BQ YORKSHIRE Issue 13

www.bq-magazine.co.uk

ISSUE THIRTEEN: SUMMER 2012

Turf battle The green-fingered growth champion sweet or sour?

Does the spirit of York’s most cherished industry live on? potash potential A new industrial dawn beckons for the region break for the border Cheat your way towards international success

worldly wise ISSUE THIRTEEN: SUMMER 2012: YORKSHIRE EDITION

The Yorkshire firm that built an empire from the jungles of Malaysia to the streets of Paris and everywhere between

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

YORKSHIRE EDITION

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WELCOME

BUSINESS QUARTER: SUMMER 12: issue 13 Sometimes themes and connections in magazines are so much better if they are unintended, particularly in a business magazine as they show just what great work is being done. I was thinking just that, as we put together this issue, looking at the huge amount of exporting of the most unlikely products many of our interview candidates are involved in.

First there’s Fibrelite, a Skipton business that manufactures and supplies composite manhole covers, primarily for petrol station forecourts but for other uses too. It has already cracked the American market, and has just opened up a new factory in Malaysia to make inroads into South East Asia too.

Then there’s Ellis, a byword for high quality in the world of cable laying. Its cleats (yes, I didn’t know what they were before we started preparing this issue either) are in site in some of the world’s most inhospitable locations.

And then there is STRI, based in Bingley - a consultancy whose independent expertise on sports turf is valued all around the world.

Whenever you switch on the TV and see some crucial event taking place on a perfectly manicured pitch, tennis court or golf green, there’s a strong chance that this organisation, now its in ninth decade, may have had a hand in preparing it.

Of course, if you were going to start an export business from scratch you probably wouldn’t think of exporting cleats, manhole covers or turf consultancy services, but that just goes to show what possibilities are out there.

Also this month we take a look at exciting developments in the east of our region where Sirius Minerals has just announced the discovery of what it claims is the largest and possibly purest deposit of polyhalite in the world. Polyhalite can be turned into potash, a vital fertiliser that is a much needed product as the world’s population continues to expand, but how can such mining fit in with the

unique landscape that is the North York Moors? We aim to find out.

We also report on the opening of a new museum in York dedicated to the story of the city’s connection with the chocolate industry.

Some would say that such recognition has come rather late in the day, when the industry is a shadow of its former self. But is such an assessment fair?

And we speak to Daniel Lee, founder of Leeds-based Pharmacy2U, who is finally hoping after seven years of waiting that his online pharmacy may be allowed to make inroads into the potentially massive NHS prescription market. He has just taken on someone to help him who must be familiar to most business people in Yorkshire – Andy Hornby, the retail genius from Asda who went on to blot his copy book by being in charge of HBOS when it had to be rescued.

Our business lunch guest this issue is Robert McClements, a man with connections in many a Yorkshire industry sector, but particularly in printing. He tells us why the industry is very, very far from declining.

Peter Baber, Editor BQ Yorkshire

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BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

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CONTE BUSINESS QUARTER: SUMMER 12 The hallowed turf of Bingley

Features

44 Global village Ellis MD Richard Shaw shares the secrets of the rural firm’s international success

18 worldly wise Skipton-based Fibrelite on the value of sticking to what you know

26 on hallowed turf The greenkeeping empire that took on the world of sport and won

38 sweet or sour?

Has York’s affiliation with chocolate making stood the test of time?

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66 growth tonic Why the hard work behind Pharmacy2U is finally set to pay off

72 out of the ashes BQ reports on the huge potential - and challenges - around the potash industry

76 breaking borders The export-focused Santander roadshow comes to town

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26 Getting online in the end

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TENTS YORKSHIRE EDITION

32 commercial property

The landmark deals and developments shaping our skyline

A varied but lucky life

50 business lunch Robert McClements reflects on his varied but lucky life

Regulars

54 wine Grant Thornton’s Will Oxley takes his first sip as a wine reviewer

56 motors Bentley’s Continental GT V8 breezes through the North Yorkshire countryside

08 on the record Doing the positives in business

10 news Who’s doing what, when, where and why here in Yorkshire

24 as i see it Hinrich Voss on why it’s time to load up the fast boats China

58 fashion

50 beginner’s luck

The menswear maestro at the heart of a French fashion dynasty

62 equipment How pen and paper are rising against the machines in the luxury market

80 frank tock Gripping gossip from our backroom boy

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54 BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

ON THE RECORD

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Food firm replenished, holy send off for an institution, Hornby rolls back into Yorkshire, football stadium plan kicks on, the secrets of being a winner revealed, and confidence rises amid fragile times >> Record sales for Cranswick Food producer Cranswick says a strong performance in the six months to the end of March has helped it recover from the impact of raw material prices rises last year to record its highest ever sales and second best trading profit in the company’s history.

In the year to the end of March, the company saw turnover rise by 10% to £821m, while pre-tax profits rose 3% to £48.4m, although this included a one-off gain of £2.6m arising from a sale it made of its interest in a Deeside business to Morrisons. Chairman Martin Davey said: “Against a background of strong raw material price increases early in the financial year and a continued challenging environment for the consumer, the company recovered strongly during the second half.”

The company also announced that chief executive Bernard Hoggarth, who has been in the role for the past eight years, would be stepping down. Mr Hoggarth, who turns 60 this year, will continue as a part-time commercial director. His replacement, Adam Couch, has been with the company for over 20 years since graduation and was appointed chief operating officer a year ago in preparation for the hand over.

>> Dalai Lama in swansong YIBC The Dalai Lama proved the highlight of the last ever Yorkshire International Business Convention to be held in Leeds/Harrogate, according to its organiser.

Mike Firth, who has organised what had become a key event in the Yorkshire corporate events calendar for the past 17 years, said all the speakers at this last event, who included Kevin Keegan, Steve Cram, Clare Balding and

BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

Mary Portas, were “excellent”. “But the highlight was the appearance of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,” he said. “He is a truly exceptional man who brings calm and serenity to all who meet him.”

The YIBC will be continuing at the Bridlington Spa next year, but not under Firth’s stewardship. Over the course over the past 17 years, some memorable speakers have come to the event, including Bill Clinton, Bob Geldof, George Bush Senior, and Colin Powell.

But audiences had tailed off in recent years.

Firth didn’t miss the opportunity of stepping down to attack plans for the Leeds Arena. He said an opportunity had been missed by not including exhibition and conference facilities in the plans.

>> Hornby returns to Yorkshire Andy Hornby, the former HBOS chief executive who resigned when the bank was taken over by Lloyds, is to become a chairman of a Yorkshire company for the first time since the debacle.

Hornby, who was one of a group of bankers who publicly apologised to a House of Commons select committee for the failure of their banks, is to become a non-executive chairman of Leeds-based online pharmacy Pharmacy2U. The Harvard Business School graduate was once seen as something of a wunderkind of Yorkshire business, having had a stellar career at Asda including managing the George brand before joining HBOS. But since leaving the bank he has held two posts, first as chief executive of Boots, which he held for less than two years, and more recently as the chief executive of Gala Coral.

Pharmacy2U founder and managing director Daniel Lee said: “We look forward to benefiting from Andy’s experience of

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the pharmacy industry and online retail businesses. “The imminent transition to electronic prescriptions across the NHS represents an exciting opportunity for Pharmacy2U, and Andy’s insights and leadership will be of significant value in helping us meet the challenges ahead while continuing to provide excellent patient care.”

Hornby said: “Pharmacy2U is an exciting organisation, and has an admirable track record of innovation and its potential to continue as an industry leader is clear.”

Hornby replaces Keith McCullagh, who has chaired the company since it was founded in the year 2000.

Pharmacy2U was advised in its recruitment

by John Wakeford, chief executive of Hitchenor Wakeford.

>> York stadium scheme approved City of York councillors have approved a new out-of-town retail scheme at Monks Cross that will see Marks & Spencer and John Lewis move into a development that also includes a new stadium for York City football club.

The councillors approved Oakgate’s scheme despite opposition from some traders that it would damage trading in the city centre.

But most councillors decided that the advantages the scheme would bring, in particular the development of a new community stadium, outweighed any adverse impact it would have and the scheme was passed by 11 votes to 4.

The development will also include a health clinic and an Institute for Health and Wellbeing run in conjunction with St John’s University.

An operator for the stadium still has to be picked however.

Councillor Sonja Crisp, the council’s cabinet member for leisure, culture and tourism, said: “We can now move forward with delivering a

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ON THE RECORD

community stadium for York which will bring new jobs, an economic boost to the city, a sustainable home for our professional sports clubs and community health and sporting facilities to be proud of.”

Council chief executive Kersten England said: “As a council priority, the delivery of a community stadium for York is key to us achieving our economic and health ambitions for the city.

“The build alone provides a significant return on investment - with every £1 spent of public money it leverages in £4 of private sector investment – and it will help us to attract further investment into the city by enhancing our offer for both business and residents.”

>> Conference to analyse winners

>> Confidence Zigzags Up Again

A sports psychologist turned business coach is bringing a conference to Yorkshire in October that is designed to inspire business leaders in how to improve their performance and grow their businesses.

Speakers at the first Be World Class conference to be held at the Royal Armouries on 25 October will include ultra-distance athlete Andy McMenemy – who completed 66 marathons in 66 days in 2001 – award-winning chef Kenny Atkinson and world barista champion James Hoffman. They will be quizzed by conference founder Simon Hartley in an attempt to find out what makes them strive that little bit more for success.

The format already proved a success last year when the first ever Be World Class event was held in Newcastle and featured Olympic swimmer Chris Cook and adventure racer Bruce Duncan.

Hartley said: “Last year’s conference was acknowledged as being a truly world class event and we are expanding the formula to Yorkshire and repeating it in the North East to enable even more bosses, managing director and chief executives to understand what outperformers from wide-ranging industries have in common.”

For more information go to www.beworldclassconference.com

Business confidence in the region has reached its highest level since the beginning of last year, a survey suggests, although figures elsewhere indicating a slackening on the jobs front suggest that what recovery there is is fragile.

According to the latest Grant Thornton/ICAEW UK Business Confidence Monitor report, released in June, business confidence in Yorkshire and the Humber stood at +19.2%, compared with -0.9% at the beginning of the year.

There was a particularly strong showing for exports, which have risen over the past year by 4.3%, and are expected to rise more strongly in the near future.

ICAEW regional director Chris Manners said such figures backed up claims by Hull & Goole Port Authority that the Humber Ports complex is currently the busiest in the country. He added that that two enterprise zones within the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) had also become operational in April, with financial incentives including discounted rates and enhanced capital allowances. A £150m debt on the Humber Bridge has also been written off, a move which allows tolls to be reduced.

However Jonathan Riley, senior partner for Grant Thornton in Yorkshire, said some caution was needed. “Any improvement in the key performance indicators is positive,” he said. “Turnover and profits are increasing, but nowhere near the rates seen pre-recession and businesses are beginning to realise that this environment may be the norm for some time.

At the same time, a survey of recruitment consultants across the North of England by KPMG suggested that growth in permanent appointments slowed in May, while availability of staff continued to increase at a faster rate than demand for workers.

Chris Hearld, senior partner at KPMG in Yorkshire, said: “May represented the tenth consecutive month in which permanent employment grew, in absolute terms, across the region, so it’s not all doom and gloom. That said, the slowing rate of employment growth indicates caution on the part of employers.”

At the same time, an insolvency trade body survey suggested that individual insolvences in the region reduced from 32.0 per 10,000 adult population in 2010 to 28.9 last year. However Yorkshire remains the region with the fifth highest rate of insolvencies in the UK and the fourth highest rate of bankruptcies. Two of the ten local authority areas with the highest rate of individual insolvencies in 2011 were in the region – Scarborough and Hull. And Ryedale was among the ten local authority areas with the largest increase – of 3.8%.

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NEWS

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Drawing a line under period of upheaval, ICG tucks into dried food market, Produmax sees off Chinese competition, superfast sales boost for broadband firm, and animalcare group nurses its wounds >> Restructuring complete, says consultancy White Young Green is warning that it will face ‘significant’ exceptional costs in the year to the end of June, mainly due to the restructuring it is going through, which has already led to the closure of some of its international offices. However the multidisciplinary consultancy, which parted company with former chief executive Lawrie Haynes in January after just 18 months and has seen significant board changes since then, says the restructuring is now largely complete.

In a pre-close statement it says contracts it has won this quarter include a deal with the London Borough of Merton to project manage £7.5m of new school sixth form buildings ahead of a Building Schools for the Future programme; its appointment as construction design and management co-ordinator in a £1.25bn consortium deal to widen key sections of the M25; and a €4.9m deal to support the European Commission on a three-year development programme in Serbia.

>> New backer for Symington’s Leeds-based dried food manufacturer Symington’s has a new private equity backer after AIM-listed ICG has took a 49.9% stake in the company for an undisclosed sum, allowing Bridgepoint to exit after five years.

The deal with ICG also sees Symington’s switch banks from Yorkshire Bank to a consortium comprising RBS, Lloyds and HSBC. The company was the subject of a recent profile in BQ and has enjoyed strong growth year on year with a portfolio of brands including Ragu, Chicken Tonight, Campbell’s, Ainsley Harriott, and Aunt Bessie’s.

Chief executive David Salkeld said: “These are tough but exciting times for the grocery market, and we want be sure that Symington’s continues to play a leading role through category and product innovation and continued investment in its product and retailer brand plans. We are delighted to >>

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Flying high: L-R, Tariq Javaid and Nigel Shaw of Garbutt and Elliott and Jeremy and Mandy Ridyard of Produmax

>> Otley firm sees off Asian rivals Otley-based high-precision engineering company Produmax has won a multi-million dollar contract to supply flight control machined parts and assemblies for US-based Moog Aviation in the face of strong competition from Indian and Chinese firms.

Moog Aviation is the system integrator for the primary flight control actuation system (PFCAS) and the high lift system on a range of commercial aircraft.

It is providing the design, integration and support for both of these systems, which control the primary and secondary surfaces, horizontal stabiliser, leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps in response to pilot commands.

Jeremy Ridyard, the managing director of Produmax, said that he was “absolutely delighted with such a prestigious and lucrative contract, which is a shot in the arm for British manufacturing.

“This high-profile international contract with Moog is a ringing endorsement of the quality of the work that we do at Produmax.

“It also underlines the importance of investment in both capital equipment and people, which we believe is the key to our success,” he said.

Jeremy Ridyard and his wife Mandy led a management buy-out of Produmax in 1997 and opened a new 5,000 sq ft factory at Yeadon, near Leeds-Bradford International Airport, in 2009, to cope with increased demand. They have been closely advised in their expansion by business advisers Garbutt & Elliott. Turnover has increased in line with investment, he said. “Last year, for example, we invested £1m in machinery and our turnover increased by over 30% to £4.7m, the highest in our history.”

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COMPANY PROFILE

If you are interested in benchmarking the time tested leadership philosophies of one of the most recognized names in business to improve your ability to lead a successful, committed organisation – help is on hand here in Yorkshire.

Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence

A

n organisation’s success depends on the performance of its employees.

Each day, employees have the opportunity to create value for customers and enhance the bottom line. But employees can’t make these decisions on their own; they need the guidance of leaders.

Organisational leaders are critical for providing the strategy, values and passion that keeps employees moving in the same direction.

Disney leaders across the globe continue to emulate the inspirational style of one man – Walt Disney. Walt effectively demonstrated that the actions of one leader, multiplied by the actions of many, can re-shape a culture and an organization.

Yorkshire presents Disney Institute invites you inside that organization to examine and apply this time-tested approach to leading by example within your own organization.

Taking place at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds on 2nd October 2012, “Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence” explores strategies and tactics for delivering results through Disney’s approach to values-based leadership, helping organizations to grow and succeed. You will learn how to: effectively communicate your vision and examine personal methods for inspiring others; explore successful Disney systems and the organizational structures that support them; examine the strategies Disney leaders employ to keep their teams engaged in their work; employ methods for sustaining momentum toward the achievement of goals; and develop day-to-day behaviours that will assist you in making a longlasting impact on the people around you.

Explaining why Disney Institute is coming to

In addition to “Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence”, there is the opportunity to discover “Disney’s Approach to Selection Training & Engagement” (3rd October) and “Disney’s Approach to Quality Service” (4th October).

Disney Institute is the professional development arm of The Walt Disney Company. Built on the global success of Disney, their solutions engage organizations in time-tested best practices, sound methodologies, and real life business lessons that facilitate corporate culture change. As the provider of uniquely Disney transformational learning experiences for over 25 years, they inspire business professionals to think and act differently. The result? Outcomes that clearly illustrate ways you can adapt and apply these concepts and lessons into your organization.

You will find your organization has more in common with Disney than you ever imagined.

Yorkshire, Sam Wass, Director of Benchmark Communications, who is sponsoring the series commented “Demand for world-class leadership training has never been required more than at present. Disney Institute is one of the most recognised names in professional development, and, as you expect from The Walt Disney Company, they are expert storytellers, and we are delighted they are coming to Yorkshire. With a thriving entrepreneurial scene, and a reputation for quality service delivery, Yorkshire was the logical place in the UK to host the workshops. We know from feedback from the last series that the Yorkshire business community benefited hugely, and as one attendee put it this is “a fabulous opportunity to see the work behind the magic”.

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Yorkshire presents Disney Institute 0191 2442822 disney@exclusivetraining.co.uk www.exclusivetraining.co.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

NEWS

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partner with ICG, who took a different approach and have provided us with a unique financing structure which will give us a strong platform for future growth and expansion.”

Gareth Knight, investment director of ICG said: “The business has a culture grounded in entrepreneurial spirit and hard work, which has driven a strong growth trajectory in recent times. Symington’s is highly regarded in the grocery market for good reason, and we are backing a very exciting business plan.”

Bridgepoint director Mark Stroud added: “Symington’s grew substantially during our period of investment, having made a number of strategic acquisitions and concluded an important partnership with Campbell’s. It is now well placed to continue growing with a new investment partner.”

Chris Stott, transaction services partner at KPMG in Leeds, who advised Symington’s alongside PwC and Walker Morris, said: “David and the team have built an excellent business which has seen an increased growth trajectory in recent years through real consumer focused innovation and brand development, teamed with focus on core food values and strategic acquisitions.”

ICG was advised by Spayne Lindsay and Berwin Leighton Paisner.

Bridgepoint and the management shareholders were advised by Rothschilds and Travers Smith.

The company, which is one of Yorkshire’s best-known university spin-offs, is due to release its full results in July.

In a trading statement issued in June, it said its broadband business continued to have “encouraging order coverage” for the first half of the new year, while wireless was also enjoying better forward visibility than is customary for a business that often falls victim to short notice order call-off.

>> Wendy joins hccf Leeds-based point of sale credit provider Hitachi Capital Consumer Finance (HCCF) has appointed Wendy Carpenter as compliance manager. She joins from Santander Cards, previously GE Money, and brings with her extensive experience of compliance within the financial services sector. She will be responsible for ensuring that the regulatory and legislative changes affecting HCCF are identified and adopted. HCCF managing director Gerald Grimes said: “Wendy will be driving compliance messages and procedures both internally for HCCF and externally with our retailers and suppliers.”Carpenter added: “With many regulatory changes for the financial services sector on horizon, this role is set to be a great opportunity.”

>> Broadband boosts Filtronic Filtronic, the Bradford-based designer and manufacturer of microwave electronics products for the wireless telecoms infrastructure market, says favourable currency movements and growing momentum in sales helped both its broadband and wireless business perform better than expected in the final two months of its trading year to the end of May. The success of the company’s two divisions, which are now expected to have made sales of £13m for the whole year, has also allowed the group to move into profitability for the full year.

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>> Harrogate service has great first year The chief executive of the Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce says the first year of the extended direct rail connection between Harrogate and London has been a success not just for local people wanting to go to London but also for inbound tourism and business.

East Coast Trains says over 43,000

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passengers have used the Harrogate leg of the direct Kings Cross services during its first year.

The evening return service from Kings Cross was restored after extensive lobbying by the chamber, supported by Harrogate Borough Council and many other local organisations. Immediately before that the only direct connection between the two stations was one southbound service on Monday to Saturday mornings. The Chamber has now also persuaded East Coast to run one new service in each direction on Sundays.

Dunsby said: “This is the first new service to Harrogate for over 25 years.”

The Chamber has now asked the Department for Transport to include in its forthcoming East Coast Main Line franchise specification a new early morning service from Kings Cross via Leeds to Harrogate and a new evening return from Harrogate to Kings Cross.

>> Barratt Steel in £90m funding deal Bradford-based steel stockholder and processor Barrett Steel has signed a new £90m funding package with HSBC that will support the business’ ambitious growth strategy, both in the UK and worldwide.

The £280m turnover company has been making acquisitions across the UK while also breaking into the North American market.

It is currently looking for other opportunities overseas as well.

Managing director James Barrett said the investment puts the business on a strong footing for continued success. “We are hugely excited about the prospects for the business in the coming years and are very pleased to have achieved the committed funding we sought to enable us to exploit the UK based and global opportunities we see for continued growth,” he said.

Martin Lunt, HSBC’s head of corporate Banking in Yorkshire, said: “This dynamic, ambitious business is a brilliant example of how firms can still achieve impressive growth, despite the ongoing challenges presented by the economy.”

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Nick Dodd, who leads KPMG’s northern debt advisory team, and advised Barrett Steel on the deal, said: “This deal highlights that there is liquidity in the banking market available to companies with a strong story to tell and Barrett Steel more than fits the bill.”

DWF’s Leeds and Manchester banking teams provided legal advice to Barrett Steel on the transaction, while Addleshaw Goddard advised HSBC on the deal.

>> Major new studio arrives in Leeds A film and advertising industry professional with over 16 years experience has launched a new studio in Leeds with what is claimed to be the largest dedicated green screen studio outside London.

The Awakening Agency’s new multichannel media centre also includes a 4,500 sq ft, double-height main studio with infinity curve and vehicle access, and editing and audio suites.

Founder and creative director Andy Hardwick has worked on film-based projects for some of the world’s largest brands while at agencies including Cravens Advertising, Poulters, Dig For Fire, 20:20, Williams Lea Creative and, most recently, Savvy. The 10 staff in his agency include commercial director Allan Moffat, previously of Publicis Group.

Hardwick said: “Over the last 12 months we’ve been building and fitting out our media centre into what is now one of the biggest film studios in the country outside London. The Awakening Agency will fill a gap in the North of England for creative,

NEWS

digital content and film production services with a one-stop-shop media facility.

“It gives us the capability to produce and edit video, film, animation, music, voice-overs all from a dedicated, flexible facility with the support of specialist art direction, film, set build, lighting and special effects crews.”

>> Wilson Field saves jobs Business recovery and insolvency consultancy Wilson Field claims it has saved more than 1,200 jobs and 100 companies across the UK in the past 12 months – one of the busiest periods in its history.

The company, which has offices in Leeds and Sheffield as well as Manchester and the Midlands, says it has also returned more than £5.5m owed to creditors from businesses which have gone into administration, >>

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19/06/2012 16:59

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liquidation and company voluntary arrangements (CVA).

Managing director Nick Wilson said: “These figures are a reflection of how we can help businesses continue to trade and provide employment to people by putting them on a more stable financial platform. In addition, by keeping businesses afloat we have seen more money going to creditors which otherwise may have been lost. The key is to provide a high quality service to clients and develop strong relationships with notable legal, valuation and accountancy firms and the wider banking and finance industry.”

>> New look for Nostrum Harrogate-based outsourcing company Nostrum Group has rebranded with a new website which now includes its Icenet subsidiary as a Nostrum brand.

The rebranding follows a further year of growth in the business which operates processing centres in Harrogate and Leeds.

Chief executive Richard Carter said: “Over the last five years our business has developed significantly. The revised branding and website better communicate the values of our company and describe the services we offer to companies who are looking to truly differentiate their offering. The integration the Icenet subsidiary as a brand within Nostrum Group simplifies our contracting arrangement and makes it easier for our clients to move from a systems only arrangement to a full business process outsource, or use a hybrid of the two.”

>> Website shows Yorkshire Food Trail A new website has been launched offering information on how and where some of the region’s top restaurants source their food – and offering tours to see such work in action. Yorkshire Food Finder – www. yorkshirefoodfinder.org - is hoping to take advantage of the region being a magnet for ‘foodies’, with more Michelin-starred restaurants than any other county in England.

It initially brings together four well-known Yorkshire restaurants and their local artisan suppliers, most of whom have previously offered no public access to their businesses.

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>> Broadband comes to Robin Hood’s Bay Robin Hood’s Bay on the North Yorkshire Coast can now offer visitors and holiday-makers access to high speed broadband for the first time thanks to a scheme run by the Bay Broadband wireless network.

Bay Broadband Cooperative was successful in becoming one of the latest community broadband projects to be funded by Defra’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), with match investment from NYnet and the community itself.

Jim Foster, publicity officer for Bay Broadband Cooperative, said: “We were the first to bring broadband to the bay in 2004 when we created the social enterprise and this has worked well for us for some time. Since then the technology has advanced so much and the importance of broadband to local businesses, residents, the tourist industry and visitors further increased, so we needed to bring our network bang up to date.

He said that since the upgrade the organisation was supplying over 140 subscribers and had connected up holiday cottages, bed and breakfasts and three local hotels - the Flask Inn, the Grosvenor and the Bay Hotel. The Bay Hotel is the final check-in point for the 192 miles St Bees to Robin Hood’s Bay coast-to-coast cycling and walking route, so patrons can now check-in while enjoying a much deserved pint.

Alan and Margaret Dawson, owners of the Lee-Side premier B&B, and the latest subscribers to the network, said they had quickly appreciated the benefits of the news connection. “We’ve now realised that it’s important to have this service for our guests and it’s a must have for us to be able to compete with other B&Bs,” they said.

Michelin-starred James Mackenzie from The Pipe and Glass, Andrew Pern from The Star Inn at Harome and Ben Cox at The Star@Sancton are all part of the new project.

Also involved is the St Quintin Arms where Ian Burdass breeds, and the restaurant serves, his own Burdass Lamb.

Discussions are currently underway with other chefs, venues and suppliers, and Great British Menu chefs Stephanie Moon and Tim Bilton have also expressed interest in the venture.

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Those taking part in the full or half-day trails will see at first-hand how produce Yorkshire has to offer is grown, reared, or churned.

They can even learn how to smoke their own fish or make cheese, before sitting down to eat a meal made from such ingredients.

For those visitors who wish to extend their stay, the new Yorkshire Food Finder website also offers links to accommodation close to the restaurants.

Pern says: “Yorkshire Food Finder does what

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we at The Star have been advocating for years.

Right from day one we’ve used the local produce on our doorstep and made the most of the abundant Yorkshire larder around us.

Linking the best of that produce with the tables that serve them in a series of themed trails is a great way of celebrating what the county has to offer.”

exhibitions to play an active part in the installations. The app guided people round numerous exhibitions, using GPS and geo-tagged maps, and users could unlock additional content and services when attending venues via the unique ‘Appinion’ service the agency developed.

Sheila McGregor, chief executive of Axisweb, said: “Fuse8 offered a really creative response to the brief and were great to work with. The platform works so well that we’ve been able to ‘clone’ it for other arts organisations and the main client, York Museums Trust, are using it again for Art in Yorkshire 2012.”

>> Platinum goes environmental Fusing style and substance: Sheila McGregor and Joe Mason

>> Fuse8 wins award for arts app Leeds and London based digital agency group Fuse8 has won the gold accolade in the app category at the annual Roses Creative Awards for work it did on a Yorkshire-based art project.

The prize recognised the Art in Yorkshire iPhone app, which the agency developed on behalf of York Museums Trust in collaboration with online contemporary art resource Axisweb.

The accolade was awarded by a judging panel of industry experts in the scheme recognising the best work in the advertising, design and digital disciplines produced in the UK outside London.

Kevin Charlton, creative director at Fuse8, said: “Art in Yorkshire was a celebration of great art and artists, featuring nationally significant artworks loaned by the Tate, displayed in 19 galleries and other spaces throughout the county. We were approached by Axisweb to bring the project to life online and on mobile, in a way that delivered great art to a wider, younger audience.”

The bespoke app allowed people attending

Harrogate-based print firm Platinum Print has achieved the nationally recognised accreditation ISO14001, confirming its ongoing commitment to reducing its environmental impact.

While the print industry is renowned for its heavy reliance on materials which derive from our natural habitat, Platinum says it aims to show that you can effectively raise environmental performance while maintaining consistent growth.

It marked a 15% increase in turnover in its most recent financial year.

The company says it has worked closely with its supplier contacts to bring down the cost of recycled products, passing these reductions on to its client base and so making these materials a more realistic option when making purchasing decisions.

“With the print industry relying on the supply of paper based products, as well as energy and chemicals, in such high volumes, we have made considerable investments in new technology, improved processes and product selection to meet the requirements of this sought after environmental standard,” explained Platinum Print’s production director Mark Plummer.

“We first began our environmental campaign over 10 years ago by implementing new technology which reduced our hazardous waste by more than 3000 litres annually and we later became FSC (Forest Stewardship

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Council) certified. Our aim is to offer total carbon balanced production by 2014 and so obtaining ISO14001 seemed like the next logical step to reaching this goal.”

Managing director David Wyvill added that Platinum has seen a 56% increase in the number of clients now opting for recycled products in the past 12 months.

>> New apprenticeship for builders Leeds College of Building and Bradford College are working in partnership to launch a new higher apprenticeship in Sustainable Built Environment.

Developed with employers, colleges, universities and sector skills councils, the apprenticeship is designed to provide the vocational knowledge and skills necessary for careers in a variety of disciplines including architecture, building services, civil engineering, construction management, maintenance, planning and surveying. The first courses are due to start this September.

The framework available at Leeds College of Building consists of a Level 5 NVQ in sustainable built environment and an HND in construction and the built environment with the option to select construction, civil engineering or building services as a specialist subject.

Sarah Carter, Leeds College of Building’s project manager for the apprenticehip, said “The newly developed apprenticeship is a fantastic new initiative for employers to up-skill new and existing staff and create a workforce that is productive, adaptable and can help businesses grow.”

>> Bradford consortium wins £2m for research A Bradford-based consortium is to receive £2m of government funding to implement a new programme which explores ways of using innovative products, systems and services to create more independent lifestyles for older adults.

The Advanced Digital Institute is the lead body in i-Focus, one of the four consortia >>

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implementing DALLAS (delivering assisted living lifestyles at scale), a national programme developed by the UK’s Technology Strategy Board, and joint funded by the National Institute for Health Research.

DALLAS is aiming to involve nearly 170,000 people in communities throughout the UK by summer 2015. i-Focus is tasked with delivering part of this huge scale innovation programme and testing it with communities throughout the UK. One of the projects to be implemented by i-Focus is Warm Neighbourhoods. This involves products and services such as a discreet temperature monitoring system being installed in the home of an older adult.

When the temperature in the home drops to a certain level the system sends an alert to a mobile phone of a family, relative or neighbour so they can take action, if necessary.

Advanced Digital Institute chief executive John Eaglesham said: “I am delighted that the i-Focus consortium will receive this funding.

The consortium will use this money to support a number of different projects that, by taking an innovative approach to the way existing technologies are used, will support older adults living in communities.”

Bucking the trend: James White and Geoff Thomas

>> Thomas leads corporate finance for Brown Butler Geoff Thomas has been appointed corporate finance director at Leedsbased Brown Butler in response to what the accountancy firm says is growing business volumes.

Although his immediately previous post

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was as funding manager with Leeds-based Clean Energy Capital, which finances projects within the renewables and energy sector, he previously worked in Brown Butler’s corporate finance team for four-and-a-half years.

He said: “Brown Butler’s corporate finance team is definitely bucking the generally difficult economic climate. I am passionate about helping clients buy and sell businesses. Most of them will probably do this only once or twice during their lifetimes and I always aim to make a process which can be both stressful and tedious for them as straightforward and enjoyable as possible.”

>> Schoolkids see manufacturing in action A Leeds manufacturer has joined forces with social enterprise Leeds Ahead to give pupils from Lawnswood School an insight into the world of work.

Seven Year 8 pupils visited RSL Steeper on Hunslet Trading Estate which makes prosthetic, orthotic and assistive technology products which are exported to the US and worldwide.

The young people were taken on a tour of the factory including visiting the production departments and the design office.

Organised by RSL Steeper, the visit was part of an ongoing mentoring project set up by Leeds Ahead which is being led by business advisers Grant Thornton and insurance brokers Bartlett Group and also involves Harrogate-based drinks company ICB. Volunteers from the companies have been working with the students to build their confidence and increase their engagement with education through aspiration-raising activities as well as widening their knowledge of career options.

The visit to RSL Steepers follows a recent session at Grant Thornton’s offices where the young people learned more about the work of business advisers.

Trevor Thomas, chair of RSL Steeper Group, said: “We arranged the visit because we felt it was important for the young people to actually see a real manufacturing business in action as well as talk about their options with

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their mentors.”

Matt Stroh, associate director at Grant Thornton in Leeds, said: “We are strong believers in business playing an active part in forging links with education in order to help to promote innovation among young people who are, after all, the workforce of tomorrow.”

>> Umpf adds some umpf Leeds-based PR and social media agency Umpf was the only Yorkshire agency to win an award at this year’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations Excellence (CIPR) Awards.

Umpf won the category for ‘Best Use of Social Media’ for its campaign for cooking brand Belling. The judges were impressed with the agency’s social media campaign ‘Tweet Pie: The World’s Shortest Recipe Book’ considering it to be “a superb example of creative execution and elegant delivery by a small creative team and with limited budget”.

Other finalists in the category included the Financial Times, Foot Locker, CrossCountry Trains, and Swiftcover.com.

Umpf owner Adrian Johnson said: “To win a national excellence award at such an early stage in the agency’s history is a tremendous achievement. The social media category is always a popular one and we were up against some global brands with very strong campaigns, so it really is a career high to win this award.”

>> Keighley firm celebrates 15 years of independence Keighley-based NSF Controls has launched a new company website 15 years after an employee/management buyout saw the firm part company with its former American owner Lucas Varity.

Chief executive Doug Priestley said the new website “is an important landmark for us”, coming at the end of a period that has seen investment in new machinery and production lines, staff development and job creation. “It’s an excellent way to present our strengths and capabilities and illustrate our achievements to date,” he said.

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The company specialises in the design and manufacture of solenoids and switches and actuation components used across a wide range of industries.

It has established itself as a market leader for the supply of gas shut off valves to the pre-payment and smart meter industry, with over 2 million currently in service.

Through its work the company has provided components for a range of new projects, and a key part of its future business plan is to incorporate these components into its own market ready products.

A new range of shot bolts is currently under development designed for the security market.

Driving ahead: Nexus CFO, Chris Yates, MD, John Ellis and CEO Neil McCrossan

>> Nexus takes on five more Nexus Vehicle Rental has secured a range of major new contracts, including one with Balfour Beatty.

The company provides rental services including supply, systems, rental management in addition to brand extension agreements.

Through its IRIS platform, Nexus offers customers access to a secure, web-based system designed to manage the full rental process, provide total cost control and deliver real time, tailored reporting.

The company has cut costs for Balfour Beatty Fleet Services by consolidating supply and relationships to a single point and providing bespoke applications.

Meanwhile, hire companies Ogilvie Fleet, LeasePlan UK, Pendragon Contract Hire and an unnamed international fleet

business have all signed up to take advantage of Nexus’s bespoke services and IRIS platform.

Nexus managing director John Ellis said: “Customers appreciate our straight forward ‘can do’ approach, particularly around systems development and deployment. These new contract wins, together with our client retention rates, are testament to the strength and quality of our services, systems and relationships.”

Nexus recently featured on the Sunday Times Profit Track 100 list at number 42.

>> More recognition for Ornate Interiors Pudsey-based specialist plastering firm Ornate Interiors has scooped another prestigious national accolade after collecting a Special Award for Craftsmanship at the inaugural NFB (National Federation of Builders) Annual Awards Dinner.

The 24-year-old firm was recognised for the restoration work it carried out on Stockport’s Plaza cinema, a project that formed part of an extensive £3m programme of works that has seen the historic venue fully refurbished to its former glory.

NFB chief executive Julia Evans said: “This distinctive art deco super cinema is listed Grade II and its repair and restoration were heritage-based and conservation-driven.

“Ornate Interiors put in a substantial amount of specialist plastering work, including difficult to reach high ceilings and completely restoring the café area to its original decorative grandeur,” she added.

Ornate Interiors managing director Ronnie Clifford said: “We regularly work on many of the country’s most prized architectural landmarks and this venue definitely falls into that category.”

>> Jet2holidays splits into new market Jet2holidays, the low-budget airline’s package holiday division, is planning to strengthen its position as Leeds Bradford Airport’s largest holiday provider by

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bringing in another Boeing 757 to be based permanently at the airport from summer 2013, and by adding Split in Croatia to its range of destinations at the same time.

The company will also be increasing its services to Dalaman and Bodrum in Turkey, with flights to Dalaman increasing to four per week and Bodrum to two per week.

This doubles the capacity to Turkey for people travelling from Yorkshire for 2013.

The additional aircraft will add to the 11 Jet2 itself keeps at the airport.

Steve Heapy, managing director of Jet2holidays and chief commercial officer of Jet2.com, said: “As the region’s leading holiday provider, we are committed to ensuring that local travellers have the greatest choice of their favoured destinations as well as increased flexibility when it comes to when they travel and the length of their stay.”

Jet2’s recently added destination Gran Canaria will also see its capacity increased by 50% to allow more than 10,000 seats to the destination.

>> Profit warning for Animalcare Veterinary products supplier Animalcare says its full year profits for the year to the end of June 2012 are now expected to be below market expectations thanks in part to a continuing slowdown in sales for its companion animal identification products.

At the halfway stage in February, the listed Leeds company said it had expected stronger trading in the second half.

But it now says year-to-date sales of its identification products are still around 32% below the year before, with little sign of any upturn. It says the core veterinary medicines business has continued to grow, with revenue to April around 4% above last year.

But despite the growth its says second half pre-tax profit is now expected to be similar to the first-half.

It still remains confident, however, and says it is likely to achieve its target of launching four new products in its veterinary medicine division during 2013.

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Covering the world By sticking to its niche, Skipton-based Fibrelite is now trading in 70 countries all over the world. Peter Baber reports

This magazine is supposed to be all about Yorkshire companies and entrepreneurs being successful, and what follows is certainly an example of that.

It’s a Yorkshire company that is currently trading with 70 countries around the world. It most recently opened it second overseas manufacturing facility, this time in Malaysia, having successfully opened its first, a 35,000 sq ft factory in Connecticut in the USA, in 2005.

It is not backed by any venture capitalists, thanks in part to the terms of a management buyout in 2005 in which the exiting seller allowed the incoming eight-strong management shareholder team five years to pay him back.

And yet it is still expanding – rapidly. In 2011 it achieved turnover growth of 12% to take it to around £12.5m, and it plans to increase by a similar amount this year.

Not bad for a company based in a 30,000 sq ft unit on the outskirts of Skipton, on an industrial estate whose activity belies that town’s sleepy reputation.

In fact Ian Thompson, managing director of Fibrelite, the company in question, says he sometimes feels complacent when he tells people about his company’s success. This was brought to him most recently at a Leeds

Chamber dinner where the talk amongst most of the fellow attendees was all doom and gloom. Thompson, who will have been working at Fibrelite for 20 years this November, stood out by having a far more positive story.

So what are the grounds for the company’s success? One is operating in a very distinct niche. The company was founded in 1984 by contractor Michael Jennings and Trevor Pardoe, who was then working for an oil company. The two had noticed the unnecessary injuries that were being caused by staff on petrol station forecourts having to lift heavy metal manhole covers. (“A petrol station is like an iceberg,” says Thompson. “It may look empty to you, but all the fuel and all the mechanisms for getting it to your car is underground. Manhole covers give access to that, but as a result, they have to be lifted frequently.”) Jennings and Pardoe thought they could improve this situation by producing high quality manhole covers made of “composite” or fibreglass produced through resin transfer moulding (RTM) instead.

Their covers quickly became an industry standard, thanks in part to their early adoption by the likes of Esso. Although by the mid-1990s the company had expanded so >>

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I thought it was a distraction with low profit and I felt the competition was creeping up on us. We weren’t innovating fast enough and we were spreading ourselves too thinly BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

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that it was also producing fibreglass railway carriage seats under contract for Network Rail and driver cabs for truck company Foden, Thompson, who became managing director Jennings’ retirement in 1997, decided to call a halt even from this expansion sideways and instead concentrate on the core product.

“I felt we didn’t know enough about the other industries to be profitable,” he says. “Quite often it required high capital investment to get into them, the volumes were always less than half of what was promised, and the costings by which the sub-contract price was set were always widely underestimated. We were chasing opportunities which devalued our core focus on petrol stations. I thought it was a distraction with low profit, and I felt the competition creeping up on us. We weren’t innovating as fast as we could because we were spreading ourselves too thin. So we withdrew and remained a forecourt equipment manufacturer.”

It proved a shrewd move, because the attractions for such composite covers have only if anything grown stronger. For one thing, they have next to no resale value for scrap metal thieves – a growing problem, even in areas as public as a petrol station forecourt and when you consider the potential devastation that might be caused by a cover being stolen. And in this greener environment with a wider use in some parts of the world of ethanol-based fuels, the composite covers have come into their own again. Such fuels need to be stored in a completely watertight environment, and Fibrelite’s vacuum tested covers can provide such a seal in the way that a potentially damaged and rusty metal cover may not.

The company has expanded into offering the covers in other areas as well, including airports, shopping centres, power stations, water, gas, waste telecommunications and other public work – all of which are also having problems with metal theft.

Still, these are hardwearing products: Fibrelite offers a 15-year warranty on each one it produces, although Thompson says they can last at least another 10 years beyond that. So repeat orders aren’t exactly going to make a strong proportion of your sales. That, says Thompson, is why his company had to start

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seriously looking at exporting and setting up operations overseas, at a time when its size – it then had a turnover of £6m – would suggest it might not be big enough. “Then we only exported 20% of what we produced, and kept the rest in the UK. Now those two ratios have completely reversed.”

To be fair, it was initially lucky in that the company had got its name in the right places.

It had been specified on the list of preferred suppliers by a range of companies building petrol stations worldwide, and, as Thompson points out, the big names in petrol like to make sure their petrol stations look the same.

“Shell and Esso have international standards,” he says. “A petrol station in Malaysia, for example, has to be same as one in Paris, say, even if it is in the middle of a tropical jungle. It will have the same Shell sign, and so it should have the same manhole cover.”

Nevertheless, getting your product into 70 countries can’t all be put down to clever contractual work.

So what are the lessons Thompson has learned about trading overseas?

One is use local people. “You think you can do it with your own people, but you need local people,” he says. The main reason for opening the factory in the USA, for example, was that at the time the exchange rate was so unfavourable that one supplier gave the company little option. “We found a US national to work with,” says Thompson. “A man called Jim Goodman who at the time was a distributor of ours. He was my age, and we got on well. I approached him, and asked if he wanted to become president of our US manufacturing business.”

Similarly in opening the facility in Malaysia, the company has made use of the Malaysia Investment Development Authority, which has a remit covering inward investment. “They actually came up here to see us,” says Thompson. “They said: ‘We will advise you, we will put you in touch with people you need to speak to in Kuala Lumpur. And it will all be for free.’ They said: ‘You can pay a consultant, or use us.’ It was a no-brainer really.”

A second rule is know your finance well.

Thompson started off in the company as financial director – he says people still

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occasionally dismiss him as “just an accountant” to their loss. But he says the disciplines he learned in his initial role have carried him through. “All chief executives and managing directors have to read a balance sheet,” he says. “It helps, especially when we were expanding and opening up overseas subsidiaries. You need a close understanding and control of everything.”

A third consideration is to choose the place

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you are expanding into carefully – and if possible choose somewhere like the UK. That was the what swayed it for choosing Malaysia as a hub from which to trade with Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and China – countries which all have massively increasing car ownership, and a growing demand for petrol stations. “The country has a nice feel about it,” he says. “English is the second – in some cases the first - language, >>

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It’s great to have a growth rate of 12 to 15% like we do, but we still need to be considered and steady

and company law is generally based on UK law. You still need five Thai investors as part of setting up a company in Thailand. But in Malaysia you can be an 100% foreign owned subsidiary. They drive on the left hand side there, and the signs are in English. Out of all the South East Asian countries Malaysia has a more First World feel.”

That may be intentional: the oil and gas industry has been identified by the Malaysian government as one of 12 industry sector that will transform the country into a “high income nation” (otherwise known as a First World economy) by 2020. Thompson thinks this target is easily achievable.

But it was also knowledge of a country that dissuaded Thompson from having a base in the one country most people think of first when you mention the Far East: China.

Although the company does trade there, Thompson says he often goes there with a European friend who speaks Chinese but

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doesn’t let that fact on: as a result, on more than one occasion he has discovered that people he was meeting or deals he was being asked to sign were not exactly what he was being told in English they were.

He even notices a difference in similarity within the USA itself. The area in Connecticut where the USA factory is located, he says, is very similar to the area around Skipton, with rolling hills and dry stone walls. “I have done a lot of work in California, and New England is half way between us and them, and I would say we are a lot nearer to New England culturally than we are to California. You see this change happening as you go across the States.”

One last point about exporting is to work at it.

Fibrelite chose to manufacture as well as supply its product in Malaysia, because that way the company would get around punitive 30 per cent import duties. But when it was first looking, RTM processes were not very well established in the country, or indeed anywhere

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in the Far East. Fibrelite spent 12 months negotiating with local suppliers to make sure there was local availability of raw materials and resins. Getting the new factory up to speed also took 12 months.

And yes, there have been local imitators of the Fibrelite product now. But the company has pitched itself at the quality end of the market – and in 15-year deals in the petrol industry, that counts for a lot.

So where now? Well, Thompson says one of the attraction of the long earn-out period that former owner Trevor Pardoe – who is still non-executive chairman – agreed to in 2005 is indeed that he does not now have a venture capitalist breathing down his neck asking that question, looking for an exit. He sees Fibrelite very much in the mould (if you will excuse the pun) of the ‘Mittelstand’ companies that make up much of the German economy. They are privately owned, and in it for the long term as a result. “They take the long term view,” he says, “and are not looking to get in and get out. Their investment strategies are careful.

It’s great to have a growth rate of 12 to 15%, like we do, but we still need to be considered and steady.”

Nevertheless, there are clearly other overseas options out there. Turkey is one, as is the whole of Eastern Europe. But Thompson is most interested in another former British colony.

“We would love to do business in India,” he says. “Unfortunately, the sophistication of the market drives our business. There are a lot of metal covers in tens of thousands of petrol stations in India, and there is not so much legislative requirement for converting them to lightweight. The Indian market is many times bigger than the Malaysian, but it is simpler. It is a given that most single skin underground storage tank will leak over time, causing pollution problems.

“That is why most tanks in the UK are double skin. In India they are still at the single skin tank stage. When they upgrade, that’s when we hope to break in. We are currently too expensive. They tend to build sites cheaply, and there are currently no environmental or legislative regulations to make them upgrade, but that is coming. Shell is in India, and as we speak we have landed our first site. That will be the flag for further exploration.” n

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Fast boats to China China’s huge economic growth hasn’t just made it an obvious export market. It has also created a huge range of organisations and individuals who are looking to invest their hard earned wealth – possibly in your company, says Hinrich Voss

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Why would you want to get the Chinese interested in your business?

Probably because you, like just about everyone else, see China as a source of investment funds and an engine of growth for the lacklustre British and European economies.

A straight comparison of growth rates testifies to the attraction for British and European business to hitch its wagon to that of China's entrepreneurial sector.

There is mounting evidence that if you can get Chinese entrepreneurs interested in your business, access to Chinese markets can be sped up considerably. And the attractions of that are considerable. The long-term growth in the Chinese economy – measured by the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) – from 2006-2011 was an eye-watering 10.52%.

Compare that with the UK’s 0.11% and the logic of targeting China is plain to see. All the more so when the trials and tribulations of the European economy (which includes the high growth but small eastern European markets) have resulted in a comparable growth of 0.12% for the EU 27 (sadly, the two decimal places are needed for this comparison).

Of course China’s growth is distributed over a vast area, and finding the key markets is part of the challenge for western businesses.

Fortunately, linking up with the most vibrant Chinese enterprise will naturally introduce your business to these hotbeds of growth, and Britain is fortunate in having particularly helpful and industrious international trade and investment promotion services, such as the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the governmentrun UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

In many ways the combination of European and Chinese business is a marriage of wants.

The UK has a long industrial heritage which, when combined with the dynamic business aspirations of Chinese firms, promises to release new growth.

Typically Chinese firms have built their success on low-technology production, whereas European firms are research-intensive and boast sectors that lead the world in high technology. All

of which play to Chinese commercial priorities and the growth agenda of the West.

There are other synergies and complementarities for British firms short of growth options. Once your business has identified growth opportunities, the question is how to raise finance. Here again, Chinese business can help. Encouraged by government policy, many Chinese firms are actively seeking opportunities to commit to markets abroad.

One rough and ready indicator of the financial capability of the Chinese economy is the growth in Chinese export earnings over the last six years.

China’s foreign exchange reserves grew at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2006 to the third quarter of 2011, reaching a total of US$3.2 trillion. Even so, the ability of Chinese firms to call on this foreign exchange finance is dependent on access to finance in their domestic currency (the yuan renminbi) which can be patchy. Entrepreneurial Chinese firms may have a vibrant business model, but often lack the scale of funds even for greenfield investment abroad.

However, taking a share of an existing business – short of outright acquisition – can be attractive and business partnerships that involve little or no capital input can also be beneficial for both sides. Chinese venture capitalists are also looking for good opportunities to invest in businesses that have growth prospects, and may also be able to smooth the way to the Chinese market.

And, at the private investor level, China is now home to 115 US dollar billionaires, according to the 2011 Forbes Billionaires list. More importantly, below these super-rich is a tranche of innumerable millionaires who have made their money in business, and who are

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naturally attracted to commerce.

Chinese firms also value western management and industry expertise in competitive, advanced markets is highly prized. For the Chinese investor, there is nothing as attractive as a well-run firm with which to partner.

The elephant in the room is, however, Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and former SOEs, many of which do have access to major funding, both internally generated from their dominant incumbent positions in the Chinese market, and also in terms of access to credit through their relationship with Chinese government. Those that have embraced reform and are keen to learn how to compete in the advanced markets can offer significant capital input into western business.

That’s the logic, but how can you make it happen? The key is to have good relationships (guan xi) and relationships with those who have good relationships, for which the Chinese have the term “guan xi wang” (networks).

Starting with bodies such as the CBBC that can act as facilitators.

Those with established links to China can put you in touch with other firms like yours as well as those that have already been successful and from whom you can learn.

Taking part in trade missions and attending trade fairs in China are all part of the matchmaking process and with professional advice there to help make sure any matches are good, there is no reason why marriages of want should not deliver mutual benefit. n Dr Hinrich Voss is a Roberts academic research fellow at the Centre for International Business (CIBUL) at Leeds University Business School, part of the University of Leeds.

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The hallowed turf of Bingley

An organisation that has been quietly advising golf greenkeepers for over 80 years is now making a big noise on the international scene.

Peter Baber reports Some time in the future when someone comes to write a history of golf in Britain and all the important places where the game developed, they are sure to mention St Andrews, of course, and Lytham St Annes – both places where historic games have been battled out.

But if they have any sense of how golf as a sport and a business developed, they ought to mention Bingley too. For just outside this West Yorkshire town there is an institute – it now likes to call itself a company – that has probably had as much of an impact on the game of golf in the past few decades as Nick Faldo’s taste in knitwear.

Tennis fans should probably doff their hats to

this organisation as well, because you could argue that some of the changes it has made at Wimbledon – another client – in the last decade have helped move the grass court game away from the tedium of serve and volley games that many thought set in during the 1990s.

What’s more, the Sports Turf Research Institute, or STRI as it prefers to be known now, is a real success story, currently expanding its operations right around the world. A huge range of golf courses, rugby pitches, tennis courts, horse racing circuits and much else all around the world owe their success to research that is currently being

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carried out in Bingley. And it has definitely benefited from the London Olympics already.

It has to be said that the choice of location is partly a result of chance – and a council that was thinking ahead. In 1929 a couple of golfing enthusiasts who both happened to live near Bingley went over to America and were impressed at the consultancy and research group the US golf authorities had set up at the time to look at golf course development. They felt it would be a good idea if something similar were set up in the UK. They were both members of the Royal and Ancient, which was only too happy to support the venture, but needed land where the consultancy could be based. Fortunately Bradford Council, aware of the kudos that might surround having such an organisation located there, agreed, and set aside land, initially on a five-year rolling lease, although this was renegotiated six years ago as an 125-year lease. The land set aside, on the St Ives Estate, has also doubled in size over the years.

Since that time the organisation has grown >>

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to the point where it has long since been self-financing, and in the UK alone visits over 2,000 golf courses a year, offering advice on keeping golf greens looking spick and span. It also advises on all the courses involved in the British Open. What makes it a particularly powerful voice in the industry is that there is nothing else like it anywhere in the world, not even in America, from which STRI’s founders drew their inspiration.

Chief executive Gordon McKillop says all the other major research organisations out there are connected in some way to companies that sell turf. “They are therefore perceived as having a vested interest,” he says. “We are seen as independent.”

The competition the organisation has, therefore, comes either from one or two man bands, or from greenkeepers who believe they know everything there is to know.

It can rely for much of its authority on the turf and soil testing that goes on within its own grounds, where some 65 staff – the great majority of whom have at least one degree in the subject, usually two – test such things such as the effect of different kinds of diseases and funguses, how effective different types of grasses are (and yes, there is a huge range of them, everything from fescue to ryegrass and beyond) in different types of climate, and even how hard-wearing different turfs are to being played or walked on.

Although golf still takes up 40% of STRI’s business, it has expanded well beyond there as well. Advising a range of Premership football clubs now accounts for almost as much of its £3.9m turnover as golf, while it also works for top rugby clubs, for many cricket grounds including Lords, for 12 racecourses in the UK and Ireland including Ascot, and for the

They even worried about such things as condensation from sweaty bodies making the court slippy

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International Equestrian Federation, where it advises on the turf for the two biggest show jumping venues in the British Isles – Hickstead and the Ark Royal Dublin Society Showground.

In fact, McKillop remembers well just what an impact redesigning the course in Dublin made.

“Not long after we did one weekend it poured with rain all through Ireland, and every sporting event was called off except at the Royal Dublin.”

It has also been advising Wimbledon for the past 15 years. “The All England Club tell us that the quality of the grass on Centre Court on the day of the men’s final now is what they could best hope for on day six before we arrived,” says McKillop.

Nor is that the only way the organisation has influenced the men’s game. “In the old days grass they used on Centre Court was annual meadowgrass, which can easily get into clumps and is relatively uneven,” he says.

“Such unevenness often benefited the serve and volley game. But we moved the mix more to ryegrass, which gives you a firmer court, so you get longer rallies again. I think it’s a higher quality game, because you have taken the element of luck out of it.”

The company was also, as you might expect, heavily involved in consulting on the new roof that has been built over Centre Court. “The equipment we have allowed us to take photographs digitally of the roof to track the sun on it and determine how much light would fall on the play surface,” says McKillop.

“When the roof was being built we were getting all the drawings sent to us. They were even worried about such things as condensation from sweaty bodies making the court slippy. We could advise on all of that.”

If you think it all sounds very technical for a profession you thought was little more than an old man with a roller, you would be right. The kind of technology STRI has either developed itself or used over the ages would not be out of place in a high-tech laboratory.

Take, for example, the STRI trueness metre, an instrument which it developed with Sheffield Hallam University and which it has a worldwide patent on. It can test to within a millimetre just how smooth and true a golf course green is, or at least how smooth and true it should be depending on the resources

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each club has available. Each trueness metre costs £10,000 to make, because they are hand made, and STRI initially bought six. “But we made £100,000 of business with this device last year alone,” says McKillop.

There’s something called a decelerometer too, which measures the bounce each green creates. “We can set parameters that we know a high quality golf course should be within,” says McKillop. “We can also use it with football and horseracing.”

In every way as impressive as the work on the Wimbledon roof, there is a fish eye camera STRI can use which can be fitted underneath the centre line of stadium where, for example, the owners might be wanting to redevelop a stand. This then plots the movement of the sun at half hourly intervals, and such data can be used to make contour maps to suggest what the effect of the redevelopment on the main pitch would be.

Another client, Ascot, had a problem when it was race day and it wanted to allows cars to drive across the course to get nearer the stands to park. The car tyres were damaging the course, and although course authorities had been putting straw down to cover the damage up, there was a danger that that was causing the horses to break their stride. STRI designed a solution where there was a permanent road underneath, but a movable turf platform that could be electronically moved into position for the race and which had a turf quality which Ascot felt was better than what was there before.

While this is impressive, McKillop says one of the objectives he had when he was appointed in the year 2000 was to take advantage of STRI’s unique status to raise its international profile. This did take a while to achieve. “We didn’t really crack it for five to six years,” he says, “but there has been something of a domino effect: once you get invited in to do one job, and you have proved yourself, getting subsequent is still hard, but not as hard.”

The big break for him came with UEFA. Although McKillop’s initial overtures to the organisation had been rebuffed, he wisely kept sending them quarterly reports on the research that STRI had been doing off its own bat. Finally one night in 2009 he got a desperate call from a UEFA official worried

SUCCESS STORY

about the state of the pitch at Fenerbahce, where that year’s UEFA cup final was shortly to be played. “’You have been pestering me,’ they said. ‘Now is your chance.’ That night we got a consultant out to Turkey, we went on the pitch the next day and told them it could be saved when they had initially been told they needed to returf. We gave them a plan to improve it.”

It wasn’t just UEFA which was impressed with

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such service: the Turkish FA took STRI on as consultants after that.

And soon FIFA was also knocking on the door – particularly after STRI also saved the day when the inaugural match of the new national stadium in Bucharest exposed huge flaws in the pitch design there.

The result of that is that STRI has been heavily involved in this year’s Euro 2012 championships. In fact, the company must >>

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be one of the few in the country where staff are positively encouraged to watch football at work: McKillop drew up a rota to make sure there was someone watching every match in the tournament – although, obviously, their main focus would be on the pitch quality, not the action. Obviously.

There is good news on the Olympics front too.

STRI has built the course for the cross country horse riding event around Greenwich Park – 7km long and 10-15m wide.

“Last summer we had a test event over half the track, and had very positive reviews from riders, managers, and the press,” says McKillop. In fact, work connected with the Olympics in general seems to be building up.

“There seems to be something of a bandwagon,” he says. “Those that get involved in Barcelona moved on to Sydney, then Athens, then Beijing.”

That’s why he is also hopeful for the Olympics in 2016, due to be held in Rio de Janeiro. “We are already in Rio for FIFA and the World Cup,” he says. “You couldn’t want for a better coincidence.

“We can expand on international level when people ask us to come to their country and work for them. You don’t really ever want to go into a new country cold – it’s very difficult for a small business.”

With all this happening overseas, however, it seems almost inevitable that something should blow up at home that might give the organisation pause. And something did. In 2009 STRI was brought in to consult on the pitch for the new Wembley Stadium, but after only a few months it was clear that something was going wrong. Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger both stepped in to condemn the pitch conditions, with the latter calling them “laughable”.

In June 2010 STRI resigned from the contract.

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Looking back, McKillop says he thought the problem was the new Wembley’s business model, which sought to make extra money for the stadium by having a full range of pop concerts held on the pitch. The stadium roof does not close completely either.

“Our advice was that they should look to have permanent pitch with Desso on it. That is plastic fibres which are about 70-80mm in length, the top 20mm of which sticks out. It gives greenness and stability to the turf, even if it is only 2% of the surface area. You seed the pitch in, and manage it as a football pitch, rather than taking it in and out all the time, which carries too many risks.”

Although he says STRI has “kept a distance” from Wembley since then, he insists his organisation remains on very good terms with the English FA, even if he was worried about the adverse publicity. “At the end of day they were happy to take our advice, and we were involved in setting up the new pitch, which is performing well,” he says. “We parted on very good terms.”

In fact, the experience might even have given the company ideas about where to go next, because McKillop says concert management for some of these sporting venues is a key issue that needs addressing. “A lot of concerts are in the closed season for these pitches, but

After all this happening overseas it was inevitable that something should blow up at home – and something did

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often there is very little time between the end of the concert and the pitch having to be used,” he says. “If whatever event you are having is going to kill the pitch, you need to make sure money you get from promoter is sufficient to cover that cost. We need to make sure our clients understand the consequences from their business model of what they are thinking about.”

Of course, such clients are possibly only trying to make ends meet during an economic downturn, something STRI has to be conscious of. While large organisations such as UEFA will still go on in a recession, McKillop is aware that smaller clients, many of whom actually join STRI as members to get an annual visit, are more hard pressed. “We have kept our membership fees the same,” he says. “That is our bread and butter, without which we wouldn’t be able to do this glamorous but highly demanding international stuff.”

Nevertheless, he thinks there still is room for international expansion. But curiously enough, the one country that they probably won’t be looking to is the one which inspired STRI in the first place: the USA. That is first because America operates to a different model which McKillop says “does not work brilliantly” where clubs in effect only pay for the time consultants are actually on the ground, and the consultants themselves are expected to cover the rest.

But there is the risk too. It turns out that there are only two countries which STRI has to get permission to go to from its insurers before departing. The first is Russia, perhaps for obvious reasons. But the other one is the USA – and all because of the potential threat of litigation. It seems the world of sports turf is a complicated world indeed. n

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Investors urged to take bite out of restaurant sector, rosy future for new partnership, office appetite quadruples, JLS tops the charts, sterling leader lands new role, and pizza delivery for retail park

>> Land sec gets City Exchange ready Knight Frank and Jones Lang LaSalle have both been appointed to market Land Securities’ City Exchange office development in the heart of Leeds, which is currently undergoing a period of refurbishment.

The seven-storey building on Albion Street City provides 120,000 sq ft of office space, with 16,000 sq ft currently available and a further 47,000 sq ft over the next 18 months.

Suites are available from 4,900 sq ft up to 63,000 sq ft.

Knight Frank partner Elizabeth Ridler said: “Land Securities, as tenants in their own building, are investing heavily in refurbishing the common areas of the City Exchange building to bring it up to Grade A standard to capitalise on the ever-reducing levels of high quality stock in the city.”

The building currently features chilled beam air conditioning, floor to ceiling glazing, a fully accessible raised floor, metal tiled suspended ceiling and four high-speed passenger lifts.

“This will place the development at the very top of the quality Leeds office market, alongside Toronto Square, No1 Leeds and Broad Gate,” said Tom Brammeld, senior surveyor with Jones Lang LaSalle.

>> Leeds College building moves closer Design agency Fuse and consultants Davis Langdon have both been appointed to advise on the 12,000 sq m Leeds College of Building site in Leeds city centre.

Fuse will be providing architecture and interior design services and Davis Langdon will be acting as project managers and cost

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consultants for the project.

The college, which currently operates across six sites, began looking for a city centre site last year.

Richard Ashmore of RA Real Estate, which has also been advising the college on its development, said: “With the appointment of Fuse and Davis Langdon the real work can now begin to realise a fantastic new site for

Leeds College of Building and its students.

The briefing and site identification process has now commenced and we are targeting a project completion for the start of the 2015 academic year.”

Fuse director Mike Harris said: “We are absolutely thrilled by this very significant appointment for the practice and hope that our equal balance of architecture and interior design skills, coupled with a passion for the city, will help deliver an inspirational new site for Leeds College of Building and its students.” Mike Briffet, who will lead the Davis Langdon project team, said: “We are genuinely delighted about being involved in what we aim to make an exemplar project for the profession.

“In particular we are looking forward to positively engaging with the College’s students and providing an exciting new building, which will act as a tremendous asset for future generations,” he added.

>> Helmsley Group whets investment appetite with restaurant acquisition York-based property company investment company the Helmsley Group has acquired the Plunkets restaurant in the city and is looking to form a syndicate of local residents to invest in it.

The company is offering the £1m investment opportunity to York people first – at a reduced individual investment level of £10,000 rather than the usual £25,000.

Plunkets, currently owned by Sharon Brown, has been trading at 9 High Petergate, a Grade II listed property, for 35 years. It was visited by the Rolling Stones in

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1968, when it was a student café bar, and they signed the wall of its upstairs cocktail bar in lipstick. The wall is protected in the terms of the lease and the lipstick signatures are on show for visitors to see.

The medieval timber-framed building dates back to 1640, and has been commercial premises for at least 100 years, being run in the 1920s and 1930s as a café.

Helmsley Group director Ian McAndrew said: “It is rare for such an historic building with a well-established tenant to come onto the market. Plunkets is located close to York Minster and has a strong local and tourist clientele and has committed to a 15-year lease, so presents a great investment opportunity.”

>> TCCP takes car parks to the future Town Centre Car Parks (TCCP), a division of Town Centre Securities, has taken over the management of two car parks in central Leeds from NCP. This move will enable TCCP to manage the two car parks on Edward Street and Templar Street, which together have a capacity of 520 spaces, in conjunction with London-based development company Hammerson. TCCP managing director Ben Ziff said the company wanted to make the car parks more flexible to reflect the needs of commuters and shoppers. “We are determined to replace the old-fashioned pay-and-display machines with a modern automatic number plate recognition system. This enables drivers to pay on arrival or departure, whichever is easier, and to extend their stay without any hassle. We are also planning a parking feature which is unique in Leeds - the ability to pay on-line up to 24 hours after departure. That will make it so much easier and flexible for drivers who haven’t got the right amount of cash with them.” TCCP already owns and manages the Merrion Centre, Clarence Dock and Whitehall Riverside car parks in the city.

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY >> Grimley man moves to Colliers

>> CBRE moves in on White Rose Munroe K has appointed CBRE as a joint marketing agent on its 580,000 sq ft White Rose Office Park in Leeds.

CBRE replaces Knight Frank and joins existing agents DTZ, who have marketed the scheme for 10 years, and Jones Lang LaSalle, who joined DTZ and Knight Frank at the beginning of 2008.

CBRE’s Jonathan Shires said: “We look forward to working with Munroe K, and the team, in further developing the park’s quality occupier line up.”

The move comes as Munroe K has just finished refurbishing the 20,000 sq ft Hub, the central location for all 5,500 employees, offering them conferencing, quality dining and breakout facilities.

It also has plans to extend the office park by an additional 35,000 sq ft. alongside the 7,000 sq ft currently available.

Planning has been submitted for re-drawn plans for the 7,000 sq ft day care centre and Premier Crèche Services has been chosen to manage the 60-child facility, which will accommodate 12 babies, 24 toddlers up to the age of three, and 24 toddlers aged between three and five.

David Aspin, owner of Munroe K said: “There is a lot going on at the Park at the moment and I believe CBRE will be a great addition to the team.”

Existing tenants at the park include HSBC, O2, WSP and DuPuy.

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Colliers International has hired Richard Walsh, formerly director of investment at GVA Grimley, as a director in its national investment team.

Walsh will provide specific support to the Leeds office due to his extensive knowledge of and expertise in the Yorkshire market: last year Richard also sold West Riding House in Leeds on behalf of Anglo Irish Bank for £48m.

Greg Styles, head of the Leeds office at Colliers International, said: “His broad experience across all investment sectors will prove invaluable to us as we continue to grow the team and expand our offer to our clients in the Yorkshire and North East region.”

>> Park Plaza aims for new look The Park Plaza Hotel in Leeds city centre is nearing the end of a refurbishment of all 185 of its rooms and public areas in what amounts to the first major investment in the hotel since it opened in 2003.

The project, which started in October last year and will be unveiled to the public in July, includes the creation of two new bedrooms, including a penthouse suite on the top 20th floor, which features two en-suite bedrooms, two lounges, a private kitchenette, dining area and bathroom complete with TVs – a first for any hotel based in Leeds.

Over 1500 items of furniture have been bought for the project, including new Italian designed white leather desk chairs.

The guest rooms and suites will now incorporate a jewel-tone colour palette, and each room will also feature artwork produced from the winning photographs taken by Leeds College of Art Students who entered Park Plaza’s recent photography competition.

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY Updates to the hotel’s public spaces will include the addition of a ground-floor executive lounge and a refurbished lobby, check-in area and Scene Coffee Bar, which overlooks the City Square.

Park Plaza general manager Paul Rogers said: “This is an exciting time for Leeds with the Trinity development as well as the new Leeds Arena both scheduled for completion by 2013. As one of the newest buildings on Boar Lane, it’s an incredible feeling to be a part of all of that history, but also we know we have to be committed to providing something different to stand out from the crowd.”

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so that we can provide an unrivalled service for our customers.”

Both lettings come just as long-established tenant the OSS Group committed to a new long-term lease of its 2,500 sq ft unit.

Pete Bradbury of Carter Towler, who are joint agents with Knight Frank, said the OSS deal was the second they had completed in a month at the park, “which speaks volumes about the overall quality of the park.”

There are still three units, plus two single floors, available to lease from 1,200 sq ft to 12,500 sq ft.

>> Triple for Cliffe Park Two new companies have taken space at Cliffe Park in Morley, while an existing tenant has extended its lease.

Electrical services and maintenance provider Norland Managed Services has taken a five-year lease on a 5,070 sq ft unit at Cliffe Park in Morley.

The move will enable Norland to double its staff to 60 during the next 12 months.

The park on Bruntcliffe Road comprises 12 self-contained office buildings totalling 65,000 sq ft set within landscaped grounds.

Craig Bonner, the financial manager of Norland’s northern region, said: “This move is very much part of our growth plans. We are seeing growth of 25% year on year, and needed bigger premises.

“Cliffe Park is ideal, with great office facilities, a superb working environment, ample parking and easy access to Yorkshire’s motorway network.” Meanwhile, modular space and secure storage provider the Elliott Group has taken another 5,160 sq ft unit on a five-year lease in a deal that was arranged by Carter Towler in six weeks.

Elliott Group divisional director Paul Lang said: “This move is very much part of our growth strategy. We have relocated from Cleckheaton

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bowling alley in The Hut. Built by Knottingley-based Caddick Construction for Wakefield Metropolitan District Council with funding from the Government´s Myplace programme and administered by the Big Lottery Fund, The Hut aims to provide teenagers from the five towns with a place to meet.

The facility includes a sports hall, bowling alley and sports courts, as well as a `chill out´ zone, computer lab, cinema, and conference areas. Activities will include performing arts, film, computer gaming, tenpin bowling, cookery and sports.

Liz Firth, education development manager at Chrysalis Youth & Community Project, a charity which will provide its services from The Hut, said: “This is a fantastic facility and Caddick Construction have been instrumental in making sure it has been built to the highest standards and will open in time for the summer holidays.”

>> Leeds office take-up quadruples

>> Pupils finish off Caddick Project Pupils from two secondary schools in Airedale and Castleford have been putting the finishing touches to a new £5m youth centre in Wakefield which is due to open in July.

The students from Airedale Academy and Castleford Academy worked with international 3D artist Jim Harper to create a 26 metre wide x 3 metre high 3D mural on the wall of the ten-pin

Grade A office take up in Leeds city centre in the first quarter of this year edged up to over 155,000 sq ft – four times that seen in the same period last year and the highest level seen in the city for four years.

Although agents warn that the figure was skewed by the Medical Protection Society’s take up of the 63,000 sq ft Victoria House – the former headquarters of Yorkshire Forward – the rise has been enough for Knight Frank to predict that headline rents will soon be edging towards £25 per sq ft again.

The agency claims headline figure has remained steady at £24 per sq ft for the past two years, having fallen from £27 per sq ft at the height of the market peak.

Knight Frank’s regional office market presentation (ROMP) research claims that deals over 15,000 sq ft accounted for 15% of the total, with deals over 5,000 sq ft

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accounting for 42%. In comparison last year saw a high proportion of deals under 5,000 sq ft.

The vacancy rate remained at around 10% – the level it has been at since September last year – but available space continued to fall, declining by 50,000 sq ft to 350,000 sq ft by the end of March this year.

Elizabeth Ridler, partner specialising in office agency with Knight Frank in Leeds, said: “While market conditions generally remain tough, rents have held firm and sentiment is at least showing some tentative signs of improvement. Indeed, there is now a steady level of enquiries in excess of 10,000 sq ft, which has not been seen for some time.

“As a result, the supply of Grade A stock is expected to continue to diminish and one or two pre-lets may be announced by the end of the year.”

In its report, DTZ claims the main drivers of transactions this quarter were lease renewals and expansions, particularly from the insurance sector.

Adam Cockcroft, director of office agency at DTZ in Leeds, said occupiers were recognising that the “competitive deals” currently on offer on Grade A buildings would start to reduce in the near future. “Grade A stock is starting to decrease with a corresponding hardening of incentives,” he said. “That said, it is still an ideal time for occupiers to procure new premises on very competitive terms.”

>> Jls tops the charts Jones Lang LaSalle has been ranked the most active office agency team in Leeds according to newly released figures from an independent commercial property survey. According to the CoStar Leeds Office Agency League table, JLS’s national office agency team in Leeds came top in three out of four categories: the most active disposal agent, office availability >>

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

Triple substitution: L-R, Peter Walker, Gary Cartmell and Nigel McClea

>> Sterling Capitol gets new head Yorkshire-based property developer Sterling Capitol, which currently owns three motorwaylinked office parks in the region, has appointed Gary Cartmell as its managing director.

The company’s board, chaired by Sir Bob Murray, has also been strengthened with the appointment of Omega chief executive Peter Walker and Nigel McClea, a property lawyer and former managing partner of Pinsent Masons in Leeds.

All three men have been working closely with Murray for well over a decade. Cartmell replaces Martin Croxen, the man who set up Sterling Capitol with Murray in the early 1990s, who has decided to retire.

He will remain on the board as a non-executive director.

Murray said: “These appointments will ensure that the next phase of our story is successful.

Gary’s unquestionable knowledge and expertise in property, linked with his energy, focus and drive will be vital to the company’s success in this very competitive industry.

“Peter Walker will provide significant ongoing support to the finance function.

“Nigel brings enormous experience, having been closely involved with the Sterling Group since its inception in 1991.”

The changes come as heating company Ideal Heating has taken 7,000 sq ft of space at Sterling Court, part of Sterling Capitol’s Capitol Park East by Junction 28 of the M62.

Ideal Heating is renting the building at £16 per sq ft on a 10-year lease.

The building will become part of the UK-wide company’s Northern Centre of Excellence.

Marketing director James Parkinson said: “We chose Capitol Park because of its excellent location, at the heart of Yorkshire’s motorway network, and because of its superb amenities and facilities.” Morley councillor Robert Finnigan said the news was “a tremendous boost to Morley’s economy”. Richard Thornton, a director with property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle, who were joint agents on the deal with Knight Frank, said: “Ideal Heating’s requirements were best satisfied

by Capitol Park. The immediate availability of a prestigious office within a quality environment, just off the M62, was a real attraction.

So, too, were the superb amenities at the park, especially the de Vere Village Hotel.”

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY and number of office instructions in Leeds city centre.

Over the course of 2011 the Leeds based team successfully disposed of 153,503 sq ft of office space in central Leeds, giving it a market share of 18%.

It was also ranked first for the total amount of office space it was instructed to market and the number of leasing instructions (59).

Team director Jeff Pearey said: “To have grown our market share, in what remains a tough occupational market, is fantastic news for the team and our clients.”

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Furniture Village, Harveys, Comet, CSL, SCS, Ikea, Marks & Spencer Simply Food, DFS, and Toys R Us. There is also a Showcase Cinema. Pizza Express was advised by retail and leisure specialist Tushingham Moore.

>> Directorbank moves into Bond Court

>> Pizza Express in Birstall Pizza Express is coming to the Junction 27 retail park in Birstall following the successful completion of a deal by the UK Commercial Property Trust.

The Trust, advised by Ignis Asset Management and working with DTZ, has secured planning consent and exchanged contracts to develop the new flagship restaurant unit, alongside the existing TGI Fridays restaurant unit.

Pizza Express has taken out a 20-year pre-let on the 4,200 sq ft unit at an initial rental of £40 per sq ft, rising to 42.50 per sq ft in years four and five.

The restaurant expects to be open by the end of June.

David Rodger, portfolio manager at Ignis Real Estate, said: “The critical mass and length of dwell time at Birstall requires quality catering and it is extremely positive that we now have 14 different catering offers around the cluster.” Stuart Lunn, director at DTZ Retail said: “Tenants love Birstall. Without exception it is always reported by retailers as a top three trading location in the UK, and the cluster as a whole goes from success to success.

“Our problem is getting possession of units to move the scheme forward.

“We simply cannot get our hands on floor space to accommodate demand even where substantial positive premiums are discussed.”

Existing tenants at the retail park and neighbouring developments, which are increasingly being marketed to consumers as one entity, the Birstall Shopping Park, include Currys/PC World, Barker and Stonehouse,

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competition elsewhere in the York out of town area in a challenging market.”

Andrew McBeath of joint marketing agents MPC added: “The fact that NFU Mutual has moved their headquarters to Zenith House next door is a great testament of the quality of the location, which is close to the York Outer Ring Road, with easy access to the A1 (M) and the A59, but only two miles from York city centre. The park also offers excellent parking facilities.”

The Human Support Group was represented by Manchester-based OBI Property Consultants.

>> Care provider chooses Clifton Park Elderly care provider Human Support Group has opened an office on the ground floor of Block A at Clifton Park on the edge of York.

The company has taken 1,238 sq ft of space on a five-year lease for around £11 per sq ft.

Rachel Caulfield, head of human resources at the company, which trades as Housing Support and Home Care Support, said it had wanted to secure an office in the area after winning the contract to run City of York Council’s re-ablement and domiciliary care service.

“As we were new to the area, it was important we sourced an office central to the city with great transport links,” she said. “Clifton Park is a modern, leafy site which is easily accessible by the outer ring road and offers superb facilities.

“We were impressed with the attention provided by the facilities manager when we moved in, who paid a personal visit to ensure all was in order and have been more than satisfied with both the office and the service so far.”

Chris Pearson, of joint marketing agents Gavin Black, said: “Our new tenant is a national operator and we were very pleased to have secured this letting against

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Private equity headhunter Directorbank has taken 1,480 sq ft of space at Wilton Developments’ 2 Bond Court development on a five-year lease.

The property, which was formerly known as Midland House, has been through an extensive refurbishment since Wilton Developments bought it in September 2010, and now provides 15,250 sq ft of space, with individual suites available from 1,000 sq ft.

The refurbishment works have included a new reception with video phone entry system, a 13-person lift, comfort cooling systems, gym quality changing rooms, stores and a bicycle rack at basement level, and contemporary designed toilets.

Directorbank executive chairman Ken Brotherston said: “2 Bond Court immediately caught our attention due to its prime location in Leeds’ central business district, the availability of high quality accommodation and access to our client base.”

Eamon Fox, associate director at DTZ in Leeds, who advised Wilton Developments, said: “2 Bond Court is a great example of how a substantial refurbishment has helped to breathe new life into a building and attract high profile occupiers seeking centrally located, quality accommodation.”

Other occupiers at the scheme include insurance firm, Liberty Mutual while Costa Coffee has also taken occupation of the ground floor of the building.

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COMPANY PROFILE

The £125m Finance for Business North East programme has made an exciting appointment to help support investment in Tees Valley

New face for investment in Tees Valley

A

leading business woman has been recruited to help drive business investment in the Tees Valley.

North East Finance (NEF), which manages the region’s £125m Finance for Business Fund, has recruited Jane Reynolds as its business manager for Tees Valley.

Jane, who is a prominent member of Tees Valley Business Club, will work closely with local SMEs, business support organisations and the fund managers responsible for investing the £125m portfolio to encourage deal making in the area.

The Finance for Business Fund was launched in 2010 and comprises seven funds operated by six different fund managers which will support businesses and entrepreneurs with strong commercial prospects across the North East through to 2014.

The programme has already made a string of investments into ambitious Teesside businesses such as software developer CANNDi (100k), manufacturer Xena Systems (200k), energy from waste company Solvert (100k) and medical device supplier Femeda since launching.

Jane’s appointment will help the programme build on this successful start to make more businesses aware of the opportunities and improve investor readiness.

Jane said: “This is an exciting opportunity and I’m really looking forward to be joining the NEF team and encouraging investment in our most exciting companies.

“The fund managers have made some excellent investments and built a strong foundation since the launch of the programme two years ago. My role is to help build on this momentum to ensure North East Finance builds a strong legacy for the Tees Valley.”

Jane, who will be based at Wynyard Park, has

we want to ensure people are aware of the opportunities and are in the best position to take advantage of the funds

people are aware of the opportunities and are in the best position to take advantage of the funds.

“We have some fantastic businesses in Tees Valley and a range of emerging sectors with lots of new ideas and this is a great opportunity to support future success.”

Andrew Mitchell chief executive of North East Finance said: “I’m delighted we have someone of Jane’s experience and contacts to support the second phase of the Finance for Business programme.

“We’ve shown time and time again how we can use this public money to attract private investment and stimulate deals. We need to make the most of this over the next three years to build more successful and sustainable SMEs and Jane’s appointment will help us to achieve this.”

The Finance for Business programme was set up with funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and European Investment Bank (EIB).

The seven funds in the portfolio include: North East Accelerator Fund, Angel Fund, Growth Fund, Growth Plus Fund, Microloan Fund, Proof of Concept Fund and Technology Fund to cater for a range of business needs across a broad range of sectors.

a wealth of business experience and excellent contacts across the Tees Valley as a result of previous posts with organisations including Finance Tree, Connect and Bridge Club. She has also worked overseas in the US and Holland.

Jane added: “I’ll be out and about working closely with the fund managers to meet as many businesses, intermediaries and support organisations as possible. We want to ensure

For more information about the programme visit www.northeastfinance.org or contact Jane Reynolds on 07730 763045

Jane Reynold’s, North East Finance’s business manager for Tees Valley

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Still sweet and rosy?

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38

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SUCCESS STORY

A new museum aims to celebrate York’s connection with the chocolate industry. But with the number of jobs involved in chocolate making in the city a fraction of what it once was, is there still something to celebrate? Victoria Gibson reports

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This year York has finally claimed its title as Britain’s official home of chocolate. After all, the confectionery industry did bring economic stability to a 19th century York with the help of the city’s superior railway connections.

There’s not much of the original confectionery names left in the city such as Terry’s, Rowntree’s and Craven’s, which all played a huge part in providing jobs to the locals – during peak times Terry’s employed over 700 people, and revolutionised the chocolate making business.

But each brand created one lifelong heritage for York and its people, so what better time to open a new visitor attraction paying tribute to the industry?

CHOCOLATE - York’s Sweet Story opened on 1 April and celebrates the history of chocolate making. The museum, owned by Continuum, provides an insight into the industry via high quality videos, interactive machinery and of course, chocolate tasting.

The concept was originally suggested back in the 1980s when Rowntree’s was contemplating using one of its wharf buildings as a museum.

But the merger with Nestlé was around the corner and the build never happened.

Starting in 2011 the idea finally became reality in just 13 months, from signing the lease, to opening the attraction at a cost of just under £2m - an extremely fast turn around, especially for a private company with no outside funding or public money involved.

Sweet Story’s general manager Michael Constantine is very happy with the progress since opening: “There’s a deep history of chocolate in York, mostly based on the Quakers starting around 1725, when Mary Tuke, the daughter of a prominent Quaker, established a grocery business that eventually became Rowntree’s. This is a great gateway or introduction to chocolate because you get that background knowledge. It’s then up to you to see the museum and exhibition to see where each family fits in. It’s all about chocolate, and best of all how to taste it.”

York receives seven million visitors a year and boasts statistics of £203m spent on business tourism and an annual leisure and business visitor spend of £443m.

Local councillor Sonja Crisp says: >>

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

SUCCESS STORY “Chocolate works for us because we have a claim of Britain’s home of chocolate especially with the new chocolate museum, the York Cocoa house cafe, a new Chocolate Trail and our first Chocolate Festival. Sweet Story adds to the overall offer and I know they’ve been extremely busy.”

The museum reveals all, even the lows of the industry, because it wasn’t always smooth. In 1993 Kraft Foods bought Terry’s and many were left devastated when the food giant announced the closure of the Terry’s factory complex in 2005 with a loss of 300 jobs, especially since at one time a mother, aunt, uncle or grandfather of any family will have inevitably worked within the factory.

The sale resulted in York losing a lot of overseas trade. Terry’s products are now manufactured in other Kraft facilities in Poland, Sweden, Belgium, and Slovakia.

The site remained derelict until redevelopment work began by the new owners, York-based Grantside Developments, after the City of York Council’s approval of a £165m redevelopment scheme in 2010 where it was thought that around 2,000 jobs would be created through the project.

The proposal included offices, a luxury hotel and spa, medium-budget hotel, apartments and restaurants creating up to 2,500 permanent jobs, a plan that was welcomed by Gillian Cruddas, of York Tourism Bureau, who said such a hotel could help attract extra tourists to the city - for example, American and Japanese visitors.

However local media reports now suggest that uncertainty surrounding the redevelopment scheme has forced 27 of the site’s 33 acres to be put up for sale on the advice of the bank acting for Grantside. It is being marketed by York property firm Savills.

Grantside’s website reveals that the demolition work, which also includes asbestos removal and original fixtures and fittings being stripped out, will not affect the listed red-brick buildings, which should still form the centrepiece of any redevelopment.

“The decline of Terry’s did hit York hard as it would,” says Crisp.

“Lots of people loved Terry’s. It was a way of life for lots of families. Although, from Terry’s being a major producer of chocolate, we’ve

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turned it round and we’re celebrating the heritage that they left us. It’s fortunately for us proving very positive with visitors.”

Nestlé acquired Rowntree’s in 1988, 83 years after it merged with the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. Nestlé is now a key player in the current confectionery industry as one of UK and Ireland’s major exporters, exporting in excess of £260m worth of products every year to over 50 countries around the world.

Rowntree’s remains the brand name for all the

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company’s sugar sweets, which include Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, Randoms and Fruit Gums. In 2006 a restructure at the York base resulted in job losses but the company claimed that the York-based business was uncompetitive and without the changes, it is unlikely that Nestlé would still be in York.

The company has invested over £200m into the York site.

The £50m it has spent in the last five years included the completion of a three-year £15m project in the Kit Kat wafer factory to replace

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wafer ovens and machinery.

“Confectionery still plays an important role in York and we remain the largest private employer in the city,” a company spokesperson says. “Not only is Nestlé York one of the world’s largest confectionery production sites, producing over a billion Kit Kats a year, it is also home to the global centre for confectionery research and development – the Nestlé Product Technology Centre (PTC).

She added that York still plays “an important role globally” for Nestle, which can perhaps be seen in the fact that while over 1800 people are employed at the York site, only around half of them are involved in chocolate production.

The rest perform head office duties such as finance, marketing and sales.

When the company took over the Rowntree’s facility it also moved Milky Bar production there, extended the factory, and built an Insight and Learning Centre – a giant complex of dummy shops where the sales force can plan and try out their strategies for the coming year. “It’s a real hub for Nestlé and York’s base is incredibly important to us,” the spokesperson said.

For some time now the city’s chocolate businesses - including Sweet Story - have adopted the ‘source locally’ ethos, where if you can use York-based goods then do. Sweet Story even enlisted the help of Bettys Tea Rooms, another firm fixture in York, to train their staff in the art of chocolate making.

Constantine says: “If we can get it in York we will, if not then the UK and then the best in the world - because unfortunately you don’t see many cocoa trees in York, so we import that from Barry Callebaut, who makes chocolate for all the artisan chocolate makers.”

Cargill, the international food producer and marketer, acquired The Nestlé Group’s primary cocoa processing facilities in York and Hamburg, Germany in 2004, maintaining another unit in the city and providing a source for a vital ingredient.

Local MP Mr Hugh Bayley recognises the importance of the link between York and Begoro in the Fanteakwa district of Ghana where some of the best cocoa is grown. “We must make sure that cocoa farmers share the income that comes from the chocolate bars we eat every day,” he once told an interviewer.

SUCCESS STORY

Confectionery still plays an important role in York and we remain the largest private employer in the city

“The link with York is terribly important to them. We must keep it going long-term and make it relevant to people here and over there. It already involves schools in York and Fanteakwa and we must build on this.”

York was also home to Craven’s, at one time the world’s largest boiled sweet manufacturer.

Established in 1966 and located on Low Poppleton Lane on the outskirts of York it is now owned by confectionery company Tangerine. Thankfully it has remained at the original location where it still produces

41

Jameson’s Raspberry Ruffles, Tavener’s Toffees and Barratt Refresher Lollies, securing jobs for many in the area.

Sweet Story only employs 30 staff, 20 full-time, a small amount compared to a chocolate factory, but it’s already had between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors over the Easter weekend and is expecting 140,000 to 150,000 over the course of the year.

With tours taking place every 10 minutes on a busy day it is proving to be rather popular.

Constantine says: “One of the biggest >>

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SUCCESS STORY

challenges was how do we tell a story from 300 years in the making in an attractive, interesting and informative way.”

They’ve certainly seem to have cracked it: the tour is interesting and fun, and the video demos are well thought out and entertaining for the younger crowds. “We want people to come out smiling,” says Ann Gurnell, Continuum’s general manager.

The museum has a prime spot located in Kings Square to ensure maximum tourism pulling power. “Staff and I walked the streets of York and happened to see this building and thought what a fantastic place to be in terms of putting a visitor attraction in the centre of the city,” says Constantine.

“We will keep the place relevant and up to date by what we call the chocolate wall, or bubble wall - the interactive section.

“You’ll see that lots of the interactives are changeable, as we developed the story various interesting stories and facts were put into bubble containers that we can change – these are important fixtures because they reveal the past of the industry.

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“The building has got a 20-year lease and we’ve got all the infrastructure and soft assets so we can change the tours relatively easy, and how you engage with the guest, to make it different for them.”

This isn’t the first time that Continuum has struck gold. When the original Craven’s Coppergate site was demolished in 1966 workers from the York Archaeological Trust discovered the remains of a Viking settlement beneath the foundations.

A retired businessman asked if he could help which led to a meeting between entrepreneur Ian Skipper and academic Dr Peter Addyman.

Together, they went on to create the Jorvik Viking Centre, the first museum created by Heritage projects Management, a private limited company that eventually evolved into Continuum, a business set up with the plan “to create the most engaging stories in the most memorable places for millions and millions of people around the globe” and an £8m turnover.

The company also owns The Real Mary Kings Close, Edinburgh, Kent Life and Oxford Castle

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Unlocked. So good is the new attraction that the City of York Council is now planning to undertake a project to re-invigorate Kings Square. But can York lay claim to being the chocolate city?

Constantine is quick to recognise the modernisation of factories that inevitably results in cutting manpower but adds: “Both Nestlé and Cargill employ two and a half thousand people, there’s a new raft of artisan chocolatiers in the city and Nestlé invested a lot of money into their factory. Plus this is the international base for them, so the Swiss and Americans come to York.

“Everyone flies into York to learn about chocolate manufacturing, so it still has that status and we’re shouting about it.

“The support from the local confectionery businesses helped to make this attraction possible. Sweet Story is going to be here for at least 20 years or a lot longer telling the story of chocolate in York and with the best hot chocolate in the city who wouldn’t want to visit?”

Indeed. n

Leading the way In constructing communities Esh Construction is the multi-disciplined “one stop shop” construction division of Esh Group. We have delivery arms for building, refurbishment, historic restoration, housing & regeneration, civil engineering and facility solutions.

Our vision is clear. We see construction as dynamic, exciting and rewarding.

Our business directly employs around 1,000 people and Esh Group’s turnover in 2011 exceeded £170m. We have regional offices in Durham, Leeds, Northumberland and Kendal.

The communities in which we work are supported through our ‘Added Value’ approach. Our people are our strength; we succeed and achieve through their experience, commitment and training. In short, Esh Construcion delivers.

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Apr 2012.indd 2

4/23/2012 10:01:26 AM

INTERVIEW

BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

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INTERVIEW

Where the world comes calling

The village of Rillington may not seem the most obvious location for an engineering firm trading right around the world, but it is. And managing director Richard Shaw, with a string of successes behind him, has great plans for Ellis, as Andrew Mernin reports

Straddling the road between the Scarborough seaside and the historic market town Malton is Rillington. Home to little over 1,000 people, it has all the essentials of Yorkshire village life - a post office, a couple of pubs and an appreciation of cricket. But unlike the many other tiny settlements which stand firm among the green and brown of North Yorkshire, this is also home to a global champion of business.

The high street diminishes into a single-lane track that disappears across a field between hedgerows and trees. Follow it to the end and it is here that they make the products which the Chinese, Kazakhstanis, Czechs and Australians are all clamouring to get their hands on.

In humble surrounds it may be, but mention Ellis to the world's industrialists in the oil and gas and power sectors and they are certain to know of the Yorkshire firm.

Ellis makes cleats which secure industrial-sized cables safely in place even in the harshest environments. The firm, which has 22 overseas distributors, is expected to grow its annual sales by around £1m to almost £7m in the year to February 2013, as it continues to outbid multinational firms for deals home and away. In the longer term revenues are forecast to keep moving in the right direction, although managing director Richard Shaw is quick to point out that the days of five-year – or even three-year – budgetary plans are a thing of the

45

past given the current unpredictable nature of the economy.

“We have a direction we follow to try and grow the business,” he says. “The competition will always nibble around your fringes and the more successful we’ve become, the more competition we’ve provoked but we are continuing to grow our export sales.”

Given the global nature of Ellis’s product portfolio, it’s fitting that the company’s leader is well versed in international relations.

After spending his early career as an engineer in the brick-making industry, Shaw, a graduate of what was then Leeds Polytechnic, eventually joined his family’s business in a role that would take him all over the globe. >>

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INTERVIEW

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Bradford-based Pinco – which is no longer run by the family – made steel pins used in the textiles industry and was started by his grandfather over a century ago.

“Every bit of wool or cotton that you buy has seen a pin at some point and we made the pins used for combing the fibre,” he says.

“I spent the next six years or so going round the world selling pin products to all the textile businesses around the globe and our business was 70 or 80% export at the time so it was a very interesting time.

“I have five brothers and at the time I joined there were three working in the business, me being the fourth to join up.”

Like most family businesses it would seem that underlying tensions were never far away from rising to the surface however.

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“It was, erm, interesting,” he says on working alongside his brothers.

He eventually left the business in 1997 for another role which also boosted his knowledge of world economies and doing business abroad – particularly with the Americans. “I reached that stage in my career where you have to make a decision.

“If you stay in a family business too long you become much less easy to employ and it’s more difficult to get a meaningful job.

“I was ready to leave the family business and if I wanted to pursue my own career in my own right I really felt I had to leave.”

It was at this point in his career that he experienced the glare of the media spotlight as he took up a post at the helm of a failing subsidiary of Severfield-Rowen.

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The company, Manabo, made chainmail gloves for butchers – a niche selling space if ever there was one.

“The press at the time ran a story about a new director coming in to turn around this sickly business. People thought I was mad for taking the job and it was a really, really high risk decision. The business was making losses of around £2m a year and Severfield had to decide whether or not to continue the business or try to turn it round.”

Within three months of taking up the post, Shaw had made 30% of the workforce redundant and overseen the shifting of most of the production of the gloves from Thirsk to Hungary. He had also resuscitated the brand back to a breakeven point.

“Severfield were brilliant people to work with

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and they gave me lots of freedom and told me if I needed more money, let me know,” he says. “We actually started to make a big impact in export markets particularly in America and we attracted the attention of some of our American competition.

“We then got an approach from another glove maker to buy us in the US. That was a brilliant exit route for the plc.”

In fact, Shaw’s leadership had helped the once ailing firm attract interest from three American parties and a bidding war then ensued.

But a key clause in the deal as insisted by the ultimately successful bidder was that, alongside IP and assets, the grandson of a Bradford textiles dynasty would also be thrown in for good measure.

“I was sold with the business so it was a bizarre situation negotiating round the table.

When the deal was signed I transferred from one side of the table to the other.”

The Yorkshireman’s new employer, Wells Lamont Industry Group, appointed him director of operations and before long he was working in Chicago.

“I did a year and at the end of it I had to decide whether to relocate or not.

“I was still living in Rawdon and working in Chicago. I spent two weeks out of four out there and at factories from Canada down to Mexico and the Mississippi. I once did something like 23 flights in two weeks.

“The idea of relocating to the States when I

INTERVIEW

I once did something like 23 flights in two weeks. The idea of relocating to the States was a disaster waiting to happen

knew I’d have to take my three children out of school was just a catastrophe waiting to happen and it just wasn’t going to work. I began looking for another job after nine months and found Ellis.”

That was 11 years ago and much has changed at the cable cleats business since then.

The company was founded in York in the 1960s by a colourful character called Arthur Ellis who flew 99 Wellington bomber missions in the war and, as the factory floor legend goes, was so formal that even his wife had to call him Mr Ellis.

It wasn’t until 1987 that the firm began to grow significantly following a buy-out and since then has expanded considerably, with annual sales climbing from below the £500,000 mark to beyond £6m.

A major factor in the group’s growth in the current financial year can be attributed to a deal worth approximately £1.5m to

47

supply parts to the National Grid.

The contract, which is classed as an export sale because it was ordered by a German firm, will see Ellis provide the components needed to carry vast power cables underground through parts of London.

Other notable recent contracts wins include work to supply cleats to a US$500m drill ship in China called the Dalian Developer, which is designed to drill wells at ultra-deep levels in harsh environments. Ellis’s handiwork can also be seen in the foothills of the Krusne Mountains in the Czech Republic, thanks to an order for cable cleats to be used in a new power plant there.

Closer to home, this year has also seen Ellis products used on an offshore wind farm 20km off the Kent and Essex coast that will power over 470,000 homes once up and running.

In truth, because of the nature of Ellis’s core markets of oil and gas and power >>

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INTERVIEW

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generation and distribution, there are few global territories in which the Yorkshire-made cable cleats cannot be found.

Orders can come from one continent, be shipped to another and used on a vessel or rig in an entirely different place. Perhaps surprisingly, though, the company does all of its global trading from its village HQ via a network of distributors.

“We’re too small to have overseas offices at the moment,” Shaw says.

“We would consider it but right now it’s not appropriate. The two sectors we operate in are oil and gas and power generation and distribution. Every country generates power, so every country potentially is a customer.

“Australia is our biggest export market because of the oil and gas projects on the West coast,” he adds.

Much of the Rillington firm’s success overseas can be attributed to its ability to think and act big when bidding for work in foreign fields.

“The publicity that we get makes us look bigger than we are.

“When we are chasing very big contracts you

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need to look like a meaningful player in the field. If they think you’re a back street operation they’ll struggle to take you seriously,” he says.

The presence in our interview room of a public relations prompter – something usually deployed, in this interviewer’s experience, by global brands akin to GE or Coca-Cola – perhaps highlights the company’s close attention to its public image. Not to detract from the group’s standpoint as the market leader in its field though. While Shaw says the company’s “next most serious competitors” are in Norway and Malaysia, no firm comes close to its specialist capabilities in cable cleat-making. Increasingly Shaw is seeing more and more multinationals trying to impinge on his markets, but the firm remains the world expert in its very niche field.

“We are so far ahead of the field it’s untrue,” he says. “We’ve done over 300 short circuit tests while our next nearest competitor has probably done six to ten.

“Everyone else is doing cable cleats as an add-on product to others in their range and we are the only specialist.

“There are other companies busily trying to develop their own cable cleats based on the success that we’ve had.”

Since the cleat-maker’s growth shows no sign of slowing, it is fortunate that Mr Ellis built his empire on the expansive patch of North Yorkshire that he did, with more than adequate room for expansion.

As the world’s industrialists continue to beat a path for the Rillington firm, however, caution will be needed to continually grow without upsetting the ambience of village life. n

ONLINE: Visit BQ online as Richard Shaw plots a course for the future of the UK’s manufacturing sector: www.bq-magazine.co.uk/yorkshire

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Reason says: turn off investment now.

Instinct says: keep it flowing for the long term.

Business decisions are rarely black and white. Dynamic organisations know they need to apply both reason and instinct to decision making. We are Grant Thornton and it’s what we do for our clients every day. Contact us to help unlock your potential for growth. Š2012 Grant Thornton UK LLP. All rights reserved. Grant Thornton UK LLP is a member firm within Grant Thornton International Ltd. Grant Thornton International Ltd and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered independently by member firms. Full disclaimer available at grant-thornton.co.uk

BUSINESS LUNCH

SUMMER 12

A varied but lucky life Robert McClements has had a career covering all sorts of business interests in Yorkshire and elsewhere. And, he tells Peter Baber, he considers himself very lucky as a result

You are bound to bump into Robert McClements sooner or later if you go to enough Yorkshire business functions. He has connections with a great many of the great and the good within our business region. And that is not surprising really, which when you hear about the tenacity with which he went about getting his first job in an advertising agency in Leeds while he was still a student. The manager thought he had only invited him in for a chat, and quickly told him there were no jobs going. “‘But you don’t know how much I want,’ I said,” says Robert. “He looked at me puzzled. I said: ‘I am a student, so I have a grant, and three mornings of lectures, but I can come to work for you Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoons, and all day Thursday and Friday, for ten pounds and petrol money. Is that okay?’

And that was how I got my first job.”

The kind of jobs he has had since then, he admits, are ones where he has had to think on his feet.

“They seem to be jobs where they want you to come and do something,” he says, “but what you do with the job makes it interesting.”

But if there is one word that can probably sum up all the kind of jobs that he has done over the past couple of decades, then that word is “mentoring” – on a big and small scale.

That mentoring has extended from being business development director at the Bradford School of Management and to being chief executive of Print Yorkshire, a trade body

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representing Yorkshire printers which he set up with the backing of Yorkshire Forward. It has carried on in these post-YF days thanks to the support of the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF).

His mentoring extends to the small scale too.

There’s his active championship of the Prince’s Trust. “I have done nearly every job there is to do in the Prince’s Trust,” he says, “and currently chair its West Yorkshire committee. I still get more of a kick out of that kind of work

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than going to go a big job for the likes of the BBC, as I have done.”

There is also the mentoring he has been doing under his own initiative, most recently over the past three years with Haworth-based army uniform supplier Wyedean Weaving. “Through a strategic review we identified that the Ministry of Defence, one of their core customers, was looking at having a one-stopshop for clothing across all three forces, and the pilot study they were running to trial this arrangement was being run by a Canadian company that might threaten us. We put a plan together and today there is an organisation called Forces Locker, which is a partnership of five international companies with a total turnover of over €400m, who, as a result of the leadership of this little SME in Haworth, are now able to offer an Amazontype solution to the MOD that will drive costs out of the supply chain and provide a single point of contact. The Canadians are still there, but we are now waiting for the MOD to bring out the official invitation to tender.”

The amazing thing is, however, that he could so easily have joined the family motoring firm in York when he first set out. Why didn’t he?

“I looked at it, and it seemed to me that in such a job the difference between the beginning and the end of the week was having a bit more cash. I wanted to do something that was a bit more challenging.”

That might be partly the benefit of >>

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BUSINESS LUNCH

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BUSINESS LUNCH hindsight, however, as listening to his life story you get the feeling he really got the mentoring bug after coming under the guidance of one Mike Chapman, then managing director of a sign business called Oldham Signs that through quirks of business history had become part of what was then Allied Breweries.

Chapman offered him a job when the advertising agency wasn’t able to provide a full-time job at the end of his studies. “He gave me headroom – he gave me all the encouragement I needed,” says Robert.

The first job Chapman had him do was to carry out a strategic review of the business, and in his review Robert concluded that the company was missing out on not being able to provide medium-sized signs for point of sale material. The company then bought a small screen print business called Colourscreen, and Robert, who by then was more interested in aiming for Chartered Institute of Marketing qualifications, thought that was that. But the new business failed to thrive, and one Friday afternoon he got a call from Chapman. “What do you think we should do about Colourscreen?’ he said. ‘Do another strategic review,’ I said easily. ‘No,’ he said, ‘you only get one chance to do that, and we have done it. This new business, which was your idea, is not working, so here is what we are doing. As of Monday morning you are ColourScreen’s new managing director. You will leave your job as my marketing assistant, and actually do something.”

It was a shot across the bows, but Robert says it was also “the making of me – at 28”. “I was the managing director of the smallest possible subdivision of a subsidiary of Allied Breweries.

Its turnover was only £60,000, and half of that was sub-contracted through the main business.

Three years later its turnover was £1m and we were making £100,000 in pre-tax profit. We had also grown our staff from 6 to 38.”

He achieved this turnaround, he says, by going around all the company’s existing customers “and asking them what else they wanted”.

As a result of his success Robert was given a seat on the board. At around this time much of the UK brewing industry came under pressure from an acquisitive Australian company called Elders IXL. Robert was brought in to work on the bid defence team, an

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My life has been opportunities and a variety of hard and soft landings

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experience he found fascinating, but when as a result of this, and fresh from learning about strategic divestment on his MBA at Bradford, he suggested to the main board that perhaps a sign business wasn’t the most core asset a brewery should own, the board saw things differently, and he had a career decision to make. “I thought either I hang on in here and become chief executive of a division of Allied Breweries, or I start a consultancy. I decided to do the latter.” Given what has happened since to the brewing industry in Leeds, it seems a wise choice.

Many of these subsequent consultancy jobs involved him making what he says was the “nice mistake” of going in to work full-time.

This includes the post that he eventually came to get at the Bradford School of Management itself. “I thought I was going to be offered a lectureship,” he says, “But the then dean told me they had loads of people willing to talk about it, they wanted someone who would actually come and do things.”

His proudest achievement while he was there was setting up the school’s MBA programme in Israel. Once again, the story behind this is elaborate. “I had agreed to go on a trade mission to Israel as part of a branding exercise,” he says. “But when I got there I found that there was only one MBA programme in the whole country, producing only 20 students a year. There was massive unmet demand.”

It turned out that the reason why there was only one programme was because it was run

by Ministry of Education, and all the other universities were too scared to compete. But at a cocktail party at the British Embassy someone told him that Haim Kaiminitz, who ran something called the Israel Management Centre, might be able to help.

“I went to see this Haim Kaiminitz, but he was busy packing, and it seemed a complete waste of time. Only I started talking to his receptionist afterwards while I was waiting for a taxi, saying I was sorry we had not been able to do business but at least my wife was coming out that evening and we were going for a week to Eilat. She said: “That’s also where Mr Kaiminitz is going tomorrow.” So I gave her my business card and told her where I was staying, and later that week over dinner

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at the Princess Hotel in Taba Mr Kaiminitz said he would do business. He didn’t give a damn about the Ministry of Education.”

The Israel MBA subsequently fell foul of the political situation, but by the time that happened Robert had also helped to set up a Bradford MBA programme in Dubai under the auspices of Emirates airlines. That has now become the biggest MBA programme in the Middle East.

Robert only left the school because he says at his 25th wedding anniversary party, held on campus, he realised he didn’t want to reach retirement and still be there. His next venture, Print Yorkshire, also came about through building on opportunities – and the relentless McClements capacity to pester.

At the time Yorkshire Forward was developing its economic theory based around clusters, and had invited Michael Porter, the originator of the idea, over from America to discuss it in detail.

Robert went to hear him speak, and initially wasn’t impressed, but coming away he realised immediately how much it applied to Bradford.

“In its heyday Bradford paid the highest wages in the empire,” he says. “The Bradford Club was the secondary location outside London for every architecture practice in the UK. What were they doing? Building mills. Who supplied those mills? The workers in Batley. Who supplied the workers in Batley? The farmers in the hills around the city. That may be stating the obvious, but stating the obvious is a very useful thing to do from time to time.”

In any case, when Yorkshire Forward came to put together its own cluster theory, he didn’t think the organisation had seen the obvious strengths of the print industry in the region. So he went to have a meeting with one Jim Farmery, who was then part of the cluster team at the RDA. “I asked him how many printing companies he thought there were in the region. When I told him there were 1,300, he sounded interested. When I told him there were 25,000 employees, he sat up a bit more.

When I told him they contributed £1.5bn to the local economy, he started taking notes.”

The result was Print Yorkshire, an organisation which Robert claims got more Yorkshire Forward funding than any other similar body in the region, and was also “almost unique” in getting a second tranche of funding from

BUSINESS LUNCH

Europe. “That was because we had done all the things we needed to do,” he says. “We had assisted business, created jobs, helped with environmental processes, and encouraged lean manufacturing.”

One of its biggest successes, he says, was setting up the Showcase exhibition in 2006, an event that he says turned the traditional print trade show on its head. “Shows used to be dominated by print machine manufacturers, with printers who came to see them,” he says.

“Instead, we got all the printers in the region together in one room and got the print buyers to come to them. We had 60-odd exhibitors, 700 visitors, and many international speakers.”

Nor has the organisation slimmed down under its new funding format. It has just put in a bid for £3.6m in funding under the Regional Growth Fund.

In fact, woe betide you if you suggest that printing is something of a declining industry thanks to the growth of new media. “When people say that I say: ‘Where have you been for the past ten years?’” he says. “Smart printers no longer see themselves as just putting ink on paper. They are communications specialists, which includes putting ink on paper, but also includes websites and QR codes. The best example of that is Communisis, right here in Leeds. They grew out of Waddingtons, and now do print management, but also have their own advertising agency, and have thoroughly embraced integrated media.”

Yes, it seems at 58 there is no sign of the McClements spirit dying down. But that may in part be due to his innate sense of luck – a sense he feel he has inherited from his father, who survived 38 runs in a Halifax bomber during the Second World War, and is still alive today. A couple of years ago, when Robert decided to fulfil a lifelong ambition by competing with an American driver in the Beijing to Paris car rally, an event that dates back to 1906, his father finally gave him as a lucky mascot the scarf he had worn on all those missions.

Taking it out of his pocket to show me at the end of this interview, the tears well up in his eyes. “My life has been opportunities and a variety of soft and hard landings,” he says.

“But I am a lucky man.” n

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Salt’s Diner It seems odd that Robert should choose a Bradford restaurant for our meeting as his first experience of dining in the city, where the highlight was playing dominoes, very nearly put him off for life.

But then Salt’s Diner is part of the Salt’s Mill project, one of the most successful regeneration projects in the country that brought technology company Pace and David Hockney into a historic but largely redundant mill.

Robert thinks the building sums up everything that is great about Bradford. “It uses the legacy of Bradford and stunning architecture and a bit of great leadership in a mill that has been repurposed, and now boasts the latest high technology in Pace with a smattering of culture. It’s the perfect location.”

And the Diner isn’t half bad either. Robert used to come here regularly when he was at the Bradford School of Management.

With its airy but colourful atmosphere and sophisticated clientele, it seems the very best place to come for a stimulating lunch.

And if you ever tire of looking at all the Hockney art around you – including on the menu – there are all manner of small boutique shops to entice you just outside as well.

Robert opted for a tomato soup followed by a tantalising Nicoise salad, while I went for a little Caesar salad - complete with succulent anchovies, as it should be – and a brie and mushroom risotto. Just right for the middle of the day.

For more information, ring 01274 530533, or visit www.saltsmill.org.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

Oxley ON WINE

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beginner’s luck In his first foray into wine reviewing, Grant Thornton’s Will Oxley uncorks two very different wines which are equally to his liking Being a complete amateur and having grown up with Oz Clarke and Jilly Goolden as the well-known wine buffs of the time, it would be easy for me to lapse into “hollyhocks and liquorice” chat, so I’ll try not to. However, it is sometimes difficult to articulate the different tastes which wine provides and the senses it arouses, without using rarely used adjectives in the business world.

I was delighted with the wines I had to sample, a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a wonderful Pomerol, I’m a sucker, like many, for a good Bordeaux. The wines reminded me of family holidays in France and the time my wife and I lived in the Southern Hemisphere for two years. That’s part of enjoying wine, recalling the memories and places which just adds to the taste and conversation.

Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc I’m not a huge fan of the Chardonnay grape which seems to pervade white wine drinking these days, so I was delighted to get a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc rather than some oak oaked Australian Chardonnay, usually reserved for tourists or the export market.

This wine was immensely gluggable but sadly only one which I tasted and my wife drank.

In the glass it was a pale greenish straw in colour, with a fresh citrus and nutty nose, a smell that instantly makes you feel like you are enjoying summer before a drop even hits the tongue. On tasting there remains an explosion of citrus fruit combined with a chalky mineral even slightly metallic flavour.

As the wine slips down the throat it leaves a clean and refreshed feeling in the mouth, almost lulling you into yet another drink – dangerous! It certainly is a testament to the strong credentials this area of New Zealand has for producing excellent Sauvignon Blancs

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such as Cloudy Bay and Dog Point.

It’s definitely one of those whites you’d stock up on, in advance of friends coming around on a balmy evening to enjoy a BBQ of prawns, fish and spicy chicken kebabs. You’d probably then find you’d have to stock up again the following day – very drinkable!

Pomerol 2009 On to the red variety and I find myself in Bordeaux on the right bank – Pomerol and St Emilion absolutely brilliant, not that I have anything against Margaux, Medoc and St Estephe, all beautiful drops.

This Pomerol was delightful and we enjoyed it with a beef casserole. It has a deep fruity flavour with ripe tannins and a light cigar after taste through the gulp. It somehow seemed better as the meal progressed, warmer and complemented by the food - I should have opened it sooner and had a second bottle to hand. It’s how I expected it to be – velvety, sumptuous and fruity, like many fine Pomerols and drinking well for a 2009, not too young but still a lively sharpness to it at times.

It’s easy to be effusive about a wine region with such history and quality, consequently, I’m really looking forward to my next instalment when I’ll be reviewing a fine bottle of Cheval Blanc (please!). n The wines provided were: Craggy Range, ‘Te Muna’ Sauvignon Blanc 2010 - £12.99.

Jean Pierre Moueix Pomerol 2009 - £16.99.

Prices are inc VAT a bottle.

Tel: 01765 688 200 Website: www.bcfw.co.uk

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Will Oxley is a partner, specialising in transaction and advisory services, at Grant Thornton.

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OXLEY ON WINE

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MOTORING

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continental drifter Andrew Kilby, MD of Armstrong Watson Financial Planning and Wealth Management, steers Bentley’s Continental GT V8 through the stunning North Yorkshire countryside BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

When I think of a Grand Tourer or GT car, the classic image of travelling down to the South of France or Italy comes to mind, on one hand comforted by the car’s luxurious cabin and effortless ride, while on the other being entertained by acceleration and speed when a little more pressure is applied to the throttle.

Bentley recently launched the new Continental GT V8 alongside the existing 12 cylinder version and I was thrilled when BQ arranged a weekend test for me. Like many, I’m addicted to the sound of a V8 engine and, with 500 brake horsepower on tap, 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, a new 8-speed automatic transmission with

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paddle shifts and all-wheel drive, I knew the weekend was going to be exciting. Accepting that JCT600 Bentley would probably not be happy with me driving out of their Leeds showroom and the car last being seen crossing the English Channel to France, I picked a route to drive around the North Yorkshire Moors. In the true touring style and given the British heritage of Bentley, a picnic hamper seemed the most suitable choice for lunch. Settling in to the driver’s seat you cannot help but be impressed by the interior of the car. It is beautifully designed with the shape of the dashboard resembling the wings of the

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MOTORING

The car surged forward, replacing the previous quiteness with a growl and leaving a smile impossible to remove from our faces

Bentley badge, oozing luxury and style. As you would expect, very high quality materials are used throughout the cabin and if it can be trimmed in leather then it is. Press the start button and the engine comes into life with a classic V8 burble. At motorway cruising speeds the car was exceptionally smooth and quiet and effortless to drive, but the slip road onto the motorway had given a hint as to the potential performance of the engine and I was looking forward to experiencing this further.

The opportunity soon came after passing Thirsk and heading on the road up Sutton Bank and on to Helmsley. Some extra pressure applied to the accelerator pedal and the car surged forward, pressing us into the back of our seats with the previous quietness replaced by a growl which left a smile impossible to remove from our faces. Unfortunately it was over all too quickly due to the short time the car takes to reach road legal speeds, leaving no choice but to slow down and do it again!

We progressed at pace along the B1257 to Stokesley, which is rated as one of the great roads in the North of England by bikers. It twists and turns through some stunning

scenery and the Continental gripped the road well, although for the first time I did become aware that this is a 2,750Kg car and is not as nimble as lighter sports cars. The car allows you to adjust the dampers to change the firmness of the ride and the automatic gearbox offers a sport mode as well as paddle shifts for manual intervention, which together allow you to still enjoy a spirited drive. Our journey then took us past Whitby and to a stop off at Robin Hood’s Bay. Here I was reminded of the physical size of the car as I manoeuvred around a small car park. We returned home via

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Pickering and York allowing further time to enjoy the two very different sides to this car. n Andrew Kilby is MD of Armstrong Watson Financial Planning and Wealth Management.

The Bentley GT V8 is priced from ÂŁ123,850.

The car was supplied by JCT600 Leodis Court Bentley, 102 Gelderd Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS12 6BY, tel: 08448 443117. www.jct600.co.uk/ dealerships/bentley_leeds/

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

FASHION

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The menswear maestro The remarkable journey of Kim Jones has taken him out of Africa and into the heart of a French fashion dynasty. Josh Sims talks trends, travel and taxi drivers with Louis Vuitton’s head of menswear design

Cut from a different cloth: Kim Jones is one of the most sought-after stars of menswear design and a recent recipient of the British Fashion Council’s Menswear Designer of the Year award

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Kim Jones has rather unexpected plans for an alternative to his career in fashion. He would, he says, “have to do something else entirely - conservation maybe, working with animals”.

Perhaps that stems from his childhood - his father’s job meant he spent much of it in Africa. Unfortunately, at the rate he’s going, his David Attenborough moment is unlikely to come. He is, after all, 2011’s winner of the British Fashion Council’s Menswear Designer of the Year award, for the third time; his CV now spans work for his own label, as well as the unlikely mix that is Mulberry, Umbro, Uniqlo and Alexander McQueen, and the creative directorship of Alfred Dunhill; and he is also now the new head of menswear design for Louis Vuitton.

“Nowadays fashion is all about big brands and that means, as a designer, you have to be adaptable - I have a broad perspective on menswear because I’ve done so many different types of things,” he says. “It’s also a huge demographic I work with now - from super-rich kids of 16 to more traditional 80-year-olds who could be buying the same product. Of course, you can style it up to give that sense of power that some brands have.

But it’s just as much about detail and craft.

These are very real clothes. And they should be. The job is to provide people who work really hard with things they can invest in and then enjoy and appreciate - it may be a €5,000 leather jacket but it will last a lifetime.”

OK, so the spring/summer collection’s ties shot through with 24ct gold silk, cafe racer jackets in alligator skin, or the famed LV monogram on scarves and bags may not be top of every man’s shopping list. But the louche suiting, comfy pyjama pants, desert boots and safari-style clothes, or the new collection’s baseball jackets and kimono shirts as well as technical clothing given a luxury spin and preppy classics given a technical one, could well be. It is clever stuff too. Silks, for example,

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FASHION

are triple bonded to be breathable, while pockets are edged with performance tape. It is a properly grown-up collection from a line established by Louis Vuitton only in 2000.

“I just like the kind of clothes you can take on a plane and which won’t crease up too much,” Jones explains, somewhat undercutting fashion’s usual love of fluff with a solidly everyday consideration. “As a designer I like to think about how products can make a stressful life less stressful. How can a customer get the most they can out of a jacket? Because a jacket at this price has to pay its way.

And the technical capability of a company like Louis Vuitton is just beyond. That’s really where the progress comes from - in fabric development and materials. I’m a fashion designer but here you can’t help but get more product designery.”

For all that Louis Vuitton has been somewhat tarnished by the luxury world’s love of glitz, smart design is really what it set out to be about. Louis Vuitton the man’s original remit was officially catering to the needs of Empress Eugenio de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III. Vuitton’s idea for a flat-bottomed trunk which he introduced in 1858 - allowed them to be stacked; they were constructed in such a way, using unusual materials the likes of grey Trianon canvas, to make them strong but lightweight and airtight. The branding only came 18 years later, as a step to combat the widespread ripping off of his design.

Jones certainly travels a lot himself - indeed, travel is where he gets a lot of his ideas, >>

I’ve never wanted my name on anything so this role suits me

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

FASHION

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and travel remains the underpinning of the Louis Vuitton world, Jones suggests. He visits Africa every year and makes an effort to travel to as many new places he can, especially now that his new contract includes one of those generous five week summer vacations beloved of the French - “which is like being back at school,” he jokes. “And, like the shockingly rude taxi drivers here, it’s all very French too it’s complete switch-off. You don’t even get an email.” But one eye is always on work. “I went to Mongolia last year,” he says. “And there’s a Louis Vuitton store there. It’s pretty crazy.

Travel makes you realise how many different types of customer there are and how they all shop differently.”

As for getting in some clothes shopping himself, that’s unlikely. Like a lot of designers, he claims that “when you’re looking at clothes all day, you get to the point where you really don’t want to think about what you’re wearing yourself” - and, when he does buy, takes the rather unimaginative, very male approach of buying in multiples to keep stocks up for his “usual uniform of shirts with jeans or chinos”.

He is, in other words, refreshingly unfashiony, which, one suspects, is one reason why he got the job. “No, I’m not that fashiony,” Jones agrees. “I don’t go to the parties. I have a cosy apartment here in Paris and do a lot of cooking. Tonight I’m staying in and watching a DVD - something dumb. But I’ve never wanted my name on anything, so a position like this one suits me well. I’d rather just have respect from people in the industry.” n

I’m not fashiony and I don’t go to parties – but I do a lot of cooking

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EQUIPMENT

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scribes against the machines As new technology continues to threaten the old tools of intellect, one institution is fighting back by keeping alive the medium that has held the scribble and scrawl of its patrons for 180 years, writes Josh Sims

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It might seem that in the age of email, in times when the Indiana Department of Education has decided that teaching children to type rather than write is a better idea, the traditional letter might be doomed. Tell that to Germany’s Buttenpapierfabrik Gmund, founded 180 years ago and arguably the most elite large scale artisan paper maker in the world - both under its own name but also for the likes of Swarovski, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Tiffany, among the many companies who still regard the paper they use as an expression of the image they project. Tell that to the hard core fanatics for whom luxury is still ink and paper, not a keyboard, no matter how swish the gadget.

“Quality paper still matters,” says Gmund’s Anja Wackerhage. “Even if the only paper you use is in giving your business card, people recognise the quality of the paper almost subconsciously. They can feel it. The market for top quality paper may be a niche one, but there is an appreciation for the evocative aspect of paper texture maybe precisely because we spend so much time sat at computer screens now.”

And that touch quality to paper is something that Buttenpapierfabrik Gmund takes very seriously. Aside from the 52 standard colours the company works with (it also creates bespoke shades as part of many companies’ corporate identity), it has also developed

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EQUIPMENT

papers not only of different weights but of different tactility - with silky mother of pearl surfaces, for example, or a honeycomb or leather effect. A paper might be blended with cotton or - one of its latest creations - even with mohair. Small wonder then that each new style of paper takes 18 months to develop, often shaped around trends in travel, fashion and interiors.

Not that the company is in any hurry - suitably for one espousing the slower, more contemplative life that makes time for letter-writing. Owned by the Kohler family for the last 107 years, and specialising in artisan papers since the 50s, “there is the freedom to design new papers at our own pace,” >>

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EQUIPMENT

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As with all luxury products there has to be an appreciation of the craft involved.

These people know paper can transmit more than what is written on it

Leafing through the history books: Gmund has been supplying artisan paper to the world for over 180 years explains Wackerhage, “and that can be important when catering to a niche market.

Creativity goes into the paper, not the paperwork.” Indeed, much of Buttenpapierfabrik Gmund’s output is still made on a paper machine first installed in 1886. It only bought its second machine a century later. That does not mean, however, that the business is antiquated. Growing environmental awareness has been one argument against the use of paper - not only to save forests but because paper manufacture is energy and water intensive. Consequently, the company has systems that purify and re-use water seven times over while using the same water to generate 70% of its own

BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

energy. Unsurprisingly, it has also recently launched the first 100% recycled and the first carbon-neutral artisan papers.

“There are still those people who just don’t care about the paper they use,” says Wackerhage. “But those that do, understand the complexity of paper production at this level. As with all luxury products there has to be an appreciation of the craft involved. These same people know paper can transmit more than what is written on it.”

How it is written on is, of course, just as important to some. And if Germany is leading the way with elite papers, the nation’s strong reputation for manufacturing excellence is also seeing its pen-makers reap the benefits of this

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new interest in this decidedly un-technical form of communication. With brands both international and niche, from Pelikan to Bossert & Erhard and Faber-Castell, from Montblanc to more modern, mass-market but no less smart designs from the likes of Rotring and Lamy, Germany’s fountain of ink runneth over. “Historically the German industry has been relatively slow in picking up the latest in pen technology, so it is rarely cutting-edge but when it does it perfects that technology to make it work properly, as it has also done with cars, for example,” argues David Peresi of the Writing Instrument Society and co-founder of the Hamburg Pen Show. “The pen industry here is another branch of the engineering

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business, or of the product design business, for which Germany is famed. It has a policy of always improving rather than simply adding novelty.” In addition to that engineering heritage - it was, after all, a German, Daniel Schwenter who first prototyped the notion of a pen that carried its own ink supply back in 1636, while German inventiveness has also seen the development of iridium-tipped nibs and specialist rubber - it was also commonplace in Germany to write in copper-plate script as late as the 1940s.

“There has long been a respect for the hand-written here, and for the instruments you use to do it with,” notes Peresi.

Just such a respect has given German

penmanship a long history. Last year, for example, was the 250th birthday of FaberCastell, launched by Kaspar Faber, a cabinet-maker working in Nuremberg who moved to Stein in order to escape the bigger city’s strict rules governing crafts - thus allowing him to start a side-line in making pencils, a tradition for the region that can be dated to 1660. But age does not mean technology ceases to advance: the brand’s latest line, Ambition, has a twist mechanism to extend or retract an especially large-capacity refill, which uses a special quick-drying ink.

And Germany is still seeing the launch of new brands. Duller, for instance, is the latest and among the most contemporary, designed with

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EQUIPMENT

strict Bauhausian ‘form follows function’ thinking by Dietrich Lubs, the esteemed designer for the German consumer products company Braun. That gives competition for the Heidelberg-based Lamy, whose trademark minimalism continues with the Dialog 3, the first fountain pen in which both nib and clip are retractable, or its new sandblasted stainless steel Econ line, designed by EOOS, the design office that scooped the gold Design Prize of the Federal Republic of Germany last year.

Is the pen still mightier than the sword?

Recent world events may suggest not. Is it mightier than Qwerty? It is certainly more intimate, more human, and, it seems, no less in demand. n

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ENTREPRENEUR

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Getting online in the BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

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ENTREPRENEUR

Daniel Lee believes his online healthcare business Pharmacy2U is going to benefit hugely from the Government’s attempts to introduce more new media into the NHS. But, as he tells Peter Baber, it has been quite a struggle to get this far

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There must be few interviewees who would still make it into the interview the day after their wife has given birth to twins prematurely.

But Daniel Lee, the 42-year old managing director of Leeds-based online pharmacy Pharmacy2U, is one of them.

Brushing off all suggestions from this interviewer that perhaps we should arrange >>

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ENTREPRENEUR

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for another time, he insists on going ahead, and is the height of politeness throughout.

That is a measure of the man, and of how focused he is on his business. After all, his company, which currently turns over £21m, has been labelled as one to watch many times before, but there was a time when, thanks to devoting much time to a new Labour project that had more or less stalled, it was, he admits, touch and go whether it would survive. The fact that it did, which he puts down to his management team, is probably just as much down to his own tenacity and ability to hunker down and concentrate on the job in hand.

But more of that later. The idea of an online pharmacy wasn’t one that just sprung into his head one day, even if the company was launched at the height of the dotcom boom in the late 1990s. Pharmacy is actually in the Lee family’s blood: his father ran a chain of pharmacies in east Leeds which he sold just as Pharmacy2U was starting up. But Daniel felt he could really achieve something more.

“Doing something online was always the basis of the business,” he says. “We did have a family retail pharmacy in Leeds, but I wasn’t really enjoying working in a retail aspect, so I did an MBA Durham which I was lucky enough to have sponsored by the NHS. “I was the only pharmacist on the course, and it made me really understand where pharmacy fitted into the structure. I am not sure many of my course mates, did, however. Many of the people on the course were chief executives of NHS Trusts. They didn’t value what pharmacists brought to the NHS.” He came away determined to do something better for his family profession, partly because of what he had seen in countries like France and Italy, where the pharmacy lobby is stronger and pharmacists are valued much more highly as a result.

ENTREPRENEUR

In particular he thought he could focus on the market for repeat prescriptions “Prescription pharmacy is a £12bn market,” he says, “but 80% of that is for repeat prescriptions.

You have 800 million bits of paper flying around the system, and all these people chasing that. It’s hugely inefficient. But the technology was around to improve things, so I thought maybe we could harness that to do things differently. In his ideal world, he saw the internet taking over much of the repeat prescription work, leaving retail pharmacists free to do what they should be best at anyway, which is providing added value services to people with acute needs.

The company has even done research asking people how much they value having face-to-face contact with their pharmacist.

“We have never had people say that they do,” he says. But he insists that that is not necessarily a bad sign for pharmacists – not, at least, when you consider that Pharmacy2U’s customers are largely people who have chronic conditions who will need ongoing medication.

“Regular pharmacists by contrast are meeting patients in a different setting – people who are generally speaking well. People who are unwell like the ones we deal with need delivery services.”

That was the kind of ideal he was after. But as any good entrepreneur knows, the ideal is often very far from reality, especially in monolithic organisations such as the NHS. When he first started selling medicines online, the first hurdle he had to overcome was the apparent illegality of what he was doing.

“Our lawyers said it was illegal and the advice we got was not to do it, but we felt law needed to change.”

Nowadays of course with spam emails selling all sorts of dubious medicines over the net, the need for some kind of regulation seems perfectly valid. But Lee says the regulations

Our lawyers said it was illegal and the advice was not to do it, but we felt the law needed to change

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they were up against back then were nothing to do with that. They dated from the 1960s, and had, he says, really only been introduced because mail order pharmacies had not been part of the medical apparatus then.

“Yet in other markets mail order pharmacy is quite prominent,” he says. “In Germany and USA 15 to 20% of the market is mail order.

And the reason why is obvious. If you look to automate and mechanise you can remove some of the costs involved in prescribing, and move the money released to other areas where you can benefit.”

He decided initially to concentrate on selling what are known as “pharmacy only” medicines – medicines you can buy over the counter without needing a prescription, but which are in stronger doses or larger pack sizes than what you might find in a convenience store. “We started selling those,” he says, “but were ensuring we had appropriate questions, to make sure we were trading safely. I knew we were onto something because we had three orders first: one was from Glaxo Smithkline, one was from Vicks, and one was from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. They were testing us out, and were very keen to find out that our procedures were safe and effective.”

In fact, having established a degree of credibility in the market Pharmacy2U worked with these and other organisations to bring about change, and in the year 2000 new laws were introduced to allow many more types of medicine to be dispensed online.

“Pharmacy2U was seen as innovative catalyst for change,” he says.

Not just by the industry, either. By the year 2000, of course, new Labour had been in power for three years, and one of new prime minster Tony Blair’s pet projects was something called Connecting for Health, a project that aimed to get all hospitals and GP’s surgeries connected on one huge electronic superhighway so that, for example, if you were taken ill while on holiday in Cornwall the GP there would be able to look up and see everything about you from your regular GP and hospital back in Yorkshire.

Pharmacy and the electronic dispensing of prescriptions was a key part of this, and the Government saw Pharmacy2U very much >>

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ENTREPRENEUR as a way of driving such ideas forward. The company itself, of course, was keen to get an entry into the potentially very lucrative NHS prescription market. There was a pilot for 18 months with 100 surgeries, run in conjunction with EMIS, another Leeds company that supplies software systems and databases for GP’s surgeries. “And at the end of that the Government decided it was technically viable, and said they were going to deploy this system across all GP surgeries by 2005.” Lee couldn’t wait to see what happened. Except he was kept waiting. And waiting. That was 2005, it is now 2012, and still the system has not been rolled out fully. In truth, the project fell victim to the huge delays that much of Connecting for Health faced, delays that led many in the industry to brand it a failure. In particular, there was the question of which IT system to use. The Labour Government and the experts it had appointed to run Connecting for Health initially insisted on everyone running the same system, and went about doing so in a very top down, heavy handed way. “It was a complete bureaucracy, not just over prescriptions, but about everything about how they thought a new, centralised NHS should run in the digital 21st century,” says Lee. “Only now are they allowing market forces to develop. Originally they wanted to contract with third party companies to put in their own systems, and it is only after a lot of lobbying that it has been agreed that GPs can now decide for themselves rather than being told what to put in.”

These arguments inevitably set back the time when Pharmacy2U would have any involvement in the action. Lee admits that it was a shock when he realised that a project that was very much in line with what his vision was all about and which he had resourced up for was not going to deliver. “When we first heard that the project wasn’t going to be rolled out as we were led to believe it was a serious time,” he says.

“We had outside investors who began to think that the company wasn’t going to realise its ambition. There was even one week when we seriously looked at salvaging what we could of the business.”

He got through this time, he says, by looking elsewhere. “I was very lucky,” he says,

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“because by that time I had built up a strong management team. In 2000 I had appointed as executive director a man called Julian Harrison who had come to us from Andersen Consulting. With him on board we managed to be reactive, and we looked at private medicine. We could grow the market in electronic prescriptions pretty easily there, because the law that was stopping us doing so, the law that centred around electronic signature, was only an issue within the NHS market.” As a result, Pharmacy2U’s business within the private medicine sector is now not far off what he imagined a web pharmacy would be like when he first started. With many of the private practices you can quite literally log on, describe what your symptoms are and have most of your dealings with the practice, including the delivery of your prescriptions, done online. “There are certain treatment areas that the General Medical Council have advised shouldn’t be done online, such as diagnosing obesity,” he says.

“But we are very close to a company that is going to launch general consultations online.”

Nevertheless, he says he always wanted Pharmacy2U to be a free at the point of access service operating within the NHS as well as outside. “I always wanted there to be no added cost to the patient,” he says. “The subsidy and the delivery charge should come out of Pharmacy2U’s margins.”

And this year, he feels, finally, Government is responding to the online challenge, particularly through its white papers. The white paper he has in mind is one that covered greater used of new media within the NHS. “That white paper says: ‘Come on guys, we have got to harness power of new media.’ It is only so frustrating that it has come out only now, after the Labour Government went for a central bureaucratic approach which is shown to have failed.”

But he is just as enamoured of the far more controversial white paper and reforms Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is introducing, which are designed to put more decision making power in the hands of GPs. “I am supportive of bringing power back to GPs,” he says. “Of

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course, it won’t just be GPs now, but also clinician groups. But the power of purchasing should lie with them.

“Ever since GP fundholding was introduced in the 1980s, we have been gearing up for this kind of approach.”

The company is working once again with EMIS on trialling electronic prescriptions through over 300 GP surgeries who use EMIS’s systems.

“That interface with EMIS gives us a whole level of patient care that they don’t get currently,” he says. EMIS’s managing director Sean Riddell has also joined the board as a non-executive.

There is expansion too. The company is currently investing £3m in a new fully automated warehouse.

“That will allow us to grow to about 15 times our current volumes,” he says. “It is the most exciting time since 2005.”

And a real sign that he means business is the appointment this month of Andy Hornby, former chief executive of HBOS, as a non-executive director.

Hornby, of course, did not leave HBOS entirely unblemished – he had to apologise to MPs for allowing the bank to get into the situation it did – and as a result he might not be everybody’s favourite business person, particularly in HBOS’s home ground of Yorkshire. So the fact that Lee is taking him on says something. He certainly has no qualms.

“We are actually very lucky to have someone of Andy’s quality,” he says. “After all, he was managing director of George at Asda before he went to HBOS, and obviously Boots weren’t too bothered about what he had done, because he joined them as chief executive after HBOS.” Lee certainly has great hopes for Pharmacy2U this year, as it makes more inroads into the NHS market. “It’s a £10bn market,” he says, “and I would be very happy if we got to even 1 to 2% of that at the moment. It is a significantly large market that has never been tapped into before by mail order. Of course, mail order and the internet isn’t for everybody, but it is for a certain choice of patients. And they are the ones we are aiming to go after.” n

Growth tonic: Daniel Lee is planning major expansion at his online pharmacy this year

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SUCCESS STORY

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The potential of potash News that an area outside Scarborough could hold the world’s largest deposits of high-grade potash have excited many in the area. But is this an appropriate development? Peter Baber reports

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In the middle of June this year Sirius Minerals, a company that across the wider public at least had probably only been of interest to committed mining investors, made a widely publicised announcement about its latest find.

It said that an independent assessment of three test boreholes it has already carried out at its York Potash Project subsidiary suggested that there could be as much as 1.35 billion tonnes of high-grade polyhalite – a compound which can be processed to make potash within the area to the west of Scarborough and the south of Whitby over which it has mineral rights.

To put it into human context, that would be enough to employ over 1,000 people directly, considerably more than that indirectly, in an area near a town which, despite ongoing successful attempts at regeneration, some of which have been covered in this magazine, could probably still do with something of a helping hand.

It is small wonder that Jim Dillon, chief executive of Scarborough Borough Council, has already spoken positively about the project, even before it gets to planning.

“This has the potential to be the single biggest investment North Yorkshire has ever had and would transform the area,” he said, adding that the council is already talking to higher education providers in the area to make sure they were providing the right skills for local young people to take advantage of what the project may have to offer.

Graham Clarke, operations director for Sirius Minerals, the company which runs the York Potash Project, says the kind of mining operation that could be in place here isn’t on the scale of the South Yorkshire coalfields.

“But there is over a century of mining potential here, and upwards of 1,000 jobs,” he says.

Clarke, who has a long career in potash mining, says such a find is important too as a morale booster for an industry which, following the closure of many UK coal mines over the past two decades, is now down to employing probably only around 6,000 people in total in the UK. “So an extra 1,000 would be significant,” he says. “I really think there is a national interest here too. The mining industry was the foundation of much of British industry, so it deserves special attention.”

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In fact, while the current projected mine may not be as significant as Britain’s coalfields, which went on to power the Industrial Revolution and with it the British Empire, it is some of these former empire colonies that could be making use of the potash that the project has to offer. The mineral is mainly used in fertilisers around the world, and as the world population grows ever more above the 7 billion mark, it is likely to be more and more in demand in the future.

“Potash is one of three nutrients that plants need,” says Clarke, “and it is especially important now that the growth in world population and in particular the growth of towns is removing some previously excellent agricultural land that lies on the town edge.”

Farmers in India and China, it seems, could well be looking to York potash to help with ever increasing demand. So how did such a large deposit come to be here?

While it may be hard to envisage now, as you drive around the hairpin bends with sweeping views that are such a common feature in the North York Moors, some 250 million years ago the whole area stretching from here to southern Holland was a placid salty sea, not unlike the Dead Sea in Israel today.

“Some 250 million years ago there was a saline sea between here and Germany,” says Clarke. “The salt dried out and the potash

crystals came out of it. Now above all that is 250 million years of geology. The Germans are making use of this same Zechstein deposit.”

It’s not only the Germans either.

Further south in the East Riding of Yorkshire, it is this same Zechstein seam which several gas companies are finding useful as a place to store imported gas – something the UK is due to become more and more reliant on as North Sea natural gas supplies dwindle.

Even within the North York Moors area, the Zechstein seam is hardly unknown. Before moving to Sirius last year, Clarke worked for over two decades for Cleveland Potash, a potash mine some miles further north at Boulby which has been running since the early 1970s and is now owned by ICL, an Israeli-based company that has potash operations all around the world, including the Dead Sea. But Clarke says the surveys already carried out within the York Potash region suggest that what is on offer here is a considerable step up from what is being mined at Boulby. There, he says, they are mining muriate of potash (MOP), a standard version of the product that currently supplies a £60m market around the world. It is however, very impure – only around 30 to 40% of what you bring out of the ground is actually potash.

By comparison, the polyhalite that York Potash will be taking out includes sulphate of >>

To put it into a human context, it would be big enough to employ over 1,000 people directly

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SUCCESS STORY potash (SOP). That’s a much, much purer form that could potentially have far wider uses, although for the moment the emphasis is still very much on the word “could”, as the market for SOP currently only stands at around £10m.

But it is growing, and Sirius, whose chief executive and founder Chris Fraser has a long track record in mining iron ore in Australia, reckons that, even if the seam they are interested in is located some 120 to 150 metres below the Boulby seam, it is now worth mining.

“This polyhalite hasn’t been mined before because the benefits of polyhalite have only recently been fully recognised,” says Clarke.

“But unlike MOP you can make it into several different compounds. Traditionally the supply of SOP hasn’t been as easy, and people have looked at converting MOP into SOP, but this is costly. Now we have the largest deposit of SOP in the world. It’s important as a fertiliser, but it can also be converted into gypsum for plaster, and the magnesium oxide from it can also be made into refractory blocks. Our project is about much more than just fertiliser.”

But of course, there is something we haven’t mentioned here. The York Potash Project may be the biggest and purest potash deposit in the world, but it also happens to be located within the North York Moors National Park, one of the UK’s most popular beauty spots and a key leisure and tourism destination because of that. Wouldn’t mining here be rather inappropriate?

Clarke says it wouldn’t necessarily be any different from what has been going on in the area for decades. The potash seam here was first discovered here in the 1920s, he says, when people were initially exploring for oil and gas. “But throughout history people have always mined this coast,” he says, “whether for jet stone, alum, or ironstone. These views are all shared by people who understand what the National Park is for.”

In any case, says Gareth Edmunds, the project’s external communications director, the company has already included a number of details into its plan which will hugely mitigate any potential disruption. First and foremost is its plan to have the polyhalite shipped away from the mine through an underground pipeline to a port in Teesside. “We are currently looking for a dock

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Chief executive Chris Fraser says initial start-up costs for the project will be £1.7bn, a sum he insists is achievable

up in Teesside,” he says.

Then there is the unusual plan of the proposed mines themselves. To minimise visual intrusion on the landscape, the headframe of the mine will actually be some 5 - 600 metres below the surface, and workers will access it from a drift mine or gently sloping tunnel down from the surface. (The company has relied on much on German research and technology so far in the project – the company it used to make the assessment of the deposit size is actually part of the former East German research institute So it is gratifying to note that British engineering prowess has been responsible for these headframes. Alan Auld Engineering in Doncaster came up with the design.)

It is for this reason that Edmunds has been unwilling to compare the proposal too closely with the Boulby Mine, where all operations are clearly visible on the surface. All the York Potash mineheads, by comparison, will be much less intrusive, he says.

He even claims that Sirius is currently looking at the prospect of using geothermal energy from within the ground to supply all the mine’s

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energy needs – quite a tall order for an energy-intensive industry.

It is perhaps an indication of how seriously Sirius as a company takes its reputation in the area that Edmunds was the second person to be employed full time by the company when it floated at the beginning of last year. External relations are clearly crucial. Still, he says the support the project has received so far from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive. Parish councils have been asking how they can help, he says, and he even met one lady at a public meeting who had been living close to one of the company’s first test boreholes and told him that she missed seeing all the apparatus there. “It was my little Paris,” she told him. On a dark winter night, trudging through the Forestry Commission woodland that surrounds many of the six borehole sites that have so far been worked, is not difficult to see how the drill head might resemble the Eiffel Tower.

Still, not everyone is so keen to share such romantic impressions. The North York Moors National Park Authority, which will be faced

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with making a decision about whether to permit such development when the formal application to start proper mining is made, says it won’t comment on any proposals until such an event happens.

But Tom Chadwick, chairman of the North Yorkshire (sic) Moors Association (NYMA), is prepared to. “There has been no formal application yet,” he says, “but if there is one that resembles what they have been proposing so far, then we will oppose it. There is no place for industrial intrusion in this landscape. Yes, the Boulby mine has been there for almost 40 years, but it too is a blot on the landscape.

Chadwick claims – and at this point Clarke agrees with him – that the market for SOP is still relatively untested, and that it is only the huge increase in the market price of potash in recent years that has made the project viable.

But Chadwick, who is a former art teacher, goes further. He claims that what demand there may be for SOP in the immediate future will probably be satisfied by a mine that is already under construction in New Mexico.

He claims transporting such large amounts of

SUCCESS STORY

polyhalite underground over such a large distance has never been tried before. “And even if the frameheads below the surface, there will have to be an office on the surface, and to remove that amount of earth will require a hill of between 500,000 and 700,000 cu m – what are you going do to with that? There will also be security, which probably means fencing, and a road built up to the site.”

He acknowledges the employment argument, but points out that the major employer in the region remains tourism – which depends for its success on there being a landscape worth coming to. “There is the problem that this kind of development can stigmatise an area, as we have already seen to a certain extent with Boulby, and that can make people think it’s not worth coming to, even when that’s not the case.”

Edmunds disputes much of this, and says the NYMA has turned down his offer of a meeting several times. Polyhalite may not have been transported underground before, he says, but other much coarser material has been. “The kind of mineral transport systems that we’re

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planning to use are successfully tried and tested all over the word and, once installed, are a highly efficient and effective way of moving the mineral without disruption above ground,” he says.

He is also confident that the proposed scheme will overcome any concerns about piles of debris. But this is the kind of issue that will be much discussed when formal applications are put in place – and that could be soon. Edmunds says that, if the scheme is approved, they hope to start mining by 2017 – possibly even sooner.

There is also the matter of finance to raise.

Sirius chief executive Chris Fraser says initial start-up costs for the project will be £1.7bn, a sum he insists is achievable.

Chadwick, however, has his doubts. Three previous proposals to mine in this area in the 1970s came to nothing, he says, and he is also concerned that so much of what is being proposed is untested that the whole make-up of the project might change beyond recognition if and when it gets started. He even alleges that, with the exception of Clarke, few of the Sirius management team have good enough knowledge of potash mining. It’s a point that Edmunds disputes, as you might expect. “Our team includes some of the most experienced and talented people in the mining industry,” he says.

The company as a whole is certainly attracting high calibre people. Recent non-executive appointments to the board include Network Rail chairman Sir David Higgins, while just at the end of June Alan Watling was announced as the new managing director of York Potash.

He comes to the project from an iron ore mine in Sierra Leone.

In the meantime, the community themselves could be getting busy with another spin-off from the project. Sirius has just launched York Potash Foundation, an independently run trust which will use 0.5% of the returns the company will be making once mining is underway on social, environmental and educational projects. “That could add up to £3m a year,” says Edmunds.

Combined with the work that is going on with local education establishments both through the council and through the project’s own education manager, it seems preparations are well underway. n

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ENTREPRENEUR

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Bags packed and ready to fly: Julia Gash, who runs an eco-friendly bag company, is currently preparing to expand in the US market

BREAK FOR THE BORDER As Santander bids to become the UK’s SME bank of choice, its bandwagon of executives and ambassadors rolled into Yorkshire recently ready to impress. Andrew Mernin finds out what impact the bank’s Breakthrough scheme has had in the region and listens to the inspirational tale behind the success of its poster girl, Lara Morgan BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

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While Santander’s Breakthrough programme was officially launched last November, the charm offensive driving it remains at full throttle. Earlier this year the Spanish bull’s brightest people shook up the dust and trundled into Leeds city centre, looking to impress all who would listen.

Amid the throng was chief exec Ana Botin and a top line-up of shining examples of global success in business.

That such effort is being made by a bank to prove its worth to small business leaders perhaps shows just how little faith entrepreneurs now have in the banking system.

A flashy show of force from Santander at the University of Leeds complete with a cast of inspirational cheerleaders from the upper echelons of the business world isn’t enough alone to repair damaged reputations of course. But Breakthrough does hold the keys to a £200m funding pot for companies turning over between £500,000 and £10m each year. The inevitable catch is that only

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companies posting 10% growth in turnover, profit or employment qualify. This will surely weed out any applicants struggling to survive on a failing business model and still coming to terms with the drying up of previously easy-to-come-by European or public funding.

Since SMEs account for 59% of private sector employment and almost half of commercial turnover, Santander says, they are vital in terms of job and wealth creation.

Furthermore, says the Spanish giant: “We will also ensure that any company selected for the programme will have access to some of the best advice and talent available, including businesspeople who have already established their own companies as market leaders on a national and global stage.

“We’re looking for the very best businesses in each region, regardless of their current banking partner. The growth capital loan facility is a vital component of the scheme as a whole. Essentially, we aim to help SMEs plug the funding gap.”Alongside fieldtrips to the likes of Google – and an ‘enternship’ programme which aims to attract the best talent around – much of the focus of Breakthrough is on cracking new export markets. With a little help from UKTI, the scheme runs trade missions with its growthhungry customers to strategic new territories.

Three Yorkshire-based businesses recently attended a trip to the US with Santander, all returning to the wet British summer with clearer visions of their American dream. Health sector technology firm Image Analysis, based in Leeds and nut-free food products manufacturer It’s Nut Free, of Northallerton, both sought >>

We’re looking for the very best businesses in each region, regardless of their current banking partner

ENTREPRENEUR

>> Why it pays to bend the rules overseas The British are pathetic at the exports game says global business champion – and Breakthrough ambassador – Lara Morgan. Andrew Mernin hears how she cheated her way to international success Wearing borrowed clothes, armed with products emblazoned in Chinese with no brochure or business background, a young girl enters the prestigious Dorchester hotel.

She’s not fazed, however, because she’s there on the advice of her 94-year-old grandmother.

‘If you’re going to sell crap like that,’ granny had said, ‘sell it to the Dorchester, they’ve got fresh coffee and nice orange juice.’

Granny was right – the coffee was good – but so too was her sales pitch and the girl emerged into the light of Park Lane with her first order.

Seventeen years later in 2008 the girl – Lara Morgan – sold her business for £20.2m after building it into the toiletries supplier of choice to the world’s luxury hotels.

As the daughter of a military man who moved the family all over the globe, Morgan grew up with a view of the world as a playground, which she admits helped her along in achieving exporting success.

But the other secrets of her success overseas were learned the hard way. She’s been stolen from, had a boat full of stock sink and her husband even sent an entire shipment of

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goods to the wrong country. But for all the challenges she’s faced globally, she ultimately conquered the exports game to huge benefit.

Here’s what her journey can teach others about making it big abroad: Names mean everything Even if it involves supplying products or services for free, getting a stellar brand on your list of suppliers can be a major boost in the early days of life as an exporter – or early days full stop, as Morgan says: “If you can get a brand company in your sector early on you can open any door. Having the Dorchester as my first customer probably accelerated our potential 100 times over.

“So who’s on your list of attack? Who’s at the top that you should spend a disproportionate amount of time trying to bag?

“Even if you supply cleaning products or anything else for free, just so you can say you’re a supplier to them.”

Act stupid After bagging the Dorchester – a place Morgan she says she could only afford to stay at on the night she sold her business – the >>

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ENTREPRENEUR to gain more insight into US entry points within their respective industries. Also harbouring stateside ambitions is Sheffield-based Bag It Don’t Bin It, which was founded by Julia Gash in 2008 and produces branded cloth bags as an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags for brands such as Waterstone’s, Lush and Liberty of London. The firm turns over more than £1m having developed new markets by creating its own designer bags, which are now sold in department stores and independent retailers around the world. Before she reluctantly embarked on the Santander-led trade trip, Julia presumed that freight costs to the US would rule out North America as a viable market.

Continued from page 77 company went on to pick up major brands around the world.

From day one, though, she adopted the strategy of playing dumb. And it has certainly paid off.

She says: “The best sentence you can learn is ‘treat me like an idiot’.

“In every place you go, you’ve got to have the boldness to be less British and have the balls to look like a fool and ask stupid questions.

“Experts love to share their brilliance. I knew nothing about everything when I started and I just did a lot of idiot talking and kept working that idiot thing right the way through – in the City they treated me like an idiot and I probably made £4m more than I would have done. So I can highly recommend the humility of just asking the question but the British just don’t do it enough. It isn’t always easy but it gives you an advantage like no other from an export point of view.”

Cheaters can prosper overseas If you really want to strike it rich in a foreign field, it’s time to the throw the rule book out of the window on the way to the airport.

“Play the system,” says Morgan. “Everyone else is doing it except the British.

“You’ve got to break some rules if you want to be successful abroad.

“When we went to the Middle East, we employed a general manager who used to

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“But I then realised that I couldn’t afford to not do business there,” she says in the aftermath of the US trip. “It dawned on me that the can-do attitude and support for businesses out there is enormous. Doing business out there would be different from the UK where you’re always swimming against the tide, with a lack of support from the banks amongst other things.”

During the Breakthrough Trade Mission to

New York and Boston, Julia received an order for 1,000 bags from New York boutique ‘Love Adorned’. She also received orders from the other delegates, and has already produced and delivered a batch of bags for Exquisite Homemade Cakes.

She is now looking to open an additional manufacturing plant in the US and grow a country-wide customer base there – now that would be a major breakthrough. n

Visit BQ online to find out more about Santander’s Breakthrough programme and its impact in Yorkshire. www.bq-magazine.co.uk/yorkshire

fly out of the country on the 89th day of every Visa period because I couldn’t be bothered to register a company until I knew it was making enough money.

“You don’t need to have a glossy great building with a huge sodding sign. You can have a shed or, in our case, a two-room flat.”

‘Sod the British’ Morgan’s firm has, over the years, recruited around 1,000 members of staff – many of which were based overseas.

First tip, she says, is to “sod the British”. But this isn’t some lament from a scorned tax exile or homesick expat. She refers to the importance getting the best local talent you can to support your export plan.

“Don’t employ the British, employ the best local person working for your biggest competitor in the market you’re going into and it doesn’t matter how much they cost because they are priceless to your growth potential.”

In one instance in Morgan’s early years in business, she paid a GM over £120k when she herself was taking just a £24k salary out of the business. Such sacrifices are essential, she says, if your business has truly international aims.

Flowers, football tops and Marmite Trusting a workforce that may be thousands of miles away from your desk can be difficult for business leaders to swallow. Gaining the trust of a globally dispersed team can be equally tricky without the vantage of regular face-to-face contact. Morgan’s secret is the miscellaneous goods she carries in her travel bag.

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“I’m very pro people. I know it’s a radical British outlook and I even talk to my staff from time to time.

“I had a taxi guy in China and I found out he supported Manchester United so I bought him a Man Utd t-shirt and today, 11 years later, he still thinks I walk on water.

“I also carry a jar of Marmite around with me on my travels for a girl in Barbados who gets down when she runs out. Even just roses on Valentine’s Day or Easter eggs at Easter can make a big difference.

“Trust is where businesses fail because they’re not willing to take that leap of faith and employ people [overseas]. Ultimately if you treat people like human beings, why would they drive to work and think how they could screw you over? Trust people and they will help you build your business and introduce you to people in the local market.”

Lead by example “I still turn right on aeroplanes [into economy class] and I have not turned left and paid for it yet. But I’ve also never had a word with my senior sales force about [why they should] turn right into economy. If you can have a fair system with your staff where there’s no bulls**t car parking space for the boss then you will build that trust.”

After her Pacific Direct days Lara Morgan launched business advice and support firm Company Shortcut. She also author of More Balls Than Most.

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COMPANY PROFILE

What’s the best way for Yorkshire’s entrepreneurs to hand over the baton to the next generation and exit their business without any regrets?

Succession planning in challenging times

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orkshire’s entrepreneurs are seen as the life blood of the region’s economy and key to driving economic growth – recognised for their drive, tenacity and creativity.

However, faced with the challenge of working for the next couple of years in difficult market conditions or selling out and allowing the next generation to come through and drive success further, some entrepreneurs will recognise it is time to hand over the baton.

For most, this will be the toughest and the most important business decision they will take.

Exiting the business in a way that realises its full value has always been a challenging task. Given the relatively subdued state of the M&A market and the challenging economy, now more than ever, business owners have to be smarter, and start planning earlier, to make sure they enjoy the fruits of their labour.

Entrepreneurs are being forced to seek more creative solutions as they look to exit their businesses.

In this environment, working with an advisor that understands the market can be the difference between finding a solution and struggling to overcome market conditions.

The best M&A advisors do more than just help clients buy and sell businesses. Your advisor should also be your confidante; someone you feel comfortable sharing your plans, aspirations and objectives with.

A good example would be working closely in the run up to an exit to identify and put in place a management succession plan. Entrepreneurs often find it difficult to accede control, indeed it will usually have been a relentless personal focus on the business that has led to success.

But if value is to be realized through a sale, or an

Dan Renton, Corporate finance director at Deloitte in Yorkshire

m&a advisors do more than just help clients buy and sell businesses. your advisor should also be your confidante; someone you feel comfortable sharing your plans, aspirations and objectives with. ongoing financial interest, a credible long term management solution is critical.

In addition, advisors should be able to offer creativity and genuine industry knowledge and connectivity – absolutely critical in today’s M&A environment.

In the context of succession, your advisor may well be able to assist in finding a strategic partner

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to purchase the business or identify an investing chairman or Managing Director that can initially work with you and in due course take the business on.

This may be relevant to all types of potential buyers, but particularly private equity houses.

Such investors are looking for quality firms to invest in and can potentially provide the opportunity for a staggered exit from the business, withdrawing a share of the equity immediately with a clear timescale for full exit further down the line. They are fundamentally backers of management and a successful transaction is more likely if succession has been thought about early and properly implemented.

Trade buyers may also value a well thought through management succession. Whilst some will have their own senior management to run the business, others will not and you will increase your chance of maximizing value if you can appeal to all buyers.

Whichever approach you choose, your exit strategy shouldn’t be taken lightly as it represents one last major opportunity to create value from your company.

Exiting your business is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make during your working life.

Making sure you get the right advice can be crucial in ensuring you don’t leave with any regrets.

Dan Renton Corporate finance director at Deloitte in Yorkshire 0113 292 1209

BUSINESS QUARTER |SUMMER 12

BIT OF A CHAT

with Frank Tock >> On the home turf You would expect someone whose whole career is spent inspecting turf to be dab hand with the lawn mower at home, wouldn’t you. As for myself, I was expecting Gordon McKillop from STRI to have a lawn so smooth and perfect that even croquet balls might feel uncomfortable appearing on it. It turns out rather differently, however. Chez McKillop, his wife is entirely responsible for the garden. So what does he do to relax? Ballroom dancing.

SUMMER 12

always be willing to spend a great deal of time talking to business journalists like us – even if we do usually only need at most five to ten minutes. But we weren’t expecting the reaction we got from the office of Hugh Bayley, MP for York Central, when we approached them for a comment about the chocolate industry for the article in this issue.

Despite giving them the best part of a month’s notice, we were told the usual story about him being far too busy, and instead were sent some quotes he had made about the chocolate industry in the city in general that we were told would be relevant. On closer inspection, these quotes turned out to be ten years old – dating from a time when Terry’s was still very much a presence in the city, in fact to a time when John Batchelor was delivering his unfulfilled promises at York City.

I am surprised the statements weren’t written in stone.

>> Caribbean dream Gordon also gave us a good twist on the story of selling coals to Newcastle this month. It turns out that one of the most popular overseas destinations STRI staff get sent on for business trips is the West Indies, where they have been heavily involved in consulting for major cricket tournaments. No surprises there, with the region’s famously sandy beaches.

Any good turf requires some sand as an ingredient too, but what, do you suppose, is the hardest thing to come by there.

That’s right, sand. It turns out the sand on those beaches is the wrong shape. I would be on the point of saying that sounds like a Caribbean version of “the wrong leaves on the line”, only apparently it’s also a problem in, of all places, Saudi Arabia.

Getting sand that you can actually use in turf preparation is a real issue.

>> Ten years is nothing We appreciate that our honourable members are very busy, and so may not

BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

>> Blessed release Brian Blessed doing rap? The mind boggles, but apparently so. Doncaster’s famous son joined many other Yorkshire notables in May including opera singer Lesley Garrett, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, Fame Academy (remember that?) star Alistair Griffin and the Yorkshire choir Rock Up and Sing, as well as off-duty soldiers from the Yorkshire Regiment to sing an “updated” version of On Ilkla Moor Baht ‘At actually on Ilkley Moor.

The project came about after Otley Brass Band leader Gordon Eddison discovered that one in ten youngsters had never heard of the song. The new song, which apparently been ‘updated’ to make it more relevant to a “younger, global” audience,

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was produced by X Factor artistic producer Eliot Kennedy, himself a Sheffield lad.

And Kennedy tells us that when Gary Barlow heard about the project he was green with envy at not being able to take part because he wasn’t from Yorkshire (I am sure he is not the only one having feelings about that). Still, the project has been supported by both Welcome to Yorkshire and Bradford Council and Harrogate agency Cause UK is hoping to release the song and video later on this year as a charity song with all profits going to Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Yorkshire Regiment.

To show your support, go to www.facebook.com/yorkshireanthem.

>> Charity round up As you might expect, with the corporate charity event season gearing up into full swing now, there are many people to congratulate this month, and they include 135 staff from car dealership JCT600, who managed to raise £10,000 for chosen charities by completing the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge within 12 hours. (Given the numbers involved, we were very impressed that the donations included £500 to the Friends of the Three Peaks). A team of over 20 people comprising staff from Lawrence Scoffield, Clarion, Sagars and Naylor Wintersgill managed to raise £1,000 for Martin House Hospice by doing the same challenge a week later.

Then there is Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce president Simon Cotton, who raised near to £4,000 for the Yorkshire Heartbeat Appeal for achieving a highly commendable 4 hours 23 minutes in this year’s London Marathon. And at the same time Dickinson Dees finished off a year of charity events by presenting a cheque for £31,807 to the Great North Ambulance Service. And last but not least, a team from our sister magazine in the North East have managed to raise over £4,000 so far by completing the coast to coast cycle ride from Whitehaven to Tynemouth – and doing it on the soggiest weekend of the year.

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EVENTS DIARY

SUMMER 12

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

JULY

Grill, Leeds, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

10 Pensions Auto-Enrolment – What You Need to Know. Irwin Mitchell, Leeds, 8.00-10.00am. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 10 Ask the HR Expert. Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Leeds, 9.00-11.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

14 Ask the Importing & Exporting Expert. Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Leeds, 9.00-11.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

10 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Construction Lunch. Sandburn Hall, York, 12.00-2.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

September

11 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Leeds Double Tree

by Hilton Hotel, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

12 Financial Policy Committee – what does it mean for the sector?

Cobbetts, Leeds, 10.45am-12.30pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 12 The Met Club Wakefield Networking Lunch. Cedar Court Hotel, 12.00-1.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

16 Harrogate Chamber of Trade Meeting.

St Aidan’s C of E High School, 5.30pm onwards.

For more information visit www.harrogatechamber.org

4 Ask the Marketing Expert. Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Leeds, 9.00-11.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 6 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Pure Networking. Leeds United Footbal Ground, 7.30-9.30am. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 6 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Hotel du Vin, Harrogate, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

13 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch. Goldsborough Hall, Harrogate, 12.00-2.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

17 Ask the Accountancy Expert. Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, Leeds, 9.00-11.30am. F or more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

14 The Met Club Leeds Lunch. Leeds Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 12.00-2.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

18 The Met Club Futures event for young professionals. Levi Solicitors, Leeds, 8.30am-10.00am. For more details ring 01423 525622.

18 Leeds Media & Techmesh social. La Tasca, Leeds, 5.30-8.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 27 The Met Club Wine Tasting Evening. Willam & Victoria’s Restaurant & Wine Bar, 7.30pm-late. For more details ring 01423 525622.

August 1 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch. Novotel, York, 12.00-2.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 2 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Pure Networking. Leeds United Football Ground, 7.30-9.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

19 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Pure Networking. Goddards, York, 7.30-9.00am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 25 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Property Forum. Royal York Hotel, York, 5.00-7.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 26 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch. Crown Spa Hotel, Scarborough, 12.00-2.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 27 Leeds Media & Techmesh social. La Tasca, Leeds, 5.30-8.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk Please check with the contacts beforehand that arrangements have not changed. Events organisers are also asked to notify us at the above e-mail address of any changes or cancellations as soon as they know of them.

7 Ask the Digital & Media Expert. Leeds York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. More details: www.yourchamber.org.uk 8 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Restaurant Bar &

BUSINESS QUARTER | SUMMER 12

9 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce Networking Evening. The Oak Tree Inn, Helperby, York, 5.00-7.00pm.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

The diary is updated daily online at www.bq-magazine.co.uk

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New York. Moscow.

Leeds.

Hong Kong.

At UBS, we believe the very best global investments start at home.

That they are the product of local insight and perspectives.

That’s why we’ve opened an office in Leeds.

So we can be there, right by your side.

So we can listen to you.

So we can take the time to fully understand your investment needs.

And then provide you with the expert advice and a level of service that reflects those needs.

Because when we’re closer to you, we can work more closely with you.

The price and value of investments and income derived from them can go down as well as up. You may not get back the amount you originally invested. In the UK, UBS AG is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

UBS Wealth Management 1 City Square Leeds LS1 2ES

We will not rest www.ubs.com

© UBS 2012. All rights reserved.

NEVER HARD WORK ALWAYS HARD WORKING We like to be down to earth and straightforward, accessible and easy to deal with. But what also really counts is our hard work and commitment to achieving your aims.

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