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Businesswww.bristolpost.co.uk

FIND A NEW CHALLENGE

Check out the latest job offersin our supplement - inside

SHED HEAVEN

Can Bristol meet demand forindustrial space? – pages 8&9

GONGS AND GLAMOUR

The Bristol Post BusinessAwards special pull-out inside

022014JUL

Airport boss calls for help from businessesto bring back direct New York flights – p2&7

WHY YOU NEEDTO LOVE NYC

BIG INTERVIEW

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2 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Direct flights to New York couldbe on the way back to airport

� The Bristol Science Park in Emersons Green

Skills Te c h n o l o g y

Links help moreuni graduatesfind work� A UNIVERITY’S efforts to workwith local companies to developgraduates with the rights skills forbusiness appear to be paying off.

UWE Bristol has seen the numberof graduates in work reach a newhigh, according to figures from theHigher Education Statistics Agency.

The university has surpassed itsown previous record with only 4.5per cent of students still looking fora job within six months ofgraduation, an improvement from5.2 per cent the previous year.

This is almost half the nationaluniversity average of eight per cent.The previous year UWE Bristol hadthe sixth best employment recordamong English universities, but thecomparison tables have not yetbeen released for this year.

UWE has been working hard tobuild business relationships,including its sponsorship of thisyear’s Bristol Post Business Awards.

It work with Business West on ascheme called Graduate TalentWest, an online recruitment servicehosted by the Chamber ofCommerce website that provides itsbusiness members an easy route torecruiting students and graduates.

Maggie Westgarth, head ofcareers at UWE Bristol, said, “Wehave weathered the stormremarkably well and now that theeconomy is looking more buoyant,especially in this region, ourstudents are reaping rewardsthrough our links with thousands ofemployers, particularly with small tomedium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Our funded internshipprogramme has generated morethan 1,500 opportunities for UWEstudents to work in regionalbusinesses since 2010 and this yearwe are proud to celebrate Bristol’sEuropean Green Capital Award bylaunching a green intern scheme forbusinesses that want to developgreen policies and practice.

“However it’s not all aboutworking with existing businesses,it’s also about nurturing new onesso we are also investing in ourstudent entrepreneurs and providingsupport for them to develop theirbusiness ideas.”

M a n u fa c t u r i n g

Blinds ambition Bespoke homedesign specialist toasts expansion

A BLINDS company that hasbeen in Bedminster for 26years has expanded its officeby a third as part of am-bitious growth plans.

Home shading specialist The Ap-peal Group has a head office andmanufacturing facilities at the 15,000sq ft site in Vale Lane.

It supplies bespoke conservatoryblinds, window shutters, awningsand insect screens, employing 45people at HQ as well as a team of 35home design consultants and in-stallers across the UK.

The firm has seen sales increase by16 per cent in the first half of 2014compared to the same period last yearand has expanded its product rangewith the launch of two new collec-tions, including a new Bugshieldrange of DIY insect screens, whichwill be sold online and made in thenew part of its premises.

Two VIPs opened the new facilities,Bristol South’s Labour MP DameDawn Primarolo and the firm’slongest-serving employee, Kelly An-thony from Hartcliffe.

Kelly has worked for the companyin the accounts team for 23 years.

Chief executive Michael Madigansaid: “Today is a significant mile-stone for The Appeal Group and thewhole of our team.

“A large part of our success can beattributed to the culture of our busi-ness and the skills, loyalty and com-mitment of our employees, many ofwhom have worked for The AppealGroup for more than a decade.”

Michael said the recession had hada “dramatic impact” on the homeimprovement market, but he said thebusiness had “held firm” duringthese challenging trading years andwas now growing strongly in 2014.

He said: “During the difficult times,we set out to retain our core team

which means that we now haveskilled workforce capacity to use forexpansion.

“We have great confidence in thenew products and we estimate that wewill recruit five to 10 new members ofstaff over the next 12 months.”

He said the firm would continue todiversify into new product areas,such as the insect screens, to keepg rowing.

“Add this to the improvements weare seeing in consumer confidenceand the housing market, and it felt theright time to invest in the furtherdevelopment of our Bedminster fa-

c i l i t i e s, ” said Michael. “With sales onthe increase, new collections beinglaunched and the opening of our newpremises, we are proud to be puttingBristol on the map when it comes tohigh-end home improvements.”

Dame Dawn, the local MP, said:“The Appeal Group is flying the flagfor South Bristol in a highly com-petitive sector, where quality and cus-tomer service are key to success.

“This expansion is a tribute to thehard work and dedication of everyonewho works for Appeal and I’m de-lighted to help celebrate an excitingnew chapter for The Appeal Group.”

Av i a t i o n

Street food pioneer delivering to hungry office workersC a te r i n g

Government urgedto give support toc i ty ’s ‘key clusters’

DIRECT flights from Bristol Inter-national Airport to New York couldreturn within two years – but it busi-nesses need to show there is demandfirst.

Flights from Bristol to Newark firststarted with Continental Airlinesback in 2005, before the airport wasdealt a major blow when the carrierannounced it was pulling out of theWest Country in autumn of 2010.

Currently, the only way to fly fromBristol to New York is via connectingflights to the Dutch capital Amster-dam or Dublin in Ireland.

Now the airport’s chief executiveRobert Sinclair, right, is working onre-securing a link between Bristoland New York, as well as to a majorlong-haul destination in the MiddleEast.

Mr Sinclair said the move reflectedreturning good fortunes to his busi-

ness, following a 10 per cent fall inpassenger numbers in 2009.

He said: “We are workinghard to re-secure the ser-vice from Bristol to NewYork and from there youwill be able to travel to amultitude of NorthAmerican connec-t i o n s.

“Hopefully within ayear or two we will see areturn of a direct service.

“I think that reflects thatwe have come full service in thebusiness cycle. The economy is muchstronger and the pound is muchstronger against the US dollar, whichis one of the issues we had before.

“Businesses are travelling and sowe are very, very keen to securelong-haul routes.

“We are also in regular dialogue

with the Middle Eastern carriers likeEmirates, Etihad, Qatar and Turkish

Airlines and I can see, in thefullness of the next two or

three years, that we willhopefully have a connec-tion to a Middle Easternhub as well.”

Bristol Airport recor-ded its busiest ever Maylast month, with more

than 608,000 passengerstravelling through the ter-

minal. This surpassed theprevious record set back in 2008

and represented a 4.1 per cent in-crease on the same month last year.

The airport wants the support ofbusinesses in the West of England tohelp secure a direct flight to the USAonce more.

Mr Sinclair said: “Although goodconnecting options can be accessed

via frequent services to Europeanhub airports, a direct flight wouldbring further benefits to the region interms of international profile, inbound tourism and time and costsavings to business.

“To help build the business case weare gather information on companies

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

with US connections and if you oryour organisation would benefit thenwe would like you to contact us.”� Would you like to see direct flightsfrom Bristol to New York return? Ifso, email your comments tomark eting@bristolairport.com.

� Bristol Airport enjoyed its busiest ever May last month

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Michael Madigan

A large part of oursuccess can beattributed to the cultureof our business and theskills, loyalty andcommitment of ouremployees.”

“

� Dame Dawn Primarolo opens the new offices of the Appeal Group in Bedminster, Bristol. The firm employs 45people at the site making blinds, awnings and shades

SEE BIG INTERVIEW PAGE 7

BRISTOL is today hailed for its fastgrowing, high-tech sector. The city ishighlighted in a report by an in-fluential think-tank, which recom-mends government should invest in

key clusters as the best way to stimulateeconomic growth.

Professor Joe McGeehan, chair ofinward investment agency InvestBristol & Bath and special ad-viser to Toshiba, welcomed thereport by the Centre for Citiesand McKinsey and Company.

He said: “It is this diversity ofconnected sectors, skilled work-force, world leading academic re-search and brilliant quality of lifethat make Bristol and Bath so dis-tinctive and attractive.

“Industries ranging from high tech to cre-ative and digital media, and from robotics toaerospace, work collaboratively to drive in-novation. Major global players are increas-ingly setting up operations in the Bristol andBath region as they seek to benefit from thisoffering as part of their plan for businessg rowth.”

The report – Industrial Revolutions – Un-locking the UK’s Thriving Cluster Sectors –names 31 clusters, which together make up 20per cent of the UK’s economic output, des-pite only being home to eight per centof businesses.

The region’s aerospace industrywas picked out as a key cluster ofglobal importance, with firmsincluding Airbus, GKN, RollsRoyce and BAE all having basesin the Greater Bristol area. Thisin turns leads to smaller sup-pliers and consultants buildingup around the bigger firms, cre-ating a pool of talent.

The South West tourism industry wasthe third local cluster highlighted.

But it was the creative and technologycluster around Bristol and Bath that came infor special praise.

It highlights specialist hubs within the citysuch as Bristol and Bath Science Park, theWatershed and the Engine Shed.

And notes the “melting pot” of companies inthe city from big players including AardmanAnimations, HP and Toshiba to entrepren-eurs building businesses around robotics, 3D

printing and other cutting edge technology.Bristol has a rich cluster of creative and

technology companies across fields includingmanufacturing, electronics and animation.

David Sproxton, below, executive chairmanand co-founder of Aardman, welcomed thefindings. He said: “It is excellent to see areport focusing on the importance of indus-trial clusters as powerhouses for the economy,and highlighting Bristol and Bath for itsundoubted strengths across the high tech,creative and digital-media space.

“We definitely need to raise the profileof UK clusters so they can continue to

compete on the global stage.”Bonnie Dean, below, chief ex-

ecutive at the science park, saidthe biggest strength was howcompanies and organisationsworked together.

She said: “It is the collaborativeapproach of Bristol and Bath’s

technologists, business leaders andacademics, combined with its rich net-

work of interlinked, complementary sec-tors that make the tech cluster hereparticularly successful. The region has ex-celled in creating a lively ecosystem of en-terprise, where knowledge, expertise andideas are shared, innovative thinking is stim-ulated and business success is accelerated.”

The report’s authors say clusters of ex-pertise have a disproportionately big impacton the economy. Therefore they recommendgovernment invests in supporting them, totarget its resources most efficiently.

That argument could be seen as backingup the West of England Local Enter-

prise Agency’s decision to focus onkey sectors in its recent bid to

Government for money to investin infrastructure projects.

Lord Sainsbury, who commis-sioned the report, said: “Clustersare an essential feature of an

innovative and dynamic eco-nomy, and the Government needs

to support them and remove thebarriers to their growth,”

Centre for Cities chief executive Al-exandra Jones said: “We know that relativelysmall, but targeted investments in areas suchas skills and infrastructure can make a sig-nificant difference in the UK’s economic out-put. Improving local business environmentsand increasing the flexibility of our cities torespond to their specific challenges will notonly support existing clusters to reach theirpotential, but encourage the emergence ofnew clusters and high-growth firms in allsectors across the UK.”

� ONE of the pioneers behind the street foodmovement in Bristol has launched a range ofmeal pots that she is delivering to officeworkers in the city.

Navina Bartlett, pictur ed, ran theCoconut Chilli stall within theBristol’s StrEAT Food Collective,which took part in a number ofnight street food markets lasty e a r.

She said: “Street food is apassion of mine and I loved thevibe at the events, but vendors havea short season in which to trade and Ineed to generate custom every week ofthe year. I have spent the last few monthsdeveloping a range of dishes that can bebought chilled and heated at work or home.”

The ready meals are made in small batchesby hand in Yate, and include a spicy lamb and

black pepper keema meatballs in spicycoconut gravy as well as creamy shrimp and

coconut milk korma with crunchycashews. The recipes are inspired by

ingredients from the Coorg region,above Bangalore, India.

Navina said: “The Coorg regionis where I spent many a summeron my aunt’s coffee estate. Thehillsides house acres of coffeebushes and there are a huge

variety of plants growing inamongst the coffee.“Ingredients include coconuts,

bamboo, pumpkin, cardamom, orangesand chillies.”

Companies including Rockpool and E3 atPaintworks, Big Bang Post Production inClifton and Vouchercloud and Bristol NaturalHistory Consortium have tried the lunches.

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2 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Direct flights to New York couldbe on the way back to airport

� The Bristol Science Park in Emersons Green

Skills Te c h n o l o g y

Links help moreuni graduatesfind work� A UNIVERITY’S efforts to workwith local companies to developgraduates with the rights skills forbusiness appear to be paying off.

UWE Bristol has seen the numberof graduates in work reach a newhigh, according to figures from theHigher Education Statistics Agency.

The university has surpassed itsown previous record with only 4.5per cent of students still looking fora job within six months ofgraduation, an improvement from5.2 per cent the previous year.

This is almost half the nationaluniversity average of eight per cent.The previous year UWE Bristol hadthe sixth best employment recordamong English universities, but thecomparison tables have not yetbeen released for this year.

UWE has been working hard tobuild business relationships,including its sponsorship of thisyear’s Bristol Post Business Awards.

It work with Business West on ascheme called Graduate TalentWest, an online recruitment servicehosted by the Chamber ofCommerce website that provides itsbusiness members an easy route torecruiting students and graduates.

Maggie Westgarth, head ofcareers at UWE Bristol, said, “Wehave weathered the stormremarkably well and now that theeconomy is looking more buoyant,especially in this region, ourstudents are reaping rewardsthrough our links with thousands ofemployers, particularly with small tomedium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“Our funded internshipprogramme has generated morethan 1,500 opportunities for UWEstudents to work in regionalbusinesses since 2010 and this yearwe are proud to celebrate Bristol’sEuropean Green Capital Award bylaunching a green intern scheme forbusinesses that want to developgreen policies and practice.

“However it’s not all aboutworking with existing businesses,it’s also about nurturing new onesso we are also investing in ourstudent entrepreneurs and providingsupport for them to develop theirbusiness ideas.”

M a n u fa c t u r i n g

Blinds ambition Bespoke homedesign specialist toasts expansion

A BLINDS company that hasbeen in Bedminster for 26years has expanded its officeby a third as part of am-bitious growth plans.

Home shading specialist The Ap-peal Group has a head office andmanufacturing facilities at the 15,000sq ft site in Vale Lane.

It supplies bespoke conservatoryblinds, window shutters, awningsand insect screens, employing 45people at HQ as well as a team of 35home design consultants and in-stallers across the UK.

The firm has seen sales increase by16 per cent in the first half of 2014compared to the same period last yearand has expanded its product rangewith the launch of two new collec-tions, including a new Bugshieldrange of DIY insect screens, whichwill be sold online and made in thenew part of its premises.

Two VIPs opened the new facilities,Bristol South’s Labour MP DameDawn Primarolo and the firm’slongest-serving employee, Kelly An-thony from Hartcliffe.

Kelly has worked for the companyin the accounts team for 23 years.

Chief executive Michael Madigansaid: “Today is a significant mile-stone for The Appeal Group and thewhole of our team.

“A large part of our success can beattributed to the culture of our busi-ness and the skills, loyalty and com-mitment of our employees, many ofwhom have worked for The AppealGroup for more than a decade.”

Michael said the recession had hada “dramatic impact” on the homeimprovement market, but he said thebusiness had “held firm” duringthese challenging trading years andwas now growing strongly in 2014.

He said: “During the difficult times,we set out to retain our core team

which means that we now haveskilled workforce capacity to use forexpansion.

“We have great confidence in thenew products and we estimate that wewill recruit five to 10 new members ofstaff over the next 12 months.”

He said the firm would continue todiversify into new product areas,such as the insect screens, to keepg rowing.

“Add this to the improvements weare seeing in consumer confidenceand the housing market, and it felt theright time to invest in the furtherdevelopment of our Bedminster fa-

c i l i t i e s, ” said Michael. “With sales onthe increase, new collections beinglaunched and the opening of our newpremises, we are proud to be puttingBristol on the map when it comes tohigh-end home improvements.”

Dame Dawn, the local MP, said:“The Appeal Group is flying the flagfor South Bristol in a highly com-petitive sector, where quality and cus-tomer service are key to success.

“This expansion is a tribute to thehard work and dedication of everyonewho works for Appeal and I’m de-lighted to help celebrate an excitingnew chapter for The Appeal Group.”

Av i a t i o n

Street food pioneer delivering to hungry office workersC a te r i n g

Government urgedto give support toc i ty ’s ‘key clusters’

DIRECT flights from Bristol Inter-national Airport to New York couldreturn within two years – but it busi-nesses need to show there is demandfirst.

Flights from Bristol to Newark firststarted with Continental Airlinesback in 2005, before the airport wasdealt a major blow when the carrierannounced it was pulling out of theWest Country in autumn of 2010.

Currently, the only way to fly fromBristol to New York is via connectingflights to the Dutch capital Amster-dam or Dublin in Ireland.

Now the airport’s chief executiveRobert Sinclair, right, is working onre-securing a link between Bristoland New York, as well as to a majorlong-haul destination in the MiddleEast.

Mr Sinclair said the move reflectedreturning good fortunes to his busi-

ness, following a 10 per cent fall inpassenger numbers in 2009.

He said: “We are workinghard to re-secure the ser-vice from Bristol to NewYork and from there youwill be able to travel to amultitude of NorthAmerican connec-t i o n s.

“Hopefully within ayear or two we will see areturn of a direct service.

“I think that reflects thatwe have come full service in thebusiness cycle. The economy is muchstronger and the pound is muchstronger against the US dollar, whichis one of the issues we had before.

“Businesses are travelling and sowe are very, very keen to securelong-haul routes.

“We are also in regular dialogue

with the Middle Eastern carriers likeEmirates, Etihad, Qatar and Turkish

Airlines and I can see, in thefullness of the next two or

three years, that we willhopefully have a connec-tion to a Middle Easternhub as well.”

Bristol Airport recor-ded its busiest ever Maylast month, with more

than 608,000 passengerstravelling through the ter-

minal. This surpassed theprevious record set back in 2008

and represented a 4.1 per cent in-crease on the same month last year.

The airport wants the support ofbusinesses in the West of England tohelp secure a direct flight to the USAonce more.

Mr Sinclair said: “Although goodconnecting options can be accessed

via frequent services to Europeanhub airports, a direct flight wouldbring further benefits to the region interms of international profile, inbound tourism and time and costsavings to business.

“To help build the business case weare gather information on companies

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

with US connections and if you oryour organisation would benefit thenwe would like you to contact us.”� Would you like to see direct flightsfrom Bristol to New York return? Ifso, email your comments tomark eting@bristolairport.com.

� Bristol Airport enjoyed its busiest ever May last month

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Michael Madigan

A large part of oursuccess can beattributed to the cultureof our business and theskills, loyalty andcommitment of ouremployees.”

“

� Dame Dawn Primarolo opens the new offices of the Appeal Group in Bedminster, Bristol. The firm employs 45people at the site making blinds, awnings and shades

SEE BIG INTERVIEW PAGE 7

BRISTOL is today hailed for its fastgrowing, high-tech sector. The city ishighlighted in a report by an in-fluential think-tank, which recom-mends government should invest in

key clusters as the best way to stimulateeconomic growth.

Professor Joe McGeehan, chair ofinward investment agency InvestBristol & Bath and special ad-viser to Toshiba, welcomed thereport by the Centre for Citiesand McKinsey and Company.

He said: “It is this diversity ofconnected sectors, skilled work-force, world leading academic re-search and brilliant quality of lifethat make Bristol and Bath so dis-tinctive and attractive.

“Industries ranging from high tech to cre-ative and digital media, and from robotics toaerospace, work collaboratively to drive in-novation. Major global players are increas-ingly setting up operations in the Bristol andBath region as they seek to benefit from thisoffering as part of their plan for businessg rowth.”

The report – Industrial Revolutions – Un-locking the UK’s Thriving Cluster Sectors –names 31 clusters, which together make up 20per cent of the UK’s economic output, des-pite only being home to eight per centof businesses.

The region’s aerospace industrywas picked out as a key cluster ofglobal importance, with firmsincluding Airbus, GKN, RollsRoyce and BAE all having basesin the Greater Bristol area. Thisin turns leads to smaller sup-pliers and consultants buildingup around the bigger firms, cre-ating a pool of talent.

The South West tourism industry wasthe third local cluster highlighted.

But it was the creative and technologycluster around Bristol and Bath that came infor special praise.

It highlights specialist hubs within the citysuch as Bristol and Bath Science Park, theWatershed and the Engine Shed.

And notes the “melting pot” of companies inthe city from big players including AardmanAnimations, HP and Toshiba to entrepren-eurs building businesses around robotics, 3D

printing and other cutting edge technology.Bristol has a rich cluster of creative and

technology companies across fields includingmanufacturing, electronics and animation.

David Sproxton, below, executive chairmanand co-founder of Aardman, welcomed thefindings. He said: “It is excellent to see areport focusing on the importance of indus-trial clusters as powerhouses for the economy,and highlighting Bristol and Bath for itsundoubted strengths across the high tech,creative and digital-media space.

“We definitely need to raise the profileof UK clusters so they can continue to

compete on the global stage.”Bonnie Dean, below, chief ex-

ecutive at the science park, saidthe biggest strength was howcompanies and organisationsworked together.

She said: “It is the collaborativeapproach of Bristol and Bath’s

technologists, business leaders andacademics, combined with its rich net-

work of interlinked, complementary sec-tors that make the tech cluster hereparticularly successful. The region has ex-celled in creating a lively ecosystem of en-terprise, where knowledge, expertise andideas are shared, innovative thinking is stim-ulated and business success is accelerated.”

The report’s authors say clusters of ex-pertise have a disproportionately big impacton the economy. Therefore they recommendgovernment invests in supporting them, totarget its resources most efficiently.

That argument could be seen as backingup the West of England Local Enter-

prise Agency’s decision to focus onkey sectors in its recent bid to

Government for money to investin infrastructure projects.

Lord Sainsbury, who commis-sioned the report, said: “Clustersare an essential feature of an

innovative and dynamic eco-nomy, and the Government needs

to support them and remove thebarriers to their growth,”

Centre for Cities chief executive Al-exandra Jones said: “We know that relativelysmall, but targeted investments in areas suchas skills and infrastructure can make a sig-nificant difference in the UK’s economic out-put. Improving local business environmentsand increasing the flexibility of our cities torespond to their specific challenges will notonly support existing clusters to reach theirpotential, but encourage the emergence ofnew clusters and high-growth firms in allsectors across the UK.”

� ONE of the pioneers behind the street foodmovement in Bristol has launched a range ofmeal pots that she is delivering to officeworkers in the city.

Navina Bartlett, pictur ed, ran theCoconut Chilli stall within theBristol’s StrEAT Food Collective,which took part in a number ofnight street food markets lasty e a r.

She said: “Street food is apassion of mine and I loved thevibe at the events, but vendors havea short season in which to trade and Ineed to generate custom every week ofthe year. I have spent the last few monthsdeveloping a range of dishes that can bebought chilled and heated at work or home.”

The ready meals are made in small batchesby hand in Yate, and include a spicy lamb and

black pepper keema meatballs in spicycoconut gravy as well as creamy shrimp and

coconut milk korma with crunchycashews. The recipes are inspired by

ingredients from the Coorg region,above Bangalore, India.

Navina said: “The Coorg regionis where I spent many a summeron my aunt’s coffee estate. Thehillsides house acres of coffeebushes and there are a huge

variety of plants growing inamongst the coffee.“Ingredients include coconuts,

bamboo, pumpkin, cardamom, orangesand chillies.”

Companies including Rockpool and E3 atPaintworks, Big Bang Post Production inClifton and Vouchercloud and Bristol NaturalHistory Consortium have tried the lunches.

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4 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Te c h n o l o g y

Hungry for growthWeb takeaway firmstarts city tech hub

� The Just Eat executive team. The London-based business is creating a technology hub at the Engine Shed in Bristol

Te c h n o l o g y

AIRBUS will be “printing”aeroplanes rather than as-sembling them a few decadesfrom now. That was just oneof a raft of rapid-fire pre-

dictions made by futurologist DavidA Smith in a talk to 150 businessleaders and owners at the M shed.

David gave a 90-minute talk at theBristol Harbourside venue on howbusinesses must adapt or die as thepace of change accelerates and wehurtle into a new age of technology.

He said:� 3D printing would revolutionisethe logistics industry, with peoplesimply collecting their orders fromprinters at their local conveniences t o re� We were entering the “post-emailera” where “more productive” socialtools would replace it as the methodof communication� Mobile phones would be replacedby wearable technology or even ourbodies such as keyboards on ourarms. In time, we would be able tothink our way around the web� Holograms would replace screensand soon we would be able to touchthem too, for example to feel thefabric of clothes we buy online.

Many of these ideas are alreadybeing developed around the world,including here in Bristol where uni-versity researchers are working ontangible and dynamic holograms.

David said 3D printing so far waslargely in plastics but would becomepossible in glass, metal and con-c re t e.

“Airbus will be 3D printing planesby 2050,” he said. “They will simplymix different materials together in aprinter and create an incredible fin-ished product.”

Using similar technology, he saidpeople would be able to order per-sonalised trainers made to fit themand collect them from a corner shopthe same day.

And wearable sensors would meanthat someone needing public trans-port will alert the bus – or a driverlesscar – to wait for them when they walkout of the office.

David, who is chief executive ofGlobal Futures and Foresight, saidevery business must consider howsuch changes would affect them, andhow they could capitalise on the op-por tunities.

He said often businesses changedtheir technology, but were muchslower to change their methods.

“I know companies where peoplesit at desks nine to five with laptops infront of them,” he said.

“Why? If you don’t trust your staff,fire them,” he said. “If you do trustthem, let them work anywhere.T hey’ll be more productive if theyknow they have your trust.”

He said social media would con-tinue to grow in influence.

“The real opportunity is when youchange the business model and movefrom a transactional attitude to anengagement model,” said David.

“It’s about engaging with peoplewho want to be engaged and allowingthem to chose the sort of engagement

B R I S T O L’S entrepreneurs, profes-sionals and business men and womenwill be on top of the city for the nextBristol Connected.

The networking event, run by theBristol Post Business team, will behosted by the Hilton Garden Cityhotel. from – weather permitting – itsroof terrace in Temple Way.

From that lofty vantage point, we’lltake a look at the tourism and leisurei n d u s t r y.

John Hirst, chief executive of Des-tination Bristol will give a short talkon how tourism benefits local busi-nesses and what is being done tobring in more visitors.

And there will be a five-minutefocus on a local business.

But the main event will be the

networking opportunity.Assistant editor (business) Gavin

Thompson said: “As we’ll be well intothe summer events season, it will beinteresting to hear from John Hirstabout how Bristol is performing as atourist destination and why that’simportant for the local economy.

“But with Bristol Connected, themost important part is the peoplewho turn up.

“It’s about giving you a place tomeet and make connections, withother businesses and professionalsand with us at the Bristol Post.”

The Bristol Connected series waslaunched earlier this year and pre-vious events at BDO, Thrings andClifton Zoo, the latter evening hostedby Clifton Asset Management, havebeen great successes.

Gavin added: “Tickets for this freeevent tend to go very quickly soplease sign up today by searchingBristol Connected at Eventbrite - orsimply scanning the QR code on thispage, which should take you straightthrough to the link.”

Bristol Connected

Roof-top destination for networking

� Guests during the Bristol Connected event at Bristol Zoo Pavillion

� David A Smith has warned Bristol businesses must adapt or die as the pace of change accelerates

Flexible working rulesmean tough calls� EMPLOYEES can request flexibleworking from this week and that willmean bosses have some toughdecisions to make, according to anemployment law expert.

Kevin Jones, below, employmentlaw specialist at law Clarke Willmott,said the regulation was likely tocause a new wave of requests forflexible working.

He said: “When making decisionsemployers will need to carefullyweigh up each request.”

The new rules mean all employeescan request flexible working oncethey have 26 weeks of service.Previously only those with childrenunder 17 andcarers could doso. It does notmean,h o w e v e r,thatemployershave toagree to there q u e s t s .Rather theyhave to considerthem in a“reasonable manner” but can rejectthem.

Kevin, based at the law firm’s inBath Street, said employers shouldconsider how flexible working couldbe good for them.

He said: “It is important toconsider the long-term benefits thatflexible working can bring. Get itwrong and businesses could end upwith a demotivated and dividedw o r k f o rc e . ”

Employment lawCity move pays off foraviation consultants� THE decision of an engineeringconsultancy firm to open a Bristoloffice to be closer to the aviationindustry is paying off.

Aertec Solutions was beenappointed as a referenced supplierfor manufacturing engineeringservices to Filton-based giantAirbus.

Aertec will be a tier one supplier. itwill provide engineering services forthe manufacturing process, toolingand plant automation systems in allAirbus plants in Spain, France,Germany and the United Kingdom.

Working with partner Ausy it willwork on major Airbus programmesincluding the A350, which islaunching in an extra wide modellater this year.

Aertec Solutions managingdirector Antonio Gómez-Guillamónsaid: “Our selection as anengineering supplier for Airbus willprovide us with a direct point ofentry into the commercial aviationmarket, especially in the mainAirbus commercial programmes.

“It will also consolidate theposition of the company for thistype of services and will offer newbusiness and collaborationopportunities in other Europeancountries.”

The firm has recently worked withAirbus on the A400M militarytransport plane project, for whichthe wings are made in Filton.

Engineering

they want with your organisation.”And he said cities such as Bristol

which aspired to lead the way insmart technology could cash in byexporting their ideas and expertise.

He said: “W h at ’s changing in theworld? Everything! “We have got aworld of opportunity and smart,skilled and organised people herewho can go out there and grow theirbu s i n e s s.

“The world’s economy is going totriple in the next four decades asemerging market economies wieldincreasing power - the UK needs totarget these high-growth marketsn ow. ”� See next week’s Business formore coverage from the fair, andtips on how to #GetExporting.

Firms showcase waresat UK awards night� A NUMBER of local businesseswill be showcasing their wares atthe Made in the UK Awards laterthis month.

Sandford-based Thatchers Cider,Marshfield Bakery andWrington-based Butcombe Brewerywill taking part of the event, beingstaged in Liverpool to coincide withthe International Festival ofBusiness.

They will go head to head withbusinesses from the rest of the UKto see decide whether theyrepresent what is great aboutproducts and servicesmanufactured in the UK.

Thatchers managing directorMartin Thatcher said: “Somersetcider is in a very good place at themoment, and this message isbeginning to spread to overseasmarkets too.”

Made in UK

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Future vision Printed planes andholograms will replace screens

David A Smith

I know companieswhere people sit at desksnine to five with laptopsin front of them. Why? Ifyou don’t trust your staff,fire them!”

“

AN online takeawayservice is opening atechnology hub inBristol to help it stayahead of the game is

an increasingly competitives e c t o r.

Just Eat runs the biggestonline marketplace for de-livering takeaway food, op-erating in 13 countries.

Although based in Lon-don, it has chosen Bristol tocreate a tech hub employing15 people initially, with thegoal of increasing that to 30by the end of next year.

The team will focus on in-novation and improving ser-vice for millions ofcustomers and the 36,000takeaways it works with.

Group chief technology of-ficer Carlos Morgado said:“Over the past 12 monthsJust Eat’s technology teamhas been working hard todeliver everything from newmobile apps to new electron-ic point of sale technologyfor our restaurant partners.

“The pool of excellent en-gineering talent in Bristol,Bath and the South West

provides us with an idealbase to build on this successand drive the next wave ofinvention and innovation forour customers around thewo rl d . ”

Chief executive GrahamCorfield added: “The tech-nical team is brimming withideas to support restaurants’growth and success whilealso ensuring customers lovetheir takeaway experience.

“I’m excited that our newBristol office will play a keyrole in making this happenwhile attracting the best techtalent on offer.”

Professor Joe McGeehan,chairman of inward invest-ment organisation InvestBristol and Bath, said themove allows the firm to tap

into the region’s talentwithout paying Londonc o s t s.

He said: “The Bristol re-gion is well-known for beinghome to an exceptionallyrich pool of talent and offersan excellent quality of life.

“There exists a growingappetite among companies toset up in locations outsideLondon where they canavoid the high costs of thecapital but still attract andretain the right staff, andBristol and Bath offers allthis and more.”

He added the move was“fantastic news” for Bristoland further recognition of itsstatus as a “vibrant and dy-namic hub of innovation”which competes at an inter-national level.

The new centre will bebased at the Engine Shed inTemple Meads. That meansit will sit alongside busi-nesses in the University ofBristol SETsquared incuba-tion centre, as well as Web-Start Bristol and the West ofEngland Local EnterprisePar tnership.

The restaurant food deliv-ery sector is becoming morecompetitive online, withrivals including Meals.co.uk,which was founded by aUWE Bristol PhD student.Graham Corfield

“The pool ofexcellent talent inBristol, Bath andthe South Westprovides us with anideal base to drivethe next wave ofinnovation.”

Part of the Local World group

Whether your conference is on a small or large scaleour expert knowledge will give you a professionaland stress free event by providing you with theright presentation equipment, lighting and sound.

Audience Response

Presentation Production

Video Presentation

Staging your Conferencedoesn’t have to cost a fortune...

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4 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Te c h n o l o g y

Hungry for growthWeb takeaway firmstarts city tech hub

� The Just Eat executive team. The London-based business is creating a technology hub at the Engine Shed in Bristol

Te c h n o l o g y

AIRBUS will be “printing”aeroplanes rather than as-sembling them a few decadesfrom now. That was just oneof a raft of rapid-fire pre-

dictions made by futurologist DavidA Smith in a talk to 150 businessleaders and owners at the M shed.

David gave a 90-minute talk at theBristol Harbourside venue on howbusinesses must adapt or die as thepace of change accelerates and wehurtle into a new age of technology.

He said:� 3D printing would revolutionisethe logistics industry, with peoplesimply collecting their orders fromprinters at their local conveniences t o re� We were entering the “post-emailera” where “more productive” socialtools would replace it as the methodof communication� Mobile phones would be replacedby wearable technology or even ourbodies such as keyboards on ourarms. In time, we would be able tothink our way around the web� Holograms would replace screensand soon we would be able to touchthem too, for example to feel thefabric of clothes we buy online.

Many of these ideas are alreadybeing developed around the world,including here in Bristol where uni-versity researchers are working ontangible and dynamic holograms.

David said 3D printing so far waslargely in plastics but would becomepossible in glass, metal and con-c re t e.

“Airbus will be 3D printing planesby 2050,” he said. “They will simplymix different materials together in aprinter and create an incredible fin-ished product.”

Using similar technology, he saidpeople would be able to order per-sonalised trainers made to fit themand collect them from a corner shopthe same day.

And wearable sensors would meanthat someone needing public trans-port will alert the bus – or a driverlesscar – to wait for them when they walkout of the office.

David, who is chief executive ofGlobal Futures and Foresight, saidevery business must consider howsuch changes would affect them, andhow they could capitalise on the op-por tunities.

He said often businesses changedtheir technology, but were muchslower to change their methods.

“I know companies where peoplesit at desks nine to five with laptops infront of them,” he said.

“Why? If you don’t trust your staff,fire them,” he said. “If you do trustthem, let them work anywhere.T hey’ll be more productive if theyknow they have your trust.”

He said social media would con-tinue to grow in influence.

“The real opportunity is when youchange the business model and movefrom a transactional attitude to anengagement model,” said David.

“It’s about engaging with peoplewho want to be engaged and allowingthem to chose the sort of engagement

B R I S T O L’S entrepreneurs, profes-sionals and business men and womenwill be on top of the city for the nextBristol Connected.

The networking event, run by theBristol Post Business team, will behosted by the Hilton Garden Cityhotel. from – weather permitting – itsroof terrace in Temple Way.

From that lofty vantage point, we’lltake a look at the tourism and leisurei n d u s t r y.

John Hirst, chief executive of Des-tination Bristol will give a short talkon how tourism benefits local busi-nesses and what is being done tobring in more visitors.

And there will be a five-minutefocus on a local business.

But the main event will be the

networking opportunity.Assistant editor (business) Gavin

Thompson said: “As we’ll be well intothe summer events season, it will beinteresting to hear from John Hirstabout how Bristol is performing as atourist destination and why that’simportant for the local economy.

“But with Bristol Connected, themost important part is the peoplewho turn up.

“It’s about giving you a place tomeet and make connections, withother businesses and professionalsand with us at the Bristol Post.”

The Bristol Connected series waslaunched earlier this year and pre-vious events at BDO, Thrings andClifton Zoo, the latter evening hostedby Clifton Asset Management, havebeen great successes.

Gavin added: “Tickets for this freeevent tend to go very quickly soplease sign up today by searchingBristol Connected at Eventbrite - orsimply scanning the QR code on thispage, which should take you straightthrough to the link.”

Bristol Connected

Roof-top destination for networking

� Guests during the Bristol Connected event at Bristol Zoo Pavillion

� David A Smith has warned Bristol businesses must adapt or die as the pace of change accelerates

Flexible working rulesmean tough calls� EMPLOYEES can request flexibleworking from this week and that willmean bosses have some toughdecisions to make, according to anemployment law expert.

Kevin Jones, below, employmentlaw specialist at law Clarke Willmott,said the regulation was likely tocause a new wave of requests forflexible working.

He said: “When making decisionsemployers will need to carefullyweigh up each request.”

The new rules mean all employeescan request flexible working oncethey have 26 weeks of service.Previously only those with childrenunder 17 andcarers could doso. It does notmean,h o w e v e r,thatemployershave toagree to there q u e s t s .Rather theyhave to considerthem in a“reasonable manner” but can rejectthem.

Kevin, based at the law firm’s inBath Street, said employers shouldconsider how flexible working couldbe good for them.

He said: “It is important toconsider the long-term benefits thatflexible working can bring. Get itwrong and businesses could end upwith a demotivated and dividedw o r k f o rc e . ”

Employment lawCity move pays off foraviation consultants� THE decision of an engineeringconsultancy firm to open a Bristoloffice to be closer to the aviationindustry is paying off.

Aertec Solutions was beenappointed as a referenced supplierfor manufacturing engineeringservices to Filton-based giantAirbus.

Aertec will be a tier one supplier. itwill provide engineering services forthe manufacturing process, toolingand plant automation systems in allAirbus plants in Spain, France,Germany and the United Kingdom.

Working with partner Ausy it willwork on major Airbus programmesincluding the A350, which islaunching in an extra wide modellater this year.

Aertec Solutions managingdirector Antonio Gómez-Guillamónsaid: “Our selection as anengineering supplier for Airbus willprovide us with a direct point ofentry into the commercial aviationmarket, especially in the mainAirbus commercial programmes.

“It will also consolidate theposition of the company for thistype of services and will offer newbusiness and collaborationopportunities in other Europeancountries.”

The firm has recently worked withAirbus on the A400M militarytransport plane project, for whichthe wings are made in Filton.

Engineering

they want with your organisation.”And he said cities such as Bristol

which aspired to lead the way insmart technology could cash in byexporting their ideas and expertise.

He said: “W h at ’s changing in theworld? Everything! “We have got aworld of opportunity and smart,skilled and organised people herewho can go out there and grow theirbu s i n e s s.

“The world’s economy is going totriple in the next four decades asemerging market economies wieldincreasing power - the UK needs totarget these high-growth marketsn ow. ”� See next week’s Business formore coverage from the fair, andtips on how to #GetExporting.

Firms showcase waresat UK awards night� A NUMBER of local businesseswill be showcasing their wares atthe Made in the UK Awards laterthis month.

Sandford-based Thatchers Cider,Marshfield Bakery andWrington-based Butcombe Brewerywill taking part of the event, beingstaged in Liverpool to coincide withthe International Festival ofBusiness.

They will go head to head withbusinesses from the rest of the UKto see decide whether theyrepresent what is great aboutproducts and servicesmanufactured in the UK.

Thatchers managing directorMartin Thatcher said: “Somersetcider is in a very good place at themoment, and this message isbeginning to spread to overseasmarkets too.”

Made in UK

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Future vision Printed planes andholograms will replace screens

David A Smith

I know companieswhere people sit at desksnine to five with laptopsin front of them. Why? Ifyou don’t trust your staff,fire them!”

“

AN online takeawayservice is opening atechnology hub inBristol to help it stayahead of the game is

an increasingly competitives e c t o r.

Just Eat runs the biggestonline marketplace for de-livering takeaway food, op-erating in 13 countries.

Although based in Lon-don, it has chosen Bristol tocreate a tech hub employing15 people initially, with thegoal of increasing that to 30by the end of next year.

The team will focus on in-novation and improving ser-vice for millions ofcustomers and the 36,000takeaways it works with.

Group chief technology of-ficer Carlos Morgado said:“Over the past 12 monthsJust Eat’s technology teamhas been working hard todeliver everything from newmobile apps to new electron-ic point of sale technologyfor our restaurant partners.

“The pool of excellent en-gineering talent in Bristol,Bath and the South West

provides us with an idealbase to build on this successand drive the next wave ofinvention and innovation forour customers around thewo rl d . ”

Chief executive GrahamCorfield added: “The tech-nical team is brimming withideas to support restaurants’growth and success whilealso ensuring customers lovetheir takeaway experience.

“I’m excited that our newBristol office will play a keyrole in making this happenwhile attracting the best techtalent on offer.”

Professor Joe McGeehan,chairman of inward invest-ment organisation InvestBristol and Bath, said themove allows the firm to tap

into the region’s talentwithout paying Londonc o s t s.

He said: “The Bristol re-gion is well-known for beinghome to an exceptionallyrich pool of talent and offersan excellent quality of life.

“There exists a growingappetite among companies toset up in locations outsideLondon where they canavoid the high costs of thecapital but still attract andretain the right staff, andBristol and Bath offers allthis and more.”

He added the move was“fantastic news” for Bristoland further recognition of itsstatus as a “vibrant and dy-namic hub of innovation”which competes at an inter-national level.

The new centre will bebased at the Engine Shed inTemple Meads. That meansit will sit alongside busi-nesses in the University ofBristol SETsquared incuba-tion centre, as well as Web-Start Bristol and the West ofEngland Local EnterprisePar tnership.

The restaurant food deliv-ery sector is becoming morecompetitive online, withrivals including Meals.co.uk,which was founded by aUWE Bristol PhD student.Graham Corfield

“The pool ofexcellent talent inBristol, Bath andthe South Westprovides us with anideal base to drivethe next wave ofinnovation.”

Part of the Local World group

Whether your conference is on a small or large scaleour expert knowledge will give you a professionaland stress free event by providing you with theright presentation equipment, lighting and sound.

Audience Response

Presentation Production

Video Presentation

Staging your Conferencedoesn’t have to cost a fortune...

Call us on: 01684 575832Email us at: enquiries@aneventservices.co.ukVisit us at : www.aneventservices.co.uk

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

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6 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The Big Interview

BRISTOL Airport is an im-portant feature of the city’sbusiness landscape. A majoremployer in its own right, italso acts as a catalyst for

many other businesses whichprovide services operating in it, or inthe supply chain for the aerospacecompanies which operate there.

It’s also a transport hub, bringingin tourists who benefit many busi-nesses in the city, as well as busi-nessmen and women, not only thosefrom outside looking to make deals inthe city region but also our own busi-ness people who may be looking totrade abroad.

Steering the ship is Robert Sinclair,the airport’s CEO, who has been inpost since late 2008, the time whichwill go down in history as the one inwhich the world’s economy caught amajor cold.

“It was a bloodbath, across the UKand Europe,” he said. “The airporthad never seen such a decline. In 2009it was the worst year in commercialaviation history. Passenger numbersfell by 10 per cent, we lost Excel whichwent into liquidation and was one ofour big charter companies, therewere reductions in capacity and with-drawals of routes.”

Since then though, Bristol hasfared well, capitalising on the suf-fering of other smaller airports suchas Exeter, Plymouth and Cardiff andseeing passenger numbers growingby two to three per cent per annum tothe extent they are now back to wherethey were before the downturn.

Mr Sinclair said: “What you’veseen over the last five years is a farmore disciplined approach by air-lines in consolidating a lot of theiractivities to major airports, of whichwe are one. The smaller airlines,some of which have gone out of busi-ness, been purchased or consolidatedinto other groups, have effectivelygone away.

“Since 2009 we’ve been back on thegrowth line and this year will be ourbusiest ever. We’re the only airport inthe UK’s top 10 to have achievedgrowth every year since 2009.

“The secret to success is having areally good portfolio of airlines. Wehave a mix of low-cost, charter andfull service airlines and our approachis quite simply to get the leadingairlines in each group. It means wespread our risk, and all our airlinesare financially stable and able towithstand a reduction in demandthen start building their portfolio upag ain.”

Despite the positivity, the portfolioof routes available from Bristol hasdiminished slightly. Salzburg in Aus-tria is one location no longer servedfrom Bristol and a more high-profilecasualty is New York, which was ar-guably the flagship destination a fewyears ago but is now only served byindirect flights via Dublin or Am-s t e rd a m .

However, long-haul flights to NewYork and the Middle East are on theagenda for the next two or three yearsand Mr Sinclair insists that the of-fering from Bristol International isstill competitive. He said: “If you wereto map it out, if you took our routes

from 2008 and you look at them nowyou would see that the destinationshave remained very stable.

“Despite the difficulties we havebeen remarkably consistent throughthe course of the recession. And we’veinvested too – we ’ve improved ca-pacity, better piers, aircraft stands,car parking, security and immigra-tion – we ’ve touched every major bitand we’re continuing to do that. Wehad the view that the recession wouldend, the sun would rise again and wewanted to be well-positioned.”

Planning approval which wentthrough in 2011 allows Bristol scopeto spend £150 million on doubling thesize of the new terminal, while re-maining within the geographicalfootprint which it currently fills, andraising passenger numbers perannum from six million currently upto 10 million. So while the debate overairport expansion in London rumbleson – a third runway at Heathrow oralternative options aren’t likely toactually happen until 2030 – Bristol’spassenger capacity could havedoubled by then.

Mr Sinclair said: “At peak, in sum-mer, Gatwick is full and Heathrow isfull. It’s not just congestion on theground either – the railways and mo-torways are full if you’re coming fromBristol and it’s even worse if you livein Devon or Cornwall. We don’t havethose issues here – it’s very easy to getto and once you’re here, getting on tothe aircraft is efficient.”

The airport generally runs prettysmoothly, even though incidents likethe small electrical fire at the ter-minal in early June can knock thewhole operation out of joint for sev-eral hours. Mr Sinclair offered as-surances that something like thatwo n’t happen again. And he pointedout that other events beyond the air-por t’s control – French air traffic

control strikes last month, for ex-ample – cause more disruption.

He also suggested that other issueswhich cause passenger grievance,such as the £2 fare for luggage trolleysand the loss of free drop-off parkingfacilities, contribute to the airport’sability to offer affordable flights.

He said: “It’s not true that we’re theonly airport to charge – it’s quitecommon. Some people aren’t happythat we charge for dropping off at carparks. I accept that but I would saythat the prices people pay from theairport are really low and our com-mercial revenue goes towards sub-sidising the low costs that thepassengers have to pay. In my view,the passenger is the winner.”

And what of the campaigners, thosewho object to the expansion of theairport on environmental grounds?

Mr Sinclair said: “There were somegenuine concerns from our local com-munity about what the expansion ofthe airport would mean in terms ofthings like transport, surface access,congestion on the roads, noise and airquality. I believe North SomersetCouncil did a very good job of lookingat those issues in detail and workingwith us quite positively to produce a

AIRPORT ON AN UPWARD CURVEAfter surviving the airline‘bloodbath’ caused by therecession, business is takingoff again at Birstol Airport.Rupert Janisch talks to chiefexecutive Robert Sinclair

package of mitigation measures.“We now have a local community

fund of around £100,000 per annumand there are a lot of little things wehave done, concessions on parkingand transport, for example, to bringus closer to the local community. Ithink the level of trust is at an all-timehigh. And when you compare thenumbers of passengers we handlewith the numbers of people who livewithin our key decibel contours, weare about the most noise-efficient air-port in the UK. It’s because we haverural areas on either side. That’s whyI think North Somerset Council did agood job. They weighed up the en-vironmental impacts against the eco-nomic ones. We provide multipledaily services to the major hubs,practically every major city inEurope, often for less than it takes toget to London. That’s what Bristolneeds. It needs to be connected.”

The expansion of Bristol Airport isestimated to contribute between£1.9 and £2 billion to the local eco-nomy over the next 10 years, throughinbound tourism, time and cost sav-ings to business, and inbound em-

My working day

Name: Robert SinclairAge: 47Place of birth: Auckland, NewZealandSchool: Auckland GrammarSchoolFirst job: LawyerHero or inspiration: CaptainCook – a brilliant navigator,sailor, explorer and leader of hiscrew, and he discovered NewZealand!

Vital statistics

My downtimeMy perfect weekend: Walking thedogs in the countryside, watchingour two boys play sport, and dinnerat a great Somerset pub!Favourite book: I enjoy books onhistory and, not surprisingly, travel!Hobbies: Keeping fit swimming,running and cycling, as well as a bitof sailing and skiing when I can.

ployment. The operation will beenhanced by the South Bristol Linkroad, with construction due to beginat the end of this year.

“It’s been on the cards for decades,”said Mr Sinclair. “As part of our plan-ning approval we have come forwardto part fund that road to the tune of£4 million. We are also contributingto the Ashton Vale to Temple Meadsconnection as well. We feel verystrongly that improving the surfaceaccess to Bristol Airport is key to ourbusiness and we need to help out onthat around the region generally.

“It’s not good, as we know. We wantit to improve. We’d like to see a duallane highway to the airport fromcentral Bristol in the fullness of timeand I’d like to see a direct connectionto the M5 as well. It’s a long way off,there are various schemes that havebeen proposed by I don’t see thathappening any time soon.

“The two schemes together – theSouth Bristol Link and the AshtonVale scheme – will make the BristolFlyer bus service work even better, astraight shot into central Bristol byOctober 2016.”

� Robert Sinclair is looking forward to a strong future for Bristol Airport

Robert SinclairChief executive

Bristol Airport

“We ’d like to see a duallane highway to theairport from centralBristol in the fullness oftime and I’d like to see adirect connection to theM5 as well.

� Engine Shed director Nick Sturge

A BUSINESS incubator based partlyin Bristol has been ranked the best inEurope and second best in thewo rl d .

SETsquared was created for busi-nesses spun out of the University ofBristol as well as Bath, Exeter,Southampton and Surrey universit-i e s.

It is now home to a number of earlystage and developing tech companies,with its Bristol base at the EngineShed in Temple Meads.

Engine Shed director Nick Sturgesaid the award was recognition ofgreat work being done here in thec i t y.

He said: “We have always endeav-

oured to operate in a global context.“Most of the tech start-ups we work

with are born global and this awardconfirms that we can provide the bestincubation environment for localstart-ups that will become globalbu s i n e s s e s. ”

The ranking was given by the Uni-versity Business Incubator (UBI)Index

Dhruv Bhatli, co-founder and dir-ector of research at index, said: “SET-squared did really well on our GlobalBenchmark and beat numerous busi-ness incubators based at top uni-ve r s i t i e s.

“They are one of the best incub-ation places in the world and cer-

tainly the best in Europe, asevidenced from their performance onour global benchmark.

“It is an outstanding business in-cubator that provides exceptionalquality to its client companies andproduces growth companies and higheconomic impact.”

Bristol SETsquared has collected afew awards of its own recently, in-cluding best heritage project in theSouth West Built EnvironmentAwards for the £1.7 million trans-formation of Brunel’s Engine Shed.

And Nick won the Public SectorDirector of the Year accolade at the2014 Institute of Directors (IoD) SouthWest awards last month.

Incubator’s the best in EuropeE n te r p r i se

Ed u c a t i o n

WHEN Ruth Wadsworth’sson Luke was a fewmonths old, she startedtalking with her friendsfrom her NCT group

about the best age to start reading totheir children.

It started a lively discussion. Ruth’sdad Fred Grainger – L u ke ’s granddad– runs school books business Edu-cation Umbrella and took an interestin the conversations.

Education Umbrella, based inExeter House, in the Temple QuarterEnterprise Zone, is a third-partyseller of books to nurseries and

schools, up to A-Level.But it didn’t sell into the

under-threes market.So together they came up with an

idea. Ruth’s NCT parenting groupformed a book club. They were givenbooks to read to their children and inexchange agreed to be filmed so theprogress could be recorded.

The result is Routes to Reading, anew arm of the business consisting ofa website which sells books aimed atunder-threes direct to parents.

But it is also a support resource,with the videos and other advice on-l i n e.

Ruth, 33, joined the family businessand is running Routes to Reading.She said they wanted to give parentssomewhere to go for appropriatebooks for younger children.

She said: “The thing that really

differentiates us is that we have cat-egorised by the type of book, so forexample if your son likes tractors wehave a section on transportation.

“We also have experts who havegone through to help suggest idealages for our books, so you can put inyour child’s age and choose from thesuggested books.”

There is a also a book club, whichRuth is hoping will become a populargift, in which you buy a child mem-bership for three, six or 12 monthsand they get two books each monthchosen for their age.

Ruth said the journey had been aneye-opener for her.

“At six or seven months when chil-dren are putting everything in theirmouth and throwing stuff, Luke sawbooks as something he could hold andchew on,” sisa Ruth.

“But now, at 19 months, he chooseshis book at bedtime and he wants togo to his books box in the morning.

“It’s very calming too. He’s reallyengaged in reading and it calms himdown if he’s having a crazy 15m i nu t e s. ”

Routes to Reading was launched onSaturday with a reading day atAt-Bristol science museum in theH a r b o u r s i d e.

Luke was born with a heart defectand spent the first three weeks of hislife in the Bristol Children’s Hospital,so the family have become regularfundraisers for the hospital, whichled to them buying Steam Dog Gromitfrom last year’s charity auction andthe statue made a special appearanceon the day.

To find out more go to ro u t e s t -o re a d i n g. c o. u k .

Start them early New chapter asbook firm targets under-threesGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

� Ruth Wadsworth with her son Luke, 19 months, during the Routes to Reading: Little Readers' Day Out, At-BristolPic: Artur Lesniak RAL20140628A-014_C

� A BUSINESS started to helpimprove health in the workplace isproving its own fitness after winningtwo new contracts.

Work Doctors was set up as anoccupational health business by agroup of local GPs earlier this year.

It has been appointed by cheesecompany Lye Cross Farm in Redhilland city centre-based IOPPublishing to provideexpert help andadvice onemployeehealthneeds.

It willoffer the300 staff atIOPPublishing amedicalreferral andconsultation serviceand an annual flu jab.

Peter Alivis, from Lye Cross, said:“Our partnership with Work Doctorsensures that we have access toindependent, expert health advice toensure our employees are fit andhealthy to meet the rigorousrequirements of a modern foodbusiness.

“We have been impressed withtheir understanding of the veryspecific needs of our business andtheir speed in responding to ourneeds.”

Dr Mark O’Connor, pictur edabove, managing director at WorkDoctors, which is based in LongAshton, said: “Access to up-to-dateoccupational health advice from ateam that understands thepressures facing businesses intoday’s fast paced economicenvironment can be a realcontributor to success.

“It’s great to see so manybusinesses in the South Westaddressing their occupational healthneeds and we are delighted to havebeen appointed to help.”

Workplace healthContracts a shot inthe arm for business

Sign uphere forbusinessnews directto yourinboxevery day

Wake up: 6.15amB re a k f a s t : Cereal and fruitStart work: 8.30am-9amTypical working day: Usuallyback-to-back meetings – some atthe airport, and quite a few offsite.Lots of emails and plenty ofreading to keep up to date withevery aspect of the very excitingaviation industry. I have a greatteam around me, so I am a bit of ajack-of-all-trades, helping outwhere I can on a wide range ofissues, working with all sorts ofdifferent people.

Go home: Around 6pmDo you take work home/attendevening functions? Evenings are achance to catch up on emails andreading, as well as attending one ortwo functions a week

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

6 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The Big Interview

BRISTOL Airport is an im-portant feature of the city’sbusiness landscape. A majoremployer in its own right, italso acts as a catalyst for

many other businesses whichprovide services operating in it, or inthe supply chain for the aerospacecompanies which operate there.

It’s also a transport hub, bringingin tourists who benefit many busi-nesses in the city, as well as busi-nessmen and women, not only thosefrom outside looking to make deals inthe city region but also our own busi-ness people who may be looking totrade abroad.

Steering the ship is Robert Sinclair,the airport’s CEO, who has been inpost since late 2008, the time whichwill go down in history as the one inwhich the world’s economy caught amajor cold.

“It was a bloodbath, across the UKand Europe,” he said. “The airporthad never seen such a decline. In 2009it was the worst year in commercialaviation history. Passenger numbersfell by 10 per cent, we lost Excel whichwent into liquidation and was one ofour big charter companies, therewere reductions in capacity and with-drawals of routes.”

Since then though, Bristol hasfared well, capitalising on the suf-fering of other smaller airports suchas Exeter, Plymouth and Cardiff andseeing passenger numbers growingby two to three per cent per annum tothe extent they are now back to wherethey were before the downturn.

Mr Sinclair said: “What you’veseen over the last five years is a farmore disciplined approach by air-lines in consolidating a lot of theiractivities to major airports, of whichwe are one. The smaller airlines,some of which have gone out of busi-ness, been purchased or consolidatedinto other groups, have effectivelygone away.

“Since 2009 we’ve been back on thegrowth line and this year will be ourbusiest ever. We’re the only airport inthe UK’s top 10 to have achievedgrowth every year since 2009.

“The secret to success is having areally good portfolio of airlines. Wehave a mix of low-cost, charter andfull service airlines and our approachis quite simply to get the leadingairlines in each group. It means wespread our risk, and all our airlinesare financially stable and able towithstand a reduction in demandthen start building their portfolio upag ain.”

Despite the positivity, the portfolioof routes available from Bristol hasdiminished slightly. Salzburg in Aus-tria is one location no longer servedfrom Bristol and a more high-profilecasualty is New York, which was ar-guably the flagship destination a fewyears ago but is now only served byindirect flights via Dublin or Am-s t e rd a m .

However, long-haul flights to NewYork and the Middle East are on theagenda for the next two or three yearsand Mr Sinclair insists that the of-fering from Bristol International isstill competitive. He said: “If you wereto map it out, if you took our routes

from 2008 and you look at them nowyou would see that the destinationshave remained very stable.

“Despite the difficulties we havebeen remarkably consistent throughthe course of the recession. And we’veinvested too – we ’ve improved ca-pacity, better piers, aircraft stands,car parking, security and immigra-tion – we ’ve touched every major bitand we’re continuing to do that. Wehad the view that the recession wouldend, the sun would rise again and wewanted to be well-positioned.”

Planning approval which wentthrough in 2011 allows Bristol scopeto spend £150 million on doubling thesize of the new terminal, while re-maining within the geographicalfootprint which it currently fills, andraising passenger numbers perannum from six million currently upto 10 million. So while the debate overairport expansion in London rumbleson – a third runway at Heathrow oralternative options aren’t likely toactually happen until 2030 – Bristol’spassenger capacity could havedoubled by then.

Mr Sinclair said: “At peak, in sum-mer, Gatwick is full and Heathrow isfull. It’s not just congestion on theground either – the railways and mo-torways are full if you’re coming fromBristol and it’s even worse if you livein Devon or Cornwall. We don’t havethose issues here – it’s very easy to getto and once you’re here, getting on tothe aircraft is efficient.”

The airport generally runs prettysmoothly, even though incidents likethe small electrical fire at the ter-minal in early June can knock thewhole operation out of joint for sev-eral hours. Mr Sinclair offered as-surances that something like thatwo n’t happen again. And he pointedout that other events beyond the air-por t’s control – French air traffic

control strikes last month, for ex-ample – cause more disruption.

He also suggested that other issueswhich cause passenger grievance,such as the £2 fare for luggage trolleysand the loss of free drop-off parkingfacilities, contribute to the airport’sability to offer affordable flights.

He said: “It’s not true that we’re theonly airport to charge – it’s quitecommon. Some people aren’t happythat we charge for dropping off at carparks. I accept that but I would saythat the prices people pay from theairport are really low and our com-mercial revenue goes towards sub-sidising the low costs that thepassengers have to pay. In my view,the passenger is the winner.”

And what of the campaigners, thosewho object to the expansion of theairport on environmental grounds?

Mr Sinclair said: “There were somegenuine concerns from our local com-munity about what the expansion ofthe airport would mean in terms ofthings like transport, surface access,congestion on the roads, noise and airquality. I believe North SomersetCouncil did a very good job of lookingat those issues in detail and workingwith us quite positively to produce a

AIRPORT ON AN UPWARD CURVEAfter surviving the airline‘bloodbath’ caused by therecession, business is takingoff again at Birstol Airport.Rupert Janisch talks to chiefexecutive Robert Sinclair

package of mitigation measures.“We now have a local community

fund of around £100,000 per annumand there are a lot of little things wehave done, concessions on parkingand transport, for example, to bringus closer to the local community. Ithink the level of trust is at an all-timehigh. And when you compare thenumbers of passengers we handlewith the numbers of people who livewithin our key decibel contours, weare about the most noise-efficient air-port in the UK. It’s because we haverural areas on either side. That’s whyI think North Somerset Council did agood job. They weighed up the en-vironmental impacts against the eco-nomic ones. We provide multipledaily services to the major hubs,practically every major city inEurope, often for less than it takes toget to London. That’s what Bristolneeds. It needs to be connected.”

The expansion of Bristol Airport isestimated to contribute between£1.9 and £2 billion to the local eco-nomy over the next 10 years, throughinbound tourism, time and cost sav-ings to business, and inbound em-

My working day

Name: Robert SinclairAge: 47Place of birth: Auckland, NewZealandSchool: Auckland GrammarSchoolFirst job: LawyerHero or inspiration: CaptainCook – a brilliant navigator,sailor, explorer and leader of hiscrew, and he discovered NewZealand!

Vital statistics

My downtimeMy perfect weekend: Walking thedogs in the countryside, watchingour two boys play sport, and dinnerat a great Somerset pub!Favourite book: I enjoy books onhistory and, not surprisingly, travel!Hobbies: Keeping fit swimming,running and cycling, as well as a bitof sailing and skiing when I can.

ployment. The operation will beenhanced by the South Bristol Linkroad, with construction due to beginat the end of this year.

“It’s been on the cards for decades,”said Mr Sinclair. “As part of our plan-ning approval we have come forwardto part fund that road to the tune of£4 million. We are also contributingto the Ashton Vale to Temple Meadsconnection as well. We feel verystrongly that improving the surfaceaccess to Bristol Airport is key to ourbusiness and we need to help out onthat around the region generally.

“It’s not good, as we know. We wantit to improve. We’d like to see a duallane highway to the airport fromcentral Bristol in the fullness of timeand I’d like to see a direct connectionto the M5 as well. It’s a long way off,there are various schemes that havebeen proposed by I don’t see thathappening any time soon.

“The two schemes together – theSouth Bristol Link and the AshtonVale scheme – will make the BristolFlyer bus service work even better, astraight shot into central Bristol byOctober 2016.”

� Robert Sinclair is looking forward to a strong future for Bristol Airport

Robert SinclairChief executive

Bristol Airport

“We ’d like to see a duallane highway to theairport from centralBristol in the fullness oftime and I’d like to see adirect connection to theM5 as well.

� Engine Shed director Nick Sturge

A BUSINESS incubator based partlyin Bristol has been ranked the best inEurope and second best in thewo rl d .

SETsquared was created for busi-nesses spun out of the University ofBristol as well as Bath, Exeter,Southampton and Surrey universit-i e s.

It is now home to a number of earlystage and developing tech companies,with its Bristol base at the EngineShed in Temple Meads.

Engine Shed director Nick Sturgesaid the award was recognition ofgreat work being done here in thec i t y.

He said: “We have always endeav-

oured to operate in a global context.“Most of the tech start-ups we work

with are born global and this awardconfirms that we can provide the bestincubation environment for localstart-ups that will become globalbu s i n e s s e s. ”

The ranking was given by the Uni-versity Business Incubator (UBI)Index

Dhruv Bhatli, co-founder and dir-ector of research at index, said: “SET-squared did really well on our GlobalBenchmark and beat numerous busi-ness incubators based at top uni-ve r s i t i e s.

“They are one of the best incub-ation places in the world and cer-

tainly the best in Europe, asevidenced from their performance onour global benchmark.

“It is an outstanding business in-cubator that provides exceptionalquality to its client companies andproduces growth companies and higheconomic impact.”

Bristol SETsquared has collected afew awards of its own recently, in-cluding best heritage project in theSouth West Built EnvironmentAwards for the £1.7 million trans-formation of Brunel’s Engine Shed.

And Nick won the Public SectorDirector of the Year accolade at the2014 Institute of Directors (IoD) SouthWest awards last month.

Incubator’s the best in EuropeE n te r p r i se

Ed u c a t i o n

WHEN Ruth Wadsworth’sson Luke was a fewmonths old, she startedtalking with her friendsfrom her NCT group

about the best age to start reading totheir children.

It started a lively discussion. Ruth’sdad Fred Grainger – L u ke ’s granddad– runs school books business Edu-cation Umbrella and took an interestin the conversations.

Education Umbrella, based inExeter House, in the Temple QuarterEnterprise Zone, is a third-partyseller of books to nurseries and

schools, up to A-Level.But it didn’t sell into the

under-threes market.So together they came up with an

idea. Ruth’s NCT parenting groupformed a book club. They were givenbooks to read to their children and inexchange agreed to be filmed so theprogress could be recorded.

The result is Routes to Reading, anew arm of the business consisting ofa website which sells books aimed atunder-threes direct to parents.

But it is also a support resource,with the videos and other advice on-l i n e.

Ruth, 33, joined the family businessand is running Routes to Reading.She said they wanted to give parentssomewhere to go for appropriatebooks for younger children.

She said: “The thing that really

differentiates us is that we have cat-egorised by the type of book, so forexample if your son likes tractors wehave a section on transportation.

“We also have experts who havegone through to help suggest idealages for our books, so you can put inyour child’s age and choose from thesuggested books.”

There is a also a book club, whichRuth is hoping will become a populargift, in which you buy a child mem-bership for three, six or 12 monthsand they get two books each monthchosen for their age.

Ruth said the journey had been aneye-opener for her.

“At six or seven months when chil-dren are putting everything in theirmouth and throwing stuff, Luke sawbooks as something he could hold andchew on,” sisa Ruth.

“But now, at 19 months, he chooseshis book at bedtime and he wants togo to his books box in the morning.

“It’s very calming too. He’s reallyengaged in reading and it calms himdown if he’s having a crazy 15m i nu t e s. ”

Routes to Reading was launched onSaturday with a reading day atAt-Bristol science museum in theH a r b o u r s i d e.

Luke was born with a heart defectand spent the first three weeks of hislife in the Bristol Children’s Hospital,so the family have become regularfundraisers for the hospital, whichled to them buying Steam Dog Gromitfrom last year’s charity auction andthe statue made a special appearanceon the day.

To find out more go to ro u t e s t -o re a d i n g. c o. u k .

Start them early New chapter asbook firm targets under-threesGavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

� Ruth Wadsworth with her son Luke, 19 months, during the Routes to Reading: Little Readers' Day Out, At-BristolPic: Artur Lesniak RAL20140628A-014_C

� A BUSINESS started to helpimprove health in the workplace isproving its own fitness after winningtwo new contracts.

Work Doctors was set up as anoccupational health business by agroup of local GPs earlier this year.

It has been appointed by cheesecompany Lye Cross Farm in Redhilland city centre-based IOPPublishing to provideexpert help andadvice onemployeehealthneeds.

It willoffer the300 staff atIOPPublishing amedicalreferral andconsultation serviceand an annual flu jab.

Peter Alivis, from Lye Cross, said:“Our partnership with Work Doctorsensures that we have access toindependent, expert health advice toensure our employees are fit andhealthy to meet the rigorousrequirements of a modern foodbusiness.

“We have been impressed withtheir understanding of the veryspecific needs of our business andtheir speed in responding to ourneeds.”

Dr Mark O’Connor, pictur edabove, managing director at WorkDoctors, which is based in LongAshton, said: “Access to up-to-dateoccupational health advice from ateam that understands thepressures facing businesses intoday’s fast paced economicenvironment can be a realcontributor to success.

“It’s great to see so manybusinesses in the South Westaddressing their occupational healthneeds and we are delighted to havebeen appointed to help.”

Workplace healthContracts a shot inthe arm for business

Sign uphere forbusinessnews directto yourinboxevery day

Wake up: 6.15amB re a k f a s t : Cereal and fruitStart work: 8.30am-9amTypical working day: Usuallyback-to-back meetings – some atthe airport, and quite a few offsite.Lots of emails and plenty ofreading to keep up to date withevery aspect of the very excitingaviation industry. I have a greatteam around me, so I am a bit of ajack-of-all-trades, helping outwhere I can on a wide range ofissues, working with all sorts ofdifferent people.

Go home: Around 6pmDo you take work home/attendevening functions? Evenings are achance to catch up on emails andreading, as well as attending one ortwo functions a week

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

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S3

8 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

SUPPLY and demand is one ofthe most fundamental build-ing blocks for business. Yetwhen it comes to buildingspace in which those busi-

nesses can work, developers oftenstruggle to get the balance right.

Human behaviour plays a part,along with cashflow. We see the eco-nomy take a dive, and everyone stopsbuilding. No one wants empty, costlyproperties on their hands.

But then the economy picks up.Construction is a slow beast thattakes time to limber up and gatherspeed.

Which leaves a gap between supplyand demand that can hamper theprospects of growth and recovery.

And that is where Bristol findsitself now. While we celebrate everytech company that invests in the city,and heap praise on the trendy inner

dustrial stock reducing dramatic-a l ly, ” said James.

“Demand for large industrialpremises tends to come from re-

tailers and third party logist-ics operators as well as

parcel delivery compan-ies, all of which have re-quirements for theBristol area.

“There is a noticeablelack of supply of larger

industrial buildings inBristol, which means oc-

cupiers will struggle toidentify suitable premises.”

This could cost the local economyas organisations simply look else-where. Bristol maybe well placed

with good links around the countryvia the M4 and M5, but it’s not theonly option.

And it is not just big sites in de-mand. Colliers International’s Dani-elle Hatton said: “Smaller units arestill available in Avonmouth – we areseeing considerable activity in thesmaller size bracket alongside themajor movements in large sheds.

“We are also finding that tenantsare demanding better quality spacethese days – prompting more ownersand landlords to take the plunge andrefurbish their remaining secondarys t o ck . ”

Andy Ridler, right, of another prop-erty agency Alder King, put the risein demand down to renewed econom-

ic confidence in not just logistics butalso manufacturing.

He said Bristol benefited from anestablished multi-sector,multi-skilled workforce andtwo leading universitiesproviding world-leadingresearch facilities.

He said half year takeup of industrial spacewas around 800,000square feet, a number hesaid was “de pressed”.

“The lack of good qual-ity, immediately availablesupply is holding back takeu p, ” said Andy.

“Demand is sustainable as it comesfrom a wide variety of sectors but is

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

As the economy grows, sodoes demand for industrialspace. But with little or noth-ing built for several years,will there be enough supply?Gavin Thompson reports

city office spaces they love so much,such as the Engine Shed and TempleStudios. The truth – the ugly truth – isthat we need more big clunky in-dustrial space, and soon.

James Morgan, below, head of theindustrial agency department atCBRE Bristol, said: “In Bristol it isbecoming more and more evid-ent that there is a lack ofsupply for industrial andlogistics premises, andthis is reflected acrossall size ranges.”

He said this was ap-parent in the rise indemand for industrialspace since the turn ofthe year with a numberof sites let.

“This coupled with the factthere has been no significant spec-ulative development in the last sevenyears has led to supply levels of in-

Property Matters

BR I S T O L’S creative quarters areplaying an increasingly signi-ficant role in the city’s urbanregeneration – launching abrave new world from what was

virtual wilderness.Large areas of the inner city – wh i ch

would have been considered no-go zonesjust thirty or forty years ago – are now themust have location for every self-respect-ing media, digital or creative companywhich has ever headed West.

Although frequently accused of derail-ing meaningful development, the cityauthorities seem to have finally recog-nised the possibilities of thriving cre-ative corners and are starting to open upextensive stretches of Bristol’s riversidescene abandoned since the last war.

We have seen the same trends inGloucester and Plymouth, where theQuays and Millbay areas are being trans-formed into must-have locations ratherthan best avoided backwaters.

Bristol’s Paintworks is perhaps the ob-vious example of what can be achievedwhen new ideas collide with old build-ings to create vibrant, youthful and eco-nomically effective workplaces.

The Paintworks estate has helped re-generate 12 acres of derelict industrialbu i l d i n g salong thebanks of theRiver Avon,transfor m-ing mud-b a n ke dwastelands into some of the most pro-ductive square footage in the city.

A little further in to the southern sub-urbs, the Bottle Yard studio at the formerConstellation Wines plant in Hengrove isowned by Bristol City Council andprovided the setting for the popular Trol-lied sitcom and more recently the BBCOne drama Frankie. Lights, camera andplenty of action in a building which oncehoused the Harvey’s Bristol Creamsherry bottling line. In fact, the success ofthe Bottle Yard flies in the face of ac-cepted creative regeneration theory as itlies further away from the epicentre –where questions of cost, quality and cent-rality create the market opportunitiesthe creative hub thrives upon. It is thesegenerally derelict or secondary locationswhich have seen the most striking trans-formations, where creative juices havereanimated entire neighbourhoods leftbehind by ancient industries.

According to first quarter figures thecreative sector is playing an increasinglyimportant role steering Bristol’s vibrantcity centre offices sector back towardsactivity levels not seen since 2008.

This astonishing recovery of the urbanlandscape is well underway – maybe it’stime to turn our attention to the thou-sands of well-educated young people withjust the right skills to make the most ofthis infinitely brighter future.

Paul MatthewsPartnerBruton Knowles0117 287 2101paul.matthews@brutonknowles.co.uk

Creative industries aretransforming our city

Expert eye

CONCERN OVER CITY’S SHORTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL SPACE

utors looking to drive further effi-ciencies in their distributionnetworks with space of around10,000-25,000 sq ft. There has also beena particular return of mid-range re-quirements in the 25,000-75,000 sq ftsize range.”

He said supply stood at 2.5 millionsq ft of available space – the lowest for10 years.

And a “significant proportion” ofthat is poor quality.

“Demand far outstrips the amountof good quality available buildings,”said Andy. “There is a two-tier mar-ket, with a large gap between the goodand poorer quality space.

“Prospective occupiers are sur-prised at how little available quality

space there is. This is the legacy of thelast development cycle when some ofBristol’s land supply was lost to otheruses, eg offices, and not replaced.”

The good news is there is landavailable where new industrial sitescan be built, particularly in Avon-mouth as well as possibly around thedevelopments in Filton and Emer-sons Green.

And the supply problem is notunique to Bristol.

Tim Davies, head of Colliers In-ter national’s Bristol office, said soar-ing demand for qualityaccommodation around London hadpromoted more businesses to lookfurther down the M4.

“The faster than expected recovery

has placed a major strain on supply ofquality accommodation in the great-er London, Birmingham andManchester regions,” he said.

“This shifts attention to Avon-mouth and Severnside, which givenits location beside the M4/M5 in-terchange, could be as handy forfirms needing Midlands connectionsas it is for businesses in the capital.”

Farm Foods recently announced itis to open a 175,000 sq ft distributioncentre on Central Park – alongsidethe Chep pallet premises. Othermajor occupiers include Morrisons,Tesco, Asda and the Co-op.

The opportunities are clear. Thequestion is can we meet the demandfast enough?

particularly strong from added valueand technology-based manufacturersas well as from the construction, lo-

gistics and e-retailing fulfilments e c t o r s. ”

Andy said the demandwas broad across a rangeof sizes.

“W h at ’s noticeable isthat demand is not re-stricted to one partic-ular size range, eg the

big sheds,” he said.“Demand is coming

from across the size spec-trum, from small owner man-

agers looking for around 1,000-5,000sq ft of space, to those in theaerospace supply chain and distrib-

enquiries@brutonknowles.co.ukbrutonknowles.co.uk

0117 287 2101 Achieve morefrom your property

B015-1411 Bruton Knowles Bristol Post Commercial Advert 270x40mm AW 2.pdf 1 06/05/2014 17:24

0117 287 2101brutonknowles.co.uk

For Sale - Development LandThe Old Mill, Congresbury,Bristol BS49 5HZ

• Development site of 0.69 acres (0.969 ha)• Consent for offices• Up to 878.6 sq m (9,458 sq ft) plus 27 car

spaces

Contact: paul.williams@brutonknowles.co.uk BK code: 2583

enquiries@brutonknowles.co.ukbrutonknowles.co.uk

0117 287 2101 Achieve morefrom your property

B015-1411 Bruton Knowles Bristol Post Commercial Advert 270x40mm AW 2.pdf 1 06/05/2014 17:24

In association with

James Morgan

In Bristol it is becomingmore and more evidentthat there is a lack ofsupply for industrial andlogistics premises acrossall size ranges.”

“

� IF Bristol is to meet the demand forindustrial space, it needs developers to startbuilding speculatively. There is little sign ofthis yet, but one scheme that has got off theground is in Warmley.

Axten Properties and Blue MarbleProperties have started building five starterbusiness units totalling 15,000 sq ft atCaxton Business Park.

One of the units is already under offer by amanufacturing firm. The four remaining oneswill range from 2,900-11,720 sq ft (279 –1,115 sq m).

The scheme, one of the first speculativeindustrial developments in the city for at leastfive years, will be available from this autumnand will help address strong demand forquality production and distribution space.

Emma Smith, surveyor at Alder King inBristol, said: “The return of speculativedevelopment in the industrial market is aclear indicator that the economic tide hastur ned.

“With very few new buildings coming onstream in the last five years or so, occupiershave little choice when looking for newaccommodation.

“This development will be one of the firstnew schemes capable of meeting theresurgence in demand for quality modernindustrial space.”

The site, formerly home to Lawson MardenPackaging, was bought and cleared forredevelopment four years ago.

Last year, Axten/Blue Marble Propertiessecured a pre-sale deal on part of the 2.4acre site to WBC Automotive for thedevelopment of a 20,000 sq ft (1,858 sq m)modern workshop and office facility tofacilitate further expansion and create newjobs.

Property of the Week

� Tim Davies

Speculative buildaddresses demand

Case study

Tim Davies, head of Colliers International’sBristol office

The faster than expected recoveryhas placed a major strain on supply ofquality accommodation in the greaterLondon, Birmingham and Manchesterregions. This shifts attention toAvonmouth and Severnside.”

“

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8 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

SUPPLY and demand is one ofthe most fundamental build-ing blocks for business. Yetwhen it comes to buildingspace in which those busi-

nesses can work, developers oftenstruggle to get the balance right.

Human behaviour plays a part,along with cashflow. We see the eco-nomy take a dive, and everyone stopsbuilding. No one wants empty, costlyproperties on their hands.

But then the economy picks up.Construction is a slow beast thattakes time to limber up and gatherspeed.

Which leaves a gap between supplyand demand that can hamper theprospects of growth and recovery.

And that is where Bristol findsitself now. While we celebrate everytech company that invests in the city,and heap praise on the trendy inner

dustrial stock reducing dramatic-a l ly, ” said James.

“Demand for large industrialpremises tends to come from re-

tailers and third party logist-ics operators as well as

parcel delivery compan-ies, all of which have re-quirements for theBristol area.

“There is a noticeablelack of supply of larger

industrial buildings inBristol, which means oc-

cupiers will struggle toidentify suitable premises.”

This could cost the local economyas organisations simply look else-where. Bristol maybe well placed

with good links around the countryvia the M4 and M5, but it’s not theonly option.

And it is not just big sites in de-mand. Colliers International’s Dani-elle Hatton said: “Smaller units arestill available in Avonmouth – we areseeing considerable activity in thesmaller size bracket alongside themajor movements in large sheds.

“We are also finding that tenantsare demanding better quality spacethese days – prompting more ownersand landlords to take the plunge andrefurbish their remaining secondarys t o ck . ”

Andy Ridler, right, of another prop-erty agency Alder King, put the risein demand down to renewed econom-

ic confidence in not just logistics butalso manufacturing.

He said Bristol benefited from anestablished multi-sector,multi-skilled workforce andtwo leading universitiesproviding world-leadingresearch facilities.

He said half year takeup of industrial spacewas around 800,000square feet, a number hesaid was “de pressed”.

“The lack of good qual-ity, immediately availablesupply is holding back takeu p, ” said Andy.

“Demand is sustainable as it comesfrom a wide variety of sectors but is

Focus on start-ups | Sponsored by THEME SPONSOR’S NAME HERE.

As the economy grows, sodoes demand for industrialspace. But with little or noth-ing built for several years,will there be enough supply?Gavin Thompson reports

city office spaces they love so much,such as the Engine Shed and TempleStudios. The truth – the ugly truth – isthat we need more big clunky in-dustrial space, and soon.

James Morgan, below, head of theindustrial agency department atCBRE Bristol, said: “In Bristol it isbecoming more and more evid-ent that there is a lack ofsupply for industrial andlogistics premises, andthis is reflected acrossall size ranges.”

He said this was ap-parent in the rise indemand for industrialspace since the turn ofthe year with a numberof sites let.

“This coupled with the factthere has been no significant spec-ulative development in the last sevenyears has led to supply levels of in-

Property Matters

BR I S T O L’S creative quarters areplaying an increasingly signi-ficant role in the city’s urbanregeneration – launching abrave new world from what was

virtual wilderness.Large areas of the inner city – wh i ch

would have been considered no-go zonesjust thirty or forty years ago – are now themust have location for every self-respect-ing media, digital or creative companywhich has ever headed West.

Although frequently accused of derail-ing meaningful development, the cityauthorities seem to have finally recog-nised the possibilities of thriving cre-ative corners and are starting to open upextensive stretches of Bristol’s riversidescene abandoned since the last war.

We have seen the same trends inGloucester and Plymouth, where theQuays and Millbay areas are being trans-formed into must-have locations ratherthan best avoided backwaters.

Bristol’s Paintworks is perhaps the ob-vious example of what can be achievedwhen new ideas collide with old build-ings to create vibrant, youthful and eco-nomically effective workplaces.

The Paintworks estate has helped re-generate 12 acres of derelict industrialbu i l d i n g salong thebanks of theRiver Avon,transfor m-ing mud-b a n ke dwastelands into some of the most pro-ductive square footage in the city.

A little further in to the southern sub-urbs, the Bottle Yard studio at the formerConstellation Wines plant in Hengrove isowned by Bristol City Council andprovided the setting for the popular Trol-lied sitcom and more recently the BBCOne drama Frankie. Lights, camera andplenty of action in a building which oncehoused the Harvey’s Bristol Creamsherry bottling line. In fact, the success ofthe Bottle Yard flies in the face of ac-cepted creative regeneration theory as itlies further away from the epicentre –where questions of cost, quality and cent-rality create the market opportunitiesthe creative hub thrives upon. It is thesegenerally derelict or secondary locationswhich have seen the most striking trans-formations, where creative juices havereanimated entire neighbourhoods leftbehind by ancient industries.

According to first quarter figures thecreative sector is playing an increasinglyimportant role steering Bristol’s vibrantcity centre offices sector back towardsactivity levels not seen since 2008.

This astonishing recovery of the urbanlandscape is well underway – maybe it’stime to turn our attention to the thou-sands of well-educated young people withjust the right skills to make the most ofthis infinitely brighter future.

Paul MatthewsPartnerBruton Knowles0117 287 2101paul.matthews@brutonknowles.co.uk

Creative industries aretransforming our city

Expert eye

CONCERN OVER CITY’S SHORTAGE OF INDUSTRIAL SPACE

utors looking to drive further effi-ciencies in their distributionnetworks with space of around10,000-25,000 sq ft. There has also beena particular return of mid-range re-quirements in the 25,000-75,000 sq ftsize range.”

He said supply stood at 2.5 millionsq ft of available space – the lowest for10 years.

And a “significant proportion” ofthat is poor quality.

“Demand far outstrips the amountof good quality available buildings,”said Andy. “There is a two-tier mar-ket, with a large gap between the goodand poorer quality space.

“Prospective occupiers are sur-prised at how little available quality

space there is. This is the legacy of thelast development cycle when some ofBristol’s land supply was lost to otheruses, eg offices, and not replaced.”

The good news is there is landavailable where new industrial sitescan be built, particularly in Avon-mouth as well as possibly around thedevelopments in Filton and Emer-sons Green.

And the supply problem is notunique to Bristol.

Tim Davies, head of Colliers In-ter national’s Bristol office, said soar-ing demand for qualityaccommodation around London hadpromoted more businesses to lookfurther down the M4.

“The faster than expected recovery

has placed a major strain on supply ofquality accommodation in the great-er London, Birmingham andManchester regions,” he said.

“This shifts attention to Avon-mouth and Severnside, which givenits location beside the M4/M5 in-terchange, could be as handy forfirms needing Midlands connectionsas it is for businesses in the capital.”

Farm Foods recently announced itis to open a 175,000 sq ft distributioncentre on Central Park – alongsidethe Chep pallet premises. Othermajor occupiers include Morrisons,Tesco, Asda and the Co-op.

The opportunities are clear. Thequestion is can we meet the demandfast enough?

particularly strong from added valueand technology-based manufacturersas well as from the construction, lo-

gistics and e-retailing fulfilments e c t o r s. ”

Andy said the demandwas broad across a rangeof sizes.

“W h at ’s noticeable isthat demand is not re-stricted to one partic-ular size range, eg the

big sheds,” he said.“Demand is coming

from across the size spec-trum, from small owner man-

agers looking for around 1,000-5,000sq ft of space, to those in theaerospace supply chain and distrib-

enquiries@brutonknowles.co.ukbrutonknowles.co.uk

0117 287 2101 Achieve morefrom your property

B015-1411 Bruton Knowles Bristol Post Commercial Advert 270x40mm AW 2.pdf 1 06/05/2014 17:24

0117 287 2101brutonknowles.co.uk

For Sale - Development LandThe Old Mill, Congresbury,Bristol BS49 5HZ

• Development site of 0.69 acres (0.969 ha)• Consent for offices• Up to 878.6 sq m (9,458 sq ft) plus 27 car

spaces

Contact: paul.williams@brutonknowles.co.uk BK code: 2583

enquiries@brutonknowles.co.ukbrutonknowles.co.uk

0117 287 2101 Achieve morefrom your property

B015-1411 Bruton Knowles Bristol Post Commercial Advert 270x40mm AW 2.pdf 1 06/05/2014 17:24

In association with

James Morgan

In Bristol it is becomingmore and more evidentthat there is a lack ofsupply for industrial andlogistics premises acrossall size ranges.”

“

� IF Bristol is to meet the demand forindustrial space, it needs developers to startbuilding speculatively. There is little sign ofthis yet, but one scheme that has got off theground is in Warmley.

Axten Properties and Blue MarbleProperties have started building five starterbusiness units totalling 15,000 sq ft atCaxton Business Park.

One of the units is already under offer by amanufacturing firm. The four remaining oneswill range from 2,900-11,720 sq ft (279 –1,115 sq m).

The scheme, one of the first speculativeindustrial developments in the city for at leastfive years, will be available from this autumnand will help address strong demand forquality production and distribution space.

Emma Smith, surveyor at Alder King inBristol, said: “The return of speculativedevelopment in the industrial market is aclear indicator that the economic tide hastur ned.

“With very few new buildings coming onstream in the last five years or so, occupiershave little choice when looking for newaccommodation.

“This development will be one of the firstnew schemes capable of meeting theresurgence in demand for quality modernindustrial space.”

The site, formerly home to Lawson MardenPackaging, was bought and cleared forredevelopment four years ago.

Last year, Axten/Blue Marble Propertiessecured a pre-sale deal on part of the 2.4acre site to WBC Automotive for thedevelopment of a 20,000 sq ft (1,858 sq m)modern workshop and office facility tofacilitate further expansion and create newjobs.

Property of the Week

� Tim Davies

Speculative buildaddresses demand

Case study

Tim Davies, head of Colliers International’sBristol office

The faster than expected recoveryhas placed a major strain on supply ofquality accommodation in the greaterLondon, Birmingham and Manchesterregions. This shifts attention toAvonmouth and Severnside.”

“

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10 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Gregg Latchams Business Club Digital Buffet at the Arnolofini Bristol branch of Institute of Directors hosted an interactive event with Ta ste Te c h

Business diary

Email your business events togavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk.Events are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Bristol SetSquared InnovationShowcase: Networking andpitching competition for BristolSetSquared businesses at theEngine Shed, Wednesday, July 2from 6pm.

Mazars Summer Drinks Party:Held at the Merchants’ Hall,Thursday, July 3, 6-8.30pm.

Metcalfes Solicitor summerparty: Early evening get togetherfor clients and friends withchampagne, canapes and musicat 46 Queen Square, from5.30pm on Thursday, July 3.

Ready for business workshop:Introductory workshops foranyone who is exploring theconcept of self-employment orstarting a business at LeighCourt, Abbots Leigh, BS8 3RA,10am-4pm, Tuesday, July 8.Contact readyforbusiness@businesswest.co.uk.

Keeping social media honestc o n f e re n c e : Event run by theChartered Institute of Marketing(CIM) South West at BristolAquarium, from 3.30pm-8pm onJuly 8 focusing on keepingsocial media activity honest,legal and effective. More detailsat http://www.cim.co.uk/64374.

Solar Seminar: Renewableexperts from Michelmoressolicitors and Francis Clarkaccountants teame up with PVpanel supplier SunGift Solar toexplain the business case forsolar installation, including aFeed-in-Tariff update, funding,tax implications, property lawand planning. At the M shedfrom 5.30pm on Wednesday,July 9. Inquiries by email tos a r a h . l a u g h t o n @ m i c h e l m o re s . c o m .

RICS South West CommercialProperty Question Time: Jointhe leading body for landproperty and constructionprofessionals in a lively summitstyle debate chaired by JohnnyDunford, RICS globalcommercial property director, todiscuss how the profession canseize opportunities and helpaddress major challenges facingthe sector. From 2pm-5pm, July10 at Bristol Zoo.

Compliance Within the StaffingIndustry: Outsource UK’sThought Leadership Series startswith a free breakfast eventfeaturing two employmentexperts considering howimpending changes toemployment law will affectcompliance within organisations.Held at Hotel Du Vin on TuesdayJuly 15 from 8.45am.To register, emaile v e n t s @ o u t s o u rc e - u k . c o . u k .

Boost! your business: Boost! Isa new series of events that aimsto provide owner-managers ofgrowing local businesses withfresh, practical know-how thatwill help them to get the mostout of their business. The firstone takes place at the UnilitClub, Bristol from 5:30-7:30pmon July 15 and will look at howto access funds for growth.Register to attend for free atboost-bristol.eventbrite.co.uk

The most exciting golf course in

Bristol!

Evening Post Ad. Sized 10cm high by 16cm wide.

18 holes for £18 on our Badminton Course

And your first round for just

£10 info@Kendleshire.com Kendleshire.com 0117 956 7007

PLEASE QUOTE: TP0614

OUT AND ABOUT WITH BRISTOL’S BUSINESS COMMUNITYDELEGATES from busi-

nesses around Bristol en-joyed an informative talk onpensions, tax and financialplanning at a seminar or-

ganised by the Gregg Latchams Busi-ness Club.

Andrew Brown, the head of theQueen Square-based law firm’s GLChartered Financial Planners office,spoke to the room full of businessowners at the monthly breakfastevent held at the M shed on the city’sH a r b o u r s i d e.

In an entertaining and easy-to-un-derstand talk, Mr Brown discussedthe changes to pension fund legis-lation announced in the Budget inMarch and how these changes willimpact the annuity markets, busi-nesses and their employees, as well aslooking forward to what announce-ments businesses can expect nextAp r i l .

The next Gregg Latchams BusinessClub event takes place on TuesdaySeptember 30 and is themed on thelegal implications for family-runbu s i n e s s e s.

For more information or to bookyour place email Kayleigh Groves atkayleigh.groves@gre gglatchams.com.

AS part of its mission to raisethe profile of successful en-trepreneurs in Bristol, theBristol branch of the Insti-tute of Directors hosted an

interactive event with TasteTech, aleading SME run by award-winningentrepreneur Janis Sinton at At-Bris-tol.

IoD members and guests heardfrom representatives of TasteTech’sResearch and Development team ledby Danny Kite and were introduced tothe world of controlled release foodflavourings and ingredients withpractical sensory sessions.

TasteTech specialises in the bakeryand confectionery industries supply-ing some of the world’s most recog-nised brands and most recentlycreated the flavourings for the firstever multi-sensory firework displaythat was a huge success during Lon-d o n’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

BE precise, test everythingand beware of grumpyjournalists – those weresome of the nuggets of ad-vice Bristol businesses

took from a digital event.Around 100 people gathered at

the Arnolofini for Digital Buffet,organised by search engine optim-isation and social media marketingagency Noisy Little Monkey.

Speakers included Craig Pugsleyof Microsoft Mix Radio, who toldthe audience how they couldcheaply test apps and websites witha small number of users, a chair,laptop and about £100 worth of kit.

The Po s t ’s own assistant editorGavin Thompson gave tips on get-ting your story in the news, onlineand in print, reminding people tokeep it relevant and quick whendealing with busy and sometimesgrumpy journalists.

And Jon Payne, technical dir-ector of Aardman-based NoisyLittle Monkey, explained how usingexactly the same wording to de-scribe your business helped Googleto recognise it over imposters.

After the event, Jon said: “We setup Noisy Little Monkey to helppeople make their online market-ing better. Digital Buffet gives usthe opportunity to find expertspeakers who can give actionabletips and tricks to a room full ofpeople who work in marketing sothey can make their online mar-keting better.

“There are events in London andBrighton along these lines butnothing that’s particularly for Bris-tol – which has an amazing her-itage in advertising and aburgeoning creative tech industry.Bristol was clearly crying out forthis sort of event – it was a sell outand the room was buzzing.

“We were fortunate enough to geta range of Bristol-based speakers,some of whom talk all over theworld to give brilliant talks at this,the first Digital Buffet.”

He added the event would not be aone-of f.

“I’m really looking forward to thenext one – I’ve already got a coupleof world class speakers teed up,”said Jon.

� Andrew Brown, GL CharteredFinancial Planners

� Robert Clark, R C BrownInvestment Management � Marcus Robinson, Mortgage Style

� Mark Brodermann, Seymour Hicks

� Karen Wyatt, Latcham Direct� Michael Parrott, Gregg Latchams

� Nicola Payne of Noisy Little Monkey talks at the Digital Buffet event atthe Arnolfini in Bristol Pictures: Sammy Payne

� Eleanor McMahon fromBristol Film & Media

� Jon Payne of Noisy Little Monkeygiving his talk

� Participants sampling the differentsmells that make up the scent of a

strawberry Pictures: Simon Chapman

� Above and below, visitors tasting sweets at the event; right and below centre, TasteTech staff give a demonstration

� Rebecca Tregarthen, chair of theBristol branch of the IoD, samplingthe different smells that make up thescent of a strawberry

� Above, from left,Lorna Clarke, fromAbove and Beyond,Inge Dowden, fromInge DowdenCoaching, andJessica Pillow, fromPillow May; left,a w a rd - w i n n i n gentrepreneur JanisSinton of TasteTech

� Bristol Post assistanteditor (business) GavinThompson gives a talk

EPB-E01-S3

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10 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Gregg Latchams Business Club Digital Buffet at the Arnolofini Bristol branch of Institute of Directors hosted an interactive event with Ta ste Te c h

Business diary

Email your business events togavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk.Events are sometimescancelled without us beingnotified so please check withorganisers before travelling.

Bristol SetSquared InnovationShowcase: Networking andpitching competition for BristolSetSquared businesses at theEngine Shed, Wednesday, July 2from 6pm.

Mazars Summer Drinks Party:Held at the Merchants’ Hall,Thursday, July 3, 6-8.30pm.

Metcalfes Solicitor summerparty: Early evening get togetherfor clients and friends withchampagne, canapes and musicat 46 Queen Square, from5.30pm on Thursday, July 3.

Ready for business workshop:Introductory workshops foranyone who is exploring theconcept of self-employment orstarting a business at LeighCourt, Abbots Leigh, BS8 3RA,10am-4pm, Tuesday, July 8.Contact readyforbusiness@businesswest.co.uk.

Keeping social media honestc o n f e re n c e : Event run by theChartered Institute of Marketing(CIM) South West at BristolAquarium, from 3.30pm-8pm onJuly 8 focusing on keepingsocial media activity honest,legal and effective. More detailsat http://www.cim.co.uk/64374.

Solar Seminar: Renewableexperts from Michelmoressolicitors and Francis Clarkaccountants teame up with PVpanel supplier SunGift Solar toexplain the business case forsolar installation, including aFeed-in-Tariff update, funding,tax implications, property lawand planning. At the M shedfrom 5.30pm on Wednesday,July 9. Inquiries by email tos a r a h . l a u g h t o n @ m i c h e l m o re s . c o m .

RICS South West CommercialProperty Question Time: Jointhe leading body for landproperty and constructionprofessionals in a lively summitstyle debate chaired by JohnnyDunford, RICS globalcommercial property director, todiscuss how the profession canseize opportunities and helpaddress major challenges facingthe sector. From 2pm-5pm, July10 at Bristol Zoo.

Compliance Within the StaffingIndustry: Outsource UK’sThought Leadership Series startswith a free breakfast eventfeaturing two employmentexperts considering howimpending changes toemployment law will affectcompliance within organisations.Held at Hotel Du Vin on TuesdayJuly 15 from 8.45am.To register, emaile v e n t s @ o u t s o u rc e - u k . c o . u k .

Boost! your business: Boost! Isa new series of events that aimsto provide owner-managers ofgrowing local businesses withfresh, practical know-how thatwill help them to get the mostout of their business. The firstone takes place at the UnilitClub, Bristol from 5:30-7:30pmon July 15 and will look at howto access funds for growth.Register to attend for free atboost-bristol.eventbrite.co.uk

The most exciting golf course in

Bristol!

Evening Post Ad. Sized 10cm high by 16cm wide.

18 holes for £18 on our Badminton Course

And your first round for just

£10 info@Kendleshire.com Kendleshire.com 0117 956 7007

PLEASE QUOTE: TP0614

OUT AND ABOUT WITH BRISTOL’S BUSINESS COMMUNITYDELEGATES from busi-

nesses around Bristol en-joyed an informative talk onpensions, tax and financialplanning at a seminar or-

ganised by the Gregg Latchams Busi-ness Club.

Andrew Brown, the head of theQueen Square-based law firm’s GLChartered Financial Planners office,spoke to the room full of businessowners at the monthly breakfastevent held at the M shed on the city’sH a r b o u r s i d e.

In an entertaining and easy-to-un-derstand talk, Mr Brown discussedthe changes to pension fund legis-lation announced in the Budget inMarch and how these changes willimpact the annuity markets, busi-nesses and their employees, as well aslooking forward to what announce-ments businesses can expect nextAp r i l .

The next Gregg Latchams BusinessClub event takes place on TuesdaySeptember 30 and is themed on thelegal implications for family-runbu s i n e s s e s.

For more information or to bookyour place email Kayleigh Groves atkayleigh.groves@gre gglatchams.com.

AS part of its mission to raisethe profile of successful en-trepreneurs in Bristol, theBristol branch of the Insti-tute of Directors hosted an

interactive event with TasteTech, aleading SME run by award-winningentrepreneur Janis Sinton at At-Bris-tol.

IoD members and guests heardfrom representatives of TasteTech’sResearch and Development team ledby Danny Kite and were introduced tothe world of controlled release foodflavourings and ingredients withpractical sensory sessions.

TasteTech specialises in the bakeryand confectionery industries supply-ing some of the world’s most recog-nised brands and most recentlycreated the flavourings for the firstever multi-sensory firework displaythat was a huge success during Lon-d o n’s New Year’s Eve celebrations.

BE precise, test everythingand beware of grumpyjournalists – those weresome of the nuggets of ad-vice Bristol businesses

took from a digital event.Around 100 people gathered at

the Arnolofini for Digital Buffet,organised by search engine optim-isation and social media marketingagency Noisy Little Monkey.

Speakers included Craig Pugsleyof Microsoft Mix Radio, who toldthe audience how they couldcheaply test apps and websites witha small number of users, a chair,laptop and about £100 worth of kit.

The Po s t ’s own assistant editorGavin Thompson gave tips on get-ting your story in the news, onlineand in print, reminding people tokeep it relevant and quick whendealing with busy and sometimesgrumpy journalists.

And Jon Payne, technical dir-ector of Aardman-based NoisyLittle Monkey, explained how usingexactly the same wording to de-scribe your business helped Googleto recognise it over imposters.

After the event, Jon said: “We setup Noisy Little Monkey to helppeople make their online market-ing better. Digital Buffet gives usthe opportunity to find expertspeakers who can give actionabletips and tricks to a room full ofpeople who work in marketing sothey can make their online mar-keting better.

“There are events in London andBrighton along these lines butnothing that’s particularly for Bris-tol – which has an amazing her-itage in advertising and aburgeoning creative tech industry.Bristol was clearly crying out forthis sort of event – it was a sell outand the room was buzzing.

“We were fortunate enough to geta range of Bristol-based speakers,some of whom talk all over theworld to give brilliant talks at this,the first Digital Buffet.”

He added the event would not be aone-of f.

“I’m really looking forward to thenext one – I’ve already got a coupleof world class speakers teed up,”said Jon.

� Andrew Brown, GL CharteredFinancial Planners

� Robert Clark, R C BrownInvestment Management � Marcus Robinson, Mortgage Style

� Mark Brodermann, Seymour Hicks

� Karen Wyatt, Latcham Direct� Michael Parrott, Gregg Latchams

� Nicola Payne of Noisy Little Monkey talks at the Digital Buffet event atthe Arnolfini in Bristol Pictures: Sammy Payne

� Eleanor McMahon fromBristol Film & Media

� Jon Payne of Noisy Little Monkeygiving his talk

� Participants sampling the differentsmells that make up the scent of a

strawberry Pictures: Simon Chapman

� Above and below, visitors tasting sweets at the event; right and below centre, TasteTech staff give a demonstration

� Rebecca Tregarthen, chair of theBristol branch of the IoD, samplingthe different smells that make up thescent of a strawberry

� Above, from left,Lorna Clarke, fromAbove and Beyond,Inge Dowden, fromInge DowdenCoaching, andJessica Pillow, fromPillow May; left,a w a rd - w i n n i n gentrepreneur JanisSinton of TasteTech

� Bristol Post assistanteditor (business) GavinThompson gives a talk

EPB-

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12 We d n e s d a y, July 2, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The back page

P l a ces� Education solutions firm Tribal ison the move, taking a 15,000 sq ftspace at Kings Orchard officebuilding in the floating harbour,above.

The move is the second biggestcity centre deal of the year so far,with Alder King Compton Rose andGVA all involved.

The relocation from PortlandSquare gives Tribal biggeraccommodation in the heart ofBristol’s business district. It intendsto extend its range of products andservices to a growing internationalclient base.

Catherine Collis of Alder King’soffice agency team said: “In recentyears, Bristol’s office market hasbeen characterised by a highproportion of smaller deals. Tribal’smove to Kings Orchard and otheron-going transactions in the marketpoint to increased occupier demandand improving confidence.”

� The team at Bradley Stoke’sWillow Brook shopping centre arebeaming after winning a greenindustry award for the second yearrunning.

Last year the centre won thewaste management prize at theSceptre Awards and this year tookthe energy management gong aftercutting carbon output by 80 tonnes.

Manager Andy Wynn said: “WillowBrook sits at the very heart of thecommunity in Bradley Stoke andwe’re sure our shoppers will be justas proud of this achievement as wea re . ”

Staff at managing agent ColliersInternational were equally chuffed.

Repor ts� A new report has found thatindependent retailers could improvetheir sales by working together.

The report, from retail expertsConlumino, finds by collaboratingon things such as marketingcampaigns, loyalty schemes andevents, small traders could boost

their sales by an average of up to£31,204 each annually.

Mike Abrahams, managingdirector of Wild Oats Natural Foodsin Clifton, agrees. He says: “Weknow some of the other localbusiness owners well and thoughthere is a degree of overlap orcompetition on our high street, it’s inall our interests to bring morefootfall into the area.

“From this point of view we’re allin it together. In fact on an evenmore local level, we teamed up tocreate the Blackboy Village Group,and have produced a map to give toall of our customers showing wherethe local shops are and what theysell.”

� And they might need that extraboost, as the Business ConfidenceMonitor from the ICAEW and GrantThornton suggests a slight drop inthe good mood of late.

Companies in the South West sawa slowdown in sales and turnover,with external factors such as thesevere storms at the beginning ofthe year impacting on infrastructureand customer accessibility. Exportshowever, were up 3.6 per cent overthe past year.

Jon Blake, ICAEW regionaldirector, said: “It is clear thedevastating storms are having alingering impact on the economy inthe South West, but we must not

£30 billion giveaway? I’ll believe it when I see it!

LABOUR announced its bigplan to win back businesses atthe weekend – a promise tospend £30 billion on infra-structure and skills outside

London. But, and here’s the key bit,the spending power will be devolvedto local enterprise partnerships.

As an idea, it is to be applauded.Giving city regions such as Bristolthe power to decide how they can bestgrow is right.

And using local enterprise part-nerships as the mechanism makessense. They already exist so there’sno need for the wasted expense andtime in creating something new. Andlocal businesses are involved asstakeholders. They need to be more

accountable (the West of EnglandLEP holds its board meetings behindclosed doors, for example) but that’s acolumn for another day.

It’s hardly a new idea. The presentGovernment has invited all the LEPsto bid for a pot of around £2 billion tospend locally.

Here in the Bristol city region, ourLEP put together a strong economicplan highlighting areas where publicinvestment could unlock millions inprivate sector money, and create

� From left, Stacy Green, of Focus Assured, Willow Brook’s facilities manager Mark Wathern and manager AndyWynn with comedian Simon Evans

The op-ed column

thousands of jobs in the process.The LEP chose five core sectors –

areas in which it felt investmentwould generate the greatest returnand in which the Bristol region isalready a big player.

Among the raft of ideas is buildingthe next phase of both the Bristol andBath Science Park and the EngineShed. Both hubs of creative busi-nesses that are full to capacity withprivate businesses creating new tech-nology and new jobs.

The strategic economic plan is awell-put-together investment pro-spectus. Rather than desperately cry-ing for funds, the LEP chose to make asound investment pitch, telling theGovernment Bristol is the best place

to get “bang for their buck” (or valuefor money if you want to be a little lessAmerican).

There are rumblings, however, thatBristol – and other regions – will bedisappointed and that perhaps themoney promised to be devolved fromcentral coffers to local control maynot be as much as promised.

And that’s why Ed Miliband’s com-ments at the weekend will be wel-comed with only polite applause frombusinesses and city regions such asBristol.

For years oppositions have talkedof devolving decisions and moneyinto local hands. But once the poweris in their hands, they change theirminds. So Ed. we’ll wait and see.

Gavin ThompsonAssistant Editor (Business)gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

despair. Exports are up,employment is up, and wages arenow keeping pace with inflation.”

Pe o p l e� A Bristol University graduate hasjust fulfilled the dream of many atech start-up, and sold his businessto Google.

Mike Hart graduated from Bristolwith a BSc (Hons) in physics in1998, completed an MSc incommunication systems and signalprocessing in 1999 and went on towork in the Fujitsu Labs onadvanced wireless technology, ofteninvolving the university. Google hasjust snapped up AlpentalTechnologies, based inSeattle, which Mikeco-founded in 2012.

Andrew Nix,professor of wirelesscommunicationsystems, said: “Mike,like many of our formerPhD students, has goneon to do great things onthe international stage. Ourstudents combine technicalinsight with inspiring innovation ande n t re p re n e u r s h i p . ”

� Specialist insurance broker,Brunel Professional Risks, which isbased in Thomas Lane, Bristol, hasappointed Chris Ladkin as

non-executive chairman.The move is part of Brunel’s

long-term growth strategy whichaims to build the business tobecome one of the UK’s largestindependent brokers.

In addition to his role as achairman, Chris Ladkin will helpgrow the business in the commercialand corporate markets. Chris is abig hitter in the sector and hasplayed leading roles at HargreavesLansdown, SBJ and Bluefin.

� John Davies, below, seniorcorporate partner at commercial lawfirm Thrings, has been named ClientPartner of the Year by The Lawyer.

The accolade, presented atthe Lawyer Awards in

London, marks Davies’contribution to the57-year relationshipbetween Thrings andSouth West fueldistribution business,Watson PetroleumLtd.

In March, legal andstrategic advice provided

by John and associatesolicitor Simon Hore led to thecompletion of Watson Petroleum’s$191million (£117million) sale toWorld Fuel Services Corporation,one of the largest global fuellogistics organisations in theworld.

Your digest of the week in business

In numbers

Business currentaccounts

Petrol prices

1.01%£10,000 deposit

0.25%£1 deposit

State Bankof India

Corporation tax

21 %20 %Main rate

Small profitsrate – below

£300,000

131 .50pUnleaded

136 .25pDiesel

140 .14 pSuperunleaded

74 .9 0 pLPG

Source: PetrolPrices.com

Business savingsaccounts

1.40%£5,000 deposit

1.85%£1,000 deposit

S h a w b ro o kBank

Inflation (CPI)

1.5 %

Weekly earnings

-1.5 %Base interest rate

0.5 %Ave mortgage rate

3.99 %

S o u rc e :

Secure TrustBank

Inflation (RPI)

2.4 %