Business Argus 150714

8/12/2019 Business Argus 150714

1/8

An exciting Tenancy oppoavailable to work in partne

with S.A Brain & Co, Waleleading family owned loca

Coach and Horses, ChepstoWelsh Street, Chepstow, Monmouthshire, N

Historic 16th century coaching house

Affluent border town with racecourse

Family run with 6 guest bedrooms Noted for cask ale & good food

Gwent CAMRA town pub of the year 2011 t

Experienced tenants sought

Ingoing costs c30K

Tenancy available Oct 2014 but earlier cha

possible

For full details and to complete an

application form please visit

www.sabrain.com/work-with-us

Steel irm secures

1m loan to workon Olympc groundASOUTHWales-basedsteelspecialist has secureda 1million loan fromFinanceWales to completea high-profile project attheQueenElizabethOlympicPark.

ProSteel Engineering,which specialisesin profes-sional project managementand constructions ervices,hassecuredthe finance from

the WelshGovernmentsWales Capital Growth Fund,managedby Finance Wales.Theloan willprovidework-ingcapital todeliver part ofthe200 million QueenElizabeth OlympicParkstrengtheningand remodel-ling project.

Thefirmis thefirst tobene-fit frominvestmentfrom theWales Capital Growth Fund,which was created inresponseto demand from

Welsh SMEsfor short-termworkingcapitaland perfor-mance bond requirements.

With West HamUnitedhav-ing taken a 99-year tenancyof the OlympicPark stadi-

um,the redevelopment which willcreate nearly 100sub-contractorjobs for ProSteels team will seethe sta-diumtransformed intoaUEFA Category 4 venue,seat-ing morethan 54,000specta-tors.

FinanceWales has alsopro-videdadditionalcapitalforProSteel, which was origi-nallybasedin Langstone, toexpand its operations withamove toCaldicotwhereit has

purchaseda new3,000 sqftsteelindustrial unitonSevernbridge IndustrialEstate.

Themove meansthe firmnowhasthe capability tofab-ricate steelin-house without

havingto outsourcethe man-ufacturing process, benefit-tingtheir clients.

The ministerfor economy,science andtransport,Edwina Hart,said: Thisis a

Turnto page4

Follow us on Twitter: @SWABusiness & on southwalesargus.co.uk/business

ByJoBarnes01633 777240

[email protected] @SWABusiness

Left to right: Alan Jones at BPU Accountants, Richard Selby atPro Steel Engineering and Oliver Jenkins at Finance Wales

Firm seals bright futthanks to a mobile a

A NEW mobile app is helping aChepstow-based sealant spe-cialist achieve its ambitiousgrowth target of doubling itsturnover within two years, byenabling improved staff effi-ciency.

The app, designed anddeveloped by Bristol-basedMubaloo, and made possiblein part thanks to WelshGovernment funding, hasbeen created to make S&DSealants operating modelmore efficient, helping thebusiness to grow.

The main purpose of the appis to allow S&D Sealants appli-cators to input job informationon site, add photos and addi-tional details to job files,access payment informationand deliver information backto head office in real time.

The app has been designedto work on the Google Nexus7 and took four months todevelop from start to finish.

It is also hoped that the appwill enable S&D, which oper-ates UK-wide, to improve over-

head recovery, redand allow the compexpand its service including integratifirms recently launmetic repair busineCalculations showapp will have paid about 18 months t

Nick Jones, manator of S&D SealantsOur business relieable to move quickinvoice within a webeing completed. Wtaking place on upsites a week, that ifeat. Our existing pwere just too time and we needed to corder to grow.

Thanks to the SuInnovation schemeWelsh Governmentable to look at soluwe previously mighconsidered.

Nick said: Mubaclosely with us to uour processes and

Turn to page 3

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

BusinessArgus

A life in

hospitality...

Page 2

Production director Vince Johnson and managing director Nick Jones show off S&D Sealants new app


2/8

20 questions...

1.How didyougetintoyourcurrent job?

I started asa professionalwithin thehotel revenueandsalessector workingfor largehotelgroupsincludingMacdonaldHotels Group,JumeirahInternationalinthe UAE and,my longestlength of service to date,withHilton HotelsCorporation. AftereightyearsI left andset-upmy ownventureto focuson thecorpo-rate travel, incentive, confer-enceand events marketwhichwould allowme tousemanyof the skills, systems

andtechniques I hadlearnt.

2.Whats thebestbit?

Whetheryourea concierge,a kitchen porter, orin man-agement,everytime youcomeinto work youre mak-ing someones daythat littlebit better. Yourbusinessis allaboutpeople. Its about mak-ing people happy. Andtheskills youlearn arereadilytransferable,meaningthat acareer in hospitality canveryeasilybe thekey to discover-ing newcountries, new cul-ture andnewpeople like I didalong my journey.

3.Whatwas yourfirstSaturdayjob?

A waiterin anIndian res-

taurant in West Wales.Iworkedon Fridays,Saturdays andSundays dur-ing thesummer holidays. Mymotivation wasnt so muchthe extra pocket money butmypassionto meet peopleandto work I loved toworkevenfroma youngage.

4. Describe your idealjob?

What I amdoing rightnow!In anyworkplace,there arealways colleagues youdontgeton with,and oneor twowhoare a bitunfriendly, butthegoodnewsis that notmany work in hospitality.The industrycontains someof the mostvibrant, livelyandfun people youll evermeet makingmy jobthatbitmoreideal andenjoyable.

5. Whatmotivates you?

This may sounda littlebizarre butso manythingsmotivateme.I will evengetmotivated byan ant. Wecanlearn many thingsfromanant. Itsearchesforan alter-nate waywhen itmeetsanobstacleand it never turnsback. It has discipline andforesight.It knows thatit

wont getfoodin therainyseason, soit collectsthe foodin advancein summer. Itwont give up untilit reachesitsgoal. I amalso motivatedby people and creativity. Youarecreating a productin thisindustry bethatfood,drink, oran experience andtheresalwaysscope to

dreamup newways of mak-ingit more enjoyable foryour customerswhichalways getsme excited.

6. Whatirritatesyou?

I reallyfindit hard whenpeople complainor getupsetoverfailureand dwellon it.Weall have things thathaventgone rightbut whatsimportantis to keepgoinguntil youreach your goals.

7.Who doyouadmire mostin business?

SirRichardBranson. He is

someone whodoesntgiveup.I find hislove of businessinfectious anda realmotiva-tor tosucceed. I thinkhe isatrue entrepreneur.

8.Whatwas thelastbookyouread?

This isgoingto sounda lit-tlesadbut I read LordSugarsautobiographyrecentlyand againall I can

sayis inspirational!

9.Whatdo you doto relax?

I love televisionespeciallyprogrammes likeJuniorApprentice, The Apprentice,documentaries.I love the cin-emaandhave a real passionformusic of all genres. I alsoama bit of afoodie I lovefine diningandgoodwinetoo.

10.Whatdreamsare youstillto achieve?

I haveso many thingstostillachieveandas fordreams dowe everstopdreaming?

11.Whatwasthe last filmyou saw atthe cinema?

MrsBrownsBoys. AllI cansayis Thatsnice

12. Favouritefood andplacetoeat it?

Itsnot around thecornerbut I love BuddhaBarDubaiat theGrovesnor HouseHotel.Thisis a trulymajesticestablishmentlocatedat theheartof the Dubai marina,

inside theluxuriousGrosvenorHouse hotel. Thisis a hiphotspotandhasbecometheplaceto beforDubai residentsand visitorsto thecountry. Thefood andcocktailsnot to forget servicelevelis outof this world.

13.Whatcardo you drive?

Yikes!This hasalwaysbeenoneof myfailingsI havealways been sobusywitheducationor work thatI havenever learntto drive.EveryyearI saythiswillbe theyearbut hopefullyI will getitundermy belt in2014.

14.Whatsin yourcar CDplayer?

Seeabove!

15.Whatsyour favouriteTV programme?

This is hard thereare somany programmes I like.Ididreally love HotelBabylonwhenitwason BBC asit real-lydid remindme of whatdidused togo onwithin hotels

and the hospitality industry.

16:Do you tweet?

Absolutely I amnow twit-termadand Iam trulyaddicted.Mytwitteris @ViaggioUK

17:If you were ananimalwhatwouldyou be?

Follow us on Twitter: @SWABusiness

Lewis Lewis,man-agingdirectorofNewport-based

eventsandtravelcompanyViaggioUK

Left: Lewis Lewis

Above: Mrs Browns Boys

Right: A table setting created byViaggio

Below: Lewis would be a bunny

if he was an animal

A bunny

18: Proudestmom

BecomingEmployYearfor Hilton CarEmployeeof the YeUK& Ireland.I feltwonan Oscar.

19: Andmost embFalling asleepon

whenleaving theHWest cluster officeaup in Salisbury, whmissed my dads biworse thoughtbecaleft mywalleton mdesk

20: Whatadvicewgiveto someone wasuccessfulin your l

Ensure youworkhcommittedand listAs Conrad Hilton rsaid:It isimpossibto live without havipreconceivedidea olifeis going.AsfarcanrememberI wawiththe signof ent

With enthusiasm toandprayer toshieldsay that I like whatwithmy life. Inevitsuchattributes,it inotto lead a full,aclife.Give a manthespur himon,the fahim, andthegoodhallow himto fulfil hand hewill,inonefanother, achievesu

Tuesday, Jul2 Business Argus

Law irmexpansoncreatesnew jobsLAW firm Quality

Solicitors Rubin LewisOBrienhas recentlyexpandedwitha seriesofnew appointments.

The firm hasappointedthree newsolicitors andalso LouiseWilliamsas alegal executive.

Alia Allenhas beenappointedto theprivateclient department.

Caitlin Lewisstartedwith thefirmin October2011 as a paralegalin thefamily departmentat StMellons.She moved to theCwmbranoffice in August2012and crossqualified asa solicitorin January2014.

Asif Moghal is a solicitorwithin the firms commer-cialpropertydepartment.

Louise Williamsworksinresidential conveyancing.

SamGeorge,managingpartner, said:Thereareveryfew firms inthe areathat canoffera full rangeof services to individualsandbusinesses alikeand,aswe continueto growandstrengthen, it isimportantthat we have theright people at thehelm.

Editorial

Jo Barnes

Specal

features

edtor

Tel: 01633 777240

email: jo.barnes@

gwent-wales.co.uk

Advertising

Graham Harris

Senor Feld

Sales Executve

Tel: 01633 777135

email: graham.harris@

gwent-wales.co.uk

Samantha

Taylor

Meda

Consultant

Tel: 01633 777147

Email: Samantha.tay-

[email protected]

southwalesargus.co.uk/

business

Contact us...


3/8

AccountA

A new monthly fe

page n partner

wth the Assoca

of Chartered Cer

Accountants

Let us help you pr

your busness to ou

prnt and on lne au

For more nfo con

Tel: 01633 777graham.harris@gwent-wa

IFA Lutakes tplunge

Recovery contnues butirms struggle to recrut

MORE businesses in Newportarefindingit difficulttorecruit the rightpeople,accordingto the South WalesChamber of Commerces latestQuarterly Economic Survey.

Thesurvey, which is sponsoredby Lloyds Banking Group andacts asa barometerforthestrengthof theWelsheconomy,foundthat50 percentof business-estriedto recruit duringthepastthree months,an increaseof 7.5percentage points on thepreviousquarter, but50 percentfound theyhaddifficultyfillingvacancies.

Assuch,33.3per cent of busi-nessesin Newportsaytheywouldliketo increase theirworkforceoverthe nextquarter.

Thefrustration overrecruit-ment comesas thereare morepositivesigns thatthe recoveryfromrecessionis continuing.Morethan a thirdof businesses(34.6per cent) saytheir cashflowincreasedin Q2, up 6.2 percentagepoints on thepreviousquarter,while looking ahead, 72.5per centsaythey expect turnovertoincreaseover thenext 12 months;90.2per centexpect profitabilitytoeither increase orremain thesame.

Half of businesses basedinNewportsawan increasein UKsales, downslightlyfrom 50.9percent inQ1, whilethose whosaworders increase or remain con-stantdecreased from 86.4 to84.3per cent.

Thereare positive signsfor busi-nesses trading internationally,withbusinesses reporting anincreasein exportsales risingfrom 38.1 percentto 47.1 percentandthose reportingan increaseinexport ordersup from 35percent to47.1 percent.

Despite thesefigures, there wasstillsome caution in investment,withbusinesses increasingtheirinvestment in equipment downfrom40.6 per centinQ1 to33.3 percentin Q2. Yet thoseincreasinginvestment in trainingrose from51.9 percentto 58.8 percent.

Thebiggest pressures on busi-nesses remainedthe priceof rawmaterialsand otheroverheadssuchas fueland utilitiescosts,althoughconcernsin theseareashave easedwhen compared withthe previous quarter.

Graham Morgan, directorof theSouth Wales Chamber ofCommerce, said:Our lastsurveyrevealedthat thepercentage ofbusinesseslookingto eitherretain or increase theirexistingworkforce overthe nextthreemonths was at a seven-year high,andthislatestsurvey hasseenagrowth on thisfigure again.

Whileitsgreat tosee that busi-nessesare looking torecruitontheback of increased cashflow

and profitability, throughimprovedsales and orders athomeand overseas,many of themarereportinga frustration infinding theright peopleto fillthosevacancies,particularlyinengineering,electronics and ICT.

Were also seeinga bitmorecaution in termsof investment in

equipmentand training,largelybecause businessescannot maketheirinvestmentunlessthey havetheworkforcein placeto taketheirgrowthaspirations forward.

Thankfully, we are seeingmorefurther education institutionsintroducingvocational trainingcourses foryoungpeople and, asaresult, businessesare nowwillingtotakeon peopleat 16 or18, rath-erthan at21 or22 whenthey havefinished theirdegree.

Its importantwe buildonthesefirst steps,though, and thattheprivatesector and academiawork togetherto ensure thatourschools,collegesand universitiesareequippingpeople withtherightskills sotheyare readilyemployableafter finishingtheireducation. Manybusinesses aretelling us thattheyreundercapacity andready to employ, so

wemusthave a joined-upapproachto ensure we give youngpeoplethecoreskills that willsecure themlong-term jobs.

Nathan Bowles,chief executiveofficer of managed service pro-viderSmart Solutions,whichisbasedin Newport,said:Weareexperiencing a verybusy periodas theeconomy improvesandorganisations lookto takeonadditionalstaff, upliftshift pat-

Follow us on Twtter: @SWABusness



NOTE OF CAUTION: Director of the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, Graham Morgan

A former emMonmouthshirependent Financers has set up

financial adviceFernquest Finaning has been Luke Fernquesalso previously the Co-operativLuke said: I amted to giving inadvice not restvice which is wnational compoffer.A lot of chabeen made in try over the lastwhich has seenber of advisers nificantly. Chaas an increasedlevel of qualifibeing more trabout the costshave all forced type of adviser

industry.Iam currentlybecome a chartecial adviser by of 2015 which me one of feweadvisers to acbefore the age oUK. As the businI intend to take ee adviser and istrator to assiday to day tasks

Work improved by mobilesFrom page 1

that an app could be used as atool for the field team. It wasimperative that whatever we cre-ated was easy to use andrequired minimal training to pre-vent contractors from revertingback to paper. So far our trialshave been a great success andthe app has fundamentallyimproved the way we do busi-ness.

Gemma Coles, director ofmobile strategy at Mubaloo said:S&D is typical of many compa-nies, large and small, which hadbecome accustomed to workingin a specific way, but found them-selves limited by resources. Theywere in a catch 22 situationwhere they were unable to growtheir contract staff or adminteam.

Computers had such a bigimpact to people working in offic-es; it is now mobiles that arechanging the way people in thefield work.

By keeping them connectedand allowing them to focus ontheir job, rather than admin, S&DSealants will be able to focus onfuture growth.

The app will be distributed byS&D Sealants using the PlayStore to 60-plus of their install-ers.

Secure sign-on provides addedprotection should a device gomissing. Job information isstored offline and sent to thecompany when the device has aWi-Fi connection.

S&D has bases in Exeter,Wakefield, Fareham, Leeds,Bristol and Romford.

Tuesday, July 15, 2014 Business Argus

terns,and lookat safer, managea-ble solutionsto expand productiv-ityto meet demand. Indeed, manyof our clients have beenlookingtous tosupportin theengage-mentof additionalpermanentandflexible staff overthe last fewmonths.

However, while unemployment

levelscontinue tofall,we arefind-ingit increasingly challenging tofind theright peopleto fill certainpositions.We oftenhear aboutskills gapsin specific sectors,such asengineering, butit isbecomingequally difficult torecruit in manual labour sectors,

for example drivers of largegoodsvehicles.There simply arentenough qualified and experiencedpeoplein themarketplaceto keepup withthe current growthdemand.

As new skills gaps areexposed,its importantthatthereis a col-laborative approachto recruit-

ment andtraining sothatthereare sufficientqualifiedpeople tomeetlabour requirements for alltypesof businesses.

If theseissues are notantici-patedand managed,economicgrowth couldfind itself treadingwater.


4/8

Legal advice could helkeep a happy workforc

MOST of us wouldagreethata companys employ-

eesare itsgreatestassetand high employee produc-tivity is theheartbeat of asuccessfulbusiness. Butwhen staff are distractedand unhappy dueto per-sonal issues, their worksuffers, and ultimately sodoesthe company.

Weall knowthat sometimesitis hard toleave personalissuesat home when youcometo work.

Businesses havetradition-ally triedto stay outof thepersonallivesof theiremployees.However, timesarechanging andthere isnolonger a defined linebetweenwork andhome.

People are lesswillingtocompartmentalisetheir lives.

Social mediasuch asFacebookbringswork to

home andhome towork.Theyoungergenerationsdo

nothave thesamelevelof tol-erance for oldschoolrulesof conductand etiquette.

If theirpersonal lifeis fall-ingapart, chances are thatthose theyworkwith willknow allabout it.

Whether its divorceor rela-tionship breakdowns, familybereavement, child custodybattles,financial stress oreven domesticviolence, it iswelldocumentedthat whenemployeesexperience prob-lemsat home, theydontper-form to theirhighestpoten-tialat work. Troubledemployees oftencall in sickor arent mentallypresentwhenthey attend work.

As personalproblems canleadto employees feeling dis-

engaged in theworkplace,employersshould certainlyconsiderer options to mini-misethis, given thatthe UKsemployeeengagement deficitisestimated tobe costing usallapproximately26bninproductivity each year.

Lets takedivorce as anexample.Fourout of tenmarried couples willeventu-ally part andthere arenow4.9mdivorcedpeople in the

UK,the highest number inEurope.

As people marrylater, theaverageage for divorcehascreptup to42 yearsformen

and39 yearsfor womenwiththeir marriageslastingan average11 years.

Whenwe think of divorcein general termswe conjureup images of parentsfight-ing,children crying, careersfailing andbank accountsdepleting.

Whatwe have notconsid-ered inthiscostequationisthebottomlinecostto theeconomyvia our businesses.

Research suggests thatdivorcecan disruptproduc-tivityof the workerfor morethan threeyears andin ayear of divorce,employeeslose anaverage of 168hoursof work time.

Companiescan play anappropriate rolein helpingtheir employeesnavigatethroughthese difficulttimes

andonewayof doing sois byincludinglegal advicein anemployeebenefits package.

Whether offered as a volun-taryor flexiblebenefit,paidbythe companyor employ-ees, thereare a numberofdifferentmodels to meetyourneeds.

Most peoplewillneedasolicitorat onetimeor anoth-erbut knowing howto choosetheright solicitorcanbe dif-

ficult.Whenemployees have to

deal with a legal matterandfacethe resultantuncertain-ty in theirlives, productivity

andmotivation at work canoftensuffer. Foremployers,this canbe a greatconcern asensuringa sustainable andhappy workforce is para-mount to anybusiness.

A packagewhich offersemployees morethan justasalary is beneficialfor boththe employeeand employer.In todaysworldwe neverknow whenwellbe facedwitha problemthat needsexpert helpand advice tosolve it.

Givingemployees access toa fast,discreet andaffordablesolution to theirlegal needsinjustminutes without theneed toleave theoffice canhelp reducetheimpact of apersonal issueon a business.It ensures thatyour employ-ees are fullyprepared,confi-

dentand reassuredwhenlegalmattersarise andareless stressedat work asaresult.

Give employees thebenefitstheyvalue,and theyll bemoresatisfied, missfewerworkdays,be lesslikely toquit, andhavehigher com-mitmentto meeting thecom-panysgoals.

While pensions, healthcare,holidays,childcare and

work/life balanceall featurehighon employeebenefitspackages, legaladviceshouldnotbe overlooked.Offeringemployees a personalised

legalsolutionto theirprob-lem,at an affordableprice


CliveThomas,managingpartner,Watkinsand GunnSolicitors, andonline legal plat-formwww.gate-way2law.co.ukexplains theadvan-tagesofanemploy-eebenefits pack-age

HACKED OFF: Employees often bring personal problems into the workplace

Energy-savers in hufor another accoladOne of the UKs leading experts in energy-saving teis celebrating after being shortlisted for a national

SERS, which is headquartered in Caerphilly, has bshortlisted for the Business Growth category in theConstruction News Specialist Awards 2014.

It has also been listed in the Sunday Times Virgin as well as picking up the Retrofit Installer of the Yefor the standard of its insulation work.

SERS has increased its sales by more than 50 peyear over the last two years and has tripled in size,a sales turnover of 30m and employing over 170 p

Finalist interviews for the Construction News SpeAwards 2014 take place later this month, with the wannounced at an awards evening in March.

Director Mike Roberts said: The great thing is thaccolade recognises the fantastic achievements opany which have only been possible through the haand capabilities of the our teams working on projecthroughout the UK. It is a great honour.

SERS has won a number of awards over the last 1including the National Insulation Association awardOutstanding Customer Service and Best Social HoRegeneration Project, and the Energy Efficiency InInstaller of the Year award. Its also shortlisted in thWest Green Energy Awards and Business in the CoWales Responsible Small Company of the Year awa


Ministerhails

veryexciting

deal for steel

firm inWalesFrom page 1very excitingprojectat akeyinternationalvenueandalso an excellent

example of how Welshbusinesseslike ProSteelEngineering can takeonthecompetition andwinsignificant newcon-tracts withthe rightfinancial backing.

FinanceWalesfirstinvestment fromthenewWales CapitalGrowthFund is provid-ingthe companywiththeworkingcapital itneeds to undertaketheproject. Winning largercontracts cannot onlyboostgrowthprospectsfor businessesbut canalsoincreasetheir con-tributionto the Welsheconomy.

The companyhasalreadyworkedon anumber of major infra-structure projectsacrosstheUK, includingBirminghamNew StreetStation, and strengthen-ingwork onthe A4London HammersmithFlyover.

Foundedby RichardSelby andJustinMarriot,Pro Steelis settorecruitfor a numberof senior positionsinthecoming months aspartof its ambitiousgrowth plans.

The firm,whichreportedturnoverfig-ures of 1.3 million initsfirstninemonths oftrading,predicts 3 mil-lion of salesin itssec-ondfinancialyear, rep-resentinggrowthofmore than 100per cent.

Richard Selby, co-founder of ProSteelEngineering,said: Ourcommitment to thehigh-est qualityof workandsafety levels has ensuredthat inour firsttwoyears of trading, we arealreadywinningsizea-ble, high-profile con-tracts.

We arealsothrilled toannouncethe launch ofournewsitein Caldicot,aswe arerapidlyexpanding.Our goalisto growsustainably overthenext few years,building strong relation-shipsin theconstruc-tionsector andwinningmorehigh-profilecon-tracts.

Investment executiveOliverJenkins struc-tured Finance Walesinvestment in the engi-neering firm.

Cardiff-based BPUAccountantsadvisedontheloandeals andNewport-basedM4Property Consultantsfacilitated the acquisi-tion of thenew site inCaldicot.

withthe supportandhighlyqualiftors, removesthetyin usinglegalsmeans your emp

free tofocuson djob for you.


5/8

Graham Bevington, Mitels newly-appointed executive vicepresident of Europe, Middle East and Africa

Career change proveslucrative for graduate

A LAW graduate who could notget a job in the legal worldjoined forces with her mum tolaunch a business which is nowbooming.

The business,Eve VictoriaCandles,was a recenthitatHampton Court, theworlds larg-est flower show, thisweek.

Andit allstemmedfroma sur-prisegift that25-year-oldEveThomas received fromher mum.

Evesaid: Thecompanybeganwhenmy mummademe a candleasan unexpected present.I wassosurprised thatshe created some-thingso beautifulusing thekitch-

enhob anda saucepanto melt thewax.The fragranceof rose andsan-

dalwood stilltakes mebackto themoment thatEve VictoriaCandleswas born.

Itwasntlongbefore webeganto experimentand create newfra-grances by blendingessentialoilswithnaturalbotanical waxes. Theresultwasa collection of themostamazing and innovative fragranc-es, shesaid.

With bothEve and hermother,Beverley, outof a job thedecisionwas madeto launch EveVictoriacandles,helped by 23-year-oldbrother Nick.

Evesaid: Allcandles at EveVictoriaare handpoured to makesurethe fragrancesare evenly dis-tributed throughout the whole ofthecandle.

We only usethebest qualitymaterialsto makeour beautifulcandles,she added.

Whatstartedin thefamily kitch-enat Llangynidr hasnowexpand-ed into a factory unit onMamhiladPark IndustrialEstate,near Pontypool.

The business has recently takena hugestep forward supplyingJohnLewis stores in Cardiff,Bristol and online andproducingspecial candles for theCelticManor, where the Natosummitisbeingheld thisSeptember.

Evesaid: The CelticManorhas

allourproductrange andwe makea specialcandlefor itscorporateevents.SupplyingJohn Lewis hasopenedso many doorsfor us.

Thecompany prides itself on itsecocredentials with 100per centsoywax incandlesand nopalmoilinits soaps.




Global irm swtches focus onto Europe

SWEET SCENT: Beverley Thomas checks out the scent from a candle held by daughter Eve on their impressiveHampton Court Flower show stand

GLOBAL business com-munications firm Mitel,whichhasits UKbase inCaldicot,has appointedGraham Bevingtonasexecutive vicepresidentof Europe, Middle EastandAfrica.

His appointment seesMitel consolidatingitsEuropeansales organisa-tionunder a single struc-ture with a view toaggressively expand mar-ket sharein theregion.Thecompany alsoannounced thatit hastakenthe lead positioninWesternEurope andacross EMEAwith num-ber onemarketsharepositionfor thetotal PBXmarket.

MrBevington is anindustryveteranwithmore than 25 yearsexpe-rience.In his previousrole asEVP forMitelsinternational operations,he rapidly expanded thecompanys market pres-encein keycountries

includingtheUK andtheNetherlands,whereitnowenjoys market lead-ership positions.

With thecompletion ofMitelsmerger withAastra earlier thisyear,inhisnewrole MrBevingtonwill be focusedon further strengtheningMitels marketpositionsin other majormarketsin EMEA.

RichMcBee,Mitelspresidentand chief exec-utive officer, said:EMEAis home tosomeof thelargest establishedand emergingeconomiesinthe world,as well asthemajorityof Mitelsexisting60 million end-usercustomers, giving usa real andimmediateopportunity to expandourleadershippositionacross theregion.

Graham is anexcep-tional business and salesleader, with demonstrat-edability tobuildworld-classsales and support

teams, anda fundamen-talunderstandingof ourcustomersneeds and ourmarketdynamicsat theground level.

Mr Bevingtonsaid:Mitelis onthe move,andnowhere is thatclearer thanin EMEAwhere ourunique abilityto address technicalrequirements on a coun-try-by-countrybasis, cou-pled with ourbestpathtothecloud and entrenchedcustomerbase,gives usagreatcompetitiveadvan-tage.

With theseasonedbenchstrength of ournewlyexpandedsalesand support organiza-tions,we nowhave theteam,talent, technologyandrange toserveanycustomer needanywhereacross the region.

Mitelwas originally setupin Canadain theearly1970s bySir TerryMatthewsand MikeCowpland.


Financiaspeaking

NOW that weappear tohavfrom therecession,theBanEnglands Monetary PolicyCommitteehas beencriticimanycommentators(myseed)for theapparent failureso-called quantitativeeasin

This is wherethecentralbinjects new money intotheHowever, the method by wh

done canleadto cash becomtrappedin larger businesthey areunder nocompulsspendthis money.

Recent studies have indicgrowing trendof larger comhoardingcashdue toa lackmentand recruitment,whiconsequently damaged themedium enterprises(SME)

Itappearsthatthe FundinLending schemehasmadedifference to funding condsmallbusinesses. Howevergovernment is serious abouthelackof liquiditythenitbetter directly investing instructureprojectsand whoply sidereform.

QEhas ledto a widerpoocompanieswith cashreserseemsare increasingly loomake acquisitions.

With P/E(price to earnin

runningat historically lowcouldbe said that therehasbeen a bettertimeto buya

Indeed, thelarge numberwithout a viablesuccessionplacehas ledto a buyers mretiringmanagement teamoffloadto any willing buye

If youarethinkingof buselling a business and woulsome advice then pleasegeon01633213 318.

ByCeneydd Thomcorporate financeageratUHYHackeYoung


6/8

AmIleavingmy

investmentinadvertising

tochance?

Howdo youknowyouremakingtheright choices

for your business?

Why should I advertise in

that product or platform?

Marketng your busness n a

challengng economy means we

must ensure that we are nvestng our

budgets n a product or publcatonthat can prove ts clams.

Newsquests newspapers and

webstes are audted by the

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our readershp and crculaton and

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Tel : 01633 777207 | Email : [email protected]

Amercan dream cometrue for IT start-up irm

NEWPORT-BASED webdevelopers PHP Geniefore-cast turnover will rise from500,000to 5mwithin threeyears followingtheir expan-sioninto the USwith theopening of a newoffice inMiami, Florida.

Thecompany, which startedtrading in2011,has builta repu-tation for its ecommerceexper-

tise,and is now readyto take onnew markets. It is alsore-brand-ing as TheGenieLab.

Expandingto Miamiwill allowtheteamto offer improvedsup-port hours for clients,bothimprovingcustomerserviceand allowingthe company togrow. Theaimis toprovide24-hour developmentservices.

Thecompany- founded byAndrew Cargill and DanielLewis- is basedin Langstone,wherethe team of tenworkwithclients,ranging fromstart-ups to establishedmulti-nation-als includingthe WelshGovernment, InternationalBaccalaureate,Brightpearl, TheNationalUnion of Students,Trustev andGeysir.

Andrew andDanielmet attheUniversity of Wales,Newport(nowUniversityof South

Wales) while studyinganima-tion and graphics, respectively.

Theystarted thebusinessfromtheir student bedrooms,andsoonfounda nichein theecommercemarket. Nexttheysecured the financialbackingofthe renownedentrepreneurAlfGooding, fromRisca, whoisnowcompanychairman,pro-vidingvital support, mentoringand business infrastructure

FredyDellis is now joining the

team asthe CEOand secondinvestoralongside Alf Gooding.

MrDellis hasa long history insenior management, having pre-viously served as president

international at HertzandBurger King, CEO of EuropcarandResidenSea, developerandbuilder of the residentialshipTheWorld and,more recently,asCEO toa resortrealestatecompany and SouthAmericancruise linecompanies.

His wealth of leadershipexpe-rience willbe invaluable.FredyhasdualUSA / Belgium citizen-shipand a richeducationalbackground thatincludesHarvard Business School.

Theopeningof thenewofficeinMiamifollows a WelshGovernment trademissiontoSanFranciscoin March thisyearwhichenabled thecompa-nyto researchthe marketandexplore opportunities

Danielsaid:Weweast andwestcoastsof contactswith suptheWelshGovernmsomegreat opportunwedidnt want tomimajormarket withrtialfor ourbusiness

Wevealwaysbeeby thetechnology stdream,andit is exci

thecompanys journues. Wehave a greatgreatclients, and wecontinue representi

Chief technical offdirectorAndrew Camovedto Miamito loffice, in theheart oWynwood district,intor calledTheLab(3localteam membersalready beenhired.

The company provand development of shops, and buildingProgrammerInterfationswhichallow cltogethersoftwaresyspeedup theirproceduceautomation antheir businesses.

For local busness: southwalesargus.co.uk/bus



Workaholc Wa

The Incubator, Miami

Owners and managers of WelshSMEs(small and medium enter-prises) have sacrificedfamilytimefor their business morethanthe averageUK SME,accordingto researchbyOnePoll.

43 per centof owners/ manag-ers said theyforfeitedqualityeveningand weekendtime with

thefamily, sevenperthenationalaveragesaidthey hadsacrifholidaystoo, companational averageof

Sacrificing relatiolower thanthe natiowith just five percenrespondents comparnational averageof

Four irmsfarng wellafter rsen exportsA PHARMACEUTICAL com-pany was the highestplaced Welsh firm in the thefifth annual Sunday TimesHSBC International Track200 league table, whichranks Britains private com-panies with the fastest-growing international sales.

Wales highest-rankedcompany is Penn Pharma,which provides drug devel-opment and manufacturingservices for healthcarecompanies in Europe,Japan and the US. Its over-seas sales rose 48 per centper annum to 39m lastyear, placing it at number78 in the UK league table.

There are three otherWelsh companies in theleague table. The combinedsales of all four Welsh firmsis 210m, and their interna-tional sales have grown byan average of 33 per cent ayear over two years to atotal of 60m.

The other firms in theleague table are furnituremanufacturer Orangebox,Hengoed, and Caerphilly-based Celtic Mining Group,which exports coal to main-land Europe. North Wales isrepresented by motor-sports retailer DemonTweeks.



7/8

Newport-based chartered surveyorsHutchings & Thomas helped thefun-draisingThree Peaks challengerunmoresmoothly byarrangingtrans-portfor a groupof entrants.

A teamfrom MarshallsandTenovustook partin theTenovusevent to scale the three tallest peaksinthe UK BenNevis,Scafell PikeandSnowdon allin 24hours.

A key tosuccessin thegruellingchallengeis havinga reliableandcomfortable vehicleto transportthecompetitors between themountains

in Scotland, Englandand Wales.Haydn Thomas,of Hutchings&

Thomas,said: We have beenwork-ingcloselywith Tenovusfor thepast17years managingtheir retail port-folioof some72 propertiesacrossEnglandand Wales.Tenovus is alsoour nominated charity.

Whentheteamwerelookingforavehicleto help them take part intheThreePeakseventwe were happy toapproachour clients,Cwmbran Van

Hire, of Springvale BusinessPark,tosee if they couldprovideus withoneof their minibusesfor the week-end.They were happy to oblige.

TenovusfinancedirectorLizWilson thenominated driverfortheThree Peaks team said: Weredelightedwith the brilliantsupport

providedby Hutchings & Thomas toourteam. The comfortable andwell-equippedmini buswas justwhatweneeded.

Tenovushad 14 teams competinginitsannual Three Peaks Challenge.

Thetargetwas toraise47,500 forthecharityat thisyears event.

What do changes tosaving mean for you?

WHILE I was trav-elling from Milandown to Calabria, a journey ofmore than 1,200km, I had time tothink about the changes in thisyears budget and how they willaffect savers like you and I.

For much of thejourneytheAutostrada passesthrough heavilywoodedscenery. The further southyou go, thehillierit gets andyouspend quite a lotof timetravellingthroughendlesstunnels(just in caseyouwonderedwhere your contribu-tion tothe Euro budgetis going).

Theres a lotto thinkabout,becausethis yearsbudgetwas oneof themostimportant, intermsofhowit affectssavers, of anyI canremember.

AndwhileI wason myItalianodyssey, I hadplentyof timeto con-sider the dramaticchangesto thenewISA rules.

First, a little history. ISAsdevel-opedout of PEPs (PersonalEquityPlans).These started in 1987 andwereverycomplicatedand expen-siveto run. Thechancellorat thetime, Nigel Lawson,said:It shouldnotbe necessaryforany personofmodest means, to have anycorre-spondence withthe revenue.

Thatprinciple remains,whichiswhy ISAsare so popular.

However, since July 1,many of therules surroundingISAs (IndividualSavingsAccounts) havechanged.

Thisis a result of thechancellors

budget in March which, for once,containedsome goodnews for sav-ers. Firstly they areto becalledNISAs (NewISAs).So, what elsehaschanged?lYouare now able tosplitwhat

you pay into anISA betweena CashNISA anda Stocks andSharesNISAasyouchoose,up tothe newoverallannual limitof 15,000.Note: anysubscriptionssinceApril 6, 2014 will

count against the annual limitfor2014/2015.l If you havepaidintoa Cash or

Stocks andSharesISA since April 6,2014, you will notbe able toopenafurther NISAof the sametypebefore April 6, 2015.lManypeoplewant to provide for

childrenor grandchildren througha Junior ISA. ThenewlimitforaJunior NISAis 4,000

l If you areagedbetween16 and18, you canholda Cash NISA butcannot opena Stocks andSharesNISA.FromJuly1,2014, you arenow able topay15,000 into a CashNISAfor thetax year2014/2015.This isin additionto whatyouhavepaid into a Junior ISAthatyouhold.lYoucan havea singleNISAfor

bothcash andstocksand shares.However, if youprefer, youcan con-tinue to holdseparate accounts, aslong asyoudont exceedtheannualallowance eachyear. So,for exam-ple, cash istax free withina stocksandsharesNISA.lPreviously, you haveonly been

able totransferfroma Cash ISAto aStocks andSharesISA. Under thenewrules,you cantransfereitherway. Thisenablesyou to be muchmoreflexiblein your originalchoice.Youmight previously havefeared investing in a stocks andshares ISA,because youwere una-bleto switchto cashwithoutlosingtheISA taxadvantage.No longer.Thenewrules allowyouto switchboth ways.lFromnow on,you can transfer

between Cashand Stocks andShares NISAs as oftenas youlike.Notethat somebanksand buildingsocietiesmay impose theirownrestrictionson this.lAnother newrule meansthat

you will now beableto include awider range of investmentswithinyour Stocksand Shares NISA, suchas somecompany shares andsometypes of insurancepolicies.

Asyoucan seethenew ISA,launchedthis month, introducedsimpler tax-freesavingwhichincludedhigherannual limits andmoreflexibilityto switchto andfromsharesand cash.


ByGeraldDavies,chairman,Kymin

Surveyors rse to the challengeto ad chartys uphll struggle

Breakng apromse maycost irmsFOREIGN companies which takeo-ver British businesses will be hit bymassive fines if they go back on

jobs promises made during thedeal, Vince Cable has announced.

Tougher laws are also beinglooked at to bolster the nationalinterest test following concernsabout the acquisition of major UKfirms.

Pledges made during negotia-tions should be legally bindingwith penalties for breaking themrunning into millions of pounds,

the business secretary said.Mr Cable said: I want to ensure

(that) where the commitments arenot honoured, companies can behit hard with tough financial penal-ties.

This announcement follows con-troversy over the ultimately failedtakeover bid by US pharmaceuti-cals giant Pfizer for British-basedAstraZeneca.


Boutique lwill get extsparkle fropromotionA VIPlaunchof NeOneTouchHealthaBeauty Boutiquew

place thismonth.The boutique, atCaerleonRoad,Nehostingan exclusieveningat itsprem6.30pmon Thursda

The evening, whistartwith drinks aps, willincludetofacilities, privatectionsand demonstvarious leading edtreatments.

OneTouchHealtBoutiqueownerAnStephens has commNewport-based evemotions andtravelViaggioUK to creadlethe high-profile

Ms Stephenssaidexpectingbetweenguests toattend ththeboutiqueand aforwardto showinlatest products.

Withmorethan1industryknowledgat someof theworingindependent hoStephenssaysthe bhasthe experiencefor thewidestvarirequirements.

The boutiquewilexclusive offersforCluband itsCorpomembers ona rangexpress treatment

ViaggioUK manatorLewis LewissaPremium Butlers,pbyhiseventsfirm,presentduringtheadda little cheeky

Above and be-yond: Liz Wilsonof Tenovus with,left to right:Paul Edwards,performanceand technol-ogy manager atMarshalls andHaydn Thomas,of Hutchingsand Thomas,picking up thevehicle from

Cwmbran VanHire.

A little extra: Viaggout the big guns forlaunch.


8/8

MANIFESTO: Nerissa Williams of CIPD

Mobile technology appshowcased to retailers

INDEPENDENT retailershavebeengiven an oppor-tunity to discover howinnovative smartphone-based technologycanimprove theirservice anddrivecustomer loyalty.

TheCeltic Manor Resortplayed hostto the exclusivelaunch of theaward-winningMiniCheckout mobile shop-pingapp.

Theevent brought togetherconvenience store ownersandmanagersfrom acrosstheUK,givingthemtheopportunityto learnabout

thelatest generation ofsmartphoneshoppingtech-nology.

Peter OToole, retail expertandCEO of Langstone-basedRetail MerchandisingServices and MiniCheckout,presentedat the event, show-casinghowthe appallowsshoppers to scanbarcodesanddirectlycharge theirbankaccountwithouttheneedfor queuing.

During theevent,storeowners and retail executivesmetto sharebest practice,learn more aboutthe mobileapps technologyand theben-efitsit could bringto inde-pendent retailersacross theUK.Guestswerealsopre-sented witha demonstrationof theapp andgiventheopportunityto ask questions

toPeter OToole,who has30years experiencein theretailsector, abouthow themobileshoppingtechnologycan aidindependent retailers.

SusieHawkins, director ofSimonSmith Retail Ltd,which ownsseveralBudgensandLondis stores within theUK,attendedthe event.

Shesaid:Itwas anexcel-lent event. I find itreallyexciting to be lookingtowards thenext generationof futureshoppersand howindependentretailers cancapitaliseon this.

Peter OToolesaid: It wasfantasticto see manyretail-ersfromacross theUK atthelaunch of our MiniCheckoutapp. Therehas been a hugeamount of interestin theappalready and guests werekeen

tolearnmoreabouthowthetechnologycan offer custom-ers a moreconvenientandsatisfyingshoppingexperi-ence.The apptargetsthegrowingpopulationof the Ygeneration of customers,whowant a technologymeth-od to shopping.

With morethan 47,000independentretailers acrosstheUK,it isvitally importantthatstore owners cancom-

petewith thebigger super-marketswithout compromis-ingthe highlevel of serviceandcustomercare thattheyoffer.

The eventwas a greatopportunity to demonstratehowthis kindof technologycangive independentretail-ers a commercial advantage

in an increasingly competi-tive market.

Theevent has helpedretailersto learnmore aboutinvesting in mobile technolo-




Manifesto for Work test is vitfor sustained economic recove

EASY SHOPPING: Peter OToole and RMS marketing assistant Ronja Moln

NEXT years general election willrequire policy programmes whichpass the Manifesto for Work testif the economic recovery is to besustained, according to the profes-sional body for HR and people de-velopment.

TheCharteredInstitute ofPersonneland Development haspublished its Manifestofor Work,a call tothe UKs politicalpartiestofocuson theissuesfacingemployersand theworkforce intherunup tothe general election.

Nerissa Williams, vicechairCIPDSouth EastWales,said: Theissuesaddressedare relevanttothe particularchallenges Walesfacesin terms of itseconomic poli-cy andthe businessesthat operatehere. Ourlabour landscapeischangingand employersin Walesneed tokeep pace with newflexibleways of working inordertoattract,retain and develop therightskillsand talent for theirorganisations.

Issues suchas promptinggen-derdiversityat thetopof Welsh

organisations andsuppoopportunities for young psucceed in moving frometo employmentthoughcaadvice andguidance neetackled.We alsoneed to iwork incentives to supponomicallyinactive and dfurther waysinto sustainemployment fromlong teployed and others facinglarchallenges enteringthmarket.

Our economy is growisteadyrate, butwe needmoreinward investmentnies. Wales hashuge potoffer theUK andoverseamarkets andwe need tobdemonstrate thatwe havandtalentedworkforce tfuture roles.

A concertedfocus fromgovernment on buildingwork and workinglives,da newWorkplaceCommihelp shapea betterandmperous future fororganiand employees.


In brief...

DebtburdenNewresearchfrom BacsPaymentSchemes Limitedshows thatthe late pay-mentdebt burden shoul-deredby UK businesseshasreached 46.1bn.

Bacs lookedat SMEs andlarge corporates(employ-ing250plus people)throughout the UK andfoundthatSMEsare beingforcedto carrythe largerdebtburden of 39.4bn,while corporatesare owed6.7bnat anyone time.

60per cent of UKSMEsarenow experiencing latepayments, withthe aver-ageSMEwaitingfor38,186 in overduepay-ments. In contrast,theaveragecorporate is owedalmost a million pounds.

InvestmentAdmiral has announcedthatfrom today it intendstoofferup to200mof tenyear, tiertwo, subordinat-ed notes.

HenryEngelhardt,CEO

Admiral Group, said:Thisis anopportunetimeto strengthen and diversifyourcapital resourcesaswemakea prudent transi-tion into SolvencyII in2016,with theattendantregulatorycapitalrequire-mentand buffers. Theadditionalcapitalalso setsusup well forthegrowthweexpect from allourbusinessesin the comingyears while beingconsist-entwith ourexistingdivi-dend policy.

Forthe six-months toJune30, 2014,groupcus-tomerswereup to3.9 mil-lion from 3.6millionin thesame periodlastyearbutgroupturnover was downto 1bnfrom 1.1bn.

RecoveryMore than a quarter ofWelsh businessessay theywould be put intofinancialdifficulty if interest rateswere toriseby atleastonepercentage pointin thenext18 months,accordingtoa reportby insolvencytradebody R3.

RossConnock, chairmanof R3 inWales,said:Economicrecovery is justastougha time forsomebusinessesto negotiateasa recession,if nottougher.Normally, insolvenciespeak aftera recession, butwe haventseen thatthistimearound.Recordlowinterest ratesand highlev-els of creditor forbearancehavehelped keep lots ofbusinesses going.

The good news is thatsomebusinesseswhichmight have expected tostruggleafter 2008 havebeen givenextra time toputtheir finances in order.However, there is stilla bigchunk of businesseswhich willstruggle oncenormalrecoverycondi-tions, likerisinginterestrates, return.

gy, an importanttsaveon thehugechasing self-scanture, whilst incremargins and stor

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