Platinum Business Magazine - issue 68

THE LARGEST CIRCULATION REGIONAL BUSINESS PUBLICATION IN THE UK

ISSUE 68. FEBRUARY 2020

GATWICK

The benefits of growth

Audi R8

The everyday super car

BRIGHTON & HOVE

The city of the future THE NEW GUV’NOR

ANDREW BAILEY A SAFE PAIR OF HANDS AT THE BANK OF ENGLAND?

GYLES BRANDRETH THE POWER OF LANGUAGE

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CONTENTS 6

NEWS A round up of commercial news across Sussex

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FOCUS ON BRIGHTON

& HOVE Platinum takes a look at how the city is getting itself positioned as a tech, commerce and cultural centre

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27/29

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NATWEST The latest survey of business confidence

DMH STALLARD Managing data risk, and employment laws regarding seasonal workers

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KRESTON REEVES Getting ready for Brexit

MHA CARPENTER BOX Now is the perfect time to review your pension arrangements

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HAINES WATTS The pros and cons of an everchanging digital world

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CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE Social diary of events supporting CTH in 2020

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NATIONAL NEWS AT A GLANCE A round up of commercial news across the UK and abroad

MOVERS & SHAKERS Who’s going where... Harvey John Recruitment tells us who is moving on in the world of regional commerce GYLES BRANDRETH Interview with the host of the 2020 Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

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NATIONAL NEWS AT A GLANCE Further round up of commercial news across the UK and abroad

ROCKETMILL Marrying up short- and longterm targets in business

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WILLOW STUDY-HUB Surrey’s one-to-one tutoring hub helps children reach their full potential

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SUSSEX INNOVATION CENTRE What are we talking about when we talk about business support?

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THE GRAND BRIGHTON Five steps to achieving mindful meetings

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TRAVEL Travel experts Go Bespoke look at the six most luxurious villas across the world

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GATWICK AIRPORT Sharing the benefits of airport

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MOTORING Maarten Hoffmann enjoys racing around in an Audi R8, and suggests you should too.

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COVER STORY Ian Trevett profiles the incoming Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey

SOCIAL BRIGHTON A simple LinkedIn strategy to grow new business in 2020

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SURREY RESEARCH PARK The future of medicine

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HURSTPIERPOINT COLLEGE Through schools (prep school through to senior) – a force to be reckoned with?

73 brand

INTRALAN Protect your data, and your

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ANGER MANAGEMENT Maarten Hoffmann updates us on the impending environmental implosion heading our way

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IoD The philosophy behind influence FOOTBALL Brighton’s Socceroos donate towards the Australian bushfires relief fund

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CLEANKILL Dealing with urban flying rats – or pigeons...

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 owned and published by The Platinum Publishing Group.

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Welcome W elcome to February 2020 and a packed issue, as always. Our cover story profiles the new Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey. He has the unenviable task of steering us through Brexit and the effect that it might have on the UK economy. We also have a feature on Business in Brighton as part of our ongoing series of city features. The growth of Brighton is extraordinary and it leads the country in many sectors.

And while you’re here...

Not only do we have the largest number of print readers on planet Earth but you can also join our 468,000 online readers. If you can’t wait for the next issue then jump onto our social media platforms and join the conversation.

Maarten got his hands on the all-new Audi R8 supercar and, as always, drove it like he stole it and Anger Management looks at the reality of climate change on all our lives and businesses. Healys Law looks at key issues to be considered by all tech companies, digital agency Rocketmill looks at the changes in that sector, and DMH Stallard explains how to keep ahead of the potential damage caused by a data breach.

As always, it has been crazily busy at Platinum Towers.

The events team is planning a record number of awards and conferences this year, and Dynamic (the Business Magazine for Women) is growing even more quickly that we could possibly have imagined.

@platbusmag Platinum Publishing Group

Exciting times

The Platinum Team

Maarten Hoffmann – Director

Lesley Alcock

maarten@platinumpublishing.co.uk

Commercial Director

Ian Trevett – Director ian@platinumpublishing.co.uk

www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

Nicole Kemble Commercial Manager

Kate Morton

Hanna Nicholson

Features Editor

Travel Editor

Fiona Graves

Lydia Bunyard

Events Director

Events Executive

Alan Wares Head of Design

Platinum staff images courtesy of David Green, Shoot Me Now Photography shootmenow.co.uk

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Sussex

news CHRISTMAS VENUES

Record funds raised for local charities

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taff and clients of Sussex- based accountancy practice MHA Carpenter Box have raised £35,000 for local charities during a yearlong celebration of the 10th anniversary of the firm’s charitable foundation – exceeding the original target for 2019 by £15,000. The funds were raised through 10 events – from quizzes and cycles to sponsored walks and 10k runs. Five local charities will benefit from the funds raised: Lorica

Trust, which provides practical skills for people affected by homelessness and disability at East Clayton Farm; the Turning Tides homelessness charity; Crawley Open House, which supports people affected by mental health issues and social exclusion; Care for Veterans, which provides long term care for disabled ex-servicemen and women; and Sullivan’s Heroes, which supports home adaptations for disabled children.

Zero waste boost for sushi restaurant

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apanese restaurant Moshimo in Brighton has come fourth in a national ranking of small green businesses by the app Too Good To Go, which allows customers to buy unsold food from restaurants.

Moshimo claims it has cut its food waste almost to nothing by partnering with the app, which allows people to purchase their left-over food at a discounted price. A spokesperson

for Moshimo said: “This simple partnership has allowed us to reduce our food waste to virtually zero. We also aim to source foods with limited packaging and make many of our drinks in-house to avoid packaging and waste. Where we do use materials, we put recyclability and biodegradability as priorities, such as our cellulose straws and wooden chopsticks.”

Courage and endurance are useless if they are never tested BUSINESS WISDOM

Cyber security firm gains Cow Corner investment

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SMS.online, a leading information security management software solution, has received £2m of investment from Sussex investment firm Cow Corner. The platform was invented by entrepreneur Mark Darby (below) after his firm’s experience in achieving ISO 27001, the internationally recognised information security standard.

ISMS.online SaaS provides organisations with an ‘out of the box’ management system for information security.

It is already used by small, medium and large businesses in the US, Canada, New Zealand Australia and mainland Europe as well as the UK. ISMS. online is Cow Corner’s third major investment in knowledge-based businesses in Sussex.

Success is falling down nine time and getting up ten BUSINESS WISDOM

Sussex campus set for expansion

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he University of Sussex has revealed its plans to provide homes for 1,900 students at its Falmer campus. If approved, plans would see the amount of student housing double on the university’s West Slope site. The proposal also includes a new health

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and wellbeing centre, a supermarket, a café, a new library, and an “open area of flexible green space”. Tim Westlake, the university’s chief operating officer, said: “Redeveloping the West Slope residences will provide up to 1,900 bedrooms – an increase of about

1,000 extra rooms. “Following on from the East Slope residential development, which is due for completion by 2021, this further investment in our campus accommodation means that we will add to the range of student housing on campus.”

Solicitors complete major acquisition

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orrisons Solicitors LLP has completed the acquisition of Wheelers Solicitors, one of the largest solicitors practices in the Blackwater Valley area. This is Morrisons’ second acquisition in 12 months, following the addition of Oxted-based Harrops & Hepburn Solicitors in December 2018.

Wheelers provide expert advice and a

highly personalised service to individuals and businesses in Hampshire, Surrey, Berkshire and beyond.

Paul Harvey, Managing Partner of The Morrisons Group, commented: “Wheelers has been one of the leading firms in the Surrey/Hampshire borders for many years and I am thrilled to bring

Now don’t say you cannot swear off drinking; it’s easy.

I’ve done it thousands of times.

BUSINESS WISDOM

them into the Morrisons Group. Mel and James’ ambitions match ours and this adds further strength and depth to our presence in the region. Following on from the acquisition of Harrops & Hepburn last December, this demonstrates our ambition and commitment to our clients across the South East.”

Businessman to pay £9.5m

Local games inventor wins Amazon award

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mum who turned down a £50,000 Dragons’ Den investment has won Amazon Small Business of the Year. Hazel Reynolds, chief executive of Gamely Games, who was told “you’ll live to regret it” by entrepreneur Peter Jones, said the card game business she founded had carried on in its own unique way, and was due to have sold more than 100,000 of its family friendly party games by the end of last year.

Gamely Games, which is based in Brighton has turned over more than a

million pounds to date and gives 10% of its profits to charity, as well as giving hundreds of games to children.

Customers crowned Gamely Games the Amazon Small Business of the Year in the first Amazon Small Business Awards. Hundreds of UK small businesses selling on Amazon were nominated across three categories and tens of thousands of customers voted for the winners.

Foxhills’ yoga cabin perfect retreat

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he managing director of Foxhills Club & Resort admits the success of one of the latest leisure additions – the Yoga Cabin – has taken him by surprise. Four new projects were launched in 2019 for an initial outlay of £1m as part of an ambitious £25m revamp over the next 10 years.

“Typically, a lot of clubs will do yoga and Pilates as they are growth areas but they will put them in a sweaty studio that has just done a Zumba class or something so it’s all a bit clammy in there. Ours only has yoga, Pilates and Tai Chi so it has this calm feeling to it.”

Marc Hayton, Foxhills managing director, said: “We thought it would be successful but it has definitely exceeded our expectations. The occupancy alone tells its own story. We have moved from 17 classes per week BUSINESS WISDOM up to 30 per week.

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ormer BHS owner Dominic Chappell will have to pay £9.5million into two of the collapsed high street chains’ pension schemes after losing an appeal.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) said Chappell's appeal against orders to pay into the BHS’s pension schemes was struck out in the Upper Tribunal. Chappell bought BHS from Sir Philip Green for £1 back in 2015, it crashed 13 months later leaving a pensions hole of up to £571m. The Pensions Regulator prosecuted the 53-year-old in 2018 and he was convicted at Brighton Magistrates Court of failing to provide information to TPR.

Success usually comes to those who are too busy to look for it BUSINESS WISDOM

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FOCUS ON BRIGHTON & HOVE

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righton isn’t all about candy floss and promenade strolls, you can build big businesses here. Having grown into one of the UK’s most successful digital technology clusters, entrepreneurs can sink their teeth into a thriving business community supported by a captive audience and the UK’s fourth largest business stock. The city now boasts the UK’s highest proportion of creative small and medium-sized businesses relative to the size of the sector.

Outside of London, it is the most vibrant and influential business region in the UK, with the rise of tech companies, tourism, independent television, dynamic start-ups and a wide range of blue-chip headquarters such as BUPA, American Express, Brandwatch, Domestic & General and a Premier League football club.

The average Brighton firm employs just seven people, has the best qualified workforces in the country, and an impressive start-up support network means that small businesses in the

The City of the Future

Voted the best place to start a new business in the UK, Platinum Business Magazine discovers why Brighton is having such a dynamic effect on entrepreneurship area have an impressive 87% survival rate meaning more businesses are also likely to have the opportunity to scale up. Brighton also featured in the top ten towns and cities for population diversity, which has a positive effect on entrepreneurship, according to the World Economic Forum.

According to the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards 2018 report, titled

The Secret of Success, almost a third of Brighton-based decision makers said that a large number of entrepreneurs are helping to boost business growth in Brighton, and a further 37% said that the large number of start-ups is the key driver. In addition, 80% of respondents in Brighton think there is enough local talent with digital skills in their area, which is substantially higher than the national average of 48%.

Greater Brighton

The City introduces a new economic strategy Stretching from Brighton north to Crawley and Gatwick, Worthing across to Seaford, the Greater Brighton Economic Board is made up of six local authorities as well as businesses and education providers. Bringing in more than £150

million of direct investments into the local economy, its aim is that the Greater Brighton region will become the most successful economy in the South East.

10% in the past five years, Greater Brighton has all the raw materials needed to thrive including two leading universities, two international ports, an international airport and an economy worth £21 billion a year.

With an economy that has grown by

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Disruptive start-ups reshaping the city NatWest Accelerator: the hot spot for Brighton start-ups

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righton is a hotbed of entrepreneurial talent with an open-minded community of consumers, making it the perfect place for disruptive innovation and new products to thrive. So it is no wonder that Brighton was crowned the ‘Startup capital of the UK’. In the same year, NatWest brought its Entrepreneurship Proposition in-house which consisted of 12 accelerator hubs around the UK, including Brighton. Since then, the Brighton Accelerator has supported hundreds of local entrepreneurs who have collectively created over 55 jobs and raised £713 million in investment.

The Accelerator is industry agnostic and welcomes a wide range of businesses, from products and services, to tech and software. This is a big part of what makes the proposition unique and makes up the first of the

Programme’s three pillars: Network.

The Accelerator hub is a place where like-minded founders can collaborate, exchange ideas and contacts, and tackle issues collectively. In addition, the entrepreneurs have the opportunity to have one-to-one meetings with the hub’s Development Manager to identify and make connections with key contacts, partners and mentors that can enable their growth.

The second pillar is the Environment.

As a fully funded Programme, the Accelerator Hub offers the entrepreneurs free office space, community events, bookable meetings rooms, and an event space. Finally, we have the proposition’s third pillar and main differentiator from other acceleration programmes; Coaching. Members of the cohort have regular sessions with their assigned coaches to tackle their challenges and guide them in their

entrepreneurial journey. The coaches also deliver workshops in various different themes ranging from Leadership and Mindset to Finance and Customer Validation. The average yearly turnover of businesses in the Accelerator is £79,000 with team numbers growing from one to over 40 people.

Businesses interested in applying for the programme can learn more by searching NatWest Accelerator or attending one of our hub tours or events by registering via Eventbrite.

To find out more about the Accelerator hub, email BrightonAccelerator@ natwest.com

Meet the Brighton Accelerator team KRISTINA PERECKAITE Entrepreneur Development Manager Initially joining the team as a coach back in 2017, Kristina has worked with hundreds of founders identifying their barriers to growth and supporting them to scale their business model.

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LEONARDO PINTO Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager With a background in investment banking, Leonardo encourages entrepreneurs to adopt the scientific method and learn by testing their hypothesis while focusing on their long-term objectives.

JOSHUA LYON Entrepreneur Acceleration Manager With a wealth of knowledge within the financial, innovation and business worlds, Joshua combines this with his passion for growth and development by supporting individuals and businesses alike to exceed their potential.

OLIVIER PEYRASSE ScaleUp Acceleration Manager Working with the highest-growth businesses across Brighton, London and Milton Keynes, Olivier supports their ambitions to scale rapidly, sustainably, and as smoothly as possible.

FOCUS ON BRIGHTON & HOVE

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Brighton start-ups to watch

in 2020

Truthpaste Handmade here in Brighton, Truthpaste is a leading brand in alternative toothpaste and oral care. Their unique formula is waste free, cruelty free and 100% natural.

Influenced by ayurveda and aromatherapy Truthpaste harnesses antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of botanical ingredients.

Founder: Marissa Battrick Industry: Health and Beauty

Percept Imagery Percept Imagery is an award-winning technology company that lets you experience products and proposed spaces in real time via its cloud based AR and VR platforms.

Founders: Akshay Saswade and Rohan Satpute Industry: Ecommerce, Retail, AEC (Architecture, engineering and construction)

Ducit.ai Ducit.ai is the artificial intelligence Open Banking platform that enables banks and lenders make better credit risk and fraud detection decisions, and empowers consumers to get access to suitable financial products and services.

Founders: Rafa Garcia Navarro, Owen Ball and Chas Coppard Industry: FinTech

Practice Hub Europe’s first all-in-one cloudbased practice management software for chiropractors that

The Accelerator team have identified the Brighton start-ups that are growing at a fast pace, or about to disrupt their industry.

supports and manages clinics with scheduling, billing, clinical notes and marketing. Their subscription software is now used by practices in over 30 countries.

Founders: Jeremy McMinn Industry: Healthcare

Ocasta Ocasta are on a mission to transform how people work! They boost performance, engagement and compliance in organisations through behaviour changing digital transformation and employee apps. Working across multiple sectors including multinational retailers, telcos, online service providers, charities and universities.

Founder(s): Ben Collier, Ed Moore, Martin Higham and Stephen Liddell Industry: Employee Tech

SimplyVAT.com Providing international VAT solution for online retailers with clients in 50 countries, SimplyVAT is growing at a fast pace and are developing a software to meet the changing VAT landscape.

Founder: Claire Taylor Industry: Financial Services

Votch Europe’s first vegan friendly watch brand offering stylish, minimal watches with individual straps that are all interchangeable and made from Pinatex: a material made from pineapple waste.

Founder: Laura Way Industry: Fashion

BubbleLife Providing a truly plastic-free and zero-waste solution to liquid soap, bath and shower products. Made from the finest ingredients, their ‘bubbles’ are transported to your home in biodegradable/reusable packaging, before being placed in a BubbleLife dispenser.

Founders: Carolina Avellaneda and Jon McGlashan Industry: Health and Beauty

Soaked Soaked provides haircare products on subscription that are good quality, affordable, and personalised.

You receive a glass ‘bottle for life’ and sign up to a monthly subscription to receive recyclable refill pouches through your letterbox.

Founder: Hollie Sanglier Industry: Health and Beauty

O’Shaughnessy Drinks The first cannabis drink company in the UK, O’Shaughnessy Drinks are infused with a water-soluble full spectrum cannabis solution from approved European hemp strains that deliver a daily dose of cannabinoids to people as an all-natural supplement.

Founder: Tony Fowler Industry: Health and Wellbeing

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FOCUS ON BRIGHTON & HOVE

Partners in Tech

Key issues that all tech companies should consider by Karen Lord, Corporate Partner at Healys LLP asset of the business. It’s important to check whether you have properly secured the ownership rights in these technologies – failure to do this could result in disputes and in the worst case could mean that the business is no longer able to use or benefit from the technology.

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n recent years, Brighton has become known as the UK’s most entrepreneurial city and most suited to start a business. Brighton has developed into a successful digital technology hub too, with its tech economy valued at more than £1 billion per annum. In the last five years the ICT and digital sector has grown by over 40%, and Brighton’s share of immersive technology companies is four times greater than the national average, according to an Immerse UK report.

Tech companies are often set up by groups of individuals who come together with a shared idea for a new business. Many comprise enthusiastic and creative individuals who apply innovation and democratic principles in their approach to running a modern business (hence their success rate). However over time individuals can develop a divergence of priorities and views and ultimately may wish to move on. If you haven’t considered how you would manage this, you could damage your business.

Restrictive Covenants Businesses also need to think about protection against the actions of shareholders and staff who leave.

Restrictive covenants should be in place to stop individuals from taking assets from the business, such as clients, staff, confidential information and products etc. If there are no signed restrictions in place, this can leave the business vulnerable.

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Shareholder Arrangements When you are starting out it’s diffi cult to imagine that life as a co-owner will not always be rosy. But the reality is that people change: whether it’s a change of priorities or simply that one-time friends no longer get on, businesses and shareholders always suffer where co-owners are no longer able to work in harmony. The company’s constitution (Articles of Association) and a shareholder’s agreement should provide a roadmap of how to deal with this situation, protecting the business and its owners and providing a fair outcome to all involved. Putting these

documents in place at the start of your journey has the added advantage of making you have a sensible discussion about these types of issues when emotions are not running high.

It’s essential for tech companies, especially those with multiple owners, to have these key risks covered to minimise the impact on the business and on the owners of future disputes with regard to the ownership, rights, and fi nances of the business. Some of the largest tech companies in the world have fallen victim to such risks. In recent years, Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allan, accused Bill Gates of being a bully who tried to force him out of the firm and cut his share in the business as he was recovering from cancer. Allan held onto his billion dollar share, however many lose out in these situations.

If you require corporate legal advice for your business, please contact Corporate Partner Karen Lord on 01273 669124 or email her at: Karen. lord@healys.com

Corporate Partner at Healys LLP, Karen Lord, highlights three key ways in which business owners can protect themselves and a successful business.

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Ownership Rights Tech companies often develop new technologies which give them a competitive edge and which are a core

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Ordinary to Extraordinary How can business coaching help you? We hear from former Sussex Entrepreneur of the Year and Business Development Coach, Neil Laughton

How does coaching help leaders?

“Leadership is a fine thing, but it has its penalties. And the biggest penalty is loneliness” said inspirational leader Sir Ernest Shackleton. A business coach can be a friend in difficult times, provide a sounding board for ideas and offer impartial advice if required.

Sometimes you do all of these things in a short period of time. Managing Director Justin Lowe of wedding caterer The Gourmet Chef came to see me in a bit of a rut. It did not take long to identify the problem areas and after encouraging Justin to implement some significant strategic changes, his business has seen turnover and profit grow by nearly 1000% in the last four years.

What makes a good leader?

A good leader is someone who can provide a compelling and inspirational picture of the future, then persuade others to follow them there. Our Inspiration Programme takes senior leaders to remote locations in the UK and abroad where they can reflect on their effectiveness as leaders. Stuart Richie leads a team of 5,391 people at Utility Warehouse and recently spent a week with us in South Africa. “We undertook deep reflective work, goal-setting both personally & professionally and enjoyed the wildlife, all set in unbelievably beautiful surroundings.”

How can a business sustain longterm growth?

Long-term growth requires good strategies, inspirational leadership and effective teamwork. Very few businesses survive without people working effectively and productively together and this is always a challenge but something that can be practiced.

At our off-site facility in the South Downs National Park we run Team Development Training workshops.

Local Estate Agents John Hilton recently brought their team down for the day. “After spending some time with Neil, the team worked like a well-

oiled machine, supporting each other, exchanging ideas, updating systems.

The difference was extraordinary”, said Manager, Jo-Ann Stafford.

How has your background defined you as a business person?

My military, entrepreneurial and adventuring background has undoubtedly defined and shaped me as a businessman. I’m not frightened to take risks, my communication style is forthright and I’m both competitive and ambitious. This does tend to rub off on my clients. Jeff Halls, Managing Director of construction company 20Six said recently: “Neil’s motto is Ordinary to Extraordinary and it is his positive, optimistic and no nonsense approach that has helped us treble in size in the three years we have been working with him.”

What services do Laughton & Co offer?

We offer bespoke training and development programmes for business leaders and their teams. Clients include Virgin Atlantic, B&Q, BP and local businesses such as Brighton CCTV, Silver Star Cleaning and Focus Group. Our monthly Business Support Group sessions are always well attended and is where business leaders meet to learn from an expert guest speaker, share ideas with each other and leave inspired to grow their businesses.

To contact Neil Laughton, please call +44 7973 289552 or email neil@ laughton.co

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FOCUS ON BRIGHTON & HOVE

Ditch the spreadsheets and grow Leading digital transformation from the South Coast

by Carlene Jackson, CEO of Cloud9 Insight models. Those not leveraging technology are quickly being left behind.

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loud9 Insight is an award-winning business change consultancy and Microsoft Gold Partner, helping small and medium-sized businesses adapt to the modern workplace and better their business processes through the use of Microsoft Cloud technologies.

Winner of Gatwick Diamond’s ‘Investing in People for Business Success’ Award, and voted in the top 20 SME Companies for Culture, CEO Carlene Jackson is frequently featured in the media, including BBC Global and The Guardian, to discuss technology trends and the importance of culture to create a modern workplace.

“Brighton has a close community of collaborative and diverse companies with a particular concentration of tech businesses which means it’s an easy hotspot to find talent to grow my business.

But digital transformation is not just about technology – it’s a business strategy that requires leaders to re-evaluate their existing business models and embrace a wholly different way of bringing together their people, data, and processes to create real value for their customers and capture new opportunities for their business.

Rethinking careers Focus is now shifting to the skills of the future, and equipping people for the modern workplaces which will include AI, mixed reality and digital processes as standard.

Cloud9’s apprenticeship scheme, again based in Brighton, aims to unlock potential and help apprentices realise their career aspirations in a forward-thinking industry which they may not have previously considered.

After experiencing the shortfall in talent within the technology industry, CEO Carlene worked with Microsoft and the extended community of Microsoft partners to develop an apprenticeship programme that delivers

outstanding talent to the industry. The Microsoft community is highly collaborative, and even ‘competitors’ have sought Cloud9’s help to provide them with the outstanding talent that it has a reputation for producing.

By providing relevant degree-level qualifications, Cloud9 nurtures and trains Sussex apprentices to quickly support future employers and give them the confidence and experience to hit the ground running. Open to people of all ages and skill sets, Cloud9 has successfully developed over 15 apprenticeships since its inception in 2010.

Don’t get left behind in an increasingly digital world. Get a copy of Carlene’s new eBook on Digital Transformation, at www.cloud9insight.com/ ebook and ensure your business is ahead of the curve. For a free consultation to discuss how companies are adapting to the digital revolution, email hello@cloud9insight.com or call 01273 921510

“The quality of life and work life balance for our team is fantastic as we are not spending long hours commuting and therefore have more time to have fun and be with our families.” – Carlene Jackson, CEO Cloud9 Insight.

Rethinking business Digital technology is redefining the way every industry is operating. Now on the cusp of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, organisations are reinventing themselves to create new revenue streams, exceptional customer experiences, and even entirely new business

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here are more than 16,000 businesses in Brighton according to the latest data from Brighton & Hove Economic Strategy, with more and more new businesses emerging each year. It’s no wonder that Brighton consistently features on lists of the best places to start and develop a business.

As Head of Member Engagement at Brighton Chamber, I am out and about speaking to businesses every day and here are just a few of the many reasons they give for why they thrive in the city.

Well supported Businesses here are well-served by a comprehensive ecosystem of support, whether you’re a start-up, an established company or looking to scale.

Organisations like Brighton Chamber provide networking and learning opportunities, including the popular Catch the Wave support series. Wired Sussex supports businesses in the digital and tech sector while Barclays Eagle Labs and the Sussex Innovation Centre offer workspace and support to encourage growth.

Why businesses thrive...

By Amy Lishman, Head of Member Engagement at Brighton Chamber

The NatWest Accelerator, where the Chamber is based, has been supporting entrepreneurs in Brighton since 2015. Offering a fully-funded programme of business support, several successful businesses have received their support including OMGTea (who recently appeared on Dragons Den) and Simply VAT. Leaders who make things happen Entrepreneurship is alive and well in Brighton. It might be the sea air, or the progressive, open mindedness of the city that allows ideas and innovation to flourish. There are some impressive entrepreneurs making waves in Brighton and they are leading the way so that others can start up and grow.

Hannah Dawson, Founder of tech start-up Furtli is one such leader. After experiencing the pains of running a small business and noticing a gap in the market, Hannah set about creating an all-in-one forecasting and reporting platform for small businesses. Asked

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why Brighton is a great place to do business, Hannah said: "The 16,000 small businesses in Brighton reflect the entrepreneurial mindset of this city and as Futrli is designed to help ambitious small businesses with their

cashflow, being here puts us at the core of our customer base.”

Collaboration and networking Brighton is a collaborative city. If you’re looking for people to work with,

FOCUS ON BRIGHTON & HOVE “Brighton is a fantastic place to start and grow a business. It’s a great mixing pot of creative talent from games through to digitallynative businesses, musicians and agencies” David Lockie, Founder of Pragmatic there is no shortage of talent to help you with whatever you need to see your business grow, whether it’s digital marketing, designers or finance support. David Lockie, Founder of Pragmatic, the UK’s leading Wordpress agency said: “Brighton is a fantastic place to start and grow a business. It's a great mixing pot of creative talent from games through to digitally-native businesses, musicians and agencies”.

While Brighton is known for its digital, tech, IT and creative industries, other sectors like food and drink are on the rise with brands like Brighton Gin and Bird & Blend Tea Co. thriving in Brighton and beyond.

Networking plays a big role in connecting people with each other across the city with over 40 different networking groups in the area. Making connec-

tions is essential for any business to thrive whether it be for peer support, getting new business or simply keeping up with what’s happening in Brighton. On this, David continues: “It's a proper Goldilocks zone - big enough to always meet new people but small enough that reputation and relationships matter”.

The emergence of innovative co-working spaces has nurtured this collaborative spirit. From PLATFR9M who opened their third space in Hove Town Hall in 2018, to the brand-new Plus X opening in 2020 on Lewes Road, there is no shortage of fun, creative spaces to meet and share business ideas.

In 2018 Brighton was voted the best place to start up a small business and I think that trend is set to continue, if the number of businesses joining the Chamber in 2019 is anything to go by!

The unique combination of an active business support ecosystem, the culture of collaboration and connections, and the people who make things happen here is what makes Brighton one of the best places in the UK to run a business.

Amy Lishman is Head of Member Engagement at Brighton Chamber. For more information on how we support businesses in Brighton to meet, learn and grow, contact Amy at amy@ brightonchamber.co.uk

...in Brighton

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CHARITY NEWS

Weekend warriors Join Team Chestnut in 2020

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dventure-seeker or adrenaline junkie? Marathon sprinter or more of a weekend walker? Whatever your challenge, make 2020 your year to jump, run, climb, walk or cycle for your local children’s hospice, Chestnut Tree House.

By joining Team Chestnut and fundraising for the charity you are ensuring that local children who are unlikely to reach adulthood, and their families, have the chance to live for the

now, and when the time comes, say goodbye in the way that is right for them.

Whatever challenge you take on, you will receive support from a dedicated Fundraising Team to guide you through your journey. And it has never been easier to get involved. From events and activities, to small actions that make a big difference, choose a challenge for 2020 and help make every Now count for local children and families.

stunning Brighton seafront, this is a run not to be missed!

Here are just a few ways you can be part of Team Chestnut this year:

Hit the Downs MTB

Sunday 3rd May An epic 30k, 60k or 80k off-road mountain bike ride – the only one of its kind in Sussex. Whether you are a seasoned rider, weekend warrior or are taking on a personal challenge, the undulating course will test riders with its multitude of climbs and downhill descents.

Skydive

Saturday 28th March Take on your most exhilarating challenge yet, with a breathtaking 125mph freefall and stunning parachuted glide with views across the South West – a skydive really is the ultimate once-in-alifetime experience.

Brighton Marathon

Sunday 19th April Join 15,000 runners in the UK’s second biggest marathon. Taking you through the iconic streets of Brighton, over the coastal roads of Ovingdean Cliffs, and along the

Castle Night Trek

Saturday 16th May A brand new 10k challenge in the stunning grounds of Herstmonceux castle. Put on your walking boots, switch on your torch and trek through woodlands, fields and the stunning grounds of the castle at night.

Give your time and make every moment count Don’t fancy taking part in a challenge event, but have a few hours to spare? Volunteering is a great way of trying something new, gaining new skills and experiences, meeting new people and giving something back your local community.

Challenge seekers could not cross the finish line without the passion and energy of volunteers cheering them on.

Whether it’s timing the race or cheering on the adrenaline junkies, dressing up as Sidney the Squirrel or handing out

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gold medals, when you do something for Chestnut Tree House you are helping local children and their families live For the Now. To find out how you and your business can support local children with life-shortening conditions, and their families, visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk, email corporate@chestnut-tree-house.org.uk or call 01903 871846 / 01323 725095.

NATIONAL NEWS

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t’s that time of year again when Brits resolve to up their fitness regime. According to the latest research from Mintel, over the last five years, private health and fitness gym membership has leapt up 15%, with the number of members rising from 5.3 million in 2014 to an impressive 6.1 million in 2019. Meanwhile, total revenue for the UK private health and fitness club market is estimated to have reached nearly £3.4 billion in 2019, growing a healthy 4.1% since 2018.

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Crowdfunding is seen as the most gender equitable form of investment. The proportion of equity deals secured by teams with a female founder increased from 14% in 2011 to a high of 21% in 2017.

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ore than 36% of retailers think that leaving the EU will have mostly negative effects on their business over the next five years. 31.9% are expecting more negative impacts and 4.3% anticipate strongly negative consequences. However, over 25% think Brexit will either be very beneficial or will bring more positive than negative results, according to a survey carried out by IRX, the leading e-commerce Expo, digital marketing event and retail conference.

at a GLANCE NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

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he government fightback against the next recession should include pumping as much as £50bn into green projects, in a move that would help reboot the economy and tackle the climate emergency, according to The New Economics Foundation. In the event of a

recession, it said the government should spend around £30bn to decarbonise the economy, by investing in renewable energy projects, planting trees, transport infrastructure, electric vehicles, and retrofitting homes with new insulation.

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tarbucks is offering a meditation app to their employees in a bid to support the mental health of their employees. The coffee giant has added guided meditation app Headspace to the benefits that their employees will receive. The app —which is a subscription service — includes specific programs designed to help individuals with anxiety, stress, as well as many other mental health issues.

Thirty is the age most Brits give up all hope of finding their dream job, according to new research. More than 34% of Brits believe they lack the confidence to pursue their dream job whilst 47% of workers feel completely trapped in a job they hate, with 34% claiming their current role is incredibly stressful, 31% that it’s exhausting, and 19% saying it’s just plain boring, according to a study by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT).

An estimated

54%

of the planet’s 7.5 billion humans live in cities, and by 2050 almost 70% of 9.7 billion people are expected to inhabit urban areas, according to latest United Nations projections.

What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor but the silence of the bystander BUSINESS WISDOM

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A safe pair of hands

© 2019 Bloomberg Finance LP

at the Bank of England?

Andrew Bailey takes over as the Governor of the Bank of England in March. Seen as the ‘safe choice’, does this mean the government is still worried about the implications of Brexit? And was this a missed opportunity to have the first ever female Governor? By Ian Trevett

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he appointment of Andrew Bailey as the incoming Governor of the Bank Of England has been met with almost complete indifference by the popular media.

There are few positions which are more important for the future prosperity of the UK, but no-one seems remotely interested. Bailey may well be fascinating company and enormous

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fun, but the subdued reaction suggests that no-one is particularly excited by a Bailey-run Bank of England.

anonymous chap who you could walk by in the street without recognising him.

Maybe this is how it should be. Bankers are supposed to be boring. Being entertaining should not necessarily be on the CV of the person who is charged with looking after our finances. Perhaps the ideal Governor is an

His predecessor, Mark Carney, was anything but anonymous. When he was revealed as Governor in 2012, he was dubbed the “rock-star” central banker.

Carney seemed to revel in the spotlight, especially when contradicting

THE BIG STORY government predictions of a rosy post-Brexit economy.

Bailey is more likely to keep to the script, but is his appointment an acknowledgment that Brexit is far riskier that Johnson and co. publicly admit?

If Brexit throws the economy into turmoil, a steady hand on the tiller would be essential.

There were more colourful options.

The Guardian’s Larry Elliott reported: “The former central bank governor of India, Rajan Raghuram was approached. There was talk of Janet Yellen, the former US Federal Reserve chair, getting the gig. There was even speculation, never with any foundation, that the government might look to Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank. Other names considered were Minouche Shafik, the director of the London School of Economics, and Santander UK’s Shriti Vadera – either of whom would have become the Bank’s first female governor.”

Boris Johnson apparently favoured Gerard Lyons, a Brexit supporter who had worked for Johnson when he was mayor of London but he was viewed as a riskier choice by the Treasury.

Elliott drew the conclusion that, “The fact that the prime minister could see the merits of a safe pair of hands suggests that the government might

“The Bank of England will soon have a new Governor who will spend less time on keeping the Davos set happy with platitudes on climate change” not be quite as upbeat about the immediate prospects for the economy as it made out while campaigning for re-election.”

However, hiring a respected banker doesn’t necessarily reveal the government is bracing itself for a seismic shock. Many commentators believe exactly the opposite, welcoming the end of Mark Carney’s reign.

Matthew Lynn, writing in The Spectator is particularly bullish, writing: “One thing we can be sure of about the Johnson administration is that it likes to spend money. We will learn how much exactly when the Chancellor unveils his budget. But it is going to be a lot. A mixture of higher spending, some tax cuts, and increases to the minimum wage will deliver a massive stimulus. “…The Bank of England will soon have a new Governor who will spend less time on keeping the Davos set happy with platitudes on climate change and more on delivering growth… The new

Governor wouldn’t have been appointed if he didn’t want the UK to grow faster.”

How safe is Andrew Bailey?

Bailey joined the Bank in 1985 and stayed there until 2016 when he moved to head the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s consumer-finance regulator. In his 31 years at the Bank he worked in many roles including deputy governor and chief executive of the Prudential Regulation Authority, a financial-stability arm of the Bank.”

He has received plaudits and brickbats. The Chancellor Sajid Javid lavished praise upon Bailey reminding us that, “During the financial crisis, he led the teams who were on the front line of the Bank’s response… He emerged from the most serious crash in living memory with his reputation enhanced.”

Conversely the critics point to several instances where the FCA, under Bailey’s leadership, acted far too slowly to address significant financial scandals.

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you could have 200… There is no end to it, unless you are focused and able to apply judgment around that focus.”

(Source: Ross Clark, The Spectator)

Last year, investors were rocked by the closure of the the Woodford Equity Income Fund, even though the FCA had known in November 2017 that Woodford’s fund had broken its rules on liquidity. The former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann accused Bailey’s FCA of being “asleep at the wheel”.

The highest profile criticisms came in the wake of the London Capital and Finance (LCF) scandal. The New Statesman’s Will Dunn wrote, “Bailey’s short tenure at the FCA has not been without incident. [In December], protesters gathered outside the regulator’s head office in east London. The demonstrators were former investors in London Capital and Finance, which offered tempting returns from products that were marketed as fixed-rate ISAs that were actually invested into riskier mini-bonds. The FCA was told about LCF’s mis-selling in November 2015, but failed to act for more than three years. When the company collapsed into administration in April, more than 11,000 people lost savings totalling over £236m.”

Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Ironically for a man who was charged with policing financial conduct, he was never in favour of regulation going too far. Asked in 2011 as to whether banks should face extra regulation in light of the banking crisis he said: “If you take intensive and intrusive [supervision] literally, there is no end to it. Take one of the big banks: there are probably a dozen prudential supervisors working on a big bank, but you could have 120,

Outgoing Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney

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Aside from question marks about cases such as the LCF scandal, few question his ability to take on the role of the Governor. The Economist concludes, “Mr Bailey is the holder of a Cambridge doctorate in economic history and has years of experience in dealing with monetary-policy issues.

Few doubt his competence in this area. But he adds to that a knowledge of financial regulation and, according to former colleagues, an easy but effective management style. ‘There’s no intellectual vanity,’ says one.

“Bailey is likely to focus on the Bank’s core responsibilities of monetary and financial policy.”

This focus is a reference to Mark Carney’s tendency to speak out on matters beyond the bank’s monetary policy, notably on climate change and his strong views on Brexit.

Dame Minouche Shafik, tipped by many to succeed Carney

THE BIG STORY “There are now more Andrews on The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) than the total number of women (one!)”

Inevitably there are divergent views on Carney’s legacy, although it is widely recognised that he has steered the country through turbulent times - notably a weak post-crash economy and referendums on Brexit and Scottish independence.

first Andrew to be appointed in a role that has since 1694 been held by 18 men called John, 13 men called William, seven Samuels and five Thomases. The next opportunity for a woman to become the first female governor at the Bank will be in 2028.”

One former senior Treasury official, Nick Macpherson, said: “The Bank is now a much more confident institution: it is more at ease with independence and therefore more prepared to work with the Treasury to solve the deep problems facing the British economy.”

The BBC’s Nell Mackenzie highlights the stark gender divide: “The Bank admits it could do better. In its annual report, it said it was set to miss its own diversity targets, despite efforts to recruit and retain more women and BAME staff.

Paul Dales, UK economist, at Capital Economics, said: “Under Mr Carney’s watch, the Bank has become more transparent.”

“… Women now hold almost a third of senior management roles, a big improvement from 17% in 2013, but still below the target of 35%. Meanwhile, only 5% of senior Bank staff identify as BAME.”

Perhaps Carney’s legacy was that the economy held together during an extended period of political turmoil. He can walk away with the proud boast that the UK never suffered a recession under his watch. The economy has grown in every single quarter, but wages have stagnated and household debts remain worryingly high.

Carney has been now been appointed United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance.

The Boys’ Club Bailey may well be the right man for the job, but is he the right person?

In our sister title Dynamic, we have raised the issue that there are more FTSE 100 CEOs called Dave than all women CEOs combined. There are now more Andrews on The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) than the total number of women (one!).

Will Dunn, with a heavy serving of sarcasm wrote, “The appointment is at least a win for diversity; Bailey is the

She concludes, that “the lack of diversity at the top is glaring.”

For some time, the bookies’ favourite for the role was Dame Minouche Shafik, who became vice president at the World Bank when she was just 36, is a former deputy governor of the Bank and is currently a director at the London School of Economics. Shafik, it appears, may have been the victim of a different kind of bias: her opinion of Brexit. Boris Johnson only allowed candidates to stand for the Conservative Party if they signed up to his Brexit policy, and he has now applied the same binary approach to the Bank of England role. For Johnson it was a case of ‘My way or the highway’. Johnson may have a supportive man at the bank, but the price is a reinforcement of the assumption that the Bank of England remains firmly stuck in the past as one of the few remaining exclusive boys clubs.

But the decision has been made and Bailey has been selected as the man for the job. It is likely that Bailey’s profile will be nowhere near as public as his predecessor. He won’t mind that. For the Governor of the Bank of England, a lack of headlines usually equates to a job well done.

Fact File Bailey is frugal in personal life, living in a three-bed suburban semi and driving a 2004 Volvo.

He supports West Bromwich Albion and is a big Bruce Springsteen fan.

While in London tackling the 2008 banking crisis, his wife Cheryl was in their holiday home in the Idaho mountains, fighting off an invading grizzly bear.

His long service at the Bank of England, lead to him being dubbed ‘Bailey of the Bank’ You may recognise his signature.

From 2004-2011 in his role as Chief Cashier, his signature appeared on hundreds of millions of UK bank notes.

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Roll on 2020...

Private sector activity contracts at end of 2019 P

rivate sector business activity continued to fall at the end of 2019, extending the current sequence of contraction to four months, according to the latest NatWest PMI® data. The rate of decline softened from November and was only mild overall, however. Weighing on the performance of the private economy was a further reduction in workforce numbers, although the rate of job shedding eased and was only fractional. Meanwhile, order book volumes rose for the first time in eight months amid reports of better demand conditions.

The headline NatWest South East Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the combined output of the region’s

manufacturing and service sectors – posted 49.4 in December, up from 48.9 in November. This signalled a fourth consecutive contraction in private sector activity, albeit at a softer rate than in the previous month. Manufacturers reported the sharpest decline, with output falling for the sixth consecutive month and solidly overall, while services activity fell modestly.

Private sector firms reported a renewed increase in new business during December, with order book volumes rising for the first time since last April. That said, the rate of growth was only mild and subdued in the context of historical data. This improved trend was also seen across the UK as a whole, where order book volumes

“The South East ended 2019 on a weak footing, with private sector activity contracting for the fourth month in a row”

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Key Findings • Output declines for fourth month in a row • Job shedding continues, but at softer rate • New business rises for first time since last April

rose for the first time in five months.

By sector, service providers drove the overall rise, while goods producers continued to report deteriorating order book volumes.

December data highlighted a further reduction in workforce numbers, extending the current sequence of decline to five months. The rate of job

Demand Private sector firms reported a renewed increase in new business during December, with order book volumes rising for the first time since last April. That said, the rate of growth was only mild and subdued in the context of historical data. This improved trend was also seen across the UK as a whole, where order book volumes rose for the first time in five months. By sector, service providers drove the

also increased during December, quickening slightly from November, as companies shared cost pressures with their clients.

BUSINESS SURVEY

Outlook Finally, firms remained confident that output will rise over the coming 12 months in December. The level of positive sentiment strengthened to the highest for six months.

South East Business Activity Index sa, >50 = growth since previous month

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COMMENT

Stuart Johnstone, Managing Director, London & South East, Corporate & Commercial Banking shedding softened from November and was only fractional, however.

Private sector firms continued to reduce their backlogs in December, as has been the case in every month for over a year. That said, the rate of backlog depletion was the slowest since last February.

As has been the case for almost seven-and-a-half years, firms recorded an increase in cost burdens. Panellists associated the rise with higher raw material and wage costs, as well as unfavourable exchange rates. Moreover, the rate of price inflation quickened from November and was sharp.

Average prices charged by private sector firms also increased during December, quickening slightly from November, as companies shared cost pressures with their clients.

Finally, firms remained confident that output will rise over the coming 12 months in December. The level of positive sentiment strengthened to the highest for six months.

“The South East ended 2019 on a weak footing, with private sector activity contracting for the fourth month in a row, although the rate of decline softened from November and was only mild. Weighing on the performance of the sector was a further reduction in workforce numbers, although the job shedding eased to a fractional rate.

rising for the first time since last April and output expectations for the coming year strengthening to a six-month high.”

“The manufacturing sector continued to weigh heavily on the overall performance of the South East, with goods producers recording the quickest fall in output for the second month running.

“There were some positive signs, however, with incoming new business

Stuart Johnstone

METHODOLOGY The NatWest South East PMI® is compiled by IHS Markit from responses to questionnaires sent to South East companies that participate in IHS Markit’s UK manufacturing and services PMI surveys.

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THE

NEW PORT ARMS THE MOST ORIGINAL EVENT SPACE IN SUSSEX

“We needed a meeting room at very short notice and were met with very prompt, friendly, flexible and attentive management and staff. What a stunning view over the local marina and working harbour.”

HHHHH “Fantastic views, food and service – nowhere better”

“Absolutely lovely atmosphere by the port, even had a visit from the swans and signets.”

HHHHH

HHHHH

“Great event space and we booked in 40 delegates for a networking event and it was the best ever.

Highly recommended.”

HHHHH LADY BEE MARINA, SOUTHWICK, BRIGHTON BN42 4EG 01273 597422 • 07725 418509 • www.thenewportarms.co.uk

LEGAL

Managing data risk keep ahead of the game Calculating the potential losses resulting from a data breach is difficult to determine, as is trying to assess the appropriate and proportionate approach to insuring and managing such risks. Commercial specialist Rebecca Leeves offers advice has grown substantially: specific policies covering breach notification, legal fees and claims, and stand alone cyber policies are becoming the norm.

Insurers are reviewing their existing approach to policies and expressly excluding data breaches and data issues which may have previously been covered by other more general policies, such as professional indemnity insurance or director and officers insurance.

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he risk of getting data handling wrong combined with an increase in cyberattacks presents the perfect storm for businesses that fail to plan; but the financial and reputational consequences of a data breach demand attention. So what should you be doing?

Assess – and mitigate – the risk Undertaking a data protection audit on your business is a good way of determining your exposure and identifying where the risks lie. It’s also a good way of demonstrating compliance with the GDPRs. An audit could identify the value of data held within the business, the areas where work and security measures are needed, and include a review of the policies and procedures in place for managing data breaches. Of course the real value of the audit lies in the follow-up – use it to inform positive protection measures which could take in policies, procedures and training.

Taking the time to consider your current protection and potential exposure could prove to be time – and money – well spent.

Check the small print Reviewing your existing contracts with customers and suppliers and creating an internal approach to liability and indemnities is useful. When it comes to measuring your potential exposure take a look at the caps on liability that you, your suppliers and customers have agreed; identifying where you have provided unlimited indemnities and whether certain data

related heads of losses are excluded in your contracts is also critical to understanding the risk you are exposed to under such contracts.

Once you know the score, make a plan to update your approach to contracts at renewal and going forwards.

Maintaining standards Could you go beyond mitigation and adhere to industry recognised standards in relation to data security to prevent risk? Cyber Essentials, for example, is a government approved accreditation scheme that enables businesses to take measures to protect against and therefore reduce exposure to data risks.

Rebecca Leeves is a Senior Associate in DMH Stallard’s Commercial team.

Contact her at Rebecca.Leeves@ dmhstallard.com, or call 01273 744246.

Insuring the risk Since the introduction of the GDPRs, the specialist cyber insurance market

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2020 FiXtures Mon 27th Jan Strong Flavours Catering Raceday

Wed 18th Mar Sky Sports Racing Spring Jumps

Mon 10th Feb Winter Jumps Raceday

Sun 5th Apr Sussex Raceday

Mon 24th Feb RABI February Raceday

Sun 12th & Mon 13th Apr Easter Festival

Mon 9th Mar Anglo-Irish Raceday

Sun 10th May Ladies Day

ADVANCE STANDARD RACEDAYS Tickets available from: £14

ADVANCE PICNIC ENCLOSURE Tickets available from: £14 (available on Feature Racedays only)

Tel. 01273 890383 | racing@plumptonracecourse.co.uk www.plumptonracecourse.co.uk

BUSINESS SURVEY LEGAL

’Tis the season Whilst the festive season is forgotten and the growing season not yet upon us, employment specialist Abigail Maino highlights changes to employment law that anyone recruiting short-term seasonal workers should be aware of – and planning for

The good news (for workers) The National Living Wage (payable to workers aged 25 and over) will increase to £8.72 on April 1st 2020.

For younger workers the rates will be £8.20 (aged 21-24), £6.45 (aged 18-20) and £4.55 (under 18).

Details matter Employees and workers who start work on or after April 6th 2020 will have a right to receive a statement of employment particulars before or on day one of their employment, rather than within the first two months. Employers who may not currently provide this detail to workers engaged for less than two months will need to review their

practices. The detail that must be provided has also increased to include:

reference period could impact the calculation of holiday pay.

• The days of the week the worker is required to work, whether working hours may be variable and if so, how.

• Any paid leave to which the worker is entitled.

• Details of all pay and benefits.

• Any probationary period and conditions associated with it.

• Any training entitlement provided by the employer, including whether any training is mandatory and/or must be paid for by the worker.

Agency workers From April 6th 2020, agency workers will not be able to opt out of the right to receive equal pay with the direct employees of an end client (currently available after working for that client for 12 weeks), and must be informed that the opt out no longer applies by the end of April. This presents clear cost implications for clients using longer-term agency workers.

Workers already employed on April 6th can request a statement containing this additional information; employers have a month to respond.

Holiday pay calculation From April the reference period to determine an average week’s pay will be changed to 52 weeks from the current 12 weeks, and will apply to all 5.6 weeks of a workers’ minimum holiday entitlement. If employed for less than 52 weeks, holiday pay will be based on the number of complete weeks worked. As seasonal work can have fluctuating rates of pay, this new

Hiring EU workers in 2020 After a politically turbulent 2019 and with the UK set to leave the EU on January 31st 2020, the status quo for EU citizens working in the UK in 2020 will be broadly maintained. However the position in relation to hiring EU nationals from 2021 is much less clear and we’re back to ‘watch this space’.

Abigail Maino is a Senior Associate in DMH Stallard’s Employment team.

Contact her at Abigail.Maino@ dmhstallard.com, or call 01483 467412.

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Key actions for Brexit

Richard Spofforth, Partner at Kreston Reeves explains what happens next once Britain leaves the EU October 31st will continue to be unprepared when we do actually leave the EU. The Government’s own Brexit planning site is available via www.gov.uk/ brexit

F

ollowing the decisive election result on December 12th 2019, progression towards Brexit continues at pace. The UK could still however leave without a trade deal by the end of December 2020 if a trade agreement isn’t reached with the EU. There are some key aspects of business operations which will be affected – deal or no deal – along with some planning points to consider for small and medium-sized businesses.

Assuming at the time of reading this after January 31st 2020 that a trade deal has been reached, the transitional period is likely to be quite short, possibly only to the end of 2020. This will pass very quickly. Our concern is that businesses that were not prepared for the potential cliff-edge moment on

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The time to review your processes is now if you want to ensure you can continue to trade effectively with your suppliers and customers. Identifying and resolving all of the issues associated with your supply chain is no small task.

This means considering all aspects of how you and your suppliers/customers wish to trade, discussing barriers that exist, whether that be to do with GDPR, currency fluctuations, intellectual property rights, added duty costs, establishment and customs clearance issues, or the need to revise contracts.

You also need to take your compliance obligations as seriously as you do in the UK, such as whether you sell into the EU and find there is a need to set up an EU subsidiary to meet EU legal obligations, or to VAT register in (possibly a number of) EU countries.

Supply chain implications Stock levels may have been high after October’s abortive exit date, some companies will have limited capacity (space and cash) to maintain or

increase stock levels in anticipation of longer supply chains. Those with ‘Just in Time’ manufacture or supply will have already planned for this aspect.

The key concerns remain about the arrangements for those with perishable supply or products.

Our five-point plan to overcome this: • Understand the economic origin of your goods, whether finished, raw materials or consumables, and work out where they must cross customers borders to reach you/your customers.

• Review the terms of the contracts you hold with your suppliers and with your customers. What can you change, or what do you need to change?

• I temise your new obligations and the systems and people needed to take these forward, for example, with an EORI number you can apply to move goods more quickly in or through the EU using the Common Transit Convention (CTC).

• Are you eligible for any of the reliefs from duty?

BUSINESSFINANCE SURVEY

from January 31st

• Look to apply for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) status as this could speed up customs processes for your goods and can be found at www.gov. uk/guidance/authorised-economic -operator-certification Customs and duties HMRC has automatically registered 95,000 businesses for its simplified import procedures, allowing most traders up to six months to pay import duties and submit customs declarations.

The scheme, known as Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP), will make importing after Brexit much simpler, particularly for businesses who would be completing customs processes for the first time.

Have you got your EORI number?

An EORI is a unique reference number that you must have when clearing goods that you import or export through UK Customs. For mail order supplies it may well be that the postal/ courier business will take care of the import declarations and use its EORI,

but this should be checked. In a business to business relationship, if you are a UK established business and just export goods from the UK you will only need a UK EORI number.

If you expect after Brexit transition that your business will be responsible for exporting goods from the UK and importing them into an EU country, i.e. the Incoterms mean you are the importer of record, such as DDP (Delivered Duty paid), then you will also need an EU EORI number. This is because the UK EORI will not be recognised within the EU (and vice versa).

Incoterms are a set of rules which define the responsibilities of sellers and buyers for the delivery of goods under sales contracts, published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

It is possible that overseas revenue authorities may enforce a provision in the Union Customs Code regarding the responsibility for and ability to collect VAT and Duty on imports, which requires a supplier or its agent to be

established in the EU and, if the agent, it being prepared to accept joint responsibility for any Duty and VAT debts. We have seen UK HMRC enforce this provision for non-EU suppliers and it is always possible that they may also require a similar provision following the transition period. This could lead to a need to set up an EU establishment (e.g. a subsidiary company) and related (other) tax issues, if the EU based clearance agent is reluctant to be held jointly liable for debts.

Richard Spofforth is a Partner at Kreston Reeves richard.spofforth@ krestonreeves.com T: 0330 124 1399 www.krestonreeves.com

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Now is the perfect time to review your pension arrangements With the end of the tax year fast approaching, now is the right time to review both how you’re saving and how you should take the benefits

R

oy Thompson, Partner and Head of MHA Carpenter Box Wealth Management, offers considerations for year end tax planning around pensions.

Annual Allowance You can contribute up to £40,000 (gross) a year (less any employer contributions) tax efficiently into a pension scheme subject to your earnings.

In certain circumstances this amount can be increased if you did not use up your allowances in the preceding three years and were a member of a qualifying pension scheme.

The standard annual allowance (AA) of £40,000 for pension contributions (the total of personal and employer contributions) is reduced by £1 for every additional £2 of an individual’s ‘adjusted income’ over £150,000. This will affect you if your income from all sources (minus your own pension contributions) is over £110,000 and your total income (including your own and your employer’s pension contributions) is over £150,000. This can

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affect you unexpectedly if you are a member of a Defined Benefit scheme (e.g. Final Salary) or Career Average scheme.

your marginal rate of tax. In some cases, the charge can be paid by way of a deduction from your pension plan (known as ‘scheme pays’).

Should you breach the rules and pay too much, you will be subject to an annual allowance charge. Payment of this charge is the individual member’s responsibility and will be charged at

Pension Freedoms The popular pension freedom reforms that launched in April 2015 mean that people can now access their whole pension pot at age 55 (expected to

FINANCE rise to 57 from 2028) and spend, save or invest the money as they wish.

The first 25% will be tax-free and the rest will be treated as taxable income and will be subject to income tax at their marginal income tax rate. Basic-rate tax payers need to be aware that any income drawn from their pension will be added to any other income received, which could result in them paying tax at 40% or even 45%. You can also choose to take your pension in smaller lump sums, spread over time, to help manage your tax liability.

In the past five years, some restrictions have been removed. Fully flexible drawdown (called flexi-access drawdown) will offer considerable freedom but highlights the need for expert planning advice. Existing capped drawdown arrangements can continue, although the annual income that can

Join us for our Investment & Tax Seminar Date: March 3rd 2020 Time: 8-10am Venue: South Lodge Hotel, Horsham

This event will provide an overview of the current financial landscape, and help you make the right financial choices. www.carpenterbox.com/investment-tax

be taken from them is currently limited to 150% of a benchmark annuity rate. It should be noted that taking any taxable income from a flexi-access drawdown plan, taking more than the 150% income limit from a capped drawdown plan, or taking a lump sum from your uncrystallised pension plan will restrict your future ability to invest more into money purchase pension schemes, so care is necessary!

Transferring a Final Salary Scheme If you have a final salary (e.g. Defined Benefit [DB]) pension plan, you may still be able to take advantage of the new rules to make unlimited

“The popular pension freedom reforms that launched in April 2015 mean that people can now access their whole pension pot at age 55 (expected to rise to 57 from 2028)�

withdrawals. However, to do so, you would have to transfer some or all of your pension into a Defined Contribution scheme (DC or Money Purchase).

There are a range of personal pension wrappers available. You should seek financial advice before transferring benefits, as you could lose valuable benefits which need to be weighed against the new flexibilities.

Reviewing Your Retirement Plans Clearly, it has never been more important to make the right choices about your pension fund, both about how you should carry on saving and how you should take the benefits.

These decisions will affect you for the rest of your life. It is essential, especially for those nearing retirement, to seek professional advice. Not only will an expert look at your pension fund, but they will consider your wider financial goals.

Our friendly team of Independent Financial Advisers have significant experience in pension planning advice.

We work closely with our professional tax advisers at MHA Carpenter Box to provide you with an integrated financial and tax advice service.

For more information, get in touch by calling 01903 534587 or visit our website: www.carpenterbox.com/wealth Note: The article above is to provide generic guidance and should not be interpreted as financial advice. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested.

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FINANCE

It’s a digital buffet, catering for all The pros and cons of the ever-changing digital world by Matthew Farrant, Partner at Haines Watts Godalming momentum of enhancing their business systems is ever-growing.

Attitudes to changes to a large extent depend on which generation we are from. What they all have in common is the fact that they all mock the previous generations for their “old fashioned” ways and technology.

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he world of accounting is changing rapidly at the moment as cloud software starts to take hold and the vast selection of software houses build their App stacks in a battle for dominance and an ever-bigger share of the market.

The change has been forced upon many businesses by the taxman. In a rare stroke of vision, HMRC decided to cater for the needs of the young entrepreneur at the expense of the less digitally able, who will over the next ten years look to retire. For many who have been in business for a long time, they have a system that works. This familiarity often means the processes run along smoothly. The phrase “if it’s not broken, why fix it” often comes to mind when discussing current systems. However, while familiarity brings comfort and security, the new digital era is not to be shunned.

Not only is new cloud software quicker at processing most transactions, it offers a range of working styles to suit most needs and can be accessed on the go. While there is always a period of time where learning must take place, once up-to-speed, the confidence many feel to carry on the

Everyone in business can now be divided into either ‘Digital Natives’ who have grown up exposed to a digital life and ‘Digital Immigrants’ who have had to move into that world, and those that feel they are being left behind as the Digital Dinosaurs of the current time.

While the taxman must be applauded for their vision in moving towards the digital world, there must be criticism for the way they have forced it upon us, in a similar way to a monopoly or a dictatorship.

They have overlooked the fact that as we move towards a more digitally enhanced world, it is ever more important that we retain individuality of ourselves and our businesses. This means that we have to cater to everyone as an individual and interact with them in a way that suits them. Anyone who has tried to phone the taxman will know the frustration of being on hold for a considerable amount of time and in-between the hold music (which should be in the charts because of the number of times it’s listened to each day) are messages stating ‘answers may be found online’.

Often, the very reason for phoning and wanting to speak to a person is because the answer cannot be found online or the person calling does not know how to navigate the digital world.

When assisting businesses with their introduction to cloud software, we have worked with all ranges of ability, age and attitude; from those that simply throw their hands up and want nothing to do with it, to those who grasp it with the shortest of introductions. The most important lesson we learnt while supporting our clients is that we need to go at their pace and in their style. Most still want a face to face meeting that graduates to a phone call as confidence builds until all they need is a message to point them in the right direction. Ultimately, a human is always at the other end.

For those that wish to abdicate from the digital accounting world, help is on hand in the form of digital natives who will not only process it all but then explain it to you in plain English.

Part of our success is having a mix of generations that enables us to see the frustrations from all of our clients’ points of view.

The more digital we become, the more human we must be.

T: 01483 425724 E: godalming@hwca.com www.hwca.com/accountants -godalming

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A N D R E I BA

Healys LLP

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MOVERS BUSINESS & SHAKERS SURVEY

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GES M A R K J UtyDCricket Club

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T R AV IS E Y LE

RocketMill

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Since joining RocketMill five years ago as Manager Trav is Ey an intern, Pa id Media likes of Nationa les has set a new pace for himself. Manag l Geographic, Travis has be in the grow th come a fundam ing the of his own tea ental role m, client base with a 100% wi and the agen n rate on new cy at large, business.

His passion for environm ental awaren RocketMill’s Pl ess led to Tr anet First initia avis creating tive and World For ever y new Land Trust pa client win, colle rtnership. ague hire or qu RocketMill pr ar otects up to terly bonus ac 10 acres thro hieved, programme ug h WLT’s Buy setting a stand An Acre ard for other ag their business encies to follo success with w the protection by tying of the planet.

The latest business appointments and promotions across the business world; see who’s doing what and where, including those ones to watch How do you cut through the white noise of recruitment? You lower the volume.

At Harvey John, recruitment is far from a transactional service.

It’s about fostering long-term partnerships within our core markets. Quality over quantity.

Specialising in Accountancy, Tax, and Legal since 2004, Harvey John are an international recruitment firm with two offices in the heart of Brighton and a team of 15 individual skill-sets, each united by a shared vision of how recruitment should be.

By immersing ourselves in every corner of these markets, we maintain an incredibly niche expertise, enabling us to simplify the most complex of searches. And whether that assignment takes us across Sussex, London, Europe, Asia, or the Americas, our deep sector knowledge - paired with our multi-faceted methodology means that we provide local solutions on a global scale.

And so, by lowering the volume, we strip ourselves from unnecessary pressures and, in turn, become a trusted partner to companies worldwide.

Contact us Tel: 01273 820808 Email: info@harveyjohn.com www.harveyjohn.com

H E AT H E R

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WA R E

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Chestnut Tree House , the childre Brighton & n’s Hove and South East hospice for East an Heather W d West Su are as Cor Hampshire ssex, porate Fu surroundin ndraiser fo , has recently appo g areas. inted r Brighton & Hove an d the Having sp ent the la st 17 year Heather is s working excited to for an en be taking of new ch ergy com on a new allenges. pany, rew Her previo provided us roles w arding role with a her with a host ithin a larg variety of her to th e organisa skills that e Corpora tion she will be te Par tner engagem ent, projec position, br in gi ng w ranging fr t managem om stakeh ith ent and w older orkshop fa cilitation.

39

Figure of speech Writer, broadcaster and actor Gyles Brandreth will be guest presenter at this year’s Gatwick Diamond Business Awards. We hear from wordmeister Gyles on the joys and niggles of the English language

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anguage is power. It’s what makes us different from the rest of the animal kingdom.

W Bush who said: “The trouble with the French is they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”?

the room is ready and everyone is listening – and then don’t rush. Prepare what you want to say, but try not to use a script. Relax and enjoy! Quit while you’re ahead.

You have written in the past that noYou recently produced a guide to body ever complains that the speech writing properly. Do you get annoyed Do you miss politics? was too short. when people mis-use our language?

No! And does politics miss me? DouIt’s true!

I love the English language. It’s the ble no! richest language in the world. We have But you also hold the record for 500,000 words in English, the French As a former Monopoly champion, the longest after dinner speech... only have 100,000 – and that includes do you think the audience of GatYes, 12 and a half hours! I was sponle weekend and le snaque-barre! Engsored to speak for so long for charity. wick business leaders would improve lish is so rich because it has absorbed their deal-making skills by a few sesHappily, the audience was sponsored words from so many parts of the sions of the classic board world and continues to game? evolve. I like language to “I do get annoyed when Definitely not. You can get sent be used properly which is people put apostrophes in to prison playing Monopoly, and why I wrote my book Have the wrong place – and when in our family the game always You Eaten Grandma? Putends in tears. ting a comma into that senpeople use useless fillers tence makes all the differlike the word ‘like’ in every Your next book is a book of the ence! best worst jokes. What is your sentence, like” best joke? And your worst?

I do get annoyed when peoWhat does the Queen do when she too – if they stayed awake, and most ple put apostrophes in the wrong place, burps? She issues a royal Pardon. of them did! and when people use useless fillers like the word ‘like’ in every sentence, like.

What goes Oom! Oom!? A cow walkHow long can we expect you to speak ing backwards… well, it is a children’s at the awards?

How did you become so passionate joke book.

“Leave them wanting more!” is my about how we write and speak? motto. I’m looking forward to the Language is power. It’s what makes us I do do grown-up jokes as well and I’m awards hugely because it is wonderdifferent from the rest of the animal taking some of them on tour soon. I’m ful to celebrate success. Here’s to a kingdom. If you use language well it travelling around the UK with a new happy evening with happy achieving helps you achieve more in every asstand-up show all about show business. people. pect of your life. My father was a lawyer who loved words and my mother Catch me if you can at The last awards I hosted at this venwas a teacher who helped children www.gylesbrandreth.net/2020-tour ue was the British Funeral Directors with reading difficulties. They made Awards, so I’m expecting a rather difme realise how important good comferent sort of evening. At the Funeral munication is.

Directors event, the main prize was for thinking outside the box!

Do you cringe at how Boris Johnson mangles the English language?

What tips would you give to I think Boris has fun with the English people undertaking public speaking? language and that’s fine by me. I’m Stand up. Speak up. Shut up. Take not so sure about some of Mr Trump’s your time. Don’t start until you’re sure tweets. And do you remember George

40

BUSINESS BUSINESS AWARDS SURVEY

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The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

19th March 2020

Join us for a night of glitz and glam in the Millennium Suite of the Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel for a pre-dinner reception hosted by Norwegian, before taking your seat for a sumptuous three course dinner with wine.

Our presenter for the evening will be writer, broadcaster, actor and former MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury, Gyles Brandreth. Gyles is one of Britain’s most sought-after award ceremony hosts and after-dinner speakers. A star of Celebrity Gogglebox, a veteran of QI and Have I Got News For You, a reporter on The One Show and a regular on Just a Minute, his many books include The Oscar Wilde Murder Mysteries and two recent best-sellers: The 7 Secrets of Happiness and his celebration of good English, punctuation, spelling and grammar: Have You Eaten Grandma?

This Black Tie event will see the very best of the Gatwick Diamond Business community come together to celebrate the achievements of World-Class businesses in this World-Class region.

6.00pm

Evening starts with Pre-Dinner Reception Sponsored by Norwegian

6.45pm

Take your seats for Dinner

9.30pm

Gyles Brandreth

10.00pm

Presentation of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

11.00pm

After-Show Party

01.00am

Carriages

For more information and to download the booking form, visit:

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

@GDBIZAWARDS

NATIONAL NEWS

I

nsurance disruptor Cuvva, the company that began as an app offering pay-as-you-drive motor insurance, has raised £15 million of venture capital backing to target the long-term motor insurance business. Backing comes from RTP Global, Breega and Digital Horizon, joining existing investors LocalGlobe, Techstars Ventures, Tekton and Seedcamp. A number of angels also joined the round, including Dominic Burke, the

CEO of Jardine Lloyd Thompson, and Faisal Galaria, the former chief strategy and investments officer of GoCompare. Freddy Macnamara, founder said: “The way insurance is sold hasn’t kept up with the way people live their lives now. We buy lots of goods and services via flexible subscriptions to suit our on-demand lifestyles. Why shouldn’t you be able to do that for insurance?”.

T

otal plans to move its financial hub from London to Paris after Brexit. The oil boss Patrick Pouyanné announced plans for Total to move its central treasury, including between 60 and 70 jobs, back to the “heart of Europe’s economic and financial system” in Paris by the end of 2020. Total’s decision to abandon the City will raise doubts once again over whether London can retain its position as Europe’s most important financial centre against competition from Paris and Frankfurt. Pouyanné said that from a legal point of view “it doesn’t change much”, but the company hopes to send a signal that Paris is an attractive place for business.

at a GLANCE NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there BUSINESS WISDOM

T

he online fashion brand Boohoo is now worth more than high street giant M&S. The stock market value of the online fashion firm Boohoo has overtaken Marks & Spencer thanks to strong Christmas sales. Sales at Boohoo jumped 44% in the weeks before December 25th, while M&S suffered fresh setbacks. The stock market has risen more than 70% over the past year, boosting the Aim-listed company’s market worth to £3.9bn.

S

amsung has developed a way for smartphone owners to type on a table or other surface as an alternative to tapping on the handset’s own screen. Its SelfieType software tracks the user’s fingers via the phone’s front-facing camera and works out where the taps would correspond to being on a Qwerty

keyboard. SelfieType stands apart from other technologies of this kind because its analysing your joints rather than you physically pressing something.

The software is a project from Samsung’s C-LAB Incubator and is still very much in the early development stage.

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Measuring success

Adam Craddock, Head of Paid Media Operations at RocketMill believes their Total Performance strategy is a marriage of the short and long-term that aims to deliver performance in both

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orking at a performance agency, my job put simply, is to generate revenue for our clients. So it’s probably no surprise that we use revenue-based metrics such as Return on Investment, Cost per Action and Return on Ad Spend to define performance. These metrics allow us to calculate and understand the success of our campaigns. When we plan and forecast, we do so in fixed time periods; typically weeks and months, and we set our targets based on the business’s needs.

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I completely understand the need for targets; businesses need to be profitable and people need to be held accountable for performance. But revenue-based targets set over fixed, short- term time periods have side effects.

We continually analyse and benchmark each piece of marketing activity on whether targets are being met.

We analyse in great detail, on a daily or weekly basis, what’s ‘working’ and what isn’t, allowing us to optimise and improve performance. Typically,

if we spot something that isn’t hitting our target, we make a call on whether to test and improve, or to move that budget into other activity.

Inevitably, the behaviour of analysing over short time periods and looking at revenue-based metrics, results in the same outcome every time; focusing on tactics that return a profit instantly. Instant profit is what every marketer dreams of, but in the world of digital marketing, this tends to limit us to tactics that favour the end of the purchase journey, such as paid search or remarketing. This also tends to be the easiest activity to track and attribute, which further feeds our views on it being the most lucrative. However, it limits us to targeting users who are actively showing intent and are

DIGITAL MARKETING “If marketers want to grow successful brands over time, it requires a change in behaviour”

Firstly, if we study the mechanics of how these platforms operate, they trade on an auction basis; and the highest bid wins. As a brand marketing on these platforms and bidding against your competitors, you’ll find that over time, your profit margin will eventually be eroded. While there is a profit margin, brands can afford to outbid each other, fighting to maintain position in the search results, or in a user’s timeline until slowly, competitors are priced out. That’s why recent trends show the cost of a paid search click rising at five times the rate of inflation. This is a battlefield, and it’s only getting harder.

But the real cost to brands is that, while focusing more and more energy in this space, we’re forgetting to invest in how our brands are perceived, remembered and valued by our potential customers. Performance has been mistaken for quick returns, instead of long-term growth and the value of the brand is being diminished. in-market for your product or service right now.

Naturally, all marketers have rushed to the same place to target these in-market audiences, through paid search and social platforms. The continual year on year revenue growth by the giants of Google and Facebook are testament to the billions of pounds in marketing budget that are being placed here. Over recent years, brands have piled more and more of their budget into bottom of the funnel activity, turning off the less attributable, broader targeted, brand building activity such as TV. The truth about tactics such as paid search and paid social, is that they’re more expensive than you might think!

While all of this continues to distract us, the basic truths of marketing stay the same. As RocketMill’s CSO, Matt Andrews referenced in last month’s issue, countless studies by the likes of Binet and Field have shown that emotion-led brand building activity will result in a greater return on investment over long periods, when compared to the short-term return of direct response campaigns. But when benchmarked against the wrong targets and put under pressure to make quick returns, tactics that deliver long-term performance are off the table. Marketers will cut any activity that isn’t helping them hit their target, before it has a chance to deliver.

This isn’t anything new, but if marketers want to grow successful brands

over time, it requires a change in behaviour. If your marketing activity is benchmarked on weekly and monthly targets, and your reporting structure puts pressure on you to deliver instant results, you’re heading for a challenging future.

At RocketMill we understand this challenge, which is why we work with clients to deliver our Total Performance strategy; a marriage of the short and long-term that aims to deliver performance in both. When audiences are not actively in-market, we can serve them an emotional brand building experience and when they become active and have signaled an intent to purchase, we can serve them more rational communications that give them reasons to buy.

Doing this well might require you to hold your nerve, and ask the difficult questions, but if your brand is going to stand the test of time, it’s a necessity.

Get in touch to see how RocketMill can deliver Total Performance for you: W: www.rocketmill.co.uk T: 01273 916600

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TUTORING

Educating for Sussex Surrey’s one-to-one tutoring hub helps children reach their full potential

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ducation is the key to success and a richer awareness of the world and of opportunities.

Schools provide this, yet it is still the parent who has to monitor how well the child is doing. A few parents can guide their own children, but others need outside help.

In today’s competitive environment where exam grades are the door to progress, it is important to make the right decisions. One of these is ensuring students keep up to speed with the curriculum. Many children do not make best or even good use of what schools have to offer, especially if they fall behind. They often fail to pay attention or ask questions in class, where they can get lost in the group. Some have diffi culty concentrating while others are distracted or not interested.

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Rarely is this the case in a skills, corrects poor or one-to-one or very small inefficient work habits, group tuition session, as and aids him in general the form of communicaunderstanding of topics, tion here requires the child giving an additional perto be responsive, because spective to the school the tutor can have his full classroom teaching. The attention on him. Tutors tutorial service at Willow can gauge their pace and Willow Study-Hub Tutor, Study-Hub can also taiAnna Romanova level, and provide an oplor the lessons to the reportunity where the student can clear quirements of particular exam boards up misunderstandings and gaps in his or schools and can provide advice to knowledge and develop confidence parents about these and the educawith gentle encouragement. The contional system. centration of tutoring makes for efficient work, and just an hour a week at Willow Study-Hub, will likely make a significant difference, complementing the school coursework.

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47

SINC to support

What are we talking about when we talk about business support?

Joseph Bradfield from the Sussex Innovation support team explains more about the services that he and his colleagues can offer for start-up and scale-up businesses With the start of a new year, we’ve had a chance to reflect on how we approach this kind of consultancy work, and are launching a new programme designed to offer strategic advice in a more holistic way.

Work with our Task Force

We’re offering a new ‘Task Force’ consultancy package worth nearly £2,000, and by virtue of our position as a University incubator, we’re able to offer it at a highly discounted rate to SMEs with high growth potential.

O

ne of the biggest challenges of explaining what we do at Sussex Innovation is that it’s genuinely too much to fit into a neat sentence, or even a neat couple of paragraphs. If a business owner asks me what we could do to help her company grow, the simplest way to start is by asking, ‘What do you need?’.

Some of our members join us specifically for the workspace and facilities that we can offer them, others are seeking an academic address and a connection to the University of Sussex. Still more see the benefit in being surrounded by other growing businesses, offering each other advice and sharing the highs and lows.

Some find us through our Catalyst team of graduates helping them with a project, or by working with our investment readiness and investor matching scheme. And then there’s ‘business support’; a big, vague description that encompasses much of the day to day work for me and my colleagues.

48

Our senior innovation consultants will examine your business plan, pitch deck, marketing proposals, financial projections or key business challenges before assigning a hand-picked team to meet with you, share their expertise and go through the challenges and opportunities through a variety of

different lenses. It’s a quick and effective way of carrying out a ‘deep dive’ into your business and what it needs to help it grow.

The strength of this collaborative approach is that it enables you to take a step back from the practical demands of running a business and bring diversity of thought to your strategy. We’ve seen first-hand how easy it is to get too close to your plans to think creatively about how else you can reach your goal.

Our aim is to diagnose the smallest interventions that could have the biggest impact, come up with simple and lean strategies, and as far as possible, equip your team, and you as a founder, with the skills and confidence you need to take things forward. These are a few of the approaches we’ve found most successful:

SUSSEX INNOVATION CENTRE

Research and Insight

Research is a pivotal aspect of innovation, helping new ideas to find their marketplace, customers and competition, and underpinning strategy. It can also be a useful marketing and positioning tool, particularly when you need to communicate a unique value proposition or specialist expertise. Our research team subscribes to industry-leading market insight resources from the likes of Frost & Sullivan, as well as conducting our own qualitative interviews and research surveys.

open minded and spotting opportunities to improve a concept. We use the excellent range of Business Model Canvas tools developed by the start-

point, helping to define straightforward branding, positioning and messaging with the tools that our marketing advisors have refined over years of working with growing companies.

“It’s a quick and effective way of carrying out a ‘deep dive’ into your business and what it needs to help it grow”

“The idea of a research project immediately appealed to us, but we wouldn’t have considered that approach, or had the resources to pull it off, without the team’s help. It got us a foot in the door, directly helped us to reach a range of potential clients, and ultimately helped grow our business.”

Alistair Crombie – Founder, One Research

Business Modelling and Financial Planning

Sussex Innovation’s senior team are highly experienced at thinking creatively about business models, being

up experts at Strategyzer to help define companies’ value propositions and pin down an adaptable one-page business model. Our accounts team have also developed simple tools to interrogate the financial model of new and evolving ideas.

“I was looking for support with breaking down my idea in a structured way so that it was digestible and tangible.

The workshop provided a good foundation for the development of the business proposition and business plan.”

Brenda New – Founder, VisuaLearning Academy

“We brought them in to do branding and messaging. It was cost-saving, incredibly useful, incredibly efficient - it happened within seven days of us asking. It allowed us to reformulate the marketing that we were looking for.”

Mark Hla – Co-founder, Thrivemap Interested in taking a step back from your business and redefining your priorities for 2020? Get in touch to find out more about our Task Force service by visiting info.sinc.co.uk/enquiries and telling us more about your business. A limited number of Task Force briefings will be available on a fully-funded basis.

Branding and Positioning

Successful businesses keep the customer at the heart of their marketing decisions. Our facilitated workshops are designed to get straight to the

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The future of growth via a myriad of initiatives and provide access to facilities that help share business risk. Surrey Research Park is establishing a global reputation in several sectors including healthcare, with tenant organisations putting Surrey on the world map for medical innovation and excellence.

Advancing Cancer Diagnostics

Malcolm Parry, CEO, Surrey Research Park

S

urrey Research Park was awarded The Chamber Member of the Year Award at the Surrey Business Awards 2019 in recognition of the Research Park’s support to local businesses, helping to create opportunities for them to grow and flourish.

According to Malcolm Parry, CEO, Surrey Research Park, “The value of Science and Technology Parks (STPs) as business enablers, acting as both landlords and mentors is vital. In terms of the UK economy, the STPs model has been adopted so widely, there can be no question that these initiatives are pivotal for the continued success of UK plc.”

Research Parks support business incubation and early stage organisational

Park tenant ANGLE plc, a world-leading liquid biopsy company, has developed a system with the potential to deliver profound improvements in clinical and health economic outcomes in the treatment and diagnosis of various forms of cancer. Solid tumor cancers, such as breast cancer and prostate cancer, shed cancer cells into the patient’s blood stream known as Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs). The Parsortix® system from ANGLE is able to capture and harvest CTCs from patient blood. This means that a simple blood test could be used to provide crucial medical information regarding the fluctuating status of a patient’s disease.

ANGLE recently announced positive results from both its US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analytical and clinical studies for the Parsortix® system. ANGLE is now seeking FDA Class II classification and marketing authorisation for its use with metastatic breast cancer patients.

ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive,

Andrew Newland, comments, “We believe there is a tremendous opportunity for ANGLE to secure the first ever FDA clearance for a platform that captures and harvests intact CTCs from patient blood for subsequent analysis - in the first instance for metastatic breast cancer. FDA regulatory clearance, considered the gold standard for approval of medical diagnostic systems globally, would competitively differentiate our Parsortix liquid biopsy system and should lead to an acceleration in commercial adoption of the system in both research and clinical settings.”

Unlocking the full power of medicine

Another Surrey Research Park innovator, SiSaf, is the first company to develop a proprietary Bio-CourierTM technology that leverages the unique properties of elemental silicon to overcome the limitations of current

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SURREY RESEARCH PARK

medicine

Pioneering medical transformation at Surrey Research Park

Case study From University of Surrey undergraduate to MedTech entrepreneur

After gaining a degree in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Surrey, Tayeb Hassan stayed on to embark on a Business MA to support his entrepreneurial ambition to start his own business. He joined the Student Enterprise Team at the University of Surrey to learn about business event opportunities which led to him attending a national hackathon called the Care Innovation Challenge, where his business idea was chosen as one of the finalists. An invitation to pitch at the Department of Health and Social Care, which oversees the NHS, followed.

“The manipulation of genetic switches is crucial to the future of human health, with the potential to treat and even cure a vast range of diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, MRSA, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia” drug technologies. SiSaf integrate therapeutic genes and drugs with their technology to improve their ability to target the organ or cells where they are required. SiSaf Bio-Couriers maximise the benefits and minimise the side effects of drug molecules and active ingredients. SiSaf encases therapeutic molecules in biologically friendly silicon and lipids to help protect and target them (often without injection) in the form of creams, eye drops and tablets which can get to the point of need effectively and safely.

SiSaf is currently focused on the safe

and efficient delivery of gene therapeutics, a field of medicine which represents a dramatic shift in medical care.

The manipulation of genetic switches is crucial to the future of human health, with the potential to treat and even cure a vast range of diseases such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, MRSA, muscular dystrophy and haemophilia. The accurate targeted delivery of genetic sequences remains challenging but pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that Bio-Couriers can safely and effectively deliver therapeutic genes to the eye without injection. This positions SiSaf at the forefront of a medical revolution.

With mentoring, nurturing and guidance from the Surrey Enterprise team, The Wiggly Line Company was formed and on graduation, Tayeb became a member of the SETsquared Surrey incubator which is situated on the Surrey Research Park.

The Wiggly Line Company aims to revolutionise overnight monitoring practices in the care home sector. Currently the norm is for care workers to physically check on residents hourly - this can lead to disrupted sleep, confusion and patient anxiety. Tayeb’s innovation uses in-bed sensors to monitor residents remotely, alerting carers when physical intervention is required.

Current trials in Elizabeth Finn Homes Care Group will conclude in early 2020, when preparation will begin for the commercial launch.

For further information visit www.surrey-research-park.com

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EDUCATION

Through schools – a force to be reckoned with

By Lloyd Dannatt, Deputy Head, Hurst College

will be the senior pupils of the future.

Therefore, it is in everyone’s interests, particularly the pupils, to link the two schools together seamlessly.

I

began my teaching career 16 years ago in a ‘through school’, that is a senior school with its own prep school, all on the same site.

A reasonably standard model, and certainly nothing revolutionary. However, as far as I could see, up and down the country, the benefits of a through school model were rarely realised.

There was an occasional assembly delivered in the prep school by a senior school teacher, and very occasionally a senior school teacher might even teach in the prep school for a few minutes, or perhaps even for an hour, once a year.

There seemed to be little genuine connection between the two schools and I would almost go as far as to say a ‘them and us culture’ existed between the two different tribes (staff). Often, the 50m or 100m distance between the two buildings was deemed simply too far to allow for a genuine day-today connection to be established.

The model we have created involves a top down approach, with a downwards cascading of every possible aspect of education to form a 14-year upwards journey from Reception to Year 13.

This includes the fundamentals of specification content, to exam style and format, to core skills such as numeracy and literacy, as well as IT and practical skills, all structured into a continuous academic journey.

This has developed genuine confidence in the pupils’ ability to succeed, as their learning is built on firm foundations which become stronger and more developed as they progress upwards through each academic year.

The familiarity with exams and testing styles through an annual model removes the fear for pupils, if not parents, enabling them to excel when they find themselves sitting in the exam hall for the ones that really count.

One of the greatest assets of a school is its staff; their knowledge and their ability to convey this knowledge are fundamental. A true through school

staffing structure sees experienced GCSE and A-level tutors teaching in the prep school, as this is an enormously effective tool in ensuring early expectations are pitched at an appropriately ambitious level. Connections between staff and pupils are developed which remain in place as pupils progress between year groups. Ultimately, a consistent culture through all sections of the school is established, assisted by consistent routines, terminology, attitudes and expectations.

Extending well beyond the obvious academic benefits, a true through school will draw similar benefits through its pastoral systems as well as co-curricular and sporting programmes, providing access to expert staff, coaches and facilities for younger pupils.

With the them and us culture well and truly in the past, any well-structured through school will be a true force to be reckoned with in modern education.

www.hppc.co.uk

Having played a significant role in the formation of a true through school at Hurst College, where I am currently Deputy Head, it is clear that the benefits of a truly linked senior and prep school are enormous. One thing that hasn’t changed is that prep pupils

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DIGITAL MEDIA

A simple LinkedIn strategy to grow new business in 2020

By Kerry Watkins, the Founder and MD of Social Brighton

G

one are the days of LinkedIn being seen as a rather naff ‘digital CV’. It is now the most popular marketing platform for B2B organisations, largely because Microsoft have made some great improvements to the platform over the past couple of years. 45% of B2B marketers have gained customers through LinkedIn (Ref: Quick Sprout).

and adverts (unless they’re particularly well targeted) and instead read the more engaging, authentically written posts that interest you.

We can now not only upload native video to LinkedIn, but also have the ability to live stream. They’ve released a simple, yet long sought after, ability to post on your profile or page from the home feed and we can also invite our connections to follow our company pages.

One strategy that will bring results involves mobilising your most socially savvy, engaged employees to optimise their profiles, grow their networks, pro-actively engage with others and share their expertise and work-related stories.

So the platform is improving, but how do we utilise it to generate new business?

In 2020 ‘Employee advocacy’ content will continue to be the most trusted

by LinkedIn members, but it takes a coordinated and strategic approach.

A company page that is balanced with corporate published content and posts shared from employees, presents a credible business with a skilled and engaged team.

The reason LinkedIn is perfect for B2B marketing and networking is because we know people are in a ‘work mindset’ when on the platform. LinkedIn activity should mirror ‘real life’ networking to generate new business. Think about how you behave at a networking event and apply this to LinkedIn. Be social, meet new people and grow your network Our LinkedIn feeds are only as interesting as the people we’re connected with. So it’s imperative to grow a relevant network, including those you’d love to do business with.

It can be a struggle to build up a following on your company page organically as LinkedIn is focused on the individual, in the same way a networking event is.

Engage with others and contribute to conversations The LinkedIn algorithm favours posts that generate engagement, particularly comments and conversations. You wouldn’t stand at a networking event shouting to anyone who would listen about your business; you join conversations and contribute your expertise when relevant. The same goes for LinkedIn. Share ideas and stories that are useful or interesting to others If you take a look at your LinkedIn news feed, you’ll quickly become aware that you scroll past the more ‘salesy’ posts

Social networking is as worth investing in as real life networking (even if we can’t enjoy the food and drink!).

Social Brighton deliver in-house training and consultancy on LinkedIn Lead Generation and Content Marketing. www.socialbrighton.com @social_brighton

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Time

Andrew Mosley, General Manager at The Grand Brighton on his five steps to achieving mindful meetings

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lanning meetings is undoubtedly a time-consuming task.

And, with our working weeks now becoming busier than ever, it’s time to get smart about how we dedicate our precious time. In fact, last year a European survey of 2,000 employees in the UK, France and Germany unveiled that the average employee wastes nearly 13 working days every

year in ‘unproductive meetings’*. So what can we do to ensure that our meetings are managed in the most effective way to get things done and achieve targets as a team?

The Grand Brighton, one of only 31 AIM gold accredited venues in the UK, helps organise and facilitate hundreds of meetings for large and small businesses every year. Here we talk to the hotel’s General Manager, Andrew Mosley, about his five steps to achieving mindful meetings with clients and colleagues alike.

“It takes skill and patience to not get sidetracked in an hour-long or so session, and to stay on agenda when managing a meeting with several attendees. But dedicating time away from your desk to collaborate as a team can be incredibly rewarding, and it’s a great way to get project planning or brainstorming wrapped up in a short amount of time. These are just a few reminders that I use to stay on task in a meeting…”

Be strict with your time Before you even attend your next meeting, remember to be strict with your time. If you’ve been invited to a meeting which doesn’t require your area of expertise, or you don’t feel that you’d be best at contributing to the set agenda, then delegate the meeting or suggest re-focusing the itinerary to your business priorities.

Arrive early and be present For those important meet-ups, arrive early and set your intention for the meeting before you enter. What do you want to get out of it? What points are you keen to raise with your peers?

Having a clear vision of how you want to spend your allotted meeting time will ensure that you’ve done your part in staying on topic.

Set the ground rules As a team, set your ground rules for acceptable meeting behaviour. Often, this is as simple as reminding the team that everyone should have the opportunity to speak, but only one person should talk at a time whilst the rest of the group listens mindfully. I also find that implementing a ban on electronic devices is really helpful, as it can be tempting to have your attention

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well spent VENUES

focused on your email inbox rather than being present in the room.

Start with a clear agenda and stick to it If you’re chairing the meeting be clear about why you’ve all grouped together. Remind everyone of what needs to be accomplished in the allotted time, and keep your agenda as concise as possible. This will give you the chance to go in-depth on each point raised, and ensure that everyone at the table is heard. It’s normal for conversations

to wander, but remind the group that any points outside of the agenda can go in the ‘parking lot’ list of discussion for the end of the meeting or your next catch up. At the end of the meeting, recap over key actions raised during the session and agree a reasonable timeframe to complete these.

keep minutes and circulate notes after the meeting has ended. This will help to keep everyone else focused on generating ideas and contributing to the conversation, and ensure that the whole team will work from the same set of actions. *The Independent (September 2018)

Assign one note taker Hopefully your team will be brimming with ideas and actions as a result of your meeting. To keep everyone on the same page, assign one note taker to

“It takes skill and patience to not get sidetracked in an hour-long or so session, and to stay on agenda when managing a meeting with several attendees”

Organise your next day meeting at The Grand Brighton from £25DDR +VAT (daily delegate rate) or 24hr package stays from £160+VAT throughout February 2020. Simply call 01273 224300 and select ‘option 2’ or email conference @grandbrighton.co.uk to book.

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VIP VILLAS

Go Bespoke highlights six of the most luxurious villa getaways to escape to this year

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magine a luxury villa with its own swimming pool and beach access, combined with a team of staff on hand to cater for your every whim. A luxury villa holiday offers an escape from the restrictions of a hotel or a resort’s daily routine, giving you the complete freedom to do what you want, when you want.

Alternatively, if you are seeking privacy with the option of enjoying first class resort facilities, such as restaurants and children’s clubs, a luxury villa resort may just be the solution, allowing you and your party the best of both worlds.

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TRAVEL INIALA, THAILAND Nestled between palm trees and set directly on the golden sands of Natai Beach in the Phang Nga Province north of Phuket Island, Iniala Beach House is a masterpiece of design with unrivalled views. Fusing traditional Thai architecture with organic forms, there are four exquisite five bedroom villas and a spectacular penthouse, all facing the Andaman Sea and each with its own infinity-edged swimming pool and sumptuous spa room.

This transcendent beachfront escape regularly hosts many of the world’s top 50 chefs for pop-up dinners and events, bringing a truly gastronomic experience directly to one’s doorstep. There are plenty of adventures and experiences to be had beyond the villa, too. With a fleet of yachts on the island, take a luxurious cruise out to see the majestic Phang Nga Bay, and enjoy the services of on-board chefs, butlers and masseuses. Divers will find they are just an hour’s drive from Khao Lak, a launch pad to Similan and Surin islands, where some of Thailand’s best diving spots can be found, while you may also wish to take a spot of yoga or Pilates on the beach or take on a kayaking or paddle-boarding venture.

Children, meanwhile, will love the ‘Land of Iniala’ Kid’s Club and Hotel. With tree houses and caves to explore in this indoor playroom, little ones will have their own camp to enjoy, and even sleep over in!

GOLDENEYE, JAMAICA Fleming Villa ranks among the Caribbean’s most enchanting retreats and captivates those in search of natural beauty and privacy. Sited on GoldenEye property yet on its own, separate parcel of land — with private beach, private pool and tropical gardens — Fleming Villa offers guests the best of both worlds: the seclusion of a villa vacation and the switched-on scene of a small, sophisticated resort that’s just a short walk away.

The villa comes with dedicated staff that includes a butler, housekeeper and cook. Guests need never leave — but are always welcome at the FieldSpa at GoldenEye, as well as the resort’s restaurants, bars and activities.

Located 20 minutes east of Ocho Rios and less than a 10-minute drive from Ian Fleming International Airport, Fleming Villa sleeps up to 10 people with three bedrooms in the main villa and two standalone guest cottages: Sweet Spot and Pool House.

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TRAVEL

VILLA SOLA CABIATI, GRAND HOTEL TREMEZZO Just moments away from the 18th century residence Grand Hotel Tremezzo along the shores of Lake Como, you’ll find the majestic Villa Sola Cabiati. Originally built in the 16th century, the residence can sleep up to 12 people in six luxurious suites, each decorated in their own unique style. Outside of the main building, which houses beautifully

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decorative halls as well as sumptuous accommodation, you can enjoy strolling through traditional Italian gardens or relaxing by the heated pool.

Every detail of your stay will be taken care of by a team of attentive staff including a villa manager, butler and housekeeper - whilst your personal

chef will also prepare whatever your taste buds desire for breakfast, lunch and dinner as part of your stay.

Guests can also enjoy access to facilities at the Grand Hotel Tremezzo including the award-winning T Spa and breathtaking T Beach.

BELMOND LA RESIDENCIA, MALLORCA Sheltered by the Tramuntana mountains on Mallorca’s peaceful north-west coast, Belmond La Residencia is one of the most coveted hotels on the island set in lush gardens and olive groves, overlooking the sleepy artists’ village of Deià where English poet Robert Graves fled post war Europe. A short walk from the hotel, with three double bedrooms, the eponymous Villa offers deluxe spacious, self-catering accommodation with its own swimming pool – perfect for families or friends travelling together.

Enjoy daily breakfast in the hotel and full access to the amazing facilities including tennis courts, pools, restaurants and the Spa. Take an art class, explore the region’s cultural treasures by Vespa, hike in the hills, or let the hotel pack you a picnic feast to enjoy on one of the ancient terraces, transported by one of the resident donkeys.

LA CLÉ DES MONTAGNES, FRANSCHHOEK La Clé des Montagnes is a French-accented retreat in the former Huguenot enclave of Franschhoek, a picturesque town noted for its stellar cuisine, high-end boutiques, affluent arts scene and beautiful nature reserves. Comprising just four exclusive luxury villas and an exclusive array of hidden luxuries, the property is ideally located within South Africa’s famed Winelands region and just a short distance from central Franschhoek itself.

Enjoy the private paradise of your luxury villa, each with butler service, private swimming pool and beautifully styled interiors. Styles vary from Victorian farmhouse at La Grange and traditional French décor at Le Manoir to La Galerie’s bold and vibrant blend of antique and contemporary and a modern fusion of east-meets-north Africa at Le Colonial. Guests can experience life on a working wine estate whilst enjoying the many first-class facilities of this exceptional property.

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TRAVEL

HE WESTERINGS AT ROYAL T WESTMORELAND, BARBADOS This elegantly decorated Colonial style villa in St James enjoys a prime location at the 13th hole of the Royal Westmoreland’s Championship golf course, overlooking the course towards the turquoise blue Caribbean Sea. The main villa sleeps twelve and features an open plan lounge, fully-fitted kitchen and five bedrooms, of which the master suite has its own private lounge and covered terraces for greater privacy.

A guest cottage sits adjacent to the villa and comprises the sixth bedroom, which along with a bathroom, kitchenette, lounge, a fully equipped games room and dedicated media area, provides the ideal independent solution for families travelling with other relatives or teenagers.

Outdoor living areas include a dining and bar area with barbecue and an expansive terrace that surrounds the luxurious infinity edge pool and jacuzzi. Guests enjoy access to Royal Westmoreland’s superb facilities which include the par 72, 18-hole, Championship golf course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Junior and a complimentary shuttle service to Mullins Beach.

For more information about these villas, or to learn more about booking a holiday with Go Bespoke, please call the team on 020 8935 5779 or email info@gobespoketravel.com quoting ‘Platinum’.

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Businesses local to Gatwick are 50% more likely to export than the national average

Gatwick brings global trade opportunities closer

We’re more than just an airport 64

Travel SNIPPETS

LEGAL

Amān’s nature reserve

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he Amān Group will open the doors in 2023 to a new 30-room resort, Aman Niseko, on a nature reserve on an 187-hectare site on the slopes of Mount Moiwa in Hokkaido’s Niseko region. The mountainous area is known for abundant snowfall and legendary ski runs in winter, and mild weather ideal for hiking, mountain biking and river rafting in the summer. The only development on the mountain, and with unparalleled views of Mount Yotei, the resort will also offer personalised wellness programmes, relaxation pods, Watsu treatment chambers and Finnish saunas. Contact Go Bespoke for more information.

Airline scoops awards double

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orwegian received two coveted accolades at The Aviation 100 Awards held in Dublin, Ireland at the end of January. The Aviation 100 awards celebrate the year’s most outstanding performers in the aerospace industry with each category based primarily on an industry vote. Norwegian scooped

both ‘CFO/Treasury Team of the Year’ which was awarded based on the best finance deal in the past 12 months; and the ‘Aviation 100 Equity Deal of the Year’ award in recognition for the joint venture deal with CCB Leasing and Arctic Aviation Assets, represented by Hogan Lovells LLP.

The Microcation

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horter trips will become increasingly popular in 2020.

Travellers who used to go away a few times a year are opting for quicker breaks and more tailored experiences.

The concept of flygskam (which translates as flight shame), coined by teenage environmental activist Greta Thunberg, is prompting travellers to think more responsibly about the frequency of their air travel and the distances they are covering.

EasyJet and Etihad partnership

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tihad Airways has signed a partnership with low-cost carrier easyJet. Customers will for the first time be able to purchase tickets on the easyJet website from 68 cities on the airline’s network in Europe to Abu Dhabi, connecting on to Etihad Airways flights from 10 European gateways in Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Rome, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Milan Malpensa, and Zurich. The partnership follows easyJet’s accelerated and successful roll out programme with flight comparison search engine, Dohop, which powers the easyJet worldwide website connecting its European network with long-haul flights. For Etihad, this has been achieved using

the New Distribution Capability platform providing technical capability for new partnerships previously not possible. The partnership with easyJet and Dohop is the UAE national airline’s

first use of this technology and Etihad plans to add more airlines and travel partners to their NDC portfolio in 2020.

The collaboration comes into effect immediately.

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Sharing the benefits of airport growth

By Melanie Wrightson, Community Engagement Manager, Gatwick Airport

A

s Gatwick prepares to launch a public consultation on its growth plans, the airport has been speaking to businesses and business groups from across the region to identify the opportunities and challenges that come with the airport’s innovative proposals.

We are keen to involve key local stakeholders in the process as early as possible and our discussions are a way of keeping important local stakeholders fully informed and engaged during the planning process. The discussions also help us to identify areas that our growth plans can then contribute to.

One issue that frequently emerges from these discussions is the need to ensure that any economic benefits generated from the airport’s growth are shared widely across the region.

We have already showcased in Platinum Business Magazine a range of programmes that we have in place to help the local tourism sector, food and beverage producers and other potential airport suppliers. While these business sectors are potentially more

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obvious beneficiaries of Gatwick’s future growth, other airport programmes seek to reach other members of our community.

The Gatwick Foundation Fund and Gatwick Airport Community Trust By delivering £2.7 billion of economic activity and 43,000 jobs, Gatwick is the region’s single biggest driver of economic growth and is recognised as the driving force behind much of the region’s tourism, trade and a range of other aviation-related industries.

While these sectors are likely to benefit directly from Gatwick’s future growth, our discussions with local business indicate that there is also a need to show that the economic impact of the airport’s growth can also be shared more widely across the region.

This is an issue we recognise as an airport. To tackle this, a range of airport programmes are in place that are designed to help share the benefits we generate more widely. Many of them purposely target help toward local young people, the elderly and other vulnerable groups.

The Gatwick Foundation Fund for example was set up in 2016 to distribute £300,000 of funding to local projects, community groups and charities across the region in three rounds of funding a year.

Total grants have just passed the £1 million mark in the latest round of funding and more than 200 organisations and close to 100,000 local people have benefitted so far.

The latest round of grants has been distributed across a diverse range of projects, including the Crawley based branch of Streetlight UK, which provides specialist support for women involved in prostitution, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking; Bloomin’ Arts which offers opportunities for people in Tandridge with learning disabilities; and The Forget Me Not Club in Crawley which provides help to carers of Dementia sufferers to help prevent them from becoming socially isolated.

Last year the Gatwick Airport Community Trust also awarded 97 grants to local projects across the region and the airport’s three official charity

Springboard Project, Horsham, offers an accessible play centre for all ages and social and leisure opportunties for children and young people

TRAVEL

The Posh Club in Crawley has received a £2,000 grant from the Gatwick Foundation Fund

partners include Air Ambulance Kent Surrey and Sussex, St Catherine’s Hospice and Gatwick Travel Care, a group of volunteers who makes a real difference to hundreds of passengers in need every year.

Enhancing the local environment and inspiring young people The Gatwick Foundation Fund and Gatwick Airport Community Trust are just two examples of community programmes that the airport has put in place to share the benefits it generates among local people and communities.

Other projects include those designed to enhance and protect the local

environment, including the airport’s sponsorship of South East in Bloom which saw over 300 communities take part, helping to boost community participation and social inclusion, and our three year partnership with Miles Without Stiles programme to increase the number of accessible walking routes in the South Downs for wheelchair users, families with pushchairs and less agile walkers.

We also run numerous programmes to help adults start or return to work, or inspire young minds and give local school children a more practical and clear understanding of what careers they might develop from studying

Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects.

It is important to us that as the airport continues to grow and thrive, that our local community grows and thrives also. We remain committed to meeting the needs of the community where it makes most difference and will continue to invest in community and voluntary projects that have a lasting, positive impact on as many local people as possible.

Some local projects supported in the latest round of Gatwick Foundation Fund grants • Rotherfield St Martin (Wealden) a charity which aims to prevent loneliness amongst the elderly by providing companionship. Funding is for 40 social club meetings over a 12-month period.

• The Forget Me Not Club (Crawley), helps carers of Dementia sufferers so that they don’t feel alone. Grant funds will go towards the salary of a part time carer.

• Streetlight UK (Crawley) provides specialist support for women involved in prostitution, sexual exploitation and sex trafficking. Grant will cover half the costs of a specialist woman’s support worker.

• Disability Access (East Grinstead) promotes equal rights and access for all people with any form of disability or mobility problem. Grant money is going towards the mobility equipment loan service and the visually impaired readers group.

• Kangaroos (Arun) delivers fun and social activities for young people with learning disabilities. The grant will support BreakAway, the Saturday and holiday club for 12-18 year olds.

• 4th Youth Limited (Horsham) provides fun and informal learning environments for over 400 young people.

This funding will help employ two youth support workers.

• Mid Sussex Voluntary Action (Burgess Hill) aims to promote and support charities and voluntary organisations. The grant will help fund the day-to-day activities of the group including the accessible town centre community room and training courses for members

• Bloomin’ Arts (Tandridge) offers opportunities for people with learning disabilities to enjoy, perform and work in the arts. The money will support a craft project to enable adults with learning disabilities to create craft products for sale.

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Audi R8

By Maarten Hoffmann

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he R8 has been with us since 2016 and worldwide, sold 3,688 in 2016. Designed as the everyday super car, there is little doubt that the R8 is the only true everyday supercar.

As easy to drive as a Ford Focus, l used it every day and it really is a pussycat unless you press some buttons and dial it up, then it is a fire-breathing monster that will take your breath away. I have reviewed the R8 more than six times and in 2017 l took it to the Nurburgring, via the unrestricted autobahns of Germany, and it excelled.

Track driving is a tad more challenging in a car with all-wheel drive as it tends to fight you in the corners and will not drift but nevertheless, it is superb.

The 2019 model has had a bit of plastic surgery to hold back the years with a few more horses rammed in, bringing the standard car from 533bhp to

562bhp and the Performance model from 604bhp to 614bhp. Best of all is the mid-mounted 5.2 litre V10 that could be the very last of the wonderful naturally aspirated cars around. No turbos or superchargers stealing that wonderful roar emanating from the larger exhaust pipes. Apparently there is a V6 hybrid coming and at that time, l might just jump off Beachy Head.

This new model has a new nose, larger exhaust pipes, a carbon anti-roll bar that saves 40% of the weight, new bumpers, stiffer suspension and a few new vents. A non-car nut would struggle to see any of the differences but then this car is not aimed at them – it is aimed at me; an out-and-out petrolhead who regards going from A to B as part of the adventure and not just a journey.

For a supercar that will hit 201 mph and reach 60mph in 3.4 seconds, it is

ridiculously easy to drive and makes even the biggest twerp look like Stirling Moss. You can push it far beyond common sense, stop it faster than physics should allow, corner to the point of

“You can push it far beyond common sense, stop it faster than physics should allow, corner to the point of terror and all with supreme confidence and a smile that’s takes an age to fade”

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MOTORING

terror and all with supreme confidence and smile that takes an age to fade.

The interior is little changed as ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The seats cuddle you, all the switch gear is well laid out and at hand and we have the fab Audi interactive dash that trumps all others. The seats are great but avoid the optional sports seats as they are too upright and too skinny for comfort in, what is, a full GT cruiser that will take you to Monaco and back without breaking a sweat, and you will feel tickety boo too.

So where is the competition? It sits well with the McLaren 570s, Mercedes AMG GT and Porsche 911 GT3 but honestly, trumps them all. The McLaren, reviewed last year, is a very close contender and is lighter by 200kg but it’s the easy drive that pops the R8 over the line. The McLaren also pipped it with its superb turn into corners but the new R8 has fixed that little problem and it goes exactly where you point it.

Where the R8 cannot be better is that monstrous baleful howl from the pipes - it really is quite addictive.

It ain’t cheap but then why would it be. The standard R8 will set you back £128,000, the Performance £142,000 and the Spyder £151,000 and running costs might hurt with 21mpg but really, who cares. If you can afford the car and love it as you will, you have to pay.

And as the last of the naturally aspirated engines, keep the miles down and in time, it will make you money.

TECH STUFF Model tested: Audi R8 Engine: 5.2 litre V10 Power: 562bhp Speed: 0-60 3.4 seconds Top: 201mph Economy: 21.6mpg combined Price from: £128,000

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The A-Class

Representative Example

A200 AMG Line Manual 5dr

Monthly Payments of

£299.00

1

From £299* per month with 3 years’ free servicing**

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

On the Road Price

£26,095.26

The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is as youthful and dynamic as ever, with added comfort and technology. The A-Class introduces MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience, plus it offers a number of functions usually found in classes above.

Thanks to the Driving Assistance package, the A-Class can drive semi-autonomously on certain roads, and MULTIBEAM LED headlights are optionally available as part of the Premium Plus package. All models of the A-Class are also powered by new, efficient diesel and petrol engines.

Optional Purchase Payment2

£11,725.00

Amount of Credit

£22,096.26

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£30,086.00

Purchase Activation Fee2

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

8p per mile

For more information please contact our Sales Team at Mercedes-Benz of Guildford on 01483 916292

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford Moorfield Road, Guildford, GU1 1RU

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected A-Class models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 6,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Group is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated consumer credit activity. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. **To qualify for this offer, all new A-Class hatchback vehicles (excl. AMG A35, AMG A45, A-Class Saloon models, and S176 A-Class) must be ordered and registered between 1 January and 31 March 2020 (inclusive). Vehicles must be purchased on a MBFS finance contract to be eligible. Offer applies to all private retail and small fleet (1-24 units) customers only. ServiceCare Plan is based on 3 services taken at the relevant service intervals – either 15,500 miles or 12 months whichever comes sooner. All services must be completed by an authorised Mercedes-Benz Retailer. This offer can be used in conjunction with all other applicable Sales Campaigns except other ServiceCare campaigns. No cash alternative. ServiceCare plan stays with the vehicle and therefore in the event of change of vehicle ownership, the ServiceCare plan cannot be moved to another vehicle, but should be given to the new owner of the same vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz Cars UK Limited reserves the right to amend or remove this offer at any time. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.

The GLA

Representative Example

GLA 180 Urban Edition Auto

Monthly Payments of

£289.00

1

From just £289* per month

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

On the Road Price

£25,350.01

The Mercedes-Benz GLA remains to be the sportiest vehicle of its class, encompassing eye-catching aesthetics whilst still being prepared for all terrains. The Urban Edition takes this one step further with its off-road comfort suspension, making it the ideal vehicle for cross-country driving. The versatile and compact GLA SUV also perfectly complements fast-paced city living; KEYLESS-GO, Media Interface and a Reversing Camera with 180 ° view all make driving in an urban environment that much more efficient.

Optional Purchase Payment2

£11,325.00

Amount of Credit

£21,351.01

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£29,206.00

Purchase Activation Fee2

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

10p per mile

For more information please contact our Sales Team at Mercedes-Benz of Guildford on 01483 916292

Mercedes-Benz of Guildford Moorfield Road, Guildford, GU1 1RU

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected GLA SUV models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 10,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Group is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in respect of regulated consumer credit activity. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.

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TECHNOLOGY

Protect your data and your brand Lessons to learn from the Travelex breach by Martin Roskelly, IT Consultant at IntraLAN Group Ltd the supplier in the coming months after assessing the effect on their own reputation.

To survive in today’s economy, companies must balance seamless digital experiences with fail-safe security.

When companies fail to deliver on security, not only do they have to consider the financial loss but also the detrimental effect on brand reputation and customer trust.

O

ne of the biggest business stories of 2020 so far was the attack on Travelex’s network. The company’s website and its services were taken offline for weeks in an effort to prevent the spread of ransomware.

Recent decades have seen a huge increase in cyber threats and breaches.

This has led to concerns about how businesses address the issue of cybersecurity and opened discussions on the strategic perspectives on cyber security and cyber warfare, trusted computing, password cracking, systems and network security.

As time progresses this will be evident for Travelex as the company struggles to regain customer trust after the breach. Not only has the breach affected customers, but brands dependent on Travelex to deliver their own exchange services (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Lloyds, Barclays, RBS and others) may re-evaluate their contracts with

Customers will be understandably concerned about their personal data and once the damage has been done it can be extremely difficult to regain the trust of current and future customers.

Look at Talk Talk, which is only now recovering some years later.

Post-GDPR enforcement fines have increased dramatically. The ability to ‘hide’ data breaches has gone too, increasing the potential loss to reputation significantly.

The ICO has now started to issue fines for GDPR data breaches for smaller businesses (no longer just the big boys with dedicated IT resources like British Airways for £183m and Marriott for £100m), and having a plan to counter cyber threats and protect customer data is vital.

Ensuring you understand the risks, having backups and security measures in place to prevent breaches, reassures customers of your commitment to protecting their personal information.

IntraLAN has the capability, resources

and tools to help identify breaches early, recover losses, and ultimately monitor and protect valuable customer data from this type of breach.

Understanding cyber issues is an ongoing process and to help you on your digital transformation journey IntraLAN offers a discovery service where you can gain additional insight on the subject.

Our free Cyber Threat Defence Assessment provides you with the insights and resources to help build a resilient and cyber-ready organisation. Speak to our specialist team today and join us at the Surrey Technology Forum on Wednesday March 4th 2020 to discover how to defend your business against cyber attacks.

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www.intralan.co.uk 0344 770 7000 Twitter: @intralan

73

REALITY BITES

By Maarten Hoffmann

I

am not a climate activist, nor will l preach about the subject just to add to the howling roar. But l will offer a reality check on the topic and how worldwide business will be deeply affected if we don’t do something about it. There are still odd pockets of Neanderthals who deny any form of climate change but the majority of intelligent human being cannot deny that human interaction with the planet is damaging it – possibly way beyond our ability to fix it.

Some say weather conditions around the globe are normal climatic events that have occurred for millennia and just because human records only go back a hundred years or so, the planet works in million-year cycles. But many would venture that the records we have are enough to scare the pants off us.

Looking at said records dating back to 1850, 2019 was the second hottest year on record with the worry being that the first was in 2016, making that decade the warmest for 170 years.

In addition, plastic invades our world and is in the gut of almost 100% of our birds and sea life. Every piece of plastic ever produced is still knocking around the planet. Coral reefs are bleaching (dying) at a rate never before seen and will never return. CO2 emissions continue to rise dramatically, and with China building a new fossil fuelled power station at the rate of two per month, there is little chance it will decline any time soon. We continue to fell forests, build on flood plains, deplete the green belt, pump chemicals into our waterways, clear the rainforests for the planting of cheap palm oil,

74

fly on filthy aeroplanes at the drop of a hat and wage continual wars over the meagre spoils that remain.

But if we are to do something about this, we had better be prepared to change our lives in such a dramatic fashions, that modern life would be unrecognisable.

Let us imagine that if we switched off modern life today, all power usage and all CO2 emissions, around the world that nature would recover in 100 years. Then we would need to look at how long we have under these worsening conditions before human kind is wiped out. On this imaginary clock, l would give humans 50 years before it is far too late and the planet bites back. Therefore, we are doomed.

Our oceans are the perfect model for this. We are eating the fish way faster than they can replenish, and having been a marine activist for 20 years whilst living in the tropics, having been arrested twice and deported once for my furious actions, l can assure you l have a very good handle on this particular subject. In my opinion, fish are gone for good. They will never recover from mass human consumption created by factory fishing, the sedimentary run off from our chemical soaked land and the plastic invasion in every inch of the worlds oceans. Why do you think the latest record for a Blue Fin Tuna of $2.4 million should resonate?

It’s because they are so rare the price is through the roof. Stop fishing to allow them to recover? Not on your life – we just try harder to catch them

as they are so valuable.

Humans really are the ultimate idiots.

Everyone writing on the subject ends with a note of hope that ‘we can do it’.

Sorry, but I will end on a note of ‘no we can’t’.

We are not prepared to turn back the clock and rid ourselves of all modern conveniences. To make any small difference we would need to halt production of all fossil fulled engines, ban flying, ban the manufacture of all plastics, ban the use of chemicals, ban the felling of

ANGER MANAGEMENT “...if we are to do something about this, we had better be prepared to change our lives in such a dramatic fashions, that modern life would be unrecognisable”

therefore allowing us not to worry too much and calm down and carry on.

Humans really are the ultimate idiots.

Perhaps all the experts are wrong.

Perhaps Sir David Attenborough is wrong when he says ‘Human beings have overrun the world. Our planet is headed for disaster’ It has long been accepted that the loss of Arctic ice is the tipping point for the planet; the point of no return. Well, stop reading now if you are prone to depression. That very ice has declined by 78% between 1979 and 2012. That’s 10 trillion tons of ice that’s melted into the sea, amplifying global warming and equal to around 250 billion tons of carbon dioxide. When it all goes, and it will, sea levels would rise by up to 58 metres and global warming would increase off the scale – effectively, human would never be able to survive.

a single tree, ban the burning of rubbish, ban fireworks, ban oil drilling, ban antibiotics, ban fishing, ban war, ban meat consumption and kill at least 50% of all humans on the planet.

If we did the above today, most experts agree we might have a 50/50 chance of surviving what nature is set to throw at us. You and l both know that we will not even action 2% of the above.

Humans need hope. Humans need to feel that someone somewhere is doing something about our problems

What can we do? Everything we can l guess is the answer in an attempt to slow it down in the hope that technology finds a way to reverse the decline, or we find out we are wrong and nature recovers. Trouble is, with the last scenario is that nature has a way of protecting itself against such damage therefore nature will have to rid itself of the offending species – us.

Humans really are the ultimate idiots.

ANGER MANAGEMENT

75

ANGER MANAGEMENT The UN has just come out with some shocking statements about the state of the planet.

“We are leaving our children a dead world”

The UN Executive Secretary for Biological Diversity has implored world leaders to ensure that 2020 is not just another “year of conferences” on the continuing ecological destruction of the planet, urging countries to take definitive action on deforestation, pollution and the climate crisis.

The destruction of life-supporting ecosystems such as coral reefs and rainforests means humans risk living in an “empty world” with “catastrophic” consequences for society, according to Mrema, who is responsible for spearheading a Paris-style agreement for nature that will be negotiated this year. The problem here is that all governments are absolutely committed to finding a remedy for the crisis, until it comes to actually doing something.

The response is always “ah well, that’s a big decision and we will need to set up a committee to discuss that”. That reads as “it’s too contentious to deal with therefore we will kick it into the long grass”.

In May last year, the world’s leading scientists warned that nature is disappearing at a rate hundreds of times higher than the average for the past 10 million years. Experts had previously warned that humans are driving the sixth mass extinction event in the earth’s history.

When asked what would happen if governments did not take sufficient

76

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, UN Convention of Biological Diversity

action, Mrema said: “The risks will be major. One is that we will not have listened to the science and the evidence provided. Because we will not have listened, it means the global community will have said: let biodiversity loss continue, let people continue to die, let the degradation continue, deforestation continue, pollution continue and we’ll have given up as an international community to save the planet. I hope that’s not where any of us would want to be” Is this a problem adults have given up on in the hope that the youth of today will fix it tomorrow? Greta Thunberg certain feels that’s the way we are going and she is probably right. Trouble is that we do not have the time to wait for them to grow into adults. The problem is here today, right now.

The UN has organised a youth summit this April in Miyazaki, Japan which the organisation hopes environmentalists such as Thunberg will attend. “Our children are asking what climate they are going to inherit from us if the planet they are seeing is polluted, the ocean

they are seeing is full of plastic and the consumption patterns are leading to more pollution” stated Mrema.

The children know exactly what their rights are, what they want and what they expect from their parents” she said. Whatever is negotiated today, will affect our children far more than us” In short, adults are in charge of our children’s future and not in 30 or 50 years but in 5 to 10 years. May of us will still be alive when the planet collapses and what will you say when your kids ask: “what did you do to help stop this ignorant, wilful destruction of our world?”

I wonder what your answer will be?

ANGER MANAGEMENT

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Influence

By Dean Orgill, Chair of Sussex IoD and Chairman of Mayo Wynne Baxter

W

ithin your business dealings and within your personal life who would you most like to think you have influenced?

Do you think that influence has been positive or negative? Either way have you influenced people in the way that you would want to, or have they – for some wholly inexplicable reason – reacted to you and your actions in a way that is completely inconsistent with how they should have responded?

Now, to turn it around, who has influenced you the most in your life? How did they do that, and how did you respond to that influence? Does that person know just how much they may have influenced you?

As business leaders we are inevitably

required to influence people. We will therefore try to do so in the way that we may want to provoke a particular response, in order to try to achieve a specific outcome that we especially wish to see. But also as business leaders, since we are people, we will inevitably influence others whether we try to or not, and that may not produce the outcomes that we desire. Whatever we do or say will influence those we interact with, even if it only helps to reinforce, or perhaps change, people’s view of us or of our actions.

In business it invariably helps to put oneself into the shoes of the other party. For example if I am selling services it makes sense to think if I was the buyer what would I want and how would I want to be dealt with. In other words to think what and how the customer or client may want to buy, rather than how we may want to sell.

Likewise I would say that in terms of influence it makes sense to look at how we ourselves are influenced when trying to decide how to influence others, rather than how we might like to approach things from our point of view.

we ourselves are, and that has to be considered. But as a starting point who influences you? Is it a family member or is it someone you have never met?

If it is a stranger, say a personal hero, what was it that inspired you? Was it a message, a behaviour or a particular response to circumstances? Why did that resonate with you?

If we can give some thought to that it may help us as we seek the best way to influence others. We may need to ensure consistent message and behaviour to “back up” that message.

How would you respond to someone urging you to behave one way but acting themselves in another?

We cannot help but to influence others one way or another, but if we think about how to approach it we just may ensure that the number of desired outcomes we achieve is increased.

Just a thought What is the biggest single positive influence you would like to have? www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk www.iod.com

Of course we have to recognise that other people are not necessarily motivated by the same things as

79

UPCOMING FIXTURES:

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ALBION v ARSENAL Saturday 14 March

ALBION v MAN UTD Saturday 4 April

ALBION v LIVERPOOL Saturday 18 April

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• Inclusive drinks • A drink and snacks on arrival • Three-course meal

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• Tea and coffee at half-time and full time • Matchday programme

For more information on hospitality at the Amex, please call the hospitality team on 01273 878 278 or email hospitality@brightonandhovealbion.com

• Exclusive hire and use of the pitch for 90 minutes • Use of the home and away dressing rooms • Match officials and first aid support • Use of the home and away dugout seats • Use of footballs

80

• Half-time refreshments • Pitch team photograph • Access to a lounge after the match • Two-course buffet and a drink of your choice • Free on-site parking

SPORT | FOOTBALL

Socceroos all fired up Professionl footballers may well be paid a fortune, but that doesn’t stop them having a social conscience, writes Alan Wares of The Albion Roar weekend of January towards the bushfire relief funds. Goalkeeper Ryan felt he wished to contribute more, so

This is all the more appalling for two Brighton players, Aaron Mooy and Maty Ryan, native Australians seeing their homeland burn up, and who felt they had to do... something.

Anything.

Professional Footballers Australia Maty Ryan (left) and Aaron Mooy – the male and female players’ un- donated to Australian bushfires funds ion – acutely aware of the issues, suggested players donate A$1,000 (around £528) for every goal scored in the ‘A’ League and ‘W’ League (the he pledged A$500 (£264) for every ‘oftop men’s and women’s football dificial’ save in the Premier League durvisions in Australia) during the first ing the second weekend of the month.

This gesture set him back personally A$28,000 (c. £14,800) for the 56 saves made. However, the donations didn’t stop there as the Board of Directors at Brighton & Hove Albion unanimously agreed to match that contribtion towards the efforts to dowse the flames.

Paul Hazlewood, Club Photographer, Brighton & Hove Albion

I

t can’t have escaped anyone’s notice the awful bushfires ravaging much of Australia. The damage to the wildlife, environment, and indeed the planet, is on an abysmal scale. And it’s only going to get worse.

Both the club and the players received massive praise from all quarters for their gesture.

Everyone’s thought are first and foremost with the Australian firefighters, and those affected by this catastrophe.

People can join Maty and Aaron by donating to the WIRES wildlife bushfires effort. Head to www. wires.org.au/blog/emergency-donations-to-help-wildlife

81

PEST CONTROL

PROTECT YOUR PREMISES

from those pesky birds

By Paul Bates, Managing Director Cleankill Pest Control Part of the problem is the increase in the number of broods each pigeon pair is now having: Twenty years ago pigeons would have two or three broods a year, but now we are more Cleankill Pest Control recommends likely to see four or five. This has led that any company with netting into a massive increase in the pigeon stalled should have a maintenance population which has been exacerbatcontract to ensure it remains in good ed by people feeding order and that there “Pigeons, or them and attractis no risk of birds becoming entangled. ‘flying rats’, carry ing them into town squares where they diseases and are fouling on paveCertainly netting checking should be nearly all pigeons ments and buildings. done before the nestcarry bird mites” Pigeons, or ‘flying ing season starts. rats’, carry diseases and nearly all piAlso checking that bird spikes are ingeons carry bird mites – a tiny insect tact as wet weather followed by frosts, that feeds off the bird and makes huor maintenance work on the exterior mans itch and scratch. Pigeon fouling of buildings, and window cleaners, and nesting materials also provide a can dislodge spike systems. home for many other insects such as clothes moths, carpet beetle and mealIf a gap in the netting goes unnoticed worm beetles and pigeon excrement. and a pair of pigeons gets through and When the fouling is dry it creates airinto a roof space in a matter of months borne bacteria affecting anybody that there can be many birds living there may be susceptible to asthma and othand the floor will soon be covered with er breathing difficulties. fouling up to a foot deep. systems and bird spike repellents. Or, for natural bird control, Harris Hawks are the ideal solution.

W

ith Spring on the way, now is the time to make sure your property is protected from nesting birds.

As the days get warmer, birds will start to look for places to settle such as outside ledges and exposed pipework.

Their droppings will then collect on the floor below causing an unsightly, dangerously slippery mess.

There are many techniques available to professional pest controllers such as netting, bird free gel, sprung wire

Cleankill offers a specialist bird control service, from the initial survey and specification through to the final proofing solution. As registered waste carriers, Cleankill can carry out fullscale removal of bird fouling, as well as contaminated goods and furniture, from infested properties.

Go to www.cleankill.co.uk 0800 056 5477.

An example of damaged bird netting

82

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