post business - 21st february 2013

postbusiness

Being the bestLiverpool Post Regional Business Awards launch

P4&5

Economicdevelopment18-19

thisweek

Portissettoreturntothetoptier

Smallfirms,bigideasCreative11

Salonthatdoesitsbit

WomeninBusiness15

DreamingoftheWestEndBigInterview12-13

Whosellsthebestbuttiesforbusiness?Networker21

2 Thursday, February 21, 2013

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Big Enterprise Event looksto boost entrepreneurship

Liverpool’s St George’s Hall will host the Big Enterprise Event next week. Inset, Val Jones

Housing groups put jobs on shopping list

MedImmune’s manufacturing awardSPEKE-based vaccinemanufacturer MedIm-mune won the Innovat-ive Operating Practicescategory at the EEFFuture ManufacturingAwards.

Manufacturing organ-

isation EEF recognisedthe firm for developinga new manufacturingprocess and promotingemployee collaboration.

MedImmune makesnasal spray flu vaccines.

Ahead of an increase

in production itdeveloped an automatedsystem that replacedsome highly labourintensive processes,while maintaining itsexisting teams, staffinglevels and resources.

Andy Skibo, executivevice president of oper-ations, said “This awardmakes all the differenceto the business. It is areflection of everyone’shard work, from ouremployees to partners.”

Joy for IcelandDEESIDE-based supermarket chainIceland Foods has made a top 10 listfor customer service.

It was placed seventh in the Insti-tute of Customer Service’s latest cus-tomer satisfaction index, whichincludes the likes of John Lewis,Waitrose, the Co-op Bank and Volvo.

SouthportFlowerShow’snew facesTHE Southport FlowerShow has appointedtwo new trustee direct-ors and a general man-ager for its 2013 event.

Local businessmanRay Roukin joins theshow as general man-ager. He has had along-standing relation-ship with the show andwas previously chair ofthe board.

Andrew Edwards,Trinity Mirror Mersey-side weeklies executiveeditor, and Alison Pope,bursar of MerchantTaylors’, also join astrustee directors.

Mr Roukin said: “I’vebeen on the board ofSouthport Flower Shownow for 20 years andthe move to generalmanager is somethingI’m really excitedabout.

“We have a greatteam going forward,with Tim Timmermanas chair and new dir-ectors Alison Pope andAndrew Edwards join-ing the team.

“Added to that wehave the weight of somemajor names as pat-rons who are all help-ing to create a greatevent this year, such ascelebrity chef SimonRimmer, who is leadingthe food festival.”

The show, now in its84th year, runs fromAugust 15 to 18 at Vic-toria Park.

Aside from the horti-cultural attractionsand floral arrange-ments, the show boastsa food festival and theNorth West Book Fest-ival.

Mr Roukin added:“Over the past fewyears, the SouthportFlower Show hasgrown to attract thou-sands of visitors fromall over the countryand we are hoping thatthis year will be themost successful.”

LIVERPOOL will next week play hostto what is being described as the“ultimate enterprise event” – aimed atpeople looking to start or grow theirown businesses.

The free Big Enterprise Event takesplace amid the magnificent splendourof the city’s St George’s Hall onThursday February 28.

It is being organised by SocialEnterprise North West (SENW) inpartnership with the EuropeanRegional Development Fund (ERDF)and the Liverpool City Region LocalEnterprise Partnership.

If you have got a great business ideawhich you hope to get off the ground,want to grow the business you’vealready got or maybe you just need afew tips on how to unlock your entre-preneurial skills, then this event is foryou.

It will feature more than 45 local andregional exhibitors, including ThePrince’s Trust and The Women’sOrganisation, as well as Merseyside’slocal authorities.

The Big Enterprise Event will show-case a number of specially-createdhands-on informative workshopspresented by guest speakers on relev-ant subjects such as how to marketyour business, how to manage andaccess finance, and business law.

These expert workshops will provideall the top tips that you will need tobegin or grow your business.

The Liverpool region has seen fasterbusiness growth than the UK averageand the current economic climate isinspiring more and more people tostart their own business.

The rate of business closures fellover the last year while the rate ofstart-ups rose.

The number of people inself-employment in April last year at4.17m was the highest it has been since1992.

Small and start-up business are the

driving force of the British economyand the Big Enterprise Event wants toencourage local people to realise thatowning your own business is not animpossible task.

Val Jones, chief executive of SENWand member of the North West ERDFlocal management committee, urgedwould-be entrepreneurs to attend.

“Enterprise has never been morefashionable,” she said.

“Whether you are considering start-ing a business, in the process of devel-oping one, or looking to grow yourorganisation, the Big Enterprise is amust event for you to attend, providingyou with the opportunity to speak toexperts from the business and social

enterprise fields. This event is free toattend so come along and talk to awide range of organisations about thesupport that they can offer you.”

The event will run from 10am to4pm.

For more details find The Big Enter-prise Event on Facebook or on twitterby searching for @BigEntEvent

[email protected]

Retail trainee Elaine Sumner

TWO Liverpool housingassociations are offeringfree retail training tounemployed tenants in amocked-up store and ware-house.

Plus Dane Group andYour Housing Group aresponsoring free courses atthe two purpose-builtstores and warehouses runby training provider The

Retail Academy to helptrainees build a career inthe sector.

The training lasts fromeight to 14 weeks accordingto need and participantsare able to keep their bene-fits while they learn.

Dozens of tenants havealready found jobs aftercompleting their courses atthe training facilities in

Liverpool and Knowsley.Plus Dane engagement

officer Lisa Cover said:“Courses like these removethe barriers people face infinding work and arealready helping people notjust into employment butrichly rewarding careers.”

The two associations alsofund people who find workbut need help with various

expenses, from travel tofork lift truck licences.

Since the RetailAcademy opened its doorsin September it has seenmore than 180 people takeup training opportunities.

From the first 45 to com-plete the course, 38 securedjob interviews, with 23gaining full or part-timejobs.

3Thursday, February 21, 2013

post businessnews

EXCLUSIVEbyTonyMcDonoughPOSTBUSINESSSTAFFtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

Capital & Centric submits a£4m business centre plan

Computer-generated image of plans for the Bunker and, insets, the Littlewoods site and Tim Heatley

Thirsty Horses picks up pace after £500k deal with NW FundA LIVERPOOL software spe-cialist has secured £500,000 offunding to develop its Inspireprogramme which aims toimprove working practices.

Thirsty Horses was foundedby Ray Pendleton, former dir-ector of organisational devel-opment at Aintree UniversityHospital, and MauriceSpillane.

They claim their systemcan help medium-sized andlarge organisations with morethan 1,000 staff to improvetheir performance.

It replaces traditional per-formance reviews with a more“collaborative approach” anduses social media principles,allowing managers to setgoals, guide their team and

“recognise outstanding per-formance”.

It also incorporates dia-gnostic tools to help monitorthe progress of change man-agement programmes.

Thirsty Horses plans to cre-ate 29 jobs within the nextthree years.

The funding came from TheNorth West Fund for Venture

Capital, managed by Enter-prise Ventures. It is part ofThe North West Fund, backedby the European RegionalDevelopment Fund and theEuropean Investment Bank.

As part of the investmentGlyn Read, chair of virtualreality business Virtalis, hasbeen appointed as chairmanand Fintan Kelly, technology

director at Irish software firmAppligenics, as a director.

Mr Pendleton said: “I amthrilled to have secured theinvestment that will allow thecompany to deliver its plansfor growth. I look forward tocontinuing to help leadersoptimise their performance byengaging their biggest assets –their people.”

Bus linkssupportcity’s carworkersFIVE new bus serviceshave been launched toserve car workers insouth Liverpool.

The routes run tocoincide with shift pat-terns of staff at Hale-wood’s Jaguar LandRover factory and busi-nesses on the neigh-bouring SpekeBoulevard IndustryPark.

Funded by theDepartment for Trans-port’s Local Sustain-able Transport Fund(LSTF) the services,numbered J1 to J5, linkwith Prescot, Kirkby,Bootle and Liverpool.

They were developedby Knowsley Council inpartnership with trans-port authority Mer-seytravel and form part

of the region’s success-ful bid for nationalLSTF funding, whichtotalled £20m for Mer-seyside.

Cllr Dave Lonergan,Knowsley’s cabinetmember for regenera-tion, economy andskills, said: “This willimprove people’s accessto a major employmentarea making it easier toget to work and hope-fully persuading someof those who drive totry a more environ-mentally friendly andcheaper way to travel.”

Merseytravel chairCllr Liam Robinsonadded: “This is one ofthe first schemes we’vebeen able to put inplace with LSTF fund-ing and it’s a real boostin our bid to encouragepeople across Mersey-side to leave their carsat home and switch tosustainable travel.”

DEVELOPER Capital & Centric hassubmitted plans for a £4m small busi-ness centre next to the former Little-woods Pools headquarters in Liver-pool.

In December last year the Postrevealed that the firm had put forwarda £19m proposal to transform theempty art-deco site off Edge Lane in amixed-use scheme which may includea hotel.

Now C&C wants to turn the cur-rently derelict warehouse nearby,known as the Bunker, into 18 smalloffice suites for micro-businesses andgrowing small and medium-sizedenterprises.

The office suites at the Bunkerbuilding will range from 320 sq ft to

600 sq ft andthe com-pleted devel-opment willtotal 17,500 sqft.

The projectis due to beconsidered bythe city’splanningcommittee inMarch and

work could start on site towards themiddle of this year.

Manchester-based C&C already hasa track record of delivery in Liverpool,having recently completed a multi-million pound office development atEstuary Commerce Park in Speke.

It is also on site on land close toJohn Lennon Airport where it is build-ing a 50,000 sq ft business park.

The Bunker was originally designedfor the storage of Littlewoods cata-logues. It is being acquired by thedeveloper from the Homes and Com-munities Agency.

C&C director Tim Heatley said:

“Our innovative solution utilises theexisting concrete frame to create askeletal shell. The walls of the newstructure are set back to create afunky and interesting shape.

“We wanted to create great valueincubation space for business start-

ups and other small and growing busi-nesses – they need somewhere whichlooks cool and gives them their ownidentity.”

Social “break-out” space will be cre-ated in the rear and centre of theground floor of the structure, which

may appeal to creative and digitaloccupiers.

The plans to adapt and refurbish the1938 Littlewoods building were submit-ted to the city council late last year. Ifplanning permission is granted, workcould start this summer.

Liam Robinson

‘Our planswill createa funky,interestingshape’

0151 207 7700Connect Business Village, 24 Derby Road, Liverpool L5 9PR

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GleesonBill

post business big feature

Keeping faith inthe future of theregion’s car makersIT WAS a tale of two carcompanies last week.

Tata Motors, owner ofJaguar Land Rover (JLR),had to tell investors onthe Bombay StockExchange that it hadsuffered a setback in itsprofit growth.

A 21% fall in fourthquarter profits was notaltogether unexpected.The company had fore-warned investors thatthis could happen.

The cause was not somuch related to fallingcar sales, which are infact continuing to boom –it’s more that the cars itis selling today arecheaper and have lowermargins than the cars itwas selling a year ago.

Tata says the decline inprofits is a blip related tothe fact some of its moreexpensive models are dueto be replaced with newversions, causing con-sumers to defer buyingthem.

However, at the entrylevel, sales of the Hale-wood-manufacturedRange Rover Evoque arebooming. With an aver-age selling price of just£30,000, these cars are notas profitable as the£100,000-plus top-of-the-range models.

Hopefully that oddityof timing will have ironeditself out by next year.

Accepting this explan-ation at face value meanswe can still believe thatTata Motors and JLR arerobust businesses withstrong futures ahead ofthem.

In contrast, there aregrounds to start worry-ing about the prospectsfor General Motors’ (GM)European operations. Itkeeps promising jamtomorrow, but doesn’tseem to be delivering.

GM is doing fine in itshome market of NorthAmerica. We are threeyears on from its emer-gence from Chapter 11protection and the com-pany seems to be healingnicely. Once nearly bank-rupt, it made more than$4bn in profits in 2012,according to figures pub-lished last week.

Its performance inEurope, however,remains troubled.

This is primarily dueto the weakness of theeurozone economies,which continue to be inrecession or to sufferfrom slow growth.

GM says it will beanother three yearsbefore it will make aprofit in Europe. It seemsa long way off, but hope-fully that turns out to betrue and in three yearstime we are not still wait-ing for the likes of Vaux-hall and Opel to turn acorner.

I’M FED up with thehorsemeat scandal, prin-cipally because of theendless bad jokes it hasspawned. For example,“I went to a Meat Loafconcert, but found hewas hoarse.”

When the investiga-tions are complete, it isgoing to turn out thatsomeone, somewhere hasbeen behaving badly.

It raises an interestingquestion about how farpeople will go when try-ing to make a profit.

Money is a powerfuland persuasive force. Theshoddy practice of substi-tuting horsemeat for beefcontrasts sharply withthe efforts some firms aremaking to promote theidea that they are good.

Unilever, for example,has been claiming itsimproved hygieneproducts can save lives inthe developing world andBarclays says it will nolonger speculate on food-related commodity con-tracts. For years, theCooperative has refusedto invest in arms dealersor tobacco firms.

Ultimately, any opinionabout the influence ofmoney over ethical con-duct boils down to ourunderstanding of what itis to be human. Do we, asmany religions wouldassert, have free will orare we all a bit moremechanistic than that,with our ethics determ-ined by such things asour genetic inheritance.

I think not. Humansshould all be capable ofexercising control overtheir behaviour. I’m notsaying it’s easy, but it canbe done.

On the other hand, thesceptic in me doubts thepurity of the motivationof some businesses thatbrag about their good-ness. When they onlykow-tow at the point pub-lic protest has reachedfever-pitch, their changeof tack is not just altru-istically motivated. It’sjust not good business tobe seen to be bad.

THE Liverpool Post is todayinviting entries to its annualregional business awardsfrom firms of all sizes andtypes based in the region.

Now in their third decade and attendedby hundreds of the region’s business lead-ers, the newspaper’s awards are an estab-lished part of the region’s business cal-endar.

This year’s 11 categories seek to recog-nise the best-performing businesses,whether they are centuries-oldmulti-nationals or recent start-ups.

Our categories recognise the likes ofexport success, commitment to the com-munity, good employment practices andmuch else besides.

The panel of judges will be looking forevidence of strong financial performance,investment, a spirit of enterprise andlocal economic impact.

The awards final will take place in StGeorge’s Hall on the evening of June 13.The black-tie gala dinner will be hostedby former BBC broadcaster Peter Sissons.

Former award winners include Redrowfounder Steve Morgan, haulage entre-preneur Steve O’Connor and shipyardCammell Laird.

This year’s categories are:Jaguar Land Rover Corporate Social

Responsibility Award: Does your com-pany strive to achieve a balance betweenyour competitive aims and the interestsof society? This award will be presentedto the private sector business judged tohave the best record of taking intoaccount the effect of its operations on thecommunity and the economy. This caninclude companies which give time ormoney to charities or other good causes.

Liverpool Vision Investment of theYear: This category is open to firmswhich have invested in the area since thestart of 2012.

They can include new arrivals to thearea and fresh rounds of investment byfirms already established here.

Liverpool Chamber of CommerceExport Business of the Year: Thisaward is for a firm which can best showhow recent growth in its overseas tradingactivities has benefited the local economy.

Green Business of the Year: This cat-egory will recognise a business whichhas had a beneficial impact on the envir-onment. For example, has your businessapplied environmental policies in theworkplace or have your products or ser-vices made a positive contribution to theenvironment?

University of Liverpool KnowledgeBusiness of the Year: The KnowledgeBusiness category is open to any businessengaged in the commercialisation ofresearch and development and intellec-tual property in pure sciences, techno-logy, software or professional know-how,irrespective of size or stage of develop-ment. The judges will be looking for evid-ence of, or at least the clear potential for,profitable trading in the knowledge sec-

tor as well as a beneficial economicimpact to the region.

Judges’ Choice Award: The winner ofthis award is selected from all the entriesreceived in the other categories. Whilethe winner might not have been short-listed in any of the other categories, theaward will be presented to the companythat, in the opinion of the judges, hasdemonstrated extraordinary entrepren-eurial endeavour.

Ingeus Employer of the Year: We arelooking for the employers which can bestdemonstrate how their leadership andhuman resource policies support staffdevelopment, engagement and satisfac-tion, creating a positive and supportiveworkplace with a well-motivated andwell-trained team. The winner of thisaward will be more than just a good com-pany to work for. Its culture will delivercommercial results and it will be aninspiration to other businesses.

02 Business of the Year (Up to 50Employees): Whatever your sector, if youhave a great business tell us about it.Whether you are a new or establishedbusiness, if you employ up to 50 peopleand you can demonstrate all-round busi-ness excellence you should enter this cat-egory.

Barclays Business of the Year(51-250 Employees): If you can demon-strate outstanding business performancein your industry and employ between51-250 people this is the category for you.Judges will be looking for your specificbusiness achievements and a strong fin-ancial performance.

KPMG Business of the Year (Over250 Employees): If your businessemploys more than 250 people and canshow outstanding business performance,enter this category. Judges will considerevidence of a strong financial perform-ance, excellent business achievements,

The Liverpool Post’spopular RegionalBusiness Awards arelaunched today, BillGleeson reports

Time to enter


post businessbig feature

your contribution to local prosperity andother specific initiatives that make youstand out from your peers.

DLA Piper Business Person of theYear: Do you, or does someone you know,truly stand out from the crowd? Have youor they helped to grow the reputation, notonly of their organisation but also of theregion, showing the entrepreneurialspirit that typifies the region’s resilienceand resurgence?

If so, nominate yourself or somebodyyou know this award.

Shortlists will be drawn up based oninformation included in entry forms. Thewinners of each category will be decidedafter the judges have visited shortlistedfirms.

Liverpool Post editor Mark Thomassaid: “We are looking to recognise thosefirms and entrepreneurs whose endeav-ours are making a difference to the localeconomy.

“It is all the more important that we dothat in these difficult times.

“It is precisely these sorts of peoplethat will be gathered in St George’s Hallthis June who will help this region buildfor its post-austerity future and create thejobs that will give hope to thousands.

“The Regional Business Awards are afantastic night and always a sell-out event– so don’t be slow to enter and sign up forseats on the big night itself.

“As always we are grateful to our spon-sors for their continued support withoutwhich this event would not happen.”

To obtain an entry form or buy ticketsfor the awards dinner visit our specialawards website at www.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk or email [email protected] or call 0151-472 2570. You can alsofollow the progress of the awards onTwitter at @LP_RBA

The closing date for entry forms isThursday March 14.

St George’sHall will bethe settingfor this year’sRegionalBusinessAwards

Messages from our sponsors

THIS is KPMG’s 10th year supportingthe Post’s Regional Business Awards.

Chris Fry, office senior partner atKPMG Liverpool, said: “It is also mysecond year as a judge which makesme proud to be part of such a suc-cessful awards heritage.

“Despite the testing economic con-

ditions it is clear from talking to ourclients that there is currently a gooddegree of optimism within the Liv-erpool business community and formany, growth plans and ‘getting backto business as usual’ is very much onthe agenda.

“Being fleet of foot and quick toadapt and change are very importantin today’s environment and are justsome of the qualities which typifythose businesses which form thebackbone of the Regional BusinessAwards.

“The awards recognise true excel-lence and showcase those organisa-tions which reflect the best that Mer-seyside has to offer, and of which wecan be most proud.”

DLA PIPER has sponsored theRegional Business Awards since theirinception more than two decades ago.

The law firm’s Liverpool office man-aging partner Philip Rooney said:“The Regional Business Awards celeb-rate the region’s very best businesses

and their leaders. They showcase per-fectly how to achieve success even inthese difficult economic times.

“Businesses in the Liverpool cityregion continue to show great resili-ence through the current prolongedperiod of challenging conditions.

“This continued success derivesfrom a wealth of innovative leadersprepared to go the extra mile to ensuretheir organisations succeed – creatingemployment, attracting investmentand boosting the regional economy.

“The DLA Piper Business Person ofthe Year Award recognises the positiveinfluence, commitment and inspira-tional leadership of the winner andpays tribute to all business leaderswho, through flair and drive, ensureour region continues to prosper.”

JOHN PITCHFORD is director of corpor-ate banking at Barclays in Merseyside.

Mr Pitchford said: “Barclays isdelighted to continue its executivesponsorship of the Liverpool PostRegional Business Awards.

“Merseyside has much to be proudof and the awards are a great plat-

form for businesses to showcase theirsuccess and show how they areinvesting for future economicprosperity.

“At Barclays we are fully commit-ted to supporting our corporate cli-ents, in particular helping them to ful-fil their growth potential. The last fewyears have seen unprecedented chal-lenges for businesses across the UKand we’re acutely aware of ourresponsibility to deliver for our cus-tomers, ensuring they are at the heartof everything we do.

“Our commitment is further rein-forced by our second year of spon-sorship of Regional Business Awards.It is a great opportunity for Barclaysto continue to work alongside our cli-ents and the wider business and pro-fessional community, in particular tolearn more about the challenges andopportunities they face.”

business awards 2013

REGIONALBUSINESSAWARDS2013

THEPOSTL I V E R P O O L

Chris Fry of KPMG Liverpool

Philip Rooney of DLA Piper

John Pitchford of Barclays

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byAnjaliRobertsLIVERPOOLOFFICEOFCHARLESSTANLEY

post business wealth management

marketanalysis

IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

■ HOME reposses-sions have fallen

to their lowest level infive years, figuresfrom lenders showed.

There were 33,900repossessions during2012, marking a 9%year-on-year drop andthe lowest annual fig-ure since 2007, theCouncil of MortgageLenders (CML) said.

Repossession num-bers fell in the lastthree months of 2012to 7,700, which is thelowest quarterly fig-ure since winter 2007.

The annual figurecomes in even lowerthan the CML’sscaled-back forecastsfor repossessions lastyear.

The lending bodyhad feared that repos-sessions would soar toaround 45,000 amidcontinued pressure onhousehold finances,but it later cut backthis prediction toaround 35,000.

The CML has saidthat good arrearsmanagement by bor-rowers and lendershas been key to thelower figures, whilerecord low interestrates have helped tohold costs down.

■ SAVERS’ cham-pion Ros Alt-

mann has steppeddown as director-gen-eral of over-50s groupSaga after two and ahalf years in the post.

Dr Altmann is avocal campaigner onbehalf of pensionerswho have seen theirsavings pots eroded byrecord low interestrates and the effect onannuity values of theBank of England’smoney printing pro-gramme. She told MPsthat the Bank’spolicies were actinglike a tax increase onolder people.

The ex-investmentbanker is a formerpublic affairs achieverof the year at theWomen In Public Lifeawards and wasrecently named one ofthe 50 most influentialpeople in pensions.

Financial markets hold theirbreath for Italian elections

ITALY will be holding elections onFebruary 24 and 25 – and the outcomeis still uncertain.

Mr Berlusconi’s centre-right partyhas benefited from the latest crisis inItalian banking but it remains to beseen whether the centre-right can doenough to unseat the ruling techno-cratic administration and potentiallyundermine the progress towardslong-term economic stability.

The Italian election process is com-plicated and convoluted, but in essencethe elections will determine the 630members of the lower house Chamberof Deputies and the 315 elective mem-bers of the upper house Senate.

Italians have to vote for a list ofcandidates rather than an individualand the system is designed to encour-age political parties to form coalitions.

There are certain key regions whichhave consistently put the centre-leftcoalition ahead in the race to controlthe Chamber of Deputies.

Some of this lead has been reined inrecently by the banking scandal,although a recent survey in Italyshowed many of the respondentsseemed to care little about the spe-cifics relating to the controversy.

Of more concern was the domesticeconomy’s poor performance and thetechnocratic government’s seeming

inability to do much about it.Another worry is if votes are trans-

ferred to the radical left or right ratherthan to Mr Berlusconi’s centre-rightcoalition party, thus increasing uncer-tainty over the election’s eventual out-come.

This would raise the spectre of ahung parliament and create moreuncertainty in the financial markets,which are eager to see some progresson structural reform.

In such a situation a temporarycaretaker prime minister is appointedand new elections will be held later inthe year. Given Italy’s complex andcontroversial electoral system and theongoing economic uncertainties, fore-casting the outcome of the election isvery hard.

The financial markets seem to be ofthe view that the euro-zone’s thirdlargest economy may just avoid acrisis, but the Italian elections repres-ent just one of the ongoing problemswithin the euro-zone.

If the election result ends in grid-lock, Italian bond prices could poten-tially collapse and yields surge whichwould mean the country might need toaccess the Outright Monetary Trans-actions (OMT) facility.

This programme was launched inSeptember last year, but as Spanishand Italian bond yields have sub-sequently fallen it has yet to be tested.

If Italy does need support from theECB’s OMT facility, the process is notentirely straightforward.

Italy would need to subject itself toan economic adjustment programmenegotiated by the Troika (the ECB, theIMF and the EU).

Once the country is deemed to beperforming in line with its obligationsthe necessary bond purchases can beundertaken, but the purchases must beapproved by three national parlia-ments, including the German parlia-ment.

Mr Berlusconi has already made itvery clear that if the centre-right coali-tion win the election or force a stale-mate he will not be going to the ECBasking for help.

Markets will be watching the elec-tions with interest as the outcome willhave an effect, not only on the Italianparliament, but the euro-zone as awhole, as well as financial markets.

Investors should be wary of theeuro-zone banking sector andEuropean sovereign debt because theseareas could be affected if there is anyfallout.Anjali Roberts Will all the good work of Mario Monti’s administration be lost?

UK buy-to-let market hits a five-year high FSA uncovers poor adviceONE in four consumers was givenpoor or misleading advice on howto invest their nest eggs by highstreet banks and building societ-ies, an undercover probe by theCity watchdog has revealed.

The Financial Services Author-ity (FSA) carried out 231 mysteryshops at six major firms betweenMarch and September last year inorder to discover the quality ofadvice given to customers lookingto invest a lump sum.

Three-quarters of customersreceived good advice but in 15% of

cases the adviser did not gatherenough information to make surethat advice was suitable.

On 11% of occasions the advicewas not appropriate for the cus-tomer’s circumstances, the studyfound.

Santander confirmed it was oneof those tested and said in Decem-ber it took 800 investment advisers“off the road” for re-training, aprocess which is ongoing.

A Santander spokesman saidthe move was prompted by theFSA’s probe.

BUY-TO-LET lending grew by a fifthyear-on-year across 2012 to reach itshighest level since 2008.

The appetite for buy-to-let lendinghas been boosted by strong demandfrom tenants who have been unableto get on the property ladder, whichhas pushed up rents as they havefound themselves trapped.

Some £16.4bn worth of buy-to-letloans were taken out last year, show-ing a 19% annual increase, theCouncil of Mortgage Lenders (CML)said.

Around £4.6bn worth of theseloans were advanced in the last

three months of 2012, representing a10% increase on the previousquarter.

Despite the recent signs of arecovery, the 2012 lending figures arestill way below the £28.5bn worth ofbuy-to-let loans advanced in 2008.

CML director general Paul Smeesaid: “Buy-to-let is benefiting fromstrong tenant demand, which islikely to continue.

“Loan performance comparesfavourably with the owner-occupiersector and the overall outlook for thebuy-to-let sector is positive.

“Landlords who can demonstrate

a strong track record are in a goodposition to expand their portfolios.”

Recent research from propertysearch website Rightmove foundthat one in eight “accidental” land-lords, many of whom originally tookon tenants because of difficultiesselling their house in the tough mar-ket, now plan to buy another prop-erty specifically as an investmentthis year.

Three-quarters of professionallandlords surveyed also said theyintended to expand their portfoliosin 2013, the Council of MortgageLenders added.


post businessnews

Firm awarded £40m contractto renovate city housing stock

Paul Worthington

Edge Hill University social enterprise ventures win fundingFUNDING has been securedfor seven social enterpriseprojects at Edge Hill Uni-versity.

They are run by staff, stu-dents and alumni and are fun-ded by charitable organisa-tion UnLtd’s social enterpriseprogramme, along with the

Higher Education FundingCouncil for England.

The programme supportsventures which can have along-term positive impact onsociety.

The scheme are web designfirm Web Factory; AddSolu-tions, a learning and training

resource around AttentionDeficit Hyperactivity Dis-order (ADHD); MeltedLeather Records, a recordlabel that seeks to workaround diversity and inclu-sion; Holocaust On Film, aproject that develops learningand awareness of the Holo-

caust; Note Cook, cookeryworkshops promoting com-munity cohesion; AmigoInter-national, which creates achild-friendly online com-munity by researching cul-tural exchange; and BEAWARE, supporting childrenwith ADHD and autism.

They will receive between£100 and £5,000 and advice onhow to develop their concept.

UnLtd praised the ventures,saying: “Compared with otheruniversities with long-stand-ing enterprise awards pro-grammes, Edge Hill is streetsahead.”

SeaKingdeliversCongocontractMARINE engineeringfirm SeaKing Electricalhas completed a con-tract to upgrade an off-shore support tug inthe Republic of Congoin Western Africa.

The Birkenhead-based firm deliveredthe work for AndofeShipping Management.

SeaKing ElectricalGroup business devel-opment manager NeilMellenchip said: “Thiswas a terrific deal forSeaKing demonstratingthe global reach andambition of the firm.

“It is the latest in anumber of interna-tional projects whichhave seen our specialistengineers and techni-

cians working acrossthe globe in placesincluding the SuezCanal, Russia, Malay-sia and the Caribbean.

“The Congo projecttook around one weekto complete. Work wasrequired to the bowthruster which enablesthe boat to manoeuvreand hold position in thewater.”

He added: “It is thesecond time we havedelivered electricalengineering for theAHT Independence. Weinitially carried outwork in Bidston Dockwhen she was stationedin the River Mersey. ”

SeaKing is launchinga new business develop-ment initiative to tar-get the West African oiland gas explorationand drilling market.

Willson Grange recognised as top performing finance firmA WIRRAL wealth manage-ment company has beenrecognised as one of thebest performers of its par-ent group at a ceremonyrecent held in London’s O2Arena.

Willson Grange, based inWest Kirby, was named asone of the most successfulcompanies of St James’sPlace Wealth Managementduring 2012.

Managing director StuartWillson received the accol-ade from London Olympicsheptathlon gold medallistJessica Ennis at the StJames’s Place annual meet-ing.

Mr Willson, who lives inHoylake, said: “We weredelighted to win the award,which is a reflection of thehigh quality wealth man-agement services we offerto individuals and busi-nesses.”

St James’s Place cur-rently looks after fundsunder management worth£34.8bn.

The company provides awide range of wealth man-agement services throughthe St James’s Place Part-nership, which has morethan 1,780 experiencedadvisors operatingthroughout the UK, who canboast an average of 17 yearsservice within the wealthmanagement industry. Olympic athlete Jessica Ennis, left, and Stuart Willson at the awards held in London’s O2 Arena

MERSEYSIDE repairs specialist Hous-ing Maintenance Solutions (HMS) hasbeen chosen to deliver a £40m buildingand environmental improvementscheme at four landmark Liverpoollocations.

HMS, which is based at StonebridgePark, Gillmoss, will carry out thework for Liverpool Mutual Homes(LMH) on main routes from the citycentre leading north to Everton FCand Liverpool FC’s stadia, AintreeRacecourse, the docks and LiverpoolWaters.

The programme will see up to 3,990homes receive new fences, more than500 new roofs will be fitted, 4,200

homes will benefit from roof repairs,and the communal areas of 140 flatswill be overhauled.

Gates, gardens and public greenland will also receive significantmakeovers.

A total outlay of around £12m willbe invested as part of the maintenanceand renovation scheme during thenext year alone.

HMS managing director Paul Wor-thington said: “This is a major con-tract for us and it will have a sig-nificant impact on our business andalso the communities in north Liver-pool.

“The four routes are so popular thatit is imperative they representeverything that is positive about Liv-erpool to potential investors and themillions of tourists who visit land-marks like the football grounds, the

docks and Aintree Racecourse everyyear.”

Mr Worthington added: “The workwill be completed by 2015 but residentswill start seeing and benefiting fromthe transformation immediately.”

Liverpool Mutual Homes chief exec-utive Steve Coffey said: “The projectcontributes to the GreenPrint ForGrowth strategy for improving theenvironmental quality of north Liver-pool, led by Liverpool Vision.

“It will make a huge difference tothe people and communities whichhave been neglected for far too long.

“We have a large number of prop-erties in the area and this regener-ation scheme will complement the£380m improvement programme weare carrying out to homes that seesus investing £65.8m this financialyear.”

[email protected]

Neil Mellenchip

FRAMELINECOMPOSITE DOORSTRADE, UPVC WINDOWS

DOORS, CONSERVATORIES.

5 Day Turnaround

Tel: 0151 546 5577Fax: 0151 546 5588Accredited with BS7412 & BS7950

BUILDING TRADE

BUSINESSto BUSINESS


post business the bottom line

Debt-laden Peel Ports charts away through turbulent times

An aerial view of one of Peel Ports operations at Twelve Quays at Birkenhead

JLR sales hold up despite quarterly profits dip

PEEL PORTS is carrying a £1bn debtburden, some of which is not due to berepaid until the middle of the century,new figures show.

The latest accounts filed at Compan-ies House for Peel Ports ShareholderFinance Co, covering the year toMarch 2012, show total debts of£1.25bn, up from £1.23bn the yearbefore. This includes bank debt of£1bn, almost the same as 2011.

The complex group structure of theowner of the Port of Liverpool andManchester Ship Canal must keep itsauditors on their toes as they try tokeep track of it.

As well as bank loans, the long-termcreditors also show intra-group debtsof £61.6m and amounts due to relatedundertakings of £61.4m.

The report and accounts acknow-ledge that this level of debt is not

without its potential pitfalls.In the document’s business review

the company says: “The key financialrisk arises from the level of long-termdebt held by the group and the interestarising there-on.

“The group’s loans and loan noteinstruments with repayment datesbetween December 31, 2013, andSeptember 30, 2046, amount to£1,185.7m.

“The cashflow risk arising in con-nection with interest charges is mit-igated through the use of interest rateswaps.

“The directors consider that thecombination of swap instruments andstable trading of the ports business,effective working capital managementand the investment in the asset baseassists in managing the risks arisingfrom the level of debt and variabilityin interest rates.

“The group’s bank loans and swapinstruments are spread over a largenumber of banks and within the cur-rent facility agreement there are

undrawn funds of £100.7m available.”When the Port of Liverpool was

owned by the stock market-quotedMersey Docks and Harbour Company,it was very profitable and highly cashgenerative, turning in tens of millionsof pounds of bottom line profit for itsshareholders. There was always thepotential to lever in large levels of debtto acquire and build the business forthe future, just as Peel has done.

In recent years, Peel Ports hasstruggled in the wake of the creditcrunch, recessions and associateddownturn in international trade. Theyear to March 2012 however showedsigns of improved conditions.

Turnover for the year was £380.5m,up from £358.9m, a rise of 6%.

Group operating profit was £92.6m,up from £76.8m. When Peel’s share ofjoint ventures are taken into account,the operating profit rises to £98.1m, upfrom £80.3m.

Those high debt levels inevitablyincur high interest charges. The netcharge for the year was £71.2m, upfrom £69.7m. Pre-tax profit was £26.9m,up from £11.3m in 2011. The companypaid a dividend of £23m, the same aslast year.

In its review, the company claims itsunderlying trading position hasimproved. Earnings before interest,tax, depreciation and amortisation in2012 was £149.8m, up £19.1m or 14.6%

Tonnage through Peel’s UK portsreflected the upbeat note aboutimproving economic conditions.

Around 62.3m tonnes of cargopassed through Peel-owned portswhich, as well as Liverpool andManchester Ship Canal, includeTwelve Quays at Birkenhead, Medway,Heysham, Hebburn, Belfast and Dub-lin. The same figure last year was 57m.

The business review stated:“Turnover and tonnage throughputhave increased year on year whichreflects some recovery in the widerglobal economy and improvements inmarket share.

“Higher volumes, better sales mixand realised benefits of the group’srestructuring exercises resulted inimproved gross margin and opera-tional efficiency.

“Business activity has been satis-factory in the current climate.Although the outlook remains uncer-tain, it is anticipated that the presentlevel of activity will improve.”

Its diversified activities have helpedit cope with slow conditions.

It said: “Although several Europeanports have been hit by the globaldecline in container volumes, PeelPorts is not as reliant on containerhandling.”

notes■ VAUXHALL par-

ent GeneralMotors (GM) doubledits profits in NorthAmerica in the fourthquarter of last yearbut continued lossesin Europe.

Net income for thefinal quarter was£579m, compared with£302m a year earlier.

The increase washelped by its NorthAmerican and Asianmarkets, but heavylosses still afflictedEurope as the difficulteconomic conditionsaffected car sales.

GM’s internationaloperations, whichinclude China and therest of Asia, earned£305m.

In the full year, GMearned £3.2bn, whichwas down from £4.9bnin 2011, mainly due tothe depressedEuropean market.

Revenue for theyear rose 1% to£98.1bn.

Chief financialofficer Dan Ammannsaid: “We’ve estab-lished a clear trackrecord of profitabilityover the last threeyears.

“We’re going to gen-erate significant prof-itability in the NorthAmerican marketgoing forward.”

GM still expects tobreak even in Europeby the middle of thedecade.

[email protected]

SOARING sales of theMerseyside-produced RangeRover Evoque helped JaguarLand Rover (JLR) toquarterly profits of £404m,according to figures pub-lished last week.

JLR reported revenues of£3.8bn for the three monthsto December after seeingglobal vehicle sales duringthe period rise 14% to

88,658. However thequarterly profit figure is21% down on last year dueto falling margins andhigher capital expenditure.

The company, which isowned by India’s TataMotors, employs 4,500people at its plant in Mer-seyside assembling theEvoque and Freelander 2.

The latest results mean

JLR’s pre-tax profits for thenine months to December 31are up 20% to £1.2bn. Rev-enues for the period rose by£1.4bn to £10.7bn.

JLR’s chief financialofficer Ken Gregor said:“JLR has produced anothersolid set of results suppor-ted by the continued successof the Range Rover Evoque.

“We continue to invest in

new products and technolo-gies to support our aim ofprofitable volume growth.”

In 2012 JLR sold 357,773vehicles, up 30% on the pre-vious year and in Januarythis year it sold 34,877vehicles, up 32% on thesame period last year.

The company now plansto invest £5bn in newproducts.

Make adifferenceto your prospectsManagementSchoolMScOpenEvening

7 March 2013, 4-6.30pmUniversity of Liverpool Management School,ChathamStreet

Full andpart-time study optionsFunding available

Formore information and to register visit:www.liv.ac.uk/prospects

Learning to make a differenceAMEMBEROF THE RUSSELL GROUP


smallbusiness

weekofthe

post businesssmall business

Open Golf Club aimsto target the ‘nomads’

IMAGINE being able to play inregular competitions at someof the region’s leading golfclubs without being a memberof even one.

That is the aim of David Thompsonwith a scheme which could eventuallybecome a potential franchise operation– but also reconnect golf clubs with agrowing number of “nomadic” golfers.

An increasing number of golf clubsare finding it harder to retain mem-bers, either because players find it dif-ficult to justify membership fees in thecurrent economic climate or theyprefer to join the growing band ofgolfers taking advantage of the“two-for-one” culture, allowing accessfor half-price and a green fee, whichhas become so prevalent over the pastdecade and is making business toughfor private clubs.

Mr Thompson, a PGA professionalfor two decades who has run the golfshop at Woolton Golf Club for the past13 years, used to work for his fatherAlan, who is now based at Heswall andis, he says, “probably the most respec-ted coach in the North West”.

He said he had been wracking hisbrains to figure out a way of tappinginto the itinerant golfers’ market and,at the same time, drum up more pat-ronage for Woolton and the region’sother clubs.

His solution – with the blessing ofWoolton – is the Open Golf Club, anonline golfing competition available toplayers for a reduced green fee at nineclubs across Merseyside and NorthWales.

Mr Thompson explained: “If you arenot a member of a golf club you can’tenter any of their competitionsbecause you haven’t got a private clubhandicap, so you can’t get any com-petitive golf.

“Open Golf Club is like an outsideclub. You register on my site and pay areduced green fee to play a compet-ition.”

His scheme is also open to privategolf club members.

He added: “There’s no restriction onanyone who can play in these com-petitions.”

Private club members already havetheir own handicap which allows themaccess to courses.

Mr Thompson said the Open GolfClub offers its own official handicap,adding: “If someone is a society player,such as in a pub golf society, I askthem for proof of that handicap or Iask them to send me two cards theyhave done around a course.”

He acknowledges there are otherwebsites offering access to golf com-petitions, which is adding to the prob-lem of private clubs retaining theirmembers, but he said these tend to benationwide: “What is different to theseamateur tours is mine is local.”

The scheme is still in its infancy.Mr Thompson said: “This is just

starting and it is free registration, soit is not making me any money. It canonly start making money when I startcharging a registration fee for mem-bers, but I won’t do that until it getsmoving as it builds and I get morepeople in the competitions.”

His competitions have attracted upto 20 players and 140 members arealready registered.

A new round of competitions startthis month and five clubs in

Manchester have agreed to join up.Mr Thompson is introducing an

order of merit, awarding points eachtime a golfer plays, to provide more ofan incentive for players, building up toan area final.

He believes it is a win-win situation,adding: “From the golf clubs’ point ofview I am bringing customers to themand extra revenue.”

With the inclusion of Manchesterclubs, he reckons the venture has thepotential to grow.

He said: “I plan to replicate this inother areas. It lends itself to go nation-wide, with the name Open Golf Club.”

He said expansion would also createnew jobs, adding: “If it goes nation-wide I would need some people to workat it and look after it. And if it doestake off, I may look at franchising it.”

Open Golf Club founder David Thompson gets in theswing at Woolton Golf Club Pictures: JAMES MALONEY

notes

■ BUDDING socialentrepreneurs can

now apply for a place onthe Lloyds BankingGroup’s social entre-preneurs programme atthe School For SocialEntrepreneurs NorthWest, part of Liverpool’sBlackburne HouseGroup.

Successful applicantswill receive tuition atthe school and a finan-cial contribution start-ing at £4,000 upwards to£25,000 to fund theirorganisation.

To further increasethe success of theirenterprise, the studentswill also receive a seniormentor from LloydsBanking Group duringtheir time on the course.

The programme isaimed at individualswith an idea for anenterprise whichaddresses social issuesand disadvantage intheir communities.

This support wasmade possible with fund-ing from Lloyds BankingGroup, with additionalfunding of £6m from theBig Lottery Fund.

Speaking about theapplication opportunity,Sylvia Pearson, develop-ment manager at SSENorth West, said: “Theunique action learningmethod we use alters theperceptions of a typicalschool and in doing sowe help to develop someof the most credible andconfident entrepreneursin the UK.

“This year we aim todo the same with ourintake of students byempowering them withthe appropriate tools tothrive in today’s challen-ging climate.”

Applicants can findout more, or apply, byvisiting www.the-see.org.uk/lloydsbankinggroup

■ AN occupationalhealth company has

unveiled a nationalclinic schedule to servemanufacturing andengineering businesseson their own doorsteps,in partnership with sec-tor organisation EEF.

EEF OccupationalHealth Service will oper-ate regular clinics at 11venues, including theWarrington EEF office,offering a range of stat-utory health surveil-lance, health screening,medicals and absencemanagement assess-ments.

Clinics can deal withhearing, lung function,skin and vision testing,HAVS hand and armvibration tests and bio-monitoring for lead,chrome, isocyanates andother COSHH sub-stances.

A free helpline forEEF members has beenlaunched on 0844 8009264 and a list of clinics,dates and services is atwww.eefohs. co.uk

Mr Thompson aims to build his venture into a franchise

[email protected]


by Henry Owen-John of EnglishHeritage in the North West

post business location

Heritage and regeneration can go hand-in-hand with a bit of imagination

ENGLISH HERITAGE has had extens-ive experience of working withother partners on regenerationschemes to ensure that the historicenvironment plays its part in gen-

erating economic growth.One example in Liverpool is the

Isla Gladstone conservatory in Stan-ley Park, Anfield, which was care-fully restored and is now success-fully used as a venue for weddingsand events.

As a result we know only too wellhow complex these kind of projectscan be and how there is a huge vari-ety of issues and problems that canadd costs, time and effort to even thebest planned of projects.

This is why we have collaboratedwith the British Property Federa-tion, the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors and Deloitte

Real Estate to produce a new editionof Heritage Works.

We have drawn together a hugewealth of both property andconservation sector expert-ise to create a practicalstep-by-step guide fordevelopers, owners, practi-tioners or communitygroups wanting to achievesuccessful heritage-ledregeneration projects.

It shows how to prepareand plan for projects of thiskind, how to identify com-mon pitfalls and how to overcomethem.

Heritage Works embodies the Eng-lish Heritage philosophy of “con-structive conservation” – using what

is significant about a build-ing or historic area to helpguide change and success-fully stitching new develop-ment into the fabric of whatalready exists. In a city likeLiverpool, this is clearlycritical.

For English Heritage, apartnership approach inproducing our documentwas hugely important.

Using the expertise of propertyprofessionals was crucial in ensur-

ing that Heritage Works has a fullyrounded view of the issues andhurdles which all those involved inusing heritage assets in regenerationprojects encounter.

We think it presents things in away that the property, developmentand heritage sectors will recognise,understand and put to use.

At a time when our developmentand construction sectors need a kick-start, we hope that this publicationwill go some way to helping muchneeded investment projects get offthe ground. It demonstrates justwhat is possible when imaginativethinking is involved.

Sutton Kersh raises £5m from‘packed’ February auction

More than 300 peoplewere at the auction

Lettings agency moves into city

FBE tohold firstmeetingTHE Liverpool branchof the Forum for theBuilt Environment(FBE) is holding itsfirst breakfast event ofthe year today (Febru-ary 21).

It will discuss the keyissues affecting invest-ment in student accom-modation.

The panel will offertheir insights on howthe sector will shape itsofferings in the futuresince tuition fees wereraised in September2012, resulting in a fallin university applica-tions.

The event will beheld in the Hilton, Liv-erpool, from 7.30am to9.30am.

The event is free forFBE members and £25for non-members.

‘This is acriticalissue in acity likeLiverpool’

viewpoint

SUTTON KERSH raised £5m from its latestLiverpool property auction, selling 80% of the102 lots on offer.

More than 300 people packed into the auc-tion room at the Marriott Hotel in the citycentre with many having to stand up at theback and down the sides.

Competitive bidding at the Valentine’s Dayevent resulted in many lots being sold forsignificantly more than their guide prices.

From the initial catalogue comprising 107lots, five were withdrawn and 14 sold beforethe auction.

A total of 64 lots then sold in the room andmore sales have completed afterwards.

The opening lot of the day was Media Housein Claughton Road, Birkenhead, which was

offered on behalf of Wirral Council.The two-storey commercial site occupies

more than 450,000 sq ft and has a car park tothe rear with 15 spaces.

Guided at £90,000 this lot attracted a hugeamount of interest in the room and eventuallysold for £190,000.

Residential investment properties in Kens-ington also proved to be popular and encour-aged competitive bidding wars.

A two-bedroom middle-terrace property loc-ated in Adelaide Road, which generates anannual rental income of £4,528, sold for £82,000and was guided at £45,000 to £50,000.

Cathy Holt, auction manager at SuttonKersh, said: “The atmosphere was one of thebest I have experienced in an auction room.

“The room was packed with people whowere keen to buy and the competitive biddingis a great sign for the property market.

“We hope to carry this momentum into ourApril auction.”

PURPLE PROPERTY is open-ing its first office in Liverpoolcity centre thanks to propertygroup Downing’s Flexi-Officesscheme.

The Formby-based lettingsagency has taken aFlexi-Office suite at Down-ing’s 1 Old Hall Street.

It is the first office the com-

pany has opened since form-ing in 2011.

Downing, Liverpool’slargest private commerciallandlord, has createdFlexi-Offices to fill the gapbetween fully serviced officesand the traditional leasing ofa suite.

Flexi-Offices are available

for one person upwards forone month upwards.

Louise Bromilow, directorat Purple Property, said:“We’ve been operating thebusiness successfully fromour Formby base since start-ing two years ago and felt itwas the right time to set upour first city centre office.”

[email protected]

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IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

■ INTERNET entrepren-eur Ben Hatton isfounder and managingdirector of digital agencyRippleffect. FollowRippleffect on Twitter@rippleffected

Sedaka and ‘Weird Al’ star in songwriting show

How datacan bringloyaltyTHE use of consumerdata is a hot topic atpresent and it hasreceived some negativefeedback from customers.

With the introductionof data regulations andplans to introduce fur-ther legislation, brandsneed to sharpen up andget savvy on how best touse the personal inform-ation they gather.

Costa Coffee has justshown how effective loy-alty marketing can be.

At this year’s DataStrategy Awards theytook the award for BestUse of Loyalty Marketing,the Retail/Home Shop-ping title and the overallGrand Prix award.

While this trio oftrophies is certainlyimpressive, the real-world results speak forthemselves. Costa is thebiggest coffee brand inthe UK, having increasedthe level of recommend-ations it receives fromcustomers while increas-ing the average spend pertrip and growing itsmembership by 1 million.

Other coffee chainssuch as Prêt A Mangerand Starbucks haveoffered similar loyaltyschemes in the past, yethave not enjoyed thesame level of reward.

It’s the personalisationCosta brings to the tablethat makes it so effective.

It records consumers’every possible contactwith the brand and tail-ors personal responses.

It’s undeniable thatreceiving regular balanceupdates stating an enti-tlement to a free coffee,or informing you to “popin” for double points onyour next visit, succeedsin offering the consumerthat personal touch.

Instead of using datathat makes the consumerfeel distrustful, loyaltymarketing has the oppos-ite effect, generatingrespect and appreciation.

Retail brands – it’stime to get personal withyour consumer data.After all, loyalty is thekey to any long-lastingrelationship.

post businesscreative & digital

Time for video games sectorto move up to the next level

Lee Omar, panellist in the Futureproof gaming debate, in a ‘meeting room’ at Camp & Furnace

THE big AAA video games studiosmay have shrunk or disappeared fromMerseyside, but their former employ-ees are busy proving that there’s still athriving gaming sector in the region.

Last week’s Futureproof conferencesaw hundreds of representatives fromthe gaming and digital sectors gatherat Camp & Furnace in Liverpool todebate the future of gaming.

The sector has been hit hard inrecent years by the retrenching of the“AAA” gaming studios, which producebig budget games for consoles.

US giant Activision closed itsBizarre Creations studio in Speke in2011 with the loss of 200 jobs.

Sony, meanwhile, finally closed itsmuch-reduced games development stu-dio in Wavertree last year. That studiowas one of the cornerstones of theUK’s video games sector, having star-ted life as Psygnosis and developedgames including WipeOut.

It was feared that, following thosejob losses, the region would see a massexodus of games developers. But whilesome have left, many have stayed on tostart their own companies.

At Futureproof, three leading play-ers in the sector took part in a debateabout the changes in the sector.

Clemens Wangerin ran Sony’s Liv-erpool studio before leaving in 2010 toco-found Setgo with two former col-leagues. His company today specialisesin “analytics” software which allowsdevelopers to study who is buyingtheir games online.

Mr Wangerin said the gamesindustry in Liverpool was now “themost active it’s ever been” – but saidits new small gaming firms now had tomove up to the next level.

“It’s got to the stage now wherethere’s a lot of talent out there,” hesaid. “The reassuring thing is that theopportunities are out there as well.

“Being an indie is incredibly hard. Ifyou know that before going in, you willbe better prepared for the reality of thesituation.

“People are aspiring to make thenew Angry Birds or become the newMicrosoft. It takes a lot of luck, hardwork and resilience – that’s ultimatelywhat indies who are successful havedone.

“The challenge we have now as aregion is how we move people frombeing hobbyists, being garagedevelopers or working in their bed-rooms, to being organised and collab-orating on projects together.”

Martin Linklater set up in businessas Curly Rocket after losing his jobwhen Bizarre shut down.

He said: “Since the studios closed wehave lost a fair few people to places

like Canada – they went to work forstudios such as Ubisoft.

“But there’s still quite a hardcoregroup in Liverpool and we’ve diver-sified, gone back to working on a smal-ler scale like start-ups, finding moneywhere we can find it and doing stuffwhere we can, making apps as well asgames and making portfo-lios that we wouldn’t havebeen able to do if we wereworking for a larger pub-lisher.”

Lee Omar, of mobiledevelopment studio RedNinja, said that to start abusiness in the games sec-tor you needed to be “pas-sionate, hard-working, cre-ative and intelligent”.

And he said the closureof the Sony and Bizarre studiosbenefited companies like his becausethey are now able to recruit talenteddevelopers who would otherwise havebeen “sucked into big corporate stu-dios”.

In the recent past, Mr Wangerin

said, developers might have worked foryears at an AAA studio working on asmall number of games. Now anyoneworking in the games industry canexpect to leap between projects andacross platforms.

And taking a dig at an outdated ste-reotype of the video games sector, he

added: “We’re no longer justtalking about console gamesand first-person shooters forteenage boys.”

Panel chairman and gam-ing journalist David Valjaloasked what the dream nowwas for developers now thechance of being having agame picked up by a largestudio such as Sony hadshrunk.

Mr Linklater said: “Ten to15 years ago, there was no independentroute to market. You needed a physicalpublisher to manufacture the boxedproduct and to do the distribution andmarketing.

“These days, somebody in their bed-room can distribute their software to

the world. Everybody still wants to besuccessful, both creatively and finan-cially, but the routes which are avail-able are different.”

Mr Linklater also discussed how hehad founded the North West Indiesgroup two years ago as an onlineforum where newly independentdevelopers could support each other.

Today it has 80 members from 55different companies.

All panellists agreed that small gam-ing firms would only grow if they col-laborated with each other.

Mr Omar said: “If you’re a goodcoder, start working with graphicartists. Collaborate with someone whodoes social media so you’re not doingyour own marketing. Specialise in thebits you’re good at and collaboratewith people who can do the bits you’renot good at.”

Other participants at Futureproofincluded Miles Jacobson, studio dir-ector at Football Manager developerSports Interactive, and Colin Macdon-ald, commissioning editor for games atChannel Four.

SONGWRITING podcastersSodajerker have notched upmore than 80,000 down-loads thanks to interviewswith songwriters includingNeil Sedaka and “Weird Al”Yankovic.

Songwriters SimonBarber and Brian O’Connorstarted podcasting last yearand have now made more

than 30 episodes.The hour-long pro-

grammes, available oniTunes, focus solely onsongwriting as a craft.

Other subjects haveincluded Valerie Simpson,of hitmaking duo Ashford &Simpson, and Ben Folds.

The show has also wonpraise from artists includ-

ing Jamie Cullum.Mr Barber said: “We’re

delighted with the successof Sodajerker on Songwrit-ing. Obviously it’s a subjectwe’re passionate about, butgetting to talk in detail withthe talents behind some ofthe biggest hits ever writtenis fantastic.

“We still have a list of

people we’d love to talk to,so hopefully there’ll beplenty more to come.”

Mr O’Connor and MrBarber have workedtogether for more than 15years. They toured thecountry with their bandSanta Carla and have seentheir material used in filmsand on television.

byAlistairHoughtonPOSTBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

‘Sector inLiverpoolis the mostactive it’sever been’

Songwriter Neil Sedaka


post business the big interview

Our Hope is for abig-money transferto the West End

ERIC Woollard-White isthe producer behindHope, the forthcomingplay which will beperformed next month at

Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre.Written and co-produced by

Liverpool-born Scot Williams and setin Blundellsands, the play is a darkcomedy about an aspiring author suf-fering from writer’s block who fallsin love with a character called Hope,played by former EastEnders starSamantha Womack.

Woollard-White and Williams metat last year’s Global Entrepreneur-ship Congress held at the city’s BTConvention Centre.

Through their company Thirty7Productions, the pair have sinceraised just short of £100,000 to investin the play, which will run for threeweeks from March 6.

While Williams is the writer,Woollard-White – who was previ-ously Dragons’ Den panellist PeterJones’ right-hand man – is clearly thebusiness brain behind the project.

Before founding Thirty7 Produc-tions, Woollard-White’s careerspanned journalism, public relations,marketing, television production andvarious senior management andboard-level business positions.

For more than 10 years until Julylast year, Woollard-White was asenior executive with the group ofcompanies owned or controlled byJones.

He remains a trustee of his char-itable foundation.

Having tried his hand at manythings, he now believes the one thingit has all been leading to is a careeras a theatre and film producer.

He said: “I used to get a lot ofpeople coming to me to see if I couldhelp them get to Peter for invest-ment.”

Williams had approached Wool-lard-White to try to win the dragon’sinterest in another play, A Bard Day’sNight, which sees The Beatles goback in time to meet WilliamShakespeare to write the world’s firstmusical.

“That wasn’t for Peter,” saidWoollard-White.

“But I thought it would be good forScot if he could go to the GEC.

“He performed some of his songsfrom A Bard Day’s Night in front of300 delegates from around the world.

“The next day I was talking to theRoyal Court Theatre.

“I quickly worked out there was anopportunity to help get his play puton in Liverpool.

“Had it not been for the GEC, wewouldn’t have had that conversation.

“I have been going to entrepren-eurship events like the GEC andwondered how many entrepreneurscome out of them. I wonder howmany people take up the challenge?

“It’s a big step to become whollyfinancially self-reliant.

“It’s a big decision. There is morechance of encouraging young peopleto start a business because they areopen to challenges and they don’thave the mortgages.”

Woollard-White took the leap. Heleft his job with Jones to startThirty7 Productions.

He said: “I had a few things in myfavour. I was in a position to be ableto do that.

“In life, you have a list of thingsyou would want to achieve some day.There comes a moment when youthink ‘I had better start doing that

otherwise it won’t happen’.“I want to be a producer.”While Hope is Woollard-White’s

first foray into theatre, he is able tocall upon his experience as a TV pro-ducer.

He said: “I worked for Peter Jones’TV company.

“We made two shows with Peter[Tycoon for ITV and two series ofAmerican Inventor for ABC]. My rolewas in marketing and PR.”

He also worked for the dragon’smain company, Phones InternationalGroup, a mobile phone wholesaler.

“I was essentially his right-handman by the time I left the companylast year. I did that for 10 years.”

Leaving school at 16, Woollard-White ran his own small business forthree years.

He then got a job delivering theIsle Of Wight Weekly Post to news-

agents. At the same time, he pursueda hobby as a bird-watcher.

A friend told him there was rarebird on the island, a Hoopoe.

He wrote a story about it for thepaper, which the editor put on thefront page.

“That got me signed up as atrainee reporter. The following weekthe paper went bust,” he said.

“With his reference, I got a job as atrainer reporter at Aldershot NewsGroup.”

The town was for many years thehome of the Army’s Parachute Regi-ment.

He added: “You would see troubleon a Saturday night and be in courton Monday morning reporting howan officer turned up to say so-and-sohad an exemplary record.”

After three years and a stint work-ing for ITV’s Oracle service,

Woollard-White switched from journ-alism to public relations.

His first PR job was with the PostOffice.

“It’s a place populated by journ-alists doing a job of PR for one of theoldest businesses in the country,” hesaid.

After a short spell working for anOmnicom-owned PR agency,Woollard-White rekindled hisinterest in entrepreneurship by set-ting up his own PR business.

He said: “That’s how I met Peter. Ihad other great clients. I worked forChelsea FC and a contract with theNew Millennium Experience Com-pany.”

He and his business partner havebetween them put up the cash neededto make the Royal Court productionwork.

They are paying for the theatre,

marketing and actors’ salaries.It will run for eight shows a week

for just over three weeks.Even if every performance sold

out, it would gross £250,000 at most.It’s not the sort of money that, onceeverybody else has their cut, will neta fortune for the show’s promoters.

Woollard-White said: “It’s a hardbusiness filling a theatre.

“Liverpool seems like a placewhich enjoys its culture.

“It feels like a city ready toembrace good plays.

“In many respects, our play is avery Liverpool play. Scot is from Liv-erpool and Mark Womack is a Liv-erpool lad.

“We have sourced our crew fromLiverpool and the play is set in aLiverpool suburb.

“One of our most important rela-tionships has been with the theatre.

Bill Gleeson meetstheatre producerERIC WOOLLARD-WHITE, founder ofThirty7 Productions

Hope will run at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre during March; inset, EricWoollard-White’s former employer, TV dragon Peter Jones


post businessthe big interview

TurnerAlex

■ Alex Turner is the generalmanager of financial trainingfirm Ambitious Minds

That's been a great partnership forme.

“The Royal Court has a heritage ofputting on a particular type of pro-duction – strongly themed Scousecomedies.

“We have been talking to themabout bringing different types of pro-ductions there.”

The pair considered the possibilityof raising money through grants andother sources, but decided that wouldbe too time consuming.

Woollard-White said: “I thoughtright from the outset we are going todo this project quickly rather thanwriting bids.

“I thought it would be better to putmy hand in my own pocket and bringin a few investors fast.

“The theatre was available inMarch and that gave the project adeadline.

“I am one of those people who,once they decide to do something,want to just get on and do it.

“It is less than a year since Scotand I met at the GEC and dreamilysaid ‘let’s put on a play’.

“There is an element of theunknown.

“We are putting on a different typeof play that the Royal Court is usedto, so it’s not without its risks.

“We will bring some producersfrom London.

“The prize we have in mind is thetransfer to the West End.

“For that, we need a play which isa critical success. There are no guar-antees.

“There are lots of different ways totake a show to the West End.

“Hopefully it will be a profitableventure in Liverpool. That will dic-tate what we do next.

“I want to be a presence in Liv-erpool beyond one stage play.

“Given that this is my first majorsolo production there is an elementof learning to this job.

“Deep down there is a seriousinvestment for me. My reputationrests on it.

“I sometimes lie awake at nightwondering if I’m doing it right. Igenuinely do feel that, despite myage and experience, I have beentraining for this moment all my life.

“There’s a saying ‘if you build it,they will come’ and for us, Scot’swritten it, I’m producing it and ifLiverpool comes to see it, I honestlybelieve they won’t be disappointed.”

Eric Woollard-White,co-founder and director ofThirty7 Productions

Myth of thesuperstarchief execsTHE High Pay Centre’s report onchief executive appointmentsseeks to rebuff the notion –usually put forward by chiefexecutives themselves – thatthere is a need to pay eye-watering salaries because it isthe price which has to be paid toget the best people when thereis a global market for them.

There is the first, obvious,question of whether a £1m-a-yearchief executive would benoticeably different from a£2m-a-year chief executive.

The law of diminishingreturns – and common sense –suggests not.

Once you’re paying a salary ofthat magnitude, the difference inpay is unlikely to create or reflecta difference in performance.

But the High Pay Centre’sreport is interesting because itstrikes at the heart of the ideathat a global market in chiefexecutives exists.

Its conclusion, from studyingthe Fortune Global 500, was clear

that if such amarket doesexist in theory,companies don’tuse it.

“In reality,companies donot feel theyneed to searchfar and wide fortheir next CEO,”

it said. “The vast majority preferto look within their own com-pany for an individual who, bydefinition, has never proved him-self to be capable of handlingwhat we are repeatedly told arethe inordinately complex chal-lenges.

“Of the remainder, only anextremely small number lookoutside their country to find asuccessor who is at the time inanother CEO role.”

There are often good reasonsto choose from inside the com-pany, to minimise the risk of anappointment who simply doesn’tfit and to ensure continuity. Ofcourse that presupposes the com-pany in question is on the righttrack and continuity is desirable.

Tesco is a good case study ofinternal promotions . Supermar-kets are broadly similar allaround the world yet when theywere seeking a replacement forSir Terry Leahy a couple of yearsago, their global search foundPhilip Clarke, a Tesco lifer wholived in the same street as hispredecessor.

There’s nothing wrong withthat, but when the majority ofthe world’s big companies aredoing the same, it underminesthe argument that the pay needsto be appropriate to enticesomeone from the other side ofthe world.

‘Isa£2mCEOanydifferentfroma£1mone?’

Samantha Womack as Hope, inHope, at the Royal Court


Employers needto get facts right

www.ldplegal.co.ukpost business legal

Umbrella drives furtherexpansion for DPP Law

Legal aid cuts ‘will delayalready congested courts’

Paul Hunt, of Kirwans

ALAN Chalmers, partner at DLA Piper,warned employers over changes to the lawon large-scale redundancies from a min-imum 90 days to 45 days’ consultation whichcomes into force on April 6.

He said: “The draft regulations state thereduction will apply to ‘proposals’ of redund-ancies made on or after April 6.

“The difficulty is that a proposal is a fairlynebulous concept and will rarely be made atone specific point in time or even be capableof pinning down to a specific date.

“If employers get the consultation periodwrong they could face hefty protectiveawards.

“Trade unions will be seeking to challengethe validity of consultation exercises whichbegin around April 6 and if they can point toany evidence that a ‘proposal’ was madebefore April 6 they may have a basis forchallenging an otherwise legally compliantredundancy exercise.

“Employers will need to exercise consid-erable caution if carrying out collectiveredundancy consultation in the weeks imme-diately after the change to the law.”

DPP Law senior and managing partner Stuart Nolan

A MERSEYSIDE solicitors is continuingits expansion with a further office open-ing in the South East of England.

DPP Law, the national brand for theBootle and Liverpool-based lawyers stillbetter known on Merseyside as DavidPhillips & Partners, is one of country’sbiggest operations in the Legal Aid TopTen.

It has offices in the London districts ofHolborn, Notting Hill and Harrow, as wellas Birmingham, Manchester, Leicester,and Nelson.

Its latest opening, in Brentwood HighStreet in Essex, will support its existingbranches in the county in ChadwellHeath and Romford.

DPP Law senior and managing partnerStuart Nolan said cuts to the legal aidbudget were forcing the contraction orclosure of high street solicitors and dam-aging the quality of service available tothe public.

He said: “Rising costs and falling legalaid budgets mean the days of the smallfamily firm or the one-man-band are over– but that doesn’t mean lawyers have todisappear from the high street.

“In fact, maintaining a high street pres-ence is essential to our growth plan as webelieve people have a right to face-to-facecontact with a lawyer when they needand we want to maintain that goodold-fashioned notion of client care.”

DPP has based its expansion on assim-ilating local firms into a nationalumbrella grouping.

Mr Nolan said the advantage of theumbrella grouping means that DPP Lawis bucking the ongoing trend of closuresthrough a “sophisticated backroom oper-ation and IT system” which is run fromthe group’s head office operation situatedin Bootle.

He said: “Smaller legal firms are fail-ing because they have to maintain higher

staffing levels than legal aid revenuesallow.

“This means many lawyers are findingthemselves under pressure to meet theirown wages bill, or tax bill.

“DPP Law provides all branches with acentralised backroom office management,a sophisticated nationally-linked IT sys-tem and support.

“This means that when a client meets a

DPP Law lawyer or legal representative,the client and the client’s business is thelawyer’s only priority.”

DPP Law specialises in a wide range ofcriminal law, from police station repres-entation through lower and higher courtsto the Court of Appeal, as well as personalinjury litigation and family and childrenmatters through to welfare rights andprison visits.

[email protected]

CHANGES to the Legal Aid sys-tem this April affecting morethan 550,000 people will lead to arise in litigants representingthemselves – which will causedelays to court cases.

That is the view of family law-yer Paul Hunt, from Kirwans.

He said: “Acting for a clientwhen the other party is unrep-resented makes a solicitor’s jobeven more difficult.

“Discussing issues with ‘theother side’, a long-establishedmethod of negotiating the bestoutcome for our clients, becomesnear-impossible due to the per-sonal involvement of the otherparty.

“With emotions running high,they will regard the opposingsolicitor with a degree of suspi-cion, and are likely to be defens-ive and unfamiliar with the courtprocesses.”

Mr Hunt added while the

courts have already begun toadapt to the needs of unrepres-ented parties, dealing with whatmay be the unrealistic expecta-tions of litigants in person orseeking to sift out the relevantmaterial and evidence will inev-itably cause delay.

legalquality

In Business for your Business

AN individual who has built up a successfulbusiness is usually an extremely hard-workingperson who may not carve time out of theirbusy schedule to make plans for the future.

Figures show 75% of business owners wishto pass the business to their children, but only25% take the necessary steps to do so.

Unfortunately it is often left until it is toolate and the once-energetic and charismaticbusiness owner has lost mental capacity orperhaps died, leaving a grieving family andconfused staff, suppliers and customers, alongwith a chaotic legal situation.

There are basic steps which can be taken toprotect the business assets. The governing doc-ument may be a Partnership Deed or Share-holder Agreement, and it should include pro-vision regarding what happens upon death.

There may also be a family constitution doc-ument regarding the core values of the busi-ness. If succession provisions are not included,the resulting situation is uncontrolled anduncertain, to the detriment of all concerned.

There is no purpose in having legal rights ifthey cannot be enforced. In the case of a busi-ness there is a balance of interests betweenfamily and surviving shareholders or partners.

Consider the following scenario – Horace hasan 80% shareholding in hisdelivery company, SpeedyLtd, and in his will heleaves his shares to hiswife Wilma.

On Horace’s death,Wilma inherits his sharesbut she does not wish to beinvolved in Speedy Ltd andthe surviving shareholder,Simon, wishes to continuethe business.

A cross option agree-ment grants Wilma theoption to sell her shares to

Simon, who has the option to purchase them.The option can be exercised by either Wilma orSimon and is normally binding on the otherparty. The funding is arranged via a life insur-ance policy on Horace’s life, written in trust.

It is important that a business owner makesa will to protect succession and the tax pos-ition. Business property tax relief may be avail-able. Discretionary trusts may be used toenable a business owner to arrange successionand protect the business assets.

Loss of mental capacity is catastrophic, anda business owner should have a Lasting Powerof Attorney to protect the business and itsoperation.

For example, Horace is involved in a caraccident and is in a coma for six months. Hehas made a Lasting Power of Attorney appoint-ing Simon and Wilma as his attorneys, andthey can make decisions regarding his prop-erty and finances. Simon has the experience inconnection with the business and shares acommon interest in protecting this asset.

It is easy to know that steps need to be taken,but it is also easy to procrastinate and not toinvest the time and effort required to makeplans for the future. Unfortunately, it can be toolate to take any of these steps and a businessowner’s hard work and effort may be lost.■ Contact [email protected]

■ In association with Jackson & Canter

Naomi Pinder, Head ofEstate Planning atJackson & Canter, onpassing on a business

It isimportantthatabusinessownermakesawill


post businesswomeninbusiness

Hair salon entrepreneur doesher bit for the community

Emma Herridge, who runs the Hair And Nail Spa Picture: GARY TALBOT

Friendsset upbridalbusinessFIVE Liverpool womenhave opened their ownboutique bridal shop.

Brides By Nataliehas opened in EatonRoad, West Derby Vil-lage.

The team, whichincludes three experi-enced seamstresses areNatalie Coleman,Janet McKenna, DianeOwen, Helen Hansonand Sharon Stanton.

The business willoffer a bespoke

wedding outfit designservice as well as arange of dresses fromtop designers.

Co-owner and man-aging director NatalieColeman said: “Thefive of us have allworked togetherbefore.

“We thought it madesense to strike out onour own in our localarea and use ourexpertise to givepeople a better choice.

“Between us wehave decades ofexperience of workingwith brides, so weknow the dos anddon’ts of thebusiness.”

The Brides team

IT IS something of a tired oldcliche that people from York-shire can be a bit tight – andEmma Herridge is definitelyproving that wrong.

The Yorkshire-born entre-preneur runs the Hair AndNail Spa in The Chester Well-ness Centre in WrexhamRoad, Chester Business Park.

Despite operating in a com-petitive sector, Emma findsthe time to offer her expertiseto help women less fortunatethan herself.

Once a month, she opensher doors to women from alocal refuge andoffers them a“pamper day” whenthey have a completenew hairdo and theirnails painted.

“You can see theirconfidence rising atthe end of the day,”said Emma.

“It is so gratifying.It helps these women whengoing for interviews. They areof all ages and from many dif-ferent backgrounds.

“One lady was so pleasedwith her makeover she cried.As a hairstylist you get usedto being a shoulder to cry on.”

Emma, who employs oneother full-time staff memberplus trainees, opened the busi-ness in November 2010 afterworking as a hairdresser for22 years.

The Wellness Centre is aconverted barn within thebusiness park which is closeto corporate giants includingM&S Money and Bank OfAmerica.

The centre houses a num-ber of small business special-ising in various types of ther-

apies and Emma’s is the onlyone offering hair and nails.

She said: “We are verylucky here because there areno other businesses of thistype nearby.

“There are tens of thou-sands of people working in thebusiness park. Added to that Ihave my own client list whichI have built up over the last 22years.”

Emma’s family relocatedfrom Yorkshire to Wrexhamwhen she was just eight andshe began working in thesalon business when she was16. She now lives with herhusband in nearby Kinnerton.

And she is proud of the wel-coming atmosphere she has

created at the spa.“I have worked in

high street salonsjust doing one clientafter another for 12hours a day,” shesaid.

“When peoplecome here, whetherit be for an hour orfive hours, it is

much more relaxed.“Clients have no problems

parking right outside thebuilding and they also have awonderful views of the Welshmountains from their chair.”

The work Emma does forthe women from the refugeforms only one part of heraltruistic activities.

Other local charities alsobenefit from her generosity.She donates prizes for charityauctions, including vouchersfor the spa.

This makes business senseas such people often end upcoming back.

She added: “Last year wecontributed to six or sevencharities. They raised almost£60,000 and I think we con-tributed about a third of that.”

[email protected]

‘One ladywas sopleasedthat shecried’

JOIN THECOMMUNITY

OFBUSINESS

OPPORTUNITYAT

THE HEATH

Where else in the North West can you find such a unique business village?Where else can you find so many services and facilities in one place?Best location in the North West, just 1.5m from M56 J12Serviced office and lab accommodation with affordable and flexible licensingScientific support services for Heath and external customersExcellent staff facilities – restaurant, business lounge, conference centre, gym & shops

24/7 security and access - ample free car parking

Visit www.theheath.com for further detailsContact: Lesley Lunt – T: 01928-51-5988 E: [email protected]


Advertising Feature Accessing finance – The North West Fund

Inspiring local entrepreneurs are given ahelping hand as they develop

THE North West Fund isa £155m investmentfund, now two yearsold, with a strongportfolio of growing

businesses. To date, the Fundhas invested more than £45m inthe North West, including over£13m into more than 50businesses in Merseyside.

The Fund supports small-to-medium-sized businesses acrossthe North West with investmentsof between £50,000 and £2m.

This finance is already helpingbusinesses in Merseyside and therest of the region to meet theirgrowth aspirations, whilecreating jobs and prosperity forthe future.

The North West Fund comprisessix sub-funds, each managed by aspecialist fund manager who sup-ports businesses at each stage ofdevelopment:■ The North West Fund for Ven-ture Capital, managed by Enter-prise Ventures, for new start-upsand early-stage businesses lookingto grow;■ The North West Fund for LoansPlus, managed by FW Capital,which provides debt financeoptions for businesses;■ The North West Fund forMezzanine, managed by Enter-prise Ventures, for establishedbusinesses looking to expand; and■ Three sector funds, covering:

■ Biomedical, managed by SPARKImpact■ Energy & Environmental, man-aged by CT Investment Partners■ Digital & Creative, managed byAXM Venture Capital

The Fund has already investedin a broad range of Merseysidebusinesses, each with an inspiringstory to tell about their plans forgrowth. You can read more aboutthese businesses in the case stud-ies section on The North WestFund website. In the meantime,here are just a few of the Fund’s‘Inspiring Entrepreneurs’:

CHRIS MEEHAN, MANAGINGDIRECTOR AT SENTRIC MUSIC

In May 2012, The North WestFund for Digital & Creative, man-aged by AXM Venture CapitalLimited, made an equity invest-ment into Sentric Music Limited,which operates an online musicroyalty management and licensingservice.

It was the Digital & Creative

Fund’s fifth investment in Mersey-side. It financed Sentric’s ongoinginvestment in its online platformand the expansion of its Liverpool-based client management team tosupport the company’s growth inoverseas markets.

Managing director Chris Mee-han said: “The North West Fundfor Digital & Creative fully under-stood our international growthplans, and have made an invest-ment that will allow us to estab-lish ourselves as a leading inter-national music publisher forartists and businesses alike.”

JONATHAN QUINN, FOUNDER ANDCHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ULTROMEX

The North West Fund forEnergy and Environmental, whichis managed by CT InvestmentPartners, completed its firstinvestment in 2013 after investing£550,000 in Ultromex, a Birken-head-based company that developsprocesses for the recovery ofhigh-value metals from electronicand industrial waste products.

Ultromex used the funding todevelop its processes for the recyc-ling of catalysts, industrial sludgesand dross, and residual mine tail-ings.

Founder and chief executiveJonathan Quinn said: “Workingwith The North West Fund forEnergy & Environmental willenable us to develop our techno-

logies even further.”

BRYAN ADAMS, MANAGINGDIRECTOR AT PH.CREATIVE

Liverpool-based marketingagency Ph.Creative is planning todouble in size after securing a£500,000 investment from TheNorth West Fund for Venture Cap-ital, managed by Enterprise Ven-tures, in February 2013.

The investment is being used tosupport Ph.Creative’s growthstrategy to expand staff numbersfrom 24 to more than 40 by the endof 2013 and to become one of theUK’s leading digital agencies.

Ph.Creative managing directorBryan Adams said: “Followingsubstantial growth in 2012, we feltthe time was right to seek thissignificant investment, and secur-ing it is a vital step forward forus.”

■ Do you need finance?Discover how The North West

Fund could help you – contact oneof its specialist fund managers orfind more information on the web-site www.thenorthwestfund.co.uk.

The North West Fund is fin-anced jointly by the EuropeanRegional Development Fund andthe European Investment Bankand is designed to help create jobsand prosperity for the regionthrough minority investments ingrowing businesses.

Chris Meehan

Jonathan Quinn

Bryan Adams

The North West Fund is a £155m investment fund,established to provide debt and equity fundingfrom £50,000 to £2m to small and medium sizedenterprises (SMEs) based in, or relocating to, theNorth West of England.

SUPPORTED BY

T: 01925 418 232E: [email protected]

We have already supported over150 businesses with more than£45m of funding.

Do you need finance?

We are looking for more businesses to invest in.So whether you are just starting up or seekingfunding to help take your company to the next level,investment of between £50,000 and £2m from TheNorth West Fund could be what you need to helpyour business flourish.

Discover how The North West Fund couldhelp you, contact any of our specialist FundManagers or find more information on ourwebsite www.thenorthwestfund.co.uk


Advertising Feature Accessing finance – MSIF

‘We can help achieve your business dream’

STARTING orgrowing a business?Looking for fundingto support yourplans? If you need

finance to make a businessidea a reality, or develop anexisting company, then youshould speak to MSIF abouthow you may be able toreceive help.

MSIF can provide invest-ment from as little as £250right up to £2m-plus throughloans and other fundingoptions.

A variety of useful supportservices are also availablewhich help to grow successfulbusinesses.

Many businesses are cur-rently finding it difficult tosecure the funding they needto realise a business idea.MSIF is an independentorganisation which was spe-cifically set up to address thisproblem and help businesseswhich are struggling to sourcethe finance they need to startand grow.

Here are some examples ofbusinesses MSIF has recentlysupported:

FOZ ELECTRICAL –£150,000 OF FUNDING

When Chris Foran returnedto Merseyside with a newbusiness idea, following fiveyears working down in Lon-don, he had no idea it wouldbe so successful.

Seven years on, his com-

pany, Foz Electrical Limited,has a turnover of £9m andemploys around 150 perman-ent and sub-contracted staff.

To continue its expansion,the company secured fundingof £300,000 from MSIF andNatWest. The investmentprovided working capital toenable the business to take onmore staff. It is the secondtime MSIF has invested in thecompany.

Mr Foran said: “MSIF’sinvestment enabled us to raisethe full amount we needed totake the business forward andallow us to take on new con-tracts. We expect turnover toincrease to £12m this year.”

LITTLE ATOM PRODUCTIONS –£25,000 OF FUNDING

Little Atom Productionsoffers event management ser-vices to clients within the cre-ative, charity and corporatesectors.

The company also producesits own commercial eventsincluding the hugely success-ful ‘In Conversation’ series(soon to be re-branded as‘Coming Home’), where Liver-pool- born celebrities areinterviewed in front of anaudience with their five

favourite songs performed liveby local musicians.

Actors Stephen Grahamand David Morrissey areamong the stars who havetaken part, and the format isdue to launch in Manchesterin spring 2013.

Little Atom, which was setup three years ago by KarenPodesta and Gemma Aldcroft,received a £25,000 loan fromMSIF to develop both the cli-ent and commercial side of thebusiness.

They were also recentlyawarded funding of £1,000from UKTI and Liverpool Vis-ion, which went towards a

research trip to New York toinvestigate the possibility oflaunching the ‘In Conversa-tion’ series there.

Karen and Gemma said:“Our planned expansionwould not be possible withoutthe funding from MSIF. Theyreally understood where wewant to go with the businessand have been hugely support-ive.”

BLINGSTAR –£2,500 OF FUNDING

MSIF helped a young entre-preneur, 25-year-old Faye Har-rison, turn a hobby into herown business.

With a keen interest in fash-ion trends, Faye oftenstruggled to find the rightaccessories to match her out-fit. She began to make herown pieces, and friends alsostarted to ask for her designs.

When she was maderedundant from her job lastyear, Faye seized the oppor-tunity and set up her own jew-ellery design and manufactur-ing business, BlingStar.

Initially, Faye used socialmedia to promote herproducts and also persuadedcelebrities from programmessuch as DesperateScousewives and The Only

Way is Essex to wear herdesigns. But to take the busi-ness further she needed tosecure premises which wouldcombine as a shop and work-space.

Through the new govern-ment- backed Start Up LoansProgramme, which providesfunding to 18 to 30-year-olds tohelp start their own busi-nesses, MSIF provided a £2,500loan which enabled Faye toopen her own shop onAigburth Road.

Faye said: “The fundingfrom MSIF has helped merealise a dream of running myown business.”

Paul Humphray of MSIF, left, withChris Foran

Faye Harrison and Paul Humphrayof MSIF

Chris Walters of MSIF, centre, with,l-r Gemma Aldcroft and KarenPodesta of Little Atom

We know it’s hard for businesses at the moment...

If... you need funding

Supporting your Business Growth

to start or grow your business weoffer a huge range of flexible finance

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msif.co.ukmsif...

Contact us: 0151 236 4040 or [email protected]


post business economic development

superport

Port prepares for life in

PREPARATION work isnow underway on thefirst phase of one of themost important economicdrivers for the region for

more than a decade.Liverpool2, the £300m extension of

Seaforth’s container terminal, willenable the Port of Liverpool tohandle larger ships, leading to muchbigger volumes and generating anestimated 5,000 jobs across theregion.

It is in response to the widening ofthe key maritime trade routethrough the Panama Canal, from 35mto 50m wide, enabling the passage ofwider, longer vessels carrying morethan 13,500 containers comparedwith 3,000 on current vessels.

Major ports around the world arebuilding larger facilities to accom-modate these bigger vessels and mostof the large merchant fleets aroundthe globe have larger container ves-sels on order.

The creation of a new in-river con-Liverpool2 project director Doug Coleman on the site for the enlarged container terminal

tainer terminal at Seaforth by 2015,coinciding with the opening of theenlarged Panama Canal, has been onthe drawing board for almost 10years.

But after the final go-ahead wasgranted in December last year by theMaritime Management Organisationfor work to finally begin on site, theport has been a hotbed of activity.

Liverpool2 project director DougColeman said: “We’re just so excitedabout this now because it has beenon the stocks for a long time.

“The Harbour Revision Order wasgranted in 2005 so it is really nice tosee it taking shape now.”

Principal contractor Lend Leasewas appointed last autumn and hasbeen signing up specialist contract-ors since then, such as the dredgingcontractor to deepen the channel inthe River Mersey to accommodatethe bigger vessels.

Mr Coleman said: “We have alsobeen placing orders for various plantand materials and are looking to seethe physical start of work towardsthe back end of May when 40m steelpiles will be going into the sea bed toreclaim the land to build on.”

The process involves constructinga new quay wall in the river bymeans of the piles and then filling inthe area behind with materials fromthe dredging operation to create theland on which to build the new ter-minal.

[email protected]

Advertising Feature Independent financial advice

Searching for the logicin confusing timesA

CCORDING toGlyn Jones of ValeFinancial Services,interest rates aredown, stock

markets are up; employmentis up, and major stores areclosing.

“Is there any logic? The lawsof unintended consequencesare currently having a biginfluence,” he comments.

Glyn says the efforts to stim-ulate lending have depressedsavers’ interest rates, and pro-viders no longer need or wantto offer higher rates to attractmore funds as the Governmenthas given them cheap moneyinstead.

He goes on: “I may havementioned this before, but doesit really make sense to expendall this money and energy try-ing to prop up the housingmarket? It only serves to keepprices artificially high and pre-vents first time buyers owningtheir own homes. Who woulddare to allow prices to drop tomore realistic levels? Those ofus who do own their homeswould probably be less thanhappy to see them devalued.”

Glyn says so much surround-ing personal finances is basedaround property ownership.We borrow to buy, so lendersmake money. In later life, hav-ing hopefully repaid the mort-gage, many people nowarrange equity release, ie theyraise money against the valueof their home for various reas-ons.

In fact, he reports, a recentsurvey revealed a range of usesfor which such money is used.These included assistance withhome improvements, helpingchildren or grandchildren buyhouses, improving theirincome, or even, in some cases,repaying an existing interestonly mortgage.

Glyn says another questionconcerns planning for poten-tial care home fees. Manypeople are horrified at thethought that their home can beused to pay such fees, whichcan easily exceed £600 perweek. That figure alone showsus the potential scale of theproblem nationwide.

He comments: “Perhaps ifthe problem was addressed bypeople who have some exper-

ience of it, the answers wouldbe different.

“It is generally accepted thatmore people are living longer,and a percentage of these mayneed care.

“While the majority willprobably not need this care, ofthose that do there is a markedsplit in the way they pay. Somehave saved and are expected to‘self fund’, while others havemost of their costs paid by acombination of the NHS andSocial Services.”

And he adds: “There are nowplans available which seek toaddress this issue. You may askwhy you, in view of the abovecomments, should bother. Themain reason is likely to be toprotect other assets such asyour home. If you can pay someor all of your own costs, thenthere will be less, or no call, onother assets or capital.

“As ever, if you need anyadvice, contact one of the firmsmentioned on this page.”■ Vale Financial Services is atrading style of Pi FinancialLtd, which is authorised andregulated by the Financial Ser-vices Authority. Glyn Jones

IndependentFinancial Advisersin your area

Anglesey

Security Financial ServicesTy Llwyd, Llanfaelog,Ty Croes, Anglesey LL63 5TY

Contact: Richard JonesEmail [email protected]

Phone: 01407 811268Mobile: 07710 468970

Denbighshire

Vale Financial [email protected]

Studio One,Town Hall, Crown Lane, Denbigh LL16 3TBTel: 01745 814962 Fax: 01745 814446

Contact: Glyn B. [email protected]

Liverpool

Investec Wealth& Investment

The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9AB.Tel: 0151 227 2030. Fax: 0151 227 2444Email: [email protected]

Website: www.investecwin.co.ukContact: Paul Brokenshar

Why choose an independent financial adviserBecause it pays to take an unbiased view

Those listed above are either an appointed representative of a networkor national which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services

Authority or are directly authorised and regulated


post businesseconomic development

diaryentrepreneur

ofan‘super league’

Liverpool2 will accommodate the world’s biggest ships

JLA takes the long-term view on region’s economy

LIVERPOOL John LennonAirport is part of theSuperport strategy andnew chief executive Mat-thew Thomas is confid-ent it will contributeeven more to theregional economy.

Currently commercialdirector, Mr Thomastakes up his new role onMarch 1.

He said passengertraffic will grow at JLA inthe second half of the

year, particularly fromRyanair, and growth infreight volumes is on thewish list.

But he said JLA alsohas to consider its role inthe wider economic pic-ture, particularly the vis-itor economy.

He uses new operatorNorwegian, the thirdlargest budget carrier inEurope which introducesits first route at Liver-pool to Copenhagen this

spring, as an example.He said: “We expect

75% of traffic to beinbound, different towhat we normally have,which is exporting Liver-pudlians to other partsof the world.

“The market is unbe-lievably competitive butwe need to take the hol-istic view on the value ofinbound tourism beyondthe airport and considerthe hotel and catering

industry in the city.“We have to look at

how we can bring moreoverseas visitors here.”

From that point ofview he said he sees hisfocus as more of a busi-ness development role.

He added: “Norwegianwill hopefully bringmore growth. We arealso looking to introducemore airlines to Liver-pool and we are lookingat the leisure market.”

My PASSION for hospitality led tome spending 20 years in the tradeand I only became “self-employed” by circumstance.

I slowly became interested inbecoming an owner operator... andit ended up becoming a drivendesire.

In my early career within theindustry I spent 15 years travellingand have been fortunate enough towork at some of the world’s topfive-star restaurants spanningIndia and Australia.

That gave me the taste anddesire to create something specialand easily accessible – what I’dlike to think we’ve done with ourfirst venue and what we’ll do withour catering and events company.

Customers over theyears have repeatedlytold me how importantambience and characterare, along with a pricethat people couldafford.

We created Zaaffranin Allerton almost ayear ago.

I was so taken by thearea’s clientele that Iwas confident it would work forour first concept in restaurants –and it has.

Every day my own agenda isabout meeting, greeting, feedingand looking after people.

My colleagues in the businessshare the same values that root usfirmly in the “passionate abouthospitality” stable.

It all began for me in Indiawhere I studied hotel managementand then achieved an MBA beforemoving to Sydney in 1995.

During that period my experi-ence with some of the bigger play-ers in the industry, includingOberoia Hotels and the five-star

Taj Group, set me on my way.It was an English chap abroad

in Australia who eventuallybrought me to England.

It was an ambition of mine andthis regular customer at Zaaffranin Sydney’s Darling Harbour, whowas also a restaurateur, enticedme.

I moved to Liverpool afterbeginning my career here in theMidlands and have loved it eversince.

We have a great team which hasenabled me to focus on our otherbusiness plans with the eventmanagement business that willalso specialise in catering forlarge functions around the UK,and especially in the North West.

If there was apivotal point in all ofthis happening, it wasmy involvement inMilapfest, the largestfestival of Indian cul-ture in the UK.

Having experiencedwhat it’s like to caterfor the event, we arevery confident thatthere’s a strong market

for what we can offer.I’ve no fears around the hard

work and wanting to serve people,even if the latter does not come sonaturally to some.

Meanwhile, and closer to home,we’re celebrating our birthday atZaaffran in Allerton on February27, so that’s our biggest focus atthe moment.

In the long term, the focus isactually the same – looking afterwhat is nearest and dearest tomost people, what they eat anddrink and how they’re looked afterwhen socialising.

Ashwani Verma is founder ofAllerton’s Zaaffran restaurant

Mr Coleman explained that theproject will shift a total of 5m cubicmetres of materials, including 2.5mcubic metres used for infill behindthe quay wall, which will all comefrom dredging.

He said: “The harvested materialsfrom the channel dredging will beput to use behind the quay wall. It isa sustainable strategy.”

Some demolition and site clear-ance will begin next month anddredging vessels are due to arrive inthe river in early April.

Cranes, barges and piling plantequipment should arrive towards theend of April, or early May, dependingon sailing times and weather con-ditions. Mr Coleman said some ves-sels are sailing from Singapore.

Once these are in place pilingoperations, involving about 20,000tonnes of steel piles, will commencealmost immediately.

Mr Coleman said: “The initialworks, which are dangerous andcomplex, just require about 30 or 40

plant operat-ors on thefirst phaseand about 40to 50 land-based staff.

“But wewill haveabout 500people work-ing on siteat its peak.”

Port ofLiverpool owner Peel Ports is alsodetermined that its Liverpool2 teamwill be of the highest quality and tothis end it has embarked on intro-ducing appropriate apprenticeshipschemes, in hand with the proposedUniversity Technical Colleges, todeliver its workforce of the future.

It has formed partnerships withthe two colleges delivering the UTCs– Liverpool Community College innorth Liverpool and Wirral’s Mersey-side Maritime College.

The proposal is for the UTCs todevelop academies specialising inmaritime skills and technologies for14 to 19-year-old students.

Both UTCs are due to welcometheir first intakes in September 2014,with their curricula – a mix of aca-demic and technical education – bothbeing complementary.

Students will spend around 60% oftheir time on core academic subjectsand the rest learning specific tech-nical skills and qualifications inwhat will be an employer-led cur-riculum.

The combination of a strong tech-

We aim tohelp torebalancethe UKeconomy

nical and academic educationensures that students are ready forwork or further study at college oruniversity.

Peel has already engaged withschools around the region andearlier this month invited more than40 schools to an event at MerseyMaritime College in Birkenhead tooutline the career opportunitiesavailable in the maritime sector.

Last week Peel Ports hosted ameeting for MPs and internationaltrade experts at the Houses of Par-liament to outline the benefits thatLiverpool2 can bring for the region.

Peel Ports chief executive Gary

Hodgson said: “By persuading ship-pers and international traders to usethe Port of Liverpool and ManchesterShip Canal instead of ports in thesouth of the country, the UK will seemassive benefits in terms of reducedtransport costs, carbon emissionsand congestion.”

He added: “65% of the UK pop-ulation is within a 150-mile radius ofLiverpool2 and yet 90% of all con-tainers enter the UK in the Southand South East.

“We aim to change that and sohelp rebalance the national economy,which is absolutely in line with theGovernment’s objectives.”

‘Each day Imeet, greet,feed andlook afterpeople’

Ashwani Verma, founder of Zaaffran


post business professionals

‘Risk-averse’ executivesholding back progress

Martin Heath, senior partner at PwC’s Liverpool office

onthemove

Cyra Baggaley – hasqualified as solicitor

Baroness inspires Hill Dickinson ladies’ forum

■ SUZANNE Brad-ley has been

appointed as seniorcorporate adviser tothe Co-operativeBank’s corporate teamin Liverpool.

Ms Bradley, fromWirral, will work withthe team of specialistbusiness bankersbased at the LiverpoolCorporate BankingCentre in Old HallStreet’s The Plazabuilding.

She has more than31 years’ experience inbanking working withclients across Mersey-side and Cheshire,more recently as abusiness lending riskanalyst.

■ HEALTHCAREtechnology com-

pany MSoft eSolutionsis expanding withmore staff and addi-tional office space atits Bromboroughheadquarters.

Oliver Rickers hasbeen promoted toaccount manager forits Bloodhoundproduct, Mark Dun-ning joins as accountmanager for the com-munity equipment soft-ware division, Mari-anne Van Ruth is pro-moted to communityequipment stores oper-ations manager, andRobert Wilson returnsto MSoft as a supporttechnician.

■ CYRA Baggaleyhas now officially

qualified as a solicitorafter joining claimshandling specialistScott Rees & Co as aparalegal.

Ms Baggaley, fromSouthport, studied lawat the University ofCentral Lancashireand currently works inthe Skelmersdale-basedfirm’s department foremployment and pub-lic liability.

LAW firm Hill Dickinsonhosted Baroness TanniGrey-Thompson at theLadies’ Business Forumwhich took place at its Liv-erpool headquarters in StPaul’s Square.

More than 100 profession-als, apprentices and stu-dents from BelvedereAcademy were in the audi-ence to hear the guestspeaker advise them “to be

the best that you can be ateverything you do”.

Baroness Grey-Thompsonexplained how she over-came many challenges tobecome one of the greatestParalympians of all time.

Hill Dickinson’s head ofinsurance Ruth Lawrencesaid: “Tanni is a shiningexample of what can beachieved with the rightmind-set, determination

and support.”Paula Leece, partner at

Hill Dickinson, added: “Ithink we should all takenote of how Tanni appliedthe lessons learnt duringher sporting career to herworking life in the House ofLords. She was an absolutedelight to listen to and weare already looking forwardto choosing next year’sspeaker.”

BUSINESSES are missing out on oppor-tunities to drive growth because ofrisk-averse executives, said a senior Liv-erpool accountant.

Martin Heath, senior partner in PwC’sLiverpool office, said executives are hold-ing back from investing in medium andlong-term strategic growth plans for fearof what they might stand to lose if itdoesn’t work out.

PwC’s recent Chief Executives Surveyrevealed that around a third of UK CEOsare “very confident” about achieving rev-enue growth in the next three years.

Despite this there is relatively littlereal evidence that merger and acquis-ition activity and other, larger strategicinvestments are happening.

Mr Heath said: “There is still a highdegree of caution in the marketplace, des-pite plenty of positive examples in theMidlands that strategic investments can,and are, yielding strong returns forsome.

“The automotive sector is a primeexample of this, where businesses likeJaguar Land Rover have been activelyinvesting both here in the UK and in thefaster growing economies, like Brazil andChina.

“Other companies which have investedin setting up business operations in theBRIC [Brazil, Russia, India, China] eco-nomies or striking up joint ventures arealso finding that their decisions haveproved good ones.

“While the continuing economicuncertainty is partly to blame for thehigh level of cautiousness, there are alsosome signs that the austere climate isaffecting executives’ confidence on a per-

sonal level too.“They are worried that any decision to

go ahead with a large strategic invest-ment now could have a career-limitingimpact if it didn’t work out for the best.”

He added: “Business executives areright to be cautious, particularly as theoutlook is for modest growth in the UKthis year and next.

“However they also need to take a viewabout whether taking a risk now couldpay off for them and boost growth in themedium to long-term.

“Such rewards are definitely there tobe had – both in the UK and interna-tionally – for companies which take abalanced and evidenced approach to stra-tegic investment.”

[email protected]

From left: Ruth Lawrence,Tanni and Paula Leece

ask theexpert

Q I RECENTLY read that the lawsurrounding CRB checks mightsoon be subject to changes. Whatare they, and what do employersin either the care or education

sectors need to be aware of?

AWHAT you are referring to may

well be news of a recent landmarkruling at the Court of Appeal(CA), which found that the UK’scriminal record checking system

impacts unfairly on a person’s right to aprivate life.

This followed a recent case in which a21-year-old Manchester man discovered thatpolice warnings he received as an 11-year-oldin connection with stealing bicycles werehaving a detrimental impact on his chances ofbecoming a teacher.

This only came to light following thenecessary DBS checks, formerly known as CRBchecks, people must undertake in order to get ajob in either the care or education sectors.

Currently, prospective employees mustdisclose all convictions, especially thoselooking to work withvulnerable adults orchildren.

The CA has deemed thisman’s circumstances to bea breach of human rightsand decided that a filteringsystem could remove oldand minor convictions andcautions, such as pettytheft, from records.

Those against thedecision have argued thatthe very disclosure of allconvictions is justifiedbecause the DBS scheme protects employers,and the children and vulnerable adults in theircare.

It is therefore essential that people workingin the education and care sectors continue tobe subject to checks that are both rigorous andstrenuous in nature so a previously settledarea of law does not get thrown into confusion.

Any misdemeanours, whether recent orhistoric, should stay on record for the durationof a job seeker’s career. This is because anemployer is entitled to access all of thatinformation to make a fair decision aboutwhether or not to offer someone a role.

There is a real danger employers will noticethe changes keenly and, ultimately, carry thefull burden of this new responsibility, taking itupon themselves to delve into a person’sbackground. This would be even more of aninfringement on privacy than the existingsystem is subject to, and would defeat the pointof the new law.

Now it is up to Parliament to decide whatamendments to make in the light of thejudgement, with the Home Office stating thedecision could comprise vulnerable people, andit would appeal to the Supreme Court in thecoming weeks.

It is important to note that for now, pendingany further appeal, it is business as usual.■ For further information or advice, call theELAS Advice Team on 08450 50 40 60.

■ In association with ELAS

Peter Mooney, Headof Employment Law atELAS, on changes toemployee checks

‘It isessentialpeoplecontinuetobesubject tochecks’


The Post’s Alistair Houghton prepares to eat his Out To Lunch sandwich

post businessstyle

Help us find the best Business Buttyin Liverpool’s commercial districtThe Post’s AlistairHoughton tries atasty trio ofsandwiches in ourfirst Business Buttytaste test

pastbusiness–nostalgia

How Mr Selfridge and son helped to develop a Liverpool retail iconWATCHING ITV’s smash hit showMr Selfridge, the closed andshuttered Rapid Hardware store inLiverpool may not be the first thingthat comes to mind.

The show – running now onSunday night on ITV – tells the taleof flamboyant visionary Harry Gor-don Selfridge and how he created a“theatre of retail” at his store inOxford Street in 1909.

What later series may show isthat in 1919, Selfridge bought Liv-erpool department store GeorgeHenry Lee. That building, inHoughton and Basnett Streets, wastaken over by Rapid Hardware in2009 but closed earlier this monthafter Rapid fell into administration.

In November 1928, the LiverpoolEcho announced Mr Selfridge’s sonGordon Selfridge Jnr was to visithis store’s extension in HoughtonStreet. The paper lavished praise onthe “wonderful workmanship” of thebuilding with its oak panelling, illu-minated display cases and state-of-the-art ventilation system and saidit rivalled the Oxford Street store.

On November 12, Mr Selfridge Jnrtold the Echo: “It is a very beautifulbuilding, and is as important anextension of our provincial businessas we have yet made.”

And he added: “Really, in spite ofthe temporary difficulties we stillhave as a result of the war, we havegot tremendous faith in Liverpooland all the North of England as themost industrial spot in the country.”

In November 1930, Mr SelfridgeSnr himself paid a visit to Liverpoolto open Lee’s clubhouse and sportsgrounds at Bradstones, West Derby,declaring: “This is a terribly import-ant part of the business. It is just asimportant as a mailing departmentor anything of that kind.”

Sadly, Mr Selfridge was soon tosee his fortune disappear thanks tothe Great Depression and hisfree-spending ways.

In 1940, the year before he left thebusiness, his provincial stores weresold to the John Lewis Partnership –who moved the former Lee’s store toLiverpool One in 2008.

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Jeremy Piven stars as Harry Gordon Selfridge in ITV dramaMr Selfridge, showing on Sundays on ITV

George Henry Lee’s HoughtonStreet extension, developed underthe Selfridge family

The smoked mackerel sandwich fromFranklins in St Paul’s Square

The Philpott’s Mexican chicken special,complete with tortilla chips

ALMOST everyone hereat Liverpool PostTowers thinks that webusiness reportersspend all our time at

business lunches.Sadly, that’s not true – most of our

“business lunches” are sandwichesat our desks.

But even though you might preferto be at a posh restaurant, or aWimpy, you can still have a jolly nicedeskbound lunch if you choose fromsome of the top-notch sandwichshops dotted around the city.

So we decided to launch asemi-regular feature, Business Butty,to explore what our local eaterieshave to offer.

This month, we decided to focuson the commercial district. So lastWednesday I headed to Franklins inSt Paul’s Square – largely because itwas snowing and it was the nearestof the chosen trio to our office.

It was just before noon, so therewas no salt beef prepped yet. So Ichanged plan completely and wentfor the smoked mackerel – billed as a“superfood” – with a horseradish andred onion filling.

Now, horseradish is an acquiredtaste, shall we say. But I love it.

This isn’t a sandwich for snackerswho savour subtlety.

It’s a powerful beast, with thestrong taste of fish battling it out

with the fire of the horseradish.It has, in other words, a powerful

aroma which will annoy your col-leagues when you eat it at your desk.

Kudos too to the Franklins stafferwho chopped the mackerel filletbefore packing it into my sandwich.Again, you want big chunks of thisstrong fish, not dainty slivers.

At Franklins, as at all these sand-wich bars, you can choose yourbread. I went for a seeded roll, whichwas soft and delicious – but did spraypoppy seeds all over my desk.

Thursday came, and with it Phil-pott’s. My first ever sandwich as aLiverpool Post employee was bought

from Philpott’s in Exchange Square.I was confused by the queuing sys-tem, but impressed by the chicken,bacon and sweetcorn sandwich – somuch so that it’s still an occasionaltreat.

But on this visit, I went for the£3.40 “sandwich of the day” – aseeded brown roll with Mexicansalsa chicken, crunchy mixed pep-pers, cool tortilla chips and lettuce.

Tortilla chips in a sandwich?Surely not. But, oddly, it worked.

The sandwich came pre-made, asopposed to most Philpott’s offeringswhich are made in front of you.

The chicken came in a mild and

lightly creamy sauce, not a millionmiles away from a korma in taste.

The tortillas had softened slightlyin the sauce, leaving them with atasty bite but still gave the sandwicha rare crunch. And they added atasty corn flavour to the whole, bal-anced by the crisp, fresh salad.

An unusual combination, yes, buta successful one.

And so on Friday to Out To Lunch,at the end of Old Hall Street.

I wanted minted lamb, but theydidn’t have any. I wanted pastrami,but they didn’t have any. Thankfully,they did have plenty of ham.

So I went for the £2.30 Wiltshire

ham, smoked cheese and coleslawcombo, this time on plain brownbread.

As you’ll see from the pic above, itwas a well-stuffed sarnie. And it wasa tasty effort too, the cheese adding asmoky richness, with the coleslawgiving it a cold crunch.

No mind-blowing sandwich revel-ation, perhaps, but a tasty and fillingtreat to get me through Friday andinto the weekend.■ DO YOU have any top Liverpoolsandwich recommendations? Whatabout great vegetarian options? Dropme a line at [email protected]


tradinggossip

post business endpiece

mydayoff

Hotel executive who enjoysweekends of baton-twirling

MOST of my workingdays includemanaging more than100 members of staff,organising major

corporate events and guaranteeingcustomer satisfaction at one of thecity’s most renowned hotels.

I originally joined the company atthe tender age of 16 after finishing abusiness studies course at Wirral Met-ropolitan College.

My role was actually a temporaryone – however I soon realised myfuture with the hotel was going to belonger than I had expected.

I was offered a full-time job in therestaurant and then from that Ibecame a shift leader on reception, areservation manager, a revenue man-ager, cluster revenue manager lookingafter the Thistle Haydock and now I’min charge of operations.

I have a real passion for hospitalityand the tourism industry as a whole.

However, since I was just seven, I’vealways had another passion that I’vededicated thousands of hours of mylife to.

Majorettes have been a big part ofmy life since a friend who lived in thesame street in Bebington introducedme to it back in the early 1990s.

I tried to use her baton and found Iwas pretty good at it so, after loads ofmoaning at my mum, she finally gavein and let me join a troupe.

For those who aren’t sure, a major-ette is a person who does a choreo-graphed dance or movement whilebaton-twirling with marching routinesthat you may see in marching bands.

It actually derives from girls’involvement in the late 19th and early20th centuries in drill and gymnasticteams or groups which used apparatussimilar to those found in rhythmicgymnastics.

We can also twirl knives, fire knives,flags, light-up batons and fire batons –it can be pretty exciting.

I danced for years for one particularteam and became the leader of thesenior troupe, which saw me trainingthe girls and making up the routines.

However, after much deliberation, in2005 I decided to set up my own troupecalled Royal Onyx with the help of mymum Susan and sister Lesley and wecurrently have 45 girls in our team

between the ages of three and 32. Weonly had 12 in 2005.

We travel around the country per-forming in competitions ona monthly basis and it canget quite competitive.

Thanks to my mum, wealways look the part as shemakes our costumes –another key factor of major-ettes. This season we are inteal and silver.

Last year was a fantasticyear for us – we werecrowned Overall SeniorChampions 2012 in thePremier Dance Association.

On a personal level, I’ve won quite alot of awards in the past including

Overall Senior Leader in 2010 andOverall Best Dancer.

Majorettes are a great hobby whereyou learn discipline,develop teamwork skillsand a wiliness to win in asafe environment.

I spend at least 17 hoursa week training, includingfive hours planning theroutines, but I really enjoyit and find it a great sourceof exercise.

It’s not a money-makingthing – we are more of acharity. It’s all about the

love of the hobby and the enjoymentwe see on the girls faces. You really dohave to be dedicated to do it.

Catherine Stevens isoperations managerat the AtlanticTower at ThistleHotel in Liverpooland in her sparetime is a majorette

Catherine Stevens in her day job and, inset and below, in her guise as a majorette

■ EVERY pennycounts in these aus-

tere times and bosses atBirkenhead’s Grange andPyramids shoppingcentre are helpingpunters by axing the costof “spending a penny”.

They have flushed the20p entrance charge atthe centre’s loos, leavingshoppers more comfort-ably off.

Centre commercial dir-ector Derek Millar said:“The toilets cost us£17,000 a year to run interms of cleaning, main-tenance and the essen-tials such as toilet rolls,but we are now in a pos-ition where we no longerneed to be passing thiscost on.”

He said the 14m annualthroughput of shoppersmakes it financially pos-sible to absorb the run-ning costs for the toilets,

hopefully resulting incustomers feeling farmore engaged.

■ WE ARE a littleslow to catch on to

the latest fitness trendshere at Trading Gossip.

Just as we have got togrips with the concept ofaerobics, now anothercraze is seemingly grip-ping the nation.

We understand astrange dance-like activ-ity known as Zumba hasbecome all the rage.

So popular is this pas-time that Liverpool soli-citors Hampson Hughesis holding a “Zumba-thon” on March 8 at Life-styles Tennis Centre, inWavertree, in aid ofComic Relief.

Good luck and all thatbut we think we’ll give ita miss.

‘You learndisciplineand skillsaroundteamwork’

For News,Sport andBusinesson yourphone

POST

Text LDPto 67800

MOBILE


businessdiaryFRIDAY, FEB 22AWARD-winning journalist

Mary Murtagh is hosting afree hour-long PR tasterworkshop aimed at entre-preneurs, small businessowners and social enter-prises which will cover 10top tips for great pressreleases and offer adviceon what journalists want.The training, from2.30pm-3.30pm, is usefulfor any social enterprise,charity, public sectororganisation, or business,however big or small. Ittakes place at Lumisi,

Westminster Chambers,Hunter Street, Chester. Tobook visit www.eventbrite.com/event/5020578686

FRIDAY, FEB 22LIVERPOOL Property Club

will hold its next meetingat the Racquets Club inChapel Street, runningfrom 4pm-7pm, sponsoredby Innov8 Safety Solu-tions, Sutcliffe, Todd &Ledson and Nobles Con-struction. This is by invit-ation only. Please contactkaren@innov8safety

solutions.com or phone0845 468 1974 for details.

MONDAY, FEB 25COMMUNITY interest com-

pany KPAC is staging aone-day training course insetting up a social enter-prise, between 9.45amand 4pm, at The OldSchoolhouse, St John’sRoad, Huyton, at a cost of£55, including lunch andrefreshments. For furtherinformation on the course,or to book a place, pleaseemail [email protected] phone 0151-481 0047.

TUESDAY, FEB 26THE latest Liverpool Profes-

sionals Dinner Club eventtakes place at the Mal-maison Hotel, from 6pm,with dinner served at 7pm,at a cost of £42+VAT. Theclub’s aim is to provide asocial platform to build,create, and maintain pro-fessional business relation-ships in premier locationsaround the city. To bookand pay online, visitwww.documentdirect.co.uk/about-us/liverpool-professionals-dinner-club/

WEDNESDAY, FEB 27LIVERPOOL Chamber of

Commerce, in partnershipwith UK Trade & Invest-ment (UKTI), is hosting a

series of internationallunches with a specific mar-ket focus on tradingopportunities abroad. Itslatest event looks at trad-ing in the Asia Pacificregion. Taking place atNorth John Street’s HardDays Night Hotel it runsfrom 11am to 1.30pm andincludes a case study onAustralia, by Tim Hiscockfrom A. Algeo, and a talkon export opportunitiesand support for businessesby Philomena Chen ofUKTI. The event is free. Formore information visitwww.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/eventitem.aspx/show/554.

WEDNESDAY, FEB 27THE third in a national series

of discussions entitled Fair-ness In Finance comes toLiverpool, at the St Paul’sSquare office of Santander,from 5pm, organised byTheCityUK who promotethe UK financial and pro-fessional services sector. Itwill examine how the sec-tor can institute changes toregain public trust and willinvolve customers, localconsumer and charitablegroups, politicians, busi-nesses, faith and ethicalgroups,TheCityUK andindustry employees. Toregister for this free eventplease visit: www.

thecityuk.com/events/latest-events/detail/thecityuk-liverpool-fairness-in-finance-seminar

FRIDAY, MARCH 1A FREE breakfast seminar,

called ‘Top HR tips forgrowing businesses’, isbeing hosted by ClearSkyHR at the Doubletree byHilton Hotel & Spa inHoole from 8am-10am. Toreserve a place [email protected] your name, companyand phone number.

■ Send your diaryevents to [email protected]

Mersey to TyneSTAFF at Liverpool’s HotelIndigo have donned theirgym kits to raise cash forClaire House Children’sHospice in Wirral.

First restaurant man-ager Gary Scott ran lastyear’s Liverpool Mara-thon. Now hotel staff have

taken part in a “virtualbike ride”, covering thealmost 300 miles betweenLiverpool and Newcastleon hotel gym equipment.

Pictured, from left, areDan Brook, Tom Lee,Laura Taylor and KenBrennan.

Gaming gets debatedTHE Futureproof conferenceattracted hundreds to Camp& Furnace last week todebate the future of the cre-ative and digital sectors.

It included a debate onvideo gaming, pictured above,with, from left, Lee Omarfrom Red Ninja, ClemensWangerin from Setgo, host

David Valjalo from Edge andMartin Linklater of CurlyRocket.

Other speakers includedMiles Jacobson, left, of SportsInteractive, who spokeonstage to Channel 4’s ColinMacdonald.■ FUTUREPROOF: Fulldebate report on page 11

Swanky Belvoir bashDIRECTORS Adam Rastall,left, and Paul Rice led staffand clients in a celebrationto mark the new-look BelvoirLettings at their West DerbyVillage office.

More than 100 guests

enjoyed a champagne recep-tion by the firm, which alsohas a city centre site.

Mr Rice said: “We’re reallypleased landlords, tenants,contacts and friends andfamily could join us.”

Laura Jones, energy consultantat Energycentric North WestQ What is your favourite

lunch venue?A Piccolino in Cook Street in

Liverpool’s business district.

Q Why is this your favouritevenue?

A This is a lovely restaurantwith great service and buzz-ing atmosphere – the menualso has something for every-one.

Q What is your favouritedish and why?

A Definitely the Risotto conFunghi – or “mushroomrisotto” as I say when I orderit. It’s tasty and really filling,which means you don’t haveto order a starter or dessert ifyou’ve got limited time.

Q What is the best bit ofbusiness you have doneover lunch?

A I try not to “hard sell” overlunch and prefer sharingideas and contacts – I believethat the best business is donewith people you have alreadybuilt that relationship with.

Q Who would you most liketo have lunch with?

A Gordon Ramsay – as long as

he had to cook it himself.

Q Where else do you like togo for lunch?

A I’m a big fan of the Gustorestaurants – I live in Wirraland do a lot of business inLiverpool so it’s great to haveone on both sides of the Mer-sey. They also let children cre-ate their own pizzas which isgreat when I’m out with myfamily.

my favourite lunch

post businessendpiece

networking

Laura Jones

Piccolino in Cook Street, Liverpool city centre


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For further information please contactDerek Gawne on the details below:

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www.charles-stanley.co.uk/liverpool

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Spencer Hart’s mission is to put an understatedelegance back into men’s tailoring.

Their ethos is simply ‘less is more’ - pairing a crispwhite shirt in finest Egyptian cotton with a hand-made dark tie and razor-sharp beautifully cut suit.

Think Steve McQueen, a young Sean Connery,Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack.

What could be more distinctive?

Like Charles Stanley they also understand thattwo details help to set you apart: Having a clearvision and attending to the tiny details.

post business - 21st february 2013

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