ROUND TABLE Derby - the renaissancePROPERTY 3 steps to specdevelopmentINTERVIEWSimon Woodroffe,Yo! Sushiwww.blmgroup.co.ukWWW.EASTMIDLANDSBUSINESSLINK.CO.UKGROWINGPAINSCan the EastMidlandsmaintainmomentumNOVEMBER 2014EAST MIDLANDS LEADING BUSINESS E-MAGGROWINGPAINSCan the EastMidlandsmaintainmomentumWe can make your business systems better and more resilient without breaking the bank.www.demystifythecloud.co.uk @demystifycloud info@demystifythecloud.co.uk EmailFilesNetworkAppsdemystifyworking in the cloudAccountsMake your business bomb proof!Contact us now for your free Cloud Disaster Recovery Review.Make your business bomb proof!Contact us now for your free Cloud Disaster Recovery Review. Make your business bomb proof!Contact us now for your free Cloud Disaster Recovery Review. Make your business bomb proof!Contact us now for your free Cloud Disaster Recovery Review. Make your business bomb proof!Contact us now for your free Cloud Disaster Recovery Review. 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We can make your business systems better and more resilient without breaking the bank. www.demystifythecloud.co.uk@demystifycloudinfo@demystifythecloud.co.uk www.demystifythecloud.co.uk@demystifycloudinfo@demystifythecloud.co.uk www.demystifythecloud.co.ukinfo@demystifythecloud.co.uk EDITOR’S NOTESwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 3The second Higgins Report published last month did little to allay the fears that the East Midlands maymiss out of HS2. Whilst the rest of the country now pretty much knows where their respective stations aregoing to be, Higgins reported that - well... it probably won’t be Toton... and it might somewhere west of that(thought to be Breaston). But only maybe. But can you really blame Higgins’s reticence when he sees the low level intransigence of leading figures inthe public and private sector to come together and push forward the East Midlands’ case as a single entity.As the owner of one local consulting engineering firm said to me recently: “This wouldn’t have happenedwith Emda around...” He has a point, but that ship has sailed. It was heartening to see the Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire Chamber of Commerceissued a rallying cry on the day the Higgins report was published. The Chamber published a mini-manifestoto ensure that businesses are on board with HS2, that included: • That full connectivity to and from Derby, Nottingham, Leicester and East Midlands Airport, with onwardlinks to the wider region, are central to the East Midlands hub plan • That all three cities and counties enjoy the economic benefit that an East Midlands Hub will bring • That regeneration plans around an East Midlands hub are aligned to the activity of the D2N2 andLeicester and Leicestershire Local Enterprise Partnerships • That local businesses play an integral part in the development activity required to bring the EastMidlands hub forward • That investment in HS2 and an East Midlands hub should not come at the expense of wider investmentin rail infrastructure in the East MidlandsThese are great starting points for the wider business community to rally around. However, has the casebeen put at the grass roots level ñ to SMEs for whom the LEP (for example) means very little. The jobscreated by the East Midlands HS2 line, and the associated infrastructure and building work, will be amassive boost to a region. Whilst the East Midlands is creating jobs faster than anywhere outside of Londonand the South-East, it still has a huge youth unemployment problem.The recent East Midlands Rail Summit did see something of a sea change in attitudes, it has to be said.There does seem to be a drip, drip, drip of realisation that everyone needs to pull together from the localpoliticians and councillors, but that is no good at all unless business backing is lacking, for it is the privatesector that will end up footing some of the bill to drive HS2.What we at East Midlands Business Link are calling for is a proper, clear, concise message that businessesof all sizes can get behind. The opportunities that HS2 brings are myriad, and this is a once in a lifetimeopportunity to bring Nottingham not only closer to London, but also closer to its Northern counterparts. In-fighting and political jostling simply won’t cut it this time ñ the sooner the private sector throws its weightbehind HS2, the better.Sam MetcalfEditorHS2: all aboardContentsNovember 2014Latest News 6The latest news from the regionProperty News 8All the latest from the property sectorManufacturing News 10News and views from around the East MidlandsAppointments12Who’s moving where Deals14The latest news from the dealmakers around the regionGrowing Pains 16GDP growth is slowing and there’s a General Election justaround the corner. Sam Metcalf seeks out some of theEast Midlands fastest-growing companies, and asks otherswhat we need to hear in the Election manifestoes is theregion is to maintain its status as the fastest growingregion outside of London and the South-EastDebt21A million UK SMEs are affected by late payers and manyare in danger of drowning in debt as they deal with latepayments totalling £39.4bnDerby - a renaissance of the regions22East Midlands Business Link travelled down to MIPIM UKfor a round table, sponsored by Marketing Derby, on howDerby can attract investment from out of London. Themessage: clarity is king.Business Planning 24Of Fetlocks, Fergusons & felines by JohnHarlow, director, Harlow InsolvencyKnowledge TransferPartnership 26This November (3rd -7th), the first everNational KTP Week will take place across theUK with over 100 universities and businessesparticipating in one of the largestcollaborations between the business worldand universities in the UKCommercial Property 29Three steps to speculative development bySunny Landa, director, NG CharteredSurveyorsCoaching 30Business rule number 1: look beyond yourcustomers’ expectations by Stuart Ross,founder of High Growth, helps you pick theright business coachSocial Media32Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nik Hewitt of Tank PR isapproached by a lot of fast growth businesses from allmanner of vertical sectors. Here, he explains how to alignyour social media strategy with your growth planHealth & Safety34A no-nonsense approach by Clive Ormerod, director, OMS The Big Interview35Sam Metcalf talked to Yo! Sushi founder SimonWoodroffe, who had plenty of advice for East Midlandsentrepreneurs Out of office42All the leisure sector news from the last monthAutoLink38Who hasn’t dreamed of owning and driving a gleamingclassic car? For many they are simply a fun way to investtheir money and enjoy an occasional weekend drive out.To others they are used for their daily commute… SMEs40Neil Gray, corporate finance partner, at Streets CharteredAccountants discusses the role of SMEs to the EastMidlands economyDress Down Friday48The lighter side of East Midlands office life4East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk20EditorSam 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.@BLMEastMidlandsBLMEastMidlands524www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East MidlandsBusiness Link Cover photo:www.stutterstock.com/S-FLATEST NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk6Secondary MBO at ShacklockPlumbingA Sutton-in-Ashfield plumbing and heating firm has undergone asecondary management buy-out - eight years after its initial MBO.Accountancy firm Baker Tilly has advised on the secondary MBO ofShacklock Plumbing Heating & Electrical.Founded by Neil Shacklock in 1964, the business provides plumbing,heating and electrical services to house-builders, housing associations andlocal government.Following the first management buy-out advised by Baker Tilly in 2007,this second buy-out was again led by Baker Tilly with Mike Quinn andGraeme Gladstone providing advice to the Shacklock management team.The new management team is led by Matt Sherlock and also includesmanaging director Damian Shacklock - who provides a continuing link tothe Shacklock family, Andy Middleton, Kevin Holford, Stuart Simms andMark Stevenson.Mike Quinn, corporate finance director at Baker Tilly said: "Matt and theteam joined the company in 2012 and have successfully driven growthinto new markets in a short space of time. It is always very satisfyingwhen you can help a management team join the ownership ranks and wewish the new team, along with Damian and Andrew Middleton everysuccess in the future. It is a pleasure to be involved in an East Midlandstransaction where all the professionals involved were from the localProfessional Community."Legal advice to the management team was provided by Mark Hughesand Paul McCannah from Browne Jacobson, with Mark Rutherford andPaul Simpson of Gateley advising the sellers.Funding was provided by Gerry McPake and Dale Cowdell at Allied IrishBank, who provided a mortgage and commercial loan to support theacquisition and an overdraft facility for working capital. The bank wasadvised by Peter Flowerday of Actons Solicitors.East Midlands economy slows inQ3A fall in domestic and export sales led to a dip in performance ofthe economy in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire inthe third quarter of the year, according to the results of a newbusiness survey.The Chamber of Commerce’s latest Quarterly Economic Surveyfound that although the fast-paced growth seen in the past fivequarters slowed in Q3, businesses were still confident about theirprospects in the months ahead.The Chamber tracks business performance across a range of keyeconomic indicators – including sales and orders, staffing levels,price expectations, investment intentions and business confidencelevels – to produce a quarterly State of the Economy Index.In Q3, the index fell from its seven-year high of 411 to 379 –which is slightly higher than where it was in Q4 2013 (368). In the main, this was down to a 6 per cent decrease in thenumber of firms reporting increased UK sales (51 per cent) and a 9per cent decrease in those reporting increased export sales (31 percent).In terms of orders, 42 per cent of respondents reported anincrease in UK orders for the next three months, compared with 48per cent in Q2, while 31 per cent reported an increase in exportorders, compared to 34 per cent in Q2.The number of firms reporting that they were operating at fullcapacity also fell slightly, from 41 per cent in Q2 to 37 per cent inQ3.Crucially, however, business confidence levels remained high,with 75 per cent of respondents expecting their turnover to increaseover the next 12 months – compared to 73 per cent in Q2 – and 55per cent of firms anticipating an increase in profits (also 55 per centin Q2). Norbert Dentressangle shows strong growth in Q3Norbert Dentressengle, the Northampton-based logistics giant has posted strong results for the first nine months of2014.Revenues were 3.375bn, up 14.1 per cent on the same time last year.Hervé Montjotin, chairman of the executive board, said: “Norbert Dentressangle has maintained a strong growthmomentum in its business activities over the first nine months of 2014, while reaping the benefits of its increasinglyinternational profile. The French market is still weak, due to the unfavourable economic climate and the uncertaintysurrounding the introduction of the HGV tax, until it was dropped in mid-October."The integration of Jacobson in the United States, consolidated since 1st September, is proceeding rapidly andsmoothly, and the roll-out of the Norbert Dentressangle brand is already underway. Our sustained sales momentumin the United States should generate a high organic growth rate for the end of this year and next. Tight control overoperating costs across all our businesses gives us confidence in our ability to maintain an operating margincomparable to the levels recorded over the past few years.”LATEST NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 7Co-Formulate goes for growth with US dealA Nottingham pharmaceuticals company has seen turnover increase by 26 per cent in the last year, after enrolling on a Government-backed package offunding, advice, training and support.The three-year growth package, delivered by Pera Consulting and part-funded by GrowthAccelerator, has also enabled Co-Formulate to make the moveinto world-class laboratory space at MediCity and secure a major contract from its first US client.Founded in 2007 by Huw Jones and Nazim Kanji to capitalise on their experience in the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sectors, Co-Formulate is aproduct development organisation delivering contracts for major healthcare companies.Co-Formulate is now targeting adjacent markets including the cosmetic, food supplement and veterinary industries and concentrating on raising itsprofile through more proactive networking and marketing activity. The firm is also looking at collaborating with SMEs and universities to developfinancially intangible technologies into consumer-friendly products. The move to MediCity sees Jones and Kanji occupying the very laboratories they helped design as employees of Boots Healthcare International, beforethey left to develop Co-Formulate with the support of BioCity Nottingham.Jones said: “GrowthAccelerator has given us the confidence and ability to move forward in a way that takes how we operate to the next level, whilekeeping the flexibility and responsiveness that has served us so well in the past. We’re excited and confident that the next stage of our evolution will bejust as successful.”Cliffe Medical Group sold to EakinNottingham-headquartered Cliffe Medical Group, which trades under the OstoMART andRespond Plus brand names, has been sold to County Antrim-baased Eakin Group, for anundisclosed sum.Situated at Carlton Business Centre in Nottingham and employing around 50 people, CliffeMedical Group is a leading independent supplier of Stoma Appliances and ancillary items,which have transformed the way in which prescription products and services are delivered topatients across the UK and Northern Ireland.The business also has service centres in Peterborough, Ferndown and Belfast, along with amanufacturing facility in Barnsley.Richard Cliffe, previous owner of the Cliffe Medical Group, said: “The offer came at theright time both commercially and personally. Our market continues to grow and I believe thenew owners will take Cliffe Medical to the next level with additional investment into thebusiness.“It was important to me that the new owners would continue the business as a goingconcern, and the future of the staff was assured. BDO and Nelsons were extremely helpful,professional and efficient throughout the process. It was a pleasure to work with them both.”The corporate finance team at BDO in the East Midlands were instructed as lead advisers toCliffe Medical Group, along with law firm Nelsons.John Bryant, head of M&A at BDO in the East Midlands, said: “Cliffe Medical Group hasbuilt an enviable market reputation both locally and across the healthcare sector. Havingcontinually invested in its people, clients and product offering, it was an attractive andstrategic proposition for the purchaser.“Importantly, the deal also speaks volumes for the quality of businesses we have in theregion. As the market picks up speed and corporates look to invest in growth, appetite fordoing deals is rife. We will continue build on our strong local team as we look to service thisgrowing demand from clients.”Michael Lodge, partner at Nelsons, said: “Nelsons has a longstanding relationship withCliffe Medical Group so this was a particularly satisfying transaction, having seen the Groupdevelop and build its profile as a highly reputable player within the sector.Image Scan predicts£0.5m lossImage Scan, the Barrow upon Soar manufacturerof X-ray imaging systems for the security andindustrial inspection markets, says it is looking at afull-year loss of £500,000 this year.While the Company reported a steadyperformance in the first half of the year with a loss of£36,000 on improved sales, the second half hasbeen "disappointing". Image Scan says theperformance in the second half was "very muchcontingent" on availability of a new X-ray generatorfor the company's portable X-ray systems to replacea unit that was no longer available. Whiledevelopment of the new generator has progressedthrough the prototype stages and the firstproduction model is currently in testing in ImageScan's facility, customer deliveries have beendelayed until November 2014.Image Scan's chairman and CEO Bill Mawercommented: "To be reporting a loss in my first sixmonths as Chairman is disappointing. However inthose first six months we have made real progress inthe renewal and extension of our product range andin broadening our market access. As these newproducts become available and as we start workingin the new markets in the early part of the nextfinancial year I expect to see sales of our coreportable X-ray systems recover and then growstrongly."Industrial unit sale sparks biddingbattleAn industrial unit at a Leicester business park has been sold after a biddingwar involving several potential purchasers, according to commercial propertyconsultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH). Swan House, a 9,270 sq ft unit on Meridian Business Park, has been sold toLeicester-based property company Hammond Grange for an undisclosed sumafter it attracted over 10 bids.LSH acted as sole selling agents for the Swan House owner, which hasrelocated to larger premises at the same business park.Geoff Gibson, head of office at LSH in Leicester, said the high level ofinterest in the building demonstrated the dearth of good quality new andsecond-hand properties of all sizes in Leicestershire.“There is a real lack of industrial stock at the moment, especially for goodquality units of between 10,000 sq ft and 50,000 sq ft, so it was no surprise thatthe demand and sale price for Swan House was very good indeed,” he said.“Over the past few months we have been inundated with enquiries frombusinesses primarily looking for freehold units, yet there is very little in the newor second-hand market in this area.“Leicester would definitely benefit from speculative development andwhilst there has been some development of smaller premises mainly in thecounty there has been very little in Leicester itself. However, the signs arenow positive and we expect to see speculative development within thenext 12-18 months.”Record year as East Mids attractsmore investorsInvestment in the East Midlands’ commercial property sector during the third quarter of 2014reached £480m – almost double the total for the same period last year - according to newresearch by commercial property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH).During the same period, investment across the UK reached £16.3bn - a 37 per cent increase onthe previous quarter and 41 per cent higher than in the corresponding period last year.In addition, the latest edition of LSH’s UK Investment Transactions report reveals thatinvestment in the UK regions totalled £6.0bn in the past quarter, the highest level since 2006. It isalso the first time that investment in the regional markets has outstripped inflows into Londonsince the start of 2011.In the East Midlands, the Q3 figure of £480m was up from £360m in Q2 and almost double the £250m achieved in Q3 last year.Adam Ramshaw, head of office at LSH for the East Midlands, said: “We are on course for a record year of transactions in our region, which continues toattract major inward investment. It will be interesting to see if the momentum continues well into 2015.”PROPERTY NEWSEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk8City Council revealsbiosciences hub designNottingham City Council has applied for planningpermission for 5-storey biosciences hub next to the BioCityincubator in the city.Designed by Nottingham architects CPMG, and located onthe corner of Lower Parliament Street and Pennyfoot Streetthe facility will provide over 57,000 sq ft of laboratory andoffice space.Although owned by Nottingham City Council, it is widelyacknowledged that BioCity will win the contract to run thenew building.A statement from the Council reads: "The proposal aims tofacilitate the growth of the City’s Life Sciences sector and willserve to expand the provision of facilities currently offered inthe adjoining BioCity building, which is one of Europe’s largestbioscience incubators."The mix of laboratory and offices makes up the upper fourfloors, with laboratories occupying roughly the western(Lower Parliament Street) half of each floor and officesoccupying the eastern half. Additional areas for conferencingand meeting facilities will be on the ground floor.Nottingham City Council added: "The proposals seek toinvest in the Eastside area despite the economic downturnand the stalling of regeneration projects in the regenerationzone. It is important that visible and tangible investmentopportunities such are supported in order to continue themomentum of regenerating the Eastside and continuing thepromotion of life sciences in the city."One in four SMEslooking toexpand premises,says YorkshireBankMore than 81,000 East Midlands basedsmall and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) are planning to move or expandtheir business premises in the next 12months to cater for an expected increasein activity, according to new research byYorkshire Bank.The research suggests more than one infour (26 per cent) East Midlands SMEs areplanning to expand their existing premises, move into larger properties, or expand intoadditional locations to meet the increased demand for their products and services.These investment plans are being made against the backdrop of improving confidenceand economic conditions for UK businesses. According to the latest official statistics,capital investment by businesses grew by 11 per cent in the second quarter of this yearcompared to the same period last year*.According to the Bank’s research, which surveyed more than 100 small and medium-sized businesses in the Midlands, nearly half (45 per cent) believe economic conditions arebetter for them now than it was a year ago, leading to nearly one in three (32 per cent)planning to invest in measures to encourage business growth.Brian Colquhoun, regional director for business and private banking at Yorkshire Bank in theEast Midlands, said: “More businesses in the East Midlands are looking to invest and preparethemselves for a period of sustainable growth over the next few years. One aspect of thatpreparation is an investment in the bricks and mortar from which they operate – factories, offices,distribution centres – providing security for their businesses and staff and providing solidfoundations from which to grow.“New, refurbished or expanded premises have a number of effects for a business and itsemployees. By modernising or investing in the working environment businesses can expect to seeimproved productivity. Having additional space also allows for growth in staff numbers, new equipmentor the room to develop new products and services.”More than a third (34 per cent) of East Midlands businesses surveyed would consider buying theirpremises outright if the right funding package was available and large deposits were not required.Newton Fallowfell addsfour franchisesNewton Fallowell has completed four franchiseagreements, as part of a growth strategy by the EastMidlands estate agency to extend its geographicfootprint.The franchises have been signed for Loughborough,Syston, East Leake and Rothley, all in Leicestershire.Two of the new signings are with existing franchisees,looking to grow their own footprint through additionalbranch offices. The new franchise agreements are all existingtrading areas under the Hartleys branding. NewtonFallowell recently merged with Hartleys, aLeicestershire player in residential property, and thenew franchises will continue to operate under thatbranding for the time being.Two of the franchises have been taken on byRichard Morris, who joined Hartleys 15 yearsago. He said: “What’s great is being able todemonstrate to potential clients the best ofboth worlds – the strength of delivering apersonal service, as this is my ownindependent business, combined withNewton Fallowell’s extensive coverageand partner network.PROPERTY NEWSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 9GF Tomlinson expandsinto LincolnContractor G F Tomlinson has opened a new officein Lincoln following an increase in the amount of workit is delivering in the area.The new office, based in Doddington Road, willcreate new jobs, the firm said.Director at G F Tomlinson, Andy Sewards, said:“We are really excited about opening the new office.“Because of the amount of work we are securing inLincoln and Lincolnshire it makes perfect sense for usto open the new office in the area. It is located closeto the city centre to help us to better serve our clientsand work with local supply chain businesses.“We have the resources in place and will beworking closely with our current and new clients as we further improve the service we provide in Lincoln andLincolnshire.”GF Tomlinson says one of the reasons for the new office opening is the increase in work secured in thearea by G F Tomlinson through the EMPA (East Midlands Property Alliance) framework.The aim of EMPA, which is managed by Scape, is to improve the procurement and delivery of constructionand property maintenance for public sector bodies - saving time and money for them and their counciltaxpayers.Next >