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182014JUN

ROBOT CAUSE

Pair to showcase city’sexpertise in California – p2

UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE

Professor bringing businessand academia closer – p7

As Bristol stages Big Green Week, we look at the growingtrend towards eco-friendly practices. See pages 10&11

REAP BENEFITSOF GOING GREEN

GREEN BUSINESS SPECIAL

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2 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

� George Osborne meeting with Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s CEO and founder, during theChancellor’s visit to China in October 2013. The firm has announced it is opening a £125 millionresearch centre in Bristol later this year

Te c h n o l o g yRo b ot i cs

Do the robot Pioneering firms inmission to showcase city talent

TWO Bristol businesses will beflying out California to show-case the city’s depth of in-novation in robotics later thismonth.

Agilic and Reach Robotics havebeen come out of the Bristol RoboticsLaboratory, which is based at UWE inFrenchay but is a partnershipbetween the city’s two universities.

Agilic has created the TiddlyBotand PiBot, education kit robotsdesign to let anyone build and pro-gram their own personal robot.

The latter was inspired by the Rasp-berry Pi, a small low-cost computerthat was created to encourage chil-dren to learn how to program com-puters rather than just use them.

Meanwhile Reach Robotics, whichis based in the start-up incubator atthe lab, has developed MechaMon-sters, small four-legged robots thatcan play games or face off againstothers of their kind in duels.

The monsters, which can be cus-tomised, are controlled using a smart-phone app.

Founder Silas Adekunle, 23,said parents needn’t panicthough. “It’s not as violent asRobot Wars,” he said.

“The robots do bash intoeach other but they uselights and laser technologyto determine whether theyhit each other.”

The product is aimed attwo markets, eight to14-year-old and adult robot en-t h u s i a s t s.

Silas and a team of six freelancerworkers have developed a prototypewith which he hopes to attract in-ve s t o r s.

Agilic founder Harry Gee, hopes tobreak into the US market with hiseducational robots.

The 36-year-old said: “My big driveis to engage people with knowledge oftechnology and programming.”

He currently has 10 undergradu-ates working with him and hopes toemploy staff in the near future.

Both companies will join the Ro-botics and Autonomous Systems Mis-

sion 2014, which involves a week-longjourney through San Diego, SanFrancisco and Silicon Valley to show-case the robots to others in the in-dustry as well as potential investors,partners and customers.

The firms won funding for the trip,from June 23-27, from the TechnologyStrategy Board.

Mike Biddle, deputy director of in-novation programmes at the board,said: “The mission is designed toopen doors, build networks and show-case British innovation and SiliconValley and San Francisco are syn-onymous with being at the forefrontof global robotics and autonomoussystems technology.

“These companies will benefitfrom meetings with leading robotics,academic and research institutions,gaining fresh ideas and developingnew partnerships and funding op-por tunities.

“It’s a springboard which can helpthem to launch their business, thriveand turn their innovations into tan-gible business opportunities.”

I n n ova t i o n

Uni researches at the forefront of 5G networks

Charity to help homeless get on trackHotels well placed tocapitalise on boom� THE bosses of Bristol’smid-market hotels say they arewell placed to capitalise on therise in tourism from EasternE u ro p e .

Future Inn, below, across theroad from Cabot Circus, iscelebrating its fifth birthday thismonth. It comes at a time whentourist body VisitBritain reportsthe biggest growth inthe UK market inthe last 10years hasbeenLithuania.

Andperhapsbecause thecountry isnot as rich asits morenorthern Europeancounterparts, that is good for themid-priced hotels.

Future Inns front of housemanager Andrew Hood said ithad had its share of thoseLithuanian visitors. “We get ahuge number of Europeantravellers through our doorsincluding some Lithuanians,” hesaid, adding: “We ’ve also seen alarge increase in Chinese andAsian guests.”

The hotel is celebrating itsbirthday with discounts andgiveaways throughout the month.

E n t re p re n e u rsTo u r i s m

Tech boost C h i n esegiant to open £125mcity research centre

RESEARCHERS from Bristol havedemonstrated cutting-edge techno-logy that is expected to be used in thenext generation of mobile phones.

The University of Bristol has beenleading the way in wireless and mo-bile technology for more than 20years. And it is once again at theforefront in developing 5G networks.

The university’s communicationssystems and networks researchgroup is working with local firm BlueWireless Technology, based at the En-gine Shed, Temple Meads, to developways to use millimetre wave radiospectr um.

Millimetre wave radios use muchhigher frequencies than those used in4G and current wi-fi networks.

The university and Blue Wireless

Technology radios can transmit dataapproximately 50 times faster thanthe current 2.4GHz Wi-Fi standard.

There is also significantlymore unused space at thatend of the spectrum –around 60Ghz – wh i chopens up the possibilityof being able to transfermuch more data muchmore quickly.

However at that endof the spectrum the sig-nals are up to 1,000 timesweaker than standardwi-fi, which means day to daybarriers such as buses will stopthem working.

So the researchers are working onnew kinds of smart antennas that use

beams to help track someone using adevice such as a phone on the move,to steer the signal in the right dir-

ection. Researchers demon-strated their work to date at

the Small Cells World Sum-mit in London. At thisstage they are only work-ing in distances of a fewhundred metres butfound the beam didwork in guiding the sig-

nal around trees andbu s e s.Mark Beach, professor of

radio systems engineering,said: “This technology builds on a

wealth of knowledge and expertiseover the last 25 years in smart an-tenna systems and an in-depth un-

derstanding of radiowaves. Our richmix of fundamental research andpractical validation at Bristol makesus an ideal partner for industriallyrelevant projects such as this.”

Andrew Nix, p i c t u re d , professor ofwireless communication systemsand head of the, department of elec-trical and electronic engineering,added: “Our sophisticated ray tra-cing tools have been combined withthe university’s high performancecomputing facilities to enable therapid analysis of complex millimetrewave systems. In particular, our sim-ulators combine detailed channelmodels with antenna arrays andbeam tracking algorithms to dynam-ically determine user performance ina virtual network.”

Assistant Editor(Business) Gavin

ThompsonCall 0117 934 3336

Email gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Tw i t t e r@gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

Advertising RobertRodgerson

Call07828 941469Email

ro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Email jane.chapman@b-nm.co.uk

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

ANOTHER technology firm is coming toBristol. Chinese giant Huawei, whichmakes the technology used in mobilephone base stations as well as wi-fiboxes and dongles, is opening a re-

search centre in the city.The £125 million centre will open later this

year and create 30 specialist jobs but the exactlocation has not yet been revealed.

Heading up the operation for Huawei, Mat-thew Leung, director of CPU technologies, said:“The Bristol and Bath region has a growingreputation as the UK’s leading tech base and isan excellent location from which to grow aglobal enterprise.

“The region’s strong talent pipeline, excel-lent transport links and position as a hub forcutting-edge innovation were key factors inattracting Huawei to Bristol. We look forwardto capitalising on these benefits as we grow ouroperation in the city.”

The news was welcomed by Chancellor Geo-rge Osborne, who recently visited the firm’sChina HQ. He said: “The decision of the world’slargest telecommunications equipment makerto innovate in Britain is testament to theoutstanding quality of our highly skilled work-force and further evidence that our long termeconomic plan is working.”

Invest Bristol and Bath, which works to bringnew companies to the area, also travelled toChina on a trade mission that helped persuadethe firm to come to the city.

Prof Joe McGeehan, chairman of Invest Bris-tol & Bath, said Huawei’s decision was another“major vote of confidence” in the city as a hubfor global business.

He said: “This is fantastic news for Bristoland Bath as the region continues to grow itstechnology cluster and reputation as the lead-ing hub for technological innovation in the UK,

which already competes on the internationalsta g e.

“The region’s combination of strengths insilicon design, microelectronics system design,embedded software and enterprise softwareand apps makes it uniquely placed to capitaliseon global technology markets worth trillions ofd o l l a r s.

“Businesses are increasingly choosing Bris-tol and Bath as a base due to the alreadyestablished high-calibre workforce here. Theregion offers an excellent quality of life whichhas been recognised only recently by theSunday Times as the best city to live in Britain.We are delighted our trade mission to Chinahas resulted in attracting another major globalenterprise to the Bristol and Bath region.”

H u awe i ’s new centre will open later this yearand recruit 30 skilled employees to researchchips, microprocessor design, software and re-lated technology.

The firm already has a several bases in theUK, including a HQ in Reading and researchcentre in Ipswich. It aims to grow its UK-basedresearch team to 300 by 2017, so there is po-tential for the Bristol site to grow.

There are than 200 companies focusing onsilicon and microelectronics in Bristol andBath directly employing more than 5,000high-value engineers

H a u we i ’s products and services have beenused in 170 countries, including videoconfer-encing for Russian regional government,private cloud services for public bodies inSingapore, and television through broadbandin Guangzhou, China. More locally it is aleading supplier of dongles, used to connectcomputers to the internet, and worked with EEon the roll-out of its 4G high speed mobile phonen e t wo rk .

It is the latest technology firm to expand intoBristol. Mobile solutions business Somo re-cently announced it was setting up a researchcentre here and software firm Kainos is doingthe same. Both chose Bristol because the ex-pertise in telecommunications, mobile andchips mean there is a strong talent pool here.

A HOMELESSNESS charity has opened busi-ness space in the hope helping people whohave had challenging times become entre-p re n e u r s.

Emmaus Bristol, based in Stokes Croft,Bristol, wants to find local entrepreneurs,particularly those that have experiencedhomelessness, unemployment or live in the StPa u l ’s area.

Using funding from the European RegionalDevelopment Fund (ERDF), the charity isoffering affordable, newly renovatedopen-plan workspaces to those wanting todevelop their business ideas in a safe en-vironment with less risk.

The scheme already has its first success.Simon Sherrat, a former companion at Em-maus Bristol, started a computer recyclingventure. He takes in unwanted PCs, laptops,and mobile phones and strips them for

useable parts. He said: “This is an idealopportunity for companions and others tocreate their own future by running their ownenter prise.”

Emmaus is also on course to secure threefurther small businesses – one, tackling gangcrime, another who works with ornamentalplaster and one who has set up a company tohelp young people find work.

A spokesperson from the charity added:“The UK desperately needs initiatives likethis one which support business start-ups.Small businesses are engines for economicgrowth, innovation and employment. We needmore entrepreneurial activity and that meansmore individuals taking the courageous de-cision to start their own business.”

Contact Emmaus Bristol online at w w w. e m -m a u s b r i s t o l . o rg. u k / bu s i n e s s - i n c u b a t o r- u n i t s /for more details.

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

� Agilic, based the Bristol Robotics Lab at UWE, Bristol, makes the PiBot aneducational robot people can build themselves; inset, Harry Gee

� Silas Adekunle, foudner of Reach Robotics, with one of the firm’s MechaMonsters

Ethical bank pays theLiving Wage to staff� SUSTAINABLE and ethical bankTriodos has become one of only 13businesses in Bristol to beaccredited as a Living Wagee m p l o y e r.

Awarded by the Living WageFoundation, the mark guaranteesthat everyone working at the bank –including permanent employees,third-party contractors andsuppliers – is paid a minimum hourlywage of £7.65. That is higher thanthe national minimum wage of £6.31and is the amount considered to bethe least needed for a decent living.

Paula Searle, head of HR atTriodos, based in the city centre,said: “The Living Wage is aboutfairness and investing in people. Bysigning up we are demonstrating thevalue we place in everyone whoworks at Triodos Bank.”

Employers have no legalobligation to pay the Living Wage.

Banking

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2 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 3We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

� George Osborne meeting with Ren Zhengfei, Huawei’s CEO and founder, during theChancellor’s visit to China in October 2013. The firm has announced it is opening a £125 millionresearch centre in Bristol later this year

Te c h n o l o g yRo b ot i cs

Do the robot Pioneering firms inmission to showcase city talent

TWO Bristol businesses will beflying out California to show-case the city’s depth of in-novation in robotics later thismonth.

Agilic and Reach Robotics havebeen come out of the Bristol RoboticsLaboratory, which is based at UWE inFrenchay but is a partnershipbetween the city’s two universities.

Agilic has created the TiddlyBotand PiBot, education kit robotsdesign to let anyone build and pro-gram their own personal robot.

The latter was inspired by the Rasp-berry Pi, a small low-cost computerthat was created to encourage chil-dren to learn how to program com-puters rather than just use them.

Meanwhile Reach Robotics, whichis based in the start-up incubator atthe lab, has developed MechaMon-sters, small four-legged robots thatcan play games or face off againstothers of their kind in duels.

The monsters, which can be cus-tomised, are controlled using a smart-phone app.

Founder Silas Adekunle, 23,said parents needn’t panicthough. “It’s not as violent asRobot Wars,” he said.

“The robots do bash intoeach other but they uselights and laser technologyto determine whether theyhit each other.”

The product is aimed attwo markets, eight to14-year-old and adult robot en-t h u s i a s t s.

Silas and a team of six freelancerworkers have developed a prototypewith which he hopes to attract in-ve s t o r s.

Agilic founder Harry Gee, hopes tobreak into the US market with hiseducational robots.

The 36-year-old said: “My big driveis to engage people with knowledge oftechnology and programming.”

He currently has 10 undergradu-ates working with him and hopes toemploy staff in the near future.

Both companies will join the Ro-botics and Autonomous Systems Mis-

sion 2014, which involves a week-longjourney through San Diego, SanFrancisco and Silicon Valley to show-case the robots to others in the in-dustry as well as potential investors,partners and customers.

The firms won funding for the trip,from June 23-27, from the TechnologyStrategy Board.

Mike Biddle, deputy director of in-novation programmes at the board,said: “The mission is designed toopen doors, build networks and show-case British innovation and SiliconValley and San Francisco are syn-onymous with being at the forefrontof global robotics and autonomoussystems technology.

“These companies will benefitfrom meetings with leading robotics,academic and research institutions,gaining fresh ideas and developingnew partnerships and funding op-por tunities.

“It’s a springboard which can helpthem to launch their business, thriveand turn their innovations into tan-gible business opportunities.”

I n n ova t i o n

Uni researches at the forefront of 5G networks

Charity to help homeless get on trackHotels well placed tocapitalise on boom� THE bosses of Bristol’smid-market hotels say they arewell placed to capitalise on therise in tourism from EasternE u ro p e .

Future Inn, below, across theroad from Cabot Circus, iscelebrating its fifth birthday thismonth. It comes at a time whentourist body VisitBritain reportsthe biggest growth inthe UK market inthe last 10years hasbeenLithuania.

Andperhapsbecause thecountry isnot as rich asits morenorthern Europeancounterparts, that is good for themid-priced hotels.

Future Inns front of housemanager Andrew Hood said ithad had its share of thoseLithuanian visitors. “We get ahuge number of Europeantravellers through our doorsincluding some Lithuanians,” hesaid, adding: “We ’ve also seen alarge increase in Chinese andAsian guests.”

The hotel is celebrating itsbirthday with discounts andgiveaways throughout the month.

E n t re p re n e u rsTo u r i s m

Tech boost C h i n esegiant to open £125mcity research centre

RESEARCHERS from Bristol havedemonstrated cutting-edge techno-logy that is expected to be used in thenext generation of mobile phones.

The University of Bristol has beenleading the way in wireless and mo-bile technology for more than 20years. And it is once again at theforefront in developing 5G networks.

The university’s communicationssystems and networks researchgroup is working with local firm BlueWireless Technology, based at the En-gine Shed, Temple Meads, to developways to use millimetre wave radiospectr um.

Millimetre wave radios use muchhigher frequencies than those used in4G and current wi-fi networks.

The university and Blue Wireless

Technology radios can transmit dataapproximately 50 times faster thanthe current 2.4GHz Wi-Fi standard.

There is also significantlymore unused space at thatend of the spectrum –around 60Ghz – wh i chopens up the possibilityof being able to transfermuch more data muchmore quickly.

However at that endof the spectrum the sig-nals are up to 1,000 timesweaker than standardwi-fi, which means day to daybarriers such as buses will stopthem working.

So the researchers are working onnew kinds of smart antennas that use

beams to help track someone using adevice such as a phone on the move,to steer the signal in the right dir-

ection. Researchers demon-strated their work to date at

the Small Cells World Sum-mit in London. At thisstage they are only work-ing in distances of a fewhundred metres butfound the beam didwork in guiding the sig-

nal around trees andbu s e s.Mark Beach, professor of

radio systems engineering,said: “This technology builds on a

wealth of knowledge and expertiseover the last 25 years in smart an-tenna systems and an in-depth un-

derstanding of radiowaves. Our richmix of fundamental research andpractical validation at Bristol makesus an ideal partner for industriallyrelevant projects such as this.”

Andrew Nix, p i c t u re d , professor ofwireless communication systemsand head of the, department of elec-trical and electronic engineering,added: “Our sophisticated ray tra-cing tools have been combined withthe university’s high performancecomputing facilities to enable therapid analysis of complex millimetrewave systems. In particular, our sim-ulators combine detailed channelmodels with antenna arrays andbeam tracking algorithms to dynam-ically determine user performance ina virtual network.”

Assistant Editor(Business) Gavin

ThompsonCall 0117 934 3336

Email gavin.thompson@b-nm.co.uk

Tw i t t e r@gavin_thompson1

Get in touch

Advertising RobertRodgerson

Call07828 941469Email

ro b e r t . ro d g e r s o n@b-nm.co.uk

Advertising JaneChapmanCall 01179 343025Email jane.chapman@b-nm.co.uk

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

ANOTHER technology firm is coming toBristol. Chinese giant Huawei, whichmakes the technology used in mobilephone base stations as well as wi-fiboxes and dongles, is opening a re-

search centre in the city.The £125 million centre will open later this

year and create 30 specialist jobs but the exactlocation has not yet been revealed.

Heading up the operation for Huawei, Mat-thew Leung, director of CPU technologies, said:“The Bristol and Bath region has a growingreputation as the UK’s leading tech base and isan excellent location from which to grow aglobal enterprise.

“The region’s strong talent pipeline, excel-lent transport links and position as a hub forcutting-edge innovation were key factors inattracting Huawei to Bristol. We look forwardto capitalising on these benefits as we grow ouroperation in the city.”

The news was welcomed by Chancellor Geo-rge Osborne, who recently visited the firm’sChina HQ. He said: “The decision of the world’slargest telecommunications equipment makerto innovate in Britain is testament to theoutstanding quality of our highly skilled work-force and further evidence that our long termeconomic plan is working.”

Invest Bristol and Bath, which works to bringnew companies to the area, also travelled toChina on a trade mission that helped persuadethe firm to come to the city.

Prof Joe McGeehan, chairman of Invest Bris-tol & Bath, said Huawei’s decision was another“major vote of confidence” in the city as a hubfor global business.

He said: “This is fantastic news for Bristoland Bath as the region continues to grow itstechnology cluster and reputation as the lead-ing hub for technological innovation in the UK,

which already competes on the internationalsta g e.

“The region’s combination of strengths insilicon design, microelectronics system design,embedded software and enterprise softwareand apps makes it uniquely placed to capitaliseon global technology markets worth trillions ofd o l l a r s.

“Businesses are increasingly choosing Bris-tol and Bath as a base due to the alreadyestablished high-calibre workforce here. Theregion offers an excellent quality of life whichhas been recognised only recently by theSunday Times as the best city to live in Britain.We are delighted our trade mission to Chinahas resulted in attracting another major globalenterprise to the Bristol and Bath region.”

H u awe i ’s new centre will open later this yearand recruit 30 skilled employees to researchchips, microprocessor design, software and re-lated technology.

The firm already has a several bases in theUK, including a HQ in Reading and researchcentre in Ipswich. It aims to grow its UK-basedresearch team to 300 by 2017, so there is po-tential for the Bristol site to grow.

There are than 200 companies focusing onsilicon and microelectronics in Bristol andBath directly employing more than 5,000high-value engineers

H a u we i ’s products and services have beenused in 170 countries, including videoconfer-encing for Russian regional government,private cloud services for public bodies inSingapore, and television through broadbandin Guangzhou, China. More locally it is aleading supplier of dongles, used to connectcomputers to the internet, and worked with EEon the roll-out of its 4G high speed mobile phonen e t wo rk .

It is the latest technology firm to expand intoBristol. Mobile solutions business Somo re-cently announced it was setting up a researchcentre here and software firm Kainos is doingthe same. Both chose Bristol because the ex-pertise in telecommunications, mobile andchips mean there is a strong talent pool here.

A HOMELESSNESS charity has opened busi-ness space in the hope helping people whohave had challenging times become entre-p re n e u r s.

Emmaus Bristol, based in Stokes Croft,Bristol, wants to find local entrepreneurs,particularly those that have experiencedhomelessness, unemployment or live in the StPa u l ’s area.

Using funding from the European RegionalDevelopment Fund (ERDF), the charity isoffering affordable, newly renovatedopen-plan workspaces to those wanting todevelop their business ideas in a safe en-vironment with less risk.

The scheme already has its first success.Simon Sherrat, a former companion at Em-maus Bristol, started a computer recyclingventure. He takes in unwanted PCs, laptops,and mobile phones and strips them for

useable parts. He said: “This is an idealopportunity for companions and others tocreate their own future by running their ownenter prise.”

Emmaus is also on course to secure threefurther small businesses – one, tackling gangcrime, another who works with ornamentalplaster and one who has set up a company tohelp young people find work.

A spokesperson from the charity added:“The UK desperately needs initiatives likethis one which support business start-ups.Small businesses are engines for economicgrowth, innovation and employment. We needmore entrepreneurial activity and that meansmore individuals taking the courageous de-cision to start their own business.”

Contact Emmaus Bristol online at w w w. e m -m a u s b r i s t o l . o rg. u k / bu s i n e s s - i n c u b a t o r- u n i t s /for more details.

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

� Agilic, based the Bristol Robotics Lab at UWE, Bristol, makes the PiBot aneducational robot people can build themselves; inset, Harry Gee

� Silas Adekunle, foudner of Reach Robotics, with one of the firm’s MechaMonsters

Ethical bank pays theLiving Wage to staff� SUSTAINABLE and ethical bankTriodos has become one of only 13businesses in Bristol to beaccredited as a Living Wagee m p l o y e r.

Awarded by the Living WageFoundation, the mark guaranteesthat everyone working at the bank –including permanent employees,third-party contractors andsuppliers – is paid a minimum hourlywage of £7.65. That is higher thanthe national minimum wage of £6.31and is the amount considered to bethe least needed for a decent living.

Paula Searle, head of HR atTriodos, based in the city centre,said: “The Living Wage is aboutfairness and investing in people. Bysigning up we are demonstrating thevalue we place in everyone whoworks at Triodos Bank.”

Employers have no legalobligation to pay the Living Wage.

Banking

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4 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Eco innovation

ONE of the country’s major banks iscalling for Bristol inventors andsmall businesses to use it as a testbed for ideas to cut waste and be-come more energy efficient.

RBS yesterday launched its InnovationGateway to the Bristol business communitywith an event held at the Watershed andBordeaux Quay, in the Harbourside.

The idea sees the bank open the doors of its2,500 properties in the UK to small and me-dium sized businesses with bright ideas.

The project has three aims:� To help the bank become more efficientaround resource efficiency with energy wasteand water;� To nurture innovation;� And to help SMEs get their great ideas tom a rke t .

Marcela Navarro, the bank’s head of cus-tomer innovation, said: “Bristol is world-classwhen it comes to innovation, going back toBrunel, through to Concorde and now Bristolis European Green Capital in 2015.

“With all this brilliance in Bristol’s DNAthis is the perfect place for the RBS InnovationGateway and we can’t wait to tell people aboutthe project – what it is, how they can getinvolved and what the benefits can be.”

The project was initially launched in Lon-

Investment in future Help to makeus more eco-friendly, says bank

� Marcela Navarro launches the RBS innovation scheme in Bristol Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140617C-002

Festival accessory

Best thing ever invented? Fo l d i n gmirror creates a stir with the stars

ABRISTOL-based designerwho grew up within a stone’sthrow of Glastonbury hopesto tap into the summer fest-ival market with an innov-

ative new foldable travel mirror.Liesel Corp has set up Magic Mir-

ror, with offices and studio in Bed-minster, hand making the acrylic –and therefore festival legal – p ro d u c tfrom a workshop on the city’s Har-b o u r s i d e.

Launched at the Love Saves TheDay festival in Castle Park lastmonth, Magic Mirror has already

received celebrity endorsementsfrom Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, as well as4Music presenter Arielle Free, whotweeted that the mirror was “the bestthing ever invented”.

Ms Corp, aged 33, grew up in Shep-ton Mallet and first went to Glas-tonbury when she was six monthsold, visiting at least one festival everysummer since.

More recently she worked as afreelance set and costume designerand says she fully understands theneed for the new product.

She said: “I have searched high andlow for this product, because I’veworked at so many festivals and Ihave experienced countless situ-ations where I’ve seen the need forit.

“Nothing exists like this on the

market. People don’t understandwhat it is until they see it and whenthey do they realise how amazing iti s.

“There are three settings so youcan have it full length for an overview,standing up in a pyramid so you and afriend can apply make-up together, orin vanity mode so you can check yourhair style from every angle.

“I have plans to develop other travelaccessories for people who live thatkind of lifestyle – people who go tofestivals, who travel, touring artists,performers, stylists and creativepeople – that group which we aresurrounded by massively in Bristol.Hopefully this is the brand forthem.”

Assisted by a £9,900 loan from theSWIG Start Ups, the regional delivery

AN award-winning healthcare busi-ness has agreed a deal that will see itsproduct delivered to the homes ofhundreds of new customers.

Clifton-based Hydrate for Healthhas announced a partnership withSelect Home Delivery Service for aUK-wide trial of its product the hy-drant for patients with spinal injuriesbeing cared for at home.

Select Home Delivery Service isone the UK’s leading suppliers ofprescription bladder and bowelproducts to people in their ownh o m e s.

It will be offering the hydrant freeof charge with all orders for 500 newcustomers with spinal injuries.

Mark Moran, chief executive of Hy-drate for Health, said: “This is a veryexciting opportunity. Select has afantastic distribution network andthe hydrant is an ideal product forpatients leaving hospital and lookingto settle back into home care.”

Last year the firm won the Queen’sAward for Enterprise for the product,as well as the Innovator of the Yearaward at the Bristol Post BusinessAw a rd s.

The hydrant is used in a number ofhospitals nationwide and has justbeen given £250,000 for trials in threeNHS trusts, though none yet in itshome city of Bristol.

The very simple device is a waterbottle that clips to the bedside andmeans patients can drink when theywant because they don’t have to reachout.

The patented bottle design clips,hooks or hangs so can easily befastened in other places too, such ason a wheelchair.

And it allows the patient or carer to

H ea l t h c a re

UK-wide trial for health innovation

� Mark Moran with his invention

� Left, the foldable travel mirror designed for festival goers which Liesel Corp, right, is producing in Bedminster

Record £200m results for city firmI n s u ra n ce

Chinese buyers eyeour luxury goods� A CONSORTIUM of Chinesebuyers is in Bristol tomorrow tomeet producers and suppliers ofhigh-end goods.

The Chinese luxury goodsmarket has been booming andthis is an opportunity for localfirms to reach that lucrativedestination.

Antoaneta Becker, UKTI’sChina Adviser said: “China hasbecome the fastest growingmarket in the world, providingendless commercialopportunities for Britishbusinesses, particularly thosespecialising in food, drink,fashion and affordable luxurygoods.

“Chinese consumers arealready familiar with the bigBritish brands we have in theSouth West and many are theproud owners of Mulberry, Clarksand Superdry.

“However, we are keen to raiseawareness of the multitude ofsmaller producers of high-qualityconsumer goods and originalbrands in the region.”

The ‘meet the buyer’ event,organised by UK Trade andInvestment (UKTI) in conjunctionwith the China-Britain BusinessCouncil (CBBC), will take placeon Thursday, June 19, at theMercure Holland House Hotel inBristol.

To register, contact AngelaMaynard-Smith at angela.maynard-smith @uktisouthwest.org or call 01275 370 810.

Ret a i lStudent lets market tosee continued growth� THE growth of the studenthousing market in Bristol looks likelyto continue as a new report fromreal estate adviser Savills marks itout as having first class potential forinvestors.

The conclusion was made in thefirm’s report Spotlight: UK StudentHousing, which gives investorrankings for university towns for2014.

The report reveals that investmentin the student housing markettotalled £5 billion in the past twoyears and transactions are forecastto total £2.5 billion this year.

Neal Hudson, Savills researchanalyst, said: “The UK purpose builtstudent housing sector is proving anattractive buy and continues tocombine strong yields and risingrental income. Investors will need tobear in mind, however, that thesector is not without risk.

“Although it appears that a fall instudent numbers last year was ashort-term response to the new feeenvironment, we are seeing a realflight to quality institutions bystudents increasingly questioningthe value they get from theireducation. We believe that this trendis irreversible and lower rankedinstitutions will struggle to provetheir value for money in the newcompetitive environment.”

However, that shouldn’t troubleinvestors in Bristol as the city’s twouniversities are often cited byemployers as one of the mainreasons for being in the city.

Bristol was one of 15 towns andcities rated as first classinvestments for studentaccommodation. The othersincluded Aberdeen, Bath, Brighton,Cambrdige, Edinburgh, Oxford andSt Andrew’s.

Housing

partner of the Government-backedStart Up Loan scheme, Magic Mirrorhas produced an initial stock of 1,000of the mirrors, which retail at £38.

The reflective surface is made ofshatterproof acrylic, made in Amer-ica and cut by Bristol-based AmariPlastics, while the covers are eth-ically made in India and assembled atBristol Old Vic Scenic Workshop.

Ms Corp said she was grateful forthe support from SWIG Start Ups,which has enabled her to launch theproduct in time to tap into this sum-mer’s festival market.

She said: “When the bank says noand then you find out that there’sanother way to get some funding, it’sa big deal. So I’m really gratefulbecause it saves me another threemonths of looking elsewhere.”

Firm enjoys a recordstart to the year� A TELECOMMUNICATIONSbusiness in North Somerset hasreported record growth in the firstthird of the year.

Each month has been better thanthe last for Pure Comms, inClevedon, with bosses saying thefirm is enjoying the “Great Britishre v i v a l ” hailed by the Prime Minister.

Managing director Rob Viviansaid: “Confidence is returning to theeconomy. Our customers aregrowing and investing – things aremoving. We’ve also won a clutch ofnew clients in the first few monthsof this year, which has contributedto our record start.”

Te l e co m s

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

Rupert JanischBusiness@b-nm.co.uk

accurately measure how much fluidthey are taking.

Studies into its effectiveness showa 35 per cent reduction in length ofstay and up to 100 per cent reductionsin urinary infections, a commonproblem occurring as a result of de-hydration. It also shows a £36 savingfor every £1 spent through use of thehydrant in hospitals.

John Thomson, product managerfor Select Home Delivery, said: “T hehydrant is a truly innovative andsimple solution to a problem thatmany of our customers experience.

“Partnering with Hydrate forHealth further demonstrates Select’scommitment to putting the customerat the centre of what we do and re-inforces our belief that we are con-tinuing the care of patients when theyleave hospital.”

don and in the first round of 141 submissions,none was from Bristol.

Disappointed that a city known for innov-ation hadn’t engaged with the idea, RBS choseBig Green Week to launch the scheme locally.Businesses can sign up to the gateway online,where they can discuss their ideas with otherbusinesses and experts.

RBS also organises workshops and has as-sembled a judging panel so that even ideasthat don’t make the shortlist can still getuseful feedback on their ideas.

Marcela said the scheme was not a com-petition. “If there are 100 great ideas, we willtry 100 ideas,” she said.

Chosen concepts get a £3,000 grant to helpthem develop but Marcela said it wasn’t aboutmoney, but an opportunity to test and demon-

strate their ideas. And if proven to work withRBS, doors will open to other customers.

“Access to markets is the most importantthing for SMEs,” she said. “How can wesupport innovators get a wider position in themarket? By providing our estate for them totest in a real-life environment.

“We have 2,500 properties that mirror themajority of properties in this country. Fromtwo-storey flat roofs to listed historical build-i n g s.

“We would love to see our RBS buildings inBristol being used to test innovations fromBristol companies.”

For more details go to w w w. r b s. c o m / i n -novationgate w ay.

A BRISTOL firm that insures legal expensesis reporting record results despite a majoroverhaul of the laws around personal injurycl a i m s.

DAS UK Holdings Ltd, based in Temple Way,reported record income of £199.6 million in2013, an increase of 10 per cent over 2012.

Profits before tax and reinsurance alsogrew strongly by nine per cent to £12.1million.

The results were especially goodconsidering the legal world hadbeen hit by changes brought inby the Government in 2012 thatshook up the legal insurancem a rke t .

DAS claims to be first insurerto completely change itsafter-the-event (ATE) businessmodel. ATE insurance is taken out toafter an accident to cover legal costs incase you lose the case. DAS was able to recoverquickly and grow beyond income levels beforethe reforms. The growth was mainly due tothe introduction of a new clinical negligenceproduct and DAS entry into the civil litigationmarket, where it provides indemnity limits of

up to £3 million for commercial and otherlitig ation.

DAS became the first insurer to own a lawfirm and gain an ABS licence to provide legalservices without lawyers. The DAS Law nowhas teams handling employment, propertyand contract, as well as personal injury andhas recently developed a will writing pro-

position. It has also been developing itsbusiness overseas, reporting strong

results in Ireland and Canada andlaunching in Norway.

Chief executive Paul Asplin,p i c t u re d , said: “DAS UK isunique in the legal protectionmarket; a UK domiciled insur-ance company and a member of

one of the world’s largest insur-ance groups, Munich Re. With our

scale, expertise, resources and fin-ancial backing business partners can be

confident that DAS has the strength to deliverin the new regulatory environment, includingSolvency II and the FCA add-ons review,something that many of our competitors, whoare mainly underwritten or domiciled over-seas, may struggle with.”

GREEN BUSINESS SPECIAL REPORT: PAGES 8&9

FOR SALE

Stockwood Vale Golf ClubBristol BS31 2ER

ContactBen Allen 020 7911 2360ben.allen@gva.co.uk

Ben Brown 0121 609 8395ben.brown@gva.co.uk

• Attractive 18 hole 6,060 yard (par 71)golf course

• Informal 5 hole academy course

• 14 bay floodlit golf driving range

• Two storey clubhouse with3 bedroom apartment

• 483,853 resident population within20 minutes drive

• Typical turnover £800,000 and typicalEBITDA £115,000

• 570 members

• 61 hectares (153 acres)

• Principally freehold (part ofgolf course leased)

7830

Offers invited in the regionof £1.425million

A well presented proprietary golf club situatedon the outskirts of Bristol.

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

4 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 5We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

Eco innovation

ONE of the country’s major banks iscalling for Bristol inventors andsmall businesses to use it as a testbed for ideas to cut waste and be-come more energy efficient.

RBS yesterday launched its InnovationGateway to the Bristol business communitywith an event held at the Watershed andBordeaux Quay, in the Harbourside.

The idea sees the bank open the doors of its2,500 properties in the UK to small and me-dium sized businesses with bright ideas.

The project has three aims:� To help the bank become more efficientaround resource efficiency with energy wasteand water;� To nurture innovation;� And to help SMEs get their great ideas tom a rke t .

Marcela Navarro, the bank’s head of cus-tomer innovation, said: “Bristol is world-classwhen it comes to innovation, going back toBrunel, through to Concorde and now Bristolis European Green Capital in 2015.

“With all this brilliance in Bristol’s DNAthis is the perfect place for the RBS InnovationGateway and we can’t wait to tell people aboutthe project – what it is, how they can getinvolved and what the benefits can be.”

The project was initially launched in Lon-

Investment in future Help to makeus more eco-friendly, says bank

� Marcela Navarro launches the RBS innovation scheme in Bristol Pic: Michael Lloyd BRML20140617C-002

Festival accessory

Best thing ever invented? Fo l d i n gmirror creates a stir with the stars

ABRISTOL-based designerwho grew up within a stone’sthrow of Glastonbury hopesto tap into the summer fest-ival market with an innov-

ative new foldable travel mirror.Liesel Corp has set up Magic Mir-

ror, with offices and studio in Bed-minster, hand making the acrylic –and therefore festival legal – p ro d u c tfrom a workshop on the city’s Har-b o u r s i d e.

Launched at the Love Saves TheDay festival in Castle Park lastmonth, Magic Mirror has already

received celebrity endorsementsfrom Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac, as well as4Music presenter Arielle Free, whotweeted that the mirror was “the bestthing ever invented”.

Ms Corp, aged 33, grew up in Shep-ton Mallet and first went to Glas-tonbury when she was six monthsold, visiting at least one festival everysummer since.

More recently she worked as afreelance set and costume designerand says she fully understands theneed for the new product.

She said: “I have searched high andlow for this product, because I’veworked at so many festivals and Ihave experienced countless situ-ations where I’ve seen the need forit.

“Nothing exists like this on the

market. People don’t understandwhat it is until they see it and whenthey do they realise how amazing iti s.

“There are three settings so youcan have it full length for an overview,standing up in a pyramid so you and afriend can apply make-up together, orin vanity mode so you can check yourhair style from every angle.

“I have plans to develop other travelaccessories for people who live thatkind of lifestyle – people who go tofestivals, who travel, touring artists,performers, stylists and creativepeople – that group which we aresurrounded by massively in Bristol.Hopefully this is the brand forthem.”

Assisted by a £9,900 loan from theSWIG Start Ups, the regional delivery

AN award-winning healthcare busi-ness has agreed a deal that will see itsproduct delivered to the homes ofhundreds of new customers.

Clifton-based Hydrate for Healthhas announced a partnership withSelect Home Delivery Service for aUK-wide trial of its product the hy-drant for patients with spinal injuriesbeing cared for at home.

Select Home Delivery Service isone the UK’s leading suppliers ofprescription bladder and bowelproducts to people in their ownh o m e s.

It will be offering the hydrant freeof charge with all orders for 500 newcustomers with spinal injuries.

Mark Moran, chief executive of Hy-drate for Health, said: “This is a veryexciting opportunity. Select has afantastic distribution network andthe hydrant is an ideal product forpatients leaving hospital and lookingto settle back into home care.”

Last year the firm won the Queen’sAward for Enterprise for the product,as well as the Innovator of the Yearaward at the Bristol Post BusinessAw a rd s.

The hydrant is used in a number ofhospitals nationwide and has justbeen given £250,000 for trials in threeNHS trusts, though none yet in itshome city of Bristol.

The very simple device is a waterbottle that clips to the bedside andmeans patients can drink when theywant because they don’t have to reachout.

The patented bottle design clips,hooks or hangs so can easily befastened in other places too, such ason a wheelchair.

And it allows the patient or carer to

H ea l t h c a re

UK-wide trial for health innovation

� Mark Moran with his invention

� Left, the foldable travel mirror designed for festival goers which Liesel Corp, right, is producing in Bedminster

Record £200m results for city firmI n s u ra n ce

Chinese buyers eyeour luxury goods� A CONSORTIUM of Chinesebuyers is in Bristol tomorrow tomeet producers and suppliers ofhigh-end goods.

The Chinese luxury goodsmarket has been booming andthis is an opportunity for localfirms to reach that lucrativedestination.

Antoaneta Becker, UKTI’sChina Adviser said: “China hasbecome the fastest growingmarket in the world, providingendless commercialopportunities for Britishbusinesses, particularly thosespecialising in food, drink,fashion and affordable luxurygoods.

“Chinese consumers arealready familiar with the bigBritish brands we have in theSouth West and many are theproud owners of Mulberry, Clarksand Superdry.

“However, we are keen to raiseawareness of the multitude ofsmaller producers of high-qualityconsumer goods and originalbrands in the region.”

The ‘meet the buyer’ event,organised by UK Trade andInvestment (UKTI) in conjunctionwith the China-Britain BusinessCouncil (CBBC), will take placeon Thursday, June 19, at theMercure Holland House Hotel inBristol.

To register, contact AngelaMaynard-Smith at angela.maynard-smith @uktisouthwest.org or call 01275 370 810.

Ret a i lStudent lets market tosee continued growth� THE growth of the studenthousing market in Bristol looks likelyto continue as a new report fromreal estate adviser Savills marks itout as having first class potential forinvestors.

The conclusion was made in thefirm’s report Spotlight: UK StudentHousing, which gives investorrankings for university towns for2014.

The report reveals that investmentin the student housing markettotalled £5 billion in the past twoyears and transactions are forecastto total £2.5 billion this year.

Neal Hudson, Savills researchanalyst, said: “The UK purpose builtstudent housing sector is proving anattractive buy and continues tocombine strong yields and risingrental income. Investors will need tobear in mind, however, that thesector is not without risk.

“Although it appears that a fall instudent numbers last year was ashort-term response to the new feeenvironment, we are seeing a realflight to quality institutions bystudents increasingly questioningthe value they get from theireducation. We believe that this trendis irreversible and lower rankedinstitutions will struggle to provetheir value for money in the newcompetitive environment.”

However, that shouldn’t troubleinvestors in Bristol as the city’s twouniversities are often cited byemployers as one of the mainreasons for being in the city.

Bristol was one of 15 towns andcities rated as first classinvestments for studentaccommodation. The othersincluded Aberdeen, Bath, Brighton,Cambrdige, Edinburgh, Oxford andSt Andrew’s.

Housing

partner of the Government-backedStart Up Loan scheme, Magic Mirrorhas produced an initial stock of 1,000of the mirrors, which retail at £38.

The reflective surface is made ofshatterproof acrylic, made in Amer-ica and cut by Bristol-based AmariPlastics, while the covers are eth-ically made in India and assembled atBristol Old Vic Scenic Workshop.

Ms Corp said she was grateful forthe support from SWIG Start Ups,which has enabled her to launch theproduct in time to tap into this sum-mer’s festival market.

She said: “When the bank says noand then you find out that there’sanother way to get some funding, it’sa big deal. So I’m really gratefulbecause it saves me another threemonths of looking elsewhere.”

Firm enjoys a recordstart to the year� A TELECOMMUNICATIONSbusiness in North Somerset hasreported record growth in the firstthird of the year.

Each month has been better thanthe last for Pure Comms, inClevedon, with bosses saying thefirm is enjoying the “Great Britishre v i v a l ” hailed by the Prime Minister.

Managing director Rob Viviansaid: “Confidence is returning to theeconomy. Our customers aregrowing and investing – things aremoving. We’ve also won a clutch ofnew clients in the first few monthsof this year, which has contributedto our record start.”

Te l e co m s

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

Rupert JanischBusiness@b-nm.co.uk

accurately measure how much fluidthey are taking.

Studies into its effectiveness showa 35 per cent reduction in length ofstay and up to 100 per cent reductionsin urinary infections, a commonproblem occurring as a result of de-hydration. It also shows a £36 savingfor every £1 spent through use of thehydrant in hospitals.

John Thomson, product managerfor Select Home Delivery, said: “T hehydrant is a truly innovative andsimple solution to a problem thatmany of our customers experience.

“Partnering with Hydrate forHealth further demonstrates Select’scommitment to putting the customerat the centre of what we do and re-inforces our belief that we are con-tinuing the care of patients when theyleave hospital.”

don and in the first round of 141 submissions,none was from Bristol.

Disappointed that a city known for innov-ation hadn’t engaged with the idea, RBS choseBig Green Week to launch the scheme locally.Businesses can sign up to the gateway online,where they can discuss their ideas with otherbusinesses and experts.

RBS also organises workshops and has as-sembled a judging panel so that even ideasthat don’t make the shortlist can still getuseful feedback on their ideas.

Marcela said the scheme was not a com-petition. “If there are 100 great ideas, we willtry 100 ideas,” she said.

Chosen concepts get a £3,000 grant to helpthem develop but Marcela said it wasn’t aboutmoney, but an opportunity to test and demon-

strate their ideas. And if proven to work withRBS, doors will open to other customers.

“Access to markets is the most importantthing for SMEs,” she said. “How can wesupport innovators get a wider position in themarket? By providing our estate for them totest in a real-life environment.

“We have 2,500 properties that mirror themajority of properties in this country. Fromtwo-storey flat roofs to listed historical build-i n g s.

“We would love to see our RBS buildings inBristol being used to test innovations fromBristol companies.”

For more details go to w w w. r b s. c o m / i n -novationgate w ay.

A BRISTOL firm that insures legal expensesis reporting record results despite a majoroverhaul of the laws around personal injurycl a i m s.

DAS UK Holdings Ltd, based in Temple Way,reported record income of £199.6 million in2013, an increase of 10 per cent over 2012.

Profits before tax and reinsurance alsogrew strongly by nine per cent to £12.1million.

The results were especially goodconsidering the legal world hadbeen hit by changes brought inby the Government in 2012 thatshook up the legal insurancem a rke t .

DAS claims to be first insurerto completely change itsafter-the-event (ATE) businessmodel. ATE insurance is taken out toafter an accident to cover legal costs incase you lose the case. DAS was able to recoverquickly and grow beyond income levels beforethe reforms. The growth was mainly due tothe introduction of a new clinical negligenceproduct and DAS entry into the civil litigationmarket, where it provides indemnity limits of

up to £3 million for commercial and otherlitig ation.

DAS became the first insurer to own a lawfirm and gain an ABS licence to provide legalservices without lawyers. The DAS Law nowhas teams handling employment, propertyand contract, as well as personal injury andhas recently developed a will writing pro-

position. It has also been developing itsbusiness overseas, reporting strong

results in Ireland and Canada andlaunching in Norway.

Chief executive Paul Asplin,p i c t u re d , said: “DAS UK isunique in the legal protectionmarket; a UK domiciled insur-ance company and a member of

one of the world’s largest insur-ance groups, Munich Re. With our

scale, expertise, resources and fin-ancial backing business partners can be

confident that DAS has the strength to deliverin the new regulatory environment, includingSolvency II and the FCA add-ons review,something that many of our competitors, whoare mainly underwritten or domiciled over-seas, may struggle with.”

GREEN BUSINESS SPECIAL REPORT: PAGES 8&9

FOR SALE

Stockwood Vale Golf ClubBristol BS31 2ER

ContactBen Allen 020 7911 2360ben.allen@gva.co.uk

Ben Brown 0121 609 8395ben.brown@gva.co.uk

• Attractive 18 hole 6,060 yard (par 71)golf course

• Informal 5 hole academy course

• 14 bay floodlit golf driving range

• Two storey clubhouse with3 bedroom apartment

• 483,853 resident population within20 minutes drive

• Typical turnover £800,000 and typicalEBITDA £115,000

• 570 members

• 61 hectares (153 acres)

• Principally freehold (part ofgolf course leased)

7830

Offers invited in the regionof £1.425million

A well presented proprietary golf club situatedon the outskirts of Bristol.

EPB-E01-S3

EPB-

E01-

S3

6 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The Big Interview

BR I S T O L’S two universitiesare both massive institu-tions, each home to tens ofthousands of students andmany hundreds of staff.

However their contribution to thecity’s business community often goesunrecognised, probably due to a lackof understanding about the way thetwo sides interact.

At the University of the West ofEngland (UWE) the Faculty of Busi-ness and Law, based at its Frenchaycampus, forms a quarter of the in-stitution and is itself split into theBristol Business School and the Bris-tol Law School.

Between them, the two schools pro-duce nearly 3,000 graduates perye a r.

Across the university, over 94 percent of graduates are successful infinding jobs, with around 70 per centof them staying in the South West andthe majority remaining in Bristol.

Standing at the helm is ProfessorJane Harrington, Pro Vice-Chancel-lor of the university and ExecutiveDean of the faculty itself.

It’s fair to say that Professor Har-rington knows her way around UWE.

She started working there as a re-searcher in the 1990s and on her wayto her current position has held amyriad of roles at the university.

She explained that long gone arethe days when UWE, which came intoexistence in 1992, bore the tag of aformer polytechnic with any sense ofi n f e r i o r i t y.

After all, UWE is significantly lar-ger than the University of Bristol andis viewed very much as a strategicgrowth partner by the region’s busi-ness community.

“Bristol is the most influential cityoutside of London around profession-al and financial and legal services, soobviously we have grown with that as

NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATIONThe worlds of business and education have never beencloser, thanks to the approach of people such as ProfessorJane Harrington, who has led the UWE Business School tobecome a partner for industry, including as title sponsor ofthe Bristol Post Business Awards. She talks to Rupert Janisch

Name: Jane HarringtonAge: 47Home: Lives in Southvillewith her partner and teenagedaughterEducation: Completed herPhD on women’sinvolvement in trade unionsin USDAW (Union of Shop,Distributive and AlliedWorkers) and BIFU (Banking,Insurance and FinanceUnion), during a period oftrade union decline in 2001.

Career: Has workedat UWE since

1991 in a widerange of roleswithin thebusiness andlaw faculty,becominghead of the

BusinessSchool in2010.

Vital statistics

PUNTER Southall Group isthe UK’s largest independ-ently owned pension con-sultancy, incorporatingactuarial, investment and

administration services. Founded in1988, we have grown into a nationalbusiness, employing around 850people through 10 regional officesacross the UK.

Now firmly established in Bristol,it is important for us to be seen as anintegral part of the local businesscommunity, celebrating its successand encouraging the next generationof businesses.

This is our second year of involve-ment with the Bristol Post BusinessAwards, an event that we are de-lighted to support.

At Punter Southall, we work withbusinesses of all sizes and in all sec-tors; from those at the cutting edge oftechnology to more traditional in-dustries; from large plcs to smallbu s i n e s s e s.

We also have a large number ofclients in the charity andnot-for-profit sector, including manyorganisations involved in socialhousing.

Our role primarily involves us

helping our clients to design, im-plement and manage pension ar-rangements for their employees.

It ranges from helping employersfulfil their new legal obligationsunder the ‘auto enrolment’ regime toadministering and managing riskunder legacy ‘final salary’ pensions ch e m e s.

We work with the trustees of oc-cupational pension schemes, as wellas with employers that provide suchar rangements.

As we all know, Bristol is a greatplace to live, work and do business,and this is why Punter Southall hasbeen so keen to develop a significantpresence here.

From reading all the submissionsfor the various awards, we are greatly

S p o n so rs

The categories

Be there!� The Bristol Post BusinessAwards is not just for thefinalists, it’s a fantasticnetworking opportunity and agreat place to entertain yourclients. For tickets, go tow w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k /b u s i n e s s a w a rd s

it has developed,” she said.“We call ourselves a partnership

university in the region because wework really closely with businessesand business organisations like theCBI, the IoD, the LEP and the coun-c i l s.

“We are very active with the SMEsector, among work with a huge rangeof businesses. Because we’re a largeuniversity we work with all the keygrowth sectors in this region – c re -ative industries with our visualmedia hub in the Watershed, acrossthe engineering sectors like roboticsand electronics, a lot of work on theenvironment and sustainability, thensocial sciences and health trainingmidwives and other services, plusbusiness and law.

“We ’ve always been a regional uni-versity with close regional connec-tions and I think that existed whenwe were a polytechnic. But I thinkthat over the last 20 years we havemore international reach and we’vetried to deepen those connections.”

So how does UWE actually interactwith the city and regional businesscommunity? Well on the one handthere are regular events, schemes toget the two sides talking to each other,giving students beneficial know-ledge, experience and contacts in thebusiness community which can helpthem when they graduate.

It’s also a hub for academic re-search which is then put into busi-ness practice by companies all overthe region. And there are also regularliaisons with business leaders whicheffectively make the university like agiant training and recruitment ser-vice for our city’s companies.

Professor Harrington said: “We doa lot of work to ensure the graduateswe train are useful for employers. Sowe work to make sure the graduateswho come out of here don’t just haveknowledge – t h at ’s a given – but alsohave a set of skills.

“Professional bodies and busi-nesses would say that they wantwork-ready graduates who knowabout entrepreneurial skills, teamworking and communication. It’sabout how we get students to a pointat which they have those skills to helpcompanies grow.

“All students have access to a oneyear placement, or we work withemployers to offer shorter intern-s h i p s.

“The most important thing for stu-dents is to get a wide range of ex-perience. Just standing by aphotocopier probably isn’t going toteach them anything.

“Part of the role we have is also towork with employers to make surethat the graduates have the skillswhich these companies will need inthe future. So we work with them to

help us co-design curriculums so thatwe can offer businesses graduateswho are useful for them. It helps ourstudents to get better jobs as well.”

UWE is one of the nation’s largestuniversities, with a growing repu-tation reflected by a rise up the leaguetables – 53rd best in the country at thelast count.

It has an expanding internationalnetwork, with UWE’s business de-grees being particularly popular inuniversities in Vietnam and Malay-sia.

And the Business and Law Facultyis one focused on for extra devel-opment thanks to £200 million of up-coming capital investments to UWE’sc a m p u s e s.

All of this makes UWE the idealheadline sponsor for the Bristol Post’sannual business awards. ProfessorHarrison said: “I don’t think a busi-ness school is very meaningful if it’snot connected to the business com-munity, but also I think there aregreat businesses in the South West, I

think we should celebrate those andthat stimulates other people to thinkabout what they can do.

“We clearly see part of our DNA asbeing embedded in the region, ofworking with businesses and beingpart of the whole growth agenda.Celebrating that, rewarding it andspotting talent in those areas is reallykey to what we do.”

A mother to a 16-year-old, ProfessorHarrison is 47 and lives with her

partner in Southville.She earned the title of Professor

last December but also has a Doc-torate on Gender in work, which wasachieved in 2000 after studying theunion activities of women in SouthWales whose husbands had lost theirjobs after the collapse of the miningindustries there.

She still takes an active interest indiversity in the workplace. “Org an-isations actually miss out on talent ifthey focus their search too narrowly,”she said.

“There are some great women andalso some great members of black andminority ethnic groups in Bristol.But if you look at the percentage ofthem going into senior posts, it’squite small.

“It’s partly lack of role models, it’spartly perceptions and stereotypesand also that classic glass ceilingissue. But the more women that do,the more women think they can too.So it’s not just about giving womenrole models, but confidence as well.”

Professor Jane Harrington

“We do a lot of work toensure the graduates wetrain are useful foremployers. They don’tjust have knowledge –that’s a given – but alsohave a set of skills

Sponsor profile

City’s business community is full of ingenuity and driveimpressed by the ingenuity and driveof the Bristol business community.

However, this entrepreneurial spir-it can only thrive in the right sur-ro u n d i n g s.

In sponsoring the LifetimeAchievement award, Punter Southallseeks to recognise an individual who,over time, has made a made a sig-nificant contribution towards thesuccess of our city.

We are sure that this year’s re-cipient will be seen to embody thevision and commitment that has un-derpinned Bristol’s success.

We send our very best wishes to allthose taking part in these Awardsand look forward to a great evening.

Chris Mapp, pictured, head ofPunter Southall Bristol office

AFAMILY business that madeits name providing thestretch in 1970s hit toyStretch Armstrong is mak-ing a new product to help

people with broken limbs.Yate-based manufacturer Preci-

sion Dippings is producing water-proof protectors called Bloccs for legand arm plaster casts.

The simple idea makes life mucheasier for someone in plaster, be-cause it means they can have a bathor shower... or even swim.

Director Kate Richards said theproduce, which is now on shelves inBoots stores, was proving very pop-ular with customers.

She said: “We get all sorts of com-ments, from people relieved to beable to take a shower or bathe withconfidence; to holidaying families,delighted their injured children areable to play in the pool or swim in thesea.”

Precision Dippings is the fam-ily-run manufacturing businessproviding the waterproofingknow-how behind Bloccs.

Based in Yate, it makes rubbercomponents for a worldwide custom-er base. Its specialist products in-clude components used in Formula 1cars, as well as moulded products formedical and dental firms.

It was the company behind theproduction of the stretchy element ofthe 1970’s Stretch Armstrong toy.

It also produces the rubber sealsused by a number of manufacturersof dry suits for water sports, and hasnow diversified into the consumer,health products, by developing thistechnology into the Bloccs arm andleg protectors.

The idea has seen the businessbecome a finalist in the Bristol PostBusiness Awards in the Innovatorthe Year category.

Kate said: “Doctors warn that ifthe padding under a plaster cast getswet you can get nasty skin infec-tions, so daily routines like washingor swimming become almost im-p o s s i bl e.

“Bloccs rubber waterproof pro-tectors solve the problem really

simply – slipping over a cast as easyas a glove or a stocking.

“They fit people of all shapes, sizesand ages and are a safer alternativeto taping a carrier bag to a limb,balancing on one leg in the shower orattempting to wash with only onehand. These are all things our cus-tomers tell us they had to do beforefinding out about us.

“People continue to get in touchand tell us how pleased they are withthese protectors – they are 100 percent waterproof, so allow people who

want to carry on as normal do justt h at . ”

“The comments we receive are in-credible. It’s great to have producedsomething which really makes a dif-ference to people’s lives. Bloccs seemto give people back the confidenceand independence they felt they lostwhen being fitted with a plastercast.

“We are also getting back reallypositive feedback from hospitals andfracture clinics, with which we’rereally trying to raise awareness.”

Bristol Post Business Awards 2014

� Business of the Year Bristol,sponsored by UWE Bristol� Young Entrepreneur of the Year� Lifetime Achievement Award,sponsored by Punter Southall� Retailer of the Year, sponsoredby Broadmead Bristol BID� Customer Service Award,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Family Business of the Year,

sponsored by BOM Group� Innovator of the Year� Export Award, sponsored byLloyds Banking Group� Marketing Campaign of theYe a r� Large Business of the Year,sponsored by Smith &Williamson� Best Creative/TechnologicalAward, sponsored by A s h f o rd s

Solicitors� Leisure & Tourism Business ofthe Year, sponsored by QBE� Small Business of the Year,sponsored by First GreatWester n� Start Up Business of the Year,sponsored by J o rd a n s� Environmental Business Award� Contribution to the CommunityAward, sponsored by Renishaw

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

Waterproof protector forcasts is making waves

� Bloccs directorKate Richards, whois in the running forthe Bristol PostBusiness Awards

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6 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 7We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The Big Interview

BR I S T O L’S two universitiesare both massive institu-tions, each home to tens ofthousands of students andmany hundreds of staff.

However their contribution to thecity’s business community often goesunrecognised, probably due to a lackof understanding about the way thetwo sides interact.

At the University of the West ofEngland (UWE) the Faculty of Busi-ness and Law, based at its Frenchaycampus, forms a quarter of the in-stitution and is itself split into theBristol Business School and the Bris-tol Law School.

Between them, the two schools pro-duce nearly 3,000 graduates perye a r.

Across the university, over 94 percent of graduates are successful infinding jobs, with around 70 per centof them staying in the South West andthe majority remaining in Bristol.

Standing at the helm is ProfessorJane Harrington, Pro Vice-Chancel-lor of the university and ExecutiveDean of the faculty itself.

It’s fair to say that Professor Har-rington knows her way around UWE.

She started working there as a re-searcher in the 1990s and on her wayto her current position has held amyriad of roles at the university.

She explained that long gone arethe days when UWE, which came intoexistence in 1992, bore the tag of aformer polytechnic with any sense ofi n f e r i o r i t y.

After all, UWE is significantly lar-ger than the University of Bristol andis viewed very much as a strategicgrowth partner by the region’s busi-ness community.

“Bristol is the most influential cityoutside of London around profession-al and financial and legal services, soobviously we have grown with that as

NURTURING THE NEXT GENERATIONThe worlds of business and education have never beencloser, thanks to the approach of people such as ProfessorJane Harrington, who has led the UWE Business School tobecome a partner for industry, including as title sponsor ofthe Bristol Post Business Awards. She talks to Rupert Janisch

Name: Jane HarringtonAge: 47Home: Lives in Southvillewith her partner and teenagedaughterEducation: Completed herPhD on women’sinvolvement in trade unionsin USDAW (Union of Shop,Distributive and AlliedWorkers) and BIFU (Banking,Insurance and FinanceUnion), during a period oftrade union decline in 2001.

Career: Has workedat UWE since

1991 in a widerange of roleswithin thebusiness andlaw faculty,becominghead of the

BusinessSchool in2010.

Vital statistics

PUNTER Southall Group isthe UK’s largest independ-ently owned pension con-sultancy, incorporatingactuarial, investment and

administration services. Founded in1988, we have grown into a nationalbusiness, employing around 850people through 10 regional officesacross the UK.

Now firmly established in Bristol,it is important for us to be seen as anintegral part of the local businesscommunity, celebrating its successand encouraging the next generationof businesses.

This is our second year of involve-ment with the Bristol Post BusinessAwards, an event that we are de-lighted to support.

At Punter Southall, we work withbusinesses of all sizes and in all sec-tors; from those at the cutting edge oftechnology to more traditional in-dustries; from large plcs to smallbu s i n e s s e s.

We also have a large number ofclients in the charity andnot-for-profit sector, including manyorganisations involved in socialhousing.

Our role primarily involves us

helping our clients to design, im-plement and manage pension ar-rangements for their employees.

It ranges from helping employersfulfil their new legal obligationsunder the ‘auto enrolment’ regime toadministering and managing riskunder legacy ‘final salary’ pensions ch e m e s.

We work with the trustees of oc-cupational pension schemes, as wellas with employers that provide suchar rangements.

As we all know, Bristol is a greatplace to live, work and do business,and this is why Punter Southall hasbeen so keen to develop a significantpresence here.

From reading all the submissionsfor the various awards, we are greatly

S p o n so rs

The categories

Be there!� The Bristol Post BusinessAwards is not just for thefinalists, it’s a fantasticnetworking opportunity and agreat place to entertain yourclients. For tickets, go tow w w. b r i s t o l p o s t . c o . u k /b u s i n e s s a w a rd s

it has developed,” she said.“We call ourselves a partnership

university in the region because wework really closely with businessesand business organisations like theCBI, the IoD, the LEP and the coun-c i l s.

“We are very active with the SMEsector, among work with a huge rangeof businesses. Because we’re a largeuniversity we work with all the keygrowth sectors in this region – c re -ative industries with our visualmedia hub in the Watershed, acrossthe engineering sectors like roboticsand electronics, a lot of work on theenvironment and sustainability, thensocial sciences and health trainingmidwives and other services, plusbusiness and law.

“We ’ve always been a regional uni-versity with close regional connec-tions and I think that existed whenwe were a polytechnic. But I thinkthat over the last 20 years we havemore international reach and we’vetried to deepen those connections.”

So how does UWE actually interactwith the city and regional businesscommunity? Well on the one handthere are regular events, schemes toget the two sides talking to each other,giving students beneficial know-ledge, experience and contacts in thebusiness community which can helpthem when they graduate.

It’s also a hub for academic re-search which is then put into busi-ness practice by companies all overthe region. And there are also regularliaisons with business leaders whicheffectively make the university like agiant training and recruitment ser-vice for our city’s companies.

Professor Harrington said: “We doa lot of work to ensure the graduateswe train are useful for employers. Sowe work to make sure the graduateswho come out of here don’t just haveknowledge – t h at ’s a given – but alsohave a set of skills.

“Professional bodies and busi-nesses would say that they wantwork-ready graduates who knowabout entrepreneurial skills, teamworking and communication. It’sabout how we get students to a pointat which they have those skills to helpcompanies grow.

“All students have access to a oneyear placement, or we work withemployers to offer shorter intern-s h i p s.

“The most important thing for stu-dents is to get a wide range of ex-perience. Just standing by aphotocopier probably isn’t going toteach them anything.

“Part of the role we have is also towork with employers to make surethat the graduates have the skillswhich these companies will need inthe future. So we work with them to

help us co-design curriculums so thatwe can offer businesses graduateswho are useful for them. It helps ourstudents to get better jobs as well.”

UWE is one of the nation’s largestuniversities, with a growing repu-tation reflected by a rise up the leaguetables – 53rd best in the country at thelast count.

It has an expanding internationalnetwork, with UWE’s business de-grees being particularly popular inuniversities in Vietnam and Malay-sia.

And the Business and Law Facultyis one focused on for extra devel-opment thanks to £200 million of up-coming capital investments to UWE’sc a m p u s e s.

All of this makes UWE the idealheadline sponsor for the Bristol Post’sannual business awards. ProfessorHarrison said: “I don’t think a busi-ness school is very meaningful if it’snot connected to the business com-munity, but also I think there aregreat businesses in the South West, I

think we should celebrate those andthat stimulates other people to thinkabout what they can do.

“We clearly see part of our DNA asbeing embedded in the region, ofworking with businesses and beingpart of the whole growth agenda.Celebrating that, rewarding it andspotting talent in those areas is reallykey to what we do.”

A mother to a 16-year-old, ProfessorHarrison is 47 and lives with her

partner in Southville.She earned the title of Professor

last December but also has a Doc-torate on Gender in work, which wasachieved in 2000 after studying theunion activities of women in SouthWales whose husbands had lost theirjobs after the collapse of the miningindustries there.

She still takes an active interest indiversity in the workplace. “Org an-isations actually miss out on talent ifthey focus their search too narrowly,”she said.

“There are some great women andalso some great members of black andminority ethnic groups in Bristol.But if you look at the percentage ofthem going into senior posts, it’squite small.

“It’s partly lack of role models, it’spartly perceptions and stereotypesand also that classic glass ceilingissue. But the more women that do,the more women think they can too.So it’s not just about giving womenrole models, but confidence as well.”

Professor Jane Harrington

“We do a lot of work toensure the graduates wetrain are useful foremployers. They don’tjust have knowledge –that’s a given – but alsohave a set of skills

Sponsor profile

City’s business community is full of ingenuity and driveimpressed by the ingenuity and driveof the Bristol business community.

However, this entrepreneurial spir-it can only thrive in the right sur-ro u n d i n g s.

In sponsoring the LifetimeAchievement award, Punter Southallseeks to recognise an individual who,over time, has made a made a sig-nificant contribution towards thesuccess of our city.

We are sure that this year’s re-cipient will be seen to embody thevision and commitment that has un-derpinned Bristol’s success.

We send our very best wishes to allthose taking part in these Awardsand look forward to a great evening.

Chris Mapp, pictured, head ofPunter Southall Bristol office

AFAMILY business that madeits name providing thestretch in 1970s hit toyStretch Armstrong is mak-ing a new product to help

people with broken limbs.Yate-based manufacturer Preci-

sion Dippings is producing water-proof protectors called Bloccs for legand arm plaster casts.

The simple idea makes life mucheasier for someone in plaster, be-cause it means they can have a bathor shower... or even swim.

Director Kate Richards said theproduce, which is now on shelves inBoots stores, was proving very pop-ular with customers.

She said: “We get all sorts of com-ments, from people relieved to beable to take a shower or bathe withconfidence; to holidaying families,delighted their injured children areable to play in the pool or swim in thesea.”

Precision Dippings is the fam-ily-run manufacturing businessproviding the waterproofingknow-how behind Bloccs.

Based in Yate, it makes rubbercomponents for a worldwide custom-er base. Its specialist products in-clude components used in Formula 1cars, as well as moulded products formedical and dental firms.

It was the company behind theproduction of the stretchy element ofthe 1970’s Stretch Armstrong toy.

It also produces the rubber sealsused by a number of manufacturersof dry suits for water sports, and hasnow diversified into the consumer,health products, by developing thistechnology into the Bloccs arm andleg protectors.

The idea has seen the businessbecome a finalist in the Bristol PostBusiness Awards in the Innovatorthe Year category.

Kate said: “Doctors warn that ifthe padding under a plaster cast getswet you can get nasty skin infec-tions, so daily routines like washingor swimming become almost im-p o s s i bl e.

“Bloccs rubber waterproof pro-tectors solve the problem really

simply – slipping over a cast as easyas a glove or a stocking.

“They fit people of all shapes, sizesand ages and are a safer alternativeto taping a carrier bag to a limb,balancing on one leg in the shower orattempting to wash with only onehand. These are all things our cus-tomers tell us they had to do beforefinding out about us.

“People continue to get in touchand tell us how pleased they are withthese protectors – they are 100 percent waterproof, so allow people who

want to carry on as normal do justt h at . ”

“The comments we receive are in-credible. It’s great to have producedsomething which really makes a dif-ference to people’s lives. Bloccs seemto give people back the confidenceand independence they felt they lostwhen being fitted with a plastercast.

“We are also getting back reallypositive feedback from hospitals andfracture clinics, with which we’rereally trying to raise awareness.”

Bristol Post Business Awards 2014

� Business of the Year Bristol,sponsored by UWE Bristol� Young Entrepreneur of the Year� Lifetime Achievement Award,sponsored by Punter Southall� Retailer of the Year, sponsoredby Broadmead Bristol BID� Customer Service Award,sponsored by B ro a d m e a dBristol BID� Family Business of the Year,

sponsored by BOM Group� Innovator of the Year� Export Award, sponsored byLloyds Banking Group� Marketing Campaign of theYe a r� Large Business of the Year,sponsored by Smith &Williamson� Best Creative/TechnologicalAward, sponsored by A s h f o rd s

Solicitors� Leisure & Tourism Business ofthe Year, sponsored by QBE� Small Business of the Year,sponsored by First GreatWester n� Start Up Business of the Year,sponsored by J o rd a n s� Environmental Business Award� Contribution to the CommunityAward, sponsored by Renishaw

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

Waterproof protector forcasts is making waves

� Bloccs directorKate Richards, whois in the running forthe Bristol PostBusiness Awards

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8 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

BRISTOL is a city of contra-dictions. It is the EuropeanGreen Capital in 2015, ahard-won accolade of whichit is rightly proud. The city

is home to successful green busi-nesses in industries such as recyclingand renewables. It’s a leader in tech-nology and research, meaning manyof the solutions that lead to smarter,greener cities will likely originatehere. Our city council invested in ahydrogen-powered ferry, for ex-a m p l e.

Yet the number one com-plaint from businesses iscongestion. The city ishome to one of the twobiggest aeroplane man-ufacturers in the worldin Airbus, which em-ploys 4,000 people atFilton. And in a shed inAvonmouth, we’re mak-ing the Bloodhound, a carthat will travel 1,000mphpowered by a jet engine. Hardlythe greenest of innovations.

But it is down to Bristol to solvethis conundrum, according to KrisDonaldson, abov e, who has beenbrought in as director of EuropeanGreen Capital because of his exper-ience as chief executive of Liverpool’ssuccessful tenure as European City ofC u l t u re.

He said 75 per cent of the pop-ulation of Europe lived in cities. So itwas these urban centres, such as Bris-tol, that would have to drive the greenagenda for change.

Kris said much of that drive wouldcome from the business community.

“The reaction to European GreenCapital has been fantastic,” he said.“People realise this is a moment intime for the city and for the UK. Weare the first European Green Capitalin this country.”

He said Bristol was em-bracing the green capitalconcept as being about ahealthier and happiercity, with smarter andbetter living.

“Businesses under-stand this more thanmost,” he said, “be-cause they relate to whathappens with their con-sumers and consumers wantbetter lives and a better quality oflife. That means things like differentways of getting to work, the import-ance of green spaces and healthierfo o d . ”

He said one of the biggest oppor-tunities was helping people under-

stand how technology could changetheir behaviour.

“When you look at solving con-gestion, it’s not all about infrastruc-ture but, for example, looking at workpatterns and tools,” he said.

Jeremy Richards, head of Bristoloffice at commercial property firmJLL, said infrastructure would needto play a part in that change but hewas pleased improvements werebeing made, highlighting investmentin the railways through electrific-ation of the mainline to London and

the MetroWest plans for moresuburban services and sta-

t i o n s.He said corporations

were engaging in thegreen agenda and theupturn in the economyhad helped amplify thatshift. “Corporations put

green at the forefront oftheir campaigns for cli-

ents and staff,” he said.That will become more and

more important as a driver forchange. The generations of employ-ees coming through are increasinglymore environmentally aware. It’s apart of their education, thanks toinstitutions such as UWE Bristol.

Professor James Longhurst, UWEassistant vice chancellor (environ-ment and sustainability), said: “Wesend thousands of graduates out intothe world every year, and whetherthey understand and are prepared totackle the big issues is our real legacy.We are embedding sustainability asan aspect of our teaching in all sub-j e c t s. ”

Nina Skubala, initiative managerat Business West and vice chair ofBristol Green Capital 2015, said ifcompanies wanted to do more, BigGreen Week was an opportunity for

them to find out how.She said: “Today, customers,business partners and po-

tential staff look favour-ably on firms that areenvironmentally re-sponsible. A reputationfor taking the right ap-proach can be a key com-

petitive differentiator forbusinesses. Big Green

Week is an opportunity forcompanies to shout about their

a ch i eve m e n t s.“There are many businesses in

Bristol enjoying the benefits of goinggreen but we would encourage manymore to use Big Green Week as anopportunity to consider the envir-onmental impact of their activities.”

Many local companies are alreadypushing the boundaries.

Rebecca Pritchard, left, head ofbusiness banking at ethical bank Tri-odos – which chose Bristol for its UKheadquarters because it shares thecity’s sustainable vision – said Bristolwas “well placed” on environmentalissues. She put this down partly tosuccessive administrations of the citycouncil showing leadership in thisarea and partly to communities andbusinesses themselves.

“T here’s a very strong professional

advisory community here,” she said,highlighting renewable consults Gar-rard Hassan, which is Bristol-basedbut has offices all over the world, andthe legal sector where firms such asBurges Salmon, Clarke Willmott andOsborne Clarke have leading expert-ise in advising green industries.

She said: “Professional servicesmake up such a big part of Bristol’seconomy so the fact that green in-dustries is a growing sector is helpingthese businesses to prosper.”

Another local business doing its bit

THE number of people liv-ing in cities across theworld is increasing bymore than the populationof the UK each year and

by 2030, it is predicted that 60 percent of us will live in an urbanenvironment. So, it is not sur-prising that there exists a keenfocus on urban regeneration andre s i l i e n c e.

Bristol’s award as EuropeanGreen Capital in 2015 comes at animportant time when the govern-ment and major corporates areincreasingly focused on the sus-tainability agenda.

In Bristol’s office market, wehave been involved in some mar-ket-leading schemes for severalyears. Opened in 2010, the En-vironment Agency’s HorizonHouse, was, at the time, the UK’sgreenest building.

Now, major corporates are mak-ing the running with PwC cre-ating the greenest refurbishedbuilding at Embankment in Lon-don. The drive to act sustainablycomes from above in the form ofgovernment, but increasinglyfrom below, with staff now beingkeener than ever to be associatedwith an environmentally-re-sponsible employer.

Here in Bristol, Skanska’s newscheme at 66 Queen Square whichwe are helping to deliver in timefor Bristol’s European Green Cap-ital year, is aiming to be Bristol’sgreenest speculative building.

But the challenge in the comingyears is not new buildings, whichrepresent just two per cent of ourbuilt environment, but the 98 percent of existing office stock, muchof which is obsolete and in need ofre f u r b i s h m e n t .

Government legislation is dueto render the occupation of manybuildings illegal in 2018 if they donot comply with minimum stand-a rd s.

So, the pressure is on to im-prove many of our buildings’ en-ergy performance. Our work forScottish Widows on 1 RedcliffeStreet, the major tower block incentral Bristol, is a good exampleof what can be achieved. Built 50years ago, it is currently beingrefurbished to meet the chal-lenges of the next property cycleand attract major tenants.

We all need to step up to thechallenge, and for our part, our‘Building for Tomorrow’ p ro -gramme aims to help the propertyindustry, clients’ staff and com-munities succeed long into thef u t u re.

We’re stepping up tothe green challenge

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

With Big Green Week under way and European GreenCapital on the horizon, Gavin Thompson looks at what itmeans to be green for the city’s businesses

‘We ’re always looking for the next opportunity’Case study

� FROM its offices at the Bristoland Bath Science Park, onecompany is leading the field in tidalpower generation.

Marine Current Turbines, whichemploys 60 people from itsEmerson’s Green base, has beendeveloping its expertise in the fieldsince the early 1990s.

Its projects include the SkerriesTidal Array, the world’s first of itskind off the coast of Anglesey.

In future it plans to build largerarrays.

It has the muscle to scale up afterSeimens acquired a majority stakein 2012 as a way into the marineenergy market.

MCT chief executive Sven Stoyesaid the world needed new ways todeliver electricity from low carbonsources to meet rapidly risingdemand, and this could be good forBristol’s economy.

“New technology means new jobsand skills too and opportunities forother businesses and industries,” hesaid.

“Bristol is key to the Siemens tidalenergy strategy through Marine

Leading theway in tidalpower schemesCase study

� From left, Peter Coppock, mechanical systems manager, Edward Richards, structural design manager, FelixFrancis, electrical systems manager, and Matthew Reed, engineering director, with a model of the SeaGen S 1.2MWtidal turbine at Marine Current Turbines - A Siemens Business Picture: Barbara Evripidou BRBE20140616B-3

Thinking about being greener? Try these Big Green Week events...

until other forms of energy run low.“At the moment, tidal energy

technology development is wherewind was 15 years ago,” he said.“Like wind, as the technologybecomes more proven, andeconomies of scale moreachievable, the future cost of tidal

Current Turbines, with a team ofover 60 people employed at Bristoland Bath Science Park and theassembly and test facility in StPhilip’s, Bristol, Siemens is focusingits global tidal business in Bristol.”

He said it was important to investin new technology now, not wait

Special report: Green business

THE FUTURE’S GREEN AND NOW’S THE TIME TO GET INVOLVED

is print and mailing specialist CFHDocmail. Following a two-year re-search project with UWE, the firm islooking at ways to reduce waste, en-ergy use and the overall environ-mental impact of its 110,000 sq ftRadstock plant. It has already cutenergy use by 23 per cent.

Managing director Dave Broadwaysaid: “Some of the changes are veryobvious – such as our switch to usingelectric vehicles to deliver mail to thelocal postal depots, switching to LEDlighting, and buying our electricity

from a sustainable source.”But he said other less obvious

changes had had a big impact too,such as replacing inefficient air com-pressors, installing a gas optimisa-tion controller and energy measuringequipment, and implementing a staffcycle-to-work scheme.

Perhaps the firm’s biggest strideshave been in the introduction of itsVelopost service, which delivers20,000 pieces of mail by bicycle inBristol and Bath.

Innovation of this kind will help

Bristol square the circle of living upto being Europe’s Green Capital.

The title will bring opportunities toshow what we can do. For example theRBS Innovation Gateway, where thebank is offering SMEs the chance totest their energy efficiency and othergreen ideas on its portfolio of 2,500buildings nationwide. The schemewas launched with an event at Bor-deaux Quay in Bristol’s Harboursideyesterday (see page 4).

Andrew Garrard, above right, ofGarrard Hassan, is chairman of the

Bristol Green Capital 2015 board. Hesaid innovation from business woulddrive the green agenda.

“If you look at what Airbus isdoing,” he said, “they are trying tomake their machines more and moreeconomical.

“Fundamentally, the green thing todo would be to stop people flying butthey are not going to do that. So ifpeople are going to fly, then let’s fly ina more efficient way.”

He said research from such indus-tries benefited others too. At the Na-

energy will decrease to a levelcomparable with the targeted costof wind energy.

“In time, a diverse, yetsustainable, mix of energy sources(wind, fossil, tidal, solar, wave) willresult in a secure and reliable powergeneration supply.”

Jeremy Richardshead of JLL’sBristol officew w w. j l l . c o . u k

tionalCompositeCentre inEmersonsGreen theaerospace in-dustry is shar-ing technologywith the renew-ables sector, for ex-a m p l e.

And he revealed hopes to stage aclean technology expo as a centrepiece of Bristol Green Capital nextyear, to showcase the best new ideasthe city has to offer.

“We want to get together the cleantechnology industry in Bristol as aplatform for local industry and fori n n ovat i o n , ” he said.

So yes Bristol has its contradic-tions. But for business, being green isabout doing what you do better and ina more sustainable way. Airbus’ l at e s tplanes still burn tonnes of fuel, but 15per cent less than the older ones did.

It has been said that being en-vironmentally aware gives firms anedge. This may no longer be the case.Increasingly it is simply expectedand not to be green would be a barrierto success. It’s not easy being green.It’s essential.

� Business West and theShumacher Institute are holding anevent today at Leigh Court,Abbots Leigh, from 1pm-5pm,exploring how thinking about thefuture can help improve businesstoday. Attendees will discover howthey can improve their resilienceand stimulate innovation.� Businesses We Want - the Roleof Business in a Changing World,10am-noon, tomorrow at the

Arnolfini. Free drop in surgery forthose in business who dream ofbecoming the leaders the world iswaiting for, from the Heart ofLeadership programme.� Living City: Anatomy of GreenCapital exhibition exploring what isneeded to make a happy, healthycity, every day at The ArchitectureC e n t re .� Regen South West drop-insurgeries about overcoming

barriers to energy efficiency andrenewables. 2pm-5pm, Thursday,at the Arnolfini.� That Nature of Business:Redesigning for Resilience,Thursday, 5.30pm-6pm, Arnolfini.� Reflective Walking for Leaders,meet at Bordeaux Quay, 7.30am,Friday. A taster of city businesswalks with a walk and talkexploring wellbeing at work,leadership and stress intervention.

� THE team behind the BetterFood Company is always lookingfor the next opportunity.

After starting life as a veg boxdelivery service, it really took offwhen it opened as a good foodsupermarket in St Werburgh’s in2002.

Since then it has opened astore in Whiteladies Road andemploys 45 staff, many of thempart-time.

Often the sustainable agenda isseen as something of a whitemiddle class preoccupation, butnot at the Better Food Company.

Marketing manager LucyGatward, pictur ed, said the StWe r b e rg h ’s market was adestination shop that people

travelled to, but that they alsohad lots of customers from theneighbourhood who know thevalue of cooking from scratch.

She said: “It’s a very diversecultural area and we are almost alocal supermarket for manypeople here.”

The business has diversified inthe tough economic climate ofrecent years.

“We have had to not put all oureggs in one basket,” said Lucy.“We have grown our health andbody care department, forexample.”

Mirroring what has been seenin the supermarket sector, Lucy

said premium and budget rangeswere in demand, but the squeezewas in the middle range products.

“People want value, althoughthat doesn’t always mean cheap,”said Lucy. “It depends what valuemeans to them. People are happyto pay for meat they know hasn’tbeen pumped full of chemicals.But they also want to buy 12 tinsof beans at 53p each.”

The business is involved in anumber of community projectstoo.

“We are part of an organicmovement towards sustainablefarming and living,” said Lucy.“We are always looking for thenext opportunity, but it’s notalways a business opportunity.”

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8 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 9We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

BRISTOL is a city of contra-dictions. It is the EuropeanGreen Capital in 2015, ahard-won accolade of whichit is rightly proud. The city

is home to successful green busi-nesses in industries such as recyclingand renewables. It’s a leader in tech-nology and research, meaning manyof the solutions that lead to smarter,greener cities will likely originatehere. Our city council invested in ahydrogen-powered ferry, for ex-a m p l e.

Yet the number one com-plaint from businesses iscongestion. The city ishome to one of the twobiggest aeroplane man-ufacturers in the worldin Airbus, which em-ploys 4,000 people atFilton. And in a shed inAvonmouth, we’re mak-ing the Bloodhound, a carthat will travel 1,000mphpowered by a jet engine. Hardlythe greenest of innovations.

But it is down to Bristol to solvethis conundrum, according to KrisDonaldson, abov e, who has beenbrought in as director of EuropeanGreen Capital because of his exper-ience as chief executive of Liverpool’ssuccessful tenure as European City ofC u l t u re.

He said 75 per cent of the pop-ulation of Europe lived in cities. So itwas these urban centres, such as Bris-tol, that would have to drive the greenagenda for change.

Kris said much of that drive wouldcome from the business community.

“The reaction to European GreenCapital has been fantastic,” he said.“People realise this is a moment intime for the city and for the UK. Weare the first European Green Capitalin this country.”

He said Bristol was em-bracing the green capitalconcept as being about ahealthier and happiercity, with smarter andbetter living.

“Businesses under-stand this more thanmost,” he said, “be-cause they relate to whathappens with their con-sumers and consumers wantbetter lives and a better quality oflife. That means things like differentways of getting to work, the import-ance of green spaces and healthierfo o d . ”

He said one of the biggest oppor-tunities was helping people under-

stand how technology could changetheir behaviour.

“When you look at solving con-gestion, it’s not all about infrastruc-ture but, for example, looking at workpatterns and tools,” he said.

Jeremy Richards, head of Bristoloffice at commercial property firmJLL, said infrastructure would needto play a part in that change but hewas pleased improvements werebeing made, highlighting investmentin the railways through electrific-ation of the mainline to London and

the MetroWest plans for moresuburban services and sta-

t i o n s.He said corporations

were engaging in thegreen agenda and theupturn in the economyhad helped amplify thatshift. “Corporations put

green at the forefront oftheir campaigns for cli-

ents and staff,” he said.That will become more and

more important as a driver forchange. The generations of employ-ees coming through are increasinglymore environmentally aware. It’s apart of their education, thanks toinstitutions such as UWE Bristol.

Professor James Longhurst, UWEassistant vice chancellor (environ-ment and sustainability), said: “Wesend thousands of graduates out intothe world every year, and whetherthey understand and are prepared totackle the big issues is our real legacy.We are embedding sustainability asan aspect of our teaching in all sub-j e c t s. ”

Nina Skubala, initiative managerat Business West and vice chair ofBristol Green Capital 2015, said ifcompanies wanted to do more, BigGreen Week was an opportunity for

them to find out how.She said: “Today, customers,business partners and po-

tential staff look favour-ably on firms that areenvironmentally re-sponsible. A reputationfor taking the right ap-proach can be a key com-

petitive differentiator forbusinesses. Big Green

Week is an opportunity forcompanies to shout about their

a ch i eve m e n t s.“There are many businesses in

Bristol enjoying the benefits of goinggreen but we would encourage manymore to use Big Green Week as anopportunity to consider the envir-onmental impact of their activities.”

Many local companies are alreadypushing the boundaries.

Rebecca Pritchard, left, head ofbusiness banking at ethical bank Tri-odos – which chose Bristol for its UKheadquarters because it shares thecity’s sustainable vision – said Bristolwas “well placed” on environmentalissues. She put this down partly tosuccessive administrations of the citycouncil showing leadership in thisarea and partly to communities andbusinesses themselves.

“T here’s a very strong professional

advisory community here,” she said,highlighting renewable consults Gar-rard Hassan, which is Bristol-basedbut has offices all over the world, andthe legal sector where firms such asBurges Salmon, Clarke Willmott andOsborne Clarke have leading expert-ise in advising green industries.

She said: “Professional servicesmake up such a big part of Bristol’seconomy so the fact that green in-dustries is a growing sector is helpingthese businesses to prosper.”

Another local business doing its bit

THE number of people liv-ing in cities across theworld is increasing bymore than the populationof the UK each year and

by 2030, it is predicted that 60 percent of us will live in an urbanenvironment. So, it is not sur-prising that there exists a keenfocus on urban regeneration andre s i l i e n c e.

Bristol’s award as EuropeanGreen Capital in 2015 comes at animportant time when the govern-ment and major corporates areincreasingly focused on the sus-tainability agenda.

In Bristol’s office market, wehave been involved in some mar-ket-leading schemes for severalyears. Opened in 2010, the En-vironment Agency’s HorizonHouse, was, at the time, the UK’sgreenest building.

Now, major corporates are mak-ing the running with PwC cre-ating the greenest refurbishedbuilding at Embankment in Lon-don. The drive to act sustainablycomes from above in the form ofgovernment, but increasinglyfrom below, with staff now beingkeener than ever to be associatedwith an environmentally-re-sponsible employer.

Here in Bristol, Skanska’s newscheme at 66 Queen Square whichwe are helping to deliver in timefor Bristol’s European Green Cap-ital year, is aiming to be Bristol’sgreenest speculative building.

But the challenge in the comingyears is not new buildings, whichrepresent just two per cent of ourbuilt environment, but the 98 percent of existing office stock, muchof which is obsolete and in need ofre f u r b i s h m e n t .

Government legislation is dueto render the occupation of manybuildings illegal in 2018 if they donot comply with minimum stand-a rd s.

So, the pressure is on to im-prove many of our buildings’ en-ergy performance. Our work forScottish Widows on 1 RedcliffeStreet, the major tower block incentral Bristol, is a good exampleof what can be achieved. Built 50years ago, it is currently beingrefurbished to meet the chal-lenges of the next property cycleand attract major tenants.

We all need to step up to thechallenge, and for our part, our‘Building for Tomorrow’ p ro -gramme aims to help the propertyindustry, clients’ staff and com-munities succeed long into thef u t u re.

We’re stepping up tothe green challenge

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

With Big Green Week under way and European GreenCapital on the horizon, Gavin Thompson looks at what itmeans to be green for the city’s businesses

‘We ’re always looking for the next opportunity’Case study

� FROM its offices at the Bristoland Bath Science Park, onecompany is leading the field in tidalpower generation.

Marine Current Turbines, whichemploys 60 people from itsEmerson’s Green base, has beendeveloping its expertise in the fieldsince the early 1990s.

Its projects include the SkerriesTidal Array, the world’s first of itskind off the coast of Anglesey.

In future it plans to build largerarrays.

It has the muscle to scale up afterSeimens acquired a majority stakein 2012 as a way into the marineenergy market.

MCT chief executive Sven Stoyesaid the world needed new ways todeliver electricity from low carbonsources to meet rapidly risingdemand, and this could be good forBristol’s economy.

“New technology means new jobsand skills too and opportunities forother businesses and industries,” hesaid.

“Bristol is key to the Siemens tidalenergy strategy through Marine

Leading theway in tidalpower schemesCase study

� From left, Peter Coppock, mechanical systems manager, Edward Richards, structural design manager, FelixFrancis, electrical systems manager, and Matthew Reed, engineering director, with a model of the SeaGen S 1.2MWtidal turbine at Marine Current Turbines - A Siemens Business Picture: Barbara Evripidou BRBE20140616B-3

Thinking about being greener? Try these Big Green Week events...

until other forms of energy run low.“At the moment, tidal energy

technology development is wherewind was 15 years ago,” he said.“Like wind, as the technologybecomes more proven, andeconomies of scale moreachievable, the future cost of tidal

Current Turbines, with a team ofover 60 people employed at Bristoland Bath Science Park and theassembly and test facility in StPhilip’s, Bristol, Siemens is focusingits global tidal business in Bristol.”

He said it was important to investin new technology now, not wait

Special report: Green business

THE FUTURE’S GREEN AND NOW’S THE TIME TO GET INVOLVED

is print and mailing specialist CFHDocmail. Following a two-year re-search project with UWE, the firm islooking at ways to reduce waste, en-ergy use and the overall environ-mental impact of its 110,000 sq ftRadstock plant. It has already cutenergy use by 23 per cent.

Managing director Dave Broadwaysaid: “Some of the changes are veryobvious – such as our switch to usingelectric vehicles to deliver mail to thelocal postal depots, switching to LEDlighting, and buying our electricity

from a sustainable source.”But he said other less obvious

changes had had a big impact too,such as replacing inefficient air com-pressors, installing a gas optimisa-tion controller and energy measuringequipment, and implementing a staffcycle-to-work scheme.

Perhaps the firm’s biggest strideshave been in the introduction of itsVelopost service, which delivers20,000 pieces of mail by bicycle inBristol and Bath.

Innovation of this kind will help

Bristol square the circle of living upto being Europe’s Green Capital.

The title will bring opportunities toshow what we can do. For example theRBS Innovation Gateway, where thebank is offering SMEs the chance totest their energy efficiency and othergreen ideas on its portfolio of 2,500buildings nationwide. The schemewas launched with an event at Bor-deaux Quay in Bristol’s Harboursideyesterday (see page 4).

Andrew Garrard, above right, ofGarrard Hassan, is chairman of the

Bristol Green Capital 2015 board. Hesaid innovation from business woulddrive the green agenda.

“If you look at what Airbus isdoing,” he said, “they are trying tomake their machines more and moreeconomical.

“Fundamentally, the green thing todo would be to stop people flying butthey are not going to do that. So ifpeople are going to fly, then let’s fly ina more efficient way.”

He said research from such indus-tries benefited others too. At the Na-

energy will decrease to a levelcomparable with the targeted costof wind energy.

“In time, a diverse, yetsustainable, mix of energy sources(wind, fossil, tidal, solar, wave) willresult in a secure and reliable powergeneration supply.”

Jeremy Richardshead of JLL’sBristol officew w w. j l l . c o . u k

tionalCompositeCentre inEmersonsGreen theaerospace in-dustry is shar-ing technologywith the renew-ables sector, for ex-a m p l e.

And he revealed hopes to stage aclean technology expo as a centrepiece of Bristol Green Capital nextyear, to showcase the best new ideasthe city has to offer.

“We want to get together the cleantechnology industry in Bristol as aplatform for local industry and fori n n ovat i o n , ” he said.

So yes Bristol has its contradic-tions. But for business, being green isabout doing what you do better and ina more sustainable way. Airbus’ l at e s tplanes still burn tonnes of fuel, but 15per cent less than the older ones did.

It has been said that being en-vironmentally aware gives firms anedge. This may no longer be the case.Increasingly it is simply expectedand not to be green would be a barrierto success. It’s not easy being green.It’s essential.

� Business West and theShumacher Institute are holding anevent today at Leigh Court,Abbots Leigh, from 1pm-5pm,exploring how thinking about thefuture can help improve businesstoday. Attendees will discover howthey can improve their resilienceand stimulate innovation.� Businesses We Want - the Roleof Business in a Changing World,10am-noon, tomorrow at the

Arnolfini. Free drop in surgery forthose in business who dream ofbecoming the leaders the world iswaiting for, from the Heart ofLeadership programme.� Living City: Anatomy of GreenCapital exhibition exploring what isneeded to make a happy, healthycity, every day at The ArchitectureC e n t re .� Regen South West drop-insurgeries about overcoming

barriers to energy efficiency andrenewables. 2pm-5pm, Thursday,at the Arnolfini.� That Nature of Business:Redesigning for Resilience,Thursday, 5.30pm-6pm, Arnolfini.� Reflective Walking for Leaders,meet at Bordeaux Quay, 7.30am,Friday. A taster of city businesswalks with a walk and talkexploring wellbeing at work,leadership and stress intervention.

� THE team behind the BetterFood Company is always lookingfor the next opportunity.

After starting life as a veg boxdelivery service, it really took offwhen it opened as a good foodsupermarket in St Werburgh’s in2002.

Since then it has opened astore in Whiteladies Road andemploys 45 staff, many of thempart-time.

Often the sustainable agenda isseen as something of a whitemiddle class preoccupation, butnot at the Better Food Company.

Marketing manager LucyGatward, pictur ed, said the StWe r b e rg h ’s market was adestination shop that people

travelled to, but that they alsohad lots of customers from theneighbourhood who know thevalue of cooking from scratch.

She said: “It’s a very diversecultural area and we are almost alocal supermarket for manypeople here.”

The business has diversified inthe tough economic climate ofrecent years.

“We have had to not put all oureggs in one basket,” said Lucy.“We have grown our health andbody care department, forexample.”

Mirroring what has been seenin the supermarket sector, Lucy

said premium and budget rangeswere in demand, but the squeezewas in the middle range products.

“People want value, althoughthat doesn’t always mean cheap,”said Lucy. “It depends what valuemeans to them. People are happyto pay for meat they know hasn’tbeen pumped full of chemicals.But they also want to buy 12 tinsof beans at 53p each.”

The business is involved in anumber of community projectstoo.

“We are part of an organicmovement towards sustainablefarming and living,” said Lucy.“We are always looking for thenext opportunity, but it’s notalways a business opportunity.”

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10 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

OUT AND ABOUT WITH BRISTOL’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Creative Bristol and Bath launch at Bordeaux Quay

South West Institute of Directors Entrepreneur Awards at Paintworks

Business diary

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

CBI: The Annual BollandL e c t u re : John Cridland CBE,Director General, CBI, gives theAnnual Bolland Lecture 2014,today at UWE Exhibition andConference Centre.

What’s Your Digital Strategy?Institute of Directors and 02 hosta seminar on how businessesare using digital with speakersincluding Ho Wade, head ofdirect sales at 02. Today from7.30am to 10am at the EngineShed.

Somerset in BusinessShowcase: Businesses from allover Somerset, and beyond, willbe at The Winter Gardens,Weston-super-Mare,for thefourth annual showcase from11am to 4pm today.

Outset Bristol Start Up Loanworkshop: How to apply for aStart Up Loan and use it to helpgrow your business. Thursday,June 19, 2-5pm at Royal OakHouse, Prince St, Bristol.Register at www.outsetbristol.co.uk or call 0800 0322903.

A masterclass in leadershipfrom the Masai people: ChrisHowe explores the wisdom ofleadership from the Masaipeople and its relevance tobusiness in the West. BristolLeadership Programme. TheClifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo,6pm, Friday, June 20. To bookvisit www.formstack.com/f o r m s / u w e - m a s t e rc l a s s _ i n _masai_leadership

Blue Orchid South BristolNetworking breakfast event:Learn how to network effectively,talk to Blue Orchid advisorsabout support available for startups. From 7am at the KnowleWest Media Centre, LeinsterAvenue, June 25w w w. b l u e o rc h i d . c o . u k

A fishy way to find profits?Breakfast seminar, hosted byActionCOACH Rob Carteridentifies five key areas topinpoint profitable growth.Fishers, Clifton, £5 per person.7.30am-10am on June 25. Bookat http://fiveprovenways.eventbrite.co.uk

The Practice ManagementC o n f e re n c e : A Veale WasbroughVizards event for managers ofGP practices with speakers andworkshops and a motivationalsession with Monty Halls. From9am to 5pm, At-Bristol,Harbourside, on June 25.

The Bristol Post BusinessAw a rd s : A celebration of allthat’s great about Bristolbusiness run by the Bristol Post.From 7pm on Wednesday, June25, at the Passenger Shed,Temple Meads. Book ticketsonline at www.bristolpost.co.uk/b u s i n e s s a w a rd s

Preview of Tastetech’s newinstallation at Explore@Bristol:How taste encapsulation works,with founder Janis Sinton,Wednesday, June 25,6-8.30pm.Call 0117 3707785 or visitw w w. i o d . c o m / s w e s t e v e n t s

Business West Chairman’s Summer Reception at Leigh Court

THE sun shone brightly onLeigh Court mansion andconference centre, as Busi-ness West played host to over100 key influential busi-

nesses from Bristol and furtherafield.

The evening was an impressivegathering of decision makers and in-fluencers – the most senior peoplewho shape our region. Mayor GeorgeFerguson and Avon & Somerset Po-lice and Crime Commissioner, Sue

GALLERIESGALORE

FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our

website at

bristolpost.co.uk/business

Mountstevens mingled with,amongst others, the leaders and chiefofficers of local authorities, LEPchairs and chief executives, uni-versity vice chancellors and a host ofcorporate directors and self-made en-tre preneurs.

Stephen Robertson, chairman of

Business West said: “Business is allabout making connections and hav-ing dialogue.

“Business West is a unique organ-isation, connecting our businesscommunity with the pillars of civicsociety – education, health, political

leaders, media and beyond. Our mem-bers are an impressive mix of or-ganisations, all of whom have acommon interest in the success of ourre gion.

“There was a great buzz about theplace; a sense of thinking big, think-

ing differently with ambition for ourregion. The wealth of animated dis-cussions throughout the evening re-inforced without a doubt that thisgathering of peers are the key peoplewho give this region its winning char-a c t e r. ”

� From left, Stephen Robertson, chairman Business West; Councillor Felicity Baker, North Somerset Council; SueMount Stevens, Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner; Steve Le Fevre, BBC Radio Bristol Pics: Jon Craig

� Philip Fawkner-Corbett, Stride Treglown Tektus,and Stephen Robertson, chairman of BusinessWe s t

� Sarah Pullen, managing director of Bristol Newsand Media, and John Hirst, Destination Bristol

� Prof Jane Harrington, pro vice-chancellor UWE,and Malachy McReynolds, We Care & Repair

THE mayor of Bristol has set thecreative industries an ambitioustarget to grow 20 per cent year onyear until 2020. George Fergusonpledged to help develop the in-

dustries during a spirited keynote speechat the Creative Bristol and Bath event.

The event was part of a nationwide tourto celebrate Creative Britain and wasco-hosted by the IPA and Creative Skill-set, in local partnership with West ofEngland Local Enterprise Partnership,Bristol Media and Creative England.

It was organised in acknowledgment ofthe strength of Bristol’s creative indus-tries which are growing faster than therest of the UK, at 11 per cent, and accountfor 8.6 per cent of the city’s business unitsand 16,000 jobs at firms including BBCBristol, Aardman Animations, BristolGames Hub; UWE Creative IndustriesUniversity; Toshiba and IBM; BrayLeino, McCann Bristol, Mason Zimbler.

Mr Ferguson said: “W h at ’s not to likeabout the creative industries in Bristol?You are our future. You deliver com-mercially and culturally. You’re envir-onmentally friendly and a powerhousee c o n o m i c a l ly. ”

He urged the sector to ask him for help.“Feed me more stories for me to betterrepresent you nationally and interna-t i o n a l ly, ” he said. “Tell me about theblockages in the system; let me help yousort those out so you can focus on the dayjob. “Be ambitious. You are alreadypunching above your weight. Whys h o u l d n’t we go for 20% year-on-yeargrowth by 2020?”

A panel of creative industry heads in-cluding Andy Reid, IPA city head forBristol and managing director McCannBristol; Tomas Rawlings, Auroch Digital;Dan Martin, BusinessZone.co.uk; GregIngham, MediaClash and Laura Marshallof Icon Films, debated the ways in whichthe city’s creative industries could con-tinue to flourish.

BRISTOL business leaderstook home a clutch of awardsat the 2014 South West Dir-ector Awards, celebratingthe best of business in the

re gion.Nick Sturge, co-founder of enter-

prise hub The Engine Shed at TempleMeads, which houses the SETsquaredinnovation centre, won the PublicSector Director title. Julia Clarke,chief executive of Bristol CommunityHealth, was highly commended inthis category.

Henry Williams, managing direct-or of Morgan and Lotus car dealerWilliams Automobiles in ChippingSodbury, was named Family BusinessDirector while Steve Clark, chairmanof Budget Pack Environmental, inAztec West, took the Corporate Re-sponsibility Award.

Griff Holland and Ed Brown,founders of Bristol-based healthy fastfood restaurant chain Friska Food,were highly commended in the Cor-porate Responsibility category. Theywere also shortlisted for the YoungDirector title.

Winners now go forward for achance to be a national award winner,judged against all the other regionalf i n a l i s t s.

Nick is director of the Science Re-search Foundation, owned by the Uni-versity of Bristol and theorganisation behind both the Engine

Shed enterprise hub at Temple Meadsand the business incubator SET-squared. Between them they supportmore than 60 hi-tech, high-growthbu s i n e s s e s.

Henry Williams has reversed thefortunes of his 103-year-old family

motor firm from ceasing to trade to ahighly profitable, globally recognisedbusiness. His vision was to become anational ‘d e s t i n at i o n’ dealershiprather than just a local franchisedo p e r at i o n .

Steve Clark, Budget Pack Envir-

onmental’s chairman, set up the busi-ness in 2003 when he couldn’t find aflexible, customer-focused compli-ance scheme to represent his cus-tomers’ best interests for recyclingunder UK packaging regulations.

Griff and Ed opened their first

Friska branch in Victoria Street in2009 and now operate from four sitesaround Bristol employing more than40 people and focused on servingfresh, interesting, responsibly-sourced food in a friendly and hos-pitable environment, both sit downand take away.

IoD South West chairman RichardAyre said: “The judges were im-pressed by the drive, leadership andclear strategic approach shown by allour winners, highly commended andshortlisted entrants.

“Nick deals with complex fundingstreams and multiple shareholders tomake his operation work success-fully. Steve demonstrated a highlyinnovative dashboard approach toproviding guidance in his sector,which was a clear USP, and he hasambitious growth plans.

‘Henry has successfully reinventedand turned around the fortunes of a100-plus-year-old family car dealer-ship and his focus on customer brandexperience and green credentials setsthis business apart from and ahead ofthe competition.”

Director of the Year was awarded toChris Smith, managing director ofMarshfield Bakery in Bath whileYoung Director of the Year was awar-ded to recruitment specialist HelenLacey who founded Red Berry Re-cruitment and who first won the titlein 2012.

� James Durie, executive director of BristolChamber of Commerce & Initiative and NicholasStubbs, Stubbs Rich LLP

� Gonzallo Trujillo, Heron Capital Partners andPaulina Gillespie, Heart FM

� Sue Turner, director of communications, TheBristol Port Company and Malachy McReynolds,chief executive, We Care & Repair

� Ned Cussen of Jones Lang LaSalle, Bristolmayor George Ferguson and Bonnie Dean, of theBristol & Bath Science Park

� Simon Pullen, Southgate Shopping Centre,Bath, Nick Higgins, Bristol Zoo, and Liz Mihell,John Lewis Partnership

� Jaya Chakrabarti, Nameless Media Group andRichard Morris, treasurer, Society of MerchantVe n t u re r s

� Richard Ayre, IoD SW regional chair with, from left, Henry Williams, managing director of Morgan and Lotus cardealer Williams Automobiles, winner of Family Business award; Steve Clark, chairman, Budget Pack Environmental,winner of the Corporate Responsibility Award; and Nick Sturge, Science Research Foundation and co founder of TheEngine Shed, winner of the Public Sector Director of the Year Award; Pictures: Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

SEE COLUMN, PAGE 12

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10 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 11We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014 w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/businessw w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

OUT AND ABOUT WITH BRISTOL’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Creative Bristol and Bath launch at Bordeaux Quay

South West Institute of Directors Entrepreneur Awards at Paintworks

Business diary

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

CBI: The Annual BollandL e c t u re : John Cridland CBE,Director General, CBI, gives theAnnual Bolland Lecture 2014,today at UWE Exhibition andConference Centre.

What’s Your Digital Strategy?Institute of Directors and 02 hosta seminar on how businessesare using digital with speakersincluding Ho Wade, head ofdirect sales at 02. Today from7.30am to 10am at the EngineShed.

Somerset in BusinessShowcase: Businesses from allover Somerset, and beyond, willbe at The Winter Gardens,Weston-super-Mare,for thefourth annual showcase from11am to 4pm today.

Outset Bristol Start Up Loanworkshop: How to apply for aStart Up Loan and use it to helpgrow your business. Thursday,June 19, 2-5pm at Royal OakHouse, Prince St, Bristol.Register at www.outsetbristol.co.uk or call 0800 0322903.

A masterclass in leadershipfrom the Masai people: ChrisHowe explores the wisdom ofleadership from the Masaipeople and its relevance tobusiness in the West. BristolLeadership Programme. TheClifton Pavilion, Bristol Zoo,6pm, Friday, June 20. To bookvisit www.formstack.com/f o r m s / u w e - m a s t e rc l a s s _ i n _masai_leadership

Blue Orchid South BristolNetworking breakfast event:Learn how to network effectively,talk to Blue Orchid advisorsabout support available for startups. From 7am at the KnowleWest Media Centre, LeinsterAvenue, June 25w w w. b l u e o rc h i d . c o . u k

A fishy way to find profits?Breakfast seminar, hosted byActionCOACH Rob Carteridentifies five key areas topinpoint profitable growth.Fishers, Clifton, £5 per person.7.30am-10am on June 25. Bookat http://fiveprovenways.eventbrite.co.uk

The Practice ManagementC o n f e re n c e : A Veale WasbroughVizards event for managers ofGP practices with speakers andworkshops and a motivationalsession with Monty Halls. From9am to 5pm, At-Bristol,Harbourside, on June 25.

The Bristol Post BusinessAw a rd s : A celebration of allthat’s great about Bristolbusiness run by the Bristol Post.From 7pm on Wednesday, June25, at the Passenger Shed,Temple Meads. Book ticketsonline at www.bristolpost.co.uk/b u s i n e s s a w a rd s

Preview of Tastetech’s newinstallation at Explore@Bristol:How taste encapsulation works,with founder Janis Sinton,Wednesday, June 25,6-8.30pm.Call 0117 3707785 or visitw w w. i o d . c o m / s w e s t e v e n t s

Business West Chairman’s Summer Reception at Leigh Court

THE sun shone brightly onLeigh Court mansion andconference centre, as Busi-ness West played host to over100 key influential busi-

nesses from Bristol and furtherafield.

The evening was an impressivegathering of decision makers and in-fluencers – the most senior peoplewho shape our region. Mayor GeorgeFerguson and Avon & Somerset Po-lice and Crime Commissioner, Sue

GALLERIESGALORE

FOR MORE PICTURESCheck out our

website at

bristolpost.co.uk/business

Mountstevens mingled with,amongst others, the leaders and chiefofficers of local authorities, LEPchairs and chief executives, uni-versity vice chancellors and a host ofcorporate directors and self-made en-tre preneurs.

Stephen Robertson, chairman of

Business West said: “Business is allabout making connections and hav-ing dialogue.

“Business West is a unique organ-isation, connecting our businesscommunity with the pillars of civicsociety – education, health, political

leaders, media and beyond. Our mem-bers are an impressive mix of or-ganisations, all of whom have acommon interest in the success of ourre gion.

“There was a great buzz about theplace; a sense of thinking big, think-

ing differently with ambition for ourregion. The wealth of animated dis-cussions throughout the evening re-inforced without a doubt that thisgathering of peers are the key peoplewho give this region its winning char-a c t e r. ”

� From left, Stephen Robertson, chairman Business West; Councillor Felicity Baker, North Somerset Council; SueMount Stevens, Avon & Somerset Police & Crime Commissioner; Steve Le Fevre, BBC Radio Bristol Pics: Jon Craig

� Philip Fawkner-Corbett, Stride Treglown Tektus,and Stephen Robertson, chairman of BusinessWe s t

� Sarah Pullen, managing director of Bristol Newsand Media, and John Hirst, Destination Bristol

� Prof Jane Harrington, pro vice-chancellor UWE,and Malachy McReynolds, We Care & Repair

THE mayor of Bristol has set thecreative industries an ambitioustarget to grow 20 per cent year onyear until 2020. George Fergusonpledged to help develop the in-

dustries during a spirited keynote speechat the Creative Bristol and Bath event.

The event was part of a nationwide tourto celebrate Creative Britain and wasco-hosted by the IPA and Creative Skill-set, in local partnership with West ofEngland Local Enterprise Partnership,Bristol Media and Creative England.

It was organised in acknowledgment ofthe strength of Bristol’s creative indus-tries which are growing faster than therest of the UK, at 11 per cent, and accountfor 8.6 per cent of the city’s business unitsand 16,000 jobs at firms including BBCBristol, Aardman Animations, BristolGames Hub; UWE Creative IndustriesUniversity; Toshiba and IBM; BrayLeino, McCann Bristol, Mason Zimbler.

Mr Ferguson said: “W h at ’s not to likeabout the creative industries in Bristol?You are our future. You deliver com-mercially and culturally. You’re envir-onmentally friendly and a powerhousee c o n o m i c a l ly. ”

He urged the sector to ask him for help.“Feed me more stories for me to betterrepresent you nationally and interna-t i o n a l ly, ” he said. “Tell me about theblockages in the system; let me help yousort those out so you can focus on the dayjob. “Be ambitious. You are alreadypunching above your weight. Whys h o u l d n’t we go for 20% year-on-yeargrowth by 2020?”

A panel of creative industry heads in-cluding Andy Reid, IPA city head forBristol and managing director McCannBristol; Tomas Rawlings, Auroch Digital;Dan Martin, BusinessZone.co.uk; GregIngham, MediaClash and Laura Marshallof Icon Films, debated the ways in whichthe city’s creative industries could con-tinue to flourish.

BRISTOL business leaderstook home a clutch of awardsat the 2014 South West Dir-ector Awards, celebratingthe best of business in the

re gion.Nick Sturge, co-founder of enter-

prise hub The Engine Shed at TempleMeads, which houses the SETsquaredinnovation centre, won the PublicSector Director title. Julia Clarke,chief executive of Bristol CommunityHealth, was highly commended inthis category.

Henry Williams, managing direct-or of Morgan and Lotus car dealerWilliams Automobiles in ChippingSodbury, was named Family BusinessDirector while Steve Clark, chairmanof Budget Pack Environmental, inAztec West, took the Corporate Re-sponsibility Award.

Griff Holland and Ed Brown,founders of Bristol-based healthy fastfood restaurant chain Friska Food,were highly commended in the Cor-porate Responsibility category. Theywere also shortlisted for the YoungDirector title.

Winners now go forward for achance to be a national award winner,judged against all the other regionalf i n a l i s t s.

Nick is director of the Science Re-search Foundation, owned by the Uni-versity of Bristol and theorganisation behind both the Engine

Shed enterprise hub at Temple Meadsand the business incubator SET-squared. Between them they supportmore than 60 hi-tech, high-growthbu s i n e s s e s.

Henry Williams has reversed thefortunes of his 103-year-old family

motor firm from ceasing to trade to ahighly profitable, globally recognisedbusiness. His vision was to become anational ‘d e s t i n at i o n’ dealershiprather than just a local franchisedo p e r at i o n .

Steve Clark, Budget Pack Envir-

onmental’s chairman, set up the busi-ness in 2003 when he couldn’t find aflexible, customer-focused compli-ance scheme to represent his cus-tomers’ best interests for recyclingunder UK packaging regulations.

Griff and Ed opened their first

Friska branch in Victoria Street in2009 and now operate from four sitesaround Bristol employing more than40 people and focused on servingfresh, interesting, responsibly-sourced food in a friendly and hos-pitable environment, both sit downand take away.

IoD South West chairman RichardAyre said: “The judges were im-pressed by the drive, leadership andclear strategic approach shown by allour winners, highly commended andshortlisted entrants.

“Nick deals with complex fundingstreams and multiple shareholders tomake his operation work success-fully. Steve demonstrated a highlyinnovative dashboard approach toproviding guidance in his sector,which was a clear USP, and he hasambitious growth plans.

‘Henry has successfully reinventedand turned around the fortunes of a100-plus-year-old family car dealer-ship and his focus on customer brandexperience and green credentials setsthis business apart from and ahead ofthe competition.”

Director of the Year was awarded toChris Smith, managing director ofMarshfield Bakery in Bath whileYoung Director of the Year was awar-ded to recruitment specialist HelenLacey who founded Red Berry Re-cruitment and who first won the titlein 2012.

� James Durie, executive director of BristolChamber of Commerce & Initiative and NicholasStubbs, Stubbs Rich LLP

� Gonzallo Trujillo, Heron Capital Partners andPaulina Gillespie, Heart FM

� Sue Turner, director of communications, TheBristol Port Company and Malachy McReynolds,chief executive, We Care & Repair

� Ned Cussen of Jones Lang LaSalle, Bristolmayor George Ferguson and Bonnie Dean, of theBristol & Bath Science Park

� Simon Pullen, Southgate Shopping Centre,Bath, Nick Higgins, Bristol Zoo, and Liz Mihell,John Lewis Partnership

� Jaya Chakrabarti, Nameless Media Group andRichard Morris, treasurer, Society of MerchantVe n t u re r s

� Richard Ayre, IoD SW regional chair with, from left, Henry Williams, managing director of Morgan and Lotus cardealer Williams Automobiles, winner of Family Business award; Steve Clark, chairman, Budget Pack Environmental,winner of the Corporate Responsibility Award; and Nick Sturge, Science Research Foundation and co founder of TheEngine Shed, winner of the Public Sector Director of the Year Award; Pictures: Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

SEE COLUMN, PAGE 12

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12 We d n e s d a y, June 18, 2014w w w. b r i s t o l p o s t .co.uk/business

The back page� GROWING confidence in thebusiness sector is shining through ina variety of ways at the moment.

The BDO Employment index,which predicts businesses’ hiringintentions over the next threemonths, jumped to 107.7 in May,according to Bristol-based BDOwhich has just published the figures.

That’s up from 105.6 the previousmonth. The new figure is not far offthe peak in the 22 year history of thesurvey, 108.9 from February 2007.

Graham Randall, head of BDO’sBristol office, says the report showsbusiness confidence is beingconverted into action. But he warns:“A gap between supply and demandfor skilled workers is developing,which could take the momentum outof the recovery.”

� Speaking of hiring, businessadvisers Deloitte has welcomedtechnology consultant director JohnGriffiths, below right, to its SouthWest team.

A UWE graduate, John has over15 years of consulting experience atPA Consulting Group and prior tothat Oxford International. His rolewill be focussing on the privatesector particularly with consumergoods, retail and life sciencecompanies.

� Another business and financialadviser, Grant Thornton, has made asenior promotions in its Bristoloffice. Alex Walling, right, is nowassociate director in thepublic sector assurancepractice, which deliversexternal audit services toNHS bodies and localauthorities. Alex joinedthe firm from the AuditCommission, where sheworked for more than 20years.

John Golding, partner andhead of public sector assurancein the South West, says: “As themarket leader in assurance andadvisory services to localgovernment and NHS organisationsin the region, we continue tostrengthen our team and to promotethe brightest and best talent.”

Awa rd s� An online retailer is celebrating

after having picked up two nationalbusiness awards in the space of justover two weeks.

Elberton-based Home LeisureDirect, a leading retailer of luxurygames-room products, won at twoseparate national awards run for UKonline businesses.

The firm, which specialises in pooltables, jukeboxes and pinballmachines, has followed beingnamed online business of the yearby the Federation of SmallBusinesses with a triumph in thebest website category at the annual

ECMOD Direct Commercea w a rd s .

It was up against thelikes of John Lewisand Boden.Co-founder AndyBeresford says: “Wehave workedincredibly hard, along

with our amazing webdevelopment team at

bluebox, to create awebsite which is not only

the best in our market but we feel isone of the best in e-commerce.”

P l a ces� All the offices in one of Bristol’slandmark office buildings are nowfully let.

Nick King, director ofBristol-based property assetmanagers Urbina, says the firm has

Selling our thriving creative talents to the world

THE IPA’s nationwide tourkicked off in Bristol earlierlast week, and it was quicklyapparent that it was the per-fect city to choose.

With more than 200 creative in-dustry representatives from Bristoland Bath, the enthusiasm and pas-sion were palpable. I was proud to beinvited on to the panel, in its attemptto answer how we promote our in-arguable collective strengths.

Anyone living or working in theregion will be unsurprised by theinspiring mix of creativity and en-ergy at the Bordeaux Quay venue.But the evening was really centeredaround how to let the rest of the worldk n ow.

Winston Churchill once famouslysent back a pudding at a restaurantfor having “no theme”. And with such

a mix of creative talent, from gamingto advertising, documentary makingto animation, and urban art to music,it is perhaps our variety that is ourbiggest stumbling block. That com-mon thread, which binds all theseactivities together, clearly articu-lated and dramatically communic-ated to the world at large, is ourchance to operate on a global stagelike any world-class city with a genu-ine character of its own.

Of course, as an advertising person,that lure of drilling down to a singleminded proposition feels like it sitswell and truly at our quarter of the

� GVA staff Rebecca Collins, Jon Nicholls, Victoria Lane and Martina Spencer

The op-ed column

creative industries map. But thatwould be a mistake. One thing thatthe evening made clear was the verynature of Bristolian creativity – in-dependent, rebellious and with morethan a pinch of anti-establishment-ism. That is the source of what makesus different, and an attempt to pack-age it up into a neat little brandedbundle should be approached withcaution. But that is not to say it can’tbe done. The truth is rag-tag indi-viduals have banded together under aloose ‘brand’ with phenomenal suc-cess over the years. Austin, Texas,home to the renowned SXSW is aprime example, and one Bristol ismore than capable of matching interms of talent, personality and en-ergy. And there are more examplescloser to home; Hay-on-Wye, Chel-tenham Literature Festival and Glas-

tonbury are all proud success stories.But how did they do it? It wasn’tthrough a top-down managed brandexperience. They were started withpassion and allowed to grow and formin their own ways. And that’s becausethey had an authentic character oftheir own and a handful of passionate‘doers’ to get the ball rolling. Thisputs Bristol in a very good place.

So the truth is, we don’t have to do alot to change perceptions of Bristol’screative industries – it’s alreadythere. We just have be more vocalwith our pride, get creative with howwe bang our drum and work togetherfor the good of the region. And thathas a very Bristolian theme. One evenWinston would be proud of.

The IPA is a membership body forbusinesses in the advertising in-dustr y.

Andy ReidManaging director McCannBristol and IPACity Head for Bristol

taken a “very proactive approach”combining improving the 5,000 sq ftproperty in the city centre’s FairfaxStreet, with competitive rents andlease terms. “As a result we nowhave a full house,” he said.

Immediate Media, the building’slargest occupier, has expanded totake the rest of the newlyrefurbished second floor.

Jonathan Lipfriend of joint lettingagents, Colliers International, adds:“It is great to see the building fullonce again as it shows real evidenceof the much-awaited recovery takingits effect.”

� Further evidence of theimproving economy isrecorded bycommercial propertyfirm Hartnell TaylorCook. In its update forthe financial year, thefirm reports “generaloptimism has beentranslated into the propertysector with increased demand,increased capital flows and biggerappetite from both private investorsand overseas investors”.

The firm’s own turnover was up 11per cent as the business shiftedgreater focus onto consultancyrather than relying purely on agencytransactions.

� Meanwhile, constructionrecruitment agency Sphere

Solutions, which has an office inBristol, reported a 55 per cent jumpin turnover to £17 million.

Co-founder and director JamesHughes says the firm has seen a“consistent uplift” in the number oftemporary and permanent vacanciesover the last year, driven by “g ro w t hin most sectors of the constructionindustry”.

He adds: “With new residentialand commercial constructionprojects continuing to gathermomentum in the UK, we areexperiencing a sustained increase in

construction vacancies acrossall our regions including the

West, which is veryencouraging.”

� The feel-good factorhas clearly gone to thehead of staff at anothercommercial property

firm, judging by our mainphoto, however.A team from GVA has

entered the Rainbow Run onDurdham Down on June 21.

Victoria Oliver from GVA said: “Wecan’t wait to take part in such a funevent that raises valuable funds forC h i l d re n ’s Hospice South West. TheHospice carries out such amazingwork, and there’s huge excitementin the office to support the charity inthis way.”

In which case, we’ll forgive thefashion choices.

Pe o p l e

Your digest of the week in business

In numbers

Business currentaccounts

Petrol prices

1.01%£10,000 deposit

0.25%£1 deposit

State Bankof India

Corporation tax

21 %20 %Main rate

Small profitsrate – below

£300,000

130 . 46 pUnleaded

135 .70 pDiesel

139 .5 4pSuperunleaded

70 .6 4pLPG

Source: PetrolPrices.com

Business savingsaccounts

1.36%£1,000 deposit

1.85%£1,000 deposit

NationalCounties BS

Inflation (CPI)

1.8 %

Weekly earnings

1.6 %Base interest rate

0.5 %Ave mortgage rate

3.99 %

S o u rc e :

Secure TrustBank

Inflation (RPI)

2.5 %