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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk

MEET THE NEW BOSS

We find out what makes LEP’snew chief executive tick – page 7

202014AUG

HEALTH CHECK

How to test whether yourbusiness is sick – page 3

GET CONNECTED

Who was making connectionsat our popular event? – p10&11

Firms face hefty fines if they don’t meet new regulationson protecting their customers’ personal information

SECURE YOUR DATAOR PAYTHE PRICE

CYBER PROTECTION

– see pages 8&9

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2 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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

� Damon Rand with the Skyprospector which can show the benefits solar panels would provide Picture: Dave Betts

MORE people will switch onto solar power if they seethe benefits to their pock-et first. That’s the think-ing of a Bristol company

that has been awarded close to£100,000 to develop a new product.

Clean Energy Protector (CEPRO),based in Easton, is developing theSk yprospector.

It’s name harks back to the gold oroil prospectors of the Wild West, andhints at the relative gold mine peoplecould be sitting on, or under, in theirown homes.

The technology simulates an arrayof solar panels and shows how muchpower it would be generating againsthow much energy they are using sopeople can see the savings.

It’s not just those without solarpanels who can benefit. Householdswith solar panels already installedcan use the system to see how theyperform against their use of energy.

This could result in residents usingtheir solar power more effectively,reducing demand and looking at com-plementary technologies such as en-ergy storage.

The technology is composed ofthree parts, a monitor that clipsaround your mains cable and meas-ures home electricity usage, a smartmeter measuring real solar gener-ation from a site in the neighbour-hood, and a web app which links thetwo and crunches the numbers.

The company is optimistic it canuse the technology to prove the busi-ness case for solar and disprove anymisconce ptions.

It will be piloted around Bristolnext year with the aim of being widelyavailable by the end of 2015.

The final product will probably befree to the end user. That means thesolar industry could pay, as a way toencourage people to sign up.

Damon Rand, 39, co-founder and

director at the firm, said: “With thisgrant we are now able to rapidlyprogress development of technologythat supports the growing solar PVindustry and help householders andhousing managers to make informed

and confident investment decisionsin this alternative energy techno-log y.

“Being based in Bristol, a city withmany world-leading low-carbon andhigh-tech companies, this recogni-tion of our work by the West of Eng-land LEP is a welcome accolade.”

The £99,500 grant has been awardedfrom the Regional Growth Fund ad-ministered by the West of EnglandLocal Enterprise Partnership as away of kick starting projects and cre-ating or safeguarding jobs.

Karl Williams, project manager atthe LEP, said: “It’s great that we’vebeen able to award this money to

� Midas Group chief executive Alan Hope believes a greater focus on customer service has helped his firm increase profits

Av i a t i o n Green technology

Wo r l d ’s newestairliner lookinggood in testsTHE world’s newest airliner has com-pleted a series of trials that saw itland in 14 cities, crossing every oceanand flying over the North Pole.

The A350 XWB had to undergo thetrials in order to be certified to fly asa commercial passenger plane, ahurdle it is expected to clear later thisye a r.

During this world tour, the aircraftflew 81,700 nautical miles – or151,300km – during 180 hours in theair. It was flown by crews from Airbusand customer Qatar, with pilots fromthe Airworthiness Authority, part ofthe European Aviation SafetyAgency, also involved. The routeswere chosen to show performance indifferent conditions, such as a tripfrom Johannesburg Tambo Interna-tional Airport, located at 5,558 feet(1,694m) above sea level, to Sydney, totest it at high altitude.

Fernando Alonso, Airbus seniorvice president flight and integrationtests, said: “The aircraft has per-formed remarkably well, confirmingthe high level of maturity that it hasbeen demonstrating during our de-velopment and certification tests. Itruly believe that the aircraft is fit toenter into service and perform to theexpectations of our customers.”

The plane is the latest member ofthe wide-body family, with room forwider seats as well as greater fuelefficiency. So far 742 orders have beenplaced from 38 customers world-w i d e.

C o n st r u c t i o n

Profits soar Midas Group enjoyingbenefits of rising housing market

THE rising housing marketand recovering constructionsector saw Midas Groupprofits shoot up by 73 per centfor the year.

But the South Bristol firm puts theperformance down to its customerservice strategy, now in its secondyear, pointing to 70 per cent of rev-enue coming from repeat business toback up the claim.

In the 12 months to April 30, Midasincreased turnover 12 per cent to£202.9 million, from £180.5 million.And grew pre-tax profits to £2.1 mil-lion from £1.2 million.

Chief executive Alan Hope said“Despite continued pressure on mar-

gins, our sustained focus on customerservice continues to deliver highlevels of repeat business and we re-main well positioned to maximiseopportunities presented by the tent-ative recovery.

“Since launching our customer ser-vice vision and strategy two yearsago, results have exceeded expect-ations and in the last 12 months wehave achieved record customer sat-isfaction scores in excess of 80 percent.

“It’s no coincidence that in thesame period we saw 70 per cent ofrevenues come from repeat business,contributing to double-digit growthin turnover, while our relentlessfocus on costs and risk mean we wereable to deliver a 73 per cent increasein taxable profits.

“There is no doubt that the cus-tomer service culture in our companyhas led to improved performance, in-

creased levels of satisfaction, morerepeat business, and improved fin-ancial results.”

Midas Group, which employs 450people across offices mainly in theSouth West but its HQ in WinterstokeRoad, is made up of smaller busi-nesses including Midas Constructionand Mi-space, which provides ser-vices to the building sector.

It was the latter that made the bigcontribution to growth, with pre-taxprofits of £1.5 million – a rise of 350per cent on last year, despite a smalldrop in turnover for the period. Thebusiness is working on projects in-cluding rejuvenating a housing estatein Plymouth and managing a refur-bishment programme for Wes-ton-super-Mare-based KnightstoneHousing Association.

The construction arm is develop-ing the flagship £11.6 million FilwoodGreen Business Park, set to open

during Bristol’s stint as EuropeanGreen Capital next year to show offhow commercial space can be green.

It is also carrying out a £7.3 millionrefurbishment of Narrow QuayHouse office in the Harbourside.

Alan added: “We have seen someupturn in the market. Housing con-struction grew for the 15th month inApril, and momentum across the restof the construction sector rose for the12th month in a row.

“But competition is still fierce, andto win work we must look to deliverthe same customer experience asother, more consumer-facing indus-t r i e s.

“The flexibility and a willingnessto work with clients from the verystart has been a key element of oursuccess, and this will become moreimportant for us all as clients wanteven more involvement in the ser-vices they engage with.”

S u r vey

Firms find school leavers unprepared for work

Three city enterpriseshead for boot camp� THREE Bristol-based smallbusinesses are included in 100 ofBritain’s best small companiesselected to attend intensive bootcamps and compete to win supportworth thousands of pounds.

The companies have been chosenby a panel of judges in The Pitch2014, presented byBusinessZone.co.uk and UKBusiness Forums in association withAV G .

Founded in Bristol in 2008, thenationwide competition rewards andcelebrates the UK’s entrepreneurs.

Among those selected is Wriggle,an app which provides on-the-dayoffers at local bars, restaurants andother venues to help businesses fillunsold deals.

Founded by Rob Hall, thecompany recently raised £128,000investment through crowdfundingplatform Seedrs.

Also on the list is Grow Bristol, anurban farming enterprise set up byDermot O’Regan that aims todevelop innovative and sustainableways of growing food in the city forthe benefit of all its inhabitants andthe wider world.

The third Bristol-based businesschosen is Talking Men’s Shoes, avideo blog run by Fiona Wyatt that’saimed at the men’s shoe industry.

Puma springs acrossborder to Bristol� SPORTSWEAR brand Puma hasannounced its move to Bristol,opening a new showroom at BathRoad Studios.

The company, which makesathletic and casual sportswear, hastaken 1,630 sq ft of showroomspace on a five-year lease,relocating its operation fromNewport in South Wales.

The showroom is be open to retailpartners and buyers but not thegeneral public.

Bath Road Studios wasrefurbished to provide office space,often for the creative sector, withtenants including ITV West Country,Films@59, Friska and The Setworkspace and membership club.

The Pitch 2014

Spor tswear

Power gain New device shows howmuch you’d save with solar panels

MOST employers in the region havenot taken on school leavers or gradu-ates in the past 12 months but many ofthose who have feel they were un-prepared for work.

The findings come from the Busi-ness West quarterly economic sur-ve y.

The results showed positive eco-nomic signs, with 36 per cent of busi-nesses saying us they had recruitedstaff, up five points, and 37 per centsaying they expect to recruit in thenext three months, up by threep o i n t s.

But the lack of skills for workamong school and college leavers wasa serious concern.

The survey found 56 per cent be-lieve the region is attractive to newtalent but have not recruited aschool/college leaver, graduate, orlong-term unemployed person in thepast 12 months.

Of those which had, only eight percent believe school leavers are readyfor work, rising to 16 per cent forcollege leavers and just 11 per cent forthe long-term unemployed.

Business West managing director

Phil Smith said: “The last quarter’sresults painted a positive picture forour region, showing that growth re-mains on a strong footing here in theSouth West with business confidenceup on both the quarter and the year,standing at 74 per cent.”

He said the recent fall in unem-ployment, down 0.7 per cent in theregion, reinforced what companieswere reporting with a rise in thoseplanning to recruit.

But he said lack of skills continuedto be mentioned as a growing issue.

“We sought to explore this further –

with staggering results,” saidPhil.

“Of firms that recruited, 61 per centhad difficulties recruiting suitablyskilled staff and a very low percent-age believe that school leavers, col-lege leavers and the long-termunemployed are well prepared forwork. These findings indicate thatschools and colleges are not produ-cing business-ready young peopleand more must be done to improvethe link between business and edu-cation to ensure a sustainable longterm recovery.”

Clean Energy Prospector, which isone of a number of businesses playingan important role in our growing lowcarbon sector, a sector we’ve iden-tified as a key area of economicgrowth for the West of England.”

� A third round of the Growth Fund isopen for businesses to apply for andthe closing date for applications isSeptember 8, 2014.

For details of the fund, includinghow to apply, go to w w w. w e s t -ofenglandlep.co.uk/ wegfr3. Busi-nesses can also email the fundingteam on g rowthfundapps@westofeng-l a n d . o rg or call on 0117 903 6207.

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

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

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 AMIT is an unfortunate fact that

many businesses fail becausetheir owners or directors haveeither not spotted the warningsigns in time, or delayed taking

action because they think that thingswill shortly turn around by them-selves. This happens to otherwisevery effective owner managers be-cause there is usually a delaybetween the boat springing a leak andthat sinking feeling. If you take actionat the former rather than the latterstage you will have a much greaterchance of turning things around.

If you have access to a qualifiedaccountant either in-house or extern-ally you can ask them to calculateyour Z-score as part of the manage-ment accounts process, or on a reg-ular basis.

The Z-Score is the most thoroughlytested and broadly accepted distressprediction model. It applies statist-ical techniques to financial ratios todetermine the overall health status ofa business:

� Healthy Zone: the business is ingood shape.� Danger Zone (zone of ignorance,zone of uncertainty): warning sig-nals, lenders and trade suppliersneed to exercise caution, and ownermanagers need to take action.� Failing Zone: high likelihood ofbankruptcy within one year.

Ensure your accountant uses thecorrect model – the private companymodel is different to the quoted com-

pany model and there are differentones for manufacturing andnon-manufacturing businesses.

If you don’t have access to thisexpertise, early warning signs youneed to watch out for include:� Adverse financial signals such asdeclining gross margins, decliningmarket share, worsening workingcapital, rapidly increasing debt, and ageneral atmosphere of cash beingtight� Adverse behavioural signals suchas poor communication, low morale,bad housekeeping, high managementtur nover

By the time that clear day-to-daysymptoms appear – such as severecreditor pressure, being unable to getnew credit, delaying your VAT re-turns – you have probably alreadyentered firefighting mode whetheryou realise it or not, and your roomfor manoeuvre is more limited. Themost common reaction to these symp-toms – and this is human nature – isto assume all will be put right by that

new contract or that large debtorreceipt due any day now. This israrely the case in reality and if youcan resist thinking like that, the goodnews is that you still have optionseven now, but you are likely to needprofessional help in saving the busi-n e s s.

It’s always best to take action wheneverything is in your own hands andassuming you have already done theobvious such as cutting unnecessarycosts, you can avert problems by acombination of actions focussed onsales, cashflow and profit. There are amyriad of examples but a few mightbe:� Benchmark yourself against othersin your industry to identify areaswhere you can improve – industrystatistics such as gross marginshould be publicly available throughtrade assocations etc, or your ac-countant may have software thatgives you a benchmarking report� Understand and manage yourbreakeven point so that you are more

able to survive falls in demandImprove your debtor collection

days and reduce hassle by movingcustomers onto direct debit – this isnow being used in many more in-dustry sectors than was previouslythe case. You could incentivise yourcustomers with a discount for doingso provided the benefit of acceleratedcashflow outweighs the drop in mar-gin.

As any doctor will tell you, as ageneral rule the earlier a patient isdiagnosed the better the outcome.

Health-test your business before it’s too late“By the time that clearday-to-day symptomsappear – such as severecreditor pressure, beingunable to get new credit,delaying your VAT returns– you have probablyalready enteredfirefighting mode whetheryou realise it or not.

Andrew FisherExecutive directorAlanbrookes Ltd01934 863386Andr ewFisher@Alanbrookes.co.ukw w w. a l a n -brookes.co.uk

Know how

� Phil Smith of Business West

Damon Rand

“With this grant we arenow able to rapidlyprogress development oft e c h n o l o g y. ”

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2 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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

� Damon Rand with the Skyprospector which can show the benefits solar panels would provide Picture: Dave Betts

MORE people will switch onto solar power if they seethe benefits to their pock-et first. That’s the think-ing of a Bristol company

that has been awarded close to£100,000 to develop a new product.

Clean Energy Protector (CEPRO),based in Easton, is developing theSk yprospector.

It’s name harks back to the gold oroil prospectors of the Wild West, andhints at the relative gold mine peoplecould be sitting on, or under, in theirown homes.

The technology simulates an arrayof solar panels and shows how muchpower it would be generating againsthow much energy they are using sopeople can see the savings.

It’s not just those without solarpanels who can benefit. Householdswith solar panels already installedcan use the system to see how theyperform against their use of energy.

This could result in residents usingtheir solar power more effectively,reducing demand and looking at com-plementary technologies such as en-ergy storage.

The technology is composed ofthree parts, a monitor that clipsaround your mains cable and meas-ures home electricity usage, a smartmeter measuring real solar gener-ation from a site in the neighbour-hood, and a web app which links thetwo and crunches the numbers.

The company is optimistic it canuse the technology to prove the busi-ness case for solar and disprove anymisconce ptions.

It will be piloted around Bristolnext year with the aim of being widelyavailable by the end of 2015.

The final product will probably befree to the end user. That means thesolar industry could pay, as a way toencourage people to sign up.

Damon Rand, 39, co-founder and

director at the firm, said: “With thisgrant we are now able to rapidlyprogress development of technologythat supports the growing solar PVindustry and help householders andhousing managers to make informed

and confident investment decisionsin this alternative energy techno-log y.

“Being based in Bristol, a city withmany world-leading low-carbon andhigh-tech companies, this recogni-tion of our work by the West of Eng-land LEP is a welcome accolade.”

The £99,500 grant has been awardedfrom the Regional Growth Fund ad-ministered by the West of EnglandLocal Enterprise Partnership as away of kick starting projects and cre-ating or safeguarding jobs.

Karl Williams, project manager atthe LEP, said: “It’s great that we’vebeen able to award this money to

� Midas Group chief executive Alan Hope believes a greater focus on customer service has helped his firm increase profits

Av i a t i o n Green technology

Wo r l d ’s newestairliner lookinggood in testsTHE world’s newest airliner has com-pleted a series of trials that saw itland in 14 cities, crossing every oceanand flying over the North Pole.

The A350 XWB had to undergo thetrials in order to be certified to fly asa commercial passenger plane, ahurdle it is expected to clear later thisye a r.

During this world tour, the aircraftflew 81,700 nautical miles – or151,300km – during 180 hours in theair. It was flown by crews from Airbusand customer Qatar, with pilots fromthe Airworthiness Authority, part ofthe European Aviation SafetyAgency, also involved. The routeswere chosen to show performance indifferent conditions, such as a tripfrom Johannesburg Tambo Interna-tional Airport, located at 5,558 feet(1,694m) above sea level, to Sydney, totest it at high altitude.

Fernando Alonso, Airbus seniorvice president flight and integrationtests, said: “The aircraft has per-formed remarkably well, confirmingthe high level of maturity that it hasbeen demonstrating during our de-velopment and certification tests. Itruly believe that the aircraft is fit toenter into service and perform to theexpectations of our customers.”

The plane is the latest member ofthe wide-body family, with room forwider seats as well as greater fuelefficiency. So far 742 orders have beenplaced from 38 customers world-w i d e.

C o n st r u c t i o n

Profits soar Midas Group enjoyingbenefits of rising housing market

THE rising housing marketand recovering constructionsector saw Midas Groupprofits shoot up by 73 per centfor the year.

But the South Bristol firm puts theperformance down to its customerservice strategy, now in its secondyear, pointing to 70 per cent of rev-enue coming from repeat business toback up the claim.

In the 12 months to April 30, Midasincreased turnover 12 per cent to£202.9 million, from £180.5 million.And grew pre-tax profits to £2.1 mil-lion from £1.2 million.

Chief executive Alan Hope said“Despite continued pressure on mar-

gins, our sustained focus on customerservice continues to deliver highlevels of repeat business and we re-main well positioned to maximiseopportunities presented by the tent-ative recovery.

“Since launching our customer ser-vice vision and strategy two yearsago, results have exceeded expect-ations and in the last 12 months wehave achieved record customer sat-isfaction scores in excess of 80 percent.

“It’s no coincidence that in thesame period we saw 70 per cent ofrevenues come from repeat business,contributing to double-digit growthin turnover, while our relentlessfocus on costs and risk mean we wereable to deliver a 73 per cent increasein taxable profits.

“There is no doubt that the cus-tomer service culture in our companyhas led to improved performance, in-

creased levels of satisfaction, morerepeat business, and improved fin-ancial results.”

Midas Group, which employs 450people across offices mainly in theSouth West but its HQ in WinterstokeRoad, is made up of smaller busi-nesses including Midas Constructionand Mi-space, which provides ser-vices to the building sector.

It was the latter that made the bigcontribution to growth, with pre-taxprofits of £1.5 million – a rise of 350per cent on last year, despite a smalldrop in turnover for the period. Thebusiness is working on projects in-cluding rejuvenating a housing estatein Plymouth and managing a refur-bishment programme for Wes-ton-super-Mare-based KnightstoneHousing Association.

The construction arm is develop-ing the flagship £11.6 million FilwoodGreen Business Park, set to open

during Bristol’s stint as EuropeanGreen Capital next year to show offhow commercial space can be green.

It is also carrying out a £7.3 millionrefurbishment of Narrow QuayHouse office in the Harbourside.

Alan added: “We have seen someupturn in the market. Housing con-struction grew for the 15th month inApril, and momentum across the restof the construction sector rose for the12th month in a row.

“But competition is still fierce, andto win work we must look to deliverthe same customer experience asother, more consumer-facing indus-t r i e s.

“The flexibility and a willingnessto work with clients from the verystart has been a key element of oursuccess, and this will become moreimportant for us all as clients wanteven more involvement in the ser-vices they engage with.”

S u r vey

Firms find school leavers unprepared for work

Three city enterpriseshead for boot camp� THREE Bristol-based smallbusinesses are included in 100 ofBritain’s best small companiesselected to attend intensive bootcamps and compete to win supportworth thousands of pounds.

The companies have been chosenby a panel of judges in The Pitch2014, presented byBusinessZone.co.uk and UKBusiness Forums in association withAV G .

Founded in Bristol in 2008, thenationwide competition rewards andcelebrates the UK’s entrepreneurs.

Among those selected is Wriggle,an app which provides on-the-dayoffers at local bars, restaurants andother venues to help businesses fillunsold deals.

Founded by Rob Hall, thecompany recently raised £128,000investment through crowdfundingplatform Seedrs.

Also on the list is Grow Bristol, anurban farming enterprise set up byDermot O’Regan that aims todevelop innovative and sustainableways of growing food in the city forthe benefit of all its inhabitants andthe wider world.

The third Bristol-based businesschosen is Talking Men’s Shoes, avideo blog run by Fiona Wyatt that’saimed at the men’s shoe industry.

Puma springs acrossborder to Bristol� SPORTSWEAR brand Puma hasannounced its move to Bristol,opening a new showroom at BathRoad Studios.

The company, which makesathletic and casual sportswear, hastaken 1,630 sq ft of showroomspace on a five-year lease,relocating its operation fromNewport in South Wales.

The showroom is be open to retailpartners and buyers but not thegeneral public.

Bath Road Studios wasrefurbished to provide office space,often for the creative sector, withtenants including ITV West Country,Films@59, Friska and The Setworkspace and membership club.

The Pitch 2014

Spor tswear

Power gain New device shows howmuch you’d save with solar panels

MOST employers in the region havenot taken on school leavers or gradu-ates in the past 12 months but many ofthose who have feel they were un-prepared for work.

The findings come from the Busi-ness West quarterly economic sur-ve y.

The results showed positive eco-nomic signs, with 36 per cent of busi-nesses saying us they had recruitedstaff, up five points, and 37 per centsaying they expect to recruit in thenext three months, up by threep o i n t s.

But the lack of skills for workamong school and college leavers wasa serious concern.

The survey found 56 per cent be-lieve the region is attractive to newtalent but have not recruited aschool/college leaver, graduate, orlong-term unemployed person in thepast 12 months.

Of those which had, only eight percent believe school leavers are readyfor work, rising to 16 per cent forcollege leavers and just 11 per cent forthe long-term unemployed.

Business West managing director

Phil Smith said: “The last quarter’sresults painted a positive picture forour region, showing that growth re-mains on a strong footing here in theSouth West with business confidenceup on both the quarter and the year,standing at 74 per cent.”

He said the recent fall in unem-ployment, down 0.7 per cent in theregion, reinforced what companieswere reporting with a rise in thoseplanning to recruit.

But he said lack of skills continuedto be mentioned as a growing issue.

“We sought to explore this further –

with staggering results,” saidPhil.

“Of firms that recruited, 61 per centhad difficulties recruiting suitablyskilled staff and a very low percent-age believe that school leavers, col-lege leavers and the long-termunemployed are well prepared forwork. These findings indicate thatschools and colleges are not produ-cing business-ready young peopleand more must be done to improvethe link between business and edu-cation to ensure a sustainable longterm recovery.”

Clean Energy Prospector, which isone of a number of businesses playingan important role in our growing lowcarbon sector, a sector we’ve iden-tified as a key area of economicgrowth for the West of England.”

� A third round of the Growth Fund isopen for businesses to apply for andthe closing date for applications isSeptember 8, 2014.

For details of the fund, includinghow to apply, go to w w w. w e s t -ofenglandlep.co.uk/ wegfr3. Busi-nesses can also email the fundingteam on g rowthfundapps@westofeng-l a n d . o rg or call on 0117 903 6207.

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

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

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 AMIT is an unfortunate fact that

many businesses fail becausetheir owners or directors haveeither not spotted the warningsigns in time, or delayed taking

action because they think that thingswill shortly turn around by them-selves. This happens to otherwisevery effective owner managers be-cause there is usually a delaybetween the boat springing a leak andthat sinking feeling. If you take actionat the former rather than the latterstage you will have a much greaterchance of turning things around.

If you have access to a qualifiedaccountant either in-house or extern-ally you can ask them to calculateyour Z-score as part of the manage-ment accounts process, or on a reg-ular basis.

The Z-Score is the most thoroughlytested and broadly accepted distressprediction model. It applies statist-ical techniques to financial ratios todetermine the overall health status ofa business:

� Healthy Zone: the business is ingood shape.� Danger Zone (zone of ignorance,zone of uncertainty): warning sig-nals, lenders and trade suppliersneed to exercise caution, and ownermanagers need to take action.� Failing Zone: high likelihood ofbankruptcy within one year.

Ensure your accountant uses thecorrect model – the private companymodel is different to the quoted com-

pany model and there are differentones for manufacturing andnon-manufacturing businesses.

If you don’t have access to thisexpertise, early warning signs youneed to watch out for include:� Adverse financial signals such asdeclining gross margins, decliningmarket share, worsening workingcapital, rapidly increasing debt, and ageneral atmosphere of cash beingtight� Adverse behavioural signals suchas poor communication, low morale,bad housekeeping, high managementtur nover

By the time that clear day-to-daysymptoms appear – such as severecreditor pressure, being unable to getnew credit, delaying your VAT re-turns – you have probably alreadyentered firefighting mode whetheryou realise it or not, and your roomfor manoeuvre is more limited. Themost common reaction to these symp-toms – and this is human nature – isto assume all will be put right by that

new contract or that large debtorreceipt due any day now. This israrely the case in reality and if youcan resist thinking like that, the goodnews is that you still have optionseven now, but you are likely to needprofessional help in saving the busi-n e s s.

It’s always best to take action wheneverything is in your own hands andassuming you have already done theobvious such as cutting unnecessarycosts, you can avert problems by acombination of actions focussed onsales, cashflow and profit. There are amyriad of examples but a few mightbe:� Benchmark yourself against othersin your industry to identify areaswhere you can improve – industrystatistics such as gross marginshould be publicly available throughtrade assocations etc, or your ac-countant may have software thatgives you a benchmarking report� Understand and manage yourbreakeven point so that you are more

able to survive falls in demandImprove your debtor collection

days and reduce hassle by movingcustomers onto direct debit – this isnow being used in many more in-dustry sectors than was previouslythe case. You could incentivise yourcustomers with a discount for doingso provided the benefit of acceleratedcashflow outweighs the drop in mar-gin.

As any doctor will tell you, as ageneral rule the earlier a patient isdiagnosed the better the outcome.

Health-test your business before it’s too late“By the time that clearday-to-day symptomsappear – such as severecreditor pressure, beingunable to get new credit,delaying your VAT returns– you have probablyalready enteredfirefighting mode whetheryou realise it or not.

Andrew FisherExecutive directorAlanbrookes Ltd01934 863386Andr ewFisher@Alanbrookes.co.ukw w w. a l a n -brookes.co.uk

Know how

� Phil Smith of Business West

Damon Rand

“With this grant we arenow able to rapidlyprogress development oft e c h n o l o g y. ”

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

4 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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

WHAT should a would-bedeveloper look for ifthey want to convert anoffice building intoflats? According to

Sandra Dixon, sales and marketingdirector at Crest Nicholson, there’sonly one place to start.

“The key thing is where are thewindows positioned,” she said. “Pa r -ticularly when dealing with a listedbu i l d i n g . ”

Sandra is leading the firm’s con-version of art deco landmark Elec-tricity House, the one-time SWEB HQin Bristol’s Centre.

It is part of the strong trend forconverting office buildings withinthe city centre under a temporaryplanning regulation called permittedd eve l o p m e n t .

But while many of the buildingsundergoing transformation aresquare, clunky offices, this one issleek, curved and a bit special.

It was designed by architect SirGiles Gilbert Scott, who was involvedin Battersea Power Station amongother projects, built in 1937 and fin-ished in 1939.

“I couldn’t believe it when it cameup for sale,” said Sandra. “I said wec a n’t pass on buying such a fantasticbu i l d i n g . ”

Her enthusiasm was about morethan just passion for a period build-ing, but business sense too.

“This building fortunately lendsitself rather well to be converted intoa residential building because thewindows positions – there are a lot ofthem,” she said.

“It enables us to put a high pro-portion of units in, which does helpus with planning. But we’ve also beenable to put more unusual units, morequirky around the corners andbull-nose front which some partic-ularly beautiful apartments at thefront with a bit of outside space on theupper floors as well.”

The original building featured alarge central atrium, but over theyears tenants have taken more of thespace for offices.

Sandra said: “We are going tore-open up the atrium, it will become

a dynamic space again with morelight coming into the building.”

The firm, perhaps better known fornew-build flats around the Har-bourside and Portishead Marinathan the restoration and conversionof old buildings, will be looking toreplicate original features that havebeen lost, such as reinstating Ter-razzo flooring and deco-style win-d ow s.

“The windows in now are awful,”said Sandra.

In another throwback to daysgone-by, the restored lobby area will

boast a concierge, on hand to wel-come people in, take parcels and be apoint of contact for residents.

Sandra said: “There would havebeen one when Scott designed thebuilding and I strongly believe it’s aunique building in the city and de-serves to be treated differently.

“There have been refurbishmentsbefore, such as the 5102 but that wasreally using the building as a shellwhile this is very much breathingnew life into the original.”

But while the exterior and commonareas will echo the past, inside the

Electric avenue Flats will breathenew life into landmark building

Braille boost Keyboard cover willgive the blind online i n d e p e n d e n ce

THE growth of businesses andservices that are accessed on-line causes problems for theblind and visually impaired,so one small Bristol business

has come up with a product to help.Montpelier-based A2i – or access to

information – was founded 15 yearsago specialising in transcription ser-vices. But now the firm is moving in anew direction with the launch of a

moulded Braille keyboard cover.The idea is very simple. The cover

sits on top of any standard keyboardand overlays braille on the regularkeys, meaning someone who can readbraille can use the keyboard.

It is made from a polyurethane filmmoulded to fit. You can see the lettersthrough the cover, so it doesn’t causeproblems for sighted users.

At the moment, some Braille userstouch-type using a regular keyboard,but use a screen reader to check asthey go, but this can be more awk-ward in a public setting. And whileusers may still sometimes needscreen readers or support, company

bosses believe it will help give them agreater feeling of independence.

Director and founder, Susie Fisher,said: “We are really excited to launchthis product, it’s so much better thanthe old-fashioned Braille stickersthat had to be added by hand.”

New product manager, Rosie Mer-rell, said the firm decided to moveinto this area because more serviceshad to be applied for online, includingthe Government’s new UniversalCredit benefits system, which manyvisually impaired people might needto access.

She said typical customers could beindividuals who were starting to

A RENEWABLE energy company hasinstalled the biggest rooftop solarpanel system for a local authority inthe UK.

Solarsense has put in 1,248 solarpanels – covering an area the size ofseven tennis courts – on the build-ing.

Unfortunately the customer wasn’tBristol, but Wiltshire Council. Thepanels will power its new resourcerecovery centre converting domesticwaste into solid fuel which is in turnused at power stations.

But bosses at Backwell-based Sol-arsense say it shows what the Bristolarea can achieve.

David Snape, commercial managerat Solarsense, said: “The project is a

great example of how solar PV cansignificantly reduce energy con-sumption and deliver long-term costs av i n g s.

“As a Bristol-based company andwith European Green Capital 2015 onthe horizon, we’re seeing more andmore businesses taking positive stepsto reduce their carbon footprints andcapitalising on the industry-leadingexpertise on their doorsteps.

“We ’re proud to call Bristol ourhome and to be a part of Bristol’sleading sustainability sector.”

Solarsense has been in business for20 years always based around theBristol area, becoming a leading re-newable company in the region.

It grew quickly at a time when more

subsidies were available for solar en-ergy to help the industry get afoothold and now employs about 30p e o p l e.

It has helped a range of Bristolbased customers including BristolZoo, At-Bristol, Bristol Universityand the Tobacco Factory to take con-trol of their energy costs.

The firm was recently awarded a£59,000 grant to create a zero-carbonskills training centre.

It will use the money, awarded bythe West of England Local EnterprisePartnership through its GrowthFund, to build a show home to demon-strate how the latest renewable tech-nology can be integrated into a familyh o m e.

Solar panels power council centre

� The new resource recovery centre’s solar panels, installed byBackwell-based Solarsense

� Susie Fisher, director of A2i shows off the Braille keyboard cover

PR firm’s new brandafter sales surge� A COMMUNICATIONS firm inClifton has launched its new brandon the back of a 17 per cent growthin sales year-on-year.

JBP has been in business for 30years. The firm has grown revenueto more than £2 million and plans todouble turnover over the next threeyears.

Managing director Chris Lawrancesaid: “We have seen a significantupturn in business over the last 12months. We have continued to growwith existing clients as well aswinning significant new work.”

He said the firm was seeing moredemand for high level, strategiccommunications to support itsambitious clients across a range ofsectors. He said: “The rebrandreflects our ‘business class’

Small business ownersquiz pensions minister� SMALL business owners fromthroughout Bristol and SouthGloucestershire quizzed PensionsMinister Steve Webb.

The evening was organised by theSouth Gloucestershire branch of theFederation of Small Businesses(FSB) as part of its regular monthlyseminars at Aztec West Hotel.

It offered members and guests thechance to tackle Mr Webb, who isthe MP for Thornbury and Yate,about both his own pensionsportfolio and other subjects asvaried as local transport provisionand Scottish independence.

The session was hosted by PaulNeck, the chairman of the SouthGloucestershire FSB which has1,000 members made up of smallbusiness owners, the self-employedand local entrepreneurs.

Paul said: “Steve always seems toenjoy engaging with and listening tothe small businesses community.”

Property investorsfocus on city market� PROPERTY investors arelooking to buy into long-termreturns from Bristol’s commercialmarket.

The latest deal sees the snappilytitled Aviva Investors UK RealEstate Recovery Fund II buy thelong leasehold for Wincanton’sdistribution depot in Portbury.

The £4.3 million deal wasbrokered by local firm ColliersInternational. GVA advised theseller, Stobart Group.

The property totals 38,000 sq fton a site of 6.23 acres and islocated very close to Junction 19of the M5 motorway.

Wincanton hold the property ona lease with another 11 years togo, subject to a break option inNovember 2020, paying £380,000a year in rent.

It follows the recent news thatAxa insurance group has bought alarge stake in Bristol’s CabotCircus shopping centre.

The London property market iswidely seen as overheated,making it too expensive for manyinvestors.

Instead they are increasinglylooking to the regions, with Bristolwell-placed in a well-connectedspot with a strong economy.

Richard Coombs, of ColliersInter national’s Bristol office, said:“This acquisition provides Avivawith a generous income yield withpotential for improved returns asthe regional economy grows.”

Get the bigger picture.Business news from Bristol,Bath, Gloucestershire andSomerset. Scan to sign up

for news direct to your inbox

learn Braille and had the ability tot o u ch - t y p e.

But the main target for the productwas likely to be housing associations,libraries and other places where thepublic had access to computers.

The keyboard cover could also behelpful for businesses to meet theneeds of employees.

Susie added; “It’s great that we canassist in making keyboards more ac-cessible in libraries, colleges and in-ternet cafes.”

The company, which employs sevenpeople from its Cheltenham Road of-fice, held a launch event at the Gal-limaufry in Gloucester Road.

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

BUSINESSES looking to renew leasesin the near future are being told tocheck the energy performance ratingbefore signing up due to new reg-ulations on the horizon.

New energy performance certific-ates come into force in April 2018,which will make it unlawful to let orsell a commercial property ratedbelow band E.

That might seem a way off but if thenew lease runs beyond that date,firms might be able to use it as abargaining chip, according to prop-erty agency Bruton Knowles.

Paul Williams, head of agency at

the Bristol office of the firm, is ad-vising tenants and property ownersto get in touch in order to strike thebest deal while ensuring any prop-erty complies with the required en-ergy efficiency rating.

Paul said: “Some businesses will belooking to sign new agreements tak-ing them forward to 2018 and bey-ond.

“Although this date might seem along way off it’s surprising howquickly it will come round.

“Being proactive now will helplandlords reap the benefits later onand will make any property more

attractive to tenants. Those con-cerned about their portfolio will needto assess now the costs and benefits ofimproving the energy efficiency.”

About one in five commercial prop-erties currently falls into bands F andG, so the sector faces a stiff challengeto bring them up to spec.

Paul said: “Whilst the measuresonly come into force when a propertyis either sold or leased, failing to actnow on poorly performing buildingscould be a mistake unless you’rehappy to have a portfolio of voidproperties on your hands as tenantseither vote with their feet or decide to

About to renew the lease? Checkthe energy performance ratings

opt for cleaner, greener and cheaperoptions which will be available tothem.”

He added the best time to undertakeany energy efficiency improvementscould be during current void periodsor lease breaks..

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

Proper ty M a r ket i n g

N etwo r k i n g

Commercial property Renewable energy

Proper tyDisability aids

flats – which will be mix of one, twoand three bedrooms – will be modernand minimalist.

Sandra believes the project will bethe jewel among office conversionsand be popular among city workersand younger people who want to be atthe centre of things.

“It has a BS1 post code, so youc o u l d n’t get more central,” she says.

Provisionally prices will startaround £155,000 for a one bed which isunlikely to include parking, to per-haps £500,000 for a three-bedroomapar tment.

As well as the 85 flats, and 49 un-derground parking spaces, there willbe 12,000 square feet of commercialspace, probably cafes and conveni-ence store.

This scheme, due to be finished inOctober 2015 but on sale earlier in theyear, and others under permitted de-velopment rights will likely changethe nature of this part of the city.

Sandra said: “It will inject a bit oflife into the area.”

Sandra Dixon, sales and marketing director atCrest Nicholson

“ I strongly believe it’s a unique building in the city anddeserves to be treated differently. There have beenrefurbishments before, such as the 5102 but that wasreally using the building as a shell while this is verymuch breathing new life into the original.”

approach to deliveringcommunications programmes thatyield a significant return oninvestment for our clients.

“We achieve this by providingcommunications advice withsubstance, drawing on ourknowledge and networks acrossbusiness, politics and the media.”

The firm, which was founded inBristol by Jennifer Bryant-Pearson,has invested to grow, includingopening an office in Coventry lastyear and expanding its team acrossall its sites. It also has offices inWestminster and Cardiff. Customersinclude Sainsbury’s, Bosch, NationalGrid, BAe, Veolia, and law firmClarke Willmott. After its rebrand,the company is focusing on threecore areas: PR for high potentialand mid-market companies;stakeholder engagement forcompanies involved in complex andconstruction and infrastructuredevelopments; and public policy,what it describes as providinginsights and advice on legislativeand regulatory developments.

� JBP managing director ChrisLawrence and Liam Herbert

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

4 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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

WHAT should a would-bedeveloper look for ifthey want to convert anoffice building intoflats? According to

Sandra Dixon, sales and marketingdirector at Crest Nicholson, there’sonly one place to start.

“The key thing is where are thewindows positioned,” she said. “Pa r -ticularly when dealing with a listedbu i l d i n g . ”

Sandra is leading the firm’s con-version of art deco landmark Elec-tricity House, the one-time SWEB HQin Bristol’s Centre.

It is part of the strong trend forconverting office buildings withinthe city centre under a temporaryplanning regulation called permittedd eve l o p m e n t .

But while many of the buildingsundergoing transformation aresquare, clunky offices, this one issleek, curved and a bit special.

It was designed by architect SirGiles Gilbert Scott, who was involvedin Battersea Power Station amongother projects, built in 1937 and fin-ished in 1939.

“I couldn’t believe it when it cameup for sale,” said Sandra. “I said wec a n’t pass on buying such a fantasticbu i l d i n g . ”

Her enthusiasm was about morethan just passion for a period build-ing, but business sense too.

“This building fortunately lendsitself rather well to be converted intoa residential building because thewindows positions – there are a lot ofthem,” she said.

“It enables us to put a high pro-portion of units in, which does helpus with planning. But we’ve also beenable to put more unusual units, morequirky around the corners andbull-nose front which some partic-ularly beautiful apartments at thefront with a bit of outside space on theupper floors as well.”

The original building featured alarge central atrium, but over theyears tenants have taken more of thespace for offices.

Sandra said: “We are going tore-open up the atrium, it will become

a dynamic space again with morelight coming into the building.”

The firm, perhaps better known fornew-build flats around the Har-bourside and Portishead Marinathan the restoration and conversionof old buildings, will be looking toreplicate original features that havebeen lost, such as reinstating Ter-razzo flooring and deco-style win-d ow s.

“The windows in now are awful,”said Sandra.

In another throwback to daysgone-by, the restored lobby area will

boast a concierge, on hand to wel-come people in, take parcels and be apoint of contact for residents.

Sandra said: “There would havebeen one when Scott designed thebuilding and I strongly believe it’s aunique building in the city and de-serves to be treated differently.

“There have been refurbishmentsbefore, such as the 5102 but that wasreally using the building as a shellwhile this is very much breathingnew life into the original.”

But while the exterior and commonareas will echo the past, inside the

Electric avenue Flats will breathenew life into landmark building

Braille boost Keyboard cover willgive the blind online i n d e p e n d e n ce

THE growth of businesses andservices that are accessed on-line causes problems for theblind and visually impaired,so one small Bristol business

has come up with a product to help.Montpelier-based A2i – or access to

information – was founded 15 yearsago specialising in transcription ser-vices. But now the firm is moving in anew direction with the launch of a

moulded Braille keyboard cover.The idea is very simple. The cover

sits on top of any standard keyboardand overlays braille on the regularkeys, meaning someone who can readbraille can use the keyboard.

It is made from a polyurethane filmmoulded to fit. You can see the lettersthrough the cover, so it doesn’t causeproblems for sighted users.

At the moment, some Braille userstouch-type using a regular keyboard,but use a screen reader to check asthey go, but this can be more awk-ward in a public setting. And whileusers may still sometimes needscreen readers or support, company

bosses believe it will help give them agreater feeling of independence.

Director and founder, Susie Fisher,said: “We are really excited to launchthis product, it’s so much better thanthe old-fashioned Braille stickersthat had to be added by hand.”

New product manager, Rosie Mer-rell, said the firm decided to moveinto this area because more serviceshad to be applied for online, includingthe Government’s new UniversalCredit benefits system, which manyvisually impaired people might needto access.

She said typical customers could beindividuals who were starting to

A RENEWABLE energy company hasinstalled the biggest rooftop solarpanel system for a local authority inthe UK.

Solarsense has put in 1,248 solarpanels – covering an area the size ofseven tennis courts – on the build-ing.

Unfortunately the customer wasn’tBristol, but Wiltshire Council. Thepanels will power its new resourcerecovery centre converting domesticwaste into solid fuel which is in turnused at power stations.

But bosses at Backwell-based Sol-arsense say it shows what the Bristolarea can achieve.

David Snape, commercial managerat Solarsense, said: “The project is a

great example of how solar PV cansignificantly reduce energy con-sumption and deliver long-term costs av i n g s.

“As a Bristol-based company andwith European Green Capital 2015 onthe horizon, we’re seeing more andmore businesses taking positive stepsto reduce their carbon footprints andcapitalising on the industry-leadingexpertise on their doorsteps.

“We ’re proud to call Bristol ourhome and to be a part of Bristol’sleading sustainability sector.”

Solarsense has been in business for20 years always based around theBristol area, becoming a leading re-newable company in the region.

It grew quickly at a time when more

subsidies were available for solar en-ergy to help the industry get afoothold and now employs about 30p e o p l e.

It has helped a range of Bristolbased customers including BristolZoo, At-Bristol, Bristol Universityand the Tobacco Factory to take con-trol of their energy costs.

The firm was recently awarded a£59,000 grant to create a zero-carbonskills training centre.

It will use the money, awarded bythe West of England Local EnterprisePartnership through its GrowthFund, to build a show home to demon-strate how the latest renewable tech-nology can be integrated into a familyh o m e.

Solar panels power council centre

� The new resource recovery centre’s solar panels, installed byBackwell-based Solarsense

� Susie Fisher, director of A2i shows off the Braille keyboard cover

PR firm’s new brandafter sales surge� A COMMUNICATIONS firm inClifton has launched its new brandon the back of a 17 per cent growthin sales year-on-year.

JBP has been in business for 30years. The firm has grown revenueto more than £2 million and plans todouble turnover over the next threeyears.

Managing director Chris Lawrancesaid: “We have seen a significantupturn in business over the last 12months. We have continued to growwith existing clients as well aswinning significant new work.”

He said the firm was seeing moredemand for high level, strategiccommunications to support itsambitious clients across a range ofsectors. He said: “The rebrandreflects our ‘business class’

Small business ownersquiz pensions minister� SMALL business owners fromthroughout Bristol and SouthGloucestershire quizzed PensionsMinister Steve Webb.

The evening was organised by theSouth Gloucestershire branch of theFederation of Small Businesses(FSB) as part of its regular monthlyseminars at Aztec West Hotel.

It offered members and guests thechance to tackle Mr Webb, who isthe MP for Thornbury and Yate,about both his own pensionsportfolio and other subjects asvaried as local transport provisionand Scottish independence.

The session was hosted by PaulNeck, the chairman of the SouthGloucestershire FSB which has1,000 members made up of smallbusiness owners, the self-employedand local entrepreneurs.

Paul said: “Steve always seems toenjoy engaging with and listening tothe small businesses community.”

Property investorsfocus on city market� PROPERTY investors arelooking to buy into long-termreturns from Bristol’s commercialmarket.

The latest deal sees the snappilytitled Aviva Investors UK RealEstate Recovery Fund II buy thelong leasehold for Wincanton’sdistribution depot in Portbury.

The £4.3 million deal wasbrokered by local firm ColliersInternational. GVA advised theseller, Stobart Group.

The property totals 38,000 sq fton a site of 6.23 acres and islocated very close to Junction 19of the M5 motorway.

Wincanton hold the property ona lease with another 11 years togo, subject to a break option inNovember 2020, paying £380,000a year in rent.

It follows the recent news thatAxa insurance group has bought alarge stake in Bristol’s CabotCircus shopping centre.

The London property market iswidely seen as overheated,making it too expensive for manyinvestors.

Instead they are increasinglylooking to the regions, with Bristolwell-placed in a well-connectedspot with a strong economy.

Richard Coombs, of ColliersInter national’s Bristol office, said:“This acquisition provides Avivawith a generous income yield withpotential for improved returns asthe regional economy grows.”

Get the bigger picture.Business news from Bristol,Bath, Gloucestershire andSomerset. Scan to sign up

for news direct to your inbox

learn Braille and had the ability tot o u ch - t y p e.

But the main target for the productwas likely to be housing associations,libraries and other places where thepublic had access to computers.

The keyboard cover could also behelpful for businesses to meet theneeds of employees.

Susie added; “It’s great that we canassist in making keyboards more ac-cessible in libraries, colleges and in-ternet cafes.”

The company, which employs sevenpeople from its Cheltenham Road of-fice, held a launch event at the Gal-limaufry in Gloucester Road.

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

BUSINESSES looking to renew leasesin the near future are being told tocheck the energy performance ratingbefore signing up due to new reg-ulations on the horizon.

New energy performance certific-ates come into force in April 2018,which will make it unlawful to let orsell a commercial property ratedbelow band E.

That might seem a way off but if thenew lease runs beyond that date,firms might be able to use it as abargaining chip, according to prop-erty agency Bruton Knowles.

Paul Williams, head of agency at

the Bristol office of the firm, is ad-vising tenants and property ownersto get in touch in order to strike thebest deal while ensuring any prop-erty complies with the required en-ergy efficiency rating.

Paul said: “Some businesses will belooking to sign new agreements tak-ing them forward to 2018 and bey-ond.

“Although this date might seem along way off it’s surprising howquickly it will come round.

“Being proactive now will helplandlords reap the benefits later onand will make any property more

attractive to tenants. Those con-cerned about their portfolio will needto assess now the costs and benefits ofimproving the energy efficiency.”

About one in five commercial prop-erties currently falls into bands F andG, so the sector faces a stiff challengeto bring them up to spec.

Paul said: “Whilst the measuresonly come into force when a propertyis either sold or leased, failing to actnow on poorly performing buildingscould be a mistake unless you’rehappy to have a portfolio of voidproperties on your hands as tenantseither vote with their feet or decide to

About to renew the lease? Checkthe energy performance ratings

opt for cleaner, greener and cheaperoptions which will be available tothem.”

He added the best time to undertakeany energy efficiency improvementscould be during current void periodsor lease breaks..

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

Proper ty M a r ket i n g

N etwo r k i n g

Commercial property Renewable energy

Proper tyDisability aids

flats – which will be mix of one, twoand three bedrooms – will be modernand minimalist.

Sandra believes the project will bethe jewel among office conversionsand be popular among city workersand younger people who want to be atthe centre of things.

“It has a BS1 post code, so youc o u l d n’t get more central,” she says.

Provisionally prices will startaround £155,000 for a one bed which isunlikely to include parking, to per-haps £500,000 for a three-bedroomapar tment.

As well as the 85 flats, and 49 un-derground parking spaces, there willbe 12,000 square feet of commercialspace, probably cafes and conveni-ence store.

This scheme, due to be finished inOctober 2015 but on sale earlier in theyear, and others under permitted de-velopment rights will likely changethe nature of this part of the city.

Sandra said: “It will inject a bit oflife into the area.”

Sandra Dixon, sales and marketing director atCrest Nicholson

“ I strongly believe it’s a unique building in the city anddeserves to be treated differently. There have beenrefurbishments before, such as the 5102 but that wasreally using the building as a shell while this is verymuch breathing new life into the original.”

approach to deliveringcommunications programmes thatyield a significant return oninvestment for our clients.

“We achieve this by providingcommunications advice withsubstance, drawing on ourknowledge and networks acrossbusiness, politics and the media.”

The firm, which was founded inBristol by Jennifer Bryant-Pearson,has invested to grow, includingopening an office in Coventry lastyear and expanding its team acrossall its sites. It also has offices inWestminster and Cardiff. Customersinclude Sainsbury’s, Bosch, NationalGrid, BAe, Veolia, and law firmClarke Willmott. After its rebrand,the company is focusing on threecore areas: PR for high potentialand mid-market companies;stakeholder engagement forcompanies involved in complex andconstruction and infrastructuredevelopments; and public policy,what it describes as providinginsights and advice on legislativeand regulatory developments.

� JBP managing director ChrisLawrence and Liam Herbert

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

6 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The Big Interview

TO say it’s been a hectic periodfor the West of England LocalEnterprise Partnership issomething of an understate-ment. The body, which is re-

sponsible for coordinating andleading steps to create jobs andprosperity across the region, has hadits hands rather full.

First it had the small matter of£25 million of grants to hand out tolocal businesses, a huge task for whatis actually a very small organisationwith just a few staff.

Following that was the job ofpulling together the strategic eco-nomic plan – a blueprint for growingthe local economy and a business casefor government investment in it.

Then just before the Governmentwas due to announce levels of fund-ing, the LEP’s chief executive PaulWilson left suddenly to take up a roleat Bristol City Council.

Now the organisation has appoin-ted his successor, Barbara Davies.The 58-year-old takes on the role asthe LEP moves into a new phase,having secured Government cash forsome of the projects outlined in itsblueprint, the focus shifts to deliv-ering them.

Barbara is seen as a safe pair ofhands. She’ll need to be. One of hertasks will be managing the some-times fractious relationship betweenthe four local authorities which makeup the West of England – Bristol,North Somerset, South Gloucester-shire and Bath and North-East Som-erset. But Barbara says therelationship is strong.

“The three leaders and the mayorsit on the LEP board and everyoneinvolved in the board would see thebenefits of working together,” shesaid.

“Any partnership is going to havedebates and consider issues andt h at ’s one of the roles of the LEP is todo that brokering of the differentgroups to get a consistent story.

“A lot of what the LEP is trying toachieve is about getting money to theWest Country and to do that we needto work together. We need to discussissues and we need to find commonlyagreed solutions, like any partner-s h i p. ”

“Par tnership” seems to be Bar-bara’s favourite word. Followed by“d e l ive r y ”. No doubt she would saythat the former leads to the latter.

Her background is in the publicsector, she was worked for the LEP forthe past three years but held nu-merous public sector roles beforethat. But she says her background iscredible to business people.

“Although my career has beenmainly in the public sector, I haveworked with businesses in partner-s h i p s, ” she said. “I am familiar to thebusiness community in the West ofEngland. Developing the strategiceconomic plan was working veryclosely with businesses as we drew

together their ambitions and theirv i s i o n s. ”

Barbara has brought partners to-gether to deliver big projects in thepast, including transport improve-ments for Bath and Wes-ton-super-Mare, bus projects inBristol and funding for the proposedMetro West suburban rail network. Itmay be no coincidence that theseprojects have secured the biggestslices of Government money in re-cent years.

She said: “The strength of the localenterprise partnership is the bring-ing together of a range of partnerswith common aims about growth andcreating jobs so for me a large part ofthe job will be working with the part-ners and that includes the four coun-cils, businesses, universities,colle ges.

“It’s about getting to the addedvalue of working together andpresenting strong messages to gov-ernment. We have a strong story inthe West of England.”

The LEP put its economic plan toGovernment in April. Although shew a s n’t in charge of the body at thattime, she was the senior officer co-ordinating the plan, so the change inleadership won’t mean any change ing o a l s.

“I was very involved in the plan,”she said. “This was the first time wehad brought a strong story aboutwhat the West of England could de-liver to Government.

“My focus now is to make sure weget those projects lined up ready to bedelivered and spend the Governmentm o n e y. ”

In terms of style, Barbara wouldn’tcomment on how she might differfrom her predecessor.

“All I can talk to you about is what Iwill do,” she said. “I am clear I havebeen brought in and will work todeliver what we said to Govern-ment.”

DELIVERING SUCCESS FOR REGIONAs the organisationresponsible for steering thearea’s economic growthmoves into a new phase –delivering on its promises –Gavin Thompson meets itsnew chief executive, BarbaraDavies, to discuss thechallenges she faces ahead

But while the focus is on deliveringprojects that have had funding – ran-ging from a tidal blade testing centreto a world-first faster broadband net-work good enough for high tech R&Dwork – the door is not closed to thoseschemes in the LEP plan that missedout on money, such things as ex-panding the Bristol and Bath SciencePa rk .

“The projects we didn’t securefunding for are still very important,they are in our plan and we areexploring ways of securing fundingfor those,” said Barbara. “They wereendorsed by the board and we arestarting to have discussions aboutsecuring funding for those as welland putting together strong businesscases. One thing the LEP can do islook at the different initiatives andadvise people of possible fundingstreams, whether government route

Name: Barbara DaviesAge: 58Position: Chief executive of theWest of England LocalEnterprise PartnershipFrom: Liverpool but moved toBristol in 1990First job: Research fellowship atthe Polytechnic of CentralLondon (now the University ofWestminster) on planning andtransport. “It was my way to getto London.”Working day: I spend my timemanaging a team of people,working closely with partnersand government officials andreporting the LEP board.

Vital statistics or European route.”There is a backdrop of political

uncertainty in Barbara’s role. With ageneral election next year, the futuregovernment could make big changesto the LEPs.

Barbara won’t be drawn into “spec-u l at i o n ” as to what the role or shapeof LEPs will be after May, but she doesbelieve they have a future

“I think the LEPs will be here tostay from what we have heard, but tounderstand the role going forwardand funding, we just need to wait andsee as the parties all have slightlydifferent statements,” she said.

While keeping a “watchful eye” ondevelopments, Barbara said the bestthing was to “demonstrate we are avery effective LEP and that we cand e l ive r ”.

“Actions speak louder than words,”she said.”Writing policy documentsis one thing and it’s very important,but if we really want the West ofEngland to fulfil its potential, and weall believe it has huge potential, it’sby delivery and delivery across part-ners that will demonstrate to Gov-ernment that it’s a good decision toinvest in this area.”

And how will she measure successin her role? It’s no surprise that it willbe what is delivered.

She said: “By next summer I wouldlike to see that all the projects havekicked off, are spending money andmaking progress.”

THE crème de la crème of Bris-tol’s tech start-up scene cametogether to hear from a Bris-tol business that hit the bigt i m e.

Around 100 diverse tech businessesand entrepreneurs filled the Water-shed to hear the latest investmentadvice from representatives fromEden Ventures, Tech City UK, Seed-camp, and Bristol business Basekit.

The room was buzzing with en-thusiastic developers, inventors, andengineers, who took the opportunityto ask the Basekit founders, RichardHealy and Simon Best, how to grow asuccessful business.

Richard and Simon foundedBasekit – a website building tool – in2004. It has since grown into an in-ternationally successful business.

Richard talked about the chal-lenges start-ups must overcome inorder to succeed internationally, in-cluding fighting with yourco-founders and retaining control.

“Being creative and having thefreedom to be creative is important,but start-ups have to think abouttheir business plan, and model. Youneed to have a business focus to suc-ceed.”

BaseKit’s initial success came afterwinning £50,000 in 2008, through Lon-don-based accelerator scheme Seed-c a m p.

Seedcamp has been described as a“Dra gons’ Den on steroids” exper-ience. It takes technology start-upsthrough a week-long business bootcamp and exposes them to around 50influential investors.

This was the first time the rep-resentatives from London came toBristol to meet its wealth of engin-eering and entrepreneurial talent.

Many of Bristol’s innovators werekeen to know their funding optionsand wanted advice about howcrowd-funding platforms comparedto angel investors, venture capital-ists, and government grants.

Seedcamp director Carlos Espinalsaid many entrepreneurs are not yetready to seek funding.

“Firstly the founders have to knowexactly what their roles are and just

how much they share of the busi-n e s s, ” he said. “They should have itwritten down. Internal argumentscan and will rip otherwise successfulbusinesses apart.

“To build on that, start-ups have toknow their customers. You need toknow who your customer is in orderto understand them. Otherwise youwo n’t know how to speak to them andreach out to them.”

Silas Adekunle, the founder ofReach Robotics, said he gained “in-valuable insight” by forcing himselfto view his business through an in-ve s t o r ’s eyes.

“Talking to the founders fromBasekit made me think of the journeythat lies in front of my company andthe unforeseen changes that may takep l a c e, ” he said.

The robotics entrepreneur, who

Barbara Davies

“ It’s about getting to theadded value of workingtogether and presentingstrong messages togovernment. We have astrong story in the Westof England.

Sammy Paynebusiness@b-nm.co.uk

has developed a gaming robot calledthe Mecha Monster, is proud to be apart of Bristol’s thriving start-up net-wo rk .

Silas said: “There is a wealth ofknowledge and invaluable experi-ence here. Everyone is supportive ofthe younger companies and willing tonurture them in order to expand andbetter the community.”

Another young entrepreneur work-ing on drones said he was grateful forBristol’s strong business com-m u n i t y.

Mathieu Johnsson, 26, said: “Icome regularly to these meet-ups tobounce ideas off other entrepreneursand get good advice. We actually se-cured our first client through SouthWest Founders.”

CEO of The Filter James Routleyfounded South West Founders in 2010,creating a network of more than 600inventors, entrepreneurs, and busi-

ness professionals. James arrangedthe event and invited the Seedcamphosts across from London to meetBristol’s start-up talent.

Ja m e s ’ goal was to help buddingentrepreneurs connect with in-vestors and like-minded people.

James said: “It’s a rare opportunityto mix with people that have a similarmindset. Entrepreneurs can come to-gether to share problems and hear

from people who have been there andcome out the other side. It’s a goodplace to get trusted advice.

“We ’re open to undergraduates,young people, older people, investors,entrepreneurs; anyone with a goodidea. Just not people who are sellings e r v i c e s. ”

Paul Masri, who is a project man-ager at Simpleweb, said meet-ups likethis advance business in the local

area. “I came to a meet-up with SouthWest Founders over a year ago andchatted to James about an idea I hadfor a business,” he said. “He shedsome light on the fact the idea was tooeasy to copy, so I killed it. But, thatnight I started chatting with someonefrom Simpleweb. I sent them a fol-low-up email and it turned out he wasthe director and they offered me a job.I started a week later.”

� Seed investor Carlos Espinal and Silas Adekunle of Reach Robotics � Designer Chloe Meineck � Katy Turner, marketing officer at Tech City

� SeedinvestorCarlos Espinaland SouthWe s tFounderso rg a n i s e rJamesRoutleyP i c t u re s :Sammy Payne

� R i c h a rdHealy andSimon Best ofBasekit at theSeedcampevent at theWatershed inBristol

Silas Adekunle

“There is a wealth ofknowledge andexperience here.Everyone is supportive ofthe younger companiesand willing to nurturethem to expand andbetter the community.”

Seeds sown Te c hstart-ups buzzafter meet-up

Te c h n o l o g y

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The Big Interview

TO say it’s been a hectic periodfor the West of England LocalEnterprise Partnership issomething of an understate-ment. The body, which is re-

sponsible for coordinating andleading steps to create jobs andprosperity across the region, has hadits hands rather full.

First it had the small matter of£25 million of grants to hand out tolocal businesses, a huge task for whatis actually a very small organisationwith just a few staff.

Following that was the job ofpulling together the strategic eco-nomic plan – a blueprint for growingthe local economy and a business casefor government investment in it.

Then just before the Governmentwas due to announce levels of fund-ing, the LEP’s chief executive PaulWilson left suddenly to take up a roleat Bristol City Council.

Now the organisation has appoin-ted his successor, Barbara Davies.The 58-year-old takes on the role asthe LEP moves into a new phase,having secured Government cash forsome of the projects outlined in itsblueprint, the focus shifts to deliv-ering them.

Barbara is seen as a safe pair ofhands. She’ll need to be. One of hertasks will be managing the some-times fractious relationship betweenthe four local authorities which makeup the West of England – Bristol,North Somerset, South Gloucester-shire and Bath and North-East Som-erset. But Barbara says therelationship is strong.

“The three leaders and the mayorsit on the LEP board and everyoneinvolved in the board would see thebenefits of working together,” shesaid.

“Any partnership is going to havedebates and consider issues andt h at ’s one of the roles of the LEP is todo that brokering of the differentgroups to get a consistent story.

“A lot of what the LEP is trying toachieve is about getting money to theWest Country and to do that we needto work together. We need to discussissues and we need to find commonlyagreed solutions, like any partner-s h i p. ”

“Par tnership” seems to be Bar-bara’s favourite word. Followed by“d e l ive r y ”. No doubt she would saythat the former leads to the latter.

Her background is in the publicsector, she was worked for the LEP forthe past three years but held nu-merous public sector roles beforethat. But she says her background iscredible to business people.

“Although my career has beenmainly in the public sector, I haveworked with businesses in partner-s h i p s, ” she said. “I am familiar to thebusiness community in the West ofEngland. Developing the strategiceconomic plan was working veryclosely with businesses as we drew

together their ambitions and theirv i s i o n s. ”

Barbara has brought partners to-gether to deliver big projects in thepast, including transport improve-ments for Bath and Wes-ton-super-Mare, bus projects inBristol and funding for the proposedMetro West suburban rail network. Itmay be no coincidence that theseprojects have secured the biggestslices of Government money in re-cent years.

She said: “The strength of the localenterprise partnership is the bring-ing together of a range of partnerswith common aims about growth andcreating jobs so for me a large part ofthe job will be working with the part-ners and that includes the four coun-cils, businesses, universities,colle ges.

“It’s about getting to the addedvalue of working together andpresenting strong messages to gov-ernment. We have a strong story inthe West of England.”

The LEP put its economic plan toGovernment in April. Although shew a s n’t in charge of the body at thattime, she was the senior officer co-ordinating the plan, so the change inleadership won’t mean any change ing o a l s.

“I was very involved in the plan,”she said. “This was the first time wehad brought a strong story aboutwhat the West of England could de-liver to Government.

“My focus now is to make sure weget those projects lined up ready to bedelivered and spend the Governmentm o n e y. ”

In terms of style, Barbara wouldn’tcomment on how she might differfrom her predecessor.

“All I can talk to you about is what Iwill do,” she said. “I am clear I havebeen brought in and will work todeliver what we said to Govern-ment.”

DELIVERING SUCCESS FOR REGIONAs the organisationresponsible for steering thearea’s economic growthmoves into a new phase –delivering on its promises –Gavin Thompson meets itsnew chief executive, BarbaraDavies, to discuss thechallenges she faces ahead

But while the focus is on deliveringprojects that have had funding – ran-ging from a tidal blade testing centreto a world-first faster broadband net-work good enough for high tech R&Dwork – the door is not closed to thoseschemes in the LEP plan that missedout on money, such things as ex-panding the Bristol and Bath SciencePa rk .

“The projects we didn’t securefunding for are still very important,they are in our plan and we areexploring ways of securing fundingfor those,” said Barbara. “They wereendorsed by the board and we arestarting to have discussions aboutsecuring funding for those as welland putting together strong businesscases. One thing the LEP can do islook at the different initiatives andadvise people of possible fundingstreams, whether government route

Name: Barbara DaviesAge: 58Position: Chief executive of theWest of England LocalEnterprise PartnershipFrom: Liverpool but moved toBristol in 1990First job: Research fellowship atthe Polytechnic of CentralLondon (now the University ofWestminster) on planning andtransport. “It was my way to getto London.”Working day: I spend my timemanaging a team of people,working closely with partnersand government officials andreporting the LEP board.

Vital statistics or European route.”There is a backdrop of political

uncertainty in Barbara’s role. With ageneral election next year, the futuregovernment could make big changesto the LEPs.

Barbara won’t be drawn into “spec-u l at i o n ” as to what the role or shapeof LEPs will be after May, but she doesbelieve they have a future

“I think the LEPs will be here tostay from what we have heard, but tounderstand the role going forwardand funding, we just need to wait andsee as the parties all have slightlydifferent statements,” she said.

While keeping a “watchful eye” ondevelopments, Barbara said the bestthing was to “demonstrate we are avery effective LEP and that we cand e l ive r ”.

“Actions speak louder than words,”she said.”Writing policy documentsis one thing and it’s very important,but if we really want the West ofEngland to fulfil its potential, and weall believe it has huge potential, it’sby delivery and delivery across part-ners that will demonstrate to Gov-ernment that it’s a good decision toinvest in this area.”

And how will she measure successin her role? It’s no surprise that it willbe what is delivered.

She said: “By next summer I wouldlike to see that all the projects havekicked off, are spending money andmaking progress.”

THE crème de la crème of Bris-tol’s tech start-up scene cametogether to hear from a Bris-tol business that hit the bigt i m e.

Around 100 diverse tech businessesand entrepreneurs filled the Water-shed to hear the latest investmentadvice from representatives fromEden Ventures, Tech City UK, Seed-camp, and Bristol business Basekit.

The room was buzzing with en-thusiastic developers, inventors, andengineers, who took the opportunityto ask the Basekit founders, RichardHealy and Simon Best, how to grow asuccessful business.

Richard and Simon foundedBasekit – a website building tool – in2004. It has since grown into an in-ternationally successful business.

Richard talked about the chal-lenges start-ups must overcome inorder to succeed internationally, in-cluding fighting with yourco-founders and retaining control.

“Being creative and having thefreedom to be creative is important,but start-ups have to think abouttheir business plan, and model. Youneed to have a business focus to suc-ceed.”

BaseKit’s initial success came afterwinning £50,000 in 2008, through Lon-don-based accelerator scheme Seed-c a m p.

Seedcamp has been described as a“Dra gons’ Den on steroids” exper-ience. It takes technology start-upsthrough a week-long business bootcamp and exposes them to around 50influential investors.

This was the first time the rep-resentatives from London came toBristol to meet its wealth of engin-eering and entrepreneurial talent.

Many of Bristol’s innovators werekeen to know their funding optionsand wanted advice about howcrowd-funding platforms comparedto angel investors, venture capital-ists, and government grants.

Seedcamp director Carlos Espinalsaid many entrepreneurs are not yetready to seek funding.

“Firstly the founders have to knowexactly what their roles are and just

how much they share of the busi-n e s s, ” he said. “They should have itwritten down. Internal argumentscan and will rip otherwise successfulbusinesses apart.

“To build on that, start-ups have toknow their customers. You need toknow who your customer is in orderto understand them. Otherwise youwo n’t know how to speak to them andreach out to them.”

Silas Adekunle, the founder ofReach Robotics, said he gained “in-valuable insight” by forcing himselfto view his business through an in-ve s t o r ’s eyes.

“Talking to the founders fromBasekit made me think of the journeythat lies in front of my company andthe unforeseen changes that may takep l a c e, ” he said.

The robotics entrepreneur, who

Barbara Davies

“ It’s about getting to theadded value of workingtogether and presentingstrong messages togovernment. We have astrong story in the Westof England.

Sammy Paynebusiness@b-nm.co.uk

has developed a gaming robot calledthe Mecha Monster, is proud to be apart of Bristol’s thriving start-up net-wo rk .

Silas said: “There is a wealth ofknowledge and invaluable experi-ence here. Everyone is supportive ofthe younger companies and willing tonurture them in order to expand andbetter the community.”

Another young entrepreneur work-ing on drones said he was grateful forBristol’s strong business com-m u n i t y.

Mathieu Johnsson, 26, said: “Icome regularly to these meet-ups tobounce ideas off other entrepreneursand get good advice. We actually se-cured our first client through SouthWest Founders.”

CEO of The Filter James Routleyfounded South West Founders in 2010,creating a network of more than 600inventors, entrepreneurs, and busi-

ness professionals. James arrangedthe event and invited the Seedcamphosts across from London to meetBristol’s start-up talent.

Ja m e s ’ goal was to help buddingentrepreneurs connect with in-vestors and like-minded people.

James said: “It’s a rare opportunityto mix with people that have a similarmindset. Entrepreneurs can come to-gether to share problems and hear

from people who have been there andcome out the other side. It’s a goodplace to get trusted advice.

“We ’re open to undergraduates,young people, older people, investors,entrepreneurs; anyone with a goodidea. Just not people who are sellings e r v i c e s. ”

Paul Masri, who is a project man-ager at Simpleweb, said meet-ups likethis advance business in the local

area. “I came to a meet-up with SouthWest Founders over a year ago andchatted to James about an idea I hadfor a business,” he said. “He shedsome light on the fact the idea was tooeasy to copy, so I killed it. But, thatnight I started chatting with someonefrom Simpleweb. I sent them a fol-low-up email and it turned out he wasthe director and they offered me a job.I started a week later.”

� Seed investor Carlos Espinal and Silas Adekunle of Reach Robotics � Designer Chloe Meineck � Katy Turner, marketing officer at Tech City

� SeedinvestorCarlos Espinaland SouthWe s tFounderso rg a n i s e rJamesRoutleyP i c t u re s :Sammy Payne

� R i c h a rdHealy andSimon Best ofBasekit at theSeedcampevent at theWatershed inBristol

Silas Adekunle

“There is a wealth ofknowledge andexperience here.Everyone is supportive ofthe younger companiesand willing to nurturethem to expand andbetter the community.”

Seeds sown Te c hstart-ups buzzafter meet-up

Te c h n o l o g y

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IF the new EU General Data Pro-tection Regulation comes intoplay next year, as expected, Bris-tol’s businesses will have tobrush up on their data protec-

tion measures or face a hefty fine.According to a recent study by Sky-

high Networks, surveying 7,000 cloudservice providers, only one out of 100met the new regulation’s guidelines.

This should be an alarming figurefor businesses, as businesses thatleak customer data, even if hackedthrough criminal activity, can face afine of up to one hundred millione u ro s.

Alison Deighton, who heads lawfirm TLT’s data protection team, saidshe often comes into contact withbusinesses which don’t know what’srequired of them legally.

“Awareness of data protection risksis rising but many businesses still

medium-sized businesses from beingtotally secure online. “It can be dif-ficult for small businesses to obtainaffordable technical expertise to en-sure that they are taking the rightmeasures to protect data online,” shesaid. “Once businesses have identi-fied the measures they need to have inplace they will need to find suitableproducts from reputable suppliers.”

“It can be helpful to use a technicalconsultant with data security expert-ise to assist with this process.”

The data protection expert urgedbusiness owners who don’t under-stand the risks of storing and trans-mitting data to go online andresearch the Information Commis-sioner, who regulates the Data Pro-

tection Act. “It’s an easy place tostar t.” she said.

Chris O’Connell, pictured insetright, an associate at Burges Sal-m o n’s and an expert on data pro-tection, said collecting and storingdata can be a real struggle.

“Businesses are collecting moredata than ever before. As a result,businesses of all sizes can oftenstruggle to get to grips with the fullextent of their legal obligations andhow best to manage the processingand security of data within their or-ganisations. Businesses often fail torealise the risks to data security with-in their business that are posed bytheir everyday ways of working.”

Chris said business owners need to

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

Small businesses are beingtold to ramp up their cybersecurity but experts say thebiggest threat is not hackingbut human error. SammyPayne reports

lack awareness and are under-re-sourced in this area.”

“But, cyber threats are very realand businesses need to be aware ofthe areas where they are most at riskand take steps to mitigate thoser i s k s. ”

After advising hundreds of busi-nesses on data risks, Alison said it’sclear that data protection is oftenbeing left to the IT team.

However, all areas of the businessneed a good understanding of ther i s k s.

“Data protection is not just abouthaving good technical security meas-ures in place.”

“It’s also about ensuring that yourstaff is given clear guidance andtraining on the risks and the pro-cedures they need to follow to reducethose risks.

“You can have the best securitymeasures in the world but if one ofyour staff inadvertently providestheir log in details to a third party, allof those security measures will in-stantly be bypassed.”

Data leaks are often due to humanerror and not through online hack-ing, according to Alison.

This commonly happens by peopleforgetting their phones and laptopson trains, for example.

“Many data security breaches aredue to human error, for example,somebody sending an email to thewrong recipient or using an unen-crypted mobile device that gets lostor stolen.”

Alison thinks factors such as lackof time and money prevent small and

� VOUCHERCLOUD is an onlinediscount service that waslaunched in 2010.

In just four years the digitalBristol business has growns i g n i f i c a n t l y.

The company now has 150staff across three countries thathelp well over two million peopleaccess discount codes for highstreet shops and restaurants,per month.

With more than sixmillion appdownloads,protecting a massof user data is nomean feat.

Roja Buck, thechief architectand technicaldepartment headat Vouchercloud,explained how thecompany preventshackers accessingtheir users’ data.

“We follow strong internalsecurity policies which includeeverything from symmetricencryption through to regularpenetration testing.”

“With our new productGiftcloud, we have to storedigital gift cards for our users,so substantial investment wasmade into building proprietarytechnology to protect ourcustomers data from attack.”

According to Roja, storing userdata is incredibly important toVo u c h e rc l o u d ’s market success.

Without it the companycouldn’t create targeted andcompelling content for itsparticular customer base, so ittakes data protection seriously.

Roja said: “We need tomaintain data about that userand that user therefore, explicitlytrusts us with information whichthey consider private.

“We take that trust as afundamental pillar of ourbusiness, as without it we can'tpossibly hope to deliver amarket-beating product.”

Part of keeping that trust withtheir customer base meant

keeping their customers’ data“utterly segregated” f ro mVodafone, which became ashareholder in 2011.

Vouchercloud must complywith the data regulations of eachcountry it operates in, so thatmeans investing time intoresearching relevant data laws.

“Our policies have to meetinternational requirements,” said

Roja. “The most importantdata is anything directly

related to our users,personal

identifiableinformation or‘PII’ as it isknown. Extraprotection hasto be takena ro u n d

transmitting andstoring such

details.”Roja, like the

experts, thinks the bestform of data protection is

tactical prevention.“The most important thing is

to safeguard our systems fromattack so that data does not getinto the wrong hands in the firstplace. It is a complex issue andis a field that changes andbecomes ever more important aswe adopt technology deeper intoour lives.”

Roja has been a part ofVouchercloud for over two yearsand watched as the businesswent from 25 to 150 staff.

For small businesses andstart-ups hoping to go global headvised: “Read the legislation inall countries you do business, asdata laws can be significantlydifferent across the world.

“Make security a uniqueselling point of your product andfollow best practices in storingpersonal identifiable information.

“Lastly, security is only asstrong as the weakest point,make sure your data isphysically secure as well asdigitally secure by using areputable hosting provider, suchas Amazon web services.”

Don’t let it get in wrong handsCase study

We prepare for online attacksby constantly expecting them

Case study

Special report: Cyber security

IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO KEEP CUSTOMER DATA SECURE

strengthen their policies on exactlywho in the business has access tocustomer data.

If a handful of employees, ratherthan many, are trained on how toprotect data, the risk of a leak is farless likely. Although businesses risk aheavy fine under new regulations ifthey leak customer information, it’sthe harm to the individual that wor-ries Chris.

“Data security breaches can causeserious harm and distress to affectedi n d iv i d u a l s. ”

Individuals who have been affectedby data leaks have experienced,threats of violence, mortgage fraudand fake credit card transactions.

Nello Cristianini is a professor of

Artificial Intelligence at the Uni-versity of Bristol and has expertise in‘big data’.

For Nello, data protection is ofhuge importance, he said: “It isconcerning if a business isnot aware of its obligationsas a data holder, but thereare laws about this.”

All businesses, no mat-ter the size, should knowand follow the law. But,the professor has con-cerns about data use with-in the parameters of the law.“Once businesses follow all thelaws, there are still serious prob-lems. I do not think our laws areadequate yet, when it comes to con-

trolling what can be done with ourpersonal data.”

Nello thinks the new EU data dir-ective is not sufficient enough

when it comes to regulatinghow businesses mine and

use data.“My own concern is

not so much about therisk of this data beingmisused as a result ofleak or theft.”

“My problem is: whatare data-holders allowed

to do with the data theyhave lawfully collected.

“In Bristol, I have been asked togive personal information, for ex-ample my address, even to get a hair-

cut or to buy a goldfish.”The academic wants businesses to

think about the data they’re gath-ering and storing and questionwhether they actually need it.

When researching this article Icame across a number of small busi-nesses that had no idea about dataprotection and what was legally re-quired of their business.

When I told this to Bristol’s dataexperts they were unsurprised andsaid they frequently came into con-tact with businesses that were un-intentionally breaking data laws. Ifyou are a small business seekingawareness about data protection,please visit the information commis-sioner’s office online.

� AS A cloud-based businessthat supports hundreds of smallbusinesses with their onlinesoftware, Neetrix must takeaction against cyber threats assoon as a concern arises.

The growing internet business,based in Bristol, is comprised ofsix employees that help othersmall businesses with theircustomer relationshipmanagement systems.

Adam Saunders, founder andCEO of Neetrix, said the mostproblematic threat to his businesswas not software based, but userbased.

“Software is really good atfollowing instructions, that’s thenature of it. It’s easy to solve aproblem when it’s found. Peopleare very different,” he said.

“It’s far easier for a hacker togain access to information bytricking a user into providing it,than directly attacking thes o f t w a re . ”

This type of attack is calledphishing and is the hardest typeof attack to stop because it’s theend-user that unintentionallymakes themselves vulnerable.

It works by unsuspectingpeople logging into fakewebsites, which are made to lookexactly like the original, usingtheir email address andp a s s w o rd .

Tricking people into handingover their online details by emailis the most common attack,however there are still targetedattacks using phone calls andeven letters.

The most alarming matter,according to Adam, is the factphishing “doesn’t require a lot oftechnical knowledge like hackingdoes, and it can unfortunately befar more effective”.

Adam says Neetrix prepares foronline attacks by constantlyexpecting them.

He said: “The moment there iscomplacency, when you think

everything is completely secure,you will stop checking that it is.”

“The attacks we get are usuallyautomated, looking for exploitsthat exist in other softwarep ro d u c t s .

“Others are usually trying tofind what kind of information wemight store. This is why we don’tstore any ‘candy’ data, such ascredit cards or information, whichcould lead to direct financialgains, even though we havee-commerce functionality for ourclients.”

Neetrix decided not to store itscustomers card details eventhough they could do so securely.

“It’s a choice we make foradded security,” he said.

Adam said he had to makecyber security one of his greatestpriorities after hearing one toomany data horror stories wheresensitive customer data had beenstolen.

“It happens all the timeunfortunately, especially withphishing attacks. The mostinteresting one that comes tomind is a business who dealt witha lot of data that decided to keepeverything on premise, on theirown servers.”

The business went through alot of effort to secure theircustomer data, according toAdam. Even hiring a securityteam to try to hack their servers.

The security team did manageto breach the businesses servers,but it wasn’t through an onlineattack.

A member of the team simplyposed as a technician and trickeda receptionist into giving himaccess to ‘fix’ the servers.

“He walked directly to theserver room and downloaded thedatabases on to a USB memorystick and walked back out.”

“Just goes to show, ignoranceand complacency will be thegreatest security threat in abusiness.”

Alison Deighton

Cyber threats are veryreal and businesses needto be aware of the areaswhere they are most atrisk and take steps tomitigate those risks.

“

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8 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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

IF the new EU General Data Pro-tection Regulation comes intoplay next year, as expected, Bris-tol’s businesses will have tobrush up on their data protec-

tion measures or face a hefty fine.According to a recent study by Sky-

high Networks, surveying 7,000 cloudservice providers, only one out of 100met the new regulation’s guidelines.

This should be an alarming figurefor businesses, as businesses thatleak customer data, even if hackedthrough criminal activity, can face afine of up to one hundred millione u ro s.

Alison Deighton, who heads lawfirm TLT’s data protection team, saidshe often comes into contact withbusinesses which don’t know what’srequired of them legally.

“Awareness of data protection risksis rising but many businesses still

medium-sized businesses from beingtotally secure online. “It can be dif-ficult for small businesses to obtainaffordable technical expertise to en-sure that they are taking the rightmeasures to protect data online,” shesaid. “Once businesses have identi-fied the measures they need to have inplace they will need to find suitableproducts from reputable suppliers.”

“It can be helpful to use a technicalconsultant with data security expert-ise to assist with this process.”

The data protection expert urgedbusiness owners who don’t under-stand the risks of storing and trans-mitting data to go online andresearch the Information Commis-sioner, who regulates the Data Pro-

tection Act. “It’s an easy place tostar t.” she said.

Chris O’Connell, pictured insetright, an associate at Burges Sal-m o n’s and an expert on data pro-tection, said collecting and storingdata can be a real struggle.

“Businesses are collecting moredata than ever before. As a result,businesses of all sizes can oftenstruggle to get to grips with the fullextent of their legal obligations andhow best to manage the processingand security of data within their or-ganisations. Businesses often fail torealise the risks to data security with-in their business that are posed bytheir everyday ways of working.”

Chris said business owners need to

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

Small businesses are beingtold to ramp up their cybersecurity but experts say thebiggest threat is not hackingbut human error. SammyPayne reports

lack awareness and are under-re-sourced in this area.”

“But, cyber threats are very realand businesses need to be aware ofthe areas where they are most at riskand take steps to mitigate thoser i s k s. ”

After advising hundreds of busi-nesses on data risks, Alison said it’sclear that data protection is oftenbeing left to the IT team.

However, all areas of the businessneed a good understanding of ther i s k s.

“Data protection is not just abouthaving good technical security meas-ures in place.”

“It’s also about ensuring that yourstaff is given clear guidance andtraining on the risks and the pro-cedures they need to follow to reducethose risks.

“You can have the best securitymeasures in the world but if one ofyour staff inadvertently providestheir log in details to a third party, allof those security measures will in-stantly be bypassed.”

Data leaks are often due to humanerror and not through online hack-ing, according to Alison.

This commonly happens by peopleforgetting their phones and laptopson trains, for example.

“Many data security breaches aredue to human error, for example,somebody sending an email to thewrong recipient or using an unen-crypted mobile device that gets lostor stolen.”

Alison thinks factors such as lackof time and money prevent small and

� VOUCHERCLOUD is an onlinediscount service that waslaunched in 2010.

In just four years the digitalBristol business has growns i g n i f i c a n t l y.

The company now has 150staff across three countries thathelp well over two million peopleaccess discount codes for highstreet shops and restaurants,per month.

With more than sixmillion appdownloads,protecting a massof user data is nomean feat.

Roja Buck, thechief architectand technicaldepartment headat Vouchercloud,explained how thecompany preventshackers accessingtheir users’ data.

“We follow strong internalsecurity policies which includeeverything from symmetricencryption through to regularpenetration testing.”

“With our new productGiftcloud, we have to storedigital gift cards for our users,so substantial investment wasmade into building proprietarytechnology to protect ourcustomers data from attack.”

According to Roja, storing userdata is incredibly important toVo u c h e rc l o u d ’s market success.

Without it the companycouldn’t create targeted andcompelling content for itsparticular customer base, so ittakes data protection seriously.

Roja said: “We need tomaintain data about that userand that user therefore, explicitlytrusts us with information whichthey consider private.

“We take that trust as afundamental pillar of ourbusiness, as without it we can'tpossibly hope to deliver amarket-beating product.”

Part of keeping that trust withtheir customer base meant

keeping their customers’ data“utterly segregated” f ro mVodafone, which became ashareholder in 2011.

Vouchercloud must complywith the data regulations of eachcountry it operates in, so thatmeans investing time intoresearching relevant data laws.

“Our policies have to meetinternational requirements,” said

Roja. “The most importantdata is anything directly

related to our users,personal

identifiableinformation or‘PII’ as it isknown. Extraprotection hasto be takena ro u n d

transmitting andstoring such

details.”Roja, like the

experts, thinks the bestform of data protection is

tactical prevention.“The most important thing is

to safeguard our systems fromattack so that data does not getinto the wrong hands in the firstplace. It is a complex issue andis a field that changes andbecomes ever more important aswe adopt technology deeper intoour lives.”

Roja has been a part ofVouchercloud for over two yearsand watched as the businesswent from 25 to 150 staff.

For small businesses andstart-ups hoping to go global headvised: “Read the legislation inall countries you do business, asdata laws can be significantlydifferent across the world.

“Make security a uniqueselling point of your product andfollow best practices in storingpersonal identifiable information.

“Lastly, security is only asstrong as the weakest point,make sure your data isphysically secure as well asdigitally secure by using areputable hosting provider, suchas Amazon web services.”

Don’t let it get in wrong handsCase study

We prepare for online attacksby constantly expecting them

Case study

Special report: Cyber security

IT’S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO KEEP CUSTOMER DATA SECURE

strengthen their policies on exactlywho in the business has access tocustomer data.

If a handful of employees, ratherthan many, are trained on how toprotect data, the risk of a leak is farless likely. Although businesses risk aheavy fine under new regulations ifthey leak customer information, it’sthe harm to the individual that wor-ries Chris.

“Data security breaches can causeserious harm and distress to affectedi n d iv i d u a l s. ”

Individuals who have been affectedby data leaks have experienced,threats of violence, mortgage fraudand fake credit card transactions.

Nello Cristianini is a professor of

Artificial Intelligence at the Uni-versity of Bristol and has expertise in‘big data’.

For Nello, data protection is ofhuge importance, he said: “It isconcerning if a business isnot aware of its obligationsas a data holder, but thereare laws about this.”

All businesses, no mat-ter the size, should knowand follow the law. But,the professor has con-cerns about data use with-in the parameters of the law.“Once businesses follow all thelaws, there are still serious prob-lems. I do not think our laws areadequate yet, when it comes to con-

trolling what can be done with ourpersonal data.”

Nello thinks the new EU data dir-ective is not sufficient enough

when it comes to regulatinghow businesses mine and

use data.“My own concern is

not so much about therisk of this data beingmisused as a result ofleak or theft.”

“My problem is: whatare data-holders allowed

to do with the data theyhave lawfully collected.

“In Bristol, I have been asked togive personal information, for ex-ample my address, even to get a hair-

cut or to buy a goldfish.”The academic wants businesses to

think about the data they’re gath-ering and storing and questionwhether they actually need it.

When researching this article Icame across a number of small busi-nesses that had no idea about dataprotection and what was legally re-quired of their business.

When I told this to Bristol’s dataexperts they were unsurprised andsaid they frequently came into con-tact with businesses that were un-intentionally breaking data laws. Ifyou are a small business seekingawareness about data protection,please visit the information commis-sioner’s office online.

� AS A cloud-based businessthat supports hundreds of smallbusinesses with their onlinesoftware, Neetrix must takeaction against cyber threats assoon as a concern arises.

The growing internet business,based in Bristol, is comprised ofsix employees that help othersmall businesses with theircustomer relationshipmanagement systems.

Adam Saunders, founder andCEO of Neetrix, said the mostproblematic threat to his businesswas not software based, but userbased.

“Software is really good atfollowing instructions, that’s thenature of it. It’s easy to solve aproblem when it’s found. Peopleare very different,” he said.

“It’s far easier for a hacker togain access to information bytricking a user into providing it,than directly attacking thes o f t w a re . ”

This type of attack is calledphishing and is the hardest typeof attack to stop because it’s theend-user that unintentionallymakes themselves vulnerable.

It works by unsuspectingpeople logging into fakewebsites, which are made to lookexactly like the original, usingtheir email address andp a s s w o rd .

Tricking people into handingover their online details by emailis the most common attack,however there are still targetedattacks using phone calls andeven letters.

The most alarming matter,according to Adam, is the factphishing “doesn’t require a lot oftechnical knowledge like hackingdoes, and it can unfortunately befar more effective”.

Adam says Neetrix prepares foronline attacks by constantlyexpecting them.

He said: “The moment there iscomplacency, when you think

everything is completely secure,you will stop checking that it is.”

“The attacks we get are usuallyautomated, looking for exploitsthat exist in other softwarep ro d u c t s .

“Others are usually trying tofind what kind of information wemight store. This is why we don’tstore any ‘candy’ data, such ascredit cards or information, whichcould lead to direct financialgains, even though we havee-commerce functionality for ourclients.”

Neetrix decided not to store itscustomers card details eventhough they could do so securely.

“It’s a choice we make foradded security,” he said.

Adam said he had to makecyber security one of his greatestpriorities after hearing one toomany data horror stories wheresensitive customer data had beenstolen.

“It happens all the timeunfortunately, especially withphishing attacks. The mostinteresting one that comes tomind is a business who dealt witha lot of data that decided to keepeverything on premise, on theirown servers.”

The business went through alot of effort to secure theircustomer data, according toAdam. Even hiring a securityteam to try to hack their servers.

The security team did manageto breach the businesses servers,but it wasn’t through an onlineattack.

A member of the team simplyposed as a technician and trickeda receptionist into giving himaccess to ‘fix’ the servers.

“He walked directly to theserver room and downloaded thedatabases on to a USB memorystick and walked back out.”

“Just goes to show, ignoranceand complacency will be thegreatest security threat in abusiness.”

Alison Deighton

Cyber threats are veryreal and businesses needto be aware of the areaswhere they are most atrisk and take steps tomitigate those risks.

“

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10 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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 - Bristol ConnectedBusiness diary

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

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.

Set.Social: Networking for thecreative industries held on thefirst Wednesday of every monthto facilitate collaborative workingamongst like-minded creativeprofessionals, many of whomwork from home as freelancers.At The Set, Bath Road Studios,from 6pm, Wednesday,September 3.

Access to Growth Capital: TheLondon Stock Exchange andCapita 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 http:///www.lseg.com/ re g i s t e r 1 0 0 0 .

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Held atthe University of Bristol BotanicGardens with Martin Bigg fromthe Bristol Green CapitalPartnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkwww.iod.com/swestevents formore information and to book.

Triodos annual meeting: Achance for people to find outmore about the bank. Speakersfrom Triodos will be joined byPatrick Holden of theSustainable Food Trust, KidsCompany founder CamilaBatmanghelidjh and JeremyLeggett of Solarcentury.Saturday, September 13 atBrunel’s Old Station, TempleMeads, 10am to 4pm.

Introduction to BloodhoundSCC: See the latestdevelopments behind thesupersonic car and learn abouttax relief for research anddevelopment at this eventorganised by Chantrey Vellacott.At the Bloodbound TechnicalCentre, Avonmouth, from4.30pm-7pm on September 17.

The Bristol BusinessExhibition: The exhibitionattracts business owners anddecision makers from across theregion and is a great way tosource suppliers and generatenew business. It takes place atAshton Gate Conference Centrefrom 10am to 3pm on Tuesday,September 30.

Growing your business into awinning brand seminar: G re g gLatchams and ActionCOACHBristol & North Somerset host anevent with guest speakersincluding cheese maker, ToddTrethowan and Chris Head of theWest of England Rural Network,who will talk about creating andmarketing a successful brandand how to grow a foodbusiness in the current climate.To reserve a place, email tok a y l e i g h . g ro v e s @ g re gglatchams.com. October 1,10am-1.30pm, Puxton Park.

IT has been a good year for Bris-tol’s visitor economy and the cityis well placed to push on to great-er things in future. That was themessage to businesses attending

Bristol Connected.Destination Bristol chief executive

John Hirst told the event, which is abusiness networking evening run bythe Bristol Post, that 2013 had been agood year.

He highlighted street art and theGromit Unleashed! trail as among thebiggest draws for visitors and saidnext year’s European Green Capitalstatus was a big opportunity.

“We are the first UK city to holdthis title and it really is whatever wemake it,” he said.

The networking event, which isheld every other month in a differentvenue, was hosted by the Bristol CityCentre Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWa y.

General manager Kevin Byrnestold the audience 2014 had been goodfor business with corporate bookingson the rise, meaning mid-week oc-cupancy levels were strong.

But he said he would like to seemore done to bring in weekend vis-itors, such as higher profile events.

“Bristol has so many fantasticevents that bring in lots of peoplefrom the local area throughout thes u m m e r, ” he said.

“But really only the InternationalBalloon Fiesta brings in people fromfurther afield.”

Final speaker Johnny Palmer, dir-ector of events production firm SXSEvents, said the city needed moreexhibition venues – something whichthe long awaited arena will deliver.

“People come for the knitting con-ference and stay for the weekend,seeing all the great things Bristol hasto offer,” he said.

Johnny said his firm worked at thetop end of the market and most of thejobs were in London, but the com-pany stayed here because of the qual-ity of life the city offers.

“We earn our money in London andspend it in Bristol,” he said.

Around 60 people packed the freeevent at the hotel’s City Cafe.� If you would like to sponsor orhost a future Bristol Connectedevent, please contact GavinThompson by emailingga v i n . t h o m p s o n @ b - n m . c o. u k .

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

A GOOD YEAR – NOW CITY PUSHES ON TO GREATER THINGS

� Suzan Uzel and Lucy Doyle of Spirit PRBRML20140814F-014

� Ruth Taylor of Immix Media, and Linn Waite of Early DayFilms BRML20140814F-003

� Linda Hickton of PSL Structural Projects Ltd and Viv Pole ofVSM Ltd BRML20140814F-012

� Chris Young of Radisson Blu, Inge Dowden of Inge DowdenCoaching, and Kate Hemmings of Hilton Garden Inn F-002_C

� Carol Prince of Jordans Ltd, Nicola Padden of CitySightseeing BRML20140814F-008

� Dan White and Karl Hudson of Stannah Lift Services LtdBRML20140814F-011� The Bristol Connected event at Hilton Garden Inn Photos: Michael Lloyd BRML20140814F-005

� John Hirst of Destination Bristol BRML20140814F-021 � Kevin Byrnes, Hilton Garden Inn BRML20140814F-019

� JohnnyPalmer of SXSEventsspeaking atthe BristolConnectedeventBRML20140814F-023

� HalinaJ a ro s z e w s k a ,ExecutiveCoach; StuartSermon of TPTelecom; JadeWicks ofWo r t h e r sC re a t i v eMedia; andCharlieBradley ofWo m e nOutside TheBoxBRML20140814F-016

� Helen Sanders of Wingrove Taylor Ltd, RachaelGlendinning, and Sam Gooby of EE

BRML20140814F-009

� John Hirst, Jendayi Serwah of Noble TradingAssociates, Hussain Bayoomi of Local World

BRML20140814F-013

� Daphne Marinopoulos of The Fibre Co andAlison McDougall of Cuddle and Cwtch Ltd

BRML20140814F-010

Part of the Local World group

We supply a glossy setting worthy of any awardwinner. From staging and set design, to an assortmentof lighting from LED’s to gobos. We provide all thenecessary services and equipment you would needto make your awards evening the one to remember.

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

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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 20, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, August 20, 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 - Bristol ConnectedBusiness diary

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

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.

Set.Social: Networking for thecreative industries held on thefirst Wednesday of every monthto facilitate collaborative workingamongst like-minded creativeprofessionals, many of whomwork from home as freelancers.At The Set, Bath Road Studios,from 6pm, Wednesday,September 3.

Access to Growth Capital: TheLondon Stock Exchange andCapita 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 http:///www.lseg.com/ re g i s t e r 1 0 0 0 .

Institute of Directors Bristolbranch Autumn Special Held atthe University of Bristol BotanicGardens with Martin Bigg fromthe Bristol Green CapitalPartnership, Tuesday,September 9. Checkwww.iod.com/swestevents formore information and to book.

Triodos annual meeting: Achance for people to find outmore about the bank. Speakersfrom Triodos will be joined byPatrick Holden of theSustainable Food Trust, KidsCompany founder CamilaBatmanghelidjh and JeremyLeggett of Solarcentury.Saturday, September 13 atBrunel’s Old Station, TempleMeads, 10am to 4pm.

Introduction to BloodhoundSCC: See the latestdevelopments behind thesupersonic car and learn abouttax relief for research anddevelopment at this eventorganised by Chantrey Vellacott.At the Bloodbound TechnicalCentre, Avonmouth, from4.30pm-7pm on September 17.

The Bristol BusinessExhibition: The exhibitionattracts business owners anddecision makers from across theregion and is a great way tosource suppliers and generatenew business. It takes place atAshton Gate Conference Centrefrom 10am to 3pm on Tuesday,September 30.

Growing your business into awinning brand seminar: G re g gLatchams and ActionCOACHBristol & North Somerset host anevent with guest speakersincluding cheese maker, ToddTrethowan and Chris Head of theWest of England Rural Network,who will talk about creating andmarketing a successful brandand how to grow a foodbusiness in the current climate.To reserve a place, email tok a y l e i g h . g ro v e s @ g re gglatchams.com. October 1,10am-1.30pm, Puxton Park.

IT has been a good year for Bris-tol’s visitor economy and the cityis well placed to push on to great-er things in future. That was themessage to businesses attending

Bristol Connected.Destination Bristol chief executive

John Hirst told the event, which is abusiness networking evening run bythe Bristol Post, that 2013 had been agood year.

He highlighted street art and theGromit Unleashed! trail as among thebiggest draws for visitors and saidnext year’s European Green Capitalstatus was a big opportunity.

“We are the first UK city to holdthis title and it really is whatever wemake it,” he said.

The networking event, which isheld every other month in a differentvenue, was hosted by the Bristol CityCentre Hilton Garden Inn, TempleWa y.

General manager Kevin Byrnestold the audience 2014 had been goodfor business with corporate bookingson the rise, meaning mid-week oc-cupancy levels were strong.

But he said he would like to seemore done to bring in weekend vis-itors, such as higher profile events.

“Bristol has so many fantasticevents that bring in lots of peoplefrom the local area throughout thes u m m e r, ” he said.

“But really only the InternationalBalloon Fiesta brings in people fromfurther afield.”

Final speaker Johnny Palmer, dir-ector of events production firm SXSEvents, said the city needed moreexhibition venues – something whichthe long awaited arena will deliver.

“People come for the knitting con-ference and stay for the weekend,seeing all the great things Bristol hasto offer,” he said.

Johnny said his firm worked at thetop end of the market and most of thejobs were in London, but the com-pany stayed here because of the qual-ity of life the city offers.

“We earn our money in London andspend it in Bristol,” he said.

Around 60 people packed the freeevent at the hotel’s City Cafe.� If you would like to sponsor orhost a future Bristol Connectedevent, please contact GavinThompson by emailingga v i n . t h o m p s o n @ b - n m . c o. u k .

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

A GOOD YEAR – NOW CITY PUSHES ON TO GREATER THINGS

� Suzan Uzel and Lucy Doyle of Spirit PRBRML20140814F-014

� Ruth Taylor of Immix Media, and Linn Waite of Early DayFilms BRML20140814F-003

� Linda Hickton of PSL Structural Projects Ltd and Viv Pole ofVSM Ltd BRML20140814F-012

� Chris Young of Radisson Blu, Inge Dowden of Inge DowdenCoaching, and Kate Hemmings of Hilton Garden Inn F-002_C

� Carol Prince of Jordans Ltd, Nicola Padden of CitySightseeing BRML20140814F-008

� Dan White and Karl Hudson of Stannah Lift Services LtdBRML20140814F-011� The Bristol Connected event at Hilton Garden Inn Photos: Michael Lloyd BRML20140814F-005

� John Hirst of Destination Bristol BRML20140814F-021 � Kevin Byrnes, Hilton Garden Inn BRML20140814F-019

� JohnnyPalmer of SXSEventsspeaking atthe BristolConnectedeventBRML20140814F-023

� HalinaJ a ro s z e w s k a ,ExecutiveCoach; StuartSermon of TPTelecom; JadeWicks ofWo r t h e r sC re a t i v eMedia; andCharlieBradley ofWo m e nOutside TheBoxBRML20140814F-016

� Helen Sanders of Wingrove Taylor Ltd, RachaelGlendinning, and Sam Gooby of EE

BRML20140814F-009

� John Hirst, Jendayi Serwah of Noble TradingAssociates, Hussain Bayoomi of Local World

BRML20140814F-013

� Daphne Marinopoulos of The Fibre Co andAlison McDougall of Cuddle and Cwtch Ltd

BRML20140814F-010

Part of the Local World group

We supply a glossy setting worthy of any awardwinner. From staging and set design, to an assortmentof lighting from LED’s to gobos. We provide all thenecessary services and equipment you would needto make your awards evening the one to remember.

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

Presentation Production

Live Camera Relay

Pyrotechnics

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

EPB-

E01-

S3

12 We d n e s d a y, August 20, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The back pagePe o p l e� The recovery of the commercialproperty sector is reflected in anumber of new appointments thisweek. DTZ is expanding its Bristolinvestment agency team with theappointment of Hollie Ruddle asassociation director.

She will be providing disposal,acquisition and asset managementadvice across a wide range ofcommercial property as well asstrategic analysis for real estateproperty companies, funds,institutions and individuals, joiningfrom LSH.

Nick Allan, senior investmentdirector, said: “DTZ’s increasingpool of core clients are seeking ourassistance as the demand forinvestment opportunities continuesto increase. Our relationships withboth occupiers and investors ensurethat we are well placed to advise ona wide spectrum of investmentopportunities.”

� Property adviser CBRE has madetwo appointments locally.

Robert Moran has joined the firm’svaluation consultancy team as asurveyor, following four years atGVA and after qualifying as achartered surveyor last year.

Robert said: “My time at CBREwill be spent working on theinvestment valuation side. I will beresponsible for looking after anumber of properties on behalf ofinstitutional investors such asThreadneedle, Legal & General andAviva, which in light of the improvingUK economy and investor sentimentmeans exciting times ahead for theteam.”

The firm’s other new recruit,Marcus Hutchings, has joined itsproperty asset services team assenior surveyor having previouslyworked for Workman LLP. Marcuswill work with CBRE’s largest client,M&G Real Estate.

Marcus said: “This is a greatopportunity for me to manage someof the best properties in the SouthWest, a role that was previouslybased from London. I intend to usemy local knowledge of the market toenhance the property and assetmanagement service provided toM&G.”

� And Lambert Smith Hampton(LSH) has strengthened its buildingconsultancy team in Bristol with theappointment of a new graduatebuilding surveyor.

Jessica Dabrowski joins thenational commercial propertyconsultancy as the firm looks togrow, having won a number of newclients in recent months.

The University of Readinggraduate, who attained a first classdegree in building surveying, hasmoved to LSH from Cushman andWakefield in London.

Cathy Knutsen, director of LSH’sbuilding consultancy team in Bristol,said: “It is wonderful that we areable to take on additional staff tocope with demand and continue toprovide the high levels of service forwhich we are known.”

Jessica said: “I was keen to moveto a company that had a nationalreputation for excellence and thatwould support me as I develop myskills and qualifications in buildingsurveying.”

� Independent building andproperty consultancy Tuffin FerrabyTaylor has hired Simon Young as asenior building surveyor at its Bristolo ff i c e .

Simon moves following six years

Medium-sized firms – the dynamo for growth

WE are used to hearingand reading about theefforts of the UK’s smallbusinesses, and at theother end of the scale,

its large corporates.Both are rightly lauded for their

respective contributions and bothhave their own well established sup-port network.

But what of the ‘forgotten middle’,the thousands of mid-sized busi-nesses (MSBs) whose contributiontends to be overlooked?

There are approaching 3,000 ofthese MSBs – broadly defined as thoseemploying between 50 and 500 people– in the South West alone. They em-ploy more than 300,000 people in theregion and were responsible for acombined turnover of over £34.5 bil-lion last year, often outperformingtheir smaller and larger counter-parts in relative terms.

The importance of medium-sized

businesses in driving the economicrecovery is clear – but it is not beingsufficiently acknowledged and en-coura g ed.

That is why Grant Thornton, inconjunction with the CBI, has drawnup a series of proposals in our ‘Ag entsof Growth’ report aimed at helpingthem, including tailored support formedium-sized businesses, furtherwork to tackle the skills shortage andboost apprenticeships, and recom-mendations to increase access to fin-a n c e.

Of course it is not one-way traffic.There is much medium-sized busi-nesses can do to help themselves ifthey are to compete with the likes ofGer many’s ‘Mittelstand’ – for ex-

� Above, Garry Hicks, Robert Moran and Marcus Hutchings ofCBRE; right, Hollie Ruddle of DTZ, Jessica Dabrowski of LambertSmith Hampton, and Simon Young of Tuffin Ferraby Taylor

The op-ed column

ample by trying to forge a strongercollective identity, to think big onexports and take advantage of highgrowth economies in the Middle Eastand Asia, and to be more imaginativewhen it comes to exploring a widerange of finance options.

But there is one area in which onlyGovernment action will suffice –tax.

Our research with the CBI hasfound that the UK tax system is ham-pering MSBs’ growth by disruptingtheir cash flow, absorbing valuablemanagement time and dampening ex-port ambitions.

These businesses tend not to havethe resources that large ones have tohelp them navigate complex taxrules, nor do they receive the targetedsupport that the Government directsat small businesses.

Therefore we are calling on theGovernment to make a series ofchanges to the tax system to put this

right:� raise the threshold for theQuarterly Instalment Payments sys-tem from £1.5 million to £5 million� change SME R&D tax relief to allowall growing businesses to benefit aslong as they do not have a controllinginvestment stake from a larger com-p a ny� raise the threshold for exemptionfrom transfer pricing rules fromfirms with fewer than 250 employeesto firms with up to 500 employees� roll out HMRC proposals to providea designated named official to thelargest MSBs, on a demand basis, assoon as possible and in the meantimeimprove digital communicationsthrough emails and live chats

Medium-sized firms are the dy-namo for growth in this country. If weare to achieve our aim of growing theeconomy in the medium andlong-term, we must prioritise thissegment of business.

Allister WeirHead of taxGrant Thornton, South West

working at TFT’s office inthe City of London,reflecting increasingdemand forsustainability andproject monitoringwork in the SouthWe s t .

Turnover and feeincome for the Bristoloffice has grown by 25 percent over the last year andSimon’s arrival will helpsupport this growth.

Partner Paul Spavensaid: “I m p ro v e m e n t sin the commercialproperty market areno longer confined toLondon and we areseeing increasingdemand for our servicesacross the UK, especiallyin the South West.

“With Bristol set to be EuropeanGreen Capital for 2015, we expectparticular growing interest insustainability, where Simon’s skillsand experience will be a valuableasset.”

� But it’s not just in property wherethere is growth. Bristol-based retailssupport services specialist eXPD8has promoted its first apprentice to

a full-time role.Issy Player, who lives in Oldland

Common, and is a former pupil of StB re n d a n ’s College in the city,undertook her apprenticeship withKTS Training and has been anaccount administrator at eXPD8 forthe last 12 months. Now she willtake up a full time role in theaccount administration team servingthe company’s health, beauty andcosmetics sector clients.

She said: “I’ve thoroughly enjoyedmy apprenticeship and have

gained a wide range of skillsby working with otherteam members andshadowing moreexperienced staff. Beingoffered a full time job isbrilliant and proves justhow invaluable

apprenticeship schemesare for all concerned.”

� Two local solicitors and a lawfirm are finalists in the Law

Society ExcellenceAwards 2014.

Beverly Watkins, ofWatkins Solicitors isshortlisted for LegalBusiness Woman of theYear. Ligia Bob of TLT is

up for Junior Lawyer ofthe Year. TLP is also

shortlisted in the groupcategory Excellence in Diversityand Inclusion.

The finalists for the LawSociety The winners will

be announced at anawards ceremony onOctober 9 in London.

TLT also announced itis retaining all of its finalseat trainees as newly

qualified solicitors thisautumn. Oliver Coad, Teri

Galati, Jack Hargreaves,Kate James, Joanna Newton

and Claire Pitcher have all acceptedpermanent roles at the firm aftercompleting their training contracts.

The firm’s trainee principal andpartner Richard Hayllar said: “Thesuccess of our trainee programme isa critical part of delivering for ourclients and we therefore continue tolook at ways to improve anddevelop what we offer in partnershipwith our trainees.”

Your digest of the week in business

In numbers

Business currentaccounts

Petrol prices

1.01%£10,000 deposit

0.25%£1 deposit

State Bankof India

Corporation tax

21 %20 %Main rate

Small profitsrate – below

£300,000

129 .7 1 pUnleaded

133 .94 pDiesel

138 .6 1 pSuperunleaded

69 .38pLPG

Source: PetrolPrices.com

Business savingsaccounts

1.4%£5,000 deposit

1.8%£10,000 deposit

S h a w b ro o kBank

Inflation (CPI)

1.6 %

Weekly earnings

0.6 %Base interest rate

0.5 %Ave mortgage rate

3.99 %

S o u rc e :

Cambridge &Counties Bank

Inflation (RPI)

2.5 %