THE BusinessTM MAGAZINE SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL www.businessmag.co.uk AN ELCOT PUBLICATIONS TITLE JULY/AUGUST 2011 #120 £2.50 Surviving the shipwreck Corporate recovery Southern flag Business Solent special Logistics market Sector watch Charles Lamplugh, Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets Relationship Director Nigel McGinley, Fortnum & Mason Finance Director That’s why for the seventh year in a row, Lloyds Bank STRONG Corporate Markets is Bank of the Year. Voted for by the UK’s leading Finance Directors, it goes to show that our clients value the importance RELATIONSHIPS of great relationships just as much as we do. The award owes much to the quality of our service, the expertise of our relationship managers and REALLY DO our continued commitment to supporting UK businesses like Fortnum & Mason. So whilst the award may be the same this year, we ADD UP. know that every relationship is different. For information on how we can help your business, contact Steve Clarke on 0118 921 9192 or email [email protected] lloydsbankcorporatemarkets.com Please remember we cannot guarantee security of messages sent by e-mail. Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets, Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets and Lloyds TSB are trading names of Lloyds TSB Bank plc, Lloyds TSB Scotland plc and Bank of Scotland plc. Lloyds TSB Bank plc. Registered Office: 25 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7HN. Registered in England and Wales no. 2065. Lloyds TSB Scotland plc. Registered Office: Henry Duncan House, 120 George Street, Edinburgh EH2 4LH. Registered in Scotland no. 95237. Bank of Scotland plc: Registered Office: The Mound, Edinburgh EH1 1YZ. Registered in Scotland no. SC32700. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority under registration numbers 119278, 191240 and 169628 respectively. Bank of the Year 2005-2011 FDs’ Excellence Awards in association with the ICAEW and supported by the CBI & Real Business. LS99-FO700AD-0611 We aim to make our client partnership the perfect pairing To see how we can help, contact our Winchester or Romsey office on 01962 852 263 or 01794 515 441 www.wilkinskennedy.com regular features News 4 Opinion – Cautious when talking about a recovery 4 College unveils £34m training hub 5 Festival’s a first for creative businesses 6 Hampshire advises on business with local government 7 Survey will identify barriers to growth 8 Hampshire pushing for superfast broadband 13 And the next stop is ... Mumbai 14 We should be digging for diamonds in the dirt Solent 250 12 Grant Thornton’s Solent 250 Sector Watch 13 Case study – Peters & May Business Solent 15 Welcome to Business Solent 16 Economy on the menu 17 Major sporting events planned 18 Champions of the Solent region Finance 19 ’Constantly altering’ global economy Deals 20 H.I.G. Europe acquires AIRCOM International p15 26 Moore Blatch swots up on higher education deal Deals Update 21 Latest deals data from across the region Profile 22 Compost and coffee Property 27 Mixed-use business park in pipeline for Salisbury Technology 28 Copier specialist Canotec tops the green IT charts p17 People 29 Movers and risers ... Diary/News Extra 30 Award winners announced special features International Trade 9 Setting up abroad is a medium-term gain 10 Looking at current trends Corporate Finance 23 Corporate recovery should mean precisely that 24 Corporate insolvencies still on the increase 25 Managing your bank 26 No fire without smoke p28 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JULY/AUGUST 2011 www.businessmag.co.uk 4 news Come to opinion College unveils grips with retirement We have all learned to £34m training hub age shifts become so cautious when talking about a Since the Government phased out the default retirement recovery... age in April a partner at Winchester-based solicitors ...that appearing optimistic Shentons has warned that about recent economic data this is an important change would seem to be tempting which both employers and fate. employees need to get to grips But there are signs that Britain with quickly, before workplace is doing OK – with the latest confusion causes disharmony. indicators from the OECD “Employers are no longer (Organisation for Economic Co- able to issue notifications operation and Development) of retirement using the DRA showing that the UK is heading procedure. Where notifications for modest expansion over the have already been made prior coming months. Geoff Russell (left) and Alistair Neill cutting the ribbon to April in accordance with Compared with France, Italy The importance of skills and Russell, who praised the visionary these procedures, employers and almost the entire Eurozone apprenticeships to businesses leadership of Noble and her team will be able to continue with (Germany being a notable and the regional economy was and added that the College’s role the retirement process as exception), the UK is showing highlighted at the grand opening was particularly important given the long as the employee is aged at least 65, or the employer’s signs of relative expansion. of the £34 million ‘hub’ building state of the economy. “Continued retirement age, if higher, at City College Southampton, investment in further education Anecdotally, and gathering before October 1,“ said Shaun attended by more than 150 guests, colleges is vital, from both public feedback from companies Underhill. involved in our Roundtable including business leaders from and private sources, as future jobs, discussions, it appears that across the south and members of and indeed the economy, depend “In accordance with DRA many businesses in the south the community who use the hub as on people acquiring skills.“ procedures, those employees a vital facility. will be able to request are optimistic that demand is Neill stressed a £2 billion to work on beyond their slowly growing and that the Lindsey Noble, principal and CEO investment in the city during order books are beginning to notified retirement date and of City College, thanked all those the next two years: “Cities need fill again. employers will be able to responsible for the hub’s creation. to dream and big cities need to agree an extension to their Consumer confidence was She referred to the transformation dream big. Southampton doesn’t employment. If the employer also up in May – the sharpest and change which had occurred, just have dreams, but plans. It’s wishes to give an extension month-on-month climb since ensuring that the College was the largest city in the south east that still ends with dismissal 2004 – but this has been put well placed to meet the aims and outside London and benefits from under the DRA, the extension down primarily to the royal aspirations of local businesses as assets such as a natural sea port, must be for a fixed period wedding ’bounce’. Another they sought to recruit, train and airport and two universities. The of six months or less. This good sign is that the demand develop the right people. future of every city depends on is the maximum period for empty units in retail parks is City College is in the top 10% how it nurtures and develops allowed without the need to back to levels last seen before of colleges in the country for its its young people and every issue a further notification of 2008. Retailers are snapping success rates for 16-18 year olds generation must renew.“ retirement. up units, presumably at very and the fourth best performing The College boasts some of favourable prices. general further education (GFE) “Beyond certain transitional the best facilities in the region arrangements, employers Unemployment shows little college in the country when taking including TV studios, a commercial are no longer able to rely sign of reducing significantly, into account all qualifications. restaurant and cafe, a 240-seat on the DRA. This means but there is an acknowledged Noble said this was a massive theatre, professional hair and that employers cannot skills shortage in certain endorsement of the teaching and beauty salons and top of the range compulsorily retire their sectors, so there remains the support staff: “We had a really engineering suites. employees, unless the challenge of reskilling jobless clear vision of what we wanted to retirement can be objectively people and preparing them achieve and this environment ‘role Skills and apprenticeships are justified in their particular better for what employers models’ workplace behaviour for important to businesses both circumstances.“ actually need. our students.“ regionally and nationally. Daniel Davis, customer support manager Geoff Russell, chief executive of So, as the summer holidays at Romsey-based Mitchell loom, it’s not overly optimistic the Skills Funding Agency, and In the September issue of Powersystems, brought in an to think that the start of the Alistair Neill, chief executive of The Business Magazine apprenticeship programme using new business impetus that Southampton City Council, both City College two years ago. The • Law South East/The Legal 500 September always brings will originally from private sector company’s newest apprentice • Mergers & Acquisitions add further momentum to the backgrounds, cut the ribbon to will start in September, on an • Focus on M27 & economy. officially open the Hub. NVQ course which backs up work Southampton David Murray, Publisher “This College represents exactly undertaken on a range of diesel Details: 0118-9745308 what the Skills Funding Agency’s engines for commercial vehicles [email protected] mission is designed to achieve,“ said and the marine sector. www.businessmag.co.uk THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – JULY/AUGUST 2011 news 5 THE Festival's a first for BusinessTM creative businesses MAGAZINE:DIGITAL Read these stories in full in the current issue of The UK’s first creative business festival, The national network, Creative England. Formerly The Business Magazine:Digital Future Skills Festival, is running until July 14 in head of corporate relations at Channel 4 and at www.businessmag.co.uk Portsmouth.