business 30 july 2014
DESCRIPTION
Business Bristol Post, Special Report. Tech city Bristol. Jam tomorrow. Preserves firm shows how to get exporting - and make your profits grow - see page 2.TRANSCRIPT
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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk
BUILDING BLOCKS
How house building is drivingour economy – p8&9
CARE MARKET MOVE
Website could be RightMoveof the care home market – p5
GOOD NEIGHBOURS
Social network aims for worlddomination, in a nice way – p11
302014JUL
Preserves firm shows how to get exporting- and make your profits grow
JAM TOMORROWSPECIAL REPORT
– see page 2
www.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExporting
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2 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
PLANE parts maker GKN sawits pre-tax profits rise ahealthy six per cent, in afurther sign that the com-mercial aerospace sector is
soaring.But, reflecting the challenges faced
across the sector, the military side ofthe business struggled.
GKN employs 1,500 in Filton man-ufacturing and assembling wingparts for customers such as nearbyAirbus, and another 275 in WesternApproach, Severn Beach, working onwing design and production usingcutting edge composite materials.
The group reported pre-tax profitsup to £340 million for the year endingJune 30. Sales slipped slightly from£3.87 billion to £3.83 billion.
Results were hit by the strongpound to the tune of £24 million, but itd i d n’t look as bad on the figuresbecause last year the firm suffered aone-off £25 million restructuringcost.
Overall performance was lifted byGKN’s strong car parts business, butthe locally-based aerospace divisionsaw its commercial business – par tsfor passenger planes – grow five percent. Revenue on the military sideshrank by two per cent, however,reflecting defence spending cutsaround the globe.
That means the overall aerospacesales figures were down slightlyacross aerospace to £1.1 billion, from£1.12 billion the year before.
Speaking about the company’soverall results, chief executive NigelStein said: “This is another good per-formance, particularly in GKN Driv-eline which delivered 11 per centorganic sales growth.
“We have continued to outperformour key markets and report goodunderlying financial results in spiteof sterling’s strength and some endmarket weakness – we expect thesetrends to be maintained in the secondh a l f.
“GKN is continuing to make en-couraging progress.”
Looking ahead, GKN expects thecommercial aerospace sector to con-tinue to do well, but the military sideto remain a challenge.
� Laurence Hybs, MD, and Mark Turner, national sales manager Picture: Michael Lloyd BRML20140728E-001
‘Business as usual’after firm bought out� AN insurance company is beinggiven a makeover after it wasbought by a rival, but bosses saythat it’s business as usual forcustomers.
Giles Insurance Brokers, based inGloucester Road where it employs32 people, is being renamed underthe Arthur J Gallagher brand after itwas bought by the firm lastN o v e m b e r.
The £233 million deal put itamong the top three commercialretail insurance brokers and addedthe 36 Giles branches to its globalnetwork.
Regional director Gary Fletchersaid after the takeover, the first stepwas to turn two businesses intoone.
He said: “Following theacquisition, our top priority wasdelivering a successful integrationof the two businesses with minimuminterruption to our valuedcustomers.
“We ’re delighted to announcenow the completed rebrand of GilesInsurance Brokers to Arthur JGallagher across the UK.
“For our customers in Bristol, it isvery much business as usual.
“That said, we are now able tosignificantly widen our offering,providing more choice and bettervalue for our business partners.”
The combined UK retail division ofArthur J Gallagher controls £1 billionof insurance premiums and employs2,600 people.
Internationally, the group employs4,500 staff in countries includingAustralia, Singapore and Chile.
Global spread Jam and juice firmenjoys 10 years of export growth
YOU don’t have to be a man-ufacturer to become a suc-cessful exporter, asBristol-based jam and fruitjuice business Stute Foods
p rove s.The family business was set up in
1969 by Denis Hybs, then technicaldirector at Robertson’s Jams in thec i t y.
That firm had been working withGerman jam-maker Stute, but de-cided to pull out of mainland Europe.But Denis had built a strong rela-tionship with Stute and decided to setup a UK business to maintain that.
Stute Foods was born, first in ParkStreet and now in Sunderland Road,Clifton. Its products – jams and fruitjuices – are made by its Germannamesake but then sold from the Bris-tol office to the UK and, increasingly,around the world.
The company’s turnover has grownto £4.5 million, thanks to that suc-cessful export strategy.
Managing director Laurence Hybs,Denis’s son, said: “Over the last 10years our exports have grown andgrown. They are now more than 50per cent of our business, whereasthey were two or three per cent.”
One of the most impressive aspectsis the number of markets Stute Foodshas gone into. Rather than focus onone or two, the firm is selling acrossthe world in countries including Ni-geria, Kenya, Morocco, China, Aus-tralia and Canada. It has largelyavoided mainland Europe, partly dueto language issues.
“We took the decision to only printour labels in English, rather thanhave to create new ones for eachc o u n t r y, ” said Laurance. “So we arein countries where English is eitherthe main language or widelys p o ke n . ”
The company has found UK Trade
and Investment’s services a help get-ting into some markets.
Laurence said: “We were lookingfor a supplier in Hong Kong so wepaid them to do some research andthey came back with four whole-salers, one of whom we came to anagreement with, and they have beentaking our products like clockworkever since.”
Entry into other markets has beenless planned.
“We sell in the supermarket inGibraltar and many Moroccans work-ing there buy our jams and take themh o m e, ” he said.
“We had a call from a company in
Morocco asking if we could sell tothem. We said yes, but there’s a 70 percent import tax in Morocco. But be-cause we sell jam made for diabetics,they were able to get the tax loweredto 10 per cent.”
One area Laurence recommendsgetting help is letters of credit, aguarantee from a bank that you willget paid
“If you are doing business withsomeone halfway around the worldand you can’t get paid in advance, youneed some sort of guarantee.” he said.“You can do it yourself, but it’s easy tomake a mistake, so it’s better to get itdone properly.”
Leading the way overseas
Holiday season could bump up wage bill
I n s u ra n ce
Profits soar Plane parts makerflying high despite military dip
BRISTOL-based business organisation Busi-ness West is going international with its sup-port services.
It has teamed up with Bedminster-based com-pany Flying Penguin Enterprises to providebusiness solutions to the Zubair Corporation inOman.
The aim is to help Zubair encourage andachieve growth and development of small andmedium sized Omani businesses and to helpidentify support services and solutions relatedto water resource management and railwaytraining.
Gaining knowledge of the local market will inturn allow Business West to spot opportunities
in the country for Business West members andexporters back home.
Managing director Phil Smith said: “Re -search shows that collaborating overseas isfantastic for achieving high-growth within busi-nesses and we are thrilled to have joined forceswith a leading Omani company, to help thegrowth of SMEs and infrastructure in Oman.
“At Business West we are excited to shareideas and build on each other’s skill sets.
“This new venture shows that by taking ourservices overseas we are practising exactlywhat we preach, linking into our current#GetExporting campaign and truly showingthat the only way is export!”
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Ae ros pa ceExpor ting
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
� Phil Smith, Business West managing director, withNick Wilton, of Flying Penguin
Business West is campaigningto increase the number ofexporters in the region.
Under the banner #GetExport-ing, the goal is help 2,020 com-panies to grow their businessthrough exports by 2020.
Business West and UKTI canoffer a range of support for firmslooking to export.
Find out more online atw w w. b u s i n e s s w e s t . c o . u k .
#GetExpor ting
Top tips for MiddleEast exportsThinking ofexporting tothe MiddleEast? Here’ssome thingsto Consider
� Dounderstand‘Wa s t a ’ b e f o reattempting to do business in theMiddle East. Wasta is Arabic forconnections, clout, influence andis part of the culture in all Arabcountries. It is vital to ensure thatyou are speaking to thed e c i s i o n - m a k e r.
� Don’t expect businessdealings to move quickly, theArabic approach to time is muchmore relaxed and slower thanthat in Western cultures. Don’t besurprised if your contact takescalls on their mobile phone, oraccepts visitors into their officeduring your meeting; they don’tmean to be rude.
� Men in the Middle East claim amore modest amount of personalspace than that which is usualelsewhere. Relax when anindividual steps closer as it isnormal in Arabic societies. Menmay hug and kiss other men onthe cheek on greeting.
� When doing business with anArabic woman, on the otherhand, as a man, don’t standclose to, stare at, or touch awoman – this would be seen asvery disrespectful.
� If you’re a woman rememberto take a headscarf, in case youvisit a mosque or a crowdedsouk, as a show of respect.
� When conducting business, itis customary to first shake thehand of all males present. Don’tshake hands with a womanunless she extends her hand toyou.
� Allocate plenty of time forrefreshments, or coffee, beforeattempting to engage inbusiness. It is important to firstestablish respect and trust. Don’tdrink alcohol during a mealbefore you know your host ishappy to do so.
� Don’t display the soles of yourfeet or touch somebody with yourshoe as this is often consideredrude. This includes sitting withyour feet or foot elevated.
� Make the effort to buildfriendship and trust duringbusiness. Many in the MiddleEast do not separate professionaland personal life. Doing businessrevolves much more aroundpersonal relationships, familyties, trust and honour.
� By Sarah Hildersley, above,of Business West.w w w. b u s i n e s s w e s t . c o . u k
www.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExportingwww.exportbritain.org.uk
#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExporting
� ChiefexecutiveNigel Steinsays GKN iscontinuingto makeencouragingp ro g re s safter a sixper centincrease inp re - t a xp ro f i t s
BUSINESSES are being warned to bewarethat their wage bill could be higher thanexpected as we enter the summer holidays.
A recent European Court of Justice rulingstated workers should receive their normalremuneration for annual leave – which in-cludes both basic pay and commission.
It could have a big impact on firms that paybonuses, commission and overtime paymentswhich are not usually included in annualleave pay packets.
Sarah Driscoll, Employment Solicitor atClarke Willmott, which is based off VictoriaStreet, Bristol, said the court regarded annualleave as an important social right and staffshould not be financially worse off for takingit.
She said: “Employers across the county willneed to give urgent and serious thought to
how commission schemes can build in somesort of averaging provision that makes ap-propriate allowance for periods of annuall e ave.
“As well as being costly, this could prove tobe an administrative nightmare for employ-e r s.
“It could also cause havoc for employers insectors where commission forms a key part oftheir reward strategy such as the motor in-dustry, the utility sector and estate agents.”
She added the ruling, which was the resultof a British Gas sales consultant taking thecompany to court arguing his commissionwas part of his normal pay, was likely to beextended to overtime.
“Not only will this increase the cost ofannual leave,” said Sarah, “it could give riseto substantial claims of back pay.”
EU pay ruling
A spokesman said: “C o m m e rc i a laircraft production continues togrow strongly. Both Airbus and Boe-ing continue to benefit from increas-ing deliveries and a record orderbacklog, and both have announcedplans to increase production levelsfor single aisle aircraft in the future.
“There is also increasing demandfor strong global suppliers to supporttheir expansion plans.
“Military spending remains underpressure, largely driven by cutbacksthroughout the USA and Europe.”
The firm said the outlook for 2014was modest sales growth, reflectingthese conflicting trends.
Nigel Stein
This is another good performance,particularly in GKN Driveline whichdelivered 11pc organic sales growth.
“
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2 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
PLANE parts maker GKN sawits pre-tax profits rise ahealthy six per cent, in afurther sign that the com-mercial aerospace sector is
soaring.But, reflecting the challenges faced
across the sector, the military side ofthe business struggled.
GKN employs 1,500 in Filton man-ufacturing and assembling wingparts for customers such as nearbyAirbus, and another 275 in WesternApproach, Severn Beach, working onwing design and production usingcutting edge composite materials.
The group reported pre-tax profitsup to £340 million for the year endingJune 30. Sales slipped slightly from£3.87 billion to £3.83 billion.
Results were hit by the strongpound to the tune of £24 million, but itd i d n’t look as bad on the figuresbecause last year the firm suffered aone-off £25 million restructuringcost.
Overall performance was lifted byGKN’s strong car parts business, butthe locally-based aerospace divisionsaw its commercial business – par tsfor passenger planes – grow five percent. Revenue on the military sideshrank by two per cent, however,reflecting defence spending cutsaround the globe.
That means the overall aerospacesales figures were down slightlyacross aerospace to £1.1 billion, from£1.12 billion the year before.
Speaking about the company’soverall results, chief executive NigelStein said: “This is another good per-formance, particularly in GKN Driv-eline which delivered 11 per centorganic sales growth.
“We have continued to outperformour key markets and report goodunderlying financial results in spiteof sterling’s strength and some endmarket weakness – we expect thesetrends to be maintained in the secondh a l f.
“GKN is continuing to make en-couraging progress.”
Looking ahead, GKN expects thecommercial aerospace sector to con-tinue to do well, but the military sideto remain a challenge.
� Laurence Hybs, MD, and Mark Turner, national sales manager Picture: Michael Lloyd BRML20140728E-001
‘Business as usual’after firm bought out� AN insurance company is beinggiven a makeover after it wasbought by a rival, but bosses saythat it’s business as usual forcustomers.
Giles Insurance Brokers, based inGloucester Road where it employs32 people, is being renamed underthe Arthur J Gallagher brand after itwas bought by the firm lastN o v e m b e r.
The £233 million deal put itamong the top three commercialretail insurance brokers and addedthe 36 Giles branches to its globalnetwork.
Regional director Gary Fletchersaid after the takeover, the first stepwas to turn two businesses intoone.
He said: “Following theacquisition, our top priority wasdelivering a successful integrationof the two businesses with minimuminterruption to our valuedcustomers.
“We ’re delighted to announcenow the completed rebrand of GilesInsurance Brokers to Arthur JGallagher across the UK.
“For our customers in Bristol, it isvery much business as usual.
“That said, we are now able tosignificantly widen our offering,providing more choice and bettervalue for our business partners.”
The combined UK retail division ofArthur J Gallagher controls £1 billionof insurance premiums and employs2,600 people.
Internationally, the group employs4,500 staff in countries includingAustralia, Singapore and Chile.
Global spread Jam and juice firmenjoys 10 years of export growth
YOU don’t have to be a man-ufacturer to become a suc-cessful exporter, asBristol-based jam and fruitjuice business Stute Foods
p rove s.The family business was set up in
1969 by Denis Hybs, then technicaldirector at Robertson’s Jams in thec i t y.
That firm had been working withGerman jam-maker Stute, but de-cided to pull out of mainland Europe.But Denis had built a strong rela-tionship with Stute and decided to setup a UK business to maintain that.
Stute Foods was born, first in ParkStreet and now in Sunderland Road,Clifton. Its products – jams and fruitjuices – are made by its Germannamesake but then sold from the Bris-tol office to the UK and, increasingly,around the world.
The company’s turnover has grownto £4.5 million, thanks to that suc-cessful export strategy.
Managing director Laurence Hybs,Denis’s son, said: “Over the last 10years our exports have grown andgrown. They are now more than 50per cent of our business, whereasthey were two or three per cent.”
One of the most impressive aspectsis the number of markets Stute Foodshas gone into. Rather than focus onone or two, the firm is selling acrossthe world in countries including Ni-geria, Kenya, Morocco, China, Aus-tralia and Canada. It has largelyavoided mainland Europe, partly dueto language issues.
“We took the decision to only printour labels in English, rather thanhave to create new ones for eachc o u n t r y, ” said Laurance. “So we arein countries where English is eitherthe main language or widelys p o ke n . ”
The company has found UK Trade
and Investment’s services a help get-ting into some markets.
Laurence said: “We were lookingfor a supplier in Hong Kong so wepaid them to do some research andthey came back with four whole-salers, one of whom we came to anagreement with, and they have beentaking our products like clockworkever since.”
Entry into other markets has beenless planned.
“We sell in the supermarket inGibraltar and many Moroccans work-ing there buy our jams and take themh o m e, ” he said.
“We had a call from a company in
Morocco asking if we could sell tothem. We said yes, but there’s a 70 percent import tax in Morocco. But be-cause we sell jam made for diabetics,they were able to get the tax loweredto 10 per cent.”
One area Laurence recommendsgetting help is letters of credit, aguarantee from a bank that you willget paid
“If you are doing business withsomeone halfway around the worldand you can’t get paid in advance, youneed some sort of guarantee.” he said.“You can do it yourself, but it’s easy tomake a mistake, so it’s better to get itdone properly.”
Leading the way overseas
Holiday season could bump up wage bill
I n s u ra n ce
Profits soar Plane parts makerflying high despite military dip
BRISTOL-based business organisation Busi-ness West is going international with its sup-port services.
It has teamed up with Bedminster-based com-pany Flying Penguin Enterprises to providebusiness solutions to the Zubair Corporation inOman.
The aim is to help Zubair encourage andachieve growth and development of small andmedium sized Omani businesses and to helpidentify support services and solutions relatedto water resource management and railwaytraining.
Gaining knowledge of the local market will inturn allow Business West to spot opportunities
in the country for Business West members andexporters back home.
Managing director Phil Smith said: “Re -search shows that collaborating overseas isfantastic for achieving high-growth within busi-nesses and we are thrilled to have joined forceswith a leading Omani company, to help thegrowth of SMEs and infrastructure in Oman.
“At Business West we are excited to shareideas and build on each other’s skill sets.
“This new venture shows that by taking ourservices overseas we are practising exactlywhat we preach, linking into our current#GetExporting campaign and truly showingthat the only way is export!”
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Ae ros pa ceExpor ting
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
� Phil Smith, Business West managing director, withNick Wilton, of Flying Penguin
Business West is campaigningto increase the number ofexporters in the region.
Under the banner #GetExport-ing, the goal is help 2,020 com-panies to grow their businessthrough exports by 2020.
Business West and UKTI canoffer a range of support for firmslooking to export.
Find out more online atw w w. b u s i n e s s w e s t . c o . u k .
#GetExpor ting
Top tips for MiddleEast exportsThinking ofexporting tothe MiddleEast? Here’ssome thingsto Consider
� Dounderstand‘Wa s t a ’ b e f o reattempting to do business in theMiddle East. Wasta is Arabic forconnections, clout, influence andis part of the culture in all Arabcountries. It is vital to ensure thatyou are speaking to thed e c i s i o n - m a k e r.
� Don’t expect businessdealings to move quickly, theArabic approach to time is muchmore relaxed and slower thanthat in Western cultures. Don’t besurprised if your contact takescalls on their mobile phone, oraccepts visitors into their officeduring your meeting; they don’tmean to be rude.
� Men in the Middle East claim amore modest amount of personalspace than that which is usualelsewhere. Relax when anindividual steps closer as it isnormal in Arabic societies. Menmay hug and kiss other men onthe cheek on greeting.
� When doing business with anArabic woman, on the otherhand, as a man, don’t standclose to, stare at, or touch awoman – this would be seen asvery disrespectful.
� If you’re a woman rememberto take a headscarf, in case youvisit a mosque or a crowdedsouk, as a show of respect.
� When conducting business, itis customary to first shake thehand of all males present. Don’tshake hands with a womanunless she extends her hand toyou.
� Allocate plenty of time forrefreshments, or coffee, beforeattempting to engage inbusiness. It is important to firstestablish respect and trust. Don’tdrink alcohol during a mealbefore you know your host ishappy to do so.
� Don’t display the soles of yourfeet or touch somebody with yourshoe as this is often consideredrude. This includes sitting withyour feet or foot elevated.
� Make the effort to buildfriendship and trust duringbusiness. Many in the MiddleEast do not separate professionaland personal life. Doing businessrevolves much more aroundpersonal relationships, familyties, trust and honour.
� By Sarah Hildersley, above,of Business West.w w w. b u s i n e s s w e s t . c o . u k
www.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExportingwww.exportbritain.org.uk
#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk
#GetExporting
� ChiefexecutiveNigel Steinsays GKN iscontinuingto makeencouragingp ro g re s safter a sixper centincrease inp re - t a xp ro f i t s
BUSINESSES are being warned to bewarethat their wage bill could be higher thanexpected as we enter the summer holidays.
A recent European Court of Justice rulingstated workers should receive their normalremuneration for annual leave – which in-cludes both basic pay and commission.
It could have a big impact on firms that paybonuses, commission and overtime paymentswhich are not usually included in annualleave pay packets.
Sarah Driscoll, Employment Solicitor atClarke Willmott, which is based off VictoriaStreet, Bristol, said the court regarded annualleave as an important social right and staffshould not be financially worse off for takingit.
She said: “Employers across the county willneed to give urgent and serious thought to
how commission schemes can build in somesort of averaging provision that makes ap-propriate allowance for periods of annuall e ave.
“As well as being costly, this could prove tobe an administrative nightmare for employ-e r s.
“It could also cause havoc for employers insectors where commission forms a key part oftheir reward strategy such as the motor in-dustry, the utility sector and estate agents.”
She added the ruling, which was the resultof a British Gas sales consultant taking thecompany to court arguing his commissionwas part of his normal pay, was likely to beextended to overtime.
“Not only will this increase the cost ofannual leave,” said Sarah, “it could give riseto substantial claims of back pay.”
EU pay ruling
A spokesman said: “C o m m e rc i a laircraft production continues togrow strongly. Both Airbus and Boe-ing continue to benefit from increas-ing deliveries and a record orderbacklog, and both have announcedplans to increase production levelsfor single aisle aircraft in the future.
“There is also increasing demandfor strong global suppliers to supporttheir expansion plans.
“Military spending remains underpressure, largely driven by cutbacksthroughout the USA and Europe.”
The firm said the outlook for 2014was modest sales growth, reflectingthese conflicting trends.
Nigel Stein
This is another good performance,particularly in GKN Driveline whichdelivered 11pc organic sales growth.
“
Part of the Local World group
Whether your conference is on a small or large scaleour expert knowledge will give you a professionaland stress free event by providing you with theright presentation equipment, lighting and sound.
Audience Response
Presentation Production
Video Presentation
Staging your Conferencedoesn’t have to cost a fortune...
Call us on: 01684 575832Email us at: [email protected] us at : www.aneventservices.co.uk
EPB-
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4 5We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. bristolpost.co.uk
SHORTLY after thebirth of your secondson may not be thewisest time to leaveyour job and go into
business on your own. But it’sa decision that paid off forDave Wyatt and his family.
Dave walked away from asafe job at Liverpool Victoriato start his own insurancec o m p a ny.
The decision proved asound one, as the firm is nowcelebrating its 50th an-n ive r s a r y.
Dave, p i c t u re d , died in 1987but his eldest son Mark nowruns the business.
Widow Barbara recalls howit all began: “Our second sonRichard had just been bornand was about five days oldwhen my husband came upand said ‘I think I could dosomething on my own, whatdo you think?’. We have twosons and a mortgage.
“I said, let’s try it because inyears to come we may say‘what a pity we didn’t’.”
Dave left his job and openedhis business – Mark RichardInsurance, named after bothsons – initially working fromhis front room. He lateropened premises at 282 St
Jo h n’s Lane in Bedminsterwhere it remains today, al-though branches in Nailsea,Staple Hill and Warmley havesince been added.
Now it is run by Mark, butBarbara said there had beenno pressure for them to takeon the business.
“We always felt if theywanted to do it theywould but theyd i d n’t have to,”she said.
“But one dayMark wentalong and Davecame home andsaid ‘he’s very,very keen’ andt h at ’s how itwe n t . ”
Mark, 54, said the insur-ance landscape now was un-recognisable from when hisdad started the firm.
He said: “Mark Richard hasalways prided itself on provid-ing a high quality local ser-
vice, personalised for people’sneeds. It’s what drove thecompany in its early years,and we work hard to maintainthe tradition 50 years on.
“So although nowadays wedeliver services online just aspeople expect, we’re alsoavailable face-to-face or at the
end of the phone.”Mark said thefir m’s longevity
was almostmatched by thestaff ’s loyalty.
He said: “O ve r50 years thebusiness has
provided employ-ment livelihoods
for scores of localpeople. It’s remarkable
how many of them havestayed with us for such a longt i m e.
“We have a few staff whojoined us straight from schooland remain in post now, dec-ades later.”
Firm marks 50 yearssince dad’s bold step
� Office manager Martin Barnett with Barbara Probert, a director and widow of founder DaveWyatt; below, the shop in the 1970s and a cutting from the Bristol Post in 1988 showingBarbara and son Mark on the firm’s 25th anniversary Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140728A-001
Care homes E a syway to help findquality placesfor loved ones
FINDING a home to buy or rentonline has become the normboth on websites such as theBristol Post’s or directlythrough estate agents.
But while the web is now first portof call for property hunting for your-self, it hasn’t been such a commontool when looking for a care homeplace for a loved one.
That could be about to change asClare Fraser, from Filton, haslaunched the first dedicated self-ser-vice letting agency for England’s17,000 care homes.
The 46-year-old teacher found itchallenging to find care homes whenhelping her mother-in-law a few yearsa go.
“I have personal experience of deal-ing with the care system and I knowwhat a tortuous and stressful processit can be – anything aimed at makingthe process easier is to be welcomed,”she said.
Large numbers of care home bedsgo empty, hitting profits, and Clarebelieves there is a gap in the marketto help fill them.
Clare said: “In the current finan-cial climate we know that up to 20 percent of a care home’s profit can be lostwhen the last few rooms are unoc-cupied.
“We also understand that it can be astruggle to fill them, so we’ve de-signed a site that is specificallytailored for care providers who needto fill these spaces.”
She added that families and healthprofessionals often needed to findhomes at short notice, so her businesswould help them too.
Clare said: “Care Homes Now willbe a quick and easy way to findup-to-date accommodation for fam-ilies, friends and the NHS looking for
good quality care for loved ones with-in their chosen location.
“There are thousands of brilliant,caring establishments out there,working around the clock, every dayof every week, delivering superb careand showing huge commitment toresidents and their family members –they just need to be found quickly ande a s i ly. ”
Users will be able to leave recom-mendations on the website, c a re -h o m e s n o w. c o m , as is commonpractice with holiday websites orwhen buying goods.
Clare said this would help peoplemake a more informed decision, butadded nothing could take the place ofvisiting the home in person.
She said: “Our website is just astepping stone to help along the way.
This is often an emotional time for allinvolved and it is definitely not a ‘onesize fits all’.”
Despite a career in public service,Clare has always had an entrepren-eurial streak, right back to makingand selling earrings to classmateswhen she was at school.
She hopes the business will becomethe “go-to website”, providing thelatest room availability across thec o u n t r y.
It launches next month with carehomes offered a free trial, after whichthey would pay a subscription.
Five per cent of profits will go tocharities supporting the elderly.
Clare said: “It is a modern, simpleand affordable solution which willsave people both time and money.”
THE world’s newest airliner has beenflying on a world tour on its journeyto securing its final certification be-fore going into service.
The A350 XWB is undergoing rig-orous flight tests with an itineraryincluding stops at 14 major airportsand flying via the North Pole.
The large plane is Airbus’ a n swe rto rival Boeing’s Dreamliner. It willcarry 300-400 passengers when in ser-vice. The XWB stands for extra widebody, which allows wider 18in seats ineconomy or more passengers.
The plane also uses lighter ma-terials to make it 25 per cent more fuelefficient than earlier models.
The test aircraft, numbered MSN5,is one of the fleet of five and one of twowith a fully functional cabin, made up
to include 42 business class and 223economy class seats.
The flights are being operated byAirbus flight crews joined by pilotsfrom the European Aviation SafetyAg ency.
The tests form part of the last trialsrequired for aircraft Type Certific-ation scheduled for the third quarterof this year. The first airline delivery,to Qatar Airways, is due towards theend of the year.
The three-week testing programmeincludes four trips with starts inToulouse, France. Trip one, goes toCanada via the North Pole and Frank-furt. The second to Asia, the world’sfastest growing aviation market, in-cludes visits to Hong Kong and Singa-pore. The third takes the aircraft to
Johannesburg and Sydney. FromSydney it will fly to Auckland, fol-lowed by Santiago in Chile and SaoPaulo before returning to Toulouse.
On the fourth and final trip, theA350 will depart from Toulouse toDoha, then onto Perth and back toDoha. From Doha it will fly to Mo-scow, then to Helsinki from where itwill fly back to Toulouse.
The A350s have undergone 540flights and 2,350 hours in the air.
Airbus has already won orders for742 planes from 38 customers.� Airbus suffered a blow to the A380super jumbo programme yesterdaywhen it cancelled an order for sixplanes from Japanese airline Sky-mark. See page 21 of today’s BristolPo s t for the full story
World tour puts A350 to the test
� The A350’s test flights will take it around the globe
� Clare Fraser has designed a website that aims to offer a quick and easyway for to find accommodation for families and the NHS
One in four of us visitcity’s pop-up shops� ONE in four Bristolians havevisited a pop-up shop in the pasty e a r.
The figure, from research byeconomists CEBR, says 26 per centof residents have been to pop-upshops, putting Bristol just in the top10 hot spots in the UK. Cardiff wasnumber one.
The reports found pop-up shopscontribute £2.1 billion to the UKeconomy each year and is agrowing sector.
But it said that could be higher ifbarriers such as lack of flexibleshort-term contracts and highbusiness rates were removed.
Bristol-based mobile phone firmEE is backing Pop Up UK, acampaign to encourage and supportpop-up shops.
Mike Tomlinson, EE’s smallbusiness director, said: “Smallbusinesses, and pop-ups inparticular, face massive barriers andwe’ve launched Pop-Up UK tostoke the fire under Britain’s pop-upretail economy.”
Business centre opens� A NEW business centre hasopened offering serviced offices inWa r m l e y.
New World Business Centre hastransformed a neglected buildinginto a bright and spacious office.
Each individual office, named aftera major world city, is fully furnished,has fibre optic internet, key fobentry and state-of-the-art telecoms,as well as shared access to ashower, business lounge andkitchen area.
Victims offered deals� COACH holiday specialist BakersDolphin is helping holidaymakersaffected by the collapse ofWiltshire-based Hatts Coaches,which has gone into administration.
Around 1,000 people are believedto have made bookings with Hattsand may have lost their money andtheir holiday. Bakers Dolphin, basedin Weston-super-Mare, is offering 50per cent off its holidays to anyonewho lost out in the Hatts collapse.
Sales and marketing directorAmanda Harrington said: “When thissort of thing happens it underminesthe industry’s good reputation.”
Hatts Coaches
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Thanks a million to fuel card team as milestone reached� A FUEL firm is celebrating reaching themilestone of supplying a million litres ofdiesel sold on its fuel cards in one week.
Thomas Silvey Ltd, of Yate, started thenew Silvey Fuel Cards department fouryears ago with two staff, a telephone and ahandful of customers.
Now it employs 11 staff and looks after2,000 businesses across the UK.
Managing director David Hatherell said:
“The fuel card team has done us proud.Through competitive pricing, hard work andfirst-class customer service they haveconsistently grown the business and thismilestone is an accolade to their commitmentto our customers and the business”.
The firm was founded in 1870 tradingcommercial coal in Bristol to largeemployers such as Wills Tobacco and FrysChocolate.
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
I n s u ra n ce
Diesel sales
Av i a t i o n
We bs i teRet a i l
Office space
Clare Fraser
I know what a tortuousand stressful process thecare system can be.”
“
ACHIEVE INCREDIBLE
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We will create a branded design for yoursocial media channels including Facebook,Twitter, Google Plus and YouTube ensuring yourbusiness is represented by quality content.We will also significantly increase targetedfollowers on all platforms to help you generateleads and enquiries.
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3We can provide targeted display campaignson www.bristolpost.co.uk that getpeople clicking through to your website.We can provide you with an optimised listing in ourbusiness directory which is searched by over 000’sof local people each month. We can create qualityemail marketing campaigns from award winningdesigners and marketeers.We create outstanding social media campaigns,competitions and promotions. We provide Googlecertified AdWord Specialists, Facebook Ad andYouTube Ad specialists.
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4 5We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. bristolpost.co.uk
SHORTLY after thebirth of your secondson may not be thewisest time to leaveyour job and go into
business on your own. But it’sa decision that paid off forDave Wyatt and his family.
Dave walked away from asafe job at Liverpool Victoriato start his own insurancec o m p a ny.
The decision proved asound one, as the firm is nowcelebrating its 50th an-n ive r s a r y.
Dave, p i c t u re d , died in 1987but his eldest son Mark nowruns the business.
Widow Barbara recalls howit all began: “Our second sonRichard had just been bornand was about five days oldwhen my husband came upand said ‘I think I could dosomething on my own, whatdo you think?’. We have twosons and a mortgage.
“I said, let’s try it because inyears to come we may say‘what a pity we didn’t’.”
Dave left his job and openedhis business – Mark RichardInsurance, named after bothsons – initially working fromhis front room. He lateropened premises at 282 St
Jo h n’s Lane in Bedminsterwhere it remains today, al-though branches in Nailsea,Staple Hill and Warmley havesince been added.
Now it is run by Mark, butBarbara said there had beenno pressure for them to takeon the business.
“We always felt if theywanted to do it theywould but theyd i d n’t have to,”she said.
“But one dayMark wentalong and Davecame home andsaid ‘he’s very,very keen’ andt h at ’s how itwe n t . ”
Mark, 54, said the insur-ance landscape now was un-recognisable from when hisdad started the firm.
He said: “Mark Richard hasalways prided itself on provid-ing a high quality local ser-
vice, personalised for people’sneeds. It’s what drove thecompany in its early years,and we work hard to maintainthe tradition 50 years on.
“So although nowadays wedeliver services online just aspeople expect, we’re alsoavailable face-to-face or at the
end of the phone.”Mark said thefir m’s longevity
was almostmatched by thestaff ’s loyalty.
He said: “O ve r50 years thebusiness has
provided employ-ment livelihoods
for scores of localpeople. It’s remarkable
how many of them havestayed with us for such a longt i m e.
“We have a few staff whojoined us straight from schooland remain in post now, dec-ades later.”
Firm marks 50 yearssince dad’s bold step
� Office manager Martin Barnett with Barbara Probert, a director and widow of founder DaveWyatt; below, the shop in the 1970s and a cutting from the Bristol Post in 1988 showingBarbara and son Mark on the firm’s 25th anniversary Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140728A-001
Care homes E a syway to help findquality placesfor loved ones
FINDING a home to buy or rentonline has become the normboth on websites such as theBristol Post’s or directlythrough estate agents.
But while the web is now first portof call for property hunting for your-self, it hasn’t been such a commontool when looking for a care homeplace for a loved one.
That could be about to change asClare Fraser, from Filton, haslaunched the first dedicated self-ser-vice letting agency for England’s17,000 care homes.
The 46-year-old teacher found itchallenging to find care homes whenhelping her mother-in-law a few yearsa go.
“I have personal experience of deal-ing with the care system and I knowwhat a tortuous and stressful processit can be – anything aimed at makingthe process easier is to be welcomed,”she said.
Large numbers of care home bedsgo empty, hitting profits, and Clarebelieves there is a gap in the marketto help fill them.
Clare said: “In the current finan-cial climate we know that up to 20 percent of a care home’s profit can be lostwhen the last few rooms are unoc-cupied.
“We also understand that it can be astruggle to fill them, so we’ve de-signed a site that is specificallytailored for care providers who needto fill these spaces.”
She added that families and healthprofessionals often needed to findhomes at short notice, so her businesswould help them too.
Clare said: “Care Homes Now willbe a quick and easy way to findup-to-date accommodation for fam-ilies, friends and the NHS looking for
good quality care for loved ones with-in their chosen location.
“There are thousands of brilliant,caring establishments out there,working around the clock, every dayof every week, delivering superb careand showing huge commitment toresidents and their family members –they just need to be found quickly ande a s i ly. ”
Users will be able to leave recom-mendations on the website, c a re -h o m e s n o w. c o m , as is commonpractice with holiday websites orwhen buying goods.
Clare said this would help peoplemake a more informed decision, butadded nothing could take the place ofvisiting the home in person.
She said: “Our website is just astepping stone to help along the way.
This is often an emotional time for allinvolved and it is definitely not a ‘onesize fits all’.”
Despite a career in public service,Clare has always had an entrepren-eurial streak, right back to makingand selling earrings to classmateswhen she was at school.
She hopes the business will becomethe “go-to website”, providing thelatest room availability across thec o u n t r y.
It launches next month with carehomes offered a free trial, after whichthey would pay a subscription.
Five per cent of profits will go tocharities supporting the elderly.
Clare said: “It is a modern, simpleand affordable solution which willsave people both time and money.”
THE world’s newest airliner has beenflying on a world tour on its journeyto securing its final certification be-fore going into service.
The A350 XWB is undergoing rig-orous flight tests with an itineraryincluding stops at 14 major airportsand flying via the North Pole.
The large plane is Airbus’ a n swe rto rival Boeing’s Dreamliner. It willcarry 300-400 passengers when in ser-vice. The XWB stands for extra widebody, which allows wider 18in seats ineconomy or more passengers.
The plane also uses lighter ma-terials to make it 25 per cent more fuelefficient than earlier models.
The test aircraft, numbered MSN5,is one of the fleet of five and one of twowith a fully functional cabin, made up
to include 42 business class and 223economy class seats.
The flights are being operated byAirbus flight crews joined by pilotsfrom the European Aviation SafetyAg ency.
The tests form part of the last trialsrequired for aircraft Type Certific-ation scheduled for the third quarterof this year. The first airline delivery,to Qatar Airways, is due towards theend of the year.
The three-week testing programmeincludes four trips with starts inToulouse, France. Trip one, goes toCanada via the North Pole and Frank-furt. The second to Asia, the world’sfastest growing aviation market, in-cludes visits to Hong Kong and Singa-pore. The third takes the aircraft to
Johannesburg and Sydney. FromSydney it will fly to Auckland, fol-lowed by Santiago in Chile and SaoPaulo before returning to Toulouse.
On the fourth and final trip, theA350 will depart from Toulouse toDoha, then onto Perth and back toDoha. From Doha it will fly to Mo-scow, then to Helsinki from where itwill fly back to Toulouse.
The A350s have undergone 540flights and 2,350 hours in the air.
Airbus has already won orders for742 planes from 38 customers.� Airbus suffered a blow to the A380super jumbo programme yesterdaywhen it cancelled an order for sixplanes from Japanese airline Sky-mark. See page 21 of today’s BristolPo s t for the full story
World tour puts A350 to the test
� The A350’s test flights will take it around the globe
� Clare Fraser has designed a website that aims to offer a quick and easyway for to find accommodation for families and the NHS
One in four of us visitcity’s pop-up shops� ONE in four Bristolians havevisited a pop-up shop in the pasty e a r.
The figure, from research byeconomists CEBR, says 26 per centof residents have been to pop-upshops, putting Bristol just in the top10 hot spots in the UK. Cardiff wasnumber one.
The reports found pop-up shopscontribute £2.1 billion to the UKeconomy each year and is agrowing sector.
But it said that could be higher ifbarriers such as lack of flexibleshort-term contracts and highbusiness rates were removed.
Bristol-based mobile phone firmEE is backing Pop Up UK, acampaign to encourage and supportpop-up shops.
Mike Tomlinson, EE’s smallbusiness director, said: “Smallbusinesses, and pop-ups inparticular, face massive barriers andwe’ve launched Pop-Up UK tostoke the fire under Britain’s pop-upretail economy.”
Business centre opens� A NEW business centre hasopened offering serviced offices inWa r m l e y.
New World Business Centre hastransformed a neglected buildinginto a bright and spacious office.
Each individual office, named aftera major world city, is fully furnished,has fibre optic internet, key fobentry and state-of-the-art telecoms,as well as shared access to ashower, business lounge andkitchen area.
Victims offered deals� COACH holiday specialist BakersDolphin is helping holidaymakersaffected by the collapse ofWiltshire-based Hatts Coaches,which has gone into administration.
Around 1,000 people are believedto have made bookings with Hattsand may have lost their money andtheir holiday. Bakers Dolphin, basedin Weston-super-Mare, is offering 50per cent off its holidays to anyonewho lost out in the Hatts collapse.
Sales and marketing directorAmanda Harrington said: “When thissort of thing happens it underminesthe industry’s good reputation.”
Hatts Coaches
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Thanks a million to fuel card team as milestone reached� A FUEL firm is celebrating reaching themilestone of supplying a million litres ofdiesel sold on its fuel cards in one week.
Thomas Silvey Ltd, of Yate, started thenew Silvey Fuel Cards department fouryears ago with two staff, a telephone and ahandful of customers.
Now it employs 11 staff and looks after2,000 businesses across the UK.
Managing director David Hatherell said:
“The fuel card team has done us proud.Through competitive pricing, hard work andfirst-class customer service they haveconsistently grown the business and thismilestone is an accolade to their commitmentto our customers and the business”.
The firm was founded in 1870 tradingcommercial coal in Bristol to largeemployers such as Wills Tobacco and FrysChocolate.
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
I n s u ra n ce
Diesel sales
Av i a t i o n
We bs i teRet a i l
Office space
Clare Fraser
I know what a tortuousand stressful process thecare system can be.”
“
ACHIEVE INCREDIBLE
SUCCESSONLINE IN2014WITHOURPROVEN3STEPPROCESS
CONTACT US for a free assessment ofhow we can help your business online
07825 592 949email: [email protected]
Follow usLike us
SOCIALMEDIA
1
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Award winning designers will create you a freshnew website built to Google’s latest exactingspecifications to ensure prominence in their results.Built using the latest methodology and technologyto ensure leads and sales are generated.
We will create a branded design for yoursocial media channels including Facebook,Twitter, Google Plus and YouTube ensuring yourbusiness is represented by quality content.We will also significantly increase targetedfollowers on all platforms to help you generateleads and enquiries.
LEADGENERATION
3We can provide targeted display campaignson www.bristolpost.co.uk that getpeople clicking through to your website.We can provide you with an optimised listing in ourbusiness directory which is searched by over 000’sof local people each month. We can create qualityemail marketing campaigns from award winningdesigners and marketeers.We create outstanding social media campaigns,competitions and promotions. We provide Googlecertified AdWord Specialists, Facebook Ad andYouTube Ad specialists.
BRANDNEWWEBSITE
bristolpost.co.uk
EPB-E01-S3
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6 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
The Big Interview
PROFESSIONAL services isone of the five key growth sec-tors identified by the West ofEngland Local EnterprisePartnership in its strategic
plan to stimulate the region’s £25 bil-lion economy over the next six years.
Bristol boasts a rich seam of pro-fessional services firms, whose workis often conducted behind closed doorsand yet underpins many business suc-cess stories. The sector is goingthrough a period of evolution, but itcontinues to prosper and remains oneof the strongest economic contribut-o r s.
Among those firms is accountancyand investment management groupSmith & Williamson, with 170 peoplebased in central Bristol.
Its corporate finance team is one ofthe biggest in the region and has seen asignificant rise in activity locally, na-tionally and internationally in thefirst half of 2014. It recently completedthree major deals, including the£80 million acquisition of Amber Tav-erns, an £11 million investment byMobeus Equity Partners and the saleof the Microsoft UK Country Partnerof the Year, Information ManagementGroup, to US-based Hitachi Consult-ing.
Martyn Fraser, Iain Lownes andMatthew Pearson are all part of the10-strong Bristol corporate financeteam, a market that has been ratherbusy of late.
“We have seen a significant im-provement in confidence this yearwhich has galvanised businesses intoaction,” said Iain. “There is a real ap-petite for growth and with a widerange of funding options now up forgrabs, good quality businesses are in areally strong position to capitalise onthe opportunities.
“Whether it’s capital for a manage-ment buy-out or buy-in, developmentcapital for expansion or obtaining ad-vice on funding options, restructuringor exit strategies, there is plenty goingon.”
Much of the business done by suchprofessionals now crosses interna-tional borders.
“The UK is an attractive market forinward investment and the ability toreach overseas buyers is increasinglyimportant when selling businesses,”Martyn said. “Most of the deals we areinvolved in now have an internationalelement even for relatively small busi-nesses that might traditionally havebeen marketed only to domestic buy-ers. Globalisation has made the worlda small place and created an oppor-tunity to structure transactions thatsimply wouldn’t have happened 20years ago.”
And it’s not just exporting, but in-vestment coming into the area, too.
Matthew said: “Equally, we are alsoseeing international finance housescoming to the UK and actively lookingto purchase UK assets. Robust UKcompanies with an overseas mandateare high on their ‘wish lists’ and thereare interesting deals to be done.
“For example, we recently com-pleted a large fundraising for a clientin the US private placement market asthey were seeking to access financebeyond the UK banking sector.”
So what makes a good corporate fin-ance client? “It’s not about the size ofthe company or the value of the dealbut rather the complexity of what they
are trying to achieve,” said Martyn.“We help clients to resolve complexchallenges typically requiring seniorlevel input, strategic thinking andoften creativity in coming up with thebest solution.”
“It’s not always the solution thatcompanies think they are looking fore i t h e r, ” added Iain. “We are often ap-proached by businesses for advice on aparticular issue, but when we talk itall through, it turns out there areother more suitable options whichh a d n’t even been considered.”
Matthew added: “Businesses oftenhave a lot more options than they mayre a l i s e.
“It’s a mistake to think equity anddebt finance is necessarily difficult tocome by, although it’s true to say cre-ativity may be needed to unlock them.Investment and lending criteria mayhave changed, but if a company is fun-
UNLOCKING OPTIONS FOR GROWTHBristol has a strong profes-sional services sector, withlawyers, accountants and thelike working behind thescenes making the businessworld tick. We caught upwith three of them to showus behind the curtain at whatreally goes on...
damentally sound then options doexist, although companies must helpby ensuring they position themselvesin the best possible light, which iswhere an experienced adviser cancome into their own.”
But Martyn says it’s not all about thedeals. He said: “It’s about buildinglong-term relationships with a trustedadviser who can help develop and im-plement plans which will enable thebusiness owners to realise their am-bitions for the company as well as per-sonally. Whilst this may ultimatelyinvolve some form of transaction, weoften work with clients for many yearsin advance of this.”
Iain added: “Many entrepreneursunderstandably try to do it all them-selves until they realise they no longercan. Unfortunately, at this point, thereal opportunities have often beenmissed.
My working dayMartyn Fraser
Wake up at?Whenever the kidsget up, normallyearlyBreakfast? To a s tWhat time do youstart work?Around 8am
What happens inyour typical working
day? No two days arethe same as they are
driven by what clients arelooking to do.
What time do you go home? Ty p i c a l l yaround 7pm but often much later as much ofour work is driven by tight deadlines.Do you take work home/attend eveningfunctions? Ye s
Matthew PearsonAge: 43Place of birth: ManchesterSchool: St Ambrose CollegeFirst job: Te a c h e r
Iain LownesAge: 43Place of birth: KidderminsterSchool: Wolverhampton HighSchoolFirst job: Shelf-stacking inM&S
Martyn FraserAge: 39Place of birth: Ay l e s b u r ySchool: King Edmund School(now Yate InternationalAcademy)First job: Paper round
Vital statistics
My downtimeIain Lownes
What’s your perfect weekend? Exercising – I run 10 mileson Sundays – and baking a cake with my childrenWhat’s your favourite book, film or TV show: Ice Cold inAlex (above) and A People’s HistoryWhat are your hobbies? Fitness and military history
“ I recently worked with a companywhich was lucky enough to have agreat managing director who was will-ing and capable of taking the businesson. That’s surprisingly rare and mostcompanies don’t gear up early enoughfor a sale. We tend to talk to businessowners years in advance, helpingthem to structure and position theircompanies in the right way to achievethe best possible outcome.”
Whether a business needs financialadvice or any other form of profes-sional support or service, the keyseems to be in unlocking the options sothey can make informed choices andrealise their full potential.
“Most clients know what they wantbut they don’t necessarily know howto get there,” said Martyn.
“In my view the role of the profes-sional adviser is to help them bridgethis gap.”
Iain Lownes
“There is a real appetitefor growth and ... goodquality businesses are ina really strong position tocapitalise on theopportunities
YOU may never have heard ofCreditcall, but you’ve prob-ably used its services. In fact,yo u ’ve more than likely trus-ted the Bristol company with
your credit or debit card details.As chief technology officer Jeremy
Gumbley puts it: “We provide the gluebetween the device such as a parkingmeter and the banking network.”
The company was formed in 1996,initially providing telephone ser-vices for hotels.
“If you stayed in a Travelodge orPremier Inn and there was a phonewith a credit card swipe to make calls,that was us,” said Jeremy.
The rise of the mobile phone putan end to that market, but the firmsaw it coming and moved into newa re a s.
Its technology is used by peoplewho want to make card paymentswithout a member of staff there tos u p e r v i s e.
Customers include Bristol Airportand the Cabot Circus car park.Turnover last year was £5.7 million,up from £4.7 million the year before.Exports have grown 80 per cent.
Now the firm is leading the wayexporting its payment services over-seas, particularly the North Amer-ican market, and has been awardedthe Queen’s Award for Export.
Jeremy said the firm had foundAmericans were more likely to risk anew technology.
“Our first customer in the US wasin Seattle, where they deployed 2,500parking meters with new techno-log y,” said Jeremy. “We made thatwork and it paved the way for furthers u c c e s s. ”
The firm’s biggest US customer isnow the City of New York, which alsouses the technology in its parkingmeters. Across the country, there are45,000 meters using Creditcall’s sys-tem.
Using sales and distribution part-ners overseas allows it to get into themarkets without directly employinga large workforce there. It does have asmall New York office and two staff inCanada.
And Jeremy believes the com-p a ny ’s advantage over competitors isthat it makes the system simple forthe customer, by dealing with the
complications of the banking systemfor them.
The company is rooted in Bristoland enjoys being here. It moved re-cently because it had outgrown its oldoffice, but in the end only went acrossthe road into Merchants’ House, nearWapping Wharf.
Chief executive, Peter Turner, said:“It became clear very quickly that
many younger members of our work-force walk or cycle to work – about 70per cent. That meant moving a fewmiles down the road was not an op-tion. We need to be in the centre.”
He added: “We ask a lot of our staff,but we do listen to them.”
Jeremy said the wealth of talent inthe city was a key reason to stay, withabout two-thirds of the 62 staff work-ing on technology.
“One of the great things about Bris-tol is the fact we have the opportunityof getting quite a lot of graduates fromUWE, Bristol and Bath universit-i e s. ”
Staff watched a presentation cere-mony as Lord Lieutenant Mary Priorhanded over the Queen’s Award.
Bristol Lord Mayor Alistair Watsonsaid: “These awards are not given tomany businesses and when we getone here in Bristol we always cel-ebrate it. I am so glad your new HQ ishere and you are going to continue togrow here.”
A HARTCLIFFE teenager has se-cured his dream career in businessadministration at a local communityc e n t re.
Sam Saint, 17, has secured a com-petitive apprenticeship at @Symes, aHartcliffe community centre locatedabove a library.
@Symes is run and managed bylocal people. It provides support foradults in the community and is ded-icated to getting people back intowork by offering advice sessions andskills-building courses on employab-ility, IT for beginners, work clubs, lifecoaching and introduction to volun-teering courses.
Sam is now the first port-of-call forcentre visitors and provides crucialfinancial support and general admin-istration. Qualifying in a year’s time,Sam will also be working towards aNVQ in Business Administration.
Sam said he was unsure what to do
next at college, so he joined an ap-prenticeship academy where he trieda couple of placements before an ad-viser matched him with a businessadministration opportunity.
“At first, I was unsure whether itwould be a career suited to me,” hesaid.
“However, I have found it reallyworthwhile – having always been nat-urally talented at maths – and I nowget to use those skills to good effect.
“This job has not only given me acareer focus, but it has allowed me tolearn new skills, while gaining in-valuable experience. I’ve finallyfound something I truly enjoy doing.
“Everyone at @Symes has reallywelcomed me and I’m so glad to havefinally found the perfect career thatsuits me and my skills. This appren-ticeship has undoubtedly given megreat experience and built a strongfoundation for my career.”
The apprenticeship course, de-livered by training provider t2 Group,allows Sam to gain hands-on exper-ience in business administration aswell as providing him with function-al skills in core subjects, includingmaths, ICT and English.
The firm’s Bristol ApprenticeshipAcademy offers 20 weeks of intensiveemployability training combinedwith work experience, leading to na-tionally recognised qualificationsand building practical on-the-jobs k i l l s.
Dave Marr, director of business de-velopment and human resources at t2Group, said: “This apprenticeshiphas given Sam a sharp focus whileproviding him with a broad base tobuild his career on.”
He added: “We ’re delighted thathe’s finally found his passion and cannow start to look forward to the fu-t u re. ”
Teenager Sam starts dream career
Royal honour Credit from the topfor firm behind card technologyGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Expor ts
A p p re n t i ces h i ps
Recovery on ‘strongground’ in South West� THE economy has pushed pastits pre-recession peak of 2008 andlocal businesses say that is beingfelt on the ground.
The UK’s economy GDP grew by0.8 per cent in the second quarter of2014. It has grown three per centfrom the same point last year.
The previous peak was in the firstquarter of 2008, after which camethe credit crunch and resultingrecession, which saw the economyshrink by 7.2 per cent.
The news was welcomed bybusinesses and business leaders inBristol. Rob Law, chief executive ofBristol-based child luggage makerTrunki, said the growing economywas reflected in his business, too.
He said: “We ’ve experiencedsignificant growth with our exports,which are up by 25 per cent. Trunkihas just launched in the USA,northern Europe and China and allthree are performing extremely well.
“We ’ve hired five new members ofthe team and we’re currentlyundertaking a significant investmentstrategy after the Business GrowthFund injected £4 million into thebusiness for future growth.”
He added that the firm planned tolaunch two new products this year.
Phil Smith, managing director ofregional business organisationBusiness West, said its own surveysbacked up a growing confidence.
He said: “Our Local BusinessSurvey this quarter of over 740businesses across the region paintsa positive picture for our region andbuilds on a strong start to the year.
“Quarter two results showed thatgrowth remains on a firm footinghere, with increases in domesticsales and orders fuelling businessconfidence, which is up on both thequarter and the year, standing at 74per cent.”
Government figures showemployment has increased by139,356 across the whole SouthWest since 2010.
Mr Smith said the jobs figures hadbeen reinforced by businessesreporting they had recruited morestaff this quarter and expect tocontinue to do so over the nextthree months. He added there wasstill work to be done, but overall theSouth West economic recovery wason “strong ground”.
Eco n o my
� C re d i t c a l lChiefexecutivePeter Turneris presentedwith theQueen’sAward byL o rdLieutenantMary Prior;left, Creditcallat Bristol
� Apprentice Sam Saint, 17
Chief technologyofficer Jeremy
Gumbley
“We providethe gluebetween thedevice suchas a parkingmeter andthe bankingnetwork
� Directors of Smith and Williamson, from left, Martyn Fraser, Iain Lownes and Matthew Pearson
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6 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
The Big Interview
PROFESSIONAL services isone of the five key growth sec-tors identified by the West ofEngland Local EnterprisePartnership in its strategic
plan to stimulate the region’s £25 bil-lion economy over the next six years.
Bristol boasts a rich seam of pro-fessional services firms, whose workis often conducted behind closed doorsand yet underpins many business suc-cess stories. The sector is goingthrough a period of evolution, but itcontinues to prosper and remains oneof the strongest economic contribut-o r s.
Among those firms is accountancyand investment management groupSmith & Williamson, with 170 peoplebased in central Bristol.
Its corporate finance team is one ofthe biggest in the region and has seen asignificant rise in activity locally, na-tionally and internationally in thefirst half of 2014. It recently completedthree major deals, including the£80 million acquisition of Amber Tav-erns, an £11 million investment byMobeus Equity Partners and the saleof the Microsoft UK Country Partnerof the Year, Information ManagementGroup, to US-based Hitachi Consult-ing.
Martyn Fraser, Iain Lownes andMatthew Pearson are all part of the10-strong Bristol corporate financeteam, a market that has been ratherbusy of late.
“We have seen a significant im-provement in confidence this yearwhich has galvanised businesses intoaction,” said Iain. “There is a real ap-petite for growth and with a widerange of funding options now up forgrabs, good quality businesses are in areally strong position to capitalise onthe opportunities.
“Whether it’s capital for a manage-ment buy-out or buy-in, developmentcapital for expansion or obtaining ad-vice on funding options, restructuringor exit strategies, there is plenty goingon.”
Much of the business done by suchprofessionals now crosses interna-tional borders.
“The UK is an attractive market forinward investment and the ability toreach overseas buyers is increasinglyimportant when selling businesses,”Martyn said. “Most of the deals we areinvolved in now have an internationalelement even for relatively small busi-nesses that might traditionally havebeen marketed only to domestic buy-ers. Globalisation has made the worlda small place and created an oppor-tunity to structure transactions thatsimply wouldn’t have happened 20years ago.”
And it’s not just exporting, but in-vestment coming into the area, too.
Matthew said: “Equally, we are alsoseeing international finance housescoming to the UK and actively lookingto purchase UK assets. Robust UKcompanies with an overseas mandateare high on their ‘wish lists’ and thereare interesting deals to be done.
“For example, we recently com-pleted a large fundraising for a clientin the US private placement market asthey were seeking to access financebeyond the UK banking sector.”
So what makes a good corporate fin-ance client? “It’s not about the size ofthe company or the value of the dealbut rather the complexity of what they
are trying to achieve,” said Martyn.“We help clients to resolve complexchallenges typically requiring seniorlevel input, strategic thinking andoften creativity in coming up with thebest solution.”
“It’s not always the solution thatcompanies think they are looking fore i t h e r, ” added Iain. “We are often ap-proached by businesses for advice on aparticular issue, but when we talk itall through, it turns out there areother more suitable options whichh a d n’t even been considered.”
Matthew added: “Businesses oftenhave a lot more options than they mayre a l i s e.
“It’s a mistake to think equity anddebt finance is necessarily difficult tocome by, although it’s true to say cre-ativity may be needed to unlock them.Investment and lending criteria mayhave changed, but if a company is fun-
UNLOCKING OPTIONS FOR GROWTHBristol has a strong profes-sional services sector, withlawyers, accountants and thelike working behind thescenes making the businessworld tick. We caught upwith three of them to showus behind the curtain at whatreally goes on...
damentally sound then options doexist, although companies must helpby ensuring they position themselvesin the best possible light, which iswhere an experienced adviser cancome into their own.”
But Martyn says it’s not all about thedeals. He said: “It’s about buildinglong-term relationships with a trustedadviser who can help develop and im-plement plans which will enable thebusiness owners to realise their am-bitions for the company as well as per-sonally. Whilst this may ultimatelyinvolve some form of transaction, weoften work with clients for many yearsin advance of this.”
Iain added: “Many entrepreneursunderstandably try to do it all them-selves until they realise they no longercan. Unfortunately, at this point, thereal opportunities have often beenmissed.
My working dayMartyn Fraser
Wake up at?Whenever the kidsget up, normallyearlyBreakfast? To a s tWhat time do youstart work?Around 8am
What happens inyour typical working
day? No two days arethe same as they are
driven by what clients arelooking to do.
What time do you go home? Ty p i c a l l yaround 7pm but often much later as much ofour work is driven by tight deadlines.Do you take work home/attend eveningfunctions? Ye s
Matthew PearsonAge: 43Place of birth: ManchesterSchool: St Ambrose CollegeFirst job: Te a c h e r
Iain LownesAge: 43Place of birth: KidderminsterSchool: Wolverhampton HighSchoolFirst job: Shelf-stacking inM&S
Martyn FraserAge: 39Place of birth: Ay l e s b u r ySchool: King Edmund School(now Yate InternationalAcademy)First job: Paper round
Vital statistics
My downtimeIain Lownes
What’s your perfect weekend? Exercising – I run 10 mileson Sundays – and baking a cake with my childrenWhat’s your favourite book, film or TV show: Ice Cold inAlex (above) and A People’s HistoryWhat are your hobbies? Fitness and military history
“ I recently worked with a companywhich was lucky enough to have agreat managing director who was will-ing and capable of taking the businesson. That’s surprisingly rare and mostcompanies don’t gear up early enoughfor a sale. We tend to talk to businessowners years in advance, helpingthem to structure and position theircompanies in the right way to achievethe best possible outcome.”
Whether a business needs financialadvice or any other form of profes-sional support or service, the keyseems to be in unlocking the options sothey can make informed choices andrealise their full potential.
“Most clients know what they wantbut they don’t necessarily know howto get there,” said Martyn.
“In my view the role of the profes-sional adviser is to help them bridgethis gap.”
Iain Lownes
“There is a real appetitefor growth and ... goodquality businesses are ina really strong position tocapitalise on theopportunities
YOU may never have heard ofCreditcall, but you’ve prob-ably used its services. In fact,yo u ’ve more than likely trus-ted the Bristol company with
your credit or debit card details.As chief technology officer Jeremy
Gumbley puts it: “We provide the gluebetween the device such as a parkingmeter and the banking network.”
The company was formed in 1996,initially providing telephone ser-vices for hotels.
“If you stayed in a Travelodge orPremier Inn and there was a phonewith a credit card swipe to make calls,that was us,” said Jeremy.
The rise of the mobile phone putan end to that market, but the firmsaw it coming and moved into newa re a s.
Its technology is used by peoplewho want to make card paymentswithout a member of staff there tos u p e r v i s e.
Customers include Bristol Airportand the Cabot Circus car park.Turnover last year was £5.7 million,up from £4.7 million the year before.Exports have grown 80 per cent.
Now the firm is leading the wayexporting its payment services over-seas, particularly the North Amer-ican market, and has been awardedthe Queen’s Award for Export.
Jeremy said the firm had foundAmericans were more likely to risk anew technology.
“Our first customer in the US wasin Seattle, where they deployed 2,500parking meters with new techno-log y,” said Jeremy. “We made thatwork and it paved the way for furthers u c c e s s. ”
The firm’s biggest US customer isnow the City of New York, which alsouses the technology in its parkingmeters. Across the country, there are45,000 meters using Creditcall’s sys-tem.
Using sales and distribution part-ners overseas allows it to get into themarkets without directly employinga large workforce there. It does have asmall New York office and two staff inCanada.
And Jeremy believes the com-p a ny ’s advantage over competitors isthat it makes the system simple forthe customer, by dealing with the
complications of the banking systemfor them.
The company is rooted in Bristoland enjoys being here. It moved re-cently because it had outgrown its oldoffice, but in the end only went acrossthe road into Merchants’ House, nearWapping Wharf.
Chief executive, Peter Turner, said:“It became clear very quickly that
many younger members of our work-force walk or cycle to work – about 70per cent. That meant moving a fewmiles down the road was not an op-tion. We need to be in the centre.”
He added: “We ask a lot of our staff,but we do listen to them.”
Jeremy said the wealth of talent inthe city was a key reason to stay, withabout two-thirds of the 62 staff work-ing on technology.
“One of the great things about Bris-tol is the fact we have the opportunityof getting quite a lot of graduates fromUWE, Bristol and Bath universit-i e s. ”
Staff watched a presentation cere-mony as Lord Lieutenant Mary Priorhanded over the Queen’s Award.
Bristol Lord Mayor Alistair Watsonsaid: “These awards are not given tomany businesses and when we getone here in Bristol we always cel-ebrate it. I am so glad your new HQ ishere and you are going to continue togrow here.”
A HARTCLIFFE teenager has se-cured his dream career in businessadministration at a local communityc e n t re.
Sam Saint, 17, has secured a com-petitive apprenticeship at @Symes, aHartcliffe community centre locatedabove a library.
@Symes is run and managed bylocal people. It provides support foradults in the community and is ded-icated to getting people back intowork by offering advice sessions andskills-building courses on employab-ility, IT for beginners, work clubs, lifecoaching and introduction to volun-teering courses.
Sam is now the first port-of-call forcentre visitors and provides crucialfinancial support and general admin-istration. Qualifying in a year’s time,Sam will also be working towards aNVQ in Business Administration.
Sam said he was unsure what to do
next at college, so he joined an ap-prenticeship academy where he trieda couple of placements before an ad-viser matched him with a businessadministration opportunity.
“At first, I was unsure whether itwould be a career suited to me,” hesaid.
“However, I have found it reallyworthwhile – having always been nat-urally talented at maths – and I nowget to use those skills to good effect.
“This job has not only given me acareer focus, but it has allowed me tolearn new skills, while gaining in-valuable experience. I’ve finallyfound something I truly enjoy doing.
“Everyone at @Symes has reallywelcomed me and I’m so glad to havefinally found the perfect career thatsuits me and my skills. This appren-ticeship has undoubtedly given megreat experience and built a strongfoundation for my career.”
The apprenticeship course, de-livered by training provider t2 Group,allows Sam to gain hands-on exper-ience in business administration aswell as providing him with function-al skills in core subjects, includingmaths, ICT and English.
The firm’s Bristol ApprenticeshipAcademy offers 20 weeks of intensiveemployability training combinedwith work experience, leading to na-tionally recognised qualificationsand building practical on-the-jobs k i l l s.
Dave Marr, director of business de-velopment and human resources at t2Group, said: “This apprenticeshiphas given Sam a sharp focus whileproviding him with a broad base tobuild his career on.”
He added: “We ’re delighted thathe’s finally found his passion and cannow start to look forward to the fu-t u re. ”
Teenager Sam starts dream career
Royal honour Credit from the topfor firm behind card technologyGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
Expor ts
A p p re n t i ces h i ps
Recovery on ‘strongground’ in South West� THE economy has pushed pastits pre-recession peak of 2008 andlocal businesses say that is beingfelt on the ground.
The UK’s economy GDP grew by0.8 per cent in the second quarter of2014. It has grown three per centfrom the same point last year.
The previous peak was in the firstquarter of 2008, after which camethe credit crunch and resultingrecession, which saw the economyshrink by 7.2 per cent.
The news was welcomed bybusinesses and business leaders inBristol. Rob Law, chief executive ofBristol-based child luggage makerTrunki, said the growing economywas reflected in his business, too.
He said: “We ’ve experiencedsignificant growth with our exports,which are up by 25 per cent. Trunkihas just launched in the USA,northern Europe and China and allthree are performing extremely well.
“We ’ve hired five new members ofthe team and we’re currentlyundertaking a significant investmentstrategy after the Business GrowthFund injected £4 million into thebusiness for future growth.”
He added that the firm planned tolaunch two new products this year.
Phil Smith, managing director ofregional business organisationBusiness West, said its own surveysbacked up a growing confidence.
He said: “Our Local BusinessSurvey this quarter of over 740businesses across the region paintsa positive picture for our region andbuilds on a strong start to the year.
“Quarter two results showed thatgrowth remains on a firm footinghere, with increases in domesticsales and orders fuelling businessconfidence, which is up on both thequarter and the year, standing at 74per cent.”
Government figures showemployment has increased by139,356 across the whole SouthWest since 2010.
Mr Smith said the jobs figures hadbeen reinforced by businessesreporting they had recruited morestaff this quarter and expect tocontinue to do so over the nextthree months. He added there wasstill work to be done, but overall theSouth West economic recovery wason “strong ground”.
Eco n o my
� C re d i t c a l lChiefexecutivePeter Turneris presentedwith theQueen’sAward byL o rdLieutenantMary Prior;left, Creditcallat Bristol
� Apprentice Sam Saint, 17
Chief technologyofficer Jeremy
Gumbley
“We providethe gluebetween thedevice suchas a parkingmeter andthe bankingnetwork
� Directors of Smith and Williamson, from left, Martyn Fraser, Iain Lownes and Matthew Pearson
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8 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
IN the 1930s house buildingplayed a major part in our na-t i o n’s economy recovering froma major double-dip recession.Something similar could happen
n ow.As the UK recovers from the fin-
ancial turmoil post 2008, house build-ing is widely regarded as a majorimpetus to growth.
Apart from the benefit to the majorfirms, growth in the industry has awide knock-on effect throughout thesupply chain, from architects andplanning consultants to bricklayersand electricians.
Usman Yaqub, a Bristol-based in-dependent chartered architecturaltechnologist with Studio Yaqub, saidnew housing developments were
centres and community centres.“This will also result in commer-
cial developments that will see newbusinesses such as offices, ware-houses and factories opening. All thisdevelopment will at every stage resultin job creation.”
In Bristol, you can see developmenthappening all over the city. Inner city
projects include ones in Fishponds byBovis along Brook Road, and anotherdevelopment completed along Plum-mers Hill.
In Filton, there is in-fill develop-ment opposite the University of theWest of England’s main campus. Thisis a large area that will be convertedinto housing for the city without
impinging on the greenbelt.Another example of suburban de-
velopment is the former runway inFilton close to Cribbs Causeway.
Usman said: “I have noticed a con-siderable increase in enquiries forplanning and building regulationpackages from residential and busi-ness customers alike.
Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.
House building is both amajor driver andindicator of economicrecovery. Rupert Janischlooks at the variousissues confronting theindustry in Bristol
often used as a “litmus test” for theentire economy.
He said: “They are a key driver foreconomic output and wealth cre-ation, as thousands of people at alllevels of the economic ladder are em-ployed and growth is attracted to thea re a .
“This formula works perfectly inthe UK, as there is a chronic shortfallof housing, therefore the supply anddemand scales are firmly tipped to-wards demand. It’s not the onlydriver, but it is a key one. National
Developers can bring benefits for wider community, as in Bristol...Case study
� BUSINESSES within the housebuilding sector know it is importantto support the supply chain toensure capacity can increase.
But just as crucial to ensure thesupply of talent and skills byinvesting in training.
Without the skilled workers,businesses will not be able to grow.
That’s why Taylor Wimpey Bristol,based in Aztec West, is currentlysupporting eight trade apprenticesembedded within the brick-layingand carpentry supply chain, as wellas three site manager apprentices,two trainee assistant sitemanagers, four trainee salesexecutives and seven office-basedtrainees.
Managing director KeithSimmons said: “Excellence inhouse building is all about havingthe right people to do the job – tomeet the high standards ofworkmanship and customer serviceour purchasers expect.
“We ’re supporting trainees andapprentices in a wide range ofroles, including our office traineeswho I like to call the ‘MagnificentSeven’! It’s not only good for thelocal economy; it’s also good forthe future success of the business.”
Training crucialto provision ofskilled workersCase study
Focus: House building
HOUSE BUILDING KEY TO LAYING FOUNDATIONS OF OUR RECOVERY
“I have recently been involved withextensions and planning applicationsfor businesses and homeowners nowfinding it viable to carry out works.There is definitely increased confid-ence in the market place.”
It is the big players who are drivingmost of the development, and there-fore economic activity. TaylorWimpey Bristol is building thou-sands of homes in the areas sur-rounding the city, including 700 at theformer Cadbury site in Somerdale,Keynsham, and 2,500 at the LydeGreen village development in Emer-sons Green.
Managing director Keith Simmonssaid house builders often don’t get theappreciation they deserve.
“House building sites are reallylike mobile factories,” he said.
“We ’re a major employer, but be-cause our workforce and factories aremobile, we don’t tend to get the samerecognition as if we were running afactory in a fixed location employing
600 staff. But just as in the case ofmanufacturing, the local supplychain is also critical to the housebuilding sector, so we do everythingwe can to support it.”
Facts back up Keith’s argument –Taylor Wimpey Bristol has about 600sub-contractors signing into its 12sites across Bristol, Gloucestershire,Somerset and Wiltshire on averageevery day. Every Taylor Wimpeyhouse built is estimated to create oneand a half full time jobs on site, and afurther three in the supply chain.
In financial terms, the companywill spend £180 million over the nextthree years with the businesses thatform its supply chain in developingits new sites across the region – t h at ’s£60 million per annum spent withinthe local area.
The number of homes being builtacross the South West is growing.
Last year the region saw 13,606new-build homes registered with theNational House-Building Council
(NHBC), an increase of 16 per cent onthe previous year, and the thirdhighest rate of new home starts in theUK outside of London.
Those within the sector thereforerecognise the vital importance of sup-porting the supply chain and de-veloping the skills needed toensure capacity can in-crease within the in-dustry, and investing intraining is a crucialpart of the strategy toenable continuedg rowth.
But smaller operat-ors – those without thepurchasing powers of thebig guns – find they have towait their turn to take advant-age of the opportunities economicrecovery brings.
Rob Benson is director of Mi-Space,the affordable housing arm of MidasConstruction. He said a shortage ofworkers meant smaller operators
could find themselves starved of la-bour, while the bigger companies hadthe power to buy up the materials.
It means the small companies haveno people to build their propertiesand nothing to build them out of.
“Once planning has been grantedthere are major challenges
over skills shortages andm at e r i a l s, ” he said. “A lot
of the large materialsmanufacturers moth-balled production be-cause the demandw a s n’t there.
“When the market re-covers – and our market
tends to recover quitequickly – it takes six to 12
months for that capacity to appearag ain.
“Therefore in the short term theonly thing that can control distri-bution of materials is price. So that’show materials are allocated – itmeans that prices rocket through the
statistics indicate housing construc-tion totalled 133,650 in the 12 monthsto March 2014 – up 31 per cent.
“It is not only housing but alsoamenities that will begin to developthe area as part of these projects. Thiswill lead to the development of ne-cessities such as schools, leisurecentres, high streets, shopping
roof and, if you’re not prepared to pay,you have to wait. I had a quote forbricks done recently which meant Ihad to wait for 47 weeks.
“Now clearly the big house buildersare producing over 10,000 houseseach per year and they have the pur-chasing power, which means smallercompanies have to wait.
“Labour is also a very transientmarket, and you may even find youcome back after lunch to find yourbricklayers have gone to work on aproject over the road because the payis better.
“That really does create problemsin terms of delivery.”
One example of a business which isaimed at tackling the lack of skilledlabour is the South West Construc-tion Academy (SWCA), recently setup by plumbing tutor Shane McCal-lum at Eastwood Park near Wot-ton-under-Edg e.
Providing distance learning andon-site training, SWCA not only aimsto provide highly-personalised train-ing but it also aims to provide in-dustry with the skills it requires.
Shane, below left, said: “The con-struction industry is made up mainlyof an older workforce, many are leav-ing the industry every year throughretirement and they need to be re-placed with skilled tradespeople,either through apprenticeships orpeople who are looking to retrain andenter the construction industry.
“The need for training of thesepeople is becoming more and moreprevalent, and the problem with col-lege courses is that they are startingto be more focused on English andmaths than the vocational qualific-at i o n s.
“I feel that people can be disad-vantaged because they don’t havetheir GSCEs but may well have a goodskill set if trained properly.
“Employers need to have more in-centive to take on adults who havegained their diploma and need tocomplete their qualification with anNVQ, not just apprentices.”
While bigger firms have appren-ticeship programmes to address fu-ture skills needs, it’s harder for themany smaller firms in the chain.
The Construction Industry Train-ing Board has been working to de-velop a joint investment strategywith the local councils and the Westof England Enterprise Partnership ina bid to help those smaller companiesinvest in skills and apprentices.
It has pledged to fund £500,000 totraining if that can be matched. So farit has been met with enthusiasm butnot the cash needed to kickstart thes ch e m e.
If we want house building to con-tinue to drive our economy, nowwould be a good time to find thati nve s t m e n t .
� Community benefit as much ascorporate profit was a key driver intwo developments undertaken byMi-space in Bristol recently.
Mi-space is the residentialhousing arm of the Midas Group,one of the region’s leadingindependent constructioncompanies. The company is asignificant house builder in theSouth West, focused on developingaffordable housing schemes forhousing associations.
The Stibbs Hill development, builtfor Bristol Community Housing in St
George, and The Station, a recentlycompleted creative youth centre inthe heart of the city, are primeexamples of where they haveworked closely with the localc o m m u n i t y.
Michelle Cole, communityengagement manager for Mi-space,said: “During the builds, we workedin partnership with councils,planning authorities and otherpartner organisations to deliver an
agreed number of work placements,training andapprenticeships. A largenumber of thosebrought in under thisscheme came fromthe very localcommunity, not justthe wider area.
“During thebuilding of TheStation, the companyfunded a film created bya local group that engagedwith the local young people. It
was about the apprenticesemployed on the project,
including an educational piecearound why being an
apprentice is a positivecareer step, and also anelement on the history ofthe former fire station.”
Rob Benson, left,director of Mi-space, said:
“I believe there’s a hugeopportunity for the whole
undertaking of house buildingto create a much wider
community and social value.”
Usman Yaqub
Newhousingdevelop-mentsare akeydriver foreconomicoutput andwealth creation,as thousands of peopleat all levels of theeconomic ladder areemployed and growth isattracted to the area.
“
� From left, the Magnificent Seven Taylor Wimpey apprentices Matthew Powell, Liam Symonds-Barry, JosephCowell, Ollie Clayton, Mark Davies, Toby Lloyd and Holly Cotterell outside the firm’s Bristol HQ in Aztec West
� From left, MichelleCole, of Mi-space, with
Serena Findlay andchildren Ruben and Mariat Stibbs Hill, St George
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8 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
IN the 1930s house buildingplayed a major part in our na-t i o n’s economy recovering froma major double-dip recession.Something similar could happen
n ow.As the UK recovers from the fin-
ancial turmoil post 2008, house build-ing is widely regarded as a majorimpetus to growth.
Apart from the benefit to the majorfirms, growth in the industry has awide knock-on effect throughout thesupply chain, from architects andplanning consultants to bricklayersand electricians.
Usman Yaqub, a Bristol-based in-dependent chartered architecturaltechnologist with Studio Yaqub, saidnew housing developments were
centres and community centres.“This will also result in commer-
cial developments that will see newbusinesses such as offices, ware-houses and factories opening. All thisdevelopment will at every stage resultin job creation.”
In Bristol, you can see developmenthappening all over the city. Inner city
projects include ones in Fishponds byBovis along Brook Road, and anotherdevelopment completed along Plum-mers Hill.
In Filton, there is in-fill develop-ment opposite the University of theWest of England’s main campus. Thisis a large area that will be convertedinto housing for the city without
impinging on the greenbelt.Another example of suburban de-
velopment is the former runway inFilton close to Cribbs Causeway.
Usman said: “I have noticed a con-siderable increase in enquiries forplanning and building regulationpackages from residential and busi-ness customers alike.
Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.
House building is both amajor driver andindicator of economicrecovery. Rupert Janischlooks at the variousissues confronting theindustry in Bristol
often used as a “litmus test” for theentire economy.
He said: “They are a key driver foreconomic output and wealth cre-ation, as thousands of people at alllevels of the economic ladder are em-ployed and growth is attracted to thea re a .
“This formula works perfectly inthe UK, as there is a chronic shortfallof housing, therefore the supply anddemand scales are firmly tipped to-wards demand. It’s not the onlydriver, but it is a key one. National
Developers can bring benefits for wider community, as in Bristol...Case study
� BUSINESSES within the housebuilding sector know it is importantto support the supply chain toensure capacity can increase.
But just as crucial to ensure thesupply of talent and skills byinvesting in training.
Without the skilled workers,businesses will not be able to grow.
That’s why Taylor Wimpey Bristol,based in Aztec West, is currentlysupporting eight trade apprenticesembedded within the brick-layingand carpentry supply chain, as wellas three site manager apprentices,two trainee assistant sitemanagers, four trainee salesexecutives and seven office-basedtrainees.
Managing director KeithSimmons said: “Excellence inhouse building is all about havingthe right people to do the job – tomeet the high standards ofworkmanship and customer serviceour purchasers expect.
“We ’re supporting trainees andapprentices in a wide range ofroles, including our office traineeswho I like to call the ‘MagnificentSeven’! It’s not only good for thelocal economy; it’s also good forthe future success of the business.”
Training crucialto provision ofskilled workersCase study
Focus: House building
HOUSE BUILDING KEY TO LAYING FOUNDATIONS OF OUR RECOVERY
“I have recently been involved withextensions and planning applicationsfor businesses and homeowners nowfinding it viable to carry out works.There is definitely increased confid-ence in the market place.”
It is the big players who are drivingmost of the development, and there-fore economic activity. TaylorWimpey Bristol is building thou-sands of homes in the areas sur-rounding the city, including 700 at theformer Cadbury site in Somerdale,Keynsham, and 2,500 at the LydeGreen village development in Emer-sons Green.
Managing director Keith Simmonssaid house builders often don’t get theappreciation they deserve.
“House building sites are reallylike mobile factories,” he said.
“We ’re a major employer, but be-cause our workforce and factories aremobile, we don’t tend to get the samerecognition as if we were running afactory in a fixed location employing
600 staff. But just as in the case ofmanufacturing, the local supplychain is also critical to the housebuilding sector, so we do everythingwe can to support it.”
Facts back up Keith’s argument –Taylor Wimpey Bristol has about 600sub-contractors signing into its 12sites across Bristol, Gloucestershire,Somerset and Wiltshire on averageevery day. Every Taylor Wimpeyhouse built is estimated to create oneand a half full time jobs on site, and afurther three in the supply chain.
In financial terms, the companywill spend £180 million over the nextthree years with the businesses thatform its supply chain in developingits new sites across the region – t h at ’s£60 million per annum spent withinthe local area.
The number of homes being builtacross the South West is growing.
Last year the region saw 13,606new-build homes registered with theNational House-Building Council
(NHBC), an increase of 16 per cent onthe previous year, and the thirdhighest rate of new home starts in theUK outside of London.
Those within the sector thereforerecognise the vital importance of sup-porting the supply chain and de-veloping the skills needed toensure capacity can in-crease within the in-dustry, and investing intraining is a crucialpart of the strategy toenable continuedg rowth.
But smaller operat-ors – those without thepurchasing powers of thebig guns – find they have towait their turn to take advant-age of the opportunities economicrecovery brings.
Rob Benson is director of Mi-Space,the affordable housing arm of MidasConstruction. He said a shortage ofworkers meant smaller operators
could find themselves starved of la-bour, while the bigger companies hadthe power to buy up the materials.
It means the small companies haveno people to build their propertiesand nothing to build them out of.
“Once planning has been grantedthere are major challenges
over skills shortages andm at e r i a l s, ” he said. “A lot
of the large materialsmanufacturers moth-balled production be-cause the demandw a s n’t there.
“When the market re-covers – and our market
tends to recover quitequickly – it takes six to 12
months for that capacity to appearag ain.
“Therefore in the short term theonly thing that can control distri-bution of materials is price. So that’show materials are allocated – itmeans that prices rocket through the
statistics indicate housing construc-tion totalled 133,650 in the 12 monthsto March 2014 – up 31 per cent.
“It is not only housing but alsoamenities that will begin to developthe area as part of these projects. Thiswill lead to the development of ne-cessities such as schools, leisurecentres, high streets, shopping
roof and, if you’re not prepared to pay,you have to wait. I had a quote forbricks done recently which meant Ihad to wait for 47 weeks.
“Now clearly the big house buildersare producing over 10,000 houseseach per year and they have the pur-chasing power, which means smallercompanies have to wait.
“Labour is also a very transientmarket, and you may even find youcome back after lunch to find yourbricklayers have gone to work on aproject over the road because the payis better.
“That really does create problemsin terms of delivery.”
One example of a business which isaimed at tackling the lack of skilledlabour is the South West Construc-tion Academy (SWCA), recently setup by plumbing tutor Shane McCal-lum at Eastwood Park near Wot-ton-under-Edg e.
Providing distance learning andon-site training, SWCA not only aimsto provide highly-personalised train-ing but it also aims to provide in-dustry with the skills it requires.
Shane, below left, said: “The con-struction industry is made up mainlyof an older workforce, many are leav-ing the industry every year throughretirement and they need to be re-placed with skilled tradespeople,either through apprenticeships orpeople who are looking to retrain andenter the construction industry.
“The need for training of thesepeople is becoming more and moreprevalent, and the problem with col-lege courses is that they are startingto be more focused on English andmaths than the vocational qualific-at i o n s.
“I feel that people can be disad-vantaged because they don’t havetheir GSCEs but may well have a goodskill set if trained properly.
“Employers need to have more in-centive to take on adults who havegained their diploma and need tocomplete their qualification with anNVQ, not just apprentices.”
While bigger firms have appren-ticeship programmes to address fu-ture skills needs, it’s harder for themany smaller firms in the chain.
The Construction Industry Train-ing Board has been working to de-velop a joint investment strategywith the local councils and the Westof England Enterprise Partnership ina bid to help those smaller companiesinvest in skills and apprentices.
It has pledged to fund £500,000 totraining if that can be matched. So farit has been met with enthusiasm butnot the cash needed to kickstart thes ch e m e.
If we want house building to con-tinue to drive our economy, nowwould be a good time to find thati nve s t m e n t .
� Community benefit as much ascorporate profit was a key driver intwo developments undertaken byMi-space in Bristol recently.
Mi-space is the residentialhousing arm of the Midas Group,one of the region’s leadingindependent constructioncompanies. The company is asignificant house builder in theSouth West, focused on developingaffordable housing schemes forhousing associations.
The Stibbs Hill development, builtfor Bristol Community Housing in St
George, and The Station, a recentlycompleted creative youth centre inthe heart of the city, are primeexamples of where they haveworked closely with the localc o m m u n i t y.
Michelle Cole, communityengagement manager for Mi-space,said: “During the builds, we workedin partnership with councils,planning authorities and otherpartner organisations to deliver an
agreed number of work placements,training andapprenticeships. A largenumber of thosebrought in under thisscheme came fromthe very localcommunity, not justthe wider area.
“During thebuilding of TheStation, the companyfunded a film created bya local group that engagedwith the local young people. It
was about the apprenticesemployed on the project,
including an educational piecearound why being an
apprentice is a positivecareer step, and also anelement on the history ofthe former fire station.”
Rob Benson, left,director of Mi-space, said:
“I believe there’s a hugeopportunity for the whole
undertaking of house buildingto create a much wider
community and social value.”
Usman Yaqub
Newhousingdevelop-mentsare akeydriver foreconomicoutput andwealth creation,as thousands of peopleat all levels of theeconomic ladder areemployed and growth isattracted to the area.
“
� From left, the Magnificent Seven Taylor Wimpey apprentices Matthew Powell, Liam Symonds-Barry, JosephCowell, Ollie Clayton, Mark Davies, Toby Lloyd and Holly Cotterell outside the firm’s Bristol HQ in Aztec West
� From left, MichelleCole, of Mi-space, with
Serena Findlay andchildren Ruben and Mariat Stibbs Hill, St George
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10 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
In pictures - Neighbourly launch at the Engine Shed Business diary
Email your business events [email protected] are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.
Meet the minister: SouthGloucestershire FSB hosts aQ&A event withPensionsMinister andlocal MPSteveWe b b(right).Questionsmust beemailed inadvance.We d n e s d a y,July 30,7pn-9pm, at AztecWest Hotel, BS32 4TS.
Summer party: MoonConsulting holds its summerparty at the Old Fire Station,Pill, on Thursday, July 31 from6-8.30pm. The evening willfeature display of elite AstonMartin and Bentley carscourtesy of local luxury cardealers HR Owen Cheltenhamand two classic Austin Healeyrace cars. Fundraising for theFire Fighters Charity.
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, August 6. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
Bristol Connected: The BristolPost’s popular businessnetworking event takes place athe Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWay, from 6pm-8pm onThursday, August 14. A chancefor SMEs to network as well asmeet the Post team. John Hirstfrom Destination Bristol will beamong the speakers. To sign upgo to eventbrite or scan the QRcode below.
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, August 20. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, September 3. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Heldat the University of BristolBotanic Gardens with MartinBigg from the Bristol GreenCapital Partnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkwww.iod.com/swestevents formore information and to book.
� SimoneKidner ofPaper Artand Neil
Bolton ofSpectrum
Inter netBRML20140724A-006
� Bath Universal Promotions - John Barnard, Oliver Wilkey and Tom BarnardBRML20140724A-004
� The half-day workshop on how to grow a firm Photographs: Michael Lloyd BRML20140724A-009
� Peter Johnson and Stuart Hindeof Wizard Systems
BRML20140724A-005
� Dave Hancock of IH Bristol, Krystian Gorski of Phoenix Systems, TobyHoare of Clearwater and Margo Field of IH Bristol BRML20140724A-003
WHAT do a group ofhome-based account-ants, early stage techentrepreneurs, market-ing agencies, consultan-
cies, and creative firms have incommon?
They all want to grow their busi-ness and 35 of them attended GetGrowing: The Great Business Road-show at the Engine Shed.
They were looking for advice ongrowth, from learning about how toscale their business and establishingthe right time to take on employees togrowing sales, improving marketingand networking.
Among those in attendance wasIndia Rabey, who has a graphic designagency specialising in print, brand-ing and interpretation. She has beenself-employed for six months but hasso much work she has set up a limitedcompany called The Way and is nowlooking to take someone on.
India said: “I heard about the road-show on Twitter and it sounded like itwould be useful. It certainly was! Inetworked and met lots of lovelypeople in similar positions.”
India also won a £500 prize shehopes to put towards a Growth Ac-celerator course.
Hayley Conick, UK country man-ager at one of the event organisersElance, said: “Growing a businesswhile staying lean and keeping costsdown is a real challenge for smallbu s i n e s s e s.
“We know from the thousands ofbusinesses using our platform in theUK that getting access to the talent,advice and support you need, whenyou need it, can make the world ofdif ference.”
The roadshow was put together byElance and other partners includingFreeAgent, Constant Contact and Ad-vantage Business Partnerships.
Hayley said: “There are clearlysome terrific entrepreneurs in thearea and we look forward to hearinghow they get on following theeve n t . ”
How to expand Meeting that growing needIn pictures - Get Growing: The Great Business Roadshow at the Engine Shed
� Vi c k yFraser and
NickHounsfield
of The WaveBRML20140724A-002
� Rob Hallof Wriggle
andf re e l a n c e
RobertGraham
BRML20140724A-001
� Lydia Samuel and Charlie Bradleyof Women Outside the Box
BRML20140724A-007
ANEW social network thatbrings together businessesand communities haslaunched in Bristol withglobal ambitions.
Neighbourly is a place where com-munities can promote projects inneed of funds or support and busi-nesses can find local scheme to help.
Chief executive Nick Davies toldthe 60 people attending the launch inthe Engine Shed: “We believe thiscould be the world’s next big socialnetwork. We believe it’s an idea for achanging world.”
It’s a grand statement but backedup by two major companies on boardfor the launch, Marks & Spencer andS t a r bu ck s.
Also speaking at the launch, Star-bu ck s ’ director of corporate affairsSimon Redfern said the coffee chainhad been founded with the com-munity at heart.
He said: “When we started Star-bucks in 1971 it was very deeplyengrained in the company to engagein the community.
“When we came to the UK in 1998everyone knew what Starbucks wasand that it was a cool coffee brand but
we didn’t do a brilliant job over hereof telling the story of our communityengagement and what it means tohave a Starbucks in your area.”
He said that when the floods hitNew Orleans Starbucks workers gotinvolved in the relief effort.
“When we had floods here we wereready, we had people ready to help butwe couldn’t find projects who neededour support or who knew how to askfor our support.”
It was shortly after that he heardfrom the Neighbourly team and nowStarbucks plans to use the platformto find projects it can support loc-a l ly.
Carmel McQuaid, head of respons-ible business at M&S said: “Neigh-bourly is a perfect way for us toelevate our level of community in-volvement. It provides us with aneasier and clearer way of understand-ing what a project is doing at a locallevel – and offering it some practicalassistance. It gives us a chance ofsaying ‘ye s ’ more often.”
Community groups and organisa-tions can put their projects on thenetwork, and support it with videoand other social media. More than200 have already signed up ahead ofthe full launch.
It is free for community groups
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
‘This could be the world’snext big social network’
GALLERIESGALORE
FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our
website at
bristolpost.co.uk/business
� From left, Chris Kelly of Neighbourly, Marissa Ellis of Webstart, and Rob Scott-Cookfrom Woodlands Church. Photographs: Gavin Thompson
while businesses pay a subscription.For companies, they can see which
projects are in their area and alsofind out how they themselves com-pare with their competitors in termsof helping out.
Nick added that businesses neededto engage with consumers not just ascustomers but as people in order tosustain their business going forwardand to recruit the best staff.
He said: “UK businesses spend .04per cent of profits on communityprojects. In the US it is 14 timest h at .
“T here’s a lot more business cand o. ”
� Left, LucySmith ofMazars, KateSmith of BristolZoo, RoxanneSimmonds ofMazars, andJess Robinsonof Swallow.
� Right, JeffMacdonald ofinnate motion,Berend Matenof Enoor, andDave Martin ofCall Of TheBrave.
� Neighbourly chief operating officer Zoe Colosimo and chiefexecutive Nick Davies
� Griff Holland of Friska, Simon Redfern of Starbucksand Nicky Gaskell of Starbucks
� Lucy Hather and Nick Roberts of Superact
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10 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
In pictures - Neighbourly launch at the Engine Shed Business diary
Email your business events [email protected] are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.
Meet the minister: SouthGloucestershire FSB hosts aQ&A event withPensionsMinister andlocal MPSteveWe b b(right).Questionsmust beemailed inadvance.We d n e s d a y,July 30,7pn-9pm, at AztecWest Hotel, BS32 4TS.
Summer party: MoonConsulting holds its summerparty at the Old Fire Station,Pill, on Thursday, July 31 from6-8.30pm. The evening willfeature display of elite AstonMartin and Bentley carscourtesy of local luxury cardealers HR Owen Cheltenhamand two classic Austin Healeyrace cars. Fundraising for theFire Fighters Charity.
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, August 6. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
Bristol Connected: The BristolPost’s popular businessnetworking event takes place athe Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWay, from 6pm-8pm onThursday, August 14. A chancefor SMEs to network as well asmeet the Post team. John Hirstfrom Destination Bristol will beamong the speakers. To sign upgo to eventbrite or scan the QRcode below.
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, August 20. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
We d n e s d a y @ 6 : Institute ofDirectors informal networking atthe Radisson Blu Hotel 6-8pm,Wednesday, September 3. Nonmembers welcome. Free but toregister call 0117 3707785 oremail [email protected].
Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Heldat the University of BristolBotanic Gardens with MartinBigg from the Bristol GreenCapital Partnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkwww.iod.com/swestevents formore information and to book.
� SimoneKidner ofPaper Artand Neil
Bolton ofSpectrum
Inter netBRML20140724A-006
� Bath Universal Promotions - John Barnard, Oliver Wilkey and Tom BarnardBRML20140724A-004
� The half-day workshop on how to grow a firm Photographs: Michael Lloyd BRML20140724A-009
� Peter Johnson and Stuart Hindeof Wizard Systems
BRML20140724A-005
� Dave Hancock of IH Bristol, Krystian Gorski of Phoenix Systems, TobyHoare of Clearwater and Margo Field of IH Bristol BRML20140724A-003
WHAT do a group ofhome-based account-ants, early stage techentrepreneurs, market-ing agencies, consultan-
cies, and creative firms have incommon?
They all want to grow their busi-ness and 35 of them attended GetGrowing: The Great Business Road-show at the Engine Shed.
They were looking for advice ongrowth, from learning about how toscale their business and establishingthe right time to take on employees togrowing sales, improving marketingand networking.
Among those in attendance wasIndia Rabey, who has a graphic designagency specialising in print, brand-ing and interpretation. She has beenself-employed for six months but hasso much work she has set up a limitedcompany called The Way and is nowlooking to take someone on.
India said: “I heard about the road-show on Twitter and it sounded like itwould be useful. It certainly was! Inetworked and met lots of lovelypeople in similar positions.”
India also won a £500 prize shehopes to put towards a Growth Ac-celerator course.
Hayley Conick, UK country man-ager at one of the event organisersElance, said: “Growing a businesswhile staying lean and keeping costsdown is a real challenge for smallbu s i n e s s e s.
“We know from the thousands ofbusinesses using our platform in theUK that getting access to the talent,advice and support you need, whenyou need it, can make the world ofdif ference.”
The roadshow was put together byElance and other partners includingFreeAgent, Constant Contact and Ad-vantage Business Partnerships.
Hayley said: “There are clearlysome terrific entrepreneurs in thearea and we look forward to hearinghow they get on following theeve n t . ”
How to expand Meeting that growing needIn pictures - Get Growing: The Great Business Roadshow at the Engine Shed
� Vi c k yFraser and
NickHounsfield
of The WaveBRML20140724A-002
� Rob Hallof Wriggle
andf re e l a n c e
RobertGraham
BRML20140724A-001
� Lydia Samuel and Charlie Bradleyof Women Outside the Box
BRML20140724A-007
ANEW social network thatbrings together businessesand communities haslaunched in Bristol withglobal ambitions.
Neighbourly is a place where com-munities can promote projects inneed of funds or support and busi-nesses can find local scheme to help.
Chief executive Nick Davies toldthe 60 people attending the launch inthe Engine Shed: “We believe thiscould be the world’s next big socialnetwork. We believe it’s an idea for achanging world.”
It’s a grand statement but backedup by two major companies on boardfor the launch, Marks & Spencer andS t a r bu ck s.
Also speaking at the launch, Star-bu ck s ’ director of corporate affairsSimon Redfern said the coffee chainhad been founded with the com-munity at heart.
He said: “When we started Star-bucks in 1971 it was very deeplyengrained in the company to engagein the community.
“When we came to the UK in 1998everyone knew what Starbucks wasand that it was a cool coffee brand but
we didn’t do a brilliant job over hereof telling the story of our communityengagement and what it means tohave a Starbucks in your area.”
He said that when the floods hitNew Orleans Starbucks workers gotinvolved in the relief effort.
“When we had floods here we wereready, we had people ready to help butwe couldn’t find projects who neededour support or who knew how to askfor our support.”
It was shortly after that he heardfrom the Neighbourly team and nowStarbucks plans to use the platformto find projects it can support loc-a l ly.
Carmel McQuaid, head of respons-ible business at M&S said: “Neigh-bourly is a perfect way for us toelevate our level of community in-volvement. It provides us with aneasier and clearer way of understand-ing what a project is doing at a locallevel – and offering it some practicalassistance. It gives us a chance ofsaying ‘ye s ’ more often.”
Community groups and organisa-tions can put their projects on thenetwork, and support it with videoand other social media. More than200 have already signed up ahead ofthe full launch.
It is free for community groups
Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)[email protected]
‘This could be the world’snext big social network’
GALLERIESGALORE
FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our
website at
bristolpost.co.uk/business
� From left, Chris Kelly of Neighbourly, Marissa Ellis of Webstart, and Rob Scott-Cookfrom Woodlands Church. Photographs: Gavin Thompson
while businesses pay a subscription.For companies, they can see which
projects are in their area and alsofind out how they themselves com-pare with their competitors in termsof helping out.
Nick added that businesses neededto engage with consumers not just ascustomers but as people in order tosustain their business going forwardand to recruit the best staff.
He said: “UK businesses spend .04per cent of profits on communityprojects. In the US it is 14 timest h at .
“T here’s a lot more business cand o. ”
� Left, LucySmith ofMazars, KateSmith of BristolZoo, RoxanneSimmonds ofMazars, andJess Robinsonof Swallow.
� Right, JeffMacdonald ofinnate motion,Berend Matenof Enoor, andDave Martin ofCall Of TheBrave.
� Neighbourly chief operating officer Zoe Colosimo and chiefexecutive Nick Davies
� Griff Holland of Friska, Simon Redfern of Starbucksand Nicky Gaskell of Starbucks
� Lucy Hather and Nick Roberts of Superact
EPB-
E01-
S3
12 We d n e s d a y, July 30, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business
The back pageP l a ces� Bristol Airport could be about tochange hands. A number of outletsincluding Reuters and City AM havereported an investment firm ownedby Australian bank Macquarie Groupis looking to sell its 50 per centstake.
It bought the airport back in 2001for £198 million from the city counciland First Group.
The other major shareholder in theairport is the Ontario Teachers’Pension Plan, which has a 49 percent stake. The other one per cent isowned by Sydney Airport.
Passenger numbers have beenrising, with the airport reportingrecord figures in June.
� Business centre provider Regus islooking for more sites around thearea and has hired propertyconsultancy Alder King to find them.
The firm has 300 sitesacross the UK and wantsmore, specifically10-15,000 sq ft sites intraditional in and out oftown businesslocations such astransport hubs,universities andshopping centres.
Simon Price, head ofagency at Alder King, said:“Regus has identified untappeddemand for flexible workplaces in anumber of towns across the regionand excessive demand in centreswhere it already has representationsuch as Bristol.”
Pe o p l e� Construction industry recruitmentagency Sphere Solutions hasappointed HelenRosborough, above, asbusiness improvementm a n a g e r.
A civil engineer byqualification and earlycareer, Helen joinsCribbs Causeway-based Sphere fromglobal recruitmentcompany CDI AndersElite.
Director James Hughessaid: “We are hugely excited tohave attracted such a leadingprofessional from the globalrecruitment industry as Helen. Her
high level expertise in fast-growthdevelopment of regional recruitmentbusiness makes Helen a superb fit
for our major growthambitions.”
� Clevedon Telecomsfirm Pure Comms hasappointed RobMacDonald, below, asa data specialist.
The 40-year-old’sappointment follows a
strong start to 2014 witheach month exceeding the
performance of the previousone.
Managing director Rob Viviansaid: “It’s no secret we have bigambitions as a company and Robwill be key to us as we continue toexpand.”
The firm’s customers includeBristol Airport and Castlemead-based Opus Recruitment.
Other� Barristers’ set No5Chambers, in QueenSquare, has beencrowned The LawyerChambers of the Year.
Practice directorTony McDaid said he
was “very proud andexcited”.He said: “I believe that
being awarded this accolade isrecognition of No5’s businessmodel, founded upon attractingstellar barristers and rising stars and
Tech cluster must compete on a global stage
BRISTOL and Bath’s recentinvolvement in Tech CityUK’s inaugural ‘cl u s t e rs h owc a s e ’ serves as a timelyexample of the benefits of
working through and with London’stech hub. Held at Bloomberg, CityGate, in London, the session offeredthe opportunity to present the regionand some of our tech star companiesto investors and the media.
The audience was told how Bristoland Bath region’s vibrant high techsector was singled out recently as“globally significant” and “highg rowth” in an influential report look-ing at UK clusters.
At the launch of the report, McKin-sey & Company, which conducted theresearch in association with Centrefor Cities, said Bristol and Bath’s techcluster is not competing with Lon-d o n’s Tech City, but can stand on its
own two feet.I wholeheartedly agree with this
stance as I believe that it is importantthat the focus is not on positioningour tech cluster in relation to otherUK tech hubs, but on competing at aglobal level.
The fact that this latest report hashighlighted the “global significance”of our tech cluster only underlinesthe need for this internationally-ori-entated approach.
The Bristol and Bath area hasplenty to showcase to a global busi-ness audience, with key strengths inan array of interlinked sectors, en-compassing high tech, aerospace and
The op-ed column
advanced engineering, digital andcreative industries, robotics andm o re.
And a collaborative approach at theheart of our tech cluster means thattechnologists, industry leaders andacademics work together, creating alively ecosystem of innovation andenter prise.
At the Science Park, for example,we place an important focus onbrokering influential and meaning-ful introductions that help busi-nesses accelerate their growth.
For example, Altair Product Designis running its specialist software atCFMS, an independent centre for ad-vanced modelling and simulation,and one of our tenants, to designultra-lightweight products with cli-ents in the National CompositesCentre, which is also based at thePa rk .
Since the Park opened in Septem-ber 2011 it has attracted more than 60science and tech businesses, and it ispleasing to see that tenants areadding specialist staff in record num-bers since setting up here.
Meanwhile, the Park’s strong in-ternational links open up new op-portunities for companies overseas.
Together with one of our tenants,Marine Current Turbines, a Siemenscompany, and XMOS, based in Bris-tol, I last year attended a trade mis-sion with the Prime Minister toChina, for example, and the Parkitself hosts international delegations,such as the recent visit by the Ca-nadian deputy trade commissioner.
Let’s make the most of global con-nections such as these to aim highand ensure Bristol and Bath’s techcluster looks beyond the UK to theinternational arena.
Bonnie DeanChief executiveBristol and Bath Science Park
supporting their success withoutstanding practice managementand business development.”
The citation said: “Progressive andforward thinking, No5 takes the topaward for having the confidence andcourage to take the lead in a difficultmarket.”
� The online portal for alternativebusiness lenders, which startedthanks to the idea of a localbusiness, is expanding.
Forty Community DevelopmentFinance Institutions responsible forfunding over 10,000 smallbusinesses rejected for bank financelast year, have joined withalter nativebusinessfunding.co.uk.
The site was an initiative led byHam Green-based Clifton AssetManagement, which specialises inpension-led funding for businesses.The site’s goal is to support SMEsrequiring non-bank financesolutions.
Ben Hughes, chief executive ofCommunity Development FinanceAssociation, said: “Linking up withother leading funders makes it easyfor small business owners tonavigate the options and find what’sright for them.”
� Finally Bristol business leadersvisited Millennium Square wearingjust their jammies in a bid to raiseawareness of youth homelessness.
Huw Brown, director at KPMG,was joined by Ernst and Young’sexecutive secretary Pip Eyles, taxadviser Martin Strong, and tax teamassistant Jackie Sheehan who alltook part in Action for Children’spyjamming challenge, which askspeople to pose in their pyjamas andshare photos online.
The campaign coincides with ByteNight South West, a fundraisingevent that calls on members of thebusiness and technologycommunities to sleep rough to raisevital funds for the charity’s youthhomelessness services.
Huw, who is Byte Night SouthWest co-chair, said: “Posing in mypyjamas in Millennium Square was asilly challenge, a bit of anembarrassment, and all round goodfun - but it had a serious purpose.”
Byte Night is on Friday, October 3.
Your digest of the week in business
In numbers
Business currentaccounts
Petrol prices
1.01%£10,000 deposit
0.25%£1 deposit
State Bankof India
Corporation tax
21 %20 %Main rate
Small profitsrate – below
£300,000
131 .23pUnleaded
135 .6 0 pDiesel
139 .80pSuperunleaded
70 .58pLPG
Source: PetrolPrices.com
Business savingsaccounts
1.40%£5,000 deposit
1.80%£10,000 deposit
S h a w b ro o kBank
Inflation (CPI)
1.9 %
Weekly earnings
0.6 %Base interest rate
0.5 %Ave mortgage rate
3.99 %
S o u rc e :
Cambridge &Counties Bank
Inflation (RPI)
2.6 %
� Paul Bleasdale QC, Head of No5Chambers with Tony McDaid
� JackieSheehan,MartinStrong, HuwBrown andPip Eyleswearing theirjammies inMillenniumSquare toraise cash forcharityPicture: MartinBennett