Platinum Business Magazine – issue 53

PLATINUM BUSINESS MAGAZINE THE LARGEST CIRCULATION REGIONAL BUSINESS PUBLICATION IN THE UK.

ISSUE 53 2018

GREEN Business Focus on innovation and sustainability

Stelvio The first Alfa Romeo SUV

Gatwick gets a second runway

Why our region needs to shout louder Jonathan Sharrock

Chief Executive, Coast to Capital

Christine Lagarde

KEEPING THE GLOBAL ECONOMY

working

B U TICKEY TS NOW

2018 FINALISTS BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE Sponsored by Platinum Publishing Group Allison Jeffery Skin Health and Laser Clinic Boundless by CSMA Nuffield Health Haywards Heath Hospital Paxton Access

BUSINESS IN THE COMMUNITY Sponsored by Gatwick Airport

BUSINESS INNOVATION OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Sussex Innovation Centre

Engage Health Group Mabel’s Emporium Search Seven

Flinder LifeBox Health Mindlab International Rayner Intraocular Lenses

CORPORATE FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Rockinghorse

EMPLOYER OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Clearline Recruitment

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Sponsored by HSBC

Morgan Sindall Pryzm Richard Place Dobson

B&CE Holdings Legal & General The Student Room Group

Paxton Access PVL UK Rinkit

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AWARD Sponsored by Vantage Professional Risks

START-UP OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Coffin Mew

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES AWARD Sponsored by University of Sussex Business School

MacConvilles Surveying Quantuma Rix & Kay

Advanced Material Development MyPocketSkill Waffle

Brightec Dotsquares Rhythmix

TOURIST DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Red7

FOOD & DRINK DESTINATION OF THE YEAR Sponsored by The Gemini Print Group

BUSINESSPERSON OF THE YEAR Sponsored by CountyClean Group

Fishers Adventure Farm Park Horsham Museum & Art Gallery The Charleston Trust

Jeremy’s Restaurant Malmaison Brighton Pascere

Carl Fillery, Boundless by CSMA Kevin Markwick, The Picture House Cinema & Restaurant Nick Broom, PVL UK

SME BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Sponsored by LMS Group

LARGE BUSINESS OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Allied Irish Bank

COMPANY OF THE YEAR Sponsored by Mazars

Allaero Crunch HSM Global Modus Brands

Rayner Intraocular Lenses Rinkit World of Books

Allaero Bird & Blend Tea Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club Chandlers Building Supplies Rayner Intraocular Lenses World of Books

The Sussex Awards is the longest running such event in the entire country and celebrates the great and the good of our remarkable region. It’s too late to enter and it’s too late to sponsor but it is not too late to join over 500 business leaders at the event at The Grand Hotel in Brighton on November 29th 2018 at what will surely be the

EVENT OF THE YEAR Join us at the event and buy your tickets now.

Tables of ten available at £850 and tickets at £90 each.

To purchase tickets, visit www.sbawards.org.uk

Gemini

Print

CONTENTS 7

Local and national News

14

THE BIG STORY: Christine Lagarde

21

Gatwick gets a second runway

24

Building momentum for growth NatWest

26

Mergers and acquisitions DMH Stallard

28

The next generation firewall LMS Group

30

Enterpreneurs’ relief Carpenter Box

32

Managing growth Kreston Reeves

35

A level Levy? Sherrards

37

Brexit Remoaner Recruiter eats her words RSE

38

Interview – Jonathan Sharrock, Coast to Capital

43

Pioneering women The Business Show

44

Mid-sized business growth Allied Irish Bank

46

Bringing the Business Together Meet the Buyers

48

Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

50

GREEN BUSINESS

65

Adur & Worthing Awards

66

TRAVEL: MICE & Leisure Travel

75

Spaces by the sea Basepoint

76

Harrods’ Christmas gift guide

79

Brighton Business Expo Pearce Marketing

80

Winter racing Plumpton Racecourse

82

Three years of Sussex Innovation in Croydon SINC

84

Focus Start-Up Surgery

88

The big unveil The Grand Brighton

90

Brighton Summit

92

Nurturing talent Hilton Brighton Metropole

94

MOTORING

98

A new college takes flight East Sussex College

101

Charity news Chestnut Tree House

103

Chamber listings

106

Anger management

108

Preparing to meet the team IoD

111

SPORT: News

112

Who is the team of the year?

115

Motor sport

117

Rugby

119

Float spa

120

Pride and Joyce

122

Tennis

124

Football

126

When business meets sport

128

Active Sussex

130

View from sofa

14

Profile of IMF Chief Executive Christine Lagarde

21 Gatwick Expansion Special

50

The Green Business scene in Sussex

66

Business travel in the stunning Alps

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.

3

Celebrating Business Excellence

Join us as we recognise the passion and talent of our business community The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards celebrate people and businesses who have shown innovation and inspiration in their work, and have demonstrated a real commitment to the region. The Awards have become one of the most prestigious business occasions – celebrating the best of the best across the Gatwick Diamond.

For more information and to download an entry form, visit:

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

@gdbizawards

WELCOME

Say hello

to Issue 53 of the largest circulation regional business magazine in the country. We never tire of saying that. Not because we like to boast but because we have a dynamite team here at Platinum Towers who work their fingers to the bone to bring you the very finest publication possible. We are rightly proud of all of them.

In this issue,

DMH Stallard explain the ins and outs of Mergers and Acquisitions, LMS explain the importance of firewalls on your computer systems, Carpenter Box talk about how to access Entrepreneurs Relief and Kreston Reeves explore the best ways to manage growth.

We have a Green Section

in this issue looking at how you can get involved in making your workplace, and life in general, more green. Rose has been swanning around the Maldives and Maarten has been at it again, terrorising the travelling public in the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio and then explains his favourite driving road in Europe.

Finally,

Laurence features the Rugby Autumn Internationals

in Platinum Sport along with his Team of the Year and he gets to grips with the boss of coffee company, Lavazza and asks why they have such a large involvement in British Tennis.

And finally,

Gatwick have come up with the perfect answer to their disappointment following the refusal to grant permission for the second runway, by remembering they actually have a spare runway! Therefore, finally Gatwick gets its second runway and that is of huge benefit to all of us in the South East - possibly with the exception of those living under the flightpath although in most cases the airport was there when they purchased their house, so not too much room to complain.

the grand old lady that is the Grand Hotel in Brighton has been stripped of its two-year scaffolding job and we see the beautiful building come back to its former glory. General Manager Andrew Mosely explains what the refurbishment means to the future of this Brighton landmark – and the home of the Sussex Business Awards on November 29th – have you purchased your tables yet?

&

Maarten Ian

Platinum Business Magazine October 2018

The Team

Maarten Hoffmann – Director

Lesley Alcock

Fiona Graves

Laurence Elphick

Kate Morton

Rose Dykins

maarten@platinumpublishing.co.uk 07966 244046

Business Development Director

Events Director

Head of Sport

Copy Editor

Travel Editor

Ian Trevett – Director

Ewa Rogalska

Poppie Sharman

Amanda Menahem

Steve Elford

ian@platinumpublishing.co.uk 07989 970804

Head of Design

Events Manager

Food & Drink Editor

Head of Web Development

5

21st November 2018 THE ARORA HOTEL, CRAWLEY

Don’t just Meet the Buyers get yourself connected The Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers Programme brings together Buyers and Suppliers to help each other grow their businesses.

For Buyers, you will have the opportunity to meet new Suppliers of the products and services you need as well as explore ways to solve your procurement issues.

For Suppliers, you will be able to access the kind of businesses you simply cannot reach elsewhere, with face to face meetings with their procurement professionals.

From June 2018, there will be a programme of free Seminars to help you understand how to engage with Public Sector and large businesses that are seeking new suppliers as well as improve your general sales processes.

t: 01293 813889

e: info@gatwickdiamondmeetthebuyers.com

www.GatwickDiamondMeettheBuyers.com

Sponsored by

@GDMeettheBuyers

Sussex

news Music for all D

isabled people in Sussex can have the same freedoms as everyone else to attend concerts and events thanks to two new mobile changing facilities funded from a £13,794 grant to the Bevern Trust charity from Sussex Freemasons.

Lancing welcomes

GHANA’S

PRESIDENT

N

ana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the President of the Republic of Ghana, returned to Lancing College, his old school in October. The President was welcomed by Head Master Dominic Oliver before touring the school and joining over 200 guests for a reception and lunch.

After lunch the President addressed the audience, talking about his time at Lancing, how it had influenced him, and his determination to pull Ghana out of poverty and into prosperity.

Dominic Oliver, Head Master said ‘It is an honour and privilege to welcome President Nana Akufo-Addo back to

“Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.”

BUSINESS WISDOM

his old school. A leader of his nation and indeed his region, it seems particularly apt that, as he returns to his alma mater, education is high on his agenda. We are very proud that someone whose independence of thought, keenness to challenge convention and deep intellect was encouraged at Lancing has become a constitutional reformer and defender of human rights, not just as a campaigner but as a leading figure on the world stage.’

The new MigLoo mobile changing facilities will allow at least 30 people with profound disabilities to attend community events, festivals and outdoor activities. Attending venues with limited facilities previously meant that changing or going to the toilet for people with complex needs was impossible and that they could not stay for long or even attend at all.

The ‘Migloo Festival’ provides a fully portable, temporary hoisted Changing Place that utilises the innovative MigLoo hoisting system. The unit can easily be erected to provide those with profound disabilities and the need for hoisting, the privacy to use a toilet or freshen up and enjoy the rest of their day.

The Bevern Trust are members of Seaford Chamber and last year were beneficiaries of the Chamber Charity Golf Day which raised £5,000.

ADD A FEW NOUGHTS

I

n last month’s profile of Allied Irish Bank, it was reported that AIB (GB) lent £1.4million to businesses last year. It should have been £1.4billion!

Artworks – They are a changing

A

new collection of limited edition graphics by Bob Dylan has been unveiled at a Brighton’s Castle Art Gallery. Mondo Scripto is the first collection of its kind from Dylan and features a selection of the artist’s most renowned lyrics, each handwritten by him in pen on paper and accompanied by an original pencil drawing.

Valerie Kaye, gallery manager at Castle Fine Art, Brighton, said: “Mondo Scripto embodies the beginning of a new age in Bob Dylan’s visual arts journey to date, so it’s a privilege to unveil these works at our gallery.

“This collection is unlike anything we have ever seen from Dylan. We expect the graphics to sell out fast, so anyone interested should contact the gallery as soon as possible.”

Prices start from £1,500. www.castlefineart.com.

7

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20/03/2018 11

Sussex

news

New Partner to lead insolvency practice

S

outh East based law firm, Rix & Kay, has hired leading insolvency lawyer, Richard Ludlow, who joins as Partner. Richard will be responsible for leading the firm’s established dispute resolution team and building the firm’s insolvency practice.

Richard joins from London based insolvency specialists, Francis Wilks & Jones, but has also held roles in the government’s Insolvency Service and Treasury Solicitor’s Department as well as in large regional firms in Kent and Sussex.

Richard specialises in acting for Liquidators in bringing claims against directors, as well as for defending directors who are subject to claims by liquidators. In addition, Richard has a unique understanding, from his previous roles, of the skills required to defend directors subject to directors disqualification proceedings.

Thinking out of the box

L

aw firm DMH Stallard has advised on the sale of the UK’s leading manufacturer in the box making market - British Converting Solutions. The company, which operates in more than 25 countries, has been at the forefront of the box making industry for decades and was awarded the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade in 2016.

DMH Stallard’s Corporate Partner Abigail Owen led the team advising the group’s shareholders during the sale to international group Kolbus which has its head office in Germany.

Barry Tabor, the former majority shareholder of British Converting Solutions, said: “I would like to thank Abigail and her team for working so diligently on the deal with Kolbus and providing calmness, clarity and confidence in a complex legal process which was unfamiliar to us.”

Other advisors for British Converting Solutions were EMC Corporate Finance Limited. Wilkins Kennedy provided tax and accounting advice.

New Brighton home

L

aw firm, Coffin Mew held a glittering launch party to celebrate the opening of its new Brighton office on Prince Albert Street, which the firm has beautifully renovated into one of its flagship locations.

Nearly 100 guests attended the event including Coffin Mew CEO Miles Brown and the new Brighton leadership team: Nick Leavey (Chairman & Partner – Head of Commercial Property), Mark O’Halloran

(Partner - Head of Commercial Services) and Mark James (Partner – Dispute Resolution).

Nick Leavey said: “Our Brighton launch party was a great success with dozens of people from Coffin Mew and other organisations turning out to help us celebrate the beginning of a new era for our firm in this vibrant, exciting and entrepreneurial city.” www.coffinmew.co.uk.

“In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity” BUSINESS WISDOM

Innovating asb

S

ussex-based legal and consultancy firm, asb law LLP, has won an award for innovation at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards Europe 2018.

Managing Partner, Andrew Clinton and Head of Corporate Relationships, Lyndsey Ratcliffe, attended the event at the Natural History Museum in London. They were delighted to receive the award for Innovation in the business of law: New business and service delivery models.

Andrew Clinton also individually featured in the Top 10 innovative lawyers in Europe, which acknowledges his passion and drive to lead change in the legal industry.

Kingston Smith wins at British Accountancy Awards

K

ingston Smith is delighted to have won the award for Large Firm Innovation of the Year at the British Accountancy Awards. The firm was presented with the prestigious award at a glittering ceremony at the Grosvenor Hotel, London in September.

The judges singled out Kingston Smith for the award in recognition of the firm’s unique, bespoke data analytics solution, which was created in-house to offer clients greater control and clarity over their businesses through real-time advisory.

9

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MHA Carpenter Box Wealth Management will offer a fresh approach to all of your financial planning requirements, providing guidance and advice that is suitable for your personal circumstances.

Our services include: Investment advice and planning • Portfolio management Estate planning • Retirement planning • Corporate tax planning

Get in touch Gatwick: 01293 227670 • Worthing: 01903 534587 Email: wealth@carpenterbox.com

www.carpenterbox.com/wealth

national Sweet Dreams

news

K

night Frank has forecast that the UK hotel market will grow by 3.3% this year, eclipsing 2017 and equating to over 21,000 new hotel rooms. In fact, over 5,200 new hotel rooms opened during the first six months of 2018 and a further 15,000 hotel rooms have been in the works since then.

Such extensive growth in new build hotels is fuelling the pace of hotel development across the UK. Property specialists, Savoy Stewart analysed Knight Frank’s Hotel Development Opportunities report in depth, to pull the facts together and present a picture of what the future hotel supply will look like in the next three years (2018 to 2021). Some of the findings include: yy During the first six months of 2018,

5,200 new hotel rooms opened; 15,000 more are in the pipeline. yy In 2018, the UK hotel market is expected to grow by 3.3% - equating to over 21,000 new hotel rooms. yy Belfast has experienced the largest

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win” BUSINESS WISDOM

It’s all in the name

increase in new hotel supply and hotels under construction in 2018. yy Outside London, Manchester holds the highest number of new hotel rooms developing in the next few years.

T

he name of someone receiving a payment will be as important as their banking details for the first time from next summer, in an attempt to combat fraud.

At present, anyone wanting to transfer money enters the intended recipient’s name, account number and sort code, however, the name is not checked. Under plans from the UK’s payments operator, the sender will be alerted if the name does not match the account.

The system has been designed to combat cases when fraudsters mimic a genuine business and attempt to trick people into sending money to an account controlled by the con-artist. Details of how the “confirmation of payee” system will work have been revealed by Pay. UK - the operator which oversees the UK’s major payments systems.

The aim is to cut down on so-called authorised push payment (APP) scams, in which people are conned into sending money to another account - a total of £145m was stolen from bank customers in this way in the first half of the year.

Billionaire Dollar Babies E

ach of Rupert Murdoch’s children are set to receive at least $2 billion from the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney. This record-breaking transfer of wealth will make them the world’s youngest billionaires.

At $71.3 billion, the sale of 21st Century Fox to Disney is one of the biggest media deals in history, but it is also set

to break records in inheritance.

At least 17% of the revenue from the deal will go directly to the children of Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox’s owner via the Murdoch Family Trust.

The direct beneficiaries of the trust are Rupert Murdoch’s six children, including those of his ex-wife, Wendi Deng Murdoch,

Grace and Chloe who are aged 17 and 15 respectively.

The Fox-Disney deal is still pending regulatory approval, but if Murdoch’s youngest daughters were to inherit their entitled $2bn they would immediately become the world’s youngest billionaires.

11

Clients are our business Dedicated to your success DMH Stallard is a full service, award-winning law firm that is passionate about winning and passionate about client care. It’s not by chance that we have one of the highest levels of repeat business in the industry.

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national

news

Choco Whato?

C

adbury owner Mondelez UK paid no corporation tax in Britain last year, despite reporting profit of more than £185m.

The company, which is a subsidiary of US giant Mondelez International, recorded a 740% jump in profits for the year to December 31st, with turnover rising to £1.66bn from £1.65bn. However, in documents filed

at Companies House, Mondelez reported that it paid no tax last year, and in fact recorded a tax credit of £320,000. Meanwhile, a dividend of £247m was paid to its immediate owner, Kraft Foods Schweiz Holdings, which is incorporated in Switzerland.

Cadbury was bought by Mondelez parent company Kraft in 2010. The takeover was

Designs for Dyson

controversial at the time, with staff fearing job cuts – concerns borne out by Kraft’s decision to close the company’s Somerdale factory.

Mondelez has recently revealed that it is stockpiling ingredients, chocolates and biscuits to guard against the negative effects of a potential no-deal Brexit.

“When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard.”

BUSINESS WISDOM

Superdry Dry goes Dry S

hares in fashion brand Superdry dropped by more than 22% last month, after the retailer warned £10m would be wiped off profits next year, due to the recent warmer weather.

C

utlery made from potato peelings and a robotic cleaner that can tackle pollution in rivers, lakes and canals are among the groundbreaking international designs shortlisted for the prestigious annual James Dyson award.

All of the projects share a common theme of aiming to redefine urban living through technology to create a more sustainable future. The international winner will receive £30,000, with £5,000 for their university and £5,000 for each of the runners-up. A national winner is selected for every country entering the award, before the final phase where the

international winner is chosen by the designer James Dyson.

The award now operates in 27 countries, and is open to university-level students and recent graduates studying product design, industrial design and engineering. This year’s UK winner was an urban “spinning” turbine that can capture wind travelling in any direction and is suitable for city apartments, designed by two MSc students at Lancaster University. The 20 shortlisted designs have been whittled down from 81 national winners and finalists, with the overall winner of the international prize to be announced this month.

The company said: “unseasonably hot” weather conditions in the UK, Continental Europe and on the East coast of the United States have “significantly affected demand for autumn/winter products” in particular sweatshirts and jackets, which account for around 45% of Superdry’s annual sales.

The firm also said foreign exchange rate changes would lead to an additional £8m in costs, because “historic foreign exchange hedging mechanisms that Superdry had put in place have not provided the same degree of protection as expected”.

13

THE BIG STORY

“

She seems more at ease at global summits than on the benches of the unruly French National Assembly. It is hard to find

anybody who has worked for her in France over the years who has a bad word to say about her.�

14

ELEGANT and

credible

Profile of IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. By Ian Trevett

In the late seventies and throughout the eighties, Labour’s hopes of defeating Mrs Thatcher in the polls could be easily sabotaged by the mention of a simple acronym - IMF. These three letters were enough to define the perceived economic trustworthiness of the party. After all, Labour was the party that had gone, cap in hand, to the International Monetary Fund, sending out the clear message that Britain was broke.

In 1976, the value of the pound was falling sharply and the balance of trade figures were causing concern. To save the pound collapsing, the government approached the IMF for a loan of $3.9 billion in September 1976 - the largest amount ever requested of the Fund. The price the UK had to pay was a commitment to cut public spending by $2.5 billion. They were dark days indeed.

The Chancellor at the time, Denis Healey, later claimed that the Treasury had grossly overestimated the public sector borrowing requirement, the key figure

used during the IMF crisis, and that if he had been given accurate figures, he would not have had to ask for the loan.

The government never actually drew on the whole loan, but the damage was done. And the memory of the fiasco endured. Some 34 years later, the new Chancellor, George Osbourne, laid out his plans for austerity by criticising Gordon Brown’s policies with the inevitable IMF dig: “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say that this was the greatest failure of British economic policy-making for more than 30 years, since the IMF crisis of 1976!”

The IMF remains in the British psyche (at least when the Tories get their way) as a reference to financial failure, but few understand what the organisation actually does. The elegant Christine Lagarde, the current Managing Director of the IMF, is a familiar international figure, but do many people know what her role entails?

Christine Lagarde The warnings from Christine Lagarde could hardly be starker, as she addressed the IMF October summit in Bali. The world economy is at risk of another financial meltdown. Governments and regulators have failed to push through all the reforms needed to protect the system from reckless behaviour and global debt levels have rocketed by 60% in the decade since the financial crisis, reaching an all-time

high of $182tn. With Donald Trump ripping up international agreements and threatening trade wars, the collaboration required to attack a global recession may no longer be an option.

Lagarde declared: “History shows that, while it is tempting to sail alone, countries must resist the siren call of self-sufficiency – because as the Greek legends tell us, that leads to shipwreck.”

There is particular concern that rising US interest rates will leave vulnerable debt-laded developing countries unable to make the necessary interest payments.

Welcome to the world of the IMF. If you are looking for a cheery glass-half-full perspective then an IMF meeting may not be where the party’s at. But someone has to present a sober view of the global risks, and in Christine Lagarde, the IMF appears to be in safe hands.

Lagarde is currently half-way through her second five-year term at the helm of the IMF, and has largely achieved this without alienating any of the key players. When she applied for the post, she had the support of the British, Indian, United States, Brazilian, Russian, and German governments. Just the small matter of China, who had complained about the European stranglehold on the job. The Observer’s Molly Guinness wrote: “Lagarde won round Beijing in an afternoon. Lunch with

15

Is your business Going for Growth?

Finding growth strategies in uncertain times Join us at one of our Autumn 2018 events We are hosting events across our regions to explore the growth strategies that companies like yours are adopting. We will look at the opportunities and challenges facing UK private businesses trying to grow in the modern economic climate. The events are key for business owners, directors, CEOs and financial controllers and are based around insights drawn from our research among more than 500 companies, company case studies and from our expert speakers.

Topics covered will include:

Expert panel:

• The top growth strategies – research highlights

Each event will have an expert panel of Business advisory, Corporate finance and Tax specialists as well as the guest speaker.

• The emerging economic context • Growth strategies

There will also be a Q&A session.

• Growth obstacles • Growth opportunities

Timings:

Locations and dates 2018:

8:30am: 9:00am: 10:30am:

Wednesday 31 October etc venues, St Paul’s, London Guest speaker: William Abel, Bank of England

How to book:

Thursday 8 November Bridgewood Manor, Chatham, Kent Guest speaker: William Abel, Bank of England Tuesday 13 November South Lodge Hotel, Nr Horsham, Sussex Guest speaker: Julie Kapsalis, Coast to Capital

Registration Event commences Presentation close

Places are limited. For further information, or to register your interest contact Ella Parsons: Email: events@krestonreeves.com Call: +44 (0)330 124 1399 Or visit www.krestonreeves.com/events

THE BIG STORY Diane Johnson asked her (in true Vogue style) how she creates her distinctive style: “Well, number one, I am lucky not to have changed much in size,” replied Lagarde.

“I have three main places to get clothes: I’ll start with the most upscale, Chanel.

There is a darling woman, Geraldine, who knows my taste and budget and what suits me; I call her and say can you pick out a few things, and she prepares some things for me to see. Then there’s Lisa at Ventilo; that’s a French label with lovely clothes. And finally the English house Austin Reed; they make wonderful suits, business attire, very airplane-resistant and wearable.” the central bank governor and a meeting with the deputy prime minister was enough to clinch it.”

To garner the support of every world power is almost unheard of. But Lagarde is formidable without being overbearing.

She was raised in an intellectual household. Her father was an English professor, her mother a Latin teacher. They hosted academic dinner parties and took her to the opera. The Telegraph’s Szu Ping Chan summises her upbringing: “Her background is solid French bourgeoisie: She grew up Christine Madeleine Odette Lallouette in Normandy, in a devout Catholic family, lost her father at age seventeen, was a Girl Scout and a member of the synchronised-swimming team that won the French national championship in 1973. A fellow swimmer, Marion Lassarat, remembers her as a team player even then, an able lifeguard and swimming teacher, good with little children— the very pattern of an ideal gold-star girl.

Luckily, to dilute all this perfection, she was also known for being funny.

“She’s been a corporate lawyer but never an economist, and by her own account wasn’t distinguished in math. She’s been married twice, twice divorced, and has two sons in their 30s.”

One descriptor that always crops up when Lagarde’s name is mentioned is ‘elegance’. Diane Johnson in Vogue wrote at the time of Lagarde’s appointment: “The

force of her presence is palpable. When we call somebody a star, we’re sometimes hinting that along with the glamour, there may be an element of fragility or caprice; Marilyn Monroe was a star. It would be better to say of Christine Lagarde that she is a planet with a powerful field of gravity, orbiting through the skies of global high finance, the first woman to be in charge of the world’s economy.”

As a high profile woman in a very male environment (in her interview for the IMF she had to persuade a committee made up of 24 men and no women), it is inevitable that her looks and clothes becomes a topic of debate.

Lagarde has described listening as a female virtue and often warned against ‘hairychested showing off’

For every complimentary comments there is bound to be the bitchy backlash.

Paris newspaper Libération noted that “She is an upper-class woman cut off from common people and more preoccupied with her look than their welfare, the way such elegant, chic people are.”

Lagarde seemingly welcomes conversations about gender, and the uphill struggle faced by women. She is known to quote Madeleine Albright, the first woman to become a US secretary of state, who said: “There’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.”

The Observer’s Molly Guinness addresses the issue: “‘For a woman at this level it’s probably more difficult than for a man,’ says Bruno Silvestre, Lagarde’s former spokesman at the finance ministry. ‘Christine has to be as good as a man, which probably means better than a man.’ In meetings, she listens to people very hard. Lagarde has described listening as a female virtue, and often warned against ‘hairy-chested showing off’ in international politics. At international law firm Baker & McKenzie, Eduardo Leite, who was on the board with her, says that Lagarde used to say to female lawyers: ‘Don’t try to imitate the boys. Be yourselves and support each other.’ She doesn’t flirt, but she does use her femininity, and she’s on kissing terms with many more people than the average French minister.”

17

THE BIG STORY It was at Baker & McKenzie where Lagarde made her name, quickly rising to chairman of the board, despite being warned she would never make partner in a French law firm as a woman. She was France’s Finance Minister when the banking crisis unfolded and she received plaudits for her calm and measured response.

Like all prominent figures, her reputation is not entirely without controversy. When she was the French finance minister in 2007, she stepped into a 14-year dispute between the French state and businessman Bernard Tapie. In 1993 the businessman sold his majority stake in the sports giant Adidas in order to become a cabinet minister under François Mitterand.

Mr Tapie subsequently sued the French bank Credit Lyonnais which bought the stake, accusing the bank of defrauding him by undervaluing the company. The court battle was still rumbling on in 2007 when he switched sides and backed the centre-right candidate Nicolas Sarkozy for president.

Sarkozy’s new Finance Minister, Christine Lagarde, intervened in the judicial case and ordered that the dispute should go to binding arbitration.Lagarde ordered a panel of judges to arbitrate the case, and the following year Tapie, was awarded €285m in damages, payable by the French state.

In December 2015, the decision was overturned and courts ruled that Mr Tapie should pay back the compensation.

Lagarde was charged with ‘Negligence by a person in position of public authority’, which carried a possible sentence of one year in jail. Although she was found guilty, there was no fine, sentence or indeed a criminal record. The executive board rep-

What does the ACCORDING TO ITS MISSION STATEMENT, The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organisation of 189 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world.

Created in 1945, the IMF is governed by and accountable to the 189 countries that make up its near-global membership.

Christine Lagarde is a planet with a powerful field of gravity, orbiting through the skies of global high finance”

resenting the IMF’s 189 member countries immediately reaffirmed its full confidence in Lagarde.

Above all else, the case was an embarrassment for Lagarde. Tapie was a notorious character, who had spent time in jail for attempted match-fixing when the owner of Marseille football club. Yet Lagarde survived in her job, largely because she had performed so professionally and credibly in her role. The Economist wrote that, “Ms Lagarde’s main strengths are a mix of hard-working professionalism, an appetite for technical detail, and an ability to get her way with charm rather than bullying. She often seems more at ease at global summits than on the benches of the unruly French National Assembly.

It is hard to find anybody who has worked for her in France over the years who has a bad word to say about her.”

In 2014, The Economist launched a campaign for her to be selected as President of the European Commission, even though she hadn’t entered the race. The

IMF do?

It is best known as the lender of the last resort, the place where nations turn to when in a financial crisis. However, the IMF aims to help countries avoid getting themselves in such a predicament. It monitors member country policies as well as national, regional, and global economic and financial developments through a rather sinister sounding system called surveillance. From this research, the IMF then offers advice and suggested policies to member nations. It also produces the Global Financial Stability Report.

In 2016, It helpfully suggested that voting for Brexit would have a negative impact on the UK economy. But as Michael Gove pointed out, why should we listen to experts?

The list of nations that are currently borrowing or have extended credit lines with the IMF is frighteningly long. In recent months, Pakistan and Argentina have called in the IMF. Most of the countries seeking IMF help are in Africa and Central America, with Ukraine being Europe’s major recipient.

Economist railed against the “uninspiring list of Eurocrats”, and put its case: “One person—who is not a declared candidate—would be far better: Christine Lagarde, head of the IMF. She is a French former finance minister, yet her years in Washington dealing with the euro crisis, as well as running a huge law firm in Chicago, give her the clarity of an outsider’s view about what is wrong with the EU. A liberal, she would be keen to complete the single market, promote free trade and cut the burden of regulation. She is also a persuasive saleswoman in both French and English, a bonus given her own country’s sour view of the EU and Britain’s possible referendum on whether to leave. “…The job now needs the skills of a technocrat as much as of a politician… The open support of Europe’s three main leaders would probably get her the job.

France’s president, François Hollande, is a Socialist, but he would surely welcome a French president. David Cameron knows he is far more likely to win a referendum with a reformer like Ms Lagarde as the face of Europe. Angela Merkel also wants a more open Europe, and her policy of appointing dull unknowns to EU posts has hardly been a resounding success… Pick the best woman for the job.”

In the end, the job went to Jean-Claude Juncker - and Britain made its choice.

How David Cameron must regret the EU’s failure to listen to the advice of The Economist and seek out the services of Ms Lagarde!

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Gatwick

TRAVEL

GETS THE SECOND RUNWAY

After countless years of meetings, discussions, public enquiries, political meetings and protests, Gatwick Airport has found an ingenious way to expand. They are going to put their standby runway into use.

I

t has long been the aviation rule that any single runway airport must have an emergency runway. Turn this emergency runway into a full use runway and there is no need for the second piece of tarmac. What a great wheeze to get around the ridiculous decision to award the second runway to Heathrow. The decision should always have been develop both but it seems the government, in their great wisdom, didn’t agree.

Gatwick has set out an ambitious vision for the future with the publication of its draft master plan, which looks at how the airport might grow in the longer term.

The draft master plan was announced to the airport’s independent consultative committee GATCOM which met on October 18th.

With Brexit upon us, Gatwick’s development will help meet future aviation

demand with sustainable growth and ensure strong connections between Britain and global markets. It will also provide new opportunities for the South East and continue to bolster the local economy for future generations.

The publication of Gatwick’s draft master plan reflects Department for Transport guidance for airports to provide regular updates on their long-term plans, and responds to the Government’s recent call for airports to ‘make best use of their existing runways’. Utilizing this second strip of tarmac is certainly making best use of their existing runways.

Gatwick remains committed to sustainable growth in this draft master plan, building on their record which has seen the Carbon Trust naming Gatwick as the best performer for combined reduction of operational carbon, water and waste impacts in the past two years – all while passenger numbers continued to grow.

The draft master plan considers how Gatwick could grow across three scenarios, looking ahead to the early 2030’s:

MAIN RUNWAY - USING NEW TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE CAPACITY In the near term, the airport has considered how deploying new

1

21

TRAVEL

THE PROPOSED NEW RUNWAY Proposed safeguarded land for additional runway Existing standby runway For smaller departing aircraft only

Main runway

For departing and all arriving aircraft

“A strong and growing Gatwick airport as the beating heart of the Coast to Capital region is the central theme of the LEP’s strategic vision, so we welcome the publication of Gatwick’s master plan today and wholeheartedly support its vision for future growth.”

Tim Wates, Chairman of the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership

technology could increase the capacity of the main runway, offering incremental growth through more efficient operations. Gatwick has successfully utilised its runway to unlock growth in recent years and remains the world’s most efficient single runway.

The use of the latest technology could provide more opportunities for the future.

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2

STANDBY RUNWAY BRINGING EXISTING STANDBY RUNWAY INTO ROUTINE USE Under its current planning agreement, Gatwick’s existing standby runway is only used when the main runway is closed for maintenance or emergencies.

However, the 40-year planning agreement will come to an end in

2019. The draft master plan sets out for the first time how Gatwick could potentially bring its existing standby runway into routine use for departing flights, alongside its main runway, by the mid-2020s.

This innovative development, which would meet all international safety requirements, would be delivered without increasing the airport’s noise footprint and provide greater operational resilience. While in the early stages of exploration, Gatwick is confident the project would remain within the existing airport footprint and existing framework for airport charges. Should the airport decide to further progress the use

“Crawley’s prosperity depends on the success of Gatwick Airport and the publication of this new draft master plan goes a long way to securing future growth in the town. I have always supported the airport growing within its existing boundaries and welcome their exciting new vision for incremental growth that will support more jobs and opportunity in Crawley.”

Henry Smith, Member of Parliament for Crawley

“Our draft master plan marks the start of a new phase for Gatwick – building on what has made the airport the success it is today, and pioneering again to take advantage of the exciting opportunities that lie ahead.”

Stewart Wingate, Chief Executive Officer, London Gatwick

“Now more than ever, unlocking new aviation capacity to deliver global trade links is critical for a strong UK economy. London’s airports are set to be full in the next decade, so the CBI welcomes Gatwick’s highly productive proposals to deliver increased capacity that complements expansion schemes at other airports. This will drive trade and investment, create new jobs and help British businesses thrive.”

Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General

3

of the existing standby runway, it would submit a detailed planning proposal and follow a Development Consent Order (DCO) process, which would include a full public consultation.

ADDITIONAL RUNWAY – SAFEGUARDING FOR THE FUTURE While Gatwick is not currently actively pursuing the option of building a brand-new runway to the south of the airport - as it did through the Airports Commission process - Gatwick believes it is in the national interest to continue to safeguard this land for the future as part of its draft master plan.

The airport is now keen to encourage responses to a 12-week public consultation it has launched today to gather feedback and views on the draft master plan.

All responses will be reviewed before a final version of the master plan is agreed early next year.

There will be the expected howl of complaints from Sally Pavey and CAGNE about planes flying over their homes and, without lessening the impact of the extra noise they might have to endure, if we cease development in the South East due to a few residents being inconvenienced then we will never develop as a nation. It is the same with housing development that is urgently needed in the region that is often held-up by a few residents who wish to retain their tranquil acreage. I fully understand their concerns but progress cannot be halted in this way and the airport is no different.

Bravo to the Gatwick board for dealing with the disappointment of the second runway refusal and coming up with a method to continue the growth in the South East that we so desperately need.

“Our cooperation with Gatwick Airport has given us a strong platform to deliver more consumers lower fares on intercontinental flights. As we continue our global growth, we welcome any increases in airport capacity in the Greater London Area that support our commercial interests and ultimately benefit consumers.”

Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos

The phenomenal growth of Gatwick from 33 million passengers in 2010 to over 45 million in 2018, means that it is imperative that the airport plans for its future. This Masterplan is also a masterstroke because in one idea, it has identified a low-cost, safe, sustainable and fast solution to meet its growth needs.

Rosemary French OBE, Executive Director, Gatwick Diamond Initiative

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BUSINESS EVENT

Building momentum

for GROWTH By 2030, towns will be known around the world as fantastic places to live, work, grow and succeed. The south coast of England will be the most dynamic non-city region in England, with Gatwick Airport as the jewel in its crown…

Jonathan Sharrock said: “There is momentum building in the English cities that make up the Northern Powerhouse and the Midlands Engine, as well as in other areas such the new “brain corridor” – comprised of Cambridge, Milton Keynes and Oxford. With this plan, we intend to join other areas that are taking a lead.

“Gatwick 360˚ is a direct acknowledgement of London Gatwick airport’s place at the geographical and economic heart of our area. Gatwick is the single asset this region has that is unique; it is two thirds bigger than Manchester Airport and is nearly four times bigger than Birmingham Airport in terms of the number of passengers it services. We should be the obvious place to go for investors, and it’s our aim for that to be a reality in just over 10 years’ time.”

 Alison Rose, NatWest

T

hat was the pitch from the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership, and a hot topic of discussion among senior business leaders at a roundtable discussion at Alexander House hotel in East Grinstead earlier this month. Attendees included Platinum directors Maarten Hoffmann and Ian Trevett, and NatWest’s Chief Executive of commercial, private and business banking, Alison Rose.

The group heard from Coast to Capital Chief Executive, Jonathan Sharrock, on the LEP’s strategic economic plan entitled Gatwick 360˚. Talk then moved to current economic challenges and how to lay the foundations for ongoing prosperity – including a pitch to Government for 5G internet connectivity.

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 Matt Turner, Creative Pod, Stuart Johnstone, NatWest and Ana Christie, Sussex Chamber of Commerce

Coast to Capital LEP defines its area as a network of functional economic hubs including Croydon, Greater Brighton, East Surrey and West Sussex. This includes more than 2 million people, an area of over 312,000 hectares, and an economy of £50.7 billion gross value added, making it the seventh largest local economy in England.

Alison Rose said: “NatWest supports more small businesses than any other bank in the UK and we are always looking at ways to encourage economic growth, so discussions like this are really important. We want to be the best bank for British business and the best in terms of technology, while doing all we can to tackle the challenges faced by our customers, especially those living outside the major cities.

“A key element of our support in the Coast to Capital area is the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Hub in Brighton, which is part of the UK’s largest fully funded business accelerator network.

We will be putting more than 7,000 entrepreneurs through the UK-wide network over the next five years, and these new business owners will have an integral role to play in providing the jobs and economic growth of the future.”

 Anya Ledwith, Eshcom

 Richard Pollins, DMH Stallard

 Daryl Gayler, NatWest

 Victoria Kerton, NatWest

 Laura Cockburn, BGF and Sarah Bilby, NatWest  Maarten Hoffmann, Platinum Publishing

 Jonathan Sharrock, Coast to Capital

 Nik Askaroff, EMC  Paul McConalogue, NatWest

 Ian Dudley, PWC

 Jeremy Taylor and Alison Rose, NatWest  Jonathan Sharrock, Coast to Capital and Alison Rose, NatWest

 Victoria Kerton, NatWest and Rowan Williams, RSM

25

LEGAL

ins

The and OF MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

M What makes an M&A deal a success? Jonathan Grant, Head of the Corporate Department at DMH Stallard, gives us his top tips to sellers currently undertaking a corporate transaction.

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&As are currently booming.

Deals worth a total of $3.6 trillion were agreed in 2016 – the second highest volume since the global financial crisis (source: Barclays). Why? Despite some uncertainties the economic fundamentals are strong; investors/buyers are purchasing rival or complimentary businesses in order to accelerate otherwise slow organic growth.

legal and financial records are analysed by the buyers’ lawyers and accountants.

The process is designed to confirm whether or not the target is worth the price offered by the buyer. The diligence questions cover all aspects of the business including customers, suppliers, logistics, staff and risk. If the price is reduced or if the buyer simply decides to withdraw, the target will have revealed sensitive information, but has no deal.

Sensitivity over client data can inhibit deals; smaller businesses can feel threatened and at risk if they open up sensitive client data to larger competitors, meaning they lose the chance to take advantage of what might be a great offer. So, how do they navigate through the minefield?

There are some serious threats to consider

Buyers will always want to carry out “diligence” on a target, a process by which

In terms of deals commenced against deals completed, the overall chance of success is just 50% (source: Investopedia ) The prospects increase rapidly as the deal continues and both parties are

Despite some uncertainties the economic fundamentals are strong; investors/buyers are purchasing rival or complimentary businesses in order to accelerate otherwise slow organic growth.

information) and insist the buyer signs an NDA and makes an offer in principle before going further (“heads of terms” or “letter of intent” – a short summary of the price and deal parameters).

There is a level of risk which is worth a target taking to unearth a fantastic offer. Professional advisers – corporate finance “deal” advisers and corporate lawyers - can act as “gatekeepers”, helping to appropriately limit initial information and providing a level of protection to sellers.

4. Can you create a competitive process/increase cost for buyer of withdrawal?

more committed - emotionally and financially (fees/cost). However, until the deal is finally signed off buyers can walk away with no obligation.

Key steps sellers can take: 1. Non Disclosure The first line of protection is a non disclosure agreement, to ensure that customers or employees are not unsettled. These are negotiated documents, but should be relatively standard, although it is sometimes possible to negotiate a costs indemnity if the buyer pulls out without good reason. This would mean the seller loses the deal but at least gets some or all of their professional costs paid.

If the seller’s position is strong enough, they may be able to get the buyer to pay a returnable or non returnable deposit.

2. What sort of information is it legitimate to withhold during the negotiations?

Whilst NDAs say that buyers can only use information on the target to assess the deal, it is often very difficult to prove they have done otherwise. If the buyers subsequently change their pricing or approach to key customers, was that as a result of the information they obtained, or their own strategy? There are various techniques deployed to deal with this:

yy Withhold or “redact” (blackline or cross through) key information - prices, contract duration even customer names (this information is then revealed near to completion). yy Restrict access to information to the buyer’s advisers (accountants/lawyers) early in the process, so they can see the business is credible and report to their clients - without giving the buyer’s internal team direct access. yy Include a non staff “poaching” obligation in the NDA - it is harder to make these stick with the amount of social media/LinkedIn information now available, but it can be done.

If your business or sector is “hot” and the value is high enough, consider getting advisers to run a competitive process. The benefit of this is that it draws buyers into the deal process, spending money on advisers whilst maintaining a competitive tension. Often the seller provides the buyer with a basic due diligence report (on itself), (vendor or seller diligence), which increases the control the seller has on information provided.

Buyers are asked to give their best and final offers and sometimes there is a twostage process. Buyers are even asked to confirm their initial offer after diligence returning a seller drafted acquisition agreement (normally buyer drafts). The competitive process is involved and more expensive and is generally used in larger deals, but can work well.

3. Can you resist too much?

Whilst important to push for an early “indicative offer” it can be hard to tell a buyer’s real reasons for an approach. You do not want to reject potentially attractive deals before seeing if they are genuine, but whenever unsure, limit the information to high level financial information (updating published accounts

Jonathan Grant can be reached by email at: Jonathan.Grant@dmhstallard.com or by phone on 01293 558506.

If your business or sector is “hot” and the value is high enough, consider getting advisers to run a competitive process.

TECHNOLOGY

THE NEXT GENERATION

Firewall

The Benefits of using Cisco Meraki Security Appliances

The Cisco Meraki Security system filters out inappropriate and harmful content.

28

N

o business owner would ever intentionally compromise the security of their company’s network however you’d be surprised to learn that both your existing router and firewall could be putting your valuable company data at risk from malicious files and viruses.

This is because many business owners understandably believe that purchasing an off-the-shelf basic router and using its in-built firewall is going to be enough to protect them. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case and many directors find out the hard way when their security is compromised.

Why you shouldn’t use basic off-theshelf routers and firewalls Many business owners rely on their basic router’s built-in firewall but this can present a big problem. Although most built-in firewalls actually do provide you with a solid barrier between your network and the internet, it isn’t infallible.

CONTENT FILTERING The Cisco Meraki Security system filters out inappropriate and harmful content including both pornography and gambling.

This helps you to maintain a high level of

productivity and to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements. It uses identity-based filtering policies so you can tailor which users can access certain content. To deploy this feature, select “Active Directory” on your dashboard and then create whitelists which excludes given users from internet filtering, especially useful if only a handful of your employees need access online.

The Cisco Meraki Security Appliance also comes with a scalable database with SafeSearch integration. This means that when a device tries to access a website, the web page’s address is checked against a database of URLs and if there’s a match, no blocked content can slip through.

INTRUSION PREVENTION The Cisco Meraki Security Appliance’s Intrusion Prevention (IPS) technology supports threat prevention via the integrated Sourcefire Snort engine using “rulesets”.

Rulesets are a set of predetermined security policies which decide what level of protection your IT network needs.

The Sourcefire Snort engine refreshes rulesets daily to protect you against new vulnerabilities as they are found – that means safety from the latest exploits, viruses, and rootkits. It takes a few seconds to configure, and it removes the risk that human error may inadvertently jeopardise the security of your network.

What is Cisco Advanced Malware Protection for Meraki MX? Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) further improves your Meraki MX device by giving you important new features to upgrade your security. Cisco’s malware database contains over 500 million archive threats as well as adding over 1.5 million new file samples every single day. But what are the exact benefits that this extensive threat protection brings?

The AMP not only gives you automatic protection against malicious files but this protection is also enhanced with retrospective detection.

All malware is now blocked in real time and you receive an easy-to-understand summary of the threats across your network.

Are you ready to upgrade your security?

LMS group can help you.

If you’re interested in purchasing a Cisco Meraki Security appliance or would like to request a trial of an MX model, please do get in touch. Contact the LMS Group on 0330 088 2565 or email: sales@lms-uk.com.

NEXT-GEN FIREWALL Every MX model from Cisco Meraki comes with something call a “Layer 7 next generation” firewall. This gives you complete control over who can use your network, what content they can see, and which applications are available on their network. The system’s next generation firewall controls both evasive and encrypted applications, a feature lacking in nearly every traditional firewall.

LMS Group are a ‘Cisco Select’ partner with Cisco CMNA trained technicians.

Please contact us for a free consultation.

Many business owners rely on their basic router’s built-in firewall but this can present a big problem.

FINANCE

M

any who are thinking of selling their company assume that they will automatically be rewarded with a big pay-off and only incur a 10% tax on the sale. However, securing this rate of Capital Gains Tax (CGT) is not guaranteed.

Rachel Pearce, Client Service Director at MHA Carpenter Box, explains how Entrepreneurs’ Relief can help your tax bill when selling your business.

The 10% rate of CGT is available only if what is being sold qualifies for Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER). If ER is not available, then the rate of CGT to be applied is likely to be 20% – so securing this valuable relief is essential for the exiting entrepreneur.

ER is available on £10 million of qualifying gains over an individual’s lifetime.

It therefore has the potential to save £1 million worth of tax per shareholder.

Here are five actions you can take to ensure you can claim ER when you sell your shares:

1. Ensure that your company is a qualifying trading company If your company has invested any surplus profits into investments such as property, then HMRC could consider this to be a significant non-trading activity and deny ER. What is defined as a significant non-trading activity is not set out in law, but is set out in guidance and is very subjective. Broadly there is a 20% test – if your company’s non-trading activity falls into any of the below then you could be liable to pay CGT at 20%: yy It contributes more than 20% of turnover yy It represents more than 20% of the value of the company’s assets

ER is available on £10 million of qualifying gains over an individual’s lifetime. yy It consumes more than 20% of total expenses it incurs yy It utilises more than 20% of management time

2. Ensure all shareholders qualify To qualify for ER, all shareholders need to own 5% of the ordinary share capital of the company and also have at least 5% of the voting rights. They must also be officers or employees of the company. These conditions need to have been satisfied for a period of at least 12 months before the sale, so they need to be considered sooner rather than later.

However, there are circumstances when you can lose eligibility for ER. For example, if a company goes through fundraising efforts that result in an individual’s shareholding being diluted below 5%. The government recognised that this outcome conflicts with the original objective of ER: the objective was to promote enterprise by offering a reduced tax rate to those who contribute, often with high risk.

The government is seeking to make changes to ER from April 6th 2019, to

Entrepreneurs’ 30

company but does need to be sold on or around the same time as the sale of the shares.

4. Be careful when receiving non-cash sale consideration If you receive shares in the purchasing company then those new shares will need to also satisfy the conditions to qualify for ER. You also need to be careful if receiving loan notes because these are not shares and therefore do not qualify for ER.

5. Offer staff an equity incentive that will qualify for ER

If your company has invested any surplus profits into investments such as property, then HMRC could consider this to be a significant non-trading activity and deny ER. ensure that entrepreneurs are encouraged to seek external investment opportunities to finance business growth.

3. Consider holding trading property outside the company A potential purchaser might not be interested in taking on the property from which your company trades. This might

A great incentive for staff is to allow them to participate in the upside of any increase to the value of the company.

The best way of doing this is generally by way of a share option scheme.

The share scheme most often adopted is the Enterprise Management Incentive (EMI), an option scheme that is approved by HMRC and allows employees to acquire shares without there being a charge to income tax.

How we can help

prove problematic should the property be owned outright by the company. An alternative might be to hold the property personally and allow the company to occupy it for its trade rent free.

If you are considering a business sale, then you will need to assess whether you will be entitled to ER. As there are qualifications that need to be in place for at least 12 months, it is always worth seeking advice well in advance of selling your business.

The result of the above is that any gain on the sale of the property can also qualify for ER and therefore the 10% rate. The property does not need to be sold to the same purchaser as the

The information provided is a very brief overview of what can be a complex area, but our Tax Services Team can help find the right solution for you and your business.

RELIEF

If you have any questions about Entrepreneurs’ Relief, please contact Rachel Pearce on 01903 234094 or visit www.carpenterbox.com.

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FINANCE

Managing

GROWTH Managing growth is a challenge entrepreneurs face every day. And whilst casual observers may assume a fast-growing business to be a successful one, seasoned entrepreneurs know that is not always the case. Andrew Griggs at Kreston Reeves discusses.

K

reston Reeves has been advising successful businesses across London and the South East for more than a century. We have seen businesses grow rapidly to become household names and we have seen businesses grow steadily over many generations.

We have also seen businesses with promising futures fail when growth has not been managed. Here is our six-point guide to managing growth.

Kreston Reeves are hosting a series of Going for Growth events in Kent on November 8th and in Sussex on November 13th. Visit: www.krestonreeves.com/ goingforgrowth for further information Andrew Griggs is Senior Partner at accountants, business and financial advisers Kreston Reeves.

He can be reached by email: andrew.griggs@krestonreeves.com

www.krestonreeves.com

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1

The right TEAM Young and start-up businesses are quite understandably driven by their founders and their passion and drive. But they cannot do everything. Successful business owners at all stages of growth will put in place a strong team around them to support that growth.

We understand that it can be difficult for business owners to pass on responsibility and control to others, but it is an important cultural and psychological hurdle to overcome freeing business owners up to do what they do best – to grow the business.

2 3 The right SYSTEMS

Sitting alongside the right team will be the right systems and infrastructure to support growth. That might be premises, IT systems and software, recruitment, marketing, and administration or reporting mechanisms. A young business is unlikely to be able to afford to have all of these elements in place from the start, but business planning will factor all of this into future growth plans, enabling businesses to decide at what point in the growth curve each needs to be considered – or reconsidered.

4

A BUSINESS

plan

An ambitious business will have a documented business plan that clearly sets out what it aims to achieve and how it will do so. Business plans will address key issues such as marketing and promotion, products and services, human and physical resources and a financial evaluation. Business plans should not be static documents. A plan will need to be regularly reviewed and changed as a business grows and evolves – and as it anticipates and plans for an uncertain world. The business plan should also explore expansion into international markets.

A close eye ON THE NUMBERS

The principal reason fast-growing businesses fail is poor cash flow and working capital management. All too often business owners will look to cash in the bank as a guide to success without considering, for example, the large tax bill due next month or next quarter’s VAT bill.

Smart business leaders will have strong financial controls in place with regular management information that looks at, amongst other things, debtor days, stock days, cash in and cash out. Planning and budgeting will help determine future growth and how it will be achieved, for example, when to hire new staff, to move to new premises, and the cost of customer acquisition. Don’t just budget for where you want to go, but how you want to get there.

6

5

An eye on the PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND MARKET It may sound obvious, but it is critical that growing businesses keep a watchful eye on the quality of the products they sell or the services provided. Seek constant feedback from customers and clients. Continuously look to how products or services can be improved. Look to new products or service development. Continue to innovate.

The right

ADVISORS Just as business owners will create the right team to support them and the growing business, so too should you appoint the right advisers to guide a business. Advisers must understand a business and the pressures it faces, but they should be able to draw upon their wider experiences and provide insights that might help a business grow, or spot issues that could hold it back. Choose advisers that can match and support your inter-

national aspirations. Importantly, those advisers should give business owners the confidence to run that business.

The business and economic climate is uncertain. Brexit looms large on the horizon. Domestic and international politics are increasingly insular. New and emerging technology is changing both the workplace and the way we interact with businesses, how businesses interact with each other and with their customers at an unprecedented rate.

Businesses can and should look to address and respond to these challenges on a daily basis. For some, that will mean scenario planning around different futures. More agile businesses will embrace those challenges and turn their business accordingly. But businesses do not need to do this alone.

Conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects.

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LEGAL

A Level Levy?

The Apprenticeship Levy and what the future holds for apprentices and their employers, by Harry Sherrard, Principal at Sherrards Employment Law. The levy, and the fund it creates, was intended to create three million new apprenticeships by 2020.

I

n April 2017, the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced to ensure that there is a long-term investment in high quality apprenticeship training. Under the levy, large employers – those with the wage bill of more than £3 million per annum – pay 0.5% of their total wage bill into a training fund. It is hoped that the levy will raise £3 bn a year. This fund is then accessible by smaller employers to cover much of the cost of apprenticeships, with a view to remedying the skills gap, recruiting new talent and improving the abilities of current and future staff through work-based learning. Smaller employers contribute 10% of the cost of an apprenticeship, with the Government making up the other 90%.

However the rollout has been far from problem free. Larger firms who have to pay the levy consider that it is an unfair tax on them. Employers who are entitled to funding through the levy system have been daunted by its complexity, and the regulatory requirements. Communication has been a problem too, with a survey of smaller and medium employers revealing that only 34% were aware of their entitlement to apply for apprenticeship funding.

Far from boosting apprenticeships, the number of new apprenticeships since the introduction of the levy have dropped significantly, with latest figures showing

Larger firms who have to pay the levy consider that it is an unfair tax on them.

apprenticeship starts fell from 36,400 in June 2017 to 21,800 in the same month this year. This has led to considerable criticism from business groups, who point to complexity and inflexibility within the system. Apprenticeships must meet a Government “approved apprenticeship standard”, must take at least 12 months and must involve at least 20% of time on offer job training. Evidence suggests employers find the structure too rigid.

In response, the Department for Education, conscious of avoiding apprenticeships becoming a “race to the bottom” in terms of salary and quality of training, state that although the number of new apprenticeships has dropped, the levy has been successful in providing longterm opportunities by placing more people in higher quality apprenticeship rules for a longer period of time. The Skills and Apprenticeship minister, Anne Milton (who went to school in Haywards Heath) says that the Government will not sacrifice quality for quantity, and she continues to promote the higher quality apprenticeship model.

However, business leaders say that there is consensus across the UK business community that the Apprenticeship Levy needs reform, in particular giving employers more flexibility in investing in courses tailored for their businesses.

Meanwhile, any employer taking on an apprentice needs to ensure that a modern Apprenticeship Agreement is used, rather than an old-style contract for apprenticeship. An Apprenticeship Agreement operates like an employment contract, and gives the employer flexibility if things don’t work out with the apprentice.

On the other hand, the old-style contract for apprenticeship entitles the apprentice to enhanced compensation for early termination, and is much more difficult for the employer to terminate, should the need to do so arise.

More information is available from the Government website: www.gov.uk/take-on-an-apprentice

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Follow us: Mazars UK Mazars_UK Mazars UK

RECRUITMENT

Brexit Remoaner Recruiter

EATS HER WORDS

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ost of you know if you read my articles, I’m a “Remoaner”! I am a committed European and to my eyes being this close to D-Day of Brexit, we are walking, eyes open, headlong into a disaster. I won’t dwell on this otherwise you’ll get 500 words on why Brexit shouldn’t be happening. BUT I need to eat my words with regard to not getting British people to do low paid roles.

We can find the workers, says RSE Group’s Managing Director, Mandy Brook

We were recently looking for 150 temporary workers to harvest grapes for a stunningly beautiful vineyard in Sussex. It was only three weeks work, but with long days outside, 7.30am starts and active work at £8.97 an hour. There were breaks during the day but it was three weeks of solid work - time and good weather is of the essence.

The client - unusual in wanting local workers - had 20 of their own and we had three weeks to find the others. You needed to be physically fit and, aged 17-80, able to get to the location as it is in the middle of nowhere. My team worked overtime and spent many hours speaking with people, registering them and meeting with them.

Of the 150 they found, there were two Italians, one French, one Norwegian and a Canadian, but other than that they were all British, every single one. The youngest was 17, the oldest was 84 (you wouldn’t have known it to look at him, he was very fit and could easily pass for mid 60’s – I want some of whatever he is on). They all started and they all - without exception LOVED IT.

down, they turned up, they were committed, albeit the job was a lovely one.

I’m not sure if this would have worked quite so well if we were recruiting for pretty much anything else, low paid, low level work? I’d be interested to know your thoughts on this.

But do you know what helped? Our client. They created an environment where people wanted to work, they looked after these staff like they were full timers, not transient workers, they gave them an experience where they wanted them to succeed and in doing so these temps worked hard and they delivered. Does this sound like your company? Is this an environment that you create for your workers? If not, why not?

Can we help you achieve the impossible? Are you worried that as your foreign workforce decreases you won’t be able to fulfil orders? Maybe we should have a chat. Call me on 01424 830000 or email me at mandy@rsegroup.agency www.rsegroup.agency

Now I realise this is a lovely job when the sun is shining, I’d have done it if I could have taken three weeks out of work; honestly, the venue was stunning, and the commadarie I understand is great. But my point is we found them, they didn’t let us

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LEGAL

H

aving worked for over two decades in the Department for Transport, Jonathan knows a thing or two about the delivery of vital infrastructure projects. His CV includes implementing the transport links that were necessary for London to host the 2012 Olympic Games and he was the Director of Strategy for HS2 (The High Speed trainline which will link London to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds).

The impact of HS2 troubles Jonathan, but not in the way you might expect. The project has attracted controversy for the cost and the impact on villages along the route. For Jonathan, the issue is the opposite. He expects HS2 to be so successful, that it could create a significant problem for us in the South East, and in the Coast to Capital area in particular.

One of the key drivers of prosperity for the South East is the proximity to London, but this advantage may be shortlived as Jonathan explains: “HS2 is going to be operational within ten years.

When it’s in place it’s going to completely transform the way that people travel to and from London. It’s going to bring the Northern towns and cities closer to London than we are. When you consid-

“We’ve got about ten years to work out what our vision for growth is.” er how cheap it is to live in these places and how many cultural opportunities there are, these locations will become very attractive “Birmingham is going to be 50 minutes from London - that’s quicker than the train to Brighton. Solihull, which is a really nice area outside of Birmingham, is going to be just under 38 minutes from London and there’s going to be a train every five minutes. The trains are going to be one kilometre long, 100% reliable – it’s going to be a completely different system.

“We’ve got about ten years to work out what our vision for growth is. Otherwise we’re going to find that our children aren’t

going to move to Sussex or Surrey because they’re going to say, ‘I can’t afford to live there’. They’re going to be moving to Birmingham instead or wherever is the next trendy location. It’s a real challenge for our area.”

It is the complacency that most concerns Jonathan. Cities such as Manchester and Leeds have long been lobbying for inward investment into the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and their message is being heard by ministers. What’s the message being argued from the South East?

For Jonathan, this is where Coast to Capital plays a key role: “I saw in the North how powerful LEPs can be at describing the Northern Powerhouse, the role of these cities in the future, and for me Coast to Capital is a perfect opportunity because it’s a chance to do that on my home patch, which I’m obviously passionate about.

“I’m a big supporter of regeneration in the North and London and everywhere else.

But for us it’s about our area. Our board decided that we had to be really ambitious with our strategy and we had to really get across to ministers why this area matters. We have now created our strate-

Building from

COAST to

CAPITAL

WHY OUR AREA NEEDS TO SHOUT LOUDER

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Jonathan Sharrock, Chief Executive of the Coast to Capital Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), has a background in delivering high-profile infrastructure projects. Now his task is to ensure that the areas within Coast to Capital receive the inward investments they vitally need. As he explains to Ian Trevett, striving for infrastructure investments in the South East is not always a simple matter.

gy document, Gatwick 360, which outlines why our area is so important - and why it has to have infrastructure investment.

“We’re not one of the poorest areas of the country and we do have a strong economy. We’re the seventh-biggest economy in England but I think there’s an assumption in government that because it’s the South East everything’s fine and you don’t need to worry. But everyone knows that’s not true. There are real issues in our infrastructure, in our productivity and in the way the economy works.

“We called the plan Gatwick 360 because you’ve got to play to your strengths and actually the single unique thing we offer the government is our fantastic international airport. It connects us to the world, which is really important with Brexit on its way. Gatwick holds the area together - it’s our single-biggest employer and about 10% of the regional economy depends indirectly on Gatwick Airport.

“If we didn’t have Gatwick Airport, we’d be the same as everybody else. Allowing the airport to continue to prosper is really important. Helping businesses spring up around the airport is really important.

We’ve got great companies thriving in the area, sectors like MedTech, pharmaceuticals, computer software and programming, financial services, data processing and horticulture. Our job is to understand them, work out what they need and then help the planning authorities deliver it.”

The South East is under huge pressure to build more houses, but an issue often

overlooked is the decline in commercial spaces, which is an issue that Jonathan is keen to highlight.

“Our area has fallen back in relation to other parts of the South East. It’s really important to get this across. We peaked as an economy in the late 1990s. Back in the late 1990s our economy was 5% bigger than the national average. 20 years on we’re 5% smaller than the national average and actually the area has been in decline since then. It hasn’t yet recovered from the recession in terms of output. It’s still declining.

“We’re the seventh-biggest economy in England but I think there’s an assumption in government that because it’s the South East everything’s fine and you don’t need to worry.”

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LEGAL “Our commuter numbers are increasing year on year. 120,000 people a day commute to London and we’re getting to a point now where towns that used to have a big, strong local labour markets are seeing this disappearing. Horsham is a great example. If you go back 20 years, Horsham had 4,000 jobs in insurance and about 1,000 jobs in the biotech sector, but they’re pretty much all gone now.

“The impact of Brexit isn’t clear but we shouldn’t forget that there are other challenges in the economy as well. In this area we’ve got a big challenge of an ageing population and the challenge of helping people retrain. How do we keep people working until retirement with the right skills?

“If we can make the jobs higher skilled and more productive then immediately it becomes an area that continues to be very aspirational. If it’s a place where all you can do is commute then people are going to say ‘You know what? I’d rather go to Birmingham because I can get a bigger house for my money’. That’s the competitive challenge we’ve got when the North and the Midlands start to change. We’ve got to make sure we don’t become the commuter destination that people retire in, that we retain an industry that’s going to continue to employ people.

“Across the Coast to Capital area we’ve lost a large proportion of our business premises to housing. In many towns the thriving business stock is no longer there.

Unless you replace it, people aren’t going to be able to work, aside from in micro businesses that they can run from their bedroom. They are never going to be able to make things or employ large numbers of people.

“One of the challenges facing us is the need to think strategically about business space. If you compare us with the M4 corridor, we’ve got a lot in common with them because we’ve both got an airport driving the economy. But along the M4 corridor you’ve got business parks in Chiswick, you’ve got three in Slough, you’ve got three in Reading, more in Swindon, all the way to Bristol. It’s one big corridor with pretty high tech companies based there. On the M23 corridor we’ve

40

Manchester

Leeds

Birmingham

Sheffield London

got Manor Royal at Crawley and that’s 60, 70 years old now. There are no other major business parks.”

If all this sounds rather depressing, the silver lining is that Coast to Capital has been actively investing in key regeneration projects that are destined to make a real impression.

“When HS2 is complete it will take the same time to get from Solihull to London as it does from Reigate to London.”

“There are plans in the pipeline,” says Jonathan. “Burgess Hill have got a brilliant plan and there are plans in Horsham and other towns. These are good examples of where the LEP comes in. Housing is a very contentious issue politically and what we’re here to do is support the delivery of those local plans and help the local authorities coordinate them so business spaces don’t get missed out.

“We have invested in numerous developments. In Brighton we have been involved

in the mixed developments at Circus Street, Preston Barracks and Block J (behind Brighton Station). We’ve got the new Digital Tech Park in Bognor Regis, which is part of Chichester University.

“Over in Worthing we have four or five big developments. We’ve put money into the Teville Gate regeneration, close to the station. It couldn’t have happened without Coast to Capital. Developers wanted to put money in to build on the site, but Teville Gate needed to be demolished and there was a land contamination issue – it was a really complex site. You need public money to do that. We put money into the clearance of that site with the council as our partners. The council then worked with a developer to design the project, and give them planning permission and then it’s delivered. The Coast to Capital money was the first step.

“It was a similar story in Crawley, where we’ve invested in what’s called the Crawley Growth Programme. It’s a range of measures to help the town grow. A private developer is going to develop Overline House – that’s a deal with Network Rail, we’re not involved in that. But our money is going to deliver the public infrastructure that supports the development.

So if you try and cross the road from Overline House into the bus station, it’s not nice or safe. Imagine thousands of people doing that every day going to and from their flats. We have granted money to the council to help get the bus station

Will HS2 have a negative impact on the South East?

in shape, to get pedestrian crossings and sort out the roads. It’s all about infrastructure. Sometimes infrastructure is really glamorous and sometimes it’s not. We don’t care, we’ll invest in both, provided it helps the economy.

“We also get involved in awareness programmes. We have been running a campaign called the Brighton Mainline Alliance for the last 18 months which has been really successful at showing government how important the railway is to the economy. We’ve got all our MPs and Local Authorities signed up and over 60 business. It allows us to say, “Here’s the voice of the area, take us seriously.”

One issue that causes confusion is how the LEP is organised. Many believe it to be an arm of the civil service. Jonathan is happy to set the record straight.

“No, we are a private non-profit company; we’ve got a business-led board, so what

we’ve got on our board is a group of really passionate people who give their time for free. They’re not remunerated and they come from major employers.

“We’re funded by government on the basis that these services are better done by a business-led body than they are by the state, which I agree with.

“So for instance, we’re funded by the government to deliver a Growth Hub service that provides a team of account managers to undertake reviews of businesses with growth potential and provide solutions to help leaders overcome any barriers to growth. We work with a network of delivery partners who can help businesses in all aspects including exporting to new companies, management and leadership, business planning and marketing.

“Increasingly we’re focusing on supporting scale-up businesses. A real challenge is identifying those businesses as they

“40% of jobs in our area are in micro businesses but most of these are not growing.”

tend not to network in traditional ways.

These companies represent only 1% of the business stock but provide 34% of job creation. We’re launching what we call an Escalator Programme to provide peer to peer groups where members learn from each other with expert facilitation and specialists brought in to discuss the key issues identified by the group members themselves.

“We’ve got a very large number of micro and small businesses. 40% of jobs in our area are in micro businesses but most of these are not growing. They don’t necessarily earn particularly high wages, they probably won’t be taking on apprentices or employing graduates or exporting – all the things that the economy needs today.

We’ve only got one in three jobs in small and medium companies, so we need those businesses to grow.

“Our job is to get to know everyone – businesses, local government, education sector and everyone in-between – and start to present ourselves as a competitive area to the government so that we can get the credit we deserve. You don’t get money unless you can fight your corner, and the better you fight your corner the more money you can get. That’s our job, which is why it’s such a brilliant job.”

Coast to Capital will be advertising for a number of Board vacancies over the coming year. We are committed to creating an inclusive organisation that promotes and values diversity. As such, we welcome applications from senior business figures from under-represented groups and encourage female business leaders to apply. If you are interested in joining our Board to help us deliver our ambitious vision please contact Head of Communications and Corporate Affairs katie.nurcombe@coast2capital.org.uk to arrange an initial conversation.

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TH

BUSINESS SHOW2018

THE

TH

BUSINESS 14 & 15 NOV 2018 SHOW2018

THE

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| EXCEL, LONDON

THE GREAT BRITISH BUSINESS SHOW 2018

THE LARGEST B2B EXHIBITION IN EUROPE

For all stand and sponsorship enquires please contact Ryan Treloar on 01872 218007 or ryan.treloar@prysmgroup.co.uk

SHOW SPONSORS

BUSINESS EXPO With self-made successes such as Tara Howard, founder of the Venus Awards, inventor Helen Ross and Kavita Oberoi OBE, who now manages a multi-million pound business portfolio, all leading keynote seminars at the show, this will provide but a mere glimpse into the thriving talent pool of women grafting in the industry currently. Savannah De Savary, who was apart of the Top 30 Business Women To Watch In The UK list over at About Time Magazine this year, will also be leading a seminar of her own, cementing the fact that The Business Show is the place to be if you want a real glimpse at the modern business arena.

Pioneering Women AT THE EXCEL The Business Show is back - with seminars from leading businesswomen

T

he Business Show will open its doors for the 40th time on November 14th and 15th as 20,000 business professionals fill the halls of the Excel London for what is sure to be an essential date within the calendar for any businessman and businesswoman. With world class seminars led by pioneering individuals within the industry, cutting edge exhibitors displaying the best of the best in terms of products and services, as well as masterclasses and unrivalled networking opportunities, this is the event to be at

for all enterprise owners. Tickets are free and available now from greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk.

It was only in the January of this year that The Telegraph reported on how diversity can benefit a business and can increase growth rates within companies. Britain has 15% of its top companies with a woman at the helm, and The Business Show boasts a line up of incredible women who will all show why what The Telegraph reports is indeed true.

Recognisable faces like former Dragon in the Den Rachel Elnaugh and cover star extrordinaire Caprice Bourret will also be leading seminars of their own, sharing their success stories and displaying how they helped pave the way for the equality balance we are starting to see in companies across the globe.

Come along to The Business Show to not only learn from these pioneering women in the industry but also to peruse the 300 exhibitors with their market leading products and services as well the expert led masterclasses that will supply visitors with second to none learning opportunities. Coupled with the networking opportunities available and The Business Show becomes an essential date for any business owner.

Tickets are available now from: greatbritishbusinessshow.co.uk

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BANKING

Mid-sized is key to economic success business growth

Emma Lane, the Area Director for Allied Irish Bank (GB) in the South East, talks about celebrating local business growth at the Sussex Business Awards later this month and why it is important to support midmarket sized corporate businesses.

M

id-sized corporates play a significant role in economic prosperity because they demonstrate fast-growth, entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. Last year midsized businesses created 780,000 new jobs, more than smaller businesses (135,000 new jobs) and FTSE 350 companies (320,000 new jobs) put together (source:BDO). Their contribution is impressive and it is important the right investment is available to maintain this growth momentum especially with the uncertainty of Brexit negotiations.

At AIB (GB) we recognise the importance of investing in local businesses and their success is key to economic growth and prosperity. We know the ongoing economic pressures mean that the environment is tough and that achieving growth and managing cash flow are some of the key issues we see facing many different sizes of businesses. We understand for the economy to thrive again it needs to be built on investment and we take very seriously our role in working with companies across Sussex, and the South East that need funding to assist their success.

At AIB (GB) we recognise the importance of investing in local businesses and their success is key to economic growth and prosperity.

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Everything we do is about helping customers achieve their ambitions. We believe each business is unique and demands a depth of understanding and tailored approach from its banking relationship. Brexit presents local companies with unprecedented challenges, but our banking teams are keen to support viable business plans and overcome the obstacles that many perceive may be in the way to seeking the financial backing to bring their growth strategy to fruition. We pro-

vide a proactive approach to reviewing each business plan, working together with business owners and their advisors to identify new opportunities, anticipate and assess possible risk issues, streamline day to day cash flow and offer solutions to support future growth.

Later this month we will be celebrating business success at the Sussex Business Awards. This is a fantastic platform from which to celebrate local business stories and during this time of economic uncertainty it is inspiring to hear about companies doing well and providing inspiration to others.

As a category sponsor I am especially looking forward to hearing about the mid-sized market. From my experience of working with our customers at AIB (GB), the Sussex area has a thriving business community. Innovation and quality are key drivers and I am looking to forward to the awards hosted later this month at The Grand in Brighton.

To see how AIB (GB) can help you with any of your business needs, please contact AIB (GB) South East Business Centre on 01273 574195 or email with an initial enquiry to Brighton@aib.ie.

Call charges may apply, charges may vary depending on operator

*The AIB logo, Allied Irish Bank (GB) and Allied Irish Bank (GB) Savings Direct are trade marks used under licence by AIB Group (UK) p.l.c. incorporated in Northern Ireland. Registered Office 92 Ann Street, Belfast BT1 3HH. Registered Number NI018800. Authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

NET XP SUSSEX CONFERENCE Web: netxp.co.uk Tel: 01273 833 222

Date: 6th December 2018 Time for Event: 12noon - 5:00pm Venue: Malmaison, Brighton Attending: 60 Special Guests Game: Ten Pin Theme

SPEAKERS Y THE DA INCLUDE: R FO

Anthony Prior Bagelman

Wes Atkinson Appitierre

Mina O’Brien Ditzy Media

Gerry Thompson Positive Comedy

Simon Bulteel Cooden Tax Consulting

James Dempster Cobb Digital

Heather Kingdon Assist First Aid

Like a roadshow, our end of year event moves around Sussex and for 2018, Brighton will be our host. With three expos and one conference across Sussex, Net XP has grown throughout the year and as such we would like to cordially invite you to our end of year event at the Malmaison Brighton on the 6th December.

As an invite-only event, the finale of 2018 for Net XP, this day is going to be something quite special.

Our only conference in Sussex, it is looking to be an inspiring day of talks, networking, awards and success stories.

To ensure we continue with our ongoing game-theme ethos, the Brighton Conference will be Ten Pin themed –certainly a 'Strike' will help. The marketing theme for the conference is 'The Entrepreneur'. We will also have a game on the day to ʻwin prizesʼ, ideal for beating the Christmas rush!

NetXP printing by

MEET THE BUYERS

Bringing Business

TOGETHER

Executive Director of the Gatwick Diamond Initiative, Rosemary French, OBE gives us a personal account of her experience at a Meet the Buyers event.

T

he Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers is now fast approaching its main event with buyers and sellers from across the Gatwick Diamond and beyond coming together at the Arora Hotel, Crawley on November 21st. This is the culmination of a programme of activity with a series of well-attended seminars: yy Breaking New Markets in a Post Brexit Britain yy Digital and Social Media Marketing yy Presentation and Public Speaking Skills yy Following up and Following on - making the most of every conversation

The Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers is sponsored by Gatwick Airport, Gatwick Diamond Initiative and Crawley Borough Council. On the next page we have a personal perspective from Rosemary French, Executive Director of the Gatwick Initiative, whose involvement with Meet the Buyers goes back to 2002.

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buyers’ requirements with suppliers’ products. These may stretch throughout the day depending on how busy and popular that buyer may be. In between those appointments, suppliers can network with other suppliers who might even be potential buyers of their product and vice versa. There is also an exhibition area where business membership and business support organisations are at hand to provide advice. Lunch and never ending refreshments are provided and suppliers can relax in the lounge area to chat with other businesses over a coffee.

I

have been involved with the Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyers from as far back as 2002 when I was CEO of Business Link Surrey, where we had a clear responsibility to help businesses grow. My staff had asked me to show up at the event because we were a principal sponsor. I had just left the private sector having led small businesses up to £20m in turnover and frankly I was amazed at this opportunity to get in front of so many significant buyers.

From my own experience, I knew how hard it was to get the attention of a new customer.

As a former supplier, I had never had such an opportunity presented to me.

Yes, I had attended a myriad of business to business events and sector led exhibitions in the UK and globally but even then, it is a matter of luck if you got to talk to the right Buyer on those busy stands. I would leave my company card but of course the reality was that the buyers I wanted to talk with would be secreted in the back or top of the stand which was not open to those suppliers they did not already know.

I also know the other side of the coin because in an even earlier life, I had

been a buyer myself for a couple of national retailers. I was taught to be adept at avoiding approaches from potential new suppliers, I was trained never to give out business cards, and to instruct my buying assistant to field phone calls.

Back in 2002, I walked into the brand new Arora Hotel in Crawley for the first time which was an experience in itself. Here was a hotel with a large conference area which just gleamed with glass windows and a massive atrium. Its arrival in the Gatwick Diamond was a real eye opener for travellers, residents, business people alike but most definitely for the competing hotels. Since then the Arora has been extended and repeatedly refurbished to keep it up-to-date. The Gatwick Diamond Meet the Buyer is still held in the Arora Hotel because it sits right next to a rail station and has plenty of parking both at the hotel and in car parks within walking distance.

What can a potential supplier expect on the day?

Firstly, their appointments will have already been made for them. The Meet the Buyer team will have matched

Of course, the Meet the Buyers event is all about introductions and one to one meetings. It cannot make a sale there and then, but it can open doors. The rest is up to you, the potential supplier, to follow up and to follow up rapidly.

The buyers will not come rushing after you. You must make the follow up call and arrange a meeting on the buyer’s premises usually.

At the end of the (long and tiring) day a supplier can reflect on how much time and money he or she has saved by meeting several buyers all in one place without fighting to get an appointment over the telephone and then struggling on the motorway to reach their potential customer.

Further information can be found at www.gatwickdiamondmeetthebuyers.com

or call 01293 813889

SPONSORS • Gatwick Airport • Gatwick Diamond Initiative • Crawley Borough Council

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BUSINESS AWARDS

Shining STARS

After the recent launch of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2019, we caught up with some of last year’s winners.

ILG crowned Business of the Decade, sponsored by NatWest at the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2018

Celebrating Business Excellence

Join us as we recognise the passion and talent of our business commu The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards celebrate people and businesses who have shown innovation and inspiration in their work, and have demonstrated a real commitment to the region. The Awards have become one of the most prestigious business occasions – celebrating the best of the best across the Gatwick Diamond.

For more information and to download an entry form, visit:

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

Business of the DECADE Can you describe ILG to someone who may not be familiar with the company?

We provide a range of services mainly to businesses that sell their products on line to consumers at home and via major retailers (Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis etc). These services include importing their products, storing their products, picking and packing their orders and shipping around the world for them.

Why did you decide to enter the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards?

We have entered eight Gatwick Diamond Awards in 10 years and have been lucky enough to win six times.

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This specific award was for the Business of the Decade selected from previous winners of Business of the Year and so we felt we had as good a chance as anyone.

What do you think made your entry stand out to the judges?

I hope it was the passion we have to serve our customers and how much we value our staff. We have enjoyed strong growth for 13 consecutive years but I hope it was the personality and values of the business as much as its financial performance.

What impact has winning Business of the Decade had on the company?

ILG It never ceases to amaze me how wide the reach is of social media and once the news was out there about such an accolade, the messages of support were just amazing. It raises the profile of the business in the local area but more over shows our international clients, suppliers and prospective clients what kind of company we are.

What does the future hold for ILG?

We are going to continue our growth strategy in the Gatwick Diamond region. In Q1 of 2019 to support the overall aims for the business we are working with clients on a European warehousing solution which is very exciting, we are also expanding the business with new operations in other areas of the UK.

@gdbiz

unity

zawards

PVL win the award for Supply Chain Excellence. Sponsored by the University of Brighton at the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2018

Manufacturing Business of the YEAR & The Award for SUPPLY CHAIN EXCELLENCE Can you describe PVL UK Ltd to someone who may not be familiar with the company?

Since 1999 PVL has been helping to save lives on the road in the UK and around the world. Set up by founder and CEO Nick Broom, PVL designs and manufactures high visibility livery and brand markings for the emergency services and commercial fleet markets as well as specialist graphics products for wrapping any surface, indoors or out.

Our combination of expertise in specialist reflective materials and road safety has enabled us to grow a large client base and we are now the biggest specialist supplier of reflective vehicle safety marking kits to many of the UK Police, Fire and Ambulance vehicle fleets and have offices and partners in Europe, the Middle East and USA. From our manufacturing base in Sussex we design, produce and apply vehicle specific “kits” and have expanded our service range to include vehicle fleet branding (printed wraps) and a full range of internal and external signage, graphics and refurbishment services.

Why did you decide to enter the Gatwick

Diamond Business Awards?

We have not been very good at shouting about ourselves for many years, instead being focused on building and improving ourselves. However, we recently realised that entering the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards would be a fantastic way to have external, impartial people to look over and qualify our services, whilst potentially helping recognise the hard work of our employees and supply chain; winning an award would be really motivational for all the staff. It’s also an opportunity to attract new business and raise our profile locally; it gives a real stamp of authority and credibility and can be a great way to entice new talent.

I mean, who doesn’t want to work for a multi-award winning company?

What do you think made your entry stand out to the judges?

Honesty, and attention to detail. It’s not just about putting information on the entry form, we thought carefully about the points each question raised and about how to format and present the entry form, taking time to respond to the questions and also weave in as much of our story as possible to maximise the judges’ first impression when they saw it.

THE GATWICK DIAMOND BUSINESS AWARDS 2019 ARE NOW OPEN FOR ENTRIES. Enter your company before November 23rd, entry forms can be found at www.gatwickdiamondbusinessawards.com or call 01293 813888.

PVL UK LTD

What impact has winning Manufacturing Business of the Year & Supply Chain Excellence had on the company?

It really has been fantastic, the staff were all thrilled that we won both awards. The banner and awards are on permanent display and referenced at almost every meeting held at our offices. They recognise what we (quietly) believed ourselves and help portray our ethos and values to all. The engagement that we have had from other businesses, our customers and suppliers since we announced it has been very positive. The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards are very credible.

What does the future hold for PVL UK Ltd?

Our business strategy over the last few years has been to consolidate and protect our core market in the UK, whilst also seeking to diversify our client base to minimise risk.

Export is an important part of our new strategy and we have really seen a leap in export sales over the last 18 months. However, we have also got some new products that we are bringing to market for our existing client base as well as new (related) market areas that we aim to use to grow business locally as well as nationwide.

We’ve only just got started.

GREEN BUSINESS

How business innovation

HOLDS THE KEY TO OUR FUTURE

Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution rings as true for business as it does for the natural world. It’s not necessarily the strongest that survive and thrive; it’s those that can adapt to changing environments most effectively. And the time we’re living in now can certainly be defined as a changing environment.

Robb Cunningham, Projects and Communications Manager at Green Growth Platform, launches our Green Business Feature...

T

he recent report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made for stark reading. In it, the world’s leading climate scientists spelled out the alarming speed of climate change, and predicted that we have just 12 years to significantly reduce the rate of global warming if we are to avoid it having dramatic effects on human lives.

everything the business does and thinking how it could be done differently.

This includes new approaches that use natural resources more efficiently and responsibly, tackle the effects of climate change, reduce carbon emissions, re-use or recycle waste materials or enhance societal, economic and technological resilience to environmental pressures.

The discussion has moved on from a scenario that seemed far in the future, to one that we need to address now.

A call to arms for business

We hear a lot about how we need to change personal habits, from driving less to washing clothes at lower temperatures. But there’s a massive opportunity for businesses to play a leading role too. Businesses are, after all, the drivers of economic growth, and they can be the drivers of environmental change too. As a business owner, you’re in a unique position where the actions you take can have far-reaching influence.

And it’s not just an altruistic approach.

Research shows it makes business sense too. Studies by Nielsen and Deloitte show that millennials – who now represent the largest demographic of working-age people on the planet –

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It’s not just about products are most willing to pay more for products and services that come from socially and environmentally responsible companies.

Eco innovation and what does it mean for my business?

Innovation is defined as any new idea, device or method. It’s the ability to foresee a solution to a problem that nobody else has thought of.

Eco innovation specifically focuses on new ideas and concepts that address environmental impact, and deliver goals of sustainable and equitable societies and economies.

For a business, embracing eco innovation means taking a fresh look at

It’s important to remember that innovation doesn’t just cover new products; it includes processes, services and business models as well. Airbnb are one of the most innovative business of recent years, but they didn’t invent homestays. They invented a business model and a process, and found huge success as a result.

Embedding an innovation culture in your business

Integrating innovation into your business can, of course, be a challenge. Just running on a business-as-usual basis can take up all of your time and energy. How do you find space to experiment with new things? By its very nature, it’s a risk.

You’re putting time and resources into something that you haven’t done before.

If you really want to get your business innovating, you could provide training for staff on how to pitch their ideas, how to prepare a business case and how to consider the impact of ideas on all areas of the business.

Collaborate and make use of knowledge around you

Following their Low Carbon Innovation workshop provided by the Green Growth Platform, Akro Valve assessed the high energy costs of their old production equipment and set up a new venture called Sussex CNC, and purchased a CNC machine that will greatly improve their manufacturing efficiency and energy costs.

Identify what type of innovation you want to foster

Depending on the type of business you have, you’ll be more suited to innovating around your products, services, processes or business model. Take the time to identify where you could do things differently, and in what area you could have the biggest impact.

Embracing innovation throughout the business means employees who aren’t in product development or customer facing roles can be empowered to think innovatively too. You might find opportunities to operate more efficiently where you least expect them.

Empower all employees

It’s important to empower individuals to embrace innovation, but it can be challenging for staff to step outside of the box - particularly if your management team is under pressure to achieve targets, and mitigate against risk. A senior manager might not have the motivation to compromise his or her targets for the sake of someone else’s unproven idea.

This can stifle the creativity and appetite for trying different things amongst employees. As a business owner willing to embrace innovation, it’s your responsibility to ensure that all employees have

the freedom to express ideas, and the opportunity to present them to senior staff at the business.

After all, it is often the employees on the ground who have the insight into what changes could have the biggest impact.

Most of us will have heard the story of the Swan Vesta employee who suggested putting sandpaper on just one side of the match boxes, and subsequently saved the company millions in manufacturing costs.

Incentivise

Traditional business models incentivise employees to perform well and deliver value for the company, based on predefined KPIs. If you want to innovate, you’re going to have to accept that some of those KPIs might not be achieved for a certain period of time.

Provide air to those willing to challenge traditional models and try out different ways of doing thigs. You could, for example, commit 10% of resources to innovation, and adjust your performance forecasts accordingly.

Enable as well as empower

For an idea to get off the ground, people need to have the tools to take it from a concept to something that will actually be put into practice.

There’s a wealth of resources out there for businesses that want to innovate, particularly through eco innovation. The University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform is an award-winning low carbon and environmental business network with over 1,000 members. In early 2019, the Platform will launch Clean Growth UK, a national business scaleup and R&D support network, in partnership with the University of Portsmouth and Liverpool John Moores University.

It will help businesses with innovation and R&D, commercialisation and obtaining investment for new ideas.

In partnership with Sussex Chamber of Commerce, and funded by the European Regional Development Fund, the Green Growth Platform is running a free twoday Low Carbon Innovation workshop for businesses on 14 and 21 November in Burgess Hill.

The workshop will help businesses understand the ways in which they can transform their business processes, models, products and services.

To find out more about the workshops, visit the Sussex Chamber of Commerce website and go to their events pages. To find out more about the Green Growth Platform, visit www.greengrowthplatform.co.uk and leave your email to keep updated.

As a business owner, ask yourself: What will I commit to doing? If you have an innovation idea in mind, contact our team today to discuss it at greengrowthplatform@brighton.ac.uk.

Robb Cunningham leads the marketing strategy for the University of Brighton’s Green Growth Platform and its new, national environmental business network, Clean Growth UK.

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GREEN BUSINESS

Making

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

THE BUSINESS NORM

By Anya Ledwith CEnv, Founder of Eshcon Ltd

A

Starting from scratch can be daunting, so for many new to this, I have my 1-2-3 of Environmental Management:

ged 10, sitting on the floor avidly watching David Attenborough’s Life of Earth, I was inspired to make a difference. Throughout my career and in founding my consultancy Eshcon, I have known it is my mission to make environmental management the business norm.

We’ve seen recently a big rise in interest in climate change, single use plastics and flooding. With these issues affecting our everyday lives - we as individuals, and indeed as businesses, want to do something positive. This could be anything from ditching the plastic straws, choosing a green energy tariff, cycling to work or even reimagining business processes. So it’s not surprisingly that, according to the Grant Thornton survey of large and small companies around the world, 62% of them started on their environmental activities to meet customer demand.

Businesses are not in isolation about this. Consider Unilever; their sustainable brands have grown 46% faster than standard brands, and account for 70% of total growth. Such changes in business practices are significant for investors, for customers and indeed for suppliers.

Perhaps that affects you?

There is also the legislation driver. How you separate and dispose of waste is

52

regulated, plus the records you keep to prove your Duty of Care. From next year, all large companies will have to include greenhouse gas emissions and energy data in their Annual Reports, along with details of energy efficiency activities.

Are you prepared for this?

Understand, manage and improve

I work with companies, large and small, to understand and manage their environmental impacts, costs and risks.

We find improvements and efficiencies in energy, waste, processes, emissions and materials. I like to think of the Mark Twain quote: ‘Plan for the future because that’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life.’

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POLICY – this shows your commitment to good management, you should explain objectives, making it relevant to the business and your impacts. Don’t forget to publicise it - it’ll be the first thing that customers ask for.

2

DATA AND TARGETS – having something to aim for helps keep the momentum up and you need good quality data to track your progress. Targets can cover carbon, waste, electricity, mileage etc and should show a percentage reduction and time periods, e.g. 5% reduction in CO2 emissions (2018 to 2020).

3

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM – put in an EMS to manage your impacts, costs and legislation in a structured and formalised manner.

Certified to the international standard ISO 14001 ensures the system is independently checked and goes for continual improvement.

Since most tenders or Requests for Proposals include these requirements,

Plan for the future because that’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life.

Mark Twain

having ISO 14001 makes it easy for customers to buy from you.

You hear a lot of talk of innovation, that businesses have to make dramatic changes to how they operate or even the products they make. Only then will they be a success! But a rudimentary understanding of psychology shows that people are scared of change - making sweeping changes will encounter resistance. I find it is better to do things in a more considered manner, using a systemised approach with smaller amendments.

For example, as a Lead ESOS Assessor I conduct energy audits for large companies under the ESOS Regulations. My approach is to examine not only relevant technologies in delivering energy reductions, but to also consider behavioural and operational changes, as well as management processes.

Other Assessors understand and thus only focus on technological opportunities. But I find that clients (particularly the FD) are put off by energy saving activities that are a) costly, b) have a long timescale and c) are difficult to implement. It is better to focus on achievable and relevant actions rather than overly-ambitious projects (which would not be delivered), so that the client meets its objectives.

The Benefits

There are so many benefits of an EMS. Firstly you will align with business strategy, so you reduce risk and can plan for future. There are savings and efficiencies, from direct energy savings to

avoided costs in wastage. It gives you a competitive advantage over others in your field. You win business as you show your customers you reflect their own values and objectives.

But there are also benefits to you – you work more with colleagues across the organisation. It gives you a sense of achievement and, of course, an opportunity for personal growth and development.

I work with a range of sectors, from micros to multinationals. Just some examples include: yy Roffey Park Institute - ground source heat pump saves £30,000 a year on oil for heating. yy Marco Airport Facilities Gatwick - their BIM reporting and process monitoring system is much more efficient. yy The Savoy – behavioural changes have identified £25,000 of savings in the kitchens and refrigeration.

It is my mission to make environmental management the business norm

yy Roband Electronics saved 12,000 kWh on lighting and testing equipment efficiencies. yy The University of Kent have saved 3,000 tCO2e (down 16.8%) on heating improvements, electricity and transport; all this while increasing their estate significantly. yy Forster Communications - a small business with minimal impact, but still manage to get 21% of their staff to commute by bicycle.

Those businesses with established EMSs are now more forward thinking, adopting principles of the circular economy, science-based targets or the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Your Opportunities Now

At conferences I often talk about how environmental management is like riding a motorcycle in the Himalayas (see my Business and Sport feature in the August issue of Platinum).

The final thing I say is to celebrate your success. You’ve done a good job, you’ve reduced impacts, saved money and improved your company. Shout about it, and soon environmental management will become the business norm.

Eshcon Ltd www.eshcon.co.uk info@eshcon.co.uk

GREEN BUSINESS

Can

PEST CONTROL be

GREEN?

Cleankill adopts an environmentally sensitive approach and is rightly proud of its green credentials

Cleankill, with offices in Surrey and East Sussex, has won several awards for its ‘green’ operations. Consideration for the environment has always been at the heart of the way it does business.

For pest controllers, being green is not straightforward; it demands a great deal of lateral thinking. It’s often easier and more profitable for the pest control company to use chemicals over green alternatives or preventative measures, so you need to choose carefully to ensure your provider is giving you environmentally friendly pest control.

E

very supplier you use, whether IT, lighting, catering, cleaning or pest control, should be able to tell you what efforts they are making to offer a green service.

But with the term pest control there is usually an immediate association with pesticides, poisons and chemicals; services that would not normally be associated with being green or environmentally friendly.

Fortunately, thanks to customer demand and the desire of companies like Cleankill to operate responsibly and eth-

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ically, pest control has changed over the last decade and new approaches have been developed alongside a return to more traditional methods like traps.

Practically every company needs a pest prevention contract of one type or another, ideally with a series of planned visits by technicians to monitor any activity and make sure problems are spotted at the earliest opportunity. This approach gives ‘peace of mind’ to businesses, particularly those involved with food, pharmaceutical production or retail, which demand the highest standards of hygiene.

Cleankill Managing Director Paul Bates explains: “We are continually questioning and changing our approach to achieve a greener service - whether it’s travelling, office work or in the field. We go above and beyond any other company in our sector to demonstrate our green credentials. We’re dedicated to being green and helping our customers reduce their carbon footprints by operating in an environmentally sensitive way.

“More companies are looking to procure from suppliers with green credentials and many of the tender documents we complete now ask direct questions about being green. We see this as a really positive approach.”

All pest control companies should have the approach of Exclusion, Restriction and Destruction (as a last resort).

‘Exclusion’ means that the pest controller looks at where pests are entering a property, making sure any entrance point is blocked. ‘Restriction’ means creating unfavourable conditions for pests, and ‘destruction’ means the elimination of pests using chemicals or physical measures. Traditional traps should be used wherever appropriate to control rodents.

Cleankill technicians never blanket spray and only use pesticides as a last resort. Diatomaceous earth is often used because it is non-toxic but still dehydrates insects such as cockroaches.

Pheromone traps for moth control are another part of the company’s green armoury, along with cameras that help establish the presence and escape routes of rodents.

Looking after wildlife should be at the heart of every pest control provider’s Social Responsibility programme and an integral part of being green. Cleankill is the only pest control company to be a corporate member of the Bat Conservation Trust. They regularly consult with bodies such as Natural England, the RSPB, and other animal charities, including the British Beekeepers Association. It is vital we

Pest control services can be adapted to minimise their impact on the environment. For instance, when premises have problems with pigeons nesting on ledges or roofs that are inaccessible by conventional access equipment, Cleankill introduced abseilers to scale the building. It was found to be a more efficient and greener solution than deploying cherry pickers, although we do still use cherry pickers when other methods are unsuitable.

Sometimes effective pest control requires a combination of approaches, particularly when it comes to bird control. Nesting pigeons can cause a range

All pest control companies should have the approach of Exclusion, Restriction and Destruction (as a last resort). do everything we can to protect bees in this country.

Paul explains: “We treat all wildlife with respect and, even when we have to eliminate a pest, we work to minimise the effect upon the environment.

“We’ll always go the extra mile when it comes to wildlife. When we were recently called to remove some pigeon chicks from a factory in London, our technician found a new home for them. The customer praised our technician afterwards, saying the service was absolutely amazing and very prompt and that he was the most humane professional she had ever met.”

of problems and Herring gulls can be very aggressive towards people, particularly around nesting time.

The most natural of bird control methods is using predator birds. This is particularly suitable for places where customers don’t want netting or spikes. They are also perfect for sports stadia and open air markets.

Cleankill has seen a marked increase in demand for this service and has recently added six-year-old Luna the Harris Hawk to their team.

natural pest control at its best. Managers of many of the new modern buildings being built in London are less likely to want nets and bird spikes as this can ruin the look of the new buildings. By flying the hawk on a regular basis, it still has the end result of removing the pigeons but doesn’t alter the look or structure of buildings. It usually will be at a lower cost to the customer as well as being environmentally friendly.”

Luna has been trained to return to Alan when he blows a whistle which signals that there is food waiting for her. Food consists of day old chicks, rats and mice – things that hawks would eat in the wild.

Cleankill Pest Control holds the Investors in People Gold accreditation and has been providing pest control for commercial customers for over 20 years. It uses the most up-to-date pest control technology available and the latest techniques to keep premises pest free. All pest control activity is recorded and customers are provided with instant, digital written reports with recommendations, actions taken and advice on how to reduce the risk of infestation. Contract customers are entitled to free call-outs for problems occurring between regular inspections.

Contact Cleankill for a free survey on 020 8668 5477, or go to: www.cleankill.co.uk

Her handler Alan explains: “Pigeons and gulls see the hawk as a predator so it’s

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GREEN BUSINESS

Does your commercial property

MAKE THE GRADE?

Could new energy efficiency regulations offer savings to commercial landlords?

Stewart Gregory, Partner in Rix & Kay’s Commercial Property Team, discusses.

WHAT

ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY THE MEES REGULATIONS?

O

n the April 1st 2018, the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (or MEES) regulations were introduced. Some six months down the line from their introduction, much has been written about their potentially very significant cost implications. However, it is worth considering why they were introduced in the first place, and whether they present an opportunity for efficiencies and cost savings to landlords.

Stewart Gregory is a Partner in Rix & Kay’s Commercial Property Team based in Brighton.

For more information email: stewartgregory@rixandkay.co.uk

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• The MEES regulations provide a great opportunity for landlords to engage with tenants to put in place lease arrangements fully recognising that the cost of energy improvements goes hand-in-hand with savings on utility bills, with these savings being divided on an equitable basis.

• With the amount of back-log maintenance, the refitting and the refurbishment that are often required of older commercial buildings, there is an ideal opportunity to explore whether energy efficiency improvements could be carried out as part of that work to avoid future MEES issues or even to increase the potential value of the property.

WHY WERE MEES

WHAT

THE MINIMUM ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARD WAS INTRODUCED IN MARCH 2015,

WHILST THE MEES REGULATIONS ARE LENGTHY AND COME WITH A LOT OF GUIDANCE, AT THEIR HEART IS THE PRINCIPLE THAT:

REGULATIONS INTRODUCED?

but the regulations actually originate from the Energy Act 2011. This act was passed by the coalition government to promote energy efficiency as part of a strategy for the UK to meet its carbon reduction targets for 2020 and 2050 (as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008). It is important to note that the regulations are designed to tackle energy use in older buildings, as building regulations ensure that new buildings meet current energy efficiency standards.

ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF MEES?

• Since April 1st 2018, landlords of buildings within the scope of the MEES regulations must not renew existing tenancies or grant new tenancies if the building has less than the minimum energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of E. • After April 1st 2023, landlords of commercial property must not continue to let any buildings which have an EPC rating of less than E; unless the landlord registers an exemption.

WHAT

WHEN

DO THE REGULATIONS APPLY TO COMMERCIAL PROPERTY?

THERE ARE CERTAIN COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES AND TENANCIES THAT THE MEES REGULATIONS DO NOT APPLY TO, INCLUDING BUILDINGS THAT DO NOT HAVE AN EPC OR WHERE IT IS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OLD, TENANCIES OF LESS THAN SIX MONTHS (WITH NO RIGHT OF RENEWAL) OR TENANCIES OF OVER 99 YEARS. As noted above, there are also certain exemptions that a landlord can claim. The principal ones are: • The “Golden Rule”: where all relevant energy efficiency measures have been taken, or there are no “relevant” energy efficiency improvements that can be carried out, and the property is still not at an E or above EPC rating. In this context a “relevant” energy efficiency improvement is one that pays for itself in energy savings with a seven year pay-back period.

• Third party consent: where consent from a third party necessary to carry out the energy improvements (e.g. a tenant, a superior landlord, a planning authority, a lender) has been refused (or granted with conditions with which the landlord cannot reasonably comply) rendering the landlord unable to comply with the standard.

• Devaluation: where the relevant energy improvements that could be made would reduce the market value of the property by more than 5%.

Any exemption though is temporary (generally lasting a maximum of five years) and is personal to the landlord making the claim (so does not benefit successors in title).

WHAT

ARE THE POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LANDLORDS?

MEASURES SHOULD A COMMERCIAL LANDLORD BE TAKING TO ADDRESS MEES? THE IMPORTANT THINGS THAT LANDLORDS CAN DO ARE: • Understand their existing leases; or, if a new lease is intended, consider how MEES should be dealt with in that lease. There are important issues here around rights of access to do MEES work, who pays for works required to make

a property MEES compliant, how lease term and break dates work within the required MEES timetable, and the standard required before the property can be handed back.

• Check whether the property and/or tenancy falls within the MEES regulations.

• Check whether the EPC rating for the property is correct and, if it is sub-standard, establish whether any exemptions apply.

WHAT

ARE THE CONSEQUENCES FOR LANDLORDS OF COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OF NOT COMPLYING WITH MEES? WHETHER THE NEW REGULATIONS OFFER OPPORTUNITIES TO LANDLORDS OR NOT, it is important to note that there are significant civil penalties for non-compliance. The penalty depends upon the rateable value of the property and the length of non-compliance (but can be up to £150,000 for non-domestic property). There is also the adverse publicity that would arise from the public “naming and shaming” of non-compliant landlords.

It is important also to bear in mind that the standard will almost certainly go up. The government’s stated aim is

for the built environment to contribute more towards our carbon reduction targets.

Whilst the minimum standard is currently an E rating, how long will it be before that becomes a D (or even higher) rating?

The MEES regulations have unfortunately caused a lot of misconceptions to float around the property world. It is the case that the regulations are lengthy and there is a lot of guidance to accompany them.

As a result it can often be tricky to determine whether and how the MEES regulations apply in any given set of circumstances, particularly as there is significant interplay between the MEES regulations and the EPC regulations.

MOST OF THE MAIN OBLIGATIONS IN MEES FALL ON LANDLORDS. There is a very real and obvious threat for landlords here, and that is the financial cost of upgrading non-compliant buildings. There is also the potential risk of loss of income if a property cannot be rented out because it is sub-standard.

GREEN BUSINESS

LET THERE be

LIGHT

With more businesses investing in energy saving products, LED-UK Lighting can help clients reduce their carbon footprint. We talk to Stephen Marshall, Director of LED-UK Lighting, on how his company is lighting up the future.

been tested and normally offer a full five year return to manufacturer warranty designed to give our customers real peace of mind. These are not cheap LED’s that lose their luminosity quickly - remember not all LED’s are the same!

What advice do you give to improve carbon footprints?

We normally offer a FREE no obligation lighting survey. If the surveyor feels that the premises could use a new lighting plan to seriously improve the lighting in a particular area we will do this as well.

How can LED-UK Lighting help businesses?

We provide our customers with a turnkey answer to significantly improve the lighting in their premises. Which can provide better working conditions and reduce maintenance costs, but also showing large savings on the lighting bills. In a world where there is an increasing need for cost economies, these savings can go straight to the bottom line.

Whatever your current lighting, LED-UK can provide the right solution offering a wide range of quality LED light that have

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The customer is then provided with a full 15 page report showing both the financial and carbon savings that can be made. If there are any grants available, we will assist in trying to identify them and assist with the application. We install, test and certify that the lighting meets the relevant legal requirements.

What are your plans for the future?

LED-UK is growing, we are currently seeking up to four sales representatives to cover East and West Sussex and North and South Kent. These are performance based positions and full training would be given. OTE are expected to be in the region of 30 to 50K pa.

www.led-uk.co.uk 01424 222 200 steve@led-uk.co.uk

CASE STUDY Eastbourne Motoring Centre – a large family run Vauxhall and Suzuki Car Dealership based in Eastbourne.

The business has a number of buildings including accounts offices, a reception area, parts departments over three floors, car repair workshops and showrooms.

These contained a large number of florescent tubes, which produced very poor light and needed replacing on a regular basis.

The owners had already installed solar to cut these running costs, but wanted to reduce these further and improve the lighting across the whole site. The reduction in maintenance costs was also a factor, due to some of the lights being located at height, which was costly to replace. There was an added bonus of being able to use the LoCase grant of 40% to install LED Lighting, as this significantly reduced the final installation price they would pay.

In the reception area and offices we used low energy panels with no flicker drivers and these not only improved the overall lighting in these area, but reduced the glare when working on a computer. The rest of the buildings were installed with the correct LED tubes which improved the light conditions in the car preparation and smart repair areas, allowing the staff to identify defects in the paint much easier, reducing labour costs and repair times.

The Suzuki showroom had halogen spotlights, which due to the heat given off by these, were constantly failing. We replaced them with a LED track light in a similar style saving 50%. The overall result was a reduction of around 68% in lighting electricity costs with a much improved look to the reception, Suzuki showroom and overall staff working environment.

GREEN BUSINESS

CLEAR THINKING In the fight against plastic pollution, we talk to Neil Tomlinson, founder of AQUAPAX, the original planet friendly, naturally pure mineral water, packaged in a paper carton. with integrity. We use FSC timber and we re-invest 1% of our turnover for ethically approved environmental restoration projects. AQUAPAX has sold internationally for some 10 years, both online and through department stores, events, coffee shops, delis, discerning independent schools and multiple other outlets.

There’s a stockist list on our website and customers can also buy direct via our website aquapaxwater.com.

Is it a competitive market?

Where did the idea for AQUAPAX Water come from?

I grew up on the pristine east coast of South Africa, before the days of plastic pollution, so seeing the increasing pollution on our beaches and in our seas is upsetting. Back in 2001, I was responsible for tap water quality in the south east of England, and I started daydreaming about a better, disposable portable water container; suitable for long-term storage, with comprehensive integrity in function and a low carbon footprint.

This developed ultimately into launching AQUAPAX in 2007 as the original planet friendly, natural mineral water in a majority paper carton.

Tell us a bit about your brand?

We’re an independent premium quality brand. AQUAPAX represents exceptional quality water, packaged thoughtfully and

Yes, but we welcome competition! Plastic pollution is at an all-time high and we must work together with ‘traditional’ bottled water companies to stop single use plastic consumption. I think we have now reached the tipping point where the public are demanding change. Our ‘eco-sensible’ category on the shelves is growing, and consumers recognise that they now have options other than plastic or glass.

What daily steps do you take to promote sustainability?

Sustainability starts at home, so along with low energy light bulbs/appliances, our cartons have a lower carbon footprint compared to the alternatives, including glass, cans and plastic. Cardboard outer cases, promoting carton reuse when customers have enjoyed their mineral water inside their AQUAPAX carton - Reduce, Refill, Reuse then Recycle!

Offsetting/carbon balancing our business energy footprint, and financially

committing turnover for environmental restoration through 1% For The Planet.

How do you see ‘green living’ evolving over the next few years?

We genuinely hope this movement continues at pace, with more consumers and businesses taking responsibility for their own consumption. Low cost ‘dirty’ products are something we all encounter every day and we’re hopeful this evolution will lead more awareness and subsequent choice of ‘cleaner’ products for people of conscience to choose from.

What are your plans for the future?

More of the same but with new formats and an extended range for our customers, including a 1 litre carton to sit alongside our 500ml AQUAPAX. We set out to ‘be the change we wanted to see’ in the world and to set an example of a better way to package water with integrity and ecological sensitivity. Ultimately, we’ve laid the brand foundations for AQUAPAX exceptionally deep. The next step is to cultivate alliances with other ethically aligned companies to help us enhance our distribution capability and make AQUAPAX even more popular.

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GREEN BUSINESS

Don’t

DITCH

the

PLASTIC!

Local plastic pallet supplier Goplasticpallets.com is urging businesses to seriously consider the benefits of the plastic products they use before eradicating plastic from the workplace.

Here at Goplasticpallets.com we recycle every piece of plastic, paper, card, glass and tin we use at our own expense, and are always looking for other ways we can reduce the amount of single-use plastic that we use, for instance replacing the plastic cups in our water cooler with glasses, and cutting down on the use of our laminator.

For our clients, we are an Approved Exporter of plastic waste, so that when they no longer have a need for their plastic pallets or boxes, we’re able to return them to our factory in Belgium, where they’ll be reground, and made into more sustainable plastic pallets.

S

ince Blue Planet II aired last November exposing the destructive effect plastic pollution is having on our oceans, negative coverage and misinformed commentary about plastic has dominated the mass media.

Just last month, BBC1’s documentary ‘Drowning in Plastic’ revealed some alarming statistics about plastic waste, including that eight million tonnes of plastic end up in our world’s oceans each year.

This anti-plastic rhetoric running through the media and abundance of ‘ditch the

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plastic’ and ‘plastic free’ campaigns has completely crowded out the important role plastic plays in our everyday life.

And most infuriating of all is that many of these campaigns do little to distinguish between good ‘reusable’ and bad ‘single-use’ plastic.

If you look around you, on your desk, in your car, in your home – so many everyday long-lasting and essential items are produced from plastic and do an excellent job over the long term. Plastic has powerful sustainability credentials thanks to its low-carbon impact in manufacturing, light weight and recyclability.

We’re extremely proud of the plastic products we supply. Products that have a long lifecycle and last many more times over than wood or cardboard, saving trees along the way. We’re also proud that we’re helping the environment by collecting products back at the end of their long use, then sending them to be professionally recycled, so they don’t end up in landfill.

Visit www.goplasticpallets.com to find out more, or for expert product advice call the team on 01323 744057 or email sales@goplasticpallets.com.

50%more Clearer Thinking 50% headspace Campfire Catalyst for Leaders

CAMPFIRE CATALYST FOR LEADERS

PEER LEADERSHIP

GOING BACK to NATURE Business leaders benefit by collaborating around the fire

“

“A brilliant way for leaders to connect”

- Amy Lishman, Brighton Chamber of Commerce

Being outside increases creative thinking by 50%.

Join a facilitated Campfire Catalyst to explore your leadership challenges and gain fresh clarity and focus.

25% off your first afternoon campfire www.schoolofthewild.com/leadership

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any business leaders recognise that they need more headspace to think clearly and strategically. Sometimes that’s still not enough. You need ideas and honest discussions with your peers. There is clear evidence that you can make those conversations even more powerful by spending time in nature. It will increase your creativity by 50%. Being outside helps you network and connect more deeply, more quickly.

Which is why School of the Wild offers monthly facilitated afternoon Campfire Catalysts, near Brighton, for a maximum of 12 business leaders. A recent campfire was hailed a great success by the Brighton Chamber of Commerce.There is no membership, just pay each time you attend. There is 25% off your first campfire.

Sounds interesting? You just might find that spark that will really drive your business forward.

www.schoolofthewild.com/leadership/ or contact Nigel Berman nigel@schoolofthewild.com

Your Local Pallet Partner 25 years’ experience serving UK businesses Located in Eastbourne, we stock the UK’s largest range of 12,000 plastic pallets and pallet boxes and 5,000 small containers.

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Creators of the Platinum Publishing Group website

GREEN BUSINESS

GROWING

GATWICK RESPONSIBLY

How Gatwick is striking the right balance between economic growth and environmental impact.

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Paul Leonard, led the project which saw Gatwick becoming the first UK airport to install 100% LED runway and approach lights

atwick has just announced its draft plan for the airport’s ongoing development and growth into the early 2030s. The draft plan sets out the airport’s latest thinking on how it can meet the increasing demand for air travel, provide Britain with enhanced global connectivity and new economic opportunities and jobs across the region for generations to come.

It remains vital however that everything possible is done to develop and grow in a sustainable way, by striking the right balance between economic growth and environmental impact. So in parallel to growth, the airport will drive forward a sustained programme of measures to minimise and mitigate its impact on the environment, just has it has over the last decade.

Results to date have been impressive and, in some cases, Gatwick is at the forefront of UK and European airports.

Overall, since 2010, and despite passenger numbers growing over 45% to 46 million, total energy consumption has fallen by 12% and water consumption by 25%.

A sustainable airport

ion committed to increasing the use of renewable energy. Gatwick was also the first London airport to be certified as carbon neutral.

A range of innovations underpin Gatwick’s energy conservation and efficiency performance, including installing 100% LED runway lights. The airport’s runway and approach lighting totals around 1,100 individual lights which means they are 50% more energy efficient than the previous halogen bulbs.

Recovering energy from aircraft cabin waste

Gatwick was also the first airport in the

world able to dispose of Category 1 aircraft cabin waste on site and convert it into energy.

Category 1 forms the majority of waste from non-EU flights and its disposal is governed by strict rules that - until now - require specialist processing offsite to protect against the potential spread of disease and infectious material. Gatwick’s £3.8million waste processing plant however, not only disposes of this waste safely on site, it also converts it and all other organic waste - into solid biomass fuel pellets for use in a 1MW biomass boiler. Energy generated is used to run the process and heat the building, helping to reduce natural gas consumption by 2TWH p.a.

Sending Zero Waste to Landfill

The waste to energy plant also includes a waste sorting centre as Gatwick has brought responsibility for sorting inhouse to maximise the amount recycled – and this has boosted the airport’s recycling rate to around 65% of all waste.

The waste plant was an important component in Gatwick becoming the first airport to achieve a Zero Waste to Landfill accreditation from the Carbon Trust. This robust and globally recognised framework for verifying waste to landfill claims was also awarded to Gat-

wick because it sends zero operational and commercial waste to landfill, with all empty coffee cups and plastic bottles also sent for specialist recycling.

Noise

The airport is also working closely with airlines and aircraft manufacturers’ ‎and other partners on initiatives to reduce noise and emissions. For example, more than half Gatwick flights use Airbus A320s but they make a whining noise on approach. Following a change in financial charges to encourage airlines to use quieter aircraft - 97% of A320s have now been adapted, reducing the noise and generating positive feedback from local communities.

Decade of Change

The airport’s progress against its environmental aims is closely monitored and audited. Ten ambitious environmental and community-focused targets have been set over the ten years between 2010 and 2020. The airport calls this its Decade of Change strategy and it is a strong foundation to build on to ensure that Gatwick continues to grow sustainably and maintains the trust of its stakeholders.

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IT support over 250 local businesses outsource their IT to projectfive.

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BUSINESS AWARDS

ADUR & WORTHING BUSINESS AWARDS

WHO WILL BE THE BIG WINNERS THIS YEAR? Don’t miss the awards ceremony on November 16th at Worthing Pavilion Lifetime Achievement Sponsored by JSPC Computer Services Manufacturing & Engineering Sponsored by MHA Carpenter Box Young Achiever Sponsored by Lancing College Preparatory School (Worthing) Customer Service Sponsored by Worthing & Adur Chamber of Commerce

Overall Business of the Year Sponsored by Electronic Temperature Instruments Ltd Start-Up Business Sponsored by Michael Jones & Company Small Business (up to 9 employees) Sponsored by Adur & Worthing Business Partnership

Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure Adur & Worthing Councils

Medium Business (10 to 49 employees) Sponsored by Allergy Therapeutics

Innovation Sponsored by Kreston Reeves

Large Business (50+ employees) Sponsored by 5 Rings Group

Green Business Sponsored by Southern Water Retailer Sponsored by Worthing Town Centre Initiative Place to Eat and/or Drink Sponsored by Bennett Griffin Solicitors & Notaries Building & Construction Sponsored by Gardner Scardifield Business in the Community Sponsored by FRP Advisory Training & Development Sponsored by MET – Greater Brighton Metropolitan College

Business Personality Sponsored by The Martlet Partnership

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TRAVEL A strip of metal grating is all that stands between the soles of my boots and an almost 3,000 metre drop.

The fresh mountain wind whistles in my ears, yet fails to make the world’s only peak-to-peak suspension bridge sway (reassuringly). The truffle coloured mountain face is topped with patches of early autumn snow. Adrenalin-fuelled shrieks echo from the nearby Alpine Coaster, the highest toboggan run in the world which snakes its way down the glacier’s edge. Whoever says Switzerland is boring clearly hasn’t been to Glacier 3000 – a boutique resort 30 minutes by car from Gstaad.

The upmarket “chalet village” of Gstaad is an ideal gateway to Switzerland for corporate events. An unbelievably scenic two-hour and 30-minute train ride from Geneva (three hours from Zurich), the destination oozes charm and understated glamour. Its cobbled, traffic-free centre has wooden, chalet-style buildings like gingerbread houses – even the sleek luxury outposts of Hermes, Tag Heuer and Louis Vuitton are housed in these wooden structures, a quaint touch for the high-net-worth travellers who flock here.

Luxury tourism is the backbone of industry in Gstaad. While it may not be a bustling business metropolis, its serene mountain backdrop and world-class hospitality offering sets the scene for team building, incentives, boutique conferences, product launches and winning over new business partners.

According to market research intelligence agency, Euromonitor International, global consumer spend on travelling to Switzerland increased by 4% last year, outpacing the rest of western Europe (2%). Its perception as a safe, stable destination will have played a part, along with its captivating scenery and its delights for affluent shoppers.

Euromonitor also forecasts a 6% increase on luxury hotel spend between now and 2022.

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G

The small but perfectly formed Swiss destination is full of unforgettable experiences for corporate travellers, finds Rose Dykins

Shake Hands in

Gstaad 67

TRAVEL

This steady growth in Switzerland’s luxury sector follows a slight dip.

In 2015, the Swiss National Bank unpegged the nation’s currency from the Euro. The franc initially leapt up by a whopping 30% against the euro. This led to the fall of the stock market, as Swiss companies struggled to sell to foreign companies and consumers, due to a less favourable exchange rate, and the Swiss Franc took a hit, depreciating by 9% against the euro in 2016. Recent reports suggest the exchange rate against the franc remains favourable, meaning that now is a good time for corporate event planners to consider Switzerland, which is generally considered a pricey destination.

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For those hoping to host large-scale conventions in Switzerland (1,000 delegates plus) both Geneva and Zurich have cutting-edge convention centres (see below), which could be paired with some time in Gstaad for post event incentives. The destination is the perfect place to unwind in the outdoors after a conference: there’s mountain biking and hiking trails, the highest wake boarding facility in Europe, and Glacier 3000, a boutique ski resort that offers some one-off ways for corporate travellers to experience the Swiss Alps. As well as the winter activities you might expect – skiing, hiking, dog sledding – Glacier 3000’s unique attractions, three-floor panoramic restaurant and helicopter service would add a thrilling streak to a networking or team building event,

with the practical facilities to ensure everything runs like clockwork.

The more time I spend in Gstaad, the more unique things I experience. This ranges from quirky local customs such as fahnenschwingen – a surprisingly exhausting sport that involves tossing a Swiss flag high into the air – to the cutting-edge artwork of its five-star hotels, including a tweed camel at Le Grand Bellevue, a gaudy grand piano decorated by artist Alec Monopoly at Ultima Gstaad and a Tracey Emin neon sign at Alpina Gstaad. It’s amazing that somewhere so small can house so many treasures, yet retain such a peaceful, unspoilt vibe, and it’s no wonder Dame Julie Andrews once called Gstaad: “the last paradise in a crazy world.”

The upmarket “chalet village” of Gstaad is an ideal gateway to Switzerland for corporate events.

It’s no wonder Dame Julie Andrews once called Gstaad: “the last paradise in a crazy world.”

TOP

PLACES

for a meeting or event

Alpina Gstaad

Alpine tradition meets uber luxury in this star-studded property, which has a lobby littered with world-famous modern art, and the most impressive suites I’ve ever seen.

The Salle Sarinne ballroom holds 330 people for cocktails. thealpinagstaad.ch

Gstaad Palace

This landmark property looks like a fairy tale castle. A warm, cosy atmosphere resides in its public areas. Its five conference rooms include the wood panelled Baccarat room that can hold 350 people for a reception, and the onsite cheese cellar, housed in what was formerly a gold vault. gstaadpalace.grandluxuryhotels.com

Le Grand Bellevue

Ultima Gstaad

This funky boutique property plays tribute to its Alpine surrounds, adding contemporary twists such as a shisha bar. The Duchessa

By Georges Blanc restaurant has a wood-decked terrace that would work well for an intimate networking event or party. ultimagstaad.com IN GENEVA

International Conference Centre Geneva

Located close to Geneva’s Place des Nations, this comprehensive menu has 19 meeting and exhibitions spaces, the largest of which can hold 2,200 people.

Featuring jazzy, nature themed design, a state-of-the-art spa and a Michelin-star restaurant, this characterful property has the Gstaad yacht club on site, which can also be hired for events. There’s also an 18-seat cinema and a wine cellar with a private tasting table.

cicg.ch

bellevue-gstaad.ch

thecircle.ch

IN ZURICH

The Circle

Due for completion in 2020, The Circle is a contemporary mixed-use development at Zurich airport. Covering 180,000 sqm, it will be home to two Hyatt hotels and a convention centre with 5,000 sqm of exhibition space.

check-in Month-to-month changes shaping your travel, by Rose Dykins

Passengers would swap their data for faster security

65%

of passengers would share personal data if it would speed up the airport security process, according to the 2018 Global Passenger Survey from IATA (International Air Transport Association).

The study, which surveyed 10,408 air passengers from 145 countries earlier this year, also found that 84% of travellers prefer automated check-in, and 70% want to use the self-service baggage check. Only one in three passengers prefer airport staff to tag their bags for them.

Gatwick launches sensory room for passengers

Virgin Atlantic joins Worldwide

by Easyjet

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V

irgin Atlantic has signed up to become the latest partner of Worldwide by Easyjet connections programme. Passengers can now connect between the two airlines at Gatwick airport, which means Easyjet passengers can connect onto long-haul destinations in Virgin Atlantic’s network, including Dubai, Hong Kong and Las Vegas, and they can book these connections through Easyjet’s website.

They must allow a minimum twohour and 30-minute waiting time between their Easyjet and Virgin flights – if they miss their connection, they will be transferred on to the next available service.

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New Zealand to order tourists to hand over phonepasswords

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new law in New Zealand will allow border officials to demand that tourists unlock their electronic devices to be searched.

The Customs and Excise Act 2018, which came into force last month, allows border officials to confiscate devices – including phones – from those who refuse a search, and they could face prosecution and a fine of up to NZ$5,000 (£2,500).

New Zealand is the first country to introduce a fine for travellers who refuse to hand over the passwords for their phones, although other nations permit similar searches, including the US.

ast month, Gatwick became the first UK airport to offer a sensory room to help calm travellers feeling overwhelmed by the airport environment.

Located in the airport’s North Terminal, the space has been designed for passengers with autism, dementia, cognitive impairment and other special needs who are about to take a flight. The stimulating, relaxing space is full of light, colour, and soundbased interactive activities, as well as a chill-out zone.

The sensory room is free to use for passengers and their families who are flying from Gatwick, who can prebook a 45-minute session once they have cleared security.

TRAVEL INSIDER

ARE YOU PAYING

HIDDEN FEES ON YOUR

BUSINESS TRAVEL? Our secret travel mole gives us the latest insider info, breaking news and travel facts that you need to know.

I

n November 2017 IAG group, owners of British Airways and Iberia introduced a new fee called GDS surcharge to all travel companies unless they had been granted a private channel agreement with them. This fee is added to all fares booked through online and offline travel agents and travel management companies (TMCs) who have not been granted such an agreement.

You probably won’t even know you’re paying this as the fee is included within the taxes on the ticket. The fee was £8 per one way trip so £16 on a return ticket. From September 2018, it has just been increased by over 10% to £18 per return ticket and this came on the back of similar fees introduced by Air FranceKLM groups.

It gets worse, but to understand the full implications, plus the searching questions to ask your TMC, you must understand what’s behind this momentous shift within the travel industry. Make no mistake this is a momentous shift.

An example of this would be if the airline saw excess capacity on a particular flight it would be very difficult, under the legacy system, to react swiftly and put a special offer into the marketplace to fill the empty seats. Under the old system the airline would feed special offers to air consolidators (wholesalers) who then may or may not alert travel companies to the potential of these offers. Under the new system the offer can be in front of any potential buyer in seconds.

The battle lines between the airlines and the CRS companies were drawn many years ago when the airlines perceived a reluctance by the CRS companies to embrace a more flexible approach to selling their products. As a result, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that represents 90% of airlines and licenses all agents set about building a New Distribution Capability (NDC).

Airlines selected key TMC partners who were prepared to commit to developing this new channel with them, as a result

of that commitment those TMC’s were given a private channel agreement which meant the GDS surcharge was waived, for a period of time. Over recent months the airlines have been assessing the progress and commitment of the TMC’s who were given this private channel, and several TMC’s have or are about to have their private channels withdrawn.

Add to this the publicly stated commitment from Willie Walsh CEO of IAG group that moving forward British Airways cheapest fares will only be distributed through their NDC channel and the same being true for Air France-KLM group, you can begin to assess the huge potential harm this could do to any business where travel is a component.

So, there you have it, you might well be paying £18 more per return ticket without even knowing it, and if your TMC does not have a private channel agreement you most certainly will not be getting access to the most advantageous prices in the marketplace.

If you want to check anonymously if your TMC has such an agreement, email me at travelinsider@platinumpublishing.co.uk

Most travel companies still work on a legacy booking system called a Customer Reservation System (CRS) which works on an alphabetical system which consisted of 26 characters so only allows 26 different selling classes or clarifications whereas the newer airline entrance into the marketplace use a completely different system that is numerically based and thus allows the airline much more flexibility when it comes to pricing and yield management.

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Maldives BUCKET LIST:

The

s

LUXURY TRAVEL Admire the jewels of the Indian Ocean while you still can, says Rose Dykins

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hen gliding above the archipelago by sea plane, the bone-coloured reefs circling the atolls look like smoke signals floating in an inverse azure sky.

Touching down on a remote pontoon with nothing around you but an endless stretch of water on all sides, you get an uneasy sense of what it could be like here in several decades’ time if water levels continue to rise due to global warming. Earlier this year, scientists predicted that most low-lying atoll islands will be uninhabitable by the middle of this century. With the highest point through the Maldives’ 200 islands being just 2.4 metres, this paradise will be among the first to bear the brunt of climate change, unless drastic action is taken.

cardamom, tied with pandan leaves and simmered in a coconut broth.

Or exploring the colourful markets of the capital of Malé before catching the ferry from its port to one of the nation’s “local” islands (as opposed to its resort islands).

If, however, you’re after the blow-out Maldives resort experience, you’re options are far from numbered. A major opening this year was the incredible Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru, a 25-minute speedboat from Malé, in the North Malé Atoll. With 48 thatch-roofed villas, four-poster beds, outdoor showers and private plunge pools, a breezy spa with open-air treatment rooms, it has all the components you’d expect from your Maldivian fantasy.

It’s true that its resort islands are rather bubble-like, and engineered to make you unwind but, they’re bubbles you want to be in.

While the Maldives is a staple on many people’s bucket lists, there’s also the perception that the destination lacks culture – and that, if perfect beaches, seafood platters and spa sessions aren’t your thing, then you may find yourself with itchy feet.

It’s true that its resort islands are rather bubble-like, and engineered to make you unwind but, I would argue, they’re bubbles you want to be in.

Besides, there are plenty of ways to experience Maldivian culture once you’re there, such as a cooking lesson from a local chef making kando kukulhu – where plump strips of tuna are marinaded with a mouthwatering blend of cumin, cinnamon,

What’s more, Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru has a resident marine biologist who guides guests through reef cleaning and coral planting sessions, as part of the resort’s efforts to restore reefs affected by coral bleaching (the Banyan Tree resort group has also set up two marine conservation labs in the Maldives).

The resort’s own reef is home to a technicolour community of turtles, angelfish, parrotfish and more.

Emirates flies from Gatwick via Dubai to Malé in 13 hours and 20 minutes, while Sri Lankan Airlines gets there from Heathrow in 12 hours and 40 minutes (with a 45-minute transit in Colombo).

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Celebrate Christmas in Grand Style

Contact the conference team for enquiries and bookings: Tel: 01273 224300 • Email: conference@grandbrighton.co.uk www.grandbrighton.co.uk The Grand Brighton, 97-99 King’s Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 2FW

BUSINESS PROFILE Describe the business Basepoint Business Centres offer a range of high quality serviced and managed work spaces including offices, studios and light industrial workshops on flexible terms. We also have on-site serviced meeting rooms available to our licensees and external clients.

For those who do not need a physical presence within the centre or are taking their initial steps into business, we offer mailbox and virtual office options, available on flexible terms.

Where in Shoreham can we find the Basepoint Business Centre?

Our Shoreham centre is a modern purpose-built business centre, situated in the heart of the town on the High Street.

We are right next to the River Adur, above The Ropetackle Arts Centre and Café. Being located on three floors, we have stunning views from most of our units across the sea, the river and the beautiful South Downs.

What can business people expect from Basepoint Shoreham?

We offer a range of offices from a one person unit at 113 sq ft to as large as 389 sq ft. On-site, we offer high speed broadband services, a VOIP telephone system and fully serviced meeting rooms, suitable for up to 30 people, theatre style. We have a breakout area on each floor, where licensees can have informal meetings or just take a break from their office. We hold bi-monthly Networking Hub events, enjoy regular Friday coffee mornings as well as other ad-hoc events such as the annual MacMillan Coffee Morning.

We are also dog friendly and welcome our licensees to bring their canine friends into work with them.

Why is Shoreham a good place to do business?

There continues to be a lot of development happening in Shoreham and the surrounding areas with new housing, new food and drink outlets, some great shops and a general upbeat vibe. We have good bus links to neighbouring

SPACES

BY THE SEA If you’ve ever fancied working by the coast, then Basepoint Business Centre in Shoreham may be the place for you. Claire Johnson, Centre Manager in Shoreham tells us more.

towns and the rail service can take you to London in just over an hour.

What types of businesses are currently based at the centre?

We have a wide selection of businesses here, ranging from physiotherapy to wealth management. We also have a beautician here who is kept busy with licensees and the Basepoint team as well as her external clients!

It’s great to welcome start-up businesses as well as already established companies; we see businesses grow here and with our flexible terms, they can move to additional or bigger offices easily, with minimum fuss.

If you would like to learn more about our centre, you can visit www.basepoint.co.uk or you can call us on 01273 467500.

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CHRISTMAS GIFT GUIDE

What to buy ENTREPRENEUR in your life THE

N

ow is the perfect time to consider saying a special “thank you” to valued clients and colleagues and toast the year’s success. The carefully curated 2018 Seasonal Gift Collection caters for every personality, brief and budget.

From the unusual to the unique, look no further than Harrods’ 2018 Seasonal Gift Collection for all your business clients, employees and executives.

The expert business gift division of Harrods prides itself on having extensive knowledge of every department and product range within the store, sourcing unique and unusual products and delivering an unprecedented level of service.

Dolce & Gabbana x Smeg – Stand Mixer

From worldwide exclusives to exciting new brands, exemplary food and wines to high fashion and design accessories, The 2018 Seasonal Gift Collection showcases an unparalleled array of the finest gifts.

£999

For a truly unique gift with a personal touch, Corporate Service at Harrods’ Gift Wrapping and Monogramming Service will provide personalisation choices and bespoke business branding. The embossing of leather goods or engraving of a bottle from the Salon de Parfums will be sure to impress.

For more information on the 2018 Seasonal Hamper and Gift Collection, plus bespoke and personalised corporate gifts please call Corporate Service at Harrods on +44 (0)20 7225 5994, e-mail corporate.service@harrods.com or visit harrods.com.

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Cartier - Pink Gold Love Cord Bracelet £1,040

Bellerby & Co – Albion Globe £1,699

The Montpellier hamper £300

Stow – First Class Leather Tech Case £450

FPM – Bank Suitcases from

£695

La Mer – Radiant City Collection £260

Montegrappa – Fortuna Mosaico Marrakech Rollerball Pen £165

Smythson – Mara Hardbound Cellar Book £175

Download our brand new taxi app today

Southern Brighton Taxis Accepts cash, account and debit/credit card bookings

www.citycarsbrighton.co.uk

THE BUSINESS NETWORK

T

Pearce Marketing was awarded Best Designed Stand – SorchaBridgePhotography.com

he 2018 Brighton Business Expo, now in its third year, exceeded all expectations Organisers, B2B Expos, were delighted to report a record attendance at Brighton Racecourse, with over 500 walking through the doors on October 11th. With 112 exhibitors and a busy schedule of networking and seminars, there was plenty for everyone to do.

The expo definitely delivered with a very varied mix of exhibitors, large and small, from many different sectors. The event also included: Three fascinating keynote speakers including John Reynolds, OBE, founder of Castle Water, who, in just four years, chose his business name and grew to £500m turnover.

Six business seminars on topics such as Brexit, PR, fear, intellectual property, marketing and finally, Search Engine Optimisation (delivered by me).

Our session was very well attended - people were watching from outside the door in fact!

Three speed networking sessions throughout the day delivered by ‘Network my Club’ (as well as the endless networking between stands in the day).

The Business Network Exhibition Review

BRIGHTON BUSINESS EXPO Mike Monk, who organised the event, was buzzing from the day. He said: “We had an exceptional day, it was very busy. The speakers covered some really diverse topics and all received great quality feedback. There were no empty chairs in the seminar rooms! I think it was a really insightful day for all our visitors.”

By Emma Pearce, Marketing Consultant – marketing planning, outsourced marketing services and social media training

The Brighton Business Expo was sponsored by the Sussex Chamber of Commerce and Castle Water. The event is growing year on year, so organisers are predicting that all business stands will sell out by May 2019 for the October 2019 Expo. Castle Water have already asked to be the main sponsor again next year.

the show even opened. The relaxed environment and cafe areas provided space for more in depth conversations too.”

There was a final treat at the end of the Brighton Business Expo for us at Pearce Marketing. We were awarded the Best Designed Stand Award!

B2B Expos has more exhibitions in November 2018 and through 2019 in Hampshire, Berkshire and Surrey.

Find out more at www.b2bexpos.co.uk www.pearcemarketing.co.uk

Mike added: “We always say about networking being part of any exhibition. That certainly holds true with over 70 people attending the breakfast networking before

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HORSE RACING The national hunt season really gets going throughout the country in November, and at Plumpton we are no different.

A

s a jumps course, we like to have some juice in the ground for the horses, this comes right in November and so we start to see an increase in runners and the best horses for the winter months start coming out of the woodwork. We attract some seriously good younger horses who are looking to build on their careers and develop their prospects for the big prize money pots during the festival spring period.

We have two great racedays on November 5th and 19th, with seven races on each day. The November 5th features our At The Races Jumps Season Pre-

The winter months welcomes some of

the best horses to Plumpton Racecourse view hosted by Luke Harvey (Ex-Jockey and now ITV racing presenter). On the panel will be renowned racecourse commentator Simon Holt as well as a couple of jockeys and trainers with runners on the day.

ham Festival in the JLT novices’ chase.

Our December races showcase some quality racing alongside a great Christmas party atmosphere. There’s always a cracking atmosphere at these fixtures with so many celebrating Christmas parties with us alongside some quality racing, live music and plenty of Christmas jumpers. The marquee has tables available and group tickets (for parties of 10+) are snapped up well in advance, mean the betting ring has an enviable atmosphere and the course is buzzing.

Last season saw Roksana land the mares’ novice hurdle on the equivalent card - this was significant for our status as a breeding ground for star horses as Roksana went on to win the much heralded Grade 2 EBF novice hurdle at Newbury in March. Similarly, it is the start of our Cheltenham Bonus Series races, where Benatar ran out an easy winner before landing an Ascot Grade 2 in December and coming third at the Chelten-

The action on track usually follows suit with some competitive races, and on both our racedays (Monday 3rd and 17th) we are offering over £50k of prize money.

2018/19 FiXtures AT PLUMPTON RACECOURSE 2018

Mon 5th Nov

2019

Sun 6th Jan

Mon 11th Mar

At The Races Jump Season Preview Raceday

At the Races Sussex National

Anglo-Irish Raceday

Mon 19th Nov

Timeform Raceday

Wed 16th Jan

Mon 18th Mar

Pompadour Raceday

Mon 3rd Dec

Festive Fun Raceday

Mon 17th Dec

Christmas Raceday

Spring Jumps

Wed 30th Jan

Sun 7th Apr

January Jumps

Sussex Raceday

Wed 13th Feb

Sun 21st & Mon 22nd Apr

Mon 25th Feb

Sun 12th May

Midweek Racing

February Raceday

Easter Festival Ladies Day

Advance Standard Racedays Tickets available from: £13 Advance Picnic Enclosure Tickets available from: £13 (not available at every fixture)

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

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SUSSEX INNOVATION CENTRE

Three Years OF SUSSEX INNOVATION IN CROYDON

When Sussex Innovation expanded across the South East, the organisation transformed into a business incubation network.

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T

his October marked the third anniversary of the launch of Sussex Innovation Croydon.

The hub was formally opened by Anna Soubry MP, the then Small Business Secretary, in 2015 - becoming Sussex Innovation’s first site away from the University of Sussex campus, and marking the point at which the organisation went from a single innovation centre to a business incubation network.

Why Croydon?

Sussex Innovation had already become an integral part of new business development in Sussex for almost 20 years when plans to expand its model to other hubs across the South East began to gather pace. From that moment, Croydon was the inevitable place to start.

Brighton and Croydon occupy opposite ends of the Coast to Capital LEP region, with direct transport links between them. A new site in Croydon would help Sussex Innovation expand its support network into London. For Croydon’s business community, it would also provide access to a world-class research institute, in a town that had no university of its own.

Historically, South London is home to many Sussex students. The university began validating degrees at Croydon College in 1993, and its management were keen to find a way to make more of a long-term investment in the area. But the timing had to be right.

“Ambition is key to everything we do,” explains Executive Director Mike Herd.

“If the appetite to scale a business isn’t

there, there’s a limit to what our interventions can achieve. One of the main reasons we decided to come to Croydon when we did was the ambition we were seeing. We spoke to many entrepreneurs who were tremendously motivated, not just to build successful businesses for themselves, but to give back to their community and create economic growth and jobs.”

Following a tough period culminating in the 2011 riots, investment and political support had begun to flow into the borough. Volunteer-led grassroots organisations such as Croydon Tech City and the Croydon Citizen had sprung up with the intention of restoring local pride, developing skills and promoting homegrown culture. Croydon was ready to undergo an explosion of entrepreneurialism.

Three Years On

Anna Soubry MP opens the Sussex Innovation Centre in Croydon in 2015

Three years on from Sussex Innovation’s arrival, Croydon is quite a different place. Both Tech City and the Citizen ceased operations earlier this year, having inspired a sense of civic purpose that remains in Croydon’s ‘Good Employer Charter’. Organisations including Sussex Innovation pay the London Living Wage and make efforts to hire and buy local.

Sussex Innovation’s offices in One Croydon, the local landmark ‘50p building’, are now regularly at capacity. Aside from 25 full-time tenants, the open plan coworking space buzzes with the activity of network members. In all, 115 companies have joined, with many more benefiting from community business support schemes, such as the monthly clinics delivered in partnership with Croydon Council and ‘Finance Thursday’ events that gather advisors under one roof.

The council has worked tirelessly to improve the wider perception of Croydon, with massive regeneration of the business and retail quarter, and a packed calendar of cultural events. Local people are now able to hold their heads high when talking about their home town.

Tenants have also moved on - often after outgrowing the space. Global higher education marketplace INTCAS moved into its own premises earlier this year, after raising investment of £2m and creating more than a dozen new jobs for local people.

“What attracted me was the help and support that being part of a network can bring, the ability to be around other people that are going through a similar journey, creating something, making something happen” CHRIS GIDDINS, CEO, UNIQODO

In fact, 1 in 6 of businesses that have been based at the hub have received significant investment or grants, totalling more than £22.1m. The last four winners of the Tech Innovation of the Year at the Croydon Business Excellence Awards have also been Sussex Innovation members.

What’s next?

The Catalyst graduate placement programme has proved extremely popular with local businesses – so much so that this year’s team has a permanent presence in Croydon. The scheme gives local start-ups a flexible staffing resource, while offering graduates the opportunity to move into London with financial stability and valuable work experience on the table.

Sussex Innovation is acting as an outsourced innovation lab for corporate partners based nearby, who know they need to innovate but have no established process to bring in fresh ideas.

Superdrug are one of the first companies to participate in the ‘BRAIN’ open innovation network, and other large businesses are invited to connect with the Croydon start-up community.

www.sinc.co.uk

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START-UPS

Start-Up SURGERY

Welcome to Start-up Surgery, offering advice and information, plus profiles of new businesses in the South East. Edited and compiled by David Tewkesbury.

B

y the time you read this we will be less than 60 days to Christmas, which means only a few days more to New Year.

Around this time, the talk will be of New Year Resolutions, and we put ourselves through the pain of ‘trying’ to do something we ‘should’ do, to appease everything else. And guess what? Well the statistics show that 80-90% of New Year Resolutions have failed by the end of January. And business planning is no different.

I presented to a group of business owners in the county in October, and shared with them a superb model to help with high level planning. This model focusses on 5 areas: yy Who are you now? yy Where do you want to be? yy Why do you want to be there? yy What will you do to to get there?

yy How will you know you are getting there using measurement and metrics?

I also spent quite a bit of time getting the audience to look back, consider what they had failed to achieve and decide whether they still needed to undertake this action/change/resolution. If so, then they had to understand why they hadn’t don’t it in the past, and make a plan to actually achieve it this year.

I also totally banned the use of the world “TRY”. The word try is disempowering, it means you’ve already given yourself permission to fail. As Master Yoda said in Star Wars “There is no try, either Do or do not do!”.

This presentation was well received, but what was more interesting was the reaction to the room when I talked about WHEN. I said

Time to think of New Year’s Resolutions!

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“Why not Start now?” Whether it’s planning for the most successful 12 months of your business ever, or a New Years Resolution, if you start TODAY, you will already be two months into the changes, improvements, or resolutions you want to achieve when the new year starts.

How great would that be? Think of what you could achieve!

I really do recommend business leaders take half a day out of their normal environment, go somewhere different with blank paper, pens and plan how you will get your business to where you want it to be.

If you want a copy of the template, and my 3-step plan to fill it in, email me on the link below and I’ll happily send it to you. I’ll also add you to my mailing list so I can tell you when I’m out and about presenting goodies like this so you can attend.

Get involved. Send your business questions to davidtewkesbury@merranti.com.

Or if you would like your start-up profiled, email David for details.

ASK

DAVID

My staff are asking to be able to work at home.

We’ve never done this before, what do I need to do?

This is a great question! With the good weather we had this summer, the 2018 late winter traffic and travel misery is all but forgotten. But you should remember there were days when roads were closed, and people simply couldn’t get to work; businesses ground to a halt. It’s important to prevent that happening to you this year.

A Remote Working approach will really help your company and staff, and it’s not all about the technology. I run an assessment for clients which looks at these key areas: 1. PERSONA Which Roles can work from home, how frequently?

2. TECHNOLOGY What do they need to work from home, what do we need to supply?

3. POLICIES What policies do we need to put in place to make it clear to everyone?

4. PRACTICES How should people work in the future, what about staying engaged?

5. CULTURE How do we make the organisation accept that this is a good change, for all?

6. TRAINING Ensure the staff and managers know what is, and isn’t acceptable practice?

To make it a success, you need leadership, culture, management, people and technology working as one. It’s an investment in the business but one which will benefit you, your team and your business.

If you want to know more about this, get in touch and I’ll send you my “Remote Working – Making It Work For your Business and your staff” Factsheet.

START-UP SHOWCASE

This month, I’m highlighting the great work of great two startups: CLAIRE TAYLOR CEO set up SimplyVAT to help online retailers trade internationally, compliantly and sustainably with their international VAT obligations through the provision of VAT compliance services in the 28 EU countries and beyond. She was hoping that by being her own boss she could take long lunches and do more yoga. I’m sure you won’t be surprised to hear that her yoga hopes have been quickly dashed!

JODY RAYNSFORD created a new marketing agency and education business called Hello Genius. The agency helps disruptive businesses and brands grow sales, build awareness and change the world. Jody believes that there is a serious problem with marketing in the UK. Too much is focused on awareness rather than what really matters: making sales.

Hello Genius focus on what really matters to businesses

START-UPS

Start-Up

PROFILE they win by communicating their difference, helping them topple dinosaurs and make a dent.

What’s your #1 tip for fellow entrepreneurs?

Hello Genius

Don’t let fear get in the way of taking action. When you’re on this journey, you realise the challenges never stop. When you take action and achieve what you wanted, another challenge pops up for you to deal with next. But these are bigger and better challenges, and they help you grow as an entrepreneur and help you forge a stronger business.

Q&A

WITH CEO JODY RAYNSFORD

Hello Genius is a marketing agency and education business helping disruptive businesses and brands grow sales, build awareness and change the world. The agency specialises in bold, personality-led copywriting and marketing that tells the client’s story and gets measurable results.

Tell us about your journey into entrepreneurship?

I’ve always loved advertising. Most of my career has been as a journalist and editor in the entertainment or health and fitness sector. I decided to transition from being a writer to becoming a marketer and sales copywriter. I couldn’t find a coach or mentor to show me how to become a great copywriter so I travelled to the US and found a mentor there and, in the process, started working with major clients. I built a reputation for writing successful sales promotions with some launches bringing in £1 million+ in sales.

There is a serious problem with marketing in the UK. Too much is focused on awareness rather than what really matters: making sales. I founded Hello Genius as an agency because I wanted to build something bigger but also connect marketing strategy to growing revenue and helping businesses grow and thrive. We found

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we attracted businesses who were doing something very different or game-changing in their sectors. Now we work with disruptive businesses and challenger brands to deliver and execute marketing strategy through to sales copy, email marketing, digital marketing, social and content. We show businesses and entrepreneurs how to build their own marketing and sales strategies through our education and training programmes. We help great ideas win.

In five years time, what impact will your business have on the world?

Our goal is to be an enabler for all incredible businesses and brands disrupting their industries around the world. I firmly believe the world’s biggest problems won’t be solved by government or politicians but by entrepreneurs focused on making an impact and changing the world for the better. Our role is to empower those businesses and make sure

How has the NatWest Accelerator programme helped to accelerate you and your business?

The Accelerator programme has made me a better entrepreneur and leader. By consistently pushing me into connecting with my vision and keeping my focus on this, I’ve been able to grow my team, expand my network and step into the role I need to be in to help Hello Genius make an impact.

What are you most excited about right now?

We have a 90-day accelerator programme called The Industry Disruptor Programme (www.industrydisruptor.com), designed to help businesses build a brand, grow sales and become the new, obvious choice in their market. This is run as an in-person programme in Brighton and London, but we’re about to role this out as an online programme which will give us global reach and allow us to work with even more world-changing businesses.

www.hellogenius.co.uk www.facebook.com/ HelloGeniusAgency

Start-Up

PROFILE What’s your #1 tip for fellow entrepreneurs?

Get into networks for invaluable peer-to-peer support. Speaking to others, even if they are in different industries, really helps settle the nerves and stress. Sharing experience and contacts is really useful and it is always those incidental conversations that prove game-changing.

SimplyVAT

Q&A WITH FOUNDER & CEO CLAIRE TAYLOR

SimplyVAT.com helps online retailers trade internationally, compliantly and sustainably with their international VAT obligations through the provision of VAT compliance services in the 28 EU countries and beyond.

Tell us about your journey into entrepreneurship?

I was made redundant in 2013 and decided to set up my own business – so I could take long lunches and pop out to yoga in the middle of the day – a very grave misconception.

I haven’t had a lunch break since!

When I started to look at the type of business I wanted to launch, I looked at my industry and realised no-one was speaking to the online retailer in the language they would understand about their international VAT obligations. Ignorance of these rules are a ticking time bomb as tax authorities throughout the EU focus on collecting the revenue to be made from ecommerce sales. Online retailers are being targeted and if non-compliant – penalties and interest payments are being applied – which can become business critical for an online retailer. The concept of SimplyVAT.com was borne and we

launched in early 2014. The message was simple – easy-to-understand VAT compliance information and education, and competitively priced services to help the entrepreneurial ecommerce market with their international expansion plans, and ultimately help them sleep at night without the burden of their international VAT obligations.

In five years time, what impact will your business have on the world?

SimplyVAT.com’s sole aim is to help online retailers create sustainable international businesses through the provision of simple and cost-effective VAT compliance solutions.

We are currently building a software platform which will ensure seamless VAT compliance services for our global customers. In five years’ time SimplyVAT.com will be the global go-to online VAT compliance solution for ecommerce.

How has the NatWest Accelerator programme helped to accelerate you and your business?

The NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator was a great programme for myself and my business. We focused on scalability and raised £255,000 for our software development project. The project offered the peerto-peer network that I personally found so invaluable, as well as access to their eco-system including mentors, advisors and potential customers. It is incredible that it is fully-funded as it is an exceptional programme.

What are you most excited about right now?

SimplyVAT.com has currently helped over 650 clients with their VAT registration needs in the 28 EU countries and beyond. We are now focused on launching our new S-VAT platform which is a really great piece of software development that enables the collation of data from the ecommerce platforms into our proprietary VAT compliance software. This will ensure we will be able to help thousands more with their international VAT obligations.

www.simplyvat.com or email one of the team at heretohelp@simplyvat.com

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HOTELS

THE BIG

Unveil

The facade of the iconic hotel returns to its glorious best The frontage of The Grand Brighton has undergone extensive renovations and has been largely hidden from view for two years. For General Manager Andrew Mosley, it has been worth the wait.

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T

he Grand is a familiar and striking landmark, which people across the globe immediately associate with Brighton’s seafront. But for two years, the glorious frontage has been hidden from view, while vital repairs and renovation work have taken place.

Now it is back to its former glory. It is no wonder that General Manager Andrew Mosley is feeling both delighted and relieved.

“It’s been quite a journey,” reflects Andrew. “When the owner bought the hotel we knew that the façade was going to need refurbishing. We started the project in October 2016 and in the end it took two years. Previously, work on the front amounted to re-decoration whereas this time we wanted to do a proper renovation. The original plan was a renovation of the façade, i.e. re-rendering, making the building structure sound and then overlaying that with a redecoration.

“We have replaced all the windows on the front and to the side of the hotel to include all the balcony doors. There’s a new ‘Grand’ sign and we’re applying for a new lighting scheme. You drive down the seafront and it is that stand-out property again.”

It was never meant to take so long, but the proximity to the sea took its toll, as Andrew explains: “We found things along the way that you could only find if you had a massive scaffolding rig up on the front of your hotel. And when we found those things our owners stepped forward and said ‘Our best interest is the wellbeing of the building and we’ve got an opportunity to look after it here’.

“We discovered leaks in roofs and broken guttering and all kind of repairs.

Probably it is the first ‘proper’ renovation since it was rebuilt after the bombing in 1984. Technology has moved on a lot since then and new marine grade paints will make a big difference.”

As well as the extended time, I suggest that the works must have been costly in financial terms.

“It’s a massive statement of commitment from the owners,” says Andrew.

“It underpins their long-term view of this building. They’ve invested significant sums of money in its infrastructure and there is very little return you get from restoring the façade of a building. We had a couple of years where the previous owner, De Vere, spent £5 or £6 million on the hotel but that investment was cosmetic in order to sell it on; whereas this now is a generational investment. Their view is that they buy an asset like this and they leave it for future generations, and therefore they invest in it.

“The project cost extended to millions but we also had to take a massive hit on our operating profit because we had no sea view rooms. We’ve got 76 rooms on the front of the hotel and 18 to the side, so we’ve had upwards of 90 rooms that we’ve been unable to let at sea view supplement charges.

“We felt it was the right thing to be as transparent as we possibly could be with the market, and so we called the rooms on the front ‘scaffold affected’ rooms. The scaffold itself actually wasn’t that obstructive, it was the wrapping, the covering that we put over the scaffold. You couldn’t see out at all.

We sold these probably at the lowest rate available and they were snapped up quite a lot of the time. People had the benefit of staying at the Grand, enjoying fantastic service and facilities, with everything operating, but at a discounted rate.”

“It’s very humbling, as I’ve always said, to be General Manager of such a legendary, iconic property. I’m very privileged to be the General Manager but at the same time to be part of that restoration and seeing it right for the future.”

25 Years as a GM Alongside the unveil, Andrew Mosley has another reason to celebrate. This month he celebrates 25 years as a hotel General Manager. Back in 1993, he

hotel management which can be repetitive if you want them to be. But generally speaking it’s a very varied industry to work in.

“If you like monotony and regular stuff going on in your life then this probably isn’t the right thing for you. But if you like variety and excitement and ever-changing landscapes then this is an amazing industry. It was always the thing that attracted me to the industry.

“The one thing that I always say to people is, it was that sense and feeling I got when I walked into a hotel that made me want to be a hotel General Manager. I just love the feeling of walking into these places, therefore the thought of walking into one to come to work really excites me.

“There is no other job I’d rather have.

Except possibly presenting the Breakfast Show on Radio 2!”

ANDREW MOSLEY, GENERAL MANAGER

was working as a Deputy Manager in a Southampton hotel, when he was informed that he was to be promoted to the role of General manager - 300 miles away in Cumbria, starting in a few days!

The timing wasn’t exactly easy. He was told about the job just two weeks before his wedding day! Breaking the news to his wife-to-be was a “bit of a hard sell!”

Andrew and his family retuned to Southampton in 2005, and later he bagged the Grand Brighton job in 2010.

“I literally started on the kitchen pot wash near where I lived. I remember just longing to be able to get out into the restaurant and start serving food rather than just washing the pots. Once I’d done that I then moved and got a waiter job somewhere and absolutely loved every minute of it – and I’ve never looked back.

“There is no other job I’d rather have. Except possibly presenting the Breakfast Show on Radio 2!”

For Andrew, hotels have been a lifelong passion, ever since he got his first parttime job at the age of 15.

Now Sussex resident Zoe Ball has been confirmed as the new breakfast presenter, it is safe to say that Andrew will continue to be happily running the Grand.

“You’ve got to love it,” he says. “You’ve got to love working with people, you’ve got to love the service industry, you’ve got to love the variety. There are parts of

www.grandbrighton.co.uk

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BUSINESS EVENT

BRIGHTON SUMMIT

The Best

EVER

By Jill Woolf, Chimera Communications.

Photos by Light Trick Photography

O

ver 350 of Brighton’s most exciting and engaged businesses, charities and larger organisations came together on Friday 12 October for the 2018 Brighton Summit. A record number of attendees flocked to the Clarendon Centre for a fully-immersive learning and networking day, making it the best-attended in the six years since its inception.

This year’s theme of ‘Look Up’ inspired the choice of keynote speakers. Claire Mason of global strategic ideas company Man Bites Dog urged businesses to scale up, keep going and do what it takes to “make global waves”. Author and broadcaster Misha Glenny challenged the audience with his talk “How the hell did we get here? And how do we get out?!”

The closing speech was from SpaceSouth founder Katherine Courtney, who blew the audience away with her anecdotes from her time as CEO of the UK Space Agency and her ideas for the future.

“I’ve been to more events like this, both on a national and International basis, than is healthy for a man of my age, and I can say with total sincerity that Friday’s event was up there with the best of them. The theme was spot on. The speakers were professional, informative and engaging. The breakout sessions were fun and participative, and the ‘buzz’ was energising. The administration seemed to be flawless.”

CHRIS HUGHES – EMERITUS VISTAGE

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FASCINATING FACTS

B

righton Summit was trending on Twitter by 10am, thanks to live tweeting from Fugu PR as well as much online chatter from delegates and those who were unable to attend but were still taking a keen interest in the day.

There were: • Three keynote speakers, five workshops, four speakers and eight Event Horizon hours. The Event Horizon comprised something different to break up the day, including an outside session with Unite the Beat where one group of attendees foraged for things with which to make music, chose their name “The Summit Specials” and composed a short piece which will soon be available on video. Other sessions included the sharing of true tales from the audience facilitated by Herd; and a problem-solving hour using Lego led by Gamification+.

• Healthy breakfasts, brunches, lunches, cakes and juices were available throughout the day to rev up energy levels, allowing attendees to network, socialise and relax.

• The Library Corner and City Books ensured an oasis of calm where attendees could read and buy publications relating to the day or the city.

• An interactive exhibition from MOOP which promised to find the magic in the mundane invited people to share thoughts, memories and inspiration drawn from every day objects.

THANKS go to

SPONSORS:

Cardens, EMW, Eagle Labs, Lawton and Dawe, Joosr, Greater Brighton Metropolitan College and Talent4Performance Reborn – for the Summit branding Insight Agents – for the words and stories Tell your Story Better and Laura Darling – for the supporting copy Madison Solutions – for the Summit website Gemini Print – for being the print partners Chimera Communications and Platinum Business Magazine – as Summit media partners 7thSense Design – projection for the day

AND ALL THE OTHER SUPPORTERS INCLUDING LOCAL FOOD AND DRINK SUPPLIERS:

https://brightonsummit.com/supporters/

Keep checking the website as blogs and videos will follow to show the huge range of activities and participation from the day.

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR’S SUMMIT WILL BEGIN SHORTLY!

APPRENTICESHIPS AND TRAINING Area General Manager Sascha Koehler progressed through the Hilton ranks and is keen to encourage future generations to do the same. Interview by Ian Trevett

I

n a recent issue of Platinum Business Magazine, Executive Chef Kurt Cutajar expressed his commitment to developing apprentices and ensuring there are genuine opportunities available to them once they have completed their apprenticeships.

General Manager Sascha Koehler embraces this philosophy: “We try to at-

tract talent and encourage them to stay, rather than that start the cycle again. We want to look after our new team members and help them to evolve and grow”.

“There are a variety of ways a young person can come into the business. The most popular is as an intern, the majority on a one year programme. Here they experience different departments within the business. Luckily we have

NURTURING

seen many a success, Anna Mieke is an example. Anna came via a food & beverage internship and now she’s moved permanently into our front office.

“Apprenticeships are becoming very popular and we are seeing more and more come through the doors. I was part of a task forces that was created a few years ago in Brighton to encourage apprenticeships. We currently have eight apprentices in the building and we’re recruiting for more. My personal goal is that we will have 30 by 2020, which would be similar to hospitality industry in Germany where in some hotels you could find up to 60 apprentices.

“Another example is Millie Stonell who has been with us for three years. Millie started as an apprentice in the sales office, she graduated to a sales exec, and is now an event manager. Alex Thompson-Hayes, is another success who again started in sales, then moved into operations and is now at the Waldorf in London. The kitchen too has team members who have come through the programme. It’s absolutely vital that we recruit more because there are great career opportunities within Hilton.

“An alternative to apprentices is via the UK Graduate Management Training Programme. We currently have Nicky and Ruth, who are working for nine months in food & beverage and front office across two hotels, this gives them great exposure of both hotel type and

talent

IN hospitality

HILTON BRIGHTON METROPOLE IS COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING AND TRAINING NEW STAFF MEMBERS.

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department. We’ve had some phenomenally successful people come through, some of which are department heads in hotels now.

Finally there is the Elevator Programme, which is another fast-track Management Training Programme that aims to achieve General Manager status between five to eight years. This is the programme that I joined 19 years ago.

We’ve have one Elevator trainee at least in our ranks at one time. Elevators complete 18 months of training across two properties with exposure to departments including operations, business development, finance and HR, before rising to a Head of Department or Assistant Head of Department role.

Hotels are a great way for young people to take on responsibility at a young age.

It’s fun and vibrant. You never get bored because no day is ever the same”

How does the training aspect work? Do you partner with a local colleges for your apprentices?

“We have a great relationship with Met College, particularly the Northbrook campus. Our Exec Chef mentors two teams of students on the charity event ‘Cooking with the Starrs’ for the Starr Trust. Kurt works with the students both in our kitchen and in the college kitchens, one of the students then has the opportunity to join the hotel as an apprentice.

Hilton employs a provider called Lifetime to oversee all our UK apprenticeship training. It means the training is consistent throughout Hilton and apprentices can easily move between hotels. We see apprenticeships as a way of recruiting talent, not a source of cheap labour”.

You have personal experience of the Hilton Elevator scheme?

“Yes. I started in September 1999 as a young hotel management graduate. I studied Hotel Management in Vienna and I wanted to join a fast-track management trainee programme.

I was selected after a rigorous recruitment process – and it still is nowadays.

My two nine-month traineeships were in Zurich and the Hilton London Park Lane where I was then very fortunate to meet the Executive Assistant Manager who went on to open the Trafalgar Hilton. He took me with him to become Assistant Food & Beverage Manager. The position of Assistant Front of House Manager in Heathrow, one of the busiest airport properties then became available. They were very different properties.

He’s retired since, however his presence in the lobby was so inspiring, and then and there I decided at 14 I wanted to work in hotels.”

It is likely that in the same way, Sascha is now the source of inspiration for young would-be GMs. He speaks of the importance of welcoming new members of staff: “I always make a point of meeting the new team member, joining them for lunch if I can. It is important to share our successes and activities with all the

“Apprenticeships are becoming very popular and we are seeing more and more come through the doors”.

SASCHA KOEHLER, GENERAL MANAGER

The Trafalgar was a luxury boutique hotel, and the airport property was more a volume driven operation. Once you know how to quickly check a large number of people into a property like that you will never forget it and you become very efficient.”

Sascha progressed with a promotion at Heathrow, a stint in Budapest and then back to another airport hotel - this time the Hilton London Gatwick, followed by the Waldorf Astoria Syon Park, before settling at the Metropole. It has already been a varied career without ever having to leave the Hilton Group.

“You’ve got to love it.” says Sascha, “It’s one of the very few industries that is open 24/7, though you don’t have to work 24 hours a day! You are working in a world that is alive permanently.

When I was young our family went on a trip to Asia, and when I stepped inside The Oriental Bangkok, one of the most iconic hotels in the world, I saw a person standing in the lobby speaking to his team greeting guests, owning the floor.

I said, ‘Whatever he does, I want to do’.

It was Kurt Wachtveitl, one of the most iconic General Managers of our lifetime.

staff. Communication is key to the team because particularly in my new role as area GM I’m not in Brighton permanently. It’s always important to share the enthusiasm and inspiring stories with the rest of the team.

I want to encourage more people to join an apprenticeship schemes. I think there is still a lot of hesitancy as a lot of parents think: ‘Why should I send my young and talented child into a hotel to do a waiting job?’ That’s not what it is. There are a lot of development opportunities.

It’s a stable environment with a lot of career opportunities and it’s a paid job at an early stage of life that combines work experience and education; and you can be as young as 16 and you can be as old as anybody. I’d certainly encourage my children to start a career in hospitality.”

For more information on joining Hilton’s team, visit jobs.hilton.com

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MOTORING

Model tested: Stelvio Q4 Milan Edizione Engine: 2.2-litre turbo Power: 210bhp Speed: 0-62mph 6.6 seconds Top Speed: 134mph Economy: 58.9mpg combined Price: £43,990

PLATINUM

ALFA ROMEO

This car needs to not only be good – it needs to be great.

STELVIO A Named after the famous Italian Stelvio Pass in the Ortler Alps, this is the first Alfa SUV and certainly, from first glance, it looks like they have got it right.

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lfa have historically suffered from a range of cars that fell apart at the first sign of rain, great brand awareness and a deep affection for the marque. Therefore, we have waited quite some time for it to return to the market with some proper cars that justify that historic badge. Last year l did a European trip with three supercars and one of the selected models was the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio. Up against the F-Type SVR and Audi R8, l thought it an obvious loser but no, it was a great car with tremendous road-holding and it shocked us all.

So, what of their first SUV? It certainly looks pretty and after half an hour wandering around it, l cannot find anything out of place, anything that is not beautifully sculptured or anything that has dropped off. Parent company Fiat, spent £1bn on the platform that underpins the Stelvio, Guilia and a raft of new Alfas and Maserati’s therefore this car needs to not only be good – it needs to be great.

For launch, there were two engine options – the 2.2-litre diesel producing 207bhp and the 276bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol. Both are punchy and swift but it is the petrol version that a/ will sell and b/ gives you more punch off the line. This places it somewhere between the 2.0-litre Audi Q5 and the Porsche Macan S.

They, like many others, are still pumping the increased exhaust note through the speakers and although this is an abominable cheat, you do forget about it and quite enjoy the engine note. There is a certain satisfying rasp about it.

It comes with AWD that diverts the drive to whichever wheel needs it and although it has the poise of the Guila in normal conditions, come into a corner too hot and physics grab a hold of this high car and you feel it might fall over. It doesn’t of course (as long as you back off) but it does then present some oversteer.

Just as you notice this, the AWD system wakes up, shifts 50% of the power to the front axle and corrects the problem. Clever stuff. It is also very light at 1659kg and that helps in every respect.

This is where it trumps the Porsche with a 0-62 time of 6.6 against the Porsche’s 6.3 but the Porky is more powerful and considerably more expensive. It also has impressive handling and tempts you into committing to corners that you might otherwise not if you were to consider its height but regardless, it handles it with great poise

Inside, it certainly has the feel of a powerful saloon which is quite an achievement and there is little to complain about here.

The infotainment system is not very intuitive but you get there in the end, the seats are well-built and hold you well and we have the BMW style rotary knobs

PLATINUM

l cannot find anything out of place, anything that is not beautifully sculptured or anything that has dropped off for multiple functions. The start button is mounted within the steering wheel which is quite nice and although there is little to complain about, the interior will certainly not be worrying the Audi or Porsche.

The elegant sweeping roof line drawback is the height available for rear passengers but normal sized people should not have problem although forward visibility can be limited. The paddle shifters are huge and ensure that should you wish to use them (really, who does) you will have no problem grabbing them in a hurry.

In summary, the Stelvio is a stylish, well-mannered and a pretty quick car that carries that one enviable item – the famous Alfa Romeo badge.

Welcome back.

MOTORING

Stelvio Pass

THE best

DRIVING ROADS

One of the top five in the world must be the Stelvio Pass in the Italian Alps that borders Switzerland at an elevation of 2,757m above sea level.

I

t holds the record as the second highest paved mountain pass in the Alps. The Umbrail Pass runs northwards from the Stelvio’s western ramp and the “Three Languages Peak” above the pass is so named because this is where the Italian, German, and Romansh languages meet.

The road connects the Valtellina with the mid Venosta valley and Meran and adjacent to the pass road there is a large summer skiing area. The original road was built in 1820 by the Austrian Empire to connect Lombardy with the rest of Austria. The 75 hairpins turns, 48 of

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Countless cyclists and motorcyclists struggle to get to the highest stretch of road in the Eastern Alps and it is the highest finish of any Grand Tour.

them numbered with stones, are a real challenge for drivers. Even Sterling Moss went off here in a vintage car race in 1990.

The Stelvio Pass remains important for many sports when it is open from May through November. Countless cyclists and motorcyclists struggle to get to the highest stretch of road in the Eastern Alps and it is the highest finish of any Grand Tour. The Giro d’Italia often crosses the Stelvio. As the highest peak, it has been named the Cima Coppi in each edition. The last winner on the pass was Mikel Landa Meana in 2017. Every year, the pass is closed to motor vehicles on one day in late August when around 8,000 cyclists ride to the top of the Pass.

That is just as well as trying to get a clear run at the Pass with cyclists on it is really frustrating. Achieve a clear run and this is a road like no other. Ensure you have a powerful rear wheel drive, front engine car and this is a road that screams at you to get tail happy, allowing you to hang the rear of the car out 75 times and, if you make it without incident, you are likely to throw up at the end as every hairpin, of course, is a reverse of the last and is a real rollercoaster ride and more fun than you can shake a stick at.

My last trip was in a Porsche 911 Turbo and although rear engined, l was sideways for over 80% of the run and checking out the road ahead through the side window. A little advice for the slightly deranged. Send a friend up first and with comms and have them tell you when the road is clear so that you can forget about oncoming cars and just go for it.

Death or glory but what a way to go.

MOTORING

Model tested: Abarth 124GT Power: 168bhp Speed: 0-62mph 6.8 seconds Top Speed: 144mph Economy: 44.1mpg combined Price: £29,365

take ABARTH The Abarth marquee has been with us since 1949 when it was launced by Carlo Abarth as a factory racing team. His astrological sign was Scorpio and that is why even today, we still see the Scorpion badge adorning every car that carries his name. In 1971, the company was sold to Fiat and is now recognised as Fiat’s tuning house, similar to AMG for Mercedes and M Series for BMW.

T

he Abarth 124 Spider, based on the Mazda MX-5 platform, is nothing like the Mazda as the Fiat is full of Italian flair and style. It is a hoot to drive and having reviewed the standard 124, this is a cut above in terms of get up and go. With a 1.4-litre turbo charged engine affording 168bhp, it will hit 62 in 6.8 seconds with a top speed of 144mph. It is hilarious to actually do this as it is real hair in the wind stuff and just makes you smile all the time.

The exhaust note is raspy and loud when under full chat. But a roadster is a simple car so let’s not overthink this – the Abarth is a front-engined, rear-drive, manual-gearboxed, manual-roofed two-seater that wants to show you a good time.

Prices start at just under £27,000 for an entry-level ‘Scorpione’ version, without the retro colour schemes, or around £30k if you want the black bonnet and a bit more spec. Add another 10% and you can have the Abarth 124 GT special, complete with removable carbon fibre hard-top.

I have the Special in my hands and it is great fun but as for that retro removable hard top, it’s just plain daft. Take an hour, a friend and a bunch of tools and you have in your hands a heavy roof that then needs to find a home whilst you go out to play. It was a hoot in the old days but just seems a faff in the 21st century. Better take the soft top that you can just pop down.

The steering is crisp, the handling tight and the tail will hang out on demand, and empty B-roads are an utter joy. The manual gearbox is lovely to use and whipping through the gears is a real blast from the past. There is an optional automatic but why oh why would you?

The interior does the job but will not blow you away and the only really annoying thing is the lack of cubby holes. I ended up driving with my keys and phone between my legs. There really is nowhere to put anything. Overlook that and it is an old-fashioned sports car that is charming in its simplicity and a real handbrake that just begs to be yanked on tight corners.

It loses on price against the Mazda as at £29,000 for the base model against £23,00 for the MX-5, that is quite some differential but l would pay the extra and take the Fiat every time. The Mazda is Japanese and therefore dull as ditch water – the Abarth 124GT just makes you smile and that is tough to put a price on.

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EDUCATION

A new college TAKES FLIGHT

A new educational powerhouse. Two of the largest further education colleges in East Sussex have come together.

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ussex Coast College Hastings and Sussex Downs College, which has campuses in Eastbourne, Lewes, and Newhaven, have joined forces to form East Sussex College. The newly named college group will provide excellent lifelong learning opportunities for students of all ages, within their local communities.

This merger is one of the most exciting developments within the local educational landscape in recent years, and will see the two colleges come together to offer the highest quality provision of education and skills in the county.

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East Sussex College mission statement: Provide excellent and sustainable lifelong learning opportunities that put the needs of our students and our local communities at the heart of everything we do.

The colleges already have a deep understanding of the communities that they serve, and have adopted a group structure so that meeting each towns’ educational and training needs remains at the heart of every decision made.

The new college logo has been specifically designed to represent the ambition of the college’s learners, staff, towns, and communities they serve. It uses the image of the Martlet, a heraldic bird which features on the county flag of Sussex. The Martlet is pictured as soaring above the Sussex landscape, symbolising the aspirations of the new college

and its desire to meet the needs of the local community.

The new organisation will become one of the largest colleges and employers in the county, drawing on the existing expertise from the original colleges to reflect the very best practice. They will continue to retain and attract the best teachers, in order to ensure that high standards of teaching and learning are maintained.

The group’s vision is ambitious, and it will continue to improve and invest in the campuses to create inspiring, industry standard facilities. This will allow the college to play a significant part in generating economic growth, supporting business start-ups and entrepreneurial skills, and supporting workforce planning and up-skilling.

The colleges will also have a committed approach to supporting the health, wellbeing, and social inclusion of the older population and vulnerable people. It will forge strong relationships with County, Borough, and District councils and locals schools, to provide careers advice and learning opportunities in further education, apprenticeships, and degree level courses.

Clive Cooke, CEO of East Sussex College said, “This is a really exciting time for the new college group. We aim to be a catalyst for change through the positive power of education and skills training. We are ambitious. We encourage innovative thinking and action to meet the learning and skills needs of the county. We are determined that each of our colleges will become a beacon of excellence in their local areas.

We are passionate about promoting equality of opportunity for all and cel-

ebrating diversity, and we will cherish the uniqueness of each college so this matches the wide range of communities that we serve.”

Clive Cooke, CEO of ESC

Over the next month, the the Colleges will be welcoming Year 11 students and their parents and carers to each of their campuses. This will allow them to showcase their facilities and courses. Students will have the opportunity to speak to both tutors and current students, to discover for themselves, why East Sussex College is an inspiring and rewarding place to study.

Visit upcoming Open Events at East Sussex College to find out more: yy Station Plaza campus, Hastings, 1st November, 5pm-8pm & 6th December, 5pm-7pm yy Ore Valley campus, Hastings, 15th November, 5pm-8pm yy Eastbourne campus, 20th November, 4.30-7.30pm yy Automotive Training Centre, Hastings, 22nd November, 4.30-7.30pm yy Lewes campus, 29th November, 4.30-7.30pm yy Call 030 300 39551. Follow East Sussex College on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @ESCEastbourne, @ESCLewes, @ESCHastings

Rebecca Conroy, Principal, East Sussex College Eastbourne

Jim Sharpe, Principal of East Sussex College Hastings

Fred Carter, Principal, East Sussex College Lewes

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Get Festive WITH THE

SNOWMAN FOR CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE TM

This Christmas Chestnut Tree House and The SnowmanTM are getting in the festive spirit and shouting out to workplaces across the region to get involved too.

! e v i t s e F t Ge with

Get Festive for Chestnut Tree House and make a real difference to local children with life-shortening conditions and their families this Christmas.

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S

ign up to Get Festive with The SnowmanTM on Friday December 7th and you will receive a fundraising pack full of ideas and activities to get you in the Christmas mood.

You could hold a bake sale, play SnowmanTM themed games or have a photo competition with our exclusive selfie props. However you choose to fundraise for Chestnut Tree House this Christmas you can be sure you will be making a real difference to local children with life shortening conditions and their families.

For more information and to get your free fundraising pack, please call the Fundraising Team on 01903 871820 or 01323 725095. You can sign up at: www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/getfestive

© Snowman Enterprises Limited 2018 THE SNOWMAN™ Snowman Enterprises Limited

On Friday 7 December 2018 we are asking you to show your support for Chestnut Tree House by organising some festive fun!

(Please feel free to choose an alternative day to Get Festive for Chestnut Tree House if you wish)

For more information, or to sign up and receive your free Christmas fundraising ideas pack, please get in touch.

www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/getfestive corporate@chestnut-tree-house.org.uk 01903 871838 | 01323 725095 #GetFestiveCTH

Registered charity number: 256789 © Snowman Enterprises Limited 2018 THE SNOWMAN™ Snowman Enterprises Limited

CHARITY NEWS

CHESTNUT TREE HOUSE LAUNCHES

2019 Business Awards Chestnut Tree House has been caring for lifelimited children in Sussex and South East Hampshire since 2003. Over the past 15 years, hundreds of businesses have raised thousands of pounds for the charity, enabling them to continue providing the specialist care that is vital to so many children and young people in the local area.

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he Chestnut Tree House Business Awards were conceived in 2013, to recognise businesses and individual employees who are outstanding in their communities, and to thank them for supporting Chestnut Tree House.

The 2019 awards were launched at Chestnut Tree House on October 4th 2018 where supporters heard from lifetime Patron and awards host Ambrose Harcourt, as well as previous winner, Olivia Coppin, who spoke about her experience of winning an award in 2017. Some of the awards judges were also there to share what they will be looking for in the 2019 winners.

The Business Awards will be held at South Lodge Hotel on Thursday March 7th 2019, and will be hosted by Chestnut Tree House Patron, Ambrose Harcourt, and model and TV presenter, Jodie Kidd.

The award categories are: yy Outstanding Individual Fundraiser yy Outstanding Long Term Supporter yy Most Innovative Fundraising Idea yy Outstanding SME Supporter yy Fundraising Team of the Year yy Outstanding Corporate Supporter yy Outstanding Voluntary Project yy Outstanding Small Business

To nominate or find out more, visit: www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/ businessawards

The Snowman™ Spectacular Online Auction Goes Live

C

hestnut Tree House’s Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball takes place on Saturday December 1st, and celebrates the charity’s 15th birthday and over a decade of association with the their friend and Patron, Raymond Briggs’ beloved character, The Snowman™.

Last year’s Snowman Spectacular Fundraising Ball was an outstanding success, and as well as being the biggest event on Chestnut Tree House’s fundraising calendar, it is also the best-supported charity ball in the South East.

In addition to fundraising activities for guests on the night, the Snowman Spectacular Silent Auction is open to everyone. With around 50 auction lots to bid on, the Silent Auction is live from Saturday November 3rd and will end at midnight on December 1st 2018.

Lots include a sailing package, family tour of Chelsea football stadium, escape room experience, and a special Phantom of the Opera theatre package.

Check out the auction lots and get bidding by visiting www.fundraising.bid/snowman.

Find out more about The Snowman™ Spectacular Fundraising Ball at www.thesnowmanspectacular.org.uk To find out how you and your business can support Chestnut Tree House, visit www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk, email corporate@chesnut-tree-house.org.uk or call 01903 871846 / 01323 725095.

Chestnut Tree House Business Awards are kindly supported by Creative Pod, Hiykon Pro Audio, Picture Book Films, Platinum Publishing Group, South Lodge Hotel, and Sussex Promotions.

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B E S T O F B R I T I S H E V E N T S P R O U D LY P R E S E N T S : Sponsored by

G AT W I C K

FRIDAY 9TH NOVEMBER 2018 FEATURING SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER

S P O RT I N G L U N C H AT T H E G AT W I C K H I LT O N H O T E L , G AT W I C K A I R P O R T

EDDIE THE

EAGLE

"one of the most inspirational speakers on the circuit today" "a fascinating story of true grit and determination that will leave you inspired"

Special Guest Speaker Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards

Hosted by MC Aaron James

12PM DRINKS RECEPTION RAFFLE + AUCTION IN AID OF ROCKINGHORSE CHILDREN’S CHARITY

TABLES OF 10: £750 | info@bestofbritish.org.uk Co-sponsored by:

Media Partner:

Charity Partner:

awards

Sussex Business Women Excellence Award Date: Friday 30th November Time: The Hilton Brighton Metropole Price: £75 http://businesswomenexcellenceawards.co.uk/

Adur & Worthing Business Awards Date: Friday 16th November Time: Worthing Pavilion Price: £60

& expos Sussex Business Awards Date: Thursday 29th November Time: The Grand Brighton Price: £90 www.sbawards.org.uk

Meet the Buyers Date: Wednesday 21st November Time: Arora Hotel, Crawley http://www.gatwickdiamondmeetthebuyers.com

awbawards.com

chambers

Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce

The Big Debate: ‘Do Brighton’s businesses give back enough?’

Date: Tuesday 20th November Time: 4:30pm-7pm Venue: Brighton Metropolitan College, Pelham Street, Brighton In Brighton there are a growing number of businesses ‘giving back’ to their local community. But is it the job of businesses and are they doing enough? Join us for a facilitated panel discussion.

Construction Voice: Joint development between public sector and developers Date: Tuesday 13th November Time: 5pm-6:45pm Venue: St Augustine’s Centre, Stanford Ave, Brighton At our final Construction Voice event of the year, our facilitated panel will explore collaborative solutions to housing need, employment space and alternative income streams to counter funding cuts.

Bite-sized Learning: Making your fundraising CRM work for your non-profit

Business Leaders Lunch with Anne Ackord Date: Tuesday 27th November Time: 12pm-2:30pm Venue: The Grand, 97-99 Kings Rd, Brighton Anne Ackord – CEO of Brighton Pier Group – will share her experiences of becoming one of the few female CEOs of a PLC in the country, and her views on the future of Brighton tourism.

Bite-sized Learning: PR - what you can do on a small budget

Date: Thursday 15th November Time: 9:30am-11:30am Venue: The 1st Central County Ground, Eaton Road, Hove

Date: Thursday 22nd November Time: 9:30am-11:30am Venue: NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator, 149 Preston Road, Brighton

More than 50% of organisations don’t realise the benefits of their CRM. This workshop will give you the knowledge you need to adopt a simple but strategic approach to using your fundraising CRM database.

This practical session will outline the difference between PR and marketing, so you can make each work for you. We’ll cover low cost tips and techniques which you can do straight away to get results.

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Chichester Chamber of Commerce & Industry Networking Chamber Monthly Meeting & AGM Strictly Members Only!

Date: Monday 12th November Time: 6pm–8:15pm Venue: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, The Drive, Westhampnett, Chichester Price: Free CCCI Members - join us at our Monthly Meeting with opportunities for networking and AGM Chamber updates.

The Chichester Business Breakfast in conjunction with Chichester College Date: Wednesday 14th November Time: 7.30am-9am Venue: Chichester College, Westgate Fields, Chichester Price: Members £12.00 | Non-members £13.50

Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce Chamber Breakfast Date: Tuesday 6th November Time: 7am Venue: The Hydro Hotel, Mount Road Price: £10 Breakfast Meeting – Guest speaker. A choice of full English or Continental breakfast and an opportunity to network and showcase your business

Blooming late Breakfast Date: Wednesday 14th November Time: 9am Venue: The Bloom Factory, 87 Seaside Road, Eastbourne Price: £10

This monthly breakfast provides a friendly, relaxed and informative environment for local businesses to network and improve your business profile locally, with a guest speaker. Includes full English breakfast.

If you are not a fan of early mornings or you need to get the kids off to school, this breakfast has been specifically designed for you. This unique venue provides an informal environment for attendees to make new business connections or catch up with existing contacts.

Breakfast will include sausage or bacon rolls, pastries and fresh fruit.

“Drop in for Drinks Wednesday”

Chamber Breakfast

Date: Wednesday 21st November Time: From 5pm Venue: Chichester Harbour Hotel, North Street, Chichester

Date: Tuesday 20th November Time: 7am Venue: The Lansdowne Hotel, King Edwards Parade, Eastbourne Price: £10

A great opportunity to relax after work, buy yourself a drink and meet fellow members in an informal environment.

Afternoon Tea at the Kennels, Goodwood with Hampshire & Sussex Chambers of Commerce Date: Wednesday 28th November Time: 2.30pm-4.30pm Venue: The Library, The Kennels, Goodwood, Chichester Price: £28 This exclusive event will be held in the stunning “Library” at the Kennels, with beautiful views of Goodwood House.

All places for events must be booked via the CCCI website. For more information visit www.chichestercci.org.uk

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Breakfast Meeting – Guest speaker. A choice of full English or Continental breakfast and an opportunity to network and showcase your business.

Edeal First Friday business networking Date: Friday 7th December Time: 12.30pm Venue: The Cavendish Hotel, 38 Grand Parade Price: Free to attend The First Friday Network is a monthly free to attend business networking event. An informal gathering in a welcoming environment where people feel relaxed and are free to present a 60 second elevator pitch.

chambers Sussex Chamber of Commerce Low Carbon Innovation Workshops – Part One – Half Day Date: Wednesday 14th November Time: 9:30am-2pm Venue: The Kings Church, Burgess Hill Price: Free for members and non-members

Worthing Chamber of Commerce A chance to ignite your business with informal networking

Gain an initial insight into the opportunities of cleaner and greener innovation within your business.

Date: Wednesday 7th November Time: 5:30pm-7pm Venue: Aqua Italia, Worthing Price: Members free | Non-members £5

Business Networking Breakfast

Cash bar available. Join us for a complimentary buffet and informal networking to ignite your business. We will share top tips that have helped others businesses shine above the rest.

Date: Tuesday 20th November Time: 8am-10:30am Venue: The 1st Central County Ground, Sussex Cricket, Hove Price: Members £19 I Non-members £28 (prices exclude VAT).

Matthew Howard, Leader of Deloitte LLP will present the opportunities of rapidly evolving advanced data science technologies to rapidly move from strategy to implementation.

Low Carbon Innovation Workshops – Part Two – Full Day Date: Wednesday 21st November Time: 9:30am-4:30pm Venue: The Kings Church, Burgess Hill Price: Free for members and non-members only.

A deep-dive technical approach to clean growth using case studies and providing an engineering insight together with saving potentials.

Goodwood – The Kennels – Afternoon Tea & Tour Date: Wednesday 28th November Time: 2:30pm-4:30pm Venue: Goodwood Hotel, Chichester Price: Members only £23.33 (prices exclude VAT).

Network in style over a delicious afternoon tea in the exquisite Kennels Library at Goodwood.

Premier Member’s Gala Dinner Date: Thursday 6th December Time: 6:30pm-11:55pm Venue: East Sussex National Resort Hotel, Uckfield Price: Exclusive to Premier Members only Our guest speaker is Josephine Fairley, Co-Founder of Green & Black’s Chocolate and entertainment will be provided by “In Full Swing”, professional swing singers and crooners.

Christmas Lunch Date: Tuesday 11th December Time: 12pm-2.30pm Venue: Buxted Park Hotel, Uckfield Price: £20 Premier, £35 Gold, Silver and Bronze, and £50 for non-members (prices exclude VAT).

A great opportunity to relax, network and enjoy the festive atmosphere with a two-course lunch followed by tea/coffee and mince pies.

Chamber Hub Date: Friday 16th November Time: 12:30pm-2:30pm Venue: Impulse Leisure, Lancing Price: Free Join us for a unique table top exercise which is designed to explore the decisions that people make, in order to protect their businesses from modern day threats, such as hacking and malware attacks, in addition to physical security and crime prevention.

Peer Mentoring Taster Session Date: Thursday 22nd November Time: 9:30am-12:30pm Venue: Centre for Leadership, GB MET College, Broadwater Campus Price: Free Come along to the Peer Mentoring taster session to see what it’s all about! The Peer Mentoring Groups consist of 8-12 business owners from different business areas who are willing to learn from and support each other by sharing their expertise and varied skill sets in a confidential environment.

Chamber Hub Date: Friday 14th December Time: 12:30pm-2:30pm Venue: Impulse Leisure, Lancing Price: Free Spend your lunchtime enjoying some informal networking with likeminded business people. Chamber Hub is a well-established, popular networking event which attracts a vast selection of local businesses.

To book these events or for more information please visit www.worthingandadurchamber.co.uk

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R E G N A ANAGEMENT M

The UK, along with the rest of the world, is currently being accused of unfairly whipping up ‘Russophobia’ following the nerve agent poisoning in Salisbury, the ongoing cyber-attacks across all our institutions and corporations and their endless money laundering activities.

By Maarten Hoffmann

W

hat is most surprising about the Salisbury event is quite how incompetent the Russians were at performing the attack and then covering their tracks. We all thoughtthat they were the masters of such dark arts but it would appear not. Just look at the ridiculous television interview with the two Russian suspects, reading out the Trip Advisor guide to Salisbury. We often think that the Ruskies are masters at this but surely, what we are seeing here is their misguided belief that the West will swallow this type of tosh and perhaps our best weapon is to demonstrate that we will not and are actually laughing at their feeble attempts. Perhaps ridicule is the best weapon we have against Putin.

Ridicule is the one thing that someone of Putin’s fragile, macho image would not be able to deal with – this is also one particular weapon that we Brits are rather good at. We have been laughing at ourselves for centuries and humour is the deadliest of all propaganda weapons.

RIDCULE IS THE WEAPON 106

It is a tremendous blow to the mystique of the Russian GRU, the Russian Military Intelligence Agency, that its trained assassins should become subject of ridicule around the world and a laughing stock for their bungling incompetence.

Analysis by the University of Manchester’s Reframing Russian project showed a dramatic change in the make-up of online comments on the Russia Today (RT) website following these events. Previously, 95% of comments blamed the UK for the Skripal poisoning so that we could blame it on Russia. Following RT’s transmission of the interview with the two muscle bound thugs, sorry, art connoisseurs and gothic architecture aficionados, there was a marked change with only 16% of the comments critical of the UK and the rest stating their shock at how inept the interview came across. In short, the Russian RT audience in their droves were suddenly realising they were being taken for fools.

Amidst the fear of Russia and they unpleasant abilities, one should remember that their economy is a basket case and is around the size of Italy’s, or half the size of the UK’s. Putin survives on fear, puffing himself up like a puff adder

This vast and proud nation IS INFESTED BY IDIOCY AT THE TOP to make himself seem bigger than he is.

Laugh at him and the puff will exit his body faster than the Saudis can chop up a journalist!

Last year, the Carnegie Moscow Centre reported, devastatingly: ‘A substantial part of Russia’s production capacity is both technologically and functionally obsolete’ and forecast this would lead the country to ‘economic collapse’.

This vast and proud nation is infested by idiocy at the top – an idiocy which licences gangsterism as a crude and inefficient weapon with which to scare the pants off the rest of the world.

If there is one thing that Putin cannot stomach it is ridicule and this would be the very best, and cheapest, weapon in our arsenal.

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INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS

Preparing to Meet the Team O

ver the course of several years and more than fifty columns now, I have subjected the readers of this august magazine to my various musings and ponderings and, occasionally, also extolled the virtues of the Institute of Directors – the organisation whose logo also adorns this column.

With a remit to support, represent and set the standards for business leaders the Institute remains as relevant today, and going into our “interesting” future as it always has since its founding in 1903.

Steve Jobs is quoted as saying that, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people” and certainly within IoD Sussex that is true.

What is more, I believe that the strong team that we had has been enhanced by a number of new people who have recently come on board. “Coming together is a beginning.

Keeping together is progress. Working together is success” said the apparently inexhaustible supply of quotes that is Henry Ford. Well I certainly expect the team that has come together to progress

I have greatly enjoyed this process, and the opportunity to share some reflections (so at least one of us has!), but the IoD in Sussex is most definitely not about me, it is about its members, the committee of Ambassadors who represent those members and the IoD itself and the values that they collectively represent.

Therefore I am very happy to say that in the coming months these columns will be coming from the various voices (including my own on occasion) of the Sussex IoD Ambassadors. I joined a good team several years ago, but have been fortunate enough to see it go from strength to strength – before I took over the mantle as Chair and have endeavoured to keep that progress continuing.

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Just a thought?

Who is the most valuable member of your team?

and succeed, and look forward to reading and sharing some of their thoughts in the forthcoming months.

Ultimately, as One Minute Manager Ken Blanchard put it, “None of us is as smart as all of us”. Combined wisdom, or the wisdom of others always has something to offer us – at the very least a reinforcement or an affirmation of our existing views, but perhaps more positively the chance to see things from another perspective that can help to move our own thinking forwards.

My colleagues come from sectors in manufacturing, exporting, logistics, marketing, publishing, finance, legal, training, tech and agriculture and have a wide variety of other interests (some of which will no doubt be news to me when I read their contributions) which will no doubt inform their views. Whilst having that diversity, what they have in common is a huge amount of experience in business, and a shared commitment to the promotion of clear values, excellence in business as well as the IoD’s purpose in advancing in supporting and advocating those attributes.

I look forward to reading the thoughts that my colleagues will share with us all.

www.mayowynnebaxter.co.uk www.iod.com

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

PLATINUM

SPORT

SPORT NEWS WOMEN ONLY MOTORSPORT PRIDE AND JOYCE JULES BREACH – INTERVIEW

WHEN

SPORT

WHO IS THE

MEETS

2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR?

SPORT HORSERACING

T

news

he National Hunt season begins this month at Plumpton Racecourse with two race meetings on November 5th and 19th and two more in December. Each day will see seven jump races over the one-mile course which is one of the smallest in the country and Plumpton is renowned as a nursery ground for the equine stars of the future. In fact, Champion Jockey A P McCoy is Plumpton’s most successful rider and rode his historic 3000th winner here in 2009. The Anthony Honeyball trained Fountains Windfall won at Plumpton on 13th March this year and subsequently went on to win at Aintree in the Gaskells Handicap Hurdle.

“Tennis: a racquet sport in which two players compete to see who has the shortest temper, the worst memory, the poorest eyesight, and the slowest watch.”

CRICKET

S

ANONYMOUS

ATHLETICS

B

righton is considered to be the UK Vegan capital, so it stands to reason then that there is the Vegan 10k Run as part of the VRUK Big Brighton weekend from November16-18. The runners movement is national with events like this all over the country and growing rapidly too with hundreds of members. Sunday’s race will begin at 9.30am from Madeira Drive, out towards Hove.

To find out more, visit www.veganrunners.org.uk

TABLE TENNIS

B

righton athletes returned with three bronze medals from the World Championships last month for athletes with Down’s Syndrome.

Harry Fairchild, Andrew Tonkin and Chris O’Flinn from Brighton Table Tennis Club represented Team GB and took on players from 13 nations including South Africa and Argentina at the tournament in Madeira.

ussex Cricket’s Phil Salt and Laurie Evans both enjoyed excellent starts to their Autumn schedules, with Salt playing a starring role as Lahore Qalandars won the Abu Dhabi T20 and Evans continuing his stunning white ball form with Kabul Zawanan in the Afghanistan Premier League. Two Sussex players have also been named in England’s squad of 15 for the Women’s World T20 which starts next month. England regular and Sussex star Danni Wyatt is joined in the squad by her 23-year-old teammate, Linsey Smith after the left-arm spinner took 10 wickets during the Kia Super League whilst playing for Lougborough Lightning.

“Where were the Germans…but frankly, who cares?”

BARRY DAVIES

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

T

he Seattle Seahawks were victorious against the Oakland Raiders 27-3 in the first game of the 2018 International Series in front of a crowd of 84,922, the largest for an NFL game at Wembley. Elsewhere, after week 6, the highlights included The New England Patriots’ last second win over the Kansas City Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers came from behind to beat San Francisco 33-30 while the Los Angeles Rams remain the only unbeaten team after their 23-20 win over the Denver Broncos.

111

SPORT | TEAM OF THE YEAR

WHO IS THE

TEAM

For Laurence Elphick, there are only two contenders...

N

ext month sees the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards held in Birmingham on December 16th, hosted by Gary Lineker, Claire Blading and Gabby Logan.

The Sports Personality is always the highlight of the Awards with past winners including Lewis Hamilton, Andy Murray and Mo Farah, but this year I’ve chosen to highlight my two front runners for the Team of the Year Award. I can’t decide who’s more deserving, so see what you think?

In the red corner we have England’s triumphant Netball team who secured the Gold medal at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, scoring a last second winning point against the hosts and favourites Australia in the final. This came on the back of an equally stunning single point victory over Jamaica in the semi-finals… talk about doing it the hard way!

To recap then, back in April, a new generation of Netball fans discovered who Helen Housby and Tracey Neville were.

Housby secured the winning point with

112

In the red corner we have England’s triumphant Netball team

the last action of that momentous final while Coach Neville masterminded that wonderful moment in history with her strategy of mixing young players with experienced ones.

This was England’s first ever Commonwealth Gold medal and the tension was incredible if you were lucky enough to watch this live. The teams were locked at 51-51 with only twenty seconds left to play. England took the final centre pass with the clock showing five seconds to go but England’s Jo Harten missed her shot at goal. The ball came to Housby, who lined up her shot with three seconds on the clock, but she missed, seemingly along with the Roses chances.

Then came a reprieve! The referee indicated a late contact penalty to give

Housby a second attempt at goal and this time she made no mistake and popped the ball through the net, securing an extraordinary win for England in the final second of the game.

Unbelievable scenes of euphoria followed and to see the team go wild with tears of joy piling on top of each other and hear the commentator’s team completely delirious at what they had just witnessed will live in the memory for many, many years.

Housby said of her winning goal: “All I remember was having the ball in my hands and then running away screaming because the final whistle had gone” She described the win as the best day of her life. “As a shooter you dream of that moment. Commonwealth Games final, last-second goal, but you never believe it’s really going to happen.” The team’s coach since 2015, Tracey Neville, who is the sister of Gary and Phil Neville, said the win was a “dream come true”.

Next summer it’s the Netball World Cup…and it’s happening in this country!

I can’t wait.

OF THE YEAR? I

n the blue corner then, is Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team who thrashed a much-fancied US team that contained Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and the world number one Dustin Johnson at Le Golf National in Paris in September by 17 ½ - 10 ½.

If you enjoy sport, whether you play golf or not, when the Ryder Cup comes around, you can’t help being sucked in to the frenzied excitement, enhanced by the media hype and build up that always surrounds the three-day competition.

Simply put, the Europe team containing Rory McIlroy and Open Champion Francesco Molinari were magnificent, the latter forming an extraordinary partnership with the long-haired rookie Tommy Fleetwood. Molinari became the first European player to secure a maximum return of five points and so successful

was his partnership with Fleetwood that they one won four out of four matches in the first two days and the pair became labelled ‘Moliwood’.

Europe trailed 3-1 after the morning session on day one and Europe’s captain Thomas Bjorn must have been the only one who didn’t think uh-oh! A huge amount of credit should go to Bjorn for his strategy then with the pairings which included his wild car selections of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson. Fleetwood and Molinari began a run of eight consecutive points for Europe and with that momentum Europe never looked back. The US big hitters were clearly struggling for form on this course, in a battle that required both strategic and accurate golf.

No-one expected Europe to deliver in the way they did despite the fact that no US team has won in Europe for 29 years and the seven-point winning margin is

In the blue corner then, is Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team

only surpassed by one point, achieved

by Paul McGinley’s side four years ago in Scotland.

The pundits generally agreed that Bjorn’s use of his parings was the key to this victory whereas Jim Furyk the US captain appeared to underuse his strengths of playing Webb Simpson and Tony Finau more.

When Molinari secured the winning point on the 16th hole after Mickelson dropped his tee shot into the water, the crowd erupted in scenes of unbridled joy. Once the competition had officially finished the players joined in the jubilations with Rory McIlroy being soaked in flying beer and Ian Poulter, nicknamed ‘The Postman’ celebrating passionately whilst donning a post-box outfit!

Video clips revealing the pure joy and elation on the faces of the players and Europe’s supporters were shared in their droves on social media. We only need to wait another two years to see if Europe can do it again when the Ryder Cup takes place at Whistling Straits.

The Team of the Year then for 2018? It’s got to be one of these two…hasn’t it? I’ll let you decide

113

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Albion v Leicester City Saturday 24 November

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Albion v Everton Saturday 29 December

Albion v Crystal Palace Tuesday 4 December

Albion v Arsenal Wednesday 26 December

Albion v Liverpool Saturday 12 January

SPORT | MOTORSPORT

WOMEN ONLY MOTORSPORT!

WHY?

Not everyone was pleased - Pippa Mann, who was the first British woman to race the Indy 500 in 2011, tweeted “What a sad day for motorsport. Those with funding to help female racers are choosing to segregate them as opposed to supporting them.”

Laurence Elphick reports they’re already good enough to beat the men!

A

new women-only motorsport series was launched last month to find potential female F1 stars. W Series will begin next year and will be supported by some big names in F1, including thirteen time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard.

Coulthard believes men and women could compete on equal terms and that the current set up isn’t working. “If you want a fundamental change in the outcome, you need a fundamental change in the process. W is creating an opportunity to bring through female talent to the highest possible level.”

W Series plans to have up to twenty of the world’s leading female racing drivers competing across six races in Europe, including the UK. The championship will be free to enter, and competitors will gain entry through a programme that

Charlie Martin, who hopes to be the first transgender driver to compete at Le Mans 24 Hours remarked: “…while it may create opportunities for some female drivers, it sends a clear message that segregation is acceptable. As racers, we want to compete against the best drivers, regardless of age, race, sexual orientation or gender and prove we are the best at what we do.” assesses their abilities, with the winner receiving £381,000.

Former world rally winner and President of the Women in Motorsport Commission for governing body the FIA, Michele Mouton, said: “While this new series is obviously an opportunity for women to showcase their talent in a female-only environment, our objective is to have more of them competing alongside men and demonstrating they have the same ability and potential to succeed in top-level FIA championships.”

Coulthard believes men and women could compete on equal terms and that the current set up isn’t working.

Jamie Chadwick, who in August became the first woman to win a British Formula 3 race, said “W Series will offer a fantastic opportunity for top female talent to race and also encourage more young females to enter the sport.”

This news came hot on the wheels of twenty-one-year-old Ana Carrasco who became the first ever female motorcycle road racing world champion, after she clinched the World Supersport 300 title in September, beating all her male rivals in the process.

The Spaniard from Murcia started riding motorcycles when she was three, and when she won in Portugal in 2017 to become the first woman to win a motorcycle road racing world championship race, Carrasco said at the time, “I always just try to ride as hard as I can and try to achieve results – I don’t think about being a woman. It’s important that a woman can be fighting for the victory in the world championship because it’s good for other girls to see that this is possible.”

She trains six hours every day and is half way through a four-year law degree, so with women like this, the question is why keep men and women separate? All we know is Ana Carrasco is the fastest female motorcycle racer of all time who thinks like a racer first, and a woman second.

SPORT | RUGBY

RUGBY ROUND-UP

AHEAD OF THE NOVEMBER INTERNATIONALS Ahead of next year’s Union World Cup in Japan and the Six Nations in February, this month sees the Home Nations continue their preparations and planning with each playing four International fixtures over three weeks.

E

ngland’s first test at Rugby HQ is against the South African Springboks, followed by the World Champions New Zealand, Japan and then finally the Wallabies, while Scotland play Wales and host Fiji, South Africa and the Pumas of Argentina. With the Welsh also testing themselves against Australia, Tonga and South Africa, Ireland will play Italy, Argentina and the New Zealand Kiwis with their final outing against the USA.

While the jury is still out on Eddie Jones’s continuing tenure as England boss, it’s worth remembering that Jones masterminded Japan’s victory over South Africa at The Amex Stadium in the last World Cup, so the Three Lions will surely be buoyed by victory in their last meeting, despite an overall test defeat to the Springboks. Meanwhile Ireland will feel that they’re on course for something special having convincingly won the Six Nations Grand Slam followed by 2-1 test victo-

ry over the Aussies Down Under. The Kiwis however remain the side to beat and recent results have shown their form shows no signs of wavering.

On the domestic front and with the English Premiership well underway, many of the top International players will be hoping to stake (or cement) a place in their respective national squads.

Six games in to the new season, last season’s Champions Saracens found themselves level on points with the Exeter Chiefs, but both were already ten points ahead of Wasps in third with Harlequins a further five points adrift in sixth.

On the commercial front it was announced recently that Cash Converters UK had signed a three-year ‘elite partnership’ sponsorship deal with Surrey based London Irish.

Back in Sussex and six games in for our top sides, Worthing Raiders were

mid table in eighth, having opened their account in National 2 Division South of the RFU Championship with a heavy defeat away to Taunton Titans.

This was followed by three wins and two defeats, while Brighton Blues led the way in London 1 South after winning their first four matches only to succumb 16-12 to Sevenoaks which saw them replaced at the top by Medway. London 1 South newcomers Hove continued to struggle as they propped up the table having lost all six of their matches so far.

Elsewhere, by mid-October only 1 point separated Horsham and Haywards Heath who were 4th and 5th respectively in London 2 South East. One defeat in five saw Crowborough top of London 3 South East with Pulborough in 4th and Lewes in 8th in the twelve-team division. Meanwhile in Harveys of Sussex League One, Uckfield and Burgess Hill remained the only teams to have won all five of their matches.

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SPORT | WELLBEING

Keeping it out of sight is also useful when you’re trying to ween yourself off checking your phone every two minutes.

Put it somewhere where you can hear it ring but can’t see it, you know you’ll be notified of anything important but won’t be tempted to keep checking it. If you’ve got an iPhone, you can use Screen Time to limit your access to certain apps at certain times or limit how long each day you can spend on certain apps.

Break the Cycle

DO YOU HAVE A

PHONE

ADDICTION?

By Camille Pierson, Managing Director at The Float Spa

B

eing told to put your phone down and ‘live your life’ is a little patronising especially when so much of our work, home and social lives can revolve around our smart phones.

However, there’s a world of difference between ordering your shopping, organising a social event or responding to work emails while at work and constantly checking Twitter, playing games and checking work emails out of work hours.

The latter behaviour can lead to stress and poor mental health and it’s getting increasingly common with the average person in the UK checking their phone every 12 minutes throughout the day.

The Float Spa is dedicated to improving people’s wellbeing and we’d like to help people break the habit of overusing their smart phones so here are some tips:

Identify the Problem

The first step is often identifying the full extent of the problem. Apple have made this easier on their phones by introducing the Screen Time feature which allows users to see exactly how

It’s very hard to ignore the presence of your phone when it keeps beeping at you. long they have spent using their phone in a day and what they have spent that time doing, e.g. social media, looking up information, being productive, etc. Usage tracking apps are also available for Android phones. Once you are aware that you’re overusing your smart phone, it’s much easier to stop.

Do you ever find yourself doing that thing where you’re stressed so you check your phone which then makes you more stressed? Lots of people do and there’s plenty of research on why we reach for our phones for comfort and as much that shows why this is a bad idea. One way to avoid this vicious cycle is to tackle the stress in a healthier way. Yes, this is where we say that it’s a great idea to visit The Float Spa because our floatation and massage therapies and infrared sauna as well as our yoga classes are a great way to give yourself a break from stress, but they aren’t they only way to do this. Painting by numbers, colouring, crafting, taking short walks, gardening and even cleaning can give you something to do that isn’t going to make the situation worse.

Whichever method you choose to limit the amount of time you are spending on your phone, don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself spending an hour arguing with a nutter on Twitter or playing Candy Crush. The whole point of trying to lessen your phone usage is to help with stress and support your mental health so don’t worry about little lapses.

To try The Float Spa method of relieving stress away from your phone, call 01273 933 680.

Take Away Temptation

It’s very hard to ignore the presence of your phone when it keeps beeping at you. Turn off notifications for non-essential apps and functions so it only tells you when someone is calling, not when someone likes one of your Tweets.

8 Third Avenue, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2PX www.thefloatspa.co.uk

119

SPORT | CRICKET

“I always admired the ‘work hard’ and ‘play hard’ attitude of the teams led

by Chris Adams.”

PRIDE AND JOYCE Sussex Cricket’s Ed Joyce scored over 8000 runs, won the 40 over AND the T20 in the same season, was captain for three seasons and retired from county cricket last year. On December 7th a Testimonial closing lunch will be held in his honour at The Grand Hotel, Brighton and you are all invited!

You joined Sussex in 2008 from Middlesex, what was it about the club that made you come to the south coast?

From afar, the club looked well run and I always admired the ‘work hard’ and ‘play hard’ attitude of the teams led by Chris Adams, Peter Moores and Mark Robinson. They also had a lot of suc-

cess over that period and I just felt it was the ideal place for me to resurrect my county career and international ambitions, which had stalled somewhat in the previous year or 2. The deciding factor in the end though was that my good friend, Mike Yardy, was becoming captain in 2009 and when he asked me to join it made the decision an easy one.

You scored over 8000 runs in 113 first class matches, what was the most memorable Innings that stood out for you?

In first class cricket the most memorable game was against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in 2014. I made two centuries in the game and we beat Warwickshire for the first time there for over 20 years. That was also during my cap-

taincy tenure, so it made the game, and those 2 innings, all the more special.

You say that your years at Sussex were when you played some of your best cricket, what was the highlight of your ten years at SCCC?

There were 2 highlights really. My first season was great fun. We won nearly every limited over game that season including 2 trophies. I also loved the way the team went about things and it just felt like the right decision to be at Sussex. The other highlight would be the 3 and a half years of captaincy. My dream had always been to win the county championship and while that unfortunately never happened, I loved the challenge that that format brought. I also feel I played some of my best innings while captain and I’m very proud of that.

You won the Pro 40 and T20 double in 2009, apart from your good self of course, who was the best player that season and why did the team perform so well?

I’ll give the usual answer and say that there wasn’t one player that stood out

because that’s the truth. We had lots of guys that could win matches on their own. We had a wealth of slow bowling options as well as 2 excellent death bowlers in James Kirtley and Yasir Arafat. You very rarely win trophies without a good bowling attack and that season we had an exceptional limited overs attack. The best innings that was played was most certainly Dwayne Smith’s in the final against Somerset though - he made the game safe getting us to a big total which was almost impossible to chase on a tired pitch with our attack.

You took over as Captain from Mike Yardy in 2012, how difficult/easy was it to make the transition from player to captain?

I feel I was ready to become captain when I took over from Mike. Having played the game for a long time, one is always looking for challenges and I knew that if I didn’t captain then, I never would. I felt I batted well and lead the team well at times but that I could have managed some situations better too. Being captain didn’t come naturally to me as I always preferred being in the background - saying that my most memorable games apart from the fi-

“Having played the game for a long time, one is always looking for challenges”

nals I played were always when winning games as skipper.

Who was the best bowler you ever faced/who was the one bowler you hated batting against?

The best county bowler was Mushy (Mushtaq Ahmed)! He got me out several times before I joined the club and he was the guy we (Middlesex) spent the most time talking about before we played any team. Saying that I liked the challenge of facing him so the bowler I hated batting against most wasn’t Mushy -that honour falls to Dominic Cork who I felt must have had a personal vendetta against me as he always had a word to say and bouncers to bowl whenever I walked in!

You retired from professional cricket in May this year, 6 months later how much do you miss being a part of the changing room?

I played the game for a long time and I was ready to stop in May after Ireland’s inaugural test match. I do miss the dressing room camaraderie but I’m still part of it (a bit) as I’ve moved into coaching and you can still be a part of the dressing room in that role, albeit in a slightly different way.

With Head Coach Jason Gillespie and a crop of very exciting youngsters coming in to the first team, what do you think the future holds for Sussex?

Dizzy has had a great first season as coach. Finals day and a promotion push has to be seen as a success. I do feel the groundwork was there from Mark Davis’ and Jon Lewis’ regime with a potent bowling attack in place. The young batters performed well, especially in the shorter formats. I do feel we need an experienced batter or 2 for the championship but getting Stiaan Van Zyl back for that could make the difference. The more we see of Rashid Khan the better as well!

SPORT | TENNIS

WHAT HAVE

& LAVAZZA COFFEE GOT IN COMMON?

The first Wimbledon ladies’ final took place between the Watson sisters in 1884. Six years later, Luigi Lavazza opened the first Lavazza store in San Tommaso, Turin in 1895...

B

ack in July, I was fortunate enough to be invited to watch tennis at Wimbledon courtesy of some exceptional hospitality arranged by Lavazza coffee. I also had the opportunity to interview the Managing Director and the Vice President of Lavazza UK. On arriving at the Lavazza hospitality area, I immediately mingled with the other assembled guests and dignitaries over an Espresso (or three!). Arriving an hour later than planned (trains...again!), we were invited to take our seats for lunch and with named table places, I realised I was going to be next to the VP, Marco Lavazza himself.

Never having been to Wimbledon before, I was eager to visit Centre Court and watch the action but not before lunch with Mr Lavazza, who I discovered was also a Juventus supporter. He was incredibly polite and started to tell me Lavazza is a family run business where his father, the President, represents the third generation whilst he and his cousin represent the fourth generation.

Lavazza has been a partner at Wimbledon for eight years

Lavazza has been a partner at Wimbledon for eight years, largely because they believe the All England Championships are one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world. “It’s all about brand awareness, wanting people to understand that we are always looking for the best and that we don’t compromise on the quality. If we find a company that thinks as we think, it’s a perfect match and therefore we partner at all four Grand Slams, here, in Paris, Melbourne and New York. This allows us to spend two weeks at a time with our customers” Marco’s plans for the UK are very assured as they plan to stay and don’t

care about Brexit. “We are here to invest - this is a market that has been growing in double digits for the last fifteen years and the UK is one of the best markets we have. Last year saw a 12% growth and I see this continuing.

We also launched our instant coffee for the first time in the world last year, here in the UK and the response from our customers was astonishing.”

In terms of market share, Lavazza are the leader in Espresso in the UK and are growing in the filter coffee market too.

When I asked how challenging this competitive market was, Marco stressed it was important that Lavazza remain independent. In true Eric Cantona ‘fish and trawlers’ style, Marco commented, “We want to be at a table with all the others, and we want to look at the menu but not be a part of the menu!”

In terms of coffee consumption, the Nordic countries lead the way, followed

by Germany, France and Italy. In terms of market size, the biggest in the world is the US, followed by Brazil. Marco pointed out that in production terms, the largest is Brazil, followed, surprisingly,

by Vietnam!

Bizarrely, our conversation ended on a football note…” When you come to Italy, don’t just go to Rome, Milan and Venice; for something different, Lavazza have opened their new headquarters in Turin along with an interactive museum designed by Ralph Applebaum, (one of the world’s largest museum exhibition design firms)! We’ve also just opened a restaurant so now you can also enjoy great coffee and great company… and great football”, whereupon some friendly rivalry ensued when Marco’s PR man remarked that you’ll find better football in Rome!

Amongst the other guests, I spotted the British Olympic silver medallist Colin Jackson CBE, so after gleefully grabbing a photo with him I headed out to join the thronging masses and make my way to watch Rafael Nadal beat Mikhail Kukushkin in straight sets on Centre Court followed by Britain’s

Jo Konta in action against Dominika Cibulkova.

Mindful that I had still to interview UK MD, David Rogers, I hurried back to hospitality, where David told me that as a nation, we don’t drink as much coffee as other nations...but “When I started in coffee 40 years ago, tea was the premium beverage, however within the last 10 years, coffee has become Britain’s favourite beverage.”

The home coffee market is worth £1.1 billion here in the UK compared to tea which is £600 million. An independent study conducted by Millward Brown measures the reputational index of coffee, and this shows Lavazza as top in the UK market. David explained this was because they are well known at events like Wimbledon and Royal Ascot, therefore assuring their high reputation amongst consumers. “We want to increase the awareness whilst maintaining the image of a premium quality brand, and we want to penetrate in to as many households as possible, but not at any cost. For us, Wimbledon taps into the right demographic which fits with the Lavazza brand of quality, but we don’t just focus on the high end, we serve the ticket queues as well; we even have Andre Agassi serving coffee to people in the queue! Royal Ascot, also reaches the rural community

Laurence with Colin Jackson and the massive equine market so, we align ourselves with the demographic of each discipline and with word of mouth that’s how we grow the brand.”

In the UK, Nestle and Douwe Egberts control between 60-70% of the coffee that is served in the UK, whereas Lavazza has about a 5% share because they come up from the tradition of roasted coffee whereas in the UK 70% of people use instant and only 30% real coffee. So, it made sense then for Lavazza to purchase the Carte Noir brand and relaunch Carte Noir instant coffee in the UK, in order to regain a higher share.

David ended by telling me that one area of growth they see is the top end restaurant trade while the other is the coffee ‘to go’ area and that we will see Lavazza more visible in many more places.

Lavazza Global Ambassador, Andre Agassi, toasts The Championships with a Lavazza espresso

I enjoy my coffee and love watching tennis, so for me tennis and Lavazza coffee serve up a perfect match… (sorry! Ed) - I just hope I get an invitation next year.

SPORT | FOOTBALL

“My friends were into cricket, but I’ve always enjoyed football.”

‘THE CROWN JULES’ AN INTERVIEW WITH BT SPORT’S JULES BREACH Jules Breach co presents on BT Sports Score and Saturday Morning Savage and loves getting paid to watch football!

How did it all start?

I grew up in Mauritius and Jamaica where there wasn’t too much to do outside of sport. From an early age I played most sports, and initially excelled at tennis. I was about seven or eight when I picked up my first tennis racquet and realising I was quite good, ended up playing competitively - sport became a big part of my life.

Why did it change?

I moved to England at 15 and studied media at A Level. Instantly I knew that

I wanted to work in media, either as a journalist, behind the scenes, or in front of the camera. It was at Uni where I got the bug for presenting and I would get involved at every opportunity and was always first to volunteer to be in front of the camera for test shots.

During my studies I gained some work experience as a production assistant with Talkback Thames, I worked on Britain’s Got Talent as a ‘runner’, as well as Take Me Out before it was commissioned, which was a great

insight into the production side of big studio shows.

While growing up in Jamaica, which sport did you enjoy most?

My friends were into cricket, but I’ve always enjoyed football. My dad is English and a massive Middlesbrough fan, so I used to sit with him and watch football matches on the TV. I used to be in awe of the women presenters and knew I needed to get a lot of live presenting experience under my belt. In England, I started presenting online poker and gambling shows which provided invaluable adaptive skills and I soon got my foot in the door at local radio station, Juice 107.2 in Brighton. I learnt how to do podcasts and shadowed as many presenters as I could, watching how they prepped their shows and presented. I often worked on the Saturday sports show and covered for the presenter when he was off before being given the show permanently. My next break was working for Latest TV covering sporting events and reporting pitch side. I started to look for work with other companies and got myself an agent.

How did you end up on BT Sport?

I already had a foot in at the Premier League and my agency at the time knew the producer at BT Sport was looking for a presenter to cover the hockey, so with my sporting background I was put forward. However, when I went for the interview, we just talked about football for forty-five minutes, so he decided that he had another show in mind for me. A couple of days later he asked me to come in for a screen test and the rest is history.

I understand you also worked at Twickenham for the Rugby World Cup?

An opportunity came up to work at ESPN for the Rugby World Cup, as well as live hosting for a big corporate client.

For ESPN I would speak to supporters

outside Wembley and Twickenham and for the client, I hosted a huge stage at Twickenham with Craig Doyle (BT Sport and ITV 4 rugby Presenter). There were over 3000 people every match day and during our broadcast we interviewed ex-rugby players and presented some pre-match fun. Rugby wasn’t a speciality of mine so, I spent a good few months engrossing myself in the sport; I even took some rugby magazines with me to a hen party!

You work with a lot of ex-players, who are the fun ones to work with?

Paul Ince should do side work as a comedian. The stories that he and Dean Saunders tell are hilarious; they’re just so nice and down to earth. I grew up watching these players, so it’s unreal that I’m on the sofa next to him. Paul and Dean are such wind ups and I think that’s why I like them so much. Every weekend Paul knows I want Brighton to win and whoever Brighton’s opponents are, he will cheer for them! Robbie Savage is also great on and off air. There’s genuinely no-one I don’t get on with.

This Summer you presented coverage of the World Cup on TV in Australia, how was it?

Amazing! I worked every single match day and covered some of the best matches I’ve ever watched so it was an incredible experience. The schedule was relentless, prepping for that many matches, but the hardest part was my on-air times - I was working on Russian time zone but in Sydney, which meant I was working through the night, every night, for 5 weeks. My last kick off was 4 am so I would be on air until 7:45am every day, but it was the experience of a life time and it was even more amazing to cover a World Cup where England did so well! Optus Sport (The Australian Broadcaster) asked me to cover the Champions League for them this season so I’m pitch side with them for matches all around Europe which is so exciting!

What’s the most enjoyable part of what you do?

Watching football AND getting paid for it! It’s hard work but I love every single day I go to work.

On air what’s been your biggest gaff?

I celebrated the replay of a Brighton goal, live on TV!! In front of us we have a TV screen showing four separate screens.

I can see what we’re broadcasting, plus three matches of my choice. I always have the Brighton game on, plus I can see all the guests’ screens, of which the top two are their game plus one other… and the bottom screens are purely for replays. I happened to glance over to the screen next to me, didn’t realise it was a replay, and started celebrating wildly live on air. The stupid thing was it was half time, so I should have known! Paul Ince howled with laughter.

If you could change one thing in football, what would that be?

Consistency with refereeing decisions. I can’t stand it when one player gets sent off for a shove and another player gets away with it!

SPORT | WHEN BUSINESS MEETS SPORT

WHY I

LOVE

SURFING

When Business meets Dr Pieter Grobbelaar, Founder, Concordia Dental Healthcare

mind. You’re highly focussed on one thing only, you need to get this wave, you paddle hard to the correct position, you have about a second to get on the board, your feet lands on the board, you start descending and speed builds quickly.

You are surfing. Here is where the magic occurs, this is the moment I live for when I’m surfing, this is where nature closes its arms around you to give you the biggest hug ever and you feel nothing but love for this world.

where I can find epic beach locations and experience other cultures and lifestyles. I’ve had the privilege to surf in South Africa, Indonesia, Maldives, Canaries islands and England.

Surfing gives me a complete sense of freedom in mind, body and soul. When I’m in the water, I experience a complete break from everyday life. It keeps my body healthy and happy but it’s also great for the mind. I feel empowered through the waves and challenged by natures elements especially when the surf is big.

S

urfing is like nothing else in the world and there is no other sport like it. In every other sport you can break away, pull back, pass, say no or take an easier path. In surfing the only thing you can do is to ride the wave and try to be one with nature. There is no time to hesitate. Hesitation will make your biggest fear come true.

The feeling you get from adrenalin pumping when you paddle out over an 8ft wave or need to duck dive under a 6 ft whitewash rolling towards you, is from another world. The sense of euphoria is massive especially after you had a successful ride down the line, you almost feel that life could end now as life feels fulfilled and complete.

It allows me to travel to different places and countries, searching for new waves

Sitting and waiting for the waves to come, you enter a meditative state of

EAST GRINSTEAD 01342 313886, 138 Holtye Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3EA HOVE 01273 711507, 39A Salisbury Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 3AA

Q&A WHAT’S YOUR DREAM WAVE? A clean, glassy, reef break with a long barrel.

WHAT ARE THE BEST SURFING CONDITIONS? A decent swell of 4-6 feet with a light offshore or no wind at all. Onshore winds will come from behind or from the side will make the waves bumpy and difficult to ride.

WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE BEST WAVES TO BE FOUND? Well, there can be some debate about this, but in my experience, Indonesia take the top spot.

WHO IS YOUR SURFING ICON? No doubt, it must be Kelly Slater, absolute legend and still going.

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ON AVERAGE, SURFERS ONLY LAST 6 SECONDS ON A WAVE, WHAT’S BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT? Surfing J-Bay around dusk, thinking got to get out it’s feeding timeSHARK- waiting for 1 more wave, a beautiful 6-footer pop up in front of me giving me by far the longest ride I ever experienced, an easy 90sec ride all the way down the cost. I literally had a 25-minute walk back from my starting point.

SPORT | WHEN BUSINESS MEETS SPORT

S

cuba diving has taken me all over the world, with more than two thirds of our planet being water the world is literally, a scuba divers’ oyster.

The sport itself offers pure escapism and sheer exhilaration of being under the sea, at one with the wildlife, in a place where you’re truly focused on what you are doing, with no distractions, other than the fish. Your attention is completely focused on breathing and what’s unfolding before your eyes. Once in the water and heading down, it’s a form of meditation for me.

There is no end to the experiences you can have, every dive is different; whether it’s in tropical climes with bright coral reefs and colourful fish, diving a wreck with a story behind it, or chasing dolphins that dance round your boat on route to a site. The wildlife just keeps on giving!

The most epic experience I’ve had was this summer when my husband and I went to Hanifaru Bay in the Maldives, a Unesco world protected biosphere reserve, dive site and cleaning station

for manta rays, where the currents drive the plankton into the bay and the manta come to feed.

We dropped into the water and had the sheer joy of watching over 80 manta cyclone feeding all around us. It was one of the most incredible, rare, exhilarating and slightly unnerving experiences I have ever had. These animals are huge, they are the size of a small bus and have mouths that you can fit in…. not that they can hurt you. But we later found out from a chap from National Geographic who had only ever seen this phenomenon once before, that they can be so euphoric in their feeding frenzy that they could potentially knock you out. With 80 of them all around us, that was quite a scary/amazing sight.

It’s experiences like this, mixed with the element of danger scuba diving brings; the need for focus and preparation to ensure you have the safest and most enjoyable dive, that make it unlike anything else. When you enter the water, all these ingredients add up to pure adventure, no matter where you are on Earth.

LOVE SCUBA DIVING

WHY I

When Business meets Nikki Gatenby – Owner & Managing Director, Propellernet

Castle Square House, 9 Castle Square, Brighton BN1 1EG Email - info@propellernet.co.uk Phone – 01273 760 950

Q&A WHERE IS THE BEST PLACE TO GO DIVING? Hands down, the Maldives – it’s teeming with life at any time of the year and full of surprises.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU EVER CAME FACE TO FACE WITH A SHARK? We did! In 2010 my husband and I took our PADI course and went on to do our qualifying dives in the Maldives. On our final dive, our instructor shone her torch into a cave and jumped back sharply, putting her hand up to her forehead, making the signal for a shark. There resting, was a 12ft nurse shark. Not only was she at close quarters, she had a baby nestled under her pectoral fin.

As she flicked her tail at the sight of our torch, we promptly swam off, not wishing to disturb them any further.

Nurse sharks are pretty harmless, but there’s nothing quite like the racing beat of your heart when coming face to face with your first shark, to make you a little giddy. Jaws has got a lot to answer for.

WHAT’S THE MOST AMAZING SIGHT YOU’VE EVER SEEN? On the same day as being surrounded by cyclone feeding manta rays, we spotted a whale shark, all 25 feet of it (hard to miss, really). A SHARK. THE SIZE OF A WHALE. Mind blowing.

SPORT | ACTIVE SUSSEX

COUNTDOWN BEGINS FOR 2018 SUSSEX SPORTS AWARDS

We are now less than a month away for one of the county’s most eagerly anticipated annual award ceremonies – the 2018 Sussex Sports Awards. Hosted by Active Sussex, the black-tie gala dinner will be held at The Grand Hotel on Friday November 23rd.

T

he theme of the event this year is ‘Believe: Achieve’, pointing to the successful exploits of some of Sussex’s elite athletes both at home and abroad, and the impact they are having on aspiring sports stars at grassroot levels.

Individuals and organisations will come together from across Sussex to celebrate these achievements from over the last 12-months with special guest host, Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards. Eddie, whose achievements epitomise the ‘Believe: Achieve’ theme, will motivate and inspire the 400+ attendees with tales of his journey promoting a ‘never say die’ attitude, believing in your abilities, and simply attempting to achieve great things even when the odds are stacked against you.

“I’m honoured to have the chance to meet and speak to the next generation of UK’s sports stars,” commented Ed-

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The shortlist for the Awards has been announced. die. “When we are given the wonderful chance to stand on a platform to address these talented teams and individuals, it’s important that we utilise this opportunity to inspire them further and give them any guidance and tools that will push them onto even bigger things.

I can’t wait.”

The shortlist for the Awards has been announced with categories including the Everyone Active Club of the Year Award – the only category to go to the public vote and the Platinum Business Magazine Young Sports Personality of the Year Award. Also featured is the Uni-

versity of Brighton Disabled Sports Personality of the Year Award, won last year

by Katie-George Dunlevy, who won gold and silver medals at the Rio Paralympic Games in 2016 on the tandem bike. In fact, Katie, who is registered as blind, was a double-Sussex Sussex Sports Awards winner in 2017 having also won the coveted Freedom Leisure Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Katie commented “Last year was unforgettable having won not just one, but two awards. To have my achievements recognised by my colleagues and my peers meant so much to me. There’s something extra special about winning an award which is local to you – it’s where you cut your teeth as an athlete.

It’s where balls are first kicked; where hurdles are first jumped; where tracks are first run. It’s where memories are first made. I wish all the nominees the very best of luck on what I’m sure will be another amazing night.”

The full list of categories is: yy Create Development Active Primary School of the Year yy Everyone Active Club of the Year yy Coach of the Year yy The Grand Hotel Community Impact Award yy University of Brighton Disabled Sports Personality of the Year yy Wave Leisure Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award yy Freedom Leisure Sports Personality of the Year yy Rix & Kay Solicitors LLP Team of the Year yy BBC Sussex Unsung Hero Award yy Sussex County FA Volunteer of the Year yy Young Volunteer of the Year yy Platinum Publishing Group Young Sports Personality of the Year

To see the complete shortlist for the 2018 Sussex Sports Awards, please visit: https://www.activesussex.org

WALK IN WARDROBES

SPORT | VIEW FROM SOFA

WHEN IS

SPORT NOT A

SPORT?

Definition: ‘An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.’

P

eople often say to me they enjoy what they read in the magazine… but they’d like me to include a piece on some weird and wonderful activity that they participate in. But it seems that almost everyone has an opinion on whether certain activities are actually sport and whether they should be included.

How about Joggling which involves running (jogging) races while juggling.

The key words in the definition are ‘physical’ and ‘compete’ but does that mean a sport can be classed as so without the other, and therefore only be an activity and NOT a sport?

playing Subbuteo, naked twister, or scrabble, it is still a sport isn’t it? There are many activities which are widely

Wikipedia’s definition says that Sport includes all forms of competitive physical activity or games which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and entertainment for spectators.

Surely anything that involves competition whether it’s you and your friends

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considered to be sports. For example, snooker or darts. Do any of them require exercise? You could argue no they don’t, as they don’t require much physical exertion compared to other mainstream sports because none of them requires running. Therefore, as they do not require much physical exertion at all, does this mean they’re not sports? In my opinion, it’s a competition and though there may not be the physical aspect, there is certainly a level of skill required to be better than the other person. And then there’s chess - there is no doubt that chess is a game which requires an enormous amount of skill to master, but is it a sport? For me, and I know I’m not alone in thinking this; any element of competitiveness, preparation, entertainment, involving victory or defeat may be considered a sport. In chess, all of these elements are involved.

There is a website called www.topendsports.com which lists 800 activities classed as a sport…BUT who’s ever heard of Chess Boxing?! And what about Banzai Skydiving, in which the diver throws their parachute out of the airplane, waits and then jumps after it. Apparently, there’s also something called Disc Dog which is defined as a dog frisbee competition of distance catching and choreographed freestyle catching.

Or how about Joggling which involves running (jogging) races while juggling.

However, there was one that caught my eye. As I’m hopeless on ice, and skating for that matter, I do quite fancy Spongee, an outdoor non-contact sport played on an ice rink in rubber boots with a sponge puck instead of a hard puck. I’m still bound to fall over a lot though so it’s got to be entertaining for someone!

Bang & Olufsen of Guildford 8a Tunsgate, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 3QT

Bang & Olufsen of Brighton & Hove 56 Church Road, Hove East Sussex, BN3 2FP

Tel: 01483 457900 Email: guildford@bang-olufsen.co.uk

Tel: 01273 205448 Email: brighton@bang-olufsen.co.uk