ISSUE 1 Issue 9 www.shropshirebiz.comA BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MAGAZINEFREE DSDGSLFD ALSO INSIDE: FDFDSFS FDFJ IFFDF Ddfg dfgdfgfg sdf sddfdfdfd fdfgfgffdf fdgbdf gugioz xhg djsygc dygcdgfdfb £100 million milestone Ringing endorsement GDPR: SHOULD YOU BE WORRIED? Pantheon of investors It’s an open and shut case Being able to use one of the UK’s leading telecoms providers who are based right here in Shropshire has been a massive advantage for us. For the past ten years we have received first class service for all our telecoms requirements. It’s been a major asset for Lanyon Bowdler to have Pure Telecom on board. Brian Evans Managing Partner Lanyon Bowdler Michael Place, Anchorage Avenue, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY2 6FG t 01743 244933 e [email protected] @puretelecom /puretelecom For more information call the team on 01743 244 933 www.pure-telecom.co.uk Direct Digital Customer Partner excellence excellence Network 2018 2018 INTRODUCING THE TEAM Pictured above: (back) Steve Oliver, Jayne Smallman, Nick Jones, Alan Brittain, Katherine Lear, Graham Mills (front) Natasha Boaden, Chimene Felton, Jane Ward & Sarah Pryce s things get more complicated, why not entrust our team to helping you make brilliant decisions? A Senior Partner Practice with St. James’s Place Wealth Management, we can provide excellent service Awhilst we benefit from the support of a FTSE 100 company. We provide a comprehensive wealth management service, offering specialist face-to-face advice tailored to you. OUR SERVICES INCLUDE: • Investment Planning • Inheritance Tax Planning • Retirement Planning • Intergenerational Planning For further details please contact: NICK JONES Principal Tel: 01743 240968 Email: [email protected] Web: www.njwealthplanning.co.uk The Partner Practice represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products. The title ‘Partner Practice’ is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives. 4 INTRODUCTION ISSUE 1 Issue 9 www.shropshirebiz.comA BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MAGAZINEFREE DSDGSLFD ALSO INSIDE: FDFDSFS Impact of GDPR FDFJ IFFDF Ddfg dfgdfgfg sdf depth report – including a basic 12-point sddfdfdfd fdfgfgffdf hey’re only four simple fdgbdf gugioz xhg checklist. djsygc dygcdgfdfb letters, but they’ve £100 million milestone In the unlikely event that you still got some of the UK’s need an incentive to investigate the Tbiggest companies running implications of GDPR, just check out the eye-watering fines which are being Ringing endorsement to the hills in a cold sweat. GDPR – General Data Protection proposed for non-compliance! Regulation – comes into force in May as It’s not all grim news on the GDPR: paperwork front, though. One form that’s part of a massive shake-up of the way SHOULD YOU well worth filling in is the application for in which we use and process people’s BE WORRIED? Pantheon of investors the 2018 Shropshire Chamber Business private information. Awards. Some of our best known brands are The annual quest to find the county’s so worried about falling foul of the new best businesses is into its 18th year, and Magazine editor: rules that they’re ditching years-old it’s going to be another great Oscars- Carl Jones mailing lists and starting from scratch. [email protected] style evening at Telford’s International Should your company be worried? Centre where the winners will be There have been plenty of seminars Online editor: crowned. Henry Carpenter and workshops taking place across We’ve got everything you need to [email protected] Shropshire since the turn of the year to know about this year’s competition, meet the demand from bosses who are including tips on how to maximise your Editorial design and layout: eager to find out more, and we bring you entry, and the inside story of several new Paul Naylor a selection of the main points in an in- categories. Advertising: [email protected] General enquiries: [email protected] ONLINE Web: www.shropshirebiz.com Twitter: @shropsbiz 6 27 Facebook: facebook.com/shropsbiz Linkedin: Contents Shropshire Business (shropshirebiz.com) 6 Carillion fallout ISSUE 9: 10 Funding joy MAR / APR 2018 11 Cheers to career change 14 A real MBIG help Shropshire Business is published by Wiggly Worm Media Ltd. Reproduction of this magazine 14 15 Renewable energy in whole or in part is prohibited without written permission of the editor. 16 Awards launch The publishers have taken all reasonable care 18 Engineering year to ensure that the information in this magazine is accurate at time of going to press. 20 Investment opportunities Wiggly Worm Media accepts no responsibility for the consequences of error or for any loss or 21 Haulage firm plans damage suffered by users of any of the information and material contained in this publication. 23 Rhoddy Swire interview The views expressed by our columnists are not 26 Telford turns 50 necessarily those held by the publisher, or editor. 27 Flag is status symbol Printed in the UK by The Magazine Printing Company: www.magprint.co.uk 23 28 Building careers INTRODUCTION 5 on B2B community We’re proud to be sponsoring the through the £100 million turnover putting your woes awards again this year; it’s always barrier for the first time – in its 100th into perspective one of the highlights of the Shropshire anniversary year. with a look back business calendar. It’s amazing to look back at the at the biggest There are certainly no shortage changing face of car and truck blunders in of success stories to choose sales at this family-run business history. from across Shropshire company over the And finally, we’ve introduced a new right now. Alarm decades – check section called ‘Five Minutes With…’ maker Aico, for out some of posing a series of questions to a well example, sold the vintage known local business person to find out 4.5 million of pictures. more about their office and leisure time. its products What The first brave victim to sit in our hotseat across the UK else? There’s is Tim Beech, managing editor of BBC last year, and top tips on Shropshire. has its sights telecoms, IT, We’re carrying lots more of these on a £150 pensions and on our website, so if you’re feeling million turnover. power bills, our brave enough to give it a go, simply We paid a visit usual round-up email [email protected], to the company’s of appointments, the with the words ‘Five Minutes With’ in Oswestry site to find out latest on Telford’s golden the message line, and we’ll send you more. anniversary celebrations . and if everything you need to get involved. Meanwhile, motor dealer Furrows you think you’ve had a bad week in the Carl Jones, has found the perfect time to break boardroom, make yourself feel better by Editor 31 40 55 29 Ace new centre 60 Retirement plans 31 Century of Furrows 61 New premises 35 Natural choice 62 Health and safety 36 Life made better 64 More business for Ellesmere 38 County connections 66 Proud of restoration 39 Constructive talks 67 Important acquisition 40 Princess Anne visit 68 Financial house in order 41 GDPR – the facts 69 Next generation 67 45 Sharing expertise 70 Sweet success story 47 Variety inspires artist 71 Inspirational rower 49 Bells and whistles 72 Spot of leisure 53 Training acknowledged 73 End to End IT 54 Internet connectivity 74 Data revolution 55 County connections 76 Pay your cards right 56 Cash-handlers pay attention 79 Appointments 58 Business blunders 82 Five minutes with . 74 6 SPECIAL REPORT The disintegration of Carillion, the UK’s second biggest construction company, has hit a number of Shropshire-based tradespeople Carillion aftershock The collapse of the building giant has shaken the industry to its foundations, but what does this mean for Shropshire contractors? Chris Austin gets feedback from the front line. he collapse of Carillion works for a small West Midlands contractor can be seen to enjoy an element of which was employed on Carillion’s Midland protection against late completion and has raised dozens of Metropolitan Hospital project in Birmingham. defects arising during the rectification difficult questions. “To Carillion, this was relatively small fry, period,” he says. TAnswers, though, seem to be but this job was going to be nearly half my “Similarly, main contractors will deduct annual turnover,” he says. and retain a percentage from each interim far trickier to track down. “It’s bad enough now having to suddenly payment due to their subcontractors again, How has it come to this? Who should go out and try to find alternative work – but to be released when the subcontract shoulder the blame? What does it mean because so many other people are all in works have been completed and when the for workers’ pensions? And is it time for a the same boat, the market is flooded with subcontractor has made good any defects. root-and-branch change to the way tenders people with the exact same skills as me, so “Widespread and persistent failures to are handed out by big companies, to small we are all scratching around for the same release retentions on time or at all, whether contractors? jobs at the same time. as a result of simple breach of contract The disintegration of the UK’s second “Meanwhile, the fat-cats who caused or the insolvency of the party holding the biggest construction company has hit a this mess, and buried their heads in the retention, has encouraged contractors at all number of Shropshire-based tradespeople.