www.ldpbusiness.co.uk LDP In association with www.investecwin.co.uk BUSINESS EDITOR: BILL GLEESON 0151 472 2319 DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR: TONY McDONOUGH 0151 330 4918 BUSINESS REPORTER: PETER ELSON 0151 472 2502 BUSINESS REPORTER: ALISTAIR HOUGHTON 0151 472 2449 BUSINESS REPORTER: ALEX TURNER 0151 472 2321 BUSINESS REPORTER: NEIL HODGSON 0151 472 2451 AN INFLUENTIAL think-tank is back- ing a Government proposal on busi- ness rates that Liverpool City Council claims could see it lose more than £80m a year. Centre for Cities is backing the pro- posal that could see local authorities keep up to 60% of the business rates they collect and use it to promote eco- nomic growth. Currently, all the money collected by councils goes straight to central gov- ernment, which then redistributes it back in the form of direct grants. A Government review, due to be pub- lished in the coming weeks, will pro- pose bringing in the change from 2013. Paul Brant, the deputy leader of Liv- erpool’s Labour-controlled council, told LDP Business the move would be “catastrophic” for the city. “Areas like Westminster and the City of London would make massive gains because of the huge level of busi- ness rates they collect,” he said. “If you have a depressed area like Liverpool, with fewer businesses, then it will obviously lose out.” In the last financial year, Liverpool collected £175.5m in business rates and was given £284m by the Government. Centre for Cities says in a report out today that allowing cities to keep between 40% and 60% of future tax made on business property would cre- ate a long-term incentive for areas to support development. Chief executive Joanna Averley said: “The Government must not miss this opportunity to be radical in revising the business rates system. “Reviewing the system will not only reward councils for being pro-growth, but it will also make a real difference to the people they represent because the money raised could be ploughed straight back into the community, into things like roads and schools.” The report said the current system offered no direct financial incentive for cities to develop their business base. But Cllr Brant hit back, saying the council was already working hard to Centre for Cities backs business rates reform LONDON’S top-flight shares closed lower yesterday as fears over Italy’s finances and European debt contagion weighed heavily on investors’ minds. The FTSE 100 Index fell 60.2 points to 5868.9, though having been 120 points lower at earlier in the ses- sion it pared losses after the US market opened. Speculation that Italy and even Spain could require an bail- out caused investors to flee risky assets, while the euro was also hit by the debt fears, falling against major currencies. MARKET REPORT: PAGE 15 FTSE-100 5868.96 60.20 ▼ JMU offering space to city entrepreneurs SPACE to nurture young entrepreneurs is to open within Liv- erpool John Moores University. PAGE 5 Firm probe LIQUIDATORS are por- ing over the affairs of Cheshire developer Eatonfield Group. PAGE 6 inside LFC head impresses London alumni LIVERPOOL FC managing director Ian Ayre outlined the club’s growth plans and its commitment to help regenerate its North Liverpool surroundings in a speech to more than 60 alumni of the city’s three universities at Liverpool’s embassy in London. He also revealed its new third kit is their biggest-selling third kit, despite having blue in it. Nick Smith, from Momentum Pictures, said: “Clearly both the football club and the city gener- ally have well-founded optimism for the future.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 Ian Ayre, left, with Liverpool Embassy head Chris Heyes by Tony McDonough LDP DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR [email protected]NOW AT 5 ST PAUL’S SQUARE, LIVERPOOL independent | personal | innovative Call Nigel Hibbert on 0151 243 2160 | cheviot.co.uk Cheviot Asset Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member firm of the London Stock Exchange. Registered in England Number 1754391. Registered office: 90 Long Acre, London WC2E 9RA
Transcript
www.ldpbusiness.co.uk
LDPIn association with
www.investecwin.co.uk
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:ALEX TURNER0151 472 2321
BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451
AN INFLUENTIAL think-tank is back-ing a Government proposal on busi-ness rates that Liverpool City Councilclaims could see it lose more than£80m a year.
Centre for Cities is backing the pro-posal that could see local authoritieskeep up to 60% of the business ratesthey collect and use it to promote eco-nomic growth.
Currently, all the money collected by
councils goes straight to central gov-ernment, which then redistributes itback in the form of direct grants.
A Government review, due to be pub-lished in the coming weeks, will pro-pose bringing in the change from 2013.
Paul Brant, the deputy leader of Liv-erpool’s Labour-controlled council,told LDP Business the move would be“catastrophic” for the city.
“Areas like Westminster and theCity of London would make massivegains because of the huge level of busi-ness rates they collect,” he said.
“If you have a depressed area like
Liverpool, with fewer businesses, thenit will obviously lose out.”
In the last financial year, Liverpoolcollected £175.5m in business rates andwas given £284m by the Government.
Centre for Cities says in a report outtoday that allowing cities to keepbetween 40% and 60% of future taxmade on business property would cre-ate a long-term incentive for areas tosupport development.
Chief executive Joanna Averley said:“The Government must not miss thisopportunity to be radical in revisingthe business rates system.
“Reviewing the system will not onlyreward councils for being pro-growth,but it will also make a real differenceto the people they represent becausethe money raised could be ploughedstraight back into the community, intothings like roads and schools.”
The report said the current systemoffered no direct financial incentivefor cities to develop their businessbase.
But Cllr Brant hit back, saying thecouncil was already working hard to
shares closed loweryesterday as fearsover Italy’s financesand European debtcontagion weighedheavily on investors’minds.
The FTSE 100 Indexfell 60.2 points to5868.9, though havingbeen 120 points lowerat earlier in the ses-sion it pared lossesafter the US marketopened.
Speculation thatItaly and even Spaincould require an bail-out caused investorsto flee risky assets,while the euro wasalso hit by the debtfears, falling againstmajor currencies.
MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15
FTSE-1005868.96
60.20▼
JMU offeringspace to cityentrepreneursSPACE to nurtureyoung entrepreneursis to open within Liv-erpool John MooresUniversity.
PAGE 5
Firm probeLIQUIDATORS are por-ing over the affairs ofCheshire developerEatonfield Group.
PAGE 6
inside
LFC headimpressesLondonalumniLIVERPOOL FC managingdirector Ian Ayre outlinedthe club’s growth plansand its commitment tohelp regenerate its NorthLiverpool surroundings ina speech to more than 60alumni of the city’s threeuniversities at Liverpool’sembassy in London.
He also revealed its newthird kit is theirbiggest-selling third kit,despite having blue in it.
Nick Smith, fromMomentum Pictures, said:“Clearly both the footballclub and the city gener-ally have well-foundedoptimism for the future.”
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Ian Ayre, left, withLiverpool Embassyhead Chris Heyes
Call Nigel Hibbert on 0151 243 2160 | cheviot.co.ukCheviot Asset Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is a member firm
of the London Stock Exchange. Registered in England Number 1754391. Registered office: 90 Long Acre, London WC2E 9RA
2 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Firmoffers‘upwardlymobile’alternativetohotelrooms
Councilsays planwill costcity £80m
grow business in thecity.
He added: “Councilsalready have a power-ful incentive to createjobs and Liverpool hasalready been at theforefront of attractingbusinesses to the city.
“We have been to theShanghai Expo, wehave the entrepreneursconference coming herenext year and we havebeen working with Peelon LIverpool Waters.”
Both Centre for Cit-ies and the Departmentfor Communities andLocal Government(DCLG) claim mechan-isms will be put inplace to ensure coun-cils would not lose outunder the new formula.
A DCLG spokes-woman said: “Protec-tions will be in place.
“In year one, fundingwill be based on what itis now, and then afterthat there will be tar-iffs and top-ups. It willbe monitored to makesure councils are notleft financially worseoff.”
Liverpool Chamberof Commerce chiefexecutive Jack Stop-forth told LDP Busi-ness: “If it is the casethat no local authoritywould lose out, then weneed to keep an openmind on the proposal.”
StModwensellsWidnessitetoWhitbreadforhotel
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
LUXURY managed apartments canoffer a cost-effective alternative to thecity’s growing hotels stock, claims aLiverpool company.
Signature Living offers “upwardlymobile” apartments around the cityfor weekday and weekend visitors.
It will be able to provide 230 bedspaces in three locations, building onits first venture in Victoria Street.
Former HR manager Katie Ken-wright bought her first apartment in2008, and used the profits to eventuallyacquire all 12 units in the VictoriaStreet site.
They offer underfloor heating, adouble whirlpool bath in one, freewi-fi, films, even a welcoming bottle ofwine.
Katie said: “You can press a buttonin the morning and your lights comeon, the curtains draw and the TVcomes on.
“Whatever hotels charge you on, wewon’t. I paid a hotel bill in Holland andhad an extra 180 euro charge for aKit-Kat bar, a bottle of water, use ofwi-fi and films.
“Here, it is about your room rateand everything else is free.”
Since the launch of the VictoriaStreet apartments, local developerIliad has worked with Katie on furtherschemes in Mathew Street and BoldStreet which will include 16-bed and10-bed apartments.
She said during the week the prop-erties attract families, including Span-ish and Chinese tourists, who wouldpay about £150 a night.
But, at weekends, the rates rise toabout £340 a room aimed at groups andstag and hen parties, mostly from Lon-don.
However, Katie said all propertiesare strictly regulated and each site hasits own security guard: “They are allself-contained units with no resid-ents.”
The firm also provides a lifestyle
service for visitors new to the city:“We offer discount at restaurants andclubs and can organise their nights forthem.
“We can tell them, ‘go to this bar at9pm and leave at 10 because it dies,then go to this bar’. We guide themand tell them how to dress and if theyare drunk they won’t get in.
“You have to take the threshold to adifferent level. We have to competewith hotels.”
She added: “Our motto is ‘Expectmore’.
“There are about 5,000 hotel roomsin Liverpool and another 2,000 on theway in what is an already aggressivemarket.
“But we are out of that because weare great accommodation.
“There’s no-one really doing greataccommodation in the city on the scalethat we are.”
She said that is reflected in out-
standing reviews on the Trip Adviserand Booking.com websites: “If you getbad reviews, you are finished.”
The firm also caters for corporategroups and bookings and has, in thepast, arranged exclusive Christmasparties, including in-house catering,and accommodation for key events inthe city’s calendar.
She added: “We’re already takingbookings for next year’s GrandNational.”
Katie Kenwright in one of the Victoria Street managed apartments offered by Signature LivingPicture: COLIN LANE/ tmcl110711apartments-1
ST MODWEN has completedthe sale of the latest phase ofits £10m leisure developmentat Widnes Waterfront, to Whit-bread.
The hospitality group hasacquired a 1.47 acre site, onwhich they will build a 60-bed
hotel and 7,500 sq ft adjoiningrestaurant at The Hive for£975,000.
The four-storey hotel is setto become a Premier Inn andwill be adjoined by a BrewersFayre restaurant.
St Modwen is developing
The Hive in partnership withHalton Council. The scheme ison track to open this October,and is 95% pre-let, with justone remaining restaurant unitunder offer.
The Hive has attracted aReel Cinemas multiplex, a
36,000 sq ft ice rink operatedby Planet Ice, a Frankie andBenny’s restaurant andWidnes Superbowl – a com-plex which will house a bowl-ing alley, indoor soft play area,a laser quest and a Costa Cof-fee franchise.
The bowling alley hasalready been handed over tothe operator for the internalfit-out to commence. St Mod-wen director Michelle Taylorsaid: “This sale is yet anothervote of confidence from a qual-ity operator.”
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VIDEO: THE VISITOR ECONOMY
We host a debate on Merseytourism – including theimportance of cruise ship visits
3Wednesday, July 13, 2011
ing cell biology at the university’sRoslin Institute – later well-knownfor creating Dolly the cloned sheep.
He then enjoyed a research careerthat saw him work in Australia,Canada, and the US – where he spentseveral years at a biotechnology firmin San Francisco.
“That really gave me an appetitefor the commercial development oflife science research,” he said.
In 2002, he was invited to join theyoung Merseybio in Liverpool.
Geoff, meanwhile, graduated witha PhD in biochemistry. His researchfocused on hormones in edible crabs.
“I was very well-fed doing myPhD,” he said.
After post-doctoral study andworking for a contract research com-pany in Cambridge, where clientsincluded AstraZeneca and Unilever,Geoff joined the Merseybio projectin 2001, just as it was getting off theground.
Merseybio was founded by theUniversity of Liverpool to housespin-out life sciences firms.
The university managed thecentre until 2007, when Rhys andGeoff formed 2Bio to take over itsmanagement.
Rhys said: “Part of the respons-ibility we had was to continue ourstewardship of the incubator,because it was something we hadbuilt up, operated and made success-ful since the start of the project.
“But we knew we wanted to inter-nationalise the business. This gaveus the freedom to do that.
“We now have more empathy withour customers than we’ve ever had.We’ve been there ourselves. Weknow what it is to take a risk, tostart a new business and to grow abusiness.”
The original intention of thebuilding, Rhys said, was to offershort tenancies so the centre couldhave a high turnover of businesses,regularly encouraging fledglingfirms to move elsewhere in the city.
But the model has changed over
home. But, alarmingly, 16 companieshave left the city because of a lack ofspace in which to expand.
Geoff said: “They were companiesthat just got too big.
“They had to make a decision –can they grow further in Liverpool?The answer for them was, unfort-unately, no.”
Asked if the movement of compan-ies was frustrating, Geoff said: “Ithas been for five years. We’ve beenpretty much full since 2005.”
But the Biocampus will, theyhope, change all that.
Geoff said: “The new hospital rep-resents, for Liverpool, one of thebiggest opportunities for forward-looking economic development inthis part of the country that we’reever going to get.
“The university and the hospitalare bringing together a project,which essentially is one of these butbigger ” – he pointed at Merseybio –“to capture the value that we cur-rently lose.
“As a company, 2Bio doesn’t losethat value. We still have contactswith these companies. But the cityhas lost valuable company stock thatwould have spent money andemployed people in the city.”
Rhys studied at Edinburgh Uni-versity, winning his PhD and study-
THE science may be complicated, butthis equation is simple – if hi-techfirms can’t get the labs they need, thenthey will move out of Liverpool.
It’s a fact that Geoff Wainwright andRhys Roberts, directors of 2Bio, knowonly too well.
They operate Merseybio, the Liver-pool incubation centre for life sciencesfirms – and they have seen severalfirms with great growth potentialleave the city because there was nolaboratory space available.
But now, for the first time in years,there is a light at the end of thebiotech tunnel – the Biocampus.
The campus, part of the new £451mRoyal Liverpool Hospital, will event-ually house dozens of firms research-ing pioneering medical treatments.
Geoff and Rhys are working with thehospital and the university on plansfor the first phase of the campus, aBioInnovation Centre (BIC) that willgive space for growing firms – such asthose that have outgrown Merseybioin recent years.
The more firms that move on to theBIC, the more will pass through Mer-seybio – and the more Geoff and Rhyscan share their experience with.
As well as running Merseybio, 2Biooffers consultancy services around theworld, helping researchers spin outtheir ideas into profitable businesses.They also share that advice, gained inyears of experience in scientificresearch, with their local tenants.
Geoff said: “Part of the ethos is thatthis is not just a property.
“Diseases don’t have passports.They travel. Our market is globalbecause the problem is global.”
Since Merseybio opened in 2004,thirty-nine companies have called it
Geoff Wainwright, left,and Rhys Roberts, of2Bio, outside theMerseybio centre
Picture: JAMES MALONEY/jm070711ldpbiz-1
q&a
INASSOCIATION
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LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
the years, thanks to the lack of labspace elsewhere in the city.
Rhys said: “The problem is that, ifcompanies reach the end of the shorttenure but don’t have a suitablealternative, then you risk losing theeconomic value of that company.
“The model has morphed grad-ually from one that’s more support-ive and empathetic to the needs ofthe companies, rather than slavishlyadhering to strict turnover.”
Merseybio companies haveworked in areas from making diag-nostic tests for diseases faster andcheaper, to finding ways to makepromising drug treatments more sol-uble and therefore easier to use.
The 2Bio team still works closelywith the University of Liverpool,meaning they can dip into the poolof local research talent.
Geoff said: “Facilities such as thiswould be very difficult to replicatewell if you didn’t have such a strongbase around you.”
That research pool, along with thepresence locally of companies suchas Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers-Squibb, means Liverpool has aglobal reputation for life sciences.
Geoff said: “Liverpool has clearhighlights when you go overseas inareas such as infectious diseases,materials chemistry, physics andpharmacology.
“People understand that we have acritical mass in a very small space.
“Shanghai has 14m people. Liver-pool has just 450,000. But when westart to explain the density of high-quality activity we have in Liver-pool, they immediately get it. It’s nota difficult sell and people are willingto listen.”
Life sciences firms bring morethan just an economic benefit to theregion. Rhys said: “While there areclear economic benefits to the Bio-campus model, there’s a huge benefitfor patient healthcare as well.
“Innovative treatments developedhere for commercial reasons willalso be available here first of all.”
2Bio helps researchers and compan-ies to exploit their intellectual prop-erty.
It works with clients includinguniversities, research institutions,investors and biotechnology com-panies large and small.
Rhys said: “What really motivatesus, given our love of science, is thecommercialisation of new ideas. It’sa very satisfying business for us.”
2Bio has customers around theworld, particularly in Europe and inSingapore, Australia and Canada.
It acts as the “commercialisationpartner” for a similar life sciencescentre in Cantanhede, central Por-tugal, helping researchers theremake money from their research.
Geoff said: “We constantly reviewwhether we need to establish anoverseas presence. It’s a big step fora small business.”
2Bio hopes to use its internationalconnections to benefit Merseybio’stenants and the city more generally.It is helping to forge links betweenthe University of Liverpool andSingapore’s Agency for Science,Technology and Research (A*STAR),and Rhys hopes other collaborationswill follow.
Geoff and Rhys are clearly pas-sionate about their work, and areenthusiastic about the prospects forthe region’s life sciences sector.
They have left hands-on researchbehind for a new life as businessgurus – but laugh when asked if theymissed their labs.
“I was too dangerous in labs,”smiled Geoff. “There were a lot ofexplosions. It was time to get out.
“But we work with businesses allthe time. And one thing we do reallywell is speak geek.
“There are so many times whenwe sit down with someone who isexplaining something to us, and wesee that it’s really cool.”
Rhys added: “We live vicariouslythrough the experience of otherswhose experiments rarely fail.”
Biggest achievement in business:Geoff: Getting to where we are todayRhys: Getting our first revenue chequeBiggest regret:Rhys: I can’t think I would go back andchange anythingGeoff: It’s about where we are now andwhere we are going, rather than whathas happenedBest advice received:Geoff: Only worry about things you cancontrolRhys: Every challenge is really anopportunity ■ TRADING Gossip: Page 16
4 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Further details can be found on our website www.winpartnership.orgIf you are interested in sponsoring the 2012 awards email Sharon Stanton at [email protected]
Sponsored by:
WIRRAL’S business community has been saluting the successof companies that are strengthening the borough’s economy.More than 350 key figures from commerce and industry celebratedthe achievements of these companies at the 2011 Wirral InvestmentNetwork (WiN) annual awards ceremony on Friday 8th July.Distinguished guests included Esther McVey MP for Wirral West andPresident of WiN, Alison McGovern MP for Wirral South, Cllr PhilDavies Deputy Leader of Wirral Council, Deputy Mayor and Mayoress,Cllr Jeff Green, Cllr Ann Bridson and Jim Wilkie Chief Executive ofWirral Council.
The prestigious Think Big Award, sponsored by Wirral Council, went to TheContact Company. Established in Wirral just five years ago, The Contact Companyis now one of the area’s key employers, and has made significant investmentin moving to the Queensgate Building in Birkenhead. This £3.9 million project isenabling The Contact Company to expand its Outsourcing Call Centre activities tomeet customer demands, whilst creating employment opportunities for 350 newstaff.
Sponsored by Hillyer McKeown Solicitors, the winner of the Small Businessof the Year Award is Fleetsolve Ltd, who deliver energy efficient solutions andare leaders in sustainable fuel innovation, combustion technology and enginedevelopment. Focussing on alternative fuel engineering, Fleetsolve offers clients avariety of services, from concept through to design and implementation. A strongstrategic development plan has enabled the company to develop and secureorders for the coming twelve months
Business Start of the Year,sponsored by Wirralbiz:Eight4sport
International Trade Awardsponsored by Invest Wirral:Greyhound Chromatography &Allied Chemicals
Corporate Social ResponsibilityAward sponsored by Unilever UK:B&M Waste Services
Medium Business of the Yearsponsored by Scantec Personnel:Osiris Projects
Investment of the Year sponsoredby AEV Ltd: The ContactCompany
Business of the Year sponsored bySmith & Sons Property Consultants:Park Group plc
Business Person of the Yearsponsored by Tranmere Rovers FC:Mark McManus, MD StiebelEltron UK
Environmental Award sponsored byStiebel Eltron UK: Arriva Wirral Innovation and Creativity Award
sponsored by T-Systems: FurlongInnovations Ltd
Excellence in Training & SkillsDevelopment Award sponsored byWirral Met College: Cammell LairdShiprepairers & Shipbuilders
Winners of the 2011 Wirral Investment Network Business Awards were:
The event was opened by the Chairman of WiN, John Robinson and hostedby Roger Phillips of Radio Merseyside. A total of 12 awards were presented toorganisations spanning a range of sectors, markets and industry disciplines,at the black tie gala evening held at prestigious grade II listed Hillbark Hotel inFrankby.
5Wednesday, July 13, 2011
McGrathjoiningBrabnersTHE corporate financearm of Liverpool lawfirm Brabners ChaffeStreet has recruitedone of the city’s best-known corporateaccountants.
Paula McGrath isleaving PKF to joinBrabners Stuart.
Brabners Stuart wasformed following themerger between TSSPand Brabners ChaffeStreet’s Corporate Fin-ance team.
Ms McGrath said:“This role also partic-ularly appeals as Brab-ners Stuart is dedicatedand committed to Liv-erpool.”
IncubatorspacewillaidLJMUgraduates
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
Kabir Rayman promises diners‘a whole new experience’
IndianrestaurateurpromisestospiceupwaterfrontA NEW Indian restaur-ant opens on the Liver-pool waterfront in thenext two months, prom-ising a new diningexperience.
Kabir Rayman sayshe is bringing a touchof Bollywood glamourto the Kings Dock.
He already has res-taurants in Manchesterand Preston, but hasdecided to come to Liv-erpool because it is a“vibrant and happeningplace”.
EastZEast, a Punjabirestaurant, will have400 covers and is sit-uated opposite the Liv-erpool Echo Arena.
He said: “No expensehas been spared. Visit-ing EastZEast is about awhole new experience.”
INASSOCIATION
WITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
AN INCUBATION space to nur-ture young entrepreneurs is toopen within Liverpool JohnMoores University.
It is the latest initiative by theuniversity aimed at developingsuccessful small businesses andwill build on its World of Work(WoW) scheme and a new degreedevised by its business school todevelop the next generation ofsmall business owners.
From September, the Centrefor Entrepreneurship will openin Mount Pleasant providing flex-ible, drop-in workspace forgraduates starting a business.
It will provide co-workingspace where young businessstart-ups, freelancers and entre-preneurs will be able to shareideas and collaborate, and willoffer access to LJMU’s own teamof business advisers.
It is linked to the EnterpriseFellowship Programme, which isa European Regional Develop-ment Fund initiative designed tosupport and increase the numberof sustainable graduate busi-nesses in Merseyside.
The university provides busi-ness support and resources, andthe opportunity to pitch for
£1,500 of funding for up to 50graduates.
LJMU is currently supportingmore than 20 graduate busi-nesses under the scheme, includ-ing Lawrence Armstrong’s Fron-tier Ecology, which protects wild-life affected by construction orrefurbishment projects.
He has been dubbed Batmanafter time spent on building siteslooking for protected bat species.
Another project is UK Visits,set up by Toni Hynes, offeringtransport to prisons for familiesof offenders.
Lynne Robertson, JMU’s entre-preneurship champion for incub-ation, said: “The launch of theCentre for Entrepreneurshipbrings together eight years ofexpertise in helping our studentand graduate start-ups in the city.
“This year’s Enterprise Fellow-ship Programme has been thebest yet in terms of the work-shops and activities the entre-preneurs have participated in,and now, with the Centre, thislevel of accelerated support cancontinue.
“The Centre will ensure thatour graduate businesses remainin the city, where they will benurtured and supported, andfrom where they will launchbusinesses that will employ ourfuture graduates.”
For further information about this voluntary and rewarding role,please contact Anne-Marie Nixon, Clerk to the Corporation on0151 353 4609 or email [email protected]
Hugh Baird College is the best FurtherEducation College in Merseyside*, withover 7,000 students and a turnover ofjust under £20m.
We are committed to improving life, joband business prospects through ourexcellent education, training and support.We are proud of our reputation and ourstudents, who study at a range of levelsfrom life skills to full honours degree.
We know that we make a real differenceto the lives of our students. The Collegeintake in 2009/10 was the 6th mostdeprived in the country, yet we are in thetop 5% of colleges for developingstudents.** We want to recruit Governorswho share our drive and vision.
As a College Governor, your experience,ideas and enthusiasm will bring a differentperspective. Our students are from a widerange of backgrounds and we are keen toinvolve people who can reflect their culturesand ambitions.
You don’t need to have an educationbackground; we’re looking for people whocan think strategically and are committed toexcellence. You may have experience inbusiness, charity management or the legal orproperty professions, but above all, you’llhave energy and a desire to make a differenceto the lives and futures of our students.
Hugh Baird College is committed to equalopportunities and we encourage applicationsfrom women, people with disabilities andmembers of the black and ethnic minoritycommunities, who are currently underrepresented amongst our Governors.
Can you makea difference?
*Government league tables, based on point score perexam entry (2008, 2009, 2010) ** Value added
www.hughbaird.ac.uk
6 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
newsLDPbusiness .co.uk
LandsalecollapseleavesEatonfieldinliquidation
IllnesscostsNWfirms£810m
Business lobbygroupaimingtoteachMPsaboutbusiness
Eatonfield chief executive Rob Lloyd pictured at his horse training yard in Cheshire
LIQUIDATORS are poring over theaffairs of Cheshire developer Eaton-field Group, after the collapse of aland deal seen as vital to its rescue.
London-based restructuring special-ist Zolfo Cooper was appointed asliquidator at a meeting of EatonfieldDevelopments’ creditors on July 8.
A spokeswoman for Zolfo Coopersaid partners were currently examin-ing Eatonfield’s affairs as part of an“ongoing” process and were unavail-able for comment.
Tarporley-based Eatonfield, headedby chief executive Rob Lloyd, hadhoped to secure its future aftermonths of negotiations with aLeeds-based housing group.
But it revealed that its hopes weredashed at the final hurdle when, onMay 23, a change in terms relating tothe sale was requested, leaving theEatonfield board no option but to ter-minate discussions.
Eatonfield directors immediatelyopened negotiations with the group’slenders in the hope that an alternativeto the proposed land sale could secureits future.
However, on May 31, it announcedthat, while talks with lenders werestill continuing, it had requested thattrading in its shares on AIM – Altern-ative Investment Market – be suspen-ded pending clarification of thegroup’s financial position.
The fate of Eatonfield was effect-ively sealed in 2008 when the con-struction sector began to feel theimpact of the credit crunch.
In a stock market update on April11, the board admitted: “Eatonfieldhas been in severe financial difficultysince the summer of 2008.
“Between that date and the autumnof 2009, the group was adverselyaffected by falling demand for resid-ential property, which in turn reducedsales of housing units and land and,therefore, its ability to service its netdebt.”
It said market conditions remained
difficult throughout 2010 and byDecember 31, 2010, the group’s netdebt stood at £26.9m.
Lenders included the Royal Bank ofScotland, Allied Irish Bank, Co-oper-ative Bank, Anglo Irish Bank, HSBCand the Principality Building Society.
In a bid to alleviate its tightening
THE Forum of Private Busi-ness (FPB) has set up a spec-ial work experience schemethis summer for MPs to learnabout the realities of runninga small business.
It is inviting every MP,MSP and AM in Britain totake part in its BusinessBuddy scheme.
About 100 have signed upso far.
It is also hoped that theMPs who take part in Busi-ness Buddy will stay in touchwith business owners aftertheir visits, creating a hotlinefor firms to communicate anyemerging issues and con-cerns.
FPB head of campaigns,Jane Bennett, said: “It’s allwell and good for lobbygroups like the Forum to tellthe government about theissues facing small busi-nesses.
“But there’s no substitutefor first-hand experience.
“We want politicians to seefor themselves what it’s liketo run a small business –that’s why we developed theBusiness Buddy scheme.
“In recent years the num-ber of MPs who have ownedtheir own businesses hasincreased, and that is to bewelcomed.
“However, different types
of companies face very differ-ent types of problems.
“The legislation imposedon business is constantlychanging, so we hope everyMP, MSP and AM is able togive just a few hours of theirtime to take part in BusinessBuddy.”
She added: “We'd like tosay a big thank you to ourmembers who have volun-teered to help Get BritainTrading by hosting a visitfrom their MP.
“Hopefully, together, wecan start to bring it home todecision-makers just howmuch small firms contributeto the economy.”
MORE than 3m days are lost each year in theNorth West through work-related ill health, costingthe region’s economy up to £810m a year.
The figures from the Health & Safety Executiveare being highlighted by Liverpool workplacehealth charity Health@Work.
The charity is calling for employers to do moreto tackle the issue.
Chief executive Frances Molloy said: “On aver-age, more than 1.2 days per worker are lost eachyear in the North West.
“We are by no means the worst region in the UK,but the cost to the regional economy of suchabsence rates is still high.
“It’s the region’s businesses which bare thebrunt of this cost, with staff being off, they faceexpense through lost productivity, sick pay andbringing in extra staff to cover people who areabsent.”
finances, it opened talks withLeeds-based Trilandium and Triland-ium Celtic to sell seven housing devel-opment sites throughout Wales and asite at Birkwood, near Glasgow, in anarrangement that would have raised£9.4m towards paying down debt, butwhich ultimately collapsed in May.
The Trilandium business was setup in 2009 to acquire rights to build onresidential land without committingsubstantial funds to acquire the landin advance.
No-one from Eatonfield was avail-able for comment. Its office phone linewas out of order.
THE Warrington officeof fit-out, housing andmaintenance con-tractor Morris & Spot-tiswood says it hassecured £2m worth ofcontracts in the pastfew months.
And the firm addsthat it is on the verge ofsigning a new £1.5mdeal.
Business unit dir-ector Tony Cahill said:“The projects arepretty varied.
“We’ve been asked todo additional fit-outwork for existing cli-ents like The Co-oper-ative Group and a num-ber of our financialcustomers, which isevidence of good workto date and is really sat-isfying for the team.
“New projects we’verecently won includethe refurbishment ofPure nightclub inManchester, fit-out of aGrade II-listed buildingat the University ofSalford and buildingworks at FishergateShopping Centre, inPreston.”
The new project soonto be confirmed will bea joint venture betweenthe maintenance andfit-out divisions andwill cover the NorthWest area.
Established in 1925,Morris & Spottiswoodis Britain’s sixth-largest retail fit-outspecialist.
The firm is also a lead-ing regional provider ofnew-build, refurbish-ment and maintenanceservices to the afford-able housing sector.
The company has agrowing portfolio ofaffordable housingprojects.
Fit-outfirm torevealnew deal
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CREATIVE
7Wednesday, July 13, 2011
MattJohnson
BBCdefendsprobeafterWirralmail firm’sprotest
Eco firmsecuresdeal withHyundaiA DELEGATION fromone of the world’sbiggest companies vis-ited Merseyside to signan agreement withrenewable energy com-pany Eco Environ-ments.
Senior managementfrom Hyundai Solarmet with the companyat its offices in Bootleto sign the deal, whichwill enable Eco toinstall its solar panels.
Eco Environments isthe first company of itskind in the UK to signsuch an agreementwith Hyundai Solar,and the company hasalready received andinstalled one containerof its solar panels withmore to follow.
The delegation,which had travelledfrom Korea and Europefor the meeting, wasmade up of generalmanager HyundaiSolar Europe, InyeobKim, and his colleaguesAndy Lee and Ko YoungHak.
David Hunt, EcoEnvironments’ salesand marketing director,said: “Hyundai Solar isalready well-estab-lished in countries likeGermany, and we aredelighted to sign thisagreement with themto install their solarpanels in the UK.
“They were partic-ularly keen to visit ouroffices in Liverpool inorder to see us inaction, and they wereimpressed by what wehad achieved as a busi-ness and our growthpotential. We are theonly company of ourkind in the UK to signsuch a deal withHyundai Solar, and itwill give us terrificbuying power as well asaccess to some of themost leading-edge solarpanels in the world.”
Does ‘participatorybudgeting’ reveal theBigSociety inaction?
THE BBC has resolutely defended itsstance on an investigative televisionprogramme that incensed Birkenheaddoor drop marketing company LinkDirect.
Chris Roxburgh, Link Direct dir-ector, has demanded a right of replyfrom BBC director general MarkThompson, claiming last week’s Pan-orama probe, Why Hate Junk Mail?discredited his industry and blurredthe lines between advertising mail and
scam mail, which was the subject ofthe investigation by presenter TomHeap.
Scam mail is sent from abroad andtargets householders with offers ofinvestments in bogus schemes such asfake lotteries, share frauds and inher-itance scams.
If victims reply, their names are puton a “sucker list” which is sold toother criminals around the world.
However, an aggrieved Mr Roxburghargued: “Our sector has nothing what-soever to do with scam mail, and it isoutlandish and deeply damaging to usthat we were thrust into the spotlight
with this criminal activity.” Hedescribed the programme as “fund-amentally flawed, clumsy, ill-informedand unbalanced”.
However, a spokesman for the BBCdefended the programme’s content,saying: “The Direct Marketing Assoc-iation was featured in the programmedefending the industry.
“It said direct marketing was worth£16bn a year in sales, and provided avaluable service.
“Furthermore, it disputed the ideathat items sent out by its members fellinto the category of junk mail.”
The spokesman added: “ The pro-
gramme made clear that the over-whelming majority of junk/directmailers are legitimate.
“However, the damage done by crim-inal gangs based abroad targeting thevulnerable with scam mail and theease with which the gangs exploit theRoyal Mail’s Local Look service is amatter of grave concern and meritedbeing brought to public attention.”
Link Direct was founded in 1995 andis headquartered in Birkenhead, witha southern sales office in Hampshireand a transport depot in Liverpool.
It employs 30 full-time staff, as wellas a number of part-time employees.
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A FEW years ago, a new buzz phrasebecame popular in the public sector:“participatory budgeting”.
It expressed the aspiration to
engage communities to a far greaterdegree in the process that decidedwhere and how public funds were tobe spent in their communities. In itssimplest form, it’s a pretty straight-forward concept.
It became less straightforward inthe context of huge services like theNHS, or in other areas where thoseparticipating in the budget processhad complex and life-changingdecisions to make.
I recently heard of an event at aWirral village hall where Wirralcouncillors gathered to hear a seriesof short presentations from groupspitching for some council funds tofurther their projects.
The audience voted for the projectsthey felt deserved support. However,their evening’s vote was not treatedby the council as a hard and fastresult. The audience’seffort to participate in thebudgeting was clearly onlythe start of a process thatwould ultimately bedecided by councillors any-way.
Fast forward a fewmonths and the teambehind one of those pitcheshas just staged a successfulweekend of community-based activ-ity, in and around the village, wherethey tried to fulfil the notion of par-
ticipatory budgeting. I am not surewhether those who worked to stagelast weekend’s events feel part of any“Big Society”, but I am sure events
like this bring a greatersense of belonging and com-mitment to our communit-ies.
Much has changed in ourpublic sector as deficitreduction measures taketheir toll. Increasingly, weare being told the privatesector must ensure gaps inpublic spending are
bridged. With that in mind, it’s likelythat the Government will applaudthe action being taken by the retailer
John Lewis, who this weekannounced the opening of com-munity rooms in pilot projects run-ning at four stores (sadly not yet Liv-erpool). These are areas where com-munity groups can book meetingspace at no charge, complete withaudio-visual equipment.
John Lewis sees the initiative asplugging a gap left by public sectorspending cuts.
It certainly promises to do that,and in far more pleasing surround-ings than neglected village hallsowned by cash-strapped councils.
‘Eventsarebringingagreatersenseofbelonging’
LiverpoolOnetosponsorSouthportFlowerShowRETAIL and leisure complexLiverpool One has signed upas the latest sponsor for theSouthport Flower Show.
Liverpool One is backingthe event, which is thelargest independent flowershow in the country.
Donna Howitt, marketingdirector at Liverpool One,said: “Southport FlowerShow is a fantastic eventthat draws people in from allover the region, so we aredelighted to be sponsoringthe show.
“We’ll be showcasing someof our restaurants and lead-ing homeware brands, plusour team will be on hand totalk about everything Liver-pool One has to offer.”
David Jackson, chief exec-utive of Southport FlowerShow, added: “It is great tohave such well-knownnames supporting the showand associated with ourbrand.
“These connections aretestimony to just how wellknown we have become bothnationally and regionally.”
The theme for the Augustevent is vintage, which willsee creative traders, exhib-itors and guests taking in-fluence from design classicsof the 50s, 60s and 70s.
David Jackson, chief executive of Southport Flower Show – delighted with the sponsorship dealPicture: COLIN LANE
THE world has been through a sharprecovery from the great recession – thisimmediately triggered a return of thecommodity price peak that itself was thecreator of the recession.
The world raw material availabilitycannot accommodate growth on therecent scale. We will have to see howmuch growth it can tolerate as monetarypolicy continues to tighten and bringsdown world inflation from its current 5%or so.
It is clear that inflation has becomeseriously embedded in some major eco-nomies around the world. Inflation in theWest so far has been held down by a weaklabour market, but this will only be tem-porary, lasting as long as real wages canfall.
It cannot be a good idea for westerncentral banks to keep on holding interestrates at so low a level that they feedmassive continued growth in credit andmoney in the developing world, which inturn feeds world inflation. The mechan-ism is the “carry trade”, by which banksin the West borrow at very low rates indollars, pounds and euros and lend athigh rates in the East and South. Apartfrom the effect on world inflation, thiswill be bound in the end to spill over intoWestern inflation.
So we expect Western monetary policyto be tightened. For a start, the aggress-ive printing of money, Quantitative Eas-ing, has ended in the UK and eurozone,and is ending in the US in the next month.
This still leaves close-to-zero interestrates. These have started to be raised,however, by the ECB. It cannot be toolong before the Fed and the Bank of Eng-land follow suit.
The carry trade will otherwise con-tinue to replenish the credit supplies thatIndia and China are trying to choke off.With inflation in the UK already high,and in the US creeping upwards, neithercentral bank can afford to stand outagainst tightening and risk further fallsin the dollar and pound, which will feedinflation further.
There is opposition to this tighteningas growth is weak all over the West. Butthis weakness cannot be remedied bymonetary looseness; it is due to the short-age of raw materials that in turn is slow-ing productivity growth. All that moremonetary ease will do is reigniteraw material prices.
The debate in the UK has yetto recognise these facts. There isa view in some circles thatgrowth is the result of govern-ment policy; hence, for example,Labour under Ed Miliband isurging less fiscal rebalancingand easier money.
Yet it should be plain thatgrowth is weak because of fun-damental real difficulties – raw materialprices forcing down real income and pro-ductivity growth, and real public debtproblems forcing fiscal consolidation.
Even now in the US, whose govern-ment profligacy has been unparalleled inpost-war history, there is no disagree-ment about the need for fiscal consol-idation; it is just that agreement on par-ticular measures is hard to find. Whenpublic finances are this bad, fiscal “mul-
tipliers” on extra deficit spending canturn harshly negative as they triggerfears about solvency.
So far, the UK cuts have not mater-ialised in the data; the public finances,however, have started to improve withbetter revenues. Spending growth shouldslow down soon, though it is slower thanprojected.
This consolidation, in spite ofall the hype, is very far fromsavage; it is gradualism itself.The loss of public sector jobs isprojected at around 300,000 overthe next four years; this isaround 1% of the labour force, aloss of 0.25% per year – evid-ently quite easily absorbed evenby the slowest growth in privatesector jobs. So the programmeis as gradual as possible, con-
sistent with taking definite action.Nevertheless, because it has at least
been undertaken and is backed by gen-eral opinion as necessary, any anxiety inmarkets is allayed.
Our forecast for UK growth is for mod-erate expansion of a little under 2% and,under the assumption of resumed mon-etary tightening, a fall back of inflation to2% by 2013.
For other Western economies, the out-
look is rather similar. For the emergingmarket economies, growth will slow andinflation remain stubborn, but shouldmoderate somewhat.
This background at least gives somesupport to the gradual recovery we alsoforecast in the Merseyside and neigh-bouring regions’ economies.
It is disappointing when recoveries areso weak and gradual as this. But the reas-ons lie in the hostility of the environ-ment; until raw materials come intoeasier supply as the technology of eco-nomising on them improves, or their sup-ply capacity increases, world growth willnecessarily be limited and with it West-ern capacity to grow. Exhortations to gov-ernments and central banks to stimulatemore growth than this permits are mis-guided.
Our sub-regional forecasts for Mersey-side, Cheshire, and North Wales show aslow recovery from 2011 onwards andquite similar in strength to the UK.
Employment is forecast to grow andunemployment to fall, albeit at modestrates; but their upbeatness contrasts withthe doom and gloom forecasts by a vocalsegment of opinion that predicts mass joblosses in the public sector will sendunemployment soaring.
Our regular panel survey is consistent
THE news from Paris,that the city’s UnescoWorld Heritage Statuscould be withdrawn,should Peel’s LiverpoolWaters scheme progressas currently envisaged, ishardly a surprise.
The heritage lobby hasbeen fighting hardagainst the skyscraperproject ever since it wasfirst announced. There isno doubt that clusters oftall buildings would fun-damentally alter thecharacter of Liverpool’swaterfront.
The first principle inassessing the pros andcons of any type of con-servation scheme iswhether it deters sub-stantial investment oreconomic output. Liver-pool is a poor town andcan’t be so fussy that itturns away willing andcredible investors.
The conservationdebate in connectionwith Liverpool Waterspuzzles me. The site ofthe scheme is a derelictwasteland significantly tothe north of the ThreeGraces. Furthermore, theaesthetic damage hasalready been done. Mod-ernity has already cometo the waterfront in theform of the new museumand apartments at MannIsland, the tall buildingsat Princes Dock and thedreadful architecture ofthe Hilton hotel and OnePark West. These build-ings would be the reasonto withdraw World Her-itage Status, not whatmay happen at CentralDocks in the future.
In any case, the argu-ment is a bit redundantbecause the LiverpoolWaters scheme won’thappen any time soon.It’s far too ambitious andextravagant in scale to beeconomically viable in acity of less than half amillion people.
WHAT do the demise ofThe News of the Worldand Southern Cross havein common?
On the surface ofthings, they share littlein common, but scratch alittle deeper and you getto something profoundabout human nature.
Both are a result of
failed corporate gov-ernance. Some of thedetails of that failure dif-fer between the twocases, but in essence itboils down to people cav-ing in to competitive andbusiness pressures andmaking huge errors ofjudgment.
Southern Cross’s boardtried to fund an ambit-ious growth programmethrough a sale and lease-back deal. The funds real-ised by the deal recapit-alised the business, butthe sale and leasebacktied the company intoinflexible long-term rentcommitments that, over25 years, tallied to £5bn.
It was a deal SouthernCross could afford to ser-vice until the public sec-tor spending cuts camealong. Cash-strappedlocal authorities pusheddown the rates they wereprepared to pay for res-idential care, causingSouthern Cross to beunable to pay the rent.
It strikes me that careof the elderly doesn’t lenditself to the cut andthrust of high finance.
At first sight, thedemise of the News of theWorld seems attributableto scurrilous behaviourand mistakes in thenewsroom, rather thanerrors of judgment in theboardroom, but thiswould be wrong. Theboardroom was verymuch the place whereerrors were made. Seniorexecutives in charge ofNews International werepresumably recruitedbecause they were per-ceived to be the brightyoung talent who couldtake the business for-ward.
In the end, though,their tenure can only bedescribed as utterly cata-strophic for the company.
To say they did notknow what was going onand where the big storieswere coming from is nodefence at all. The basicprinciples of good corpor-ate governance requirenot only that they shouldknow what is going on,but that they set and takepersonal responsibilityfor establishing a sound,ethical culture withintheir business.
BillGleeson
‘Inflation isseriouslyembeddedinmajoreconomies’
9Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Economy defies doom-mongersEconomist Peter Stoneybelieves the Bank of England,below, will soon have to raiseinterest rates
Picture: STEFAN ROUSSEAU
Daresbury is key to the region’s hi-tech economy
the big feature
with our forecasts. Capital investmentplans in particular are notably robust.
The previous issue of this journal(spring, 2011) argued that the private sec-tor is capable of filling employment andinvestment gaps created by the Coalit-ion’s austerity budget. While the fullimpact of cutbacks has yet to be felt,there are indications already that theprivate sector is shaping up withinvestment intentions thataugur well for the future.
One industry that is promin-ent in this regard is the Port ofLiverpool, whose new owner andoperator, Peel Holdings, hasbeen smartly out of the startingstalls with a huge multi-billionpound and long-term plan calledOcean Gateway, incorporatingthe Mersey Ports Master Plan,for capitalising on the River Mersey’spotential for contributing significantly tofuture economic growth.
A key component of Ocean Gateway isan in-river terminal big enough to takepost-Panamax size ships, which are toolarge to enter the current enclosed docksystem at Royal Seaforth. For LiverpoolPort to remain competitive with its south-ern counterparts like Felixstowe andSouthampton, this new terminal is vital.
Together with other investments like anew railhead at Seaforth, the new ter-minal is capable of supporting thousandsof new jobs throughout Merseyside, plusits hinterland in Cheshire and NorthWales. Estimates over the last 40 years ofthe employment impact of the Port havebeen consistent in their size, that up to10% of all employment in Merseyside is
supported in some way by Portoperations. Peel’s proposals arecapable of sustaining as well asadding to this proportion overthe coming decades.
The Ocean Gateway proposalincludes also extensive prop-erty investment on both sides ofthe River Mersey – branded asLiverpool Waters and WirralWaters – as well as developmentalong the entire river system,
via the Manchester Ship Canal, to SalfordQuays.
A century ago, this kind of industrialinvestment would have been welcomedwith minimal or no opposition from out-side parties. Not so today, however.
Environmental lobby groups and otheragencies like English Heritage aredetermined to put a spanner in theworks. Their opposition presents a starkchoice between industrial development
‘Capitalinvestmentplansarenotablyrobust’
privatebusiness
CABLE manufacturerVentcroft is lookingahead to a brightfuture once its long-awaited relocation iscomplete.
The company’s Run-corn premises are inthe path of the plannedsecond Mersey bridge,the Mersey Gateway.
After long negot-iations with HaltonCouncil, the firmagreed a pre-compuls-ory purchase deal toallow it to relocate. Thedeal meant the movewas not dependent onthe bridge going ahead.
In accounts filed atCompanies House,Ventcroft said the movehad taken longer thanplanned and had takenup much managementtime. But the companysays that, once the moveis completed, it will bestronger than ever andready for growth.
The accounts showsales for the year toSeptember 30, 2010,stood at £13.2m – upfrom £11.5m in the pre-vious 12 months.
But profits stood at£126,559 – down from£196,906.
Ventcroft has startedmoving into its newhome, just 500m awayfrom its old home, andthe move should becomplete by November.
It said: “Trading con-ditions were stillextremely difficult andstrenuous effortsneeded to be made forthe company to main-tain its position in themarket that it hadworked so hard toachieve.
“New product devel-opment strategies havealso been hindered bythe amount of manage-ment time being spenton the relocation, andthis, too, had impactedon the company’s per-formance for the finan-cial year.
“The efficiencies tobe gained from the newstate-of-the-art man-ufacturing facility aresignificant and this,with the completion ofthe relocation allowingthe director to refocuson the business ratherthan the move, is seenas a turning point inwhat has been a chal-lenging time in the his-tory of the business.”
ALISTAIR HOUGHTON
Move tomark anew erafor firm
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that can be expected to alleviate deprivat-ion – Liverpool has some of the mostsevere deprivation anywhere in the UK –and restricted investment in order to pre-serve birds and their habitat, greenspaces, and nice views. Human welfare,the Nimbys assert, needs to be comprom-ised for the sake of more important con-siderations.
Other auspicious projects in thepipeline for Merseyside and its hinter-land have been identified by The MerseyPartnership as: the low-carbon economy,with potential for manufacturingindustry in renewable energy schemes;the visitor economy, which has grownapace in Liverpool over the last decade;the knowledge economy’s expansion,including the Daresbury Science Park;and Liverpool SuperPort. In addition,there are significant multi-million poundinvestment proposals in the retail andproperty markets in Liverpool citycentre, for example Central Village andthe Baltic Triangle.
All these schemes need to be supportedfor the greater good of more employment,higher productivity, and relief of povertyin Merseyside and its hinterland.■ THIS is an edited extract from thesummer edition of the Merseyside andNorth Wales Business Prospect.
Peter Stoney
Ed Miliband
10 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Wolseley indeal to sellelectrical firmPLUMBING suppliesgiant Wolseley hasagreed to sell its UKelectrical wholesalebusiness, Electric Cen-ter, to rival Edmund-son Electrical. Theprice for the operat-ion, which has 85branches and 575employees, is slightlymore than book valueof £29m.
Microsoft inYell ventureYELLOW Pages groupYell and softwaregiant Microsoft haveformed a strategicalliance to target thedigital advertisingneeds of small andmedium-sized busi-nesses globally.
Digging deepCOAL miner UK Coalincreased productionby 52% in the sixmonths to 25 June to4.1m tonnes, whileprices also rose by20%. Net debt at thehalf-year was £207m,down from £242m.
Rolls’s winENGINES group Rolls-Royce has picked upan £11m order fortwo offshore oil andgas ships from Italiangroup FratelliD’Amato. The shipswill be built in Italy.
briefing Supportcompanyaimstoharnesswindsofchange
Windmills is to assist News of the World staff Picture: YUI MOK
Helen Wakefield and Dr Peter Hawkins, of Windmills, help companies to manage change
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“SOMBRE” would probably be a goodword to describe the mood in the Newsof the World offices last Saturday, asstaff prepared its last edition and facedthe prospect of redundancy – but forDr Peter Hawkins it would have rep-resented one of the latest challengesfor his Formby business, Windmills.
The firm provides support for com-panies undergoing change, from struc-tural or leadership change or, in thiscase, the prospect of a sudden career-and life-changing event.
Windmills was spun out of the Uni-versity of Liverpool two years ago as acompany in its own right, headed byDr Hawkins and his colleague HelenWakefield, who had established theuniversity’s Graduate to Employmentscheme as a flagship for higher educ-ation, helping more than 5,000 gradu-ates into jobs – 85% of them into smallfirms – and helping retain high levelskills within the region.
Dr Hawkins’s work attracted theattention of then Department of Tradeand Industry Minister, and MakerfieldLabour MP, Ian McCartney, and hesaid: “We still have very strong linkswith Government policy agenda.”
But he said: “Windmills became ateenager, and like most teenagersneeded to leave home.”
He explained its ethos, saying:“When the wind blows, some peoplebuild walls while others build wind-mills.
“We are all dealing with the windsof change in our lives – do you build awall or a windmill to use thesechanges for the good?”
He illustrated his point with a per-sonal recollection: “I have an eye prob-lem and am registered blind. I was toldwhen I was 17 I would not be able todrive, and I would sit in the pub withfriends who were talking about takingtheir driving tests.
“I would go home and cry and prayfor them to fail.
“But, three years later, my sisterpassed her test and I realised the morepeople who pass their test, the morethere were to drive me around, and Icould have more beers. I realised theproblem wasn’t my eyesight, it was mycoping ability.
“It has opened me up to differentpossibilities. I realised for three yearsI was building walls, not windmills.Life is 5% what happens to us and 95%how we cope with what happens tous.”
After receiving a call from NewsInternational last week, he will behelping the 200 or so journalists facinghuge personal upheaval how to cope.
The Windmills technique is basedon encouraging people to take morecontrol of their lives, which is thethrust of one of several books DrHawkins has written, funded by the£400,000 annual turnover the businesshas made each year since its spin-off.
“No Regrets on Sunday” splits theaverage person’s life into seven days,equivalent to 12 years each day.
Dr Hawkins said: “There are 6bnpeople on this planet who only havetwo things in common. We are all bornand we all die.”
Windmills encourages people not to
have any regrets: “We use this as anopportunity to reposition the skillsand passions in their life. We look attheir mindset and how they’reapproaching the change, and helppeople identify their skills and pas-sions.
“Too many people rely on their jobtitle, but we ask them to look at them-selves in the mirror in the morningand ask themselves who they are.”
And he said Windmills, which hassupported about 10,000 people so far tomanage change, is better equipped todo so compared with other agencies.
“We ask people are they maximisingtheir skills for causes they feel pas-sionate about and are they in the rightplace with the right people to energise
and inspire themselves every day –97% of people can’t answer yes to thosethree questions.
“Jobcentres aren’t set up to dealwith high skill levels, most are long-term, low-skilled unemployed, so mostmiddle managers would not be able toget any help from Jobcentres.”
Dr Hawkins says they take thelonger view: “We help organisationshave more forward-looking visions,rather than looking at past perform-ances.”
This includes helping staff to engagein what he calls “three thinking” basedon their own potential, their impact inorganisations, and how they make adifference in the local community.
“The more forward-looking busi-
nesses are doing that, but it can trans-late to small firms just as easily.”
Windmills is working with Birken-head training provider Scientiam andthe Manchester enterprise academy ofTV’s Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones:“We were called in to teach their firstcohort of students.”
And help in setting up their ownventures for the growing number ofstaff leaving the public sector affectedby the Government’s austerity meas-ures will figure prominently in Wind-mills’ plans.
The next wave of entrepreneurs willalso benefit from a new charity, justlaunched by Dr Hawkins, to helpyoung people fulfil their potential.
The Windmills Foundation willreceive 10% of the company’s pre-taxprofits and its first exercise illustratedthe impact it can make when 300Formby sixth formers were given £10each with the goal of making the worlda better place and making someonesmile.
“One group got sponsorship for 400balloons with a teabag or a seedattached. They had to have tea with anelderly neighbour or plant the seed.
“Another group created photoalbums for people with Alzheimer’s.
“It taught young people at a veryyoung age their role in the communityand the fact they could make a smalldifference very quickly. Too muchfocus is on making money. The otherbottom line is making a social impacton life.”
Comet is battling falling sales in electrical goods
ThomasCookissuesprofitswarningassqueezegrips
ComedynightsboostLuminar U-turnurgedTHE Government will be urged todayto reverse the “disastrous” decisionto award a lucrative rail contract toGerman giant Siemens, which has ledto the loss of 1,400 jobs at a rivalfirm. Derby-based Bombardier is cut-ting 1,400 jobs after failing to win the£1.4bn contract.
WORKERS from Sains-bury’s stores will stagea protest outside thefirm’s annual generalmeeting today in a rowover pay.
Unite said thousandsof its members at thesupermarket giantwere being offered abelow-inflation risethis year despite the“massive profits” thecompany makes.
National officer Jen-nie Formby said: “TheSainsbury’s workforcedeserve a fair pay riseas their employer con-tinues to profit fromtheir hard work. Theprotest today reflectsthe anger that theemployees feel aboutthe prospect of yetanother below-in-flation pay deal, whichin the current eco-nomic climate resultsin a pay cut for them.
“The possibility thatsome 12,000 workerscould receive a pay cutis beyond comprehen-sion. The workersprotesting outside theannual general meet-ing are questioningwhy it is that, while thecompany continues toenjoy record sales andthe chief executivereceives a bumperbonus, the workforceare being told to accepta reduction in their liv-ing conditions, as theiralready low pay is fur-ther squeezed.
“It is only right thatthe dedicated work-force, many of whichare female and workpart-time for familyreasons, who form thebackbone of this com-pany, are given a fairpay settlement whichreflects the outstand-ing performance ofSainsbury’s.”
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TOUR operator Thomas Cookyesterday warned on profitsfor the third time in a yearafter it was hit by the squeezein consumer spending andturmoil in the Middle Eastand North Africa.
Shares in Europe’s secondbiggest travel firm slumped bymore than 25% after it saidfull-year profits will be some£60m less than previously
expected. Its profit margins inthe UK are under pressure asit keeps its prices competitiveto attract cautious consumers,despite rising oil costs whichare making it more expensiveto fly.
The unrest in North Africaand the Middle East was alsohaving a greater impact onbookings to popular touristdestinations such as Tunisia,
Egypt and Morocco than waspreviously estimated.
Operating profits are about£40m lower than a year ago forthe first three quarters of itsfinancial year.
The company now expectsfull-year profits of around£320m whereas previously theCity had predicted a figure inthe region of £380m.
A “fundamental” review of
its UK business is now underway, which will look at themix of holidays it offers andcutting its airline fleet toreduce winter losses.
Last summer, the group,which also owns the GoingPlaces brand, issued twoprofit warnings, blaming air-craft disruption and bar-gain-seeking customers wait-ing for last-minute deals.
It said that average UKselling prices for the summerare up 4% as customers optfor better value all-inclusivedeals, such as packages thatprovide food.
Despite the “difficult trad-ing conditions”, bookings byUK customers are up by 1%.
The number of holidaysThomas Cook has left to sell is5% lower than a year ago.
INFLATION unexpectedly fell lastmonth as retailers cut prices inresponse to the tightening squeeze onhousehold incomes, figures revealedyesterday.
Reductions in the prices of digitalcameras, televisions and women’sshoes prompted a fall in the ConsumerPrices Index (CPI) to an annual rate of4.2% in June, the Office of NationalStatistics (ONS) said, against con-sensus City forecasts of no changefrom May’s figure of 4.5%.
Figures from the ONS showed theprice of televisions and otheraudio-visual products fell by 3.1%month-on-month, while camera pricestumbled by 7.4%, with the recreationsector overall seeing a record monthlyfall of 0.9 percentage points, as therewere also reductions in prices of com-puter games and computer consoles asshops promoted heavily to shift stock.
Another significant faller was cloth-ing and footwear, as summer salesbegan early, especially in women’sshoes and fashions, where prices fell1.9% from May.
The falls offset another sharp rise infood costs in June, with prices up 0.9%month-on-month to make an annualincrease of 6.9%.
Increases in June were across theboard but especially in essentials suchas bread, cereals, meat, milk, cheeseand eggs, squeezing household
incomes even harder. The figures high-lighted the pressure on electricalgoods retailers after sector leadersComet and Argos recently reportedfalling sales.
There were also falls in the broadermeasures of inflation that includehouse costs, with the Retail PriceIndex (RPI) falling from an annual rateof 5.2% to 5% and the adjusted num-ber, RPIX, falling to 5% from 5.3%.
Regulated fares for rail passengersfor next year will be set on the basis ofthe July’s measure for RPI plus 3%.
Encouragingly for the Bank of Eng-land, which has been under pressureto raise interest rates, there was asharp fall in core inflation.
This measure, which strips outvolatile movers such as food andenergy, dropped to 2.8%, the lowest fig-ure since last November.
Economists welcomed the figures, asthey said it gave the Bank of Englandsome leeway to increase its current£200bn quantitative easing programmeas concern grows that the UK eco-nomy has stalled in recent months.
Trade figures also announced high-lighted these concerns, as they showedan unexpected increase in the goodstrade deficit.
Chris Williamson, chief economistat Markit, said: “The trade figures willcertainly add to calls for a furtherloosening of policy via more quant-itative easing, especially given the sur-prise dip in inflation to 4.2%.”
But unions suggested the CPI reduc-tion would be little help to people
squeezed by rising prices. TUC generalsecretary Brendan Barber said: “Withthe labour market weak, growth at astandstill, and both business and con-sumer confidence down, inflation isthe only measure that’s bounced backsince the recession, creating a toxicmix for families’ living standards.”
Inflation is forecast to pick up againin the autumn as recent heftyincreases in the price of gas and elec-tricity from suppliers feed throughinto the figures. Last week, BritishGas said it would put up its gas prices
by an average 18% and its electricityprices by an average 16% to followearlier rises by Scottish Power.
The other four members of the “bigsix” group of energy suppliers areexpected to follow suit.
Month-on-month, the CPI fell by 0.1percentage points, the first fall inprices between May and June since2003.
Despite this surprise fall, it is the19th month in a row that annual in-flation has exceeded the Bank of Eng-land’s target of 2%.
THE struggling owner ofnightclub chains Liquidand Oceana have repor-ted an improving salestrend after attracting cust-omers through its Jong-leurs comedy nights anda new cocktail bar concept.
Luminar, which has77 outlets and alsooperates the Lava &Ignite brand, said saleswere down 9.7% in thenine weeks to July 2,compared with an 11.7%decline in the 18 weeks
to the same date. Thebetter-than-expected per-formance came after thegroup rolled outJongleurs comedynights to seven of itsvenues, and opened fiveWooWoo cocktail bars
next to its clubs, as partof a drive to broaden itsappeal beyond its trad-itional 18 to 24 year oldmarket.
It has also been put-ting on special offers atsome of its clubs.
news
12 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
by David Moore, partner atBegbies Traynor, in Liverpool
LIVERPOOL’S commercial landlordsare key to the recovery of the beleag-uered high street, which has suffereda number of knocks in the past fort-
night with the well-publicisedstruggles of Jane Norman,Thorntons and Liverpool-based TJHughes.
High streets up and down thecountry have seen a spate of storeclosures as retailers struggled tomeet their rent for the quartertowards the end of June.
There is every possibility thiscould be repeated when the nextquarter rent day falls due in Septem-ber – unless landlords can work withtheir tenants to come to a flexiblearrangement.
Such an agreement is not aone-way street.
It is just as important to landlords
that their commercial units remainfull as it is for retailers to ensuretheir stores stay open.
In the current climate,any landlord facing adouble whammy of emptyrates and a lack of interestin their property is likelyto face financial dif-ficulties.
The September rentquarter date is likely topresent even more of achallenge to a greater pro-portion of retailers thanthe June date has.
Retailers are likely to struggle forcash as they stock up for Christmas
and fight to combat rising prices forraw materials that will squeeze theirmargins further.
Some landlords in thecity are already consciousof the strain the sector isunder, and have shownthemselves amenable toimplementing break clausesor rent reductions to easethe pressure – and keeptheir units filled.
While these agreementsare only temporary, it isimportant to ensure that
they are nonetheless formalised sothat both parties know where theystand.
To make the best of this difficultand potentially worsening situation,commercial landlords must be fullyaware of their own financial circum-stances to ensure that any reductionor break in the rent will not have adisproportionately adverse effect ontheir business.
Speaking to creditors about theproblems being faced further downthe chain could likewise yield sur-prising results in terms of a reprieve.
Landlords should try to maintain ahealthy cashflow wherever possibleto accommodate any upcoming peaksand troughs as they implement amore flexible approach to rent pay-ments.
Newcodeforcontractors
Venmoreoffers56auctionlots
Venmore’s May auction, which generated more than £1.2m
‘Somecitylandlordswanttokeepunitsfilled’
LIVERPOOL-BASED Venmore will hold itsnext property auction in the city next week,with 56 lots going under the hammer.
The firm, which has been confirmed as head-line sponsor at this year’s Merseyside LandlordExpo, in September, will hold its event at theHilton Hotel on Wednesday, July 20.
Venmore says there has been a “high level”of interest in the properties prior to the auc-tion.
They are spread across Merseyside fromWallasey in Wirral, to Newton-Le-Willows andSt Helens.
Nick Ball, head of auctions at Venmore, said:“This month’s auction really does have a greatvariety of opportunities to suit everyone’s
budget. On one end of the scale, Lot 46 is aperfect example of an ideal investment prop-erty with a low capital outlay but good return.
“The ground floor studio apartment, in theL6 area of Liverpool, has the rental potential toearn £4,500 per annum, with a dedicated park-ing space and communal gardens, all for theguide price of £19,000.
“At the other end, Lot 20, in St Helens, is adevelopment site with the planning permissionfor 13 detached and semi-detached properties.
“Although the guide price is starting at£270,000, the estimated gross development isvalued at £2m and clearly a fantastic project forthe experienced developer who is looking for anew venture in an excellent area.
“There has been a growing number of afford-able properties in the last few auctions, butthey are clearly proving popular, as our team isstill inundated with enquiries.”
THE Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors(RICS) has launched newguidance to help construc-tion firms and their cli-ents assess whether con-struction works are com-pleted to the requiredstandard.
Defining Completion onConstruction Worksaddresses the completionof construction projectsand whether works arefinished to a contractually
acceptable standard. Theguidance is relevant tosurveyors who are certify-ing the payment and com-pletion of works, analys-ing any delays, advisingon financial and legal mat-ters or addressing anyissues or disputes involvedin the contract.
The question of whethera project is completed canbe complicated by pres-sures from the client.
A client can sometimes
apply pressure to handover a construction pro-ject even though the worksare not finished.
RICS spokesman IanPotts said: “This new codeprovides surveyors whooperate at all levels of thecompletion process adviceand best practice on thecontractual, financial andlegal issues involved withthe completion and handover of construction pro-jects.”
A BUILDING in the heart of Liverpool citycentre’s retail district is about to changehands in a £5.55m deal.
Invista Foundation Property Trust hasexchanged contracts with Aviva on 88-94Church Street, which is located on the cornerof Church Street and Hanover Street and iscurrently home to Lloyds TSB.
The transaction will reflect a net initialyield of 11.3% and is expected to be completedon July 22.
The property comprises ground-floor retailspace and office accommodation arrangedover basement, ground and seven upperfloors.
The entire property is let to Lloyds TSB at£664,000 per year, on a full repairing andinsuring basis, for a term of 25 years with
effect from December 25, 1989, and expiringon December 24, 2014.
The bank occupies the basement to secondfloors as a bank and the third to seventh flooroffices are sub-let to a legal firm until Lloyds’lease expires.
Invista says that, as well as offering anattractive initial yield, the property offersscope for asset management, including thepotential for a lease extension.
It adds that, although the rent paid cur-rently exceeds the market rent, the prom-inent position and the planning consent for abank should assist future letting prospects.
Duncan Owen, chief executive of InvistaReal Estate Investment Management, said:“The acquisition of Liverpool at 11.3% followsKeith House, in Edinburgh, which was pur-chased at a price reflecting a yield of 14%,illustrating that we continue to identify newinvestment opportunities with good propertyfundamentals at attractive pricing andincome yields.”
NORTH West property groupBruntwood has secured threenew lettings totalling 3,300 sqft across its Liverpool port-folio.
Marshall Moore FinancialRecruitments, NewcrossNursing and Pitman Traininghave signed leases to moveinto some of Bruntwood’s citycentre buildings.
Accountancy recruitmentconsultancy Marshall Moorehas taken a 1,400 sq ft refur-bished suite at ExchangeCourt, in Dale Street.
Newcross Nursing hasup-sized its office space from450 sq ft to 800 sq ft and isrelocating within OrielChambers, Bruntwood’srecently refurbished Grade I
listed building in WaterStreet. Pitman Training hassigned a lease for 1,100 sq ft atthe refurbished Grade II lis-ted Cotton Exchange, in Bix-teth Street.
Bruntwood’s David Seddonsaid: “The recent lettingsdemonstrate our ability tocontinue to attract businessesfrom a wide range of sectors.”
The building, in Church Street, which is being acquired by InvistaPicture: GAVIN TRAFFORD/ gav110711lloydstsb-2
AGENTS at Cheetham &Mortimer have acquired aretail unit for WH SmithTravel at Liverpool Centralrailway station.
The firm secured approx-imately 3,000 sq ft for thetravel outlet, taking space
on both the ground and firstfloors.
Conor Mulloy, retail agentat C&M, said: “WH Smith isa great household name andthis latest letting representsthe company's strategy togrow its travel business.”
14 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
LondonStockMarketatClose
Last night, the pound was worth: $1.5938 (up 0.0012)........... 1.1374 euros (up 0.0028)........... 126.82 yen (down 1.24) ...........Its trade weighted index was 78.70 (up 0.10)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1570.20 (up 21.90)...................... Silver 36.19 (up 0.45)...................... Platinum 1735.00 (up 12.00)...................... 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 48 Adv Medical 7434 -114 -14
1812 338 AEA Technology 312
28712 245 Albany Inv Tst 275 xd -3 +5
1251 84812 AMEC 1091 -11 -18
92 2312 Anglesey Mining 5934 -2 +112
35714 23458 Balfour Beatty 30812 -178 -8
3912 2914 Beale 3634
612 501 Compass Gp 599 xd -6 -8
1258 514 Coral Prod 11
126212 98212 Dee Valley 1220 xd -10
479 32214 easyJet 32358 -978 -43
1030 72312 JD Sports Fashion 1020 xd -3 +40
135 1112 JJB Sports 20 -14 -1
36 1534 Johnson Serv 3514 +12
578 401 Nichols 569 -8 +2112
14912 95 NWF 14512 -4 -1
50 2112 Park Gp 46
1257 805 Rathbone 1157 -20 +7
139 9712 Redrow 128 -12 -12
14312 12018 RSA Insurance 13458 -1 -314
34 1914 Speedy Hire 3134 xd -34 +114
4634 3412 Sportech 3814 -14
4512 2514 Telme Gp 4538 -18 +558
5514 3234 UK Coal 37
2 78 Ultima 138
2065 1688 Unilever 2010 -19 -24
63112 54312 Utd Utils 587 xd -13 -2212
UNIT TRUSTS
DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1233.60 down 12.89 ▼ 1.03%
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
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.Jan 12, 2011 Jul 12, 2011
THOMAS COOK
Share price (pence)80
120
160
200
240
FTSE-Rebased
£ ABROAD
Australia dollars 1.42 1.498 1.502
Canada dollars 1.47 1.540 1.542
Denmark krone 8.07 8.478 8.488
European Union euro 1.09 1.137 1.138
Japan yen 120.56 126.720 126.820
New Zealand dollars 1.81 1.939 1.944
Norway krone 8.42 8.877 8.878
Poland zlotys 4.02 4.576 4.584
Sweden krona 10.01 10.440 10.450
Switzerland francs 1.26 1.328 1.329
Turkey new lira 2.46 2.624 2.634
United States dollars 1.51 1.594 1.594
Cancel Bid Offer Yield
Fund Terms Price Price Gross
FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS
Amer Spec Sits - 610.60 -
American - 1826.00 0.32
Gwth & Inc - 313.90 1.73
Income Plus - 201.30 4.33
Japan - 233.20 0.50
Jpan Spec Sits - 140.00 0.09
Spec Sits - 1915.00 0.01
Sth East Asia - 760.10 0.01
GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS
Euro Sel Opps - 878.73 1.10
Income - 207.85 3.93
Pratical Inv -160.59 172.42 4.29
GUARDIAN
Index-Linked Acc -521.22 548.66 -
International Acc -1024.48 1078.40 -
Pacific Acc -263.18 277.03 -
Property Bonds -2012.48 2096.33 -
HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)
Balanced - 105.10 1.01
British -263.70 263.70 3.12
Gilt & FI - 64.94 3.20
Gilt & Fixed -227.60 227.60 3.04
Monthly Inc - 131.60 3.91
HENDERSON HORIZON FUND
European SmllrCosA - 1000.30 0.13
Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 54.36 56.80 4.50
UK Equity Inc A - 453.00 3.16
HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS
Capital -315.51 328.14 1.10
European - 804.90 0.70
Far East - 551.30 1.80
Inc & Gwth - 199.10 3.30
International - 428.80 0.40
North Amer Acc - 482.20 0.10
INVESCO FUND MANAGERS
Sing ASEAN - 219.09 0.38
High Low Funds Price Var
Closing Indices
FT-SE 100 INDEX 5868.96down 60.20 ▼ 1.02%
20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5846.92up 3.29 ▲ 0.06%
FT ALL-SHARE 3057.70down 30.58 ▼ 0.99%
Aerospace & Defence
Index 3277.31 ▼ 36.36
324 109 Avon Rbbr 285 -912
36978 29434 BAE Systems 299 -338
73612 51958 Chemring 597 -1012
24758 19214 Cobham 21238 -38
38918 26134 Meggitt 37618 -312
665 552 Rolls-Royce 63612 -712
18758 11114 Senior 18134 -134
Automobiles & Parts
Index 5459.38 ▼ 39.75
245 13058 GKN 23312 -134
Banks
Index 4216.68 ▼ 72.77
344 22758 Barclays 22758 -614
87512 61012 Bco Santander 64614 -118
73078 60118 HSBC 60614 -914
7612 9 Ireland 9
7758 4338 Lloyds Banking4378 -1
5218 3518 Ryl Scotland 36 +14
1959 1519 Stan Chart 160012 -27
Beverages
Index 9963.07 ▼ 86.65
1395 1035 Barr (AG) 1317 +3
518 36412 Britvic 382 xd -412
1307 1050 Diageo 1271 -20
2329 1841 SABMiller 2323 -112
Chemicals
Index 7801.23 ▲ 18.60
2081 1116 Croda 2076 +46
18738 67 Elementis 177 -58
2119 1550 Johnsn Mat 2004xd +7
Construction & Materials
Index 3841.71 ▼ 15.81
35714 23458 Balfour Beatty 30812 -178
265 190 Costain 218 +2
1494 102912CRH 120658 -1614
1418 970 Kier Group 1402 +4
7634 35 Low Bonar 7634 +14
12412 85 Marshalls 109 xd -134
Electricity
Index 8667.68 ▼ 35.69
50312 35358 Drax Gp 48912 +334
44858 30114 Intl Power 30414 -478
1423 1108 Scot&Sthrn 1399 -8
Electronic & Electrical
Index 3346.33 ▼ 23.59
705 440 Domino Ptg 667 -13
207 101 Laird 19238 +238
333 18918 Morgn Cru 31978xd +34
1000 30612 Oxford Inst 95812 -1312
377 180 Volex Gp 312 -8
Equity Inv Instruments
Index 6102.57 ▼ 41.06
39234 30758 Alliance 38214 -334
14012 11514 Br Assets 13434xd -118
777 555 Candover Inv 575 -10
228 18212 DunedinIncGth 22038 -158
15734 106 Dunedin Sml 15014xd -134
49214 39078 Edin Invst 465 xd +34
66034 538 Edin USTrkrTst 645 -1012
32778 26334 Forgn & C 31912 -2
32334 227 HendSmllrCos 310 -5
385 29518 Law Debenture372 -434
252 19912 Scot Am 241 -312
533 42618 Witan 51712 -212
Fixed Line TelecomsIndex 2368.59 ▼ 3.99
20418 13058 BT Gp 19614 -38
6138 3712 Cble&WComm 4018xd
8712 4434 Cble&WWwide 4434xd -14
7934 44 KCOM 76 xd -1
Food & Drug RetailersIndex 4762.79 ▼ 19.62
30814 26234 Morrison W 298 +14
395 32214 Sainsbury 323 xd -134
44058 378 Tesco 40818xd -212
112 5278 Thorntons 5278 -138
Food ProducersIndex 5318.27 ▼ 42.15
1182 940 AB Foods 1070xd -7
875 47712 Carrs Mill 850 +212
90712 724 Cranswick 728 xd -2
42478 33934 Dairy Crest 38634xd +514
3518 16 Premier Foods 1814 +38
656 40918 Tate Lyle 620 xd -412
2065 1688 Unilever 2010 -19
Forestry & PaperIndex 6818.27 ▼ 70.01
664 39818 Mondi 633 -612
General FinancialIndex 5889.30 ▼ 60.00
340 25418 3i 28178xd -358
88812 664 Close Bros 767 -9
57012 38014 ICAP 48034 +34
1076 617 London Stk Ex 1002 -11
1033 72812 Provident 978 -5
1257 805 Rathbone 1157 -20
1922 1193 Schroders 1574 +6
General IndustrialsIndex 3170.47 ▼ 57.27
72412 41118 Cooksn Gp 630 -1612
1258 514 Coral Prod 11
6 212 Cosalt 258 +18
400 293 Rexam 37212 -512
26614 12534 Smith DS 24878 -638
1429 1089 Smiths Gp 1174 -19
General RetailersIndex 1716.29 ▲ 12.74
2514 1214 Ashley L 1812xd -12
31114 221 Brown (N) Gp 26818xd -178
7738 56 Debenhams 6818xd +12
2812 1134 Dixons Retail 1512 +78
525 34814 Halfords 372 xd -118
24412 15258 Home Retail 15234xd +18
42538 25314 Inchcape 40412 -12
1030 72312 JD Sports 1020xd -3
28718 19812 Kingfisher 25814 +34
42712 32914 M & S 373 xd +414
62712 38112 Mothercare 41812xd -238
2410 1868 Next 2410 +22
2986 1724 Signet Jwlrs 2899 -12
523 39814 WH Smith 520 +112
Health Care Equip & Serv
Index 3781.22 ▼ 17.22
742 53712 Smith Nph 670 -3
Household Goods
Index 6752.99 ▲ 13.99
138 74 Aga Rngmstr 111 -2
119 70 Barratt Dev 10918 +3
75312 511 Bellway 68512 +512
192 12814 McBride 12814 -134
3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3500 +5
139 9712 Redrow 128 -12
4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 37
Industrial Engineering
Index 7540.36 ▼ 65.72
39734 21412 Bodycote 357 -278
85312 53812 Charter 804 -8
41918 198 Fenner 40234 -858
1119 65712 IMI 1064 -11
116 4312 Molins 107 -2
31212 119 MS Intl 27712xd
45 2514 Renold 3638 -18
2063 1499 Spirax Srco 1919xd -51
2196 1130 Weir Gp 2118 +7
Industrial Transportation
Index 2609.85 ▼ 22.55
24034 175 BBA Aviation 21414 -112
Life Insurance
Index 4296.20 ▼ 58.45
47778 334 Aviva 41278 -614
12334 8418 Lgl & Gen 11678 -218
777 506 Prudential 70012 -10
31618 21114 Resolution 282 +34
24434 19034 Standard Life 20314 -178
Media
Index 4097.21 ▼ 49.70
850 692 BSkyB 692 -2312
59412 43438 D Mail Tst 44418xd -4
9312 4934 ITV 68 -158
1207 920 Pearson 1169 -7
59012 50512 Reed Elsevier 557 -312
168 7934 STV Group 12778 -34
12414 4034 Trinity Mirror 41 -5
725 507 Utd Business 537 -112
151 106 UTV 125 xd -614
84612 633 WPP 730 -9
MiningIndex 25551.07 ▼ 335.56
3437 2254 Anglo Amer 2992 -48
1634 903 Antofagasta 1400 -8
2631121767 BHP Billiton 2402 -35
1682 990 Fresnillo 1440 +6
53118 46658 Glencore Intl 49578 +538
1671 1017 Kazakhmys 1313 -8
1983 1355 Lonmin 1355 -34
6655 4425 Randgold Res 5215 -25
4712 3005 Rio Tinto 438812 -6112
5514 3234 UK Coal 37
Mobile TelecomsIndex 3709.53 ▼ 32.80
75612 54212 Inmarsat 561 -312
18234 143 Vodafone Gp 16212xd -112
Nonlife InsuranceIndex 1604.88 ▼ 15.38
1754 1409 Admiral Grp 1573 -14
197812140638Marsh McL 192014xd+712
14312 12018 RSA Insurance 13458 -1
Oil & Gas ProducersIndex 8379.28 ▼ 112.41
156412100312BG 1398 -612
509 37518 BP 45314 -578
49314 366 Cairn Energy 39712 -214
535 35712 Premier Oil 41334 -21
2336 1642 Ryl D Shell B 2220 -37
1493 1123 Tullow Oil 1284 -15
Oil Equipment & ServicesIndex 25031.24 ▼ 175.51
1251 84812 AMEC 1091 -11
Personal GoodsIndex 22882.12 ▲ 230.23
1484 79012 Burberry Gp 1437xd +23
409 32012 PZ Cussons 368 -518
Pharma & Biotechnology
Index 9692.93 ▲ 3.85
3385 280112AstraZeneca 3093 -2012
1375121111 GlaxoSmthKln 1365 +712
50 3112 Vernalis 3912 -138
Real Estate
Index 1958.11
35314 28718 Big Yellow Gp 307 xd -558
62912 443 Brit Land 59012xd +3
2919 2263 Daejan Hldgs 2760 +9
445 29578 Gt Portland 42734xd +138
885 573 Land Secs 84212xd -112
33114 26212 SEGRO 30512 +1
Software & Comp Servs
Index 745.24 ▼ 6.12
1912 1271 Autonomy 1749 -3
6312 3212 Emblaze 6118
36414 23014 Invensys 31434xd -118
123 85 Kewill 10078 +78
14714 10134 Logica 12314 -312
302 23514 Sage 28718 -114
Support Services
Index 4494.75 ▼ 28.38
1812 338 AEA Tech 312
2010 1346 Aggreko 1993 +2
20778 77 Ashtead Gp 17014 -178
568 36134 Berendsen 540 -812
801 679 Bunzl 780 -4
79412 63512 Capita 69712 -3
939 54912 De La Rue 73912xd +912
29478 20534 Electrocmps 24678xd -1
83312 606 Experian 80612xd +3
291 23734 G4S 27514 -158
452 32112 Hyder Cons 406 xd +1
34114 18312 Interserve 341 +1
550 378 Menzies J 540 -312
34634 180 Northgate 32512 +112
30834 18312 Prem Farnell 18312 -834
11334 8414 Rentokil 9278 +178
12012 79 Smiths News 8614 -34
34 1914 Speedy Hire 3134xd -34
1127 747 Travis & P 93512 -5
2261 1223 Wolseley 1908 -66
Tech Hardware & Equip
Index 757.16 ▼ 29.09
651 30012 ARM Hldgs 59612 -31
28 1934 BATM 2234xd -14
10234 7112 Psion 7112
16014 11714 SpirentCmms 139 -118
Tobacco
Index 31991.49 ▼ 293.62
2847 2166 Br Am Tob 281612 -23
2231 1784 Imperial Tob 2114 -25
Travel & Leisure
Index 4617.64 ▼ 83.32
3153 2037 Carnival 2304 -24
612 501 Compass Gp 599 xd -6
479 32214 easyJet 32358 -978
12234 59 Enterprise Inns 59 -112
41258 31114 FirstGroup 353 +134
1598 1073 Go-Ahead Gp 1541 -11
518 398 Greene King 50212 +12
360 240 Holidaybreak 295 -112
1435 982 Intercontl Htls 1263 -20
285 21278 Intl Cons Airlns 23134 -512
15514 12234 Ladbrokes 14812 -112
11718 92 Marston’s 10418 -214
361 28438 Mitchells&Btlrs 30534 -534
9038 5818 Punch Taverns 7158 +34
153 10258 Rank Gp 14818 -138
335 21414 Restaurant Gp 29938 -258
26812 16034 Stagecoach 25714 -14
20434 8778 Thomas Cook 8778 -3478
27178 190 TUI Travel 20434 -1612
1887 1368 Whitbread 1572xd -22
Utilities
Index 4662.26 ▼ 40.85
34618 30338 Centrica 32378 -18
12621298212 Dee Valley 1220xd
63212 48758 National Grid 606 xd -512
715 560 Pennon Gp 701 -812
1517 1264 Severn 1443xd -41
63112 54312 Utd Utils 587 xd -13
AIM
Index 866.49 ▼ 12.23
3714 914 API Gp 2812
13 4 Armour Gp 414
158 1 Crimson Tide 138
214 112 Dawson Intl 178 -18
838 478 Eckoh 778
135 1112 JJB Sports 20 -14
36 1534 Johnson Serv 3514
86 3034 Man Brnze 49 +12
12 4 Metalrax 1038
550 370 Portmeirion P 495
17312 55 Redhall Gp 7112 -1
6114 1612 Scapa Gp 59
142 99 Swallowfield 109
9414 67 Uniq 9414 +1734
685 513 Young A 68434xd +214
Jun 20 - Jun 24 Jun 27 - Jul 1 Jul 4- Jul 8 M T W T F5650
5755
5860
5965
6070
FTSE-100
20-Day Moving Average
15Wednesday, July 13, 2011
businessdiary
LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment
LDPbusiness .co.ukIN
ASSOCIATIONWITH
LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS
Wednesday, July 13Phil Blything, fromGlow New Media, willbe outlining a range ofmethods that can beused to increase trafficto websites, includinghow to raise a site’ssearch ranking andhow to use social
media, as well asadvice about the con-tent of websites.The Knowsley Cham-ber event is being heldat The Village Hotel,Whiston. It costs£12+VAT for membersand £18+VAT fornon-members.
To book, visitwww.knowsley cham-ber.org.uk/events.aspx
Friday, July 15The monthly Dares-bury Science andInnovation Campusbusiness breakfast net-work event bringstogether around 100people working forhi-tech firms and sup-port organisations.The breakfast is atDaresbury Innovation
Centre, starting from8am. For more details,see www.daresburysic.co.uk/events
Friday, July 15A one-hour seminaron improving emailmanagement tech-niques is part of Liv-erpool Chamber ofCommerce’s latest “60really useful minutes”series.The session will gothrough a series of
simple hints and tipson how best to manageemail.It begins at 9amand is free for Liver-pool Chamber mem-bers and £5 for non-members. To book,visit www. liverpool-chamber.org.uk/events.html
Wednesday, July 20The next Fish! net-working event is beingheld from 5.30-8pm.For more details, con-
Thursday, 28 July 28Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce is hostingits latest Speed Net-working at FranklinsDeli, in St Paul’sSquare, Liverpool.It costs £10 for mem-bers to attend, and £15for non-members. Itstarts at 5.30pm. Fordetails, visit www.liv-erpool chamber.org.uk
PoorUSjobsfiguressendshiversdownthespinesofinvestorsWITH a seemingly unremitting diet ofbad news over the past three months,it is remarkable how resilient shareprices have been.
Nevertheless, poor monthly job cre-ation data, reported in America on Fri-day, sent a shiver down investors’spines, with concerns rising that theforthcoming reporting season of UScorporate earnings for the secondquarter may see the undermining ofthis key plank in the positive story forrisk assets. We would not be surprisedto see a larger number of shortfalls inearnings than in the first quarter. Infact, given the challenges faced, includ-ing a spike in oil prices andsupply chain disruptionscaused by the Japanesetsunami, it would be remark-able if we did not.
It is also likely that manymanagement teams willexpress caution about theclarity of the outlook for therest of the year. This is onlyprudent given the high level ofpolitical uncertainty intro-duced to businesses both bythe failure of European lead-ers like German chancellorAngela Merkel and Frenchpresident Nicholas Sarkozy tofind a convincing solution to the euro-zone sovereign debt crisis and also bythe American Congress in holding thefinancial system to ransom for polit-ical gain by refusing to raise the USdebt ceiling in a timely manner.
Stock markets may initially have dif-ficulty with this trend, since they havebecome accustomed to being positivelysurprised. However, we would not
expect a correction to turn into a routfor the following reasons.
Firstly, we see these results asreflecting the past. As the summercomes to an end, we expect America’s
recovery to regainmomentum. The effects ofhigher energy prices andJapanese supply chain disrup-tions have now largely workedthrough the system. In theabsence of further shocksfrom these sources, or frompolitical ineptitude in Europeor America the well-capital-ised corporate sector that isgenerating record profits andprofitability should see riskappetites return.
There was strong evidence inthe first quarter of significantcapital expenditure increases– leading to employment
growth (a resumption of a “self-sus-taining” economic growth cycle). Thislink looks to have weakened in thesecond quarter due to the aforemen-tioned temporary factors, but we donot think American corporations willhave been scared back into a defensivemindset and expect to see better trendssoon, with predatory mergers andacquisitions (in itself a stimulus to
take risk for the tardy) a likely feature.Secondly, the prospect of additionalhelp from the Far East is becoming arealistic possibility. Japanese demandshould become a positive force in thesecond half. Additionally, the monet-ary tightening cycle in China is begin-ning to bite. Although inflation is ataround 6%, a fall in the indicators forindustrial demand, a weakening incommodity prices and signs that spec-ulative real estate prices are comingoff the boil suggest that the tighteningcycle may soon be over – removing thefear of a hard landing.
Finally, equity valuations are veryattractive relative to risk-free assets.Obviously this assertion dependspartly upon the level and rate ofgrowth of earnings, but the point isthat whilst corrections are not uncom-mon, bear markets usually start frommore elevated valuation levels. Theexception is when they are hit by anunexpected shock. The eurozone maycause a shock, but it looks as if the dayof reckoning has been deferred.
John Haynes,Head of Research,
Investec
Eurozone leaders such as Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’sNicholas Sarkozy have failed to resolve the region’s debt crisis
Picture: YVES LOGGHE
LondonmarketLONDON’S leadingshares index closed loweryesterday, as fears overItaly’s finances andEuropean debt contagionweighed heavily oninvestors’ minds.
The FTSE 100 Index fell60.2 points, to 5868.9,though having been 120points lower earlier in thesession it pared lossesafter the US marketopened.
Speculation that Italyand even Spain couldrequire an EU-fundedbailout caused investorsto flee risky assets, whilethe euro was also hit bythe debt fears, fallingagainst most major cur-rencies.
Improved cost of livingfigures, which saw UKinflation drop from 4.5%to 4.2% in June, and weaktrade figures raised theprospect of further quant-itative easing, whichaffected sterling.
The single currencyfell to 1.138 against thepound, while sterlingdropped to 1.594 againstthe US dollar.
Banks were hit by wor-ries over their exposureto sovereign debts.Lloyds closed 1p lower at43.9p and Barclaysdropped 6.3p at 227.7p,though Royal Bank ofScotland rose 0.3p at 36p.
Aviva, which gener-ated sales of more than£1bn from operations inItaly and Spain in thefirst three months of thisyear, dropped 6.2p to412.9p.
Meanwhile, BSkyB fell23.5p, to 692p, after theCulture Secretary JeremyHunt referred NewsCorp’s proposed bid fortotal control of the broad-caster to the CompetitionCommission – which willdelay any move by up to ayear.
High street bellwetherMarks & Spencer wasone of a handful of stocksto defy the gloom, aheadof what is expected to be apositive first quartertrading update today.
The retailer is expectedto report a 1.5% increasein like-for-like sales in the13 weeks to the end ofJune, up from the 0.1%increase in the previousquarter.
The biggest FTSE 100Index risers were Bur-berry, up 23p at 1437p,Marks and Spencer,ahead 4.3p at 373p, Glen-core, up 5.4p at 495.9pand Next, ahead 22p, at2410p.
The biggest fallerswere Arm Holdings,down 31p at 596.5p,Wolseley, off 66p at 1908p,BSkyB, down 23.5p at692p and Severn Trent,off 41p, at 1443p.
Whatdoyouthink?Email us withyour views [email protected],or write to usPO Box 48, OldHall Street,LiverpoolL69 3EB
For all the latest business news online, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk
16 Wednesday, July 13, 2011
‘Webelieveinworkinghardandplayinghard’
Alan Robson – starts every day with an update on business networking site LinkedIn
■ OUR profilees today,Rhys Roberts and
Geoff Wainwright, ofMerseybio, spent yearshelping people start busi-nesses before taking theplunge and foundingtheir own.
They founded 2Bio totake over the running ofthe Crown Street centre,which has housed manyfledgling hi-tech firms.
After watching youngfirms, they had a goodidea what starting a busi-ness involved – but itwas, they admit, an excit-ing time.
They were so excited at
receiving their first rev-enues that they wanted toimmortalise the momentwhen they cashed theirfirst cheque. Their bank,however, was more blasé.
Rhys, above, said: “Wethought we’d get a photoof this momentous occa-sion. But the bank tellerwasn’t playing.”
■ TEN out of ten forCllr Nick Small, Liv-
erpool’s cabinet memberfor employment, enter-prise and skills, after animpressive piece of spin-ning last week.
At an event to launchthe Liverpool in Chinanetwork, Nick spokeabout how the city’s stallat the World Expo inShanghai had been vis-ited by 750,000 “influen-cers”.
That was actually thetotal number of visitorsto the stand, so TradingGossip wonders howinfluential the thousandsof kids who turned upjust to get their LiverBird stamp will actuallyturn out to be.
LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page
tradinggossip
workingday
6.30am: My usual wake-up time,unless I am in Manchester or London.
6.45am: Update my status and plansfor the day on Linked In.
8am: Arrive at the office and straightinto emails with client the Lake Dis-trict National Park Authority. We havejust completed a £1m project to build alarge new jetty on Lake Windermere –get some great feedback and potentialfor more work with them.
9am: Time for a client meeting with asite visit to Canada Dock, in Liverpool,which is just one of the high-risk pro-jects we have on site with repeat clientPeel Ports. I am meeting with a projectmanager to discuss the current projectand the workload for the next 12months.
10.30am: In between meetings andcalls to our web designer to providenews stories for our website, I catch upwith our operations director, JeremyMeredith, as we are like ships in thenight sometimes. I also call a potentialclient to follow up a proposal we havesubmitted.
11am: Meeting with architect to dis-cuss a high-profile project starting onsite in Liverpool very soon. Agree ourinvolvement and introduction todesign team members. This one islooking very exciting for us.
12.30pm: Into the office to hold anoperations meeting with colleagueGary Campbell, focusing purely on sitesafety services and how we can furtherimprove our service offering. Our sitesafety services division has grown200% over the last 12 months. We areconstantly developing and improvingthe service, to ensure we add truevalue.
13.30pm: Try to fit in lunch whilepreparing Construction Design Man-agement (CDM) project proposals fortwo new education schemes in Lan-caster. CDM is our main businessdriver and education is one of ourmain target sectors for 2011, alongwith the public sector and commercialproperty.
We’re working with our market-ing team at View Media to preparecase studies of previous jobs andtestimonials to form part of thebid. Our proposals outline exactlywhat we will be doing, our cre-
dentials and the benefits we willbring to the project team.
3pm: Taking a call from a site safetyservices client who needs our immed-iate input into a tender submission fora high profile framework interview.This is a good example of how our daycan change at short notice to serviceour clients’ needs and support theirbusiness.
3.30pm: Meeting with a developer inManchester to discuss three new devel-opment sites and advise him on hisduties under the CDM 2007 legislation.We deal with clients who are often
unaware of their health and safetyduties, working with them as key pro-ject advisors and effectively holdingtheir hand through statutory require-ments and assist in getting the projectstarted.
5pm: Call team members to get anupdate on their day and confirmdetails for a presentation we are deliv-ering to a group of architects thisweek.
5.30pm: Meeting with fellow sponsorsof the Liverpool Property Club to dis-cuss the success of the previous eventand prepare for the next one.
6.30pm: Meeting with our operationsdirector to take an architect and clientfor dinner in town. We are going tomore and more dinners and network-ing events across the region to raiseour profile and develop relationshipsand business leads. We definitelybelieve in working hard and playinghard.
10pm: Early night as I have a net-working breakfast in Preston tomor-row – so it’s a 5.30am start.
We are working on projects acrossthe North West and are also looking toexpand nationally, so it’s a very busytime.
