Owner
managed businesses
look for deals
Almost
three quarters of owner-managed businesses are planning
to make an acquisition or establish a joint venture with
former competitors within the next three years according
to a national survey of 300 directors by Baker Tilly.
But more than half are also planning to make additional
redundancies and expect a further drop in sales in the
coming year. The survey of companies with a turnover of
£5-50 million across all sectors shows 38 per cent
plan to make an acquisition in the next three years, 35
per cent plan to establish a joint venture and 21 per
cent plan to expand abroad. It also shows that larger
businesses are the most optimistic about the next 12 months.
Stephen Duffety, managing partner at Baker Tilly’s
East Anglia office, said: “Whilst there are still
very real threats posed by the recession, there are also
opportunities to create stronger companies that will be
better placed to take advantage of the recovery when the
time is right to do so.”
Inward
investment flows
The East of England won 105 overseas investment projects
in the past year which created 1,280 new jobs in the region,
and safeguarded 1,861 others, according to figures for
2008/9 from UK Trade and Investment. East of England International,
the international business support body in the region,
assisted more than 600 companies, including inward investors.
David Riches, chief executive of EEI said: “These
figures are an endorsement of the East of England as a
very attractive place for overseas companies to expand
their businesses.”
The
East of England Co-operative Society is in talks to sell
its department and home stores business to Vergo Retail
in a deal which the firm says will protect around 350
jobs. The society had been in talks on four of
its stores which were threatened with closure; these have
now been widened to include the majority of its department
& home stores. The department stores it plans to transfer
Vergo are: St Stephen’s Street, Norwich, Market
Place, Great Yarmouth, Long Wyre Street, Colchester, Station
Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Carr Street, Ipswich and adjoining
Food Hall. The homestores are Hamilton Road, Felixstowe;
Tavern Street, Stowmarket; Oxford Road, Clacton;
Peartree Road, Stanway; Newland Street, Witham; Main Road,
Dovercourt and a jewellery department at Eld Lane, Colchester.
Richard Samson, chief executive of the East of England
Co-op said: “We are pleased that this deal will
secure the employment of our colleagues and maintain a
strong retailing offer at the stores concerned.
In the current economic climate maintaining job security
is a key priority.”
Suffolk-based pub and brewing company Greene King,
has bought 11 pubs from Punch Taverns in a £30.4m
deal which is expected to complete on 1 July 2009.
The pubs, which are based in London and Scotland, will
join over 2,500 pubs and restaurants currently in the
Greene King portfolio and were funded by proceeds from
a recent £207.5 million rights issue. Adrian Seagers
and John Gynn, both of Birketts LLP’s corporate
and property teams, advised Greene King on the deal.
Leaders
in the private and public sectors in Ipswich gathered
for an economic summit this week organized by the Borough
Council and others as part of an “Ipswich Fights
Back” campaign. The council has produced
a business survival guide and and cut red tape to reduce
the time it takes to pay invoices to small companies.
A series of "crunch lunch" networking sessions
is also planned. Ipswich Borough Council leader Liz Harsant
said: "All is not doom and gloom here in Ipswich
and while we must do all we can to help those hit by the
recession we must remember that we are well-placed to
come out of the down-turn more quickly. Ipswich is a regional
centre with a highly skilled workforce, a new university
and excellent links with London and the Midlands.”
Photo: speakers at the seminar at IP-City Centre (from
left): James Hehir, Richard Lister (University Campus
Suffolk), Liz Harsant, Ben Ambler (Arlingtons Brasserie),
Assis Carreiro (DanceEast), Oliver Paul (Suffolk Food
Hall), Richard Sampson (East of England Co-operative Society)
and Peter Osborne (Ramada Encore Hotel). The other speakers
were Peter Bennell of Haven Power and Nigel Pickover
Business
Link in the East of England supported 108,082 local businesses
at various lifecycle stages in the year to March, a 9
per cent increase on the previous year. The organization
helped 78,844 established businesses and 4,434 start-ups
during the year. Of the six counties, Essex has the highest
concentration of Business Link clients with 26 per cent,
followed by Hertfordshire with 18 per cent. Pat Smith,
chief executive of Business Link in the East of England
said: “We have made considerable progress in our
first two years and are proud to have achieved, and indeed
exceeded, the high and stretching targets set by EEDA.”
Photo: Richard Ellis, EEDA chairman, Jill Barnes,
director of client services, Business Link and Alison
Webster, director of Enterprise, EEDA.
Following
the success of his entrepreneurial workshops around the
UK, Doug Richard’s School for Startups is coming
to East Anglia. The original BBC2 Dragon will
be hosting three free master-classes for budding entrepreneurs
in Ipswich, Colchester and Southend, starting on 25th
June with a full-day event at The Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich.
Aimed at inspiring entrepreneurs through the recession,
the workshops are funded by the Economic Challenge Investment
Fund (ECIF) and the University of Essex. Anyone living
in Suffolk or Essex can register online for free. There
are 800 places available and they are expected to sell
out. Tickets are available for the Ipswich event now at:
http://www.schoolforstartups.co.uk
and you can register at http://s4startupsipswich.eventbrite.com/
Over
3000 students travelled to University Campus Suffolk in
Ipswich this week for the first higher education convention
held in the Waterfront Building. The day also
marked the official opening of the building by The Earl
of Wessex. Year 12 students from across Suffolk were invited
to come along and learn more about higher education and
plan the next steps for their future careers.
Photo: UCS staff members Katie Proctor, Laura Doggett
and Claire Ashman with The Earl of Wessex at the UCS stand.
Businesses may face significantly increased advertising
costs following a policy change by Google on the use of
trade marked terms to trigger search engine adverts, according
to Sue Durrant practice manager at Norwich-based intellectual
property consultants, Novagraaf. The lifting of a ban
on one company buying the right to use another's trade
mark to trigger its own advert, means that brand owners
will now have to outbid other firms if they want their
ad to appear beside the 'natural' search results when
a user types their trade mark into the Google search engine.
Peterborough-based Greenwoods Solicitors LLP has
promoted Alastair Gunn to director in the corporate &
commercial team; Robert Starr has been appointed
an associate and Jason Stevens a senior solicitor in the
firm’s business defence team.
Boult Wade Tennant will be hosting a round table discussion
on Wednesday 15 July 2009 from 13:15 to 17:30 focusing
on the trends and efficiencies in securing patent
protection in the biotechnology and life sciences sector.
It will discuss common issues and practical steps for
securing and prosecuting patents and will take place at
Boult Wade Tennant's central London office at Verulam
Gardens, 70 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8BT.
RSVP to events@boult.com
and include your question, issue or topic.
Norwich
based IT Solutions company, Blue256, is running a free
business support helpdesk during the Royal Norfolk Show
1st and 2nd July. Organisations can talk to senior
IT engineers on issues ranging from security, support,
broadband connection to wireless technology and
network performance. Simon Lawford, managing director
of Blue256 said: “Efficient IT is the backbone of
any successful business. We are at the Norfolk Show to
give companies free advice to help them with their IT.”
Blue256 will be situated next to the Desira Motor Group
stand.
A
‘real life’ mock employment tribunal before
a judge and two barristers is being staged at the Old
Library in Colchester Town Hall on Tuesday 30th
June, 10am-3pm. Organised by GoodyBurrett LLP solicitors
and Mosaic Publicity, it will include educational handouts
and questions. The tribunal will also freeze the action
at certain points so the audience can be asked what they
think should happen next. Managing partner of GoodyBurrett
LLP , Bryan Johnston, said: “This is an amazing
opportunity for employers and employees alike to see just
what happens at am Employment Tribunal.” The cost
is £60 + VAT for each delegate which includes lunch.
Contact Gemma Rawlinson on 01206 548100 or e-mail gemma@mosaicpublicity.co.uk
Delegates at the Chartered Institute of Personnel
Development exhibition and conference in Ipswich next
week could win a face to face meeting with Ruth Badger.
The straight-talking runner up from Series 2 of "The
Apprentice" is the keynote speaker at the "HR
for Success" conference and free exhibition. The
exhibition is being sponsored by Pure Resourcing Solutions
and Ruth's speech is being sponsored by Birketts LLP solicitors.
Opening the event will be Ruth Proctor, retail HR manager
with Suffolk brewers, hoteliers and retailers, Adnams.