Business 28 October 2015

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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk

CODE TO JOY

Teaching method that could beinternational success – page 2

STAR STORE

John Lewis chief hails CribbsCauseway outlet – page 3

SAVING ICON FROMSEAOF TROUBLESMeet the man who steered a rusting SS Great Britain toits former glory and created a thriving tourist attraction

THE BIG INTERVIEW

282015OCT

Pages 6&7

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2 Wednesday, October 28, 2015www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

● Youngsters using the method for teaching computer coding

RecruitmentLink with rugby sideis forward thinking● ONE of Bristol’s mostsuccessful recruitment companieshas thrown its weight behind auniversity rugby team in the city ina deal it hopes will give a boost tograduate jobs.G2V Recruitment Group has

announced it will work inpartnership with the Students’Union UWE men’s rugby unionfirst team this season.It is hoped the agreement will

not only help to develop rugby atthe University of the West ofEngland but build on the growingglobal recruitment business’salready strong graduate links.

In the last year, the G2V Grouptook on almost 60 graduatesincluding several UWE alumni andit hopes to double the figure nextyear.It is the first time a recruitment

business has sponsored the UWEmen’s rugby first team andinternal recruitment managerLeanne Higgins is hoping it will bea move which benefits bothparties.“We’re really looking forward to

working with UWE, which isknown as strong sportinguniversity,” she said.“Historically, candidates who

have competitive sporting traitshave always been successful atG2V, so we’re hoping to attractmore candidates of this calibre.”

Exports

Exporting skills Teaching the USto crack computer code at school

A METHOD for teaching chil-dren in the UK about thebasics of computer codingmaking its way across thepond to the United States of

America.Matt Thurling, a Bristol-based en-

trepreneur and founder of a nationaltraining school CPD for Teachers,knew he was onto a winning ideawhen he developed a computer sci-ence training programme for edu-cators coaching them on how to teachcode.

The programme, which has beenwell received on a national level inthe UK, was launched to tie in withtheGovernment’s change from ICT toa new computing curriculum.Recognising the need to fill a future

skills shortage in the sector, childrenas young as five years are now ex-pected to learn about the basis ofcomputer science including coding.Impressed with the uptake, the

company is now looking at inter-national opportunities.Matt was invited to the USA at the

fringe education event at one of theworld’s biggest digital festivals,South by Southwest.He started mak-ing inroads into the country. With thehelp of Government department UKTrade and Investment, hemetwith an

International Trade Advisor (ITA)about implementing his programmeoverseas.Matt said: “What I’ve come to real-

ise with the exporting process is thatyou learn on the job.“You might make mistakes but

what you’ve learned might juststrengthen what you do in your homemarket as well.“The lessons I have learned along

the way have also had positive be-nefits on the work I do in the UK.”UKTI’s advice was for Matt to take

advantage of the Export Market Re-search Scheme (EMRS) within itsportfolio of services.This scheme supported Matt in his

investigation of the US market, withfunding to help with travel costs and

guidance on how he could gather thedata andmarket validation he neededin order to proceed.As part of the process, Matt went

out to the USA and conducted re-search guided by the UKTI team onthe ground in the New York office,which helped him make contacts.Matt is now planning the next

phase of his entry, which is workingon setting up a pilot scheme withincertain states and education depart-ments.UKTI is holding ExploreExport

2015 at Ashton Gate, Bristol, onNovember 11 to talk to companiesabout bringing their product or ser-vices overseas. To book a spot, go towww.exploreex-port.ukti.gov.uk/Bristol.aspx.

Retail

Aldi staff now paid higher rate than rival storesSHOP floor staff at discount super-market chain Aldi will now be paidmore than their counterparts inother supermarkets.Aldi announced yesterday it was

increasing wages for the its staff toabove the rate paid by all its otherrivals, regardless of the staff ’s age.The German company, which now

has nearly half of Britain’s familiesfor shoppers, revealed it will intro-duce a £8.40 minimum rate for all itsstaff from February next year.It is now the latest supermarket to

beat Chancellor George Osborne’s£7.20 national living wage require-ments for those more than 25 years ofage. It comes after Lidl became thefirst supermarket last month to

announce it will meet the livingwage, closely followed by Sainsbury’sand Morrisons.More than 5,000 workers at Aldi

supermarkets will benefit fromthe new higher wage.Matthew Barnes, Aldi

UK and Ireland CEO,said: “Just asAldiwon’tbe beaten on the lowprices of our products,we are also committedto offering the best payand benefits in the in-dustry. The success ofAldi in the UK and Irelandhas been driven by the com-mitment, hard work and ambitionof our employees and we will

continue to maintain our leading po-sition on pay.”Earlier this year, Aldi was looking

to take on more than 120 people indifferent roles around its stores

in Bristol.John Richardson, Aldiregionalmanaging direct-or, added: “Bristol re-mains a key city for us,and our existing storevacancies continue tooffer significant employ-ment opportunities forpeople in the area.“We’re looking to attract

applicants from a diverserange of backgrounds, including su-permarket, fast-food and clothing

chains, who can demonstrate relev-ant retail experience, and the abilityto thrive in a fast-paced environ-ment.”Sarah Vero, director, Living Wage

Foundation said: “We welcome thefantastic news that Aldi is set to raiseits hourlywages to rates far above thenational minimum and the premiumfor over 25s.“Their bold move demonstrates

that paying the Living Wage in retailis achievable, despite other majorsupermarket chains telling cam-paigners that higher wages for thelowest paid are simply not possible.The economic climate has shifted. It’stime for business to recognise weneed a recovery for all.”

Bristol one of bestplaces for start-ups● BRISTOL is one of the bestlocations in the UK to start up asmall business, according toresearch compiled by AAT(Association of AccountingTechnicians).AAT examined information from

64 cities across the UK todetermine the best location tostart a business in, crossreferencing data from seven keycriteria including the density ofsmall and medium sizedbusinesses in the area, quality ofbroadband connectivity, theamount of small businessclosures, property prices, andeven pollution levels.Bristol rated highly for having a

high density of small businessesin the area.London made it to number nine

on the list; however, the capital’shigh number of small businessclosures, middling broadbandspeeds and astronomic propertyprices make Bristol a moreattractive place for a start-up.AAT chief executive Mark Farrar

said: “Although many peoplewould automatically think ofLondon as the best place in theUK to start a business, thisresearch shows that there may bebetter locations to find success.”The top ranking places are:

Brighton, Cambridge, Leicester,Worthing, Reading, Bristol,Aldershot, Crawley, London andDerby.

[email protected]

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3Wednesday, October 28, 2015 www.southwestbusiness.co.uk

BRISTOL is punching wellabove its weight – that isaccording to John Lewismanaging director AndyStreet who visited the city’s

store yesterday.Since moving to Cribbs Causeway

in 1998 from Bristol city centre, thestore has continued to improve itstakings, and is now one of the top fivemost profitable stores in the country.Outside of London, the only storewhich comes close is the one in Blue-water, Kent.Staff - or partners, as they call them

at JohnLewis - are nowgearingup fortheir busiest time of the year. Morethan 140 temporary jobs are now upfor grabs during the run up to Christ-mas and New Year.During an exclusive interviewwith

the Bristol Post, Mr Street said thecompany would continue to invest inboth their online offering and storeservice.He added: “The store here has de-

veloped a fantastic trade since weopened in 1998. It is certainly in the

top five in the country.“At the moment, sales within the

shop are a little down on last year, butif you take into account our onlinesales, we’re up.“It is somethingwe are seeingmore

often. People will come to the store tobrowse and go home and maybe buyonline.”The retailer recently opened a new

store in Birmingham, while announ-cing plans for a new outlet in nearbyCheltenham.But Mr Street does not believe it

will threaten the store at the Mall atCribbs Causeway, which is its re-gional flagship.He added: “They are not going to

come close. This store has been build-ing a reputation for many years.“This is what we call a ‘mission

critical’ shop and is a big player ourgroup that does particularly well.“We want to be able to keep re-

freshing it and keeping it new, andthat means investing in the shop.”The store’s move from the city

centre to Cribbs Causeway was atalking point for many shopperswhen it happened in 1998. Rumourspersisted in the last few years that itcould reopen in the city centre, butMr Street said there were no plans toat the moment.“When this shop opened, it was the

regional shop. It wasn’t just Bristol,we had customers coming down onthe M4 or the M5 just to come here,”he added.“There is no reasonwewouldmove

back to the city centre. People travelquite a distance to come here, and itcomplements the other shops we now

have in the south west.”LucyRamseyer took over as head of

the Cribbs branch earlier this year,and is already realising why the Bris-tol store is popular with shoppers.“We are getting the first shoppers

for Christmas, the early ones,” shesaid.“From experience, we know there

are some who will come early, andsome who will come a bit closer toChristmas, so we have to be ready forthem as well.”This summer, Cribbs Causeway

hosted both the Shaun the Sheepexhibition and auction, which raisedmore than £1million.Three Shauns were also placed at

the Mall as part of the trail, whichsaw thousands of people from aroundthe world come to Bristol to takepart.Lucy added: “We were delighted

when we heard the exhibition andauction was going to be here.“We have seen our footfall increase

over the summer and it was great tosee the Mall become the home for theShauns.“The shop helped to raise money

for the Grand Appeal, and we arealways looking for ways to work with

local charities or schools.”Around 145 temporary staff are

needed at the store in Cribbs to meetthe demand for services in what isexpected to be the store’s busiest peri-od. If any of them do well, there is achance they will be taken on per-manently.“I like to think we do things tra-

ditionally here. We take people on asgraduate trainees and give them dif-ferent opportunities. It is like a ca-reer for life, which is not really whatyou can say about the retail sectorthese days,” Mr Street said.And he believes the store will con-

tinue to go from strength tostrength.He added: “It is one of our top stores

in the country in termsof takings, butit is not really our biggest in terms ofspace. But that is testament to thegood work that is being done here,and how it has been built up.“Over the years it has become a

success and we would love for that tocontinue.”

RetailJoint effort to findways to give help● BUSINESSES and charities willjoin hands today to explore waysthey can help refugees in the city.Bristol, a city of sanctuary, is set

to take its share after theGovernment announced the countrywill take 20,000 refugees over thenext five years.The conference, entitled

Sanctuary can work: The BusinessCommunity and Refugees isorganised by City of Sanctuary inpartnership with Business West andClarke Willmott, who are hosting theconference.Mayor of Bristol George Ferguson

will give a key note address, andother speakers include James Durie,director of Bristol Chamber ofCommerce and Initiative, and ElinorHarris, coordinator of Wales Nationof Sanctuary.The invited audience will consist

of representatives of businesses, thevoluntary sector and sanctuaryseekers, and will discuss ways onhow to utilise the untapped skills ofrefugees as well as supporting thosewith entrepreneurship skills for thebenefit of the city of Bristol.“We know sanctuary can work if

we work collaboratively. Properdialogue can help us to exploreopportunities on how to harness thegifts of sanctuary seekers living inour city,” said the Rev RichardMcKay, chairman of Bristol City ofSanctuary.

48,000 jobs on offeras roadshow arrives● MORE than 48,000 jobs are up forgrabs as one of the biggest jobsroadshows comes to Bristoltomorrow.The Sunemployment Roadshow

will take place at The Bristol Hotel inthe Harbourside. Starting at10.30am, it includes companiessuch as Barclays, Ocado, JohnLewis, GlaxoSmithKline and JaguarLand Rover.Michelle Dewberry, Dragon’s

Den’s Sarah Willingham, and EmilyThornberry MP, ShadowEmployment Minister will form apanel at this year’s talks.The event is expected to finish by

2.30pm and will move on to Londonon Friday.

Refugees

Employment

John Lewis Cribbs store amongtop performers in UK, says chief

“This is whatwe call a‘missioncritical’ shopand is a bigplayer ourgroup thatdoesparticularlywell. We wantto be able tokeeprefreshing itand keeping itnew, and thatmeansinvesting inthe shop.

[email protected]

Andy Street

● John Lewis managing directorAndy Street at Cribbs Causeway;inset, the festive decorations

Pic: Dan ReganFOR SALE

Gloucester Road, Bristol

Restaurant InvestmentAND

Residential Conversion Opportunity

Income £23,000 per annum. 20 yearlease with tenant break at 10 years.

2nd Floor Offices 582 sqftofferedwith vacant possession.

Offers invited in the region of £410,000 S.T.C.

All enquiries contact the agents:

Email: [email protected] ©LW

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IMAGINE trying tomove delicatevials of some of the most in-fectious diseases known to man.Now imagine trying to transporthundreds of those samples.

That was the task facing Avon-mouth packaging company IES,which had been commissioned by thePirbright Institute – formerly the In-stitute for Animal Health – to movethe deadly disease.The institute is a world-leading

centre of research and surveillance ofviral diseases of farm animals andviruses that spread from animals tohumans. This includesfoot-and-mouth, bluetongue, swineflu and mad cow disease.After opening a new state-of-the-art

laboratory facility at their headquar-ters in Surrey, the institute hired IES

to make the delicate move.A specialist packaging and logist-

ics company, IES came up with aproject plan to package and transferof all the equipment – the firstmoveofthis scale anywhere in Europe.More than 250 packages were

moved, with around 1,000 pieces ofequipment used.Matt Boyd, sales director from IES

said: “This packing and logistics pro-ject for The Pirbright Institute was avery unique challenge – a task likethis had never been done on this scalefor such highly sensitive equipmentand samples of viral diseases.“The packing and project manage-

ment that we carried out can now beadapted to meet the requirements ofanyorganisation that has biosecurityrequirements, for example in themedical, science or research and de-velopment sectors.”Joan Shadwell, projectmanager for

the institute, was responsible for themove and commissioned IES to sup-ply the packing and project

management of the move. She said:“This project was very unusual as wehad an enormous amount of equip-ment that had to be moved from arestricted area.“We were looking for a unique

wrapping solution and IES were ableto provide this. We couldn’t use ournormal externalisation methods asthis would have taken too long andmost of the equipment is too sensitiveto the harsh treatments, but HSE andDefra allowed us to wrap materialsthree times before transporting themacross open ground.“We were very pleased as both the

planning and the move went exceed-ingly well and ran really smoothly.“This is the first time we have

moved equipment from high contain-ment laboratories, on this scale, to abrand new building.“When we did come across any

issues, Tim and the team at IES wereflexible and able to come up withsolutions. We found them profession-al, friendly and accommodating.”

Delicate moves Keepingdiseases safe in transit

College helps firmsfind new apprentices● WESTON College has launcheda new recruitment agency in a bidto help companies findapprentices.Brighter Futures Recruitment

will enable employers to enjoy thebenefits of recruiting new workersthrough apprenticeship schemeswithout having to worry aboutlong-term commitments.The agency will provide two

new apprenticeship modelsdesigned to suit the needs ofevery business, as well as thetraditional apprenticeship model.The traditional model is where

the apprentice is employeddirectly by thebusiness, withthe trainingproviderbeingWestonCollege,pictured.For

companiesthat requiregreaterflexibility, BrighterFutures Recruitment offers a newservice where the agency acts asthe employer on behalf of thebusiness and deals with allpaperwork and legalities.This option has two models.

One is the Apprenticeship TrainingAgency (ATA) Probation Model, inwhich the apprentice is employedby the agency for an agreedamount of time and theprospective employer can observethem in their work environmentbefore offering direct employment.The other is the ATA model,

which involves the apprenticebeing employed by the agency forthe length of their apprenticeship.Helen Booker, contracts

manager at Brighter FuturesRecruitment, said: “This is aunique recruitment agency, whichaims to place apprentices inemployment and to supportcompanies interested inemploying an apprentice, butconcerned about the demandsinvolved in taking on more staff.“We appreciate that every

business is different.“We can support them in finding

and hiring the perfect candidateand then act as the employer foran agreed amount of time.”Brighter Futures Recruitment

will be based within the BusinessEnterprise Centre at the WestonCollege South West SkillsCampus.

RecruitmentBiggest players joincity network event● BRISTOL played host to someof the world’s biggest players inthe tech industry during alandmark event.Representatives from Google,

Youtube, Pinterest, Microsoft,Twitter and Salesforce took part inOi West, held at the Mercure Hotelin Bristol city centre.Organised by Coup Media,

delegates at the “Online Influence”conference enjoyed interactivesessions and key industry insightsand the opportunity to networkwith representatives from topdigital companies in the SouthWest.“Bristol’s Oi West was another

great event with our focus onworld class content from theworld’s biggest marketing techcompanies,” said conferencefounder Paul Shepherd.“Our ambition remains to create

the UK’s biggest and bestmarketing tech event over thecoming years and we plan toscale once more for March’s Oi16in Cardiff. With Unilever, Vodafoneand more already confirmed tospeak, March’s event is shapingup to be the biggest and best‘Online Influence’ yet.”

New furniture storehas a Raft of ideas● FURNITURE chain Raft hasannounced it will open a newstore in Bristol next month.Located in Whiteladies Road, it

will be Raft’s ninth store in Britain.The new two-floor showroom isabout 1,400 sq ft, and will takeover an old printing house.It will open its doors on Friday

next week and offer an extensivecollection of wood furniture.A spokesman for the company

said: “With an identity all of itsown, Bristol is a town thatoutrivals many others thanks to itspassionate locals and busy eventsscene, and also celebrates itsEuropean Green status – theperfect brand fit for Raft furniturewhich prides itself on its extensiverange of FSC certified recycledteak furniture and British madesofas, which only use sustainablysourced European hardwood.”It will be open between 10am

and 6pm on Monday to Friday,11am to 6pm on Saturdays, and11am to 5pm on Sundays.

A FAMILY owned business hasopened two new Starbucks branchesin Bristol and plans to roll out moreacross the South West in the comingmonths.The Ethical Franchise Guild first

fitted out the sites Wine Street andClifton Down after buying the fran-chises.The company is operated by

award-winning business owner Stu-art Montgomery who opened his firstfranchise, an Irish pub, in Thailandin 1995.He established the Guild in 2014 to

open and operate Starbucks

throughout the South West, withGloucestershire his target for furtherexpansion.Stuart said: “A franchise, like any

other business, takes time to growand I’ve found it pays tomove steadilyin the early years until you know theins and outs of the brand you havetaken on.“After a couple years, you are able

to develop faster due to a deeperunderstanding of the business and itscustomer.“In every organisation I have been

involvedwith, I always focus first andforemost on the customer.

“Too many companies are runpurely on numbers and while manyare successful, they could be so muchmore profitable if they paid greater

Ethical Franchise Guildbuilds on past success

attention to their customers.”He secured a six-figure funding

package from Clydesdale Bankwith money available for expansion.

Stewart said he had a strong per-sonal relationship with the bank andpraised its understanding of the fran-chisemarket as “essential” inhelpinglaunch the Bristol outlets.Rob Spearman, head of Clydesdale

Bank’s Business andPrivate BankingCentre in Gloucester, said: “Stuarthas an extensive track record oflaunching successful franchises forleading brands that boost local eco-nomies by creating job opportunit-ies.“We are proud to have supported

the development and opening of thecurrent stores and look forward toworking with Stuart and his team ontheir future growth.”The bank is the first to partner

with the British Business Bankunder its Enable Guarantees scheme,which will see up to £125 million ofnew lending help more small busi-nesses achieve their growth ambi-tions.

Freight Tech

Retail

Catering

● Stewart Linnane (commercial relationship manager at Clydesdale Bank)and Stuart Montgomery (owner of The Ethical Franchise Guild Limited)

● Avonmouth packaging company IES carries out the difficult work of transporting fragile packages

[email protected]

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Living costs Bristol second mostexpensive place to study in world

INTERNATIONAL students look-ing to study in Bristol will haveto pay a premium to live in thecity. That is according to newresearch from international real

estate advisor Savills.The report, themed World Student

Housing 2015/16, shows Bristol is inthe top 10most expensive cities in theworld for overseas students. It alsoranks as the second most expensivein Britain, just behind London andahead of places like Manchester.

Savills’ report breaks down studentcosts into their constituent parts,looking at the most popular studentcities around the world.Berlin is the cheapest,whileBoston

comes in at the most expensive foruniversity students.Bristol University has been wel-

coming international students formore than 50 years, with studentscoming from more than 120 coun-tries.They make up 12 per cent of the

undergraduate student body andabout 35 per cent of postgraduatetaught students and 26 per cent ofpostgraduate research students.Last year, there were 3,764 inter-

national students at the University of

the West of England.Keith Hicks, director of corporate

relations at UWE, said: “Bristol hasgrown hugely in its popularityamong international students re-cently, especially from links withSouth East Asia and China.“We have seen an increase of 55 per

cent in the last five years from about140 countries.“Excluding the EU, some 1,674 stu-

dents started at UWE in 2010. Thishas risen to 2,597 in 2015.“Even more significant has been

the increase in numbers of studentsstudying UWE degrees at overseasinstitutions.”MarcusRoberts, director of student

investment and development at

A BRISTOL beauty business hasmoved to a bigger high street locationas it continues to grow.Pamperbanana Bodycare and

Grooming has become Pamperba-nana Metro Spa, providing spa andsalon treatments in a tranquil en-vironmentmore than twice the size ofthe previous location.The move further along Henleaze

High Street from its original locationhas enabled an increase in the num-ber of treatment rooms, meaning thespa can now cater for larger groups.Generalmanager JanetteAllan has

been brought in to run the spa, whichhas five therapists, and there areplans to grow this number to nine.Director Ben Hill, who owns the

business with wife Alison, said: “Weused to be a high street salon withthree beauty rooms offering spa treat-ments without a spa environment, sowe really needed to find a place togrow into so that clients could enjoytheir experience in a beautiful, peace-ful spa environment.“The metro spa concept has come

out of London and fits between a highstreet salon and a luxury day spa.Althoughwe do not offer a pool or hottub, clients are really noticing thelook and feel of a top spa, which isapparent as soon as they walkthrough the door.“We saw a real gap in the market to

elevate what we already had. Hen-leaze High Street is a fantastic

location; it’s good for parking and isin a cosmopolitan area.”The new spa has four treatment

rooms, including one double to caterfor couples’ treatments, shower fa-cilities enabling the spa to introducenew body treatments, four nail sta-tions and three ‘pedicure thrones’.Ben and Alison are hoping that the

new facilities will attract weddingparties and other groups.The move was supported by Nat-

west. Ben andAlisonworkedwith thebank’s relationship manager PaulWilliams to borrow 60 per cent of thecost of refurbishing the new spa.“Paul has been a very good sound-

ing board, offering good advice,” saidBen.

High street beauty firmmoves to bigger location

Firms dismissaccusationsmade by MPsTHE Serious Fraud Office (SFO)could investigate Lloyds BankingGroup and a Bristol firm followingallegations by MPs that the bankpushed two men’s companies intoadministration for its own gain.Allegations were made by two

Labour MPs, Jo Stevens and HuwIrranca-Davies about the way theirconstituents were treated by thebank and the SFO told the BristolPost that they have the “matterunder review.”The allegations relate to Alder

King, a Bristol commercial prop-erty consultants company.According to theMPs, two of their

constituents, Kashif Shabir AlunRichards – both property de-velopers – had their businessespushed into administration.This was because an Alder King

partner was a seconder to Lloyds(the lender) and did not reveal this.There was therefore a conflict ofinterest as the Alder King was usedby the bank as a receiver in thesouth west, the Welsh MPs claimedduring a Commons debate.The MPs said Lloyds would in-

crease interest rates to force cus-tomers into a breach of loanconditions. Property consultantssuch as Alder King, would under-value client’s assets.The bank would then seize the

asset and sell it for a profit. TheMPsdescribed it as “daylight robbery”and accused Lloyds of “colluding”with Alder-King.Jo Stevens said: “Both men have

suffered significant financial andemotional harm as a result they say,of the actions that are alleged.”

Both Lloyds and Alder King denyany wrongdoing.An Alder-King spokesperson

said: “To be clear, Alder Kingstrongly denies all allegations ofwrongdoing or professional mis-conduct, let alone criminality.Those allegations are quite simply,and demonstrably, false.“Aswe state above, the allegations

were the subject of a very thoroughinvestigation by our professionalbody, the Royal Institution ofChartered Surveyors (RICS) and wewere cleared of any wrongdoing inall respects.“It is regrettable that Mr

Richards’s and Mr Shabir’s con-stituency MPs made these seriousallegations concerning Alder King,and named individuals, withoutseeking our response. Had theydone so, we would have been veryhappy to set out the true position.They denied that AlderKing part-

ners misrepresented themselvesand that there was a conflict ofinterest. Alder King also stated thatany suggestion they undervaluedthe properties was false.A spokesman for Lloyds Banking

Group said: “These customers havemade a number of allegations aboutour treatment of them, all of whichare completely baseless.“The allegations have been re-

viewed extensively over a numberof years at the highest levels withinthe bank, as well as by a number ofindependent, external third partiesand have been found to be withoutmerit.”

Savills, said Bristol remains popular.He added: “Bristol appears in the tophalf of the 22 top tier cities we ex-amined, cheaper than London butslightly more expensive thanManchester and Toronto in terms ofthe monthly cost for an internationalstudent to study there.“However, cost is only one of many

factors that students use to evaluatewhere to study.“Bristol continues to prove popular

both nationally and internationallyand, with its current low supply ofpurpose built accommodation, wethink its student housing market,alongside London, Oxford andEdinburgh, has some of the greatestpotential for future growth.”

Retail

ClaimsAccommodation

● NatWest’s Paul Williams inPamperbanana’s new pedicurethrone, with Ben and Alison Hill

Alder-King spokesperson

“Those allegations arequite simply, anddemonstrably, [email protected]

● Bristol University has grown in popularity among international students in recent years, especially with Chinese students

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The Big Interview

MATTHEW Tanner enjoysa room with a view. The49-year-old has looked outonawaterfront vista fromevery office he has had in

his career. And that’s no different inhis role as chief executive of the ssGreat Britain Trust.“Whenever there’s a problem or

challenge I sit here and look at thewater and the boats,” he says.“It’s very helpful to have a view likethat. It clears the mind and putsthings in context.”The view fromMatthew’s office has

changed since he arrived as the dockshave been transformed into the thriv-ing residential and leisure area wesee today.“When I first arrived the entire

dock areawas derelict,” he says. “Thechanges have been dramatic... somebetter than others.“It took a long time for the city to

culturally get past the idea that the

harbour is for shipping after ship-ping moved to Avonmouth, which ithad to because ships now are so big.“Now we embrace the Harbourside

for leisure it’s a huge asset and we’rejust beginning to take advantage ofthat. It’s a jewel: most cities simplydon’t have this in the city centre.”Matthew came toBristol as the first

paid curator of the ss Great Britain.But the job was much more thanhistory, the ship’s future was in ser-ious doubt.“The ship was raining rust into the

dry dock,” he says. “It was collapsingand the visitor appeal was very poor.“They had applied to the Heritage

Lottery Fund and it reacted by sayingto the then board: ‘You don’t knowwhat you are doing, you need to startagain, here’s a small grant to go andfind a professional and carry outsome feasibility studies to work outwhat to do’. That was the job I got.“It was fascinating. A huge set of

challenges and a huge opportunity.”That was 1997. By 2000, the role had

evolved from curator to chief exec-utive.

WHY THE SS GREAT BRITAIN STILL RGavin Thompson meetsMatthew Tanner, thechief executive who hasnavigated the ss GreatBritain through choppyseas by running thecharity as a business

140 volunteers.There are more female than male

visitors, with a wide age range. Thetrust has successfully engaged awider audience than the Brunel en-thusiasts.And while the big projects have

received grant funding, Matthew isproud that the ship runs withoutongoing public subsidy.“I was thrilled when we won Busi-

ness of the Year in the Evening Post

Saving the ss Great Britain

Name: Matthew TannerTitle: Chief executive anddirector of the ss Great BritainTrustAge: 49Born: Newcastle, but broughtup in KentEducation: St Andrew’sUniversity, studied classics andmaritime archeology, which wasgreat but there are no careers inmaritime archaeologyFirst job: Junior curator at theScottish Fisheries Museum. Ilearned loads as a youngEnglish boy in a traditional Scotsindustry. It knocked the cornersoff.

Vital statistics

Business Awards in 2011,” says Mat-thew. “We have proved that you canrun a charitable company for thepublic benefit as a business.”He admits if the trust was offered

an annual subsidy from the city coun-cil, they’d have to consider it butadds: “Being free to operate effect-ively and entrepreneurially has beenimportant and one shouldn’t give itup lightly. It has sharpened what wedo. It makes you creative, findingsolutions to be commercially sharpwithout compromising your prin-ciples. That’s terribly rewarding.”As well as operating like a busi-

ness, the trust works closely withbusiness, in particular in the engin-eering community.Matthew says: “The business com-

munity been tremendously support-ive. The engineering companies havea real need to encourage youngpeople into engineering and realiseengagingwithushelps them increasethe science capital in the city.”The trust’s Future Brunels pro-

gramme takes a small cohort ofschoolchildren and shows them thepotential of science and engineering.A five-year pilot study has just endedand now the aim is to expand theprogramme.“The first trip they do is to Thorpe

Park to ride the rollercoasters, thenthey meet the engineers who main-tain them,” saysMatthew. “They taketheir enthusiasm back into their own

sail away and inside it’s about im-mersing in the experience of what it’slike if you’re about to set out toAustralia.”It worked and, along with other

improvements, has seen the popular-ity of the museum grow. From 70,000annual visitors whenMatthew joined– a number he described as “mar-ginal” in terms of the ship’s future –to 200,000 last year. Staff numbershave risen from 20 to 85, along with

“I had no idea how big the op-portunity would be,” says Matthew.“But the board of trustees were so

receptive to new ideas to make thissustainable and viable.“Big ships are notoriously difficult

in heritage terms – they are em-inently biodegradable, cost a lot ofmoney and still try their best to col-lapse on you.“It’s been an exciting ride. I took it

on with view to saving the ship anddeveloping her and that’s what we’vedone.”The key challengewas to find away

to stop the corrosion without losingthe originality of the iron hull de-signed by the great engineer Isam-bard Kingdom Brunel.“Our big idea was the glass sea,”

says Matthew.“That came to us once we under-

stood that preventing the corrosionrequired very, very dry conditions,under 20 per cent humidity – like theArizona desert. We also realised thatmost of the corrosion was at thebottom of the ship.”They decided to create a dehumid-

ifying chamber around the bottom ofthe ship, made of glass. Water hides itby covering the top of the glass.“That was the big idea that we sold

the project on and secured a £9 mil-lion grant towards it,” says Matthew.“The extension then is how to makethat interesting and engaging. Theidea is that the ship appears ready to

● The ss Great Britain returned tothe place she was built on July 191970 after being recovered fromthe Falklands.In the 30 years between her

scuttling and recovery theelements had taken their toll onher iron hull. At the time of herrescue she was in such a poorstate, and her hull so corroded, itwas feared she would not lastanother six months.The dry dock in Bristol was

anything but dry. High levels ofmoisture in the air, and the rain,meant that once home the shipcontinued to corrode.Researchers from Cardiff

University estimated thatcorrosion could destroy the shipwithin a few years. But they alsofound that the ship could surviveif kept in a very dry environment,protected from humidity.The most fragile parts of the

ship, below the waterline, weresealed in a giant dehumidificationchamber created by a glassplate, fitted around the ship. Twodehumidification machines drythe air in the dock and the ship.A layer of water gives the

impression that the ship is afloatand acts as an insulating blanket– saving up to £20,000 a year onthe trust’s energy bills.

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L RULES THE WAVES

Anton Lane

“ It was fascinating. Iworked on someexciting cases, for highnet worth individualsincluding members offoreign royal families anda plastic surgeon basedin Harley Street

AN AWARD winning apprenticeships providersays some firms are claiming to run appren-ticeship schemes but instead simply accred-iting workers for existing skills.3aaa welcomed a strongly worded Ofsted re-

port into the apprenticeships sector, which hasnot been welcomed by all in the further edu-cation sector.But 3aaa, which last year secured a top

Ofsted rating and this year was namedprovider of the year in the Bristol andBath Apprenticeship Awards, saidthe report supports its own viewsof problems in the sector.“Not all apprenticeships offer

high quality provision,” it said.“We have worked extremely hardto develop and maintain highquality apprenticeship provision.“In particular, Ofsted is correct

that many employer providers espe-cially are simply accrediting employeeswith existing skills (particularly those over 25years of age) and this does not constitute anapprenticeship, nor does it represent value formoney for the tax payer.“In the same age bracket, many providers,

both colleges and private training providers aredoing the same as employers and simply ac-crediting current skills.“There is also evidence that they restrict the

ability to allow their employees, ‘time off thejob’ to gain new skills. Previous Ofsted reportshave highlighted this and it is disappointingthat action has not been taken to address thiswith those providers and employers concerned.An element of off the job training is critical toapprenticeships.”The number of apprenticeships has grown to

two million since 2010 but much of the growthhad been in retail, customer service, care andadministration which – according to Ofsted –“have not sufficientlymatched the skills neededby our nation”.Inspectors found that in a third of the 45

providers visited, apprenticeships did notprovide sufficient, high-quality training thatstretched the apprentices and improved their

capabilities.They observed, for example, appren-tices in the food production, retailand care sectors who were simplycompleting their apprenticeship byhaving low-level skills, such asmaking coffee, serving sandwichesor cleaning floors, accredited.It found on the whole the best

apprenticeships were in more tra-ditional sectors such as cars, con-

struction and engineering.The report called for apprentices to focus

on sectors where there are skills shortages andcalled for schools to do more to promote them.The Government has pledged three million

more apprenticeships by 2020.That target is too ambitious, according to

3aaa, which has an academy in Bristol. It said:“We are already six months into this new cyclewith little evidence that apprenticeship ini-tiatives are stimulating significant increases indemand.“We believe it is time to reset that target at a

more realistic level of two million starts andremove from those targets those Apprentice-ships that are over 25 and are simply accred-iting existing skills of a mature workforce. Wewill then achieve twomillion quality starts, andresultant high quality outcomes.”

‘Not all apprenticeships offerhigh quality provision’ - 3aaa

schools and classrooms.”“The results exceeded our expect-

ations. Every child has chosen atleast one science at A-level andthree-quarters are doing maths aswell. These are people who weren’tthinking of a maths and engineeringcareer at all.”Often they had found the teenagers

relate more to the apprentices andyounger employees at companiessuch as Airbus or Rolls-Royce. That’swhen many of them experience their“light-bulb moment”.“They can see themselves and real-

ise, ‘I could do that’,” he says.Matthew approaches his career in

cycles, with a five year strategic plan.His current one will see through thenext big step for the trust, the BeingBrunel project. and will see the 1940’sshed replaced by a new museum inkeeping with the character of theoriginal dockyard that will house theBrunel collection, from his last cigarto diaries and letters.“It’s a wonderful collection,” says

Matthew, “drawing out the charac-teristics of the man – what did hemake, what made him and why it’srelevant today.”It should be open for the 2018 sea-

son, but the cogs in Matthew’s brainare already whirring with the nextproject.“I’ve got some ideas but I can’t

share them yet,” he says.One thing he would like to see is a

greater recognitionof and support fortourism. The ss Great Britain con-tributes £11 million to the local eco-nomy alone, he says.“Tourism is the second biggest in-

dustry inBristol after retail,” he says.“Worth £1.1 billion a year in the localeconomy. I find it still strange mostpeople in Bristol don’t realise thetourist economy in Bristol is twicethe size of Bath. It’smassive yet we dovery little in putting the infrastruc-ture in place as a destination.”While there has been a lot of focus

on the proposed new arena, for ex-ample, other things get less support.“I understand the need for the

area,” he says. “My belief in terms of

visitors however is that it’s the dif-ferences that make an impact.“Things like us, the zoo, the harbourare the real drivers,” he says. “Othercities also have arenas; we won’t pullpeople from Birmingham to comehere with an arena.”When the West of England Local

Enterprise Partnership set its fivepriority sectors in 2010, tourism wasnot on the list.“I believe that was a mistake,” says

Matthew. “It wasn’t so obvious in2010; they made that choice becausewhile they recognised tourism was abig part of the city’s economy theydidn’t think therewas the same scopefor growth as other industries.“The reality is that this has been

one of the major areas of growth interms of employment and economicimpact.“I hope we can encourage the LEP

to look again and think about in-vesting further in tourism.”Key areas to improve would be

signs and marketing.“Transport is an issue,” he says.

“Not so much whether it exists but isit usable by visitors, not just peoplewho live here? You have to hold theirhand. The arrival at Temple Meadsshould tell you where the ss GreatBritain, the zoo, the Old Vic and theHippodrome actually are.“At one point the bus service that

came by us didn’t list us on thetimetable, nor did it have TempleMeads listed because it selects stopsat random. “The return on such in-vestment would be phenomenal. Itdoesn’t take a lot to invest in decentwelcome signs.”Matthew’s love of the sea and sail-

ing was sparked by reading tales ofadventure, Arthur Ransome’s Swal-lows and Amazons series in partic-ular.As he sits back in his office think-

ing about his own adventures onboard Brunel’s ss Great Britain, he’shopeful that the city’s approach toattracting and welcoming visitorswill change – if not quite as dra-matically as the skyline.

● MatthewTanner, whocame toBristol as thefirst paidcurator ofthe ss GreatBritainPicture: DanRegan

Education

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BRISTOL’S successful peopletend to buy big housesrather than use their cash toback new businesses asangel investors, according

to one start-up expert.Mike Jackson, who runs Webstart

Bristol, an accelerator the helps veryearly stage enterprises get up andrunning, was speaking during a dis-cussion at the Festival of Female En-trepreneurs.The event, run by Enterprise Na-

tion, kicked off with a panel sessionon funding.Mike, who puts his own hand in his

pocket to invest in start-ups throughhis Engine Shed-based programme,said: “Bristol and theWest Country isstill an area where the active angelnetwork is pretty weak.

Mike said: “I work with very earlystage companies so there’s nothingtangible to look at, no product, noaccounts. All I can judge on is theentrepreneur. I spend as much timeas possible getting to know the per-son and their motivation.“It’s less about the idea. In my

experience people who are more nat-ural entrepreneurs can make an ideawork or come up with another one,but if you’ve got the best idea in the

Female Festival of Entrepreneurs

Hundreds of businesswomengathered at the Colston Hallfor the Female Festival ofEntrepreneurs. GavinThompson reports

“In London those values are verystrong and you often find businessowners reinvesting from the get-go inother companies.“We don’t have that here yet. People

here buy big houses rather than in-vesting in business.”But angels aren’t the only form of

funding and the overall message forentrepreneurs at the Colston Hallevent was upbeat.Nicola Horlick, founder of

Money&Co, which helps businesseswith more experience behind themborrow to fund growth, said: “Thereis lots of money around at the mo-ment. This is one of the best times I

MORE than 700 people attended thecelebration of women entrepren-eurs in Bristol.Delegates at the Festival of Fe-

male Entrepreneurs heard from arange of speakers on topics rangingfrom getting finance to turning ablog into a business.The event was founded by Bristol

businesswoman Joni Farthing buthas since been taken on by En-terprise Nation.Emma Jones, founder of Enter-

prise Nation, said Bristol was theperfect venue and she was alreadytalking to the Colston Hall aboutreturning next year.“Wehavehada fantastic response

to the event,” she said. “We wantedto see if there was an appetite forthis kind of business event andclearly there is.“Now we’d like to see if we can

bring it back next year bigger andbetter.With a full 12month run at it,we’d like to move it to the main hallnext year,” she said. “We want touse this as a springboard into therest of the South West.”Emma said she felt the majority

of delegates were women alreadyrunning their own business, look-ing for ways to grow.Nadia Abdulla, owner of start-up

experience marketing companyMoving Experience, said she hadfound the networking the most be-neficial aspect.

“I have a phone full of connec-tions to follow up,” she said. “Therewas a great line-up of thought pro-voking topics provoking great con-versations.”Entrepreneurial Spark, a Natw-

est-backed hatchery to help busi-nesses grow, was among thecompanies which had a stand at the

event. The organisation is recruit-ing businesses to join its next phaseand Caroline Thompson said it hadbeen well worth attending.“It’s been really inspiring to talk

to somanywomen and somemen atthe festival with many of them in-terested inEntrepreneurial Spark,”she said.

‘We’d like toreturn biggerand better’

BEST TIME FOR START-UPS IN 30

Mike Jackson

“Bristol and the WestCountry is still an areawhere the active angelnetwork is pretty weak.People here buy bighouses rather thaninvesting in business.

have seen in the last 30 years to starta business.”And those people investing in

bricks andmortarmight just bemiss-ing a trick.With a nod to the generous Seed

Enterprise Investment Scheme, Nic-ola added: “There are huge tax in-centives for individuals to invest.”Earlier, the panel were asked what

they look for when backing a com-pany.

“It’s been a really successful daywith lots of people here and anamazing line-up of speakers.”Ingrid Duffin, from another ex-

hibitor Startup Loans Company,added: “It’s been really successfulfor us to meet people and also seewhat else is on offer in the businesssupport sector.”

world but not a natural entrepreneurit’s not going to go anywhere.”Double Olympic gold medallist

Sarah Gosling, founder of female re-wards-based crowdfunding platformF-crowd, urged delegates to goagainst their natural instincts andask for what they want.“Reach out to everybody you have

ever met and ask would they be in-terested in supporting you,” she said.“If you don’t ask somebody, they

won’t know what you need. You haveto be very un-female about it.”David English of the Startup Loans

Company talked about the import-ance of support and mentors.He admitted a business he started

in the past had failed in part becausehe didn’t have that support aroundhim but said most Startup Loan suc-cess stories credited mentoring as abig factor in what they hadachieved.

● Emma Jones, founder of Enterprise Nation Pictures: Jon Kent

● Mike Jackson, Nicola Horlick, David English and Sarah Gosling OBE ● Emily Shurey and Rowena Cumner from Moo

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YEARS, BUSINESSWOMEN TOLD

Give your SME a competitive advantage

UWE Bristol has linked with business partners Lloyds Bank,Gregg Latchams, HR Department, We are DNA, the IOD,Marloes Consulting and Business West to deliver an innovativeand practical new course supporting SME Directors.

The programme includes: an in-house business diagnosticsession; five intensive day workshops (spread oversix months) led by an established commercial practitionerand an academic with research expertise in the field;and access to the Bristol Distinguished Address Seriesand networking dinners.

Course starts: 18 November 2015

Course modules inc.:Strategic planning

How to achievesustainable growth

Routes to market

New media

Access to finance

Managing change

Dealing with conflict

Succession planning

For more informationwww.tiny.cc/uwesme

E-mail: [email protected]

Telephone: +44( 0)117 32 83770

SME Director Development – short course

● Lou Wild, PinUp UK, and Alice Cohan, Malice Art and Design ● Ingrid Duffin and Sara Eloise Blangers from Startup Loans

● Maree Maxfield, Becky Stoneman and Nina Michell from Xero ● Sam Barber and Fran Hope from Design and Co

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In pictures Bristol 2015 European Green Capital Business Summit

How former eco sinner saw the (green) light

WE need to make the fu-ture a better place. Thatwas the message tocivic leaders as dozensgathered for the Bristol

2015 European Green Capital Busi-ness Summit.Held at the Passenger Shed, the

event focused on the challenges, aswell as the huge opportunities, of anera where the world is changingfaster than ever before – from climatechange to changing markets, fromlimited resources to massive urbangrowth.Ignoring our responsibilities was

not an option, as highlighted by DrEddieO’Connor, who is recognised asa world leader in the renewable en-ergy industry. Inaction, he said,would guarantee that “we humansface catastrophic and irreversible cli-mate change.”

Dr O’Connor, chief executive of-ficer of Mainstream RenewablePower, describedhimself as “a formersinner – a big one”, a reference to acareer that included being the boss ofan organisation extracting turf fromIreland’s peatlands for burning inpower stations.Then he “saw the light” and be-

came one of the pioneers in the de-velopment of wind and solar energy.He said: “I like being part of the

future, being ahead of the curve.”“The transition fromahigh to a low

carbon economy requires thebiggest-ever investment in infra-structure, in the way we manufac-ture, distribute and consume. It is notjust an unprecedented challenge; it isalso an unparalleled business oppor-tunity for those of you with vision,foresight and courage.Dr O’Connor said that the United

Nations Climate Change Conferencein Paris (COP21) would augment anduniversalise the momentum towardsa zero carbon economy.He added: “I say – ‘Let the polluter

pay’.”

[email protected]

● Joanna Yarrow, IKEA ● The Innovation Zone at the Bristol Summit Pictures: paulbox© [email protected]

● George Ferguson and Krishnan Guru Murthy

● Eddie O’Connor, Mainstream Renewable Power● Richard Gillies, Kingfisher Plc

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Business diary

Post your events online atwww.southwestbusiness.co.uk.Events are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Bristol Connected: The BristolPost’s regular businessnetworking event, this timetaking place in our offices inTemple Way. Post editor MikeNorton will talk about ourchanging audience whilemanaging director Sarah Pullenwill discuss the future of media.From 6pm, Thursday, October29, please register via eventbrite.

Bristol Post Green CapitalAwards: Celebrating theachievements of businesses,communities and individuals inmaking the city a greener andbetter place. The gala ceremonytakes place on November 12 atBristol Marriott Hotel CityCentre. To nominate or buytickets, visit www.bristolpost.co.uk/greencapitalawards.

Global MSC - Technology andInnovation in the SecurityIndustry: With speakers fromchief constables to Big BrotherWatch, Global MSC’s annualconference is a high profileindustry event. November 9 and10 at the Bristol Hotel. [email protected].

Linking marketing to financialperformance: If you aspire torun your own business or rise toa board level position within alarger organisationunderstanding the links ofmarketing to businessperformance is critical. Half-dayCIM workshop at The BristolGolf and Country Club,Almondsbury, on Thursday,November 12. [email protected].

Employment law seminar:Discrimination, social media andmanaging workplaceinvestigations seminar forbusiness owners, managers andHR advisors. Leigh CourtBusiness Centre, Abbotts Leigh,Thursday, November 12. [email protected].

Workshop essentials: Forpeople who give or would like togive workshops as part of theirbusiness. Three-hour sessionfrom 9.30am on Thursday,November 12 at BristolSpaceworks, Easton BusinessCentre. Email [email protected].

Project backers party on Brunel’s iconic ship

In pictures Being Brunel

THE first businesses to back a majorproject to create a national centre ofexcellence in the life, work and mindof one of Britain’s greatest engineersenjoyed an ‘after hours’ visit onboard the ss Great Britain.

Being Brunel is a new venture fromthe ss Great Britain Trust, which willinclude a new museum and visitorexperience alongside the ship.

The event, which marked the firstgathering of the Being Brunel Cor-porate Club, gave the businesses whohave supported the project thechance to see the plans, with

entertainment and refreshments.Being Brunel is expected to provide

a boost to tourism in Bristol, con-tributing an extra £1 million everyyear to the economy of the city, which,as well as the ss Great Britain, ishome to famous Brunel creationsClifton Suspension Bridge and Bris-tol Temple Meads station.

The club gives businesses the op-portunity to invite guests and em-ployees to come on board the shipafter the crowds have gone homethrough a series of exclusive eventsleading up to the museum’s opening.

Businesses to have joined so farinclude Renishaw, Arthur J. Galla-gher Insurance Brokers Ltd, Holland-ia UK Ltd, SMC Global Ltd, WappingWharf and Stannah.

Work is set to begin in 2016 onenhancing dockside buildings withinwhich the new museum will behoused, recreating the look of theVictorian harbourside of Brunel’sday and paving the way for his sig-nificant legacy to be protected andharnessed for future generations.

Louisa Pharoah, director of devel-opment at the trust, said: “Our first

Being Brunel Corporate Club eventwas a fantastic opportunity for thetrust to thank the local businessesthat have thrown their support be-hind a project that is hugely sig-nificant not just for the ss GreatBritain, but for the city of Bristol as awhole.

“This initiative is going to put thecity on the map as a national hub forall things Brunel, drawing in newvisitors to the region and inspiringthe next generation of engineers.”

Find out more online at ssgreat-britain.org/beingbrunel.

● David Brown, COO The Bristol Port Company,and Andrew Ord, Commercial Director TheBristol Port Company

● Louis Arron, Development Manager WappingWharf, with Jerry Arron, Founder of Mud Dock ● Martin Greenslade and Kim O’Hare

● Frances Wang and Katie Hibbitt ● Brian Macmahon and Jane Walton

● Daryn McCombe, Regional Driver Manager (Central) at Great WesternRailway and Peter Rignall, Regional Retail Manager for Network Rail● David Bruno, Dawn Bruno and Zena Bruno

Assistant Editor (Business)Gavin Thompson

Call 0117 934 3336Email gavin.thompson

@b-nm.co.ukTwitter @gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

Advertising RobertRodgersonCall07584 003229Email [email protected]

Advertising JaneChapman

Call 01179 343025Email jane.chapman

@b-nm.co.uk

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12 Wednesday, October 28, 2015www.bristolpost.co.uk

The back pagePeople● SIMON Newson fromWeston-Super-Mare has this monthbeen appointed as the generalmanager for Wessex Garages’ newNissan dealership in Bristol.In his new position, the

31-year-old will handle theday-to-day running of thepurpose-built Nissan showroom,which will open on December 18.Keith Brock, managing director of

Wessex Garages, which already hastwo dealerships in Bristol, said:“Simon is new to the company andwe would like to welcome him to theteam. He has worked in the motorindustry for more than 10 years andhas five years’ experience in Nissanretail so will be a real asset to ournew branch.”The father-of-one is familiar has

lived and worked inWeston-Super-Mare most of hiscareer.The new dealership will be on

Hayes Way at Cribbs Causeway,which Keith said “looks set to be anexcellent retail location for us”.The new dealership will span just

over 18,000 square feet and createat least 25 new jobs in addition tothe company’s existing Nissanbusiness, which is situated onPennywell Road.The project will cost in the region

of £5 million. It will also be a centrefor electric vehicles and will be anadditional charging point forBristol.Simon, right, said: “I

am delighted to bejoining WessexGarages. Theirreputation of being aforward thinkingcompany means it wasan easy decision for meto head up its newflagship site. It will be oneof the largest dealerships ofthis kind in the country.”

● A family-run business hasenrolled all of its 20 strongmanagement team at a prestigiousbusiness school.Keynsham-based Facilities

management firm Almeda has spentmore than £60,000 to place its entiremanagement team on the BusinessAccelerator Programme at theCranfield School of Management inBedford.Cranfield is widely considered to

be one of the best business schools

in the country and specialises increating better leaders in business;and ensuring staff and managementare well-equipped for the challengesof a rapidly changing word.

It is rare for a company tosend so many staff to takethe course in oneacademic year.Operations director

BradyGeorge, said: “Over thenext few months all ofthe staff here will takethe business acceleratorprogramme at Cranfield,

with enrolment beingstaggered in order to avoid a

logistical nightmare!“It’s a huge investment for us as a

company but in the long run it willundoubtedly have a positive impacton the level of service we deliver forour customers; and ensure we areas responsible and smart as we canbe when it comes managing iconicbuildings across Bristol andbeyond.”

● Two new recruits have joined ateam of property lawyers in Bristol,as the company prepares to moveto bigger offices.

Continual investment in talent is key to economic prosperity

THE Global CompetitivenessReport is an annual assess-ment of the factors drivingproductivity and prosperityin 140 countries around the

globe.Its detailed analysis enables politi-

cians, policymakers and busi-nesspeople to gain an insight intohow the global economy is changingand, more importantly, to benchmarkthemselves against the more success-ful countries in the World.

For the seventh consecutive year,the most competitive nation in theWorld is Switzerland, followed bySingapore and the USA. Others in thetop ten are Germany, Japan, HongKong, Finland, Sweden with theUnited Kingdom in tenth place.

What is notable about all of thesenations is that they have either with-stood the global economic crisis orhave made a swift recovery from it.

For example, Switzerland experi-enced only a mild recession in 2009and its unemployment rate has re-mained around 3 per cent throughoutthe crisis.

Meanwhile, Greece, ranked 81st,has seen its economy shrink by 25 percent and the jobless rate remainsabove 20 per cent.

Therefore, if the global economy is

Opinion

to continue its growth, thenlong-term structural reforms must beput into place that boost productivityand ensures that more people haveaccess to high-quality education andtraining.

In particular, high unemploymentis a heavy burden on societies, risk-ing not only prolonged lower demandbut also the de-skilling of a signi-ficant segment of the labour force andgrowing discontent.

If this is not addressed, then itcould result in problems in improv-ing living standards and reducinglong-term unemployment and, moreworryingly, could harm the globaleconomy’s ability to cope with anysudden shocks in the future.

Another key message from this

detailed research is that the capacityto leverage talent is at the heart of aneconomy’s competitiveness.

Improving numeracy and literacyskills will clearly contribute to in-creasing productivity but the reportsuggests that there also needs to be agreater emphasis on education thatmeets 21st century demands such asknowledge generation, leadershipskills and innovation.

For example, an increasing num-ber of management courses are fo-cusing on helping participants todevelop those softer skills thatprovide them with the ability to thinkcritically and creatively and that willadd real value to the business andorganisation in which they work.

In addition, the changing structure

Katherine Vargas and DanielleMellor have joined Hoffman Malembased at Aztec West, which is aboutto move to larger premises withinthe same Regus-run complex.The firm, which is based in

Swindon, open its Bristol office in2013.A licensed conveyancer,

Katherine’s career in law began afterworking for more than 15 years inthe merchant navy, which she left tostart a family. Katherine retrained asa property lawyer.“I really wanted a new challenge,”

said Katherine. “I am delighted tohave joined Hoffman Male. They arevery friendly, very professional and Ilike the way they offer a personalservice to their clients.”Danielle had been working at a

solicitors’ firm in Ilfracombe, Devon,but joined Hoffman Male when sherelocated to Bristol. She is a legalassistant, and hopes to train to be alicensed conveyancer.

● Independent broker VentureInsurance has promoted accountdirector Alec Cole to the position ofshare-holding director.Alec joined the Clifton-based firm

in 2013 following an approach by

managing director Simon James.His promotion enables Venture

Insurance to continue the expansionwhich saw premiums placed grow to25 per cent to £7 million in 2014/15.Alec, below, said: “It’s been a

privilege over the past couple ofyears to be part of a thriving firmwhich prides itself on itsindependence and strength ofcustomer service.Collectively, Venture

Insurance offers morethan 150 years’experience in insuranceacross a wide range ofindustries.Last year the

company, which wasset up three years ago,became one of fewerthan 100 companies in theUK to have been givenChartered status.Simon James said: “I am

delighted that Alec has acceptedthis new position with us and hiscontinued involvement reallybolsters the strength of what weoffer. His expertise and clientrelationship management skills arehighly valuable and we are gratefulto have him.”

● Adrian Sims, managing director ofBristol-based Vent-Tech, has beennamed the first recipient of theSociety of Operations Engineer’s(SOE) Plant Engineer of the YearAward.The award was established this

year in recognition of the importantwork done by plant engineers andcelebrates an individual who hasmade an outstanding contribution toany aspect of plant, works, services,maintenance, or facilitiesengineering.With over 25 years’ experience in

the design of mechanical buildingservices systems, Adrian waschosen as the winner for hisprofessional approach todevelopments in his industry, andfor promoting training andqualifications, and occupationalhealth and safety. The firmspecialises in exhaust ventilationtesting.He was honoured for his

achievements at the society’s lunch.Vent-Tech Ltd was founded by

Adrian in 2001, and works withcompanies such as The Royal Mint,Exxon, Greencore, and theUniversity of Bristol, designing,installing, and testing LEV systems

Your digest of the week in business

of the world economy means thatinformation and communicationstechnology are generating new in-dustries and disrupting others.

As a result, those countries andregions that invest in developing tal-ent in these areas are the bestequipped to adapt to the changesbrought about by this technologicalrevolution.

And whilst some remain worriedabout the future growth of the globaleconomy, it is clear that if the UKeconomy is to maintain its positionamongst the most competitive na-tions in the World, then there must bea continuous investment in the de-velopment of entrepreneurial talentand innovation within our businesscommunity.

throughout the UK and Ireland.Adrian said: “My role takes me

into a lot of factories; as anengineer, I find this fascinating. It isalso interesting to see how differentindustries manage the sameproblem.”With a team of 10, Adrian’s plans

for the company are to grow it innumber to enable it to help as many

people as possible in order toreduce the number of yearlyoccupational healthfatalities.“Managingcustomers’expectations onsystem performancecan be a challenge aspeople often do notunderstand how

extraction systems work,”he said. “So we spend a lot of

time providing clients withinformation and educating them.”

Places● A newly refurbished office inAztec West is already fully let,suggesting the out-of-town marketis on the up.Legal & General Property (LGP)

has let the final floor in 740 AztecWest to human resources strategycompany, Northgate Arinso UK Ltd,in a deal brokered by propertyconsultants JLL.The letting follows a £5 million,

30-week overhaul. The lower floorswere pre-let to Alcatel Lucent – aninternet provider, broadband andcloud technology specialist.Northgate Arinso, which is only

moving across the pond from 730Aztec West, is paying a rentequating to £21 per sq ft on a10-year lease.The office is the first refurbished

business park office in Bristol toachieve the highest energyperformance certificate rating of A.Hannah Waterhouse, associate

director at JLL in Bristol, said: “Thefact that 740 is fully let so soon aftercompletion is a testament to thefantastic quality of the building.“It is positive news for the out of

town market where we are finallyseeing good levels of rental growth.It also highlights that demand forhigh quality energy efficient spaceremains strong against a backdropof short supply.”Alder King acted for Northgate

and JLL and Knight Frank acted forLGP.

● Above, theAlmeda team

● SOE PlantEngineer of theYear Award goesto Adrian Simsleft, presentedby from leftShaunStephenson(SOE) and IanJackson (IPlantEPSC chair)

Professor of entrepreneurshipand strategyUniversity of the West of England

Business 28 October 2015

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Transcript of Business 28 October 2015