Western Daily Press | Business Guide 2023

Locally focused. Nationally recognised.

Give us the tools to fly

EXPECTING frequent episodes of political and economic turmoil seems to have become the new normal for business leaders in the West and beyond.

Appeals to Government to deliver stability have gone unheeded for so long many have simply stopped asking for that most basic of wants.

Indeed, many businesses have sadly accepted the reality that it might be some time before we see the return of ‘cheap money’ and stable investment conditions, but are nevertheless getting on with providing the growth we so desperately need.

Constant headlines about economic turmoil and cost-of-living crises – while accurate – in many ways have masked some of the fabulous success stories of innovation and growth that are happening on a daily basis across the region.

The Western Daily Press Business Guide 2023 is packed with examples of pioneering West firms that are thriving across the sectors that will power our collective futures.

Only last week, for example, at an airfield in rural Gloucestershire, the journey towards potentially realising zeroemission flights took a huge step forward.

ZeroAvia staged a successful test flight of the world’s largest aircraft to be powered by a hydrogen-electric engine.

The 19-seat Dornier 228 took off from Cotswold Airport at Kemble for a tenminute test flight that could one day be seen as a significant moment in the West’s rich aerospace history.

While it was only a short flight, it has certainly excited aviation analysts.

Val Miftakhov, founder and CEO of ZeroAvia, said: “This is a major moment, not just for ZeroAvia, but for the aviation industry as a whole, as it shows that true zero-emission commercial flight is only a few years away. The first flight of our 19-seat aircraft shows just how scalable our technology is and highlights the rapid progress of zero-emission propulsion.”

Aerospace is a vital sector for the South West’s economy, supporting tens of thousands of well-paid jobs and this is only one example of the exciting work being done in civil and defence fields.

Defence too plays a major role for this region’s workforce and while, for obvious reasons, the companies in that sector don’t shout about it, business has been brisk since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Defence ministries across the world have been keen to upgrade systems such as missile defences, meaning healthy order books for defence contractors.

Other firms across the region in a variety of sectors of the economy continue to deliver jobs, growth and great opportunities for young people to have meaningful careers.

Our headline sponsor – EDF Energy –has trained more than 1,000 apprentices while constructing Hinkley Point C in Somerset.

We couldn’t produce this Guide without the support of EDF and our other sponsors – Grant Thornton, GWR, SGS, Truespeed, Renishaw, Hunter Selection and our data partner Vistra – all of whom play vital roles in the West’s economy.

Particular congratulations go to Renishaw, which will later this year mark its 50th anniversary – it is exactly the sort of home-grown success story that the West should be most proud about.

Over the past half a century it has weathered all sorts of storms to emerge as one of the region’s great companies.

While businesses of all stripes are dealing with the realities they face, it is undeniable that 2023 will be challenging for many, particularly for those on the high street and in hospitality.

Politicians – both at Westminster and here in the West – should focus on what they can do to support these sectors.

It is likely that 50 years from now historians looking back at 2022 will shake their heads at what was an extraordinary year in Britain.

For a country that long took pride in its stable institutions, it truly was a year that shocked.

Who thought they would ever see the year where Britain had three Prime Ministers and four Chancellors of the Exchequer?

And all of that falling fast on the heels of the ongoing unresolved saga of Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, war in Ukraine, crippling energy price rises and the unwelcome return of high inflation and interest rates. Businesses have seldom had to tackle so many negative external factors.

We can ill-afford another year of political navel-gazing.

Prominent voices have rightly called on the Government to focus on the issues that truly matter. A return to fundamentals and aspiring to grow the

economy are a must for Rishi Sunak.

In an intervention earlier this month Wiltshire-based billionaire entrepreneur Sir James Dyson warned that growth should not be seen as a “dirty word”, accusing the Government of a “shortsighted” approach to business.

He was right to do so.

Sir James said: “We can turn things around, but only if fast-growing companies are allowed to thrive here. And we will have to act fast – it’s a global race and our competitors are hungry. The Government has a role to play. Starting with the spring Budget in March, it must incentivise private innovation and demonstrate its ambition for growth.”

His words were echoed by Tony Danker, the head of the CBI.

In a recent speech he said: “Growth still matters. Let’s stop second guessing ourselves and get on because there is money on the table to capture right now.”

He argued that “our international competitors in Europe, Asia and the US are going hell for leather on green growth and getting firms investing”.

These are the messages that Mr Sunak should be listening to, not some of the trivialities expressed by those stoking unnecessary ‘culture wars’ that are dominating his time and the political agenda.

Workers in the West are highly-skilled, creative and possess an entrepreneurial spirit that can provide our region a prosperous future.

It really isn’t too much to ask that our MPs spend 100 per cent of their time delivering the economic conditions that help rather than hinder that goal.

Richard Bache introduces the Western Daily Press Business Guide 2023 and argues the Government must support the region

ZeroAvia successfully carried out the first flight test of its Dornier 228 19-seat testbed in Gloucestershire last week

Employees are on the front foot amid talent war

EMPLOYMEnT issues were rarely out of the headlines in 2022. From high-profile industrial action on the railways, in hospitals and on postal rounds to Cabinet ministers ruffling feathers by putting notes on civil servants’ desks imploring them to return to the office, there was no shortage of tension between bosses and workers.

Other widely-reported issues included hospitality businesses having to reduce trading hours due to staff shortages, the rise of AI technology such as ChatGPT potentially disrupting the workplace and the rise of surveillance and tracking technologies monitoring staff in some distribution warehouses, for instance.

So where does the balance of power lie between employee and employers in 2023?

According to Russell Smith, managing director of specialist recruiter Hunter Selection, the best employees remain in a very strong position.

Hunter, which has its headquarters in Portishead in north Somerset, works with some of the biggest employers in the region, particularly in engineering and technology, to help them find staff.

Traditionally when the economy faces the sort of turmoil that Britain is currently experiencing, employers have the upper hand in negotiations.

But that isn’t necessarily the case now, says Russell.

He explains: “Despite the self-induced political turmoil and economic difficulties we are experiencing, the saving grace within the recruitment sector is that demand for talented and skilled staff still outstrips supply.

“The power of the candidate is greater than ever – good candidates always have more than one offer on the table.

“They know their worth and have much bolder expectations around remuneration and how the overall package is made up.”

He said in Quarter 4 of 2022 the supply of candidates dried up somewhat, with people across the workforce opting for the certainty of their existing job rather than chancing their arms in the market with Britain experiencing seemingly daily economic shocks during the shortlived premiership of Liz Truss.

There are though green shoots in the early days of 2023 of much greater mobility returning to the labour market.

Hunter works with household names in the engineering sector, including businesses such as BAE Systems and JCB, as well as FMCG firms such as Yeo Valley, 2 Sisters and Charlie Bigham’s.

Russell said: “The sentiment from our clients is positive at the start of 2023.

“They are saying things are tough and there is a bit of a squeeze on, but they still want to bring the best candidates into their businesses.

“In Q4 2022 there was little mobility in

the marketplace, with employees happy to hunker down with their existing jobs, but we seem to have mobility again now in 2023.

“Demand in manufacturing and engineering is still holding up really well.”

He said that Hunter, which employs about 55 people across its three offices in Portishead, Cardiff and Stafford, had recently acquired additional premises in Portishead as it seeks to add 20-25 recruiters itself over the next 18 months to meet demand.

He said: “We are making what we hope are fairly innovative moves ourselves.

“We are investing in a new division for this year really just focused on what we are calling science and technology.

“Around green technologies, the fourth industrial revolution, automation and life sciences.

“These are areas where we are picking up more and more traction, where our clients are coming to us asking for candidates in these areas.”

He added: “The hardest challenge we still find in growing our own business is finding good people for ourselves, which is that perpetual irony you hear from recruiters.”

One major trend that Russell predicted for 2023 – and one that will be music to the ears of Jacob Rees-Mogg – is more employers seeking to get more employees to spend a greater amount of time back in the office.

Hunter’s IT division had already noticed this trend in Bristol – particularly with respect to legal and professional services firms.

He said: “There has been a real push to get people back into the office and I think ultimately for the performance of the UK economy, we all instinctively know to achieve maximum productivity we need to spend more time back in the office.

“I’m not saying that applies to all disciplines or for all people, but at large I think productivity is greater in the office.

“That is particularly the case for more junior members of staff, who are quite often still learning the job.”

He said some sectors had addressed specific recruitment challenges by opting for fully remote work, but it had changed the whole recruitment dynamic and had pros and cons.

Richard Bache talks to Russell Smith, managing director of Hunter Selection, about the key trends that we might see in the region’s jobs market in 2023

Russell said: “Great candidates 100 miles away from the job were previously completely irrelevant. Remote work does open up the pool in a lot of digital and IT marketplaces which has freed up a lot of companies to recruit the skills they need.

“My fear, without wishing to sound too parochial, is that once you let the genie out of the bottle with remote working, how remote do you go?

“At the moment work ing near the beach in Corn wall for a company based in Bristol seems a great thing to do.

“But ultimately there will be someone in Brazil or India who can do that job as

Accolade for recognising importance of older workers

One of the West’s highest-profile firms earlier this month gained an industry accolade for how it treated experienced workers.

Investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has been named among Britain’s top “age inclusive” employers.

According to the Bristol-based firm, it is the first FTSe-100 to receive the accolade from 55/ Redefined – a UK organisation that champions anti-age discrimination.

HL said it was recognised for playing a role in changing attitudes and challenging age discrimination. It also said the accreditation would help job seekers identify HL as an “agefriendly business” to work for.

So far, 12 UK companies have become accredited by 55/Redefined – Rethink, Rank, ITV, HL, Slater & Gordon, Motorpoint, Boots, Dentsu, the Workshop, Together Money, Bank of Ireland and Capgemini.

Abi Taylor, head of recruitment and onboarding at HL, said: “The Age Inclusive employer accreditation helps to evidence our commitment to develop a diverse and inclusive culture where colleagues are engaged, empowered, work together and live our values. We want to create an environment where colleagues respect and celebrate diversity so that everyone can be their authentic selves.”

A new study by 55/Redefined – ‘The Unretirement Uprising’ –found two thirds (65%) of people believe age works against them when applying for jobs.

well and guess what, they don’t have the same remuneration expectations.

“This whole remote working thing –there is probably going to be an optimum point where it seems great – but ultimately it is going to take work offshore

“There is a level of naivety among the workforce, we are perhaps in that sweetspot of living in Bristol, Birmingham or Manchester or wherever instead of London.

“But it is only a matter of time before someone says ‘you know Dave down in Padstow, we haven’t seen him for years’. It wouldn’t make any difference if it was Dave living in Bangalore.

“There is no cultural connection, no personal relationship, the things that are the glue in the organisation.

“I think you need to be careful with what you wish for with remote working, because ultimately it might become more remote than you planned.”

He said that although the economic outlook was challenging at the start of 2023, he retained a degree of optimism.

“As small business owners you get to that point that we’ve had everything thrown at us – we are going to have to adapt and dig deep, but it doesn’t have to be fatal. At Hunter we have always played a long game and grown at a rate that is sustainable.

“I can’t see there being a change in the supply and demand of workers, so as long as we have reasonably stable economic conditions I’d be cautiously optimistic.”

Despite this, the research revealed older workers are keen to remain in the workplace, with six in 10 open to reskilling for a new role.

Lyndsey Simpson, founder and chief executive of 55/Redefined, added: “Age Inclusive employers such as Hargreaves Lansdown play a crucial role in working to change attitudes towards older workers, both in their own businesses and wider networks.

“An inclusive recruitment process and diverse working environment allows businesses to benefit from this overlooked demographic of talented employees, whilst ensuring older workers feel valued and supported within their job roles.”

Hunter Selection is a sponsor of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Below, Jacob Rees-Mogg will be happy with a trend to end WFH in Bristol’s legal sector.

Photo: Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images

Innovation’s the key factor in firm’s success

Renishaw, the West-based engineering firm which can trace its origins back to the project that gave us Concorde, is focused firmly on the future as it marks its first half century in business

THIS year, Gloucestershirebased Renishaw is celebrating its 50th Anniversary. The company was founded to commercialise the invention of a device that solved a dimensional measurement problem Rolls-Royce encoutered at it Filton plant at Bristol faced in 1972 when manufacturing the Olympus engines that powered the supersonic Concorde aircraft.

(Sir) David McMurtry, now executive chairman of Renishaw, was at that time assistant chief of engine design for all Rolls-Royce engines manufactured at Filton. The problem was so urgent that David himself dealt with the issue over a weekend. At his home in Alveston, he designed and built a prototype measurement device which resolved an issue faced by manufacturers worldwide.

Rolls-Royce took out a patent on David’s original design, which was filed on September 21, 1972, with him acknowledged as the inventor. Around this time, he discussed the matter with John Deer, now non-executive deputy chairman at Renishaw, who was also working at Rolls-Royce, on power plant aerodynamics. John had a background of machine shop engineering but wanted to have his own business.

They both saw the wider commercial opportunities for the invention and Rolls-Royce agreed to licence the patent to them but would only do so if they had

a limited liability company. They therefore purchased an ‘off-the-shelf’ company and on April 4, 1973, the first Renishaw company, Renishaw Electrical Ltd., was registered.

David continued to design the early products in Wotton-under-Edge when he moved there in 1973. However, following the receipt of Renishaw Electrical’s first commercial order, production moved to John’s home in Chepstow, South Wales, where the garage was the machine shop, assembly took place in a spare bedroom and administration at the dining room table. In 1976 the company purchased its first commercial premises, a former ice-cream factory in Wotton. At that time the company had just nine employees but was already supplying most of the world’s manufacturers of precision measuring machines.

Global impact

Today Renishaw plc is a FTSE 250 listed business with around 5,200 employees globally in 36 countries, including 3,300 staff at its sites in Gloucestershire and South Wales.

Over the past 50 years, Renishaw’s products have revolutionised key aspects of component manufacturing and scientific research, contributing to the ability to make the high performing, precision products that we use in our

daily lives. From the manufacture of aircraft, cars, smartphones, EV batteries and solar panels, to brain surgery and dentistry, there is barely an industry that does not in some way benefit from the company’s ongoing inventions, most of which are designed, developed and manufactured here in the West Country.

In a world where it is increasingly vital for businesses to reduce their environmental impacts, Renishaw’s products are helping customers to be more sustainable, by reducing their energy consumption and waste, and by helping them to research and manufacture products that are more efficient in use and therefore use less energy.

Whilst Renishaw’s contribution to our world may not always be apparent, often due to commercial confidentialities, its impact can be seen all around us, from projects below ground to space exploration. The precision fit concrete panels for the Channel Tunnel were inspected using Renishaw measurement systems, the Terracotta Warriors in China were investigated using the company’s analytical equipment, and some of the European Space Agency’s satellites use Renishaw encoders to ensure transmitters and receivers are precisely aligned.

Commitment to the future

Whilst this year we are celebrating our past achievements, we are also focused

on ensuring the continuing success of the business through investments in people, products and property, all underpinned by our commitments to be a more sustainable organisation.

Last summer we announced a significant investment at our Miskin site in South Wales, to increase manufacturing capacity and to help meet our Net Zero emissions targets. A spend of around £65 million will see 400,000 sq ft of additional low carbon buildings created at the 193-acre site to the west of Cardiff, consisting of two new production halls and an employee welfare facility. The existing production halls will also be refurbished to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

This significant investment will almost double the footprint of the site which we acquired in 2011 and currently accommodates around 700 employees. The construction is being completed in phases, with work having been underway since July 2022 to build the first of the new halls (189,000 ft2), the welfare facility and supporting infrastructure. The basic shell for the second new production hall (196,000 ft2 will be built by December 2024 and will be fully constructed when business levels require its use.

The additional capacity will allow for increases to machining operations and the assembly of products already built at the site, including Renishaw’s worldleading metal additive manufacturing (3D printing) machines.

Future talent

A key aspect of investing for future success lies in our ability to retain and recruit skilled individuals. At Renishaw we have a strong track record of growing our own talent pool, having started our first apprenticeship programme in 1979 and recruiting apprentices every year since that time, even during business downturns. Our 50th year will again see a significant investment in future talent, with the aim to recruit around 100 graduates and 60 apprentices.

Our award-winning apprenticeship scheme allows apprentices to gain nationally recognised qualifications up to degree level, alongside on-the-job experience.

The range of schemes allow apprentices to join at different educational levels, from Level 3 up to Level 6, across a range of disciplines from engineering, manufacturing and software engineer-

ing to non-engineering apprenticeships such as commercial, IT support, surveying, electrician and building maintenance. Applications for this year’s intake close on February 10.

However, the hard work starts years before a young person will ever be employed by us, with an education outreach programme in the South West and South Wales run by four employees who are dedicated to engagement with both primary and secondary schools.

Following the success of a dedicated education centre at our Miskin site, this year we will also be formally opening a STEM education centre at our HQ site near Wotton-under-Edge, which will support students in the region with their science, technology, engineering and maths studies.

Sustainability targets

Last year Renishaw announced that in addition to its commitment to achieve a science-based Net Zero GHG emissions target for all its business operations by 2050, it would also achieve Net Zero for Scopes 1 and 2 emissions by 2028. Both these targets will be validated and monitored by the globally respected body, the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi).

A vital consideration for the new construction programme at the Miskin site, is to ensure that this new target can be achieved. Therefore, the new facilities will be built with the latest technologies and materials to ensure that they will be Net Zero in operation, and the build also aims to minimise the amount of embodied carbon within the building materials used in construction.

By the end of 2024, we also aim to have refurbished the two existing production halls at Miskin to reduce their carbon emissions including new energy-efficient cladding and the replacement of existing heating systems.

These sustainability investments complement initiatives at Renishaw’s other global sites, including large investments in roof-mounted solar panels, new car port solar panels, EV charging points to support our move to ultra-low emission (ULEV) fleet vehicles and new ULEV salary sacrifice scheme for our employees, and feasibility studies to assess the viability of wind power.

Main image, an aerial view of Renishaw’s New Mills HQ in Gloucestershire; below, staff at Renishaw and the company’s original head office. Above right, Renishaw’s first 3D touch trigger probe and patent specification

£4.2bn for the local economy

Hinkley Point C’s Delivery Director, Nigel Cann, explains why the energy

crisis will change the way we power business

How energy crisis has made going green more urgent than ever before

It has been another tough 12 months for businesses in our region. Operating costs, driven by high inflation, have been exacerbated by spiralling energy bills. Despite surviving the pandemic, for many companies, the increased price of electricity has been the final straw.

the energy crisis has left Britain vulnerable to our reliance on imported gas – which has soared in price due to global post-covid demand and the war in Ukraine.

though some policy interventions have shielded businesses from the full force of the impact, it has come as a real shock for many.

It has also been a wake-up call for those planning our energy system, teaching an important lesson. If we want cheaper bills and a secure electricity supply, we need to overcome our addic-

8,500

people on site

Britain’s biggest net zero project

EDF is the largest producer of zero carbon electricity in Britain. It is investing in wind, solar and nuclear to create a secure and affordable supply, which will allow the UK to cut its dependency on gas.

tion to imported gas – and fast.

Amid the gloom, there is some reason to have hope. Britain is leading the way in moving towards clean, home-produced energy.

EDF and other companies are investing in all types of low-carbon power. Over the New Year, strong winds meant that there were times when nuclear and renewables produced almost 90% of our electricity.

Of course, the wind doesn’t always blow, and the energy crisis has driven action to get more reliable nuclear power. At Hinkley Point C, we know getting the plant finished is more urgent than ever. When it is switched on, it will produce 3,200 megawatts of power, making it capable of supplying 6 million homes. Compared to current electricity prices, Hinkley Point C would be saving consumers £4bn a year in energy bills if

it were in operation now.

EDF’s plans to build another power station at Sizewell C, in Suffolk, have also recently been backed by direct government investment.

For businesses in the South West, the building of nuclear plants presents an abundance of opportunity. Mega projects require mega supply chains – for materials, services, and expertise. Around 1,400 businesses in the South West are benefitting from Hinkley Point C contracts, which has so far generated £4.2 billion for the local economy.

Nuclear means jobs, too. Around 8,500 people are working at the Hinkley Point C site every day, and 22,000 jobs are being supported by the project across Britain. It is an opportunity for local people to upskill or start new careers. Last year, we hit our target of training 1,000 apprentices during the power station’s construction phase –

Two new nuclear reactors are under construction at Hinkley Point C in Somerset - the first in a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain.

The power station will generate low-carbon electricity for 6 million homes and will help to avoid the emission of around 9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

New analysis has also confirmed that the lifetime CO2 emissions from the electricity generated will be even lower than wind and solar power.

Sustainability and environmental protection are also key features in the construction.

Alongside wind and solar, Hinkley Point C will be crucial in securing Britain’s energy supply and helping the country hit net zero, avoiding the worst impacts of climate change.

Nigel Cann

jobs supported

22,000 apprentices

People power

Hinkley Point C has been designed to maximise opportunities for local people, and in 2022, the project hit its target of training 1,000 apprentices during the construction phase. The programme is making a real difference regionally, with two thirds of all apprentices living within the area.

1,000 3,600

and we are still adding to that tally.

World engineering firsts continue to be made on site – including the precision placement of 5,000-tonne water intake heads on the seabed, in the summer. Made in Bristol, they’ll be connected to the power station’s cooling systems, ready for the nuclear reactors to be switched on.

This year, we will also receive delivery of the first reactor – a steel cylinder that contains the nuclear fuel. Around 80,000 hours have been spent on its construction by Framatome in France, the same nuclear company which built Britain’s last nuclear reactor, at Sizewell B in 1991.

The building which will house the reactor is also taking shape. With the help of Big Carl, the world’s largest land-based crane, a huge steel liner ring was lifted into place in December. The reactor

More than businesses involved in the supply chain

building now only has the iconic dome to be placed on top, which is scheduled for later this year.

The construction of Sizewell C is crucial to us continuing this momentum to get more reliable, home-grown electricity on the grid. We know that the quickest way of building new nuclear power stations is to take an existing design and repeat it. Sizewell C will be a near-replica of Hinkley Point C – meaning it can be built faster, cheaper, and more predictably. It also means the robust supply chain and expertise we have developed can be retained.

Homegrown, clean, reliable, and affordable energy is coming. Alongside wind and solar, the building of Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C will be crucial in protecting us from future gas price shocks, as well as critical in the fight against climate change.

trained

Apprenticeships continue to be available on the project and are open to everyone, regardless of their previous experience and background. The courses are not just for the younger generation – they offer people of all ages a chance to upskill or retrain. Due to the wide range of skills and services needed on the site, there is a course for everyone, from engineering, steel fixing to HR and catering.

Charlotte Casey, 22, from Bridgwater graduated from her nuclear engineering apprenticeship last year and is now working as an Operational Development engineer on site. “My course was action packed,” said Charlotte. “lots of my school friends didn’t get many GCSes, but they’re now working on site and gaining skills, while making a good income. Plus, we’ll take what we’ve learned onto future projects when Hinkley Point C is finished”.

People power

Mat Danby, 28, from Bridgwater, is a level 3 Chef apprentice with Hinkley Point C’s catering provider, Somerset larder. “Before i came here, i was frying chicken in kFC – and now i’m making meals for hundreds of hardworking people every day,” said Mat. “The best bit about my job is the training and progression i’m being given – and seeing the workforce enjoying my food!”

Charlotte Casey

Hope for more investment in region’s railway

MARk Hopwood said one of his biggest wishes for 2023 was for the Bristol region to attract similar levels of investment in its railways as cities like Manchester and Leeds.

The managing director of Great Western Railway (GWR) believes that improving suburban services in the West of England is a huge opportunity for growth and supporting city centre economies.

He said Bristol’s rail network suffered some of the worst cuts of the Beeching era and suburban services had never since quite matched those in other English city regions.

But recent investment from GWR –and rail industry partners such as Network Rail – has already offered improvements, with more in the pipeline.

Bristol and Bath have both recently introduced clean air zones (CAZs) in a bid to cut pollution.

And rail can offer a real alternative to the private car for local journeys around the West and is competitively priced –certainly when compared to city centre parking fees and CAZ charges, if applicable.

Mr Hopwood, pictured inset right, said: “Actually local fares around Bristol are often cheaper than the bus and the cost of driving into Bristol and paying for car parking.”

This year should see the opening of the first new station within Bristol itself

since 1927 – at Portway Park and Ride, near Junction 18 of the M5.

Once open, the station will provide another choice of sustainable travel into the city centre as well as to destinations along the Severn Beach line and connections to the wider rail network.

Few sectors of the economy have witnessed as many changes since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic as Britain’s railways.

With large parts of the national workforce now either working from home or on a more flexible basis, the business model of the railways has been challenged.

Added to that it has been beset by industrial action in recent months, with waves of disruptive strikes hitting services.

Mr Hopwood said he was desperate to see that dispute resolved as soon as possible, so that the focus could return to some of the successes that had been achieved, such as demand for leisure journeys having already overtaken pre-pandemic passenger numbers.

He acknowledged: “We know that some of the disruption caused by industrial action is on people’s minds and we very much want to see that resolved and move on from that.”

However, he said investment in recent years in the electrification of the main line to London and on GWR’s fleet of trains meant services between the West and the capital were excellent.

The opening of the Elizabeth Line in London in late 2022 had, he said, also brought many parts of London – such as the City, Canary Wharf and Stratford –much closer to the West.

This, he said, was a boon to businesses, with commuters from the region arriving at London Paddington now having much quicker onwards journeys, as well as opening up the South West’s tourist hotspots to those travelling in the opposite direction.

“You can be in the City of London in the financial area around Liverpool Street in 10 minutes,” he said.

“The connectivity and speed is quite good.

“I think the Intercity Express Trains from Bristol to London and from places such as Bath and Weston-super-Mare are a good quality train and they have brought a lot more capacity.”

Mr Hopwood added: “I think despite some of the challenges that we all face and the pressure on the finances of the industry and the country as a whole, we are going to see quite a lot of improve-

ment in rail around Bristol. We would like to get on with delivering more of those new stations in the Bristol region.”

He mentioned Portishead, MetroWest and delivering more frequent services to places such as Gloucester and Westbury in Wiltshire.

“I would like to go beyond that and do even more. I hope we could see Government bringing forward investment in Bristol in the same way that it has done in the North of England.”

He also said trains could level up inequalities within the city region by bringing people across the city closer to good jobs.

Among the things in the pipeline this year is hopefully the start of construction work on a station in the Ashley Down area of Bristol, which could be completed in 2024.

It will be built on the railway between Bristol Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood, with services also eventually running to the new YTL Arena.

The new Ashley Down station is part of the MetroWest Phase 2 project, which will, over the next two to three years, see new stations built at North Filton next to the new arena and Brabazon development, and at Henbury.

Late in 2022 the project to restore the Portishead branch line also received a boost, with the development consent order approved by the Government in November.

If the project’s £152 million business

Richard Bache talks to Mark Hopwood, managing director of Great Western Railway, about how he sees the rail industry changing in 2023

case receives final approval from the Treasury, it could also potentially open by 2026.

Previously completed significant work, such as the Filton Bank Four Track project, increased capacity north of Bristol and will bring the benefit of more frequent services between Bristol and Gloucester.

One of the major things GWR invested in last year to help passengers achieve best value from travelling on the region’s railways was its GWR touch smartcard.

The pay-as-you-go smartcard – which covers stations between Cheltenham in the north of the region and Westonsuper-Mare in the south and from Severn Beach in the west to Chippenham in the east – was launched in August and has transformed ticketing in the region.

It combines payments and tickets into one, ensuring customers get the best value on the day of travel.

Mr Hopwood said it “just makes life easier” for people and that was important for encouraging them to use trains more often.

The smartcard is particularly attractive to ‘hybrid’ workers who might spend two or three days in the office and then use the railways for leisure journeys.

They might previously have bought a season ticket when they worked in the office five days per week, but the new smartcard takes away the challenge of working out which combination of tickets is most cost-effective in the post-

Covid working environment. Users tap the smartcard on entry and exit and it automatically applies the most appropriate fare for all the journeys made, on a daily or weekly basis.

The fare is based on the ticket types available on the day and the time travelled. It then charges the best value walkup, flexible fares as available on GWR. com, made up of Standard Class Anytime, Off-Peak and Super-Off-Peak Day Single, and Day Return Fares.

Mr Hopwood told the Western Daily Press that he would ultimately like to see the smartcard extended to the region’s bus network.

A trend seen across the rail network in the past 18 months has been the growth in passenger numbers at the weekend, something Mr Hopwood anticipates continuing.

Working patterns is, though, one of the issues that rail unions and the industry are still in dispute over.

Mr Hopwood said: “Our timetable on a Sunday, for instance, is restricted by the number of staff we can bring into work, because of some of the legacy practices.

“If now we are seeing the majority of our revenue coming from leisure, we need to behave more like a leisure industry and most leisure industries are geared up to deal with weekends being their busiest time.”

He added that, where possible, he would like to see more maintenance carried out on the railways at night, rather than during weekends, to reduce the risk of disruption on what are increasingly busy days.

Sustainability is near the top of the agenda for most businesses, and an exciting development GWR is trialling at the moment is a battery-operated train, with the potential to help the journey towards net zero.

Mr Hopwood said: “We hope in the first few months of 2023 to have a battery train up and running in West London and that technology, if it works, will have applicability across the whole of the Great Western patch, including around Bristol.

“Battery doesn’t really work for highspeed, long-distance trains on long distances. But on local trains, where you are stopping frequently and you can recharge, it can work.

“It is early days for that project, but it has a lot of potential.

“Compared to what this business looked like five years ago, we are using far less diesel fuel and emitting far less carbon.”

A Great Western Railway train at Bristol Temple Meads station – there is set to be significant improvement in the city’s rail network

❝ I think despite some of the challenges that we all face and the pressure on the finances of the industry and the country as a whole, we are going to see quite a lot of improvement in rail around Bristol

West of England metro mayor Dan Norris with the new GWR touch smartcard at Bath Spa station

M&A and debt market looking set to buzz again

THE South West’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) landscape continues to see interesting twists and turns. From the perspective of lenders and buyers, 2022 was a rollercoaster, starting out buoyant and continuing the previous year’s significant level of deals activity.

For context, 2021 saw a record number of transactions executed by Grant Thornton’s deals teams.

That came on the back of a substantial amount of dry powder in the market across corporates, private equity and lenders, combined with a pent-up demand to complete deals delayed throughout the pandemic.

This trend continued unabated until summer 2022, when welldocumented shocks to the market caused a slow down.

This has created the current situation, where there’s still a substantial appetite but buyers and lenders are being more sensitive to the economic outlook and cautious in their approach.

Lenders are increasingly triaging deals at an earlier stage along sector lines, leading to some dropping out earlier in the process and being more selective with the sectors they are willing to invest in.

That said, banks and funds have more capital now than ever before, with the

banks being better capitalised and debt funds raising large pots of capital to deploy.

This means that, despite the prevailing economic headwinds, there is a long list of sectors that remain fertile grounds for M&A activity.

Tech, healthcare and business services to name a few are all proving robust spaces to do deals.

Appetite for deals in certain sectors can be more dependent on the niche activity of the business in question.

Businesses in the consumer, retail, leisure, and recruitment sectors for example may find fundraises more challenging, but by carefully selecting lenders and/or buyers who know the sectors well, and who can look through to the end markets, there are still attractive deals to be done.

How is this likely to pan out in 2023? As mentioned, there is still a lot of capital out there and it’s important to observe how it is being deployed.

Many private equity firms have successfully raised large funds and are increasingly competing for specific assets.

They may start looking at options in different areas to avoid a high level of competition and to acquire businesses at a lower price point.

Similarly, trade buyers are currently sitting on cash and are being opportunistic when they spot owner-managed

businesses that are looking for an exit and a way to smooth over inflationary and recessionary pressures.

When it comes to specific sectors, Bristol’s growing tech market remains one to watch, with a lot of dynamic and innovative businesses looking to scale up and increasingly compete with the typical dominance of the South East and Thames Valley regions.

Food and beverage, agriculture and healthcare, in particular elderly care and specialist care providers, remain key parts of the South West’s market and the need for their services will continue to grow.

For those businesses in the more at-risk sectors, they may have an easier start to the year than many expect – as inflationary pressures on consumers are taking longer to bite than initially expected.

The major household expense for homeowners is typically their mortgage and with the average mortgage being a 2-3 year fix, the impact of the increasing bank base rate will take 24-36 months to filter through.

When paired with the fact that the government is supporting households in the immediate future with the cost of energy crisis, there will likely be a lag before the true impacts are felt at a macroeconomic level.

While the South West largely follows the national trends, it has been notable for the number of smaller deals over the past year, with a particular emphasis on trade buyers but also significant pockets of PE activity.

❝ Despite the prevailing economic headwinds, there is a long list of sectors that remain fertile grounds for M&A activity. Tech, healthcare and business services to name a few are all proving robust

It’s likely that we’ll also see PE funds in the area expand their horizons and start looking at options they may have not considered six to 12 months ago.

All together the pipeline for 2023 looks promising. While thinking about the debt markets, leverage has come down and pricing has increased, and so lenders are keeping an open mind.

They still want to do deals with the right business.

The key to success will be in presenting lenders with the right business plan in the right way from the outset.

Working with advisors who understand the debt and equity markets, as well as the pressures that lenders and buyers are facing and how they are looking at credit risk and forecast business plans, will help business leaders navigate today’s deal pathway.

Understanding these factors is crucial to ensuring that a business is presented in a way that will engage the most people and generate the most interest.

adam.h.hughes@uk.gt.com

Adam Hughes, Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Corporate Finance Debt Advisory Lead for the South West and Wales, shares his thoughts on what to expect in the field of mergers and acquisitions this year. Despite the current economic pressures, he predicts a busy year

What’s in store for our food and drink producers

The UK food and beverage (F&B) industry has long been considered to be a fragmented scene and some sector analysts will be looking at the market and thinking that 2023 might be the year when we start to see more consolidation.

The sector is one of the key strengths of the South West economy, with a GVA of £2.08 billion (source: Food & Drink Federation) – only just behind the South east on £2.09 billion and ahead of the West Midlands’ £1.78 billion; Wales with £1.7 billion, and Northern Ireland at £1.07 billion. The industry employs some 29,500 people on a patch stretch-

ing from Gloucestershire to Cornwall.

The argument for consolidation often starts from an interest in taking out costs and achieving operational efficiencies. That makes sense when there is concentration in the customer base – there are, after all, only so many supermarkets – but the case for change can also be part of a growth strategy.

Management teams often want to reprioritise resources and focus their energies where the business can play to its strengths or respond to consumer trends, such as the demand for more products related to health and well-being and faster growing sales channels.

There is plenty of sentiment around

that 2023 will continue to be very challenging.

Our own research on the Cut Back economy, conducted with Retail economics, showed that 41% of consumers expect the squeeze on living standards to impact their spending habits until at least the end of 2023. Faced with rapid inflation, ris ing interest rates, and higher taxes, household finances are being tested from all

angles, affecting consumers’ ability to fulfil their wants and needs.

It has to be said that consumer spending is only one of many factors influencing the sector and is difficult to predict, sometimes proving to be counter-intuitive and contradictory.

Yet the reality is that it, and other headwinds, facing food and beverage businesses may drive a higher level of distressed transactions in the F&B sector, particularly where businesses have high levels of debt and more commoditised products.

Some market analysts do believe that there is excessive negativity about the fundamentals of UK PLC and too much hype around the waves of industrial action that are linked to the cost-of-living crisis. They believe that whilst we are being tested as a country, these challenges exist elsewhere too. The crisis will pass – the only question is when?

We see these sentiments play out in the South West and elsewhere in terms of mergers and acquisitions. The level of deal activity around F&B firms certainly dipped in the second half of 2022 as a number of private equity houses and management teams took a step back to reflect.

Timing is a powerful dynamic. There are deal processes that got underway last year that were not completed. And others where shareholders made the decision to sell but decided not to start the process. And then there is a third group who probably would like to explore the opportunity to sell but are not doing it now because of the market conditions.

Some will be expecting a bounce, similar to the one we saw when coming out of the first Covid lockdown, which led to a flurry of completed transactions.

None of us have a macroeconomic crystal ball but we do all understand that things change. The turmoil in the global economy caused primarily by the war in Ukraine, which has generated unprecedented volatility in the food supply chain, will not last forever.

But for now, I think the South West’s food and beverage industry wants stability more than anything else. Stability breeds confidence and drives the actions that create jobs, growth, and opportunity. There are challenges ahead, but the food industry has coped incredibly well with the many hurdles that have appeared over the last few years.

The industry in the South West is world class and is obviously of vital importance to the economy and all of us as consumers. The new year is a time to roll up our collective sleeves and go again.

trefor.a.griffith@uk.gt.com

The food and drink sector is a vital part of the South West’s economy, employing almost 30,000 people from Gloucestershire to Cornwall

❝ The South West’s food and beverage industry wants stability more than anything else. Stability breeds confidence and drives the actions that create jobs

A year of drones, flying taxis and space launches

IT’S not been an easy few years for the aviation industry. First the pandemic grounded planes, then there were sweeping cuts to the sector’s global workforce, and now surging inflation and supply chain issues caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are posing new challenges.

Despite difficulties facing the industry, there is still plenty going on – particularly in the West of England.

Indeed, the region is now the UK’s biggest aerospace cluster, with hundreds of companies – from global giants such as Airbus and Rolls-Royce to innovative start-ups that are pushing the boundaries of technology – choosing the West Country as home.

While last year saw the aviation industry navigating its route to recovery as travel restrictions lifted and production began to ramp up again, 2023 is set to be “far more interesting”, according to South West aerospace expert Dr Steve Wright.

The senior research fellow in avionics at the University of the West of England (UWE) and systems engineer, who has worked for Airbus and Boeing, says there are a number of areas where there will likely be significant development this year: long-range versions of small jets; electric flight; and unmanned drones.

“The South West is the true beating heart of the aerospace industry in the UK,” said Dr Wright. “Last year was a year of consolidation for the sector, but 2023 will be the first months of interesting green shoots of the revolution in

aerospace that will burst out in the following three or four years.”

Here, Dr Wright explains what’s in store for the sector in 2023.

Unmanned drones

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year has accelerated developments in the unmanned drone space.

According to Dr Wright, there is a “massive amount” going on that has been triggered by – or is even directly related to – the ground war in Europe.

He said: “This area of the industry is still a bit ‘Fred in the shed’, meaning the tech is still in its early days. It was going to be another year of consolidation for this space but then everything changed last February when Vladimir Putin (invaded Ukraine). The perception of the importance of drones has multiplied – what they can do as an opportunity and a threat.”

Dr Wright said the invasion of Ukraine had accelerated developments in the space, which is fast becoming an expanding industry of its own.

“The military and civil applications are still deeply intertwined,” he said. “Everything that goes on in the military space has implications for civil aerospace, and vice versa.”

What he is referring to is the potential use of drones in everyday life, such as deliveries. Amazon has already started using drones, similar to the one pictured inset below, to deliver orders in the US –the service is called Amazon Prime Air – after receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. However, developments in the UK are likely to be much slower.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) released legislation in January 2021 about what drones can be flown in the UK – and where. But it could be some time before Britain sees the likes of Amazon delivering parcels in this way.

“In the UK we are a tiny little island and everywhere you go there is somebody standing underneath. That’s where the Russians and Americans have these huge advantages – vast spaces they can go and do these experiments without having to worry about who is going to get hurt if something goes wrong.”

Dr Wright said people working in the aerospace industry were hoping there would be “more clarity” in 2023 from the CAA about the rules around drones.

“We want a clearer understanding of what is OK to do and that will be important from an industrial point of view as it will open the door to things like delivery

drones. But nothing happens quickly in aerospace.”

Electric flight

The South West is making huge strides forward in the development of electric flight. In 2022, there was an “indrawing of breath” for companies such as Bristolbased Vertical Aerospace, according to Dr Wright.

The company, founded in 2016, is leading the race to develop the world’s first all-electric ‘flying taxi’.

Its success so far has made founder Stephen Fitzpatrick – who also established energy firm Ovo – a billionaire after Vertical Aerospace floated on the New York Stock Exchange in December 2021.

The firm claims its all-electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle –known as VX4 – will be able to transport a pilot and up to four passengers, travelling distances of over 100 miles, when it is built. Last year the company carried out a hover test – a significant milestone as the business continues to progress its intensive flight test programme.

Vertical Aerospace said the positive results of the early tests had allowed it to “progress confidently” on its mission to certify the VX4 by 2025.

“What will be interesting in 2023 is if Vertical Aerospace manage to get on to doing a real flight,” said Dr Wright.

“For the South West, Vertical Aerospace is how Bristol and the wider region

Hannah Baker looks at the aerospace sector, one of the most critical to the West’s economic health

laborative effort between the UK Space Agency, Cornwall Council, the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Virgin Orbit – said an “anomaly” had prevented the satellites from reaching orbit.

Ian Annett, the deputy chief executive of the UK Space Agency, has predicted further launches within the next year, however. “We get up, we go back, we try again, that’s what defines us,” he said after the failed launch.

❝ Last year was a year of consolidation for the sector, but 2023 will be the first months of interesting green shoots of the revolution in aerospace that will burst out in the following three or four years afterwards.

the technical ones as well – after all, the launch only failed at a relatively last stage.”

He added: “The Americans, Russians and Chinese all had to grit their teeth and carry on after their early problems, and I certainly hope – and expect - that the UK has the same level of staying power.”

Virgin Orbit’s launch attempt came just weeks after the last Boeing 747 rolled off the production line of a US factory after half a century. Rival Airbus also built its last A380 plane in 2021.

The demise of large commercial aircraft, such as these, has been some 20 years in the making, according to Dr Wright, who says vast planes are being replaced with smaller twin-engine jets instead.

“Twenty years ago there was a big debate about whether the future of aerospace was these gigantic four-engine planes, or a much greater number of smaller twin-engine planes, and (the answer to) that question is absolutely the twin-engine planes hands down,” he said.

Looking ahead to this year, Dr Wright believes manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing will be focusing more on twin-engine planes and, specifically, super-long-range versions of these small jets.

In the next couple of years Airbus will be bringing out the A321 XLR. It’s a plane that will be able to fly 11 hours (4,700nm) non-stop.

will maintain its aerospace presence.

“I think 2022 was the plateau phase for them and now they are about to jump to the next phase, which is the certification of an aircraft.”

Vertical Aerospace has already received more than 1,400 conditional pre-orders from some of the world’s biggest air lines, operators, lessors and tourist groups including Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Japan Airlines and Air Asia.

It also recently announced that American Airlines had conditionally committed to make a pre-payment for its first 50 deliveries of the VX4.

The UK’s first orbital space launch from Cornwall earlier this month may have ended in failure but the teams behind the project are determined to spend the next 12 months “trying again”.

A specially adapted Boeing 747 from Richard Branson’s company, Virgin Orbit, took off horizontally from Cornwall Airport on January 9. It had a rocket attached beneath the wing of the plane that was meant to propel nine satellites into space.

But the organisers of the Start Me Up mission – a col-

And Dr Wright said: “The failure of this first launch is obviously disappointing, but it is really just an example of what engineers know very well: aerospace is hard, experience is colossally important, and one of the biggest obstacles is finding the political and organisational will just to get to the start line.

“Virgin Orbit demonstrated they had passed all these obstacles, and most of

The aerospace giant, which has a major base in Filton, South Gloucestershire, is planning to connect distant destinations such as New York to Rome, London to Vancouver, Delhi to London, and Sydney to Kuala Lumpur.

Dr Wright said: “It will not enter service until 2024 but there will be lots of flight testing and development, so lots of people in the South West will be making an honest crust from that development, too.”

The University of the West of England’s Dr Steve Wright is an aviation expert

Spaceport Cornwall and long-range planes

Bristol firm Vertical Aerospace’s prototype flying taxi, designed to transport between two and four passengers up to 100 miles. Inset below, the man behind the company, Stephen Fitzpatrick, who has also set up energy firm Ovo

A sign inside the building at Spaceport Cornwall, in Newquay

Innovation’s the key to company’s future success

THInK of Somerset and it’s likely that cheddar cheese, rolling hills and cider may first spring to mind. Its world class helicopter sector is probably not quite as high up on the list.

But the county is an important UK hub for aerospace. The sector contributes hundreds of millions of pounds to the local economy every year and generates thousands of jobs.

In fact, Somerset’s links with the industry stretch back more than 100 years, and a 1986 flight over the Somerset Levels by test pilot Trevor Egginton in a modified Westland Lynx still holds the Federation Aeronautique Internationale world record for fastest helicopter flight.

He achieved a speed of 249 miles per hour (400 kilometres per hour) over a 15-mile course.

In 1915, the Westland Aircraft Works in Yeovil was ordered by the government to produce seaplanes for the First World War, which were moved by horse-drawn cart and rail to the Solent, ready for assembly and testing.

More than a century on and Leonardo Helicopters UK – as the company is now called – still has a vast site in the town, employing thousands of people. The facility is the only place in Britain that still carries out the end-to-end design, development and manufacturing of helicopters.

More than 3,100 staff are based on site,

including contractors and 150 trainee graduates and apprentices, who work across departments including planning, engineering, research and innovation, air traffic control, aviation operations, electrical manufacturing and flight safety (among others).

The business is part of Italian multinational aerospace and defence firm Leonardo. It mainly produces aircraft for the British military – the MoD is the company’s most important customer – as well as others for civil use including search and rescue, law enforcement and for private owners. The helicopters take anything from between 18 months and three years to build, with each one having a multi-million-pound price tag.

Managing the smooth running and future growth of such a huge operation is no mean feat – but Leonardo Helicopters UK’s new managing director is determined to do just that.

Adam Clarke has been in post only eight months and is quietly confident he will be able to help Leonardo evolve further.

“I have a number of visions but ultimately the goal is to continue to grow this business and allow it to flourish as it once did in the past,” he said.

“The reason I am here is to take this business in a new direction of travel. We are working on new, novel technologies which will take this business to something different in the future, so it is a sus-

tainable business that will be here in another 100 years’ time.”

Mr Clarke has worked at Leonardo for 20 years, joining as a project management graduate before working his way up through the company. It’s a journey he hopes will inspire – and, perhaps more importantly, attract – people to come and work for Leonardo.

“I want to make this place an attractive and interesting place to be, and I want people to want to work here. I want to evolve the culture to make us a more dynamic and exciting place.”

He has, arguably, not come into post at an easy time. Although the business remained in operation during the pandemic and did not furlough any staff –Leonardo recorded consolidated revenues of €14.1bn for the 2021 financial year – the current economic climate, he admits, is causing some concerns.

“You can see how the cost-of-living crisis directly impacts employees working on the site and as a business we need to work out how we help our staff go through that. There are also pressures in terms of energy and utilities,” he said.

“The way you have to handle that is you have to be efficient in your operation in order to win new business. A lot of what I am looking at is how we win new business so we have revenue streams to take us forward.”

Leonardo UK has agreed a two-year pay agreement of 12% across 2022 and

2023 for its British employees. Mr Clarke says the company is also offering socalled “custom working” – a different format of flexible working – in a bid to help staff. It allows each department to decide how best to work. For some, that means working from home the majority of the time, for others it’s coming onto the site.

He said: “Each team will agree how to do it. It will allow for a little bit more flexibility as to how many people have to put petrol in their car to come into an office.”

As many businesses are finding, the ground war in Europe is also causing separate issues; among them are shortages of raw materials and electric components. Although Leonardo does not source any materials from Russia directly, it does from mainland Europe, and has been forced to think “creatively” about whether to change any of its designs, according to Mr Clarke.

Hannah Baker speaks to Leonardo Helicopters UK’s boss and sees how Somerset is a hot-bed of technological innovation, with rotary wing aircraft giving the county’s economy a huge lift

“We have teams managing the supply chain and looking for alternative sources, and we also look in certain cases where suppliers are restricted whether there are alternative designs or materials that can be used,” he said.

“I think our challenges are no different to anyone else’s. We don’t have anything uniquely affected by Ukraine-Russia, it’s the same as everyone really. It’s about active management. There are no restrictions that are preventing us doing busi ness so we are still able to produce the product and deliveries.”

Concerns about the economy are not preventing the aerospace firm from investing in its Somerset operation

either. Among the latest developments is a vast £30m logistics hub. The single-site logistics hub, as it is known, will help support Leonardo Helicopters’ global fleet by housing components and tools. The project has brought together eight different warehouses into one in a bid to increase efficiency.

The external structure was completed in the final quarter of 2022, with final touches expected to be finished in the first quarter of this year.

Sustainability has been a big focus for the hub, which will be equipped with rainwater harvesting tanks so water is recycled for use throughout the building in a non-drinking capacity. It will also

have LED lighting and a heat-recovery system that will be used in the main warehouse. A bank of electric vehicle charging points will be installed to support a new fleet of electric commercial vehicles that will distribute components from the hub to the company’s manufacturing facilities.

“It is about making those investments that will effectively have a value return moving forward. We need to keep making those focused investments in order to drive efficiency which allows us to manage these quite complex times,” said Mr Clarke.

One challenge that is currently facing the aerospace industry is recruiting workers from STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) backgrounds.

“It’s a global problem,” said Mr Clarke, who points out the firm currently has 200 vacancies on site, a proportion of

which are early-career roles. We have a number of endeavours trying to bring people back in. We have a very good apprentice and grad scheme with about 150 people each and that is ultimately the way we are trying to deal with recruitment.”

But Mr Clarke believes Britain needs to re-emphasise the importance of engineering.

“In other nations being an engineer is a huge status thing – like a doctor. In the UK we undervalue engineers so elevating the importance of engineering in society is something the UK could do with.”

Leonardo is currently investing heavily in new technologies, particularly around uncrewed aircraft and advanced air mobility.

Among its projects is a programme known as RWUAS – or rotary wing uncrewed air system. Last summer, the MoD awarded a four-year contract worth £60m to Leonardo to deliver phase three of RWUAS, including flying an advanced uncrewed vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft prototype known as ‘Proteus’.

“Military doctrine says the future will be a mixture of crewed and uncrewed helicopters, working together,” said Mr Clarke. “We have a mixture of some military focus, but are looking more widely at civil applications.”

But it will be some time yet before the UK sees unmanned helicopters in its skies – mainly due to the length of time it takes the aerospace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, to approve such aircraft are safe.

“At the moment there is still a long way to go but that is the aspiration and that will probably drive pace in terms of the military’s uncrewed environments. It’s an exciting time to be part of it.”

Mr Clarke is very much aware of the challenges that lie ahead for him – and the business. But he is proud of being appointed as Leonardo Helicopter UK’s top boss.

“To become a managing director of any business is not an easy achievement. But to be asked to be part of this business with a huge responsibility for the employees and the future of the region, is a privilege and I am humbled by that.”

The man knows what he wants to achieve, but points out with honesty: “The question you probably need to ask in the future, is have I delivered on that.”

Adam Clarke, managing director of Leonardo Helicopters UK. Inset, one of the firm’s AW101 aircraft being used for search and rescue patrols in Norway

❝ In other nations being an engineer is a huge status thing – like a doctor. In the UK we undervalue engineers so elevating the importance of engineering in society is something the UK could do with

Investing in the future with the launch of SGS Horizon Construction

College

SGS College has been delivering apprenticeships for more than 10 years and offers a wide range throughout two distinct areas of provision – business support and construction.

The Bristol-based college has become a hub of excellence in the delivery of apprenticeship programmes. It helps employers boost their workforce with young and enthusiastic employees and aids learners to improve their career prospects by becoming professionally qualified in a range of construction sectors.

Not only does it deliver full apprenticeship programmes, both on site and in college, but it also assists employers with a free recruitment service to ensure that they get the right apprentices for their business.

The college has seen tremendous growth in the construction sector over the past few years and, as a result, has opened new gas workshops at the Filton campus to facilitate the learner experience.

Now the institution is excited to be opening a new premise for its construction apprentices.

Dedicated to the delivery of construc-

tion-based training, SGS Horizon is a direct response to the needs of the construction sector in Bristol and South Gloucestershire, including the growing demand for workers to fill skills shortages, the buoyant housing market and the interest in renewable energies and sustainable development.

SGS Horizon will provide learners and employers with the flexible apprenticeship delivery they need to develop their organisations.

Once installation has been completed, the 1,580 sq m building will feature purpose-built workshops, classrooms and IT suites maximising the college’s ability to provide a streamlined approach to skills and knowledge development.

Based within a mile of the college’s Filton campus, SGS Horizon is in an ideal location to ensure that apprentices will benefit from the open plan delivery space and the dedicated focus on their sector while having access to the college’s learning resource centre and learner support functions.

The college will welcome construction apprentices into the new academy from the spring, providing an exciting and inspiring learning environment to

develop the workforce of tomorrow. The provision covers a wide site offer including bricklaying through to gas engineering and fire and security apprenticeships.

Sarah Stephens-Lewis, assistant principal, said: “At SGS we support all apprentices, with our dedicated apprenticeship team providing advice and guidance throughout their journey. We ensure that apprentices develop essential transferable skills as well as the requirements of the standard to deliver well-rounded apprentices that excel within the workplace.

“SGS College nurtures personal and social development through working with apprentices to upskill their problem solving, critical thinking and positive attitude to learning and employment, preparing them for their future career with high aspiration.

“We are all excited to have the new, dedicated construction apprenticeship training centre whereby students will have first class facilities to facilitate their learning and to train the next generation of industry professionals.”

To find out more, contact its dedicated Business Training Team at apprenticeships@sgscol.ac.uk or 08000 567253.

helps industry find the recruits it desperately needs, while young learners receive cutting-edge training and development to help provide the building blocks for a great career

Apprentices at SGS College. Below, the new Horizon 38 unit where construction apprentices learn. Top right, Sara-Jane Watkins, SGS principal

❝ At SGS we support all apprentices, with our dedicated apprenticeship team providing advice and guidance throughout their journey. We ensure that apprentices develop essential transferable skills as well as the requirements of the standard to deliver well-rounded apprentices that excel within the workplace

CLIENT: SGS COLLLEGE

PROJECT: HORIZON 38 UNIT VISUALS

Targeted training to drive the Green Technology revolution

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College is about to enter the brave new world of training for retrofitting and renewable energy.

After winning £450,000 through Stroud District Council from the Gloucestershire Strategic Economic Development Fund, and over £700,000 via the Department for Education Strategic Development Fund, plus £150,000 from the West of England Combined Authority (Weca) to deliver Green Technologies Skills camps, SGS is creating the Berkeley Low Carbon Training Centre.

It will all be based on its campus at Berkeley and will train apprentices and upskill those working or who wish to work in the renewable energy sector.

They will include installers and specifiers for solar, heat pumps and retrofitting for homes.

The new centre will also have a trailblazer role in developing training courses and materials that can be utilised by other training centres to expand capacity.

SGS principal, Sara-Jane Watkins, said: “There are lots of well-meaning individuals in the region where they have all got an interest in climate emergency but nobody is co-ordinating it.

“We are trying to take that concern and turn it into something tangible. The actual courses on the ground do not exist yet.

“In collaboration with the other colleges in Gloucestershire, we are trying to pull together the whole skills piece.

“What we are missing are the individuals with the knowledge to retrofit all these new technologies.

“We need to make them smart but also develop the knowledge to retrofit all these new technologies into existing homes, properties and industrial buildings.”

For further information on upcoming Green Technology training opportunities, please contact either patrick. mcleod@sgscol.ac.uk or kate.hartshorn@sgscol.ac.uk

New digital landscape

IT’S fair to say that the UK is currently at an economic crossroad. What comes next is unclear, but one thing is a safe bet: our future economic prosperity will require ingenuity and resourcefulness across the board.

And at the top of the agenda, particularly when it comes to bolstering the South West’s long-term economic future, is transforming its digital landscape.

Based on the current lay of the land, the South West faces a particular challenge in preventing talent from being lost outside the region.

We’re in a golden age for young entrepreneurship, but while our regional communities nurture these entrepreneurs in their formative years, rarely do they benefit from the fruits of their labour.

Many young professionals are choosing more economical and increasingly vibrant cities such as Manchester, or, thanks to hybrid working, employment with London-based companies with their vastly higher salary opportunities whilst still living in the South West to enjoy its way of life.

South West businesses remain inhibited. The problem is that today’s fastestgrowing businesses are digitally driven. They begin with inspired young people working out of bedrooms, kitchens, local cafes and shared workplaces as they develop fresh, exciting ideas and

bid to secure their very first customers.

And such businesses require highspeed digital access to thrive. These innovative new thought engines are crying out for better opportunities.

With the cost-of-living crisis and mortgage quandary making it increasingly difficult for young professionals to put down roots in the region’s cities, many are choosing to live with parents or rent in more rural areas purely for affordability.

However, many South West businesses have been held back by substandard connectivity that has greatly inhibited their ability to compete on the national or international stage. Due to the region’s lack of appropriate digital infrastructure, many young people simply cannot work for, or set up the sort of businesses with which they are most likely to succeed.

Nonetheless, there is a growing opportunity for rural, urban and semi-urban communities across the South West to

reinvent themselves as creative, entrepreneurial digital hubs. Delivering connectivity to ‘hard to reach’ areas used to be cost prohibitive, resulting in major providers investing infrastructure into easier to build and more profitable areas – hence the digital divide between the South West and the rest of the UK.

But thankfully, this is simply not the case anymore. Truespeed, a private sector firm based in Bath, has turned the broadband game on its head, proving high-speed, ultrafast broadband infrastructure can be built cost-effectively and is subsequently bringing the South West’s businesses and residents some of the fastest broadband speeds in the world.

Backed by £175 million of Aviva funding, Truespeed is pioneering the transformation of the South West digital landscape. Having connected over 300 local

businesses and over 11,000 residents to guaranteed speed, full-fibre broadband. Truespeed is levelling up the digital playing field once and for all and providing a digital platform for South West businesses to effectively compete on.

A digital landscape that supports budding founders and entrepreneurs, offers viable hybrid working models, underpins business productivity and provides online leverage when competing in national and international markets, is vital for the South West’s long-term economic prosperity.

For too long the region’s businesses and residents have been left in the digital slow lane, but as we enter 2023, the South West can rest assured Truespeed is closing down the digital divide, and thanks to its future Gigabit-capable broadband, ensuring the gap stays shut once and for all.

Bath-based Truespeed is undertaking work to ensure the South West’s an attractive option for digital entrepreneurs

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❝ There is a growing opportunity for rural, urban and semi-urban communities across the South West to reinvent themselves as creative, entrepreneurial digital hubs

Seeking the positives

WE are again delighted to work with the Western Daily Press on the 2023 Business Guide

Looking back, 2022 was a year like no other. After emerging from a global pandemic, we hit a cost of living crisis. We all faced high energy prices, elevated inflation, rising interest rates and a general global economic weakness that meant the UK economy was in turmoil.

How have these national and international events affected the companies in the South West region? Let us look at this year’s list of the Top 150 companies and see how they have fared.

Top 150 Companies

As with previous years, we have a familiar pattern where UK-based international companies and foreign subsidiaries dominate the region. Once again, Imperial Brands takes the top regional slot, employing more than 30,000 people globally.

There is also little surprise that energy suppliers dominate the top regional spots with OVO, RWE Generation UK (NPower) and EDF energy generating large turnovers in 2022.

It is also good to see that Airbus consistently remains a top regional company with an international headquarters. Recently Airbus announced that they are strengthening their presence in the UK with the launch of a Zero Emission Development Centre (ZEDC) for hydrogen technologies. The new centre will be at their Filton site.

Once more, the Business Guide shows some solid regional performances with many bucking the economic downturn, but what is the general economic outlook for 2023?

Outlook for 2023

This time last year, we asked whether we were at the dawn of a new era of economic growth or heading towards another recession. At the time, the inflation rate rose to a ten year high of 5.1% and an interest rate increase, which was the first in more than three years. Sadly the new era of economic growth has had the brakes applied, and we are struggling in many economic areas.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) paints a bleak picture of the business economy with more than a quarter (29%) of trading businesses reporting that they expected their turnover to drop this month. Almost a third (30%) of trading businesses said they expect to put their prices up this month, with 39% citing energy costs as the main reason.

Equally concerning is that the ONS showed that the number of potential redundancies reported by the Insolvency Service in December 2022 was 71% higher than in the equivalent time frame in 2021. The number of employers proposing redundancies has more than doubled since 2021.

The latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) shows that business confidence has fallen across the UK. It results from difficult economic conditions and political turmoil affecting financial markets. The business confidence index that the BCM survey uses to gauge the market has fallen into negative territory, with all business areas affected. It now stands at -16.9, a figure reminiscent of the Covid pandemic and in stark contrast to the +47 recorded in Q3 2021. Most companies expect the economic prospects over the next 12 months to be more challenging than over the last 12 months.

In global markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that the slowdown in global economic activity is broad-based and sharper than expected, with inflation at its highest in decades.

The IMF forecasts global growth will slow from 6.0% in 2021 to 3.2% in 2022 and 2.7% in 2023. It is the weakest growth profile since 2001 except for the global financial crisis and the acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It is also little comfort to know that the UK is not alone in the economic problems. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced the world economy was “reeling” from the most significant energy shock since the 1970s. Predicted growth in almost every large economy will be weaker next year than in previous forecasts. Inflation hit people’s spending power in every major economy.

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

The Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility have already declared their belief that the UK is in recession, with the downturn to last throughout 2023. However, the Government’s intervention on energy bills has reduced the risk of a severe downturn.

The economy is doing better than previously predicted. Although we are still looking to be in a recession, in the 3rd quarter of 2022, gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 0.2% while the Bank expected shrinkage of 0.5%. In the last quarter, it was expected to drop 0.3%, but 0.1% was more likely.

The December increase in interest rates was the ninth consecutive increase,

an increase every time the Bank of England met in 2022. Is there a glimmer of hope that the rate was lower than previous increases? Although inflation is currently at a 40-year high, interest rates are expected to peak lower than market expectations. The Bank of England isn’t the only bank slowing rate increases, with the US Federal bank raising by half of one percent.

Despite the signs of recession, the unemployment rate is forecast to peak at around 5%, which would be significantly lower than in previous downturns.

Feedback from the BCM survey showed that many companies still expect to expand employment as they focus on meeting orders. But with profits squeezed, they plan to cut back on

investment. On the global stage, the IMF has stated that international policymakers should focus on restoring price stability and alleviating cost-of-living pressures. Green energy is very much in focus, while multilateral cooperation remains key to fast-tracking the green energy transition and preventing fragmentation.

It is hard to find the good news buried within the gloom of the forecasts and predictions, but it is there if we look deep enough. Inflation peaking? Growth on the increase? Is the unemployment rate lower than in previous downturns? Let us hope 2023 brings some positive news.

Seizing opportunity together

At Vistra, we believe your business and your people can make a difference in the world. That’s why our work is focused on helping our clients act with confidence and speed to seize opportunity wherever it arises. As a global corporate service provider and fund administrator with more than 5,000 professionals in over 45 jurisdictions, we empower legal entities globally to work smarter, grow faster, act responsibly, protect capital and scale across borders — by doing what we do best: reducing risk and enhancing efficiency.

To learn more about these services or the other legal, regulatory and compliance services offered by Vistra, please visit www.vistra.com or email me at steve.blacker@vistra.com. I would be happy to arrange a call.

Steve Blacker, Head of Business Information at Vistra, data partner of the Western Daily Press, considers 2023’s economic outlook

Steve Blacker points to the continued presence and contribution of Airbus to the region’s economy and welcomes the aviation giant’s decision to launch its Zero Emissions Development Centre at its plant in Filton, Bristol

2,822,699 9 10 SCREWFIX DIRECT LIMITED Yeovil The distribution of tools, fixings and equipment by mail order internet and through trade counters 246,700 2,310,700 13,584 10 15 PUMA ENERGY (UK) LIMITED Bristol To operate and expand the fuels storage and wholesale business throughout England and Wales 13,245 1,904,524 117

1,886,000

1,771,186

1,660,000 5,221

46

50

MAN

TRUCK AND BUS UK LIMITED Swindon The provision of importation and distribution of trucks and buses and related products and services within the UK

8,875 539,216 890

new VMWARE UK LIMITED Bristol The provision of sales and marketing support -6,564 519,807 1,079 48 61 OPENWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED Swindon A group engaged in the provision of financial planning, insurance broking services and investment funds, the purchase of franchises practices and the provision of human resources and administration services

49 59

OASIS HEALTHCARE GROUP LIMITED Bristol A group engaged in the operation of dental practices and provision of dental services -50,456 499,482 6,095

INTERNATIONAL LIMITED Bristol To develop and exploit technology related to augmented reality games worldwide, excluding USA 12,349 489,508 4

3,066 473,898

20,848 306,616 939 74 73 HERITAGE AUTOMOTIVE HOLDINGS LIMITED Salisbury A group engaged in sale of new and used motor cars, repairs and servicing 5,146 305,573 552

75 72 MASSTOCK ARABLE (UK) LIMITED Cheltenham The provision of agronomy advice supported by the sale and distribution of crop protection products 13,318 300,299 697 76 62 NATIONAL OILWELL VARCO UK LIMITED Stonehouse The provision of manufacturing, wholesale and servicing of equipment and accessories to the offshore oil and gas industry -74,048 289,710 2,123 77 76 ASPIRE DEFENCE HOLDINGS LIMITED Tidworth A group engaged as PFI contractor and finance provider 25,295 286,878 18 78 100 GALLOPER

construction of the Galloper wind farm 140,359 285,000

group engaged in the production and sale of fresh mushrooms 3,328 276,456 1,728

The Top 150

34

provision of health cash plans and private medical insurance -13,900 198,200

Higher Education

archives,

a national

support,

-1,650 195,749 862

-666 195,288 518

Logistics, Commodities

8,930 203,877 863 105 New ACHIEVE TOGETHER LIMITED Bath The provision of care and accommodation for individuals with a learning disability or mental health issues -6,746

Transformation programme (LCST) 11,749 194,783

182,508

182,086

181,282

26,102 203,355 5,903 106 new ANTHOLOGY GROUP LIMITED Cheltenham A group engaged in a property development 2,192 200,046 6 107 new SODRA WOOD LIMITED Cirencester Specialist just-in-time distributor of softwood and engineered wood products to manufacturers and stockists 1,672 120 New PORTMAN HEALTHCARE LIMITED Cheltenham The provision of dental facilities and the management of dental practices -13,198

The Top 150

data supplied by RANK 2022 RANK COMPANY NAME REGISTERED OFFICE CITY OR TOWN

Profit/loss and turnover figures are in GBP (000s) and from the last available year - Vistra.com

TRADE DESCRIPTION PROFIT (LOSS) BEFORE TAXATION

TURNOVER LAST AVAIL. YEAR

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 121 106

DAC BEACHCROFT SERVICES LIMITED Bristol The provision of administration services 6,666 180,833 2,266 122 123 COTSWOLD MOTOR GROUP LIMITED Cheltenham Sale and repair of motor vehicles 5,484 179,222 313 123 124 DOPANO LIMITED Cheltenham Holding company 4,693 179,222 313 124 112 SIRONA CARE & HEALTH C I C Bristol A group engaged in the provision of publicly-funded health and social care services 5,676 178,253 3,328 125 New UNITE INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS PLC Bristol Provision of property development and asset management to a number of companies either within The Unite Group plc or its joint ventures

-315 176,546 1,797 126 115 ZELLIS HOLDINGS LIMITED Bristol A group engaged in the provision of technology solutions and services for human resources management

11 727 171 591 1 025

-22,130 175,350 2,221 127 105 TYCO ELECTRONICS UK LTD Swindon The manufacture or supply of passive electronic components, active wireless and fibre optic components, power and wiring systems and high-end printed circuit board technologies

5,314 161,656 776 134 115 ZELLIS TOPCO LIMITED Bristol A group engaged to provide technological solutions and services for human resources -46,094 159,703 2,129 135 81 QUALASEPT HOLDINGS LIMITED Corsham A group engaged in supply of pharmaceutical products and services 33 158,502 406 136 126 CORIN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED Cirencester A group engaged in manufacture and marketing of orthopaedic devices on a worldwide basis -62,426 157,510 823 137 144 KOHLER SHOWERS HOLDINGS LIMITED Cheltenham A group engaged in presision controls 21,258 156,640 770 138 120 WATER 2 BUSINESS LIMITED Bristol Holding company 334 155,064 58 139 138 HOWARD GARAGES (WESTON) LIMITED Weston-Super-

Mare A retail sale of motor vehicles, accessories, repair and servicing 5,890 155,057 239

‘Attract right crowd’

LAST year’s tourism season was a return to normality after the crazy post lockdown staycation boom of 2021, but challenges lie ahead.

When the world eased out of the worst of pandemic restraint in 2021, the South West was top of the list for lockdowners desperate for a change of scene.

While overseas travel was largely off limits, the region’s beaches and tourist attractions were the next best choice for many.

But at peak times, parts of the region creaked under the weight of bookings that were up by around 136 per cent on previous years.

That level of demand is unsustainable for a region that doesn’t have the transport infrastructure, healthcare or housing stock to meet demand.

In fact, the pressure put on Cornwall in particular has been deemed so acute that leading holiday guide Fodor’s Travel has put the county on its ‘no list’, fearing that the essential character of the place is being lost to tourism. According to the magazine Cornwall falls into the second category on its ‘no list’ citing over-tourism and a strain on resources.

Many who live there would also add that the infrastructure can’t cope with a

population that doubles or trebles in size during the high season.

It is an issue that tourism bosses have been grappling with for years. Malcolm Bell, the outgoing boss of Visit Cornwall, who retired at the end of 2022, said in one outspoken interview that it had to forget the ‘emmets’ who don’t appreciate the county.

He said: “In my mind, visitors fall into five unofficial categories - at one level you have friends, then you have guests, then you have tourists, then you have bloody tourists, then you have emmets. The challenge we have is to get the friends, guests and tourists, who get us. Then try and convert the bloody tourists, but forget the awkward people who are ‘why haven’t you got this?’, ‘why haven’t you got that?’ It’s about targeting the right people at the right time of year.”

Mr Bell, 67, made the commentwhich he knew he’d get in trouble forwhile talking about the two summers of the pandemic, when Cornwall was swamped by tourists, many of whom were there begrudgingly because they couldn’t go abroad.

“Last year, in particular, should be a salutary note, like burning your fingers as a kid you learn not to do that again.”

And while demand has settled, he said

that in 2022, providers did up the prices on the back of the previous year.

But no-one will stand for being ripped off.

“There have been too many people thinking they could get too much money like the two years before. It did give us a reputation for being too expensive, which is ridiculous. Value for quality is one thing, but ripping people off is a completely different thing.

“Sensible businesses - and there are plenty of them - didn’t overegg it. You nurture a customer for life, you don’t rip them off and expect them to come back.”

The key to future success is sustainable tourism, spreading the load across the quieter months with a focus on heritage and attractions to support yearround jobs and communities.

It is a message that tourism businesses across the West are heeding.

Rural destinations like Exmoor take advantage of its relative isolation by promoting the experience of truly getting away from it all. In October it is hosting a two week Exmoor Dark Skies Festivalwhere stargazers come to look up to skies with the light pollution that can blight our towns and cities.

The Forest of Dean meanwhile seeks to attract both ‘wellness’ tourists seeking

a peaceful countryside break and adventure junkies after more high octane pursuits.

Across the West one of the biggest draws remains the exceptional food the region produces.

From farmshops and artisan producers in the countryside to buzzy restaurants in Bristol, Bath and Cheltenham, this region has a plethora of reasons to visit.

The region’s festivals also attract hundreds of thousands of tourists and two of the biggest returned with a vengeance in 2022.

The first Cheltenham Festival with fans since the pandemic attracted bumper crowds last March, bringing an estimated £100 million to Cheltenham’s economy.

Such was its popularity that organisers have capped the capacity this year to improve the racegoers’ experience.

And the first Glastonbury Festival for three years was a huge success last June - bringing much-needed revenue to mid-Somerset and the West’s wider creative economy.

Tickets for this year’s event sold out in a matter of minutes and Sir Elton John is among the big names who’ll star on the Pyramid Stage this summer.

One senior figure believes the South West tourism sector needs to focus on return visitors, as Hannah Finch discovers

A packed Newquay beach last summer

Tech firms that will give region’s growth a hand

THE West of England is fast becoming one of the most dynamic technology clusters in the world. The region is still a stronghold for agriculture, food and tourism, of course, but these days it’s so much more than that.

In the last decade, the South West – a region stretching from Cornwall, Devon and Dorset to Somerset, Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire – has firmly established itself as a powerhouse for tech.

It’s even been given the moniker ‘Silicon Gorge’ in recent years.

And it’s not surprising. Some of the world’s biggest companies have established themselves in the area, which is now home to 17,500 tech firms, including chip maker Graphcore, engineering giant Dyson and software firm Cardstream.

According to a report last year by trade body Tech South West, the West of England’s technology sector already generates £11bn of gross value added (GVA) for the region’s economy, a figure forecast to rise to close to £19bn over the next five years.

Bristol, in particular, is making a name for itself as a home for tech start-ups.

The city was one of the most successful in Europe for attracting tech investment in 2022, analysis by the UK’s Digital Economy Council found. But there’s plenty going on elsewhere across the region, too.

Britain’s first space launch, though not a total success, took place at Spaceport Cornwall recently, while Bridgwater in Somerset is home to Hinkley Point C nuclear plant, which will use cutting-edge technology when it becomes active.

Then there’s Devon, with its twin science parks and universities, and Gloucestershire, whose cyber security sector is flourishing. The county’s proposed Golden Valley Development will have the UK’s new National Cyber Innovation Centre at its heart but will also include high-tech workspace for cyber start-ups. Dorset also has strengths in digital and agritech, while Wiltshire has become well-established for life sciences and defence.

Dan Pritchard, co-founder of Tech South West, said: “When you put it all together, the innovation and acceleration happening across the South West of England is startling.”

Here, we take a look at the South West tech companies to watch in 2023. In no particular order...

Moneyhub, Bristol

The finance and banking platform works with major blue-chip organisations including Aon, Nationwide and Vodafone to provide digital payment solutions.

The Victoria Streetbased business raised an initial £40m in a funding round in October, which saw Lloyds Banking Group and financial services giant Legal & General become minority stakeholders.

The company also scooped three awards at the Bristol Live Business Awards in 2022. Pictured above is chief executive of Moneyhub Sam Seaton. (Image: Silverlock Photography Limited)

Virgate Accounts, Gloucestershire

The fintech provides digital accountancy services to more than 50 SMEs

across the hospitality, leisure and retail sectors. The company, which was founded by local entrepreneur Sarah Travell in 2017, recently expanded into new offices in Quedgeley after a period of “significant” growth. It is planning further expansion in 2023 and has said it will be generating more local jobs to drive its growth.

Pictured below are the Virgate staff outside the company’s new head office in Quedgeley, Gloucestershire.

Hannah Baker has her finger on the pulse of what’s in store for the South West’s burgeoning technology sector in 2023

Ooooby, Devon

Founded by Dartington-based Pete Russell, Ooooby (Out Of Our Own Backyards) is an organic food delivery platform that facilitates real food sales and logistics from gate to plate.

It is already operating across the UK, Australia and New Zealand and was selected in 2022 to take part in a govern ment-backed net-zero programme.

Industry body Tech Nation has said the company has the potential to scale and strengthen the sector.

Synertec, Somerset

The Wellington-based communica tions automation company was responsible for issuing Covid vaccine invitation letters and text message reminders during the pandemic.

In 2022 it secured £13m in funding from NatWest, which it is using to explore new markets and create jobs.

The company said it would also use the cash injection to open a new site in Milton Keynes.

Savvy Navvy, Dorset

Jelte Liebrand, who established global marine technology company

Savvy Navvy in 2017, was named the UK’s most successful scale-up entrepreneur in 2022.

The businessman, pictured left, who refers to his company as the “Google Maps for boats”, said the app had almost doubled its users in more than 100 countries around the world in the last 12 months.

In August, the firm agreed a major deal to work with the world’s largest boat rental platform. (Image: Savvy Navvy)

Xigxag, Cornwall

The audio and ebook app won a major award for being one of the most innovative tech companies in the UK earlier this year.

The Gunnislake-based business has built a catalogue of more than 40,000

titles from 15 publishers, including Penguin Random House and Pan Macmillan. In July, the company raised £1m, which it said it would use to expand the capacity of its development team and broaden its marketing channels.

Role Mapper, Exeter

Role Mapper was founded by Sara Hill, below, in 2019 and has developed a platform that allows companies to design and structure jobs that improve diversity when hiring staff. Its technology also helps firms recruit candidates based on their skill set rather than educational background. In November, it raised £1.75m in its latest funding round. The firm said the cash would enable it to add new features to the platform, boost sales and marketing and expand its 22-strong team.

(Image: Vicki Sharp Photography)

Immersive Labs, Bristol

The cyber-security firm was founded by ex-GCHQ trainer James Hadley, right, in 2017 and has developed an online platform for organisations to identify gaps in a workforce’s cyber knowledge.

It employs more than 300 staff at its offices in Bristol and Boston, in the US. The business has been on a major growth trajectory, raising a whopping $66m (£59.7m) in its latest funding round in October. Immersive Labs, which counts corporate giants such as HSBC, Citi, Pfizer and Daimler among its customer base, also opened a new HQ in Bristol in 2022. (Image: Bristol Post)

MSubs, Plymouth

The submarine manufacturer created the first autonomous vessel to cross the Atlantic. The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS400) set sail from Plymouth, in Devon, in April 2022 and arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts – via a pit stop in Halifax in Nova Scotia – to a rapturous reception in the US. The company is part of the Submergence Group, an advanced maritime research and development firm based in Estover. The business employs around 80 highly skilled staff.

Some of the world’s biggest tech companies have established themselves in the South West

❝ When you put it all together, the innovation and acceleration happening across the South West of England is startling

(Image: ThisIsEngineering /Pexels)

Xigxag co-founders Mark Chaplin and Kelli Fairbrother (Image: Xigxag)

City’s reputation as a creative hub keeps on growing

IT certainly seems to be a case of ‘lights, camera, action!’ for Bristol’s thriving TV and film sector of late. In recent years a series of screen hits for major broadcasters and streamers have been made around the city which boasts a growing number of leading production and animation studios.

Daisy May Cooper’s comedy Am I Being Unreasonable?, and BBC thrillers Chloe and The Girl Before were just some of the programmes made in the city while broadcaster Channel 4 opened a regional creative hub in Bristol in 2019 as part of a commitment to commission more shows outside London.

Bristol is of course no stranger to the cameras. The exterior shots of the house where Vyvyan, Rick, Neil and Mike lived in 1980s sitcom The Young Ones were filmed there, while the city also masqueraded as Peckham for Del Boy and Rodney’s adventures in Only Fools and Horses

But there has been a growing trend of shows which are proudly set in Bristol itself, rather than just using the city as a more cost-effective filming location to London. These have included Bristolborn comedian Stephen Merchant’s BBC smash hit series The Outlaws and the drama Showtrial

Film and television production in Bristol generated more than £20 million for the local economy in the last financial year, according to figures published by Bristol Film Office.

This reflected a 22% increase on prepandemic figures, while also being the largest contribution that filming-related activity has made towards Bristol’s economy in a decade.

Meanwhile, Bristol-headquartered production company Plimsoll was snapped up by broadcaster ITV last year in a deal that valued the award-winning maker of wildlife, documentary and factual entertainment shows, at £131m.

So what is driving this recent uptick in activity and profile for Bristol as a hub that punches above its weight in this global sector?

We spoke to the directors of two production and animation companies that call the city home to find out.

A productions

Formed in Bristol in 1985, the independent business employs a team of around 150 people with bases on Old Market Street and at 15 Colston Street, close to the Bristol Beacon venue in the city centre.

A Productions and BBC Children’s In-House Productions were jointly recognised with a top industry award for a collaboration on CBeebies preschool series JoJo and Gran Gran

The programme was the first UK pre-school animation series to centre around a black British family.

The company’s expansion into a second studio allowed the firm to fulfil animation work for HBO Max, which screened a special programme it produced for Sesame Workshop, the organisation behind the long-running US children’s show Sesame Street

The Monster At The End of This Story,

the first-ever animated Sesame Street special in more than 50 series of the show, earned A Productions and its collaborators a Royal Television Society (RTS) West of England award, as well as two Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

Co-managing director Katherine McQueen, inset below, said Bristol’s cluster of creative companies, including a number of post-production specialists that work with the BBC and major animation companies, was a draw for top talent and productions away from a previously “London-centric” approach in the industry.

“Due to us being a region, we are able to hit Ofcom’s regional production criteria, which some productions have to meet, as well as the BBC. Being outside of London costs differ.

“There are practical reasons why broadcasters and companies come to Bristol, but it has now proven itself to be incredibly good and successful at producing amazing content. Instead of having to do it because they need to, now people come here because they know how good we are at it. The Outlaws has become a USP of production. It’s not like we have to make everything look like London, Bristol has its own voice and its own feeling and that is now sellable.”

Ms McQueen joined the company in 2002 as a production assistant, before moving up to her current leadership role which she holds jointly with A Produc-

tions co-founder Mark Taylor.

The businesswoman credits the flexibility and support the company showed to allow her to work part-time while she had her children and still continuing to progress her career. Ms McQueen said she would like to think she was “no longer a rare case” in the industry.

“We have plenty of working parents who are now able to come back at the same level on a part-time basis and carry on their careers because there is a huge shortage of people who just leave the industry because it is not very sympathetic to the needs of family life sometimes.

“At A Productions I was very fortunate to have had that, so I feel it is important that we give that to our staff, so we are supportive of working families here. I don’t know if it’s getting better across the industry, I can only talk about AP, it’s not rare here but it might be elsewhere.”

Ms McQueen said recruitment was one of the biggest challenges facing the industry at large, and that A Productions, which was acquired by Paris-based Cyber Group Studios last year, was “constantly” on the lookout for new talent.

“There was a huge amount of content that was commissioned because of Covid as people wanted to see programmes on their screens. There is still

Andrew Arthur speaks to two companies operating in Bristol’s creative sector to find out why it continues to attract major productions and the challenges the industry faces

more that we can do to make sure children realise that the creative industries is a really good industry and we have the talent pathways still coming through.

“So the biggest challenge is to make sure we have enough people coming through what is a growing industry in order to feed it so that we can produce really great UK programmes coming from the UK.”

Ms McQueen said A Productions has responded to “economic stoppers” preventing people from diverse backgrounds from getting into the industry by running free animation courses.

The company has also contributed to funding industry diversity schemes, one of which helped create a role for Comfort Arthur, the assistant director of JoJo and Gran Gran

Ms McQueen added that the tough wider economic conditions were also impacting upon the animation and TV production industry, which has considerable input costs.

“It’s absolutely a concern for every company. Just turning the lights on now costs us a lot more than it did 12 months ago. Making sure everyone sitting warm at their desks costs a lot more money.

“Obviously we need to make sure our staff are being paid a salary they can live

on and have comfortable lives with, so it’s absolutely putting a pressure on budgets because all of our overheads have gone

up considerably. You will see a distinct difference just on our gas and electricity bill.”

Wildseed Studios

Based in St Nicholas House near Castle Park, the company was formed by Miles Bullough and Jesse Cleverly 10 years ago, after Mr Bullough left Bristol’s biggest animation export Aardman, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, where he was head of broadcast.

The pair saw an opportunity for a company to develop new, emerging talent, which Mr Bullough said bigger companies find difficult to do as they need “instant success, big names and big numbers”.

Since its formation Wildseed has itself successfully had both animated and live action shows distributed around the world on Disney, Sky, and BBC.

The company’s biggest show to date is The Last Bus on Netflix, which it shot at The Bottle Yard film and television studios in south Bristol, which recently expanded with a new £13.5m facility to create more than 1,000 jobs over the next 10 years.

Wildseed has just started a second season of its animated series Dodo for Sky. The show tells the story of schoolboy Joe as he navigates his first year through secondary school.

The comedy, inspired by creator Jack Bennett’s school days in Portishead, features the voices of Kaiser Chiefs singer and The Voice judge Ricky Wilson and Derry Girls actor Dylan Llewellyn.

The show is based on a short film Mr Bennett made, while he was studying at the University of the West of England, which he showed to Wildseed after he was given the opportunity to work on BBC Three series Wolf Jenkins for the company.

Wildseed has hired many students and graduates from UWE, which Mr Bullough described as another “important hub” for the regional sector.

Wildseed has a core staff of eight people, with its workforce fluctuating to up to 50 people, many of whom would be freelancers on fixed-term contracts, when it is working on a show.

Mr Bullough said the global production industry had been experiencing a great deal of “turbulence”, with many major studios reassessing their business plans following the “big shock” caused when streaming giant Netflix announced

The staff at Bristol company A Productions Picture: ©Barbara Evripidou/FirstAvenuePhotography.com

❝ There are practical reasons why broadcasters and companies come to Bristol, but it has now proven itself to be incredibly good and successful at producing amazing content. Instead of having to do it because they need to, now people come here because they know how good we are

The Outlaws, which starred Hollywood actor Christopher Walken, Bristolborn writer and actor Stephen Merchant and Poldark’s Eleanor Tomlinson, was filmed in Bristol. The series did not merely use the celebrated city as a filming location but was set in it and celebrated the accent and landmarks

page 29

last year it had lost around a million subscribers. While he said it was “tough out there” for smaller companies like Wildseed, having adjustable operations did have its advantages too.

“During the pandemic (Netflix) were making money hand over fist. We had a project with them and they supported it very, very strongly. It was a really good time for us, even though it was really difficult filming because it was a live action show.

“When their subscriber numbers dropped, they started letting people off. People you were dealing with had left and projects that you thought were going forward, stalled. And that’s the same for everyone in every genre. That’s one of the big things you learn – it’s not just us, it’s everyone.

“Warner Bros Discovery has cancelled a number of shows in the last few months, to try and achieve billions of dollars worth of savings. That’s impacted a lot of people around the world.

“You have to adjust your plans, so that project you thought was going to be a dead cert for this year is probably going to be next year.

“That’s one of the advantages of being small, you’re also nimble, so you can work around through these periods of success and difficulty.”

Mr Bullough said while Bristol’s cluster of production companies does at times have to compete for the same talent, it was “healthy” for the industry’s “itinerant” workforce to have more choices of places to work in the city, ensuring they stay in the area.

Mr Bullough said one thing that “has not helped” with an industry-wide issue

of recruitment is Brexit. He estimated that while producing the animated series Counterfeit Cat in 2014, “around 60%” of Wildseed’s staff were from France, with the company hiring accommodation for them across Bristol.

However, after the vote to leave the European Union, Mr Bullough said they began to “drift away”.

He added it was now “almost impossible” to hire staff from France – a country highly regarded within the industry for the talented graduates that emerge from its animation schools.

“First of all, you have the thing ‘are we actually wanted here?’ Secondly, you don’t have to make the decision about whether you wanted to apply for settled status or go through all of that rigmarole.

“[Before] you could just turn up, get a national insurance number and work if you had a passport. You could move back and forth quite easily, you didn’t have to make any life decisions.

“Now for the new wave of graduates we want to hire, we would have to get a visa for them, which is expensive, time consuming and annoying.

“We’ve got the same problem as the haulage industry, as the fruit pickers, we relied a lot on continental European skills, which are now much harder to access.”

Mr Bullough criticised an argument previously advanced by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in response to concerns about worker shortages from business leaders in other sectors including food production, that Brexit should be seen as an opportunity to develop homegrown British talent “rather than relying on labour from abroad”.

He said that while Wildseed was happy

to grow UK-based talent “the numbers aren’t there”.

He revealed that during filming of The Last Bus workers were leaving the show to move to a higher-paid job, underlining the competitiveness of the talentdriven market.

Mr Bullough said the company needed to find a new script supervisor, and had to phone 57 people before it could find someone available.

“We would love to take the opportunity to use more homegrown talent and bring them through, but where are they? With a Conservative government apparently so hostile to the arts, especially arts education, then how are we going to develop these people? It’s fatuous. It’s just a ludicrous, stupid argument which no-one has thought through.

“Those are just easy things to say,

which bear no resemblance to the reality of the labour market at the moment.

“As a company we pride ourselves on our ability to nurture talent. But when you nurture talent, you’ve got to hire really skilled people as mentors for that talent and at the moment there is a massive shortage of skilled people.

“We can’t just invent them, we have to import them or train them, and training them takes time, two or three years.”

A crew working on the Netflix sci fi series The Last Bus pictured filming on Clifton Downs in 2021

❝ That’s one of the advantages of being small, you’re also nimble, so you can work around these periods of success and difficulty

From

Erin Doherty filming a scene at Quay St Diner in Bristol in 2021 for the BBC One and Amazon Studios psychological thriller Chloe

Jesse Cleverly, left, and Miles Bullough of Bristol-based Wildseed Studios

Tracy Ifeachor as Cleo and Celine Buckens as Talitha in the 2021 BBC series Showtrial, which was filmed in Bristol at locations including the University of Bristol

What next for region’s transport?

AFINAl decision is expected soon on the expansion plans for Bristol airport. A coalition of campaigners have appealed to the High Court against the decision to allow the expansion of the airport over environmental concerns.

The West’s biggest airport was given the green light by the Planning Inspectorate last February.

Under the plans, the airport says it will be able to increase its current capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year, while adding thousands more parking spaces.

It is yet to hit the current cap and before the pandemic about nine million passengers used the airport.

The two-day appeal hearing, held in November at Bristol’s Civil Justice Centre, examined whether the Planning Inspectorate acted correctly when granting planning permission in February.

The airport had initially been refused permission by North Somerset Council in 2020 after the local authority decided environmental and societal impacts outweighed the economic benefits of the expansion.

The expansion was also opposed by Bristol City Council, Bath and North East Somerset Council and the West of England Combined Authority.

The proposals have been backed by UK business body the CBI, which said the expansion would help meet the region’s growing demand for air travel, create new international opportunities for South West businesses and be a “significant step” towards the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda.

The appeal judge is expected to make a decision on the case early this year.

Other regional airports

Exeter Airport, which was this year named one of the best by passengers in a customer satisfaction survey commis-

sioned by Which?, reported a slow recovery after the pandemic.

Exeter saw a drop from nearly one million passengers in 2019 to just 27,000 at the height of the pandemic.

The airport was also affected by the liquidation of airline Flybe in 2020, which had its base nearby.

Managing director Stephen Wiltshire said in a recent interview that although the airport saw an increase in summer passenger numbers in 2022, it was still making a financial loss.

New railway stations

Due to open this year is the £4.2m railway station at Portway Park and Ride, near Bristol.

It is the first station to be built in Bristol since Parson Street in 1927 and is expected to open in the summer with half-hourly services between Bristol Temple Meads and Severn Beach.

Also on the cards is a planned railway station at the new arena in Filton, but this will not open until 2026. The station was initially due to open this year –delays have been blamed on design changes.

North Filton is one of three new stations opening over the next few years, with services running from Bristol Temple Meads to Ashley Down, the arena and Henbury. The project, part of MetroWest phase 2, is reopening an old railway line with newly built stations.

And there is further good news for passengers in Portishead and Pill.

A project to reopen an abandoned railway line between Portishead in North Somerset and Bristol has received another stage of approval.

North Somerset Council first submitted its application to restore the passenger line in November 2019 as part of the MetroWest Phase 1 project to link and upgrade the railway system in the Bristol area.

Portishead’s passenger station closed

in 1964 and was due to reopen in December 2024, before delays on a decision amid concerns over rising costs.

It still needs final approval from the Treasury, but campaigners are increasingly hopeful that preparation work can soon begin on stations and the line at Portishead and Pill, which will connect with Bristol Temple Meads station.

Meanwhile, Exeter’s £16m Marsh Barton railway station is set to open this spring after a seven-year delay.

Big road schemes

The long-awaited green light has been given to a major £460m upgrade of the A417 between Gloucester and Swindon, National Highways has announced.

Transport Minister Huw Merriman gave the approval to dual the road in November.

It is hoped it will improve the connection between two dual carriageway sections of the A417 at Brockworth and Cowley, and links between the M4 and M5. The A417/A419 provides an important route between Gloucester and Swindon that helps connect the Midlands and North to the South of England. It is an alternative to the M5/M4 route

via Bristol. Preparatory work can now begin with the view to construction starting in earnest later this year.

Things are not quite so simple with one of the West’s other longest road improvement sagas.

National Highways has awarded contracts worth around £1.3bn for upgrades of the A303, but the controversial scheme is far from a done deal.

The Government-owned organisation is looking to perform a £1.7bn upgrade of the road between Amesbury and Berwick Down, which could include a twomile-long tunnel under Stonehenge.

The planning application for the transformational scheme is still awaiting redetermination from Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, after a High Court ruling quashed predecessor Grant Shapps’ order to proceed with the plans in 2021. A legal challenge had been brought by campaigners concerned about the project’s potential impact on the World Heritage Site.

National Highways has said in the meantime, to ensure programme timescales are maintained, civil engineering firm Costain and consultancy Mott MacDonald have been awarded a £60m contract to provide technical and construction management services.

The past 12 months have seen big strides for the region’s transport infrastructure - but it’s not all been straightforward. Hannah Finch takes a look at some of the biggest projects in the pipeline and what’s coming for the year ahead.

A busy Bristol Airport, which still intends to increase its current capacity from 10 million to 12 million passengers a year

Plenty of new developments on the horizon

MAnY major property developments are coming down the pipeline to Bristol this year, with huge schemes across the city planned.

More than 2,500 new homes were built in the city last year, and thousands more are expected this year, as well as big commercial developments.

As well as new homes, new developments in Bristol this year include train stations, hotels, shops and offices. Elsewhere, buildings far past their best, like the Galleries shopping centre or the Grosvenor Hotel, will likely see major progress towards their replacement.

A giant regeneration project is expected to finally get under way this year around Temple Meads train station. This project received a £95-million boost from the government, and will see the area around the station redesigned, with much more planned east of the station, including a new university campus, student flats, hotels, offices and a secondary school.

A huge amount of work is due to take place this year on converting the Brabazon Hangars at Filton Airfield into a new arena, but the arena is not expected to open until 2025 or 2026. Just north of the arena, thousands of homes will also be built. YTL, the company which owns the arena, has permission for 3,700 homes and is trying to get permission for another 3,000.

Plans for a Bristol underground network could make some progress this year. The mass transit plans champi-

oned by Bristol mayor Marvin Rees would see four light rail lines built, costing billions of pounds. The next step, in the long journey to making these plans a reality, is consulting the public on various options for the plans.

But it is unclear when, or if, the West of England Combined Authority will launch this public consultation on Bristol’s mass transit system. That was initially due to happen in January last year, but has seen repeated delays.

And if Labour lose the next local elections in the city, in May 2024, it is also unclear if a new administration would carry on with Mr Rees’ underground.

Construction on the new Ashley Down train station should begin this year. Once opened, the station will run trains every half hour to Temple Meads and Filton Abbey Wood. The new train station will be built off Station Road, and work should be completed in 2024.

Another new train station is expected to open this spring. The Portway Park and Ride train station, in Shirehampton, will be the first new station to open in Bristol since Parson Street station opened in 1927. Trains will run half hourly along the Severn Beach line, running through the city. The station lies next to an existing park and ride, and has cost just over £4 million to build, with plans stretching back over a decade.

Bedminster will see thousands of new homes built over the next few years, with construction on some sites beginning or continuing in 2023. Two major regeneration areas have been earmarked, around Mead Street and Whitehouse Street. Per-

mission has already been given to redevelop the old Bart Spices warehouses on York Street and build 221 apartments there.

The battle to build 260 homes on Brislington Meadows will take 11 days, starting at the end of January. A public inquiry will hear an appeal from Homes England about their plans to build 260 homes on the south Bristol site, which local campaigners have fiercely fought. Council chiefs were initially in favour of development here, but then backtracked and have tried to stop it. But the decision on granting permission now depends on the public inquiry.

A huge eyesore near Temple Meads is likely to finally be demolished this year. Grosvenor Hotel, which has long been left derelict, could be knocked down as the council is ramping up pressure on the building’s owners to either make it safe or demolish it — particularly after a fire late last year. The council wants to redevelop the site but does not own it, at least not yet, as compulsory purchase orders take a long time to go through necessary legal procedures.

More details about a major redevelopment scheme at the Galleries shopping centre, in between Broadmead and Castle Park, are expected to be revealed early this year. Developers Deeley Freed previously said they would submit a planning application around the start of this year to knock down the shopping centre, and build 450 homes, offices, student flats, a hotel, shops and cafes. Construction work is due to start late next year.

Delayed arena

THE opening of Bristol’s arena has been delayed again but it will be even bigger when it does, its developers have announced.

The YTL Arena, which is being created from the conversion of the huge Brabazon Hangar at the old Filton Airfield, will not now open until late 2025 or early 2026.

But the capacity of the arena is to be increased from 17,000 to 19,000 by “improving the design”, the Malaysian firm added.

The YTL Arena was originally pencilled in for a 2024 opening, but that has since slipped and for the past year or so there had been no confirmed date for opening. Earlier this month the company blamed “delays resulting from the impact of Covid” and the general chal-

Cranes are evident on the skyline across Bristol, Alex Seabrook assesses what development is in the pipeline for the West’s biggest city in 2023

lenges in the construction market for the delays.

YTL Arena chief executive, Andrew Billingham, said preparation work had been done.

“We have been making good progress on the development of YTL Arena Bristol and are now entering the final stages of design and talking with major contractors,” he said. “Work has begun on key pieces of infrastructure required, including new road connections, establishing new power supplies and site preparation works.

“The train station at Brabazon is an important element and discussions continue on how this might be brought forward,” he added.

Mr Billingham added: “Given delays resulting from the impact of Covid and

Mayor blames years of Government cuts for delays in city’s planning process

BrISToL’S economy is being badly affected because the planning department at City Hall has ‘effectively ground to halt’, businesses and residents have been warned.

Businesses, charities and residents are complaining of experiencing at least four months of backlogs to even be assigned a planning officer at Bristol City Council.

The Mayor of Bristol has said the delays are due to the unseen consequences of more than a decade of Government cuts to local authority finances.

one well-known Bristol charity warned earlier this month that it would start losing £5,000 a month on a new shop that it was unable to open because a planning application for a new shopfront was still sitting in the in-tray at City Hall.

And it was only when the charity’s boss appealed directly to the Mayor to intervene in the matter that the planning permission was awarded the very same day.

Across the city, big developers, small businesses and ordinary residents are experiencing at least four months of delays in seeing their planning applications even begin the process of being decided.

The Mayor of Bristol has blamed 12 years of Whitehall cuts to local government budgets. He has also pointed to a long-standing suppression of the fees which people have to pay to submit an application – which in theory is supposed to pay for the running of the planning department.

A number of high-profile applications have already experienced lengthy delays, and some developers are giving up on waiting and are taking their applications to the Government planning inspector to appeal on the grounds of ‘non-determination’ – arguing that the council has failed to make a decision within the legal time limit.

the general challenges in the construction market, our estimated opening is now late 2025 to early 2026.

“YTL is totally committed to opening Bristol’s first major indoor music arena and entertainment complex. We have been improving our design and have created the opportunity to increase the maximum capacity of the arena from 17,000 to 19,000, with over 2,000 premium seats.

“We will have the region’s largest column-less exhibition and convention halls with 6,000 sq m of floor area, height clearance of 21 metres and banqueting capacity for 4,000 people, together with a flexible hub for entertainment, film, TV and music rehearsals,” he said.

“As both owner and operator of YTL Arena Bristol, our ambition has always

been to create a vibrant and unique mix of bars and lounges in our design which showcase the very best of Bristol. That is why we have been working with Bristolbased interior designers Studio B.”

Studio B is a Clifton-based design agency that won the job to design the arena and the spaces around it. Its founder, Kyle Clarke, said winning the contract was the “highlight of our year”.

“Since we received the instruction, we’ve been completely consumed with designing selected spaces within the arena to completely blow the customer experience through the roof,” he said.

“There isn’t another arena in the country that will come close. Huge hats off to the YTL Arena team for working with our relatively small, young, ambitious Bristol studio.”

Last month, the council’s largest emergency accommodation provider, Connolly & Callaghan (C&C) said after six months, it had given up waiting to have a planning officer assigned in order to start processing its application to turn a former nursing home in Bedminster into housing for up to 20 people.

As a result, C&C said that it was instead appealing to the Government to step in and decide instead.

In south Bristol, a firm of builders wanting to restore, refurbish and reopen a local pub, the Cross Hands, waited six months before finally being awarded planning permission, a delay which then badly affected their ability to get the project started.

And Ashton Gate’s Sporting Quarter plans were at City Hall for 18 months before it was finally given approval – setting the project back a couple of years, and impacting on the overall costs.

A computer generated image of how the

new

arena

could look when it is finished will be even bigger and better, insist its developers

Choppy waters for city’s famed dining-out scene

MANy restaurateurs could be forgiven for thinking what next? As if the Covid pandemic, rocketing wage inflation, Brexit-related staff shortages, spiralling rents, ingredient costs and energy bills weren’t enough, now their customers are being hit by a cost-of-living crisis that will potentially depress consumer confidence and hit spending on luxuries such as dining out.

Restaurants, pubs and bars in places from Bath to Bridgwater and from Brockworth to Blandford Forum face incredible challenges to survive and thrive in 2023.

Many face common issues and while the best operators usually find a way to emerge from tough economic times, we will undoubtedly lose some quality venues this year.

One key part of Bristol’s dining scene though is also being hit by the prolonged closure of the vital bridge used by a substantial part of its customer base to access the site.

Wapping Wharf has transformed Harbourside dining and drinking in the West’s biggest city since it opened in 2016.

Here we focus on how the independent businesses there are coping with the additional uncertainty surrounding the reopening of Gaol Ferry Bridge.

What started off as a pop-up back in 2016 behind the M Shed, Wapping

Wharf has become an integral part of Bristol, home to dozens of independent businesses housed snugly inside shipping container units Cargo 1 and 2.

It’s become a popular food destination, housing some of the most highly regarded restaurants in the city, including Tare, Gambas and Root. The shipping containers – which now enter their seventh year – were always intended to be a temporary structure, and were earmarked for a new 12-storey development back in June 2022, news that divided Cargo fans at the time.

In a tough economic climate, Wapping Wharf has the particular difficulty of dealing with the closure of Gaol Ferry Bridge on August 22, 2022.

More than five months later it is still unclear when it will reopen – with Bristol City Council refusing to give a firm reopening date due to the nature of the £1 million-plus restoration of the bridge.

Businesses reported a loss in footfall of 7,000 people per day when the footbridge first closed, with the alternative routes over Vauxhall Bridge and Bedminster Bridge adding around 20 minutes to journeys for those walking from South Bristol.

Speaking on the bridge closure, owner of Squeezed burger bar, Alex Hayle, said: “It’s definitely impacted us without a shadow of a doubt. The front door as we call it has diminished quite a lot and we’re only looking back over the last few years of trade.

“We’re doing quite well on delivery but definitely as it’s got colder and darker from November until now I imagine it won’t recover until into the spring. It’s been hard, there have been a lot of closures on Wapping Wharf.”

Mr Hayle said he was grateful for the support from the owners of Wapping Wharf and the customers willing to travel. “I wouldn’t expect people to travel an extra 20 minutes when it’s cold and raining,” he added.

The hospitality industry has taken a huge hit in the past few years, starting with forced closures during various lockdowns. Those businesses who survived the pandemic sub sequently faced a new challenge as the cost-ofliving crisis enveloped the UK.

As a result of spiralling costs, Wapping Wharf has had to say farewell to many longstanding members of its close-knit community, which has been alarming for other traders. The loss of Woky Ko marked the first business in a wave of food outlets to announce its closure in November – shutting both of its sites within a month of each other.

The news came as a huge shock to fans – the Bristol restaurant group had four sites and had only just reopened its

flagship site on Queens Road with sights set on a fifth restaurant in Birmingham. Founder Larkin Cen, pictured below, cited spiralling costs and the closure of the Gaol Ferry Bridge as contributing factors for the closure of three restaurants, including two in Wapping Wharf. Another alarming announcement was the Somerset-based Wild Beer brewery falling into administration at the end of 2022, plunging the fate of the Wapping Wharf taproom into doubt. Earlier this month parts of the brewery business were saved by Kent-based Curious Brewery.

In December, Wapping Wharf veterans Oliver’s called time on their ice cream shop and, most recently, Jigaraki closed its doors after more than two years at the site.

All these closures signpost new challenges for the hospitality industry with rising costs, wage increases and staffing issues. This paired with customers becoming more conscious of spending makes it difficult for many restaurants, pubs and bars to make a profit in this climate and in a period that is typically very quiet for hospitality.

Amid these closures, Cargo also saw a flurry of new arrivals in December 2022,

Bristol’s reputation for food and drink is known far beyond these shores, but as Louisa Streeting discovers, 2023 is going to be another challenging year for the hospitality sector

Independent businesses in Cargo 1 and 2 at Bristol’s Wapping Wharf have faced a turbulent period of closures –and new arrivals. Picture: Paul Gillis

which gives renewed hope for the area. Larkin Cen announced he would be opening a new restaurant concept in one of his old units in Cargo 1.

“I reflected back on when Cargo first opened and I always said that I wanted an everyday price point serving great food in a casual setting. I think this ethos is more relevant than ever,” he said.

Daily Noodles is an authentic Chinese noodle bar serving hot dishes and bao, harking back to what Woky Ko used to offer when it first opened. The restaurant was joined by Tare’s new food and wine bar, Picole, which moved into a rooftop site in Cargo 2.

East Bristol Bakery also took over the former Bakers & Co site, expanding from their original bakery in Easton. Herbivore, which is possibly the world’s smallest vegan deli, also set up shop in what was John Kelly 1880+ as the appetite for

Still no date to reopen bridge

Bristol

the council initially said the bridge project would take six to nine months to complete – implying a range of February 2023 to May 2023 for its target reopening.

go but that’s all part of the rich tapestry of Cargo. That’s part of its success that we give people a go and they can go off and do other things.”

Another major change looming over Wapping Wharf is the proposal to remove the shipping containers completely and make way for a permanent 12-storey building. Co-owner of the Bristol Cheesemonger, Jenny Smith, previously said that the shop and many others in Cargo welcomed the redevelopment if it meant more space for businesses to expand.

plant-based produce grows in Bristol and across the UK.

The developers that own Wapping Wharf have spoken out asking the public to continue to support the independent businesses despite the closure of Gaol Ferry Bridge. Umberslade, the owners of Cargo and other retail and property units in the neighbourhood, has said there is a list of prospective tenants waiting to move into the empty containers.

Director Stuart Hatton, has said it’s “business as usual” and the closures are “unrelated” to the footbridge. The familyrun business set up almost two decades ago has said that safeguarding the fiercely independent scene in Bristol remains at the core of the development.

He added: “They have left for perfectly good reasons and the others are fighting,” he said. “Cargo is all about starting up businesses. We’ve had people come and

The planned new development, Wapping Wharf North, is designed to build on the existing success and special character of the neighbourhood, home to some 1,000 residents already. The designs aim to create a “bold, innovative centrepiece” for Wapping Wharf, with new homes, shops, restaurants, takeaways and workspaces to complete this newly created community on Bristol’s Harbourside.

Forming this centrepiece will be a striking new landmark building with cascading plant-filled terraces fronting Museum Square and facing Bristol’s Harbourside. The top two floors will include a double-height rooftop restaurant with panoramic views of Bristol.

When the plans were revealed last year Mr Hatton said it “was always going to be a bit contentious” with the shipping containers having been such a great success.

in December a council spokesperson said: “We’ll be in a position to give a forecasted completion date once all high-risk elements of the bridge have been fully investigated and repaired or replaced.”

Earlier this month the council said that it had stripped out bridge decking and timber bearers; surveyed the steel structure of the bridge to determine its condition; designed the scope and extent of repairs; replaced steel stiffeners and bolts and gained approval from designers of the extent and nature of repairs.

However, substantial work remains to be done.

this includes the complete structural steel repairs; phased repainting of the bridge; installing a new decking system and removing the scaffolding that surrounds the bridge.

it also has to cover a section of the bridge with an environmental wrap to stop paint and other pollutants getting into the river for phased grit blasting to remove corrosion.

The Bristol Cheesemonger at Cargo Bristol,

❝ The front door as we call it has diminished quite a lot... It’s been hard, there have been a lot of closures on Wapping Wharf

City Council last month insisted that the £1 million project to repair Gaol Ferry Bridge was on schedule - but has refused to publish an actual target of when it will reopen, making it difficult for anyone else to verify progress.

The proposed new building at Wapping Wharf. Picture: Umberslade

OnBuy founder’s big expectations for firm’s future

TURNING from the sea view from the third-floor window of e-commerce firm OnBuy’s Bournemouth headquarters, founder and chief executive Cas Paton recalls a meeting he held with PayPal in the early stages of his company’s story.

“I sat in this meeting in Richmond, they asked us, ‘What are your sales?’ I said around £1m. They asked ‘Where do you want to be in a year?’ I think I said £5m. And then they asked ‘Where do you want to be the year after?’ And I said ‘Let’s go for £25m’ – and they laughed at me.”

Well, nobody is laughing anymore. In a short space of time OnBuy has scaled figurative heights that greatly exceed the four-storey base it moved into at the start of last year.

Set up in 2016, the firm is now the UK’s fourth largest online marketplace, home to more than 17,000 retailers, ranging from small independents to the likes of SportsDirect, Unilever, Proctor and Gamble, and stocks more than 40 million products.

The company’s meteoric growth hasn’t gone unnoticed. Last year, The Financial Times ranked it inside the top 350 of a list of the 1,000 fastest-growing companies in Europe, after the business reported a near 500% growth in revenue from £394,000 to £2.2m, between 2017 and 2020.

Financial services giant Deloitte also put OnBuy just outside the top 10 fastest- growing tech firms on these shores,

recording a 3,400% rise in revenue over the last four years.

Amid the gradual emergence from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, OnBuy recruited more than 80 new staff members, grew the number of sellers on its website by more than 50%, and secured £35m of investment during a Series A funding round.

Not bad going for a young business entering the same arena as one of the world’s largest companies, Amazon, a move Mr Paton tells me he had been warned against.

“I remember the first time I sat with a VC (venture capitalist) and said this is what I’m going to do. I think they thought I was a bit crazy, because this is the biggest company on earth.

“One VC said to me there were four companies that if I came in with a business that was going to conflict with them, they would not even talk to me. They were Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon.

“But they invited me anyway, because while that was their founding, agreed logic, they wanted to know how we grew this company from nothing to this, this quickly with no money. And when I say no money, I mean a very small amount of money versus the competition.

“We grew a £13m company with around £2.8m of investment, and then we grew a £152m company with probably £6m investment. That’s pretty significant when you talk about how fast the company is scaling relative to capital. How do you do that?”

Mr Paton tells me that a “big driver” of OnBuy’s growing clientbase of retailers is that, unlike Amazon, it is not a retailer itself, and therefore does not have what he calls “a conflict of interest”.

Born in Manchester, where OnBuy has a secondary office, the serial entrepreneur set up his first limited business aged 21 in Bournemouth where he moved to study.

After selling a web development company he founded, he then established a new e-commerce venture, helping SME clients to scale through online marketplaces.

Mr Paton said he began to notice his clients were quickly introduced to challenges after introducing new products onto “certain major marketplaces”.

He added: “We didn’t see this in 2010/11, not as aggressively as 2012/13, and it rapidly got even worse. We would introduce new products and low and behold the marketplace itself had then sourced that same or very similar product from their own distribution supply and they were pushing these British companies out of winning listings.

“When you used to type ‘pet food’, as an example, I used to look for pet food, my client’s product would come up. Then when you look for this pet food again, my client’s product has dropped down a space and there’s other pet food that’s made its way to the top, because that’s the one the marketplace is selling in competition with the retailer.”

Mr Paton told me that OnBuy was onboarding 20 retailers every day onto

its “fairer” platform, as it looks to capitalise on the 70% of the UK e-commerce product marketplace he calculates Amazon does not have. He added that he believed OnBuy could ultimately help give customers “more choice”.

For a company that is clearly going places, with plans to open an international office “on the horizon”, Mr Paton said it was “really important” for the tech firm to remain rooted in Dorset, where it began.

Mr Paton said he hoped OnBuy could act like a “magnet” drawing tech talent to area as it looks to cultivate a “Silicon Beach” in Bournemouth – like the Silicon Valley tech hub in San Francisco.

“There’s the long-standing companies in Bournemouth like Vitality, there are some big solicitors in the area, we became quite well known for that. But tech is really the next big wave. The market is crying out for more tech businesses, the UK tech scene is exploding with investment.

“We’ve got a long way to go, we’re so far relatively behind the US. For the UK to really dominate in the tech scene, it takes things like this to capture different people. Because not everybody wants to be in a city.

“We now have a strong pull bringing people out of London and surrounding areas.”

Research by trade body Tech South West has found the regional sector could be worth almost £20 billion by 2026 and create more than 125,000 new jobs over the next few years.

Andrew Arthur speaks to the chief executive of rapidly-growing Dorset company OnBuy, the UK’s fourth largest online marketplace

The study also found that despite the proportion of tech and engineering students across South West universities (11%) being above the UK average (7%), recruitment difficulties and salary inflation were contributing to high vacancy rates.

For OnBuy, which at the time of our interview was looking to add 100 more staff, Mr Paton said while finding the right talent was “harder than I thought it would be” he felt the buzz around the busi ness had only made recruitment “10% harder”.

Speaking on the broader recruitment struggles facing tech firms, Mr Paton said while Brexit had caused problems with overseas recruitment, the biggest impact had been caused by the “huge rush” in investment in the tech industry.

“During Covid, if you were an investor with a large sum of money in the bank and you needed to spread your investment across different asset classes, the past two years were not easy for you to decide where to put your money. There were a lot of concerns and challenges and the only market that was showing any signs of rapid growth was actually tech. That rush towards investing in tech created a huge need for more people in tech, and only a finite resource.

“Along with your Brexit challenges and Facebook saying they want to build a metaverse and all of these big tech plays towards Europe, it does create a challenge. And if you’re a start-up business having raised your first £500,0000 or £1m and you need a web developer to make that happen, you’re going to pay to get them. Subsequently supply and demand kicks in, salaries increase disproportionately and unsustainably.”

Mr Paton acknowledged that while the migration of customers to online shopping from the high street during the lockdowns had contributed to OnBuy’s growth, he cited research from IMRG (Interactive Media in Retail Group) that suggested that between December 2020 and September 2021 the number of online shoppers “halved”.

“That’s fascinating, because people in the investment and e-commerce worlds had this false belief in 2020 that Covid was a catalyst for e-commerce companies to scale and that traffic would not necessarily go back to the high street, as there was a misconception that it wouldn’t survive Covid.

“Actually what happened was a little bit the opposite. While some stores have really suffered, what you can see in the data is people were so captive that once the stores had opened again, people

wanted nothing more than to get out and go and buy something and interact in a retail environment.”

While there may be life in bricks and mortar yet, Mr Paton said OnBuy had yet to experience such a drop in volume of customers. As such the company’s growth ambitions continue, with Mr Paton saying OnBuy was looking to attain a ‘unicorn’ valuation of more than $1bn.

Rapid scale at the pace OnBuy is pursuing comes with its challenges though, which Mr Paton says “nobody understands, unless you’ve done it”.

“When you sit in front of an investor or before you even start a business, you think I will raise ‘x’ amount of money, hire some people and then away we go – it’s just not that simple. When you’ve got 14 people, and need to hire 90, the relative change, management structure, process, HR, officespace, bathrooms, communication, technology, the challenges across all these things are phenomenal.”

When asked if at the age of 38 Mr Paton could have believed he would have achieved so much in his career he responded his ambition was always for the company to be big, and “I knew I could”.

He added: “But it’s one thing, knowing it, seeing it on paper, planning it, talking about it, and there’s another thing actually doing it. When you’re ambitious you’ve got to be confident but there’s a big difference between being confident and over-confident.

“I always knew we could do it but of course, naturally, in the back of your mind you’re saying ‘I hope’. Who can you turn around to and ask ‘have you grown a £200m sales business in five years before?’”

Returning to the PayPal meeting – the one in which his sales targets were laughed at – Mr Paton admits he “pulled their leg a little bit” in order to get the opportunity to pitch to the payment solution he said the firm at that time needed in order to go to the next level.

Mr Paton said prior to the meeting, PayPal had asked what OnBuy’s sales were at that point, and he had told them it was around £1m a year, when it was actually around £600,000 – “a relatively small business”, he said.

“You could tell by their behaviour they knew that we had something. They were very supportive of what we were doing, they knew I was an ambitious young man who was saying ‘I’m going to do this’ and they’ve probably heard it all before. So they were probably a little bit like ‘well, if he only does half of that we will be happy, but if he thinks he can do £5m, do it.’

“And actually we did £10m and I think in the PayPal period it went £10m and then £84m, not £5m and £25m. It doesn’t take much for you to raise a few eyebrows and people to say ‘wow this company really has something here’. We’ve just done £160m with PayPal.”

OnBuy has secured a new partnership with payment tech firm Nuvei for 2023. Mr Paton said while 2022 had produced a series of “big wins” – including a 10% rise in seller numbers and 47% increase in customers – attention was now firmly fixed on the next 12 months.

The company has made a raft of senior hires – including former AO marketing director Cherie Cook and Dan Seamans, previously head of digital product delivery at Domino’s Pizza – to help oversee a “top-secret product roadmap”. Mr Paton says to expect “big things”.

The entrepreneur said it is this “validation in yourself” that helps during the scaling period, and he adds, the feeling of a target being hit was “addictive”.

“That’s when you realise you’re on to something and you want a new target and the business was never about personal finance, it was always about what we could achieve and grow.

“The ‘unicorn’ valuation and things investors resonate with, they’re good for attracting that kind of thing. But for us it’s about market share, retailers, how many customers can we get on board –are we building something that is good for the market? If we’re growing, then we are. That’s why it is so fascinating, and if we get anything like what we’re planning to get out of this year and next year, you’ll see OnBuy a hell of a lot more in all the right places.”

The founder and chief executive of online marketplace Onbuy, Cas Paton, pictured with his staff and inset below, is anticiapting a bright future after the business’ rapid growth since its establishment in 2016

❝ The market is crying out for more tech businesses, the UK tech scene is exploding with investment.

Farming looks set for another uncertain year

WHILE the fact that consumers doing their weekly shop at the supermarket face record levels of inflation makes plenty of headlines, less is said about the stark rise in input costs faced by farmers.

Figures published last week by Which? showed that the prices of basic groceries such as butter, milk and cheese went up 30% year-on-year at some supermarkets in December.

While overall food and drink inflation reached 15% in December across the eight major supermarkets, butters and spreads rose by an “astonishing” 29.4%, according to tracking by consumer group Which?

Milk was 26.3% more expensive than a year before, while cheese (22.3%), bakery items (19.5%), water (18.6%) and savoury pies, pastries and quiches (18.5%) also saw higher-than-average price increases.

Shoppers are within their rights to ask where those price rises are going, but it definitely is not into farmers’ pockets as profit.

For the war in Ukraine and sky-high energy bills impact farming businesses even more than domestic households.

And supermarkets conscious of the needs of customers facing a cost-of-living crisis are unlikely to pass on bigger margins to producers.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Retailers understand the pressure households are under and are doing everything they can to limit price rises on their products.

“Unfortunately, the war in Ukraine has pushed up the cost of many items including wheat, fertiliser and animal feed, as well as global energy prices, leading to higher prices for many staples.”

None of that will come as a surprise to producers in the West’s agricultural heartlands.

Cost increases look set to remain a “key concern” for farmers during 2023, according to a report published earlier this month, with businesses also being warned to brace for “difficult times”.

Spiralling prices for vital inputs such as animal feed, electricity, fertiliser and fuel have been the big issue in terms of farming economics in 2022, says the Andersons Outlook 2023

The annual publication, widely regarded as a comprehensive review of Britain’s agricultural industry, states that profits were “generally good” in 2021 as output recovered after the weatheraffected 2020 year and prices were firmaside from “notable exceptions” such as pigs and horticulture.

With Covid receding, many farm diversifications, especially in the tourism sector, had a “successful year”, it

adds. However, consultant Richard King from the Andersons Centre, which compiles the Outlook report, said that costs started to rise during 2021, but mostly only from the autumn - meaning their effect over the whole year was limited.

Providing an estimate for Total Income From Farming (TIFF) - which shows the aggregate profit from all UK farming and horticultural businesses for the calendar year - in 2022, and further estimates for 2023 and 2024, Mr King explained: “For 2022, the impact of the accelerated cost increases start to be seen. We predict profit will fall from its 2021 high, but ‘only’ by 15-20%. This is because of two main factors. Firstly, rising costs will be partly offset by rising income – driven by high prices in two of the biggest sectors – dairy and combinable crops.

“Secondly, the full effect of cost increases will not have been felt, even in 2022. Much fertiliser was purchased at low(er) prices in 2021; electricity prices only started to peak in the autumn; and many costs linked to general inflation levels in the economy (such as labour) take a while to catch up with the unexpected surge in price levels.”

Profits will also be affected by changes in subsidy support, he said. “In England, the Agricultural Transition sees the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) cut by a minimum of 20% in 2022 compared to 2020. Although the money is to be ‘recycled’ through other schemes, it is not clear it is

all going to be spent this year with the gradual rollout of the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS). Furthermore, whilst the farm support budget is guaranteed until 2024, it is fixed at current prices – with a high rate of inflation, the real term’s value drops quite quickly.”

Looking to 2023, Mr King believes the forecast is “sobering” as higher costs in some areas seem “baked in”, for the short term at least, with no signs that energy prices are going to fall quickly back to past levels whilst the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues.

“In other areas, such as the wage rates for seasonal workers, the 15% increase in 2022 is irreversible,” he added. “There will be inflationary pressure on many other inputs as individuals and businesses put up prices to try and keep up with inflation. Output prices in some sectors may also weaken. In the arable

The West’s agricultural sector faces a challenging 2023, with farms facing high input costs and uncertainty surrounding future subsidy arrangements, as Athwenna Irons discovers

sector, global markets will have had more time to adjust to the restrictions on Ukrainian exports (or, indeed, shipments may increase in volume). Demand, both globally and in the UK could decrease for some commodities if there is an economic downturn and consumer spending falters.”

The TIFF series began in 1973 - the same year as the founding of Andersons, then known as David Anderson and Co.

According to the Out look 2023 report, when looking back over the past 50 years, the best five years for profit were right at the beginning of the period –1973 to 1977 saw TIFF average at £9.4

Innovation village plan boosts morale

ONE potential giant boon for the West’s farming sector is last week’s unveiling of proposals for a £100 million initiative in Gloucestershire.

Plans for the UK’s first sustainable agricultural innovation village were launched last Friday. The £100m development being proposed by the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) would support farmers and landowners to develop solutions for food production, healthy land, biodiversity loss and heritage management.

The university wants to transform a 29-acre site at its Cirencester campus into a community of entrepreneurs, policymakers, practitioners and researchers. Proposals for the site include a research and innovation centre; livework residential units; business start-up and support spaces; and business and conferencing hospitality facilities.

According to the RAU, the initiative already has the support of the Department of International Trade (DIT), Gloucestershire County Council and GFirst LEP.

RAU vice-chancellor Professor Peter McCaffery said: “Our innovation village will turbo-charge SME agri-tech enterprise activity with a distinctively rural feel. We anticipate we’ll increase the RAU’s current contribution of £52m to the local and regional economy by half as much again over five years when the project is up and running.”

Dame Fiona Reynolds, chair of the RAU’s Governing Council, said: “As well as benefiting the Royal Agricultural University, as a global centre for the future of sustainable farming and food production, this will also benefit the people of Cirencester and other local communities. We’re determined that the innovation village will be green and beautiful and, importantly, led by the landscape which inspires us daily. It will reflect our core values as well as inspire intellectual, community, and collaborative working.”

Farmers across the West will be hoping planning and funding can be secured swiftly so that the region’s agricultural sector starts reaping its benefit.

billion (at 2021 prices). A further high point was between 1992 and 1996 where profits were £6.9 billion on average.

“Our forecast for 2023 currently sees UK farming profits dropping by up to a third. This puts them towards £3 billion in real terms – levels last seen in the difficult years around the turn of the millennium. Our, very tentative, forecasts for 2024 show some improvement based on reduced energy costs.”

Mr King concludes: “If our forecasts prove correct, after a run of quite profitable years, the UK farming sector faces more difficult times.”

Wiltshire beef farmer and National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette

Batters, inset, urged the government to step up efforts to support British farming in her New Year message.

She wrote: “Nobody could have predicted what we’ve witnessed in the past 12 months. From the war in Ukraine, which has created global turmoil and significantly disrupted food and energy supply chains, to our own political upheavals.

“On top of that we’ve had soaring input costs and the effects of climate change demonstrated by this year’s drought. The challenges faced by us all have been unprecedented.

“2022 has been an extraordinary year. I am hopeful that 2023 will be the year that the government gets serious about British food and farming and that the government delivers the policies and support needed for us to thrive domestically and around the world.”

The Country Land and Business

Association had a similar message, with senior public affairs manager Eleanor Wood calling for political stability in 2023 in her own New Year’s message.

She said: “After a tumultuous 12 months in politics, I don’t think anyone can blame me for hoping 2023 is quieter and we get back to ‘boring’ politics. Boring does have its merits, though, because it means the machinery of government is operating correctly and there are opportunities to improve things for our members. The stagnation of 2022 left many policy areas in limbo due to the lack of information on agricultural reform in England and a shake-up of the planning system in the Levelling Up Bill. The lack of clarity regarding the Environmental Land Management schemes has left many members frustrated and resulted in reduced uptake in the schemes because people don’t know what is involved in them.”

Dame Fiona Reynolds, chair of RAU

Next generation stars

AFOLDABLE electric motorbike and a robotics company that aims to eliminate bias are among the innovative South West businesses to scoop a share of £1.25 million in an entrepreneurial contest.

The eight companies from across the region, which are all founded by entrepreneurs under 30, have won a slice of funding from UK innovation agency Innovate UK as part of its annual Young Innovators competition.

The awards recognise young people with great business ideas who have the potential to become successful entrepreneurs and future leaders in innovation. The South West winners join a cohort of 94 young people aged between 18 and 30 with business ideas that could “change the world”.

Each will receive a £5,000 grant, oneon-one business coaching, and an allowance to cover living costs.

According to Innovate UK, of this year’s winners 46% are female; 39% are black, Asian or from another ethnic minority group; and 11% have identified as disabled.

Emily Nott, head of equality, diversity and inclusion programmes at Innovate UK, said: “With the financial uncertainty this year brings, it’s fantastic to see these

entrepreneurs starting businesses that will improve the world and boost innovation in the UK. We can’t wait to see what they will achieve next.”

Alasdair Aegerter, 28

The aerospace engineer from Bristol has created a hybrid aircraft - dubbed the ‘plane-o-copter’ - that can land anywhere. It can be used to transport goods more efficiently and to combat illegal logging, poaching and human trafficking.

Alberto Moron Hernandez, 25

Originally from Madrid and now living in Bristol, Alberto Hernandez has created Dellista, which develops privacypreserving machine learning algorithms. He hopes to fill a gap in the algorithm market by creating safer, languageinclusive anonymised data.

Claudia MacGregor, 27

The Cheltenham-based entrepreneur has created Soil Snack where users grow their own snacks. For example, the ‘chill

shake’ grows into flowers that can be picked and turned into a relaxing tea.

Elizabeth Chandler, 22

Elizabeth, from Exeter, has created the Good Robot Company which aims to help businesses detect and eliminate bias in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) systems, helping companies create better, more inclusive services.

Ethan Wilkin, 23

Filton-based Ethan is developing a foldable electric motorbike aimed at urban commuters without secure offstreet parking. His prototype, the Hornet, can fold down to the size of a large suitcase.

He said: “I grew up building devices and contraptions anywhere I could get away with so when I didn’t get into an Airbus aerospace engineering apprenticeship I was gutted. Instead, I studied product design at university where I found a new channel for my inventive energy in green and eco-friendly technologies.”

Biele,

28

The Bristol entrepreneur says he is “passionate” about creating technology that fights climate change. He is developing electronic sensors that convert light into electricity. The idea is it will be used by companies and scientists trying to develop new technologies that utilise light to help tackle major challenges such as climate change or the ageing population.

Samuel Graham, 29

Bristol-based Samuel has created Revolv - an on-the-go power solution for cyclists who plan and track routes via apps. The rim-mounted device harnesses wheel motion to fast-charge smartphones as you ride.

Waleed Lattouf, 22

Waleed, from Bath, is the creator of Flinke, a web-based platform that allows online businesses to optimise their supply chain. He hopes his platform will help the movement of goods around the world to be easier, faster, smarter and more sustainable.

Jake

Hannah Baker introduces us to some of the potential future stars of the West’s business community

Ethan Wilkin, inset, is developing a foldable electric motorbike