Post Business - 9th May 2013

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2 Thursday, May 9, 2013post business news

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Building firm will deliver AgeConcern’s free boiler scheme

Dave Hutchinson

Seek new markets, manufacturers toldTHE ManufacturingInstitute has urgedNorth West manufactur-ers to innovate andexpand into new mar-kets if they want to sur-vive and grow.

The Institute has out-

lined three areas that itbelieves small andmedium-sized manufac-turers should focus on –innovation, expandinginto new markets andbuilding and developingfuture talent.

Mike Innes, growthchampion at the insti-tute, said: “The mostsuccessful companiesare those with a cleargame plan to grow theirbusiness. Innovation isan area which can

really help manufactur-ers gain competitiveadvantage.

“Understanding theimportance of innova-tion and how to organ-ise your business to sup-port it is key.”

Nursery growsFORMBY-BASED Early Days nurseryis set for expansion after securing a£75,000 finance facility from Sant-ander Corporate & Commercial.

The nursery, which is run by hus-band and wife team Steve and SusanHardman, will provide childcareplaces for 94 children, up from 58.

Bio fundbackingmedicalcompanyA COMPANY which hasdeveloped an implant-able medical device fortreating intracranialaneurysms has secureda £600,000 investmentfrom The North WestFund for Biomedical.

Cerus Endovascular,based in Oxford andsoon to move to Liver-pool Science Park, hasdeveloped a minimallyinvasive device for theinterventional neurora-diology (INR) market.

The North West Fundfor Biomedical, man-aged by SPARK Impactis part of the wider£155m North WestFund, financed jointlyby the EuropeanRegional DevelopmentFund and the EuropeanInvestment Bank.

The funding, whichwas part of a £1.5minvestment round, willbe used by Cerus tohelp initiate productdevelopment and tofund more in-depthclinical trials.

J Todd Derbin, exec-utive chairman ofCerus, said: “Webelieve our device rep-resents the next gener-ation in the minimallyinvasive treatment ofneurovascular diseases,particularly intracra-nial aneurysms.

“The investmentmeans we can furtherdevelop our techno-logy.”

Dr Penny Attridge,senior investment dir-ector at SPARK Impactand manager of TheNorth West Fund forBiomedical, said: “Weare delighted to haveCerus Endovascular onboard and to make thisinvestment in a highquality service which isan asset to the NorthWest and to SPARK’sbiomedical portfolio.”

Cerus is The NorthWest Fund for Biomed-ical’s 52nd investmentto date and 37th com-pany to be supported.

Liverpool hotel gives restaurant and bar a makeoverTHE Atlantic Tower byThistle Hotel in Liverpoolhas unveiled itsnewly-refurbished VistaBar & Restaurant on itsfirst floor.

Following two months ofwork, the space has under-gone a transformation witha four-figure sum refurbish-ment that has seen thehotel’s main dining roomredesigned.

The hotel’s views over theRiver Mersey and LiverBuilding are now framed bycream and lilac furnishings,while feature walls andmodern lighting completethe new look.

The hotel’s general man-ager, Alistair Risk, said:“Our Vista Restaurant hasalways been popular, withour great views across theMersey and the Liver Build-ing, but now we have aproduct to match.

“We are very excited asthe refurbishment has cre-ated a great space to enjoyspecial occasions, a mealout, do business or just tochill out and relax in a con-temporary environment.

“This is more than aredesign to improve ourhotel guest’s experience. Wehave created a destinationfor all.”

The Atlantic Tower byThistle is currently celeb-rating its 40th year in thecity.

It first opened its doorson June 19, 1973.

The refurbished Vista Bar & Restaurant and, inset, hotel general manager, Alistair Risk

BUILDING firm Fletchrose hasteamed up with Age Concern Liver-pool to deliver a programme of freeboiler replacements for elderly peopleacross Merseyside.

Under the Affordable Warmth ECOScheme (Energy Companies Obliga-tion) homeowners and people living inprivate rented accommodation areentitled to receive a fully-fitted highperformance boiler as part of a com-mitment to reduce carbon footprintsand tackle fuel poverty by the UK’ sleading energy firms.

Aintree-based Fletchrose currentlydelivers heating services to both thecommercial and private markets.

Age Concern Liverpool & Sefton has

partnered with the firm in a bid toraise awareness of the initiative tohomeowners across Merseyside thatmay benefit from the scheme.

Paul Durose, chief executive andfounder of Fletchrose, said: “There is alarge pot of money that must be spentby the energy companies under theirwider obligation identified by the Gov-ernment.

“We want to ensure that people areaware and are able to benefit from thisopportunity.

“Also, it is not just the elderly whoqualify for this incentive – people inreceipt of certain other benefits mayalso meet the criteria and thereforeachieve savings through the replace-ment of their current boiler free ofcharge.

“Alongside Age Concern Liverpool& Sefton, we aim to drive this ini-tiative forward and raise awareness to

the thousands of older people that thisaffects.■ FLETCHROSE has appointed DaveHutchinson as managing director,with Mr Durose taking on the newrole of group chief executive.

Mr Hutchinson, who joined the com-pany in 2010, will take on widerresponsibilities for the contractingand heat teams.

Mr Durose will focus on strategicgrowth for both businesses, exploringnew growth markets and sectors.

Mr Hutchinson said: “This is areally exciting opportunity for me.

“Fletchrose is a fantastic businessand one that has weathered the stormof recession, coming out the other sidestronger still.

“I now want to help take the busi-ness onto a new level, building onexisting customer relationships andworking with a broader client base.”

[email protected]

3Thursday, May 9, 2013

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

H&M agrees to take space atBirkenhead shopping centre

Derek Millar says the H&M letting is a major coup for The Grange and Pyramids

Co-operative Bank funds £7.6m expansion at car dealershipINDEPENDENT car retailerHalliwell Jones Group hascompleted a major expansionwith the opening of a £5.5mservice centre in Chester.

The Warrington-basedgroup, which has five dealer-ships in North West Englandand Wales, used a £7.6m loangranted by the corporatebanking centre of The

Co-operative Bank to extendand improve dealerships inChester, Southport and War-rington.

The most significant expan-sion was the opening of astate-of-the-art service centreand body shop in Chester on anew 4.3 acre plot.

Featuring 26 service andtwo MoT bays, the new site

increases the company’s ser-vice capacity by more than250% and has led to a 10%increase in staffing.

Halliwell Jones Group fin-ance director Glyn Howes,said: “We are very grateful forthe support of The Co-operat-ive Bank, who have backedour business strategy.

“This is an exciting time for

the Group, in particular withthe expansion at Chester.

“Success can bring certainchallenges and the new devel-opment at Chester allows usto deliver the excellent qualityof customer service that weaim for. We are now operatingmore efficiently, but also cre-ating more jobs. We nowemploy over 350 staff, with

turnover expected to break the£240m barrier in 2013.”

The company has bankedwith The Co-operative Banksince 2004 and Steve Lomax,senior corporate managersaid: “We pride ourselves atThe Co-operative Bank onbuilding successful long-termrelationships with our custom-ers.”

Vauxhall trainee visits inspire pupilsUNDERGRADUATES fromVauxhall’s Ellesmere Port carplant have visited schoolsacross the region to explain topupils the opportunities of acareer in manufacturing.

The aims of the visits are tochallenge some of the stereo-

typical views people may holdabout manufacturing.

Richard Dolan, undergradu-ate project team leader, said:“The project has helped us tobond as a group, but moreimportantly it is reallyrewarding to visit the schools

and see the pupils interestedand engaged in something weare all passionate about.

“Out of all the schools wehave visited so far over 90%say their opinion of manufac-turing has changed for thebetter.”

Hope joins ASTLNETHERTON-based Hope Capital, theprivately-funded provider of bridging loans,has joined the Association of Short TermLenders (ASTL).

The ASTL is a trade body formed to protectand promote the interests of its members andgive confidence to all those who transact busi-ness with its members.

AquaticsventurelaunchedA £16,000 start-up loanhas helped Philip West-lake and Sarah Good-son set up their shopWaves Aquatics inBromborough, whichthey hope to marketnationally.

The loan has beengranted by BusinessFinance Solutions(BFS) who are deliver-ing loans in the NorthWest as part of a £112mGovernment pro-gramme.

Mr Westlake said:“We are aiming tobecome the top supplierfor the aquatic hobbywithin our area andalso to become a majorcompetitor nationwide,using our marketing,choice of stock and cus-tomer service toachieve our businessgoals.”

post businessnews

BIRKENHEAD’S The Grange and Pyr-amids Shopping Centre has delivered amajor coup by securing one of thebiggest fashion names on the highstreet as a tenant.

H&M has agreed to take 16,500 sq ftat the centre. Three units will beknocked into one to accommodate theretailer.

The new store will be located nextdoor to rival fashion retailer Miss Sel-fridge and opposite travel agency,Thomson.

H&M is one of the biggest fashionretailers in the world and has justlaunched a new clothing range pro-moted by superstar Beyoncé.

The brand is already well estab-lished in Liverpool with outlets inChurch Street and Liverpool One.

Derek Millar, commercial directorfor The Grange and Pyramids Shop-ping Centre, said he was “delighted” tohave secured the chain.

He added the deal underlined the“commitment” from his managementteam to bring big names to the townand represented a long-term strategyto improve the choice of retailers atthe centre.

He said: “We are so pleased to con-firm that H&M will be coming to theshopping centre and we expect thenew store to open with us by theautumn.

“We have been working hard behindthe scenes to attract big names to TheGrange and Pyramids to ensure wecontinue to improve the shoppingexperience for the 14mvisitors we wel-come every year.

“We will be adding H&M to an exist-ing range of great high street fashionnames such as M&S, Next, RiverIsland, Clarks, Dorothy Perkins andMiss Selfridge.

“H&M is well known for offering thevery latest fashions at top quality forgood value prices and I think it isgoing to be a great draw for the shop-ping centre which can only benefit ourexisting retailers.”

H&M has 216 stores nationwide and

its stores are refreshed daily with newfashion items.

Its fashions have been spottedadorning top celebrities from Amer-ica’s first lady Michelle Obama to day-time TV celebrity Holly Willoughby.

Hollywood A-list actress Helen Huntshunned the world’s top fashionhouses and appeared on the red carpetat this year’s Oscars in a navy bluestrapless gown from H&M.

Mr Millar added: “H&M is a brand

which really can draw a crowdbecause people know and love theirterrific value fashion style.

“Its arrival is another terrific coupfor Birkenhead and follows on fromthe return of TJ Hughes.”

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4 Thursday, May 9, 2013

GleesonBill

Let’s not forget thatEurope spurred ourcity’s regenerationIT’S hard to knowwhether to laugh or cryat the electoral gainsmade by the UK Inde-pendence Party (UKIP) atlast week’s local elec-tions.

On the one hand, it’shard to take them all thatseriously. On the other,within the context of amature democracy, theissues on which UKIPcampaigns ought to bethe subject of sensibledebate.

The destiny of Europeand immigration policyare important to voters.

Nor are these issuesunique to the UK. TheFrench, Americans, Ger-mans and many othersworry about immigrationtoo.

We should never forgetwhy we have theEuropean Union, yet 70years on from World WarII, many do.

I recall comments bythe German chancellorHelmut Kohl. It was themid-90s and I was work-ing for a soon-to-belaunched pan-Europeanstockmarket. Alluding tonegotiations about one ofEurope’s many treaties,he asserted that it wasimportant that Europemade progress towardscloser integration to pre-vent war. I recall my sur-prised reaction. It wentsomething like “Really,war in Europe in this dayand age? I think not.”

There again, the dec-ade saw widespread con-flict and death in theBalkans and three yearslater NATO deployed1,000 fighter jets and50,000 soldiers againstSerbia to stop genocidebeing perpetrated againstKosovan Muslims. Fur-thermore, the freedomswe take for granted in theWestern half of Europeare only recently arrivedin the Eastern half andthe economies of placeslike Romania and Bul-garia and Poland lag dec-ades behind ours.

The first half of the20th century should havetaught everybody thatour national interests arebound together. If Europedoesn’t thrive, thenneither will Britain.

Indeed, today’s eco-nomic crisis should con-firm that view. It wasonly 16 months ago whenthe news was full of direwarnings about the euro-zone crisis having thepotential to knockanother 7% off UK out-put. While the IMF has

just published a reportacknowledging Greece’sprogress in tackling itsnational debt, the latestpredictions are thatItaly’s economy will con-tract by 1.4% this yearand unemployment willrise to 12%. In Spain theunemployment rate is25%. So we are not out ofthe woods yet.

Britain’s manufactur-ers, many of whom arebased in the north ofEngland, need Europe’seconomy to start growingagain before we will growour way out of our ownslow conditions andreduce our public debt asa proportion of GDP.

Europe provides ourfirms with a huge homemarket. We can sell ourgoods and services farand wide. We can travelfor pleasure or workwhenever and whereverwe like within Europe.Long may it last.

Furthermore, itshouldn’t be forgottenthat Liverpool’s economicregeneration of the past15 years was spurred byEurope’s money, not Brit-ish Government money.The rebuilding of placeslike Princes Dock, QueenSquare, Speke’s EstuaryCommerce Park, theKing’s Waterfront andmuch else besides wasbrought about as a directresult of European socialand economic policy.

Yet Europe’s invest-ment has often been cri-ticised for not spreadingout beyond the centralarea to benefit the innercities and edge of townestates and that might beone reason why it is thatUKIP has some fertileelectoral territory.

IT was lovely weatherover the recent Bank Hol-iday weekend when theNational Trust put on aTudor display at SpekeHall.

There was archery,swordsmanship, jousting,Shakespeare plays andhot food stalls.

The number of visitorswas also impressive.They had to lay on over-spill car parking.

The National Trustseems to have learned athing or two about mar-keting. They undoubtedlydid some good publicrelations in the localpress and used socialmedia to spread the word.The Tudor weekendattracted twice the visit-ors than a decade ago.Perhaps we could alllearn a thing or two.

THE Liverpool Post is pleasedto publish the shortlist ofcompanies chosen to takepart in its prestigiousRegional Business Awards

final.With scores of entries for the 11 cat-

egories, the judging process has had to belong and detailed.

However, the judges have now settledon a shortlist of companies that will goforward to the final to be held in thesplendid setting of St George’s Hall on theevening of June 13.

The black-tie event will be attended byabout 500 guests from the shortlistedcompanies and other business leadersand entrepreneurs from around theregion.

The event is a well-established part ofthe local business community’s annualcalendar and represents a unique net-working opportunity.

The Liverpool Post stages this annualcompetition, now in its third decade, topublicly recognise and celebrate theachievements of the many entrepreneursand business leaders whose endeavourscreate wealth and jobs for the region.

The shortlist is:Jaguar Land Rover Corporate SocialResponsibility Award

Shop Direct GroupMorecrofts SolicitorsCheviot Asset Management

Liverpool Vision Investment of theYear

The Contact CompanyCapital & CentricHertel UK and Ireland

Liverpool Chamber of CommerceExport Business of the Year

Bootle ContainersClarke EnergyJaguar Land Rover

Green Business of the YearArriva MerseysideTyphoo TeaLife Technologies

University of Liverpool KnowledgeBusiness of the Year

Redx PharmaULTROMEXIntrinsic Technology

Employer of the YearMando GroupInternational Travel ConnectionsHilton Liverpool

02 Business of the year (up to 50employees)

Bootle ContainersHeightsafe SystemsApposing

Barclays Business of the Year(51-250 employees)

Medicash (Medicash HealthBenefits)

Secured MailTaskers

KPMG Business of the Year(over 250 employees)

Edward Billington and SonCammell LairdWeightmansNo shortlists are published for the

Judges’ Choice Award and the DLA Piper

Business Person of the Year award. TheJudges’ Choice Award will be given toone of the businesses shortlisted abovewhich, in the judges’ opinion, has demon-strated an outstanding act of entrepren-

eurial endeavour.The DLA Piper Business Per-

son of the Year award will go toan individual who has beenresponsible for developing andgrowing a significant businessin Merseyside. Recent past win-ners of the Business Person ofthe Year Award include theformer chairman of the MerseyPartnership and Grosvenor pro-ject director Rod Holmes, Red-

row founder Steve Morgan, and haulageentrepreneur Steve O’Connor.

Chairman of the Judges and LiverpoolPost business journalist Bill Gleesonsaid: “The quality of this year’s entrants

was very high. There were some verydifficult choices to be made.

“It is deeply encouraging that, even inthese economically difficult times, thereare still plenty of examples of great, localenterprises that are continuing to growand thrive and create jobs for localpeople.

“Many of our former winners have toldme what a difference it makes to receive aRegional Business Award accolade andhow it can help them when pitching fornew business or recruiting new staff. Thelocal nature of the recognition is whatseem to matter to them and their employ-ees.”

The principal criteria used by thejudges includes sales growth and meas-ures of profitability. The local economicimpact of a business is also considered,including its investment in capital andlocal job creation.

The judges havedrawn up the list offirms going forwardto this year’s awards.Bill Gleeson reports

‘A uniquechance tominglewith localbusinesses’

Time to revealpost business regional business awards


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

“It is all the more importantthat we do that in these difficulttimes.

“It is precisely the sort ofpeople that will be gathered inSt George’s Hall next month whowill help this region build for itspost-austerity future and createthe jobs that will give hope tothousands.

“The Regional BusinessAwards are a fantastic night andalways a sell-out event – so don’t be slowto sign up for seats now for the big nightitself. We will have a great keynotespeaker and the event itself is alwaysattended by some of the region’s most

influential people and provides an excel-lent networking opportunity.

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

The event is to be hosted byformer BBC broadcaster PeterSissons. Born and bred in Liv-erpool, he established a repu-tation as a journalist whileworking for both the BBC andITV at various stages in hiscareer. He was also host ofQuestion Time.

As well as Bill Gleeson, thejudges included Daily Post busi-ness journalist Tony

McDonough, University of LiverpoolManagement School academic ProfessorTom Cannon, DLA Piper partner PhilipRooney, KPMG partner Chris Fry andBarclays director John Pitchford.

How to ensure you don’t miss out on yourplace at this year’s Regional Business Awards

IT’S essential that you actquickly if you want be sure ofsecuring your place at The Liv-erpool Post’s Regional Busi-ness Awards gala dinnerbefore all of the tickets aresnapped up.

Tickets have traditionallybeen in strong demand in thedays following the publicationof the shortlist for the popularevent.

The awards final will takeplace in the grand setting of StGeorge’s Hall. Some 500 guestswill be present at the black-tiedinner that takes place on theevening of June 13.

Hosted by former BBCbroadcaster Peter Sissons, thenight will see awards handedout to the winners of 11 cat-egories.

Now in their third decade,

the awards are an establishedpart of the region’s annualsocial calendar. To buy ticketsfor the awards dinner visit ourspecial awards website atwww.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk or email [email protected] or call 0151 4722570.

You can also follow the pro-gress of the awards on Twitterat @LP_RBA

Set in the splendid surroundings ofSt George’s Hall, the black-tie eventwill attract around 500 guests

Former Grosvenor director and chairman of The Mersey Partnership, Rod Holmes,receives the DLA Piper Business Person of the Year award from Philip Rooney

‘Fantasticnight andalways asell-outevent’

our RBA 2013 shortlistpost businessregional business awards

REGIONALBUSINESSAWARDS2013

THEPOSTL I V E R P O O L

Peter Sissons will be the Master of Ceremonies


notes

byMikeTaylorLIVERPOOLOFFICEOFCHARLESSTANLEY

marketanalysis

IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

■ CHILDREN asyoung as 10 are

already saving up for“key milestones” intheir lives such as uni-versity, buying theirfirst home or startinga business, a reporthas found.

The tough economyhas produced a gener-ation of financiallysavvy children, manyof whom are more“switched on” to sav-ings than their par-ents were at the sameage, investment pro-vider Scottish Widowsfound.

With the prospect ofuniversity tuition feesand a typical 20%deposit currently putdown by first-timehouse buyers, 11% ofchildren said that theyhave already begunsaving towards thecost of college, uni-versity, or buying ahome.

A further 6% saidthey are saving up fora car – while 2% ofentrepreneurial chil-dren said they are put-ting money aside tostart their own busi-ness.

■ MORE than 30credit unions

have signed up to a“landmark” expansiondrive which will saveconsumers up to £1bnin loan interest repay-ments in the comingyears.

The Governmenthas previously agreedto invest £35.6m totransform the sectorand help it to doubleits membership byattracting around 1mnew members over thenext five years to addto the 1m who alreadyexist. It wants to seepeople on lowincomes, who oftenpay a “povertypremium” for loans,becoming less relianton expensive creditproviders such as pay-day lenders.

Estimates havefound that the planswill save borrowersup to £1bn in loaninterest repaymentsby March 2019.

Central banks’ strategy posesrisk for investors and savers

FORMER US president Ronald Reaganonce described inflation as being “asviolent as a mugger, as frightening asan armed robber and as deadly as a hitman”.

Many savers will sympathise withthis view. The spending power of cashhas been steadily eroded in recentyears with interest rates well belowinflation.

Even more worryingly, centralbanks seem intent to carry on printingmoney via quantitative easing (QE)whilst prioritising growthover inflation targets.

Thus far QE has seem-ingly had little effect oninflation.

Yet it can only be a mat-ter of time before its impactis felt. Central banks haveprinted almost $10trn since2007 – more than the com-bined GDP of the UK, Ger-many and France.

The mechanism for trans-mitting this new money into the widereconomy (bank lending) has not beenworking properly – but if and when itdoes the consequences for investorscould be serious.

For bond investors the risk of infla-tion is particularly acute.

This is because bonds pay a levelincome that looks less attractive thehigher inflation rates are – so in anenvironment of higher inflation (andinterest rates) capital values are likelyto fall.

A way to counter this is to ownbonds whose capital and coupons risewith inflation – index-linked bonds.

Yet there are difficulties here too.UK index-linked gilts are often “longdated” and can be vulnerable tochanges in interest rates.

While investors owning these mightthink they have insurance againstrising inflation, it may turn out to be“third party, fire & theft” as opposed to“fully comprehensive.”

Bonds have performed exceptionallystrongly since the global credit crunchin 2008/09 and investors are rightlyasking whether this performance cancontinue.

Back in 2009 the Bank of Englandbegan buying a portfolio ofinvestment-grade bonds toprovide funding to UK cor-porates, to aid liquidity inthe corporate bond marketand to supplement theirQE purchases of gilts.

Last Month it sold itslast corporate bond.

From a profit point ofview this has been a greatsuccess whilst also helpingstabilise the corporate

bond market in the UK at this time ofcrisis.

However, empirically measuringthese effects is hard to do – corporatebond markets that experienced nodomestic support from their centralbanks appear to have performed sim-ilarly, and the debate on the true effect-iveness of QE remains.

While it is unlikely that bonds willrise this much this fast again, I believethere are still important reasons tohold bonds as part of a portfolio, notleast for the benefits of diversificationand regular income.

It is simply a case of having realisticexpectations.

While the bond equity rotation mayhave started albeit slowly, bonds canstill be expected to provide a decentreturn from income as, in my view anycapital appreciation in the short tomedium term is likely to be small.

Yet against a backdrop of lowinterest rates this could still meaninflation-beating returns.Mike Taylor Ronald Reagan was firmly committed to fighting inflation

Number of personal insolvencies falling Cutting back on savingNEARLY one-third of people willbe forced to cut back their savingor stop putting money aside com-pletely in the coming months, asurvey is warning.

The squeeze from high livingcosts and stagnant wage growth iscontinuing to hold savers backfrom putting cash aside, accordingto a new quarterly savings indexfrom Lloyds TSB.

Around 30% of savers plan toreduce their saving or stop puttingany money away in the next 12months, while four in 10 con-

sumers currently have no cash leftat the end of the month to put intosavings.

Some 84% of those surveyedsaid they would prioritise payingoff debts over savings.

Two-fifths of people said thatthe low interest rate environmentmeans that it is not worth savingin any case – although most (54%)disagreed with this.

Savings rates have plummetedfurther in recent months followingthe introduction of Funding forLending.

PERSONAL insolvencies havedropped to their lowest level in fiveyears despite the tough economy,official figures showed.

There were 25,006 individualinsolvencies across England andWales in the first three months of2013, marking the lowest figurerecorded since the first quarter of2008, according to Insolvency Ser-vice statistics. This marked a 1.8%drop on the previous quarter and a12.9% fall compared with the sameperiod a year ago.

Within the figure, bankruptcieshit their lowest level since winter

2002. Bankruptcy orders plummetedby 27% year-on-year, with 6,663 inthe first quarter of this year.

Bankruptcies have generally beenfalling back since the introductionof debt relief orders (DROs) in 2009.

DROs are are often dubbed “bank-ruptcy light” and are aimed atpeople with lower levels of debt butno realistic prospect of paying it off.

They have been running at highernumbers than bankruptcy orderssince last summer.

The latest figures showed therewere 7,219 DROs in the first quarterof this year, marking a small drop on

the previous quarter and a 9% fallcompared with a year ago.

Individual voluntary arrange-ments (IVAs), which are agreementswhich involve sharing money outbetween creditors, were the onlytype of personal insolvency to see anincrease on the previous threemonths.

Some 11,124 IVAs have been recor-ded this year so far, which is a 1.3%rise on the quarter but still 5%lower than a year ago.

The figures show signs of furtherimprovements in people’s ability tomanage their finances.

post business wealth management

‘Bonds canstill beexpectedto providea return’


Region’s retailers countingthe cost of illicit tobacco use

Jenny Stewart

Communications firm set to grow after MSIF investmentA COMPANY whichprovides engineering ser-vices to the telecommunic-ations and mobile networkoperator markets isexpanding following aninvestment from Mersey-side Special InvestmentFund (MSIF).

And Widnes-basedAerelink says the undis-closed investment will helpthe firm push annual rev-enues up from £2m to £5mover the next three years.

It provides installation,commissioning and decom-missioning of masts andline of sight surveys.

The company also offerswireless solutions includ-ing network design, supply,implementation and remotemanagement.

Customers includemobile network operators,Lancashire Constabulary,Dundee City Council, SIAEMicroelectronica, AviatNetworks and KingstonCommunications.

Aerelink is run by man-aging director Steve Swiftwho founded the companyin 2004, and co directorsSteve Leicester and SteveMorgan.

They employ 30 staffacross its two offices inWidnes and Fife, Scotland.

Mr Swift said: “We are ontarget to increase the rev-enue of the business from£2m to £5m during the nextthree years and are alsolooking to recruit a min-imum of 15 employees overthe same period.

“MSIF has been great towork with and was able toput together a flexible fund-ing package.”

SuttonsappointsMD toSingaporeWIDNES logistics firmSuttons has appointedGraeme Rooney asmanaging directorof its internationaldivision.

Suttons Interna-tional operates globallywith operations in theAmericas, Europe theMiddle East and Asiaand Mr Rooney willoversee all activitiesthat the group providesto the chemical and pet-rochemical sectors.

He will work fromSuttons’ Asian

headquarters in Singa-pore.

Mr Rooney hasextensive senior man-agement experience inlogistics and supplychain, most recently asSuttons director – Asiaand Middle East –where he has beeninstrumental in grow-ing the business.

Suttons chief execut-ive, John Sutton, said:

“Graeme’s appoint-ment comes at an excit-ing stage in the group’sdevelopment. We havegrown by 40% in thelast two years and Asiaand the Middle Easthave been key to thatgrowth. We are confid-ent Graeme can buildon his successes.”

post businessnews

From left, Steve Morgan, Steve Swift, and Steve Leicester from Aerelink with Malcolm Jones of MSIF

NEW data on the scale of illicit andcrossborder tobacco consumption inthe North West shows that the retailtrade missed out on about £540m insales in 2012, equivalent to £43,000 inlost turnover for each of the 5,500small shops operating in the region.

The results are from tobaccoindustry surveys across the NorthWest which show that 19% of cigar-ettes and 54% of hand rolling tobaccowas either illicit or crossbordershopped in 2012, representing a taxloss to the Government of an estim-ated £420m.

Peter Osborne, regional manager ofthe Tobacco Manufacturers’ Associ-ation (TMA), said: “These shockingfigures highlight the impact that theUK’s high tobacco tax regime is hav-ing on regional businesses as con-sumers, faced with higher prices andfalling incomes , buy cheaperproducts elsewhere.

“At a time when the economy isstalling and high streets are failing,the Government should be looking to

protect small businesses.“An urgent review is needed of this

counterproductive tax policy. ”Mr Osborne added: “The Govern-

ment are currently considering pro-posals to standardise tobacco pack-aging, but such a move would make iteasier and cheaper for criminals tocopy existing tobacco products.

“By lowering the bar for criminals

to enter the market, illicit tradewould increase and place even greaterpressure on struggling businesses.”

Just last December illegal tobaccoworth up to £500,000 in unpaid taxwas seized by HM Revenue & Cus-toms officers during a raid on indus-trial premises near Ormskirk.

Jenny Stewart, chief operatingofficer at Liverpool Chamber of Com-merce, said: “The illegal tobaccotrade represents an enormous com-mercial loss to shop owners in Liv-erpool.

“We welcome the TMA’s efforts inhighlighting the wider, adverseimpacts of this illicit commerce – notjust on business but also on organisedcrime.

“Tax losses from unlawfully tradedtobacco constitutes a revenue leakageto HM Treasury of about £2bn peryear – money that the country cannotafford to lose, particularly in cash-strapped times.

“We hope that the figures will helpto underpin a more aligned responseby stakeholder groups at all levels ofpolicy and practice by establishingthe foundation for a more effectiveand integrated range of curtailingmeasures.”

[email protected]

Graeme Rooney

NOTICE OF MAKING OF AN ORDERHIGHWAYS ACT 1980, SECTION 119THE METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF SEFTONIRLAM ROAD FOOTPATH DIVERSION ORDER 2013The above Order, made on 26th April 2013 under Section 119 of the Highways Act, 1980, willdivert a footpath over the land situated at Bootle, Merseyside,shown as a bold continuous lineA-D on the Order Map running from Irlam Road, Bootle at point A, grid referenceSD333675,395473, the path passes through the public green space generally in a eastnorth-easterly direction for approximately 164 metres to the car park embankment at point D,grid SD333827, 395525.The new length of footpath , shown as a bold broken line E-C on the Order Map , commencing atPoint E , grid reference SD333683,395449 running generally in a north north-easterly directionfor 51 metres to Point F, grid reference SD333707,395494, then generally east north easterlyfor 92 metres to Point C grid reference SD333796,395518 and then the new length of footpathshown as a bold broken line G-H on the Order Map , commencing at Point G , grid referenceSD 3364808, 403948 running in a north-easterly direction for 2 metres to Point H, grid referenceSD 333796,395520.A copy of the Order and the Order Map have been placed and may be seen free of charge atthe Highways Development Control Department 4th Floor , Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road ,Bootle, L20 3NJ from 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays. Copies of the Order andMap may be purchased.Any representations about or objections to the Order may be sent in writing to the Head ofCorporate Legal Services , Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, Magdalen House, TrinityRoad, Bootle, L20 3NJ (reference HIGH/1487), not later than 9th June 2013 Please state thegrounds on which they are made.If no such representations or objections are made, or if any so made are withdrawn, theMetropolitan Borough of Sefton may confirm the Order as an unopposed Order. If the Orderis sent to the Secretary of State for the Environment for confirmation any representations andobjections which have not been withdrawn will be sent with the Order.Dated 9th May 2013

Legal Notice

www.sefton.gov.uk

J Coule, Head Of Corporate Legal ServicesMetropolitan Borough Council Of Sefton, Magdalen House, 30 Trinity Road, Bootle L20 3NJ


Paper price recovery shouldhelp packaging firm’s profits

Liverpool’s Cunard building ishome to Smurfit Kappa’s UKoperations and, inset, theSmurfit Kappa Champion HurdleChallenge Trophy at Cheltenham

Cost cuts lift Direct Line’s profits

INVESTORS reacted positively afterinternational packaging firm SmurfitKappa Group reported an upbeat out-look for its product prices during therest of year.

Smurfit, whose UK operation isbased in the Cunard building at Liv-erpool’s Pier Head, saw profit marginsfall, but remained confident about itsprofit forecasts for the rest of the year,boosting stockmarket sentiment aboutthe firm.

Smurfit said pre-tax profits fell 43%to 57m euros on revenues of 1.9bneuros – up slightly on the same periodin 2012.

Chief executive Gary McGann saidhe was pleased with the start to theyear. Mr McGann said: “The group hasseen a strong increase in demand withEuropean box volumes up 4% on thesame period last year when adjustedfor two fewer working days in the firstquarter.

“This has been achieved despite con-tinued macroeconomic weaknessthroughout most of Europe, and bearstestament to the group’s focus on highquality, innovative packagingsolutions.”

Smurfit had previously warnedthat prices for some of itsproducts would fall this year, butpaper price increases and a goodinventory position across Europeis creating an environment forcorrugated price recovery in thesecond half of 2013.

Shares in the company were upmore than 6% at euro11.87 afterthe announcement. Smurfit’sshare price has almost doubled inthe past year.

The company predicted thatdemand for corrugated productswould improve and paper priceincreases should continue to sup-port profits in the second half of2013. The integration and tradingperformance of its recent USacquisition, SK Orange County(SKOC), were ahead of expecta-tions.

Estimates of synergies from theacquisition have doubled to US$28m.

EBITDA margins in the Americashave returned to their historical rangeand the company is proposing a final2012 dividend of 20.5 cents.

Mr McGann added: “EBITDA for thefirst quarter remained strong at 241m.The performance reflects the previ-ously guided margin compression inEurope following OCC and recycled

paper price increases which are notyet reflected in corrugated pricing.

“A euro40 per tonne recycled paperprice increase in Europe during thequarter supports corrugated pricing.Input costs including OCC continue tomove upwards. Paper price increasesand a good inventory position acrossEurope are creating an environmentfor corrugated price recovery in thesecond half of 2013.

“The performance of SKOC and theprogress of its integration into thegroup has exceeded our originalexpectations. We have doubled oursynergy expectations from $ (US)14mto $28m. Over $9m of this synergy tar-get will be delivered in 2013 comparedto $6m in the original calculation.Additionally, the trading performanceof the business has been significantlyhelped by the implementation of two

paper price increases in the UnitedStates within an eight month period,with consequent increases in corrug-ated prices in the US and Mexicanmarkets.

“The overall performance of theAmericas segment has resulted in theregion returning towards its historicEBITDA margin range. Our objectiveis to increase our exposure to highergrowth markets such as the Americas.

“As part of our previouslyannounced strategic investment in theTownsend Hook mill in the UK, we areaccelerating the closure of the twoexisting paper machines at the mill.

“SKG’s integrated operations and anunrelenting focus on efficiency con-tinue to deliver a consistent and qual-ity earnings stream.”

notes■ UPMARKET gro-

cer Waitrose hasdefied the squeeze onconsumer spending todeliver an 11.1% risein first-quarter sales.

The supermarket,part of theemployee-owned JohnLewis Partnership,said most of itsgrowth during thethree months to theend of April camefrom existing stores,as only one new storeopened during theperiod.

Its online grocerysales surged 50.1%during the quarter.

For the first timemore than 5m custom-ers visited itsbranches per week,the retailer said, andcustomer transactionswere up 8.4%.

Waitrose financedirector Tom Athronsaid the chain wascompeting effectivelywith its bigger rivalsTesco and Sainsbury’son pricing, while itsextended brand pricematch helped it winnew customers.

Mr Athron said: “Ina challenging eco-nomic climate, thesefigures are testamentto the efforts of ourpartners.”

Waitrose added thatwarm weather boos-ted sales in its mostrecent trading week toApril 27, when theygrew 8.4%.

Customers stockedup on sun cream tosend suncare salessoaring 158%, whileice cream sales leapt21%. Salad sales wereup 27% and cidersales rose 26%.

The group has beena rare winner amid astagnant grocery mar-ket, with figures fromKantar Worldpanelrecently showing itsmarket share hit arecord 4.9% in the 12weeks to mid-April,up from 4.5% a yearearlier. The group has291 shops in the UKand Channel Islands.

It recently sealed atie-up withcross-Channel trainoperator Eurostar tosupply food and drinkin its standard-classbuffet carriages.

[email protected]

post business the bottom line

CHURCHILL owner DirectLine Group’s refusal to getsucked into a price war in thefiercely competitive motorinsurance market hurtfirst-quarter premiums.

The UK’s biggest motorinsurer blamed its decision tohold prices and cut the num-ber of new young drivers ittakes on – deemed a biggerrisk - for gross premiums fall-ing 4.5% during the first threemonths of the year to about£1bn.

But pre-tax profits surged47% to £94.3m from a year

earlier after unusually lowweather-related claims, des-pite freezing conditions. Itusually gets about £25m ofweather-related claims in itsfirst quarter.

The firm, which employs500 people at its Cavern Walksoffices in Liverpool citycentre, is also slashing costs,including axing about 1,200jobs nationally, which helpedboost profits.

Rivals, including RSAInsurance and Admiral, havealready warned over aggress-ive competition in the car

insurance market in recentweeks, which has drivenprices lower. Direct Line’sgross written motor insur-ance premiums were down16% to £364.1m during thequarter. Its live motor insur-ance policies fell almost 7%.

The group, which also ownsbrands including Green Flagand Privilege, said youngdrivers as a share of its newbusiness fell to 8.3% from11.7% a year earlier.

The fall in motor premiumswas partly offset by growth inits international business.

For a range of advertising solutionsCall Julie Cowley on

0151 472 2311or email [email protected]

Does your School have additionalplaces for September 2013?

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smallbusiness

weekofthe

Diana learns lessonsfrom her youngsters

DESIGNER DianaHeredia got the idea forher business fromwatching how her twoyoung children moved

around their home.She even named her business –

Leon+Coco – after them.She said: “I had bought little desks

and chairs for Leon, aged seven, andCoco, aged five, but found that theyactually prefer to lie on cushions onthe floor.

“Having children and watching howthey behave around our home reallyopened my eyes to the lack of suitableand affordable furniture accessoriesfor children.

“My kids don’t sit normally onchairs, they’re bouncing around. So Idesigned a foot stool that they coulduse as a chair or as a toy to play with.”

Ms Heredia has designed a range ofsoft furnishings, like cushions, as wellas items of clothing and a backpackwith built-in colouring sets.

She explained: “I decided to makethe backpack after seeing how organ-ised another mother was in keepingher children occupied during a longtrain journey to Paris. She had lots ofcrafts for her children and I hadbrought nothing for mine. We felt likereally rubbish parents.”

She said she made most things asgifts for her children and friends’ chil-dren, until someone suggested she sellthem: “I started selling in marketplaces and it just took off.”

Ms Heredia is originally from Berlinbut studied interior architecture inBavaria where she met her future hus-band.

He was transferred to England andseven years ago had the choice tomove to Rome, Prestwick, Dublin orLiverpool.

She said: “We came to Liverpool ona weekend to look around and fell inlove with city. I can’t imagine livinganywhere else right now.”

Ms Heredia set up her venture in2011 and last year moved to an officewithin the Women’s Organisation’spurpose-built base in the Baltic Tri-angle, close to her home and her chil-dren’s school.

She said: “I came to the Women’sOrganisation for advice and to get toknow more about starting a business,and before I knew it I was writing mybusiness plan.”

She said another bonus is havingother businesses around her withinthe building: “I found it useful here forthe encouragement. I thought of start-ing my business in Germany but youare almost discouraged, but there’smore of a ‘you can do it’ attitude here.

“You have all the courses, like busi-ness planning, accountancy etc.

“I am more on the creative side anddon’t think about paper work and allthe organisational things, so it isreally good to have someone aroundwho knows these things.”

Her aim is to design products dif-ferent to the norm: “Conventionalcushions for kids were pink for girlsor blue for boys, or movie characters,and I wanted to tone it down so kidscould use their own imagination andso they have a bit more space in theirminds. Big companies think whatwould sell to the parents, rather thanwhat kids would like.”

Most of her sales are online, but shealso sells from the ‘Made Here’ shop inthe MetQuarter which features Liver-pool-made goods and Things British,

in London’s Carnaby Street which is afan of her prints, cushions and badges.

Ms Heredia says she has a “book fullof ideas” but being a sole trader findsthe demands on her time difficult toresolve: “It is a balance about wheredo I put my energy. Do I start a newproduct or put it into drumming upinterest in the business?”

She admits that the process of estab-lishing her business, and the down-turn, have limited her progress:“Things are up and down and it ishard work to get known, and get mov-ing.

“It is a bit of the recession, but also Ididn’t anticipate how hard it would beto get the word out about my business.

“I am probably going to have tore-write the business plan, but I feelthat it is getting easier.”

Diana Heredia, who was inspired by her children Leon and Coco to set up her Baltic Triangle business

notes

■ THE hunt is on forBritain’s most effi-

cient and sustainablemanufacturers.

EEF, the manufactur-ers’ organisation, andENER-G, have launchedthe Environment awardcategory as part of thefifth annual Future Man-ufacturing Awards withcompanies eligible towin two prestigiousawards at regional andnational level.

The Award will be forthe company that hasdone the most toimprove its own environ-mental performance andimprove its carbon foot-print, while improvingoperational efficiency.

Manufacturers shouldenter this category ifthey have made changesto their operating pro-cedures to benefit theenvironment.

The Future Manufac-turing Awards are recog-nised as the UK’s leadingawards programme inthe manufacturing sec-tor. They offer manufac-turers and apprenticesfrom across the UK theopportunity to showcasetheir achievementsacross seven differentaward categories: busi-ness growth; people andskills; innovation;export; health andsafety; environment; andeducation.

The awards are free toenter and will be judgedin five regions across theUK. Regional winnerswill be announced inNovember and they willthen compete for thenational awards in Lon-don next January.

Closing date forentries is July 19. Formore information, visitwww.eef.org.uk/awards

■ IBuilding, paintingand maintenance

specialist Seddon Con-struction, which haslocal offices in Aintree,has scooped a trio ofnational ConsiderateConstructors awards forits considerate and com-munity-focusedapproach to three NorthWest projects, includinga scheme in Walton forhousing association Liv-erpool Mutual Homes.

The Considerate Con-structors SchemeNational Site Awards arepresented to construc-tion teams displayingexcellent standards ofconsideration towardstheir neighbours, theirworkforce, the generalpublic and the environ-ment.

Seddon Constructionsecured bronze awardsfor three projects: Land-scaping and boundaryworks in Walton for Liv-erpool Mutual Homes; ascheme to build 18 newaffordable homes forNew Charter HousingTrust at Dukinfield,Tameside; and a re-roof-ing scheme for homes atthe Chesham estate,Bury, for Six Town Hous-ing.

Diana Heredia and a selection of some of her products

post businesssmall business

[email protected]


IN ASSOCIATIONWITH

How Andrew Loog Oldham learned from

City back at the heartof the music worldwith festival showcase

Home winfor EdgeHill teamA TEAM of studentsfrom Edge Hill Uni-versity scooped anational award at Liv-erpool Sound City.

Daniel Cain, CharlieDenton, and SeanStoakes won the UKStudent Music Awardagainst competitionfrom universitiesacross the UK.

The team developed aconcept for a FanBasewebsite for music fansto find out who is play-ing in their town.

They pitched to apanel including JonMorter, the socialmedia star who helpedtake Rage Against theMachine to the Christ-mas number one slot in2009, and David Bian-chi, manager for bandsincluding The Enemy.

Mr Stoakes said:“Knowing we got upthere and pitched infront of so many suc-cessful industry peoplehas given us a boostand I’m sure will helpus when looking forjobs. Pitching is verymuch part of the filmand music industry, soit’s great experience.”

post business creative & digital

Wave Machines performing at Liverpool CathedralPicture and front cover image: DAVID MUNN

CHART-TOPPING artist DanSmith gave an exclusiveinsight into how he got signedas part of a star-studdedline-up at this year’s LiverpoolSound City music and digitalconference.

Hundreds of delegates atLiverpool’s Hilton hotel tookpart in debates last week onsubjects from Marxism tomarketing and from radio toround-the-word tours.

Keynote speakers includedformer Rolling Stones man-ager Andrew Loog Oldhamand Tracey Thorn, ofEverything But The Girl.

And the two-day conferencewas backed up by three nightsof gigs, which saw hundreds ofartists perform in venuesfrom a car park in Wolsten-holme Square to the refur-bished East Village Arts Clubin Seel Street.

One of the star performerswas Bastille, whose albumBad Blood reached numberone in the album charts inMay. Bastille frontman DanSmith also starred at the con-ference when he took part in aThursday discussion aboutA&R in 2013 and tried toexplain his rise to the top.

He said: “People ask foradvice, though I don’t feel I’mworthy of giving it.

“The only thing I would sayto them is just to figure outhow to write songs and bereally hard on yourself. Wefound our how we wanted theband to sound and built up abody of work and a body ofsongs.”

A&R manager Nick Bur-gess, of Virgin Records, saidhe was tipped off aboutBastille by his friend and fel-low Sound City panellist PollyComber, who was managingthe band.

He soon found out for him-self that they were already apopular band, even without a

major label deal. He said: “Iwent to the show and therewere 250 kids singing along toevery word.”

Burgess said Smith also hada clear identity and a visionfor his music, immediatelymaking him stand out com-pared to other artists.

Smith said he had no ideaBurgess or any other A&Rreps were going to be there. –and said he had been concen-trating on his fanbase ratherthan on record deals.

He said: “Getting a recorddeal would have been nice.But it wasn’t the aim.”

Smith explained how hehad formed the band and star-ted getting gigs.

“We really benefited fromthe dying wheeze ofMySpace,” he said.

“I had some friends in aband who had put some songsonline and they got some mes-sages off the back of it. Theysuggested it.

“It was weird that in thedays following, major lawyersand people who at that timeseemed a world away startedgetting in touch. “

Around that time, Smithmet producer Mark Crew, whohelped him to shape Bastille’ssound and, in Nick’s words,“made it all come together”.

Comber said she decided tolet Smith focus on the music,rather than pushing himtowards a record contract.

She said: “I didn’t necessar-ily see a major label as neces-sarily the best thing at hetime.”

Smith said the lack of “hypeand pressure” at that earlystage helped him to refine hissounds.

He said: “I feel there’s nofiller on the album – whetheror not you like it.”

The panel, hosted by Radio2 DJ Janice Long, then dis-cussed what it took to be a

successful A&R manager. Thejob, said Burgess, is far harderthan many believe.

“Anybody can like music”he said. “You have to under-stand music. I think it takesabout four years to learn to bean A&R.

“It sounds like the easiestjob in the world. It’s like beinga football manager – every-body thinks they can pick 11players. But being an A&R isso complex.”

Burgess said A&Rs wereunder constant pressure notto lose out on acts – and alsohad to take the blame if an actdid not succeed.

“Confidence is everything,”he said. “You’ve got to keephold of it. Even when you havea failure, you’ve got to havethe confidence to come back.”

Interest in Bastille grew in2012. Smith had several offers,but his growing working rela-tionship with Burgess led himto sign with Virgin Records.

Burgess said: “The hardestpart of being an A&R is tellingthe artist what to do whenthey’re making mistakes.

Alistair Houghton reports fromLiverpool Sound City’s conference

Natalie McCool, picturedperforming at Leaf, wassingled out by BBC 6Music DJ Chris HawkinsPicture: DAVID MUNN

LIVERPOOL SOUND CITY took a trip intorock’n’roll’s glorious past thanks to a key-note speech from the man who helped theRolling Stones become “the greatestrock’n’roll band in the world”.

Andrew Loog Oldham managed the Stonesfrom 1963 to 1967 and helped to cultivatetheir “bad boy” image, generating headlinessuch as “Would you let your daughter marrya Rolling Stone?”

Loog Oldham, who insisted he was a

“hustler” rather than a formal manager,worked with Brian Epstein and The Beatlesbefore discovering the Stones.

Talking about Epstein’s relationship withThe Beatles, he said: “They changed his life.He changed theirs. Together they changed heworld’s life.”

He said he was pleased Epstein’s import-ance to The Beatles was now being recog-nised, adding: “We should at least be able toput up ‘Epstein Avenue’ somewhere.”

· Bright and airy conference rooms

· Excellent AV facilities

· Quality in-house catering

· On-site exeacutive style accommodationavailable year round

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· AIM accredited

Need space to think? Chooseour Hope Park Campus for yournext meeting or away day.

You can enjoy our stunning45-acre landscaped location,as well as the EDEN Building’soutstanding business facilities.

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www.hope.ac.uk/conferences l 0151 291 2147Your great meeting.


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HattonBen

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

BlackBerry’ssurprisingsour grapesRECENT comments byBlackBerry CEO Thor-sten Heins raised morethan a few eyebrowswhen he predicted thedeath of the tablet wasjust a few short yearsaway saying they were“not a good businessmodel”.

This may well be astunt to drum up interestin BlackBerry’s newproduct offering – I’mhard-pressed to believethat he really has faith inwhat he is saying. Butnot acknowledging andignoring progressive con-sumer traits makes thecompany look foolish.

Given the companywas once at the helm ofmobile technology, itseems BlackBerry is stillreeling from its dis-astrous attempt at dip-ping a toe in the tabletwater with the launch ofits Playbook in 2011.

After selling a paltry2.4m units of the device –which didn’t have anemail function – it hassince been laggingbehind the likes of Apple,Samsung and Googlewhich have understoodthe importance of screensize and touchscreens totheir users.

The statement flies inthe face of trends whichhave seen consumer useof tablets skyrocket –almost 20m people in theUK will use a tablet atleast once a month, aneMarketer study showed

BlackBerry has carvedout a position for itself bykeeping the “old-fash-ioned” keyboard, and thiswill certainly be enjoyedby those loyal to thebrand. But BlackBerryneeds to be bigger thanjust “niche” as it is not aniche brand.

While BlackBerry hasremembered who its coreusers are and has contin-ued to cater for them, theoutlandish statement byits CEO demonstrateshow out of touch withtrending technology thecompany seems.

However, I agree. Thetablet is a bad businessmodel for a company thatcan’t do it right.

Dan Smith, of Bastille, at Liverpool Sound City with, from left, DJ Janice Long and Nick Burgess from Virgin Records Picture: SOPHIE WONG

post businesscreative & digital

“I will fall out with every-body if the CD, that lastsforever, is the best CD that itcan possibly be. It’s theircareer and my career and I’mnot going to let them get awaywith the wrong choice.”

But Smith said he was veryhappy with the choice he hadmade – and Comber added:“This is one of the best rela-tionships I’ve ever had with arecord label and an artist.”

ON FRIDAY, JaniceLong took part in adebate on the power

of radio, named after theNirvana song RadioFriendly Unit Shifter.

Music radio DJs were, shesaid, able to build strongbonds with their listeners.

Long said: “People love theintimacy of radio. If you trusta show, you trust the curationof that person.

“It’s powerful. It’s exciting.And with music radio, if youdon’t like something, you’reonly three minutes away fromsomething you might like.”

Mike Walsh, of XFM, agreed

successful music radio showshave to win the trust of theiraudience.

Walsh said: “There’s moremusic being made on PlanetEarth than ever before, whichis amazing. There’s morebeing consumed than everbefore, which is amazing. Butthe truth is, it’s not all good.

“How do you navigate thatinfinite ocean of cre-ativity? You need atrusted guide.”

Radio is beingchallenged by onlineradio stations andstreaming services.

Nick Calafato, ofinternet radio sta-tion last.fm, said:“It’s going to beinteresting to seehow the generationcoming through willperceive radio. It may come toa stage where something likelast.fm is radio.”

But Chris Hawkins,presenter of the early break-fast show on BBC Radio 6Music, added: “It’s an amazingthing to be bringing new

music to your audience.“I played Natalie McCool on

the radio this week. Last nightI was getting tweets frompeople who were at the (SoundCity) gig, who are regularlisteners to 6 Music, sayingthey were there becausethey’d heard her on the show.

“You do build a great rela-tionship with your audience.

You have to trusteach other – youbecome friends, upto a point.

“You feel that ifthey were to recom-mend a restaurant,you would prettymuch trust theirjudgement.”

Julie Cullen,editor at 6 Music,added: “In the 25-45age group, radio is

still the way people find outabout new music, which isextraordinary.

“It was supposed to be videothat killed the radio star, thenthe internet. But it does seemto be the beast that won’t die.”

The conference also

included practical sessionswhere musicians, managersand label owners could learnabout the nuts and bolts of theindustry.

In one Friday afternoon ses-sion, Keith Harris, director ofperformer affairs at PPL,explained how his organisa-tion ensures performersreceive royalties for the musicthey make.

PPL is a not-for-profit com-pany that last year collectedmore than £170m in licencefees.

The changing face of therecord industry, with morepeople releasing their ownmusic online, is also changingPPL’s membership.

“The biggest group ofpeople who are registeringwith PPL are owner-operatorsof record labels,” said Harris.

“A lot of people don’t thinkof themselves as record labelsbecause they’re releasingtheir own stuff. “

But, he said, registeringcould help them collect all themoney they are due.

Other Sound City panels

included “360 Degree Marx-ism”, in which the teambehind rock band Enter Shi-kari discussed how Marx andEngels had influenced theirDIY approach to the musicindustry. Simon Moran,founder of promoter SJM Con-certs and one of the mostinfluential men in the globalmusic industry, took part in aclosed Q&A session withmusic students.

Wayne Scholes, chairmanand chief executive of US tech-nology firm Red Touch Media,visited Sound City to launchthe company’s Liverpooloffice. He said the Merseyevent now rivalled the festivalthat inspired it, South bySouthwest (SxSW) in Texas.

He said: “Sound City hasbeen brilliant for us.

“I likeSxSW, but there’s alot of politics, and it’s so cor-porate the music gets a bitlost.

“What I like about SoundCity is that it’s much morefocused on the cultural side ofmusic – there’s fashion, fan-zines and sport.”

Brian Epstein and took the Rolling Stones to global dominationLoog Oldham first saw the Stones at the

Crawdaddy Club in Richmond. He said: “I gotthere, and when I saw them, this wave cameover me.”

And he added he was interested in theStones for their image as well as their music.He said: “There was an advantage that Ididn’t care much for their type of R&B. Ipreferred Leiber and Stoller.

“I had no judgement. I couldn’t say ‘theydon’t do this as well as Long John Baldry’.

“I presume I was affected in the same waythat Brian was when he found The Beatles.”

Host Dave Haslam brought up the “BritishInvasion” of the American music charts,which began 50 years ago with The Beatles.

Loog Oldham reminded the audience thatthe British domination of US music didn’t lastlong – and that the Stones’ success in the USwas not inevitable.

He said: “If the Beatles ever looked overtheir shoulders, they weren’t looking at the

Rolling Stones. They were looking at Her-man’s Hermits and the Dave Clark Five.

“As early as the autumn of 1966, Americanmusic had started to speak to the dilemmaof the country. That didn’t really happen inEurope until 1968.

“Herman’s Hermits and the Dave Clark Fivedidn’t survive the next chapter. Thosechapters came quickly. Those who were in apenthouse and couldn’t write for the streetscouldn’t compete.”

Andrew LoogOldham

‘I will fallout witheverybodyif the CDis the bestit can be’


What does it taketo be a world classdigital-age retailer?

ALEX Baldock glancedout of his office windowat the blue sky with ahappy smile. It was MayDay and the weather

was sunny and warm.“Good weather is good for busi-

ness,” he said.“That’s certainly true of high

street shops, but is it also true foronline retailers?” I asked.

“It’s quite difficult to persuade acustomer to buy a summer frock ifit’s snowing outside,” he replied.

Mr Baldock was installed as chiefexecutive of Speke-based£2bn-turnover Shop Direct last year.He has been given the job of takingthe business through the next stageof its development towards becominga “world class” online retailer.

He acknowledges that much of thegroundwork has already been doneby the previous management.

“What was built before my arrivalwas some pretty strong foundations,”he said.

“It’s important to remember thatthis business used to be a number ofrival catalogue companies. We haveintegrated them.”

Mr Baldock said this integrationwas achieved at the same time as thebusiness changed from being anold-fashioned print catalogue busi-ness into a modern day digital oper-ation with 80% of its sales comingfrom online channels.

He continued: “We moved fromcatalogues to online without losingscale. We still have 5m regular cus-tomers.

“We have stayed true to our targetcustomer. Those 5m customers arevery much in the heartland of wherethis business has been for 80 years.They are aspiring people and theytend to be female.

“We know them better than any-body else. We have 80 years of dataabout them. The catalogue industrywas rich in data and now, withonline, that data is even richer. Addthat to our financial services dataand we don’t think there is anybodywho knows their customer betterthan we do. There is a real wealth ofdata that simply isn’t available tobricks and mortar companies.”

As well as selling fashion, fur-niture and electrical goods, Shop Dir-ect has a financial services arm thatoffers credit to customers, allowingthem to spread payments. Indeed, theprovision of credit has always been apart of the Littlewoods businessmodel, even in its earliest days whenagents collected cash door-to-door.

Mr Baldock said: “If you put allthat data together you can tell whatyour customer does, who she is, whatshe likes to buy and who from. That’sa priceless advantage.

“We have done it while buildingsome strong, reliable brands likeVery and Isme and we are happywith how the legacy Littlewoodsbrands have performed. We also havesome impressive operations here.

“You put all that together and youhave some pretty strong foundations.

“Clearly, we want to build on that.”According to Mr Baldock it is

essential to ground the business’sstrategic direction on the answer tothe question what makes this busi-ness special?

He said: “Every business would bewell advised to have a clear sense ofwhat would be missing if it weren’there. It’s emblazoned all over thewall now. We make good things easilyaccessible to more people.

“You can’t spend any time in thisbuilding or with our customers in

focus groups and be in any doubtabout how important this business isto the people who shop here.

“We are in a position to bring nicethings to people they would not oth-erwise have. There’s a real sense ofdoing something worthwhile here.It’s more than doing just a day’swork. That’s important – it meansyou have more engaged people.”

As well as a sense of job satis-faction, Mr Baldock believes thefirm’s philosophy also makes goodbusiness sense. He explained: “It’sgood business practice to stick toyour strengths and within ourphrase ‘making good things easilyaccessible to more people’ is a prom-ise that we want to keep.

“As a department store, we arewell-equipped to provide that choice.As an online retailer, we make iteasier for them and we make good

things easily accessible to morepeople through our credit servicesand value-for-money offer. If we stayfocused on that, then every one ofour people will do so too and we willbe playing to our strengths.

“All our strategic choices stemfrom that. They have to be true toour purpose as a business. You cansee that in the market. You haveexamples of retailers that haven’tstuck to that and the market hasbeen ruthless to them. Take Comet –it’s hard to see what they brought tothe market that you couldn’t get fromCurrys.

“We have set ourselves a steepambition. We are not interested injust ticking along. We want to be aworld-class retailer. This is not justmy ambition. It is shared by the lead-ership team in the business and wehave the shareholders’ full support.

“It’s not an empty ambition becausewe have planned it over the last sixmonths with a degree of rigour.

“We have to stick within someclear boundaries. For now, we are aUK and Ireland retailer. There maycome a time when we have interna-tional ambitions, but for now we aregoing to stick to what we know best.

“We have made some choices abouthow we intend to be a world classretailer for our customers, ourpeople and shareholders. All threeare important. That’s the way tobuild sustainable success here.”

The danger is that the phrase“world class” can be nothing morethan a slogan. What does it mean inpractice at Shop Direct?

Mr Baldock said: “We aim to be thebest in the world at three things: per-sonalisation, product and credit.”

Personalisation refers to using all

of the data the business holds aboutits customers to target them withspecific products and offers at theright time.

He explained: “We are buildingwith our partners IBM an everimproving systems infrastructure.Put those things together and youcan build the world’s best personal-ised e-commerce experience for ourcustomer so that she can find exactlywhat is right for her at any time onany device. We think that’s a reallypowerful thing to do.

“And when you put those threethings together, personalisation,product and credit, it’s a very power-ful proposition for our customer andthat’s how we intend to win.

“We have set ourselves a lengthyagenda about how to make this thebest place to work. Happy employeesare best for business. And we are

Bill Gleeson meetsALEX BALDOCK,chief executive ofSpeke-based onlineretailer Shop Direct

Good weather is good for seasonal wear: Myleene Klass models new swimwear for Littlewoods.com

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TurnerAlex

■ Alex Turner is the generalmanager of financial trainingfirm Ambitious Minds

planning to make this business amodel of process excellence.

“This isn’t a pipe dream – this isunderway. All of this is planned andcosted and organised. We have setourselves the task of being theemployer of choice in the NorthWest.

“We have worked hard to develop aset of values, a common set of expec-ted behaviours that means one ShopDirect person knows what to expectfrom another.

“We invest in recognising people’scontribution and people’s profes-sional development so they can see acareer path here.

“It’s also got to be fun. It’s an inter-esting business. We are not bangingout widgets here. The range ofproducts is fascinating.

“We intend to be at the vanguardof the digital revolution in this coun-

try and it’s a heady mix.“I enjoy getting up in the morning

and coming here.“People need to buy into the ambi-

tions for the business and that thoseambitions are credible and that thereis a clear part in it for them.

“Nobody’s business is immunefrom the market and competitivepressures. We are no different.”

Shop Direct has yet to make a sus-tained profit in the 10 years it hasbeen in the ownership of the Barclayfamily. In that time it has lost morethan £750m. Surely being sustainablyprofitable is an essential require-ment before any business can deemitself world class?

However, Mr Baldock becomescagey when the issue of financialperformance is raised. He wouldn’tcommit to any time scale for achiev-ing a profit. He would only talk in

general terms, saying: “The plan weintend to deliver here is a plan forthe profitable growth of the businessand that’s a good place to be if youare an employee here.

“What we have here is a long termvision for this business. We are notclaiming to be all the way theretoday, but it’s important to have adestination in view and a clear senseof what that success looks like.

“It’s that clarity and commonsense of purpose that gives this placea sense of excitement.

“We want to be a world class busi-ness for shareholders as well as cus-tomers. We intend to be a profitablebusiness and we are satisfied withour trajectory towards profitabilitytoday.

“We have ambitious plans in allthree categories: clothing, electricaland home furniture. World class

product is part of those plans.“We aim to build at least three

world class own-brands in clothingand footwear over the next few years.We already have Ladybird and wehave ambitious plans for Savoir andDefinitions, to name but two others.”

The last five years have been verytough for all retailers. Will the eco-nomy and consumer spending needto improve before Shop Direct cansustain profitable trading?

Mr Baldock said: “It’s a very chal-lenging environment out there. Con-sumer sentiment is pretty subdued.

“We are not banking on a pick-upin the economy. We have been cau-tious in our plans.

“Like everyone, we would prefer amore benign economic environment.

“The plan we have settled on is aplan to build enduring, sustainablesuccess at Shop Direct.

Alex Baldock, chiefexecutive at Shop DirectGroup, Speke

Concept ofvalue is amoot point“THE reality is that they willencourage unrealistic andunrealisable local expectation tothe detriment whilst imposingan unwelcome additionaladministrative burden on localauthorities.”

That’s the assessment of abarristers’ chambers, whospecialise in property, about theconcept of an “asset ofcommunity value” (ACV) whichhas been created by the LocalismAct.

The early signs are notpromising.

It has already been bandiedaround in relation to LiverpoolFC’s stadium, Anfield, and theCaledonia pub in CatharineStreet.

In both instances they arecommercial organisations whosecommunity benefits are asecondary consequence.

The Spirit of Shankly (SoS)organisation has made theargument that “football clubsand their stadiums are of vital

importance totheir localcommunities”.

But no-one ismaking the casethat, say, theGoodrichfactory inHuyton – where350 jobs will belost when the

site is closed at the end of nextyear – should be given protectedstatus.

As SoS has admitted, the aimis for the designation to act as anearly warning mechanism of anyfuture sale of the club, which issomething of a red herring, giventhe long and protracted nature ofthe sale process previously.

In truth, all of our region’ssports clubs are up for sale atany point, the only differencebeing the levels of publicity andurgency around eachtransaction.

You don’t need to apply forACV status to know that, forexample, both Everton’sGoodison Park or St Helens’Langtree Park can be yours ifyou can raise sufficient funds –and without a six-monthdeadline to pull together a bid.

The ACV status will be used bypoliticians and lobby groups as athreat to force negotiations(which are unlikely to provesatisfactory), to create delay andto gain access to informationwhich would otherwise beprivate but has little publicvalue, other than prurience.

It will be interesting to seehow often the ACV concept isused properly, to enable thecommunity to purchase playingfields, a community centre or thescout hut, rather than just toinfluence or infect the sale of acommercial operation.

‘Allourregion’ssportsclubsarefor sale’

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www.ldplegal.co.uk

City’s legal sector gears up forinternational festival in 2014

Leading barrister calls time on ‘rewarding’ 30-year careerA PROMINENT North Westbarrister has been given a“rousing” send off by herchambers in Chester as sheretired after a successful30-year career.

For the last couple ofyears, Jeannie France-Hay-hurst has led the family lawteam at Linenhall Cham-bers.

She started her career inLondon – at the Temple –and later in Cardiff, Liver-pool and finally Chester.

Barristers, solicitors andjudges congregated in Stan-ley Place for a champagnereception to see her off.

Ms France-Hayhurstestablished a strong reputa-tion in the North West andNorth Wales for for hercommitment to child protec-tion and family dispute res-olution. She has four chil-dren with husband, James,whom she paid tribute to.

“Without the support ofmy long-suffering andpatient husband, James, itwould just not have beenpossible,” she said.

“He has coped with mylate-night brief-reading andweekends surrounded by asea of papers -– and wasalways ready with a glass ofdecent wine.

“I have been immenselylucky to have had the oppor-tunity to work in such arewarding field.” Anthony O'Toole of Linenhall Chambers speaks at the retirement party for Jeannie France-Hayhurst, right

Brabners’ big effort for Guide DogsSTAFF at Brabners ChaffeStreet have already raised£10,000 for their chosen char-ity this year – Guide Dogs.

The charity came top in astaff vote with the Liverpoollaw firm pledging to supportfundraising and volunteeringactivities local to each of itsoffices in Liverpool. Brabnershas a well-established fun-

draising calendar and over thelast three months has raisedmoney through a series of ini-tiatives

These included a BrabnersBake Off competition, a mous-tache-growing contest and asponsored bungee jump andswim.

And Helen Mawdsley andMarc Whittaker, from the IT

department in Liverpoolraised more than £2,000 byhaving their heads shaved.

Sal Chapman, businessdevelopment manager atGuide Dogs, said: “We aredelighted to be working withBrabners Chaffe Street – theyhave been a real pleasure towork with and their fundrais-ing is invaluable to us.”

Changesat the topof Merseylaw firmWEIGHTMANS hasunveiled its new seniormanagement team, theaddition of a fourthbusiness line and aseries of internal pro-motions.

John Schorah andDan Cutts have nowtaken over as Weight-mans’ managing andsenior partners, as pre-viously reported in theLiverpool Post.

Partners Tim Langand Kieran Jonesreplace Mr Schorahand Mr Cutts as head ofthe commercial andinsurance businesslines respectively.

Also joining theboard is partner andhead of costs, Rob Wil-liams, who becomes thehead of a fourth busi-ness line – solving dis-putes.

Mr Schorah said:“We’re delighted toannounce the introduc-tion of solving disputes.

“This brand newdepartment has beenset up to directlyaddress the biggestchanges to civil litiga-tion we’ve seen inyears, introduced bythe Jackson Report.

“As a firm we arealways evolving and2013 is becoming a yearof huge legal reformsfor our clients, and allof our changes gear usup to face the nextchapter alongsidethem.”

Weightmans has alsoannounced 19 promo-tions, with the appoint-ment of four new part-ners and 15 new asso-ciates over five officesnationwide.

A 20th promotion isalso in the pipeline asthe firm awaits con-firmation of an ABSlicence before planningto make its firstnon-lawyer a partner inthe coming months.

Alistair Fletcher

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LEGAL firms in Liverpool will haveaccess to “huge opportunities” duringnext year’s International Festival forBusiness (IFB).

That was the message to firms gath-ering for the legal sector’s SpringLunch, organised by Liverpool LawSociety.

Around 60 members of the profes-sion attended the lunch at the MerseyDocks and Harbour Company board-room in the Port of Liverpool buildingat the Pier Head.

The many firms representedincluded Brabners Chaffe Street, DLA

Piper, DWF, Morecrofts, Jackson &Canter and Weightmans.

They were addressed by Max Stein-berg, chief executive of Liverpool Vis-ion, who told them that IFB 2014, tak-ing place in June and July, will be“global showcase of business”.

It is projected to attract more than250,000 visitors from across the globeto take part in 61 days of events, exhib-itions and celebrations.

Mr Steinberg said the festival willconnect UK businesses with the “bestinternational business opportunities”.

Alistair Fletcher, president of Liv-erpool Law Society, said: “This is afabulous opportunity.

“We will be hosting a massivelyimportant international event whenwe can demonstrate not only our

status as a destination of choice forflagship conferences but also the com-mercial excellence of our region andthe legal community that serves it.”

IFB 2014 was launched earlier thisyear by Prime Minister DavidCameron with the full support of theGovernment and UK Trade and Invest-ment.

Last week a delegation from Liver-pool travelled to the US cities ofBoston and Atlanta to spread the wordabout the event.

Members of the delegation made apresentation at Fenway Park, home tothe Boston Red Sox.

In Atlanta, they met with MayorKasim Reed, as well as taking part in around table event at the World TradeCentre offices.

[email protected]

MarcWhittakerand HelenMawdsleyof Brabners


Jane’s success story can helpinspire other entrepreneursA FORMER insurance sector executivewho spent 15 months out of work hasnow spent two years running her ownconsultancy.

Wirral entrepreneur Jane Richardswas made redundant from her insur-ance job in 2009.

She then spent more than a year,without success, searching for a job.

However she decided to use herexperience of business administrationmanagement to set up her own ven-ture.

Third Sector Thinking (TST) hasnow been up and running for twoyears.

TST offers now offers developmentexpertise and hands-on support, tocharities, community groups andsmall businesses.

Her first client was a local scoutgroup in Birkenhead and now sheworks with organisations as far afieldas Sheffield and London.

Her turnaround began with a spec-ulative application to join the Voda-fone World of Difference project and a

visit to herlocal Job-centre Plus.

Sheexplained:“Vodafonehas an annualscheme thatgives peoplethe chance todonate timeto a charity of

their choice – and get paid.“Nothing else seemed to be happen-

ing for me so I thought ‘why not give ita go?’

“Around 11,000 people applied and Iwas one of 500 successful applicants.The charity became my first client andthings just took off from there.

“But I couldn’t have got where I amwithout the support of EnterprisingMerseyside.”

Enterprising Merseyside is a projectfunded by the European RegionalDevelopment Fund and delivered byLiverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wir-ral Chambers of Commerce.

One-to-one advice and support isavailable at venues across Merseyside,and is available to anyone living in thecity region and thinking of starting abusiness.

Jane added: “When you are unem-ployed you don't know where to turn tofind out about starting your own busi-ness, but I was amazed at the support

that the chamber had to offer.“They helped me to write a solid

business plan and I completed a seriesof start-up workshops covering essen-tial business topics such as financeand marketing.

“I was allocated a volunteer busi-

ness mentor, Elaine Owen, whoseenthusiasm and support over the cru-cial first few months was incredible.

“We met once a month for the firstsix months and she helped me set upmy website.”

Now a member of Wirral Chamber,

Jane is mentoring other budding newentrepreneurs.■ Call Enterprising Merseyside on0845 340 9980 or visit facebook.com/enterprisingmerseyside for moreinformation on starting your ownbusiness..

Jane Richards wasunemployed for15 months beforestarting her ownbusiness

Thumbs-up for Pier Head event

Womencan fillskills gap,says studyA NEW report says UKmanufacturers couldtackle their skillsshortages by hiringmore women.

The 2013 HarveyNash ManufacturingLeadership surveyreveals that 73% ofmanufacturers had noplans to increase thenumber of women intheir workforces.

And of the 27% whoare, only 40% are look-ing to increase thenumber of womenemployees throughoutthe entire organisation,with 15% focusingpurely on board levelappointments and 3%focusing on senior ormiddle managementappointments.

The overall reporthighlights an “exodus”of skilled people fromthe manufacturing andengineering sector.

Sector skills organ-isation Semta, whichhelped produce thestudy, claims firmscould be missing out ontalented workers.

Semta chief execut-ive, Sarah Sillars, said:“It is puzzling thatwhen only 20% of thesector’s workforce isfemale, so few compan-ies are actively tryingto increase the numberof women within theirbusiness.

“While no one is sug-gesting that candidatesshould be selected onanything other thanmerit, perhaps employ-ers facing skills short-ages should considerhow to nurture thisuntapped talent.

“The Government isencouraging employersto take ownership ofskills and thankfullyhelp is at hand not onlyto recruit, train andretain top talent, butalso to prevent a lostgeneration of youngpeople who needenthusing.”

ALMOST 1,000 delegatesfrom around the UK descen-ded on Liverpool’s Pier Headfor the first ever privateevent to be held on therecently regenerated water-front piazza.

A giant glass-sided mar-quee appeared directly infront of the famous LiverBuilding for the event,entitled Reflections on theWaterfront.

The event, which tookeight months in the plan-ning, was staged as part ofthe annual Association of

Corporate Treasurers (ACT)conference being held at theBT Convention Centre.

It was the brainchild ofNorth West event and partyspecialists Charlotte andKarl Dolan of Orion.

The temporary pop-uppavilion took more than aweek to construct and meas-ured an 1,700 sq m.

Creative director Charlottesaid: “I am delighted to saythat the event we designedand delivered was a hugesuccess. So many of theguests commented on the

fantastic location in front ofthe Three Graces and on thescale of the luxurious mar-quee that we created fortheir important social event.

“The food by Paul Askewand his team from the Lon-don Carriage Works at HopeStreet Hotel was outstand-ing.”

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‘Charitywas myfirst clientand it justtook off’

[email protected]

Karl Dolan andCharlotte Winby ofOrion in front of thewall of water theycreated at the Pier Head


by Joe Davison,Paul Crowley & Co Solicitors

viewpoint

Energy efficiency no longer optional for commercial property owners

CONCERNS and issues surroundingenergy efficiency are increasinglyshaping the landscape of media,politics and industry.

Gone is the blasé, “live for the

now” attitude towards consumption.In, is the meticulous, scrutinous

culture of conservation, protectionand sustainability.

There is an influx of new legis-lation and Government schemesdesigned to facilitate a greener pro-spect for the UK.

And there are a number of devel-opments that commercial landlordsneed to be aware of if they are tocontinue operating successfully insustainable Britain.

The Energy Efficiency Act 2011 isset to be a game-changer.

The most onerous requirementsfor commercial landlords are due to

come into force by the beginning ofApril 2018.

This allows a further five years toensure that provisions arein compliance with the act,or esle you will risk pos-sible fines and constraintson the legality of lettingyour properties.

The time to begin con-verting is now.

Commercial propertieswill be expected to hold aminimum specified EnergyPerformance Certificaterating in order to fall in line with theact and the alterations required to do

so will vary depending on the type ofproperty – for example an industrialproperty may require less heating

than an office space.What is certain is that

bringing a non-efficientproperty up to scratch islikely to incur highone-time costs.

In the long-term, havingenergy efficiency will lowerthe cost of power and heatbut the equipment requiredto do this can be expensive.

Modern innovations inthe field do not come cheap and thereis the installation to think about too.

The Green Deal has been billedprimarily as of benefit to residentialbuildings in improving performance,but it might be worth checking thedetails to see if it can benefit you as acommercial landlord.

Providing that the expected sav-ings outweigh the cost of theimprovements, the work can be doneon finance and paid back throughmonthly energy bills.

It is unique in that the finance isattached to the property as opposedto the owner.

This means you’ll no longer beresponsible for those repayments ifyou decide to sell.

£5m Exchange Station schemesees the first suite completedRefurbished office suite at Exchange stationand, right, Wayne Locke of Ashtenne

Two citysites go toauctionEDDISONS is offeringtwo fully tenanted LIv-erpool residential prop-erties at its next auc-tion in Manchester onMay 21.

These include asix-bedroom studentproperty in SalisburyRoad in Wavertree,which generates£23,400 per year.

The guide price is£140,000-plus, a poten-tial return of morethan 16.7%.

And two tenantedsemi-detached housesin Upper HamptonStreet, close to Liver-pool city centre have aguide of £170,000-plus.

The Markden Mewsproperties generateannual income of£20,400, a potentialreturn of 12%.

Eddisons is offering27 lots at the PremierInn, Trafford Park.

‘The timeto beginprocesshas tobe now’

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[email protected]

DEVELOPER Ashtenne Space Northwest hascompleted the first office suite as part of the£5m refurbishment of Liverpool’s ExchangeStation.

The last trains ran from the station inTithebarn Street in 1977 and in the 1980s, themain building was converted into an officecomplex known as Mercury Court.

In December, Post Business revealed thatAshtenne Space Northwest, a partnershipbetween the Homes and CommunitiesAgency and the Ashtenne Industrial Fund,was to give the site a major revamp.

The fully refurbished space on the thirdfloor of Exchange Station extends to 11,105 sqft.

The office suite completes just asAshtenne launches the marketing suite andtogether they will give visitors an accuraterepresentation of the final product.

Exchange Station comprises a total ofaround 200,000 sq ft and current tenantsinclude commercial property agents GVA.

the project willfeature “grade Aequivalent” officespace and behind the1888 façade, a newconcourse will fea-ture a full conciergereception, meetingrooms, informal seat-ing and a coffeeshop/bistro.

Wayne Locke, dir-ector of Ashtenne

Space Northwest, said: “Completion of thefirst suite at Exchange Station marks anexciting turning point for Liverpool's officemarket.

“We can now see for ourselves the hugepotential Exchange Station offers its residentbusiness occupiers, through ultra-speedbroadband connectivity, concierge serviceand on-site lifestyle amenities, scarcelymatched anywhere else in the UK.

“The office suite is a great space and com-plements the development’s commitment tocelebrating Exchange Station’s rich heritage,whilst transforming the building to exceedthe technology and networking requirementsof 21st century businesses, even includingmobile phone coverage in the lifts.

“In short, the redevelopment promises torevive the building’s heritage as a hub ofconnectivity for commerce in the NorthWest.”

Commercial agent for the scheme is Kep-pie Massie.

For more than a century, Exchange Stationwas one of the biggest railway terminals inthe North West, providing train services toplaces as far afield as Leeds and Glasgow.

‘We cannow seethe hugepotentialit offers’

BUSINESS to BUSINESS

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Further information please contact Neil Dryburgh or Euan Ross at

1-3 Grimrod Place,SkelmersdaleLot 133: Vacant industrial building of 137,650 sq ft.

80/80A Mostyn Street,LlandudnoLot 142: Vacant shop of 3,407 sq ft.

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Whitehall relocations couldboost the city’s office marketRELOCATING Government depart-ments from London to the regionscould give a major shot in the arm toLiverpool’s city centre office market.

That’s the view of Stuart Keppie,one of the key contributors to thecity’s annual commercial office mar-ket review.

Liverpool’s remaining grade Aoffice space totals just over 200,000 sqft at St Paul’s Square, 20 Chapel Streetand Mann Island with no significantnew space in the pipeline.

The headline rent for grade A cur-rently stands at £21 per sq ft – a ratewhich is not high enough to convincemost developers to build speculatively.

Over the past decade or so the cityhas benefited from millions in stategap funding for such projects but theamount now available is greatlyreduced.

What could encourage developmentand push up headline rents is anincrease in the number of require-ments from potential major occupiers.

Direct Line and Barclays arebelieved to be looking for space but MrKeppie says the Government couldalso help the situation.

He told Post Business: “The issuehas been one of attracting inwardinvestment.

“There seem to be inquires in thepipeline. Manchester has around750,000 sq ft on inquiries where in Liv-erpool it is probably closer to 250,000sq ft.

“And those of more than 50,000 sq fthave been quite long-standing andhave taken a long time to come tofruition.

“There needs to be more of a con-certed effort by the Government totransfer services out into theprovinces.

“If we don’t have higher rentallevels then we don’t achieve thegrowth.

“Liverpool has grown up through agrant culture in the last 20-25 yearswhere the market has been supportedand that step up to viability, partic-ularly in this climate, is a difficultone.”

The office market review is pro-duced by the Professional LiverpoolProperty Group, which is chaired byMr Keppie.

His firm, Keppie Massie, contrib-utes to the report, along with otheragents in the city.

It showed that in Liverpool’s centralbusiness district (CBD) last year, let-tings totalled just under 260,000 sq ft.

This was just a little down on 2011and ahead of 2010. Although it was

below the five-year average the reportsuggested the market was stabilisingafter several years of disruption sincethe financial crash.

What was notable was a lack ofdeals in the CBD above 30,000 sq ft.

The biggest deal was the 22,275 sq ftof refurbished space taken by Service-Source at The Plaza and the biggestgrade A deal was the 14,155 sq ft takenby banking giant Santander at No4 StPaul’s Square.

While there is concern about thelack of grade A for potential majorlettings, Mr Keppie said there wasevidence of a steady “churn” of smallbusiness lettings in the 1,000 sq ft to5,000 sq ft bracket.

This category made up two-thirds ofthe total of 61 deals in 2012 – up from44 the year before.

He added: “Liverpool’s biggest let-tings last year were around 22,500 sq ftand the same applied in theManchester market.

“What that tells you was that it wasalmost exclusively churn in theManchester market last year as well.

“If you look at the sector take-up, in2011 around 60% of the market wasfinancial and professional and thatdropped to 34% in 2012, although itwas still the biggest sector.

“The interesting thing is that youhave had the re-emergence of certaintypes of user – shipping and distri-bution for example – and also the callcentre and office provider market.

“There is a far greater spread ofsectors now. There is no real dominantuser which you might say is a goodthing.”

TVP starts on 500,000 sq ft facilityWORK has started on a 500,000sq ft distribution centre at Liv-erpool International BusinessPark.

Bolton-based constructionconsultancy, The Vinden Part-nership (TVP), has advisedUK Land & Property on theproject, acting as quantity sur-veyor, employer’s agent, andconstruction, design and man-agement coordinator.

The distribution site will be

one of the largest in the UKand has been tipped for occu-pation by a national budgetretailer.

The warehouse includes25,000 sq ft of office space, plus3,500 sq ft transport controlfacility and additional officespace.

TVP is coordinating con-struction, infrastructure andlandscaping works.

It is also advising UK Land

on its construction regulationcompliance and health andsafety issues.

Martin Bennett, regionaldirector at TVP, said: “Theconstruction of a facility ofthis size and quality cementsLiverpool’s status as a key dis-tribution hub in the UK.

“Growth of the distributionnetwork across the region hasexpanded rapidly over the last12 months.”

The Heathagrees toput downrail trackA RAILWAY track is tobe laid at The HeathBusiness & TechnicalPark in Runcorn toaccommodate the needsof a new occupier.

Training companyAkona, which special-ises in the event man-agement, security, closeprotection and railwayengineering sectors, isto locate its northernoffice at the 50-acresite.

The base will befocused on offeringsecurity and rail over-head electrificationtraining and develop-ment qualifications.

So The Heath hasagreed to install a50-metre railway track,

with associated toolsand materials, to makethe firm’s training evenmore realistic.

The willingness tocreate such a facilityproved a key incentivefor Akona’s directorSteve Ashley to locatethe company at TheHeath.

He said: “The Heathsite really lends itselfto our style of trainingcourses as it offers ourtrainees, consultantsand assessors a numberof realistic scenarios.”

Akona countsBourne Rail, Chelsea,Leighton Orient andFulham football clubs,Wembley Stadium andThe Oval cricketground among its listof clients.

post businesslocation

Stuart Keppie of Keppie Massie

[email protected]

Computer-generated image of the new warehouse

No4 St Paul’s Square isone of the fewbuildings left withavailable grade A spacein Liverpool city centrePicture: TONY McDONOUGH

Steve Ashley


jobsfocus

on

Python joins battle against

WHEN policymakersdebate solutions tothe youthunemploymentcrisis, it’s unlikely

many of them will think of usingpythons and tarantulas.

But those creatures have playedtheir part in a project to ensure dis-affected young people in Liverpooldon’t find themselves on the jobscrapheap at 16.

The scheme, led by the ResourceDevelopment Centre (RDC), is justone of a number of projects backedby Liverpool Mayor Joe Andersonaimed at tackling the youth unem-ployment crisis in the city.

And it, in turn, is being mirroredacross the region as local authoritieswork to help young people into work.

Youth unemployment in thisregion soared as the UK plunged intothe credit crunch.

The total number of people claim-ing jobseeker’s allowance (JSA)across the six city region boroughsrose from below 12,000 in late 2007 toa peak of 18,675 in February 2012.

The latest figures, for March 2013,show the total stood at 15,405.

But the figures for long-term youthunemployment remain high. Thenumber of under-24s in the cityregion claiming JSA for more than12 months rose from just over 400 inlate 2007 to a peak of 3,245 lastSeptember.

Politicians, local authorities andtraining bodies are working hard totackle the problem – and the numberof long-term claimants has sincefallen slightly, to 3,010 in March.

But all agree there is still work tobe done and that this is no time to becomplacent.

When Liverpool Mayor Joe Ander-son was elected a year ago, hepledged to make tackling youthunemployment a top priority.

Among the schemes Liverpool CityCouncil has supported is the RDC’sLiverpool Schools Employability Pro-gramme, which helps young peopleinto work so they do not become partof the NEET (not in employment,education or training) statistics.

The project, led by Antony Stagg,sees a group of students from Alsopand Archbishop Beck High Schoolstake part in a 20-day programme tohelp build their confidence and givethem the skills they need to get a job.

On day one the students learnedhow to tackle their fears by holdingpythons and tarantulas.

Mr Stagg said: “The whole goal isto prevent NEET before it happens.

“These are guys who have not suc-ceeded at school. Most have beenexcluded or left the education sys-tem. But here, we’ve had pretty much100% attendance.

“They’ve been learning to buildwebsites, and all about enterprise.

“They’ve also learned about nego-tiation and presentation skills fromglobal experts.”

The group had conversations viaSkype with entrepreneurs includingRick McMunn, who has made mil-lions of pounds selling books onAmazon.

Last week they did work exper-ience at organisations ranging fromEverton FC to Liverpool MutualHomes.

And this week, they focused ontheir CVs and on learning the skillsthey need to win jobs. The studentseven took part in mock interviewswith senior managers at Mer-seytravel in Mann Island.

Alex Rome, 16, had created a web-site promoting the Audi R8V10 Spider.

He said: “We didn’t likeschool. It wasn’t for us.

“This course has beenhelpful. Before I came hereI wouldn’t have had any-thing on my CV.”

Kane Richardson, 16,added: “We didn’t do any-thing like this at school.”

Alsop student KyleScott, 16, had never made avideo before joining the course.

But, within 24 hours of making hisvideo and putting in online, it wasalready one of the top results on You-Tube when searching for “engineer-ing in Liverpool”.

Kyle, who did his work experienceat the North West Training Council,said: “It’s been brilliant. My confid-

ence has improved. You can seeyou’re getting things done.”

Cllr Nick Small, cabinet memberfor employment, enterprise andskills, said the council had focusedon issues including promotingapprenticeships and helping youngpeople into training schemes.

“We’ve guaranteed every youngperson aged 16-17 who’s not in edu-cation, employment or training a

training place or anapprenticeship, whichhas worked really well,”he said.

“We are then support-ing schools through thework Antony Stagg isdoing, specifically work-ing with young peoplewho might be disen-gaged from school andgiving them the skillsthey might need to enter

the jobs market.”Cllr Small said he was confident

the council’s work was having a pos-itive impact.

He said: “The focus we’ve put onapprenticeships for young people hasbeen a big part of that.

“The city council has directlyhelped to create 816 apprenticeship

opportunities through its joint ven-ture companies. In itself, that hasmade a big impact.

“But we work across the cityregion with other authorities tomake it easier for firms to take onapprentices. We advocate for appren-ticeships. And that’s having a bigimpact – there’s been a big take-up.

“If you look at the youth unem-ployment figure, yes, it’s too high.We’re going to continue working tobring that down. But there is somereally great news and some positivesigns.”

The council is also backing thecity’s two University Technical Col-leges (UTCs), which will offer pupilsthe skills they need to find work inthe low carbon, Superport and lifesciences sectors.

Cllr Small said the council wouldcontinue to work to encourageemployers to move to the city, andwould also help existing firms toimprove productivity and employmore.

But he said part of the challengefor local authorities was to encour-age more business start-ups that canthen employ more of the city region’syoung people.

He said: “We cannot just look at

private employment opportunities.We’ve also got to look at enterpriseand encourage people to not just takea job, but to create jobs.”

Other local authorities and train-ing providers, including LiverpoolCommunity College, are also work-ing to tackle youth unemployment.

In Knowsley, the council workswith Connexions, the Youth Con-tract, the Youth Service and local col-lege and training providers to oper-ate the “NEET Gateway”.

Young people who use the Gatewayare offered personal and social devel-opment support to help them findemployment or to complete trainingcourses.

Knowsley Community College isalso developing courses, in subjectsincluding art and design and “radiostation operations”, aimed at NEETs.

The council has funded a basicmotor vehicle engineering introduc-tion course, through training pro-vider Adapt4work, for pupils at riskof disengagement. As well as work-ing on cars, the students also learnemployability skills.

The council is also offering a£3,000 subsidy for an employer whohas not had an apprentice in the last12 months.

Kane Richardson, left, learning to conquer his fears at the Liverpool Schools Employability Programme project in Liverpool

‘You cansee you’regettingthingsdone’

post business economic development

byAlistairHoughtonPOSTBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com


diaryentrepreneur

ofanunemployment

The four-week Liverpool Schools Employability Programme covers subjects from CVs to websites

How Kirkby school is helping students find work

A KNOWSLEY school isplaying its part inimproving the borough’sjoblessness figures byhelping every one of lastyear’s sixth formers intoeducation, employmentor training.

Of last year’s 56 sixthformers, 31 went on tostudy at university, with12 going to further edu-cation and 13 winningapprenticeships or jobs.

All Saints RC Centre forLearning, in Kirkby,launched a CareersAcademy in 2007 to helpyoung people into workor education.

Through the academy,pupils can do workexperience at local com-panies and win mentor-

ing from people whowork at those firms.

The two-year academyprogramme also coversskills from CV writing tointerview practice.

Academy partnersinclude RSA, Santander,Lloyds Bank and theWalton Centre.

This summer, 21 stu-dents will take part inpaid internships.

Margaret O’Neill, dir-ector for learning, said:“It puts them head andshoulders above otherpeople who are applyingfor employment or stud-ies.”

The school has alsoteamed up with Bootletransport group AbbeyLogistics, which was

founded by All Saints oldboy Steve Granite, todevelop a programme toencourage people intothe logistics sector.

Each year one personwins an apprenticeshipat Abbey under the ThinkLogistics scheme. Lastyear’s successful candid-ate was 18-year-old LukeWhitehill.

The school’s work hasbeen so successful thatJaguar Land Rover askedto work with it. Theschool has now signed athree-year partnershipwith the car giant, andyear 11 students havealready visited the site.

Deputy principalBrendan Chorley said:“JLR has agreed it’s

going to help us designour engineering cur-riculum at Key Stage 4and 5. The intention isthat anybody at theschool who follows thatcourse would be reallywell-prepared to takesome of the prestigiousapprenticeships on offerat JLR.”

The car company hasalso been holding mockinterviews for students.

Mr Chorley added: “Amassive part of ourschool’s ethos is raisingaspirations for all ourpupils, and raising theirambitions as well. Wewant to show themwhat’s available to them,whether in Liverpool orthe wider world.”

MY FATHER opened Liverpool’sfirst Indian restaurant in the early1960s and I was surrounded bythe theme of cooking in ourextended family from a veryyoung age.

I suppose I was always eithergoing to adopt the family mantleof becoming a restaurateur orcompletely reject anything faintlyconnected.

I learned so much from myfather once I was old enough, as ayoung teen, to understand what ittook to do what he did.

There’s no doubt I would even-tually strike out on my own andthat was in 1986.

In my early career within thebusiness, I was setting out a tem-plate of what I wanted to do withthe Gulshan brand. I always saw itas just more than a restaurant.

That gave me the inspiration tocreate what has become a multipleaward-winning venture, albeit stillsticking to its original goal oflistening to our local suburbancustomers.

We ran the business as a smalleatery with around 40 covers untilwe began to witness a nationalchange in the market for diningout, city centre living and Indiancuisine.

I’ve always looked at nationaltrends in our industry, in spite ofour parochial focus on Mersey-side.

Over the first 20 years, guestshad repeatedly told me howimportant ambience and characterwere along with a price that theycould afford.

I was also strongly aware that ifwe carried on doing the samething, we’d get the same results sochange was inevitable if we weregoing to compete with the rise ofthe Liverpool restaurant scene,especially given what impetus Liv-erpool One had provided as a mul-tiplier for the sector.

We began charting our plan inthe late nineties once we sawswanky high rise apartmentsemerge in the city centre. Therewere thoughts of moving into town

but we decided that we could notonly retain our suburban niche,we could enhance it through theexisting opportunities presentedby the building and our growingcustomer base that was drawnfrom across Merseyside by thistime.

Repeated appearances in theGood Curry Guide and a focus onpublicity helped us achieve ourgrowth.

This eventually led to what wehave now developed. The restaur-ant has quadrupled its covers,includes a mezzanine floor thatserves as a separate bar and tapasrestaurant and the entertainmentcompetes well with city centreoffers.

We’ve also catered for a numberof illustrious events since ourexpansion. Our focus is also stillbuilding the status of Indian tapasas a cuisine, maintaining our pro-file nationally having won Best inMerseyside at the Good CurryGuide Awards for 2013 andremaining true to my father’s val-ues of honest hard work.

I’m unsure what he would havemade of us serving guests fromcelebrity soap stars to Premier-ship footballers and the generalpublic with sophisticated cocktailsand tapas in 2013, but he was apioneer.

Gulshan is very much a familybusiness and those pioneering res-taurant values are deeply rootedin us.

We’ve managed to transcendseveral decades, adapt to people’schanging tastes and be an innov-ator in our field – and we’re proudof that.

Ultimately though, we knowsuccess is thanks to our loyalguests and a new army of follow-ers who seem to have an insatiableappetite to eat out.

People know how to enjoy them-selves here. They work to live andour growth and that of theindustry is testament to that.

Mustafa Rahman is owner ofthe Gulshan restaurant inAigburth Road, Liverpool

post businesseconomic development

Staff at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood site, above, areworking closely with All Saints School, in Kirkby

Steve Granite, of Abbey Logistics, isworking with his old school, AllSaints in Kirkby, to help youngpeople into the logistics sector

Mustafa Rahman opened Gulshan in 1986


Osprey Capital shifting focusfrom London to Liverpool

Ronan Kearney is thefounder of Osprey Capital

onthemove■ NORTH West law

firm Birchall Black-burn has appointed CliveMackintosh as its newhead of employment law.

The 52-year-old, fromLiverpool, has more than25 years’ experience andjoins Birchall Blackburnfrom Hattons solicitorswhere he was head ofemployment.

Mr Mackintosh is anexperienced employmentand commercial lawyerwho also specialises in

insurance fraud. He willoversee the firm’semployment team acrossits 10 offices, as well asdevelop the firm’s insur-ance related products.

The firm’s officesinclude locations inSouthport, Formby,Chester and Formby.

■ BARCLAYS hasstrengthened its Liv-

erpool team by appoint-ing corporate financierSteve Butler to the role ofrelationship director.

Mr Butler is part of an11-strong team coveringMerseyside from theiroffices in Chapel Street.He will specialise in cli-ents in the manufactur-ing sector with aturnover in excess of£5m.

■ SALLY Carron hasjoined the marketing

team at data8, theChester-based dataenrichment specialist.

One of her key object-ives will be developing

and implementing corestrategies to promoteIntegr8, the real timedata validation side ofdata8.

A CIM qualified mar-keter, Ms Carron said: “Iam pleased to be joiningdata8 at this excitingtime and look forward tohelping data8 reach newmarkets and expandexisting ones. My rolewill be to look forwardand deliver the brand to awider audience.”

Clive Mackintosh –Birchall Blackburn

Steve Butler – newrelationship director

Sally Carron – will bepromoting data8

VENTURE capitalist Ronan Kearneycut his teeth in London and now wantsto bring investment opportunities toMerseyside.

The 42-year-old financial specialistran his own company, Fresh Options,for four years working with other ven-ture capital companies. He said: “I didsome business development con-sultancy, but didn’t have enough cap-ital behind me.

“It’s one of the business models theycall ‘dependent on your own genius’.There’s only so much time you canwork, so it is a capped model.”

In 2008 he set up Osprey Capital,based in his home town of Warringtonbut working mostly in London, look-ing for small firms at the seed, orfounder stage.

He used all the family’s £50,000 ofsavings to make his first investment ina financial products company in 2009.

“I focused on financial servicesbecause it is what I know.”

After two-and-a-half years he exitedhis first investment with an 11.9-timesreturn. Mr Kearney said: “Startingwith a small amount you are very, veryfocused and you have to make sure thefirst bet works.”

Since then he has made two furtherinvestments and said: “It has been apretty successful run.”

Last month he opened a Liverpooloffice in Exchange Flags aimed at pur-suing opportunities in Liverpool. Hesaid: “You have to go where the busi-ness is when you start, but over thenext five years I want to try and shiftthe focus out of London to the Mer-seyside region and make the mountaincome to Mohammed.

“You have to build your reputation,so if you say, ‘these companies here(Merseyside) are worth backing’ thenhopefully people in London will say ‘ifyou think it’s worth it we will back itand buy it’.”

He added: “I am going to invest for30 years, so I don’t think, I have to dothis in one or two or three years,because I have a really long invest-ment horizon. I have a long term viewon a company, but a short term viewon cash, so they have to return – I rollmy sleeves up and work in the com-pany.”

He said people thought he was madto set up at the start of a downturn,but explained: “This was the bottom,when you buy low.

“2008 was probably the time toinvest when everything was at the bot-tom and had gone to hell in a hand-

cart. When big businesses are makingso much money in the good times whyshould they change what they do? Intimes like this you get an audience.”

His growth strategy could involverecruiting a couple of partners, todiversify: “I know nothing about thefashion industry, for example, but if Ibrought a partner on board with those

skills we could start investing in thatarea.”

One area he has identified is thelinks between the region and China,specifically Peel Holdings’ plans for aninternational trade centre in WirralWaters: “I would like to think in thenext five or 10 years I could establishbusinesses as the partner of choice for

Chinese companies looking to comehere who are looking for help, expert-ise and capital.

“Even if it works in a very tiny wayit would be enough to open the doorand it is the door opening that youwant. Make the first one a success andyou will be doing it the rest of yourlife.”

Sir Michaelleads theline-up atIoD eventSIR MICHAEL BIBBY,managing director oflogistics-to-financialservices group BibbyLine, and Bruntwoodchairman MichaelOglesby, head the billfor this year’s Instituteof Directors (IoD)North West annual con-ference.

The all-day event fea-tures business leadersrevealing the secrets oftheir success and shar-ing stories from theircareers with otherentrepreneurs.

It will be held at theLowry Hotel in Salfordon Tuesday, May 14.

Sir Michael joinedBibby in 1992 as fin-ance director following

several years as achartered accountantand later at Unilever.

The Liverpool-basedfirm is now one of thelargest businesses inthe region.

Mr Oglesby foundedBruntwood in 1978.

The company, stillfamily-owned, is nowone of the leading prop-erty owners in theNorth, with more than100 sites, including sev-eral in Liverpool,worth more than £1bn.

Darrell Matthews,regional director of IoDNorth West, said: “Wehave assembled a greatline-up.

“These business lead-ers will be revealingthe secrets of their suc-cess, but they will alsobe reflecting on chal-lenges they have facedand how they overcamethem.”

post business professional

[email protected]

Sir Michael Bibby


Donika Weston gives Ross Ball-Cargg a manicure at Voodou in Liverpool Picture: ANDREW DAVIDSON

A growing taste for personalgrooming sweeps the city

TIME was when a fewsplashes of Brut 33 – asrecommended by boxingicon ‘Enery Cooper – and ahandful of Brylcreem

through the hair made you feel likethe bees knees.

How times change, though.Today, the more fashion conscious

in the office are more likely to favourthe odd waxing, some serious cuticleaction, or a good old eyebrow pluckingto raise spirits and confidence.

There has been a proliferation ofbeauty salons and hair salons expand-ing their offer for clients in the cityover the past decade in response tomore image and fashion consciousconsumers, including many in thebusiness world.

Liverpool salon Voodou, whichserves men and women, began its per-sonal grooming service eight years agoand has seen a growing appetite for it.

Voodou PR and marketing managerEmma Allison said its clients range inage from young students tomiddle-aged businessmen and women,perhaps driven by the 20% discountthe chain offers to students and cor-porate clients.

“Companies sign up and we get a lotof corporate clients,” she said.

The grooming menu includes thefull range of waxing, nail treatments,massages – from full body to legs,shoulder or head – facials, and theold-fashioned wet shaves using a cutthroat razor which is favoured by theolder generation: “The callus peel forfeet is also popular, to remove dead

skin,” said Ms Allison.“We get middle-aged gents coming

in regularly to have their nails tidiedup and sporty gents for massages, aswell as students studying sports.”

Perhaps, understandably, womenaccount for much of the client base,

but Ms Allison revealed the men areno slouches when it comes to a bit ofpampering: “We’re looking at HDBrow treatment, which providesthreading, waxing and plucking ser-vices to create the perfect brow shape.

“It’s very popular in Liverpool, espe-

cially with girls, but a couple of gentsthat come in to have their eyebrowsplucked have enquired about it.”

She added: “Grooming is a growingpart of the business and we’re puttinga lot of the marketing budget intobeauty and grooming.”

Neil Hodgsonfinds that personalgrooming is high onthe list of aspiringbusinesspeople

pastbusiness–nostalgia

How Typhoo’s top team made sure Mrs Jones’ tea always tasted the sameMAKING a cup of tea many seemlike a simple process – but for somestaff at Typhoo in Moreton, it’s anart and a science rolled into one.

Typhoo is one of the region’s hid-den success stories, with manypeople in Wirral and beyondunaware that such a famous brandis based just round the corner.

That might be down to the factthat Typhoo production at Moretonstarted relatively recently, in 1974,when the tea brand was part of Cad-bury Schweppes. Four years later,all tea production was moved to Wir-ral from Cadbury’s Bournville plant.

While the whizzing conveyor beltsand packing machines are the mostvisible signs of the plant’s success.the tea tasting room was andremains at the heart of the business.

In 1982, the Echo wrote: “The teatasters’ job is to maintain a check onthese blends so that Mrs Jones’favourite brand of tea will taste andlook the same, week by week,wherever she purchases it.”

Explaining the tasting process,supervisor John Rogers said: “Youhave to ‘slurp’ it into your mouth.

“The action sprays the tea ontothe back of your mouth, breakingdown all the characteristics and hit-ting all your taste buds at once.

“You should not leave the tea inyour mouth too long. The firstimpression is always correct.”

The Echo added: “John is animpressive sight as he passes alongthe line of bowls spooning, slurpingand spitting with machine gunrapidity”.

In 1985, Cadbury finally movedTyphoo’s blending department fromBourneville to Moreton, giving theEcho the chance to describe the pre-cision of the tasters’ blending.

It explained: “Half a pint of vig-orously boiling water is poured onto5.65 grammes of tea.

“The tea is then brewed forexactly six minutes (it is stirredonce after three minutes). The tea isthen milked ready for tasting.”

Teas were tested both with More-ton soft water and hard water fromLondon, while a tailored computercounted how many perforationsthere were in individual tea bags.

ALISTAIR HOUGHTON

Twitter viewon personalgrooming

■ Laura Scaife@RegardingLaw

wrote: “Extremely import-ant it’s a first impression,however it should notovershadow your profes-sional image.”

■ Paul Moran @Paul-Moran56 wrote:

“First reaction? Oh, comeon!! But...lack of personalgrooming did Steve Jobsno harm in early days. Ifyou're good enough....?”

■ Mitch Poole@TheTweedCladCad

wrote: “Sartorial eleganceshows respect”

■ Michael Black@blackymb wrote:

“People make opinion onlooks in first 20 seconds. Ihave some shirts ties forpower meetings!!”

Typhoo’s tea tasting team in 1982,from left, supervisor John Rogers,with Bill Aitken, and Wendy Neale

Pictured at Typhoo’s expanded tea tasting department inMoreton, Wirral, in 1985 are, from left, John Tugman,technical manager for tea, with Cadbury Schweppes’ chiefexecutive Dominic Cadbury and director Geoff Hancock

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22 Thursday, May 9, 2013post business end piece

tradinggossip

mydayoff

City restaurant manager wholoves to be in at the deep end

Jesney Chong isgeneral manager atLiverpool’s SapporoTeppanyakirestaurant and inher spare time is akeen scuba diver

IWAS born in Malaysia and Ibegan working at SapporoTeppanyaki eight years ago,starting as a head attendantand working my way up

through the business to my currentposition as general manager.

I have now been in this role forthree years.

Sapporo is an award-winning res-taurant based in Duke Street and isknown in the city for its fun and enter-taining Japanese teppanyaki concept.

More than 1,200 people flock to therestaurant each week to experiencethe theatrics of the chefs who cookfood in front of diners whilst creatingdramatic flambés on the teppanyakigrill and juggle with ingredientsbefore serving up Japanese-themedcuisine.

I manage a 35 -strong team of chefs,bar and waiting staff and am respons-ible for the impeccable running andgrowth of this busy restaurant.

In 2011, I discovered a passion forscuba diving and have never lookedback.

I was on holiday with a friend inPortugal and stumbled across a scubadiving school on the beach.

I’ve always been pretty adventurousand was inspired by the opportunity tolearn a new skill, so my friend and Idecided to give it a go.

I was instantly hooked on the tran-quillity of life beneath the surface ofthe water and knew I had found a newlove.

Diving in Portugal was an illumin-ating experience and I took pleasure inevery opportunity to get my apparatuson and embrace the unique feeling ofbreathing underwater – it’s incrediblypeaceful and relaxing.

The most fascinating thing aboutdiving is that it gives you access to awhole new world beneath the sea and Ilove discovering marine life that I’venever seen before.

From big fish to tiny amoebas (eleg-ant sea horses are my favourite), it’sinspiring to observe this hidden envir-onment that’s absolutely full of life.

When I returned from Portugal, Iwas incredibly keen to get back todiving and complete my Padi OpenWater course.

I now dive at Aquaventurers in Liv-erpool every week to maintain mystamina and overall fitness.

Being fit and healthy is essential forscuba diving – running around the res-taurant all day and night does help –and it’s always key to be a team player

and keep a level head at all times.These skills were put to the test

when I was diving with a close friendof mine in the UK.

She got into difficulty and her reg-ulator was knocked out.

The regulator is respons-ible for supplying airon-demand. This was alittle scary but I had beentrained in my diving qual-ification to react to thissituation and shared mybreathing apparatus withher until it had beensecured back in place.

My dream would be toexplore land and sea instunning countries such as the Mal-dives and Malaysia, where the sea lifeis amazing and there is the real oppor-

tunity to discover something unique.The Maldives is known for having a

huge diversity of marine life, withstunning corals and more than 2,000species of fish, as well and being hometo the whale shark.

The warm tropical seasof Malaysia are pepperedwith shipwrecks, includingsome of the most storied ofWorld War II, which wouldbe a mesmerising experi-ence. I am travelling toMalaysia in October thisyear and can’t wait touncover the delights there.

For me, scuba diving isone of the most fulfilling

activities out there and I am delightedto have discovered it. I recommend itto everyone.

Jesney Chong with her scuba diving gear – she says staying fit is essential Picture: COLIN LANE

■ LOW-COST airlineRyanair has had

another difficult weekwith complainingpunters.

The airline has agreedto pay out £400 to SimonCouzens who discoveredthat a flight he bookedfrom Stansted to Croatiadiscovered that he wouldhave paid less had hebooked it from Croatia.

However, it looks likeRyanair is aiming to dis-tract its potential Liver-pool customers awayfrom such issues by calm-ing them with sweetmusic.

To promote its flightsfrom Liverpool to Cork,Derry, Dublin, Shannonand Knock, the carrierorganised a traditionalmusic session, below, atthe Liverpool One retaildevelopment.

The music wasarranged in conjunctionwith Tourism Ireland andRyanair’s Lisa Cashinsaid: “Ryanair was

delighted to treat thehuge Irish community inLiverpool to an outdoortraditional music ses-sion.”

But will it strike theright note with passen-gers?

■ LIVERPOOLSOUND CITY organ-

isers could have been for-given for having a 19thnervous breakdown aftera technology failure left astar guest stranded.

Former Rolling Stonesmanager Andrew LoogOldham was the keynotespeaker at Friday’s musicbusiness conference.

Loog Oldham, whoworked for Beatles bossBrian Epstein beforehelping the Stones toglobal domination, wasdue onstage at 4.30 at,appropriately enough,the Epstein Theatre.

By 4.45 he still hadn’tappeared, and the audi-ence started wondering ifthey’d ever get no satis-faction. But then, SoundCity boss Dave Pichilingibounded onto the stage toreveal that the guestspeaker had in fact beenstuck in a lift for the past15 minutes.

And, to warmapplause, the star manthen strode onstage for arevealing, if sometimesprickly, chat with DJ andauthor Dave Haslam.

Trading Gossip won-ders if that will be thelast time Loog Oldhamrelies on a lift to get tohis speaking engage-ments.

‘My dreamwould beto go anddive in theMaldives’

Sapporo Teppanyaki


businessdiaryMONDAY, MAY 13BUSINESSES in the North

West are being encour-aged to take part in a UKTrade & Investment(UKTI)-backed week ofevents aimed at boostingthe region’s exports to awide range of highgrowth markets. In theNorth West this willinclude free events focus-ing on India, EasternEurope, Central and LatinAmerica, starting with alaunch in Liverpool show-casing opportunities. Visitwww.exportweek.ukti.gov.uk for further details ofevents.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15ENTERPRISING Merseyside

has organised an eveningsession entitled Be YourOwn Boss, for the Know-sley area. The free work-shop, from 6pm to 8pm, isaimed at anyone who hasa great idea for a businessbut isn’t sure what toshould do next. Hosted atOur Place, Longview Drive,Huyton, the event isinformal, and, say organ-isers, is the best way tofind out everything youneed to start your ownbusiness. For furtherinformation call 0845 3409980.

MONDAY, MAY 27THE Employability and Skills

Group of companies isholding a series of opendays at its Liverpool oper-ation in Bold Street. Itinvites schools and pupils,parents, teachers, heads ofdepartments and careersadvisors, training pro-viders, job centres, com-munity agencies, andemployers to its informalevents, from 10am to4pm, on the second floorof Link 19 in Bold Street’sCentral Village. Refresh-ments are included. It saysthe open days will providean opportunity to find outhow ESG staff can helpindividuals to obtain fulltime jobs via the appren-ticeship programme. For

further details contactJules Westbrook or PaulineO’Brien on 0151 702 6111.

THURSDAY, MAY 30EXPORT Sales – winning

orders overseas, is a courseoffered by Liverpool Cham-ber of Commerce that isaimed at companiesinvolved in the manufac-turing or services sectors;business development orsales managers and seniorpersonnel responsible foridentifying and winninginternational business; andthose new or inexperi-enced in international mar-keting as well as moreestablished exporters look-ing to develop their salestechniques and learn prac-tical new skills. Examples

and exercises are usedthroughout the workshopto illustrate the key ele-ments, and consideration isgiven to the individualobjectives of participatingcompanies with delegatesencouraged to share theirown experiences. Thecourse takes place from9.30am to 4pm at thechamber’s Old Hall Streetoffices and costs £200 forchamber members, or £250for non-members. Formore information visitwww.liverpoolchamber.org.uk/ eventitem.aspx/show/473 or to attendemail [email protected]

TUESDAY, JUNE 4ST HELENS Chamber of Com-

merce is staging anadvanced online marketingworkshop aimed at peoplewho already possess a basicunderstanding of onlinemarketing and wish tobuild on it. It will helpattendees understand howto design and build a trulysearch engine optimised(SEO) website and discoverhow to maximise the num-ber of relevant website vis-itors through advanced SEOtechniques and practices. Itcosts £49 (excl VAT) forchamber members or £99(excl VAT) for non-mem-bers. Visit www.sthelenschamber.com/booking tobook.

THURSDAY, JUNE 6LIVERPOOL Hope University

has organised a businessbreakfast event, from7.30am to 9.30am, on theimpact of the AtlanticGateway. Aimed at theconstruction, charity, cre-ative, international trade,environment, retail, tour-ism, manufacturing, pro-fessional, and transportsectors, it will feature askeynote speaker SusanWilliams, executive dir-ector of Atlantic Gateway,who will talk on “ThePotential of Atlantic Gate-way”. For further inform-ation please contact BeckyRawlinson at [email protected] or 0151-2913005.

■ Send your diaryevents to [email protected]

Sounds of the cityLIVERPOOL Town Hallhosted the officiallaunch event for Liver-pool Sound City.

Conference speakersincluding formerRolling Stones managerAndrew Loog Oldham,left, attended to hear

music from performersincluding The Hum-mingbirds.

Phil Blything, aboveleft, of Glow New Media,and Paul Corcoran,above right, of AgentMarketing, were amongthe attendees.

Olé to wine tastingDIANE BURBIDGE, servicedevelopment manager withChinese Wellbeing, left, andJulie Johnson, practice man-ager at Morecrofts Solicit-ors, raise a glass to a Span-ish wine tasting heldupstairs at Hardman Street’s

Fly In the Loaf pub lastThursday, presented by IanClarke of Morgenrot Wines.

The venue, owned by Isleof Man brewer Okells, isplanning to launch a seriesof supper clubs in its func-tion room.

Bodega launch nightCUSTOMERS “old and new”gathered for the relaunchparty of the Bodega Bar &Tapas in Waterloo.

Food drinks and entertain-ment, flamenco dancers,were all provided for guests

at the event at the SouthRoad venue.

Pictured, from left, areKatie Brown, Mareen Gled-hill and Keith and ShirleyDuell. Ms Gledhill is theowner of the venure

Mark Blankstone, directorof Blankstone OpticiansQ What is your favourite

lunch venue?A The brasserie at Liverpool’s

Malmaison Hotel.

Q Why is this your favouritevenue?

A Its ambience sets it apartfrom the rest plus it’s aninnovator. You wouldn’tnecessarily think of a hotelbrasserie as first choice to eatbut once you’ve experiencedMal, as it’s known, you keepgoing back.

Q What is your favouritedish and why?

A The wild mushroom risottowith tarragon and mascar-pone is a delight. It remindsme of sunnier climes. It’s onthe Sunday lunch menu,which is awesome.

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

A Meeting legend in his field,Oliver Goldsmith, who hassince given us exclusive rightto his collection in Liverpool.He has spent half a centurydesigning for celebrities androyalty and now we have hisbeautiful yet affordable col-lection in our showroom.

Q Who would you most like

to have lunch with?A My wife, Lisa, is always who I

would most like to lunchwith, followed by KennyDalglish or Steven Gerrard.

Q Where else do you like togo for lunch?

A I also like to go to lunch atChallains in Derby Square,Liverpool city centre. Thefood and service is excellent,they have a great outdoorvista and it’s a great place towatch the world go by.

my favourite lunch

networking

end piece post business

Mark Blankstone withhis wife Lisa

The brasserie at the Malmaison Hotel


Come and celebrate the dynamic, passionate andinspirational businesses from across the region at a gala

awards dinner and awards ceremony.

Hosted by Peter Sissons onThursday June 13, 2013 at St George’s Hall theawards are a must attend event.

To book your table call 0151 472 2570 or to request more information

email [email protected]

For more information about the awards

visit www.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk

or follow us @LP_RBA

Thursday June 13, 2013 is about business in our region.

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