BQ North East Issue 27 by We Are UMi

www.bqlive.co.uk

ISSUE TWENTY SEVEN: AUTUMN 2014

ACCENT ON SUCCESS The North East dialect’s role in business growth FROM PUPIL TO BOSS Principal studied at college she now leads TWO BECOME ONE The girls’ schools that are better together BACK IN FASHION The woman leading the rag trade’s revival ISSUE TWENTY SEVEN: AUTUMN 2014: NORTH EAST EDITION

DRAM-ATIC CHALLENGE How the new Lakes Distillery is taking on Scotland at its own game

BUSINESS NEWS: COMMERCE: FASHION: INTERVIEWS: MOTORS: EVENTS

NORTH EAST EDITION

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About Investment for Growth The fund is available to SMEs in the North East of England who are planning to improve their business through investing in business growth projects. The fund will provide grants of up to 40% of the total project value, please check our eligibility checklist for further details. How can Investment for Growth help your business? It provides: • A direct route to financial assistance to help you improve and grow your business. • Access to an experienced business adviser, to support and guide you through the whole process. • Investment for projects which will result in the safeguarding or creating of jobs

Eligibility Checklist Who can apply? • Small and medium sized enterprises (SME) actively trading and based in the North East of England • Businesses that provide a business to business product or service

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WELCOME

BUSINESS QUARTER: AUTUMN 14: ISSUE TWENTY SEVEN Exciting things are going on in North East business. Two inspired women of County Durham are reviving the manufacturing of products they rightly believe should never have been conceded to overseas competition. Meet through us also a Teesside based head of European operations who won’t hear of any suggestion that British workers might be less efficient than their German counterpart. We’ve the opening of England’s largest whisky distillery, which aims to excel not only in that reinvigorated industry but also as a tousist attraction... and it’s strongly North East inspired. And we’ve a business park that, in truth, is more a North East new town of the 21st Century. Julie Price and her fellow directors at Peterlee believe the time is right to revive garment manufacturing, which employed more than 4,000 people in the North East till big retailers switched their mass ordering to the Far East and North Africa for cheapness, often at the expense of quality. The AMA Group is now delivering orders and its revived tailoring skills, reducing unemployment in some instances, are winning immense goodwill within the region, even if to Julie the Government seems less appreciative. At nearby Newton Aycliffe, Pamela Petty the managing director of Ebac, a long established and internationally recognised manufacturer of dehumidifiers and water chillers, is leading the re-introduction of washing machine production. You may have read about that in greater detail in an interview with Pamela published in an earlier BQ. Out west, The Lakes Distillery at Bassenthwaite is a coupling of Scottish and considerable North East expertise and initiative, in a £5m investment to create England’s biggest and most northerly distillery, one producing not only whisky but gin and vodka too. Chief participants include the Tyneside entrepreneur Nigel Mills, who’s board chairman, the celebrated Tyneside chef Terry Laybourne, and Alan Rutherford of Hexham, notable for his work over many years in Scottish distilleries. The Lakes Distillery’s opening follows closely that of another spirited

enterprise, the unrelated Durham Distillery making gin at Langley Park. Also in this issue we learn from an outstanding North East manufacturer, Mike Matthews, how the British worker compares with European siblings on the shopfloor. Mike who’ll shortly be passing down his North East Business Executive of the Year title after a 12 month reign, is the remarkable managing director of Japanese group Nifco UK, and operations officer of all Nifco’s European ventures in automotive plastics. He’s remarkable not only for £60m of Teesside turnover that he expects will be £100m by 2020, but also for having reached his exalted position as a former apprentice whose family couldn’t afford to send him to university. He’s outstanding proof that there’s no limit to how high an apprentice can ascend in industry, and this partly motivates him to urge other firms of our region to introduce apprenticeships in all aspects of business. This BQ also interviews Adrian Hill, a prime figure behind the stunning growth of Cobalt, the UK’s largest office park, on what he recalls was farmland while he was a youth in Whitley Bay. Coupled with the neighbouring Silverlink retail area, Cobalt begs to be considered as a 21st Century new town. And still on fine new business parks, we mark the 20 year presence in our region of Knight Frank, the world’s largest independent real estate business, recalling with Tim Evans how his chance remark about the appeal of a North East accent, as he set out to sell Doxford International Business Park at Sunderland, fetched in call centre investment galore. We hope you enjoy this edition. Brian Nicholls, Editor

CONTACTS ROOM501 LTD Christopher March Managing Director e: chris@room501.co.uk Bryan Hoare Director e: bryan@room501.co.uk EDITORIAL Brian Nicholls Editor e: b.g.nicholls@btinternet.com Andrew Mernin e: andrewm@room501.co.uk DESIGN & PRODUCTION room501 e: studio@room501.co.uk PHOTOGRAPHY KG Photography e: info@kgphotography.co.uk Chris Auld e: chris@chrisauldphotography.com SALES Heather Spacey Business Development Manager e: heather@room501.co.uk @Heather_BQ Rachael Laschke Business Development Manager e: rachael@room501.co.uk @Rachael_BQ or call 0191 426 6300

room501 Publishing Ltd, Spectrum 6, Spectrum Business Park, Seaham, SR7 7TT www.room501.co.uk room501 was formed from a partnership of directors who, combined, have many years of experience in contract publishing, print, marketing, sales and advertising and distribution. We are a passionate, dedicated company that strives to help you to meet your overall business needs and requirements. All contents copyright © 2014 room501 Ltd. All rights reserved. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, October 2014. room501 Publishing Ltd is part of BE Group, the UK’s market leading business improvement specialists. www.be-group.co.uk

BQ Magazine is published quarterly by room501 Ltd.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

CONTE BUSINESS QUARTER: AUTUMN 14 AN ACCENT ON SUCCESS

44 SHOOT FOR THE MOON

Features

Boss insists North workers are every bit as good as their European cousins

50 FROM PUPIL TO BOSS Judith Doyle is proud to lead the college she was once taught at

26 A GLASS OF ENGLISH The new Lakes Distillery is set to take on Scotland’s greatest export

32 ACCENT ON SUCCESS How the North East tongue played a vital role in business growth

38 LIVE DEBATE What can be done to nurture and support Teesside’s entrepreneurs?

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

64 TWO BECOME ONE The merger of two girls’ schools has created a stronger establishment

70 WHERE BUSINESS LIVES Cobalt has exceeded all expectations to become a true business community

86 BACK IN FASHION Garment manufacturing boss Julie Price on the rag trade’s unlikely comeback

32 SHOOT FOR THE MOON

TENTS NORTH EAST EDITION

53 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Behind the region’s biggest new deals

TWO INTO ONE MUST GO

76 MOTORING A travel business boss takes BMW’s futuristic looking i8 for a spin

Regulars

78 WINE A real ale lover forgoes his favourite tipple to pass judgment on two bottles

80 FASHION If you think wellies aren’t fashionable, you’ve never seen Le Chameau’s

06 ON THE RECORD From the drive for digital talent to the NECC’s priorities for the government

10 NEWS Who’s doing what, when, where and why here in the North East

24 AS I SEE IT The founder of Creative North on getting the best out of our young talent

84 EQUIPMENT

64 WE’RE BACK IN FASHION

How Panerai’s iconic wrist watches became – accidentally – super cool

96 BIT OF A CHAT With BQ’s backroom boy Frank Tock

98 EVENTS Key business events for your diary happening across the North East

86 BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

ON THE RECORD

AUTUMN 14

Creative and digital industries seek new talent, Sage buys big, Chamber sets out priorities for growth, unemployment falls, Virgin raises capital as Northern Rock Foundation is wound up, exports rise >> Job claims drop The number of people taking their boss to employment tribunal over unfair dismissal in the North East is down by 64% in a year since fees came in, the TUC reports. It believes the fall to 477 complainants shows many people are being priced out of justice, low-paid workers especially. Even minimum earners must now pay up to £1,200 to pursue an unfair dismissal claim in a tribunal if a member of their household has savings of £3,000. While the Government has allowed a remission scheme for low-paid employees, only one in four UK workers applying for financial backing to pursue an action have been granted help.

>> Wanted: digi-talent A campaign is under way to provide students with 200 creative apprenticeships with regional businesses. Creative North has been launched to highlight the contributions young enthusiasts can make to creative and digital industries in the North – and opportunities that can await them. The drive led by Rob Earnshaw, director of the Youth Training Academy in Gateshead, aims to provide the 200 openings by August 2015. “Ambassadors” backing the project include Dave Sharp (Digital Asylum), Kari Owers (OPR media agency), Andy Thompson (Bede Gaming), a software supplier to the online gambling and social gaming industries, Tristan Watson (Ignite100), Mike Owen (Violet Bick), the North East’s only dedicated brand consultancy; and Liz Lamb (La-Di-Da Magazine). As I See It: Page 24

>> Two big buys for Sage Sage Group, the FTSE-100’s only software business, is acquiring at a cost of

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

£96.9m the US-based provider of payroll and human resource services, PAI Group Inc (PayChoice). This move will boost Sage’s presence in the growing US payroll market. PayChoice has 260 staff in 16 offices across the US. It also speeds Sage’s move to the Cloud in this market. It is Sage’s second big buy this year. Earlier it acquired through its German subsidiary Exact Software Deutschland (“Exact Lohn”), the German payroll business of Exact Holding in a £12.87m cash deal. This increases payroll revenue in Germany to about £24m for the Newcastle supplier of software to small and medium businesses, and makes it one of Germany’s two leading players. The US buy comes as Stephen Kelly prepares

This move will boost Sage’s presence in the growing US payroll market to succeed Guy Berruyer on the latter’s retirement as group chief executive of the Newcastle group from 5 November. Kelly worked in Europe and the USA with listed software firms before serving as the Government’s chief operating officer. He worked closely with Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude to save taxpayers’ money by reforming procurement and hacking waste from civil service practices. He joins Sage on a basic £790,000 salary, enters the company’s annual bonus and performance share plan and will also receive a one-off award of £987,500, with a six year vesting period linked to company share performance. Berruyer takes a leaving package estimated at £6m when he retires in March.

>> New eco-adviser Chris Milne (above) has joined the North East Local Enterprise Partnership as chief economist. He was previously economic adviser at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in London. Originally from Hexham, he has recently been leading the evaluation of major government programmes including the Manufacturing Advisory Service, the Aerospace Technology Institute and the Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative.

>> Region’s needs list The North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has tabled priorities for a new government to address if our region is to deliver full potential after the 2015 General Election. These include better preparing young people for work, partly by guaranteeing a business governor in every school to increase business engagement in education and ensure every school leaver has undertaken a high-level of work experience. They also include bringing down business costs and taxes by freezing business rates for all companies until 2017, while delivering a full revaluation of premises. NECC is working within a British Chambers of Commerce business plan for Britain.

ON THE RECORD

AUTUMN 14

>> New EEF director EEF the manufacturers’ organisation, has appointed a new director to give North East manufacturers more support and a greater voice. Liz Mayes, who has spent half her life in the region, has joined from the CBI. Andy Tuscher, her predecessor, now focuses on Yorkshire and Humberside. The North East accounts for 5% of all UK manufacturing with £6.4bn of manufacturing output. The sector employs almost 125,000 people in the region.

Gillian Marshall

>> Stockton revives

>> Achievers

>> New bank Agent Mauricio Armellini (above), former chief economist of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, has succeeded Rosie Smith as Bank of England Agent in the region. He has also served with the Department of Work and Pensions and lectured at Durham University.

Gillian Marshall (above) is the new chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum, now based in Gateshead. She succeeds Nicola Short, having joined the Forum last year as a business development manager. She has previously held key roles with UKTI, Business Link North East, Business & Enterprise Group, and Barclays. Charlie Nettle, marketing head at the North East Chamber of Commerce, is the new chairman of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) in the North East of England, taking over from Joanna Berry. Hilary Florek has been appointed board chairman at the Port of Tyne after the recent death of her predecessor Sir Les Elton. She was PR and communications director for Vaux Group before launching HFPR media consultancy in Newcastle.

>> Many work, some don’t

>> Virgin flotation

Unemployment in the North East fell by 6,000 in the quarter to August and nearly 40,000 more people were in work than a year previously. But the 9.3% unemployment rate remains the highest in the UK, the Office for National Statistics confirms. Unemployment among women is estimated to have risen 11% and concern continues about unemployment among young people.

Virgin Money, the Newcastle-based bank part-owned by Sir Richard Branson, plans a stock exchange flotation to raise about £150m when markets stabilise. The Northern Rock Foundation, which has given more than £200m to hundreds of charities in the North East and Cumbria over 16 years, is to be wound up. The foundation was created in 1997 as a protection against

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

takeover when Northern Rock Building Society was demutualised. Virgin Money bought the “good” side of Northern Rock following its financial collapse. Virgin Money offered to go on contributing £1m if the trustees could raise £3m elsewhere. The trustees said it was not possible.

Stockton, where millions in public money is going into regeneration around its famous High Street, has had one of the fastest growing economies in the North East over the last year, bankers RBS say. Growth there of 3% plus is particularly benefiting business services, distribution and transport, says RBS economist Marcus Wright. Northumberland and Hartlepool were the other fastest growing areas.

>> Exports shine The total value of North East exports was up 2.32% in the past year – the highest of all English regions. Quarterly export figures released by HMRC for April to June show £3.102bn worth of goods, 9.66% up compared to the same time last year, with The Netherlands the region’s top customer.

>> Law and order Membership of Gateshead Business network now totals 850, and Ward Hadaway has been appointed its legal partner. The network, part of Gateshead Council’s business engagement strategy, supports SMEs and entrepreneurs with workshops, master classes and business breakfasts.

>> Virtual service A virtual receptionist service introduced at North Sands Business Centre in Sunderland diverts calls made to clients of other businesses to a central team of four at Simply66, who deal with them on their customer’s behalf. The service is particularly helping small businesses, sparing them the cost of employing someone themselves.

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NEWS

AUTUMN 14

Small businesses get share of £1bn fund, firm excels in export market, new centre will test viability of ‘wonder materials’, law firm helps rugby club become pitch perfect, Vantec execs meet on Wearside >> Banks woo SMEs with £1bn The North East and Yorkshire will share £110m from a £1bn Small Business Fund that RBS and NatWest have launched. It is open to new and existing customers keen to grow or diversify their business through fixed rate loans from £1,000 to £250,000. The banks say that with a base rate rise maybe “not too far off”, the fund will offer borrowing with certainty of fixed rate and repayments. RBS is also backing thousands of entrepreneurs and high growth businesses through a network of eight new business accelerator hubs offering free workspace, hands-on mentoring, a starters’ “bootcamp” and up to 18 months’ free advice, support and funding clinics. Les Matheson at RBS says: “As we work to regain trust in our bank we want our business customers to be confident that by doing business with us, they can realise their ambitions.” In H1 this year, gross new SME lending at RBS and NatWest was £5bn – up 31%. More good news for SMEs comes with the announcement that a fund to help new North East enterprises grow and develop has had a £1m boost and is being extended by a year. The North East Microloan Fund will continue to operate across the region until December 2015, and has around £2.5m to invest in new and existing small firms.

>> £26m deal for green firm BT has signed a £26m deal to take 100% of the green energy generated by a North East firm’s new solar farm. The output by Newcastle-based UK Sustainable Energy Ltd (UK-SE) from its solar farm near Ipswich will help power BT’s Adastral Park research campus for 20 years. The agreement, thought to be the UK’s biggest dedicated private scheme, will see Adastral Park in Suffolk, BT’s main research and development site, take 8MW of power from the farm equal in area to around 40 football pitches, and occupied by more than 32,500 solar panels.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Emerging talent: Jamie Martin (left), Ward Hadaway, presents the Emerging Talent award to David Lynch, of Lynch Healthcare, with presenter Alﬁe Joey (right)

>> Health and care triumph High growth businesses in health and care have brought their owners success in the Entrepreneurs’ Forum annual awards. Ian Watson, of Hadrian Healthcare, and David Lynch, of Lynch Healthcare, received the entrepreneurial and emerging talent awards respectively before a 300-strong audience at the Hilton in Gateshead. Sir John Hall received a lifetime achievement award. A record number of nominations was considered. Chairman Nigel Mills says: “Our awards are made to entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs. It’s a real achievement to be recognised by your peers.” Watson’s family business owns 10 luxury residential, nursing and dementia care homes for the elderly in the North East and Yorkshire. He, after an earlier career in banking, started a business in 1992, sold it, starting another healthcare business that he also sold, then re-established the Hadrian Healthcare brand in 2007. It now employs 700. Other contenders for his title included Andrew Esson (Quick Hydraulics), Dean Benson (Visualsoft), and Bryan Bunn (Nortech Solutions). Lynch Healthcare in Sunderland manufactures, supplies and installs disability products for moving and handling patients. Other finalists in the emerging talent award were Charlotte Prenelle (Pranella fashion accessories brand), and Martyn Young (First2Print, Sunderland). Funds were raised for the Great North East Air Ambulance, and a season of attractions now includes open events with Mark Williams “Mr LinkedIn” and Mark Shorrock, a developer of large-scale renewable energy projects, also a focus dinner with Geoff Turnbull, of GT Group, mentoring surgeries, a round table discussion on marketing and Fortune Favours the Brave annual conference on 20 November. www.entrepreneursforum.net

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NEWS

AUTUMN 14

Overseas coup: MD Doug Dooley of TRM with Harry Trueman, deputy leader of Sunderland City Council, and Nick Morton, a TRM director

>> Vote of confidence

>> Data refuge

Middleton Enterprises is further investing in Seaton Delaval cable management firm D-Line. In 2006, a year after D-Line was founded, Newcastle entrepreneur Jeremy Middleton made an initial investment. The firm now has a £3m turnover, a third of it export linked. The buyout of Helen McArdle’s stake follows a similar move in 2013 when Middleton Enterprises bought Northstar Ventures’ stake in a joint move with D-Line’s management.

Technology solutions firm ITPS of Gateshead is investing £2m in creating a data centre expected to bring 25 new jobs. A former IBM business continuity and recovery centre will provide the 33,000sq ft facility at Chester le Street, where up to 500 emergency workspaces will be available.

>> Flood fighters Flood alleviation specialist Seymour Civil Engineering will do much of the work arising from Northumbrian Water’s investment of £150m to safeguard vulnerable areas of the North East. An initial £1.75m will bolster 13 properties in Stamfordham Road, Newcastle. A similar £1.4m scheme will better protect 13 homes in Westerhope, also in Newcastle.

>> Export market is heating up for Wearside company A record 85% of business at Thermal Resources Management (TRM) this year has come through exports. The Sunderland manufacturer has had three big international projects: a metro system for New Delhi, and in Kuwait the world’s biggest university campus (1,285 acres) and the international airport there. TRM makes temperature measuring devices, industrial heating systems and fireproof wiring cable. Its thermocouple and trace heating equipment, unique in the UK, is used in petrochemical, oil and gas, aviation, electronics and automotive sectors. The business investment team of Sunderland City Council works with the group since its move to Washington. The firm led by managing director Doug Dooley has hired 10 more staff, taking the total to 90, and is recruiting further to build on its £8m turnover.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

>> Eutechnyx changes Computer and video games developer Eutechnyx, which recently cut 13 jobs, is restructuring. It entered into consultation with 19 staff but announced creation also of 25 new roles. It now has a partnership with Teesside University to help employ graduates. It is creating 25 places on its 3D showroom project ZeroLight.

>> Stadium grows Stadium Group has acquired United Wireless in an £8m electronic technologies deal. The AIM listed Hartlepool group is paying in cash and shares for the Warrington specialist in the design and manufacture of electronics for the machine-to-machine wireless sector.

>> Filtronic falters Mobile phone technology business Filtronic has shown a £3.7m pre-tax loss. The Leedsbased business had a £3.1m profit previously. Sales dropped £40m to £32.9m

>> Clearly successful Glazing Films & Blinds has marked its 10th year under present ownership winning Newcastle University’s Excellent Contractor award for firms with 5-50 employees. It is moving to bigger premises at Stanley, launching a new glazing service and recruiting more staff. Ken Brown took over the firm originally founded in 1988.

>> More flying Passenger figures at Newcastle International Airport, recently named best big airport by the consumer body Which? rose 1.4% in 2013 to 4.46m. Revenues were up 2.9% to £56.7m

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AUTUMN 14

>> Growing to Infiniti The North East’s biggest car group Vertu continues to grow with openings at Newcastle and North Tyneside, including the first Infiniti centre in the North East. It has also invested in a new multi-million pound dealership in a recently acquired leasehold site to sell new Alfa Romeos, Fiats and Jeeps. Now the Gateshead-based group’s Infiniti opening, developed on its former Honda site at Silverlink retail park, will be the 10th in Britain, covering Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Teesside. A Nissan seller in 50 countries, the Infiniti brand was launched in the USA in 1989. Currently manufactured there and in Japan, it will be built at Sunderland also from next year. Among other models, Infiniti Newcastle will sell the recently launched Q50, a sports saloon, and the QX70 SUV. Vertu outlets now total 110.

>> History repeats The Phileas Fogg snack making factory, home of the first new industry set up after Consett’s iron and steel works folded in 1980, is likely to be closed itself next year. KP Snacks, its consolidating parent, expects to shut down both there and at Corby, Northamptonshire, and will expand instead at Stanley and at Billingham. Consett’s workers make Hula-Hoops, Skips, the Phileas Fogg crisps and KP brands.

>> Tanker firm sold The Esh Winning energy services group Hargreaves Services has sold Imperial Tankers to Suttons Transport Group for £26.9m at the start of a new focus on core strengths. Hargreaves bought Imperial in 2007 for £6.3m.

>> Digger recovery Recovery in Europe’s construction industry has enabled Birtley’s excavator builder Komatsu UK to return to the black. The company now employing 388 people, has turned an operating loss of £14.1m into an operating profit of £4.4m this year.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Locum linking: Emma Ogueri of Worthy Locums and John King of NBSL

>> Pharmacy finder A Stockton recruitment service for locum pharmacists, Worthy Locums, is matching not only the locum pharmacists but also dispensers and delivery drivers to vacancies across the North. Its online diary helps pharmacies cut costs by resolving temporary staffing issues. It pairs locums with posted vacancies, so avoiding many calls to locums who may already be working. The diary has been partly funded by the North East Business Support Fund, delivered by NBSL.

>> Wonder works A £30m investment plan with a test centre for “wonder materials” is under way in the North East. The Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), foresees a multi-million pound investment in its NETPark, Sedgefield, operation within two years. This will include a £14m innovation centre enabling firms to test the commercial viability of products and processes based on graphene. Teesside will also have a £14.4m formulation innovation centre, to help firms commercially exploit complex formulated products used in household goods. CPI, which also has an operation in Darlington, has secured £7.4m from the state-backed Local Growth Fund to get things moving, with £7m more set to be raised through matchfunding from industry.

>> Advisors advance Business advisors Deloitte have taken revenues to £96m in the North East and Yorkshire – a 6.7% improvement. Martin Jenkins, regional practice senior partner, says growth is evident across all sectors. Nationally,

gross reported revenue rose 1.4% to £2.55bn. Turnover at EY professional services firm is 8.6% up to £1.868bn. The North East practice, with over 300 staff, is reported to be broadly in line with the rest of the UK.

>> Money flows through Accountants and business advisers Clive Owen & Co have now secured more than £110m of grant funding for clients. The firm, operating from Durham, Darlington and York, has seen demand for its expertise grow over three years with the launch of the national Regional Growth Fund and regional programmes such as Let’s Grow. More than 90% of its applications have succeeded, benefitting over 70 firms. Meanwhile, Newcastlebased regional funding firm NEL Fund Managers has passed the £10m mark in operating the Finance For Business North East Growth Fund. The figure comprises a mix of loan repayments, interest, profit shares and dividends.

Founders’ Club Strictly limited to the first 2975 applicants worldwide. This is a never to be repeated opportunity to be part of something unique and very, very special.

Own a part of whisky history

We are going to set aside the first 100 casks of The Lakes Malt produced at the Lakes Distillery and, each year, we will bottle the maturing whisky exclusively for Founders’ Club members. Each year for 10 years you will receive one 70cl bottle giving you a collectable set of the distillery's first ever production, all with limited edition labels. You will also receive two miniatures each year, offering the rare opportunity to taste the spirit as it develops over time into a wonderful, single malt whisky. Delivery of the first bottle will be in 2015. These casks will not be available to the general public only to Founders’ Club members who can enjoy a wide range of additional benefits for a life membership of £595. Become a Founders’ Club member and take your place in whisky history.

Founders’ club life membership

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Please go to lakesdistillery.com to sign up as a member or fill in this form and send it to us at the lakes distillery

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SEND TO: The Lakes Distillery Company Limited. The Lakes Distillery, Bassenthwaite Lake, Cumbria CA13 9SJ Tel: 01768 776916

NEWS

AUTUMN 14

Down to synthetic roots: (left to right) Duncan Edward, Falcons; Iona Sims, Sintons; Steven Rogers, Falcons and Alex Rayner, Sintons

>> Lawyers out to grass Law firm Sintons legally supported Newcastle Falcons as they became the North East’s first professional sports club – and only the second in the Aviva Premiership – to install a 3G synthetic pitch as their main surface. The artificial turf is ending the quagmire conditions often suffered on natural grass during matches in bad weather at Kingston Park. Gateshead Thunder rugby league side also benefit, having switched their games there now from Gateshead Stadium. Cumbrian artificial pitch specialists SIS Pitches did the job.

bought by stock exchange listed Consort Medical for £230m, and Harrow based Bristol Laboratories is opening an operation at Peterlee expected to create 300 jobs over five years. Dr Robert Hardy has built Aesica into one of Europe’s leading firms of its kind since forming it in 2004 with the management buyout of a BASF plant at Cramlington. Its turnover has soared from £25m in 2004 to close to £200m in 2013, making Aesica one of the UK’s fastest growing companies. The initial 130 staff has grown to a 1,300 strong workforce at six development and manufacturing sites in the UK, Germany and Italy, and with sales representation in North America, Japan and China. Aesica is poised for further expansion. Consort, based at Hemel Hempstead, is a specialist in inhalers. Bristol Laboratories, with a £78m turnover, is about to double in size through acquiring pharma plant previously owned by household cleaner makers Reckit Benckiser in Peterlee.

>> Zoe comes close >> Science upheld The Science City quarter will continue to develop in Newcastle despite the loss through funding cuts of the 20 strong Science City Company that was running it. The quarter’s partner organisations will put their own people in. The project has been 10 years in the making to date. Science City chairman Paul Walker says fewer “significant” projects will be considered, looking at urban technological advancements.

>> Ferries stepped up P&O Ferries is replacing its three departures a week with a daily sailing between Teesport and Zeebrugge from January. It is also increasing capacity on its Teesport - Europoort route to Rotterdam.

>> Six figure boost A 20% spurt in turnover and further staff recruitment is expected this year at Gateshead IT firm Advantex Network

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Solutions, following a six figure investment from the Finance for Business North East Angel Fund, managed by Rivers Capital Partners. Ward Hadaway law firm advised.

>> Public jobs scarcer Public sector job vacancies in the North East and Yorkshire are hard hit by the public spending cuts, reports Venn Group, a contracts staff provider. Vacancy levels fell 16% between Q1 and Q2 this year, largely through NHS budget restrictions. But “pockets” of buoyant hiring exist, especially in revenue and benefits, as local authorities use contractors to maintain service levels.

>> Shake-up for pharmas Two major developments – one a takeover, the other an inward investment – have occurred in the North East’s pharmaceutical sector during the past quarter. Tyneside based Aesica Pharmaceuticals is being

Two North East start-ups are enjoying national prominence after contesting the final of an Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year award. Zoe Farrington of REALsafe Technologies and David Carr of Frank & Bird, winners of a regional round, went on to compete for the national title at the MADE 2014 Festival in Sheffield, a weeklong event inspiring entrepreneurship and attracting around 3,000 delegates from all over the UK. Sage plc sponsored the event and the award, which was won by Lewis Bowen of Geco Industries, a Sheffield firm that has developed a bioethanol gel providing safer fuel for outdoor cooking and heating. Zoe Farrington, co-founder of REALsafe Technologies with business partner Andrew Richardson, came a close second. They have developed the smartphone app which alerts the ambulance service if a motorcyclist has an acccident. Dave Carr’s pub company, Frank and Bird, owns The Tannery in Hexham and Brandling Villa in Gosforth.

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

Business growth fund boosts local economy The £142.5m Finance for Business North East fund is the most successful of its type in the UK. Since its launch in 2010, it has boosted the fortunes of the local economy and given companies the financial firepower to grow their business. The figures make for impressive reading. Also known as the JEREMIE programme, the scheme has provided almost £110m of debt and equity funding to more than 650 SMEs across the North East, creating or safeguarding around 4,000 jobs. Managed by North East Finance, it is firmly on track to achieve the aim of supporting more than 900 businesses and creating or safeguarding 5,000 jobs by the end of next year. FFBNE is made up of seven funds which cater for businesses of all sizes, from fledgling start-ups to high-growth, medium-sized firms. It has already helped businesses operating in a wide variety of sectors, such as manufacturing, digital and creative, technology, chemical, pharmaceutical and renewable energy. Andrew Mitchell, chief executive of North East Finance, said: “FFBNE is designed to boost the growth of local companies and oil the wheels of the regional economy. It has provided a solution to many companies seeking to obtain alternative forms of finance. The programme has created jobs, fuelled business growth and kept the North East economic revival on track.” Beneficiaries of FFBNE include companies from County Durham, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. South Shields-based Tyneport Coatings received £170,000 from the Growth Fund to assist its expansion plans, while Newton Aycliffe coffee supplier Beanies The Flavour Co secured £300,000 from the same fund to develop its product portfolio. Dozens of other North East businesses have also benefited. Mr Mitchell said: “Venture capital is playing a major role in driving forward the economic

Andrew Mitchell, chief executive, North East Finance

recovery, which has started to gain momentum after a very challenging few years. It’s vital that all UK regions contribute to the growth of the national economy, which before the recession was too heavily reliant on the financial services sector in London and the South East. “The North East has a strong manufacturing, engineering and export base that has generated millions of pounds of work for the local supply chain and contributed to the powerful performance of the national economy.” After being battered by the recession, the UK is now one of Europe’s strongest-performing economies. The annual gross domestic product growth rate is hovering around the 3% mark, with further expansion predicted in the coming months. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

FFBNE has created jobs, fuelled business growth and kept the North East economic revival on track

forecasts growth of 3% this year and 2.7% in 2015, while the British Chambers of Commerce recently upgraded its estimate for next year, from 3.1% to 3.2%. Business investment schemes are helping to maintain this mood of optimism. Indeed, FFBNE has been backed by several leading business figures in the region. James Ramsbotham, chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce, said: “North East Finance has played a major role in helping our firms to access finance that many thought had dried up during the recession. This sort of investment is vital if we are to ensure that the region delivers more for UK Plc.” Ted Salmon, North East chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “FFBNE has made a huge impact on the region’s SMEs. It has been a beacon of hope for our most ambitious companies in our community. “The current fund will close at the end of 2015 and now the task for the LEPs and local politicians is to ensure that we maintain this momentum into the second half of the decade. I would strongly support a new JEREMIE programme.” Discussions to launch a similar investment fund in 2016 are ongoing and, although nothing has been finalised yet, there seems to be plenty of support for such an initiative. If a second fund could be brought to the North East, it would provide support for local businesses through to 2020 and beyond. In real terms, that would mean the creation of hundreds of jobs and the expansion of dozens of local businesses. That can only be good news for the North East economy.

For more information about FFBNE, call North East Finance on 0191 211 2300 or visit www.northeastfinance.org.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

NEWS

AUTUMN 14

>> Into Scotland SharePoint division of Tyneside firm Synergi IT is recruiting to expand into Scotland. The division was recently set up to focus on the Microsoft tool that integrates intranet, content management and document management. Recent versions have become more accessible to SMEs.

>> Water expertise pays Northumbrian Water has won a £22m contract to design, build, finance and run a new waste water treatment works in Gibraltar. A 20 year operation and maintenance phase will complement it.

>> Over the border Two quick acquisitions have been announced by Maxim Facilities Management of Sunderland. It has gained Glasgow based Ross Cleaning Services – a commercial cleaning and window cleaning contractor – months after buying the contract cleaning division of South Shields based Newlife Cleaning Systems (North) Ltd. Maxim, set up in 2010, now heads towards £5m turnover. It employs more than 500. Managing director Graham Conway says buying Ross adds Scottish local authorities and housing associations to its client list.

Meeting point: Martin Kendall, managing director of Vantec Europe, Sunderland (standing far right) with Vantec bosses worldwide, at their ﬁrst UK-based annual meeting in Washington Business Centre

>> Sunderland hosts Sunderland has hosted the first ever annual general meeting outside Japan for global logistics group Vantec Corporation. Executives from Japan, the USA, India, China, Mexico, Russia and the Netherlands attended. Vantec created 230 jobs opening its £22.5m European warehouse on Wearside in 2012.

>> US win for Kromek

>> Greater security

The Sedgefield radiation detection specialist Kromek has won a £700,000 contract to supply the US Defence Department.

Security firm Securus Group, operating in Newcastle, have acquired Security Centres following a funding deal with NatWest.

>> Clearing the way

>> Recruitment spreads

Able UK at Hartlepool has a contract to dredge the Humber in readiness for renewable energy industries.

Newcastle based Solutions Recruitment has marked its 30th year in business by opening a Middlesbrough office.

>> News makers Port of Tyne has been named Port of the Year in national transport awards. It has shown record growth and record cargo volumes for five years running, also the largest year-on-year growth of any other major UK port, to become the fastest growing of the UK’s top 30 ports. It has, in addition, received a gold award for its health and safety from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Newcastle Theatre Royal has been recognised as a top performing arts venue as reviewed by travellers on the world’s largest travel website, TripAdvisor. Its Excellence award for hospitality is only

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

given to venues that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews. Northstar Ventures of Newcastle is on a list of top 10 most active venture capitalists in the UK. It manages the £25m Finance for Business North East Accelerator Fund and the £15m Proof of Concept Fund. Patrick Parsons, the Newcastle multidisciplinary consulting engineers, is celebrating its 50th anniversary with offices now also in London, Birmingham, Glasgow, Huddersfield, Chester and Dubai. Managing director Peter Stienlet promises a major announcement, and another world first in water course

projects is expected soon. Nomad Digital and Aspire Technology, both Tyneside firms, have filled 66th and 72nd place respectively in the Tech Track 100 list of Britain’s fastest growing tech companies. Berghaus has won three of the 2014 OutDoor Industry Awards, for its Hyper Smock 2.0 waterproof and HyperTherm Race Smock, while a new collection of shirts and legwear (ECO Wovens) was recognised for high ecological and sustainable qualities. The design team behind the Hyper Smock 2.0 received a gold award, the highest level presented.

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

Hay & Kilner: ‘an outstanding regional business’ Regional heavyweight Hay & Kilner has once again featured strongly in independently researched guide to the legal profession, The Legal 500; a clear mark of the quality and breadth of service offered to the firm’s growing portfolio of regional and national clients. The leading Newcastle based firm is regarded in the highest terms for its work in a large number of fields, including corporate & commercial, commercial property, banking & finance, insolvency, employment, dispute resolution, private client and rural. The ‘excellent’ Martin Soloman, Hay & Kilner’s senior partner, who leads the firm’s dispute resolution services, is highly regarded by clients for his work in commercial dispute resolution, construction, intellectual property, IT and telecoms. He is named as a leading individual in this year’s Legal 500 guide. He commented: “We are delighted that our excellence in so many different practice areas has been recognised by the Legal 500. Our reputation and success is down to our people and the exceptional level of service we deliver. We put our clients at the heart of everything we do and provide a tailored and personal service, which has helped us win new clients and retain our many loyal clients over the years. ” Singled out as ‘outstanding’, Hay & Kilner’s corporate and commercial team has gained a number of new clients and continues to provide support to its long standing client base of regional and national businesses. Leading lawyers, Mark Adams and Jonathan Waters are both recommended. The commercial property team at Hay & Kilner continues to excel representing clients such as Persimmon Homes, Anvil Homes and The Longhirst Group. Partner Nicola Tiffen gives ‘well-thoughtthrough and clearly communicated advice’. Both Nicola and Richard Freeman-Wallace are recommended. Hay & Kilner’s Banking & Finance team ‘offers a professional and prompt service delivered with

Martin Soloman, Senior Partner at Hay & Kilner

Our reputation and success is down to our people and the exceptional level of service we deliver a personal touch’. Department head Phil Broadhurst is experienced in advising on consumer credit law, mortgage law and FCA regulation, and is ‘a great team player whose advice and guidance is provided in a professional, timely and above all friendly manner’. Named as a leading individual, Neil Harrold, who heads the insolvency practice at Hay & Kilner, is ‘proactive’ and has ‘significant practical experience’. Valued for its ‘quick’ responses and ‘businessfocused, jargon-free advice’, the employment team has performed strongly over the last

12 months. Partner Sarah Hall is ‘extremely knowledgeable and experienced’ and, in common with department head Neil Dwyer and associate Sarah Furness, takes a ‘practical approach’. The team recently launched a new training service available to all clients. HR Showcase offers a range of different training styles including seminars with interactive scenario based role plays, covering all HR related topics. Hay & Kilner has long been regarded in the highest terms for their private client department. Kirstin Cook leads the ‘prompt, knowledgeable and approachable’ team which is active across the full range of private client matters including wills, trusts, estate administration and tax planning. Hay & Kilner’s family department, led by ‘extremely experienced’ partner Nicola Matthews, has a strong presence in all areas of family law work. The rural team at Hay & Kilner, led by recommended partner Alison Hall, has considerable expertise in this sector. The team represent a number of clients on a range of matters encapsulating estate planning, property and dispute resolution. Hay & Kilner continues to grow, consistently attracting high calibre solicitors. During the past year, the firm has strengthened its specialist construction and engineering offering with the appointment of solicitor Jan Rzedzian as they add to their considerable expertise in the construction sector.

For further information on Hay & Kilner, please contact Mike O’Beirne Call: 0191 232 8345 Email: mike.obeirne@hay-kilner.co.uk Visit: www.hay-kilner.co.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

LEGAL BRIEF

AUTUMN 14

in association with

PRIVATE EQUITY WHY? WHY NOT?

In the first of a regular series of articles, Martin Hulls, head of corporate law at Ward Hadaway, looks at private equity – its uses and abuses Over the years the private equity industry has come in for some high level political criticism and even satire by the likes of Terry Pratchett in his book Postal Services – but back in the real world of the North East what’s been happening and why? Just this year we have seen the investment by NorthEdge into Ramsdens Financial and the sale of Aesica Pharmaceuticals which, until a few years ago, was supported by Lloyds Development Capital but, at the time of the sale this year, had Silverfleet Capital as its investor. Last year saw a raft of private equity investments in the area: Lloyds Development Capital’s investment in Express Engineering, the then ISIS Private Equity’s investment in Nigel Frank to add to their earlier investment in Onyx and NorthEdge’s first investment in the region in Fine Industries. If we look back further, there was a whole raft of successful companies in the region that

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

were supported by 3i – Pride Valley Foods, Dataform and Bede Scientific to name a few. So why all this interest, what’s in it for private equity firms, what’s in it for the company and their owners? The answer is of course obvious – money and profit. But how it all works can be a bit of a mystery if you haven’t been involved before. What private equity investors are looking for are generally fairly well established businesses that have exciting prospects to grow and develop. They make their money by normally investing their cash in companies via a mixture of shares and debt. The debt – like any form of debt – has a rate of interest return on it (quite high, as the debt is effectively unsecured) but the exciting element is their return on their investment in shares. That return obviously crystallises when they sell those shares, either as happened initially at Aesica a few years ago by way of a sale to another private equity fund,

or as happened this year at the same company by way of a sale to a trade buyer. So logically, over and above the actual quality of the business and its management, one of the key issues for a private equity investor considering an investment is how easily and to whom that stake could be sold over the years following the investment. This exit strategy needs to be carefully considered when thinking about going down the private equity route of funding. What, then, about the companies and their shareholders – why do they deal with private equity investors, particularly bearing in mind most companies won’t be used to the level of external influence a private equity fund will require to protect its investment? There are several reasons. For starters, a company’s plans for growth are just not supportable by the company’s own financial resources or borrowings from a bank. Of particular interest to shareholders in a company is that a private equity investment can often allow those existing shareholders to realise some of their locked-up value in the company at the same time as providing the company with the necessary funds to expand and develop. So what’s the opportunity for the North East? The ability to tap into significant amounts of capital to aid growth and potentially de-risk shareholders’ personal wealth. Are there any downsides? Of course, as we all know you don’t get “owt for nowt” – you will have to give up an element of control in your business but, remember, private equity backers don’t want to run your business – they want you to do that – but they will want the right to make sure they are happy with any major decisions. As a final thought, if you are thinking of exploring private equity or, indeed, have already started talking to a PE fund, go and talk to others that have already been down that route – their insight could prove invaluable. n *For further information on the issues raised by this article, please contact Martin Hulls at martin.hulls@wardhadaway.com or on 0191 204 4215.

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

Funding support is just the tonic for Durham gin maker A North East distillery is drinking to success, after funding support from NBSL helped get trading off to a flying start Durham Distillery, the first legal distillery in Durham since the days of Henry VIII, has enjoyed a strong start to trading with their first product Durham Gin since starting up in January 2014, and already plan to launch a new product Durham Vodka shortly. The company, based in Langley Park, was supported with a marketing project, receiving funding from the North East Business Support Fund (NEBSF) to help towards the cost of creating a strong brand identity to take the product to market. The distinctive brand image has already helped the company break into stores including Fenwick, Majestic and a number of independent stores across the region. The alcohol is also on sale in bars at Seaham Hall and Jesmond Dene House, among others. The business, which was set up by former NHS executive Jon Chadwick, is selling between 700 and 900 bottles of gin each month, both through its ecommerce website, retailers and bars. Products are handmade by Jessica Tomlinson, the company’s distiller, who at 26 is the youngest female distiller in the country. Mr Chadwick said the success of the business to date had – in no small part – been down to the recognizable brand created with the support of NBSL, the organisation that administers the NEBSF. He said: “I was really aware when I set up the company that we needed a distinctive brand that would stand out. Essentially, we are selling a clear liquid in a bottle, so I knew I needed something colourful and attractive in order to compete with international brands. “Working with NBSL, we were able to access support to cover the costs of the brand development, and to create labels for our bottles that really do look fantastic. And I cannot speak highly enough of the support we received. “The team at NBSL were so supportive, and the process of accessing funding was simple and straightforward. I would recommend any business – young or old – to tap into the help available to

l-r, Jessica Tomlinson, Durham Gin Distiller, Jon Chadwick, MD of Durham Gin and Lynne Burns, NBSL

them. We’re lucky that there are some really good people in the North East working in the business support sector, and during start up, it is so helpful to have that assistance available.” Lynne Burns, North East Business Support Adviser at NBSL, said: “Durham Distillery is a really exciting company, and the success they have seen – I am sure – is only just the beginning. “We are delighted to have been able to support Jon with funding that has helped to create such an impactful brand, and one that I am sure will only strengthen with the addition of Durham Vodka.” The company worked with Wonderstuff, based in Gosforth, to develop its brand. Wonderstuff are one of 900 suppliers signed up to NBSL’s supplier register, eligible to work on part-funded projects. By accessing NEBSF, companies can access funding of up to 40 per cent on a project worth as much as £3,500. Customers can use the funding for most types of external expertise that will help their business to grow - from marketing and web design to financial or human resources planning.

The North East Business Support Fund project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2007 to 2013. The Department for Communities and Local Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme, which is one of the funds established by the European Commission to help local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support local businesses and create jobs. For more information visit www.gov.uk/browse/business/funding-debt/ european-regional-development-funding.

For more information about the North East Business Support Fund, call 01670 813322, visit www.nbsl.org.uk or follow NBSL on Twitter at @nbsl_info.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

AUTUMN 14

North East business leaders pledge support to tackle NEETs Four ground-breaking new initiatives, developed to reduce the number of local young people not in employment, education and training, were recently launched by business, community and education leaders. Four ground-breaking new initiatives, developed to reduce the number of local young people not in employment, education and training, were recently launched by business, community and education leaders. The projects, all focussed around skills, employment and enterprise were announced at the Asian Business Connexions (ABC) Curry Club at The Beacon on Westgate Road. ABC, Newcastle College and hundreds of local businesses have all played a part in developing the projects after forming an innovative collaboration, which combines the ideas and knowledge of local education providers and employers. The partnership is the culmination of two years’ worth of research and development, led by Ammar Mirza CBE and will help to transform the local labour market. Mr Mirza talked about the initiatives, which include the Primary Inspiration in Education (PIE) project, Wellbeing and Business Bootcamp, the Nandwich and the Brilliant Beacon. All of the projects are based around enterprise and have been designed to inspire young people to think about their future careers with the support of local employers, such as McDonald’s, Northumbrian Water, Barclays, AmmarM (UK) Limited and Reeds Rains. Also speaking at the event, Hexham MP, Guy Opperman, Paul Woolston, Chair of the North East LEP and Carole Kitching, Principal of Newcastle College spoke about the challenges the region faces to support young people into employment and increase skills. They also welcomed the collaboration between business and education as a fantastic step forward in tackling these challenges. Carole Kitching, Principal of Newcastle College, said: “Newcastle College is proud to be a part of this fantastic project. It is imperative that we find innovative ways to inspire disengaged young

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Ammar Mirza CBE

people and give them the skills and confidence that will not only prepare them for work, but will help them to make a valuable contribution to society. Business and Education working together can really make a difference. THE PIE PROJECT (PRIMARY INSPIRATION IN EDUCATION) The PIE project (Primary Inspiration in Education), whose President is Business Leader Bill Midgley, sets out to address national issues of youth unemployment by developing new and innovative measures to ensure that young people are challenged, inspired and guided into the world of work and given access to established business communities, practical work and business

experience and live business scenarios. The aim of the project is to inspire young people to look at business, careers and work as a positive step in their lives. Newcastle College is supporting the project and has designed and will deliver 10 weeks of sector specific enterprise activity involving learners from the regions primary schools, college teaching staff and volunteers from local employers of all sizes. The project, which is due to start before the end of the year, will focus on a specific industry sector each week and will involve a range of bespoke, hands on and practical activities to engage learners in business and enterprise and the working environment. To enrich the pupil experience further, a team

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

Ahmed Khan, Ammar Mirza CBE, Carole Kitching, Guy Opperman, Paul Woolston, Rhianne Dixon

of student advisors will also support the event to offer informal and impartial advice and guidance on careers, jobs in the region, employment trends and qualifications using cutting edge Career Coach software. All events will offer a fun, engaging, educational experience with a focussed purpose of inspiring and developing young people in the region.

as Mc Donaldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, Northumbrian Water, Barclays, Reeds Reins and AmmarM (UK) Limited. The programme features a range of different activities focussed on developing the individual. These include managing money and budgeting, personal appearance, business awareness, social media and being internet savvy and interview techniques and skills.

THE WELL BEING AND BUSINESS BOOT CAMP The boot camp is a two week intensive course aimed at 16-24 year olds looking to develop skills and knowledge both personally and professionally. Delivered in partnership with Newcastle College, the course will be run every month and will include work experience, traineeships, further training, apprenticeships and employment. Activities will be run in association with industry experts such

THE NANDWICH Asian Business Connexions (ABC) Curry Club entrepreneurs, Ammar Mirza and Ahmed Khan have been working with students from Newcastle College to develop their Nanman fast food concept. Budding chefs from the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lifestyle Academy have been applying their Research and Design (R&D) skills to produce the Nandwich, a naan bread based sandwich.

Newcastle College is proud to be a part of this fantastic project. It is imperative that we find innovative ways to inspire disengaged young people and give them the skills and confidence that will not only prepare them for work, but will help them to make a valuable contribution to society. Business and Education working together can really make a difference.

The students worked to a brief that called upon them to examine the supply chain, production and shelf-life, of the product before presenting a pitch to the entrepreneurs. THE BRILLIANT BEACON The Brilliant Beacon is an enterprise and training hub and Launchpad for business. ABC has been working with The Beacon to offer a wide range of business start-up and growth support services. From funding to finding staff, training to transformational change, an enterprise centred approach has been developed and will be delivered in collaboration with partners.

Rob Kleiser Director Newcastle College Lifestyle Academy 0191 200 4603 rob.kleiser@ncl-coll.ac.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

AS I SEE IT

AUTUMN 14

TIME TO CAPTURE OUR DIGI-TALENT Rob Earnshaw tells why businesses, schools and organisations must come together and get our best young talent into the region’s creative and digital sectors The key to a thriving sector is having great, forward thinking businesses, providing products and services for a growing market – and having talented people to help them operate and grow. So, when you look at the creative and digital sectors in the North of England, one would expect the future to look bright, given the companies and individuals based here. To some extent you’d be right. We have some near incredible firms delivering world leading developments in the creative and digital world: be it gaming, publishing, communications, technology development or design, we have it all, here in the North. At the same time, the talent emerging through our schools, colleges and universities is also of a standard which suggests the industry is in safe hands for years to come. But what happens when these young people finish their studies? The natural step would be to find a position within one of these organisations and start to build a career, here in the North. Sadly, that’s not the reality. Instead, there’s a serious disconnect, which is creating a skills exodus and draining the region of much of this talent. Businesses and opportunities here on their doorstep are being overlooked or are simply not known about, and our creative and digital talent leaves the region in search of work in areas such as London, or even abroad. Also, when you look from the outside in, young talent emerging outside the region is equally unaware of the great opportunities

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open to them here in the North. So we don’t have skills immigration in these sectors to balance the aforementioned talent migration. Obviously, it’s unrealistic to expect every young person in the North of England whose talents and ambitions lie in creative and digital careers to remain here; as great a place as we know this is to live and work in. Likewise, not everyone outside the region will want to come here for their careers. But we must do something about this disconnect between businesses and young people, so we can keep and attract more talent. First, businesses must be more visible to young people. They need to show the great work they’re doing, to enthuse the workforce of the future and raise awareness of the careers people can enjoy here. Second, they need to create and promote opportunities for people to build a career in the North. As director of the Youth Training Academy in Gateshead, I have seen this problem many times and have talked with many bosses who agree action is vital. There’s a strong consensus that North of England can be a world-leading hub for these industries. Opportunity for this to be realised must not be missed. Hence my Creative North campaign now up and running – to engage with these business people, to encourage and support them in championing their businesses, the industry and the region, primarily through the creation of

apprenticeships that will help young people secure a career start here in the North. The Creative North campaign has a number of key objectives. These include bringing 500 creative and digital businesses, schools and organisations, on board to support our efforts, and getting 150 of those organisations to engage with schools and training programmes within the next 12 months. Most importantly, we want to support the creation of 200 apprenticeships for local young people – and 100 more for individuals from outside of the region, all with Northern employers. We’ve also started signing up Creative Champions, business leaders who’ll give voice to these aims and ambitions. The first group includes leaders in communications, gaming software, brand consultancy and publishing. We want, and need, more such people to come on board and not only to be ambassadors for Creative North, but also to create visible and sustainable apprenticeships and opportunities, to give the sector the boost it needs to achieve its potential. If the promise within the sector is realised, so too will be the potential of those within it, and those who are yet to take their first steps in their careers. Let’s make it happen. n Rob Earnshaw is founder of the Creative North campaign and director of the Youth Training Academy. More details on www.creative-north.co.uk

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AS I SEE IT

Businesses must be more visible to young people. They must show the great work theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re doing, to enthuse the workforce of the future and raise awareness of careers people can enjoy here

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People are searching for something different and maybe better. They may be drinking slightly less whisky and beer but are prepared to pay more for it

AUTUMN 14

ENTREPRENEUR

Increasingly we’ll have to decide, on calling for a scotch, whether we want Scottish scotch or English scotch. Brian Nicholls meets Paul Currie, who’s launching the new Cumbrian distillery with a distinctly North East flavour

DO YOU FANCY A GLASS OF ENGLISH? Whatever else the new Lakes Distillery becomes it will not follow Lancelot “Lanty” Slee’s example. This 19thC farmer and quarryman, “a stiff, fresh faced” and of “great endurance” (history tells us) was of Irish descent and, living in Lakeland’s Little Langdale, he supplemented his day job’s income by distilling hooch, moonshine – whatever you’d call it – then transporting the illicit whisky by pack horse to be sold for 10s a gallon, enabling him to bring smuggled tobacco on return. He was several times convicted but had among his clientele an ameliorating local magistrate, and his stills and stocks, so well concealed, remained the bane of excisemen. Even a £150 fine didn’t stop Lanty setting up new stills. There have been no nudge-nudge, wink visits by magistrates to England’s newest and most northerly distillery beside Bassenthwaite lake, nor need there be. Managing director Paul Currie is officially launching this month a legitimate £5m investment aspiring, by the end of 2015 to be into 20 international markets, and a year later to be turning over £3m-£4m. It will also be a major new tourist attraction, one of six English distilleries existing or coming up – and one with strong North East participation, its registered office in Newcastle, its bottling operation at Eaglescliffe. Board chairman is Nigel Mills the Tyneside multi-millionaire and chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum. Alan Rutherford, from Hexham, was formerly a production

director for Diageo running all its Scottish distilleries, and has led renovation of The Lakes Distillery buildings. And the brasserie there will be run by the celebrated North East chef Terry Laybourne MBE. Master distiller Chris Anderson, ex-Dewars and born on Islay, has produced whisky over four decades. Mills and his board has raised £3.7m in EIS funding from 76 high net worth individuals, the largest single fund raising for EIS by an independent company in the UK this year, exemplifying how the Government’s EIS money raiser can be an alternative to banks. Laybourne of course operates the Newcastlebased 21 Hospitality Group, and was the first chef to bring a Michelin Star to the North East in 1992, an accolade he and his 21 Queen Street restaurant held for nine years, before he switched to developing bistro-style venues. Around 15m tourists a year visit the Lake District, about 80% of them day trippers, of whom almost a third visit nearby Keswick. “It’s a huge amount of visitors to tap into,” says Currie. “In Scotland, 8% of visitors go to a distillery. If we get 8% we’ll do all right. We’ve amazing buildings here and the setting is great. It’ll be a real wow.” He doesn’t exaggerate. The distillery, with its silent spirits, forest of gleaming silver pipes, burnished copper stills – two for whisky, one for gin and vodka – in what was the barn, also has its bistro, a visitor centre for tasting parties, guided tours, and a shop. There’s also an audio show of a helicopter flight down

the Derwent from 3,209ft high Scafell Pike to Workington and 3D holograms of an old and notorious illicit distiller. Who could that possibly be? A conference and function room has already been booked for a wedding next spring, and can be reached by North East businesses taking a short helicopter hop to nearby Armathwaite. There’s even a bus stop outside connecting regularly with Keswick if you can’t trust yourself to drive afterwards. The visitor centre will feature now on shopping tours, and is convenient for Higham Hall, the popular study centre. So while primarily a whisky, gin and vodka production centre to serve the world, tourism will play a big part too, with hopefully 50,000 visitors a year. “You need a lot of cash upfront to ensure you can lay down stock which has to be kept for up to 15 years,” Currie explains. “So you need other sides of the businesses, like tourism, gin and vodka, to get you that.” But for sure The Lakes Distillery will be significant in reviving an English whisky industry, which thrived in Liverpool, Bristol and London until the late 19thC and finally disappeared with a final distillation of a single malt in 2003. Today whisky is being distilled once more in Norfolk, Suffolk, the Cotswolds, Cornwall and on two fronts in London. The Lakes, though, will be England’s biggest centre, Currie confidently predicts. “Our capacity is 1m bottles a year in whisky, with similar capacity also for gin and vodka.” >>

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ENTREPRENEUR So even though researchers have suggested in The Grocer that vodka through younger drinkers may overtake whisky as Britain’s favourite spirit within two years, The Lakes will meet either preference. Its initial whisky already on sale at £29.95, The One, is the first totally British blend, sourced in England, Wales, and both sides of the Irish border. “Irish whisky tends to be smooth because it’s distilled three times, whereas Scotch whisky has fantastic character,” Currie explains. “The two together contribute to a great blend.” A winning one too. Since its launch at the Taste Cumbria food festival last year The One, in bottles of Finnishstyle finesse, has received a silver award as one of the best blended whiskies In the blue riband International Wine & Spirit Competition drawing tens of thousands of entries. That’s been the icing on the liquid cake. “Response has also been great from whisky critics, from consumers and bloggers,” Currie adds. It’s selling already not only in the UK online and off, but also in France, Belgium, Netherlands and the UAE, and will be sold in Finland and Denmark shortly, with Spain and the USA to follow. At home, it has been listed nationally by Majestic Wine and is joining the racks of Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason and Booths. A big lift is expected towards Christmas following last year’s trade surprise that Marks and Spencer’s branded Fine Single Malt English Whisky (from Norfolk) outsold its new Scottish Single Malt by two to one, both costing £35. Currie, however, with a foot in both camps, denies intention at Lakeland to war with Scottish producers. While Norfolk until now has been England’s pacemaker in England’s five year old revival of whisky, The Lakes Distillery will produce about 250,000 litres of alcohol a year. The smallest competition in England is nearer 10,000 or 20,000 and the biggest in Scotland 12m. “So we’re big by English standards but pretty small by Scottish standards,” Currie points out. Barley used comes from Yorkshire. “Scotch whisky is worth more than £4bn – 85% of Scotland’s food and drink sales,” he elaborates. “In fact 25% of UK food and drink sales are in whisky. That’s how important it is. Major companies have huge marketing spends

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we could never compete with. But there’s market growth at the premium end, whereas it’s reasonably flat or dropping at the volume end of spirits. “Also, the internet has made a big difference. Twenty years ago trying to start a whisky and get it known was very hard with no internet to tell your story. Now whisky bloggers, writers and enthusiasts exist in their thousands. Even a small business like this can communicate with them.” It cannot have delighted Scots distillers that a Tasmanian whisky, Sullivan’s, was recently

adjudged the world’s best. But it indicates the global growth of whisky making now evident, with distilleries thriving in Taiwan, India, Australia, France and Sweden. “I have a bottle of Sullivan’s here,” says Currie. “It’s excellent.” So Currie sees an ongoing Scotch industry thriving as being much to Lakeland’s benefit. “We want whisky to keep growing worldwide then we can be part of that growing market. We’re proud to be different though, this side of the border. The One is a British whisky, while our Lake malt will be very much marketed as an English whisky.” >>

‘Join the club’ To stimulate a widespread community of loyalty, The Lakes Distillery is creating two clubs: The Connoisseurs: enabling 60 members to own their own rare cask of The Lakes Malt. Each Spanish made cask of sherrywood will contain around 100 bottles-plus equivalent, with members there on that historic three years and a day on to make the whisky themselves, fill their own cask and see it stored. It will be two years after that before the malt whisky can be generally sold. Membership costs £12,000, which includes the unique signature cask, exclusive annual events, accommodation at the nearby 4-star Trout Hotel, delivery, all duty and VAT. It’s estimated if kept, the cask will appreciate to £20,000-plus eventually. Companies and families have been buying in, aware that they can bring friends, contacts, clients or valued staff to an annual tasting ceremony. Memberships are being snapped up. The Founders: the first ever 100 casks of malt whisky will be produced exclusively for members of this group. Yearly for 10 years, they’ll receive one 70cl bottle plus two tasting miniatures of the maturing malt, making up a collectible set of the distillery’s first ever production, all with unique, limited edition labels. Membership at £595 could give a value of £1,400-plus over the decade if investment is preferred to fortification, with the first bottle delivered next year. That opportunity is expected to be sold out before Christmas.

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A “very positive response” is reported among Scots over the border, and a spokesman for the Scottish industry agrees there’s room for other nations. “But we’ll beat competition,” he adds defiantly. Currie says that, as with craft beers, people are searching for something different and maybe better. “They may be drinking slightly less whisky and beer but are prepared to pay more for it.” The skill and mystique of distilling has long swirled around Currie. His father Harold headed a global whisky business. The instant he showed Paul inside a distillery at the age of six, he was enraptured by the sight of the copper stills. His first sip of Scotch (“very small”) came at 11, and he was committed by his late teens with no sign today of being worse for wear. In 1995, father and son, in family enterprise, set up the Isle of Arran Distillers, Scotland’s first new independent whisky distillery for around 80 years. With Paul as managing director, award wins, and sales have grown across Europe, Asia and North America. On holiday at the Lakes with his three teenage children five years ago Paul was struck by the likeness to Scotland and whisky country: perfect scenery for publicity overseas and ideal natural conditions for the time-tested transmogrification. Now, at 49, he’s making whisky in England too. The distillery and visitor centre stands against a background of Skiddaw, England’s fourth tallest and often snowcapped mountain. Another side of the building looks onto Bassenthwaite lake. Water used from

the Derwent river 150 metres away is similar to that blessing Scotland. Currie explains: “The Derwent comes down from Sprinkling Tarn, high in the fells, through peaty foothills, ensuring the water is lightly peated. Damp conditions here help too. When you’re maturing whisky, you don’t want it too hot because it will evaporate.” Turbidity of the water – basically its clarity – is ideal. On a scale of zero (perfect) to 100 (not good) Derwent’s water came out at 0.6 – “amazing”. And the reasonably damp, moist, cool atmosphere minimises “the Angels’ share” – evaporation in the cask – in Scotland perhaps 2% loss, against 5% loss in warmer climes of Norfolk. At The Lakes it will be about 2%. The buildings chosen for conversion were once a model farm of the 1850s, Low Barkhouse, beautiful once but abandoned and looking dangerously neglected for over 20 years. However, introducing “industry” within a national park took around four years of navigation through planning regulations, and another year for planning the project itself. Up to 60 workers at a time have since been bringing about transformation. With up to 40 distillery specific jobs being created, plus a likely input from tourism, the Lakes economy is benefiting already. Curious callers have included relatives of former occupiers of the farm, and a man from South Shields who’d worked there as a young wartime evacuee. He shed a tear of joy on seeing the farm’s rescue. n www.lakesdistillery.com

Both sides now Another new spirit of the region, Durham gin, is being produced at a distillery recently opened by Jon Chadwick, an NHS chief who at 46 took redundancy after 12 years to set up and run the business from a converted industrial building at Langley Park. Bottled at 40% abv, Durham Gin was launched at £25 per 700ml bottle aiming to get drinkers away from binge drinking, which costs the NHS about £1.7bn a year, and onto drinking less but drinking better. Durham Gin contains 10 botanicals, including juniper berries imported from Italy, pink peppercorns, cardamom, celery and coriander, blended by distiller David Wilkinson. The company, backed by the North East Business Support Fund through NBSL, has joined the Scottish Craft Distillers Association. www.durhamdistillery.co.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 14

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INSIGHT

ACCENT ON SUCCESS

Tim Evans assesses the North East’s changing face over 20 years and gives a property expert’s view on prospects now

Tim Evans is the Welshman who’s made the big wide world appreciate the North East of England accent as a thing of beauty. His work in the region over two decades in commercial property has also helped ensure the North East gets global consideration by inward investors. He it was, with Mark Swallow (now managing director of the Newcastle property group Hanro) who planted the Knight Frank flag in Newcastle. That has given the North East presence among 335 offices (in 52 countries of six continents) – the total making Knight Frank, together with its US partner Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, the world’s biggest privately owned real estate operator. Evans had hardly set to work here 20 years ago when a BBC interviewer asked him on screen about filling Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland, one of his earliest challenges. “I gave lots of facts about Doxford’s North East advantages,” he recalls. “Low cost employment. Quality buildings. Then I said people were attracted to our region for call centres because of our accent. People like it, trust it.” That local interview through newspapers went across the nation and overseas. Call centres, where voice is all important, sprang up in Doxford. “Only about 10% of what I said was about the accent but that’s what caught the headlines,” Evans marvels. “People today still

say that about our accent. They mention the interview to me.” Knight Frank has since made big contributions also to the region’s visual transformation on its Tyne, Wear and Tees waterfronts, working with the development corporations of their time. It has found occupiers for other Enterprise Zone business parks besides Doxford, such as Quorum and Cobalt on Tyneside. Knight Frank’s North East opening two decades ago gave it close to 30 offices in the UK, which has grown to more than 70, with Newcastle one of its largest regional businesses. Three employees have become 74, including 11 partners, all led by Evans as proprietary partner, and covering deals and consultancy across all commercial property assets. And how the region has progressed in that time. Initially it was development corporations – Teesside and Tyne & Wear – replacing expanses of idle properties and lifeless land with developments far-sighted in concept and standing the test of time, as Evans describes. “Who’ll forget Margaret Thatcher standing on industrial wasteland of Teesside? Today that’s the thriving Teesdale Business Park. Other investments included Hartlepool Marina and the Tees barrage. More than 12,000 jobs were created, also infrastructure and more besides. “On Tyne and Wear, the flagship developments

were East Quayside in Newcastle, Royal Quays in North Tyneside and St Peter’s area of Sunderland. Jobs were created there too. Improvements in infrastructure included the launch of the Metro rail system. All this boosted the region’s property sector, and in city centres today development transforming our region continues, despite recent recession. >>

Who’ll forget Margaret Thatcher standing on industrial wasteland of Teesside? Today that’s the thriving Teesdale Business Park

Not grim up north: Evans believes lifestyles in the region are among the best the UK has to offer

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INSIGHT

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“Development along the river banks have included St Peter’s in Sunderland, and in Newcastle the Newcastle Business Park, the Copthorne hotel, and St Peter’s Basin which became a large housing development. Without the opening up of river banks 20 years ago I doubt we’d be seeing the level of regeneration there is now on Gateshead Quays.” He notes too in Newcastle the city’s uplifted historic Grainger Town, Discovery Quarter and Stephenson Quarter initiatives – “bringing people back into the city centre to live, and improving the fabric of the city centre, where the third highest number of Grade A listed buildings outside London and Bath sit.” He concludes: “Those initiatives continue to change our skyline. Sunderland has its superb university campus. Newcastle has similar landmark universities, and the St James Boulevard landscape of hotels, offices and high-rise student accommodation, plus a new business quarter off Gallowgate. “And there are other great developments like Wynyard, NETPark, Durham Gate at Spennymoor, and Walkergate in Durham City.” Even when the regional development agency One North East closed, Evans notes, its

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industrial portfolio was transferred safely to UK Land Estates. “And it has implemented an impressive asset management programme for its star land holding, Team Valley.” He says the regional economy is “moving in the right direction” – making the North East a better place in which to do business, employ and be employed.

He believes the North East has one of the most competitive offers and one of the best lifestyles in the UK. The one weakness, insufficient self-belief in the region, is now being addressed, helped by a “50 Great Reasons to do business in the North East” campaign by the North East Chamber of Commerce. n

Evans’s wish-list for inward investment What advances would improve the North East’s attraction to inward investors, in Evans’s view? • A national conference centre at Gateshead. “A hotel infrastructure to support even the biggest conferences already exists,” he suggests. • The A1 dualled throughout Northumberland – “critical, that”. • Closer working relations between the North East and Aberdeen, “given the common bond existing through the offshore industry.” • Regular scheduled flights to and from New York. “The current gateway service to America that Aer Lingus provides from the North East via Ireland is brilliantly easy. But a direct service too would be good.” • Recognition by those in power at Westminster that commercial buildings ready and available do deliver jobs. “A 100,000sq ft office building can deliver up to 1,400 new jobs. We need more industrial buildings too.” • Better speed and comfort on rail services between the North East and the North West, and revival of lines that can feed into the Metro to ease commuting for workers in Washington, County Durham and South East Northumberland.

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An interconnected North is the key to economic success Recent months have seen an increase in focus on the economic prosperity of the North and the potential to become a dynamic counterweight, complementing the thriving London and South-east economy. In August the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg announced the ‘Northern Futures’ consultation which seeks to build on the North’s strength with an economic core at its heart. Prior to this in June, the Chancellor launched his ‘One North’ report and committed to investing £15b in the Northern transport infrastructure. Critical to the success of the North’s economic prosperity will be the interrelationships between the private sector and the LEPs as well as efficient transport links. If the private sector doesn’t lead the way with the requirements for the northern transport infrastructure, the right decisions will not be made. Improved logistics, including better use of our rail network and waterways was a key feature in the ‘One North’ report. PD Ports was acknowledged in the report as the leading developer of portcentric logistics. PD Ports’ Teesport facility on the NorthEast coast has the potential to further attract logistics activity to sites with efficient low cost transport networks. Portcentric logistics creates an efficient green link to enhance companies international supply chains. Bringing goods direct to port located importation or distribution centres eliminates unnecessary road miles routing goods inland only to reroute them back out to their final destination. In recent years there has been a significant step change in this approach to logistics supply chains and PD Ports has been at the forefront of this shift. Switching for port located sites or those in the peripheral hinterland, has taken cost out of the supply chain in terms of saved road miles and has also met the challenge of CSR obligations with a significant reduction in carbon emissions. One of the key factors in PD Ports’ success is collaboration, as Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports’ Business Development Director, explains: “Portcentric logistics is not a new concept nor is the idea of

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Geoff Lippitt, PD Ports’ Business Development Director port based distribution centres. There are clear reasons and clearer evidence why a portcentric logistics solution suits many modern businesses. And having helped some of the UK’s leading retailers, importers and exporters to simplify their freight, warehousing and distribution and minimise logistics costs, we believe the facts speak for themselves. “Our approach is simple. We work in partnership with our customers to identify their logistics needs and develop the right solution that will continue to adapt as their needs change. This doesn’t necessarily mean being located directly at the port and by working collaboratively with development agencies as well as local land owners we can find the right solution within the local hinterland. “Moving the goods from port located distribution centres to their final destination on the already heavily congested UK road network is becoming less viable. Supply chains are under increasing pressure to move goods through the network faster and more efficiently. And for that we have a unique solution. “Being the best connected feeder port in the UK, Teesport is well placed to offer importers and

exporters a direct route to Europe and worldwide. Our daily feeder connections from Felixstowe to Teesport enable customers to move their goods North of the UK, avoiding the road network and reducing unnecessary costs. We have also just announced an investment of over £3M in a new intermodal rail terminal at Teesport. “The construction of a new, open access rail terminal by PD Ports commenced in July and once complete will welcome intermodal rail connections from Teesport to Felixstowe and Southampton. Opportunities for the establishment of further new routes to Scotland, the Midlands and the North West are expected in line with market demand. “Both ‘One North’ and the ‘Northern Futures’ consultation emphasise the critical importance of transport and infrastructure as being key to the economic prosperity of the North. Our aim is to work closely with our existing and potential customers; as well as the local LEP, development agencies and land owners to stimulate business investment and opportunity whilst further strengthening the overall image of the North.” In November PD Ports’ Group Chief Executive Officer, David Robinson will attend the Northern Futures Summit in Leeds. The summit, convened by Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, will offer business leaders, local government, policy leaders and academics, the opportunity to share their views on the ‘Northern Futures’ consultation and how it can help to strengthen the North’s economic prosperity.

Geoff Lippitt, Business Development Director 01642 877000 geoff.lippitt@pdports.co.uk www.pdports.co.uk

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HELP IS AT HAND The issue: What makes Teesside a successful place to nurture entrepreneurs and what more needs to be done to support them? After introductions around the table, the debate began with a focus on infrastructure. David Shawcross spoke positively about Teesside’s “tremendous” port facilities and a rail network with the potential to be “reopened to what it once was”. But he added that the lack of a flight from the area to London is “appalling”. He said: “We have to have the capability to get to London quickly. Without it we are isolating ourselves.” Alastair Waite agreed; describing the situation as “a nightmare”. But Max Freer shared her insight as a close partner of Durham Tees Valley Airport – reassuring delegates that plans remain in place to develop the facility as a business hub. Then Valda Goodfellow reminded London-reliant entrepreneurs of what she sees as an unsung hero of Teesside transport: Grand Central’s rail link which cuts through Teesside on its route to the capital. It was agreed by most that there are clear areas for improvement to Teesside’s infrastructure. However, it was also highlighted that the infrastructure created by Teesside’s mass employers of years gone by gave the region an advantage as an entrepreneurial breeding ground today. Talk then turned to the attitudes on Teesside that might help

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or hinder its start-up success rate. Jo Hand explained the importance of a strong work ethic in establishing and growing a business, such as her own flourishing recruitment firm. “That’s what propelled me in life,” she said. “My parents always taught me you could be anything you wanted to be if you just worked for it. Whatever you put in you get out. That’s been my recipe for success.” Sue Smith, a relative newcomer to Teesside, having taken up her current post in January last year, said: “When I arrived on Teesside I had heard about a lack of entrepreneurship, but that is not what I’ve seen and we’ve got some fantastic things happening at the university. “There’s a huge emphasis on trying to solve social problems and a commitment to the community through business. And that work ethic and resilience is something I see oodles of. I had heard about a lack of ambition but that’s not what I’ve seen. Clearly Teesside is relatively small and concentrated but I think we can exploit that as an asset.” Valda Goodfellow: “We haven’t got to get work ethic among employees mixed up with the work ethic needed to be an entrepreneur because they are two very different things. You need great work ethic for people that

TAKING PART Sue Smith, assistant dean (business engagement), Teesside University Hayley Lumby, owner, SE Decorators Ammar Mirza, managing director, AmmarM Ltd Alastair Waite, founder director, Altrelli Limited David Shawcross, partner, Anderson Barrowcliff LLP Hugh McGouran, chief executive, Tees Valley Community Foundation Sally Waterston, director, Waterstons Ltd Vinay Bedi, executive director, UBS David Scordino, director, UBS Jamie Brown, partner, commercial property department, Endeavour Partnership Jo Hand, founder, Jo Hand Recruitment Valda Goodfellow, co-owner, Goodfellow & Goodfellow (G&G) Ltd Norman Peterson, CEO and co-founder, Growth Capital Ventures Max Freer, founding partner, We Do Marketing In the chair: Caroline Theobald Venue: Wynyard Hall www.wynyardhall.co.uk Also attending: Andrew Mernin (Room 501) reporting. Kevin Gibson (KG Photography). Heather Spacey and Rachael Laschke (Room 501, facilitating). BQ is highly regarded as a leading independent commentator on business issues, many of which have a bearing on the current and future success of the region’s business economy. BQ Live is a series of informative debates designed to further contribute to the success and prosperity of our regional economy through the debate, discussion and feedback of a range of key business topics and issues.

you’re going to employ. But I’m not sure you can turn anybody into an entrepreneur if they’re not meant to be an entrepreneur. It is hard and some people should not be in business and it is wrong and even dangerous for them to be in business.” Jamie Brown: “It’s like that horrendous TV show X Factor which can make anybody a star. People pin their hopes and dreams on becoming a pop star and likewise, the reality is not everybody can be an entrepreneur and run their own business. And if everybody did, who is going to form the workforce at what is the backbone of our economy, the small to medium-sized firms?” Max Freer suggested that the notion of work ethic today had changed dramatically from previous incarnations.

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She said: “I mentor up-and-coming digital businesses and what you find, particularly with the digital generation, is that people are really technically minded, but they are often insular to that and don’t really understand the traditional sense of work ethic. We are from the generation which had a pecking order, you went in at a level and we had a hierarchy to climb up. It was a physical work ethic and you would be at work at a certain time every day. Members of the digital generation tend to become entrepreneurial at home and often don’t need to even speak to people, so the world is a very different place now. You can’t compare these people operating in the digital world versus someone who is perhaps in a physical job like manufacturing because the dynamics are completely different. “That digital entrepreneur could still be working 24/7 to grow their business, but it’s a work ethic that we don’t relate to because our generation is different.” Sally Waterston: “We don’t have fixed hours or fixed holidays and we employ a lot of young people. They have that work ethic it’s just they don’t expect to work nine to five every day. We measure them on what they do, not on the hours they are there.” Max Freer: “Running a business is about strategically what you want to achieve and does it matter, with technology, where you are as long as the objectives of the business are achieved? I think the older generation struggles with that.” Aside from work ethic, another influencer on business success is a willingness to take risks, said Alastair Waite. He also highlighted the importance of attention to detail. “One of the best definitions I’ve heard of an entrepreneur is somebody who is prepared to risk everything in pursuit of a business goal or objective,” he said. “Some of the companies I talk to are just not prepared to do that.” He added: “Some people need to be protected from themselves. We’ve worked with really technically gifted people with good ideas. But when you ask them to prepare things like who their customers are, their business plan and their rough financials, they can’t do it.” Jo Hand: “Personally I’ve taken great risks over the years, but they were always calculated because I know what I do and how to do it. >>

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And in terms of numbers, I know how much I’m making by the hour every day.” A lack of awareness of such entrepreneurial traits as knowing numbers and taking risks is clearly an issue which needs addressing on Teesside. But Norman Peterson suggested a deeper problem may be holding would-be entrepreneurs back in the region. “If you have an entrepreneur with a good idea to bring forward, you can often see that as they are with their current team they aren’t really investable. But if you could put a team around them and they were prepared to let your team come in, you’ve got a good chance of them raising the capital to get them on the journey. “But if they’re not open to that, and they can’t get the money from the bank, then they’re really just stuck with a really neat idea that has been proven and works, but without the capital to get it going. We’re finding it really tough to get them to accept that.” Vinay Bedi: “I’ve always found there’s an attitude issue in the North East and particularly on Teesside in getting people to realise that it’s not just about starting a business it’s also about growing your business by accepting capital from elsewhere and taking a smaller piece of the pie.” Norman Peterson: “Ten years ago you could raise a big amount of capital pretty quickly and you could go to the banks for support but you can’t do that now. With our current business we’re starting again and, because we can’t get bank capital, I’m quite happy to have 20% of something that has the potential to get to a big opportunity than own the whole lot and be stuck struggling along with something.” David Shawcross: “The attitude tends to be ‘if I go that next step I’ll have to part with control and I don’t want to be answerable to anybody’. That’s one of the reasons for the belief that people on Teesside aren’t desperately ambitious. They’ve got the ideas, the skills and the networks, but they make a conscious decision to sit back and say ‘that’s enough for me, I don’t want to grow bigger’. This is why we don’t have so many PLCs headquartered in Teesside. Control is a big part of all the entrepreneurs I come across. They all have that great determination and resilience

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but they want to hang or fall by their own decisions. So it’s quite tough to get somebody else to influence decisions.” Vinay Bedi: “There’s no doubt in my mind that this attitude of mind is restricting growth in the region. We have to instil into entrepreneurs from the beginning that the business is an entity in itself and the business isn’t them.” Ammar Mirza: “Some of the barriers I found

when I was starting out came from this micromanaging attitude. I originally thought I knew it all and knew it better than anyone else. But it was only when I started utilising other people’s expertise that I managed to grow.” Drawing on the experience of growing Asian Business Connexions, which has supported over 250 new start-ups and has gained the

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involvement of around 4,500 individuals in the last five years, Mirza added: “It isn’t all rosy in this region, but through collaborations, which I am a huge advocate of, we’ve achieved great things. “For me the underpinning things to success are around collaboration, utilising the correct expertise and actually giving something back. They have to be the fundamentals of whatever you do – and you have to enjoy it.” Alastair Waite: “I worked in London for a while, and when we talk about ambition I do see differences between there and here. Over half of the workforce on Teesside work for companies that employ over 1,000 people, so that doesn’t leave an awful lot left for the start-ups. “But what really frustrates me is that people don’t look beyond the region to sell their goods. Around 6.5% of everything this region produces is exported. In London it is 44%. So we just need to lift up our eyes a bit and think a bit bigger and further. “I also think we’re not blessed with as many entrepreneurial icons as other regions. You would find it difficult to name 10 real icons that you would look up to and think I really want to do what they’re doing.” Jo Hand explained how her company has used technology to broaden its horizons by utilising Skype video calls to interview candidates from outside the region. “That’s been very fruitful for us,” she said. For Sally Waterston, building trust has been the key to her firm’s success beyond the North East: “We don’t advertise but we keep our customers and that’s hugely important. The most important thing in our business is trust

and, because we trust our customers, with some of them we don’t even have contracts, which people are sometimes shocked to hear. But it works.” Max Freer believes success in business always starts with a strong relationship: “We’ve just done a global campaign for Huntsman, [the manufacturing and chemicals giant] across 11 global regions. It took me two years to build that relationship with them. “We just love what we do, we have a lot of integrity and we just want to do a really good job at the end of the day. If you do that, clients stay and you can even become an extension of their team. “But a lot of people assume that we wouldn’t have clients like this being an agency based in Middlesbrough.” Sue Smith: “We need people in this region to shout about these successes more. I think this type of modesty is indicative of the North East. Vinay Bedi: “And my response would be to ask why shouldn’t your firm have done Huntsman’s work?” Jo Hand: “When the steelworks were mothballed we had Tata Steel as a client at the time and we carried on calling them every week even though we knew they

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didn’t have anything for us. But when SSI came in to save the day, they approached us because everyone told them we were the only agency that didn’t drop us like a hot potato. Within months we put 400 employees into the company and we’re still working with them today. That’s purely based on not giving up on a relationship because you don’t know where it can lead. I don’t think there’s enough of that in the marketplace.” Meanwhile, a pressing issue preventing start-ups on Teesside from blossoming remains its dearth of small industrial units, according to Jamie Brown. He said: “Teesside is still proud of its manufacturing and engineering heritage but the new firms coming through need small industrial units of perhaps 500 to 1000sq ft. But they are like hen’s teeth; you just can’t get them. There are plenty of big units which are of no use to anybody at the moment. And likewise with office space, if you need something smaller with a modest rent, you just can’t find it here. Commercial landlords should be looking at more of these ‘easy in, easy out’ arrangements.” Max Freer: “Many businesses now are >>

It isn’t all rosy in this region, but through collaborations, which I am a huge advocate of, we’ve achieved great things

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much smaller, agile and flexible, perhaps because of technology, and they don’t require big spaces.” Hugh McGouran: “We’ve shrunk our staff quite considerably and we are rattling around like a pea in a drum where we are at the moment and it’s expensive for what we get. There are 60s and 70s office blocks out there but they’re probably unsuitable and the broadband is probably terrible. I think we need new builds.” Vinay Bedi: “Middlesbrough itself desperately needs some new investment in terms of commercial property. It’s got no chance of surviving unless it really does that.” Max Freer: “I do believe a lot of landlords in the town are sat on space that they may not realise could be used.” Aside from providing better spaces for emerging businesses on Teesside, Caroline Theobald asked what other measures would boost the area’s entrepreneurial potential. Hayley Lumby explained that starting up in business could be a lonely place and so greater awareness of the various support networks available to start-ups would help considerably. “There are networks in place to help, but many people just wouldn’t know to go to them,” she said, adding that clearer advice on all aspects of starting up would be advantageous to Teesside. “Even in terms of networking, people need to know where to go in the first place.” Staying on the theme of networking, Jo Hand and Max Freer both explained how important it was that budding entrepreneurs got out and met new people as much as possible. “You have to be a networking whore,” joked

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Freer. “When I started out freelancing I didn’t know who my customers were but I knew what my skillset was and ultimately I just went out and networked and went to every event going.” Sally Waterston: “When I started out over 20 years ago – before the internet – I wrote down everyone I knew, no matter how I knew them, even if they were parents of my children’s friends. I systematically contacted all of them and told them what I was doing and that I’d quite like to send them a brochure. I think I got to number three on my list when someone said ‘I think I might know someone who could use your service’. In fact we still do that as a business by going through our vast data. “We also do seminars but don’t overtly sell stuff. We get work not by being pushy, but by building relationships and giving stuff to people. If someone wants to engage us they will, or we give them all the information and, if they want to do it themselves, they can.” Jo Hand said “having fun when marketing” has given her business huge rewards as it has grown. “We’ve done some crazy stuff over the years which we’ve had shedloads of new business from,” she said. Caroline Theobald: “What other practical advice could delegates offer aspiring entrepreneurs on Teesside?” Valda Goodfellow: “You can’t afford to be sentimental about your business idea. You have to think about whether there is actually a need. You can’t get mixed up between a passion and a pipedream and you have to talk to somebody about whether you actually have a pipedream or whether you’ve got a passion that can

actually make a proper sound idea work. Also, if you are lacking something, go and find somebody who has it. “But I think there is a massive trust issue about the quality of advice there is out there. I’ve experienced public sector and paid-for advice and there are some shocking advisers out there. I met one adviser who had sold ball bearings for 25 years, for example. How could he go out and advise somebody on their business? Unfortunately public sector [business support] is littered with ball bearings salesmen.” Jo Hand: “A lot of my advisers were really just sign-posters and didn’t really give me any business advice, they just pointed me towards form filling.” Like advisory support, grant funding is another commodity which can shape entrepreneurial success. But accessing it can be tricky and, in some cases, not worth the hassle, according to Hayley Lumby: “You apply for a grant of £3,500 and it takes three months to get. It needs to be easier to apply for help than it is currently, particularly for smaller to mediumsized businesses. The mid-sized businesses have the resources to go through application processes but smaller businesses often don’t.” Valda Goodfellow: “You have to know the tricks of the trade. People dishing out grants have employees who go out with boxes to tick and you can tell them to fill the forms out for you. Those people need you in their figures to satisfy the quota. But unless you’ve been through it you wouldn’t know that.” Ammar Mirza, who is well versed in the power of collaboration for the greater good,

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You need to have a clear strategy which then needs to be communicated to every single person in the company suggested the creation of a grant-funded network of professional services providers to counter current failings in grant and support systems. He said: “You need to speak to an accountant and a solicitor when starting a business. So it would be great if there was a grant-funded collaborative network of professional services all coming together. It would mean that everyone would know wherever they went they would get good quality service that’s consistent, fair and hasn’t been inflated.” David Shawcross then provided an insight into the challenges grant controllers are experiencing in getting funds to viable businesses. “When they’ve got these grants often they can’t find people that actually fit the criteria. The money is there it’s just got too many constraints around it. But grants are actually a bit divisive. If there’s money available, it should be available across the board, not just for the well advised. But there’s a real struggle to get the money to where it’s needed. “We keep a database of all the current grants to keep our clients informed, and that’s a fulltime job in itself. That can’t be right. There must be a simpler way of delivering grants.” Hugh McGouran, whose organisation provides grants to charitable organisations, said: “Our grant managers used to go home at the end of the day having stopped 30 people getting a grant and feeling that they’d done a good job because they’d found 30 mistakes in the process, rather than basing decisions on the validity of the applications. It’s taken me a lot of years to get to the position where it’s easier to get the grant than not get it.

The problem you have with grants is that the paranoia about making the wrong decision is immense so everybody adds a layer into the system. It’s our job to get the money out the door, not to protect it.” Alistair Waite: “It’s about understanding the rules of the game when you’re applying for finance or grants. I sit on the panel for Let’s Grow [the £30m Regional Growth Fund programme] and you can spot the dodgy applications a mile off, but the bottom line is how the business has been trading, its track record and whether it’s likely to grow in the future with this grant. He added, however, that “I would also argue against being grant-led as a business.” “You need to have a clear strategy which then needs to be communicated to every single person in the company,” he said. “It’s easy to stop one person but if you’ve got everyone in your company buying in

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to the strategy, that’s really difficult to stop.” Amid much pondering around the table about the future of the region’s grants system, Sue Smith reminded delegates of the support available to entrepreneurs and start-ups through universities.“Universities across the country are good neutral places for businesses to come, but it’s not always in their mind-set for them to do so. Why would they go to universities? But if they get through the doors, there are an enormous amount of resources they can tap into.” In summarising the debate, David Scordino said: “Clearly Teesside’s infrastructure, attitudes and passions create an incubus for success. However there are also issues to address and greater collaboration between entrepreneurs and businesses and the putting in place of regional structures to get the support that is needed out to businesses, will help drive the local economy going forward.” n

Debate helps us to help entrepreneurs In being eager to host a BQ dinner and debate in the heart of Teesside, UBS was keen to create an event which demonstrated the somewhat underplayed successes of Teesside over recent years. However, we also wanted to demonstrate the tremendous potential, particularly within the SME sphere, for substantial growth in years to come. To this end the dinner proved a huge success primarily due to the quality of the people who kindly attended. What was achieved from the guest list, even if, admittedly, there was an element of good fortune about it, was a mix of established and well-known entrepreneurs e.g. Alastair Waite, with a splattering of high quality more recently established business people such as Ammar Mirza, Valda Goodfellow and Sally Waterston. This gave a tremendous opportunity for those already “successful” but still rapidly growing business entrepreneurs such as Max Freer and Jo Hand to gain some tremendous first-hand knowledge from their fellow guests. Excellent contributions came from all of the guests in attendance and we are extremely grateful to those people for coming along and hope that all managed to learn at least something small from the event as much as having a good time. Indeed, it was gratifying to hear Alastair Waite talking about how useful he had found the debate when one would have thought that he would have been the principal educator. Teesside has always had a tremendous industrial and, let’s be honest, traditional history. The difference is that most of the successful companies from the past were based outside the region. This generation is the generation that has to develop and grow Teesside further by creating the businesses and the business opportunities in this region from scratch. Events like the BQ dinner help convince global organisations like UBS that the Teesside region is both one of rich potential but also ongoing success. This also encourages UBS to focus more of its resource in the region, to help entrepreneurs grow their businesses and advise as the entrepreneurial journey progresses. UBS is able to assist on both a personal and corporate level and excellent debates like this enable us to understand the issues better and hopefully allow entrepreneurs to overcome problems and grow even faster. Vinay Bedi, executive director, UBS Wealth Management. Tel: 0191 211 1000. Email: vinay.bedi@ubs.com. Web: www.ubs.com/uk UBS AG, Newcastle Branch 2, St James’s Gate, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 7JH.

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ENTREPRENEUR

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SHOOT FOR THE MOON Mike Matthews isn’t short of words about apprenticeships or about competence of British workers vis-a-vis their German counterparts. And his company’s figures prove his theories can bring enviable success in practice. Brian Nicholls reports An hour with Mike Matthews MBE is 60 minutes of humour, frank opinion and sound reflection, leaving a lasting impression of someone who knows in his business exactly where he wants to be. Stepping down after 12 months from his honour as North East Business Executive of the Year, his final duty is to assist in finding his successor. So what makes a North East business executive outstanding, in Mike Matthews’ view? He has no doubt. “Number one, good communication,” he says. “It’s at the heart of any good leader. They can have fantastic plans and ideas. But if they can’t impart and share them with their organisation, their customers – shareholders too if they have them - theirs won’t be a successful company.” With his group Nifco at Eaglescliffe a high climber up 29 places to 118th in the latest North East Top 200, and turnover up £19m in less than two years through the contracts held with almost all UK car builders, we can safely assume he himself communicates well. A walking tour of Nifco’s two immaculate factories (a second royal visit is expected soon) confirms he knows by name every passing employee. And one topic he’ll readily opine on is the quality of the British worker vis-a-vis his German counterpart who is sometimes upheld as the paragon of productivity. Being European operations officer of Nifco as well as managing director of the Teesside operation, Matthews can make close comparisons, since he oversees also two operations in Germany, two in Poland and

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another in Spain. He cites examples of how his Teesside team are setting group benchmarks in productivity. “We see a lot of myths being exposed,” he says. “Things are changing. Probably German customers have realised it. That’s probably why medium size privately owned enterprises there are now being encouraged to put themselves on the market. Like it or not, the way forward, particularly for large scale global products, is globalisation. They’ve got to work with outfits that can offer a global footprint. We can. “We’re doing about €150,000 per person a year here. The German companies are doing about €100,000. We’ve invested much more in automation and flow, such as sales per square metre, and now have a factory half the size of that in Germany, but which has 130% of the sales compared with the factory twice the size? “It’s a very efficient layout, a very efficient flow. Very effective in use of space. We’re saying to the guys in Germany and elsewhere ‘we don’t want to change everything you’ve done but take a look at what the other companies

are doing and you might see something you can use in your factory.’ That gives them an opportunity to take on more sales with the same overheads and, hopefully, improve the bottom line.” Are they taking kindly to that? “Yes. The Polish companies, which were struggling, and the Spanish company which was not doing so good, have taken to it like a duck to water.” The Germans? “The two German acquisitions were quite well performing companies. One was ultra keen. The other is extremely busy and probably more focused on getting their day to day job done at the moment. They’ve been blessed with a lot of new business.” At the European executives’ meeting Matthews has them compare key performance indicators to consider how one operation may be performing better than another. Might it pay them to look at the practices and methodology of others? And what’s that, Matthews, poses, if not communication? Another hot topic for him is training. A former apprentice and time-served toolmaker himself, he revels in imparting the skills. “We’ve apprentices now in IT, HR, finance, engineering and sales. We have moulding and tooling apprentices, maintenance apprentices. “Maintenance and tooling have always been there. But business apprenticeships aren’t something people have done a lot with. We, though, would rather take on school leavers and sixth form leavers and train them to suit our needs, and if they do their own relative

Challenges still Matthews excels in bad times too. When recession struck in week 42 of 2008 – “the company fell off a cliff” – a third of the workforce had to be paid off. But, unlike other companies that cut their sales teams and marketing budgets, Matthews intensified the sales drive. The wisdom of that decision is evident in the figures today. Other challenges will continue, however, for as Matthews says: “Our aim is to globally survive quite savage rationalisation by our customers. Ford Motor Company, for example, in 2006 had 4,700 suppliers. Now it has 2,500 suppliers and aims to get that down to 750 worldwide. “We want to be one of the 750 survivors,” says Matthews. His tone imparts determination, not a mere expression of hope.

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ENTREPRENEUR training we’ll then support them to carry on and do degrees. We’ll end up with a 22-24 year old very valuable member of the team with a degree and also six to eight years of the business.” It was obvious to him networking through organisations like the North East Chamber of Commerce, the EEF and the CBI, that the way had been lost a little in training. “At one meeting not long ago they were doing that state of the nation thing around the table. It went, one speaker after another ‘struggle to hire skilled people…struggle to hire skilled people.’ “We’ve stopped trying to hire skilled people. We train and develop our own staff.” He made the point as keynote speaker at a recent Made in the North East conference in Durham. “The message for me isn’t about the children, the schooling or the graduates – it’s about the employers. We need more companies training and developing apprentices, taking on graduates and engaging with academic institutions. “Sales success depends on skills success. That’s my message to our business, and our business has responded and continues to be very successful.” The £60m turnover this year could be £68m next, and £75m the year after. “By 2020 we’ll do £100m. We’re working with Teesside University now on a skills development strategy to support this. We won’t rely on fishing in the same pond as everyone else. “We need a lot more companies in the region and nationally to recognise their obligation, and the weakness of their business if they don’t provide these skills. Winning a £10m contract is great. But without skills to deliver – front end and backroom – it’s pointless.” He finds no problem with young people’s attitudes to engineering. Up to 300 applications come in for 10 apprenticeships offered yearly, and in the next two years in the North East, in mechanical engineering alone, 9,000 skilled people will retire and only about 2,500 skilled people presently are coming in. “Hopefully we’re a step ahead on this.” Part of the reason why the volume of people trained has declined over three decades, he suggests, is that on the political landscape firms have been encouraged to depend on >>

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ENTREPRENEUR third parties. “Unemployed people depend on unemployment benefits. Within business you’ve organisations like ourselves dependent on the National Apprenticeship Scheme. We don’t use it at all. “We go out and do our own. For me it’s an intrinsic need to have a constantly refreshed and full pipeline of skills coming in. We’ve taken away the need of third party bureaucracy. We’ve taken our automotive principles of ‘lean’ to ultimate extremes, introducing it on a business level and on a communication level.” He reels off other bodies Nifco doesn’t rely on in this respect. “Companies like ourselves became completely disorientated with all the different bodies coming in over the years with changing names to promote skills – three and four letter acronyms you can’t even remember now.” Mike Matthews talks at times like a retired street fighter. “Yes,” he admits, “I was brought up in a need environment, on a council estate in Darlington. I’ve experienced being seriously short of money to a point where Mam and Dad struggled to buy me a school uniform. That gave me appreciation of money. “We didn’t want to go to university, me and many classmates, because we were all in the same boat. Our parents were all skint. We had to get a job. Earn some money. It was the only way. I never foresaw myself in a job like this.” “This job” has him responsible for 500 UK employees soon to be 850 in a £100m business – responsible also for five plants on mainland Europe achieving €280m sales with about 2,500 people. “I’m responsible for all of that,” he says as if reality is just hitting home. “That’s my job. I’ve a well stamped passport and more air miles than I care to mention. Through growing up where I did, young ladies I dated typically came from the other side of the fence metaphorically. Their parents had good jobs, or were well placed businessmen. I saw the other side of life.” To get all these dates he must surely have been good looking? “You wouldn’t be able to tell these days. But it provided me with snapshots and aspirations. At about 23 I looked around as a relatively young toolmaker, pretty effective at his job. The toolmakers around me, mostly in their 50s, frankly, were a miserable bunch. I didn’t want to be a 50-year-old misery.

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Yet more horsepower Mike Matthews’ life is driven by horsepower at home too. One of his hobbies is buying houses that become projects. Now he, his wife and two teenage daughters have moved into a house at Manfield village, near Darlington. “My wife and my younger daughter ride horses, so we wanted somewhere with a bit of land. As the choice is quite limited we’ve taken on something likely to keep me busy – for the next five years!”

My mum always said to me: ‘Shoot for the moon, and even if you don’t catch it you’ll still go a long way’ “But I didn’t have a degree and jobs I now wanted were for graduates. I moved to another company and realised it wasn’t the company, it was the job. I didn’t like the cycle of getting a table full of steel, some new drawings, making the tools over some 12 weeks. They take the tools away. You never see them again. You’d invested blood sweat and tears putting life and soul into that for three months. It went and that was it. Such an unrewarding cycle of occupation… “I decided I had to change. Ironically the

company I’d left, Elta Plastics (later taken over by Nifco) was advertising for a technical sales representative, graduate level. I applied, explaining I wasn’t a graduate but I’d worked in the company before and left in very good circumstances. “I got the job, probably because they got me cheap if I’m honest, because I was prepared to sacrifice something on wage, being nongraduate. I started that job at 24, wanting to be sales manager at 30 and sales director by 40. I became sales manager at 28, deputy managing director at 38, so I exceeded my targets. I’ve probably got my mum to thank. “My mum always said to me: ‘Shoot for the moon, and even if you don’t catch it you’ll still go a long way’. I still set myself and the business stretch targets. We don’t get upset and pre-occupied if we don’t achieve them. We’ll just look at why we didn’t, then try to figure out the root cause to put a countermeasure in place the following year. So trying to achieve the unachievable is what I do, and the business does.” Eight seems to be Matthews’ lucky number: sales manager at 28, deputy managing director at 38, managing director in 2008 and head of Europe at 48. He’s one of four regional heads within Nifco globally, one step below the main board, and the most senior non-Japanese person in the business. He describes the Japanese takeover of Elta Plastics in 1990 as a “soft landing”. Some time passed before change took hold. “The Japanese are not very aggressive in making changes,” he explains. “They’ve a considerate and thoughtful culture – mindful that things done at the wrong pace with the wrong people can actually destroy a business. “They showed us the way, engaged us then let us decide for ourselves over time on change. We really progressed through self-driven change. I’d be as bold as to say we’re better than the Japanese in some aspects of the job.” Has he made that clear to the board? He chuckles. “I’m not known for being shy. I do it with a smile and a high level of politeness. But I’m also acting on some fundamental principles I learned from them, like benchmarking and continuous improvement. We in turn take them, in some cases, to new and extreme levels.” ■

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COMPANY PROFILE

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Success in South Tyneside The crème de la crème of the business community came together at the Quality Hotel, Boldon, in October for the annual South Tyneside Business Awards. Hosted by South Tyneside Council and South Tyneside Business Forum, the evening was a celebration of achievement as the borough’s high flying organisations were recognised. The calibre of entries this year was exceptional, with a judge from each sponsor company facing the difficult decision of selecting the winners from 15 finalists. For more information on support available to businesses in South Tyneside visit www.southtyneside.info/business

South Tyneside

Business Awards HELLO TOMORROW CHANGE IS HAPPENING

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR CC RESOURCE SOLUTIONS They’ve been operating for just six months but CC Resource Solutions is celebrating after clinching the Newcomer of the Year title. The industrial recruitment agency specialises in the supply of temporary drivers for Blue Chip organisations across the region. Using 20 years’ experience in the field, the firm identified and targeted a niche market. Within months of setting up they had acquired major transport and logistics accounts and have a forecasted £500,000 first year turnover. Runners-up: The Animal Medicine Chest Fast Feet Football Academy Sponsored by Colman’s of South Shields

MANUFACTURER OF THE YEAR SMH PRODUCTS It’s already one of the fastest growing businesses in the North East, and now SMH Products has been named Manufacturer of the Year. SMH supplies an end-to-end solution for the decontamination process, ensuring that people and the environment are protected from exposure to potentially hazardous substances. They began as a manufacturer and supplier to the asbestos removal industry in the UK, and have worked very hard to become the market leader in this area. Judges were impressed by their revolutionary product range and growth in manufacturing exports, which have increased by 54% over the last five years. Runners-up: MCPS Ltd M.I. Dicksons Sponsored by Port of Tyne

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY AWARD HOULDER Trusted partnerships, dependable technical support and ingenious solutions helped Houlder clinch the Innovation and Technology Award. Working in the renewable, oil and marine transport markets, Houlder supports the design, build, operation and enhancement of ships, rigs and other marine assets. Houlder engineers, naval architects, designers and project managers combine forces to bring clarity to industry challenges. Runners-up: Beyond Digital Solutions KIS Group Sponsored by Siemens

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COMPANYXXXXXXX PROFILE AUTUMN 14

SERVICES AWARD ZENITH PEOPLE Zenith People Ltd is toast of the town after scooping the Services Award. Zenith is an innovative recruitment business which operates in a variety of industry sectors including manufacturing, engineering, logistics and commercial. It offers permanent and temporary recruitment, young person’s recruitment, pre-employment training and employment consultancy. Last year it increased its turnover by 72% due to both retaining business and gaining new contracts. Runners-up: Expedient Training Services Ltd Prestige German Cars Sponsored by BT South Tyneside

APPRENTICE OF THE YEAR SIEMENS Siemens Transmission & Distribution Ltd operates from its facility in Hebburn and employs over 230 people. The business provides service solutions which enhance the reliability and efficiency of electrical networks and cover transmission and distribution utilities, renewable and industrial sectors. Winning apprentice Jamie Clarke’s attitude, commitment and attendance earned him outstanding reviews from his tutors and colleagues, and a double distinction from Tyne Metropolitan College. Runners-up: Goldfinch Estate Agents Rotary Power Sponsored by South Tyneside College

BUSINESS OF THE YEAR SMH PRODUCTS SMH is celebrating after gaining yet another accolade as Business of the Year. The award is recognition of the firm’s excellent growth in spite of challenging economic conditions, with a 55% increase in turnover between 2011 and 2013 and named amongst Ward Hadaway’s Fastest 50 for two years running. SMH’s investment in the workforce, to train and retrain the very best, has led to it consistently out-performing competition in the UK and Europe due to its flexible, tight-knit team. Despite becoming a world leader, SMH remains true to its roots and is committed to spending locally through the supply chain and working with South Tyneside College to train apprentices. Sponsored by South Tyneside Council

SPECIAL AWARD DES YOUNG An active member of the South Tyneside Economic Regeneration Board and a strong influencer in the Business Forum’s direction, Des Young, Asset Services Director at Siemens’ Hebburn facility, is a true inspiration. From a 16-year-old engineering apprentice he has progressed through his career at NEI, Rolls-Royce and VA Tech to become a dedicated and passionate ambassador for South Tyneside. Recently, Des lead the Siemens facility in Hebburn to secure the work to manufacture high tech electrical components required to fulfill the build of the 700 electric trains on the Thameslink project – creating 300 jobs, raising the profile of the skills base here and putting South Tyneside on the map.

Sponsored by Willmott Dixon Construction

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INSIGHT

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FROM PUPIL TO LEADER Judith Doyle is Principal of the college she was once taught at and feels privileged to be part of its ongoing evolution, she tells Andrew Mernin The college Judith Doyle joined as an English lecturer 27 years ago is unrecognisable from the vast business she heads up today. When her career started, home was a modest red brick pile concealed among the tree-lined streets of Low Fell. Now her office sits in a gleaming fortification alongside the other landmarks of Gateshead’s business and cultural rebirth. “My predecessors were extremely brave to realise the shift in Gateshead that was happening towards the Quayside and in building this world-class showpiece,” says Judith, who now serves as chief executive and principal of the college. “I’m a Gateshead girl and was educated here so I feel privileged to lead this college. I’ve seen Gateshead’s rapid transformation in recent years and I’m working with all the strategic partners to continue to make Gateshead the regional centre we want it to be.” The college’s own transformation extends far beyond its £39m Baltic Business Quarter campus. The last eight years have seen £80m invested in the institution, expanding it from its former home on Durham Road into a network of six sites covering several key sectors. “We want our students to be among the most prized in the jobs market and have positioned ourselves as the link with employers of this region to fill their skills needs,” says Judith. These employers range from small businesses to global giants like Nissan – which relies upon Judith’s team to keep new talent rolling into its world leading Washington plant. Its relationship with the Japanese giant is a standout success for the college, which trains all the apprentices working at what is one of Europe’s most productive car factories. “We’ve worked with Nissan for about 10 years and it’s certainly helped to grow our reputation in the manufacturing and technology sectors. Our ability to be flexible and agile to employer

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needs has been key for us. For example, when Nissan stopped production for a short while during the recession, they used that period for retraining. They needed something up and running very quickly, so we trained all their staff and delivered that in a matter of weeks.” The college’s Skills Academy for Sustainable Manufacturing and Innovation (SASMI) and Future Technology Centre (FTC) are both based on Nissan’s doorstep on Wearside. The £4.48m FTC aims to equip the North East with the skills needed to exploit emerging and future low carbon industries and provides world class research facilities and training. Onsite companies include those pioneering low carbon vehicle charging infrastructure, battery technology and vehicle development. The impact of these technologies on future homes and cities is also being researched and

developed. The centre – and attached test track for low carbon vehicles – is part of the government’s £200m Low Carbon Enterprise Zone, expected to create 7,000 jobs by 2020. Judith says: “We’re bringing companies together in one very high-spec facility along with the training providers that will give them the skills they need to be successful. We’re seeing mutual benefits from all being in the same place and our students are also benefitting greatly by having the opportunity to get involved in ground-breaking projects.” Other facilities in the college’s network include its Academy for Sport at Gateshead International Stadium and the Skills Academy for Construction, based on Team Valley. Sport is a growth area in further education, says Judith, and the college’s expertise has taken it as far afield as Malaysia, where it >>

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INSIGHT

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runs a leisure facility and training centre. Its construction sector focus includes much more than mere bricks and mortar, although traditional skills in high demand, like plumbing, electrical installations and plastering are catered for. But so too are the new skills needed amid the rise of low carbon-centred construction, with training covering areas such as solar photovoltaics, rainwater harvesting, smart housing, heat pumps and biomass. In all of the college’s endeavours, however, Judith says a common, underlying goal exists. “We are the college that gets people into work,” she says. “We want to empower people and give them the skills they need to have a prosperous future.” This approach, and the college’s industry specialisms, are aligned to what the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is aiming to achieve, Judith adds. “We’re seen by the LEP as an organisation which is delivering on its priority of ‘more and better jobs’. We’re delivering what the region and the government is asking us to.” The college’s work to boost the employability of its students comes in many different guises. While in one pocket of its vast estate there could be a bespoke course upskilling the recently redundant, in another classroom, supermarket recruits could be preparing for their new shop-floor careers. In fact Tesco recently enlisted the college to train the scores of workers who now staff its new flagship store in central Gateshead. Overall Judith estimates there could be as many as 20,000 people, including 3,000 full-time students, being trained at the college annually. “We have to meet the very specific needs of individual businesses and that can involve mass customisation. It’s about ensuring we deal with large-scale work in a bespoke manner.” Across Gateshead College’s various departments, says Judith, entrepreneurial skills are embedded into course modules. Gateshead is also one of five founding members of Gazelle Colleges – formed in 2011 with the aim of developing entrepreneurial attributes within education. However, the college has resisted the temptation to follow those now teaching entrepreneurialism in its own right. “Some people inherently have entrepreneurial

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We are the college that gets people into work. We want to empower people and give them the skills they need to have a prosperous future characteristics like being tenacious selfstarters who take risks and to some degree entrepreneurialism can be taught,” she says. “But we don’t say ‘here’s a course to help you be an entrepreneur’. We’re more subtle than that, by making sure all our courses have elements of entrepreneurialism running through them. We also expose our students to as many entrepreneurs as possible. “Employers want entrepreneurial people and I want all my students to be prosperous when they leave, as employers or employees.” Judith has shown her own entrepreneurial spirit in driving the college’s ongoing transformation. She became chief executive – and the first female principal in the college’s history – in July 2013. This came after four years as deputy and 27 years after she joined as an English lecturer, having also trained at the college. Her biggest challenge has been “getting everyone to think about the future and to understand the changing world we live in”. She adds: “It’s about getting staff to think differently, work differently and to make sure we’re not just like every other college.” Judith considers herself leader of a “complex business which happens to be in education”, rather than a college.

“We function successfully that way and also gain credibility and the respect of other businesses as a consequence,” she says. “Much of my time is spent in the business community with other CEOs and business leaders helping them understand the part we can play in supporting the needs of their business.” Backing the chief executive at the helm of the £46m-a-year turnover business is a board of governors representing the public sector and a number of major employers – including Virgin Money and Northumbrian Water. “The board is so attuned to the modern business world and to that prosperous future that we want the college to be part of,” says Judith. And she believes direction from the boardroom and the quality of the college’s 700-plus workforce, has positioned it well for growth. “We’ve grown our turnover in the last five years by around 30% which has come through increasing student numbers and our commercial activities. We are looking to develop our estate and we’re always on the lookout for new business opportunities which add value to the college. But I always ask how it fits with our mission of getting people into work.” n

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

City centre office stock enjoys a revival, consultancy gets new look for 300th anniversary, green light for £7m trade park, new business improvement district is taking off, pub chain invests in former cinema >> Demand for offices returns Demand for yield and value is reviving appetites for city centre office stock. It’s evident in Newcastle, says Dickon Wood, investment partner at Knight Frank. Midway through this year, turnover had already almost matched all 2013’s total. Prime, long-income yields in Newcastle are estimated at about 6%. Recent deals have included Standard Life’s purchase of Central Square South from Parabola Estates. The modern offices behind Newcastle’s Central Station sold for £21.5m, a net initial yield of 7.61% with a weighted average unexpired lease term of 4.5 years. St James’ Gate has also featured. The 10-yearold offices let to Baker Tilly and Watson Burton with a weighted average unexpired lease term of nine years carried a price of £17.44m (7.5% initial yield). The city centre figures were further boosted by Newcastle University’s freehold buy of 34,134sq ft at 89 Sandyford Road, and Ernst & Young taking 11,897sq ft of Grade A space at Citygate. Chris Dent of DTZ says the main concern in the city centre is a dwindling supply of Grade A space. Simon Taylor of Naylors detects that quoting rents are starting to nudge up slightly. The mixed use Stephenson Quarter remains the sole development going up in the city centre. Its Rocket offices (35,000sq ft) due for completion next July, are the only city centre options likely to start this side of 2015. Out-of-town take-up of offices still dominates, with 29 deals (179,722sq ft) recently completed compared to 14 deals (86,938sq ft) in Newcastle city centre. The £17.5m sale of Tesco Bank’s premises at Quorum Business Park reflected a net initial yield of 8.01%. Deals of more than 25,000sq ft have included Cofely Workplace’s 26,996sq ft acquisition of Q3 at Quorum Business Park and Parseq’s 32,104sq ft lease at Doxford International Business Park, Sunderland. Other deals include Kennedy Wilson Europe Real Estate having completed the purchase of Fordgate portfolio, which includes the Regent Centre office complex at Gosforth.

The Regent Centre investment is seen as a sign of activity returning to the office sector. Out-of-town figures were further boosted by the 77,632sq ft letting to Utilitywise at Cobalt, North Tyneside and 46,600sq ft let to AMA Group at White House, Peterlee.

Martin Smith of Sandersons and Neil Goldsmith of Gibson

>> 300 years on Architectural and building consultancy experts at Sanderson Weatherall have helped Tyneside law firm Gibson & Co to prepare for its 300th anniversary, renovating its Newcastle office and including a new client meeting space. Entrances to the West Road offices have also been reconfigurated.

>> Parks for SMEs A £7m trade park, Gateshead’s first new speculative commercial development post-recession, is going ahead on a 6.5 acre site beside the A1(M) at Portobello, Birtley. Altogether 15 light industrial units for SMEs (2,100sq ft to 23,000sq ft) will be available. Robertson Construction is main contractor there for Ravensworth Property Developments. Work on North Tyneside’s first speculative business park post-recession has already been completed. Hellens Group’s £2.6m West Chirton build, also near the A19 and known as Elm Park, comprises 17 units – 34,000sq ft in all, suitable for 68 jobs.

>> Problem site sold The 19 year old problem site at Billingham, where the derelict and arson-struck former ICI headquarters stands on Belasis Avenue, has been bought by neighbouring Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Vacant since 1995, it was purchased by Bizzy B Management Ltd in 2000. The local council took control of it in 2012, backed by a Court of Appeal ruling, in light of its deterioration. A Fujifilm spokesman said the site will serve the company’s intended expansion.

>> City picks up Interest in Sunderland retail and leisure sector estate is growing among institutional investors following the city’s launch of a business improvement district. DTZ’s sale of Wilkinson’s department store on Fawcett Street for £7.5m reflects a net initial yield of 7.1%. The 108,000sq ft former House of Fraser department store is let for a further 11 years. The buyer AUB CPIF trust was represented by Knight Frank. Sunniside leisure complex, anchored by Empire Cinemas, has also been acquired by Lumina RE Capital for £13m, a 7.2% initial yield. This price is £3.7m more than it went for in December 2010. Most significant, however, is the sale of The Bridges Shopping Centre, at the heart of the new improvement district – gone to AEW for £152m, a 6.9% net initial yield. The Bridges has Primark and Debenhams anchoring 100 other shops – 550,000sq ft in all.

>> Cinema switch JD Wetherspoon chain, which runs pubs from buildings of character, may acquire Wallsend’s 1939 art deco building formerly the Ritz cinema.

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MANAGED OFFICE SPACE

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Landlords get inventive to meet the demand for budget offices, business centre welcomes first tenant, Tees Valley complex becomes a science hub, centre celebrates 20 years nurturing entrepreneurs >> Boho Five under way Building of a £4.2m digital centre at Middlesbrough is under way, with a £2m input of state cash. The five-storey Boho Five building – latest addition to the Middlehaven development – will serve as a hub for up to 50 start-up firms. The 100-hectare site has now drawn more than £150m of investment through development of the Middlesbrough College campus, new office space, homes, leisure facilities, bars and restaurants.

Clavering House and let office space to a serviced office provider, which is operating there very successfully. At the Rivergreen Centre in Durham City,

offering a parkland setting and the city centre just a mile away, office suites accommodate up to 50 desks and terms are flexible.

>>Flexible options widen The surge in popularity of serviced offices over recent years shows no sign of abating. The flexibility they offer continues to attract, especially to tenants unable to plan too far ahead amid uncertain trading conditions. Market leaders such as Regus are well established and popular in Newcastle and Sunderland, but not always affordable to small businesses. So opportunities have grown for smaller operators to offer less expensive options. In some cases landlords, faced with empty offices, have converted their empty space to serviced office centres. These have let well, though they are clearly much more management intensive for the landlord. The office seekers, however, are benefiting from a wider choice of supported offices. Neil Osborne, director at ES Group in Newcastle, cites Alderman Fenwick’s House as an example of opportunity to have modern suites in buildings of character, in this instance a mid-17thC mercantile house in Pilgrim Street. Here both traditional lease and flexible packages, on serviced arrangement, are available. Rent and service charge figure (excluding rates) are £14.50 psf. Optional add-ons include meeting rooms for hire at between £50 and £100 per day, including the historic Great Room. At Clavering Place beside the Central Station in the newly developing Stephenson Quarter, ES Group acted for the freeholder of

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New ground: Tom Hurst, chief investment officer for Sunderland City Council, with Cllr Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council and Rich Greensmith and Graham Simmons of BPP, the firm first into Washington Business Centre

>> New business centre gains first tenant Barely opened to prospective tenants, the newly completed Washington Business Centre has already had its biggest hybrid unit spoken for. It has gone to a young business with clients across the UK and Europe. Business Performance Partners (BPP) Visual Ltd develops and produces visual management tools to support businesses on their way to performance excellence and continuous improvement. BPP was set up last year by former Ernst & Young analyst and ex-TRW financial controller Rich Greensmith, with Graham Simmons recently appointed as design director. BPP’s distinguished client list after a year includes Network Rail, Lufthansa, Bombardier, De La Rue and Honeywell. More than half of its customers are in food manufacturing, and they include household names such as Bernard Matthews and Nairn’s Oatcakes. Rich Greensmith finds the business centre ideal in quality of accommodation and competitive rent. “We’re also hoping it will help raise our profile among companies in the region,” he added. “And the transport links are excellent for clients visiting from elsewhere in the UK and Europe.” The centre, purpose built for Sunderland City Council with support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), stands at the entrance to Turbine Business Park, close to the A19 and A1231. The 5,200sq m two-storey building has 24 offices, seven hybrid units and 13 workshops, also meeting rooms and free parking. It could be a workplace for 200 eventually. Sunderland City Council’s business development team has been advising BPP on marketing and future growth strategies. Councillor Paul Watson, leader of the council, says: “We’re very proud to welcome such an innovative young company into the centre, pleased too it has chosen the largest hybrid unit.

VIRTUAL OFFICE AT NETPARK Use our NETPark address. Let us handle your business post and phone calls. Discounted prices for meeting rooms equipped with state-of-the-art presentation facilities. Your prestigious NETPark address tells people everything that is great about being a part of our Innovation Community. Use it well.

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Well appointed: Sarah Hargin details an intimate high-tech boardroom available at The Wynyard Rooms

>> Science under the microscope Companies with specialised scientific interests are being well provided for at Wilton Centre and NETpark in the central and southern area of the North East. Wilton Centre, five minutes’ drive from Middlesbrough, is Tees Valley’s home of business and science, offering not only office facilities but also laboratory and pilot plant accommodation on competitive rents and with immediate occupancy. Its office space to let ranges from one desk to 300 desks. The complex is set in a 75 acre landscaped park with lake and courtyards. NETpark at Sedgefield – the North East Technology Park – has incubators and support for science and technology firms working in printable electronics, microelectronics, photonics and nanotechnology, and their application in the fields of energy, defence, and medical-related technologies. Its support includes collaborative multidisciplinary links. At nearby Wynyard, a boardroom service offering firms high-tech communication can now be hired at The Wynyard Rooms – Wynyard Park’s suite of function and conference rooms. Conference and events manager Sarah Hargin says the boardroom seats up to six, has multipoint HD video conferencing facilities, an HD audio conference phone and a 55-inch smart screen display with Wi-Fi. Content on a laptop can be displayed and shared within a video conference. While a number of Wynyard Park’s 70 resident companies are expected to use the service, it will also be available to businesses from the surrounding area. In East Durham EDBS, the Enterprise Agency helping businesses generally to start up, develop and grow, provides advice on business planning, marketing, retail and apprenticeships, as well as business growth and funding opportunities, with office space from £38 a week – conference and meeting facilities too.

>> Hub for new age talents A famous former pottery factory is about to become home to a new wave of creative talent, providing workspace tailored to meet specific needs. The Maling Exchange at Hoults Yard in Newcastle will transform the factory space where Maling’s esteemed pottery brand was once made. Soon more than 45,000sq ft of modern office space will form a hub. Facilities will include loft-style space in 20 small units suited to businesses of up to three people. There will also be move-on accommodation of over 1,000sq ft and

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meeting room space for bigger firms. Superfast connectivity and a tenants’ concierge service will assist business people working nationally and internationally from a regional base. In all, 40 offices will be fitted out with superfast broadband, and the building’s layout will encourage networking. Charlie Hoult, owner of developer JamJar Studios, says: “There’s no superfast, plug in and play working environment for freelance workers like this elsewhere in Newcastle.” When opened for business next June, Maling Exchange will be the “front door” to Hoults Yard site, which already has 90 creative and

high tech businesses with 500 employees working from a cluster of industrial units. They operate in television and film, public relations, fashion design, iPhone app development and search engine marketing. Hoult has been awarded more than £1.5m from the European Regional Development Fund’s Competitiveness Programme 20072013 towards the imaginative project that is reviving the empty Maling Exchange building. “There’s a growing army of freelance creative professionals who want superfast office space like this and don’t want to work from home,” Hoult suggests. Hoult’s Yard already provides parking, 24/7 security and a café.

>> Station change A multi-million pound scheme is being proposed to develop workspace for seven small businesses in disused space at Morpeth’s 167-year-old Grade II listed railway station. Greater Morpeth Development Trust is behind it.

>> Encouraging entrepreneurs Dozens of businesses are taking advantage of incubation facilities created to support the North East’s growing entrepreneurial culture. The Novus Centre in Seaham was opened last year as part of plans by support organisation East Durham Business Service, to encourage a more entrepreneurial culture in the area. The 15,500sq ft facility, at Spectrum Business Park, is now home to 14 businesses including an accountancy firm, a training provider, a recruitment consultant and a renewable heating contractor which between them employ 30 people. Denise Fielding said: “Novus Seaham is the perfect environment for businesses to realise their ambitions, whether they’re a new start looking for their first leased offices or a growing company keen to take additional space to help implement their expansion plans. What it can also offer is quality conference facilities and meeting rooms which are available on an as and when needed basis so there’s something here >>

One Trinity Green

An award-winning building providing first class services to tenants and visitors, One Trinity Green is a 5* location for your business. State of the art self-contained offices, workshops and hybrid units Secure development with 24 hour access, 365 days a year Professional reception and concierge services Outstanding IT and telephony systems

Jarrow Business Centre one trinity Green south shields Business works the Quadrus Centre

Join our business community For details and availability, or to request a tour of One Trinity Green:

0191 481 3310 onetrinitygreen@groundwork.org.uk

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MANAGED OFFICE SPACE to accommodate every requirement. “Since opening in January last year occupancy levels have steadily increased but, of course, the aim is to have the Novus Centre fully occupied. So we’re keen to hear from businesses who are looking to move into rented space and those who, whilst maybe not thinking about it right now, are open to a move a bit further down the line.” The Novus Centre, which also offers tenants support from East Durham Business Service’s business advisors, was part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and Durham County Council. One of the businesses based at the Novus Centre is Gradvert, a graduate recruitment and web design company which was launched in September 2012 by Lisa Bean and Michaela Reaney and now employs six people. Lisa said: “Since moving into the Novus Centre

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in March last year, our business has really grown and we will shortly be moving into larger office space to reflect that growth.”

>> Survival a built-in benefit The North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) at Sunderland, which has been celebrating its 20th anniversary, is an outstandingly successful cradle of ambitious young businesses. Infant companies of many kinds that it nurtures and helps develop have one of the highest survival rates in the country. More than 140 businesses work from there, enjoying a range of support services which makes the BIC more than a business park. Its flexible office and industrial space has meeting and conference facilities, and also

advisers on hand to give personal support and to mentor. Training courses, workshops and seminars are run there. Companies can also expand within the 14 acre riverside site as they develop and grow. Open Space, a new co-working hub, was launched during the year. “It’s wonderful to see the variety of businesses working from this modern environment,” says Paul McEldon, chief executive of NE BIC. On Tyneside, South Tyneside Council enjoys a reputation as one of the local authorities most supportive to start-ups. Over at Newburn Riverside, Gateway House has serviced offices, and at Gosforth, the Grainger Suite of serviced offices at Regent Centre is to have another phase developed – a further 7,000sq ft in response to demand.

Prestigious Business Centre

Offices from one person to one thousand and everything inbetween

Aidan Baker aidan.baker@bnpparibas.com

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Paddy Matheson patrick.matheson@knightfrank.com

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Alderman Fenwick’s House 98/100 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 6SQ

• Offices can accommodate from one person upwards • Short-term flexible arrangements • Period Listed Building • On-site meeting facilities • Car Parking Contact James Moss James.Moss@es-group.com

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Blyth Workspace

Come and see the North Eastern Lights... from your new quayside oﬃce State-of-the-art facilities • Professional reception • Free parking • Rapid electric car charging points • Dedicated high-speed broadband • 24/7 security services including CCTV • At the centre of a world-leading base for energy and research. Blyth Workspace, Commissioners Quay, Quay Road, Blyth, Northumberland NE24 3AF To arrange a tour or for further information contact our Workspace team on: 01670 528 400, email blyth@arch-group.co.uk archnorthumberland.co.uk

COMPANY PROFILE

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Stunning quayside offices at the centre of a world-leading base for energy businesses Offices at the stunning new quayside development in Blyth are now available to reserve. Businesses requiring space are being encouraged to take a look at the new building constructed by Bowmer and Kirkland Limited. Arch is arranging hard hat tours for those interested in the development at Commissioners Quay, Quay Road on Blyth Quayside. Blyth Workspace consists of first-class, contemporary managed offices in a striking quayside location. With state of the art facilities/ professional reception/ dedicated high speed broadband/ free parking/ rapid electric car charging points/ 24/7 security services including CCTV/ at the centre of a world leading base for energy and research. Northumberland is an outstanding business location where great UK and international businesses have made their home and key industries thrive here. Businesses in Northumberland are wired into the knowledge networks and specialist support services that drive the global economy. While its rich history and wonderful landscape contribute to an enviable quality of life, Northumberland is a competitive and connected business location. Located on the River Blyth, nestled between the Port of Blyth and narec and adjacent to the desirable area of Ridley Park, the new serviced office accommodation will consist of approx. 1,950 sq. m (21,000 sq. ft.) of high quality new office space to let with a range of office sizes from 20 sqm to 100 sqm, informal meeting and social areas; conference room facilities; high quality landscaping and access. The stunning new Workspace, to be managed by Arch has been designed by award-winning architectural practice xsite architecture. The landmark new development will help to regenerate and enhance Blyth Estuary’s reputation as a centre of excellence in energy and research. Over the next three years Arch, is leading the delivery of a mixed use development of the wider Commissioners Quay site as part of the broader regeneration of Blyth Estuary and town centre. Arch are taking reservations now and arranging

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Artist impression of Blyth Workspace

Over the next three years Arch, is leading the delivery of a mixed use development of the wider Commissioners Quay site as part of the broader regeneration of Blyth Estuary and town centre Spirit of the Staithes, Blyth Quayside

tours around the site. The building will be completed in early February. Blyth Workspace is also in an enterprise zone so tenants may qualify for business rate relief, subject to certain criteria. The development has received investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Competitiveness Programme 2007 – 2013, the Homes and Communities Agency, Arch and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s North East Investment Fund.

To reserve your office now, arrange a tour or for further information contact our Arch workspace team on: 01670 528 400 or email blyth@archgroup.co.uk www.archnorthumberland.co.uk

MANAGED OFFICE SPACE >> Creature comforts What do office workers crave in a workspace? A survey of 500 by the office search site LondonOffices.com suggests: • A barista standard coffee maker • Massaging chairs to help relieve some workplace stress • Individual and personalised parking spaces • A snack vending machine • Excellent air conditioning.

>> Harbour enterprise A new small-business hub at Amble harbour is the outcome of co-operation between Arch the Northumberland

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development company and Northumberland County Council, along with Amble’s Development Trust and Town Council, business representatives and the wider Amble community. NCS, a Chester le Street contractor, is building 15 retail pods, a seafood centre and a promenade. There will also be a new home and storage for the community based watersports centre, Coquet Shorebase Trust, at Druridge Bay Country Park. NCS is doing the civils work also.

>> Well connected To maximise use of its Hexham headquarters, the Northumberland National Park has created work spaces in its main Eastburn building, and in four

Boho One | Middlesbrough

bespoke units – or pods – in its grounds. Embryo firms and sole traders there are promised levels of wireless connectivity akin to inner city sites. The system has been created by Pivotal Networks, sibling of the Newcastle Cloud consultancy SITS Group. Bloodaxe Books has already signed up. The National Park’s outlying offices in Rothbury and Once Brewed are included in the system.

>> Enterprise arcade An Enterprise Arcade is opening in Stockton town centre, where startups and aspiring entrepreneurs can set up for reduced rates. The arcade, which Stockton Council is launching for retail ventures at 35-37 High Street, provides also a support package that up to 16 young businesses can benefit from.

Boho One is the flagship building of Middlesbrough’s exciting Boho Zone; the digital, creative and business hub of the Tees Valley Get in touch for more info on available office space Call us: 01642 248692 Email us: building@thedigitalcity.com

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workspace youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll feel at home in Maling Exchange is bursting with character â&#x20AC;&#x201C; loft-style, bare brick, architectural features, street art and canny neighbours. Maling Exchange also delivers the fastest broadband infrastructure in town, with 1GB up/down fibre connections.

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BUSINESS LUNCH

AUTUMN 14

Independent schools have to pay their way like businesses, and on occasion have to win over loyalties of a strength many businesses might not face. Hilary French tells Brian Nicholls how the challenge has been tackled

TWO INTO ONE MUST GO

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It sounds to have had much of the intensity and angst of any business merger for two parties with a heritage totalling beyond 250 years. This one involved two schools. And schools often command stronger loyalties than firms can. So you admire how Hilary French can appear as relaxed and smiling a lunchtime companion as she does. She endorses a suggestion by William Gladstone, four times our Prime Minister, that no-one ever became great or good “except through many and great mistakes”. Merging Central Newcastle High School and Church High School to form Newcastle High School for Girls certainly met some parental opposition on both sides. But French suggests: “Whenever change is announced there’s emotional reaction. Some people think change exciting from the start. Others have to be persuaded of its benefits. Yes, we had some emotional parents’ meetings. Some were not very happy at all. However, as we talked it through they began to see benefits. We had over five terms in which to plan things together for girls, staff and parents. We also had a good length of time to work out the curriculum and what we’d do with this opportunity. Mindful of Gladstone, she adds: “Any merger brings interesting situations. It’s about being mindful that different people act in different ways and being aware of sensitivities. Unfortunately, no matter how hard you try, you’re never going to get everything right.” But, with 16 years’ experience already as a head, she still appreciates lots of support

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received throughout – from the Girls Day School Trust (GDST), for example, the charity of which her previous charge, the Central High, was the only North East school among 24 school members, and whose funding support after Church High joined made the multimillion pound merger possible. She’s repaying them invaluably – “writing down something I’ve called Postcards from the Edge. Monthly since the merger announcement, I’ve noted what’s gone well and what I might have done differently. The GDST, should they do it again, might learn from it, or find something to think about. You never stop learning, particularly about people and how to deal with them.” Why the merger? “It made sense. You had two very successful girls’ schools in competition within five minutes of each other – with the same aims and practically the same vision. It became obvious that for the sake of girls’ education, and for the sake of ensuring a really strong future for girls’ education in the North East, we’d be much better together. “Central was part of the GDST, whilst Church High School was not, but both were charities. Church High joined the GDST then we merged. “In essence we were two businesses with the same core aims, deciding our resources would be better spent together than in competition. The bottom line is, it’s a business merger. Any independent school has to make a surplus. Nobody’s going to subsidise us.” Times indeed are changing for independent schools. Many who were connected with it still smart from the sharp way that the independent co-educational King’s School in Tynemouth (founded in 1860) abruptly took on “academy status” and from September 2013 joined with

BUSINESS LUNCH

a state primary school in consort with North Tyneside Council. Employers are increasingly baffled by changes in education generally: free schools, academies, STEM colleges, comprehensives, independents. They read mixed reports about varying standards year to year in A levels and GCSEs. How can they fairly gauge educational records in job applications? French suggests: “At university level employment, look at the top tier of universities, the kind of courses there, the kind of degrees. I still think the traditional single subject, the old fashioned degree courses, will produce the strongest graduates. “At A level, universities like Cambridge list facilitating subjects, the strong A level subjects they’ll accept. They look for people who’ve done those rather than softer subjects. “GCSE is interesting. You need to look for people with higher grades, and as GCSEs change from letters to numbers it’s the same thing, I think. But I’d say, from an employer’s

perspective, get your interview process right, because most employers nowadays are saying qualifications are not the be-all and end-all. “It’s skills too that we’re trying hard to develop – ability to work in a team, people skills, skill to present, to listen, and to be punctual. “There was talk this year of turbulence in GCSE grades – a slight push down for the first time in heaven knows how long. I think employers will have to be aware as we move forward that where they might have been looking for X numbers of As or A*s the grades may be going down slightly. That’s no reflection on the ability of candidates compared with previous years. We’re trying to counteract grade inflation, which there definitely has been.” French endorses an item among priorities the North East Chamber of Commerce will put to the next government. It wants every school to have a governor with special responsibility for increasing business engagement in education, and to ensure every school leaver has had a high level of work experience. “It’s what our strategic plan is all about. Our curriculum is being built around that structure and platform,” she points out. “Equally, as schools go out to business, business should be coming into schools, and teachers should have experience. We have a planning day with our governors, most of whom have links with, or are part of industry or the professions in the North East. They share those links with us.” She’s keen to see three to five day placements introduced for teachers (even if they’ve had such experience before). “A lot don’t know what the world of other work is like.” Alumni and parents can also come into >>

A place to sign it off Where better to discuss a new venture in education than in a new venture in gastro-pubbing? The recently re-opened Blackbird at Ponteland is an exhilarating lunch experience. It’s on the site of Ponteland Castle, destroyed in 1388, and its old stone walls have safeguarded an inn of one kind or another since the 16th Century. The reasonably priced lunch and early bird menu offers four starters and five mains, with optional side dishes, a light lunch and takeaway and children’s menu. Hilary chose a main course only, a fishcake enterprisingly coated in spinach and Champagne fish cream. Her interviewer ordered potted shrimps with sour cream and toasted soda bread, followed by a mighty ground beef burger, well done as requested, with cheese, bacon and fries. Lee Douglass and Chris Armstrong, former regulars and now the leaseholders, are profuse in their offer of real ales and wine, making the pub an ideal lunchtime haunt. The Blackbird, Ponteland

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

BUSINESS LUNCH

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No to M&S, no to Lewis’s Hilary French, 58, and a resident of Durham, comes from a teaching and academic background. Married to Mel, a retired history lecturer of Durham University, she was born and raised at Low Fell, Gateshead, the daughter of two teachers, and wanted to follow their footsteps. Educated at Sacred Heart Grammar School, Fenham, she read history at St Anne’s College, Oxford. She declined management training with Marks & Spencer and John Lewis, to train for teaching instead. She gained a post-graduate certificate of education at Durham University. She taught at Greencroft Comprehensive in Stanley, County Durham, and at Thornhill Comprehensive in Sunderland, and was head of Central Newcastle High School before taking up her present appointment. The family tradition looks set to continue. The Frenches’ only daughter Rebecca, 24, a Durham University graduate, now teaches at a primary academy of 1,000 children in Waltham Forest, London.

schools and give meaningful accounts of work experience. “We had a NEW (North East Women) leaders’ conference for our sixth form recently, inviting girls from other schools in the region. Successful women spoke about their careers and about skills sixth form girls must think about. We’re trying to do that for girls throughout the region, not just ours. “About half of the population is untapped if we don’t get women into the workforce – especially in the North East. We desperately need to keep our talent in this region.” Her school is also encouraging girls to consider careers in industry, engineering and manufacturing. “We’re working with St Cuthbert’s High School for Boys, which has opened an engineering centre with sponsorship from the Reece Foundation, which is fantastic. “The head there is keen to work with us in certain areas. She wants to develop drama, dance and leadership skills for her boys, and to help us use the centre there. We’ve three girls going off to do engineering this year. To have access to machinery and opportunities there, with Nissan working with them and so on, yes – absolutely.” The school already meets the intention of the new national curriculum to have children five to seven getting compulsory lessons in computer programming and language. “We’re trying to get girls to where they can do a Spanish GCSE at the end of year nine, before other GCSEs. “Understanding of language and ability it gives to communicate with other people is important in a shrinking world. Growing numbers of girls are studying modern languages. Yet in universities some modern language

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departments are closing, which is a shame. “Computer programming is important, an intellectual challenge, and we don’t know where the world will be in 10 years’ time. Those skills are going to be core. Sir John Jones, an inspirational retired head teacher, has said we just don’t know yet what the jobs will be for most children in school now. “My argument is education, educators and teachers are more important than ever, since we must give children values in such a shifting world. We need to get them open minded with skills to deal with whatever situation they’re put into. Technology is really changing things.” Still, the school’s houses are named after ships the Tyne once built – Acadia, Carpathia, Mauretania and Turbinia. “Ships are always feminine,” the principal laughs, “and one girl has suggested it gets away from a soft girlie image and brings industry and engineering into the whole school set-up.” Similarly the new badge, created by Newcastle design agency Drummond Central after a national tender win, features a seahorse like that on the City of Newcastle crest. “It makes clear our links with the city. It shows we reflect our heritage and want to be part of the city and the North East as it grows. “It again picks up on the shipbuilding element. And of course the seahorse is associated with determination, patience and lifelong friendship, which is nice for the girls to think about.” There are 220 teaching and support staff in the new school which has 1,100 pupils aged three to 18, of whom 300 are in the junior school. “A sizeable business,” she suggests. “Also a significant contributor to the North East

economy – especially in terms of girls moving forward and the contribution they can make.” In the staffing restructure, based on the new curriculum and its staffing model required, there were no compulsory redundancies. Some people near the end of their careers did take voluntary redundancy. The going is tough. A Lloyds Bank survey found families were being squeezed out of private education because fees have risen 20% in five years. Average fee for a day school is £12,345 a year or 37% of typical earnings. French says her school recognises demands on household finances. “However, we’re providing an excellent education, not trying to make a profit. Any surplus is invested in charity – going back to the GDST to be invested in our school or other member schools. “We’ve just had a multimillion pound project developing the junior school. We’re looking forward to building a new senior school paid for by the GDST. We’re affordable. We don’t impose rises for the sake of it. But we do need to invest in staff with the necessary abilities to provide the environment and help the girls achieve their ambitions.” The school also offers means-tested bursaries – this year about 20 at ages 11 and 16. Demand being higher than availability, an entrance test is necessary and academic potential considered. Awards vary. But the GDST recommends at least 50% bursaries, since it wishes to allocate money where it will make a real difference. Then there’s Serious Fun on Saturdays, an 11week programme run by the charity SHINE. Funding from industry gives disadvantaged children access to facilities at independent schools that might change their lives. Year 5 and 6 children from several primary schools in Newcastle share the experience of facilities and teachers at Newcastle High School for Girls. Hilary says: “For the first time – and we’re so proud of this – one little girl who came to the SHINE project has joined our school on full bursary through an honorary scholarship that’s not means tested. She’s very, very bright.” The new school, announced in January 2013, opened last month. Building of the junior school ended at nearby Sandyford Park in March and work there is almost complete. Building on the senior school at Tankerville Terrace should start in January for occupation in September 2016. n

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COMPANY PROFILE

AUTUMN 14

Esh Group moves forward with Swedish partner Södra bringing more Zero-Energy homes to the North Having successfully shown that TRIVSELHUS homes created with their Swedish partner Södra can be truly Zero-Energy, Esh Group is moving forward to bring more developments of these stylish family houses to the North. Esh Group began its joint venture with Trivselhus in 2009 and together built four Zero-Energy homes at Bowburn, County Durham. Trivselhus is a leading house designer and builder in Sweden, part of £multibillion Södra Group. Ken Forster, Trivselhus UK Director, who was born and brought up in Jarrow, explains: “Trivselhus has been working with Esh Group for over five years to plan our entry to the UK market and together we’ve taken time to really understand the needs of our potential customers. “The benefits of the first Trivselhus homes are now coming through and our first purchasers have shown that they have been able to run their homes at Zero-Energy cost and in fact earn money back from the energy which their homes produce!” Under the TRIVSELHUS BY ESH brand, seven ZeroEnergy homes are underway in Sunderland on the site of the ‘Old Baths’, Newcastle Road and further sites are due to start in the next few months at Hexham in Northumberland and Brampton and Wetheral in Cumbria. TRIVSELHUS : POTENTIAL ZERO-ENERGY COSTS A number of other suitable locations are currently being reviewed across North Yorkshire, the North East and Cumbria. Typically these are near to villages, towns with a semi-rural ‘feel’ or suitable urban sites within walking distance of the City Centre and other attractions and can range in size from three to 30 homes. Ken Forster continued: “With big energy savings possible we see massive potential for this type of quality housing. As well as working with Esh Group in the North we are now providing houses across the UK. “The initial site at Bowburn was very much a trial and it proved that it was possible to adapt the Swedish product to the UK market and – most importantly – that it is possible to

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Trivselhus has been working with Esh Group for over five years to plan our entry to the UK market. Together, we’ve taken time to really understand the needs of our potential customers. achieve a Zero-Energy position.” The style and innovation of TRIVSELHUS homes is perfectly demonstrated by the fabulous Lodge House which the partnership has built for the Calvert Trust at Kielder in Northumberland. (shown above) Key concepts of TRIVSELHUS are: real potential for families to run their homes at Zero-Energy costs; depending on families’ differing energy usage and variations in Government Feed-In Tariffs bright and airy open-plan living, Swedish style high quality construction, low maintenance homes Brian Manning, Chief Executive of Esh Group explained: “Many people talk of the Codes for Sustainable Homes. The Code is achieved as a result of many

aspects of development such as type of site, house design, closeness to bus routes, bicycle sheds etc. “Whilst recognising these are factors, we have chosen to focus on what we believe is the major worry for every householder; rising energy costs. “You don’t need to be genius to see that they’ve risen considerably and will continue to do so, just read the press! “We believe many people will be attracted by the stylish quality construction of Trivselhus as an environmentally friendly product – both ‘green’ and sustainable – and particularly the real potential benefit to the owner of controlling their energy bills.” TRIVSELHUS : A GOOD INVESTMENT With the first homes now having provided real

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data on energy usage and costs, Esh Group and Trivselhus have carefully worked through ‘the numbers’ to show that TRIVSELHUS homes are a really good investment. The evidence shows that on a typical fourbedroomed house at today’s prices, depending on the family’s energy usage, potential savings of £1,800 per year are achievable. As predicted rises in energy costs become real these savings stand only to increase. So, although there is a higher up-front fixed cost of around £25,000-£30,000 on a four-bedroomed

COMPANY PROFILE

TRIVSELHUS, savings in energy bills over the next 10 years look likely to be very significant. In the meantime the Esh-Trivselhus partnership is working to bring build costs down by further technological development and increasing the volume of homes being built. Esh Group has extensive experience in house building through its Dunelm brand for over 20 years. Always seeking to innovate, they are also seeing the cost of traditional construction increasing. Brian Manning explained further:

ECO HOME PAYS DIVIDENDS FOR YOUNG FAMILY A family of four has released itself from the burden of annual energy bills, saving an estimated £1,800 per year thanks to the state-of-the-art energy efficient technology in their new Trivselhus family home built by Esh Group. The Dunkerleys were inspired by the Grand Designs ethos of contemporary, energy efficient homes. The family had researched buying land to build their own bespoke eco-home but were put off by rising buildings costs and busy family life. Finding Esh Group’s development at The Grange, the Dunkerleys purchased their Trivselhus home and moved in December 2011. Usually a four bedroom traditional home attracts fuel bills of around £1,500 - £1,800 per year. Although doubtful how far the design of their home would be able to offset the energy bills the family was delighted to learn that their home is a cost-neutral energy house. Christine explained; “We loved the design of the house and with children to watch over the open plan layout was ideal. The technology really attracted us. That, combined with high thermal efficiency means our electricity bills are now non-existent.” The Dunkerley’s home is constructed from a highly insulated, very airtight closed panel Swedish timber frame with air source heat pump, underfloor heating, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery and solar photovoltaic panels. Christine added: “Our eyes have certainly been opened to how the right type of technology and clever sustainable housing design can positively impact on the everyday costs of running a home. We’re delighted that in the first 12 months of living in the Trivselhus we have earned a healthy profit - which is a welcome bonus!”

“Build costs of traditional houses are increasing because of enhanced requirements in Building Regulations and shortage of materials such as bricks and skilled labour. “At Esh Group we set out to ‘lead the way in constructing communities’ and so we are always looking to what is best for our customers and clients and to take that lead. We are convinced that TRIVSELHUS homes provide a real answer to home-owners. “We have ensured that the method of achieving energy cost savings is based on a ‘Fabric First’ approach. The airtight factory-produced frame delivers a low risk approach to achieving both low energy costs and also complete compliance with UK Building Regulations. “This makes sense on the technical side – yet we believe the open internal layout and opportunity to bring the family together teamed with quality build, the overall look and very low maintenance costs are a winning combination.” TRIVSELHUS : FUTURE-PROOFING OPPORTUNITY… Whilst the product is aimed at the ‘detached, three-bedroomed plus’ housing market, trials are ongoing on behalf of forward-thinking Northumberland Arch led by Space Architects to construct four semi-detached homes in Blyth. The outcome of this innovation will be interesting; this product is aimed at the general rental market and has the potential to open up opportunities whereby energy costs can be included within rents. If successful, this would result in giving greater certainty to householders - helping many tenants avoid fuel poverty - and to landlords as they ‘future-proof’ their houses. In turn, this could lead to the design and construction being used across the affordable housing sector by Housing Associations and Regional Social Landlords which together represents vast housing stock.

Trivselhus by Esh, Esh Business Park, Heighington Lane, Aycliffe Industrial Park, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, DL5 6QG 01325 379 351 enquiries@trivselhusbyesh.co.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

PROGRESS

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Local boy reflects on area’s transformation

21ST CENTURY NEW TOWN

Technically an office park, Cobalt is more like a new town befitting the 21st Century. Adrian Hill, driving its development, explains to Brian Nicholls how it has achieved in 16 years what has taken older new towns many decades to accomplish It’s the UK’s largest office park – but surely, too, a new age new town. Cobalt on North Tyneside, unlike some early post-war new towns that have taken decades to develop, has become within 15 years somewhere you can find a job with a major company, a home nearby, and a life of self-sufficiency with little compulsion to shop elsewhere. It is one of two former Enterprise Zones which, over 12 months, have hosted 1,800 more jobs, taking their workforce total to 17,000. And through seamless connection to Silverlink, a shopping park developed earlier by David

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Clouston of Silverlink Developments, Cobalt has besides its own shops neighbouring retail facilities attractive both to shoppers and businesses the size of Marks & Spencer, which recently increased its store size by a third to 60,000sq ft. Jokers might argue that, even shorn of Silverlink, Cobalt could claim urban status since it has a Greggs. You can visit a multiplex cinema, a 25 metre swimpool, several eating places and a railway museum minutes from work. There are marquee events and seasonal markets. No church steeple or local hostelry proximate

Hill, though resident in Oxfordshire and one among a number of key personnel on Cobalt who commute from London and the South for part of the week (mostly temporarily) is himself from Whitley Bay. “When I was a boy this was farmland,” he points out. “I’m proud not only that I was involved from the start, but about what we’ve achieved in creating just under 14,000 jobs and 2m sq ft – and all done very attractively. Maybe I’m entitled to feel proud of that.” Yet he admits his most satisfying deal to date may be initiating Indigo Park, like Cobalt a collaboration with North Tyneside Council, adding 1.3m sq ft of manufacturing and distribution space with potential for 1,000 jobs at Sandy Lane near the A1 at Gosforth Park. Hill explains: “It was a site we identified for development around 2003. Nothing happened. I became aware of its potential. The difficulty was, the site had three unrelated owners – the Home and Communities Agency (which had inherited part from One North East), North Tyneside Council, and a local farmer. “One government body, one local authority, one private individual – I had to try to bring the three together and knit one joint venture with Highbridge. You can imagine… it wasn’t easy.“ Cobalt, working extensively with the BNP Paribas Real Estate and Cushmans Wakefield agencies, has gone so smoothly, Hill says, because of co-operation from North Tyneside Council, especially over planning and design. It sounds a more progressive arrangement than what some of those early post-war new towns had, reared by development corporations (quangos). True, they also had to develop housing, whereas local housing largely surrounded Cobalt already. But if proposals for another 23 garden “cities” in the UK eventually go ahead, the relationship of Cobalt and Silverlink, their respective developers and North Tyneside Council, might provide a sound model.

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perhaps. But there are churches just beyond, and the Village Hotel on Cobalt has a bar as well as that swimpool. Tesco has an offlicence. And a couple of pubs are a brief walk away. Most impressive from business and career viewpoints is the list of big-name office occupiers: Santander, Accenture, IBM, Procter and Gamble, Siemens, Hewlett Packard, Balfour Beatty and Newcastle Building Society. Jobs are so attractive that people travel in daily from as far as Alnwick and North Yorkshire. To illustrate scale: into Cobalt an area of neighbouring Newcastle between the Tyne Bridge and the Town Moor would fit. Cobalt’s working population, now nearly 14,000, rivals the entire population of Morpeth. Around 1,000 buses a day serve the workforce. Its high security data centres, impressing even Americans used to world best, are environmentally greener and cheaper to run than those within the M25.

Cobalt, owning all but one of its numerous roads, has its own snow plough and gritter to keep them open. It has its own (low profile) security corps 24/7 and a medical clinic. Oddly, Cobalt wasn’t intended like this, as Adrian Hill, director of the developer Highbridge Properties, and the driver behind Cobalt’s rolling success, well remembers. It was an Enterprise Zone meant for industrial warehouses to help offset job losses in local coalmines and shipyards. “I was working with the commercial agents Healey and Baker in 1997,” Hill recalls. “They approached me saying they’d acquired a site for warehousing. To the consternation of my industrial partner, I thought it too good for that and, rather, offices should go there. I’d been involved with the development of Doxford International Business Park at Sunderland. “This, I felt, was an even better location – also on the A19 but bigger, and with a better

PROGRESS

demographic. I felt it should be a business park of real quality – a Stockley Park of the North. At that time, Stockley Park, near Heathrow Airport, was seen as the nation’s best. I felt you couldn’t afford to water it down with industrial buildings. Quality and scale were essential – over 1m sq ft, we should aim for. That’s what happened. Now we’re about twice Stockley Park’s size, have a bigger workforce and far more facilities. We’ve out-Stockleyed Stockley!” Highbridge Properties initiated building from 1998-9. Today it has let more space, and has more people working there than any other business park in the UK. Hill says Cobalt should shortly be over 80% occupied after 15 years and several recessions. Up to 18,000 people may work there eventually, no doubt appreciating its appearance and ambience. Siemens’ microchip plant at Silverlink closed >>

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BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

PROGRESS

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with a loss of 1,100 jobs in 1998. But the wheel of fortune, like blades of a wind tower, appears to be turning full circle. Siemens has just moved 200 staff into 39,200sq ft of Cobalt offices on a five-year lease to rent – space enough for another 50 later. It has recently recruited 350 people for its Newcastle based wind energy service. The former microchip building now serves both tiny start-ups and blue chip. As Cobalt Business Exchange (CBX) it provides 117,000sq ft of serviced offices. Hill says: “While Hewlett Packard (HP) awaited their third building here, having won new business, they took temporary space at a click of the fingers in CBX. They also did the deal for another 25,000sq ft. CBX is 98% full.” The first 120 staff for HP’s latest expansion, giving it now 170,000 sq ft, have relocated

to the third building. Hill suggests: “That seven major occupiers have taken additional floors at Cobalt is testament to the quality here. For HP to be our first occupier expanding a third time there can be no better endorsement.” Four companies, in fact, expanded at the park in a recent six months, the others being G4S, Cobalt 8 and Accenture. IBM also secured 5,000sq ft more earlier this year. “I know the UK schemes and bigger ones in Europe too,” Hill says. “Nowhere else has anything like Cobalt’s record – two-thirds of the let space occupied by people taking more than one building or more than one floor.” Matthew Wylie, HP’s specialist on global real estate, says flexible, modern office buildings with unrivalled travel links are the attraction.

Unlike the Lego look of some modern estates, Cobalt’s architecture is varied, clean cut outside and light and airy inside through unusually high ceilings. No cars obstruct roadsides, parking within property boundaries being adequate. Even more remarkable: Cobalt’s green mantle. Besides its landscaping tended by an in-house team, fully 100 of the 250 acres in all (40%) is wooded country park, wetlands and other wildlife space, “It gives a lovely feel,” Hill agrees. “That won’t change. Those 100 acres are protected.” Hardly surprising, then, even outsiders visit. They, like the lunchtime workers, jog, cycle and enjoy picnic spots. In the country park they can view North Tyneside from its highest point, though that’s mentioned with a grin. The borough’s mainly flatland. n

How it all fitted together

A19

Everything came together, as Hill explains. “Silverlink retail park was under way when we started and has been a big plus throughout. Our EZ status enabled investors to raise money through tax advantages, allowing us to build ahead of demand. By being able to fund buildings we could offer tenants good packages. “EZ status expired in 2006. We’d realised, though, that big buildings were in demand. We initially put up buildings of 30,000 to 40,000sq ft, then on up to 100,000sq ft. “While EZ was a big plus initially, scale and quality of the buildings told, long term. With scale you can add on facilities. If the park was

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only 100,000sq ft you wouldn’t have two cafes now and a spa and a gym – all the things we can provide, besides what’s at Silverlink. “A Metro station existed nearby (Northumbria Park) and one of the first things we did was to subsidise the introduction of a shuttle bus from that station. “Of the 1,000 buses now bringing people to work here daily, 500 go right through, the rest to each end. Our catchment area made recruitment easy, and so the workforce grew quickly.” The biggest challenge? “Recessions. We’ve done well through most, but they do impede letting.

However, even when everything stopped, we built two data centres, one office building and our central building of shops and management offices. You must have buildings ready in a range of sizes that people can move into. So despite the recent conditions we’ve still let or had an offer on 170,000sq ft. That’s huge.” In fact, it has let more space than any other UK park so far this year. One recent deal, bringing Tyneside’s tearaway success Utilitywise, the AIM listed energy consultants, across the river from South Shields to Cobalt is North Tyneside’s biggest letting for five years. Attractions go beyond ambience – speedy entry and exit for commuting drivers and service deliveries for a start. Hill explains: “No other scheme has five access or egress points. Four link into dual carriageways with a roundabout leading to two levels of traffic. One access/egress point is a problem if up to 10,000 people even in 5,000 cars try to leave at once.” Unique selling points of the three doubly ringfenced data centres include scale, availability and quality. There’s 110,000sq ft scale of net technical – the room where servers are installed – and that’s the biggest volume of available data centre campus in the country, it’s claimed. As for the massive power required, Cobalt has two separate supplies from the Grid, each of 40MW capable of increase to 60MW.

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AUTUMN 14

New lighting product to be manufactured in Hartlepool The North East has always been a hotbed of design, but in recent years we have seen the innovation manufactured overseas. This is slowly changing as Durable Technologies in Hartlepool is proving, with its latest ‘light’ breakthrough. A new light controlling product that promises to save energy and cut costs is being made in the North East after the inventor chose to manufacture locally. Alex Carter, an experienced commissioning engineer, turned his back on the possibility of international production after realising he could make the ‘Light Harvester’ in the UK quicker and cheaper than he could overseas. The Managing Director of Durable Technologies has invested more than £200,000 into setting up his own manufacturing facility in Hartlepool and developing a supply chain which features a number of local businesses. Working with the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) and the North East Business and Innovation Centre (NE BIC), the company has completed its first installation at UK Steel, with plans in place to sell over 7000 units this year. This will lead to the creation of four new positions, doubling the workforce within twelve months. “We had developed the ‘Light Harvester’ exclusively in the North East so ideally wanted to keep the manufacture local,” explained Alex, who runs the business with his wife Lorraine. “This new product contains the light detector and controller in one easy to mount casing and, for the first time, uses bluetooth technology and a special App to view data and make adjustments.” He continued: “You can now set light levels, timeouts and create profiles, making it a lot more user friendly. The trials of the first installation show that we can reduce lighting costs in monitored areas by nearly 80%. “A greener and more cost effective alternative for commercial and industrial premises throughout the UK.” Durable Technologies has been working with North East BIC on a number of design and reengineering issues aimed at reducing costs of

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

Lighting up new opportunities: (l-r) Chris Hylton (MAS) and Alex Carter (Durable Technologies).

The fact we have been able to find excellent injection mould and PCB suppliers locally means we have a lot stronger supply chain and one that can meet our growth aspirations. making and assembling the product in the UK. At the same time, the management team was working with MAS on accessing funding to develop new tooling for the presence detector element of the ‘Light Harvester’ range. This, along with ongoing mentoring and support with process improvement, encouraged the company to consider manufacturing in house and building its supply chain locally.

“We did look at producing overseas, but quickly realised that it didn’t work out any cheaper (due to levies/taxes/rising wages) and the logistics issue left us with little flexibility in terms of ramping up production,” continued Alex. “The fact we have been able to find excellent injection mould and PCB suppliers locally means we have a lot stronger supply chain and one that can meet our growth aspirations. “I also like the comfort of knowing I can jump in the car and be down the road in 20 minutes to discuss any issues that might come up during supply.” Chris Hylton, Manufacturing Advisor at MAS, added his support: “There’s a lot of talk about reshoring at the moment and Alex’s story reinforces the notion that the UK is a good place to manufacture. “We worked with the company to understand the cost implications of producing in-house and also in identifying critical suppliers to the process. As part of this, we were able to secure funding to help with the completion of the tooling.” Durable Technologies, which won the North East Business Award for Innovation in 2013, is currently working on another major project to produce light controllers for a household electrical manufacturer. This, combined with the ‘Light Harvester’, will see the company increase turnover by 100% to £600,000.

www.durabletechnologies.com www.mymas.org Follow @mas_works on twitter.

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MOTORING

AUTUMN 14

THE FUTURE IS NOW

The head-turning BMW i8 impressed Alastair Ruffman, MD of Norseman Travel Ltd...once he had figured out how to get inside! I felt like I was on the set of a remake of Back to the Future as I tentatively approached the supercar I was about to test drive. The BMW i8 being part electric was receiving its top up charge. I was shown how to open the stunning handle-free dihedral gullwing doors. It was a little fiddly but once I had found the door release it unconventionally opened upwards. Getting into the car was touch and go, an additional manual would have been invaluable, or perhaps I could just go to the gym more. Getting out was going to be even more of a challenge, I thought. Two onboard screens lit up in various shades of blue when I depressed the start button. After ignition there was no engine noise to speak of. I was given instruction to the four driving modes which were Comfort or Eco Pro, where the car will try and run on electric power alone, which it can do for about 22 miles and at speeds of up 45mph. The eco-

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friendly eDrive setting gives you pure electric running for the same range, but raises the maximum speed to 75mph. Then there’s the Sport mode by shifting the gear stick to the left. In Sport mode you get the petrol engine running all the time, and the full output from the electric motor. Selecting reverse, I gingerly and silently manoeuvred around and out of the car park assisted by front and rear cameras displayed on the dashboard. Various beeps and distance warnings were heard and displayed as I emerged unscathed. It even had what

appeared to be an onscreen overhead camera which I could not fathom out. After a quick test drive amounting to ‘around the block’ I was left to my own devices. I took the short trip back to Norseman Travel where I was met a few minutes later by a photographer. After taking some photos he took the car away to a pre-reserved parking place at the Metrocentre. I hoped that he would remember to leave at least half a metre on each side to avoid damaging the doors or taking off someone’s wing mirror. Three and

What I really needed was a private road somewhere to put it through its paces. The runway at Newcastle International Airport would have done nicely

AUTUMN 14

a half hours later he returned the car with a smile on his face. Seemingly this i8 was the only one on the road in the North East and unsurprisingly drew a crowd of several hundred people keen to have a look at this futuristic and once conceptual car. With a maximum speed of 155mph restricted electronically, what I really needed was a private road somewhere to put it through its paces. The runway at Newcastle International Airport would have done nicely but visions of a police escort, copious yellow flashing lights, additional insurance, and a very unofficial slot time meant I thought twice about asking. I would have to stick to conventional public roads and be ...sensible. The first thing I learned about the i8 was the fact that its passenger cabin is made of resin injected carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) which is 50% lighter than steel. The car has two engines. The first is a reworked 1.5 L turbocharged petrol three cylinder engine similar to what you would find in a mini cooper. This drives the rear wheels. The second which drives the front wheels is a “hybrid synchronous” 7.1kWh battery powered electronic motor. When combined they have an output of 357bhp and 420lb ft. There is no road tax to pay due to its low carbon emissions and, if I had one, I could park it for free at Newcastle battery charging points. After work I collected my eldest daughter. She did not really need a lift at all but elected to leave her car there so she could have a lift home with me. I was, however, asked to pick her up at the back and not to park anywhere near the main door. When I arrived I encountered a staff member who tapped on the window and started to ask me lots of questions about the car. I am sure he knew more about the i8 than I did 24 hours prior. Mission accomplished, we drove home on the central motorway using the A696 and then onto Ponteland Leisure Centre where I dropped my daughter off at the gym where she wanted to sit in on a session as part of her lesson planning for the following morning. On arrival back home I put the car on the drive and asked my wife to come and have a look. It was a surprise to her as I had not mentioned it at all. Her first reaction was to ask what I was doing with a car like that, followed by

MOTORING

“how do I get into it”. The manoeuvre to get in was explained and we went for a short drive in Edrive under electric power. The on screen displays were so full of information including 3D maps and a heads up display which projects not only the road speed limits directly onto the windscreen but also the Sat Nav display highlighting upcoming road names. The i8 has a small boot suitable for a small bag only. The back seats are perhaps suitable for two children or for storage of the bags that will not fit in the boot rather than two children. When I offered to take my next door neighbours for a drive it took a while to work out how to move the seat to accommodate them in the back. Once squeezed in, one said she couldn’t stay in the car as it was too claustrophobic. This was despite being a previous BMW Z4 driver. Although now dark, I drove out on the A69 across to Corbridge and then back home. The drive was exceptional and so smooth. I tried the Sport mode and once engaged the display speed indicators changed from blue to red. The speed of acceleration from a standing start was simply breathtaking and can only be compared to my experience in an Audi RS6. Whilst I may not have been getting the i8’s official figures of 120+mpg and 49g/km, I am sure that the MPG would be massive in comparison to similar cars in the same class. Even driving hard you might expect in excess of 40mpg and combined with the battery power at lower speeds I believe that savings are inevitable. The running costs will, of course, depend very much on how you use the car. If you use the car for a short daily commute and have access to a charging point, then you could save thousands at the pumps. The following morning was perhaps not the best day to take my wife to work for her first day in a new job. She asked me to drop her round the corner so that she would not be seen making an entrance! In summary… a fabulous drive with amazing gadgets and futuristic technology at a price tag that very few can even contemplate. n

The BMW i8 driven by Alastair costs £105,680 and was supplied by Lloyd BMW, Fenham Barracks, Newcastle, NE2 4LE. With special thanks to Intu Metrocentre for the location.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

MARLEY ON WINE

AUTUMN 14

MINE’S STILL A PINT!

Beer-lover Bill Marley, chief executive of The Employability Trust, a youth unemployment charity in Peterlee, forgoes his preferred tipple to sample two bottles of wine You can imagine my surprise when I, a seasoned Guinness and real ale lover, was asked to sample wine for BQ Magazine. That’s not to say I don’t appreciate wine. There’s nothing I like more than a warm glass of Shiraz on a cold evening, or a chilled Sauvignon Blanc on a summer’s night. But writing about it, that’s something completely new to me. So I enlisted the help of my wife Mags to

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assist me in describing the flavours and smells of each bottle. It’s a harder job than you might think. When I took delivery of the wines at my industrial unit in Peterlee, I didn’t know what to expect as I wasn’t familiar with either. The white was a Pouilly-Fume 2013, Jonathan Pabiot Organic Sauvignon Blanc (which has since featured on Saturday Kitchen), while the red was an Edna Valley Pinot Noir 2012.

I was looking forward to trying both for the first time. POUILLY-FUME 2013, JONATHAN PABOIT ORGANIC SAUVIGNON BLANC This particular white I found very clean, fresh and easy to drink. It’s organically farmed but, to be honest, that was wasted on me. I can’t say it added anything to the experience over and above the usual Sauvignon Blanc’s flavour. I paired this wine with a Greek dish, moussaka, and enjoyed the two together. However, overall I found it a little lacklustre. Not unpleasant by any means, but it just didn’t do enough to make me want to go out and buy it again. In summary, this isn’t a wine for tasting, it’s simply for drinking. EDNA VALLEY PINOT NOIR 2012 I poured myself and Mags each a glass of the Pinot Noir to accompany the rib eye steaks I’d bought for us. I knew as soon as I poured the wine that it wasn’t as deep, full bodied and velvety as the reds I usually favour. It was a little translucent for my liking and didn’t coat the wine glass the way a good red should. That said, it was still a pleasant drink and did complement the flavours of our meal very well. After finishing the bottle, Mags and I both commented that this particular Pinot Noir was a wine of good drinkability (I’m not certain that word appears in the Oxford Dictionary!) but probably not one we’d be in a rush to try again. ■ The wines bill sampled were Organic PouillyFumé 2013, Jonathan Pabiot. £19.99 or buy 2, save 33% £13.32 Edna Valley Pinot Noir 2012, California £12.99 or buy 2, save 33% £8.66

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FASHION

The best quality check is the knowledge of the person who makes the boot – it’s a very manual, very human process so of course mistakes can be made, but we try not to make too many BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

FASHION Not everyone would happily part with £700 for a pair of rubber boots, but then not all rubber boots are made like Le Chameau’s. Josh Sims caught up with the firm’s MD to find out more

THE HOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST WELLIES

Beverley Williams certainly had second thoughts about moving to France to take charge of a manufacturer of rubber boots. As for many people, for the retail supremo – who has been a senior executive under the likes of Richard Branson and Philip Green – the prospect seemed decidedly unsexy. Until she saw the boots. “What we have here is a hidden gem that I want to put on a global stage,” says Williams, who took over as managing director at Le Chameau, based in Paris, Pont D’Ouilly in Normandy and Casablanca, 18 months ago. “These are not just rubber boots. In France they are iconic. And they are, I think, the best in class.” This perhaps explains not only why Le Chameau are the go to rubber boot maker for French farmers, sailors, fishermen, equestrian types and those with country estates, but has also been so for the likes of Louis Vuitton. When Chanel wanted a rubber boot made – of all things one might not associate with the fashion house – it went to Le Chameau. And the reason is simple. The €25m company, established in 1927 by one Claude Chamot and now making some 350,000 pairs a year – half of which, however, are bought by the French alone, who happily wear them around town – places an unusual emphasis on materials. It uses a secret recipe of the highest concentration of natural rubber in the market (no boot can be 100% rubber and be durable), meaning the footwear is that much more pliable and comfortable. But to those materials it then applies the principles of >>

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

162

FASHION classic hand-made leather boot-making. Indeed, the Normandy factory, where the company’s more premium models are made – yours for up to £700, which could get you a nice pair of bespoke shoes – has just four ‘maitres bottiers’, each of whom makes each pair of boots from start to finish. Each comprises the careful application of some 20 to 30 rubber parts, cut much as those for a pair of leather boots are, over an aluminium last. And since each boot is available made-tomeasure in eight calf-fittings – resulting in a more fitted, streamlined style – that means a lot of lasts. The naturally sticky rubber parts then hold their shape while the proto-boot undergoes Vulcanisation in giant ovens at around 140C, which effectively makes these parts molecularly of a piece – or, in other words, means there are no seams through which water might enter the boots. Just to make sure, each pair is pumped full of air underwater – with a single rogue bubble causing them to be rejected. More unnervingly, a high voltage is also passed through the water to ensure the boots are non-conductive of electricity. “But the best quality check is the knowledge of the person who makes the boot – it’s a very manual, very human process, so of course mistakes can be made, but we try not to make too many,” jokes Marc Longuet, one-time bespoke boot-maker and now Le Chameau’s

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product director, whose father was also a director at the company from 1955. “But making rubber boots is actually a very complex business. The recipe for the rubber has to keep evolving – the right amount of sulphur, the right amount of dye and so on, but even buying the raw material can be tricky. Rubber is a commodity, after all, so we buy supplies at least a year in advance and have to be conscious of fluctuating prices.” If that makes the product sound all too workaday, note that the top of the range styles are also leather-lined, an idea revolutionary to the rubber boot market back in the 1950s when Le Chameau introduced it. Fortunately for the customer, only the best leathers – those that might be suitable for the uppers of a decent pair of shoes – are able to survive the Vulcanisation process unscathed. These are, if you like, the John Lobb of wellies, with styles the likes of the Saint-Hubert, Vierzon and Chasseur Le Chameau’s very own classics. “I’m very much fixated with product. That’s what it comes down to in the end – whether the boots are any good,” says Williams. “I’ve spent a lifetime working in fashion retail and I think that is what the customers want more and more now. That’s what I love about the story of Claude Chamot – that he started the company after going out and actually speaking to farmers, hunters and fishermen about what they wanted in a boot. And then he decided to do something about making it.” n

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EQUIPMENT HOW WE MADE IT BIG TIME

The iconic – and unashamedly macho – Panerai brand of oversized wrist watches have become ultra cool almost by accident, as Josh Sims discovers talking to the company’s enthusiastic CEO, Angelo Bonati Whichever way you look at it, Panerai is big – culturally, horologically, but, above all, literally. Size has become its calling card. While other companies use gold or diamonds, heft is the factor that gets a Panerai watch noticed on the wrist – that and the fact that its wearer, finding few shirt cuffs will button up over their chunk of metal, will doubtless have no choice but to wear it nicely exposed. Among its bigger wristwatches is one that sizes up at an impressive 60mm diameter. Its smallest is 42mm, still enough for Panerai to lay claim to having pioneered the trend for out-sized timepieces which, over a decade on, is still with us. “Size is what made Panerai feel very new. Panerai’s personality is about being large. And it’s still working that way for us. Big matters and makes us stand out,” says Angelo Bonati, the dapper don who was appointed CEO of the company 14 years ago, when, frankly, mostly only Loope-wielding nerds had really ever heard of it. “Of course, big is not for everybody, and it means we’re not going to do ladies’ watches any time soon, even though around 15% of all our sales are to women buying for themselves. I’m not sure what the appeal is to them. Maybe they think of these watches as being protective, like wearing a good piece of armour.” You could certainly do a lot of damage with

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

a Luminor 1950 Left-Handed 3 Days (47mm), a Radiomir 1940 Chronograph (45mm) or a Luminor Base 8 Days (44mm), among the company’s 2014 models. For each, almost inevitably, demand has been enthusiastic. But why? Panerai, after all, was the brand from nowhere, largely invisible until the 1990s and now a powerhouse watch label owned by the Richemont luxury goods group. It had history

on its side – it had been founded way back in 1860 by one Giovanni Panerai, putting it on a par with many other esteemed watch companies. But for decades its output had been minuscule, verging on non-existent. Geography arguably offered a point of distinction: the re-born Panerai may have been made in Neuchatel, one of Switzerland’s watchmaking centres, but it hailed from Florence and, tellingly, was headquartered in fashion hub Milan. Certainly Bonati argues that this made Panerai memorable, but it is hardly the makings of a cult. “When people buy Panerai they buy history – and then a watch. So that Italian background is 100% important to the success of the company I think. The best way that we have built the brand is by putting that Italian element first,” he says. “It even helped that originally Panerai was from Florence, of course, because that is one of the best cities in the world for art and culture, so there is always that stress on the beautiful and aesthetic, which is very Italian.” Not that beauty was high on the agenda of Panerai’s only customer come its last glory days, during the 1930s, when it was making diving watches, as well as compasses and depth gauges for the Italian Navy, and more specifically – and more exotically and marketably – for its commando units, those

EQUIPMENT

heroes of national survival during World War Two, once the British fleet had won control of the Mediterranean. In this, in its distinctive lever bridge device, and in its size – which Bonati chose to retain, even exacerbate, when Panerai was relaunched – the brand clearly had a certain appealing machismo, which Bonati doesn’t deny. “I suppose that, yes, you would have to call Panerai a rather macho brand – it’s just part of its heritage,” he says. “It’s not so macho these days perhaps. As every other brand went through a phase of adopting Panerai sizing, to extremes in some cases, we learned to be more balanced. But sure, an Italian masculinity still comes out. And that tends to be on the particularly macho side – though I like to think it’s nicely rounded too.” But is a Boys’ Own tale and what some might call the gimmick of scale really enough to explain Panerai’s revival? After all, not only is Panerai one of the most sought-after watches – in part a product of carefully and cleverly controlled supply, from a company that could make and sell many more watches – but it has also become one of the most collectible. And not just to the militaria buffs who favour its Marina Militare and Radiomir models (with its innovative radium-based luminosity), nor the Rolex fanatics who knew that their brand of

choice had supplied a version of its Cortebert pocket watch movement for the Panerais of the wartime era. Rather, it has become a Patek Philippe for the 21st century young gun, and an investor favourite: a pre-1990 Panerai could once be bought for $1,000 or less. The same would now cost you well over $50,000. “For some 60 years of its history Panerai only produced perhaps 300 units a year – and we continue to keep the quantities low in order to keep that exclusivity. And now there are a lot of people who can afford a lot of watches – so they want something very exclusive,” argues Bonati. This was something recognised early on, when Richemont, celebrating the Radiomir’s 60th birthday, conveniently uncovered 60 dead-stock examples of the original Rolex movements, fitted them in a platinum replica and promptly made back its

money; one of these too would now be worth at least 15 times its original price. “I know we could sell a lot more watches than we do, but we’re careful to keep it rare, so to speak. We want to expand more by upgrading what we do rather than by selling more of what we already do. We’re not really into just building market share.” Although the ingredients are all there, how they so successfully mixed seems a mystery, and that’s even to Bonati – the watch industry veteran who can be credited with reinventing Panerai after Johann Rupert, executive chairman of the Richemont group of swanky brands, bought it in 1997 for next to nothing; the veteran who, for the first six months following, ran the company by himself – that is, literally, on his own. “Sometimes things happen in your life and you really don’t know how. You can make an assessment of it in retrospect but sometimes you still can’t look at a luxury brand and know how it became luxury,” says Bonati, looking genuinely perplexed by it all, but also rather pleased. “There’s no mathematical equation to it. There’s an element of process you can manage. You have to be careful to see luxury status when it comes and work on it – so if being Italian is fundamental to the brand, you have to make sure you keep it there. Yet even so not all luxury brands are successful and that’s not to say the people running them are stupid at all. It’s just a very complex happening. “The fact is, if you can’t manufacture cool, which you can’t – or at least, not very easily. From a business point of view, all you can do is make sure you make good watches and that the watches aren’t everywhere. You can follow the cool rules but, really, coolness just comes from the market.” n

I know we could sell a lot more watches than we do, but we’re careful to keep it rare, so to speak. We want to expand more by upgrading what we do. We’re not really into just building market share

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

ENTREPRENEUR

AUTUMN 14

WE’RE BACK IN FASHION

Julie Price explains to Brian Nicholls the vital indicators prompting her to revive the garment manufacturing industry in Britain You’ve got to be optimistic about any start-up to put pen to paper and commit to a property lease for 10 years. But that’s exactly what Julie Price and her fellow directors have done, and business so far justifies their confidence. Julie is one of two women who, only a few miles apart in County Durham, are creating a

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

rebirth of two British industries that long ago gave up their ghost to other countries. While Julie is reviving garment manufacturing through newly sprung AMA Group at Peterlee, Pamela Petty at the long-established Ebac manufacturing works at Newton Aycliffe is leading a company diversification from

water chillers and dehumidifiers into washing machine production. “We haven’t met yet, but maybe a girls’ evening out should be on the cards,” Julie laughs. It was others who were laughing, perhaps even scoffing, when Julie first intimated her bold intention. County Durham once had numerous factories turning out clothes for the likes of Astraka, Sara Lee, Courtaulds, Dewhirst and Ramar. But as retailers switched to cheaper imports from the Far East and The Maghreb, 4,000 textile jobs in County Durham and all the North East were wiped out. Julie herself had been working for 17 years with Claremont Garments at Peterlee, and was fabric technical and purchasing director when the crunch came in 1996. She was not one to accept an industrial death, however. Educated at Bede School in Sunderland, where she grew up, she had gone on to gain a textile degree at Leeds University. Textiles were in the family blood; her dad in the industry had

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Despite our numerous years of collective experience in the industry, it has been difficult to get past the ‘startup’ label, and access to finance has been very challenging won an MBE. She went peripatetic for 15 years to continue doing work she loves. She became fabric technical and development manager for the mighty Next retail group, working in Leicester, commercial director for Premoda Group at Nelson in Lancashire, managing director of Quantum Lingerie in Nottinghamshire, and ran a company of her own, Essensual Lingerie, for 10 years until 2009, before setting up Cre8ive St8 Ltd two years ago, a venture to create sports brands. Then, over 18 months ago, an idea even more ambitious germinated. “I think initially it was over a glass of wine with my husband,” Julie recalls. They’d been trying retirement but found the fit uncomfortable. “We had discussions with retailers and concluded something like AMA was possible. It then became a matter of creating the right team to drive the business in a seamless manner.” Grass doesn’t grow under feet in Peterlee, obviously. By last May, production was under way. AMA garments are now selling to customers in Tesco stores, with a larger order under way, all stitched up by 34 machinists. Julie and Paul Watts are joint managing directors. David, Julie’s husband, and Steven Price and Steven Lawson are directors. Steven is Julie’s stepson. Julie, David and Paul were all directors of Claremont Garments. Steven Lawson was an executive there too. Steven Price, while he didn’t work for Claremont,

ENTREPRENEUR

has 10 years’ experience in the earlier business Julie created supplying lingerie to retailers. “Initially many people in the trade thought us crazy,” Julie admits concerning AMA (which stands for Apparel Manufacturing Academy). “On the other hand, some have regarded us as brave. We’ve never had any doubt and are committed to creating a sustainable business. We looked into the market, did our research, and coupling this with an apparent shift in public attitude became convinced this was something that could work. “After we announced our plans, I received a postcard from an Andy Jones whom I’ve never met. It said: ‘I was impressed with the local news report about the AMA Group, Good luck! I think it’s fantastic to be garment manufacturing in the North East again. As a consumer it’s so disheartening to see Made in Pakistan, Turkey etc. “’I for one don’t mind paying a little more for goods that are quality and that support local firms and the local economy’. This is a true representation of attitude change. We’re proud to help people to return or enter the industry that offered us fantastic careers.” AMA expects breakeven within its first year. “We’re projecting at least £1.5m year one, which is above our original plan of just under

£1m. But we believe this will increase rapidly. Our challenge will lie in managing that growth financially,” Julie says. Initially AMA is turning out soft separates jersey wear – tops, T shirts and vests. “But,” says Julie, “manufacturing has been set up in such a way that we can manufacture any product of low work content in any substrate, jersey, lace or woven goods. So we’re not product exclusive. We can supply a broad offer on a quick response basis, enabling the retailer to react to fast selling product or ‘on trend’ product and maximise their sell-through rate.” Enquiries poured in from regional, national and international retailers, and brands keen to work with them in a response beyond expectation, once it was known garments were being turned out. But F&F, the brand exclusive to Tesco, was first to commit and has an option to take up total capacity. Julie points out: “F&F have been very supportive of our project. They too are excited by what we’re trying to establish. They’ve indicated a production requirement for one department, which will take us three years forward. “We’re also entering talks with F&F’s nightwear and sportswear departments. We have ambitious growth plans, so they may not >>

What AMA’s believers say Grahame Morris MP for Easington: “I’ll continue to do everything I can to help the AMA Group implement their ambitious growth plans over coming months.” Jason Tarry, chief executive of F&F: “AMA Group’s expertise means our customers will be able to buy good quality British-made clothing at great prices.” Annmarie Dawson, employed in the industry for almost 30 years: “When I saw Julie and Paul were creating this facility, I jumped at the chance to work with them again…such a buzz about the place as we know we’re part of something special.” Sarah Marshall, Rural Enterprise development officer: “AMA Group’s plans are helping to put this area on the map for all the right reasons.” Joanne Urquhart-Arnold, Business Durham’s business development area manager, who helped the company find its premises: “This is a really exciting time for East Durham.” Suzanne Duncan, principal of East Durham College: “I’m so pleased the college can do its bit to support the company by training those employees without experience. It’s a great opportunity for them to find secure work in an industry once the bedrock of this area.” Enid Dalton, from Jobcentre Plus: “We’ve had a phenomenal amount of interest in the jobs.” Bill Naylor, of Naylors Chartered Surveyors which acted for the owners letting to AMA one of the last big spaces left in the part of the former East Durham Enterprise Zone where AMA is: “While AMA Group is a new company, it has masses of industry experience at senior management level and has identified market opportunities that foreign manufacturers are unable to meet.”

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

ENTREPRENEUR

be our sole customer in the future, but they will be our sole supermarket customer.” At the company’s first recruitment open day held with Jobcentre Plus, around 100 people attended, and about 200 applications were subsequently made for the first 34 machinist jobs. Says Julie: “We initially expected to take on more than 100 staff. But response from potential customers has been so positive we think that’s conservative, and the figure could exceed 200 by the end of 2015 – more, even, beyond.” The additions will be not only machinists, but also support staff and apprentices. “However,” she observes, “it is fair to say that, unfortunately to date we’ve had no monetary support from any government body for creating these jobs, 95% of which have been filled by people originally unemployed. We’d be disappointed to have to slow our rate of expansion on the back of this.” The directors themselves have financed the project so far, investing over £100,000 in share capital and loan. “But to date none of the directors has received any remuneration for time spent in the assessment, the formation and management now of the business. If included, this figure could be four times that amount,” Julie estimates. However a business loan has been secured from Rivers Capital Partners the private equity funder, and a match funded grant towards capital expenditure from the Alliance Textile Growth Fund. “We had early indications of government incentives for creating jobs. To date we’ve seen no evidence, and this is disappointing.” But support has come from the North East

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

AUTUMN 14

Rural Growth Network, which is managed by East Durham Business Service, and you won’t find AMA Group working from a brownfield tin shed, rag trade style. It operates from 46,000sq ft of modern office space at Whitehouse Business Park, whose occupants also include Bristol Laboratories, the NHS and Durham Police. The venue was chosen deliberately to reflect a modern, hi-tech approach to fashion manufacturing, and skill will be emphasised as the group works with East Durham College to train employees new to the industry. Julie explains: “The modern, high-tech facility we’ve chosen to work from helps our plans to change the image of the ‘rag trade’ and make it more attractive to younger people.” But about that 10 year lease they’ve taken on, representing the largest office letting in East Durham for more than a decade. “We’re very confident, yes. We knew when we

committed the time was right to bring clothing manufacturing back to East Durham. Though many thought us mad we fully believe in our plans, and the response we’ve had backs up our belief. “We don’t see AMA stopping at just one site. We believe we could have three or four sites in the North.” Why is Made in Britain viable once more? Julie suggests: “Recently we’ve all become much more conscious of where our clothing comes from, both socially and environmentally. That, coupled with the inflexibility of sourcing products from overseas, has prompted retailers to look at their supply chain. There’s also evidence that retailers can improve profitability through shortened lead times and reduction in write-downs from closer to point of sale decision making. “We’ve taken a scientific view to the business and to the type of product viable to produce, and the route of ‘low work content’ product is perfect. Any pay increments for UK production are insignificant on lower work content product, compared to the freight and import duties on product sourced offshore. These factors drove us to think seriously about bringing manufacturing back to the area. Any unexpected challenges since start-up? “Despite our numerous years of collective experience in the industry, it has been difficult to get past the ‘start-up’ label, and access to finance has been very challenging.” One feels, though, that the collective determination apparent at AMA will overcome challenges even greater should they arise. n

A highly driven spirit After her 17 years at Claremont, Julie changed jobs quite often. Was this a restless spirit that drove her finally to set up herself? “I’d say, rather, an ambitious, highly driven spirit,” she replies. “After leaving Claremont, I joined the womenswear management at Next head office and developed an understanding of the industry from a retailer’s perspective. “Since then I’ve had my own businesses, culminating in the 10 years of Essensual, which I started with a £65,000 investment and grew to a £13m turnover company designing and supplying through offshore manufacturing, lingerie collections to the High Street.” It would have been understandable if Julie, after her extensive career already, had preferred at 56 to stay at home in Durham and enjoy more time with her husband, two stepsons and a step daughter in law, two grandchildren and other family members resident in Sunderland and Durham area. But her father Ernest Rowntree was an executive of Bonas Machine Company, manufacturing textile machinery for creating narrow fabrics on Tyne and Wear. It won three Queen’s Awards while he won his MBE. “Maybe my ambition came from that,” Julie muses. “Dad also brought jobs to our region.”

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IN ANOTHER LIFE

AUTUMN 14

Ian Malcolm, MD of vehicle parts maker ElringKlinger GB, heads its headquarters in Redcar where 190 people work. His background was in accountancy, but it might have been different, he admits

LOOK AFTER YOUR CUSTOMER OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL I’m a sociable person, and there’s nothing I enjoy more than winding down at the end of the day with a good glass of wine, taking time over a delicious meal and catching up with family or friends. When I step into a new restaurant, I’m instantly on high alert. The ambience of a place is key – from the layout of the welcome area to the interior design. This is, of course, in addition to staff service which, much as with the food, has to be first class. That said, I’m by no means a restaurant snob. I’ll try anywhere on good recommendation, regardless of whether or not it holds a Michelin Star. I live in County Durham where there are a number of terrific places to dine on my doorstep – the Oak Tree at Hutton Magna and Ochi’s in Darlington, to name just a couple. My love of travel has also given me a taste for different cultures, and India and North America are just some of the places which inspire me when I’m cooking at home. I don’t profess to be a great chef, but I do enjoy experimenting with flavours and trying new dishes. I lived in New Zealand for some years and this instilled in me a passion for good wine. The country produces the best Sauvignon Blanc available, in my opinion. I also often travel to Germany, where ElringKlinger’s global headquarters are, and service there is second to none. They really know how to look after you. Throughout university I earned my crust as a porter and barman, so I have some understanding of the hospitality industry. Many a time I’d have to deal with a rude or ill-tempered customer. But I quickly learned how to turn a tricky situation into a positive one, and funded much of

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

my studies off some generous tips! Today, accuracy, recording and analysis of detail are key parts of my job. Perhaps because of this I consider I have an incredibly critical eye for detail about customer service, and this applies to business as a whole – not just to hospitality. I believe businesses, be it manufacturing or hospitality, exist to serve and look after their customer. This attitude has stood me in good stead to date. A key area of my job is focusing on excellent customer service and nurturing and building relationships with them. If something unfortunate happens or a problem with a customer occurs, often swallowing a decent sized portion of humble pie can turn

things in your favour – what can you do to put the situation right for them, rather than correct the error itself? When it comes down to it, I think I made the right career choice. Manufacturing is, I hope, at the dawn of a new era. The UK economy has had to sit up and take serious stock of the state of the sector, post-recession. The landscape is shifting and I’m enjoying being a part of that. However, I will always wonder if and how things might have been different. My passion for travel and culture gets stronger year on year and, in another life perhaps, I might have been able to bring all these elements together with a restaurant of my own. Who knows, maybe there’s still time! n

PRINCE’S TRUST

AUTUMN 14

STARS SHINE FOR THE YOUNG FOLK Alan Shearer and other great sports personalities teed off at Benfield Golf Day and Gala Dinner, which has raised £50,000 with The Prince’s Trust in support of disadvantaged youngsters across the North East It was a day that saw some of the biggest stars of sport and TV shine bright – and all in the name of charity. Newcastle United legend and former England footballer Alan Shearer was among those taking part in a fundraising golf match and dinner in aid of the Prince’s Trust at Northumberland’s Close House Golf Club. Shearer was joined by former Magpies players Rob Lee and John Beresford, former Olympic, World, Commonwealth and European champion triple jumper Jonathan Edwards, former world’s fastest bowler Steve Harmison and fellow Durham CCC star Phil Mustard, along with TV’s Ralf Little and professional golfer, Kelly Tidy. The X Factor’s Shayne Ward and impressionist – and Prince’s Trust Ambassador – Jon Culshaw, performed at the dinner held in the Gateshead Hilton. The day’s entire activities raised £50,000. Alan Shearer says: “Many times things we all take for granted can be everyday life for so many disadvantaged young people in our region. “It is tragic some feel so low they may not have the confidence to walk out the door in the morning. Funds we raised again this year are vital to helping The Trust continue its work to ensure these young people aren’t forgotten.” Over 300 guests attended the gala event

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sponsored by Benfield Motor Group, whose Matthew Squires points out: “With almost one in four young people struggling to find work in the region, we are passionate about providing them with support and opportunities.” The Trust supported almost 4,000 people aged 13 to 30 in the North East last year, with three in four of them going on to work, education or training.

>> Gunning for youth A pop of the gun signals another hugely successful fund raiser to help the young people. This year’s clay pigeon shoot hosted by law firm Bond Dickinson raised £36,000 for The Prince’s Trust. The annual event, in conjunction with John Holland of J T Holland Food Services in Gateshead, had 25 teams competing on Lambton Estate in County Durham. Guests of honour included former England and Lions rugby player Neil Antony Back. This event has raised more than £100,000 in all for the charity.

>> John steps up John Marshall, long a supporter of The Prince’s Trust, is now interim chairman of the Trust’s North East Development Committee.

John, vice-chairman of Bond Dickinson law firm, has taken up the role following the death of John Wall. He says 49,000 young people in the North East struggling to find work need all the support that charities like The Prince’s Trust can give. “We can all help with this,” he says. “So many North East firms are looking to bring in apprentices – marvellous. But even taking this first step would be beyond some young people without the likes of The Trust. “Bringing lasting change for them matters. I know how passionately John Wall felt and I will seek in my own way to replicate his enthusiasm, drive and commitment.”

>> Harry gets a start Harry Huntley spent two weeks with Tharsus Group during a 12 week course with The Prince’s Trust. He so impressed the management in tackling assembly projects, he now has a permanent job there. Tharsus, an original design and manufacture firm based at Blyth, employs 150 people working in electromechanical products and metalwork parts for customers that range from global corporations to start-ups. Harry, 22, of Morpeth, says: “I’m extremely grateful to Tharsus and The Trust.”

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MEDIA BRIEFS

AUTUMN 14

The Scrutator >> It’s up to our entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs are being urged to make “the dramatic changes” the North East needs for progress, with Sir John Hall – their whipper-in – admitting “sadness at times” that the changes are not being made at all. Half a century after establishing his Cameron Hall Developments that brought the Metrocentre to Gateshead – and a new age for the region’s retail sector – he declares: “I have lived through so many initiatives. But unless we get some stability and strategy for the region I am quite convinced in 50 years’ time people will be talking about the same problems.” He made his point on receiving a lifetime

achievement award from the Entrepreneurs’ Forum. He told fellow entrepreneurs at the awards evening in Gateshead: “You are the custodians of enterprise in this area. You need to get out there and mentor. New businesses are starting all the time. If you don’t help the new starters and we don’t get the SMEs to grow and create the jobs, we won’t make the progress we need.” On devolution, he wants to hold Prime Minister David Cameron to account. “I want to be able to say we have a future for our place,” he declared. “We need politicians and leadership who are going to carry this region

>> Coping with change A senior lecturer and health psychologist at Northumbria University has a book out exploring why folk are so resistant to change. Dr Vincent Deary’s How We Are (Allen Lane) is part of a How To Live trilogy that examines the difficulty of effecting change in daily life. He explains: “When something happens to disrupt our routines – such as a new relationship, loss of an old relationship, bereavement, changing jobs or moving to a new city – we have to adjust. “But change is physiologically tiring, emotionally arousing and mentally pre-occupying. It will continue to be so until we reach a new normal and re-establish equilibrium. Change takes us out of auto-pilot.” Dr Deary will speak at the Freethinking Festival at the Sage Gateshead on 1 November. The discussion will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3’s Free Thinking programme later.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

If you don’t help the new starters, we won’t make the progress we need through. They have not made the dramatic changes needed, and if the politicians aren’t going to do it, the private sector has to take up the challenge.” In a stimulating book in which Sir John is quoted – Up There: The North East, Football, Boom and Bust (De Coubertin Books) by Michael Walker – he blames a lack of reinvestment and short-term capitalism for much of the region’s economic decline. The former coalface surveyor at Newbiggin Colliery who, as chairman of Newcastle United, guided the club into world class football, argues in the book that the region’s wage structure is too low, and that even the population of the entire North East is too small a market place. Looks like North East bosses will have to cut dividends and profits and invest more cash instead in the businesses, while workforces make more babies. Seriously, though, despite football’s faded fortunes being the focus in the book, it deserves a wide readership. However, do people in power read these days?

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

Science Central opens for business The Core, the first building on Science Central, welcomes its first tenants in early November, and will be home to a range of growing knowledge-based businesses. These include a flourishing software developer, significant academic and industry research partnerships, as well as Newcastle University’s new Centre for Professional and Executive Development. Offering over 29,000 sq ft of flexible office space, the building will be a unique environment for collaboration, where creative minds come together to share skills, expertise, and generate ideas. The building benefits from a large shared lounge on the ground floor, with space for events, installations and demonstration area. With one of the tallest living walls in the UK, standing 27 metres high, the building stays true to the vision for Science Central with sustainability at its heart, and includes planted sedum roofs, rainwater harvesting, as well as adjoining new green public spaces. Delivered by a long term, committed partnership between Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council, Science Central is the city’s new landmark location for science, business, living and leisure, designed to support a thriving community, rewarding jobs and ground-breaking scientific advances. Combining cutting-edge architecture with new public spaces, world-renowned scientific expertise and leading-edge companies, it will be an innovation hub where investors, businesses, entrepreneurs, students, scientists, and citizens collaborate to plan and develop for tomorrow’s cities. It will be used as a living laboratory where solutions can be tested, demonstrated and commercialised, creating a lasting legacy of science and innovation for the North East. In addition to The Core, Newcastle University is investing over £58m on Science Central, which includes a state-of-the-art urban sciences building due to open in 2017. The building will be home to Newcastle University’s Institute for Sustainability where engineers, scientists and digital researchers will come together to discover solutions to the urban sustainability challenges we face. Science Central has outline planning permission

Science Central aerial

Science Central, the 24 acre site on the former Scottish & Newcastle brewery in the heart of Newcastle city centre, is now open for business.

secured across the 24 acre site, and is development-ready with all enabling works now complete. Offering over 500,000 sq ft of commercial space to be delivered over 18 different plots, it will also incorporate a collection of family houses and contemporary apartments, with over 400 new homes available over eight different plots. Set to become the new must-have address in Newcastle as Science Central develops its own distinct character, the neighbourhood will reflect the collaborative nature of the development, with shared green spaces, pavement cafés, walkways and cycle lanes, all contributing to a sustainabilityconscious community spirit. Now firmly on the map as one of the largest city centre mixed-use developments of its kind in the UK, Science Central was recently shortlisted for two prestigious awards at MIPIM UK, a major conference for the UK property sector. Science Central was the only project outside London to be shortlisted for the Regeneration Project of the Year category, and was up against stiff competition from two major London-based projects, which was won by an £8bn residential development at Earls Court. It was also the only site in England to be shortlisted for the Future Project Award, with the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games venues taking the crown. Pat Ritchie, Chief Executive of Newcastle City Council said, “Together with our partner Newcastle University, we were delighted to be shortlisted for these national awards. It is an exciting time for the development, and we are committed to

continuing to deliver this unique project over the next 10-15 years, to help bring more and better jobs to the city.” Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, Professor Chris Brink said, “Getting to the finals of these awards recognises not only the contribution that Science Central is making to the regeneration of the area, but also the vision we have to build a smart, sustainable city.” In the past year, Science Central has been nominated for a number of honours, winning an award for sustainability from the Institute of Civil Engineers and an ‘Excellent’ rating for sustainability from BREEAM, the world’s leading assessor of sustainable buildings. Whether you are a developer looking for the next big opportunity, a growing business looking for a collaborative and dynamic environment, an academic who wants to be involved in development the next generation of scientific breakthroughs, or a citizen who wants to benefit from a better quality of life, now is the time to get involved.

To find out more visit www.newcastlesciencecentral.com Science. Central to you future.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

BIT OF A CHAT

with Frank Tock

AUTUMN 14

>> Oh deer, deer

>> Before and after

I have it on good authority from Jeff Winn, head of Winn Solicitors’ one-stop claims shop for traffic accidents, that deers have been running into cars increasingly in Northumberland. Many vehicles are being written off. “It’s amazing how much damage a deer can do,” Winn muses. “We’ve even had drivers ring us up, wanting to sue the deers!” But no-one seems to own them, come investigation.

Just days before celebs had their nude pictures stored with Cloud hacked into, I received a suggestion on behalf of Richard Alexander, co-founder of Prism Total IT Solutions, saying Cloud accountancy really can be safer. I can’t figure it out.

>> You show me yours

>> Happy times

The business card, it’s suggested, is fast being made obsolete by new technology. The verdict comes from enquirers at officebroker.com who’ve spoken to more than 500 business folk about their use of the little tool once considered vital. They found that more than 20% who owned a card a decade ago don’t bother now. And, of the others, more than 75% still holding them say they rarely use them. Instead, they swop contact details by smartphones, promising to email or hook up by social media. The study found 22% of executives who relied on cards in 2004 had now chosen to do away with them altogether. One executive observed: “We live in a digital age yet some people still rely on little bits of card that for me are as much a relic of the 1980s as fax machines and brick shaped mobile phones.” A woman who set out in a new job with 500 business cards four years ago has about 450 left. I think they’re all wrong, though. Visiting cards can be a work of art. Visiting cards could also become collectors’ items long after they’ve been wiped off screens.

Plants in the office – greenery not bosses’ narks – improve output by 15% say researchers at Cardiff University’s school of psychology. Memo to the bosses: if you can’t afford yet to rehire the outsourced plant protectors who once called regularly, put up a quarterly prize for the best bloom lovingly nurtured by a staff member. Draw the line only on those requesting powerful lights to blaze down on their pots night and day.

We live in a digital age yet some people still rely on little bits of card

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

>> Empty threat What could the Government most usefully do to liven the market in commercial property? Proprietary partner Tim Evans has no doubt as the global agency Knight Evans celebrates its two decades of direct operation in the North East. “Remove the rating on empty buildings. You don’t pay tax on any other product until you buy or use it. Yet landlords and developers have to pay tax on a product when it’s not being used, bought or occupied. It’s really unfair.”

>> Right or left? Before considering whom to vote for in next year’s General Election, be sure to watch the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on 3 December. See whether the promise of a £600m spend towards dualling the A1 through Northumberland to Scotland is to become reality!

>> Out in the open Full marks to South Tyneside Council for exemplary initiative. They’re filming full council meetings so that the public can see democracy at work via the council website. Might this go some way towards stimulating interest in politics and raising turnouts at polls? Business folk who haven’t time to sit in a public gallery are regularly staggered by decisions some councils reach, allegedly in the public interest. And if it’s right to televise procedures of Parliament, it must in any case be right to film local politics in process. Let’s hope it also revives transparency through more open debate too, instead of Cabinet-style decisions made behind closed doors and disseminated with syrup on by PR people.

>> As you like it Wouldn’t you think someone launching a new whisky distillery would be fairly conservative about how the precious liquid is taken. Not so Paul Currie at The Lakes Distillery. He declares cheerfully: “I’m a huge advocate of drinking it in lots of different ways. In summer as a long drink with loads of ice, it’s fantastic. Or put a bottle into the freezer then drink it from there – great. There’s still a lot of snobbery in some quarters. People should drink it as they want to.”

There’s still a lot of snobbery... people should drink it as they want to

AUTUMN 14

COMPANY PROFILE

What would you do for an introduction to your next client? NEPIC’s Business Acceleration programme for SMEs, known as BASME, is currently helping 370+ regional companies to find more work in the process sector BASME is funded to the sum of £1.5m by the Regional Growth Fund and is backed by 170 senior figures from the process industry. The programme specifically helps ambitious SMEs to develop their export and UK sales to the process sector by providing access to targeted mentoring support, free workshops, and the wider NEPIC Cluster. To date 520+ jobs have been created in the region as a result of the SME scheme and some 250 companies have received industry mentoring from senior figures from the likes of Huntsman Polyurethanes to Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. By the end of the programme, BASME aims to have engaged with 400 small to medium-sized businesses from across the North East, created 1,000 jobs, and generated a combined turnover of £40m additional sales from the sector. As it edges closer to its final year the BASME team are feeling confident about meeting the targets that were set in 2012. However, the success of the programme should really be measured by what the companies have achieved individually since joining BASME. Felix O’Hare, BASME Programme Manager said: ‘We want the companies on the programme to achieve measurable business growth, which is why we’re doing everything in our power to ensure they have opportunities to access mentoring, make the right contacts, and share best practice with one another. ‘We are continuing to achieve this by making sure that our members have access to free B2B conferences and exhibitions where they can make connections and benefit further from the collective power of the NEPIC Cluster. ‘We’ve already had several great success stories from companies that have found each other through the programme and partnered on exciting projects.’ Saltburn-based Scurator and Stockton-based

Access to free conferences and exhibitions means that SMEs on the BASME programme get the opportunities they need to grow their current business networks

In EU clusters it is common for large manufacturers and SMEs in the supply chain to share best practice - the BASME programme proves that it works in the UK too Axiom Engineering Associates are just two of the engineering companies that have benefited from an introduction. Greg Sills, Managing Director at Scurator, said: ‘The relationship we have with Axiom results from an initial meeting set up by Felix O’Hare to gauge whether there was any possibility of synergy, and this meeting created a springboard for our joint venture.’ Felix said: ‘Collaboration between companies on the BASME programme is part of the scheme’s ethos. We, as a team, are alert to identifying opportunities for possible partnerships between firms, and are keen to make introductions where we can. ‘It’s a delight to see two Teesside engineering companies working together, and this is not only of benefit to their joint client-base -

that now gain access to a wider range of services, but the region, as it continues to boost the North East’s reputation as a place of manufacturing excellence.’

BASME is looking for ambitious SMEs that are linked to the process sector supply chain and want to grow their business, engage with the sector, and be part of a strong industry cluster. To find out more about the how the programme could help you contact felix.ohare@nepic.co.uk or visit www.nepic.co.uk/basme.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

EVENTS

AUTUMN 14

BQ’s business events diary gives you lots of time to forward plan. If you wish to add your event to the list send it to editor@bq-magazine.co.uk and please put ‘BQ events page’ in the subject heading

NOVEMBER

19 North East Expo, Kingston Park stadium, Newcastle (9am) 19 Vat Problem Areas, ICAEW, Durham (9.30am). Book online.

4 D, Risk Management seminar, Ward Hadaway, Newcastle (7.30am)

19 Boosting Your Own Business Event, National Women’s Network, Ramside Golf Club, Durham

4 Mussel Club briefing, Are You Ready for Auto Enrolment? Ravensworth Arms Hotel, Gateshead (2pm). 4 CBI NE, Energy Efficiency, Controlling What’s in Our Power, Newcastle University Business School (8am) and Teesside University (noon). clara.stenning@cbi.org.uk 5 ICAEW, Twenty Ways to Add Value to Your Client Relationship, Ramside Hall, Durham (2pm). www.icaew.com/events#result 6 Business Durham, Marketing Magic Seminar, Enterprise House, Barnard Castle (noon), info@e-house.co.uk, 01833 696 750

19 Business Durham, Opportunities in Space, Newton Aycliffe (8.30am). Amanda.armstrong@be-group.co.uk 0191 426 6333 20 North Tyneside Business Forum, How to Sell to the Ministry of Defence, Village Hotel, Cobalt (8.30am) 20 Entrepreneurs’ Forum, Fortune Favours the Brave, business conference, Wynyard Hall, Billingham (8am) 20 Health and Safety Knowledge, Croner legislation update and the cost of accidents, NECC, Durham (9.15am)

6 Tax Update, ICAEW, Durham (9.30am). Book online

22 to 29 Access Brazil Market Visit, UKTI and NECC. gemma.bainbridge@necc.co.uk

6 Accounts and Audit Update, ICAEW,Durham (1.30pm). Book online

25 ICAEW Topical Tax Issues, Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham (2pm)

6 NECC Tyneside and Northumberland Annual Dinner, Newcastle Civic Centre

26 Export Procedures and Documentation, NECC, Durham (9.30am)

6 Mussel Club, Growth Funding, D’Aqua, Sunderland (6pm) 10 to 14 UKTI sixth Export Week. See below… 11 Export Week, Explore Export, Newcastle Racecourse (8.30am-4pm), inc Your Export Business Strategy, Fact or Fiction? (2.40) www.exportweek.ukti.gov/full. Also 0845 05 05 054 or email: enquiries@uktinortheast.org.uk 11 The Future of Aviation, Connecting Britain Faster, Doubletree by Hilton, Newcastle (8am) 11 Evening with Parsons Brinckerhoff, NOF Energy dinner (7.30pm) tbc 11 North East England Tourism Awards, Stadium of Light, Sunderland

27 Iron Man Attitude with Pete Wilkinson, Entrepreneurs’ Forum event, Brewin Dolphin, Newcastle (4.30pm) 27 ICAEW Business Confidence and Economic Review Breakfast, Jesmond Dene House Hotel, Newcastle (8am). Book online 27 FSB North East agm (7pm) 27 Doing Business in Central and Eastern Europe, UKTI and British Chambers of Commerce event, Copthorne Hotel, Newcastle (noon) 28 Problem Auditing UK GAAP, ICAEW, Durham (9.30am). Book online

11 NECC, Your Export Business Strategy, Fact or Fiction? 11 Entrepreneurs’ Forum Focus Dinner, Justin Urquart-Stewart (Seven Investment Management), Jesmond Dene House Hotel, Newcastle (6.30pm) 11, 12 B-Apco security and software event, St James’s Park, Newcastle. Tracey.langmaid@bapco.org.uk. 01522 548 325 (2pm on 11th, noon on 12th) 12 ICAEW Pensions Seminar, Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle (8.30am) 12 Export Week, Derisking your export finance, Aykley Heads Business Centre, Durham (8.30am). www.exportweek.ukti.gov/full. Also 0845 05 05 054 or email: enquiries@uktinortheast.org.uk 13 Export Week, Import Processes, Compliance and Documentation, Aykley Heads Business Centre, Durham (9am-4pm). www.exportweek.ukti.gov/full. 0845 05 05 054, enquiries@uktinortheast.org.uk 13 Doing Business in Turkey, Overseas Business Network and NECC event, Jury’s Inn Hotel, Newcastle (10am) 13 Bank of England Quarterly Inflation Briefing, Brewin Dolphin, Newcastle (11.45am) Prebook. 13 North East Business Executive of the Year Awards, Gosforth Marriott 13 Why Military? NOF Energy workshop, Holiday Inn, Seaton Burn (8am)

28 Entrepreneurs Forum Mentoring (North), PwC Newcastle (9.40am) and (South) at Growth Capital Ventures, Aycliffe Business Park (1.30pm)

DECEMBER

2 BQ Breakfast Live, Finding Funding The Entrepreneurs Guide, Tees Valley - Wynyard (08:30am to 11:00am). To register or more information contact Bryan Hoare at Bryan@room501.co.uk or call 0191 426 6300. Free to attend. 3 Tax Update, ICAEW, Durham (9.30am). 3 Partnerships, Hybrids and Other Structures, ICAEW, Durham (1.30pm). 4 NOF Annual Dinner, Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield (6.30pm). 4 Human Resources Knowledge, Interviewing for Success, NECC Durham (1.15pm) 9 ICAEW, VAT Update and Specific Business Sector Issues, Ramside Hall Hotel, Durham (2pm). www.icaew.com/events#result 10 How to Survive Christmas Self-Employed, National Women’s Network, The Church Mouse, Chester le Street 10 NOF Energy Workshop, Social Media, NOF Durham (8.45am)

13 Import Procedures and Documentation, NECC (9.30m) 13 Linking Business with Education, NECC event, North Shore Academy (8.30am)

18 International SEO and Social Media, Northern Design Centre, Gateshead (8.45am). charlotte.henderson@uktinortheast.org.uk, 0845 05 05 054

13 Raising Business Finance in the North East, Harlands Accountants and Business Durham, darren.wingfield@harland.co.uk (8.30am)

30 Filing deadline for 2013/14 tax return if you need HMRC to collect as underpaid tax by adjustment to your 2015/16 tax codes

14 Bank of England Quarterly Inflation Briefing, Teesside University, Vicarage Road, Darlington (8am). Prebook. 14 Sir Jonathan Ive, senior vice-president of design at Apple Inc, guest of honour at Northumbria University’s Enterprise and Innovation Dinner in support of the Enterprise and Innovation Fund, at Northumbria University (6.30pm). Northumbria.ac.uk/enterprisedinneer2014 14 ICAEW 65th annual Teesside Dinner, Thistle Hotel, Middlesbrough (7.30pm). 14 Inspiring Female Conference, Northumbria University (10am)

Please check with contacts beforehand that arrangements have not changed. Events organisers are also asked to notify us at the above email address of any changes or cancellations as soon as they are known.

14 CECA (NE) annual dinner, Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel 14 North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, Hilton Gateshead (6pm) 14 Export Week, IF Conference, Northumbria University (9am-4pm). www.exportweek.ukti.gov/full. Also 0845 05 05 054 or email: enquiries@uktinortheast.org.uk 15 Export Week, North East Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, The Hilton, Gateshead (7pm). www.exportweek.ukti.gov/full. Also 0845 05 05 054 or email: enquiries@uktinortheast.org.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 14

The diary is updated daily online at www.bqlive.co.uk

KEY: Acas: Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service, CIM: Chartered Institute of Marketing, CECA (NE): Civil Engineering Contractors Association (North-East), HMRC: Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, ICAEW: Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, ICE: Institution of Civil Engineers, IoD: Institute of Directors, NEA2F: North East Access to Finance, NECC: North-East Chamber of Commerce, NSCA: Northern Society of Chartered Accountants, FSB: Federation of Small Business, Tba: to be arranged, Tbc: to be confirmed, Tbf: to be finalised.

Connected

Ambitious Prepared

What an international business should be John Carroll Head of International, Santander UK

Helping Businesses go Further

“International trade can unlock significant growth but is often complex. So, whatever your sector, our Trade Portal has been developed to help you identify the largest markets, understand local regulations and connect with potential customers and suppliers on the ground. And with access to Trade Club, an exclusive online community for international businesses, we could give you the best chance of success overseas.”

GET CONNECTED WITH

MORE THAN ANY OTHER INTERNATIONAL BANK

To see how far your business could go, visit santandercb.co.uk/tradeportal email maureen.armstrong@santander.co.uk or call 0191 490 2926* Simple Personal Fair What a bank should be

5 million customer source: Santander Group internal data. You need to be an online banking customer of Santander Corporate & Commercial to gain full access to the Trade Portal and Trade Club. Santander Trade Portal is provided and managed by Export Entreprises S.A. Santander provides access to its client companies but is totally unrelated to the database contents, which are the responsibility of Export Entreprises S.A.

*Calls charged at national rates. Santander Corporate & Commercial is a brand name of Santander UK plc, Abbey National Treasury Services plc (which also uses the brand name Santander Global Banking and Markets) and Santander Asset Finance plc, all (with the exception of Santander Asset Finance plc) authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Our Financial Services Register numbers are 106054 and 146003 respectively. In Jersey, Santander UK plc is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission to carry on deposit-taking business under the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991. Registered oﬃ ce: 2 Triton Square, Regent’s Place, London NW1 3AN. Company numbers: 2294747, 2338548 and 1533123 respectively. Registered in England. Santander and the flame logo are registered trademarks. Santander UK plc is a participant in the Jersey Banking Depositor Compensation Scheme. The Scheme oﬀers protection for eligible deposits of up to £50,000. The maximum total amount of compensation is capped at £100,000,000 in any 5 year period. Full details of the Scheme and banking groups covered are available on the States of Jersey website (www.gov.je)or on request. CCBB0454 JUL 14 HT