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BUSINESS EDITOR:BILL GLEESON0151 472 2319

DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR:TONY McDONOUGH0151 330 4918

BUSINESS REPORTER:PETER ELSON0151 472 2502

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALISTAIR HOUGHTON0151 472 2449

BUSINESS REPORTER:ALEX TURNER0151 472 2321

BUSINESS REPORTER:NEIL HODGSON0151 472 2451

RECYCLING company EnvironmentalWaste Controls (EWC) is floating onLondon’s Alternative Investment Mar-ket to fund its expansion plans.

Knowsley-based EWC, which offerswaste management services to thepublic sector and to hundreds ofprivate firms, hopes to raise £4m fromits stock market placing.

That cash will help it to fund itsgrowth plans, including opening morerecycling centres around the UK.

EWC, which employs 370 people,operates household waste recyclingcentres for seven UK local authorities.

Its Commercial Waste Managementdivision collects and sorts waste fromcompanies across the UK.

In the year to last August, EWC pos-ted sales of £23.8m, with a pre-taxprofit of £2.1m.

EWC’s chief executive, Bill Shaw,said the placing would also help raisethe company’s profile and would giveit the financial clout to bid for biggertenders.

He said: “We’ve got a fairly aggress-ive business plan to grow our organ-

isation quite rapidly. Being quoted hasa lot of benefits. There’s a kudos inbeing quoted. It will help us by givingus more credibility when we bid fortenders.

“Being a quoted company makes iteasier to attract talent, and that’ssomething we’re keen on.”

EWC plans to open three more largeMaterial Recycling Facilities (MRF)centres, which sort waste that wouldotherwise go to landfill and then sell itother recyclers. It already has MRFsites in Knowsley, Neath Port Talbotand London.

It has bought land in East Kilbride,

near Glasgow, and is now goingthrough the planning process beforeopening a site there. The company alsoplans to open a site in Leicester andanother in London.

Mr Shaw said: “Recycling is agrowth area, and with green legislat-ion and financial penalties for landfill,it will continue to be a growth area.

“To get the most benefit from waste,you need space to sort it.

“MRFs give us the space to operatein. They enable us to do differentthings with waste.

Recyclingfirmtofloatas itplansforgrowthTHE FTSE 100 Index

edged higher yester-day, despite weaken-ed mining stocks andspeculation that thedeath of Osama binLaden could triggerrevenge attacks.

The index closed upas investors frettedabout how the UK willbe affected by con-tinuing high inflation.

Meanwhile, on WallStreet, Dow Jonesindustrial averageended 0.15 % up, toclose at 12,807.51, theS&P 500 fell 4.60, or0.3 %, to 1,356.62, andthe Nasdaq fell 22.46,or 0.8 %, to 2,841.62.

MARKET REPORT:PAGE 15

FTSE-1006082.9

13▲

inside Chamberin costcuts dealLIVERPOOL businessinsurance broker But-terworth Spengler hasbeen appointed by Liv-erpool Chamber ofCommerce to reducemembers’ businessinsurance costs.

Alan Tune, of Butter-worth Spengler, said:“This is a big deal forus. Working with Liver-pool Chamber of Com-merce gives us a newdimension.”

The Chamber’s headof client services,Jenny Stewart, added:“We want to share But-terworth Spengler’sexperience with ourmembers.”

From left, Gary Spengler,Chamber chief executive JackStopforth, and Alan Tune

byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

ProfessionalLiverpool getsnew rivalTHE ex-CEO of Profes-sional Liverpool, MarkChadwick, has launch-ed a lobby group topromote the sector.

PAGE 2

Concrete planNUROCK hopes eco-friendly vehicle willdrive growth.

PAGE 4

Awards newsTHE first instalment ofthe Regional BusinessAwards shortlist.

PAGES 8-9

When exceptional people cometogether, great things happen.When Weightmans and Mace & Jones merged to become onefirm on 1 May something special developed.Weightmans and Mace & Jones. Together we are stronger.Find out more at www.weightmans.com

2 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

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‘Millar and Chadwick – thecomeback kids who couldmake a real difference’

Log on to www.ldpbusiness.co.uk

1 Apartment sales hit new low2 Losses widen for hotel group3 Qire tackles silent calls4 Peel man on Chamber board5 Alpha secures bank fundingldpbusiness.co.uk

Updatesthroughoutthe day

FormerProLiverpoolCEOsetsuprivalorganisation

Plans forthreerecyclingcentres

“For example, wedeal with several hun-dred tonnes of copperwire, covered in plastic,a year. We traditionallysold it to a commoditiesdealer for about £1,800a tonne.

“But we invested inour MRF in Knowsley –we bought a wire strip-per. We now have acouple of guys who, aspart of their weeklywork, strip the wire.

“We can now sell theplastic at £200 a tonneand the copper at£5,500 a tonne.”

Mr Shaw says EWC isconsidering openingfurther MRF centres.

“One place in thecountry where there isa dearth of recyclingfacilities is the WestMidlands,” he said. “Ifwe’re going to have aseventh site, it will bethere.”

Mr Shaw, who left forLondon yesterday totake part in a series ofinvestor roadshows,said he expected EWCto be well-received inthe City.

“It’s a cash-generat-ive business,” he said.

“We’re not convin-cing people to invest ina complex process withlong lead times.

“The whole nature ofthe business is that it’svery simple. It’s easilyunderstandable. It’ssomething you see inaction.”

Business-friendlyapproachvitalforrecovery–FPB

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EX-PROFESSIONAL Liverpool (PL)chief executive Mark Chadwick islaunching a rival to his formeremployer.

Mr Chadwick was ousted as head ofPL late last year, after it lost 80% of itsfunding due to Northwest Develop-ment Agency cutbacks.

Earlier this year, he hit out at PL,claiming it had failed to react to theloss of funding and had reverted backto a “part-time, pro bono gentlemen’sluncheon club run as a hobby”.

Mr Chadwick claims he has beenapproached by a number of profes-sional firms in the city unhappy at thedirection of PL.

As a result, he is setting up Liv-erpool City Region: Business & Pro-fessionals, which will be based at 20,Chapel Street, and will be anot-for-profit community interest com-pany.

He told LDP Business: “The busi-ness, financial and professional ser-vices sector underpins and touchesevery part of our local economy.

“With a sector valued at £12.25bnacross the wider city region, it is abso-lutely essential that it is properlyorganised and has a clear and pro-fessional strategy aligned with thewider efforts of all stakeholders andpartners so that businesses can max-imise their opportunities and the localeconomy can recover and grow.

“I am flattered and delighted that somany of our leading professional firmshave approached me and haveexpressed a clear desire for a gen-uinely full-time strategic body run andoperating in a similar fashion to thatof Mersey Maritime.

“I want to look forward, not back-wards. This is a fantastic opportunityfor us to build on earlier successes andrecover lost momentum.”

The new body will focus on fivestrategic development areas – busi-ness, lobbying, promotion, networking

and research. It is also opening upmembership to ordinary businesseswhile maintaining the focus on busi-ness, financial and professional ser-vices.

Mr Chadwick added: “In unifying

business, finance and professionalsthrough a common platform whichprovides an opportunity for access,interaction and the free and openexchange of information we will sup-port our member interests while at the

same time looking to grow the localeconomy with our strategic partners.

“The two are not, and should not be,mutually exclusive. Every major cityregion in the UK has a strategic bodyorganising and promoting this sector.”

TOP FIVE

Mark Chadwick – basing his new organisation at 20, Chapel Street, in Liverpool city centrePicture: GAVIN TRAFFORD

byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

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SMALL business lobby group,the Forum of Private Business(FPB), has called for a “two-pronged” approach to boosteconomic growth in the UK.

Commenting after UK GDPgrew by just 0.5% betweenJanuary and March, the FPB

says Britain needs to see twomain measures in order tofoster a meaningful economicrecovery – swift business-friendly policies from the Gov-ernment, and an increase inbusiness and consumer con-fidence.

FPB chief executive PhilOrford said: “An increase of0.5% is as good as we mighthave hoped for.

“However, it doesn’t indic-ate any great surge of eco-nomic activity.

“If we want to see some real

growth next quarter, we needsome radical and immediatemeasures from the Govern-ment which will tangiblyimprove conditions for smal-ler businesses on the ground.

“If smaller companies areto foster a genuine and mean-

ingful recovery, they need tobe freed from costly and time-consuming red tape, benefitfrom a simpler and moresympathetic tax system, andsee the soaring costs of essen-tials like fuel and utilitiestackled.”

3Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Telewest and later NTL, Coopermoved through the ranks, designingcable installations for schools andhospitals throughout the country.

In 1999, he started working withthen Liverpool marketing agencyPaver Downes, leading its EBusinessdigital marketing arm.

In 2003, Cooper moved on toresearch firm CACI, where he built asystem to collect customers’ emailaddresses. But, after two years, heleft CACI to co-found Origin, thecompany that became Qire.

It was backed by Merseyside Spec-ial Investment Fund and won severalbig-name clients.

But, in early 2008, the companywas thrown into crisis by an Ofcomreport on silent calls that suggestedIVM services could become illegal.

As a result of the uncertainty,MSIF took what it said was the“painful decision” to end its supportfor Qire.

Facing the loss of its funding, Qirecalled in the administrators.

But Cooper and his team weredetermined that Qire’s softwarecould succeed and would winOfcom’s approval. So they formed acompany, Direct Data Services, tobuy Qire’s name and assets.

Later that year, Ofcom gave thegreen light to Qire’s services, settingthe company on the path to growth.

“It (the administration) wasannoying, to say the least,” saysCooper. “It was hard at the time.

“We managed to continue with thecustomers we had. But there was abit of a hiatus with companies mak-ing the decision to go for it whilethey waited for Ofcom’s ruling tocome through, particularly biggerorganisations.”

It was, Cooper says, “difficult” atfirst for a start-up business to winthe trust of big corporations.

“It takes a lot of resources beforeyou get any benefit,” he said.

“You can communicate with anorganisation through whatever chan-nel suits you best.”

The system can target those mar-keting calls more effectively so theysuit the caller and the recipient.

Cooper said: “It might be thatyou’re always available by mobilephone, but your wife might be ateacher, so it is pointless trying tocontact her at certain hours. We canlook at all that information and workout the best way of contacting you.

“If you are a company makingcalls, you will be able to do thingslike, for example, asking the client‘we will make a delivery at 4, will yoube there’?

“You will be able to do the kind ofthings it would be lovely to do if youhad infinite resources.”

Cooper, who studied electricalengineering at Imperial College, Lon-don, started his career at the Min-istry of Defence. He said: “I used todesign guided missiles.”

In 1993, he moved into the telecomsindustry with Cable Northwest,which installed the cable televisionnetwork in the region. Among histasks was designing the cable net-work in Liverpool city centre.

As the company became part of

profile

Destinycallsforhi-techfirmthatletsitssoftwaredothetalking

THE humble telephone call just gothi-tech.

Liverpool-based Qire is growingrapidly, thanks to its Intelligent VoiceMessaging (IVM) software that auto-mates phone conversations.

Qire’s software can make andreceive phone calls and interact withcallers. It can understand what theysay and present them with optionsaccordingly – all done using “humanor human-like voices”.

This year, Qire has alreadylaunched software that can be usedby call centres to end the problem ofsilent calls.

And later this year it will unveil asoftware package, called Qore, thatCooper believes will help it win busi-ness worldwide.

Today, Qire employs some 20people and turns over £4.8m.

It works, says Cooper, with “any-one who has to talk to lots of peopleon a regular basis”, from banks toutility companies.

Its clients include Co-operativeFinancial Services, utility companiesSevern Trent and Scottish & South-ern, and debt collectors Direct LegalCollections.

Cooper believes Qore, whichbrings together IVM with other com-munications systems, will help Qiregrow into a global business.

“It’s software that will act as asingle software solution for a com-pany’s communications needs,” hesaid. “That single piece of softwarewill act as an interface for all kindsof electronic communications,including landline calls, SMS, email,even Facebook and Twitter.

AlistairHoughtonmeetsGUYCOOPER,chiefexecutiveofQire

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Qire chief executiveGuy Cooper pitchesfor investment atLiverpool SoftwareCity last year

Picture:CHRISTOPHER WHITE/

Crystal Images

Age: 46Best advice: Don’t forget whatyou’re doing something for in thefirst place. Don’t get distractedProudest achievement: When wegot our system up to 1m minutes amonth. That was when we stoppedbeing a start-up and became estab-lished as a businessBiggest regret: Not running my ownbusiness earlierStill to achieve: I’d like this tobecome a global business

q&a

“The advantage that we have isthat there are not a lot of options forcustomer. If you want this kind ofsystem, you’ve got to buy it from asmall company like us.”

The company has been backed byManchester-based Maven CapitalPartners, which made two invest-ments in the company totalling £1m.That investment helped it developthe technology, which it could thentake to market.

“It’s a utilisation-based service,”said Cooper. “Provided people like itand use it more and more, you getrecurring revenue. The big advant-age is that once we’ve sold it, wedon’t have to sell it again month aftermonth.

“We have recently become profit-able. Hopefully we can continue to beprofitable from now on.”

It was an Ofcom report on silentcalls that caused Qire to wobble – butCooper’s determination to keepdeveloping technology means thecompany has now come up with asolution that he believes could solvethe problem.

Call centres use automated dial-ling systems to make them moreefficient, meaning they can makemore calls than there are agents. Butif the phone is answered and anagent is not available to answer it,then the line goes dead, creating asilent call.

One way to make a system moreefficient was to use technology thatcut off calls as soon as it recognisedan answering machine. But becausethat software is not 100% accurate,many people still receive silent calls.

Cooper says Qire’s new systemsolves the problem by ensuringpeople hear an automated voice sys-tem as soon as they pick up thephone. They can then choose tospeak to an operator.

Qire’s systems may be automatedbut they are, Cooper insists, far from

robotic in their sound. He said: “It’sautomated conversation. We use realvoices. It’s not like speaking to a robot.

“A lot of other systems are done astext-to-speech – we only use that forthings like numbers that aren’t avail-able in advance. We try to make it ascomfortable as possible.”

Qire records the voices for its cli-ents itself, and can call on a stable ofvoice artists.

He said: “We can use differentvoices for different circumstances – ayoung female voice or a Scottishvoice, for example – it depends whatwe’re trying to achieve.

“You’d be surprised what differ-ence it makes.”

Liverpool is, says Cooper, a greatbase for a technology business.

He says: “One good thing aboutMerseyside is that there’s somereally good technical people herewho don’t have a really wide range ofexciting companies to work for.

“There’s a great talent pool, andwe’ve certainly found great people –people who’ve had firms like Googleand Microsoft trying to poach them.We are having to fend off some bigand glamorous names.”

Cooper still lives in London, com-muting between Merseyside and hishome office in the capital.

His ideal working week, he says,sees him in Liverpool from Tuesdayto Thursday, giving him long week-ends with his wife and two sons inLondon.

“Even if I lived in Liverpool,” hesaid, “I’d still need to spend two daysa week in London.”

Outside work, Cooper enjoys play-ing football, as well as taking part in“adventure racing”. His next racethis year will see him cross Scotlandin a weekend by mountain-biking,running and kayaking.

“I do that sort of thing three orfour times a year, to the detriment ofmy health,” he smiled.

4 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Nurockstrikingrightmixtocementexcitingfuture

BusinessgroupappointsleaderBUSINESSMAN SteveBennett has beenappointed leader ofNorth West businessgroup Private SectorPartners (PSP).

PSP speaks for 25business groups, rep-resenting 140,000 busi-nesses in the NorthWest that employ 1.3mpeople.

Mr Bennett, 52,already sits on PSP asthe representative ofthe Chartered Instituteof Marketing, andreplaces entrepreneurLen Collinson, whostepped down in April.

Mr Bennett has heldnumerous senior rolesin private businesses inthe region over the last30 years.

He is founder andmanaging director ofTransitionPlus and abusiness partner atMacclesfield-basedexecutive search firmWickland Westcott.

He is a former NorthWest regional vice-chairman of the Inst-itute of Directors.

Mr Bennett said hewill continue to fight toensure the concerns ofbusiness across theregion are heard, andto continue the strongpresence of PSP.

“I feel delighted andprivileged to take onthis role,” he said.

“Len Collinson did afantastic job foundingthen running PSP withtireless energy. His con-tribution to business inthe region has beenimmense. I fully intendto follow Len in his pas-sionate campaigning.”

The NUVM 1.5 compact volumetric machine, or ‘baby mixer’, designed by Knowsley-based Nurock

Healthyoutlookatworkasfeweremployeescall insick

A KNOWSLEY concrete mixer man-ufacturer is forecasting biggerturnover and further expansion on theback of a new eco-friendly model.

Nurock was formed by managingdirector Graham Jones and his father,Anthony, in 2001.

In 2008, they received financial back-ing from Merseyside Special Invest-ment Fund towards moving to theircurrent Knowsley Business Parkpremises, complete with manufactur-ing facility.

Last year, the company grew to aturnover of £930,000, from £315,000 theprevious year, and is forecasting salesof £1.8m this year.

And the company, which employs 10staff, is in the process of raisingsecond round funding to continue itsexpansion.

The business develops and manufac-tures innovative concrete mixers andrecently launched a new environment-ally-friendly machine which will helpthe construction industry to reduceCO² outputs and landfill waste.

Nurock is the UK’s and Europe’sonly manufacturer of volumetric con-crete mixers, and the NUVM 1.5 com-pact volumetric machine or “baby mixer”,uses a highly energy-efficient processto mix precise volumes of concrete onsite, but in a more compact and afford-able version than previously available.

It carries all the unmixed ingred-ients in separate compartments beforemixing the exact quantity on site,reducing pollutants in transportationand production and cutting waste.

The mixers can also recycle excav-ated waste, normally destined for land-fill, into re-usable cement.

Nurock has recently been commis-sioned by Powys County Council tosupply mixers for use on its CountiesHighways and Infrastructure projects,in a contract worth up to £200,000 dur-

ing 2011, and the firm is also in talkswith several other councils, togetherwith some civil engineering and utilitycompanies.

The company also supplies mixersto the Ministry of Defence and to con-struction and civil engineering firmsacross Europe, including France, Rus-

sia, Belarus and other Baltic states.Graham Jones said: “Our mixers areeffectively mobile batching plantswhich cut costs and carbon emissionsand can reduce waste to landfill. Thesethree factors are very high on theagenda for local authorities, civilengineering and utility companies and

we want to tap into these markets. Thenew mixer has opened up new marketsfor Nurock.

“Whereas previously theseorganisations would probably havehired in mixers, our machine makes iteconomically viable and practical toown their own equipment.”

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SICKNESS absence is con-tinuing on a downward trendamong UK employees, accord-ing to a survey of sicknessabsence released today byEEF, the manufacturers'organisation.

The EEF/Westfield Health2011 Sickness Absence Surveyshows that from 2007 to 2010there has been a steady fall insickness absence, with theaverage employee taking fivedays’ sickness in 2010, com-pared to 6.7 days in 2007.

An all-time high of 45% ofemployees took no days offthrough sickness in 2010.

While recessionary effectsmay have played a part, thistrend began before the reces-

sion, with year-on-yearimprovements over the lastfive years, the EEF said.

The survey shows a correl-ation between companieswith strategies to train man-agers in sickness absence andwith tougher absence targets,with falling absence rates.

More than two-thirds arenow achieving their targets,compared to half in 2007,while those companies whotrained their managers are athird more likely to reducetheir sickness absence.

David Ost, North Westregion director for the EEF,said: “The continued down-ward trend in sicknessabsence is welcome recog-

nition of efforts by companiesand government to get peopleback to work.

“In particular, it is strikingthat the companies who haveproactively contacted theirGPs to discuss adjustingpeople’s working arrange-ments have seen the highestlevel of response. It is alsoclear that doing the basics,such as training line man-agers and GPs, pays dividends.

“If we are to see the trendcontinuing to improve andthe economic benefit to theUK economy this brings, it isvital the Government contin-ues to fund the training ofGPs in health and workissues.”

byNeilHodgsonLDPSTAFFneil.hodgson@liverpool.com

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5Wednesday, May 4, 2011

strong trend in purchased debt, we aresucceeding well despite the continuedchallenging macro-economic climate.

“In the Netherlands, measures toadjust the cost base have begun to takeeffect, although development for thequarter was unsatisfactory.”

Intrum employs 35 people at its basein Old Hall Street, Liverpool, andanother 25 in the UK.

In its report yesterday, the companysaid: “We foresee a slow macroeco-nomic recovery in Europe with con-siderable differences between regions.

“The opportunities to resolve debt-ors’ financial problems are better thanthey were in the midst of the globalfinancial crisis.

“However, collectability has not yetreturned to the levels that existed from2006 until the first half of 2008. Thesituation has nonetheless stabilised.

“We see increasing demand forintegrated credit management and fin-ancial services. Clients’ need to estab-lish stronger and more predictablecash flow is increasing. The need tocreate further alternatives for the fin-ancing of working capital is alsoincreasing.

“In our assessment, Intrum Just-itia’s strategic focus is well attuned tothe market trend, with a broadening ofcredit management services and a linkto risk reduction and financing ser-vices based on strong, market-leadingcollection operations.

“We foresee good demand for ser-vices of this kind over the next fewyears.”

DEBT collection firm Intrum Justitiahas hailed a strong start to the yearand says it is set for growth as theworld economy recovers.

The Swedish group, which has itsUK headquarters in Liverpool, sawprofits rise in the first quarter, andsays it expects demand for its servicesto increase.

Intrum’s consolidated revenues fell2.4% to £93.5m compared to the firstquarter of 2010. But the group saysthat, adjusted for fluctuating exchangerates, sales rose 5.1%.

Intrum’s president and chief exec-utive, Lars Wollung, said: “IntrumJustitia has had a good start to 2011and our operating earnings rose by18% adjusted for currency effects anda loss in connection with our divest-ment of our associated company in Ice-land.”

Intrum’s Western Europe division,which includes Belgium, France, Ire-land, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal,Spain and the UK, saw revenues fall16% to £31.6m, thanks to a revaluationin its Dutch business.

Mr Wollung said the division hadperformed well overall. He said: “Inthe Western Europe region, cur-rency-adjusted operating earnings roseby 9% and the margin strengthened to16%.

“Thanks to good cost control in thecredit management service line and a

Pick-upintradefailstoliftgloomoverhighstreetFIGURES showing slightlybetter-than-expected sales inthe run-up to Easter failed tolift the gloom for downbeatretailers yesterday.

The latest survey by busi-ness body the CBI showed abalance of 21% of retailersreporting that sales volumesincreased in the year to April,up from 15% in the previous

month, and more than the18% who had expected a rise.

The survey, which coveredthe first two weeks of themonth, suggests that retailerscontinued to enjoy a moderatepick-up in trade after officialdata showed a surprise boostfor sales the previous month.But, worryingly for the eco-nomy, they feel the growth

may be short-lived. Retailerspredicted that sales growthwould decline marginally inMay and remain worse thannormal.

CBI chief economic adviserIan McCafferty said: “Despiteslightly better year-on-yearsales growth in April, thissurvey shows things are farfrom rosy on the high street.

“For the third month in arow, retailers considered salesto be unseasonably poor,stocks are running quite highand orders with suppliers areexpected to fall.

“With few signs of demandpicking up rapidly in the com-ing months, conditions on thehigh street look like remain-ing tough for retailers.”

Average sales growth for thequarter, which the CBI saidindicated the underlyingtrend, hit its lowest level sinceJuly. Howard Archer, chiefeconomist at IHS GlobalInsight, said: “The CBI surveyoverall does little to dilute theunderlying impression thatconsumers are becoming lesswilling and able to spend.”

Travelfirm‘svolunteerproject Coffeeforfree

Debtsfirm‘upbeat’andreadyfortherecovery

We foresee good demand for services over the next few years –Intrum Justitia’s president and chief executive, Lars Wollung

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BOLD Street Coffee, in Liverpool, is offeringvouchers for a free cup of coffee to coincidewith its first birthday.

The outlet, set up by entrepreneur SamTawil, will offer the vouchers this Friday, May6, and will also stage a photo exhibition feat-uring their customers throughout their firstyear in business.

CHESTER luxury travel spec-ialist ITC Classics is offeringits customers the chance tocombine their holiday with abit of volunteering.

The ITC Giving programmeworks in partnership withaward-winning volunteer

organisation, People andPlaces.

It will offers clients theopportunity to participate in arange of community projects.,from education, health andsocial care to conservationand wealth creation in places

including South Africa,Morocco, India and Thailand.

A typical ITC Giving itin-erary includes a minimum offive working days in thechosen community project,accompanied by luxury activ-ities and excursions.

byAlistairHoughtonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFalistair.houghton@liverpool.com

privatebusinessAsiangrowthdrivessales riseTHE parent companyof a Wirral transportequipment provider isreporting a 9.4% surgein revenues for thefinal quarter of 2010.

Faiveley Transport,which owns FaiveleyTransport (Birken-head) said revenues forthe period came in ateuros 287m.

Consolidated reven-ues for the full year2010/11 totalled euros914m, an increase of4.3% compared to theprevious financial year.At constant exchangerates and group struc-ture, group revenuesgrew slightly (+0.5%organic growth), inline with forecastsannounced at the startof the financial year.Currencies contributedto a favourable foreignexchange effect of 3.8%.

The growth in reven-ues was helped by astrong performance inthe Asia-Pacific region– up 25%.

In the Americas, rev-enues grew 7% thanksto a strong perform-ance in Brazil and thestart of recovery in theUS freight market.

In Europe, the com-pany saw sales decline,particularly in Spainand France.

The order book atMarch 31, 2011,amounted to euros£1.45bn, compared toeuros 1.3bn at March31, 2010, representing ayear-on-year increaseof 11.6%.

TONY McDONOUGH

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Energyfirmonupwardcurve

UK managing director Mark McManus

LIVERPOOL businesseshave been urged toavoid “unscrupulous”companies offering tocut business rates bills.

Business rates con-sultancy and charteredsurveyors RatesRecov-ery.com says in the pastup to 6,700 companiesin the Liverpool areahave signed up withunregulated ratingagents, thinking theywill obtain a refund.

RatesRecovery dir-ector Nick Wright said:“The rates valuationand billing process canoften be confusing, andfor many the prospectof pursuing an appealis daunting.

“In the past, manyunregulated agentshave taken advantageof this situation bymaking false promisesto local businesses inreturn for an up-frontfee. Many appeals bythese rates cowboyshave little or no chanceof success.”

Warningover rateappeals

Workunderwayon£48mfirestationsimprovementCONSTRUCTION groupBalfour Beatty has revealedartists’ impressions of someof the seven Merseyside firestations to be modernised aspart of the UK fire service’slargest-ever Public PrivatePartnership project.

The project, worth £48m,involves a full rebuild of 16community fire stations andincludes design, construc-tion, funding and provisionof facilities management.

Seven of the fire stationsare in Merseyside, with fivesituated in Cumbria andfour in Lancashire.

Work has already begunon stations in Kirkdale,Formby, Newton-le-Willowsand Bootle Netherton.

Belle Vale, Birkenheadand Southport are next inline for the revamp, withwork scheduled to com-mence in spring, 2012.

As well as modernisingoperational facilities, thescheme will provide re-sources for community use,such as meeting rooms andmulti-function lecture rooms.

Bootle and Belle Vale stat-ions will also include firesafety departments, whileSouthport’s remodelledfacility will incorporate anambulance station.An artist’s impression of the new Belle Vale community fire station, due for delivery next year

byNeilHodgsonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFneil.hodgson@liverpool.com

WIRRAL renewable energy products manufac-turer Stiebel Eltron has had its most successfulyear since founding its UK operation in 2008.

The firm has also signed a major partner-ship agreement with Leicester-based Under-floor Warehouse, one of the UK’s leadingrenewable energy distributors.

German-owned Stiebel Eltron makes micro-generation heat pumps and solar panels, aswell as heating and ventilating products.

The global turnover of its parent companyhas risen from approximately £410m to £430m.

Its UK managing director, Mark McManus,said the firm’s Bromborough-based UK oper-ation had seen turnover increase by 18% in thelast 12 months, while sales for March, 2011, are85% up on March, 2010.

He said: “We are delighted with this strongperformance after three years of really hardwork.

“We achieved our target again last monthand our turnover was 14% up on April theprevious year, despite all the bank holidays.

“Importantly, the growth is being driven byall divisions of the business across the UK –heat pumps, solar and home comforts. Ourheat pump sales are increasing thanks to anumber of large contracts in the commercialsector, including the Citibank building inCanary Wharf, and a fast rising number ofdomestic property owners looking to go green.

“We expect heat pump sales to remainrobust as the Government’s new cash-backscheme, the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI),has finally been launched and is ramping upinterest. Meanwhile, we have seen strong sales

of our newly-launched Solar PV range helpedby the Government’s other cash back schemethe Feed In Tariff (FiT).”

The Underfloor Warehouse deal involves thesupply of ground and air source heat pumptechnology to the independent distributor.

Mr McManus said the partnership will leadto “substantial growth” for the business.

“Geographically, this gives us much bettercoverage and offers a wealth of business devel-opment opportunities in the East Midlandsand East Anglia. Underfloor Warehouse cur-rently sells 80 to 100 heat pumps every month –a fantastic figure which is continuing to grow.”

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7Wednesday, May 4, 2011

MattJohnson

Lookers’boardfrustratesinvestor’sbidtobuyfirm

Industrybody pinshopes onprogressA BODY representingthe manufacturing sec-tor has welcomed signsof progress in twoareas it says are vital tosmall firms.

EEF says small andmedium-sized enter-prises (SMEs) are thebedrock of supplychains which feed intolarger firms, account-ing for 60% of theprivate sector work-force.

EEF regional dir-ector David Ost said:“They tend to be highlyagile, have close relat-ionships with their cus-tomers and are quick torespond to marketneeds. For this reason,their needs must be atthe forefront of policy-makers’ minds in termsof issues such as taxregulation, access tofinance and ensuringthey can get the skillsthey need.”

He added: “Two crit-ical issues are regulat-ion and access to fin-ance where there aresome promising signs.”

He said as banks haverebuilt their balancesheets SMEs have foundit difficult to get accessto finance and whenthey do the terms andconditions can betough: “Tackling this iscrucial if companiesare to invest and growand create the jobs weurgently need.

“The IndependentBanking Commissionreport provides a wel-come first start, andthe Government mustnow be bold and usethis opportunity tobring greater compet-ition to the sector.

“There have alsobeen positive signs onregulation, with Gov-ernment absolvingSMEs from new reg-ulations and setting upthe red tape challenge.”

TimetostopBrussels’s redtapefromsmotheringsmallbusinesses

VETERAN investor Jack Petchey yes-terday confirmed that his plans to buycar dealership Lookers were beingfrustrated by the company’s board.

Mr Petchey’s private investmentvehicle, Trefick, said it had teamed upwith real estate firm Moor Park andventure capitalist Brett Palos to movein on the Manchester-based company.

But the investors said Lookers,which has a market value of around£260m, had failed to provide inform-ation needed to confirm the offer.

Lookers, which operates 11 dealer-ships across Merseyside and Cheshire,last week confirmed it had rejected aninformal bid.

Mr Petchey, 85, also manages prop-erty investment firm Petchey Holdingsand Petchey Leisure, a managementcompany for holiday resorts in Spain,Portugal and the UK.

Isle of Man-based Trefick, whichalready holds a 17.3% stake in Lookers,focuses on stock-exchange listed, prop-erty asset backed businesses.

Mr Petchey claims to be a genuine“rags to riches” businessman, risingfrom office boy at 14-years-old to amotor trade and property tycoon.

Mr Petchey, who was awarded theOBE in 2004, set up the Petchey Groupafter the Second World War, growingthe business from a single mini-cab tocontrolling a fleet of cars and carshowrooms, and then on to holidayproperties abroad.

The East Londoner set up the JackPetchey Foundation in 1999 to helpyoung people in the capital.

He has donated more than £65m toschools, clubs and projects.

Mr Petchey is a serial stake builderin property and car companies. He pre-viously invested in and then exitedfrom Reg Vardy, the car dealershipgroup, in 2007 at a profit.

Lookers, which competes with Inch-cape and Pendragon, reported better-than-expected full-year profits inMarch, driven by a strong perform-ance from its motor and car parts busi-nesses and a reduction in costs.

The company posted a 7.7% rise ingroup revenues in 2010 to £1.9bn, whileadjusted pre-tax earnings were up 19%to £33.6m.

Lookers operates 124 showroomsselling brands such as Ford, Vauxhall,Nissan and Toyota.

The company’s largest shareholderis non-executive director DouglasBramall, who owns just over 22% ofthe company.

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AS EVER, the balance between sens-ible legislation and wasteful bureau-cracy continues to influence busi-ness performance across all sectors.

And it is not an issue entirelywithin our domestic control.

According to the Federation ofSmall Businesses (FSB), 72% of thetotal cost of UK regulation now orig-inates from Brussels.

The overall cost of red tape to busi-nesses in the EU is 124bn euros ayear and there have been more than100,000 pages of new EU regulationssince 1997, according to figuresunearthed by the FSB.

It is warning that new laws andregulations take a disproportionatelyheavy toll on the smaller, or micro,firms making up its membership.

Examples it quotes hardly roll offthe tongue, or captivate interest.

Try these: Agency Workers Direct-ive; Regulation of working time forself-employed lorry and coachdrivers; Parental Leave Directive;Pregnant Workers Directiveand the Capital Rights Dir-ective 4.

The FSB is calling ongovernment to push forstronger changes in the EUto ensure that this constantflow of extra burdensceases.

The calls will surely beapplauded by many.

It’s been said countless times inrecent months by many businessleaders and informed commentators

that it is the private sector which isbest placed to lead the recovery fromrecession.

Austerity measures, or budget def-icit reduction policies,mean the public sector willnot, for the foreseeablefuture at least, be in a pos-ition to create as much ofan economic impact as itonce did. So the emphasisand focus will inevitablyfall on the private sector.

And here the role andimportance of SMEs will be

paramount. That’s why the casebeing put by the FSB is so important.

FSB research shows that four in 10

small firms believe that a morator-ium on new regulations would have apositive impact on their business.

If the burden is lifted from smallbusinesses, they would be free to geton with creating wealth, jobs andgrowth.

The scale of the opportunity isclear when you remember that, ifonly 50% of the EU’s small busi-nesses employed just one extra per-son, there would be an additional10m jobs. It’s a fact that should makepurveyors of red tape stop in theirtracks.

‘It couldfreeupSMEstohiremorepeople’

JobsbonanzaasnewTescostorepreparesfor launchTHE countdown has begunto the May 16 launch of thenew Tesco Extra store, onPark Road, Liverpool.

Store manager RichardHatley, who has received thekeys to the new store fromPatton Construction opera-tions director BrendanO'Reilly, said: “My team andI can’t wait to get inside andstart stocking the shelves.”

The store will be open 24hours a day from Monday6am to midnight on Sat-urday, and 10am to 4pm onSunday.

Almost 300 new jobs havebeen created by the storeopening, after Tescoreceived 2,000 applications.

Tesco, which has made thelargest private investment inToxteth since 1981, workedclosely with local organisat-ions during recruitment toensure jobs were given toLiverpool residents – 65% ofall new vacancies went topeople living within L1, L8,and L17 postcodes, with theremaining jobs going to res-idents in surrounding areas.

Of the 280 new jobs, 190staff are permanent and 90are temporary, and once thestore is open the manage-ment team could offer addit-ional permanent jobs. Tesco store manager Richard Hatley, foreground, and Patton Construction operations director, Brendan O’Reilly

byJamieGriersonLDPCORRESPONDENTbusiness@liverpool.com

■ MATT JOHNSON is chief executiveof Mando Group

8 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

TwodecadesonfromMaxwell,what’s changed?

2011 awards shortlist is rTodaywestartunveilingtheshortlists fortheRegionalBusinessAwardsBillGleeson reports

Daily Post editor Mark Thomas addresses guests at last year’s awards

LDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

THE Liverpool Daily Post today publishesthe shortlist of finalists for this year’sRegional Business Awards.

The shortlist has been drawn up fol-lowing a meeting last week of the judgingpanel which had the difficult task of whit-tling down the chosen finalists from abumper crop of entries.

The winners of each of the categorieswill be unveiled at a gala dinner, whichtakes place on the night of June 23. About500 guests are expected to attend theevent being staged in the awesome settingof Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

Bill Gleeson, chairman of the judgingpanel, said: “As always with the RegionalBusiness Awards, the Daily Post receiveda bumper crop of entries for this year’scompetition.

“It was noticeable, however, that aswell as a good number of entries, thequality was very strong this year.

“There were signs among some of theentries of the adverse affects of the reces-sion, with many companies disclosingfalling sales and tighter profit margins.

“But all of the companies on our short-list showed strong financial performance,despite the recent tough times.”

Today, the Daily Post publishes theshortlist for six of the categories in theRegional Business Awards. Those cat-egories are: Small Business of the Year,Medium Business of the Year, Investmentof the Year, The Liverpool John MooresUniversity Knowledge Business of theYear, The United Utilities Green Businessof the Year, and the Jaguar Land RoverCorporate Social Responsibility award.

The shortlists for the remaining fourcategories will be announced in nextweek’s LDP Business pullout.

Mr Gleeson added: “Now almost twodecades old, the Regional BusinessAwards are seen as the pre-eminent busi-ness event in the Merseyside calendar.The night itself represents an opportun-ity to rub shoulders with some of thebiggest players in business in our region.

“More importantly, it also gives theLiverpool Daily Post the chance to pub-licly recognise the achievements of somevery successful businesses operating inour area.

“The Government is counting on theprivate sector to pull the British economyout of the doldrums and into a new era ofstrong growth.

“I have no doubt all the businesses onour shortlist are typical of those the Gov-ernment is looking to for future growth.

“The Daily Post is grateful tothe scores of other companiesthat did not make the shortlistbut took the time and trouble tosubmit an entry to our awards.”

The Small Business of theYear category was open to anycompany operating in the Liv-erpool Daily Post’s circulationarea that employs less than 50staff, while the MediumBusiness category was open to companiesemploying between 51 and 250 staff.

In both categories, the judges werekeen to reward strong financial perform-ance in the form of rising sales and profitmargin growth.

The Investment category was open to

any business that was either a freshinward investment into our region sinceJanuary 1, 2010, or re-invested in its oper-ations locally, securing jobs for the future.The judges were looking to reward invest-ments that had a substantial impact onthe local economy.

For the Corporate Social Responsibilitycategory, the judges were looking to

reward businesses that made abeneficial impact by givingsomething back to the widercommunity, whether that was inthe form of money, paid stafftime, or the use of some otherresource.

The Green category was forcompanies that can demon-strate they are responding pos-itively to the low-carbon

agenda, either through the invention ofnew products and services or changes tooperational methods.

Those wanting to attend the awardsshould contact the Liverpool Daily Post’sevents team on 0151 472 2422. Seats cost£95 per person, plus VAT.

ONE OF my first beats asa junior reporter on anaccountancy trademagazine was to covercorporate governance.

Asil Nadir had flownthe country after hisPolly Peck empire hadgone bust, Bank of Creditand Commerce Internat-ional had collapsed, andRobert Maxwell had gonesplash into the sea, takingwith him millions owedto Mirror pensioners.

As a result, Sir AdrianCadbury, in his capacityas pre-eminent memberof the list of great andgood, chaired a review ofcorporate governancearrangement in Britishindustry.

I recall attending itslaunch. I was unim-pressed.

His report’s term-inology seemed vague,the reforms weak. Aboard, we were told,should have at least twonon-executive directors.That would stop thecrooks in their tracks!

There was also a lot oftalk about improved fin-ancial controls and auditcommittees.

Almost two decades onand we are still discuss-ing what can be done tobeef up business gov-ernance in the aftermathof the financial crisis.

Auditors recentlyfound themselves in thefiring line again, when aHouse of Lords report onthe profession’s role dur-ing the financial crisiswas criticised.

Their Lordships havesuggested the professionshould be referred to theOffice for Fair Tradingon competition grounds.The peers are concernedthat, with only fourmajor players in theinternational audit mar-ket, and with major firmsonly changing their aud-itors on average of onceevery 48 years, the relat-ionships between auditorand auditee are still fartoo cosy.

Mostly through mer-ger, the upper echelon ofbig global accountancyfirms have shrunk fromthe Big 8 when I startedto just four today.

Industry observerssuggest that figure is

about to shrink to three.Those mergers have cre-ated very big firms. Thefact is you need scale,particularly if you’regoing to audit the world’sbiggest banks. The auditof a global bank requiresthousands of staff inoffices around the worldalmost constantly work-ing on the account. A bigbank’s audit fee is worthtens of millions of poundsa year.

The referral to the OFTimplies a view that theaudit firms should bebroken up, but it’s hardto see how smaller firmscould do the job.

You would havethought that the implo-sion of Arthur Andersen,after the Enron scandal,would have kept auditorsin line, but perhaps theshock of that event iswearing off.

The Lords’ recom-mendations for periodiccompulsory re-tenderingis a necessary step andthe incumbent auditorshould be prevented frompitching.

Preventing the sale ofadditional accounting-related services such astax advice would also bebeneficial.

DESPITE its less thancatchy name, LiverpoolCity Region: Business &Professionals may justturn out to be a goodidea.

It’s been set up byMark Chadwick, who ranProfessional Liverpooluntil it lost its govern-ment funding due to thecuts.

He is now setting up anot-for-profit communityinterest company to pro-mote the city’s profes-sional services com-munity.

It’s a bit of a risk. Whyshould it work where Pro-fessional Liverpooldidn’t?

But, should it work, itmight be more effectivethan its forerunner, pre-cisely because it’s nolonger publicly funded.As such, it may turn outto be a more effectiveagent at growing the sec-tor in Liverpool.

We’ll just have to see ifthere are enough takers.

BillGleeson

‘Chancetorubshoulderswithbigplayers’

Diners at the 2010 ceremony

9Wednesday, May 4, 2011

ds shortlist is revealed

Picture: GARETH JONES

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Small Business ofthe Year

THE Small Business of The Year category isopen to any firm operating in the Daily Post’scirculation area which employs fewer than 50staff.

The judges were looking to recognise firmsthat showed strong financial performance bothin terms of top-line sales growth and bottom-line profitability.

The small business category was one of thebest-entered in the competition, making thejudges’ task even more tricky.

Firms shortlisted in this category are:■ Chester-based mobile phone market com-pany Txtlocal;■ Wavertree Technology Park hi-technologysecurity systems firm, Human RecognitionSystems;■ Knowsley-based cement mixer manufac-turer, Nurock.

Medium Businessof the Year

THE Medium Business of The Year categorywas open to any firm in the Daily Post’s cir-culation area that employs between 51 and 250staff.

It was another category that attracted a goodnumber of entries.

The judges were looking for evidence ofstrong financial performance in terms of top-line growth and improving profit margins.

Other factors that featured high in thejudges’ considerations were innovation andeconomic impact on the local region, especiallyin terms of job creation.

The shortlist is:■ Hooton-based web marketing firm ClickConsult;■ Jewellery chain Boodles;■ Stock market-quoted information technologyfirm, GB Group.

Investment of theYearTHE Investment of the Year category was opento businesses that have invested in their oper-ations in the Daily Post’s circulation area, in away that has led to a substantial economicbenefit for the region.

The judges were keen to reward the injec-tion of substantial sums of risk capital into anenterprise that creates jobs and can contributeto sustaining the local community.

The shortlisted firms were:■ Dairy products firm Danone;■ Halewood carmaker Jaguar LandRover;■ Speke-based discount retailer, B&M Retail.

Corporate socialresponsibilityTHE Jaguar Land Rover Corporate SocialResponsibility award is open to firms that candemonstrate that they go the extra mile tosupport the community in which they operate.

This might take the form of donating com-pany money or paid staff time to charities andother good causes.

The shortlist for Corporate and SocialResponsibility category is:■ Construction firm Balfour Beatty Capital;■ Housing association Riverside;■ Health benefits mutual, Medicash.

How to enter

THE winners of all the categorieswill be revealed on Thursday, June23, at the awards ceremony andgala dinner at Liverpool AnglicanCathedral, hosted by veteran BBCjournalist and former LiverpoolEcho reporter John Sergeant.

The event will celebrate thedetermination and success of busi-nesses like yours from across theregion.

The awards are an outstandingnetworking event, with the oppor-tunity to raise the profile of yourbusiness and reward the hard workand dedication of your employees.

Tickets to the awards are £95 perperson, plus VAT, and can bebooked by calling 0151 472 2422 orvisiting the awards website atwww.regionalbusinessawards.co.uk

Green Business ofthe Year

THE United Utilities Green Award was open toall firms that could demonstrate a commitmentto improving their impact on the environment,or offered innovative services and productsthat helped others achieve those ends.

The judges sought evidence that a firm waschanging its operations to take account ofenvironmental considerations.

The shortlist is:■ Plant hire firm Speedy Hire;■ Packaging firm Weir & Carmichael;■ Renewable energy firm, Eco Environments.

This year’s awards will take place at Liverpool’s magnificent Anglican Cathedral

10 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Asia drivinggrowth atAberdeenSCOTTISH fund man-ager Aberdeen AssetManagement doubledits underlying pre-taxprofits in the sixmonths to March 31to £142.8m.

The company saidthe record haul wasdriven by a strongperformance from itsAsia Pacific portfolio.

Compass buysDutch unitFOOD service com-pany Compass Grouphas acquired cateringgroup Elior’s food-ser-vices operations inthe Netherlands foran undisclosed sum.In addition Compass,which provides con-tracted catering facil-ities to a range of cli-ents, also finalised theacquisition ofSwedish catering firmBGP Resurs fromSteringer Resurs for£1.6m.

Avon risesCOSMETICS sellerAvon Products morethan tripled its profitsin its first quarter,driven by higherselling prices andgrowth in its LatinAmerica market.Avon, which sellsbeauty products inthe UK and across theworld, said its netincome increased to£87m.

Man launchMAN Group said ithad successfullylaunched a new fundin Japan, which hasraised $(US)1.5bn(£909m).

Man said the fund,called the NomuraGlobal Trend, begantrading at the end ofApril.

briefing Excelaceaimstounravelmysteryofspreadsheets

A ‘dashboard’ which translates statistics into a graphic illustration

Traci Williams and hertrusty laptop, crammedwith Excel info

Picture: GARETH JONES/grj280411business-1

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TRACI WILLIAMS’S skill for bringingnumbers to life has provided her withthe perfect career path.

Her Excel Ace business providesspecialist advice on Microsoft Excelspreadsheets, that can be a boon tocompany chiefs, but also equally asdaunting to anyone less computer-savvy.

Ms Williams, 33, from Bidston,explained: “An Excel spreadsheet isbasically like a piece of paper and youcan write into different boxes inform-ation on anything from accounts toordering materials, a work rota orstock control.”

But she said most people hadn’t aclue just how much capability theExcel program could offer a business.

She discovered her personal flair forExcel as a trainee accountant, as partof a GNVQ course after a damningassessment from her school careersadvisor who told her she wasn’t intel-ligent enough to do A-Levels, whichmakes her success even more satis-fying, explaining to owners of smalland large firms alike how they canharness computer skills to save valu-able time and money.

Ms Williams said she loved the fin-ance and legal side of her originalcourse, which involved a requirementfor a week’s work experience: “When alist was circulated, it was full of solic-itors but only one accountant, and Isaw that as a sign so went there, andloved it.”

The firm, Hirst Alderson, has sincemerged with two others, but Ms Wil-liams said: “I was doing filing andmaking the tea and if I was good theywould let me do a trial balance, whichis basically the first snapshot of a bal-ance sheet. I preferred the analysisside of accountancy.”

She was able to develop her analyt-ical skills over nearly eight years atUnilever, in Port Sunlight, where sheproduced data for three factories, suchas calculating price variances onmaterials purchasing.

From there, she spent a year at foodsgroup John West in Liverpool: “I wasdoing sales accounting on the theme oftelling the stories of the numbers.”

But she said she began to find thetask too repetitive and was eager for anew challenge.

“I realised I would have to go outinto the big, bad world. So I askedmyself, ‘what do you enjoy doing andwhat could you adapt’?

“Everyone I worked with used Excel,but they didn’t use it the same way Idid. I wondered if there was a businessin it. I was aware of functions andshortcuts that to me were obvious, buthardly anybody else was aware of.

“For example, I absolutely love PivotTables – a function that can save you amassive amount of time if you aredoing monthly statistics.”

So, in February, 2008, Excel Acesprang from Ms Williams’s kitchentable.

“At the time, I was temping withBlue Orchid, in Liverpool, and theysaid they would guarantee me threedays a week for six months.

“I did a lot of networking and BlueOrchid referred me to companies they

knew, so I picked up clients in the firstsix months. Most of my clients arefrom networking or referrals.”

However, three years on, Ms Wil-liams says her original business planhas changed and evolved: “I thought Iwould go into businesses, look at theirexisting spreadsheets and make themmore simple.

“But I realised not many businessowners are comfortable with man-aging their own numbers. So Ideveloped a book-keeping model.”

The majority of computers aroundthe world have Microsoft, so peoplealready use Excel.

But Ms Williams has tailored themodel for each individual business.

“I will sit down with them and

understand how they work and build itspecific to them.”

Clients also get continuing support:“Every month they can send me theirfiles and I will double check them. Ican also check things like whetherthey have put a receipt in for an itemon their banking account.

“It helps improve things when theygive their accounts to their accountantat the end of the year.”

But she says there is much, muchmore to an Excel spreadsheet thanpeople realise: “They learn the basicExcel but then go back to their officeand their spreadsheets and don’t knowhow to apply what they have learned.

“Generally, people use about 10% ofExcel’s capabilities. I only use 50% and

am learning stuff all the time. But I tryand bridge the gap between the 10%and my 50%. I always say ‘it is easywhen you know how’.”

Her “shortcuts” have cut the timesome clients used to spend on theirspreadsheets by as much as 75%.

And she said programmes unknownto many Excel users can help bringhuge clarity to a business.

“People aren’t aware of functionslike a dashboard that shows all theinformation on a normal spreadsheet,but in a series of charts and graphs.

“A bar chart of people who owemoney and the longest outstandingaccount allows people to see straightaway who they need to be chasing.

“People hate a page of numbers, butif they can see a graph it makes thingseasier to follow.”

Her clients range from one-manbands to Liverpool Chamber of Com-merce, but no matter how big or small,her aim is to make processes moreefficient, slick and easy.

Some of the more unusual spread-sheets she has helped create include aholiday and sickness tracker, a book ofremembrance and a scoring system fora pub crawl. She added: “Even mykaraoke machine at home has an Excelspreadsheet for all the artists andsongs – but it can’t make coffee yet,which is a bit of a pain.”■ MS WILLIAMS is running aseries of workshops over the nextthree months in Liverpool. Contactinfo@excelace.co.uk

byNeilHodgsonLDPBUSINESSSTAFFneil.hodgson@liverpool.com

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11Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Recoveryfearsasgrowthinmanufacturingslows

Oil andpowerworkers’action

WilliamHillbuysUSbookmaker Openlater

THOUSANDS of workersat new power stationand oil refinery sitesacross the UK could beinvolved in a nationalday of action in aworsening dispute at abio-ethanol plant.

Hundreds of workershave been laid off at thesite in Saltend, nearHull, sparking un-official industrial actionwhich has brought workto a standstill.

The protest continuedyesterday when elect-ricians and scaffoldersare believed to haverefused to cross picketlines at the new plant,being built by Vivergofor BP.

It is believed thatunion shop stewardsfrom across the engin-eering constructionindustry will meet nextweek to discuss organ-ising a national day ofprotest unless the row isresolved.

The action wouldinvolve thousands ofworkers from powerstation and oil refinerysites across the countryand would be the worstoutbreak of industrialunrest since a row overforeign labour at theLindsay oil refinery, inNorth Lincolnshire, twoyears ago.

Another row wasbrewing yesterday overthe employment of weld-ers on the Drax andFerrybridge power stat-ions, in Yorkshire, afterthe GMB union claimedthat overseas workersmight be recruited.

Regional officerJimmy Skivington said:“We are concerned that,despite several meetingswith us about theirlegal responsibilities,Doosan Babcock stillintends to fill some oftheir jobs for welders onthese two sites withnon-EU labour.”

SUPERMARKET group Morrisons isset to increase the opening hours for398 out of its 439 UK stores.

The group will ensure openingtimes are uniform from Monday toSaturday, with the majority stayingopen until 9pm. The move comes fol-lowing research into shopping habits.

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Warmweather iscoldcomfortforchocolatesretailer

Retail chain Thorntons said the warmer weather over Easter put people off buying chocolate Picture: FIONA HANSON

byJamieGriersonLDPCORRESPONDENTbusiness@liverpool.com

CHOCOLATIERThorntons issued aprofits warning yester-day, as it blamed therecord temperatures inApril for a meltdown inEaster sales.

The company said thehot weather put cus-tomers off buyingchocolate and sawsame-store sales plunge23% over the crucialEaster week.

Thorntons said itnow expects pre-taxprofits to be between£3m and £4.5m for theyear to June 25, com-pared with £6.1m theprevious year.

City analysts pre-viously expected earn-ings for this financialyear to be around £6m.

The warning comesas supermarkets stepup promotions and dis-counts on chocolateEaster eggs and ascocoa and sugar pricescontinue to soar, pilingpressure on smallerstores. Thorntons’ dis-mal Easter tradingperiod follows a simil-arly weather-hit Christ-mas season.

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THE best days of the industrial recov-ery are over, economists warned yes-terday, as a worrying slowdown indomestic orders saw manufacturinggrowth plunge to a seven-month low.

The Markit/CIPS Purchasing Man-agers’ Index, where a reading of morethan 50 indicates growth, fell to 54.6 inApril from a downwardly revised 56.7in March.

As new orders from within the UKdropped to an eight-month low,analysts said the figures revealed fur-ther weaknesses in the economy andsignalled another drop in consumerspending.

The mediocre performance willraise concerns over the economy’sability to withstand the Government’sfiscal squeeze while persistently high

prices weaken the prospect of aninterest rate hike at the Bank of Eng-land.

The manufacturing sector hasenjoyed stellar growth in recentmonths, with Chancellor GeorgeOsborne singling out the sector forpraise within last week's economicgrowth figures.

Companies have benefited fromdecent orders both at home and over-seas, the competitive level of thepound and an ongoing rebuilding ofstocks after they had been slashed dur-ing the recession.

But David Noble, chief executive atChartered Institute of Purchasing &Supply, said April’s survey revealed ableaker outlook for UK manufactur-ing.

“The sector was racing ahead just afew months ago but there are nowclear signs that it is running out ofsteam,” he said.

“The marked slowdown in neworders in April will definitely send ashiver down the spine of many.”

Mr Noble said UK manufacturingwas currently a “tale of two markets”as exports grow, but domestic demandsuffers as a result of falling consumerconfidence and spending.

Howard Archer, chief UK andEuropean economist at IHS GlobalInsight, said the survey will reinforceworries over the economy’s ability towithstand the Chancellor’s fiscalsqueeze as it starts to increasinglybite.

The Chancellor is rolling out an£81bn package of spending cuts, whichincludes hundreds of thousands ofpublic sector job losses, to tackle thebulging budget deficit.

Mr Archer said: “The risk is thatjobs growth will wane further if man-ufacturing activity continues to losemomentum. This is worrying for

hopes that private sector employmentimproves to compensate for the publicsector job losses that are now increas-ingly on the way.”

A moderate slowdown in input priceinflation, revealed by the survey, willalleviate pressure on the Bank of Eng-land to raise interest rates.

The Bank has held rates at an his-toric low of 0.5% as it grapples withsoaring inflation – which is currentlydouble its 2% target – and falteringgrowth.

James Knightley, economist at INGBank, said: “Today’s report furtherdiminishes the likelihood of a ratehike this week, with November look-ing the most likely point for policytightening at present.”

Elsewhere, the survey said therehad been a “sharp lengthening” insupplier delivery times, as a con-sequence of the knock-on effect fromthe Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

BRITAIN’S biggestbookmaker, WilliamHill, yesterday announ-ced another acquisitionas part of its drive tobecome a key player inthe US betting market.

It has paid £8.5m for

Brandywine Bookmak-ing, which operates 16sportsbooks in the stateof Nevada under theLucky’s brand, and onein St Kitts, in the Carib-bean.

Brandywine is also

involved in a partner-ship which runs theDelaware State SportsLottery and operates inthree casinos in thestate.

The acquisitioncomes a month after

William Hill made itsfirst move into the USmarket by snapping upAmerican Wagering Inc(AWI) and Club Cal Nevibusinesses, which alsooperate in Nevada andDelaware.

12 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

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UKconstructionsectorsettodefy‘slump’figuresonroadtorecovery

WHILE last week’s reported slump inthe construction sector is clearlyunwelcome, we should be wary ofregarding the figures as too much ofa shock or concern.

Stepping away from the broaderdebate over whether ONS figures forthe first quarter of 2011 indicate agrowing or stagnant economy, it’simportant that we don’t lose sight ofthe nuances of our own industry.

The construction sector accountsfor a significant portion of the UKeconomy.

However, its invariably volatilenature creates a challenging envir-onment for any analyst trying toidentify a long-term trend, thusrendering any conclusions risky atbest.

It is also worth noting that, for thelarge part, we remain at the will ofinvestors, developers and owners,

each of whom must have the con-fidence and resources to commenceprojects.

As public purse stringscontinue to tighten, a full-blown renaissance willonly occur with significantprivate sector investment.

This remains unlikely, aswavering confidence in theUK’s economic recoverymakes the risk of manymajor projects difficult tojustify.

However, from our per-spective as hospitality constructionspecialists, it’s certainly not all doomand gloom.

A steadily-growing demand fornew building stock and the signific-ant value of some contracts has given

us room for much optim-ism.

To this end, the privatesector is living up to itsresponsibilities to lead thecountry out of the reces-sion.

International brandssuch as Hilton, Intercontin-ental Hotels and Wyndhamcontinue to award franchiseand management opportun-

ities to ambitious developers andoperators such as one of our prin-cipal clients, Sanguine Hospitality,

which in turn have led to burgeoningdemand for specialist design andbuild support.

Our recent work with the Hiltongroup, which has involved refreshingits portfolio of show suites, demon-strates an appetite for furthergrowth in this sector.

Therefore, I think any intensefocus on the hospitality sector mightbe somewhat misplaced.

Instead, as hospitality operatorsmove forward with muted confid-ence, perhaps it is time for other sec-tors to follow suit and allow con-struction professionals to supportthose ambitions, just as we continueto do.

WarehouseinWirralsnappedupin£8mdeal

The Bromborough warehousethat has changed hands

London’sWestEnddrivesEurogrowth

‘Demandhasgivenusroomformuchoptimism’

PRIME office rentsacross Europe grew“modestly” duringthe first quarter of2011, according toresearch.

Jones Lang La-Salle’s EuropeanOffice Rental Indexwas up 1.5% over thequarter.

The firm says thisincrease was almostentirely driven bycontinued rental

growth in London’sWest End (+4.6%)and Moscow (+17.6%)with Lyon (+4.2%)and Dusseldorf(+2.2%) being theonly two other indexmarkets to exper-ience growth.

Debt problems inSpain, Portugal andIreland continued tobe a drag on rents inthese countries.Spain’s office mar-

kets recorded rentaldeclines over thequarter (Madrid-0.9% and Barcelona-1.3%).

Rents remainedstable in Dublin andLisbon, but valuesare expected to softenfurther. The reportadded: “Healthylevels of demand andlimited supply arelikely to drive primerental growth.”

A WIRRAL distribution ware-house has changed hands in adeal worth more than £8m.

Agents at Liverpool-basedMason Owen secured the prop-erty in Bromborough on behalf ofInvista Real Estate InvestmentManagement.

Invista will develop the 170,000sq ft warehouse in conjunctionwith Hampton Brook Estates andthe Northwest DevelopmentAgency.

The warehouse has alreadybeen pre-let to Great Bear Dis-tribution for a period of 10 years,with a fixed rental uplift in thefifth year.

The warehouse is located in

Thermal Road, opposite CerealPartners’ factory in Brombor-ough.

Great Bear currently has a con-tract to warehouse and distributeCereal Partners products so thisnew facility will reduce its carbonfootprint.

The development is due to becompleted in December 2011.

The facility will be ratedBREEAM (BRE EnvironmentalAssessment Method) excellent,Mason Owen said.

Property agents Legat Owenrepresented Great Bear andHampton Brook Estates andMason Owen represented Invista.

Lawyers Howes Percival repres-ented Hampton Brook Estates,Eversheds for Great Bear, Plattand Fishwick for the NWDA, andDLA Piper for Invista’s clients.

FOR News,Sport andBusinesson yourmobilephone

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13Wednesday, May 4, 2011

LDPbusinessIN

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byTonyMcDonoughLDPDEPUTYBUSINESSEDITORtony.mcdonough@liverpool.com

AdditionalauctiondatenamedEDDISONS has addedan additional date to itsNorth West auction cal-endar, in response tovendor demand.

The next auction willnow take place on May10 at the Premier Inn,Trafford Park,Manchester.

In total, 61 lots arescheduled to comeunder the hammer,most of which areoffered on the instruc-tions of PwC, who areacting as joint admin-istrators.

The catalogueincludes a range of ten-anted and vacant resid-ential properties acrossthe North West, withguide prices startingfrom £25,000.

They include amixed-use property inSt Helens. Thepart-retail, part-resid-ential property incor-porates a restaurant, atakeaway and an apart-ment.

MWBrecoverysluggishasofficesdivisionlosseswiden

THE serviced offices division of MWBGroup saw a slight increase in occu-pancy in the second half of 2010, butalso saw losses widen.

MWB Business Exchange saw rev-enue for the six months to December31 rise to £55.1m from £54.3m.

Pre-tax losses were £2.8m, against£2.2m in the first half of the year.

Its portfolio of serviced office spaceincludes Silkhouse Court, in Liverpoolcity centre, where it offers 114 work-stations.

MWB says that, during the half-yearperiod, total occupancy improved“marginally” to 84%.

The division’s chief executive, JohnSpencer, said: “There is little doubtthat the last six months of 2010 weremore demanding than anticipated,with the business environmentremaining challenging.

“As a result, our recovery has beenslower to materialise than we initiallyplanned.

“Workstation rates, however, began

to stabilise and there were some earlyindications of more positive marketconditions, particularly in our corearea of activity – central London.”

Mr Spencer added that the secondhalf of 2010 witnessed a stronger com-mercial property lettings market,driven by an improving economic cli-mate which, coupled with a lack ofsupply of Grade A space, is now seeingrents and therefore workstation ratesimprove in central London.

“One of our key focuses has been tore-balance our revenue streams, inorder to reduce our exposure to asmall number of market sectors,” hesaid.

“I am pleased to report that we arenow beginning to reap the rewards ofthis strategy.”

The Daily Post reported earlier thisweek that MWB Group had reportedwidening losses for the half-yearperiod, with pre-tax losses increasingfrom £7.8m to £11.6m.

The company’s hotels division oper-ates the Malmaison, in Liverpool’sPrinces Dock. MWB is currently intalks with its lenders to reduce its£302m debt burden.

Silkhouse Court, in Tithebarn Street, Liverpool city centre, whichoffers 1114 workstations in the MWB property portfolio

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LondonStockMarketatClose

Last night, the pound was worth: $1.6534 (down 0.0155) ..... 1.1116 euros (down 0.0108) ..... 128.17 yen (down 1.58) ..... Its trade weighted index was 78.70 (down 0.90)Metals in $ per troy ounce: Gold 1540.25 (up 4.75)........................ Silver 43.61 (down 5.09) ........................ Platinum 1858 (up 23) ........................ UK base lending rate 0.5%

Keep track of all the major share moves of the day with our live FTSE ticker at www.ldpbusiness.co.ukLDPbusiness .co.ukLDPbusiness .co.uk

96 39 Adv Medical 8414 +14 -12

2112 334 AEA Technology 434 +18

289 241 Albany Inv Tst 28612 +1

1251 764 AMEC 1202 +2 +29

92 2012 Anglesey Mining 7512 -4 +814

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 32912 xd +134 +314

3912 29 Beale 3012

594 49258 Compass Gp 589 +412 +1312

1258 478 Coral Prod 1058

118212 89712 Dee Valley 118212 +25

479 32214 easyJet 35234 +434 +1214

9112 5934 IS Pharma 8812 +14

96412 683 JD Sports Fashion 88812 -7 -27

21212 1112 JJB Sports 2434 -114 -34

3512 1534 Johnson Serv 3338 xd

49934 355 Nichols 49934 xd +1214 +934

12112 8312 NWF 11312 xd +112 +2

4012 1934 Park Gp 4012 +34 +14

1257 76212 Rathbone 1182 xd +17 -22

14614 9712 Redrow 13138 +178

14312 11434 RSA Insurance 13778 xd +14 +218

3412 1914 Speedy Hire 30 -114 +114

49 3534 Sportech 4412 +12 +114

4114 2514 Telme Gp 4114 +2 +2

5514 3234 UK Coal 4214 +134 +2

2 78 Ultima 158 -18 -18

1995 1688 Unilever 1987 +45 -1

63112 507 Utd Utils 631 +3812 +1012

UNIT TRUSTS

DAILY POST REGIONAL INDEX 1215.24 up 14.58 ▲ 1.20%

In order to give a greater range of Unit Trustinformation, covering a larger number of trusts, thelist of funds changes each day as follows:UNIT TRUST MANAGERS DAYS PUBLISHEDA to Com ................................................... TuesdayF to Inv....................................................WednesdayJP to Pru...................................................ThursdayRoy to T.........................................................Friday

FUNDS

Consols

£90932 £761132 Cons 4%.................£7734

£582732 £50 Cons 212% ............ £53116

Conversions

£8134 £69 Cnv 312%.................£7212

£1091316 £10158 Cnv 9% 11 ............£10158 -132

Treasury

£61 £50 Tr 212%...................... £51 -12132

£1171516 £109 Tr 9% 12................£11018 +38

£10738 £1032132 Tr 5% 12............. £1031116 +132

£121516 £1152532 Tr 8% 13.............. £116716 +316

£114332 £109532 Tr 5% 14................£11058 +516

£112 £105732 Tr 734% 12-15........£10614

£324732 £3031132 Tr 212% IL 16 ....... £324732 +12132

£142316 £1322132 Tr 834% 17.......... £1352932 +12

£147132 £1332732 Tr 8% 21............. £1382532 +58

War

£8334 £6712 War Ln 312%......... £771316 +34

High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day High Low Price Var 5Day Country Currency Tourist Buy Sell

FTSE 100 INDEX

SPOTLIGHT

KEYs............ dealing suspendedxd.............price ex-dividendxs......... price ex-scrip issuexr ........ price ex-rights issuexc ..... ex-capital distributionxa................................ ex-all£......price value in £ sterling

Those securities which haveincreased in value since the previ-ous close are shown in bold type.

To assist in the analysis of themarket two figures are given foreach sector. Firstly an index (setat 100 on January 1 1992) togive a comparison in the perfor-mance of various market sectors.Secondly an indication of the per-centage change in the price of allthe securities within a sector sincethe previous close.

Apr 11 - Apr 15 Apr 18 - Apr 22 Apr 25 - Apr 29 M T W T F5850

5910

5970

6030

6090

FTSE-100

20-Day Moving Average

Nov 3, 2010 May 3, 2011THORNTONS Share price (pence)60

75

90

105

120FTSE-Rebased

£ ABROAD

Australia dollars 1.44 1.512 1.517

Canada dollars 1.50 1.568 1.570

Denmark krone 7.96 8.284 8.294

European Union euro 1.07 1.111 1.112

Japan yen 128.17 133.940 134.040

New Zealand dollars 1.92 2.052 2.057

Norway krone 8.31 8.674 8.675

Poland zlotys 3.87 4.374 4.382

Sweden krona 9.54 9.957 9.967

Switzerland francs 1.37 1.423 1.424

Turkey new lira 2.38 2.531 2.541

United States dollars 1.59 1.653 1.654

Cancel Bid Offer Yield

Fund Terms Price Price Gross

FIDELITY INVESTMENT SERVS

Amer Spec Sits - 613.40 -

American - 1841.00 0.32

Gwth & Inc - 332.10 1.65

Income Plus - 203.40 4.34

Japan - 231.10 0.51

Jpan Spec Sits - 130.50 0.10

Spec Sits - 2004.00 0.01

Sth East Asia - 770.40 0.01

GARTMORE FUND MANAGERS

Euro Sel Opps - 934.72 1.09

Income - 213.87 3.59

Pratical Inv - 159.49 170.90 4.33

GUARDIAN

Index-Linked Acc - 497.74 523.93 -

International Acc -1013.03 1066.34 -

Pacific Acc -244.96 257.85 -

Property Bonds -1995.83 2078.99 -

HSBC INVESTMENT FUNDS (UK)

Balanced - 107.60 0.99

British -272.30 272.30 3.02

Gilt & FI - 63.63 3.50

Gilt & Fixed -214.40 214.40 3.22

Monthly Inc - 134.50 3.58

HENDERSON HORIZON FUND

EuropeanSmllrCosA - 1069.00 -

Sterling Bd Unit Tst - 53.85 56.26 4.40

UK Equity Inc A - 456.50 2.95

HILL SAMUEL UNIT TST MGRS

UK Advantage Inc - 273.10 1.10

Capital -324.39 337.38 1.10

European - 846.60 0.70

Far East - 569.20 1.80

Inc & Gwth - 210.40 3.30

International - 431.80 0.40

North Amer Acc - 471.80 0.10

INVESCO FUND MANAGERS

Sing ASEAN - 223.29 0.37

High Low Funds Price Var

Closing Indices

FT-SE 100 INDEX 6082.88up 12.98 ▲ 0.21%

20 DAY MOVINGAVERAGE 6018.33up 3.79 ▲ 0.06%

FT ALL-SHARE 3160.85up 5.82 ▲ 0.18%

Aerospace & Defence

Index 3389.06 ▼ 11.02

258 8512 Avon Rbbr 251 +2

36978 29434 BAE Systems 32934xd +178

73612 51958 Chemring 65512 -1412

25878 19214 Cobham 226 -218

38078 26134 Meggitt 35538xd -358

665 535 Rolls-Royce 63712xd -4

15912 10438 Senior 15414 +112

Automobiles & Parts

Index 5246.62 ▲ 32.73

23718 10914 GKN 22438xd +138

Banks

Index 4766.97 ▲ 38.45

344 25538 Barclays 28614 +378

87512 610 Bco Santander 740 -2434

73078 59614 HSBC 66212xd +718

15018 1934 Ireland 2258 -238

7758 5012 Lloyds Banking5878 -38

5218 3758 Ryl Scotland 4178 +38

1959 1525 Stan Chart 166512xd+612

Beverages

Index 9703.06 ▲ 115.09

1394 900 Barr (AG) 1394 +19

518 36412 Britvic 41034 +114

1258 1025 Diageo 1226 +8

2306 1827 SABMiller 2276 +4112

Chemicals

Index 7498.44 ▲ 41.40

1885 901 Croda 1881xd

16934 5834 Elementis 16518 -78

2100 1460 Johnsn Mat 2044 +41

Construction & Materials

Index 4171.34 ▲ 32.60

35714 22934 Balfour Beatty 32912xd +134

265 18512 Costain 22812xd +214

180014105338CRH 149758xd +13

1383 88612 Kier Group 1360xd +30

6312 2834 Low Bonar 61 -12

12412 7834 Marshalls 12412 +234

Electricity

Index 8294.39 ▼ 44.03

45018 32614 Drax Gp 44434xd +478

44858 28412 Intl Power 33278 +214

1358 1010 Scot&Sthrn 1348 -10

Electronic & Electrical

Index 3183.07 ▲ 13.32

705 38312 Domino Ptg 661 -12

179 9834 Laird 14314 +258

316 16712 Morgn Cru 314 +4

774 256 Oxford Inst 732 -1312

377 126 Volex Gp 32334 +734

Equity Inv Instruments

Index 6171.68 ▲ 22.63

385 29312 Alliance 385 xd +312

14012 105 Br Assets 13938 +178

835 577 Candover Inv 61412 +34

228 17118 Dunedin IncGth 224 xd -112

142 10034 Dunedin Sml 142

46818 366 Edin Invst 46818 +538

66012 53012 Edin US Trkr Tst 645 xd +1

31634 25138 Forgn & C 31358xd +118

32334 206 Hend Smllr Cos 31112 +34

36478 27314 Law Debenture36478 +638

252 18614 Scot Am 25018 -38

528 40978 Witan 528 +412

Fixed Line TelecomsIndex 2364.25 ▼ 24.67

19534 10978 BT Gp 19414 -112

6278 4438 Cble&W Comm 4578 -12

92 4678 Cble&W Wwide 4678 -114

6512 41 KCOM 6234 +1

Food & Drug RetailersIndex 4785.69 ▲ 31.57

30614 25758 Morrison W 29778 +318

395 31278 Sainsbury 350 +134

44058 37712 Tesco 406 xd +212

112 70 Thorntons 70 -1014

Food ProducersIndex 5295.96 ▲ 111.03

1182 918 AB Foods 1026 +19

730 47712 Carrs Mill 72312xd +312

90712 74212 Cranswick 753 -12

42478 33934 Dairy Crest 40014 -134

7534 4134 Nth Foods 73 +14

3314 16 Premier Foods 3314 +1

607 40918 Tate Lyle 60412 +11

1995 1688 Unilever 1987 +45

Forestry & PaperIndex 6425.12 ▲ 48.48

61012 36758 Mondi 59612xd +412

General FinancialIndex 6174.86 ▲ 43.58

340 25178 3i 27912 -58

88812 664 Close Bros 816 +512

57012 34158 ICAP 524 +512

933 544 London Stk Ex 86812 -3

1033 72812 Provident 1007 -1

1257 76212 Rathbone 1182xd +17

1922 1154 Schroders 1906xd +8

General IndustrialsIndex 3309.22 ▼ 92.86

720 36738 Cooksn Gp 71612 +1

1258 478 Coral Prod 1058

718 338 Cosalt 334 -38

39058 29038 Rexam 38814 -214

226 108 Smith DS 21412 -238

1429 1008 Smiths Gp 1256 -76

General RetailersIndex 1730.40 ▼ 14.75

2514 1214 Ashley L 2114

31114 221 Brown (N) Gp 29514 -814

7738 53 Debenhams 6734 -14

30 1134 Dixons Retail 1458 +18

550 34814 Halfords 39914 +414

28058 18812 Home Retail 21714 -234

414 23718 Inchcape 36418 -14

96412 683 JD Sports 88812 -7

27714 19812 Kingfisher 27012 -4

42712 32638 M & S 38438 -358

62712 382 Mothercare 415 -478

2313 1868 Next 2222 -15

2885 1724 Signet Jwlrs 2575 -3858

523 39814 WH Smith 46978 -18

Health Care Equip & Serv

Index 3718.41 ▲ 24.38

742 53712 Smith Nph 662 xd +412

Household Goods

Index 6632.25 ▲ 163.47

138 74 Aga Rngmstr 12314xd +14

12514 70 Barratt Dev 11314 +138

74512 511 Bellway 71312 +612

196 114 McBride 137 xd +212

3648 3015 Reckitt Benck 3419xd +95

14614 9712 Redrow 13138

4314 2214 Taylor Wimpey 3914 +38

Industrial Engineering

Index 7491.90 ▲ 30.89

388 18212 Bodycote 388 xd +478

85312 567 Charter 82512xd +878

38734 18314 Fenner 37712 -1014

1096 578 IMI 1096xd +4

108 4312 Molins 94 xd

220 115 MS Intl 20712 -412

45 23 Renold 38 +12

2039 1344 Spirax Srco 2039xd +30

1934 846 Weir Gp 1934 +10

Industrial Transportation

Index 2639.95 ▲ 13.04

24034 175 BBA Aviation 21712xd +12

Life Insurance

Index 4691.51 ▲ 28.22

47778 29414 Aviva 45014xd +312

12334 7214 Lgl & Gen 12334xd +1

777 48914 Prudential 777 xd +4

31134 21114 Resolution 30458xd +178

255 173 Standard Life 22734xd +158

Media

Index 4307.13 ▼ 5.11

847 53612 BSkyB 847 +5

59412 433 D Mail Tst 49512 -358

9312 4814 ITV 7438 -158

1159 864 Pearson 1149xd -2

59012 46058 Reed Elsevier 539 xd +9

168 66 STV Group 16712 -12

14514 4534 Trinity Mirror 51 +212

725 48018 Utd Business 59912xd -63

151 106 UTV 140 +3

84612 608 WPP 77412 -434

Mining

Index 26418.64 ▼ 398.43

3437 2254 Anglo Amer 3115 -512

1634 761 Antofagasta 1332 -35

263112 168412 BHP Billiton 2487 -3712

1682 801 Fresnillo 1598xd +93

1671 965 Kazakhmys 1333xd -46

1983 1355 Lonmin 1642 +10

6655 4425 Randgold Res 4976 +56

4712 2812 Rio Tinto 429212 -6712

5514 3234 UK Coal 4214 +134

Mobile Telecoms

Index 3935.29 ▲ 15.89

821 575 Inmarsat 611 +2

18234 12912 Vodafone Gp 17214 +34

Nonlife Insurance

Index 1651.11 ▼ 5.55

1753 1238 Admiral Grp 1674 -18

186114 124378 Marsh McL 185458xd +414

14312 11434 RSA Insurance 13778xd +14

Oil & Gas Producers

Index 8795.25 ▼ 50.09

156412 984 BG 1504xd -2912

567 30278 BP 458 -458

49314 366 Cairn Energy 450 -178

2140 1085 Premier 1950 -50

2336 1554 Ryl D Shell B 2336 +9

1493 99112 Tullow Oil 1416xd -17

Oil Equipment & Services

Index 26106.25 ▼ 133.05

1251 764 AMEC 1202 +2

Personal Goods

Index 21768.93 ▲ 372.36

1321 61212 Burberry Gp 1321 +26

409 267 PZ Cussons 32958 +134

Pharma & BiotechnologyIndex 9402.59 ▲ 129.40

3385 2772 AstraZeneca 3062 +72

131812 1095 GlaxoSmthKln 1316 +1012

50 31 Vernalis 39

Real EstateIndex 1958.11

35314 28438 Big Yellow Gp 344 +1158

626 41814 Brit Land 604 xd +312

2990 2157 Daejan Hldgs 2748 +38

42734 28012 Gt Portland 42734 +634

79112 545 Land Secs 79112 +612

33114 25014 SEGRO 32958xd +412

Software & Comp ServsIndex 732.20 ▲ 4.58

1975 1271 Autonomy 1636 +26

6112 3012 Emblaze 5414 -214

36414 23014 Invensys 33814 -214

12612 85 Kewill 10312 -114

14714 10134 Logica 13558xd +34

302 22234 Sage 28634 +134

Support ServicesIndex 4665.29 ▲ 12.93

2112 334 AEA Tech 434 +18

1787 1157 Aggreko 1786xd -1

20778 77 Ashtead Gp 20114 -78

51912 36014 Berendsen 51612xd -3

783 658 Bunzl 74612 +212

81612 63512 Capita 73112xd -412

984 54912 De La Rue 791 +80

307 20214 Electrocmps 27978 +134

819 572 Experian 81312 +7

28234 23734 G4S 27918 +278

452 24134 Hyder Cons 361 -112

29634 18312 Interserve 28114xd +14

545 33734 Menzies J 540 -112

34634 15214 Northgate 33418 -778

30834 20838 Prem Farnell 28834 +314

12734 8414 Rentokil 95 +34

126 79 Smiths News 10078 -18

3412 1914 Speedy Hire 30 -114

1127 709 Travis & P 1071 -4

2261 1223 Wolseley 2168xd

Tech Hardware & Equip

Index 788.04 ▼ 19.79

651 22838 ARM Hldgs 602 xd -1812

3814 1934 BATM 2412 -14

10234 7134 Psion 10012xd -1

16014 10234 Spirent Comms 14138xd -458

Tobacco

Index 30909.48 ▲ 636.02

266612 1959 BrAmTob 266612xd+5512

2150 1753 Imperial Tob 2150 +43

Travel & Leisure

Index 4806.21 ▲ 3.55

3153 2037 Carnival 2457 +42

594 49258 Compass Gp 589 +412

479 32214 easyJet 35234 +434

13914 8438 Enterprise Inns 9618 +78

41258 31114 FirstGroup 32314 -138

1460 1042 Go-Ahead Gp 1401 -13

49612 37614 Greene King 49612 +678

360 240 Holidaybreak 275 xd +5

1435 982 Intercontl Htls 1300xd -11

285 21278 Intl Cons Airlns 240 +134

15214 12234 Ladbrokes 15078xd -114

11718 8978 Marston’s 10878 +12

361 274 Mitchells&Btlrs 33114 +214

9038 58 Punch Taverns 78 -38

15234 9434 Rank Gp 14818xd -258

335 20814 Restaurant Gp 32534 -914

24678 16034 Stagecoach 23812 -838

237 16114 Thomas Cook 17138 +18

27178 190 TUI Travel 24534 +612

1887 1266 Whitbread 1666 -14

Utilities

Index 4724.41 ▲ 25.48

34618 26412 Centrica 324 xd +318

118212 89712 Dee Valley 118212

629 48414 National Grid 61612 +212

65912 48278 Pennon Gp 65912

1513 1086 Severn 1507 +6

63112 507 Utd Utils 631 +3812

AIM

Index 915.24 ▼ 5.90

26 712 API Gp 2514

1514 412 Armour Gp 518

564 19012 Cape 564

134 1 Crimson Tide 112

214 112 Dawson Intl 2

812 414 Eckoh 838

21212 1112 JJB Sports 2434 -114

3512 1534 Johnson Serv 3338xd

86 3034 Man Brnze 49 +112

12 4 Metalrax 1112 -38

550 355 Portmeirion P 49212xd

17312 55 Redhall Gp 7112 -2

5112 1112 Scapa Gp 5014 -12

14212 115 Swallowfield 120

7634 67 Uniq 7638 +138

670 510 Young A 612 -10

15Wednesday, May 4, 2011

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Wednesday, May 4The Hilton Hotel, inLiverpool One, is thevenue chosen to hostthis month’s Fish! Net-working event for thecity’s aspiring busi-nesses and profession-als. The event is freeand will commence at5.30pm, running until

8pm. Please RSVP tojoel@ubiquitypr.co.ukor text Ubiquity PR07710 436125 for a guestlist.

Friday, May 6The monthly Dares-bury Science andInnovation CampusBusiness breakfast net-work event brings

together around 100people working forhi-tech companies. Thebreakfast is at Dares-bury InnovationCentre, starting from8am. For more details,see www.daresburysic.co.uk/events

Tuesday, May 10The Liberty BusinessBuilder seminar is forSMEs which are look-ing for some freshthinking on how to

build their business.Prices are from £95 perperson. It is at SuitesHotel, Knowsley, from8.30am-1pm. For moreinformation, seehttp://libertycoachingsolutions.co.uk/?p=39

Tuesday, May 10Employment solicitorMark McKeating willgive an overview of therecent changes inemployment law andlook at what businesses

should expect for thecoming year at thelatest Liverpool Cham-ber of CommerceQuarterly HR Forum.The meeting will takeplace at Hill Dickinson,Old Hall Street, from8.30am-10.30am. It isfree for LiverpoolChamber members and£15 for non-members.To book, call 0151 2271234.

Wednesday, May 11

Better Business Fin-ance seminar, with Liv-erpool Chamber ofCommerce, between9.30am to 1.30pm, atRadisson Blu Hotel, inOld Hall Street. Free tofinance directors, fin-ance managers andcontrollers as well asbusiness owners whoneed help and adviceabout the banking ser-vices.

Thursday, May 12

UKTI Northwest isencouraging NorthWest businesses toattend a free event tofind out about thelatest Incoterms 2010rules and how they canassist in internationaltrade success.It is at UKTI NW, Traf-ford Park, Manchester,M17 1LB. For moreinformation, emailevents@uktinorthwest.co.uk

WhyUSdebtwarningcausedjustripplesonthemarketsTHE recent decision by Standard &Poor’s to publicly put the credit ratingof America’s debt on notice of a pos-sible downgrade from the unimpeach-able “triple A” status caused only abrief ripple in equity markets.

The rationale for the move wasstated as being that America has fargreater budget deficits than countrieswith similar debt ratings.

Standard & Poor’s was not just flag-ging the estimated deficit of over$1.5 trillion (or 11% of GDP) in thecurrent fiscal year, but also the factthat there is no “clear path” to dealingwith the problem as the debt burdenbecomes ever greater.

The USA now has $14.3 trillion intotal debt, already equivalent to 97% ofGDP by the end of March this year.

Why have investors been so san-guine about the move?

Stock markets only declined for afleeting moment, while bond prices(which one would have thought shouldhave been most disturbed by the news)are actually higher today than whenthe move was announced.

The simplest explanation is that thefacts of the matter amounted to a state-ment of the obvious that was alreadyfully accounted for in investors’ minds.

A more subtle explanation may bethat this move is actually a sign that atlast some momentum is building totackle the difficult financial problemsthat face America over the coming dec-ade.

Viewed dispassionately, the evidenceabounds that Standard & Poor’s actionis only part of a process of Americataking their situation more seriously.The rise of the “tea party”, a loose

affiliation of right wing politicianswith little in common aside from acommitment to cutting the size of thedeficit (or government itself, depend-ing upon who is asked), is its mostobvious manifestation.

This phenomenon has made thestate of the nations’ finances a keyissue for the 2012 Presidential election.

In reality, America’s debate on thesustainability of its finances is onethat mirrored in the rest of thedeveloped world.

Eye-catching figures put the truesize of the Government Debt burden (iffuture unfunded commitments areincluded) at close to $50 trillion – afigure which suggests the debt to GDPratio will rise to over 300% if spendingis left unchecked.

That then, is the nub of the problem.America and Europe are facing the billfor the social contracts writtenbetween electorate and governmentwhen the maths of the situation werevery different.

Pensioners were not supposed to livemuch beyond 70 and the medical treat-ments were never envisioned to beavailable for such a broad array of ail-

ments (both fatal and inconvenient) –certainly not at such a high cost.

The track record of America is thatonce a problem is identified, they donot flinch from grasping the nettle.

My own view is that this will be thecase again, which will ultimately begood for stock markets and for the USDollar.

In the short term, however, the polit-ics of claiming the high ground that

will enable the lead to be taken in theshaping of solutions will dominate.

As a result, investors will need to bebraced for congressional brinkman-ship and bluster such as thethreatened holding-up of an increasein the deficit ceiling which must occurthis month.

John Haynes,Head of Research,

Rensburg Sheppards

The US debt crisis will be on voters’ minds next year as they decidewhether to re-elect President Barack Obama Picture: EVAN VUCCI

LondonmarketTHE FTSE 100 Indexedged higher yesterdaydespite weakened miningstocks and speculationthat the death of Osamabin Laden could triggerrevenge terrorist attacks.

The blue-chip indexclosed up 13 points at6082.9, in its first day oftrading after a four-daybreak, as investors frettedabout the country’s eco-nomic recovery and howit will be affected by con-tinuing high inflation.

World markets wereboosted on Monday afterbin Laden’s death wasconfirmed by US Presid-ent Barack Obama, trig-gering gains in Asia,Europe and the US,before the risk of reper-cussions dampened therally.

But recent moves byIndia and Russia to raiseinterest rates in the faceof spiralling prices haveraised further questionsabout the strength of theglobal recovery.

And with commodityprices starting the weekon the back foot, copperminer Antofagasta sankto near the bottom of theblue-chip index, dropping35p to 1332p, while fellowcopper giant Kazakhmysslipped 47p at 1332p.

Downbeat surveys onthe retail and manufac-turing sectors alsoweakened sentiment.

The latest retail salessurvey from the CBI sug-gested a pick up in tradein April but worryinglyfor the economy, compan-ies feel the growth may beshort-lived.

The top Footsie riserswere Man Group, up 8.3pat 258p, Reckitt Benck-iser, ahead 95p at 3419p,Tui Travel, up 6.5p at245.7p, and AstraZeneca,ahead 72p, at 3062p.

The top Footsie fallerswere Smiths Group,down 76p at 1256p,Randgold Resources, off244p at 4976p, Kazakhmysdown 47p at 1332p, andArm Holdings, off 18.5p,at 602p.

16 Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Directingwebtrafficon‘superhighway’

Peter Aland, managing director of iprogress, winds down by running home from his office

■ TODAY, TradingGossip pays tribute

to one of the greatunsung heroes of thebusiness world – the PA.

We know only too wellthat taking a letter andfetching the tea is but afraction of the contrib-ution these ladies (andone or two gentlemen)make to the smooth run-ning of an organisation.

So it’s a well done toZara Dyer, PA to the man-aging director of Liver-pool Football Club.

Zara, below, has madeit to the final six in thePA of the Year awards,organised by HaysRecruitment.

Competition was

tough, with entry num-bers up 60% on last year,but Zara’s dedication andproactive attitude sawher through to the finalstage successfully.

The overall winnerwill be announced onMay 19 at an awards cere-mony in central Londonattended by the final six.Said Zara: “I am thrilledto have been named asone of the UK’s top PAs.People often don’t realisethe impact PAs can haveon an organisation, so it’sgreat to have my hardwork and input recog-nised.”

We will be willing Zaraon to win, not leastbecause it’s the onlytrophy Liverpool FC hasa chance of lifting thisMay.

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workingday

5.30am: My daughter, Eva, wakes upand wakes me up with her.

After getting up, I have some break-fast and get Eva ready to be droppedoff at the child minders.

6.45am: I’m a member of the LIMABNI chapter and today we have a veryearly meeting at the Catholic Cathed-ral’s Piazza.

We recently celebrated the chapter’s10th birthday and being part of theorganisation has really supported ourbusiness over the past few years.

9am: I arrive at our offices on BixtethStreet and check my emails and workschedule for the day.

One of the big areas we work withour clients on is search engine optim-isation (SEO), the process of improv-ing their web visibility and searchengine rankings.

I check the latest stats for SalesTraining International and as theirtraffic has increased by 90% on lastmonth, it’s a good start to the day.

10am: Next, it’s a short walk throughtown to meet with Livesmart, as we’redeveloping a new events calendar forits 08 card website.

The calendar is designed to optimiseinteractivity and it allows cardholdersto give feedback, link events to socialnetworking sites and add to an onlinegallery.

The calendar gets a complete sign-off so we can progress incorporating itinto the website.

11.30am: Third meeting of the morn-ing, and this time it’s with Purple HazeCouture, an online designer retailer.

They are holding a fashion event atthe Sir Thomas Hotel in the city, wherethey will be showcasing new designerranges.

Of course, it is important thatpeople can find event information eas-ily and we also have two new keyphrases to incorporate to our SEO, sowe discuss the steps we’ll take toenhance their online presence.

2pm: It’s time to stop for lunch, so Igrab a sandwich and read some web

design review websites. As it’s anindustry that is constantly evolving,it’s crucial to be aware of any newdevelopments that could take our busi-ness forward, and it’s something Imake sure I do regularly.

2.30pm: The team gets together towork on concept designs for a newe-commerce website.

Whenever a new client comes onboard, we provide them with a contentand design questionnaire so we canhave a more thorough understandingof what they want from their new web-

site. We consider the answers and runthrough concepts for the site.

I really enjoy the creative side of ourwork and how in just six weeks or so awebsite can go from an idea to a work-ing reality.

4pm: I sit down to finalise a proposaland SEO research for a new prospect.

The business we’re working withisn’t getting as much web traffic as itshould, so there’s a lot of creativethinking into its content, niche keywords and concepts that can boost thecompany’s online prominence.

6pm: I run home to St Michaels.I love running, and recently ran the

Liverpool Half Marathon.I’ve been a member of Run Liverpool

for a couple of years now, and I’vefound that it’s such a good way to winddown.

7pm: I’m feeling particularly hungryafter finishing the run home, so I makea hearty dinner for my wife, Cath, andmyself.

Then we sit down with a bottle ofwine for a bit of competitive Uni-versity Challenge watching.

PeterAlandismanagingdirectorof iprogress,aspecialistwebdesign,e-commerceandemailmarketingcompanyinLiverpool.He liveswithwife,Cath,anddaughter,Eva, inStMichaels

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