< Previous“It’s great tobe here…”Tony Kelly, Regional Director, Allied Irish Bank (GB), shares hisviews on his first few months with the company.Having joined AIB (GB) just a few monthsago after many years with the RBS/NatWestGroup, Tony has been getting to grips withhis new role and the teams he is nowworking with and supporting. “When I leftmy previous employer” says Tony, “I gaveconsideration to a number of serious offerswhich came my way from within thebanking and finance sector. I chose AIB(GB) because I genuinely felt that it wasoffering something very different. The moreI discussed the opportunity with AIB (GB)’ssenior management team, the more I foundmyself enthused and inspired by what I washearing.“Having made the move, I am delightedto say that the reality has met the promiseand I have been hugely impressed by ourpeople and their commitment to deliver thebest possible banking service to the OwnerManaged Business sector.”Included in Tony’s region is AIB(GB)’sEast Midlands operation, based at ParkView House on Nottingham’s Ropewalk.Gerry McPake, AIB(GB)’s team leader in theEast Midlands, is delighted at Tony’sappointment. “Establishing a small networkof Regional Directors across the countrywas a key part in making sure we have theright structure to be able to work with andfor our customers in a focused and nimbleway. The arrival of a banker of Tony’scalibre and experience is a real statementof AIB (GB)’s intent.”Reflecting on his early impressions of hisinvolvement with the Nottingham branch,Tony continued, “I had been pre-briefed tothe effect that our team in the EastMidlands had scored a number of keybusiness wins over the past couple of yearsand so it was no surprise to visit and findan upbeat, positive and committed group,ambitious to build on their successes as welook out three, four, five years ahead andbeyond. I was struck by the depth ofexperience within the team and a genuine,ingrained desire to put the customer first. Ihave had the pleasure of meeting some ofour customers and contacts in the EastMidlands and it seems to me that thephilosophy of Gerry and the team really isfelt and experienced by the customers.“It’s my intention to support this businessin whatever way the local team sees fit andthis is something I am looking forward toimmensely. As it says above in theheadline, it’s great to be here…”FINANCEEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk20FINANCEwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 21Finance without the kerfuffle: Five steps to help secureyour business loanWith improved economic conditions, many within theSME space are focusing on growth, with access to financesupporting and catalysing growth plans. Following aloosening of bank purse strings coupled with an increase inalternative finance options, access to finance for SMEs is nolonger the brick wall it once was at the height of therecession. Indeed, one could almost argue that at a high level, thecredit markets have actually become a bit too congestedand over-supplied with the myriad of financing alternativesavailable. Getting a loan has become a complex processand the challenge for many borrowers now lies innavigating the markets in an efficient manner to find thefinancing solution that best meets their requirements. Here are our top five tips for securing that all-importantfunding for your small business.Expect an assessmentThe current situation is very “liquid”, meaning the bankshave substantial capital to lend, having recovered from thecredit crunch. However, with the volatile nature of theinternational markets, applicant businesses are comingunder increasingly rigorous risk assessment and scrutiny.Banks are taking a meticulous approach to lending in thehope of avoiding the wrong decision. However, the financeis undoubtedly out there - with the right documentation andapproach, your business can secure it.Explore every optionFinding the right loan for your business can be a long,drawn-out process, so be prepared to invest time andenergy into researching prospective lenders. A recent studyfrom BMG research shows 37% of businesses give up theirsearch for finance and cancel their spending plans aftertheir first rejection1. The lending market is diversifying. Withcrowd funding and asset-based lending, amongst others,there are now more avenues for finance than ever before.Knuckle down on the numbersAny lender will be looking for robust financial records andforecasts. It doesn’t matter if you’re an incredible entrepreneurwith a million pound idea; if the numbers don’t add up and youcan’t produce clear evidence of your financial performance, thebank may be inclined to reject your application. Don’t confuse banks with investorsMany businesses confuse banks with investors - they’re notthe same thing. While an investor can get comfortable with thepotential risks of a business idea, a bank is ultimately concernedwith getting repaid. If you can prove your ability to repay theloan with evidence, for example, well explained business planand forecasts, you’re likely to have a much smoother applicationprocess.It’s your job to make them understandA common misconception in small businesses is that bankswill instantly understand your situation. Lending doesn’t involvea consultation stage; you need to know your stuff. A lot ofcompanies make the fundamental error of mistaking profit/salesfor cashflow. If you don’t completely understand your business,you’ll struggle to explain it to someone else.The overriding message is that capital is out there to supportgrowth but preparation is key to securing the right finance onthe right terms.Ian Borley, Senior Partner, KPMG EastMidlands SUCCESSION PLANNINGEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk22Successful succession planning leads todynamism, energy and growth for allbusinesses.Clearly, there are different approaches tosuccession planning or even understandingwhat it is across such a diverse spread of size ofcompanies and businesses. However, identifyingtalent and investing in it, empowering people tobelieve that they can make a difference and betomorrow’s leaders will lead to the creation ofdynamism, energy and growth at all levels of thebusiness no matter how large or small.The larger international and nationalbusinesses will have different strategiesdeployed compared to the smaller regional andor local businesses. The larger companies willhave 5 and 10 year timeframes to identify talentand nurture them through the businessesimbuing them with a corporate culture. The localbusiness may not even consider successionplanning until he or she is ready to retire wherethey may be passing on the business to familymembers. However, it is believed that many ofour smaller businesses do not have any one topass the business onto and therefore successionplanning in this instance will either lead toclosure of the business or a sale to an acquirer.Empowerment is key to a successful strategy.The more people that are given ‘ownership’ oftheir day to day life the more they will feelempowered to make decisions. They will striveharder to achieve targets, they will encourageothers to do the same, this will energise thebusiness and the likely result will be enhancedgrowth and a feeling of well-being within thecompany will develop. This process has to be ‘managed’ of coursebut the energy of youth and vitality that it bringscan also energise ‘older’ heads. The out-comehas two effects at both ends of the spectrum.The larger corporate creates a talent pool thatwill ensure continuity and safe hands for thelong term future of the business and at the otherend of the scale a business owner that wishes toretire will have created the maximum value forhis business before retirement if he chooses tosell and he will have left a great managementteam behind that the acquiring business ishappy to bring on board to create further valuepost sale. Everyone’s a winner, whether you area large corporate, a mid-size business or anowner wishing to retire. Encouraging your talent pool to maximisetheir input will create wealth for both thebusiness and the talent concerned. Identify thistalent and nurture it and it will repay thebusiness in spades.The importanceof successionplanningBrendan Dawson, the managing director of Qdos Vantageand Qdos Global, stresses the importance of successionplanningMANAGEMENTwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 23The joysof being amanagerIt is a truth universally acknowledged thatmost managers will at some point in theircareers encounter an employee who isdifficult to deal with, says AndrewMacmillan, employment partner in theNottingham office of law firm, Gateley.Common traits include constant complaining,moodiness, absence, lateness, failing to deliverto deadlines and refusing to carry out perfectlyreasonable requests.So, what can you do to deal withthem?1. Have good policies and procedures andstick to themWell-drafted disciplinary and grievanceprocedures will set out the informal and formalsteps that should be followed in cases of badbehaviour, poor performance and employeecomplaints. This will keep things moving forwarduntil the ultimate end point in your process.2. Nip problems in the budUnless your employee knows that you will nottolerate their behaviour, they will keep on doingit. Make it clear early on what you will and won’taccept and what the consequences are if theycontinue.3. Stand back from the situationIt is extremely easy to get caught up in thesituation, especially if your employee isemotional or aggressive. If you think you aregetting dragged in, take some time out forobjective analysis. This is the time to talk tosomeone else who is not directly involved asthey may have a clearer view of the way forward.4. Be nice, but not too niceAs an employer, you are entitled to expectyour employees to do the job you have hiredthem to do. As a manager, it is your job to helpand support them do the best job they can do.And if you have a disabled employee, you mayhave to make reasonable adjustments. This doesnot mean, however, that you have to give theemployee everything they want. Even if the dutyto make reasonable adjustments does apply,case law has clarified that you are only requiredto do what is reasonable, not necessarily toaccept what the employee tells you isreasonable.5. Remember that you are in controlIt is easy to get on the back foot withchallenging and difficult people, especially thosewho are intent on trying to stop you managingthem. You, however, are the manager and youhave the right to expect certain standards and toimpose consequences for failure to meet thosestandards.7Our respected legal experts focus on getting the right results, every time.It’s this unique approach that has helped the firm become synonymous with successacross the country.Working with a large range of companies, including plcs, owner-managed businesses and management buy-out teams, we have a reputation built on a solid track record.Our areas of expertise are wide including:•Real Estate and Construction•Planning and Environmental•Corporate and Commercial•EmploymentFew other ‘local’ law firms can offer this level of experience and knowledge and that’swhy we’re the legal partner of choice in the East Midlands and beyond.Julian MiddletonManaging Partner, Nottinghamjulian.middleton@freeths.co.uk0845 634 2598www.freeths.co.ukBIRMINGHAM •DERBY •LEEDS •LEICESTER •LONDON •MANCHESTER •MILTON KEYNESNOTTINGHAM •OXFORD •SHEFFIELD •STOKE ON TRENT•Litigation and Corporate Recovery•Licensing•Taxation•Intellectual Property and TechnologyFreethinking It’s what we add to every legal answerROUND TABLEwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 25Are East Midlands businesses fully up to speed when it comesto harnessing technology? Are latest round table, sponsored byFreeths asked the questions.Are companies fully aware just howtechnology can shape theirbusinesses?David Lane: There doesn’t appear tobe a smooth rate of change across entirebusinesses; they might be up-to-date inone area, and lag behind in others. Whatbusinesses don’t understand is that newtechnology doesn’t necessarily mean thathundreds of new companies willsuddenly flood your market. Your nextbiggest competitor could look very muchlike you.Rob Marshall: Certain companies alsodon’t realise that their biggest competitoris actually Amazon.Sean Price: This is very true. Half ofour clients don’t realise that they’re incompetition with Amazon.Dennis Hill: The role of the ITdepartment in most organisations haschanged rapidly. It’s totally different tohow it was in the nineties.Stephen Fraser: Absolutely. Look at ITdepartments 20 years ago and they werefull of middle-aged men who didn’t talkto the rest of the business. These daysteenagers interact with each other in away we don’t understand. The skill setsneeded in IT these days bear noresemblence to those of two decadesago.Hill: A lot of IT departments are stillfocused on ‘keeping the lights on’.Karl Blakesley: It’s amazing how manyPanel:David Lane, FreethsKarl Blakesley, OrderwiseDavid Griffiths, SterlingCapital ReserveSean Price, iBox-SecurityDennis Hill, KPMGRob Marshall, PurposeMediaStephen Fraser, PwCTechnology- the generation gameTechnology- the generation game26 ÁOur respected legal experts focus on getting the right results, every time.It’s this unique approach that has helped the firm become synonymous with successacross the country.Working with a large range of companies, including plcs, owner-managed businesses and management buy-out teams, we have a reputation built on a solid track record.Our areas of expertise are wide including:•Real Estate and Construction•Planning and Environmental•Corporate and Commercial•EmploymentFew other ‘local’ law firms can offer this level of experience and knowledge and that’swhy we’re the legal partner of choice in the East Midlands and beyond.Julian MiddletonManaging Partner, Nottinghamjulian.middleton@freeths.co.uk0845 634 2598www.freeths.co.ukBIRMINGHAM •DERBY •LEEDS •LEICESTER •LONDON •MANCHESTER •MILTON KEYNESNOTTINGHAM •OXFORD •SHEFFIELD •STOKE ON TRENT•Litigation and Corporate Recovery•Licensing•Taxation•Intellectual Property and TechnologyFreethinking It’s what we add to every legal answerROUND TABLEEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk26businesses are still working on paper-based or Excelsystems. They really need to streamline their operations, andthe way people interact through social media platformsneeds to be brought into business communications.David Griffiths: We’ve seen that happen more in oursector. Over the last two to three years P2P platforms haveseen huge growth. Deals done using this platform aregrowing 100 per cent year on year.Marshall: What fraction of total deal values are doneusing P2P?Griffiths: It’s only around 1-2 per cent. It’s fair to say thatit’s not disabilising banks, but there are around 16 P2Plenders, and there is massive investment going intosoftware.Fraser: There’s a huge debate to be had around the cloudand what information businesses want to put out there.We’ve all gone through a steep learning curve since 2000,and the world is fundamentally different now.Hill: A lot of businesses think a lot more about what theywant to put onto the cloud now. Companies, in some cases,are scared.Fraser: A lot of them don’t know how much info is in thecloud now.Price: Cybersecurity is massively important now, as moreand more of a company’s assets are out there to poach.Lane: It’s true that the weakest part of any system is theperson using it.Blakesley: A lot of companies are quite tentative aboutputting things out on the cloud. They think that if there’s asecurity breach, then they’ll get the blameFraser: Most businesses don’t understand the differencebetween the public and the private cloud. There’s a massiveskills gap in this area, that comes from a combination of age,the fact that most CIOs are incredibly busy and a lack ofcuriousity about what the cloud can bring to a business. It’snot particularly new, but the pace of change is quickening,and 16 year olds can commercialise an idea very quickly.Also, customer expectations have gone through the roof.How can big data change the way companies reach toclient needs?Price: Incorrect anaylsis of data can be the differentbetween a company growing or not. Firms nowadays haveso much data flowing into the company, but a lot of themdon’t really know what to do with it.Hill: It’s all about using the data to be proactive when itcomes to reacting to clients.Price: I think the problem is that some organisations aredrowning in data - and they need to work out what theywant to report on. Big data can become a real problem if acompany doesn’t know what to do with it.Blakesley: Big data analysis has traditionally been left tolarge organisations, but now we’re seeing SMEs reportingusing intelligent business tools. If it’s done properly, it canopen up the business to all staff.The crowdfunding phenomena is unique - whathappens next?Griffiths: A lot of progress is being slowed down by theregulators. However, there’s no doubt that the industry isgrowing up, it’s being accepted as a viable route to finance.We’re now doing MBOs and MBIs using crowdfunding, andwe’re getting referrals from the banks - so they can havethe business back further down the line. Crowdfunding isbecoming much more sophisticated. Finance, at the end ofthe day, is a product.Lane: People are now buying things that don’t exist.They’re willing to put money into something that won’t bearound for 6-12 months just so they can get in first.Fraser: I think this comes down to those people withmoney not getting any return from the banks, with interestrates being so low.Price: Crowdfunding is a great option becuase the banksaren’t there to fund growing SMEs. Crowdfunding is goingto the way forward - it’s going to be the solution toaccessing finance.Griffiths: A third of our deals have come from banks.They’re not afraid of us - they’ve embraced us.ROUND TABLEwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 27Fraser: A lot of the banks’ IT systems are so antiquatedtoo. A lot of the IT staff in banks don’t have the skills toreplace the old systems, and so crowdfunding instantly looksmore attractive.What will be the next big tech development thatcompanies need to look out for?Marshall: If I knew that I’d be building it right now. Thereare a lot of disruptive technologies out there, and teenagersare growing up with a completely different way of thinkingthan we did.Price: Uber taxis might be more expensive than somefirms, but by allowing customers to book a taxiinstantaneously via their mobile app, they are effectivelyselling us time that would otherwise be spent talking on thephone, or walking to the taxi rank. In future we may see thisbecome the norm. Time is at a premium for any business, soany tech innovation that is geared towards saving it can bevery valuable.INTRAPRENEUREast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk28Who wantsto be anintrapreneur?Intrapreneurs, entrepreneurial spirits whoprefer to work for an employer, should be opento risk and masters of persuasion says ChrisMahon Assistant Professor at NottinghamUniversity Business School.Intrapreneurs are entrepreneurial spirits who prefer toplay an active role in helping their employer to innovateand grow rather than run the risks associated withstarting their own businesses.Many entrepreneurs start off as intrapreneurs in largercompanies and then change career paths to apply theirskills to a startup business or begin their own companies.It’s a myth that intrapreneurs are a different or lesserbreed to entrepreneurs as they have the same coreskillset. Once they have learned how to think like anentrepreneur, they can apply that enterprising approachwhatever the business setting. Here are the seven must-have traits of an intrapreneur:1 PassionIntrapreneurs love the process of creation. These arethe sort of people who wake up in the morning andcannot wait to get to work. If they’re going to be effective,an intrapreneur needs to be naturally proactive and beable to inspire those around them.2 CreativityThere is a tendency to compartmentalise creativity asthe domain of the select few, but it’s something that canbe learned. At Nottingham, we have developed an“Ingenuity Process” (a way of thinking that encouragescreative problem solving) to teach students how to comeup with something novel enough to capture everyone’sattention as well as persuading decision makers within abusiness that it’s a good course of action.3 A master at the art of persuasioninnovation and change are not always welcome inorganisations and a big part of the battle is gettingbacking for your idea from the right people. That’s whyit’s so important to come up with ingenious approaches.If the idea is big enough it will rise above any potentialresistance.4 ResilienceLike entrepreneurs running their own businesses,intrapreneurs must have unshakeable self-belief and thestamina to keep going regardless of the challenges. AndINTRAPRENEURwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 29SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/EDHAReven a business that nurtures its intrapreneurs is likely toexperience office politics. So an intrapreneur also has tobe savvy of rivalries or departmental power struggles andtake it in their stride if things don’t go according to plan.5 A team playerYou cannot be an intrapreneur without the ability tocommunicate and connect with others. This meanshaving strong soft skills – being good at working as partof a team and networking. Without these skills, you won’tbe able to negotiate with the gatekeepers in the businessand win over key decision makers. It can also help to finda senior colleague who is willing to support or mentoryou internally.6 Able to seize the momentOpportunism is a word that often gets a bad rap. Butthe willingness to spot opportunities and act on them it isa key trait of an intrapreneur. You need to beopportunistic – boldly sharing ideas and, mostimportantly, acting on them whenever and wherever theycome up.7 BraveryAs an intrapreneur, you have to be willing to fail, learnand start again. It’s a given that not every new idea willbe a winner. Intrapreneurs work best in a supportiveculture where people are free to innovate and are allowedto occasionally fail, without fear of the consequences.This is an area where being an entrepreneur has itsadvantages, because a founder-owner can create theirown supportive and nurturing culture.Chris Mahon Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurshipand Director, MBA Entrepreneurship, at the Haydn GreenInstitute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship atNottingham University Business School.Next >