Platinum Business Magazine Issue 14 - Sussex Edition

The widest-read business publication in the South East

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SUSSEX EDITION . ISSUE 14 . 2015

GAME CHANGER

THE TESLA S REVIEWED

AIRPORT EXPANSION

THE BATTLE RAGES ON

BUSINESS TRAVEL

HOW TO ARRIVE IN STYLE THE BIG STORY

ELON MUSK

THE BILLIONAIRE ROCKET MAN

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WELCOME

ISSUE 14. 2015

ENTREPRENEURIAL SPARK

We profile the astonishing Elon Musk, founder of PayPal, Tesla and Space X and a man who is determined to change the world. The Chairman of Coast to Capital LEP looks back over the past year and

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celebrates the considerable success that the LEP has achieved throughout the year. Joanne Rogers, MD of Prowse & Co, reflects and we ask Crawley Chamber Chairman, Paul Roe, for his wise words.

Leading accounts firm Kreston Reeves reviews the VAT traps awaiting international travellers and Skerritts Wealth Management ask if you are nervous?

Think the airport expansion argument has been

Natwest’s Fiona Anderson outlines the details.

AIRPORT EXPANSION DEBATE Is Gatwick still in the game?

settled? Think again - Gatwick is still very much in

42

the game, and the airport presents its case. The IOD discuss their Sussex events and Maarten loses his marbles over the Tesla S. So as you can see, we have been busy and there

THE BELLWETHER BRIGHT SPARK

is so much more. Can you think of something we should have covered? Get in touch at info@

We drive the Tesla S with astonishing results.

platinumbusinessmagazine.com.

Enjoy your summer break and re-introduce yourselves to your children and/or partner as a busy autumn is just round the corner.

Maarten & Ian Platinum Business Magazine, Sussex

60 WORKING LUNCH Jeremy’s Restaurant delights.

84 COAST TO CAPITAL LEP summarise a

4

34

successful year.

THE TEAM

AT A GLANCE 6 10 12

Local News

15 16

Institute of Directors

19 20 24

The Budget

32 34

Skerritts: Investments

37 38 40 42

Social Media

Natwest: Finance Natwest: Interview - Fiona Anderson Lewes & Wealden Business Awards National News The Big Story: Elon Musk Coast to Capital: Local Enterprise Partnership Kreston Reeves: Accounts Steve Amos: Business Training Airport Expansion

49 Hastings Direct 50 Style 52 Anger Management 55 Media Training 57 Young Start-up Talent 60 Motoring 71 Hilton: London Gatwick 72 Ecotech: Business Show 74 Carpenter Box 75 Big Beach: Marketing 81 Mercedes-Benz:

At Gravetye Manor

84 86 87 96

Working Lunch: Jeremy’s

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Wise Words: Paul Roe

Emma Pearce: Networking Chamber News Secret Sussex: South Downs Introductions

Maarten Hoffmann – Director maarten@platinumbusinessmagazine.com 07966 244046

Ian Trevett – Director ian@platinumbusinessmagazine.com 07989 970804

Lynne Edwards - Commercial Property lynne@portfoliopublications.co.uk Tel: 07931 537588

Sally Wynn - Senior Designer

Julia Trevett – Accounts Manager All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit.

Platinum Business Magazine is published and owned by Platinum Business Publications Limited.

Directors: Maarten Hoffmann and Ian Trevett

THE BIG STORY ELON MUSK The man who is trying to change the planet and leave it at the same time.

24

5

{ NEWS }

LOCAL NEWS SOHO REGENERATION London-based Soho House is working with the Brighton Seafront Regeneration group and has come back with a revamped design for the derelict terraces area above the Sealife Centre after original plans were withdrawn earlier this year following concerns from residents.

Planning consultant Ian Coomber, who has joined the project, said the new design took its stylistic cues from the nearby Van Alen building and the De La Warr building. He said the new plans had taken residents’ concerns over the loss of seafront views into consideration. Madeira Drive has been at the centre of debate during The Argus Newspaper’s Seafront 2020 campaign, which is calling for a joined-up approach to ensuring our region prospers. The revived development would join fellow multi-million-pound projects, including the “Bondi Beach” swimming pool complex and the overhaul of the Volk’s Railway as major new projects for the area. Mr Coomber said: “Soho House is expanding into New York and Miami so Brighton will be in good company.”

THE SWEDISH TOUCH A NEW bank branch promising a return to traditional, customer-focused values following years of banking scandals, Handelsbanken is a full-service decentralised bank which prides itself on its strong customer relations and autonomous management, with no targets or bonuses for staff.

The local branch retains a Swedish touch, with a prudent refurbishment of the three-floor, Grade II listed building on Church Road. Manager Simon Nicholson said: “Several things attracted me to working in Hove, such as the fact the bank doesn’t have targets or pay bonuses, and people in the branch actually make decisions. When we talk to customers they tell us that’s what they want, and when you talk to bankers, they want the same thing too. “We’ve been running the bank like this for 40 years. It’s harder for larger banks to do but it has to change.”

For the past 43 years Handelsbanken has had higher profitability than the average for its competitors.

In the UK, it has been ranked number one for customer satisfaction and loyalty for the last six years. The bank has a profit-sharing system called the Oktogonen foundation, which distributes profits to top staff when they turn 60. Every employee, from the most junior to the most senior, gets the same allocation, which is based on whether the bank outperforms its rivals.

EBAY PILOT FOR CRAWLEY Online auction firm eBay has announced a new pilot ‘drop-off’ service at two Argos stores in Crawley. Local eBay sellers will be able to drop off a sold item at an Argos store and have it shipped directly to their buyer. With a fixed delivery price and high street locations, the new service aims to make life easier for sellers by taking the tasks of packaging and posting off their hands. The service is priced to compete with traditional shipping methods and takes away the hassle of working out postage costs and queueing to drop off an item. Tanya Lawler, eBay’s UK vice president, said: “We’re leading the way in giving people convenience when they shop online, so it makes perfect sense to extend this for when they sell online, too. “When we launched ‘Click & Collect at Argos’ we shook up the industry by allowing smaller sellers and their customers to take advantage of extra convenience and efficiency. Now, by expanding our partnership, we’re using our expertise to make life easier – and selling smoother – for individuals too.”

Crawley is one of just four UK towns selected to take part in this pilot. The new service is available now at Argos stores in Kingsgate, RH10 1EN, and County Oak Retail Park, RH11 7XN.

THE BATTLE RAGES ON GATWICK bosses are launching a formal challenge over the Airports Commission inquiry, which they claim was “heavily biased” in favour of rivals Heathrow.

They claim that the report significantly underestimated the number of passengers who will fly out of the airport in future years. The Sir Howard Davies commission used statistics from the Department for Transport, which estimated 40 million people would use Gatwick by 2024. However, airport bosses claim they will see that number this year.

CEO Stewart Wingate’s team have also questioned the “flawed” assumption that most long-haul traffic will use an expanded Heathrow instead of the Sussex airport.

They are also expected to challenge the commission over allegations it played down the environmental and noise impact of the Heathrow proposal.

Gatwick’s response is detailed in an extended feature on page 32.

“You have not failed. You’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” 6

{ NEWS }

“A diamond is merely a lump of coal that did well under pressure”

ENERGY SHARE

NATWEST ANNOUNCES SOUTH EAST SHORTLIST

Businesses in Sussex are being urged to consider community projects rather than going it alone if they want to get involved in generating renewable energy.

The Southern Renewable Energy Forum (SREF) has been set up by Lewes accountancy firm

Knill

James

alongside

solicitors

Mayor Wynne Baxter and Samuel & Son, chartered surveyors, to advise businesses and communities on how take advantage of new schemes to generate green energy and lower energy bills.

These kinds of projects, which allow communities to share the benefits of clean technology, are being looked on favourably by local planners at a time when government subsidies are still available but slowly being withdrawn.

It means there are significant benefits for businesses that opt to share a project with other companies and private homes in their

88 organisations running projects all over the UK and Ireland have been shortlisted for a share of a new £2.5million Skills & Opportunities fund set up

by NatWest, eight of them in the South East Region.

The fund is dedicated to supporting projects in disadvantaged communities that help people to help themselves by learning new skills, getting into the world of work or setting up their own business.

The Skills & Opportunities fund launched in May and in only two weeks attracted 1,066 applications for funding. Thom Kenrick, Head of Community Programmes, RBS Sustainability said: “We expected the response to be good but have been bowled over by the volume of applications. Pulling together a shortlist from so many fantastic projects was a real challenge. We expect people will have a hard time selecting their regional favourites from such a strong line-up.”

The eight organisations with shortlisted projects in South East Region are: Bexley Mencap (Bexleyheath), Business and Education London South (Croydon), JusB (Bromley), Thanet Community Development Trust (Ramsgate), St. Michael’s Fellowship (London), WorkingRite (Hastings), Education Business Partnership (EBP) Kent (Sandwich) and Furniture Now! (Eastbourne).

Tim Boag, Chairman of NatWest’s South East Regional Board, which will be voting on the entries, said: “Opening the vote to the public gives organisations who’ve applied the chance to mobilise support from their community, as well as helping us to gauge public opinion. Essentially, what matters to local communities is what matters to us.”

local area with a view to using the energy rather than selling it back to the grid.

Kevin Powell, a partner at Knill James and a founder member for the SREF, said: “Our advice is to take stock of your neighbourhood and see how businesses and residents can share free power. However, any project is a big investment and, with the progressive removal of subsidies, it is equally important to do the accountancy arithmetic thoroughly at the due diligence stage.”

Energy policy announcements from the new government prompted the SREF to meet to discuss the potential implications for suppliers and users of green energy. The Queen’s Speech seemed to confirm that any renewable project where the energy produced is used within the community rather than exported to the grid is more likely to gain planning support.

ALL CHANGE AT BAKER TILLY Baker Tilly has announced it will be adopting RSM as a common brand name, uniting under a single global brand with more than 100 fellow member firms around the world of the RSM International global network.

Baker Tilly is one of the UK’s leading audit, tax and consulting advisers, with 3,400 partners and staff operating from 32 locations around the country, including Gatwick and Guildford.

Kirsty Sandwell, Managing Partner at Baker Tilly said: “The move will considerably strengthen our position in the region as a leading provider of global audit, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market. Although our name is changing, we will stay true to our roots and continue to maintain the core essence and legacy of the Baker Tilly brand. Adopting RSM as our name will simply accelerate our path to a recognised unified global brand and strategy. It will reinforce our focus on becoming the leading adviser to the middle market by ensuring that our clients receive consistent global services, irrespective of international borders.”

RSM International is the world’s sixth-largest provider of tax services and has a presence in more than 110 countries. In 2014 RSM International was the fastest-growing top-ten global network, posting an 18% increase in revenue, year-on-year, to US$4.4 billion for the year ending December 31st, 2014.

The change will be effective on October 26th, 2015.

7

{ NEWS }

LOCAL NEWS VIDEO DOME Brighton Dome has launched new video tours of its facilities and surroundings as well as filmed testimonials, which are now available to view. For the third year running, Brighton Dome collaborated with the University of Sussex to produce two of the videos. A brief was provided to Media Studies students, who presented pitches in small teams to a panel. The two final pieces were then chosen to be placed on the Brighton Dome website and were shown to the whole year of media studies students.

Andrew Comben, Chief Executive of Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival commented: “We were delighted to work with the University of Sussex again this year. We are extremely proud of the final videos and would like to urge everyone to go online and take a look. They truly encapsulate the reasons so many companies across the UK and further afield are booking their events at Brighton Dome.” http://brightondome.org/venue_hire/our_venues/videos.

EXCELLING IN SUSSEX Entries for the 27th Sussex Business Awards are now open to any company trading in the county.

There are 16 trophies to be won, including the prestigious Company Of The Year, Best International Company, Innovation and Best Customer Service.

For the second year Mike Herd, Executive Director of Sussex Innovation Centre, will chair the judging panel. He said: “This year there will no doubt be many other businesses across the region hoping they can follow in the footsteps of 16 winners across all categories. But the real beauty of these awards is that, no matter who takes the accolades, we can all join together to celebrate business success in this remarkable county.”

Vantage Professional Risks will sponsor a new award for the Professional Services, Checkatrade. com will sponsor the award for Best Customer Service, with support from Basepoint Business Centres as well. Returning sponsors include Morgan Sindall, HSBC, Domestic & General, Mazars, Sussex Innovation Centre, Checkaprofessional.com, Wealden District Council and the Sussex Chamber of Commerce.

Companies have until Wednesday, September 9th to prepare their submissions.

For more information visit: www.sussexbizawards.org.uk

QUEEN’S HONOUR Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd Managing Director Peter Webb has been awarded an MBE for services to Business in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.

Peter, who, with his wife Miriam, started their business, Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd. (ETI) some 32 years ago with just one employee, today employs 165 people at his two factories in East Worthing. ETI manufactures electronic digital thermometers and temperature probes, primarily for the food service industry, that are exported worldwide.

Peter admits, “I am absolutely overwhelmed to have been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours this year. It was completely unexpected and it’s certainly going to take a long time to get used to having MBE at the end of my name”.

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito”

8

{ NEWS }

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect”

CHAMBER COLLABORATION After announcing a ground-breaking new partnership with Newhaven Chamber of Commerce, Sussex Chamber of Commerce is looking to affiliate with additional town chambers across the county.

Crowborough Chamber of Commerce has now officially become the second town in Sussex to partner with the countywide body. On the back of these new coalitions, a re-branded and more modernised Sussex Chamber of Commerce is hoping to forge further partnerships with other town chambers across Sussex.

Sussex Chamber Chief Executive Ana Christie said: “This partnership and exciting new relationship is a huge leap forward for the Chamber movement in Sussex. Working together in this way, we start to develop a strong foundation for both the delivery of services to support business growth and a platform for business engagement with stakeholders. The vision is to build a stronger voice for business.

We will both retain our individuality and specific roles, but standing together we are stronger.

The President of Crowborough Chamber Jeremy Woolger comments: “Crowborough and District Chamber of Commerce is always looking for new ways to forge relationships that are of benefit to our members. We believe that our affiliation with the Sussex Chamber of Commerce will do just this. We look forward to working with The Sussex Chamber in the future to promote and improve business in Crowborough and surrounding areas.”

Annie Lorys, President of the Newhaven Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to now be affiliated with Sussex Chamber of Commerce, with the support and approval of the British Chambers of Commerce. We feel that this is an exciting new development and will give our members access to more networking events, training, discounts, support services and support on key issues.

GRAFTON BANKS ANNIVERSARY Reigate-based financial recruiter Grafton Banks Finance celebrates its first year in its Surrey office this month following seven successful years in Sussex.

After building a successful business in Brighton over the last seven years, the team opened up a second office in the centre of Reigate in July 2014.

Meeting both clients and candidates face to face is a key part of the Grafton Banks service, and with an increasing number of Surrey-based clients needing their services, a move north was a key part of the business’ plans for expansion. Alex Gregory, Director and Manager of the Reigate office, said: “We took our experience from seven years of working in Sussex and replicated our successes with the team in Surrey. It’s been a hugely exciting year, and one of the highlights of the expansion is that we’re now a preferred supplier to a number of larger Surrey businesses, as well as some key SMEs.

SUSSEX FOOD AND DRINK Celebrations were enjoyed at Harveys Brewery in Lewes recently as 60 finalists were announced in six out of the ten categories in this year’s Sussex Food and Drink Awards.

As previous winners of Sussex Drink Producer of the Year and proud sponsors of the Sussex Farmers’ Market of the Year category, Harveys is a great advocate of the ethos of the Sussex Food and Drink Awards. It has kept many family Sussex traditions over the years, including using their own supply of South Downs spring water, drawn via an artesian well 60 feet below the brewery, and which is mixed with locally grown hops from Sussex, Kent and Surrey. Danny Pike entertained the audience and congratulated the top ten finalists announced in the Best Sussex Food Producer, Drink Producer, Food/Farm Shop, Farmers’ Market, Eating Experience and Butcher categories.

Paula Seager and Hilary Knight, Co-directors of Natural Partnerships CIC, who run the awards as a not-for-profit scheme, are urging the public to now get voting for their favourites by September 21st. As well as earning the huge respect and recognition these awards now carry, winners and runners-up in all ten categories will go on to receive their trophies at a glittering tenth birthday ceremony on January 28th, 2016, hosted by patron to the awards Sally Gunnell OBE and Danny Pike.

9

{ FINANCE }

THE FIRST QUARTER GROWTH TRACKER Daryl Gayler, Regional Director Natwest, Corporate & Commercial, London and South East E-mail: daryl.gayler@natwest.com Telephone: 01293 643012

T

he Natwest Regional Growth Tracker is compiled by Royal Bank of Scotland economists to estimate and track growth across the UK including Scotland, Wales and nine regions of England. We calculate our growth estimate by taking the UK growth rate of each sector and weighting them by the sector shape of each region’s economy. For Scotland, we take the data provided by the Scottish Government.

We then make an adjustment for each region’s historic competitiveness. This reflects each region’s inherent strengths/weakness, and

10

the fact that some have tended to grow more quickly.

Natwest Economist, Rupert Seggins said: “It was a slower Q1 for the UK economy and this was reflected in our estimates of growth across its regions. The regions that did well this quarter were those with heavier reliance on sectors such as wholesale & retail, leisure and ICT and those that we estimate as being more competitive than their regional peers. It was pleasing to see that both the North East and the North West were at the top of the

table in Q1. Both regions managed to shake of a difficult quarter for financial services and saw other sectors pick up the slack. At a local area level, it was Inner East London that stood out from the pack, followed by Milton Keynes, Cambridgeshire, Derby and Herefordshire. And all have seen a fall in unemployment rates as a result, with the exception of Milton Keynes, where the rate of unemployment has been unchanged over the year.”

We estimate the South East’s economy grew by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2015, slightly

{ FINANCE }

“Longer term, the region’s economy looks well placed to perform well. It outplayed the UK average in important value-add sectors like information and communication technology plus financial services” slower than the UK. This scores the region a midtable finish. Longer term, the region’s economy looks well placed to perform well. It outplayed the UK average in important value-add sectors like information and communication technology plus financial services. While the growth across Sussex didn’t see significant change, I think this can be put down to the fact that the region weathered the downturn better than many areas, especially in the north.

I am pleased to see strong levels of appetite from our customers in the South East to borrow.

Whereas this time last year there was a feeling of cautiousness around the economy and the upcoming general election, now we’re seeing increased levels of confidence.

Whatever your political allegiance, the general election has at least provided continuity and as a result we’re seeing customers interested in borrowing to fund increased capital expenditure, new acquisitions or higher levels of working capital.

Read more at www.rbs.com/news/2015/ june/regional-growth-tracker-q1-2015. html#zrzU108wvgWPhcti.99

5%

SCOTLAND* Growth 2.9% Year

0.6% Quarter

*Scottish estimates are based on the data for Q4 2014 provided by the Scottish Government

NORTH WEST

NORTH EAST

Top 3 Areas 3.5% East Merseyside 3.4% Cheshire East 0.5% Quarter 3.3% Warrington Growth 3.0% Year

Top 3 Areas

Growth

3.3% Darlington 2.8% Year 2.8% Tyneside 0.5% Quarter 2.0% Durham YORKSHIRE & THE HUMBER

WEST MIDLANDS

Growth 2.4% Year

Top 3 Areas 3.7% Herefordshire 3.4% Worcestershire 0.3% Quarter 3.4% Warwickshire

Regional Growth Tracker

WALES

Top 3 Areas 2.8% Isle of Anglesey 2.7% Flintshire * Wrexham 0.4% Quarter 2.7% Bridgend & Neath Port Talbot

Growth 2.3% Year

Top 3 Areas 3.2% Wakefield 2.9% Calderdale & Kirklees 2.7% North Yorkshire

Growth 2.7% Year

Top 3 Areas 3.7% Derby 3.7% East Derbyshire 3.0% North Nottinghamshire

Growth

Top 3 Areas 3.8% Cambridgeshire 3.5% Central Bedfordshire 2.8% Essex

0.3% Quarter EAST MIDLANDS

Q1 2015

Growth 2.6% Year

0.4% Quarter EAST OF ENGLAND

SOUTH WEST

Top 3 Areas 3.6% Bath, North & North East Somerset & South Gloucestershire 0.3% Quarter 3.0% Cornwall & Isles of Scilly 2.9% Gloucestershire

Growth 2.8%Year

LONDON

Growth 3.7% Year

0.4% Quarter

2.6% Year 0.2% Quarter

Top 3 Areas 5.3% Inner London East 3.7% Inner London West 3.1% Outer London West & North West

SOUTH EAST

Growth 2.7% Year

0.3% Quarter

Top 3 Areas 4.7% Milton Keynes 3.6% Hampshire 3.4% Berkshire

y/y growth - South East sub-regions Source: Natwest calculations using ONS data

4.7%

4%

Top 3 Areas 4.0% Inverness 3.4% North Lanarkshire 3.2% Aberdeen

3.6%

3.4%

3.3%

3%

3.2%

3.2%

3.1%

3.0%

2.9%

2.5%

2%

2.2%

1.9%

1.8%

1%

pton tham Sou

th mou Por ts

Hov e and

way

Brig hton

Med

sex Sus Eas t

sex

Ken t

rey Sur

Sus Wes t

king

ham

shir e

ight Buc

of W Isle

ire Oxf ord sh

Ber ksh ire

ire psh Ham

Milt on K eyn e

0%

s

0.5%

11

{ INTERVIEW}

BRIGHT SPARKS

Fiona Anderson, Entrepreneur Development Manager for Natwest, is heading up the new Entrepreneurial Spark hatchery in Brighton, which opens its doors in August. Fiona speaks to Ian Trevett about this exciting boost for the city’s start-ups.

“87% of businesses fail in their first year of start-up.”

It is a terrifying statistic, and Fiona Anderson has another. “Brighton is the fourth-largest city outside of London for start-up businesses, but it actually has the highest failure rate as well.”

Happily, she also has a more encouraging fact to share. “The businesses that have been through the Entrepreneurial Spark process in Scotland have had an 84% success rate. So it’s a complete switch-around.” Entrepreneurial Spark has been present in Scotland for over 3 years with over 350 businesses benefitting from the hands on mentoring and coaching.

With such promising results north of the border it is no wonder that Fiona, who has been supporting local businesses in a variety of roles during her 13 years with NatWest, can’t wait for

12

the Entrepreneurial Spark hatchery to open in the NatWest/RBS offices opposite Preston Park.

“It is a great role and I do feel very privileged to be able to do a job that I am loving, in a city where I love living and actually helping people as well. I think it’s the best job ever.”

As the builders tie up the loose ends with the new offices, we are sitting in the cafe in the park, and Fiona explains exactly what to expect.

“We’re the first in the South East. Unusually, we haven’t opened in London first, which is a great thing. A lot of ‘Accelerator Hubs’ go to London as the capital is often seen as the place to be. The first hub in England was in Birmingham in February and then Bristol, Brighton and Leeds open in August. Next year we’re going to Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester and London.”

“The bank have signed a five year contract with Entrepreneurial Spark which shows our

commitment to making this work.”

So Entrepreneurial Spark is not a NatWest company?

“No, it’s a social enterprise that was funded initially by philanthropists and investors in Scotland. The three hatcheries that were opened in Scotland were actually in office space offered by three different entrepreneurs in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayrshire, so they are not in bank premises. NatWest got involved with funding Entrepreneurial Spark about a year ago after my director and Head of Entrepreneurship for RBS and Natwest, Gordon Merrylees, saw the successes in Scotland. It was on the back of that success we have started opening the other hubs around the country.

“The NatWest and Entrepreneurial Spark relationship is very much a partnership. And that’s why on the sign you’ll see it says ‘Powered

{ INTERVIEW }

“It is a great role and I do feel very privileged to be able to do a job that I am loving, in a city where I love living and actually helping people as well. I think it’s the best job ever”

by NatWest’, rather than just ‘Funded by…’ It gives us a chance to work in partnership with each other and share the strengths of each organisation.

“The hatchery in Brighton will be quite unique. I have been to the hubs in Glasgow and Birmingham, and while very successful, they have a more corporate feel than we’ll have in Brighton.

“The hatchery here is going to be amazing.

We have 80 businesses and it’s going to be like a Google office, with breakout areas, different styles and heights of desks, creative walls that you can write on – all very innovative. Sharing ideas and experiences is at the heart of what we want so it’s very open-plan to encourage people to talk to each other. You might have a person running a food business sat next to someone who is a hairdresser, but they will all have ideas to share.

“There are quite a few one-man-bands; but each business can have up to six spaces in the hatchery. This means that they can actually run their business entirely from the hub and spend every day here if they wanted to, it’s entirely up to them.

“From Entrepreneurial Spark’s perspective, their measure of success is whether the business is still going strong for a year or more after they’ve actually left the hub. They can only stay for a maximum of six months, with some exceptions being allowed a 12-month extension.

“It’s all about the initial boost to give them as much mentoring, coaching and guidance that they need, but we won’t just cast them off into the big wide world after six months. They still are allowed to come along to any of the events that we hold. We’re working to establish relationships with organisations such as Locate Sussex, the Innovation Centre and others.”

As well as support from the Entrepreneurial Spark team and NatWest, there are three ‘permanent’ residents chosen to offer support and advice to the tenants: Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, University of Brighton and Cobb Digital.

“They put their hands up really early on to get involved which for us was fantastic because none of the other hubs have that,” says Fiona. “They all offer different support services, with Cobb Digital helping with PR, marketing and social media.

“We are also looking for mentors from the business community and we have some very well respected local businesspeople on board. I am really pleased that Rob Clare from Innovation Capital has offered to be a mentor. Rob was NatWest’s Regional Director of Commercial Banking for many years and has a wealth of business experience and is already acting as a business consultant.

“I see myself as the central cog in the wheel. Everyone in the hatchery works really closely together as a team because I think we’re all in it together for the benefit of the entrepreneurs”

“I appreciate the benefits of having a mentor as it is ingrained in the culture of NatWest. You are encouraged to work closely with one on your personal development plan, and everyone is encouraged to have about three active points that you’re working on. In fact, speaking to my mentor helped me when I put myself forward for the Entrepreneurial Spark role. In order to prepare myself for the interview process I certainly needed to be speaking to them, so I am very keen to ensure all our tenants have access to mentoring.”

So you are looking forward to the challenge...

“Part of my role is to ensure that bank staff get involved as much as possible. I will be arranging events alongside the Entrepreneurial Spark enablers who are working with the entrepreneurs.

“I see myself as kind of the central cog in the wheel. Everyone in the hatchery works really

closely together as a team because I think we’re all in it together for the benefit of the entrepreneurs. We all realise that this is such an important thing for the community and the entrepreneurs.

“I think one of the things that has helped with my role is that I live down here. I absolutely understand Brighton and Hove. I know a lot of people in the business community and I was a Relationship Manager for more than a decade so have an understanding of local businesses.”

It is certainly an exciting project.

So it all kicks off in August?

“It all begins with a two-day boot camp at the end of July. It’s a very intensive programme; all 80 businesses have to be there as well as myself and 15 other staff in the bank who are being put through the Entrepreneur Academy whereby they will garner a 12-month accreditation programme to learn about working with entrepreneurs.

“It’s almost like an Apprentice-style setup where people get divided into teams and you have to then think up your own business idea or product and actually go out into Brighton, into the community, and speak to people and then pitch your business. So there will be all these mad people running around Brighton, like an episode of the TV programme.

“Then the doors are open on the 10 August and everyone will be allowed in. Every alternate Wednesday evening, from 5-7pm there are sessions that all are required to attend and they’ll start off with half an hour of pitching their businesses, which is a vital skill. This will be followed by a talk from a local businessperson on subjects such as tax planning and claiming on your Research & Development, that kind of thing.

“On the other alternate Wednesday afternoons will be what we call Bank Sessions. Part of my role is to get people from the different divisions in the bank to come along and talk about not only our products but actually how we can help the businesses. Our Supply Chain Services group came along to the one in Glasgow when I was there and that was really interesting, talking about how you can actually get your products into large organisations.”

For further information about how you can get involved, email Fiona at fiona.i.anderson@natwest.com or visit www.entrepreneurial-spark.com

13

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{ INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS }

IOD SUSSEX EVENTS

By Dean Orgill Chairman of Mayo Wynne Baxter www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk • www.iod.com

I

n my first column – way back in Issue 2 - I wrote about the aims and objectives of the IoD. The first of these being “to promote for the public benefit high levels of skill, knowledge, professional competence and integrity on the part of Directors or equivalent office holders”.

As we enter a summer break it strikes me as a good time to recap on some of the events that we have put on locally to achieve that.

Hopefully, this will lure you into joining in when the schedule resumes in the autumn.

This last year we have held events around the county, taking in Arundel, Brighton, Crawley, Eastbourne, Fontwell, Haywards Heath, Lower Beeding, Sayers Common and Shoreham.

Directors Briefing breakfast events have covered subjects such as “Hot Topics” in employment law, protecting your business brand and identity, winning more customers in new markets, recruiting and retaining talented people and cyber security. These breakfasts, incorporating seminars and discussions, provide excellent information and exchanges of expertise amongst peer groups of senior managers.

We have also facilitated “virtual boardroom” breakfasts, where the group selects a

problem to work through. Here the exchange of experience and information between the participants provides invaluable insights into the sort of issues that most of us face at some time or other.

If you wanted more in-depth training then the day’s workshop on the Introduction to Finance, where we covered business finance for Directors who are not the finance director, may well have appealed to you. This was run very successfully earlier this year.

On the financial theme, on a regular basis (the next being 8th September in Crawley) we host the Bank of England Agent for our region for a briefing on the inflation reports and other items of interest to business. This is a session that is highly informative for businesses, but which also gives us a chance to feed back our views and data to the Agents, who report directly into the MPC. If you have not yet attended one of these sessions, why not try the next one?

On a more social note, a group was entertained at the races, courtesy of the wonderful team at Fontwell Racecourse, and we have had a couple of more informal PubHub events where members meet just for a chat (and possibly a drink!) in the early evening.

Combining the social with the educational, we were recently hosted by Shoreham Port Authority, and, after receiving a fascinating talk on the Port itself (surely a hidden gem under many of our noses) we then saw the port, courtesy of a boat trip around the harbour to see the extent of activity that goes on there.

Overall, a very active year, which has seen great increases in engagement, and one which has spurred us on as a committee to try to achieve even more next year. Please do come and join in; the more that do so, the greater the incentive for us to keep raising the bar.

JUST A THOUGHT Is the “helicopter view” of your business being taken by you or your competitors?

15

{ SECTION TEXT HERE }

LEWES & WEALDEN THE WINNERS Almost 200 guests celebrated the first ever Lewes and Wealden Business Awards at the East Sussex National Hotel in June, hosted by BBC Sussex’s Danny Pike.

The well-received event was organised by Faiza Shafeek, Johnston Press South’s group events and sponsorship coordinator, with headline sponsorship from Rix and Kay Solicitors.

Lewes MP Maria Caulfield welcomed the new date in the business diary.

“This event is to say a big thank you for everything that you do for our local economy. Whether you’re self-employed, employ two or three people or a lot of people, the effort you put in is making a big difference and it doesn’t go unnoticed.

“I know that running a business is hard work and often you get very little appreciation. Tonight is a way of saying well done for all your efforts.

“Hopefully, this will be the first of many events to come.”

16

Business Person of the Year Sponsored by: Chalvington Communications Ltd WINNER: Marc Koska

Independent Retailer of the Year Sponsored by: Enterprise Centre WINNER: Carvills

Hospitality, Tourism & Leisure Sponsored by: Etc Magazine WINNER: Pelham House WNNER: Blue Bell Railway

Small Business of the Year (1-10) Sponsored by: Federation of Small Businesses WINNER: The Dental Barn

Medium Business of the Year (10-50) Sponsored by: Let’s Do Business Group WINNER: Neva Consultants

Large Business of the Year (50+) Sponsored by: Rix & Kay Solicitors WINNER: CJ Thorne

Manufacturing and Construction Company of the Year Sponsored by: Hailsham & District Chamber of Commerce WINNER: Levick Jorgensen

Employer of the Year Sponsored by: East Sussex National WINNER: Cash Bases

{ BUSINESS AWARDS }

Employee of the Year Sponsored by: Hastings Direct WINNER: Chris Davis of Cleankill Environmental Services WINNER: Toby Carter of Levick Jorgensen

Quality Customer Service Award Sponsored by: Pearce Marketing WINNER: Richard Soan Roofing Services

Service and Support Company of the Year Sponsored by: Identity Signage & Printing WINNER: Fresh Financials

Innovation Award Sponsored by: Platinum Business Magazine WINNER: Neva Consultants

Education Training and Motivation Award Sponsored by: Uckfield Chamber of Commerce WINNER: Furniture Now

The Environment Award Sponsored by: Sussex Express Series of Newspapers WINNER: Firefly Clean Energy Ltd

Lifetime Achievement Award Sponsored by: Lawler Davis Independent Financial Planners WINNER: Peter Boyse MBE

Overall Business of the Year Sponsored by: Rix & Kay Solicitors WINNER: Neva Consultants

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{ BUDGET }

PAIN AT BOTH ENDS OF THE SPECTRUM? Shirley Smith, International Service Partner at Kreston Reeves, says George Osborne’s budget attacks both tax avoidance and welfare spending.

N

obody could accuse George Osborne of lacking ambition. This was a radical Budget from a Chancellor determined to shake up business, welfare spending and tax.

The centrepiece was an unexpected commitment to a living wage, a move that will dramatically improve earnings for those working for the least.

Businesses, however, might be less happy at the thought of a significant increase in their costs of employment. The measure raises the minimum wage from £6.50 an hour to more than £9, at least for those over the age of 25, by 2020.

This was not a giveaway Budget. There were some sharply targeted taxes that will hurt particular sectors, for example insurance. But business generally had plenty to cheer about.

The prospect of a reduction in Corporation Tax to 18% (in 2020) is particularly welcome, as is knowing that from January firms can invest up to £200,000 a year in plant and equipment, qualifying for 100% tax relief in the year the expense is incurred.

The annual employment allowance is also rising by 50% to £3,000. This will cover the cost of four full-time employees on the new living wage, arguably further boosting jobs and investment.

But in return for increased allowances and other tax breaks, Mr Osborne expects

businesses to do more training as a further contribution to the recovery. There will be an apprenticeship levy on large firms to make this happen.

“George Osborne maybe gambling politically that rising tax receipts and a falling deficit will add to prosperity”

Other news was less welcome. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) using dividends from their companies as income will be hit by new rules from next April. The dividend tax credit of 10% will be abolished but there will be no tax on the first £5,000 of dividend income. However basic rate taxpayers will pay 7.5% on any extra dividend income, with higher rate taxpayers paying 32.5%, and additional rate taxpayers will pay tax at 38.1%.

Buy to let landlords are finally within the Chancellor’s sights. The limit on mortgage

interest tax relief to the basic rate of tax will hit individuals who have brought numerous properties.

But there is still the consolation of capital growth, and that it could perhaps have been worse. The changes he announced will not begin until 2017 and then be phased so there is time to prepare.

Non-domiciled, or ‘non-doms’, resident in the UK for 15 years out of the last 20 will have to pay full tax here.

It might be said that the crackdown on aggressive tax avoidance and moves to cut the welfare bill by £12billion mean pain for both ends of the wealth spectrum.

Clearly, the measures to boost the wider economy, support family budgets and increase the pay of those in work meant a Summer Budget aimed firmly at the centre of the spectrum, and which laid out more than an economic policy.

George Osborne maybe gambling politically that rising tax receipts and a falling deficit will add to prosperity and can pay for better and expanded public services, all whilst leaving people with more of their income.

Much of Mr Osborne’s ambition rests on predictions that the £69.5 billion deficit this year will be a £10 billion surplus in 2019-20. There is still a considerable macroeconomic mountain to climb, so we will see.

19

{ NEWS }

NATIONAL NEWS APPLE PAY IN THE UK The launch of Apple Pay shows that consumer demand for mobile payments is rising and will continue to rise. However, the platform has some constraints as it is only available to iPhone 6 and Apple Watch users and it relies on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. What shoppers really want is a ubiquitous solution which allows them to buy products anywhere, at anytime, from a range of mediums, using any digital device.

The decision to only use NFC also drastically reduces the scope of its usage for retailers as they have to support NFC terminals. Apple Pay doesn’t support online shopping either - once again limiting what consumers can use it for.

Dan Wagner, eCommerce veteran and CEO of Powa Technologies, comments: “Despite Apple being an instantly recognisable brand, Apple Pay’s limitations mean it can only be seen as just another way to pay for things. To stand out in an already crowded market, new entrants should provide more than just a payments service. Many retailers don’t see a benefit in Apple Pay because they want a solution that will help them create an omni-channel sales offering, engage better with their customers and understand their shopping habits.”

FLY NOW, PAY LATER Pay4Later, the UK’s fastest growing provider of point-of-sale credit, is launching a new service for holiday and travel companies following strong demand from firms wanting to offer credit to their customers. The new service will enable firms to offer their clients a choice of finance options including 0% interest - ranging from £275 to £25,000 and over terms of six, nine and 12 months. Customers can start paying for their holiday as soon as they book it through the service and spread the cost to suit their finances once they return. Applications will take less than 10 seconds to complete and all those made via Pay4Later’s platform involve ‘soft’ credit searches, meaning a customer’s credit rating will not be affected. John Wark, Marketing Manager at Pay4Later comments “Data shows that retailers who offer credit can see sales rise by up to 40% and order values by 300%.”

MIDDLE-CLASS INDIA India’s economy seems set fair for rapid growth. With a rate of expansion pulling ahead of China’s, the powerhouse of South Asia may be on the brink of realising its potential as a global economic giant. The governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a mandate for tough reform and a pro-business agenda. The country boasts a young population, a growing middle class and an established business sector. Small wonder then that the eyes of the investment world are sizing up the available opportunities. The Harvard University Center for International Development predicts annual GDP growth in India to average 7.9 per cent over the next eight years. In its April report, the World Bank said: “India’s government has announced an ambitious development agenda…if this agenda is successfully implemented, it carries great promise of an acceleration in economic growth that is also inclusive and sustainable”

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people” 20

{ NEWS }

“It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities”

MILLENNIALS RULE EU GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION The EU wants to reform data protection and cut red tape for businesses across Europe by bringing in a ‘one stop shop’ single set of rules. In the future each company will have one single Data Protection Authority (DPA) to report to, generally reflecting where its headquarters are based. The rules will be the same for everyone across Europe. The Regulation also aims to protect the rights of European citizens to have more control over their personal data. Businesses across the UK are in danger of underestimating the huge changes that lie ahead in data protection – after a survey revealed one in five aren’t even aware of the forthcoming Regulation.

The Regulation requires companies with more than 250 employees to appoint a Data Protection Officer. Smaller companies which hold more than 5,000 personal data records will have the same requirement. For many it may be more sensible to outsource this post; but the financial implications of the new Regulation will also be a concern. Citizens will have the right to view their data and ask for it to be edited. The ‘right to erasure’, which has already struck Google, will add further complications as companies will be expected to find and edit large amounts of data quickly, a time frame of 72 hours – and will need processes in place for data subjects to make those requests. The threat of data breaches will no longer be a concern only for data controllers but also for data processors.

Punishments include fines of up to 100m Euros or five per cent of global turnover, for companies that deliberately or negligently breach the Regulation.

A new generation of entrepreneurial young people total 15% of all undergraduates and they are planning to start their own companies after graduating.

Many undergraduates already operate their own businesses while studying.

Over 52,000 students currently run their own enterprise, in industries ranging from events promotion to software development and clothing design. The Millennials - or those born between 1980 and 2000 - are entrepreneurial, ambitious, confident in their own abilities and fiercely independent. Of those graduates planning to start their own business, 45% stated they were driven by the desire to be their own boss. 27% believe they will earn more money by starting their own enterprise than they could by working for someone else. A worry over suitable job opportunities has motivated a further 19% to contemplate starting their own company. Given the billion dollar valuations of Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook and Larry Page’s and Sergey Brin’s Google, which were both started while the founders were at university, it is little wonder undergraduates are inspired to set out on their own. Those studying creative, arts & design courses at university are more likely than any other student to start their own business. 26% of those studying these courses plan to start their own company upon graduation. Those studying STEM subjects such as engineering, science and maths are the least likely (12%) of all the university disciplines surveyed to consider starting their own enterprise upon graduation.

SUPPORT FOR HOMEBODY ENTREPRENEURS Home-based businesses are on the rise. 69% of home businesses are started by people running a business for the first time and millennials proving their entrepreneurship, and these self-sufficient homebodies ultimately contribute over £300bn to the economy.

Jane Guaschi, Business Manager at Direct Line for Buisness said: “The Growth Vouchers programme launched by the government in January 2014 showed that accessing advice helps businesses to grow and increase their turnover each year. With this programme having now stopped, there is a clear need for an advice based programme to take its place.” Jane believes there is a clear demand for expert advice and is calling on the energy sector to dedicate funds from closed small business accounts which will help continue with a quality advice programme for the smallest of businesses.

21

{ NEWS }

NATIONAL NEWS HELPING HAND Apple has given Greek iCloud users 30 days of free storage after the country’s financial crisis threatened to shut off access.

When the Greek government introduced capital controls on citizens, limiting how they could send money out of the country, many Greeks were unable to use credit cards to pay for digital services, which are often registered abroad. The restrictions meant that iPhone users were unable to buy apps and songs, and maintain their monthly subscriptions to iCloud, the online storage service. Apple offers 5GB of iCloud storage for free, but up to €19.99 a month in the eurozone for up to 1TB of storage. Many users, even those paying just 99 cents a month, saw their subscriptions downgraded. Greek citizens have seen banks closed for two weeks and have seen their withdrawals capped as lenders run out of reserves. Apple seems to hope the crisis will be over in the next month. That might be more optimistic than some.

PRINCE OF DARKNESS NINTENDO LEGACY Tim Parker - once dubbed “the Prince of Darkness” for his willingness to swing the axe, having once halved the AA’s 7000 strong workforce - is to become the new chairman of the Post Office, as the organisation struggles to overhaul its branch network and keep up with the times. Mr Parker, the current chairman of luggage firm Samsonite and the National Trust, will be charged with ensuring that the Post Office can be sustainable while also delivering on the Government’s commitment to secure the future of 3,000 rural branches. Taking over from Alice Perkins, Mr Parker will officially take up his post on 1 October.

Nintendo’s President, Satoru Iwata, who died at the age of 55, leaves a legacy marked by both massive successes and inevitable failures. President since 2002, Iwata is the first leader of the video game powerhouse who was not a member of the Yamauchi family, which founded Nintendo back in 1889. His passing leaves Nintendo’s leadership in question just months before the company is expected to enter the unfamiliar world of mobile gaming, a decision Iwata announced back in March of this year.

BUDGET BUSINESS STABILITY Guy Rigby, head of entrepreneurial services of the accountancy and investment management group Smith and Williamson says, ‘The result of the general election, delivering a majority government, left businesses with the stability they craved.’ More than 80% of the 200+ business leaders who took part in the established quarterly survey expect the economy to improve over the next 12 months. Furthermore, 9% of businesses feel migrants are absolutely essential to their business, and 62% believe they played some part. ‘So it would be reasonable to expect SMEs to be adversely affected should the UK elect to leave the EU,’ Rigby says.

“Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door” 22

{ NEWS }

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”

THE BORROWERS

DISCLOSURE FOR DIVERSITY Placing more women in the boardrooms of publicly listed companies has always been about more than that – it is part of a Herculean task: changing the status quo. While the government’s initiative to deal with the under representation of women at the top of business in February 2011 evolved into a four year “carrot and stick” approach, yielding some considerable success, has it now hit a wall resistant to change? Not only do 31% of businesses responding to the twice-yearly FTICSA Boardroom Bellwether survey report that they will not meet the target set by Lord Davies of 25% women on boards by the end of 2015, 63% of those companies that are not expecting to hit the target also have no plans to do so in the short, medium or long-term. This is the most pessimistic result for the drive for greater gender diversity since December 2012.

A report from New Financial, the think tank and forum focusing on better capital markets, says diversity disclosure could be an important step towards improving diversity in European capital markets.

“Disclosure is important as a statement of intent – to acknowledge that the capital markets industry is starting from a difficult position but wants to change, is capable of change, and how it plans to make those changes, without waiting to be told what to do by regulators,” it says. “Greater diversity disclosure is linked to increased diversity. We found a positive correlation between disclosure and female representation on boards, which is an example of a desirable diversity outcome,” says the report. On the plus side, it finds that diversity is becoming a standard feature of annual reporting for the capital markets industry, with 90% of the sample mentioning diversity and 77% publishing hard numbers about workforce diversity. Are we any closer to understanding whether boardrooms recognise the ‘everyday truth’ of a changing world?

Loan applications have taken off since the election. Households borrowed an additional £2.1bn in secured loans in May, compared with £1.7bn in April. The relatively strong figure is up from an average of £1.9bn a month in 2014, £1.1bn a month in 2013, and £0.9bn a month in 2012.

Meanwhile, small businesses’ demand for credit surged in the three months to June, registering the first sharp rise in a year. Banks also said they are increasingly willing to approve loans to SMEs. A net balance of 26.6pc of banks - which reflects the percentage of lenders reporting rising loan approval levels less the proportion reporting falling levels - said they approved a greater proportion of SME loan applications in the second quarter of the year compared with the first quarter, the fastest increase in lending for five years. “It is also encouraging to see that default rates fell across all sectors in the second quarter – on mortgage borrowing, unsecured consumer credit and on corporate lending, especially for small businesses,” said Howard Archer, chief economist at HIS Global Insight. “This is clearly a reflection of recent sustained healthy UK growth as well as the help to consumer finances coming from negligible inflation, rising earnings growth and higher employment.”

NATIONS PLAN TO BATTLE CLIMATE CHANGE Crop failures, extreme heat waves or high rates of sea level rising could be so harmful that governments will examine even small chances of the most severe impacts, according to a study by 60 experts from 11 nations. “When we think about keeping our country safe, we always consider the worst case scenarios,” British Foreign Office Minister Joyce Anelay said in a statement. “That is what guides our policies on nuclear non-proliferation, counter-terrorism and conflict prevention. We have to think about climate change the same way,” she said. Almost 200 governments will meet in Paris in December to try to work out a global deal to slow climate change. Governments have long been at odds about how to present the risks of climate change; partly because some voters doubt the scientific findings that global warming is man-made. Spending on national security or health is less controversial? The report said the world was not on track to limit greenhouse gas emissions to keep temperatures within a U.N. goal of two degrees Celsius (3.6 F) above pre-industrial times.

23

ELON MUSK

THE ROCKET MAN

By Maarten Hoffmann

W

ho is Elon Musk? This is a question that has been asked ad infinitum, and I am not sure that anyone has ever got close to the answer. What he does is a matter of public record, and if he gets his way, and he usually does, you will not be able to escape his brands over the next decade.

Elon Musk is the man who couldn’t quite understand why it was such a bother to telephone retailers and quote long numbers over the phone to make a purchase, so he fixed that problem with a little start-up called PayPal. Then he failed to understand why cities were choked with fumes and the cancer rate was so high, so he created a ground-breaking electric car called the Tesla. Then he heard that it cost NASA a billion dollars to launch a single rocket to the International Space Station, so he rang them and offered to do it for $60 million. Oh, how they laughed – until they arrived at his James Bond villainesque operations centre in Silicon Valley and, within two hours, came away gob-smacked and clutching his signed contract to take over NASA’s launch operation for the next 12 missions.

“When we were trying to bring the character of genius billionaire Tony Stark to the big screen in Iron Man, I had no idea how to make him seem real.

Robert Downey Jr. said, ‘We need to sit down with Elon Musk’”

{ THE BIG STORY }

Elon was born in 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa to a Canadian mother and South African father of British descent, who was an electromechanical engineer. He was the typical child genius, and at the age of 10 discovered computers with the Commodore VIC-20 and proceeded to teach himself to programme. At 12, he had developed a computer game called Blastar and then promptly sold it for $500. Here was the first taste of what he was capable of.

Life in South Africa was not a happy one, with his parents’ divorce and being severely bullied at school. He was once hospitalised after a gang threw him down a flight of stairs and then beat him until he blacked out.

At the age of 17, he knew he had to get to the USA to realise his fledgling dreams, and, thanks to his Canadian-born mother, he moved to Canada in 1989 and obtained citizenship as a step towards the US. This also conveniently meant he just avoided his SA military service and enrolled into Queens University in Ontario before using an educational transfer to the University of Pennsylvania. Whilst there,

26

he and fellow student Adeo Ressi bought a 10-bedroom frat house and turned it into a nightclub. After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, he transferred to

“We really wanted to break the mould, to show that electric cars aren’t just glorified milk floats” California to begin his PhD in Applied Physics at Stanford University, but left after only two days, as his drive to create was irresistible, and he began his mission to conquer the worlds

of the internet, renewable energy and outer space. In 2002, he finally became a US citizen.

Following his fist taste of entrepreneurial ventures with Blastar, he joined with his brother Kimbal, and together they started a web software company called Zip2, with a £28,000 loan from their father. Zip2 was like a primitive combination of Yelp and Google Maps, long before anything like either of those existed. The brothers had no money, slept in the office and showered at the YMCA, and Elon, their lead programmer, sat obsessively at his computer, working around the clock.

In 1995, it was hard to convince businesses that the internet was important - many told them that advertising on the internet sounded like “the dumbest thing they had ever heard of” but, eventually, they began to rack up customers and the company grew. It was the apex of the 90s internet boom, startup companies were being snatched up left and right, and within three short years the company was sold to Compaq for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock. Elon Musk was only 24 years old.

{ THE BIG STORY }

Not one to sit still for long, the same year he founded X.com, an online financial services payment company, and, following a merger or two, this became PayPal, which he subsequently sold to eBay for $1.5 billion, making him eligible for the title of the world’s youngest billionaire.

In college, he thought about what he wanted to do with his life, using as his starting point the question, “What will most affect the future of humanity?” The answer he came up with was a list of five things: “the internet, sustainable energy, space exploration, in particular the permanent extension of life beyond Earth, artificial intelligence and reprogramming the human genetic code.” Modest goals, then!

Now with a secure financial platform from which to launch, he turned his attention to electricity and space. He is totally incapable of understanding why governments are not taking climate change seriously. On renewable energy he said: “If you’re in non-renewables, it’s like you’re stuck in a room where the oxygen is gradually depleting, and then outside, it’s not.

So you want to get out of that room. And I think that those that get out of the room sooner will be better off. You could power the entire United States with about 150 to 200 square kilometres of solar panels, the entire United States! Take a corner of Utah… there’s not much going on there, I’ve been there. There’s not even radio stations.

So his first mission is to rid the world of the internal combustion engine, and

rather than just preach on the subject, he got up and did something about it with the invention of the Tesla Motor Company.

The electric car is not a new invention, as an electric car held the land speed record in 1901, but they have always come packaged with problems: lack of range, the time to recharge and the habit of latter-day car manufacturers, thinking we all want to be the Jetsons, of designing them to look space-age and futuristic. Most of them look ridiculous and are all but useless in everyday use.

Invoking the name of Nikola Tesla, the famous Serbian engineer and physicist who studied under Thomas Edison and was credited with the design of alternating current and the modern electrical supply system, Elon purchased a 370-acre disused General Motors factory in 2010 in Fremont, California, and so began his dream of the electric car revolution.

The first model was the Tesla Roadster, based on the Lotus Elise, and it stunned the automotive world to the point of total disbelief. With a range of 244 miles on a single charge - thanks to his use of compact lithium-ion battery cells and a 0-60 mph time of just 3.7 seconds! - we have the first electric car that will outperform just about every petrol driven supercar on the planet, and looks like a normal sports car but without the weight burden of an engine, gearbox, gas tank or exhaust pipe. The fact that he could do this with battery power alone spurred the industry

“Elon Musk is the man who couldn’t quite understand why it was such a bother to telephone retailers and quote long numbers over the phone to make a purchase, so he fixed that problem with a little start-up called PayPal” 27

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{ THE BIG STORY }

to get involved, and most major manufacturers today offer an electric option. But they are all still missing the point, as the best-selling electric cars are actually hybrids that have the electric motor sitting next to a noisy and highly polluting diesel engine that charges the batteries, and a range of only 60 miles.

Elon will have none of this, and Tesla is the first company to develop an electric car from scratch with no petrol engine option available, and with a range of up to 311 miles. Recognition came in 2006 when he was presented with the Global Green product design award for the Roadster, presented by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Elon does not mince his words, and when asked about the success of the Roadster, his response is typically flamboyant: “We really wanted to break the mould, to show that electric cars aren’t just glorified milk floats. This is the fastest-accelerating four-door production car in the world. That’s one hell of a milk float. I had thought the big car companies would be coming out with electric cars sooner. Crazy thing is, it’s now seven years since we unveiled the Roadster, and yet there’s still not a single car for sale without a Tesla badge that has a 250-mile range. That’s mind blowing.”

With his point proven, he now needed to invest every dime he had to get into production with a mass-market family car, despite the countless critics saying that he was mad and would go bust, he very nearly did.

Having pumped millions into the company, he needed investment and went hunting. His series A and B rounds of funding brought in $13 million,

and he personally led series C, that secured investment from prominent entrepreneurs such as Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, former eBay president Jeff Skoll, Hyatt

“Crazy thing is, it’s now seven years since we unveiled the Roadster, and yet there’s still not a single car for sale without a Tesla badge that has a 250-mile range. That’s mind blowing” heir Nick Pritzker, the VC firms Draper Fisher Jurveston, Capricorn Management and the Bay Area Equity Fund, managed by JPMorgan Chase.

The fourth series, in 2007, added another $45m and brought the total investment to over $105m. With the bandwagon rolling, the big boys got involved, and in 2009 Germany’s Daimler AG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz, acquired an

equity stake of 10% for £50m, and in July of that year, it was announced that Abu Dhabi’s Aabar Investments had bought 40% of Daimler’s stake.

The final chunk required came from a US Government interest-bearing loan of $465m.

Tesla repaid this loan in full in 2013, becoming the first-ever manufacturer to do so, with loans to Ford and Nissan still outstanding.

Tesla was born, and the current model, the Tesla S, went into production, and, as if to stick a finger up at his critics, it is a stupendous success that will transform everyone’s lives and the future of planet earth. If you are in any doubt, please read my review on page 60.

And, perhaps even more startling, he does not believe in patents, and has left the car with an open source patent to encourage other companies to use his technology to advance their electric programmes.

Here is a man with a real passion to change the way we do things. “Open sourcing the patents does have the advantage of making Tesla a more attractive place for the world’s best engineers to work,” he insists. “And it builds goodwill, which I believe will be important. I only own 30% of the company. They can fire me if they want.

I’ve got nothing against profit, I don’t think it’s an evil word. But if we have a choice between short-term profit and scaling the business, the latter makes much more sense. So I’ve come to the conclusion we need to be a lot more active in building our own cars. Maybe if we start taking market share away from other companies that’ll get them a lot more interested.”

That market share is within his grasp,

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as the S models have just covered 1 billion miles around the world along with an everexpanding chain of Superchargers across the world that will give the car a half charge of 170 miles in only 20 minutes – and it’s totally free.

Elon noted that “at least one major car company” is already taking advantage of Tesla’s open patents. Any guesses? Mercedes would be my call, but I’m not putting any money on it.

Not content with conquering the entire world with his electric car, he is also the CEO of Space X. Ironically for a man who is trying to make the world a better place, he is also determined to leave it at every opportunity, with the goal of creating the technologies that will

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enable humanity to reduce space transportation costs and enable the colonization of Mars with the use of fully and rapidly reusable rockets.

It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both of which were designed from conception to eventually become reusable, and the Dragon spacecraft which is flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle to supply the International Space Station with cargo.

A manned version of Dragon is in development.

Like so many young billionaires, our own Richard Branson included, the ultimate goal is the exploration and eventual colonisation of other planets. The ultimate achievement for the men who have everything. Like Branson’s

Virgin Galactic crash in October 2014 that killed the pilot, Space X has had its problems. Only recently, the launch of the Falcon 9 on June 28th from the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral was perfect until 2 minutes and 19 seconds later, when it blew itself to smithereens.

Fortunately, it was only carrying cargo and no life was lost, but it just goes to show what a herculean task space exploration is and why it is so attractive to hugely successful overachievers with bottomless pockets. But let’s face it, if it was easy they wouldn’t be the slightest bit interested and we would all be doing it.

NASA Astronaut Ron Garan offered the following: “The lessons learned from the failure will save lives down the road when Dragon launches live crew.” He’s right, of course. But it’s still difficult to get swept up in the excitement of space travel, only to be confronted with an explosive reminder of how far away the future remains.

If you wanted to bet which billionaire will get there first, bet against Elon at your peril and only wager what you can afford to lose. Even Richard Branson seems to be hedging his bets: “Whatever sceptics have said can’t be done, Elon has gone out and made real. Remember in the 1990s, when we would call strangers and give them our credit card numbers?

Elon dreamed up a little thing called PayPal. His Tesla Motors and SolarCity companies are making a clean, renewable-energy future a reality. His Space X programme is reopening space for exploration…it’s a paradox that Elon is working to improve our planet at the same time he’s building spacecraft to help us leave it.”

In his spare time he is the CEO of SolarCity,

{ THE BIG STORY }

a company supplying electrical power to residential homes from solar power and is already the number one provider of solar power in California, with 10,000 employees and a new customer in the US switching to SolarCity

“His Space X programme is reopening space for exploration…it’s a paradox that Elon is working to improve our planet at the same time he’s building spacecraft to help us leave it” every 3 minutes. This is not only a stunning conversion rate of folk in the developed world shutting off from the traditional national grid, but with 1.4 billion people in the world having no electricity supply at all, SolarCity intends to bring solar power to homes, schools and hospitals across the third world.

Then there’s Powerwall and Hyperloop and... well, you get the point. His nickname might as well be the Duracell Bunny as he is not stopping

any time soon. It has long been rumoured that the Iron Man and Avengers character played

by Robert Downey Jr., Tony Stark from the movie franchise, was based on Elon Musk.

The Director, Jon Favreau, and Robert Downey Jr. noted: “When we were trying to bring the character of genius billionaire Tony Stark to the big screen in Iron Man, I had no idea how to make him seem real. Robert Downey Jr.

said, ‘We need to sit down with Elon Musk.”

At 44, with over $13 billion in the bank, driving forward some of the most radical and successful companies the industrial age has ever witnessed, married to a stunning British actress, Talulah Riley, with five perfect sons….I question whether I am more tempted to kneel and prostrate myself at his feet or hit him with a house brick out of sheer covetousness.

{ INVESTMENTS }

FEELING NERVOUS?

By Andy Merricks Head of Investments of Skerritts Wealth Management www.skerritts.co.uk

W

e were speaking to a fund manager the other day and we came to a similar conclusion – it just feels as though something nasty is due to happen. Economic purists will scoff at such a comment, being driven by their particular need, similar to scientists, for a definitive theory-and-solution style of analysis that needs more than simply a feeling to satisfy their analytical persona. An economist will wait for an event to occur, and then spend hours telling you why it did. As investors, we prefer to dodge the event in the first place, remaining perfectly willing to listen to the economists’ reasoning afterwards, but, hopefully, with our portfolio value still largely intact.

The recent spike in bond yields has reminded us of one of those earthquake disaster movies

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where an individual has spotted movement on their seismograph, yet no one listens to the warning of impending disaster, even as the local wildlife takes to the skies and acts out of character. OK, so maybe we’re getting a little carried away with our analogy, but you get the drift? There appear to have been a couple of warning tremors in the bond markets and our natural tendency is to seek comparative shelter.

RE-RUN OF LAST YEAR? Whilst on the subject of feelings, this year feels much like last year. 2014 saw markets generally peak in April and then they fell gradually throughout the Summer months as they fretted about Europe and the timing of the ECB’s venture into the QE club. By the time the clocks went back,

anyone who invested in April 2014 must have wondered why they had bothered as most were between 5% and 8% down in capital terms. When you’re in a market that drifts, even six months can seem a long time to wait for any upward trajectory to recommence. This year, despite the post election surge in the FTSE, markets are down again since April, with the DAX (Germany) suffering a greater than 10% correction to date.

The US is a little more benign so far, down just over 2% from its all-time high, but we think that there could be more to come from the States.

Why? There are several reasons, although none of them appear to be of the systemic risk nature of previous concerns, and investors should try to put this aspect to the forefront of their troubled minds.

{ INVESTMENTS }

“In today’s age when we are overloaded with piecemeal information, true insight that cuts through the noise and finds the signal will be able to command a premium” A CORRECTION IS DUE A correction in the US may happen for no other reason than that we have not seen one for a long time. It has been 43 months since the last fall of more than 10% on the S&P 500, the thirdlongest such streak since the 1930s. The most likely reason for a sell-off is the threat of interest rates rising over there, the first upward tick for almost a decade. We suspect that the fact that rates are rising due to improving fundamentals may be overlooked and any turbulence on the bond markets will be reflected in the equity markets. Our personal view is that a rate rise is not merited as the recovery is just not that strong yet. It will also encourage the Dollar to rise, which is not necessarily a good thing for any recovery that is in place to continue, and it would be no surprise to us to see any rise that does occur being reversed fairly quickly. At this stage a prolonged and steep rate increase does not look anywhere near the horizon. Nevertheless, a rise is unlikely to be beneficial to toppy markets.

ILLIQUID BONDS We do fear a worse than expected rout to the bond markets if rates rise. We saw a screen grab recently from Bloomberg TV which highlighted the potential problem for bond holders should they decide to exit the market en masse. The slide was of a Tesco bond on the day of a profit warning earlier this year. This bond was a £900 million issue (quite big, in other words) yet there was a market of only £6 million liquidity for sellers on that day. The choice was to sell only part of your holding, or wait for a lower price to be offered. It was impossible, if you had owned a lot of it, to get your money back as readily as you would have hoped, and at a price that was acceptable. One of the problems is the cull of market makers after the credit crunch of 2008, and we have not yet seen what levels of liquidity will exist in an era of rising interest rates in a world of fewer third parties who are prepared to trade your bonds.

We have started to reduce our bond holdings where we can as we shuffle towards the exit door, but a balance needs to be maintained between the need for income (which bonds still cater for) and capital volatility. It’s a tricky one and we think that bond liquidity will be an issue that we’ll hear more about in the future.

NOT FORGETTING GREECE, OF COURSE Possibly the most likely reason for markets to fall in the short term is that old chestnut (or should we say olive stone), Greece. Nearly 70% of the Greek people do not want to leave the Euro, yet they do not want to have further austerity prescribed to them either. Being a member of the Euro is binary – either you are or you are not – while the definition of austerity measures can be fudged more. Our suspicion is that fudging may win the day, but the Greek politicians have apparently looked to Iceland as an example of a defaulting nation which very quickly got back on its feet again, not least through increased tourism. The big difference is that Iceland achieved this with financial help from the IMF, something that Greece quite clearly cannot rely upon.

“As investors, we prefer to dodge the event in the first place, remaining perfectly willing to listen to the economists’ reasoning afterwards, but, hopefully, with our portfolio value still largely intact”

WHAT IS OUR STRATEGY? With all that is going on at the moment, we aim to keep things as simple as possible. According to Daniel J Levitin, in his book The Organized Mind, we take in five times more information in a single day now than we did in 1986. Yet our colleagues, clients and family expect immediate answers and constant contact due to the various methods of communication that exist today, and productivity has actually been shown to fall the more wired we are to the constant onslaught of information. “In today’s age when we are overloaded with piecemeal information, true insight that cuts through the noise and finds the signal will be able to command a premium” [BCA Research, June, 2015]. This is what, as investment managers, we aim to do.

Cutting through the noise, we ask ourselves, “From here, over the next few months, are markets likely to rise strongly?” Or, “From here, over the next few months, what are the chances of markets falling?” The answer to the former is no. The answer to the latter is quite probably.

Neither is definitive. And so, our strategy is to play safer than we have been doing by raising our cash levels. This does not mean that our portfolios will not fall if the markets fall, but that they should fall less. This is because, if we are wrong and markets recover without a correction occurring, we don’t want to miss out on this because we are all cashed up. By raising cash levels from here, however, we are giving ourselves the opportunity to take advantage of better prices and subsequently healthier overall returns for clients should a correction occur.

And that is as simple a strategy as we can think of during times of excessive short-term threats.

Sources: BCA Research –June 2015

The information contained within this feature is for guidance only and is not a recommendation of any investment or a financial promotion.

A “Grexit” increases in likelihood as the weeks go by and markets will almost certainly react negatively if it happens. Greece in itself will not cause too much hardship to the Union should it leave, but it will be the inevitable “who’s next” game that will most likely cause ripples.

Skerritt Consultants, Skerritt House, 23 Coleridge Street, Hove, BN3 5AB. Tel: 01273 204 999.

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{ LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP }

GREEN LIGHT FOR GROWTH Chairman Tim Wates looks back over the past year – a period when Coast to Capital LEP significantly expanded its reach, remit and investments for the region…

T

his has been an exciting year for Coast to Capital. Following the announcements of our Growth Deal and our Extended Growth Deal – both of which will see millions invested in our region – a significant projects delivery programme is now being implemented.

With our partners, we are investing thoughtfully in all of the industries and infrastructure that will carry our region into the future. Whilst there will be some short-term gains, the long-lasting legacy of these projects will benefit all those who visit, work, study and invest in our region.

During the past year, whilst we have been negotiating with Government on our region’s behalf, our board and management teams have continued to engage with the people, companies and communities that matter across our region.

It is important to us that an equitable balance is achieved from the Growth Deal, spreading the benefits across a broad range of communities.

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Coast to Capital now has an extended network that includes our region’s business associations, higher and further education, local area partners and the third sector. Together we have combined to form a strong and united approach which reflects our priorities for investment, infrastructure and business support.

Coast to Capital’s strategy and our long-term vision for the region have been determined and we are clear in our ambition to become one of the UK’s leading Local Enterprise Partnerships.

We want to be a force for change and a major influence for economic development excellence, nationally as well as locally.

My colleagues and I look forward to seeing our projects and initiatives being realised as we enter this exciting yet challenging implementation phase.

GROWTH DEAL HIGHLIGHTS In 2014, Coast to Capital agreed a £202 million Growth Deal with central Government to achieve a sixyear investment programme in jobs, infrastructure and transport. Beginning with £38m of new funding in 2015/16, over the life of the Growth Deal, the funding is projected to provide: • Up to 21,000 jobs • Up to 9,000 homes • 380,000 square metres of employment space • Up to £350m investment into the Coast to Capital economy from the public and private sector

{ LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP }

“Coast to Capital now stands at the heart of the business relationship between Whitehall and our local authority partners” KEY ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2014-15 Bringing investment to our region • • • • • • • • •

£238 million Local Growth Fund secured £61.2 million secured from the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) £23.6 million Growing Places Fund secured, enabling seven business loans for large scale infrastructure development £3 million investments in businesses made from the Regional Growth Fund £30 million investment in East Surrey’s transport infrastructure £13.7 million secured to deliver transport and infrastructure improvements in Brighton and Hove £7.1 million to upgrade West Sussex’s transport infrastructure £810,000 secured to support the Growth Hub Business Navigator, which has helped more than 2,200 businesses to date Provided support to local authorities to access the Public Works Loan Board

Enabling companies to expand and create jobs • • • • • • • • •

£2.2 million Business Growth Grants fund enabled 39 companies to create more than 300 new jobs £500,000 initial investment won by Coast to Capital led consortia to fund a ‘Digital Catapult’ centre – one of just three in the UK £88,694 to fund a Small Business Digital Capability project £17,500 from the Skills Funding Agency to run apprenticeships workshops 137 representatives from enterprise agencies, membership organisations, local authorities, partnerships, intermediaries and the HE/FE sector participated in the Coast to Capital Business Providers Network 18 foreign owned companies set up operations in our region creating 337 new jobs 2,205 businesses were supported via the Business Navigator Service, which includes an online business support services directory and events calendar Delivered a Business Engagement programme to understand the challenges and views of business leaders and business organisations across the region and to promote Coast to Capital funded programmes Supported Export Week and Global Entrepreneurship Week

Creating collaborations and driving partnerships • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Published the Strategic Economic Plan – unanimously agreed by the Coast to Capital Joint Committee of all 17 authorities Published a regional Skills Strategy and established a Skills Committee focusing on meeting business skills needs and generating sustainable employment Published the Local Transport Board Strategy Published the European Structural Investment Fund (ESIF) Strategy Established the new Greater Brighton Economic Board, which will oversee a six year programme of investment in jobs, housing, business and skills Prepared a Rural Statement, with our rural partners, to ensure we “rural proof” everything we do Worked with DEFRA to bring pilot Food Enterprise Zones to the region Supported Skills Funding Agency in re-contracting the National Careers Service in our region Supported three successful LEADER bids from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) to improve the rural economy Supported a range of enterprise-related events, including a joint event with the Business Growth Service and the Eco-Technology Show Published agreed key performance indicators to measure the economic performance of our region Supported the activities of the LEP National Network.

Supported the London Borough of Croydon in its ‘Growth Zone’ ambitions

Discover more online at www.coast2capital.org.uk

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Sussex-based Skerritts have won the industry-recognised Citywire New Model Adviser award for the South East for the 5th successive year. The awards were presented by comedian and TV presenter Clive Anderson.

{ SOCIAL MEDIA }

THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT

By Lucy Wilkes totalsocsec@gmail.com www.totalsocialsecretary.com

O

ver 1500 apps a month are being submitted for launch as designers drill deeper into developing tools to support every facet of our lives. Whether it’s a high street bank, music, shopping, health monitors or maddening games, there’s an app for it. Most devices now come with standard Twitter and Facebook apps; I would also recommend adding in the key business Linkedin option, and have a few more to suggest.

An issue that has plagued us for years is the abundance of business cards stuffed into wallets, or collecting dust in a desktop box - but the CAMCARD app (entry level free) changes that. Simply take a quick photo via CAMCARD (camera option installed within the app) of a proffered business card and it will be saved to your designated contacts list with full image and contact information. You can also exchange business cards via this app by saving your card and emailing it to a new contact, so no more loose cards cluttering up desk drawers, and an easy-to-manage address book with contacts at the touch of a button..

Accountants are now breathing a sigh of relief as clients download the EXPENSIFY app (free for individual use and costs £3 per multiple business user). This pleasantly laid out app prompts the user to upload bank details, capture receipts, file under specific categories, tag

as reimbursable or billable and finally create a company report at the end of each month.

Another option is the SMART RECEIPT app (free), which doesn`t require bank access, but quickly and easily stores receipts and gives the user the option to email forward as saved pdfs. At last the notion of presenting envelopes stuffed with receipts to a weary bookkeeper is finally behind us all.

“Accountants are now breathing a sigh of relief as clients download the EXPENSIFY app”

Utilising the FASTSCANNER app (entry level free, costs £2.44 to remove the annoying ads that stream across the bottom of the screen) has proved incredibly useful on a daily basis. As it says, simply open the app, click on the camera icon and scan paperwork. The app gives the

option to lighten or darken the image, then save as pdf, ready to email or share as appropriate.

Ideal for contracts, tickets and legal documents, and straightforward to use.

I mentioned the (free) PERISCOPE app last month: this app gives the user the option to broadcast live to the world. The ideal way to work Periscope is to tweet alerts to your existing followers on Twitter, telling them that you will be live “scoping” an event or talk at a designated time This will then prompt them to follow you on Periscope and tune in to watch you at the advertised time. Still in its infancy, it would be advisable to start utilising this app sooner rather than later as its potential to promote business brands and events is huge, and every user - whether it’s NIKE or your local restaurant - is starting on Periscope with zero users and having to build their followers on this app from scratch.

With summer holidays coming, the increase in traffic, the frustration of scanning a packed five-storey car park looking for your car are now no longer issues with CAR LOCATOR app (£2.44), which uses GPS to track and save your location and guide you back to your vehicle at a later date.

Do let me know what apps you find most useful @totalsocagency, and I look forward to hearing from you.

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TRAVEL CAN BE TAXING...

Rupert Moyle, Director of VAT and Duty at Kreston Reeves, warns of VAT traps for international events

M

ost businesses are used to the ‘general rule’, introduced in 2010, for determining where VAT is due on services supplied between businesses.

As a reminder for those involved with international trade, the rule means in practice that UK VAT is not charged on general rule services where the customer is based abroad.

Instead, a customer would charge itself VAT at the local rate, under a ‘reverse charge’ procedure. This also means that a UK recipient of a supply of a service has to self-account for

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VAT on most services bought from outside the UK. A warning here: purchases from outside the EU also require a reverse charge, and, for those not registered, reverse charges count as taxable supplies towards the registration threshold.

There are exceptions to the general rule, the most common of which relates to real estate.

Again, businesses are familiar with the rules, that is, any VAT is due where a property /land is located.

These rules determine the place of supply, not the treatment. UK supplies of property are often

exempt from VAT (subject to an option to tax for commercial properties). Other countries may also apply similar rules and reliefs from VAT. As an aside, although there is a common framework for VAT within the EU, the EU Directive has been interpreted differently by member states. There is discretion in some areas of the tax. Rates, too, can vary, or simplifications may apply. The message here is that wherever you undertake international transactions and events you should seek local specialist VAT advice.

{ ACCOUNTS }

Overseas events – a problematic exception Although the 2010 change has not been overly difficult to apply, there have been further VAT Package changes, the last of which occurred this year.

The change which in my view causes the most headaches concerns events, including fairs, conferences and exhibitions. This exception to the general rule arrived in 2011. There are problems for both event owners and organisers.

The exception rules seem clear at first glance. Charging for admission to an event, or services that are ‘ancillary’ to the admission, are treated as being supplied where the event takes place, whether customers are in business or otherwise.

I will highlight some of the issues below.

Firstly, you must decide if the event is a oneoff conference or part of a course of tuition (which falls outside the ‘event’ rules).

What does ‘ancillary’ cover? EU legislation includes cloakrooms and sanitary facilities but not assistance in selling tickets. What else might be ancillary? You may need to take advice.

Most importantly, there needs to be a careful analysis of what is actually being supplied. Too often event owners, especially smaller charities and membership bodies, engage a third-party organiser, but do not themselves consider their obligations, or the effect this may have on their VAT status and recovery position.

Event owners need to consider if there are supplies in addition to attendee admission, such as sponsorship, stand hire and accommodation.

An example: To illustrate how events can cause problems, a charitable organisation held an educational conference and agreed to share its profits from the event with a related body. It usually treated delegate income as exempt from VAT as it was an ‘eligible body’.

The main issue was that the ‘profit share’ might breach the eligible body rules, which preclude the distribution of profits, leading to 20% VAT on tickets. Alternatively, as the body sharing the profits owned rights to the event, the share could have been interpreted as payment for the right to hold the event.

This situation might lead to a reverse charge by the charity, resulting in a cost if delegate income was exempt. This in turn would reduce the profits and so the share would need to be adjusted. The charity also had issues with accommodation it sold (Tour Operators Margin Scheme applying), stand hire and the effect the event would have on its VAT recovery position.

Where events are being organised by third parties, what is being supplied and the related consequences need to be considered properly.

Assumptions can be made, for example that a client is an ‘eligible body’ and can exempt its education. Are there exemptions for cultural or educational events where the event is held? Are there different rates applicable? A degree of control must be retained by the ‘owner’ as it is they who are ultimately responsible for the VAT declarations.

There is difficulty, too, with regard to stand hire. HMRC realised in 2012 that its policy of treating stand hire as a land-related service was contrary to other member states - which treated the supply as a general rule service.

This gave rise to double taxation as UK VAT would be charged (assuming an option to tax of the venue), as well as a reverse charge by the customer. Fortunately, HMRC changed their policy in August 2012, stating that any ‘package’

of services included with the ‘land’ would be regarded as a general rule ‘service’.

More generally, if businesses are supplying a number of different ‘supplies’, they must establish if there is a predominant supply, which determines the liability of all of the supplies.

Otherwise, the supplies may be ‘mixed’ without a predominant element and so could attract their individual VAT treatment.

“The message here is that wherever you undertake international transactions and events you should seek local specialist VAT advice” In addition, a business needs to determine the status of its customers and where they are established. This will not be of issue if they are simply charging for admission, but could be for other services in connection with events.

Supplies to non-business consumers may have a place of supply where the activities are actually performed.

Finally, I should mention certain administrative issues with events held abroad.

For example, invoicing requirements and the frequency of return filing in other countries need to be understood. The timing of registration can be problematic where advance payments are received. Also, where registration abroad is not required, but VAT is then incurred on costs, an overseas refund claim may be appropriate.

And, to end on a word of warning, late registration can attract penalties, the value of which will depend on the amount of tax due and the local penalty regime.

To find out more about the potential VAT liabilities and refunds on overseas events, please contact Rupert Moyle on 01293 855121 or rupert.moyle@krestonreeves.com.

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GOOD JOB OR GREAT JOB?

By Steve Amos

‘There are no two words in the English language more harmful than “good job”.’

W

hat do you think of this quote?

It’s from Terence Fletcher, the brutal music teacher in the Oscarnominated film ‘Whiplash’. Fletcher’s view is that telling someone they’ve done a ‘good job’ leads them to settle for mediocrity, and stops them from pushing themselves to be the best they can be. His alternative is to seize on every mistake, and to humiliate the individual responsible in front of their peers.

In the film this approach ultimately enables Fletcher’s student, Andrew Neiman, to achieve greatness as a jazz drummer. But along the way it leads to him being involved in a near-

40

fatal car crash, a law suit, and destroys his relationship with his girlfriend.

Professional sport is often seen as a similarly macho environment, where individuals need to be stretched to their limits to fulfil their potential. Sir Alex Ferguson was often seen as a master motivator, but when he overstepped the mark and hurled a boot at David Beckham he soon found his star winger leaving Old Trafford for Real Madrid. What had been a productive relationship was broken by brutality.

This was unusual for Ferguson, who by and large managed more nuanced relationships with his players. He knew when to let rip

with the infamous ‘hairdryer treatment’, but also when to treat them with kindness and sensitivity. This ability to adapt to different people, in different circumstances, at different times, is key to getting people to perform at their best.

I recently heard Graeme Swann being interviewed about his time with the England cricket team. He identified Ian Bell as a player who, for all his experience, still needs plenty of praise and encouragement. James Anderson, on the other hand, finds praise embarrassing, even when he’s done a great job, and prefers to be left alone. It’s different strokes for different

{ BUSINESS TRAINING } How can we get the balance right? Three key tips: 1. Recognise that everyone’s different, and be ready to adapt your approach to the individual. What worked with one team member won’t necessarily work with someone else.

2. Ask questions. Questions are key to finding out about people, so we can discover how the world looks to them.

They’re also a great way to get people to reflect on their own beliefs, attitudes and approaches, and consider whether they need to change.

3. Push your most talented people to give their best. But do it carefully, not by stretching them to breaking point.

4. Finally, don’t feel you have to do all this by yourself. There’s a lot of advice available, and a lot of learning material around. Make use of it, both for yourself and your team members. Unlike Terence Fletcher, I think you’ll find it a lot more developmental than throwing a cymbal at someone’s head.

Steve Amos is a trainer and author. He is editor in chief with Cherrystone Ltd, and lead consultant with the imaginatively named Steve Amos Training Consultancy.

Email: steve@cherrystone.org.uk

“Fletcher’s view is that telling someone they’ve done a ‘good job’ leads them to settle for mediocrity, and stops them from pushing themselves to be the best they can be. His alternative is to seize on every mistake, and to humiliate the individual responsible in front of their peers”

folks, but at no point did I hear Swann identify anyone who benefited from being abused.

My own belief, from over 30 years’ experience as a manager and trainer, is that people learn and develop from being stretched, but not from being humiliated. The times when I’ve pushed people too hard are the times when I’ve lost them, and failed to help them fulfil their potential. But equally there are times when I’ve allowed people to remain in their comfort zone, without providing the constructive challenge to enable them to move forward.

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{ AIRPORT EXPANSION }

RUNWAY TO GROWTH OR POLITICAL MINEFIELD? Ian Trevett on the dilemma facing David Cameron

P

oliticians strive to create a legacy and crave their place in history as someone who made a difference. It rarely works that way. They are more likely to be defined by a broken promise, a controversial policy or a flippant remark. Blair wanted to create a fairer society by investing in education and health but will always the man who took us to a bitter war in Iraq. Clegg finally opened the door to power for the Liberal Democrats but lost any credibility by ditching his pledge to abolish student tuition fees. Jim Callaghan will forever be associated with his dismissive”Crisis, what Crisis?” remark during the strike-ridden winter of discontent (even though he never actually said it).

David Cameron knows how easily a reputation can be decimated, and he faces the dilemma of either back-tracking on his muchquoted, adamant declaration, “No ifs, no buts, there will be no third runway at Heathrow,” or dismissing the independent recommendations of a commission that he instigated.

Sir Howard Davies and his hard-working team spent years examining reams of submitted evidence, whether it was delving into

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the intricacies of carbon-capped forecasts and or calculating impacts on the wider economy through Spatial Computable Generalised Equilibrium models. But, ultimately, the delivery of a new runway will be all about the politics.

The froth of champagne from Heathrow was still fizzing when the political initiative was unceremoniously snatched away by the objectors. Within minutes Boris was live on TV, grabbing all available limelight and railing against this “catastrophic decision”. The problem for Cameron goes deeper than a few sound-bites from the scruffy one. The opposition to Heathrow is a bit too close to home.

The political minefield was neatly summarised in The Economist: “At least five cabinet ministers are against it, along with several well-known MPs. Opposition to the expansion of Heathrow helped Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, achieve a resounding victory, and he is still staunchly opposed to it. If Mr Cameron wants another Tory in City Hall then expanding Heathrow could put him in a pickle. Zac Goldsmith, the MP for Richmond, the Tory front-runner to replace Mr

Johnson, has already threatened to resign from his seat if another runway goes ahead.

“Meanwhile, six marginal seats sit under the flight path in west London, and their wellheeled constituents are more vocal than most.

Two of these—Brentford and Isleworth, and Ealing Central—were won by Labour from the Tories in May’s general election by candidates who specifically asserted that they were against expansion.”

It may be that none of this matters. Cameron’s majority is slender, but the opposition has been, at least temporarily, neutered. Labour’s big problem is not that they need to find a new leader, but that no-one seems the slightest bit interested in the leadership contest. But if Labour does manage to find a leader who starts connecting with ordinary people, the Conservatives will need to be wary. The referendum on Europe may not erupt into the civil war so often predicted, as the party will surely have been working hard to mitigate such a disastrous scenario. The divisive, personal battles between the Europhiles and the sceptics during the late 1980s and early 1990s, were

{ AIRPORT EXPANSION }

“The froth of champagne from Heathrow was still fizzing when the political initiative was unceremoniously snatched away by the objectors” symptoms of a complacent and arrogant party. After 18 years of waiting for power, the MPs will be all too aware of the risks - but a bitter row over a new runway may well spontaneously erupt. After all, who would have predicted that the biggest internal row in the Thatcher years would be over a rescue bid for a helicopter manufacturer?

The politics shouldn’t matter. The recommendation of an Airport Commission should really be the final word. The conclusion they drew was forthright.

“The benefits of competition are much higher for the Heathrow schemes than the Gatwick Airport Second Runway scheme. At an expanded Gatwick the benefits of competition would depend on whether the airport would be able to successfully attract long-haul carriers in the future, which creates a risk around their realisation.

“Gatwick is unlikely to provide as much of the type of capacity which is most urgently required: long-haul destinations in new markets. Heathrow can provide that capacity most easily and quickly. The benefits are significantly greater for business passengers, freight operators and the broader economy. All passengers will benefit from enhanced competition.”

So the final word? The conclusion, quite rightly, responds to the remit outlined at the outset. The commission was charged with producing: • An Interim Report, published at the end of 2013, setting out the nature, scale and timing of steps needed to maintain the UK’s global hub status alongside recommendations for making better use of the UK’s existing runway capacity over the next five years; and • A Final Report by summer 2015 setting out recommendations on how to meet any need for additional airport capacity in the longer term.

So is it all about being a hub? In which case it has to be Heathrow, which is a hub already. I’m told by those in the travel industry that having a hub is vitally important, but I’ve still to work out how we actually benefit from someone swopping planes at Heathrow. I’m sure the chap who owns the Costa Coffee franchise in the connecting corridor will enjoy the trade, but does it really matter to the UK economy?

Gatwick maintains it should be about origin/destination passengers that start or end their journey in the UK, and I am inclined to agree.

The panel have deliberated and made their verdict. So, surely politicians should now just rubber-stamp the decision and get the bulldozers on stand-by. However, Sir Howard has kept the door enticingly ajar, leaving enough oxygen for Gatwick to continue their fight. The Executive Summary of the Report declared that ‘Each of the schemes shortlisted was considered a credible option for expansion, capable of delivering valuable enhancements to the UK’s aviation capacity and connectivity.’

Added to the caveats and conditions that have to be met before a third runway at Heathrow will be acceptable, such as no night flights and keeping to acceptable performance on air quality, it is clear that this debate is far from over. On the next three pages Gatwick delivers a compelling case against the recommendation.

And you can’t escape the conclusion that the decision will have more to do with the electoral interests of the MPs whose seats are closest to the airports, most of whom just happen to be members of the cabinet.

WHERE DO LOCAL MPS STAND ON THE DEBATE? The Surrey Comet and the Croydon Guardian newspapers reported their predictions on how local MPs would react, with many tweeting their thoughts:

NO THIRD RUNWAY AT HEATHROW Wimbledon Conservative MP Stephen Hammond: “Airport Comm recommends Htrw 3rd Runway. I remain opposed and don’t believe will happen.”

Tooting Labour MP (and potential mayoral candidate) Sadiq Khan: “A 3rd #Heathrow runway would cause misery for Londoners.”

Kingston Conservative MP James Berry is against a third runway.

Twickenham Conservative MP Tania Mathias stands ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with Zac Goldsmith against a third runway at Heathrow.

Conservative MP for Sutton Paul Scully was photographed with Zac Goldsmith and says: “The Heathrow flight path is predicted to go over Sutton.”

Cabinet minister Philip Hammond, Conservative MP for Runnymede and Weybridge, has called for the expansion of Gatwick and rejected expansion for Heathrow.

Conservative Jane Ellison, MP for Battersea, Balham & Wandsworth, is also against.

Conservative Justine Greening’s opposition was said to be a reason why she was reshuffled from transport secretary in 2012 and as a sign of the PM’s change of stance on the runway.

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake, Carshalton and Wallington: “Asked Transport Sec. for guarantee, no ifs, no buts, that residents lives won’t be blighted by more noise if 3rd runway @ H’row. Silence” Other opponents include Theresa May in Maidenhead.

EXPAND HEATHROW Mitcham & Morden Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh: “Sorry but I agree with 3rd runway at Heathrow & I am confident most Londoners do even in the constituencies most effected!”

Sir Paul Beresford, Conservative MP for Mole Valley, said: “Mole Valley’s green spaces, its core services and its unique character are all safer as a result of this decision. Reason and logic have prevailed over a sharp PR campaign by Gatwick.”

Crispin Blunt, Conservative MP for Reigate and Banstead, also welcomed the recommendation.

Other Gatwick opponents include Henry Smith MP for Crawley and Sir Nicholas Soames MP for Mid Sussex EXPAND GATWICK All three Croydon MPs back Gatwick.

Central Conservative MP Gavin Barwell (Conservative) Croydon South MP Chris Philp (Conservative) Croydon North MP Steve Reed (Labour) There is also support along the South Coast, notably Caroline Ansell MP for Eastbourne.

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GATWICK FIGHTS ON The battle for London’s next runway is far from over, with Gatwick calling the conclusions of the Airport Commission into question.

T

he ink had hardly dried on the Final Report by the Airport Commission when Gatwick Airport came out fighting with their ‘Initial response to the Airport’s Commission’s recommendation report’. In presenting the report, the Chair of the Gatwick Airport Board, Sir Roy McNulty, had strong words: “Our view has always been that the assessments on which the Commission’s conclusions are based must be thorough, balanced, fair and well evidenced.

“We believe that the Commission’s report falls short of this standard in a number of very important respects. As a result, the many strengths of Gatwick and the many challenges

44

of Heathrow are underplayed, leading to a conclusion which we believe is flawed.

“The Airports Commission has made its recommendation and it is now for the Government to decide.

“We are confident that when they do make their decision they will choose Gatwick as the best option for the economy and the environment, and - most importantly - after decades of delay, the option that is actually deliverable.”

SO WHAT EXACTLY WERE GATWICK’S OBJECTIONS? Gatwick Airport’s case against the Commission’s conclusions were broken up into seven sections,

which we have summarised below: TRAFFIC The Commission under-forecasts future traffic at an expanded Gatwick. For example, they forecast that Gatwick will reach passenger volumes of 40million in 2024; the airport will actually reach that level in 2015.

The Commission forecasts that if Gatwick is expanded by one runway, in the first year of operations it will only generate an additional 2 million passengers, despite the fact that Gatwick grew by 2.7 million passengers last year with one single runway and limited slot availability. The Commission also states that after five years with

{ AIRPORT EXPANSION } would all restrict traffic growth, but none of these restrictions are factored into its forecasts. These restrictions are important for the Commission’s conclusions as they could have a significant impact on existing and new long-haul capacity, which is at the heart of the Commission’s view of the appeal of Heathrow’s case.

The Commission’s assessment rests on these flawed traffic forecasts, which inevitably make the economic case for Gatwick less attractive than Heathrow.

ECONOMIC CASE The Commission’s own analysis - based on HM Treasury guidelines - shows relatively modest differences in economic benefit between Heathrow (£33.6 - 54.8billion) and Gatwick (£27.2 - 47.1billion), although the Commission’s conclusion relies heavily on numbers calculated by a different methodology.

The economic benefits for the UK from airport expansion come from meeting the demand of ‘origin/destination’ passengers who start or end their journey in the UK, and not from ‘transfer’ passengers merely using the UK as a convenient transit point on their way from one country to another.

The Commission’s central expectation is that by 2030 the total number of UK ‘origin/ destination’ passengers will be identical (294m passengers), whether Gatwick or Heathrow is expanded. Thereafter, a gap emerges, with more ‘origin/destination’ passengers in the UK with Gatwick expanded rather than Heathrow. So, even the Commission’s own forecasts demonstrate that expansion at Gatwick better enables the UK to meet the demand from such passengers. a second runway, Gatwick will have an additional 8m passengers - fewer than Heathrow would have after one year with a third runway.

It is simply not credible that by 2025, after another ten years of market growth in a system where no other airport is adding capacity, a Gatwick that has doubled its capacity and has, in particular, many peak-hour slots available, would grow less than it did last year.

In contrast, the Commission’s forecasts suggest that if Heathrow is expanded by one runway it will immediately generate an additional 12 million passengers a year in the first year of operations - a number greater than the total traffic of Luton Airport today. The Commission further assumes there will be an additional 35 million passengers at Heathrow within five years, almost as many as the whole of Gatwick today.

The Commission also suggests a complete ban on night flights at Heathrow would be necessary, alongside other restrictions on noise. These

PASSENGER BENEFITS The Commission acknowledges that the majority of new traffic over coming decades will be to European markets but recommends a solution that is almost entirely focused on long-haul; it also fails to consider the role that Gatwick could play in the long-haul market.

The Commission acknowledges that 60%70% of new traffic over the period under review will be short-haul to European markets, and there is considerable social value in passengers travelling for leisure and visiting friends and relatives.

The Commission argues that the lack of capacity is already preventing the development of new links to emerging markets. This is disproved by analysis of the new routes BA has launched from Heathrow during the last two years: • To leisure destinations 10 • To emerging markets 2 • Other 2

The fact that BA has launched only two new routes to emerging markets in this period clearly stems from normal commercial considerations rather than from capacity constraints.

Heathrow is already the most expensive airport in the world. The costs to passengers will rise further with a third runway. Expansion at Heathrow will significantly increase the average price of travel for the rest of passengers travelling through the London airport system. This is not adequately addressed by the Commission.

“We are confident that when they do make their decision they will choose Gatwick as the best option for the economy and the environment” COMPETITION Expanding Gatwick would enhance competition, but the Commission recommends increasing market dominance at Heathrow.

The Commission’s argument appears to rest on the idea that, because there is presently less competition in the long-haul market than there is in the short-haul market, expanding Heathrow will generate competition.

It is hard to see how turning the clock back and recreating what would essentially be a new monopoly at Heathrow sits alongside the success of airport liberalisation following the Competition Commission’s recommendation to break up BAA in 2009.

There are many examples and much academic evidence to demonstrate that competition from different airports provides greater price discipline than competition at a single airport.

An expanded Gatwick would further competition between airports, encouraging greater choice, innovation and service improvements.

NOISE The huge differential in noise impact between the two airports is largely glossed over; for example, relatively little emphasis is given to the 320,000 people ‘newly affected’ by Heathrow expansion compared to 18,000 at Gatwick.

45

The Commission also sets out a number of conditions on noise, such as night flights, but it is already clear that Heathrow is unable to say whether or how they would be able to meet these restrictions.

Furthermore, the Commission recommends measures to “address the environmental and community impacts” from an expanded Heathrow, but it offers no explanation as to why such measures would make expansion there acceptable.

AIR QUALITY The Commission largely ignores the fact that Heathrow today breaches legal limits without a third runway; Gatwick would meet targets with a second runway.

The Commission rightly states that “air quality is clearly a problem”, but in essence, the Commission considers that it is acceptable for the area around Heathrow to continue to breach the health-based legal limit values of nitrogen dioxide as long as air quality there never gets any worse than the most polluted location in London. If a third runway was to open in 2030, the most polluted location is currently predicted to be Heathrow, but the Commission concludes that, with mitigation, Heathrow may be able to drop behind Marylebone Road and to be only the second most polluted place in London.

Notwithstanding its own assessments, the Commission suggests two possible safeguards: Consideration of a congestion charge at Heathrow and the area around it. However, the scale and wider implications of a congestion charge have not been considered.

A condition that additional operations at an expanded Heathrow must be contingent on acceptable performance on air quality. However, the Commission does not indicate how such a safeguard could work, and it fails to assess the impacts of such a condition on the financeability of the scheme, since there is no certainty that limit values will be met in the future or, if they

46

are, when they will be met.

Gatwick has taken legal advice which confirms that the expansion at Heathrow carries a very significant risk of being unlawful. This risk has not been factored into the Commission’s conclusions.

“Expanding Gatwick would enhance competition, but the Commission recommends increasing market dominance at Heathrow”

DELIVERABILITY The Commission downplays the very considerable delivery risks and financial challenges at Heathrow compared to the Gatwick scheme, which is comparatively straightforward.

The Commission has significantly underplayed the disruption from Heathrow expansion. Not only has it not costed the disruption caused by construction, it has taken insufficient account of the requirement to treat or relocate 9m cubic metres of landfill and to relocate a very substantial waste-to-energy plant. In its initial report, the Commission stated that the “planning and construction of an Energy from Waste plant is a substantial exercise in its own right, whose timescales are not substantially shorter than the delivery of a new runway.” However, the risks and costs associated with this have not been addressed in the final report.

The Heathrow scheme faces significant risks in terms of noise impacts and breaches of legal limits on air quality. Previous Heathrow schemes have had tight planning restrictions imposed to alleviate environmental concerns, and it is very possible that such restrictions will again be imposed – impacting on the scheme’s viability.

The Heathrow scheme also faces very significant financing issues. The Commission points out that an annual financing requirement of up to £6bn, or 13% of total market capacity in 2013, would be necessary for Heathrow.

Heathrow’s financing requirement is sustained for several years. The ability of investors to absorb repeated and substantial bond issuance from a single issuer will be severely constrained by their own limits on concentration. This may be further affected by adverse market events that could be expected over any five-year period.

CONCLUSION The traffic and economic case for Heathrow is significantly overstated compared to Gatwick, whereas the major environmental advantages of expansion at Gatwick are largely downplayed.

The benefit of competition through a network of airports is stated to be less than through the re-creation of a monopoly.

Gatwick’s very significant strengths regarding deliverability are largely ignored, which means that the most important risk of all is overlooked – namely, the risk that, once again, nothing happens. Many things can change in the future, but one thing that cannot change is Heathrow’s location. There are very real reasons why expansion at Heathrow has not happened in the past. The flaws in the Commission’s Report mean there is a real danger that history will repeat itself and nothing at all will be done to expand runway capacity in the UK. AND SO, THE DEBATE GOES ON. GATWICK FIGHTS ON...

Award winning business, tax and wealth advice For a complimentary initial discussion on any of your accounting, tax or financial planning needs please contact Shirley Smith on: T: +44 (0)1293 776152 E: shirley.smith@krestonreeves.com Offices across London, Gatwick and Kent

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Do you want to be part of a winning team?

Hastings Direct is an agile and fast moving insurance company which continues to challenge industry convention and remains one of the fastest growing insurance providers in the UK, with over 1.7 million customers. As an ambitious, industry innovator, we are seeking talented individuals to join our multi-award winning team at our head office based in Bexhill-on-Sea. In a culture which recognises achievement and actively promotes career progression, we can offer you the tools to excel and continue to grow with us in the future.

We have a variety of exciting opportunities across an array of business functions including: Technical engineering manager Accountable for managing the IT Infrastructure team across multiple disciplines including databases, servers, storage and networks.

Claims planning business partner To lead a team responsible for forecasting contact volumes and designing appropriate shift patterns and schedules for colleagues across multiple functions.

Senior systems engineer Overseeing the implementation and support of the Hastings infrastructure services across the systems, storage and virtualisation environments, whether these are on-premise, cloud or hybrid configurations.

Senior finance business partner Acting as an integral link between the Finance Department and the wider business, this role is responsible for planning, analysing and reporting on the financial and operational aspects of the company.

Senior network engineer Assisting in the development strategy for the corporate network, creating and articulating network infrastructure solutions, and addressing the core network architecture and design requirements for Hastings Direct.

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We’re on the lookout for great people, so experience is not required as we will invest lots of time up front in our fantastic training environment. All we need from you is the flexibility to work when our customers need us and to enjoy working as part of a team. If that sounds like you and you have basic computer and communication skills, as well as the drive to really go places, we want to hear from you.

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BE THE CHANGE

By Amanda Menahem, HR Director ww.hastingsdirect.com

R

eaders of this magazine know I am passionate about forging ever stronger links between business and academia.

We have made great progress with Brighton University and the launch of our Undergraduate business leadership programme. We now have our Executive Committee lined up to sponsor and mentor, providing real business challenges for these keen undergraduates to get their teeth stuck into, developing real world skills along the way.

The success in getting this programme up and running has been in part to do with how Brighton Business School has embraced our vision and worked with us to make it a reality.

I wish other colleges and universities had the appetite, means and resources to do the same.

Such programmes should not be left to whim but rather should be offered as standard. Just as there are Foundation Programmes for students to bridge the gap between school and university so too should there be ‘pre-employment’ type programmes such as ours, offered as standard.

But how do we make this happen?

We need to demonstrate the benefits to business so that they get involved and don’t see it as an expense but rather an investment, and a cost effective one at that. Similarly, we need to remove the barriers to help our colleges and universities. First we need to fully understand what these barriers are. This means dialogue. I know there is an appetite for this in our region

and I’m keen to see how this develops and be part of the conversation.

But let’s think bigger than this. If we are really going to make a difference to employment, skills, and economic prosperity we need to think much more broadly. Yes we need to target those still at school. That’s a given. But I’m not talking about just careers advice. Unfortunately that often falls upon deaf ears with limited value. I wonder how many of us ended up doing what a careers advisor told us?

“The programme genuinely inspires fundamental change in attitude, outlook and inner confidence”

Much more powerful would be to equip school kids with the thinking skills and inner confidence to understand that they are the masters of their

own destiny and that they have choices in how they think, feel and behave. That this in turn impacts how others respond to them and in turn the success they can expect at school, in work, career and life in general. I have long felt that this has been a missing link in our plight – we have been ignoring the ‘psychological’ elements of the development of our youth. Without these thinking skills, skills for life, then success will always be limited. We learn about these things once we get to management positions – and once we learn them, they supercharge our effectiveness and change people’s lives.

Why do we wait until then? and why do we rely on businesses to do it?

This is why I’m very excited about an initiative called Be the Change. I was lucky enough to observe this programme in action run by an impressive organisation ‘Humanutopia’.

They are working with LoveLocalJobs in an inspiring mission to reach every young person in Sussex. The programme genuinely inspires fundamental change in attitude, outlook and inner confidence and LoveLocalJobs is working with them to link this to the workplace. They will be seeking business sponsors and mentors to help them achieve this and I for one will be at the front of the queue. Gary Peters, founder of love local jobs agrees that initiatives like this are absolutely key to ensuring our next generations are inspired, prepared and able for the real world of work.

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TRAVEL IN STYLE T

ravel is glamorous only in retrospect. So said Paul Theroux, noted American novelist and travel writer, and I believe he makes a valid point. Long gone are the days of beautiful leather trunks being loaded (by other people) onto boats and trains, while passengers got on with the pressing business of pre-dinner cocktails in the dining car or lounge.

I think boats and trains are inherently romantic, but most of us travel by plane these days, whether for business or pleasure.

Budget airlines, plastic food, cattle herding through security and the hell of economy do not make for a glamorous or romantic experience, no matter how many glasses of champagne you’ve consumed beforehand in Terminal 5.

“looking effortlessly elegant en route has become more of a challenge”

DRESS FOR THE JOURNEY Furthermore, looking effortlessly elegant en route has become more of a challenge. People used to dress to board their BOAC flight (or steam ship or train), but no one seems to bother these days. Baggy t-shirts, sweatpants (the horror) and flip-flops are too often the norm.

Many of you travel extensively for business, and I’m sure you want to arrive at your destination

50

looking smart, elegant and refreshed - as if you hadn’t travelled at all. How do you achieve this in our fast-moving, casual age?

Firstly, start as you mean to go on. Arrive at the airport looking the part, whether in business dress or smart casual. This does wonders for the level of service you receive, and for potential upgrades.

Gentlemen: if you are in a business suit and carrying hand luggage, pack a spare shirt and socks in your hand luggage; changing into these before landing will make you feel fresher. If you are dressed casually, keep the emphasis on ‘smart’. Choose dark jeans or crisp chinos, with a shirt and blazer (or coordinating jumper if you prefer). Another trick is to wear a clean, crisp t-shirt under your jacket or blazer to travel in

{ PLATINUM STYLE }

Samantha Wilding Tel: 07833 084864 Email: Samantha@styleandgrace.eu Website: www.styleandgrace.eu Twitter: @alwayschicUK

PACKING WELL IS AN ART I think packing well is an art. You want to pack your clothes so that they arrive at your destination relatively crease-free, and also know that you’ve got everything you need. Taking a capsule approach to your packing will help to ensure that everything works together and keeps you looking sharp. Here are some of my packing secrets…

• • •

before changing into a shirt when you land. Be aware, though, that not all airlines have hooks on the seats to hang your jacket or blazer.

Wear shoes that you can get out of easily (loafers are ideal) to minimise delays and fuss at security. And remember my mantra about the details: they matter.

An elegant briefcase or messenger bag makes a great statement, along with a smart passport holder, wallet and watch.

Ladies: keep it simple and streamlined.

For business, a suit or dress with a coordinating scarf (planes are always cold) are good options. If you are travelling casually, keep it tonal – dark jeans and a navy cashmere jumper, or tones of camel and grey, are always elegant. Team these with contrasting accessories (red shoes and bag, for example) that will also work with the outfits you’ve packed.

A word on shoes: again, wear shoes you can slip out of easily, such as ballet flats or loafers. If you choose heels, keep them at a mid-height; you’ll be walking miles of corridors at the airport, and your feet will swell on the plane.

• • • •

Check the weather. It sounds obvious, but many people forget to do this, particularly if it’s a short trip Consider the culture. If you’re heading to the Middle or Far East, for example, check with your company or host about any particular clothing etiquette you need to consider Plan ahead. People think I’m mad, but I always create a list (whether for business or pleasure) of what I plan to take, at least a week before. It gives me time to get any dry cleaning or shoe re-heeling done, as well as giving me a record in case my hold luggage goes astray Roll with it. Roll socks and ties and pack them inside your shoes. When you arrive, hang your ties and steam them in the bathroom (don’t iron them) Label inside and out. Label your luggage with your name and phone number (not your address) both outside and inside (sometimes labels get lost…)

Carry your valuables. Make sure you carry anything valuable, including jewellery and medication, in your hand luggage Check before you travel. Some airlines are looking at changing their rules on hand luggage this year, so do check before you go.

Buck the prevailing trend when you travel and make an effort to look sharp. You never know who you’ll run into in the lounge or sit next to on the plane. And who knows, it may even result in an upgrade!

FEEL GREAT, LOOK GREAT • Carry your toothbrush with you. Brushing before disembarking will help you feel refreshed, no matter how short the flight • Wear sunglasses – a lifesaver if you’re travelling on the red eye…

• Don’t wear white or linen while you travel. It will get grubby or crease like mad– you’ll look a mess at the other end!

• Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Believe me, you will feel less bloated and dehydrated. Drink lots of water instead • Don’t eat airline food! (I swear by this one).

I stock up on salad, fruit and yogurt before I board and graze through the flight • Wear items that you will also wear on your trip.

Make use of hotel services like the trouser press, or steam clothes in the bathroom for a quick refresh

SMART TRAVEL ACCESSORIES • A portable steam brush removes creases, freshens clothing and is much kinder to fabric than ironing • Dust bags for shoes and small accessories, and layers of tissue paper to keep shirts and delicates crease-free • A portable weighing scale can help you avoid excess baggage charges • Small bags to help keep laundry separate • Small bottles (100ml or less) for any liquids or cosmetics you want to carry with you

51

{ ANGER MANAGEMENT }

ANGER MANAGEMENT Utterly failed by Maarten Hoffmann

SOFT TOUCH I

s it just me or is this country the soft-touch capital of the world? I am not a ‘little Englander’, don’t read the Daily Mail and share many liberal views, but how much longer can the UK attempt to live up to its long-gone imperial roots by throwing money around the world like confetti?

We are a small island country, and it is about time we accepted the fact and stopped trying to join in the super league.

Take the tax credit and child welfare issue.

There are now 12,000 children living outside of the UK whose parents receive one or both of these benefits. That’s a rise of 75% in just two years. It means 182 children are being added to the rolls every month. Treasury figures show that in December 2012 a total of 4,011 EU workers were receiving the tax credit for 6,838 children living outside of the UK. By March this year, that increased to 7,026 awards for a total of 11,762 children.

The figures also reveal that a total of 19,579 parents were receiving child benefit for 32,408 children not living in the UK. This is totally unsustainable.

Pawel Swidlicki of the Open Europe think-tank said, “The combination of EU rules and the UK’s universalistic welfare system creates a perverse incentive for newcomers to perform low-wage jobs. They know their pay will be topped up by generous in-work benefits.”

This simply transfers the onus of decent wages

52

from the employer to the government, in other words the taxpayer, whilst leaving the worker having to accept benefits to survive. Long-term benefits benefit nobody.

“The Treasury figures also reveal that a total of 19,579 parents were receiving child benefit for 32,408 children not living in the UK. This is totally unsustainable”

Government overseas aid is another bone of contention. To the delight of NGOs, the Chancellor announced in this month’s budget that the amount the UK spends on aid will hit 0.7% of gross national income this year, making the UK the only G8 member to hit this level. This

represents £11.3 billion a year.

The Prime Minister justifies aid on moral and national interest grounds. In a speech to the UN general assembly last year, Cameron said it was not only a moral obligation that betteroff countries have to tackle poverty in a world where more than one billion people live on less than a dollar a day; he argued it was also in everyone’s interests to build a more prosperous world, otherwise the problems of conflict, mass migration and uncontrollable climate change “will come and visit us at home”.

I could not agree more. Alas, that pragmatic, but moralistic, view can only be taken by a government that has all its ducks in a row back home. Failing this, all developed countries risk being dragged down to the lowest common denominator.

Why do thousands of migrants flood through Europe with dogged determination to reach the UK? They risk their lives to reach these shores.

We have an enviable way of life, but, more likely, we are the soft touch of Europe, to the fury of the French, whose problem it has become.

And we have a double whammy. Forking out over £11 billion a year in international aid would be a pleasure in achieving Cameron’s dream, but we are currently being swamped with migrants looking for a better life and struggling badly to keep up.

A good chunk of international aid should

{ ANGER MANAGEMENT }

“Foreign trade is not a replacement for foreign aid, but foreign aid to a country that doesn’t also engage in significant amounts of trade is more likely to end up in the pockets of dictators and cronies”

be spent at home helping the rapidly growing international population right here to settle and enjoy the services and lifestyle that attracted them in the first place - services that we fought so hard for centuries to create.

The NHS is creaking so loudly that we will either hear an almighty crack soon or it will be privatised by stealth. Our transportation system, roads, schools and green belt are under serious attack by the sheer weight of numbers. But the migrant net benefit, certainly within the first five years, is far outweighed by what they cost the country. Therefore, we are all in danger of lowering our standards to the point that it becomes less attractive for us to remain and for the migrants to come.

Everybody’s standard of life declines. In a recent poll, 82% of migrants settled here stated that we should not accept any more as the mass influx was in danger of changing the very things they came here for. Perhaps a case of pulling the drawbridge up, but an interesting perspective that we should all consider.

While in the EU, we can do little about the numbers arriving, but we can demand the government spend more money on the infrastructure of this country to assist in the resettlement of those internationals coming here rather than those staying there. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy said, “Relations between the United States and other countries, and our role as

a global leader, are advanced by our willingness to help other countries in need. Foreign aid is essential to protecting U.S. interests around the world, and it is also a moral responsibility of the wealthiest, most powerful nation.”

It is indeed a moral responsibility of the wealthiest nation, but we are not the wealthiest nation by a long shot, and we experience a far sharper increase in migrant numbers than most.

The balance is wrong.

Foreign trade is not a replacement for foreign aid, but foreign aid to a country that doesn’t also engage in significant amounts of trade is more likely to end up in the pockets of dictators and cronies. The advanced nations of this world should surely trade the poorest out of their plight,

not just throw money at them, which more often than not seems to end up in the wrong hands.

Foreign aid projects have pumped billions into the Afghan economy and that is now in the hands of those who would destroy us – with our own weapons and our own cash!

Take £5.65 billion to aid the domestic settlement of migrants and use the other £5.65 billion on building factories, training the workforce and establishing free trade with the poorest countries.

Raise them to full international development standards, simultaneously increasing their dignity and self-worth, rather than giving them charity and lowering all our standards to the lowest common denominator.

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{ MEDIA }

FACING THE MEDIA

By Ollie Wilson, PR Professional, Media Coach and Trainer.

F

or most business owners and directors, publicity is like gold dust – free promotion for their companies and products. However, being interviewed by a journalist still holds a terror for many executives, preventing them from making the most of publicity opportunities.

During my career as a national newspaper and TV journalist, I frequently encountered interviewees who were ill-prepared for talking to a reporter and had to have the story coaxed out of them.

KEY MESSAGES Working as a business writer at CNN TV, I would brief the guests before their interviews with the presenter. Sometimes, they were well-coached consummate TV performers with their key messages committed to memory and a ready answer to any tricky questions. Occasionally, they turned up for the early morning show looking hungover and bleary-eyed and behaved on camera like a rabbit caught in car headlights. The owner of one tech start-up, who had somehow blagged a slot out of the guest booker, panicked when asked in his live interview how large his company was and blurted out: “Er, it’s just me and the lad!”

Training and coaching before any kind of media interview is vital to make the most of your big chance.

Firstly, if an interview request comes into

your company, you may need to decide quickly whether to take it and who the appropriate spokesperson should be. There will be a reason why the journalist has contacted you, and, if you have the knowledge and media training, you could be the ideal person.

TIPS Here are some tips for maximising the opportunity: • Always make sure you know who is going to interview you and for approximately how long; • If it is a print journalist, ask what kind of a news story or feature they are working on and who else they are talking to; • For a broadcast journalist, will the interview be live or pre-recorded? Will they help you by telling you up front what the first question will be or even give you a list of any planned questions beforehand?; • Ensure you have three key messages prepared and memorised and weave them into your responses to questions; • Prepare any controversial topics in advance with your PR person so you are not thrown by a tough question coming out of left field, and • Listen carefully to what you are asked and treat the interviewer politely and professionally at all times.

You can learn a lot by listening to other people being interviewed on local radio or regional and national TV. Did they come across well? If not, why not? Did they get their argument across?

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT For broadcast interviews in particular, nothing beats practice. During my 30-year media career I have coached and trained many people – from chief executives to archbishops, entrepreneurs to organisation presidents – in interview technique, individually and in small groups.

The skill of being interviewed is more an art than a science. However, it is an art that can be learnt and perfected. And nothing beats practice.

Knowing what is newsworthy and getting your story across is an absolute joy. There are few things I find more satisfying than watching people I have media trained or coached fulfilling their potential in media interviews, doing their companies and themselves proud.

01273 321555 www.matchfitmedia.co.uk

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{ YOUNG START-UP TALENT }

EX S S SU

BRIGHTON STARTS UP AGAIN B righton’s local business community and the region’s loyal Young Start-up Talent (YST) sponsors came together to celebrate and mark the launch of the entrepreneurial initiative’s fourth year in Brighton & Hove.

The event heard from long term sponsors as well as new ones with Gary Chown of NatWest speaking from experience and saying, “I find the whole experience of working with these talented youngsters extremely rewarding.”

Melanie Martinez from Fastsigns and dedicated sponsor of the initiative commented: “The whole process is so enjoyable; you meet some great people. You can put as much or as little in as you want, but you really want to do more.” She went on to say, “As a company we will not hesitate to encourage anyone to sponsor or enter and get involved in YST.” Some of the Brighton YST finalists from earlier in the year came to the launch to share their experience of the initiative and the success they’ve seen since. Bettina Nemeth entered the initiative with her business ‘NEM Clothing’, a Brighton based eco-friendly clothing line. Bettina makes re-designed and re-thought textiles and clothes from recycled materials, making each item one-of-a-kind.

The young entrepreneur commented that her experience with YST “helped (her) really evolve (her) business plan and gave (her) great opportunities to network.” Bettina currently has a pop-up shop in the North Lanes.

This year’s Brighton YST winner was Jodie Deakin, who won with her high-end luxury

leather pet accessory company, Hounds and Hides. Jodie has been using the many connections via YST to grow her business and expressed her appreciation for the continuous support from the YST team and sponsors of the initiative in helping her to develop and grow the business.

The occasion also introducted Brighton’s newest sponsor and judge, Hewlett-Packard, the multinational information technology company. Vice president Martin Hess told the room, “I’m very proud to be from Sussex and if I can do something to create a stronger, more vibrant business environment then I’d love to do all I can. This initiative gives our company the opportunity to do just that.” New sponsors announced for 2015/16: PSD Ice, thebestofBrighton&Hove, Platinum Business, FaceMedia and Pivotal Moment.

The team of sponsors are set to mentor and work alongside a wealth of new, young entrepreneurs aged 16-25 in the Brighton & Hove area. The aim is to help aspiring young talent to start their own businesses by being involved not only with with the finalists but by engaging with schools, workshops and universities across Brighton and Hove to spread the word of the initiative.

This year’s Brighton judges will be Lorraine Nugent, Media Word Waves, Dan Simpson, Hartley Fowler LLP, Matt Turner, Creative Pod, Gary Chown , NatWest, Stephen Mason, Mason Consulting and Martin Hess, Hewlett Packard.

The team are looking forward to meeting some more young entrepreneurs this year.

The business sponsors for 2015/16 are as follows: •

Avensys Hire and Events

•

Hartley Fowler LLP

•

Gatwick Airport

•

Hewlett Packard

•

Young Enterprise

•

City College Brighton & Hove

•

Brighton&HoveJobs.com

•

Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

•

Brighton Racecourse

•

The Argus

•

Media Word Waves

•

NatWest

•

Let’s Do Business

•

Juice FM

•

Bennett Christmas

•

Beta Futures

•

Fastsigns

•

Creative Pod

•

The best of Brighton & Hove

•

Latest TV

•

Pivotal Moment

•

PSD Ice Art

•

Platinum Business Magazine

•

Face Media

To get involved in the initiative or to find out more, please visit: www.youngstartuptalent.co.uk

57

Stag House, Upper Bedford Street, Brighton BN2 1GW

{ YOUNG START-UP TALENT }

Y E R SUR

STUDIO SUCCESS C

roydon welcomed the region’s first Young Start-Up Talent (YST) winner to the stage at Fairfield Halls. The showcase event on Thursday, 9th July marked the end of the YST process for its first year in Croydon. Stephanie Kane, aged 22, was crowned 2015’s winner, walking away with a prize fund of business products and services worth £50k that were all donated by local businesses to go towards her vision of creating Studio 14. The studio is set to be a gallery comprised of three elements – a gallery for emerging artists, an artist studio space and a bar area for events in Croydon.

Gatwick Airport’s Aspiring Leader, Andrew Williamson said “I’ve really enjoyed today, I’m so happy to be here and to be involved in a great start-up initiative like YST. I’m just so pleased for Stephanie tonight - she’s got a real opportunity here and these prize funds can change lives.”

The showcase this year was also home to the unveiling of the showcase DVD, premiering the first-ever Croydon YST final and gave viewers an insight into the challenging process behind becoming a winner. Guest speakers during the evening were Andrew Williamson of Gatwick Airport, Mark Burgess, Director of RBS and multi-award-winning young entrepreneur, Ben Towers, Director of Towers Design and Social Marley.

Our panel this year was made up of local business professionals Mark Burgess, Director at Royal Bank of Scotland Group, James Booker, Editor at Croydon Advertiser, Simon Maddox, Partner at Owadally & King, Lorraine

Nugent, MD at Media Word Waves, Matt Turner, MD at Creative Pod Ltd and Ben Towers, CEO of Towers Design and Social Marley.

Judges were left thoroughly impressed by the pool of talent at the Jury’s Inn final and praised the quality of their business models, with judge Simon Maddox of Owadally and King commenting: “It’s been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed it from start to finish. It was great to see the contestants handle themselves so well.”

Among the promising finalists were four other impressive businesses, including: 25-year-old Vanessa Karikari, whose business, Ezape, involves 100% natural skincare products, predominantly designed as an organic way of helping babies with skin problems; Alex McGuigan, aged 23, is looking to fill the void and create a Music Venue for the Croydon area called Talheim Music; Ross Hicking, aged 19, is looking to establish his company, London Falconry, which will offer people in Greater London the experience of flying birds of prey; Graduate Lee Gordon, who is currently working as an estate agent, has created an online, 24/7 student lettings platform called Padsnap Student Lettings - set to launch later this year.

The finalists assembled their own stands, showcasing their businesses to local business professionals who attended and networked with the young business entrepreneurs.

Annabel Fogden from the Croydon Chamber

of Commerce said, “We are delighted to be sponsoring these fantastic young entrepreneurs. Tonight has been enjoyable and inspirational, the young people who come up with these business ideas are so brave and courageous and very clever in what they’ve thought through.” James Booker, judge and Editor of the Croydon Advertiser, said,”If this is anything to go by, we can expect great things from not only this year’s YST finalists but many more in the coming years from Croydon.”

The businesses that sponsor and support the project are as follows: • • • • • • • • • • •

RBS Amicus Horizon Owadally & King Fairfield Halls Gatwick Airport Fastsigns Beta Futures Media Word Waves Avensys Croydon Advertiser Croydon Chamber of Commerce

• • • • • • • • •

Young Enterprise Creative Pod 3D Change Coast2Capital Matthew’s Yard Hands On IT Frost Group Jury’s Inn – Croydon Platinum Business Magazine

To get involved in the initiative or to find out more, please visit: www.youngstartuptalent.co.uk

59

{ MOTORING REVIEW }

Motoring Editor: Maarten Hoffmann

TESLA S

THE GAME CHANGER

TECHNICAL STUFF: Model Tested: Tesla S Engine: none Performance: 0-60mph 5.4 seconds BHP: up to 691bhp MPG: Unlimited Range: up to 312 miles Top Speed: 140mph Prices from: £49,500

Disclaimer: This publication is not sponsored or supported in any way by Tesla Motors, nor do they advertise with us or have any form of involvement with this magazine, nor have they bunged me in any way to write this review.

O

k, that’s got that out of the way, now I can begin.

On June 4th , 2015, my life as a highly experienced motoring editor changed forever. I am a dinosaur that loves fast, noisy cars. Ideally, a V8 or V12 up front, rear wheel drive, two seats and plenty of grunt. I have the joy every Monday morning of a new car arriving on my drive delivered by the manufacturers for the pleasure and delectation of my review. Electric and hybrid cars are foisted upon me from time to time, and, although competent to a degree, none have blown my skirt up and all seem like politically correct tinkering with existing models. In short, they are all mostly a waste of time with dodgy styling, useless range and most have a noisy and highly polluting diesel engine sitting alongside the electric motor that kicks in after less than 60 miles to charge the batteries. They are, in the main, small city cars that already do a gazillion to the gallon. Pointless.

Then the Tesla S arrived. Oh, here we go again – another car that I will force my wife to drive for the week as I cannot face it.

But hang on, this is rather good-looking, and upon depositing my derriere into the warm leather seat I am forced to ask if this really is an electric car? It all seems so normal. Luxurious but normal.

Then I spot the giant i-pad in the centre of the dash and the digital displays that offer a clue to the car’s origin. Wearily, I decide to give it a go and whoosh! Life will never be quite the same again.

This is one of the most remarkable cars I have ever driven and

proof, and proof is needed, that electric cars are the future, and I can assure you that I have taken considerable stick over this cultish conversion.

The Tesla looks like a conventional stylish executive car from the outside, as, cleverly, they realise that’s what the buying public are used to, and there would be less resistance than if it looked like something out of Star Wars, but that is where the similarity to anything else on the road ends.

The Model S has only battery power but will go from standstill to 60mph in 5.4 seconds and proceed to 140mph in total silence. That shatters the acceleration of most cars in its class, but that is not all. It does it seamlessly.

There is no jerk as you change gear or the auto box does it for you. There is just power – seamless, silent, smooth power. It is so smooth and so silent that you wonder if you are really driving or in a simulator.

The car hauls around no engine, gearbox, fuel tank, hand brake or exhaust pipes. It emits nothing as there is nothing to emit. It has no mechanical moving parts; no metal or steel mechanical linkages; no rotating mechanical parts as there is no engine. Open the bonnet and you are faced with a boot. Open the boot

and you are faced with a boot. It takes a minute to get your head around it, along with realising the joyous fact that you will never again visit a petrol station.

Really, this is total a game changer. A comparison is required here, so let’s have a look at the BMW M5, the legendary super saloon that will hit 60mph in 4.6 seconds. That’s fast, but it will do less than 20 miles to the gallon and at 1.17 per litre (£5.32 per gallon) that burn out is costly. So a trip to the south of France in the M5 will cost you £480 return in fuel alone. In the Tesla, it will cost you zero, squat, nada, diddly.

But, I hear you ask, what about that everpresent little devil called range anxiety? Range

anxiety has always been present with cars, be they petrol or electric, as when the needle says you are close to empty, you need to fill up. The same with the Tesla, but the computer works it all out with the use of the heavenly ZapMap that automatically tells you where the next charging station is, how long to get there and how to get there.Then, and this is the game-changer, it takes only 20 minutes for a half charge that will get you 125 miles or 70 minutes for a full charge of 250 miles using one of Tesla’s Superchargers, and it is free - and only Teslas can use it. Absolutely free to charge.

So, whilst ye olde fashioned folk are pumping fossil fuel into their gas guzzlers, you plug in

and walk away, take a coffee and a sandwich before returning to your Tesla after the app on your phone informs you charging is complete, charged for free and ready to go. Or, as I did, use the on-board computer with full wi-fi and giant screen to get some work done whilst you are charging. Upon departure you will very rapidly catch up ye olde folk who are belching out noxious fumes as they hack up the motorway and pass them in a totally silent flash. Smug is not the word.

The proliferation of Superchargers across the world grows unabated and a new one is popping up every day, but if not available, then the standard electrical charging points found at most large service stations now will do it, but slower. Once home, you simply plug into the house supply and charge it overnight on the cheaper tariff. Apparently, it costs under £14 to charge it at home against £90 to fill a standard luxury saloon. Smug is not…well, you get the point.

In May of this year, all the Tesla S models in the world celebrated covering 1 billion miles.

That’s the equivalent of 40,000 trips around the earth totally emission-free.

How does it do it? Well, a little technical stuff is required. The S comes with three battery

62

options: 60kWh pack with 208 mile range and 5.9sec 0-60mph; 85 kWh pack with 265 mile range and 5.4sec 0-60mph; 85kWh Performance Pack that gives 265 miles and 4.2sec 0-60mph.

This is achieved by the use of a revolutionary allwheel drive electric motor that sits atop the rear wheels, with another, smaller one, atop the front wheels for all wheel drive. Unlike conventional engines that have hundreds of moving parts, the Tesla has only one – the rotor. The batteries use conventional lithium ion battery cells, just like most electric cars, but they have a capacity of 85kWh. Effectively, this is a huge fuel tank – a

Renault Zoe’s range, for example, is provided by a 22kWh battery which one might equate to a 100hp engine as opposed to a 500hp engine.

The battery pack sits under the cabin floor, further aiding its low centre of gravity, and, as there is no gearbox, there is no ‘tunnel hump’ in the centre of the cabin. therefore affording more interior space and a flat floor.

If you are of a certain age, you might recall having a Ford Escort or similar and then seeing the RS version that prompted a visit to your local car parts shop to buy stuff to upgrade your car.

When Tesla has an update they simply press a

{ MOTORING REVIEW }

“Upon departure you will very rapidly catch up ye olde folk who are belching out noxious fumes as they hack up the motorway and pass them in a totally silent flash. Smug is not the word”

button and send it to the computer, which, once accepted by the driver, totally updates the car.

The interior will elicit few complaints with high-quality leather, and a centre storage tray that’s shaped like a snowboard, that will consume a mountain of junk and a space age dash, but only four seats, which is a bit of a surprise as there is no tunnel to worry about.

But they have dealt with this with the optional two rear children’s seats that face backwards so that your nippers can terrorise the car behind you. This makes it a full six-seater. The body is mostly aluminium, with some steel strengthening, and this brings its overall weight close to 2.2 tonnes. The air-sprung suspension is highly sophisticated, and the steering is progressively weighted and accurate. You would expect some tire rumble, but there is simply nothing – just total silence.

The brakes are fun as you have to learn how to use them. Obviously not the ‘press-itto-stop’ routine, but the regenerative braking system that pumps a little extra power into the battery each time, therefore not allowing you to free wheel. Take your foot off the brake and the car slows faster than you would expect.

Once mastered, this actually saves wear on the brakes, and if you lift off far enough away from

the lights, you can arrive without having touched the brakes at all.

The giant i-pad is a mission to understand, but it is quite intuitive, especially if you are used to Apple products. For example, you can adjust the creep that you find with all automatics. Or open the sunroof, or a gazillion other functions that you will never tire of. Or search the net, or update profiles, or email that client…..

As if the S were not powerful enough, we then have the astonishing P85D – a catchy name that sounds like a diesel Volvo, but ignore that and brace yourself. It is strongly advised to place your head against the headrest upon acceleration as it will hit 60mph in 3.1 seconds, and, as before, that 3.1 seconds seems like 1 second with the seamless acceleration. To access this power they have a fun little button on the computer interestingly entitled ‘insane’.

Really, that is the button you press to access this power, and the progression is astounding.

You’ve gotta love a car with a button marked ‘insane’.

Then there’s the Autopilot that, combined with radar and forward-looking cameras, will update itself in real time and steer the car, and

when you arrive at your destination it will locate a parking spot and park itself. It will know what time you leave in the morning, start up, heat or cool the car and pull out of the garage and wait for you in the driveway, and as you walk towards the car, the flush handles pop out just as you get there. If it could only drive to the office and do the work, we could all stay home!

I could bang on for 20/30 pages, but suffice it to say this is the future. Even for old farts like me, I am converted to that fact. There is little doubt about it. This is the future of transportation, and in coming years we will have buses, trucks, taxis and planes all running the same technology and saving the polar bears.

The electric vehicle isn’t quite the finished article yet, but consider this: as battery technology improves, the Model S and its offspring will get lighter (and therefore even quicker) and capable of going yet further between charges.

The inventor, Elon Musk, profiled in this issue, is on a mission, and he’s not stopping anytime soon. More power to him – electric power, of course!

63

{ MOTORING NEWS }

MOTORING NEWS WORLDS BEST TAXI TORRO ROSSO The Red Bull moniker made famous on the F1 track is to come alive in a road car. Adrian Newey, their legendary F1 designer, will take charge of the programme to produce a hyper-car with Aston Martin. Newey stepped back from his F1 involvement at the start of the year, with a road car project rumoured to be among his plans.

He is understood to have begun collaborative work with Aston Martin at about the same time, and insiders describe the embryonic project as “ongoing, with no certainty of reaching fruition”.

Speaking at the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner reiterated that Newey was working on a road car project and added that it was inevitable Red Bull would make a production car.

This is the world’s best taxi. Probably. It’s a yellow McLaren P1, snapped here in Taiwan by Wesley Cars Photography.

Naturally, information surrounding this yellow P1 is thin on the ground. It could be a P1 with a taxi sign slapped on its roof just for kicks. It might just be an elaborate Photoshop. It could even actually be a real-life taxi. I am secretly hoping it’s the latter. Because what better way to transport one person from home to kebab shop than in a twinturbo V8-engined rear-wheel-drive supercar with enough downforce to make you go home and rethink your life?

Europcar, the leader in car hire services in Europe, has joined the RBS Group Cashback Plus loyalty programme, offering NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland customers the chance to earn a minimum of 1% of their spend at Europcar back in Rewards.

With over 250 UK branches and the widest choice of quality cars and vans, Europcar customers reap even more benefits when they book a hire car with Europcar.

The Cashback Plus loyalty programme, originally launched in 2013, offers NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland Cashback Plus account holders the chance to earn Rewards when making purchases on their card with a variety of retailers. In the new partnership with Europcar, Rewards can be earned on purchases paid for at the time of online booking at www.europcar.co.uk and at all UK Europcar rental stations.

64

Surely one of the prettiest ever Ferraris was the 248 Dino. Ironically this was also one of the only Ferraris that didn’t carry the Ferrari badge. At last it’s back and although one still mourns the original, a single look at this and you really do want to lick it.

THE LE MANS BENTLEY

THE PHOENIX RISES IN GUILDFORD RBS CAR HIRE

DINO RETURNS

Talking about returning marques, orders are being taken for the all new TVR. A new Guildford based investor group consisting of some 12 well-heeled individuals was formed two years ago to save it from the incompetent clutches of Russian oligarch Nikolai Smolenski. Gordon Murray of McLaren P1 fame is involved and deposits are now being taken.

It has been over a decade since the Bentley Speed 8 won at Le Mans, an absence obviously considered long enough by the chaps in Crewe as here we have the Continental GT3-R and in their own words,’ the most dynamic, responsive and involving Bentley road car ever. With 572bhp and 0-60 in 3.7, who would argue?

TRUE BLUE ‘Blue is the colour’, according to AA members as it has overtaken silver as the most popular car colour choice. These AA Cars survey results come from an AA Populus poll of 25,810 drivers. AA members’ top choice of car colour for their next car was blue (21%) followed closely by silver (19%), black (18%), and red (14%).

Members aged 18-24 top choices are black (29%), blue (17%), and white (15%). Whereas, those aged 65 and over top choices are silver (24%), blue (20%), and red (15%). Those aged over 65 were twice as likely to go for beige. The 18-24s were twice more likely to opt for white (influenced by Apple?) than the general motoring public. The higher the social status the more likely the driver was to own a silver car although the true blues were more represented by C1 social class.

{ MOTORING }

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK A

lthough the first question should be what is it, l feel the first question should actually be how the hell do you pronounce it?

Koenigsegg is a Swedish hypercar that is one of the fastest, most powerful and most expensive cars the world has ever seen. And l thought all they could do was knit sweaters and made moody TV thrillers?

This is the all new Koenigsegg One: 1. Try these stats for size: 0-250mph in 20 seconds. Or, even more impressive, zero to 186mph and back to zero again in 17.95 seconds. The One: 1 silliness is supposed to represent one-toone as an expression of its perfectly balanced power to weight ratio of one metric horsepower to one kilogram of mass – or 986bhp per tonne.

This is not a motivating piece about why you should buy one as you cannot. They have only produced 7 of them and they are all sold – at £1.79 million. But be honest, if you had it, wouldn’t you?

And what’s this? A new sports car but then there is nothing terribly new about that as they arrive on the market all the time but this one is a little bit special.

This is the Elemental RP1 which has the engine fitted longitudinally, driving the rear wheels through a 6-speed Hewland gearbox that is mounted behind it. This means that the engine can be set lower in the chassis. There is also a long diffuser at the front and another at the rear which offers 200kg of downforce at 100mph. That, my friends, is very impressive.

And with a weight of 580kg and a Ford Ecoboost engine producing 320bhp, it will do 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. Let’s face it, it is essentially a track car and at £75,000, quite an expensive track car at that.

65

{ BUSINESS SCENE }

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Fine Champagne and hand-made canapĂŠs complete an effective and highly enjoyable evening of diverse news, views, opinion and a wealth of new contacts. There are many more benefits to membership.

Membership is limited to four members per business sector and for more information about joining the Platinum Club, please contact info@theplatinumclubbrighton.co.uk or call 07966 244046 5. Megan Thomas (Mercedes-Benz) 6. Nick Jenner (Square One Financial) John Pannett (Kreston Reeves), Simon Gregg (IT First) 7. Nick Poyner (Teliqo), Ron and Jo Rogers (Prowse & Co) 8. Stephen Barham (Harvey John Recruitment)

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Photo Credit: Lauren Psyk

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{ BUSINESS SCENE }

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1. NatWest team 2. The Carpenter Box team or Carpenter Bath on this occasion 3. A well-earned bouquet for event organiser Gemma King presented by Neil Laughton and Tomfoolery 4. Sussex Police complete with flashing blue lights hit the water 5. Race Controllers David and Matt

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GOOD CLEAN FUN Fifteen business teams from Sussex competed in the third annual ‘Great Sussex Bath Race’ at a private lake near Chichester, with the Counsellors’ Crew (a team of Lifecentre charity supporters) from Chichester taking the Grand Final Winners’ trophy.

Sussex Police (from Worthing Police Station) took home the Wooden Spoon Trophy, but were commended for their outstanding fundraising efforts.

“It was a brilliant day of sporting competition and team building in the sunshine and we have already raised around £14k for our chosen charities, Chestnut Tree House and LifeCentre, with many more pledges and donations to be counted,” said Event Director Neil Laughton, Sussex entrepreneur, pilot and adventurer. www.greatsussexbathrace.co.uk

6. Director of Lifecentre Maggie Ellis with the High Sheriff of West Sussex Denise Patterson and Consort Barrie Prescott 7. The Life Centre crew hope its nice weather for ducks!

8. Pier Recruitment afloat and ready for action 9. The Counsellor crew, jumping with enthusiasm!

10. The Destruction Derby means exactly that!

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HILTON LONDON GATWICK AIRPORT. MOTHER TESTED. KID APPROVED. Planning your summer holidays? Enjoy a hassle-free start of your family vacation staying at Hilton London Gatwick Airport and start creating the fondest memories from the night before you fly.

Book one of our fully renovated family rooms which can accommodate up to 6 people (2 adults and up to 4 kids) and receive these great benefits: • Kids 10 years and under eat for free at Garden Restaurant • Cots and rollaway beds available • Children's TV channel available in your room • As always, you'll receive your Hilton HHonors points For room reservations please visit gatwick.hilton.com, call +44 (0) 1293 610 828 or email london.gatwick@hilton.com

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{ ADVERTISING FEATURE }

FAMILY-FRIENDLY HOTEL S

ummer has finally arrived and holidays are on everyone’s minds. We all dream of travelling this year to new places or visiting our favourite holiday destinations.

Arranging this long-awaited trip or holiday can be a real hassle, especially when travelling with the entire family.

Hilton London Gatwick Airport offers a hassle-free start to any family holiday with specially designed family rooms that accommodate up to 6 people (2 adults and up to 4 kids). We have 22 spacious Deluxe Family rooms to cater for any family need and many more family options with plenty of interconnecting rooms so that your teenagers

can enjoy a private room just one door away.

For all young guests, the Concierge team offers complimentary Travel Fun Packs, which contain puzzles, drawing exercises and other child-friendly games and presents. Suitable for both your inquisitive daughter and your active boy, these activity bags will keep them busy while you relax at the Amy’s Lobby Bar surfing the web.

Enjoy a leisurely check-in and let your kids explore and discover one of our newlyrefurbished family rooms. Once you are settled in, take a walk down to our Garden Restaurant, where you and your family can enjoy a sumptuous buffet dinner. Some of the

great family benefits are that kids 10 years and under eat for free, the varied food selection will satisfy even the picky young ones, one free drink is included per child and there is also a designated kids’ menu.

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Avoid an early morning rise and start your holiday in style at Hilton London Gatwick Airport, where our team is passionate about offering you a great experience and providing you with the perfect, hassle-free start to your holiday.

{ ECO TECH }

ECO TECH MAKES BUSINESS SENSE Brighton takes green business seriously at the Eco Technology Show. Never mind all the jokes about the declaration of a Republic of Brighton and Hove after the shock general election results, this City takes looking at the big issues in a different light seriously - and for sound business reasons.

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hat was the message coming loud and clear from the Amex when the Eco Technology Show opened its doors in the City for the fourth time on 11-12 June, with a record increase in business visitors, who accounted for 75% of the overall attendees.

Nicola Gunstone, Co-Founder and Commercial Director of the Eco Technology Show, was delighted: “This is a unique Show, and I’ve put my heart and soul into breaking the traditional exhibition mould and making it work. The whole idea behind it is to showcase practical ideas that can be used now to deliver savings, while also providing a quality forum for people to learn about new ideas and initiatives. We attract a great line-up of seminar speakers to give our visitors the real insight they need to plan for the future.

“I’m really pleased that this message is getting through and was reflected in the visitor numbers, with 75% coming from businesses.”

The Show is now firmly positioned as the premier event in the low carbon sector in the south and local Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, keen to participate, led a vibrant panel discussion on the future of energy efficiency.

Caroline was joined by Matthew Farrow of the Environmental Industries Commission, Mike Walker of DECC, Christoph Harwood of Marksman Consulting and Alex Hunt of the Green Building Partnership. The panel examined the future of energy efficiency, including potential confusion surrounding stop-start government funding.

Mr Farrow took no prisoners in getting his message across: “The push for growth – not least to reduce the deficit – and the desire to build more homes, modernise our transport systems, and upgrade our energy infrastructure means that pressures on our natural resources will become even greater over the next five years. Political will, imagination and innovation will be needed to manage this dilemma.”

Brighton and Hove City Council leader Warren Morgan shared his plans for bringing about low carbon economic growth in one of his first public outings since taking on the role, specifically citing building of new sustainable council homes. This was welcome news as the city’s record on putting sustainable technology to work with exciting building projects and eco-houses is a great example of how it just keeps on pushing the envelope, and there is plenty of local talent and a strong skills base to make it happen.

For business visitors interested in investing in energy-efficient products and services, case study speakers discussed how to the make the business case for investment and how an ESOS audit can open up a range of energy and cost saving opportunities.

Speaker highlights included Julie Allen, Energy Manager, Nandos Restaurants and Sandra Norval, Head of Environment, Thameslink.

Eco Technology Show Director Damian Tow said: “The quality of debate at The Eco Technology Show open panel sessions was remarkably high: people were genuinely engaged with the issues.

They wanted to be involved and to have an opportunity to quiz leading thinkers and influencers, not just to be talked at. Even more gratifying was the number of speakers who chose to use the Eco Technology Show as the platform for sharing their ideas.”

Without doubt, it was the quality of speakers’ participation in the free seminar programme that attracted many visitors to the event; but these visitors also found plenty to interest and occupy them on the exhibition floor and the show also recorded the highest-ever levels of exhibitor satisfaction.

At a time when most seminar programmes linked to exhibitions seem to do little more than provide a platform for paying exhibitors, the Eco Technology show goes the extra mile, drawing on the personal contacts of the organisers and the breadth of the green business network in and around the City.

Business visitors came to Brighton from across the UK and Europe to discover the latest innovations, ideas and expertise to help slash running costs and boost energy efficiency. A further testament to the success of the event was the number of companies that chose it as the venue to launch new products.

Ranging from a flow controller to cut water usage to flexible solar panels and smart metering devices for retrofitting onto existing installations, all represent a considerable investment in blood, sweat and tears form their inventors and it is good to see Brighton chosen as their critical public launchpad.

Even the Taiwan Trade Centre, based in London, recognised the growing significance of Brighton’s green platform and chose the Eco Technology Show to launch a range of green products.

Chloe Lo from the firm’s marketing department stated: “This is a brilliant event; we were able to showcase our new products and made some very useful contacts who are interested in what we are doing and trying to achieve.”

TV Star Robert Llewellyn of Red Dwarf and Scrapheap Challenge fame took to the stage in front of a packed audience to dispel the myths surrounding electric vehicles, to the delight of local BMW and Nissan dealers in electric vehicles. “The Eco Technology show has grown enormously over the years and is now a regular mustsee event,” he said.

Going greener usually involves a financial commitment and there seems to be no shortage of businesses willing to invest.

Lightfoot LED MD Joakim Roth said: “The event has always produced good leads for our business; this year was by far the best one for us”.

So, amidst all this, who was the happiest man at the show?

Probably South Downs Solar MD Michael Yeoman, who is supporting the government’s call to use commercial roof space for solar panels. “As a direct result of exhibiting at last year’s show, we generated £100k worth of business, and I expect to exceed that this year,” he said.

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{ BUDGET COMMENT }

A BIG BUDGET Budget review by Alan Edwards, Managing Partner of Carpenter Box

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n his seventh Budget Statement as Chancellor, George Osborne promised a ‘big budget for a country with big ambitions’, and this is what he delivered. As predicted there were details on how the government would fulfil its pre-election goals of reducing welfare spending by £12 billion and changing the inheritance tax nil-rate band structure.

There were also some surprises, such as the compulsory introduction of the national living wage from April 2016 and a reduction in corporation tax. In a move likely to hit buyto-let landlords generally, and to be phased in over four years from 2017, mortgage interest

relief on rental properties will be reduced to the basic rate of income tax where previously it was available at the top rate of tax.

The complexity of this budget lies within the relationship between Corporation Tax changes, the modification to the taxation of dividends, income tax and of course welfare cuts.

Businesses will welcome the planned reduction in corporation tax, but at the same time the introduction of major changes to the taxation of company dividends will likely increase the liability of many director/ shareholders of limited companies. Dividend tax credits are to be replaced by an annual tax-free allowance of £5,000, with new rates of tax on dividend income above the allowance introduced, which will be 7.5% for basic rate taxpayers, 32.5% for higher rate taxpayers and 38.1% for additional rate taxpayers. The new regime will take effect from 2016/17 so one likely effect is that business owners will bring forward dividend payments

to themselves to reduce the early impact of the new rules.

One area of disappointment for industry will be the decision to set the annual investment allowance for all qualifying investment in plant and machinery made on or after 1 January 2016 at £200,000. The allowance is currently £500,000, so capital intensive sectors such as advanced manufacturing, could be justified in viewing this as a missed opportunity to support innovation and, in a wider context, help solve the ‘productivity puzzle’. Also linked to productivity and growth is the need to improve our skills base, and the apprenticeship levy for large companies to help fund training could be an important, if limited, mechanism for helping key sectors such as manufacturing develop ‘home grown’ engineering talent. www.carpenterbox.com

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www.carpenterbox.com 74

{ MARKETING }

SILVER CELEBRATIONS Cavendish founding directors Nicky and Andrew Walker

By Craig Walden Director of Big Beach Marketing

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ussex-based business telecommunications provider Cavendish Communications recently celebrated 25 years in business by spending an enjoyable sunny afternoon with customers, staff and suppliers at the Brighton Racecourse.

At the same time, Big Beach Marketing was celebrating six years in business, in no small part thanks to Cavendish and the chance they gave a start-up marketing agency in the depths of the recession – yes, can you remember that? Cavendish employed us to manage their marketing and have remained a client to this day.

From humble beginnings in 1990, operating out of a room in their house, Cavendish Founding Directors Nicky and Andrew Walker (pictured above at Brighton Racecourse) have seen the business grow to serve more than 2500 businesses nationwide with fixed lines and calls, telephone systems, broadband and mobile communications services.

Cavendish now supports hundreds of public and private sector organisations, including housing associations, schools, medical practices, local government authorities and professional services providers. Cavendish is a preferred supplier to East Sussex County

Council and provides communication services to the likes of Hever Castle, Warner Bros, Nuffield Health, Moat Housing Association and Medway Power Station.

The company’s strategy has always been to deliver hassle-free communications services by listening to business requirements and recommending the most appropriate solutions from a range of industry-leading products and services. Although its prime focus is meeting the needs of clients, Cavendish is committed to raising the standards of business communications to the benefit of both their clients and the wider community.

Staff are recognised as being an essential part of Cavendish, and as such are provided with regular training, flexible working, both in terms of hours and location (with home and remote working), as well as benefiting from productivity bonuses based on growth and customer care.

This has resulted in an established and capable workforce that is ISO accredited, approved by the Contractors Health and Safety Scheme and recognised as a ‘healthy workplace’ by health insurance providers Simply Health.

With this open and effective approach to providing innovative products and great service to their customers, promoting what Cavendish

Big Beach Marketing Tel: 01273 434552 Web: www.bigbeach.co.uk does has been a joy. There has been no shortage of customers willing to give up time to provide positive feedback, both on and off camera, about the service they have received from the team at Cavendish. A recent testimonial simply said, “Wow, what service!!”

With our support, Cavendish has hosted a number of successful educational seminars, advising local businesses of the latest technologies available that improve productivity, add flexibility and reduce costs.

We’ve also provided them with email marketing, professional-looking sales literature, case studies and proposal documents, together with exhibition stands, graphics and online training videos. We are currently working on an update to the website.

It will be a while before Big Beach celebrates 25 years in business, but as Cavendish continues to grow from strength under the management of MD David Moorat, we look forward to a continuing mutually beneficial relationship and being a small part of the successful team at Cavendish.

Thank you and congratulations to everybody at Cavendish from Big Beach Marketing. For more information visit www.cavcoms.com

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{ BUSINESS SCENE }

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1. Ambrose Harcourt with Sid Sloane and their partners 2. Ball guests in Gatsby-inspired dress 3. Charleston winner Barry Carden and guests 4. Dance competition judges David Hill, Zoe Ball and Jack The Lad 5. Eleanor Harris from i360 with David Samuel from Paddle Round the Pier and their Charleston dancers 6. Mid Summer Ball amateur and professional dancers 7. Nicola Hume from Heart Sussex FM 8. Professional dance troupe Savoy Kicks 9. Ryan Heal and Analiese Doctrove from Rockinghorse with the cheque presentation 10. Tom Evans from Heart Sussex FM

ROARING FUN Guests were taken back to the1920’s at the annual Mid-Summer Ball at the Hilton Brighton Metropole. The night, in aid of the DM Thomas Foundation for Young People and Rockinghorse Children’s Charity, raised over £100,000. Sponsored by Skerritts, the event welcomed over 400 and included the Strictly Come Dancing style dance competition, with Zoe Ball as Head Judge. She was joined by David Hill, CEO of E3 Group and Heart Sussex’s Jack the Lad. The dancers were Eleanor Harris, Chief Executive of the Brighton i360 tower, Barry Carden, Managing Director of Cardens Accountants in Hove and Heart Sussex Breakfast Show co-hosts Nicola Hume and Tom Evans. Barry Carden was crowned the winner. Each dancing personality was joined by an expert dance partner.

Ryan Heal, Chief Executive of Rockinghorse, said: “All of the money raised for Rockinghorse will be going straight to the Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton to continue our work and to support our ongoing projects on the unit. As the late, great Trevor Mann said himself, “we can’t stop children getting sick, but with your help, we can make them get better.” www.rockinghorse.org.uk. www.dmthomasfoundation.org.

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Photos by Chris Demott Photography

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{ BUSINESS SCENE }

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1. Faye Honey-Green (Mercedes-Benz), Maarten Hoffmann (The Platinum Club), Heidi Copland (DMH Stallard) 2. Hannah Staunton (Gatwick Airport), David Sheppard (Sussex Chamber of Commerce) 3. Mark Tulley (Gemini Print), Neil Laughton (Laughton & Co) 4. Neil Laughton (Laughton & Co), Amanda Menahem (Hastings Direct) 5. John Burroughes (Uniglobe)

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PC

THE P L AT I N U M CLUB

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THE PLATINUM BUSINESS CLUB, THE GRAND HOTEL, BRIGHTON

The Platinum Club, the region’s leading networking forum, has continued its expansion with events held at the Grand Hotel, Brighton and the Hilton Hotel, Gatwick. Platinum evenings are unstructured, relaxing and primarily social events with an eclectic mix of business leaders from a wide spectrum of sectors. All events are hosted and relevant introductions are made throughout the evening.

Fine Champagne and hand-made canapĂŠs complete an effective and highly enjoyable evening of diverse news, views, opinion and a wealth of new contacts. There are many more benefits to membership.

Membership is limited to four members per business sector and for more information about joining the Platinum Club, please contact info@theplatinumclubbrighton.co.uk or call 07966 244046 6. Nick Poyner (Teliqo) 7. Simon Clements (Roffey Park Institute), John Burroughes (Uniglobe), Nick Poyner (Teliqo) 8. Simon Clements (Roffey Park Institute), Simon Conn (Overseas Property Finance), Paul Lane (ABC Worksafe) 9. Sophie Law-Smith (ZSTa Architects) 10. Wendy Ryle (Burt, Brill & Cardens)

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Photo Credit: Lauren Psyk

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LOOKERS DAY OUT Lookers Mercedes-Benz made the irresistible offer to join them at the beautiful Gravetye Manor in West Hoathly recently and that is not an invitation l am minded to refuse. The 2015 range was on display with a constant stream of present and future customers invited to enjoy the cars and the glorious manor house that was built in 1598 and once used as a foundry to supply 12-pounder guns to Woolwich until 1769. This brings me neatly onto one of the world’s bullet proof cars, in terms of build quality, and l rightly enjoyed jumping from one to another and ripping around the picturesque countryside.

The new CLS is superb and l will be reviewing it in depth in the next issue and no better way to get your hair in the wind than in the new SLK, which is great fun on those country roads. I own an S-Class therefore it was a treat to get behind the wheel of the 2105 model which is seriously calling on my wallet although the all-new and long-awaited S-Class Coupe is calling slightly louder. No wonder this is one of the world’s leading premium luxury cars and loved by chauffeur driven CEO’s the world over.

You can do what l did, although you might have to visit a Lookers showroom to do it, but they are all available for your delight and delectation and they would love to offer you a test drive. I don’t think you will be disappointed and many thanks to Jane Saunders and the Lookers team for a great day out.

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{ BUSINESS SCENE }

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ECONOMIC ALLIANCE The Sussex Property Alliance welcomed Mark Berrisford-Smith, Chief Economist at HSBC, to their latest lunch at South Lodge Hotel. Mark gave a fascinating insight into the current landscape of the UK economy and what we can expect in 2015 - albeit with a certain level of uncertainty as we wait for the Greek debt crisis to play out. Only then will we know what implications this will have for business in the UK and across the globe. Watch this space!

1. Steve Martin, David Brown 2. Robert Dowling, Charles Wiggins, Charlie Eve 3. John Christopher, Nick Dunn, Chris Coopey 4. Ian Vickers, Geoff Goodman, Robert Dowling 5. James Hare, Peter Reading, Tony Baker, Stuart Noakes 6. Kevin Dean, Gemma Lawrence, Paul Montalto 7. Tony Summers, Jeff Huggins 8. Rachael Topping, Rob Fawcett, Lucy Tunstall 9. Rob Fawcett, Gemma Lawrence, Jeremy Wootton 10. Adam Grand, Steve Berrett, Mark Berrisford – Smith, Rob Fawcett, Chris Coopey

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Photos by Stephen Lawrence www.snapitnow.co.uk

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Jeremy (right) with Head Chef and Sussex Young Chef of the Year, Jimmy Gray

JEREMY’S RESTAURANT

By Maarten Hoffmann

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guess being a restaurant critic is a little like being in the SAS! Let me clarify before you think my head is firmly up my derriere. One gets used to things over time, in their case, bullets and bandages, and in my case, a slight apathy towards dining out. As the years go by it gets more and more difficult to be taken aback by culinary machinations in the kitchen and I only mention this as I have just had one of those delicious moments. Mind you, it has taken me 18 years to experience it!

Jeremy’s Restaurant is on the Borde Hill Garden Estate in Haywards Heath; I have not visited until now and I have been missing a treat.

We asked author Peter James to review it for us last year and he returned highly enthusiastic and full of praise. You would have thought that would be my cue to visit!

There were all sorts of rumours about where Jeremy Ashpool came from. One was that he had learned his craft from the fabled Roux brothers at their Waterside Inn, Bray. Another was that he

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had trained at Paul Bocuse in Lyon, and another, grander still, that he had been the Head Chef at Paris’s Tour d’Argent. All, it would seem, could not be further from the truth. Perhaps the culinary world could not quite accept that this superb, self-trained chef is a former beach-bum, bar manager and DJ. My dining partner and I arrived bang-on 7.30 and were immediately greeted by courteous, friendly staff who ushered us through to the terrace overlooking a beautiful garden and vine-covered walkway. The sun was still shining and all was right with the world – made better by the arrival of two fine glasses of Ridgeview Bloomsbury with which to watch the birds and breathe the air.

The restaurant sits in a very pretty courtyard, a portion of which is occupied by Café Elvira, run

by Jeremys wife Vera, and I hear that is worth another trip all by itself.

Ambience and conviviality contribute half of any dining experience in my book and we were

not to be disappointed. The dining room is airy, light and, at the same time, intimate. Tables far enough apart, not so many that the staff are rushed. Everything in the room feels elegant, and I include the faultless service.

There is nothing for it but to go for broke and order the Degustation Menu, with paired wines, and sample the chef’s signature dishes.

Another glass of Ridgeview was most welcome and a great evening was anticipated. My guest, as usual, was Amanda Menahem, HR Director of our largest employer, Hastings Direct, and as you will know from previous columns, Amanda is not to be trifled with when it comes to her food.

Pardon my use of lists, but you really do need to know what we ate: Canapé of chilled asparagus & lemon soup, arancini, was a mini revelation. Arancini are petit stuffed rice balls that hail from Sicily – stunning, and the soup was clean, with a subtle, charming, zesty undertone. Oh my, what a good start.

I made a switch for the next course, and that

{ WORKING LUNCH }

“Perhaps the culinary world could not quite accept that this superb, self-trained chef is a former beach-bum, bar manager and DJ”

usually drives the chef mad when you have chosen to leave yourself at their mercy, but my request was taken with great grace. Therefore, Amanda had the home-cured mackerel, red pepper, heritage tomatoes and smoke aubergine and I chose the duck liver parfait with rhubarb, pea puree, slipcote and radishes. Before we go any further, I am sure there are some of you feeling that this all sounds a tad pretentious, but I can assure you it is not. It’s beautifully served, with no self-aggrandisement. Just excellent, honest food.

The parfait was delicious and the mackerel met with Amanda’s approval as it was perfectly cooked, with a great balance of flavours, but she felt that the flavours of the peppers and tomatoes were slightly too dominant. I warned you: the girl ain’t easy to please.

With this, the impressively knowledgeable sommelier arrived with the first wine. The 2013 Verdejo, from North Western Spain, was certainly a good match.

Balcombe Estate rabbit arrived quick-smart with carrot, Moroccan spices and almonds. I am not in the habit of ordering rabbit as guilt kicks in when I think of my daughter’s three pet bunnies, but hey, they weren’t here, and it was absolutely superb. Three succulent and melton-your-tongue versions of how to cook rabbit in miniature on a bed of pureed carrots. Amanda is always excellent company, and the conversation never, ever runs out of steam, but, all of a sudden, we had silence. Concerned, I looked up to check that she had not had a stroke, and behold, her face was a mask of delight and happiness. Note to dear Jeremy – this is quite an accolade.

Here we come to the time of the evening when I can honestly state I was taken aback, almost to the point of speechlessness. Almost. We were served a paired wine from South East Italy called Bianco di Puglia, A Mano 2014, and I can honestly say that it took my breath away. Puglia comprises the heel of Italy and is very ancient land. Wine from this region kept the Roman legions fighting, but I didn’t want to fight as much as kiss the sommelier. I drink quite a large consignment of wine and this was remarkable. Search it, find it, order it. I have - six cases.

Next was John Dory crab with saffron new potatoes, fennel and shellfish oil. I am not much of a fish eater, but the little fried balls of crab were superb, and again, the presentation was just spot-on. This was paired with an excellent 2010 Riesling that reminds you of how wonderful it is that they re-invented Riesling from the sickly muck it used to be. Very drinkable.

And onto the dish I had been looking forward to as, being married to a veterinary surgeon, who is a dyed-in-the-wool vegetarian, I rarely get the opportunity to eat veal. Cambrian Rose veal with beetroot, black garlic and baby leeks arrived. The cut is not my favourite, but I have rarely tasted better, and when married to a 2012 Pinot Noir from Southern Germany, exceptions can be made.

And we are nearly there, with a pudding of white chocolate and lovage cheesecake with a cucumber and celery sorbet. Again, I sense you are thinking this combo just can’t work, and again I tell you it really does. The texture was ever so slightly odd, but the taste was sublime. This was paired with our last wine of the evening, a 2010 Nobel Wrinkled Riesling, and no matter what you call it, to me, dessert wine is the work of the devil and I will have none of it.

The boy done good. I could not give a monkey’s if he is self-trained, a beach bum or a bloody astronaut, Jeremy Ashpool can cook, and if you don’t visit his restaurant, you will be more the poorer for it.

“I looked up to check that she had not had a stroke, and behold, her face was a mask of delight and happiness.

Note to dear Jeremy – this is quite an accolade”

Borde Hill, Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1XP T: 01444 441102 W: www.jeremysrestaurant.co.uk Degustation Menu: £70 per person

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THE BUSINESS NETWORK NETWORK REVIEW – THE ATHENA NETWORK

By Emma Pearce, Marketing Consultant – marketing planning, outsourced marketing services and social media training | www.pearcemarketing.co.uk

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hether you agree or disagree with women-only networking, for those involved it works. So they keep doing it! Athena was founded in the UK in 2005 and now has in excess of 2500 members across 30 regional territories.

I spoke to Regional Director Michala Rutherford about her experiences running the Crowborough, Eastbourne, Hassocks and Lewes networks.

“I’ve been running Athena groups for 10 years now, and a lunchtime networking meeting definitely works for many professional female business owners and directors. We run very productive and structured business meetings, plus I organise extra events, such as training days and workshops, using a mix of speakers from our skilled membership and external experts.”

MEETING FORMAT The agenda for each event is: • • • • • • •

•

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30 minutes - registration, open networking Sit down and pass around cards and any other literature/product samples 1 minute round for each member to promote their business 2 course lunch Speaker - 10 minute slot Networking skills/training slot (led by Michala) – 10 minutes 30 second round – to say thank you to members, arrange 1-2-1s and give testimonials Closing comments

Michala added “We really encourage everyone in the groups to organise 1-2-1s outside the meeting. It is always so helpful to spend an hour with other members to talk in more detail.

As well as getting to know each other better, you can uncover ways in which you can work together, be clear on when to refer each other and share advice and tips.”

Comments from those attending the group were very positive and consistent. One lady summed it up, saying, “This group beats other networks hands down in terms of the results I get. But it’s not just business leads, it’s new suppliers and genuine support from a very friendly bunch of people.”

KEY FACTS •

“I’ve been running Athena groups for 10 years now, and a lunchtime networking meeting definitely works for many professional female business owners and directors”

The meeting in Crowborough recently had representatives from a wide range of industries, including private healthcare, IT support, IT training, family law, plumbing, marketing, interior design, travel, and bailiff services.

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Location: Premium Hotels/Golf Clubs in Crowborough, Eastbourne, Hassocks, Lewes Frequency: Monthly (10 months, plus 2 regional events) Size: Typically a maximum of 30 Time: Lunchtime 12 - 2 Lock out: Yes USP: Perfect mix of business and friendly support. Promote 1-2-1s outside the meeting. It’s all about relationship building – people buy from people.

Minute round: Yes Speaker slot: Yes Cost: £235 per year plus £20 per month (for 2-course lunch in high-quality venue)

Find out more by emailing michala. rutherford@theathenanetwork.com. or visit: www.theathenanetwork.co.uk/ and the local Sussex Blog https://athenasussexse. wordpress.com/.

{ CHAMBER NEWS } CHICHESTER

CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE COULD BE SUPPORTED BETTER… Julie Harrison, Business Development Manager, reflects on 11 years at Chichester Chamber Since starting as Business Development Manager at Chichester Chamber of Commerce and Industry 11 years ago, there have been some incredible changes.

Gone are the days when a local Chamber of Commerce is just involved in recruiting members, running events and dealing with local issues (although this is still a fundamental part of our role). Chambers have grown, our roles have expanded county-wide, we get involved in key decisions and projects, run joint ventures, deliver services and training, but we still work with limited resources and next to no funding.

In some countries Chambers of Commerce have a statutory role in registering companies, similar to Companies’ House; in the Gulf, they actually perform a role similar to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and even issue the permits to trade.

What a pity that this is not the case in the UK. It is almost inconceivable that central government will change the relationship so as to empower UK Chambers of Commerce to act in the way that they act in other countries. One suspects that this would be strongly resisted by the commercial sector as an unnecessary bureaucratic insertion into their normal commercial activities. However, it would certainly help raise the profile of Chambers in general and make them more respected and appreciated bodies if they did – it could even help to establish better governance and standards of practice in business.

Michael Heseltine’s recent white paper quoted: “It is important that local people are themselves satisfied that they have, in their areas, the quality of leadership needed for a real economic partnership with Whitehall. The LEPs and chambers are essential building blocks in our competitiveness agenda. Without such local empowerment we will not transform our national performance.”

After 11 years of working at Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry, I have decided to move on to pastures new and will be leaving in the late summer. I hope that businesses continue to join and appreciate how important it is to have a local Chamber of Commerce. They can be vital for influencing, delivering business support and training, networking and generally keeping the local economic wheels turning. I would urge LEPs and Councils to recognise that a lot of work is done by very few, many of them volunteers, and that some sort of assistance would be welcomed to ensure that they remain in place for a long time to come. www.chichestercci.org.uk

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX says Philip Matthews With office space at a premium for most SMEs, the sight of filing cabinets or archive boxes occupying valuable real estate is one which makes many a Managing Director’s heart sink. The potential to reutilise this space for a more commercial purpose is an extremely appealing prospect, particularly when doing so can help you to avoid a potential £500,000 fine!

And yet this is exactly what robust document retention planning can achieve. Philip Matthews, Managing Director of Chichester-based records management specialists FDA UK explains: “For most of the organisations we work with, the primary consideration relating to document retention is the likelihood that a file is to be needed in the future, with most erring on the side of caution and retaining records for as long as the available space allows”.

“However, individuals – including employees and customers - have a right to expect you to destroy files containing their personal data as soon as you are no longer legally obliged to retain them – and the Data Protection Act enshrines this right in legislative obligation.

Price of non-conformity? A fine of up to £500,000, plus potential criminal prosecution if you show serious disregard for the rules.”

Where documents cannot yet be destroyed, office space can still be reclaimed through outsourcing the storage of inactive files to an external provider, with FDA offering a full scan-on-demand service for quick and easy access to documents stored offsite.

To help you navigate the legislative minefield surrounding this issue, FDA UK have produced a free Guide to Document Retention detailing when each type of typical business record can be safely destroyed.

To download your copy, please visit www.fdauk.net/retention-schedule or contact Philip Matthews on 01243 535209.

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SUNDAY CARVERY

ENJOY OUR MOUTHWATERING

A delicious selection of finger sandwiches, all-butter scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserve, with a selection of cakes. All served with your choice of tea or coffee

£17.95 PER PERSON

with Live Jazz music every week

SERVED DAILY FROM 2PM UNTIL 5PM

Book a table now Call 01273 775 432 or visit hilton.com/brightonmet

{ CHAMBER NEWS } BRIGHTON

A DAY FOR YOUR GROWING BUSINESS

by Alice Cuninghame from Cuninghame Copywriting www.businessinbrighton.org.uk

Each year the Brighton Summit brings together business people from across our city for a day of inspiration, conversation and action. Last year we took our delegates on a business adventure.

This year, on 16th October, we’re talking about growth. And we mean growth in the widest possible sense. Of course, we’ll be talking about how to grow your profits. But we’ll also be talking about other kinds of growth: how to develop yourself and your people, and how to take your business in new directions.

The Brighton Summit is a day to make things happen for your business and your future. If you’ve been to the Brighton Summit before, you’ll know that we’re not an ordinary business conference. You won’t spend your day with us sitting still. As well as listening, we’ll get you moving, thinking and meeting challenges. You’ll leave keen to get back to your desk and start working to make your growth plan happen.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS We’ve lined up two fantastic keynote speakers, Jim Duffy from Entrepreneurial Spark and Nikki

Gatenby from Propellernet.

Jim Duffy is a former policeman turned successful businessman. After studying in the USA and taking placements in many exciting start-ups, he saw the need for an organisation that would help promising ideas become successful businesses. Entrepreneurial Spark, the world’s largest free business accelerator, was born. Entrepreneurial Spark opens in Brighton in August.

Niki Gatenby is Managing Director of Propellernet, one of the most progressive search marketing agencies in the UK. She has lead, inspired and developed teams across Europe, believing strongly that when people fulfil their dreams, business grows faster and better. Propellernet has been placed as one of the top 10 best places to work in the UK for the last three years.

CONVERSATIONS, CHALLENGES AND PLANS There will be many other successful business leaders at the Summit to tell you their growth secrets. You’ll be able to choose from

different themed panel sessions and intimate conversation sessions. These sessions are a chance for you to talk about everything you need to know to grow. And you’ll have the opportunity to take part in business coaching and growth planning sessions with our experienced team from Generate Coaching Partnership. You might be a freelancer looking to become an employer, a larger business looking for investment, or a social enterprise looking to develop its team.

Your growth dreams might mean being able to take a year off to travel the world, or they might mean being able to open new offices around the world. We’ve designed the day to meet the needs of everyone, from freelancers to senior managers.

ONE DAY TO CHANGE YOUR FUTURE Give us one day of your time on 16th October and we’ll make sure you leave ready to get what you want from your business. Tickets cost just £75 for members of Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce, and £99 for non-members. They’re available now at www.brightonsummit.com.

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{ CHAMBER NEWS } CRAWLEY & GATWICK

ROUND THE WORLD

News from the Chamber CHAMBER MEMBER SET TO RAISE £20K FOR CHILDREN’S CHARITY Trudi Bubb, aged 49, a local businesswoman and Chamber member from Crawley, will be competing in The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, entitled ‘The Race of your Life’. The race consists of circumnavigating the globe in eight legs over 11 months. Trudi will take part in four legs of the race, taking in the Whitsundays, Seattle, New York, Londonderry and back to the UK, up the Thames into St Katherine’s Docks in London on the 16th July, 2016. Trudi will be sailing with the crew of ‘Team Unicef’ to raise £20,000 for The Golden Lion’s Children’s Trust, to take 20 children to Lapland in December 2016 in celebration of her 50th birthday. If you would like to sponsor Trudi, get in touch: Trudimbubb@gmail.com. www.clipperroundtheworld.com/team/unicef/crew

CRAWLEY ROCKS The thirtieth annual Crawley Festival came to a spectacular climax at the weekend with Mainstage, the finale event taking place in Memorial Gardens in Crawley Town Centre. The glorious Saturday sunshine saw crowds flock to the beautiful park, which was transformed into a fun family day out with a large music and dance stage, face painting, bouncy castles, craft stalls and lots of creative activities, from art workshops to DJ skills, drama and cookery demonstrations on the Cultural Kitchen.

Earlier in the week, the town’s historic High Street also became transformed and, thanks to a new partnership with Gatwick Airport Limited, provided a stunning backdrop to a music festival with 12 bands on two stages playing great music while people enjoyed a meal and a few drinks from the variety of local bars and restaurants.

An estimated 6,000 people enjoyed the week’s Festival events, which also included the launch in Queen’s Square, Music in St John’s Church and performances by local schools at the Hawth. The Festival is a charity run by a committee of volunteers and is always interested in talking to local businesses to get involved in creating high profile creative activities across the town. Support was also provided this year by Crawley Borough Council, the town centre Partnership and West Sussex County Council. Funds were raised for the Crawley Springboard Project.

Daniel Sibley CeMap, Cert.BFM NatWest Commercial Bank daniel.sibley@natwest.com

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26TH AUGUST – EVENING DRINKS – 5.30PM – GOFFS MANOR 30TH SEPTEMBER – THE HAWTH – 8.00AM

{ CHAMBER NEWS } EASTBOURNE

COMMUNITY BROKER Eastbourne UnLtd Chamber of Commerce www.eastbourneunltd.co.uk | Tel: 01323 641144

WHY JOIN EASTBOURNE UNLTD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE? FOR NETWORKING • The largest town Chamber of Commerce in the South East • Personal introductions • Access to ACES 4,000 members FOR INFLUENCE • Access to local authorities to overcome barriers to business • Access to central government • Access to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership

“We are delighted to support such a wonderful event for an incredible charity” Hundreds of people gathered at Folkington Manor on Sunday June 21 to enjoy an evening of entertainment to raise money and awareness for the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance in its 25th year. Sponsored by Rix & Kay Solicitors and hosted by Jacquie and Harry Brunjes, guests enjoyed champagne and canapés, a meal and a performance by West End leading lady Ruthie Henshall. The evening, including an auction, raised more than £30,000 for the charity.

Bruce Hayter, managing partner of Rix & Kay Solicitors, said, “We are delighted to support such a wonderful event for an incredible charity. Not many people know that the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance rely almost entirely on charitable donations and so it really is an excellent cause and considering the life-saving work they do it’s important that as many people as possible support them.”

Rix & Kay are one of the leading firms of solicitors in Sussex and Kent and are great supporters of ACES as members of several Chambers of Commerce. With offices in Brighton and Hove, Seaford, Uckfield and Sevenoaks the firm has grown significantly over the last decade which bears testament to the strength of their client relationships and progressive attitude. Rix & Kay is recognised in the latest editions of both ‘The Legal 500’ and ‘Chambers and Partners’, leading guides to the top law firms in the world. Their clients describe them as proactive, accessible, tenacious, personable and providing sound commercial advice. In almost 5,000 customer surveys since 2005, 96% say they would recommend their services.

For more information visit www.rixandkay.co.uk

FOR BUSINESS SUPPORT • Fully funded independent advice and mentoring • Business brokerage and signposting • Training courses and workshops FOR PROMOTION AND COMMUNICATION • Editorial in Sussex business publications without charge • Social media links, Twitter and LinkedIn Groups

To find out more visit www.eadtbourneunltd.co.uk or call us on 01323 641144

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{ CHAMBER NEWS } ACES

LEADERSHIP THAT GETS RESULTS To become a Member of ACES just join your local Chamber of Commerce in East Sussex. Full details at www.acesalliance.org

RACHEL STONE ON A NEW LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE Absolutely nothing happens in any organisation that is not the direct result of an act of leadership.

It’s true! That’s why leadership is the single most impactful priority that can make the difference between an average organisation and an exceptional one.

I believe passionately in the power of transformational leadership, which is an excellent way to develop a learning culture in an organisation. This is the way I develop the leaders with whom I work.

A learning culture is one where the drive for excellence thrives. It’s all about using a coaching style of leadership.

I often say that “All coaches are leaders, but not all leaders are coaches”. I have learnt that the best way to achieve outstanding results for an organisation is to teach the leaders to use coaching skills. My vision is that all employees will achieve their maximum potential because they are led by expert leaders who develop their teams to their full potential. That’s why

I have organised a conference which focuses on creating expert leaders who, in turn, create outstanding results.

There is nothing as constant as change in business, and coping with change is a key differentiator. Expert leaders are the single most crucial element of every aspect of improving the success of a business.

I have arranged for experts in the field of leadership to create an outstanding learning experience in the prestigious venue of the Grand

Leadership that gets results!

Tuesday 20th October

Day 2

Day 1

Conference at the Grand Hotel, Eastbourne

9.30: Key note speech Professor Damian Hughes ‘The Psychology of High Performance’ 11.00: Rachel Stone Transformational Leadership ‘Making an Impact’ 12.30: Lunch 13.15: Workshop: Rachel Stone ‘Coaching for Performance’ 17.30: Close

Wednesday 21st October

9.30: Key note speech Michael Ogilvie ‘Leadership for Profit’ 11.00: Simon Teague ‘The Day Your Team Becomes Unstoppable’ 12.30: Lunch 13.15: Rachel Stone ‘The Inspirational Leader’ 15.00: Claire Carpenter ‘Powerful Communication Skills’ 17.30: Close

DAY DELEGATE Day 1 or 2 Lunch included £397 PLUS VAT

Professor Damian Hughes is the author of six best-selling books, including ‘Liquid Thinking’ which takes the psychological methods used by great achievers and shows how you can adopt them into your own life and business.

CONFERENCE DELEGATE Days 1&2 Lunch included £657 PLUS VAT

Michael Ogilvie is Director of OBC Accountants, a Master Practitioner of NLP, the founder of ‘The Association’, Director and current President of the ‘Professional Speaking Association’. He talks about how it is important to introduce a ‘Profit Culture’ into a business for long term growth in profitability.

WHOLE PACKAGE DELEGATE Overnight Stay (20th) inc.Breakfast & Lunches £747 PLUS VAT

All delegates will be guaranteed a free follow up webinar with Mike Ogilvie and Rachel Stone plus a video of the key note speakers.

Please call 07976 304945 or email conference@bespoketrainingeastbourne.com

Bespoke Training Eastbourne examining and enhancing performance www.bespoketrainingeastbourne.com

Battle Chamber of Commerce www.battlechamber.org.uk

Bexhill Chamber of Commerce 01424 842892 www.bexhillchamber.co.uk

Crowborough Chamber of Commerce www.crowboroughchamber.co.uk

Eastbourne UnLtd Chamber of Commerce 01323 641144 www.eastbournechamber.co.uk

Limited to only 40 places BOOK BY JULY 1st and save £50 on your booking and receive a FREE COPY of ‘The Ultimate Leadership Guide: Secrets to Success’

by Simon Teague

East Sussex County Council 01273 481570 www.eastsussex.gov.uk

Federation of Small Businesses 01424 754686 Reg Office: 01323 482018 www.fsb.org.uk/eastsussex

Simon Teague is a renowned expert in leadership and management. He has a wealth of experience in corporate culture, entrepreneurialism, working with SMEs and educational institutions. He is author of ‘The Ultimate Leadership Guide’ - Secrets to Success at Work and in Business.

Claire Carpenter is the 2014 winner of the prestigious 'The Speaker Factor' award, a competition run by the Professional Speaking Association. She is a public speaking coach.

Her speciality is helping business people to deliver powerful and persuasive presentations, which inspire and motivate their audiences.

Rachel Stone is an award winning Business Coach and Leadership Trainer who is appointed by the ‘Growth Accelerator’ and approved to provide coaching and training for rapid growth businesses.

Hailsham Chamber of Commerce 01323 310531 www.hailshamchamberofcommerce.co.uk

Hastings Chamber of Commerce 01424 205500 www.hastingschamber.co.uk

Heathfield Chamber of Commerce 01435 865858 www.heathfieldchamber.co.uk

{ CHAMBER NEWS } ACES

Hotel in Eastbourne. It’s all about excellence in leadership. It takes place October 20th and 21st.

Professor Damian Hughes is the author of six best-selling books, including Liquid Thinking, Liquid Leadership, How to Change Absolutely Anything and How to Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson, as well the founder of the LiquidThinker Company, which takes the psychological methods used by great achievers and shows, in easy steps, how you can adopt them into your own life and business.

He has worked as a change management consultant and sports psychologist for Sale Sharks, West Bromwich Albion, France Rugby Union, Warrington Wolves, and England and GB Rugby League team. He was appointed as Professor of Organisational Psychology and Change for Manchester Metropolitan University in September 2010.

His innovative and exciting approach has been praised by Sir Richard Branson, Muhammad Ali, Sir Terry Leahy, Sir Roger Bannister, Tiger Woods, Jonny Wilkinson and Sir Alex Ferguson.

I am honoured and excited that Damian has agreed to address the forthcoming “Leadership that gets Results” conference as the keynote speaker on October 20th.

His insightful approach has been instrumental in moving many organisations’ performance to a higher level.

Michael Ogilvie is a founder member of the Professional Speaking Association, and regularly speaks to Entrepreneurs at conferences and seminars on business-related matters. Michael is an experienced Chartered Accountant by training.

However, although he owns Eastbourne Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers OBC The Accountants, most of his time

is focused on his work as one of UK’s leading Profit Coaches, with his company The Profit Team.

Michael is a Master Practitioner of Neurolinguistic Programming, and was a Founding Director of The Association of Profit Advisers.

When he is not using his skills and experience to help his clients to focus on increasing their profitability, he is an international motivational speaker at seminars and conferences, where he inspires his audience to adopt a “Profit Culture” in their businesses.

Michael talks about how it is important to introduce a “Profit Culture” into a business for long-term growth in profitability. Too many businesses believe that success is all about managing from the top. Michael will argue that you are only as strong as your weakest link and that long-term success depends on gaining the hearts and minds of the whole workforce, not just the top levels of management.

I am delighted that Michael will be the keynote speaker at the forthcoming “Leadership that gets Results” conference in October. His impact has dramatically improved results in organisations throughout the world. We are extremely lucky to have him at the conference and we can’t wait to be informed and entertained with his unique style and expert knowledge.

Claire Carpenter is an award-winning speaker and speaking coach. She has had a varied career which has seen her working behind the bar in the House of Commons while earning her international business degree, in the European Parliament as an intern during the election of 1994, and in the City as PA to the MD of Citibank— all the while studying the impact that words have in politics and in business.

She took to speaking herself after publishing two children’s books and learnt the techniques that brilliant speakers use to mesmerise their audiences. Putting those techniques into practice led to her scooping first place in the national competition of the Professional Speaking Association 2014.

Her expertise is showing business owners how their choice of words is impacting on their bottom lines—for good and bad. After working with Claire, business owners will be very aware of, and possibly slightly alarmed at, the power within their words. Claire’s clients will: • Recognise which words will inspire loyalty and action, and which will have a devastating effect on their business; • Discover simple techniques that brilliant speakers use to dazzle their audiences; • Learn the essential ingredients of charismatic speakers and how to adopt them at will.

Claire is providing a workshop at the “Leadership that gets Results” conference in October, and you would be wise to be there and pay attention!

Claire has had a massive impact with her expertise and can help you improve this crucial element of your leadership.

For a series of short videos on top tips to improve your leadership, visit my YouTube channel. Search for Rachel Stone Bespoke Training Eastbourne.

For more information about the “Leadership that gets Results” conference and the special offers available, email:conference@ bespoketrainingeastbourne.com Don’t miss out. Places are limited to 40 only.

ACES – THE ALLIANCE OF CHAMBERS IN EAST SUSSEX You are automatically a member of ACES, representing 4,000 members across the county, if you are a member of the chambers listed below. This entitles you to share your news stories in these Platinum Business pages without charge.

BEST4BIZ CONFERENCE 2015 Being a chamber or FSB member also entitles you to attend the Best4Biz Conference on 16th October at East Sussex National Hotel off the A22 in Uckfield. 200 business people attended Best4Biz last year and we will be announcing the speakers soon – so keep this date in your diary.

The Institute of Directors 0207 766 8866 www.iod.com

Lewes Chamber of Commerce 07919 382316 www.leweschamber.org.uk

Locate East Sussex 0844 415 9255 www.locateeastsussex.org.uk

Newhaven Chamber of Commerce 0800 107 0709 www.newhavenchamber.co.uk

Peacehaven Chamber of Commerce 01273 586222 www.peacehavenchamber.co.uk

Seaford Chamber of Commerce 0800 881 5331 www.seafordchamber.co.uk

South East Local Enterprise Partnership 01245 431469 www.southeastlep.com

Uckfield Chamber of Commerce 01825 722607 www.uckfieldchamber.co.uk

Wealden District Council 01323 443322 www.wealden.gov.uk

{ CHAMBER NEWS } WORTHING

YOU’RE HIRED How important are apprentices to your business?

Nothing stands still at Worthing and Adur Chamber of Commerce. So when the team spotted a skills gap in the all-important areas of communications and social media, it was time to do something about it. It was important for the Chamber to match the correct skills for the position, someone who had an interest in all things social. It’s not a decision that should be rushed through, as an apprentice will become a key member of staff and it’s important to place the correct candidate in the correct job, just as you would do with any vacancy. The Chambers patience paid off …. Step forward, Amelia Tomlinson – the Chamber’s new apprentice.

Amelia joined the Chamber fresh out of Worthing College, having studied fine art, digital media, and photography. In fact, fresh is an understatement: Amelia left college on 18 May and started at the Chamber on 19 May. Amelia’s role encompasses social media – particularly the Chamber’s Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, and LinkedIn activity – and helping to run the Chamber website (worthingandadurchamber.co.uk), keeping the content fresh and relevant.

Amelia said: “This was the perfect opportunity for me and came along at just the right time. It was too good to miss as

the role allows me to put my digital media and photography skills to good use.”

When asked for her impressions of the Chamber after a month on the inside, Amelia said: “I didn’t know an awful lot about the Chamber before I joined, but I can see already that the support it gives to local businesses is invaluable. I see it as my job to communicate this message through our social media so that we spread the word and extend this support to even more members.”

Chamber Chief Executive Tina Tilley said: “I encourage all local businesses to look at taking on apprentices, as they have a lot to offer. Amelia feels part of the team already. She is quickly making a difference in the social media area by bringing fresh ideas and a young person’s outlook. What’s more, she is incredibly confident in putting her ideas in place. Amelia is just what we needed.”

It looks like Amelia and the Chamber can look forward to a bright future together.

CELEBRATING THE SUCCESS OF THE BUSINESS NAVIGATOR PROGRAMME The end of June marked the conclusion of our involvement with the Business Navigator Scheme. Brighton & Hove, Chichester, and Worthing & Adur Chambers’ Navigators helped well over 2,000 businesses in the last year.

Thanks to our Navigators and every good wish to Coast to Capital for the continuation of the scheme in the future.

ADUR & WORTHING BUSINESS AWARDS ARE APPROACHING As a local Chamber of commerce, we actively encourage our members to enter the business awards. Why? Well, for one thing, it’s a great evening out, seeing the Pavilion Theatre in all its glory! Aside from this, it’s a great way to enhance your business, encourage your customers and your clients and energise yourself to do better. It doesn’t cost you anything to enter except your time your efforts.

Come along and join us on Wednesday, 9th September, when we will be sharing our top tips. What makes a good entry? How much information should you include? How do you get your colleagues and customers to support your nominations? Judges and previous winners will be there to talk to you and share their experiences. Don’t miss the opportunity to get involved and be part of the celebrations.

WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE A27?

Well, we plan to be keeping you informed and up-to-date.

Worthing and Adur Chamber have been invited to discuss the improvements to the A27 at Worthing/Lancing with Highways England. We will be sharing views about the design concepts that should be developed.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

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5th August – Speed Networking with our neighbours. Fast and furious networking with Chichester & Brighton Chambers.

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9th September – Top Tips for entering the Adur & Worthing Business Awards.

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25th September – Networking Breakfast. Find out more about the Growth Accelerator, funding, grants and business growth programmes.

{ CHAMBER NEWS } SUSSEX

CONSTRUCTION CONCERNS...

By Ana Christie, Chief Executive, Sussex Chamber of Commerce The latest quarter 2, 2015 Quarterly Economic Survey results, conducted by the British Chambers of Commerce and made up of 7,500 UK businesses, signal continued UK economic growth, however there were recorded declines in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

There has been a fall in employment in these sectors as well as a decline in those expecting their workforce to expand. Recruitment difficulties have been seen in trying to find suitable staff in skilled manual and technical categories.

The decline in manufacturing and construction has been a concern raised by many businesses in Sussex. The future of business, our industry and our country depends on the next generation.

So are we doing enough to ensure that students are aware of the career opportunities available to them and the skills required?

I attended a Big Bang Fair on the 30th June at the South of England Showground and was absolutely amazed by the interactive displays and hands-on workshops all inspired to provide the thousands of students present to consider opportunities and careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.

The UK will need over 2 million new scientists, engineers, technicians and mathematicians in the next 7 years. Apprentices can help meet the demand. We need more young people, particularly girls, to study physics and maths.

Furthermore, the global construction market is forecast to grow by 70% by 2025.

The Sussex Chamber aims to raise awareness, improve perception and inspire young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as other industry careers.

I am pleased to announce we will be piloting Young Chamber this month which will provide students with an opportunity to meet businesses from various industries and ask them specific questions regarding skills needed, the qualifications and route into specific industries, and what a normal day could look like.

We need to build a talent pipeline and collaboration between industry, government,

education and the community, if we are going to build the talent of the future, we need business and education to work in partnership. Young Chamber will do just that.

Further details of the Quarterly Economic Survey and Young Chamber can be found on our website www.sussexchamberofcommerce.co.uk and www.economicsurvey.org.uk

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SECRET SUSSEX IT’S A FAIR COP

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oday’s singletons seem to be addicted to the internet when seeking their next partner, even though we are assaulted on an almost weekly basis with horror stories of lies, deceit and fraud along with, I am sure, many matches made in heaven.

Matchmaking is as old as time, and in some cultures the role of the matchmaker was quite professionalized. The Ashkenazi Jewish shadchan and the Hindu astrologer were often thought to be essential advisors, who also helped in finding the right spouses as they had links to and a relationship of good faith with the families. In cultures where arranged marriages were the rule, the astrologer often claimed that the stars sanctified matches that both parents approved of, making it quite difficult for the possibly hesitant children to easily object – and also making it easy for the astrologer to collect his fee.

Things have moved on and matchmaking is back in vogue, none more so than with South Downs Introductions, founded by ex-police detective Tara McDonnell. PBM met up with Tara and asked her how it came about. “I set the company up due to my experiences with online dating in my 30s, when I was single. I found that some people lied about their age, weight, height and even their marital status. I put being single down to my career choice. I served as a police detective for 10 years and shift work made meeting single men difficult. The thought of putting my picture on the internet for all to see, including those I may have arrested, was horrifying. I eventually met my partner offline through our love of sailing and have been together now for seven years. I left the police to attend university and study law and found that matchmaking agencies in the area were few and far between, and so expensive that they became prohibitive.”

On-line dating fraud is ever-growing as singles turn to the ease of the online route, but such fraud rose by 33% in 2015 to a staggering £34 million, with one woman losing an eye-watering £800k. “Fraudsters, adept at grooming techniques, prey on the vulnerable; 68% are women and the rest are men. I saw there were even more sinister issues when a female suffered a brutal sexual assault and beating from a man she met on a well-known online dating site. Our objectives are to put the personal touch back into dating and strive to

keep people safe. I meet everyone in person and I ensure they are who they say they are. I really get to know my clients and I am using my skills as a trained and certified matchmaker, and as an ex-detective, to put compatible, busy,

“The thought of putting my picture on the internet for all to see, including those I may have arrested, was horrifying”

professional people together, and it works. My testimonials are evidence of that. My clients put a lot of trust and faith in me. I work with some wonderful, inspirational people who have some marvellous life stories and some equally poignant ones. Honesty is my policy, and if I believe that I cannot assist someone, I will say so in a tactful way.

“I would rather turn down a client than take their money and have a sleepless night. I am entering the UK Dating Awards 2015 as Best

Callisto Associates www.callistoassociates.com

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Newcomer to the industry. My company also provides bespoke, relaxed, no-pressure singles events, which include sailing taster days, wine tastings in elegant venues and summer barbecues.”

It seems quaintly old-fashioned that dating agencies and matchmakers are back in fashion, but as with so many things online, there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face, and the technological age can be a curse as well as a blessing. As our professional lives get busier, it becomes ever more difficult to meet a new partner outside of one’s own workplace. Help is certainly needed, and with the on-line route presenting an unknown quantity, the key is to locate a firm that is professional and does what is says on the can, and South Downs Introductions certainly seem to be at the top of the tree.

Who better to match you up and keep you safe than a law student and ex-police detective such as Tara McDonnell?

“Our objectives are to put the personal touch back into dating and strive to keep people safe”

SOUTH DOWNS INTRODUCTIONS call 07713 183420 or visit www.southdownsintroductions.co.uk or email connect@southdownsintroductions.co.uk 97

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Words

Issue 14 Wise

Paul Roe, President Crawley and Gatwick Chamber of Commerce M:07813 885529 | E: paul.roe@krestonereeves.com W: www.crawleychamber.co.uk HOW WELL DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT? We’ve all had them, disturbed nights sleep caused by a thorny issue, whether it stems from business or personal matters. How can we minimise these to ensure we’re working at our best the next day?

I do remember a quote which made a very strong impression on me in my younger days, which I will paraphrase as the quote itself was in very old fashioned terms! Broadly, “Honesty is the greatest gift men and women can give themselves”. Difficult at times to live by, one’s often tempted to sweeten a bitter pill, or soften an unpleasant message, but in the end, it should become a question of language used rather changing the message itself.

Two personal examples come to mind where doing the right thing, has definitely proved to have been the right thing to do.

There has been a lot of moralistic nonsense out there in the press for a few years now about tax planning. Lord Clyde said in 1929, “No man in the country is under the smallest obligation, moral or other, so to arrange his legal relations to his business or property as to enable the Inland Revenue to put the largest possible shovel in his stores”. I and we at Kreston Reeves, are happy to look at good tax planning. Who would not maximise IHT nil rate bands between couples, maximise capital allowances on buildings for integral features, or claim R & D tax credits where possible?

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It’s a question of where you draw the line. Posing another question, who could possibly consider that claiming large tax losses for selling second hand cars, when you’ve never seen a car sold, is the right side of the line? I’m glad to say, at Kreston Reeves, we’ve always held the view, if it’s artificial, it’s wrong. That view has meant that I and colleagues have indeed slept at night during the current concentration on tax avoidance and evasion.

“There’s nothing we can’t achieve, no problem we can’t overcome, if we take a little time to consider our privileged position as compared with many in the world”

My second example involves my position in the Chamber, which is but one of several Chambers and networking organisations covering the area we’d call “our patch”. The vibrant Chamber pages in this publication speak to that. I don’t take the view that anyone I meet needs to be encouraged in to the Chamber, at all costs. If I feel they are the type, or their business is the type that would benefit from being in another organisation, I will tell them that and be happy to make the referral elsewhere.

There are two other little tricks I use to help induce that state of restful sleep at night. There’s nothing we can’t achieve, no problem we can’t overcome, if we take a little time to consider our privileged position as compared with many in the world. If ever I’m really struggling, I take inspiration from school aged children I’ve seen at the municipal rubbish dump in Phnom Penh, eking out a bare living collecting plastic to recycle, without shoes or education and living in a shack next to the huge pile of rubbish they scramble over for sixteen hours a day.

Secondly, where honest comments or a difficult position are needed, delay only increases the pressure and stress of delivery. Of course, take some time to consider how you will give that difficult view, but get it done and don’t compromise on the message itself. Then you can go home in the knowledge you’ve given yourself that greatest gift again, and most importantly, looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

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Model shown is for illustrative purposes only. (OTR price includes VAT, delivery, 12 months' Road Fund Licence, number plates, first registration fee and fuel). *Finance offer based on E 220 BlueTEC AMG Night Edition Auto Saloon, on a Mercedes-Benz Agility Agreement, on 10,000 miles per annum. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. † Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. †† Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and Retailer deposit contribution. Orders/credit approvals on selected models between 1 July and 30 September 2015, registered by 31 December 2015. Guarantees and indemnities may be required. Offers cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Please contact your Retailer for availability. Terms and conditions apply. Credit provided subject to status by Mercedes-Benz Financial Services UK Limited, MK15 8BA. Failure to make payments may affect your credit rating. Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 2448457 and has its registered address at Tongwell, Milton Keynes, MK15 8BA. 58484

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