Business Insight

Business Insight

Tuesday November 27 2012

Ground controlGlasgow Airport flies high with Amanda McMillan

New doors open Renfrewshire on the

fast track to regeneration

Tuesday November 27 2012 | the times

Business Insight2

Welcome

One of the most celebrated phrases amongst free-market thinkers on the political right, which also sums up the worst of capitalism for leftist intel-

lectuals, is “creative destruction”. And if either side of that debate could point to a practical example of what they mean, then Renfrewshire is a pretty good candidate.

Its industrial history even illustrates the disparate origins of the phrase. When the Austrian economist Joseph

Schumpeter coined it, he was describing the forces behind industrial change “that incessantly revolutionise the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creat-ing a new one”.

He borrowed this concept from a surprising source — Karl Marx — who thought capitalism was so destructive, it would end up collapsing. But long before Marx showed up with Das Kapital, Paisley was a hotbed of radical thought and action.

In the early 19th century it had a thriving weaving trade, with production centred around craftsmen handloom weavers working in their cottages — who were highly literate. Discontent with falling wages and rising food prices and influenced by the French Revolu-tion, the weavers set out on their own overthrow of the established order, leading to the “Radical War” of 1820.

The government clamped down hard, many of the would-be revolutionaries were arrested and three of their leaders executed. Capitalism took over, power and machine innovation moved weaving from cottages to factories, the textile trade boomed producing the famous Paisley pattern on the way, and then it faded and disappeared amidst interna-tional competition.

Creative destruction is a phrase with much resonance in Renfrewshire — but we tend to underestimate the innovation there

A confident message that should be heardWelcome to the latest issue of The Times Business Insight, this month focusing on Renfrewshire, an area that has seen its fair share of industrial setbacks, but which has, as our Business Forum pointed out, major advantages. Bouncing back from the closure of its past industries — what Peter Jones describes as “creative destruction” — it can boast several major companies, a clutch of thriving SMES, the new life technologies business, and a transport hub, which, as Ben Thomson points

out, is the key, not just to regional, but also national success. How then, to build on those foundations? Drawing public and private sectors together, identifying common goals, and working with the grain of creative talent is at the heart of it. But telling the rest of the world that here is an area of growth, self-confidence and potential, is part of the mission as well. By the sound of it, Renfrewshire has got the message. Selling it is the next stage.

Welcome

Peter Jonesat large

History lessons and creative answers

Cover image by JameS gLoSSoP For THe TimeS

On the brink of the 200th birthday of Scotland’s great African ex-plorer David Livingstone, enter-prising Scots are again reaching out to new horizons on that great continent – and this time it’s all

about the mutual benefits to be found in modern business and educational opportunities.

Last week saw a group of nine Scottish oil & gas companies descend on Ghana on an ex-ploratory mission to examine the opportunities presented by the Ghanaian market. This was the third successive annual mission to Ghana for companies in this sector.

These companies travelled with a range of objectives including looking for local representa-tives, qualified distributors or agents, partners and clients. Some were researching the market for the first time, others were building on existing contacts but all were looking forward to making new contacts.

Scottish Development International (SDI) was the agency behind this mission, and is keen to raise awareness of West Africa as a target market for Scottish companies.

In the last two years, 23 Scottish oil & gas companies have already visited Ghana and Scot-tish companies already established locally in this sector include Weir Minerals, MSIS, Dominion, Enermech and Global Energy.

Mackay Smith, SDI’s Paris-based regional manager for Benelux, Southern Europe and Africa, is a strong believer in Africa’s huge po-tential. “Although the continent is vast with 54 countries,” he says, “we are currently focusing on the ten countries where we think there are most opportunities for Scottish companies. And we can smooth their passage.

“There’s a perception that it’s difficult to do

business in Africa. Our experience shows that’s not the case. When talking to Scottish companies there we find them very upbeat, very positive about the market and looking to do more business there.

And, since Scotland has world-class expertise in the oil and gas industry, it makes sense for Scottish companies to target what is now the West African centre of operations for many key players in that sector.”

Just last week, Montrose-based oil and gas services company Intervention Rentals opened a new office in Takoradi, Ghana, following Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development Interna-tional support.

The company first recognised the potential market opportunities in Ghana after taking part in two SDI trade missions. It subsequently set up a joint venture with Ghanaian company RDFC, be-fore making the decision to set up the new office.

David Laing, managing director of Interven-tion Rentals, said: “We have been looking at the West African market for some time, and with SDI assistance we were able to recognise the huge opportunities the Ghanaian market has to offer our business. Following our second trade mission we returned with the attitude that we must be established there, and we are very happy to say that goal will soon be achieved.

“We are now in a strong position to enter the Ghanaian market, maximising the opportunities open to us there.”

Yet, according to Mackay Smith, it’s important to note that the prospects extend beyond oil and gas; “Ghana has one of the fastest-growing econo-mies in the world at the moment, so for Scottish companies in sectors such as energy, construction, information technology, food and drink and edu-cation and looking to do business in West Africa,

there is no time like the present.”Indeed, Ghana is presently forecasting growth

of 7.9%; that’s almost three times as fast as UK, US and other leading European economies.

Among the advantages for Scots doing business there are the (English) language, its sharing of the UK time zone, and its judicial system based on British law principles.

Now, Scottish companies looking to target West Africa will also benefit from on-the-ground support from SDI.

“We’re looking to establish an SDI presence in West Africa and we hope this will be up and run-

ning in the first half of next year,” says Smith.“As the global economy continues to change,

it’s our role to help ambitious Scottish compa-nies take advantage of the emerging patterns of international trade. By having experts and offices based in key markets across the globe we can help more home-grown businesses tap into new overseas opportunities.”

To find out more information about the range of SDI support available to help companies explore opportunities in West Africa and other markets around the world, visit www.sdi.co.uk/export-from-scotland

Getting great new business out of AfricacommerciAl report: ScottiSH DeVelopmeNt iNterNAtioNAl

the independence Arch, Accra, Ghana. Scottish Development international are helping Scottish companies break into the Ghanaian and other countries across the globe

Business Insightthe times | Tuesday November 27 2012 3

destroyed by the competitive forces of capitalism, as their predecessors were?

Schumpeter taught that innovation and new markets were the keys to crea-tivity and if a business did not embody those things, it would be eaten by those that did. These are lessons that you can also learn from Renfrewshire.

Rolls-Royce has had a long collabora-tion with Strathclyde University whose scientists and engineers have helped keep its products at the frontiers of tech-nology. Near its plant is the university’s Advanced Forming Research Facility where about 40 Strathclyde scientists work with company engineers on new ways to form metals and composites into the component shapes the firms need, a big and crucial business in modern manufacturing.

The research programme is big, having a budget of about £30 million and has sufficiently impressed to have attracted participation from the likes of Boeing and Barnes Aerospace. Apart from Rolls-Royce, there are other local participants such as East Kilbride Engineering Services.

A trawl through local manufacturing reveals a remarkable list of firms which are not just innovative, but also globally-orientated such as Bridge of Weir Leather, part of the Scottish Leather Group, which has turned the mucky business of tanning into a glamorous export trade, selling leather for sports cars and executive jets worldwide.

A key factor here is that Glasgow Airport is actually in Renfrewshire, closer to Paisley than the city, and the regular Emirates flights to the airline’s Dubai hub make getting to a lot of far-flung places relatively easy.

All this does not mean that Renfrew-shire has become immune to destructive shocks. But the under-estimated creative side to its economy means that it is not just better placed to absorb them, but better positioned to rise out of the recent recession than many people might think.

While memories of the Linwood closure persist, there are several globally-oriented firms who have chosen to locate in Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire has seen plenty of this creative destruction — the arrival and then departure of car manufacturing at Linwood, the site being now occupied by a retail park, a rather poor substitute for a plant whose closure cost more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Even though the Linwood closure happened more than 30 years ago, the size of the economic shock was so big that it still looms heavily in the popular memory, while the suffering of the radical weavers occupies a popular niche in leftist folklore.

This history of failure, I reckon, conspires to give Renfrewshire a rather dismal image in the eyes of the rest of Scotland as a county which is a rather poor adjunct of Glasgow, having all the big city’s problems of unemployment and deprivation but little of its go-ahead gallusness.

Actually, that is extremely unfair, for Renfrewshire also exhibits — perhaps not prominently enough — the creative side of Schumpeter’s phrase, nowhere better exemplified than at Inchinnan.

At the start of the 20th century, it housed the airship building works of the massive engineering conglomerate of William Beardmore. When that stopped in the 1920s, it was replaced by the India Tyre Company who built premises that are perhaps the finest Art Deco indus-trial architecture anywhere in Britain.

It lay derelict after the tyre business closed in 1981 but was saved by computer software company Graham Technology, now part of the Sword Group, under whom it was renovated and extended so successfully it is the only A-listed commercial building in Scotland.

Inchinnan is also home to Rolls-Royce where about 1,000 people work on aero engine components, a number which is rising as work is transferred from the closing Rolls-Royce plant in East Kilbride.

So what is to say that these businesses are here to stay and won’t be creatively

History lessons and creative answersCourTeSy oF rendrewSHire CounCiL

On the brink of the 200th birthday of Scotland’s great African ex-plorer David Livingstone, enter-prising Scots are again reaching out to new horizons on that great continent – and this time it’s all

about the mutual benefits to be found in modern business and educational opportunities.

Last week saw a group of nine Scottish oil & gas companies descend on Ghana on an ex-ploratory mission to examine the opportunities presented by the Ghanaian market. This was the third successive annual mission to Ghana for companies in this sector.

These companies travelled with a range of objectives including looking for local representa-tives, qualified distributors or agents, partners and clients. Some were researching the market for the first time, others were building on existing contacts but all were looking forward to making new contacts.

Scottish Development International (SDI) was the agency behind this mission, and is keen to raise awareness of West Africa as a target market for Scottish companies.

In the last two years, 23 Scottish oil & gas companies have already visited Ghana and Scot-tish companies already established locally in this sector include Weir Minerals, MSIS, Dominion, Enermech and Global Energy.

Mackay Smith, SDI’s Paris-based regional manager for Benelux, Southern Europe and Africa, is a strong believer in Africa’s huge po-tential. “Although the continent is vast with 54 countries,” he says, “we are currently focusing on the ten countries where we think there are most opportunities for Scottish companies. And we can smooth their passage.

“There’s a perception that it’s difficult to do

business in Africa. Our experience shows that’s not the case. When talking to Scottish companies there we find them very upbeat, very positive about the market and looking to do more business there.

And, since Scotland has world-class expertise in the oil and gas industry, it makes sense for Scottish companies to target what is now the West African centre of operations for many key players in that sector.”

Just last week, Montrose-based oil and gas services company Intervention Rentals opened a new office in Takoradi, Ghana, following Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development Interna-tional support.

The company first recognised the potential market opportunities in Ghana after taking part in two SDI trade missions. It subsequently set up a joint venture with Ghanaian company RDFC, be-fore making the decision to set up the new office.

David Laing, managing director of Interven-tion Rentals, said: “We have been looking at the West African market for some time, and with SDI assistance we were able to recognise the huge opportunities the Ghanaian market has to offer our business. Following our second trade mission we returned with the attitude that we must be established there, and we are very happy to say that goal will soon be achieved.

“We are now in a strong position to enter the Ghanaian market, maximising the opportunities open to us there.”

Yet, according to Mackay Smith, it’s important to note that the prospects extend beyond oil and gas; “Ghana has one of the fastest-growing econo-mies in the world at the moment, so for Scottish companies in sectors such as energy, construction, information technology, food and drink and edu-cation and looking to do business in West Africa,

there is no time like the present.”Indeed, Ghana is presently forecasting growth

of 7.9%; that’s almost three times as fast as UK, US and other leading European economies.

Among the advantages for Scots doing business there are the (English) language, its sharing of the UK time zone, and its judicial system based on British law principles.

Now, Scottish companies looking to target West Africa will also benefit from on-the-ground support from SDI.

“We’re looking to establish an SDI presence in West Africa and we hope this will be up and run-

ning in the first half of next year,” says Smith.“As the global economy continues to change,

it’s our role to help ambitious Scottish compa-nies take advantage of the emerging patterns of international trade. By having experts and offices based in key markets across the globe we can help more home-grown businesses tap into new overseas opportunities.”

To find out more information about the range of SDI support available to help companies explore opportunities in West Africa and other markets around the world, visit www.sdi.co.uk/export-from-scotland

Getting great new business out of AfricacommerciAl report: ScottiSH DeVelopmeNt iNterNAtioNAl

the independence Arch, Accra, Ghana. Scottish Development international are helping Scottish companies break into the Ghanaian and other countries across the globe

has announced a new high speed train for Edinburgh to Glasgow. However, if there is any sane transport planning in Scotland then this “Central Belter” must stop at the airport and should form the beginning of a high speed rail network, a project that could deliver huge economic gain for future generations.

Not everyone likes the train, so around the Central Airport we would need to improve the access and the dreaded M8. In addition, we should improve major arterial roads between cities and the South such as the A1, A9 and A96.

So where does this leave Glasgow and Prestwick airports? The obvious option is for Glasgow to develop its franchise as the airport for west Glasgow and for low-cost and charter flights — probably taking trade from Prestwick, something of a relic of history from the days when European-US flights needed to refuel. It is, of course, up to the operators to ultimately determine the use of their airports but government transport policy can provide the roads and other infrastructure to help deliver a proper integrated system.

So how does this all get funded? The cost of the High Speed Rail network I described above is about £25 billion, but over a 20 year period this is less than 1 per cent of Scottish GDP. The tourist industry has some 2.5 million interna-tional and 16 million UK visitors per year and is worth over £10 billion a year to the Scottish economy. In addition, the business benefits of better transport both internally and abroad is vital to ensure Scotland remains competitive.

Rather than throwing away public money on much lower cost benefit ratio schemes such as the Borders railway or Edinburgh trams, why not focus on a long-term integrated scheme that will really deliver good transport in future both for Scotland’s citizens as well as its business and tourist visitors?Ben Thomson is an investment banker and chairman of think-tank Reform Scotland

When I was in Qatar last year, I went to visit the transport minister and inspect the country’s transport system. Of

course, it helps in a country of only two million people to have 15 billion barrels of oil reserves, as well as a blank piece of paper from which to start. However, what impressed me was that the whole transport plan was totally consistent and concerned with how to provide the best service to its citizens and visitors. It was to deliver a high speed rail network around the country at a cost of $30 billion.

So, if money and the legacy of our existing system was no problem, what would an integrated transport plan for Scotland look like? Scotland has about five million people, similar to the popula-tion of Yorkshire; therefore we do not have the mass to support more than one truly international airport. In 2011, there were 21.5 million air passengers and four Scottish airports handled more than a million passengers.

The perfect solution, which has been mooted in the past, would be for Scotland to have one central airport that created a transport hub for the whole country. If we were starting with a blank sheet of paper, it would be equi-distant between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stir-ling, but the current location at Ingliston is not far off. A central airport would give Scotland critical mass to many more destinations around the world, attracting more passengers to use it as a hub for other destinations.

A passenger should be able to get to or from Central Airport quickly. As 90 per cent of Scots live within 20 minutes of one of Scotland’s seven largest cities, the obvious proposal would be to have high speed trains linking Central Airport to these. High speed trains could make travel possible to Edinburgh, Perth and Glasgow in five, 15 and 15 minutes respectively (quicker than the Gatwick express). Trips to Aberdeen and Inver-ness would take approximately 50 and 70 minutes respectively and Carlisle could be reached in 45 minutes with a journey time to London of under two hours once the high speed west coast line was completed. This would revolu-tionise transport in Scotland.

I was glad to see that Nicola Sturgeon

Find a blank sheet of paper and plan joined-up transport

BenThomson

High speed trains could deliver huge economic benefits by linking airports

Long before Marx and Das Kapital, Paisley was a hotbed of radical thought and action


Business Insight4

Business Forum

‘Companies here want to grow with confidence’

Scotland’s global gateway is in the heart of Renfrews-hire. It is the landing strip for international visitors and the exit point by road, rail and air for a large pro-portion of what Scotland makes. Glasgow Interna-tional Airport saw its pas-senger numbers increased

by 4.6 per cent to almost 700,000 in October 2012, aided by the expansion of Jet2.com and more direct overseas routes.

Yet many people pass through this gateway on their way elsewhere, and don’t stay long enough to appreciate the importance of this wedge of the west of Scotland, on the south side of the River Clyde. This is increasingly understood by the leaders in Renfrewshire, one of Scot-land’s most productive regions and home to a swathe of major companies such as Rolls-Royce, Chivas Brothers, Diageo, Malcolm Group and, more recently, Life Technologies.

Indeed, few regions of Scotland have the same bragging rights as Renfrew-shire with its international airport; direct motorway connection to London and the south, along the M8 and new M74 exten-sion; one of Scotland’s most successful destination shopping malls and leisure complex at Braehead; and the Hillington Park, home to myriad small and medium-sized enterprises( SMES).

The town of Paisley, Scotland’s larg-est and only seven miles from Glasgow, remains at its heart, though this historic place, famed for its Abbey, the resting place of Scotland’s Stewart kings, and Coats textiles, has been challenged by its late 20th century decline, unemploy-ment and the social deprivation which has blighted the communities of Fergus-lie and Johnstone. Paisley’s town centre suffers from the acute retailing slump impacting many other Scottish towns.

the innovation centre, should be set up soon. “The difficulty we have in the pub-lic sector at the moment is finding all of the finance for this,” said Mr Darracott.

Professor Seamus McDaid, who was on the advisory board for the creation of the centre, said that the University of the West of Scotland, where he is principal, is now running “enterprise modules” for its students, which were already bearing fruit, and they have entrepreneurs-in-residence on all of its campuses. He said Scotland faces a problem in that it can’t get enough young people working in social care which our ageing population requires.

NHS statistics show that 80 per cent of Scotland’s social care workforce is over 50. “Historically, we’ve had problem recruiting engineers because there is a bad press out there with redundancies and so on. But we can’t produce enough engineers in Scotland — and the problem is going to accelerate pretty rapidly be-cause the workforce is again ageing. We need to plug that gap,” he said.

Jim Carswell, operations director of Life Technologies, a global life sciences company, which has recently announced a £16 million expansion in its Inchinnan facility, where 500 people are employed, said: “Most of the funding for entrepre-neurial start-ups tends to be in the United States, so there is a case in Scotland for linking the available funding and our sci-entific community much more closely to-gether. It is something that makes sense. Scotland is a centre of excellence for life sciences, we know there are entrepre-neurs out there in this sector. It’s a case of joining the dots.”

Mr Macmillan asked how his council

might work more closely with business-es and social enterprises to find a way forward. Steve Conway, Chief Execu-tive of Erskine, spoke of continuity and co-ordination, helping people move into other work places when vacancies arose, and councils, businesses and the not-for-profit sector working to keep the entre-preneurial spark firing in Renfrewshire.

Tom Johnston, president of Renfrew-shire Chamber of Commerce, said the basic challenges began at home and at school. “The problem with youngsters coming out of school is that they all want to be famous. Many, but not all, come from poorer backgrounds where there has been no history of work, so there is no role model or mentor in the family. Schools have a big part to play in that, working alongside local business,” he said.

All of Renfrewshire’s schools are members of the Chamber, and more than 600 pupils attend-ed an event in Paisley town hall. He said young people

need to be mentored to see that engineer-ing, life science and technology jobs can be rewarding careers.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said work experience is a relevant way of finding out what is available and the airport is inundated with requests. She said there needs to be a coherent way of dealing with this.

“We can’t put this all on the teachers; we all have a role to play,” she said. “We could have better co-ordinated work ex-perience events in Renfrewshire, bringing all the big employers together. Let’s find

The latest Times Forum saw a meeting of minds as to how young talent could be motivated and new business created in Renfrewshire. Kenny Kemp listened to some very compelling arguments

Steve Conway and Jim Carswell consider employment creation

Yet rural Renfrewshire, with its com-muter rail services to Glasgow, includes the prosperous settlements of Bridge of Weir, Kilmacolm and Houston, among the wealthiest postcodes in Scotland.

Bypassing the region is something that perplexes the Renfrewshire Council and Mark Macmillan, Labour leader of the council. This was one of opening topics for the Times Business Forum. In welcoming the Forum to the Hillington Innovation Centre, Councillor Macmillan said he was seeking a fruitful discussion about the eco-nomic realities in Renfrewshire. He can only have been delighted with the well-informed responses and genuine desire for collaboration from around the table.

He stated that entrepreneurial talent is alive and well in the west of Scotland but is challenged to compete with other parts of the UK, and posed the question as to what can be done to help budding entre-preneurs — and what resources need to be enhanced.

Bob Darracott, Renfrewshire Council’s director of planning and transport, said: “The west of Scotland is famed for its en-trepreneurial talent over the years but we fully accept that more has to be done.”

Renfrewshire has 6,000 self-employed business people, which is slightly lower than the Scottish average, so inspiring young people to set up business was top of the agenda and there is real ambition about this Renfrewshire, with the Hill-ington Innovation Centre home to over 20 high-technology start-ups. One plan was that a city centre incubation unit in an empty retail unit, on similar lines to


Business Insightthe times | Tuesday September 27 2011 9

james glossop for the times

it’s such a great business that when the op-portunity arose to become chief executive, well, you just don’t turn down that down.

“There is a great team of senior man-agers and talented people across the organisation, so the opportunities to do something quite special here are very exciting. That’s what gets me: I want to realise the potential of this business. The group has come a long way in the past decade — now we’re focusing on the next stage and being passionate about what is

Innovation driven by customer demandsNorth America’s growing demand for “fracking” equip-ment used in extracting oil and gas from shale is key to Weir Group’s upbeat profit predictions announced during the summer.This half-term report detailed income up 33 per cent to £1.03 billion, orders soaring by 43 per cent to £1.2 billion and pre-tax profits boosted by 23 per cent to £178 million.At the time Keith Cochrane commented “The group will continue to invest to grow ahead of our end markets and we now expect profits for the full year to be somewhat ahead of our previous expectations.”Founded in 1871 in Glasgow as G & J Weir, the company was responsible for the invention and

manufacture of pumping equipment for the Clyde shipyards.Today, Weir Group employs around 13,000 people in more than 70 countries, working in the minerals, oil and gas, and power industries. Rapid growth continues to be been driven by expanding into emerging markets and providing services globally.Innovation driven by customer demands is central to the company’s success, and earlier this year it announced the investment of £2 million in a dedicated research facility. The Weir Advanced Research Centre

will be a central plank of Strathclyde University’s recently established Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow. Cochrane said the partner-ship would “continue to bring breakthrough developments to our

almost a new set of challenges.“It’s back to that passion about doing

things better, opening our minds — and our organisation’s mind. We operate in huge markets but as a player we’re rela-tively small.

“Through strategic planning we’ve identified opportunities to broaden our market and product portfolio, and our geographic footprint, partly through organic growth and partly through ac-quisition. It’s that real sense of opportu-

Keith Cochrane believes in investing in talent that will help Weir Group to build a sustainable, long-term business

nity that excites me, to see how far we’ve come, and to see how far we can go over the next ten years.

So, is he worried that global economic slowdown might blow those plans off course? “Every company has to be sensi-tive to the economic environment around it and be sure it is on top of any potential implications. Having said that, I would step back and look at our experience as we went through 2008 and 2009, where there was a significant drop-off in activ-ity impacting on markets. We were very clear in terms of the action we took: we reset the base, looked forward.

“Lots of opportunities come out of these difficult times but it doesn’t take away from the medium- to long-term fun-damentals across our markets. Mining, oil and gas resources are finite and there is a growing demand for them. That combina-tion is going to drive further investment.

He believes in taking a positive view: you can’t ignore the short-term environ-ment, but you can look at it in the context of a few years ago and the broader oppor-tunities in the longer term, he says.

Looking forward, Cochrane stress-es, also means investing in talent, and he is almost evangelical about encouraging individual potential. “It’s our people at whatever level

they contribute who make the difference, who enable us to deliver,” he says. “Look at our growth in the past couple of years, both in achieving that and moving ahead needs capability in our people.

“We are investing significant sums in this, and have just kicked off a senior management training programme. If we don’t have the people we will be held back. While investment and continued focus are very much at the forefront of my priorities, in my leadership role as CEO it is also vital to make sure we are building up the next generation of managers.

“It is back to building a sustainable long-term business. If we only wanted success for a year or two, we wouldn’t be doing a lot of things we are very focused on now.”

Despite that unrelenting focus, Cochrane agrees, having a good life bal-ance is crucial. “When I’m working I’m passionate about the business, I do thrive on it; I’m quite driven. However, I have a relatively young family, and at weekends I tend to focus on the kids — although my wife would say not always exclusively!

“I try hard to have a different sense of perspective. When you have a senior management role it can easily take over, so the ability to step back and have a dose of reality, like taking your daughter to a sports class on a Saturday, is good for everyone.”

Perhaps the most surprising discovery about Cochrane is despite his business DNA, he’s not all about the numbers. Ultimately, of course, he wants them to add up, and then to multiply. Yet there is a strong sense he is aware of his respon-sibility as part of something bigger, and wants to play his part. Cochrane, it seems, is an architect.

“With Weir, it’s that rich heritage, the tremendous track record: I want to build upon that,” he says. “This is, quite rightly, a very proud business, so I want to do my small bit to help move it forward, help sustain it for the next 100 years. You don’t do that by standing still.

“It requires initiative and ability to seek out opportunities and take advantage of those opportunities — that is the broader message that sits comfortably with what the underlying themes are for our busi-ness today, and it’s driving our teams across the world.”

Challenge of turning big ideas into reality is key

For many years, Scotland’s life science sector has been heralded as one of the nation’s rising stars.

We have a tremendous oppor-tunity to leverage our resources including the NHS, our universities and our excep-tional heritage for medical innovation, talent and infrastructure to encourage and attract big business. So why does is it that many of our young life science companies are struggling to get off the ground?

The challenge of turning ideas into reality and companies of scale still seems to elude all, but a few, and is an issue that needs to be urgently addressed.

The life science industry is truly global and Scotland, as others, has identified it

as a key sector to drive future wealth and prosperity. But aspiration isn’t enough and we need to act now to fully exploit the opportunity before we get left behind.

Lack of funding is a vociferous lament by those in the sector.

Scotland has a vibrant business angel community and the Scottish Investment Bank’s Co-investment and Venture Funds play an important role. However, there is a growing sense of foreboding that this money could be redirected at renewables. Coupled with our lack of a strong active Venture Capital community, specialis-ing in life sciences in Scotland, growth is inevitably slow.

That said, life science is fundamen-tally a long term, high-risk business. It is expensive, for instance, to take drugs through clinical trials and into the market with no guarantee of a return. But if Scot-land is serious about its life science sector, we need to find ways to get businesses to a point where venture capital money is forthcoming.

While Scotland’s life science sector remains made up of many diverse small companies, there may also be an argu-ment for consolidation. Pooling resources and collaboration to create critical mass with other indigenous companies or part-nering with organisations overseas is one route and may well prevent some compa-nies from failure in these particularly hard times. Getting investor ready is another prerequisite, especially with major foreign organisations looking on.

Scotland has an exceptional pool of talent and ideas. But in today’s global competitive economy that is not enough without the right incentives and the busi-ness infrastructure to support them.Neil McInnes, Head of Technology, Grant Thornton Scotland

PROFESSIONAL BRIEF

in association with

Neil McInnes looks to pooling resources

Faced with signifi cant socioeconomic challenges in its area, Renfrewshire Council has responded by imple-

menting innovative regeneration and business growth plans that are delivering positive results for the people in its com-munities.

Gross week-ly earnings in Renfrewshire have been higher than the Scottish average for the past six years, how-ever this posi-tive statistic masks a high level of un-employment, particularly among young people. The fi rst State of the Economy Report for the area, published by the council earlier this year, reveals that the number of local residents claiming jobseekers allowance has increased by 53% in the last 10 years, and that youth unemployment has risen 64% over the same period. In recent years the area has also seen a larger percent-age decline in average employment rates, which are some 2% higher than the Scot-tish average.

Leading from the front, the council has responded to the challenge of youth unemployment through the coordination and funding of Invest in Renfrewshire, a pioneering initiative that brings together the council and the local business com-munity to reduce unemployment and grow the local economy. Already, 150 local companies and organisations are taking advantage of a £2.5m employment and growth package. The aim of the proj-ect is to create 800-1,000 employment and training opportunities for 18-24 year olds. The programme, which includes funding for waged apprenticeship grants as well as graduate internships, is an example of partnership working between the private and public sector which is attracting strong interest from local business. The focus on SMEs and the positive impact the programme has al-ready achieved, is refl ected in new fi gures published by the Scottish Government showing that the number of small and medium-sized businesses in the Renfrew-shire area is growing, with a signifi cant number of new registered enterprises hav-ing started up in the last 12 months.

Jackie McGuire is Head of Local Gov-ernment at law fi rm Brodies LLP, [email protected]

Council’s business growth initiatives deliver positive impact on communities

Jackie McGuire, Brodies’ Head of Local Government

the right time to fit with the academic calendar and business requirements.”

Roz Bird, estates director of MEPC, which manages much of Hillington Park and owns the the Innovation Centre, set up in 2000, agreed a co-ordinated event would work well: “The role of business is to inspire and a successful Hillington Park can inspire young people. It is about them knowing what is going on here and having proper role models in employ-ment.”

Bob Darracott explained that the council’s Recruit programme, an inten-sive eight-week introduction to work and apprenticeships, has successfully engaged a cohort of young people. Employers have reported that most young people actually ‘grow and understand work’ in a very short time.

Also, more than 50 companies and or-ganisations have signed up for the Invest in Renfrewshire programme to reduce youth unemployment and create up to 1,000 jobs and training opportunities for 18-24 year olds in the next two years.

Amanda McMillan believed that all businesses have to be entrepreneurial at their heart and soul. “The recession has really made us understand what makes our business tick and we spend time with our staff trying to get this understood.

“I have been trying to educate our workforce about how our business makes money and what their role in that is. An entrepreneurial spirit isn’t all about making money: it’s about reputa-tion. People want to be part of some-thing that’s successful.

“If we’re going to motivate young peo-ple, the first place is with their mums Bob Darracott points out the need for more entrepreneurial activity

and dads. If everyone does their bit, the money will flow.”

Strong leadership is about showing that you care. She said that Renfrewshire needs to be more ‘peacock-like’, showing it is suc-cessful and bragging about what is good. “Not because people want to be famous, but they want to be part of something that feels good,” she added. “This is a great place to live and work and there are some won-derful opportunities, but the companies need to stand up and sell their success.”

The debate moved on from young peo-ple and skills to attracting new businesses to Renfrewshire, with Peter Beagley, gen-eral manager of Braehead, explaining his company was planning further develop-ment with the prospect of 5,000 jobs, but he also views the new Southern Gen-eral Hospital, on Renfrewshire’s doorstep, where doctors and health care workers could provide spin-off businesses, as a major prospect. He said Irvine in Ayrshire was targeting the healthcare and phar-maceutical sector at the hospital, yet they would be passing through Renfrewshire.

“There is probably an opportunity here for a private hospital, and surely the phar-maceutical companies will want to be next door to that. We have the space and business areas that are suitable. Let’s cut the red tape and get businesses in here.”

He also said the region should think big and target visitors from other parts of Scotland and international tourists. He suggested attractions such as a Sealife or a Legoland could help create a European tourist destination, benefiting Renfrews-hire with all levels of hotels and places to eat and drink.

However, all Forum participants agreed that the political uncertainty over the referendum on Scottish independ-ence in 2014 is “potentially damaging as decision-making is postponed, every-thing is on hold and therefore unsettling,” though the wider view was that business had to work around this political process.

In spite of this, chairman Magnus Linklater said: “I’ve picked up that there

is a tremendously good story to tell and there is confidence around the table. Despite the economic climate, I sense that a lot is being achieved but perhaps the feeling it needs to be pulled together.”

Peter Beagley agreed, saying Ren-frewshire needs champions to go out and promote the region and not be distracted by what is going on. Amanda McMillan felt there was room for co-ordination of the council, local businesses, social sec-tor and not for profits, universities and schools, all working for the greater good of Renfrewshire. Prof McDaid said that the rebirth of Paisley was crucial to im-proving the local environment but added: “There is a remarkable consensus around the table but a lot more needs to be done.”

Roz Bird explained that MEPC, which is owned by the £700 mil-lion property portfolio of BT Pension fund, has two million sq ft of space in Hillington Park,

with 6,000 people on the park. “From an economic perspective, companies are better off than the general perception. They are working hard and not mak-ing as much money. They have cash and lower indebtedness and have an appetite to growth. But confidence is stopping them.”

She was “excited” by working in part-nership with local authorities because MEPC wants to grow its tenant com-panies, attract more new business and invest in the infrastructure and physical environment. Better marketing is key, she suggested.

“We know that companies do want to grow here in Renfrewshire. However, they need confidence and an encourage-ment to invest. I agree it’s about co-or-dination to put together a plan and key messages to businesses to say: ‘This is the place to stay and to grow’ and to investors to ‘This is the place to put your money.’”

Jim Carswell thought the message must be that high-quality manufactur-ing is one of Renfrewshire strength. “We have a valuable resource and great connections with universities and we need to market that.”

Tom Johnston pointed out that while Renfrewshire has unique connectivity with its transport network it offers a great deal more. “We’ve a good supply of labour from the colleges and universities. We already have some tremendous worldwide companies with 30 per cent of Scotland’s exports coming out of Renfrewshire. This is the type of bragging we should be doing. There’s a willingness for us to work together to improve Renfrewshire.”

He said it was a matter for everyone who believes in Renfrewshire to shout louder and take the message out to peo-ple by going to see potential companies looking to expand. And with an interna-tional airport on the doorstep, that must surely be a simple task.

Foreground, left to right: Amanda McMillan, Magnus Linklater. Behind, left to right: Tom Johnston, Roz Bird, Bob Darracott, Professor Seamus McDaid CBE, Jim Carswell, Councillor Mark Macmillan, Steve Conway, Peter Beagley

Around the tableThe Business Forum was chaired by Magnus Linklater, columnist for The Times Scotland, who was joined by:�� Councillor Mark Macmillan, leader of Renfrewshire Council.�� Bob Darracott, director of planning and transport at Renfrewshire Council.�� Professor Seamus McDaid, principal and vice chancellor, University of the West of Scotland.�� Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport.�� Tom Johnston, the president of Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce.�� Peter Beagley, general manager of Braehead, one of Scotland’s major retail and leisure destinations.�� Steve Conway, the chief executive of Erskine, the social enterprise caring for military veterans.�� Jim Carswell, operations director of Life Technologies.�� Roz Bird, estates director of MEPC, owners of much of Hillington Industrial Estate.

JameS gLoSSoP For THe TimeS


Business Insight6

Renfrewshire is good for business

Renfrewshire is already home to a range of innovative companies in leading business sectors.

Companies in electronics, engineering, manufacturing, and food and drink are being joined by new players in emerging technologies and renewables.

Just consider some of the names and brands – Rolls Royce, Diageo, Chivas Regal, Doosan Babcock, Steel Engineer-ing, Life Technologies, W H Malcolm, William Tracey.

Renfrewshire has demonstrated that it has the qualities needed for businesses operating on the international stage.

In terms of access to markets, Renfrews-hire has strong road and rail links.

You just need to look at the companies operating here to know we can provide a high-quality workforce.

The area also benefi ts from Glasgow Airport – which apart from its transport connections is an important driver for the regional and national economy and a major employer in its own right.

We are also looking to build on the economic strength of the Glasgow Airport Zone (a Strategic Economic investment Location) through a partnership between public agencies to maximise investment and development opportunities.

Potential investors in Renfrewshire can access the latest information about potential development through the area’s Local Development Plan which will be published early in the new year.

The plan aims to provide high-quality places with land in the right locations to encourage investment and sets out clear guidelines on residential, retail or industrial use.

Part of Renfrewshire’s investment and

development appeal is that areas are also identifi ed for strategic retail, residential and industrial development at a regional level through the Glasgow and Clyde Val-ley Strategic Development Plan.

Renfrewshire can also offer a lot to companies and their employees in addi-tion to these economic factors.

There are vibrant communities, a dis-tinctive architectural and industrial herit-age, and some outstanding countryside.

Overall, there is a positive climate for business in Renfrewshire.

At local level, we are seeing it in in-creasing business support for our efforts to regenerate our town centres.

And with leading international fi rms proving they can have a growing base in Renfrewshire, there’s a lot to look forward to for existing and new major investors.

PROFESSIONAL BRIEF

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan, outlines why the county is

good for businesses big and small

Interview

Diversity and connectivity drive progress

side its rural neighbourhoods, character-ised by a rolling, agricultural landscape and the spectacular Clyde Valley.

David Martin believes it is the diversity and connectivity of Renfrewshire that makes it a unique and stimulating place to do business.

“A key strength of Renfrewshire is that it is part of the Glasgow City region. En-suring that there is a lot to do here and taking advantage of the well-connected transport network are key aspects of our approach to creating jobs to drive the economy,” he says.

“We try to take a collaborative ap-proach with Glasgow City and our other neighbours — we have a common Eco-nomic Development Vision — building on the many strengths of the region while taking advantage of the local diversity.

An example of this collaboration is an ambitious joint project to develop the airport; one that involves both Renfrews-hire and Glasgow Councils, Glasgow Air-port and several multi-national, locally based businesses.

“We aim to regenerate the area between the airport and the centre of Paisley by developing an airport corridor. This will include Reid Kerr College and land that will be redeveloped for indus-trial and commercial use.

“Closer to the town centre, we’re trying to promote hotel and other commercial development and there are some major ideas for the regeneration of prominent buildings. We see Paisley particularly as being the centre for events, culture and arts. Part of our agenda is to make the most of our industrial history and culture in order to keep people coming in to the community.”

Paisley has been selected to host the Royal Mod 2013. This annual gathering of the Gaelic community is set to bring thousands of visitors into the area, with undoubted benefits to the local economy.

Another key initiative, explains Martin, is Invest in Renfrewshire, a programme aimed at reducing youth unemployment and strengthening the local economy.

The £2.5 million programme repre-sents a new commitment between the council and business community to work together, and so far around 100 organi-

sations have pledged their support.“The council can’t do this on its own,”

explains Martin. “It’s something that the public, voluntary and private sectors are working together on. The council has a key role but it is by no means the only player.”

The initiative has three themes: Invest-ing Together; Investing in Business; and Investing in Youth.

“Youth unemployment is a particular challenge for us,” he continues. “We’re trying to take a new approach to the issue by working with companies to find out exactly what they need, and by asking them what they can do to help train and develop young people coming through our schools. It’s not just about job crea-tion; internships and work experience are also important.

“Businesses can make a real difference by just lending some time for industry vis-its, or talking to schools. We don’t want to be a community that hands our kids a worse deal than we had — that’s one of the drivers for working in partnership with the private sector; to do what we can for the economy but also recognise that companies need to make profits in return.”

Investing in Business includes the pro-vision of business advice, grants, wage subsidy schemes, small loan funds and retail improvement grants. “We talk to companies and they talk about access to finance being an issue and how banks are failing to lend. We’re not trying to get between banks and customers, but trying to find what we can do to support their business and be a bit more imaginative about the forms of support we can deliver.

“What’s unique about this is that we’re trying to take a really business-focused approach. It’s more effective if you build a lasting relationship with a firm and create a meeting of minds to achieve mutual goals. We’re a council with a good reputation for understanding and responding to local business needs.”

The council is also making im-provements to its infrastructure a priority through its ambitious Building Better Communities programme. A key component

has been a £90 million investment in the modernisation of leisure facilities.

Another aspect, explains Martin, has been the redevelopment of the county’s 11 high schools. “We’ve just built a state -of-the-art school in Erskine which is a fantastic learning environment for young people. We seriously recognise the im-portance of good buildings and a good environment, and the fact that access to top quality learning facilities creates more motivated young people which means better labour market entrants.”

Other projects include a £134 mil-lion programme to improve the county’s 13,000 council houses and the introduc-tion of a new Living Wage of £7.50 for council employees.

The county is also set to get a boost through plans to build 2500 new houses on the site of a former British Aerospace Royal Ordnance Factory in Bishopton. “Three firms have just committed to the first phase of construction, which is tremendously exciting. We see this as the start of a 15-year development that will increase population and disposable income, and create a sustainable pipeline of jobs and leisure opportunities, with more than one million square feet of businesses to be established here.”

He adds: “There’s a whole variety of exciting opportunities we need to take advantage of. Our challenge is to try to make sure we promote as much as we can in terms of opportunity for people locally in challenging economic circumstances.”

We work to build a lasting relationship with companies and achieve mutual goals

The man at the helm of Ren-frewshire Council sums up his local area as a “micro-cosm of Scotland”. David Martin is chief executive of one of the country’s most densely populated authori-

ties — the ninth largest in Scotland.Its central lowlands location beside the

sprawling metropolis of Glasgow has made Renfrewshire a natural base for commut-

ers, and much of the area is character-ised by a proliferation of small towns and villages. The county is also home to Scot-land’s largest town, Paisley. The town, which serves as the county’s administrative centre, is steeped in history, being the birth place of the world famous Paisley textile pattern. Its former role as a centre for the weaving and textile industries, spearhead-ed by the famous Coats empire, means that Paisley today has fine examples of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and also a mediaeval abbey that dates back to the 12th century.

Today, Renfrewshire is home to Glas-gow International Airport, and therefore serves as a major entry point for visitors to Scotland. Its international links are further enhanced by the University of the West of Scotland, which attracts large numbers of foreign students.

Renfrewshire’s urban areas sit along-

Paisley, Scotland’s largest town, is steeped in history while looking to new business development

David Martin, Renfrewshire’s chief executive, explains his county’s appeal to Heidi Soholt

David Martin


Amanda McMil-lan doesn’t stride through the ter-minal at Glasgow Airport; she takes her time. She might be the man-aging director of Scotland’s Airport of the Year, but a

significant element of her work cannot be achieved behind the door of her busy office, in meetings, boardrooms, or indeed, flying at 30,000 feet in the air.

“I need to mix with passengers and vis-itors,” she says. “I walk across the termi-nal, getting right in the moment for those people. Can we run a slick airport with passion and charisma? We have to take a medium and long-term view but it’s cru-cially about everyday delivery.”

It’s four years since the £31 million first phase of the ‘skyhub’ project was opened at Glasgow Airport, heralding the biggest sin-gle investment there since the 1990s, with the promise of more than £150 million of further investment in the decade to come.

For McMillan, at that point, just one month into the post as MD, the develop-ment encapsulated her hopes for the air-port’s future, its success as a business and as a conduit to the success of the wider Scottish economy. The programme of in-vestment would be “transformational” for passengers, she said.

It has proved to be so, not just for the seven million people that haul their bag-gage past the cafes and shops on the way into, or out of, the airport every year, but for McMillan herself. Earlier this month, at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry International Awards, the Glasgow: Scotland with Style Award for Outstanding Contribution to Glasgow’s Tourism Economy was presented to McMillan in recognition of her achieve-ments and contribution to increasing tourism and enhancing the Scotland’s reputation in international markets.

Glasgow Airport is growing, and con-tinuing to invest in the upgrading of fa-cilities, with £9 million spent on capital projects just this year. McMillan admits there is an evolutionary aspect to the airport, the waves of investment, a sense that, like its customers, this business is always on the move … onwards, upwards.

“It’s about creating a significant re-silience for the future, in terms of the number of passengers we process,” says McMillan. “It’s also meeting that chal-lenge of linking the old with the new in the fabric of the airport, about enhanc-ing the passenger’s journey, and how we bring up that standard. We’re reclaiming some of the theatre, the excitement that surrounded aviation, and that involves bringing back natural light throughout the airport, opening up those central lounge views.

Glasgow Airport’s managing director tells Ginny Clark about the blue-sky thinking that is informing growth

Cover story

“There are cyclical patterns of invest-ment, we’ve had major reinvestment in the taxiways, and on the airfield as well as the terminal building. Now we’re looking at aligning our capital investment with Glas-gow’s needs as the city hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games. We must prepare our welcoming face, and in the next 14 months refresh our arriving capacity.

“Investment helps ensure that we have a safe airport today, but it also helps move us forward to meet future responsibilities. We are constantly evolving.”

That “welcoming face” means Glasgow Airport provides the first experience of Scotland to many, another responsibility, in addition to safety and security, for the managing director. “This is not just an-other private business,” says McMillan. “There is a tightrope: you are in a sense

running a public service too. We try not to navel gaze about building reputation, but focus on doing what’s right in key areas. What you then earn is a strong reputation. We’re hugely mindful about being the face of Scotland, and we focus on customer experience: does it feel good, are they aware of the improvements? I’m delighted we’ve had a lot of positive feedback, but we’re not finished, it’s a constant effort with a big focus on how we interact with our customers. Our resil-ience as a business is important too, such as how we deal with a winter crisis. Are we open for business 24/7? How can we quickly respond, and be safe? All before we even think: ‘Are we making money?’”

Of course, it is not only the weather that brings challenges. McMillan recently joined her counterparts at Edinburgh and

Aberdeen in demanding the UK Govern-ment review air passenger duty (APD) following a report, commissioned by the three airports, warning it could cost Scot-land more than two million passengers a year by 2016, with an annual loss to the Scottish economy of up to £210 million from tourism.

“Aviation does toil in tough times, with profits also affected by heavy fuel costs, and the industry has struggled, as have many sectors,” says McMillan. “This economy is not growing, and aviation can help push the UK out of decline, but we don’t have an aviation policy that facilitates this. APD makes players on the global stage look at a country that taxes passengers heavily, and offers them less manoeuvre in ticket price, so we’re not seen as competitive. When I visit airlines this is a huge burden to any discussion.

“The other acute issue is access to Heathrow, since BMI’s withdrawal of the Glasgow to London Heathrow service in 2011. The demand from Scottish busi-ness on this route is considerable, as we warned. Despite heavy lobbying, on this and APD, there is no solution imminent. “The good news is in Scotland we now seem to largely have broad support on the fact that APD is seen as a barrier”.

For McMillan, local politics are just as important as the national variety, and although Glasgow Airport has the obvi-ous connection with Scotland’s biggest city, it is based in Renfrewshire. Hailing from nearby Linwood, McMillan is keenly aware of the airport’s standing in the com-munity, not least as the major employer.

“We have a role to play for Scotland, Glasgow and Renfrewshire, and we take that local perspective just as seriously. This area could be our harshest crit-ics as well as our biggest fans, and we’ve made active choices by playing a part in the Chamber of Commerce, and becom-ing involved with schools and smaller businesses. We also try to play a wid-er role, underlining how powerful the economics of Renfrewshire are. Not many regions have such major players in their midst — such as Rolls-Royce or Diageo — and we have to ask the question as to what we can do to improve the local economy”.

“If a local business tells us they have some important visitors arriving through the airport, we’ll — quite literally — get the red carpet out for them, and through our flight path charity fund, we’ve given local organisations and projects in the com-munity £400,000 over the past three years.

“I was born and brought up in Linwood, and this airport is a source of huge pleasure and pride to me. I hope we’re held in high esteem by local people too. As managing director I have to be out there, standing up for Glasgow Airport and for Scotland. I still see this job as fun-damentally an honour, a real privilege.”

It’s onwards and upwards

Expansion on international scaleThe past two years have seen steady growth, driven by the increasing demand for international travel. New routes and services include 19 Jet2.com destinations and Emirates has intro-duced a second daily service to Dubai, boosting Scottish trade with key markets such as China, south-east Asia and India.

Last month, Gama Aviation revealed plans for a £3.5 million expansion at the airport, including construction of a dedicated hangar, due for completion in the spring. The company has been

confirmed as the provider of air ambu-lance services to Scottish Ambulance for a further seven years until 2020, and the 17,222 sq ft hangar will house the Scottish Air Ambulance King Air aircraft plus Bombardier Challenger aircraft.

It will also provide a base and maintenance facility for third party aircraft, with Glasgow an ideal stopover for private jets making the 7,000-mile, 14-hour journey between Gama’s North American base in New Jersey and its UAE base at Sharjah.

JameS gLoSSoP For THe TimeS

We’re hugely mindful about being the face of Scotland and we focus on customer experience

Amanda McMillan, firmly in the pilot’s seat

at Glasgow Airport

7mNumber of passengers

carried in 2011

4.6%Rise in number of passengers

in October 2012 compared with October last year

7,300Number of jobs the airport supports across Scotland


Business Insight8

commercial report: University of the West of scotland

THE recent opening of a £17.6mil-lion town-centre development of its Paisley Campus student accommo-dation has dramatically illustrated not just University of the West of Scotland’s commitment to its

historic base – but its spiritual togetherness with Business.

Many educational establishments profess pride in their eponymous urban roots while simultane-ously setting up new out-of-town branches; but UWS has emphatically put its money where its mouth is by investing in, and bringing new life to, the centre of Paisley.

There is justified satisfaction, of course, in the practical achievement of creating 336 smart new bed spaces in a £13.2million residence in the heart of Paisley and in the £4.4million refurbish-ment of university-owned flats in George Street and Lady Lane for 160 students, and the occupiers’ appreciation is voiced by first-year student Samantha King: “The new residence is fantastic and it was a major selling point for me when it came to choosing a university. The rooms are great and have everything you could wish for up to a very high standard.”

But the deeper point about feeding new life-blood back into the town’s businesses is under-lined by town-centre manager Amanda Moulson – “it’s hugely important” – and by university principal Professor Seamus McDaid CBE: “It will increase the significant contribution the university makes to the local economy, greatly enhancing and bringing long-term benefits to the centre of Paisley.”

He explains that, despite its big price tag, the move – “which has opened the heart of Paisley” – is all just part of a hugely ambitious £200million investment to attract and retain more than its current 18,000 students and develop, improve and expand across all four of the university’s campuses – at Paisley, Hamilton, Dumfries and Ayr.

Paisley’s is the largest of these, offering courses and research opportunities in business, computing, social sciences, engineering and science, health, nursing and midwifery. It is lively and urban, occupying 20 acres with teaching, lecture rooms, workshops and laboratories, as well as a library, students’ union – and, of course, that newly

celebrated student accommodation.

The depth and speed of the UWS’s all-fronts expansion is breathtaking, and measurable by two simple figures, stated in almost matter-of-fact manner by Ian Bishop, director of the innovation and research office: “Our research popula-tion continues to grow with a healthy community of 450 students undertaking PhDs – a tremendous increase from about 50 five years ago.” And: “We are completing a recruitment drive to secure an additional 80 academic staff, from early-career lecturers to professors with interna-tional reputations, to bring fresh thinking and new research.”

Eighty? The listener wonders if he has heard correctly. Also fresh is the idea that £200million is available to be applied so meaningfully in these recessionary times. How has it been sourced? By simple, old-fashioned means, it seems: “Borrowing, savings, and current income.”

Under the heading of current income must come the university’s growing, fruitful and mutually beneficial relations with the business community, and Mr Bishop’s department is central to that, as he points out that “strong links with industry have made an important contribution to our success and continue to flourish with strategic partnerships”.

Such as? “Joint working with research students, student placements and projects, or the delivery of bespoke education or training programmes – on campus or on company premises. Collaboration

can take many forms. We also actively seek input from practitioners into our course design, and most of our academic schools have industrial or profes-sional advisory boards to keep our provision up to date and relevant.”

He stresses that collaboration must be fairly balanced: “It can’t favour one side or the other; for if it does, one side will simply walk away. It’s got to be a win-win thing.”

All this comes in the context of knowledge exchange between business and the education

sector being high on the government’s agenda. Indeed, the Scottish Funding Council is investing in initiatives to improve infrastructure, and uni-versities are working collaboratively to establish better working practices and joint approaches to knowledge exchange.

“Our new research institutes have a strong focus on applied research and knowledge exchange and will draw on close links with local industrial partners,” says Mr Bishop. “Exciting developments include new institutes of clinical exercise and health science, of biomedical and environmental health research, and of advanced technologies, complementing existing activities in areas such as computing technologies, business, youth and com-munity and social policy.”

Ian Bishop’s quietly spoken, modest demeanour belies a steely determination to see the univer-sity’s recently revised Research and Knowledge Exchange strategy become increasingly essential to each other’s progress. “I want to get the message out to key stakeholders, alumni and businesses across Scotland (and beyond) that we are open for business; here to help with your technical chal-lenges, develop your staff, source future employees and embed a culture of partnership working and innovation in your business.”

So precisely what offerings are on the basic “services for business” menu? There are:

Business partnerships to help industry, com-merce and the public sector benefit from the university’s research expertise, either through collaboration or transfer of knowledge via various initiatives, consultancy, and licensing;

Consultancy and technical services through which businesses, industry and the government can benefit by tapping into the university’s broad range of expertise;

Staff development opportunities using UWS’s fine track-record while featuring management training and IT academy offering daytime, even-ing, blended learning and online training options throughout the year from industry leaders such as Adobe, Cisco, IBM, Linux, Microsoft and Oracle;

Student placements in industry for graduate employees, part-time/vacation workers, placement students, interns, or volunteers; and…

Venues and facilities for hire within a wide range of technical and conference possibilities, at Ayr, Dumfries, Hamilton or Paisley.

“I simply want business leaders out there to know that if they have a problem or a challenge, the university and all its resources are here and ready to help them find a solution,” says Mr Bishop. “And if we can’t find it, we will know an expert who can.”

More information is available from Ian Bishop or knowledge transfer officer Lorraine Dymond on 0141 848 3918; email: [email protected]

dynamic university expansion revives a town’s heartbeat

starting line-up The university’s strong links with some of Scotland’s top businesses and development agencies have been drawn together into a Business Start-up Network linking students with industry experts.

Featuring a series of events and workshops, the idea is to give the young, would-be entrepreneurs a first-hand insight into the challenges and mechanics of launching and running your own business.

Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce and several supportive county companies are lining up to participate – along with agencies such as Scottish Enterprise, Cooperative Development Scotland, the Scottish Institute for Enterprise, and Business Gateway.

Steve Talbot of the university’s business school – which is already renowned for its graduate and postgraduate options that develop key business skills – said the university was “delighted” to be launching the initiative.

“It will give our students on all four campuses a valuable opportunity to build and develop a basic idea into a new-start business,” he added.

partners in hideOne neighbourly partnership recently entered into by the university is with the Scottish Leather Group, the UK’s largest manufacturer of bovine leather, based in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire.

Hailing the development, university principal Professor Seamus McDaid CBE said the collaboration would “bring an added dimension to the university as both staff and students get involved in project work in a dynamic and fast-moving industrial setting”.

Jonathan Muirhead, chairman of the company that exports 90 per cent of its production to over 60 countries, said: “Ours has moved from being a craft-based industry to one of new technologies, and our own innovation has enabled us to control the manufacturing process in a sustainable way.

“We are excited about this partnership – which will give opportunities for students to work with an ambitious Scottish group and our employees to develop their skills further. We look forward to seeing just what it can deliver.”

And that’s just one way UWS wins friends with Business, finds Rick Wilson

strong links with industry: ian Bishop, UWs director

of innovation and research

accommodating more students and businesslike ambitions: the main UWs residence halls in paisley

significant development: professor seamus

mcdaid cBe, principal of the University of

West of scotland


9

Renfrewshire is bat-tling its way through the economic dep-ression to display a confident face to the world through a string of high-profile property develop-ments and improve-ments. Among those

is defence contractor BAE Systems’ planned £150 million transformation of its 1,800 acre former Royal Ordnance site at Bishopton, which is one of the UK’s largest brownfield regeneration projects.

BAE Systems hopes that businesses will be enticed to a beautiful part of Ren-frewshire close to a motorway, Glasgow Airport, and a main line rail service that takes less than 20 minutes to Glasgow.

“We’ll soon be launching commercial opportunities,” said Lynda Johnstone, BAE Systems’ project director for the development, which has been named Dargavel Village.

“These will include retail and opportu-nities to take or build space in the village centre in due course. More than 100 acres of employment land is also available and will be released in phases for new busi-nesses to come in.”

BAE Systems estimates the develop-ment will create around 4,000 full- and part-time jobs through construction and subsequent employment by commercial businesses. The challenge is tough in what is not currently an employment location.

“We’re very keen to raise the profile of this as an employment location over the next year,” Johnstone said. “We’ll listen to anyone with a vision for it. It’s new, but that can be exciting because it’s a blank canvas. It has all the hallmarks of a good employment location.”

She pointed to the example of Inchin-nan, which has now established itself as a recognised centre of employment.

Work has progressed in recent months on access roads to allow first phase house builders Taylor Wimpey, CALA and Per-simmon to start work on land released to them in the northern part of the site in November, when the north road was completed. The south road will be availa-ble next spring: Taylor Wimpey has taken land in the south of the site.

Some 530 energy efficient homes are to be built in the first phase of Dargavel Village in one of the largest residential developments currently taking place in

the UK. A joint sales cabin for the three builders will be on site soon and work will begin on preparing sites. It is thought the first homes could be available for sale in the spring of 2013.

BAE started the planning process in 2002. After a hiccup in the 2008 financial crisis, Phase I of the 15-year Bishopton Transformation Project (BTP) launched in 2011.

“All the activity is very exciting because we’ve been going at this now for more than 10 years,” said Johnstone. “We have confidence in the site because it’s extreme-

ly sustainable with its transport and com-munications links. It’s next to Bishopton, a nice existing village with a vibrant com-munity, and it’s a leafy, green and beauti-ful part of Renfrewshire. If you wrote a blueprint for all the things you would want when you set out to build a new commu-nity, this location would have it.”

A new primary school, food store,

retail units, library, community centre, leisure facilities and a woodland park will complement the existing “village feel” of Bishopton, according to the Bishopton Transformation Team. The development will include more than 1,000 acres of woodland and open space for public use.

“People in Bishopton have rightly asked what advantages it can bring to the existing village,” said Johnstone. “They now stop me to ask when the facilities are coming.”

BAE Systems has spent £32 million so far progressing the regeneration pro-gramme of works, a sum thought to be not far from the costs incurred in clean-ing up the site after more than a century of industrial use.

“It’s about dealing with our corporate social responsibility,” Johnstone said. “We don’t run away from the fact that we and our predecessors (the UK government) contaminated the site and made it an ugly industrial one.

“We could have just shut the gates and let it rot, but we wanted to deal with our legacy. The most effective way was to find alternative commercial uses for the land to pay for the costs of dealing with that legacy while bringing in jobs.”

BAE Systems works closely with Ren-frewshire Council and the Scottish Envi-ronmental Protection Agency (SEPA) on the Bishopton project.

“They’re really good,” said Johnstone.

Special report: Renfrewshire

Gateway to opportunityA raft of new developments is seeing the county raise its profile as a dynamic location for ambitious businesses, discovers Rob Stokes

Lynda Johnstone of BAE Systems says Bishopton will create some 4,000 jobs

The gatehouse at the entrance to Westway park, which is developing as a key location for the revival of manufacturing


Business Insight10

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Renfrewshire“I’ve done similar work most of my career and can honestly say that Renfrewshire has been by far one of the most commer-cial and realistic councils that we’ve ever worked with, though they quite rightly put local interests first and have a strong responsibility to their local inhabitants.

“They’ve been willing to listen to dif-ficulties and have adapted how we’ve worked together as the economy has evolved. When we lost a relationship with a house builder in 2008 it would have been very easy for Renfrewshire to ignore how our strategy was changing, but we sat down together and they listened.”

On SEPA, she said: “Our environmen-tal team tell me that SEPA have also been very good to work with.

“They’ve worked with us as opposed to us doing our investigations and then reporting. I would not say that dealing with the site’s environmental challenges has been easy, but SEPA have made it a better process. ”

A few miles towards Glasgow from Bishopton, Westway is developing as a key location at Renfrew for a revival of manufacturing in Renfrewshire. Next to the airport, 10 miles from Glasgow and two from Paisley, its tenants have access to a wide talent pool.

Westway is Scotland’s largest fully en-closed industrial distribution and office park. Its 1.6 million sq ft on a 136 acre site is flexible and versatile. Tenants range from heavy engineering, through high quality distribution and logistics, to of-fice based firms. They include, among others, Doosan Babcock Energy, Nippon Express, Malcolm Group, James Fisher

Defence, Amey, Steel Engineering, Scot-tishPower, and Aggreko. There are 1,500 to 2,000 employees on site at any one time.

“The good thing about Westway is this wide variety of different units in terms of age, specification, size and rent,” said chartered surveyor Mark Holmes, asset manager at Moorfield Group, the London based real estate and real estate-related private equity fund manager which owns Westway in a joint venture with real estate investment managers Westbrook Partners, New York, USA.

“We’ve taken a very flexible approach to lettings. For example, we’ve offered short-term lets to occupiers with only short-term contracts and who are un-sure of their future needs but may later commit to longer terms, more or less space, or a different unit.”

Scotland has been “quite resilient” economically, Holmes said. “For some manufacturers that’s to do with onshore and offshore wind, or the oil and gas in

Aberdeen. We’ve also seen a lot more in-terest from inward investors looking for space in Scotland for renewables work.”

Westway once removed dockside cranage at parks to reconfigure space for distribution businesses. Now the cranes are going back in at Westway where a £1.3 million dock redevelopment, supported with public funds, is creating a navigable channel along the White Cart Water.

Allied to quayside improvements, this will allow heavy components manufac-tured on site to be loaded on to barges for shipment around the UK.

The dock improvements and cranage are being made with a firm eye on con-struction of components for the renewa-bles industry but could appeal to other engineering and manufacturing compa-nies. “We’re now able to market it as a lower cost option than getting on to the Clyde or bringing your stuff into dry warehousing on land,” said Andrew Mc-Cracken at Jones Lang LaSalle real estate services and investment managers in Glasgow.

“Enquiries are starting to creep up. Of all our instructions, Westway is probably our most successful this year and it is all proactive stuff on Moorfield’s part in tak-ing it forward.”

“We like the facility and we’re on course to double our turnover to £12.5 million by the end of May” said Peter Breslin, managing director of Steel Engineering, the largest steel fabricators in the west of Scotland, which finds it cheaper to ship in large loads of steel by barge rather than splitting it up for transport by road.

It can also ship out fabrications that would be too large to move by road, and to surprisingly distant destinations in-cluding off East Anglia, to which it will ship structures for an offshore wind farm.

The firm has more than 300,000 square feet of fully equipped fabrica-tion bays, serviced by 15 heavy overhead cranes with single lift capacity of 500, 100, 60 and 20 tonnes.

“We’re also in a good catchment area for skills and we’ve got a lot of support from Renfrewshire Council which is very proactive in youth employment pro-grammes,” Breslin added.

Steel Engineering’s new renewable energy skills training academy took in its first 10 trainees funded by Jobcenter Plus this summer and employed seven full-time. The latest course, funded by Ren-frewshire Council, finishes on December 17. Breslin has been encouraging suppliers to relocate to Westway and he said that two

ICE proves the point for colleges mergerThe £4 million Institute of Construction and Engineering (ICE) at Reid Kerr College, Paisley, is a state-of-art facility that is now also available for students of James Watt College, Greenock, and Clydebank College, Clydebank. It will better equip them to find jobs in the skills-hungry renewables sector.

These colleges are already developing joint curricula as they progress toward an agreed three-way merger into a new, as yet unnamed college that should launch formally in August 2013 but take longer to be fully integrated.

The ICE Building is one example of how the merger is intended to benefit students, lecturers, business and communities in the West Region.

“We want to take what’s best in the three organisa-tions and make that the regional standard,” said Charles McDaid, Vice Principal of Reid Kerr College. “We’re no longer in a competitive situation. We can have a regional employability agenda where something that is particu-larly successful in one college can be shared.”

The move reflects a new regional structure for colleges across Scotland and will, the colleges believe, make the merged institution more competitive nation-ally and internationally.

Scottish government proposals to reform post-16 learning outline three key objectives: a sharper focus on jobs and growth; improving people’s life chances; and ensuring a sustainable post-16 sector.

Trainees at Steel Engineering, which aims to double its turnover to £12.5 million by the end of May at Westway

We’ve seen a lot of interest from inward investors looking for space in Scotland for renewables work


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MEPC embarks on major new plans with local community

Hillington Park in Renfrewshire hosts more than 250 companies including flagship tenants such as Balfour Beatty and BAA. Commercial property com-pany MEPC, the park’s majority owner,

has ambitious growth plans for Hillington be-cause its record inspires confidence, said Roz Bird, MEPC’s head of business development.

“This year, we have 110,000 sq ft of new lettings and more than 130,000 sq ft of renewals, hardly any voids at Hillington, and get lots of new enquiries.”

“Across our property portfolio, a lot of companies are doing better than perceptions of the UK economy would suggest,” she added. “They’re not necessarily profitable but have decent balance sheets and want to grow and employ people. By continuing to focus on first class customer service and the development of our partnerships with Renfrewshire Council and others we can help these businesses achieve their growth ambitions.”

Hillington’s tenants range from small start-ups — 200 of which have been though the park’s award winning Hillington Park Innova-tion Centre since 2000 — and nest industrial units, right through to large warehouses. Having a full range of companies sells the park, Bird said. “We also have consented development land so there’s opportunity for it to grow.”

In a review of what customers want, MEPC’s on-site team saw opportunities to become more proactive. It is helping to develop a sense of community to make the park more

than just a simple property proposition.Visible signs of this are: allotments, bee hives,

a children’s nursery, café, a putting green, and green areas of biodiversity. A social committee has been formed. “A lot of key occupiers have been very happy to attend that,” said Bird. “We’ve discussed ideas such as a Hillington Park five-a-side football team and choir, charity events, perhaps pooling what companies already do.” A gymnasium has been established at Hillington Park by a company supported by MEPC in response to demand for a gym.

Bird took a similar approach as director of MEPC’s Granta Park near Cambridge until it was sold in June. “We proved there that employ-ers really like it because they’re trying to attract the best skills and retain them.”

currently based outside Scotland are poten-tially interested in making the move.

The story continues. A master plan for Westway includes another 30 acres of already consented land and invest-ment of up to £70 million over the next decade. A road bridge over the river to link Westway directly to Glasgow Airport is also planned, as are a wider range of smaller business units. The plan hinges on financing.

Deals in 2012 include: Malcolm Group took 115,000 sq ft on a short-term lease; ScottishPower took an additional 23,000 sq ft for three years; and Steel Engineer-ing renewed 100,000 sq ft and took an additional 70,000 sq ft on a 15-year lease.

Andrew McCracken at Jones Lang LaSalle has also seen commercial rental enquiries rising for units which his firm manages in Linwood and Inchinnan.

“We’ve had more enquiries for an 80,000 sq ft unit at Linwood in the past quarter than in the previous three or four years. Deals are happening in Linwood, but Inchinnan has little supply left for new occupiers.”

Renfrewshire rents are competitive, he said. “In 2008-2009, landlords were offer-ing incentives such as rent-free periods. Headline rents are now down across the board. Landlords want to get through the next two or three years. “So there’s little or no speculative development happen-ing now or in the pipeline.”

For now, well-established locations such as Hillington and Westway hold the advantage as well-serviced sites investing in better services and facilities for stay-put tenants.

Hillington hosts more than 250 businesses


Business Insight12

CommerCial report: Hewlett-paCkard

When Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard arrived in Scotland from the US in 1966 to open the company’s first Scottish facility

in South Queensferry, they can hardly have imaged the blistering pace at which technology, sales and service would move in the subsequent four and a half decades.

Now, at Erskine in Renfrewshire, where the company has had a presence for 25 years, it is looking again at new horizons, having seen the transformation of the facility from a linchpin of Silicon Glen’s manufacturing capability to becoming a high-end provider of sales and IT services functions. One thing that has remained a constant, says Maggie Morrison, Account General Manager in Scotland, is the company’s commitment to the local com-munity in Renfrewshire and especially to strategic partnerships with local colleges and universities.

“There is a real sense of excitement here,” she adds. “There has always been an important element of collaboration with universities – one that taps into the skills-sets and work ethic that Scotland is known for.”

The global company’s strategy in Ren-frewshire includes inside sales that sell HP’s entire product portfolio into every customer area – and covers 22 countries; services that take in financial services and IT support; and HP’s Public Sector Services Hub, which is creating more than 700 jobs over a three-year period.

Which is good news for Renfrewshire. “There are obviously issues regarding youth unemployment in the area and we employ people in Erskine, including school leavers and graduates; we engage in work experience for those still at school; and work closely with schools in inform-ing their pupils about the benefits of IT as a career – so HP’s record in helping to increase employment is a positive one.”

Collaborations extend to initiatives with Scottish Enterprise and Skills Devel-opment Scotland and Morrison is also on the board of e-Skills UK in Scotland, whose goal is to ensure that the country has the expertise and knowledge needed to successfully compete in the global digital economy.

If one of the objectives that Scotland has as a nation is to provide jobs that are highly-skilled and highly-paid then that is exactly what the company says it is doing in Erskine – and with Science, Technol-ogy, Engineering and Mathematics in increasing demand and vital to Scotland’s economy, these technical careers forged at HP are set to come into their own.

The company’s Financial Services capacity at the facility involves the transfer of assets and technology recovery, taking old IT kit from large private and public sector organisations and disposing of it securely and in an environmentally friendly way. HP ranked number one in the 17th Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics in 2011.

“In HP Financial Services we basically have our own banking facility so we have the ability to move items from capital

transforming the future from base of innovationHewlett-Packard is ensuring Erskine’s place in a global business strategy while benefiting the local economy

Hp at erskine is the entry point for many exciting technical careers

expenditure to operating expenditure, buying back equipment – and competi-tors’ equipment – and then leasing it to the customer. And for many organisations that can be a major help in tough eco-nomic times like these,” says Morrison.

She can remember both the initial fanfare and the farewell bugles when many multinational IT companies made Scotland a manufacturing base and is optimistic that the transformation of HP’s Erskine facility is a positive and signifi-cant development that extends beyond the facility itself to the wider economy.

“With new jobs coming in, the atmos-phere is really lively and upbeat. We don’t exist in isolation – and what HP is doing will support lots of other businesses in Renfrewshire and Scotland.”

The landscape around Bishopton in Renfrews-hire is changing – and a new vision for the future is beginning to emerge in the shape of ‘Dargavel

Village’. Over the next 15 years, an exciting

and ambitious multi-million pound transformation project led by BAE Systems will see the complete regen-eration of an 1800-acre site in one of the largest brownfield developments ever undertaken in the UK.

Following an investment of around £150million, the former BAE Systems Royal Ordnance Factory site has un-dergone a comprehensive remediation programme to clear the land ahead of the start of the first phase of develop-ment scheduled to begin by the end of this year.

BAE Systems has worked closely with Renfrewshire Council to create a viable, sustainable and aspirational plan that will be delivered over a series of phases, create over 4,000 full and part-time jobs and establish a commer-cial and retail hub as part of proposed village centre plans. It will also see 2,500 modern, energy efficient homes built along with a number of commu-nity facilities including a purpose-built primary school, library, health centre, supermarket, retail units, place of wor-

ship and a 1000-acre woodland park for community and public use.

The likely creation of thousands of jobs will bring a welcome boost to the local economy and underpins BAE Systems’ drive to breathe new life into the site. These employment opportunities will be delivered through construction - infrastructure, servic-ing and house building – and the establishment of the village centre incorporating the supermarket, library, health centre, school, shops and com-munity hub.

The majority however, will come from the 110 acres of land set aside for the business quarter, which has the potential to produce in the region of 1.6m sqft of employment space. With a focus on a mixed-use of office, manu-facturing and warehouse units, the area has the capacity to create up to 4,500 local jobs – a figure which car-ries significant value and importance for Renfrewshire.

With land remediation complete, the first major construction phase of work focuses on residential development following an investment of £32million. Three leading housebuilders – Taylor Wimpey, CALA and Persimmon - will build an estimated 530 two, three, four and five bedroom homes, the first of which are expected to be available to move into by Spring 2013.

A dedicated website – www.dargavelvillage.co.uk - has resulted in considerable interest from both people living in the surrounding areas and those looking to relocate to this prime rural location. With so much to offer prospective buyers, BAE Systems is confident that the combination of picturesque setting, easy road access to Glasgow city centre and a regular, direct rail link into the city, will result in a positive return on their invest-ment.

Lynda Johnstone, project director for BAE Systems, said: “This trans-formation project marks a significant, long-term commitment for us. With an established relationship with the area, we have gone to considerable length to ensure that our proposal will deliver a development that is both sympathetic to the existing landscape and community, as well as being one that will meet the future needs and requirements of those moving to Bishopton.

“From the creation of major employment opportunities to the provision of various community facilities, I am excited to be involved in a regeneration project that will transform an area of land with a vision that offers such incredible economic and social potential.

“The mixed-use business quarter of-

fers genuine opportunities for compa-nies seeking viable options for start up enterprises, relocation or consolidation or to support their growth strategy in Scotland. The retail units are ideal for small businesses and more established outlets and supermarkets looking for out of town premises, which match their individual requirements.

“We will continue to work closely with Renfrewshire Council, SEPA, local community groups and residents old and new, to deliver a project that meets their needs both now and in the years to come.”

This month, another major mile-stone was achieved with the comple-tion of one of two main roads into the site. The North Access Road provides direct access into the northern point of the development from a new roundabout off the main road through Bishopton and will help to minimise any additional traffic passing through the town. A second artery providing access into the south of the develop-ment is due for completion in Spring 2013 and will be further enhanced with the addition of a new junction off the M8 motorway to be introduced as part of a later phase of works.

Set amid an economic climate that continues to find its feet, the ambi-tion, investment and sheer scale of this transformation project is attracting

significant attention from a wide range of audiences. With the spotlight well and truly on them, BAE Systems is proud to be leading the way in dem-onstrating just what the company is capable of delivering and to leaving a legacy that will be in place for decades to come.

For further information on the development or to find out how to get involved, log onto www.bishopton-transformation.co.uk, call Tel: 0800 130 3302 or write to BAE Systems, Real Estate Solutions, Station Road, Bishopton, Renfrewshire PA7 5NJ.

BAE Systems breathes new life into Bishopton with £150million transformation project

commErciAl rEport: BAE SYStEmS


COMMERCIAL REPORT: BRAEHEAD SHOPPING CENTRE

WHAT was once a run-down and redundant industrial landscape is now a vibrant economic powerhouse pouring millions of pounds into the West of Scotland

economy and beyond.But all this would not have been possible with-

out the catalyst that sparked this regeneration and transformation – Braehead Shopping Centre.

Since the shopping centre opened in 1999, it has been the means of the regeneration of the River Clyde waterfront from the King George V Docks to Renfrew Ferry.

The numbers are impressive and speak for themselves. So far, Braehead has – • brought £600 million of private investment to

Renfrewshire;• supports a total of 6,870 jobs, which is nine per

cent of everyone employed in Renfrewshire; • and provides £88 million a year in wages paid

to people who work there or supply goods and services to the Braehead development.This money – ‘The Braehead Pound’ – is spent

in local shops throughout the neighbouring towns and villages where Braehead workers live, helping trade thrive in local communities.

Braehead is a success story for Renfrewshire having created a mixed-use development that attracts millions of people to Renfrewshire every year. Braehead is the giant magnet for people from outside the area that other towns and villages locally can feed off by providing comple-mentary attractions in retail, leisure and business.

Braehead has also created business parks with offi ce space, hotels and commercial centres that are home to top-brand names such as Audi, Por-celanosa, Porsche, Nissan Infi niti and Campbell Dallas.

Leisure facilities at Braehead now include Xscape - which hosts Scotland’s fi rst indoor real snow mountain for skiers and snowboarders and a multi-screen cinema - a seven-acre public park, curling rink and the 4,000-seater sports and enter-tainment venue, Braehead Arena.

Mindful of the importance of public transport, Braehead built its own bus station with more than 1,000 arrivals and departures every day.

There are also 2,000 homes being built – many already completed and families moved in.

And once the housing development around Braehead has been completed the new commu-nity living at Braehead will be approximately the same size as the Royal Burgh of Auchterarder, in Perthshire.

A report by the Templeton College of the Uni-versity of Oxford and economic experts, Nathan-iel Lichfi eld and Partners described Braehead as a “major economic stimulus” to Renfrewshire.

Braehead’s general manager Peter Beagley said: “The benefi ts of Braehead are not just to the people who come to do their shopping or to enjoy our leisure facilities.

“The real benefi ts come from what Braehead has gone on to create in terms of bringing new businesses to Renfrewshire, the thousands of jobs it has created and the boost to the economy of Renfrewshire and the West of Scotland.”

Hundreds of millions of pounds in private investment may already have gone into creating Braehead as it is today. But it doesn’t stop there.

There’s even more good news to come, says Beagley as he speaks about the plans for Brae-head’s owners Capital Shopping Centres to invest a further £200 million in the development and create thousands more jobs in Renfrewshire and beyond.

The company has lodged a Proposal of Ap-plication Notice with Renfrewshire Council, which indicates its intention to submit a planning application for permission in principle to build new leisure, community and retail facilities at the shopping centre.

The proposals include a signifi cant boost to public transport with the creation of a new integrated transport interchange for buses and to facilitate the new Fastlink service, which is hoped will extend from the south side of Glasgow to Braehead and Renfrew.

It is expected that the planning application, including proposals for a department store, will be lodged in the near future.

There are also plans to build a new replacement arena for ice and dry sports events, concerts, other entertainment shows, exhibitions and confer-ences; a hotel, cafes, restaurants and a new civic square.

Beagley continues: “Braehead Shopping Centre has been a key part of the local community and the wider Renfrewshire area for the past 13 years and we are keen to continue our investment for the benefi t of the area and indeed Scotland.

“Our investment will create much-needed jobs for local people and deliver a wider choice of retail and leisure for our customers, as well as signifi cant improvements to public transport and public space.”

He added: “These proposals will see a huge amount of private investment coming into Renfrewshire and the west of Scotland. With this multi-million pound investment comes the welcome bonus of employment with up to 2,000 construction jobs – including apprenticeships for young people - and more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in leisure and retail when the exten-sion is completed.

“We are very keen to make sure as many local people as possible benefi t from these jobs and with approval for the project, we will set up a Jobs Shop on site for people to apply for the work that will become available.”

Beagley sees the investment proposal as Brae-

Expansion gets public vote of con� denceTHE proposal to invest a further £200 million and create 5,000 jobs at Braehead has been welcomed.

More than 800 people completed a questionnaire card during a two-day public consultation and the overwhelming majority were in favour of the proposals.

Braehead’s general manager, Peter Beagley said: “As part of a public consultation process prior to us submitting a planning application in principle to build new leisure and retail facilities at Braehead, we held a two-day exhibition in the mall.

“This allowed the public to see exactly what our proposals are, the benefi ts to Renfrewshire, including thousands of new jobs and for us to hear the views of the

public on our plans.“More than 800 people

completed a questionnaire card and the overwhelming majority were in favour of our proposals. A more detailed analysis on the consultation will be included in our planning application.”

He added: “We have also had support for our proposals from Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce who understand and appreciate the importance of investment and employment opportunities we would bring to the area.

“Braehead can create the wealth that comes with providing thousands of people with a job and a wage at the end of each month that can help rejuvenate local towns and villages in Renfrewshire.”

Peter Beagley, Braehead’s general

manager

A catalyst for regeneration

head giving a further boost to the Renfrewshire and Scottish economy, creating more jobs in a time of economic downturn.

“It also creates a confi dence among large com-panies that they can do business in Scotland and shows that economic growth can be achieved,” he says.

“It sends out a positive message about Ren-frewshire and Scotland and shows we can buck the present economic trends and attract new and

large-scale investment.“Our plans for Braehead can make this part of

the Clyde an exemplar of Scotland’s sustainable mixed-use economy of business, retail, leisure and residential developments.

“A new and expanded Braehead would give Renfrewshire and Scotland a world-class, mixed-use, sustainable and community develop-ment that includes retail, leisure, business and residential.”

Artist’s impression of the new civic square at Braehead

COMMERCIAL REPORT: BRAEHEAD SHOPPING CENTRE

WHAT was once a run-down and redundant industrial landscape is now a vibrant economic powerhouse pouring millions of pounds into the West of Scotland

economy and beyond.But all this would not have been possible with-

out the catalyst that sparked this regeneration and transformation – Braehead Shopping Centre.

Since the shopping centre opened in 1999, it has been the means of the regeneration of the River Clyde waterfront from the King George V Docks to Renfrew Ferry.

The numbers are impressive and speak for themselves. So far, Braehead has – • brought £600 million of private investment to

Renfrewshire;• supports a total of 6,870 jobs, which is nine per

cent of everyone employed in Renfrewshire; • and provides £88 million a year in wages paid

to people who work there or supply goods and services to the Braehead development.This money – ‘The Braehead Pound’ – is spent

in local shops throughout the neighbouring towns and villages where Braehead workers live, helping trade thrive in local communities.

Braehead is a success story for Renfrewshire having created a mixed-use development that attracts millions of people to Renfrewshire every year. Braehead is the giant magnet for people from outside the area that other towns and villages locally can feed off by providing comple-mentary attractions in retail, leisure and business.

Braehead has also created business parks with offi ce space, hotels and commercial centres that are home to top-brand names such as Audi, Por-celanosa, Porsche, Nissan Infi niti and Campbell Dallas.

Leisure facilities at Braehead now include Xscape - which hosts Scotland’s fi rst indoor real snow mountain for skiers and snowboarders and a multi-screen cinema - a seven-acre public park, curling rink and the 4,000-seater sports and enter-tainment venue, Braehead Arena.

Mindful of the importance of public transport, Braehead built its own bus station with more than 1,000 arrivals and departures every day.

There are also 2,000 homes being built – many already completed and families moved in.

And once the housing development around Braehead has been completed the new commu-nity living at Braehead will be approximately the same size as the Royal Burgh of Auchterarder, in Perthshire.

A report by the Templeton College of the Uni-versity of Oxford and economic experts, Nathan-iel Lichfi eld and Partners described Braehead as a “major economic stimulus” to Renfrewshire.

Braehead’s general manager Peter Beagley said: “The benefi ts of Braehead are not just to the people who come to do their shopping or to enjoy our leisure facilities.

“The real benefi ts come from what Braehead has gone on to create in terms of bringing new businesses to Renfrewshire, the thousands of jobs it has created and the boost to the economy of Renfrewshire and the West of Scotland.”

Hundreds of millions of pounds in private investment may already have gone into creating Braehead as it is today. But it doesn’t stop there.

There’s even more good news to come, says Beagley as he speaks about the plans for Brae-head’s owners Capital Shopping Centres to invest a further £200 million in the development and create thousands more jobs in Renfrewshire and beyond.

The company has lodged a Proposal of Ap-plication Notice with Renfrewshire Council, which indicates its intention to submit a planning application for permission in principle to build new leisure, community and retail facilities at the shopping centre.

The proposals include a signifi cant boost to public transport with the creation of a new integrated transport interchange for buses and to facilitate the new Fastlink service, which is hoped will extend from the south side of Glasgow to Braehead and Renfrew.

It is expected that the planning application, including proposals for a department store, will be lodged in the near future.

There are also plans to build a new replacement arena for ice and dry sports events, concerts, other entertainment shows, exhibitions and confer-ences; a hotel, cafes, restaurants and a new civic square.

Beagley continues: “Braehead Shopping Centre has been a key part of the local community and the wider Renfrewshire area for the past 13 years and we are keen to continue our investment for the benefi t of the area and indeed Scotland.

“Our investment will create much-needed jobs for local people and deliver a wider choice of retail and leisure for our customers, as well as signifi cant improvements to public transport and public space.”

He added: “These proposals will see a huge amount of private investment coming into Renfrewshire and the west of Scotland. With this multi-million pound investment comes the welcome bonus of employment with up to 2,000 construction jobs – including apprenticeships for young people - and more than 3,000 direct and indirect jobs in leisure and retail when the exten-sion is completed.

“We are very keen to make sure as many local people as possible benefi t from these jobs and with approval for the project, we will set up a Jobs Shop on site for people to apply for the work that will become available.”

Beagley sees the investment proposal as Brae-

Expansion gets public vote of con� denceTHE proposal to invest a further £200 million and create 5,000 jobs at Braehead has been welcomed.

More than 800 people completed a questionnaire card during a two-day public consultation and the overwhelming majority were in favour of the proposals.

Braehead’s general manager, Peter Beagley said: “As part of a public consultation process prior to us submitting a planning application in principle to build new leisure and retail facilities at Braehead, we held a two-day exhibition in the mall.

“This allowed the public to see exactly what our proposals are, the benefi ts to Renfrewshire, including thousands of new jobs and for us to hear the views of the

public on our plans.“More than 800 people

completed a questionnaire card and the overwhelming majority were in favour of our proposals. A more detailed analysis on the consultation will be included in our planning application.”

He added: “We have also had support for our proposals from Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce who understand and appreciate the importance of investment and employment opportunities we would bring to the area.

“Braehead can create the wealth that comes with providing thousands of people with a job and a wage at the end of each month that can help rejuvenate local towns and villages in Renfrewshire.”

Peter Beagley, Braehead’s general

manager

A catalyst for regeneration

head giving a further boost to the Renfrewshire and Scottish economy, creating more jobs in a time of economic downturn.

“It also creates a confi dence among large com-panies that they can do business in Scotland and shows that economic growth can be achieved,” he says.

“It sends out a positive message about Ren-frewshire and Scotland and shows we can buck the present economic trends and attract new and

large-scale investment.“Our plans for Braehead can make this part of

the Clyde an exemplar of Scotland’s sustainable mixed-use economy of business, retail, leisure and residential developments.

“A new and expanded Braehead would give Renfrewshire and Scotland a world-class, mixed-use, sustainable and community develop-ment that includes retail, leisure, business and residential.”

Artist’s impression of the new civic square at Braehead


Business Insight14

COMMERCIAL REPORT: RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Nurturing Renfrewshire’s businesses - local chamber keeps close eye on industry

ITS location beside Scotland’s largest metropolis, Glasgow, combined with fi rst class transport links that include a major international airport, has made the county of Renfrewshire the natural choice for many of the country’s leading businesses.

Major names such as Diageo, Rolls Royce, Howden, Scottish Leather Group, Chivas and Life Technologies are based in the county, making it one of the leading exporters of manufacturing goods in the country.

Renfrewshire Cham-ber is an organisation which works hard to safeguard and develop the area’s stimulating and competitive busi-ness community, and its chief executive, Bob Davidson, has a close relationship with local fi rms.

Davidson cites a multitude of attributes when asked to sum up the county’s commercial appeal.

“Location is defi nitely a strong point,” he ex-plains. “We’re next door to Glasgow with our own airport, rail network and coastal connectivity. Hav-ing both the University of The West of Scotland and Reid Kerr College here is another asset in terms of future skilled labour.

“The area also has a long history of manufactur-ing and engineering which continues today. “

Since joining Renfrewshire Chamber as chief executive in 2009, Davidson has got to know Ren-frewshire well, engaging with businesses every day.

“Not that I didn’t know it before,” he comments. “I’m a former student of the then Paisley College of Technology – where I was a BABE – graduating with a BA in Business Economics with marketing in 1990. So I spent most weeks and many evenings in Paisley. My course included an industrial one year placement where I worked for local drinks giant Chivas Bros. This set me up for a career in the drinks industry working for many companies includ-ing Diageo and time in other industries including construction and media.”

He continues: “We believe Renfrewshire still accounts for approximately 30 per cent of all Scot-land’s manufactured exports.

“Renfrewshire is home to Scotland’s largest business park at Hillington and signifi cant busi-ness clusters at Inchinnan, behind the airport, and Westway in Renfrew.”

Like most town centres and high streets, Paisley has suffered as consumer habits have changed. The popularity of out of town shopping centres has pre-

sented challenges which the Chamber is currently working to tackle.

“With thousands of students and plenty of proud local people around the town centre should be able to attract people in – it just needs the right setup to succeed,” says Davidson.

“The Chamber benefi ts in this area through its President, Tom Johnston, who is Head of Retail (Scotland) for Colliers International. Having been brought up and living in the area – Tom works hard behind the scenes doing all he can to attract retail-ers back into the High Street, and he understand how complex High Street property ownership can often be.”

Renfrewshire Chamber has won a number of awards and accolades including holding the top spot in the UK for member growth and having the highest penetration of any chamber in Scotland. It was also a Chamber of the Year fi nalist in 2011 and 2012, and winner of the 1st BCC Commercial Academy 2011 for its iPhone app – the fi rst cham-ber app in Europe.

The Chamber provides business mentoring to around 150 companies a year from its database of 1000 mentors. It is based at Glasgow Airport where it manages the Glasgow Airport Business Centre, taking around 250 bookings a year.

The Chamber has a supportive and active Board of Directors, all senior people that live in and/or work in Renfrewshire, from a wide range of business sectors.

Continues Davidson: “One particular ongo-ing objective the Chamber has is tackling youth unemployment. One initiative we are supporting is Invest in Renfrewshire – a £2.5M Renfrewshire council programme designed to help tackle youth unemployment and aid business growth. I encourage all Renfrewshire businesses in all sectors to give this a serious look and to get involved.

“Another is our partnership agreement with the council’s education department, making all 63

schools in Renfrewshire members of the Chamber. This relationship allows schools to be better con-nected to the business community – which in turn can assist with careers fairs, work experience, talks at schools and so on. We are taking this further and working with the Reid Kerr College, local schools and employers to form a virtual enterprise hub.

“We recently played a major role in the largest ever school pupil event in Renfrewshire – ‘Shaping My Future’ held in February 2012 at Paisley Town Hall, attracting 600 S2 pupils from across all second-ary schools in the county. The Chamber brought in many members to talk about the types of careers they have, what working there is like, and the skills and attitude required to succeed. The event attracted the Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance MSP, who gave a keynote address.”

A new initiative is the Graduate Employment Incentive Programme. The Chamber was selected as part of this new Scottish Government pilot to help get graduates into employment with local SMEs.

Davidson is also an active Board member of Young Enterprise Scotland.

“The Chamber is also a big supporter of The Re-cruit, a Renfrewshire Council initiative, loosely based on The Apprentice, where school leavers undertake a series of summertime business challenges. The Chamber is one of the winning jobs and the energy and quality of the young people is outstanding.”

The Chamber is currently gearing up to host its annual business awards, The ROCCOs. Now in its ninth year, the event attracts 500 guests annually.

Adds Davidson: “The Chamber continues to increase its connections locally across council, MPs and MSPs, and of course businesses and organisa-tion across all sizes and sectors. There genuinely is not a better connected business organisation in the area. And with our strength as a network via our full accreditation with Scottish and British Chambers – there are signifi cant infl uence and opportunities.”

In common with other British towns, Paisley has seen its retail element decline signifi cantly in recent years –

thanks largely to structural changes to the sector and a clear evolution in the way consumers spend their disposable income.

The centre of this his-toric town has suffered more than most in the economic downturn, with the additional problem of strong com-petition from Glasgow city centre – only eight miles away – and large out-of-town schemes such as Silverburn and Braehead.

Prevailing market conditions are analysed in a recent report by Colliers International indicat-ing that the change in people’s shopping habits – the growth of supermarkets, out-of-town retailing, value retail and not least online retailing – is having a huge impact on trading potential, performance and viability of British towns.

How can this decline be arrested? Renfrewshire Council has formed a task force, Paisley Vision, to look at the challenge. Made up of private and public stakeholders, it is working hard to regenerate the centre.

One its fi rst initiatives is to improve the town’s appearance and build on its rich thread-and-weaving history.

Working alongside Renfrewshire Council, Colliers International has been successful in attracting Poundworld to take occupancy of the former Littlewoods unit in the High Street. This is one of the town’s largest fl oor spaces and has been empty for six years. Now seven other units have found tenants, mainly private traders.

Events and cultural activities can help bring people into Paisley. The recent fi reworks display and Christmas Lights switch-on attracted huge crowds and the spin-off to the retail sector was immense.

The Vision people have looked at areas that could promote increased footfall, including: Lifting weekend parking charges; uniform opening hours; Sunday opening; and bringing traffi c back to the High Street.

Another initiative is to encourage people to come back to live in the centre and, with that in mind, a dialogue has begun with owners of vacant upper fl oors over shops with the aim that they be converted to residential occupancy.

To create a sustainable and vibrant environment, town centres need to offer more than just retail and must place more emphasis on leisure and commu-nity functions.

Shops away! But Paisley can still � yTom Johnston looks at how ‘Visionaries’ take up the challenge of high street regeneration

President of the Chamber, Tom Johnston,

who is also Colliers International’s Head

of Retail for Scotland

Bob Davidson, Chamber CEO

Renfrewshire Chamber is ensuring the county’s economy goes from strength to strength by working closely with existing and new fi rms

Coats Observatory, Paisley, the oldest public observatory in Scotland

COMMERCIAL REPORT: RENFREWSHIRE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Nurturing Renfrewshire’s businesses - local chamber keeps close eye on industry

ITS location beside Scotland’s largest metropolis, Glasgow, combined with fi rst class transport links that include a major international airport, has made the county of Renfrewshire the natural choice for many of the country’s leading businesses.

Major names such as Diageo, Rolls Royce, Howden, Scottish Leather Group, Chivas and Life Technologies are based in the county, making it one of the leading exporters of manufacturing goods in the country.

Renfrewshire Cham-ber is an organisation which works hard to safeguard and develop the area’s stimulating and competitive busi-ness community, and its chief executive, Bob Davidson, has a close relationship with local fi rms.

Davidson cites a multitude of attributes when asked to sum up the county’s commercial appeal.

“Location is defi nitely a strong point,” he ex-plains. “We’re next door to Glasgow with our own airport, rail network and coastal connectivity. Hav-ing both the University of The West of Scotland and Reid Kerr College here is another asset in terms of future skilled labour.

“The area also has a long history of manufactur-ing and engineering which continues today. “

Since joining Renfrewshire Chamber as chief executive in 2009, Davidson has got to know Ren-frewshire well, engaging with businesses every day.

“Not that I didn’t know it before,” he comments. “I’m a former student of the then Paisley College of Technology – where I was a BABE – graduating with a BA in Business Economics with marketing in 1990. So I spent most weeks and many evenings in Paisley. My course included an industrial one year placement where I worked for local drinks giant Chivas Bros. This set me up for a career in the drinks industry working for many companies includ-ing Diageo and time in other industries including construction and media.”

He continues: “We believe Renfrewshire still accounts for approximately 30 per cent of all Scot-land’s manufactured exports.

“Renfrewshire is home to Scotland’s largest business park at Hillington and signifi cant busi-ness clusters at Inchinnan, behind the airport, and Westway in Renfrew.”

Like most town centres and high streets, Paisley has suffered as consumer habits have changed. The popularity of out of town shopping centres has pre-

sented challenges which the Chamber is currently working to tackle.

“With thousands of students and plenty of proud local people around the town centre should be able to attract people in – it just needs the right setup to succeed,” says Davidson.

“The Chamber benefi ts in this area through its President, Tom Johnston, who is Head of Retail (Scotland) for Colliers International. Having been brought up and living in the area – Tom works hard behind the scenes doing all he can to attract retail-ers back into the High Street, and he understand how complex High Street property ownership can often be.”

Renfrewshire Chamber has won a number of awards and accolades including holding the top spot in the UK for member growth and having the highest penetration of any chamber in Scotland. It was also a Chamber of the Year fi nalist in 2011 and 2012, and winner of the 1st BCC Commercial Academy 2011 for its iPhone app – the fi rst cham-ber app in Europe.

The Chamber provides business mentoring to around 150 companies a year from its database of 1000 mentors. It is based at Glasgow Airport where it manages the Glasgow Airport Business Centre, taking around 250 bookings a year.

The Chamber has a supportive and active Board of Directors, all senior people that live in and/or work in Renfrewshire, from a wide range of business sectors.

Continues Davidson: “One particular ongo-ing objective the Chamber has is tackling youth unemployment. One initiative we are supporting is Invest in Renfrewshire – a £2.5M Renfrewshire council programme designed to help tackle youth unemployment and aid business growth. I encourage all Renfrewshire businesses in all sectors to give this a serious look and to get involved.

“Another is our partnership agreement with the council’s education department, making all 63

schools in Renfrewshire members of the Chamber. This relationship allows schools to be better con-nected to the business community – which in turn can assist with careers fairs, work experience, talks at schools and so on. We are taking this further and working with the Reid Kerr College, local schools and employers to form a virtual enterprise hub.

“We recently played a major role in the largest ever school pupil event in Renfrewshire – ‘Shaping My Future’ held in February 2012 at Paisley Town Hall, attracting 600 S2 pupils from across all second-ary schools in the county. The Chamber brought in many members to talk about the types of careers they have, what working there is like, and the skills and attitude required to succeed. The event attracted the Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance MSP, who gave a keynote address.”

A new initiative is the Graduate Employment Incentive Programme. The Chamber was selected as part of this new Scottish Government pilot to help get graduates into employment with local SMEs.

Davidson is also an active Board member of Young Enterprise Scotland.

“The Chamber is also a big supporter of The Re-cruit, a Renfrewshire Council initiative, loosely based on The Apprentice, where school leavers undertake a series of summertime business challenges. The Chamber is one of the winning jobs and the energy and quality of the young people is outstanding.”

The Chamber is currently gearing up to host its annual business awards, The ROCCOs. Now in its ninth year, the event attracts 500 guests annually.

Adds Davidson: “The Chamber continues to increase its connections locally across council, MPs and MSPs, and of course businesses and organisa-tion across all sizes and sectors. There genuinely is not a better connected business organisation in the area. And with our strength as a network via our full accreditation with Scottish and British Chambers – there are signifi cant infl uence and opportunities.”

In common with other British towns, Paisley has seen its retail element decline signifi cantly in recent years –

thanks largely to structural changes to the sector and a clear evolution in the way consumers spend their disposable income.

The centre of this his-toric town has suffered more than most in the economic downturn, with the additional problem of strong com-petition from Glasgow city centre – only eight miles away – and large out-of-town schemes such as Silverburn and Braehead.

Prevailing market conditions are analysed in a recent report by Colliers International indicat-ing that the change in people’s shopping habits – the growth of supermarkets, out-of-town retailing, value retail and not least online retailing – is having a huge impact on trading potential, performance and viability of British towns.

How can this decline be arrested? Renfrewshire Council has formed a task force, Paisley Vision, to look at the challenge. Made up of private and public stakeholders, it is working hard to regenerate the centre.

One its fi rst initiatives is to improve the town’s appearance and build on its rich thread-and-weaving history.

Working alongside Renfrewshire Council, Colliers International has been successful in attracting Poundworld to take occupancy of the former Littlewoods unit in the High Street. This is one of the town’s largest fl oor spaces and has been empty for six years. Now seven other units have found tenants, mainly private traders.

Events and cultural activities can help bring people into Paisley. The recent fi reworks display and Christmas Lights switch-on attracted huge crowds and the spin-off to the retail sector was immense.

The Vision people have looked at areas that could promote increased footfall, including: Lifting weekend parking charges; uniform opening hours; Sunday opening; and bringing traffi c back to the High Street.

Another initiative is to encourage people to come back to live in the centre and, with that in mind, a dialogue has begun with owners of vacant upper fl oors over shops with the aim that they be converted to residential occupancy.

To create a sustainable and vibrant environment, town centres need to offer more than just retail and must place more emphasis on leisure and commu-nity functions.

Shops away! But Paisley can still � yTom Johnston looks at how ‘Visionaries’ take up the challenge of high street regeneration

President of the Chamber, Tom Johnston,

who is also Colliers International’s Head

of Retail for Scotland

Bob Davidson, Chamber CEO

Renfrewshire Chamber is ensuring the county’s economy goes from strength to strength by working closely with existing and new fi rms

Coats Observatory, Paisley, the oldest public observatory in Scotland


commercial report: HilliNGtoN parK

IT is not exactly a case of “what recession?” but if anyone can gauge the mood of the market it has to be the people who run busi-ness parks – and those behind Hillington’s are surprisingly upbeat.

The five-strong team steering the major part of it under the MEPC flag know they always have a strong basic product to sell, with many permanent factors in the park’s favour – proxim-ity to Glasgow and its airport, two train stations, a wide choice of available properties, the passing M8 artery, and a rich business heritage dating back to 1938.

That date is an extra factor that looks like propelling the 270-company Renfrewshire facility at Hillington Park into an exciting and prosper-ous new chapter. For next year it celebrates its 75th birthday, during which it will doubtless hark back to its illustrious beginnings, when the first buildings went up to accommodate the prolific manufacture of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that powered the war-winning Spitfire and Hurricane fighters.

Since then, of course, many more famous firms have taken their place in what is now something of a little town (pop: 6,000) – and today they include household names such as Balfour Beatty, BAA, BMW, and even the Student Loans Company.

The Park also provides small and early stage businesses with a location that conforms to their business planning. The Innovation Centre and Merlin Business Centre offer a range of flexible

and supportive environments within an estab-lished and vibrant business community.

An illustrious past is one thing of course; but more important is the future. So what has Scotland’s most established business park planned for its big birthday? “We can’t say yet but we’re working on it and you can rest assured it will be something pretty special,” promises marketing and customer manager Alison Clark, who crews the MEPC bridge along with a leasing manager, office manager, managing director, and for the foresee-able future, Roz Bird – the company’s peripatetic head of business develop-ment who will be oversee-ing the celebratory fabric for 2013.

A key part of that could be a strategy of “refresh-ment” investment. Work-ing as she does across sev-eral of the company’s eight business parks throughout the UK – “people raise their eyebrows when I say I go to Watford, Basingstoke and Glasgow every week” – Ms Bird picks up feedback from colleagues working directly with MEPC customers at each Estate, including community development ideas and insights into the real state of the economy.

Of that feedback, she says: “We did some de-tailed research at the start of the year, asking cus-tomers what they think of Hillington Park: what they like about it, and what they would change if they could. The results of the survey showed that people think the Park is conveniently located, and that the MEPC on site team is very highly regarded. The research also identified a number of opportunities to develop Hillington Park. MEPC is therefore looking at investing in a range of projects and initiatives to build on all the good stuff that’s going on here at the moment.”

Of the coalface mood, she says: “Because MEPC deals with 1,000 companies nationally, represent-ing 20,000 people, we have a great insight into an important part of the UK economy. Our experi-ence of things on the ground is that conditions are better than the national perception.

“Companies are clearly having to work harder to achieve the same results. They’re probably not making a profit, but most companies have reason-able balance sheets, they are not over indebted, and have an appetite and an inclination for expansion and for employing more people. The only thing that’s stopping them is confidence and timing issues as they wonder: when should we go ahead and do this?” adds Roddy Proudfoot, the Leasing Manager at Hillington.

“A clear positive for Hillington is that we’ve had 110,000sq ft of new lettings this year and over 130,000sq ft of renewals. Plus we’ve got a healthy enquiry schedule.”

So based on this insight, MEPC will be consider-ing bringing new investment into Hillington Park. “We are in the middle of preparing plans and a business case for substantial investment in the Park. This will include projects such as the refurbishment of buildings, the development of

new buildings on land that we own, improving infrastructure including landscape works, signage, new amenities, and the development of a wider vi-sion and master plan to be delivered over the next ten to fifteen years, continues Bird.

However, MEPC is clear that success can only be achieved by working in partnership with key stakeholders such as the council and the chamber of commerce. “We only survive and excel when companies of ours do well, when the people they employ do well, and when we have a good rela-tionship with the council in the areas in which we operate.”

Alison Clark agrees: “We can’t do it alone as not all of Hillington Park belongs to us, so develop-ment must involve others. Not just our customers and their neighbours but we anticipate good coop-eration with partners like Renfrewshire Council and the Chamber of Com-merce.”

Such relationships are being strengthened to ensure that a united message is presented to those companies that can be supported in their growth ambitions, and a key part of MEPC’s philosophy is having a genuinely helpful relationship with customers. “Our aim is to work with customers to ensure they stay and grow, and to reach out to new companies to attract them to our Estates through compelling customer focused propositions,” says Ms Bird.

“When we work in partnership, we can support companies more effectively. We’ve done this in Leeds where we are working in partnership with the council and other stakeholders, and what we’ve done is what started here with The Times Forum in Scotland – agreeing that we will work together to help companies grow in Renfrewshire. And it’s not just about a brochure or a website although these are important; it’s about going out and saying to those companies: ‘We will help to provide the right environment for your company to grow’. Our experience shows that this approach really works.”

A sense of belonging to a community helps too. People appreciate amenities on site such as the retail centre with food outlets, post office and a dry cleaners, the pub-restaurant, nursery, gym, and two petrol stations.

“We want people to see the Park as more than just the buildings. It should be a given that there’s a range of building options to meet a company’s

needs. We want to do more than this by develop-ing the business community through initiatives such as a social committee, and networking events for companies.

“Although this part of the MEPC approach addresses what some would consider ‘softer issues’, they are important initiatives because companies tell us that it helps them to attract and retain the best employees because they can offer not just a good job but opportunities for staff to be involved in park-wide activities such as a running club, a choir and a crafts group, to name three ideas.”

What no recognition of football-mad Glasgow? “Oh, yes, of course! A couple of the social commit-tee guys have already suggested a football team and are looking into where we should be playing, and what league we could join. So to win that league – that’s the next step!”

For more information on Hillington Park, contact Alison Clark or Roddy Proudfoot on tel: 0141 883 5760; email: [email protected], [email protected]

plan Bee gets buzzyBEES are creating quite a buzz at Hillington as nature-loving Park workers roll up to attend lunchtime beekeeping classes and discover how honey is produced.

The fortnightly classes are hosted by the cutely named Plan Bee, a company that champions biodiversity for businesses and local communities, with beekeeper Warren Bader sharing his expert knowledge and passing on tips.

He says: “It’s fantastic that [majority owner] MEPC understands it has to put safeguards in place now for a balanced environment and ecology in the workplace.”

It is expected that the beehives – which are based in Hillington Park Urban Gardens, also home to 12 allotments for Hillington Park companies – will help to pollinate the garden and eventually lead to home-grown honey.

“We believe that such projects add to the big community spirit at Hillington Park and increase people’s sense of belonging,” says MEPC marketing and customer manager Alison Clark. “there is no doubt this and other projects have played a key part in Hillington Park becoming the first business park in Britain to be awarded a Biodiversity Benchmark from the Wildlife Trusts.”

Hillington’s deep rootsBUSINESS estates are still seen by some as a relatively modern concept, but Hillington Park’s roots go back almost 75 years – so it can claim to be Scotland’s most established facility of its kind.

Hillington Industrial Estate – as it was then known – was officially opened by King George VI in May 1938 and the first buildings went up in a remarkably short time following the outbreak of WWII. The facility immediately began producing huge numbers of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines for Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes.

By 1943 output reached 400 engines a week, and on at least one occasion 100 engines were produced in one day.

In total, 23,500 new engines were manufactured at Hillington during the war – 14 per cent of the Merlin production world-wide. In more recent years the facility produced compressor blades, vanes, seals and shrouds for virtually every Rolls-Royce engine.

Investment and partnerships set to boost business, reports Rick Wilson

roz Bird, Head of Business Development

for mepc

alison clark, marketing manager,

Hillington park

Hillington park - innovation centre and lumina buildings

Hillington park expects new leases of life at 75

commercial report: HilliNGtoN parK

IT is not exactly a case of “what recession?” but if anyone can gauge the mood of the market it has to be the people who run busi-ness parks – and those behind Hillington’s are surprisingly upbeat.

The five-strong team steering the major part of it under the MEPC flag know they always have a strong basic product to sell, with many permanent factors in the park’s favour – proxim-ity to Glasgow and its airport, two train stations, a wide choice of available properties, the passing M8 artery, and a rich business heritage dating back to 1938.

That date is an extra factor that looks like propelling the 270-company Renfrewshire facility at Hillington Park into an exciting and prosper-ous new chapter. For next year it celebrates its 75th birthday, during which it will doubtless hark back to its illustrious beginnings, when the first buildings went up to accommodate the prolific manufacture of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that powered the war-winning Spitfire and Hurricane fighters.

Since then, of course, many more famous firms have taken their place in what is now something of a little town (pop: 6,000) – and today they include household names such as Balfour Beatty, BAA, BMW, and even the Student Loans Company.

The Park also provides small and early stage businesses with a location that conforms to their business planning. The Innovation Centre and Merlin Business Centre offer a range of flexible

and supportive environments within an estab-lished and vibrant business community.

An illustrious past is one thing of course; but more important is the future. So what has Scotland’s most established business park planned for its big birthday? “We can’t say yet but we’re working on it and you can rest assured it will be something pretty special,” promises marketing and customer manager Alison Clark, who crews the MEPC bridge along with a leasing manager, office manager, managing director, and for the foresee-able future, Roz Bird – the company’s peripatetic head of business develop-ment who will be oversee-ing the celebratory fabric for 2013.

A key part of that could be a strategy of “refresh-ment” investment. Work-ing as she does across sev-eral of the company’s eight business parks throughout the UK – “people raise their eyebrows when I say I go to Watford, Basingstoke and Glasgow every week” – Ms Bird picks up feedback from colleagues working directly with MEPC customers at each Estate, including community development ideas and insights into the real state of the economy.

Of that feedback, she says: “We did some de-tailed research at the start of the year, asking cus-tomers what they think of Hillington Park: what they like about it, and what they would change if they could. The results of the survey showed that people think the Park is conveniently located, and that the MEPC on site team is very highly regarded. The research also identified a number of opportunities to develop Hillington Park. MEPC is therefore looking at investing in a range of projects and initiatives to build on all the good stuff that’s going on here at the moment.”

Of the coalface mood, she says: “Because MEPC deals with 1,000 companies nationally, represent-ing 20,000 people, we have a great insight into an important part of the UK economy. Our experi-ence of things on the ground is that conditions are better than the national perception.

“Companies are clearly having to work harder to achieve the same results. They’re probably not making a profit, but most companies have reason-able balance sheets, they are not over indebted, and have an appetite and an inclination for expansion and for employing more people. The only thing that’s stopping them is confidence and timing issues as they wonder: when should we go ahead and do this?” adds Roddy Proudfoot, the Leasing Manager at Hillington.

“A clear positive for Hillington is that we’ve had 110,000sq ft of new lettings this year and over 130,000sq ft of renewals. Plus we’ve got a healthy enquiry schedule.”

So based on this insight, MEPC will be consider-ing bringing new investment into Hillington Park. “We are in the middle of preparing plans and a business case for substantial investment in the Park. This will include projects such as the refurbishment of buildings, the development of

new buildings on land that we own, improving infrastructure including landscape works, signage, new amenities, and the development of a wider vi-sion and master plan to be delivered over the next ten to fifteen years, continues Bird.

However, MEPC is clear that success can only be achieved by working in partnership with key stakeholders such as the council and the chamber of commerce. “We only survive and excel when companies of ours do well, when the people they employ do well, and when we have a good rela-tionship with the council in the areas in which we operate.”

Alison Clark agrees: “We can’t do it alone as not all of Hillington Park belongs to us, so develop-ment must involve others. Not just our customers and their neighbours but we anticipate good coop-eration with partners like Renfrewshire Council and the Chamber of Com-merce.”

Such relationships are being strengthened to ensure that a united message is presented to those companies that can be supported in their growth ambitions, and a key part of MEPC’s philosophy is having a genuinely helpful relationship with customers. “Our aim is to work with customers to ensure they stay and grow, and to reach out to new companies to attract them to our Estates through compelling customer focused propositions,” says Ms Bird.

“When we work in partnership, we can support companies more effectively. We’ve done this in Leeds where we are working in partnership with the council and other stakeholders, and what we’ve done is what started here with The Times Forum in Scotland – agreeing that we will work together to help companies grow in Renfrewshire. And it’s not just about a brochure or a website although these are important; it’s about going out and saying to those companies: ‘We will help to provide the right environment for your company to grow’. Our experience shows that this approach really works.”

A sense of belonging to a community helps too. People appreciate amenities on site such as the retail centre with food outlets, post office and a dry cleaners, the pub-restaurant, nursery, gym, and two petrol stations.

“We want people to see the Park as more than just the buildings. It should be a given that there’s a range of building options to meet a company’s

needs. We want to do more than this by develop-ing the business community through initiatives such as a social committee, and networking events for companies.

“Although this part of the MEPC approach addresses what some would consider ‘softer issues’, they are important initiatives because companies tell us that it helps them to attract and retain the best employees because they can offer not just a good job but opportunities for staff to be involved in park-wide activities such as a running club, a choir and a crafts group, to name three ideas.”

What no recognition of football-mad Glasgow? “Oh, yes, of course! A couple of the social commit-tee guys have already suggested a football team and are looking into where we should be playing, and what league we could join. So to win that league – that’s the next step!”

For more information on Hillington Park, contact Alison Clark or Roddy Proudfoot on tel: 0141 883 5760; email: [email protected], [email protected]

plan Bee gets buzzyBEES are creating quite a buzz at Hillington as nature-loving Park workers roll up to attend lunchtime beekeeping classes and discover how honey is produced.

The fortnightly classes are hosted by the cutely named Plan Bee, a company that champions biodiversity for businesses and local communities, with beekeeper Warren Bader sharing his expert knowledge and passing on tips.

He says: “It’s fantastic that [majority owner] MEPC understands it has to put safeguards in place now for a balanced environment and ecology in the workplace.”

It is expected that the beehives – which are based in Hillington Park Urban Gardens, also home to 12 allotments for Hillington Park companies – will help to pollinate the garden and eventually lead to home-grown honey.

“We believe that such projects add to the big community spirit at Hillington Park and increase people’s sense of belonging,” says MEPC marketing and customer manager Alison Clark. “there is no doubt this and other projects have played a key part in Hillington Park becoming the first business park in Britain to be awarded a Biodiversity Benchmark from the Wildlife Trusts.”

Hillington’s deep rootsBUSINESS estates are still seen by some as a relatively modern concept, but Hillington Park’s roots go back almost 75 years – so it can claim to be Scotland’s most established facility of its kind.

Hillington Industrial Estate – as it was then known – was officially opened by King George VI in May 1938 and the first buildings went up in a remarkably short time following the outbreak of WWII. The facility immediately began producing huge numbers of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines for Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes.

By 1943 output reached 400 engines a week, and on at least one occasion 100 engines were produced in one day.

In total, 23,500 new engines were manufactured at Hillington during the war – 14 per cent of the Merlin production world-wide. In more recent years the facility produced compressor blades, vanes, seals and shrouds for virtually every Rolls-Royce engine.

Investment and partnerships set to boost business, reports Rick Wilson

roz Bird, Head of Business Development

for mepc

alison clark, marketing manager,

Hillington park

Hillington park - innovation centre and lumina buildings

Hillington park expects new leases of life at 75


Business Insight16

CommerCial report: life teCHnologies

Scotland’s expertise in advanced manufacturing in the sphere of life science has been given a massive vote of confidence by Life Technolo-gies. The company’s unique

products are at the heart of the globally- expanding field of biotechnology, with a new granulated offering — described as being similar in texture to instant coffee — about to be produced in Renfrewshire. One of Life Technologies’ major brands, GIBCO®, has a history stretching back 50 years when the Grand Island Bio-logical Company started in New York. GIBCO®’s cell culture media products have been manufactured in Scotland in Renfrewshire for more than 40 years. Life Technologies is listed on NASDAQ, with GIBCO® remaining a central part of its heritage.

In April, Life Technologies announced a £12 million expansion of the existing manufacturing facilities at Inchinnan. The investment will meet the rising demand for GIBCO® cell culture products and allows the manufacture of a new pro-prietary Advanced Granulated Technol-ogy under the GIBCO® brand.

GIBCO® is a long-standing and respected brand. “GIBCO® is cell culture media: this is the food that scientists use to grow their cells,” said Peter Silvester, President of Life Technologies, EMEA. He is responsible for 2,000 employees and more than one billion dollars of business across Europe, Middle East, Africa and the CIS. “There are several origins for the cells that scientists use. They could be animal or plant cells. Many modern drugs are biological and are synthesised using cultured cells like a factory. You have to cultivate and grow them; we provide the nutrients or media to grow these cells,” he said.

There is internal excitement about the Advanced Granulation Technology, which has been described as the “instant coffee” for cell culture media.

“It’s a way of processing the media so you don’t have to ship tens of thousands of litres of liquids around the world. You can produce a sachet or a bag of the media equivalent of granulated coffee. It is very easy for pharmaceutical companies to reconstitute or re-dissolve. It’s easier for us to ship around the world.”

In addition to GIBCO® cell culture products, Life Technologies has a vast portfolio that includes class-leading DNA Forensics products. If you can imagine an episode of the hugely successful American television series CSI, then you will see the forensic scientist using an array of instruments and technologies to identify DNA. In reality, it is likely to be a Life Technologies product.

“The majority of the DNA forensics that are performed around the world is done using Life Technologies reagents. For example, we are the major provider to

most of the world’s police forces,” said Mr Silvester.

But it is highly significant that Life Technologies has made a strong commit-ment to its Scottish operations, employ-ing more than 500 people. Inchinnan is the European headquarters and the hub of its operations. Aside from the biology and manufacturing, Life Technologies has about 100 European shared financial services, IT support and sales and market-ing administration staff based in Renfrew-shire. There are more than 100 employees directly involved in sterile manufacturing, with Life Technologies training most of the staff.

Mr Silvester, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the life sciences industry, 14 of those with Life Technolo-gies, said: “We have a very talented, loyal, experienced and flexible workforce here. Frankly, every time we looked at the dif-ferent international options for where we could expand or produce more efficient services, Scotland has always come out on top.”

He said a US corporation such as Life Technologies is happy to invest when there is a track record of success. For Life Technologies, based in California, it was an easy decision to invest in the team, and this was helped by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International.

“Scottish Enterprise also played a key supporting role in our decision to invest more in Renfrewshire. We’re grateful to

The Scottish know-how at Life Technologies is backed with an investment to expand production – and bring a world-class granulated product to global markets, discovers Kenny Kemp

peter silvester highlights a loyal, talented workforce

them. The company is willing to place a bet on the employees we have here. Many have been here for a long time and are a high-performing team,” he said.

There are three sides to the business: the core is the life sciences research busi-ness, which supports researchers around the region who are performing research in areas such as cancer, regenerative medicine and stem cells.

“Typically, our customers work in major universities or hospitals, doing research around the world,” he said.

The second part of the business is the Applied Sciences, such as DNA forensics and Bioproduction. The company has more than 50,000 products for research, molecular medicine and diagnostics, stem cell-based therapies, forensics, food safety and animal health. Its brands in scientific research including: GIBCO®, Ion Torrent™, Applied Biosystems™, Invit-rogen™, Ambion®, Molecular Probes®, Novex® and TaqMan®.

Many years ago, bovine serum from horses, cows, sheep and goats were used to grow essential nutrients but more precision is now required for today’s drug testing and control of the ingredients going into production is critical. One of Life Technologies’ innovations has been to move away from the reliance on bio-logical bovine serum and move to a more precise, chemically-defined media.

“It is about moving away from biologi-cal media to a very specifically defined

media where you know where everything has come from,” he said.

The third aspect is Medical Science, where kits are used to identify diseases in commercial animals, pets and humans. Life Technologies has been able to dramatically shorten the time required to obtain results in this area. As an example, the company provided the food testing kits for the athletes during the London 2012 Olympics, while in May 2011, its benchtop DNA sequencing instrument, the PGM, was used to detect the strain of a serious E.coli outbreak in Germany. It affected more than 3,000 people and resulted in more than 50 deaths.

“The latest DNA sequencing technol-ogy was used to identify the cause of the outbreak. Typically, the work on this happens a month after the outbreak, but we were able to work with scientists at Munster University in Germany to identify the cause of the bug while it was on-going. It made a huge difference.”

This represents how fast DNA sequenc-ing technology has moved forward and can be used in modern health scares.

“The team came together to collaborate with the German scientists to make sure we had the equipment and the reagents that they needed. It allowed them to do the identification as quickly as possible to save lives,” said Mr Silvester.

Life Technologies employs more than 10,000 people worldwide, has customers in more than 160 countries, more than 4,000 patents and exclusive licenses and sales of £2.4 billion in 2011.

The company has been working to integrate with the local universities, especially the University of Glasgow, and has offered laboratory and demonstra-tion space for graduate and post graduate research. It is also looking at developing courses with the university.

“We have state-of-the-art facility and we can bring researchers and students in to show them our equipment and train them on some of the core microbiology and cell culturing techniques.”

Coupled with this, the company has been working with Health Sciences Scotland and Glasgow University on an innovation centre, supported by the Scottish Funding Council. The pending application is to create a multi-million pound stratified medicine centre bringing together the NHS, industry and academ-ics from across Scotland.

“It’s a great example of how we can leverage our presence here and get more involved with the academic community and broader scientific community. It’s where Scotland can take the lead.”

DNA science research has become increasingly glamorous for young people and Life Technologies has been working with local schools to explain it.

“We have been doing work with school children and young people, includ-ing a forensic story revolving around Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” said Mr Silvester, “to educate and inspire the next generation about this exciting science and the basics of DNA forensics.”

inchinnan is life technologies’ european headquarters and hub of operations — and it employs more than 500 people there

Typically, our customers work in major universities or hospitals where they are doing research around the world

scotland wakes up to instant success

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