KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWSThe business NEWSpaper for Kir k lees24, August , 2010

INSIDE

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● Full story - Page 7

● Full story - Page 8

Themosttrustednewsbrandin thebusiness

SEAN JARVIS MARK DALTONTrue blue supporter

Fu l l i n te r v i ew - Page 3Using commonsense

Co lumn - Page 4

FTSE 10039.56

5234.84An EXAMINER publication

MagiccarpetsA LANDMARKDewsbury mill hasbeen sold.Cleckheaton-basedWestex Carpets paid anundisclosed sum foriconic Calder BankMills, which had beenon the market sinceJuly, 2009, afterprevious owners SLyles Sons and Co Ltd– the well-known textilefirm – went intoadministration.

Hot topicfor talkA DRAGON slayer willturn up the heat at amajor business event inHuddersfield.Sharon Wright, whowas successful on TV’sDragon’s Den, willspeak about herexperiences at theKirklees BusinessConference.

Spending cuts contribute to construction woeYORKSHIRE building specialistshave reported weaker workloads andfalling confidence during the secondquarter of the year.

The latest survey by the Royal Insti-tution of Chartered Surveyors said theconstruction industry across the UKhad been hit by fears over publicspending cuts and uncertainty aboutprospects for the economy.

Following some encouraging signsat the start of the year, the latest datashowed 7% more surveyors reportinga fall than a rise in total construction

workloads. That compares with theprevious quarter where 5% more sur-veyors reported rising, rather thanfalling workloads.

In northern England, the number ofchartered surveyors reporting reducedworkloads worsened during thesecond quarter to minus 15% fromminus 7% in the first quarter. This isnow the eighth month running thatworkloads have fallen in the region.

For northern housing markets,minus 25% reported declines in publicsector work and minus 15% saw falls

in private sector work.The public non-housing market saw

a significant drop in workloads with40% more chartered surveyors report-ing a fall than a rise – up from 12% inthe first quarter.

Kevin Wood, RICS constructionspokesman for Yorkshire, said thesurvey showed the “extremely fragile”state of the industry and demon-strated how badly affected the regionhad been hit by the recession.

Uncertainty regarding Governmentspending cuts and a lack of available

development funds from the bankingsector were continuing to suppress theconstruction workload in the regionand stifling what little developmentpotential there was.

“Until there is a clear lead fromGovernment on spending plans, thisuncertainty will remain and confid-ence in the sector will remain low,”said Mr Wood.

“Any optimism from early 2010 hasnow declined and there is a verydifficult time ahead for all surveyors inour region.

Festival goers getcharity messageA TEXT messaging provider based inHuddersfield will be the headline act atfour music festivals in the comingweeks.

Golcar-based SMileS has been con-tracted by Global Ethics, owner of thesuccessful One Water brand, to deliverits 2010 text campaigns.

Having enjoyed a successful fun-draising text campaign last year –thanks to SMileS – Global Ethics hasextended this year’s activities to four ofthe UK’s most popular music festivals –Reading, Leeds, The Big Chill andLatitude.

“The results from last year’s cam-paign were very impressive and thesupport we received from SMileS wasexcellent,” said Deborah Pear-son-Jones, senior marketing managerfor Global Ethics.

“By extending the campaign to fourof the UK’s most popular music fest-

ivals, we’re hoping to build on lastyear’s success. As well as raising fundsfor our work, the aim is to capturemobile and email details for use infuture campaigns.”

For the first promotion, labels onbottles of One Water will feature com-petition instructions for participants totext “ONEWATER” to 80988 – withone lucky texter winning a weekendpass to the 2010 Bestival event held onthe Isle of Wight.

Texts cost one standard-rate messageand individuals entering the competi-tion will have their mobile phone num-ber added to a distribution list, enablingGlobal Ethics to update them by textmessage – at no cost to the recipient –with news about ethical water produc-tion and other special offers.

Andy Earnshaw, SMileS businessdevelopment manager, said: “Festivalshave a relatively young audience.

According to the AIF Festival Audi-ence Survey 2010, some 80% of festivalgoers are under 45 years of age. Forthem, text messaging is secondnature.

“It makes keyword texting the idealmarketing channel for Global Ethics toengage with this captive audience – it’squick, direct and will help them to raisemoney.”

The second campaign, which takesplace at the four music festivals, asksfestival goers to text “DONATE (theiremail address)” to 63320, for the chanceto win a festival survival pack. Textscost one standard-rate message plus £2which includes a donation to GlobalEthics.

SMileS is sponsoring the cam-paign. All money raised via the textswill go to help Global Ethics,providemore clean water for some of theworld’s poorest people.

■ WATER MUSIC: AndyEarnshaw, of SMileS, which hasteamed up with Global Ethics

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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS national Page 2

SHARE PRICESLocal shares

FTSE closed at

5234.8Up 39.56

BANKING giant HSBC has con-firmed it is working on a deal to securea controlling stake in South Africa’sfourth-largest bank.

The London-based firm hasentered into exclusive talks with Ned-bank’s majority owner Old Mutualabout buying up to 70% of the SouthAfrican bank.

HSBC chief executive MichaelGeoghegan has made no secret of hisambitions to increase the group’spresence in emerging markets. Thegroup already has a small business inSouth Africa, as well as a number ofinterests across the rest of Africa.

Nedbank is one of the largest finan-

cial groups in South Africa and haslinks with banks in 30 countriesacross the continent.

Old Mutual, which is based inSouth Africa and listed on the Lon-don Stock Exchange, is understood tohave received a number of approachesfor its Nedbank holding in recentyears, which foreign banks could useas a platform on which to build abusiness across the continent.

HSBC is expected to pay as much as£4.5bn for the Nedbank stake.

There are fears that the SouthAfrican authorities may try to blockthe sale following a run of takeovers inthe country by foreign banks.

THE world’s biggestfertiliser company hasurged its shareholdersto reject a £25bntakeover bid from mininggiant BHP Billiton.

Canada’s PotashCorpdescribed the approachas “wholly inadequate”and said it expectedsuperior offers or otheralternatives to emerge.

London-based BHPlaunched a hostile bidfor Potash last weekafter directors of thecompany refused toback its offer.

BHP, which is amarket leader in theproduction of coal,copper and iron ore, isbetting that demand foragricultural fertiliseringredients will rise asthe developing worldrequires more meat andplants.

Potash chief executiveBill Doyle reiterated theboard’s opposition to thebid, which he said failedto reflect the value ofPotash’s market positionand growth prospects.

HIGH street chain Marks & Spencerhas named former investmentbanker Robert Swannell as chair-man of the company from January.

Sir Stuart Rose, who will continueas chairman until January 4, said hewas “delighted’’ that Mr Swannellwould be taking up the position.

Sir Stuart said: “His considerableexperience of both the City and thecommercial world will be a real assetto the board and the business.”

M&S said it had no concerns overMr Swannell remaining chairman ofmusic and video retailer HMV Groupas the firms do not operate in com-peting spaces.

Mr Swannell is also non-executive

director of property investor BritishLand and infrastructure investor 3i.

He will work alongside formerMorrisons boss Marc Bolland, whotook on the role of chief executive atM&S in May.

Mr Bolland took the reins at adifficult time for the retailer, whichhas suffered two years of stutteringsales.

Mr Bolland said: “Robert will be anexcellent chairman for us. He hasstrong complementary skills and Iam very much looking forward toworking with him.”

M&S deputy chairman Sir DavidMichels welcomed Mr Swannell aswell as praising Sir Stuart.

Countingthe costINSURERS Amlin andHiscox reported sharplylower half-year profits asthey counted the cost ofrecent natural disasters.

Claims relating toFebruary’s devastatingearthquake in Chile andhurricane Xynthia inearly March left pre-taxprofits at Hiscox downby 31% to £97.2m and39% lower at £107.6mfor Amlin.

M&S names its new chairman HSBC pursues bank deal

Call toreject bidBovis still cautious

despite profits haul

TOURIST RATES

Tourists going abroad can expectthe following rates for sterling:Australia...................... 1.66 dollarsBangladesh................. 102.33 takaBrazil.............................. 2.45 realsCanada....................... 1.55 dollarsChina ............................. 9.48 yuanCzech Republic ...... 27.94 korunasDenmark....................... 8.70 kroneEuro............................... 1.17 euroHong Kong................ 11.51 dollarsHungary ................... 306.69 forintsIndia.......................... 64.08 rupeesJapan........................... 126.79 yenMexico ....................... 17.74 pesosNew Zealand .............. 2.06 dollarsNorway ......................... 9.26 kronePakistan.................. 125.76 rupeesPhilippines ................. 60.02 pesosSouth Africa................. 10.70 randSouth Korea.............. 1606.00 wonSri Lanka ................ 165.48 rupeesSweden....................... 11.02 kronaSwitzerland.................. 1.53 francsTaiwan ...................... 43.52 dollarsTurkey....................... 2.21 new liraUSA ............................ 1.49 dollars

NORTH AMERICANAmerican Express £26.07 -0.17Gannett 780.92 -12.23Hess Corp £33.12 +0.13Microsoft 1565.49 +5.59Motors Liquidation 48.28Wal-Mart Stores £32.93 +0.60

AEROSPACE & DEFENCEAvon Rbbr 116BAE Systems 3021/4 -1/8Rolls-Royce Gp 5611/2 +11/2

AIMBrady Plc 67Dawson Intl 21/8Man Brnze 40 -1

AUTOMOBILES & PARTSG K N 141 +1/4

BANKSBarclays 3191/4 +17/8HSBC 6391/4 +5Lloyds Banking Gp 695/8 +3/8Ryl Scotland 453/4 +1/4Stan Chart 17161/2 +16

BEVERAGESDiageo 1082 +4SABMiller 18811/2 +301/2

CHEMICALSCroda 1265 +2Elementis 98 90 +4Johnsn Mat 1615 -5

CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALSBalfour Beatty 248 -15/8Costain 199 +2

ELECTRICITYDrax Grp 4021/4 +35/8Intl Power 370 +6

Scottish & SthrnEnergy

1126 +8

ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENTChloride 3735/8 +1/4Laird 1263/4 -1/8

EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTSAlliance Trust 3131/4 +41/2

FIXED LINE TELECOM SERVICESBT Grp 1351/2 +17/8Cable & WirelessComm

593/8 +11/4

Cable & WirelessWwide

635/8 +5/8

Colt Group 111 -13/4KCOM 461/4 -11/2Talktalk Telecom 1253/8 -5/8

FOOD & DRUG RETAILERSMorrison W 2871/4 +35/8Sainsbury 3661/2 +103/4Tesco 404 +33/4

FOOD PRODUCERSAB Food 1016 +7Nth Foods 45Tate Lyle 4143/8 +21/8Unilever 1698 +3Uniq 101/4 +1/4

GAS, WATER & MULTIUTILITIESCentrica 322 -1/2National Grid 5361/2 +7Pennon Grp 5651/2 +41/2Severn 1308 +15United Utils 567 +31/2

GENERAL FINANCIAL3i Group 2667/8 +17/8ICAP 401 +23/8London StockExch 6561/2 +8Man Group 2091/4 +27/8

Provident Financial 825 +3Schroders 1395 +19Schroders NV 1121 +20

GENERAL INDUSTRIALSCooksn Grp 4463/8 +1/4REXAM 3035/8 -1/4Smiths Grp 1160 -1

GENERAL RETAILERSAshley L 131/4Carphone Whse 2201/4 +11/2DSG International 25Home Retail 2175/8 +2Inchcape 2667/8 +31/2Kingfisher 2041/4 +21/4M & S 3365/8 +37/8Mothercare 4915/8 -51/8Next 1970 +16WH Smith 4067/8 +51/2

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICESSmith Nph 5721/2 +11/2

HOUSEHOLD GOODSAga Rangemaster 871/2 +3Barrat Dev 953/4 +11/2Persimmon 3465/8 +81/8Reckitt Benckiser £315/8 +1/8Taylor Wimpey 263/4 -1/8

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERINGCharter 607 -15I M I 6951/2 +11/2

INDUSTRIAL METALSFerrexpo 3031/2 +3/4

INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATIONBBA Aviation 195 +21/4Forth Ports 1277 -12

LIFE INSURANCEAviva 3911/4 +131/2

Lgl & Gen 951/2 +11/4Old Mutual 1247/8 +37/8Prudential 571 +131/2Resolution 247 +3/4Standard Life 2065/8 +41/2

MEDIABSkyB 7081/2 -1/2Chrysalis 104 -1/2D Mail Tst 4571/2 +61/2ITV 565/8 +21/8Johnston Press 151/4Pearson 9361/2 -14Reed Elsevier 524 -31/2STV Group 923/4 +91/4Trinity Mirror 1033/4 -23/4Utd Business 5561/2UTV 118WPP 671 +4Yell Group 171/4 -1/4

MININGAnglo American £235/8 +1/4Antofagasta 1027 +16BHP Billiton 1830 +9Eurasian NaturalRes

849 -191/2

Fresnillo 1011 +21Kazakhmys 1148 +7Lonmin 1531 +24Rio Tinto £33 +1/8VEDANTARESOURCES

£203/8

Xstrata 1019 +1/2MOBILE TELECOM SERVICES

Inmarsat 659 -11Vodafone Group 1513/8 +1

NONLIFE INSURANCEAdmiral Grp 1477 +15RSA Insurance Gp 1237/8 +11/4

OIL & GAS PRODUCERS

BG 1093 +11/2BP 3905/8 +21/4Cairn Energy 4643/8 +41/4Royal Dutch Shell A 1737 +121/2Royal Dutch Shell B 1679 +101/2Total £31 +1/4Tullow Oil 1302 +6

OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICESAMEC 878 +7Petrofac 1410 +48Wood Group 346 -21/4

PERSONAL GOODSBurberry 8371/2 +41/2PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGY

Astrazeneca £33 +1/2Axis-Shield 2751/4 -2GlaxoSmithK XD 21Shire 1433 +11

REAL ESTATEBrit Land 4531/4 +45/8Captl Shop Cent 3271/4 +2DTZ Hldgs 52 +1Hamrsn 3593/4 -5/8Land Secs 604SEGRO 2785/8 +23/4

SOFTWARE ETC SERVICESAutonomy Corp 1593 -4Dimension Data 120 -1/4Invensys 2493/4 +33/8Logica 1101/8 -3/4Misys 2717/8 +13/4Sage Group 2451/2 +5

SUPPORT SERVICESBunzl 681 -1Capita 704 -2Davis ServiceGroup

370 +43/8

De La Rue 6991/2 +1/2Electrocomp 209 +1/4Experian 6221/2 +1/2G4S 2547/8 -27/8Hays 911/4Homeserve 4467/8 -61/8Menzies J 4601/2 +101/2Rentokil 953/4 -3/4Smiths News 104 +5Wolseley 1306 +26

IT HARDWAREARM Hldgs 3273/4 +61/2Psion 931/2 +1/2Spirent Comms 1317/8 +5

TOBACCOBr Am Tob £213/4 +1/8Imperial Tobacco 1834 +12

LEISURE & HOTELSArriva 772 -1/2

Brit Airways 223 +31/4Carnival £211/4 +1/8Compass Grp 5041/2easyJet 363 +11/8Enterprise Inns 895/8 +3/4FirstGroup 3531/4 +43/8Go-Ahead 1089 +13Greene King 4061/2 +81/2Intercontl Htls 1031 +25Ladbrokes 134 +25/8Mitchells & Butlers 2981/8 +41/4Natl Express 2271/8 +43/4PartyGaming 2603/4 +1/8Rank Org 109 +31/4Stagecoach Group 1711/4 +11/4TUI Travel 2023/8 +1/2Whitbread 1380 +5

INDEXFTSE 100 5234.84 +39.56

INDEXFTSE 250 9826.15 +65.00

Carclo 1531/2 +3Chapelthorpe 251/2Marshalls 913/4 +23/4National Grid 5361/2 +7Weir Gp 1172 -10

GOVERNMENT austerity measureshave left Britain’s housing market in a“fragile” state, a leading housebuilderhas claimed.

Bovis said spending cuts and taxhikes had hit consumer confidence.

The company, which has developedhousing schemes in Huddersfield,reported stable conditions and steadyrise in prices for the first half of 2010.

But it said there had been a shift inthe market since the general electionand June 22 emergency Budget.

Bovis gave a cautious outlook forhouse sales and prices over the monthsahead – although its interim resultsrevealed a marked improvement on ayear earlier when the recession had leftit with losses of £8.6m.

Bovis returned to profit with a £3.5msurplus for the six months to June 30

while the number of private home salesrose by 3%.

It said sale prices rose by about 3% onan underlying basis year-on-year.

Bovis said restrictions on mortgageavailability continued to dampen thenew homes market, particularly for firsttime buyers.

It added: “In the last few weeks of thehalf year, after the general election andthe Budget, the market became morefragile.

“The group, therefore, remains cau-tious in its expectations of transactionvolumes and sales prices in the shortterm given the low levels of consumerconfidence at this time and the ongoingchallenges in the mortgage market.”

The firm’s cautious tone follows arecent spate of bad news on the prop-erty recovery.

According to Nationwide, the aver-age price of a UK property dropped by0.5% to £169,347 between June andJuly, while the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors’ survey of prop-erty professionals also registered itsfirst fall in prices for a year lastmonth.

Bovis is reducing its reliance on ahousing market recovery by snappingup land with residential planning con-sent at a low point in the cycle.

Improvements in its financial posi-tion have also allowed it to make plansto resume dividend payments to share-holders after more than two years.

The firm said last month it intendedto restart pay-outs at the end of thefinancial year, having put its dividendon hold at the start of 2009 to focus onshoring up its balance sheet.

■ BANNER HEADLINE: Bovis saidthe market had become more fragilesince the election and June budget

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS profile Page 3KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS profile Page 3

SeanJarvis

HENRYK ZIENTEK

Role: CommercialdirectorAge: 44Family: Married toSarah with sonJoshua, fourHolidays: SouthAfricaCar: MercedesFirst job: Workingon a fruit and vegstall at Leicestermarket – in com-petition with GaryLineker’s father!Best thingabout job: Win-ningWorst thingabout job: LosingBusiness tip:Always step outsideyour comfort zone.People don’t chal-lenge themselvesenough

Work: FootballSites: GalpharmStadium, Hudders-fieldEmployees: 68full-time and 73part-time staffPhone: 01484484199Email: sean.jarvis@htafc.com

HuddersfieldTown

Sean puts hisshirt on Town

■ COMMON GOAL: SeanJarvis says a successfulfootball club can help build asuccessful local economy

FOOTBALL is a seriousbusiness.

You’ll get no argument onthat score from HuddersfieldTown commercial directorSean Jarvis – who has goneabove and beyond the callof duty when it comes to hisloyalty to promoting thecause of the blue-and-white.

His ambition, he says, isto “convert all the world intoTown fans”.

And he has achievedsome notable successes –including recruiting Sir AlanSugar’s grandson to thecause!

Sean was born and bredin Leicester – where hegrew up watching LeicesterCity.

His first paid job wasworking on a fruit and vegstall competing for customwith Lineker’s, thegreengrocery stall owned byGary Lineker’s dad, Barry.

Sean came north to studyeconomics at LeedsUniversity and liked the areaso much he stayed.

“I’ve now lived inYorkshire longer than I’velived in Leicester,” he says.

“My mother-in-law says Ihad to serve 25 yearsbefore I got my ‘passport’and I’ve finally got there!.”

After graduating, Seanspent a few years withadvertising agency Brahm inLeeds, where he worked onprestige accounts for thelikes of Porsche.

Even here, football playeda part in shaping his career.

Says Sean: “I think I gotthe job by saying to my bossthat I could play football.

“I played at semi-pro levelin Leicester and for theuniversity team.

“I think he appointed mebecause he wanted tostrengthen his staff team!”

Sean says he ‘gravitated’towards sports marketing,working at various timeswith rugby’s Super League,with Carling when thecompany was involved withfootball’s Premier Leagueand with Sky TV as itcranked up its sportschannels.

Later, Sean went to workfor Oldham Athletic – andembarked on what he stillconsiders to be a bizarrejourney.

“I started as marketingmanager for the football cluband within about four years Ieffectively owned it!”.

Sean was left running theclub after its owner, ChrisMoore, decided to withdrawhis backing – but not beforespending heavily on players.

The club had £6m ofdebts – and in the absenceof the board of directors,Sean was the most seniorfigure left.

“I was in the hot seat,answerable to the playersand staff as to whathappened next,” he recalls.

“I phoned everyone Iknew to find someone tocome to the club.”

Sean led a managementbuy-out to give the clubdirection.

In the end, the club wentinto administration, but Seanand his team got debtsdown from £6m to £2mthrough a CompanyVoluntary Arrangement.

Sean eventually found a

trio of New York-basedbusinessmen to buy thebusiness.lub.

Sean continued to work atOldham for a few years tohelp built the Latics back upand forge commercialpartnerships before he waslured over the Pennines tolook after the commercialoperation for Town and theGiants.

Four years later, he isworking with Town chairmanand the dark days at Oldhamseem a long time ago –although the experiencestood him in good stead.

“Football is a fascinatingindustry in which to work,”says Sean.

“The experience I wentthrough at Oldham wasinvaluable andcharacter-building.

“I was getting phone callsat three in the morning fromAustralia from people wantingto know about the footballclub.

“It was an experience thattoughened me up andenabled my career toprogress.

“It has given me a tougherskin – which you do need inthis industry.

“In football, you are in agoldfish bowl.”

Sean is clear about hisgoals at Huddersfield Townfollowing the arrival ofchairman Dean Hoyle.

“We want our stewardshipto be one of the best,” hesays.

“We are working tirelesslyto achieve great things for theclub.

“Since its centenary – theNew Era – we have alreadydone some incredibly things.Our ambition is to moveHuddersfield up the footballhierarchy.”

Initiatives such as itsEnterprise Academy andYorkshire Business Forumsare helping forge strongerlinks between the club, thecommunity and businesses,says Sean.

And people want to be partof that winning team.

Sean is proud that the clubhas partners of the calibre ofChadwick Lawrence, GrantThornton, Kirklees Collegeand Dale Carneige aboard.

“We want to attract plcs, ofcourse,” he says. “But wealso want to attract one-manbusinesses.

“We want people to sharein our success.”

Branding Town as TheYorkshire Club – epitomisedby its support for theYorkshire Air Ambulance –has helped attract businessesfrom Leeds, Halifax andSheffield into the fold.

“There is never a dullmoment,” he says.

“We are constantly askingourselves how we can moveforward.

“Unlike a lot of ‘products’ or‘brands’ as a football club, we

game is golf. I play at BradleyHall Golf Club and it is greatto get away to the golf coursefor a few hours. It encouragesme to relax.”

Sean has helpedencourage celebrities such asactors Reece Dinsdale andSir Patrick Stewart to getinvolved in the club – and haseven converted the grandsonof former Spurs owner SirAlan Sugar into a Town fan.

Sean, his wife Sarah andson Joshua were in arestaurant in Portugal and gottalking to the family at theneighbouring.

“It was Alan Sugar’sdaughter, her husband andtheir children, he says.

“By the end of the night Ihad converted his son-in-lawand younger son to be Townfans.

“Later they sent me apicture of the lad in a Townshirt – pictured aboard PuffDaddy’s yacht in Miami,Florida!”

almost have re-inventourselves every season.

“We are in theentertainment industry,after all.”

Success on the pitch isthe key driver for growthand Sean’s message toHuddersfield people whoprefer to follow “winning”teams and wear ManUnited or Chelsea shirts isclear: “Support your localteam, because that willonly make your local townstronger.

“We may not besuccessful in theshort-term, but join us andwe will give you somegreat times.”

Town has increased itssupporter base in the pasttwo or three years, saysSean, by improving theoffer available to the manin the stands as well asthe hospitality boxes.

“We have dedicatedstaff who work very hard,”he adds.

“We have anorganisational structurethat is the envy of anyfootball club.

“We work behind thescenes all week tomake Saturdaywhat it is.

“Football clubshave to become24-7. No businesscan operate for just23 days of the year.”

In his spare time,Sean enjoysSundays with thefamily and thesedays restricts hissporting activities togolf.

“I used to playfootball forHuddersfieldAmateurs, based inElland,” he says.

“Now I’ve hungmy boots up my

local Page 4 KIRKLEES BUSINESS

RISKYBUSINESSMark Dalton

Mark Dalton is associate director at Wilby Ltd

Bearing the loadfor cutting crimeTRANSPORT experts at Hud-dersfield University are helpingtackle crime against hauliers.

The university is a partner inan innovative project – NorthSea Freight Intelligent Trans-port Solutions – which is tack-ling the issue of secure parkingfor truck drivers.

A spokesman for NS FRITSsaid the problem of trans-port-related crime was a signi-ficant issue in Yorkshire andHumber as crime rates soaredand the use of violence in crimesincreased.

“More than ever, secure park-ing is at the top of the agendafor the truck drivers and thefreight industry as a whole,” hesaid.

A study by the LogisticsSecurity Network found thatduring a two-month period,20% of all reported UK freight

crime occurred in the Yorkshireand Humber region, costingbusiness £860,000. This equatesto 50% of the total £1.7m finan-cial losses suffered by busi-nesses across the UK for thisperiod.

Figures also suggest thatusing a non-secure parking areawill increase the chance of beinga victim by nearly seven times.

NS FRITS provides informa-tion to drivers about secureparking locations, crime hot-spots and local policing prac-tices. The aim is to reducejourney times and cut the costsassociated with the loss ofgoods and vehicles.

David Ransom, chief execut-ive of People United AgainstCrime – one of the NS FRITSpartners – said there were morethan 6,900 logistics businessesin the Yorkshire region with

major clusters around the ports,particularly Hull and Grimsby.

He said the industry was fore-cast to grow by 27% over thenext 16 years. The sector alsocontributed £4.2bn to theregional economy.

Said Mr Ransom: “The linkbetween access to secure park-ing and freight crime is clear. Bygiving drivers and freight busi-nesses access to this crucialinformation, we will be able toreduce crime, boost the eco-nomy and keep our driverssafe.”

The NS FRITS system devel-opment and testing will be com-pleted by 2011. Along withHuddersfield University andPeople United Against Crime,partners include Volvo, Hum-berside police and Hull Uni-versity.

■ FENCED IN: Huddersfield University is part ofa group helping hauliers to find secure parkingspots across the Yorkshire region

Company andfundraiserskeep their coolSCALP cooling equipment suppliedby a Huddersfield firm has beendonated to the new cancer ward atWakefield’s Pinderfields Hospital.The equipment, which is providedby Fenay Bridge-based PaxmanCoolers Ltd, was delivered andinstalled to the hospital as a resultof a £9,000 donation from localcharity, Wakefield Oncology andLeukaemia Fund (WOLF).The scalp cooling machines areused to reduce or even prevent hairloss in patients undergoingchemotherapy – for many peoplethe most distressing side effects ofthe treatment.WOLF has been raising money forthe new cancer services equipmentand facilities at the Mid YorkshireHospitals NHS Trust since 2001.Claire Paxman (above, centre),sales and training executive atPaxman Coolers, said: “It’sfantastic for scalp cooling treatmentto be available to more patientshere at Pinderfields.“We would like to thank WOLF fortheir generosity in raising anddonating the money for the scalpcooler, enabling us to help improvepatient’s lives during this difficulttime.”WOLF treasurer Joyce Bruce (left)said: “It is very important that allpatients are given the opportunityto choose what treatment theywould like to receive, so we felt thatan extra scalp cooler at Pinderfieldswould be a very worthwhiledonation.“This way, more patients can opt toreceive the treatment and have thechance of keeping their hair.”Liz McGuire (right), senior sister atPinderfields, said: “We have afantastic nursing team who givetheir all for cancer patients and it’sgreat that we can provide morescalp cooling treatments and reallymake a difference to our patients.“We are really grateful to WOLF forall their efforts in raising the moneyand we know the patients will trulyappreciate it.”

Commonsense H&S?IT appears that the current

health and safety legislat-ive system may be over-hauled to help SMEs findtheir way through the baff-ling situation in which manybusiness owners find them-selves.

David Cameron had previ-ously asked Lord Young to carryout a review of the UK’s “overthe top health and safety cul-ture” which has “becomeembedded in the national way oflife”.

Lord Young has now beenofficially appointed as adviser tothe Prime Minister on healthand safety laws and is to under-take a Whitehall-wide review ofthe operation of health andsafety laws and the growth of thecompensation culture.

Lord Young said: “Health andsafety regulation is essential inmany industries, but may wellhave been applied too generallyand have become an unneces-sary burden on firms.” Hisreport is expected later this sum-mer.

In my experience, too muchhealth and safety is not the prob-lem. The trick is finding whichparts of the legislation are relev-ant to a business and dealingwith them in a way that is prior-itised and appropriate for thatbusiness.

Companies often complainthat there is too much paper-

work involved. Health andsafety should not be about thepaperwork. Yes, evidence of stafftraining, copies of workplaceinspections and machinerymaintenance records can beworth their weight in gold whenfaced with questions from anenforcement officer or an insur-ance inspector. However, weneed to be selective when gener-ating paper so we don’t losefocus on what really matters.

Risk assessments are mandat-ory and must be recorded if abusiness has five or moreemployees. Importantly, riskassessments are for the benefit ofthe people, such as employees,exposed to the risk. If you can-not fit a risk assessment on toone or two pages, it is unlikelymost workers will ever read themand the risk assessment processbecomes purely a paperworkexercise, wasting everyone’stime.

Some larger companies, par-ticularly in the construction sec-tor, have introduced excessive

burdens on SMEs who want towork for them. Many smallercompanies have put precioustime and finances into achievingnationally recognised accredita-tions such as the ContractorsHealth and Safety AssessmentScheme, but still need to duplic-ate this effort to meet therequirements of a prospectiveclient’s own internal systems.Lord Young would do well toinvestigate this unnecessarydrain on the resources of smallbusinesses.

When the report and itsrecommendations are produced,hopefully, we will see a commonsense approach to health andsafety.

As Safety Minister ChrisGrayling said: “It is importantthat we review health and safetyregulation so that while peopleare protected at work there isn'ta burden on business and peoplecan still use their common sensewithout fearing they are break-ing the law.”

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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS local Page 5

Simon Kaye is divisional director at Rensburg SheppardsInvestment Management

CITYTALKSimon Kaye

Urgent action neededto halt slump in loans

LENDING to small firms under aGovernment-backed scheme con-tinues to plummet, according to aspecialist finance company inKirklees.

Figures from Absolute InvoiceFinance, which has offices atCleckheaton, showed lendingunder the Enterprise FinanceGuarantee loan scheme fell by20% from £186m in the firstquarter of 2010 to £149m in thesecond quarter.

Lending under the EFG schemehas now fallen by 59% since thefirst three months of 2009.

Dave Jones, regional managingdirector of Absolute Invoice Fin-ance in Yorkshire, said: “SMEsneed the Government to act nowto iron out the problems within thescheme and incentivise lenders tolend more through the EFGscheme.

“With so many SMEs beingrefused credit by the big banks, thesheer scale of decline in lendingthrough the EFG scheme is a big

concern.“SMEs must look towards

dependable and alternative fund-ing sources in order to maintaincashflow and prepare themselvesfor further volatility in the eco-nomy.”

Mr Jones said the findingsprovided further evidence of thedecline in traditional bank lendingto SMEs, despite the efforts ofGovernment schemes and theemerging demand for alternativefunding sources.

Figures recently released byAbsolute show that the number ofSMEs securing invoice financefacilities from them in order torelease cash into their businessesrose by 42% in the second quarterof 2010 against the same period in2009.

Absolute said that the Bank ofEngland downgrading its forecastof GDP growth from 3.5% to 3%for the second half of 2011 showedthat the recovery was still fragile.

Phillip Monks, chief executive

of Absolute’s parent bank, Alder-more, said: “A well capitalisedbank, like ours, doesn’t need theEFG to help lend to small busi-nesses – but not all banks are wellcapitalised.

“If the Government were willingto underwrite a larger proportionof the EFG loans then more loansmight get written.”

Mr Monks said that if – understate aid rules – the UK Govern-ment feels that it needs to agree amore generous EFG scheme withthe European Union then it shouldput those negotiations onto a fasttrack.

Said Mr Monks: “Everyone hasthe best of intentions towardssmall businesses. They want tohelp, but what SMEs need is a littleurgent action as well as all theconsultat ions and workingparties.”

Aldermore said that althoughthe Government guarantees 75%of the value of lending in an indi-vidual loan, the EFG scheme itself

is capped at 9.75% of total fundslent out by each bank.

So if a bank makes 10 loans for£100,000 each – £1m in total – it isguaranteed for £75,000 if one loandefaults, but if several default, thebank would be left without anyguarantee once £97,500 isreached.

This compared unfavourablywith the Small Firms Loan Guar-antee scheme, which the EFGreplaced.

Under the SFLG there was noclaims cap, meaning lenders weremuch better protected in the eventof defaults.

Said Mr Monks: “Lenders arestill very reluctant to take any risks– and what capital that they havethey seem to want to use for almostanything but lending to small com-panies.

“An improvement to the currentEFG scheme, however, wouldmake lending to SMEs moreattractive to them.”

■ CONCERN: David Jones, of AbsoluteInvoice Finance

Going back to the grindstoneTHE brief distraction of

second quarter earningsseason is now largelybehind us.

The results have been generallyvery good, with profits growthoutside the financial sector(whose sharp recovery distortsthe numbers) of 38% in the USand 57% in Europe – beatingforecasts by approximately 2%and 5% respectively.

Admittedly these numbersbenefit from easy comparisons.

However the message of strongprofitability is clear, so analystsare sticking with forecasts of asolid finish to the year and formid-teens growth in overallprofits for 2011 for bothregions.

However, nerves appear tohave been soothed only tempor-arily, with negative revisions toforecasts from both the FederalReserve and the UK’s MonetaryPolicy Committee ruff l ingrecently smoothed feathers andfocusing attention back upon therun of “mixed” economic data.

Although none of the majorcentral banks is forecasting aslide back into recession, manyinvestors are more inclined toextrapolate weak short termtrends into worse future out-comes.

They are questioning whetheror not the global economy willmanage to successfully transitionto self-sustaining growth awayfrom that driven by inventoryre-stocking and state support.

Since of necessity this entails aresumption of private sectoremployment growth, the absenceof this key factor has been frus-trating, particularly so becausehigh corporate profitability and apost-war low rate of investmentspending would appear topresent ideal conditions for it.

With increases in taxation andreductions to governmentexpenditure visible just aroundthe corner, the longer that theeconomic growth engine fails tocatch, the more pressing the fearsthat we will save our way into adouble-dip recession.

Although we do not dismiss

this possibility, we continue toregard it as unlikely in the nearfuture.

Why is this? Firstly and fore-most because we believe that weunderstand why robust profitab-ility has not translated into abetter job picture.

In our view, the eurozone debtcrisis sent a loud alarm signal tochief executives worldwide.

They have reacted by deferringcapital expansion projects.

Provided that the EuropeanCentral Bank continues to makeprogress in restoring confidenceto European sovereign debt mar-kets, we think nature will take itscourse and corporations willresume hiring to exploit theopportunities clearly signalled bytheir high margins.

Secondly, we view monetaryconditions as very supportive.

Certainly, the “great de-lever-aging” is still in process, wherebybanks and individuals arerebuilding their balance sheets.

However, in the context of verylow interest rates that look likebeing sustained (either naturallyor through further “quantitativeeasing” if necessary) the processshould be evolutionary, notsharp and unpleasant.

The balance of this year willsee the verdict rendered as towhether the current pricing ofgovernment bonds is “right”,which would imply that equityanalysts’ projections are muchtoo optimistic, or whether equityanalysts are right and bondinvestors are too pessimistic.

The truth is probably some-where between the two, but withfew investors unaware of the“risks” in the current environ-ment, we suspect this would beenough to underpin stock mar-kets at these levels.

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Yorkshire’sLegalPeople.

Sponsors of theHuddersfield ExaminerBusiness Awards 2010

www.chadwicklawrence.co.ukHuddersfield | Wakefield | Halifax | Leeds

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS property Page 7

Seven upfor retailspecialistRETAIL and leisureconsultancy PudneyShuttleworth hascompleted a magnificentseven deals in Leeds andthe surrounding area.Among them are four newtenants in The Lightleisure and retail centreon The Headrow.Red Hot World Buffet hastaken a 17-year lease onthe premises whichpreviously traded as NuBar and night club while alease has also beencompleted with Mexicanrestaurant Burburrito.Salt’s Delicatessen hastaken a unit near the tothe Radisson Hotel.Fashion retailer Valley ofthe Dolls has opened itsfirst UK store close to thecity’s Vue multiplexcinema and a lease hasbeen completed withcycle specialists EvansCycles on a unit at NewStation Street.In Ilkley, Le Bistrot Pierrerestaurant will be a newtenant in part of theCrescent Hotel while inBingley, Bradford andBingley Plc has sold thefreehold in its HQ toSainsbury’s.

Child’s play for RixonwayA DEWSBURY company has donated a freekitchen to provide staff and youngsters at achildren’s play centre in Stockport with abright, clean and spacious place to gatherand prepare food and drink.

Rixonway Kitchens has provided thefacility for Edgeley Children’s Play Centre inStockport. The firm is the only UK kitchenmanufacturer working solely with the socialhousing sector and is committed to the needto build strong local communities.

The centre’s play development teamleader, Heather McAvoy, is thrilled with thenew look kitchen. She said: “The bulk of thework took place over a weekend and when Iwalked into work on the Monday morning itwas truly a Nick Knowles ‘DIY SOS’moment!

“The new kitchen looks fantastic! We aretruly grateful as it will make a big differenceto the staff, children and families that useour centre.”

Paul Rose, chief executive of Rixonway,said: “It’s always great to see a donationhave such a positive impact on a community.We’re delighted to hear the kitchen hasmade such a difference and we hope it willbecome a central meeting point for childrenand parents.”

Rixonway’s donation was matched byhousing management organisationStockport Homes, which fitted the kitchenfree of charge as well as installing the floorsand lights.

Rixonway’s work with Edgeley Children’sPlay Centre is the latest activity in thecompany’s community developmentprogramme that sees it working with anumber of organisations, including aresidents’ association in Leeds and ahomeless project in Harrogate.

■ TABLE TALK: Heather McAvoy (back), of Edgeley Children'sPlay Centre with youngsters Ben Bradshaw (left), Callum Jones,Olivia Bantham and Jack Turk (right)

BUILDING services firm Rokhas plunged into the red as aresult of job cuts and ashake-up of its troubledplumbing division.The group, which has carriedout work on Kirklees schoolsand public buildings in recentyears, recorded half-yearlosses of £3.8m in the sixmonths to June 30.It said shortcomings infinancial and operationalcontrols at the plumbingdivision represented a“regrettable chapter” in thecompany’s history.Rok warned in April thatprofitability at the plumbing,heating and electricalbusiness (PHE) had been hitby a number ofunder-performing contracts.The group, which is led bychief executive Garvis Snook(pictured below), had carriedout a shake-up of the businessand ended the troublesomecontracts before calling inaccountancy firm BDO to

conduct an independentreview.Rok, which earlier this monthannounced the suspension ofchief financial officer AshleyMartin, said BDO had foundserious failings in financialcontrols at PHE.The Exeter-based firm hasinsisted the problems at PHEwere isolated and added thatits overall order book of£435m reflected goodmomentum in its socialhousing and constructiondivisions.Group revenues for thehalf-year fell to £308.1m from£364.5m, while operatingprofit was down to £4.5m from£8.9m before taking intoaccount the £6.8m impact ofrestructuring the PHEbusiness.Rok reduced the shareholders’dividend to 0.5p a share from0.75p a share.Rok’s difficulties haveemerged at the same time as afinancial crisis at rival socialhousing firm Connaught.The repair and maintenancespecialist warned in June thatGovernment spending cutscould blow a £200m hole inrevenues over this year andnext.

Rok revealssubstantialhalf-year loss

Agency has millsale well coveredA LANDMARK Dewsburymill has been bought byCleckheaton-based WestexCarpets for an undisclosedsum.

Calder Bank Mills hadbeen on the market sinceJuly, 2009, when previousowners S Lyles Sons and CoLtd went into administra-tion.

The name of carpet-makerLyles is iconic to local peopleas the company had operatedin Dewsbury since 1912.

The sale was completed bychartered surveyors Eddis-ons, which has offices inHuddersfield.

Eddisons also handled thedisposal of all plant andmachinery at the premisescomprising of carpet yarncarding, spinning, twisting,winding and dyeing plant.

In a separate deal, theentire plant was bought byChinese company HangzhouFuxing Group for close to£2m. The company used 115containers to ship the

machinery to the Far East.Jim Asquith, director of

machinery and assets atEddisons, said: ‘The plantand machinery generatedhuge interest and we hadvisitors to the site from allover the world – many ofwhom had been targetedthrough our electronic data-base.”

Eddisons acted on behalfof administrators BDO onall aspects of the disposal.

John Padgett, of Eddisons,said: ‘By utilising the expert-ise of our specialist in-housedepartments we have beenable to provide our clientwith a fully managed solu-tion and delivered them anexcellent result.”

It is understood the newowners will continue to usethe dye-house facilities onsite. Westex provides carpetsfor the retail and contractsectors as well as carpet tilesand a contract carpet designservice.

■ MILL SALE: Calder Bank Mills, Dewsbury, has been sold for an undisclosed sum.The iconic building was home for many years to carpet firm S Lyles Sons and Co Ltd

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS Movers and shakers Page 8

Entertainingtrade figuresA RETAILER has hailed thesuccess of a new store inHuddersfield.

That’s Entertainment, billedas the UK’s largestindependent entertainmentretailer of CDs, DVDs andgames, said it had bucked thedownturn and had beaten itsbudget forecast by more than45% within its first four weeksof opening in Huddersfieldtown centre.

That’s Entertainment isfighting its corner against majormulti[ples.

Research suggests there arejust 300 independent recordstores left across the UK in2009 compared with more than2,000 in the 1980s.

The store at New Street isthe company’s sixth outlet –with the seventh launchedsoon after in Sheffield.

Chris Slater, store manager,said: “The response we’ve hadso far from the public has beenbrilliant. We’ve also had somegreat feedback from customerswho keep coming back insearch of those hard to findCDs and films!”

That’s Entertainment waslaunched only last year, but hasalready become the largestindependent entertainmentretailer of replay CDs, DVDsand games in the UK.

Dragon Slayeris hot ticket!

■ FIERY TALE: Sharon Wright, ofMagnamole, who managed to "slay"the Dragon's Den panel, will givedelegates the inside story of whathappened next when she addressesthe forthoming Kirklees BusinessConference

High praise foran expert witness

Polished performance

A COMPANY committed to apprenticetraining has received a visit from theleader of Kirklees Council.

Clr Mehboob Khan was given a tourof the premises of Lockwood-basedNovaglaze Gardner & Newton.

He also met two new apprenticeswho have joined the National GlassApprenticeship scheme.

Karl Sladen, of Bradford, and JackSlater, who lives at Kirkburton,explained to Cllr Khan why they hadchosen glass as a trade – and why

they decided to join theindustry-leading company.

Gary Smith, a director at theQueen’s Mill Road firm, said: “After 18months, both Jack and Karl will finishwith a Proskills governmentapprenticeship in glass processing,NVQ level 2 in glass processing aswell as City & Guilds incommunications and application ofnumbers.

“That should be a good start on theirroad to becoming skilled workers.”

■ GLASS ACT: Kirklees Council leader Clr Mehboob Khan greets Karl Sladen(left) and Jack Slater (right), who have joined the national glass apprenticeshipscheme with Huddersfield glass manufacturer Novaglaze Gardner & Newton

A HIGHWAYS engineeringexpert has been praised by asenior planning inspector forher “professional, balancedand honest” evidence in alandmark case.

Alison France (pictured),managing director of GrangeMoor-based SandersonAssociates, was appearing asan expert witness in ahigh-profile planning inquiryon the Isle of Man.

She was giving evidenceon behalf of various privateclients who were objecting toa planned major food store inDouglas, the island’s capital.Her clients won their case.

Said Alison: “The caseinvolved a particularlycomplicated highwayassessment of trafficgenerations of a large foodstore and its impact on thelocal highway network.

“The inspector formallycited my evidence as‘professional, balanced,honest and not over-stated’ inhis decision notice.

“My detailed evidence,based on sound preparation,helped inform the inspector’sdecision to refuse theproposal on highway andtransportation grounds.”

Sanderson Associates hasprovided expert witnesses forcases in local magistratescourts, county courts, the

high court and the RoyalCourt of Justice in London.

Its experience in this fieldincludes planningapplications, planningenforcement appeals, publichighway closures and TrafficRegulation Orders, publicrights of ways issues andalleged professionalnegligence.

Sanderson Associatesregularly provides writtenstatements and attends localhearings and public inquiriesworking directly for clients orvia instructing planningconsultants and solicitors aspart of a dedicated team.

A DRAGON slayer is set to expose thetruth at a major business conference inHuddersfield.

Sharon Wright's appearance on TV’sDragon's Den was a master class in howto spot a gap in the market and gaininvestment.

Sharon (pictured) delivered the per-fect pitch when she demonstrated herinvention, Magnamole, which allowscables to be safely threaded betweencavity walls.

In dealing with a major telecomscompany, she estimated that by supply-ing their engineers with the product shewill save them £6.5m a year in downtimealone.

The UK media labelled her TheDragon Slayer – and things only seemedto be going one way when the singlemother left the Den with more moneythan she asked for.

Unfortunately, for Sharon this iswhere the fairy tale ended.

Since then, she has been plastered allover the national media and Twitter forher major spat with one of the investingDragons.

At next month’s Kirklees BusinessConference, she will tell delegates whatactually happened post-Den invest-ment.

Event organiser Danny Matharu said:“Sharon’s appearance at KBC ’10 is areal coup for the conference.

“As a result of the national coverageher Den investment and public fallingout has been given, she has written abook, ‘The Mother of Invention’ basedon her experiences with Magnamole, theDragons and the resulting breakdownof her health.

Said Sharon: “What should have beenthe deal of my dreams was the catalystthat took me to the brink, ultimatelyleading to a near mental and physicalbreakdown.

“I can’t wait for this year’s KBC toexplain to Kirklees businesses why I amso adamant this needs to be exposed.”

In a candid presentation, Sharon willanswer any questions delegates have andupdate them on more recent events,including her plans to re-grow Mag-namole into a world leading business.

Visit www.kirkleesbusinessconfer-ence.co.uk for details of the event, whichtakes place on September 30 at theGalpharm Stadium.

All delegate tickets are free, but placesa re l i m i t e d a n d o ff e re d o n afirst-come-first-served basis.