LDP Business 15.06.11

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BUSINESS EDITOR:BILL GLEESON0151 472 2319

DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR:TONY McDONOUGH0151 330 4918

BUSINESS REPORTER:PETER ELSON0151 472 2502

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALISTAIR HOUGHTON0151 472 2449

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALEX TURNER0151 472 2321

BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451

VOUCHER and gift card provider ParkGroup saw its share price reach itshighest point for more than a decadeafter it unveiled another strong set ofannual results.

The Alternative Investment Mar-ket-listed (AIM) firm has more thandoubled in value in the last 12 months.

Yesterday, it peaked at 47.95p – itshighest level since the DJ Spuddlesfiasco, when Park incurred huge losseslaunching a flavoured frozen chipbrand in the late 1990s. It closed at46.55p last night, up 5% for the day.

AIM investors have backed thegroup’s consistent and profitablegrowth as well as its product launches,led by pre-paid card Flexecash – whichis the result of three years’ develop-ment and £3m investment.

The Birkenhead group trumpetedthe successful launch and significantpotential of that product, as it hailedwhat it hopes will turn out to havebeen “one of the most important” in its44-year history.

Park’s group managing directorChris Houghton said: “Flexecash hasopened up quite a few new opportun-ities, right from extending the Christ-mas savings business, to online, and inthe corporate markets.The card hasmade a contribution to profit already.”

Revenues grew 6% to £279.9m in theyear to March, building on previousstrong growth which has seenturnover increase by more than £50min the last three years.

Pre-tax profits also increased to ahigh of £7.0m for the five years sincethe group recorded a hefty pre-tax lossin its 2006 financial year.

Mr Houghton highlighted Park’s“progressive dividend policy”, whichhas resulted in proposing a totaldividend for the year of 1.7p, up 29%.

The group’s growth has seen Parkadd 35 “highly-skilled staff ” in its tech-nology and IT departments in Wirral.

Park Group made its name as aChristmas hamper business but it hasshifted the focus of its business onto

vouchers for corporate clients and theChristmas savings markets.

Park’s sales are split 60-40 betweenconsumer and corporate markets.

Its consumer sales, which increased8%, include Christmas saving andonline sales direct to consumers, whileits corporate sales are focused on com-panies running incentive and rewardschemes.

It was a busy year for Park, whichacquired Dublin-based Celtic Hampersand Family Hampers for £800,000 lastOctober. It said the integration of thebusiness is now “virtually complete”.

In February, Park Group paid nearly£6m to buy its head office site, havingsold a secondary site for £1.8m in 2010.

ProfitspropelPark’ssharesto12-yearhighLONDON’S blue-chip

index closed higheryesterday as banksand retailers gainedafter a bright start onWall Street.

The FTSE 100 Indexadded 29.7 to 5803.1,having gatheredmomentum in theafternoon as it fol-lowed US marketsupwards, with miningshares also benefitingfrom improvedinvestor sentiment.

The pound dippedagainst the euro to1.13 on market talkthat a solution toGreece’s debt problemmight be found afterpoliticians warnedabout the dangers ofa default.MARKET REPORT:

PAGE 15

FTSE-1005803.13

29.67▲

Port growsmarket sharein first quarterTHE Port of Liverpoolcontinues to makeheadway in choppywaters, as it increasedits market share inthe first quarter ofthe year.

PAGE 2

Forecast upCARPHONE Ware-house has raised earn-ings predictions for itsEuropean arm in thecurrent financial year,and reported strongprogress at its US divi-sion

PAGE 4

Tesco warningSUPERMARKET giantTesco reported animproving trend in UKsales but warned thathigh fuel costs con-tinue to divert cus-tomer spending.

PAGE 5

inside Maritimeventurefloatshotel bidA FLOATING accom-modation firm has beenlaunched by city-basedSanderson Maritime.

The Seatel venturetargets the offshorerenewable energy sec-tor, such as wind farms,and allows contractorsto base staff on floatingplatforms of up to 70bedrooms close to theiroperations rather thancoastal sites whichinvolve a round trip ofup to four hours.

Sanderson hasformed a joint venturewith global marine ser-vices specialists SvitzerUK, a subsidiary of theAP Moller-MaerskGroup which has its UKheadquarters in Liver-pool.

Sanderson managingdirector Julian Sander-son said: “As the renew-able sector develops,there is more demandfor more tailoredaccommodation.”

[email protected]

A computer-generated image of a Seatel, which allows renewable energy firms to base staff close to their work

■ BILL GLEESON: Page 8

2 Wednesday, June 15, 2011

LiverpoolovertakesForthinbattleformarketshare

Extra jobsat Simarcoas freightload risesFREIGHT handlerSimarco saw a 25%increase in individualconsignments to 1,938in the last year.

Simarco, whichopened its Liverpooloffice in 2007,increased staff tohandle the extra work.

Simarco’s managingdirector, Simon Reed,said: “The last year hasreinforced the commer-cial and geographicaladvantages which ouroffice in the city repres-ents.

“We have also seen arise in the number ofcompanies recognisingthat site as somethingof a national leader inits ability to handle alltheir Customs’ paper-work.”

He added that theperformance allowedSimarco to take advant-age of the continuedstrong showing of thePort of Liverpool.

“In the Port of Liv-erpool, I’m glad to saythat we have a greatpartner – one which isefficient and generallynot affected by the sortof bad weather whichcan close other UKports, causing delaysfreight firms and theircustomers can well dowithout,” said Mr Reed.

Publicconsultationonportplansgetsunderway

newsLDPbusiness .co.uk

THE Port of Liverpool continues tomake headway in choppy waters, as itincreased its market share in the firstquarter of the year.

For the first time in nearly fiveyears, it overtook Forth, in Scotland,in terms of tonnage handle, to rise tosixth busiest port by tonnage moved.

Official figures from the Depart-ment for Transport showed that Liv-erpool enjoyed its best market sharefor tonnage since quarterly recordsbegan in 2000 for the period Jan-uary-March.

In handling 7.72m tonnes, it cap-tured 6.2% of the UK market. It alsoshowed a huge increase of 25% on thefirst quarter of 2010, which was badlyaffected by the closure of Stanlow.

However, it was still 3% above 2009levels, which was double the growthseen at all UK ports in that period.

Gary Hodgson, managing director ofPeel Ports Mersey, welcomed theunderlying trend that the data high-lighted.

He said: “It should be noted that anycomparison with Q1 2010 should takeinto account the closure at Stanlowduring that period; however, evenwhen stripping out this effect, thetrend is still positive – as demon-strated by our share of the UK mar-ket.”

Freight trade is also measured by asecond factor – the number of unitshandled. Liverpool saw a 5% reductionon the first quarter of 2010, down12,000 to 247,000 units.

Mr Hodgson attributed this drop,and more, to a single factor.

“In terms of unitised traffic, our netreduction is reflective of the loss of theDFDS Dublin service at the end ofJanuary from Twelve Quays,” he said.“This masks an underlying volumeimprovement on all other RORO[roll-on, roll-off] routes and continuedgrowth in the container terminal.”

DFDS had operated 12 sailings a

week on its Birkenhead-Dublin routebut blamed “considerable overcapa-city” in the market when it pulled theroute at the start of the year.

Its difficulties were indicative of theongoing problems in the maritime sec-tor, with trade remaining well belowpre-recession levels across UK ports.

Mr Hodgson added: “Overall, cur-rent trading conditions remain dif-ficult, with a general lack of confid-ence in the market as a whole. This

can be seen with tonnages throughoutthe UK remaining stable but subdued,especially on Irish Sea routes.

“From the Port of Liverpool’s per-spective, the fact that we have seengrowth in our market share helps toprovide us with cautious optimism,and that demonstrating the value thatLiverpool adds to the total supplychain is winning us new business.”

The Port of Liverpool’s owner, PeelPorts, has ambitious long-term plans

for its maritime portfolio, which alsoincludes the Manchester Ship Canal.

It is looking to invest £500m in thenext 20 years in a move it forecastswill see the volume of trade passingthrough the port and Ship Canal in-crease by 70% by 2030. Its plansinclude developing land that currentlyforms the Seaforth Nature Reserve, aSite of Special Scientific Interest andhome to thousands of sea birds.

Gary Hodgson, managing director of Peel Ports Mersey – welcomed the positive trendPhoto: COLIN LANE/ tmcl070611peel-5

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LIVERPOOL’SINVESTMENTSPECIALISTS

THE first in a series of publicconsultation events about PeelPorts’ plans to further developthe Port of Liverpool andManchester Ship Canal isbeing held today.

Senior managers from PeelPorts will be at Liverpool’s

Crowne Plaza hotel ,at PrincesDock, from 3.30pm-7.30pm, todiscuss the plan and answerquestions. There will then beeight further events across theNorth West.

Peel recently launched itsMersey Ports Master Plan,

which sets out its 20-year vis-ion for growth and futuredevelopments.

Gary Hodgson, managingdirector of Peel Ports Mersey,said: “These local events arevery important.

“All written views given

will be carefully consideredand will help to shape thefinal version of the masterplan.”

Future events are: June 16at Stobart Stadium Halton,Widnes; June 21 at CrosbyCivic Hall; June 23 at Pyramid

Arts Centre, Warrington; July5 at Wallasey Town Hall; July7 at Boat Museum, EllesmerePort; July 12 at EasthamLodge Golf Club; July 14 atDigital World Centre, SalfordQuays; and July 21 at BootleTown Hall.

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1 Liverpool hoteliers’ concern2 Finch goes into liquidation3 Cammell Laird jobs boost4 Bid to save Kinetics’ jobs5 ‘Black House’ approvedldpbusiness.co.uk

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■ BILL GLEESON: Page 8

3Wednesday, June 15, 2011

profile

Keeneyeforstyleanddetailthekeytosuccessforsalonchain

TonyMcDonoughmeetsROBWEBB,MDofVoodou

LDPbusiness .co.uk

Voodou founder and managing director, Rob Webb, opened his first shop in Anfield 35 years ago with a £1,000 loan from his uncle

Age: 53Highest educational qualification:Indentured hair stylistBiggest achievement in business:Global business award that we won in2006 and held for two yearsBiggest regret: Regrets are a waste oftimeBest advice received: Love what youdo and you will never have to workanother day in your lifeMain unfulfilled ambition: I amalways about today

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IT WAS once said that Liverpool hada pub on every corner. That couldnow be accurately changed to a hairsalon on ever corner.

According to Rob Webb, managingdirector and founder of the Liver-pool-based Voodou chain, there areactually more than 800 salons acrossMerseyside.

When you add to that the multi-tude of mobile stylists working inpeople’s homes with very few over-heads, you begin to get an under-standing of how competitive a mar-ket place this is.

That Webb, 53, can quote that fig-ure from the top of his head is nosurprise.

Aided by his financial controllerand right-hand woman, ChristineValiant, he has a firm handle on thedetails, probably one of the keydrivers of his success so far.

Voodou has five outlets across thecity – two in Bold Street, one ofwhich is just for men; one in ButtonStreet; West Derby Road; inTuebrook; and Breck Road, inAnfield.

It also has a concession basedwithin the city’s Topman store.

In the last year, the company hasalso opened a hairdressing andbarbering training academy. In total,the business employs 90 people.

Bold Street is Voodou’s headquar-ters, but it is at the Breck Road salonwhere it all began 35 years ago.

“I left All Saints School in Anfieldat 16 with no qualifications,” said

Webb. “I was no great academic. Iwent straight into hairdressing andwhen I was 18 I borrowed £1,000 frommy uncle and opened the shop inBreck Road.

“Within a year I had opened thesecond store which when I look backnow was probably pretty crazy – butit worked.

“Now, 35 years on, I am shoulder toshoulder with industry leaders.Quite simply, it is all about hardwork.

“I do work long hours. Our carpark here closes at 5.30pm and we allhave to leave, but I will take workhome with me and I always have apad by the bed for any ideas thatcome to me.”

Attention to detail seems to be keyto Webb’s approach to running thebusiness – even the Big Issue selleroutside the main shop in Bold Streetappeared to be perfectly coiffed.

“From a hairdressing point ofview, we aim to make people feelgreat about themselves,” he said.

“Proper training is important –that is all about the nuts and bolts –

but behind the skilled stylist is theindividual with a personality.

“That is important because we tryto match a client up to a stylist withwhom they will feel comfortable.

“For example, if a 70-year-old ladycomes in then we may not match herup with a young trainee, as they maynot have much to talk about.

“Retail sales come from good con-sultation. You cannot give a clientsomething they don’t want or need.

“It is all about finding out whatthe client’s needs are.”

Webb says one of the biggestchanges in the industry in recentyears has been the effect of celebrityculture.

And he adds that it is now asimportant as ever for stylists to beaware of ever-changing trends andfashions. He said: “From day one,when we take a trainee on, what wewant from them is some kind of ideaabout fashion and clothes – that isfundamental.

“As a business, we spend a lot oftime looking at what is appearing onthe catwalks around the world.

“Celebrity culture is now huge.The other day we had Chloe, fromthe TV show, The Only Way is Essex.

“It was great that she chose us andshe put it out on Twitter that shewas here – we had a load of peoplearrive here within a short space oftime, including the paparazzi.”

That particular event, said Webb,demonstrated the power of newmedia and Voodou has not been slowto appreciate this.

“Facebook is massive for us “ headded.

“Five years ago, we realised thatnew media was something we weregoing to need to get our headsaround. We now have more than

9,500 followers on our Facebook pageand we have some research whichsuggests that could be more than anyother salon in the world.

“However, we are careful aboutselling directly to our Facebookfriends. We use it for soft selling –giving out special offers, for example.

“We also get 11,000 unique visitorson our website every month, whichis pretty good going.”

Voodou’s new media presence is akey part of Webb’s wider strategy ofbeing able to pinpoint precisely histarget markets.

Both he and Christine spend a lotof time analysing the profile of theirclientele.

He said: “ We know that 39% ofour customers are students. That is arise, as the last few years it has beenaround 30%.

“So we know that around Septem-ber time we can expect to see peoplewho have left home to come to uni-versity for the first time wanting tohave green hair.

“We keep on top of the figurestelling us exactly who is coming inbecause it is ever-changing.”

Webb admits that, in common withmany other salon operators, Voodouhas not been immune to the negativeeconomic environment.

“Probably for the first time since Iopened 35 years ago, we are not see-ing year-on-year growth.

“Clients have not stopped comingin but where in the past they mightcome in once every three weeks, nowit might be once every four or fiveweeks. Thanks to Christine, we havea lot of breakdowns that we cananalyse.

“We have key performance indic-ators and we measure how many cli-ents a stylist will see in one day and

what they do for each client.“For example, a stylist in the

barber’s shop might do 12 clients inone day while a stylist with justfemale clients might do six.

“However, we know that on aver-age ladies spend more than men andcome in more often so that can evenitself out.

“The next thing for us is onlinebooking. We have been looking at itfor a long time – we think it wouldparticularly appeal to male clients.”

Voodou also has a loyalty scheme.Those joining are known as “dis-ciples” which starts off with a “get-ting to know you” promotion.

Webb said: “The first time youcome in you pay full price, thesecond time it is 25% off and thethird time it is 50% off.

“Then you become a disciple andenter our loyalty scheme and withyour loyalty card every eighth hair-cut is free. We have other partners inthe scheme – the restaurant Gusto,for example.

“We now have a database of 30,000people. But we don’t bombard themwith emails. We send something outonce every three months – they don’tget bombed.”

Voodou has won a string of awardsover the years, including a globalaward in 2006 that it held for twoyears. Webb’s instinct is to keep onexpanding but he says Christinehelps him to keep his focus.

“The future is to carry on doingwhat we do best – we are in the busi-ness of making people feel great.

“We have the capacity to expandwithin the existing salons. If it wasleft to me, I would open 10 moresalons, but luckily Christine keepsmy feet on the ground.”■ TRADING Gossip: Page 16


CarphoneWarehousesettoringupbetterprofits

AltradGroupacquiresNSG UKTHE French-basedAltrad Group hasacquired 100% ofshares in NSG UK, theDeeside-headquarteredscaffolding company,for an undisclosed sum.

Mike Carr, NSG man-aging director, willremain in charge of theUK operation, whichhas 320 employees andan annual turnover of£20m.

NSG UK offers scaf-folding services, accesssolutions, thermalinsulation, industrialcleaning and painting.The Altrad Groupacquired NSG UK as ithas identified the busi-ness as a platform toexpand its servicesacross the country.

This acquisitionforms part of a biggerplan to provide the UKmarket with servicesand products fromAltrad, who specialisein the manufacturingand sales of scaffold-ing, cement mixers andwheelbarrows,together with provid-ing additional servicesin the scaffoldingsector.

This will bring thetotal of Altrad compan-ies up to 54, with themajority being locatedin Europe.

Mr Carr said: “Weare delighted with thisacquisition and tobecome part of theAltrad Group. This willenhance NSG UK’s coreservice offering to cli-ents across the UK in avariety of sectors suchas social housing, oiland gas, rail, marineand nuclear.

“We will be in a pos-ition to release furtherdetails of our futurebusiness plans in duecourse.”

Aintree’s Best Buy Big Box, which combines mobile phone retail with a vast range of electrical goods

LegalfirmexpansionplanaimstomeetneedsofMerseyclients

ConfidenceisgrowinginNW

ONE of the North West’s fastestgrowing specialist commerciallaw firms, DTM Legal, hasopened new offices in Mersey-side.

The expansion, which seesthe firm open a new office inCentury House, a landmarkbuilding in St Helens, bucks theeconomic trend and underlinesthe firm’s commitment to busi-nesses in Cheshire and Mersey-side.

The new offices will enableDTM to better serve new andexisting businesses in theregion.

Julie Mogan, partner at DTMLegal, said: “St Helens has astrong commercial heritageand presents a great opportun-

ity for us as a regional office.We have served clients in thearea for a number of years andwe are really excited about hav-ing a local base from which wecan both support clients andcontinue to grow our own busi-ness.”

Since the launch of DTMLegal in 2008, the firm man-aged to double its size in itsfirst year, increasing the num-ber of staff from 19 to 37 andwon a Best Business Start Upaward in 2009.

The firm added: “DTM isitself run by entrepreneurs whohave set up and run businessesin their own right.

“This allows us to bring ourown commerciality to the legal

advice that we provide.” DTMhas worked with a large varietyof companies, including CalderIndustrial Materials andCorbett Sports.

“We have had the need forlegal advice and given instruc-tion to DTM, on a whole rangeof issues in the normal courseof our business,” said MartinHenderson, finance director ofCalder.

Michael Corbett, managingdirector of Corbett Sports, said“Corbetts were initiallyreferred to DTM, with whomwe developed a professionalworking relationship and foundthem to be thorough and timelyin their work, which was com-pleted within our deadlines.”

CARPHONE Warehouse has raisedearnings predictions for its Europeanarm in the current financial year, andreported strong progress at its USdivision.

The group was formed after lastyear’s demerger from broadband oper-ator Talk Talk and comprises a 50%share in US electricals retailer BestBuy, a 47.5% stake inVirgin MobileFrance, and its own expanding UKCarphone Warehouse (CPW) storesdivision, Wireless World.

Group earnings before interest andtax (Ebit) for the year to March 31 rose67%, to £63.3m.

On a pre-tax profit basis, it made£67.2m, compared with £218.4m, butthis reflects the investment in rollingout its Best Buy UK and Europechains, including a “Big Box” super-store in Aintree, and post-demergercosts.

CPW Europe grew its Ebit revenuesby 18%, to £134.6m, due to the increas-ing penetration of smartphones.

It said its 106 Wireless World storeswere also excited about the “ever-expanding” range of tablet devicescoming to the market, with forecastsfor the size of this market increasingall the time.

Best Buy Mobile US had an “out-standing year”, the group said.

Despite the US boasting more than280m mobile phone accounts, CPWsaid, surprisingly, the US consumerhas lacked a decent retail offer ofchoice and impartiality.

CPW has installed a Best BuyMobile store-within-a-store in all ofBest Buy’s 1,101 Big Box locations,which has resulted in clinching a 5%share of the mobile market comparedwith 1% when the venture began in2006, and a 28% increase in connec-tions of more than 7m.

This increased Best Buy Europe’s

share of profits by 111% to £97.9m.However, the group is evaluating theroll-out of its Best Buy Europe oper-ation after losses rose from £21m pre-viously, to £62m.

Virgin Mobile France recorded an“extremely successful year”, turning

around a loss before interest and tax of£22.2m to an Ebit profit of £20.6m.

Looking ahead, the group said itexpects CPW Europe to make an Ebitprofit of between £135m to £150m inthe current financial year, dependingon the Christmas trading period.

CPW chief executive Roger Taylorsaid: “This has been a year of con-siderable success for the group, duringwhich our businesses have madeimpressive progress.

“The group is well positioned tomaintain this momentum.”


COMPANIES across the North West are report-ing business and profit growth despite uncer-tain economic times, claims a report.

According to a survey conducted by NorthWest financial recruiter Howarth Morris, 64%of participants have recorded profit growth inrecent months and more than 71% are con-fident of growth through 2011.

The Howarth Morris How’s the Marketreport invited 30 finance and HR personnel inthe North West to share detailed businessinformation and also their opinions.

The study revealed that a third of those sur-veyed were more confident on the state of theeconomy now than 12 months ago.

Also, 68% believed there would either be anupturn in the region’s economic performancein 2011 or believed it would remain stable.

Howarth Morris director, Sean Morris, said:“While confidence is most certainly returning,there are still challenges ahead.”

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the industry as a whole, as new storeshelp offset weak demand in generalmerchandise.

Liverpool-born chief executivePhilip Clarke, who took up the role inMarch this year from Sir Terry Leahy,said: “Uncertainties remain but, withearly encouraging signs of better per-formance emerging in both the UK andthe US, I am confident that this startwill provide the platform for anotheryear of growth.”

One of the group’s newest stores is aTesco Extra on Park Road, Toxteth,which opened last month, creating 300jobs, and was the subject of a site visitby retail analysts from the Liverpooloffice of stockbroker Shore Capital.

Liverpool director and head ofresearch Clive Black said: “We have tosay that, to our minds, Tesco has donea marvellous job in helping to revital-ise and bolster the reputation of an attimes troubled district with the open-ing of this store.

“Of course, there will be negativecommercial implications for sometraders from the Tesco opening, that isthe laws of the retail jungle, but thiswas also a neighbourhood with littleimmediate choice for shoppers, espec-ially those without a car.”

He added: “The store also shows lifein Tesco, extolling its greatest trait of‘broad appeal’, virtually everyone andanyone can shop and be largely sat-isfied at Tesco.

“We assert that Tesco’s broad spec-trum of shareholders should takeheart from Toxteth.”

SUPERMARKET giant Tesco reportedan improving trend in UK sales, butwarned that high fuel costs continue todivert customer spending from thetills.

The UK’s largest supermarket pos-ted a 0.1% drop in same-store salesexcluding fuel and VAT in the 13 weeksto May 28, up from a 0.7% fall in theprevious quarter. Total UK salesincluding fuel and VAT were up 7%.

Food sales performed well, withmeat, fish and poultry recording goodUK growth, but this was overshadowedby declines and weak demand innon-food areas, Tesco said.

The company’s fast-growing Asianbusiness continued to offset weakdomestic demand, posting 3.2%like-for-like sales growth, driven by astrong show in Thailand. Total groupsales, including fuel, were up 7.8%.

Supermarkets and the wider retailsector in the UK have been hit by asqueeze on consumer spending as highinflation couples with muted wagegrowth, while the average cost of alitre of unleaded petrol rose to 137.21pin May.

Tesco said that UK customers haveto “direct some of their spending topetrol at the expense of their normalshopping” which remains a drag onunderlying growth.

However, the company said the UKbusiness continues to grow faster than

Mood ofcompanyheadsimprovesBUSINESS confidenceis improving across theregion, according to theInstitute of CharteredAccountants Englandand Wales.

Its latest monitorshows a confidenceindex among companydirectors of 11.2,compared with 4.4 lastquarter after droppingfrom 18.9 in the thirdquarter of 2010 due tofears over the impact ofpublic sector cuts.

The latest NorthWest findings revealedan improvement in all

14 financialperformance indicat-ors, and growth isexpected to continuethis year.

Average numbers ofemployees are up 1.1%compared with a yearago, but job lossesremain a concern.

Average basic salar-ies have also increasedby 1.5% over the year,although wageincreases are still lag-ging behind the rate ofinflation.

Martyn Best, Presid-ent of the LiverpoolSociety of CharteredAccountants, said:“This quarter’s mon-itor shows that growthand certainty arereturning to the NorthWest economy.”

NewHomeBargainsstoretoopeninStJohn’sCentreLIVERPOOL-BASED budgetretailer Home Bargains hasspent £500,000 on a new storein the city’s St John’s shop-ping centre.

The store, which opens onSaturday, will see the creationof 30 jobs.

The discount retailer cur-rently operates more than 30other stores in Merseyside.

Despite the tough economicclimate, Home Bargains isplanning to open more than 50new stores across the UK inthe next 12 months.

TJ Morris, which owns andoperates the chain, hasacquired 30 former Wool-worths outlets, most of whichare already open for trading.

Joe Morris, operations dir-

ector at Home Bargains, said:“Home Bargains is excited tobe opening this new store inLiverpool, building further onour success across the NorthWest.

“St John’s Centre will be agreat location for us.

“We’re thrilled to be in aposition to offer local peopleeven more top-branded goods

at exceptionally low prices,”he added.

With more than 250 storesacross the UK and over 2mcustomers per week, HomeBargains is one of the coun-try’s most popular discountretailers, stocking many dif-ferent brands and offering alarge variety of goods.

TJ Morris was established

over 30 years ago by Tom Mor-ris, with its first store in OldSwan, Liverpool.

The company’s outlets arelocated throughout the North,Midlands, Scotland and North-ern Ireland.

It employs approximately7,000 staff and operates out ofa huge distribution complex innorth Liverpool.

MeetingforMerseylandlords QVCdonation

Brokersbackcitystoreas‘model’ofTescoappeal

The new Tesco Extra store, in Park Road, Toxteth, which came underthe scrutiny of analysts at the Liverpool office of Shore Capital

Martyn Best


STAFF at the Knowsley-based site of TV shop-ping channel QVC raised more than £14,000 forthe Merseyside Retired Greyhound Trust.

The Trust was chosen by staff as one of theirfour charities for the year, after being inspiredby the efforts of the team of volunteers ded-icated to the rescue, welfare and re-homing ofthe greyhounds.

THE Merseyside PropertyLandlord Support Group isholding a free meeting onThursday, June 23, for all“accidental, amateur, andbuy-to-let landlords”.

Group head Richard Globesays the event, starting at 7pm

in the first floor function suiteof the Queens Royal Hotel, inNew Brighton, is of “vitalimportance”.

It will cover a number ofissues affecting residentialproperty letting and theindustry.

Further details can beobtained from Mr Globe, him-self an experienced landlordwith more than 40 years in thesector, by calling 0151 639 6253up to 10pm Monday to Friday,or by [email protected]

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Morganonenterprisetrailagain

Businessawardsdrawnear

Awards could provide a much-needed fillip for applicants –Redrow founder and entrepreneur champion Steve Morgan

Picture: PAUL HEAPS

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THE fifth Morgan FoundationEntrepreneur Awards will launchnext week, with an extra categoryaimed at young entrepreneurswith a new business idea.

Seven categories carry prizemoney worth £115,000 to winnersand runners-up, including £5,000for the new category.

Winners also receive mentoringand professional services to helpthem develop their businesses.

Other categories includeawards for new businesses and forentrepreneurial charities andsocial enterprises.

Awards founder, and Liver-pool-born entrepreneur, SteveMorgan, said: “Unlike many oth-ers, these awards offer substantialcash prizes, so the winners andrunners-up get more than just apat on the back, they get a capitalinjection that can make a real dif-ference to their businesses.

“Previous winners and run-ners-up have said that winninghas helped them in many ways:from a much-needed capital injec-tion into their business to improv-ing staff morale.”

He said that with Governmentcutbacks beginning to bite in thecharitable and social enterprisesectors, the awards could prove tobe a much-needed fillip for someapplicants: “Such organisationsneed all the encouragement theycan get.”

The awards will be launched onJune 22 and are free to enter. Theclosing date for online entries isSeptember 2, and the winners andrunners-up will be announced atthe Carden Park Hotel on Novem-ber 10.

Mr Morgan, who foundedEwloe-based housebuilder Redrowin 1975, with a £5,000 loan fromhis father, was himself named“entrepreneur of the year” at the2011 PROPS Awards in London.

One of the property industry’smost prestigious events, now inits 20th year, the awards haveraised almost £7m for the child-ren’s charity, Variety Club.

Neil Sinclair, co-founder and co-chairman of the PROPS, said:“Steve Morgan was the unanim-ous choice of the judging panel.He is a true entrepreneur.”■ FULL details about how toenter the Morgan Foundationawards are available atwww.mf-awards.co.uk

IT IS still possible to be at the2011 Liverpool Daily PostRegional Business Awards –but you must be quick.

Nearly 500 business peoplefrom across Merseyside andCheshire will be at the 20thannual awards, which arebeing held at Liverpool’sAnglican Cathedral nextThursday, June 23.

There are 10 awards whichwill recognise the achieve-

ments in the last 12 months ofbusinesses big and small,start-ups and long-establishedfirms.

The full shortlist can be readonline at www.regionalbusi-ness awards.co.uk

John Timpson, the chairmanof shoe repair and key-cuttingchain Timpson, will be theevent’s keynote speaker, whilethe night will be compered byjournalist-turned-celebrity

dancer John Sergeant. Mr Ser-geant has previously worked asa politics reporter for the BBCand ITN, and famously with-drew from the 2008 StrictlyCome Dancing after a storm ofprotests about his success inthe competition.■ TO BOOK places at thisyear’s event, please call 0151472 2422. Single places cost £95plus VAT. A table of ten is £950,plus VAT.

ADVERTORIAL

Exporting to aid recovery

Evidence from a number of leadingbusiness organisations* points tooverseas demand fuelling growthfor firms that choose to export.

Yet a survey commissioned byLloyds TSB Commercial suggestedthat only a quarter (24 per cent) ofBritish SMEs are involved in theexport market.

There is clearly an opportunityfor the right firms but research is keyto assessing how suited your companyis for exporting to established oremerging markets.

Those wishing to explore newterritories should conduct extensivemarket analysis, make use of availableguidance from bodies such as UKTI,and ensure they have the appropriatefunding in place to support growth.

Thorough planning is crucial andit’s important for firms to considerthe wider impact of internationalexpansion, such as additionalpressure on resources and cash flow.

While it’s important to take acautious approach when enteringnew markets, it’s also vital thatbusinesses don’t let perceivedbarriers stop them from exploringthe potential opportunities thatexist in other countries.

A recent study estimated that as amanufacturing heartland, the NorthWest contributed almost £25 billionto exports of just over £70 billion fromthe UK in 2010, a rise of six per centon the previous year.

UK Trade and Investment NorthWest, which carried out the exportingresearch earlier this year, highlightsthat key sectors for growth in theregion include advanced engineering,manufacturing, chemicals, materialsand food and drink.

Economically, now is a good timeto consider exporting. Favourableexchange rates and growing marketsin foreign economies offer an openingfor UK firms with a unique andcompetitive product or service.

Weak domestic demand is alsoencouraging more businesses to lookabroad for growth opportunities. InLloyds TSB’s last Business in Britain

report, over half (54 per cent) ofNorth West companies questionedsaid weaker home markets posethe greatest threat to their businessover the first six months of 2011.

However, it’s worth rememberingexporters are exposed to less riskif the country they enter has aninvestment protection and promotionagreement with the UK, whereasterritories that suffer from politicalinstability, a poor infrastructure anda high crime rate can be risky options.

Whether it’s the convenience ofa foreign currency account becauseyou’re already exporting or a shortterm currency loan to help you getstarted, Lloyds TSB Commercialcan offer access to locally-basedinternational specialists who can

guide you and make overseas tradingas simple as possible.

For more information about howLloyds TSB can help you explore newoverseas markets, please contact yourRelationship Manager or visit www.lloydstsbbusiness.com/exporting

Lloyds TSB Commercial is a trading nameof Lloyds TSB Bank plc and Lloyds TSBScotland plc and serves customers with anannual turnover of up to £15M.

Authorised and regulated by the FinancialServices Authority.

Lending is subject to status.

* May 2011 CBI quarterly SME TrendsSurvey says 23 per cent of firms said exportorders were up. The ONS says exports grew11.7 per cent.

By Leigh TaylorAREA DIREcTOR fOR LLOyDs TsBcOmmERcIAL In ThE nORTh WEsT

Thorough planning is crucial to exporting success


MattJohnson

Fuelcell technologyfirmraises£6mforfieldtrials

UK housepricesfall 1.1%in AprilHOUSE prices droppedby 1.1% in April, asestate agents struggledto sell just one propertya week, figures showedyesterday.

The property marketfailed to benefit fromits traditional springbounce this year as therun of bank holidayweekends hit activitylevels, while concernsabout the economy andthe ongoing problemsin the mortgage marketalso affected demand.

The Royal Institutionof Chartered Surveyorssaid estate agents soldan average of just 14.7properties in the threemonths to the end ofMay, the equivalent ofonly one sale a weekand the lowest levelsince the start of theyear.

They also continuedto report falling houseprices, as potentialbuyers stayed awayfrom the market, butmore homes were putup for sale.

The fragile state ofthe property marketwas further high-lighted by figures fromCommunities and LocalGovernment, showinghouse prices droppedby 1.1% during April.

The latest slide leftthe average UK homecosting £204,439,nearly £4,000 down onthe start of the yearand 0.3% less than 12months earlier – thefirst time annual houseprice inflation has beennegative since October,2009.

House prices werelower in nine of theUK’s 12 regions thanthey were a year ago,with Northern Irelandcontinuing to registerthe steepest falls at15.2%, followed by theNorth East at 4% andWest Midlands at 3.8%.

Shrewdbusinessesarebeginningtoseebenefitsof socialmedia

ACAL Energy has announced the com-pletion of its current fund-raisinground, having secured a total invest-ment of £6.1m.

The round was led by CT InvestmentPartners (CTIP) and included cont-ributions from several new and exist-ing investors.

The funds will be used to developthe company’s first stationary powerproduct, which will be field tested laterthis year at Slovay Interox’s site, andto accelerate the development of key

aspects of its technology for automot-ive applications.

Fuel cells are a highly efficient andclean energy production technologycapable of replacing combustionengines in a wide variety of applic-ations. ACAL’s technology shouldmake fuel cells more cost effective andreliable than ever before.

Dr SB Cha, chief executive officer ofACAL Energy, said: “We are verygrateful for the support given to ACALEnergy by our existing and newinvestors.

“During arguably the most difficultfund-raising climate in recent historyfor start-up companies, we have

exceeded our fund raising target forthis round, and in total have raisednearly £10m since December, 2008.

“With this very strong level of sup-port, our technology has moved rap-idly from concept to demonstrationand we will be entering into fielddemonstration later this year.

“We remain very confident that fuelcells using ACAL Energy’s technologywill become a significant part of theclean energy generation landscape.”

The total investment amountincludes £3.5m agreed last year. Newinvestors I2BF, North West Fund forEnergy and Environmental, and Park-walk Advisors join existing investors

Carbon Trust Investments (CTIL),Solvay SA, Porton Capital, SumitomoCorporation and a large Japanese carcompany.

The investment amount alsoincludes £1m from the Carbon Trust’sPolymer Fuel Cell Challenge, whichselected ACAL Energy for investmentas one of the most important new fuelcell technologies for automotive applic-ations.

Jonathan Bryers, partner at CTInvestment Partners, said: “ACALEnergy’s ground-breaking technologyrepresents a real opportunity tounlock the commercial potential offuel cells.”



ONLINE search engines and socialmedia sites have been influencingour communications tools for years,

while their impact in the economicfield has been more of a slow burn.

The direct impact which socialmedia can have within a business isstill largely unknown.

While social media sites such asFacebook, Youtube and Twitter arefirmly cemented as a means of shar-ing and communicating online, theirreach has yet to gain a firm footingin a wider business context.

However, with approximately 90mdaily searches performed on Google,more 190m tweets sent per day, andover 500m active Facebook users,there is no doubt that these sitescommand a large and powerful userbase.

With such an immense scope, theeconomic effect they could have issurely a vital tool for businesses inall sectors.

And businesses from allsectors are beginning torecognise and harness thatuser power.

The current quarterlybulletin from the Bank ofEngland shows that theyare using Google searchtrends to help form theirview on the economy – the-orising that what those 90mpeople are searching for provides avaluable indicator as to, for example,current trends in the jobs and hous-

ing markets. Elsewhere, a recentreport shows a 6.6% cut inCoca-Cola’s advertising budget infavour of focusing more on their

social media strategy.And social media plat-

form BzzAgent has recentlybeen acquired by retailgiant Tesco.

BzzAgent encourages itsvolunteers to review realproducts via their onlineaccounts, generating buzzand so influencing buyerbehaviour.

The data that these bzzagents canprovide, as to what consumers arelooking for, is invaluable to retailers,

and Tesco’s purchase will allow themto connect social media and productmarketing in a way that will netthem real results.

As it is clear that social media isplaying an increasing role in influ-encing what we purchase and how,with messages – positive or negative– able to spread across social net-works like wildfire.

As with any marketing strategy,business owners and marketers mustthink through who your audience isand what you are trying to influencethem to do.

‘Businessownersmust thinkabouttheaudience’

SwedenbestowstophonouronRathbonesmanAN INVESTMENT managerat Rathbone Brothers, inLiverpool, has been awardeda knighthood by the Swedishgovernment in recognitionof his role as an HonorarySwedish Consul.

James Hedley promotesSweden on behalf of theSwedish Consulate in Liver-pool.

He was informed by KingCarl XVI Gustaf that hewould be bestowed as Knight1st Class, the Royal Order ofthe Polar Star.

The award to Mr Hedleywas made at a special cere-mony at the Rathboneheadquarters in the Port ofLiverpool Building.

He was presented with theaward by the Ambassadorfor Sweden, Her ExcellencyNicola Clase.

The event was attended byconsuls and their represent-atives from North West con-sulates such as Denmark,Norway, Pakistan, Italy andChile, plus friends, familyand colleagues of Mr Hedley.

While the Swedishembassy is located in Lon-don, there are 17 consulateslocated across the UK.

The Liverpool Consulatecovers the north west of Eng-land and North Wales. The Ambassador for Sweden, Her Excellency Nicola Clase, with Rathbones’ James Hedley, at the ceremony

[email protected]

■ MATT JOHNSON is chief executiveof Mando Group

INASSOCIATION

WITH



ParkGroupbackinfavouraftertroubleddecade

Views from the shop floorOur latestLDPBusinessdebatefocusesonLiverpoolcitycentre’s retail sector.TONYMcDONOUGHreports

The debate panel, from left, Chris Bliss, Ged Gibbons, Bill Gleeson, Cllr Malcom Kennedy and Dick Mawds

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

LIVERPOOL One has transformed thecity centre as a leisure and retail des-tination since it opened in 2008, but workneeds to be done in other areas.

That was one of a number of key issuesraised by the panel during the latest LDPBusiness debate on the city’s retail sector,sponsored by Liverpool City CentralBusiness Improvement District (BID).

The debate was chaired by Daily Postbusiness editor Bill Gleeson and on thepanel were Chris Bliss, estates director atLiverpool One, Ged Gibbons, chief exec-utive of BID, Cllr Malcolm Kennedy, thecity council’s executive member forregeneration and transport, and DickMawdsley, owner of retail chain Utility.

Mr Mawdsley’s stores sell up-markethomewares and gifts from two locationsin the city centre – Liverpool One andBold Street.

He agreed that the opening of Liver-pool One had been transformational forthe city, but said more work needed to bedone to ensure other parts of the retailcore did not suffer as a result.

He said: “I am a retail surveyor bytraining and I am aware of the impact ofa major city centre development.

“We predicted that after Liverpool Oneopened there would be a fall-off in tradein Bold Street.

“The centre of gravity has shifted andhow people shop is different now.

“We have probably lost 30% of ourturnover at the Bold Street store since2007. We knew that would happen. Wewent in to Liverpool One ourselvesbecause we knew it was an opportunitywe could not afford to pass up.

“Bold Street is struggling to find anidentity once again and is becoming acafe location. It could be an up-marketand independent retailer-based street –an opportunity is being missed.

“The city council baffles me becausethey won’t take action against those whorip out Victorian fronts and put up signsthey don’t have permission for.”

Cllr Kennedy acknowledged that thecity council could do more to help placeslike Bold Street.

He said: “In the past, the planningdepartment has taken too long. It hasacted as a gatekeeper rather than anenabler. We have tried to address that andpoliticians need to stand up and say ‘weare going to do something’.”

Ged Gibbons said Liverpoolneeded to better identify itsstrengths across the city centreand step up its marketingefforts. He added: “Liverpoolhas unique selling points – BoldStreet does not just have char-acter, it has characters.

“Students carry on comingback to visit Bold Street longafter they have left the city. Wehave got to get a bit cuter in terms ofmarketing our unique selling points.”

Mr Gibbons said the £200m Central Vil-lage retail and leisure scheme whichincorporated the former Lewis’s depart-ment store would provide a major boostfor that part of the city centre.

“Central Village is a huge opportunity.It is on the main corridor coming fromsouth Liverpool.

“Liverpool is one of the safest cities in

the UK and it is about building on that.”The panel also discussed the situation atthe up-market shopping mall, Metquarter,in Whitechapel.

In the last few weeks, the Daily Posthas reported that Metquarter has lost anumber of high-profile retailers and that11 of its 48 units were vacant.

Chris Bliss insistedMetquarter remained in astrong position despite the lossof tenants, some of whom havegone to Liverpool One.

He said: “Footfall is not thebe-all and end-all forMetquarter. The conver-sion-to-spend there is very good.It is qualitative rather thanquantitative.”

He also pointed out that plansby US retailer Forever 21 to open a largeoutlet on the corner of Whitechapel andChurch Street would provide a boost toMetquarter.

“The new shop in Whitechapel willstrengthen Metquarter’s offer enorm-ously,” he added.

Mr Gibbons agreed, saying: “Forever 21will take out a very ugly element andtotally regenerate it. We can create theright environment, but it is up to the

retailers to offer the proposition.” Thepanel agreed that, despite the tough eco-nomic environment, Liverpool was con-tinuing to see ever-greater numbers ofvisitors flocking to the city centre.

Mr Gibbons said: “We have strategic-ally-placed footfall cameras across thecity centre – they are our most importantperformance indicator.

“The first six months of 2010 saw anadditional 500,000 people coming into thecity centre. We have not just maintainedour position but we have improved it. Ofcourse, footfall does not necessarily leadto ringing tills.

“With the introduction of LiverpoolOne and the Echo Arena and BT Con-vention Centre, Liverpool has added to itscritical mass to such an extent that whathas been added is bigger than a towncentre.”

Chris Bliss agreed, saying that peoplein Merseyside and Cheshire who for sev-eral years had been shopping in placeslike the Trafford Centre, were nowreturning to Liverpool.

He said: “People have come back totheir own city centre. There has been amajor jump in tourism in the last coupleof years.

“We do need to market the city centre –

PARK Group appears tohave had a bit of areturn to favour with thestock market in recentmonths.

The share price ofPeter Johnson’s alternat-ive investment marketquoted company closedlast night at 46.5p. That’sdouble the price it wasthis time last year, whichsurely is cheering up MrJohnson no end. He is byfar the biggest shareowner in the company.

It is a marked changein fortunes for the entre-preneur.

Ten years ago, itappeared he could donothing right. He ownedEverton Football Clubbut was hated by the fansfor selling Duncan Fer-guson at the behest of thebank. His investment inbulky parcels firm Night-freight was diminishingin value as City investorsdeserted it. Meanwhile,his other big investment,Park Group, was about toembark on its ill-fatedforay into the flavouredpotato chip market.

Things got so bad, hewas forced to return fromtax exile in Jersey to takeback control of the reinsof the business, but stillPark struggled to make aworthwhile profit for anumber of years yet.

Now, however, thosebad days seem to be over.Park has seen a strongrise in its Christmas sav-ings business and hasclearly got over the rami-fications of the collapseof Farepak.

This improvement infortunes should be nosurprise. Peter Johnsonis clearly a canny entre-preneur who built upPark from scratch in thefirst place. While it mayhave taken a few wrongturns along the way, itsfocus now on financialservices like savingsvouchers has put it on asteadier track than in thepast. It may even be thatthe current economic cli-mate has encouragedmore people to save forChristmas using ParkGroup’s services.

It shouldn’t be forgot-ten, however, that theprincipal reason wealthyentrepreneurs move to a

tax haven like Jersey isto save tax on the saleproceeds of their busi-nesses. The varioustroubles of the past dec-ade, though, got in theway of any hoped- for dis-posal, and Mr Johnson’sretirement plans.

Perhaps the improve-ment in Park’s shareprice will induce theBirkenhead entrepreneurto try again for a sale.

AS OUR story on Page 2of today’s LDP Businessreveals, the Port of Liv-erpool appears to begaining ground on itsrivals.

The Peel Ports-ownedoperation hasleapfrogged over ForthPorts to claim sixth spotin the Department ofTransport’s latestquarterly ranking of Brit-ain’s largest ports.

It’s a close-run thing,but nevertheless the fig-ures indicate an improve-ment in Liverpool’s shareof UK maritime trade.

It’s very hard to put afinger on the cause ofLiverpool’s improvement,other than to say therehas been a gradualincrease in general tradelevels. There is noobvious single explanat-ion for it, other than thefact that Liverpool’s Eng-lish hinterland is sig-nificantly larger thanForth’s natural marketplace in Scotland. Liver-pool’s rise also seems todefy the ongoing eco-nomic troubles in reces-sion-hit Ireland, one of itsbiggest trading partners.

It is, of course, Peel’sstated intention that thePort of Liverpool shouldgain more market shareand move up the rank-ings to third or fourthplace over the next dec-ade or two, creatingthousands of new jobs inthe process.

It’s a big and laudableambition that wouldserve both the companyand the region well, if itwere achieved.

Clearly, the DoT’s fig-ures suggest that a starthas been made andthings are moving in theright direction. Hopefullythis rising trend will con-tinue.

BillGleeson

‘AneedtobecuterwhenmarketingourUSPs’


om the shop floor

BID levy helps to make cityretail core ‘clean and green’

, Chris Bliss, Ged Gibbons, Bill Gleeson, Cllr Malcom Kennedy and Dick Mawdsley Picture: GARETH JONES/ grj010611business-1

Bold Street – part of the City Central BID area

the big feature

not just the retail but the whole offer.Saturday mornings can start slow butunlike in the past when people wouldcome in, do their shopping and then gohome, people now stay for the whole day.

“It is a trip – a day out. However, thereis still a huge chunk of people to winover.”

Cllr Kennedy added that therewas an opportunity to widenLiverpool’s catchment area toattract even more people intothe city centre.

“Marketing the city has to bea joint effort between the localauthority and private business,”he said.

“The previous director ofregeneration at the city councilsaid the people we need toattract are those in the Cheshire coun-tryside.

“Liverpool has been transformed into acity centre that anyone can shop in.People are coming in from elsewhere andthe animation provided by BID is greatbecause it means people are being enter-tained while they shop.”

Mr Mawdsley also agreed that Liver-pool was not only attracting greater num-bers of people, but also a more diverse

range of shoppers and visitors. He addedthat this had had a measurable impact onhis own trade.

He said: “Traditionally, our customerbase was the more affluent areas of Mer-seyside and now that spread is muchwider. In particular, we are seeing morepeople coming in from North Wales.”

The panel did talk aboutareas where there was room forimprovement. Mr Mawdsleytalked about how litter was stilla major problem in the citycentre, and Mr Bliss said morework needed to be done toimprove standards of customerservice.

“Number one is improvementin customer service,” he said.

“We need to invest in thetraining of staff from people working inthe shops and in the street and managers.We all need to interact with each other.

“That is why we launched AcademyOne. We want people to choose retail as acareer – not just something they dobecause they can’t get another career.”

● THE LDP Business retail debate isavailable from 12 noon today. Log ontowww.ldpbusiness.co.uk

THE Liverpool City CentralBusiness Improvement District(BID) covers Liverpool citycentre’s core retail area, exclud-ing Liverpool One.

Areas covered are QueenSquare, Elliot Street, GreatCharlotte Street, RanelaghStreet, Church Street and LordStreet, the Cavern Quarter,Whitechapel and Bold Street.

Around 650 businesses areincluded in the BID, and eachpays a levy on top of their busi-ness rates to fund it.

In return, BID providesenhanced services includingextra street cleaners, “childsafe” shopping zones, dedic-ated security officers patrollingthe area and an annual pro-gramme of events.

During the debate, BID chiefexecutive Ged Gibbonsexplained how the initiativehad been hugely beneficial tothe city centre.

He said: “Our business planwas very simple – create aclean, green, safe and animatedenvironment.

“I places like Bold Street, Ithink the BID has been trans-formational.

“We work with the policeand a lot of what we do is invis-ible. People feel very safe inLiverpool now.

“All the cleaning that takesplace overnight on Fridays andSaturdays would not happenwithout the BID.

“We have made sure theenvironment is clean.”

Utility owner Dick Mawdsley,who operates two outlets inBold Street, claims being a BIDmember costs him “a couple ofthousand pounds a year perstore” and says the regularcleaning is the main benefit.

However, he identified awider cultural issue in the citycentre – litter.

“That is a major bugbear andI don’t think we have cracked ityet,” he said.

“There is a mind-set amongsome people that they can justdump their litter in the street.

“I don’t know if this is just anissue for Liverpool – I think it isa matter of civic pride.”

Traders in Liverpool One getsimilar services to that offeredby the BID, and that is fundedthrough the service chargespaid to Grosvenor.

‘Amajorjumpintourisminthe lasttwoyears’

privatebusiness

REVENUES atCheshire-basedGrowhow UK Groupenjoyed a sizeablebounce last year, butremained well below2008 levels.

The fertiliser andprocess chemicals man-ufacturer added £76.8mto its top line in 2010,recording a turnover of£392.5m, but still farbelow the near-£600msales recorded a yearearlier.

It was a similar storyfor profitability. Des-pite doubling pre-taxprofits, to £78.9m, itwas still more than40% below 2008.

In accounts filed atCompanies House,Growhow’s directorssaid they “are confid-ent regarding thefuture outlook of thebusiness”.

They added: “Thebusiness forecastsshow continuing strongprofitability andhealthy cash flows. Thebase case assumptionsused include a continu-ing strong demand forfertilisers, and move-ments in gas pricesbeing absorbed byincreases in sellingprices.

“Various raw mater-ials efficiency meas-ures are projected fromquarter two as a resultof the implementationof a number of capitalexpenditure pro-grammes targeted onenergy efficiency.”

Manufacturing hasbeen taking place atInce since 1965, wheretoday Growhowemploys aroundtwo-thirds of its 560staff.

The remainder arebased at its manufac-turing facility inBillingham, Cleveland.

Growhow is jointlyowned by CF Industriesand Yara Interna-tional.

It is the latestincarnation of atangled history. Yarawas previously Kemira,which itself had boughtUKF Fertilisers – anearly brand for theInce operation.

CF Industries boughtTerra Industries inApril, 2010, after a pro-posed merger betweenYara and Terra was setaside.

ALEX TURNER

Growhowenjoyspartialrecovery

INASSOCIATION

WITH



Capita winsZurich dealextensionZURICH Financial Ser-vices has extended itsUK outsourcingarrangement withCapita by a further 11years, and signed anew contract for itsEuropean division torun for 15 years.

Capita will earn rev-enues of £570m overthe length of thecontracts, with 400Zurich staff transfer-ring to the outsourcegroup.

Brewer toastsrise in salesKENT-BASED brewerShepherd Neame hasgot a timely weatherboost, with beervolumes in the 48weeks to May 28 upby 3.6%

Managed pub saleswere also up by 7.7%and income per tenan-ted pub came in at0.6% higher.

GSK buy-outGLAXOSMITHKLINEhas agreed to buy outthe outstanding 51%in its Chinese flu vac-cine joint ventureShenzhen GSK-Nep-tunus Biologicals for atotal cash consider-ation of £24m. GSKwill become the soleowner if it getsChinese regulatoryapproval.

Deal denialSWISS commoditiesgiant Glencore playeddown recent markettalk it may bid foreither ENRC or Xstrataas the recently listedfirm reported firstquarter revenues roseby 39% to £27.1bn.

Net income rose47%, to £798bn.

briefing UKplcurgedtoemulatesuccessfulfamilymodel

RS Clare chairman Ian Meadows – backs the family businessmodel Picture: GAVIN TRAFFORD/ gav130710cpssfreedom-1

Ross Warburton addresses delegates at the 10th IFB conference, held for the first time in LiverpoolPicture: PAUL HEAPS/ ph090611conference-8



THE successful “family formula” canbe applied to the wider business spec-trum, a national conference in Liver-pool heard.

The Institute for Family Businesses(IFB) staged its 10th annual confer-ence, and its first in Liverpool, at theBT Convention Centre, and its themeof good stewardship was recommendedby almost 200 leaders of UK family firms.

Family-owned firms account fortwo-thirds of the total 4.5m private sec-tor enterprises in the UK economy, andmore than 40% of private sectoremployment, providing jobs to 9.5mpeople.

Family businesses also generatemore than 30% of UK GDP, with inexcess of £1 trillion of turnover – theIFB’s 208 members alone generate£40bn in turnover.

And the organisation, which boastsamong its members local firms such asBibby Group, Edward Billington & Sonand Grosvenor – the developer behindthe city’s £1bn Liverpool One retailscheme – believes the wider businessworld can learn from the values thatmaintain family businesses throughgenerations of growth and success.

It argues that the stability of a fam-ily business is in stark contrast to the“short-term investment horizons of thecapital markets”.

And it says family-run firms areoften a breeding ground for entrepren-eurial talent and start-ups, as well asencouraging gender diversity withmore women in senior positions thannon-family firms.

The IFB also claims that familyfirms, before anyone had ever dreamedof the Big Society, are committed tosocial responsibility and philanthropy,often being rooted in their local areasfor generations.

A new report by the IFB and think-tank Tomorrow’s Company, focusingon family business stewardship andhighlighting exemplars such as Gros-venor, was the focus of its annual con-ference last Thursday and Friday.

IFB chairman Ross Warburton, afifth-generation member of the Boltonbakery group, said in his openingaddress: “UK businesses have beenthrough a challenging period in thepast few years, but those businessesthat have been properly led and man-aged are emerging stronger into thefuture.

“Many of those are strong familybusinesses that have continued tobuild their capital, whether that befamily, people or financial.”

He went on: “The past few years hasput certain models of ownership backin the spotlight – listen to Vince Cableand private equity ownership of carehomes.

“Perhaps it is time for the widercommunity to recognise that ourmodel has much to commend it, espec-ially when the principles of good stew-ardship are followed.”

The IFB report states that amongthe characteristics of good steward-ship are clear purpose, lasting values,a responsible approach to fundinginvestment, and a commitment tolong-lasting employee and stakeholderrelationships, all supported by stable

leadership. The four principles of goodstewardship, the report claims, are:setting the course; driving perform-ance; sensing and shaping the land-scape; and planting for the future.

And, it highlights the stewardship offour different types of capital which asuccessful business needs to accum-ulate to develop and pass on throughthe generations. These comprise:■ Family capital, which is an attach-ment to their business that goes bey-ond a financial relationship;■ People capital, or the strength ofknowledge, skills, behaviours, energy,loyalty and commitment which existwithin the non-family members of afamily business;■ Financial capital, defined by

prudence combined with a sense of fin-ancial responsibility towards futuregenerations which can be manifestedin dividend restraint or ambitiousinvestment timescales rarely envis-aged by other forms of business;■ Social capital – the trust andreciprocity invested in relationshipsthat generate a deep and enduring linkbetween the business and all thosearound it, to the mutual advantage ofall concerned.

The report says: “The values passeddown through the generations shapethe attitude of owners to their stew-ardship of the assets of the business.

“This can have a viral effect on thepeople who work in the business.”

It goes on to suggest that such a

culture can be extended to the pointthat employees, themselves, becomestewards.

The IFB report says: “This is rein-forced in some family businesses bythe policy of recruiting managers fromwithin, on the basis that they havebeen socialised into the values.

“In some instances, the term familybusiness not only denotes a companyowned and or managed by a family, butalso one in which several generationsof the same family serve as employ-ees.”

IFB director-general Grant Gordonsaid in his address to the conference:“There is clear evidence that employ-ees rank family firms as better placesto work overall.

“The best family businesses areadept at creating a win-win environ-ment for employees and owners,engaging everyone behind a sharedsense of purpose.”

Ian Meadows, head of Liverpool’soldest family-owned manufacturingfirm, RS Clare, supports the IFB’sviews.

He said: “I don’t believe in a familybusiness being a honey pot for the fam-ily.

“You have to be really objective.“It is a business and has to be run as

such.“But, having said that, in creating a

family business, there’s a greatopportunity for more employees to feelthat they are part of the family busi-ness.”

[email protected]

INASSOCIATION

WITH


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BUSINESSto BUSINESS


Inflation‘stillshortofitspeak’

Alcohol prices have soared along with other products

SouthernCross landlordswantto‘sharethepain’

TUCwarnsoflengthyperiodofunemploymentintheNorth

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

Avis dealpoised toseal Euroreunion

[email protected]

CAR hire giant AvisBudget is to buy itsEuropean counterpartin a £636m deal thatreunites the two busi-nesses after 25 years.

The swoop for AvisEurope, which operatesthe Avis and Budgetbrands in the UK, aswell as Europe, Africaand the Middle East,already has the sup-port of Avis Europe’smajor shareholder, Bel-gium-based motoringgroup D’Ieteren.

Avis Europe separ-ated from Avis in 1986and tripled in valueover the followingthree years beforereverting to privateownership underD’Ieteren, GeneralMotors and Avis.

It floated on the Lon-don Stock Exchange forthe second time in1997, with D’Ieterenremaining a majorshareholder.

Avis Budget said theproposed deal reunitedthe global operation ofthe Avis and Budgetbrands, and increasedthe opportunities fortargeting emergingmarkets such as Indiaand China.

Chairman and chiefexecutive Ronald Nel-son said: “This transac-tion represents an out-standing opportunityfor Avis Budget, andthe acquisition of abusiness that we havelong sought to own.”

In 1946, Warren Avisopened the world’s firstairport car rental loc-ation in Detroit.

INASSOCIATION

WITH


news

THE rising cost of essential household itemswas laid bare yesterday, after figures showedinflation remained at a 2½-year high lastmonth.

While the Consumer Prices Index (CPI)stayed at 4.5% in May – the highest level sinceOctober, 2008, according to the Office forNational Statistics (ONS) – the figures con-tained big rises in food and alcohol, whichwere only offset by a sharp fall in air fares asthe Easter effect unwound.

A whole range of foodstuffs saw sharp pricerises, with meat up by 5.1% over the past year,fish by 11.4%, bread and cereals up by 5.8%,mineral waters, juices and soft drinks by 10.3%and chocolate, confectionery and jams by 7.5%.

Alcohol, tobacco and the cost of eating outand staying in a hotel rose at a record pacewhile petrol prices at the pump were also atrecord levels.

Economists said that the picture was likelyto get worse on inflation before it got better,adding that these figures largely represented apause for breath before CPI starts to rise againtowards 5% in the autumn.

That is when a new round of energy pricehikes is forecast to come in, to add to thepressure evident in food and drink.

Scottish Power has already increased its gastariffs by an average of 19% from August 1,with electricity going up by 10% on the samedate, broadly in line with an earlier warningfrom Bank of England governor Sir MervynKing that domestic energy prices could go upby between 10% and 15% this year.

He also said that inflation would hit 5% bythe autumn, but after yesterday’s CPI figures

there are predictions prices may be rising evenfaster by then.

Jonathan Loynes, an economist at CapitalEconomics, expects further rises in food pricesand hikes in gas and electricity bills “to takethe headline inflation rate above 5%, and per-haps even above 5.5% by late summer”.

However, he thinks inflation will fall backsharply next year as the impact of January’srise in VAT to 20% falls away, meaning theBank should hold its nerve by not raisinginterest rates.

So far, the Bank has resisted pressure tocurb inflation – keeping interest rates at arecord low of 0.5% – as wages growth hasremained subdued.

In its latest quarterly bulletin, it reportedfew signs that inflation expectations haveaffected price or wage-setting behaviour.

But Simon Hayes, of Barclays Capital, says ifinflation does rise much beyond 5%, “theMPC’s (Bank of England’s Monetary PolicyCommittee) resolve will be tested again”.

The figures also added to concerns that, asthe cost of many essential items continued tosoar, it was the poorest sections of the com-munity that are bearing the brunt.

A survey by the Institute of Fiscal Studies(IFS) found that pensioners and people onbenefits had faced double the rate of inflationof those in work in recent years, because of thedisproportionately higher amount of theirincome that was spent on energy and food.

The IFS said the poorest fifth of householdshad seen the costs of goods and services rise by4.3% per year between 2008 and 2010, comparedto a 2.7% rise for the richest fifth.

IFS research scientist Peter Lovell said,“Over the past few years, relative pricechanges have tended to hit poorer and olderhouseholds harder.”

THE UK’s employment ratemight not return to pre-reces-sion levels for another fiveyears, and far longer in someparts of the country, the TUCwarned today.

The union organisationsaid employment rates in thenorth of England had fallenover the past year, despite arise of 0.5% over the UK as awhole.

The gap in employmentlevels between the best andworst performing regions hadwidened to almost 10%, with

75% of working age adults inwork in the South East, com-pared with 65.5% in the NorthEast.

More than 400,000 new jobshad been created in the pastyear but these were notenough to bring the labourmarket back to its formerhealth soon, said the TUC.

The report, publishedahead of the latest unemploy-ment figures today, warnedthat the Government’s publicspending cuts and falling con-sumer and business confid-

ence could lead to the jobsrecovery going into reverse.

TUC general secretaryBrendan Barber said: “Whilerecent employment figureshave been better than expec-ted, the UK labour market isstill very fragile and a longway off the level of jobs wehad before the recession.

“New jobs are not being dis-tributed evenly across thecountry, with employmentconditions across northernEngland actually gettingworse in the last 12 months.”

THE landlords of care homesoperator Southern Cross havethrown the stricken companya lifeline by saying they areprepared to make significantfinancial concessions to thecompany.

But the Southern CrossLandlords’ Committee alsosaid it wanted the Govern-ment and the company’slenders to share the financial

pain in helping to rescue thecompany.

The committee, which rep-resents the 80 landlords of thegroup’s 752 care homes,announced it had put togetheran outline proposal that ithopes will help ensure thecompany’s survival.

Darlington-based SouthernCross, the UK’s largest carehome operator, with 31,000 eld-

erly residents, has been strug-gling under a £202m annualrent burden as its own incomefalls, with public sector cus-tomers making cutbacks.

Some of its homes are inMerseyside and Cheshire.

It recently announced itwould cut its rent paymentsby an average of 30% over thenext four months to buy itsome breathing space.

It is understood that theproposals drawn up at a meet-ing of the landlords effectivelysay they would be prepared totake some kind of long-termrent cut on the condition thatthe Government and thebanks “share the pain” bywriting off some of the moneythey are owed by the company.

Southern Cross’s mainlenders are Barclays and tax-

payer-backed Lloyds BankingGroup, which are understoodto be owed about £40mbetween them. The taxman isreported to be owed £20m bythe company.

The proposals will alsoallow landlords who want totake their care homes backfrom Southern Cross to runthe homes themselves or findother users.

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byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

INASSOCIATION

WITH


Freeingupcommercial landforhousingcouldboost regeneration

GOVERNMENT and local authoritiesare coming under increasing pres-sure to allow developers to build res-idential schemes on land allocatedfor employment use.

A few years ago, local authoritiesmapped out areas of land dedicatedto be an area of employment but,because of the recession, many areasof land throughout Merseyside havenot been developed and this could beused for residential rather than com-mercial schemes.

Housing development schemes arevital to the region’s recovery and byfreeing up land destined for commer-cial use it could kick-start regener-ation for areas that need it.

Obviously, not all land allocatedfor commercial use would suit res-idential developments but there arecertainly plots in the city and theoutlying areas which would be per-

fect for housing schemes. While I dothink this initiative could help startthings moving in terms of economicregeneration, I also thinkthat this alone will havelittle impact without thebanks being moresupportive both to busi-nesses and to potentialhomebuyers.

The current situation isthat developers aren’t keento take on big regenerationprojects when there is nomarket out there. This stands forboth the residential and commercialsectors.

Demand from the commercial sec-

tors for new schemes is at an all-timelow. There isn’t a host of new busi-nesses coming through wanting

premises, and establishedfirms are more concernedwith cutting costs than re-locating to new office space.

On the residential side,there is a social demand forproperties.

In 2010, new-build hous-ing numbers fell by 13% on2009 figures.

This is the lowest num-ber of homes, just 102,570, being com-pleted since 1923, and at a time whenthe country is experiencing an acuteshortage of new homes.

Household formation projectionsindicate that 232,000 new homes needto be built every year to 2030 to meetdemand.

However, the simple matter is thatpeople can’t get mortgages and can’tafford to get on the property ladder.

Until the mortgage market returnsto a reasonable level of lendingagain, we are left with a limited mar-ket.

The Government is expected toreview the potential changes to theplanning system in the autumn, but,unless the banks start throwing theirown weight behind the economy,freeing up lending, no initiative isgoing to have a huge impact.

Kersh toboostappealSUTTON Kersh willdonate £50 for everyproperty that is sold atits July 12 Liverpoolproperty auction toMarie Curie CancerCare, in support of theBlooming Great TeaParty campaign.

The charity thatprovides care for ter-minally ill patients andtheir families in theirhomes and in hospicesis running the nationalcampaign betweenJune 12 and July 12.

Last year, MarieCurie ran a similarcampaign and raisedenough money to fund30,200 hours of carewith every £20 raisedfunding one hour ofnursing care.

Kersh director JamesKersh said: “We aredelighted to be able tosupport such a fant-astic and worthwhilecause.

“Sadly, these days, itis incredibly rare foranyone to not knowsomeone that has hadcancer, or that hassomeone close to themthat is suffering.”

LettingsboomasBirchwoodchampionssmallertenants

Chadwick House, one of the properties located at MEPC Birchwood Park, in Warrington

First-quartermarketactivityhasriseninUK,saysDTZ

‘Untillendingreturns,market islimited’

LETTING activity in the UKindustrial market increased800,000 sq ft to 6.9m sq ft in thefirst quarter of 2011, accordingto DTZ Research’s PropertyTimes UK Industrial report,which covers the market for

properties over 50,000 sq ft. De-spite the increase in activity,overall take-up was down fromthe 7.3m sq ft seen in the firstquarter of 2010.

The report revealed thatretailers and manufacturers

dominated the take-up ofindustrial space during thequarter, accounting for over90% of all activity.

The report also stated thatthe total availability of indus-trial space fell to 182m sq ft at

the end of the quarter whileGrade A stock continued tofall, reflecting the continuingabsence of new supply.

Secondary grade space sawthe largest reduction duringthe quarter, falling by around

6m sq ft, largely due to thelack of availability of Grade Abuildings.

The trend for consolidateddistribution hubs witnessed in2010 continued, especially inthe North West.

MORE than 24,000 sq ft of space hasbeen let at MEPC Birchwood Park, inWarrington, in the first five months of2011, with small deals dominating.

The secured 19 deals totalled 24,104sq ft. Almost 8,000 sq ft was let to newtenants with existing occupiersaccounting for the rest.

New occupants included stationerydistribution firm Antallis Printall,recruitment and financial consultancyFSR Group and insurance servicesoutfit Nationwide Claims Solutions.

All 10 new tenants agreed deals of2,000 sq ft or less.

MEPC says it is continuing to nur-ture this market, claiming a strongtrack record of facilitating on-sitegrowth by initially smaller occupiers.

Trade-ups by four existing tenantsare included in the deals. OptimiseInternet expanded from 184 to 495 sq ftpremises in Thomson House, whileNuclear Technologies increased itspresence at Chadwick House andHydrosave UK and Skillray TransportServices UK also traded-up.

The average deal size of 1,269 sq ftduring the period reflects the trendhighlighted in the latest WarringtonAnnual Property Review, which poin-ted to a preponderance of small deals.

MEPC Birchwood Park’s head ofleasing, Jonathan Black, said: “Thepark has for a long time encouragedoccupation by new and small busi-nesses, and our work with them tosupport on-site growth continues to berewarded, as they expand.

“Yes, like all the other businessparks we welcome and target largeenquiries, and will continue to pursuethese with determination and success

to grow the park. But we havedeveloped our offer to allow us to playthe long game as well, drawing inentrepreneurial businesses and help-ing them to flourish.

“As many businesses remain caut-ious in the face of continuing nationaleconomic uncertainty, delaying reloca-tions until they believe they havereason to feel more bullish, we are

pleased that the smaller organis-ational sector, that we have for so longchampioned, continues to operate withoptimism both in the park and acrossthe Warrington area.”

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INASSOCIATION

WITH


CouncilCPO aidsLangtreeTAMESIDE Council hasresolved to use its com-pulsory purchasepowers to acquire landto support Mersey-side-based Langtree’splans for a retail-led,mixed-use scheme inDenton.

The redevelopment,Denton Retail Parkformerly known asCrown Point East, com-prises 165,000 sq ftretail and commercialspace.

The scheme will cre-ate public open spaceand infrastructure,including a link roadbetween Ashton Roadand Edward Street.

Langtree also intendsto submit a planningapplication for ascheme comprising upto 67 family dwellingson an adjacent site.

Stephen Barnes,development director atLangtree said: “We aredelighted thatTameside Council hasmade the CPO.”

EateriessignupatCentral

Hi-techfirmssignupforspaceatDaresburySICA NUMBER of tenants havesigned up for space at Dares-bury Science and InnovationCampus (DSIC).

Among the latest arrivalsat the Cheshire facility areweb-based software providerTerrabase, cloud computingsolutions provider OCF, andCentum Electronics.

Flintloque ManagementSystems, which supportsmedical device companies tosecure international man-agement system standards,has also located on campusalongside Tomorrow’s Medi-cines, the creator of a webplatform providing accessfor patients to novel clinicaltrials and Hue Touch, whichprovides mobile architec-tures.

Completing the line-up atthe site is Natural EnergyResources, a provider ofbespoke renewable energytechnologies to smaller busi-nesses, UbooGo Systems, amobile commerce tech-nology provider that aggreg-ates small and medium-sizedbrands under one mobileapplication, and I-Group,which provides solutions topublic and private sectororganisations based onMicrosoft Sharepoint tech-nology. From left: David Ashworth, of Flintloque; Mark Tinsley, of Centum; and Tony Harris, of Terrabase, at Daresbury

ANOTHER two restaurant operators havesigned up for space in Liverpool city centre's£200m Central Village scheme.

Pan-Asian restaurant Cosmo and Hand-made Burger Co are the latest operators tochoose Central Village as the location for theirfirst Liverpool outlets.

Cosmo will occupy 14,000 sq ft on the upperplaza level in the refurbished Lewis's build-ing, which will also see the unused upperfloors brought back to life as 80,000 sq ft ofoffices and a 125-bed Adagio apartment-hotel.

The restaurant combines live cook-ing-theatre with fresh produce, and will be thefirst of the chain’s already 13-strong restaur-ant portfolio to open in the north of England.

Handmade Burger Co will occupy 3,272 sq ftin the Central Village Boardwalk building,which will overlook Newington Square.

The 120-seat restaurant, which will includeoutdoor seating on the boardwalk, will beHandmade Burger Co’s 13th in the UK.

Ian Jones, director at Merepark, thedeveloper responsible for Central Village,said: “This is the latest in a string of operatorsto sign up to Central Village and shows thescheme as an attractive proposition, capableof bringing new restaurant and leisure brandsinto the city.”

The deals follow recent lettings to Frankie& Benny’s and Chiquito, as well as Odeon, forits second cinema in the city.

Central Village will extend the city’s retailand leisure core with three hotels, offices,

retail outlets, restaurants, bars, cafes, a publiccar park, residential buildings, six cinemascreens and landscaped public space, includ-ing a boardwalk and water feature.

When complete, the scheme will transformsix acres of land behind Liverpool CentralStation, Renshaw Street and Bold Street.

Savills advised Merepark on Cosmo andCBRE advised on Handmade Burger Co, whowere represented by Burley Browne.

Ian Jones, director at Merepark –several operators are signing up forCentral Village

[email protected]

OFFICESS,M,L,XL


LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night, the pound was worth: $1.6387 (up 0.0079)......... 1.1323 euros (down 0.0019)......... 125.53 yen (up 1.20)......... Its trade weighted index was 79.40 (unchanged)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1526.25 (down 3).......................Silver 35.51 (down 1.87).......................Platinum 1815 (down 14) ...................... UK base lending rate 0.5%

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

96 43 Adv Medical 76 xd -314 -614

1912 312 AEA Technology 312 -14 -12

28712 241 Albany Inv Tst 27512

1251 80512 AMEC 1114 xd +7 +5

92 2012 Anglesey Mining 5934 +134 -614

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 31034 xd +318 +418

3912 29 Beale 37

59812 501 Compass Gp 59212 +12 +112

1258 478 Coral Prod 1114

126212 98212 Dee Valley 124712

479 32214 easyJet 35514 +14 -512

1005 683 JD Sports Fashion 91312 xd +10 -8612

14212 1112 JJB Sports 22 +1

36 1534 Johnson Serv 35 -1 +112

578 378 Nichols 55912 -334 -1314

135 8912 NWF 134 +12 -1

47 2012 Park Gp 47 +212 +234

1257 76212 Rathbone 1134 +2 -59

139 9712 Redrow 12014 -34 +314

14312 11778 RSA Insurance 13638 +58 -1

34 1914 Speedy Hire 3214 -14

4634 3512 Sportech 3512 -114 -234

42 2514 Telme Gp 4112 +1

5514 3234 UK Coal 4034 +214 +234

2 78 Ultima 112

2000 1688 Unilever 1945 xd +8 -35

63112 520 Utd Utils 606 +112 -2

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1218.59 up 3.67 ▲ 0.30%

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

FUNDS

Consols

£90932 £761132 Cons 4%.................£7734

£582732 £50 Cons 212% ................ £54

Conversions

£8134 £69 Cnv 312%.................£7212

£10878 £10058 Cnv 9% 11 ............£10058 -132

Treasury

£61 £50 Tr 212%....................£5418 +218

£11614 £10858 Tr 9% 12.................. £109 -116

£107316 £103532 Tr 5% 12.............. £103532 -132

£121516 £1152532 Tr 8% 13................£11578

£114332 £109532 Tr 5% 14.............. £111732 -132

£1112332 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614

£3323132 £30414 Tr 212% IL 16 ...... £3323132 +38

£142316 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.......... £1351516 -732

£147132 £1332732 Tr 8% 21................£14038 -1332

War

£8334 £6712 War Ln 312%............£7612 +3516

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

FTSE 100 INDEX

SPOTLIGHT

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

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

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

Dec 14, 2010 Jun 14, 2011CARPHONEWHSE

Share price (pence)

330

360

390

420

450FTSE-Rebased

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.46 1.531 1.536

Canada dollars 1.52 1.586 1.588

Denmark krone 8.07 8.441 8.451

European Union euro 1.09 1.132 1.133

Japan yen 125.53 131.810 131.910

New Zealand dollars 1.87 2.000 2.005

Norway krone 8.47 8.838 8.839

Poland zlotys 3.92 4.452 4.460

Sweden krona 9.88 10.336 10.346

Switzerland francs 1.31 1.384 1.385

Turkey new lira 2.41 2.593 2.603

United States dollars 1.57 1.638 1.639

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 583.00 -

American - 1733.00 0.32

Gwth & Inc - 315.50 1.73

Income Plus - 199.50 4.37

Japan - 221.70 0.53

Jpan Spec Sits - 130.70 0.10

Spec Sits - 1955.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 728.30 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 893.41 1.08

Income - 206.89 3.95

Pratical Inv -160.07 171.32 4.32

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc -516.43 543.61 -

International Acc -976.98 1028.40 -

Pacific Acc -245.60 258.53 -

Property Bonds -2004.85 2088.39 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 104.80 1.01

British -263.00 263.00 3.13

Gilt & FI - 64.08 3.30

Gilt & Fixed -224.80 224.80 3.07

Monthly Inc - 130.80 3.94

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

European Smllr Cos A - 1034.20 -

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 54.17 56.60 4.50

UK Equity Inc A - 453.80 2.82

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

Capital -306.92 319.20 1.10

European - 801.50 0.70

Far East - 544.10 1.80

Inc & Gwth - 203.70 3.30

International - 410.00 0.40

North Amer Acc - 444.40 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 213.29 0.39

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 5803.13up 29.67 ▲ 0.51%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5875.40down 2.89 ▼ 0.05%

FT ALL-SHARE 3031.97up 16.25 ▲ 0.54%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3273.56 ▲ 35.41

320 10112 Avon Rbbr 31312 -412

36978 29434 BAE Systems 31518 +158

73612 51958 Chemring 659 +4

24758 19214 Cobham 21418 +12

38078 26134 Meggitt 35778 +6

665 535 Rolls-Royce 612 xd +11

15912 11114 Senior 15834 +114

Automobiles & Parts

Index 4945.01 ▲ 107.55

23718 10914 GKN 21112 +458

Banks

Index 4397.36 ▲ 32.19

344 25538 Barclays 26412xd +414

87512 61012 Bco Santander 69512 +1712

73078 59614 HSBC 616 xd -14

7634 1058 Ireland 1112 +12

7758 4678 Lloyds Banking4812 +78

5218 3758 Ryl Scotland 4112 +1

1959 1525 Stan Chart 1574 +21

Beverages

Index 9665.60 ▼ 80.98

1395 1035 Barr (AG) 1349 -11

518 36412 Britvic 40634xd -38

1301 1033 Diageo 1260 -11

2306 1827 SABMiller 2187 -18

Chemicals

Index 7515.68 ▲ 15.52

1962 971 Croda 1916 +2

16934 5834 Elementis 158 -18

2119 1460 Johnsn Mat 1993xd +1

Construction & Materials

Index 3865.52 ▲ 41.25

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 31034xd +318

265 190 Costain 22912 -212

172812103418CRH 128718 +2434

1418 88612 Kier Group 1306 +13

6434 34 Low Bonar 6434 +34

12412 7834 Marshalls 114 xd +34

Electricity

Index 8504.57 ▼ 61.74

48814 35358 Drax Gp 47678 -338

44858 29578 Intl Power 31438xd +238

1410 1108 Scot&Sthrn 1374 -10

Electronic & Electrical

Index 3226.13 ▲ 19.95

705 433 Domino Ptg 65312 -10

179 9834 Laird 136 +58

333 17912 Morgn Cru 30634xd +334

800 27014 Oxford Inst 800 +1812

377 152 Volex Gp 335 +15

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 6050.11 ▲ 19.62

385 29312 Alliance 37338xd +38

14012 105 Br Assets 134 xd +1

777 555 Candover Inv 563 -514

228 172 DunedinIncGth 21912 +118

15734 10234 Dunedin Sml 15634 -1

49214 37214 Edin Invst 48414 +214

66012 53012 Edin US TrkTst 61512 +12

31712 25138 Forgn & C 31114 +214

32334 21314 Hend SmlCos 31658 +78

37238 27314 Law Debnture 36778 +238

252 18614 Scot Am 24434xd +258

528 40978 Witan 50612 +2

Fixed Line Telecoms

Index 2428.70 ▲ 48.50

20178 12614 BT Gp 20038 +518

6138 3938 Cble&W Com 3938xd -12

92 4658 Cble&W Wwd 5012xd +12

7812 4312 KCOM 7712 -12

Food & Drug Retailers

Index 4755.51 ▼ 0.72

30814 26114 Morrison W 29514xd -58

395 31714 Sainsbury 32634xd +14

44058 37712 Tesco 40714xd +18

112 6014 Thorntons 6012 +14

Food Producers

Index 5242.87 ▲ 7.75

1182 940 AB Foods 1065xd -3

84414 47712 Carrs Mill 84414 +1214

90712 735 Cranswick 76212 +212

42478 33934 Dairy Crest 39314 -38

3518 16 Premier Foods 28 -12

656 40918 Tate Lyle 645 -5

2000 1688 Unilever 1945xd +8

Forestry & Paper

Index 6559.76 ▲ 53.86

630 36758 Mondi 609 +5

General Financial

Index 5867.35 ▲ 93.99

340 25418 3i 27378 +514

88812 664 Close Bros 778 +512

57012 38014 ICAP 468 +634

990 544 London Stk Ex 96812 +1912

1033 72812 Provident 98312xd +9

1257 76212 Rathbone 1134 +2

1922 1154 Schroders 1586 +60

General Industrials

Index 3124.19 ▲ 10.99

72412 36738 Cooksn Gp 656 +612

1258 478 Coral Prod 1114

638 314 Cosalt 314

400 29038 Rexam 38638 +114

226 116 Smith DS 21614 +118

1429 1043 Smiths Gp 1129 +4

General Retailers

Index 1720.72 ▲ 30.33

2514 1214 Ashley L 2214 +14

31114 221 Brown (N) Gp 272 +58

7738 53 Debenhams 6918xd +112

2812 1134 Dixons Retail 1734 +38

550 34814 Halfords 39134 +134

24412 16512 Home Retail 17434xd +814

414 23718 Inchcape 38934xd +678

1005 683 JD Sports 91312xd +10

28718 19812 Kingfisher 27434xd +614

42712 32714 M & S 36818xd +634

62712 382 Mothercare 40134xd +334

2326 1868 Next 2240xd +21

2885 1724 Signet Jwlrs 2620 +30

523 39814 WH Smith 47478 +358

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3704.13 ▲ 22.98

742 53712 Smith Nph 65512 +5

Household Goods

Index 6620.79 ▲ 28.42

138 74 Aga Rngmstr 11338 +14

119 70 Barratt Dev 11058 +234

75312 511 Bellway 72712xd +14

192 114 McBride 136 -214

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3429 +4

139 9712 Redrow 12014 -34

4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3658 +12

Industrial Engineering

Index 7320.92 ▲ 97.31

39734 185 Bodycote 36458 -538

85312 567 Charter 75012 +12

39178 19214 Fenner 38778 +1514

1112 65712 IMI 1031 +20

116 4312 Molins 11034 +112

27712 115 MS Intl 270 -412

45 23 Renold 3718 -78

2063 1346 Spirax Srco 1907xd +10

2056 1024 Weir Gp 2056 +25

Industrial Transportation

Index 2544.62 ▲ 16.09

24034 175 BBA Aviation 20834 +114

Life Insurance

Index 4410.96 ▲ 42.02

47778 30534 Aviva 43214 +834

12334 7558 Lgl & Gen 11638 +218

777 48914 Prudential 72012 +5

31618 21114 Resolution 30934 -314

24434 173 Standard Life 207 +214

Media

Index 4261.67 ▲ 30.59

849 69312 BSkyB 835 +112

59412 433 D Mail Tst 444 xd +658

9312 4814 ITV 6814 +278

1175 864 Pearson 1175 +4

59012 49014 Reed Elsevier 542 +3

168 66 STV Group 130 -2

12414 4214 Trinity Mirror 4212 +14

725 48334 Utd Business 54912

151 106 UTV 129 xd +1

84612 61412 WPP 746 xd +912

MiningIndex 24528.06 ▲ 46.32

3437 2254 Anglo Amer 290212 +2

1634 761 Antofagasta 1257 +42

263112168412BHP Billiton 2310 +30

1682 950 Fresnillo 1377 -1

53118 500 Glencore Intl 500 -2338

1671 965 Kazakhmys 1282 +47

1983 1355 Lonmin 1463 -13

6655 4425 Randgold Res 4728 -22

4712 288012Rio Tinto 4144 +3812

5514 3234 UK Coal 4034 +214

Mobile TelecomsIndex 3676.16 ▲ 12.77

762 575 Inmarsat 594 +3

18234 13612 Vodafone Gp 16034xd +12

Nonlife InsuranceIndex 1668.88 ▲ 4.10

1754 1390 Admiral Grp 1717xd +2

187818136438Marsh McL 184814 +2334

14312 11778 RSA Insurance 13638 +58

Oil & Gas ProducersIndex 8200.73 ▲ 73.37

1564121002 BG 1366 +1912

509 30278 BP 44012xd +3

49314 366 Cairn Energy 41978 +634

535 29234 Premier Oil 47934 +1014

2336 1554 Ryl D Shll B 215512xd+1512

1493 99112 Tullow Oil 1301 +17

Oil Equipment & ServicesIndex 25434.87 ▲ 403.46

1251 80512 AMEC 1114xd +7

Personal GoodsIndex 21336.71 ▲ 275.21

1365 73912 Burberry Gp 1320 +21

409 31778 PZ Cussons 37478 +112

Pharma & Biotechnology

Index 9364.26 ▲ 69.87

3385 280112AstraZeneca 312912 +39

1348121095 GlaxoSmthKln 1288xd +5

50 31 Vernalis 39 -134

Real Estate

Index 1958.11

35314 28718 Big Yellow Gp 320 xd -434

60412 429 Brit Land 589 +312

2919 2251 Daejan Hldgs 2812 +27

44214 281 Gt Portland 43634xd +2

848 545 Land Secs 83712 +212

33114 25014 SEGRO 32118 +238

Software & Comp Servs

Index 752.10 ▲ 10.31

1964 1271 Autonomy 1785 +19

6112 3012 Emblaze 6114 +14

36414 23014 Invensys 30534 +478

123 85 Kewill 101 -112

14714 10134 Logica 132 +438

302 22234 Sage 28778xd +334

Support Services

Index 4633.45 ▲ 52.92

1912 312 AEA Tech 312 -14

1935 1346 Aggreko 1911 +37

20778 77 Ashtead Gp 182 -38

51912 36014 Berendsen 492 -5

783 658 Bunzl 765 xd +10

79912 63512 Capita 754 +1312

979 54912 De La Rue 787 -5

29478 20534 Electrocmps 286 +58

819 578 Experian 80012 +1512

291 23734 G4S 28314 -134

452 28534 Hyder Cons 40358 +858

30734 18312 Interserve 30734 +1934

550 340 Menzies J 493 xd +312

34634 15214 Northgate 32214 +14

30834 21014 Prem Farnell 27812xd +212

12134 8414 Rentokil 9578 +1

12012 79 Smiths News 9134xd -14

34 1914 Speedy Hire 3214

1127 709 Travis & P 1044 +21

2261 1223 Wolseley 1941 +28

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 749.84 ▲ 3.08

651 27012 ARM Hldgs 57712 +212

28 1934 BATM 2414

10234 7134 Psion 8958 -18

16014 10758 Spirent Coms 15078 +134

Tobacco

Index 30298.98 ▼ 414.37

2745122091 Br Am Tob 266312 -27

2231 1784 Imperial Tob 2010 -46

Travel & Leisure

Index 4618.63 ▲ 38.80

3153 2037 Carnival 2238xd -16

59812 501 Compass Gp 59212 +12

479 32214 easyJet 35514 +14

12234 7334 Enterprise Inns 75 +114

41258 31114 FirstGroup 329 +134

1504 1042 Go-Ahead Gp 1492 +24

50212 39218 Greene King 491 +534

360 240 Holidaybreak 28114 +614

1435 982 Intercontl Htls 1190 +10

285 21278 Intl Cons Airlns 23234 +778

15214 12234 Ladbrokes 149 +218

11718 9038 Marston’s 101 xd -14

361 274 Mitchells&Btlrs 32612 +138

9038 58 Punch Taverns 73 +12

153 9434 Rank Gp 15112 -58

335 20814 Restaurant Gp 29834xd +212

24934 16034 Stagecoach 243 +14

20512 13418 Thomas Cook 13614 +218

27178 190 TUI Travel 21114 +78

1887 1361 Whitbread 1527xd +16

Utilities

Index 4626.31 ▲ 6.82

34618 29234 Centrica 326 xd +134

12621298212 Dee Valley 124712

63212 485 National Grid 594 xd -12

675 54512 Pennon Gp 665 -1

1517 1216 Severn 1453 -2

63112 520 Utd Utils 606 +112

AIM

Index 872.53 ▼ 0.05

3714 914 API Gp 3238 -14

13 4 Armour Gp 414

567 20014 Cape 552 -2

158 1 Crimson Tide 138

214 112 Dawson Intl 178

838 434 Eckoh 8 -18

14212 1112 JJB Sports 22

36 1534 Johnson Serv 35 -1

86 3034 Man Brnze 49

12 4 Metalrax 1012 +18

550 355 Portmeirion P 495

17312 55 Redhall Gp 55 -1

5914 1512 Scapa Gp 5914 +1

142 99 Swallowfield 99

7938 67 Uniq 7512 -38

685 510 Young A 65412xd -14

May 23 - May 27 May 30 - Jun 03 Jun 06 - Jun 10 M T W T F5700

5785

5870

5955

6040

FTSE-100

20-Day Moving Average


For twice-daily FTSE updates from Investec, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment

LDPbusiness .co.ukIN

ASSOCIATIONWITH


Thetimemayberightforsovereignfundstore-emergeALTHOUGH having existed for dec-ades, sovereign wealth funds (SWF)only really came to prominence duringthe height of the credit crunch, fol-lowing a series of high-profile invest-ments in a collapsing financial sector.

Total assets under management heldby these funds was estimated to be $4.2trillion at the end of 2010, but theirprofile as investors is much less sub-stantial than their firepower.

The majority of SWF assets – about60% – are managed by countries fun-ded by commodity exports, such as theUAE and Norway. China has thelargest accumulated assets under man-agement between its numerousfunds, totalling more than $1trillion.

Unsurprisingly, activity byfunds of this type fell sharplyduring the depths of the creditcrunch, as the rescue ofdomestic economies took pre-cedence over foreign invest-ment.

However, on the back ofrecent strong growth in thedeveloping world and risingcommodity prices, SWF activ-ity appears to be picking uponce again, with the IMFexpecting total assets undermanagement to more than double overthe next five years.

For example, one of the biggest dealslast year was the $2.2bn purchase ofHarrods by the Qatar InvestmentAuthority.

Increasing financial market partic-ipation from these funds could bringseveral notable benefits.

Firstly, SWF can help to address the

build up of global economic imbal-ances between the developed anddeveloping world.

Secondly, there is clearly scope forthem to assist in stabilising capital

markets at a time whencredit markets remain sub-dued and governments andcentral banks move towardstightening fiscal and monet-ary policy.

Thirdly, as an investmentpartner, they are also attract-ive, given that they generallyhave a longer-term invest-ment horizon compared to atypical institutional investorand boast secure, debt-freebalance sheets.

Nevertheless, there is per-haps a limit to the level ofreliance that can be placedon these funds to support fin-

ancial markets going forward.The total assets held by SWF are

dwarfed by those of global pension andmutual funds combined, by a factor ofapproximately 14 times. In addition,the majority of emerging economieswhich operate such institutions haveexpensive domestic challenges whichneed to be addressed.

For example, infrastructure spend-ing and the development of socialsecurity systems is likely to prove acostly task in a number of these coun-tries. Political instability and a reli-ance on volatile commodity exportsalso requires a large proportion of sur-plus funds to be held back for insur-ance purposes – for example, SaudiArabia recently announced a spendingprogramme of over $120bn in anattempt to contain social unrest.

The re-emergence of SWF, partic-ularly at a time when domestic policy-makers are preparing to leave the

party, should be viewed as a positivedevelopment for financial markets,potentially helping to provide greaterliquidity and stability to a broad rangeof asset markets.

Although the total assets held bySWF are currently fairly small in rel-ative terms, with the world’s centre ofeconomic gravity continuing its shifttowards the developing world, theyshould have plenty of investmentammunition in future years.

Peter Tasou,Senior research analyst,

Investec

Harrods was bought last year by the Qatar Investment Authorityfor $2.2bn – one of the biggest deals of the year

LondonmarketLONDON’S blue-chipindex closed higher yes-terday, as banks andretailers gained after abright start on WallStreet.

The FTSE 100 Indexadded 29.7 to 5803.1, hav-ing gathered momentumin the afternoon as it fol-lowed US marketsupwards, with miningshares also benefitingfrom improved investorsentiment.

The Dow Jones Indus-trial Average was upmore than 1%, after USretail sales figures camein slightly better thanexpected and US producerprices eased.

The pound dipped atouch against the euro to1.13 on market talk that asolution to Greece’s debtproblem might be found,after a number of polit-icians warned about thedangers of a default. Ster-ling rose against the USdollar.

It was a poor day forcommodities powerhouseGlencore, which sank tothe bottom of theblue-chip index after itused its maiden results todismiss reports of majortakeover plans.

The group’s chief exec-utive, Ivan Glasenberg,told reporters the com-pany was not “activelyconsidering” a bid formining group ENRC,sending shares down over4% or 23.4p to 500p.

Tesco perked up des-pite same-store salesdeclines, excluding VATand fuel, of 0.1%, whichwas slightly below mar-ket expectations.

The biggest FTSE 100risers were ITV, up 2.85pto 68.2p, Schroders,ahead 60p at 1586p,Kazakhmys, up 47p at1282p and InternationalConsolidated Airlines,ahead 7.9p, at 232.7p. Thebiggest fallers were Glen-core, down 23.4p at 500p,Xstrata, off 41p at 1,293p,Imperial Tobacco, down46p at 2010p and ENRC,off 15p, at 761.5p.

Whatdoyouthink?Email us withyour views [email protected],or write to usPO Box 48, OldHall Street,LiverpoolL69 3EB

businessdiaryThursday, June 16

Entrepreneurs areinvited to an eventaimed at helping themlearn new ways togrow their businesses.Mike Southon will givea keynote presentationoffering advice and tipsto business owners. Itis at the BT Convention

Centre from8.45am-11.30am.For details, seewww.ph-creative.com/liverpool-invite.aspx

Thursday, June 16Kirwans Solicitors’Mums in Business net-working event is atHard Day’s NightHotel, North John

Street, from 12pm-2pm.The speakers are Suz-anne Bradshaw, fromaccountants McEwanWallace, and ClaireCurrie, of Kirwans,who will be speakingon the theme “protect-ing your most prizedpossessions”. To bookyour free place, contactLisa Alty on 0151 7031918 or email [email protected].

Friday, June 17

The monthly Dares-bury Science andInnovation CampusBusiness breakfast net-work event bringstogether around 100people working forhi-tech companies. Thebreakfast is at Dares-bury InnovationCentre, starting from8am. For more details,see www.daresburysic.co.uk/events

Friday, June 17

Liverpool Chamber ofCommerce is holding abriefing with LouiseEllman, MP for River-side and chairperson ofthe Transport SelectCommittee. The eventwill take place at Liv-erpool Chamber from12:30-2pm. To book,visit www.liverpoolchamber.org.uk or call0151 227 1234.

Thursday, June 23A free breakfast sem-

inar, Routes to growth –how access to capitalcan drive your busi-ness forward, will behosted by Hill Dickin-son, Mazars, XCAPSecurities and YFMEquity Partners inassociation with theLondon StockExchange. It is at HillDickinson’s Liverpooloffice, at No 1 St Paul’sSquare, from 8am-9.15am. To book a

place, [email protected].

Friday, June 24The Northwest TrafficCommissioner, Bever-ley Bell, will beanswering questions atthe St Helens Trans-port Forum. It is from10.30am-12pm, at StHelens Chamber. Formore details, seewww.sthelens cham-ber.com/events


Caffeinekicksvitalforrestaurantoperator

A key part of Jaf Siddiqi’s day is staff communication, from new recruits to his management teamPicture: ANDREW TEEBAY

■ THIS week’s LDPBusiness profile sub-

ject, Voodou founder andmanaging director, RobWebb, insists the choiceof name for his businesswasn’t an attempt toscare people.

The Anfield-born busi-nessman, below, acknow-ledges that Voodou isseen by most people as adark and mysterious artwith evil connotations.

However, he insiststhat true followers of theVoodou religion are actu-ally peace-loving, andthat it is all about spir-ituality.

Clearly Rob likes to bea little edgy, though, withthe Bold Street salon feat-uring a large skull andcrossbones up on thewall.

Luckily, Trading Gos-sip isn’t that easilyspooked.

Despite his success inbusiness and the fact heis clearly a very brightguy, Rob is very modestabout his own academicachievements.

In the section in theProfile which lists thesubject’s highest educat-ional qualification, Robdid enquire whether hecould cite his schoolswimming certificate.

We put our foot downand insisted he list hisprofessional stylist qual-ification.

LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page

tradinggossip

workingday

6.30am: Time to get up. I have ashower, iron my shirt and check myemails before I head out the door.

7.30am: I get in the car and begin the50-minute journey from my apartmentin Manchester to Viva Brazil’s headoffice in Liverpool.

I rarely listen to the radio on myway to work, as I like to use this timeto organise my thoughts and prioritisefor the day ahead. It’s the only timeduring the day where I am alone formore than 10 minutes.

8.30am: I grab my first doubleespresso macchiato – I drink up toeight of these a day – before heading tomy office to go through all my morn-ing emails, post and invoices.

9.45am: I check through Viva Brazil’scomment cards from the previous day.This is the best way to learn how thebusiness is performing operationally.Great to see we have received another26 cards, all with glowing feedbackabout the food, atmosphere and ser-vice.

10am: First meeting of the day withwine suppliers from London. This isour first peek at the complete collec-tion of Brazilian Miolo wines, whichare the latest addition to our wine list.

This now boasts over 95 differentwines, all individually selected byourselves. I never considered myself tobe much of a wine person before, but Ihave certainly developed a taste forfine wines and definitely have my pref-erences.

11.30am: Today we have an inductionfor our newest recruits in Liverpool.All our new starters have a companyinduction in their first two weeks ofworking for us.

For me, this is a crucial part of theiremployment and I always relish theopportunity to let them know exactlywho we are, what we stand for andwhat is expected of them.

While the inductions usually last upto three hours, I always lead the first40 minutes before handing over to VivaBrazil’s manageress, Sadie.

12.30pm: I grab a quick bite to eat inthe restaurant, resisting the dailytemptation to chomp through the 15different meats, before meeting withJohn, our designer, to finalise thepresentation of our new cocktail listwhich is being introduced.

2pm: Another meeting, this time withthe management team at Viva Brazil.We discuss the business on the books,any staffing and operational issues,promotions and have a general catch-up.

I also take this time to give praisewhere due and discuss areas where we

need to improve. It is important tokeep the team motivated and makesure they are happy and fully focusedin their roles.

3.30pm: Time for another macchiato. Isit down to review the critical path forthe opening of our Glasgow restaurant.It is crucial that we are organised andtake every minor detail into account toensure we deliver on schedule.

5.30pm: I head to the restaurant floorand check everything is runningsmoothly prior to the evening’s busi-ness.

I like to take this time to talk to thestaff on duty and provide and givethem the opportunity to address medirectly with any questions or issuesthey might have.

6pm: Back to the office to round upthe day’s business. I also draft ournewsletter and take time out to gothrough and update our social mediapages on Facebook and Twitter.

7.30pm: I get in to the car and startmy journey home, this time with theradio on. And for dinner – I think I’llstay off the steak until tomorrow.

JafSiddiqi is theoperationsdirectoratVivaBrazil, therestaurantwhichopenedinCastleStreet lastSeptember.Jaf,30, lives inManchester.This ishisworkingday:

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LDP Business 15.06.11