BQ YORKSHIRE issue 14

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ISSUE FOURTEEN: AUTUMN 2012

head for the hills The new countryside craze for networkers deals in focus Plotting a course through the gloomy conditions cedar court kings Hotel empire’s new rulers assume their thrones prepareD for bake off Taking restaurant management to new heights ISSUE FOURTEEN: AUTUMN 2012: YORKSHIRE EDITION

built to last

How brick industry veteran and Yorkshire flag bearer David Armitage is still going strong after 51 years in business BUSINESS NEWS: COMMERCE: FASHION: INTERVIEWS: MOTORS: EVENTS

YORKSHIRE EDITION

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WELCOME

BUSINESS QUARTER: AUTUMN 12: issue 14 Welcome to BQ Yorkshire. This is our 14th issue and, as ever, there’s plenty of inspiration, insight and analysis to to get your teeth into.

This quarter we report on our latest BQ Live event, which turned out to be a really heartsearching affair.

In the course of discussing how to prepare for a business exit, many of the entrepreneurs present were searingly honest about what tempted them to set up in business in the first place and what has kept them there, even through the toughest recession for the past century. As for the ins and outs of exiting, you can find out how likely they or any other entrepreneur you know are to do so by reading our deals review this issue.

The word among dealmakers seems to be that times may be hard, but you still need to plan.

Of course, finding about entrepreneurs and what makes them tick is what this magazine is all about, and as usual we have a fascinating line up of them this issue.

There’s David Armitage, a man who knows all about exits having successfully sold his family business in his late 40s.

Now aged 72, he has since built up another successful business in the shape of York Handmade Brick, supplier to, among other things, the Shard in London.

And there’s no sign of him retiring yet.

There’s Emma de Vere Hunt, who came up with the idea for her children’s adventure company while trying to find suitable entertainment for her son Edward, and literally launched the business off her kitchen table.

She has proved to be one of the few people Jonathan Turner from the Bayford Group has agreed to mentor.

We pay homage to one entrepreneur who actually has stepped down this summer by considering how the Acropolis Group, which owns the Cedar Court hotel chain and was once one of the fastest growing companies in Yorkshire, will fare now that its founder George Demetriou has relinquished day-to-day control.

There is also a distinct catering theme to some of the people we profile this issue. There is Viv Parry, the woman who went back to work

after having children, and turned around a failing Leeds bakery. There is Charles Cody, a pub owner keen on turning around failed pubs in the Yorkshire Dales who believes that restaurant kitchens are really like air traffic control towers and – get this – actually admires Gordon Ramsay.

We even have a quick chat with Andrew Pern, the chef and owner of the Star at Harome, while we interview Andrew Aitken, head of UBS in Yorkshire, for our business lunch feature there.

Andrew, however, has a rather different story to tell. He may be advising some of Yorkshire’s high net worth individuals how to handle their money now, but back in the 1990s he was a budding champion swimmer, and yes, he does think there is a connection.

Read on to find out more.

Finally, if you find all those profiles too dazzling, we also pause a while to consider what the new City Deal Leeds has struck with central government will mean for the city and the city region.

I hope you enjoy it all.

CONTACTS room501 ltd Christopher March Managing Director e: chris@room501.co.uk Bryan Hoare Director e: bryan@room501.co.uk George Cheung e: george@room501.co.uk Euan Underwood e: euan@room501.co.uk EditorIAL Peter Baber Editor e: peterb@bq-magazine.co.uk Andrew Mernin e: andrewm@room501.co.uk Design & production room501 e: studio@room501.co.uk Photography KG Photography e: info@kgphotography.co.uk advertising For advertising call 0191 537 5720 or email sales@room501.co.uk

Peter Baber, Editor BQ Yorkshire

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While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, no responsibility can be accepted for inaccuracies, howsoever caused. No liability can be accepted for illustrations, photographs, artwork or advertising materials while in transmission or with the publisher or their agents. All information is correct at time of going to print, September 2012. room501 publishing Ltd is part of Business & Enterprise Group, the UK’s market leading business improvement specialist. www.business-enterprise.net

THE LIFE AND SOUL OF BUSINESS

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YORKSHIRE EDITION BQ Magazine is published quarterly by room501 Ltd.

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

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CONTE BUSINESS QUARTER: AUTUMN 12 deal activity: special report

42 sweet success

Features 20 built to last Why David Armitage is sticking to bricks after 51 years in the trade

26 deals in focus Yorkshire dealmakers are surprisingly sanguine about the future

32 BQ Live How best to plan your exit strategy and what considerations you need to make

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

The entrepreneur who makes business start up look a piece of cake

52 cedar court kings Hotelier’s new rulers looking to continue the good work of the past

56 PREPARED for bake off Uncover a flighty new take on restaurant kitchen management

76 Mother’s pride How children at play inspired a new adventure in business

72 Big deal How a major agreement could boost prospects for young people in Leeds

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26 yorkshire roots, global aims

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TENTS YORKSHIRE EDITION

38 commercial property

Deals, developments, moves and expansions from across the county

48 business lunch BQ meets the ex-elite sportsman giving UBS a competitive edge in Yorkshire

Regulars

60 motors Why there’s more than meets the eye with the Lexus GS450h F Sport

cedar court’s new rulers

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62 wine Hotel du Vin’s Grant Lowe checks in as our guest wine reviewer

08 on the record Looking at the positives in business

64 equipment

straight from the kitchen table

Keeping robots in their place

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

18 as i see it Ditch the wine glass, put your boots on and get into a new kind of networking

68 fashion Shaking up the established order of Savile Row

80 frank tock Gripping gossip from our backroom boy

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76 BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

ON THE RECORD

AUTUMN 12

Leeds set to outdo Manchester, sales slump at Morrison’s, city team centres its focus on improvement, confidence monitor paints mixed picture, and York Potash marks its territory >> Sales fall at Morrison’s

On the hunt: Ben Williams is seeking Leeds Arena sponsors

>> Three options for Leeds Arena The operator of the new Leeds Arena says three different kinds of corporate sponsorship are being made available for the venue which it says will be a considerable improvement on the Manchester Arena when it opens next year.

Ben Williams, who SMG Europe has appointed as general manager of the new 13,500 capacity arena, said the company was still looking for a headline sponsor for the venue, and was particularly targeting companies who were likely to have a large database of customers who might be interested in being the first to see shows there.

Secondary sponsors would depend to a certain extent on who the headline sponsor is, he said, although Heineken has already signed up. “We have an existing relationship with Coca-Cola in Manchester too,” he said. Coca-Cola is one of nearby Wakefield’s largest employers.

Williams said there would also be corporate sponsorship opportunities on 24 executive suites that are being built at the venue, with early bookers having a say in their interior design. These, however, have proved so popular that “there are already more serious enquiries than there are suites”.

Other options that will be included are an area for corporate debenture seats in the stalls, and special areas for customers who might want to upgrade their experience just for a night.

Williams said the Leeds Arena would almost certainly be a better experience for the concert goer than the Manchester Arena (formerly the MEN Arena), because whereas the Manchester venue had been built in a stadium format as part of Manchester’s unsuccessful bid for the Olympics, the Leeds Arena’s auditorium would be in a fan shape where “every seat is a great seat”.

Although he said it was still too early to book an opening act for the venue, he felt it would cater for a wide variety of acts, not just pop stars, with revamped West End shows a real possibility.

“Jesus Christ Superstar is just starting on a stadium tour,” he said.

And although the Arena has not been specifically designed for corporate events, Williams said a large AGM could still be hosted there. He is currently in discussions with nearby hotels and other venues about providing break-out rooms for such an event.

The venue itself will also include a restaurant, and Williams said SMG Europe was keen on the idea of going into a joint venture with a chef to create a destination that will be popular even on days when no one is performing.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

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Like-for-like sales at Morrison’s fell 0.9 per cent in its first half, after rising by 2.2 per cent the year before.

Pre-tax profits in the six months to the end of July dropped by £9m to £440m, although turnover was up 2.3%.

The supermarket group’s chief executive Dalton Philips said the fall in sales was a reflection of “the sustained pressure on consumer spending”.

He said the group’s new Fresh Format store layout would be in place in over 100 stores by the end of the year, while the company is also about to launch its first convenience stores, starting in London.

The second half will also see the launch of its much-anticipated online service.

>> Team aims to keep York at the top A new organisation made up of representatives from the public, private and third sectors in York has been formed to help improve the economic success of the city centre.

City Team York (CTY) aims to work closely with City of York Council to plan how to diversity the city centre, reinvigorate its public space, bring forward strategic investment sites, support new businesses in the city and improve the city centre’s physical and digital connectivity.

Other aims include maintaining a strong brand for the city and further developing its existing reputation as a place for meetings and conferences.

Coun James Alexander, council leader and CTY chair, said: “York is one of the fastest growing economies in the North, but there is no room for complacency.

“We face new financial and market challenges and changes in the way customers see and use our city centre, and we need to find innovative solutions

AUTUMN 12

to meet these demands.” CTY deputy chair Frank Wood, owner of Braithwaite Jewellers, said: “The city team has a huge potential for the development of the health of York.

“This is a true link between the private and public sectors working together for the benefit of all aspects of the city.”

>> Gloomier present, but a brighter future Economic surveys across Yorkshire have painted a mixed picture this quarter, with signs of deeper gloom in the immediate future but brighter hopes for the longer term.

The quarterly ICAEW/Grant Thornton Business Confidence Monitor saw a sharp drop in confidence among senior business leaders from last quarter’s spike of 19.2, although the final score of 1.5 still remained positive.

It suggested that sales volumes had also grown by only 1.3% year on year, well below the national average of 3.0%, and significantly below the 6.0 figure the region was scoring just before the credit crunch.

Grant Thornton senior partner Jonathan Riley said he was not surprised by the figures. He said: “Global growth has slowed, markets have responded downwards and the eurozone crisis will not go away.

“Inward investment and overseas expansion will be core to improving the UK economy and with our strong manufacturing base in Yorkshire, it is vital that businesses in the region seek opportunities to expand overseas.” The survey also revealed that firms in the region only increased their headcount by 0.2% over the past year, and although this follows four years of falls or relatively stable growth, the last time employment grew by more than 1.0% was in the third quarter of 2008. This reflects regional official labour market statistics, which show unemployment in the region staying at 9.7%, well above the national average of 8.1%.

ICAEW regional director Chris Manners said business owners’ expectations were also being knocked back.

“Expected increases to sales volumes over the coming year have fallen steadily to reach this quarter’s low of 3.2%, following a general

ON THE RECORD

downward path from a high of 5.0% in the second quarter,” he said.

“This is the slowest growth expectation for sales since the end of 2010.”

However a survey of Yorkshire business’s expectations over the next five years produced for Santander Corporate Banking suggested that the average company with a turnover of £20m expects to grow its turnover by 56% over the period – roughly 9% per year.

This was, however, a significant fall from the 109 % rise respondents to last year’s survey were expecting, and is also below the national average forecast of an 88% rise, which itself is only down from 104% last year.

Of all the regions, though, Yorkshire was the third least positive.

However Neil Williams, regional director for Santander Corporate Banking in Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “While business owners remain cautious in the short term, focusing on survival against an uncertain economic background, they are clearly optimistic in their longer term prospects.

“Many people think survival is about holding onto their cash but in order to promote longer term growth, businesses need to continue to invest,” he added.

This is the slowest growth expectation since the end of 2010 >> Swarbrick steps down at Ldc John Swarbrick, one of the region’s most promiment private equity professionals, is to step down from running the Yorkshire and North East offices of LDC after 12 years.

He will be replaced by John Garner, who joined LDC from KPMG in 2006 and has been heading its Nottingham office.

Swarbrick will remain at LDC on a

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part-time basis until the end of next year to help with the transition.

He said: “This is a mature, planned and amicable transition.

“I have had a fantastic career at LDC and built lifelong relationships both within LDC and in the market place.

“LDC has been a major part of the private equity community in the region for over a decade and I’m confident John will continue to develop its role in the future.”

LDC’s most recent transactions have included an MBO at TD Travel and the acquisition of Thomson Aero for its portfolio business MB Aerospace.

Last year the business backed the secondary buyout of Driver Hire and exited Aesica and Volvox Group.

>> Potash site chosen Sirius Minerals has chosen a 4.5ha site just south of the North York Moors village of Seaton as the preferred location for its York Potash subsidiary’s first potash mine.

The company says the site of the mine, which could eventually create more than 1,000 jobs, was the result of a 12-month comprehensive review of all possible sites based on technical constraints, as well as operational, ecological, social and community factors.

Although the site is within the national park, the company says the design of the minehead means that, once completed, it will be completely screened and hidden.

The company will run a series of public consultations before putting in a planning application at the end of this year.

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

NEWS

AUTUMN 12

Heritage job goes West, cheers to a beer trade first, four-star boost for Watson Burton, Gibson takes up chairman’s post, former SYIF man returns to Yorkshire, and graphics business expands to find the money to spend on discretionary items. For many, going to the pub after work is being replaced by buying cheaper alcohol in the supermarkets, and the strain on pubs and bars is really showing.

“Yorkshire cities are full of pubs and restaurants, many of which are offering incentives and discounts to try and get people through the door, but for some even this will not be enough.”

>> York head for Heritage Healthcare

>> Continuum wins London cable car job Continuum Leading Attractions Group has won a three-year contract to run the front-of house services at the Emirates Air Line, a cable car across the Thames that opened just in time for the Olympics and has already carried a million passengers.

The York company, which also runs York’s Chocolate Story, has been appointed by Macro, the operations management of Mace, which operates the cable car, which is part of Transport for London’s public transport network and rises higher than the London Eye. Continuum’s director of attractions Kev Smith said: “The Emirates Air Line is an efficient river crossing and also provides a compelling way to take in all the sights London has to offer. Our staff and their colleagues on security, cleaning and loading duties have together been trained to create a truly memorable experience for every passenger.”

>> Joint effort to Mabey’s new products Dewsbury based Mabey Hire has worked with two of its customers to launch two exclusive new products which are designed to increase site health and safety, improve project productivity and reduce man hours.

Q-Kap, a trench sheet driving tool that fits directly to the quick hitch of an excavator, was developed with Kitchin Plant Hire. The second product, a trench sheet extractor with safety chain, was developed with Black & Veatch.

Trials of the Q-Kap, which was designed

by Ollie Kitchin of Kitchin Plant Hire, were completed by civil engineering company JN Bentley during a project at Yorkshire Water sites. Mark Rooney, managing director of Mabey Hire, which has also seen its turnover rise by £6.2m to £34.8m in the last year, said: “The needs of our customers, health and safety and productivity of staff are of vital

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

importance to Mabey Hire.

Working with our customers and constantly learning from the on-site use of equipment ensures we can be innovative, respond to demands and bring new valuable products to the market.”

>> County pubs at risk The lengthening recession is increasing the likelihood of pubs and bars across the county closing, research by R3 suggests.

The insolvency trade body estimates that some 35% of all bars and pubs across Yorkshire are currently at risk of failure, slightly above the national average of 34%, but well above the 22% of businesses as a whole across Yorkshire which are in such a position.

Robert Adamson, chair of R3 in Yorkshire and a partner at Mazars, said: “The recession has gone on far longer than could have been predicted and it is getting harder for people

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Home-based care provider Heritage Healthcare has appointed Vicki West as manager for its York operations.

She has nearly two decades of experience in the sector. Director Glenn Pickersgill said her rise through the ranks from care assistant to her present position was typical for the company, all of whose directors started their careers as a carer.

“This philosophy means our managers are well-placed to appreciate the needs of our customers and carers and also have the in-depth experience and knowledge to match the right care staff to the right clients,” he said.

The company runs similar services in South West Durham, Redcar and Cleveland.

>> Filtronic sees broadband decline Microwave electronics producer Filtronic says a slower than expected increase in sales volumes for its aerospace and E-band operations means its broadband business as a whole is currently trading behind expectations.

It had expected an increased uptake to offset its traditional radio module sales.

However in a trading statement released at its AGM, the Bradford company said slightly higher than expected sales in its wireless business means the group as a whole is trading within expectations.

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We have one of the largest networks of corporate offices in the UK, including Leeds, Sheffield, Hull and Newcastle, providing businesses with the support they need locally.

Our relationship teams work hand in hand with regionally-based credit teams – which means a deeper understanding of your business and faster decision making.

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NEWS

AUTUMN 12

>> August record for JCT600

(left to right) beerhawk.co.uk directors Mark Roberts and Chris France

>> Website claims beer first Two Yorkshire businessmen have launched an online beer retailer which they claim is the first in the country to offer free delivery.

The etailer, beerhawk.co.uk is based in Harrogate, and currently has a stock list of over 200 speciality beers from breweries across the globe. It expects to create six new jobs in its first year.

Mark Roberts and Chris France left senior positions with Laithwaites Wines and Procter & Gamble earlier in the year to launch the venture, and have secured deals with brewers all over the world.

“We love drinking great beers and guest ales in pubs, but were frustrated by how difficult it was to buy these beers to drink at home. The range available in supermarkets is poor, and the few existing websites that did try to stock better beer were either hideously difficult to use, or hit customers with a large delivery charge at checkout,” said Roberts.

“The typical consumer of speciality beers has become a great deal more discerning over the last decade, and the secure website we have created allows users to easily hunt out their favourite ales and discover unusual beers from the comfort of their sofa,” he added.

The company is also negotiating with a number of corporates to provide rewards and incentives for staff and customers.

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

August has proved to be the best month ever for used car sales at JCT600.

Used car sales right across the group’s 42 dealerships were up by 15% year on year.

New car sales to private buyers also increased by 16 per cent for the first eight months of 2012. Chief executive John Tordoff said: “It’s great to see JCT600 once again bucking the trend. Nationally, used car sales in the UK have been flat throughout the year and new car registrations at the end of July were only up by 3.5%.

“While the market generally is still well down on pre-recessionary levels, there is pent-up demand and we are definitely seeing signs that confidence is returning despite financial uncertainty in the Eurozone.”

At the same time, the company’s contract hire and leasing subsidiary JCT600 Contracts has won a contract to supply 200 wheelchair access minibuses over the coming 12 months to Darlington-headquartered care home specialist HC One.

>> York on display in london York conference desk VisitYork4Meetings is planning to hold an venue showcase in the Houses of Parliament next year aimed at encouraging more conference organisers to choose the city for their events.

The organisation is targeting around 70 conference buyers for the event on 13 March, which will be hosted by the

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city’s two MPs. The Cedar Court Grand, York Minster Conference Centre and the National Railway Museum will all be taking part in the event, which also includes a Yorkshire-themed dinner.

Laura Freer, business tourism manager at VisitYork4Meetings, said: “Targeting international conference buyers as well as those from London and the South is a key part of our strategy and our aim is to showcase the diverse range of venues York can offer. York can provide venues at competitive prices and is less than two hours from London by train, with great road and air links for international buyers.”

>> Seneca links up companies Rotherham-based MSSR Forecourt Developments has taken a controlling 51% stake in a Grantham and Cambridge-based interior design and construction company for an undisclosed sum in a deal managed

by Yorkshire turnaround company Seneca Investments with funding from Lloyds.

Seneca, which includes MSSR among its portfolio of companies, has taken the remaining 49% stake in Tienda.

Tienda founder Nic Grimoldby will continue to manage the company, working alongside Seneca and MSSR management team members Michael Sanders and Atul Lakhani.

Seneca director Melanie Hird said: “The deal creates a strategic platform for further growth and expansion – delivering a full-service offering for design, construction and fit out complimented with a complete design and build offering.”

Michael Sanders, managing director of MSSR and now of Tienda said: “We’re looking forward to working with Nic and the Tienda team on consolidating our resources into a full-service offering and rolling it out to our combined client base of blue-chip retailers and specifiers, as well as targeting new markets together.” Neil Large of HLW Keeble Hawson, who acted for Seneca in the deal, said: “This is another strategically sound deal which brings together two very well-matched companies, with the new entity a strong proposition in the design and construction sector.”

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NEWS

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centre is in a fantastic location with great access from the M1 for customers from across the region.”

In addition to being able to rent storage pods from £1 for the first four weeks, customers can also take advantage of boardroom and canteen facilities, free wi-fi and their own PO box address.

recruitment business that we would want to work with.

“It’s not about how many people we can send through the door but whether we can place the right person.” The new agency’s fees start at 10%.

>> Asda to sponsor food awards >> Fourth lawyer joins Watson Burton Watson Burton has recruited Andrew Francey as a corporate finance partner from Leeds law firm Lupton Fawcett.

Francey, who is the fourth person to join Watson Burton’s corporate finance team in the last six months, brings over 12 years of experience in the field.

He will be based at the firm’s Leeds office.

Duncan Reid, head of corporate finance at Watson Burton, said: “Andrew’s experience, in-depth commercial knowledge and understanding of the Yorkshire market will greatly enhance our service offering to our clients.”

Francey added: “My role as partner is to assist Duncan Reid and the team in further developing the practice on a regional as well as a national level and I am greatly looking forward to supporting the Leeds team in developing new business opportunities for Yorkshire and supporting new and existing clients.”

>> Storage firm moves into Yorkshire A North West-based storage company is launching a new centre in Barnsley – and is looking for other potential locations to expand across Yorkshire over the next two years.

Store First already runs centres in Blackburn and Burnley, and is also looking to open up three more in Rochdale, Knowsley and Liverpool later this year.

The Barnsley store will open later this autumn.

Operations director Stuart Laverty said: “Barnsley is a thriving town and the new

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

Asda has agreed to become headline sponsor for this year’s Deliciouslyorkshire Awards, which take place on 25 October.

The Leeds-based supermarket chain has long been a supporter of the annual food and drink awards.

Alison Sawyer, local sourcing and technical manager for Asda and one of this year’s judges, said: “It’s great to be associated with the Deliciouslyorkshire Awards and see first-hand the new trends and innovations being offered by local food producers. At Asda, we’re absolutely committed to supporting local producers.”

>> Recruitment firms merge Agencybods, a recruitment service for the advertising and marketing sector set up by former Channel 4 Secret Millionaire Carl Hopkins, is merging with sales recruitment and training consultancy Elite Sales Professionals to form a new partnership called Elite Bods.

Hopkins has over 28 years’ business experience and since selling a £19m turnover marketing agency has invested in and launched a variety of businesses including Agencybods. Jean Outhwaite, who runs Elite Sales Professionals with Elizabeth Bradbury, has over 20 years’ experience in sales, marketing and commercial recruitment and personal brand management.

Hopkins said: “The synergy of our unique backgrounds, experience and skills will allow Elite-Bods to produce a result that is not independently obtainable by many other recruitment companies. Our purpose is simple - we want to break the mould of poor experiences by businesses and candidates” Outhwaite added: “We have created a

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>> Gibson is Visit York chairman Jane Gibson has been appointed as the new chairman of Visit York, the city’s tourism agency.

Gibson, the wife of Morrison’s chairman Sir Ian Gibson, has over 25 years’ experience of strategic development in cultural and creative industries.

She is currently on the advisory board of the National Trust Yorkshire & North East, has an advisory position at enterprise charity SkillsBridge and is a director of performing arts company November Club.

Gibson said the organisation had many exciting projects ahead, including its recently awarded Regional Growth Fund funding. She said: “It’s a great honour to be joining Visit York as chairman.

Ultimately our main aim is to ensure customers have a great time when they come to York, so in my first year, I want to concentrate on the role that Visit York can play in maximising these positive experiences. I would also like to see everyone who runs a tourism business make a great living, so I’ll be keen to explore ways that we can support the local economy and increase visitor spending in the city.”

AUTUMN 12

>> Interiors business expands yet again Richard Grafton Interiors, the Harrogate based interiors retail and design firm launched earlier this year, has acquired another local interior design business. The firm has acquired Janet Sandles Interiors, a Harrogate interiors firm established in 2000, and owner Janet Sandles will be joining Richard Grafton Interiors as an interior designer.

“The acquisition of Janet’s business, and her recruitment to our team of designers further boosts our design capability,” said Richard Grafton. “Janet has a great deal of experience, having run a successful design business for the past 12 years and as well as having worked as a designer for the BBC for 10 years earlier in her career.”

The company’s 3,000 sq ft showroom and design studios at The Ginnel, Harrogate,

was formerly part of the ‘To Catch a Dream’ furniture showroom in the Montpellier Quarter of the town.

The £1m showrooms feature room sets showcasing entire living rooms, bathrooms and a show flat to demonstrate the firm’s design and installation capability. A total of eight staff now work at the firm, including five experienced interior designers. Sandles said: “I am really looking forward to working as part of an experienced team again. The foothold Richard has gained since launching the business earlier this year is remarkable.”

>> Razorblue expands to Leeds A doubling in turnover has allowed IT services company Razorblue to open a

NEWS

second office in Leeds and move into larger premises in its home town of Catterick.

The move into 2,500 sq ft offices at Colburn Business Park comes after the company took on ten new members of staff within six months, doubling the size of its workforce.

Next year it is looking to add a further five members of staff to its team.

Razorblue, which specialises in managed IT services, hosted solutions and consultancy services and was established six years ago by Dan Kitchen, has seen its turnover climb by over 55% for the firm’s 2011-2012 financial year. “The key to our growth is a combination of working in a variety of markets and making IT easy to understand,” said Razorblue’s commercial director Chris Gill.

York Handmade has established an unrivalled pedigree for the manufacture of bespoke products for iconic buildings.

We are currently nominated in eight separate categories for the 2012 Brick Awards.

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For further information please visit our website www.yorkhandmade.co.uk or call 01347 8378881

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

NEWS

AUTUMN 12

>> PD Ports needs Propaganda PD Ports has commissioned Leeds-based strategic brand consultancy Propaganda to run a ‘brand discovery audit’ of its portcentric logistics division as part of the division’s growth plans.

Brand discovery is one of Propaganda’s consultancy models which aims to discover the truth about a brand by unearthing real market and customer insights that determine brand and business value.

PD Ports’ business development director Geoff Lippitt said: “The growth of multichannel solutions in the retail sector is anticipated to increase the level of demand for flexible downstream port-centric logistics solutions.

We have a clear ambition to be the premium provider of port-centric solutions in the UK. But in order to grow further and maintain our position at the forefront, we need to implement a clear and concise strategy that delivers on the needs of the market.”

Propaganda director Richard McMurrough said: “Brand discovery is an individual journey for clients because no two businesses are the same, no two companies face the same challenges, so no two solutions should be the same. That’s why our approach is based on knowledge rather than assumption.”

>> Former SYIF man returns to Yorkshire Paul Gower has joined Finance Yorkshire as investment director on its equity linked team.

Although he most recently worked for YFM Equity Partners in the North West before joining the partly EU-funded investment scheme, between 2003 and 2006 he was investment manager at the South Yorkshire Investment Fund (SYIF).

During his time in Manchester he was also non-executive director of Gentronix, a biotech company.

Gower said: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the quality of work in progress at Finance Yorkshire and I’m looking forward to speaking to financial intermediaries and businesses about our investments.”

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>> Esh wins MOD and Environment Agency work Esh Construction’s operations in Leeds have won contracts worth £5m on schemes for both the Ministry of Defence and the Environment Agency.

The Ministry of Defence has commissioned the company to build three new facilities at Catterick Garrison in Yorkshire; Whittington Barracks at Lichfield in Staffordshire and RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire in contracts worth £3.6m, all delivered via Land Lease.

At the same time, it is to carry out refurbishment and remediation works to Environment Agency properties in Leeds city centre in a contract worth £1.4m.

The contract has been issued as the Environment Agency is in the process of consolidating 600 staff into one office and releasing three other buildings as part of a rationalisation of the civil estate following the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review.

Chris Walker, divisional director of Esh Build, part of Esh Construction, who heads the Leeds-based operations, said: “These are important contracts and bring our half yearly turnover for the Leeds office of Esh Construction to over £10m.

“Given the tough climate, we’re pleased with progress and we’re on track.”

>> Graphics business expands Tockwith-based online graphics supplies business GraphicsDirect.co.uk increased turnover by 60% to over £1.6m in the year to April 2012, its latest accounts show.

Founders Chris Booth and Paul Hawkridge, who started the business from a farm shed outside Knaresborough in 1998, have expanded the company to employ a total of eight staff including sales executives, web designers and warehouse staff.

There are currently 1,600 graphics products available on the website, and the firm ships to more than 15,000 customers each year.

Booth said: “We have grown our share in the graphics supplies market, but also we have

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started to deliver e-commerce and fulfilment services for other graphics brands, which has used our warehousing and staff more effectively, as well as generating additional revenues. Both business customers and consumers are actively looking for better and better value on every purchase they make.”

>> Deloitte sees revenues up £85m Revenues from Deloitte’s offices in Yorkshire and the North East rose by £85m in the year to the end of May, with growth across all divisions, as the business advisory firm created five new partners.

Practice senior partner Martin Jenkins said the practice had performed particularly well in its consulting, advisory and tax businesses as well as in the manufacturing, financial services and consumer business industry sector groups.

He said the firm’s decision to invest heavily in new people and new products, such as data services with Deloitte Analytics, was paying off.

He said: “This has been another robust performance in what continues to be an uncertain economic environment.”

>> New office for agency Leeds-based online search marketing agency Search Laboratory is opening a second office in the city and looking to recruit a further 30 staff. The new premises in Chapel Allerton provide enough space for the company to take its headcount up to 140. It also looks set to increase profits by 60% for its 2011/12 financial year, which ends in October. Chief executive Ian Harris said: “Client retention and development are vital to our business and can only be achieved if we hire appropriately and deliver an outstanding service. “In the last three years we have increased headcount from seven to 85, recruiting bright people from a diverse range of disciplines, such as maths, journalism, foreign languages and digital marketing. The opening of our second office will ensure we are able to continue to expand without being constrained by our current premises.”

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AS I SEE IT

AUTUMN 12

take to the hills Why stick to networking in a stuffy venue when you can be out and about enjoying the great Yorkshire countryside, says Richard Hamer

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It’s a Wednesday autumn afternoon after a summer that has already gone down as the wettest in 100 years. I’m on a hillside overlooking Ilkley, although I can’t actually see ‘Olicana’ because of the heavy rain.

I’m also with six other people and we are sheltering under a couple of randomly-placed trees waiting for the downpour to ease, but despite the rain we are all in high spirits.

This is MetWalking and we have been trudging through the rain for about 45 minutes chatting merrily about everything from childhood, to our career paths, home life, the weather (obviously) and our respective businesses. “Should we turn around and abandon the walk”, I ask?

The collective answer is a most definite “no”. The optimism for the weather and the enthusiasm for the occasion are truly incredible. We venture along the Dales High Way to Windgate Nick, on Addingham High Moor, to see the remains of a wicker hound that stood there until last winter, howling across the Wharfe Valley.

Being made of wicker it was a never going to last very long; a temporary piece of art, and even now it’s still not known who was responsible for it.

As we approach our destination something incredible happens: the clouds move aside and the sun shines down on us lighting up the valley and allowing us to see in the distance towards Beamsley Beacon and the fells beyond Bolton Abbey.

This is an important moment; it’s a collective experience and something we will all remember for a long time.

You don’t get that while networking over a glass of wine and a canapé.

Outside of my day job in public relations

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I also have an events management company specialising in running, and I’m a keen long-distance walker.

It was while I was running in the hills to the north of Otley, where I live, that my mind drifted to future running events and then somehow to networking and running, and finally networking while walking. Would such a concept work?

I discussed it with networking group the Met Club, where I’m a member and where I’ve also given seminars on PR, to see if it was something that would appeal to their members. The conversation went along the lines of: ‘there’s so much spectacular countryside on our doorstep, networking in the outdoors would be so very different, it would be a great excuse to get out of the office.’ Read any profile of a Yorkshire-based business person and it will inevitably come up that one of the things they love about the region is the countryside and how accessible and unique it is.

MetWalking, as it was now called, was the perfect excuse to visit this spectacular countryside while, technically, still being at work. And it would also appeal to those people that are not comfortable with networking; being in a room with strangers can be intimidating, being outside with strangers surrounded by flora and fauna is a completely different proposition. And have I already mentioned the shared experience?

As we know, walking is healthy. For a start you’re away from the office, still working though, but de-stressing. Regular walking has been shown to reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, asthma, stroke and some cancers.

To end up on Addingham High Moor took a lot of planning. I’ve previously lead walks for Take A Hike, a Leeds and Bradford walking group aimed at people in their 20s and 30s, so I knew the importance of carrying out a recce of the route. Ah yes, the route.

I decided that a walk of around seven-miles

AS I SEE IT

It’s a collective experience and something that we will all remember for a long time. You don’t get that while networking over a glass of wine would be a good distance, but it also had to be accessible, not overly technical or strenuous and as a way of extending this shared experience dinner afterwards would be a great way to end the day.

And so on a wet Wednesday in September, MetWalking was born. Aside from me, there were two lawyers, one specialising in property, the other employment; a learning and development trainer; a telecommunications provider; an architect and a business coach.

Only two MetWalkers had met before; this was going to be interesting.

And so we set off just after 1.30pm from Le Bistrot Pierre, in Ilkley, where we were due to have dinner upon our return.

From the start there was a really good feel to the dynamic of the group.

Even the heavy drizzle as we strode up the steep hill of Wells Road didn’t quash the excitement of this off-the-wall networking.

Everyone accepted that it had been a truly

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memorable summer weather-wise, and that even though the previous day had been sunny there was nothing any of us could do about the current precipitation which, ironically, gave us a collective talking point.

We arrived back in Ilkley slightly ahead of time and with the restaurant not opening until 5.30pm we all headed to the adjacent Crescent Inn. This was networking in a room, but it felt more like having a drink with a group of friends.

And then over dinner the talk was of when the next MetWalking was going to be and where. Importantly though, our walk had started at half one and we didn’t finish dinner until 8pm. That’s a long time to be networking, but it had been a really enjoyable and memorable day. Just give me a chance to dry out before the next one. n For more details on MetWalking visit www.themetclub.co.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

As well as the Olympics, Yorkshire ingenuity and hard graft had a good part to play in another key event taking place in the capital over the summer

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

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ENTREPRENEUR

Still sticking to bricks

David Armitage is still going strong in the brick industry, 51 years after he started. And, says Peter Baber, he is waving the flag for Yorkshire too Everyone knows about the storming effort people from Yorkshire made to boost Team GB’s medals table at the London Olympics this year. What is less well known is that Yorkshire ingenuity and hard graft had a good part to play in another key event taking place in the capital over the summer.

Just before the Olympics opened, Londoners were able to enjoy a massive fireworks display as the Shard, the latest skyscraper to make its mark on the London skyline, was officially opened. As its name implies, the building is mostly made of glass. It is also currently the tallest completed building in Europe. But even the biggest buildings need a solid foundation, and the bricks that make up two sides of the bottom three stories of this building have not come from London at all, but from Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Handmade Brick, to be precise, a brickworks in the middle of quiet farmland down an unassuming country lane some ten miles north of York at Alne.

David Armitage, the company’s founder and managing director, admits the company got

the job to supply 100,000 bricks to the Shard largely thanks to the efforts of its Londonbased brick factor or broker. “He used his initiative with Renzo Piano, that Paris-based

opportunity to think: ‘Well maybe we should be getting someone UK-based.’ And so we got the chance to put ourselves forward.

Everything went well from there.”

architects of the building, and more or less planted doubt in their minds about why they were using imported brick in a major UK building,” he says. “German brick had been originally chosen. That gave them enough

But the Shard project was not, in fact, the biggest job the company had last year. It was also contracted to supply 350,000 bricks to the £21m redevelopment of Cheetham’s Music School in Manchester, bringing a school >>

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BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

ENTREPRENEUR

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We really don’t attract business from volume housebuilders... The Persimmons and Wilson Homes of this world just don’t look at us which can trace its roots back to the medieval period right up into the modern era.

That made 2011 something of a bumper year for York Handmade, in stark contrast to many other businesses in the construction sector.

Yet what is perhaps just as unusual about the company is its founder. David is now 72. This September he celebrates completing his 51st year in the bricks industry. “1 September 1961 was the day I started, and I remember it well,” he says.

When he founded the company in 1998, he was in his late 40s, and had already clocked up many years as one of the directors of George Armitage & Sons, a firm that had been run by his extended family for five generations, until its 137 family shareholders finally managed to agree on selling it on.

At that age, and with a successful sale

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complete, most business people I speak to would perhaps think of semi-retiring, heading off on a world cruise, or perhaps doing the odd bit of consultancy work. Why didn’t he?

This question must be a fairly common one fired at him, because he finds it amusing. “I just did not want to retire, and did not want to go off and do something else,” he says. “We did sell the business very well, just before the late 1980s downturn, and I thought it would be nice to put something back in. I suppose I really didn’t want to leave an industry I had enjoyed so much. I discovered this place [the factory at Alne] was on the market. It was a site with 40 acres with 20-odd years of clay.

The plant was virtually redundant, but I set about converting it from a factory making clay pipes to a hand-made brick factory.”

In one way he did put something back

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because he succeeded in re-establishing a facility for making hand made bricks that had otherwise vanished in the North of England.

Even though the company has since expanded so that now only 10 to 15% of its £2.5m to £3.5m turnover comes from Yorkshire, this is still important. “There are some other handmade brickworks, but mainly in the south,” he says, “and many of them are very small, smaller even than us.”

To put all this in context, his brickworks has two production lines. “In the first the bricks are quite mass produced,” he says. “They are all hand thrown, but the moulds move around mechanically and are just filled by hand. That gives you roughly 3,500 bricks an hour. With our second production line, which is truly hand made, you would be very lucky even with three men to do 3,000 a day.”

By contrast, a fully mechanised brickwork run by one of the three large groups who have come to take over much of the bricks industry in the UK today would probably be producing around half a million bricks a week.

That means necessarily that the bricks his company produces cannot compete on price with the mass producers – and that restricts the kind of customers it can sell to. “We really don’t attract business from volume housebuilders,” he says. “The Persimmons and Wilson Homes of this world just don’t look at us. But we do do quite a lot with medium size developers, who build perhaps from six to ten houses a year. These are profitable businesses, and we do a good deal with them in the stockbroker belt south of London. House prices are high down there, and they are not bothered about spending two to three times as much, as long as they get the house that will sell for the price. These are big houses we are talking about, with perhaps 40,000 bricks.

We have just put one we did in Surrey on our website.”

The company started off appealing to the self-build market, which David claims is worth £2bn in the UK alone, and this sector remains important to the company. “It’s a completely different marketing approach with this kind of client,” he says. “Self-build used to be much more common in Europe, and wasn’t a big deal here. But people have started thinking they would much prefer to have their own

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design. A lot in fact are very keen. They want a dream home and they need to make sure it is as they want it.”

To prove his credentials, David has himself built his own house not far from the brickworks, naturally using the company’s bricks.

The handmade nature of the business also means that they can offer a much more bespoke service to clients, on both new projects and on restoration work.

It was this that attracted Renzo Piano to the firm, as the architects wanted the bricks of the Shard to be similar to (but not exactly the same as) new “Roman” bricks that have become hugely popular in Europe since they were first introduced by a Danish brickworks earlier last decade. “Roman” bricks are much longer and narrower than conventional bricks, sometimes coming up to 530mm in length,

ENTREPRENEUR

compared with a standard brick which is only 215mm. The Shard’s bricks had to be 290mm long, but were only 47mm deep, compared with a standard depth of 65mm.

David says the company had to come up with an entirely new production plan to cope with the new order, but it was worth it. “They like to call the look that these bricks give off the strata look,” he says.”It’s a different aesthetic aspect. It makes you look more on the lines of the brickwork rather than at the brickwork.

But they are very attractive, and we now think they do look better.”

The Cheetham’s project, meanwhile, called for curved bricks as well as standard rectangles, something York Handmade was also happy to provide. Such unusual demands have led David to have particular ideas about architects as a profession. “They are fascinating,” he says,

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“You can’t typify them. Some are unbelievably fussy, but a lot aren’t. They just want an effect. But Cheetham was a performance. The architect wanted a local brick, which was a good start, but then one or two of the trustees were extremely interested in where the bricks were coming from, and they went around and looked at buildings we were involved in.”

This would have included some of the restoration work that York Handmade has completed too, including work on three Cambridge colleges – Jesus, Queen’s, and Caius and Gonville. “We are quite popular down there,” he says. “Once they know about you you get a fair bit of work. The hard part is getting known.”

To be fair, bespoke manufacturing can have its downsides. When the idea of carbon trading was first brought in, the audits DEFRA >>

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

ENTREPRENEUR

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insisted all companies in the brick sector carry out were so stringent that the company had to start weighing virtually every individual brick to work out what its carbon footprint might be. Fortunately lobbying by the trade organisation the British Ceramic Federation eventually ensured that “small emitters” – a label David finds most unfortunate but actually means those producing less than 75 tonnes of carbon a day – were spared having to continue doing that. “We still have to fill forms in, do a return and buy carbon, but not do the same audit, which was a nightmare,” he says. The company is still assessed to ISO

groups have had to mothball their works.

This hasn’t happened before in the time I have been in the industry.”

The company, which currently employs 24, still has had to vary its staffing levels in response to the economic situation - taking on an extra six people to cope with the two big projects last year, and slimming down again this year.

But David likes to think that the other way he is giving back is by providing stable work for at least some relatively unskilled workers who would otherwise be left to apply to supermarkets and packing warehouses for occasional work.

That is certainly him. Because he lives nearby, David admits too often coming in at weekends as well. But does he really not plan to quieten things down a little, now that he is in his eighth decade?

He thinks again. “I am very conscious of not being in the way of my son Guy,” he says, “and not being a damned nuisance.

“But I do feel I have a role at the moment when we don’t have a lot of spare bodies.

I have tended to do a lot of marketing in my life, while Guy is more on the technical side, so we are not treading on each other’s toes too much.”

14001 standards. But one big positive about such manufacturing means that the company can easily scale back when times are hard.

This is where David thinks it has really made a difference over its larger competitors, particularly in the first few months of this year, which did become quiet.

“If modern mechanised brickworks have to cut back they can’t except at a huge cost and with great technical difficulty,” he says, “whereas we can.

“We have different kilns which fire batches of roughly 25,000 a time, and it is much, much easier to cut back. We just do eight batches instead of 16, say. But this is the first downturn I have seen where the three large

“All our employees are local,” he says, “and we are a big attraction among guys who traditionally would have worked on farms.

There is hardly any labour on farms these days.

Construction sites don’t employ them for a long time, especially if they are unskilled, and they usually lay them off over the winter. We are 365 days in the year, and permanent.”

Nor do the workers who get recruited necessarily remain unskilled.

“If they have something about them they can learn a lot here,” says David, “and not just to do with brickworking. And without sounding too pious, they do like working for people who are working for the business, and are there every day.”

Not treading on each other’s toes is a lesson he has learned from his past in the family firm.

“The two cousins who were working with me just before we sold did not tread on my toes, and I did not tread on theirs. But it doesn’t always happen in family businesses. They can be a complete nightmare.”

David’s own father, in fact, wasn’t in the business, although he was a shareholder.

He was a surgeon.

“But he thought that unless I had any big ambitions to do something else, I should give it a go. He didn’t want to see me unemployed.

So I went, and the more I got into it the more I enjoyed it.” Some 51 years and counting is proof of that. n

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

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SUCCESS STORY

AUTUMN 12

Working through the gloom The economy might be depressed, and lending might be way down from what it was. But Peter Baber finds many Yorkshire dealmakers surprisingly sanguine about the future You know the current economic downturn must be a bad one when, asked about the prospects for making a deal in Yorkshire in 2012, even the region’s dealmakers – hitherto some of the most optimistic people you could come across – sound at best flat.

“Flat” is in fact exactly the adjective that James Cliffe, divisional director for relationship banking at Barclays, uses to describe dealmaking activity. “This really is a slack period,” he continues.

“Other regions have a higher level of activity, particularly the Eastern region and the North West. Yorkshire is finding it tough at the moment, although certain sectors are thriving.

“Agriculture, for example, is performing very strongly. But that makes me wonder whether the agriculture and food base which is traditionally strong in Yorkshire is not masking even lower levels of activity in other sectors.”

Others share the view that possibilities for making an exit or doing an acquisition in this market are subdued. Darren Forshaw, co-founder of Endless, is one of them.

The turnaround investor, which launched with great fanfare in 2006 and has already been through three rounds of successful fundraising, has made two significant investments this year: in online bathroom retailer bathstore.com, formerly owned by Wolseley, and in cinema visual effects business

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

Cinesite, which worked on the Harry Potter films, among other things. Both of these deals involved significant restructuring. “Cinesite was a good business that had been caught up in a massive US problem,” says Forshaw, the problem being that its previous owner, Kodak, had filed for bankruptcy protection in the USA. “And bathstore.com had been operating without a management team, so we had to put in a new management team with a new chief executive.”

Nonetheless, the prognosis for those already in the Endless portfolio is less dramatic.

“We see no light at the end of the tunnel,” says Forshaw, “and we are revising our business’s business plans to see the same for four of five years. They have to get used to the current lending scenario, and aim to grow on their own.”

There is a note of resignation here, as there is among many other dealmakers. But some of them think getting used to a more sombre market may be no bad thing in the long run.

Mark Clephan, a director at Ernst & Young, says deals activity has been going up and down all year, although currently we are “bouncing along the bottom”.

“The ups and downs, however, make it difficult to read too much into the data,” he says, “as it can be skewed by just one big deal.” Even still, he does not find this an

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entirely dismal situation to be in.

“The market is way down from where it was five to six years ago,” he says.

“But the worst thing we can do is compare the current market with 2007. That was a period when we had a glut of finance, and that stimulated behaviour.

“That market probably won’t come back for a period of time, and there are people out there who are probably wishing that it does not come back in that form at all.

“The market is currently in equilibrium.

Advisers know what they have to achieve.”

Such assessments are being made of course, as complaints continue to come in from many business groups about banks simply not lending enough, even now. Forshaw is at least sympathetic to the view that the banks could do more.

“I know that banks have to get themselves properly capitalised,” he says. “I can understand why they would not want to get back to the position they were in. But it is disingenuous to claim, as some of them do, that that lending is as it should be. Currently most banks are only offering loans lasting 12 to 18 months. How can you plan a business with that sort of offer?”

He is particularly scathing about Project Merlin, the project set up by the Government and the four major high street banks in an attempt,

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SUCCESS STORY Most banks are only offering loans lasting 12 to 18 months.

How can you plan a business with that sort of offer?

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Dan Renton, a director at Deloitte, believes more opportunities around distressed sales are emerging

among other things, to boost lending to small businesses. “Project Merlin was meant to be operating in growth markets and offering new lending,” he says, “but I wonder how much new lending is actually being done. To me they just seem to be offering new lending to existing customers.”

Not surprisingly, perhaps, Cliffe disagrees with such an assessment. “I see the levels of our debt and deposits on our balance sheet are both rising, and that has to mean that we are lending new money,” he says.

As far as small businesses are concerned, he points in particular to the National Loan Guarantee Scheme, which was launched in March this year.

This aims to make lending easier for small businesses by reducing the cost of loans by 1% and by the Government providing guarantees for unsecured borrowing. Cliffe claims that 60% of NLGS schemes so far lent out have been funded by Barclays.

Beneficiaries in Yorkshire include Freshways, an Asian supermarket based on an abandoned Tesco site in east Leeds which gained £13,500 to expand its premises; the Joe Cornish photographic gallery in Northallerton; and Kingfisher, a fish and chip shop in Crosshills which gained £10,000 to open a new restaurant. More recently the Treasury has also launched the Funding for Lending (FFL) scheme, which again has been designed to increase lending by allowing UK banks and building societies to borrow from the Bank of England at cheaper rates for periods of >>

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

SUCCESS STORY

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Christian Mayo, corporate finance partner at KPMG in Leeds, believes many companies now lack the confidence to take on new debt up to four years.

In September Lloyds Banking Group was the first bank to take advantage of this scheme, drawing down £1bn which it said would be passed on to small businesses “in a matter of weeks”. John Robson, regional director for Lloyds TSB Commercial in the North of England, said this lending was just the start.

“We are committed to helping Britain prosper by encouraging investment and supporting businesses and households with the best possible terms,” he said.

Lloyds also claimed that its lending to small businesses over the year has increased by 4%, at a time when net lending as a whole had fallen by the same amount.

Outside the government-backed schemes, Barclays conventional lending to businesses has included a loan to Thirsk-based solicitors

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

Calder Meynell to help it open a new office, a loan to energy management firm Orchard Energy to help it move headquarters from Brighouse to bigger premises in Elland; and a loan to Panetti’s, a bistro in Bedale that first opened in 2001 and wanted to refurbish its premises. Invoice finance specialists have been busy too.

Bradford-based detergents and chemicals manufacturer was able to take a 50% stake in Warrington-based food hygiene company Klenzan for an undisclosed sum, thanks to funding provided by RBS Invoice Finance.

The same funder also provided a £35m working capital facility to Rullion Group, a recruitment company which is headquartered in Cheshire but has a major office in Leeds, to help its continued organic growth.

Yet Cliffe concedes that there remains a

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funding gap for start-ups and small companies with a turnover of £1m, even with partially public funded agencies such as Finance Yorkshire aiming to fill that gap.

“That area is not really where private equity houses operate any more, he says. “Finance Yorkshire is fine, but it needs to be part of a wider solution.”

More ominously for some, he adds that the NLGS and FFL schemes have not made his bank change its attitude on the kind of businesses it will lend to.

“We aim to provide cheaper funding to those we would lend to anyway,” he says. “If we see a viable business that business will get lending.

Nothing has changed.”

The problem, as he sees it, for both large and small businesses, is that many business owners still think they are more or less duty bound

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SUCCESS STORY

We wouldn’t applaud banks if they built up a huge debt book again. You have to understand their need for rigour

to be loaned funds. “There is a mismatch between debt and equity release,” he says.

“In the past there were funders who were taking equity risks and expecting debt returns, but they got into a lot of trouble.

“Many of the propositions I see are more suited to equity transactions.”

This is a sentiment that many corporate finance advisers broadly agree with. Stuart Warriner, corporate finance partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Leeds, says: “We wouldn’t applaud banks if they built up a huge debt book again.”

He believes that for businesses with turnovers of over £5m banks are still willing to lend.

“But they are not as eager as they used to be,” he says. “You have to understand their need for rigour.”

Christian Mayo, corporate finance partner at KPMG, thinks banks were “probably lending too much before”, and like many observers he believes this has led to a great deal more caution in the market. What is particularly, noticeable, however, is that this caution is not just on the part of the banks: borrowers are feeling cautious too. “Companies now lack confidence to take on debt,” says Mayo, “even if you could still do much at the moment with a loan of just one to two times your EBITDA.” This caution, it seems, even applies among companies who have already secured funding.

Cliffe at Barclays claims that deals agreed by his bank that are “waiting to go” are currently at record levels, as companies are taking a more cautious approach to drawing down debt. All this caution means that the time taken to complete deals inevitably takes longer. “People now do really full credit checks and due diligence,” says Warriner.

“I would say now a deal can take five to six months to complete, whereas in the good

times it might take four to five weeks.”

That isn’t necessarily a bad thing for corporate financiers, bankers and lawyers who charge fees according to hours worked. But the extra caution among companies for doing any kinds of deal at all means that such advisers really have their work cut out for them. “It used to be the case that you could just send around an information memorandum to get people interested in a deal,” says Mayo. “Now you have to target buyers much more, and understand what they are after. The process is much, much more front-end loaded.”

But evidently some of this activity is paying off, because it would be wrong to say that no deals are being done. Stuart Warriner, for example, has done four major ones this year. These included an MBO at dried food

manufacturers Symingtons which provided an exit for Bridgepoint; advising Humberside Airport on its acquisition by Eastern Airways, selling Marks & Spencer suppliers Quantum Clothing to Japanese firm Itochu; and helping car parts distributor Andrew Page acquire south of England-based Camberley Auto Factors. Dealmakers note that the activity that is going on is heavily swayed towards corporate. “The corporate client base in particular has been really active,” says Richard Hunt, a corporate partner at law firm Squire Sanders. “It has identified new targets, and has a very clear direction of activity.”

In fact, he thinks that this year so far has been promising, albeit quiet over the summer period during the Olympics.

Earlier this year he advised 2M, the holding company of Leeds-based Surfachem, on a £25m MBO and on a subsequent bolt-on acquisition. There is more of a question mark over private equity houses’ activity, with the general consensus seeming to be that, because of banks withdrawing debt, their ability to do deals has been hampered because they cannot rely on the leverage they could take advantage of in the past, and in some cases are having to do all-equity >>

Hot spots In amidst the gloom, are there any particular sectors which investors are still particularly keen on? Many advisers say there are. Ian Marwood, for example, is putting his money on the cycling sector. Interest there, he says, has been spurred on not by the Olympics – “If anything, they caused a slowing of growth”, he says – but by the growing number of people taking an interest in the sport, and by the sale of Wiggle, an online cycling retailer which is chaired by former Asda chief executive Andy Bond, to Bridgepoint last year for £180m.

“At the same time that does create problems because every cycling-related company thinks they are going to get three times as much as they thought they would for their business, and that is just not going to happen,” says Marwood.

Christian Mayo at KPMG reckons that data centres, including business disaster recovery centres, remain hot property.

And, as long at the company is big enough – which usually means it has a turnover of over £5m – there is growing interest from overseas buyers too. This is mainly restricted to Western Europe and the USA. “It is very hard to get a Chinese buyer to engage,” says Mayo. “They are usually only interested in the Yorkshire market when they already have something else in the UK.” But Richard Hunt believes Indian buyers may also be a future possibility. He has noticed growing interest among them in Britain’s manufacturing sector. You might think that ironic, given how much Britain’s manufacturing glory has been wiped away by Indian and other Asian competition.

“But now that it has declined so much, they see it as a cheap asset,” says Hunt.

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SUCCESS STORY

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Stuart Warriner, corporate finance partner for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Leeds

A deal can now take five or six months to complete, whereas in the good times it might take four to five weeks

investments to get the deal off the table.

But even here there are some who are optimistic. Ian Marwood from Grant Thornton, who is yet do a deal this year having finished 2011 with something of a bang, says it is just not in the nature of private equity houses to sit on their haunches.

“Doing deals is what gives them a reason for being,” he says. “If you are just looking after a portfolio then you are going to get edgy.”

That’s a sentiment echoed by Andy Ball, one of the founders of North Edge Capital, a new private equity house focused on the north which many dealmakers are expecting great things of in the future.

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“If private equity people just sit on their desks and wait for deals to come in they are not going to get a lot of work done,” says Ball, who, like all of the senior management team at North Edge, used to work at LDC. Although the North Edge fundraising – a global affair led by UBS – was only completed in July, and they have yet to make any investments, Ball says their goals are clear.

“Our model is that we strictly do not

over-leverage,” he says.

“We are only looking at two to three times earnings. At that level of multiple, debt is still available.”

He claims his team actually wants to seek out businesses that have potential challenges.

Immediately after the credit crunch, initial claims that distressed sales would soon become dealmaker’s bread and butter seemed to be scotched as banks tended to hang onto what might be called “zombie” companies.

In the past 12 months here have been some, however – Clephan, for example, advised on the sale of defence supplier Astrum, which had gone into administration, back to its original owner William Cook.

And Dan Renton, a director at Deloitte, reckons many more such opportunities could soon arise. “Distressed sales died off in 2010, but bounced back in 2011-12,” he says.

“These are not bad businesses, just overleveraged, and corporates will buy them.”

Endless, of course, has a track record in this area – although Renton now claims there are half a dozen such funds operating in the same market and looking over Endless’s shoulder.

Forshaw insists that so far they have not lost deals to the newcomers, or vice versa. But there is a particular new kind of debt-only deal that Endless is particular keen on in the current market. “There are many businesses out there controlled by syndicates of creditors which are paralysed by disagreements between the syndicate members on how to proceed,” he says. “We are looking at some of these, aiming to buy someone out of that syndicate and take control by convincing everyone about the direction the business should follow.”

Still, there is no disguising the feeling among all of Yorkshire’s dealmakers that times remain tough. And will do so while the economy remains in the doldrums.

The only way out of that, they say, is for the Eurozone crisis to be resolved, and for some confidence to return to the housing and jobs market. And those are two factors that are well out of their control. n

ONLINE: Read about the latest business deals, transactions and senior appointments on the BQ website: www.bq-magazine.co.uk/yorkshire

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AUTUMN 12

COMPANY PROFILE

It’s never too early to start planning for the future As we see elsewhere in this issue, running and selling a business is an emotional rollercoaster, and selling in particular can be an exhausting experience.

This is heightened if you’ve built the business up from nothing, nurtured it and committed a big part of your life to it That said, despite the wrench of letting it go, it is often the ultimate end game for many entrepreneurs; to provide a nest egg for retirement, security for the wider family, or simply to go off and do it all again.

As the old adage goes “it’s never too early” to start planning, and in the context of planning for a sale or partial disposal, surprisingly this can even extend before you start the business.

Whilst tax structuring might be the last thing you want to think about (or pay for) when you start your business, it can be worthwhile when you come to sell.

Take the example of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), providing you fulfil the conditions and continue to do so for the next three years, under the scheme your shares will be completely exempt from capital gains tax on a future disposal.

Much more cost effective than, say, a restructuring of the business prior to sale.

As tax professionals, we tend to focus on core themes when we advise individuals in this position: • Make sure you claim the tax reliefs you’re entitled to, rather than allowing the purchaser to take the benefit post sale • Focus on the amount you will receive after you’ve paid the tax, rather than the headline figure • Make sure you’re not paying more tax than you need to on the sale by planning ahead, structuring the sale tax efficiently and maximising all available reliefs • As far as possible, only pay tax when you receive cash proceeds. Whilst this last point seems obvious, reinvesting part of your proceeds into the purchaser (rollovers) are not always as straightforward as they might appear.

As the old adage goes “it’s never too early” to start planning, and in the context of planning for a sale or partial disposal, surprisingly this can even extend before you start the business.

David Hicks, Tax Director at Deloitte in Newcastle

You should also build in flexibility for the possibility that you might want to “take some value” before you pass on the business. Whilst this can easily be achieved through the payment of a big bonus or dividend, receiving a similar amount with the benefit of entrepreneurs’ relief and a 10% tax rate is clearly preferable.

And often it can be the little things that make all the difference, details such as the wording of a particular clause in a sale agreement or the order in which you do things can have a huge impact on the amount you’ll receive from the sale of your business.

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As you begin planning for a sale, issues like this will take on a new relevance but it pays to take advice as soon as possible.

Even if the intention isn’t to sell from the outset, and instead you plan to run your business and pass it to the next generation, all of the sensible things you would do to make it attractive to a purchaser and to ease the sale process, are all things which will make your business more tax efficient on a day to day basis.

Things like maximising available tax reliefs, having a sensible structure, ensuring your compliance is up to date and undertaking longer-term strategic tax planning steps all help to create a leaner, more efficient business.

David Hicks Tax Director at Deloitte in Newcastle 0191 261 4111

BUSINESSQUARTER QUARTER||AUTUMN BUSINESS AUTUMN 12

in association with

planning for the years to come The issue: “What are the key elements for consideration when planning an exit or succession strategy and what do we need to do to support the continued growth of our most successful businesses?”

Is planning an exit one of the most important things you need to do as a business leader?

In more prosperous times, it looked as if it was.

While developing products, seeing a business grow, and nurturing staff might all be other great reasons for running a business, anyone who said they didn’t have at least half an eye on riding off into the sunset would probably be lying. After all, we all want a reward for all that hard work, and during the boom times it seemed many of us were getting it.

But those were the boom times. Does the same reasoning and motivation work in the leaner times we are experiencing now? That was the overhanging question behind the latest BQ Live debate held in September at the New Ellington in Leeds.

absolutely vital,” he says. “But then so is having the flexibility to be able to adapt when things change.”

His thoughts were echoed by his colleague David Hicks, who works within the private client team at Deloitte. He speaks to a wide range of owner managers as part of his work, and conceded that there were many contrasts between them. But planning was always important, he said, and that applied in particular when it comes to tax issues.

“The environment has changed, and there is so much pressure on tax planning now, he said. “Even if you are just looking for basic entrepreneur’s relief, you have to start acting 12 months before the sale of your business.

There is no substitute for planning early.

Plan and plan again Dan Renton, a director at event sponsor Deloitte, conceded that times were tougher, but that did not make the reasons for planning how you would eventually leave the business any weaker. “Planning and preparation is

What it all means While a straw poll of all the company owners present revealed that only two of them had actually put together an exit plan – a third had actually “thrown mine in the bin” – the discussion did reveal how tougher times had

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Taking part Mark Ambler, director, Blue Logic Computer Systems Chris Brooks, group managing director, Integrated Results Philip Goldsborough, partner, Pinsent Masons John Hall, chief executive, Volvox Group David Hicks, director, Deloitte Chris Hopkins, managing director, Ploughcroft Victoria Hopkins, managing director, Hopkins Catering Equipment Ltd Andy Killingback, director, Royal Bank of Scotland Daniel Lee, managing director, Pharmacy2U Dan Renton, director, Deloitte David Twiddle, chief executive, Renovo Employment Group In the chair: Caroline Theobald, Bridge Club Venue: The New Ellington, Leeds BQ is highly regarded as a leading independent commentator on business issues, many of which have a bearing on the current and future success of the region’s business economy. BQ Live is a series of informative debates designed to further contribute to the success and prosperity of our regional economy through the debate, discussion and feedback of a range of key business topics and issues.

made more people think harder not just about the exit but more widely about what their purpose in running their business was.

A case in point is Chris Brooks, group managing director for Integrated Results.

He certainly has an exit plan for his business, which works closely with IT giant Hewlett Packard. In fact, he said, he and his fellow shareholder directors have five such plans on the go.

They discussed them regularly at quarterly meetings with their accountant Grant Thornton. One possible exit, he said, was a trade sale, although that was about as likely as winning the lottery, even if he could see larger competitor businesses who eyed his company’s Hewlett-Packard accreditations with envy. “Right at the other end is another plan which is all about getting enough money out and stashing it under our mattress so we can turn the lights off,” he added. “Somewhere in the middle is the management team we have been working very hard to develop taking the business on. But I think is it a privilege that

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I realise now that I didn’t try to build the business. I was trying to build a model instead and it took financial pressure to really look at what the business was

we can have a conversation about exiting, because most people don’t get that chance.”

He said his reasons for starting the business, like many people’s, had been “incredibly personal”. “It’s about paying university tuition fees, paying off the mortgage, and supporting my family,” he said.

He still had a bit of paper in his back pocket on which he had written down the reasons why he had started his first business in the 1990s. “I used to travel about six days a week for an international software company,” he said. “My main principal for starting was that I didn’t have to travel any more, so that when the children arrived I could be home.”

Partly in envy of a former fellow director of another company he previously ran who had sold his shares to buy an estate in Devon, he said he was now feeling there were other goals in life too.

“My business is to support my lifestyle, and

to support it in a way that gives me flexibility to work for another organisation if I want to later,” he said.

Mark Ambler, currently director of Blue Logic Systems, but with a string of sales and acquisitions behind him, agreed. He said his motivation in selling off one of his businesses in 2004 had been “the pressure of having all my investments in the business”.

“There were also a couple of minority shareholders who wanted to do something else,” he said. “So by selling I could step back, take the money, and take the pressure off.”

Daniel Lee, managing director of Pharmacy2U, an online business which he raised £5m from private equity for in 2002, revealed that he had made sure all his shareholders were focused on the same aim.

But he did warn that there was a danger of becoming too focused on the exit at the expense of running the business. “You can get

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wrapped up in it,” he said. “If you are running a successful business you are quite well down the path of having it ready for sale anyway.”

Get off the wheel This certainly struck a chord with Victoria Hopkins, a managing director at catering equipment supplier Hopkins. She said she and her family had no plans to exit the business they had run for 57 years, and she disliked the way business owners who felt like that were often frowned on. “Especially in this environment, we need to value the sustainable growth that can come from lifestyle businesses,” she said, “and get off the corporate hamster wheel.”

Renton agreed that running a great business and planning how to exit often amounted to the same thing. “Build the best business you can, and the exit will happen,” he said.

And Philip Goldsborough, a corporate >>

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partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, said focused family businesses like Hopkins were often more attractive in the long run precisely because they did not spend all the time thinking about exiting. This was something he had noticed when working with some of them when they did finally decide to sell. “I have seen grown men cry at what they were leaving,” he said, “and yet these guys had got good prices because they hadn’t been marketing the business and didn’t need to sell.

Compare that with the number of corporates who overpaid to get the target companies they wanted at any price during the boom times.”

He warned those considering an exit that a complicated road could lie ahead. “For a seller a trade buyer is often an easier ride when it

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

comes to due diligence, because they know the business,” he said. “Conversely, private equity will be all over you.”

There was also a difference in buyer’s nationalities. “US purchasers are often a different beast to the Japanese, for example, who are very meticulous about due diligence,” he said. “A US purchaser will often be very aggressive commercially, but less bothered with the nitty-gritty.”

Building on the inside Another option, of course, would be to sell to an existing management team. But many of the business owners present said this was often a more complicated and time-consuming exercise than it looked.

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“I have tried in the past to bring people in who I thought understood the business, with all appropriate qualifications and experience that looked right, but who then completely, utterly, totally failed,” said Brooks. “So we have reverted to growing our own management team, a bit like a football academy. They are young and bright. But it might take seven years to build them up.”

David Twiddle, chief executive of recruitment and employment support company Renovo, said he had made a similar mistake in the past when he was building up a business to sell and thought the management team he was building up was perfect. “But private equity clearly didn’t think so,” he said, “because when we tried to do a management buyout, there wasn’t a funding option.”

This applied even though one of the management team subsequently became chief executive of the listed company he eventually sold the business to some years later. “He was a great guy,” he said, “but initially it was just the wrong time. This is always going to be an issue if you are bringing up your own people in all the time. You need to think about what else they have done? And have they done this, or did you do that? Look at the team beneath.”

Such claims widened the discussion out more generally – and heatedly - into how much responsibility business owners should take over employees. Brooks said this issue pressed him more as his business grew.

“When there are only three of you and you are owed money and you are not sure you can pay yourself, there is not a lot to lose,” he said. “You can go back into corporate world.

But when there are 38 of you, and you have a reasonable turnover and you know their mortgage is dependent on the company, the stakes are a lot higher.”

Machines This was a surprise to Andy Killingbeck from the Royal Bank of Scotland. He said he often asked the business owners he talked to what kept them awake at night. “Very rarely does anyone talk about staff,” he said. “All their worries are financial.”

John Hall, chief executive of the Volvox Group, who has taken his company through several buyouts, sounded almost existential

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in agreeing. “All people have opportunities,” he said, “and they should make up their own minds if they want to take advantage of them or not. It is not my responsibility.

My responsibility is to my family. If people are working hard, and the business is doing well, they don’t need me personally. They are machinery, and like all machinery if they are not performing they shouldn’t be there.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, such remarks drew considerable disagreement from across the table. Chris Hopkins, managing director of Ploughcroft, said running his company had been “like the Pepsi Max at Blackpool,” mainly because he had seen turnover and staff grow considerably after his company has invested in providing training for solar panel fitters, only for that part of the business to collapse after the Government severely cut back on feed-in tariffs. He had had to cut numbers from 80 to 25 in six months, he said, and laying such numbers off had been the hardest thing he had ever done, partly because many of them has just had babies.

Victoria Hopkins [no relation], also disagreed, saying she took staff issues “very personally”.

“My staff will certainly make sacrifices for me,” she said.

The argument then broadened out into whether there was a difference in approach depending on whether you were family owned, like Hopkins, or private equity-backed, like Volvox. Killingbeck admitted that the responses he had generated had all come from private equity-backed businesses, and Brooks said he would never bring external funding into his business. He wasn’t trying to be philanthropic in trying to find employment for all family members, as a relative of his was being with his business. “The wonderful thing about running your own business is that what you do becomes your choice,” he said.

“I accept that is different from someone trying for all out capital growth.”

However Renton pointed out that private equity-backed businesses did build value in the long run.

working for an American private equity firm “who made Genghis Khan look like a social worker” had hardened him, he had carried much the same management team around with him in 20 years of doing deals, and they had benefited greatly. At the same time, he had increased staff number by 10% across the recession.

On the personal side he was a significant support of a charity for disabled people – “those are people who need our support, not people who have their own choice to make,” he said. And he revealed that he had stepped in to fund annual dinners for former staff of now no longer existing Leeds-based family firms when the families themselves had declined to get involved. His concern for his own family, he said, probably stemmed from

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having a former miner as a father who had died leaving virtually nothing.

Whatever the circumstances, Daniel Lee also agreed that private equity could have its merits. He urged Brooks to consider such investment as he said it had helped relieve his company of many of the issues Brooks was facing. “It’s allowed us to become risk taking again,” he said, “and I have not found it challenging. The private equity investors are certainly not saying: ‘It’s been three years now, why haven’t you sold?’”

He also claimed having such an investor backer would also have helped in the family business he left to set up Pharmacy2U – a family business which has now been sold on. “I think we could have done a lot more with someone challenging us like they do now,” he said. >>

Third way Hall said there was a third way: how he behaved as an entrepreneur was not entirely selfish. While he said an early experience at

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It’s never too early to start planning for the exit from your business

We need to value the sustainable growth that can come from lifestyle businesses and get off the corporate hamster wheel

Twiddle agreed that family businesses he came across in his current line of work often left much to be desired, particularly with older family members refusing to move on and sitting around “like Nick on The Apprentice”.

Bringing in a non-related financial director to one such firm had been a real breath of fresh air, he said.

But at the same time he warned that focusing too much on the capital growth route of rapidly building up a business to sell it on had nearly cost him dearly at the start of the recession too. “I had thought of setting up a smaller business than the one I had before,” he said. “I thought I could do it with my eyes closed - build it up with nine people and then persuade the management team to take it on.

I had the whole thing sketched out over five

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

to seven years. But I realise now that I didn’t try and build the business. I was trying to build a model instead, and it took financial pressure for us to really look at what the business was.

We had to start at the bottom, but it was much more fun.”

In conclusion, he said there was one big issue all people considering exits had to consider.

“If you own a small company, by default that means somebody thinks they are buying a sustainable business, and probably by default are buying it without you,” he said. “So if you are going to remain at all, you won’t be there very long, and the new owners probably don’t intend for you to be there for very long.

Somehow that business has to be sustainable without you. It is very easy as owner managers to forget that.” n

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“Running and selling a business is an emotional rollercoaster: selling in particular can be an exhausting experience, made worse if you’ve built the business up from nothing, nurtured it and committed a big part of your life to it.

“Despite the current economic hard times, it always makes sense to think about an exit, because you have to plan well ahead.

“Despite the wrench of letting it go, it is frequently the ultimate aim for many entrepreneurs – to provide a nest egg for retirement, security for the wider family, or simply to go off and do it all again.

“It’s never too early to start planning an exit – in some cases even before you start the business. Consider who you are most likely to sell to – if someone is taking over, are they the perfect fit? Could you bring on existing staff to take over?

“How you view what your staff will think of the changes depends on a great many things, not just whether you are private equity-backed or are a family business. Bringing in private equity as a partial exit can free you up as a business owner, but so can bringing in a non-family member executive if you are in a family firm.

“Even if the intention isn’t to sell from the outset, the sensible things that we would recommend doing to make it attractive to a purchaser and to ease the sale process, are all things which will make your business more efficient on a day-to-day basis, creating a far leaner, more saleable operation that will stand up successfully even without you at the helm.”

Dan Renton is corporate finance director at Deloitte in Yorkshire

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

AUTUMN 12

Filtronic lands airport berth, miner’s new Scarborough digs, construction firm stays close to home, top spot gets double boost, games deal completed, and LEP of faith for major conference >> Four new tenants at new look Joseph’s Well The Yorkshire and Humber region of the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) has become the latest tenant to take space in newly refurbished Joseph’s Well in the west end of Leeds.

The WEA has taken 4,000 sq ft on a ten-year lease in a deal negotiated by Leeds-based Robinson and Gregory, after 40 years in the nearby Swarthmore Centre.

At the same time Leeds internet services company Profiled has taken an 800 sq ft office suite in the building, where rents are £15.75 per sq ft, including all service charges, and are fixed for three years.

Earlier in the summer the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Forum, also known as Involve Yorkshire and Humber, moved back into the building, taking two suites totalling 1,360 sq ft on a three-year lease. Fundraising Vision also took a 507 sq ft unit on a threeyear lease.

WEA regional operations manager Deb Collins said the move had been long awaited. “We designed the internal layout of the office space with J Pullan, the developers of Joseph’s Well, and this has enabled us to create a lovely office environment that really meets our needs,” she said.

The 156,000 sq ft building has been through a major refurbishment, making it the largest office refurbishment to come on to the market in the city this year.

J Pullan & Sons carried out the renovation on behalf of a family trust. Property director Bruce Strachan said: “The refurbishment has been a true labour of love and these two new lettings are a vindication of the work we have done. Joseph’s Well is now flooded with light from above through a new rooflight and glass staircase which gives it a modern, cutting-edge ambience. We have used 3 km of wallpaper to enhance the office suites and corridors, while the new entrance and reception, together with the elegant staircase and meeting rooms, create a fantastic first impression.”

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Paul Hallam, head of Knight Frank’s valuations team in Leeds, said: “Tom is a valuable addition to our team. He will be undertaking valuations of both residential and commercial property and his expertise and experience will help with the expansion of the department.”

>> Filtronic looks to airport Wireless communications supplier Filtronic has taken space at Unit 3, Airport West in Leeds.

The listed company has taken the brand new 8,220 sq ft office building at the park, next to Leeds Bradford Airport on the Harrogate Road, on a ten-year lease.

DTZ director Mike Baugh, who negotiated the deal, said: “Airport West offered the ideal building for Filtronic and the move will see a significant investment in their operation within the region.”

Carl Wright, director of Jack Lunn Properties, which owns Airport West, said the deal “demonstrates the quality of space that we have at Airport West combined with the competitive terms we were able to offer to prospective occupiers”.

WSB Property Consultants and Harvey Burns both acted for Jack Lunn in brokering the deal.

>> Knight Frank expands Knight Frank has appointed Tom Storrar, formerly of Edward Symmons in Leeds, to join its Leeds office.

After spending two years in Edward Symmons’ valuation services division, Storrar went on to work for Sanderson Weatherall and Deloitte in Leeds.

He said: “The chance to join Knight Frank’s team in Leeds was too good to miss.

“These are exciting times for the property market in Yorkshire, as we begin to emerge from recession.”

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>> York Potash makes Scarborough home York Potash, the company exploring the possibility of building a new mine in the North York Moors, has moved into new offices at Scarborough Business Park in a deal negotiated by Langleys Solicitors.

The brand new premises will provide a base in Yorkshire for the company’s operations in the North in and around Scarborough and Whitby.

York Potash director William Woods said: “We are pleased now to have a base in Scarborough that will support the work we’re conducting in the area.”

>> Clinical company retained for York Shepherd Developments has secured ACM Global Central Laboratory as a long-term tenant for its new two-storey office facility in York known as ‘The Edge’.

ACM Global Central Laboratory’s UK facility provides testing services in support of clinical trials in human subjects throughout Europe, Israel and South Africa.

The company opened its UK offices in 2000 and currently employs 62 people in York.

The company will relocate to the new

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14,500 sq ft property on York’s Hospital Fields Road from Aviator Court in Clifton Moorgate.

ACM has signed a long-term lease agreement for the new premises and will convert the ground floor into laboratories before moving later in the year.

Richard Squire, project director at Shepherd Developments, said: “Hopefully, the flexibility of the property will facilitate growth for this international business in York for years to come.” Shepherd Developments was advised

by James Knowles, an associate solicitor at the Leeds office of Irwin Mitchell.

He said: “This is good news for the City of York, having retained a business which will add to York’s growing reputation as a place for the highly specialised science and medical based industry.”

Jones Lang LaSalle acted as agents for Shepherd Developments.

Blacks Solicitors and Laurence Hannah acted for ACM Global Central Labs.

>> Construction firm stays close to home Gardiner & Theobald has taken 1,300 sq ft at the refurbished 15 St Paul’s Street in Leeds.

Matthew Mills, a partner in the construction consultancy’s Leeds office, said the firm, which has been operating in Leeds for 30 years, was keen that it should not relocate too far away from its existing client base, and so wanted to move only a few streets away from where it was previously located in Park Place.

DTZ surveyor Maria Taylor-Pick, who advised the company, said: “The company wished to remain in the heart of the business district within close proximity to all amenities and we were able to accommodate this. “The building provides refurbished Grade A accommodation on the vibrant St Paul’s Street, located just off Park Square.” Patrick Carter, an associate at letting agent Savills said: “This letting represents the quality of tenant that 15 St Paul’s Street attracts. It also highlights the opportunities refurbished Grade B offices offer in today’s market.”

COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

(left to right) Alex Duckett and Ed Harrowsmith of Knight Frank, Richard Thornton of Jones Lang LaSalle and Jonathan Gale of Bray, Fox Smith

>> Two large lets at no 1 IVG’s No 1 Leeds development has taken on two new tenants totalling nearly 70,000 sq ft in deals negotiated by Knight Frank, Jones Lang LaSalle, and London agency Bray Fox Smith.

Energy company GDF Suez has agreed to lease 30,000 sq ft on a 10-year lease, while Yorkshire Post Newspapers (YPN) has taken 40,000 sq ft.

The energy company is moving from its existing UK headquarters in the city, at 1 City Walk.

YPN managing director Helen Oldham said the new premises would provide a home for its Leeds and Wakefield businesses: “The move signifies a sizeable investment in our people and will provide an environment in which we can take our highly regarded media brands forward positively,” she said.

The former Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post building, which opened in 1970, once housed more than 1,300 staff but now has less than 400 staff based there.

The two deals at No 1, which BAM sold to IVG in 2007, follow on from a deal struck earlier this year that saw advertising agency Gratterpalm take 19,000 sq ft at the building.

There is now only one floor, comprising 15,500 sq ft, on the 120,000 sq ft building left to let.

Alex Duckett, office agency specialist with Knight Frank, said: “These lettings firmly establish No 1 Leeds as a prime office building. We have worked hard to reposition No 1 Leeds in the market to both occupiers and agents and change the previous perception of the building from when it was called Latitude Red. Owners IVG have assembled a tremendous team at all levels.”

Richard Thornton of Jones Lang LaSalle commented: “Both the Yorkshire Post and GDF Suez chose this special building above all others in Leeds because it contains so many desirable, hispec and sustainable features in a bright working environment.

“The high-quality design and the accessible location are perfect for any occupier looking for highly efficient space.” Sim Khatkar of Bray Fox Smith added: “It is also one of the most energy efficient buildings in Leeds with a higher than normal occupational density, so the occupier saves money from the outset.”

>> DTZ gets access DTZ and Dove Haigh Phillips have been appointed joint agents on Access 63, an industrial park speculatively developed by Shepherd Developments near Selby.

The five industrial units range in size from 15,000 to 40,000 sq ft, with the potential to combine units to provide up to 65,000 sq ft.

In addition the site offers a further four acres

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of development land, which can accommodate up to 80,000 sq ft.

The scheme overlooks the A63 with good access to M62, and the units are available on either a freehold or leasehold basis.

DTZ director Mike Baugh said: “The units have been completed to an excellent specification and offer an attractive and accessible working environment.”

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

>> US gaming studio opens up in Leeds US gaming and software company Activision has leased 11,000 sq ft of office space at the Broad Gate in Leeds city centre in a deal brokered by DTZ. The new office will house the company’s new mobile gaming development studio, The Blast Furnace.

Owned by Highcross Developments, Broad Gate, originally designed as Leeds’ first purpose-built department store, is a listed building and occupies a prominent position on The Headrow. The building has been redeveloped by Highcross and features 160,000 sq ft of design-led contemporary office space.

Highcross director Richard Pellat said: “The building offers Grade A office space with stunning views over the city. We have enjoyed a high level of letting activity over recent months and securing Activision’s newest global development studio is a major triumph for our building.”

Eamon Fox, associate director at DTZ, said: “The Broad Gate office scheme is a unique building with superb prominence and stature, offering occupiers’ impressive office accommodation. It was a suitable match for Activision due to its ability to provide the largest floor plate available anywhere within central Leeds.”

>> Five-a-side at millshaw Evans Property Group has let a 50,000 sq ft warehouse at its Millshaw Park development in south Leeds to @Futsal, a company specialising in Futsal, the official FIFA and FA indoor five-a-side football format.

The warehouse is currently being converted into a high-tech centre with eight pitches,

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changing rooms, a bar, coffee lounge and a conference room. There is also an area devoted to training and education, with ample room for parking and a large number of spectators. @Futsal has taken a 10-year lease on the warehouse in the deal, which was negotiated by Knight Frank.

Knight Frank’s industrial property specialist Tom Lamb said: “This is a tremendous letting for everyone concerned. Apart from creating 30 new and mainly local jobs, it underlines the popularity of Millshaw Park, the best located industrial park in south Leeds”.

Catherine Godfrey of the Leeds-based Evans Property Group, said: “The high-profile nature of our new tenant will help to put Millshaw Park on the map and emphasise the park’s excellent location and facilities.”

>> Carter Jonas makes it to level three Carter Jonas has taken offices at Carlton Tower in St Paul’s Street, Leeds.

The property consultant has taken a five year lease on 1,240 sq ft on the third floor.

The firm is relocating from its offices at Park Place as a result of expansion.

It joins other surveying practices Gent Visick and Storeys Edward Symmons at the building. Carlton Tower extends to over 21,400 sq ft over six storeys. The space has been recently refurbished and comes with private ground floor level parking.

A range of suites from 1,240 to 2,590 sq ft are available at a quoting rent of £12.95 per sq ft.

Steven Jones, senior surveyor at letting agent Ryden said: “Carlton Tower is becoming a ‘surveyors’ hotspot’.”

>> Leeds in first retail venture for bank Gatehouse Bank, a wholesale Shariacompliant investment bank based in the City of London, has bought the Debenhams department store in Leeds from the receiver KPMG for £33.4m, representing a net initial yield of 6.35%.

The deal is the first venture into retail for the bank, which has a real estate portfolio

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worth over £575m. Arranged over six levels, the 107,181 sq ft store is one of the most prominent retail assets in the city centre.

Debenhams has demonstrated a long term commitment to the property, having occupied the building in its entirety for more than 15 years. The new owners have also been banking on a city whose shopping population is projected to increase by 11% by 2018.

Scott Nicol, vice-president of real estate at Gatehouse, said: “The property is in a particularly desirable area of the city centre, where both retail and real estate fundamentals are extremely strong.

“Major shopping centres such as Leeds are continuing to see high levels of demand, even in the face of a wider economic slow-down, and the prime retail market has remained remarkably resilient. These factors are all key for investors searching for high quality assets, and the Debenhams acquisition typifies our strategy of purchasing long income properties with well-established tenants and which deliver an attractive yield.”

CBRE advised KPMG and Franc Warwick advised Gatehouse.

>> Signs on the centre Corporate and digital signage company Signlex has taken new space in the redeveloped Broad Gate building on the Headrow in Leeds. The redevelopment has retained 80% of the original structure of the building, which first opened in 1932, while the interior is now contemporary.

Signlex managing director Simon Belton said: “We wanted a location that would have great transport links for both ourselves and our visitors.

“The building really has the wow-factor: with its glass interior and white decoration, it looks more like a place you would find in New York.”

Chloe Kerr, centre manager for Pure Offices at Broadgate said: “We are providing an independent style of offices with the units being unfurnished to allow companies to brand their own space and use the office in a way which suits their specific business needs.”

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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY

>> Stylish move to York Westrow York – part of a seven-strong chain of hairdressers across Yorkshire - has completed a deal to move to new premises in the centre of York.

Rachel White, the franchisee of the York business, has taken a new lease of the premises at 31 Swinegate, which has seen her business move from its previous city-centre location at High Petergate.

White, who has already fully refurbished the premises, said: “I’m delighted with our new premises on Swinegate.

“The new salon is housed in a premium area of the city and now the refurbishment is complete, we can ensure our clients can sit back and relax, enjoying a wonderful hairdressing experience in a great location.” The move was supported with advice from Langleys Solicitors.

>> Conference wins LEP backing Unfold, a conference aimed at highlighting property inward investment opportunities in the Leeds City Region to potential investors, is coming back for its second year, this time with the support of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) alongside 11 local authorities.

The event, which is due to take place at Leeds Town Hall on 18 October, will include high-profile speakers from Land Securities, IBM, Deloitte, MEPC, and Allied London.

Attendees will also hear from the region’s key decision makers including the leader of Leeds City Council, Coun Keith Wakefield, Leeds City Council’s chief executive Tom Riordan and Lurene Joseph, chief executive of Marketing Leeds. The event is being organised

by Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce. Mark Goldstone, the Chamber’s head of policy and representation, said: “This is a significant show of support from the regional authorities who recognise that the event will bring investors and occupiers into the Leeds City Region to experience first-hand the very high level of opportunity and potential available to them. Supporting this event sends out a strong message that

>> Games firm goes out of town Gamestec Leisure has taken 14,173 sq ft at WIRA Business Park in the largest out of town office letting completed in Leeds in over three years.

The park offers 110,000 sq ft and has seen 30,000 sq. ft. of new lettings and the same in renewals over the last 18 months. It is currently has only 10,000 sq ft remaining, which can be let for single or multi-occupation from 1,000 sq ft upwards.

Gamestec HR director Neil Lancaster said: “The park offers us the opportunity for our staff to all be on one level which is crucial for communication. Previously we were split over several levels.

We have the potential to grow here too, and we just liked the buzz of the place, it is very much what Gamestec are all about.”

The company will join Leeds West CCG, Rivendell, Rilwood, Explorer, LDD Group, Thompson Contact Lenses, Leeds Primary Care Trust and Great Lengths as tenants.

Alex Hyams, an asset Manager at Highcross, which owns the park, said: “Gamestec’s decision to choose WIRA Business Park as their new base, in what is an exciting and important chapter for their business, highlights the appeal of the park. We have a gym and café onsite along with great office space and a good parking provision. The scheme is almost full and provides a thriving business community which we hope will attract even more occupiers.”

Joint letting agents on WIRA Business Park are Ryden and WSB Property.

the public and private sector are united in wishing to see growth in our region and will work collaboratively to ensure success for organisations who wish to invest or expand their operations here.”

Leeds City Region LEP chair Neil McClean said: “Our ultimate goal is to bring investment in the city region and the best way to achieve this is by working together.”

>> Try first at York Property developer S Harrison has launched a ‘try before you buy’ scheme for business contemplating moving to its Escrick Business Park development in York – and has already attracted new occupiers as a result.

The scheme is designed to help businesses

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learn more about potential new commercial space before committing to buying. Potential buyers initially rent space on a twelve month lease. If they opt to buy the office or warehouse unit at the end of the year, all the rent they have paid is effectively refunded as a discount against the purchase price. The park includes 19 office and 14 industrial units available on a freehold or leasehold basis. Phil Hill, of S Harrison, said: “Many businesses are talking to us about moving onto the site but due to the economic conditions, businesses are worried about making commitments. This scheme is about testing the water, seeing how the site fits their business needs, and then if everything works out after 12 months, there is the option to buy the property.”

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ENTREPRENEUR

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ENTREPRENEUR

I didn’t have any major ideas on how I would develop the company, but I couldn’t see why it couldn’t be profitable

A new life through cakes After taking more than a decade off to raise a family, Viv Parry found a new passion in turning around a failed Leeds bakery. It’s been hard work, but, she tells Peter Baber, she wouldn’t change a thing

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Viv Parry is someone who could be said to have had her cake and eaten it. Which is just as well, as the company she now runs is called Exquisite Handmade Cakes. It sells upmarket cakes to the catering and food supply industries. And she is doing very well with it too – expanding the number of units the company uses at the industrial estate off the Kirkstall Road from two when she started to six now, and taking headcount up from four to 30.

But we are not being particularly facetious when we talk about having your cake and eating it. This is a lady who by her own account has had two more than averagely good careers - one in accountancy, one >>

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ENTREPRENEUR

running the business she runs now, and in between a ten-year period – “no woman would let you get away with calling it a break,” she says – when she was able to stay at home to bring up her three daughters.

Many, many women have strived for such a career. Few have been so successful. So how did Parry manage it? By not planning, seems to be one answer. Her decision to become a full-time mother, for example, came at the end of a long sequence of arbitrary events.

Initially training with a minor accountancy practice in the North East – a region she had only been attracted to because that was where her brother had gone to university – Parry was accepted through the hallowed doors of PricewaterhouseCoopers because of her success in passing her accountancy exams first time around. Although she loved accountancy, and during her time at PwC worked on the Sage flotation, she decided she didn’t really

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want to work towards becoming a partner.

She wanted to do something. “My job had become all about servicing other people who are doing things,” she says. “So I left PwC, and eventually got an opportunity to work for a transport company that operated out of Ferryhill in County Durham. However I clearly hadn’t done my due diligence well enough, because within a year the liquidators came in. By that time I had made good connections with a couple of the other guys, and we decided to have a go at buying out the Leeds division of our old company. The Leeds division was profitable, and had some good solid contracts. It was one of those classic cases of a business expanding, and then crashing because of the expansion, but the profitable bit is still there. So our group camped out in KPMG in Leeds, putting our proposal together.

We had got really far: we had legal backing from what was then Simpson Curtis and

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financial backing, but then at the last minute one of the guys wanted out. The rest of us thought: ‘Could you not have reflected on that a little bit sooner?’ I actually thought: ‘What do I do now?’ because after an experience like that you are really fired up to do something big. So I got married. Yes, my now ex-husband proposed to me in the middle of all that, and I said yes.”

That was in February 1991, and her first daughter appeared on the scene barely 11 months later. That was when decisions about her future career really took hold. “At the time I was just doing temporary accouting work, and I was all lined up to get a childminder. I even took her to one for a day when she was six weeks old, but I was beside myself with worry. I rang my dad and said: ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ As wise fathers do, he said: ‘Do you have to do it?’ and I said: ‘No.’ So he said: ‘Well don’t then.’

“Because in all honesty I didn’t have to.

I then stayed at home for 11 years.”

One reason why she didn’t have to was because her husband had built up a very successful business as a quantity surveyor.

She admits she was lucky here. But she says even then she would not have done anything differently. “I created lots of memories for the children with play dough and going to the park. During that time I also did a couple of A-levels - that was how I kept my brain in gear. But I just wanted them to have that feeling of how they are wonderful, because that gives you confidence to step out into the world, and do whatever it is you want to do.”

That said, when she did start wanting to get back to work again when her youngest daughter went off to school, she was determined to do so, even if that led to friction both with her husband and her other lady friends she had met during her time off who were more than happy to carry on leading the ladies that lunch lifestyle and felt she should be too.

That was when the opportunity with what became Exquisite Handmade Cakes turned up. She was initially brought in just to do the bookkeeping for the bakery that used to operate on the company’s site in an industrial estate off Kirkstall Road, but quickly got into sales as well. But once again in no time at

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There are quite a few barriers to exporting food but it’s not impossible.

The main thing is that we can’t swamp the market here, we have to keep our product high

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ENTREPRENEUR all the company was in trouble when the investment company that was backing it pulled out.

Parry was not surprised it did. It had been persuaded to invest heavily in a licensing agreement with Antony Worrall Thompson – the bakery had even taken on an extra unit at the industrial estate to cope with expected demand – but the expected sales never came.

“The trouble was they were only producing high end fruit cakes that clearly are very seasonal,” she says.

“I didn’t have any major ideas on how I would develop the company, but I couldn’t see why it couldn’t be profitable if you just got rid of the awful seasonal aspect of the sales and got the right products.”

When the bakery was finally put into liquidation, and an opportunity arose to acquire the assets for £20,000, Parry took it. But once again she was in a sense lucky.

You might not necessarily call being recently divorced lucky, but it had left her with some capital. “It sounds flippant, but at the time – April 2004 - £20,000 wasn’t a massive investment, and I could afford to lose it. Nick, my ex-husband, had bought me a house which was mortgage free. I could use that as collateral to get working capital.”

She certainly didn’t squander either opportunity. She has never actually baked a cake herself on the premises, but she has done much to improve the results of those who do.

To begin with it was just a case of expanding the range and moving it away from such seasonal dependency by including traybakes and other more standard cakes as well. “We built up relationships with distributors first locally and then nationally,” she says. “At that stage we didn’t do any advertising, because my accountancy background wouldn’t allow me to spend money on that. We did all our work by word of mouth.”

But that changed when the company was approached by Kent Frozen Foods, which was looking for a new company to develop a range of individually wrapped products for them after their original supplier had gone under. The initially disappointing sales of the product they worked on together puzzled her, so seeking some advice she was put in touch with Design Futures, the semi-commercial >>

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ENTREPRENEUR design agency run out of Sheffield Hallam University, and in particular to its packaging creative director John Kirkby.

“He made me realise that we had just plonked a food service style label onto what was a retail product. We had completely covered it up.” Together they came up with new more consumer friendly design, and out of that sprang the love heart shape that is now the company’s logo. “I have a huge amount of respect for John now,” she says. “He completely gets what I am trying to do. I don’t have to sit and explain things.”

To raise the profile of the brand further last November Exquisite Handmade Cakes did its first trade show as well – thanks in part to a loan of £50,000 from Finance Yorkshire – the 100th such funding allocation the public sector grant body has made since it came into existence. “We did the Lunch trade show down at the Old Billingsgate in London,” she says. “I said to the team at the start that all I want to do is raise brand awareness, but we got one fantastic lead from it which is how we ended up at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. You can’t get much better branding than that. It is important to me that my brand is recognised by buyers and chefs, and people who are organising events. At Chelsea none of the consumers would have known where our cakes come from, but the guys doing the shelves would have done.”

That said, she has not completely ruled out the possibility of turning the business more towards the consumer. The company took part in the Leeds Loves Food event at the Corn Exchange, and she believes there is demand out there, possibly in the form of some kind of weekly online delivery service. “A guy has been coming here every Friday since we started to buy a couple of cakes to take to his office,” she says. “There must be a market for that. With the right people on board we can do it. We are about to put some products in with Yorvale ice cream in the Museum Gardens in York. That should be a good tester.

We have also got products on board Jet2 and Grand Central. I think an online option would work in the right hands.”

She is not so convinced about the possibility of developing branded stores – at least not in this country. Having just come back from a trade

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mission to America, she thinks an overseas retail option might be a more interesting idea. “There’s a massive appetite for all things British over there,” she says. “They don’t really have what we do. There are quite a few barriers to exporting food, it is true, but it is not impossible. The main thing is that we can’t swamp the market here. We have got to keep our product high end.”

It won’t surprise anyone to hear that she is not interested in seeing her product in the major supermarkets. “I would rather kill myself than see my product in there,” she says. “They are not in the business of building relationships with suppliers. They are in the business of screwing down margins.”

But what does delight her in these new ventures is that now that her eldest daughter has reached university age and is starting out on a career, she can be there working with her, at least temporarily. “I can’t describe what it feels like to have my own daughter sitting in a meeting that I am not part of and to know it is going wonderfully,” she says.

“It is so gratifying.”

It is also important, she says, because like herself at a similar age her daughter has a creative bent but is not sure what she can do with it. “I did arty things at school and never did anything with it,” she says, “and I can see that if you do something like that and you don’t know where it is going to take you, you have not got the motivation to succeed. I very much wanted my daughter not to go through that. So here she is doing PR, she is speaking

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to journalists, to design people.

“Any of those might be the way she ends up going in her career.”

There is another reason why this is important too. Just two years after Parry had started the business, and when the daughters were all still at school, her ex-husband suddenly died.

“I will never go through anything as tough at that again,” she says. “Initially Nick and I were sharing care, so I had a clear week. But after that I was careering from here to their school in Ilkley every afternoon, always late, always getting it in the neck, with them moaning about why I ever launched this business.

“I did get negative press from the other mothers too.”

But, as you might expect, she didn’t see it all from one side. “I also knew that I wanted to keep a high standard of living for both me and them, and I wanted to take nice holidays because I believe the world is not just here, it is out there.

“And to do that you have to work.”

So, having now turned 50, is she an example of a businesswoman who has had it all? She thinks not.

“I had put my career on hold – there is no way I could have gone back to one of the big accountancy firms after taking 11 years off, for example. I came back to it in a completely different way, but I am really happy with it.

Quite a few delegates on this trade mission I have just been on were older women were setting up businesses late in life. They have skills, so why not?” Why not indeed. n

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.

BUSINESS LUNCH

AUTUMN 12

Global focus, Yorkshire roots Andrew Aitken, the head of UBS in Yorkshire, has perfectly respectable Yorkshire roots, even if he and his firm have enough global knowledge to help you invest. Peter Baber spoke to him at the Star Inn in Harome For many years it was a subject of gossip among many financial advisers and wealth management professionals working in Yorkshire. Would UBS, one of the biggest global names in the wealth management industry, finally open an office in Leeds, as many of its competitors already have done?

Given that the organisation already had offices in both Manchester and Newcastle, worked by staff who were already serving Yorkshire adequately, the question might

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seem superficial. But a presence in a region matters, especially when you consider that UBS has more clients in Yorkshire than in any other region in the UK outside London.

Last year the bank finally ended the rumours and opened an office in City Square. And not only is it now present in Yorkshire, but the person it has chosen to head the new Leeds office can claim to be an authentic Yorkshireman, - by way of Kentucky, New York, and, latterly, London.

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Andrew Aitken was born and brought up in Guisborough (the more pernickety person might claim this is in Teesside, but officially anywhere south of the Tees still counts as Yorkshire). His foray across the Atlantic came about because he proved to be a champion swimmer, and won a scholarship to study at the University of Kentucky, where he says the sports facilities, and the way the university course was run, were much more attuned to the needs of someone who was bidding for

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a place in Olympic history.

“I know it’s probably better now,” he says, “but back then in 1991 there were probably only five to six competition-standard pools in the whole of the UK. And yet there were three within the University of Kentucky campus alone. I also don’t know how the guys I was competing against who stayed in the UK then managed to do a degree, because unlike in the UK over in Kentucky everything was structured and built around our training.”

As it turned out the closest Andrew got to medal glory was being in the final of the men’s backstroke race in the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Canada, in 1994. He failed to make the grade to be in the Great Britain Olympic team for Atlanta in 1996, and so his swimming career came to an end – although he has admired from a distance the success of the swimmers in Team GB at London 2012.

But even at this point, he says, support for sports students in looking at alternative careers was much better in the USA than it ever would have been in Britain. By 1996 his degree course was coming to an end, and thanks to the American system of not letting you specialise in your first year he had already discovered that economics, rather than biology, was what he was really interested in. But the university also arranged for him to have a number of internships in financial services companies.

“The support for student athletes over there is much better,” he says. “They were always talking about what happens at the end of your sporting career.

“But then, perhaps they have to. After all, there are sometimes 100 guys in an American college football team, yet only 1% of them will make it to become professional.”

It was thanks to those internships that he got into financial advice, and there then followed a career first in New York and then from 2005 with UBS back home in London – with a wife from Tennessee – before he came north to run the Yorkshire office at the start of this year.

He has already done his research well, however, as the place he has chosen for our interview is the Star Inn at Harome, one of Yorkshire’s most celebrated dining pubs. And although he has been here a couple of times before with his wife for a glorious lunch

BUSINESS LUNCH

Outside people might think it incredibly risky to have all your investments in a private firm, and we preach diversity to them daily

when they were still living in London, it turns out he has tested it out more recently too: the restaurant provided the catering for a UBS event at nearby Duncombe Park earlier this year. “But I was so busy running around speaking to clients that I didn’t really have time to enjoy any of the food,” he says.

He makes up for it now. From an extraordinarily extensive menu he goes for the pan-roasted fillet of sea bass with ‘Pommes Biarritz’, langoustine gravy and deep-fried devilled whitebait with York ham. The sea bass is a replacement for North Sea monkfish, which are temporarily unavailable. I opt for one of the specials, baked macaroni of Harome shot hare with yellow chanterelle mushrooms, York ham, and Chianti gravy.

I pause only to contemplate that I am about

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to eat for the first time a creature I would probably have difficulty distinguishing from a rabbit in the wild. It turns, out, however, to be rich and fulfilling, and Andrew is equally pleased with his sea bass. We later finish the meal with two espressos, thoughtfully accompanied by shots of water to relieve the bitter taste.

So, getting down to business, now that he is back in his native county, how does he find the clients he meets from there, especially compared with those he might have met down in London?

“The major difference with London is the mix of clients,” he says. “In London our customers are more likely to be professionals and executives. London is also a lot more transient: people who work there aren’t necessarily >>

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BUSINESS LUNCH going to retire there, or even in the UK. Here in Yorkshire in contrast a very high percentage are business owners with no plans to leave.”

This does not, however, mean that they are more conservative, he says.

“They perhaps have a different perception of risk. Outside people might think it incredibly risky to have all your investments in a private firm, and we preach diversification to them daily. But you have to recognise that if you are the person in control of that risk, as you are when you are the business’s owner, you don’t regard it as a risk.”

That sounds as if he is battling against a fair few people who have betrayed a bit of classic Yorkshire stubbornness, and insisting that they know what they want. But if so, Andrew politely deflects such a question by pointing out that such attitudes are not new to him anyway. “I think you will find a typical hedge fund manager client down in London will certainly know what they want,” he chuckles.

He is much more effusive on what UBS can offer the wealthy people of Yorkshire - those with liquid assets in excess of £1m – which other providers possibly cannot. “UBS is one of few global financial firms focused solely on wealth management,” he says. “Unlike the wealth management arms of the big corporate, retail and investment banks, the core of our business is wealth management.

That makes a huge difference in the resources we provide. When I was looking for a job back in London in 2005, UBS had far and away best platform for clients. The resources we can bring along are far greater, as is our depth of expertise. We have over 100 analysts in the UK just looking at wealth management, not asset management or anything else. That’s often the size of the whole research department of your average asset management firm. “Then if we want a view on German equities, for example. we can tap into that through our German office. And for the client it is nice to know that the analysts have no corporate relationship there.” He says the bank has been boosted particularly last year by the appointment of Alexander Friedman, who previously ran the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as chief investment officer. I quip that anyone who used to advise Bill Gates must be worth a go.

Andrew smiles. “Yes, but his team will look at

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You should only focus on yourself. You have a huge team to get you to that point, but then it’s up to you

the world, and tell you as a customer that they think you should be in certain areas. We might even get Mohammed El Erian from Pimco give his views. We manage one trillion Swiss Francs worth of assets, so we can get other investment managers we have large funds with and use them.” In recent months some media attention on UBS has unfortunately focused on the trial in London of Kweku Adoboli, a former UBS trader accused of a £2.3bn fraud. Andrew is quick to point out,

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however, that Adoboli was a lone player, and UBS is a huge global firm. The real challenge for him, he says, is distilling all that expertise and advice down into something that can be useful at the local Yorkshire level. “We need to be identifying what the client needs, and getting the right people in front of them. We know that business owners usually take a long time to build networks. We want to be part of that network. That kind of operation works very well in regional offices. But it is difficult

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to do that from London.”

UBS clearly takes such relationship building seriously, because Andrew says he and the three other client advisers will typically only deal with a maximum of 30 clients. And although he wants at least to double staff numbers in the next five years, that ratio he insists will stay the same. Most other wealth managers, even those with as high an entry threshold as UBS, I imagine, would be prepared to dilute their client-customer relationships a little more.

So what has he noticed about these client’s attitudes these days? One thing he says is very noticeable is that they are moving away from preparing for an “Armageddon” scenario. Back at the start of the recession, in the wake of the Lehman collapse, there was very real fear that the world was on the brink of a financial apocalypse, and so there was a big rush to gold – always seen as a stable investment in such scenarios – and a vogue for putting your money in cash deposits that would be easily retrievable. Andrew says such attitudes are beginning to change. “People don’t think that the world is going to end any more,” he says, “and they are not happy about the returns they are getting from cash, because they are lousy. There is certainly more appetite for taking on risk assets.”

At the same time, however, there are still customers who are nervous about taking on a hugely high level of risk. “Clients want very transparent structures,” says Andrew. “They want to see what is going on in their portfolio, and want to move away from hedge funds and alternative risks.”

That’s why he says UBS’s third party cash offering is proving popular. “It may sound dull and boring,” he says, “but with it the client can open a UBS account, but then invest cash among different providers. We make it easy for clients to transact in such a way. On the other end of the scale we have fantastic private equity investments. We can have a feeder vehicle which will invest in a range of companies, or you can invest in a single manager who will invest in companies underneath, or you can invest in fund which invest in a number of funds of funds.

“The choice, we would appear to be concluding, is up to you. The adviser is there

BUSINESS LUNCH

to help you, but in the end the client is the one making the decision.”

Andrew says that is one important lesson about life that he learned through swimming.

“You can only control what you can control,” he says. “When you get up for the start of a race, you are in your own lane, and it really doesn’t make any difference what the guy in the next lane does. If he is going to do a

world record then he will do a world record.

You should only focus on yourself. You have a huge team to get you to that point, but then it’s up to you. That’s certainly true for clients.

Sometimes you have to block out the noise and focus on what you as a family are looking for, what you are trying to achieve, and the best way of getting there. We are there to help you.” n

A true Star The Star at Harome is a rare example of a place that continues to impress you as you keep walking in. From the outside front it looks like your average village inn, albeit a good one. Walk inside and you appreciate the calm atmosphere with a clever design of tables that makes everywhere seem private. If it is a fine day, however, treat yourself to go out at the back and enjoy the open air bar, and the magical kitchen garden complete with an enormous banqueting table that chef and owner Andrew Pern says they often use for the cookery courses they also run. “That table cost about £120 to buy, and £2,000 to ship over from Thailand,” he laughs. “But you can easily get 20-odd people around there. This is certainly a diverse place. In fact, people fall in love with it. They get blown away by everything when they come, and sometimes forget about doing the deal.”

Andrew has been running the restaurant for 17 years – a lifetime in the catering trade. And he shows no signs of stopping. “I’ve currently got my fifth child on way, so one of them will go into catering,” he says. “I tell them they can make up their minds between themselves who it will be, or I will choose.”

The back section of the restaurant was developed four years ago, and he has subsequently sold off a fishmonger and butcher he used to own in nearby Helmsley to buy another pub at the other end of the village. You can’t actually stay at the Hare, but you can stay in one of eight rooms at the shooting lodge across the road he also owns. Or have the place to yourself for party. The Star can provide that for you too.

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SUCCESS STORY

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SUCCESS STORY

Cedar Court’s new rulers

The man who founded one of Yorkshire’s most successful hotel chains has stepped down after 26 years. Peter Baber meets the two directors who are now running the Cedar Court group Multinational companies are discerning customers. You would expect a company like Nestle to care about where it holds its annual conference for all its senior managers. And in recent years the pattern has indeed been very familiar: London, Paris, and Rio de Janeiro.

(Well, those harassed chocolate sellers need a bit of rest and relaxation sometimes.)

This September, however, a different destination has been added to the circuit: York. The company is, of course, a major employer in the city, but up until recently the lack of a five-star hotel there probably put the Swiss company’s management board off.

That has all changed since the Cedar Court Grand Hotel opened its doors a couple of years ago, and in particular since it achieved its five-star status in November last year.

Th meant that Nestle was more than happy to use it as a base for the grand get-together this September.

The development of the hotel – a conversion of the former North East Railway headquarters – has already been covered by this magazine.

But what takes the story on this time is that just as that five-star goal was reached, just as the big conferences were coming in, the man behind it all announced he was leaving.

Yes, 27 years after opening his first Cedar Court hotel just off the M1 motorway outside Wakefield, and at the age of 74, George Demetriou is stepping down as group managing director of the Acropolis Group, which owns the Cedar Court chain of hotels that includes Bradford, Huddersfield and Harrogate as well as Wakefield and York.

He will remain a non-executive of both the trading company and its holding company, but his old title will be taken on by Kevin Henry, who was previously group financial director, while group hotel director John Horvath will retain overall responsibility for day-to-day management of the hotels themselves.

Demetriou himself has remained famously publicity shy throughout his time at the helm, rarely granting an interview, even through the many years when his company was one of the fastest growing companies in Yorkshire. And

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even on retirement, he would only release a few short statements about what he felt. But his story is nonetheless one worth telling. He didn’t, for example, start out in hotels. The first place he opened after moving to Britain from his native Cyprus in 1957 was a coffee shop, and after that, in 1960, a steak house.

The steak house must have quickly made an impression, because Helen Shapiro came to sing at it shortly afterwards, accompanied by her support act, a group going by the name of the Beatles.

The coffee house and steak house empire grew, but, as Kevin Henry explains, things went into a different gear in 1978, because that was when he first bought a plot of land near the still relatively new motorway near Wakefield, and initially planned to open a 40-bedroom motel. Gerry Lumb, the managing director of what was then called Sirdar, a listed textile company based in Wakefield, heard about the plans, and decided he could persuade the mysterious new landowner to aim higher. “You tend to >>

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SUCCESS STORY forget that 25 years ago there weren’t many hotels on motorway junctions,” says Henry.

“Sirdar was mainly a hand knitting company which was extremely successful at that time, and had a lot of money in the bank earning interest but not doing much.”

Lumb thought that Wakefield would be better off with an 100-bed hotel, not motel, and more to the point a hotel with conference and banqueting facilities. “Big companies like Sirdar didn’t have anywhere to hold that sort of event in Wakefield,” says Henry.

Lumb sought a meeting with Demetriou.

In the course of proceedings the two men discovered they were next door neighbours, and had been for over a decade, but had never spoken to each other. Most unusually, Demetriou agreed to the two companies building the hotel as a joint venture. Henry thinks Demetriou “may have been attracted to the idea of building something more substantial”. But a joint venture between a textile company and a coffee shop owner that aimed to build such big property as its first foray into the hotel business? Henry smiles.

“Yes, it was perceived as odd, even in those days,” he says.

Nevertheless, the hotel, which opened in 1985, proved to be a success. Henry, who by this time had joined Sirdar from PwC, was brought in as company secretary of the joint venture, and a new hotel was opened in Bradford in 1995. This was retained by Sirdar when the joint venture demerged in 1997, while Acropolis Group retained the Wakefield hotel. But when Sirdar came under pressure to dispose of non-core assets in 2001 and a new owner failed to prosper, Acropolis bought the Bradford hotel back. By that time the company had also opened the two other hotels in Huddersfield, one which was formerly a Hilton, and Harrogate, a building that had formerly been NHS offices.

Demetriou is stepping down having achieved something he says he had always dreamed of – opening a five-star hotel in York. Henry, who was invited by Demetriou to come back to work for him in 2010 just months after he had finally left Sirdar (now called Airea) after 25 years, says the signs are good. “Just last week the Cedar Court Grand had its record ever week in terms of total revenue,” he says.

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L-R John Horvath, Mr Demetriou and Kevin Henry pictured outside Cedar Court Wakefield “It is also experiencing the highest occupancy levels within the group. In good weeks we are getting well over 80%.”

But what do the two new directors feel is the immediate focus as the group moves forward without its founder? Henry points out that he is managing director of the whole group, not just the hotels, and that in fact first priorities consist of “streamlining” the other parts of the business. This effectively means exiting the coffee bar business. At one stage Acropolis owned 16, when Henry joined there were four, now there are just two, both of which are in the process of being sold off. The group would

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rather not compete with the likes of Starbucks.

But the group also has some investment properties, including a business park right next to the Wakefield hotel, which it is intent on keeping. “There are three office blocks there which are easy to manage because they are near,” says Henry. “We have just had two refurbished, and will be marketing them soon.” Nevertheless, he concedes that in the more medium term the major focus has to be the hotels, and not now the Cedar Court: that is clearly doing well. It’s the three more corporate hotels that may need some adjusting. What has been particularly affecting

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Companies would in the past comfortably send 100 people for three days, with a free bar. Businesses don’t tend to do that now in recent years, he says, even allowing for the economic downturn, is the decline generally in the number of major business events and conferences that these three hotels were designed to serve.

“There are still a number of those, but not of the same magnitude,” he says. “Companies would in the past comfortably send 100 people for three days, with a free bar for a celebration. Businesses don’t tend to do that now. Either there is a one night stay or they do it all in one day. The sales reps still come, but maybe for two nights rather than three, and they may not have dinner at the hotel or even stay for breakfast in the morning. People are up at 6.30am then they are off.”

John Horvath is more bullish. He says there is still a thriving corporate market at the Huddersfield hotel, fed mainly by the banking businesses in Halifax and the chemicals firms in Huddersfield itself. But he agrees that there is more refocusing work to be done in Bradford and particularly in Wakefield.

That is why this summer has already seen the upgrading of 18 bedrooms at Wakefield, with the promise of further refurbishments at Huddersfield, Harrogate and Bradford in the next 12 months. “We have been producing boutique bedrooms and improving the beds to get a good night’s sleep,” he says. “The mattresses in the refurbished rooms are exactly the same as the ones we have in our five star hotel in York.”

The focus, he says, has been on making the hotels a more attractive leisure destination.

Thanks in part to the opening earlier in the year of the new Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield

SUCCESS STORY

and ongoing interest in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the results are already coming in.

“We have just had the best August in Wakefield in 26 years,” he says. “Last week we were up to 70% occupancy, whereas in January and February we were in the 40s and 50s.” He now hopes Bradford will benefit from the World Curry Festival held once again in the city in September. So there is work to be done.

Demetriou is not relinquishing ownership of the group, by any means. That remains split into two: 76% of the business is owned by him, with the rest owned by a Demetriou family trust.

So are either of the two new directors worried about stepping into the founder of the

business’s shoes, particularly when he still owns the company? Horvath says time has moved on, and the business had become too large to be run by someone with Demetriou’s entrepreneurial zeal on his own. Henry says he knows enough about the wider family – one of whom he used to work with at Sirdar - to feel secure.

“Bringing in a total unknown to a family business can be traumatic - look at what happened at Betty’s,” he says, referring to Andrew Baker’s departure from the familyowned tea business last year after just five months. “But I don’t know the story there.

As for me, I think it beneficial that they as a family could recruit somebody that they trusted and had confidence in.” n

Pleased at the Plaza The Cedar Court hotels are not the only ones in Yorkshire to have benefited from refurbishments this summer.

In the centre of Leeds, the Park Plaza has just finished refurbishing all of its 185 bedrooms, including a penthouse room which now includes the only bathroom TV in any Leeds hotel.

General manager Paul Rogers is hugely enthusiastic about the hotel’s potential. It opened in 2003, a sleek contemporary contrast to the warhorse that is the Queen’s Hotel just across City Square. Park Plaza, however, was only the franchise name. The freeholder owning the property, says Rogers, spent nothing on in it in subsequent years, committing the hotelier’s cardinal sin of not looking after your depreciation. As s a result, such a lack of spending was beginning to show. “Fortunately in 2010 Park Plaza as a brand managed to buy him out,” says Rogers, who has been general manager since then. “Now Park Plaza are the owners. But the problem is when you have an owner like that, if you have a product that is not performing the energy starts to sap. You lose focus on looking after customers.”

He realised when he came in that there were two areas he had to work on immediately: the product and the leadership. The product has been seen to with the refurbishment, which also extends to the hotel gym and lobby. The leadership issue had to be addressed by Rogers parting company with 10 of the dozen members of his then management team.

But he is now fully confident in his staff.

“We used to have a lot of business with lawyers and accountants, and we are starting to win that back,” he says. “We can also do medium size events, but if someone rings us up wanting a dinner for 300 or more, I say: ‘Have you tried the Queens?’”

He has no qualms about passing such business elsewhere. He says it was what was expected when he was previously south west regional manager for Thistle Hotels, a job which involved overseeing The Grand, Bristol’s equivalent of the Queen’s. “We had to keep relationships with the other hoteliers good, so that if we were having an event and we were too busy we could rely on a neighbouring hotel for the crew, for example,” he says.

Leeds’ offering is just as good as Bristol’s, if not better, he says. But the hotels need to gang together to compete effectively with Manchester and Liverpool. “We should focus on making the most of the Queen’s and the Royal Armouries as event venues,” he says, “because Leeds can really compete well now with other cities.”

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Prepared for bake off

Yorkshire Dales pub and restaurant owner Charles Cody thinks good kitchens should work like air traffic control towers. His success suggests he may have a point, writes Peter Baber

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Think of how a restaurant kitchen – at least an efficiently functioning restaurant kitchen – should work. Orders come in, dishes are made in a regular process that everyone understands, then when they are ready they get lined up in an orderly queue to be taken off, one by one, to the big dining area outside.

Does this system remind you of anything?

No? How about if you consider that the operation is being controlled by someone at the centre who has devised all this schedule days in advance? Still nothing? Well, now just remember just occasionally there is a problem.

Just occasionally the waiter or waitress has to bring back a dish that has failed to meet customer expectations, and emergency reparations go into place. Is all this seamless planning not a little akin to an air traffic control system?

You might still be scratching your head, but that’s what Charles Cody thinks. He says the two systems are very similar. And, he tells me, he uses the lessons he learned about air traffic control while he was a fighter pilot in the RAF in the 1970s as a benchmark when he is managing the operations at the kitchens in the series of pubs with rooms he has renovated in the Yorkshire Dales over the past decade and a half.

Such thinking, if obscure, must be working, because the first two of these pubs – the CB Inn in Arkengarthdale, and the Punchbowl in Reeth – have both been transformed to great success in the process. And now his third venture, the Kings Arms in Askrigg, is a tie-up with the Holiday Property Bond (HPB), a timeshare-style club based in Newmarket. Cody claims the organisation was recommended to seek him out for help when its original plans for running the pub as part of its development in the town fell through.

“I have always loved organisation of cooking,” he says. “It really is very similar to air traffic control. In a properly run kitchen you use standard phraseology to get things in sequence. And if you say the same words over and over again after a time people hear the phrase and they react spontaneously without working out what the words mean.

Conversations about what is going on, which often hamper the process, disappear. Then if I walk into kitchen I shouldn’t have to talk to

ENTREPRENEUR

He uses the lessons he learned about air traffic control while he was a fighter pilot in the RAF as a benchmark

anybody, just go to the board. The worst thing is to say: ‘What’s going on?’ because someone then has to tell you.

“It’s the same with air traffic control. People don’t realise but procedural air traffic doesn’t actually rely on radar. You have procedural systems, with all the relevant up-to-date information laid out on small flight strips on a board. When you are taking over from somebody, you have to see the picture, and that is how they do it. That way they can still land all the planes even if the radar failed.

That is what we do here. And we have a system where each dish is only signed off when someone has gone to the table to check

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it is okay. As someone working in the kitchen you certainly don’t pass it out to the waiting staff in front and expect them to deal with it.

I have worked in some places where there has been serious trouble when people do that.”

It is perhaps because of this attention to systems and discipline that he is a big admirer of Gordon Ramsay. In fact, he thinks people who don’t like the TV chef’s abrasive style don’t really understand what a professional kitchen is all about.

“People go on about Gordon, and particular his effing and blinding, but he is a great manager,” he says. “I probably act the same as him sometimes in the kitchen, but it is >>

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ENTREPRENEUR

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I hate the term ‘gastro’. Such places are usually run by people who can’t cook Their food is all formalised

about timing. You have only got so long to get a dish out, and then it’s gone. That is why it is intense. If the food is not good enough, you need to get it back with great urgency.”

It may be intense, but don’t ever say such an atmosphere sounds stressful. “Yes, stress is a terrible thing when it’s uncontrolled,” he says, “but controlled stress is exhilarating because you are in control. It’s only when you lose control that things go wrong.”

If that sounds like something you might learn on a leadership course, it could well have been. Charles’s time in the RAF included a stint in Oman in the 1970s, when the SAS were also part of a much under-reported but remarkably successful action against insurgents. He waxes lyrical about some of the leadership training he was put through there.

Exactly the same training programme popped up years later when he had joined civvy street and was working in management for a leadership company. He thinks it is directly relevant to life in the kitchen.

“The idea is that they exhaust you, so you are reacting realistically. That is when people should react as leaders regardless of what they are doing. You have almost forgotten it is an exercise, so it becomes real training. But the key thing is keeping balance – between the task, your team, and you as an individual. You have to keep all three in balance to succeed.”

Charles currently leads a team of 50 at his

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three outlets, although this has taken time to build. He went into food after leaving the RAF because he says he had developed a passion for it. “When I first started the focus was still very much on formal restaurants,“ he says.

“People would go out for a meal, wearing clothes that they don’t feel comfortable in.

It was over-formalised. My blue sky scenario was to own my own business, and serve fine food in a very self-effacing way.”

So although he did initially work for the catering company and in consultancy to gain experience, he knew that owning your own business in the catering trade is really the only way to ensure you get to work where you want to work. And by this time he and his wife had already bought a cottage in the Dales, not far from the region Charles grew up in.

So he was aware of the CB, or Charles Bathurst as it used be called, from long before he bought it in 1996.

“This place had been bust pretty much throughout its history,” he says.

Its original owner had started trying to liven up the venue by doing dinner dances. When he had to retire because of ill health, the next owners expanded this out to include a disco, only continuing to serve what Charles says was pretty awful food because in those days that was the only way you could keep your late licence. “It became notorious for drink

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and drugs,” says Charles, “and eventually a fire officer closed it down.”

His last experience of being a customer at the place came after he went on a glorious early morning run that ended up at the pub which was then in some dilapidation. “I came in at 8am, and the landlord was just pulling himself a pint of cider. I also had a terrible breakfast.

So later when I saw it was closed down, I went to see the bank. I knew I could do better.”

Indeed he could, even if that meant starting off cooking in the kitchen entirely on his own.

The Punchbowl, which Charles bought towards the end of the last decade, had had a similarly troubled history. “One of guys who had run it previously had run it almost like an Outward Bound centre,” he says. “He had 56 bunks in there, in dormitory style, including 18 beds in a room we now have as a double.

Apparently cavers would arrive en masse, and would be charged £5 a night. He never closed the bar.

Theakstons are on record as saying they had the highest sales of any independent pub anywhere at the Punchbowl under his management. But I used to have a young girl working for me who did breakfast over there as well, and when she came in to start at 7.30am, there would still be people in the bar, some asleep in what was supposed to be a restaurant, and it stank of men.

“We had to pretty much strip everything

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out when we started.”

It’s hard to believe such history when you look around both places now. They would match most people’s definition of what comfortable, informal eating should be. But don’t for a moment call them gastropubs.

Charles isn’t too keen on that expression.

“So many gastropubs give you the impression their food is fresh, when it is not,” he says. “I hate the term ‘gastro’. Such places are usually run by people who can’t cook, and who use blackboards that are designed to look as if they have been written up every day, when they haven’t been. It shows, even in the large ones. Their food is all formalised. That is not what we are. If, for example, we do a duck confit, then we cook duck legs in goose fat.

You can buy confits in ready prepared - loads of companies do that - but it doesn’t taste as good. We do fine cuisine, unfortunately at pub prices, which is a bit of a hedge, but that is what I wanted to do.”

Although he has always wanted all his businesses to major on food, Charles was quick to realise that for pubs to be successful in such remote locations as Swaledale and Arkengarthdale, much else was needed. “The population of Arkengarthdale is 400,” he says.

“That is not going to support a business like mine on its own. But on top of that physical geography will limit the number of people who come from further afield, except in high

ENTREPRENEUR

season. So accommodation is important.”

Both pubs now come with their own rooms, which Charles has been keen to fit out in as comfortable but individual a way as possible – sometimes including furniture bought from the famous Tennants auction house in Leyburn. At the CB Inn in recent years such attention to detail has led to room occupancy rates of 95% in recent years, with hunting parties from the nearby Duke of Norfolk’s estate extending the busy period into the autumn.

Charles has been particular about staff too.

“We probably have more staff because of where we are located,” he says. “The management team is larger than it would be in an urban area. But I make an effort in trying to recruit local staff. They may not be the most professional but they are genuine.”

As you might expect, however, he is particular about chefs. “I need to be careful how I say this,” he says, “but I find with some chefs that they are interested in food, but they don’t have an appreciation of having eaten it.

So when it comes to really feeling food, they tend to overcomplicate. That is just not what I am about. An analogy would be like when

someone wears perfume for the first time, and they wear too much. As they become more sophisticated they wear less and less.”

Still, at the same time he is keen to make sure staff are treated well. He never uses any of his venues as a social venue for himself, for example, because he believes such a situation would be unfair on his employees. But they clearly all rally around him. The nearest the whole venture came to closing was when foot and mouth struck in 2001. All staff agreed to take a 25% pay cut until the crisis averted and that saw them through – as did Charles ringing up the Treasury to claim interest-free VAT deferral on the day then Chancellor Gordon Brown announced that all affected businesses would be able to do so. He thus got the company onto the scheme before the government changed its minds four days later.

Now his focus is on the new venture of tying up with the HPB at the King’s Arms.

The pub was featured in the long-running James Herriot TV series “All Creatures Great and Small”, which brings back memories for Charles – when he was a boy James Herriot was actually their vet, and he went to school with the author’s daughter.

He says he was initially reluctant to take on another pub. “My wife joked that if I took another place on she would leave me,” he says. “But the idea of increasing turnover without outlay is attractive. Other places would require a £1m refurbishment.” After a few teething issues, such as getting used to the idea of being party to a management agreement, instead of being a tenant, he says they are now “on the climb” at the venue.

Another success, then, But for the moment at least, there is unlikely to be any further expansion of the empire. Charles says he is not interested at all in getting outside investment to do so.

“I couldn’t be involved in something I am not proud of,” he says, “and I probably won’t expand outside the dales. Over expansion is a big risk, and I have seen so many places gone wrong because of it.” n

ONLINE: On the BQ website find out about the Yorkshireman who breathed new life into an ailing regional pub trade www.bq-magazine.co.uk/yorkshire

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MOTORING

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best of both worlds Dave Helm, director at IT support and network services firm Blue Logic Computers, puts the latest Lexus Hybrid Sport to the test and finds a surprisingly potent mix of power and style When I heard rumours that the car I would be test driving would be the new Aston Martin I could barely contain my excitement.

It’s fast, powerful and luxurious – what more could a man in his late twenties want? Well ok thirties.

But then my dreams of cruising up the A1, with the engine roaring and the wind blowing the few strands of hair I have left were

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shattered as the car was not available. I was gutted. But I soon picked myself up when I heard I was test driving the new top of the range Lexus GS450h F Sport. Although the two cars are at total opposite ends of the market, I was still excited to test drive the Lexus as I’m all for going green, and haven’t driven a hybrid before. Plus I didn’t believe that it could do 0 to 60 mph in less than six

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seconds! Oh how I was wrong.

When the car arrived I found myself with a smile on my face even though it was pouring with torrential rain. Although it’s a saloon car, it was sleek yet imposing and oozed an executive air. Once inside I felt reassured by its high quality craftsmanship and superb finish.

Then there are the luxurious leather seats and the excellent driving position. I was impressed.

It was comfortable yet very stylish.

The next thing to catch my attention was the dash board with its huge 12.3” LED screen; believed to be the world’s widest in-car multimedia display. It’s attractive and colourful so immediately gives the impression it’s easy to use. However I didn’t find it to be. The mouse function was a bit of a faff to get used

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MOTORING

Once the clouds parted I slammed my foot on the accelerator to see if it could really reach 60mph in six seconds.

I shouldn’t have doubted it

to, the menu wasn’t easy to navigate through and for the life of me I couldn’t find out how to turn off the voice navigation in the Sat Nav option. Having spent 15 years in IT, you’d think this would be easy for me.

The car had all the usual gadgets you would expect to find from the electric steering column control to a keyless ignition but my favourite was the innovative blind spot indicators used in the side mirrors. I think this is a great feature and could even help to reduce the amount of accidents we have on our roads.

As soon as I set off, I instantly thought I had forgotten to turn the engine on. It’s as quiet as a thief in the night when in Hybrid mode and in the end I found it to be quite soothing

and relaxing. There are no harsh engine or revving sounds to remind you that you are in a hurry or stuck in traffic jams. It was a concern though when people were stepping out in front of me in car parks as they simply didn’t hear the car approaching.

I live in a rural area so the torrential rain and floods hindered me from pushing the car to its limits but instead I was able to see how it handled in the adverse weather conditions and again I was impressed. Although the gear changes felt relatively slow the car gripped to the road, powered through the wet roads and handled corners exceptionally well.

Once the clouds parted and the rain ceased I grabbed the opportunity and slammed my foot on the accelerator pedal to see if this

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car could really power its way through and reach 60+ mph in under six seconds and surprisingly it did.

So I have to hold my hands up and say I was wrong for doubting it. Overall I like this car as it reminds me of Alan Sugar; on first impressions he’s a powerful and intense business man but when you get to know him he’s cool, calm and a smooth operator. n The Lexus GS 450h that Dave Helm of Blue Logic Computer Systems test drove was supplied by Lexus Leeds, Domestic Road, Holbeck, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS12 6HG, Tel: 0113 251 1411, www.leeds.lexus.co.uk The Lexus GS 450h is priced from £44,995.00

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LOWE ON WINE

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LOWE ON WINE

rainy day relief

Grant Lowe, general manager of Hotel du Vin in Harrogate, shakes off the autumn washout to sample two sunshine-tinged New Zealanders It’s a Thursday morning in autumn and the sun is shining. That in itself is a novelty now in this country, more so considering we have just had a months rain in a day.

So, the thought of having a spot of lunch accompanied by a couple of great New Zealand wines, has certainly brightened up the end to a damp week.

I’m very fortunate because I can sit in my restaurant and have the wine served by my very own sommelier – Peter, with the wine in the best condition possible to be able to offer my own personal opinion.

I should admit now though, that although I work for Hotel du Vin, I am in no way a “wine snob” or a tradionalist. I believe if you like the wine and you believe red should be chilled (for example), then that is good with me. Personally, I have learnt a great deal about wine and also food matching. It still amazes me how the taste of a wine can be changed so dramatically by food, so it will be intriguing to see how these two wines alter as an aperitif wine and a food wine.

“What are the wines?” I hear you shout.

“Good” I say because that means your senses are ready and it means we can enjoy them together. The area of New Zealand? Well it is one of the best wine producing areas – Marlborough and the wines are a classic Sauvignon Blanc and a Pinot Noir from this great region.

It’s lunchtime at last and I’m sat in the Bistro with the autumn sun, low in the sky, streaming through the windows. The sauvignon is served chilled at 5°C and has a very pale straw like colour, which delicately coats the glass, as I do that thing of swirling it around in the glass to release the “nose”. You get the usual fruit “grapefruit, melon and citrus” aromas, with a touch of herbaceous. The taste fills the mouth with that initial acidity and good length.

A little too acidic for my personal taste as an aperitif, which means it will be great as a food wine. What shall I have to eat?

Well it has to be something with a rich creaminess ideally – so a nice starter with some goats cheese or even crab.

Delicious. The Sauvignon cuts right through the goats cheese and that initial acidity in the wine, is smoothed away to leave me savouring the sauvignon – well actually I’ve reached the bottom of my glass a little too quickly! Next is the Pinot Noir with its intense ruby colour whilst being a delicate red and a great wine for those new to reds.

The aroma and taste deliver those great red berries and cherry flavours, with a slight hint of spice and again great length.

A very easily quaffable red wine as an aperitif and so versatile with foods – pan roasted chicken with a harissa sweet potato mash, a swordfish dish to a great venison osso bucco bourgingnon with a rich deep demi glaze sauce and silky mash potato. A great autumnal dish that compliments this wine so well, I’m in heaven. It’s a shame I’m at work as I could quite easily finish this all to myself. The thought of having a hot chocolate fondant as dessert to go with the wine, even flits across my mind. “Yours too?!” well all good reviews to an end.” Anyone for a glass?” n

The wines provided were New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc 11, £13.50 per bottle.

Marlborough Pinot Noir 10, £17.50 per bottle. Both available from Harvey Nichols Leeds.

We’ve scoured the globe to source the finest most delectable delicacies; the crème de la crème of the culinary world. However you’ll be celebrating this Christmas, our luxury hampers will cater to your needs; whether it’s a snowed-in weekend away or a simple toast to the occasion. Impress your guests with homemade gastronomic delights, and join in the revelry with an exceptional Harvey Nichols tipple.

The Harvey Nichols hamper and wine collection is available at Harvey Nichols Leeds.

For more information email Leeds.Foodmarket@harveynichols.com or contact the Foodmarket Team on 0113 2048819.

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keeping robots in their place You can only automate so far when business is a spiritual home, writes Josh Sims

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There is an unexpected room in Breitling’s factory in Le Chaux de Fonds, the spiritual home of the Swiss watch industry. Rather than rows of watchmakers, silently putting together timepieces with tweezers, are fully automated machines, drilling, positioning, screwing, assembling. The craft with which the industry so prides itself seems to have gone AWOL. But Jean-Paul Girardin, the brand’s vice president, sees it another way. “When we can introduce technology, we do it,” he says. “We still need the watchmaker’s knowledge and a hand-made capacity to make the watches we do. But we’re also pragmatic in pursuit of efficiency. If sometimes having robots to do certain things is convenient, and the hands of the watchmaker can add nothing to the process, then we have it.”

It’s a suitably progressive attitude for Breitling right now. The family-owned independent company - one of the few remaining - is going through an overhaul. There are the flagship stores opening - New York last year, Paris this, London next, with another seven or so to follow, as well as some 20 new Breitling-only independent stores. There is the expansion to the manufacturing base, which means it is now in the position to double production from its current 150-200,000 pieces per annum, half of which are mechanical chronographs.

And, perhaps most strikingly, there was the launch this year of the Transocean Chronograph Unitime, with a new Caliber 5 movement that re-invents the world timer mechanism by equipping it with an adjustment system that, unlike so many similar watches, is actually dead easy to use.

But, perhaps just as strikingly, for a brand that has built itself on the very instrument-like, almost macho style and functionality of its watches - which sees its Chronomat of 1984 still its best-seller, and its famed Navitimer still the oldest mechanical chronograph in continuous production - the Unitimer is also rather dressy. “It’s the most classic, elegant watch we’ve done for a long time,” Girardin concedes. “But to go too much down that route would be to lose the ethos that Breitling is known for - even if that means losing sales.

The fact is that a functional chronograph, for instance, needs to be a certain size and have a certain look - and we’d rather stay true to

that ethos than dilute it to sell more.”

The ethos has, after all, been long in the building, one that has made Breitling the serious aviator’s brand of choice. Leon Breitling opened a workshop specialising in chronographs - then more for industrial and scientific purposes - back in 1884, moving to Le Chaux de Fonds 120 years ago this year.

His son Gaston took over the family firm in 1914 and, a year later, introduced the first

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Ten years later Ernest Schneider, watch manufacturer and - surely no coincidence keen pilot, took over the brand from Willy.

All the same, the Unitime and several new designs in the pipeline perhaps point to Breitling’s continued step up the prestige ladder. In 1999 the company decided that all of its mechanical watches would, henceforth, be certified chronometers. This year saw the warranty extended from two

The fact is that a functional chronograph, for instance, needs to be a certain size and have a certain look and we’d rather stay true to that ethos than dilute it to sell more

wristwatch chronograph. In 1923 Breitling created the first independent chronograph push-piece - the buttons separate to the crown and still a distinctive characteristic of any chronograph today. And in 1934, Gaston’s son Willy developed the second return-to-zero pushpiece, giving the wristwatch chronograph its definitive form. In 1969 it designed the first self-winding chronograph movement.

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to five years, “which is a very clear message about the increase in quality,” the vice president says. Crucially, Breitling is also making its own product. When in 2002 the Swatch Group/ETA contacted Breitling, among others, to say that it could no longer give guarantees on the delivery of movement blanks - the basis for the mechanical parts within a watch - Girardin was quick to take >>

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EQUIPMENT

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the decision to develop their own movements.

“Fans had long asked why the leader in mechanical chronographs didn’t have its own movement, and the idea was in the air but we never really did anything seriously to address it,” he adds. “But we simply couldn’t be in a situation where we could be waiting to receive parts. It was an industrial rather than a brand strategy, for all that it has proven a big turning point for the company. It has allowed us to innovate and develop new products, rather than rely on suppliers. But you have to keep moving forward.”

Albeit at no breakneck pace. Developing two movements every three years is enough of

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a challenge, he says, without the growing industry expectation to produce one to show off every year; “and I don’t want us to set off to try to design the most complicated watch ever, because it’s another kind of business that likes to develop extremely complicated movements, for another kind of customer,” Girardin adds. “We want to finesse the idea of watches as instruments.”

Or, in other words, build on its reputation as a specialist. “After all, the watch industry is akin to the car industry now,” Girardin adds, “in that the latter originally offered just the Model T Ford - and in any colour as long as it was black - but is now increasingly segmented,

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with different brands specialising in different kinds of vehicle.”

That will mean that, while Girardin does not want to become a brand dependent on raiding the archives - for all that the Unitime and, another recent classy piece from the brand, the Super Ocean Heritage are precisely based on past successes - and while through the years it has proven it can be original - with the likes of the Chronospace, Airwolf and Emergency models, for instance - nor should anyone expect anything too radically bold from the brand.

“But that is a product of functionality really,” Girardin argues again, keeping true to the

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EQUIPMENT

For decades the industry has been talking about putting the latest technology on the wrist but that isn’t easy, and it’s not clear yet what people are ready to wear anyway

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brand’s form-follows-function thinking.

“For decades the industry has been talking about putting the latest technology on the wrist but it isn’t that easy - and it’s not clear yet what people are really ready to wear on their wrist anyway.

“The fact is that, while designers are open to ideas, and there is some need to look different and strong, you still need hands and dials and a system to tell the time in the most legible manner - and that, more than with many other brands, is what Breitling is about. Yes, functionality is limiting in design terms. But it also helps define the company. It’s what Breitling is all about.” n

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FASHION

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ruffling the old guard’s feathers BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

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FASHION

Changes are afoot in Savile Row, that most established corner of fashionable London, with the rise of a new wave of menswear mavericks, as Josh Sims reports Maybe it takes an engineer’s eye to see how even the most traditional of structures - a Savile Row suit, for example - might be moved on. Indeed, when Patrick Grant grew tired of the industry for which he was trained

and spotted a small ad in a paper to buy a respected but tired tailoring company, he underwent an image overhaul as distinct as that to which he gave the company he bought - Norton & Sons and the one it owned,

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E. Tautz, a 19th century tailoring house that dressed the young Winston Churchill.

But the changes he has since brought in have been no simple re-branding exercise: the revived E.Tautz is now a top-flight >>

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ready-to-wear line with a tailoring heart, mixing equal parts 50s elan, British fogeyness and, above all, a look distinctive enough to be recognisable to those outside of naval-gazing tailoring circles.

This alone might not give pause for thought to the great names of the British tailoring establishment, were it not for the fact that E.Tautz is not alone. Other new tailoring companies, both bespoke and ready-to-wear, have recently launched around the Row, with other dormant names also undergoing rebirth. If Savile Row’s last great shake up was the so-called first wave of nouveau tailors of the 1990s - the likes of Timothy Everest and Richard James - then here, some suggest, is the second wave.

And with this second wave has come a

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younger attitude again,” argues Luke Sweeney, ex-head of made-to-measure at Timothy Everest and, with partner Thom Whiddett, ex-head cutter at Everest, behind new Mayfair tailors Thom Sweeney, with a house style blending the English cut with a softer construction.

“The first generation still appealed to an older age group, even if a more diverse one. But what’s really changing now is the nature of the tailoring customer, with the media in part having encouraged a new idea of bespoke tailoring that does not assume it is for older men, while the younger ones all go to Gucci and Prada.

The new tailors are also younger themselves,” he adds. “They are more fashion-forward in their thinking, more trend-aware and, crucially,

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more open-minded - the old established houses still appear reluctant to accommodate the younger market. It’s their way or the high way.” Thom Sweeney is joined by the likes of Rake, a tailoring-oriented ready-to-wear line also based in Mayfair, and by the new tailoring brand A.Sauvage.

One-time Soho tailor Tony Lutwyche has re-launched his business with its first ready-to-wear line and combined with the Lodger shoe brand in a bid to create a British luxury group.

Hardy Amies and Douglas Hayward - esteemed bespoke names from the mid 20th century, the former whose couturier-founder was one-time dressmaker to Queen Elizabeth II and designed the costumes for ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’, the latter who dressed the London

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It’s providing the confidence to do something new in tailoring, or for a shake down in some of the older houses

All images Thom Sweeney scene of the 60s, including the likes of Peter Sellers, Terence Stamp of Michael Caine, in person and on screen - have both now relaunched with a more contemporary touch too. “The fact is that the consumer now has a stronger expectation of how he wants to dress and is looking for brands, even those in traditional tailoring, to respond to that,” says Hardy Amies’ CEO Tony Yusuf.

“The very traditional tailors aren’t making the necessary changes from ‘country pursuits’ to more ‘modern’ tailoring, a need which has encouraged other brands to re-create themselves.” Patrick Grant reckons that the gusto to do so has also been born of a cyclical move away from the Italian dominance of menswear, strong for three decades or more, towards a more British look and emphasis on

substance over gloss, one underscored by a renewed regard for provenance (tailoring, of course, being especially able to capitalise on the idea of being ‘Made in England’).

“It’s providing the confidence to do something new in tailoring, or for a shake down in some of the older houses,” he says.

“And there’s enough of a groundswell of interest that they can have some real weight behind what they do.

“The impact of ‘dress-down’ and the casualisation of the workplace has meant the suit is also no longer associated with stiff jobs, which has actually increased tailoring’s appeal,” argues Lutwyche.

“Men are also realising that they always look elegant in tailoring in a way that is hard to pull off with more casual clothing, however

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FASHION

acceptable that may be. Now they wear a suit when they don’t have to.”

Removed from the context of work and its sartorial expectations, that has meant tailoring, ready-to-wear and bespoke alike, has become more a site for both comfort and selfexpression. Rake, for example, has focused on half-lined, super-light, crease-resistant tailoring in stark contrast to the bulletproof, fullychested style of the historic Row offer.

This more Continental sensibility is perhaps a reflection of increased travel, both in terms of the need for practicality as much as a national cross-fertilisation of style ideas.

Rake does not even focus on suits, following a shift in menswear to the womenswear philosophy of wearing ‘separates’.

Arguably the new wave is creating a gentle divide in the Savile Row community, between mavericks and stalwarts, as Grant characterises it; akin even, reckons Ritchie Charlton, ex of Savile Row big gun Kilgour and now at Douglas Hayward, to that prompted by the arrival in Row environs of Michael Fish in 1966 and of Nutter’s in 1969, both ground-breaking takes on what bespoke could be when wrestled away from the strictures of the old guard. “We’re seeing that mood again,” says Charlton. “Some older tailors are being re-discovered and newer, smaller ones are getting onto the radar. What they have in common is something distinctive to say about tailoring - a take on classic clothes that is more style-aware than radical.”

Indeed, while this latest generation of tailoring brands is upping the ante on fashionability - though ‘fashion’ is over-stating it - might establishment companies re-trench in hardcore traditionalism, some having experimented in more directional styling? Or might they follow the ethos behind the Magrittian tag-line of A. Sauvage’s promotional campaign - ‘this is not a suit’ - in its suggestion that all that it is to wear the grey office uniform has moved on, in style as much as in meaning? The full scope of change has yet to be measured.

But, according to Richard Fuller, Kilgour’s retail manager, “there are two schools of thought now - emphatically classic bespoke and design bespoke.” And that means Savile Row has, at last, become a whole lot more interesting. n

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SUCCESS STORY

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SUCCESS STORY

A deal of delight

A new City Deal signed between central government and authorities in Leeds could prove a real boost to the city, says Peter Baber It may be early days yet, but there could be a new mood in the air among local politicians and business people who take an interest in how the Leeds economy is funded.

For years, and particularly across much of the last decade, the cry went out that too many decisions about what to invest public money in were left in the hand of central government, who didn’t always have sufficient knowledge to know what was needed, had their eyes on other issues, or sometimes, it was quietly whispered, didn’t even care.

A case in point was Leeds’ ill-fated Supertram project, sacrificed, some argued at the time, so that London could have its Crossrail project at least under construction in time for the Olympics. Such moaning, it has to be said, was not just a Yorkshire thing.

Over in Manchester those supporting the extension of that city’s Metrolink network, including the Chamber of Commerce, used to argue that if only councils like Manchester City Council were allowed to borrow on the open market, schemes like the Metrolink would be progressed so much more quickly, and with it would come the long promised splurge in jobs.

Well, all that could change this autumn.

Because in September central government, and in particular the Treasury, signed a deal with Leeds City Council that it says will give the region much greater powers and levers to pull together £200m of resources into a single pot in return for the city and wider region agreeing to explore more ways of raising money locally and of working together on key issues. The agreement was one of eight the government signed with councils representing

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the UK’s core cities outside London.

Apart from Leeds, these are Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle and Sheffield.

It has been hailed by both sides of the negotiations. Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said the city had “signed a deal to hand chunks of power over from Whitehall control”.

He said this was “a dramatic shift that will mean everyone in Leeds will feel the benefits”.

“There is enormous potential in Leeds,” he added.”The city is an economic powerhouse generating £52bn for the UK economy, so it makes sense that Leeds itself decides how to make that powerhouse grow”.

From the city, Tom Riordan, chief executive of Leeds City Council, said: “Today’s signing is a very significant moment for Leeds and the wider city region as it gives us the chance to start controlling our own destiny in ways that we have never been able to before.”

That bit about the city region is important, because, according to Neil McLean, chair of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), although the City Deal itself is, as its name implies, between central government and Leeds City Council, it has already been agreed – as it has been with the other seven core cities – that the surrounding city region will benefit from and contribute to the plan. “The trouble now is that those LEPs which do not have a core city say they want some of this too,” he says. (One need only mention that the York and North Yorkshire LEP, by contrast, does not include a core city.)

But haven’t we been here before? Isn’t this kind of autonomy exactly the kind of thing that Yorkshire Forward was supposed to be >>

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SUCCESS STORY bringing us when it was launched way back at the end of the 1990s? McLean, a former managing partner of DLA Piper’s Leeds Office, insists that the strategies might look similar, but the way they will be delivered will be completely different. “Yorkshire Forward was a largely centrally created and funded agency with a huge staff. We are nothing like that,” he says.

So what are the priorities under this deal, and how will they be worked out? In Leeds’ case, the deal is first and foremost about what those who agreed it call a “guarantee to the young” – in other words, it’s about jobs and training. The guarantee is that every young person in the Leeds City Region has access to a job, training, apprenticeship volunteering, or work experience. It wants to see 2,500 apprenticeships across the city, with a further 15,000 new apprentices in learning, by 2016.

The deal document that the LEP first put together in July points out that skill levels among the city region’s workforce remain below average, and it wants to correct that.

A long term goal is for Leeds to become “NEET-free” – NEETs being young people who are not in work, employment, education or training. Although no deadline has been set for when that particular threshold might be passed, Peter Roberts, chief executive of Leeds City College, says the city is at least heading in the right direction, because NEET numbers are already coming down.

On a practical level, it is his organisation that will be feeling the earliest impact of the City Deal, because it will be the venue for an Apprenticeship Academy promised as part of the deal. Due to open its doors in September 2013, the Academy will be unusual, and a new departure for the college, because it will be accepting students from 14 upwards, rather than 16.

“Students at that age will follow the national curriculum, but it will be tailored to giving them more work experience, and in particular building up the softer skills employers say they want to see, such as numeracy and attendance,” says Roberts.

“It will give young people the chance to test vocational areas, which conventional schools can’t always do. The college can run this as part of its existing infrastructure.”

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Neil McLean, Leeds City Region LEP

Yorkshire Forward was a largely centrally created agency with a huge staff.

We are nothing like that But of course, taking on apprentices is a two-way process at least, so the City Deal also envisages the setting up of apprentice training agencies (ATAs), initially in Leeds and Bradford, with similar initiative opening elsewhere later.

Roberts says these will be firmly aimed at making it easier for local employers to take on apprentices. “In the recession firms have been reluctant to take on apprentices,” he says, “but they might be interested in being part of a group that takes the apprentice on over a period of time.

“The ATA acts as the middle man, as they employ the young person. If the company goes bust, for example, the apprenticeship continues, because they are employed

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by the agency.”

The idea is also that any young person at the academy who has not found an apprenticeship by the time they turn 16 will be transferred to the ATA to be farmed out by it. Although initially funded by the City Deal money, Roberts says the ATA that his college and the council are setting up as a joint venture and which they hope to open within the next few months should quickly become self-financing from the fees paid by the 300 companies he hopes to target in the first two years.

But won’t employers be confused by what is on offer? After all, it is only three years since Leeds City College itself was formed from the merger of three existing institutions.

And on a wider scale, it is only a little longer since the skills sector as a whole went through the ruction of seeing the Learning & Skills Council abolished to be replaced by two separate agencies.

How will an uninitiated employer know where to go? Robert admits to the confusion, but says he hopes a recent good Ofsted report on his college and publicity from it being named partner of the year by Leeds City Council should put employers in the right direction.

“We really want to get into the position where we can say to employers: ‘If you have any questions about apprenticeships, contact the ATA,’” he says.

The other main tangible benefit of the City Deal agreement looks likely to be transport.

The deal gives the region power to establish a £1bn West Yorkshire Plus transport fund, financed by a local levy on local councils and a ten year funding allocation from the post-2014 Major Transport Scheme Budget.

This would go some way to establishing the wider Northern Hub system the original deal document claims is so essential to link up northern cities as an economic powerhouse, and more particularly to fund the electrification of the northern Transpennine line (between Leeds, Bradford, Halifax and Manchester). There is, of course, a much more widely trumpeted and larger scale rail project coming to the north in the shape of HS2, the proposed high speed rail link that in its second phase will link London to Manchester and Leeds. But those backing the deal say there is no danger that the bigger

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project will usurp funding from the rest. LEP director Ben Rimmington says the government has already committed to spending £500m on the Northern Hub and £250m on the Transpennine electrification in the 2014-2019 spending period.

But Mclean goes further, saying that HS2 is coming out of a completely separate pot of money that will only become available as the Crossrail project comes to an end.

“We have been for a number of meetings with the Department of Transport, and other stakeholders, and we have been given an understanding that the local networks will not be put back on the shelf because a large project like HS2 is coming,” he says.

Transport improvements, the deal document claims, could create a 2% uplift in the city region’s economic output and 20,000 extra jobs. As part of the transport deal, however, and to build up a city investment fund, the city region will also be allowed and required to look at other forms of raising money, in particular at tax incremental funding (TIF), a system that originated in the USA where local councils can borrow to fund capital projects against the expected rise in rate returns that such projects might produce.

The city region may also look at the possibility of lending against assets, including the local council’s pension pot, although Rimmington says much of this is still in the planning stage and Leeds hasn’t gone down the TIF road as far as Newcastle, for example.

But McLean says he has no issue with the public sector making potentially more risky financial arrangements.

“In these harsh economic times everybody is having to think slightly differently about how public projects will be funded, and every option is having to be reviewed, including TIF,” he says.

He says one unexpected benefit of the economic downturn he has noticed since taking on his LEP position is that more people are realising that they have to work together on issues.

That may be why one of the other commitments the city region has made as part of the deal is that all the 11 individual authorities will work together on large projects such as transport as a combined authority

SUCCESS STORY

Peter Roberts, Leeds City College

It will give young people the chance to test vocational areas, which conventional schools can’t always do McLean insists this is not the same thing as a unitary authority, and certainly not the same thing as the old West Yorkshire County Council of the 1980s, which many business people blame for adding an extra layer of bureaucracy. “Initially this authority is being set up to look at transport issues,” he says, “although it may look at other areas too.

“We are ensuring that there is a governing body that is focused.

“It will not be a super council, and will not be a return to the old West Yorkshire authority.

“In any case, each authority will have to take a vote on whether it wants to be part of the combined authority or not.

“Bringing together councils in this way

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could actually be more efficient.

Manchester already operates under a combined authority in this way.”

He thinks the match up between what the LEP first asked for when it produced its strategy last September and what the Deal entails is very encouraging.

“They have followed the same priorities,” he says. “The fact that that has happened means there is absolute commitment at the highest level. But underneath the main priorities there are other issues that have to be addressed, and these are still a work in progress.”

These might include a boost to exports – the proportion of Leeds City Region businesses who currently export outside the UK is still only 10%, and to address this the LEP is planning a trade mission to the USA based around Leeds strong medical devices sector.

McLean says business innovation could and should be another target: the LEP already has a special interest group looking at that.

Because, in the cold light of day, there is no question that the city region needs to improve economically: figures show that it currently generates about £28bn in tax revenues, which is £6bn less than government spends locally.

That kind of statistic might even make some people think central government was justified in hanging onto the purse strings in years gone by.

However, the whole idea of the City Deal is that the impact of such things at the Transport Fund will be enough to turn that situation around. McLean is hopeful that central Government’s decision also in September to provide all LEPs across the country with core administrative funding is a sign that successful LEPs could soon be given more responsibilities.

Because he says there is much to be done.

Always lurking behind any discussion about economic investment into deprived areas is what might happen if nothing happens.

The deals report makes reference to last summer’s riots, even if West Yorkshire as a whole emerged from them relatively unscathed. “That is because we have built a good relationship between various bodies across the city,” says McLean. “But there remain some substantial socio-economic problems within the city region, and they have to be addressed.” n

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ENTREPRENEUR

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Straight from the kitchen table Emma de Vere Hunt launched her toy business from her kitchen table.

It has now enthused both her three children and one of Yorkshire’s most successful entrepreneurs, says Peter Baber Emma de Vere Hunt’s story, on the outside, is nothing special.

Having stayed at home near Knaresborough to bring up three children, she decided one day, when those children were well beyond the age for going to school, that the time had come to start up her own business.

Many other women in their late 30s and early 40s have similar ideas, and many of them fail – even those with considerably more business experience than Emma. Aside from working for De Beers for a few years when she was still down in London, and having a weekend job helping a friend organise weddings when she and her husband moved to Yorkshire when the children were very young, she had never really been heavily involved in running a business before. She admits that she had never even given a presentation before she set up her own business. It is hardly the kind of background that makes you think there is a real entrepreneur here.

So it is all the more impressive that within just a couple of years that business has already reached a point where it is attracting enquiries from as far afield as South Africa and Australia. And her efforts have managed to attract the attention of Jonathan Turner of the Bayford Group, one of Yorkshire’s foremost entrepreneurs, who is now part owner of the business and Hunt’s mentor.

Alongside the Bayford Group, which is a fuelcard business, Turner himself is currently involved in trying to develop a motorway service station on the A1(M), developing residential property, and trying to turn his headquarters, Bowcliffe Hall near Bramham, into a conference centre. He is, by his own

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admission, a busy man who is constantly getting contacted by would-be entrepreneurs, many of whom he has to turn down. What impressed him about Emma’s proposition?

It was probably the idea itself. Emma was slowly building up Battlebox, a business selling

adventure toys to boys aged eight upwards who she felt were surprisingly poorly catered for, and who might otherwise end up glued to an Xbox all day.

It will come as no surprise to learn that she got the idea from watching the experience of her son Edward, who is now 11. “I could just see that boys at that age tend to be pushed more to computer games and the science fiction world,” she says, “but there are so many wonderful things boys can do out there.”

She herself remembers an idyllic childhood

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spent playing in the woods in Surrey. “When we were younger we had times in the summer holidays when we were bored,” she says.

“And that was when you started thinking: ‘Let’s go to the woods.’

But I couldn’t find anything that would inspire children to do ambushes, to go camping. So I thought we would find the kit ourselves and put it together.”

She spent her first £500 on sourcing products for the business, which she admits she was initially nervous about doing. “When you are first ordering stock,” she says, “suppliers are wary of you.

“They are pretty soon aware that you are a mother ordering stuff from the kitchen table, so you have to get past people’s perceptions.”

She also admits she was worried that people would think she was “crazy”.

“But we knew what we were looking for: Good quality proper adventure kit that would last for a few years, not a week. You are always nervous when you start off something new. We also love what we do, and that over-rides all initial anxieties.”

Initial reaction seemed to be positive, but she wasn’t going to let either her own childhood memories or the whims of her son dictate something as potentially risky as building up a successful business.

It was only when one of her son’s friends came to stay, and saw Edward playing in the ghillie suit (a sort of camouflage suit with netting that is often used by gamekeepers) that they had already sourced that she realised she was onto a good thing.

“We actually tested it on this particular friend,” she says. “We had our kit out. >>

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ENTREPRENEUR c

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BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

ENTREPRENEUR He is lovely boy, and he has everything at home – Xbox, and so on - but he could see Ed with the ghillie suit, and only wanted to do what he was doing.”

So she invested what they had made so far in sales on exhibiting at consumer fairs all around the country – again, something she says she was initially a little nervous about doing, but the actual experience soon persuaded her otherwise. “The first fair was really nerveracking,” she says.

“You would have 20 customers around the table, and you would be talking to one customer, trying to wrap up another parcel, and add someone else’s total all up. But going to these fairs you meet all these people who have started up their own businesses, and they all have really inspiring stories.”

The experience also reconfirmed to her what a novel and potentially lucrative idea they were following. “At our first fair we were totally surrounded by boys and fathers and mothers,” she says. “And once again we were really the only people doing that sort of product. I told Edward to go around and see whether there was anything he wanted to buy at the fair. There was in fact only one stand selling anything similar, which was remote control helicopters. But in fact that underlines what I already knew. We used to go to quite a lot of fairs even before I started the business, and quite a few had nothing for Edward at all. His sisters would come back with bags of goodies, and Edward would come back with candyfloss if he was lucky. Even in Harrogate, if you think about it, there is only one shop that sells models. There’s only really one “boy” shop, you could say.”

She is fortunate in having had three children – Edward and his two elder sisters Lucy, who is 17, and 15-year-old Alice – who have enthusiastically helped her in many of these shows. A good example is what happened the first time they exhibited at the fair at the Burghley Horse Trials. “Edward put the ghillie suit on and lay down next to our stand, where all these people were walking up and down, and then he suddenly sat up and started crawling around, and all these ladies were screaming. We probably had nearly had 100 people watching what he was doing.” At this point she looks fondly at her son sitting across

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

AUTUMN 12

I couldn’t find anything that would inspire children to do ambushes or go camping so we found the kit ourselves and put it together the table from her in this interview. “Even the dogs didn’t know what you were,” she says.

Edward’s courtesy in helping another female customer carry her purchased goods to the car also helped when the customer in question turned out to be the editor of a major homes and gardens magazine. But it is really noticeable how much the experience of helping out at the fairs has helped the children themselves learn about business. At one point when I ask a question to Emma about marketing policy, Edward is able to answer it in a way that belies his 11 years. The girls, too, are hugely positive about the experience. “It’s really good fun going to all the fairs,” says Lucy. “We can’t believe this has all come off our kitchen table.”

Nor has Emma’s husband, who is a barrister practising in Leeds, avoided becoming involved. “He couldn’t quite believe the success we had made of it,” she says, “but he has been helping us pack boxes until up to 2am.” For the next year, however, the business has taken the decision to stop going

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to fairs around the country and instead spend the money it would have spent on them on PR and on building a new website, which launched in May. Such an idea was in fact the result of teaming up with Jonathan Turner.

As was the decision to sell a selection of the toys, garments and products they have sourced in specially made up boxes. As Edward eloquently puts it: “We don’t sell the individual things any more because Jonathan wants us to do boxes.”

The range currently already extends to 11 such “kits” including the Dangerous Den Kit, the Great British Adventurers’ Kit, the Warriors at War Kit, and the Extreme Ambush Kit, which Edward and Emma both unravel for me.

Apart from the ghillie suit, it includes a catapult, a bag of marshmallows to use with the catapult (enough “to keep them going for some time”, says Emma), plus smoke bombs, bomb bags, stink bombs, a whistle that sounds like an owl hoot, and a water bottle. There is also a book about whittling,

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which Edward has already tested by making an impressive wooden knife for it. The kits start at £22, although they can go up to £120. The Extreme Ambush Kit costs either £44.99 or £95, depending on how much stuff you want in it.

Emma says they are proving just as popular among girls as they are among boys – and not just among tomboys. She eventually wants to extend the range to cater for slightly older boys who may already, for example, have taken up more adult hobbies such as fishing.

Jonathan Turner first got to hear about what Emma was doing because their children went to the same school.

There seems to be some dispute about exactly who pestered who first, although Emma insists she only decided he was serious about helping her out when he asked her twice, “and he is not naturally a pushy person”. Jonathan will only say that the matter “drifted” a bit, and he was keen to get going.

He insisted, however, that Emma would have to persuade the rest of his staff about the wisdom of what she was doing, and that was how she came to do her first presentation. “It was really out of my comfort zone,” she says, “but sometimes you just have to go for it.”

Her husband’s profession doubtless helped.

“He said: ‘Take all your notes away and do it from the heart,’ and that worked,” she says.

The upshot of all this is that Battlebox now

ENTREPRENEUR

has a small office space at Bowcliffe Hall, as well as a marketing team, and warehousing.

Emma also meets Jonathan and his colleague Liz Slater for mentoring every two weeks.

That’s a serious commitment on both sides: most owners of growing businesses I have spoken to in the past usually only want to see their mentor once a month, sometimes only once a year.

Jonathan, however, remains impressed. The company, he says, wants to “teach children to go outside and throw the sat nav in the dustbin”. “It is not anything particularly technical or innovative,” he says, “but it works.” So what of the future? Emma says she would love for Battlebox to be a global brand eventually, although whether that means extending it beyond its current web-only presence is open to question. Jonathan has his doubts. “I am not sure it is a product I would want in a retail environment, and I really like the idea of it being online,” he says.

“I also like the idea of using technology to get kids into something that will get kids away from technology – and about instilling the idea that technology is not cool.”

It is perhaps not surprising that he has already been making contact with Bear Grylls’ agent about possibly getting some kind of endorsement. Emma for her part is more attached to the idea of eventually having a bricks and mortar retail presence.

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“The internet pitches a lot more at customers,” she says, “but if you had the right shop in the right area, you would get the touch and feel of it.” But she is also keen to explore the idea of franchising.

What is abundantly clear is that Battlebox has come a long way on the back of one philosophy that Emma strongly believes in – that you never take no for an answer.

“I am a big believer in finding another way around,” she says. “My father wasn’t that keen on the idea when I started, but we persuaded him. And when we first started doing the fairs, everyone said we wouldn’t get into Burghley, because there was a ten-year waiting list for a space.

“Well, I wrote anyway and I was late applying – the applications are meant to be in in January, and I was applying in April – but I got an email back saying they would love to have us. And they put us in a prime position next to Joules and Barbour.

“Nobody could believe we had applied late. But the organisers wanted something different. If we had been a jewellery company, for example, they would probably have said no. The same happened at a large fair in Gloucestershire where this time people told me there was a five-year waiting list, but we applied and got in.” With determination like that, we can expect to see much more of Emma de Vere Hunt. And Battlebox. n

BUSINESS QUARTER |AUTUMN 12

BIT OF A CHAT

with Frank Tock

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Black, came across an old jigsaw, which brought back happy memories. Black then started thinking about how such pleasure could have a useful end. “If a charity created a jigsaw specific to itself and then asked its main supporters to complete it and make a donation before passing it on to their friends, who would then pass it on to their friends and so on, then the potential for making money was huge.” Greenpeace certainly agrees, with the organisation buying an order of the puzzles Black had had made up by a jigsaw firm, and has sent them to wealthy donors either as a prompt or to thank them. Black asks any other charity interested in taking part to email him at Thomas@blackfamilyinvestments.co.uk.

>> Donny nowhere

>> It’s a long way from September to December Anyone walking through central Leeds one evening in mid-September might have thought they had suddenly been taken through a three month time warp.

Because, was that? Could it be? Yes it was snow on the ground. And there was Santa Claus and his elves. On closer inspection, however, it turned out it was the Park Plaza in Leeds getting in the Christmas spirit early to show their many regular customer just what a Christmas do the newly refurbished hotel can put on. As one of the thankful guests, I have to admit it was impressive. You just had to remember to remove all tinsel and tin hats from your person before you ventured outside afterwards. Or people might think you were really weird.

>> Jigsaw wizard Talking of the festive period, a trip into the attic last Christmas sparked an idea in one major Yorkshire philanthropist’s mind about a cunning wheeze to raise money. While he was up there Thomas Black, ex-chairman of Keighley-based retail services supplier Peter

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

Apple maps – the map software Apple ditched Google Maps on its latest smartphone launch – has been getting a fair amount of flak from the geeks of this world, but whoever devised it must really have it in for Yorkshire. Or at least one town within God’s county. A tester I came across had typed the place name “Doncaster” into the search facility, but was only given four entries, all of which related to London-based businesses with the word “Doncaster” in the title. And then when the search was skewed so that only Yorkshire entries were allowed, Apple added insult to injury by referring to the South Yorkshire town as “Duncaster”.

Poor old Donny – what has it done to Apple to deserve this? Oh, and apparently the street view version also thinks Manchester Airport’s runway has a big dip in it, kind of like what you might find on a rollercoaster. I wish I had known that when I was planning the kid’s holidays last year.

>> Dragons run out of puff You would think that a group of people who go onto a television to show off their business prowess would actually show it off at some stage, wouldn’t you? After all, the money offered by the “dragons” on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den is all very well, but surely if that was all you wanted, you would be just as well

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seeking out a more conventional funder. What you should get if you are a successful applicant is some pearls of wisdom from those trusted mentors. Well, that’s what Chris Hopkins from Ploughcroft told us he was expecting when he was successful on Dragon’s Den last year.

Instead, he is one of a long line of business people who have found the BBC business to be rather different from the public perception.

He admits he went on the show mainly for PR reasons. The money was good – although, as any sane business observer would expect, the dragons don’t just hand it over. “It took three months of due diligence to get it,” he says.

And then? “They did sod all,” he says. “They give you nothing. I asked for a bit of advice on PR and marketing, and all they sent me was a graduate, someone below them. I wanted them, but they shied away from me.” They were “too busy playing around with yachts and Porsches”, he now thinks. Whatever happened, he has since handed back the money and parted company with his fiery friends. Singed, but not seared, as they say.

>> Jimmy’s roller returns Now then, now then, now then, is that a young Jimmy Savile in the picture, with one of his beloved Rolls-Royces.

Er, no, it’s Roger Perkins from JCT600 (although there is a sort of resemblance – well okay, if you were in an alley on a dark night) showing off a rare Rolls Royce Corniche the car dealership sold to the late DJ in 2007 and which, since this photo was taken, it has sold off at a charity auction.

Perkins says the company “had a long history of looking after Sir Jimmy”, but the car must be special, because despite being ten years old it has only done 4,500 miles on the clock!

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EVENTS DIARY

AUTUMN 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

OCTOBER

1 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Restaurant Bar & Grill Harrogate, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

10 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Leeds Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

11 Leeds and Bradford Chambers Construction Lunch. With guest speaker Nick Townsend, managing director of Turner & Townsend. Weetwood Hall Conference Centre, Leeds. 12.00-2.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 12 Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce – Business Lunch. With guest speaker Giles Brandreth. Pavillions of Harrogate, 12.30-2.30pm.

For more details visit www.harrogatechamber.org 15 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Networking evening, Malton BMW. 6.00-8.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 16 The Met Club – Harrogate Breakfast Meeting. White Hart Hotel, Coldbath, 8.30am-10.00am. For more details ring 01423 525622.

17 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Pure Networking. Lady Anne Middleton’s Hotel, York, 7.30-9.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

17 The Met Club – Wakefield Networking Lunch. Bagden Hall Hotel, Scissett, 12.00-1.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

7 The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Leeds Double Tree

by Hilton Hotel, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

15 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Pure Networking. The Ron Cooke Hub, University of York, 7.30-9.30am.

For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 16 Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Annual Dinner.

With guest speaker Steve Wright, chief executive of Hallmark International.

For more details go to www.bradfordchamber.co.uk

19 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Ladies Evening. Fenwick, Coppergate, 6.00-8.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 23 The Met Club – Leeds Ladies Lunch. Blackhouse, The Grill on the Square, 12.00-2.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

19 Harrogate Chamber of Trade and Commerce – Annual Dinner.

Cedar Court, Harrogate, 7.15pm. For more details go to www.harrogatechamber.org 23 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Ladies Lunch.

With guest speaker Chris Allen, managing partner of Black’s Solicitors. Village Hotel, Leeds, 12.00-2.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 24 Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Keighley Business Network. Orchard House, Aire Valley Business Centre, Keighley, 8.00-9.30am. For more details go to www.bradfordchamber.co.uk 24 The Met Club – Metwalking, Otley. (see As I See It). 9.30am.

For more details ring 01423 525622.

24 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Construction Lunch. Holiday Inn, York, 12.00-2.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk 25 Be World Class – A conference designed to inspire business leaders, with guest speakers including marathon runner Andy McMenemy, chef Kenny Atkinson and world barista champion James Hoffman. Royal Armouries, Leeds, 9.00am-5.00pm. For more details go to www.beworldclassconference.com 25 The Met Club – York Networking Lunch. Hotel du Vin, York, 12.00-1.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

26 The Met Club – Leeds Networking Lunch. Leeds Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 12.00-1.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

1 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Pure Networking. Leeds United, Elland Road, 7.30-9.30am. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

BUSINESS QUARTER | AUTUMN 12

7 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Business Lunch, York. Maxi’s Restaurant, 12.00-2.00pm. For more details visit www.yourchamber.org.uk

19 The Met Club – Leeds Breakfast Meeting, venue tbc, 8.30-10.00am.

For more details ring 01423 525622.

17 Bradford Property Forum – Kala Sangam Arts Centre, Bradford, 8.00-9.45am. For more details go to www.bradfordpropertyforum.co.uk

NOVEMBER

7 Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Meet the Chamber Lunch. Devere House, Vicar Lane, Bradford, 12.00-2.00pm. For more details go to www.bradfordchamber.co.uk

30 Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Cereal Networking.

Mecca Bingo, Little Horton Lane, 8.00-9.45am. For more details go to www.bradfordchamber.co.uk 30 The Met Club – Wine tasting evening. William & Victoria’s Wine Bar, Harrogate, 7.00pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

DECEMBER

5 Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Keighley Business Network. Venue tbc, 8.00-9.30am. For more details go to www.bradfordchamber.co.uk 6 Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce – Pure Networking. Leeds United, Elland Road, 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.

12 - The Met Club – Yorkshire’s own networking club. Leeds Double Tree

by Hilton Hotel, 5.30-7.30pm. For more details ring 01423 525622.

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.

The diary is updated daily online at www.bq-magazine.co.uk

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