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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk

CHICKEN RUN ON EXPORTS

Company grows sales of superfoil to poultry farmers – page 5

132014AUG

How your business can help poor schoolchildrenaround the world, without costing you a penny

RESTORE YOURFIRM’S BALANCE

EHTHICAL BUSINESS

– see page 4

SHE’S A DIVA WEAVER

Entrepreneur lives her textilesdream 20 years on – page 6

THAT’S LOGISTICS

The ins and outs of gettingthings from A to B – p8&9

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2 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

� Martin Prothero works on his prototype wooden spectacle frames

AN engineer turned artistwith an eye for business hasset up a company makinghigh-quality wooden spec-tacle frames by hand.

Martin Prothero, who had workedin environmental education, foundhimself unemployed when a key con-tract ended, so took the opportunityto start his own business.

And his enterprise is the 300th firmsupported by Outset Bristol, an or-ganisation that helps entrepreneursget started.

Martin, from Windmill Hill, said: “Iwanted to create a lifestyle where Imade a living from making beautifult h i n g s.

“I wear glasses and found it dif-ficult to find frames made out ofnatural products, so I decided to makemy own wooden spectacle frames.”

He heard about Outset’s freecourses and signed up.

“Outset Bristol’s business start-uptraining was invaluable in helpingme start my business,” he said. “I’mso thrilled to be the 300th businessand I would highly recommend theOutset Bristol programme to anyonethinking of starting out on theirow n . ”

The organisation also helped himsecure a £10,000 government Start-UpLoan, to get the business up andr unning.

He said: “I needed a loan to fundessential manufacturing equipmentand the development time for thep ro d u c t .

“I received guidance on how to putmy business plan together and prac-tical support in planning how to takethe ideas forward.”

He is still building the prototype forhis wooden frames but has big plansand believes they will be attractive tothe environmentally aware con-s u m e r.

“I want to create highly desirableand beautifully crafted eyewear thatconnects people to nature,” said Mar-tin.

“All my products are to beeco-friendly in that they are made ofresponsibly sourced and recyclablem at e r i a l s.

“I will start by supplying frames inthe UK and plan to do my firstEuropean trade shows next year.”

Outset Bristol programme directorAndy Dean praised Martin’s work.

He said: “Martin is an inspirationto anyone who is thinking about start-ing their own business and we’rethrilled that he has achieved hisdream of becoming his own boss.

“Our team is dedicated to helping

new businesses like his launch anddevelop; boosting the Bristol eco-nomy and helping it grow.

“Outset will continue toprovide Bristolians withthe support, skills, con-fidence and access tofinance they need totake the leap intos e l f - e m p l oy m e n t . ”

Outset’s future was indoubt last year until Bris-tol City Council stepped into provide more funding.

City mayor George Ferguson

U t i l i t i es Fa s h i o n

Company wins£ 20 m -a -yea rwater contract� CONSTRUCTION firm Kier haswon a £20 million-a-year, five-yeardeal to maintain Bristol Water’snetwork.

Work will include repairs andmaintenance, meters, newconnections and mains work.

Kier, which has an office inWarmley, first started providing suchservices for Bristol Water when itwon an emergency contract afterthe previous provider went intoadministration.

Toby Harding, Kier’s operationsdirector for utilities in the South,said: “We are delighted to havebeen selected as sole provider ofBristol Water’s network

Ret a i l

Green bag Why your shopping tripreally is good for the environment

SHOPPING might not seem themost obvious sustainablebusiness. But as Bristol pre-pares to take the EuropeanGreen Capital crown next

year, organisations of all shapes andsizes are keen to show their greenc re d e n t i a l s.

This week Cabot Circus celebratedall things green with its Big PositiveWe e ke n d .

Long before it opened nearly sixyears ago, the one million square footcentre set out to manage its envir-onmental impact.

It was the first retail-led urbanregeneration scheme to achieve an

excellent environmental ratingunder the BREEAM scheme.

Centre director Stephanie Lacey,pictured, said it was designed to beenergy efficient, with naturalventilation helping to save anestimated five million kilo-watt hours each year,equivalent to the energyconsumed by 450h o m e s.

The unusual layoutensures there is a nat-ural funnelling of air toavoid the need for airconditioning, and the glassroof was designed to hoverabove the central area, creating alight, open space but still providingprotection from the elements.

Stephanie said: “With a design thathas energy efficiency at its very core,it was important to us that this ap-proach was adopted in all aspects of

the way we work, to ensure our com-mitment to sustainability creates apositive legacy for the centre.”

While shopping centres are seen bysome as a symbol of a disposable

society, Stephanie says nowaste goes to landfill from

the site.It recycles 17 types of

waste including card-board, paper, alumini-um, plastic and foodwaste from the restaur-

ants and cafes.Last year Cabot Circus

recycled 434 tonnes of cardand paper, the equivalent of

7,000 trees. Food waste is eitherturned into so-called grey water –re-used for irrigation – or composted,for re-use as fertiliser. And anythingelse goes to a local incinerator, whichburns it to produce electricity for theNational Grid. Stephanie said: “We

have worked very hard over the pastfew years to ensure we divert all ofour waste from landfill, which be-nefits both the environment and thebottom line. When you consider wehave over 140 retailers and restaur-ants , this is a challenge but one thatis central to our operations. Our re-cent event celebrated this, but alsoreached out to consumers to demon-strate how everyone can make smallchanges to live a greener lifestyle.”

Part of that message is deliveredwith a “green wall”, informing shop-pers and staff about the activity thattakes place behind-the-scenes.

With over 3,500 staff working acrossretail, catering, security, cleaning,customer service and centre man-agement, minimising waste, energyuse and resources is no mean feat.But Stephanie and her team believethey have set the bar for shoppingcentres across the UK.

C a r p et i n g

Family-run flooring shop expands

Magic enterprise oneof 76 new start-ups� THE first six months of 2014 saw76 new businesses start-up in NorthSomerset.

The firms were all supported byNorth Somerset Enterprise Agency(NSEA), the not-for-profitorganisation with social objectives –with the new enterprises alreadycreating 93 jobs.

The figures are on a par with thefirst six months of 2013, which saw77 businesses started and 97 jobsc re a t e d .

A DJ and magic enterprise, a boatand marina cleaning service, anonline lettings andestate agency, achildminder, ap u b / re s t a u r a n tand a children’sgift firm wereamong the newbusinesseslaunched.

The agency’steam of businessadvisors have beenalmost fully bookedduring the last three months, whichsuggests more start-ups are in thepipeline.

The agency has found that of the44 new businesses who launchedthree years ago (January to June2011), 40 are still successfullytrading. Many businesses fail in thefirst three years so the survival rateis encouraging.

Chief executive Angela Hicks,pictur ed, said: “Small and mediumsized businesses are the engine thatdrives the British economy so It isencouraging to see that newbusiness start-up figures remainhigh in the year to date.

“We are also thrilled to see thatover 90 per cent of the businesseswe helped start out three years agoare still trading.

“Everyone who has tried to set uptheir own business will know justhow difficult it can be – having agreat idea, spotting a gap in themarket for your product or yourservice is just the start.”

The agency recently built,relocated to and opened The Hive,North Somerset’s new businessdevelopment centre in the Junction21 Enterprise Area ofWe s t o n - s u p e r- M a re .

Star t-ups

Eyes on the prize Wooden specs anatural progression for engineer

A FAMILY-run flooring shop has ex-panded with a new branch inside aBristol department store.

Classic Carpets was established atEmersons Green Retail Park in 2009selling carpets, vinyl flooring, woodand laminate flooring and rugs.

Now the firm has opened a con-cession within the Gardiner HaskinsHomecentre in Straight Street.

Owner Tristan Chalmers, 21,joined the business, set up by hisfather Kim, straight from school andnow runs it.

He said: “It was important toGardiner Haskins to have someonewho offers good customer service. Weare here for our customers – we havebeen established for five years and

have never needed to do any advert-ising. We rely on word of mouth.

“People are also coming backround to supporting local independ-ent businesses rather than the bigch a i n s.

“We are in the main building nextto the furniture department, so wewill be able to offer customers aservice to match what GardinerHaskins already offers them in fur-n i t u re. ”

Classic Carpets is retaining itsEmersons Green store and has takenon an extra member of staff to man-age its new outlet.

“It is very exciting,” said Tristan.“I have lots of energy and I am readyto move the business forwards. I have

been keen to open a second branchbut we have been working throughtough times in the economy. Now weare seeing an improvement though.”

The expansion was possible withsupport from Natwest. Tristanworked with the bank’s relationshipmanager Joseph Evans to secure a£15,000 loan towards signs, fitting andm a rke t i n g .

Joseph said: “When Tristan ap-proached me with such a strong busi-ness plan I was certain this wassomething that NatWest would beable to help with. I am very happy tobe able to support a local family runbusiness with their expansion intoone of Bristol’s most iconic depart-ment stores.”

Assistant Editor (Business)Gavin Thompson

Call 0117 934 3336Email gavin.thompson

@b-nm.co.ukTwitter @gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

Writer Rupert JanischEmail business@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising RobertRodgerson

Call07828 941469Email ro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n

@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Email jane.chapman@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising ShamaAbokor, Regional

Business AccountExecutive

Call 0117 934 3426Emailshama.abokor@

b-nm.co.uk

said: “Thriving small and medi-um-sized businesses are pivotal

to our city region’s economicsuccess and Outset Bristol,

which I have witnessedgiving great support,plays a vital role in help-ing them get off theground and grow.

“Bristol City Councilhas been supporting Out-

set Bristol for severalyears and we’re thrilled to

see another business success-fully established as a result.”

Gavin Thompson

Assistant Editor (Business)

maintenance services programme.Our forward-thinking approach tosafety, health and environment;quality and customer service isclosely aligned with Bristol Water,and we look forward to working withthem to ensure the continuedsuccess of the programme.”

Bristol Water supplies drinkingwater for 1.1 million people aroundthe city from Tetbury in the north toFrome in the south.

Network director Gary Freakesaid: “Kier brings a wealth ofexperience not only in water, butalso from the wider utility andconstruction sectors. Over therecent turbulent period, since ourprevious service provider went intoadministration, Kier have proventhemselves, through their consistentperformance and positivebehaviours, to be a valuable partnerto Bristol Water and one we arelooking forward to working with inthe years to come.”

Kier became a bigger player in theutilities industries after it acquiredMay Gurney in July last year.

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

GREEN FACTS

� Natural ventilation savesthe equivalent of the energyconsumed by 450 homesannually

� Use of high efficacylamps and intelligentlighting controls throughout

� Rainwater harvesting,serving public loos andirrigation points

� 17 different types ofwaste recycled

� 434 tonnes of card andpaper recycled in 2013,saving 7,000 trees

� 42 tonnes of mixed metalrecycled last year,equivalent to 84,500 bakedbean tins

Tell us your views on sustainability, the role of the mid-market in the economic recovery and the importance of apprenticeships. Scan the QR code below using the scanner on your smartphone or visit http://tinyurl.com/bristolpulseqr

HB06265_Bristol Business Pulse campaign_50 x 100.indd 17/17/2014 11:56:38 AM

� Joseph Evans, left, of Natwest,and Tristan Chalmers, owner ofClassic Carpets

BUSINESSES across the Bristol areacould save millions of pounds by ap-pealing over their business rates.

Business rates are based on theso-called rateable value of a business,which is set by a review of propertyvalues last carried out in 2007.

Businesses can appeal against thevalue assigned to their property andmany successfully do so.

But a report by rates specialist CVSsays firms have not appealed over thevalue assigned to thousands of prop-erties, and if they did so they couldmake significant savings.

In Bristol city, CVS estimates thereare 11,127 sites yet to appeal overtheir rateable value, which equates to£266.9 million. The firm estimatessuccessful appeals could save firms atotal of £35.2 million across the sevenyears that the valuation stands.

In North Somerset, there are 4,734sites yet to appeal, which equates to£85 million and a potential £11.2 mil-lion of savings.

In South Gloucestershire there are4933 sites yet to appeal, which equatesto £176.8 million in rates and a po-tential saving of £23 million.

And in Bath and North-East Som-erset 4,372 sites have yet to appealover £89.9 million of rates, with apotential savings of £11.6 million.

Meanwhile CVS, based in GreatGeorge Street, Bristol, carried out asurvey of 250 businesses nationwidewhich found many were concernedthat more regular reassessments ofrates could be detrimental.

A majority – 65 per cent – of re-spondents favoured retaining the pre-dictability of five-yearly reval-uations, with just seven per cent sup-

porting annual reassessments. 10 percent supported two-yearly and 18 percent supported three yearly revalu-at i o n s.

Revaluations are currentlysupposed to happen everyfive years, although theGovernment postponedthe last one, which wasdue in 2012.

Mark Rigby, p i c t u re d ,chief executive of CVS,said: “Any reform to thesystem must protect thepredictability and stabilityof this significant overheadfor ratepayers.

“CVS has been saying this for sometime and these research findingsclearly show that stability and pre-dictability is what businesses want.

“Increasing the frequency of re-

assessments could expose businessesto uncertainty in payments, whileimposing an unsustainable burden

on the Valuation Office Agency.“The business rates systemis not fundamentally

broken – the Governmentshould not be pressuredinto introducing newand unproven meth-o d s.

“The focus should beon creating a less ad-

versarial system which ismore transparent and

equitable, and which doesn’tleave businesses confused and

frustrated about business rates.”The Treasury recently shelved

plans to change the appeals systemwhich many feared would make itmore complicated.

Business rates

Rates appeals could save businesses millions

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E01-

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2 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

� Martin Prothero works on his prototype wooden spectacle frames

AN engineer turned artistwith an eye for business hasset up a company makinghigh-quality wooden spec-tacle frames by hand.

Martin Prothero, who had workedin environmental education, foundhimself unemployed when a key con-tract ended, so took the opportunityto start his own business.

And his enterprise is the 300th firmsupported by Outset Bristol, an or-ganisation that helps entrepreneursget started.

Martin, from Windmill Hill, said: “Iwanted to create a lifestyle where Imade a living from making beautifult h i n g s.

“I wear glasses and found it dif-ficult to find frames made out ofnatural products, so I decided to makemy own wooden spectacle frames.”

He heard about Outset’s freecourses and signed up.

“Outset Bristol’s business start-uptraining was invaluable in helpingme start my business,” he said. “I’mso thrilled to be the 300th businessand I would highly recommend theOutset Bristol programme to anyonethinking of starting out on theirow n . ”

The organisation also helped himsecure a £10,000 government Start-UpLoan, to get the business up andr unning.

He said: “I needed a loan to fundessential manufacturing equipmentand the development time for thep ro d u c t .

“I received guidance on how to putmy business plan together and prac-tical support in planning how to takethe ideas forward.”

He is still building the prototype forhis wooden frames but has big plansand believes they will be attractive tothe environmentally aware con-s u m e r.

“I want to create highly desirableand beautifully crafted eyewear thatconnects people to nature,” said Mar-tin.

“All my products are to beeco-friendly in that they are made ofresponsibly sourced and recyclablem at e r i a l s.

“I will start by supplying frames inthe UK and plan to do my firstEuropean trade shows next year.”

Outset Bristol programme directorAndy Dean praised Martin’s work.

He said: “Martin is an inspirationto anyone who is thinking about start-ing their own business and we’rethrilled that he has achieved hisdream of becoming his own boss.

“Our team is dedicated to helping

new businesses like his launch anddevelop; boosting the Bristol eco-nomy and helping it grow.

“Outset will continue toprovide Bristolians withthe support, skills, con-fidence and access tofinance they need totake the leap intos e l f - e m p l oy m e n t . ”

Outset’s future was indoubt last year until Bris-tol City Council stepped into provide more funding.

City mayor George Ferguson

U t i l i t i es Fa s h i o n

Company wins£ 20 m -a -yea rwater contract� CONSTRUCTION firm Kier haswon a £20 million-a-year, five-yeardeal to maintain Bristol Water’snetwork.

Work will include repairs andmaintenance, meters, newconnections and mains work.

Kier, which has an office inWarmley, first started providing suchservices for Bristol Water when itwon an emergency contract afterthe previous provider went intoadministration.

Toby Harding, Kier’s operationsdirector for utilities in the South,said: “We are delighted to havebeen selected as sole provider ofBristol Water’s network

Ret a i l

Green bag Why your shopping tripreally is good for the environment

SHOPPING might not seem themost obvious sustainablebusiness. But as Bristol pre-pares to take the EuropeanGreen Capital crown next

year, organisations of all shapes andsizes are keen to show their greenc re d e n t i a l s.

This week Cabot Circus celebratedall things green with its Big PositiveWe e ke n d .

Long before it opened nearly sixyears ago, the one million square footcentre set out to manage its envir-onmental impact.

It was the first retail-led urbanregeneration scheme to achieve an

excellent environmental ratingunder the BREEAM scheme.

Centre director Stephanie Lacey,pictured, said it was designed to beenergy efficient, with naturalventilation helping to save anestimated five million kilo-watt hours each year,equivalent to the energyconsumed by 450h o m e s.

The unusual layoutensures there is a nat-ural funnelling of air toavoid the need for airconditioning, and the glassroof was designed to hoverabove the central area, creating alight, open space but still providingprotection from the elements.

Stephanie said: “With a design thathas energy efficiency at its very core,it was important to us that this ap-proach was adopted in all aspects of

the way we work, to ensure our com-mitment to sustainability creates apositive legacy for the centre.”

While shopping centres are seen bysome as a symbol of a disposable

society, Stephanie says nowaste goes to landfill from

the site.It recycles 17 types of

waste including card-board, paper, alumini-um, plastic and foodwaste from the restaur-

ants and cafes.Last year Cabot Circus

recycled 434 tonnes of cardand paper, the equivalent of

7,000 trees. Food waste is eitherturned into so-called grey water –re-used for irrigation – or composted,for re-use as fertiliser. And anythingelse goes to a local incinerator, whichburns it to produce electricity for theNational Grid. Stephanie said: “We

have worked very hard over the pastfew years to ensure we divert all ofour waste from landfill, which be-nefits both the environment and thebottom line. When you consider wehave over 140 retailers and restaur-ants , this is a challenge but one thatis central to our operations. Our re-cent event celebrated this, but alsoreached out to consumers to demon-strate how everyone can make smallchanges to live a greener lifestyle.”

Part of that message is deliveredwith a “green wall”, informing shop-pers and staff about the activity thattakes place behind-the-scenes.

With over 3,500 staff working acrossretail, catering, security, cleaning,customer service and centre man-agement, minimising waste, energyuse and resources is no mean feat.But Stephanie and her team believethey have set the bar for shoppingcentres across the UK.

C a r p et i n g

Family-run flooring shop expands

Magic enterprise oneof 76 new start-ups� THE first six months of 2014 saw76 new businesses start-up in NorthSomerset.

The firms were all supported byNorth Somerset Enterprise Agency(NSEA), the not-for-profitorganisation with social objectives –with the new enterprises alreadycreating 93 jobs.

The figures are on a par with thefirst six months of 2013, which saw77 businesses started and 97 jobsc re a t e d .

A DJ and magic enterprise, a boatand marina cleaning service, anonline lettings andestate agency, achildminder, ap u b / re s t a u r a n tand a children’sgift firm wereamong the newbusinesseslaunched.

The agency’steam of businessadvisors have beenalmost fully bookedduring the last three months, whichsuggests more start-ups are in thepipeline.

The agency has found that of the44 new businesses who launchedthree years ago (January to June2011), 40 are still successfullytrading. Many businesses fail in thefirst three years so the survival rateis encouraging.

Chief executive Angela Hicks,pictur ed, said: “Small and mediumsized businesses are the engine thatdrives the British economy so It isencouraging to see that newbusiness start-up figures remainhigh in the year to date.

“We are also thrilled to see thatover 90 per cent of the businesseswe helped start out three years agoare still trading.

“Everyone who has tried to set uptheir own business will know justhow difficult it can be – having agreat idea, spotting a gap in themarket for your product or yourservice is just the start.”

The agency recently built,relocated to and opened The Hive,North Somerset’s new businessdevelopment centre in the Junction21 Enterprise Area ofWe s t o n - s u p e r- M a re .

Star t-ups

Eyes on the prize Wooden specs anatural progression for engineer

A FAMILY-run flooring shop has ex-panded with a new branch inside aBristol department store.

Classic Carpets was established atEmersons Green Retail Park in 2009selling carpets, vinyl flooring, woodand laminate flooring and rugs.

Now the firm has opened a con-cession within the Gardiner HaskinsHomecentre in Straight Street.

Owner Tristan Chalmers, 21,joined the business, set up by hisfather Kim, straight from school andnow runs it.

He said: “It was important toGardiner Haskins to have someonewho offers good customer service. Weare here for our customers – we havebeen established for five years and

have never needed to do any advert-ising. We rely on word of mouth.

“People are also coming backround to supporting local independ-ent businesses rather than the bigch a i n s.

“We are in the main building nextto the furniture department, so wewill be able to offer customers aservice to match what GardinerHaskins already offers them in fur-n i t u re. ”

Classic Carpets is retaining itsEmersons Green store and has takenon an extra member of staff to man-age its new outlet.

“It is very exciting,” said Tristan.“I have lots of energy and I am readyto move the business forwards. I have

been keen to open a second branchbut we have been working throughtough times in the economy. Now weare seeing an improvement though.”

The expansion was possible withsupport from Natwest. Tristanworked with the bank’s relationshipmanager Joseph Evans to secure a£15,000 loan towards signs, fitting andm a rke t i n g .

Joseph said: “When Tristan ap-proached me with such a strong busi-ness plan I was certain this wassomething that NatWest would beable to help with. I am very happy tobe able to support a local family runbusiness with their expansion intoone of Bristol’s most iconic depart-ment stores.”

Assistant Editor (Business)Gavin Thompson

Call 0117 934 3336Email gavin.thompson

@b-nm.co.ukTwitter @gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

Writer Rupert JanischEmail business@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising RobertRodgerson

Call07828 941469Email ro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n

@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Email jane.chapman@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising ShamaAbokor, Regional

Business AccountExecutive

Call 0117 934 3426Emailshama.abokor@

b-nm.co.uk

said: “Thriving small and medi-um-sized businesses are pivotal

to our city region’s economicsuccess and Outset Bristol,

which I have witnessedgiving great support,plays a vital role in help-ing them get off theground and grow.

“Bristol City Councilhas been supporting Out-

set Bristol for severalyears and we’re thrilled to

see another business success-fully established as a result.”

Gavin Thompson

Assistant Editor (Business)

maintenance services programme.Our forward-thinking approach tosafety, health and environment;quality and customer service isclosely aligned with Bristol Water,and we look forward to working withthem to ensure the continuedsuccess of the programme.”

Bristol Water supplies drinkingwater for 1.1 million people aroundthe city from Tetbury in the north toFrome in the south.

Network director Gary Freakesaid: “Kier brings a wealth ofexperience not only in water, butalso from the wider utility andconstruction sectors. Over therecent turbulent period, since ourprevious service provider went intoadministration, Kier have proventhemselves, through their consistentperformance and positivebehaviours, to be a valuable partnerto Bristol Water and one we arelooking forward to working with inthe years to come.”

Kier became a bigger player in theutilities industries after it acquiredMay Gurney in July last year.

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

GREEN FACTS

� Natural ventilation savesthe equivalent of the energyconsumed by 450 homesannually

� Use of high efficacylamps and intelligentlighting controls throughout

� Rainwater harvesting,serving public loos andirrigation points

� 17 different types ofwaste recycled

� 434 tonnes of card andpaper recycled in 2013,saving 7,000 trees

� 42 tonnes of mixed metalrecycled last year,equivalent to 84,500 bakedbean tins

Tell us your views on sustainability, the role of the mid-market in the economic recovery and the importance of apprenticeships. Scan the QR code below using the scanner on your smartphone or visit http://tinyurl.com/bristolpulseqr

HB06265_Bristol Business Pulse campaign_50 x 100.indd 17/17/2014 11:56:38 AM

� Joseph Evans, left, of Natwest,and Tristan Chalmers, owner ofClassic Carpets

BUSINESSES across the Bristol areacould save millions of pounds by ap-pealing over their business rates.

Business rates are based on theso-called rateable value of a business,which is set by a review of propertyvalues last carried out in 2007.

Businesses can appeal against thevalue assigned to their property andmany successfully do so.

But a report by rates specialist CVSsays firms have not appealed over thevalue assigned to thousands of prop-erties, and if they did so they couldmake significant savings.

In Bristol city, CVS estimates thereare 11,127 sites yet to appeal overtheir rateable value, which equates to£266.9 million. The firm estimatessuccessful appeals could save firms atotal of £35.2 million across the sevenyears that the valuation stands.

In North Somerset, there are 4,734sites yet to appeal, which equates to£85 million and a potential £11.2 mil-lion of savings.

In South Gloucestershire there are4933 sites yet to appeal, which equatesto £176.8 million in rates and a po-tential saving of £23 million.

And in Bath and North-East Som-erset 4,372 sites have yet to appealover £89.9 million of rates, with apotential savings of £11.6 million.

Meanwhile CVS, based in GreatGeorge Street, Bristol, carried out asurvey of 250 businesses nationwidewhich found many were concernedthat more regular reassessments ofrates could be detrimental.

A majority – 65 per cent – of re-spondents favoured retaining the pre-dictability of five-yearly reval-uations, with just seven per cent sup-

porting annual reassessments. 10 percent supported two-yearly and 18 percent supported three yearly revalu-at i o n s.

Revaluations are currentlysupposed to happen everyfive years, although theGovernment postponedthe last one, which wasdue in 2012.

Mark Rigby, p i c t u re d ,chief executive of CVS,said: “Any reform to thesystem must protect thepredictability and stabilityof this significant overheadfor ratepayers.

“CVS has been saying this for sometime and these research findingsclearly show that stability and pre-dictability is what businesses want.

“Increasing the frequency of re-

assessments could expose businessesto uncertainty in payments, whileimposing an unsustainable burden

on the Valuation Office Agency.“The business rates systemis not fundamentally

broken – the Governmentshould not be pressuredinto introducing newand unproven meth-o d s.

“The focus should beon creating a less ad-

versarial system which ismore transparent and

equitable, and which doesn’tleave businesses confused and

frustrated about business rates.”The Treasury recently shelved

plans to change the appeals systemwhich many feared would make itmore complicated.

Business rates

Rates appeals could save businesses millions

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

4 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

NOW businesses can helpschoolchildren get the re-sources they need for a bet-ter education, simply byswitching their stationery

s u p p l i e r.Then-Bristol student Jonathan

Lewis was on a charity trip to Ugandadelivering school uniforms when hediscovered that for rural areas inparticular, their needs were moreb a s i c.

“They kept asking us for supplies,”

he said. “We went into town to buysome for them but it made me realisesome schools have nothing.

“I came back to Bristol and didsome research and some thinking.”

The result saw Jonathan partnerwith a charity and an office suppliescompany to form social enterpriseBalance Stationery.

The idea is simple, businessesorder their supplies from the com-pany – which promises to match theircurrent cost – and the profits go intobuying and delivering stationery toschools in need.

The 29-year-old is so committed tothe cause that dropped out of hismasters degree course in order towork on it full-time, although he re-tains ties to Bristol University with a

group of students supporting the pro-ject. He is based in Chipping Sodbury,but regularly uses the university’sBasecamp space for entrepreneurs atMerchant Venturers’ Building in Clif-ton.

So far the organisation has focusedon Nicaragua, due to Bristol’s twin-ning links there.

In March it made its first deliveryto eight schools. Jonathan is keen todo more.

“We are hoping to build on what wehave achieved and perhaps help withteaching training or even payingt e a ch e r s, ” he said. “I want to get tomore schools in rural areas wherethey really need the support.”

To do that, he needs more cus-tomers. Some of the existing cus-

Balancing actEnterprise helpsout pupils inpoorer countries

� Nicaraguan children benefit from the work of James Warner and JonathanLewis, right Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140730D-003

FROM an industrial unit inAvonmouth, one Bristol busi-ness is helping poultry farm-ers in Africa and Indiaincrease their profits using a

super-strong foil.Technical Convertors provides

coating, laminating and sheeting ser-vices and products used in a host ofsectors including for packaginggoods to be shipped aboard andthermal blankets for hospitals.

Set up in 1991, the firm has beengrowing its exports in recent yearsacross the board.

But the business, which employs 25people, has found a particularlystrong demand for one product in hotc o u n t r i e s.

It makes a form of super-strong foilcalled Valeron AVA, made of layers oflaminate, aluminium foil, valeronfilm and polyester, which can be usedto keep buildings cool by reflectingthe heat.

And it has become very popularamong poultry farms in Africa – par-ticularly South Africa, Kenya andUganda – and India, as a way ofkeeping their chickens cool.

Managing director Mike Freemansaid: “It’s been a growing successstory within the last five years. It isinstalled under the roof with a smallair space and reflects 90 per cent ofthe radiant heat away from the build-ing.

“You could do this with any foil butit would degrade within a few weeksor months, whereas this is verystrong and will work for 10, 15 or 20ye a r s. ”

Customers tend to be the bigpoultry producers in their respective

m a rke t s.Mike said the foil cooled the build-

ings which meant better conditionsfor the chickens, which both reducedmortality rates and also made thebirds more productive, in turn im-proving the profits for Technical Con-ver ters’ c u s t o m e r s.

Export sales of the product havegrown from about £40,000 a year to aforecast of £600,000 this year.

The company made its first foraysinto foreign markets on its own, buthas since used support from UK

SOUTH Africa is a market with greatpotential for Bristol exporters, ac-cording to a local trade adviser.

The Rainbow Nation of SouthAfrica is a radically varied land,shaped by the contrasting environ-ments of the industrialised and theprosperous, and the agricultural andthe impoverished, existing side bys i d e.

It is seen as the economic power-house of Africa and forms part of theso-called BRICS group of countries.The country has a dynamic, young,educated middle class rising out ofthe booming industrial, research andfinancial sectors. This young pop-ulation will have great surplus in-come to push growth in South Africa.

UKTI South Africa trading expertSandra Warne believes that there isgreat potential for local firms to dobusiness with South Africa.

“With a climate that is geared forgrowth and open for trade, SouthAfrica is the destination for UK busi-nesses of all shapes and sizes,” shesaid.

Sandra says there are many op-portunities, from advanced engineer-ing projects and the quicklydeveloping infrastructure to possib-ilities in the education, agricultureand energy sectors.

She said: “The best way to test thewater and start your business ven-ture in South Africa is to visit themarket and network with potential

contacts using the help of the UKTIoffices based in Johannesburg, Durb-an and in the British Consulate inCape Town.”

The South African government hasschemes in place to diversify the eco-nomic landscape by empowering theblack community in business.

The country is currently the WorldDesign Capital for 2014.

Sandra said: “South Africa’s pro-spects are undeniably rich, driven byan increasingly educated populationand an abundance of natural re-sources. The diversity of South Africamay make it a challenging country tonavigate, but the multitude of op-portunities on offer cannot afford tobe missed.”

Rainbow of exporting opportunities

� Sandra Warne in front of Robben Island, South Africa

� Mike Freeman with AVA foil at Technical Converters Ltd in Avonmouth. Pic:Dan Regan BRDR20140811A-004

City lender backingalternative loan plans� ONE of the driving forces in thealternative lending market haswelcomed plans to make banksrefer rejected business loanapplicants to other organisations.

Legislation is being drawn up bythe Treasury because it fears areluctance to lend by the mainbanks could be holding back thee c o n o m y.

Adam Tavener, pictur ed,chairman of Ham Green-basedpensionledfunding.com, said:“What we are seeing is the firststeps of a journeywhich will,ultimatelyandpermanentlychangethe waysmallbusinessownersaccessfinance forgrowth goingf o r w a rd . ”

Adam was the driving forcebehind a collaboration of alternativelenders setting up a web portalearlier this year where small andmedium-sized business ownerscould find them all in one place.

Once the new legislation is drawnup, the portal could become one ofthe ways banks refer rejectedapplicants to other lenders.

Adam said: “From the outset theprinciple behind our collaborationwas to provide a simple and safejourney for businesses to accessquality alternative funders if theywere not able to, or did not wish toobtain finance from a main bank.”

He said the site had already beenused by thousands of businesses insearch of lenders.

“But it was always designed toexist in an environment wherebanks and other significant creditproviders were required absolutelyto signpost rejected SME owners tothe now vibrant alternative fundings e c t o r, ” said Adam.

“The confirmation from TheTreasury that our initiative will,indeed, pass into legislation is bothsensible and pragmatic.”

He added: “This is a very positivemove for the economy andAlternative Business Funding isproud to have played such asignificant part in this and lookforward to continuing our closework with The Treasury to ensurethat what is finally delivered issimple, fair, transparent, but mostof all gets real results.”

F i n a n ce

1. Understandthat Africa isbig…verybig. Morethan 50countries,1000s ofc u l t u re sandcountlesslanguages.A ‘one sizefits all’ a p p ro a c hwill not be to your advantage.Create a strategy for each andevery country.2. Think long term. It takes timeto get a business going and thento keep it going. Don’t see thecontinent as your passport to a‘quick buck’. You requirepatience and a long-term focusedgoal in order to truly see any ROI.3. Set realistic goals. Africa isrising...not raised. Be realistic asto what you are able to achieveon the continent; start small, gainexperience and then start to lookat scaling up.4. Understand local laws. Beforeyou do anything in Africa,understand the legal frameworkyou will be working within as wellas the basics of commercial law.5. Find local talent. As a foreignerit’s very difficult to break throughthe cultural barriers as well asdeal with bureaucracy. Try to findlocals to work for you or with you.6. Build relationships. Localswant to do business with peoplethey like and trust. A relationshipis crucial to this so make sureyou visit a lot. Don’t expect toaccomplish anything in one visit.7. Be open to difference. Phonecalls answered during meetingsor meeting the local chief underthe banyan tree may not bestandard business protocol athome, but in Africa you need tobe aware of local culture.

By Neil Payne, pictured, who isFounder of the specialist Africantranslation & localisation agencyTr a n s l a t i o n - A f r i c a . c o m

Trade and Investment, the Govern-ment service delivered locally thoughBusiness West, taking advantage ofsubsidies for trade visits, market re-search help and more.

Mike said his message to othercompanies looking to export wouldbe: “First, make sure your productsare relevant.

“Second, go there. Make sure youvisit because you need to build re-lationships. And don’t just go once,keep going after you have startedtrading.”

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

A BUSINESSMAN is preparing tolead his firm’s move from a localbusiness to a global one, thanks tosupport from a successful entrepren-e u r.

Steve Callanan, from Filton, runsWirewax, which produces interactiveonline video that people can pause tobuy or find out more about itemsf e at u re d .

Earlier this year, the 35-year-oldwon a month of mentoring from Yo!Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe.

Wirewax was set up in 2010 butSteve was looking for guidance aboutthe next steps for the business.

At the first mentoring session,Simon encouraged Steve to take astep back from running his companyday-to-day and reflect on two things:the future of the business and how tohandle the transition from a nationalto multinational one.

He urged Steve to become the faceof a large company with offices indifferent countries across the globe.

And he has been encouraging Steveto invest in his employees more, em-powering them to make decisions anddrive the success of the companywhile he is elsewhere.

He has also implemented company

away days in order to help Stevecreate a strong company culture thatwill translate from office to office, butalso from office to consumer.

Entrepreneur’s advicehelps firm go global

� Steve Callanan, from Filton, and Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo! Sushi

Finally he urged Steve to changethe business model, away from of-fering bespoke projects to licensinghis product to big production houses.

Steve said: “I’ve been running com-panies my entire career since I leftuniversity and you rarely get decentadvice when you are doing that. Youare very much on your own. Simonasked me what challenges I foundmost difficult. Things like trying tospread myself thinly and taking moretime for myself. It’s incredibly dif-ficult to manage a rapid expansionwhere things are moving veryquickly. Just trying to get everybodyin the organisation singing from thesame hymn sheet is a challenge initself. I know Simon’s incredible ex-perience as a businessman is going tobe invaluable to me.”

Simon added: “Every successfulcompany needs a human face thatrepresents the company and helps totake the brand forward, so as well asstepping up, Steve needs to stepout.”

The mentoring was the result of acompetition run by The Times andVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Office supplies

Interactive video

Expor ts

www.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExportingwww.exportbritain.org.uk

#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExporting

#GetExpor ting� Business West is campaigningto increase the number ofexporters in the region.

Under the banner#GetExporting, the goal is help2,020 companies to grow theirbusiness through exports by2020.

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 .

Silver lining Firm’s super-strongfoil helping farmers boost profits

tomers are Bristol schools, which getmore than just stationery as they alsobuild links with recipient schools andopportunities to create cultural pro-j e c t s.

Some businesses including lawyersand estate agents have signed upt o o.

Jonathan said the organisationwas capable of supplying bigger busi-nesses too, but as a new companyfound the procurement processesmore challenging to get through.

“We can do it on a bigger scale,” hesaid. “We have our own fleet of vansand we can offer next day delivery.

“You can donate to charity throughyour current expenses, it won’t costyou anything extra but you still get agood service.”

South Africa

The Dos & Don’tsof Doing Businessin Africa

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4 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

NOW businesses can helpschoolchildren get the re-sources they need for a bet-ter education, simply byswitching their stationery

s u p p l i e r.Then-Bristol student Jonathan

Lewis was on a charity trip to Ugandadelivering school uniforms when hediscovered that for rural areas inparticular, their needs were moreb a s i c.

“They kept asking us for supplies,”

he said. “We went into town to buysome for them but it made me realisesome schools have nothing.

“I came back to Bristol and didsome research and some thinking.”

The result saw Jonathan partnerwith a charity and an office suppliescompany to form social enterpriseBalance Stationery.

The idea is simple, businessesorder their supplies from the com-pany – which promises to match theircurrent cost – and the profits go intobuying and delivering stationery toschools in need.

The 29-year-old is so committed tothe cause that dropped out of hismasters degree course in order towork on it full-time, although he re-tains ties to Bristol University with a

group of students supporting the pro-ject. He is based in Chipping Sodbury,but regularly uses the university’sBasecamp space for entrepreneurs atMerchant Venturers’ Building in Clif-ton.

So far the organisation has focusedon Nicaragua, due to Bristol’s twin-ning links there.

In March it made its first deliveryto eight schools. Jonathan is keen todo more.

“We are hoping to build on what wehave achieved and perhaps help withteaching training or even payingt e a ch e r s, ” he said. “I want to get tomore schools in rural areas wherethey really need the support.”

To do that, he needs more cus-tomers. Some of the existing cus-

Balancing actEnterprise helpsout pupils inpoorer countries

� Nicaraguan children benefit from the work of James Warner and JonathanLewis, right Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140730D-003

FROM an industrial unit inAvonmouth, one Bristol busi-ness is helping poultry farm-ers in Africa and Indiaincrease their profits using a

super-strong foil.Technical Convertors provides

coating, laminating and sheeting ser-vices and products used in a host ofsectors including for packaginggoods to be shipped aboard andthermal blankets for hospitals.

Set up in 1991, the firm has beengrowing its exports in recent yearsacross the board.

But the business, which employs 25people, has found a particularlystrong demand for one product in hotc o u n t r i e s.

It makes a form of super-strong foilcalled Valeron AVA, made of layers oflaminate, aluminium foil, valeronfilm and polyester, which can be usedto keep buildings cool by reflectingthe heat.

And it has become very popularamong poultry farms in Africa – par-ticularly South Africa, Kenya andUganda – and India, as a way ofkeeping their chickens cool.

Managing director Mike Freemansaid: “It’s been a growing successstory within the last five years. It isinstalled under the roof with a smallair space and reflects 90 per cent ofthe radiant heat away from the build-ing.

“You could do this with any foil butit would degrade within a few weeksor months, whereas this is verystrong and will work for 10, 15 or 20ye a r s. ”

Customers tend to be the bigpoultry producers in their respective

m a rke t s.Mike said the foil cooled the build-

ings which meant better conditionsfor the chickens, which both reducedmortality rates and also made thebirds more productive, in turn im-proving the profits for Technical Con-ver ters’ c u s t o m e r s.

Export sales of the product havegrown from about £40,000 a year to aforecast of £600,000 this year.

The company made its first foraysinto foreign markets on its own, buthas since used support from UK

SOUTH Africa is a market with greatpotential for Bristol exporters, ac-cording to a local trade adviser.

The Rainbow Nation of SouthAfrica is a radically varied land,shaped by the contrasting environ-ments of the industrialised and theprosperous, and the agricultural andthe impoverished, existing side bys i d e.

It is seen as the economic power-house of Africa and forms part of theso-called BRICS group of countries.The country has a dynamic, young,educated middle class rising out ofthe booming industrial, research andfinancial sectors. This young pop-ulation will have great surplus in-come to push growth in South Africa.

UKTI South Africa trading expertSandra Warne believes that there isgreat potential for local firms to dobusiness with South Africa.

“With a climate that is geared forgrowth and open for trade, SouthAfrica is the destination for UK busi-nesses of all shapes and sizes,” shesaid.

Sandra says there are many op-portunities, from advanced engineer-ing projects and the quicklydeveloping infrastructure to possib-ilities in the education, agricultureand energy sectors.

She said: “The best way to test thewater and start your business ven-ture in South Africa is to visit themarket and network with potential

contacts using the help of the UKTIoffices based in Johannesburg, Durb-an and in the British Consulate inCape Town.”

The South African government hasschemes in place to diversify the eco-nomic landscape by empowering theblack community in business.

The country is currently the WorldDesign Capital for 2014.

Sandra said: “South Africa’s pro-spects are undeniably rich, driven byan increasingly educated populationand an abundance of natural re-sources. The diversity of South Africamay make it a challenging country tonavigate, but the multitude of op-portunities on offer cannot afford tobe missed.”

Rainbow of exporting opportunities

� Sandra Warne in front of Robben Island, South Africa

� Mike Freeman with AVA foil at Technical Converters Ltd in Avonmouth. Pic:Dan Regan BRDR20140811A-004

City lender backingalternative loan plans� ONE of the driving forces in thealternative lending market haswelcomed plans to make banksrefer rejected business loanapplicants to other organisations.

Legislation is being drawn up bythe Treasury because it fears areluctance to lend by the mainbanks could be holding back thee c o n o m y.

Adam Tavener, pictur ed,chairman of Ham Green-basedpensionledfunding.com, said:“What we are seeing is the firststeps of a journeywhich will,ultimatelyandpermanentlychangethe waysmallbusinessownersaccessfinance forgrowth goingf o r w a rd . ”

Adam was the driving forcebehind a collaboration of alternativelenders setting up a web portalearlier this year where small andmedium-sized business ownerscould find them all in one place.

Once the new legislation is drawnup, the portal could become one ofthe ways banks refer rejectedapplicants to other lenders.

Adam said: “From the outset theprinciple behind our collaborationwas to provide a simple and safejourney for businesses to accessquality alternative funders if theywere not able to, or did not wish toobtain finance from a main bank.”

He said the site had already beenused by thousands of businesses insearch of lenders.

“But it was always designed toexist in an environment wherebanks and other significant creditproviders were required absolutelyto signpost rejected SME owners tothe now vibrant alternative fundings e c t o r, ” said Adam.

“The confirmation from TheTreasury that our initiative will,indeed, pass into legislation is bothsensible and pragmatic.”

He added: “This is a very positivemove for the economy andAlternative Business Funding isproud to have played such asignificant part in this and lookforward to continuing our closework with The Treasury to ensurethat what is finally delivered issimple, fair, transparent, but mostof all gets real results.”

F i n a n ce

1. Understandthat Africa isbig…verybig. Morethan 50countries,1000s ofc u l t u re sandcountlesslanguages.A ‘one sizefits all’ a p p ro a c hwill not be to your advantage.Create a strategy for each andevery country.2. Think long term. It takes timeto get a business going and thento keep it going. Don’t see thecontinent as your passport to a‘quick buck’. You requirepatience and a long-term focusedgoal in order to truly see any ROI.3. Set realistic goals. Africa isrising...not raised. Be realistic asto what you are able to achieveon the continent; start small, gainexperience and then start to lookat scaling up.4. Understand local laws. Beforeyou do anything in Africa,understand the legal frameworkyou will be working within as wellas the basics of commercial law.5. Find local talent. As a foreignerit’s very difficult to break throughthe cultural barriers as well asdeal with bureaucracy. Try to findlocals to work for you or with you.6. Build relationships. Localswant to do business with peoplethey like and trust. A relationshipis crucial to this so make sureyou visit a lot. Don’t expect toaccomplish anything in one visit.7. Be open to difference. Phonecalls answered during meetingsor meeting the local chief underthe banyan tree may not bestandard business protocol athome, but in Africa you need tobe aware of local culture.

By Neil Payne, pictured, who isFounder of the specialist Africantranslation & localisation agencyTr a n s l a t i o n - A f r i c a . c o m

Trade and Investment, the Govern-ment service delivered locally thoughBusiness West, taking advantage ofsubsidies for trade visits, market re-search help and more.

Mike said his message to othercompanies looking to export wouldbe: “First, make sure your productsare relevant.

“Second, go there. Make sure youvisit because you need to build re-lationships. And don’t just go once,keep going after you have startedtrading.”

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

A BUSINESSMAN is preparing tolead his firm’s move from a localbusiness to a global one, thanks tosupport from a successful entrepren-e u r.

Steve Callanan, from Filton, runsWirewax, which produces interactiveonline video that people can pause tobuy or find out more about itemsf e at u re d .

Earlier this year, the 35-year-oldwon a month of mentoring from Yo!Sushi founder Simon Woodroffe.

Wirewax was set up in 2010 butSteve was looking for guidance aboutthe next steps for the business.

At the first mentoring session,Simon encouraged Steve to take astep back from running his companyday-to-day and reflect on two things:the future of the business and how tohandle the transition from a nationalto multinational one.

He urged Steve to become the faceof a large company with offices indifferent countries across the globe.

And he has been encouraging Steveto invest in his employees more, em-powering them to make decisions anddrive the success of the companywhile he is elsewhere.

He has also implemented company

away days in order to help Stevecreate a strong company culture thatwill translate from office to office, butalso from office to consumer.

Entrepreneur’s advicehelps firm go global

� Steve Callanan, from Filton, and Simon Woodroffe, founder of Yo! Sushi

Finally he urged Steve to changethe business model, away from of-fering bespoke projects to licensinghis product to big production houses.

Steve said: “I’ve been running com-panies my entire career since I leftuniversity and you rarely get decentadvice when you are doing that. Youare very much on your own. Simonasked me what challenges I foundmost difficult. Things like trying tospread myself thinly and taking moretime for myself. It’s incredibly dif-ficult to manage a rapid expansionwhere things are moving veryquickly. Just trying to get everybodyin the organisation singing from thesame hymn sheet is a challenge initself. I know Simon’s incredible ex-perience as a businessman is going tobe invaluable to me.”

Simon added: “Every successfulcompany needs a human face thatrepresents the company and helps totake the brand forward, so as well asstepping up, Steve needs to stepout.”

The mentoring was the result of acompetition run by The Times andVolkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Office supplies

Interactive video

Expor ts

www.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExportingwww.exportbritain.org.uk

#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExportingwww.businesswest.co.uk

#GetExporting

#GetExpor ting� Business West is campaigningto increase the number ofexporters in the region.

Under the banner#GetExporting, the goal is help2,020 companies to grow theirbusiness through exports by2020.

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 .

Silver lining Firm’s super-strongfoil helping farmers boost profits

tomers are Bristol schools, which getmore than just stationery as they alsobuild links with recipient schools andopportunities to create cultural pro-j e c t s.

Some businesses including lawyersand estate agents have signed upt o o.

Jonathan said the organisationwas capable of supplying bigger busi-nesses too, but as a new companyfound the procurement processesmore challenging to get through.

“We can do it on a bigger scale,” hesaid. “We have our own fleet of vansand we can offer next day delivery.

“You can donate to charity throughyour current expenses, it won’t costyou anything extra but you still get agood service.”

South Africa

The Dos & Don’tsof Doing Businessin Africa

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6 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

TEXTILE weaver Angie Parkeris taking a second chance ather dream career. The41-year-old studied design inthe 1990s and even won an

award for a handwoven rug in a pres-tigious New Designers show in Lon-don.

But her career took a different pathand she spent 16 years working incostumes for the theatre and tele-vision industries.

After the birth of her third child,Jeanie, in 2010, Angie thought hardabout her future and decided to giveher weaving dream another go.

She successfully applied to theCrafts Council for a place in its busi-nesses development programme,called Hothouse, last year, where shebenefited from six months of busi-ness training and mentoring. Andthings have been on the up evers i n c e.

Last month, armed with a new col-lection of handwoven textiles, Angiewas invited back the New Designersshow. She said: “Returning to NewDesigners after 20 years was such aprivilege. I was so pleased to haveearned the chance to pick up fromwhere I left off and it was a greatopportunity to present my businessalongside today’s graduates. Twelvemonths ago, I couldn't see this parthappening and the event was theicing on the cake after a year of hardwo rk . ”

Now she is moving into new studiospace in Bedminster under the busi-ness name Diva Weaver.

Angie’s work takes traditional pat-terns but uses bold colours. She citestime spent living in India and Bris-tol’s street art scene as influences,although her weaving technique ori-ginates from Scandinavia.

Her customers are usually lookingfor a special one-off piece.

Angie said: “The demographic ismid-20s up, who want to invest theirlimited spare income in a one-offhand-crafted piece.

“Customers who've followed mybusiness from the beginning are com-ing to me with commissions for spe-cial birthdays or a family heirloom.”

With the help of a network offriends, or elves as she calls them, shesources abandoned furniture from

around the country. Working in finecottons, silks and chenille, shethen restores them with hand-woven new finishes.

Angie said she hopedher experience wouldinspire other people tofollow their businessd re a m s.

“My message toanyone with anidea for a businessis to get on with it,but realistically,”she said.

“Set manage-able goals and talkto everyone youcan about it. Accessas much support asyou can, and there reallyis a lot of help out there.

“The craft sector alone is worth

millions of pounds in the creativeindustries economy and pro-

grammes such as Hothouse,organised by the CraftsCouncil, are an invaluableresource for new businesseslike mine.

“Through it I completelyrestructured my five-yearbusiness plan and feel con-fident that my business willfl o u r i s h . ”

She added: “It also taughtme that even though I'm a soletrader, my business will not

progress without the inputand support of fellowmakers and experienced

business mentors, which weare lucky to have plenty of in

Bristol.“And finally, you need good

old-fashioned hard graft!”

THE Bristol office of accountancyand tax specialists Moore Stephenshas warned suppliers of digital ser-vices about impending changes toVAT rules in the EU.

Any business which providesbroadcasting or electronic services toEU consumers will be affected by thechanges, which come into effect fromJanuary 1, 2015.

Services affected include TV andradio broadcasting, websites andwebsite hosting, downloaded soft-ware, e-books, apps, electronic gamesand music and film downloads.

Suppliers will be liable to accountfor VAT in each EU member statewhere a customer consumes the ser-vice, even if they are not currentlyregistered for VAT in the UK becausethey fall below the registrationthreshold. Affected company ownersnot preparing for the changes by re-gistering for a new system set up by

HMRC risk major inconvenience andloss of valuable business time.

Evading VAT payments is a crim-inal offence and, in the worst casescenario, business owners entering acountry where tax is due could facedemands for payment or even ar-re s t .

Mark Chesham, p i c t u re d , directorof indirect tax services based at theMoore Stephens office in RedcliffeStreet, said: “An example is a UKsupplier who is selling an e-book to aconsumer in France.

“From January next year, they willbe liable to account for French VAT( T VA ) .

2 At the moment, VAT is accountedfor in the country of the supplier and,as a result, many suppliers of elec-tronic service have based themselvesin countries like Luxembourg whichhave low VAT rates. These changesare designed to level the playing

field.”Normally the changes would mean

the supplier has to register in everycountry in which they sell the ser-vices. But in the UK, HMRC has in-troduced a Mini One Stop Shop(MOSS), which lets businesses ac-count for all non-UK VAT on a singlereturn and make a payment toH M RC .

“Businesses have to register forMOSS and registrations open in Oc-t o b e r.

Mr Chesham said: “Those caughtout by the changes will need to showthey can identify and show, with twopieces of evidence, their customerlocations and amend their billing sys-tems to ensure the correct rate of VATis applied.

“All this will need to be done in avery short space of time. I recom-mend getting some expert advice andsupport where required.”

Tax warning for suppliers of e-books and digital servicesTa x

� A SOCIAL enterprise whichruns eight leisure centres acrossSouth Gloucestershire hasreporting rising revenues for thepast year.

Circadian Trust grew revenueby 7.6 per cent to £10.22million. Costs also went up,however, due to investment infacilities, but the organisationsaid it was lower than forecasthowever would not reveal thef i g u re s .

Visitors to the centres were upby nearly 280,000 (12 per cent)to 2.5 million.

Chief executive MarkCrutchley said: “These resultsare one of the most successfulto date for the trust and aretestimony to the dedication ofour staff across all our sites.

“Key drivers have beensignificant investment in thefacilities, commencement of adigitisation programme tocontinuously enhance thecustomer experience and theintroduction of a social mediaprogramme to heighteninteraction with our customers.

“The figures speak forthemselves and shows that weare delivering what ourcustomers want at prices theyare willing to pay.”

The trust works with SouthGloucestershire Council andreinvests its profits back into thebusiness.

Since it was formed in 2005,the trust has spent £3 million onimproved leisure facilities.

Mark Chesham

Thesechanges aredesigned tolevel theplaying field.”

“

Visitor risehelps trust’srevenues grow

Le i s u reTex t i l es

Angie gets weavingin second chanceat dream careerGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Angie Parker

My message to anyonewith an idea for abusiness is to get on withit, but realistically.”

“

� THE improving economy hasbeen welcome for businesses butthe change in environment brings itsown challenges.

New research from BibbyFinancial Services says small andmedium sized businesses now saygrowing competition is now theirbiggest threat.

Official data showed the numberof new UK businesses reached afive-year peak in March this year,and those start-ups are puttingpressure on existing firms.

The SME Tracker, which surveysbusinesses with a turnover of up to£25 million and up to 250employees, saw 22 per cent ofbusinesses in the South West citingan increase in competition, whichhas come about as a result of theimproving economy, as their biggestw o r r y.

Meanwhile, 14 per cent believedthat red-tape is the biggestchallenge they face.

A shortage of skilled staff was aconcern for nine per cent, risingmaterial costs troubled 15 per centbut access to finance – long themajor bugbear – was top worry forjust five per cent.

Sharon Wiltshire, regionalmanaging director for Bibby, said:“This is certainly a different picturefrom just a few years ago and theSouth West has returned to itsposition as a breeding ground forinnovation and entrepreneurship.

“The economic downturn hasfostered a DIY ethos in the country,which is now paying dividends forthe economy through bothrecruitment and output.”

She added: “Technology isundoubtedly removing barriers toentry for a lot of industries, but it’svital that new-start and early stagebusinesses have the financial meansto invest for long-term success.”

Firms fear bigincrease inco m p et i t i o n

Eco n o my

� BUSINESS expansion is slowingdown across the region but stillhealthy, according to new figures.

The headline Lloyds BankCommercial Banking South WestBusiness Activity Index – aseasonally adjusted index thattracks changes in the combinedoutput of the region’s manufacturingand service sectors – posted at 57.8in July.

This was down from June’sfive-month high of 59.4, but stillsignalled a further expansion ofbusiness activity.

Although slightly below the UKaverage, the rate of increase wassharp. Growth of services activitycontinued to outpace manufacturingoutput, albeit to a lesser extent thanin June.

David Beaumont, Lloyds areadirector SME Banking in the SouthWest, said: “The South West privatesector economy remained in stronggrowth territory, with output, neworders and employment allincreasing at sharp rates.

“Although costs have risen at theirstrongest pace this year, input priceinflation remained historically weakand output prices rose onlym a rg i n a l l y. ”

The survey also found staffinglevels rose and backlog of orderscontinued to grow, but at a slowerpace.

G row t hBusiness expansionstill healthy despite dip

ONE of Bristol’s leading ac-countancy firms is callingon students to consider themerits of school leaver pro-grammes as an alternative

career path to university.Graham Randall, below, partner

and head of BDO LLP in VictoriaStreet, Bristol, believes such schemesare an attractive option for studentslooking for an alternative to full-timeuniversity education.

He said: “The traditional route intoprofessions such as accountancy isvia university. However, applying fora degree is no longer the straight-forward decision that it was oncew a s.

“With the recent increase in uni-versity tuition fees and the averagestudent leaving university with debtsof around £30,000, an increasing num-ber of talented A-level students arelooking at school leavers pro-g rammes.

“One of the best things about ourschool leavers programme is thattrainees earn as they learn, with thesecurity of a permanent salary thatrises as they progress through thes ch e m e.

“Those who enrol can become afully qualified accountant in fiveyears, which is a yearless than a graduategiven that the av-erage universitydegree laststhree years andit takes an ad-ditional threeyears to qualifyas a chartered ac-countant.”

BDO has 100school leavers enrolledon its a programme with 90 more setto join the firm after the summer.Applications will open for the nextacademic year on 1 September, with afurther 100 places available for the2015 intake.

Hallam Sullinge-Farrall, 20, is oneof the trainees currently enrolled onthe scheme in Bristol. He stronglyconsidered going to university butwas put off from applying by the risein tuition fees and lack of job securityfor graduates.

He said: “It was a steep learningcurve to go from full time educationstraight into the workplace but BDOprovides plenty of support and have

made me feel part of the team fromday one. I am progressing all the timeand being able to learn from industryexperts on a day-to-day basis is ex-tremely valuable. I would certainlyrecommend the programme to any-one looking to get into the account-ancy profession that is unsure aboutthe university route.”

Daisy Mackay, 22, is coming to-wards the end of her first year of theprogramme in Bristol and is based inthe firm’s audit division.

She said: “I was not convinced thatuniversity was necessarily the bestoption for me, particularly after the

rise in tuition fees, and so I exploredother options. I think the mainadvantage of the scheme isthat I am studying to gain awell recognised, profes-sional qualificationwhile putting into prac-tice on a daily basis theareas covered by thee x a m s. ”

Getting involved in ac-countancy isn’t just aboutnumber crunching. It canprovide ambitious studentswith a lifelong career in businessand commerce, with many travelling

the world dealing with internationalbusinesses. One of BDO’s previoustrainees is Ruby McGregor-SmithCBE, below, now chief executive ofBristol-born Mitie Group plc, whichhas revenues of more than £2 bil-lion.

One of the firm’s current risingstars is Tim Everitt, 24, who joinedBDO at the age of 18 on the firm’sschool leaver programme. He hasrisen through the ranks to become anaudit manager at the Bristol officeand was recently named in Account-ancy Age’s ‘35 under 35’, which show-cases the accountancy profession’sbest and brightest talents in the UK.

Tim’s client base includes largeinternational companies, includingSpecsavers and Agilent Technolo-gies, which sees him regularly travelthroughout Europe, the US andAsia.

On the school leaver pro-gramme, Tim said: “One of

the best things is that youinstantly have the ad-vantage of working withreal experts on realbusiness projects fromday one.

“I have learned a lotabout the accountancy

profession and businessas a whole and have been

lucky enough to travel aroundthe world at the same time – it was

definitely the right decision for me.”

C a re e rs

SCHOOL’S OUT... FOREVERTomorrow thousands ofteenagers get theirA-level results. Many willgo on to university butincreasingly businessesare offering other routesinto successful careers.

LAW firm Burges Salmon has openedaccess to the legal profession as partof its social mobility agenda with twoone-week work experience pro-grammes entitled Bright Sparks.

Launched last year, the programmeis aimed at students aged 15 to 17.

The firm, which has its headquar-ters at 1 Glass Wharf in the TempleQuarter Enterprise Zone, is commit-ted to providing work experienceplacements for students who wouldbe the first generation in their family

to attend university or who receivefree school meals, in order to givethem hands-on experience of workingin a large legal practice.

The Year 10 to Year 13 studentscome from a variety of schools andspend their respective weeks workingon presentations, participating inworkshops and learning about theday-to-day office life of a busy lawfir m.

Students are able to gain insightinto the role of a lawyer through

shadowing sessions and engage withother business functions such as IT,human resources, marketing andbusiness development, highlightingthe many different career paths thatare available.

The students also worked on agroup project all week, which con-sisted of providing 10 recommend-ations on how to engage withBristol’s diverse communities andmake Bristol's year as EuropeanGreen Capital informative and en-

gaging for young people. The weekculminated with the studentspresenting their group project in twoteams in front of a panel and anaudience comprising parents, schoolwork experience coordinators andhead teachers.

Corporate responsibility managerCatherine Correia said: “Our aimwas to put together a full and en-gaging week to ensure each studentgained maximum understanding andlearning from the programme.”

Law firm helping Bright Sparks gain insight

� School leavertrainees HallamSullinge-Farrall,20, and DaisyMackay, 22

DEMAND FOR ALTERNATIVE ROUTE

� A PROFESSIONAL training organisation says demand for routes tocareers that avoid university are growing.

BPP Professional Education runs an annual three-day course at itsGrove Avenue office to give students who are unsure about following thetraditional university path an insight into the professional apprenticeshipsthat are on offer in law, marketing, accountancy, financial services andbusiness.

Managing director Jonathan Snary said: “We received interest fromstudents across the city who were eager to attend the course and receivea greater level of insight into the range of professional apprenticeships thatare available.

“Over the past few years we have seen an increase in the range of firmsoffering professional apprenticeships to college and school leavers whohave chosen to enter into a professional career, but have decideduniversity is not the right option for them.”

The event included representatives from BT, Deloitte and Burges Salmonoffering students in-depth careers guidance.

Sign uphere forbusinessnews directto yourinboxevery day

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6 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

TEXTILE weaver Angie Parkeris taking a second chance ather dream career. The41-year-old studied design inthe 1990s and even won an

award for a handwoven rug in a pres-tigious New Designers show in Lon-don.

But her career took a different pathand she spent 16 years working incostumes for the theatre and tele-vision industries.

After the birth of her third child,Jeanie, in 2010, Angie thought hardabout her future and decided to giveher weaving dream another go.

She successfully applied to theCrafts Council for a place in its busi-nesses development programme,called Hothouse, last year, where shebenefited from six months of busi-ness training and mentoring. Andthings have been on the up evers i n c e.

Last month, armed with a new col-lection of handwoven textiles, Angiewas invited back the New Designersshow. She said: “Returning to NewDesigners after 20 years was such aprivilege. I was so pleased to haveearned the chance to pick up fromwhere I left off and it was a greatopportunity to present my businessalongside today’s graduates. Twelvemonths ago, I couldn't see this parthappening and the event was theicing on the cake after a year of hardwo rk . ”

Now she is moving into new studiospace in Bedminster under the busi-ness name Diva Weaver.

Angie’s work takes traditional pat-terns but uses bold colours. She citestime spent living in India and Bris-tol’s street art scene as influences,although her weaving technique ori-ginates from Scandinavia.

Her customers are usually lookingfor a special one-off piece.

Angie said: “The demographic ismid-20s up, who want to invest theirlimited spare income in a one-offhand-crafted piece.

“Customers who've followed mybusiness from the beginning are com-ing to me with commissions for spe-cial birthdays or a family heirloom.”

With the help of a network offriends, or elves as she calls them, shesources abandoned furniture from

around the country. Working in finecottons, silks and chenille, shethen restores them with hand-woven new finishes.

Angie said she hopedher experience wouldinspire other people tofollow their businessd re a m s.

“My message toanyone with anidea for a businessis to get on with it,but realistically,”she said.

“Set manage-able goals and talkto everyone youcan about it. Accessas much support asyou can, and there reallyis a lot of help out there.

“The craft sector alone is worth

millions of pounds in the creativeindustries economy and pro-

grammes such as Hothouse,organised by the CraftsCouncil, are an invaluableresource for new businesseslike mine.

“Through it I completelyrestructured my five-yearbusiness plan and feel con-fident that my business willfl o u r i s h . ”

She added: “It also taughtme that even though I'm a soletrader, my business will not

progress without the inputand support of fellowmakers and experienced

business mentors, which weare lucky to have plenty of in

Bristol.“And finally, you need good

old-fashioned hard graft!”

THE Bristol office of accountancyand tax specialists Moore Stephenshas warned suppliers of digital ser-vices about impending changes toVAT rules in the EU.

Any business which providesbroadcasting or electronic services toEU consumers will be affected by thechanges, which come into effect fromJanuary 1, 2015.

Services affected include TV andradio broadcasting, websites andwebsite hosting, downloaded soft-ware, e-books, apps, electronic gamesand music and film downloads.

Suppliers will be liable to accountfor VAT in each EU member statewhere a customer consumes the ser-vice, even if they are not currentlyregistered for VAT in the UK becausethey fall below the registrationthreshold. Affected company ownersnot preparing for the changes by re-gistering for a new system set up by

HMRC risk major inconvenience andloss of valuable business time.

Evading VAT payments is a crim-inal offence and, in the worst casescenario, business owners entering acountry where tax is due could facedemands for payment or even ar-re s t .

Mark Chesham, p i c t u re d , directorof indirect tax services based at theMoore Stephens office in RedcliffeStreet, said: “An example is a UKsupplier who is selling an e-book to aconsumer in France.

“From January next year, they willbe liable to account for French VAT( T VA ) .

2 At the moment, VAT is accountedfor in the country of the supplier and,as a result, many suppliers of elec-tronic service have based themselvesin countries like Luxembourg whichhave low VAT rates. These changesare designed to level the playing

field.”Normally the changes would mean

the supplier has to register in everycountry in which they sell the ser-vices. But in the UK, HMRC has in-troduced a Mini One Stop Shop(MOSS), which lets businesses ac-count for all non-UK VAT on a singlereturn and make a payment toH M RC .

“Businesses have to register forMOSS and registrations open in Oc-t o b e r.

Mr Chesham said: “Those caughtout by the changes will need to showthey can identify and show, with twopieces of evidence, their customerlocations and amend their billing sys-tems to ensure the correct rate of VATis applied.

“All this will need to be done in avery short space of time. I recom-mend getting some expert advice andsupport where required.”

Tax warning for suppliers of e-books and digital servicesTa x

� A SOCIAL enterprise whichruns eight leisure centres acrossSouth Gloucestershire hasreporting rising revenues for thepast year.

Circadian Trust grew revenueby 7.6 per cent to £10.22million. Costs also went up,however, due to investment infacilities, but the organisationsaid it was lower than forecasthowever would not reveal thef i g u re s .

Visitors to the centres were upby nearly 280,000 (12 per cent)to 2.5 million.

Chief executive MarkCrutchley said: “These resultsare one of the most successfulto date for the trust and aretestimony to the dedication ofour staff across all our sites.

“Key drivers have beensignificant investment in thefacilities, commencement of adigitisation programme tocontinuously enhance thecustomer experience and theintroduction of a social mediaprogramme to heighteninteraction with our customers.

“The figures speak forthemselves and shows that weare delivering what ourcustomers want at prices theyare willing to pay.”

The trust works with SouthGloucestershire Council andreinvests its profits back into thebusiness.

Since it was formed in 2005,the trust has spent £3 million onimproved leisure facilities.

Mark Chesham

Thesechanges aredesigned tolevel theplaying field.”

“

Visitor risehelps trust’srevenues grow

Le i s u reTex t i l es

Angie gets weavingin second chanceat dream careerGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Angie Parker

My message to anyonewith an idea for abusiness is to get on withit, but realistically.”

“

� THE improving economy hasbeen welcome for businesses butthe change in environment brings itsown challenges.

New research from BibbyFinancial Services says small andmedium sized businesses now saygrowing competition is now theirbiggest threat.

Official data showed the numberof new UK businesses reached afive-year peak in March this year,and those start-ups are puttingpressure on existing firms.

The SME Tracker, which surveysbusinesses with a turnover of up to£25 million and up to 250employees, saw 22 per cent ofbusinesses in the South West citingan increase in competition, whichhas come about as a result of theimproving economy, as their biggestw o r r y.

Meanwhile, 14 per cent believedthat red-tape is the biggestchallenge they face.

A shortage of skilled staff was aconcern for nine per cent, risingmaterial costs troubled 15 per centbut access to finance – long themajor bugbear – was top worry forjust five per cent.

Sharon Wiltshire, regionalmanaging director for Bibby, said:“This is certainly a different picturefrom just a few years ago and theSouth West has returned to itsposition as a breeding ground forinnovation and entrepreneurship.

“The economic downturn hasfostered a DIY ethos in the country,which is now paying dividends forthe economy through bothrecruitment and output.”

She added: “Technology isundoubtedly removing barriers toentry for a lot of industries, but it’svital that new-start and early stagebusinesses have the financial meansto invest for long-term success.”

Firms fear bigincrease inco m p et i t i o n

Eco n o my

� BUSINESS expansion is slowingdown across the region but stillhealthy, according to new figures.

The headline Lloyds BankCommercial Banking South WestBusiness Activity Index – aseasonally adjusted index thattracks changes in the combinedoutput of the region’s manufacturingand service sectors – posted at 57.8in July.

This was down from June’sfive-month high of 59.4, but stillsignalled a further expansion ofbusiness activity.

Although slightly below the UKaverage, the rate of increase wassharp. Growth of services activitycontinued to outpace manufacturingoutput, albeit to a lesser extent thanin June.

David Beaumont, Lloyds areadirector SME Banking in the SouthWest, said: “The South West privatesector economy remained in stronggrowth territory, with output, neworders and employment allincreasing at sharp rates.

“Although costs have risen at theirstrongest pace this year, input priceinflation remained historically weakand output prices rose onlym a rg i n a l l y. ”

The survey also found staffinglevels rose and backlog of orderscontinued to grow, but at a slowerpace.

G row t hBusiness expansionstill healthy despite dip

ONE of Bristol’s leading ac-countancy firms is callingon students to consider themerits of school leaver pro-grammes as an alternative

career path to university.Graham Randall, below, partner

and head of BDO LLP in VictoriaStreet, Bristol, believes such schemesare an attractive option for studentslooking for an alternative to full-timeuniversity education.

He said: “The traditional route intoprofessions such as accountancy isvia university. However, applying fora degree is no longer the straight-forward decision that it was oncew a s.

“With the recent increase in uni-versity tuition fees and the averagestudent leaving university with debtsof around £30,000, an increasing num-ber of talented A-level students arelooking at school leavers pro-g rammes.

“One of the best things about ourschool leavers programme is thattrainees earn as they learn, with thesecurity of a permanent salary thatrises as they progress through thes ch e m e.

“Those who enrol can become afully qualified accountant in fiveyears, which is a yearless than a graduategiven that the av-erage universitydegree laststhree years andit takes an ad-ditional threeyears to qualifyas a chartered ac-countant.”

BDO has 100school leavers enrolledon its a programme with 90 more setto join the firm after the summer.Applications will open for the nextacademic year on 1 September, with afurther 100 places available for the2015 intake.

Hallam Sullinge-Farrall, 20, is oneof the trainees currently enrolled onthe scheme in Bristol. He stronglyconsidered going to university butwas put off from applying by the risein tuition fees and lack of job securityfor graduates.

He said: “It was a steep learningcurve to go from full time educationstraight into the workplace but BDOprovides plenty of support and have

made me feel part of the team fromday one. I am progressing all the timeand being able to learn from industryexperts on a day-to-day basis is ex-tremely valuable. I would certainlyrecommend the programme to any-one looking to get into the account-ancy profession that is unsure aboutthe university route.”

Daisy Mackay, 22, is coming to-wards the end of her first year of theprogramme in Bristol and is based inthe firm’s audit division.

She said: “I was not convinced thatuniversity was necessarily the bestoption for me, particularly after the

rise in tuition fees, and so I exploredother options. I think the mainadvantage of the scheme isthat I am studying to gain awell recognised, profes-sional qualificationwhile putting into prac-tice on a daily basis theareas covered by thee x a m s. ”

Getting involved in ac-countancy isn’t just aboutnumber crunching. It canprovide ambitious studentswith a lifelong career in businessand commerce, with many travelling

the world dealing with internationalbusinesses. One of BDO’s previoustrainees is Ruby McGregor-SmithCBE, below, now chief executive ofBristol-born Mitie Group plc, whichhas revenues of more than £2 bil-lion.

One of the firm’s current risingstars is Tim Everitt, 24, who joinedBDO at the age of 18 on the firm’sschool leaver programme. He hasrisen through the ranks to become anaudit manager at the Bristol officeand was recently named in Account-ancy Age’s ‘35 under 35’, which show-cases the accountancy profession’sbest and brightest talents in the UK.

Tim’s client base includes largeinternational companies, includingSpecsavers and Agilent Technolo-gies, which sees him regularly travelthroughout Europe, the US andAsia.

On the school leaver pro-gramme, Tim said: “One of

the best things is that youinstantly have the ad-vantage of working withreal experts on realbusiness projects fromday one.

“I have learned a lotabout the accountancy

profession and businessas a whole and have been

lucky enough to travel aroundthe world at the same time – it was

definitely the right decision for me.”

C a re e rs

SCHOOL’S OUT... FOREVERTomorrow thousands ofteenagers get theirA-level results. Many willgo on to university butincreasingly businessesare offering other routesinto successful careers.

LAW firm Burges Salmon has openedaccess to the legal profession as partof its social mobility agenda with twoone-week work experience pro-grammes entitled Bright Sparks.

Launched last year, the programmeis aimed at students aged 15 to 17.

The firm, which has its headquar-ters at 1 Glass Wharf in the TempleQuarter Enterprise Zone, is commit-ted to providing work experienceplacements for students who wouldbe the first generation in their family

to attend university or who receivefree school meals, in order to givethem hands-on experience of workingin a large legal practice.

The Year 10 to Year 13 studentscome from a variety of schools andspend their respective weeks workingon presentations, participating inworkshops and learning about theday-to-day office life of a busy lawfir m.

Students are able to gain insightinto the role of a lawyer through

shadowing sessions and engage withother business functions such as IT,human resources, marketing andbusiness development, highlightingthe many different career paths thatare available.

The students also worked on agroup project all week, which con-sisted of providing 10 recommend-ations on how to engage withBristol’s diverse communities andmake Bristol's year as EuropeanGreen Capital informative and en-

gaging for young people. The weekculminated with the studentspresenting their group project in twoteams in front of a panel and anaudience comprising parents, schoolwork experience coordinators andhead teachers.

Corporate responsibility managerCatherine Correia said: “Our aimwas to put together a full and en-gaging week to ensure each studentgained maximum understanding andlearning from the programme.”

Law firm helping Bright Sparks gain insight

� School leavertrainees HallamSullinge-Farrall,20, and DaisyMackay, 22

DEMAND FOR ALTERNATIVE ROUTE

� A PROFESSIONAL training organisation says demand for routes tocareers that avoid university are growing.

BPP Professional Education runs an annual three-day course at itsGrove Avenue office to give students who are unsure about following thetraditional university path an insight into the professional apprenticeshipsthat are on offer in law, marketing, accountancy, financial services andbusiness.

Managing director Jonathan Snary said: “We received interest fromstudents across the city who were eager to attend the course and receivea greater level of insight into the range of professional apprenticeships thatare available.

“Over the past few years we have seen an increase in the range of firmsoffering professional apprenticeships to college and school leavers whohave chosen to enter into a professional career, but have decideduniversity is not the right option for them.”

The event included representatives from BT, Deloitte and Burges Salmonoffering students in-depth careers guidance.

Sign uphere forbusinessnews directto yourinboxevery day

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8 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

LOGISTICS is one of thosewords which have manymeanings and applications,in many different spheres.Often used in a military con-

text, it can involve the movement,procurement and maintenance ofpersonnel and kit. More contempor-ary usage tends to relate to the or-ganisation and engineering ofcomplex operations – people systemsrather than machine systems.

In a business context, it broadlymeans having correct numbers of de-sired items, delivered on time to theright place and people, at the prom-ised price and in the required con-dition.

T hat’s the broad definition, whichclearly opens up a whole spectrum ofplaces in which the term logistics canbe applied – from major businessoperations to a one-man-band order-ing something online and expectingto arrive the next working day.

What is generally true is that, in anincreasingly competitive global eco-nomy, physical and digital connectiv-ity is a key factor in achieving asustainable position in whichevermarketplace you operate.

In the South West, the logisticssector employs 130,400 people across15,705 companies. Including thosewho work in logistics occupations inother sectors, the size of the sector is183,000 people which equates to sevenper cent of the region’s workforce.

And the figure is on the rise. Thenet number of people employed in theSouth West’s logistics sector is ex-pected to rise by 14 per cent between2007 and 2017, with figures suggestingthat more than 80,000 extra workerswill be required by 2017.

The significance of the sector interms of people employed in it showsthat the ability to deliver goods andservices wherever they are needed isabsolutely fundamental to businessesof all sizes and small and mediumsized businesses are by no meansi m m u n e.

One example is Flying Penguin En-terprises (FPE), a specialist distrib-utor which supplies a wide range ofspare parts, consumables, equip-ment, tools and accessories to servicethe needs of operators all over the UKand beyond.

FPE is based in Bedminster withclients including police, fire and am-bulance services, local authorities,MoD, utilities and major corporateclients as well as UN and exportc u s t o m e r s.

Managing director of FPE, NickWilton, said: “For us logistics infra-structure is fundamental to our busi-ness. It is a self-evident truth thathaving the spare part the client needsis useless without the capability todeliver that part, on time, intact,where it is needed. We aim to achievelevels of indestructible reliabilitythat Kalashnikov would have beenproud of.”

Given the nationwide and also in-ternational nature of what MrWi l t o n’s company does, Flying Pen-guin has its own fleet of deliveryvehicles for local deliveries in theBristol area, as well as leveraging itssupplier partners’ logistics arrange-ments and also making extensive useof a range of logistics specialistswhether for routine deliveries acrossthe UK or for more challenging taskssuch as delivering to UN missions inDarfur, Kabul, Mogadishu or else-wh e re.

The international aspect of FlyingPe n g u i n’s business is one whichmany other businesses in the citymay be increasingly coming across –perhaps not to the same extent but atleast involving the movement ofgoods to customers overseas.

International shipping or freighttherefore is something which is grow-ing in relevance for many SMEs asthe international market opens up tothem.

Ben Young is the deputy generalmanager for San Giant Express, aTaiwan-based logistics company

SME, your contribution alone willever make an enormous difference tothe fortunes of one of the giant lo-gistics companies.

“But if you’re working withsomeone who is of the same size asyou, and you know that they need youas much as you need them, then it’s adifferent relationship.

“Of course, the big corporationshave economies of scale, whichmeans that they can drive very lowprices out of the companies thatthey’re working with.

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Logistics is a major industryin itself, which impacts com-panies in many sectors onmany levels. Rupert Janischlooks at the related issuesaffecting Bristol businesses

Focus: Logistics and distribution

IT’S ALL A B O U T DELIVERING GOODS – AT T H E RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE

“However, relationships also go avery long way. My company would bea good example of the fact that therelationships that you build over theyears can get you the best prices andpriority with the carriers you workwith. For example, the relationshipswe have with the major airlines inTaiwan are so good because they’rebuilt on real friendships that havebeen made over decades; we can pullin favours on occasion and we’ll dothem for them.

“Sometimes it will come down to

who gets priority on a shipment –again, it’s down to relationships.”

Mr Young also believes that theshipping industry has an opportun-ity and a responsibility to effect apositive impact on climate change,citing examples of the streamliningof technology and reduction of car-bon emissions for both sea andair-going craft.

He said: “Whatever happens, it isclear that transport is going to have tochange dramatically in the followingdecades and the freight forwarding

industry must be at the forefront ofthis change, innovating and support-ing these necessary transforma-t i o n s. ”

Of course many businesses have amore immediate focus, sourcing sup-plies and distributing their ownwares within the Bristol area, or theSouth West. For many of these, trans-port is a major bone of logisticalcontention, with the age-old problemof congestion on Bristol’s roads rear-ing its head again.

We often hear figures of how our

city’s transport woes cost our eco-nomy many millions each year.

Leaving lost many hours aside for amoment, the inability to delivergoods and complete transactions isbusiness lost in its most basic form.

In Brislington, Sanjeev Bakrania ismanaging director of Safran OfficeSupplies, which is about to take on itssixth member of staff and has been upand running since 2007.

He said: “Traffic is definitely anissue – it often creates a lot of prob-lems for us, especially on a Fridaywhen there always seems to be aproblem for one reason or another. Ifsomething goes wrong the wholeplace gets gridlocked.

“We deal in the Greater Bristol areabut a lot of our deliveries are made inthe city centre.

“There have been instances whenwe have had to postpone deliveriesuntil the following day because oftraffic. Usually it’s OK but there canbe occasions when it causes a majordif ficulty.”

Safran Office Supplies uses just theone van, with Mr Bakrania opting tokeep deliveries in-house rather thanoutsourcing. “We don’t believe that acourier driver would be able to offerall the other facets of the deliveryservice that we provide.

“By having it in-house, we have adriver who is committed to providingthe level of service of a small busi-n e s s.

“Where we differentiate ourselvesfrom the larger office supply com-panies is that we provide a high levelof service – friendly and more per-sonal. There are a lot of companiesout there for whom price is not theonly issue. There are maintenancecosts but we feel that the benefitsoutweigh the costs.”

Traffic issues are something thatMr Wilton would like to see ad-dressed, not only as a businessmanbut also as the SME representative onthe board of the West of EnglandLocal Enterprise Partnership.

He said: “On occasion our driversface gridlock as the sheer weight oftraffic reduces average speeds towalking pace. The breakdown in con-nectivity is becoming a serious con-straint to businesses reliant on themovement of physical goods, in thesame way that broadband speeds re-strict the growth of digital busi-n e s s e s.

“The solutions are complex. Wehave a real interest, as a business, inour own mayor’s efforts to reducetraffic density in Bristol and we seesimilar problems replicated acrossthe UK.

“We ’d like to see greater invest-ment by local, regional and centralgovernment to strengthen transportinfrastructure and to work togetheracross local authority boundaries todeliver a more coordinated approachto transport.

“We think better public transportalternatives are part of the solutionas less cars are used for short jour-neys, especially in Bristol and otherurban centres, the easier it is forthose that must drive to get wherethey need to quickly.

“We are also interested in usingelectric vehicles which commerciallyand environmentally we see as in-creasingly viable driven by tax in-c e n t ive s. ”

Nick Wilton

“Logistics infrastructureis fundamental to ourbusiness. It is aself-evident truth thathaving the spare part theclient needs is uselesswithout the capability todeliver that part, on time,intact, where it is needed.

� Shipping is growing in relevance for many SMEs, while air cargo remains akey part in the transportation of goods

� Ben Young, deputy general manager for SanGiant Express

� Nick Wilton, managing director of FlyingPenguin Enterprises

� Sanjeev Bakrania, managing director of SafranOffice Supplies

� A lot of freight is taken by road, but traffic congestion in the Bristol area poses problems

which arranges shipping by sea andair between Europe and Asia.

Ben, who has recently returned tohis Redland home from where he willrepresent the firm locally, said thatthe expected dominance, at the cost ofsmaller independents, of freight gi-ants such as DHL, DB Schenker andSwiss giant Kuehne + Nagel hadfailed to materialise recently, citingWorld Air Market Cargo Data whichreported at the end of 2013 that the top20 global forwarders showed nogrowth in air cargo volumes, whilesmaller forwarders had gained mar-ket share all over the world in thesame time period.

He said: “This may be because localforwarders can be leaner, more agileand highly specialised, whilst alsoproviding local knowledge and re-lationships that the multinationalsc a n’t offer.

“I think that lots of companies doactually like working with a smaller,friendlier logistics handler that theycan really get to know, especially ifthat company is itself an SME.

“Obviously, the big companies dooffer global coverage and many haveexcellent staff working for them, butit’s just a different feeling workingwith someone smaller.

“Working with a smaller independ-ent logistics company you can end upgrowing a relationship with them,whereby you really care about andsupport each others’ bu s i n e s s e s.

“In truth, there’s no way that, as an

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8 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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

LOGISTICS is one of thosewords which have manymeanings and applications,in many different spheres.Often used in a military con-

text, it can involve the movement,procurement and maintenance ofpersonnel and kit. More contempor-ary usage tends to relate to the or-ganisation and engineering ofcomplex operations – people systemsrather than machine systems.

In a business context, it broadlymeans having correct numbers of de-sired items, delivered on time to theright place and people, at the prom-ised price and in the required con-dition.

T hat’s the broad definition, whichclearly opens up a whole spectrum ofplaces in which the term logistics canbe applied – from major businessoperations to a one-man-band order-ing something online and expectingto arrive the next working day.

What is generally true is that, in anincreasingly competitive global eco-nomy, physical and digital connectiv-ity is a key factor in achieving asustainable position in whichevermarketplace you operate.

In the South West, the logisticssector employs 130,400 people across15,705 companies. Including thosewho work in logistics occupations inother sectors, the size of the sector is183,000 people which equates to sevenper cent of the region’s workforce.

And the figure is on the rise. Thenet number of people employed in theSouth West’s logistics sector is ex-pected to rise by 14 per cent between2007 and 2017, with figures suggestingthat more than 80,000 extra workerswill be required by 2017.

The significance of the sector interms of people employed in it showsthat the ability to deliver goods andservices wherever they are needed isabsolutely fundamental to businessesof all sizes and small and mediumsized businesses are by no meansi m m u n e.

One example is Flying Penguin En-terprises (FPE), a specialist distrib-utor which supplies a wide range ofspare parts, consumables, equip-ment, tools and accessories to servicethe needs of operators all over the UKand beyond.

FPE is based in Bedminster withclients including police, fire and am-bulance services, local authorities,MoD, utilities and major corporateclients as well as UN and exportc u s t o m e r s.

Managing director of FPE, NickWilton, said: “For us logistics infra-structure is fundamental to our busi-ness. It is a self-evident truth thathaving the spare part the client needsis useless without the capability todeliver that part, on time, intact,where it is needed. We aim to achievelevels of indestructible reliabilitythat Kalashnikov would have beenproud of.”

Given the nationwide and also in-ternational nature of what MrWi l t o n’s company does, Flying Pen-guin has its own fleet of deliveryvehicles for local deliveries in theBristol area, as well as leveraging itssupplier partners’ logistics arrange-ments and also making extensive useof a range of logistics specialistswhether for routine deliveries acrossthe UK or for more challenging taskssuch as delivering to UN missions inDarfur, Kabul, Mogadishu or else-wh e re.

The international aspect of FlyingPe n g u i n’s business is one whichmany other businesses in the citymay be increasingly coming across –perhaps not to the same extent but atleast involving the movement ofgoods to customers overseas.

International shipping or freighttherefore is something which is grow-ing in relevance for many SMEs asthe international market opens up tothem.

Ben Young is the deputy generalmanager for San Giant Express, aTaiwan-based logistics company

SME, your contribution alone willever make an enormous difference tothe fortunes of one of the giant lo-gistics companies.

“But if you’re working withsomeone who is of the same size asyou, and you know that they need youas much as you need them, then it’s adifferent relationship.

“Of course, the big corporationshave economies of scale, whichmeans that they can drive very lowprices out of the companies thatthey’re working with.

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

Logistics is a major industryin itself, which impacts com-panies in many sectors onmany levels. Rupert Janischlooks at the related issuesaffecting Bristol businesses

Focus: Logistics and distribution

IT’S ALL A B O U T DELIVERING GOODS – AT T H E RIGHT TIME, RIGHT PLACE

“However, relationships also go avery long way. My company would bea good example of the fact that therelationships that you build over theyears can get you the best prices andpriority with the carriers you workwith. For example, the relationshipswe have with the major airlines inTaiwan are so good because they’rebuilt on real friendships that havebeen made over decades; we can pullin favours on occasion and we’ll dothem for them.

“Sometimes it will come down to

who gets priority on a shipment –again, it’s down to relationships.”

Mr Young also believes that theshipping industry has an opportun-ity and a responsibility to effect apositive impact on climate change,citing examples of the streamliningof technology and reduction of car-bon emissions for both sea andair-going craft.

He said: “Whatever happens, it isclear that transport is going to have tochange dramatically in the followingdecades and the freight forwarding

industry must be at the forefront ofthis change, innovating and support-ing these necessary transforma-t i o n s. ”

Of course many businesses have amore immediate focus, sourcing sup-plies and distributing their ownwares within the Bristol area, or theSouth West. For many of these, trans-port is a major bone of logisticalcontention, with the age-old problemof congestion on Bristol’s roads rear-ing its head again.

We often hear figures of how our

city’s transport woes cost our eco-nomy many millions each year.

Leaving lost many hours aside for amoment, the inability to delivergoods and complete transactions isbusiness lost in its most basic form.

In Brislington, Sanjeev Bakrania ismanaging director of Safran OfficeSupplies, which is about to take on itssixth member of staff and has been upand running since 2007.

He said: “Traffic is definitely anissue – it often creates a lot of prob-lems for us, especially on a Fridaywhen there always seems to be aproblem for one reason or another. Ifsomething goes wrong the wholeplace gets gridlocked.

“We deal in the Greater Bristol areabut a lot of our deliveries are made inthe city centre.

“There have been instances whenwe have had to postpone deliveriesuntil the following day because oftraffic. Usually it’s OK but there canbe occasions when it causes a majordif ficulty.”

Safran Office Supplies uses just theone van, with Mr Bakrania opting tokeep deliveries in-house rather thanoutsourcing. “We don’t believe that acourier driver would be able to offerall the other facets of the deliveryservice that we provide.

“By having it in-house, we have adriver who is committed to providingthe level of service of a small busi-n e s s.

“Where we differentiate ourselvesfrom the larger office supply com-panies is that we provide a high levelof service – friendly and more per-sonal. There are a lot of companiesout there for whom price is not theonly issue. There are maintenancecosts but we feel that the benefitsoutweigh the costs.”

Traffic issues are something thatMr Wilton would like to see ad-dressed, not only as a businessmanbut also as the SME representative onthe board of the West of EnglandLocal Enterprise Partnership.

He said: “On occasion our driversface gridlock as the sheer weight oftraffic reduces average speeds towalking pace. The breakdown in con-nectivity is becoming a serious con-straint to businesses reliant on themovement of physical goods, in thesame way that broadband speeds re-strict the growth of digital busi-n e s s e s.

“The solutions are complex. Wehave a real interest, as a business, inour own mayor’s efforts to reducetraffic density in Bristol and we seesimilar problems replicated acrossthe UK.

“We ’d like to see greater invest-ment by local, regional and centralgovernment to strengthen transportinfrastructure and to work togetheracross local authority boundaries todeliver a more coordinated approachto transport.

“We think better public transportalternatives are part of the solutionas less cars are used for short jour-neys, especially in Bristol and otherurban centres, the easier it is forthose that must drive to get wherethey need to quickly.

“We are also interested in usingelectric vehicles which commerciallyand environmentally we see as in-creasingly viable driven by tax in-c e n t ive s. ”

Nick Wilton

“Logistics infrastructureis fundamental to ourbusiness. It is aself-evident truth thathaving the spare part theclient needs is uselesswithout the capability todeliver that part, on time,intact, where it is needed.

� Shipping is growing in relevance for many SMEs, while air cargo remains akey part in the transportation of goods

� Ben Young, deputy general manager for SanGiant Express

� Nick Wilton, managing director of FlyingPenguin Enterprises

� Sanjeev Bakrania, managing director of SafranOffice Supplies

� A lot of freight is taken by road, but traffic congestion in the Bristol area poses problems

which arranges shipping by sea andair between Europe and Asia.

Ben, who has recently returned tohis Redland home from where he willrepresent the firm locally, said thatthe expected dominance, at the cost ofsmaller independents, of freight gi-ants such as DHL, DB Schenker andSwiss giant Kuehne + Nagel hadfailed to materialise recently, citingWorld Air Market Cargo Data whichreported at the end of 2013 that the top20 global forwarders showed nogrowth in air cargo volumes, whilesmaller forwarders had gained mar-ket share all over the world in thesame time period.

He said: “This may be because localforwarders can be leaner, more agileand highly specialised, whilst alsoproviding local knowledge and re-lationships that the multinationalsc a n’t offer.

“I think that lots of companies doactually like working with a smaller,friendlier logistics handler that theycan really get to know, especially ifthat company is itself an SME.

“Obviously, the big companies dooffer global coverage and many haveexcellent staff working for them, butit’s just a different feeling workingwith someone smaller.

“Working with a smaller independ-ent logistics company you can end upgrowing a relationship with them,whereby you really care about andsupport each others’ bu s i n e s s e s.

“In truth, there’s no way that, as an

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10 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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 Moon Consulting summer party In pictures Networking for freelancers with little ones

In pictures The Set.Social networking evening

Business diary

Email your business events togavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk.Events are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Bristol Connected: The BristolPost’s popular businessnetworking event takes place atthe Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWay, from 6pm-8pm tomorrow(August 14). A chance for SMEsto network as well as meet thePost team. John Hirst fromDestination 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 iod.southwest@iod.com.

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 iod.southwest@iod.com.

Access to Growth Capital:The London Stock Exchangeand Capita Asset Services areorganising this event to helpfast-growing SMEs understandhow they can get money togrow. From 2.30-6pm onSeptember 9 at Burges Salmonoffices, 1 Glass Wharf. Registerat www.lseg.com/r egister1000.

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Heldat the University of BristolBotanic Gardens with MartinBigg from the Bristol GreenCapital Partnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkw w w. i o d . c o m / s w e s t e v e n t s formore information and to book.

Triodos annual meeting: Achance for customers,investors and anyone who’sinterested in a moreprogressive approach tobanking to find out more aboutthe bank. The event will explorethe real cost of food, energy,society and finance. Speakersfrom Triodos Bank will be joinedby Patrick Holden, director ofthe Sustainable Food Trust,Kids Company founder CamilaBatmanghelidjh and JeremyLeggett, chairman ofSolarcentury. Saturday,September 12 at Brunel’s OldStation, The Passenger Shed,Temple Meads, 10am to 4pm.

Introduction to BloodhoundSCC: See the latestdevelopments behind thesupersonic car and learn abouttax relief for research anddevelopment at this eventorganised by ChantreyVellacott. It takes place at theBloodbound Technical Centrein Avonmouth from 4.30pm to7pm on September 17.

The Bristol BusinessExhibition: The exhibitionattracts business owners anddecision makers from acrossthe region and is a great way tosource suppliers and generatenew business. It takes place atAshton Gate ConferenceCentre from 10am to 3pm onTuesday, September 30.

A FREELANCE broadcaster started anetworking group where mums canbring their children after findingshe felt isolated when becoming aworking mum.

Faye Dicker, who blogs as Freeland Mum,found that after having her first daughterJemima, now two, she was still doing most ofthe childcare but trying to run a business atthe same time.

She said: “I often felt on the margins andfelt I was missing the water cooler-momentsa workplace gave me.

“Without a community for freelancemums, I decided to create one, through pod-casts – showcasing and supporting talentedmums in business.

“As a broadcaster by trade, I was nostranger to the microphone, so took to thestreets of Bristol with a mic in one hand andpushchair in the other, interviewingwo m e n .

“It was an instant hit. So many women likeme who were also juggling the work/lifebalance and running a business around fam-i ly. ”

Networking become a byproduct of herwebsite, giving people a chance to meetface-to-face, do business and bring their chil-d re n .

Faye said: “As a freelancer with children,networking becomes impossible to shoehorninto your day, so I realised something needed

to be created that allowed parents to networkand bring their children.”

Networking for freelancers with little oneslaunched in June and the second event tookplace recently with a walk around the Har-bourside, stopping to hear a speaker atAt-Bristol.

The next meeting is in September – go tow w w. f re e l a n c e m u m . c o. u k for more details.

The event is sponsored by Relish and See-ingSticks, who provide flapjacks for everyone and entertainment packs for the chil-dren, to keep them engaged in the walk.

Faye said: “It’s a great way of combiningbusiness, fresh air & spending time withyour little ones.”

Mum’s the wordChance to networkand bring your totsGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

MORE than 100 businessleaders from across theregion joined executiverecruitment businessMoon Consulting for an

evening of fun, fast cars and firemenat its 2014 summer party.

Guests enjoyed the opportunity toexamine close up some elite Bentleycars courtesy of HR Owen Chelten-ham, along with some classic AustinHealey racers.

A local crew of firefighters fromAvon Fire and Rescue were in at-tendance to talk about their work andreceive a cheque from Moon Con-sulting for the Firefighters’ C h a r i t y.

The Lord Mayor of Bristol Coun-cillor Alastair Watson and LadyMayoress Sarah Watson were specialguests for the evening, taking theopportunity to discuss the pressingbusiness issues facing Bristol withsome of its leading directors.

Moon Consulting director VanessaMoon said: “It has been a fantasticyear so far, with a big increase inrecruitment volume across a varietyof sectors, reflecting the improvingeconomy in the region.

“A big reason for our success is thelong-term relationships that we buildwith our clients, so this event is agreat way to keep connected.”

Guests over the moon with party

EACH month, Bristol’s creat-ive industries come togetherfor an evening of informalnetworking at one of thecity’s newest membership

cl u b s.The Set.Social, held on the first

Wednesday of every month, has beendesigned to facilitate collaborativeworking among like-minded creativeprofessionals, many of whom workfrom home as freelancers.

There are now hundreds of creativebusinesses thriving in this ambitiousand innovative city and the Set.Socialgives people the chance to network,share skills and ideas as well as cre-ating a central hub for thought pro-cesses to evolve and become reality.

The events are held at The Set, acontemporary hot-desking space atthe recently refurbished Bath Road

S t u d i o s.For those who work at home and

know how distracting it can be, TheSet removes the isolation they faceand eliminates the risk of becomingdemotivated through lack of ideasand inspiration.

Forging links between Bristol’s

� Peaches Golding OBE, Vanessa Moon, DirectorMoon Consulting Limited � Tom McCarthy, Peter Palframan and Simon Quinn

� Left, from left, JamieGibbard, Tom Creese,Peaches Golding OBE,Steve Nutt, Lord MayorAlastair Watson,Vanessa Moon, BrianFrost, Lady MayoressSarah Watson, GemmaWebber, Simon Quinn,Samantha Bunn; right,Simon Quinn, Moonconsulting Limited

Social occasion helpsspark creative ideas

� From left, Lidia Drzewiecka(Women Outside the Box), CharlieBradley (Women Outside the Box)and Jade Wicks (Worthers CreativeMedia Solutions)

� From left, Louise Bolton and JoniFarthing (Women Outside the Box)

� From left, Owen Shirley, Asif Khan( C u l t u re K h a n )

� From left, Matthew Cooper (Connect.IB), Jon Craig (Jon CraigPhotography), Pete Harris (Connect.IB) and Andre Regini (KingbridgePhotographic)

� From left,AbigaelChesan,BenjaminHarding (2 BeeVideos) andSuzan Uzel(Spirit PR)

creators and innovators has quicklybecome the ethos of the Set.Social,which will take place again on Wed-nesday, September 3 from 6pm.

The organisers say a number of keypartnerships have been made sincethe event began earlier this year, withmany more on the cards.

� From left, Ian Mackinnon, Mark Curtis, Lord Mayor Alastair Watson, Vanessa Moon, Jamie Gibbard, Tom Creese,Lady Mayoress Sarah Watson and Peaches Golding OBE � From left, Sarah Jane Freni, Rebecca Whitehead, Helen Farmer, Lotte Lane, Victoria Jackson, Faye Dicker, Gail

Gibson, Julie Cox and Sarah Cook with their children Pictures: Nicola Proctor � Rebecca Whitehead, Faye Dicker and Pegah Esmali

� From left, Victoria Jackson,Teddy Jackson, Evie Jackson, Faye Dicker, Suki Edworthy, Gail Gibson and JoshuaWhitehead� Faye Dicker, Suki Edworthy, and speaker Gail Gibson

� Luke Cox and mum Julie Cox

Part of the Local World group

AN Event Services provide audio visual equipmentand support for all your event needs. We offer aprofessional and experienced approach withpre-show, on-site and post-show technical support.

Staging your event doesn’thave to cost a fortune...

Whatever the event, we’ve got it covered

Call us on: 01684 575832Email us at: enquiries@aneventservices.co.ukVisit us at : www.aneventservices.co.uk

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10 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, August 13, 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 Moon Consulting summer party In pictures Networking for freelancers with little ones

In pictures The Set.Social networking evening

Business diary

Email your business events togavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk.Events are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Bristol Connected: The BristolPost’s popular businessnetworking event takes place atthe Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWay, from 6pm-8pm tomorrow(August 14). A chance for SMEsto network as well as meet thePost team. John Hirst fromDestination 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 iod.southwest@iod.com.

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 iod.southwest@iod.com.

Access to Growth Capital:The London Stock Exchangeand Capita Asset Services areorganising this event to helpfast-growing SMEs understandhow they can get money togrow. From 2.30-6pm onSeptember 9 at Burges Salmonoffices, 1 Glass Wharf. Registerat www.lseg.com/r egister1000.

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Heldat the University of BristolBotanic Gardens with MartinBigg from the Bristol GreenCapital Partnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkw w w. i o d . c o m / s w e s t e v e n t s formore information and to book.

Triodos annual meeting: Achance for customers,investors and anyone who’sinterested in a moreprogressive approach tobanking to find out more aboutthe bank. The event will explorethe real cost of food, energy,society and finance. Speakersfrom Triodos Bank will be joinedby Patrick Holden, director ofthe Sustainable Food Trust,Kids Company founder CamilaBatmanghelidjh and JeremyLeggett, chairman ofSolarcentury. Saturday,September 12 at Brunel’s OldStation, The Passenger Shed,Temple Meads, 10am to 4pm.

Introduction to BloodhoundSCC: See the latestdevelopments behind thesupersonic car and learn abouttax relief for research anddevelopment at this eventorganised by ChantreyVellacott. It takes place at theBloodbound Technical Centrein Avonmouth from 4.30pm to7pm on September 17.

The Bristol BusinessExhibition: The exhibitionattracts business owners anddecision makers from acrossthe region and is a great way tosource suppliers and generatenew business. It takes place atAshton Gate ConferenceCentre from 10am to 3pm onTuesday, September 30.

A FREELANCE broadcaster started anetworking group where mums canbring their children after findingshe felt isolated when becoming aworking mum.

Faye Dicker, who blogs as Freeland Mum,found that after having her first daughterJemima, now two, she was still doing most ofthe childcare but trying to run a business atthe same time.

She said: “I often felt on the margins andfelt I was missing the water cooler-momentsa workplace gave me.

“Without a community for freelancemums, I decided to create one, through pod-casts – showcasing and supporting talentedmums in business.

“As a broadcaster by trade, I was nostranger to the microphone, so took to thestreets of Bristol with a mic in one hand andpushchair in the other, interviewingwo m e n .

“It was an instant hit. So many women likeme who were also juggling the work/lifebalance and running a business around fam-i ly. ”

Networking become a byproduct of herwebsite, giving people a chance to meetface-to-face, do business and bring their chil-d re n .

Faye said: “As a freelancer with children,networking becomes impossible to shoehorninto your day, so I realised something needed

to be created that allowed parents to networkand bring their children.”

Networking for freelancers with little oneslaunched in June and the second event tookplace recently with a walk around the Har-bourside, stopping to hear a speaker atAt-Bristol.

The next meeting is in September – go tow w w. f re e l a n c e m u m . c o. u k for more details.

The event is sponsored by Relish and See-ingSticks, who provide flapjacks for everyone and entertainment packs for the chil-dren, to keep them engaged in the walk.

Faye said: “It’s a great way of combiningbusiness, fresh air & spending time withyour little ones.”

Mum’s the wordChance to networkand bring your totsGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

MORE than 100 businessleaders from across theregion joined executiverecruitment businessMoon Consulting for an

evening of fun, fast cars and firemenat its 2014 summer party.

Guests enjoyed the opportunity toexamine close up some elite Bentleycars courtesy of HR Owen Chelten-ham, along with some classic AustinHealey racers.

A local crew of firefighters fromAvon Fire and Rescue were in at-tendance to talk about their work andreceive a cheque from Moon Con-sulting for the Firefighters’ C h a r i t y.

The Lord Mayor of Bristol Coun-cillor Alastair Watson and LadyMayoress Sarah Watson were specialguests for the evening, taking theopportunity to discuss the pressingbusiness issues facing Bristol withsome of its leading directors.

Moon Consulting director VanessaMoon said: “It has been a fantasticyear so far, with a big increase inrecruitment volume across a varietyof sectors, reflecting the improvingeconomy in the region.

“A big reason for our success is thelong-term relationships that we buildwith our clients, so this event is agreat way to keep connected.”

Guests over the moon with party

EACH month, Bristol’s creat-ive industries come togetherfor an evening of informalnetworking at one of thecity’s newest membership

cl u b s.The Set.Social, held on the first

Wednesday of every month, has beendesigned to facilitate collaborativeworking among like-minded creativeprofessionals, many of whom workfrom home as freelancers.

There are now hundreds of creativebusinesses thriving in this ambitiousand innovative city and the Set.Socialgives people the chance to network,share skills and ideas as well as cre-ating a central hub for thought pro-cesses to evolve and become reality.

The events are held at The Set, acontemporary hot-desking space atthe recently refurbished Bath Road

S t u d i o s.For those who work at home and

know how distracting it can be, TheSet removes the isolation they faceand eliminates the risk of becomingdemotivated through lack of ideasand inspiration.

Forging links between Bristol’s

� Peaches Golding OBE, Vanessa Moon, DirectorMoon Consulting Limited � Tom McCarthy, Peter Palframan and Simon Quinn

� Left, from left, JamieGibbard, Tom Creese,Peaches Golding OBE,Steve Nutt, Lord MayorAlastair Watson,Vanessa Moon, BrianFrost, Lady MayoressSarah Watson, GemmaWebber, Simon Quinn,Samantha Bunn; right,Simon Quinn, Moonconsulting Limited

Social occasion helpsspark creative ideas

� From left, Lidia Drzewiecka(Women Outside the Box), CharlieBradley (Women Outside the Box)and Jade Wicks (Worthers CreativeMedia Solutions)

� From left, Louise Bolton and JoniFarthing (Women Outside the Box)

� From left, Owen Shirley, Asif Khan( C u l t u re K h a n )

� From left, Matthew Cooper (Connect.IB), Jon Craig (Jon CraigPhotography), Pete Harris (Connect.IB) and Andre Regini (KingbridgePhotographic)

� From left,AbigaelChesan,BenjaminHarding (2 BeeVideos) andSuzan Uzel(Spirit PR)

creators and innovators has quicklybecome the ethos of the Set.Social,which will take place again on Wed-nesday, September 3 from 6pm.

The organisers say a number of keypartnerships have been made sincethe event began earlier this year, withmany more on the cards.

� From left, Ian Mackinnon, Mark Curtis, Lord Mayor Alastair Watson, Vanessa Moon, Jamie Gibbard, Tom Creese,Lady Mayoress Sarah Watson and Peaches Golding OBE � From left, Sarah Jane Freni, Rebecca Whitehead, Helen Farmer, Lotte Lane, Victoria Jackson, Faye Dicker, Gail

Gibson, Julie Cox and Sarah Cook with their children Pictures: Nicola Proctor � Rebecca Whitehead, Faye Dicker and Pegah Esmali

� From left, Victoria Jackson,Teddy Jackson, Evie Jackson, Faye Dicker, Suki Edworthy, Gail Gibson and JoshuaWhitehead� Faye Dicker, Suki Edworthy, and speaker Gail Gibson

� Luke Cox and mum Julie Cox

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12 We d n e s d a y, August 13, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The back page

Pe o p l e� Solicitors at commercial law firmThrings have receivedrecognition for theirknowledge of thecommercial propertyand constructionsectors. Partner EricLivingston hasbecome vice chairmanof the Great Westernbranch of the Forum forthe Built Environment,while fellow constructionlaw specialist Natalia Sokolov(both below) has been elected asvice chair of the Association ofWomen in Property in the SouthWest. Natalia said: “Women accountfor just 15 per cent of the propertyand construction industry workforcein the UK. As an organisation, weare focused on redressing this

With investment, our smart city can really fly

I WAS probably the only persontrying to remain grounded at lastwe e ke n d ’s Bristol InternationalBalloon Fiesta, where I wasspeaking as President of the Bris-

tol Property Agents’ A s s o c i at i o n .The topic was smart cities – and

despite the Bristolian tendency forself-deprecation, we’re actually doingpretty well on the road to smart suc-c e s s.

With our role as European GreenCapital 2015 just around the corner,Bristol’s place on the map is beingcemented.

According to a much quoted doc-ument on the subject, the definition ofa smart city is about more than con-nectivity and technology – althoughthey play a key part. It’s about havinga smart economy.

T hat’s innovation, enterprise, pro-ductivity and a flexible labour market– attributes that Bristol is becomingincreasingly known for.

It’s also about smart people. This iswhere Bristol really shines in termsof a highly skilled workforce, the pro-vision of excellent universities withgrowing international recognitionand a commitment to creativity –something that can be seen at everylevel from Bristol’s worldwide repu-tation for street art to our thrivingcreative economy.

The definition goes on to includesmart governance, the need for trans-parency and clear decision making.Mayor George Ferguson has un-doubtedly ruffled feathers, but fewcan deny his decisiveness and com-mitment to public participation.

Also on the hit list for a smart city is

� JLL launched its new balloon at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta,where the firm’s Jeremy Richards spoke about how Bristol could really fly asa smart city... with the right investment and leadership

The op-ed column

smart environment. As one would ex-pect of an upcoming Green Capital,we are someway ahead here – in pol-lution control, environmental protec-tion, recycling and green energy

Your digest of the week in business

p ro d u c t i o n .However there are a couple of areas

where this Balloon Fiesta present-ation rapidly bumped down toEar th.

A key criterion of a smart city issmart mobility. This includes local,national and international accessib-ility, the availability of ICT infra-structure and the provision ofsustainable, innovative and safetransport systems.

Even I can’t claim we’re competingwith the likes of Copenhagen or evenManchester on this score – ye t .

However there are steps in the rightdirection, with rail electrification,public transport modernisation andsubstantial investment in superfastb ro a d b a n d .

It’s also about smart living, whichincludes social, sporting and culturall i f e.

An arena, now happily back in pro-spect, is just a stepping stone. Ar-guably the only truly internationalevent Bristol currently hosts is theBalloon Fiesta.

In order to meet our stated goal ofbecoming a top European city by 2020– and ‘smar t’ by definition – we mustinvest in the facilities and infrastruc-ture to support large-scale events.

We only need to look at the effect ofthe Commonwealth Games in Glas-gow, a comparable city in economicand certainly in property marketterms, to see how a city can reallyf l y.

balance by highlighting thenumerous benefits and opportunitiesthat a career in property can offer.”

� Commercial building andcost consultancy practiceCS2 has promoted MarkHumphries, left, take onthe role of director at itsBristol office. It comesas a direct result of theoffice winning an

important contract forSeco Tools International’s

portfolio. His promotionallows Mathew Belgrove,

director in charge of the branch, tofocus more on project managementservices while Mark takes control ofbuilding surveying. Managingdirector Andrew Mather said: “Thispromotion does more thanrecognise Mark’s manyachievements, it reflects thedynamism of our business and oursenior team.”

P l a ces� WorleyParsons, a provider ofprofessional services to theresources and energy sectors, hasrelocated its Bristol office to BullWharf, top right. The firm has takenover 4,300 sq ft of recentlyrefurbished space on the secondfloor of the office building, on the

waterfront in Redcliff Street, let byDTZ. The company is moving fromRedcliffe Parade West and isrelocating so it has room togrow. Adrian Shields,from WorleyParsons,said: “Bull Wharf putsus on a strong footingfor the future with itscentral location, easywalking distance toTemple Meads andsuperb waterfront views.The refurbishment hasbeen completed to a greatstandard and offers us theflexibility we require.”

� An aviation training company hasmoved to a bigger office. Founded in1992, Bristol Groundschool hasmoved to Clevedon from Cheddarto benefit from larger, moremodern premises andimproved access to andfrom Bristol for studentsattending courseworkrevision sessions. It hastake a 10-year lease onthe first floor suite of 4Rivermead Court,bottom, which includes5,260 sq ft and 21 carparking spaces. Tom Dugayof Alder King’s Bristol officeagency team said: “While studentscomplete course modules using

distance learning, they also need toundertake a series of classroom

revision sessions at BristolG ro u n d s c h o o l ’s premises to

consolidate their learningprior to taking theirexams. “Finding modernpremises accessiblefrom the motorwaynetwork and BristolAirport, and with

sufficient parking, wask e y. ”

� A Bristol firm has brokereda deal to buy one of the South

We s t ’s most recognisablecommercial buildings. The greenMorrisons distribution centre off theM5 near Bridgwater has beenbought by Aviva Investments as the

supermarket looks to dispose ofassets. But the company will

continue to operate fromthe site. Tim Davies whoheads up ColliersInter national’s Bristoloffice which brokeredthe deal, said: “T h e reis stiff competition inthe investment market

for quality buildingsoccupied by strong

covenants. Funds arehungry for opportunities in the

South West as they see the localeconomy continuing to grow.”

Jeremy Richards, head ofJ J L’s Bristol office

“ It’s also about smartpeople. This is whereBristol really shines interms of a highly skilledw o r k f o rc e

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

129 .81pUnleaded

134 .0 8 pDiesel

138 . 59 pSuperunleaded

69 .0 8 pLPG

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 %Jeremy Richardshead of JLL’sBristol officew w w. j l l . c o . u k