DEALS REVIEW:THE AMERICANSARE COMINGDEALS REVIEW:THE AMERICANSARE COMINGIT Keeping up with GoogleSKILLSRetaining TalentLOGISTICSWho’s in the drivingseatwww.blmgroup.co.ukWWW.EASTMIDLANDSBUSINESSLINK.CO.UKJUNE 2015EAST MIDLANDS LEADING BUSINESS E-MAGYour guide to the pharmaceutical world The completePharma packageGet one step ahead of your competitors withPharma Business International – your completeguide to this fast-moving, innovative andhighly specialised industry!From the publishers ofFood & Drink International,Pharma Business International is basedaround incisive and authoritative information and opinion from the major players in the industry – you'll wonder how you coped without it!Available to subscribers as a printed magazinePublished online at www.pbiforum.net Distributed at numerous industry exhibitionsFind out more! Call +44 (0)1472 310302 or visitwww.pbiforum.netPharmaBUSINESS INTERNATIONALEDITOR’S NOTESwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 3When I first started covering the East Midlands business scene in 2007, people were fallingover themselves to sell their businesses. Back then you could pretty much name your priceand walk off with a very tidy sum in your back pocket with which to retire or set up your newbusiness. The corporate finance teams could hardly keep up, and everything in the gardenwas rosy.And then the crash and the deepest recession in living memory. Those wanting to selltheir businesses had to either hang in there or sell at rock bottom prices. The corporatefinance boys weren't in the bars every Friday afternoon. Most of them disappearedaltogether, desperately trying to put deals together from their desks... and usually failing.Banks shut up shop, and business owners had to either rely on a stockpile of cash to buy arival, or simply give up hope of doing a deal.Slowly, things are changing. I spoke to two prominent dealmakers this month, both ofwhom pointed to a real renaissance in the market. They're getting calls again from peoplewho want to sell, and prices, whilst they'll probably never get up to 2007 levels, are"sensible".Both pointed to the fact that, in the US, the deals market is booming - and is back up topre-recessionary levels. In our special deals report in this issue we ask whether that boomwill manifest itself in the East Midlands. We also take a look at the skills gap in middlemanagement, as with owners who want to retire having to stick around until the next waveof talent can be nurtured and take over the company. There's a real problem of successionout there, the experts say. Where are the next business leaders, and how long before they'reready to lead fast-growing companies? Time will tell...Sam MetcalfEditorA big deal? ContentsJune 2015Latest News 6The latest news from the regionManufacturing News 8News and views from around the East MidlandsAppointments10Who’s moving where Deals News12The latest news from the dealmakers around the regionProperty News14All the latest from the property sectorDeals 16Still clinging on to a business that you wanted to exit yearsago? Don't worry, say the region's dealmakers - theAmericans are coming...Finance20Hot on the heels of Export Week, UK Export Finance’sexport finance adviser Johanna McSweeney explains howEast Midlands businesses wanting to export in emergingmarkets should consider the value in using letters of creditto help secure funding.Networking24Last month, Nottingham Professional Services (NPS) agroup that Greg Simpson of Press for Attention has helpedto establish in Nottingham, is hosted an event aimed atensuring that business professionals get the most out oftheir contacts.Round Table 25A recent report from the Higher Education Careers ServiceUnit (Hecsu) showed that the East Midlands has the lowestretention of students of any UK region, with 39.2 per centof those who studied in the region in employment theresix months after graduation.Information Technology 28Google – some mobile-friendly advice… by Roger Davies.Coaching 30In many coaching sessions discussions about businessperformance usually centre on topics like marketing,financial management, and productivity enhancements,says Stuart Ross of Global High Growth.Round Table 33The East Midlands is the traditional heartland of UKlogistics, but as the sector faces staffing issues, our latestround table, sponsored by Grant Thornton, asked who andwhat is driving the industry?AutoLink 36An executive car shouldn’t just be a machine for gettingyou to the office or for transporting you to clients. Itshould also inspire you and make a good impact onothers. Shallow as that sounds, we all know image goes along way in the world of business – and with these threenew executive expresses, first impressions will certainlycount.Out of Office38All the leisure sector news from the last month436East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk2823EditorSam Metcalfs.metcalf@blmgroup.co.ukAdvertisingLisa Muckle l.muckle@blmgroup.co.ukAccounts & SubscriptionsAngela Sharman, Dawn Cookaccounts@blmgroup.co.ukTel: (01472) 310301 Fax: (01472) 310311Design & ProductionGary Jorgensen, Mark Casson,Rachel Greenstudio@blmgroup.co.ukTel: (01472) 310304Fax: (01472) 310314E-Mail:eastmidlands@blmgroup.co.ukPublisherHaychart Ltd, t/a Business Link Magazine Group,Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby, N.E. Lincs., DN31 2QE.All rights reserved. No part of this publicationmay be reproduced, transmitted, photocopied,recorded or otherwise without expresspermission of the copyright holder, for whichapplication should be addressed first to thepublisher. While every reasonable care is taken,neither the publisher nor its participating agentsaccept liability for loss or damage to prints,colour transparencies, negatives or othermaterial of whatever nature submitted to thispublication. The views expressed in thispublication are not necessarily the views of thoseheld by the publisher.@BLMEastMidlandsBLMEastMidlands5www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Cover photo: SHUTTERSTOCK.COM / XTOCKGENERAL NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk6Shakespeares and SGHMartineau confirmmergerTwo Midlands law firms, Shakespeares and SGHMartineau, have confirmed they will complete their mergeron 15th June.The deal will create Shakespeare Martineau, a new legalfirm employing 900 people with a combined annualturnover of £75m, and offices in Birmingham, Leicester,London, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Solihull, Stratford-upon-Avon, Sheffield and Brussels.Andy Raynor, CEO at Shakespeares and nowShakespeare Martineau, said: “I’m delighted with the waythis has gone - all our people have worked togetherbrilliantly. Shakespeare Martineau will have a strongcommercial personality and the merger demonstrates thecommitment of both firms to grow and keep ahead of arapidly changing and vibrant marketplace.”Emma Shipp, managing partner at SGH Martineau, said:“Announcing the firm’s merger plans has cemented ourshared vision– to be a progressive and distinctive law firmfocused on making a difference for our clients. I’mconfident that by joining forces we will have an excitingbusiness in which all of our people can develop and thrive.”Premier Logistics agrees deal with The Blueberry Group Bardon-based Premier Logistics has announced a new partnership with Market Harborough food firm, The Blueberry Group.The initial, 18-month contract will see Premier Logistics taking sole responsibility for The Blueberry Group’s domestic palletised freightdistribution, with the majority of consignments routed through the Pall-Ex network.Laura Shears, managing director at The Blueberry Group, said: “I believe that the service provided by Premier Logistics and the Pall-Ex network will enhance our customer offering, which has steadily increased and diversified to meet growing customer demand.”Mark Steel, sales director at Premier Logistics, explained: “Premier Logistics has made a strong start to the year with several newcontract wins. We are delighted to have secured this partnership with The Blueberry Group, in the face of stiff competition.“The Blueberry Group is a very professional outfit, making the two businesses a great fit. Premier Logistics carries a large volume ofambient food produce for existing customers and our fast moving consumer goods business continues to grow.“We are looking forward to delivering a great service which will lead to a long and mutually beneficial business partnership.”Kevin Buchanan, Pall-Ex Group managing director, added: “Success stories such as this latest announcement by Premier Logisticsprove that Pall-Ex is leading the sector with its determined focus upon quality partnerships and service excellence.“The Pall-Ex brand is an attractive proposition for customers. Our business is based upon shared operating standards, allowinghauliers to offer complete overnight coverage of the UK and beyond, with confidence in their network partners.”The Blueberry Group produces a range of more than 3,500 product lines, dispatching more than 25,000 consignments every year.Moving out of city 'the best thingwe ever did', says Cleggs A Nottingham law firm hasput its success down tomoving out of Nottinghamcity centre 12 years ago.Cleggs Solicitorsspecialises in providing legalservices to commercial andprivate clients in Nottingham,Nottinghamshire, the rest ofthe East Midlands andnationwide. Business for thefirm is flourishing and thishas seen Cleggs expand intonew, neighbouring premisesto accommodate the firm’sgrowth.The firm, originally set upover 45 years ago inNottingham city centre, isbased at Apex Court,Ruddington Lane, Wilford and has practised from there since 2003. The move has seenthe firm retain its existing office and expand into an adjacent building to create onesingle larger premises.Mark Williams, director at Cleggs Solicitors, said: “We have an extremely strongteam here at Cleggs with a great deal of experience and expertise which is the mainreason behind our success. We also pride ourselves on our personal, friendlyapproach.“Further to this, a major part of our success has been re-locating out of NottinghamCity Centre. For clients coming to our office, it has made it so much easier for them toget to us at all times of the day as there is far less traffic to negotiate due to ourlocation and we have parking available on site. I would say that relocating out ofNottingham city centre was the best thing we ever did.”William added: “We have recruited several new team members recently and addedto the partnership as demand for our services grows. We plan to expand the firmfurther, recruiting more staff in the future. Therefore, our expanded building is key tomeeting our growth plans.“We wouldn’t consider a move back to the city centre and clients tell us they farprefer our out of town location. Our base at Apex Court is also better for our staffmembers as they too benefit from the fact it’s easier to reach and has parking at thepremises. In addition the latest tram line is due to become operational very shortlymaking access even easier and convenient,” Williams said.As well as providing additional space, Cleggs Solicitors is in the process of sub-letting the ground floor of the new building to another professional firm from the citycentre.The expansion has seen Cleggs Solicitors take on 2,591 sq ft of extra space in a dealbrokered by commercial property specialists, NG Chartered Surveyors.GENERAL NEWS7Timico flies high with WirebirdacquisitionTimico Technology Group,the Newark-based internet,hosting and communicationsfirm, has bought Wirebird, aprivately-held IT andmanaged services provider.Wirebird is based inLondon and was formed in1998. The company employs50 people.Tim Radford, chiefexecutive officer at Timico,said: “The addition ofWirebird to the Timico groupis an exciting developmentfor us. We have workedtogether as partners forsome time and their expertise in fully-managed and outsourced IT solutions in particular,perfectly complements the internet, hosting and communication services we supply to a verysimilar profile of business customer. As well as having all the right technical credentials, theyare a great team of people to do business with.”Wirebird's CEO Malcolm Gardiner will continue to run the company under the Wirebirdbrand, as an independent subsidiary of the Timico Technology Group. He said: “We aredelighted to become part of the group and add our experience and expertise in ITmanagement to the Timico portfolio. This as a very positive step in the growth anddevelopment of Wirebird and we are also excited about giving our clients access to a widerrange of services in the future.”The deal is Timico's eighth since it was set up in 2004.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Southby takes thechair at MarketingNottingham andNottinghamshireNottingham lawyer Paul Southby has beenappointed Chairman of the board of MarketingNottingham and Nottinghamshire, the new PlaceMarketing Organisation (PMO) created to promoteinward investment, tourism and business events inNottingham and Nottinghamshire.The new PMO will combine ExperienceNottinghamshire, Invest in Nottingham andNottingham Means Business into one company,with the objective of driving economic growththrough increased inward investment andimproved visitor numbers, spend and length ofstay.Southby was formerly the chairman ofNottingham Means Business, and before that theInvest in Nottingham club. He is a partner at lawfirm Geldards.Southby said: “This is an exciting time for thecity and county. Our immediate focus is onstrategy development and on ensuring continuityof business. We’ll be sure to deliver the sameexcellent service across all markets to our businesspartners and stakeholders, whilst we consult onand develop a single business strategy for thefuture, and a set of consistent messages by whichwe and partner organisations across the countycan market Nottingham and Nottinghamshire’sgreat offer.”Jennifer Spencer, chief executive of ExperienceNottinghamshire, currently a trading name of thenew PMO, said: “I’m delighted to welcome PaulSouthby as the new chairman of our board; he isperfectly placed to help us deliver a unifiedpromotional message about the entireNottinghamshire offer.”Councillor David Lloyd, deputy leader of Newark& Sherwood District Council and chair of theeconomic development committee, said: “As thehome of a thriving business community and manyof the top visitor attractions in the county, Newark& Sherwood is looking forward to working with thenew PMO to build on the great work already beingdone.”University reveals double expansionplansThe University of Derby has revealed expansion plans to its portfolio across two sites in thecity.A £20m copper building in the city, Friar Gate Square, is to become new 32,000 sq ft, six-storey home to Derby Law School.Meanwhile, the University of Derby has submitted £12m plans for a 48,000 sq ft extensionto its Markeaton Street Campus to handle the increasing demand for Science, Technology,Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects.The news comes six months after the University secured £5m from the Higher EducationFunding Council for England (HEFCE).Willmott Dixon is the leader contractor on the project. Designs were created by CPMGArchitects, while Bondholder Rodgers Leask and CPW will act as structural engineer andbuilding services engineer respectively.Nottinghamshire engineeringfirm grows with technologyinvestmentA family-owned Nottinghamshire engineering business has experienced arecord year of growth after investing in new technology after securing afinance deal from Yorkshire bank.Swiftool Precision Engineering has announced a record high increase of30 percent in sales and is currently recruiting new staff to cater for the rise in activity.The engineering business targets the nuclear, defence and oil and gas industries with a number of market-leading customers including GE Oil & Gas,Rolls Royce Power Engineering and Aker Subsea.The business recently bought a number of new machines for its special projects cell. This machining and assembly cell has been developed specificallyfor GE Oil and Gas. Yorkshire Bank provided £500,000 to support the investment.Stuart Handley, co-owner and managing director, said: “Yorkshire Bank has always been supportive of our ambitions. With their help we have beenable to invest in the very latest machine tools to keep up with growing demand.“The Bank continues to support us financially, not only in terms of new machinery, but also for key projects and the high level of stock required to fuelthe growth we have recently enjoyed.”The deal was brokered by Russell Kilner, relationship manager at Yorkshire Bank’s Business and Private Banking Centre in Nottingham.Russell said: “Swiftool is an ambitious business that is committed to continuous improvement and this has led to impressive growth during recentyears. The engineering company is consistently looking for opportunities to innovate to provide the best product for its growing customer base and wehave been delighted to provide funding for its latest investment.“As economic conditions continue to improve, Yorkshire Bank remains focused on supporting the growth ambitions of businesses in the Midlands.”MANUFACTURING NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk8Derbyshire manufacturereyes growth after relocationA seven-figure investment has seen bubble wrap manufacturer PHFlexible Packaging buy new premises.PH Flexible Packaging was established in 1986 and employs 16staff. The business manufactures protective and insulating productsfor a diverse range of industries, from automotive to chilleddistribution. This, coupled with the continued success of their onlinebusiness PackagingGB.co.uk, has seen the business expand in recentyears.Having outgrown their existing premises and keen to increasecapability, directors Paul Horobin and Denise Norman approachedNatWest’s senior relationship manager Ben Lavin to secure a seven-figure loan.The deal has enabled the business to purchase a new 21,373square-foot unit, based on Gresley Business Park, Swadlincote.Together with new machinery and extra staff, it is expected that bothPH Flexible Packaging and Packaging GB will expand by 30 per centover the next two years.Paul Horobin said: “The assistance offered by NatWest has beenbrilliant. With their help we have managed to secure premises we cangrow into and create a state-of-the-art production and distributionfacility. This also helps to secure the future for our staff, many ofwhich live locally and have worked with us for over 15 years.“We are now looking forward to further expansion from ourSwadlincote headquarters.”Lavin added: “It’s a real pleasure to work alongside Paul andDenise and to be a part of their ongoing growth. Having supportedthe firm since 2009, we’re proud to have enabled this thriving localmanufacturer to reach a pivotal moment in the history of thebusiness.”BowmerHoldingsbuys toolcompany out ofadministration Ashbourne-based Bowmer Bond has bought a Telford company thatmanufactures tool storage and holdings out of administration.Tool@rrest entered administration on 27th March after consultationswith PKF Cooper Parry. The firm had been losing money for theprevious 14 months and had run out of money to meet payments. NickEdwards and Tyrone Courtman from PKF Cooper Parry were appointedjoint administrators.Courtman said: “An initial assessment identified that it would benecessary to announce a reduction in the company’s workforce andsadly it became necessary to make redundant a number of thecompany’s employees shortly thereafter.“Following our appointment a more detailed assessment was maderegarding the ability of the company to trade under the control of theadministrators and it was concluded that it could not trade. This resultedin all of the company’s remaining employees being made redundant.”The company was sold to Bowmer Bond on 2nd April. Thetransaction was led for the administrators by Tyrone Courtman, jointadministrator. The administrators legal advisors were Ashteds Solicitors.For Bowmer Bond the deal was led by Philip Horsnall. Bowmer Bond'slegal advisors were Freeths.MANUFACTURING NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 9New production line gives Phoenix Group fivefold increasein capacityNotts-based food oil producer and co-packing firm Phoenix Group has increased capacity at its filling facilities fivefold thanks to a new, six-figure investment in its production capabilities.The new bottling line was installed at the company’s Nottinghamshire factory in March at a cost of £120,000 and is the first phase of a two-partproject to service its growing share of the cold pressed rapeseed and coconut oil markets in the UK and overseas.Adding automated capping and filling processes to existing automated labelling, it allows for easy switching between product types for shorterruns as well as the flexibility to fill volumes from 50 ml up to 1 litre. Its addition means Phoenix can now fill 1,500 bottles per hour compared to350 previously.By the time the second upgrade is completed later on this year, adding automated bottle decanter feeds and labelling systems, the line’scapacity will have increased sevenfold in 12 months to 2,200 bottles every hour.Production manager for Phoenix Group, Paul Paveling, said: “This investment matches our ambitions for growth and signals a step change inthe scale of contracts we can now deliver for our customers.“As the biggest player in the cold pressing market, we’re now far ahead of the competition and want to keep building on that. With doubleproduction shifts coming into force this month we’ll soon be running 24/7 operations for the first time on this new line, meaning that our outputshould increase significantly in the coming months.The new line is the latest Capex purchase for the UK’s largest producer of cold pressed seed oils and supplier of white label contract fillingwhich, after growing its sales by 35 per cent in 2014, is forecasting a further 50 per cent increase in turnover this year.Vergnet expands into EastMidlandsA Frenchmanufacturer ofwind turbines hasopened an office inRipley, as it looks toexpand its UKbusiness.The company,which has 28 windturbines installed inthe UK, has movedinto Ray RushinBusiness Park inWhiteley Road in thetown.Diana Popa,Vergnet’s head ofsales, Europe andNorth America, said:“We are delighted to announce the opening of our new UKsubsidiary in Ripley, Derbyshire. The last five years have seenmajor growth for medium wind projects here with capacity rising60 per ent year-on-year.“The new subsidiary confirms our continued commitment to theUK market, supports our growth strategy and most importantlybrings us closer to our increasing base of UK customers who relyon our full after-sales services and operations and maintenance(O&M) to keep their wind turbines operating at maximumperformance.”Vergnet has installed medium scale wind turbines on farms inCornwall, Leicester, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire,Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Suffolk, East Lothian, theScottish Borders and Northern Ireland.The company currently employs almost 185 people in its windenergy division with 70 per cent of the workforce employed indesign, engineering and operations and maintenance. Alongsidethe new subsidiary, the company recently recruited staff inoperational and sales roles in the UK.Next >