Surrey Business Magazine - issue 24

SURREY

BUSINESS THE OFFICIAL SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE MAGAZINE

ISSUE 24 MARCH 2020

JAGUAR F-TYPE SVR

EMBRACING DISRUPTION The futureproofing conference

AN EVERYDAY SUPERCAR

Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

The ямБnalists

Influencers The

Reed Hastings

Forum

The Women in Business debate

THE FUTURE OF NETFLIX

SURREY CHAMBERS S UORFR E Y C H A M B E R S COMMERCE OF COMMERCE

CONNECTING CPORNONMEO CT T II N NG G NR GE S E N T I N G S U P P O R T IPNRGO M & ORTEI P SUPPORTING & REPRESENTING YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS

C CAAL LLL UUSS TTOODD AA YY A AN N DD JJOOIINN SSUURRR RE EY Y ' S' SM M O SOTS T I INNFFLLUUEENN TT II A RK A LL BB UUSSIINNEESSSS NNE ET TWW OO RK @SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE @SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE

@SURREYCHAMBERS @SURREYCHAMBERS

@SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE

@SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE

@WWW.SURREY-CHAMBERS.CO.UK @WWW.SURREY-CHAMBERS.CO.UK

01483 735540 01483 735540

@SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE

@SURREYCHAMBERSOFCOMMERCE

CONTENTS 4 5

SURREY CHAMBERS MEMBERSHIP Can you afford not to be a member?

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

7 8-9 10

THE PRESIDENT President Steve Coburn on card loyalty schemes

NEWS The latest from the Chambers and across Surrey SURREY CHAMBERS EVENTS Highlights of upcoming Surrey Chambers events across the county

12 13 14 16

NEW MEMBERS Welcoming new faces to the Chamber

SURREY POLICE Surrey PCC announces 150 new police officers and staff

INTERNATiONAL TRADE Do you have 2020 vision for trading internationally?

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COVER STORY Ian Trevett profiles the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings

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WILLOW STUDY HUB Willow Study Hub’s guide to preparing for spring exams

SURREY BUSINESS SCHOOL Trends in geopolitics and how to survive the next decade

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SPONSOR A CHAMBER EVENT Get involved in the Surrey Chambers of Commerce activities

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EMBRACING DISRUPTION Introducing a day-long programme of events aimed at future-proofing your business NATWEST The latest survey of business confidence

20 22 26

SUSSEX INNOVATION CENTRE On a mission to disrupt RSM Helping businesses to achieve their full growth potential

HEALTH & WELLBEING Wellness trends and advances in 2020 and beyond

62-65

MOTORING Maarten Hoffmann road tests a Jaguar F-Type SVR and a Mercedes GLC

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MOVERS & SHAKERS Who’s going where... Harvey John Recruitment tells us who is moving on in the world of regional commerce

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DMH STALLARD Family fortunes: why business valuation matters

39-45

INFLUENCERS FORUM: WOMEN IN BUSINESS The first in a series of roundtable discussions on the hot talking points of the day.

SURREY CHAMBERS GOLF SOCIETY A look ahead to the 2020 calendar of events

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68-72

TRAVEL Travel experts Go Bespoke feature the Givenchy Spa at the Metropole MonteCarlo, and offer up travel tips for businesses post-Brexit

75 46 48

GATWICK AIRPORT Airport of the future

NORWEGIAN Making air travel more sustainable

FOOTBALL Former Albion striker Justin Fashanu is still the only male professional footballer to come out as gay.

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CHARITY NEWS Chestnut Tree House announce their Castle Night Trek

51/80

NEWS Further round up of commercial news across the UK and abroad

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52 55

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CLEANKILL More than meets the eye when it comes to pest control

MHA CARPENTER BOX Are you ready for the new VAT rules on energy saving materials?

HAINES WATTS Mental health in the workplace

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GATWICK DIAMOND BUSINESS AWARDS The finalists are announced

NATWEST ACCELERATOR Laura Way of Votch

All rights reserved. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions relating to advertising or editorial. The publisher reserves the right to change or amend any competitions or prizes offered. No part of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent from the publisher. No responsibility is taken for unsolicited materials or the return of these materials whilst in transit. Platinum Business Magazine is owned and published by The Platinum Publishing Group.

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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.

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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.

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 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.

We can:

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.

Connect you to other businesses – we run over 100 events a year that give

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

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.

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Enterprise Partnerships and we feedback and provide input to the 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.

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.

Call: 01483 735540 Email: sarah.butcher@surrey-chambers.co.uk Visit: www.surrey-chambers.co.uk

A WORD FROM THE CEO

Pushing government for clarity

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n some ways this was an historical start to the year for the UK, having officially left the EU on the January 31st. However, we now enter a transition period, which will hopefully culminate in an orderly exit on December 31st 2020. As government officials focus on the best environment for businesses to sell overseas, we at the Chamber encourage all businesses to continue considering the entire potential customer base across the world. The worst outcome from our exit would be to discourage anyone from looking for export opportunities. There continues to be support for new and growing exporters and we urge all companies to take advantage of this support. Our greatest plea to government is that clear information be provided to businesses as different aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement are finalised.

Latest on migration This month saw the release of the Migration Advisory Committee’s report on the UK’s immigration system, highlighting a reduction in the salary threshold and an expansion in the list of eligible jobs. Although this was a step in the right direction it was disappointing that recommendations did not take account of regional salary differences.

Particularly here in Surrey and the South East the lack of recognition of different regional costs could limit access to skills for our local companies.

Maarten Hoffmann – Director

Events not to miss On Thursday February 27th, the Surrey Chambers celebrated its 25th birthday, with an evening of networking and celebrations at Fetcham Park. At this event we recognised the success of the Chambers, as well as recognising those who have been members of the Chambers for almost 20 years! On March 9th, we have our International Women’s Day Lunch, as well as our CSR Forum on the March 17th, which is a wonderful opportunity for businesses to meet charities and find out how they can develop their Corporate Social Responsibility by working together.

I look forward to hearing from members about the challenges facing them. During 2020, we will continue to focus on: • Creating workplaces for the future • Keeping Britain open for business • Meeting the Infrastructure challenges of tomorrow We will also be focusing on climate change activities to help businesses to make changes which will help the climate and show benefits to their business results. We are here to make it as easy as possible for businesses to succeed and look forward to our members steering us towards the subjects that matter most to them.

maarten@platinumpublishing.co.uk

Commercial Director

Lesley Alcock

Fiona Graves

Ian Trevett – Director

Kate Morton

Hanna Nicholson

ian@platinumpublishing.co.uk

Features Editor

Events Director

Travel Editor

Louise Punter

CEO Surrey Chamber of Commerce

Lydia Bunyard Events Executive

Alan Wares

Head of Design

Hannah Joslyn Chamber Editor

Steve Elford

Head of Web Development

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

ARTS & CULTURE

WHAT’S ON IN SURREY

Compiled by Hannah Joslyn

Watts Gallery, Guildford On Sunday March 8th, Watts GalleryArtists’ Village will be celebrating International Women’s Day. There will be pop-up ten-minute talks on ‘daring women in history’, and creative activities to mark the occasion.

From March 10th onwards, the gallery will host Unto This Last: Two Hundred Years of John Ruskin, partnered with the Yale Center for British Art. The themes explored in this exhibition have inspired a variety of springtime activities focusing on the appreciation of the natural world. The Nature Library will see the Artist in Residence studio becomes a sensory space of objects from nature, and visitors will be encouraged to create art in response.

On Wednesday March 18th, the gallery will be joined by poet and activist Zakiya Mckenzie, for her talk: Nature Writing in the Climate Crisis, who will encourage discussion and reflection on nature writing as a catalyst for change.

On April 4th, join London-based chamber choir Khoros for an evening of choral music celebrating nature, in St Nicholas’ Church, Compton, for the event Choral Roots: Nature in Music. Finally, for the history of art lovers, writer and curator Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper will examine how Ruskin is both a guide and an inspiration, in her two talks, The House of Life Lecture: Why Ruskin Matters, on April 24th.

This Easter, there will be an exploration of nature and bring the outside in, with a wonderful range of fun and creative activities. Create Nature Prints and experiment with Nature Clay by making a clay dish inspired by the organic shapes and natural forms. Explore the grounds and woodlands with the Watts Woodlands Audio Trail.

To accompany his exhibition Etching the Archipelago, in Watts Contemporary Gallery, Norman Ackroyd CBE RA, will be joined by Professor Ian Ritchie CBE, RA, for a conversation about art and nature, on March 26th, for An Evening with Norman Ackroyd & Ian Ritchie.

Please visit wattsgallery.org. uk for further details.

March highlights at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking Musicals, comedy, live music and children’s entertainment make up a month full of highlights this March at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

John Ruskin’s work at Watts Gallery, Guildford

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Anton and Erin will return with Dance Those Magical Movies, and Susan Boyle makes her Surrey debut to celebrate a decade in the music indus-

‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’

try with a live concert show joined by fellow Britain’s Got Talent winner Jai McDowall.

The comedy line up kicks off with Ed Byrne making an appearance followed

by Adam Kay with his award-winning hit This Is Going To Hurt: The Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor alongside Rob Brydon’s new Songs & Stories show, plus Josh Widdicombe comes with all-new stand up.

The party is set to continue with Priscilla Queen of the Desert starring Strictly Come Dancing winner, Joe McFadden, and produced by Jason Donovan who starred in the original West End stage version in 2009. Completing the hit programme of musicals are the classic The Sound of Music and the rousing Blood Brothers both coming from the prestigious production house of Bill Kenwright.

Judith Kerr’s The Tiger Who came To Tea comes to the stage in a tea-tastic stage adaptation of the classic story which has been delighting children for over ten years across the world and has also become a staple of many family bookcases.

See more information at atgtickets. com/Woking

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

THE PRESIDENT’S VIEW

PLEASE

© Paul Judd Food

COME BACK...

by Steve Coburn

I

’ve used my supermarket Loyalty Cards for years now. I’ve never really thought about why, to be fair.

The Nectar Card was something that I was told to use. My wife was very insistent! Every month I would spend up to £500 on fuel for my car – and by ensuring I always bought fuel from a garage that was part of the Nectar scheme, we were able to build up a significant number of points/benefits each year.

Add in the weekly shop at Sainsbury’s and we were able to convert those points into a significant amount of Amazon Vouchers at Christmas and use them for our Christmas Shopping.

The My Waitrose card was useful too.

Newspapers and coffee are free at the weekend. And I’m always able to secure a good discount on my favourite Burrata cheese.

to come back. We still shop there for our main weekly shop (Waitrose is reserved for when we’re entertaining or buying wine). But, the vouchers we are now receiving from them show that they are paying attention to the changes in our spending habits.

My fuel costs have evaporated along with my emissions. I now travel throughout Surrey in silence in an Audi e-tron. It doesn’t even look like an electric vehicle so, unless you notice the absence of exhaust pipes, you probably wouldn’t even give it a second look.

I now get lots of ‘10p off a litre of fuel’ vouchers whenever I pop into Sainsburys. You see, they think I’ve gone elsewhere. They can’t see the £500 a month in diesel anymore. And they are worried that I’m spending it with a competitor, and they want me to come back.

It’s part of a bigger drive (excuse the pun) to take direct action, personally, to help with the Climate Emergency.

But, I haven’t! I’ve made the switch to a fully Electric Vehicle.

But seeing how Sainsbury’s and Nectar are reacting to the change in my spending habits is not something I was expecting. They are paying attention… they just don’t understand what’s changed!

I knew that the supermarkets gained from this arrangement too, but I never really stopped to think too deeply about it. Sure, they’d be able to see my shopping habits – but what was that really worth to them?

Well, over the last four months, Sainsbury’s are trying very hard to get me

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CHAMBERS

news

Hotel raises thousands for Stepping Stones School

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tepping Stones is an independent school for children with special needs. The staff and volunteers work to give children the opportunity to embrace a positive school environment, to become self-confident and independent learners.

Charles Russell Speechlys shortlisted for Dealmakers Awards

Lythe Hill Hotel staff and guests have been working hard to raise money for

Stepping stones with events throughout the year. Primarily at the Christmas Market and at the Haslemere hounds event, they raised £3,257.95.

Matthew Davies, General Manager said; “It is both a pleasure and honour for us at Lythe Hill to be associated with Stepping Stones School. I look forward to working even closer in 2020.”

C

harles Russell Speechlys in Guildford has been shortlisted for six Insider South East Dealmakers Awards 2020 including Corporate Law Firm of the Year, Corporate Lawyer of the Year for newly promoted Partner, Rebecca Burford (pictured above), Deal of the Year (under £10m), Deal of the Year (over £10m), and two deals shortlisted for Private Equity/Venture Capital Deal of the Year.

The awards celebrate the region’s corporate finance transactions across the legal, accountancy, banking and finance communities.

Duncan Elson, Partner and Head of Charles Russell Speechlys in Guildford, commented, “This is a great achievement. Our Corporate team, led by partner Geoffrey Sparks, continues to go from strength to strength, with an exceptionally talented team.”

The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers BUSINESS WISDOM

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YUnique wins Best Corporate Social Responsibility award

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Unique Marketing, a Surrey-based strategic marketing consultancy, was honoured with a prestigious national business award in recognition of its exceptional Corporate Social Responsibility work.

The Best Business Awards attract a wide range of entries from across all sectors, from large international PLCs and public sector organisations to dynamic and innovative SMEs. Upon receiving the Award, Founder and Consulting Chief Marketing Officer, Jarmila Yu, said; “We are extremely proud and honoured to win this award against so many worthy contenders.”

Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune BUSINESS WISDOM

IT company smash charity target

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reestyle IT, a local IT Support and Solutions Provider, took on the challenge of raising £5,000 for Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospice based in Sutton Scotney During 2019 members of their team took part in events such as a Jail & Bail event, CRN Fight Night, skydiving from 13,500ft, and more.

Director Guy Wright commented; “Thank you to the team members who took part in events and of course those who donated to help us smash our £5000 target and raise £6,206”. Support Freestyle IT’s 2020 efforts by visiting www.justgiving.com/fundraising/freestyle-it-team

The University of Surrey’s launches new Degree Apprenticeship

F Stag Print supports mental health charity

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urrey-based print and packaging company, Stag Print, announces its support for local charity Oakleaf, a mental health charity supporting adults aged 16-67 suffering from a mental illness across Surrey. Stag Print is providing direct funding to three people through training courses as well as sponsorship and fundraising activities throughout the year.

Eli Beckett, fundraising and partnership manager, Oakleaf, said; “We really cannot thank Stag Print enough and are so happy to have them on board for 2020. As a small regional charity, business support such as this is an essential lifeline for us and those who need our help.”

rom May 2020 the University of Surrey will offer a Master of Science (MSc) degree in hospitality and tourism management via a Degree Apprenticeship.

gaps identified by employers.

The Level 7 Senior Leader Degree Apprenticeship is the first programme of its kind available at the University of Surrey and has been developed in collaboration with industry experts to address skills

Degree Apprenticeships offer many benefits to employers, they are a cost effective way to train their workforce and boost staff retention utilising the apprenticeship levy to fund training costs.

Are you financially ready for 2020?

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hink about the years ahead of you. Are there any big milestones you’d like to plan for?

With Brexit, a historic General Election and Trump’s trade wars, there have been many events in the past year that have caused uncertainty. In fact, if you look back there’s always some form of significant political or economic event at play somewhere in the world. And whilst these can cause short-term downturns, it’s important to remember there’s usually other things taking place at the same time that keep the

personal finance landscape going.

With over 30 years’ experience, Skipton Building Society can help with your money matters – whether that’s through investing, getting ready for retirement or leaving a stronger legacy for those you care most about in life. There’s more than 18 million people in the UK who could have a need for financial advice* - so think about the years ahead of you, are there any milestones you’d like to plan for? *Financial Conduct Authority (2018) Financial lives survey

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To find a full list of our 2020 events visit www.surrey-chambers.co.uk/event-listing

March 10th SPEAKER BREAKFAST Event time: 07:30 – 09:30 Price: Member Rate: £20.00 +VAT Non-Member Rate: £25.00 +VAT Event Location: De Vere Venues - Horsley Park Horsley Park Ockham Road South East Horsley KT24 6DU

Hosted by one of Chambers events team, we like to keep the agenda simple: Networking, breakfast and then a little more networking – We told you it was going to be simple! To break up the networking we like to throw in one or two activities. Nothing too difficult or daunting, but just to get you all talking!

James Brown from The Happy Work Place, on the topic: ‘If the workplace were a fishtank… How to cause flourishing and why that’s good for business

We will be joined by guest speaker

March 12th

ESCAPE BREAKFAST

Event time: 07:30 – 09:30 Price: Member Rate: free Non-Member Rate: free Event Location: Manor Collection - Betchworth Sandy Lane Betchworth RH3 7AA Surrey Chambers of Commerce are delighted to bring you the East surrey Coffee and Professional Engagement breakfast series, connecting businesses throughout Surrey, with a focus on the East of the region. Hosted by the wonderfully charming Hartsfield Manor, we would be delighted if you could join us, be it at one (or all!) of the networking breakfasts. Breakfasts will feature on alternate months throughout the year and are free to attend for all.

March 17th

SURREY CSR FORUM

Event time: 08:00 – 11:00 Price: Member Rate: £10.00 +VAT Non-Member Rate: £20.00 +VAT Event Location: Princess Alice Hospice West End Lane Esher Surrey KT10 8NA 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.

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2020 BUSINESS SURVEY

SURREY CHAMBERS

EVENTS DIARY

March 17th

OPEN 18-HOLE GOLF COMPETITION Event time: 09:00 – 15:00 Price: Member Rate: £81.83 +VAT Non-Member Rate: £91.83 +VAT

March 24th

Event Location: Foxhills Club & Resort Stonehill Road Ottershaw KT16 0EL

MONTHLY NETWORKING EVENING

Now in its 24th year, Surrey Chambers Golf Society (SCGS) runs a monthly 18 Hole Stableford competition open to all businesspeople. Join us as a team and entertain your own clients or as a solo player and we will place you in a team to network with other business leaders.

Event Location: Ivy Arts Centre University of Surrey Stag Hill Court 388 Perimeter Rd Guildford GU2 7XH

Event time: 18:00 – 20:00 Price: Member Rate: Free Non-Member Rate: £20.00 +VAT

Each month, we like to invite our current members to join us at this free event to get together and catch up on the happenings of the previous months business calendar. Running from 6-8pm, Members Networking Evenings are the perfect opportunity for an informal, relaxed gathering with members you already have relationships with and those you don’t.

April 17th HAVE YOUR CAKE AND EAT IT Event time: 14:30 – 16:30 Price: Member Rate: £20.00 +VAT Non-Member Rate: £15.00 +VAT Event Location: Frensham Pond Hotel Churt Farnham Surrey GU10 2QB

Surrey & Hampshire Chambers of Commerce invite you to our afternoon networking. Following on from last years success, this is the perfect opportunity to grow your business connections by meeting a wide range of companies from locations around the Surrey and Hampshire border.

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NEW MEMBERS

Surrey Chambers of Commerce welcomes its latest member companies

MTI Systems

Tel: 07886 673419 www.mti-systems.co.uk Contact: Abid Kayani

Broadplace Advertising Tel: 02079 939853 www.broadplace.com/ Contact: Ally Andrews

Caxton

Woking College

Tel: 01483 761036 www.woking.ac.uk/ Contact: Brett Freeman

G Live

Tel: 01483 739045 www.glive.co.uk Contact: Derek Aldridge

Phenomenal Development

Eggsell Trading

Tel: 01428 682578 www.noblefoods.co.uk/ Contact: Kevin Griffen

Holdsway Interim Leadership Tel: 02030 534438 www.holdsway.co.uk Contact: Nick Diprose

Opportunity Marketing

Tel: 03333 204108 www.opportunitymarketing.co.uk/ Contact: Fiona Ellingham

Tel: 02070 427617 www.caxtonfx.com/business Contact: Curt Brooker

Tel: 03332 244285 www.phenomenaldevelopment.com Contact: Robbie Cairns

Shah’s Secreto

Tel: 01483 565777 www.shahssecreto.co.uk Contact: Shah Siddique

Woodhaven Space

Tel: 07802 256523 www.woodhaven.space Contact: Nicky Yates

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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 noah.pesci@surrey-chambers.co.uk tom.woods@surrey-chambers.co.uk or call 01483 735540.

We look forward to hearing from you!

FOLLOW THE SURREY CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA...

INSTAGRAM @surreychambersofcommerce

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TWITTER @SurreyChambers

FACEBOOK Surrey Chambers of Commerce

LINKEDIN Surrey Chambers of Commerce

POLICING SURREY

SURREY POLICE

In full force

Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner David Munro announces the recruitment of 150 new police officers and staff

I

would like to begin this month with some good news – over the next year Surrey Police will be able to grow their establishment by around 150 officers and staff across the county.

At the time of writing, the Surrey Police and Crime Panel, whom I report to, have just approved my proposal for this year’s precept – the amount residents in the county pay for policing through their council tax.

They agreed with my suggestion of a 3.8% rise which will enable Surrey Police to add an extra 76 officers and staff to the establishment during 2020/21. This is in addition to the 78 police officers that have been promised by government as Surrey’s initial share of the national programme to recruit 20,000.

In total, the combined funding will allow the Force establishment to grow by around 100 police officer posts and 50 staff roles over the coming financial year.

After a decade where police resources have been stretched to the limit – this is really good news for Surrey meaning we can put more officers back into our communities tackling those issues that matter to our residents.

These recruits will bolster the neighbourhood policing service across the county, help tackle issues such as burglary, serious organised crime and drugs, support prevention work and help maximise technology in the fight against online crime.

I mentioned last month that I was

consulting with the public on two precept options – a 2% inflationary rise meaning Surrey Police could maintain a “steady as you go approach” and a 5% rise which would allow them to add further officers and staff to our policing teams.

This was revised in late January to reflect the government’s delayed policing settlement which set the maximum amount PCC’s could raise to around 3.8% across all council tax bands.

We had over 3,100 responses with over 60% in support of the larger increase with just under 40% preferring the 2% rise. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to fill in our survey and give us their views.

We received over 1,700 comments from people on policing in this county and I promise I will be reading each and every one to see how we can address those issues raised.

We also carried out a series of community engagements events in every borough in the county during January and early February to get residents views first hand. Around 500 people in total came along and it was really valuable to hear their concerns and opinions on policing in their local communities.

Asking the public for more money is one of the hardest decisions I have to make as Commissioner. But I believe the precept increase will make a big difference in helping boost both the visible presence the public rightly value while providing the resources to tackle growing issues such as cyber-crime.

We must of course now make sure we provide the very best value for money for residents and to get these new officers and staff recruited, trained and serving the Surrey public as soon as possible.

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Do you have 2020 vision for trading internationally?

By Gary Hayes, International Trade Manager at Surrey Chambers of Commerce

I

n my role, I am fortunate to engage with businesses, one of the first questions I always ask is “Do you sell your products/services overseas?”. Majority of the time, I am met with a negative response, however, as disheartening as this sometimes feels, I am lucky to be constantly reminded back at our office by the vast number of businesses that are trading internationally that we support with their export documentation, advice and guidance and other services that make trading overseas a little bit easier.

I understand that International trade may not be for everyone but we here, at Surrey Chambers, believe that 2020 presents a massive opportunity for businesses to look at the prospect of selling their goods and services overseas, whether for the very first time, increase the amount that they currently do or expand into new untapped markets.

We are fortunate to be working with a host of member providers and partners to develop an increasing range of services, support, events and opportu-

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nities to help make 2020 the year that your business grows internationally.

I wanted to highlight the three most common “excuses” I hear and give a taste of how we aim to help/support businesses.

“It’s too difficult to trade” One of the most common “excuses” I hear, and I make no qualms that it can be challenging to trade overseas. This makes it vitally important that you research, research and research before committing. What is the right country market for your product/service? How do you attract new customers? What are the regulations? How do I get the goods to my customers?

There is a wealth of support available to help your business with these and many more questions you may come across and we here at Surrey Chambers are happy to help you to find the answers.

The Department of International Trade, along with Coast 2 Capital and Enter-

prise M3 are running a series of FREE Export Masterclasses throughout the year throughout Surrey and Hampshire. For more information, please visit https://go.newable.co.uk/export Need help with documentation or regulations requirements? Contact the International Trade team at Surrey Chambers who will be able to help you with this information.

“We are happy as we are!”

We are delighted that you are, but did you know that businesses that sell overseas are 34% more productive within their first year alone. They are more resilient being 11% more like to survive during a recession. They are more innovative and forward-thinking.

Ask yourself – “What are my competitors doing?”. It is likely that one

INTERNATIONAL TRADE or more of your UK based competitors are already trading at with your potential markets and growing their turnover. Businesses that trade internationally often report that they see an increase in their turnover due to overseas trade.

Another great advantage that British businesses have over many of their international competitors is that in many foreign markets, British products are associated with high quality and luxury, with British business regularly being amongst the most trusted in the world.

The Department of International Trade have a fantastic website (www.great. gov.uk/) which allows UK businesses to look for potential export opportunities in overseas markets. The website also provides useful guides and information for these markets.

Did you know that Surrey Chambers of Commerce has access to the British Chambers Global Business Network, a network comprising of over 50 International Chambers of Commerce so if you are looking for support in Spain, Cambodia, Japan, Egypt amongst many more, please get in touch with the team here or visit www.britishchambers.org. uk/page/global-business-network

“Brexit will make it harder for us to trade overseas�

This is a complicated one to answer as not all the answers to the questions are currently known.

put UK businesses at a disadvantage against EU Competitors, especially those that trade with countries such as Turkey with the loss of the ATR Preference agreement.

If you exclusively trade with the EU (import or export), then it is likely that you will see many changes in terms of paperwork requirements and customs regulations when trading with the EU in the future. Trade with the EU will be impacted, and it is advisable, that no matter how small of an involvement your business has with the EU, you should carry out an audit to check the impacts.

On a positive note, UK businesses, especially those that trade exclusively with the EU, have a fantastic opportunity to think about expanding into new markets, especially those outside the EU. Where the UK has negotiated or are currently negotiating trade agreements with countries such as USA, China and Australia, there is the massive opportunity to explore these markets and take advantage of the wealth of support available in Surrey and beyond.

If you are also trading with the rest of the world, then paperwork requirements and custom regulations will likely to be familiar to you. You do need to be aware however that current procedures may change, and we will keep you regularly updated.

A possible big impact will be around the Free Trade Agreements come the end of the transition period. Many of the EU Free Trade Agreements that UK business currently take advantage of may not be carried over or agreed by the UK government come the 31st December 2020. This possibly may

With this new decade, comes a whole new horizon for UK businesses, both domestically and internationally and with that comes an opportunity for your business to stop making excuses and explore and expand your business internationally.

If you have any comments or enquires about any of our International Trade service, please contact the team at export@surrey-chambers.co.uk

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GOLF

Surrey Chambers

GOLF SOCIETY 2020 Surrey Chambers of Commerce Golf Society (SCGS) has been running for 24 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

O

pen to all business owners or senior executives, the society’s main strength is the quality of the venues attended, with Swinley Forest, New Zealand and Hankley Common to name some of our stunning monthly selection.

We had an excellent start to the year, which began at Hankley Common on the 21st January 2020. Phyllis Tuckwell supported the day and I am happy to say we managed to raise funds for them with a fantastic raffle, one of the top prizes being a fourball at Hankley Common itself. We had 40 golfers attend the day and member Steve Groombridge took first prize with a score of 48pts. We were also delighted to present Andy Drees with the Order of Merit trophy for 2019, sponsored by RSM, which he won with 103pts overall. Congratulations to Steve, Andy & our other winners of the day.

As every golf enthusiast will know, in 2020 The Open will return to Royal St George’s, where the world’s best players compete for the Claret Jug. Our Golf society has its own Claret Jug, The Major, sponsored by Redbox, will be supporting the Kent Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Fund with a charity raffle. After the success of last year, places for both teams and individuals are strictly limited so we recommend booking soon. (see the 2020 Major box for information) We also have many other exciting golf events coming up in 2020, and we are visiting some truly excellent courses

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this year. As well as our firm favorites such as New Zealand and Swinley Forest we are also visiting both Liphook as well as Tandridge for the first time in a long time for the society. Society days are a great chance to entertain clients or reward employees for all their hard work. Last year saw over 500 golfers play with the society, so if you are looking to network with a difference, forge new business relationships or reward colleagues and clients, I hope to see you on the course in 2020.

Please contact Tara.Wavre@Surrey. chambers.co.uk to book on to a SCGS day or find out some more information.

2020 SPONSORS

HEADLINE SPONSOR

ORDER OF MERIT SPONSOR

The 2020 Major Surrey Chambers Golf Society invites you to join us at Tandridge Golf Club for our annual major on the April 20th 2020.

We will be accepting bookings for teams of four for a shotgun start.

This is a chance to put together a team to reward colleagues, thank clients or, if you're feeling competitive, play to win!

Meet: 8am for coffee & bacon rolls Tee off: 9am Dinner: 2pm Price: Members: £95+VAT pp, NonMembers: £105.00 +VAT pp To book a spot for your team please email Tara.Wavre@Surrey-Chambers.co.uk

2020 FIXTURES: March 24th Foxhills

April 20th Tandridge

May 19th

Coombe Hill

June 11th Hindhead

July 1st

Worplesdon

August 5th

Camberley Heath

September 9th New Zealand

November 12th Swinley Forest

December 1st Woking GC

BUSINESS

Trends in geopolitics

and how to survive the next decade Prof. Tazeeb Rajwani, Professor of International Business and Strategy at Surrey Business School nomic growth, especially in the ‘Global South’ and to SMEs. So, what should firms should consider to better manage geopolitical risks?

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his decade will be a tipping point for businesses operating internationally. However, few such firms are positioned to mitigate the geopolitical risks present in the global economy of 2020 and beyond.

As demonstrated by China-US trade wars, Brexit, populism, terrorist attacks and global pandemics, an era of geopolitical risk has a substantial impact on firms and increases the potential to lose money because of unstable governments or regulatory environments.

Acts of terrorism, wars, and military coups are all extreme examples of political risk, however the expropriation of assets by governments – or merely its threat – can also have a devastating effect on share prices or revenues as seen by the China-US dispute over Huawei and 5G infrastructure.

As every corner of our connected world experiences unprecedented civil disturbance, geopolitical risk will also gain more momentum due to the ‘politics of climate change’. Climate change is both environmentally devastating and hugely disruptive to eco-

Insurance Companies must understand insurance as a powerful way to mitigate geopolitical risk. Whilst at a macro level political risk and catastrophes are very difficult to manage, at the company level, political risk can be defended against for a premium. This comes at a cost but can be used as an absolute fail-safe.

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Avoidance through Control Procedures While large firms use sophisticated scoring systems and employ a director of government affairs to evaluate political risk; smaller firms may leave this responsibility to the CFO or CEO. Either way, there should always be someone responsible for the careful assessment and analysis of situations, eschewing investment in areas considered too risky and pulling money out of areas which are increasingly volatile.

partner etc., macro-level risks need to be considered long before the nation in which you are investing closes its borders, devalues its currency or even enters a civil war, leaving you and your money with very few options.

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Diversify Geopolitical Risks Business leaders need to diversify their geopolitical risks: firms that have strategic business units in various geographies need to acknowledge their cost base, and that some regions that look attractive might also carry high political risk. There is a trade off, and leaders should look at the costs and benefits of diversifying throughout different regions.

What is clear is that taking geopolitical risk seriously involves companies adopting proactive steps to assess and mitigate their exposure. Firms that invest in developing political capabilities, political resources, and corporate political strategies will sustain their competitive advantage despite operating in an increasingly uncertain business environment.

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Dealing with Risks on an Ongoing Basis Leaders need to recognise that they won't be able to identify every risk laden scenario. They also need to have exit strategies and evaluate alternative investment options on an ongoing basis, especially if firms invest in infrastructure in risky areas.

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Understand Macro and Micro Geopolitical Risk Environments Companies need to acknowledge macro and micro political risk environments. While micro level risks can be managed more easily and as they happen - firms can find a new local

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S

Sponsor a CHAMBER EVENT

urrey Chambers of Commerce holds over 100 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

Option 1: £500+VAT PRE-EVENT • Marketing flyers - the words ‘sponsored by’ and your company logo on event flyer.

• Company logo on Surrey Chambers website against sponsored event of your choice.

• Promotion of the event included in weekly newsletter.

AT EVENT • One complimentary place.

• Event ‘sponsored by’ and company logo on delegate list; copy for each attendee.

• Opportunity to display corporate banner and literature.

• Acknowledgement by Chamber representative for sponsorship at event.

• Tagged on Twitter/Instagram social media platforms.

give you the chance to enhance your business network, find new customers and local suppliers, and meet other dynamic business people. Sponsoring a Surrey Chambers event allows you to raise your profile and brand awareness within the county and showcase

Option 2: £750 +VAT

Option 3: £1500 +VAT

PRE-EVENT • Marketing flyers - the words ‘sponsored by’ and your company logo on event flyer.

• Company logo on Surrey Chambers website against sponsored event of your choice.

• Promotion of the event included in weekly newsletter.

• Hyperlink on the respective Surrey Chambers website page, through to your own website.

PRE-EVENT • Marketing flyers - the words ‘sponsored by’ and your company logo on event flyer.

• Company logo on Surrey Chambers website against sponsored event of your choice.

• Promotion of the event included in weekly newsletter.

• Hyperlink on the respective Surrey Chambers website page, through to your own website.

AT EVENT • Two complimentary places.

• Event ‘sponsored by’ and company logo on delegate list; copy for each attendee.

• Logo on delegate badges.

• Opportunity to display corporate banner and literature.

• Acknowledgement by Chamber representative for sponsorship at event.

• Opportunity to speak briefly at event (up to 10 minutes).

• Tagged on Twitter/Instagram social media platforms.

AT EVENT • Up to 10 complimentary places / table of 10.

• Event ‘sponsored by’ and company logo on delegate list; copy for each attendee.

• Logo on delegate badges.

• Short bio and accompanying photos in event programme.

• Opportunity to display corporate banner and literature.

• Acknowledgement by Chamber CEO for sponsorship at event.

• Opportunity to speak briefly at event (up to 15 minutes).

• Tagged on Twitter/Instagram social media platforms.

POST EVENT • Logo included in post-event email to attendees.

If you are interested in sponsoring a Surrey Chambers of Commerce event, please contact: Hannah.Joslyn@surrey-chambers.co.uk or call 01483 735540

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your expertise as a company. By sponsoring an event you can take advantage of the Surrey Chambers of Commerce database and reach your target audience. It’s the perfect opportunity to make new connections and be seen to be leading and influencing.

POST EVENT • Logo included in post-event email to attendees.

• Thank you feature in newsletter and social media.

BUSINESS SURVEY

EMBRACING DISRUPTIOn A FUTURE-PROOFING CONFERENCE

Attenborough Theatre UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX JUNE 5th 2020 This Conference is a new annual event bringing together some of the brightest minds across the region’s business and academic communities.

Organised by the Sussex Innovation Centre and the Platinum Publishing Group, in partnership with the University of Sussex.

We live in a time of great technological, social and economic change, from advances in AI, big data and machine learning, to increased awareness of our impact on the environment, to new movements in culture, values and wellbeing. How do we change the way we do business in response? How are the truly disruptive businesses shaping our future and how can you survive disruption within your sector?

Over a full day of fascinating keynote speakers, a cast of business leaders, scientists and creative thinkers will share emerging ideas, technologies and insights to help you see your business through a different lens.

A YEAR’S WORTH OF KNOWLEDGE IN A DAY.

Contact: info@platinumpublishing.co.uk for more information and to reserve your place 19

Private sector activity increases for the first time since May 2019 P

rivate sector business activity rose for the first time since May last year in January, according to the latest NatWest South East PMI® data, with the rate of increase the fastest since July 2018.

Driving the expansion was a further and quicker increase in new order book volumes, which was solid overall. Meanwhile, staff numbers rose for the first time in six months and firms’ output expectations strengthened to the highest since July 2018.

The headline NatWest South East Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors posted 53.0 in January, up from 49.4 in December to signal the fastest rise

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in private sector output for 18 months.

Anecdotal evidence associated the solid uptick with stronger demand conditions. Furthermore, the South East registered the third-fastest upturn in output across the 12 monitored UK regions, behind only the East of England and London.

Private sector firms in the South East recorded back-to-back monthly increases in new business during January, with the rate of growth quickening from December to a solid pace overall.

Survey respondents linked the latest uptick to stronger client demand as a result of greater market confidence.

Sector data highlighted a divergence, however, with service providers recording a further increase in new busi-

Key Findings • Further and faster rise in new business • Workforce numbers increase for first time in six months • Expectations strengthen to 18-month high

ness, while manufacturers reported a sharp decline.

January data highlighted the first expansion in workforce numbers since July last year, with respondents citing an improvement in demand conditions and attempts to expand operations. The rate of job creation was only marginal, however, and below the series average.

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

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

BUSINESS SURVEY

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

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

70 60 50 40 30 '97

'99

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'03

Output growth was partially supported by the completion of unfinished orders in January, as private sector firms in the South East reported a further decline in outstanding business. The rate of backlog depletion, although still solid overall, was the softest for 11 months.

Concurrently, cost burdens facing private sector firms in the South East rose during January, as has been the case in each month since August 2012. Firms linked the sharp uptick in prices to greater costs for fuel and raw materials alongside unfavourable exchange rates.

Higher input prices were partially passed through to clients during January as selling prices continued to rise.

The increase was the quickest since June 2019 and solid overall.

Private sector firms remained confident that output will rise over the coming 12 months in January, with expectations the highest since July 2018. Panellists linked confidence to prospects for greater clarity following Brexit and an improvement in demand conditions.

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COMMENT

Stuart Johnstone, Managing Director, London & South East, Corporate & Commercial Banking “Private sector activity in the South East rose for the first time since May last year during January, with growth the quickest for 18-months.

Moreover, the South East recorded the third-fastest uptick in output across the 12 monitored UK regions. Driving the latest expansion was a second successive monthly increase in new business, which rose sharply amid reports of stronger client demand.

“On a positive note, uncertainty appears to be subsiding as we enter the new year, with private sector firms in the South East reporting the strongest output expectations since July 2018 in January. Respondents attributed optimism to prospects

of greater clarity following Brexit as well as an improvement in demand conditions.

Stuart Johnstone

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

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On a mission

to disrupt There’s disruption happening at Sussex’s longestrunning business incubator

C

hange is afoot at Sussex Innovation. After 24 years of serving the region’s disruptive start-ups and academic innovators, the business incubator is restructuring from within to offer more intensive support for the most impactful businesses in Sussex and the South East.

Two recent promotions from within the consultancy team are driving the organisation’s new mission, with Claire Pasquill and Helena Jevons stepping into the roles of Head of Programmes and Head of Sales and Marketing respectively. The coaching team is also expanding, with a host of new associate coaches providing specialist expertise.

“My focus as Head of Programmes is to develop the services that will deliver on our new mission,” says Claire. “We are supporting driven, ambitious start-ups and scale-ups who want to have true impact. I feel determined that our new programmes will be full of actionable insight and practical tools for people who want to have serious impact, at scale.”

Claire Pasquill (left) and Helena Jevons

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“Feedback and data-driven decision making are really important to us,” continues Helena. “We’re conducting the largest ever survey of scale-ups in the region, so that we can get tangible insights into the local entrepreneurial experience.

“Our founder and associate coaches bring a new flavour to the team, from exited founders who have scaled and sold multimillion-pound businesses, to dynamic coaches with years of industry experience delivering major organisational change, strategy and efficiency projects. We can now offer access to a diverse team who have firsthand experience of the entrepreneur’s journey and can give straight-talking advice to the next generation of ambitious founders in Sussex.”

Who’s who at Sussex Innovation?

Claire Pasquill has led teams and mentored individuals for well over 20 years. As managing director of an event consultancy, she took the business from the brink of bankruptcy by

building and motivating teams to drive the income of the company to £1.8 million within a year.

Helena Jevons has over 20 years’ commercial experience in FMCG, electronics, SaaS and retail. She has held senior marketing and commercial roles for HJ Heinz, Premier Foods, and GSK amongst others, leading European factory consolidation projects and global product innovation as well as time as the Managing Director of an early stage machine learning Start Up raising £2.4m in private investment.

Helena is a commercial strategist who combines her extensive project and product management expertise with a keen interest in the dynamics of branding and positioning to help business owners develop a product-market fit and successfully follow through on their vision.

The New Associate Coaches Hilary Duggan is an MCIPD qualified organisational change and leadership specialist, with more than ten years’ experience leading projects and teams. As Head of People and Performance Development and then Organisational Design and

SUSSEX BUSINESS INNOVATION SURVEY

“We saw that we could make the most useful interventions by offering strategic advice to fill some of the gaps that tend to emerge when organically expanding a leadership team” Development Lead at Ingeus, she worked across a group of international businesses to deliver successful organisational growth and change.

Hilary holds degrees in Psychology and Personnel Development, as well as diploma in Neuro-Linguistic Programming. She specialises in coaching and developing leaders and leadership teams to help define and deliver their change agenda, and establish the right mindsets, competencies, and practices to deliver their strategy.

Allisyn James mentors individuals to achieve their potential. She’s all about the ‘consumer at heart’; constantly fascinated by people and the way they think, feel and behave.

Allisyn specialises in growth strategy and business capability, and is passionate about organisational culture.

She has held senior VP positions from

both client and agency side, using her experiences with the likes of Safeway, GSK and Cadbury Schweppes to help shape the agenda and then deliver the future for everyone from small businesses to multinationals.

Emma Mills-Sheffield became a business consultant having spent 15 years in industry leading major pursuits, sales efficiency projects, virtual PMOs and process improvements, training delivery programmes, workshop facilitation and coaching. She’s done this with KPMG, WSP and in the creative and digital industries and has experienced working with public sector organisations, FTSE100 and Fortune500 companies.

Emma helps businesses drive efficiency and productivity by reviewing business operations and investing in their people. She gets the best out of organisations by developing happier

and more productive workforces. In January 2020 she was named as one of 100 female entrepreneurs in the UK as part of the small business campaign f:Entrepreneur.

This is a snapshot of the interdisciplinary team of coaches who are available to collaboratively consult with selected scale-up businesses as part of Sussex Innovation’s new Task Force service.

Interested in taking a step back from your business and redefining your priorities for 2020?

Find out more by visiting info.sinc. co.uk/enquiries and telling us more about your business. A limited number of Task Force briefings will be available on a fully-funded basis.

www.sinc.co.uk

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PLATINUM EVENT MANAGEMENT Platinum Event Management is one of the leading event management agencies in the South East specialising in corporate events and award ceremonies. Our company was built on the principles of excellence, passion and dedication.

As expert award ceremony organisers, we understand how important these events can be, and more importantly, how to deliver them. Whether it’s in business, consumer, private or public sector, our team has over 15 years of experience to create a winning formula for any type of business.

EVENTS

PLATINUM

www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

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“Platinum Event Management is a truly professional business whose organisational skills, creativity and attention to detail is proven year after year. The events are a roaring success, and quite simply wouldn't be without their involvement. We look forward to working with them in the future..."

ALLIED IRISH BANK

BUSINESS SURVEY

2020 EVENTS

INTERESTED IN SPONSORSHIP? There aren’t many opportunities where your company can be seen as one of the major players, enabling you to get your message out to the entire region in one fell swoop.

There are a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available in 2020. For more information contact info@platinumpublishing.co.uk

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BUSINESS AWARDS

Growth champions

Leading global accounting firm RSM is passionate about helping businesses to achieve their full growth potential

L

eading audit, tax and consulting firm RSM is sponsoring and judging the ‘Growth Champion of Surrey’ Award, a new category at this year’s Surrey Business Awards.

national economy. The county is home to many dynamic businesses, notably in the construction, professional services and technology sectors.

The Surrey Business Awards, back for their third year, are all about celebrating local business, large and small, and provide a great opportunity for companies to boost their profile, grow their networks and help put Surrey on the map as one of the best places to do business in the South East.

“The launch of this new award provides a great opportunity to recognise the hard work that Surrey businesses have put in to driving their growth, and we are proud to be involved.”

Despite the uncertainly since the Brexit vote and various changes in the economic growth figures over the past few years, there have been many businesses in Surrey achieving outstanding, sustainable growth. RSM wants to recognise this achievement.

These companies are vital to the UK’s economic success – they account for annual revenues of more than £43.4bn, driving rising demand, lowering unemployment and generating wealth and prosperity across the South East.

RSM partner Jon Da Costa said: “Surrey is a powerhouse, with over 144,000 active businesses delivering a significant and growing contribution to the

RSM partner Jon Da Costa

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RSM will be kicking off this exciting new category with extensive research to identify the fastest-growing businesses in the county. While the growth statistics are the basis for the research, RSM is interested in the story behind the numbers.

The firm will be contacting the Surrey-based companies that have been shortlisted from the research to invite them to participate in the awards. This will be a great opportunity to celebrate success, increase brand exposure and attract the best talent.

How you can get involved The awards criteria: • Trading and/or HQ in Surrey •L atest full accounts information filed at Companies House as of December 31st 2019 • Minimum turnover of £2m in base year • Privately owned •P rofitable growth demonstrated over a three-year period The awards will also be judged on the business strategy to achieving growth. If you feel you qualify and would like to be involved, please contact Lianne Street at lianne. street@rsmuk.com About RSM RSM is a leading audit, tax and consulting firm to the middle

market with nearly 3,800 partners and staff operating from 35 locations throughout the UK. RSM UK is a member firm of RSM International - the seventh largest network of audit, tax and consulting firms globally. The network spans more than 120 countries, 810 offices and 43,000 people, with a fee income of $5.74bn.

The Guildford office has 11 partners and more than 120 staff and offers a full-service, with teams and individual specialists covering audit, corporation tax, private client advisory, VAT planning and compliance, accounting and business advisory, payroll, systems development and restructuring services.

www.rsmuk.com

THE BIG STORY

battle for your The

remote

Netflix has revolutionised how we watch TV but its control of the airwaves is under increasing threat from powerful new players. Can Netflix CEO Reed Hastings stay ahead of the pack? By Ian Trevett

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etflix is now so ingrained in popular culture, it is impossible to believe it only launched in the UK eight years ago. It has produced some spectacular TV including House of Cards, The Crown, Breaking Bad, and Stranger Things, with production standards you’d expect from a big-screen Hollywood blockbuster.

Programming budgets dwarf those of traditional terrestrial broadcasters like the BBC, C4 and ITV, and it is big business. In June 2018, its market capitalisation reached a value of over US$180 billion.

The trouble for Netflix is it has been too successful, and some very big

players are now looking to grab a big piece of the pie.

The UK TV market may be paltry compared to America, but it is relatively untapped and enticingly attractive compared to the saturated and fragmented American industry. Either launched or about to launch are subscriptions services from Amazon, Apple, BBC/ITV, Disney and Sky (through its NOW TV brand). American giants looking on with interest include HBO Max and NBCUniversal. If millions of British viewers will splash out a minimum of £5.99 each month for Netflix, then why wouldn’t they pay similar for Disney or Apple?

Cord-cutters and cord-nevers We are used to ‘free’ TV (funded by a compulsory licence or advertising), whereas American viewers have never had the luxury of decent free-to-air TV. Viewers accepted that paying for expensive cable TV was the only way for access to anything watchable. With many cable packages now exceeding $100, it hasn’t been difficult for internet streaming companies to undercut prices.

The cable companies have been struggling to stem the growing tide of ‘cord-cutters’, the customers who have switched to the likes of Netflix or YouTube. In the first three months of

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2019 cable and satellite suppliers lost 1.4 million subscribers [source: Wikipedia].

They are even more fearful of ‘cord-nevers’, the younger demographic who have never seen the need to pay for cable TV in the first place. Way back in 2012, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes

market – video rentals. At its peak, the US video rental company Blockbuster totally dominated the sector with over 800 outlets in the UK alone.

In 1997, along with his business partner, Marc Randolph, Hastings founded Netflix, offering flat-rate DVD rentalby-mail with online ordering.

Blockbuster served a purpose but was frustrating. California tech entrepreneur Reed Hastings, was one unhappy customer: “I had a big late fee for

Reed was already a successful businessman and tech wizard. After graduating from college, he spent two years teaching maths in Swaziland as part of the Peace Corps, before returning to complete a masters degree in Computer Science, specialising in AI. In 1991, Hastings founded Pure Software, which developed a debugging tool for engineers. A few years later, the business, now renamed Pure Atria after a merger, was acquired by Rational Software and Hastings walked away with approximately $750 million.

“Netflix had the last laugh though – within ten years, Blockbuster was bankrupt” warned that cord-nevers did not see anything worth paying for. This is the lost generation who will never pay for traditional TV suppliers, thanks to the rise of YouTube and Netflix.

Busting Blockbusters On both sides of the Atlantic, there was once another lucrative small screen

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Apollo 13. It was six weeks late and I owed the video store $40. I had misplaced the cassette and I didn’t want to tell my wife about it. Later, on my way to the gym, I realised they (the gym) had a much better business model. You could pay $30 or $40 a month and work out as little or as much as you wanted.”

Despite having the capital and an innovative idea, Netflix’s early days

THE BIG STORY Netflix CEO Reed Hastings

his former business partner testifies.

Randolph was an entrepreneur who, early on, saw the potential of selling goods via the internet. When his startup was acquired by Pure Atria, Randolph and Hastings became close, and later brainstormed ideas for a new business. Randolph disputes the popular narrative that Netflix was born out Hastings’ anger at a $40 late fee but concedes “it’s a good story”.

“At its peak, the US video rental company Blockbuster totally dominated the sector with over 800 outlets in the UK alone” Randolph felt the full force of Hastings’ brutal bluntness in 1998 as Nicole Sperling from The New York Times describes: “After a botched investor pitch with Sony that went horribly wrong, he got a big dose of Netflix’s radical honesty. Mr Hastings asked to see Mr Randolph alone and subjected him to a PowerPoint presentation detailing the reasons he was no longer fit to remain chief executive.

were rocky, and the dot-com bust in 2000 hit the business hard. The desperate solution was to approach the very company Netflix had disrupted – Blockbuster.

“By the end of the talk, Mr Randolph was bumped down to president, and Mr Hastings was the new chief executive. Mr Hastings persuaded Mr Randolph to give up some 650,000 stock shares, which reduced his Netflix stake to 15%.”

Randolph seems to bear no grudges:

“I have this tremendous respect and affection for him, as opposed to bitterness. Most people wouldn’t have had the strength to say that. But he recognised it was the right thing for the company. “…Unlike me, Reed is not only a phenomenal early-stage CEO — he’s as good (or better) as a late-stage CEO”.

Randolph left the business in 2003.

Hastings’ single-minded determination was certainly required when he made the controversial, but all-important, decision to split the DVD mailing business from the internet streaming service in 2011. Outraged customers who wished to get both the stream and the DVD faced hefty price hikes, but Hastings was spot on. He placed all his emphasis on streamed video, when the public was still hooked on DVDs, and his gamble paid off handsomely.

The next throw of the dice was in 2013 when Netflix started creating its own content such as House of Cards and Orange Is The New Black, much of which received critical and popular acclaim. By the end of that year, Netflix’s stock had tripled in value.

The Disruptor Disrupted Netflix is about to lose two of its most prized possessions in the US. Its moststreamed shows, Friends and The US Office, both are being reclaimed by Warner Media’s HBO Max and NBCUniversal’s service respectively. Netflix will suffer on both sides of the Atlantic

In a meeting in September 2000, Hastings and Randolph offered to sell 49% of Netflix to Blockbuster for $50m and to create Blockbuster’s online division. In his book, “That Will Never Work”, Randolph describes Blockbuster CEO John Antioco’s reaction: “It was tiny, involuntary, and vanished almost immediately. But as soon as I saw it, I knew what was happening: John Antioco was struggling not to laugh.”

Netflix had the last laugh though – within ten years, Blockbuster was bankrupt.

Much of Netflix’s success can be attributed to Hastings’ ruthlessness, as

Blockbuster, whom Netflix were about to sell out to, went bust in 2010

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as a result of Disney’s platform, which will block off Disney and Pixar films, and the Marvel franchise.

Karl Bode writes on vice.com that, “Every major broadcasting company will likely have its own streaming service by 2022, and most of them are likely to engage in the same behaviour.

“Superficially, it makes perfect sense for a streaming company to want to hide its own content behind an exclusive paywall, driving new subscribers to its own service.”

films and series, an 88% uptick from 2017. And, spend on original content this year (2019) is expected to reach $15 billion.

“Original content is king. The streaming giant’s two top originals, Stranger Things and Black Mirror, are subscriber magnets… Recently, Netflix boasted in a tweet that 40.7 million accounts had watched Stranger Things 3 since its debut.”

An analyst at eMarketer, Ross Benes touches on another reason why Netflix is well positioned.

“They make it so “With the BBC licensing easy for people to model under unprecedented stream.

They’ve been pioneers in pressure, the UK market may video compresbecome even more ripe for sion, making video profit over the next few years” available on every platform easily, making content downloadable and But what if everyone does that? With viewable offline, a lack of buffering, so many streaming services, all comserving personalised messages for peting for the viewers’ hard-earned recommendations and knowing when cash, who will survive? Who has the to skip credits, as well as begin the next content people want to watch? episode immediately.

Netflix has been preparing for this for “… It’s not guaranteed that upcoming years. It knows the only content it can video services are going to have that guarantee keeping is its own. ease of use immediately.”

On forbes.com, Dana Feldman assertBattleground United Kingdom ed: “Netflix has been preparing for the There is no doubt that the major playinflux of competition. The streamer ers are taking the UK market seriously. realised that eventually media conVariety’s Henry Chu reported in Sepglomerates would pull their top titles. tember that: “In July, the company This is why, in 2018, Netflix spent $12 billion building its library of original

30

announced that it was establishing a production hub at Shepperton Studios, outside London. Disney, too, has vacuumed up valuable production space, signing a long-term lease at the historic Pinewood Studios.”

The motive is in the numbers. A report in marketrealist.com by Ruchi Gupta states, “UK consumers will spend $975 million on subscription video services in 2019, according to Statista data. By 2023, UK consumers will spend more than $1.0 billion annually.

“Amid tightening competition in its domestic market, Netflix is counting on international markets such as the United Kingdom to drive its growth.

Netflix lost close to 130,000 US subscribers in the second quarter of 2019 but added 2.8 million international subscribers in the quarter.”

With the BBC licensing model under unprecedented pressure, the UK market may become even more ripe for profit over the next few years.

I think Netflix is on a secure footing for the short term at least. It simply has better original programmes than Amazon or Apple. BritBox, the BBC/ITV offering, doesn’t seem to offer much more than Dave or Gold.

The most recent top ten ratings chart for UK paid video on-demand programmes included only one re-run (The Big Bang Theory) – everything

THE BIG STORY else was new content. For now, Netflix appears to be in charge. It ended 2019 with over 148 million paying members worldwide.

The end of the golden age While Netflix may win, the ultimate losers will be the viewers facing the prospect of paying for multiple services or missing out on favourite programmes.

The Guardian’s Stuart Heritage offers a gloomy prediction: “Netflix didn’t become a monster because people wanted to watch a specific show; it became a monster because people wanted to watch everything. When its streaming platform launched, people were spending more than £15 just to watch a single season of a show on DVD. So to be able to watch every season of a show – and every season of hundreds of others of shows – for a fiver a month was revolutionary.

“That will be a memory soon.

The content creators got greedy and scared, and now they’re determined to drag things back to the bad old ways. They will force everyone to pay for everything separately… Make no mistake: we’re the ones likely to get stiffed here. The golden age of streaming is dead.”

Right: Reed Hastings addressing MCB15 Conference in Berlin Below: An reel highlighting Netflix’s ominpresence

31

ISS

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W O N

For women in business, written by women in business

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3O

UT

THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR WOMEN

ES THE BUSIN

S MAGA ZIN

SPIR IT OF THE E SE AriSgID hton The B Gin story

E FOR WO

MEN

Mar | Apr 2020 #3

SCANDINAVIA #1 LEADING October 2019 THE WAY FOR WOMEN Why we

need MOTORING genuine IS THE FUTURE flexible ELECTRIC? working

TR AVEL FASH ION T R AV E L MOTORF A I NG S H IO N G HE ALTH M OTO R I N H E A LT H

E M I C H E LL

FEMALE ADVANTAGE How to use your secret business weapons

THE WORLD’ S YOUNGEST PRIME MINISTER

Sanna Marin HT

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MY FIG P O T E H T O T

FROM THE PUBLISHERS OF PLATINUM BUSINESS MAGAZINE AND SURREY BUSINESS MAGAZINE The largest circulation business magazines in the UK To find out more and to subscribe, email dynamic@platinumpublishing.co.uk www.platinumpublishing.co.uk

TUTORING

Willow Study Hub’s guide to preparing for spring exams

T

he exam period in late spring is often a very stressful one for schoolchildren and students with 11+, 13+, GCSE, A-level and degree level. If the candidate can be confident in his mastery of the material, this often translates into a calmer attitude to the coming exams. This is where preparing for exams several months in advance, by practicing past papers, filling in gaps in knowledge, and refining techniques pays off, and where Willow Study Hub have a role.

Each exam requires particular techniques and test-taking skills, as well as knowledge of the course content. The course moves from the broader discussion and class approach to the individual focused on his very solo ability to answer the specific kinds of questions in the tests. Children are too young to self-manage efficiently. It requires help to know what to focus on and when.

Individual supervision is needed to navigate the approach to each type of question and to determine the specific gaps in knowledge or technique.

More parents are making use of the many private tutors available, usually with experience in teaching in educa-

tional institutions, to provide the individual guidance to complement the school. Children respond well to concentrated individual attention, naturally following the tutor’s lead and focusing completely on the work at hand.

An hour or two per week per subject is the usual format, with English and Maths most in demand at Willow, not surprisingly as these are complex skills underlying almost all other sub-

jects - and every child is required to have good grades in these at GCSE to go further, as well as being the essential content of 11+ exams.

It is interesting to hear what parents say about private tuition in Willow Study Hub: Kate: “Willow Study Hub is a great discovery for me. My daughter loves Maths lessons with Anna. She always challenges, motivates, explains the material in a very understandable way.

The fact that the group is small gives my daughter an opportunity to spend more time with the teacher directly.”

Sophia: “Since going to Willow, my son had a big boost in his confidence and improved his academic achievements.”

Willow Study Hub

01483 724666 info@study-hub.co.uk www.study-hub.co.uk

33

Harvey John are ‘moving and shaking’ in the world of indirect tax & tax technology.

Harvey John’s tax division have collated a year’s worth of data and survey results from 1,798 indirect tax & tax technology professionals to produce the first edition of their market report. The report intends to share important stats about job growth, the nuances of indirect tax, the evolving tax technology market, and comprehensive salary guides.

For those movers and shakers of the tax world who want to set themselves apart in their industry with these valuable insights, contact Alex Mann at alex@harveyjohn.com for the full 20 page report.

Total Survey Size Alex Mann Associate Director, Indirect Tax & Tax Technology alex@harveyjohn.com +44 1273 651037

“The state of play for global tax issues marks an opportunistic time to introduce the first edition of Harvey John’s Indirect Tax & Tax Technology Report, utilising our market perspectives to bring clarity to your decisions.”

Start your search with total clarity

34

Supporting the tax industry in the Gatwick Diamond region, this report is crucial to professionals looking to understand how far their reach can go.

This industry is growing and any mover and shaker who’s a recent hire or a new promotion within a tax focus can take this report as a valuable guideline for career decisions, benchmarking, team growth and management, and much more.

BUSINESS SURVEY

C L A IR E CA R

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HR ConsultLaw appoints firm Cognitive dynamic to law w ne cy an ing ult cit ns ex an Boutique co firm, adding er 20 years’ e ov th th to wi l on rs na ant Claire Ca a HR professio sectors. She ices. Claire is nal services the firm’s serv and professio ving imple ial ha nc t, na fi en e em th anag experience in rformance M nisations.

Pe ga or in d nt re ille fe sk dif is particularly d processes in ts to fully an en es cli tic th ac wi pr ips us sh mented vario building relation to find a bespoke and t ou ab ate ion d Claire is pass e business an related ise needs of th nge of peopleunderstand th to bring th a diverse ra wi ed al ne o de wh to s y se commercial wa ant to busines queries, ult ns oc -h Co ad a s, as ct ts proje sues. Claire ac on long term rks wo d an ills in specialist sk d capacity. and in a retaine

Movers

NI CK I CO NBOY

Extech Cloud

Extech Cloud has app ointed Nicki Conboy to the newly created role of Chief Operating Offi cer. Having been with Extech Cloud almost from its beginning in 2008, Nicki has succes sfully undertaken a number of roles. During her time at Extech Clo ud Nicki has experienced great career pro gression with an enviabl e record of personal self development and won Rising Star at the MD Hub Awards. Prior to joining Extech Cloud Nicki worked for Lloyds Bank.

Nicki said: “I’ve watche d the company blossom and seen the way technology has revolutio nised business. It’s bee n fantastic to be a par t of that and my new role will continue to imp act on that growth.”

35

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35

Family fortunes: why business valuation matters Family comes first is a rule that all of us can relate to. But what about the family business when a split is on the cards? Family law expert Samantha Jago recounts a salutary tale, and offers some advice about protecting assets the business was not worth very much at all. The other side could not accept this and requested more and more paperwork to try to find what they believed to be the true value of the business. Dissatisfied with the revelations contained within the paperwork and convinced that the business was genuinely worth millions, they requested a formal business valuation by a professional who would charge a very hefty fee (to be met by my client).

E

very now and then a family lawyer will come across a case that teaches lessons to all the professionals involved. I had such a case a number of years ago that involved a family business.

My client was an entrepreneur who had a business which, at first glance, seemed quite exciting: it apparently had outlets in a number of different countries and when my client had been pitching to secure investment, he gave it a valuation of ‘millions’. This caused much excitement to the other side, who became convinced that the business was, indeed, worth millions which propelled the case from the ordinary to the extraordinary. However my client was something of a Del Boy Trotter character with the ever optimistic attitude that next year he would be a ‘millionaire’, and the paperwork I had seen simply did not support such a buoyant attitude.

We exchanged the mandatory financial disclosure, which suggested that

36

The valuation went ahead, with the report indicating that the value of the business was a mere £1k. By this point legal fees had reached a staggering amount, and so much money had been removed from the business to meet professional fees that the business was now all but insolvent.

What lessons can be learned from this? Well, quite a few actually, particularly when business ownership is involved:

1

Ahead of cohabitation or marriage, or indeed upon marriage, enter into an agreement with your partner that clearly states what will happen to the business if you were to separate.

Pre and Post Nuptial Agreements are underutilised but are essential tools that can protect assets from uncertainty on separation.

2

Get your paperwork in order. Make sure you have up to date accounts, cash flow projections, monthly management accounts and so forth. Allow access to the business’s accountant so that information can be gathered quickly and questions answered.

LEGAL

“A family business will often provide financial stability to the entire family, and it’s therefore important to tread carefully when assessing its value”

3

Businesses are notoriously difficult to value: specialists will apply different formulas that will produce as many results as there are experts offering their services.

It is therefore essential to choose an expert who has experience in valuing businesses in the sector that yours is in.

4

Consider if it is proportionate to get the business valued. As the above case highlights, someone’s personal estimate of what their business is worth can be very different in reality. It could also be the case that a business is purely an income generating vehicle, with very little capital value. If you are not sure, then it is worth employing your own expert accountant to give an initial feel for whether a valuation would be beneficial. This could save you thousands in pursing a potentially unnecessary valuation.

5

Do not resist a valuation. Courts order businesses to be valued as a matter of course and it is often essential to obtain them to ensure that negotiations to settle can progress.

8

How do you realise your interest in the business? Both parties need to be realistic about what they are trying to achieve. It may be that the business does have some value but neither party can realise that interest without destabilising the business. How else, therefore, might the business be dealt with to provide a fair result? It may be that the non-business owner is compensated out of the other assets and/ or receives a monthly income to compensate for not pursuing their interest in the business. However, is it fair that one party is left with the illiquid risk laden assets whilst the other party secures capital and income so that they can move on? All options need careful consideration.

A family business will often provide financial stability to the entire family, and it’s therefore important to tread carefully when assessing its value to ensure that it can continue to support the entire family post-separation if that’s what is required. Expert advice is essential to secure the right result.

6

Do not start moving money out of the business or doing anything to try to decrease its value. The Court will simply add back in what you have tried to remove, and it will severely undermine your credibility before the Court.

7

Are there other owners? If so this will have a bearing on what can be done with the business and how your interest will be valued.

Samantha Jago is a Partner and qualified mediator in DMH Stallard’s Family team. Contact her at samantha. jago@dmhstallard.com, or call 01483 467437. www.dmhstallard.com

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38

ROUNDSURVEY TABLE BUSINESS

T H E

INFLUENCERS F O R U M ™

O

ver the coming months, The Platinum Group will be hosting a series of forums with some of the leading business people in the region, discussing the issues af-

fecting commerce, industry and technology today.

For the first in the 2020 series, we gathered seven of the most influential

female business people to discuss ‘Women In Business’. Platinum CEO Maarten Hoffmann took the role of chair and facilitator, and the panel comprised of the following...

ST HO

After 20 years at the BBC, MAARTEN HOFFMANN is the founder of the premier business networking forum in Sussex, The Platinum Club, which takes a totally fresh view on the networking formula and has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 2010. A journalist for many years, Maarten brings strong opinions and an acerbic wit to Platinum Business Magazine.

ANA CHRISTIE is the CEO of the Sussex Chamber of Commerce, which aims to help businesses grow, develop, discover and influence. Ana’s career began in aviation, before later entering senior management in the hotel and tourism industries. Ana joined the Chamber over five years ago and has since re-established it as the largest membership organisation in the county.

EMMA LANE is the South East Area Director for Allied Irish Bank. Her role is to lead a team of banking and finance professionals. Emma has been in Banking for 20 years, having worked for Barclays and Lloyds. She was one of the first girls to attend the previously all boys school Marlborough College, where her love of all things challenging stems from.

MELANIE RICHARDSON is Managing Partner at Swindells Accountants. Melanie qualified as a Chartered Accountant in a top 20 firm over 20 years ago and has worked both in practice and in business. She has extensive experience in running businesses and has been managing partner at Swindells LLP for the last seven years.

Recently promoted to Partner, REBECCA BURFORD is one of the youngest partners in Charles Russell Speechlys. Ranked as ‘Next Generation Partner’ in the Legal 500 2019, she is able to quickly grasp, understand and effectively communicate complex issues. Impressing clients with her comprehensive legal knowledge and experience, Rebecca was recently placed in The Lawyer’s Hot 100 list of legal market trailblazers.

Financial Advisor SAMANTHA KAYE joined Wellesley Wealth Advisory after having spent 20 years working in a pensions, legal and technical environment.

During this time she provided detailed assistance to a variety of St. James’s Place practices, helping to formulate plans for their clients. Samantha now wishes to help her own clients by focusing on pensions, investments and inheritance tax planning.

VICKY STEVENS has worked with the NatWest/RBS group for 12 years and has now specialised in business banking as Business Growth Enabler for the past eight years. Passionate about supporting female entrepreneurs, she was delighted to take the lead in a project to work alongside Coast to Capital, becoming the UK’s first Expert in Residence off the back of the Rose Review.

LESLEY ALCOCK, Commercial Director of The Platinum Group, publishers of the UK’s widest read Business Magazine and producers of the South’s largest Business Awards including, The Sussex Business Awards, The Surrey Business Awards and more. Lesley has had a varied career working at The London Evening Standard, The Observer Newspaper and as part of the creative partnerships team at Capital Radio.

39 39

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Does sexism still exist in the workplace?

Vicky Stevens There’s still a long way to go, but I personally haven’t experienced direct sexism.

I do know that there are people in the industry that feel it is still there.

Emma Lane The finance sector is still a man’s world. I am quite used to walking into a room of 50-100 people and being the only woman there.

At the leadership meetings, I’m quite used to being only one of two or three women. Things are changing but we need to continue to push through the barriers.

Samantha Kaye When I started my corporate career, some 20 years ago, there was a lower expectation for the female university leavers.

We were almost expected to walk into the typing pool. If you had any expectations of grandeur in a career it was almost laughed at.

Ana Christie Sexism is more prominent in certain sectors such as finance, law, construction and manufacturing. I experienced sexism in a previous role and heard things being said that you wouldn’t normally expect to hear, but that was over 20 years ago.

Rebecca Burford I work in a male dominated sector and I’m used to being often the only female at a meeting or a networking event.

I have definitely witnessed sexist behaviour, sometimes it’s almost subconscious behaviour.

However, when I have challenged someone they have accepted it was not right and now think a bit more carefully.

Melanie Richardson I’ve been to meetings and people have assumed I was a secretary and asked me to make a cup of coffee. That wasn’t that long ago. When I first started we weren’t allowed to wear trousers in the office, because we were female. There are still occasional examples of unconscious bias. One of my elderly clients recently asked me why I was the Managing Partner as I was a girl. But that’s the older generation. The younger generations don’t care if you’re male or female, gay or straight.

Lesley Alcock It’s something I did experience at the beginning of my career in Fleet Street.

Things have evolved and we’ve come a long way, but there’s still a long way to go.

Emma Not long ago, I organised a dinner with the help of two other very senior women (one a retired CFO, the other a CEO of an engineering company). A chap walked in and looked at the three of us and said, “Are you the secretaries?”

We saw the funny side and I have never let him forget it!

40

BUSINESS ROUNDSURVEY TABLE What can be done about the cost of childcare? Should large companies be legally required to supply an on-site creche or nursery? Should the government fund nurseries?

Ana My brother and my sister-inlaw suffer from this. They both do shift work at the airport. They’ve had no alternative but to have private childcare, which wipes out one of their salaries.

Emma I don’t think it’s a responsibility of government to fix this problem.

As a society we do have to come up with our own solutions. One size doesn’t fit all. Some people are happy to go back to work for six months, but others aren’t. We try to help with flexible working, but it isn’t appropriate for every role. I need somebody available from eight till six which is not necessarily appropriate for nursery costs. A child minder can be a bit more flexible because they tend to look after children in their own environment.

Melanie It would be difficult for Swindells to provide anything like that in any way shape or form. We have 40 people working for us. I can’t think how we would be able to provide an on-site service and we certainly couldn’t compete with the larger businesses that would then attract the highly skilled people. I think it would be a backward step for us and similar-sized businesses. We already face a massive skills shortage.

There could be other ways around it. We’ve got childcare vouchers and various schemes in place. Of course, smaller businesses need to

smaller employers in the similar way that the apprenticeship programme was rolled out. It would be a cost, but the overall benefit of attracting women back into the economy could outweigh any expenditure.

be more flexible but I do think on-site nurseries at larger companies could be anti-competitive.

also have a much longer period of maternity leave but actually it seems that they get the balance right.

Ana If you look at the makeup of business in the UK, over 85% are SMEs so it would be a huge challenge for the majority of businesses.

Melanie They have amazing free health care in Scandinavian countries.

The general population have a greater expectation of standards of living and aspirations. They have a lot of people who go to university and they have very different social structures to this country.

Emma It would be a very expensive policy. The cake is only so big and you have to decide where money will be spent. It would be a big challenge to fund free nurseries.

Rebecca The Scandinavian countries seem to be quite successful at providing such services. They

The nursery that my children went to was amazing. It was set in three acres with animals and was a loving environment. I was fortunate that I was able to afford it. The same applies to private school fees.

Rebecca We have a head office in London with 700 staff, which could be a great pilot for an in-house nursery. I think it could work.

Emma I’m assuming it would need to be profitable. It shouldn’t just be a perk of working for a firm, because this adds to the cost of doing business. There’s also the danger of this being anti-competitive and disadvantaging smaller businesses.

A small business simply could not offer a creche and could struggle to attract mums returning to work.

Samantha It would just push the problem back to government to expand the childcare scheme, so that there’s greater benefits available for

“They have amazing free health care in Scandinavian countries. The general population have a greater expectation of standards of living and aspirations.”

41 41

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

“There’s a huge appetite for women to go back into business.

The Mums in Business Network on Facebook has over 100,000 members...”

How important is it to have a mentor or role model?

Vicky I am so passionate about role models. It is so important for young females in schools to have somebody to look up to. It is especially important in very male dominated industries like construction and technology. Talking to a female who’s done significantly well is really powerful. It’s just really important to have somebody you can relate to.

Melanie I have usually had male mentors. One would make me go away and read the broadsheet newspapers and then quiz me every lunchtime to make sure that I got a broad range of

42

BUSINESS ROUNDSURVEY TABLE According to the Rose Review, many women found it so difficult to get back into work that the only option they had was to start their own business. Do you agree?

Vicky There is a skill gap issue. Women might feel they are ready to return, but things move on quickly and they often discover their knowledge and skill base is not up to speed. If you add to this worries about flexibility, then many think that starting a business can work better to fit in with the family. Also there is a lack of access to finance, often because women are more reluctant to take on debt as they worry about keeping the family secure. It tends to be a vicious circle.

The NatWest ‘Back Her Business’ campaign was launched off the back of the Rose Review because we identified this gap. Women want to take their business forward but are typically uncomfortable taking on a large debt.

The ‘Back Her Business’ programme is part grant funding and part crowdfunding. It comes with support and access to mentors. Women are more risk adverse so we want to offer encouragement.

Samantha There’s a huge appetite for women to go back into business. The Mums in Business Network on Facebook has over 100,000 members - it is effectively a networking group where women offer their services to each other and help each other progress. When a woman has put her heart and soul into generating her own individual business, she takes comfort from talking to another fellow mum or another fellow woman who has been through similar experiences.

There are so many women who are desperate to be entrepreneurs and work around their children’s pickups.

But what I see my day to day job is they don’t know to grow the business when it starts to take off. It’s about taking a little leap of faith into making a go of it, rather worrying about the risk of failing.

Women starting businesses often need help with their financial affairs as often they have never had to to do it.

Emma Our customers tend to be more established businesses, and there isn’t an issue about the gender of the management team or the CEO. But we are understanding of our clients’ needs. For instant we recognise that arranging a meeting at 9am is not convenient for some people but 10.30 is fine.

develop must be one of the most satisfying things you can do.

views and knowledge that I could talk to clients about. In every key job I’ve had, there’s been somebody who’s mentored me – it’s been a massive influence on my career.

Vicky It doesn’t need to be someone of the same gender or race, just somebody that you can relate to.

But if you are in a male dominated

industry, you might find that you relate more to a successful female.

Rebecca I have had several mentors over my career, all men who wanted to see me succeed and got nothing out of that relationship, other than the satisfaction of helping.

Melanie To help someone grow and

Rebecca Absolutely. My great aunts, who are now aged between 75 and 90, were all fantastic role models and I didn’t even realise that until recently.

One of them was a civil engineer.

To be a black, female civil engineer in that generation must have been amazing. Another great aunt was head of training for IBM in America.

These women were pioneering.

They became role models without even realising. I think they were just determined.

Emma In North America, you often see women working on the roads, under lifts or fixing the escalators.

I noticed it as for me it seemed unusual, but it was just normal there.

We think we’re a fairly equal country but you just don’t see it. When do you ever see women mending pot holes?

43 43

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

Should every company with more than 500 employees, by law, have a female board member?

Emma We benefit from having women on the board. Women tend to approach things slightly differently. We tend to be more collaborative, more collegial, and we want to have a discussion. It makes the board much more rounded and more appropriate to society.

Vicky Coast to capital encourages more females to come forward and be part of the board. Julie Kapsalis does a fantastic job encouraging diversity - it just gives that different perspective Melanie Making it a legal requirement brings in that ‘shortlist’ thinking. It has to be a case of actively seeking to find people who will fit on the board who just happened to be female, as opposed to looking for a female and putting them on the board just for the sake of it.

Lesley It’s the recognition of talent.

It’s about looking at the people you’ve got and rather than overlooking the women, they should be considered equally for those board positions.

That’s something that perhaps hasn’t happened historically.

“We see many women starting businesses when they return to work, but what is worrying is the lack of young business women coming through.”

44

ROUNDSURVEY TABLE BUSINESS “We benefit from having women on the board. Women tend to approach things slightly differently. We tend to be more collaborative, more collegial, and we want to have a discussion...”

Are successful men regarded as confident, while female colleagues are called bossy?

Emma Successful men and women are certainly treated differently. I wonder how many senior women have been accused of being bossy in their career?

Melanie Bossy is such a negative word. No one would ever use that to describe a man. He would be assertive.

Rebecca Or we get labelled as aggressive. I’ve been compared to a dog with a bone, because I will champion something.

Samantha As part of a Chartered Insurance Institute programme, we go into schools to talk to young people about money, including the risks of using credit cards and payday loans.

We find many girls are very confident and loud, more so than the boys. I don’t know what happens between them leaving school and starting work.

Ana We see many women starting businesses when they return to work, but what is worrying is the lack of young business women coming through. I am on a judging panel for

a Dragon’s Den style event for 16-21 year-olds, and it’s usually only 10-20% female. Schools and colleges need to do more to encourage more females to start their own businesses.

Vicky Education is so important.

The bank is looking to roll out a programme where we go into schools and speak to those children or younger adults about having an entrepreneurial mindset.

Melanie It’s interesting to see if there’s a definite change in people under 30. There seems to be a real positive change. When I’m recruiting, the young people that we are training all view each other as equals. It’s such a nice thing to see and I really hope it carries on.

Rebecca My niece is going to be a leader. She has this incredible personality and she’s so young. We are very careful about the language we use around her, being very careful not to call her bossy. She’s determined and she’s strong. We have to educate girls that it’s alright to ask and be confident.

T H E

INFLUENCERS F O R U M™

p o dcast

LISTEN IN FULL

You can hear more of the discussion by streaming the exclusive podcast at www.buzzsprout.com/887299. You can also download it via the usual podcast apps. Search for ‘The Influencers Forum’.

45 45

The airport of the future

Tech start-ups from around the globe visit Gatwick to supercharge airport innovation

Sixteen start-up companies from around the world pitched their products to event attendees. Five ‘reverse-pitches’ were also given by airport users – including pilots, airfield staff and others who work at the airport - to highlight challenges that they face so that the start-ups could take these away and work up possible future solutions.

Parking robots at Gatwick

G

atwick has been a leading airport innovator for many years and the airport’s ongoing relationship with Plug & Play, a Silicon Valley accelerator, is one way the transport hub stays ahead of the curve and manages to maintain its crown of being the world’s most efficient single runway airport.

Going forward, new technology and innovation will also help the airport to grow by allowing the airport to make better use of its existing main runway and also by helping it to bring its standby runway into regular use.

Plug & Play introduces new tech startups and entrepreneurs from around

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the globe to established businesses, with a view to fast tracking their innovations and driving forward improvements at scale across a particular sector, in this case airports.

Through this relationship, Plug & Play recently hosted an event at Gatwick Airport that brought tech start-ups from the UK, USA, India, Israel, Austria and Denmark together with airports, airlines and universities to help drive airport innovation forward.

Local universities also attended, including the University of Sussex and the University of Chichester, as did business groups including the Chambers of Commerce from both Horley and Crawley.

Start-ups present included: • London and Copenhagen-based platforms that connect travellers with hotels and shops where they can store bags – without searching for a specialist luggage facility.

• Paris-based start-up that helps airlines improve fuel efficiency – saving money and emissions.

• A New York-based firm that uses machine learning predict flight disruption and automatically rebook passengers on alternative flights.

• A London-based start-up that aims to make air travel ‘baggage-less’ by checking-in luggage at home and delivering it to the passenger’s final destination.

TRAVEL

Machine learning to prioritise flights most at risk of delay Abhi Chacko discusses some recent innovations at Gatwick: “We obviously want our flights to depart on time but by conventional methods are only able to predict the departure times accurately in advance about 50% of the time.

“We are however now using machine learning to predict the departure time. The machine considers a range of multiple factors – passenger numbers, bags, destination, airfield condition, flight and service history, and will predict when the flight is going to depart. We are now getting it right around 70% of the time and we use the new technology to prioritise the flights that are at most risk of delay and deploy additional resources to help our airline partners get their aircraft away on time.”

ing agent, bag handler and turn lead – can collaborate and communicate in real time. The users will mark the start/stop of their tasks on the tool and we get a full history of the turns and can use it to fine tune the process over time.

“We can also now detect turn events automatically using computer vision with cameras pointing down to the stands that can detect the jet bridge connecting, cargo doors opening and power connecting.”

Digital management of the aircraft turn “One of the most critical, but fragmented processes in the airport is the management of the aircraft turn around. It's currently all done using radio and paper.

Managing aircraft line maintenance digitally “Another paper and radio process is aircraft line maintenance, which we are streamlining and creating a digital solution for called ‘LineMate’. This will simplify the interactions among captain, aircraft engineer and the control room, and make it more efficient. Solutions like this would be particularly relevant given the Boeing maintenance hanger which will soon be operational at Gatwick.”

“We are building an integrated digital platform called “AirTurn” where all stakeholders - captain, crew, board-

Chatbot and Alexa skill “We have already enabled flight enquiry on Alexa and we have now in-

Presenting at the event was Abhi Chacko, Head of Innovation at Gatwick Airport, who gave an overview of recent innovations at the airport, including a passenger chatbot and the use of computer vision to measure the amount of hand luggage due to go on an aircraft.

He said: “This event kick-started numerous discussions that may not otherwise have happened and we hope it will supercharge airport innovation at Gatwick and other airports across the UK and further afield.

troduced a Chatbot for passengers on Facebook Messenger to answer typical questions from passengers on flight times, airport facilities etc.

Once this has bedded in we will roll it out on Apple iMessage and Whatsapp.”

Abhi Chacko, Head of Innovation at Gatwick Airport

“We are building an integrated digital platform called ‘AirTurn’ where all stakeholders can collaborate and communicate in real time” “By deploying the latest innovations, Gatwick has been able to deliver some best in class passenger services. Technology moves fast however and events like this help Gatwick and VINCI Airports to stay ahead of the curve so we can become early adopters of

appropriate advances that will improve the service we offer passengers.”

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orwegian was voted the world’s most fuel-efficient airline on transatlantic routes in 2015 and 2018 by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and since 2008, the airline has reduced its emissions by 33% per passenger kilometre thanks to new, fuel-efficient aircraft. Contributing to a sustainable future for the aviation industry is at the heart of the Norwegian ethos and it is something that the airline is taking action on today, Norwegian calls it ‘flying smart’.

As part of ‘flying smart’, the company only operates the newest and most fuel-efficient aircraft across its global network. The airline’s Head of Sustainability, Anders Fagernaes, clearly sees a direct correlation between the low-cost business model and reducing emissions. “Flying brings people together and is of great value to society. But flying also comes at a cost to our environment. At Norwegian we fly smart, with one of the newest fleets in the industry. Our low-cost business model reduces fuel and resource con-

sumption – cutting both ticket prices and carbon emissions at the same time.”

Sustainability does not have to come at a premium for either the industry or passengers. Norwegian customers only pay for what they consume, and direct flights use less fuel, reducing net emissions. The low-cost business model is based on low fares which, in turn, means a higher load factor on every flight and therefore lower emissions per passenger. Norwegian does not have flat beds on long-haul, nor does it have drop-down flat screens on short-haul, further cutting weight, fuel consumption and reducing both net carbon emissions, and emissions per seat. Norwegian firmly believes the low-cost business model is the sustainability model of the future.

The development of low-carbon solutions, such as electric airplanes and alternative fuels, has a long way to go before they are scalable to the extent that they become commercially viable throughout the aviation industry. How-

ever, Norwegian aims to become the most carbon and resource-efficient airline in the world by adopting new technology when that time comes.

In addition to being technically highly-trained, Norwegian pilots are great energy managers, always trying to find ways to fly even smarter. Advances in technology such as using aircraft sensors, advanced weather data and big data analysis to inform pilots on how to reduce fuel consumption before and during the flight have had a signifi cant positive impact on fuel consumption and emission levels. After each flight, pilots receive feedback on their performance which is sent straight to a specially-tailored phone application, advising them on how to fly even smarter. By flying smarter, Norwegian pilots can save up to 2% of Norwegian’s entire fleet’s fuel consumption, equivalent to 140,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and the

Flying

smart

A sustainable future is at the heart of Norwegian’s ethos. Here’s how the airline adopts an eco-conscious business model

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BUSINESS TRAVEL SURVEY

Norwegian has also partnered with climate company CHOOOSE to make it easy for passengers to offset their carbon footprint when buying a ticket with the airline. The initiative has been welcomed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Fagernaes is clear that there is consumer appetite to offset carbon emissions. “Carbon offsetting is an important tool in managing today's emissions, and we know that many of our customers would like to compensate for emissions associated with their journey.”

how its flight’s emissions compares to industry average. The CO2 emissions calculation is based on the official methodology of the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Council of Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Norwegian’s own flight emissions data.

For passengers that opt in, offsetting is then performed through carefully selected CO2-reducing clean energy projects in regions Norwegian flies to.

The projects are certified by the United Nations and the Gold Standard, which sets the standard for climate and development interventions to quantify, certify and maximise their impact.

The Gold Standard also includes contributions to other UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Norwegian developed the feature to be as informative, simple, and trustworthy as possible. When first selecting a flight, Norwegian informs customers

Even if commercial aviation technology continues to develop and Norwegian keeps reducing its environmental impact, emission-free flying is not possible today, but ‘flying smarter’ is a reality that has a tangible and immediate positive impact on sustainability.

use of advanced weather data can cut 30,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.

“Flying brings people together and is of great value to society.

But flying also comes at a cost to our environment” Anders Fagernaes, Norwegian’s Head of Sustainability To find out more visit: www. norwegian.com/uk/about/ experience-us/responsible-travel

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national

news BUSINESS SURVEY

RBS cleared over developer’s claim of ‘duress’

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property developer who struggled to repay a £75m loan from RBS after spending part of it on a yacht, a jet and fast cars has lost a lawsuit against the lender. Oliver Morley had claimed RBS’s controversial Global Restructuring Group (GRG) placed him under ‘economic duress’, which led to some of his

properties being seized by the bank and sold for a profit. But in a High Court judgment, the claim was dismissed. Mr Justice Kerr found that RBS did not breach its duty to exercise reasonable care and skill when dealing with Morley and that its actions were rationally connected to its commercial interests.

Which universities spend the most on wellbeing?

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xclusive research from Beeja Meditation has revealed which UK universities are investing the most into their student wellbeing services, with some universities spending over £6 million more than others. Of the top five, the Uni-

versity of Central Lancashire came out first with a whopping spend of £6.2m. University of Sheffield ranked second followed by De Montfort University, University of the West of England, and University of York consecutively.

Failure defeats losers and inspires winners BUSINESS WISDOM

Meat-free and your money back

E

mployees at Manchester-based property development firm Igloo Regeneration will no longer be reimbursed for meals that contain meat following the introduction of a vegetarian-only expense policy. Igloo is the UK’s “leading responsible real estate business,” and its internal policies should reflect that, Igloo Regeneration director John Long told the BBC. The company pointed to research that suggests that going vegetarian is one of the biggest ways in which you can reduce your individual environmental impact.

Airsorted becomes Houst

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ondon-based professional property hosting company Airsorted has unveiled its new brand identity - Houst.

Already one of the biggest players in the professional hosting space, Houst’s ambition is to be seen as an essential partner to property owners, rather than simply a service provider. The rebrand signifies the evolution of the market, and the business itself, with multiple platforms to list and rent short and mid-term property rentals – outside of Airbnb. In 2019, Houst supported hosts across 20 cities, across 11 countries to achieve more than 250,000 bookings generating a total of revenue for hosts of over £90 million.

Bezos pledges billions to Earth

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mazon boss Jeff Bezos has pledged $10bn to help fight climate change. The world’s richest man said the money would finance work by scientists, activists and other groups.

Writing on his Instagram account, he said: “Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund… we can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organisations, and individuals. Earth is the one thing we all have in common - let’s protect it, together.” Mr Bezos has an estimated net worth of more than $130bn, so the pledge represents almost 8% of his fortune.

Business opportunities are like buses, there’s always another one coming BUSINESS WISDOM

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Are you ready? for the new VAT rules on energy saving materials Dan Hobbs, Tax Partner at MHA Carpenter Box, takes a look at the changes in VAT around energy saving materials to help you see if you’ve been affected saving materials was restricted to comply with EU law. The UK rules were found to go beyond what is permitted under EU law. Supplies which would previously have qualified for the reduced rate, now only qualify if they meet the new and more restrictive tests which are noted below. This is not good news for the sector or the environment.

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he Manufacturing team at accountancy association MHA release a quarterly series called The Engine; these provide a national outlook on the issues facing the manufacturing market.

An overview From October 1st 2019 the scope of the VAT reduced rate (5%) for energy

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What are the changes?

From October 1st 2019 the reduced rate only applies to the installation of energy saving materials (and energy saving materials supplied with installation), where the supply meets one of the new social policy conditions noted below, or a new 60% test is met in relation to materials.

The reduced rate has been removed for wind and water turbines. The installation of these turbines is subject to VAT at the standard rate of 20%.

Solar panels have been retained in the scope of the reduced rate.

Social Policy Conditions Condition 1: The supply of the installation is to a ‘qualifying person’ and in the qualifying person’s sole or main residence.

A qualifying person is a person who is: • Aged 60 or over, or • is in receipt of certain benefits, such as Child Tax Credit (other than the family element), Council Tax Benefit, Disability Living Allowance, Disablement Pension, Housing Benefit, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, War Disablement Pension and Working Tax Credit.

Condition 2: The supply of the installation is to a ‘relevant housing association’, which includes registered social landlords and registered housing associations.

BUSINESSFINANCE SURVEY Condition 3: The supply of the installation in residential accommodation is in a building or part of a building used solely for a ‘relevant residential purpose’.

This includes children’s homes, care homes, etc.

Note: subcontractors are unlikely to meet Condition 1 or 2 as they supply a main contractor and may need to rely on the 60% test below for reduced rating.

60% Test Where one of the above social policy conditions is not met, it is necessary to look at the new 60% test for materials.

If the open market value purchase price (excluding VAT) of all goods supplied to the customer (as part of the installation which remain in place once the job has been completed) is greater than 60% of the total value of the supply to a customer (excluding VAT), an apportionment is now required between materials (which will become standard rated) and labour

(which will be reduced rated). Sounds complicated…

Example 1: A contractor pays £500 (excluding VAT) for material and charges its customer £1,000 (excluding VAT) for the installation.

Since the cost of materials is only 50% of the value of the total supply, the contractor can charge the reduced rate of 5% on the total supply i.e. 5% of £1,000 = £50.

Example 2: A contractor pays £7,500 for materials (excluding VAT) and charges its customer £10,000 (excluding VAT) for the installation.

Since the cost of the materials is 75% of the value of the supply, the supplier will need to separately identify the value of the materials and charge VAT at the standard rate on the supply of those materials to its customers. The labour element of the supply will continue to qualify for the reduced rate.

“Supplies which would previously have qualified for the reduced rate, now only qualify if they meet the new and more restrictive tests”

Supplies where the material cost is likely to be a high proportion of the value of the supply e.g. solar panels, will not generally be eligible for reduced rating unless one of the above social policy conditions is met, which could have a significant impact.

Who is impacted?

Any contractor or subcontractor installing energy saving materials including: • Controls for central heating and hot water • Systems draught stripping • Insulation • Solar panels • Wind turbines • Water turbines • Ground source heat pumps • Air source heat pumps • Micro combined heat and power units • Wood-fuelled boilers

Get in touch For more information get in touch with our friendly team of tax and business advisers by contacting Dan on 01903 234094 or visit our website: www.carpenterbox.com

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The Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

19th March 2020

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

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

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

6.00pm

Evening starts with Pre-Dinner Reception Sponsored by Norwegian

6.45pm

Take your seats for Dinner

9.30pm

Gyles Brandreth

10.00pm

Presentation of the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards

11.00pm

After-Show Party

01.00am

Carriages

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

WWW.GATWICKDIAMONDBUSINESSAWARDS.COM

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@GDBIZAWARDS

FINANCE

Mental health in the workplace Burn out and how to avoid it by Dan Morgan, Managing Partner at Haines Watts Esher

drove you in the beginning and is this still what drives you now? Take the time to review your business plan and make sure you’re still on the right track to achieve your goals.

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unning a business and being your own boss may be a dream for many, but it also comes with a whole host of challenges. Business owners would do anything for their company but at what cost? How can business owners balance success with a healthy and happy life?

Through opinion research with business owners, we discovered that more than a quarter (27%) of business owners admit that running their business is having a detrimental impact on their physical and mental health with 73 out of 100 business owners strongly agreeing that their business is emotionally exhausting. Below are some top tips to keep you on top of your game.

Ask for help Build good support systems both in your personal and professional life.

Peer groups or mentors who face similar challenges to you can be invaluable in offering you people to lean on who understand your struggle and offer you new skills on how to work through it.

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Break things down It is very easy to feel overwhelmed with your work load. Start by taking a step back and figuring out what needs

to be a priority, what could be delegated and what can be pushed back.

Working through your tasks this way can help you to better plan your business’ future and set realistic timelines for you to achieve your goals.

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Recruit the right team As your business grows you can no longer do everything. It is vital to have the right team in place to get you out of the day-to-day allowing you to focus on longer term objectives for the business. Hire people that challenge you and know more than you do.

That way you can shift into the leadership role of asking the right questions rather than providing all the answers.

This will allow you to take a step back and re-address your work-life balance.

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Take time away from the office This one may feel obvious and impossible at the same time with 52% of business owners taking less than 10 days holiday a year and 8% taking no holiday at all. You may have an overwhelming feeling of guilt or fear that the business will fall apart without you but you must trust that you have put the right systems in place for business to continue. The time away from your business will allow you to come back with refreshed thinking and a new perspective.

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Re-motivate yourself Surround yourself with a positive team, their confidence and enthusiasm will be infectious, allowing you to see the big picture and your challenges not seem so great. Never underestimate how powerful the attitudes of others can be on your own mood.

Try to remind yourself why you started your business in the first place, what

T: 020 8549 5137 E: esher@hwca.com www.hwca.com/accountants-esher

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Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2020

The finalists are announced So, who are the best businesses in the Gatwick Diamond Region?

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he finalists in each of the categories for the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards 2020 were announced on February 13th, but you’ll need to wait until March 19th to find out who the winners are.

Community Investment Business of the Year

The Gatwick Diamond is home to a vast range of businesses, spanning all sectors of the economy, from household names to niche companies, and from multinationals to sole traders.

So, the winner of a Gatwick Diamond Business Award must stand out in this impressive business community.

The Award for the Place to Meet

All Award winners will have shown innovation and inspiration in their work and demonstrated a real commitment to this world-class economic area.

Our celebrity host, Gyles Brandreth, will present the Awards and entertain us through the evening. A special thank you to our Headline Sponsors Gatwick Airport, NatWest, Thakeham and Extech Cloud.

The evening will get off to a flying start with a pre-dinner reception sponsored

by Norwegian and rounded off with the highly anticipated after-show party.

The finalists in each category are:

Green Business of the Year sponsored by Britaniacrest Recycling • Cleankill Pest Control • Denbies Wine Estate Ltd • Goplasticpallets.com

Apprentice of the Year

sponsored by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council • Lavender Mwamba (St Catherine’s Hospice) • Max Rayner (WS Planning & Architecture) • Megan Quinn (Creative Process Digital)

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sponsored by Gatwick Airport Ltd • Community Transport Sussex • MHA Carpenter Box • PVL UK Ltd

sponsored by Prowse & Co Ltd • Elekta • Manor Collection - Hartsfield • Phileas Fogg

Employer of the Year

sponsored by Search Consultancy • Ashdown Park Hotel & Country Club • MHA Carpenter Box • Southern Sheeting Supplies Ltd

The Award for Developing People sponsored by Crawley College • Bowles • Gatwick Recruitment and Training Ltd • MHA Carpenter Box

BUSINESS BUSINESSAWARDS SURVEY International Business of the Year sponsored by Gatwick Diamond Initiative • Aspen Pumps Group • Avtura Limited • PVL UK Ltd

The Award for Innovation & Technology sponsored by University of Sussex • Airport Energy Services Limited • LifeBox Health Ltd • PVL UK Ltd

The Award for Brighter Thinking sponsored by Menzies LLP • Cleankill Pest Control • Freedom Works • Storm12 Ltd

Professional Services Firm of the Year

Growth Business of the Year

Manufacturing Business of the Year

Business of the Year (Up to £1m)

sponsored by Crawley Borough Council • DMH Stallard • Cleankill Pest Control • Vail Williams LLP

sponsored by Kreston Reeves • Elekta • PVL UK Ltd • Time 24

New Business of the Year sponsored by University of Sussex Business School • PRIMOtax Limited • Teach All About IT Ltd • The Company Connector Ltd

sponsored by Red River Software • Freedom Works • IPG • Southern Sheeting Supplies Ltd

sponsored by SHW • Adastra HR Limited • Ethos Farm Limited • Posture People – Love your workspace

Business of the Year (Over £1m) sponsored by NatWest • Assurity Consulting • Denbies Wine Estate Ltd • Gatwick Recruitment and Training Ltd

Business Person of the Year

sponsored by Richard Place Dobson • Paul Bates - Cleankill Pest Control • Richard Pollins - DMH Stallard • Steve Cropper - Gemini Print Group

The Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Gatwick Diamond

sponsored by Southern & Gatwick Express Railways We have introduced this prestigious new award to recognise outstanding personal contribution to making the Gatwick Diamond a great place to do business. It celebrates personal commitment to the Gatwick Diamond and extended leadership, rising way above the individual’s direct business or professional responsibilities.

Find out what is happening by visiting www.gatwickdiamondbusinessawards. com or follow @gdbizawards on Twitter for real-time updates on the night.

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Wellness trends and advances...

GENE THERAPY Gene therapy shows remarkable potential in treating genetic diseases such as cystic fibrosis, infectious diseases, cancer and even heart disease.

It allows for DNA to be introduced into a patient’s cells to compensate for faulty genes or to make an advantageous protein. If a mutated gene causes a required protein to be defective or missing, gene therapy may be able to introduce a normal copy of the gene to restore the function of the protein.

The development of the CRISPR-Cas9 system over the past decade was an exciting development in the genome-editing field and the introduction of the CRISPR based ‘prime editing’ holds incredible potential. In a nutshell, it could allow more efficiency, accuracy, speed and importantly, can be used at less cost.

Gene therapy still faces many challenges and is currently primarily available in research settings but with the availability of technologies such as

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HEALTH & WELLBEING FERTILITY ASSISTANCE TECHNOLOGY As both women and men desire more control over their reproductive health, reproductive assistance, once deemed a luxury, is becoming a growing part of healthcare.

Conversations around fertility are now common as women, long underrepresented in medical research, demand more information, more innovation and the fertility services are listening.

Medical research is, of course, expensive but femtech (had to have been coined in Silicone Valley!) start-ups are believed to have secured over £1 billion in investment to date.

Fertility Assistance Technologies include wearables such as the Ava fertility bracelet which tracks physiological signs and indicates optimal fertile days, with an accuracy of 89%.

The hand-held myLotus measures luteinising hormone concentration in a urine sample to indicate the best days for conception. Both these devices allow for information to be followed on an app and period tracking apps are now one of the most popular health categories the coronavirus isn’t the only in the App Store.

2020. By Tess de Klerk, Health Editor

...for 2020 and beyond It’s a new year, a new decade and development to keep an eye on in CRISPR, research and development are speeding along.

Big pharma are investing heavily in cell therapy for cancer over the next year and beyond. Several companies are in late-stage development of their genome therapies and the hope is that we will see FDA clearance for the treatment of haemophilia and muscular dystrophy in 2020.

NUTRIGENOMICS The testing of DNA to determine how different foods may interact with specific genes is not new but as consumers increasingly realise that our physiology is as unique as our personalities, nutrigenomics is going mainstream. The re-

finement of this technology is offering a major opportunity for us to take charge of our own health and wellbeing.

The cost of in-depth analysis of your bodily make-up, including gut microbe analysis and personalised reports on what you should and shouldn’t be eating for optimal health, has become affordable with packages starting from £99. Companies can also offer insights into body type, strength and aerobic capability.

The ease of testing is fueling this growing trend as kits are received in the post, samples collected at home and sent off to the lab. The analysis takes around 10 days.

New Hope Fertility released an athome IVF kit, which allows women to privately prepare for the egg retrieval process, while Modern Fertility sells finger-prick tests to gauge reproductive hormones.

Digital platforms such as Peanut Trying to Conceive are increasing in numbers too as women seek and offer support during their journeys to conception and the sperm/egg donor matching app, Just A Baby, is going from strength to strength.

Thankfully, women are not the only ones encouraged to take charge as last year saw an influx of products that measure, track and store male sperm

“The need to strike a balance between the pursuit of wellness and the need to work is the central concept of the wellness sabbatical”

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

too. This is encouraging as one-third of all infertility cases are reportedly caused by male reproductive issues.

THE WELLNESS SABBATICAL The need to strike a balance between the pursuit of wellness and the need to work is the central concept of the wellness sabbatical.

not disconnecting! At the same time physical pursuits, stress-reducing treatments and opportunities for rest and relaxation should abound.

Surely being allowed to work and play in supportive and beautiful surroundings can only increase health happiness as well as productivity.

Not just for hippies and those who long for days gone past, mainstream medicine is taking the emergence of this new psychedelic medical movement seriously. Trials are taking place in Europe and the US with Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins University having launched their own centres into psychedelic research.

Results are proving astounding, with patients reporting miraculous and enduring psychological transformations.

According to behavioural psychologists, it takes 21 days to break bad habits and to make lasting lifestyle changes The use of psychoactives but few of us are fortusuch as psilocybin, the nate enough to be able active in magic mushto take three weeks rooms, is still illegal in away from work to immost countries, therefore merse ourselves in nathe only therapy availature, yoga, meditation ble in the UK would be in or whatever it is that we Potent psilocybe cyanescens wavy cap psychedelic magic mushrooms a clinical research setyearn for. ting but fear not, Holland offers very comfortable, spa-like centres and in Fortunately, the retreat and wellness Jamaica, you can find yourself breathPSYCHEDELIC THERAPY CENTRES world is slowly but surely catching up ing tropical air and warming in the sun Lastly, but possibly the most fun, is as breaks are being tailored to those while experienced facilitators safely the rise in Psychedelic Therapy Cenof us who want our work and wellness guide your journey. tres where natural psychoactives, too! Whether in the mountains of Thaisuch as ayahuasca and magic mushland or on the beaches of the CaribbeThis therapy is set to continue its rise rooms, are used to facilitate theraan the wellness sabbatical must offer in popularity during 2020. A note to my peutic breakthrough. With converts superfast wifi, be smartphone and editor - the use of psychedelic centres making statements such as ‘10 years laptop friendly and offer flexible time must be investigated and I would be of therapy achieved in three days’ this for working as well as pursuing health willing to do so in Jamaica... trend is growing. and happiness. No more shaming for

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BUSINESS SURVEY

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

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We make it our business to know your business, delivering results and adding value whether you’re an established market leader or an ambitious start-up.

Working for you and with you, our exceptional personal law service will help you plan, protect and achieve the very best outcomes for you and your family.

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Jaguar F-Type SVR

By Maarten Hoffmann

I

t was not that long ago that we had three major tuning badges – BMW’s M Series, Mercedes AMG and Audi RS. These were the fast models of the normal range and over the years, they have got faster, louder and lairier every time. The newish kid on the block is Jaguar’s Special Vehicles Operations department that translates to the SVR badge – and quite a badge it is.

The Jaguar F-Type SVR is a lighter, faster and sharper version of Jaguar’s F-type R All-Wheel Drive. Don’t be fooled into thinking the F-type SVR is a trackday hero in the image of a 911 GT3, though.

“SVR is about everyday usability,” says Mark Stanton, director of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations division. ‘It’s about taking the basic traits of a Jaguar and amplifying them appropriately. We wanted to dial up the performance without losing the duality.’

The SVR badge made its debut on the Range Rover Sport SVR and this is the first time it’s been applied to a Jaguar.

It becomes the fastest F-type to date with a 200mph top speed, and 60mph arriving in 3.5 seconds. In 2017, l took the SVR along with the Audi R8 plus and the Alfa Quadrifoglio to the Nurburgring, and the three of us voted the SVR the most fun on a track. For those

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uber-keen racers there is even an app that overlays your speed, revs, g-force loadings and other info over footage taken by a compatible GoPro camera.

It is a tad hefty, coming in at 1705 kg and you can feel this bulk at times but with so much power underfoot, it really doesn’t matter as you just

power through it. Cornering is where you don’t want to power through but the balance of this car is so perfect that this fails to bother. Spend an extra £8,570 on the carbon ceramic brakes and stopping is only troubled by the look on the face of the car behind as your rear bumper grows ever larger in his windscreen at an alarming rate.

BUSINESS MOTORING SURVEY

“...the touch infotainment screen works well until you hit a bump and change the satnav to Kabul high street” TECH STUFF Model tested: Jaguar F-Type SVR Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8 Power: 575bhp Speed: 0-60 3.5 seconds Top: 200mph Economy: 25.9 mpg combined Price from: £118,575 As tested: £120,925

l guess you get used to it over time.

The quilted leather seats are great and the touch infotainment screen works well until you hit a bump and change the satnav to Kabul high street.

20-inch tyres. They even saved 8kg on the magnesian framed seats and offer a lightweight carbon roof panel.

Powered by a 5-litre supercharged V8, kicking out 567bhp and moved through an 8-speed automatic transmission – with the obligatory paddle shifts, should you so wish. It also inherits the four-wheel drive system that ensures you are glued to the tarmac. There are a few other tweaks here and there such as new dampers and anti-roll bars and

Airflow is all-important at these speeds therefore they offer an active rear wing, rear venturi, front splitter and a flat underfloor ensuring the airflow is smooth all around the car. It is all hugely entertaining and inspires supreme confidence and really is, like the R8, an everyday supercar.

Inside, all is well. I am still not sure about the pistol-grip gear changer but

This is highly capable car but when you look at the starting price of £118,575 before you add a single extra, it strays into dangerous territory with the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo, Audi R8 and the McLaren 540C on offer.

Jaguar does garner a certain loyalty amongst many and this will help and it is a great-looking car. It’s easier to drive every day than the McLaren, it’s a bit more fun than the R8, and the design isn’t 800 years-old like the Porsche.

Take your pick, they are all great and hugely entertaining cars but the SVR does have a little something about it.

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Mercedes GLC

By Maarten Hoffmann

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his is a very important model for Mercedes and enters quite a crowded sector. Its rivals include the Alfa Stelvio, BMW X3, Audi Q5, Porsche Macan, Jaguar F-Pace and the Discovery Sport. The GLC will steal sales from all of them.

There are two choices of body styles; the 5-door SUV, which l have, and the coupé liftback. The latter is not the prettiest car l have ever seen and the rear visibility is appalling. There is also a great choice of power plants with the V8 GLC 63 and the V6 GLC 43, and both are highly entertaining. But l will focus on the 5-door SUV which, l am sure, will be the big seller.

squeak to be heard, and the MBUX infotainment system has a world-class voice-assistant and a touch iPad and touch screen. For me, the jury is out on touchscreens; l like them for their ease of use but some are just too fiddly. This one sits bang in the middle of that range. The entry-level GLC

“The clever trick here is that the GLC feels like a car and not a lumbering SUV”

It is quite a good-looking car from just about every angle and with four-wheel drive and an auto box as standard, it’s a great start. Inside, all is well and very Mercedes and that is to say really well put together. There’s not a rattle or

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200d kicks off the range and you can specify Sport or AMG, and there are a vast array of variations, none of which l have space nor the patience to list.

I have the 220d, giving 62mph in around 8.3 seconds and it has all the poke you need. It is pleasingly solid on the road, as you would expect, and gives you the confidence to push

it hard and test the limit. The 9-speed auto box is smooth and refined, the ride is very good, though if you opt for the 20” wheels, you should also opt for the air suspension – unless you have a very good relationship with your dentist! Don’t – the standard wheels are all you need.

The clever trick here is that the GLC feels like a car and not a lumbering SUV, and this is in part due to it being built on the same platform as the C-Class estate. The car’s body is a mix of aluminium and highstrength steel, and features structural reinforcements normally only seen on convertibles. The aerodynamics are class-leading with a drag coefficient of just 0.31.

The interior is a very nice place to be with great seats, plenty of reach on the steering wheel, with knobs and dials

MOTORING BUSINESS SURVEY TECH STUFF Model tested: GLC 220d 4Matic Engine: 2,143cc Power: 170bhp Speed: 0-60 8.3 seconds Top: 130mph Economy: 47.9 mpg combined Price from: ÂŁ40,300

all in the right place. I could do without the fake wood but it seems l am alone as it bothered no-one else l pointed it out to. It is also the first car in years that does not have any USB ports! The heated seats controls are on the door card rather than buried amongst the array of buttons and that really makes a difference if, like me, you love heated seats and want them on fast. Rear passengers will welcome the leg room and it is light and airy back there and the boot space equals the X3 and Q5 at 1600 litres.

The CoupĂŠ version

In summary, this is a very attractive, well put together SUV that will worry the competition no end and cause them to up their game.

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The E-Class Saloon From only £349* per month Combining luxury and comfort with modern, sporty styling, the E-Class saloon offers the ultimate form of sophisticated driving. External safety features include high performance LED head and tail lights and the Parking Package, inclusive of Active Parking Assist and reversing camera.

Driver convenience is heightened throughout the interior design, with the KEYLESS-GO starting function and multifunction steering wheel. The E-Class saloon is a figure of opulence for both driver and passenger.

Representative Example

E220d SE Saloon Auto

Monthly Payments of

£349.00

1

Customer Deposit

£5,999.00

On the Road Price

£32,039.84

Optional Purchase Payment2

£14,000.00

Amount of Credit

£26,040.84

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£36,761.00

Purchase Activation Fee2

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

9p per mile

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

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

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected E-Class Saloon models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 10,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit activity and our Firm Reference Numbers are 679326 and 684382 respectively. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are Appointed Representatives of FISC Limited Trading As TRACS, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for General Insurance; FISC Limited’s Firm Reference Number is 773446. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.

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er f f O nth d e c r mo n a nh 9* pe E n 28 w o d nly £ n a S mo fro

The GLA From just £289* per month The Mercedes-Benz GLA remains to be the sportiest vehicle of its class, encompassing eye-catching aesthetics whilst still being prepared for all terrains. The Urban Edition takes this one step further with its off-road comfort suspension, making it the ideal vehicle for cross-country driving. The versatile and compact GLA SUV also perfectly complements fast-paced city living; KEYLESS-GO, Media Interface and a Reversing Camera with 180 ° view all make driving in an urban environment that much more efficient.

BUSINESS SURVEY

Representative Example

GLA 180 Urban Edition Auto

Monthly Payments of

£289.00

1

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

On the Road Price

£25,350.01

Optional Purchase Payment

2

£11,325.00

Amount of Credit

£21,351.01

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£29,206.00

Purchase Activation Fee2

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

10p per mile

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

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

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected GLA SUV models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 10,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit activity and our Firm Reference Numbers are 679326 and 684382 respectively. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are Appointed Representatives of FISC Limited Trading As TRACS, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for General Insurance; FISC Limited’s Firm Reference Number is 773446. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.

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MONACO e th d an

MOVIES Enjoy the glitz and glamour of the Givenchy Spa at Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo

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warded the ‘Best Hotel Spa in Monaco’ at the World Luxury Spa Awards 2019, the Hotel Metropole Monte-Carlo is a Leading Hotel of the World, and one of the most prestigious addresses in Monaco.

A luxury residence from another era with a unique atmosphere and a sumptuous spa retreat, the hotel is located within a former 19th century palace in the Carré d’Or overlooking the Mediterranean.

From the 126 rooms and suites to the three restaurants and swimming pool, the Hotel Metropole offers its guests the very best in design and gastronomy. What’s more, the unveiling of the Givenchy Spa in April 2017 brought another level of sophistication and elegance to this French Riviera bolthole.

A collaboration with the House of

Givenchy, the Spa Metropole by Givenchy is only the third of its kind in the world. Designed by interior architect Didier Gomez, the spa is beautifully integrated into the hotel with stunning marble finishes, sleek proportions and contemporary

including treatments from worldrenowned pedicure-foot specialist to the stars, Bastien Gonzalez whose Pedi:Mani:Cure studio is open daily for possibly the best holistic pedi you’ll ever have. For the ultimate treat, book in for the ‘Signature Metropole’, a bespoke 90 minute face and body treatment which will leave you feeling blissfully restored and radiant.

If you do feel the urge to leave these plush surroundings, Port Hercules is a 10 minute walk away, whilst there are numerous restaurants and chic boutiques to explore within three minutes of stepping off the hotel’s herringbone-brick driveway.

materials. All ten treatment rooms are decorated in serene shades of white, with embossed walls that evoke the lace of haute couture gowns, as would be fitting for a Givenchy spa!

The Spa treatment menu is extensive,

Be whisked off on a private tour of Le Clos des Roses with the hotel’s Head Sommelier, or take a night-time trip to the majestic Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. A stay here isn’t complete without trying at least one of the

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hotel’s three restaurants headed up by chef Joël Robuchon, two of which are Michelin-starred.

Visit his eponymous restaurant for Mediterranean-inspired cuisine, or try Robuchon’s first Japanese restaurant ‘Yoshi’ renowned for the freshest sashimi and the best sakés. You also won’t want to miss spending an afternoon lounging at ‘Odyssey’, the hotel’s poolside restaurant given a fresh renovation and special mural designed by the late Karl Lagerfield.

Inside scoop For a really personal touch, guests can select their own playlist during spa treatments and choose one of the special L’Atelier de Givenchy

fragrances which is sprayed onto a tissue in the pocket of your bathrobe to remain with you throughout the stay.

How to get there Fly into Nice Airport and the transfer is just 19km by car, or arrive in style by helicopter transfer in just 10 minutes.

Go Bespoke says This is a great weekend retreat for a romantic ‘Flop and Drop’ trip to recharge the batteries and do some people-watching.

Prices from 360 Euros per night. Contact Go Bespoke for the latest offers and availability.

For more information about booking a trip to Monaco or a holiday through Go Bespoke, please call on 020 8935 5779 or email info@gobespoketravel.com, quoting ‘Platinum’.

EXCLUSIVE OFFER Jet off to Monaco for the premiere of the new James Bond film, ’No Time to Die’ on April 7th and brush shoulders with the stars at this unique event. In collaboration with the Princess Grace Foundation, guests will stay at the Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo. Enjoy VIP access to an exclusive, glamorous ‘Bond Girls & Villains’ evening at the hotel, featuring a surprise international rock and roll legend on the April 6th. You will then have the opportunity to walk the red carpet and enjoy preferred seating at the ’No Time to Die’ premiere.

Price: £1,995 per person The package includes: Two nights in a Deluxe Room, including breakfast at the Hotel Metropole Monte Carlo, exclusive access to the Bond Girls & Villains party at the hotel on April 6th, including a VIP rock and roll legend, red carpet access to the ’No Time to Die’ premiere on the 7th, return flights with British Airways to Nice and return helicopter transfers from Nice to Monaco.

A percentage of each ticket will be donated to the Princess Grace Foundation.

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BUSINESS SURVEY

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5 TRAVEL

Post-Brexit travel tips

Travelling to Europe after Brexit? Luxury travel experts Go Bespoke give us the low-down on what you need to know

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he UK has now officially left the EU after 47 years of membership. Whilst British citizens will not need a visa to travel to the EU until December 31st 2020, there are a number of ways that travel may change during the transition period. Go Bespoke outlines five aspects which you should bear in mind for post-Brexit travel.

IMMIGRATION Check the immigration rules for the country you're visiting While you shouldn't need visas for short trips, you may need a visa to stay longer if you're working or studying.

Be sure to have all the right documents to be able to cross the border easily.

TRAVEL INSURANCE Be sure to include healthcare in your travel insurance The government says those travelling to the EU should "take out appropriate travel insurance with health cover before travelling to the EU" as "you may be charged for your care if you do not get health cover with your travel insurance."

DRIVING Check if you need an international driving permit and get motor insurance You will need motor insurance green cards for your vehicle if you are driving in the EU or EEA.

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Put a GB sticker on the back of your vehicle You could get a fine if you do not have one of these, even if your car is already registered in the UK and if your number plate shows GB with a Euro symbol.

charges so it's best to check this before you travel. However, a new law means that you're protected from getting mobile data charges above £45 without you knowing. Once you reach £45, you will need to opt in to spend more.

TRAVELLING WITH PETS Contact your vet at least four months before travelling with a pet Make sure your pet is still able to travel by contacting your vet. If your pet doesn't have the proper documents, you will not be able to take it with you.

Please note the above is for guidance purposes, and you should check the government’s website for up-to-date advice: www.gov.uk

MOBILE DATA Post-Brexit, your mobile phone company may have changed its policy on mobile roaming

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BUSINESS SURVEY

Thursday 9 April 2020 th

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At the i360 on Brighton seafront For tickets ask for Stella

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or Mollie

01273 330044 oremail:

stella@rockinghorse.org.uk or mollie@rockinghorse.org.uk

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ALL YOU NEED TO MAKE IT A DAY TO REMEMBER EXCLUSIVE HIRE AND USE OF THE PITCH FOR 90 MINUTES USE OF THE HOME AND AWAY DRESSING ROOMS MATCH OFFICIALS AND FIRST AID SUPPORT USE OF THE HOME AND AWAY DUGOUT SEATS USE OF FOOTBALLS HALF-TIME REFRESHMENTS PITCH TEAM PHOTOGRAPH ACCESS TO A LOUNGE AFTER THE MATCH TWO-COURSE BUFFET AND A DRINK OF YOUR CHOICE FREE ON-SITE PARKING HOME & AWAY KIT

+ £1,250 + VAT

PHOTO LIBRARY

+ £250 + VAT

2 x BHAFC LEGENDS AS MANAGERS

+ £500 + VAT

FULL VIP EXPERIENCE (ALL OF THE ABOVE)

+ £5,950 + VAT

For availability and more information please contact the commercial team on 01273 878 278 or email commercial@bhafc.co.uk

SPORT

Men’s football still poor at tackling homophobia It’s 2020, and the omnipresent question of when the first men’s professional footballer will come out is as far away from an answer as ever. By Alan Wares

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he 11th ‘Football v Homophobia’ (FvH) month took place in February 2020. An awareness-raising campaign, brought about by the Manchester-based group Pride Sports, is aimed at bringing inclusivity within the footballing community.

One would liked to have thought that society would have become more enlightened than this by now; we are talking nearly 30 years since Fashanu’s enforced outing. And yet in that time, no male player has dare sought to express their sexual feelings.

It is an international initiative that exists to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation gender identity and expression at all levels of football.

Football v Homophobia was originally conceived and launched by the Justin Campaign in 2010. The Justin Campaign, a small voluntary-run football campaign group, was founded in 2008 to demonstrate that ten years after Justin Fashanu’s tragic suicide in 1998, homophobia was still hugely prevalent in both grassroots and professional football. Along with raising awareness the campaign had a strong focus on art, events, education and football.

Justin’s playing career spanned 19 years and 23 clubs, including two years on the books of Brighton & Hove Albion from 1985-87. He played just 16 league games for the club, before a serious knee injury looked to have cut short his career.

The reason for mentioning this player’s mediocre career is that Justin is still the first and only male professional footballer to have come out as homosexual. He did so shortly before the gutter-press was about to out him as gay.

Other male footballers have since come out, and become open advocates of the LGBTQ scene, but not while as current players; only after their retirement.

female footballer on the planet, American soccer star Megan Rapinoe, is one of the greatest advocates for LGBTQ equality, using her platform to berate those who seek to abuse or discriminate against ethnic, sexual or gender inequality. She is a true campaigner, and her voice should be heard.

There are many women players at Brighton & Hove Albion whose sexuality has been openly discussed - by the players in question, for one - on social media without the merest hint of interrogation or comment.

So what’s the problem with men’s football? The issues are many, but certainly not complex. In far too many quarters, the will to promote equality simply isn’t there.

Justin Fashanu

In an ideal scenario, one’s sexuality really ought to have no relevance to the wider world, yet football - so often unfairly criticised as a bringer of society’s problems rather than a reflection of it – does not operate in a social or cultural vaccum. The sad truth is that, even in 2020, male professional football still isn’t ready for any homosexual role models. And this is true not just in the UK, but across the ENTIRE football world.

Many, if not most sports, have LGBTQ heroes, male and female. Yet men’s professional football, for a long time the leading campaigner against racism in the UK, is still tragically in the dark ages on promoting and accepting all forms of equality in its ranks.

Take one step to the side, and the best

For me, enough is enough. It’s time men’s professional football did the right thing, and create the right environment for players to able to express themselves, without harming anyone else, as they wish.

‘Rainbow Laces’ aren’t enough. Wearing a ‘Kick It Out’ T-shirt isn’t enough.

Offloading loose platitudes about tolerance and acceptance have no real value. Until such time as ALL aspects of British men’s professional football the players, the clubs, the Players’ Union, the supporters, the TV companies who yank the strings – pull in the same direction, we will forever be hounouring Justin Fashanu as ‘The Only One’.

His memory, as well as all of those whose mental health suffered on the shame they felt, the lack of support they received, and the abuse that they were subjected to, will remain tortured. www.footballvhomophobia.com

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EAST SUSSEX MARKETING EXPO! DATE Thursday 5th March 2020 TIME FOR EVENT 10:00am - 3:00pm EVENT DESTINATION Uckfield Civic Centre, Uckfield East Sussex TN22 1AE

Over 30+ Local Exhibitors Great Opportunity to Network Early Bird Speakers Breakfast The Tiger’s Pen – Capital Growth Game Themed Exhibits Centrally Located in Uckfield Loads of Free Parking

REGISTER NOW www.netxp.co.uk

7.30am – 8.00am Head of Marketing, Switchplane

8.15am – 8.45am MD, NEWTRYX

ROB I N S ON M

SI

N RAN MO D I S

N O

RY JAME AR S G

GUEST SPEAKERS

*Be quick, the first 60 gain access to the Early Bird Speakers Breakfast.

9.00am – 9.30am MD, Business Mentoring

Charity Partner Children’s Respite Trust

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NetXP printing by

CHARITY NEWS

Take on the Castle Night Trek and make a difference Chestnut Tree House launches a unique challenge taking place on Saturday May 16th at Herstmonceux Castle, Hailsham

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re you ready to take on a challenge? Do you want to push your limits? This is your chance to be the first to take part in a brand new 10k trek and experience the stunning grounds of Herstmonceux Castle - after dark!

“Castle Night Trek is a challenging trek through the gardens and grounds of Herstmonceux Castle. If you are a challenge seeker who wants to make a difference in your local community, then this is the trek for you,” says Gill Stapley at Chestnut Tree House.

Arriving at 7pm, participants will walk from day to night, reflecting the 24hour nature of the care and support that Chestnut Tree House offers to local children with life-shortening conditions and their families.

“At sunset, you’ll be putting on your walking boots, switching on your head torch, and getting set to trek through varying terrain of ancient woodland, wildflower meadows and enchanting gardens. This is a challenge you won’t forget!” continues Gill.

“The challenge will be tough. But you

will create your own magical memories whilst helping local children and families make the most of every moment together and, when the time comes, say goodbye in the way they want”.

Although the Castle Night Trek is a challenge, Chestnut Tree House promises participants many magical surprises along the way. The trek will finish back at the moated 15th century castle where challenge-seekers can celebrate their achievement in style

with a glass of bubbly.

Castle Night Trek will take place on Saturday May 16th 2020 at Herstmonceux Castle. The trek is open to everyone aged 14 years and over (participants aged 14-16 years must be accompanied by an adult). Sign up before Tuesday March 31st and receive early bird registration at £20 per person. Find out more and register at www.chestnut-tree-house.org.uk/ castlenighttrek

To find out how you and your business can support local children with life-shortening conditions, and their families, visit www.chestnut-treehouse.org.uk, email corporate@ chestnut-tree-house.org.uk or call 01903 871846 / 01323 725095

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BUSINESS GROWTH

NatWest Accelerator

Entrepreneur of the Month – March 2020 Laura Way, Founder of VOTCH first round of fundraising as our vision is to be a mainstream watch brand with an ethical core.

What have been the highlights so far?

There have been many. We have previously partnered with the Watchshop and we are currently sold in boutique shops across nine countries. We have been featured in press such as Forbes, The Times, Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Dezeen, LiveKindly, International Business Times, Heart Radio and Evening Standard.

Tell us about yourself After graduating from The Arts Institute in Bournemouth with a degree in Arts and Event production, I moved to London where I worked in advertising, beginning my career on the iconic Levi’s account at BBH. From there I went on to manage productions for print and TV campaigns and worked on projects such as launching Guinness into the South Korean market, Christmas campaigns for TK Maxx and managed productions for other notable brands such as BBC, Sky and Natwest.

What does Votch do?

I launched Votch after suffering an illness that saw me lose my skin.

Having felt the pain of losing my own skin I vowed to never wear the skin of another living being again. When an old watch strap broke and sourcing a vegan-friendly strap proved nigh impossible the idea for Votch was born.

An ethical and cruelty-free watch company that gives back. We work with innovative materials such as Piñatex, a by-product from the pineapple harvest as well as other materials that utilise sustainable technology to create materials that rival the appearance and performance of traditional animal-based leather. We have over 5000 customers since launching on a global scale and we’re currently in our

We have won PETA awards for best vegan watches and best vegan mens watches. Votch was also displayed on the billboards in Times Square, New York in honour of Earth Day; and we’ve also raised £17k for charity to date!

What have been the biggest challenges?

Our biggest challenge to date was learning a new skillset and industry.

Prior to launching Votch I produced TV commercials – whilst this had many transferable skills, time management, budget controlling etc – actually creating and manufacturing a product was a whole new world to me. I launched Votch with a small business loan and personal investment so funding to date has been hard at times, especially for covering stock, however – as someone who always likes to push and challenge myself we are currently in our first round of fundraising to en-

able us to launch new collections and ranges to meet demand.

What tools, techniques or resources have you found useful?

When I launched Votch it was just me, so having someone to be accountable to really ensured I hit my goals on time, and I initially sought advice and mentorship through the Small Business Centre in London. I am currently on the NatWest Accelerator course which has helped realign my focus and challenge me in new ways and position my thoughts with a growth mindset. I frequently listen to TED talks and listened to one recently by Mike Cannon-Brookes about imposter syndrome, something I think us entrepreneurs can often to relate to.

What advice would you share with other budding entrepreneurs?

Don’t put off that task you know you need to do but keep putting off. I usually clear anything daunting or challenging I need to tackle first thing in the morning so I can clear it from my mental load for the rest of the day.

Challenge yourself frequently and put yourself out of your comfort zone regularly - you’ll be amazed at how much this can improve your confidence and ability to tackle problems.

www.votch.co.uk

Each month the leadership team at Brighton’s NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator select a founder of the month to recognise the individuals that have demonstrated a growth mindset and entrepreneurial spirit to overcome challenges and accelerate the growth of their business in a short space of time.

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

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news

South East SMEs warned over late payments

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usiness East Sussex Growth Hub has issued a warning to SMEs about the impact of late payments. The average SME is owed over £80k – the cost of a high-end Range Rover. Recent research revealed that 48% of SMEs have been affected by late payments to the

point where the business was at risk of failing. Recent surveys show that 28% of SMEs have been forced to delay payments to their suppliers, while 47% of owners and managing directors had to stop their own salary, 7% were forced to pay their employees late and 36% could not pay tax due.

Japan heading for an economic crash

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apan is on the brink of recession as the coronavirus impact threatens its economy. Official figures showed gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.6% in the last quarter, equivalent to an annual pace of 6.3%. The sharp contraction in the world’s third biggest economy

was blamed on a sales tax hitting consumer and business spending as well as the impact of a major typhoon. Analysts say the coronavirus outbreak could take a further toll. If GDP falls for a second successive quarter the economy will be in recession.

Imagination is everything.

It is the preview of life’s coming attractions BUSINESS WISDOM

Germany eyes rehab group

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choen Klinik, a German healthcare group, backed by buyout firm Carlyle, is joining the race to seal a £1.2bn takeover of Priory Group, the British hospital group best-known for its rehabilitation work with celebrities.

Acadia Healthcare, which is listed in New York, bought Priory Group in 2016 for £1.5bn, but found its plans curtailed by an unexpectedly hostile response from competition regulators.

Sources said that Schoen Klinik was expected to bid for the British company directly, although it is expected to secure financial backing for any deal from Carlyle.

Zuckerberg ‘happy’ to pay more tax

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation BUSINESS WISDOM

Disney launches wedding dress range

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he entertainment giant has teamed up with bridal boutique Allure Bridals for a new wedding gown range that replicates many of the famous Disney characters.

Among the 16 styles in the collection are those inspired by Ariel, Aurora,

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Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Tiana, and Snow White.

The Disney range, which features ball gowns and mermaid trains ranging in price from $1,200 up to $10,000, will be unveiled next month at the 2020 New York Bridal Fashion week.

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ocial media CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook must pay more tax in the region.

The boss of Facebook said he recognises people’s frustration over the issue and said he backed plans by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation to find a global solution. In the UK the social network paid just £28.5 million in corporation tax, despite revenue hitting £1.65 billion. The OECD’s plans propose that digital firms pay more tax in countries where they generate profits.

DIGITAL MEDIA

Get social savvy Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay says Kerry Watkins, Founder and MD of Social Brighton tivating a social media presence. It’s also increasingly difficult to access your target audience as social networking becomes a much more integral part of people’s lives.

What is the cost of social media inaction?

There was a period of time when you could get away without fully embracing social, but that time has passed.

The decision makers of tomorrow have grown up communicating with businesses through social media and are notoriously difficult to engage through traditional mediums. If you want to future-proof your business, now is the time to start going all in on social media. But what is the cost if you don’t?

Fail to reach and impact future decision makers The decision makers of tomorrow are today’s Millennials and Gen Zs. They want to see social proof; to have confidence in your brand through seeing social media activity, quality content and evidence of engagement. These factors all influence someone’s perception of your business and will influence their decision to purchase.

Difficulty attracting talent and retaining engaged teams Young people now are far more discerning about the kinds of companies they want to work for. Businesses today should be striving to build a workforce who are passionate about what they do and naturally become brand advocates.

When your employees publish positive content about your brand it receives on average eight times more engagement and is reshared 24 times more frequently. The cost of inaction is reduced trust with prospective customers. Without this, it is so much harder to recruit quality staff. Especially if your competitors can demonstrate a forward-thinking approach to social marketing.

A dated approach to marketing with no business ‘personality’ People have come to expect a more intimate, behind the scenes experience from businesses across sectors. Popu-

“Employees are trusted 16% more of the time than CEOs” Edelman trust index

lar new formats such as Instagram Stories and live streaming are ideal ways to share your story and make people feel included. This kind of content shows transparency and confidence and facilitates a less sales focused approach.

You’ll have far more success selling to someone who already knows and trusts you, rather than interrupting someone who doesn’t – a fundamental social media marketing principle. The cost of inaction is failing to show your business values, people and personality in a popular and credible format that people use every day.

Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay. It will continue to evolve but one thing’s for sure, businesses need to adapt and get on board.

Social Brighton partner with organisations to drive results through the positive use of social media. www.socialbrighton.com @social_brighton www.socialbrighton.com

In 2018, Millennial purchasing power surpassed that of Baby Boomers, confirming Millennials as ‘the most important age range for economic activity’.

Already, the majority (63%) of consumers who search online are more likely to purchase from brands who have an established social media presence.

You may see fierce competition from brands who have already started cul-

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PEST CONTROL

More than meets the eye when it comes to pest control

By Paul Bates, Managing Director Cleankill Pest Control helping those, often residential customers, in real emergency and distressing situations.

T

o the average person pest control might seem like a straightforward business, but it is far from straightforward.

The world of pest control is constantly changing in many respects, from legislative issues to do with the use of pesticides to the vast range of accreditations needed to work in different sectors and different pests becoming resistant to treatments.

Cleankill is registered to remove waste, and staff will sometimes find themselves a foot deep in pigeon mess that needs clearing out before netting or wires can be installed to prevent the birds returning.

The vast majority of Cleankill’s work is business-to-business – working with facilities managers who are in charge of a number of sites. Most businesses will have a pest prevention plan which means technicians are not simply reacting when there is a pest problem.

Contracts include an agreed number of visits during the year, whether there are problems or not, so any infestations can be spotted and resolved early on.

Cleankill’s service is all about giving customers peace of mind that their premises will be kept pest-free while

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The biggest issue is to get the message out there that Cleankill can offer a better service than the big, better-known brands and that the cheapest option is not necessarily the best one - while very expensive does not always equal quality.

people are expected to work. The organisation’s values include: honesty and integrity; customer excellence; autonomy and innovation; open/twoway communication; teamwork and willingness to learn/share knowledge.

The Cleankill team has built a reputation for acting with professionalism, courtesy and expertise. Customers can count on staff arriving in smart uniforms and branded vehicles, unless requested otherwise, and that staff will use the best available products and equipment.

“Pests know no boundaries and much of Cleankill’s work is in Mayfair and Belgravia”

The most common pests Cleankill deals with are rodents. Rats go into property usually by mistake. Mice on the other hand want to be there and will often have been there some time before you see them and the first signs will be their droppings. On average a mouse will generate 80 droppings a day.

Pests know no boundaries and much of Cleankill’s work is in Mayfair and Belgravia. We see inside some of the most expensive properties in the country. I once carried out a survey at an Arab prince’s property in Princes Gate – 60 toilets, each with a gold plated waste pipe, and two industrial air conditioning units, one for the servants and one for the royal family!

Calls to deal with squirrels and parakeets are also increasing. The damage these creatures can cause is staggering. The growing parakeet population in South London is particularly problematic as these birds are expert at accessing buildings through places like vents and then destroying internal timbers and vents.

Every member of staff signs up to the ‘Cleankill Way’ which engenders how

Key to Cleankill’s approach is focusing on helping people and solving their problems rather than selling a service.

We believe that if we focus on offering the best possible service and exceeding customer expectations then the profits will follow.

In an independent customer feedback survey, 100% of respondents said they would recommend Cleankill and nearly all customers said they are ‘very satisfied’ with the service.

Cleankill is the only pest control provider in England to achieve a Gold Investor in People accreditation.

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

or call

nth** o er vmicing p 9* ser 9 £2 free y l on ars’ m Froh 3 ye wit

The A-Class From £299* per month with 3 years’ free servicing** The Mercedes-Benz A-Class is as youthful and dynamic as ever, with added comfort and technology. The A-Class introduces MBUX – Mercedes-Benz User Experience, plus it offers a number of functions usually found in classes above.

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

Representative Example

A200 AMG Line Manual 5dr

Monthly Payments of1

£299.00

Customer Deposit

£3,999.00

On the Road Price

£26,095.26

Optional Purchase Payment

2

£11,725.00

Amount of Credit

£22,096.26

Duration of Agreement

48 months

Total Amount Payable3

£30,086.00

Purchase Activation Fee

£10.00

Representative APR

5.9% APR

Fixed Interest Rate

5.78%

Excess Mileage excl. VAT

8p per mile

2

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

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

01483 916292 www.sandown-group.co.uk

1. Finance offer based on a Mercedes-Benz Agility agreement. Vehicle condition, excess mileage and other charges may be payable. 2. Payable if you exercise the option to purchase the car. 3. Includes optional purchase payment, purchase activation fee and retailer deposit contribution (where applicable). *Orders/credit approvals on selected A-Class models between 1 January and 31 March 2020, registered and delivered by 31 March 2020, excluding Mercedes-AMG models, 6,000 miles per annum. Guarantees may be required. Offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer. Some combinations of features/options may not be available. Subject to availability. Over 18s only. Finance is subject to status and provided by Mercedes-Benz Finance, MK15 8BA. Sandown Group is a credit broker and not a lender. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit activity and our Firm Reference Numbers are 679326 and 684382 respectively. Sandown Surrey and Hampshire and Sandown Dorset and Wiltshire Limited are Appointed Representatives of FISC Limited Trading As TRACS, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for General Insurance; FISC Limited’s Firm Reference Number is 773446. All New and Approved Used cars sold by any Sandown Mercedes-Benz Retailer is subject to a purchase fee of £129 inc VAT. **To qualify for this offer, all new A-Class hatchback vehicles (excl. AMG A35, AMG A45, A-Class Saloon models, and S176 A-Class) must be ordered and registered between 1 January and 31 March 2020 (inclusive). Vehicles must be purchased on a MBFS finance contract to be eligible. Offer applies to all private retail and small fleet (1-24 units) customers only. ServiceCare Plan is based on 3 services taken at the relevant service intervals – either 15,500 miles or 12 months whichever comes sooner. All services must be completed by an authorised Mercedes-Benz Retailer. This offer can be used in conjunction with all other applicable Sales Campaigns except other ServiceCare campaigns. No cash alternative.

ServiceCare plan stays with the vehicle and therefore in the event of change of vehicle ownership, the ServiceCare plan cannot be moved to another vehicle, but should be given to the new owner of the same vehicle. Mercedes-Benz Cars UK Limited reserves the right to amend or remove this offer at any time. Prices correct at time of going to press 01/2020. Images for illustrative purposes.