AUGUST 2016EAST MIDLANDS LEADING BUSINESS E-MAGPROFESSIONALSERVICES Alistair Wesson speaksRETAILBrexit and customer loyaltyDEVOLUTIONWhere next?www.blmgroup.co.ukWWW.EASTMIDLANDSBUSINESSLINK.CO.UKON THE RAILROAD TO SUCCESSEMBL meets Inside Out GroupON THE RAILROAD TO SUCCESSEMBL meets Inside Out GroupEDITOR’S NOTESIt would be premature to say the post-Brexit dust has settled, but wedo at least have a new Prime Minister in Theresa May. A modicum ofstability at the top can only help businesses navigate their way throughall this uncertainty. In the East Midlands the prevailing attitude has beenquite pragmatic – “let’s see how the political changes pan out, let’s planfor the future”. Most are simply getting on with it. In this issue we meet Donna Bickley of Inside Out Group, theNottingham-based company doing exciting work in the facilitiesmanagement, surveillance and film production industries. Elsewhere,our latest roundtable sponsored by Freeths considers devolution inNottingham; Mazars’ East Midlands managing partner Alistair Wessondiscusses the importance of location; Tim Davis from Exco InTouch tellsus about the world of clinical trials; and Spearing Waite tell us abouttheir recent office move in Leicester.Enjoy. Ian EvansEditorGetting onwith itContentsAugust 2016Latest News6The latest news from the regionDeals8The latest news from the dealmakers around the regionProperty News 10All the latest from the property sectorAppointments12Who’s moving whereManufacturing News14News and views from around the East MidlandsCover Story17EMBL meets Donna Bickley of Inside Out GroupRetail20What does Brexit spell for customer loyalty?Devolution21Can Nottingham grow without devolution? Our latestroundtable sponsored by Freeths asked the questionsCredit Reports24Q&A with Company Check’s Chloë Webber Pharma26A chat with Exco InTouch CEO Tim DavisPublic Relations29The latest advice from Greg Simpson of Press for AttentionPRNutrition30Introducing MediCity-based start-up SNAP NutritionProfessional Services32Alistair Wesson speaks Law33Spearing Waite on their recent office moveOut of Office Special36Awards and charity work Autolink38Maserati Quattroporte road testSocial Scene40Nottingham Means Business Race Day243830EditorIan Evansi.evans@blmgroup.co.ukAccounts & SubscriptionsAngela Sharmanaccounts@blmgroup.co.ukTel: (01472) 310301 Fax: (01472) 310311Design & ProductionGary Jorgensen, Mark Cassonstudio@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.@BLMEastMidlandsBLMEastMidlandsGENERAL NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk6trentbarton invests £3.5min new busestrentbarton is investing £3.5m in new British-built buses thatwill go into service from November.The 22 new Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) buses will beintroduced to the Mickleover and nines services. The nines linkDerby and Mansfield, with the routes including Ripley, Alfretonand Sutton.The new single-deck buses are the latest Enviro200 modelsfrom ADL which are lighter and more fuel efficient withimproved suspension. Inside, the new buses will feature woodeffect flooring, LED lighting, visual and audio next-stopannouncements and extra legroom.They also include free superfast Wi-Fi and USB power atevery seat and feature two multimedia shelves on board.The ADL Enviro200s have more seats than previoustrentbarton vehicles of the same lengths. trentbarton hasordered eight 11.8 metre vehicles, seating 42, and 14 that are10.8 metres long with 38 seats.Jeff Counsell, managing director of at trentbarton, said: “Wecan’t wait to get these new vehicles on the road.“We’ve worked closely with our friends at ADL to take thesebuses to a whole new level and offer passengers somethingexciting and unique. We’re confident in saying that thesebuses will be the best in the country”.ADL will build the new buses at its Scarborough factory,which also assembled the nine luxury coaches that joinedtrentbarton’s red arrow fleet last year.Richard Matthews, sales director at ADL, said: “It’s been areal pleasure to work in close collaboration with thetrentbarton team to specify the best buses for them, their staffand their customers. We’re sure that the finished buses will setnew customer experience standards and surpassexpectations”.Forest legend backs new recruitment agencyA new recruitment firm backed by an ex-England international football player is already planning for the next stage of growth after a stellar first sixmonths of business. Distinct Recruitment was set up in January by James Calder, former CEO at Macildowie. He is now joined by a 10-strong teammade up of former Macildowie colleagues at the Landmark building in Tudor Square, West Bridgford with the backing of former Nottingham Forestand Spurs player and current Hull City captain Michael Dawson as non-executive director and Paul Macildowie as chairman.Calder, along with colleague and director of Distinct Arran Jaiswal, has invested £250,000 into the company, which specialises in accountancy &finance, human resources, procurement & supply chain and sales & marketing.He said: “We’re not your average recruitment agency. We’re not driven by targets, quotas or money, we’re driven by people. We believe thatpeople are the most important part of everything we do. It’s this belief that drives our approach, ensuring we take the time to fully understand you asan individual.“The first five months have been hard work – but great fun, and we’re ready to take the business to the next level. We’ll be looking at creatingfurther jobs and expanding Distinct by over three times its current capacity. These are exciting times”.Major gain for Wilson ValeIndependent catering company Wilson Vale has gained a full service contractwith Conference Aston in Birmingham – the single largest contract in its fourteenyear history to date.Worth £1.75 million in annual turnover, the three-year contract is due to starton 1st August when Wilson Vale will take over from the incumbents, Sodexo, atthe 163 bedroom AIM accredited residential conference centre, which is part ofAston University.As well as managing catering and hospitality services under a seven-dayoperation, the Ashby-based catering company will manage housekeeping and barservices. A team of 46 Wilson Vale staff will be involved in running the contract atthe venue which attracts up to 55,000 hotel guests and conference delegates eachyear.Andrew Wilson, co-founder of Wilson Vale, said: “This is a seriously specialmilestone for us. Over the last three years we have steadily developed ourconference and venues portfolio so to have gained this flagship venue shows ourunderstanding of the specific needs of this niche market.“We were up against some industry heavyweights, and it is wonderful thatConference Aston has bought into our food and our culture to drive their businessforward”.Samantha Brown, head of Conference Aston, said: “As a venue, we are alwaysseeking new ways to drive innovation into our guests’ experience, and food playsa crucial role within this, often creating the lasting impression for our conferenceand hotel guests.“The business tourism sector in Birmingham is increasingly competitive, so itwas vital that our contract partner for catering and housekeeping could providethe energy and creativity for us to stand out from the increasing number ofconference hotels and continue to develop our first class service offer. WilsonVale stood out during the tender process with their passion for fresh, local,homemade food and we are looking forward to taking our food offer across ourrestaurants and bar to exciting new places as we progress the partnership”.The value of Wilson Vale’s conference portfolio has doubled over the lasttwelve months, representing 15% of the business, with the remainder of theportfolio within business and industry and private education.GENERAL NEWS7www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link Nottingham celebratescreative businesses at#CC2016A diverse range of businesses were praised for theirinnovation, dedication and exciting work in Nottinghamduring the Creative Class 2016 on 7th July, an eventcelebrating the next generation of creative businessesin the city.The Creative Class 2016 line up – or #CC2016 – wasannounced at the Nottingham Contemporary, with theten businesses – Boom Online Marketing, Cofabrico,Distinction, Exco InTouch, Hosta Consulting, MultiPie,Retail Assist, Roller Agency, The Simplifiers and SumoDigital – being identified as having huge growthpotential.Kathy McArdle, chief executive of The CreativeQuarter, said: “Recent figures announced by theDepartment of Culture, Media and Sport show that theEast Midlands has the highest growing rate ofemployment in the creative industries in the UK – threetimes faster than the UK average with more than103,000 jobs in the region.“This news underlines just how important creativeindustries are to Nottingham and initiatives likeCreative Class 2016 are a vital part of supportinggrowing companies. This year’s winners are all creatingjobs for local people and attracting talent toNottingham, and by being part of #CC2016 they’ll beable to employ even more people. Plus, of course, theyshow what a diverse and exciting sector the creativeindustries is”.The Creative Class 2016 is co-supported byNottingham’s Creative Quarter, Nottingham MeansBusiness (NMB) and Nottingham City Council, and issponsored by PwC.Simon Gray, chief executive of Nottingham MeansBusiness, said: “This year’s Creative Class membersare an inspiration to the local business community andNottingham as a whole. Each one of these businessesis making an impact locally, across the country, and insome cases, across the world.“We are so proud of the Creative Class and all it hasachieved since it was launched in 2011. Now in its fifthyear, we have profiled numerous exciting andinnovative businesses and this year is no exception”.Councillor Nick McDonald, Nottingham City Councilportfolio holder for business, growth and transport,said: “We’re very pleased to once again support theCreative Class and these ten great Nottinghambusinesses typify the creativity that’s makingNottingham a real focal point for innovation andimagination. Congratulations to all of them on whatthey’ve achieved”.£2m data centre creates new jobs inNottinghamA new £2m state-of-the-art data centre has created 11 jobs in Nottingham.Space Data Centres started testing its new Tier 3 facility just outside the city centrelast September and has gone live ahead of schedule.The new data centre features A/B/C power supply, cold aisle containment, fire andVesda detection and suppression systems, 24-hour security and high-speedconnectivity. Space Data Centres also offers the full range of colocation, managedhosting and cloud services.Gary Digva, sales director at Space Data Centres, said: “We’ve been busy building abrand new infrastructure with the customer in mind.“We’ve invested years of research into producing a data centre which can host highdensity equipment and lower costs and with a flexible footprint, and we’re delighted tobe able to create a number of new jobs to boost the local economy”.The new tier 3 data centre is custom designed and built to spec.Digva said: “Having worked with technology for a long time it’s difficult for it not topermeate all aspects of your life, which is why our chill-out room is full of it – evenincluding a retro arcade machine”.Space Data Centres has invested over £2m in the brand new facility, which is UKASAccredited ISO27001 Information Security, registered under the Data Protection Act andcomplies with the EU Code of Conduct for Green Data Centres.Digva added: “Within our purpose built data centre, we are utilising the most up todate servers and fire-wall technology to create a modern, secure environment, offeringflexible footprints at lower costs and all to the highest industry standards.“We offer a wide range of services and options, whether a virtual solution, dedicatedservers or hosting your high density equipment, we will tailor a package that is right foryou. Space Data Centres is a relaxed environment, your home away from the office.“Come and meet us in our customer lounge for a chat about protecting your biggestasset – your data”.Notts firm gets on board with exclusive German dealA Nottingham-based company specialising in visual display products has created an exclusivepartnership with a renowned German manufacturer to bring its new collection of magnetic glassboards to the UK.BoardsDirect.co.uk has expanded its product range by signing an exclusive deal with officesupplies manufacturer Sigel, which is known for its innovative style-led designs.The deal covers the exclusive marketing and trade distribution of all magnetic glass boards withspecial designs.The new Artverum collection features magnetic glass noticeboards with unique design effects,such as wood, copper and bronze, which deliver a finish that is both practical and artistic.Paul Pinder, director at Boards Direct, said: “We are excited to bring this exclusive collection to theUK for the first time, as they offer a contemporary twist on the classic noticeboard and are a naturalfit for our existing portfolio. This partnership is a natural one for Boards Direct, as our company ethosechoes that of Sigel. We pride ourselves on providing our customers with high quality, innovativeproducts that are not only functional, but help to transform work spaces with design-led ideas.“These are one of a kind designs and are like nothing else currently on the market, which is why we were so keen to bring them to the UK. The initialfeedback we have received from our customers has been very positive and we look forward to seeing these used in a working environment”.Sven Reimann, international business development manager at Sigel, said: “Boards Direct has established itself as a brand that specialises in highquality visual display products, which makes it an excellent fit for Sigel. Our latest range of contemporary glass noticeboards really pushes the boundariesof design, so we are pleased that Boards Direct is able to bring them to a UK audience for the first time”.DEALSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk8Notts-made chimneys set for world’slargest indoor theme park in DubaiAn industrial chimney system manufactured in Nottinghamshire is being shipped to Dubai to beinstalled in the world’s largest indoor theme park after A1 Flue Systems signed a landmark exportdeal.IMG Worlds of Adventure covers an area of more than 1.5 million sq ft and will feature fouradventure zones – including ones for Cartoon Network, MARVEL, IMG Boulevard and Lost ValleyDinosaur Adventure – under one roof. It is due to open this year.The project is a massive boost for the company from Ollerton, which is the UK market leader inthe design, manufacture and installation of commercial and industrial chimney, flue and exhaustsystems.Director TJ Duncan-Moir said the company has achieved quicker-than-expected export growthafter it formed a strategic alliance with the Abu Dhabi-based Bin Jabr Group, which is activelyinvolved in heating and cooling products projects across the UAE. With the World Expo in 2020(Dubai) and the FIFA World Cup in 2022 (Qatar) on the horizon, the region has high growthpotential.TCL acquires PlantscapeLandscape and estate management provider TCL has added another major player to its serviceportfolio by acquiring floral display supplier Plantscape.Plantscape, based in Ashbourne, Derbyshire, has been trading since the mid-1980s and providesservices to hundreds of regional local authorities, including borough, town and parish councils, as wellas many private commercial organisations.Its products can be seen in streets and public spaces across the country but have previously beenused by Glasgow City Council to decorate the city for the 2014 Commonwealth Games and were alsoinstalled on the approach roads to the Lee Valley White Water Centre in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire,when it was being used as a venue for the 2012 Olympic Games.Plantscape has also developed the UK’s only solar powered Christmas tree for civic festive displays,offering a genuine off-grid solution capable of saving thousands of pounds in installation fees andenergy bills.TCL Group CEO Simon Cashmore said of the acquisition: “I have been a fan of what Plantscape hasbrought to the market over recent years, providing innovative design-led products that truly transformthe environments in which the products are used.“With such focus on environmental initiatives within many customer groups, particularly localauthorities, Plantscape products both look great and allow its customers to make considerable savingsin overheads through efficient watering regimes and reduced water wastage.“I am delighted that Plantscape’s managing director, Mark Stone, will remain with the business andcontinue to lead the process of developing further products and services”.Plantscape managing director Mark Stone said: “Being part of TCL will provide access to a far widerrange of customers and allow us to continue to grow the business organically.“TCL has a reputation for high quality service delivery and provides many services to the residential construction sector,education and early years’ sectors, local authority and leisure sectors.DEALS9www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link JCB renews transportmanagement contractwith Enderby logisticsfirmLeicestershire based transport management experts 3TLogistics has announced the renewal of its contract withJCB, one of the world’s largest manufacturers ofconstruction equipment. The contract will now run until2018.3T, which has its head office in Enderby, will be workingwith the company’s service division to provide transportmanagement systems for JCB in France, Czech Republic,the USA and the UK.As part of the new contract, 3T will be delivering a fullTMS system, as well as automated barcode labelling, trackand trace at part level and a customer facing businessintelligence platform (BIP).BIP is a web based platform which is designed to helpmanage a range of transport processes and large amountsof data for business discovery and reporting. 3T has alsorecently implemented its latest standalone product, DOCK,a bay management loading application to managecollections and deliveries.The contract involves processing JCB’s transportactivity across the company’s network of 17 regionalwarehouses, including the Staffordshire based World PartsCentre (WPC), which ships over 30,000 different linesevery week.Tim Fawkes, MD of 3T Logistics, said: “We haveestablished a great rapport with JCB over the years thatwe have worked with them and are delighted to becontinuing to help them manage what is obviously acomplex transport operation.“JCB Service prides itself on offering a fast turnaroundand aims to fulfil 95% availability of all urgent parts within24 hours, meaning that speed and customer service aretwo key deliverables”.Rolls-Royce to acquire stake inSpanish firm for €720mRolls-Royce Holdings is to purchase the outstanding 53.1% shareholding in Industriade Turbo Propulsores SA, a designer and manufacturer of aero engine componentsowned by SENER Grupo de Ingeniería SA. The acquisition strengthens Rolls-Royce’s position on its civil aerospace large enginegrowth programmes by capturing significant additional value from its long-termaftermarket revenues, including the high volume Trent 1000 and Trent XWB engines,where ITP has played a key role as a risk and revenue sharing partner. It also enhancesthe group’s manufacturing and services capabilities and adds value to its defenceaerospace business, particularly on the TP400 and EJ200 programmes.Rolls-Royce will pay SENER a total consideration of EUR 720m, subject to duediligence, for the outstanding 53.1% of ITP. This follows a decision by SENER toexercise its put option. Under the existing shareholder agreement, consideration willbe settled over a two year period following completion in eight equal, evenly spacedinstalments. The agreement allows flexibility to settle up to 50% of the consideration inthe form of Rolls-Royce shares. Final consideration as to whether the payments will besettled in cash or cash and shares will be determined by Rolls-Royce during thepayment period. Completion, which is subject to regulatory clearances, is expected inearly 2017.Warren East, CEO at Rolls-Royce, said: “We welcome the opportunity to acquire theoutstanding stake in ITP. ITP has been a trusted partner for Rolls-Royce over manyyears as well as working for other engine manufacturers. This investment will add toour aerospace capability, with excellent facilities, services and products, to generateadditional opportunities for profitable growth. We look forward to forging a closer andmore productive future together, and to welcoming ITP’s employees into Rolls-Royce. Iwould like to thank SENER for their close relationship over three decades as we havebuilt this exceptional business”.Jorge Sendagorta, SENER, President, said: “We inspired the creation of ITP in 1989and, over the years, supported the extraordinary management and professionals of thecompany with a focused long-term investment strategy based on best-in-classtechnology and production. We are extremely proud of the great achievements of ITP,but our mission is now complete and the time has come when it is Rolls-Royce whocan build the best future for the company. SENER will now concentrate on theexpansion of our core engineering business, dedicating more resources to ourambitious international strategy and to R&D. Thank you Rolls-Royce and ITP for thesethree decades of fruitful creation together”.Ignacio Mataix, ITP CEO, added: “I am delighted that we are joining the Rolls-Roycefamily. We have already worked together to create outstanding aerospace productsand services which will generate long term value. The acquisition will create newgrowth opportunities, while maintaining our current portfolio and strengthening ourglobal position. I am sure it will provide significant opportunities for our employeesacross the business”.Next >