unLTD. Connecting business across Sheffield City Region #18

OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 18 | FREE | WWW.UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

RESET REBOOT REFOCUS Benchmark MD Louisa Harrison-Walker explains how self-care and re-evaluation helped boost her work/life balance – and her business

: N O S FOCU

R C SINDUSTTREIGAYL STRA

FOUR DAY

WEEK: HOW FLEXIBLE WORKING IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY

OUR PICK OF THE FLICKS ● EVENTS CALENDAR ● ACTIVE TRAVEL ● OFFICE HEROES unLTDBUSINESS.COM

FOR EATING DRINKING MEETING EVENTS INOX is a flexible event space located on the fifth floor of the University of Sheffield Students’ Union Building.

We offer all day dining, venue hire and a place for meetings and social working, with a newly designed lounge which opened this summer. Book a table today or drop in and see for yourself. unLTDBUSINESS.COM

INOX, LEVEL 5, STUDENTS’ UNION BUILDING, DURHAM ROAD, SHEFFIELD, S10 2TG unLTDBUSINESS.COM

W W W . I N O X D INE . CO. UK

CONTENTS

52 FOCUSON:SCRINDUSTRIALSTRATEGY

36 COVERSTORY:LOUISAHARRISON-WALKER

74 AFTERHOURS:CINEMAS 4

48 SUCCESSSTORY:REDTOOTH unLTDBUSINESS.COM

CONTENTS

ALSO INSIDE...

OCTOBER 2019 | ISSUE 18 | FREE | WWW.UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

6: News Businesswoman's Downing Street visit, national first with Chamber Academy and £22m fusion facility comes to Rotherham.

15: If You Ask Me We chatted to several businesses in the Sheffield City Region offering flexible working to find out how employers and employees are benefiting.

28: Calendar All the very best events happening around the city region in October.

51, 61 & 71: Five Minutes With...

We chat with Street Food Chef, Direct Print and datatrainer.

63: Office Heroes unLTD and Glu Recruit are searching for your business unsung heroes.

65: Your Pitch Health coach Clare Shepherd tells us how she co-founded the Pausitivity #KnowYourMenopause campaign.

72: SYPTE The Active Travel team share how they're getting workplaces on the move.

78: Weekend Escapes Pack your suitcase and join us as we take a trip to Santorini in Greece.

82: Number Crunch This month we look into the stats behind Sheffield being a 'start-up city'.

EVERYTHING ELSE...

11. Appointments 13: The Diary 21: In a Nutshell 23: Evolving technology 25: Securing your assets 27: Legal matters 44: Property investment 47: Entrepreneur support 59: Charities 67: Acquisitions 68: Business Doncaster

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

RESET REBOOT REFOCUS Benchmark MD Louisa Harrison-Walker explains how self-care and re-evaluation helped boost her work/life balance – and her business

ON: FOCUS

SCR

FOUR DAY

TRIAYL INDUSRAT ST EG

WEEK: HOW FLEXIBLE WORKING IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY

OUR PICK OF THE FLICKS ● EVENTS CALENDAR ● ACTIVE TRAVEL ● OFFICE HEROES unLTDBUSINESS.COM

DAN LAVER HAS JOINED THE UNLTD TEAM

@UNLTDBUSINESS UNLTD BUSINESS

DAN’S THE MAN FOR UNLTD! It’s always great to welcome a new face to Team unLTD. And it will be a very familiar face to many of our readers as our new head of sales is Dan Laver, a popular and high-profile Sheffield business figure seen at many a networking event. He joins us from Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.

We’re super excited to have Dan on board – and he seems pretty keen on us, too – read more about his ‘dream role’ with unLTD in our appointments page.

Another familiar face – and popular and highprofile Sheffield business figure – is our cover star Louisa Harrison-Walker, MD of Benchmark. As our features writer Jill Theobald says, Louisa’s story is a must-read for all SME owners.

It’s a refreshingly honest take on the lessons she learned through her decision to ‘reset’ and ‘reboot’ her priorities and energies as a working parent – which had far-reaching benefits for her business, too.

Our latest columnist couldn’t be better timed as joining us this month is Helen Williams, a personal development coach and the founder of Helping Entrepreneurs Win (HEW) who underlines Louisa’s story on the home page of the HEW website with this direct quote: ‘Nine out of ten business owners prioritise themselves last and do not consider the impact this has, not only on them personally but how this then impacts the overall growth and sustainability of their business.’

And prioritising time and tasks crops up in our If You Ask Me feature too as we ask a number of entrepreneurs and employees how flexible working is benefiting businesses and their staff – read more on page 15.

They say the smallest changes can make the biggest difference – and Travel South Yorkshire’s Active and Sustainable Travel team couldn’t agree more. So much so, they’ve made it their latest campaign as Sasha Mossman finds out on page 72.

And in our After Hours section starting on page 74 we’re donning 3D glasses and grabbing the popcorn as we’re off to the movies with our pick of the flicks.

UNLTDBUSINESS EDITORIAL Richard Fidler richard@unltdbusiness.com Jill Theobald editorial@unltdbusiness.com General editorial@unltdbusiness.com 0114 252 7781 ADVERTISING Dan Laver dan@unltdbusiness.com 07867 313995 Phil Turner phil@unltdbusiness.com 07979 498034 General advertising@unltdbusiness.com FINANCE Sarah Koriba and Michael Johnson accounts@exposedmagazine.co.uk DESIGN Simon Waller and Simon Garlick CONTRIBUTORS Alex Kay Marc Barker Chris Hayter Sam Leeder Jade March

Anna McGuire Sasha Mossman Alex Ross Ash Young Helen Williams

unLTD is published monthly by Blind Mice Media Ltd Unit 1B Rialto, 2 Kelham Island Square, Kelham Riverside Sheffield S3 8SD and HRM Unit 1a Speedwell Works, Sidney Street, Sheffield S1 4RG The views contained herein are not necessarily those of Blind Mice Media Ltd and HRM and while every effort is made to ensure information throughout unLTD is correct, changes prior to distribution may take place which can affect the accuracy of copy, therefore Blind Mice Media Ltd and HRM cannot take responsibility for contributors’ views or specific listings.

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AGENDA NEWS Sweet success with warehouse acquisition Residual stock management specialist, soft drink and confectionery supplier Morris & Son (Leeds) Limited has secured a 52,413 sq. ft warehouse in Barnsley from landlords Columbia Threadneedle Investments.

Leeds-based Morris & Son, has taken a 10-year lease on the purposebuilt distribution centre at Silkstone Court on Dodworth Business Park in Barnsley in a deal brokered

by Knight Frank in Sheffield and Gent Visick in Leeds.

52,413 SQ. FT The size of soft drink and confectionery supplier Morris & Son's new Barnsley warehouse

The move by the company reinforces Morris & Son’s growth plans with the relocation allowing improved warehouse and distribution efficiencies.

Andy Needham, Morris & Son owner and chief executive, said: “We have plans to consolidate another of my businesses on the same site and to develop the range of products we sell substantially.

“We expect to complete the fit out and be in a position to move sometime in October.”

Morris & Son specialises in wholesaling clearance food, drink and household products to independent retailers, and discount stores and chains in the UK.

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CARL FROCH, DES STANCILL (BRANCH MANAGER), WITH CLLR TERRY FOX, SIONED MAR-RICHARDS AND CLLR PAT MIDGLEY

BOXING CHAMP ADDS PUNCH TO BUILDING SUPPLIES CITY LAUNCH A former world boxing champion added his weight to the opening of a new building supplies branch in Sheffield, creating three new jobs following a £250,000 refurbishment and rebrand.

Former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch MBE joined Terry Fox, Councillor for Manor Castle ward, at the official ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Nunnery Drive branch of Frank Key Building Supplies.

Chairman of the Frank Key Group Chris Cunliffe said: “Our Sheffield branch is the standard on which all future branches will be modelled. We have consolidated everything

under one roof so that our trade and retail customers can find what they need, when they need it.

“Local people might recognise the site as the former Builders Centre, which we acquired. After careful planning, it is the right time for us to launch in Sheffield to serve the local community, businesses and tradespeople.”

Councillor Terry Fox said: “Frank Key's branch refit in this part of Sheffield is excellent news, with new jobs and investment providing bigger and better services for local tradesmen and the wider community.”

Carl added: “I’m always in my local Frank Key branch, especially since retiring! It’s a great place to go for all my building supplies and tools.

I’m delighted to support the launch of the new branch in Sheffield.”

Three new full-time jobs have been created in Sheffield, with up to 12 more predicted in the next 12-18 months.

Frank Key Group started life in 1907 in Nottingham and has expanded into a regional group operating across the Midlands, Lancashire and Yorkshire, with five building supplies branches and 15 plant and tool hire depots.

College awarded official Digital Schoolhouse status Barnsley College have announced a partnership with Digital Schoolhouse (DSH) together with Nintendo UK, which will offer primary school pupils the chance to develop their computing skills.

DSH is a not-for-profit programme delivered by the UK games industry trade body Ukie, which uses play-based learning – such as esports – to

engage pupils and teachers with the Computing curriculum. The College’s Sport department has invested in a state-of-the-art Esports Arena to help prepare children for the digital world.

Kalam Neale, sport curriculum leader at Barnsley College, said: “We’re really proud to have been awarded DSH status.

“This will allow us to engage

with primary schools in Barnsley to develop the digital and computing skills of the next generation.”

Shahneila Saeed, director of Digital Schoolhouse, added: “DSH has evolved enormously in just three years and Nintendo’s support means we can reach more schools than ever with our transformative and inspiring programme.”

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AGENDA HR software firm achieves international security benchmark Myhrtoolkit, a leading software firm that supports small to medium sized companies with innovative cloud-based HR, has announced it has achieved the internationally recognised ISO 27001 information security management standard.

The standard requires companies to show a systematic approach to managing customer and company information to ensure that data remains secure. This is achieved through an effective Information Security Management System (ISMS), designed to protect an entire business.

Myhrtoolkit’s certification follows a three-day external auditing process and demonstrates its dedication to maintaining comprehensive data security standards in the design, development, implementation and support of its cloud hosted human resource management system.

Amanda Grimstone, compliance manager at myhrtoolkit who managed the project said: “Achieving ISO 27001 certification is a huge accomplishment for us.

“It was a year’s undertaking and the sense of achievement felt both by the company and my self is testament to the commitment and hard work everyone has put into the project.”

MD Jon Curtis said: “We’re thrilled to have achieved ISO 27001 certification and hope that it will provide additional assurance to our customers and prospects that we see data security as a top priority for our business. We are committed to maintaining these standards and will continually identify areas for improvement."

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

JURGA ZILINSKIENE MBE OUTSIDE NUMBER 10

SHEFFIELD BUSINESSWOMAN ADVISES PM AT DOWNING STREET MEETING The CEO of award-winning Yorkshire language consultancy Guildhawk advised the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a meeting at 10 Downing Street on how to help smaller businesses start and grow and protect established ethical businesses.

Jurga Zilinskiene MBE, founder and CEO of Guildhawk, which opened offices in Sheffield in 2017, joined businesses including Deliveroo and Music Magpie to meet the Prime Minister and Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom at a roundtable event.

Lithuanian-born Jurga advised the PM to support

Guildhawk’s Sheffield office has grown from a team of two to

15 in just two years

companies by building a productive, ethical economy based on merit and fairness, which includes ensuring tax is paid – with no special breaks for companies that keep profits offshore and pay the bare minimum.

Jurga said: “Britain is a great place to start and grow a business. I’m an entrepreneur, owner and coder who experienced the hardship following the fall of the Soviet Union at first hand.

“I went on to grow a British company that’s been honoured by Her Majesty the Queen for International Trade. Others can do this if we support them.”

FunnelVision set to be “one of the best sales books ever” The region’s leading voice on sales techniques is counting down to the launch of his first book which will ‘lift the lid on celebrated selling techniques’.

Daniel Disney, one of the world’s leading authorities on social selling, has described Steve Knapp’s forthcoming ‘FunnelVision – Selling Made Easy’ as “one of the best sales books ever”.

Sheffield-based Steve – who has already successfully coached hundreds of businesses in the region – started his career selling Calor Gas cylinders doorto-door in the late 1980s. He rose through the ranks of Shell to become accountable for the success of the company’s sales teams right across the globe – and his sales handbook is still used by the company today.

Steve, who has coached Chamber of Commerce staff and is a mentor with The Source, said: “My book is going to help people embrace and love sales.

It’s not really anything we can do without – no sales means no business!”

The book will be launched on Thursday, October 24th, at 6pm, at Piccolinos Restaurant in Sheffield.

7

AGENDA HOT Twinkl Educational Publishing is set to launch TwinklHive a new start-up accelerator in Sheffield, which will bring together and provide support to emerging education technology companies.

ANGELA FOULKES, CHIEF EXECUTIVE AND PRINCIPAL, THE SHEFFIELD COLLEGE AND SHEFFIELD CHAMBER PRESIDENT STEVE MANLEY HK Projects is celebrating 30 years of project design in the hospitality industry with a focus on developing apprentices, recruiting new staff and promoting more staff internally.

Detailed planning consent has been granted for a twounit industrial development scheme at Doncaster Sheffield airport site totalling 105,035 sq ft – the second detailed planning consent under consideration by Trebor in Doncaster, following Gateway 4 at 409,000 sq ft having been submitted.

The winners of the first-ever Community Champions Awards – organised by South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation (SYCF) and BBC Radio Sheffield – will be announced at an awards ceremony this month at Sheffield Cathedral.

Businesses including Yob Golf, The Great Gatsby, IFM Insurance, Meze Publishing and Napoleons helped to raise £5,500 for Weston Park Cancer Charity and St Luke’s Hospice at City Taxis’ Charity Golf Day.

COOL High street retailers are continuing to struggle with towns and cities across Yorkshire and the Humber recording more closures than openings in the first half of 2019, PwC/LDC analysis shows.

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NATIONAL FIRST AS SHEFFIELD CHAMBER ACADEMY LAUNCHES A new employer academy has been unveiled at The Sheffield College as part of wider moves to equip students with the skills that businesses need.

The Sheffield Chamber of Commerce Business and Enterprise Academy officially launched at City campus to offer all students across the curriculum the opportunity to be mentored by Sheffield Chamber members.

This is believed to be the first time that a British Chamber of Commerce has worked with a further education college in this way.

Angela Foulkes, chief executive and principal, The

Sheffield College, said: “We are thrilled to launch a national first with Sheffield Chamber of Commerce that will enable our students to learn business skills from employers and inspire them to go further in their careers.”

Steve Manley, Sheffield Chamber President and joint MD of Universal Office Products, said: “I took the Chamber President chains of office in 2018 on a mission to encourage youth enterprise because I know the importance of championing young entrepreneurs.

“I became involved with Young Enterprise while a

student myself at Loxley College in 1993/4. I was the MD of our Young Enterprise company, an office supplies firm – it’s how I got into what I’m doing now.

“Just 10 months after pledging to support young entrepreneurs, I am proud to be establishing a national first with The Sheffield College as we open the Business and Enterprise Academy.

“I am looking forward to delivering presentations, workshops, support and advice to the next generation, along with leading businesses from across the Sheffield City Region.”

Taste of West Africa comes to the region A Rotherham-based sauce manufacturer specialising in products inspired by West African cuisine has expanded with a new range after a £500 Kickstart grant from UK Steel Enterprise (UKSE).

A range of hot sauces that concentrate on flavour rather than just heat, Fula Flavour was established by entrepreneur Hawa Talbot, originally from Guinea in West Africa, in 2018 after friends and family complimented her homemade recipes.

The business, which also received three months of intensive support from the Y Accelerator business

Fula Flavour received a

£500 grant from UKSE

programme, has since gone from Hawa’s kitchen table to a local manufacturer after an increase in demand.

Hawa used the funds from UKSE – an organisation supporting growing businesses in areas affected by changes to the steel industry – for product testing and to produce the labels and marketing materials.

Hawa said: “The take up over the last year has been amazing and I now stock products in shops in both Sheffield and Doncaster. Now my new range has launched, I hope to expand and set up my own store which will help create jobs in the local area.”

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

AGENDA

£22M FUSION FACILITY IS JUST CHAMPION, SAYS MP SARAH

Rotherham MP Sarah Champion has hailed the success of the town’s Advanced Manufacturing Park after the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) announced it is to open a £22m fusion energy research facility on the site next year.

The facility will see UKAEA working with industrial partners to put the UK in a strong position to commercialise nuclear fusion as a major source of low-carbon electricity in the years ahead.

Located at the heart of the UK’s advanced manufacturing region, the UKAEA base will bring 40 highly-skilled jobs to the area, and foster increased collaboration with research organisations including the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), and the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (NAMRC).

Sarah said the AMP’s success is driving further investment: “What it does is, like attracts

like and all these different businesses are looking to relocate here, looking to make partnerships.

“The whole supply chain of all the small-scale engineering and supply businesses that are just springing up around or are just looking to expand and keep going because of it – it’s a phenomenal asset to the area.”

Other AMP occupiers include Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive and Boeing.

Should the AMP give a nod to its history? – The Diary, P13

South Yorkshire company marks major milestone with new premises Leading South Yorkshire recruitment specialists Andy File Associates has marked 10 years in business by expanding into new premises.

Having started out in 2009 with just £20,000 investment, managing director Andy File has grown the company into one of the region’s most successful recruitment consultancies, with offices in Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster and a 10-strong team.

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

To celebrate a decade in business and a growing UK client base, Andy File has relocated its Wickersley office into larger premises in the heart of the Rotherham village.

Andy said: “We are extremely proud to be celebrating our tenth year in business and coupled with our recent office move this is a great time for the business.

“Our team has the resources and experience to source

the best quality talent for businesses. They fill 75 per cent of roles by sourcing candidates via job boards, their own database and social media, whilst only 25 per cent comes from job board adverts.”

Half of the team at Andy File Associates are now based at the new Wickersley office, which is located opposite the Tanyard Shopping Centre. Other staff are based at Aizlewoods Mill on Nursery Street in Sheffield and Fitzwilliam House in Doncaster.

Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber welcomes newest patron An incredibly successful year of growth has paved the way for CSP Systems to become the latest company to be named a patron member of Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber of Commerce.

In the last three years, CSP Systems, which provides specialist print, photocopying, scanning and networking solutions to businesses, charities and educational establishments throughout Yorkshire, has grown by 35 per cent in revenue – a part of this is attributed through the contribution of its membership to Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber.

35%

How much CSP Systems revenue has grown by

The business, which operates from headquarters at The Business Village in Barnsley, is the 19th business to become a patron of the Chamber – the highest level of membership available.

Directors Andy Bethel and Thomas Mackrill drew on their careers in the reprographic sector spanning more than three decades. They launched CPS Systems in 2016 and have built a workforce of trained service engineers based within South Yorkshire.

Andrew Denniff, chief executive, Barnsley & Rotherham Chamber, said: “Andy and Thomas have been great supporters of the Chamber over a number of years and I am delighted they have seen fit to enhance their relationship with us to one of our Patrons.”

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AGENDA SHU shortlisted for two Times Higher awards Sheffield Hallam University (SHU)'s regional social mobility partnership, South Yorkshire Futures and its Transforming Lives Strategy have been shortlisted at the Times Higher Education Awards 2019.

The sector-leading initiative has been shortlisted in the 'Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community' category, while the University strategic planning team have been shortlisted in the ‘Outstanding Strategic Planning Team’ category.

The awards, known as the Oscars of higher education, will take place in London this November.

South Yorkshire Futures is a collaborative partnership, bringing together three distinct strands to improve social mobility from all sides – addressing the attainment gap, improving the recruitment and retention of teachers and increasing progression to higher level skills and education.

Examples of current projects include working alongside Sheffield City Region Mayor Dan Jarvis MP and Sheffield Children's University to roll out the initiative across the region, as well as leading the £1 million Early Outcomes project.

Transforming Lives was launched in 2017 as a new University-wide strategy, with a vision to make SHU the world’s leading applied university.

South Yorkshire Futures director Greg Burke said: "We are extremely proud our dedication to collaborative working, regional leadership and building stronger communities has been recognised."

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EVENT-FUL TIME FOR CMS AND UNLTD

Our first ever Women in Technology and Culture event at Ambulo Museums Sheffield saw us team up with CMS for an informal and informative networking session.

Jo Wingate, organiser of Sensoria, revealed some of

the pioneering female artists using tech to create their work while Emma Cooper of Cooperative Innovations Ltd explained how immersive technologies are set to transform our lives. Plus there was plenty of time to network as well as cracking

drinks and snacks courtesy of Ambulo.

And with feedback like: ‘It was a good event! There was a lot of enthusiasm in the room for them to continue, too’ – unLTD and CMS are planning others in the future so watch this space!

Launch of VR tech to help mental health Personalised virtual reality (VR) technology which enables new forms of self-reflection could help to improve and maintain positive mental health.

A collaborative team of researchers, led by experts from the University of Sheffield, are pioneering a highly personalised, therapeutic VR tool which people with common mental health problems can use to create an immersive version of their journey through life by capturing life events and uploading relevant digital content to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.

Dr Chris Blackmore, from the University’s Mental Health Research Unit, said: “With more people seeking help with mental health problems, and increasing pressure on existing services, new ways of intervening faster and more effectively are needed, and the use of new technology is one way of improving care – making it more personalised and engaging.”

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

AGENDA APPOINTMENTS

FIONA JOINS COMPANY’S ‘EXCITING EXPANSION’

New faces at Bluebell Wood

Blue Wealth Capital is marking its tenth year in business by welcoming a new member of the team.

The Sheffield-based independent financial planning firm has welcomed Fiona Shah as client manager to its business.

Owner Raj Shah, who started Blue Wealth in 2009, said: “It’s an exciting time in our company’s expansion.

Fiona brings with her a wealth of experience from her 20 years in the corporate and private client legal sectors.

“This experience will stand her in good stead when working with families who entrust us with their financial planning. We have experienced fantastic growth year on year, and I am very much looking forward to her being part of the team.”

Blue Wealth Capital, based in Ranmoor, Sheffield, specialises in holistic

BHP’ ‘biggestever intake’ Leading Yorkshire and Derbyshire accountancy firm BHP has bolstered its team with the largest annual intake of new starters in its history. BHP has appointed 16 graduates, 12 trainees and three year-long placements across its offices in Sheffield, Cleckheaton, Leeds, Chesterfield, and York.

FIONA SHAH HAS JOINED RAJ SHAH AT BLUE WEALTH CAPITAL

independent financial planning and acts as trusted advisor for many high net

worth individuals and their families, both across the region and nationally.

Dan’s lands his 'dream job' at unLTD unLTD has welcomed popular and high-profile Sheffield business figure Dan Laver to the role of head of sales.

Dan, a familiar face on the Sheffield City Region (SCR) events and networking scene, joins us from Sheffield Chamber of Commerce where he was account manager for three years.

He said: “I’ve loved unLTD magazine since issue one so joining the team is a bit of a dream job! “unLTD isn’t driven by a political agenda – it’s a new take on raising awareness of brands, businesses and all the SCR successes.

“It has been a real hit and grown into a product the city

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice has appointed a new duo – head of IT Rob Swift and communications officer Robert Langley.

DAN LAVER

reads and really appreciates, connecting businesses and creating a sense of community and enhancing the region’s profile.

“I’ve read features about colleagues and contacts I’ve known for years and discovered so much more about them because unLTD is about the personalities behind businesses large and small.” unLTD sales director Phil Turner said: “Dan was, hands down, our number one choice. He’s widely known across the SCR and I’ve always been impressed by his professional, personal and people-focused approach to sales and his natural and friendly attitude.”

PR role for Anna Anna McGuire has joined PR and creative agency HRM as an account executive, working across a number of client accounts.

New ‘Home’ for CEO Amanda Amanda Garrard is the new chief executive of Berneslai Homes, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council’s housing company.

New duo for Benchmark Benchmark has welcomed Leonie Salisbury as recruitment administrator and Eleonora Espa will be joining the IT and Digital division.

11

THE ETHICAL RECRUITER What did you want to be when you grew up?

We believe growing up doesn’t mean you have to lose sight of your dreams and ambitions.

Can Benchmark progress you to a better future and reconnect you to your inner child? Get in touch.

Office Support

Creative & Digital

IT Recruitment & Retention Exec Search, Temp, Perm Contract

Charity

Sales & Marketing

Life’s too short for the wrong job Find your dream career at; benchmarkrecruit.co.uk linkedin.com/company/benchmark-recruit @benchmarkrec facebook.com/benchmarkrecruit

0114 221 0550 The Workstation, 15 Paternoster Row, S1 2BX

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AGENDA

THE DIARY

BY RICHARD FIDLER

Our editor says MP is on right track for recognising the site of the AMP's history & future

Many Moor years ahead for city institution

FUSION OF PAST AND PRESENT IS VITAL Parking in the wrong car park as I attended the launch of the new £22 million nuclear fusion energy research facility in Rotherham it meant I had a 15-minute walk through the Advanced Manufacturing Park.

It’s a stroll I’d recommend to anyone who wonders what all those buildings are on the left as you drive down Sheffield Parkway.

Most of us will have heard about the likes of Boeing, Rolls Royce and McLaren moving research centres into the Sheffield City Region but it’s only when you get up close that you realise the size and scale of the development.

Quite rightly the Sheffield and Rotherham area has a proud heritage of leading the world in the invention and

manufacture of stainless steel.

Less talked about is the role that coal mining had in the history of our region.

And it's worth remembering that one of the most significant events in living memory – the Battle of Orgreave during the miners strike of 1985-85 – took place where all these huge buildings full of highly-skilled people are situated.

I chatted to Rotherham MP Sarah Champion during the nuclear fusion facility event and she told me she’s keen to see recognition for the site’s history.

She said: “If you think about it, the miners were really skilled workers who were supporting their local community – all the money they made went back into the local area and they’d

be really proud, I like to think, of the people working here in advance manufacturing.

“The one thing I hope changes in the future is that this was a really historic area and the Battle of Orgreave that took place here was and still is very significant in this area. I think some sort of recognition, whether this is in street names or some sort of monument, I think it would be really powerful.

“I don’t think people realise it’s still a living sore (within the mining communities), that there’s not been a resolution or inquiry so yes it’s phenomenal that this (the AMP) has grown out of that but it would be powerful to link the two together.”

I tend to agree, but what do you think?

Got views of your own? Let me know: richard@unltdbusiness.com LinkedIn: Richard Fidler

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

Have you been into Atkinsons recently on The Moor in Sheffield?

The chances are increasing, pretty much by the day, that you’ll be in the vicinity of the city’s iconic department store as more and more development work is completed down that end of town.

The Moor is thriving and with it a renaissance for Atkinsons, according to an old friend of mine David Cartwright who now finds himself as the store manager.

On a visit there last month I bumped into him and he gave me the Grand Tour around the store, which at the time was in the middle of its £million storewide sale.

I’m not alone, he tells me, in commenting to him that ‘it’s ages since I’ve been in here’ and also not the first to say I didn’t realise the range of goods that they sell.

Atkinsons is a Sheffield institution and David is at the forefront of encouraging the city’s independent traders to get in touch to see whether there is space in store to display their products.

Of course, there’s the High Street versus online battle being fought all over the world for shoppers' money but Atkinsons will soon launch their new website which will enable people to purchase from the comfort of their own homes.

Let’s not kid ourselves that High Street stores don’t have their problems, but it’s great to see a famous old Sheffield name still being relevant in one the city centre’s busiest areas.

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AGENDA

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Some things just work better together, Call us to see how better Internet can help your business

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IF YOU ASK ME

IF YOU ASK ME...

FLEXIBLE WORKIING

A four-day working week could boost productivity, lead to happier, less stressed staff – and save UK businesses £billions a year, according to research by Henley Business School. We chatted to several businesses in the Sheffield City Region already offering flexible working to find out how employers and employees are benefiting...

TOMASIN REILLY, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CMS

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

I’m a solicitor in commercial property with CMS and qualified nine years ago.

Since then I have had two children and am a working mum to a five-year-old and a two-year-old.

When I returned to work nearly four years ago from my first maternity leave, I worked part time equivalent to four days a week, first by having two mornings off a week, then switched to having one full day off and now I work five days a week but start early and leave early to do school pick up some days.

This was because I want a rewarding career, but I still want to be a present parent, too. Some parents say they don’t want to miss sports days and nativity plays

but I want to be there for the regular things, too – teatime, bath time, bedtime – so I can hear about their everyday happy moments and their worries.

A lot of families have two parents working these days and while it’s helpful financially, I also think being a working parent means I have experiences and an outlook which I can bring to being a parent which I wouldn't have if I didn't have a career.

There are quite a few other solicitors and secretaries in my department that work non-standard hours at CMS and fee earners are able to work from home one day a week, regardless of whether they are parents or not.

I’ve really benefited from these different work patterns and I don’t think my quality of work has changed because I

work non-standard hours.

In fact, returning from maternity leave I noticed I think I even got better at my job as I was more focused. I was promoted after returning from maternity leave and whilst working part time.

Most of my clients don’t even know I work part-time – it’s irrelevant because it has no impact, the level of service is no different and just because I am not in the office doesn’t mean I am unavailable. I’ve completed multi-million pound deals while working from home.

I’ve seen a real difference over the last few years when it comes to flexible working and different work patterns in my industry and workplaces generally. CMS now has a policy of promoting flexible working. There’s still a way to go but things are definitely improving.

15

IF YOU ASK ME

AMANDA BENNETT FCIPD HEAD OF HR AND ORGANISATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AT BERNESLAI HOMES

At Berneslai Homes we look to offer flexible working wherever possible in order to ensure our employees maintain an excellent worklife balance.

We offer a range of flexible working opportunities at all levels of the organisation and many of our staff have adjusted their working pattern to suit their lifestyle.

Many of our employees utilise our ‘flexi-time’ scheme to support work-life balance,

16

as it gives staff the ability to manage their own time effectively, or adjust their daily hours should they need to.

Berneslai Homes also offers a range of varied contracts, including compressed hours, termtime, job share and part-time working.

We currently have many members of staff who take advantage of the benefits of such contracts – these officers are from across the

... many of our staff have adjusted their working pattern to suit their lifestyle.

organisation, anywhere from administration, to senior managers and construction operatives.

Our ability to offer these flexible working options often depends on service provision and ensuring value for money, but we endeavour to ensure our organisation offers flexible working wherever possible as we understand the importance of work-life balance for our staff.

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

IF YOU ASK ME I founded Sheffield-based youth charity Element Society in 2013 as a response to the needs of young people together with a lack of youth support services caused by austerity measures.

I’ve been CEO since 2016 and we recently moved to the old Yorkshire Building Society premises opposite the top of Fargate.

We’re a youth-led charity that empowers young people to make a difference in their lives and communities – and that tends not to fit into a standard 9 to 5 schedule!

The charity operates a flexible working hours’ policy that allows team members to work their weekly hours on a schedule that suits their life, as long as they are attending essential meetings and events.

This means team members can have late starts or leave early to make appointments without having to go through a process of booking leave or

requesting a change to hours.

This empowers the team to have greater control over their working lives. There’s no worrying if your dentist can only see you at 10:15am on a Tuesday, you’ve had a bad night’s sleep or just found out your long lost cousin has come to Sheffield and wants to take you out for a meal and several drinks on a Thursday night.

The team tend to use this arrangement in three main ways. The first is matching working hours to the demands of their personal life on a day to day basis.

For example Will who has recently joined Element told me our flexible working arrangements have been a ‘God-send’ since he and his partner had a child. He has been able to start later after a long night with the baby, work a little later on a few weekdays and still finish early using banked hours to take his partner out for a celebratory meal with his pay cheque.

We believe flexible working empowers our team to be better at empowering young people.

Another method of taking advantage of the flexible working arrangements is to bank lots of hours over our busy period to use at a more convenient time. For example, Annie built up a bank of hours so that she could take extra time to concentrate on writing her dissertation on human rights and people trafficking for her Master’s Degree at Sheffield Hallam University.

Finally, staff can reduce their hours and owe them back to the organisation.

Another member of our team, Nabeela, wanted to work on a project with another charity, so she reduced her hours with Element and spent most of the summer with them.

Nabeela will pay these back by working additional hours over our autumn programmes.

We believe flexible working empowers our team to be better at empowering young people.

CHRIS HILL, FOUNDER AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF YOUTH CHARITY ELEMENT SOCIETY

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17

IF YOU ASK ME I set up Verus with my co-director Jamie Griggs in February this year because we both had young families.

Between us we’ve got 12 years’ experience working for big recruitment companies where the culture traditionally tends to be you have to put in all the hours and if you don’t you won’t be successful.

But in fact, when I returned to my previous job after being on maternity leave working part-time, I found I was a lot more productive and did better financially as well, compared with being full-time.

Jamie and I both wanted a better lifestyle balance.

Family was the priority, not work and we knew with both of us having young children aged two, three, four that putting in hours like 8:30am til 8pm or even 9pm, wasn’t going to be practical or make us happy or productive.

At Verus we want to create a flexible environment so we can recruit and retain the best recruiters.

We specialise in IT, tech and digital and if you’re very strict about your expectations about the sort of working hours you risk putting off a lot of highly skilled people. In recent years the IT and tech industries have become a lot more open to people who want reduced hours and flexible working, perhaps because they know they are missing out on skilled women, in particular.

But it’s not just working parents – there are plenty of skilled disabled people who might be put off by traditional working hours, as well as people from the ‘sandwich

generation’ (people who care for their aging parents while supporting their own children).

Putting in ridiculous hours doesn’t make you more productive – it can lead to poor health, high stress and fatigue levels and burn-out.

Flexible working can boost your business and boost family life for your staff, too.

My co-founder and I both work a four-day week but to different schedules so there is always someone in the office and we know that our belief in flexible working has to be mirrored in our

own recruitment and employment practices.

Flexible working is all about trust and maturity – if you show your employees you trust them to manage their time and deliver, they will respond accordingly. And those who don’t won’t stay under the radar for long.

And, of course, it’s not just recruiting people – it’s retaining them. Employers are increasingly looking to hang on to their best assets with creative employment contracts balanced with more flexible hours.

Flexible working is all about trust and maturity – if you show your employees you trust them to manage their time and deliver, they will respond accordingly.

MIRIAM BERRY, DIRECTOR, VERUS RECRUITMENT PARTNERS LTD

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unLTDBUSINESS.COM

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AGENDA

IN A NUTSHELL

BY JILL THEOBALD

Features writer Jill says flexible working is a win-win for employers AND employees

LET'S GET FLEXIBLE What a difference half an hour makes …

Two years ago, I asked my boss if I could change my working hours from 9-5 to 9:30-5:30.

It was only half an hour, but those extra 30 minutes have made such a difference to my work/life balance.

Getting a bus after the rush hour has halved my commute time because am not stuck in traffic for most of it. It’s also given me a little extra time in the morning so I'm not rushing around like a madwoman before setting off (well, most days).

I was lucky – my boss recognised I put the hours in and didn’t need to be at my desk on the dot of 9am every morning. They also realised the needs of my colleagues with children who wanted to work 8-4 around the school schedule.

More traditional companies may have stuck rigidly to the set office hours – but being flexible about working times benefits employers as well

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

as employees. It means your office is staffed and answering calls and queries from 8-6 instead of 9-5. That’s two hours when your customers and clients can reach you – and perhaps not your competitors.

Plus technology and living in the digital age means none of us need to be sat in an office at a stack monitor PC like it’s the mid-90s.

It was interesting chatting to South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) for their active travel feature in this issue and find out campaigns like Car Free Friday have been influenced by a four-day working week and flexible working trends.

So it was great to read this issue’s If You Ask Me contributors’ views all of the organisations are putting these flexible working trends into practice.

Chris Hill, founder of Element Society, operates a flexible working hours’ policy that allows team members to work their weekly hours on a schedule that suits their life,

as long as they are attending essential meetings and events.

Sounds sensible – especially as he points out: “We’re a youth-led charity that empowers young people to make a difference in their lives and communities – and that tends not to fit into a standard 9 to 5 schedule!”

Interestingly though, larger organisations are embracing flexible working, too, though.

Berneslai Homes, the housing company responsible for managing 18,500 homes for Barnsley Council, offers a range of varied contracts, including flexi-time, compressed hours, termtime, job share and part-time working.

And, as Head of HR Amanda Bennett explains, this is across the company with staff taking advantage of the benefits from administration, to senior managers and construction operatives.

Meanwhile Miriam Berry co-founded Verus Recruitment Partners Ltd earlier this year.

Both directors work a four-

day week but to different schedules so there is always someone available and says flexible working is all about trust and maturity – ‘if you show your employees you trust them to manage their time and deliver, they will respond accordingly’.

Something our editor Richard Fidler picked up on in his The Diary article on the changing culture of office life back in our August edition: “Flexible working hours are becoming the norm with an understanding that employees won’t do ridiculous things like beginning their working day at 3am so they can be in the beer garden by midday.”

He’s right – bending the old school workplace rules to be more flexible is a no-brainer for employees and employers in the 21st century.

I couldn’t agree more – unLTD should be walking the walk as well as talking the talk … so this editorial employee might add a four-day working week into the suggestion box right now!

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AGENDA

EVOLVING TECHNOLOGY

BY ASH YOUNG

How long will customers wait for your site to load? Not long, says our tech expert

IS YOUR MOBILE SITE LOSING YOU SALES? Statista found only 26 per cent of us are happy to stay on a website if it takes longer than five seconds to load.

With that in mind, previous Google research has found that on a mobile phone, this can take a whopping 22 seconds to load fully!

Why is speed important?

Site speed can hit small businesses the hardest and fast load times are vital so you can avoid the following: • Losing conversions at checkout • The competition stealing your potential sales • A damaged reputation Building a website optimised for speed Kissmetrics found that you could experience a 7 per cent

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

drop in conversions for a one second delay in website load time. If you make £500 a day from mobile visitors, this extra second could cost you more than £12,000 in sales each year.

Optimising for mobile site speed can: • Enhance visitors’ user experience on your site • Increase conversion rates on mobile • Bring in a higher sales revenue Does your website perform well on mobile?

Google has launched a new conversion metric – Relative Mobile Conversion Rate (Rel mCvR). First mentioned back in 2018 and it’s finally here for us to utilise!

It’s going to help track mobile conversion rates far

more efficiently, giving a ratio of desktop versus mobile conversion rates, so we know if our site performs on mobile as it should.

Google have set the bar for us all. Lina Hansson, a Google Conversion Specialist, recommends you’re at 50 per cent Rel mCvR now, and then aim for 70 per cent.

It’s worth noting here that you’re unlikely to ever reach a parity on conversion rate across these devices because mobile users are more likely to be in the research rather than buying stage. However, aiming for Google’s standards is a great place to start and improving your mobile site speed is a key player in getting there.

Your overall site conversion rate can be influenced by a

number of factors – external ones such as seasonality, and by site performance, usability and site speed.

While you can’t always influence the external factors, you can make vital mobile site improvements. That’s what’s so great about Rel mCvR – external factors minimally impact this metric, as they tend to affect both devices.

Now it’s much easier to quantify the effects of your mobile site improvement changes, without external factors potentially falsifying the results.

If you’re interested in optimising your mobile site for speed, get in touch with the Evoluted team.

Ash Young, Evoluted www.evoluted.net

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AGENDA

SECURING YOUR ASSETS

BY SAM LEEDER

Our Actus columnist shares how to avoid being spooked by an insurance horror

The issue of insurance disclosure has always been something of an issue – however this was further complicated by the introduction of The Insurance Act in 2016.

Whilst this act gave consumers additional protections in respect of warranties and conditions, it also imposes an ongoing duty of ‘fair presentation of risk’ on the policyholder to declare anything that is material to the insurance, anything the policyholder ought to have known about and anything that comes to light during the policy period.

In my experience, large businesses who have extensive management teams take the care to provide lots of information to insurers via

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

AVOIDING THEHORROR OFANUNPAID CLAIM!

their broker as part of their procurement process. In the world of the owner-managed or family-run business, insurance is often dealt with on a needsmust basis and things that possibly should be disclosed can be unintentionally omitted.

One of the biggest areas we find this to be an issue is with the past trading history of business owners. As we all know, starting or growing a business is particularly challenging even when you’ve had experience of it in the past.

Businesses close for a variety of reasons, whether down to an idea not quite catching on or because of bad debts – this is a natural part of business life.

What many people don’t know is that insurers tend to do background checks on directors to find out if they’ve previously

had businesses liquidated and whether any debts have been left. Alternatively they rely on a declaration tucked away in a Statement of Fact, that you are supposed to read, stating that you’ve not had issues, even if you have.

If you do have an incident occur within the business which you may need to claim for, one of the first things a loss adjuster may ask for is confirmation that you’ve provided accurate information on the business and in particular on past trading history.

If the questions have not been answered correctly – unintentionally or not – the claims process will not be straightforward. The situation will need to be referred to an underwriter who may decide that they would not have

quoted for the business if they had full knowledge of the details.

This could result in a claim not being paid or even the policy being cancelled.

Our advice therefore would always be to discuss your insurances in depth with a broker who takes the time to get to know you and understands your business. That way insurances can be arranged on the correct basis and the horror of a claim not being paid can be avoided at the first hurdle.

If you would like to know more please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Sam Leeder ACII Actus Insurance samleeder@ actusinsurance.co.uk 0114 2903624 07718 189476

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LEGAL

LEGAL MATTERS

BY ALEX ROSS, MANAGING PARTNER, HEAD OF COMPANY AND COMMERCIAL Our Bell & Buxton columnist says a Power of Attorney provides a safety net for business

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WHAT HAPPENS TO MY BUSINESS IF I AM ILL? Owning and developing a business can take years of hard work, but have you ever considered what would happen to your business if you are ill?

Succession planning is part of any business, as disaster planning should be, too.

For most people if you are ill for a few days then as a business owner it is usually fine. Everyone gets on with what they need to do, and any important decisions will wait until you are back to full strength.

But what happens if you are seriously ill for a significant period of time and not able to run the business yourself? How long can decisions wait before they become critical and the

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

business stagnates or folds completely?

To prepare for such an eventuality business owner of all kinds should consider making a Lasting Power of Attorney. This is a legal document which gives – to somebody that you have chosen and trust – the legal authority to act on your behalf.

Most people are familiar with these for personal assets, but it is less widely known that these documents can also be used for business assets.

For sole traders, partners, members of an LLP and shareholders in a family business, a Business Lasting Power of Attorney should be considered. Having a Business

Lasting Power of Attorney means that the business can continue in your absence and can therefore ensure income for your family. Without a Lasting Power of Attorney, the consequences could be devasting, not only for the business itself but also for your family.

If there are others who can continue to manage the business, they may find they are limited in some of the important decisions they need to make or that they require your personal input, for example your signature, to deal with certain matters.

Having a Lasting Power of Attorney where business partners appoint each other

means that the business can continue, and full authority can be given without needing your signature.

A Lasting Power of Attorney does not affect the owner’s right to continue to manage and run the business at anytime that they are willing and able to. Once made the Lasting Power of Attorney can just be left ready and available should it ever be required, providing a safety net and peace of mind for the business owner and his or her family and business partners.

Our specialist commercial team at Bell & Buxton would be happy to discuss these and any other business issues in complete confidence.

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AGENDA CALENDAR

6TH – 26TH OCTOBER OFF THE SHELF

Venue: Sheffield Hallam University & University of Sheffield About: Off the Shelf is one of the largest literary festivals in the UK and is proud to announce a jam-packed programme of over 150 events featuring some of the best names in fiction and nonfiction, poetry, politics, journalism, music, history and science. 2019 marks the 28th edition of the festival that this year travels beyond Sheffield into Barnsley, Rotherham and Doncaster. Off the Shelf is the only UK literary festival curated by two universities.

Contact: Event listings and tickets available at: offtheshelf.org.uk

1ST COHESION SHEFFIELD

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Venue: Sheffield Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield S1 2HH Time: 9:30am – 4pm Cost: Free – £20 About: An event to share views and hear from collaborations across the city making an impact on how we move forward despite the current climate.

Contact: www.cohesionsheffield.co.uk

1ST ROTHERHAM BUSINESS

NETWORKING BREAKFAST

Venue: Carlton Park Hotel, 102 – 104 Moorgate Road, Rotherham S60 2BG Time: 7:15am – 9am Cost: £10 About: A friendly, relaxed networking meeting. Our doors are always open for businesses to visit the group, especially if you are looking to grow your business, set up a new business or looking for motivation.

Contact: admin@networkb2b.co.uk

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2ND SHEFFIELD JOBS FAIR

Venue: Sheffield United Football Club, Bramall Lane, Sheffield S2 4SU Time: 10am – 1pm Cost: Free About: The Jobs Fair is a great way to speak with potential employers and employees face-to-face. Register with employers for jobs, collect info on employers, ask them questions, apply for jobs and make contacts.

Contact: events@sufc-sales.co.uk

3RD PHOTOGRAPHY FOR YOUR BUSINESS WORKSHOP

Venue: Dunston Innovation Centre, Dunston Road, Chesterfield S41 8NG Time: 10am – 1pm Cost: Free About: Good photography is an important tool when it comes to promoting your business. Done well, photography has the ability to explain your brand, services, products and people in a direct and plausible way. It can help you connect to your customer base, and to bring to life to your business.

Contact: bit.ly/2khl5KG

EDITORP’SICK EVENT

3RD THE PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL DINNER

Venue: Cutlers Hall, Church Street, Sheffield S1 1HG Time: 7pm – 11:30pm Cost: Table of 10 is £720.00 and a single ticket is £74.00 About: The President’s Annual Dinner is a chance for the region’s business leaders to attend a celebration, recognition and encouragement of youth enterprise and entrepreneurship as this year’s President Steve Manley’s theme. The event will feature a drinks reception, three course dinner, a keynote speaker and after dinner entertainment.

Contact: bit.ly/2MvWdLy

3RD COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS OF

SOUTH YORKSHIRE AND NORTH DERBYSHIRE

Venue: Sheffield Cathedral, Church Street, Sheffield S1 1HA Time: 7pm About: A celebration of those outstanding people who go above and beyond to care about their community or who consistently give up their time to help others.

Contact: bit.ly/2Zp6lYI

3RD EQUITY FUNDRAISING

AND CYBER RISK BUSINESS BREAKFAST

Venue: AMP Technology Centre, Burnel Way, Rotherham S60 5WG Time: 8:15am – 10am About: A two-part event with a chance for everyone to network and discuss their business, followed by two briefings on raising equity and accelerating business growth followed by an insightful presentation on how to protect your business from cyber threats.

Contact: bit.ly/2lxPDry

3RD UOS: PART TIME JOBS AND VOLUNTEERING FAIR

Venue: Octagon Centre, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN Time: 10:30am – 2pm Cost: Free About: Organised by the Student Jobshop and Sheffield Volunteering – the fair brings together students looking for part-time work and voluntary roles and local employers with opportunities.

Contact: studentjobshop@ sheffield.ac.uk

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

AGENDA

3RD/17TH/31ST KELHAM NETWORKING

Venue: Noosa Café Bar, 1B Alma Street, Sheffield S3 8RY Time: 10am – 12pm Cost: £5 About: Informal business networking for the community of Kelham Island and beyond.

A meet and mingle with new and familiar connections, sharing ideas and news, creating relationships and business opportunities without the need to pitch or sell. No memberships.

No single sector exclusions.

Open to all businesses in the Sheffield area.

Contact: www.kelhamnetworking.co.uk

5TH GIN & RUM FESTIVAL

Venue: Trafalgar Warehouse, 120 Trafalgar Street, Sheffield S1 4JT Time: 12:30pm – 11pm Cost: £13.34 About: Get ready to be spoilt for choice with more than 60 different gins and 60 different rums in an amazing venue for you to discover. On arrival, you will receive a branded Copa glass, guide and glass satchel, which are all yours to take home. The guide showcases all products and where you can find them, some of these being exclusive to the Gin and Rum Festival.

Contact: www.ginandrumfestival.com

5TH #WOMENED 5TH UNCONFERENCE SHEFFIELD - #10%BRAVER

Venue: School of Education, Sheffield Hallam University, Charles Street S1 2LX Time: 9am – 4:15pm Cost: £30 About: A grassroots movement to empower more women in education to have the choice to progress on their leadership journey. Join for a full day of workshops, activities and talks all to empower you in your work or business.

Contact: www.womened.org

unLTDBUSINESS.COM

4TH SENSORIAPRO 2019

Venue: Town Hall, Pinstone, Sheffield, S1 2HH Time: 10:30am – 6:30pm Cost: £37.50 – £100 About: Hosted by the AIF (Association of Independent Festivals) this session will look at how festivals help build an artist’s career. The panel guests, including Ami Lord (Standon Calling), Emma Zillmann (Kendal Calling, Bluedot) and Paul Reed (AIF) will explain how to get noticed and what bookers are looking for. The session will also spotlight various artists’ journeys to headline status and those who play the ‘long game’ making a living on the festival and live circuit.

There will also be a session running around independent record labels – looking at the current landscape for record labels and the added value they can bring in an age of DIY digital services. Guest speakers include James Burton (Warp Records) and Chris Smith (CPU Records).

Contact: bit.ly/2moRGyL

6TH ROTHERHAM SAILING CLUB: TRY

leaders, 1:1 business advice and networking.

Contact: bit.ly/scaleup360

Venue: Harthill Reservoir, Carver Way, Harthill S26 7XB Time: 10am – 2pm Cost: Free About: Looking for a new activity or challenge?

Try sailing as a family or individually. It can be as relaxing or competitive as you want. Rotherham Sailing Club, based at Harthill Reservoir, are offering free Try Sailing sessions to all newcomers throughout the summer.

Contact: TrySailing@ rotherhamsailingclub.org.uk

10TH CAVENDISH CANCER CARE

SAILING FOR FREE

10TH-11TH SCALEUP 360

Venue: Sheffield Hallam i-Lab, Aspect Court, Pond Hill, Sheffield S1 2BG Time: 9:30am – 4pm daily Cost: Free About: The Scale360 twoday taster event will involve workshops from industry

GAMES NIGHT

Venue: Virgin Money Lounge, 66 Fargate, Sheffield S1 2HE Time: 5pm – 7pm Cost: £5 (Suggested donation) About: The night will include time to network, short talks from Cavendish, Virgin Money Lounge and sponsors ProAktive, plus the all important games competition! Networking with a difference, you’ll go head to head on games such as air hockey, table football and bowling with some friendly competition.

Contact: bit.ly/2lVqJm4

10TH VIDEO VANITY:

ARE YOU 5K READY?

Venue: Revolution Sheffield, The Plaza, Sheffield S1 4JL Time: 6pm – 8pm

Cost: Free About: In the ever-changing digital marketing landscape make sure you are equipped to keep up with your competitors by showcasing the latest in Video Marketing tools that are available to you in South Yorkshire. Organised by Full Service Agency Hallam FM and Ad Smart by Sky, this evening will provide guests with an introduction to both video production and highly targeted TV advertising.

Contact: bit.ly/2lxY85W

11TH GENTING CHARITY GOLF DAY

Venue: Wortley Golf Club, Hermit Hill Lane, Sheffield S35 7DF Time: 10am – 11pm Cost: £220 per team of 4 About: A full day of golf, food and entertainment, including a 3-course meal, gaming vouchers, a charity auction and more.

Contact: hannah.martin@ gentingcasinos.co.uk

11TH WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORKING

Venue: The Florentine, Tapton Park Road, Sheffield S10 3FG Time: 9:30am – 11:30am Cost: £5 About: A space for women who wish to be both proactive and supportive business networkers, meeting every other week over tea and coffee.

Contact: bit.ly/2lrnMcP

11TH BARNSLEY PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION LUNCH

Venue: Tankersley Manor, Church Lane, Tankersley, Barnsley S75 3DQ Time: 12pm – 2:30pm Cost: £45 – £75 About: Chat and network with fellow property, environment and business people over a delicious two course lunch.

This will be followed by talks and Q&A from director Matt Gladstone and director David Shepherd of the Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

Contact: 01226 744700

29

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AGENDA

16TH – 19TH STEEL CITY 45: BEER & CIDER FESTIVAL

Venue: Kelham Island, Alma Street, Sheffield S3 8RY Time: Various times across the days Cost: Varies depending on the day and time: £7 – £11 About: CAMRA Sheffield & District are proud to bring you STEEL CITY 45, a sapphire anniversary beer and cider festival, organised and staffed by volunteers who just want to share their love of good beer and cider! Once again held at the atmospheric Kelham Island Museum with over 250 craft beers on cask and keg, 50 real ciders and perries, street food vendors, traditional pub games, live music and more.

Contact: www.sheffield.camra.org.uk

11TH START UP DAY 2019

Venue: Reading Room, Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, Sheffield S1 1XZ Time: 9:30am – 5pm Cost: Free About: Whether you're just starting out, need advice on protecting your intellectual property or are ready to take the next step, come along to an action-packed day of free business support with everything you need to turn your idea into a reality.

Contact: bit.ly/2m3J1Br

16TH WIN YOUR NEXT CLIENT ON LINKEDIN

Venue: Mercure Sheffield St Paul Hotel & Spa, 119 Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 2JE Time: 1pm – 5pm Cost: £197 About: This course will equip you to generate sales and enquiries from LinkedIn without any pushy tactics with a proven system to attract and convert clients.

Contact: bit.ly/2m6Y65m

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18TH BARNSLEY AND ROTHERHAM BUSINESS AWARDS 2019

Venue: Magna Science Adventure Centre, Sheffield Road, Templeborough, Rotherham S60 1DX Time: 6:30pm – 1am Cost: £65 – £700 About: Award ceremony recognising the region’s best in business.

Contact: awards@brchamber.co.uk

19TH GET EQUIPPED 2019

Venue: Electric Works, Sheffield Digital Campus, Sheffield S1 2BJ Time: 11am – 6pm Cost: Free About: A new, not-for-profit event for creatives and technical people to mingle, share ideas and get hands-on with new equipment.

Contact: www.get-equipped.net

16TH BARNSLEY COLLEGE OPEN DAY

Venue: St Mary's Place, Barnsley S70 2SR Time: 4pm – 7pm Cost: Free About: Barnsley College Higher Education welcomes prospective students to its next Open Day, with the opportunity to speak to tutors and about the courses on offer, meet other prospective students and have a tour of the campus.

Contact: www.barnsley.ac.uk/registerHE

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Here at The University of Sheffield we have two stunning venues for your Christmas celebrations, Halifax Hall and Inox.

A stunning Victorian mansion transformed into a 38 bedroom boutique hotel.

A fabulous contemporary space, amazing atmosphere and delicious food prepared by our talented chefs.

Located only a few minutes’ from the city, Halifax Hall is the perfect place for you to enjoy your celebrations, relax and stay the night.

Whether you’re looking for a private party, lunch with colleagues or you just fancy letting your hair down with friends, do it here in style.

TO MAKE A BOOKING OR FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT 0114 222 8822 OR CHRISTMASWITHUS@SHEFFIELD.AC.UK unLTDBUSINESS.COM

s s.

te u

AGENDA

20TH REDBRIK CHESTERFIELD HALF MARATHON

Venue: Queens Park, Chesterfield S40 2ND Time: 9:30am start Cost: £5 – £28 About: Staged in partnership with Redbrik Estate Agents and Chesterfield Borough Council, this event has a fantastic and challenging course through the heart of Chesterfield. The event will incorporate the half-marathon, the 5 Mile Run and Family Fun Run. Contact: info@redbrikchesterfieldhalf.com

19TH PACES CHARITY BALL

Venue: Mercure St Pauls, 119 Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 2JE Time: 7am – 11:30pm Cost: £50 About: A night of amazing food, great entertainment and lots of fun for the first Paces Charity Ball.

Contact: vikki.mallinder@ pacessheffield.org.uk

21ST UOS: SHEFFIELD LEGAL FAIR Venue: Octagon Centre, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN Time: 11:30am – 3:30pm Cost: Free

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About: The University of Sheffield Legal Fair brings together a range of occupations: solicitor, barrister, legal executive, paralegal, patent and trademark attorneys; public sector legal employers including police, probation, prison service; course and information providers, for the promotion of recruitment and training opportunities to undergraduate and postgraduate students who are interested in exploring a career in the legal sector.

Contact: bit.ly/2ludYPf

23RD SHOWCASE SHEFFIELD: B2B EXHIBITION 2019

Venue: Ponds Forge

International Sports Centre, Sheaf Street, Sheffield S1 2BP Time: 9:30am – 4:30pm Cost: Free About: B2B exhibition providing an unrivalled opportunity to meet, connect and build rapport with prospects and customers in a face to face environment. The unLTD team will be at the event with a stand – why not come over to say hi and pick up the latest copy of the magazine!

Contact: events@scci.org.uk / bit.ly/2D1xOsu

24TH MANUFACTURER’S BREXIT

Crucible Theatre, Norfolk Street, Sheffield S1 1DA Time: 8:30am – 11am Cost: Free About: With the Brexit date imminent, Keebles have joined with SITC to discuss key issues facing manufacturing businesses post-Brexit.

Following a chance to network over breakfast, experts of international trade from Sheffield International Trade Centre and Keebles LLP to help your business prepare for and thrive post-Brexit.

Contact: marketing@keebles.com

ROUND TABLE – SUCCEEDING IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE BEYOND BREXIT Venue: Adelphi Room at

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COVER STORY

CT is Leading the way for Women in Technology Interested in a career in technology alongside our dynamic ladies? Call 01246 266 130, email careers@ct.uk or visit www.ct.uk 32 Wemon in Tech Unltd Ad V3.indd 1

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TECHNOLOGY

CT ACCOUNT DIRECTOR MOLLIE ELLIS

WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY In our last edition Central Technology (CT) shared how the firm is bucking the trend when it comes to women in the workforce. This month we meet CT account director Mollie Ellis who shares with us her eight years of industry experience – and how we must tackle the ‘deeply damaging stereotypes about tech being for boys’.

What drew you to a career in technology?

I came into the IT industry completely by chance. I did well academically at school and went on to study German at University. I started my working life at 21 in recruitment and it was one of the directors there who suggested I may find IT interesting as I’ve always loved problem solving, dealing with people and variety in my days.

She then introduced me to the MD who first hired me into the industry.

I now am fortunate enough

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to say that I love the industry and my role more than ever – IT is never dull, is constantly evolving and changing to meet the demands of people and business globally. The possibilities, demand and the future are always bright within IT and no two challenges are the same.

What does your role entail here at CT? I joined CT as a senior account manager which included being responsible for a smaller number of key accounts. Within this role I was accountable for maintaining on-going and open communication with these clients to ensure their IT strategy was aligned to their overall business plans and that all projects were completed and delivered on time and to the high standard CT pride themselves on.

My primary role was, and remains, to ensure all my clients feel listened to and

cared for. I have very recently accepted a promotion to account director at CT which I am so proud to say will see me supporting and mentoring a number of account managers in their development.

What do you feel the technology industry needs in order to attract more women?

This is a topic I could talk about for hours (and often have as many of my colleagues would confirm!)

But what this ultimately comes down to is that to make tech more attractive to women we need to ensure anyone in a position of leadership within a business is cheering on the successes of promising women as much as they are for men. We also need to promote flexible work options – success doesn’t always have to happen 9-5.30 Monday to Friday.

Hearing success stories of women in this industry will inspire more to be a part of

it and breakthrough deeply damaging stereotypes about tech being for boys, enabling more young girls to reach their full potential.

Are there other women in the tech industry who inspire you?

I am in awe of so many women that it is tough to choose, but if I had to name just one, I’d choose Marie Curie who actually is from STEM not strictly tech.

However, she was the first woman to win a Nobel prize, the only woman to ever win it twice and the person to win it in two different sciences. Marie Curie is a name known by many as are her successes, but she not only accomplished more than most people will ever do in their lifetime, she did it despite heavy gender bias.

Interested in a career in technology? Call 01246 266 130 or email careers@ct.uk

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COVER STORY

RESET FOR

S S E C SUC

Benchmark MD Louisa Harrison-Walker tells Jill Theobald how self-care and re-evaluation of work/life priorities during a period of poor mental health helped her ‘re-set’– and boost her business ‘I am an incredibly resilient person and not fazed by changes or hard work.’

How many SME owners can relate to the above statement?

Most if not all, I’m guessing.

‘I over-committed, took on too much and didn’t want to let anyone down.’

And how many to this comment?

About the same, even if they wouldn’t necessarily want to admit it – as I find out

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while grabbing a coffee with Louisa Harrison-Walker, MD of Benchmark.

Louisa’s story is a mustread for all SME owners as the lessons she learned after losing a dear friend forced her to ‘re-set’ and ‘reboot’ to re-focus her time and energies – which had far-reaching benefits for her business, too.

“When Benchmark launched almost 15 years ago to provide recruitment

and retention services to the region, my business partner Amy and I were sharing a house and were free of a lot of responsibilities.

“But as life goes on you acquire more and more – in both our cases a husband and two children and as a business owner a duty of care to ten staff, and not just financially with their salaries but also to their own health and wellbeing, too. Plus you never

stop being a daughter, sister, a friend.”

Add to that already considerable work/life balance Louisa also wears a lot of different hats outside the home and business – she’s Chair of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce Council, on the Sheffield Business Together steering committee, chairs the regional advisory board for Common Purpose, is a charity trustee, and is also on the

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COVER STORY

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LOUISA’S EXPERIENCE FED INTO THE COMPANY’S VALUES DEVELOPING AN APPROACH TO WORK THAT IS ‘FUN, PRODUCTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE’

board of the Higher Education Progression Partnership.

“Like a lot of SME owners, I am an incredibly resilient person and not fazed by changes or hard work but it’s easy to underestimate how all-consuming that role and lifestyle can be,” she explains.

“I’m a high energy person and was always doing everything at full pelt and trying to be all things to all people. I thought that was sustainable – it isn’t.

“The catalyst for me was the death of my close friend James. We found out the night before my 40th birthday his cancer had come back and everything just unravelled for me, I was so very sad.

“I was operating with little capacity for contingency so when James died it was just too much to handle. It was devastating – he’d left behind his wife, two children and so many loving friends, he really was one of life’s great guys, so it seemed so unfair. I had

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no reserves so all the plates I was spinning just became too much to handle.

“I didn’t want to engage with anything – I didn’t get out of bed for two weeks. At that point you’re on the edge of the rabbit hole and you don’t know if you’re at the start, middle or end of depression – you ask yourself ‘Am I going to be well again?’

“I found myself in a position I hadn’t been in before, I wasn’t sure who to talk to about it as I couldn’t really explain how I was feeling, and I was nervous about being vulnerable, it’s not something I am used to and saying you are struggling is not something you feel comfortable to reveal.

“I didn’t realise how much I wasn’t coping until my dad came to visit and asked if I was okay. I said yes. He said, ‘But are you really?’ I’ve since learned that whenever you ask someone who you think might be struggling if they are okay you always ask twice because

The biggest thing for me was giving myself permission to look after myself.

I had always prioritised my kids, the business and my team first. I needed time to switch off – to update my anti-virus software!

people are rarely honest the first time.

“I realised after nearly 15 years of running the business I hadn’t had a proper break.

Even my maternity leave for my first child was 12 weeks and I only took 20 weeks for my second. I was truly exhausted.

“I went to a retreat in York for five days – it was basically a way to re-set and reboot.

I learned that my mode of operation was outdated, and now wasn’t working for me.

Trying to be all things to all people had led to burnout. I was fearful of letting people down – but I wasn’t going to be any good to anybody burnt out.

“Life is so busy and noisy, and we all wear so many hats – the retreat was a time to take all of the hats off and just be me.

“The biggest thing for me was giving myself permission to look after myself. I had always prioritised my kids, the business and my team first.

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COVER STORY

You’re expected to work like you don’t have kids and parent like you don’t have a job, but you’ve got to compartmentalise as a working parent.

n

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COVER STORY

...if you’re not looking after yourself and prioritising a bit of self-care then as a boss you’ve not got a lot in reserve, you’re going to become over-drawn.

I needed time to switch off – to update my anti-virus software!

“I did things that were good for me and my mindset like cutting out alcohol and doing lots of yoga, walking, meditation and mindfulness.

“It’s been almost a year now since I took this time out to rest and recuperate and I can’t tell you how different I feel now. I didn’t think it was possible to enjoy life as much as I am now, the balance I have between running my business, serving my community, and raising my family is perfect. It’s taken 18 years for me to nail it, but I have finally got there!

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“If you’re not looking after yourself and prioritising a bit of self-care then as a boss you’ve not got a lot in reserve, you’re going to become over-drawn. When we are not operating in a healthy way drinking too much – a drink to celebrate, a drink to commiserate, alcohol is part of the British culture in that way. But alcohol is also a depressant and really no good for you if your brain isn’t firing on all cylinders – it just perpetuates the problem and eventually you short-circuit.

“As an MD if you’re down and troubled in the office that

has an impact and sets the energy for your team, too, so I had a very honest conversation with my management team.

And while I had felt I couldn’t be vulnerable, they already knew I was struggling – it was obvious to them, they told me I’d had my ‘game face’ on.

“I had some really honest chats with Becca my ops manager – she has been with me for six years on the journey and she was an incredible support. It can’t have been easy working around me when I wasn’t in a good place.

“It was incredibly heartwarming to sit with my team,

they just sprang into action and we talked through what needed to be handed over so I could take some time off and out between October and December last year. I trusted them all entirely to manage the business. I’ve known for a while they are better than me at lots of things but taking time out to rest and recuperate gave time and space for my colleagues to grow and develop – so when I came back it was really important I didn’t stifle them, we discussed very openly and honestly our strengths and weaknesses and how to redesign our

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COVER STORY roles to play to them. We shared responsibilities, and the opportunity to step up has proved incredibly beneficial for the them both professionally and personally.

“This allowed me to return to work and re-focus my time on those activities I am best at and generally get better balance. Based on what I’d learnt from my own experience I led the team through a number of changes concerned with improving all of our resilience. I encouraged everyone to think about how they work – what times of the day are they most productive, do they like to be in the hustle and bustle or a quiet corner, are they making time to get a healthy lunch, come in late / finish early so they can get to the gym, make date night with their partner.

“They’re empowered to make calls that achieve the right personal and professional balance. This wasn’t as easy as it might sound – it took some encouragement to adopt these new ways of working, to gain the trust of the rest of the team that they weren’t leaving the others short. During this time the team have had some really challenging personal situations to work through, but these new ways of working have really helped to smooth out the challenge that work can be when you’re consumed with personal grief.

“The challenge I faced, of getting the approach to work right for me (I don’t like to say work-life balance as it shouldn’t be something that is balanced, but rather stable and positive) comes up in 90 per cent of the consultancy work that I do.

It’s a challenge for everyone these days, so let’s start the conversation, be honest and brave, and develop an approach to work that is fun, productive and sustainable.

“You’re expected to work like you don’t have kids and parent like you don’t have a job, you’ve got to compartmentalise as a working parent. I was determined I wouldn’t go back to those same routines and habits, so Monday is now mummy day. I can take the kids to school and pick them

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BENCHMARK OPS MANAGER REBECCA MORRIS WHO ‘SPRANG INTO ACTION’ TO HELP LOUISA TAKE TIME OUT

up, don’t take work calls. I also have some me time – a massage, reflexology or yoga.

“My bullet journal has ‘must do’ and ‘could do’ daily tasks and if I don’t get through all of the ‘could dos’ I don’t beat myself up. I have Tuesday/ Wednesday/Thursday in the office and do consultancy work with clients on Fridays.

“I make time for gardening and regular walks in green spaces like Blackamoor or Endcliffe Park with friends because that’s great for your mental health. The Japanese prescribe ‘time with trees’ so getting out into nature is a weekly commitment I made to myself – we live in the greenest city in Europe so it’s pretty easy to get stunning, perspective forcing views around here!

“I’m currently 100 per cent tee-total – it makes life a lot simpler and me a lot more positive generally. It wasn’t easy at first – work functions, dinners, parties, by default you just have a drink but it’s a habit I needed to break,

especially as I have always been someone who doesn’t do moderation! I also go back to the retreat every six months because it’s important that we maintain good mental health – it’s an ongoing process.

“I feel so much more tooled up now to signpost people that face periods of poor mental health. There are also some amazing services out there raising the topic of mental wellness – Westfield Health has a 24 hour counselling service for example and the South Yorkshire Chaplaincy Service provide a listening service. Plus there are the amazing resources for individuals and employers provided by Sheffield MIND with whom we have run business workshops on managing mental health in the workplace. As a result, we have also launched a charity division where we offer a discounted rate to all third sector clients as a way of giving back.

“At the end of his life James had been in a hospice on Nottingham. They gave

him a graceful death which was so important to his wife Laura and his children and his friends. The care was wonderful and the support they gave his family afterwards, too. I didn’t realise the value of a hospice until I was in one at a bedside.

“St Luke’s Hospice had approached me about becoming a trustee just before James passed, and once he did, I knew I wanted to get involved. But I was also reluctant about taking too much on and managing expectations – mine and others – so I knew if there was a new hat, I’d have to take one off which sadly meant I had to stop my work as a trustee at Whirlow Hall Farm.

“I got the call from St Luke’s to say I was on the board on what would have been James’ 40th birthday – so it felt like fate and it means something tangible has come out of it all.

It feels good to be putting my energies into a hospice like St Luke’s in memory of my dear friend James.”

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PROPERTY INVESTMENT

BRINGING A NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE TO THE SHEFFIELD CITY REGION Three years ago Keystone Property Group set out to offer innovative property solutions to (and for) investors and developers alike. At the time, however, their options were an entirely new form of investment for many domestic investors.

But, Keystone’s efforts

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paid off on their first project – a development on Silbury Boulevard in Milton Keynes.

Here’s how: Goal To allow investors a way into the UK property market without having to plan around changes in the legislature or void

periods. Where possible, they wanted to allow entry at the developer level, and eliminate the typical headaches associated with property investment and ownership.

Keystone wanted to bring property developers and investors together on secure, high-quality projects. The

best way for them to do so was by creating development finance options. Whereby, property investors fund developers’ key projects, in return for interest on their invested capital.

They identified purposebuilt rental accommodation as an emerging market that could yield the results they

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PROPERTY INVESTMENT wanted. And Milton Keynes was the perfect location for their first project, due to its strong commuter links.

Challenges In the UK, the private rented sector is primarily known for buy-to-let investments.

Someone owns a property and ‘lets it out’ to another person, cue the landlordtenant relationship.

Build-to-Rent developments were only just starting to take-off and as such were a relatively unknown entity.

Many mainstream investments, either property or shares, offer backers some form of ownership. However, Keystone’s opportunity, focused on a partnership over a set time period, eliminating ownership and solely focusing on profit delivery for the investor.

Solution To reassure potential investors of the viability of

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the Build-to-Rent market, it was important that they partnered with leading developers, firms that had a track-record delivering highquality property.

A downside of traditional buy-to-let investment is that although investors can benefit from below market value assets and favourable lending rates, the rate of return is uncertain and growth unpredictable, so their option offered a fixedrate minimum annual return.

Although investors don’t own the property there are strong security measures in place, in the form of a thirdparty Security Trustee.

Results Instead of ploughing capital into buying a property and covering upkeep costs and more, investors entered the property market at a lower amount – putting their money to work

Three years ago Keystone Property Group set out to offer innovative property solutions to (and for) investors and developers alike.

in a ‘hands-off’ investment, that awarded an average 22.5 per cent return.

Work on the Silbury Boulevard development has progressed rapidly externally and internally.

Final touches are being made to apartments on multiple floors, including mechanical and electrical fit-out, kitchens, and terrace balustrade.

Since the investment exited in 2017, Keystone have financed a further eight site acquisitions and exited six more projects. And this year alone, their investors have seen a cumulative return exceeding 60 per cent.

It really goes to show that their alternative property investment opportunities outperform the wider market, consistently delivering high-returns for investors.

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tailored to your exact needs which can be paid monthly or annually – its your choice!

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to our services, even partway through the financial year, is quick, smooth, and involves no extra fees

• Continuous support and availability: We maintain constant

communication with all our clients and are readily accessible by phone, messenger, and email.

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Vehicle Finance | Car & Van Leasing | Short Term Vehicle Rental | Fuel Cards | Bespoke Fleet Services 42 unLTDBUSINESS.COM

ENTREPRENEURS

ENTREPRENEUR SUPPORT

BY HELEN WILLIAMS

Our new columnist on the importance of ‘real inner confidence’

CONFIDENCE: BUSINESS MAKER OR BREAKER? We often hear about market confidence and business confidence – but what about your personal confidence?

The real inner confidence that allows you to make everything happen.

The real inner confidence that allows you to deliver with your knowledge and experience combined with true ownership of your personality and individuality.

The real inner confidence that is natural to you whatever the circumstance, whatever the environment and whoever your audience.

In business specifically you are totally expected to have confidence, and this is crucial to self-employed, business owners and entrepreneurs as you take the helm of driving everything forward.

It is quite easy to forget that businesses are led and driven by people – and people are human beings, not machines.

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No-one should have to feel like they are living up to a false expectation of themselves because of business assumption and corporate suit.

We would never like to admit that we are lacking confidence in any way, shape or form. However, this is the most common obstacle found among individuals that holds their momentum and results back in life and in business.

The fact we don’t like to admit we could undoubtedly benefit from enhancing our performance is often down to our Britishness – allowing ego and stubborn-ness to take over. This very fact automatically highlights that we are doing ourselves a huge injustice.

It is common to behave as though everything is in hand and under control when the reality can be somewhat different. The natural response is that everything is good,

business is good, it’s all going well. That’s what people expect to hear, don’t they? How can we admit to it ever being otherwise?

Exactly how much untapped potential is not being unleashed from a personal perspective that can ultimately impact the trajectory of your business? Everyone can do more, have more and be more.

The other side to this is when you may not even be selfaware of anything underlying confidence issues. We are often so good at being stubborn we put on a façade we believe to be true. Subconsciously this affects our thoughts, emotions, behaviours and actions, in a domino effect and exterior performance and output is unquestionably going to be compromised. We need to ensure the dominoes are positioned for motion in the right direction and conducive to our success.

The first constructive step forward is the acceptance and ownership that you have more to give. Everyone has.

Human behaviour, skillset and mindset are areas that are always available to you to grow and develop.

Personal development is the fundamental foundation to driving your business success and then more importantly sustaining it. When you give yourself this permission to step into your own excellence you are giving your life and business the green light to be the vision that you see.

Helen Williams is a Personal Development Coach and the founder of HEW where she helps business owners to invest in themselves to create personal growth – which is then transferable into their companies. helpingentrepreneurswin.com 07881 917665

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SUCCESS STORY

FROM BETTING TO

THE BEAST! From his parents’ attic to TV’s The Beast – Redtooth MD Martin Green takes Sasha Mossman on the journey of his quizzes, poker, memorabilia and events company

To pin Redtooth down to just one definition in their ventures would be difficult to say the least.

Split into four subsidiaries – quizzes, poker, memorabilia and events, the business offers a wide range of entertainment and services – including the UK’s current largest live pub poker league – the company’s goal is to drive footfall back into

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licensed premises and local trade.

Managing director Martin Green took the business from humble beginnings to industry leadership in the pub entertainment and services sector – supplying endless entertainment to pubs, clubs, bars and the licensed trade across the country.

Martin said: “Loyal customers are the life and soul

of our business, with most of our custom coming in through recommendations, repeat business and word of mouth.

“Our main goals at Redtooth are to offer exceptionally high-quality products and services to the pub trade, so that we can help assist and increase trade in venues – we want to keep the industry alive!”

Founded in Martin’s

parents’ attic way back in 2001, the company now boasts a team of 20 staff at its headquarters in Barlborough, Derbyshire and a further 20 team members across the UK and abroad.

The team plans to continue expanding further, with a current total of four premises in Barlborough and Meadowhall.

Having begun life as

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SUCCESS STORY

REDTOOTH MD MARTIN GREEN

THE BEAST MARK LABBETT

Redtooth Quizzes, the company climbed the ranks of success to become the largest supplier of pub quizzes in the UK, with over 3,000 pubs and clubs receiving their weekly quiz.

Growth continued, and the business became arguably most well-known for Redtooth Poker, which has more than 1,000 venues taking part and in excess of 230,000 registered players as well as casino nights.

This generated the annual VEGAS100 event, a nationwide pub poker tournament seeking the best players in the country, eventually flying out more than 250 regional winners and guests to take part in the main event in Las Vegas.

With the annual prize pool now exceeding over £300,000, Redtooth Poker offer the biggest prize pool in pub poker history.

Proving hugely successful, Redtooth Poker was named Best Poker League at the UK Poker Awards for two consecutive years.

One of Redtooth Events’ most popular experiences is ‘Beat the Beast’ – a chance to take on Mark Labbett from TV’s The Chase in a head to head game show format – something the Redtooth team have taken all over

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Loyal customers are the life and soul of our business, with most of our custom coming in through recommendations, repeat business and word of mouth.

the country. Designed for corporate events, charity fundraisers or even just general quiz nights, the quiz features several different challenges, from traditional pen-and-paper quizzes to more interactive technology.

Similarly, in 2019 Redtooth Memorabilia was established – providing authentic memorabilia from stage, screen and sports as well as managing live or silent auctions for events of all size.

Redtooth Memorabilia is also behind the innovative silent auction technology – conceived in-house under the memorabilia and framing branch of the company – which will eventually be rolled out for free at various charity events across the country, with the aim of making it as popular as Redtooth’s traditional paperbased silent auction.

Martin added: “The free silent auction service has been particularly beneficial to the charity work we have done.

“As a business we value being able to make a difference to charities close to our hearts and over the years we’ve been able to donate tens of thousands of pounds to foundations, whether these are local or national.”

In the last quarter of 2018 alone, Redtooth raised more than £25,000 for charities including the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce charity of the year SCCCC, as well as Cash for Kids, Bluebell Wood and Weston Park Cancer Charity.

In addition to Redtooth’s core services, the business continues to introduce new, innovative services and products into the pub industry – ranging from Redtooth Darts to the introduction of Casino Nights.

The company has also begun to provide tech support for corporate events such as Sheffield United’s 125th Celebration at Ponds Forge and a range of live entertainment for Magna Science Adventure Centre’s highly popular Christmas Events.

Looking to the future, the team are developing a groundbreaking smart phone quiz – designed to make the Redtooth experience more interactive for keen quizzers – due for release in January 2020.

Martin said: “We’re aiming to increase brand awareness and marketing opportunities for the future, by continuing to evolve and enhance website and social media presence by utilising the latest trends and technology.”

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

THE STREETFOODCHEF Abi Golland, joint MD of The Street Food Chef, tells us how Sheffielders getting behind local independents and the city’s entrepreneurial spirit helped her and husband Richard establish their ‘honest, delicious and helpful’ business I was inspired to start my business by ...

My husband and joint MD Richard and I are not afraid of change and we really wanted to do something together.

Our objective was to build something we could be proud of, which would support our family. A street food business allowed us to start on a relatively low budget and still fulfil our philosophy that food should be made using fresh ingredients and tastes better when it is made with love!

My favourite thing about running my business is …

I love serving delicious food and trying to give the best customer experience possible.

I particularly like working with our great teams. A surprising and wonderful ‘side effect’ is how it has helped me to feel rooted in Sheffield. I feel part of the business community and the food community in a way I never expected.

The three words that best describe my business are …

Honest, delicious and helpful.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because …

It has an entrepreneurial spirit and is supportive on so many levels. There are great services to help get start-ups off the ground, but also Sheffielders in general really get behind local independents – we have always felt there was a real will for us to make it work.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because …

There are fantastic mentoring and business support networks and geographically Sheffield

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RICHARD AND ABI GOLLAND MDS OF THE STREET FOOD CHEF

is so well placed to grow your business outside the region.

The best advice I ever got was …

Proper Pasty owner John Worrall told us to treat your business like a big business, because to you it is. Putting professional processes in place has helped us, and therefore our customers, to take it seriously.

Walt Disney said the difference between those who fail and those who succeed, is that those who succeed keep going. On a personal level, this has kept me going through the hard times.

The worst advice I ever got was …

I really can’t think of any.

I suppose I question the general (very sensible) advice that when you start a business, keep your day job until your new business is settled, but I really think we made a go of The Street Food Chef because we absolutely had to.

The organisations that have supported me and my business include …

Business Link and the training sessions and guidance they provided. Jim Lawson, who worked for Business Enterprise South Yorkshire, became a real ambassador for The Street Food Chef in the early days.

We also accessed great mentoring via the Creative Sheffield growth scheme.

The main challenges facing my industry/sector are …

Rising costs, rates, increasing staffing and food prices are very real threats and our profit margins are small.

Many European countries apply a discounted VAT rate to tourism, service or hospitality sectors. If that was introduced here, we could invest more easily.

In 5 years’ time I expect my business to …

Become more sustainable. We have removed all single use plastic from our dining rooms, now we need to tackle our suppliers.

We also need to ensure our menu is sustainable.

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FOCUS ON

SCR: STRATEGIC ECONOMIC PLAN

AND LOCAL INDUSTRIAL

STRATEGY 52

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FOCUS ON During this period of uncertainty for the Sheffield City Region (SCR) and the UK as a whole, it’s up to regional leaders to set a clear path for growing our economy, says SCR Mayor Dan Jarvis MBE MP and Chair of the SCR Local Enterprise Partnership James Muir. Here they take a look in more detail at the new Strategic Economic Plan and Local Industrial Strategy We stand at a time of great change – but also a time of great opportunity.

Whatever side of the Brexit debate you’re on, there is no doubt that this is a period of uncertainty for the Sheffield City Region (SCR) and for the UK as a whole.

As regional leaders, it is therefore our responsibility to set a clear path for growing our economy, capitalising on the opportunities before us, and ensuring that our communities, and our

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businesses, flourish.

That’s why we’re in the process of refreshing our Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and developing our Local Industrial Strategy, which will set out our approach to addressing the challenges of economic growth and persisting inequalities.

Research carried out by our SCR team, in collaboration with the region’s two universities, has found that the SCR has experienced economic growth in recent years.

However, our region has underperformed compared to other areas, and the spread of growth has not benefitted everyone. This evidence has highlighted the need for transformational change in the SCR economy, if we are to unlock wider prosperity for all.

Through the Mayoral Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership, we’ve been working hard to help businesses and individuals grow our economy in

South Yorkshire, deliver infrastructure that better connects people and places, and give the private sector the support it needs to create good jobs and boost productivity.

We’re delivering successful Local Growth Fund projects, such as the Waverley district centre development at the heart of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District; the Great Yorkshire Way linking Doncaster’s iPort and Doncaster Sheffield Airport to the

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FOCUS ON

CHAIR OF THE SCR LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIP JAMES MUIR

motorway network for the first time; the second phase of Barnsley’s Digital Media Centre; and the awardwinning Grey to Green scheme in Sheffield.

We’ve created new jobs, attracted investment and run a successful Growth Hub, enabling businesses to start up, grow, and thrive.

But while our previous Strategic Economic Plan, published in 2014, largely achieved its aims of more jobs and more businesses, the dial has not shifted.

We now find ourselves in a position where, despite being home to cutting-edge assets such as the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, Doncaster Sheffield Airport, the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, two worldleading universities, and recent flagship investments such as those from McLaren and Boeing, our economy still has embedded constraints.

Many residents have not felt the benefits of decades of

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investment and growth. The reality for too many people is a generational cycle of low attainment, low qualifications, unrealised aspirations, deprivation and disaffection.

Child poverty rates in the SCR remained almost unchanged between 2012 and 2016 – despite increases in the employment rate over the same period. In-work poverty is still too common, and the benefits of economic growth and company profits have not been shared widely.

Challenges that continue to make life hard for many of South Yorkshire’s people, such as slow wage rises and declining living standards, are symptoms of the much broader problem of decades of underinvestment in regions such as ours. The average pay today in the SCR is the equivalent to London’s average pay in 2002.

Much of our predicament is a consequence of the historic legacies of de-industrialisation and the concentration of

We’ve created new jobs, attracted investment and run a successful Growth Hub, enabling businesses to start up, grow, and thrive.

funding and political power in London and the South East.

Research produced by academics at Sheffield University, shows that we’ve underperformed for over 40 years. We still have a lessqualified workforce, poorer health outcomes, low levels of enterprise, and inadequate infrastructure when compared to the national average.

Around 145,000 people here in the Sheffield City Region do not earn enough to cover the basics of housing, transport, childcare and living expenses.

Recent announcements such as investment from the Government’s Future High Streets fund are welcome.

While this money will help breathe new life into our urban centres in Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield, such funding needs to be part of a much wider and greater investment in our infrastructure, not the whole sum.

If we continue to do the same things, we will get the

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FOCUS ON

Connect Yorkshire Summit 2019 ‘The Spirit of Adventure’ Come to hear from some of Yorkshire’s biggest and best business builders. Our speakers will share their positive stories, knowledge and business journeys with you, in what will be an insightful and motivational day and perfect for any business owner who is wanting to grow their business.

What can you expect on the day 9am till 10am - Registration and Refreshments Principle speakers – Janette Benaddi and Helen Butters. Janette is one of our latest Entrepreneurs in Residence, and together they are half of the ‘Four mums in a boat’ who rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, gaining a Guinness World Record in the process. You can read more about Janette on our website.

Break out sessions: Sales training with Sally Roberts from Fun Training For Results. Sally will share with you proven methods to help you win new business, meet new prospects and see your networking produce greater returns for you.

Writing a press release with Katrina Cliffe from KC Communications. Katrina will go through what the press look for when publishing articles on businesses and how to best structure your story, to increase your likelihood of making the cut.

Data breaches and how to prevent them with RapidSpike. Their aim is to create a more secure internet and to do this, they want to inform companies on data breaches and cyber security.

Energy Panel: Saving the planet – Mark Woodward to Chair, with the panel consisting of Chris Bingham CEO of Craggs Environmental, Richard Todd MD of Allium Organics and Jeremy Taylor CEO of PowerSolutions.

Refreshment breaks and lunch are included in the day.

Date, Time & Venue Thursday 21st November 2019 09:00 for 10:00 start until 16:15 The Edge, The University of Sheffield, 34 Endcliffe Crescent, Sheffield S10 3ED

Price £50 + VAT for Members £65 + VAT for Non Members

Sponsors Connect Yorkshire are proud to announce that the displayed companies are sponsoring our Summit, please make sure you visit their stands on the day.

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FOCUS ON same results. So, with the creation of a new SEP and Local Industrial Strategy, we’re seizing the opportunity to break our region’s cycle of underperformance.

We’re now putting our people at the centre of our vision for South Yorkshire’s economy.

We’ll be focusing on creating new opportunities for our residents, workers and businesses to flourish.

People start up businesses, make decisions, research, and innovate.

We aim to increase prosperity, reduce the inequality gap, and appreciate the different roles of communities across our region, creating truly great places to live, work and play.

We’ll do this by delivering real change in areas such as skills, employment, transport, business growth and infrastructure.

Our vision is that people in South Yorkshire will be able to access more opportunities, share in the region’s growth and enjoy the places they live, work and play in.

By rebalancing our economy, we can build a stronger Sheffield City Region and contribute to a stronger North – which is great news not just for those of us here in South Yorkshire, but for the whole of the UK. We know there are significant challenges before us. But the opportunities are huge. If our productivity was at the same level of the national average, our economy would be £9 billion bigger.

But we can’t develop and implement this plan on our own. We know the economy is complex and works as a system. That’s why we’re working with businesses, universities, politicians, community groups and others to gain their views, share expertise, and deliver a plan that works for everyone.

That work is now well underway.

To find out more about our SEP and Local Industrial Strategy work as it develops, visit www.sheffieldcityregion. org.uk.

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We’re now putting our people at the centre of our vision for South Yorkshire’s economy.

SCR MAYOR DAN JARVIS MBE MP

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CHARITIES Our round-up of some of the great work charities are doing in the city business region – and the companies that are doing their bit to support them

BAG A BARGAIN AND BOOST RESEARCH British Heart Foundation (BHF) volunteers and staff were joined by the local Sheffield community to celebrate the opening of the new charity shop, located at 98 The Moor.

The ribbon-cutting event was attended by local BHFfunded researcher Dr William Parker from the University of Sheffield, while customers headed down to bag bargains.

BHF area manager Mik Parkin said: “Each item sold will help the BHF fund life-saving heart research. Donating

couldn’t be easier with our free collections service and it’s a great way to cut down on waste. We are also always in need of volunteers who can spare a couple of hours a week.”

Dr William Parker said: “BHF shops raise essential funds, allowing scientific research such as mine to continue.

Without the money raised by the BHF shops and stores, we could not continue our work.

I wish this store every success and encourage the local community to support this fantastic charity.”

Look out Lord Sugar – St Luke’s Biz Kids are back!

Where do you find the next generation of business superstar? With the St Luke’s Biz Kids of course!

Biz Kids is the annual opportunity for city primary schools and businesses to work together in support of St Luke’s Hospice.

Schools team up with businesses which loan £100 as a seed fund and also provide mentoring and expertise as the young pupils set about making that money.

The 2019 Biz Kids competition was the most successful to date, with the 13

schools taking part raising a final total in excess of £22,000 for St Luke’s.

St Luke’s community fundraising assistant Morven Keay said: “Every year we are amazed at the ingenuity and enthusiasm shown by our Biz Kids.

“Money making ventures have included film nights, bake sales, tuck shops, craft fairs, talent shows, discos, joke books and school magazines.

“Biz Kids is an amazing opportunity for schools, businesses and St Luke’s to work together.”

GROWTH SPURS EXPANSION FOR CITY BABY CHARITY

LAURA SANDERSON, LEFT AND CAT ROSS AT BABY BASICS UK NEW HQ IN SHEFFIELD.

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A Sheffield baby charity has expanded into new headquarters due to growing demand for its services.

Baby Basics UK, which provides second-hand essentials and equipment for mothers and families who are struggling to meet the financial and practical demands of looking after a new baby, has moved to bigger two-storey accommodation on Glossop Road after Wake Smith Solicitors completed the lease work.

Baby Basics UK CEO Cat Ross said: “We are a national charity which currently helps around 1,200 mothers and families a year in Sheffield, and nationally 5,000. The new larger premises will make such a difference to us.”

Laura Sanderson, solicitor in Wake Smith’s commercial property division, said: “We were really pleased to be able to advise Baby Basics UK. This is a big success story for a charity that is making a real difference to people’s lives.”

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

DIRECT PRINT

Director James Smith tells us how he was inspired by his dad to start up his ‘dynamic, reliable, competitive’ business delivering ‘weird and wonderful’ products to his diverse clients

I was inspired to start my business by ...

My old man! Many years ago, he manufactured umbrellas and parasols for large brands such as Coca-Cola and Royal Mail.

From an early age I would visit his factories and get involved where possible packing boxes.

In later years I even got involved in printing.

My favourite thing about running my business is …

Working with such a diverse range of clients and helping them get their logo on the products they really want. Some weird and wonderful products we have created include underwear, footballs, onesies, bean bags and the rest!

The three words that best describe my business are …

Dynamic, reliable, competitive.

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Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because …

It is a great place to be at the moment as a start-up business.

The city centre is receiving much needed investment which is seeing businesses open new stores and even move to fresh offices. We are also home to some very large businesses such as McLaren and the Advanced Manufacturing Park which could be lucrative to businesses in line to offer them services.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because …

Sheffield is seeing so many success stories in not just business but also sport, theatre and music. It’s a hive of activity and there are so many options for all types of businesses to grow and prosper within the city and beyond. Sheffield is a

very close-knit city and there are lots of businesses out there to support and assist.

The best advice I ever got was …

Provide a great quality product at a competitive price and make sure you get paid!

The worst advice I ever got was …

Spend just £600 a year and sit in the same room each week with the same ‘like-minded’ businesspeople as yourself who will go out and get you business… yeah right!

The organisations that have supported me and my business include …

Recently Fortay Media have been outstanding at producing a short promotional video to showcase our in-house branding methods. They have gone above and beyond to look after us.

The main challenges facing my industry/sector are …

Sustainability. We are now more conscious than ever about the footprint our businesses are leaving on the planet. Branding and creating products inevitably creates waste, but we are focusing on how we reduce this impact and cut down on avoidable waste.

In 5 years’ time I expect my business to …

Branding even more products in-house thus driving down prices and providing a wider range of products. A lot of promotional gift/clothing suppliers will be outsourcing all the production whereas we have that competitive edge that means we can provide no minimum order quantities, shorter lead times and better pricing.

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Office Heroes Awards 2019: Celebrating the region’s unsung workplace champions.

What is an office hero? It’s a colleague you

So, if you think it’s about time that someone in

and beyond day after day to support you, your

work they do drop us a note to

couldn’t do without, a person who goes above team and your business, someone that keeps

everything running smoothly and adds that extra

your office deserves a little recognition for the officeheroes@glurecruit.co.uk

value to make a real difference in your business.

Don’t forget to include your contact details and

We’re opening up nominations for the second

how they could be crowned our 2019 Office Hero

Office Heroes Awards in order to recognise those who do so much for Sheffield City Region-based

we will be in touch with further information on of the Year!

companies.

Deadline for entries: 8th November

Shortlist to be announced: 15th November | Ceremony to be held at the

Leopold Hotel in Sheffield between 2pm and 4pm on Friday 29th November 62 UNLTDBUSINESS.COM

e

FEATURE

WE COULD BE (OFFICE) HEROES The Office Heroes Awards are returning for a second year to honour Sheffield’s ‘unsung workplace champions’.

The awards aim to recognise those who go the extra mile in their work and are created and organised by Glu Recruit and this year unLTD are teaming up with Glu and encouraging readers to get involved!

In hosting the awards, Sheffield-based recruitment firm Glu are keen to shift typical industry awards focus from job titles or turnover figures, to show a more human side to the workplace.

Businesses in the Sheffield City Region are being encouraged to nominate the employees they believe are the crème de la crème in their workplace – whether these are hard workers, morale boosters, team players or generally just great to have around.

For this year’s ceremony, held on the 29th November between 2 and 4pm at The Leopold Hotel in Sheffield, a panel of leading business figures will be drawing up the shortlist of ten finalists before the judges award the chosen

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LAST YEAR’S WINNER JO REID (ABOVE AND CENTRE) WITH HER NOMINATOR SONIA BIELASZWESKA, FORMERLY OF SYCF, (LEFT) AND GLU RECRUIT’S MD ROB SHAW

winner, highly commended finalists and special mentions.

Along with unLTD’s very own Phil Turner, the judging panel will include: • Ashlea McConnell – MK PR • James Biggin – Steel City • Craig Batham – Connect Yorkshire • Brendan Hall – Hallmark Branding At last year’s ceremony, ‘Director of Happiness’ Jo Reid was the night’s big winner.

Jo, officially the business manager at South Yorkshire

Community Foundation (SYCF), was recognised with the award for boosting team morale – something she attributes to ‘baking for the team, organising social events and just generally cheering everyone on!’

Jo said: “I’ve worked for the foundation for three and a half years and it’s definitely the nicest job I’ve ever had.

It’s great to feel like you’re doing something worthwhile when you go to work, because you’re helping so many people who do so much good in the community.

“It’s a lovely acknowledgement from the team and it was great to receive some recognition and appreciation for my work.

It’s just nice to make people smile.”

Glu Recruit MD Rob Shaw said: “It’s great to have unLTD involved in our search looking for businesses in the Sheffield City Region to nominate their personal Office Heroes – employees who are not necessarily in the limelight but play a key part in keeping everything ship shape within a business.

“Hardworking employees can often go unsung in the workplace and it’s heartwarming for us to be able to show some gratitude and give something back to those who work tirelessly day in, day out.”

To nominate a colleague you think is an Office Hero: Visit www.glurecruit.co.uk and use the online entry form Email officeheroes@ glurecruit.co.uk Call 0114 321 1873 before the closing date on Friday 8th November 2019.

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YOUR PITCH Nutritional therapist and menopause health coach Clare Shepherd tells us how she co-founded the Pausitivity #KnowYourMenopause campaign – and her mission to make Sheffield workplaces the most menopause aware and supportive in the country

PAUSITIVITY Tell us about your campaign – sell yourself!

Menopause is such a taboo subject, especially in the workplace. Women are often embarrassed to raise the subject, or discuss symptoms with colleagues and managers, leading to lack of confidence and self-worth.

With that comes a feeling that she’s being judged if performance levels reduce, all adding to further stress and more severe symptoms.

Yet how is it possible for a woman to communicate how she is feeling when she doesn’t truly understand what is happening to her body and mind and finds it difficult to put this into words? How could she start a conversation in work when she perceives those around her won’t understand what she’s going through? Where can she go for help?

We need to start a real menopause conversation in the workplace, and open it up so that it is destigmatised and demystified by sharing information accessible to all.

Menopausal women are the fastest growing demographic in the workplace – eight out of ten menopausal women are in work with three quarters experiencing symptoms.

So I wanted to address menopause awareness and help employees and employers alike at minimal cost, with the @Pausitivity2 #KnowYourMenopause poster campaign.

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happening to them. Chatting with three Twitter friends, we thought having the Pausitivity #KnowYourMenopause poster displayed in workplaces, surgeries and public places would help take away fear and confusion, and open up conversations.

Who are your customers and how are you targeting them?

Totally Twitter! Engaging doctors, NHS Trusts, Councils, Unions, MPs, celebrities, media, inspirational women from all walks of life.

Encouraging them to share on social media, download, print and display, sending us their #PosterSelfie as social proof. Our ultimate mission is to have the poster in every GP surgery and workplace, and we are having a lot of support, especially in Scotland and Wales. As a local, I’m working towards and hoping to declare Sheffield workplaces as the most menopause aware and supportive in England!

What gave you the idea for your campaign?

I constantly work with women asking me if they ‘could be’ menopausal, having no idea of what to expect or do because they lack the necessary information and education. I hear they visit their GP and leave feeling unheard, misunderstood and none the wiser what’s

How can people get in touch with you?

To find out more about the #KnowYourMenopause poster and campaign: Twitter: @Pausitivity2 www.pausitivity.co.uk

We need to start a real menopause conversation in the workplace

To find out more about myself and workplace menopause support: Twitter: @yournewlifeplan www.newlifenutrition.co.uk / www.yournewlifeplan.com

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ARE YOU COMPLIANT? Compliance with The Electricity at Work Regulations

LEGAL ENT! M E R I U REQ

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Compliance is not optional. Is your business compliant?

Contact our industry-leading electrical engineers to arrange a free site survey:

• Electrical Inspections and PAT Testing • Emergency Light Testing • Fire Alarm Testing

With over 30 years electrical industry experience for commercial and industrial clients, we can help ensure you are compliant with all Electricity at Work regulations.

Ongoing maintenance solutions are also available.

Our engineers are all NICEIC, Safe Contractor and CHAS Certified.

ITI Electrical Services - part of The Templand Group

www.itielectricalservices.com Call today to arrange a free site survey: 0114 350 3650 or email sales@iti-es.com

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ACQUISITIONS

TEMPLAND GROUP ACQUISITION CREATES 'UNIQUE OFFER' You read it in unLTD first! Back in March we interviewed Templand Group CEO Jason Denmark about his acquisition plans – here he updates us on the ‘unique offer’ his latest deal has created Alongside his career progression from offshore fishing to cutting-edge telecommunications via international retail and a stint as a mental health nurse, Jason Denmark told unLTD – back in edition 11 – of The Templand Group’s intentions to seek appropriate acquisitions.

Now the Group, founded on the principle that SME-size businesses can prosper by being part of a larger entity, has announced its acquisition of Newline Communications Ltd, a specialist in under and overground telecoms installations and external works.

The acquisition has already proven a wise investment.

Newline’s turnover has almost doubled since becoming part of Templand. Meanwhile the Group as a whole exceeded the ambitious revenue and profitability goals of its threeyear strategy and this year increased employee numbers by

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32 per cent after an increase the year before of 15 per cent.

Jason told unLTD: “We acquired Newline to complement our Network and Electrical Services divisions, adding civil engineering and other technical experience.

“This has given the Group the unusual ability within our industry to offer what’s known as a ‘turnkey’ service to telecoms network providers.

“Already as a result we’ve won many new contracts because we can offer this end-to-end service, securing work which requires a combination of the expertise of all three divisions.

“Individual revenues for all three divisions including Newline have also increased, showing how the Group’s financial oversight, management support and knowledge sharing gives its businesses the foundations to achieve their full potential.”

Further growth is expected to

come organically, with multiple new contracts agreed this year with existing clients on top of previously contracted work.

“We are a lean and agile business, constantly reviewing overheads but never sacrificing quality of service,” added Jason.

“We invest in our people too, giving them the capability, confidence and skills to deliver high quality work.

“Looking after your staff’s training, professional and personal development is the right thing to do, highlighted further as we retained the Ministry of Defence’s ERS Gold Award. It also makes business sense – by exceeding service standards to our clients we generate loyalty and customer referrals.

“Some other providers suffer enormous erosion to their margin when they need to return to jobs to put things right.

We get things right first time.”

So what’s the latest forecast?

The group will continue to seek complementary businesses as potential acquisitions, he says, explaining: “We service and deploy game-changing innovations including the 5G rollout and the uptake of the Internet of Things (IoT).

“With more and more organisations using the IoT to stay connected, and continued demands for network speed and capacity increases, we are confident our industry will continue to require trustworthy, dynamic partners.

“We’ll cement our reputation for quality and excellence, continue to invest in our fantastic people and regional supply chain, and accelerate our growth through winning more work and finding further businesses which underpin our services at the front of telecommunications innovation.”

Watch this space!

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BOOK YOUR STAND TODAY

£85 +VAT

DONCASTER

BUSINESS

THE LARGEST BUSINESS EXHIBITION IN YORKSHIRE

SHOWCASE 27 FEBRUARY 2020 10AM – 4PM THURSDAY DONCASTER RACECOURSE

FROM

Make it your business to be part of it!

FREE ENTRY TO VISITORS

Fe br u a ry bu s i ne ss mo nt h Headline Sponsor Business Showcase is part of a month-long series of events throughout February

#DNShowcase2020

Full details available at: wearedoncaster.co.uk/showcase

DONCASTER BUSINESS SHOWCASE 2020

– RESERVE YOUR STAND NOW!

Businesses can book their spot at Yorkshire’s largest Businessto-Business networking exhibition which returns to Doncaster for 2020.

The much-awaited Doncaster Business Showcase returns to Doncaster Racecourse – one of the town's premier venues with stunning views of the racecourse and a large exhibition hall – on Thursday 27 February 2020.

The council’s Business Doncaster team is delighted to be involved in the event which will bring together over 250 exhibitors showcasing the very best of local and regional businesses as well as attracting thousands of professionals – making it the largest business-to-business

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networking exhibition in Yorkshire.

Registering as an exhibitor is a cost-effective way of generating quality business and raising brand awareness.

There will be additional support and promotion from Business Doncaster across its digital communication

channels from the moment a business signs-up.

Cllr Bill Mordue, Cabinet Member for Business, Skills and Economic Development, said: “The Doncaster Business Showcase is a fantastic opportunity for businesses to come together and show what great talent, expertise

and enthusiasm we have in Doncaster.

“The best way to network and promote your business locally is to exhibit at the Doncaster Business Showcase.

Being an exhibitor helps to promote your business in front of hundreds of other businesses and I would encourage everybody to come along and see what this event has to offer.”

The Business Showcase is also an excellent opportunity for visitors to experience what is on offer from local businesses and across the region.

To book a stand or for further information visit: www.wearedoncaster.co.uk/ showcase or email: heather. hamilton@doncaster.gov.uk

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INDUSTRY PLACEMENTS

HOW AN INDUSTRY PLACEMENT CAN BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS Barnsley College tell unLTD how industry placements can not only have a positive effect on the student but also on the business What are the main benefits to businesses taking part in your industry placement scheme?

One of the biggest challenges a business will face is finding the right people to help them grow and prosper. Barnsley College industry placements take away this challenge by providing motivated young people to work within your business. Recruitment can be tough. Following successful industry placements a number of students have been offered paid work or apprenticeship opportunities with their placement provider.

Benefits include access to a fully funded talent pool of employees, it reduces recruitment costs and is a cost effective way of employing your workforce as well as addressing any skills shortages within your organisation.

We believe it also enhances the personal development, motivation and productivity

of your existing employees through mentoring and management opportunities.

Industry placements provide an extra pair of hands within the business, diversifies your employee skillset and helps to develop a young person and integrate them within your business.

Students can be tasked with a specific role or responsibility for certain tasks within the business throughout their placement, or may undertake a variety of different tasks in a supportive role depending on the organisation’s own specific needs.

Case study – Centre Point Jake Lodge from Centre Point tells us how the work placement with Barnsley College worked for his business. Centre Point works with homeless young people across the UK – in Barnsley alone they are working with

jmore than 100 young people at the moment.

Why did you want to take on an industry placement student?

“The reason we wanted to get involved is because it has offered us the ability to counteract the sporadic volunteering we typically see. It has allowed us to develop a timetable which offers young people a time, day and place where they should be; offering them the stability to be able to learn and progress towards a job when they move on from us.”

What made you choose to work with Barnsley College?

“Centre Point has a large network of partnerships with a lot of universities nationally, but because Barnsley is such a small town and doesn’t have that university presence we looked to Barnsley College, the area’s largest

educational establishment, to be able to offer us that sustained industry placement programme that we have in places like Sunderland, Manchester, Bradford and London.”

Would you recommend industry placements to other businesses?

“We’d definitely recommend industry placements to others as it has allowed us to diversify our skillset – for example if we have a student aged 16-25 placed with us, they have that ability to be able to understand what the young people we’re working with want. In terms of the young people we’re helping to develop we’ll be able to offer a different approach to how we interpret young people to learn and how they actually learn and so has increased our ability to engage with young people.”

To apply for a work placement student on your team, call Barnsley College on 01226 216 216 or workplacements@barnsley.ac.uk

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Joyeux Noël!

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CHRISTMAS PARTY NIGHTS

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£69.00 Per Adult & £32.00 Per Child Under 12 Under 3’s Free of charge

NEW YEAR’S EVE GALA DINNER £109.00pp

Call our Christmas team for further details and availability Tel: 0114 252 6522 | Email: christmas@cpsheffield.co.uk

Crowne Plaza Royal Victoria Sheffield Victoria Station Road, Sheffield S4 7YE Tel: 0114 252 6516 www.cpsheffield.co.uk

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FIVE MINUTES WITH...

DATATRAINER Tim Latham tells us how Sheffield’s ‘supportive business community, talented workforce and beautiful surroundings’ helped him found AI solutions firm datatrainer I was inspired to start my business by...

The extensive research I did into this amazing new technology called Artificial Intelligence – a specific example being the ‘Made Smarter Review’ published at the end of 2017 and led

by Professor Juergen Maier, the CEO of Siemens UK. As a key emerging digital technology the potential of AI is enormous, but there are a variety of issues limiting its adoption. I have created datatrainer to help address and overcome these issues for organisations across the region.

My favourite thing about running my business is…

Designing ground-breaking AI solutions that enable clients to find key insights and efficiencies in their organisations data that they simply didn’t realise was there.

The three words that best describe my business are…

Accessible, bespoke, solutions.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to start a business because…

It is where I grew up and although I studied and worked away for a good few years, I never stopped thinking of Sheffield as home. As well as family and friends, I’ve found a supportive business community, a talented workforce and beautiful surroundings.

Sheffield City Region is a great place to grow a business because…

There are a wide variety of organisations that I think

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TIM LATHAM, FOUNDER OF DATATRAINER

can benefit from our support across the SCR and its also a good base from which to access clients across the country.

The best advice I ever got was…

Believe in yourself. If you are confident in your logic and research, listen to others opinions by all means, but in the end trust your own judgement and just get on and make it happen.

The worst advice I ever got was…

Never quit. In one way it’s of course a positive sentiment, but I have found myself in a few situations where the reality meant that genuine success was simply not

attainable. If that’s the case, don’t be scared to change tack and take a different road.

The organisations that have supported me and my business include…

The Kollider / Barclays Eagle Labs teams at the Technology Incubator I am based in have been very supportive and my key delivery partners at Jaywing are outstanding at every level and I am thrilled to be working with them to grow our respective businesses together.

The main challenges facing my industry/sector are…

Awareness and adoption.

My first task when talking to potential clients is often one of explaining the potential

benefits of AI to the point where they can see it’s a relevant option for them. The next is finding a pinch point or opportunity in the organisation where we can start to show its value without risking too much to the existing business operations. From there additional, more extensive and complex opportunities can be addressed.

In 5 years’ time I expect my business to…

Be fully integrated, trusted expert advisors to our established clients around the SCR while still talking to new and interesting local organisations about how AI can help them, and also taking our proven business to other regions across the country.

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ACTIVE TRAVEL

GETTING – AND KEEPING –

WORKFORCES MOVING They say the smallest changes can make the biggest difference – and Travel South Yorkshire’s Active and Sustainable Travel team couldn’t agree more. So much so, they’ve made it their latest campaign as Sasha Mossman found out

Dubbed #LittleBigChanges, the Active and Sustainable Travel team have been leading a movement offering 28-day free trials on public transport across the city, in a move designed to encourage workers in the Sheffield City Region to leave the car at home.

The team, which is based at South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE), has been working with workplaces across the region to push the offer to those relocating – including some big hitters like HSBC and Grant Thornton – and those facing parking pressures as well as those looking to change the way they commute.

Project marketing manger Richard Pilgrim said: “Our work is mainly focused on supporting businesses with their commuter travel. Think public transport – bus, tram, tram train and train – or cycling and walking.

“If someone is interested in reducing their car use for commuter travel, then we’re interested in helping them out with their travel options – this

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THE TEAM HELPED ASSIST WITH HSBC'S CITY CENTRE MOVE

can also include those currently car sharing.”

The team, which has been (if you pardon the pun!) active since 2013, is made up of nine members working both part and full-time, split into two smaller marketing and business engagement focused teams.

Currently funded through the Department for Transport’s Sustainable Travel Access Fund (STAF), the team travel from business to business to

provide support for qualifying companies.

In these sessions, the team speak to colleagues at the company about travel issues, which often involves relocation, car park pressures, staff feedback or health and environmental concerns.

Richard said: “Whatever changes a person makes, their efforts will not go unnoticed.

Whether your change is down to your wallet, waistline or the

world around you, healthier choices to transport plans can result in a big change to the quality of your life.”

The Active and Sustainable Travel team then evaluates the feedback in order to decide how to support and then work with each business. This can typically involve several options – one of which would be to set up a Travel Clinic, where staff fill out a travel survey to follow up any support given.

If the Free 28-Day Trial pass is selected, staff are also offered a 50 per cent off follow-on pass once the trial is complete if they choose to continue using public transport. Once staff are satisfied, the team again evaluate how well the process has worked in order to be able to repeat this with new staff and other companies.

Richard added: “This year alone, we’ve had some lovely feedback from local businesses we’ve helped, who’ve seen a great deal of change after switching transport.

“With the free trial pass

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ACTIVE TRAVEL

ACTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL TEAM LEFT TO RIGHT: NICOLA BLADEN, REBECCA MEWS, LAURA FISH, RICHARD PILGRIM, DENISE MARRIOTT, AUTUMN HAGUE, GAIL PARKES, SHARON ROBSON AND MATT DUTCHAK

84% 66% 90% 77% of HSBC participants will continue to use public transport for some work journeys

of HSBC participants would recommend public transport

covering the whole of the region it means that South Yorkshire is your oyster.”

Professional services, accounting and consulting business Grant Thornton are one of many success stories for the team, after they sought transport advice when relocating offices in February 2019.

The firm moved two miles, from Sheffield’s Broadfield Business Park to the former NUM building in Barkers Pool, relocating around 150 members of staff to the new HQ. The Active and Sustainable Travel team were responsible for providing support prior to the move and access to a 28-day public transport travel trial from the start of the relocation.

Richard said: “We have just reached their six-month anniversary for Grant Thornton’s

relocation, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive.

“More than 90 per cent of the participants have decided to continue using public transport following on, with the same percentage stating they were impressed with the safety elements and proximity to transport links available to them in the region.”

The team have seen similar success during the live trials at HSBC’s Sheffield offices – their largest relocation programme to date, having relocated from Griffin House to Grosvenor House with 213 participants.

Richard said: “Our feedback has been great for the HSBC relocation. More than 80 per cent of participants said they were satisfied with stress levels compared to driving, and 68 per cent are satisfied with their

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of Grant Thornton staff felt less stressed than driving to work

This year alone, we’ve had some lovely feedback from local businesses we’ve helped

of Grant Thornton participants would recommend public transport

journey time when compared to driving.”

Additionally, software firm ANSYS-UK relocated from Sheffield Business Park into the city centre. Feedback at the follow-on stage shows that 77 per cent of participants will continue to choose public transport for some of their journeys to and from work, with the same percentage stating they’d recommend public transport to others.

Interested in active travel for your company?

Get in touch: Website: travelsouthyorkshire. com/business Email: sustainabletravel@ sypte.co.uk Twitter: twitter.com/ TSYActiveTravel LinkedIn: linkedin.com/ company/travel-southyorkshire

73

AFTER HOURS

With an £8 million multiplex cinema due to open at Doncaster’s Frenchgate Shopping Centre in spring next year, movie mates Chris Hayter and Alex Kay grabbed the popcorn and donned some 3D shades to check out the cinema offerings across the city region 74

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AFTER HOURS

SIT BACK, RELAX AND ENJOY THE LUXURIOUS ODEON LUXE ON ARUNDEL GATE

Abbeydale Picture House Address: 387 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield S7 1FS Opening Hours: Check times for screenings at bit.ly/2lIiqKc Social Media: Facebook: @theabbeydalepicturehouse Twitter: @Abbeydale_PH About: A much loved, unique building that has become a landmark on the south side of Sheffield. Opened in 1920, this magnificent picture palace entertained generations of cinema and theatre audiences, with silent movies, cinevariety shows and wide-screen spectaculars. Thanks to local crowd funding and volunteers, it is one of the few cinemas of its age still standing today.

The Showroom Cinema Address: 15 Paternoster Row, Sheffield S1 2BX Opening Hours: Mon: 10am-9pm Tue-Wed: 11:30am-9pm

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Thur: 10am-9pm Fri-Sun: 11:30am-9pm Social Media: Facebook: @showroomcinema Twitter: @showroomcinema Instagram: @showroomworkstation About: Located in the heart of Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter, The Showroom Cinema is one of Europe’s biggest independent cinemas.

The Light Address: The Moor, Sheffield S1 4PF Opening Hours: Mon-Fri: 10am-11pm Sat-Sun: 9:30am-11pm Social Media: Facebook: @TheMoorSheffield Twitter: @MoorSheffield About: Located on Sheffield’s regenerated Moor, The Light is an attractive and welcoming family cinema.

Curzon Address: 16 George Street, Sheffield S21 2PF Opening Hours: Check listings at bit.ly/2L2xoqk Social Media: Facebook: @Curzon.Cinemas Twitter: @CurzonCinemas Instagram: @curzoncinemas About: A near 100-year-old chain of independent cinemas who are proud of their status as an independent entity offering a unique theatrical experience to its audiences.

Odeon Luxe Sheffield Address: Arundel Gate, Sheffield S1 1DL Opening Hours: Check listings for showtimes at bit.ly/2kFy8FR Social Media: Facebook: @OdeonLuxeSheffield Twitter: @OdeonCinemas Instagram: @odeoncinemas About: In the heart of the city, Odeon offers a luxury film experience following its refurb and reopening in December.

Vue Cinema Address: Meadowhall Centre, Sheffield S9 1EP Opening Hours: Check listings at bit.ly/2m4vZUl Social Media: Facebook: @VueCinemas Twitter: @vuecinemas About: Family friendly, state of the art cinema located at Sheffield’s premier shopping destination, Meadowhall.

Cineworld Sheffield Address: Valley Centertainment, Broughton Lane, Sheffield S9 2EP Opening Hours: Check listings for showtimes at bit.ly/2lIiZ6M Social Media: Facebook: @Cineworld Twitter: @cineworld About: Multiplex cinema chain showing the latest blockbusters in 2D and 3D formats, located a stones throw away from shops, restaurants and other entertainment.

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ADVERTORIAL

INSPIRED BY ATKINSONS Three of Sheffield’s creative sons join together for a special event at the Moor’s long-standing department store

The Atkinsons department store on the Moor has, for the last 147 years, been one of the most successful and popular shops on the high street. It was established in 1872 as a simple drapery operated by John Atkinson who had begun what was to become an incredibly lucrative career as a store assistant to Cole Brother’s in 1865. Selling everything from fashion to furniture, cosmetics and kitchen ware, Atkinsons has serviced Sheffielders for more than a century and will, more than likely, continue to do so for a century more.

Being one of the oldest and most revered stores in the city it should come as no surprise that generations of people would have fond memories of it. One of those people is none other than Martyn Ware, founder of the synth new wave bands Human League and Heaven 17, and who helped kick-off the careers of other artists such as Terence Trent D’Arby and even helped revitalise Tina Turner after a slump in 1983.

This month, Martin returns to his native Sheffield to raise money for the Weston Park Cancer Centre charity, which

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MARTYN WARE, LEFT AND MATT COCKAYNE has partnered with Atkinsons, to give back to the community on 14 October for a special event at the store.

Ware commented on his own memories of visiting Atkinsons as a small boy with his mother in the 1960s, buying records and getting a quick cup of tea in the café. The star was still a regular at the store even when he first hit the big time with the Human League and singles like ‘Being Boiled’ in the late 1970s.

He said: “I used to live in Broomhall flats, so the centre of town, and in particular the Moor, was our stomping ground. In the ‘70s Virgin Records had a store at the bottom of the Moor, and we would regularly pop into Atkinsons to visit the café, or

even sometimes to buy records and clothes.”

Ware will be joined by Neil Anderson, author of The Dirty Stop Out’s Guide, a book which celebrates the different nightspots of the city throughout the decades. “I still remember my Grandma recounting the splendid Christmas displays prior to the Sheffield Blitz. And her pride when the present store opened to great fanfare in 1960 – a full 20 years after the original store was flattened by the Nazis.

The store is a true survivor and it’s a true honour to have my own products on sale there.”

Matt Cockayne, a local graphic artist who has produced many fine impressions of the cityscape, also has links with the long-standing store and will

be there for the same event.

“My first job at 17 was working as a pot washer in Massarella’s within Atkinsons. I like the store and the fact it is a part of Sheffield’s fabric.”

Atkinsons store manager David Cartwright added: “#InspiredBySheffield day is all about celebrating what’s fantastic about our city. We’ve been lucky enough to be part of the fabric of Sheffield for the past 147 years and I want to say a big thank you to our customers – old and new – that have been part of that journey. I also want to extend my thanks to our staff, who have played such a big part in our success story.

“The store has been inspired by the fantastic improvements to the Moor and have been updating and improving our store a result. We’re delighted to offer the best names in domestic appliances, cookshop, furniture, beds and other departments and we’re constantly checking out new trends so that we can add more to the store. Make sure you come in to see what’s new.”

The event will take place from 12 noon until 2pm. atkinsonsofsheffield.co.uk

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AFTER HOURS

THE LIGHT CINEMA, IS A KEY DEVELOPMENT IN THE REGENERATION OF THE MOOR

Vue Doncaster Address: Doncaster Leisure Park, Herten Way, Bawtry Road, Doncaster DN4 7NW Opening Hours: Check for listings at bit.ly/2magg6p Social Media: Facebook: @VueCinemas Twitter: @vuecinemas About: Large cinema offering all the latest mainstream movies.

Cineworld Chesterfield Address: Alma Leisure Park, Derby Road, Chesterfield S40 2ED Opening Hours: Check for movie times at bit.ly/2lH2zf2 Social Media: Facebook: @Cineworld

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Twitter: @cineworld About: Multiplex cinema serving chesterfield with a highquality movie going experience.

Parkway Cinema Barnsley Address: 62 Eldon Street, Barnsley S70 2JL Opening Hours: Check for film times at bit.ly/2fFQP5H Social Media: Facebook: @parkwaybarnsley About: Local cinema offering the latest releases, live theatre screenings and family deals.

Film Unit Address: University of Sheffield Student Union, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TG

Opening Hours: Check for film times at bit.ly/1dtaGub Social Media: Facebook: @FilmUnitSheffield Twitter: @filmunit About: A professional quality, volunteer run independent cinema based at the University of Sheffield’s Student Union.

Penistone Paramount Cinema Address: 23 Shrewsbury Road, Penistone, Sheffield S36 6DY Opening Hours: For film times check bit.ly/2m7KjeR Social Media: Facebook: @PenistoneParamount Twitter: @PeniParamount About: Active for over 100

years, this small community cinema in Penistone shows big films, live shows and even organ concerts.

Rotherham Underground Address: 11 Corporation Street, Rotherham S60 1NG Opening Hours: For specific showtimes check bit.ly/2masT1i Social Media: Facebook: @RotherhamUnderground Twitter: @RotherhamUnderground About: A friendly, state of the art independent cinema located at Rotherham’s Underground performance and arts hub.

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AFTER HOURS

WEEKEND ESCAPES

Famous for its white-washed buildings and blue-domed churches, the romantic island of Santorini is high on many people’s bucket lists. Anna McGuire says the picturesque island is the perfect destination for a long weekend away

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AFTER HOURS

SANTORINI As an avid traveller, Santorini was always one place I dreamt of travelling to. The beautiful Greek island is now one of my favourite destinations after visiting this summer.

Santorini is one of the most popular places in Greece with over two million visitors every year. With regular flights, cruises and ferries operating throughout the summer months there are plenty of options to choose from.

THE BEST PLACES TO STAY The historic volcanic eruption of Santorini created the caldera, now famous for its cliffside whitewashed villages.

Home to many locals, the caldera is the perfect place to base yourself.

1

Imervogli Imervogli is a luxury village on the highest point of Santorini and is dotted between Oia and Fira overlooking the Aegean Sea. Offering a mixture of bars, restaurants, hotels, and views of Fira and Oia on both sides,

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this idyllic location was where I enjoyed my stay.

My hotel, like many others, was built into the caldera cliff and was quintessentially Greek – blue shutters, white walls and the most breathtaking view.

Quieter than neighbouring Oia and Fira, Imervogli provides the peace and quiet of village life yet with plenty to do – perfect for those who don’t like crowds.

2

Oia Another luxury hotspot is Oia, famous for its sunset and boutique hotels it has an array of restaurants, tavernas and shops. Despite being one of the most touristy parts of Santorini, the high-end, romantic location remains highly sought-after with its Greek charm and narrow streets.

3

Fira The capital of Santorini, Fira, offers a wide variety of accommodation for all budgets from luxury to basic, plus the hustle and bustle you

would expect from a capital.

Fira has a lively nightlife and a great mix of bars and restaurants overlooking the caldera. Alternatively, you could venture just outside to the village of Firostefani which is within walking distance but has a quieter, more relaxed vibe.

THE BEST THINGS TO DO Santorini is jam-packed of fun things to do so don’t forget to pack a comfy pair of shoes for all the walking. Activities include visiting the volcano, taking a sunset cruise, hiking from Fira to Oia, stopping by the ancient village of Akrotiri and enjoying the open-air cinema in Kamari.

1

Visit a vineyard Due to the volcanic soil, the wine in Santorini is unique to other European countries providing a full-bodied taste.

A trip to a vineyard means you can learn about the wine-making process, have a guided tour and indulge in the all-important tasting.

Vassaltis Vineyard is a modern winery and one of the youngest on the island offering a more private experience.

Other popular vineyards include Domaine Sigalas, Venetsanos Winery and Santo Winery.

2

Climb Skaros Rock Located on the tip of Imervogli is the protruding national rock formation, Skaros Rock. Delivering some of the best views in Santorini, it’s a popular hiking route – opt for a morning or late afternoon hike to miss the midday sun and don’t forget that water bottle!

3

Watch the sunset from Oia The attractive village of Oia is renowned for its famous sunset with travellers from across the globe flocking there.

From Oia castle to the famous windmill there are plenty of places to watch. If you are seeking something more peaceful and don’t mind tackling 300 steps, then venture down to Amoudi Bay – indulge in seafood by the crystal waters whilst enjoying the sunset.

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C E L E B R AT E

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AFTER HOURS

OIA HAS A WEALTH OF OPTIONS FOR DINING BY THE SEA

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THE BEST PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK

A hidden gem providing great value for money.

Santorini has an incredible offering, from casual gyros to fine dining – you’re sure to find something that suits your budget.

The Wine Bar, Imerovigli The Wine Bar is above the Heliotopos Hotel, so you may not even realise they have a restaurant but behind the doors, there is a small yet sophisticated outdoor dining area serving up delicious Italian food. The staff were also super friendly and knew the menu inside out. If you love stone baked pizza and cheesecake, then you will want to dine here.

1

Melitini, Oia Set back from the main street, this restaurant serves up fantastic Greek tapas including tzatziki, grilled octopus, baked feta, vegetable fritters and stuffed chicken.

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3

2

Santorini has an incredible offering, from casual gyros to fine dining

PK Cocktail Bar, Fira Located across three levels, this bar is in a great spot. With an extensive cocktail menu, this place is great to sit back and enjoy the view with a mojito or two. PK Cocktail Bar is open all day so you could pop in for an early drink before dinner or watch the sunset here – either way make sure you book a table.

If you want the long weekend of a lifetime, get planning now!

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NUMBER CRUNCH

START-UPS IN SHEFFIELD

Sheffield is the best city in the UK where you could start a business, according to research by Paymentsense.

And, as we reported in our last edition, that research is one of the reasons Londonbased Q Accountants picked the South Yorkshire city to open its first northern office.

Plus later this month Twinkl Educational Publishing is set to launch TwinklHive – a new start-up accelerator in Sheffield which will bring together and provide support to emerging education technology companies.

Below we take a look at the numbers from Paymentsense’s research that have all added up to see Sheffield take the top spot for start-ups.

Average monthly cost to rent a 1-bed city centre apartment:

NO.1 Sheffield came top in Sellics’ list of the 10 best places to launch a digital business in the UK

50 of the fastest-growing businesses across the Sheffield City Region added almost

£1.2BN of revenues in the last two years

Money available per week:

£585 £123,502,306.20 44.9% POPULATION: £542 Sheffield has a survival rate of

for 5-year start-ups

227,822

Average weekly pay for full-time workers:

685,368

.10

The number of employed adults

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Business users only, prices are +VAT. All offers subject to terms and conditions and are as part of a Stoneacre finance plan. Finance provided subject to status, written details available on request. Models shown are for illustration purposes only. Ask for details. Cars may be in group stock. Stoneacre operate as an Independent finance Introducer from a panel of lenders. Stoneacre do not charge a fee for introduction to a finance provider however we may or may not receive a commission. Offers correct at time of going to press, but may be subject to change. Subject to Your status, if after signing the Purchase Order You sign a Finance Agreement with a Finance Company in relation to the Vehicle, the terms of the Finance Agreement will replace this Supplier Agreement. The standard terms of the Finance Agreement will be stated on the Finance Agreement form that You will be asked to sign. Decidebloom Ltd t/a Stoneacre, Omega Boulevard, Capitol Park, Thorne, DN8 5TX, is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Our FCA number is 308726. You can verify this by visiting the FCA website or by contacting the FCA on 0854 606 9966.

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