The Annual 2019 - Punchline Gloucester Business Magazine

The Annual 2019 - Punchline Gloucester Business Magazine

2019 ANNUAL

THE

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Buy our limited-edition 500-

How to order Puzzles can be purchased and collected by visiting us at The Old Fire Station, Barbican Road, Gloucester, GL1 2JF. Payments can be made in cash, via BACS or by cheque. All proceeds will go to the named charities. To submit a bulk order or reserve puzzles, call 01452 308781 or email [email protected]

Designed and produced by Moose Marketing and PR, the jigsaw is being sold in support of three well-known Gloucestershire Charities.

4 | February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com

Ideal for home, your workplace or a gift for clients, our unique jigsaw puzzle is the perfect challenge - while championing and connecting the business community right here in Gloucestershire. piece Punchline Jigsaw Puzzle

Recognise some of the faces? Find 247 of them spread across its pieces. The completed puzzle measures 50cm by 38cm. Grab your copy for just £20

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February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 5

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Punchline’s next issue, gloucestershire's 100 biggest employers will be published in APRIL Want to be part of it? email [email protected] or telephone 01452 308781

Life's a puzzle

I love my job. Not many people get the opportunity or time to drive around the county and Ross-on-Wye every two months, visiting all the companies on our high streets and business parks. It’s not even like being a sales rep, I’m not actually selling anything, but giving away something free. A product that could help their business grow, offer advice, highlight business opportunities and connect them with other successful businesses and people. And it’s the connections that we make that got me really thinking. My Grandad used to say: “Learn as much as you can from everyone you meet, because everyone has so much knowledge and there is so much to learn.” It might have been pre-internet but he was a wise old sage, well actually a baker, but a pretty wise baker. And that nicely brings me back around to connections. After all we are joined together, not just by working in

the county, but also that entrepreneurial spirit that drives us and our companies forward.

It’s the connections and the people that we meet that makes the job so enjoyable and I’m lucky to meet so many people! I don’t think I need to explain the punchline about the jigsaw. I would like to have included more of you, and I’m sorry I missed so many, but I would have ended up with a 100-page magazine just full of people. Maybe that’s not such a bad idea. Finally, good luck for the rest of 2019. Hold on to your hat, it's going to be just as interesting and challenging as last year. Nothing new there then? l

Mark Owen

FIND MY DAD: Here is my Dad, if you can find him on the covers of this magazine somewhere, drop me an email, or tweet me a photo of him and you’ll be entered into a draw to WIN a meal out with the editor at Greek on the Docks plus bottle of wine (to share)*.

*normal rules and conditions apply.

Call us on 01452 308781

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@moosepr @markmooseowen @punchlineglos

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Punchline Magazine is published by Moose Partnership Limited, based at The Old Fire Station, Barbican Road, Gloucester, GL1 2JF. Reproduction of any material, in the whole or part, is strictly forbidden without the prior written consent of the publishers.All material is sent at the owners risk and whilst every care is taken, Moose Partnership Limited will not accept liability for loss or damage. Dates, information and prices quoted are believed to be correct at the time of going to press but are subject to change and no responsibility is accepted for any errors or omissions. Moose Partnership Limited does not accept responsibility for any material submitted, whether photographic or otherwise.All rights reserved ©2019

February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 7

JennyWillis

More resources for businesses

A human resources specialist is returning home to Gloucestershire to support small and medium-sized businesses. Jenny Willis has had a career which has taken her around the world, working for major organisations including the NHS and Dow Jones International. Now, after a taste of working with smaller organisations within the NHS following a restructure in 2013, she has set up her own business working with local SMEs. The HR Dept Gloucester will provide outsourced human resources advice and support to SMEs from the city centre to as far north as Newent and south as Stonehouse. “I'm really excited to get back into the Gloucester community and resurrect some of my old connections,” said MsWillis, who is married to Mark and has two sons aged five and three and currently lives in Minety near Cirencester. It is a patch she knows well. Born in Abbeydale, she went to city schools including Ribston Hall and Sir Thomas Rich's. “I enjoy working with SMES, there’s more breadth of work, the teams are smaller and you can really see the impact of the work you're doing, rather than being stuck in board meetings. “There's a real opportunity to put plans into action, so I'm excited to bring all my years of expertise for the benefit of local businesses.” She added: “Over the next 18 months, the government will deliver an ambitious package of workplace reforms improving workers' rights and, of course, we've got

Brexit to navigate. “Many organisations are already considering impacts this might have on their recruitment and retention practices. "My advice would be to get ahead of the curve. Especially for employers who have EU staff, it's vital to talk to your workforce and to try and plan for the implications of Brexit, particularly with no deal.” She added: “Increasingly, organisations that adopt truly flexible working practices are getting a competitive edge. “There are great opportunities to think differently about how people work and the implications that might have for recruitment and retention of top talent. “Small companies are more agile and able to adopt new practices, but they're more apprehensive about people working flexibly. It's not for everyone, but it will be interesting to have conversations." The HR Dept Gloucester is part of an international company, with a network of 75 franchisees, providing services in 112 territories in the UK, Ireland and Australia. Licensees provide high-level experience at an affordable rate for growing businesses who need the expertise on hand, but have neither the need nor the budget for an in-house HR team. The company also provides an option for HR practitioners looking for better work-life balance and a new challenge after working in corporate life l For more information visit hrdept.co.uk/licensees/gloucester , email [email protected] or call 01452 405280

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Welcome to THE ANNUAL 2019

March: It comes in like a lion and out like a lamb – as the old proverb goes. Whoever coined that old cliché must have been British, as they were writing about the weather, about coming in from the harsh cold of the winter, to the gentler, sunnier, kinder spring. Depending on how you voted in June 2016, that old saying may take on a new,

and while things are on the up, the dreaded B-word has been looming over us for too long. Without stretching the analogies too far, the business train has been in a tunnel of indeterminate length and we need March 29th and whatever happens next to be the light at the end of it.

Business needs certainty, as so many influential people around our county have told us in this very magazine. It’s not that they are afraid of what comes next or being able to adapt to whatever is decided, it’s knowing what to do. Gloucestershire has a county packed full of entrepreneurs and business leaders driving the economy forward.We are where the jet engine was born, where the first

or very different, meaning this year. Whether you’re currently thinking we’re bathed in the warmth of the EU, or freezing in Brussels bureaucracy, we are all hoping for something to change at the end of the month.

March 29th will have us either roaring like lions or bleating like lambs, but at least it should be over, done with, finished, finally. And we can then all look forward. Because looking forward is what we want to do in our Annual, towards a brighter, lighter 2019.

vaccine was developed. We are among the world leaders in the aviation and cyber security sectors.

INVITATION

Gloucestershire College and Punchline Would like to invite you to attend

We have a special place in history, in what has happened. And we are all certain that our glorious Gloucestershire has what it takes to make a mark in a post-Brexit world. We have what it takes to adapt and continue to thrive. Here’s to 2019 l

It’s been a long 10 years for business. A decade-long slog, as we pull clear of the effects of the credit crunch and recession. That time has seen us all work harder and longer for less

Growing a business in 2019 and beyond Thursday 28 March 2019, 9-11am Gloucestershire College, Forest of Dean Campus, Northern United Way, Cinderford, GL14 3FF (for SatNav use GL14 2YT)

See page 75 for details

Book now: www.forest-business-breakfast.eventbrite.co.uk

February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 9

Gloucestershire College in association with Punchline Magazine

Make it your business to be healthy in 2019

Fourteen and a half thousand referrals from Gloucestershire and Herefordshire came the way of a specialist service supporting people with mental health issues last year alone. According to the 2gether NHS Foundation Trust, which provides the Let’s Talk service, one in six people of working age are affected by mental ill health. Recent figures released by Mynurva, which provides access to confidential counselling, found 32 per cent of working UK adults have suffered from mental health problems in the workplace. Thirty-seven per cent have never sought any professional help (42 per cent of men and 32 per cent of women), with 44 per cent never disclosing any issue to their line manager. The Federation of Small Business and the charity Mind calculated this all costs UK plc £26 billion annually. Rosemary Neale, of Let’s Talk, said: “Last year we received more than 14,500 referrals to our service. “That figure is ever growing, but we know that not everyone who needs our support is getting in touch, perhaps because they feel ashamed or embarrassed about speaking about how they are feeling. “Men can be particularly reluctant to speak up and might be self-medicating, perhaps through drinking too much, but that is changing. “We help with a range of problems – depression, anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, to name a few. The earlier you seek support, generally the quicker you can become well again. “The first step is often the hardest, but once you’ve taken it, the sense of relief can be immense. Help is out there.”

Dealing with the common missive fired at men first – that they don’t talk about such things. There can be good reason. We spoke to one businessman, whose successful career began because of his mental health issues. He felt his only route into work had been to start his own business, believing strongly no one would employ someone with mental health issues. “The stigma is still there. I have suffered from clinical depression for 35 years and am told I will never recover the life I had. I just have a recurring illness,” said the Gloucestershire entrepreneur.

“I suffer bouts of depression, which can take up to three months out of my life. I feel very strongly that it’s about time other so-called healthy people should be educated about what depression is all about. “I still have people telling me I have got to pull myself together. I didn't choose this condition, it was imposed on me by events not of my making. “This is not a cry-baby story but a genuine attempt to show that you can suffer depression and make a lot of your life. “If you choose to publish this please, do not identify me, as I have a major nationwide company which I daren’t sacrifice due to human ignorance of my condition.” Which is why we have kept his name out of it. Gloucestershire-based charity The Nelson Trust is a specialist in helping individuals deal with life without the substance they have become addicted too or abused. “Seventy-six per cent of men and women in our

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10 | February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com

Ben (not his real name), put himself through sixth- form and study and always held down a well-paid skilled job. But all was not what it seemed. “Two and a half years ago, I didn’t want to wake up. I knew there was a better life, but I didn’t know how to get it. “I was painfully shy as a child and had a lot of social anxiety. I’m also dyslexic and at school I was told I was stupid. “I started taking drugs and drinking at age 12 to cope. At 17 I started taking heroin, which seemed to help me at first but by the time you realise it’s not helping, you’re stuck. “I used heroin for 18 years – half my life. I’d tried to get clean in the past, using different drugs like methadone. I’d been to residential rehab before, but only lasted two weeks. “The last residential rehab never really addressed any of the issues behind my using. I was clean for four months, but mentally I was in a worse place than when I went in. “Before I came to The Nelson Trust, there were a couple of years where I was just using and working. “About two and a half years ago, I had just had enough and decided I had rather be dead than go on like this. I tried to end my life. I was (thankfully) unsuccessful, but I was then back in the same cycle of trying to get clean. “The problem is, when you work, you can’t get funding for treatment. I really worry about people who don’t have anyone to help them.” He added:“At NelsonTrust you know howmuch they care about how well you do.That makes a massive difference. At the same time, the staff weren’t hunting you down to participate. I found this better because it put a bit of emphasis on me being responsible for myself.”

residential rehabilitation service during 2017/18 (who answered the question) reported being diagnosed with mental illness,” said a spokeswoman for the service, headquartered in Stroud. People arrive at the door of the charity via referral or self-referral – after they have gone through a de-tox programme. Let’s Talk provides support in a range of ways, depending on the specific needs of the individual.This might be on the telephone, through an educational course, face-to-face or a new service, particularly helpful for people who have busy working lives – online through a system called Silver Cloud l To contact the 2Gether NHS Trust call 0800 073 2200 or complete a self-referral form at www.talk2gether.nhs.uk To contact the Nelson Trust visit nelsontrust.com or call 01453 732867 To reach the Samaritans call 116 123

0800 158 4147 [email protected] 8-12 Clarence Street, Gloucester GL1 1DZ

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Improve your knowledge in 2019

A crocodile cannot stick out its tongue. A dragonfly has a life span of 24 hours.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors. Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated. "Stewardesses" is the longest word typed with only the left hand and "lollipop" with your right. The average person's left hand does 56 per cent of the typing. The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. The sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" uses every letter of the alphabet. There are more chickens than people in the world. There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious." Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. Typewriter is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance. Women blink nearly twice as much as men. Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks; otherwise it will digest itself l

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second. A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes. A snail can sleep for three years. Al Capone's business card said he was a used furniture dealer. Almonds are a member of the peach family. An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. Babies are born without kneecaps. They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age. Butterflies taste with their feet. Cats have over one hundred vocal sounds. Dogs only have about 10. "Dreamt" is the only English word that ends in the letters "mt". February 1865 was the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon until February 2018. In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated. If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of six months waiting at red lights.

Business relaxation I heard a doctor in the Cotswolds say for 2019, to have inner peace, we should always finish things we start and we all could use more calm in our lives. I looked through my house to find things I'd started and hadn't finished, so I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Chardonnay, a bodle of Baileys, a butle of wum, tha mainder of Valiumun srciptuns, an a box a chocletz. Yu haf no idr how feckin fablus I feel rite now. Sned this to all who need inner pis. An telum u luvum. And two al hve a Hoppy Now Gear l

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February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 13

We need certainty over Brexit

It’s the issue that’s dominating the news agenda. Brexit is looming. The clock is ticking down towards March 29 and Britain’s exit from the EU. Before Punchline went to press, we asked representatives of Gloucestershire business for their views on how Brexit is affecting their sector and what they are hoping to see next.There was a startling similarity to what they said.

“When confidence starts to go, so does ambition and our economy cannot risk that. “The sooner politicians can stop squabbling and start working together to find a realistic pro-business solution, the better for us all.”

Ian Sloan: Bankier Sloan Chartered Surveyors “Businesses are simply looking for a decision, the uncertainty of the situation is the problem.

Nigel Tilott: Director, Davies and Partners Solicitors. “I think people are being cautious. There are deals that are not happening because people are thinking ‘why not wait?’

“I am finding that one or two companies are importing non-perishable goods and are looking for short-term storage options. “It’s the indecision that is the problem. I spend my life doing negotiations, but the trouble is they are doing these in public. “I think it will all get done and everyone will then be able to breathe a huge sigh of relief.”

“There is a lot of dam building, with water behind it. When we have some resolution, the water will burst through the dam, but there are people hesitating. “There is business building up, waiting to happen, but a lot aren’t pushing the button. “It doesn’t necessarily matter what the deal is, it’s having that certainty that matters most.”

Jonathan Viney: Director, Simplicity in Business

Sam Holliday: Development manager, Gloucestershire and theWest of England, Federation of Small Business

“What we are seeing in our sector is a lack of growth in the market, due to the lack of certainty.

“Our concern is that there appears to be no clear direction and, while we are not directly affected, a lot of our customers are part of a supply chain that are. “My opinion is that whatever is decided, the UK Limited, as it were, will rally around and make it work. “The overwhelming thing is that we need certainty, once we have that, it will be just a case of working how long it takes everyone to recover.”

“There are many people, understandably, who are completely turned off by Brexit – and it is easy to see why. “Sadly, however, many small businesses in Gloucestershire, simply don’t have the luxury of ignoring the whole thing because it has a direct impact on their business. “The lack of clarity and unity about Brexit nationally is already affecting confidence locally.

Is your head in the cloud or the sand?

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Ian Mean: Director, Gloucestershire Chamber BusinessWest

“Any politician who is continuing to say that is preferable to delaying our departure, has certainly not been listening to the vast majority of businesses and does not have their interests at heart.”

“The key issue we’re finding is that there is a total lack of clarity, which is forcing companies not to make investments or decisions. “We are already seeing companies who are taking warehouse space in places like the Netherlands to store products because of the uncertainty. “My feeling is that there will be a decision, but anyone guessing as to what that will be, will be onto a winner. “My personal point of view is we would not be that badly off with a no deal Brexit, but obviously people in the manufacturing sector will think differently.”

Robert Gillman: Group CEO, Gillmans

"A lot of consumers are nervous about Brexit and it's affecting confidence and spending in the high streets, as we all see and read. Despite all of this, we are encountering price increases from factories already in 2019. "We as a company buy from Germany and Italy, and already have had increases ranging between three and seven per cent. "The government has been too slow, they have dragged their heels for too long and that hasn’t helped. "We all just want them to make a decision and get on with it.We need consumer confidence and stability." a no deal Brexit, but relationships across the globe. “Exports to countries with EU free trade agreements are worth almost £2.4 billion to the SouthWest every year. “The risk to these deals is an overlooked danger to our economy and yet another reason why no deal is not an option for the UK and jeopardises jobs in our communities. “It is vital compromise is shown on both sides to come to a deal.” Punchline could have asked another 100 representatives of Gloucestershire business, but we would have only been writing the same thing over and over again. It’s clear that people and business just want the uncertainty to end and to get planning for the new normal, whatever that may be. l Deborah Fraser: Regional Director, CBI SouthWest “Many firms are unaware it is not just their relationships with EU customers at risk from

Mark Hartery: Director, Aitch and Aitch Bee Events

“What we are seeing is a slow-down in terms of people committing to events in the long term.

“People are not able to deal with the uncertainty and some of the scaremongering they are hearing in the media and they are believing it. “We would like to see them get on and do something. We can all plan for an eventuality when we know what is happening. “From the discussions we’ve had everyone is sick of it and even if what happens is unpalatable for them, at least we would all be able to get on with it.” “I seem to have been saying since the day that the referendum result was announced, that the most important thing for business was some certainty on what happened next. “The politicians have let businesses of all kinds down by failing to get clarity. The other over-riding message is that the one thing that must not be allowed to happen is a no deal Brexit. Kevan Blackadder: BID Director, Cheltenham BID

If you are confused about cloud accounting book a free advice clinic on 01242 776000 or email [email protected]

February 2019 | www. punchline-gloucester .com | 15

Connecting a Moose to superfast broadband

Superfast broadband for your business, with a linked phone system, would be great – but think you cannot afford the downtime while the old is turned off to be replaced by the new? Here at theOld Fire Station inGloucester – headquarters of Moose Marketing and PR and Punchline-Gloucester. com – that very idea was what made us jittery. How can a news gathering organisation like Punchline- Gloucester.com, or a business which needs to receive and transfer big files like video, make the leap without a catastrophe? Over 7,000 subscribers a day expect the Punchline email newsletter and 85,000 unique visitors hit the website monthly for a start. We found the answer, as we often do, within the county boundary at a long-established family business which specialises in all-things to do with telecommunications - Lister Unified Communications. “We needed to upgrade – that was becoming increasingly apparent as the demands on us were growing - but we needed to have confidence we could put everything in their hands,” said Mark Owen, managing director of Moose Marketing and PR and editor of Punchline magazine and website. “Being able to hand over to someone else was what we were looking for, who could also give us the product we wanted. We found that at a company we already had a good relationship with – Lister Unified Communications.” Rob Lister,who heads up the Stonehouse-based business with his brother Tom, has heard all the reservations before and is familiar with the look on people’s faces as the realisation dawns on them that everything they want really is within their grasp. “When you are running a small business you have enough detail to worry about and want to focus on the clients first,” said Mr Lister, whose business has been built around serving small and medium-sized firms. The bottom line is simple, he said, the technology is there and can make a tremendous difference – especially as UK plc continues its unstoppable march towards a digital economy.

Tim Hutchinson of Lister Unified Communications

“The average business has not mentally kept up with the requirements or potential of broadband,” said Mr Lister, getting frank about the matter. “We consume so much >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108 Page 109 Page 110 Page 111 Page 112 Page 113 Page 114 Page 115 Page 116

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