Dec2012

Pub says cheers to new technology 2How the recession focuses concentration 4

Christmas rally set to fuel the feel-good factor? 7 Looking after technology for Surrey business 8

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getsurrey.co.uk/business

AN IT solutions consultancy based in Godalming was chosen by Mi-crosoft to host the launch of Win-dows 8 and Server 2012 products in Surrey.

As one of Microsoft’s top ten partners in the south east, ramsac hosted the evening launch at Guildford’s Holiday Inn on November 28.

During the event, Microsoft representatives spoke of the ad-vantages that come with the latest software, plus their vision of how the company’s hardware will develop.

It was a chance for business delegates in Surrey to hear from experts on how the features could be incorporated into their work-places as well as solving problems they currently face.

Despite traffic problems on the A3, around 100 people arrived at the hotel to watch the presentations.

A main focus of the talk was the theme of bring your own device (BYOD), whereby employees pre-fer to use their own computer tab-lets and smartphones at work due to them being familiar and, often, superior to what is provided at work.

Windows Intune will allow companies to manage and secure PCs through the cloud, meaning other devices can be incorporated more easily.

Richard Maybury, who runs Hindhead-based company Priority Management, said BYOD was something he already imple-mented in the business. “It is in-creasingly a demand in the work-place and employers must recognise that,” he said.

He also said that the work Microsoft was doing to rival Apple for applications to allow Windows users to interact more efficiently was appealing to him.

He said: “We have got Macs, we have got Droids and we have got Windows.

“Most of my clients use Microsoft products, so I drive eve-rything through that.”

Of the launch, he added: “The

guys who will find this really good are the IT managers.

“Consumers like me want a nice clean experience.

“A lot of this would be of more use and would be really interest-ing and exciting to the people who deal with IT in companies.”

Windows 8 is the biggest change in user interface since Windows 95.

Microsoft’s designers are also attempting to build on the

company’s reputation of offering practical hardware, and are launching products that combine the receiving and enjoying of me-dia, that Apple’s iPads have done so well, with the ability to create data through word documents and spreadsheets, traditionally a strength of Windows.

Microsoft’s Jonathan Griffin, speaking at the launch, described it as ‘adding functionality to beauty’.

Partner at Godalming-based Shipleys LLP Simon Robinson said the biggest issue at his company was one of security.

“People do want to bring their own devices and phones, but we need to make sure it is secure for them to do so,” he said.

“There could be confidential fi-nancial data on people’s devices. That is massive.”

Robert May, managing director of ramsac, said this was an area that his company was able to sup-port people in.

“A lot of IT managers are fight-ing BYOD, but you can’t get away from it,” he said. “If you are work-ing remotely, it is possible to limit access to the data so it can be very secure.”

He added: “The fact Microsoft chose us to do the launch in Surrey is great.

“The demand for people to come along shows the interest, and there was a good mixture of current clients and potential new ones.”

“ A lot of IT managers are fighting BYOD, but you cannot get away from it.”

The concept of employees using their own hardware for company business is a worrying one for firms concerned about the security of their sensitive data – but Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) could be the future

By Pete Bryantpete.bryant@trinitymirror.com

Robert May from ramsac after the Windows 8 Surrey launch.

Bring YOur Own COmPuTer

We would like to wish the Surrey business community a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2013

IT’S FINALLY TIME TO PUT ON YOUR BEST TIE

FROM EVERYONE ATMerry Christmas

December 20122

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JOB vacancies in Surrey have risen by more than 2,000 this year, de-spite unemployment remaining steady at around 1.6%.

The number of unfilled Jobcentre Plus vacancies for October was 6,419. Despite this figure dropping by 118 from the September statis-tics, the number represents a large increase from the 4,370 recorded in January. The number of jobseeker’s allowance claimants, mean-while, has dropped by 0.1% in that time to 11,706.

Jon Lassiter, operations manager of the Jobcentre Plus offices in west Surrey, said the increase in unfilled vacancies should be seen as a good thing. “It is not as if we are sat here with lots of unfilled vacan-cies,” he said. “I see it as a good thing. Generally there is a high turno-ver in vacancies. Unemployment figures have come down quite steadily and we would expect that to continue, at least in the short term as there are more temporary jobs in the lead up to Christmas.

“We would expect the figure to go up in January when these come to an end.”

A LONG-TERM boost has been provided to the finances of the Leatherhead headquarters of the Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

Cost-saving LED lights have been fitted throughout the offices, providing light which is equivalent to noon daylight and significant energy savings.

In total, 500 standard and 80 emergency light fittings were put in place by Dartford-based company 8point3.

“We are really pleased with how the lights look,” said Paul Jenkins, capital programme manager at the trust. “The vast majority of our staff have said they prefer them to traditional ones. There is no flicker from them at all and the lights are better and brighter. Now we’re looking forward to the cost-savings, which will be particularly felt af-ter three-and-a-half years, when the system will have paid for itself.”

Energy savings of up to 80% are expected to be achieved, while the carbon footprint of the organisation will also be reduced.

The colour temperature is the same as that used in lamps to treat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD).

My first jobPaul Williams, CEO of Surrey based green energy company, Freetricity

What was your first job?My first real job was as a VAT

Inspector in the West End. I was due to start work as a church pastor having studied theology, but the church job I was offered fell through four weeks before I was due to start.

So I joined the civil service as they had VAT inspector vacancies – perhaps not surprisingly as it

A PUB in Guildford is being used as an informal demonstration ground for contactless payment by experts who have made it a regular haunt.

Staff Consult Hyperion are reg-ularly taking clients to The Keystone, on Portsmouth Road, to show the technology they provide and support, that allows card pay-ments to be made with a simple swipe, in action.

The pub is one of the first in the town to adopt contactless pay-ment as a method of paying, giv-ing staff at the firm, based on The Mount over the road from the pub,

the perfect excuse to get better acquainted.

Consult Hyperion is an inde-pendent IT consultancy that spe-cialises in secure electronic transactions.

Director David Birch said the team encouraged owner of The Keystone, Kath Eleveld, to use the technology during lunchtime visits.

Mr Birch said: “Part of the rea-son we pestered Kath to do it is the pub is over the road and it is good when we have clients here to show them the technology working.

“So many people have these contactless cards but don’t realise they can use them.

“I see people queueing up in

fast food places that are using chip and pin when they have the chip on their cards.”

The advantage of contactless payment, which has been driven by Barclaycard, is that transac-tions can be completed quickly by holding the card over a sensor that reads the embedded chip.

The chips can also be stuck onto other devices like mobile phones, allowing people to carry less items with them.

Some new mobile phone mod-els even have the technology built in to act in the same way as a London Oyster card, with the add-ed advantage that users can log into it and add funds on the go.

The chips can even be stuck

onto things like wristwatches, and have been trialled in wristbands at festivals.

The Consult Hyperion team ad-mitted that the question of securi-ty was raised from time to time but, with a maximum spend of £20 and the option for users to manu-ally add funds as they go, com-bined with the security codes needed to log into most smart-phones, they insisted the technol-ogy does not represent a risk.

Mrs Eleveld said: “We used to have a £10 cards limit but now that we have taken that away people can buy an extra round.

“The main benefit is at lunch-times, as things now flow a lot more.”

By Pete Bryantpete.bryant@trinitymirror.com

Pub says cheers to new technology enabling contactless payment

Sam Coultrip and Dave Birch using the contactless payment at The Keystone.

MORE than 250 young people from across Surrey took part in a three-day Surrey Young Entrepreneurs event in Epsom to mark the 50th an-niversary of the charity Young Enterprise.

Students aged between eight and 18 from more than 15 schools and colleges took on a range of activities supported by volunteers from the county’s business community.

The event included Business Innovation Workshop in association with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the Surrey Secondary Schools Entrepreneurship Challenge and the Surrey Primary Schools Enterprise Challenge aimed at helping young people to develop the skills and attitude to succeed in the workplace. The events were sup-ported by economic development company Surrey Connects.

was a conversation stopper at parties.

How did you get from there to where you are today?

I was given an incredible break by a kind finance director of a property company who I was helping to sort out VAT returns for. He offered me a job which I took, and soon after the two owners of the company asked me to start a new company owned jointly by myself and two of their sons. They financed it and everything grew from there.

Since then I have developed a publishing company which launched the first environmental magazine in the UK and an educational environmental yearbook. I eventually sold the

company to the BBC.I launched my present

business Freetricity in 2010, and it reflects my passion for the green agenda and against global warming.

What does the future hold? We have now started

Freetricity in the USA raising a large fund for commercial solar leasing over there.

In the UK we are very excited about our new free replacement biomass boiler programme as well as a new free residential and commercial solar PV programme we have just launched for a limited time period. When the Feed-In Tariff reduces again, I think free solar will sadly be a thing of the past.

December 2012 3

Christmas tree grower battles against deer, disease and thievesTRADITIONAL Christmas trees will be brightening homes across Surrey this festive season, but few will be aware of the story behind their purchase.

Maurice Mandry (MM) Trees, a Christmas tree farm located in Ottershaw, began selling some of the 100,000 trees on site on December 1 and will continue until Christmas Eve.

Growing in the 120 acres of land adjacent to the A320 Guildford Road are a variety of trees of dif-ferent shapes, sizes and shades, including Norway Spruce, Nordman Fir, Fraser Fir, Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce.

But those who thought that all the work in the Christmas tree business was done in December are way off the mark.

“Everyone always asks us, what do you do for the rest of the year?” said owner of the business Robert Mandry, son of its founder Maurice.

“Every day we spend hours trimming the trees by hand, mow-ing the grass around them and checking for bugs.”

Despite what we may be led to believe from Christmas cards and winter scenes, the trees do not grow into the trademark pointed shape, and a great deal of care is taken to prepare them for their big moment.

“If we didn’t cut them they would grow too big and kill each other,” said Robert. “They are hor-rible un-trimmed. A lot of people think they would like them like that but they wouldn’t, believe me.”

MM Trees was started in 1946 and moved to its present location in 1976.

The trees take up to five years to fully grow to a height of up to 30ft before being wrapped and deliv-ered. Bird seed is also grown on 20 acres of the land as part of the business’ commitment to being kind to the environment.

At least 25% of all the trees planted end up wasted due to malformed growth, deer rubbing against them, magpie attacks and a new threat – a disease that leaves their branches bare of needles.

A pile of unwanted trees is visi-ble at the far side of one of the fields.

A different danger that surfaces as people’s decorations start going up is one of thieves breaking in to grab a tree. This makes round-the-clock security patrols necessary in the lead-up to Christmas.

And after Christmas Day is done and dusted for another year, the trimming, mowing and check-ing for bugs will continue as the team of 10 members of staff look to get the next crop ready for 2013.

To order a tree from MM Trees call the team on 01932 873 218 or email sales@mmtrees.co.uk

By Pete Bryantpete.bryant@trinitymirror.com

Pavol Bizub cutting a tree with Zoe Haigh-Smith and owner Robert Mandry. (Ref: SA127368_7)

ASK anyone in Haslemere which business in the town they like the most and you will get an answer, but which is truly the most popular?

Those seeking a definitive an-swer may find themselves turning to Facebook, where users can in-dicate their preferences with the simple click of a ‘like’ button.

The latest edition of the Haslemere Chambers of Commerce newsletter indicated that 24 member businesses had now created pages on the social network site.

Notable presences include en-tertainment centre Haslemere Hall, which has two pages sharing four ‘likes’ between them. However, its account boasts more success with a list of more than 200 friends.

Pages to have surpassed a cen-tury of ‘likes’ are the Organic Cookery School on Weycombe Road, the Haslemere Wardrobe shop, the Royal School, Haslemere Educational Museum and wom-en’s fashion boutiques Woodie & Morris and Hengelo.

Although pushed close by Hemingways of Haslemere, a res-taurant on the High Street with 377 ‘likes’, top of the list is

Stonefern graphic design company.

Mark Foster, who founded the business, said he had earned the 388 ‘likes’ since 2009 through give-aways and special offers provided for those who opt to ‘like’ his page. However, he said increased aware-ness of these offers by users had led to the emergence of ‘compers’ who create stand-alone Facebook accounts purely to like businesses, enter competitions and take ad-vantage of promotional discounts and prizes.

“You end up with a lot of irrele-vant people following the busi-ness,” he said. “It certainly won’t stop us using Facebook, but we won’t use it as heavily as we have done in the past.”

He also said the effectiveness of using Facebook as a marketing tool had gone down dramatically since the company floated on the stock market, as now only large businesses could afford to pay to promote their brands on the site. He said that business leads insti-gated through the social network site were down from three or four a month to just one on average.

Stonefern was formed in 2007, and is currently being relocated to different premises in Haslemere.

‘Likes’ on Facebook count for businesses

GOLD and silver awards were won by Surrey tourist destinations at the Beautiful South Tourism Awards.

Held at Denbies Wine Estate last Wednesday, the awards pro-vide annual recognition of the best locations for boosting tour-ism in the region. Gold was given to the Watts Gallery in Compton for Small Attraction of the Year.

Director Perdita Hunt has fre-quently praised the team of volun-teers that works at the gallery, and the award was recognition of the hours of work they put in on a dai-ly basis.

The Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel won a silver award for Business Tourism and was highly recommended in the Flavour of the south East category.

General manager Peter Wardley said: “We are delighted to have been rewarded for our food and innovation, particularly as it is only just over a year since the ho-tel opened. The awards reflect the very high standards of service that we are proud to offer.”

A silver award was also given to Guildford Tourist Information Centre (TIC) in the Visitor Information Provider of the Year

category. Cllr Jen Powell, lead councillor for sport, leisure and culture, said: “My heartfelt con-gratulations to the team for their award. Tourism brought £211.5m into Guildford’s economy and supported around 5,000 jobs dur-ing 2011, remaining a vital and strong service despite the tough economic climate."

As well as hosting the ceremo-ny, Denbies Wine Estate was high-ly recommended in a hatrick of categories. It took awards in the Flavour of the South East, Large Business Attraction of the Year and Experience categories.

Tourism awards honour Surrey’s finestToby Anstis, Peter Wardley and sales director Bill Edwards of Radisson Blu Edwardian, Graham Hukins of Shepherd Neame, and Ken Robinson,

chairman of Tourism South East.

AN opportunity for businesses to increase their giving and support for good causes has been offered by a Guildford-based charity.

The Community Foundation for Surrey, located in Walnut Tree Close, has launched its Foundation Community First programme, which matches funding from businesses on a 2:1 basis.

Companies can set up a be-spoke fund and select the fund themes, criteria and geographical area they wish to support. The ad-ministration and management of the fund is also supported.

The local focus means donors benefit from the connection with grassroots community groups and see the impact of their funding.

Guildford IT hosting company Memset has set up The Memset Community Fund at a cost of £6,000 to help young people in the town develop technology skills.

Managing director of Memset Kate Craig-Wood said: “Memset were keen to support the local community as much as possible, but managing our charitable con-tributions was taking an increas-ing amount of time. Therefore it made sense for us to set up a fund with the Community Foundation for Surrey.”

For details on setting up a fund, call Wendy Varcoe on 01483 409 230 or visit www.cfsurrey.org.uk.

Support good causes

December 20124

IT has been over a decade since Dunsfold resident Lauren West-wood set up jewellery firm West-wood Rocks and, in that time, she has experienced both highs and lows of the retail industry.

After discovering gemstones and jewellery-making in her teens, Lauren, now 30, began selling her work to friends and family and at craft fairs during her gap year, be-fore opening her first Westwood Rocks shop in Church Street, Godalming eight years ago.

The business quickly grew and within four years she had three Surrey stores (other branches were opened in Guildford and Farnham).

Despite the recession, the next three years saw her open a further four shops in Reigate, Cambridge, Bath and Wimbledon. She also moved her Godalming store to the High Street and her Guildford boutique from Tunsgate to White Lion Walk.

Last year however, Lauren made the decision to shut her out-of-Surrey branches.

“We had very strong sales for a long time and actually the reces-sion didn’t catch up with us for a while but I think the expansion put strain on the shops and since then it has been hard work,” she said.

“The last year has been tough, I think people are definitely cutting back a lot.

“There is also the added pres-sure at this time of year of larger chains going into sales at the be-ginning of December when it used to be after Christmas so I think the shape of retail is completely changing.

“I find it quite worrying that Guildford High Street has so many empty shops.

“I don’t think we have ever had empty shops at Christmas in Guildford.”

Lauren’s decision to close half of her stores might seem like a typical reaction of a businesses struggling on the High Street but for the mother-of-two, it was also

about being able to give more time to her brand and adapt to the ever changing market place.

“I got into the whole game very early and my passions were always the design, sourcing the best prod-ucts and the branding,” she explained.

“Over the years much more of my time has been taken up with

managing and day-to-day is-sues selling through the stores.

“When I first started the com-pany, it never even entered my mind to think about wholesaling to other independent stores or concessions so I have been look-ing a lot more into that because it is worrying, the future of the High Street.”

Having less stores to manage has meant Lauren has been able to explore other avenues in terms of promoting Westwood Rocks.

As well as regularly appearing on the pages of fashion magazines, the brand made its first TV ap-pearance last year when a jewel-lery collection designed by Lauren was featured in one of the chal-lenges on Britain and Ireland’s Next Top Model.

Lauren got to spend a day with the Sky Living production’s cast and crew as they shot scenes for a challenge, which involved the contestants modelling extravagant jewellery underwater.

“That was like getting back to basics for me, being very creative, which is what I love,” she said.

“I really went to town on some crazy pieces for that. I have got ideas about maybe doing a bit more of a couture brand, what you would expect to see on the catwalk – a bit more out there.”

The entrepreneur also began jewellery-making workshops at some of her shops and is looking into the possibility of selling her jewellery in other independents and department stores.

“The recession has made busi-ness a lot more efficient, because it forces you to think of new ways to grow your business,” she said.

“Because we are a small com-pany we are very adaptive, I love trying out new ideas and being able to see a direct response.

“We are the only people, I think, who have what we call a ‘rock wall’ so people can come in and choose exactly what they want from the size to the colours.

“This year I have also trained the girls in the shops to do the stringing, where as I used to do it or we sent it out to another workshop.

“It gives them the autonomy to make their own stock up for the shop when it’s quiet.”

Lauren also juggles the run-ning of her business, which in-cludes a successful website, with bringing up two children under the age of seven.

And although she admits being a mum and a businesswoman has its challenges she says becoming a parent could be the perfect time to start your own business.

She added: “I think there are a lot of people who don’t have the confidence but it is so easy to start your own business nowadays.

“I don't think having children should be an excuse for not doing this either. Yes it is challenging but it is very satisfying at the end of the day and also it instils in your kids a great work ethic.

“A good tip for any woman would be to build something on your maternity leave.

“Most women get the full six months and you can do a hell of a lot in six months.

“Even if it means just starting a blog and writing one post every week – you never know what it could turn into.”

How the recession can help focus business concentration

Lauren Westwood of Westwood Rocks.

“The recession has made business a lot more efficient because it forces you to think of new ways to grow your business.”

“The shape of retail is completely changing” – Lauren Westwood talks to Rebecca Younger about the changing face of the high street

THE Guildford office of a con-struction firm has grown to be-come an independent office in its own right.

Strong trading means that Beard Construction’s office in Guildford is no longer an offshoot of the Oxford office, and a new senior leader has been placed at its head.

Guy Hannell has been appoint-ed construction director in Guildford to give on-the-ground leadership and be a focal presence

for customers, consultants and suppliers, as well as continuing the expansion in the area. He joins from healthcare developer Ashley House Plc and was previously construction director at Rydon Construction.

He said: “I have lived in the Surrey and Sussex region virtually all my life and am looking forward to using my local contacts within the Guildford community to get Beard more involved in local events. I’m also looking to build

up a regional supply chain and hope that with yet more growth we can consider employing more staff within the Guildford area.”

Managing director Mark Beard added: “Over the last three years, we have seen a greater volume of refurbishments, but less develop-ment of shiny new buildings.

“Although I expect this trend to continue, we are investing in high-calibre people to grow and devel-opment the business to get us into the right position for the upturn.”

An office in its own rightA HELPING hand is being offered to businesses keen to protect the environment, as the founders of a Guildford business aim to do their bit for the planet.

Rik Barwick and Lloyd Bedford, founders of design studio Creativitea, are offering a 20% dis-count on creative services for businesses that are launching products or services that help people be more sustainable.

It follows an offer of eight hours of free service per month made to

charities over the last 18 months.“It’s partly because of my own

interest in it and trying to be more self-sufficient myself,” said Rik.

“It shouldn’t cost time to be a bit more green.

“Some products out there need a helping hand to get to the mar-ket, and we can help with things like branding and packaging.”

Efforts have been made at Creativitea, which recently re-ceived a complete studio refur-bishment, to reduce its carbon

footprint. Photo voltaic panels could be installed in the future.

Rik has also begun growing his own vegetables at home and teaching his two young sons to be more eco-friendly.

“The problem is that it costs the earth.

“But that is probably not the phrase to use because you are try-ing to save the earth,” added Rik.

“If everyone makes a small change it would make a massive difference.”

Help for green businesses

December 2012 5

A CELEBRATED entrepreneur has recalled how her rise to publish-ing success had unlikely begin-nings in Godalming.

Hazel Cushion appeared at this year’s Guildford Book Festival in her role as managing director of Xcite Books, the UK’s largest pub-lisher of erotic fiction, to promote the company’s latest titles.

The 51-year-old, a former Entrepreneur of the Year who was invited to meet the Queen as part of a women in business event, said running an award-winning publishing house was a far cry from her difficult childhood.

But Mrs Cushion, who now lives in Wales, said it was good to return to her roots as a self-made careerwoman.

She was born in Godalming and as a child lived in Quartermile Road with her mother and three sisters. She attended Busbridge Primary School before moving on to King Edward’s School in Witley.

At the age of 15, she was diag-nosed with severe depression and spent six months in a psychiatric hospital alongside shell-shocked war veterans. It destroyed her ed-ucation, as she left school with just two O-levels.

She later trained as a silver-smith and ended up selling jewel-lery aboard the QE2, where she met her husband Bob. For years they travelled the world as he

followed work, during which time Mrs Cushion became a mum to triplets.

At the age of 40, she decided to do something for herself and en-rolled at Trinity College in Carmarthen to study for a master of arts degree in creative writing.

She said: “At Trinity College I discovered my naughty side and my tutors were quite shocked. I turned up as this mumsy charac-ter, but some of the stuff I wrote was quite shocking. I found it quite liberating.”

In 2003, she convinced a hand-ful of successful writers to donate stories for a book to raise money for charity. The book, Sexy Shorts for Christmas, sold 12,000 copies and launched her career as an in-dependent publisher.

Mrs Cushion first established mainstream publisher Accent Press. In 2007, after listening to friends complaining of a lack of good erotic fiction for women and couples, she saw a gap in the mar-ket and founded Xcite Books.

She said: “I thought the erotic material available at the time was not positive or empowering to women and I wanted to provide something that was. My goal was to take the monotony out of monogamy.

“I wanted to publish books making women and couples feel good about themselves, and putting smiles on their faces.

“Our books are now recom-mended by sex therapists, so I like

to think I’ve achieved that. Failure was not an option for my business as it was my only income and I’d poured so much into it. I some-times regret I did not realise I could run my own business years earlier, but maybe I needed all those experiences.

“Running your own company gives you the best of both worlds – immense satisfaction but also time to spend with my family. My children are 16 now and they are really proud of me and comforta-ble knowing what I do.

“I’ve never had a bad reaction from anyone. People tend to be intrigued and want to know more. The popularity of the ‘50 Shades’ books has made the whole genre much more mainstream.

“There’s enormous interest in women entrepreneurs as people are increasingly trying to strike the right work/life balance between having a successful career and raising a happy family.

“I feel like I’ve been lucky enough to achieve that balance and I couldn’t be happier.

“It’s great to come back to where I grew up. My memories of that time are difficult so it’s a real celebration to return as a success-ful entrepreneur and show that, despite a difficult start, you can make it if you want to.

“I wonder what Mrs Murfitt, my English teacher at King Edward’s School, would think of me now. I like to think she would be quite proud of me.”

By Fergus McEwanfergus.mcewan@trinitymirror.com

What would Mrs Murfitt think of her former pupil?

Hazel Cushion, managing director of Xcite Books.

THERE were tears from one entre-preneur at a meeting aimed at teaching business individuals to think like a killer marketer.

Godalming Manor House Conference Centre was host to the regular Entrepreneur’s Circle meeting, attended by around 30 business owners and run by mar-keting mentor and motivational speaker Vanessa Lanham-Day.

For Karin Slater, owner of Figura Kitchens in Chiddingfold, it was her first meeting and one that saw her emotions spill over thanks to some of the issues touched upon and support provided: “More than anything, it was a fantastic boost to help you go forward. I just found it reassuring and inspiring.”

Mrs Lanham-Day said: “My view is that emotional is good – it proves the advice is important.”

Important advice

REGULAR meetings at the Uni-versity of Surrey see individuals pitch their ideas to those who hold the chequebooks in a bid to re-ceive a certain amount of funding to take their services to the next level.

Howard Sarna, CEO of business outsourcing provider Oceans Connect with nearly 40 years ex-perience in the industry, said he had invested in one company

pitched to him at a meeting, and was in talks to invest in another.

He has experience of taking a start-up company and making it a success, having started his first business in 1990, grown it to com-mand a huge team of employees and eventually sold it to American investors.

“I started going to meetings last year,” he said. “They are pretty well organised and the presentations

are to a high standard.”Asked what the secret of an im-

pressive pitch was, he said: “Part of what you’re investing in is the management team so this is something I concentrate on, as far as you can tell in a 10-minute presentation.

“The size of the market and the uniqueness of the product are also important. You might then follow this up with a question when

meeting them afterwards.”He said he and fellow investors

who attend the Surrey meetings had formed an investment group called Ntensive, allowing them to invest smaller sums as a collective stake.

IT entrepreneur Guy van Zwanenberg has around 25 years of experience in the industry and said he was yet to make an invest-ment at the Surrey 100 Club.

“From a personal point of view, what I look for is an exciting op-portunity, preferably from some-one who has experience in that area,” he said.

“I would want a sensible return in a three to five year period. With investments you want a blend of short and long-term gain. You look for something that may be bought out within a short time.

But different investors want differ-ent things.

“The question is how close they are to getting sales. Quite under-standably at the start of a project you often don’t have that, but you want to see it coming.”

He said he was particularly in-terested in the technology envi-ronment and felt Surrey was one of the best places to come to search for that kind of investment opportunity.

Between 30 and 40 angel inves-tors attend the six meetings every year, where they see five pitches.

Mr van Zwanenberg added: “It is always good to have more inves-tors at the meetings.

“Even though they are compet-ing with you, it drives the kind of business pitches that are of interest.”

‘Different investors want different things’To gain all-important investment into a business idea at the Surrey 100 Club, hopefuls must first impress the watching investors. Pete Bryant talks to two regular attendees who can help make business dreams come true

Be part of the network - find out how Surrey Chambers of Commerce membership can help your business at www.surrey-chambers.co.uk

I strongly urge you and your company to take part in the Activity4Charity six week health challenge.

We want yoU to kick start your new year’s resolution to get fit and active by competing to achieve 10,000 steps a day – the equivalent of seven marathons!

At surrey Chambers we have met this challenge and are limber-ing up to try again in the wintry months of February and March. see if you can keep up with the athletic team from Woking.

Activity4Charity is a scheme fo-cused on promoting sustainable regular exercise patterns through team engagement, fundraising and competitions in a workplace

environment. Participants can walk, run or cycle in teams of five while wearing a digital pedometer to record their daily activity.

Data is then uploaded on to the Activity4Charity website where members can track their progress against others, using leader boards to see who has raised the most miles and money for their nominated charities. you will be surprised how competitive your team will get.

Andy at surrey Chambers was determined to out-walk colleagues from ramsac and Herrington & Carmichael.

All of us here at the surrey Chambers will be attacking the challenge once again, which

commences on January 28 for six weeks.

We will be raising money for our nominated charity surrey Clubs for young People, which provide volunteers, funds and equipment as well as low-cost sports and arts activities for more than 90 youth groups across surrey. Through our fitness en-deavours we can help the next generation to enjoy some organ-ised sports.

Any companies interested in taking part can contact charlotte.heywood@surreychambers.co.uk.

to check out our progress, or lack of, visit the blog we will be setting up on our website www.surrey-chambers.co.uk.

A healthy workforce generates healthy profits

lorD Heseltine delivered a wide-ranging and independent review on the subject of growth to government ministers on oc-tober 31. The accredited chamber of commerce network across the United Kingdom welcomed the growth challenge laid down by lord Heseltine – and stands ready to play an ever-greater role driving local business growth, supporting regional economic development, and facilitating in-ternational commerce.

Here in our surrey, we are keen to work with local and re-gional decision-makers – includ-ing councils, local Enterprise

Partnerships (lEPs), individual companies, other business groups and the voluntary sector – to take pragmatic steps forward on this agenda. Working along-side our colleagues at the British Chambers of Commerce, who are leading our national response, we want to build local support around the following three principles:Building stronger places: together, we need to muster support for the principles of greater local decision-making, the devolution of funding for economic development, and comprehensive engagement of local businesses in decisions that engage local growth.

Although the precise arrange-ments will differ from place to place: the important thing is to

arrive at a ‘local growth Accord’ that everyone can buy into, with a relentless emphasis on de-volved decisions leading to real outcomes. surrey Chambers of Commerce stands ready to play a leading role in this process, work-ing collaboratively with other lead partners.Building stronger businesses: We agree with lord Heseltine that accredited chambers of com-merce already play a key role as a ‘one-stop shop’ for businesses, and that this role could be further enhanced. We wish to work proactively to power business growth and to react to businesses who are seeking to understand the advice and support available to them. Building stronger exporters:International commerce is in the

Focused on helping businesses to grow

By Louise PunterSurrey Chambers of Commerce Chief Executive Officer

DnA of the accredited chamber network, and we will continue to play a leading role in facilitating international commerce both here in the UK (by strengthening companies’ export potential) and overseas (by linking UK compa-nies to markets more systemati-cally). As part of the accredited chamber of commerce network we see our role as a lead ‘front door’ for export promotion and advice, both in the UK and in key markets overseas. As we go to

press, the treasury has commit-ted to provide up to £1bn of sup-port for UK small business exporters.

We are pleased that the chan-cellor is listening to our call for greater investment in trade and export support, which can help companies break into new mar-kets across the globe. Exporting businesses will welcome the commitment of new funding, as long as it is used to help them strengthentheirexportingcapabil-

ity and to exploit opportunities in fast-growing markets overseas. We also welcome the fact that the government recognises the cru-cial role played by chambers of commerce, both here in the UK and overseas, as a unique re-source for exporters – and as the first port of call for traders the world over.

Here in surrey, we will be run-ning events with UK trade & Investment (UKtI) to drive inter-national trade upwards.

JANUARY

15 Tues Chamber Connections – Epsom BreakfastVenue: The Royal Box, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom KT18 5LQ

£30 £15

22 Tues Members Networking EveningVenue: The Holiday Inn, Portsmouth Road, Long Ditton KT6 5QQ

£30 FREE

23 Wed Business Women in Surrey – Networking at Pennyhill ParkVenue: Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa, London Road, Bagshot GU19 5EU

£40 £22

24 Thu Surrey Creative Media & IT ForumVenue: University of Creative Arts, Faulkner Road, Farnham GU9 7DS

£30 £20

30 Wed Open 18 Hole Stableford Golf CompetitionVenue: Hankley Common Golf Club, Tilford, Farnham GU10 2DD

£85 £76

30 Wed Chamber Connections – Betchworth BreakfastVenue: Hartsfield Manor, Sandy Lane, Betchworth RH3 7AA

£30 £15

31 Thu Chamber Connections – Woking BreakfastVenue: The Holiday Inn, Victoria Way, Woking GU21 8EW

£30 £15

December 20126

Current OverviewA Yuletide rally is often a reality in equity markets and the price action of recent would appear to confirm another is unfolding.

A 300 point fall has been quick-ly followed by an equivalent point bounce back in what has been a volatile past month.

Swinging sentiment primarily centred on the looming uS “fiscal cliff” has been the main contribu-tor. Apprehension relating to the potential impact of a cocktail of tax rises and spending cuts (or just a fiscal deal not being agreed) is quickly replaced with confidence on rumours that political discus-sions are progressing well.

investors will be hopeful that when the uncertainty is removed and the timetable and plan for debt reduction revealed, that the uS economy will be able to con-tinue to grow. After all, the nation has played a very important role over the past couple of years in supporting markets. Personally i believe that the Americans will in-deed agree the structure (and not simply kick the can further down the road as in 2010) and thus

alarm on the issue is probably mis-placed. There is simply too much at stake with the global economy both interlocking and expanding for them to pass anything stupid.

in addition to the focus on the uS, a renewed anxiety over europe has also moved itself once again to the forefront of investors’ minds. While Greece has just se-cured another tranche of financial aid which temporarily buoyed the market, France has had its coveted AAA sovereign credit rating down-graded by Moody’s in a reminder that even the stronger eurozone players have financial stresses of their own. to add insult to injury, Moody’s investors Service has also controversially downgraded the credit risk security ratings of the region’s bailout funds. High un-employment rates (on an average basis at 11.7% in October) and (at large) anaemic growth continue to pervade and permeate europe. Spain in particular is running at 26% unemployment with more than half of young people unem-ployed. Mario draghi, the eCB president, said it will be the latter end of 2013 before tangible evi-dence of recovery is seen in europe. We look forward to it.

Canadian central banker Mark Carney has accepted the City’s equivalent to the england football

team manager’s position to be-come the new Governor of the Bank of england from next sum-mer. A surprise choice by the Chancellor but most probably a good one. With youth on his side at 47 years and committed to a five year stint at his desk, i think we can look forward to a flexible but no-nonsense approach per-haps adopting different monetary tools and economic targets to move the uK in the right direction. Clearly the challenge is a formida-ble one but one Mr Carney obvi-ously feels he can rise to.

Clearly, 2013 is shaping up to be another interesting year but one which is capable of further upside in world markets.

Market Specific CommentThe energy sector has been a

relative underperformer for some time and i refer to oil companies ranging from blue chip down to smaller market capitalisation names. FtSe 100 behemoths BP, Royal dutch Shell and BG Group warrant a mention here and my view would be that while there al-ways exist stock specific reasons influencing share prices, the gen-eral concern the oil price is set to fall radically is likely to be wrong. Single digit price to earnings ratios are now commonplace for many

of the world’s largest oil players and i suggest these look too low and conservative. Strong cash-flows also produce high income yields (dividend payments) from many of the leading sector names which provides additional invest-ment case comfort. Selectively ac-quire ahead of a sector re-rating over the coming months.

Beleaguered Thomas Cook shareholders finally have encour-aging news. New CeO Harriet Green who took the helm in the summer has insisted the company is “not broken” despite reporting a £485 million annual loss. Citing “pockets of excellence” in the business and steady Q4 trading, expect to see more shop closures and cost savings targeting debt re-duction and operational improve-ment. details relating to the over-all turnaround plan are yet to be revealed but if her £115,000 value director share purchase last week is anything to go by, shares may have further to travel. Not for wid-ows or orphans, it is high risk and contrarian but worth watching now it has “turned a corner” in the CeO’s opinion.

December 2012 7

By Philip ScottHead of Advisory Stockbrokingat Simple Investments

Philip Scott.

Christmas rally set to fuel festive feel-good factor?

This article was written by Philip Scott, Head of Advisory Stockbroking at Simple Investments on 30/11/12 when the FTSE 100 was trading at 5870 The writer does not hold a position in any equities mentioned above, although his clients may.

Investment watch Keeping an eye on the markets

A £15M development overlooking the world-famous Brooklands racetrack, combining modern en-ergy-saving specifications with heritage, has been launched with a ViP tour.

Just like on the circuit, grid girls greeted guests who were then tak-en up to admire the view over Brooklands, enjoy a buffet and even play Scalextric.

The Velocity Brooklands devel-opment at Weybridge, the work of international management and construction consultancy Gleeds, was built to achieve BReeAM excellent status through a range of techniques.

The two five-storey buildings feature variable refrigerant flow air conditioning, which works only when required, as well as uti-lising rainwater harvesting, photo voltaic panels and solar heat col-lectors. electric car charging facili-ties were also installed.

in September, Velocity wel-comed special guest, the Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP, who spent 30 minutes onsite and cut a ribbon to unofficially mark the ‘topping out’ of the buildings.

He said: “Velocity’s sustainabil-ity statistics are very impressive

and the development is visually a great complement to Brooklands.

“it was a brave investment in this climate, but decisive action and projects like this will contrib-ute to getting this country’s econ-omy moving again.”

The development, providing 106,000sqft of office space, was commissioned by property spe-cialists exton estates ltd in con-junction with Rockspring uK Value Brooklands (Jersey) ltd.

Gleeds worked closely with the

contractor and english Heritage throughout to put in place a pro-tected track-way system over the existing race track to ensure its preservation for future generations.

Ross Savage, director at Gleeds, said: “We are delighted to have been entrusted with this project at the historic Brooklands racetrack.

“Our extensive experience working with sustainable pro-grammes enabled us to ensure that the striking design not only

matched BReeAM excellent spec-ifications but also maintained the heritage of the track.”

Stuart Bedford, director of exton estates, said: “it was great to welcome so many experienced agents and architects to the offi-cial opening. We’re very proud of the development, and i think our guests were pretty impressed too.”

Mayor of elmbridge Cllr Janet turner was also set to visit the de-velopment this month to see the development for herself.

High Velocity success at sustainable development

Grid girls welcomed guests at the launch of Velocity Brooklands. Exton Estate directors James Mawson and Stuart Bedford.

December 20128

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Arcom IT ensures Surrey Chambers of Commerce keeps working

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A new face at Arcom ITAndy Houston.

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