Surrey Business Magazine - issue 17 by Platinum Media Group

SURREY

BUSINESS THE OFFICIAL SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE MAGAZINE

ISSUE 17 AUGUST 2019

When

WORKPLACE STRESS

gets too much

SURREY SUPER GROWTH AWARDS

The winners Focus on GUILDFORD

Tim Cook

Appleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest CEO?

Should a

manager be a coach? Do microbreaks

improve productivity?

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ENTRY DEADLINE AUGUST 30th 2019

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THE COUNTY’S PREMIER BUSINESS AWARDS

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HOW TO ENTER • Visit www.surreybusinessawards.com and review the categories • Download an entry form and answer the questions as fully as possible • Entries should not be more than four pages of A4 and less than 11pt size font • Save the entry as a PDF and upload online • Businesses can enter up to three categories and deadline for submissions is August 30th 2019 • The entry fee is £50 plus vat per submission

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ENTRY DEADLINE AUGUST 30th 2019

CONTENTS 7

THE CHIEF EXEC Louise Punter on the latest news within the Surrey Chambers of Commerce

THE PRESIDENT President Steve Coburn on the real meaning behind running a business

NEWS The latest from the chambers and the Surrey business scene

35 36-42

SURREY CHAMBERS Sponsor a chamber event

HEALTH & WELLBEING The guide to improving mental and physical wellbeing in the workplace

SUSSEX PROPERTY AWARDS Introducing a new event from the southern side of the border

FARROW CREATIVE What you can and can’t afford to do in business

16 rights

THE BIG STORY #2 Ian Trevett profiles the controversial and divisive Speaker of the House, John Bercow

DMH STALLARD Get the most out of your IP

NATWEST The latest survey of business confidence. Plus the NatWest staff on a series of fundraising challenges

26 28

KEN BLANCHARD Coaching skills for managers

SURREY POLICE Tackling cyber crime

NEW MEMBERS Welcome to the Chambers’ new members

CLEANKILL Why the summer months bring pest problems

HYPED Have you considered outsourcing your marketing?

SURREY RESEARCH PARK The University of Surrey discuss their research and innovation strategy

SURREY SUPER GROWTH The Super Growers… revealed

VISION ENGINEERING Vision Engineering unveils ‘Game Changing’ 3D digital display technology

FOCUS ON GUILDFORD Exploring the historic Surrey town

PARTRIDGE, MUIR & WARREN The pitfalls of technology HART BROWN Are you breaking GDPR rules?

KYAN The smarter way to build digital products

48-51

20 22 25

64-69

TRAVEL Kate Morton heads to Los Cabos - the exclusive Mexican destination on the Baja California peninsula, plus Gatwick’s quest to go green

CHARLES RUSSELL SPEECHLYS Taking part in community initiatives across the county

R&DTAX Choosing the right consultancy for your R&D Tax Credits and Relief advice

COVER STORY Is Tim Cook the best man for the job? Ian Trevett profiles the Apple CEO

70-73

MOTORING Maarten Hoffmann takes us to The Edge with Ford’s latest motor, and he had high hopes for the Honda HR-V

76-82

SURREY CHAMBERS Events at the Chambers of Commerce across Surrey, how to sponsor a Chambers event, SC Golf Society, and why you should join the Chambers, plus we hear from Chris Fitt who has big plans in his new role as director of golf and leisure at Foxhills

SURREY BUSINESS

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A WORD FROM THE CEO

Your Chamber – working for you

e are never off duty at Surrey Chambers of Commerce. I recently visited my daughter who is working in South Korea, and what should I find 200 yards from her hotel but the British Chambers of Commerce in Korea. Of course, I had to drop in and they made me very welcome.

As a Chamber of 11 employees they are a very similar size to us in Surrey and their job is to help British businesses to do business in Korea. Retail offers a massive opportunity to British companies and I certainly experienced a massive consumer culture in Seoul. Gaming is also a key sector so I will be sharing this with our Surrey-based gaming companies.

News on the economy

Even though Surrey tends to outperform the UK average, it is still important to read the signs of the overall economy. Although there was a modest rally in GDP growth between April and May, the continued slowdown on the underlying three-month measure is further evidence that the UK economy is faltering under the weight of relentless Brexit uncertainty and tougher global economic conditions. There was a welcome narrowing in the UK’s trade deficit in May, largely reflecting both a decline in imports and a rise in export goods.

However, Brexit uncertainty, the absence of clarity on fundamental aspects of trade conditions after October 31st, and a slowing global economy are likely to increasingly weigh on the UK’s net trade position over the medium-term. Against this backdrop, it is vital that the new Prime Minister prioritises avoiding a messy and disorderly exit from the EU. More must also be done to boost the UK’s growth trajectory by delivering the transformative infrastructure projects needed to secure the UK’s economic future. Locally we will continue to encourage businesses to export as this will be the key to a growing economy in the future.

Growing your network

We are constantly looking at ways to help our members increase their contacts and our events are proving hugely valuable to local businesses, so we want to carry on delivering the best events in Surrey. We are always open to suggestions and August is our planning month for 2020 so do share any ideas with us. Surrey Chambers of Commerce can be reached on 01483 735540, info@surrey-chambers.co.uk, @surreychambers

Louise Punter

CEO Surrey Chamber of Commerce

THE TEAM Maarten Hoffmann – Director

maarten@platinumpublishing.co.uk 07966 244046

Molly Enser Chamber Editor

Lesley Alcock Business Development Director

Fiona Graves Events Director

Danielle Mason Sales Executive

Laurence Elphick Head of Sport

Kate Morton Copy Editor

www.platinumpublishing.co.uk www.surrey-chambers.co.uk If you have a news story for publication, email molly.enser@surrey-chambers.co.uk Ian Trevett – Director

ian@platinumpublishing.co.uk 07989 970804

Alan Wares Head of Design

Lydia Bunyard Events Executive

Rose Dykins Travel Editor

Steve Elford Head of Web Development

For Surrey Business Awards enquiries email ﬁona@platinumpublishing.co.uk For editorial and advertising enquiries email danielle@platinumpublishing.co.uk

SURREY BUSINESS

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PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW

FISHERMAN THE

by Steve Coburn

The businessman offered a suggestion to the ﬁsherman.

here’s a fable doing the rounds on social media which goes along the lines of…

There was a businessman sat by the beach in a small Brazilian village watching a local fisherman row a small boat towards the shore, having caught quite few big fish. The businessman was impressed and asked, “How long does it take you to catch so many fish?” “Oh, just a short while.” “Then why don’t you stay longer at sea and catch even more?” “This is enough to feed my whole family.” “So, what do you do for the rest of the day?” “Well, I’ll go back and play with my kids. Then in the afternoon, I chill out with my wife, and this evening I’ll join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance through the night.”

“I could help you to become successful. You should try to catch as many fish as possible and then sell the extras. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches.” The fisherman continues, “And after that?” The businessman laughs heartily, “You can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich.” “And after that?” “You can finally retire, you can move to a house by the sea, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, chill out with your wife, hang out with your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance through the night!” The fisherman was puzzled, “Isn’t that what I am doing now?”

FABLE

The inference behind the story is ‘what’s the point of business?’. It’s a sentiment I pick up a lot at the moment. What’s the point of the fisherman putting himself through all that effort and stress, to eventually retire and do exactly what he’s doing today? I think the fable is missing the point. Yes, the fisherman can catch enough fish to feed his family. But, who else gets fed? Not everyone is capable of catching fish – we all have different skills. When I look at our business, we directly employ more than 50 people. Add in the families and that’s 150+ people receiving an income from our business activities. Then, look at our suppliers and partners. How many families in Surrey are supported because firms like ours need those services? And then there’s the local businesses where all of these families spend their wages. Every morning, each and every one of us could choose to ‘catch just enough fish to feed our own families’. But, instead, we choose to do something less selfish. We choose to run a business, that employs our neighbours, so that they can ‘buy fish to feed their own families’. I think it’s time someone wrote a new fable.

SURREY BUSINESS

LOCAL

news

Shepperton strikes Netflix blockbuster deal S treaming giant Netflix has signed a multi-million pound deal with Shepperton Studios in Surrey, as part of its global expansion. The multi-year lease deal will provide the New York-listed film and television content platform with a new British hub at one of the industry’s most iconic locations. The US video streaming giant will lease 435,000 sq ft of space for a new production studio, of which 165,000 sq ft will be across all 14 sound stages currently at Shepperton. Netflix is

“incredibly committed” to investing in UK-based content, a spokesperson said. In 2019 it is planning to make 153 original programmes and to be involved in 221 projects across the continent. Shepperton Studios were recently used for Universal Pictures’ Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns, which was released late last year.

Save our shops I n a bid to turn around the tide of shop closures sweeping the country, a local Surrey team with considerable technical expertise have created ‘SOS’, an initiative designed to bring us back together as a financially self-supporting community. SOS was launched in Surrey before anywhere else in the UK and offers customers the chance to earn rewards from a growing number of local businesses. With access to all of the local businesses online via a community portal, customers will be notified of special offers and

promotions with further rewards that mature in value the longer you hold them. www.saveourshops.org

Surrey-based tech company whose clients include McDonald’s, British Airways, and Mars has secured a $68m (£54m) growth investment from two US funders.

company’s services include intranets, extranets and customer portals that combine social channels, apps, communication tools and software packages in one place.

Unily, based in Lower Eashing but with offices in New York, Toronto and New South Wales, was founded by British entrepreneurs Will Saville and Richard Paterson in 2005. The

The cash injection from Silversmith Capital Partners and Farview Equity Partners will allow the company to explore new market opportunities and invest in artificial intelligence.

SURREY BUSINESS

BUSINESS WISDOM

UCA Epsom goes Dutch D

utch practice UNStudio has seen off former Stirling Prize winners Haworth Tompkins and WilkinsonEyre to win the contest for a new business school on the University for the Creative Arts’ (UCA) Epsom campus. UNStudio’s proposal has been hailed as an ‘architecturally distinguished scheme’ with a ‘technically refined atrium’ which ‘would generate a suite of spaces whose fluidity and transparency aligned well with how a creative business school might function.’ The scheme, to be called the Business School for the Creative Industries, is being billed as ‘the first of its kind in the UK’ and will connect to the campus’s existing business school, known as the Market Place.

Duo secure US investment

No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness

Queens Award for Surrey Hills Society M

ore than 70 Surrey Hills Society volunteers have been recognised for their outstanding contributions in support of the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), by receiving The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service – the equivalent of an MBE for volunteer groups. The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding work done in their own communities.

Trading standards hit 100

urrey and Buckinghamshire’s Trading Standards service has celebrated forging partnerships with 100 businesses to help them thrive. The service welcomed Squire’s Garden Centres as the 100th firm to join its scheme to cut red tape for businesses, supporting them to grow and providing excellent service to customers. To mark the milestone, trading standards officers

teamed up with Squire’s to revamp the garden at a Woking children’s home. Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards scheme helps businesses operate with confidence while also protecting consumers from poor practices. Businesses part of the scheme include Coca-Cola Enterprises, Shell, Esso, Waitrose and Toyota.

Mums to the rescue

orking mums could be the answer to Surrey Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) recruitment problems, according to Tory councillor Tina Mountain. Her comments came in a council committee meeting last month following her visit to neighbouring Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service. She said it was Hampshire’s use of working mums to carry out the

Prestigious school plans to go coed C

harterhouse has been given the go ahead to build boarding houses so girls can attend the school. The development is part of a larger master plan drawn up to allow the school to become fully co-educational, taking the number of pupils up from 800 to 1,088. The boarding houses are the first phase of the master plan and means girls will be allowed to join the school at Year 9 from September 2021. It is hoped girls will be in every year group by 2023. Councillors approved the application at Waverley Borough Council joint planning committee at the end of June but because it is on Green Belt land it still needs sign off from the Secretary of State.

prevention and safety work in schools and businesses that impressed her. Women who work or live within four minutes of a fire station are now being targeted in a social media campaign to boost firefighter numbers as part of the latest bid by SFRS to transform the struggling service.

That awful moment where you are wearing Nike and you can’t do it BUSINESS WISDOM

Surrey contributes billions to economy

ew research published by accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO LLP, reveals the fastest growing businesses in Surrey, Sussex and Kent contributed in excess of £3.7bn worth of sales and more

than 18,000 jobs to the UK economy last year. Across the region the geographical distribution of the top businesses is fairly even with 35 in Sussex, 33 in Surrey and 32 in Kent. Taking the top spot within the Top

100 league table is Guildford-based Darton Commodities, specialists in the finance and distribution of cobalt metal.

SURREY BUSINESS

CHAMBER

news

Air Ambulance hosts open air movie night A

ir Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex will be hosting an Open Air Cinema, in association with Gatwick Airport, on Saturday August 10th. The 80s classic, Back to the Future, will be shown in the grounds of Gatwick Aviation Museum in Charlwood – located just behind Gatwick Airport.

tance of charity and business relationships working together to create a successful partnership.

As one of Gatwick Airport’s chosen charities, this event creates a perfect opportunity to showcase the impor-

All proceeds from this event will go towards the life-saving work of the Air Ambulance.

Tickets cost £17.50 and are available to buy at aakssopenaircinema. eventbrite.co.uk or call 01634 471900 (advanced booking is required).

Two new appointments for Surrey advisory ﬁrm A ccountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP has announced new leadership changes in its offices in Gatwick and Guildford.

Anna Draper, an audit partner who has been at the firm for 12 years, will now oversee the 370-strong team which operates across Surrey, Sussex, Kent and South London. Anna has significant experience of working with large multinational corporates as well as FTSE and AIM listed companies, across a variety of sectors including retail, recruitment and manufacturing. Nick Poulter, who joined BDO in 2013, will lead the Guildford office and take responsibility for developing the next generation of talent across the region. In his role, Nick has advised a wide range of high-growth and international businesses and has specific expertise in private equity backed groups primarily within the technology sector.

SURREY BUSINESS

Singing in the shower is all fun and games until you get shampoo in your mouth, then it just becomes a soap opera BUSINESS WISDOM

The sky’s the limit B

yfleet-based bespoke door m a n u f a c t u r e r, Skyglaze, has secured a £425,000 funding package from HSBC UK to purchase new state-of-the-art machinery and expand its team. The first of its kind being used in the UK, the new automatic cutting equipment has the ability to undertake the workload of three of Skyglaze’s previous machines in just one process. Andrew Steer, HSBC UK’s Area Director in Surrey & Sussex, said: “As the first aluminium door manufacturer in the UK to be using this hi-tech equipment, Skyglaze is demonstrating its true pioneering spirit and determination to continually evolve and expand the business.” Established in 2014 by Matthew Hardy and Steven Daley, Skyglaze produces bespoke panoramic sliding doors and architectural glazing for both residential and corporate clients. The business also manufactures and distributes aluminium window systems and bespoke rooflights.

It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane BUSINESS WISDOM

The Eagle airs for 24 hours E agle Radio’s hugely successful Radiothon raised over £24,000 for local charity Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary.

Held on Friday 24th May from 7am to 7pm, listeners were invited to call in with song requests in return for a donation to Phyllis Tuckwell, which provides supportive and end of life care for patients and families in West Surrey and North-East Hampshire, who

are living with an advanced or terminal illness. The amount raised was boosted by local schools and businesses, and a fantastic £3,000 was added by Paul Adams of Farnham accountants Branston Adams, and Jane Redhead of KallKwik Farnham, who organised a sponsored walk from Eagle Radio’s studios in Guildford to Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice in Farnham. www.pth.org.uk/make-a-donation

Walking to make a difference A ctress and Surrey Care Trust volunteer mentor, Charlie Brooks is asking businesses to step out for Surrey Care Trust on Saturday 14th September and make a difference to the lives of tens of thousands of people in Surrey, who are disadvantaged by low skills, lack of opportunity, and economic circumstances.

This year’s 26-mile circular walk starts and ends in Mickleham and takes in five peaks including Coley Hill and Box Hill, affording walkers

with spectacular views of the Surrey Hills. Surrey Care Trust helps local people to improve their skills for work, life and learning, and has organised an annual fundraising walk for over a decade. Teams are asked to aim to raise £750 in sponsorship including a £55 per person registration fee. www.surreycaretrust.org.uk

Graduate makes his name in property C

urchod & Co has appointed Thomas Nurton as a Graduate Surveyor at the firm’s office in Woking. Thomas, who will work alongside Curchod & Co Partner Richard Newsam, has recently graduated from the University of Portsmouth where he received a FirstClass Honours Batchelor of Science degree in Property Development. Richard Newsam commented: “Thomas has a huge enthusiasm for all aspects of the commercial property sector and is certain to be a major asset to our growing business and to our clients across the South East of England.”

A Yunique partnership L ightwater-based marketing consultancy, YUnique Marketing Ltd has stepped up its charitable work by adopting Guildford-based educational charity, SATRO as its supported charity partner.

Working with young people in Surrey and the South East for over 30 years, SATRO provides real-life experience of all aspects of the working world, particularly in science, technology, engineering and

maths (STEM) through a diverse and challenging range of programmes. They work closely with schools, businesses and volunteers to inspire young people, fuelling passion and enthusiasm for their future careers.

SURREY BUSINESS

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MARKETING

CUTTING COSTS – OR CORNERS? When it comes to the design and marketing of your business, you really do get what you pay for, says Sam Farrow, MD of Farrow Creative

here’s an old Dutch proverb that says: Goedkoop is duurkoop. Germany’s equivalent is Ich bin nicht reich genug um billig zu kaufen; while over in France, it’s rendered as Je ne suis pas assez riche pour acheter bon marché. Different tongues and cultures, same wisdom acquired the hard way: I’m too poor to buy cheap. In our uncertain and increasingly straitened times, the lowest-cost option can seem like simple common sense. That is until it breaks or doesn’t work properly, and fixing it (or doing what you should have done in the first place) costs you way more than you originally saved (or assumed you had). We’ve all been there. And it applies to

almost every aspect of business, from cut-price IT that keeps falling over and low-rent office space that leaks like a sieve to the contractor who gave you the best estimate but lets you down every time.

worth of strategic thinking, creativity, knowledge, imagination, curiosity and learning. It’s that experience that separates design that merely looks nice from design that actually works and achieves your commercial objectives.

In our line of work, we frequently get calls from companies (including, it has to be said, the occasional client) who’s had design work done cheaply or had a go themselves. They’re wondering why the campaign didn’t turbocharge their sales, why their website traffic is tanking, or why their brand is circling the drain. Sure, we can put it right; but that means more spending time and money they weren’t expecting to and don’t really have. And in that situation, no one truly wins.

Your brand is a huge and critical business asset that you literally can’t af-

YOUR BRAND IS A HUGE AND CRITICAL BUSINESS ASSET THAT YOU LITERALLY CAN’T AFFORD TO GET WRONG, ESPECIALLY IN TOUGH TIMES

The simple answer, of course, is to spend a bit more and do it right from the outset. Anyone with a Mac and a Pantone book can turn the handle and make something pretty come out. But by engaging with professional designers, you’re buying a commodity that’s intangible and thus often undervalued: experience. For every hour or day you pay for, you’re getting several decades’

ford to get wrong, especially in tough times. In our experience, any economy you make on building and maintaining it is likely to prove a false one. Or, to coin a phrase: with design, as with most things in life, you tend to get what you pay for.

www.farrowcreative.co.uk

SURREY BUSINESS

things it pays to know about intellectual property

Robert Ganpatsingh recommends a simple approach that every business should adopt to get the most out of its intellectual property rights (IP)

he basics of IP protection are routinely overlooked in the commercial world, even by businesses whose inventions, designs, symbols and names are critical to their survival. A little knowledge goes a long way, however, when it comes to protecting your rights.

You may also have registered rights such as patents (protecting the technical features of processes and products), designs (protecting the appearance of an object) and trade marks (commonly a distinguishing sign or symbol). Action must be taken to acquire these rights by registering them.

KNOW YOUR IP Carry out a full audit of any IP rights you own. You might find that you already own a substantial amount of IP including rights which arise automatically such as copyright protected material, unregistered designs, confidential information and unregistered trade marks.

KNOW WHO OWNS THE IP To get full value from the IP that’s important to your business, you must understand who owns it. Even big name brands sometimes make mistakes: the Innocent smoothies brand, for example, had no assignment of the copyright in the Dude – its smiley face trade mark – from its creative agency. The copyright ended up in the hands of a third party which bought the assets of the agency in liquidation, and lengthy litigation followed with the Judge, in a very close call, deciding that Innocent should have a licence to use the Dude.

EVEN BIG NAME BRANDS SOMETIMES MAKE MISTAKES: THE INNOCENT SMOOTHIES BRAND, FOR EXAMPLE, HAD NO ASSIGNMENT OF THE COPYRIGHT IN THE ‘DUDE’ – ITS SMILEY FACE TRADEMARK

SURREY BUSINESS

BUSINESS SURVEY LEGAL

Many do not appreciate that copyright in marketing materials commissioned from a third party automatically belongs to that party. Contracts should therefore contain clear provisions to ensure that anything that they create is formally assigned to you.

KNOW HOW TO PROTECT IT Any copyright protected material should be clearly identified as such, particularly if it is going into the public domain. Seek to register as many designs and trade marks as possible, especially your trading name, logos and the design of your key products. The cost of registration (hundreds of pounds) is drastically less than the cost of a subsequent dispute.

the public, it is unlikely that you will be able to obtain patent protection.

sizes, and significant additional benefits are to be had by registering the most suitable rights.

I saw a client recently who did everything right, he brought his new invention into the office concealed in a box, and only those of us in the meeting saw the contents. A third party engaged to assist in product development had signed a Non Disclosure Agreement, and the technical features of the new product were kept out of the public domain entirely.

Clear restrictions and confidentiality obligations are as important in em-

HAVE A PLAN FOR ENFORCING YOUR IP Some clients have the resources to come down hard on all infringers, no matter what damage is caused; others have to choose their battles more carefully. With as many IP rights as possible registered and appropriate contractual provisions with employees and agents, you will have an easier path to successful enforcement. Insurance to cover the legal costs of enforcement is also an option.

SOME CLIENTS HAVE THE RESOURCES TO COME DOWN HARD ON ALL INFRINGERS, NO MATTER WHAT DAMAGE IS CAUSED; OTHERS HAVE TO CHOOSE THEIR BATTLES MORE CAREFULLY

Patents are more expensive to register (typically several thousand pounds) and maintain but provide much more robust protection. The makers of the ‘Trunki’ ride-on suitcase, for example, relied on registered design rights to fight a long court battle with a copycat manufacturer. The design was not considered novel enough compared to the designs of pre-existing ride-on suitcases (prior art), but had the manufacturers sought patent protection for some of its features, they would likely have been more successful at keeping copiers at bay. Avoiding the cost, particularly in a start-up situation, is understandable but could prove a false economy.

KEEP IT CONFIDENTIAL A key feature of most IP rights is novelty; for a new product to qualify for patent protection it must be new and there must be an inventive step to it. If the technical features are disclosed to

ployment contracts as they are in respect of third parties. Contractual obligations can deter infringers, and they certainly make it much easier for us as lawyers to prevent further disclosure, limit the damage and ensure the wrong-doer is held to account if those restrictions are broken.

IF IN DOUBT, REGISTER Registration of IP rights increases your protection in terms of time, scope and ease of enforcement, but knowing which right to register can also make a considerable difference. Lego, for example, secured a 3D trade mark for its famous Lego man which provides indefinite protection for as long as renewal fees continue to be paid, rather than the 25 years’ protection offered by registered design rights.

MAKE THE MOST OF FINANCIAL INCENTIVES R&D tax credits allow companies that spend on research and development to recover some of that expenditure.

Patent Box is a tax incentive which allows companies that generate income from patent protected items to qualify for a significantly reduced rate of corporation tax on revenue derived from those products. Some proactively seek to register as many patents as possible in order to make the most of this incentive.

Partner Robert Ganpatsingh is a commercial litigation specialist with 15 years’ experience dealing with IP disputes; for advice on any commercial dispute, contact him at robert.ganpatsingh@dmhstallard.com or call 03333 231580 dmhstallard.com

IP rights come in many shapes and

SURREY BUSINESS

BUSINESS SURVEY

Business activity in South East declines for ﬁrst time since July 2016 Drop in output reflects a downturn in business

rivate sector output in the South East declined for the first time in nearly three years in June, according to the latest NatWest PMI® data. The main driver was a sharper fall in new business, the first backto-back drop since the end of 2012. Manufacturing was a key source of weakness, while services growth was subdued. More positively, private sector jobs were added at the strongest rate in nearly two years and business expectations strengthened. The headline NatWest South East Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – dipped below the no-change mark of 50.0 in June, to 49.7. This was the first negative reading since July 2016, the first month following the EU referendum, and signalled a slight contraction in private sector output. The UK as a whole also registered a marginal decline in activity in June. The drop in output mainly reflected a sustained downturn in new business. New work fell for the second month running – the first back-to-back decline since late 2012 – and at the fastest rate since July 2016. Companies mentioned weak domestic demand, partly linked to political uncertainty. Manufacturing new orders fell at the sharpest pace since mid-2009 during the month, while new business at service providers grew only marginally. Private sector firms in the South East continued to deplete their existing workloads in June. Backlogs have fallen every month since last October, the longest sequence of decline in six years. Although the overall contraction was the slowest in four months, manufacturing backlogs continued to drop sharply.

SURREY BUSINESS

Although output and new business both fell in June, private sector employment in the South East continued to increase. Moreover, the rate of job creation was the fastest since August 2017. This trend was broadly in line with the pattern across the UK as a whole. Input price inflation picked up slightly in June but was the second-weakest in nearly three years. That said, it remained above its long-run trend level (since 1997), signalling strong overall cost pressures. Wages, fuel and

sterling weakness were all reported as sources of inflationary pressure. Meanwhile, prices charged for goods and services continued to increase at a solid rate in June, one that was broadly in line with the average for the first half of 2019. Despite the dip in activity in June, private sector companies in the South East remained confident that output would rise over the next 12 months. Moreover, sentiment strengthened to the highest since July 2018.

COMMENT

Stuart Johnstone, Managing Director, London & South East, Corporate & Commercial Banking “The latest PMI data provided a downbeat assessment of the current state of the South East private sector economy at the midpoint of 2019, as output fell for the first time since July 2016. Moreover, trend data for the second quarter showed the weakest growth since the final quarter of 2012, if you exclude the short-term disruption during the third quarter of 2016 following the EU referendum result.

But companies’ 12-month output expectations rebounded to the strongest since July 2018, with some firms commenting that pentup demand could be released once Brexit is resolved.”

“The trend in new business was even worse, with the sharpest decline since June 2009 after also discounting the July 2016 period. “Political uncertainty is clearly clouding the short-term outlook and undermining current growth.

Stuart Johnstone

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

FUNDRAISING

A Marathon of Marathons In June, NatWest’s commercial teams across the region took on a host of gruelling challenges to raise money for good causes

he NatWest Corporate and Commercial team based at Guildford embarked on a marathon walk, collectively completing over 225 miles, as part of a regional fundraising campaign.

ACROSS THE REGION

Across the South East, eight corporate teams comprising 100 people took part in various challenges, raising over £58,000 for 12 charities. At the time of writing, the West Surrey team had raised over £9,400, which was split between the Rainbow Trust and Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care. Tom Enser from Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care said, “We want to say a huge thank you to Peter Quilter and his team at NatWest. Raising £4,700 is a remarkable achievement and to walk 26.3 miles is no easy task. The funds they have raised will help continue to fund the vital care and support we provide in the community. “2019 is a very special year for the hospice as it is our 40th anniversary, for 40 years we have been providing supportive and compassionate end of life care. All our care and services are still free of charge for our patients and their families, this has only been possible thanks to generous donations from individuals and companies such as NatWest.” Peter Quilter, Director, Corporate and Commercial Banking, said, “For me it is special that we were all involved on the day – a fantastic day with special memories now the blisters and aches have subsided!”

• Croydon Commercial completed a Marathon of Customers! The team visited 26 customers from 26 different nationalities via walking, running, trains, trams and automobiles, celebrating our diverse customer base.

• The Heathrow Commercial Banking team in conjunction with several of their Product Partners, undertook a 16 mile sponsored walk along the banks of the Thames in Surrey to support Cardiac Risk in the Young.

• East Sussex Commercial Banking walked the 26.3 miles from Eastbourne Pier to Brighton Pier, raising money for Diabetes UK and St Wilfred’s Hospice.

• On behalf of the Stroke Association & St Catherine’s Hospice, teams from Crawley Turnpike House collectively walked 187 laps of the lake at Crawley’s Tilgate Park. This works out to the equivalent of 6.5 marathons.

• The Harrow Team organised a Charity Quiz Night, a community work day and a Golf Day raising funds for “A Smile for a Child”. • The West London Commercial Team completed ‘The Thames Bridge Trek’, a 26km challenge which crossed 16 bridges, starting at Hammersmith Bridge. The Trek was in aid of React who provides support to improve the quality of life for children with life-limiting illnesses.

• Almost the entire West Sussex team, along with canine companions, completed a gruelling 18k hike on the South Downs north of Worthing. The route started in Findon Valley and climbed steeply to Cissbury Ring and then on to Chanctonbury Ring, some 240m above sea level.

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TECHNOLOGY ISN’T ALWAYS ON YOUR SIDE Simon Lewis, CEO of Partridge Muir & Warren Ltd, talks us through the pitfalls of using technology to assist in your investment choices financial planning and investment? Well, just like the example, technology has enabled convenient and apparently credible solutions to help everyone to plan their finances and manage their investments. These solutions have become popular and incredibly lucrative for those that own them, but they are not without their pitfalls for those who use them.

ost of us are probably guilty of typing our symptoms into an internet search engine to find out what might be wrong with us. Why do we instinctively feel that what is served up, which often includes a myriad of ‘sponsored’ links to potential remedies, is of any real value? It takes 10 years of training to become a fully qualified general practitioner in the UK, so how can we fool ourselves that 20 minutes on Google will give us an insight into what might be wrong with us? It is human nature to want to have some power over our lives so the misapprehension that technology will provide us with such power is seductive. The reality of course is that far from guaranteeing that we are all better informed, technology makes it easier for those who control it to influence our views and behaviour; and our best interests are often not well served. We are all in danger of acting with unconscious incompetence. What has all of this got to do with

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A timely reminder of how investors can be taken for a ride is provided by the sorry tale of Woodford’s investment funds, that have trapped billions of pounds of investors’ money with no clear end in sight. At least not one that doesn’t involve the permanent destruction of a big chunk of their hard earned savings. Although others are also guilty, the online investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) was by far the largest promoter of Woodford funds, which attracted well over £10 billion of investors money. The platform provides access to thousands of funds but most investors are herded towards a narrow list of funds, referred to as the ‘Wealth 50’. To quote from HL’s website, “The Wealth 50 is a shortlist of our experts’ favourite funds. We’ve spent decades and thousands of hours crunching the numbers, and meeting fund managers, to uncover funds we believe have the most potential in each sector. To date, we’ve had an enviable track record.” Really? Woodford’s investment strategy was causing eyebrows to be raised throughout the investment management sector a long time ago. We spotted the warning signs early last

FINANCE THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A ‘SNAKE OIL SALESMAN’ PEDDLING A SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROBLEMS OR NEEDS AND TECHNOLOGY LETS THEM IN THROUGH YOUR FRONT DOOR year and methodically pulled our clients out by the year end. We identified that Woodford’s funds were following an increasingly risky investment approach by allocating an escalating proportion of their funds to shares in companies that were not listed on the stock market. Although the objective was to enhance returns, there was a corresponding acceptance that risk for the investors would be increased. Whilst there is nothing wrong with making long term investments, they have no place in an open-ended investment fund. This is because such funds must be able to meet redemption requests and therefore need to be able to easily dispose of the investments that have been made. Investments in companies that are not stock market listed are not liquid. They are also more difficult to value.

IT IS HUMAN NATURE TO WANT TO HAVE SOME POWER OVER OUR LIVES SO THE MISAPPREHENSION THAT TECHNOLOGY WILL PROVIDE US WITH SUCH POWER IS SEDUCTIVE

We took this change in approach as a sign of overconfidence because the manager assumed that new money from investors would keep flowing in and did not legislate for a reversal of this trend. Overconfidence is not something that we tolerate when allocating our clients’ money to investments. Sadly, when investment stories end sourly it is usually because those managing the money have lost sight of whose money it really is.

HL also has some explaining to do because, whilst Woodford’s flagship fund remained on the ‘Wealth 50’ until its suspension, HL had been quietly pulling out its own money for some months before. It is an inescapable truth that it’s easier to get your own money out when you are cheerleading others to put it in. I would hope that this issue will be on the agenda for the regulatory investigation that is now underway. You might think I am indulging in schadenfreude, but I’m not. I’m angry, firstly because novice investors have been unwittingly steered into a high risk fund and also, because events like this taint everyone involved in investment management. We should all embrace technology because it can make our lives more productive and enjoyable. But we should not allow our appreciation of these benefits to let technology conceal the fact that service providers want something from us and we all need to be vigilant to understand exactly what this is and make a conscious decision that we are happy with it. And let’s not forget that, whilst technology evolves quickly, human nature hasn’t really changed in thousands of years. There will always be a ‘snake oil salesman’ peddling a solution for your problems or needs and technology lets them in through your front door. Be on your guard…

To find out more about financial advice and investment options please contact Simon at Partridge Muir & Warren Ltd. Tel: 01372 471550 Email: simon.lewis@pmw.co.uk www.pmw.co.uk

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ARE STAFF PHOTOGRAPHS

IN BREACH OF GDPR?

Employee photos for use within the business could be defined as personal data and therefore fall within the scope of the GDPR. Jane Crosby, Partner and Employment Law expert at Hart Brown Solicitors, discusses the employer is using the data, in this case, photographs. There is a difference between a photo that identifies the individual and an anonymised photograph that is used for marketing purposes. When an employee is identifiable in a photograph, information related to the employee’s health, disability or racial origin could be communicated and this could be classed as ‘sensitive’ personal data.

any employers take photographs of their employees to use on the business’ website and to support other business-wide marketing campaigns. But do photos constitute personal data under the GDPR? IS AN EMPLOYEE’S PHOTOGRAPH CLASSED AS ‘PERSONAL DATA’? If individual employees can be identified directly from their website image or identified by using the image in conjunction with other available information on the website, then the image will be classed as personal data. This means that the employer’s processing of the image will be governed by the GDPR and the image needs to be processed in accordance with its principles. It is important to understand how

WHAT CAN AN EMPLOYER DO UNDER THE GDPR? Photographs that amount to personal data need to be processed lawfully, fairly and transparently. The use of employee photographs to generate employee engagement within the workplace, and to promote the business externally to customers in order to generate future business could be explored as a means of establishing a legitimate interest as a lawful basis for using the photos. The employer also needs to provide fair processing information to its employees in accordance with GDPR requirements to ensure that employees are aware that their personal data may be processed for such purposes. The advice from the ICO to employers is that relying upon consent to process employee personal data should be viewed as a last resort, because of the uneven relationship between

AN EMPLOYEE MIGHT ALSO CLAIM THAT THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO PRIVACY UNDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT

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an employer and employee. There are stricter rules for obtaining consent under the GDPR, which includes requiring that consent must be freely given. If the data is classed as ‘sensitive data’ whereby an employee’s heath or racial

LEGAL origin is easily identifiable then it is hard to see how its use could be justified without first obtaining consent. In many cases an employee is likely to give consent for their photograph to be used, as it can help to raise an individual’s professional profile, but in accordance with GDPR requirements for use of consent, the employee should be allowed to withdraw their consent at any time and their photograph needs to be removed at this point which can cause a problem for the employer. In this context, it would also be necessary to look at any contract terms, policies or references in the staff handbook to see what is said about taking photographs of employees, although this wouldn’t automatically give an

PRIVACY UNDER THE HUMAN RIGHTS ACT An employee might also claim that they have a right to privacy under the Human Rights Act.

which should set out how the image will be used, so that the employee can provide appropriate consent for that use. The consent form should include, among other things, full details about how the photograph will be used and where it will appear.

There could be grounds for an employee to argue that their privacy has been infringed by their employer if the employer took and used a photograph of the employee without their informed consent.

For further advice on this, or any other employment-related dispute, please contact Jane Crosby at Hart Brown Solicitors directly by emailing jzc@hartbrown.co.uk or by calling 01483 887742.

employer the grounds to lawfully process sensitive data.

Given the issues, it might be sensible for employers to ensure that an employee’s consent to the use of a photograph is obtained in writing. An employer could do this by requesting that the employee signs a form,

SURREY BUSINESS

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For more information or to take up this offer, please contact your local Accredited Chamber of Commerce. Direct Debit. To make life easier, you can now pay for your breakdown cover by Direct Debit. Based on Fleetwide 3 Standard rates for 3-6 vehicles. All the above prices are per vehicle per year, inclusive of IPT (Insurance Premium Tax). All prices are subject to change. Fleetwide cover does not apply to: specialist vehicles, ie: taxis, mini cabs, hire vehicles, ambulances, police vehicles, vehicles on tradeplates, minibuses, privately owned vehicles (unless used for business purposes), motorcycles and courier vehicles (all of which can be covered on Specialist rates as above), or any vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gvw. Terms and conditions apply. *Relay and Relay Plus services are not provided at or within ¼ mile of driver’s home address. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Offer prices are only available while your Chamber membership is current. We reserve the right to review pricing at any time. Full terms and conditions available on request by calling 0800 55 11 88. Business Breakdown cover is provided by Automobile Association Developments Limited (trading as AA Breakdown Services). Relay Plus is underwritten by Acromas Insurance Company Limited. Acromas Insurance Company Limited is authorised and regulated by the Commissioner of Insurance, Financial Services Commission, Gibraltar, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, United Kingdom. Acromas Insurance Company Limited is a member of the Association of British Insurers. Head Office: 57-63 Line Wall Road, Gibraltar. Registered Number 88716 (Gibraltar). UK brand address: Acromas Insurance Company Limited, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3SE. Automobile Association Insurance Services Limited is an insurance intermediary authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 4EA. Registered in England and Wales number 2414212. †

BCC_0617

NEW MEMBERS

Surrey Chambers of Commerce welcomes its latest member companies LEGAL

ACCOUNTING BDO LLP Guildford

Contact: Matthew Heaven Tel: 01483 564646 www.bdo.co.uk

BUSINESS SUPPORT GeoTechniquesResearch Ltd Contact: Jonah Chitolie Tel: 01932 780948

CB Trade Support

Contact: Carolyn Bentley Tel: 07713 085371 www.cbtradesupport.co.uk

ES Business Coaching Limited Contact: Simon Read Tel: 07522 352212 actioncoach.co.uk/simonread

CHARITY

Community Foundation For Surrey Contact: Laura Thurlow Tel: 01483 478092 www.cfsurrey.org.uk

Community Foundation For Surrey Contact: Joe Crome Tel: 01483 478092 www.cfsurrey.org.uk

CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY

ABA Stronalva Ltd Contact: Kevin Dargue Tel: 01784 431342 www.stronalva.co.uk

Contact: Isobel Wilson

Contact: Matthew Ojo Tel: 03339 875096 www.mightystayestates.co.uk

www.irwinmitchell.com

Exedra Architects

MANUFACTURING / ENGINEERING

Tel: 03701 500100

Contact: Daren Drage Tel: 02085 462115 www.exedra-architects.co.uk

The Happy Work Place Contact: James Brown Tel: 07976 645927 thehappyworkplace.co.uk

Irwin Mitchell LLP

Mightystay Estates

Harvey Water Softeners

Contact: Alexandra Thompson Tel: 01483 753400 www.harveywatersofteners.co.uk

MARKETING & PR

Casa Court Properties Contact: Dominic Cullis Tel: 01483 424150 www.casacourt.com

Johnson Rand Ltd

Contact: Nick Johnson Tel: 07827 314731

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Excell Design

Contact: Richard Excell Tel: 01273 964065

Jelf

www.excelldesign.co.uk

Contact: Jessica Samba Tel: 01784 427300 www.jelf.com

Design by Pre

Contact: Matt Stoneham

IT & COMMUNICATIONS

S9 Technologies Ltd

Contact: Bibiana Fernandez Tel: 02084 343403 www.s9tech.co.uk

Cloudbox Technology Limited Contact: Nick Goodenough Tel: 02037 618080 www.cloudboxtech.com

Dynavics Ltd

Contact: Kieran Coles Tel: 01276 583024 www.dynavics.co.uk

Tel: 02031 740714

www.designbypre.com

hen you join Surrey Chambers of Commerce, your company details automatically get listed on this page alongside fellow new members. What a fantastic way to let the Surrey Business community know you are out there and ready to get those all-important connections. If you are looking to join Surrey Chambers then please do get in touch with either: sarah.butcher@surrey-chambers.co.uk molly.enser@surrey-chambers.co.uk noah.pesci@surrey-chambers.co.uk or call 01483 735540. We look forward to hearing from you!

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COACHING SKILLS FOR MANAGERS

The ‘coach approach’ has positive effects on employee development, performance, and productivity, which also benefits the organisation, says business coach Madeleine Homan Blanchard

hese days, more and more managers in organisations are being asked to coach—yet many managers aren’t sure what coaching is or how to do it. Although more than 70% of organisations recognise coaching as a necessary leadership competency, only 5% claim to provide training specifically designed to build the needed skills in managers. Four big challenges stand in the way of managers adopting coaching skills: confusion about what coaching really

is, when to use it, how to do it and the perceived lack of time to do it.

when the employee has majority interest in the outcome.

WHAT IS COACHING? The most critical job of a manager is to make sure people are clear on what their job is and what a good job looks like. Managers look through the lens of what is best for the organisation as they set the direction and make sure goals are being achieved.

To conduct a coaching conversation, managers must shift from looking out for the best interests of the organisation to looking out for the best interests of the employee. Coaching conversations promote discovery, generate insights, and clarify purposeful action for the employee. They may very well benefit the organisation, but their primary focus is on the employee. The paradox is that when managers are able to coach their people, that coaching has significant positive effects on employee development, performance, and productivity, which also benefits the organisation.

But what is a manager to do when people need help with things that affect them but aren’t necessarily related to their job or performance? What if people need help with long term goals such as career planning and professional development? That’s where coaching comes in. We define coaching as a deliberate process that uses focused conversations to create an environment of accelerated performance and development. The coach approach is best used when the problem or the task is unclear, when the manager doesn’t know how to solve the issue, or

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According to our research, when managers use coaching behaviours appropriately, their employees are more likely to: • Have high levels of trust in their manager • Have positive feelings about their job and the organisation • Remain with the organisation • Create positive buzz about the organisation • Expend discretionary effort • Behave in ways that support the organisation

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP Providing effective coaching requires courage and finesse – and can only really be done once that manager has earned the right to coach. No employee is going to let themselves be coached by a manager they don’t trust. Managers earn trust by demonstrating an others-oriented mindset, using a proven process, and learning the right skills. Devoting time to coaching is another way managers demonstrate they care. But not having enough time is the primary reason managers give when asked what keeps them from coaching. We know using coaching when appropriate saves hours down the road by helping employees achieve rare clarity and focus. With our approach, managers stop thinking they don’t have time to coach — and instead learn how to coach in the time that they have. Here are three ways managers can learn to become more coach-like:

Our tell your truth skill, which helps managers to give feedback when necessary, makes it easier for managers to share information and challenge employees to achieve their potential in an inspiring way. Expressing confi dence, the final skill, is not to be confused with praise or positive feedback. The manager shares observations about the employee that prove that the manager has been paying attention, remembers specific examples of the person’s success, and has faith in the person’s ability to do what is necessary.

WE DEFINE COACHING AS A DELIBERATE PROCESS THAT USES FOCUSED CONVERSATIONS TO CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT OF ACCELERATED PERFORMANCE AND DEVELOPMENT

Make a conscious shift to an others-oriented mindset. Managers need to stop, breathe, clear their minds, pay attention, and manage their impulses and natural tendencies. This requires enormous self-regulation — in other words, it is hard. For some people, it is very hard. Without a shift in mindset, it is almost impossible.

themselves when the conversation goes off track. Many standard coaching process models don’t work in practice because they are too linear. People do not process their own thoughts and feelings in a linear way, no matter how

Use a foolproof, reproducible process. Having a simple process to follow every time eliminates guesswork and doubts. An easy to remember process also helps managers catch

analytical they are. Managers using a coach approach need to be prepared to move flexibly through the four elements of a coaching conversation— connect, focus, activate, and review. Our process was achieved through 25 years of experimenting, tweaking, and improving. It provides critical structure and flexibility.

Commit to learning the right skills. The four core coaching skills we teach are listening, inquiring, telling your truth and expressing confidence. On the surface, these skills may appear basic, but their depth and sophistication become apparent the minute people start practicing them. Take listening, for example. Most people think they are good listeners, but most really aren’t. Asking open-ended questions, or inquiring, is the second skill — we teach highly applicable methods so that managers will ask better questions to help their conversations be more efficient.

GET STARTED TODAY! Managers who coach will build trust, increase workplace positivity, and boost employee work passion. Time and commitment is required, but with a proven plan and the development of the right skills, organisations can take advantage of the positive impact a coach approach can have on their people. And who can argue against training to achieve that?

If you wish to receive a copy of the full white paper please contact uk@kenblanchard.com or visit www.kenblanchard.com/Resources to learn more about The Ken Blanchard Companies’ research.

Training the World’s Best Managers

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PEST CONTROL

Keep flies at bay One of the downsides of the warm weather is the flies and flying insects that suddenly appear

here are vast numbers of different species of fly - each one having its own distinct life cycle and home. Fruit flies, sometimes called vinegar flies, are a common problem. They thrive on the fruit and vegetable remains in bins that, on a hot summer’s day, start to break down into a semi-liquid soup. The tiny yellowish brown flies with bright red eyes will appear almost overnight and great clouds of them can erupt from unsealed bins. Controlling flying insects is vital for any premises as they are a health hazard and a nuisance. A single housefly can pick up and transport disease-carrying bacteria from and to every surface, including food preparation areas. Gone are the days when electric fly killers were noisy and unattractive. Now you can choose from eight different types. Each Electrifly UV fly killer unit comes with a maintenance contract which includes any repair services, as well as replacement tubes and parts. Regular maintenance is vital and electric fly units must be emptied and cleaned regularly – preferably by con-

tractors. This task is important so that the fly killers are always working effectively and efficiently. In early summer wasps start to cause problems as nests reach maximum size and the queens start to lay their eggs. The worker wasps can be seen out and about foraging for savoury food and stripping wood for nest building. Be extra vigilant and check around the outside of premises for wasps entering through gaps. HOW DO I GET RID OF A WASPS’ NEST? It is easiest to treat a wasps’ nest at the beginning of the season, when the nest is tiny. A quick treatment with fly spray is all that is needed to destroy the nest. As the nest grows the treatment becomes more complicated. The wasps will have a direct flight path to and from the nest and, if you stand in the wrong place, they may well attack you. If you suspect there is a wasp nest in your loft, then you need to be extremely careful on entering and do not switch the light on as the

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light will cause the wasps to attack. If a wasps’ nest is established or in a difficult-to-reach place, it is far safer to call in a professional pest controller. Cleankill’s pest control experts have a broad array of tools to help eradicate wasps from your home or business. Most nests can be treated quickly and effectively. Our staff are skilled at tackling nests in even the most hard to reach locations. Award-winning Cleankill Pest Control recommends an integrated pest prevention contract with an agreed schedule of visits during the year. This gives you peace of mind and is more cost effective than emergency call outs. To book a free survey go to www.cleankill.co.uk

POLICING SURREY

SURREY POLICE

Tackling cyber crime Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro has fallen foul of online fraud and urges everyone to take steps to protect themselves difficult to progress any investigation so the money unfortunately was never recovered. It remains an embarrassing moment for me but I was keen to share my story as often victims of fraud are reluctant to come forward and tell the authorities what has happened to them.

Fraud is the most commonly experienced crime in the UK with an annual cost of around £190 billion. Figures from the Crime Survey of England and Wales reveal there were 3.4 million incidents of fraud in 2016/17, however it is thought fewer than 20% of incidents are actually reported so the true figure may be much higher.

At the time, I was acting as an administrative director for a software house who had contracts with the aerospace industry and part of my responsibilities was to pay out invoices.

In Surrey, the most recent data from National Fraud Intelligence Bureau indicates that fraud in the county increased by 13% last year and financial losses between April and September 2018 equated to £22.5m.

ou may have read in some of the local and national media in recent weeks that I fell victim to an online fraud a few years ago whilst working for a small business in Surrey.

One invoice, which totalled £12,000, came in from a contractor we regularly worked with however the bank account details had changed. I foolishly paid the invoice without checking with the contractor. It turned out to be a fake. Fraudsters had intercepted genuine correspondence and by the time my bank contacted me to raise the alarm – it was too late. They tried to cancel the transaction and were able to prevent around £8,000 from being transferred but the remaining £4,000 had already gone to Lagos in Nigeria. I reported it to Action Fraud but it was

tively as a national taskforce with a national database. Fraud continues to rise in scale and complexity, affecting essential services, businesses and private individuals alike. There is course a responsibility on all of us to take measures to protect ourselves from these criminals and I hope my experience can act as a cautionary tale to others.

FRAUD IS THE MOST COMMONLY EXPERIENCED CRIME IN THE UK WITH AN ANNUAL COST OF AROUND £190 BILLION

Sadly – it is a multi-billion pound criminal industry and I believe we need a radical rethink around how fraud and cyber crime is tackled in this country. Currently it primarily is the responsibility of individual forces to investigate such activity but I have been calling for a national approach which I believe will help provide more reassurance to victims. Since 2015, Surrey and Sussex Police have had a small joint cyber crime unit who do the best job they can but provincial police forces do not have the resources to tackle the issue as effec-

Taking a few simple precautions such as double checking whether an email is genuine could save you a lot of heartache. For more information about how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud, go to www.surrey.police.uk/ advice/advice-and-information/fa/ fraud/personal-fraud/prevent-personal-fraud/ For more help and to report fraud, go to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre, at www.actionfraud.police.uk/

Visit the Surrey PCC website at www.surrey-pcc.gov.uk

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The

COOK report

The Apple CEO has a plan which doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need glamorous new product launches. By Ian Trevett

SURREY BUSINESS

BUSINESS THE BIGSURVEY STORY APPLE IS THE WORLD’S FIRST TRILLIONDOLLAR COMPANY, A MILESTONE REACHED UNDER COOK’S WATCH. OVER THE PAST EIGHT YEARS HE’S PROVEN THEM WRONG.

If so, how will he tackle the challenge of keeping Apple ahead of its hungry rivals?

henever Steve Jobs took to the stage to launch a new Apple product, the world watched on in keen anticipation, waiting to discover what thrilling new invention was about to be revealed. Consumers across the globe raced to be the first to buy iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads - but with Jobs’ untimely death in 2011, the innovation conveyor belt stuttered and shuddered to a halt. Apple had seemingly lost its magic and the critics have circled like vultures. But have tales of Apple’s demise been exaggerated? The company has seen a massive growth surge under the stewardship of Tim Cook, who may lack the extrovert showmanship of Jobs, but his tenure as CEO has been effective and hugely profitable. In April of this year, an editorial in Wired by Leander Kahney made the bold claim that Cook is the best CEO that Apple has ever had, exceeding even Steve Jobs himself. So can Cook claim to be Apple’s greatest leader?

THE COOK YEARS The timing of Kahney’s homage to Tim Cook was probably designed to offer a robust affirmation of his record as Apple CEO. Questions were being asked about the future direction of Apple and in January of this year, after a rare profit warning, the share price plummeted (although it has since regained momentum). Many observers worry about the over-dependence on iPhone. The iPhone accounted for 59.1% of Apple’s revenue in quarter four of 2018, but sales of the iPhone fell by approximately 15% compared to quarter four of 2017. New iPhone releases have been expensive (the Apple Xs costs a whopping £999 on the Apple site), especially in countries struggling against the strong dollar, and many smartphone markets are saturated, with cheaper alternatives improving all the time. Added to this are the fears of a potential Trump-China trade war, which would leave Apple frighteningly exposed. Peter Cohan at Forbes went as far as asking ‘Is Apple Becoming The Next IBM?’, which is a byword for faded glory. If all is not well in the Apple orchard,

why the Wired tribute to Cook? Kahney makes a convincing case: “Apple is the world’s first trillion-dollar company, a milestone reached under Cook’s watch. Cook has almost tripled Apple’s revenue. When he was appointed, industry analysts worried that Cook wouldn’t be able to increase revenue significantly because of the so-called ‘law of large numbers’, meaning that it’s one thing to add a few million to Apple’s bottom line, but billions would be near impossible. Over the past eight years he’s proven them wrong. “Apple is thriving in every arena in which it competes – although demand for iPhones is slowing, 2018 sales were still an all-time record of 216 million units. The same year, it sold 43.5 million iPads and 18 million Macs. “The Apple Watch is a big sleeper hit. It’s estimated to have sold more than 50 million to date which means that its unit sales are greater than the entire Swiss watch industry combined. And it will only become more dominant as Apple increases the number of health features. “And, in terms of brand value, Cook is transforming Apple into a company with progressive values around inclusion, diversity and privacy, and is championing the company’s environmental initiative.”

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The growth in the current market has shifted to services and subscriptions, and Apple is using its vast reach of its devices to leverage into these profitable markets.

“FOR US, APPLE TV IS JUST A HOBBY.” STEVE JOBS

Cook’s skill has been in expanding the reach of Apple and securing efficient supply chains, vastly reducing the operating costs for the business. The Economist’s Schumpeter recounts a story which captures Cook’s forensic style: “Long before Tim Cook became Apple’s boss, when his job was to wring costs out of the company’s supply chain, he learned of a problem with a supplier in China. ‘This is really bad,’ he told his staff. ‘Someone should be in China driving this.’ Thirty minutes later he saw one of his executives sitting at a table. ‘Why are you still here?’ he asked quietly. The executive stood up, drove directly to San Francisco’s airport and bought a ticket to China. “While Jobs, the irascible creative genius behind Apple’s bestselling products, stole the show, Mr Cook, who is both courtly and deeply private, plugged away behind the scenes to cement a relationship crucial to Apple’s soaring success: that with China.” The worry now is whether the China relationship is too important for Apple. DO NEW PRODUCTS MATTER? There is an argument that Steve Jobs would have been more aptly described as Apple’s Chief Product Officer; an innovative genius who disrupted the world. He didn’t work alone - his prime creative partner was a fame-spurning Englishman, Sir Jonathan Paul Ive, better known simply as Jony Ive.

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Pete Cohan describes their chemistry: “Mr. Ive and Mr. Jobs often ate together, feeding off each other’s ideas. Mr. Ive could translate futuristic concepts into physical objects with simplicity and sophistication. Mr. Jobs was the inspiration and the editor needed to bring these ideas to life.” Now Ive has also departed. On June 27th he announced he was to leave the company to set up his own luxury design company, yet on the same

APPLE TV IS NOT A NEW INNOVATION, BUT UP TO NOW IT HAS BEEN A NEGLECTED PRODUCT day, the Apple share price actually increased. Not that this was a reflection of Ive’s undoubted ability - the shares rose because the markets detected a thawing in US-China relations at the G20 summit in Japan. However, the conclusion was clear. Losing a design guru mattered less than the state of global trading environment. For years, Apple was all about exciting new must-have gadgets; physical items that were beautifully designed and packed with genuinely useful attributes. The problem is how do you keep creating revolutionary products that, most importantly, people will want to pay for?

Your money, your TV, your health Tim Cook took to the stage in March for the biggest Apple event in recent years, but there was no new gadget on offer. The emphasis was focussed almost entirely on the big plans for Apple TV, wheeling out a host of American A-Listers in the process. Not everyone was impressed. The Guardian’s Mark Lawson was scathing: “If the shows on Apple’s new TV service turn out to be as smugly evangelistic, self-indulgent and editorially undisciplined as the launch, then it will be very bad news for Apple subscribers and very good news for Netflix, the current market leader. “The boring, sprawling 100-minute broadcast ended with Apple CEO Tim Cook tearing up as he delivered a namaste to Oprah Winfrey, the last of a string of A-list contributors, also including Steven Spielberg and Jennifer Aniston, who previewed shows they are making for the new Apple TV app. “Apple has often seemed at risk of mutating from technology company to quasi-religious cult, and its full-scale entry to the TV content market went very close to full Media Moonie. “… Not since the severe Scottish presbyterian John Reith tried to shape the BBC as a broadcaster that would be a moral force in Britain has a TV provider sounded so like a church.” Apple TV is not a new innovation, but up to now it has been a neglected product. In 2007, when it was first unveiled, Steve Jobs described Apple’s three core businesses as the three legs of a stool, and he predicted Apple TV would become the fourth leg. Three years later, when reminded of this by journalist Nick Bilton, he denied ever saying it, and declared, “For us, Apple TV is just a hobby.” Writing for Vanity Fair, after this year’s

THE BIG STORY big launch, Bilton wondered if anything had really changed: “Apple [TV] still doesn’t appear to have a clear business strategy. While Apple is taking bigger bets and throwing more money at the problem—about $1 billion a year on original content, according to reports—that’s still about an eighth of what Netflix will spend this year, and about a fifth what Amazon plans to spend. If you’re Apple, with $250 billion in the bank, and you’re really truly trying to go after this space, why not spend ten times that on content? Why not buy Netflix? Why stick your toe in the water when you could jump in and make the biggest f***ing splash imaginable? It’s almost as if Apple is still treating the TV business like a hobby.”

for some combination of news, games, cloud storage, music and video, and which could possibly connect with the company’s iPhone subscriptions. “Mr Cook stopped short of announcing a unique subscription service, promising instead to roll out five separate offerings, some of which are merely older services in nicer packaging. Together, they nevertheless threaten fel-

and buy than their predecessors, should accelerate that trend. Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon that Apple may convert 10% of the 85m monthly users of its free News app into paying subscribers. “… Apple has hundreds of millions of customer relationships. With that comes the power to get more of their time and money, and to cut out competitors.”

‘WHY NOT BUY NETFLIX? WHY STICK YOUR TOE IN THE WATER WHEN YOU COULD JUMP IN AND MAKE THE BIGGEST F***ING SPLASH IMAGINABLE?’

The critics may be right. When Apple launched its iconic products, the market was there for the taking. The TV market is highly competitive, and Netflix has already claimed a big chunk of the market. However the business model was described as “compelling” in the Economist, summising that: “Apple’s 900m iPhones worldwide, more than six times as many as Netflix has subscribers, grant it access to a massive potential audience. Analysts speculate that Apple will eventually offer them a variant of Amazon Prime, where customers pay a flat monthly fee

low tech giants, Hollywood and banks. “Apple’s high-profile shows are for now meant chiefly to lure customers into its universe of apps and services. That includes subscription services for games, magazines newspapers, and pay-TV networks such as HBO. You can pay for it all using your new Apple Card, developed with bankers at Goldman Sachs” “… Although Apple continues to earn most of its money from devices, its business in services is growing quickly, accounting for nearly $40bn of revenues in 2018. The new subscription offerings, which are easier to click

Bilton asserts, “Now, everyone is competing for something more precious: time. As Netflix CEO Reed Hastings said recently, Netflix’s biggest competition isn’t necessarily YouTube or Disney or Amazon. It’s the video game Fortnite, which some 250 million people play. Tim Cook, too, is now fighting for our attention. In the digital age, that’s the only economic unit that matters.” The vast army of iPhone/iPad users can consume their entertainment, news, education, health checks and music at the touch of button, saving on that elusive, and lucrative, time.

It seems that maybe Apple has a plan after all. As the Economist concludes: “Mr Cook may put on a lacklustre show, but his rivals had better watch him regardless.”

‘The Spaceship’ – Apple’s headquarters in California

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16-17 OCTOBER 16-17 OCTOBER FARNBOROUGH FARNBOROUGH REGISTER FREE NOW REGISTER FREE NOW

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Sponsor a CHAMBER EVENT Surrey Chambers of Commerce holds over 150 events a year spread across the county. We host regular breakfast meetings, industry specific forums and corporate dinners perfect for entertaining clients. These events are designed to give you the chance to enhance your business network, find new customers and local suppliers, and meet other dynamic business people

ponsoring a Surrey Chambers event allows you to raise your profile and brand awareness within the county and showcase your expertise as a company. By sponsoring an event you can take advantage of the Surrey Chambers of Commerce subscription base and reach your target audience. It’s the perfect opportunity to make new connections and be seen to be leading and influencing.

What can I sponsor? With over 150 events a year there can be a lot to choose from. Surrey Chambers hosts a wide variety of events, and all of these can be sponsored:

affecting businesses working in the construction and property industries. • Business Women in Surrey Events – designed to highlight and celebrate the achievements of business women in Surrey. • F lagship - Our flagship events include an annual summer BBQ, President’s drinks receptions and annual Christmas lunch. • Chamber Power Breakfasts - Our Power Breakfasts are a fantastic opportunity for businesses to connect in a friendly and relaxed environment.

If you choose to sponsor a Surrey Chambers event you will receive complimentary tickets to the event, your stand or pop up banners and promotional literature at the event with branding on badges and a delegate list. You will also receive promotion before, during and after the event across all Surrey Chambers social media channels and press coverage in the Surrey Business Magazine.

If you are interested in sponsoring a Surrey Chambers of Commerce event, please contact: Emily.Stanton@surrey-chambers. co.uk or call 01483 735 540

• Hot Topics - We react to the latest news and trends affecting the business community and run a number of targeted events throughout the year. They provide a great opportunity to get in front of senior decision makers but often come up at short notice. They tackle topics such as Brexit, cyber security, pensions and much more. • Property & Construction Forums – A series of events around issues

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CORPORATE

Health

&WELLBEING It has long been recognised that a healthy workforce has a dramatic effect on productivity, leads to less absent days, increased motivation, company loyalty and overall economic prosperity.

Throughout 2019, this magazine will partner with a selection of major companies in the sector to offer advice on how to deal with the growing crisis of avoidable employee absent days. We intend to lead the way on this subject to aid in the economic prosperity of our region.

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HEALTH & WELLBEING Worker performance could increase by

20%

Alcohol sales in Scotland have fallen to their lowest level in 25 years after the introduction of price controls Guardian

Eating a cup of blueberries a day reduces risk factors for cardiovascular disease according to a new study by the University of Anglia

if the fresh air supply, light and temperature control in offices and meeting rooms is improved, finds a new report workplaceinsight.net

“To keep the body in good health is a duty... otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear” Buddha

Sciencedaily.com

People who work long hours have a higher risk of stroke, especially if they work those hours for 10 years or more, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke

“I have always believed that exercise is the key to not only physical health but to peace of mind” Nelson Mandela

Medical Xpress

SURREY BUSINESS

When workplace stress gets too much... Stress is an experience most of us encounter throughout our lives, and let’s face it - a normal working environment will have times of ‘stress’. By Paul Ollerton, Managing Director at ViiSana Ltd

Paul Ollerton

uccessful businesses seem to manage the fine line between creating a dynamic fast paced business, or one that burns its employees out. The objective of this month’s article is to highlight the importance of supporting and managing the stress present within our workforce, in order to equip employees to cope with the demands placed on them at work.

What is ‘too much’?

Biologically, stress is what keeps us alert to danger, so stress isn’t always a bad thing – as it can help keep you focussed and able to meet a new challenge. But in today’s workplace environment, with ever increasing demands, longer hours, and tighter deadlines, stress can leave our people feeling worried, drained and overwhelmed. It’s when sustained stress exceeds our ability to cope, it stops being helpful and starts causing physical and mental damage.

Showing the signs of stress

Spotting the signs of stress both at individual and team level is imperative to know when to intervene. Does any of the following sound familiar? In individuals • Arriving for work late • Showing signs of nervousness / loss of confidence • Mood swings

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• Loss of motivation and commitment to work • Emotional responses – overly tearful, sensitive or aggressive Within teams • Increasing sickness absence • Higher than normal staff turnover • Lower productivity • More internal complaints and grievances • Inter/intra team arguments

Common workplace causes of stress

When looking at a typical workplace, there are common circumstances that

seem to contribute to the signs of a stressed workforce. It is important to consider these and understand that, if left unchecked or addressed, they may develop into a major problem for employees and the business. A recent article published by the American Institute of Stress blames workload for the majority of stress in a workforce, but other commonly reported issues include: Increased working hours If you regularly rely on overtime to meet production of revenue targets, the short-term benefit of increased

HEALTH & WELLBEING earnings will eventually be overtaken by signs of stress. Equally, setting unrealistic targets, will lead to an expectation to work during the evenings and weekends regularly.

an optimum level – all the time! With no room for error or time to re-group and assess performance, it is not surprising that this causes stress across a business.

Uncertainty Fear of redundancy or lack of longerterm career prospects is a major cause of stress.

Tasks that do not engage or challenge It is sometimes unavoidable to create roles that follow a limited process or scope. These typically tend to be the roles that report higher levels of stress, due to lack of control the operator has on the outcome/output.

Pressure to perform It is now commonplace for a business to expect a workforce to perform at

Managers to the rescue Managing stress within the workplace centres around adopting a robust overall approach to health and wellbeing. Promoting good nutrition, and encouraging activity is absolutely key and has been covered in detail in previous issues. Where specific stress related issues have been identified at work, we would recommend the following tactics for organisations and their managers to help ease the pressure. • Stay close. Ensure each team member has a good induction and knows exactly what is required of them. Have regular private 1-2-1s where any issue can be discussed and put health and wellbeing on the agenda at team meetings. • Lead by example. Taking care of yourself as a manager is the best way to influence the cultural behaviours that are set. Visibly doing so shows your team that it’s ok for them to do the same. The obvious but often overlooked examples include staying at home if you’re unwell;

Contact us… ViiSana specialises in implementing wellbeing programme through the implementation of company-wide Vitality Life and Health insurance. If you would like to discuss your company’s individual health concerns/challenges, or

trying not to email employees outside of work hours; respect people’s annual leave by not making any contact at all. • Review regularly. It’s important to understand people’s individual workloads, duties and responsibilities – and to change them if they are unachievable. This can be as simple as watching out for people working excessive hours which might highlight where support or development is needed to work more effectively.

It’s far more productive to focus on the results, rather than a rigid environment. If you have lots of home workers, give them the opportunity to form relationships with their co-workers, or give those who work in a busy team occasional access to work in a quieter environment.

• Offer a ﬂexible environment. If your people can achieve their objectives working from home once a fortnight, then let them! Or if a team member with young children would be less stressed if allowed to start early and leave to pick the children up once a week, let them!

if you would just like to discuss ideas for implementing a programme at your business, please get in touch: Email: paul.ollerton@viisana.com Phone: 0333 772 0761 Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn

SURREY BUSINESS

Take a break Could microbreaks solve the UK’s ‘productivity puzzle’?

urveys suggest we’re a nation of workaholics, putting in £31 billion worth of free overtime each year. Despite our apparent hard graft, the UK’s productivity has been in steady decline since the recession. The Office for National Statistics dubs it the ‘productivity puzzle’. We’re putting in the hours but we’re not reaping the benefits. So what’s going wrong? Many claim that, far from boosting the economy, our overtime culture is working against us. Graham Allcott, founder of Hove-based management training consultancy Think Productive, said: “We work too many hours in the UK right now. Not enough rest equals substandard performance, while working shorter hours changes people’s mindset for the better.”

But the problem doesn’t stop at the physical dangers of sitting. Traditional office life, which tends to be structured around start times and set breaks with people working at designated workstations, may be easy to monitor and manage, but it’s not necessarily conducive to productivity. Studies show that the typical person has an attention span of just fourteen minutes. In meetings that drops to thirteen minutes. Recent studies have found that for optimal performance, the brain requires periods of both focus and unfocus. While in unfocus mode (say,

believe that accessing this new, previously unearthed information enhances skills like self-awareness, creativity, idea-generation and the ability to make decisions. So what should we be doing to make our time at work more inspiring? At Posturite we’re great believers in agile working - the practice of giving employees the freedom and autonomy to work in ways that suit them and the tasks their jobs require them to complete. Provided staff are given suitable equipment like laptop stands, detachable mice and keyboards and ergonomic chairs, they should be able to work in a variety of environments comfortably and productively.

“Microbreaks are thought to induce a range of beneﬁts, from relieving physical pain, to reducing stress and reigniting creativity”

Our preconceptions about productivity and how it should look - starting at the crack of dawn, working through lunch, finishing late, may well be working against us. An office full of people rooted to their desks may appease a traditional manager, but being present isn’t always an indicator of productivity and we’re already familiar with the phrase ‘sitting is the new smoking’, with sedentary behaviour contributing to 11.6% of all deaths each year, according to a shocking Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University.

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gazing out of a window, doodling, or daydreaming), we engage a brain circuit called the default mode network (DMN). When activated, this circuit requires up to 20% of the body’s energy. Surprising perhaps, given that scientists nicknamed it the Do Mostly Nothing circuit. Beneath the surface the DMN circuit is hard at work, triggering functions such as activating old memories, switching back and forth between the past, present and future, and forging new connections between different ideas. Scientists

A key part of agile working is the taking of microbreaks - short but frequent pauses that usually involve stretching, standing, walking, or anything that takes the eyes and mind away from the screen. Microbreaks are important for focus, but they’re also important for posture. How often do you find yourself hunching over your screen because you’ve become immersed in something? It’s these prolonged postures that result in painful (and extremely costly) musculoskeletal disorders. Microbreaks are thought to induce a range of benefits, from relieving phys-

HEALTH BUSINESS & WELLBEING SURVEY “Recent studies have found that for optimal performance, the brain requires periods of both focus and unfocus” ical pain, to reducing stress and reigniting creativity. The benefits of microbreaks include: • Gives your brain a rest • Increases accuracy • Increases oxygen and blood circulation • Disrupts poor postures • Allows time to process memories • Improves engagement • Boosts feelings of positivity • Avoids mental and physical fatigue • Lowers risks of aches and pains While microbreaks alone may not solve the nation’s productivity puzzle, a more flexible attitude to working that considers human behaviour and makes intelligent use of technology, could certainly help put the spark back into people’s careers. At Posturite, we help clients establish healthy agile working practices by consulting, training and providing suitable ergonomic equipment. If you would like to chat to one of our consultants about agile working, please call us on 0345 345 0010, or visit posturite.co.uk/agile-working for more information.

Visit Posturite.co.uk/agileworking-products.html and use code PBACTIVE to get 15% off any products within the category (ends September 30th 2019)

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

effective ways to beat stress

Westfield Health explains how a holistic approach to health and wellbeing can help employees cope with stress more effectively

tress affects people in different ways. What causes stress in one person may not affect another but we can all develop similar mechanisms to help prevent stress, and cope more effectively. Building resilience is one way to successfully manage stress. It gives us the ability to persevere and continue to function at a high level in times of adversity, despite failures, setbacks and loss.

even just taking a five minute break from your desk.

Develop a positive mindset Your optimism, personal beliefs and sense of personal responsibility all shape your outlook on situations. Those who nurture a positive and resilient mindset believe that their own motivations and talents determine their success or failure in the workplace.

Here we take a look at 10 steps towards building resilience to cope with stress in the workplace and avoid burnout:

Make connections and ask for support when you need it Healthy relationships with close family members, friends, colleagues and others are all important. Accepting help and support from people who care about you and are able to listen helps to strengthen resilience.

Manage your energy, not just your time Make sure you are putting your energy into the right things. If we direct our energy towards ‘high leverage’ tasks we get a much more effective return on investment for our efforts. It helps us to ‘de-clutter’ the things that don’t have such a good return on investment.

Take time to relax Take time out and relax, even if you’re not feeling stressed. This could be going away for the weekend, doing something you enjoy in the evening or

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Healthy eating Food plays a vital role in our wellbeing – something that is often overlooked. There are in fact some foods that have been determined to have positive effects on reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety, and lowering stress.

Get a good night’s sleep Getting the right amount of quality sleep is vital when it comes to building resilience to stress. Energy dictates not only how much we’re able to do, but how well we do it – when your energy is low, your work suffers. We need to learn to pace ourselves to avoid fatigue and burnout.

Know your limits Don’t stay quiet when it comes to potential boundary issues at work, which often leads to being unable to work to the best of your abilities as a result of too much workload. Take responsibility for setting boundaries around your time, and don’t take on more than you can handle.

Exercise Having a fitness goal or target to achieve outside of work is a great way to switch off and take your mind away from any stresses. Even small amounts of physical exercise can improve self-esteem and self-confi dence, giving us the inner strength and ability to approach difficult situations.

Take action to solve problems Waiting for problems to go away on their own only prolongs the crisis. Once you have identified a problem, start working on resolving the issue immediately. It’s important to recognise that whilst there may not be a fast or simple solution, it’s vital to take steps towards making the situation better and less stressful.

Keep things in perspective When faced with stress, think about how important the issue will be in a week, month or years’ time. Resilient people maintain a positive outlook – remember to remind yourself that a lot of the issues you are facing are temporary and that you have overcome setbacks before and can do it again. www.westfieldhealth.com

PROPERTY AWARDS

INTRODUCING...

THE SUSSEX PROPERTY AWARDS What’s this – a Surrey-based magazine, announcing a Sussex-based awards show? Shurely shome mistake. Hang on...

he brand-new Sussex Property Awards are designed to celebrate all that is great about our region’s property developers, interior designers, architects, estate agencies and all associated sectors. This is the first time there have been regional awards of this ilk and it is time that Sussex celebrated this vital sector. The event is open to any company involved in the construction, architecture, renovation, selling or leasing of residential or commercial properties in Sussex, no matter where they’re based. There will be 16 prestigious awards

up for grabs at the glittering black-tie event to be held at the Hilton Brighton Metropole on March 5th 2020. All winners will receive the coveted trophy and a wealth of publicity via our media partners, Platinum Publishing, Portfolio and Capital Radio. The six-month social media campaign will be intense. HILTON BRIGHTON METROPOLE

MARCH 5TH 2020

SUSSEX PROPERTY AWARDS

And what’s more, in the Awards’ second year – in 2021 – they will be expanded to the South East Property Awards, Awards covering Surrey, Sussex, Kent and Hampshire, offer-

ing a fantastic opportunity to be recognised across the entire region. These awards are brought to you by Platinum Event Management, a division of the Platinum Publishing Group – the publishers of the largest-circulation business magazines in the country, reaching over 720,000 readers every month across the South East. Platinum also present the Sussex, Surrey, Lewes and Brighton Business awards and are proud to present the Sussex Property Awards in 2020.

Get involved! For more information, email info@platinumpublishing.co.uk

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JOHN BERCOW:

Is the Speaker a rigid defender of Parliament or a biased Brexit blocker?

By Ian Trevett

hatever you may think of the unfeasibly posh Jacob Rees-Mogg, no-one can dispute his in-depth knowledge of the constitution and the workings of Parliament. So it was praise indeed when Rees-Mogg gave his seal of approval to the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. “His good qualities hugely outweigh his bad qualities”, declared Rees-Mogg, “I’m very much a supporter because he stands up for the Legislature against the Executive.” Or in laymen’s terms, Bercow stands up for the will of Parliament even if at odds with the position of the Government - Parliament makes and amends the rules (the Legislature) and the Government enforces and enacts them (the Executive). It should be noted that Rees-Mogg expressed this view long before the Brexit referendum, and is unlikely to

declare such support any more, even though Bercow’s defence of the legislature is more pronounced than ever. Rees-Mogg is not the only Brexit supporter to fall out of love with Bercow. When Prime Minister David Cameron was trying in vain to quell the noisy backbenchers demanding a Euro referendum, he was frustrated by the unshakeable speaker, who determined their voices should be heard. Back in 2017, commentator Helen Lewis wrote in the New Statesman: “Bercow has a surprising number of backers among the Tory Awkward Squad, who recognise that he gave them room to talk about Brexit when David Cameron would have cheerfully squashed the issue. He allowed a third amendment on the Queen’s Speech in 2013, instead of the traditional two: John Baron’s cross-party motion regretting the absence of a EU referendum bill. This put more pressure on the government and contributed to Cameron’s decision to promise a referendum in his 2015 manifesto.” But that was then. Now Brexit-backing MPs don’t even attempt to disguise their contempt of the speaker they believe is deliberately sabotaging the UK’s exit from Europe. His Remain credentials aren’t exactly a secret. After a speech to students at Reading University, he revealed he voted to remain. And then there was the infamous car sticker. The right-wing political blogger Guido Fawkes published a photo of a car in the Speaker’s car parking space with a ‘Bollocks to Brexit’ car sticker. Bercow tried to sidestep the

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CALLS FOR BERCOW’S DISMISSAL ARE NOT A NEW PHENOMENON. HE’S HEARD IT ALL BEFORE

THE BIG STORY #2 issue, dismissing it as the property of his wife Sally, who was entitled to her views as she was ‘not the chattel of her husband’. The fury intensified in January of this year, when Theresa May was trying to get her Brexit deal through Parliament, and John Bercow allowed a vote on an amendment proposed by arch-remainer and Tory MP Dominic Grieve. Grieve won his vote, which resulted in a series of votes on all possibilities including a “Norway option” or second referendum (all of which failed). Brexiteers believed that Bercow broke with precedents by allowing the vote to even take place. Reigate MP Crispin Blunt expressed the views succinctly when he declared the uncomfortable conclusion on the Tory benches was “an unshakeable conviction that the referee of our affairs is no longer neutral.” Andrea Leadsom launched her Conservative leadership campaign by brandishing a placard with the simple message: “Bollocks to Bercow”.

BERCOW OUT!

Calls for Bercow’s dismissal are not a new phenomenon. He’s heard it all before. In 2015, the final action of William Hague as Leader of the House, backed by his Chief Whip Michael Gove, was to instigate a vote to change the way the speaker is selected. He believed that if the speaker was elected by a secret ballot, he could oust Bercow. The motion was defeated, with the support of Bercow’s future enemies. Again Jacob Rees-Mogg spoke in Bercow’s favour, saying he was deeply saddened that Hague “had put his name to a bit of parliamentary jiggery-pokery that has come about from some grudges that people bear to the Speaker”. David Davis opposed the motion as: “This is a constitutional matter of some importance since it goes to the heart of the relationship between executive and parliament.” Last year, he faced accusations of bullying and intimidating his former private secretaries Angus Sinclair and

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Kate Emms. An inquiry into the bullying allegations was blocked by the Commons standards committee. Sinclair claimed Bercow had undermined him in front of other staff, shouted, swore and attempted to physically intimidate him. His successor, Emms reported Bercow frequently shouted at her, and she was subsequently diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

roguing - i.e. discontinuing a session of Parliament without dissolving it to deliver Brexit. Hannah White from the Institute of Government sees this as undemocratic: “Proroguing Parliament may seem like the easiest way for a prime minister to prevent Parliament from attempting to ‘interfere’ with their plan. But it would be undemocratic to prevent the normal

THE BERCOW WAY

The Brexit car sticker and his obdurate frustration of the Government’s wishes, would suggest he is a Remainer warrior, but he is actually something entirely different. He is just unbearably awkward. He is the ultimate jobsworth, who leaves everyone around him fuming in impotent rage. He is the nightclub bouncer refusing entrance to a club, the steward at a football match or concert telling people to sit down, the pedantic health and safety officer, the traffic warden issuing a ticket a minute after the parking time expires all rolled into one. And he has the best job in the world - a role where he can happily search out ancient precedents and the most obscure laws to administer.

BERCOW ADMONISHED MICHAEL GOVE: “MR GOVE! YOU REALLY ARE A RATHER OVER-EXCITED INDIVIDUAL! YOU NEED TO WRITE OUT 1,000 TIMES ‘I WILL BEHAVE MYSELF AT PRIME MINISTER’S QUESTIONS’

The claims were disputed by The House of Commons’ sergeant at arms Kamal El-Hajji. He told the House Magazine that allegations of bullying against Bercow were part of a witch-hunt by ‘disgruntled staff members’ who want to oust him. El-Hajji also that said he had been the victim of racism in the Commons and had relied on Bercow’s support.

Bercow denied all claims and soon after presided in his typical outspoken manner on a commons debate – on bullying.

BORIS, BREXIT AND THE BATTLE AHEAD

Now Boris Johnson is the Prime Minister, a constitutional battle is imminent as he is adamant that, whatever happens, the UK will leave the EU on October 31st. The problems of getting a deal (or no deal) through Parliament have been well documented - cue a battle of wills to be fought out by Boris and Bercow. Johnson could pursue a policy of pro-

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operation of our key representative democratic institution simply because it might take an unwelcome decision.” Proroguing may also mean requesting an intervention from the Queen, which would seem highly unlikely.

IF PARLIAMENT CAN’T BE OVERRULED, WHAT THEN?

One thing is for sure - Bercow will fight tooth and nail to preserve the power of Parliament. But what is Bercow’s motive? Will he fight the Government to ensure he gets his preferred outcome, ie no Brexit? Even though he is a believer of remain, I don’t believe this is his motive. The clues lie in the nature of his personality.

Back in 2014, when most Conservatives still respected Bercow (who was after all a Tory MP), Andrew Gimson at www.conservativehome.com wrote an entertaining and revealing profile of Bercow. Gimson wrote: “At Finchley Manorhill, his north London comprehensive school, Bercow became the most unpopular boy in his year. He was plainly very clever, but he wasn’t clever about the way he handled being clever. He

THE BIG STORY #2 often flaunted his superior ability. Perhaps trying to compensate for his size, Bercow would often try to humiliate bigger kids in his class. One in particular used to make mistakes with his reading and Bercow would write them down and recite them back to him. Incidents like these would certainly have contributed to the view that Bercow was ‘an odious little toad’. “The young Bercow was the best under 12 tennis player in Middlesex, but got left behind when his opponents grew and he didn’t. His other passion was politics: his local MP was Margaret Thatcher and he delighted in defending her policies to hostile audiences. He joined not only the Young Conservatives but the Monday Club, where very soon he was promoting the voluntary repatriation of immigrants. His admiration for Enoch Powell was unbounded. He began life with no influential connections, and with a thin skin which perhaps accounts for most of his rudeness, but with the energy, ambition and ability to go a long way.” His flirtation with the right wing of the party was short-lived, switching to the other wing of the Conservative Party, supporting Ken Clarke in the 2005 Conservative leadership election. Bercow apparently likes to refer to himself as “the Jewboy son of a taxi driver”, and he delighted in making digs at the upper class privileges of his colleagues. His tennis partner David Cameron was on the receiving end of Bercow’s caustic tongue: “In the modern world the combination of Eton, hunting, shooting and lunch at White’s is not helpful when you are trying to appeal to millions of ordinary people.”

When campaigning to become speaker, he declared: “For far too long the House of Commons has been run as little more than a private club by and for gentleman amateurs.” In his first stint as a backbench MP he made more speeches in the House than any other politician, and was also one of the most consistent hecklers, usually laced with spectacular rudeness. It was perhaps his outspoken ways and the fact he was such a stickler for convention that saw him ushered in as a speaker. His predecessor, Michael Martin, was viewed as ineffective and lacking authority - culminating in the damaging expenses scandal which occurred under his watch. Bercow appealed as he takes no prisoners. As a speaker he has been strict and officious, and happy to take the big egos down a peg or two, including the serving Prime Minister. More power has just meant he can get away with more, and his barbed insults have never relented. He admonished Michael Gove: “Mr Gove! You really are a rather over-excited individual! You need to write out 1,000 times ‘I will behave myself at Prime Minister’s Questions’.”

the established convention of the House that such devices should be used without impairing parliamentary decorum. They are impairing parliamentary decorum. It’s a point so blindingly obvious that only an extraordinarily clever and sophisticated person could fail to grasp it.” No wonder, Conservative MP Sir Simon Burns, called him a “stupid, sanctimonious dwarf”. Not that Bercow would care. Andrew Gimson hailed “Bercow’s willingness to fight his own corner, indeed his inability not to fight it.” And he noted Bercow is a “gifted outsider with a phenomenal memory, who could recall the name and birthday of everyone in the House.” With his photographic memory, love of conflict, and obsession with rules, he is a formidable speaker. But when the Government is so patently at odds with Parliament, a formidable speaker is a palpable obstacle to the execution of Brexit. Undoubtedly, Bercow will defend the legislature against the executive with all his powers, no matter what chaos it might cause for the rest of the country.

When Jeremy Hunt paid too much attention to his phone, Bercow told him off like naughty schoolboy: “Fiddling ostentatiously with an electronic device defies

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FOCUS ON

GUILDFORD Exploring the historic Surrey town known as the ‘Hollywood of Gaming’, by Emma McBriarty, Communications Officer at Guildford Council

uildford is the jewel in Surrey’s crown with its stunning historic architecture including a medieval castle, an abundance of beautiful green spaces and the magnificent River Wey. Add to this a thriving economy centred around innovation and a vibrant choice of leisure pursuits, with easy access to London and it’s easy to see how this town has been voted one of the top Sunday Times Best Places to Live. In contrast to its leafy image this market town, home to 80,000 residents is a hub for education, healthcare, cutting-edge technology businesses, high quality retail and wellbeing. Balancing the needs of its rural and urban communities alike, Guildford Borough Council’s vision is to ensure it is ‘the

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most desirable place to live, work and visit in South East England’. Often referred to as a ‘commuter hotspot’ Guildford has even earned the glamorous title of the ‘Hollywood of Games’ making a major contribution to a market worth $81bn globally. More than 70 companies (10% of the UK’s games industry) from giants such as Wargaming UK, Lionhead, Media Molecule, EA Games and Supermassive to progressive independents such as

Glowmade, are or were based in Guildford. Many including Polystream - who received $12m investment from Intel Capital in April are a stone’s throw from the main station in an industrial area nicknamed ‘Silicon Sheds’. Cllr Caroline Reeves, Leader of the Council and Lead Councillor for Sustainable Transport, Transformation and Regeneration, Economic Development, Asset Management and Governance says: “Our economy is worth

IN CONTRAST TO ITS LEAFY IMAGE THIS MARKET TOWN, HOME TO 80,000 RESIDENTS IS A HUB FOR EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESSES, HIGH QUALITY RETAIL AND WELLBEING

FOCUS BUSINESS ON GUILDFORD SURVEY THE BOROUGH HAS AROUND 122 GREEN SPACES AND PARKS, EIGHT OF WHICH HOLD THE PRESTIGIOUS GREEN FLAG AWARD over £5 billion per annum, many large multi-nationals are based here including Colgate Palmolive, Phillips, Allianz Insurance, WSP and BAE Systems (Applied Intelligence).” She adds: “We have a significant cluster of business and financial services companies and law firms with some specialist consultancies such as those offering tax advice for inward investment companies and patent attorneys. The borough also has an impressive survival rate for new business start-ups at 72% (source UK Business Counts – Enterprises).” The economy has grown from one with a relatively high public sector and manufacturing element to one with an increasing much higher proportion of high growth sectors such as gaming, cyber security, life sciences and telecoms. She says: “We have also seen increase in professional services, legal, tourism, and food and drink. The total number of jobs in the borough stands at just over 78,000 with a total of 7,440

businesses. Between 2012-2017, the business base grew by 15% with a high proportion of these defined as high growth and with good survival rates. Productivity is also important and this is often measured based on GVA (gross value add) per head, and again this figure of £36,165 is above the UK and Surrey average.” Climate Change and innovative solutions to its challenges are the top priority for the Council, Climate Change affects everyone who lives, works or travels through the borough. The Council is committed to reducing its carbon emissions and adapting the town, villages and surrounding countryside to future climate changes. It will do this by promoting sustainable smart living ensuring communities have clean air, flood-proof healthy environments, sustainable transport and power resilience. Electric buses are built locally by Alexander Dennis and used for Guildford’s park and ride routes. Cllr Reeves explains: “Over two-thirds of the borough is classed as rural and it is

paramount that development is directed and supported by the required infrastructure and community facilities. We are committed to delivering high quality design, renewal and regeneration of our urban and rural areas alike whilst protecting our special natural landscapes and heritage. Sustainable transport systems and plenty of cycle ways and footpaths are key to this.” The growing importance of the rural economy led the Council to develop a specific Rural Economic Strategy to support rural enterprise and communities. Some 25% of all local jobs are located in the rural wards. Since

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Future-growth for Guildford: The Guildford Borough Local Plan: Strategy and Sites was adopted in April 2019. A key project is the Slyfield Regeneration Project to redevelop 41 hectares of brownfield land currently used by Thames Water as a sewage works, into the Weyside Urban Village. Just 2km from the town centre and north of the A3 into London the development will be built to climate change policies and sustainable design guidance putting the Council in the top 10% of local authorities to align to those requirements.

Tourism

Contribution to local economy is around £307.5m supporting 4,158 full-time equivalent jobs (Cambridge Report 2016/17)

350,000

overnight tourism trips (2017)

£93.2m

was spent by overnight visitors

4.8m

day trips were made to Guildford for tourism

£232.5m

was spent on trips to Guildford in 2017

Educating the workforce University of Surrey The Times Best University 2016, Guildford’s prestigious higher education organisation ranks 95% for employability (QS Employability Rankings) and leads internationally on research into social and environmental sciences, engineering, sustainability, music technology and tourism. 5G Innovation Centre Based on the University campus this £80m 5G Innovation Centre is the largest academic research facility dedicated to developing the next generation of mobile and wireless communications in the UK. Surrey Research Park A major centre of excellence in technology, science, health and engineering and the Research Park is widely regarded as one of the best of its kind in the UK. The 70 acre low-density development is part of the University of Surrey’s campus and home to 120 companies including BOC, BAE Systems, Applied Intelligence and Surrey Satellite.

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2010, 27% of all business growth has been by businesses located in a rural setting, with a high proportion in manufacturing. With the emergence of flexible working and enhancements in broadband coverage, this is set to grow further. There are over 50 countryside sites owned and managed by the local authority, an area of nearly 700ha and 2.5% of the borough’s land area, including woodland, meadows and heathland. These areas contribute to a network of publicly accessible countryside as well as wildlife habitat managed privately. With the southern half of the borough located within the Sur-

THE ECONOMY HERE IS WORTH OVER £5 BILLION PER ANNUM rey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, there are four Special Protection Areas, five Suitable Areas of Natural Green Spaces and five local nature reserves. The borough has around 122 green spaces and parks eight of which hold the prestigious Green Flag award. The historic town centre has a reputation for those keen on retail therapy. Experian named the town the ‘luxury shopping capital of the UK’ a few years ago. With three shopping centres - The Friary Centre, White Lion Walk and the new Tunsgate Quarter - and the cobbled High Street boasting an assortment of high street brands and many independents it’s no surprise. House of Fraser even chose their Guildford store as the first outside London to debut shopping Tsar Mary Portas’ popular collection. Over 9,000 people are employed in the retail sector in around 750 outlets. Cllr Reeves explains: “We are often described as a shoppers paradise and we’re currently bucking the trend with vacancy rates for retail with 7.2% against a national average of 9.2%. The High Street is key to the economic resilience of the borough. Our day

FOCUS ON GUILDFORD and night time economy is thriving and we’re the only town in Surrey to hold the prestigious Purple Flag award for safe and diverse evenings and night outs and our regeneration projects in the town will enhance this further.” She adds: “We work hard to create a positive environment through investing in public realm. Our regeneration of the historic Tunsgate Arch and opening of the new Tunsgate Quarter is proof that investors and developers are ever keen to invest within Guildford. The stunning Grade II listed Tunsgate Arch in the former Cornmarket is currently having its Portland Stone arch façade repaired by restoration and conservation specialists. The area has been made pedestrian only and the High Street historic stone setts were replaced in recent years.” The award-winning Tourist Informa-

Innovation Awards 2019

tion Centre and regular Farmers’ Market which has run for nearly 20 years helps encourage visitors to the town. Guildford is rich with culture boasting a medieval castle built on William the Conqueror’s orders and later adapted by Henry III, a Tudor Guildhall, a Georgian Art Gallery, Victorian Museum, striking modern Cathedral, three theatres, one cinema and leisure centre. Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) wrote Alice Through the Looking Glass while living in the town and P.G. Wodehouse was baptised and lived in the town. Reports show the town has steady growth in footfall and income.

Guildford’s Innovation Awards are open for entry for 2019. Celebrating inspirational innovation across a spectrum of sectors in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths in the borough, there are nine awards judged against a variety of criteria including, Degree of Innovation; Commercial Potential; and Degree of Social or Economic Impact. The Council also provides an annual STEM and arts festival for residents called Innovate Guildford. For further information and to enter the awards please visit: https://www.guildford.gov.uk / innovationawards

Events and Meetings

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Charles Russell Speechlys IN THE COMMUNITY Law firm Charles Russell Speechlys is supporting various community initiatives across the county

ocated in the centre of Guildford across from Stoke Park, you will find the South East office of international law firm Charles Russell Speechlys. Having been in Surrey for more than 100 years, the firm has enjoyed long-

standing relationships serving both private clients and businesses. With over 150 staff (including 21 partners), read how the people from the firm’s Surrey office get involved and support various initiatives across the region.

01483 252525 Enquiries@crsblaw.com www.charlesrussellspeechlys.com

MENTAL HEALTH IN THE WORKPLACE As part of the firm’s focus on mental health issues, Charles Russell Speechlys supported the Mental Health in the Workplace conference alongside Business South, Guildford Borough Council and mental health charity Oakleaf Enterprise. The main session saw Employment Partner Nick Hurley in conversation with mental health campaigners Jonny Benjamin MBE and Neil Laybourn, sharing their story of a chance meeting on Waterloo Bridge at a time

of crisis for Jonny. This led to Jonny’s recovery and his ongoing quest to find ‘The Stranger on the Bridge’. The pair were eventually reunited creating a powerful connection which resulted in a partnership to help promote mental health issues and form the charity ‘Beyond Shame, Beyond Stigma’. Over 60 HR professionals and business leaders attended the conference held in Guildford’s Harbour Hotel.

THE CHARLES RUSSELL SPEECHLYS OMNATHLON Team members from each of Charles Russell Speechlys three UK offices took on the challenge of covering the entirety of the Thames Path using various methods including kayaking, swimming and running. Approximately 180 miles long, with its source starting in the Cotswolds, the route took in Surrey villages and towns ending at the Thames Barrier - our Guildford team cycled 26 miles along the route. The challenge took place on June 22nd and 23rd raising funds and awareness for Blesma.

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Pictured here is Tara Volino, IT Manager and Hannah Bleach, Senior Facilities Assistant.

FOCUS ON GUILDFORD OUR COMMUNITY FUND The Charles Russell Speechlys Community Fund was launched in 2016 to support projects in and around Guildford focusing on employment, training and skills initiatives. It aims to help people gain confidence and raise aspirations to give them opportunities

they would not otherwise have. As one of the leading law firms in the South East with a private client team advising individuals on their philanthropic interests, it was a natural step to establish our own charitable initiative to create our own legacy in our commu-

GUILDFORD LEGAL WALK

GUILDFORD GAMES FESTIVAL The first Guildford Games Festival took place at GLive on June 28th and 29th. It was a joyous three days where the local games community came together to showcase and celebrate their work. As a founding

nity. The Community Fund is now a key part of our Corporate Social Responsibility programme in the South East as we seek a lasting relationship with the charities and projects we fund through volunteering and ongoing support.

member of G3 Futures Initiative, Charles Russell Speechlys were able to provide workshops, legal surgery and be on hand to answer legal related queries.

Every year the team from Charles Russell Speechlys join the Guildford Legal Walk, a (not quite) 10km sponsored walk through the Surrey countryside. The funds raised go towards extending the services of South West London Law Centres’ Kingston branch throughout Surrey to become the Kingston and Surrey branch. This will help hundreds of the poorest people in the county, which is currently a legal aid “desert” for all areas of social welfare law, with no legal aid for housing, community care, or any other social welfare areas of law.

SURREY HILLS ENTERPRISES Now into our third year as Surrey Hills Enterprises Corporate Partners, Charles Russell Speechlys can be seen at the many and varied events across Surrey. With staff living and working in and around the Surrey Hills it is in all our interest to help preserve this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Surrey Hills En-

Charles Russell Speechlys provides a full range of legal services to business and private clients across the South East. The Guildford office is backed by the resources of an international law firm with offices in some of the key

terprises works with local businesses to support the rural economy and to promote, protect and enhance the beautiful Surrey Hills. As a Community Interest Company, funds generated from its work goes back to support the work of enhancing Surrey Hills, its landscape and local communities.

centres for Private Wealth in Europe and the Middle East. The Guildford office team is recognised as a ‘Regional Heavyweight’ in the South and South East of England by the Legal 500 directory and is ranked among the top

three firms by Chambers UK in all of our core service areas: Corporate and M&A, Real estate & Construction, Private Client and Family. The office is closely involved with the local business community and institutions.

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Choosing the right

R&D TAX CREDIT CONSULTANCY The biggest risk SMEs face when choosing a consultancy firm to assist with R&D Tax Credits and Relief is taking non-expert advice. RandDTax talk us through some of the areas to consider when making your choice

WHAT TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING housands of companies are now claiming valuable R&D Tax Credits or Tax Relief related to Corporation Tax. Some companies say to us that they receive more telemarketing calls on this topic than even PPI. Owners of SMEs (Small Medium Enterprises) considering a claim - or already

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claiming - have a bewildering choice of R&D Tax consultancies and accountancy firms claiming to be experts or specialists, claiming to get you more money, helping you to take less time preparing the claims, making it all very simple, getting more money from re-evaluating claims you have already submitted, or whatever.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry, as well as the large respected accountancy firms and specialist consultancies are pouring into a market that is growing at more than 20% per annum. Prospects ask; “how much do you charge?” or “what percentage do you charge?” Very few seem interested in

FINANCE

the track record or reputation of the consultancy, what exactly they get for their fees, how secure the payments or reliefs which HMRC make, or what the risks are of claims resulting in painful HMRC enquiries. They also seem disinterested in how skilful the consultancy is at helping the client to fully identify and scope qualifying R&D, describe it in a way which meets the HMRC R&D Tax Guidelines, and help to support claims. THESE ARE AREAS TO CONSIDER: Experience What experience do they have in scoping and helping companies to prepare claims, especially in your industry or sector.

Terms Fee rates charged by R&D consultancies are often, even mostly, quoted as percentages. Read and understand terms fully before signing. Make sure you fully understand what it is a percentage of as some will quote the fee as a percentage of the financial benefit to your company, and others as a percentage of qualifying costs. These can result in very different costs and some will quote a fixed price – often the best option. Whatever it is make sure of two things: firstly, exactly what services are included in the cost, will they support you in the event of any HMRC enquiry and will they give back fees if HMRC ask for tax credits or relief given to be paid back after an enquiry? Make sure you understand how the benefit, and on which the fee is based, is actually calculated.

EVERY TOM, DICK AND HARRY, AS WELL AS THE LARGE RESPECTED ACCOUNTANCY FIRMS AND SPECIALIST CONSULTANCIES ARE POURING INTO A MARKET THAT IS GROWING AT MORE THAN 20% PER ANNUM Information Do not automatically believe the information which appears on the consultancy’s website. Talk to clients or accountancy firms who have introduced clients to the consultancy. Many firms claim to have some sort of special relationship with HMRC by sitting on committees; the fact is that every R&D consultancy and agent can sit on those on an entirely equal basis, and we believe that it is important to do so to keep up to date on how HMRC are dealing with claims. One of our competitor’s websites says; “HMRC estimates that 50% of all companies who submit their own claim are refused a payment”. This is totally not true only designed to make companies afraid to make their own claims. There may be good reasons to use a specialist consultancy, but that is certainly not one of them.

We were asked to help in a dispute between a company and their R&D consultancy, which had already gone to a court action. In this case, the difference between what the client expected to pay and what they were charged exceeded £500,000. We will negotiate with clients to establish and agree fair fees.

which makes it difficult for both HMRC and claiming companies to differentiate between one consultancy and another, in the vital area of compliance. There are sales practices employed in the sector that we would not want to be associated with, and in general we feel that telesales and telemarketing, as well as employing professional sales people in an environment where fees are based on the level of claim values is something that should be avoided if possible. We depend on client referrals and introductions from trusted contacts such as accountancy firms and bankers - and have over 300 of those. This model helped us in winning the Business Innovation Award at the National SME Awards in December 2017. Our compliance processes are continually being review and strengthened. We have 1,136 clients who have benefitted by £114 million, through 30 consultants covering the UK. Around 50% are either shareholders or/and Directors so the people who work in the company own the company. Our aim is to deliver maximum value with minimum risk for fair fees.

Fees in the sector are mostly based on a “No win, no fee basis”. This sounds very attractive, but no sensible R&D consultancy will choose to help with a claim unless they were sure it would succeed. Most consultancies will have a 100% claim success rate, as we do, and others will be very close to that. So there is no reason to charge very high fees.

We can be contacted via our website www.randdtax.co.uk or on 01483 808301.

Standards Compliance and ethical standards are becoming increasingly important as the R&D consultancy market matures. The sector is entirely unregulated,

Helping more than 1130 companies gain in excess of £114m in beneﬁt since September 2012

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DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT

Harry Ford, Head of Product Strategy, and Will Poole, UX Producer, both lead the Design Sprint process

Sprint ahead

Digital product agency, Kyan, introduce us to Design Sprints, the better way to build digital products

ello. We’re Kyan, a digital product agency, and we’ve called Guildford ‘home’ since we began in 2002. Our studio of 40+ designers, strategists and engineers build products and platforms for anyone with a big idea, whether they’re a dining room table startup or a global household brand. INNOVATE OR STAGNATE Innovation is a word that conjures thoughts of speed, agility, problem solving, and perhaps a departure from more traditional thinking. And that’s exactly what we focus on at Kyan – better ways to do things. With better technology and the best people. Working with businesses large and small over the years, we’ve come to learn the challenges faced when bringing a digital product to market. Long, drawn-out projects, spiraling costs, and not having the right people being involved. We get it. BETTER PRODUCTS, FASTER Our approach to product design is what we call ‘Rapid Product Development’. We build better products, fast-

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er. Whether it’s a back-end platform, an app, or a complex financial system, we use a process that validates, tests and releases a market-ready product in weeks, not months. At the core of this approach is ‘Design Sprints’. You may already have heard about sprints – companies like Google, eBay, Netflix and Airbnb use them to develop new products and features. If this is new to you, a design sprint is a process for answering critical business questions through collaborative design, prototyping and testing in a timeboxed period. BUILD YOUR BEST TEAM Teamwork and problem solving play a huge part in sprints, so the inclusion of key stakeholders from a variety of roles and levels makes for a more rounded experience. Including real customers gives invaluable insight into users’ individual experiences, and allows us to validate much of the work that takes place during the earlier stages. The sprint takes place across five days. On day one, we work with the

client to define the scope and identify challenges. Day two, we decide on solutions to these challenges, and which of these we will develop. Days three and four, we rapidly build a high-fidelity prototype, which is tested on day five. By the end of the sprint, the idea is user-validated and market-ready. From there, it’s straight into a ‘Production Sprint’ to build out the product, and ‘Branding’, which will form creative areas of the product, such as identity, tone of voice, social assets and marketing collateral. LET’S START SOMETHING We’ve been building products through this new process for long over a year now, and have seen the benefits over traditional approaches. Product design doesn’t have to be long and complicated. If you’d like to discuss your next big idea with us, drop in. Our bespoke development studio sits at the bottom of Guildford High Street. New faces are always welcome.

Please get in touch with us at: w: kyan.com/surrey e: hello@kyan.com t: 01483 548282

DIGITAL MARKETING

Your business ONLY LOUDER Have you considered outsourcing your marketing? Jamie Barlow, Managing Director of digital marketing agency Hyped, tells us why you should…

et’s be honest: if you want your business to attract clients or customers and to be at the top of your industry, you need to effectively market your company or brand to the outside world. Of course, you know that already… But which channels should you use? Should you be on Pinterest or would LinkedIn work better? How long should your blog articles be? How often do you need to add fresh content to your website? An in-house marketing director with a six-figure salary is out of the question (and budget). So as a business owner, your options are limited. You could employ a junior marketing exec with a surface-level understanding of the different areas of marketing – but they will likely get swamped by all the different requirements or end up getting pulled back into urgent day-today tasks. And before you know it, your business Facebook page won’t have seen any activity in over three months.

Another option would be to outsource the marketing requirements to an expert freelancer. But who then co-ordinates the different freelancers? Typically, this route leads to added pressure on the managing director, who is already short on time. This then leaves the option of outsourcing to a traditional marketing agency, which also has its flaws: namely, sky-high costs. SO, WHAT’S THE ANSWER? Well, what if I said you could have all your written content produced and publicised for you in relevant local and national publications? All while having your social media channels constantly monitored and your website continually optimised to ensure it drives relevant traffic. Alongside this, picture your professional company e-newsletter going out to potential customers every month and your Google AdWords account not only being managed but also optimised to reduce monthly spend.

Imagine your website is hosted by someone who not only knows how to update the software and fix things quickly when required – but who also has the creative ideas to keep your website evolving. To top all this off, you could also have creative, design and development support available on tap – from a team that is already up to speed on your business. Sounds good, right? At Hyped Marketing, our diverse and talented team of in-house experts make all this possible – providing tangible results without any hassle or confusing terminology. Unlike traditional agencies, we handle all the marketing requirements of small to medium businesses through our unique and proven packages which start from as little as £1,595 per month.

So, what are you waiting for? Call Hyped Marketing today on 01252 717373 to speak to one of our expert team and discover how we can help your business reach its full potential.

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namic D Y

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN ISSUE ONE – OCTOBER 2019

ROME Shake hands in the eternal city

INTERVIEW Amber Rudd shares her journey

GIRL TORQUE The new Audi Q8

THE BIG DEBATE Glass ceiling or glass ﬂoor

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ULTIMO SUPREMO

The Baroness of Mayfair

Michelle Mone OBE

T HE B U S INE S S M AG A Z INE F OR W OME N The all-new publication inspiring women in business Dynamic is a highly informative magazine for women in business, written by women in business

LAUNCH DATE: OCTOBER 16TH 2019 Subscribe to your copy now by contacting info@platinumpublishing.co.uk PLATINUM BUSINESS MAGAZINE THE LARGEST CIRCULATION REGIONAL BUSINESS PUBLICATION IN THE UK.

MAGAZINE ISSUE 55 2019

ISSUE 55 2019

Rome Shake hands in the ETERNAL CITY

The Winners!

The Sussex Business Awards

THE HEALTH WELLBEING ISSUE

2018

How to sell your business in 2019

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BUSINESS EVENT

The Research Park reaches out Businesses at Surrey Research Park recently attended a sold-out event to discuss the opportunities of innovation and knowledge transfer, as the University of Surrey sets out its commitment to play a bigger role in the commercial world.

t the breakfast briefing event held in the Park’s new café, Hub on the Park, Professor David Sampson, Vice-Provost, Research and Innovation of the University of Surrey presented his research and innovation strategy and invited the business community to collaborate with the University to drive innovation in Guildford. He said, “The Surrey Research Park is a jewel in the crown of Guildford. Collaboration is in the DNA of the University, and we’re committed to working more with local businesses to drive innovation and growth. Start-up success exudes from every part of the Surrey Research Park and our focus with this new strategy is to accelerate business growth further within the region by building new connections and opportunities by catalysing the potential of the two-way partnerships between academics at the University of Surrey and the Park community.” Attendees included tenant businesses from start-ups to large multinational firms as well as local Councillors, Government bodies, funding enterprises and business support services, as well as a cross-section of academics from the University. At the event, Roya Croudace, Growth Hub Director of Enterprise M3, highlighted how Enterprise M3 is working with Surrey Research Park, the University of Surrey and local businesses to help realise the full growth potential of Guildford.

Afterwards, Founder and CEO of the Surrey Research Park, Dr Malcolm Parry commented: “We’re committed to facilitating an environment of collaboration and business support, sharing resources between the University of Surrey and other businesses for everyone’s mutual benefit. The event was hugely popular and illustrated the appetite from all sides to collaborate and innovate in a vibrant community. Over half of Surrey Research Park tenants already work with the University and the feedback we receive from our tenant firms is vital in helping shape our resources and efforts to better serve the wider business community in the future.”

START-UP SUCCESS EXUDES FROM EVERY PART OF THE SURREY RESEARCH PARK

The Surrey Research Park contributes over £1billion to the local economy each year, employing over 4,300 people on site, with a number of the businesses starting life as research ideas in the labs or lecture theatres at the University of Surrey. The sectors on the Park include IT, software and data, life sciences and engineering and environment. Surrey Business Magazine’s Chamber Editor, Molly Enser, said, “As an attendee at this event is was fantastic to see the incredible work going on at the Research Park and seeing the clear links it has with the University also. It’s incredible to think that ground-breaking technology, medicine and general research is going on here, we at Surrey Chambers of Commerce are delighted to support the park and the businesses on it.”

SURREY BUSINESS

The Super Growers - Revealed T

he sums have been added up and the calculators have been put away - the results are in, we can reveal the fastest-growing companies in Surrey. After extensive research from Lloyds Bank, asb law and RSM, the finalists

were invited to a celebratory awards breakfast at Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, hosted by broadcaster and writer Simon Fanshawe OBE, with 37 businesses in attendance. Surrey Business Magazine was very proud to be the exclusive media partner.

The right change can change everything.

The winner, with an incredible growth of 267% was Stenball Group Ltd, an independent building and refurbishment company which specialises in the hospitality, retail and leisure sector.

Simon Fanshawe

Three other businesses could boast a growth rate of 150% or about Thethe calculations were based on profitTo make confident decisions future, over: Jellyfi sh middle Groupmarket Ltd, leaders SIAN need ablea turnover growth over a four-year different kind of adviser. Wholesale Ltd and Nurture Landaccounting period, using information RSM are Ltd. proud to sponsor the Surrey Super scape Holdings filed at Companies House. Growth Awards. Experience the power of being understood. Experience RSM | rsmuk.com

Sponsors

SURREY BUSINESS

The UK group of companies and LLPs trading as RSM is a member of the RSM network. RSM is the trading name used by the members of the RSM network. Each member of the RSM network is an independent accounting and consulting firm each of which practises in its own right. The RSM network is not itself a separate legal entity of any description in any jurisdiction. The RSM network is administered by RSM International Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 4040598) whose registered office is at 50 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6JJ. The brand and trademark RSM and other intellectual property rights used by members of the network are owned by RSM International Association, an association governed by article 60 et seq of the Civil Code of Switzerland whose seat is in Zug.

BUSINESS EVENT The Sponsors’ speeches Nicola Haigh, Regional Director for London and South East team Lloyds “We are delighted to sponsor these awards for the fourth year running alongside asb and RSM. Surrey is renowned for being a prosperous county with a strong economy and it continues to live up to this reputation. Surrey’s economy in 2016 was reported to be worth £40.1bn (in Gross Value Added). GDP per head 39% greater than the country as a

whole; second only to central London areas, with unemployment rates also well below the national average. It is thanks to the fastest growing businesses in the county, that these statistics are so strong, who continue to deliver in times of change and uncertainty. From what we see of our clients across the region it is those businesses with a clear vision, with

great people and a client centric culture that are proving the most resilient. “Lloyds have pledged to make £18m of lending commitments this year of which £3.6bn is to the South East to help local businesses flourish.”

Nicola Billen, Partner & Head of Business Relationships, asb law “We often spend a lot of time talking about how difficult it is to deliver sustainable growth over time, but at this event there is a large number of companies that have achieved triple-digit growth. That is an amazing achievement! We live in particularly challenging times, with businesses feeling unsettled about what the next few years will bring - whether that’s from uncertain trading conditions,

difficulties recruiting, or just a general market slow-down. Everyone in the room has faced, and continues to face, challenges and has still achieved amazing growth. “Having spoken to the finalists, we have heard that a large element of the business resilience comes from investing in people and strong relationships with suppliers and customers. The drive to work in partnership and collaborate to

achieve success is clear. At asb law, we know that partnerships are built on mutual trust, and shared goals are most certainly the best route to continued success. Our focus is always on listening and understanding risk and issues, as only by doing that can we offer real tangible value and help businesses focus on the things that are important to them.”

SURREY BUSINESS

BUSINESS EVENT

THE SURREY SUPER GROWTH FINALISTS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Stenball Group Ltd Jellyfish Group Ltd Sian Wholesale Ltd Nurture Landscapes Holdings Ltd Wifinity Ltd GlucoRx Ltd Sigma Sports Ltd Romans International Ltd Price Building Services Ltd HH Global Ltd New England Seafood International Ltd W.B. Simpson & Sons Ltd Natta Building Company Ltd Eventist Group Ltd Keltbray Group (Holdings) Ltd Leander Construction Ltd Full House Restaurants Holdings Ltd Gift Universe Group Ltd Net Coverage Solutions Ltd Viadex Ltd Windsor Telecom Plc WOT Security Ltd OHOB Holdings Ltd ACC Aviation Ltd Health & Case Management Ltd Fluid Hygiene Ltd

267% 176% 164% 150% 123% 122% 115% 109% 107% 106% 106% 104% 101% 98% 92% 92% 88% 88% 86% 81% 81% 80% 77% 77% 77% 73%

27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

William Croxson & Son Ltd Barons Pub Company Ltd Quills Office Supplies Ltd Brymec Ltd Stark Software International Ltd. SAV Holdings (Uk) Ltd Windmill Organics Ltd Motofix Accident Repair Centres Ltd Ergonomic Solutions Ltd Macai Ltd Russell Cawberry Ltd Sale Service & Maintenance Ltd. Ultrasun (UK) Ltd Wates Group Ltd Barrington James Ltd NCMT Holdings Ltd Area Sq. Ltd Celtic Contractors Ltd Whelan & Grant (Holdings) Ltd Wooldridge Contractors Ltd Amsric Holdings Ltd Croudace Homes Ltd UK Gas Technologies Ltd Chambers Waste Management Plc

73% 72% 68% 64% 62% 62% 62% 62% 60% 60% 56% 55% 54% 54% 54% 54% 50% 50% 48% 48% 47% 46% 45% 45%

The Sponsors’ speeches - cont’d Jon DaCosta, RSM “Surrey is a power house and really open for business, with active companies standing at approximately 72,400. But what was surprising, when meeting the companies was diversity of industries in the county. “I was surprised to find out that in 2018 nearly 20,000 new companies were incorporated in Surrey, maintaining the same number as last year With the stringiest sectors were: • Technology, Media and Telecoms • Professional Services • Construction • Retail These were followed closely by Leisure, Hospitality and Real Estate “In 2017 Companies in Surrey had a

SURREY BUSINESS

Gross Value Income of £40bn, a 2.1% growth from last year, which equates to £67,000 per head. “We are very proud to support the businesses in the county. RSM is not

just a large global accountancy firm - we are also the largest firm of advisers in Surrey. Based In Guildford, we service a wide range of mid-market clients delivering Audit, Tax and Advisory with some 150 staff.”

3D – In Focus

TECHNOLOGY

Vision Engineering unveils ‘Game Changing’ 3D digital display technology

ince its formation in 1958, Vision Engineering has become one of the world’s most innovative and dynamic microscope manufacturers, with offices across Europe, Asia and North America, as well as a fully trained global distribution network. The woking-based company has now unveiled a revolutionary, globally patented, digital 3D stereoscopic display technology. Vision Engineering’s DRV (Deep Reality Viewer) creates stereo high definition 3D images without using a monitor, or requiring operators to wear headsets or specialist glasses: images ‘float’ in front of a mirror. DRV offers users the well-known Vision Engineering advantages of ergonomics and optimised user interfaces, while ensuring full interaction with other local or remote users and other tools/PC’s or complementary analytical equipment. Vision Engineering anticipates that this unique, first-to-market device will be particularly valuable to organisations that model and test components in 3D, as well as facilitating improvements in manufacturing processes. DRV has the particular advantage for multi-site companies of offering real time, full HD 3D stereo images to multiple users in different locations at the same time (commonly known as “daisy chaining”). Manufacturing companies have tried

to exploit the potential offered to them by consumer driven technological trends in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 3D polarised/shutter glass viewing. Along with the advantages of these breakthrough technologies, they have experienced substantial drawbacks in sensory isolation, disorientation and resolution. Modern manufacturing techniques involve multi-site communicability in real time. The latest trends of A.I. the I.o.T and the cascade effect of Blockchain require information to be accessible to multiple users, at the same time, with the same fidelity. Developed to address quality control and production requirements in sectors including electronics, aerospace, automotive and medical industries, DRV offers full, real time transferability of information to multi-site manufacturers, designers or users of multi-tier development and logistic capabilities. DRV carries on the company’s 60 year long tradition of creating ergonomic, high quality visual inspection and metrology systems that reduce operator fatigue and improve accuracy, consistency and productivity, but, critically, exploits modern digital capability to communicate across substantial distances.

cess, by enabling operators to view magnified subjects in 3D, in unprecedented detail, without the need for additional viewing apparatus. Mark Curtis, managing director of Vision Engineering said, “Over the past 60 years Vision Engineering has built its reputation on the innovation, quality, performance and ergonomics of our visual inspection and metrology systems. DRV Z1 provides enhanced 3D visualisation and overcomes current problems with 3D modelling and inspection systems. By amalgamating our existing technologies, we’ve delivered an entirely new concept to our existing customer base, as well as opening up opportunities in fresh markets.”

DRV Z1 is designed to advance the quality control and production pro-

SURREY BUSINESS

Cabo San Lucas BUCKET LIST:

Where little America meets the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most magnificent aquarium, Kate Morton heads to Los Cabos in Mexico

SURREY BUSINESS

LUXURY TRAVEL

LOS CABOS IS AN INTERNATIONAL BEACH LOVERS PARADISE, WHERE SPRING BREAKERS FLOCK IN THEIR THOUSANDS TO SOAK UP ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST CLIMATES

estled at the tip of the Baja California peninsula in the Mexican state of Baja Californian Sur, you’ll find Los Cabos - or Cabo, as it’s more simply known. Perfectly sandwiched between the magnificent Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez with its legendary underwater world, Los Cabos (made up of three communities - Cabo san Lucas, San Jose del Cabo and The Corridor) is an international beach lovers paradise, where spring breakers flock in their thousands to soak up one of the world’s greatest climates, to luxuriate in the glistening crystal waters of the Sea of Cortez, and party by sunset on one of its many private yachts. Once a network of sleepy fishing villages known for their incredible marine life, word soon spread, the Americans got wind and transformed this idyllic Mexican hideaway into their weekend leisure and water sport destination. In fact, being one of only four Brits in the long immigration queue in Los Cabo International Airport - the other three being my other half and our two boys - even the Mexicans look out of place here. Aside from its bevy of A-Listers and jet-setters - I lost count of the number of private jets lined up on the airport’s runway - in its glory days, the Baja California Sur attracted many luminaries including the author Ernest Hemingway and the actor John Wayne, who were both lured in by their love of fishing for black and blue marlin in the 30s. The ocean life here also enticed the American author John Steinbeck to Cabo, who after taking a break from fiction, wrote his book The Log from the Sea of Cortez (1951), which details a six-week marine specimen-collection boat expedition he made in 1940 in the Sea of Cortez with his friend, the marine biologist Ed Ricketts. This exclusive destination was also a favoured getaway for the Hollywood set,

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THE UNDERWATER WORLD WHALE WATCHING Every autumn thousands of Gray whales and Humpbacks make their annual 6,000 mile migration from the summer feeding grounds of Alaska to the warm waters of the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean to mate and give birth. See this fascinating natural encounter and watch the delightful journey of a new mother and baby take place between January and lateApril. For private whale watching excursions to Magdalena Bay, visit audleytravel.com SCUBA DIVING Diving in Cabo San Lucas is easy enough for a true beginner yet offers challenges for the most expert diver. Beginners will enjoy the protected rocky reefs of San Lucas Bay, intermediate and advanced divers can head outwards toward the dramatic walls just offshore, and the submerged pinnacles and deep wrecks located at the join between the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean are reserved for the most advanced divers. Submerge yourself with schools of rays, jacks and butterfly fish. SHARK DIVING Sharks can be seen at nearly every opportunity in marine park of Cabo San Lucas and the Corridor (the mouth of the Gulf of California and the Sea of Cortez). The currents from the Pacific which clash with those of the Sea of Cortez make this a unique environment for marine life, with deep canyons and nutrient plenty crystal clear waters - you’ll see blue sharks, silky sharks, mako, hammerheads and whale sharks. DEEP SEA FISHING Cabo is Mexico’s top fishing location and known as the ‘marlin capital of the world’. The upwelling of nutrients brings in enormous shoals of sardines, herring and small bait fish, pursuing these come bonito and skipjacks up to 30 lbs, and hunting them are marlin, sailfish, tuna, dorados and razors. Catch a day’s fishing charter which range from inexpensive pangas to large 50ft+ luxury yachts. A day’s fishing trip package should include the boat, fuel, captain and licensed crew, fishing tackle, bait, fishing license, ice, food and drink.

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including 1930’s sex symbol and movie star Jean Harlow who soaked up its beauty and took much-needed respite from the limelight. Some 90 years later and it’s still as breathtakingly beautiful, luring people in with its magnetic charm and wondrous aquarium where you can dive, snorkel, fish, whale watch, swim with sharks and windsurf. We flew direct with Southwest Airlines from LAX after a ten-day stint in Los Angeles, and just three hours later we were on the road in our A-Team-style van (and yes, we drove with the sides open) heading towards San Jose del Cabo. Approximately 30 minutes from the main town of Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo is a more low-key colonial style destination, away from the glare of the Cabo cruise ships and Mexican beach sellers, intently playing ping pong with your gaze whilst waving their wares in your face. If you catch their eye, you’re a gonna I’m afraid. It’s here you’ll find true Mexico. Fast becoming a major art district, its laidback local scene, Spanish architecture and charming side streets herald the more calmer side of Los Cabo, compared to its wilder sister, Cabo San Lucas. Historically, San Jose del Cabo was the only community at the tip of

BUSINESS SURVEY route, fast food joints, American chains, Day of the Dead decor, and carnival-esque dancers spilling out of nightclubs, then it’s certainly worth a stopover.

the Baja California peninsula. With its natural fresh water oasis flowing into palm-lined lagoons at the edge of the Sea of Cortez, the area was home to Indian communities and hundreds of species of wildlife before the colonisation by the Spanish. You’ll find open galleries, artist walks, a renovated town plaza, culinary seafood delights (fried whole red snapper, stuffed clams and ceviche were a few holiday favourites) and of course, tequila bars a plenty. Head 45 minutes west and you’ll reach Cabo San Lucas, where the desert meets the ocean (carry on driving and you’ll hit California)! If you can ignore the high rise resorts en

A visit to El Arco is one of the most popular things to do here. Known as a gathering area for sea lions, the arch of Cabo San Lucas is a distinctive rock formation at the southern tip of Cabo San Lucas, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Gulf of Baja California. However, the popularity of Cabo San Lucas as a resort destination has always been directly tied to its reputation for world-class big game sport fishing - top tournaments are held during the summer and autumn months with October traditionally being the best month for blue marlin. Head to Lover’s and Divorce Beaches for some serious sunbathing and when it’s time to eat, sink your toes firmly in the sand at The Office (with a view out to El Arco), where the likes of George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Aniston have been spotted. Menu favourites include coconut shrimp, garlic lobster tails, and fresh tuna. Even though its served many a celeb, the prices are inexpensive, the food is generous and the atmosphere is understated where margaritas and huevos rancheros for breakfast are the norm.

WHERE TO STAY

SOLAZ LOS CABOS Offering a world class spa, infinity pools and contemporary architecture, Solaz Los Cabos is a nature-inspired resort and part of the Luxury Collection Hotels and Resorts group. Located midway between Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo and nestled between two nature rocks beds, it offers guests one of the only swimmable beaches in the area. Check out its sustainable lush “dry jungle” that features endemic species and flora. www.solazsignaturesuites.com LAS VENTANAS AL PARAISO For a wow factor, check in at Las Ventanas al Paraiso - a chic boutique retreat that embraces the desert environment and offers utter luxury in Baja California. Las Ventanas al Paraiso - a Rosewood Hotel - boasts traditional Mexican decor, butler service and a dramatic desert backdrop. Sit by the fire pit at sunset and soak up its tranquil surroundings. www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/las-ventanaslos-cabos

WHERE TO EAT FLORA FARMS For idyllic Mexican dining head to Flora Farms, a 25-acre organic working farm in the foothills of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains in San Jose del Cabo - home to Flora’s Field Kitchen, The Farm Bar, Flora Farms Grocery, Farm Spa, homeware stores and coffee shop. All the food featured on their menu is seasonal, grown, and raised on site where possible. With open plan dining complete with cooling mist jets overhead, I highly recommend their cocktail list and shrimp salad. On site is an ice cream parlour and pizzeria for the kids - the perfect day out. www.ﬂora-farms.com

SURREY BUSINESS

GATWICK AIRPORT

AND ITS QUEST TO GO GREEN

The UK’s second largest airport has the world’s most efficient singlerunway, and is on course to be the country’s most sustainable airport

ustainability is a key part of Gatwick’s transformation since it became an independent airport in 2009. Despite passenger numbers growing from 31 million to over 46 million per year, through its ‘Decade of Change’ – a strategy designed to track Gatwick’s progress on a series of sustainability goals – the airport has sig-

nificantly reduced its environmental footprint and developed a strong programme of support for the local economy and community during 2018. Highlights from 2018 which underpin Gatwick’s energy conservation and efficiency performance include, welcoming the UK’s first commercial flight

with fuel made partly from waste gas emissions – which has the potential to deliver a 65% reduction in greenhouse gasses compared to conventional jet fuel; reducing Gatwick’s noise footprint by 7% through improved operational procedures; and a 64% increase in recycling and reuse.

GATWICK AIRPORT’S VITAL STATISTICS

450+ 50+ daily departures

1 in 5

regular airlines

passengers travel on business

Employs

240+ 60+ destinations

24,000 people on site

long haul routes

Installed

100% LED runway lights 50% more efficient than halogen

‘Best Combined Reduction of Carbon Water & Waste Award’, The Carbon Trust 2018

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TRAVEL NEWS In 2018 Gatwick took their recycling and reuse rate to 64%, and in the first three months of 2019 they averaged 70%

13,772

tonnes of waste was processed and collected in 2018... 25% reused 39% recycled 36% recovered offsite to make electricity

CARBON FOOTPRINT

NOISE

1st

departing aircraft 98% ofON-TRACK

airport to achieve the CARBON TRUST STANDARD

complying with the mandatory noise preferential routes

aircraft 90% ofarearriving performing CDO

Gal Fuels and Energy Emissions 13.5% REDUCTION in 2018

(continuous descent operations allow aircraft to follow a flexible, optimum flight path that delivers major environmental and economic benefits)

(compared to 2017)

On October 3rd, 2018, Gatwick welcomed Virgin Atlantic’s history-making flight VS16 from Orlando, the first commercial flight into the UK with fuel made partly from industrial waste gas emissions

ALL used empty plastic bottles and coffee cups are recycled ALL food scraps collected from retail outlets, offices and EU flights are converted onsite to biomass for heating

TRANSPORT

BIODIVERSITY

using Faxi App

Retained The Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark Accreditation for the ﬁfth time

commuting miles staff 74,000 saved since July 43% ofcommute 2018 by airport staff car-poolers

ENERGY

RENEWABLE 100% ELECTRICITY purchased since 2013

39%

reduction in energy per passenger since 2010

via sustainable modes

AIR QUALITY

OVER 200 airﬁeld charging points for electric ground support equipment

22 biodiversity surveys conducted recording 1,768 species of wildlife at Gatwick

WATER

29% per 52% reduction passenger

REDUCTION in airport water use since 2010

All performance stats have been taken from Gatwick Airport’s Decade of Change Sustainability Report for 2018. Information correct at time of printing.

SURREY BUSINESS

THE EDGE By Maarten Hoffmann

he Edge is Ford’s effort to attack the premium crossover market and rival the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Volvo XC60, and is based on the same platform as the S-Max and Mondeo – and not an attempt to supplant U2’s guitarist.

It’s big, running to 4.8 metres in length and 1.9 metres in width and weighing in at a hefty two tonnes. I like it. It’s bold, a tad brash and has a significant presence on the road. This SUV segment is evergrowing it would seem, with a 24% year-on-year increase in sales. Ford are grabbing large chunks of this market with

IT’S BOLD, A TAD BRASH AND HAS A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE ON THE ROAD

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their smaller Kuga and the even smaller, EcoSport. The Edge is not available with a petrol version (groan), and the choices are a 2.0-litre diesel pumping out 178bhp with a six-speed manual, or a 207bhp variant with a six-speed ‘Powershift’ auto that l currently have under my bum. It’s quick enough but will not blow your skirt up; smooth, stable and well-planted on the tarmac. The

MOTORING

178bhp model is way too turgid and even overtaking can be an effort as it is dragging two tonnes around. Inside, it is well equipped with very comfy seats and it is remarkably quiet. We have something here called Active Noise Control. Clever stuff, as it has microphones that pick up undesirable noise and instruct the speakers

to send out opposing sound waves to counteract the unwanted racket. Stand outside though and, like all Ford diesels, it sounds like a black cab or a transit van rattling into life. Although the Germans have been building Panzer-tank solid cars for donkeys’ years, Ford and Volvo have finally caught up, and this car feels German-solid, well-

built, rugged and, with all-wheel drive as standard, a go anywhere style. It lacks seven seats, which is a shame as there is plenty of room for the third row, but all in all, this is a very good car – and it needs to be. The competition is fierce with Germans on every side but they have made a very good fist of it.

TECH STUFF Model tested: 2.0-litre EcoBlue Engine: 2.0-litre Power: 207bhp Speed: 0-62 – 9.6 seconds Top: 134mph Economy: 41.5mpg combined Price from: £37,020 As tested: £44,035

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By Maarten Hoffmann

he HR-V has been with us since 1999 and has undergone multiple facelifts since then. I couldn’t resist looking up the meaning of HR-V – believe it or not it stands from Hi-rider Revolutionary Vehicle. Gotta love those Japs for their very literal description of just about everything. So, here is their Sport version of this mass-selling car, but is it worth the extra dosh? It gets a few subtle sporty tweaks but the engine is where the attention lies. They have fitted a turbocharged 1.5-litre VTEC from the Civic Sport, pumping out 180bhp and driven through the front wheels. Honda claims 0-62 in 7.8 seconds. This is hot hatch territory and with some subtle body kit changes and tighter suspension, it is a quick SUV. In the vein of every other manufacturer, Honda are at it with the fancy words – this one

SURREY BUSINESS

SO, HERE IS THEIR SPORT VERSION OF THIS MASS SELLING CAR BUT IS IT WORTH THE EXTRA DOSH? has Synaptic Damping Control – a fancy phrase for uprated dampers aimed at sharpening the body roll without ruining the ride.

need an upgrade. Such a shame to throw the kitchen sink at this funky new model and then forget about the infotainment.

The interior is pleasant enough but the infotainment system really does

It is quick, rides well and the interior is pleasant. The trouble is, with a price of

BUSINESS MOTORING SURVEY

HONDA

£29,000, it places it in the range of some seriously good cars like the Seat Ateca, Golf GTl and high-spec Ford Focus. In that company, the shines dulls a tad. And here’s the kicker – l do not like Japanese cars and never have (saying that makes me feel as if l am at an AA meeting). There is something about their lack of flair, their odd shapes under the guise of ‘funky’ and their dull interiors and performance. I wish l

HR-V could be more erudite on this subject but they just bore the pants off me. It’s like they iron all their cars so that there is little personality, no thrill and the feeling that we are all in some ghastly dystopian world of vanilla. It’s like Birkenstocks and sweat pants - for people who have just given up on life. I had high hopes for this much-heralded Sport version but it is just quick vanilla.

TECH STUFF Model tested: Honda HR-V Sport

Engine: 1.5-litre VTEC turbo Power: 220bhp Speed: 0-62 – 7.8 seconds Top: 134mph Economy: 39.2mpg combined Price from: £29,090

SURREY BUSINESS

A180d SE Manual Representative Example (based on 10,000 miles per annum) Monthly Payments of1

£299.00

Customer Deposit

£999.00

Retailer Contribution

£2,813.97

On the Road Price

£24,510.00

Optional Purchase Payment2

£9,800.00

Amount of Credit

£20,697.03

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable

£27,974.97

Purchase Activation Fee

£10.00

Representative APR

5.7%

Fixed Interest Rate

5.55%

Excess Mileage Charge excl. VAT

8p per mile

C200 AMG Line Premium Saloon Representative Example (based on 10,000 miles per annum) Monthly Payments of1

£399.00

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

Retailer Contribution

£6,657.73

On the Road Price

£39,015.00

Optional Purchase Payment2

£14,000.00

Amount of Credit

£28,358.26

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable

£43,818.73

Purchase Activation Fee

£10.00

Representative APR

5.7%

Fixed Interest Rate

5.55%

Excess Mileage Charge excl. VAT

9p per mile

To ﬁnd a full list of our 2019 events visit www.surrey-chambers.co.uk/event-listing

August 14th

HAVE YOUR CAKE & EAT IT! AFTERNOON NETWORKING Event Time: 14:30-16:30 Event Theme: Networking PM Price: Member Rate: £10.00 +VAT | Non Member Rate: £10.00 +VAT Event Location:

Lythe Hill Hotel Ltd Petworth Road Haslemere GU27 3BQ

Every other month, Surrey Chambers of Commerce joins forces with Hampshire Chamber of Commerce to bring members together for some light afternoon networking, all over a spot of tea and cake. It may be that you’re looking to catch up with an existing supplier or perhaps you’re searching for an opportunity to grow your network and expand your business into the neighbouring county - these are the sort of networking sessions where these partnerships blossom! The flexible format also combines both general networking and some facilitated networking, to ensure you make the most of the afternoon and have the chance to speak with as many businesses as possible. These are always incredibly popular events, so why not join us at the stunning Lythe Hill Hotel in a bid to raise your business profile and meet potential new clients! Plus, there’s cake. And that’s always a good enough reason to join us!

SURREY BUSINESS

2019 BUSINESS SURVEY

SURREY CHAMBERS

EVENTS DIARY

UPCOMING SEPTEMBER EVENTS

September 17th CSR - CONNECTING THE COMMUNITY Event Time: 08:30 - 10:30 Event Theme: Networking AM Price: Non Member Rate: £10.00 +VAT Member Rate: £10.00 +VAT Event Location: Woking & Sam Beare Hospices Goldsworth Park Centre WOKING Surrey GU21 3LG Back by popular demand, our CSR – Connecting the Community is officially welcoming a whole new group of charities to host their own table for the morning. If you’re a business who needs to brush up on their CSR, this is the event for you.

August 22nd OPEN 18 GOLF COMPETITION AT HINDHEAD GOLF CLUB Event Time: 08:30-17:30 Event Theme: Surrey Chambers Golf Society Price: Member Rate: £108.00 +VAT Non Member Rate: £120.00 +VAT

Event Location:

Hindhead Golf Club Churt Rd HINDHEAD GU26 6HX

Through speed networking, share best practice and engage with fellow businesses and charities on how you can give back to our local community. Gain insight on how to work with charities and further the discussion on corporate social responsibility. This is a great opportunity to learn about the large projects and initiatives of your fellow businesses. As you rotate around the room, you will meet with a variety of businesses and hear from a selection of wonderful charities throughout the two hour session. At Surrey Chambers we love creating new and innovative events for our members to attend. We have decided to renovate our usual CSR Forum to produce an event that will bring together best practice, and to create a buzzing environment for our members to make countless connections, all under one roof.

Hindhead Golf club, our final new 2019 fixture, is ranked 11th in Surrey and 33rd in England. Founded in 1904 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and a small group of golfing enthusiasts, Hindhead Golf Club is set in one of the most glorious natural settings and ranks amongst the best of Britain’s heathland courses. Please note, this event will be played in a three ball format.

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Be Safe With Us

Did you know that Chamber members have unlimited access to a range of essential business support services.

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GOLF

A PERFECT FITT FOR FOXHILLS Chris Fitt has big plans in his new role as director of golf and leisure at Foxhills

hris Fitt is determined to take his golf expertise to the rest of the leisure experience, after taking on an extended role at Foxhills Club & Resort. The 31-year-old was appointed as director of golf at Foxhills in 2017 and has overseen a number of successful initiatives which has seen the club establish the golf offering at the resort as a premier destination in Surrey and the South of England. Membership renewal figures this year were at an unprecedented 98 per cent. It’s also testament to the ongoing approach as Foxhills continues to invest and modernise with several new facilities introduced and others on the horizon. The Practice Den recently opened to enhance the golf coaching and practice facilities, the main restaurant has been refurbished and relaunched as The Fox dining rooms and the stateof-the-art Yoga Cabin opened this month. With new facilities added to what was already an impressive range, Fitt is keen to deliver more success across the resort in his new role as director of golf and leisure. Fitt said: “I’m delighted to take on the new challenge. It’s an exciting time as there is a lot of development and expansion happening at Foxhills. “We’ve had some excellent success with golf over the past couple of years and my objective is to bring some of those ideas and culture to the wider leisure offering we have here. We have fantastic facilities away from the golf – the new Yoga Cabin, tennis, award-winning spa & gym, cycling,

several swimming pools, and woodland adventure playgrounds. “We had a really positive renewal for golf and full membership this year and we put this down to having great people, with great processes in place and a continual desire to keep improving the product we offer. There are certainly elements I hope to take into the other departments.” A new family building is set for construction in the autumn and Fitt believes this will entice more families and younger members, while further new activities are planned to enhance the member and guest experience. He said: “We try to ensure that when members join us, they are here to stay.

So we need to make sure that the activities we offer – including golf – is all up to the standards we and our members expect. With the arrival of the new Yoga Cabin this has given us an additional studio space allowing us to significantly increase the size of our class timetable with new holistic classes for the health and wellbeing of our members. Work will then start on the new youth club building towards the end of the year, so there is plenty to get excited about. “This improvement in our facilities and the arrival of new activities will further cement us as a leisure destination for our members and guests.”

foxhills.co.uk

SURREY BUSINESS

Surrey Chambers

GOLF 2019 SOCIETY Surrey Chambers of Commerce Golf Society (SCGS) has been running for 23 years and offers the opportunity to play some of Surrey’s finest courses and to entertain guests in a relaxed and mildly (!) competitive environment. By Tara Wavre

pictured with our Surrey Chambers President, Steve Coburn.

pen to all business owners or senior executives, the society’s main strength is the quality of the venues attended, with Swinley Forest, St. George’s Hill, New Zealand and Hankley Common to name four of a stunning monthly selection. Our first visit to Foxhills in many years saw us run not one but two events on the same day. Our usual society day was once again blessed with good weather for our members who tackled the Longcross course. We had great feedback from our members who have said the course is much improved since the trees had been cut back and a thoroughly good day was had by all.

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Thank you to our sponsor, Commtel, Alan Smith presented Anthony Nartey the Presidents Cup after he won the day with 37 points. You can see them

We also ran a golf clinic for those people who were either new to golf or had not played in a while, including our very own Louise Punter as well as some of the board members of Surrey Chambers. After some lessons with the Pro on the driving range the tackled the par 3, 9-hole Manor course, before joining the society for a (few) drinks and the evening meal. We will be running more of these in the future so watch this space! Following on from the huge success of our first major tournament at

GOLF 2019 SPONSORS

DIARY: August 22nd

HEADLINE SPONSOR

ORDER OF MERIT SPONSOR

Hindhead

September 11th New Zealand

October 17th Camberley Heath

November 7th Swinley Forest

December 3rd Woking

Burhill, which saw 84 golfers compete in teams to win our new Claret Jug, I am delighted to announce that our December fixture at Woking Golf Club on the December 3rd, will serve as our next major. This will be a team event with a shotgun start, competing for the Claret Jug (currently held by Team NGA). If you want to challenge Andy & team NGA for the Claret jug, thank clients, reward colleagues or catch up with golfing buddies close to Christmas time please book your team on! Please put the dates in your diaries and contact us to reserve your teams space. We have some fantastic fixtures coming up in the autumn and winter, including our visit to New Zealand Golf Club in September and Swinley Forest in November. I hope you see you all at an event soon.

“I was first attracted to the society some five years ago by the opportunity to play some great golf courses. It came as a pleasant surprise to find that the atmosphere was friendly, with just the right degree of competitive edge and not with an oppressively businesslike environment. It is an excellent set-up to entertain customers or just to come along and share the day with like-minded souls” Roy Stansbury

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JOIN THE CHAMBER “Surrey Cham bers of Commerce is the county’s larg est independ ent, not-for-proﬁ support organ t business is businesses to ation that helps connect loca lly, nationally a nd globally in order to gain custom suppliers an ers, d knowledge.”

CAN YOUR BUSINESS AFFORD

NOT TO BE A MEMBER OF SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE? Sitting at the heart of the business community, Surrey Chambers of Commerce connects you to opportunities, skills, knowledge and valuable contacts. We can help you grow and develop, by promoting your business, introducing you to new customers, keeping you informed and representing you locally, regionally and nationally

ith a membership representing businesses of all sizes across every sector of the economy, the Chamber works hard to ensure that the continued prosperity of Surrey takes into account the needs of business, as well as providing a range of high quality services to help businesses to grow and meet new potential customers, including making introductions into over 40 countries. Surrey Chambers of Commerce is an integral part of the Surrey business support network and alongside its partners offers specialist advice, knowledge and information on a wide range of issues facing local businesses.

We can: Help you to ﬁnd new customers – raise your profile, increase your brand awareness and generate new business by using our website, publications and database to communicate with thousands of business people. Connect you to other businesses – we run

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over 100 events a year that give you the chance to enhance your business network, find new customers and meet like-minded and other successful business people. Expand your network overseas – we provide friendly, professional advice and assistance and can help you obtain necessary export documentation. Our relationship with 28 accredited overseas British Chambers means we can introduce you to our global network of experts to make your journey much easier.

British Chambers of Commerce who talk directly to government, influencing policy and strategic decisions. Support your local community – we are passionate about contributing to the wider community and encourage you to work with us. We support a variety of local initiatives, providing you with the chance to give something back, whilst raising your company profile.

Develop you and your workforce’s knowledge and skills – we run a range of training events throughout the year and can introduce you to a variety of training providers.

Save you money – we can provide you with a variety of discounts designed to save your company money. As well as national deals you will benefit from exclusive discounts offered by other Chamber members. You too can offer a special member to member deal.

Represent you – we believe it is important that you and your business are fairly represented locally, regionally, nationally and where appropriate, internationally on issues affecting business. We work closely with Surrey County Council, the eleven local borough councils, district and two Local Enterprise Partnerships, and we feedback and provide input to the

WANT TO KNOW MORE? If you would like any further information about joining Surrey Chambers of Commerce please contact us: Call: 01483 735540, Email: Sarah.Butcher@surrey-chambers.co.uk Visit: www.surrey-chambers.co.uk

BUSINESS SURVEY

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