ldp business - 31st august 2011

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A LIVERPOOL architectural practicehas beaten rivals from around theworld to win work on two massivebuilding projects in China.

Brock Carmichael Architects (BCA),based in Old Hall Street, won a com-petition to plan a marina and thou-sands of homes on a peninsulareclaimed from the sea in Tianjin.

And, in conjunction with Hong Kong

practice Oval Partnerships, they areworking on masterplans for a 3.5 mil-lion sq m urban regeneration plan inthe city of Kunming, southern China –a scheme so large that it would coverthe whole of Liverpool city centre.

BCA had never worked overseasuntil it agreed to sponsor Liverpool’spavilion at the World Expo in Shang-hai. Three of BCA’s partners attendedthe event – and once they saw thepotential in China, they decided thetime was right to push into theChinese market.

BCA has formed a partnership withOval, called the Octagon Alliance,through which the two firms can worktogether to win Chinese contracts.

Rather than focusing on designingindividual buildings, BCA is offeringits services in China as a masterplan-ner, creating outline plans for largemixed-used developments along thelines of Liverpool One.

The Tianjin project saw BCA com-pete against firms from around theworld, including one which worked onThe Palm artificial islands in Dubai.

Its successful masterplan for the52-hectare Tianjin site includes a mar-ina, a yacht club, a hotel, 200 villas andapartment blocks containing 2,800homes.

Partner Michael Cosser said:“Without the Expo, we probablywouldn’t have looked at China.

“We’re conscious that we’re flyingthe UK flag and the Liverpool flag.We’re a Liverpool firm competingagainst companies with 2,000 people.”

ExpohelpsarchitectswinChinacontractsLONDON’S top-flight

shares recorded theirstrongest rise in morethan two weeks yes-terday with bankingstocks leading theway.

The FTSE 100 Indexclosed nearly 3%higher at 5268.66.

Shares in banksrose after Royal Bankof Scotland wasupgraded byDeutsche Bank, whichsaid the group repres-ented good value.

Meanwhile, on WallStreet, the Dow Jonesrose 20.70 points, or0.2 %, to close at11,559.95.

The Standard &Poor’s 500 rose 2.84and the Nasdaq wasup 14 to 2,576.11.

MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15

FTSE-1005268.66

138.74▲

Supermarketgiant opensfour outletsFOUR new AsdaSupermarkets openacross Merseyside thisweek after a £2minvestment by theretail group.

PAGE 2

Regus on riseWORKSPACE providerRegus is on course tomeet full-year expect-ations.

PAGE 4

inside

Everton FClinks withBest BuyEVERTON FC has signed adeal with electronicsretailer Best Buy making itthe Premiership club’s offi-cial technology partner.

It is the first venture intothe British sporting arenafor the chain which openedan outlet on Aintree Race-course Retail Park lastyear.

The US-based businessalready has a successfulsporting portfolio in NorthAmerica.

Ian Boyton, Best Buy UKsponsorship and eventsmanager, said: “Supportingour customers and theirsports and entertainmentinterests has always been afocus for the Best Buybrand.”

BUSINESS EDITOR:BILL GLEESON0151 472 2319

DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR:TONY McDONOUGH0151 330 4918

BUSINESS REPORTER:PETER ELSON0151 472 2502

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALISTAIR HOUGHTON0151 472 2449

BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451

Everton star John Heitinga marks the club’s technology partnership with electronics retailer Best Buy

EXCLUSIVEbyAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

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1 JLA recruits business people2 Tedx tickets on sale3 Sony loses interest in bid4 Last TJs stores to close5 Law firm’s record fee incomeldpbusiness.co.uk

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Asdasalutescommunityin£2mstoresconversion

BNI duoclock upthe mosthoursTWO businessmen havejust been named Mer-seyside’s longestserving Business Net-working International(BNI) members byTerry Hamill, directorof BNI Merseyside.

Neil Hogan fromaccountancy firmDouglas Fairless Part-nership, and MarkWilson from WilsonsFinancial Solutions,have been attendingBNI’s breakfast net-working sessions everyweek since the organ-isation first launchedin Merseyside morethan 11 years ago.

It’s a commitmentthat equates to morethan 598 sessions – or1,196 hours dedicatedto business networkingover breakfast.

Both are member ofBNI’s Alpha Groupwhich meets from6.30am every Tuesdayat the Hard Day’s NightHotel in Liverpool’sNorth John Street.

Mr Hogan said: “Iwas first introduced toTerry Hamill back inearly 2000. As soon ashe explained theconcept of BNI, whichis all about harnessingthe power of relationalnetworking to growyour business, I justloved the idea.”

BramallConstructionin£1.5mimprovementsdeal

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FOUR new Asda Supermarkets openacross Merseyside this week after a£2m investment by the retail group.

The outlets – in Green Lane, Stone-ycroft; Church Road, Wavertree; StMary’s Road, Garston; and StanleyRoad, Birkenhead – are linked to theacquisition of former Netto stores andtheir conversion to the Asda brand bythe supermarket group.

The switch to the new format Asdaoutlets has also created 33 jobs acrossthe four sites.

Stoneycroft and Church Roadopened yesterday, while the Birken-head and Garston stores are set toopen today.

So far, 77 former Netto sites havebeen converted into Asda Supermar-kets and Asda president and chiefexecutive Andy Clarke revealed thatthe group will accelerate its pro-gramme of conversions.

He plans to have 250 Asda Super-markets open by 2015, complementingthe existing superstores and super-centres.

The Merseyside stores all closed onAugust 13 and have opened on sched-ule after their £500,000 refits.

Asda Supermarkets area managerSteve Shirley said: “Despite beingsmall Asda Supermarkets we thinkcustomers are going to be delightedwith the new stores.”

As well as carrying more than 10,000grocery products the new stores willalso offer PayPoint, lottery and cashmachine services.

The Stoneycroft site was opened byBrenda Wilson, manager of the nearbySure Steps Nursery, and some of thechildren who attend the day centre.

Store manager Dave McGimpseysaid they were chosen to highlight theimportant part they play in the localcommunity.

He added: “We wanted to celebratethe opening of our new store with thepeople who really make a difference to

the community. We’ll work hard toensure that we play our part helpingour other neighbours out in the futureby getting involved with communityevents and good causes.”

The same criteria saw Barry Hay-den, who runs the barbershop on

nearby Penny Lane which was immor-talised in the Beatles song of the samename, do the honours at the Wavertreestore yesterday.

Mr Hayden said: “It’s a real honourto be asked. The Beatles sang about abarber in Penny Lane showing pho-

tographs of every head he’s ever hadthe pleasure to cut, and this is a tra-dition I am continuing.

“I use social media to share imagesto ensure both visitors and local cus-tomers ‘Come Together’ and reallyenjoy that Beatles experience.”

TOP FIVE

Colleagues and store manager David McGimpsey outside the new Asda store in Stoneycroft

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SPEKE-based Bramall Con-struction has clinched a £1.5mcontract from FlintshireCounty Council to improvehousing stock in North Wales.

The company, which is partof the Keepmoat Group, willbring 450 properties across

the county up to the WelshHousing Quality Standard.

And it said it anticipatestaking on new apprentices aspart of the project over thecoming months, as well ascommitting to using locallabour and suppliers.

Works include installingnew kitchens in tenants’ prop-erties from a choice of sixdesigns and colour schemes.

Bramall Construction areadirector Steve Parringtonsaid: “This contract helpscement our strong working

partnership with FlintshireCounty Council and we arevery proud to be playing suchan important role in improv-ing the quality of homes inNorth Wales.

“We will continue our com-mitment to creating appren-

ticeships where possible andemploying local labour as partof this scheme.”

Bramall Construction spe-cialises in the refurbishmentand new build of the socialhousing market and has aturnover of more than £560m.

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ManwhosteppedoffthegolfcourseandintotheCEO’schair

TonyMcDonoughmeetsJOHNHALL,chiefexecutiveofProfessionalLiverpool

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As chief executiveof ProfessionalLiverpool, John Hallhas placed theorganisation on amuch sounderfinancial footingPicture: JAMES MALONEY

Age: 62Highest educational qualification:Law degreeBiggest achievement in business:Making Bermans a successful playerwhile retaining its independenceBiggest regret: Opening a Bermansoffice in London was very expensiveBest advice received: Learn from thepast but don’t dwell on it – moveforwardMain unfulfilled ambition: I’m stillwaiting to have my gap year

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AFTER meeting John Hall, it is dif-ficult to imagine him potteringaround the garden.

A youthful 62, Hall has been temp-ted out of retirement after just a fewmonths to revive the fortunes of Pro-fessional Liverpool (PL).

The organisation, set up to rep-resent the city’s financial and pro-fessional services sector, was throwninto turmoil last year when it lost itsannual £200,000 grant from theNorthwest Development Agency(NWDA).

That represented 80% of its annualbudget and the move threatened itsexistence.

Chief executive Mark Chadwickdeparted and has now set up a rivalorganisation – Liverpool CityRegion: Business & Professionals.

Last year, Hall retired as man-aging partner of one of Liverpool’sbest-known independent law firms,Bermans, where he grew turnoverfrom £100,000 to £5m.

“After leaving Bermans, I workedas a consultant for a while, and thenfor about five or six months I wasmore or less retired,” he said.

“That was nice for a time, butthere is only so much golf you canplay. I am still fit and active, so Istarted sending out my CV.

“I got a call from PL. They had

been going through a difficult periodand asked me if I would like to getinvolved, and I did but at first, juston a pro bono basis.

“After a while, we both decidedthat I could do a job there.”

And so, earlier this year, Hall wasinvited to become PL’s chief execut-ive, working three days a week.

“It is supposed to be three days butI am that busy sometimes it feelsmore like nine,” laughed Hall, who itis clear is relishing the role.

Priority one was to bring some fin-ancial stability back to the organ-isation, through a fundraising andmembership drive.

That meant going cap-in-hand tosome of PL’s bigger members.

It has also hired former LiverpoolVision chief executive Jim Gill aschairman.

“We had to take round the beggingbowl and the major players amongour membership really stepped up to

the plate,” said Hall. “Now we are ina much better financial position.”

Hall then turned his attention toexpanding the membership, utilisinghis profile within the city’s profes-sional sectors.

He added: “When I came in, wehad around 65 members, and nowthat has grown to around 90 – so far Ihaven’t been turned down by anyoneI’ve approached.

“We have signed up firms likeCharles Stanley, Cheviot, Millen Cap-ital, David Currie, Santander and, ofcourse, Bermans – there’d have beentrouble if they’d turned me down,”he joked.

PL also incorporates what was theLiverpool Property Forum, and Hallsees great potential in that sector.

“I found that most of the membersfrom the property sector wereagents,” he said.

“So we are now looking to widenthat out, and I am talking to firms onthe construction side and we are alsoin discussions with some of the bar-risters’ chambers.”

Getting more money out of exist-ing members and signing up newones is a solid achievement, but Hallacknowledges that they are going toexpect something in return.

He added: “I have been talking tothe members to find out the areaswhere they thought some change wasneeded. I have heard some criticismthat when people called the officethey would be met with ananswerphone, so we now havefive-day cover.

“When PL was NWDA-funded, Ithink the focus changed and mem-

bers have said they want it to goback to the way it was.

“So we are putting together an18-month programme of events –breakfasts, lunches, black tie dinnerswith an array of speakers.

“We want to give some value to themembership.”

Hall was brought up in Crosby, andhis decision to become a lawyer wasliterally taken in the space of a fewminutes while waiting outside theheadmaster’s office in WaterlooGrammar School.

He said: “When I was in the lowersixth form, we had the Lancashirecareers adviser in.

“We had to queue up and see himwith the headmaster. At first, none ofthe lads were that bothered, butwhen those at the front of the queuecame out they looked a bit ashen-faced. One said to me ‘you betterhave something to say in there – thatguy is pretty scary’.

“So I went in, and just said Iwanted to be a lawyer, and they bothsaid ‘that’s exactly what we had inmind for you’.”

After gaining his legal qualificat-ions, Hall worked for about a year fora Liverpool law firm called BrownTurner.

That was a very general practice,and Hall was keen to break into lit-igation, so in 1974 he joined Ber-mans, where he remained for the restof his career. He became managingpartner in the mid-1990s and aroundthat time the firm became a targetfor bigger outfits looking for a mer-ger or takeover.

“We were approached by a number

of firms who were keen to exploremerging with us,” said Hall.

“I must admit, I thought a mergerwas a good idea at that time, and thepartners were surprised at how far Igot with that.

“But in the end they got cold feetabout it. They had always been incontrol of their own destiny and theyfelt that if they merged with a biggerfirm they would lose that.”

Hall says the firm has weatheredthe recession well, but says there hadbeen tough times in the past.

“We used to do a lot of work for theMidland Bank in the 1980s – theyaccounted for about 30% of ourturnover,” he said. “When HSBCtook over, they said ‘thanks andcheerio’ – that did hit us hard.”

Hall is married to Antonia, also alawyer, and the couple have threegrown-up children – Lawrence, 33,Erica, 32, and Harriet, 29 – and twograndchildren. Living now in Wirral,he relaxes by playing golf and tennis.

Hall acknowledges the threatposed by Mark Chadwick’s venture,but believes PL will be the favoureddestination for firms in the sector.

PL is about to relocate from itscurrent home in the University ofLiverpool to the Chamber of Com-merce in the heart of the centralbusiness district (CBD).

He said: “I think PL’s advantage isits track record over the past fewyears. The university has been verysupportive, and continues to be so,but being in the CBD makes a realdifference.

“It puts us right where our mem-bers are.”


Regusmeetinggrowthofmobileglobalworkforce

Cybertilltees offwith golfretailerKNOWSLEY retail pay-ment expert Cybertillhas installed a new sys-tem for a national golfequipment chain.

Huddersfield-basedDirect Golf UK was setup by PGA professionalJohn Andrew 20 yearsago and now tradesfrom 17 stores nation-wide, as well as e-com-merce and mail orderplatforms.

The Cybertill systemis “cloud-based” whichdelivers sharedresources such as soft-ware and informationto computers and otherdevices as a utility, sim-ilar to the electricitygrid, over a network.

Neil Bell, Direct GolfUK managing director,said the companyneeded a “true multi-channel solution” tohelp manage all itssales channels.

He added: “Theappeal of Cybertill isthat it is web-based, soeverything is ‘realtime’.

“Cybertill will helpall sales teams accesslive stock levels acrossthe estate, meaningthat no sales opportun-ity is missed and cus-tomers always get theproducts they need.

“Another advantageof installing a web-based system is that wecan quickly deploy itacross all stores and weare able to keep thecurrent EPoS (elec-tronic point of sale)hardware, which min-imises any disruptionin store.”

Cybertill chief exec-utive Ian Tomlinsonsaid the implementat-ion of the system willhelp Direct Golf UKmaintain their highstandards.

Horton House, within Exchange Flags, which hosts Regus’s managed workspace and meetings rooms

FirmsinvitedtoshareinLatinAmericatradeopportunities

Recruiteraddsstaff inmove

BUSINESSES across the NorthWest are invited to join a trademission to Latin America.

UK Trade & Investment(UKTI), together with theNorthwest DevelopmentAgency, has organised a trip tocities in three countries aimedat three separate sectors.

The two-week mission inNovember and December willtake in San Paulo and Rio deJaneiro, in Brazil; Santiago deChile, in Chile; and BuenosAires, in Argentina, betweenNovember 19 and December 3.

Interest is invited from firmsin sectors covering advancedengineering, aerospace, auto-motive, education and training,healthcare, ICT, infrastructure,

life sciences, machinery, secur-ity and sports projects.

Delegates will be able toaccess in-depth marketresearch and help with ident-ifying contacts appropriate totheir business, via the OverseasMarket Introduction Service,and a pre-organised group itin-erary of briefings and appoint-ments.

A UKTI market visit supportgrant is also available to helptowards costs for eligible busi-nesses visiting all three coun-tries.

UKTI South America special-ist Paul Eadie said: “Brazil,Argentina and Chile offer somefantastic opportunities forNorth West businesses.

“Brazil is the fifth largestcountry in the world, with apopulation of around 185m. Ithas one of the most rapidlydeveloping economies and aGDP per head greater thaneither India or China.

“Chile is recognised as thebest managed economy inSouth America, and hasenjoyed steady growth. It haslong been open to foreigninvestment, and the UK is thefourth-largest investor in Chile.

“Meanwhile, the market inArgentina grew by 7.5% lastyear.”■ THE deadline for regist-ration is September 18. EmailJackie Nolan at events@uktinorth west.co.uk

WORKSPACE provider Regus said it ison course to meet full-year expecta-tions.

The international group saw reven-ues in the six months to June 30 riseby 9.7% to £565.6m and recorded apre-tax profit of £13m, compared witha £6.1m loss the same time last year,after it incurred exceptional charges of£15.8m.

All regions showed improvement,with the UK managing to improve rev-enues from £89m to £105.1m, leading toa contribution of £14.5m comparedwith £3m previously.

The group, which provides officespace in Liverpool’s Exchange Flagsand Fearnhead’s Cinnamon Park inWarrington, also reported an increasein net cash of £197.8m against £191.5m,despite funding the opening of 48 newcentres, taking its total number ofworkstations to 193,393.

Chief executive Mark Dixon said:“We are pleased with the good stra-tegic and financial progress the busi-ness is making at a time of prolongedeconomic uncertainty.”

He said the robustness of the firm’smature centres supports the ongoinginvestment in future growth andadded: “As we enter the second half ofthe year, Regus remains well posi-tioned to capitalise on these opportun-ities and is on track to deliver a full-year performance in line with ourexpectations.”

Technological advances willincrease the appeal of the Regus offer,he said: “The mainstreaming of mobiletechnology tools such as the Smart-phone and Workpad has made worksomething one does rather than aplace to go.

“As a result, virtual interactionsfrom home, on the road or at thirdparty locations diminish the need forlong-term fixed workplaces.”

And he claimed research points tothe worldwide mobile worker popula-tion reaching 1.2bn by 2013, accountingfor more than a third of the globalworkforce.

Liverpool stockbroker PanmureGordon maintained its ‘buy’ recom-mendation for Regus shares after theinterim announcement.

Analysts Mike Allen and Paul Jones

said: “H1 results are 4% ahead of ourforecasts at the adjusted profit beforetax level, reflecting a solid perform-ance, despite the current economicuncertainty.”


A SPECIALIST Liverpool legal and propertysector recruitment firm has expanded in a reloc-ation to Old Hall Street’s The Plaza building.

Kingsley Associates was set up four yearsago by Caroline Kingsley, who said the movereflects the firm’s confidence in Liverpool’sbuoyant legal and property jobs market.

The relocation from serviced offices inExchange Flags created two full-time jobs, tak-ing the firm’s total workforce to five.

Ms Kinglsey also supports the Future JobsFund, which enables unemployed graduates toobtain relevant experience while looking forwork in their field.

The firm currently has three graphic design-ers who visit the office two days a week to keeptheir skills up to date, which is then reflectedon their CV.

Previously, psychology graduates researcheda variety of markets and learned databasebuilding and communication skills.

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of the World Cup on last year’s figures,the group’s Great Britain radio divi-sion had managed to maintain reven-ues at £25.2m in the six months report-ing period.

Operating costs were £800,000 higherat £19.4m due to increased investmentin programming and presenters at itstalkSPORT national radio station.

Former Everton centre forwardAndy Gray and TV frontman RichardKeys joined talkSPORT in Februarythis year after they departed SkySports following a row over off-airremarks regarding a female match offi-cial.

But Mr McGuckian said the benefitsof the investment, including enhancedPremier League coverage, are “alreadyevident in increased audiences”,although he conceded that revenueimprovement will lag.

The GB Radio operating profit waslower at £5.8m compared with £6.7m.

However, the chairman predictedthat revenues in the third quarter atthe group’s GB Radio division shouldbe up by 9%, while talkSPORTturnover should be 14% ahead in thesame period, and its local radio sta-tions should achieve growth of around2%.

He added: “It is difficult to be optim-istic in the midst of such uncertaintysurrounding growth in both domesticand global economies.

“Nevertheless, your company con-tinues to make steady progress andoperating budgets are being met andoften exceeded.”

TELEVISION and radio group UTVMedia said it expects advertising rev-enues to grow by 3% in the thirdquarter of the year.

The Belfast-based parent company ofLiverpool independent radio station107.6 Juice FM reported static reven-ues of £59.1m for the six months toJune 30, compared with £58.8m, but itmanaged to increase pre-tax profits by15% to £10.9m.

It described the results as “robust”,particularly against strong comparat-ives last year which were driven by thefootball World Cup.

Cost savings and a 32% reduction infinance charges after net debt wasslashed by £14.2m to £63.1m alsohelped improve the interim resultsreleased yesterday.

The group said that a “strong mar-ket outperformance across both radioand television” had helped it increaseits interim dividend payment, from 1pto 1.5p.

Chief executive John McCann said:“These are another robust set of res-ults, despite the challengingmacro-economic conditions.

“A 15% uplift in pre-tax profits, an18% reduction in net debt and a sig-nificant increase in dividend all pointto good progress being made in pos-itioning the company for the upturn.”

Chairman John McGuckian addedthat, despite the “very positive impact”

Approvalof houseloans hitsJuly highTHE number of mort-gage approvalsincreased to a 14-monthhigh in July, figuresshowed, but fears aboutthe health of the hous-ing market persisted.

Mortgages approvedfor house purchasesincreased 1.5% to49,239 in July, up froma four-month low inApril, the Bank of Eng-land said.

But this representeda slowdown on the pre-vious month, when therate increased by 4%.

The number ofapprovals for remortga-ging was virtually flat,after increasing by just20 to 30,810, as thethreat of an interestrate hike began torecede.

This was lower thanthe average over thepast six months of31,340.

Howard Archer, chiefUK economist at IHSGlobal Insight, said:“Despite mortgageapprovals rising to a14-month high in July,housing market activ-ity remains very lowcompared to long-termnorms.

“With consumer con-fidence weak and theeconomic outlook cur-rently looking prettygrim, we see littlereason to change ourview that modest fallsin house prices aremore likely than notover the comingmonths.”

He added that mort-gage approvals haveaveraged around 90,000a month since 1993,while a level of70,000-80,000 has in thepast been consideredconsistent with stablehouse prices.

Government‘failstograspcredit issues’,sayexpertsCREDIT management expertsclaim the Government’s dis-cussion paper on simplerreporting for the smallestbusinesses has confused mat-ters further.

The Institute of Credit Man-agement (ICM) said the paperappears to have missed thefundamental point that busi-nesses rely on more inform-

ation, not less, to extendcredit, and, without credit, thelonged-for business recoverywill not happen.

Philip King, chief executiveof the ICM, which was formed70 years ago, said the newpaper brought more confu-sion, instead of clarity, to theGovernment’s position andthinking: “On the one hand,

they talk about the currentregimes as being ‘burden-some, costly, and adding littlevalue’ and on the other thatSMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) could make‘an increased contribution tothe economy if they had betterfinancial information avail-able to them’.

“The simple question that

our members have been ask-ing is this: does the Govern-ment really understand therole of credit in business?

“If it did, then it wouldunderstand that informationis critical to making informeddecisions and to facilitatetrade, and that the need forinformation does not disap-pear just because your com-

pany is ‘small’. Indeed, wewould argue that the oppositeis true: the smaller you are,the more information you mayhave to provide to demonstrateyour creditworthiness.”

However, he said the ICMwelcomes some parts of thepaper, including the proposalto provide a simpler means offiling of accounts online.

CharitywarningMerseyfirmsonfiresafetyrules

Juiceparentpredictsanadvertisingrenaissance

Former Everton forward Andy Gray who joined UTV Media’stalkSPORT station in February after leaving broadcaster Sky


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A LIVERPOOL charity iswarning local businesses thatthey need to be up to datewith their fire risk assess-ments (FRA) or they couldface hefty fines or even a jailsentence.

According to workplace

health charity Health@Work,current legislation means thatall businesses must completean up to date fire risk assess-ment, with severe penalties inplace if they don’t adhere tostringent guidelines.

Employers also need to

review their FRA if forexample there has been achange in building structure,or they are now storing haz-ardous substances.

Frances Molloy, chief exec-utive of Health@Work said:“Since the Regulatory Reform

(Fire Safety) Order 2005 cameinto effect, all employers andbuilding owners are requiredto carry out and continuouslyupdate the fire assessment.

“Failure to comply can res-ult in increased fire risks,court enforcement action,

fines and imprisonment.“No organisation is exempt

from this legislation, so it’svital your fire risk assess-ments are up to date.”

Health@Work is offeringadvice to businesses on firerisk management.




R&Dtaxcreditaid‘wouldleadtohi-techrecovery’

Firminnoisereductiondeal

OfficespaceproviderMWBtoofferdisasterrecoveryservice

TIGA chief executive Dr Richard Wilson is calling for more R&D tax credit incentives for small firms

WIDENING the scope of tax creditsfor small firms’ research and devel-opment would kick start a hi-techindustries recovery and job creation,it was claimed today.

TIGA, the trade body for the UKvideo games industry, has urged thecoalition Government to considerchanges in response to a consultationexercise by HM Treasury on R&D taxcredits.

The games industry is well repres-ented on Merseyside with Sony beingthe biggest employer, but the region isalso home to a raft of smaller com-panies such as Setgo and several ven-tures formed by former staff membersof the now defunct Bizarre Creationsstudio in Speke.

TIGA wants R&D tax credits toinclude costs such as rents and ratesfor premises; design costs, such aswork involved in game developmentand user testing; and intellectualproperty protection costs, from thepatent registration to legal feesincurred in defending copyright.

Dr Richard Wilson, TIGA chiefexecutive, said: “The UK needs busi-ness investment and exports to drivethe economic recovery.

“A tax regime which promotesinvestment in R&D can contribute tothe achievement of this objective. His-torically, the UK has invested less inR&D in comparison to some other G7countries.”

TIGA campaigned for the level ofR&D qualifying relief to be raisedfrom 175% to 200% and welcomedChancellor George Osborne’s decisionin his March Budget to not onlyimplement their proposal, but toincrease it to 225% from April 2012.

Dr Wilson added: “Yet the Govern-ment could do still more to improvethe R&D tax credits, particularly thesmall firms’ scheme.

“Expanding the scope of the R&Dtax credit scheme to include premisescosts, design costs and IP protectioncosts, would provide games developers

and other high technology firms withmore resources with which to investin R&D and expand employment.”

Jason Kingsley, TIGA chairman,said: “In 2008-9, 6,450 SME (small andmedium-sized enterprises) companies

A SERVICED office space pro-vider has launched a disasterrecovery scheme for its cli-ents.

MWB Business Exchange,which includes office space inLiverpool’s Silkhouse Court,has developed MWB Recoverwith Onyx Group, one of theUK’s leading technology sol-utions providers.

It will help businesses keepgoing after unplanned incid-ents that could put them outof action.

Recent Chamber of Com-merce figures claim that 20%of all companies will sufferfire, theft, flood or stormdamage, power failures or

hardware and software fail-ure.

And further research hasshown 40% of firms without adisaster recovery plan neverre-open after a crisis.

The recovery package willenable businesses to run asnormal from MWB centreswith remote access to dataand servers and can re-directphones and inform staff.

Companies will be able toaccess the service through ahotline number and uniquepin number.

MWB Business Exchangechief executive John Spencersaid: “Business continuity issuch an important issue, but

is often overlooked by firms.”Onyx Group managing dir-ector James Carver added:“Together with MWB Busi-ness Exchange, we’ll beproviding instant, readilyaccessible back-up for thosewho need it, allowing busi-nesses to ensure they havesafeguards in place so thatthey don’t suffer as a result ofany disaster that mightoccur.”

AIM-listed MWB BusinessExchange is the UK’s secondlargest provider of servicedoffice space from a portfolioof 70 centres and more than2m sq ft of office, meeting

and conference room space.

BROMBOROUGH noise management specialistKimpton Acoustics has won two contracts to con-trol noise levels from Combined Heat and Power(CHP) units at two Yorkshire hospitals.

St James’s, in Leeds, and Airedale Hospital, inKeighley, obtain heat and power 24 hours a dayfrom the CHP units which are the mostenergy-efficient solutions to their needs.

But it is also essential for patients’ comfort thatnoise from the units does not reach unacceptablelevels.

So Kimpton Acoustics will design and install anoise containment system.

Kimpton spokesman Bob Jones said: “The mostenergy-efficient solution to providing heating andelectricity is not always the quietest. Our acousticenclosures will guarantee to keep noise at accept-able levels, enabling electricity to be supplied tomeet energy needs efficiently and quietly.”

benefited from the SME R&D schemeat a cost to the Treasury of £260m.

“In 2008-09, 2,150 large companiesbenefited from the large companyR&D scheme at a cost to the Treasuryof £720m.

“We need more UK businesses tobenefit from the R&D tax creditschemes and we need to make theSME scheme, in particular, still moreeffective by widening the scope of therelief.”

A FUNDING packagefrom Santander Cor-porate Banking hasenabled a Wavertreedental practice toexpand.

The Oral HealthPractice has bought abigger property nextdoor, which meansfather and daughterteam John and Marie-Louise Duthie candouble the size of theirpractice.

They have secured anextension to their NHScontract and employedan extra dentist toprovide care for newpatients.

The Duthies are alsoinvesting in a “bestpractice” decontamin-ation suite for inst-rument sterilisationand a wide range ofnew dental equipment,including “drill-less”techniques.

Mr Duthie said: “Weare delighted to beexpanding The OralHealth Practice withsupport from Sant-ander. We have beenunder increased pres-sure to provide addi-tional services, sowe’re pleased to be ableto meet this demandand improve our rangeof services and facilit-ies for patients.”

And Santander Cor-porate Banking relat-ionship director NeilTweedle added: “Wewant to help businessesprosper and we arekeen to support busi-nesses with strong andrealistic growth ambit-ions.

“Our agreement withThe Oral Health Prac-tice is a perfectexample of this.”

Dentistsextractgrowthfunding

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Internshipsofferhopetonewbusinessgeneration

Lawyersact inpropertydealsTHE property team atlaw firm Hill Dickin-son, in Liverpool, hasadvised NewRiverRetail on three prop-erty deals in Boscombe,Great Yarmouth andCanterbury

The firm advised theretail property com-pany on the purchase ofThe Sovereign shoppingcentre in Boscombe,near Bournemouthfrom UBS Global AssetManagement for £12m.

Tenants at the 86,000sq ft facility includePeacocks, Wilkinson’sand Boots.

In Great Yarmouth,Norfolk, Hill Dickinsonadvised NewRiver onthe acquisition of 23-24Market Place for £2.5m,while in Canterbury itadvised the company onthe sale of 41 GeorgeStreet to a private cli-ent of HendersonGlobal Investors for£5m. Abby Dry, partnerat Hill Dickinson, whoadvised on the deals,said: “These are highlysignificant deals forNewRiver Retail.

“The company isextremely active allover the UK and HillDickinson is verypleased to have beeninvolved.

“NewRiver has beena client of the firm fortwo years and we lookforward to continuingto build on this fant-astic working relation-ship with the team onfuture deals as the com-pany continues todevelop its extensiveproperty portfolio.”

Allan Lockhart,property director atNewRiver, added:“Total assets undermanagement byNewRiver are now circa£250m and involve arange of developmentand refurbishmentopportunities.”

There is stillnoclearpathoutof theUK’seconomic troubles

INCREASING business links betweenthe UK and China are creating oppor-tunities for a new generation of Mer-seysiders, particularly those affectedby rising university fees.

Internships offer UK participantswork placements in the world’s fast-est-growing economy, and the offer offull time jobs.

Conversely, UK and Merseyside com-panies can benefit by offering intern-ships to high-calibre Chinese studentseager for exposure to Western methods

in their bid to become China’s busi-ness leaders of tomorrow.

CRCC Asia is one of the leading pro-viders of internships in China, andrevealed that 12% of its applicantsoriginate from Merseyside.

Liverpool John Moores Universitygraduate Charlotte Till is one of CRCCAsia’s most recent “alumni” afterspending two months in Beijing lastyear with Chinese travel companyCYTS, before returning to secure a jobas a marketing executive in London.

She said: “I not only learned moreabout marketing and the travelindustry, but also about Chinese busi-ness culture and business etiquette.

“I definitely feel my experience inChina helped me in my career by giv-ing me an international edge and alsoa deeper work experience.

“Working in China is all the inter-viewers wanted to talk to me about, asit made me different from other can-didates.”

CRCC Asia said that this summermore than 30% of its interns wereoffered full-time contracts at the com-panies which provided their intern-ships. Daniel Nivern, CRCC Asia dir-ector, said: “The benefit for Chinesecompanies is the Western knowledgeand practices that foreign graduatescan bring to the table.”

Firms in Liverpool – which istwinned with Shanghai – can establishvaluable business links with Chinathrough the Sino-UK Internship Pro-gramme which has been created by BIIChina, in partnership with BeijingCompounded World Education Tech-nology, the professional body for edu-cation and training in China.

Sino-UK aims to secure 2,000 pos-itions for Chinese interns in its firstyear, and is in the process of buildinglinks with UK companies and uni-versities.



IT ISN’T often the case that all eyesof the City are on Doncaster, but nextweek’s horse racing festival can’tcome soon enough.

The stock market maxim, “Sell inMay and go away; don’t come back

‘til St Leger Day”, has proven to besage advice this year.

The FTSE-100 began May at 6,070but was down nearly 1,000 points atthe start of this week.

That 15% drop had been worse,having bottomed out at a summerfall of more than 20% earlier thismonth when it statistically became abear market.

But even from this lower base, theautumn revival that the adagealludes to may prove to be a falsedawn.

Research released back in themore optimistic days of May by ana-lysts Evolution Securities sought torebuff the veracity of “Sell in May”

and concluded that its accuracy“rests on a few key recessionaryyears”.

Yet it is still possible that 2011could be described in suchterms.

We’ll have to wait untilNovember 1 for the public-ation of the third-quarterdata to see if the UK’s GDPhas managed to maintaineven the currentbarely-there rates ofgrowth.

Being sceptical aboutshort and medium-term prospects forthe economy has proven to be a use-ful strategy since the UK officially

moved out of recession at the end of2009.

I see little to make me change thatapproach with so much fragility

around.What is clear is that four

years on from the run onNorthern Rock, which willbe marked two weeks today,there is still huge uncer-tainty about the solutionsto our economic problems.

It seems that the onlything we now know withmore certainty is just how

many fault lines run through whatwe previously thought of as a rel-atively stable system.

It is glib to say that companies,and their management, need to bemore efficient or more innovative.

The businesses that have survivedthis long have more than proventheir mettle, their ability and will-ingness to fight for every pound.

But some can’t continue operatingin survival mode for too muchlonger.

It is possible that St Leger Day willmark an improvement in fortunes.

I hope it does, too – but I wouldn’tbet on it.

‘MaybeStLegerDaywill seeanupturn infortunes’

AquaticconsultancyopensbaseatHawardenAirfieldAQUATIC science andremote sensing consultancyAPEM is opening an officeand aerial survey facility atHawarden Airfield, nearChester.

It will provide bespokeoffice and hangarage facilit-ies for staff and aircraftinvolved in the monitoringof aquatic wildlife and ter-rain in the UK.

The base will be home toAPEM’s own hangar, accom-modating its fleet of aircraft,which are fitted with a vari-ety of high-resolutioncameras.

These cameras gatherimages from the air toanswer complex questionsabout aquatic and ter-restrial habitats across theBritish Isles.

APEM’s aerial surveys areused for a variety of applic-ations including environ-mental impact assessmentsfor offshore wind farm sitesand for monitoring the hab-itat use and migration pat-terns of birds and mammals.

Managing director DrKeith Hendry said: “We haveseen a significant increase toour aerial operations due tothe upturn in demand forinnovative environmentalassessments.” An APEM aircraft conducting one of its aquatic surveys – the firm will use Hawarden as a base

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■ ALEX TURNER is the general man-ager of financial training firmAmbitious Minds

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AlexTurner

■ THE BIG FEATUREPages 8-9


Ishigh-speedrailplantoomuchfor too little?

City practice with designs on ChinaAlistairHoughtononhowaLiverpool firmusedtheWorldExpoinShanghaiasaspringboardtosuccess inChina

A computer-generated image,created by Brock Carmichael, ofpart of a waterfrontredevelopment in Tianjin, China

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

FOR Brock Carmichael Architects, sign-ing up to the World Expo in Shanghaiwas a gamble that paid off.

BCA, which was struggling in the teethof a downturn that has seen many build-ing projects postponed or cancelled, hadnever worked abroad before.

But, after hearing about the opportun-ities available in China, the practicesigned up to sponsor Liverpool’s pavilionat the Shanghai event and sent three ofits partners to China to start networking.

A year later, the fruits of that work areshowing. As reported on page one, thepractice has won work on two massiveregeneration schemes, both of whichdwarf most UK construction projects intheir size and scale.

It has created a masterplan for a mar-ina and thousands of homes on reclaimedland at the port of Tianjin, while it is alsoworking on plans for an urban regen-eration scheme in southern China that isso large that it would cover the whole ofLiverpool city centre.

Those contracts were secured after alot of hard work, with many visits toChina and many hours of frenzied workcarried out online and across timezones.

BCA now has a partnership with HongKong practice Oval, as well as a partnerbased in Hong Kong, and is looking tosecure work elsewhere in Asia.

And its partners hope they will be ableto attract Asian investors to Liverpool.

It all means partner Michael Cossercan say, with pride: “We are an inter-national design business now”.

It’s the kind of success story that Liv-erpool Vision was hoping for when itplanned the city’s presence at the Expo.

The city’s investment in the Expo wascontroversial, with some questioningwhat the city would get out of the event.

But Vision insisted that, while theremay have been few immediate “wins”from the Expo, it would generatelong-term gains for the city.

It says that, since the Expo, many moreMersey firms have started thinking aboutdoing business in China.

And BCA’s partners are clear that,without the Expo, they would never havestarted work in China at all.

Sitting around a table in a basement inOld Hall Street, Liverpool, five of BCA’spartners talked about how, backin the chill economic climate of2009, they first started to con-sider venturing into China’s eco-nomic hothouse.

BCA, founded in 1974, hasworked on some of Liverpool’smost iconic developments,including the Liverpool Institutefor the Performing Arts, theMerseyside Maritime Museumand One Park West at Liverpool One.

Partner John Cassell said: “By 2009 wehad work all over the country. It waswonderful. Then the lights got switchedoff overnight.

“We were, like every other architect inthe country, scratching our heads.

“At the same time other people in thecity, when we were going to various func-tions, were talking about Shanghai.”

BCA’s partners heard about Shanghaifrom people such as Neil Sturmey from

Grant Thornton, and became intriguedabout the possibilities.

And so, after talking to Liverpool Vis-ion, BCA committed itself to the Expo,focusing on Liverpool Week in October.

Several of BCA’s projects were featuredat the Expo. Partner Martin Watson said:“Our projects were bring profiled as partof the city’s regeneration over the past 25years. It would have been a shame for usnot to be there when our projects weresuch a big element of that.”

So three partners planned to go toChina for a week, attending the Expo and

then meeting other potentiallyuseful contacts. They evenadded a Mandarin section totheir website.

“Then”, said Mr Cassell, “wehad a stroke of luck.

“We had a former associatecalled Alfred Yeung. He wasHong Kong-born, and went backto pursue his future and hiscareer there.

“In those 20 years since he’dbeen in China, he’d built a very success-ful career for himself as an architect anddeveloper in mainland China. He wasvery pleased to see that we were comingover, and we arranged to meet.

“That was key to us. Doing work inChina is all about partnering.”

Mr Cosser said: “By the time we’d gotthere, he’d given thought as to who weshould see.

“That led, on the first day when we gotoff the plane, to us going to a meeting

Alfred had arranged that led to us enter-ing an international design competition.

“That first venture was very interest-ing and revealing. It took three months ofreally intensive effort and three furthervisits back.”

Partner Chris Bolland said: “It was anenormous learning curve. It was a type ofproject we had not really done before, ona scale we hadn’t done before.

“We were working with a client withwhom we didn’t share a language. Wewere working remotely under incrediblepressure.”

BCA was runner-up in that first com-petition, but that work itself led to thecompany’s partners making more con-tacts in China.

Partner Michael Keane said: “The keywas not just Alfred’s introduction, but thefact we had to go back repeatedly. Itmeant we had to build a relationship withOval Partnership in Hong Kong.

“Our repeat visits led to other con-sultations with clients. We became famil-iar faces.”

BCA and Oval now work togetherunder a common brand – Octagon. Thatalliance gives BCA access to other citiesin China through Oval’s offices in HongKong, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu.

BCA sells its skills in masterplanningand concept planning, rather than design-ing individual buildings.

China is not short of skilled designerswho can create individual buildings. Butwhat it does need is expertise from theWest in planning large urban mixed-use

A MASSIVE high-speedrail project sounds likeexactly the sort ofthing I should be prais-ing to the rooftops. Butthe current £32bn highspeed rail proposals(HS2) seem to be ter-ribly hard to love.

HS2, as currentlyplanned, will start with anew high-speed linebetween London andBirmingham.

Two more lines are setto follow – one fromBirmingham to Leeds,and another from theMidlands to Manchester.

Many business groups,including LiverpoolChamber of Commerce,are enthusiastically back-ing HS2.

I’ve never been quitesure of the argument thatshaving a few minutes offtrain times will automat-ically bring investment.

Today, Liverpool is justover a couple of hoursaway from London. Isthat too far for anyoneseriously interested indoing business?

Twenty years ago,train time was dead time.Now, thanks to the ubi-quity of laptops and wi-fi,that train time can beused productively.

I can see, however, thatif HS2 benefits Leeds andManchester and not Liv-erpool, then it could putour northern rivals inpole position when itcomes to attractinginvestment.

Under HS2, the jour-ney time from the capitalto Manchester will be cutto just 1hr 10mins, whilethe Liverpool-Londonjourney will be cut to 1hr38mins. That discrepancywill, says Merseytravel,“act as a significantincentive to businesses toconsider locating inManchester rather thanLiverpool”.

It says HS2 should bejust the start of a widerhigh-speed rail networkencompassing Liverpool– of course – Newcastle,Glasgow and Edinburgh,as well as potentiallyBristol and Cardiff.

The problem then isthat we’re into wish-listterritory.

In a perfect world, itwould be wonderful to

see a high-speed networkwith tentacles stretchingto all major cities.

Even in the best oftimes, such a schemewould be somewhatpricey. In these toughtimes, such a networkwould seem to be a dis-tant dream.

The question iswhether the current HS2proposals will see theGovernment spending amassive amount ofmoney on making acouple of not-very-longjourneys even shorter.

Our current connec-tions to the capital maynot be as fast as the TGV,but they do the jobquickly and generallywell. Once we move bey-ond the West Coast MainLine, however, thingsslow down.

I used to travelbetween Hull and Liver-pool every other week-end. It was a threehours-plus trip, with achange at Leeds orManchester, regularlyenlivened by the nigglingdelays that are so often afeature of UK rail travel.

And I sometimes foundmyself thinking – usuallywhile sitting on a greyplatform in a rainy Leeds– that travel between twomajor cities on oppositesides of a small countryshould not be so fiddly.

Throughout the UK,local trains are slow andcrowded. Those billionsearmarked for HS2 couldgo a long way towardsimproving the wholecountry’s rail network.

My heart tells me todemand the building of anew national high-speedrail network linking allmajor urban centres.

My head tells me that’snot going to happen inmy lifetime, unlessthere’s a new oil field thesize of the one in theNorth Sea hidden else-where in UK waters.

So if all we are to haveis the current long, slow,expensive compromisethat will see Manchesterand Leeds benefiting atothers’ expense, then per-haps we should simplypark the HS2 plans in asiding and use the moneyto improve other trainservices all over the UK.

AlistairHoughton

‘WeareconsciousweareflyingtheUKflag’


City practice with designs on China

Expo lubricates the wheels of trade

Brock Carmichael’s vision for apartment blocks at its Tianjin development site

the big feature

schemes, along the lines of Liverpool Oneor the transformation of Canary Wharf.

BCA and Oval have teamed up to workon plans for a 3.5m sq m urban regen-eration plan in Kunming, southernChina.

Mr Bolland said: “We wanted to getaway from the approach that a lot ofChinese cities have taken in redevelop-ment of this scale by creating a verystrong public landscape in the form of acentral park.

“That large amount of green space inthe UK is something we take for granted.It’s only now in China thatthey’re taking that long-termapproach to developing sustain-able communities. Our expertiseis something they can respectand are able to utilise.”

The project is fronted byOval’s Beijing office, backed byBCA’s Liverpool team.

Mr Bolland said: “One of thefirst exercises we did was to sehow big it was by plotting it overLiverpool. All in, it pretty much coveredeverything from The Strand to StGeorge’s Hall and from the ring road toDuke Street.”

And in recent weeks, BCA secured thedeal to masterplan part of a massiveregeneration scheme in Tianjin.

Developers have reclaimed a hugeexpanse of land from the sea.

“They have constructed a huge arti-ficial peninsula which is about a quarterthe size of Wirral,” said Mr Bolland.

One side of the peninsula will form anextension to Tianjin’s container port. Butthe other will boats beaches and space forhomes and leisure facilities.

Octagon’s client has a 52-acre plot ofland on the peninsula and wanted ideason how to develop it.

The winning proposals from BCAinclude a marina, a yacht club, 200 villas,and apartment blocks containing 2,800homes.

BCA has started to expand again as aresult of its Chinese success, and is look-ing to recruit more designers and Man-

darin-speaking architects.Alfred Yeung, the former

BCA associate, is now a partnerat the company, driving itsAsian expansion. BCA is usingits Hong Kong base as a spring-board to the rest of Asia, andhas looked at projects in Cam-bodia, Hong Kong, Singaporeand Malaysia.

For all their talk of Asia,BCA’s partners stress that the

bulk of the company’s work is still car-ried out in the North West.

But BCA’s Chinese work could reaprewards for its home country. The com-pany has, says Michael, been approachedby Chinese developers looking for busi-ness opportunities in the UK.

And BCA’s Chinese partners are alsokeen to sell Liverpool to their compat-riots.

“Alfred is incredibly passionate aboutLiverpool,” said Mr Cosser.

LIVERPOOL was the only UKcity with a presence at lastyear’s World Expo in Shanghai– and regeneration agency Liv-erpool Vision says the city willsee long-term benefits from itsinvolvement.

The city’s pavilion attractedmore than 770,000 visitors overthe six months the event wasopen – more than 1% of the73.08m people overall who vis-ited the Expo.

It aimed to showcase the cityas a place to do business, butalso highlighted the city’ssporting and cultural heritage.

The £3m cost of the pavilionwas covered by the NorthwestDevelopment Agency andalmost £1m in backing fromprivate sector part-ners.

In a surveyreleased thismonth, Vision saidthose sponsorswere pleased withthe results of theirinvestment.

They showed 30%of the 60-plus organ-

isations participating said theywould not have considered anyinternational business activityin 2010 without the city’sinvolvement at the Expo.

Some 12% of sponsors saidthey had secured sales ororders immediately after theExpo, ranging in value from£10,000 to £500,000, while 70%believed their involvement willgenerate future sales or orders.

Ian Meadows, chairman ofLiverpool-based lubricants spe-cialist RS Clare, is hoping hisfirm will see benefits from itsExpo sponsorship.

He said: “We used the Expoas a starting point to look atpotential customers.

“The Expo was a reallysound investment for the

city, I’m quite sure. I’m sureit will bring results over

time.“But we’ve found, in

doing business in China,that what matters are

relationships. It’s takenus a long time to

build relation-ships.

“I wentout

‘Projectwasanenormouslearningcurve’

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there three times during thecourse of the Expo. We’ve nowgot a distributor out there. Buteven with that, it takes a longtime to win business.

“The Expo was really helpful.I’d been trying to get intoChina for 10 years before that,but the Expo gave us a positiveplatform.”

Accountancy firm GrantThornton was another sup-porter of the Liverpool pavil-ion. Neil Sturmey, head of itsLiverpool office, said: “TheExpo was about stepping upand being on the world stage.

“It is difficult to changepeople’s perceptions or evenget yourself on the map in anera of globalisation, and cer-tainly some of the Chinesebusiness people I met inShanghai had a markedly outof date perceptions of Liver-pool. So being there and seeingcompanies like Peel share theirvision of the North West’sfuture as a gateway to UK andEuropean trade was valuable.

“We’ve seen plenty of del-egations from the Far Eastcame over here since and fol-low up their interest.”Ian Meadows


Oil giant inacquisition ofReliance stakeBP has completed itsacquisition of a 30%stake in 21 oil and gasproduction sharingcontracts operated byReliance Industries inIndia.

The completion ofthe deal is one of thelargest ever foreigndirect investmentsinto India.

Bunzl reportsgrowth plansDISTRIBUTION andoutsourcing groupBunzl, which suppliesconsumer packaging,take-away boxes andhealthcare products,has said a “promisingpipeline” of acquisi-tions should lead tofurther growth afterhalf-year profits rose11% to £138.8m. Allits business areasshowed improvedmargins.

Rise in ordersMILITARY equipmentmaker Chemring hasreported an orderbook worth £996m,which is 43% higherthan a year ago. Withthe company alsoannouncing a 33%rise in revenues to£164m for the threemonths to July, Fare-ham-based Chemringsaid prospects for the2012 financial yearwere good.

Profits upGREENOCK-BASEDBritish PolytheneIndustries hasincreased half-yearprofits by 15% to£15.1m and saidmeasures taken inrecent years inrestructuring its UKoperations and theexcellent performanceof its European busi-ness would help itdeliver “satisfactory”results for this year.

briefing Emergingeconomiesmaynotsaveusfromaslump

Emerging markets may not be a safe haven for investorsPicture: LEFTERIS PITARAKIS

Places like Shanghai have boomed in recent years, but China will not be immune to any downturn



INVESTORS banking on emergingmarket (EM) consumers to offset thesaving, retrenchment and deleveragingof cowed Western households mayhave to rethink.

Betting on consumer stocks in devel-oping markets has paid off hand-somely in recent years, as incomegrowth in emerging economies trans-lated into booming sales of cars,mobile phones and luxury handbags.

That has driven profits at localfirms, as well as for global companiesfrom LVMH to Coca-Cola.

But a series of profit warnings andsigns of belt-tightening among emer-ging consumers have darkened thehorizon.

Danish brewer Carlsberg cut its out-look last week, citing weakness in Rus-sian sales, and Brazilian supermarketchain Hypermarcas trimmed 2011profit estimates.

India’s top car maker, MarutiSuzuki, expects single-digit salesgrowth in 2011 versus 25% last year, asIndian car sales fell in July for thefirst time in 2½ years.

“There is still a strong secular casefor the EM consumer, but, in the worldwe live in, everyone is thinking ofwhat will happen next week, not nextdecade,” said Mark Donovan, chiefexecutive of Robeco Investment Man-agement.

“If we get into a phase when globalgrowth slows materially or even con-tracts, exposure to the EM consumerisn't going to bail you out.”

Sales of cars, property and con-sumer goods were easing even beforethis month as higher interest ratesbegan to bite in many emerging eco-nomies including China, India andBrazil.

But any recession in the US and theeurozone would hit developing coun-tries even harder, as an inevitableslump in emerging economies’ exportswould hurt domestic consumermorale.

Many reckon the outlook is gloom-ier than in 2008 when governments,both advanced and emerging, pumpedvast amounts of cash into their eco-nomies to shore up domestic demand.

“We are looking at a prolongedperiod of slow US growth which can-not be fixed this time with a quickdose of stimulus,” said John-PaulSmith, head of emerging equitystrategy at Deutsche Bank.

“Chinese wage growth will comeunder pressure, that will have a mul-tiplier effect and slow consumerdemand.”

Emerging households today are farmore leveraged than in 2008, RBC Cap-ital Markets said in a note.

Government deficits are bigger andtrade surpluses overall are smaller, itsaid, concluding EM policymakershave “fewer bullets to spend” now.

Until now, faith in the EM consumerhas paid off – Thomson Reuters datashows that a basket of eurozone stockswith a high degree of foreign exposureoutperformed a portfolio of domestic-focused stocks by 14%in the past year.

Consumer discretionary stocks suchas cars and tech firms, have fallen 6%this year, while broader emerging

equities are down 15%. No surprisereally, given Chinese minimum wagesrose 24% in 2010 and many emergingeconomies are running almost fullemployment.

Compare that with the US, where58% of the working-age population isemployed full-time, and wage growthis stagnant, and it is easy to under-stand why investors are reluctant toabandon the bet on the EM consumer.

“In terms of outlook . . . the EMconsumer is very well positioned rel-

ative to the developed markets con-sumer.

“It is clear the latter is in for a verylong period of retrenchment that couldbe anything between five and 20years,” said Julian Mayo, who man-ages $3.3bn at Charlemagne Capital.

Consumer discretionaries remainthe top play for emerging funds, aBank of America/Merrill Lynchmonthly survey shows.

But, as the data flow from emergingmarkets turns sour and growth fore-

casts are cut for big consumer nationssuch as India and Brazil, some cautionis creeping in.

Funds have cut overweights on EMconsumer stocks by a quarter sinceJanuary, BoA/ML data shows.

And consumer stocks’ outperform-ance to the broader market has stalledin the August stock market sell-off –they have done just as badly.

Overall, however, consumer stockvaluations do not yet reflect the darkereconomic outlook, making them vul-nerable if the global equities routcontinues.

A Deutsche Bank analyst says thatvaluations of consumer-focused EMcompanies, unlike other sectors, havebarely budged.

Energy and utility stocks are valuednear November, 2008, troughs of 1.2 ona price-to-book basis, he noted, butconsumer discretionary stocks, despitedata such as falling car sales, are trad-ing at 2.3 times book – 40% above 2008lows.

Price-to-book is a measure that com-pares stock prices with the value of thecompany on its balance sheet.

According to the analyst, it is amore accurate valuation gauge in thecurrent environment than the morecommon price-forward earnings ratio.

“The energy sector is pricing in apretty bad scenario, but people areexpecting the EM consumer to hold,”he said. “It’s a crowded trade and willsuffer if we have any further big pricedeclines.”

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BUSINESSto BUSINESS


HeadofCBIclaimsbankreformrisksUKrecovery

CBI director general John Cridland is urging caution on reforms

Housebuilder’sfocusonfamilyhomesboostsprofits

Maleexecutivesstillpaidmore PoweringonPADDY POWER said a surge in onlinebets helped it post a rise in profits as itweathered a run of punter friendlysports results.

The bookmaker suffered a “rightbashing” at the Cheltenham horse fest-ival but said underlying profits werestill 15% higher at £50.3m.

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

Datingfirm isfeelingthe loveONLINE dating special-ist Cupid revealed itsprofits doubled after itspread the love byexpanding into newoverseas markets.

The firm, whose web-sites include Flirt, BeNaughty and Girls Datefor Free, said underly-ing earnings increasedby 137% to £5.7m in thehalf-year to June 30,which was better thanCity expectations.

Revenues nearlytrebled to £25.4m, boos-ted by moving into newmarkets such as Brazil,Germany and Italy,meaning it now has apresence in every con-tinent. It has some 34mmembers, with about15m in the UK.

UK revenuesincreased by 68% to£11.9m, but the Edin-burgh-based company’srapid-growth overseasmeans these marketsnow account for 53% ofits revenues, comparedto 19% a year ago.

It said it is now oneof only a handful oftruly internationalinternet dating com-panies.

Cupid has benefitedfrom the popularity ofFacebook, with rapidgrowth in the numberof people using applic-ations to use its ser-vices through the socialnetworking site.

It operates one of thetop Facebook appsdownloaded globallyand 40% of its usersnow visit via the site orfrom mobile phones ortablet computers.

Bottom-line pre-taxprofits rose 98% to£3.9m.

Investors were wooedby the figures, sendingshares of the Aim-listedcompany up 6%.

INASSOCIATION

WITH



LDP

Text LDPto 67800

MOBILE

HOUSEBUILDER BovisHomes said profits more thandoubled after it benefited fromits focus on controlling costsand building more familyhomes.

The Kent-based groupreported that pre-tax profitsrose 131% to £8.1m in the halfyear to June 30 as it put in a“strong performance” despitethe housing market slowdown.

It has looked to sell morefamily homes, which are lessexposed to first-time buyersstruggling to get onto theproperty ladder, and hasbought more land in the southof England, where the markethas been more resilient. Theaverage price of its homesrose 3.2% to £163,400 com-pared to a year ago.

Its operating margins

increased to 7.5% from 4.2%after it reduced constructioncosts and it started to benefitfrom snapping up land atcheaper prices following therecession.

Revenues increased 16% to£133.6m in the period amid the“stable, but challenging, mar-ket conditions”.

Bovis completed the sale of801 homes in the period,

slightly down on the 803 ayear ago.

However, the group said ithad seen strong trading inrecent months, with a 19%increase in private reserva-tions to 1,087 homes in 2011 sofar. As a result, it expects thenumber of completions to riseby between 5% and 10% overthe full year.

The group also predicted its

profits will continue to grow.It has made further pro-

gress in buying land, mainlyin the south of England, and isset to open a 14 new sites inthe second half of the year.

Chief executive DavidRitchie said: “Subject to cur-rent market conditions con-tinuing, the group’s profitmargins will continue toimprove.”

DARKENING clouds over the UK eco-nomy mean the Government would be“barking mad” to press ahead withproposals to reform the bankingindustry, the director general of theCBI business lobby group said yester-day.

Speaking before next month’s reportby the Independent Commission onBanking (ICB) on how to increase sta-bility and competition in UK banking,John Cridland said “unilateral”changes to regulation could threatenthe fragile recovery.

His comments came a day afterAngela Knight, the chief executive ofthe British Bankers Association(BBA), said plans to reform the sectorshould be put on hold until the eco-nomy has recovered and taxpayershave been repaid for bailing out thebanks.

It is expected the ICB will recom-mend ring-fencing banks’ retail oper-ations from their investment bankingarms, although it will be up to Chan-cellor George Osborne to decidewhether and at what pace to imple-ment any reforms.

Mr Cridland said: “Taking action atthis moment – this moment of growthperil, which weakens the ability ofbanks in Britain to provide the financethat businesses need to grow – is justto me barking mad.”

He added that a perceived need foraction after banks were bailed out in

2008 was driving the scale and pace ofreform.

Mr Cridland said: “I get a sense thatthere’s a little bit of ‘we’ll do thisbecause of political reasons’.

“We don’t want to force some of ourremaining world class British compan-ies to shift away from a focus on theUK because the rules have been setunilaterally in the UK.

“There’s an own goal here about tobe scored if we get this wrong.”

BBA chief executive Angela Knightsaid imposing reforms on lendersrisked denting confidence and cuttingthe supply of credit to the economy.

She added: “We have a high degreeof uncertainty, market turbulence andlack of confidence that governments inother countries have got a sufficientgrip on their economies. We are in fora very difficult autumn.

“This is, therefore, the time to con-centrate on economic recovery andpaying back... the Government andtaxpayers.

“By all means think about new reg-ulation but now is not the time to addthat as an overlay with respect tocosts, uncertainty or whether it isgoing to do anything beneficial any-way.”

The calls for a delay to bankingreforms helped shares in the bankingsector during an already strong ses-sion for the wider London market.

It is thought Mr Osborne could givebanks as long as 2019 to implement thereforms proposed in the ICB report.

However, Seymour Pierce bankinganalyst Bruce Packard said he dis-

agreed with calls for ringfencing to bepostponed.

He added: “The banking system hasbeen on life support and opiates since2007, there must come a time for thepatient to undergo surgery and physio-therapy.”

Mr Packard also dismissed industry

claims that ringfencing would raisethe cost of finance for small andmedium sized companies (SMEs).

He said: “The spreads betweenassets and liabilities for UK SMEshave already gone up because bankshave lost tens of billions of poundslending to the US mortgage market.”

[email protected]

news

MALE executives arepaid over £10,000 a yearmore than their femalecounterparts, withequal pay among Bri-tain’s bosses almost 100years off, researchshowed today.

A study of almost35,000 executivesshowed a gender gap of£10,546, around £500more than last year,although at junior levelwomen earned margin-ally more than men.

Wages for womenexecutives are increas-ing faster than those ofmen, but it will takealmost 100 years forsalaries to be equal,according to theChartered Management

Institute. Male execut-ives earned an averageof £42,441 comparedwith £31,895 for women,although men’s payincreased by 2.3% in thepast year comparedwith 2.8%for women.


by David Legat, of Liverpoolagency Mason Owen

LDPbusiness .co.uklocation

viewpoint

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

INASSOCIATION

WITH


Vital for landlordsandtenants tounderstandeachother’sneeds

LEASE terms are becoming moreflexible to accommodate retailers ina testing market – but at what costto landlords?

The Investment PropertyDatabank (IPD) has released the res-ults of its study of nearly 50,000 retailleases, showing what the propertymarket already knew – retail leasesare becoming shorter.

The IPD’s study illustrates thatretailers are beginning to benefitfrom more sympathetic lease terms,as landlords have been forced tobecome more flexible during therecession and accept what are his-torically perceived as onerous termsfor a landlord.

The information released by theIPD reveals an average retail leaselength of 5.7 years.

A tenant willing, and more import-antly able, to pay rent in the currentmarket is an increasingly rare com-modity.

As such, landlords arefrequently willing to dowhat they can to helpretailers to keep their prop-erties tenanted and to keepthe high street busy.

Retailers willing to estab-lish new outlets in a mar-ket as hard as this willneed help along the way.

The need for landlordsand tenants to understand each oth-ers’ needs in a property transaction

is more prevalent than ever, and thedays of pursuing a target headlinerent are gone.

What is more importanttoday is a deal which is sus-tainable for both parties.

Rent and rent-free per-iods are obviously the start-ing points for negotiation,but the lease length soonfollows.

Retailers today insist onflexibility in their lease toalign with their businessstrategy.

However, this shorter lease lengthcan be highly detrimental on the

other side of the deal. While land-lords are happy to attract new ten-ants to their property, short-leaseterms can turn out to be costly in thelong run.

With income only secured untilthe first-break option at year five,landlords are struggling to reach thevaluations they need to keep withinthe banks’ loan covenants.

Similarly, an asset with only fiveyears of secured income becomesvery difficult to sell.

The main reason for this is thatbanks are very nervous lendingagainst such a short-term securedincome.

Units onsale for£1.25mEDWARD SYMMONS ismarketing four indus-trial units for sale atBridle Park in Bootle.

The portfolio totals18,500 sq ft and the ask-ing price for the lease-hold is £1.25m.

Two of the four unitsare let, producing anannual rental incomeof £96,000, of which£90,000 comes from onetenant – PendragonProperty.

The other is let toEasy Sheds.

The properties frontonto Bridle Road, closeto DunningsbridgeRoad, giving quickaccess to the M57 andM58.

The main building isa detached warehouseof steel portal frameconstruction and com-prises 9,428 sq ft ofaccommodation.

The other units com-prise 3,521 sq ft, 1,893sq ft and 3,662 sq ft.

Kershhopefulofrecoveryasauctionrevenuesrise4%

The Marriott Hotel, in Queen Square, Liverpool, where Sutton Kersh auctions are heldPicture: HOWARD DAVIES

CBREteamadviseson£2.85msaleofcity’sLyceum

‘Retailersinsistonflexibilityintheirleases’

THE North West investmentagency team at CB RichardEllis (CBRE) has advised onthe £2.85m sale of TheLyceum, in Liverpool.

The property, located inBold Street, is Grade-II listed

and one of the city’sbest-known heritage build-ings.

The 20,000 sq ft building hasbeen acquired by PantherSecurities, with a net initialyield of circa 16.5%.

The Post Office currentlyoccupies the building, leasingthe space until 2014.

Built between 1800 and 1802,the Lyceum was originally agentlemen’s club, founded tocreate an alternative meeting

place to the existing mer-chants’ coffee houses.

The building also becamehome to the city’s subscrip-tion library, which is widelybelieved to have been the firstlending library in Europe.

Located on the edge of theprime core of Liverpool citycentre, the Lyceum backs ontoMerepark’s Central Villagedevelopment and, as such,could benefit from the hugeadditional footfall.

SUTTON Kersh Auctions is reporting a“strong” first half of the year, with salereceipts for the period totalling morethan £12m.

The Liverpool firm has offered 22.1%more lots when compared to the sameperiod last year, and has sold 25.84%more, leading to a 4% rise in its totalrevenue.

So far this year, Sutton Kersh hasoffered 284 properties across its fourauctions held in Liverpool city centre.

Of these properties offered, 208 havesold, giving them a selling average of74.25% – above the national average.

Its total revenue is £12.195m, withthree auctions remaining this year.

Kersh will hold its next sale onThursday, September, 8, at the MarriottHotel, in Queen Square.

There are 70 properties up for grabsat the event, which will start at noon.

Guide prices start at just £2,500, for avacant commercial unit in HorsfallStreet, near Brunswick railway station.The single-storey, brick-built, detachedbuilding is located in the alleywaybehind 2 Horsfall Street.

It was previously used for storageand is believed to have mains services;however, potential purchasers can maketheir own enquiries.

Sutton Kersh director, James Kersh,said: “We are very pleased with howthis year has progressed so far.

“While we are still some distanceaway from a full recovery, the market ismoving in the right direction.

“Price and yield are key to securing asale in the present market.

“Low-priced properties generating aminimum of a 10% yield are beingsnapped up.”

UNITS /OFFICES

From

£20p/w

0151 225 0100INDUSTRIAL UNITS To Let.

South L’pool 500 to 4000 sqft,monthly tenancy, competitiverents. From £50pw Tel: 0151427 5051

UNITS TO LET 5,000−15,000sqft. Initial Rent free period.0151 486 0004

BUSINESSto BUSINESS

Commercial Premises

COMMERCIAL UNIT/WORK-SHOP Rainhill to let £65pw,£750sq ft 0161 980 1912




byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

INASSOCIATION

WITH


CygnetCourtunit letPROPERTY adviser DTZhas let Unit 220 at Cyg-net Court, located at Cen-tre Park, Warrington.

The 5,914 sq ft build-ing has been leased toglobal independentsafety science companyUnderwriters Laborat-ories on a five-yearlease term.

Simon Roddam, fromDTZ’s office in Man-chester, said: “This let-ting further aids therecovery of office take-up in Warrington,which totalled 136,000sq ft in the first sixmonths of 2011.

“Already take-up hassurpassed thatachieved for the wholeof 2010 in Warrington,which indicates clearsigns of improvementin the office marketduring what has been avery difficult period.”

DTZ and joint agentBE Group acted onbehalf of the landlord,The Co-OperativeEstates Group.

BPFgivesretailstudytoPortas

WestLancsbusinessparkaimstobecarbonneutralA BUSINESS park inBurscough is aiming to bethe first zero carbon park inWest Lancashire.

Merlin Business Park, inRingtail Road, offers 28units totalling more than70,000 sq ft.

Its tenants include a mixof consumer brands, localmanufacturers and tech-nology firms.

Owner George Bond hasinstalled a number of feat-ures aimed at achieving thecarbon neutral goal.

These include a sustain-able drainage system, arecycling bay offering cent-ralised waste disposal, andsolar panels on the businessunits.

Mr Bond also wants toinstall a wind turbine on thesite.

He said: “We all talk aboutbecoming energy-efficientbut what are we all actuallydoing to achieve this goal?

“I am determined to con-tinue to develop this propos-ition and strive to reduce thepark’s carbon footprint.

“We provide a solution forforward-thinking busi-nesses, offering them a 21st-century location to maxim-ise their day-to-day activity,”he added. Merlin Business Park, in Burscough – has installed a number of features designed to slash carbon emissions

RETAIL tenants are benefiting from the “mostflexible lease regimes ever” according to newresearch.

The British Property Federation (BPF) haspresented the Government’s high streetadvisor – Mary Portas – with an independentstudy into shop rents ahead of her review intothe retail sector.

Ms Portas – the so-called “queen of shops”will make recommendations to Prime Min-ister David Cameron in the autumn on howthe UK high street can be reinvigorated.

In a recent interview, she claimed the highcost of rents and business rates was stiflingorganic growth.

However, the research, commissioned bythe BPF and carried out by Investment Prop-erty Databank (IPD) outlines how retail ten-ants are now enjoying more flexibility thanever.

Separate independent IPD data has alsobeen submitted, illustrating that, in realterms, high street shop rents have fallen by athird over the past 20 years.

Data from the report shows:■ Average lease length of 5.7 years;■ Significant increases in break clauses asretailers look to hedge against economicuncertainty;■ 34% of new leases for high street shopshave a break clause, up from 3.9% in 1999;■ An average rent-free period of 10 months ona rent-weighted basis.

BPF chief executive Liz Peace said: “Theissues facing our high streets are extremely

complex with recession, structural changescaused by the internet and consumer pref-erence all in play. In such times of change, it isimportant that leases adapt.

“The data clearly shows landlords areincreasingly flexible and retail propertyleases continue to adjust to economic con-ditions, with leases that are shorter, offeringbreaks and substantial rent-free periods tohelp new shops to get off the ground.”

Mary Portas – ‘queen of shops’

[email protected]

ENJOYA RENTHOLIDAYONYOURNEW OFFICE


LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night the pound was worth: $1.6279 (down 0.0118) ...... 1.1279 euros (down 0.0021) .......126.0700 yen (up 0.07)....... Its trade weighted index was 78.90(down 0.10)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1825 (up 37)........................... Silver 40.90 (down 0.16) .......................... Platinum 1840 (up 28)........................... UK base lending rate 0.5%

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

96 52 Adv Medical 75 +3 +158

1812 214 AEA Technology 258

28712 244 Albany Inv Tst 245 -12 -12

1251 834 AMEC 878 +2812 -4212

92 2512 Anglesey Mining 50 +134 -1

35714 22858 Balfour Beatty 23758 +9 +678

3912 2914 Beale 32

612 51112 Compass Gp 54312 +9 +10

1265 99712 Dee Valley 1255

479 301 easyJet 33734 +1312 +20

1030 726 JD Sports Fashion 825 -21 -3912

12212 1112 JJB Sports 19 +12 -34

36 19 Johnson Serv 3034 -12 -114

579 410 Nichols 520 xd +2

14912 9812 NWF 123 xd -4

50 26 Park Gp 42 xd +34

1257 828 Rathbone 1044 +22 +43

139 9838 Redrow 115 +38 +478

14312 10912 RSA Insurance 11314 xd +2 -38

34 2214 Speedy Hire 2412 +12

4634 3412 Sportech 3914 -14 +112

4634 2514 Telme Gp 4112

5514 3234 UK Coal 47 +312 +8

2 1 Ultima 114

2072 1742 Unilever 2025 xd +11 -17

63112 54312 Utd Utils 59112 +1012 +12

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1142.46 up 11.74 ▲ 1.04%

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

FUNDS

Consols

£88532 £761132 Cons 4%.................£7734

£59116 £50 Cons 212% ............ £59116

Conversions

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

Treasury

£6238 £50 Tr 212%...................... £58

£11512 £1062132 Tr 9% 12................£10812

£10612 £102516 Tr 5% 12.............. £102516

£1203132 £115316 Tr 8% 13................£11514 +116

£114132 £109532 Tr 5% 14................£11218 +132

£110532 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614

£3402932 £310532 Tr 212% IL 16 ....... £337332 +932

£142116 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.............£13958 -18

£150316 £1332732 Tr 8% 21.............. £148316 +18

War

£84316 £6712 War Ln 312%.............. £81

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

FTSE 100 INDEX

SPOTLIGHT

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

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

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

Feb 30, 2011 Aug 30, 2011BOVIS HOMES GROUP

310

355

400

445

490FTSE-Rebased

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.46 1.522 1.527

Canada dollars 1.53 1.594 1.596

Denmark krone 8.01 8.399 8.409

European Union euro 1.08 1.127 1.128

Japan yen 119.61 124.920 125.020

New Zealand dollars 1.80 1.905 1.910

Norway krone 8.37 8.725 8.726

Poland zlotys 4.13 4.682 4.690

Sweden krona 9.87 10.338 10.348

Switzerland francs 1.27 1.331 1.332

Turkey new lira 2.70 2.816 2.826

United States dollars 1.56 1.628 1.628

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 539.70 -

American - 1630.00 0.32

Income Plus - 191.60 4.55

Japan - 208.40 0.56

Jpan Spec Sits - 131.20 0.10

Spec Sits - 1658.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 665.00 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 767.53 1.25

Pratical Inv -153.95 164.98 4.49

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc -531.56 559.54 -

International Acc -862.68 908.09 -

Pacific Acc -230.13 242.25 -

Property Bonds -2022.20 2106.50 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 94.83 1.25

British -233.10 233.10 2.95

Gilt & FI - 66.43 3.00

Gilt & Fixed -234.60 234.60 6.06

Monthly Inc - 121.10 4.31

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

European Smllr Cos A - 845.00 0.14

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 53.55 55.95 4.46

UK Equity Inc A - 389.00 3.26

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

Capital -275.58 286.61 1.20

European - 687.60 0.70

Far East - 532.10 1.80

Inc & Gwth - 174.40 3.40

International - 372.20 0.40

North Amer Acc - 420.50 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 190.98 0.72

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 5268.66up 138.74 ▲ 2.70%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 5175.70up 5.81 ▲ 0.11%

FT ALL-SHARE 2733.89up 70.36 ▲ 2.64%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3018.75 ▲ 79.96

324 11712 Avon Rbbr 267 xd +434

36978 24818 BAE Systems 26814 +8

73612 485 Chemring 541 +23

24558 17338 Cobham 18478 +434

39758 27012 Meggitt 336 xd +934

665 55712 Rolls-Royce 617 +1312

19058 11712 Senior 151 +314

Automobiles & Parts

Index 4589.62 ▲ 210.42

245 14734 GKN 19614xd +9

Banks

Index 3477.50 ▲ 161.75

33312 14512 Barclays 16538xd+1038

859 51034 Bco Santander 54914 +19

73078 50334 HSBC 52478xd+2118

6778 758 Ireland 758 -18

7758 2712 Lloyds Banking32 +238

5018 1958 Ryl Scotland 2358 +134

1959 130612Stan Chart 1362xd+5512

Beverages

Index 9388.03 ▲ 176.75

1395 1031 Barr (AG) 1142 -32

50312 28978 Britvic 30314 +778

1307 1070 Diageo 1205 +13

2340 191512SABMiller 2188 +63

Chemicals

Index 6412.92 ▲ 188.69

2081 1308 Croda 1745 +33

18738 8612 Elementis 14512 +518

2119 1607 Johnsn Mat 1670 +63

Construction & Materials

Index 3014.25 ▲ 84.23

35714 22858 Balfour Beatty 23758 +9

265 188 Costain 22018 +518

15061298758 CRH 1048xd+3758

1418 1015 Kier Group 1210 +3

7634 3512 Low Bonar 6412

12412 96 Marshalls 9614 -34

Electricity

Index 7991.03 ▲ 209.92

535 35358 Drax Gp 49634 +9

44858 27938 Intl Power 32814 +914

1423 1108 Scot&Sthrn 1272xd +35

Electronic & Electrical

Index 2739.99 ▲ 51.30

705 457 Domino Ptg 550 +12

207 12778 Laird 15314 -212

35718 20378 Morgn Cru 256 +838

1010 358 Oxford Inst 815 +3912

377 237 Volex 275 xd +512

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 5539.14 ▲ 75.49

39234 31938 Alliance 34278 +1078

14012 113 Br Assets 11734 +1

777 485 Candover Inv 490 +5

228 196 Dundin IncGth 20912 +378

15734 114 Dunedin Sml 144

49214 41238 Edin Invst 45314 +758

66034 546 Edin US TrkTst 58134 +1934

32778 26858 Forgn & C 28234xd +634

32334 24114 Hend Sml Cos 26712 +112

385 304 Law Dbenture 33314xd -358

252 210 Scot Am 22258 +4

533 428 Witan 44618xd +718

Fixed Line Telecoms

Index 1977.42 ▲ 33.14

20418 13618 BT Gp 16334xd +234

6118 3114 Cble&W Com 3378 +112

7838 34 Cble&W Wwd 3414 -18

84 45 KCOM 71 -12

Food & Drug Retailers

Index 4293.35 ▲ 11.88

30814 26234 Morrison W 286 +534

395 28038 Sainsbury 29234 +34

44058 360 Tesco 36434 -34

112 4658 Thorntons 48

Food Producers

Index 5268.30 ▲ 32.64

1182 940 AB Foods 1057 +7

875 56212 Carrs Mill 75712 +3712

896 606 Cranswick 61312xd -14

42478 33418 Dairy Crest 35538 +34

3518 1234 Premier Foods 1278 +14

656 43138 Tate Lyle 577 +8

2072 1742 Unilever 2025xd +11

Forestry & Paper

Index 5768.06 ▲ 306.98

664 46834 Mondi 53512xd+2812

General Financial

Index 5203.87 ▲ 183.38

340 20034 3i 20858 +218

88812 65612 Close Bros 698 +16

57012 39114 ICAP 47038 +20

1076 675 London Stk Ex 885 +3612

1116 72812 Provident 1104 +39

1257 828 Rathbone 1044 +22

1922 1373 Schroders 1481xd +51

General Industrials

Index 2665.25 ▲ 64.85

72412 44318 Cooksn Gp 496 +1812

6 218 Cosalt 234 +18

400 30112 Rexam 34818 +7

26614 13938 Smith DS 19612xd +834

1429 90712 Smiths Gp 946 +21

General Retailers

Index 1475.28 ▲ 22.35

2514 1212 Ashley L 1814 +34

31114 22558 Brown (N) Gp 262 +18

7738 53 Debenhams 53 -112

2812 1138 Dixons Retail 12 +38

50412 28434 Halfords 29918 +518

235 11818 Home Retail 12212 +18

42538 27212 Inchcape 30738xd +10

1030 726 JD Sports 825 -21

28718 21118 Kingfisher 231 +714

42712 30938 M & S 30938 -38

62712 36358 Mothercare 372 +412

2426 1868 Next 2286 +56

2986 1768 Signet Jwlrs 2397 +116

523 41312 WH Smith 48612 +358

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3393.78 ▲ 117.77

742 521 Smith Nph 59612 +2212

Household Goods

Index 6099.69 ▲ 31.85

138 74 Aga Rngmstr 9514 +14

119 6712 Barratt Dev 7878 +6

75312 511 Bellway 593 +9

192 120 McBride 13212 +212

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3198xd -9

139 9838 Redrow 115 +38

4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3134 +114

Industrial Engineering

Index 6637.35 ▲ 310.46

39734 23314 Bodycote 275 +958

85312 53812 Charter 747 xd +17

42212 20634 Fenner 34014xd+2014

1119 718 IMI 849 +30

116 4312 Molins 95 -1

31212 12112 MS Intl 25212 +712

45 2512 Renold 3112 +212

2063 1600 Spirax Srco 1798 +75

2218 1267 Weir Gp 1856 +128

Industrial Transportation

Index 2108.52 ▲ 42.69

24034 156 BBA Aviation 16034xd +3

Life Insurance

Index 3742.69 ▲ 162.57

47778 31158 Aviva 32934 +1818

12334 9114 Lgl & Gen 10334 +558

777 567 Prudential 598 xd +25

31618 21114 Resolution 25634 +418

24434 172 Standard Life 19914xd +718

Media

Index 3673.84 ▲ 98.33

850 61812 BSkyB 646 +2312

59412 36314 D Mail Tst 39214 +1214

9312 5418 ITV 5934 +178

1207 926 Pearson 1092xd +28

59012 46114 Reed Elsevier 49358xd +778

168 8934 STV Group 11112 +12

124 3712 Trinity Mirror 4312 -2

725 42838 Utd Business 456 xd +1478

151 101 UTV 120 +1234

84612 57812 WPP 629 +14

Mining

Index 21695.77 ▲ 1005.41

3437 2234 Anglo Amer 2483xd+14712

1634 1076 Antofagasta 1282 +74

2631121846 BHP Billiton 204212 +8312

2039 1097 Fresnillo 1999xd +121

53118 348 Glencore Intl 39912 +2238

1671 918 Kazakhmys 1051 +60

1983 1103 Lonmin 1275 +100

6870 4425 Randgold Res 6470 +130

4712 338712Rio Tinto 367312xd+15012

5514 3234 UK Coal 47 +312

Mobile Telecoms

Index 3688.56 ▲ 15.34

72412 38934 Inmarsat 46114 +1014

18234 155 Vodafone Gp 16212 +58

Nonlife Insurance

Index 1390.47 ▲ 35.07

1754 1279 Admiral Grp 1345 +27

193714144218Marsh McL 180518 -2112

14312 10912 RSA Insurance 11314xd +2

Oil & Gas Producers

Index 7455.94 ▲ 220.14

156412106512BG 1275xd+4412

509 38618 BP 39758xd+1114

47214 28138 Cairn Energy 31634 +1714

535 316 Premier Oil 32514 +834

2336 172012Ryl D Shell B 202012xd+63

1493 94512 Tullow Oil 1026 +2612

Oil Equipment & Services

Index 21158.16 ▲ 975.64

1251 834 AMEC 878 +2812

Personal Goods

Index 21277.19 ▲ 1016.60

1600 855 Burberry Gp 1322 +65

409 32012 PZ Cussons 34834xd +734

Pharma & Biotechnology

Index 9076.77 ▲ 51.31

3385 254312AstraZeneca 2865xd+5312

1385 112712GlaxoSmthKln 128612xd-212

50 3112 Vernalis 37 -34

Real Estate

Index 1958.11

35314 23414 Big Yellow Gp 25018 +1578

62912 464 Brit Land 544 +20

2954 2282 Daejan Hldgs 2500 -41

445 32434 Gt Portland 35558 +634

885 62012 Land Secs 728 +23

33114 23238 SEGRO 25438 +634

Software & Comp Servs

Index 711.87 ▲ 8.92

2512 1271 Autonomy 2512 +3

6312 4014 Emblaze 53 +138

36414 22134 Invensys 25918 +734

108 83 Kewill 83 xd -2

14714 8014 Logica 83 +134

302 23134 Sage 24634 +334

Support Services

Index 3975.14 ▲ 109.83

1812 214 AEA Tech 258

2034 1389 Aggreko 1865 +67

20778 81 Ashtead Gp 105 xd +434

568 37834 Berendsen 492 +234

801 67612 Bunzl 779 +57

79412 63512 Capita 70412 +17

85312 54912 De La Rue 794 +1312

29478 190 Electrocmps 20612 +578

83312 644 Experian 679 +1012

291 23734 G4S 25978 -14

452 31134 Hyder Cons 31134 -134

34114 18312 Interserve 31612 +734

550 425 Menzies J 488 -1412

34634 18412 Northgate 270 +214

30834 16838 Prem Farnell 177 +358

10718 7412 Rentokil 7938 +318

12012 79 Smiths News 8214 -78

34 2214 Speedy Hire 2412

1127 72312 Travis & P 79212 +33

2261 1336 Wolseley 1526 +67

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 674.01 ▲ 11.09

651 33878 ARM Hldgs 545 +12

2712 19 BATM 1978 -18

10234 57 Psion 58 xd

16014 116 Spirent Coms 12012xd +38

Tobacco

Index 30771.04 ▲ 213.58

2871 228212Br Am Tob 2724xd+2612

2231 1784 Imperial Tob 2004 -1

Travel & Leisure

Index 4026.60 ▲ 105.71

3153 1742 Carnival 1959xd +122

612 51112 Compass Gp 54312 +9

479 301 easyJet 33734 +1312

12234 38 Enterprise Inns 39 +78

41258 31114 FirstGroup 354 +1

1598 1085 Go-Ahead Gp 1519 +59

518 410 Greene King 43814xd+1212

430 240 Holidaybreak 42912 +12

1435 955 Intercontl Htls 1023xd+5012

285 16338 Intl Cons Airlns 170 +658

15514 12014 Ladbrokes 12258xd +14

11718 87 Marston’s 9318 +118

361 22414 Mitchells&Btlrs 229 +434

9038 912 Punch Taverns 958 +18

15334 10912 Rank Gp 131 xd +1

335 243 Restaurant Gp 27934 +912

26812 17718 Stagecoach 25614 -34

20434 4338 Thomas Cook 44 +58

27178 14734 TUI Travel 15438 +434

1887 1409 Whitbread 1485 +41

Utilities

Index 4585.15 ▲ 62.72

34618 28714 Centrica 29738 +158

1265 99712 Dee Valley 1255

63212 530 National Grid 613 +11

73712 57912 Pennon Gp 642 xd +312

1517 1306 Severn 1444 +15

63112 54312 Utd Utils 59112 +1012

AIM

Index 759.17 ▲ 14.71

4958 1034 API Gp 46 +214

1234 178 Armour Gp 218

158 1 Crimson Tide 138

214 112 Dawson Intl 178 -18

838 478 Eckoh 634

12212 1112 JJB Sports 19 +12

36 19 Johnson Serv 3034 -12

86 3034 Man Brnze 4312 -1

12 4 Metalrax 8 +12

550 385 Portmeirion P 47212

17312 55 Redhall Gp 7912 +1

6214 18 Scapa Gp 4912 +1

142 99 Swallowfield 114

96 67 Uniq 9558 -18

712 525 Young A 65212 +1212

Aug 8 - Aug 12 Aug 15 - Aug 19 Aug 22 - Aug 26 M T W T F4940

5155

5370

5585

5800

FTSE-100

20-Day Moving Average


businessdiary

LDPbusiness .co.ukmarket comment

LDPbusiness .co.uk

For all the latest local and national business news online, log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

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Thursday, September 1Freelancers and home-workers who want towork in a differentenvironment are wel-come to attend thelatest Jelly Liverpoolevent.

The co-workingevent aims to provide afriendly, wi-fi enabled

space where people canescape their usualworking environment.

This month’s eventwill be held at LeafCafe, in Bold Street,from 9am-5pm.For details, visit open-labs.org.uk/jelly/

Tuesday, September 6A free seminar to

encourage more com-panies to export hasbeen organised by Liv-erpool Chamber ofCommerce and UKTrade and Investment(UKTI), and is beingheld at the Museum ofLiverpool.

It runs from8-10.30am. Book atwww.liverpoolchamber. org.uk, con-tact [email protected] or call

0151-227 1234.Wednesday, September 7

The BioIndustry Assoc-iation (BiA) is holdinga BIO breakfast meet-ing at the MerseyBIOIncubator, in Liverpool.

The event is free toattend and open tomembers of the BiA,along with non-mem-bers from start-up com-panies.

Wednesday, September 7Liverpool Chamber of

Commerce is holding aworkshop on Market-ing Research forExporters.

For details on theevent, at the Chamber’sOld Hall Street base,visit www.liverpoolchamber.org. uk

Tuesday, September 20This is the latest eventstaged by the LiverpoolChinese Business Net-work aimed at strength-ening links between

the city’s Chinese andnon-Chinese businesscommunities.

The venue is theChina Palace Restaur-ant, on Liverpool’sBerry Street.

Arrive from 6.30pmfor a 7pm start, anddinner will be served at7.45pm.

Thursday September 29Accountancy and fin-ancial managementfirm McEwan Wallace

is holding a free sem-inar for small firms onmaking the most of taxplanning, includingpresentations by threetax and finance expertsfollowed by a Q&A ses-sion and light buffet.

The venue isThornton Hall Hotel,Wirral, from 4.45pm.

Call Rebekka Cairnson 0151-647 6681 to bookor email [email protected]

HeadofIMFwarnsofnewslumpifactionisnottakenTHE new head of the IMF is urgingglobal policymakers to pursue urgentco-ordinated action, including themandatory recapitalisation ofEuropean banks, or risk descent intorenewed world recession.

“Developments this summer haveindicated we are in a dangerous newphase,” International Monetary Fundmanaging director Christine Lagardesaid at an annual gathering of policy-makers from around the world hostedby the Kansas City Federal ReserveBank.

“The stakes are clear – we risk see-ing the fragile recovery derailed. So wemust act now,” she said.

Two years after the end ofthe worst of the financialcrisis, growth in both the USand Europe is sputtering, anddebt crises and indecision onboth sides of the Atlantic haveshaken public confidence in aglobal recovery.

Appearing with Lagarde ona panel, European CentralBank President Jean-ClaudeTrichet did not address theeurozone debt crisis in hisprepared remarks.

He focused, instead, on theneed to tailor the centralbank’s policies to the situation it faces.

“The use of non-standard measuresdepends on the functioning of the mon-etary policy transmission, and must becommensurate with the level of mal-functioning or disruption of moneyand financial markets and segments ofmarkets,” Mr Trichet said.

Advanced economies must forgelong-term plans to bring their debt

under control, but at the same timeshould not pursue belt-tightening sofast that it imperils recovery, Lagardesaid in her first major speech sincetaking over the top IMF job from

Dominique Strauss-Kahn inJuly.

“Put simply, macro-economic policies must sup-port growth,” the formerFrench economy ministersaid. “Monetary policy alsoshould remain highly accom-modative, as the risk of reces-sion outweighs the risk ofinflation,” she said, addingthat central banks shouldstand ready to jump back intounconventional policy actionsif needed.

In what appeared to mark anew stage in dealing withEuropean banks, Lagarde

called for "mandatory substantialrecapitalisation” of European banksthrough private channels if possible,but otherwise through some form ofpublic Europe-wide funding.

Individual European countries mustalso put in place deficit-cutting planswith a “credible finance path” –including, she said, continued supportfrom the European Central Bank.

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

In the US, the focus on long-termfiscal consolidation must not ignorethe importance of fostering near-termgrowth, she said.

“After all, who will believe that com-mitments to cut spending can survivea lengthy stagnation with prolongedhigh unemployment and social dissat-isfaction?” she asked.

Policymakers must also stop the

slide in the US housing market, sheadded, relying on intervention by gov-ernment housing finance agencies andmore aggressive programmes toreduce homeowner debt.

Federal Reserve Chairman BenBernanke, speaking at the same con-ference, also emphasised the need forthe US to address its long-term joblessproblem and the housing sector.

Christine Lagarde is urging policymakers to pursue urgentco-ordinated action to avoid another recession Picture: VIRGINIA MAYO

LondonmarketA BUOYANT session forBritain’s beleagueredbanking stocks ensuredthe FTSE 100 Index closednearly 3% higher.

The London marketwas up 138.7 points at5268.6, its strongest risein more than two weeks,as it caught up with thegains made by world mar-kets on Monday duringthe UK bank holiday.

The pound was downagainst the US dollar at1.62 and euro at 1.12 afterBank of England datarevealed unsecured con-sumer credit – whichincludes credit cards andloans – saw its lowest risesince January.

Banking shares wereamong the biggest risersafter Royal Bank ofScotland was upgradedby Deutsche Bank, whichsaid the group represen-ted good value followingits recent share pricefalls. Shares in the tax-payer-backed bank wereup 8%, or 1.8p to 23.6p.

The CBI and the Brit-ish Bankers’ Associationcalled for a delay toreforms expected in theforthcoming report by theIndependent Commissionon Banking (ICB) whichalso whetted investors’appetite for bankingstocks.

Elsewhere in the finan-cial sector, insuranceshares were higher, withAviva 18.1p stronger at329.7p and Prudential up25p at 598p.Other stockson the front foot includedITV, which surged 3% or1.9p to 59.8p.

The biggest Footsierisers were Lonmin up100p at 1275p, RoyalBank of Scotland ahead1.8p at 23.6p, LloydsBanking Group up 2.3pat 32p and Weir Groupahead 128p at 1856p.

The biggest Footsiefallers were ReckittBenckiser down 9p at3198p, Tesco off 0.8p at364.8p, GlaxoSmithKlinedown 2.5p at 1286.5p andMarks & Spencer off0.4p at 309.4p.


Directorsgettogetheraroundkitchentable

Appreciating People ‘maximises employee and participant engagement’, says Tim Slack

■ LIVERPOOL hascome a long way

since we all used to dancearound handbags at theShe Club.

The Liverpool Com-mercial District Partner-ship is promising “pas-sion and excitement” atThe Capital Building, inOld Hall Street, with itsLatin American dancingclasses.

Leading Liverpool mer-engue teacher, FreddyPerez, below, will be theteacher at the sessions onSeptember 14 and 21.

Originally from CostaRica, Freddy has taughtall levels of dancers fromprofessionals to begin-ners and “possesses aunique style that is funand creative”.

All very upmarket andsophisticated, but we’llbe disappointed if wedon’t see at least a coupleof handbags on the floor.

■ THE developers of StPaul’s Square, in

Liverpool, are oftenboasting about howenergy-efficient theiroffice buildings are.

However, it seems oneof their tenants may notbe as hot on conservingenergy and saving theplanet.

On exiting the nearbyCross Keys pub late oneevening, a member of theTrading Gossip teamlooked up and saw thelarge flat-screen TVs inthe offices of one occu-pier had been left on, des-pite there being appar-ently no-one left in theoffice.

Come on, guys, thinkof the poor polar bears.

LDPbusiness .co.ukthe back page

tradinggossip

workingday

7am: Wake up to the sound of Radio4’s Today programme and start mynews and current affairs fix while get-ting ready for the day.

During this, I catch up with plansfor the day with the other Apprec-iating People co-founder and director –my wife, Suzanne Quinney.

Have got a directors’ meeting thisafternoon – around the kitchen table –one of the advantages of working fromhome.

7.45am: On my way to breakfast meet-ing for the Federation for Small Busi-ness (FSB). I continue to listen to theToday programme. I always try tocatch Thought For The Day as I bothenjoy it and it reminds of my father,who used to do the Monday slot in the1980s.

I am chair of the FSB Liverpool andKnowsley branch and have a greatcommittee. We discuss how to boostrecruitment and to provide abi-monthly networking meeting forFSB members.

9.15am: Catch up with one of ourclients (FSB committee member) todiscuss a training workshop for a fin-ancial services conference.

Appreciating People provides arange of facilitating services that focuson maximising employee and part-icipant engagement and developingthe strengths of organisations.

Our values are derived from the pos-itive psychology movement. Our pro-cess builds on what works in organ-isations and in communities and co-creates and plans the future.

Examples of our work include theCapital of Culture Big Conversation,planning the Liverpool and artsstrategy and the Liverpool Businessconversations which included 200small businesses

10.15am: Go to Liverpool Vision(where I am a non-executive director)and meet Ian Hughes to look at thefinal edit of the Liverpool world café

marketing group video and to meetwith Nicola Gleave, head of enterprise,to discuss a pre-event for the GlobalEntrepreneurship congress.

For Liverpool, the congress is a greatopportunity, and builds on the successof Shanghai Expo. We explore ideas fora Liverpool Hope University/LiverpoolVision keynote lecture on positive psy-chology and entrepreneurship as partof Global Entrepreneurship week.

11.30am: Meeting with Fiona Shaw,from Capisca, who is doing our copy-writing for our revised website.

1pm: Nip into Italian Kitchen on BoldStreet – they have great coffee andmake a great club sandwich.

2pm: Meet with Helen Bush, Apprec-iating People senior associate, to planthe final elements of the five-yearAppreciating People celebrations andthe formal launch of the Appreciationworks CIC.

The CIC does the same work as

Appreciating People but the clientgroup is small community organis-ations and social enterprises and is ledby an all-woman board.

Appreciating People consists of twodirectors and three associates, and wehave considerable experience in thearts, public and voluntary sectors

4pm: Back in the office preparing forthe resilience training workshop I’mdelivering the next day. This is part ofan NHS staff programme to supportstaff facing redundancy and uncer-tainty. It is a pilot project and, theimpact, to quote the client, is “phen-omenal”. Preparation includes assem-bling all the kit and making sure wehave all the papers and work pro-gramme.

5.30pm: Directors’ meeting aroundthe kitchen table. Suzanne is comingfrom her office in the attic while mineis in the garden office (men and theirsheds). We catch up on diaries and gothrough the work programme and

required follow-up. The hostel pro-gramme is doing ground-breakingwork in reducing methadone usageand supporting hostel residents intoindependent living.

6.30pm: Catch up with emails. One ofthe good things of being an Apprec-iative Inquiry practitioner is theworldwide network with emails fromNepal, America, France, Germany andEgypt sharing ideas, plans and possibleprojects. We were training in Nepaltwo years ago and we hope to go back.

7.30m: Dinner with Suzanne where wetry not to discuss work. There aremany benefits of working from home,but there is also a need to be discip-lined and build in time off.

9pm: Walk the dog and then unwindwith reading or television. Currentlyreading Flourish, by Martin Seligman.

10.30pm: Newsnight – second news fixof the day and then bed.

TimSlack is theco-founderandleaddirectorofAppreciatingPeople,anorganisationdevelopmentcompanyfoundedtoenablepeopleandorganisationstoworkfromtheirstrengths.Thiswashisday . . .

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