www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

LDPIn association with

www.investecwin.co.uk

LIVERPOOL firms are being offeredfree access to the fastest commer-cially-available broadband internetspeeds in the world.

The city is one of the test-beds forthe Government-backed FibreNet pro-ject which will offer connection speedsof 10Gbps (gigabits-per-second) – 100

times faster than what is currentlyavailable in the UK.

Liverpool’s £1m FibreNet schemehas now gone live, and project leaderAIMES Grid Services is urging smallfirms and other organisations withinthe areas covered to sign up for the12-month free pilot.

Using Liverpool City Council’s exist-ing fibre network, AIMES has formeda ring around the city centre that linksLiverpool Innovation Park with theRoyal Liverpool University Hospital,

the city’s universities, the central busi-ness district, the Baltic Triangle andthe new enterprise zone covering Liv-erpool and Wirral Waters.

Over the past six months, AIMEShas worked closely with the city coun-cil and 2020 Liverpool to set up theFibreNet infrastructure.

The initiative is sure to increase thecity’s appeal to inward investors look-ing for world-class digital facilities.

Liverpool City Council’s cabinetmember for regeneration and trans-

port, Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, told LDPBusiness: “The Liverpool FibreNetproject is part of our plans to supportenterprise excellence, foster innova-tion and attract the brightest businessminds. It’s a real coup for Liverpool tohave been selected for this nationalscheme.”■ FIRMS that want to join can con-tact AIMES on 0151 905 9700.

Freesuperfast internetforcityfirmsgoesliveLONDON’S top-flight

shares closed down15.8 points, at 5206.8,in their seventh losingsession in a row, fol-lowing Monday’s 2%fall sparked by thefailure of a committeeof politicians to agreea reduction in the USbudget deficit.

The pound was upagainst the euro at1.16, after the singlecurrency was hit byfurther concernsabout the borrowingcosts of some of itsdebt-ridden membersand speculation thatFrance will suffer acredit downgrade.Sterling was flatagainst the dollar, at1.56.

MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15

FTSE-1005206.82

15.78▼

inside

Selltec bidhas roomat the topLLOYDS TSB Commercialhas helped realise an11-year dream for MartinAllen and his two sons.

A £106,000 loan providedthe final piece in the jigsawto open The Selltec Func-tion Room, on North Road,St Helens, which will create10 jobs.

The venue has capacityfor up to 140 guests and istargeting a £500,000turnover in its first year.

Mr Allen said he hopeslocal people will considerSelltec, instead of travellingto Liverpool or Manchester.

Laura Matthewman,from Lloyds TSB Commer-cial, said: “As an up-marketfunction venue, Selltec is aone of a kind in the areawhich is set to give Martina competitive edge.”

BUSINESS EDITOR:BILL GLEESON0151 472 2319

DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR:TONY McDONOUGH0151 330 4918

BUSINESS REPORTER:PETER ELSON0151 472 2502

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALISTAIR HOUGHTON0151 472 2449

BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451

Martin Allen, of Selltec,pictured with LauraMatthewman, from LloydsTSB Commercial

EXCLUSIVEbyTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

■ LIVERPOOL joins the internet fastlane: Pages 8-9

Apollo andGoldman inMBNA bidUNITED States privateequity group ApolloGlobal Managementand Goldman Sachshave entered the auc-tion for Chester-basedMBNA.

PAGE 4

Jobs cushionCUSHION makerCaldeira is creating 20jobs in Knowsley

PAGE 5

For enquiries contact:

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2 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

www.ldpcreative.co.uk

The latest fromthe creative anddigital industries

LDP CREATIVE LATEST NEWS

blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/ businessbeat/

TONY McDONOUGH’S BUSINESS BEAT

‘Firms can reap rewards byputting health and well-beingat the top of their agendas’

Log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

1 MBNA sale is still on2 Bibby in Costcutter deal3 Virgin Olympics bid4 Bank of America’s jobs boost5 Knowsley retailer cleans upldpbusiness.co.uk

Updatesthroughoutthe day

LDPBusinessputsfocusonCheshire

NW Fundbacks‘thinking’leg bagTHE North West Fundfor Biomedical hasmade an investment inthe world’s first intel-ligent urology leg bag.

Albert MedicalDevices, based in Liver-pool Science Park, hassecured £50,000 fromthe £25m biomedicalfund.

The biomedical fundis part of the £185mNorth West Fund thatis jointly financed bythe Brussels fundedEuropean RegionalDevelopment Fund(ERDF) and theEuropean InvestmentBank (EIB).

The idea for an intel-ligent leg bag wasdeveloped by AlbertMedical Devices’founder Trevor Wills,who wanted to find away to improve hisfather’s quality of lifefollowing a severestroke.

Existing leg bagproducts haveremained unchangedfor more than 70 yearsand are difficult forsome people to empty.Also, wearers have noway of knowing whenthe bag is full.

AMD’s new Meliosystem overcomes thesedisadvantages byreplacing the tap with atiny pump and employ-ing a simple computer-ised level detector. Aminiature computercontroller clips ontothe waist belt and putsthe wearer in charge.

Mr Wills said: “Wehave been trying for anumber of months toraise finance for thisopportunity, and theBiomedical fund havebeen a great help in notonly filling this roundbut in helping us closethis investment.”

Dr Penny Attridge,senior investment dir-ector at fund managerSpark Impact, said:“We are hoping thecompany will grow rap-idly, and achieve sig-nificant sales in a shortperiod of time.”

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

CHESHIRE and its economy will be inthe spotlight in the next edition of theLDP Business magazine – free with theLiverpool Daily Post tomorrow.

This month’s Big Feature will focuson the financial services sector and itsimportance to the Cheshire and Mer-seyside economies.

Thousands of people are employedby the major banks including Bank ofAmerica, Barclays, Lloyds and Sant-ander in both counties.

Of particular interest is Bank ofAmerica’s European credit card arm –MBNA – which employs more than3,000 at Chester Business Park.

In August, MBNA was put up forsale by its parent and a number ofpossible buyers have been mooted.

A group has been set up by regen-eration agency Chester Renaissance tolobby for the retention of the operationin Chester.

The magazine’s big interview iswith Dr Mark Pilgrim, director gen-eral of Chester Zoo.

The Zoo is the UK’s second mostpopular paid-for tourist attraction,attracting more than 1.2m visitors ayear.

Dr Pilgrim joined the zoo more than20 years ago as a curator for the birdcollection, and was appointed to thetop job just over a year ago.

He talks about his passion for thejob and about the ambitious expansionplans.

“I very lucky in this job because Iam surrounded by good and talentedpeople,” he said.

“The zoo is a complex and busyplace – it is like running a small town– and there is a real mix of things thatneed to be done.

“The people who look after ouranimal and plant collections are just

incredible – they are very passionate.”In this month’s economic develop-

ment feature we look at the economyin the city of Chester.

Chester now has a One City Planthat will develop the local economyover the next 15 years.

LDP Business writer Alistair

Houghton has spoken to some of thekey movers and shakers to find outhow they will go about implementingthe strategy.

Elsewhere in the latest edition, wereport on how Liverpool retailer Task-ers is doing its bit for the environmentby installing energy-efficient lighting.

And, in the Knowledge Economysection, we explain how a Liverpoolfirm – Human Recognition Systems –is making air travel safer.■ THE December LDP Businessmagazine is free with the LiverpoolDaily Post on Thursday,November 24.

TOP FIVE

Dr Mark Pilgrim, director general of Chester Zoo and subject of tomorrow’s LDP Business magazine BigInterview

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

Marketing Cheshire tourism awards salute best from the region

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THE star performers inCheshire and Warrington’stourism sector have beenrecognised at the annualMarketing Cheshire awards.

Held at the West CheshireCollege Creative and Ser-vices Campus, more than300 guests attended tosalute the best in the tour-

ism business. MarketingCheshire chief executiveChris Brown said: “With avisitor economy valued at£1.78bn and supporting over27,000 jobs, the evening wasa fantastic way to give theindustry and individual busi-nesses the recognition theydeserve.

“Moving forward, win-ners will go straight throughto compete at England leveland potentially be the bestin the whole country.”

The full list of winnerswas – Self Catering HolidayProvider: Mellow Brook Cot-tage at Harrop Fold Farm;Excellence in Business Tour-

ism: Peckforton Castle; LargeVisitor Attraction: ChesterZoo; Bed and Breakfast:Churton Heath Farm; BestTourism Experience: RomanTours; Small Visitor Attrac-tion: Jodrell Bank DiscoveryCentre; Taste of Cheshire:Roses Team Rooms; Sustain-able Tourism: Kerridge End

Holiday Cottages; Best Tour-ism Event: Dinosaurs atLarge (Chester Zoo); SmallHotel: Green Bough Hoteland Olive Tree Restaurant;Holiday Park: Manor WoodCountry Caravan Park; RisingStar: Leanne Shaw, The ParkRoyal Hotel; Large Hotel: TheChester Grosvenor.

È

M O N T H L Y R E G I O N A L B U S I N E S S M A G A Z I N E

¦���� ���¢��¢�¦���� ��

ChesterZoo looks tobuildonworldclass reputation

lFollow themoney:Financial services focus lLighting theway:DIYstore’senergypush lEyeeye:Makingair travel safer

Harnessing thetiger economyHarnessing thetiger economy

Cheshirespecialedition

D e c e m b e r 2 0 1 1

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3Wednesday, November 23, 2011

the ground, and it will be treated likea box on the ground.

He added: “We plough our own fur-row. We could grow quicker, but big-ger isn’t necessarily better.”

Fleetsolve announced this monththat it had designed and installed abespoke system at the £22m RadissonBlu Hotel at East Midlands Airport.

And it installed a CHP system atthe Harrogate International Centre,which is aiming to be Europe’sgreenest conference centre. The sys-tem will provide electricity and heat-ing for a five-hall conference centre,a hotel and council offices.

Fleetsolve designed engines for 50“bio-buses” used by Stagecoach UK,and worked on DHL’s transport fleet.

The company also advises Govern-ment-funded body Energy Efficiencyin Motorsports, and developed anengine to show that a racing truckcould be converted to bio-fuel.

Fleetsolve’s head office employs 17,but that will grow to 30 over the nextyear as the company grows.

It has two manufacturing plants –an engine and sub-assembly plant inEllesmere Port and a final assembly

and Anne offered their services asR&D consultants to the green sector.

They worked from their house inPrenton, while Keith travelled to andfrom laboratories around the countrythat were working on his technology.

Keith said: “By designingeverything we could ensure the qual-ity and reliability of our engines.

“We have a motto – we don’t prac-tise on our clients.”

They are proud they have beenable to grow the company with noexternal funding.

“I have experience seeing compan-ies get third-party investment,” saidKeith. “While it’s exciting to see thatvery speedy growth, there can be cas-ualties. We didn’t want to be part ofthat.”

In 2007, Fleetsolve’s CHP tech-nology came out of the developmentstage and could be sold around thecountry. That year, it started a relat-ionship with supermarket giantTesco that continues to this day.

Last month, Fleetsolve installed aCHP unit to power Tesco’s new storein Welshpool, Mid-Wales.

“We’re very proud of our relation-ship with Tesco, because they’rereally focusing on true carbon reduc-tion,” said Keith.

“They’re doing it while otherpeople are talking about it.

“They were very excited aboutwhat we did. They’ve given us somuch repeat business, becausethey’ve been delighted.

“We worked with them on theirfirst low-carbon store in CheethamHill, and on their first zero-carbonstore in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire.”

Fleetsolve’s fuels – “end of wasteproducts”, as they are catchily calledby the Environment Agency –include waste oils from manufactur-ers and the pharmaceutical industry,which Fleetsolve processes.

Fleetsolve offers what Keith calls“a full turn-key package”. It suppliesfuel for its engines, and monitors andmaintains them remotely.

Keith and Anne say they are pre-pared to be picky when it comes tochoosing clients. Customers have tobe committed to the technology, notjust looking to tick off boxes on agreen policy.

“It’s not just a badge,” said Keith.“They’ve got to be committed.

“If you have an understanding cli-ent, the technology will work forthem. If you don’t, it’s just a box on

profile

Alife inenginesdrivescoupletorenewableenergysuccessHE LAUGHS about being born with asilver spanner in his mouth, butKeith O’Connor’s determination toturn his passion for engines into asustainable business is no joke.

Keith and his wife, Anne, foundedFleetsolve in 2002 and have – withoutexternal funding or publicity –designed their own technology andgrown Fleetsolve into one of theregion’s most successful renewableenergy firms.

Fleetsolve, run from picturesqueThornton Hough, in central Wirral,builds liquid biomass CHP (com-bined heat and power) systems thatturn waste fuels into energy.

Its CHP systems power buildingsfrom supermarkets to hotels, withclients including Tesco, hotel chainRadisson Blu, and the Prison Ser-vice. Its recycled fuels, meanwhile,have been used by bus companies,hauliers and even motorsports firms.

Fleetsolve has generally kept a lowprofile with Keith and his teamfocusing on developing technology.

But now, with several high-profilecontracts under their belts, Keithand Anne have started spreading theword.

She said: “Because this technologyis so innovative, and because it’sgoing to raise the bar in the renew-ables sector, every time we raised ourhead, people would show an interest.

“So we’ve deliberately kept a lowprofile. But now is the time.”

Keith and Anne, who married in1996, first met at school in Wirral.The young Keith already knew whatcareer he would follow.

“I’ve had a passion for engines andfuel all my life,” he smiled. “I wasborn with a silver spanner in mymouth.

“I did my apprenticeship, and hada rewarding career at TNT that tookme to various opportunities aroundthe world, but focusing on fuel effic-iency across the whole fleet. But, by2000, my career was really at a pin-nacle in the industry I was in.”

Keith moved to the Midlands, join-ing Nightspeed before becoming adirector of CH Jones, the largest fuelbrokering firm in the UK.

But, two years later, he and Anne,who had started her career in thecivil service before moving into thecharity sector, decided to turnKeith’s passion for engines into abusiness.

He said: “When you gave a passionfor something, it becomes a distrac-tion all the time unless you release it.And the only way I could get thatpassion fulfilled was to do it myself.”

Anne added: “Keith had ideas, andunless we utilised those ideas, hewas probably going to go pop. I’mprobably the only person who can getthat idea and make it intosomething.”

So Keith and Anne set about build-ing Fleetsolve from scratch.

“We raised capital by sellingeverything,” he said.

“We started out, took a leap ofblind faith, and made that invest-ment in technology.”

As Keith worked behind the scenesto develop Fleetsolve’s technology, he

AlistairHoughtonmeetsKEITHandANNEO’CONNOR,ofWirral renewableenergyfirm,Fleetsolve

LDPbusiness .co.uk

We’ve deliberately kept a low profile – but now is the time: Keith and Anne O’Connor outsidetheir headquarters in Thornton Hough, Wirral Picture: PAUL HEAPS/ ph161111fleetsolve-5

Highest educational qualification:University of life – I took the appren-ticeship route after schoolBiggest achievement in business: Tobe able to do something that otherssaid couldn’t be done, and to still bedoing it well nowBiggest regret: That I didn’t do thisearlierBest advice received: Never com-promiseUnfulfilled ambition: To have a CHPunit installed in Wirral, providing greenelectricity to our local community

q&a

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site in Birkenhead. It works with 25sub-contractors locally, and has a net-work of partners nationally.

Keith added: “We have tried to getall our suppliers from within 50miles of Wirral. The bulk of our man-ufacturers are solely in Wirral.”

Since it first took its products tothe market, Fleetsolve has seenstrong growth.

Anne said: “This year, we’re fore-casting £7.5m. That’s up from £5mlast year, £3.5m the year before, and£1.5m. We’re bucking the trend.”

Keith added: “We’ve delivered des-pite the recession by sticking to ourcore technology, because our tech-nology has multiple solutions.

“To ensure that we keep reinvest-ing back into the company to con-tinue our growth.

“We will grow and we will con-tinue to be the best at what we do.There’s no compromise. We will con-tinue to deliver innovation.”

Keith may have made his love forengines into a career, but they stillplay a part in his life outside work.

He smiled: “I still have a passionfor anything with engines in – cars,

trucks, buses, motorbikes”. And theO’Connors’ passion for green energyis such that, even on holiday, theyfind themselves evangelising forrenewable energy.

“We’ve been going to the Eden Pro-ject, in Cornwall, since it was a holein the ground,” said Keith.

“But when we went in 2006, we sawtheir tractors were running on diesel– it was obvious by the black plumesof smoke. We thought our technologycould help them, so we contacted theboard.”

Fleetsolve worked with New Hol-land to develop the UK’s first bio-fueltractors, which serve the attraction.

Now the O’Connors want to passthat passion on to new employees,who can, in turn, pass it on to poten-tial customers.

Keith said: “When we’re recruitingto the business, we try to develop apassion in our people for whatthey’re doing, to ensure they knowwhat we’re trying to achieve for thebusiness.

“We don’t want them to have an‘it’ll do’ attitude. ‘Good enough’ isnot an option.”

4 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

USinvestormightbidforMBNA’sBritishoperation

Positiveoutlookat lunchA GROUP of 25 Mersey-side business moversand shakers will gettogether over lunchnext week and attemptto “talk up” the Liver-pool city region econ-omy.

The first invitat-ion-only meeting of thePositivity Club willtake place on Wednes-day, November 30, atthe Hope Street Hotel.

Organised by ChrisShirling-Rooke, of CTSCompliance, the eventwill see businessluminaries such as SueWeir, chief executive ofMedicash and JohnHall, head of Profes-sional Liverpool, inattendance.

Mr Shirling-Rookesaid: “The focus will beon positivity.

“Very simply, talkingthe economy and ourown individual busi-nesses up.

“If you have smallgrowth or are justbreaking even, in thisclimate, it’s to be cel-ebrated, not feared.” Open for bids . . . MBNA’s headquarters at Chester Business Park

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

byBillGleesonLDPBUSINESSEDITORbill.gleeson@liverpool.com

INASSOCIATION

WITH

LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

UNITED States private equity groupApollo Global Management and Gold-man Sachs have entered the auctionfor Bank of America’s Chester-basedBritish and Irish credit card portfolios.

The US groups have joined forces tobid for the MBNA Europe Bank busi-ness – part of Bank of America’sMBNA credit card brand – a news-paper reported yesterday, citing twopeople close to the situation.

That pitches them against VirginMoney, the banking arm of billionaireentrepreneur Richard Branson’s Vir-gin Group empire, which hopes toacquire the part of MBNA’s UK andIrish credit card book that is made upof its own customers.

Virgin Money, which last weekagreed to buy Northern Rock, has runits credit card operations in partner-ship with MBNA since 2002, and itscustomers account for around £3.5bnof the total order book.

As part of the deal, Virgin has theright to buy this part of the business

in the event of a sale. Goldman has notyet decided whether to contribute equityor just fund Apollo’s offer with loansfrom its debt funds, it was reported.

None of the companies were immed-iately reachable for comment.

Bank of America agreed in Augustto sell its Canadian credit card businessto Toronto Dominion Bank, Canada’ssecond-largest lender, for around $8.5bn.

At the same time, the Americanbank said it was reviewing its UKcredit card operations. The firm,which currently employs 3,300 peopleat Chester Business Park, wants towithdraw from overseas credit cardoperations, preferring instead to focusits efforts on the US credit card market.

In the August statement, Bank ofAmerica said it would consider closingits European credit card operation if itcould not find a buyer for the business.

News that the Goldman Sachsbacked Apollo, which describes itselfas a contrarian investor, has joined thebidding fray should improve the pro-spects of a trade sale.■ QUESTION mark over MBNA:See Pages 12-13 of LDP Businessmagazine tomorrow

RETAIL/OFFICEWIRRAL POINT, Claughton Road,BIRKENHEADRETAIL/OFFICE SPACEA Newly built, Stand Alone, Retail Sitelocated on a very busy main road oppositethe new Asda Superstore and Multi-StoreyCar Park. Retail/Office space from 2,500sq ft up to 6,000 sq ft. Customer & StaffParking

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304 CLEVELAND ST, BIRKENHEADREFURBISHED 1,100 SQ FT LIGHTINDUSTRIAL UNIT £125 per weekNEW 700 SQ FT LIGHT INDUSTRIAL UNIT

£100 per weekRoller Shutter, Ample Car Parking. Part of asmall development of newly built industrialunits. Fenced, gated, secure. Good roadside location.

SANDFORD STREET/BRIDGE STREET ,BIRKENHEAD3,600 SQ FT INDUSTRIAL UNIT

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so you can get on with your business. We constantly compare the commercial andindustrial rental market-we cannot be beaten on price, quality and flexibility.

5Wednesday, November 23, 2011

VirginTrainsinbusinesspledge

Newcityjobsasraildepotreopens

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

From left: Awards compere Hugh Dennis, Richard Donnell (category sponsorHometrack), John Tutte (Redrow) and Joanne Davies-Jones (whathouse.co.uk)

byNeilHodgsonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFneil.hodgson@liverpool.com

Redrowhonouredatawards

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LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

EWLOE-BASED house-builder Redrow Homes hasbeen named “Best LargeHousebuilder” at the 2011What House? awards.

Judges praised the firm’sNew Heritage Collection,saying often the best ideaswere the simplest.

“Not only has the rangesold, it has repositioned

the Redrow brand, cement-ing its middle-market pro-file, without neglecting theaffordable housing sector.”

The What House? judgesalso praised the company’sfounder and chairman, Liv-erpool entrepreneur SteveMorgan, for his efforts inreminding politicians andconservationists that

housebuilding is a keydriver of economic growth.

Redrow sales and mar-keting director Kim Peterssaid: “Last year, we cameaway with silver; to go onefurther and win gold isamazing, and is testamentto the hard work of Redrowemployees across Englandand Wales.”

ALMOST 50 jobs will be created with the re-opening of a south Liverpool rail depot nextmonth.

The Allerton rail maintenance site, next tothe Liverpool South Parkway rail inter-change, shut in early 2008 with the loss of 13jobs when train company and freight operatorEWS lost the contract to service the Voyagerfleet for Virgin Trains, after a change in afranchising agreement that switched a cross-country contract from Virgin to Arriva.

Staff working there at the time feared thedepot had been earmarked for conversion to ahousing development.

However, an increase in capacity on North-ern Rail services has led to the depot’sre-opening to provide maintenance for North-ern’s rolling stock.

The depot will re-open on December 9 andwill create a total of 47 new jobs, including 33Northern Rail roles which attracted 337 jobapplications, the company said.

Northern Rail, a joint venture between

Serco and Dutch rail company Abellio, whoalso operate the Merseyrail franchise, said itwas overwhelmed by the response to vacan-cies for skilled train maintainers, depot traindrivers and depot supervisors.

Ian Bevan, Northern Rail managing dir-ector, said: “We would like to thank all thosewho applied for a position at Allerton andwere delighted to see so many put themselvesforward.

“The level of response shows what a fant-astic pool of skilled workers Merseyside hasto offer, and we are thrilled to welcome themto our team.”

The company, which operates servicesbetween Liverpool and the North East, saidthe new depot had been the subject of adramatic refurbishment over the past ninemonths in partnership with the UK’s railinfrastructure operator and site owner Net-work Rail.

Northern Rail said its new depot will ser-vice the additional trains that Northern willreceive on December 11, as part of the Depart-ment for Transport’s rolling stock pro-gramme, delivering an additional 2m seats onNorthern services every year.

VIRGIN Trains wants towork more closely with Liv-erpool businesses and haspledged to increase capacityon its Liverpool to Londonlink.

The company has estab-lished regional executiveswith more power to takelocal decisions, and Liverpoolgeneral manager Gary Iddonsaid: “Rather than being acentrally-led business,there’s executives to engage

with local businesses andmove forward the Liverpoolagenda. We do have theautonomy to make decisionsthat best serve Liverpool.”

That includes workingwith Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce on support forsmall firms such as a pilotwhich offered 50% discounton the second of two ticketsbooked by small companies.

Mr Iddon said: “We’re con-sidering what we can do to

boost the local businesseconomy.”

Four new trains adding600 seats per train are due inspring to boost capacity and,over the next 18 months, 31Virgin Pendolinos will beextended by two carriages,providing 150 extra seats instandard class.

But Mr Iddon added:“There are trains whereovercrowding is anythingbut the issue.”

Get expert advice on how best to start, plan,manage and grow your business with theICAEW Business Advice Service.

Book a free appointment with anICAEW Chartered Accountant today.

Go to businessadviceservice.com

HAVE YOU GOTBIG DREAMSFOR YOURBUSINESS?WE CAN HELP.

6 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

ProfitssoaratHalewoodasgroupdefiesdownturn

Profitable legacy: Halewood Internationalfounder John Halewood, who died last month

LIVERPOOL’S flagshiptechnology event, Soft-ware City Interna-tional, is heading toLondon next week.

Tuesday’s event, atLiverpool’s Londonmission, aims to show-case the Merseysidetechnology sector topotential investors inthe capital.

It is backed by com-panies including Mer-rill Lynch, GrantThornton, the IBMGlobal EntrepreneurProgramme and regen-eration agency Liver-pool Vision.

The keynote speakerwill be Steve Purdham,chief executive of musicstreaming service We7.

Organiser SteveSmith, of Liverpool Vis-ion, who will be chair-ing the day, said: “Thisis a great opportunityto showcase Liverpool’stechnology and invest-ment opportunities.”

Softwareshowcaseheads toLondon

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Advertising Feature Independent financial advice

How to make the most ofyour pension entitlementRICHARD JONES, of Security Fin-ancial Services, reports thatannuities and equity release aretwo subjects he has been verybusy with in recent weeks.

He says he was recently contac-ted by someone who, being just afew weeks away from retirementage, had received his pension packand associated paperwork fromhis pension provider, who wanteddetails on where to send his cashlump sum and bank details to payhis regular pension income, alongwith one or two other details.

Explained Richard: “He asked ifI could run through the figureswith him and check if it all lookedOK before he returned it to them.He was being offered a lump sumand an annual pension.

“As we chatted, he told me howhe had suffered with ill health fora number of years, and I suggestedthat I should investigate his pen-sion offer a little closer, especiallyconsidering his poor health.”

Richard said that, by transfer-ring his fund from an employerscheme to another type of pensionand taking into account his illhealth, he was able to increase hispension lump sum by 25% andalso increase his pension incomeby a huge 75% for life.

He went on: “It would be quite

rare for us to be unable to beat theincome being offered from theoriginal pension provider. If, as inthis case, someone has sufferedwith ill health, it would beextremely rare if we couldn’t offermore than the existing scheme.

“Ill health might be considered

to be overweight, a smoker, highblood pressure, diabetes, to namebut a few less serious conditionsone might get a pension enhance-ment for.

“If we hadn’t been able toimprove on what his existing pro-vider was offering, he might have

had a bill from us for £250 for ourresearch and investigations.

“In this case, it has bought himaround an extra £6,000 lump sumand an extra £2,500 per year forlife! I should think this will be thebest £250 he has ever spent.”

Richard says his company hasseen quite a few enquiries inrecent weeks asking about equityrelease.

A common theme had beenretired folk who were anxious tohelp their children financiallynow and could also enjoy givingthem a cheque now and havingsome input as to how it was beingused.

He added: “One couple who I’veworked for on many occasionsapproached me wanting a mort-gage because some property theyhad renovated and were trying tosell was just not moving.

“I advised them that, withbanks and building societies beingextremely reluctant to lend, andconsidering their age, the best solut-ion might be an equity releasescheme, and they wouldn’t havethe added pressure of a monthlymortgage payment to find.”■ SECURITY Financial Ser-vices is authorised and regu-lated by the Financial ServicesAuthority.

RichardJones –offeringadvice onmaximisingyourpension

byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

DRINKS giant Halewood Inter-national Holdings saw profitssoar as “proactive and decisivemanagement” helped it see offthe worst of the downturn.

The Huyton group, whosebrands include Lambrini,Lamb’s Navy Rum and Crab-bie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer,reported a pre-tax profit of£15.8m – up from £8.8m the pre-vious year and the highest since2001.

The results come just weeksafter the death of founder JohnHalewood, aged 64.

The group will remain in thehands of his family.

Turnover for the year to June25 stood at £264m – up 80% from£262m the previous year.

But stripping out sales fromVintage Drinks, the divisionHalewood sold in October, 2010,turnover from continuing oper-

ations stood at £253m – up 12%on 2010. Its accounts, just filedat Companies House, it said:“The group has achieved sig-nificant growth despite the chal-lenging trading conditionsthroughout the consumer sectorand the general economythroughout Europe.

“This performance reflectsthe strength of the brandswithin the group.

“The group has invested ininternal product developmentand launched several newproducts during the period.

“The industry sector wasseverely impacted during 2011.The group has not escaped theglobal recession and has itselfexperienced significant supplyside price increases.

“Through proactive anddecisive managementthroughout the business,however, the group hasdelivered significant growth inoperating profit, particularly inits core UK operations, and hasdemonstrated that the group is

adaptable, successful andresilient throughout the eco-nomic cycle.”

The group has operations inChina, Romania and SouthAfrica, where operating profitswere up 31%.

It pledged to keep developingnew products while keeping aneye on costs and potentialacquisitions.

It said: “In the challengingtimes that are prevailing atpresent, the group is doingmore than ever to ensure itspresence in the marketplace isat its optimum.

“By maintaining a diverseportfolio of products and oper-ating in several geographicalregions, the group expects tominimise risk from the currenteconomic downturn.”

Wallasey-born John Hale-wood, one of the region’s mostsuccessful entrepreneurs, wasestimated to be worth £125m.

His mother, Eileen, withwhom he founded Halewood,died last year, aged 87.

IndependentFinancial Advisersin your area

Anglesey

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Vale Financial Servicesinfo@valefinancialservices.com

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

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The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9AB.Tel: 0151 227 2030. Fax: 0151 227 2444Email: paul.brokenshar@investecwin.co.uk

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7Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tony Caldeira at his Chinese factoryNewCaldeirajobscomehome

‘Green’JLA’srecordtraffic

Whyshouldpublicmoneysupporthighlyprofitablesports clubs?

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

SPORT remains the only sector in theUK economy that is oblivious torecession.

Manchester City’s eye-watering£195m annual losses, though sport-ingly dubious, are at least being fun-

ded by owners with very, very deeppockets.

Big money is not restricted to foot-ball. The Rugby Football Union(RFU) this week released its annualreport, which showed pre-tax profitsof £14.5m, after revenues jumped 22%to £136m.

So why is £28m of taxpayers’money being directed via Sport Eng-land to the RFU between 2009-13?

This isn’t a situation unique toRugby Union. For example, RugbyLeague receives a similar amountand all the major sports receive sig-nificant funding.

Sport is now big business, but itwants to retain the benefits of its

amateur, or at least community,roots. That should stop.

If Rugby Union’s governing bodycan generate revenues, and profits, atthat level, then the onusshould be on it to invest inits own future success.

The problem is that theSport England money –which is from a combinat-ion of Lottery funding andtaxpayers’ money – iseffectively being used tofund the sales and market-ing arm of a multi-million-pound industry.

Investments in community work,children’s coaching and talent devel-

opment are not undertaken altruist-ically, but to fill the pipeline withpotential fans, sponsors and players.In other words, if Sport England

didn’t fund this work, thenthe industry itself wouldhave to, because otherwiseit would quickly begin toshrink.

It isn’t just club sportsthat benefit from govern-ment and quango largesse.Next year’s Olympics isburning through cashquicker than if we kept the

Olympic flame alight with £20 notes,while London’s successful bid lastweek to host the 2017 World Athletics

Championships ensures that manymore millions will be spent to fundelite sport, and the bloated bureau-cracy that flies around the worldunder the athletics banner.

With spending still under tightscrutiny, we need to examine some ofthe assumptions that we rely uponwhen spending many millions ofpounds from the public purse onsport – and we should start by look-ing at whether it is right that veryprofitable organisations receivehand-outs to grow their businesses.

‘If SportEnglanddidn’tpay,industrywould’

■ ALEX TURNER is the general man-ager of financial training firmAmbitious Minds

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AlexTurner

CUSHION maker Caldeira is creating 20 jobsat its Knowsley Business Park factory, byswitching work back from its Chinese plant.

Founder Tony Caldeira first mooted themove in September, citing rising wages due toinflation, increased red tape, and a risingChinese currency.

He confirmed the switch yesterday linked toan upturn in the company’s UK order book,but also high wage costs in China which hesaid have soared five-fold in the past eightyears, making the UK more cost-effective.

He said: “I never thought I would say this,but certain cushion covers which are madefrom Chinese fabrics are now cheaper to pro-duce in the UK than in China.

“Our customers are deciding that our Mer-seyside factory is now more competitive due tothe increased costs and operational difficultiesthey are facing when doing business inChina.”

He said, when Caldeira formed its Chinesejoint venture in 2004, a production workerthere earned around £50 a month: “Now the

same worker expects a salary of around £250per month.”

He added: “Of course, our UK staff still earnconsiderably more than our Chinese staff, butproductivity is higher in our Merseyside fact-ory and the percentage of labour cost in moreexpensive cushions is relatively small.

“So, when you also include other extra costssuch as extra packaging, manufacturingprofit, additional shipping costs and, most sig-nificantly, the difference in duty rates betweenfabrics and finished goods, the cost differen-tial between Chinese and UK cushion man-ufacturing reduces considerably.”

Mr Caldeira went on: “China still has a veryimportant part to play in Caldeira’s plans forthe future, but it is no longer a one-way bet.The tide is turning and global rebalancing hasbegun.

“More importantly, if this move is repeatedaround the country, this news could have pos-itive implications for British manufacturingand for the British economy as a whole.”

The Knowsley cushion manufacturer hasalso recently added staff in its commercialteam, and a new role of global sales manageris being created to help grow the businessthroughout next year.

LIVERPOOL John Lennon Airport(JLA) recorded its busiest summerseason throughout its history afterhandling 3.6m passengers between Apriland October.

August saw more than 580,000 trav-ellers pass through the terminal in thebusiest month since the airport wascreated 78 years ago.

JLA’s owner, Peel Airports, has alsoreceived national recognition for itsenvironmental carbon reduction com-mitments after Environmental Agencyfigures showed that it is in the top 14%of UK organisations participating in theCarbon Reduction Commitment Scheme,and one of the environmentally “green-est” airports in the UK.

Peel Airports chief executive CraigRichmond said: “This news clearlydemonstrates our commitment to grow-ing the business, but not at the expenseof environmental impacts.”

byNeilHodgsonLDPSTAFFneil.hodgson@liverpool.com

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8 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

PMplaying it cooloverChancellor’sfinancestatement

City joins the interFibreNetprojectoffersfreesuperfastbroadbandtoLiverpool firms.TonyMcDonough reports

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

BRITAIN once led the world in tech-nological advancement, but, in the field ofbroadband provision, we are very muchin the slow lane.

Most UK homes and businesses onlyhave access to broadband with speeds ofbetween 10 and 20Mpbs (mega-bits-per-second).

In places like South Korea, Japan andSingapore, many people have access tospeeds of up to 100Mpbs.

However, there is now a concertedcatch-up effort and Liverpool is at theforefront of a major super-fast broadbandpush. The first phase of a new, super-fastbroadband service for businesses hasbeen launched in the city.

This will offer speeds of 10 Gpbs (gig-abits-per-second – about 100 times fasterthan what is available in the UK rightnow, and among the fastest commer-cially-available speeds anywhere inthe world.

It will also offer access to cloud com-puting services, allowing firms to storelarge amounts of data securely andoff-site.

Known as the Liverpool FibreNet, theproject is upgrading the city’s digitalinfrastructure and linking strategic sitesacross the city centre to provide busi-nesses with access to high-speed internetconnectivity and new applications.

The £1m project to deliver digital stor-age, processing and, critically, high-speedconnectivity, is funded by the nationalTechnology Strategy Board (TSB).

Liverpool is one of just five locationsselected to trial the project by the TSB,which awarded the city a grant of£400,000. It is hoped FibreNet willincrease Liverpool’s appeal as an inwardinvestment destination.

It utilises Liverpool City Council’sexisting fibre cable – which runs throughthe city’s CCTV camera and trafficinformation system – and links it tonational connectivity provided by VirginMedia Business and international con-nectivity by Global Crossing, which deliv-ers services to more than 700 cities inover 70 countries around the globe.

The project reaches all the city’s majorcommercial areas, including the businessdistrict, the health and technology parks,the Baltic Triangle and Liverpool SciencePark – creating an inner-city digital ringroad.

Coupled with dedicated real and vir-tual hosting, the serviceprovides Liverpool with aunique offer to developers ofdigital content.

Liverpool City Council and2020 Liverpool have workedclosely with AIMES Grid Ser-vices to develop the project, byintegrating the new technologyinto the existing optical fibreconnectivity which runsthrough the city centre.

Liverpool’s test-bed has now gone live.Project leader AIMES, based at LiverpoolInnovation Park (LIP), in Edge Lane, hasalready signed up developers of newapplications and processes, includingHuman Resource Services, The Instituteof Child Health and Liverpool Royal Hos-pital to undertake trials.

AIMES founder and chief executive,

Professor Dennis Kehoe, said: “Part oneof the FibreNet project has been aboutputting the infrastructure in place andthat has taken about six months.

“Now we are looking at 12 months oftrials with Liverpool businesses.

“One place we have already connectedup is the Elevator Studios complex, which

houses a number of small busi-nesses in the creative sector.

“To give just one example ofhow the high-speed connectivityis being used, they are now ableto watch live performances tak-ing place in London over theinternet.”

The limitations of the stand-ard broadband access that mostof us are offered by firms like

BT or Virgin Media go beyond just speedof access.

Prof Kehoe explained: “The broadbandthat most of us receive is ‘contended’.That means that, while your broadbandprovider may say your speed is 20Mpbs,that will be shared between everyone inthe area connected to the same exchange.This is why your internet access will runslower at busy times.

“The top speed is also only one-way.Which means it is OK for downloading,but when you are uploading you only getspeeds equivalent to the old dial-up – so itis a lot slower.

“Many firms now need what we callsynchronous access, which means thehigh-speed access works both ways.

“That is what we are offering throughFibreNet.

“The real drive for doing this is thatdemand for bandwidth is doubling everyyear. And that is being driven by growthof IPTV – television being streamedacross the internet.”

Businesses will be able to accessFibreNet free for 12 months, but, evenafter the trial has ended, Prof Kehoebelieves the cost will be low enough tomake it attractive for small firms.

As part of the FibreNet project, Liv-erpool now has what is known as a Tier 1facility in the city, thanks to the involve-ment of Global Crossing.

Normally, when we purchase internetaccess, we do so through a service pro-vider that has purchased that access froma larger provider and so on.

Having local Tier 1 access means it is

“GETTING debt undercontrol is proving harderthan anyone envisaged,”Prime Minister DavidCameron told a businessleaders conference at theweekend.

Many commentatorshave interpreted his state-ment as a not so subtlehint that, when Chancel-lor George Osborne deliv-ers his Autumn State-ment next week, it willcontain bad news aboutthe progress of his plansto cut the public sectorfinance deficit.

The doom-mongers arepredicting that slower-than-expected economicgrowth will inevitablymean the Governmentwill have to raise taxes,impose more stringentspending cuts, prolongthe period of austeritybeyond 2014 or some com-bination of all three.

I’m not so convincedwe’re about to hearsomething too dreadfulfrom the Chancellor.

Mr Cameron’s fearfulcommentary needs to benuanced a bit to be prop-erly understood. It’s alsoimportant to rememberthat governments of allhues have a track recordof issuing dire prognost-ications the week beforea Budget or AutumnStatement, only for thestatement itself to turnout to be a lot less drastic.It’s all about expectationsmanagement. If we fearthe worst, but the worstdoesn’t happen, then themedia and the publicblow a sigh of relief,rather than get upsetabout more moderateproposals.

Economic growth hasbeen slower than waspredicted at the time ofthe last Budget, but, thereagain, it was never expec-ted to be all that great inthe first place. Indeed,the latest Governmentfigures published yester-day indicate that cur-rently the Government ison track to meet its def-icit reduction targets.

Britain’s public sectorborrowing was slightlylower than expected inOctober, as growth in taxrevenue outpaced spend-ing, according to theOffice for National Stat-

istics. The ONS said pub-lic sector net borrowing,excluding financial sec-tor interventions – theGovernment’s preferredmeasure – fell to £6.4bnlast month from £7.7bn inOctober, 2010, slightlybelow economists’ fore-casts of £6.8bn.

The Government is tar-geting an annual deficitthis year of £122bn, downfrom £137bn in the yearto April, 2011.

Clearly, the deficit hereand now isn’t the prob-lem. However, things maybe different in the com-ing years. The originalOBR growth forecastssaw a return to slightlyabove trend growth.However, it now lookslike this will not happenand that economicgrowth in the UK will besignificantly slower forseveral more years. It is,therefore, in the yearsahead that we are mostlikely to see a significantdeparture from the orig-inal public sector debtreduction targets.

You would have toquestion where economicgrowth could possiblycome from. I wouldexpect the Chancellor tostick to his originalspending plans, meaningthere will not be any sub-stantial fiscal stimulusfor the UK economy. Brit-ish consumers are keep-ing the pursestringsfirmly shut and, indeed,have begun paying downdebt rather than takingon credit, a situation thatis likely to continue foras long as house pricesremain in the doldrums.

Last week, the OECD’sleading indicators indexfor September showedthat every economy itmonitors suffered a slow-down, suggesting that lifeis going to be tough forexporters and it is veryunlikely that UK busi-nesses will undertake aninvestment spendingspree while everything islooking weak elsewhere.It could be very bumpy inthe years ahead, but, forthe time being, the Chan-cellor will claim he is ontrack and won’t be chang-ing course just yet.

BillGleeson

‘Accessofferedwillbesuperfastbothways’

ROB MERRICK: Mainpaper – Page 18

9Wednesday, November 23, 2011

City joins the internet fast lane

University spin-out that ispushing digital boundaries

Companies signed up toFibrenet will be able to enjoyaccess speeds 100 times fasterthan elsewhere in the UK

Demand for bandwidth is doubling every year – ProfessorDennis Kehoe, founder and chief executive of AIMES

the big feature

coming directly from a primary provider– like buying something wholesale – andthis makes it cheaper.

Prof Kehoe added: “Every firm thattakes part in the trial will be able to usethe next 12 months to assess the exactcost benefit to their business.”

The FibreNet network links LiverpoolInnovation Park with the RoyalLiverpool University Hospital,the city’s universities, the cent-ral business district, the BalticTriangle and the region’s newenterprise zone covering Liver-pool and Wirral Waters.

Firms in those areas are nowbeing encouraged to contactAIMES to join the free trial.

Liverpool City Council’s cab-inet member for regeneration and trans-port, Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, said: “Notonly will it bring huge performance andcost benefits to businesses, but it will alsoprovide the perfect platform for the new-est IT services to be trialled.

“As such, it will help make Liverpool atrue digital destination, able to competewith the UK’s most hi-tech business cit-ies.”

This view was backed up by WayneLocke, of Ashtenne Space North West,operators of Liverpool Innovation Park.

Around 80 companies at LIP will nowbe able to access FibreNet. Mr Locke said:“Across all sectors, businesses areincreasingly dependent on faster broad-band to facilitate growth.

“The next five-10 years islikely to see the demand forsuperfast broadband to increaseexponentially as more busi-nesses access online servicesand markets.

“Our involvement with theLiverpool FibreNet project isone extremely important aspectof our focus upon continuingdevelopment of this key area of

Liverpool's economy.”Prof Kehoe added: “Liverpool missed

the internet revolution first time around– Manchester got there first.

“This time, we have got the infrastruc-ture in place and it is a big step forwardfor the city.”■ ANY firms within the specifiedareas who want to join the project cancontact AIMES on 0151 905 9700.

AIMES Grid Services is a suc-cessful spin-out from the Uni-versity of Liverpool.

In 2001, what became AIMESwas a unit within the universitylooking at how cloud comput-ing could best be utilised forthe benefit of businesses.

It was set up in 2005 andfounder and chief executive,Professor Dennis Kehoe, hasbeen running it full-time since2008 at its base in LiverpoolInnovation Park.

It has secured funding from anumber of sources, includingthe Northwest DevelopmentAgency and the EuropeanRegional Development Fund.

In September last year, itannounced it was investing£100,000 in its growth.

The company added £50,000of its own money to a £50,000Enterprise Finance Guaranteeloan through NatWest.

The injection of fundscovered the cost of new net-working equipment, serversand secure power supplies forthe company’s business con-tinuity and cloud computingservices.

It has grown steadily and is

targeting a £10m turnover inthe next five years.

In 2009, AIMES was namedKnowledge Business of the Yearin the Daily Post Regional Busi-ness Awards and was shortlis-ted for the same award thisyear.

Prof Kehoe said: “We addressthe two key issues for busi-nesses – storage and connectiv-ity.

“AIMES has become amothership for other busi-nesses being spun out.”

AIMES’s business continuityservice provides clients with aphysical location and back-up ITinfrastructure in the event ofan incident which disrupts theirday-to-day operations.

The service offers businessessecure data back-up on a scal-able and consumption-basedpricing model.

In January, the companyannounced that it had won acontract with Birkenhead-basedvouchers and hampers busi-ness, Park Group.

It is providing the companywith secure disaster recoveryand business continuity ser-vices.

‘FibreNetproject isabigstepforwardforcity’

privatebusiness

SOG, the company run-ning Runcorn’s TheHeath Business andTechnical Park, hasinvested heavily inimprovements follow-ing a fire at the site inMay, 2009.

Annual figures forthe year ended Feb-ruary 28, submitted toCompanies House,reflect the capitalexpenditure on upgrad-ing and refurbishingthe site.

The business recor-ded a pre-tax loss of£440,260 comparedwith a pre-tax profit of£14.4m the previousyear, which was largelyattributable to pro-ceeds from a disposal.

Revenues slippedfrom £7.7m last year to£7.04m in 2011.

The directors’ reportsaid the business per-formed as anticipated,despite the difficultand challenging econ-omic and trading con-ditions.

The board also iden-tified its main risksand uncertainties asretaining and attract-ing new users to itsfacilities and servicesand the general state ofthe UK economy.

But it said the busi-ness will build on itstwo-year investmentprogramme and arange of developmentsat the site will add tothe additional newbuildings establishedin the previous year“and form an integralpart of the group’slong-term strategy”.

NEIL HODGSON

Upgradetakes itstoll onHeath

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10 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Paragon hailsboost frombuy-to-letSPECIALIST lender Par-agon reported a12.5% increase inpre-tax profits to£80.8m in the year tothe end of September.

The group said ithad “re-established”its buy-to-let mort-gage business andsaid it saw opportun-ities for acquisitionsnext year.

Mild weatherhitting claimsNATIONWIDE AccidentRepair Services repor-ted a decline in insur-ance claims in thesecond half of the year,because of the milderthan usual weather.

The group warnedthe decline in claimswill mean that pre-taxprofits for the fullyear to December 31are likely to be belowmarket expectations.

Occupancy upSTORAGE companyBig Yellow Groupreported occupancygrowth of 250,000 sqft across all stores inthe six months toSeptember 30, animprovement ongrowth of 209,000 sqft in the previous year.

The Surrey-basedgroup said averageoccupancy growth perstore grew to 3,900 sqft from 3,400 sq ft.

Cupid aheadDATING companyCupid said it had per-formed strongly withrevenue and profitssubstantially ahead oflast year. The com-pany said it was con-fident that the 2011financial performancewould be in line withthe consensus of cur-rent market expecta-tions. The group addedthat acquisitions inthe past four monthsin Brazil and Germanyhad started well.

briefing Retrobrandsdeveloperaddstofashionline-up

Some of the new vintage sports memorabilia owned by ChrisLee Code: jm221111fashion-6

Microzine founder and sportswear guru, Chris Lee, with some of the retro rangePictures: JAMES MALONEY/ jm221111fashion-1

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

THE rails crammed with sampleclothes and boards of hand-drawnsketches could be found in prettymuch any fashion design studio any-where in the world.

But it’s the grainy footage flickeringaway on Chris Lee’s lap-top whichgives the biggest clue to his latestinspiration.

The black and white Pathé Newsreel shows the Queen Mother back in1957 at the Dunlop factory, in Speke. Init, she’s talking to workers on produc-tion lines and meeting one lady taskedwith walking thousands of miles ayear to test training shoes.

“Like most people, I just thoughtthey made tyres there,” explains MrLee.

“I knew they did wellies because myuncles were at Speke and my mum anddad both worked for Dunlop packingboxes at Sandon Dock.

“But then I did some research and Idiscovered they made lots of otherthings, too, like tennis and golf ballsand trainers.

“When the factory closed in the late70s, a lot of the archive was lostbecause it was just thrown out, so I’vebeen busy on the internet.”

There’s a reason why Mr Lee,former creative director at iconic Liv-erpool fashion store Wade Smith, hasbeen devoting quite so much time tohistorical research of late.

Because, alongside Slazenger Herit-age, whose resurrection he has beenorchestrating for the past two years,he’s intent on awakening anothergreat British sleeping giant.

This time, with its roots in his homecity and his own family, Dunlop rep-resents a very personal challenge.

“I’ve ended up owning this brandthat they all used to work for, which Ifind quite romantic,” he smiles.

A year ago, 44-year-old Mr Leeacquired the licence for Dunlop’s fash-ion and performance labels. After 12months in development, his company,MicrobrandsOne, has just deliveredDunlop Retro into Topman and, alongwith other UK outlets, secured distrib-ution to Italy, France and Poland.

Between the two brands, he has nowlaunched five ranges: Slazenger Her-itage Clothing and Bags, Dunlop Retro,Dunlop Biomimetic Tennis and Dun-lop Greenflash.

“I did it in stages because you haveto be careful in this business not tobite off too much in one go,” heexplains. “But I could see the potentialthere and I think the time is rightbecause people like the authenticityand pedigree attached to these oldbrands.

“Long before Adidas, Reebok andNike, Dunlop and Slazenger were thebiggest sports companies in the world.Slazenger goes back to 1881, a lot of theequipment and clothing worn in the1924 Chariots of Fire Olympics wasmade by them, and Dunlop made a lotof military clothing for the Govern-ment in World War II. The reasonthings of quality work is because theywere made for a purpose.

“We’ve taken those original designsand ideas and used them as inspir-ation for new ranges. It’s all been

researched so there’s a reason foreverything; we’re not just moving pensaround a board randomly.”

One of Mr Lee’s main aims is toretain the brand’s integrity ratherthan adopting a pile ’em high approachto simply cash in on a retro trend.

“Most people, when they get a

licence, strip away everything the com-pany was built on,” he says. “But we’reputting more thought into it than that,we’re putting everything back in to thebrand, rather than taking away fromit.”

From their studio in the ElevatorBuildings, on Parliament Street, Mr

Lee and his six-strong team controlresearch, design and marketing.

With no formal design training, MrLee comes up with all the initialsketches and themes. He relies on aproven formula of common sense andintuition honed not only at WadeSmith – where he was instrumental inriding the Adidas 80s casuals wave –but as creative director for Reebok andDKNY.

Surrounded by discoveries asdiverse as a 70s Bjorn Borg shirt and60s Norton motorbike helmet, he hasmood boards – actual and iPad virtual– stretching out to spring/summer,2014. Yellowed old newspaper cuttingsof Dunlop bike kits are translated intocolour blocking on polos and T-shirts,and there’s even a croquet collectionprompted by an old set Mr Lee boughton Ebay.

“We’re thinking of hijacking theLondon 2012 Olympics with two orthree models wearing it and playingcroquet,” he laughs. “There’s bound tobe a bit of grass on the way to one ofthe venues, that’ll do us.”■ A POP-UP shop with discounts andsample sale will be at Elevator Bar,Parliament Street, on Friday, and Ship-ping Forecast on Saturday, between12 noon and 7pm.

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11Wednesday, November 23, 2011

SharesfallinThomasCookamiddiretrading

Thomas Cook is being hit by the consumer spending slumpPicture: RUI VIEIRA

EnterpriseInnsissueswarningonNorth-Southdivide

Printerindarkoversuspendeddeal ProfitsriseBUILDING society Nationwide haileda 17% rise in half-year profits yes-terday, but warned UK prospects forthe next 18 months looked to be “verychallenging”.

It achieved growth across all of itsproduct lines, including a 48%increase in mortgage advances.

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

Financialfirms‘fearful oftrouble’

byJamieGriersonLDPCORRESPONDENTbusiness@liverpool.com

NEARLY 90% of finan-cial firms think thechance of a “high-impact” event happen-ing in the next year –such as the collapse ofthe euro – hasincreased in the last sixmonths, the Bank ofEngland said yesterday.

The likelihood ofsuch an event – whichcould also include acredit rating down-grade for the UK or aGovernment debtdefault – happening inthe short term is at thehighest level since2008, the Bank’s surveysaid.

Elsewhere, the pollfound that 59% of itsrespondents, whichinclude banks, hedgefunds and buildingsocieties, are less con-fident than in the firstsix months of the year.

The threat of theeurozone debt crisiswas the most com-monly cited risk, withthe economic down-turn, funding risks andrisks around regula-tion and taxes also inthe top five.

The Bank conductsthe survey, whichlaunched in 2008 in thegrips of recession, tomonitor financial stab-ility in the UK and toidentify risks posed tothe sector.

Nearly 70% of partic-ipants thought thechance of a high-impactevent occurring in themedium term – that isone to three years – hadincreased.

Some 76% ofrespondents flaggedsovereign debt risk asthe biggest threat,while 76% also raisedthe risk of economicdownturn as a seriousproblem.

INASSOCIATION

WITH

LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

news

FOR thelatest newsfrom thecreativesector

LDP

www.ldpcreative.

co.uk

CREATIVE

THE UK’s biggest pub land-lord, Enterprise Inns, repor-ted improving sales trendsyesterday, but warned of aNorth-South divide in the per-formance of its estate.

Like-for-like net income atits core pubs fell 1.7% in theyear to September 30, animprovement on the 2.3%decline in the previous year,as it benefited from the sale of

466 of its worst-performingoutlets.

The trend was driven by theresilient performance of pubsin the South, which saw flatsales, compared to a 5%decline from those in theNorth and a 1% fall in centralregions.

The group, which has aportfolio of 6,289 leaseholdand tenants pubs, reported

that pre-tax losses more thanhalved to £14m in the year toSeptember 30, from £31m theprevious year after takingexceptional items such aswrite-downs on the value ofits properties.

Solihull-based Enterprisehas now closed 1,413 pubs overthe past three years as thetrade has come under increas-ing strain from the smoking

ban and as more people drinkat home.

Despite the closures, Enter-prise defended its tied pubmodel, which has come underfire from unions for saddlingpublicans with contracts tobuy beer at uncompetitiveprices.

Enterprise pointed out that16% – or 3,444 – of so-calledfree pubs have closed between

January, 2009, and June, 2011,compared to 8% – or 2,239 – ofleased or tenanted pubs, andsaid “there is clear evidencethe tied pub model is helpingpubs and publicans survive”.

An annual revaluation ofEnterprise’s properties hasseen £173m wiped from theirvalue to £4.6bn, reflecting thesmaller size of its estate andthe weakening of demand.

SHARES in holidays giant ThomasCook plunged yesterday, after it admit-ted dire trading had forced it back toits banks for more financial help.

The group said plummeting con-sumer confidence and the unresolvedturmoil in north Africa – a populardestination with holidaymakers fromits key markets in France and Russia –had hit the business harder thanexpected.

Thomas Cook insisted it was inrobust shape, but the surprise updatespooked investors, causing shares inthe FTSE-250 Index company to slump70% at one stage.

It now has a market value of just£120m, after yesterday’s statement, anda series of profit warnings left shares93% lower on the start of the year.

Just four weeks after it agreed anadditional £100m in funding headroomto help it cope with the quietest pointof its trading year, the tour operatorhas gone back to its banks to ask for asimilar top-up.

The group – which postponedThursday’s publication of its full-yearresults until after talks with itslenders had concluded – said the movewas prudent ahead of December andJanuary, the toughest time of year forthe business.

Sam Weihagen, Thomas Cookinterim chief executive, insisted thecompany was a “robust business that

has a great future”. He said: “We’reoperating business as usual.

“Flights are leaving on schedule,shops are open and we’re taking book-ings.”

But the City was less convinced asshares plunged and some analystsurged investors to sell their holdings.

Wyn Ellis, analyst at Numis Secur-ities, said turning the business aroundwould be tough, as holiday supplierswere likely to be more wary of com-mitting their products to the company.

He said: “The announcement will beof concern to shareholders, customersand suppliers. Thomas Cook faces adifficult near-term future which couldlead to significant loss of marketshare.”

Thomas Cook said its French andBelgian markets had seen bookingsfall by up to 20% in recent trading,while its recent move into the Russianmarket had “got off to an extremelyslow start”.

The group has suffered from theimpact of the Arab Spring, which hashit bookings to Tunisia and Egypt, des-tinations popular with France andRussia respectively, as well as UK hol-idaymakers.

The violence and turmoil in Egypthas shown no signs of desisting, asthousands of activists continue tooccupy Tahrir Square, in Cairo, inprotest at the slow pace of politicalchange. Russian bookings to Thailandhave also been knocked by recentsevere flooding in the capital, Bangkok.

Thomas Cook is expected to report a31% slide in underlying profits to

£191.1m, following a year which sawnumerous profits warnings and theexit of its chief executive, Manny Fon-tenla-Novoa.

The dismal year prompted the hol-iday group, which at the end of lastyear had 31,000 staff, to axe itsdividend as it moves to repair itsbattered finances, which include debtsof around £900m.

The group insisted it had not fallenbehind with any of its payments, andMr Weihagen said talks with itslenders were an act of “prudence”ahead of the seasonal low point.

Thomas Cook, Europe’s second-biggest tour operator after TUI Travel,selling more than 22m holidays a yearin the UK, is understood to be con-sidering the closure of 200 of its out-lets, following its recent merger with

the Co-op’s UK high street travel busi-nesses.

The tie-up created the UK’s largesthigh street travel agent and second-largest foreign exchange group, withmore than 1,200 shops.

In other moves to turn around theUK business, the group has announcedplans to reduce its current fleet of 41aircraft by six to better meet capacity,while it is also reviewing call centrerostering to improve efficiency.

In addition, the company is lookingto raise £200m from the sale of assetssuch as hotels and its stake in Brit-ain’s air traffic control service.

The announcement hit sentimenttowards the wider sector, with sharesin the industry leader and ThomsonHolidays owner TUI Travel fallingnearly 10%.

BANKNOTE printer DeLa Rue revealed a boostto underlying profits,but said the full impactof a suspended contractwas still not known.

The firm, whichprints notes for the

Bank of England and 150other countries, repor-ted bottom-line pre-taxprofits of £27.1m in thesix months to Septem-ber 24, compared to£69.4m the previousyear.

However, when strip-ping out one-off items,pre-tax profits rose to£29m from £23.8m a yearearlier.

In July, 2010, De LaRue announced the sus-pension of a contract,

widely understood to bewith the Reserve Bankof India.

De La Rue added inits statement yesterdaythat the full financialconsequences could notyet be estimated.

12 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Commercial Property

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Further information please contact Neil Dryburgh or Euan Ross at

LingleyMereunveilsexpansionLDPbusiness .co.uk

locationINASSOCIATION

WITH

LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

Conlonhails‘flagship’facility

JOINT venture partners Muse Developmentsand United Utilities have submitted a planningapplication for an amenity building at LingleyMere Business Park, in Warrington.

The single-storey facility, covering approx-imately 7,500 sq ft, will be situated in thecentre of the development between the park’stwo lakes.

The amenity building will offer hot and coldfood, a coffee bar, a convenience store, and willbe equipped with wi-fi.

The building will be curved to maximise thesouth-facing view of the surroundings and willalso feature an external terrace where peoplecan sit outside.

Lingley Mere provides 380,000 sq ft of officeaccommodation set within 100 acres of land-scaped grounds.

The park benefits from outline planning con-sent for a further 400,000 sq ft of office spaceand 150,000 sq ft of distribution space.

The masterplan allows for a mix of uses to

be developed that will primarily be officeaccommodation.

Wes Erlam, senior development surveyor atMuse Developments, said: “Lingley Mere is awell-established business park community,which has grown significantly in recent years.

“As part of a comprehensive masterplan, weintend to develop the park further by enhan-cing the excellent range of amenities thatalready exist.

“Future plans include a 132-bedroom hotelthat will have conference space, meeting roomfacilities and a fitness centre.”

The development, which is close to the M62and M6, has also obtained planning permissionto build a fifth unit of 18,500 sq ft to completethe Clearwater phase.

This already boasts four units that have beenlet and sold.

There are almost 3,500 people working at thebusiness park.

More than half of these live within the War-rington postcode area.

The joint venture works alongside jointagents, GVA and Edwards & Co, both of whichare based in Manchester.

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

CONLON Construction hascompleted a flagship com-munity centre and sensoryunit in Merseyside.

The Netherton ActivityCentre, run by Sefton Coun-cil, is the first of its kind inthe North West to offer a

combined leisure centre,library and sensory facilityfor disabled visitors.

The 28,000-plus sq ftdevelopment has a fitnesssuite, aerobics studio, meet-ing rooms, crèche and out-door football pitches.

A library with communityroom and large IT suite isset over the two floors ofthe building. Constructiondirector at Conlon, MichaelConlon, said: “It is a priv-ilege to be a part of creatinga real flagship facility.”

A computer-generated image of the amenity centre at Lingley Mere

FOR News, Sport and Businesson your phone

LDP Text LDPto 67800MOBILE

13Wednesday, November 23, 2011

LDPbusiness .co.uklocation

LDPbusiness .co.uklocation

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

INASSOCIATION

WITH

LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

by Robert Diggle, of EdwardsSymmons, in Liverpool

viewpoint

Merseyside’s commercialmarket showsreal signsof resilience

OVER the course of 2011, and inspite of global market conditionsand the continuing difficulty tosecure investment and development

funding, a significant proportion ofproperty stock has been sold and letacross the North West.

A greater proportion of the dealshave been cash-driven, with partic-ular regard to secondary stock andthose properties which are dis-tressed.

This cash focus has, inevitably, puta downward pressure on values, butthe steady level of activity does indic-ate continued demand in this sectorwithin our region.

Indeed, in various localised areasof the North West, demand for sec-ondary industrial or retail propertyhas led to a competitive bidding pro-

cess resulting in sale prices well inexcess of expectation.

By contrast, a real deficit ofprimary property stock inthe regional market hasbecome increasingly evid-ent this year, and fundsthat would normally investin prime assets in theregion have tended to sittight, drawing income fromexisting holdings.

This has becomesomething of a viciouscircle – the fewer assetsavailable, the higher the pricesought, the more likely investors will

wait, causing something of a stale-mate.

The shift in the supply/demandbalance has consequentlyraised the asking price ofsome assets to the degreethat they become bad valuein the long term for poten-tial purchasers, exacerbat-ing an already complexmarket state.

So what to expect for thecoming year?

Although the primaryproperty market is likely to

remain tricky for a while, due to thecontinued lack of stock, when assess-

ing the regional property market as awhole I would suggest things arelooking up.

Cash purchasers’ continued con-fidence in the region is evident, andshould mean they will continue toinvest, albeit at current values.

Furthermore, we have seen anincrease in enquiry levels for bothsales and lettings within the occu-pancy market in the Merseysidearea, as local businesses try to growthrough relocation.

Although the national picture isshaky, I would argue that the NorthWest, and Merseyside in particular,is well placed to buck the trend.

EstuarybuildingstartsBARNFIELD Centric,the joint venture devel-opment companybetween Capital &Centric and BarnfieldConstruction, has star-ted the speculative con-struction of 82,000 sq ftat the £6m EstuaryBanks Business Park,in Speke, south Liver-pool. The project isscheduled for complet-ion in mid-2012.

The scheme received£2.54m of EuropeanRegional DevelopmentFund money, and it isanticipated that itcould create in theregion of 250-300 jobs.

The joint venturereceived planning per-mission earlier thisyear, and the five-acresite was purchasedfrom the NorthwestDevelopment Agency insummer, 2011.

The Estuary Banksscheme will offer 20hybrid units.

PriorityannouncesTurnstonelettingsPRIORITY Sites has announceddetails of two lettings at its TurnstoneBusiness Park scheme, in Widnes.

The arrival of Comfomatic andEterniti Steels means that the site inthe Widnes Waterfront regenerationarea is now 85% let or sold, with justthree self-contained units from 1,350sq ft to 3,800 sq ft remaining.

Cheshire firm Comfomatic hastaken a 3,500 sq ft unit to create a headoffice for its mobility products oper-

ation. The company – which employs22 people and has a network of 35 salesagents nationwide – supplies a widerange of British-made adjustable bedsand rise and recline chairs.

A key feature of Comfomatic’sWidnes HQ will be the creation of anew call centre.

The company expects to recruit upto 20 new telesales staff.

National sales manager, MikeMcNicolas, said: “We have ambitiousdevelopment plans for the companyand believe that Turnstone BusinessPark is an ideal base to implementthem from.”

The second new occupier, EternitiSteels, is creating its North West salesoffice in a 2,300 sq ft unit at the park.

The company has a turnover of£40m a year and is the UK’s largestindependent steel plate and steel sheetstockist.

Phil Haslam, senior developmentmanager for Priority Sites, said: “Weare delighted to welcome these twosuccessful and expanding companiesto Turnstone Business Park.

“It’s also very encouraging that thescheme is now heading towards fulloccupancy, despite the difficult eco-nomic climate.”

SuttonKershsecuressaleofJamWorksfor£1.9mA MIXED-USE developmentin Liverpool city centre haschanged hands in a dealworth £1.9m.

Sutton Kersh Commercialhas secured the sale of TheJam Works, in Fleet Street.The identities of the vendorand buyer have not beenrevealed.

The six-storey residentialapartment block comprises25 apartments on the upperfive floors and two commer-cial units with potential forcar parking on the groundand basement floors.

Fleet Street adjoins Han-over Street.

Jonathan Owen, directorof commercial agency at Sut-ton Kersh, said: “The build-ing is in an area that is pop-ular with both students andyoung professionals, andideally located to benefitfrom the current high levelsof demand for rental prop-erty in the city centre.

“The commercial propertysector continues to be heav-ily restricted by the lack ofmainstream lending.

“Despite these factors,there is strong demand frompurchasers for particularproperty types.” The Jam Works, in Fleet Street, Liverpool, comprises a mix of apartments and commercial units

‘Primarymarket islikely toremaintricky’

The Wirral, MerseysideFor sale as a whole or in lots, 19 units in 4 properties

Income Producing Residential Investment Portfolio

louise.larking@fljltd.co.uk

On the instructions of the LPA Receivers

All Enquiries

0113 243 1133

For Sale

14 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night, the pound was worth: $1.5646 (down 0.0014) .......1.1590 euros (up 0.0013) .......114.78 yen (down 0.23) ....... Its trade weighted index was 80.00 (unchanged)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1699 (down 3).......................... Silver 31.85 (up 0.95).......................... Platinum 1554 (down 13).......................... UK base lending rate 0.5%

Keep track of all the major share moves of the day with our live FTSE ticker at www.ldpbusiness.co.ukLDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

96 6312 Adv Medical 8212 -1 -212

614 18 AEA Technology 14 -134

28712 23112 Albany Inv Tst 23912 xd -118 -212

1251 74012 AMEC 85912 -1812 -62

92 3134 Anglesey Mining 3134 -2 -434

35714 217 Balfour Beatty 217 xd -578 -1718

3712 26 Beale 26 -1

612 51212 Compass Gp 560 +2 -112

1300 1058 Dee Valley 1300 +25

474 301 easyJet 34534 -634 -1034

1030 792 JD Sports Fashion 815 -712

6414 934 JJB Sports 934 -38 -114

36 2434 Johnson Serv 2558 -58 -318

579 410 Nichols 53212 +112 +712

14912 10712 NWF 123 -12 +112

50 29 Park Gp 49 +1

1257 977 Rathbone 1053 -17 -65

139 10438 Redrow 10918 -78 -114

14312 10514 RSA Insurance 10512 xd +14 -414

34 1812 Speedy Hire 20 +14 +1

4634 3412 Sportech 3812 -112 -134

4634 3312 Telme Gp 4234 +14 +12

5514 3014 UK Coal 3214 +12 +14

2 1 Ultima 1

2114 1777 Unilever 2055 xd +35 -4

637 54312 Utd Utils 610 +312 -27

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1145.62 down 1.58 ▼ 0.14%

In order to give a greater range of Unit Trustinformation, covering a larger number of trusts, thelist of funds changes each day as follows:UNIT TRUST MANAGERS DAYS PUBLISHEDA to Com ................................................... TuesdayF to Inv....................................................WednesdayJP to Pru...................................................ThursdayRoy to T.........................................................Friday

FUNDS

Consols

£1001132 £761132 Cons 4%............... £96916 +516

£6712 £50 Cons 212% ..............£6712

Conversions

£93 £69 Cnv 312%................... £93 +1316

Treasury

£7012 £50916 Tr 212%................. £661316 -32332

£1132732 £10534 Tr 9% 12................£10534 -1

£10512 £101932 Tr 5% 12.............. £101932

£1191532£1132332 Tr 8% 13............. £1132332

£11278 £109532 Tr 5% 14................£11218 +132

£108516 £10034 Tr 734% 12-15..... £1002732

£34234 £310532 Tr 212% IL 16 ...... £3401116 +1332

£141716 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.......... £1401332 +116

£1511316£1332732 Tr 8% 21............. £1501532 +332

War

£991532 £6712 War Ln 312%............£9312 +414

High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day Country Currency Tourist Buy Sell

FTSE 100 INDEX

SPOTLIGHT

KEYs............ dealing suspendedxd.............price ex-dividendxs........ price ex-scrip issuexr ........ price ex-rights issuexc ..... ex-capital distributionxa................................ ex-all£......price value in £ sterling

Those securities which haveincreased in value since the previ-ous close are shown in bold type.

To assist in the analysis of themarket two figures are given foreach sector. Firstly an index (setat 100 on January 1 1992) togive a comparison in the perfor-mance of various market sectors.Secondly an indication of the per-centage change in the price of allthe securities within a sector sincethe previous close.

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.50 1.589 1.594

Canada dollars 1.55 1.622 1.623

Denmark krone 8.20 8.620 8.630

European Union euro 1.11 1.159 1.159

Japan yen 114.78 120.580 120.590

New Zealand dollars 1.94 2.096 2.101

Norway krone 8.65 9.054 9.055

Poland zlotys 4.53 5.171 5.179

Sweden krona 10.19 10.675 10.685

Switzerland francs 1.37 1.430 1.431

Turkey new lira 2.72 2.897 2.907

United States dollars 1.50 1.564 1.565

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 560.40 -

American - 1668.00 0.32

Japan - 208.50 0.56

Jpan Spec Sits - 126.50 0.10

MoneyBuilder Div - 194.60 4.48

Spec Sits - 1617.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 614.10 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 739.52 1.29

Pratical Inv -147.61 158.34 4.67

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc -560.13 589.61 -

International Acc -884.17 930.70 -

Pacific Acc -228.58 240.61 -

Property Bonds -2040.46 2125.48 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 93.77 1.26

British -232.80 232.80 2.96

Gilt & FI - 69.67 2.80

Gilt & Fixed -247.80 247.80 5.74

Monthly Inc - 121.40 4.25

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

European Smllr Cos A - 762.10 0.12

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 53.59 55.99 3.82

UK Equity Inc A - 385.90 3.70

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

Capital -270.10 280.90 1.20

European - 625.30 0.70

Inc & Gwth - 175.70 3.40

International - 366.70 0.40

North Amer Acc - 450.70 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 181.95 0.63

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 5206.82down 15.78 ▼ 0.30%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5489.09down 15.94 ▼ 0.29%

FT ALL-SHARE 2682.72down 9.31 ▼ 0.35%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3099.05 ▼ 31.00

324 172 Avon Rbbr 300 -15

36118 24818 BAE Systems 25918xd -318

73612 36834 Chemring 36834 -3314

23612 16812 Cobham 16958 -134

39758 305 Meggitt 37214 -1258

738 55712 Rolls-Royce 678 xd +12

19058 13258 Senior 16418xd -12

Automobiles & Parts

Index 3977.05 ▼ 79.49

245 157 GKN 17018 -338

Banks

Index 3110.38 ▲ 3.08

33312 13878 Barclays 15258xd -478

785 45238 Bco Santander 45538 -512

73078 469 HSBC 475 +6

4034 6 Ireland 658 -18

6958 2238 Lloyds Banking2238 -1

49 1838 Ryl Scotland 1838 -118

1878 116912Stan Chart 127912 +1212

Beverages

Index 9634.57 ▲ 114.94

1395 1031 Barr (AG) 1130 -23

50312 28978 Britvic 32858 +614

1344 1112 Diageo 1306 +19

2354121979 SABMiller 209612 +1812

Chemicals

Index 6266.39 ▼ 39.43

2081 1433 Croda 1647 -7

18738 10712 Elementis 13058 +18

2119 1523 Johnsn Mat 1770 -14

Construction & Materials

Index 2953.47 ▼ 56.63

35714 217 Balfour Beatty 217 xd -578

265 180 Costain 18314 +314

1160 1012 CRH 1087 +7

1448 1097 Kier Group 1320xd -2

7634 4214 Low Bonar 4412 +34

12412 8314 Marshalls 92 xd -14

Electricity

Index 8024.11 ▼ 16.23

58112 35358 Drax Gp 55012 -212

44858 27938 Intl Power 322 -212

1423 1111 SSE 1257 -2

Electronic & Electrical

Index 2449.01 ▼ 24.70

705 43414 Domino Ptg 493 +1014

207 12778 Laird 13334xd -234

35718 224 Morgn Cru 243 -434

1010 581 Oxford Inst 936 -10

377 241 Volex 26358 -38

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 5293.32 ▲ 8.23

39234 31014 Alliance 32634 +114

14012 109 Br Assets 11478 +14

72312 421 Candover Inv 47712 +1212

15734 120 Dunedin Sml 120 -114

228 195 DunedinIncGth 199 +58

49214 41478 Edin Invst 44812xd +214

66034 546 EdinUSTrkrTst 596 +5

32778 26112 Forgn & C 27634 +234

32334 24612 HendSmllrCos 24612 -12

385 315 Law Debenture33814 -534

252 20418 Scot Am 20734 +358

533 40112 Witan 42014 -118

Fixed Line Telecoms

Index 2087.98 ▼ 9.47

20418 161 BT Gp 18114 +14

5278 3114 Cble&WComm 36 xd

7678 1412 Cble&WWwide 1412 -318

84 51 KCOM 7314 -1

Food & Drug Retailers

Index 4507.84 ▼ 46.29

320 26234 Morrison W 31012 +118

39112 26312 Sainsbury 28814xd -358

439 35614 Tesco 38534xd -538

102 36 Thorntons 36 xd -2

Food Producers

Index 5387.43 ▲ 74.81

1182 940 AB Foods 1086 +16

875 626 Carrs Mill 77712

88312 58812 Cranswick 700 +5

42478 32012 Dairy Crest 32012 -714

3518 314 Premier Foods 434 -38

68912 510 Tate Lyle 67912 -212

2114 1777 Unilever 2055xd +35

Forestry & Paper

Index 4487.35 ▼ 43.08

664 41658 Mondi 41658 -4

General Financial

Index 4331.31 ▼ 8.96

340 17678 3i 17678 -4

88812 631 Close Bros 631 xd -1812

57012 31558 ICAP 31558 -1134

1076 75812 London Stk Ex 78912 +12

1124 802 Provident 1008xd -19

1257 977 Rathbone 1053 -17

1922 1183 Schroders 1250 +9

General Industrials

Index 2499.66 ▼ 0.93

72412 39534 Cooksn Gp 44214 -278

6 38 Cosalt 38

400 29934 Rexam 33234 +334

26614 16438 Smith DS 18618 -334

1429 86912 Smiths Gp 86912xd -1

General Retailers

Index 1503.12 ▼ 5.98

2514 16 Ashley L 1834 -18

31114 243 Brown (N) Gp 243 -3

7534 5114 Debenhams 5778 -12

2658 1012 Dixons Retail 1012

45934 26912 Halfords 33078 +78

235 7234 Home Retail 7518xd +138

42538 26858 Inchcape 29612 -558

1030 792 JD Sports 815

28718 217 Kingfisher 244 -158

40214 30134 M & S 31114xd -14

62712 12714 Mothercare 13718 +518

2810 1868 Next 2695 +4

2986 1936 Signet Jwlrs 2793xd -11

558 43334 WH Smith 518 +12

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3214.14 ▼ 57.90

742 521 Smith Nph 56312 -11

Household Goods

Index 6197.29 ▲ 97.07

138 63 Aga Rngmstr 63 xd -12

119 6712 Barratt Dev 9258 -2

75312 514 Bellway 700 +612

19014 117 McBride 128 xd -1

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3171 +71

139 10438 Redrow 10918 -78

4314 2334 Taylor Wimpey 37 -18

Industrial Engineering

Index 6401.00 ▲ 11.17

39734 22558 Bodycote 24734 -614

952 53812 Charter 922 +2

42212 280 Fenner 358 +312

1119 63612 IMI 69212 -1512

116 5712 Molins 93 -1

31212 12712 MS Intl 28712

45 25 Renold 2534 -118

2063 1649 Spirax Srco 1720 -11

2218 1375 Weir Gp 1741 +26

Industrial Transportation

Index 2086.20 ▲ 17.19

24034 156 BBA Aviation 16934 +134

Life Insurance

Index 3449.62 ▲ 2.56

47778 27514 Aviva 28012 -158

12334 8934 Lgl & Gen 9812 -114

777 509 Prudential 575 +4

31618 21114 Resolution 238 +734

24434 172 Standard Life 189 -14

Media

Index 3753.68 ▼ 22.60

850 61812 BSkyB 713 xd +3

59412 34338 D Mail Tst 38478 -1414

9312 5158 ITV 59 xd -178

1207 926 Pearson 1090 -4

59012 46114 Reed Elsevier 507 -312

168 8934 STV Group 8934 -14

93 3712 Trinity Mirror 48 -434

725 416 Utd Business 45938 -778

150 101 UTV 11018 +14

84612 578 WPP 627 -112

Mining

Index 18596.02 ▼ 97.97

3437 213812Anglo Amer 223112 -912

1634 90012 Antofagasta 1033 +24

2631121667 BHP Billiton 176512 -1412

2150 1296 Fresnillo 1577 -16

53118 348 Glencore Intl 371 -418

1671 730 Kazakhmys 798 -912

1983 97412 Lonmin 981 +2

7555 4425 Randgold Res 6875 +125

4712 271212Rio Tinto 3055 -28

5514 3014 UK Coal 3214 +12

Mobile Telecoms

Index 3878.46 ▼ 22.80

71912 38934 Inmarsat 39138 -12

18234 155 Vodafone Gp 16778xd -78

Nonlife Insurance

Index 1301.98 ▲ 15.06

1754 80012 Admiral Grp 84712 +32

203158160218Marsh McL 182378 -23

14312 10514 RSA Insurance 10512xd +14

Oil & Gas Producers

Index 7925.51 ▼ 82.97

1564121144 BG 1263 -5

509 36314 BP 43534xd -414

46934 26138 Cairn Energy 27212 -614

535 310 Premier Oil 35678 -978

2336 189012Ryl D Shell B 2193xd -3212

1493 94512 Tullow Oil 1263 +3

Oil Equipment & Services

Index 20623.32 ▼ 101.13

1251 74012 AMEC 85912 -1812

Personal Goods

Index 19012.01 ▼ 49.44

1600 996 Burberry Gp 1186 +4

409 32012 PZ Cussons 36034 -814

Pharma & Biotechnology

Index 9255.97 ▼ 84.11

3194 254312AstraZeneca 2783 -2312

140512112712GlaxoSmthKln 134312xd -14

50 2358 Vernalis 2358 -138

Real Estate

Index 1958.11

35214 218 Big Yellow Gp 23938 +2138

62912 452 Brit Land 461 +678

2954 2282 Daejan Hldgs 2505 +23

445 31738 Gt Portland 32612xd -38

885 616 Land Secs 645 +12

33114 20818 SEGRO 20818 -112

Software & Comp Servs

Index 695.50 ▼ 6.53

6312 4014 Emblaze 5212 -1

36414 186 Invensys 186 xd -118

108 64 Kewill 7838 +18

14714 7012 Logica 7012 -314

302 23134 Sage 26514 -234

Support Services

Index 3930.45 ▼ 10.46

614 18 AEA Tech 14

2034 1389 Aggreko 1710 -6

20778 9938 Ashtead Gp 15914 +678

568 39114 Berendsen 42114 -114

82012 67612 Bunzl 78712xd +9

78612 63112 Capita 63112 -4

914 54912 De La Rue 885 +9

29478 18214 Electrocmps 19534 -1

83312 665 Experian 799 +18

291 21978 G4S 23178 -138

452 305 Hyder Cons 352 -3

34114 19034 Interserve 295 -178

550 425 Menzies J 500 xd

34634 202 Northgate 225 -2

30834 14412 Prem Farnell 15718 -2

10478 6178 Rentokil 6178 -138

12012 79 Smiths News 9114 +214

34 1812 Speedy Hire 20 +14

1127 715 Travis & P 777 -2212

2261 1404 Wolseley 1767xd -33

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 685.16 ▼ 2.73

651 38958 ARM Hldgs 568

2712 1618 BATM 1814 -18

10234 5014 Psion 5234 -12

16014 10912 Spirent Cms 12018 +214

Tobacco

Index 32786.21 ▼ 12.48

294912228212Br Am Tob 284612 -12

2354 1784 Imperial Tob 2245 -2

Travel & Leisure

Index 3937.52 ▼ 72.08

3153 1742 Carnival 2040 -35

612 51212 Compass Gp 560 +2

474 301 easyJet 34534 -634

12134 27 Enterprise Inns 2912 +34

41258 30134 FirstGroup 31838 -7

1598 1203 Go-Ahead Gp 1252 +2

518 410 Greene King 447 +118

1435 955 Intercontl Htls 1044 -24

285 132 Intl Cons Airlns 132 -714

15514 114 Ladbrokes 129 xd -214

11718 8458 Marston’s 89 -1

361 216 Mitchells&Btlrs 216 -34

7912 918 Punch Taverns 1112

15334 10912 Rank Gp 14614 +34

335 25478 Restaurant Gp 29014 +18

27238 200 Stagecoach 24758xd -114

20434 1014 Thomas Cook 1014 -3078

27178 13634 TUI Travel 13634 -1378

1887 1409 Whitbread 1535xd -21

Utilities

Index 4668.70 ▲ 45.05

34534 28258 Centrica 28914 +314

1300 1058 Dee Valley 1300

64912 530 National Grid 63612 +712

73712 58412 Pennon Gp 714 +1612

1600 1368 Severn 1565 +14

637 54312 Utd Utils 610 +312

AIM

Index 683.16 ▼ 6.20

4958 1512 API Gp 39 -12

934 178 Armour Gp 314

158 118 Crimson Tide 114

214 118 Dawson Intl 114

1038 658 Eckoh 958

6414 934 JJB Sports 934 -38

36 2434 Johnson Serv 2558 -58

6312 3312 Man Brnze 3412 -12

12 738 Metalrax 818

550 385 Portmeirion P 445

17312 55 Redhall Gp 6612 +12

6214 2634 Scapa Gp 5114 -14

137 99 Swallowfield 116 xd -212

712 545 Young A 63612 -312

Oct 31 - Nov4 Nov 7 - Nov 11 Nov 14 - Nov 18 M T W T F5200

5305

5410

5515

5620

FTSE-100

20-Day MovingAverage

May 22, 2011 Nov 22, 2011MITCHELLS & BUTLERS

Share price (pence)

180

225

270

315

360FTSE-Rebased

15Wednesday, November 23, 2011

businessdiary

LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment

LDPbusiness .co.uk

For all the latest local and national business news online, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

INASSOCIATION

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LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

Friday, November 25International SocialMedia is the subject ofthe latest “60 ReallyUseful Minutes”presentation featuringBryan Adams, man-aging director of PhCreative as guestspeaker. He will talkabout different aspects

of social media andhow businesses can usethis to their advantageto market themselvesglobally.

The venue is the Old HallStreet offices of Liver-pool Chamber of Com-merce, with an 8.30amregistration ahead ofthe 9-10am seminar.

Free for chamber mem-bers and £10 fornon-members. Bookonline at Liverpoolchamber.org.uk

Tuesday, November 29It’s Liverpool in Chinais holding a breakfastevent where Lee Gilmore,of HSBC, and MartynBest, of PR firm PaverSmith, and DocumentDirect, will offerinsights into trading inChina and also provide

examples of local cus-tomers who are doingbusiness with China.

The Noble House, Brun-swick Street, is thevenue, from 8-9:30am.

Full English breakfastwill be provided, but,please confirm yourattendance tointernational@liverpoolvision.co.uk

Thursday, December 1Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce Annual Din-

ner has secured Char-lotte Hogg, head ofretail distribution andintermediaries at Sant-ander UK and grand-daughter of formerLord Chancellor LordHailsham, as its mainspeaker. Local bandOrchestral Manoeuvresin the Dark will per-form their greatesthits.

The Anglican Cathedralis hosting the event

and tickets cost £120+VAT, or £1,000+VAT fora table of 10.

Call Melissa on 0151-2271234 to book tickets.

Friday, December 2Unite the Union isoffering advice surger-ies for Sefton councilworkers facing budgetcutbacks where theycan raise their con-cerns with officials ona range of issues fromthe cuts, to job losses,

pay, or the Govern-ment’s proposals fortheir pensions.

The surgery takes placeat Dunes Splash World,The Esplanade, South-port, from 11am to1pm.

■ FOR further informa-tion, contact Uniteregional officer DebbieBrannan on 07768 931271 or Unite communic-ations officer KarenViquerat on 07768 931 316.

BorrowingfiguresofferrespiteforbeleagueredChancellorCHANCELLOR George Osborne’s defi-cit reduction plans were lifted yester-day, after official figures showed bor-rowing fell by more than expected.

Public sector borrowing in October,excluding financial interventions suchas bank bail-outs, fell to £6.5bn, whichis £1.2bn lower than the previous year,and below the expected of £6.8bn.

Borrowing between April andSeptember was also revised down by£1.7bn.

The figures come a week before theChancellor’s Autumn Statement, whenhe is expected to announce a packageof measures to help boost the UK’sailing economy amid critic-ism that his austerity meas-ures have choked off therecovery.

On the same day, the Officefor Budget Responsibility willupdate its forecasts for gov-ernment borrowing, withmany economists expectingthe body to admit that MrOsborne will fail to eradicatethe structural deficit by2014/15 as previously planned.

Yesterday’s figures meangovernment borrowing in theyear since April stands at£68.3bn, which is still in sightof its target of £122bn in the financialyear.

But there are increasing fears thatthe worsening state of the economywill scupper the deficit reductionplans by increasing the Government’sbenefits bill and lowering its taxincome.

Prime Minister David Cameronadmitted yesterday that controlling

Britain’s debt was “proving harderthan anyone envisaged”.

James Knightley, an economist atING Bank, said the finances were bet-ter than expected and the Govern-

ment's deficit reduction planfor the current financial yearwas “still achievable”.

But he added: “The Govern-ment has been dropping clearhints that this borrowing fore-cast number is likely to berevised upwards next week,because of much weaker thanexpected GDP growth.

“This suggests that theimprovement in taxation rev-enues may moderate, and thatGovernment spending maynot slow as much as hopeddue to higher unemploy-ment.”

Fears are growing that theUK’s economy will slip back into reces-sion amid the squeeze in consumerspending, while the UK’s exports mar-kets are being hit by the eurozone debtcrisis.

The better-than-expected figures inOctober were mainly driven by highertax revenues, helped by the 20% rate ofVAT.

The Government’s net debt has

risen to £966.6bn, which is 62% of GDP,and is expected to break through the£1trillion barrier in the coming months.

Mr Osborne briefed his ministerialcolleagues on the borrowing figures atthe regular weekly meeting of Cabinetat 10 Downing Street yesterday morn-ing.

Mr Cameron’s official spokesmantold reporters: “The message was thatthe figures this morning show that weare making progress in our plans tocut the deficit and that the difficultdecisions we have taken mean that theUK is seen as a relative safe haven by

the markets, but that we are notimmune from the debt storm.”

The spokesman added: “There wasstrong agreement that the Governmentneeded to be completely committed todelivering on its plans to deal with ourdebts – because that is fundamental ifwe want to keep interest rates low andprotect the UK from the debt storm –and to build the foundations forgrowth by pressing ahead with thenecessary structural reforms to boostcompetitiveness and rebalance oureconomy in the medium term.”

Chancellor George Osborne – expected to announce a package ofmeasures in his Autumn Statement Picture: STEFAN ROUSSEAU

LondonmarketTHOMAS COOK lostthree-quarters of its mar-ket value yesterday, afterthe ailing holiday firmadmitted it had returnedto its banks for more fin-ancial help.

Its stand-in bossinsisted the company was“robust”, but investorswere spooked by its needfor an additional £100min funding headroom overDecember and January –just a month after a sim-ilar request to banks.Shares fell 75%, or 30.9p,to 10.2p, giving it a mar-ket value of just £96m.

The FTSE 100 Indexclosed down 15.8 points at5206.8 in its seventh los-ing session in a row fol-lowing Monday’s 2% fallsparked by the failure of across-party committee ofpoliticians to agree areduction in the USbudget deficit.

The pound was upagainst the euro at 1.16,after the single currencywas hit by further con-cerns about the borrow-ing costs of some of itsdebt-ridden members.Sterling was flat againstthe dollar at 1.56.

Banks were among thebiggest fallers in the UKas sentiment was hit bythe ongoing eurozonedebt crisis. Taxpayerbacked Royal Bank ofScotland was down 6%,or 1.1p at 18.4p, its lowestlevel in nearly threeyears, while Lloyds wasoff 1p, at 22.4p.

But their slump wasovershadowed by thespectacular fall ofThomas Cook shares.

The biggest Footsierisers were Admiral, up32p at 847.5p, Resolution,ahead 7.8p at 238p, Ant-ofagasta, up 24p at 1033p,and Experian, ahead 18pat 799p.

The biggest Footsiefallers were RBS, down1.1p at 18.4p, Interna-tional Consolidated Air-lines, off 7.2p at 132p,Lloyds, down 1p at 22.4p,and ICAP, off 11.7p, at315.6p.

Whatdoyouthink?Email us withyour views atletters@dailypost.co.uk,or write to usPO Box 48, OldHall Street,LiverpoolL69 3EB

■ BILL GLEESON: Page 8

16 Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Devil is inthedetail toensurebestforclients

Veronica Howley – prepares for her busy day with a mix of Radio 4 and some lively in-car music

■ DOWNTOWN Liver-pool’s Livercool

Awards took over theCrowne Plaza Hotel onThursday night for whatorganiser Frank Mc-Kenna likes to call Liv-erpool’s biggest businessparty.

As ever, it was a jollyaffair – complete with thenow-obligatory DLIBvideo, with “celebrity”cameos from the likes ofCllr Joe Anderson andLiverpool Vision chiefexecutive, Max Steinberg,below.

A short while later,Steinberg was back onstage in person.

Announcing the win-ner of the Services to Liv-erpool award, McKennasaid: ‘I’d like to welcometo the stage the SilverFox, Max Steinberg.”

A festive tune blared

out as Steinberg walkedto the stage.

“It’s really tough com-ing onto a stage to JingleBells when you’re a Jew-ish boy,” he smiled. “But,then, what can you do?”

■ THE ceremonyended with DLIB’s

chairman’s award, whichwent to Natalie Heywood,founder of the trendyLeaf Café, in Bold Street.

At some awards dos,some confident peopleprepare their “winningspeeches” in advance.Natalie, however, wasclearly taken totally bysurprise by her win.

“I’m totally gob-smacked,” she saidonstage. “I was wearingmy boyfriend’s suitjacket and no shoes.”

LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page

tradinggossip

workingday

6.30am: Woken up by Radio 4, which Ileave on. I’m very much a morningperson. I grab a shower and my part-ner brings me a cup of tea. I alwaysmake sure I eat in the morning as mydays are so busy I never know whenI’m going to get the chance again.

I then drive from home in Liverpoolto our office in Hamilton Square,Birkenhead. I listen to music in thecar, which tends to be lively. At themoment, it’s Janelle Monae. Lastweek, it was a Federation dance mix.

8am: The first of many teas of the dayin the office. I deal with the post andcheck my emails to triage the onesthat need immediate attention. Urgentmatters are typically pressing queriesfrom clients with deadlines to meet orinvolving court applications.

9am: One of the civil litigation casesI’m handling, a complicated propertydispute, is coming to the stage whereeach side needs to disclose all of theirdocuments to the other side beforetrial. I go through eight lever arch filesof material, looking for any gaps orissues with the evidence. This taskrequires a lot of concentration for along time – you do have to enjoy thedetail in this job!

10.30am: Interrupted when a newclient comes into the office to discuss apartnership dispute. They are quitedistraught and need immediate atten-tion.

Business partnerships are like mar-riages – they can break down acrimon-iously, but our job is to try to resolvethe situation without making it worsefor those involved. My client has anumber of serious concerns and wantsto dissolve the partnership. They wantan immediate injunction, but it isclear to me that, in this case, it will becostly; is not warranted; and maymake the situation worse.

However, the case does require swiftaction to protect the assets of the busi-ness and its client base, so we agreethat I will do what is necessary toachieve that now, with a view to set-tling without having to bring a claim.

Court action should be the lastresort in a dispute.

12.30am: I always try to open the fileon a new case and run a risk assess-ment while the information is stillfresh in my mind. This takes abouthalf an hour.

1pm: Lunch at my desk. Never any-thing more exciting than fruit oryoghurt. More tea while catching upon emails that have come in during theday.

2pm: I chair an evaluation sessionwith a small group of company dir-ectors to discuss a case we settled. Thecase was a dispute over the terms of acontract made through email commun-ication and, although the matter wasresolved, there were a few pointsraised in the case which neededaddressing to ensure they avoided asimilar case arising in the future.

3.30pm: Go to Liverpool Civil Court

for a short directions hearing. Direc-tions hearings are short court attend-ances to consider the progress of acase through the courts and ensurethat everything that needs to be doneis being done on time. It is also anopportunity for discussions betweenthe parties that may settle the case. Ason this occasion, my client’s opponentis acting without legal representation,they have some confusion over the pro-cess and the hearing is delayed.

I meet my client’s opponent outsidethe court to clarify the process withthem. The opponent is polite and wecan have a productive discussion.However, this is not always the case.When a person is being taken to courtand does not have legal representation,I am often the focus of the anger theyfeel towards my client. I have been theobject of all kinds of hostile conduct,but it comes with the territory, and Idid learn quickly not to let it affect me.

4.45pm: Back at my desk. I take a callfrom an employer client who wants todismiss a member of staff immediatelyfor gross misconduct. I advise that todo this will leave him exposed to theunnecessary risk of a claim for unfairdismissal. I recommend that theemployee is suspended, pending aninvestigation into the matter fromwhich a formal disciplinary hearingmay follow.

5.30pm: I’ve earmarked an hour tostart a PowerPoint Presentation onnegotiating contracts for a client. Theyare beginning a new business ventureand need the staff to understand howthe contracts for their business work.

7pm: In the evenings, I’m usuallyworking on research. Occasionally Iattend a networking event, but tonightI am able to enjoy a meal in with mypartner.

VeronicaHowley isaPrincipalatLeesSolicitorsLLP,whospecialises inthefieldofcommercialdisputeresolution.ThiswasVeronica’sworkingday . . .

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