< PreviousEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk20Professionals from across theEast Midlands gathered atFreeths’ Nottingham office on29th November to hear anexpert panel discuss the recentAutumn Statement and the impact Philip Hammond’s proposalscould have on businesses in the region.The event began with an in-depth talkby Kevin Edwards, tax partner at RSM inNottingham, who focused on thebusiness tax-related aspects of theAutumn Statement and gave anoverview of broader changes in taxrates over the past year to contextualisethe discussion. Edwards was joined by Chris Hobson,director of policy and external affairs atEast Midlands Chamber and Ron Lynch,East Midlands regional director at theInstitute of Directors (IoD), whodiscussed the perspectives of Chamberand IoD members respectively.Alluding to the government’s plan toreplace the Autumn Statement with aSpring Statement, Edwards said: “Weused have two new rafts of new taxlegislation to deal with every year –often totalling 600-700 pages – so it’swelcome news that we’ll only be havingone in future!”“Moreover, only three announcementsin this Autumn Statement are to takeeffect immediately – the fewest I’ve everseen”, he added.While this year’s Autumn Statementwas quite unrevelatory, said Edwards, itwas not completely without itssurprises: “We already knew that £4.7billion in R&D funding had beenpromised, but the proposed 2% rise inInsurance Premium Tax from 10% to12% is almost a stealth tax – it’s a hugeamount of money”.Edwards pointed to the downwardtrend in Corporation Tax rates as beingone of the most significant changes toaffect the tax world in recent times –with the UK now possessing the lowestCorporation Tax rate in the G20 – andwent on to discuss the ApprenticeshipLevy, salary sacrifice, digital tax, and theplanned increase in the National LivingWage from £7.20 to £7.50 per hour,which he said was “welcome”. Chris Hobson said the Chamber hadsurveyed its members after the EUreferendum and found that whilebusiness investment intentions wereslightly down they were still net positive,and things looked “quite strong” on thewhole. Against this backdrop, the Chamberwrote to the Chancellor “asking foraction in four main areas: support forinfrastructure investment, support forBreakfast Event:TheAutumnStatement2016BREAKFAST EVENTwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 21international trade, support forbusinesses looking to invest and an endto new up-front costs for businesses”.He said: “The general feeling of ourmembers is that the Chancellor’s styleand approach were good, because therewas less showboating. They also likedthe emphasis on housebuilding andbroadband investment, as this seemedmore meaningful than in the past”. Hobson added that the Statement was“generally quite positive”.Ron Lynch said the IoD had asked for“funding for infrastructure, investment indigital tech and the simplification of thetax system”.He welcomed the government’s plansto build more houses on the basis that itwill create opportunities “for all sectorsof the economy”, and said that thedownward trend in Corporation Taxrates provided a great incentive forforeign investors. Discussing the Apprenticeship Levy,skills challenges and the potentialimpact of HS2, Lynch noted that theAutumn Statement had “nothing flashyin it”, which he concluded was “a goodthing”. Our Autumn Statement BreakfastEvent was sponsored and hosted byFreeths. PHOTO CREDIT: TOBY NEALBREAKFAST EVENTEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk22IN PROFILEWhat was the inspiration behindHenpicked?“Henpicked was set up as a website about theimportant things in life – happiness, health andwealth”, she says. “We ask women what’s important to them.That’s how you get things across. We’re notsitting there like an editorial team thinking ‘what’shot’. There is no one tone of voice at Henpicked,that’s not how communities are or the way we alltalk to each other”.How did the book come about?“We noticed that the articles about themenopause were being clicked the most”, saysDeborah. “I assembled a group of Henpicked authors todiscuss our knowledge – our hopes, fears and thequestions we have about the menopause. Havingalso conducted a survey on the subject, weconcluded that the lack of knowledge about themenopause is immense. There are too manymyths that are holding us back. “Now, we’re on a mission to get people talkingopenly about it”, she says. “We want to make sure that women get thesupport they need. Lots of women say theirdoctors aren’t very helpful in this respect and 1 in4 don’t consult their doctor even though theirsymptoms might be worse than they thought”. “The UK has an ageing population”, addsGarlick. “The average age for women going through theIn Profile: DEBORAH GARLICKHenpickedNottingham-based entrepreneurDeborah Garlick is the founder ofthe online communityhenpicked.net, a website by andfor women over 40. Her book,Menopause – the Change for theBetter, which launched in October,aims to break the taboo arounddiscussing the menopause. EMBLsat down with Garlick to find outmore. www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 23 menopause is 51, and life expectancy is82. That’s potentially over 30 yearsbeyond retirement, potentially workingfor 15-20. In the 1900s that was 57 and59. So a third of a woman’s life could bepost menopausal and there’s no reasonwhy that shouldn’t be the best years ofher life.“Today we have more and morewomen in the workplace, many in seniorpositions, working for much longer dueto later pension ages. With 75% ofwomen experiencing menopausesymptoms, 25% really struggling and asmany as 10% of women saying thatthey’ve considered giving up work as aresult, it doesn’t make sense to ignorethese women’s experiences or for acompany to lose their experience andcontribution to their businesses”. What’s next on Deborah’sagenda?“I’d like the big focus to includemenopause in the workplace”, shesays. “I think the priority for us, havingspoken to businesses, is to get as manycompanies as possible to our event inFebruary 2017. We’ve done so muchreaching women directly through ourwebsite and the book, but the big shift tosupport it will be to get companiesbuilding it into their existing policies andpractices and perhaps running eventslike the ones we’ve done and they’restarting to do at more progressiveorganisations, for example under theleadership of Sue Fish, Chief Constableat the Nottinghamshire Constabulary.We already have lots of best practice,experts to deliver them andexpertise. Imagine how much differencewe could make then!”“Henpicked has been approached bycompanies to help them establishmenopause in the workplace initiativesand policies”, she says. “That’s especially great because therecurrently aren’t any, although certainlegislative changes around flexibleworking have been helpful. We’vecreated a modular approach, to make iteasy for organisations to implement.“I think companies should do at leastthe bare minimum to help women whoare going through the menopause”, saysGarlick. “Maternity policies weren’t widespread35 years ago, but that’s changed, so whycan’t the same happen for themenopause?”To Garlick’s delight, the campaignseems to be gathering pace. “Our #HotFlashMob campaign onTwitter helped us get menopausetrending in the top ten tweets in the UK(we believe for the first time)”, she says.“In 24 hours nearly 2000 tweetsusing #hotflashmob reached over 8million accounts on Twitter. It wastrending in London, Edinburgh, Sheffieldand Nottingham and even Seattle, USA.This in turn helped menopause trend forseveral hours across the UK, at onepoint as high as 7th“.“The response to the book has beenextraordinary”, she adds. “We’re getting 5-star reviews onAmazon!”www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 25PROPERTYwill help us deliver this and our aim ofincreasing output to 3,500 units perannum by 2019.Is there anything majorplanned for the EastMidlands (i.e. in terms ofdevelopments?We currently have 13 livedevelopments across the Midlands. Herein the East Midlands we have eightdevelopments and earlier this year welaunched new sites at Regency Gardens,Southwell; Highfields, Littleover; andOaklands Park, Ashbourne; along withnew phases at Langley Country Park inDerby, one of our largest strategic sites,and Stretton Glen in Leicester.2017 looks to be a really exciting yearfor the region, as we have plans in placeto build an additional 450 new homesacross a number of developments in theEast Midlands.Can you comment on theAutumn Statement?We are pleased that housing remains akey priority for the government and wewelcome the announcement of additionalinvestment to further stimulate supplyand provide greater support for those atall levels of the housing market.Over the last couple of years, Help toBuy has been an important stimulus forthe market, assisting with affordabilityand helping many people realise theirdreams of home ownership. Thegovernment’s ongoing commitment tothis initiative remains important to bothhomeowners and the industry.What three pieces of advicewould you give to someonelooking to start a businesstomorrow?1. Have a detailed business plan2. Know your market inside and out3. Ensure good cash flow andmonitor on a daily basis!Miller’s charity efforts inMalawi were great to see.Can you explain a little moreabout the reasons why MillerHomes got involved, whatyou learned and what legacyyou hope to leave?Habitat for Humanity’s focus is on shelterand recognises that home is thecornerstone of hope for those living inpoverty. Working with establishedpartners in more than 70 countries acrossthe world, the charity offers simple,sustainable solutions to help lift some ofthe poorest and most vulnerable peoplein the world out of poverty housing.As one of the UK’s leadinghousebuilders we recognise theimportance for all families, no matterwhere they are in the world, of having asafe, secure place to call home and tobuild a future. This is a basic human rightand by supporting this campaign we havea fantastic opportunity to use ourexperience, resources, enthusiasm anddetermination to make a real difference tosome of those who need it most.What’s also great about the HopeBuilders campaign is that the results willbe tangible and visible; the money wehave raised will help to build more than50 “Habitat Homes”, helping lift familiesout of poverty housing and helpingtransform their lives.Working with Habitat for Humanity hasalso provided an opportunity for oursupport to be about much more than justfundraising. We also sponsored a team of16 volunteers from a cross section of thebusiness, to take part in a Global VillageTrip in Malawi and actually build four“Habitat Homes”, giving them a uniqueopportunity to experience our fundraisingeffort in action.Can you tell us about yourbackground in the propertyindustry?I have been in the industry for over 35years having initially trained as a quantitysurveyor after graduating fromNottingham Trent University. I was a co-founder of Birch plc, an East Midlandsbased homebuilder, and joined MillerHomes in 2000 when the company wassold. I was appointed chief executive ofMiller Homes in 2012. I am also a Fellowof the Chartered Institute of Building(FCIOB).What are the biggestchallenges facing theindustry today?Clearly there is a shortage of newhousing, however the pace of buildinghas gathered greater momentum over thelast couple of years thanks to varioussupport measures implemented by thegovernment and more favourable marketconditions, in terms of availability offinance and low interest rates. Howevermore should be done to improve theplanning process to ensure a sustainablehousing market, through improvedefficiency and increased availability ofland for more housing. This will ensuregrowing demand and targets for thedelivery of new homes, can morerealistically be achieved.Where is Miller Homesheaded next? How do youplan to grow the business?Our strategy is based on increasingoutput through a continued focus on ourcurrent strong position in regionalmarkets, delivering predominantly familyhomes in quality suburban locations. Oursubstantial land investment programmeQ&AChris Endsor, Miller HomesWe asked Miller Homes’ chief executive Chris Endsor about thefirm’s charity work, its plans for the future and the challengesfacing the housebuilding industry. East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk26In the final column of this series, covering the vital questions toaddress in your PR campaign, I will turn to “how?”You see, it is all very well having a grand PR strategy, replete with tightmessaging that resonates with your audience (if you’ve read my otherposts you should have it by now) but you need tactics.You need to add the HOW to your who, what, where, when and why.Otherwise, it is all just noise and nothing gets done. Zero results.This column gets published here monthly and leveraged across thiswebsite’s social media channels and in turn mine. I also tweak it to turn itinto a blog post for my own site and to publish on LinkedIn. It will also getshared on my Facebook page and via my e-shot.However, this is not the magic bullet. Spoiler, there is NO magic bullet.What we need is a good mix of tactics that support the greater whole,the master plan. In my case, my wider objective is to tell 2020 stories by2020. That is a win/win for all parties and one with scale. It also requiresbig numbers of suspects, prospects, leads and conversions.So I mix things up a little. I run events on how to reach the media. I dowebinars on how to position yourself as an expert. I write guest blogs forother organisations. I network…a lot.I write news releases that are relevant my target market. I comment inthe press on issues that I have expertise on.Whisper it quietly but I’ve even been known to try the radical approachof picking…up…the…phone. Marketing madness!I’m not one for glamorous events, (for my business anyway) but I willrun seminars. I sponsor relevant causes and opportunities. Fair warningbut as we speak, I’m writing a script for a video.You know I wrote a book right?The point is, it is no good having a vision and a great plan withoutdefining the actions that will help you execute it. Take the time to weigh upall the options available to you.Test it, measure it, improve and refine it. You can’t say it doesn’t work ifyou haven’t tried it or analysed its ROI.They say you should try everything once barring two things, a free copyof my book to the first person who gets this right.By Greg Simpson, founder of Press for Attention PR and Enterprise Nation Championfor Nottingham.Who, what, where, whenand why are great butwe ned a “how”PUBLIC RELATIONSwww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 27Greg Simpson - on a mission totell 2020 stories by 2020 INTERNATIONALFood&DrinkFood&Drinkwww.fdiforum.net MINIMUM COST…MAXIMUM IMPACT!Plan your campaign with Food & Drink International…...your competitors are!As marketing is the vital ingredient for the success and growth of any business, we can offer advice and packages to suit all budgets. Speak to one of our experienced account executives to find a package to suit your needs. Join some of the biggest names in the industry and give your brand the best chance of being seen by your target market.Can you afford not to? You can contact us below for details of our 2016 editorial schedule Call today on +44 [0] 1472 310310 or email: s.trott@blmgroup.co.uk www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 29“We’re rockingand rolling”Nottingham-based WarlordGames manufactures plastic,resin and metal 28mmhistorical wargames miniatures.EMBL caught up with CEO JohnStallard – a former GamesWorkshop man – to discuss hispassion and the company’sgrowth.Hi John. Why wargames? “I was a big fan of Airfix models when Iwas a kid, and the passion never left me. Mygeneration’s parents and grandparents werein the Second World War, so we weresurrounded by people who would talk aboutwar. Comics and war films were all aroundus, too. Back then you could get 48 modelsfor sixpence, so you could buy entire armies.“At the age of 10 or 11 I realised therewere actually rules you could follow. The292 ÁMANUFACTURINGNext >