KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWSThe business NEWSpaper for Kir k lees11, Januar y, 2011

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SIMON RYAN SIMON KAYEHe’s in the driving seat!

Fu l l i n te r v i ew - Page 3New year of surpr ises

Co lumn - Page 5

An EXAMINER publication

Let thesun shineA FIRM installing solarpanels is in a sunnymood.Brighouse-basedPloughcroft hasintroduced Solar-Log, aGerman web-basedmonitoring systembringing homeownersthe UK’s first solarphotovoltaic logsystem.

Fuel forthoughtA COMPANY makingeco-friendly wood fuelproducts is planning torecruit at least 10 newretailers in Yorkshirethis year.Verdo Renewables isplanning to set up anetwork of 150 retailersUK-wide.

FTSE 100-28 .03

5956.30

Chamber reportsgrowing optimismKIRKLEES companies are feelingmore optimistic about their prospects– despite concerns over governmentcutbacks and unstable internationalmarkets.

The latest survey by the Lock-wood-based Mid Yorkshire Chamberof Commerce showed an improvingpicture for domestic orders and sales,a slow recovery in cash flow andinvestment intentions and forecastsfor better profits and turnover.

But it warned that overheads andraw material costs remained a con-cern while hopes for employment haddiminished slightly.

Financial concerns and taxationwere now viewed as the majorexternal issues affecting businesses.

Steven Leigh, head of policy andrepresentation at the chamber, saidthe survey showed chamber membersin Kirklees, Calderdale and Wake-field were feeling more optimisticduring the fourth quarter of the yearcompared with the previous threemonths.

He said: “This cautious optimismis holding steady despite worrieswhich our members have expressedabout international economicinstability and the possible effects onthe private sector of public sectorausterity measures.

“Although we largely support thedeficit reduction programme, we con-tinue to lobby for ongoing funding tobe made available for infrastructureprojects, particularly transport infra-structure, in order to preserve eco-nomic prosperity in our region.”

Among the findings, the surveyshowed an 18-point rise in home salesfrom 12% to 30% and an 11-pointimprovement for home order booksfrom 12% to 23%.

Export orders recovered by 38 per-centage points from minus 6% to 32%while export sales and orders formanufacturers saw a “robust” recov-ery compared with earlier in theyear.

Mr Leigh said an improving pic-ture for manufacturers and exporters

reflected the impact of the weakpound in making UK goods morecompetitive.

He added: “It is to be hoped thatthis is now the beginning of a re-bal-ancing of the economy back to man-ufacturing.

“We will continue to lobby thegovernment to assist further withinitiatives such as the creation of astate-backed export trade creditinsurance scheme, the broadeningand simplification of R&D tax cred-its and improved promotion of UKtrade.”

Mr Leigh said figures from theservice sector were less robust, partlydue to uncertainty about domesticdemand in the first half of 2011together with the effect on consumerspending of the increased VAT rateand likely increases in energy and rawmaterial prices.

Mr Leigh said worries about infla-tion were now giving greater cause forconcern.

Investment drive follows new contract winsA MARKETING company has inves-ted more than £3m in equipment andtechnology to improve its efficiencyand service delivery.

Clayton West business Adare haspurchased kit including new digitalprinting engines and associated pro-cessing equipment which will be usedin the first instance to deliver mailingcontracts for newly-acquired clients

Home Retail Group and Homeserve.Adare chief executive Robert

Whiteside said the “considerable”investment was key to the company’scontinued support of its customers astheir markets developed and theirbusiness requirements becameincreasingly more complex anddemanding.

He said: “Having recently secured

additional contracts worth over £30mat our Yorkshire facility alone, Adarehas been able to make a significantlevel of investment at the right time forboth the business and its clients.

“This latest investment programmewill give us the platform from which todeliver real value to our clients bydriving operational efficiency and thehighest service levels using the latest

equipment and technology”.Adare provides marketing and

secure communications services toleading names in sectors such as finan-cial services, pharmaceuticals, hospit-ality, leisure and retail. Clients includeHMRC, Whitbread and IBM. Adareemploys 700 people in 30 locationsacross the UK and Europe and hasannual turnover of about £135m.

■ CAUTIOUS: Steven Leigh, of theMid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce

www.chadwicklawrence.co.ukHuddersfield | Wakefield | Halifax | Leeds

Solicitors for business inYorkshire

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS national Page 2

SHARE PRICES

Local shares

FTSE closed at

5956.30Down 28.03

TOURIST RATES

Tourists going abroad can expectthe following rates for sterling:Australia...................... 1.48 dollarsBangladesh................. 103.94 takaBrazil.............................. 2.34 realsCanada....................... 1.47 dollarsChina ............................. 9.22 yuanCzech Republic ...... 27.20 korunasDenmark....................... 8.55 kroneEuro............................... 1.15 euroHong Kong................ 11.47 dollarsHungary ................... 300.93 forintsIndia.......................... 62.22 rupeesJapan........................... 123.06 yenMexico ....................... 16.95 pesosNew Zealand .............. 1.90 dollarsNorway ......................... 8.88 kronePakistan.................. 125.44 rupeesPhilippines ................. 58.94 pesosSouth Africa................... 9.89 randSouth Korea.............. 1521.00 wonSri Lanka ................ 162.52 rupeesSweden....................... 10.27 kronaSwitzerland.................. 1.43 francsTaiwan ...................... 39.67 dollarsTurkey....................... 2.27 new liraUSA ............................ 1.48 dollars

Carclo 300 +521/2Chapelthorpe 231/2Marshalls 1031/4 +21/2National Grid 565 -111/2Weir Gp 1751 -4

Shares surge on bid talkSHARES in healthcare firm Smith &Nephew soared to an all-time highfollowing reports that it had rejected abid approach from US rival Johnson& Johnson.

The leading maker of hip and kneereplacements is said to have turneddown an indicative offer worth about£7bn before Christmas.

The Hull-based business saw itsshare price rise by 62p or 10% to 712p,making it the FTSE 100’s star per-former. That followed strong gains inDecember, which are believed to havebeen driven by takeover speculation.

The reports raise the possibility ofanother UK company being sold to

an overseas buyer following Cad-bury’s takeover by American giantKraft last year.

The approach – thought to beworth about 750p a share – wasrejected outright by the board asundervaluing the company, accordingto reports.

Both firms refused to comment onthe rumours, but the Takeover Panelcan force companies to confirmtakeover approaches if they have anunusual effect on the share price.

Other large American healthcaregroups are also thought to be inter-ested in Smith, including Zimmer andStryker.

Morrisons deliversfestive sales cheer

Persimmon lifts profits guidanceH O U S E BU I L D E R Pe rs i m m o ndelivered a profits surprise – despitethe impact of the freezing weatheron a sluggish housing market.

The UK’s second largest house-builder said it achieved a significantincrease in underlying profits for2010 after turnover rose by 10% toabout £1.57bn.

This followed the completion of9,384 sales in the year at an averageprice of £167,000 – itself an improve-ment of 6%.

It said that underlying profits willbe at the top end of market expecta-tions, which currently range from£75m to £96m.

The improvement comes despite a

lacklustre autumn sales period andafter the freezing weather reducedsales activity in December.

However, the Charles Churchowner said pricing remained stableand that margins on its forwardsales of about £565m have beenmaintained.

The company said: “It is too earlyin the New Year to assess the likelyoutcome of the forthcoming springsales season.

“However, we believe that pro-spective purchasers who may havepostponed visits to our develop-ments due to the harsh weatherconditions prior to the year end willreturn during the coming weeks.”

OcadoexcelsONLINE grocer Ocadosaid it had outperformedmarket expectationssince its stock marketflotation after delivering astrong Christmasperformance.

The firm posted grosssales of £50.9m in thefour weeks to December26 – up 26.7% on lastyear. Sales in the weekbefore Christmas were43.5% higher than lastyear at £12.3m.

Ocado launched inJuly with its sharespriced at 180p. It hit alow of 120p in October,but has risen gradually toclose at ... yesterday.

DirectapproachHOME shopping groupShop Direct reported a5% rise in sales overChristmas as snowed-inconsumers ordered byphone and the internet.

The group, which ownsLittlewoods, Very andWoolworths.co.uk saidthe snow and freezingweather helped it in therun-up to Christmas, withrecord online trading inthe first week ofDecember.

The group saw strongdemand for cold weatherclothing and shoes as itlifted sales in the sixweeks to December 31.

Website sales sawdouble-digit growth, with70% of the business nowtraded online Overallorders peaked at 8,000 inone hour on its busiestday on December 6.

NORTH AMERICANAmerican Express £28.56 +0.08Gannett 946.97 -21.83Hess Corp £49.66 -1.17Microsoft 1810.48 -25.68Motors Liquidation 48.15Wal-Mart Stores £34.51 -0.21

AEROSPACE & DEFENCEAvon Rbbr 2171/2 +71/2BAE Systems 3403/8 -63/8Rolls-Royce Gp 653 -61/2

AIMBrady Plc 70Dawson Intl 13/4Man Brnze 45

AUTOMOBILES & PARTSG K N 2281/4 -11/2

BANKSBarclays 2763/4 +15/8HSBC 6723/8 -75/8Lloyds Banking Gp 651/4 -11/4Ryl Scotland 391/2 -5/8Stan Chart 1715 -18

BEVERAGESDiageo 1207 -14SABMiller £221/8 -3/8

CHEMICALSCroda 1523Elementis 98 130 -11/4Johnsn Mat £201/8 -3/8

CONSTRUCTION & MATERIALSBalfour Beatty 3167/8 -51/8Costain 225 -1

ELECTRICITY

Drax Gp 378 -2Intl Power 421 -11/8Scottish & SthrnEnergy

1219 -10

ELECTRONIC & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENTLaird 1721/8 -7/8

EQUITY INVESTMENT INSTRUMENTSAlliance Trust 3761/2 +1/4

FIXED LINE TELECOM SERVICESBT Grp 1871/4 +21/4Cable & WirelessComm

485/8 -3/8

Cable & WirelessWwide

691/2 -23/8

Colt Group 134KCOM 581/2Talktalk Telecom 1617/8 -11/4

FOOD & DRUG RETAILERSMorrison W 271 +1Sainsbury 3891/4 -21/4Tesco 4295/8

FOOD PRODUCERSAB Food 1141 -9Nth Foods 591/2 -1/4Tate Lyle 542 +4Unilever 1897 -9Uniq 71/2 -3/8

GAS, WATER & MULTIUTILITIESCentrica 3333/4 -23/8National Grid 565 -111/2Pennon Grp 6461/2 -31/2Severn 1461 -9United Utils 592 -71/2

GENERAL FINANCIAL3i Group 3253/4 -31/2

ICAP 5431/2 -21/2London StockExch 8621/2 -281/2Man Group 3051/4 -5Provident Financial 8721/2 +3Schroders 1887 -13Schroders NV 1478 -8

GENERAL INDUSTRIALSCooksn Grp 644 -211/2REXAM 350 +33/8Smiths Grp 1273 -21

GENERAL RETAILERSAshley L 19 +1/2Carphone Whse 418 -12Dixons Retail 23 -1/2Home Retail 2033/8 +21/8Inchcape 3861/4 -43/4Kingfisher 2621/4 -13/8M & S 384 -43/8Mothercare 550 -81/2Next £205/8 -1/4WH Smith 4793/4 -31/2

HEALTH CARE EQUIPMENT & SERVICESSmith Nph 712 +62

HOUSEHOLD GOODSAga Rangemaster 101 -21/2Barrat Dev 921/2 -1Persimmon 4371/2 -1/4Reckitt Benckiser £347/8Taylor Wimpey 327/8 -11/8

INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERINGCharter 798 -12I M I 915 -51/2

INDUSTRIAL METALSFerrexpo 406 -67/8

INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION

BBA Aviation 220 +15/8Forth Ports 1340 -24

LIFE INSURANCEAviva 406 -35/8Lgl & Gen 1021/2 -7/8Old Mutual 1231/4 -3/4Prudential 672 -9Resolution 2433/8 +11/8Standard Life 2133/4 -45/8

MEDIABSkyB 742 -41/2Chrysalis 1591/2D Mail Tst 5771/2 -21/2ITV 72 -1/2Johnston Press 11 -1/2Pearson 983 -131/2Reed Elsevier 5371/2 +71/2STV Group 1171/2 -51/2Trinity Mirror 771/2 +41/2Utd Business 701 -3UTV 134WPP 7771/2 -17Yell Group 133/4 -3/4

MININGAnglo American £321/4 -1/2Antofagasta 1505 -6BHP Billiton £243/4 -1/8Eurasian NaturalRes

1036 -27

Fresnillo 1521 -35Kazakhmys 1552 -39Lonmin 1850 -34Rio Tinto £437/8 -3/8VEDANTARESOURCES

£231/2 -7/8

Xstrata 1485 -151/2

MOBILE TELECOM SERVICES

Inmarsat 665 -61/2Vodafone Group 1763/4 +2

NONLIFE INSURANCEAdmiral Grp 1543 -5RSA Insurance Gp 130 -7/8

OIL & GAS PRODUCERSBG 1325BP 4863/8 -61/8Cairn Energy 4313/8 -51/4Royal Dutch Shell A £213/8 +1/4Royal Dutch Shell B £213/8 +1/8Total £333/4 -1/2Tullow Oil 1350 +19

OIL EQUIPMENT & SERVICESAMEC 1207 +29Petrofac 1633 +25Wood Group 569 -4

PERSONAL GOODSBurberry Gp 1119 -8

PHARMACEUTICALS & BIOTECHNOLOGYAstrazeneca £295/8 -1/4Axis-Shield 270 +7GlaxoSmithK XD 41/2Shire 1598 +9

REAL ESTATEBrit Land 5251/2 -3Captl Shop Cent 3921/2 -153/4DTZ Hldgs 44Hamrsn 4287/8 -33/4Land Secs 6831/2 -21/2SEGRO 2861/4 -65/8

SOFTWARE ETC SERVICESAutonomy Corp 1536 -16Invensys 3507/8 -53/4Logica 1323/4 -1/4Misys 330 -87/8Sage Group 2763/4 -33/4

SUPPORT SERVICESBerendsen 437 -4Bunzl 757 +5Capita 6751/2 -12De La Rue 828 -7Electrocomp 278 +2Experian 774 -11/2G4S 2603/4 +3/8Hays 1323/8 +1/4Homeserve 435 -11/8Menzies J 452 -13Rentokil 961/4 -11/8Smiths News 1061/2 -21/4Wolseley £205/8 -1/8

IT HARDWAREARM Hldgs 465 +53/8

Psion 95 -1/2Spirent Comms 1475/8 -3/4

TOBACCO

Br Am Tob £241/8 -1/8Imperial Tobacco 1958 -24

LEISURE & HOTELS

Brit Airways 2973/4 -71/4Carnival £31 -1/2Compass Grp 567 +1easyJet 4621/4 -113/4Enterprise Inns 114 -47/8FirstGroup 3993/4 +21/8Go-Ahead Gp 1327 -13Greene King 4553/4 -101/4Intercontl Htls 1319 -10Ladbrokes 126Mitchells & Butlers 3513/8 -53/4Natl Express 253 -2PartyGaming 205 -13/4Rank Org 131 -11/2Stagecoach Group 2161/4 +3/4TUI Travel 2547/8 +11/4Whitbread 1868 -19

INDEXFTSE 100 5956.30 -28.03

INDEXFTSE 250 11575.26 -99.09

SUPERMARKET group Morrisonssaid it was pleased with Christmastrading – after defying the weather topost another improvement in sales.

The UK’s fourth biggest chain saidlike-for-like sales excluding fuel andVAT grew by 1% in the six weeks toJanuary 2 – up on City forecasts ofbetween 0.5% and 0.8%.

While sales slowed from 1.3%same-store growth in the quarter toOctober 31, the group left its full-yearprofit expectations unchanged.

Chief executive Dalton Philips saidthe company had risen to the “twinchallenges” of a difficult consumerenvironment and a prolonged spell ofadverse weather, adding: “This hasbeen another good performance in atough market.”

The update came at the start of animportant week for retailers – whichincludes further updates from Tesco,Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer.

Morrisons, which has stores atWaterloo and Meltham, warned inSeptember that it expected a low levelof market growth in the remainder of2010, with a slight rise in prices due tothe re-emergence of some commodityprice pressures.

Last week, data released by marketresearcher Nielsen Company showedthe chain’s market share fell to 10.8% inthe 12 weeks to December 26 from 11%a year earlier.

The company plans to trial newconvenience stores and an online oper-ation this year as well as creating 5,700jobs by opening new stores.

Morrisons shares rose by 1p to 271pas the retailer said it served an averageof 2m more customers each week overthe Christmas period than five yearsago, and in that time has grown totalsales excluding fuel by 47%.

The update came as figures from theBritish Retail Consortium showed salesin UK shops hit an eight-month low inDecember – as snow and worries aboutmoney caused shoppers to cut back onbuying Christmas presents.

The BRC said like-for-like salesdropped by 0.3% year-on-year – theirfirst decline since April.

While sales of food and drink contin-ued to grow as consumers still foundthe money for a Christmas feast, salesof most non-food categories declined.Overall sales rose by just 1.5%.

Stephen Robertson, director generalof the British Retail Consortium, said:“December was always likely to besimilarly unspectacular, but the snowand ice dealt an extra blow to businessfor many retailers.”

■ SALES PITCH: Morrisons hailed“another good performance”

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS profile Page 3KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS profile Page 3

SimonRyan

HENRYK ZIENTEK

Role: Managing dir-ectorAge: 36Holidays: I have beento Las Vegas four times.I regularly visit Bar-celona for the atmo-sphere and the foodCar: Mini Cooper foreveryday use and Mer-cedes SLK AMG forbest!First job: Retail man-ager for HuddersfieldHi-FiBest thing aboutjob: It is incredibly var-ied and we work forsome fantastic clientsWorst thing aboutjob: Working hard andputting in a lot of longhours is not alwaysrecognised or appreci-atedBusiness tip: Don’tbe afraid to employpeople who have betteror different skills to yourown. Don’t see them asa threat

Work: Marketing com-munications con-sultancySite: Wheatley Park,MirfieldEmployees: 12Phone: 0845 3039404Email: simon@purebrandcreative.comWebsite www.purebrandcreative.com

PurebrandCreativeCommunicatons

Simonpicksup thepace

A COMPANY boss with apassion for fast cars isdriving ahead in business.

Simon Ryan, 36, isdetermined to keep thingson track as managingdirector of Mirfield-basedPurebrand CreativeCommunications – and isgearing up for furthergrowth at the firm which heco-founded just over 10years ago.

Says Ryan: “Thebusiness was launched inDecember, 2000. Westarted in small offices inCleckheaton and wereoriginally known as NXDimension.

“I took over sole controlwhen my business partnerleft in 2005 and rebrandedthe company asPurebrand.”

Simon, who grew up inWest Yorkshire andattended St John FisherSchool in Dewsbury, says:“I started the businesswhen I was 26.

“I had studied graphicdesign at Cumbria Collegeof Art and Design, but I fellinto retail management.

“I was at HuddersfieldHi-Fi Centre and when thecompany opened a branchin Halifax, I was manager ofthe shop for four years.”

Through perseverance,Simon eventually got hisfirst job in his chosenindustry, working for anexhibition design agencybefore joining anadvertising agency inLeeds.

But he recalls: “I wasbrought up in a familywhere there was a lot ofambition.

“I have two olderbrothers, one of whomtrained as a lawyer andnow works as aninvestment banker and theother who is a financialadviser with his ownpractice. My father also hadhis own business for a time.

“I had always wanted towork for myself, but it wasreally through working atthe ad agency in Leeds thatI got the necessaryexperience and built upsome good contacts.

“It was my investmentbanker brother whosuggested I should set upmy own business – and heloaned me the funds tostart up.

“It was a really steeplearning curve and had Inot gone into it with apartner, I don’t know if Iwould have done it.”

In the 10 years sincestarting the firm, Purebrandhas evolved enormously,says Simon. “We startedout as a design agency,” herecalls. “But the demandwas there for us to do abroader range of things. Wewere managing print,booking advertising space,organising mediacampaigns and developingbrand strategies. Designbecame only a part of whatwe were doing.”

In the past two years,Simon has set up aconsultancy arm atPurebrand, which isfocused on working withpublic sector organisationsand has already workedwith the NHS in

Peterborough to devise acommunications strategy;Peterborough Council,where Purebrand worked onthe launch of a new trust tolook after the authority’sculture and leisure services;and Leeds NHS TeachingHospitals Trust where ithelped find innovative waysof raising funds for fivehospitals run by the trust.

Purebrand’s consultancydivision is also currentlyworking with the WelshAssembly Government onthe launch of a pilotprogramme to put healthtrainers into communities inSouth Wales.

“We are still a relativelysmall company, but we havesome very big clients,” saysSimon. “Often, bigcompanies want to workwith big marketing agencies.But our first client wasLeeds City Council withwhom we still work.

“We also work for theworld’s largest brake padsmanufacturer TMD Frictionand deal directly with theirGerman head office. We domost of their marketing andwe have just completed avideo for them which will be

produced in eight or ninelanguages.”

Other clients include ITVand the massive OCSGroup, which employs65,000 people and wherePurebrand is the solemarketing agency worldwide.

Simon also takessatisfaction in winning acontract to rebrand theGamestation retail chain in2004 – when Purebrand withits handful of staff workingfrom tiny premises inCleckheaton successfullypitched against therenowned Attik with 250employees and officeslocated across the globe.

Simon admits: “We havehad a tough couple of years,like everyone else. You feelyou have to work twice ashard for half the rewards. Butwe are optimistic about thefuture. The economy is stilldifficult, but we have gotthrough the worst of it and Iam very focused now onhow we are going to promoteour own business. We are inthe process of launching anew website and will befocusing on growing thebusiness in 2011.”

That optimism is

evidenced by Purebrand’smove to WheatleyBusiness Park at Mirfield.Says Simon: “We werebased on a back street inMorley – and that hadserved its purpose. Wewere there because wewanted the kudos of aLeeds postcode, but wediscovered it really makesno difference now.”

Purebrand wasappointed by St JamesSecurities, the developerof Wheatley Park, tomarket the scheme, whichstands in ruralsurroundings at theformer Hopton Mills site.Purebrand came up withthe logo and branding –and Simon suggested thename, which is linked tothe history of the formertextile mills.

Purebrand also tookoffice space at WheatleyPark, alongsidebusinesses includingtextile firm Camira Fabricsand interior architectsNormal TM.

For Simon, reachingthe office is just afour-mile commute fromhis home at Lepton – buthe is often on the roadvisiting clients across thecountry. “We have a reallygood team at Purebrandand that means I canwork from anywhere,” hesays. Simon also spendsa lot of his time has aplace in South Wales,where many of his familystill live.

When Simon tires ofthe relaxing surroundingsof Wheatley Park orSouth Wales, he satisfiesa need for speed with hispassion for cars. He ownsa Mercedes SLK AMG,but runs a Mini Cooperdiesel for day-to-daytravelling.

“When I was a boy Ihad hundreds ofMatchbox cars and whenI was eight, my dad

persuaded me to write toFerrari – and they mademe an honorary membersof the Ferrari owners’club. Now I watchFormula One ontelevision and I haveattended the GoodwoodFestival of Speed anumber of times. A lot ofthe Formula One driversare there – and unlike atF1 racetracks, you canalmost get within touchingdistance of them.”

Simon welcomes achange of pace, however,and – in stressful times –imagines an alternativecareer path!

“Our people are verytalented, but talentedpeople are veryexpensive,” he says. “If Ihad my time again I’ dprobably open a smoothieshop or something whereyou don’t need highlyskilled people. I’d makesure I got the businessmodel right and open achain of shops!”

■ RURAL SETTING: Simon Ryan came up with the nameWheatley Park for the development at Hopton Mills, Mirfield

KIRKLEES BUSINESSlocal Page 4

Companies on noticeMORE than 70 firms

across West Yorkshirehave been told to makesafety improvements to pro-tect their workers after anintensive two-week inspec-tion by the Health andSafety Executive and localauthority safety officers.

The joint initiative was held inNovember and almost 450 com-panies were visited across Brad-ford, Calderdale, Kirklees andWakefield.

Some of the hazards identifiedat the visits included flammableliquids not being stored prop-erly, missing or inadequateguards around machines anduncontrolled exposure to fumesfrom welding.

Eight of the visits resulted inProhibition Notices beingserved – meaning dangerousactivities were stopped immedi-ately with appropriate correctiveaction being taken before workwas allowed to continue.

A further 63 premises wereserved with ImprovementNotices requiring businesses tocorrect or improve failings in agiven timescale or risk furtherenforcement action.

One firm in Kirklees is underfurther investigation and couldbe prosecuted as a result of seri-ous dangers uncovered byinspectors.

While it seems that the major-ity of businesses visited in theinitiative did appear to haveadequate systems and proced-ures in place to protect theirworkers, there are still some whowere found to have inadequate,unsafe or even dangerous work-ing practices that could put staffat risk of injury – despiteadvance warnings of the inspec-tions by the HSE and the localauthority.

Comments after the initiativefrom both the HSE and the localauthorities concerned men-tioned the general levels of com-pliance and the welcoming of

advice and guidance offered atthe visits.

There were 2,635 major work-place injuries recorded in theregion last year compared with2,863 in 2008/9. There were 23deaths – one fewer than theprevious year. The estimatednumber of people suffering fromwork-related illnesses rose by18,000 from 104,000 in 2008/09to 122,000 last year.

The initiative was aimed atreducing these figures further.

The HSE’s stated position isone of preferring to offer adviceand guidance to businesses but –despite some commentatorsbemoaning the apparent lack ofaction taken – the figures aboveshow that they will also issuenotices when necessary.

RISKYBUSINESSMark Dalton

Mark Dalton is associate director at Wilby Ltd

Simon Kaye is divisional director at Rensburg SheppardsInvestment Management

CITYTALKSimon Kaye

Keep it brief!THEY’RE fast talkers atHuddersfield’s busy Media Centre.The centre at Northumberland Streetis staging its third PechaKuchasession this Thursday at Cafe Ollo.Speakers can present on any topic,but the catch is they have to present20 slides for 20 seconds each. It’s arapid-fire format that can catch outeven the most experienced publicspeakers.The action gets under way at 7pmwith a line-up including MarkLongbottom, of Design 58; JamesBeale, of Proper Job Theatre; MandiTaylor, of The Sharp Agency; AndyGreen, of Leagus; and NadioGranata, from the University ofHuddersfield.PechaKucha Nights are popular inmore than 300 cities worldwide. Theword PechaKucha is a Japaneseterm for the sound of conversation.

No mystery tobetter serviceWORKERS at atyre and exhaustfitting centre inHuddersfield willhave to be ontheir mettle!The HiQ fast fitnetwork, whichincludes thecentre atEdgerton, hasintroduced a mystery shopperprogramme to safeguard customerservice standards – as well asmaking a commitment to roll out“benchmark” Automotive TechnicianAccreditation for all technicians.Farrell Dolan (pictured), commercialmanager for HiQ, said: “The networkhas chosen this route as itdemonstrates our members personalcommitment to driving standards inour network.“The accreditation programme willbe the key focus of the innovativeHiQ Academy in 2011 and beyond.The goal is that every technician inour network will be fully ATAaccredited.”The comprehensive mysteryshopping programme will belaunched through daily telephoneaudits and a programme of mysteryvideo shopping.Said Mr Farrell: “The investment –along with HiQ’s ongoing MirrorHanger customer feedbackprogramme – will ensure thatstandards are raised even higher andensure that the customer remains athe heart of everything we do.”The latest results of HiQ’s MirrorHanger programme revealed that99.6% of the 3,500 customerssurveyed would recommend orstrongly recommend HiQ to a friendof family member.But Mr Farrell said furtherimprovements must be made,adding: “We are going to grab thebull by the horns on this issue.Nobody else in the fast fit industrycan claim to train every one of itstechnicians to ATA standards. Wecan do this and we will.”

Surprises in storefor the year aheadSO 2010 is over and the lead-

ing strategists have pub-lished their views on theoutlook for financial markets in2011.

With few exceptions, their pro-gnosis is good. For the world as awhole, most see another year of solidgrowth with a better balanceb e t we e n t h e E m e rg i n g a n dDeveloped economies. This viewrests on two pillars: firstly the Amer-ican recovery is anticipated tostrengthen as a resurgence of capitalexpenditure translates into risingemployment. Secondly, a so called“soft landing” is expected in thecyclically inflation-troubled BRIC(Brazil, Russia, India and China)economies – the key drivers ofgrowth in the developing world.

Most strategists also see the sys-temic risks that have loomed over2010 as much diminished. Specific-ally, Europe is muddling towards atleast a temporary solution to thesovereign debt crisis, while the other

hold and inflationary fears becomemore widespread. The more san-guine view is that there are no realworries here, since in the West(where any risk lies) excess capacityand deleveraging will combine withdirect intervention to supportprices.

We do not have any real quibbleswith the broad picture outlinedabove (we are possibly on the morepositive side of the bond view).However at this time of the year,even if we do not wish to challengethe consensus, we enjoy speculatingas to the potential “surprises” theupcoming year could bring.

At the top of my list of develop-ments that would be a surprise tomost markets watchers, but whichhave at least an outside chance ofoccurring, is the possibility that

Europe is the best performing regionin 2011. This could happen for anumber of reasons, but one catalystwould be the “surprise” that there isa cathartic restructuring of peri-pheral eurozone debt that it is wel-comed.

Second on the list of “most sur-prising possibilities” would be thatcommodity stocks underperformfinancial stocks, particularly thosein developed markets. This wouldoccur if the monetary authorities inemerging economies were a little“heavy on the brakes”, or elsebecause the recovery in the West isstronger than forecast.

Other “outside bets” include aDollar resurgence and – the peren-nial favourite – Japan outperform-ing emerging markets. Both of thesedeserve a mention as much for theircontrarian value as for a strongunderpinning rationale.

None of the above are our fore-casts, but thinking about them helpsto temper any inclinations to followthe herd too closely. The greenestgrass often lies elsewhere.

key point of friction, the Yuan/Dol-lar rate, is expected to receive somelubrication after the 12th Five YearPlan is approved by China at theNational Peoples Congress inMarch.

With this rosy preamble, the stageis set for another year of corporateprofit growth in all key regions –even if margin pressures (driven bycommodity costs and the new capa-city additions as the cycle matures)mean that the increase will be muchmore modest than the past year.

Against a backdrop where riskyassets continue to be priced verycheaply relative to “risk free” assets,this picture is logically one whereglobally exposed “blue chip” equit-

ies should once againhave a good year. Theoutlook for bonds ismore divergent. Somestrategists see sharpfalls in sovereign bondprices (rises in yields)as the recovery takes

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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS local Page 5

Wood fuel businesshas burning ambitionA C O M P A N Y m a k i n geco-friendly wood fuel productshas announced plans to recruit atleast 10 new retailers in Yorkshirethis year.

The region has been identified asa priority area by Verdo Renew-ables, as part of plans to establish anetwork of 150 retailers across theUK in 2011.

As well as traditional domesticfuel suppliers, Verdo is looking torecruit hardware retailers, gardencentres, farm shops and agricul-tural supply outlets to retail itswood pellets and briquettes.

The company said it was expand-ing its current UK network of 34retailers in response to growingdemand for its energy-efficientwood fuel products, which it manu-factures from sustainable timber atplants in Andover, Hampshire, andGrangemouth, Scotland.

Verdo briquettes are used in openfires, wood burners and multi-fuel

stoves. Verdo wood pellets are usedin biomass heating systems, such aswood pellet boilers or pelletstoves.

Alistair McGlynn, UK salesmanager for Verdo Renewables,said: “There has never been a bettertime for retailers to develop a pres-ence in this marketplace.

“There is a growing demand forthese carbon-neutral, energy-effi-cient products and this is set torocket even further once the Gov-ernment confirms its RenewableHeat Incentive.

“This will incentivise household-ers and small businesses to install arange of burners, boilers and stovesthat will burn our products.”

Said Mr McGlynn: “We havebeen reviewing the implications ofthese developments very closelyand we believe there will be signific-ant demand for our products in theYorkshire area, which is why we arevery keen to sign up at least 10 new

retailers there in the next 12months.”

Verdo Renewables Ltd, formerlyknown as Energi Randers UK, is afully owned subsidiary of VerdoHolding, the parent company ofthe Verdo Group.

The group is based in Randers,Denmark. Verdo recently celeb-rated 100 years of providing districtheating to the city of Randers –making it one of the oldest heat andpower plants in Denmark.

Now Verdo operates its owncombined heat and power plantand electricity distribution grid.The company deals in energy, ownsthe water supply plant in Randersand provides internet and tele-phony services via a fibre-opticnetwork.

The group has developed bio-mass technology for production ofelectricity and is one of the leadingcompanies in the biofuel industry.

■ FIRE PROOF: Verdo Renewables is seeking Yorkshire retailers to helpsell its range of wood chips and briquettes

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Award-winning orangeries with real appealA COMPANY supplying windows, doors andconservatories has made a fruitful move.

Sash Windows, based at Lockwood, hasbeen named West Yorkshire RegionalInstaller of the Year for its work designingand building orangeries.

The award was presented byHartlepool-based manufacturer The QRSGroup Ltd after judges inspected theworkmanship carried out by its installationpartners across the region.

Sash Windows sales director KeithCosgrove said: “We have been designing andinstalling orangeries for the past 18 monthsafter linking up with the manufacturer. It is aquality product.

“QRS has chosen 30-odd companiesacross the UK as partners.

“QRS has been out to inspect theworkmanship, design, the intricacies of thestructures and how the orangeries lookagainst the property they have been builtagainst.”

He added: “We were chosen because ofour innovative, bespoke designs and ourcareful attention to detail to create stunninglyattractive orangeries.

“The orangeries create seamlessextensions to various different architecturalstyles and all of our designs either matchedor complimented our customers’ existing

homes.“Our orangery designs were

well-proportioned and very elegant.”Mr Cosgrove said more and more

homeowners were opting for orangeries as ameans of extending their properties.

“They are more of an ‘all-year-round’ roomthan a conservatory,” said Mr Cosgrove.

“They are a cheaper alternative to buildinga conventional extension and because theyallow the light to flood into the space belowthey don’t ‘darken’ adjacent rooms the waysome extension might.”

■ WELL DONE: Sash Windows directors Alan (centre) andKeith (right) Cosgrove receive the award from AndrewBurglas, national sales manager for manufacturer GRS

■ WELCOME ADDITION: An example ofwork by Sash Windows, which won aregional award from orangeries manufacturerGRS Ltd

KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS property Page 6

Centrallocation isa winnerA CITY centre propertyis fast approachingbeing fully let followingcompletion of the latestleasing deal.Town Centre SecuritiesPLC’s’ existing tenant,First Locate, whichmoved into thelandmark Town CentreHouse in Leeds at thestart of 2010, has takenan additional 2,000sq ftoffice wing on the firstfloor in a deal whichmeans it now occupiesalmost 6,600sq ft ofspace.Darren Guest,managing director ofFirst Locate, whichprovides revenue,customer and paymentprocessing services tothe utility sectors, saidthe latest premisesexpansion would allowit to further expand itscall centre services.”

Solar link-up putsrivals in the shadeA FIRM fitting solar panels has logged on providea new service.

Brighouse-based Ploughcroft has introducedSolar-Log, a German web-based monitoring sys-tem bringing homeowners the UK’s first solarphotovoltaic log system.

Ploughcroft, which is already installing solar roofpanels for major names Vaillant Plc, Plumb Centerand NPower, is thought to be the first British firm tooffer the system to British domestic and commercialsolar PV customers.

Solar-Log, which works through a monitoringdevice and specially designed website, alerts theowner and its maintenance provider immediately toproblems with the solar PV system.

Ploughcroft managing director Chris Hopkinssaid: “If a homeowner is going to spend about£15,000 on the system – and is expecting a £1,000return on investment from the government’sFeed-in-Tariff initiative each year – don’t want anundetected technical problem to be reducing theamount of money and electricity generated.

“With the Solar-Log, the PV system is monitored

24 hours a day, seven days a week.“If a cable gets ruptured or an unforeseen shading

problem should present itself, the homeowner willbe made aware and the Ploughcroft engineer will besent to the home as soon as possible to help resolvethe issue.”

Said Mr Hopkins: “We are the first British solarcompany to include the Solar-Log tracking deviceand monitoring system with all our new solar PVinstallations.

“Offering this invaluable added extra to ourcustomers without a doubt sets us apart from ourcompetitors.

“Now, not only do we provide the very bestservice and quality installation, we are also helpingto look after our customers’ investment and ensurethat they are reaping the maximum return.”

The Solar-Log also provides each customer witha daily yield and error report via email, providinginstantaneous notification of a drop in yield. Inaddition, it monitors power consumption for alltypes of buildings with a solar PV panel system.

Severe weather hits building sites

■ LOGGED ON: Chis Hopkins, managingdirector of Ploughcroft at Brighouse

LandmarkchangeshandsA MAJOR Yorkshirelandmark building hasnew owners.Canada Life hasacquired 1 St Paul’sPlace in Sheffield for£23.96m in one of thelargest investmentdeals to be undertakenin Yorkshire over thepast 12 months.Real estate servicesfirm DTZ acted forCanada Life on theacquisition of theproperty from UK fundmanager Standard LifeInvestments, who wereadvised by Savills.The property, built in2005, provides morethan 88,000sq ft ofcommercialaccommodation onseven floors. Theground floor is multi-letto Cafe Rouge, CafeNero and Piccolinoswith the upper officefloors let on a singlelease to DLA Piper UKLLP. Barclays and RBSsub-let part of thesecond and the firstfloors respectively.James Lawlor, seniorsurveyor in DTZ’sInvestment team inLeeds, said: “We aredelighted to haveadvised Canada Life onthis acquisition. Thequality of the location,property, tenant line-upand surrounding publicrealm sets this assetapart from the rest ofthe Sheffield officemarket.”

CONSTRUCTION industry outputslumped last month as severe weatherhit work on building sites across theUK.

The latest UK construction Pur-chase Managers’ index dipped below50 during December, taking the indexto 49.1 from 51.8 in November – wellbelow the 2010 peak of 58.5 in Maywhen a recovery in private construc-tion was reinforced by public spend-ing.

Yorkshire Bank economist DavidTinsley said: “Undoubtedly, theadverse weather in December waslargely responsible for the dip. It’spretty hard to put a shovel in theground when it is frozen solid – and wecan expect some rebound in the datafor January, assuming the weatherremains better.

“In fact, the detail of the PMIrelease is not all bad, with a rise in neworders over the month and commer-

cial construction maintaining someexpansion in activity.

“But from here any rebound in theearly months of 2011 is likely to comearound a declining trend in the pace ofoverall construction output. The offi-cial new orders series shows a sharpfall off in public sector orders – withpublic sector orders outside of infra-structure falling by 23% in the thirdquarter.

“Infrastructure projects themselves

are being squeezed by the cutback incapital spending revealed in theBudget – and some of the Olympicinvestments are by now past their peakof activity.

“There are still some signs of life incommercial construction, with ordersup, but private house building alsoremains depressed. So the sector as awhole will probably do well to make apositive contribution to overall GDPgrowth in 2011.”

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KIRKLEES BUSINESS NEWS Movers and shakers Page 8

Training firm ison a new high!A TRAINING companywhich started in a house in theHolme Valley has won aregional business award.

ASTRA Access SafetyTraining was set up three yearsago by director Mick Aston inhis spare room at home inHonley with the help of a£2,000 grant.

The company specialises indelivering training that is leg-ally required for people work-ing at heights in areas likeconstruction, telecommunica-tions and signage.

“I’ve always been ambitiousand after 35 years working inthe scaffolding industry Idecided that I could do it onmy own so I so set-up as a soletrader,” said Mr Aston.

The company moved to big-ger premises at Wakefield –while Mr Aston also formed apartnership with fellow dir-ector Mandy Netherwood,who provided a much-neededrange of administration skillsto the company.

Now ASTRA employs six

people and has just opened uptwo new training centres withplans for another in this year.The company has also startedto sell access and personal

safety equipment.The firm was named Business

of the Month by Huddersfieldlaw firm Eaton Smith, whichruns the award in association

with the Mid Yorkshire Cham-ber of Commerce.

Go to www.eatonsmith.co.ukor contact Ian Greenwood on01484 821389.

■ SAFE HANDS: Andrew Sugden (centre), of Eaton Smith, presents the award to MandyNetherwood (fourth right) and Mick Aston (third right), of ASTRA Access Safety Training, with (fromleft) Richard Brown, of RNB Surveyors; Roz Edwards, of LAP International PR; Wendy Ingham, ofBusiness Link; Andrew Choi and Melissa Healey, of the Mid Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce

Calming down on the farm

STAFF at a Holme Valley business tookan unusual approach to tackling stressduring the hectic Christmas period.

Holmfirth-based dairy products firmLongley enlisted complementarytherapy practice Yorkshire Therapies toprovide neck and shoulder massages toits 110 employees.

“Stress is not only harmfulpsychologically, it has been shown tolower our immune system and affect ourphysical wellbeing,” said YorkshireTherapies owner Marsha Allen Dawson.

She added: “More and more

forward-thinking organisations arerealising the benefits of tackling stressbefore it becomes a problem.“Employees not only feel good aboutthemselves, they also tend to have amuch more positive approach toproblem solving when they are notstressed.”

Yorkshire Therapies, based atArmitage Bridge, offers treatmentsincluding hot stone therapy, Indian headmassage, reflexology andaromatherapy.

■ FARM HAND: Marsha Allen Dawson, of Yorkshire Therapies, makes friends atHolmfirth dairy firm Longley Farm

Exchange ofinformationCOLNE Valley MP Jason McCartney got themessage when he visited a Golcar firm.

The Tory MP was welcomed to the offices of textmessaging specialist SMileS by director MarkEvans and business development manager AndyEarnshaw.

They explained the work of the firm and how ithas donated £150,000 over the past eight years tolocal good causes. In particular, it has recentlydonated £18,000 to the Princes Trust – and askedMr McCartney to help identify young people whocold benefit from support by the trust.

SMileS outlined its involvement in events such asthe 2010 Kirklees Business Forum and TheYorkshire Mafia, a regional-wide networkingorganisation. The company will be exhibiting at theMafia’s forthcoming conference in March at TheRoyal Armouries in Leeds.

The MP also explained his role representing localbusinesses, introducing them to other firms locallyand further afield and the benefits of being involvedin organisations such as the Huddersfield BestPractice Forum.

■ COMMONS TOUCH: Jason McCartney MPvisits Smiles with (from left) director Mark Evansand business development manager AndyEarnshaw

Dick Bromley

Business WireA GRADUATE of HuddersfieldUniversity has been appointed toa senior post with internationalspecialist PR company BusinessWire.

Dick Bromley (pictured), whogained a degree in history andpolitics and led Business Wire’sgrowth in Europe for nearly 10years, has been appointed groupvice-president for Europe, the Middle East andAfrica.

He began his Business Wire career in 2001in London as UK sales manager after workingfor online financial PR company hemscott.net.In 2006, he became Business Wire’sEuropean sales director and in 2008 wasnamed vice-president for Europe.

Mr Bromley enjoys running, spending timewith his wife Louiza and their children,Joshua,10 and Francesca, seven. He alsocoaches at a local football club in TunbridgeWells.

Business Wire is used by tens of thousandsof member companies and organisationsworldwide to communicate investor relationsand public relations content to targetaudiences and is a recognised “disclosurevehicle” in the USA, Canada, the UK, France,Germany and other European Union markets.

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