couple, in an executive room inclusive of two tickets to the party, chocolates, bubbly and brunch the following day. Two bottles of house wine for your table for your meal, inclusive drinks from our selected range from the bar 6pm - 2am ** (** Terms and conditions apply - Inclusive wristbands must be worn at all times, only two drinks per visit to the bar at any one time. Selected drinks will be - House spirits, mixers, soft drinks, 175ml glass of wine, draught beer, lager and cider) Upgrade to a suite for £99 per couple

To make your booking, email Events on events@caledonion-hotel-newcastle.com or telephone on 0191 281 78 81

The Bank Open for business The Bank Restaurant & Bar, Low Fell, celebrated its relaunch with a private party for North East press and social media.

Head chef Lee Walker served up four fabulous courses comprising 14 dishes, accompanied by fine wines supplied by Corney & Barrow.

Local musician Gareth Beddard provided the entertainment and a great night was enjoyed by all.

It's back to the future at The Bank Restaurant & Bar in Low Fell!

Local businessman and Low Fell resident Kevin Brown is back at the helm of the chic eatery and cocktail bar which he first opened to popular acclaim in 2013.

Kevin, who also owns the grade II listed building on Durham Road in the heart of Low Fell, sold the business in 2014 and was deeply disappointed to see it cease trading by the end of the year.

Shortly after the closure, Adam Lewis, one of the original management team approached Kevin, and together, with support from other original staff members, they’ve brought The Bank back to the Fell and it’s better than ever!

The building which dates back to the 1840s and used to house Lloyds Bank has undergone an extensive refurbishment and now brings a stylish food and drinks destination to Low Fell, with an emphasis on good food in great surroundings at honest prices.

Lee Walker has also re-joined the team as Head Chef, cooking up superb quality dishes from locally sourced ingredients in The Bank Restaurant.

Together, with excellent service from Adam and his team, the restaurant is steadily rising up the TripAdvisor rankings with a consistent string of 5 Star customer ratings.

The new menu offers customers a varied selection of dishes to suit all tastes and steak is a prominent feature, sourced from farmers across Northumberland, Durham and Cumbria.

Meanwhile The Bank Bar promises customers a collection of great wines and the best beers from the UK and Europe, along with local craft ales and a cracking cocktail menu.

Alan Brown, Kevin’s nephew, has also returned to look after the marketing and finance side of the business allowing Adam as General Manager to concentrate on welcoming customers and ensuring they have the best experience possible.

Kevin and the team are looking forward to welcoming customers old and new to the new-look Bank. They are passionate in their aim to create a thriving, warm and welcoming venue in the heart of the Fell located in a building that is steeped in local heritage.

So whether you fancy a drink with friends, a bite to eat after work or a leisurely meal in fantastic surroundings head to The Bank!

Please visit the website www.thebanklowfell.co.uk for information including opening hours, latest menus, reservations and restaurant hire for private functions, special offers and full details on The Bank customer loyalty card, which gives customers points to spend on future purchases so you can treat yourself to a tasty lunch or a cheeky cocktail or two on the house.

To make a reservation please call: 0191 487 9038 516 Durham Road • Low Fell • Gateshead • NE9 6HU

Locally sourced produce served throughout the day North East craft ales • Fine wines from around the world • Great beers • Fabulous cocktails Book now for a Christmas night to remember Visit our website for details of our customer loyalty scheme 516 Durham Road • Low Fell • Gateshead • NE9 6HU www.thebanklowfell.co.uk | @TheBankLowFell

Bentley’s and Champagne, Ikea and Cheese!

What an ‘Exclusively’ different launch of a new business networking site for decision makers on a national and global level at the Baltic, Newcastle in September.

Guests received a free prize draw ticket, with top prizes including Seven days in a Luxury Resort in Thailand and a One night stay in a Private Castle.

Learn more at www.exclusive.co.com, FREE to join until Thursday 10th December 2015, the night of their Exclusive Black Tie Christmas Takeover at The Glasshouse, Newcastle. For tickets email team@exclusive.co.com

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We specialise in...

official suppliers of:

Audio Visual Systems Home Cinema Integrated Control Systems Lighting Control Networks

To make sure you stay connected to the very best entertainment contact

Mark Ryan

t:07832 457657

e:mark@cloud6consulting.co.uk @markcloud6 w:cloud6consulting.co.uk

IMPROVE COMPANY MORALE — LET YOUR STAFF DO THE FIRING FOR A DAY.

Team building just got serious.

BattleZone Laser is THE new venue for corporate events in the North East. Test your comrades with active combat missions in the industrial arena, hold strategy briefings in fully equipped meeting rooms and refuel your troops in the urban chic Canteen bar and restaurant...

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T: 0191 482 2222 WWW.BATTLEZONELASER.CO.UK INFO@BATTLEZONELASER.CO.UK

LEISURE INSIGHT

YOLO adds sparkle to the Ponteland circuit by Jack Grahamslaw

“You only live once, so go on enjoy yourself’ reads the mantra of glamorous new Bar & Eatery YOLO - and enjoy ourselves we certainly did on a recent visit. Located in the heart of Bell Villas, the Ponteland outlet oozes sophistication as exposed red brick walls are fused with glittering crystal chandeliers and luxurious cream leather seats.

I had actually recently visited prior to our meal to assess their Friday credentials and had observed that it had already established itself as a tie-loosening, hair-untangling after-hours favourite amongst much of the Ponteland faithful. How about that for a reconnaissance mission!

This visit however happened to be more of a family affair as I was so impressed by my findings that I vowed to return for a meal with Ma & Pa. We quickly noted that YOLO’s approach to dining is refreshingly casual as reservations aren’t imperative and drop-in eating is encouraged.

Eager to partake in the full YOLO experience we settled in over a selection of cocktails which were whisked up with exuberance by our obliging mixologist. This certainly grabbed my Mum’s attention! Typically however my Dad’s eyes were already glancing over YOLO’s mouth-watering dinner menu. In-keeping with the contemporary décor, YOLO boasts an offering of trendy dishes with great emphasis being placed on burgers, sliders and sharing platters. More classic fayre like steaks, pastas and sandwiches however are also incorporated making ordering an even greater dilemma!

After much deliberation Mum decided on the continental duo of Bruschetta to start and Lasagne for main course. Whilst as “Serial Grazers” Father & Son went down more of a finger-food route opting for calamari and tempura prawns to start and Sharing Platters for main course. These starters proved to be of exceptional quality. Fresh ripe tomatoes drizzled in balsamic vinegar sat atop a garlicky chargrilled ciabatta as my mum commented that her bruschetta was one of the best she’d sampled in recent times. Meanwhile my Dad’s battered tempura prawns which were

complemented by a tangy thai sweet chilli sauce packed a pleasant punch - the chilli monster was satisfied. Encased in a deep fried golden batter and delicately seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice my calamari was equally delicious.

In between courses we took a moment to reflect upon our salubrious surroundings.

Sounds of laughter and glass-clinking pervaded the air and the dimming of the lights was met with an appreciative “oooh” from the punters, YOLO’s atmosphere is certainly one of warmth and conviviality. My steak sharing platter arrived promptly afterwards which featured strips of prime rump steak cooked to a perfect pink and served with Lebanese flatbread and triple-cooked chunky chips. Smoked salmon, crayfish, prawns and whitebait made up my Dad’s similarly inviting seafood platter. These sharing platters really do encourage a slower tempo of eating shifting the focus more to the social element of dining out which arguably makes YOLO the ideal venue for friendly catch-ups and informal business discussions. My mum’s main course however proved to be the real highlight. Her vegetarian lasagne consisted of an eclectic range of locally sourced organic vegetables which when mixed in a thick creamy sauce created a dish of great colour and flavour.

Feeling totally replete we opted for coffees over desserts which gave us time to consider what a great addition YOLO is to the region. Although

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having traded for only a couple of months the bar is already a favourite amongst its regular clientele and it’s little wonder why. The great food and lively ambience is coupled with an enthusiastic approach from the management who are always keen to introduce inventive deals and events - see 2 for 1 cocktail Fridays and an upper mezzanine available for private parties. With so much to offer it really is worth the visit.

You only live once, so why not?

DREAMI

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W hite Christmas CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS AT MARCO PIERRE WHITE STEAKHOUSE BAR AND GRILL

DADDY COOL Enjoy festive lunch or dinner with us throughout December or celebrate Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve. For all Christmas party bookings, enquiries or questions

contact Kate Gill on 0191 300 9222 or events@mpwsteakhousenewcastle.com

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Marco Pierre White Newcastle

THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS HOSTS SHOWCASE SPECTACULAR Newcastle’s iconic venue The Assembly Rooms and Bonbar celebrated in spectacular style as it opened its doors to a guestlist of the region’s movers and shakers at a showcase event this autumn.

Held on 30th September, guests were treated to cocktail masterclasses and demonstrations, champagne tasting and samples from the menu ahead of the launch of this year’s seasonal dishes, as well as entertainment in the form of live music, a ‘posh pub’ style quiz, pop-up photobooth, racing car game and a magician. The team took the opportunity to show off the building’s grandeur and recent refurbishment work to its event spaces ready for the Christmas period.

The iconic building dating back to 1776 will mark its 240th birthday next year, standing as a landmark setting for over two centuries for corporate and social functions in the heart of the city centre.

LEISURE INSIGHT

Get down to business at Wynyard Hall

F

rom its Grand Marquee to its Mirror Room, Wynyard Hall Hotel is the perfect place in which to mix business with pleasure.

Opulent function rooms, a stunning spa and acres of grounds for team-building activities are just three of the reasons Wynyard Hall Hotel is top of the agenda for corporate guests.

Easily accessible, yet a world away from the workplace, it is a unique and impressive corporate venue, with a choice of eloquent State Rooms accommodating between 5 and 250 people.

Like the Grand Marquee, the Ballroom and Conservatory lend themselves beautifully to Christmas parties and awards dinners, while the magnificent Mirror and Londonderry Rooms can be used for everything from meetings and seminars to conferences and workshops.

And, for business people who like their corporate entertainment to be more about pampering than powerpoint, the lakeside Spa offers corporate visitors a wide range of treatments and facilities designed to soothe

and invigorate both mind and body - the perfect antidote to a punishing work schedule.

for 650 people, the chefs from the Wellington Restaurant are well suited to the task.

A trip to The Spa is the ideal way to reward staff, to relax before or after a meeting or even to entertain clients. Wynyard Hall therefore offers a variety of packages created with corporate clients in mind.

They have devised a wide choice of food and beverage menus and can also create bespoke dishes and courses to suit any requirement.

Alternatively, those looking for a more bracing activity or a team building exercise with a difference, can enjoy a sport favoured by kings – clay pigeon shooting – or try their hand at archery at the sites 150 acres of grounds.

Dining, too, plays a big part in any visit to Wynyard Hall and, whether for an relaxed meeting over a light lunch, a formal dinner or a buffet

At Wynyard Hall Country House Hotel corporate clients are guaranteed facilities and entertainment which are tailored to their needs, and offer an unrivalled level of luxury and comfort.

So, whether you’re planning an informal business meeting, entertaining clients over a private dinner, hosting a large-scale corporate event or looking to build team spirit, this fabulous four-star hotel offers everything you need – and more.

To discuss corporate requirements or, for a quote, call the Events teams on 01740 644811, option 6, or visit www.wynyardhall.co.uk to view the wide choice of corporate packages available.

PUBLIC RELATIONS WITHOUT THE BULL

PUBLIC RELATIONS | EVENT MANAGEMENT | MEDIA BUYING

0191 265 6111 bernice@sortedpr.com

Enjoy the home-like comforts of our suites!

Staybridge Suites Newcastle is your home-from-home; enjoy a warm and friendly welcome with comforts to help you feel right at home. Ideally located within 5 minutes walk from Newcastle’s vibrant Quayside area and city centre with access to a choice of bars, restaurants and shopping districts. You can also cross the Millennium Bridge to reach the BALTIC Centre and Sage Gateshead.

About Staybridge Suites

Staybridge Suites is an extended-stay venue for guests staying away for one night, days, weeks or even months.

Whether relocating to the area, on a long term project or a business trip, Staybridge Suites’ unique mix of domestic environment and hotel services lets guests live life their way.

Key features include • • • • • • • • •

Contemporary and air-conditioned studio, or one bedroom suites with space to live and work Fully equipped kitchen in every suite Complimentary High-Speed WiFi throughout A ‘Hub Kitchen’ where complimentary breakfast is served every day The ‘Evening Reception’ – currently served four nights a week with free drinks and snacks for all guests The guest ‘Laundry Room’ is perfect for washing socks and smalls The ‘Pantry’ 24/7 shop, where guests can buy essentials from food and drink to any forgotten toiletries Our guest services team is there to welcome you home 24/7 Newcastle Central rail station is nearby and Newcastle International Airport is a 15 minute drive

Discover a fresh approach to your extended stay ...

Staybridge Suites Newcastle • Buxton Street • Newcastle upon Tyne • NE1 6NL T: +44 (0)191 238 7000 • E: enquiries@newcastle.staybridge.com W: www.staybridge.com

HEALTH INSIGHT

Moving the goalposts I recently took part in the hugely popular Newcastle Stampede: a kind of extreme obstacle course over 10km in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

Having “coerced” some of my clients into joining me, we set about adapting some of our regular training sessions to specifically prepare for this unique assault course event. Although there is large element of fun to charity sport events, I have a naturally competitive nature and wanted to make sure I was going to be in the best possible to shape to complete the course and in a good time – not to mention ahead of my team!

The day itself was brilliant. Thousands of people gathered together to take on the course - and get very muddy. There was a great atmosphere and the rush of hurling yourself over and under obstacles was definitely worth the mud. Did I mention the mud?

Aside from raising money for a very worthy cause, the point of sharing this is to demonstrate how shaking up your fitness regime can be energising and can prevent you from stagnating, plateauing or even skipping out on your training.

With winter, dark nights, and cold mornings upon us, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to train. If you’re struggling, shaking up your routine can be just what you need to kickstart your enthusiasm. Whether it’s trying a new class or type of exercise, or adding new exercises into your regime, the possibilities are endless.

Better still, set a goal to work towards, such as a charity event. Choose something that will take you out of your comfort zone and force you to try new things. Having a training plan over the winter months will re-energise you, refocus you and give you a great start as we emerge from winter next year!

James Milburn, is owner and head trainer of James Milburn Training in Ponteland. He is an award-winning nutritionist, sports coach, lecturer and former UK athlete.

James Milburn Training, 54 Merton Way, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE20 9SR. Hg - Northern Insight Magazine:LayoutEmail: 1 20/10/15 09:18 Page Web: 1 info@jamesmilburn.co.uk www. jamesmilburn.co.uk Tel: 01661 598 271

Horton Grange Country House Hotel & Restaurant is the perfect venue for your festive celebrations.

Open Every Day For Lunch £17.50 per person for 2 Courses

Open Every Evening For Dinner £29.95 per person for 3 Courses (Excluding Party Nights)

Open Every Day For Festive Afternoon Tea From £18.95 per person

Christmas Party Nights £34.95 per person, 3 courses plus disco.

Friday 4th, Saturday 12th, Friday 18th, Saturday 19th December

Boxing Day

£34.95 per person for 3 Courses, £19.50 for Children under the age of 10 Horton Grange Hotel, Berwick Hill Road, Ponteland, Newcastle upon Tyne NE13 6BU T: (01661) 860686 E: info@hortongrange.co.uk W: www.hortongrange.co.uk Facebook: Horton Grange Country House Hotel Twitter: @HortonGrange

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Welcome to our city...

At a glance a friendly, stylish hotel in the heart of Newcastle.

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• 24 hour fitness suite with contemporary cardio, resistance and weights equipment.

• Fantastic loyalty scheme via Hilton HHonors.

Hampton by Hilton Newcastle Neville Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 5EN

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HEALTH INSIGHT

North East spa leads the way in treatment for cancer sufferers...

Sarah Harrison with the Macmillan nurses

It’s a lucky person whose life has not been touched by cancer in some way - either through personal experience or knowing a friend or family member who has suffered from the disease.

Now a North East spa is offering some much needed luxury treatments for those battling illness, a move that has been welcomed by both medical experts and patients alike.

luxurious spa is opening its arms wide to welcome anyone dealing with illness, as it becomes the first in the UK to work with Wellness For Cancer.

For 37-year-old Sarah Harrison the day at a spa bought as a gift by some friends should have been the opportunity to relax and forget for a short time that she was suffering from breast cancer.

But not content to rest on its laurels, Spa Director Jill Russell wanted to ensure that everyone can enjoy the amazing facilities.

Sarah, from Sunderland, was confident she was going to have a special day and having got the green light from her Macmillan Nurses that she was fine to enjoy a treatment, she couldn’t wait.

It was as if she had a bucket of cold water thrown over her when a naïve therapist told her she could have a massage “but there was good chance that it would make the cancer spread.”

Luckily Sarah was well informed and knew that this was totally untrue, but it certainly took the edge off her special day. And this kind of uninformed response is certainly not an isolated incident.

There are many people who have experienced this kind of reaction or who have been turned away from spas altogether.

And this is why the region’s newest and most

The Spa at Ramside Hall Hotel has been a huge hit since it opened its doors in August.

With that in mind she signed the hotel up to the world’s first accredited programme for the spa industry, with everyone from reception staff to therapists trained to give cancer patients – or those recovering from the disease- a positive experience.

“We are very proud to be the first spa in the UK to offer this service,” said Jill.

“There will be a treatment for everyone, nobody will be turned away.”

The initiative has won the backing of Macmillan Nurses, who have praised the level of knowledge that the staff at the spa have.

Specialist breast cancer care nurses Caroline Tweedie and Michelle Derbyshire from Sunderland Royal Hospital were among the first to sample the new programme “There is a lot of emphasis now being put on health and wellbeing and so being able to come

to the Spa at Ramside and enjoy a treatment will be of such benefit,” said Michelle.

Caroline added that they had been impressed by the level of knowledge and training that the staff at the spa had achieved.

“We have heard many stories of people who have been turned away from spas,” she said.

“So for people to be able to come to Ramside and know that they are being treated normally by everyone is overwhelming.

“The level of training and the knowledge of the therapists is also extremely impressive.”

The Wellness for Cancer training involved all staff learning about the disease and the importance of bringing “mindfulness” elements – a technique which helps people deal with anxiety by living in the moment – into play.

The therapists at Ramside have also undergone Wellness For Cancer’s training in massage and manicures and pedicures which have been created to ensure those suffering from the disease will feel relaxed and comfortable.

The £8m Spa at Ramside opened in August and offers five pools including one of the UK’s biggest hydrotherapy pools, 14 treatment rooms, a thermal suite, a Sleep Sanctuary and a Rasul mud chamber.

Further information or bookings can be made on 0191 375 3088 by email enquiries@ramsidespa.co.uk or by visiting the website at www.ramsidespa.co.uk

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Christmas at the Copthorne!

The Copthorne Hotel Newcastle is the perfect venue to hold your Christmas party.

Whether it is a small or large festive celebration, you are guaranteed to enjoy the excellent food and drink and stunning views over the iconic quayside.

Prices start from just ÂŁ22.95 per person!

For further information or to make a booking please contact the Christmas coordinator on 0191 222 0333 or email events.newcastle@millenniumhotels.com

Location is Quay

TRAVEL INSIGHT

Out & About – Bradford Stationmaster Alex Nelson has been suggesting places to go by train each month for ten years. For November, he takes a look around Bradford City.

Chester-le-Track has been promoting Bradford as a fascinating city to visit since 1999.

It’s a large (population 528,155), vibrant City in West Yorkshire, reached from the north-east via Leeds on the TransPennine route. As it happens, Bradford was chosen by Northern Rail, for its annual “thank you” event for stakeholders, which I was unable to attend this year. That offered a visit to the Bradford Industrial Museum, lunch in the Abundant Life Centre, and a visit either to the National Media Museum or the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Lister Park.

The National Media Museum is a favourite of mine (formerly known as the National Museum of Film, Television and Photography until the internet came along and threatened an even longer title). They wisely decided to go for National Media Museum, where I saw an excellent Robert Zemeckis film a few weeks ago called “The Walk”, about the tightrope walker who walked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center on 7 August 1974. It is on general release now but looked at its best in 3D on a giant IMAX screen in Bradford when I was there.

Bradford rose to prominence during the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boomtown of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the “wool capital of the world”.

The area’s access to a supply of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of Bradford’s manufacturing base, which, as textile manufacture grew, led to an explosion in population and was a stimulus to civic investment; Bradford has a large amount of listed Victorian architecture including the grand Italianate City Hall.

A major London company ran a textiles conference in Bradford during mid-October bringing students into Bradford from many colleges and universities. Chester-le-Track was pleased to provide rail tickets for the participants which was done by getting each institution to ring us with their ticket orders and the transactions were all billed to the London company’s credit card. Not only did they get the best fares, but it saved all the invoices flying around from the various colleges. We are equipped to handle travel to large conferences and events by rail, just ask us what we can do.

There are two good hotels to use for an overnight stay, next to Bradford’s two rail stations. The Interchange station has the Victoria hotel opposite, whilst the Midland Hotel is close to the other station at Bradford Forster Square.

Both stations have direct services to London, with an electric service from Bradford Forster Square (more trains are available from Leeds), and a diesel service from Bradford Interchange four times a day. Trains from Leeds, with connections from the north-east, run into both stations frequently.

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As stationmaster, I spend some of my time travelling around the network, frequently accompanied by our apprentices. I also speak to clubs and societies about rail ticketing, most recently at Marton near Middlesbrough and at Alnwick. I have a particularly good knowledge of London, which is important since 70% of our tickets on the National Rail network are issued to, from, or via London. I can speak on several railway subjects (including history, time, my adventures in Bradford, and most particularly railway fares), and if you would like to speak to an association of any sort, you are welcome to email me.

Email: alexnelson@dunelm.org.uk www.visitbradford.com

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TRAVEL INSIGHT

According to some holiday and travel experts, a loss of confidence in the traditional holiday resorts around the Mediterranean is resulting in many Brits heading for more exotic, long-haul destinations.

country and attracts both Russian and foreign visitors alike. It is certainly not stereotypically “austere Moscow Russian” and has everything that a modern day capital city should have from designer shops (Nevsky Prospekt is Russia’s equivalent of London’s Bond Street), to chic cafes and restaurants. But that is today’s St Petersburg, a stereotype-busting contradiction. You need to put all preconceived ideas aside and just enjoy the ride.

Sightseeing: Must-see venues include The Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood which is the most photographed and iconic church of spires and onion topped-domes that most people associate with Russia. This Russian-style church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881, hence its name. Having barely surviving two attempts on his life, Alexander II was finally assassinated in 1881 by a group of revolutionaries who threw a bomb at his royal carriage. This church, the cost of which was almost entirely funded by the Imperial family and thousands of private donators, is built on the spot where the Emperor was mortally wounded. It was closed for services in the 1930s when the Bolsheviks did a “Henry V111” and destroyed churches all over the country.

It remained closed and under restoration for over 30 years until it was finally re-opened in 1997 to its dazzling former glory.

Peter and Paul Cathedral houses the remains of almost all the Russian emperors and empresses from Peter the Great and his wife Catherine, to Nicholas II and his family, (including the DNA identified remains of Anastasia) who were finally laid to rest in July 1998. The majesty of this Cathedral and the huge amount of gold decoration within it has to be seen to be believed.

The Hermitage museum of art and culture was founded in 1764 and is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world. It has been open to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise of nearly four million items, including some amazing Carl Faberge eggs worth millions of pounds each, as well as housing the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collection is so big that it occupies a large complex of six historic buildings, five of which are open to the public.

Allot at least half a day to each of the five buildings.

St Petersburg has a temperate climate with summer temps in the mid20s°C so forget taking a fleece/gilet. Travel tip: Organise your tours before you arrive for safety and peace of mind.

Must buys: the synonymous Matryoshka dolls (each having between 5 - 24 dolls inside them). Don’t Buys: Steer clear of exorbitantly priced local vodka and caviar unless you like being ripped-off.

Overall: St Petersburg was an absolute revelation and is well worth a visit. Taking authorised Russian tours is probably the best and only way to see what this sprawling city has to offer although taking a cruise along its maze of canals is a good way to orient yourself with your surroundings initially.

Having our cruise ship for a base was a huge plus point as they handled all the officialdom associated with tours/visas etc. at no on-cost. Going it alone is made deliberately problematic with expensive visas (approx. £140 for one day) and access permits etc. being mandatory.

Following a cruise around the Baltic States, I found myself in a place that I wouldn’t normally have considered as a “pukka” holiday destination but as our cruise ship was moored in St Petersburg for three days, we had no choice but to go ashore and look beyond the veil of mystique and secrecy that surrounds Russia. This huge country spans two continents having a foot in both Asia and Europe and the influences of both were reflected in what we discovered ashore.

St Petersburg is a relatively young city being built by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. This much-travelled visionary of the House of Romanov set out to create a great Metropolis and seaport by creating a spectacular city of palaces, cathedrals and ostentatious residences for the nobility. It is situated on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Finland and is some 400 miles north-west of Moscow. Once the original capital city of Russia, it is now considered to be the most European of all the great cities of Russia and a living monument to the opulent days of Imperialism. It has a population of five million people and is the second largest city in Russia, next to Moscow. Although it is difficult to imagine it now, St Petersburg was originally built on over 100 small islands but only between 30 and 40 are still identifiable today due to their interconnection caused by expansion of its infrastructure. A network of 60 rivers and canals criss-cross the city and with its 400 bridges seamlessly connecting everything together, it is very reminiscent of Amsterdam or even Venice. This Russian city of “dreaming spires” is dominated by some breath-taking 18th and 19th century baroque, neo-classical architecture. However, it has a diametrically opposed rich cultural and political history being both the home of the imperial royal family and the cradle of the proletarian revolution, for it was here that Lenin began his revolutionary activities and laid the foundations of the communist party. On the death of Peter in 1725 aged 52, his second wife, Catherine the Great, continued to expand the city into a major European capital and brought in many of the world’s top architects and artists to help.

She founded the Hermitage Museum and brought vast treasures and artwork from all over Europe helping to make it the greatest in the world. Today St Petersburg is the most popular tourist city in the

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St Petersburg – A Russian Revelation Travel writer Ken Spearen reviews an unusual holiday destination.

Lord’s Taverners Northumberland and Durham Lord’s Taverners, the youth cricket and disability sports charity, held its yearly charity golf day on September 23. The teams played in a shotgun start on the Filly Course at Close House.

Over £4,500 was raised, which will enable the charity to give disadvantaged and disabled young people in the region the opportunity to participate more widely in sport. Regional chairman Jamie Graham commented: “The day was a huge success, raising a significant amount of money for the region. We are very fortunate that we were able to host our annual event at such a prestigious North East venue.”

For more information on the charity and future events please contact Jamie Graham at jamiegraham@surgo.co.uk

LEISURE INSIGHT

On the Tee Box - At Ravensworth Golf Club Location

Toughest Hole

A word from the Club Manager

Situated in the village of Eighton Banks just off the A1 around 10 miles North of Durham City and just South of Gateshead.

Setting

The 465 yard par four twelfth, ‘The Bridge’ has been stroke one for a number of years. A great test of driving ability to set up a chance to reach the green in two. A four certainly feels better than par here.

Overlooking the Angel of the North with views across the surrounding valleys

Signature Hole

Ravensworth offers quality golf at affordable prices. A warm welcome awaits visitors on the course, in the club shop and in the club house and restaurant. We pride ourselves on our friendly welcome and can assure you of a good day at Ravensworth.

Length of course White tees 5913 yds. Y ellow 5644 yds. Red 5183 yds.

Course type Ravensworth is a, well established, Parklands course built in 1906 by JW Fraser and further developed by Dr Alister MacKenzie, famous for designing Augusta National, home of the Masters. Relatively short by today’s standards it is a good test for golfers of all abilities and its’ fast running greens provide a good challenge.

Facilities 18 hole golf course with club shop, putting green, practice nets, buggy hire, restaurant and bar

Longest Drive Hole 3, ‘Peggy’s Bank’, is a 502 yard par five with a water hazard running across the fairway 270yds which comes into play for the longer hitters.

Hole 5 ‘The Island’ is a 191 yard par 3 played from an elevated tee down to a plateaued green heavily protected by bunkers. Longer hitters may get there with an iron but many will need a rescue club or wood.

Course Record 64 Louis Fraser

Contact 0191 4876014 option 1 Email: Info@ravensorthgolfclub.co.uk Book online at www.ravensworthgolfclub.co.uk

Prices

Competitions The club is the home of the Ravensworth Bowl which for many years has been one of the premier scratch golf competitions in the North East. Before the days of air travel the Ravensworth Bowl was one of the main stopping off points for professionals on their way to the Scottish Open.

Ravensworth holds Open competitions all year round to cater for members and visitors.

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Autumn and Winter Green Fees £12-£14 Memberships Nov 2015 – end 2016 7 Day £625, 5 Day £520, Juniors £60, Junior up to age 14 Free, Monthly payment plan and Flexible memberships available.

LEISURE INSIGHT

Legends are made in black and white - stripes of course Back in 2011 Steve Wraith brought back ‘The Entertainers’ for a special match at Kingston Park against a team of Liverpool Legends, two years later he played a major part in putting together the squad for Newcastle United long-time servant, Steve Harper and his testimonial match with AC Milan’s legends.

Add to those a lengthy list of after-dinner events and talk-ins with stars from modern day to a bygone era then the provenance is there for newcastlelegends.com (ably put together with the assistance of Neil Jackson at Media Arts) to take on a new dimension come 2016. That will be the twentieth anniversary of ‘The Entertainers’ and talks are already in place to bring a Manchester United select to Tyneside.

The list of players and speakers is lengthy, the talent is unreal and for Steve it’s all about one thing – Newcastle United and their loyal following. Having been officially launched earlier this year because of what had gone before and what is being amassed behind the scenes Steve is looking forward to now pushing Newcastle Legends onto the next level.

“It was set up in the aftermath of the Entertainers game in 2011 and, combined with the work done over the years with Joe Allon, numerous talk-ins as well as the working with sporting clubs and associations, has become the bread and butter keeping me close to my first love of Newcastle United.

“As we head towards 2016, and the 20th anniversary of the entertainers, the players are more than keen to take part. Twelve months from now we’re hoping to have a Manchester United select here and talks are already in place for that.

“There’s a lot of interest so we’ll be setting this up as a fully bona fide business and are aiming for an officially developed legends team that we can send out and play at events, raising

money for charities, networking and the like – it also gives the fans another chance to see the likes of Rob Lee, John Beresford, Ruel Fox, Lee Bowyer, Paul Kitson, Steve Howey and more.”

It has definitely been a labour of love that has paid off exponentially and is a project which goes back to one of Steve’s earlier employments when working the doors of Newcastle. Also, having been editor of (twice) ‘The Number Nine,’ the first of which began as ‘The Mighty Quinn,’ as well as Players Inc, Toon Talk and having been a Fans Liaison at the football club.

“A lot of the players are keen to get out there and talk about their respective careers and for me I can offer them that platform as it’s something I’ve done for many years and, with the support from Joe Allon (who he set up Players Inc with and is both a former Newcastle Number Nine, compere and comedian), Pete Graves (the face of Sky Sports in the region) and John Gibson.

“We’re not just a one trick pony though and can offer many different types of events and that’s thanks to the relationship that was started on the doors of Newcastle, we networked and built up relationships over time and when Joe and I set up Players Inc we had a great combination of contacts and still work together today.”

Anybody wishing to sample the delights of the Newcastle Legends can see them in action on match days at the Black Bull on Barrack Road. Please visit www.newcastlelegends.com for more information.

For media enquiries contact Relentless Promotions visit www.relentlesspromotions.co.uk, telephone 07596657371, or email peter.mann@relentlesspromotions.co.uk.

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If everyone starts selling equities, should you?

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