Simon Michlmayr, of Norwich clock and watch makers and repairers S Michlmayr & Company, returned to the scene of his first summer clock repair job as a 14 year-old – the Maids Head Hotel.
Forty years ago Mr Michlmayr, under the watchful eye of his late father Fritz, repaired the mid 19th century clock, which overlooks diners in the Maids Head Hotel’s 2 AA Rosettes Wine Press Restaurant. Now it was the turn of Mr Michlmayr to oversee his assistant, Esme Collins, who repaired and restored the clock.
“It has been really interesting to come back to the Maids Head and help repair this historic timepiece again,” said Simon Michlmayr. “I remember being very excited forty years ago as I embarked on my first official job.I am pleased that I was able to give the work to Esme.”
The Maids Head clock, which dates from the 1850s, is weight driven and runs for a week. It was originally a striking clock. The mechanism is accessed from a small cupboard in the hotel’s 18th century Assembly Room, now called the Minstrel Suite, which overlooks the restaurant courtyard.
Simon Michlmayr set up his own business 33 years ago, after his father died. He looks after City Hall’s clock and has worked on many of the church clocks in the area, as well as repairing domestic clocks and wristwatches.
Esme Collins has completed the first two years in the British Horological Institute’s Diploma in the Repair and Restoration of Clocks, with one more year of studying to come.
Christine Malcolm, General Manager, the Maids Head Hotel said. “It has been wonderful to welcome Simon Michlmayr back to the Maids Head to look after our historic courtyard clock, which has been a constant presence in the hotel for more than 150 years. With Simon and his colleague Esme’s expert work, the clock will continue to oversee proceedings for many more years.”
New ‘not for profit’ Recruitment Agency, swarm-Be, will be making their first appearance at the B2B Exhibition this year. Visit Stand 84 to find out more about swarm-Be’s recruitment expertise and see if you can win a free “Motivational Map”. Used by 1,000s of organisations, Motivational Maps is an easy to use tool that explains your motivations in a profile report with clear actions to take.
swarm-Be was launched in May this year with a highly successful and experienced team of recruiters. From job advertising to our fully managed service, swarm-Be can help you in finding your next team member or aspring apprentice. swarm-Be will take all the legowrk out of recurimenet so you can carry on being a busy Be.
What’s more 100% of our profits will be re-invested into good causes.
In recognition of its commitment to the Australian franchise sector, representatives from TaxAssist Accountants were recently invited to join fellow Franchise Council of Australia (FCA) members at its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dinner in Brisbane.
TaxAssist’s Master Franchisee for Australia, Terry Murphy, his business partner Celeste Godwin, and David Paulson and Richard Chatten from the accounting franchise’s international development team, were among the 22 guests hand-picked for the invitation-only FCA event at Tattersalls Club.
The dinner provided an excellent opportunity for guests to network with senior figures in the country’s franchise sector, including the FCA’s new Executive Chairman (and former Small Business Minister), Bruce Billson and new FCA CEO Damian Paull.
Terry said: “The chance to meet senior franchisors and discuss the future of franchising was most rewarding, especially with David and Richard as they were able to help give a global perspective with their insight into franchising in the UK.”
TaxAssist’s Australian and UK teams joined forces again two days later to successfully promote its business opportunity at the Brisbane Franchising and Business Opportunities Expo.
David Paulson, Senior Manager UK & International Development, at TaxAssist Accountants, said: “Many of the 30 or so potential franchisees we met at the exhibition, who were keen to join our Australian franchise network were CPA-qualified or had impressive financial backgrounds.
“As a result, early indications point to TaxAssist welcoming a number of new franchisees becoming part of our flourishing success story in Australia.”
There have been five franchise resales in 2019 so far, with another expected to complete later in the year Purchasing an established TaxAssist Accountants practice continues to be a popular avenue for new joiners, who see the value in taking on a business where the brand is already established with an income stream from day one.
Jonathan Berks had been TaxAssist Accountants’ longest serving franchisee before he sold his practice in Royston, Hertfordshire in April 2019. He joined the franchise in December 1996 and, after 22 years and four months, realised his investment after deciding to retire.
Experienced accountant Tasnuva Tina, who purchased Jonathan’s practice, said: “I had always been interested in working for myself but did not know the best way to realise this ambition.
“As I had not run my own business before, being part of a franchise, where I can get the help and support of a strong network, was top of my wish list.
“I met with the Support Centre team and was impressed. I found out that the Royston practice was being sold by Jonathan, who was looking to retire. I arranged a meeting to find out more and followed this by speaking to several existing franchisees and completing my due diligence. The feedback I received highlighted how Jonathan had built up a strong client base and it would be too good an opportunity to miss. I am now looking forward to working with an excellent and supportive team and growing the client base further.”
Phil Cornish sold his 10-year-old TaxAssist Accountants practice in Altrincham, Cheshire to husband and wife team Samit & Preeti Gupta in August 2019. Following the sale, he said: “I’d like to thank all of the Norwich team for their help and assistance over the years.
“My experience as a franchisee has been excellent, I have never regretted making the decision to join and am pleased that the franchise continues to grow. We were able to build a good business and income and have now had the ability to realise our investment at a decent multiple, I have no doubts that being part of the TaxAssist network has been a significant factor in this success.
“I am very pleased to have been introduced to Samit and Preeti, who I am sure will make a great job of continuing the growth of TaxAssist Altrincham and Sale.” Karl Sandall, Chief Executive Director of The TaxAssist Group, said: “Buying a practice through a resale can provide many advantages, including investing in a ready-made business with a fee base, established premises, experienced staff and practice management systems in place.
“Incoming franchisees benefit from an immediate income stream with access to our full range of ongoing technical and business development support, advice and training enabling them to develop the businesses further. Added to this, the banks remain fully supportive of our business model because of the reduced risk of franchising and our proven track record and will typically lend 70% of the total investment required.”
The other three franchise resales in 2019 include Chesham in Buckinghamshire, Smarden in Kent and Godalming in Surrey.
If you are interested in finding out more about the current practices for sale around the TaxAssist Accountants network – please click here.
We are over the moon to hear that we have been selected as a finalist for the:
2020 AOP awards for: Health and Wellbeing Initiative
The winners will be announced on 26th January 2020 at the Excel London. The award is judged 50% by the AOP and 50% by a public vote. In the event of a tie, the public vote is the deciding factor. Entering this award and being shortlisted is more than we could have imagined in December last year as the directors reflected on 2018 being their most challenging year to date. The director team dealt with a diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer, a seriously ill child, the death of a partner and a marriage break up. Alongside this, they were struggling to hire new optometrists in Norwich as well as making a success of the second branch in Great Yarmouth, which sadly closed in December. Sitting down at the end of 2018 and the directors said, ‘well, 2019 can’t get any worse!’ The only way was up and after a long to-do list for the business, the other focus was firmly on a health and wellbeing initiative for the whole team at Colemans. It started small, with a fruit box being delivered weekly to the staff room, and a positive mindset towards healthy living, both at work and at home, and extended to encouraging people to take part in Park Run and other physical challenges. The few simple changes developed and have seen the practice grow from strength to strength. The staff are more happy, motivated and relaxed in the workplace, new professionals have been appointed and we have seen a 30% increase in last year’s turn over. The director team, a lot leaner, happier and productive; are in good health and all their children are doing well, and have enough material to write a book on disastrous first dates in your 40’s! Coleman’s embarked on many National Campaigns, including eye health, recycling initiatives and help in the community, including supporting Keeping Abreast as their charity of the year. How brilliant would it be to bring home the AOP award for Health and Wellbeing Initiative 2020, and we will need your help with a vote.
If you think we deserve to win this award please can you vote via the VOTE button below. You need to put in your name and submit, followed by selecting the award name, then click Coleman Opticians followed by cast your vote. Thank you so much from the team at Coleman Opticians.
Previous head of marketing for Woodforde’s and Lacons Breweries and digital expert at Anglian Home Improvements for years, Judi-mae Alderton decided this year to set up her own consultancy business. After years of corporate employment, reshuffles and plenty of redundancies, she wanted the security of owning her own destiny.
So, Mae Day Marketing was born, and it’s different. It promises clients a full review of their existing direction before game changing strategic, tailored advice is given. The objective is to gain immersion into a business, its mindset and its customers, before creatively producing a plan which promises brand growth, greater consumer understanding and engagement, plus a whole load of exciting communications activity. Mae Day Marketing will then manage that ongoing strategy, constantly pumping new energy into it each month, so that business owners can focus on their important list of ever-changing demands.
A collaborative mindset approach ensures that whatever you sell, whoever you want to reach – your business ethos is at the heart of every suggestion made and every direction taken. Mae Day Marketing gets people – the inner motivations and psychologies which drive their behaviour, the irrationalities and the insecurities. Working with a business, Mae Day Marketing will be a consultant, a leader, an advisor, a psychologist, an analyst, a hard worker and without a doubt, a fine communications expert.
Mae Day Marketing can support business growth in a whole raft of ways, from creating an entire marketing plan to building a new website. With 15 years of experience working in marketing departments for large businesses, the pressure of constant optimisation has given Judi-mae an edge; she has the persistent urge to question the ways in which things are done, the itch to improve, the strong desire to continually learn and always strive for the best result.
Mae Day Marketing can review your existing website and provide you with copious amounts of feedback on its propensity to impress its users, its ability to convert to sale, its structure and content’s ability to see it ranking in the search engines. It can also build you a brand new one.
Your public relations (PR) activity can be critiqued, or even created, and all channels reviewed or set up for a blindingly successful approach going forwards. Social media management is so important yet it can often be a minefield and energy sap for companies, and Mae Day Marketing has the experience and energy to support you with that.
Judi-mae studied a degree in business and IT at the University of East Anglia, graduating in 2004 and going straight into a marketing assistant role at a local stainless steel manufacturing firm. With her personal background in computing and a fascination for psychology and digital technology, she quickly made some tweaks and increased online sales by 80%, utilising her creativity and implementing a range of targeted mailings to further increase direct sales by 35%.
Judi-mae has always pushed the boundaries, introducing businesses to new technologies and managing away any concerns about the unknown. She won an award for the best use of social media back in 2009 when the technology was just being picked up by businesses, and she was interviewed by a marketing magazine in 2010 about website conversion rate optimisation when it was a relatively unknown, tiny part of the marketing mix. She believes strongly in herself, her knowledge of the ways of the business world and her ability to make a difference.
Mae Day was born because Judi-mae wants to help businesses grow – and knows she can do it. Contact her today: judi-mae@maeday.co.uk.
You can read more about Judi-mae’s career history and experience on the Mae Day Marketing website: https://maeday.co.uk/about/.
Attleborough based renewable heating company Finn Geotherm, has been shortlisted for two prestigious national awards following a heat pump installation at 17th century Raynham Hall near Fakenham.
Finn Geotherm is a finalist in both the Heating & Ventilating Review (HVR) Awards 2019, which have been championing innovation, excellence and achievement across the heating and ventilating industry for the past ten years, and The Energy Awards, which reward excellence in the energy business. Competing against projects from across the country, Finn Geotherm has been shortlisted in these two award schemes for its ground source heat pump installation at Grade 1 Listed property Raynham Hall.
Built in 1621, Raynham Hall is a spectacular property set in 5,000 acres. It is lived in by Charles, the 8th Marquess Townshend, who inherited the property in 2010. At £36,000, the annual heating bill was too expensive and the old and ineffective oil boiler desperately needed to be upgraded. Finn Geotherm specified and installed a ground source heat pump which has cut heating costs at Raynham Hall by 64%. The amount of energy consumed has been reduced by 72.6%. The installation also qualifies for the government’s Non-Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme, which provides quarterly payments based on the amount of heat energy used for 20 years. The system will pay back in around seven years.
Guy Ransom, commercial director at Finn Geotherm said: “We are delighted to be shortlisted for these two national awards with this installation which has made such a difference at Raynham Hall. Raynham Hall is an ideal illustration of the massive impact a heat pump can have in older properties. Period properties have so often overlooked heat pumps as there is still the misconception that all homes must have a good Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating for a ground or air source system to work effectively. This is simply not the case, as the installation at Raynham Hall proves. We hope that through initiatives such as these prestigious award schemes, we can encourage more people to consider heat pumps as a viable solution.”
“The previous heating system was terrible,” said Lord Townshend, owner of Raynham Hall. “However, results for the heat pump so far have been extraordinarily good. The house is now very comfortable. You put up with a lot when you live in a large house but there really is no need to go without adequate heating and hot water. It’s a huge problem we’ve been living with which has just disappeared. I am delighted to be using modern technology to heat my 17th Century home – it is the perfect combination.”
Winners of the HVR Awards 2019 will be announced on 24th October and winners of The Energy Awards on 21st November. For more information on Finn Geotherm’s installation at Raynham Hall, see www.finn-geotherm.co.uk/case-studies
TVC are delightedto finally announce we have been awarded UKAS accreditation for our calibration laboratory.
Laboratory accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 enables us to conduct the Electrical Verification of Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Equipment to BS EN 12668-1:2010.It has taken many months of hard work and we wantto thank our staff for all their efforts duringthis massive undertaking.
The past two decades have seen us grow and weare delighted to gain UKAS accreditation as we enter into our third. Thisis a symbol ofour drive forquality.
Why UKAS Accreditation?
UKAS is established as a ‘leader in the area of accreditation’ and has been in operation since 1995. Theawarded capability inthis standard enables us to provide you with:
a professional and quality driven service
competent and skilled technicians
traceableandvalid results of the highest quality
Furthermore, UKAS has a set of core values which it seeks to implement within its structure and activities. These form the acronymPRIDE- Professionalism, Responsibility, Innovation, Delivery and Excellence – and we will strive to follow their lead.
UKAS released a short video which shows how regulationsaffect every part of our lives and how, as a result, using international standards will ‘deliver confidence’. Consequently, it ensures that the goods and services around us are safe to use and conform to regulated standards.
UKAS accreditation inISO/IEC 17025:2005 is internationally recognised, therefore, calibrating your Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Equipment to BS EN 12668-1:2010 will:
give you anedge over your competitors
provide an objective view of your equipment
enable you to prove your due diligence to prospective clients
help to manage risks within your design or service processes
give your company credibility worldwide and open up trading markets
We will be adding blogs and further information shortly but please contactus if you would like to know more.
The UK construction industry has experienced a further year of slowdown in sales, turnover and profits, pointing to a sustained downward trend, according to the latest UK Construction Sector Report from MHA, the UK-wide group of accountancy and business advisory firms of which MHA Larking Gowen is a member. • Turnover growth continues to slow with larger firms hit hardest • Year-on-year decline puts squeeze on profit margins • Sales cool as depressed demand and Brexit uncertainty bites • Stalling profits highlight potential labour costs exposure Turnover in the last year grew 5.3% but was in marked contrast to the 14.1% increase recorded over the past two years, revealing a slowdown in the industry’s growth. Larger businesses, those with turnover of £200m and over, continue to experience a decline in turnover levels, with the average dropping by 13.8% this year. In the face of this decrease, larger firms have reduced their workforce numbers from last year, with the average number of employees reducing from 878 to 777. Elsewhere, staffing levels remain static. The extension of the IR35 legislation ‘off-payroll’ rules for the private sector, which comes into force in April 2020, is likely to see employment numbers rise and with it, the potential impact on prices or further squeeze on margins. However, there appears to be no apparent material increase in employment numbers at this stage. While the average gross profit margins are in double figures across the board, it is the smaller companies (under £25m turnover) that have seen the highest margins of between 20-25%. For mid-tier firms (£100-150m) the margins drop to just over 14% (14.4%) and larger firms have seen a decline to 11.2% Overall, average margins are declining year on year and for the larger firms the fall in turnover and the desire to maintain workforce continuity, as well as general competitive pressures, are behind the squeeze. In a post Carillion world, the report seems to indicate these firms are looking to improve profitability rather than chase turnover. A slowdown in the sector is further emphasised by the biggest fall in new work for a decade, according to the IHS Markit/Cips UK construction PMI survey. This together with a lack of new infrastructure projects and major developments and a depressed demand created by Brexit uncertainty, are also contributing to the slowdown. All these factors contributed to a decline in sales growth across all turnover brackets with the largest companies actually contracting over the past two years. Whilst there is a general upward trend in dividends, the levels have fluctuated across the different sizes of firms. The smaller firms have either remained static or seen a decline. Most notably, those in the £5-10m turnover bracket saw a significant decrease in pay-outs of 85.6%; this is in marked contrast to a leap of nearly 250% the previous year. For the largest businesses, there was a 60% decrease in dividends from last year compared to a 17.1% rise over a three-year period. The overall construction industry’s profit before tax performance showed a decline in 2019, with only small firms experiencing increases, although these were lower than two years ago. For the larger companies, who saw the biggest declines – the largest drop being from £46m last year to £26.3m in the current year – lower profit before tax is the inevitable result of reduced turnover and margins. Companies in this group will undoubtedly try to reduce overheads, but this tends to be difficult in the short term as certain costs are fixed. This does raise the prospect of future labour cost-cutting. Robert Dowling, Head of Construction and Real Estate at MHA, said: “It remains a challenging time for the UK’s construction industry. Nationally, firms have managed to maintain similar levels of profitability with slightly lower gross profit margins than last year. But the indications of a downward trend are there. Declining workloads and the potential impact these may have on profits could mean tougher times ahead for some firms. At such times it is important that firms adopt and maintain disciplined and strong management, whether that is remaining focused on your core specialisms or strengthening the balance sheet by retaining higher levels of profit. “Firms should look at technology investment and the implementation of strategies to reduce tiers of management whilst retaining key personnel and the adoption of robust project risk management; all of which can enable firms to ride the downturn and even prosper.” Robert Dowling continued: “It is impossible to talk about the future prospects of the industry without mentioning Brexit. Beyond the impact of the current uncertainty, the industry could even stand to gain from a post-Brexit boost and any UK government commitments and plans for infrastructure investment will be warmly welcomed.” MHA’s national outlook on the UK construction sector used company accounts information published by credit reporting agency Experian, for construction firms in England, Scotland and Wales with an annual turnover of between £5 and £200m+.
Bigfork designed the new UK website for membrane manufacturers, Porelle. The objectives of the new site were to make it responsive mobile friendly and to add the new branding. Porelle’s customers are technical designers and buyers so the design had to present their breathable and waterproof membrane technology in a highly visual way that shows the applications and benefits of Porelle’s product. This was achieved using high quality imagery and benefit focused messages throughout the new website. Porelle sell worldwide and European languages will also be added over the next year to add to the Russian and Chinese websites already designed by Bigfork. Take a look at the Porelle website.
As the Chief Executive of a charity which supports some of the poorest communities of Norfolk, taking the plunge to become an accredited Living Wage employer was a no-brainer. Future Projects provides education services, advice and guidance, employment support, volunteering, and training and skills to those most in need. The very reason our charity exists is to look after those less well-off than us, so of course we should pay a Living Wage, right? But, aside from it being expected of us, why should we – the Voluntary and Community sector – be the ones leading the way when it comes to fair pay? Our work is heavily affected by austerity and cuts to public funding. Generally, our terms and conditions are considerably worse than our private and public sector counterparts – even though recent studies have shown on average we are better qualified. Many charities struggle to pay the bills, and it is not unheard of for leaders to sacrifice their pay to keep the charity afloat. Some charities are on a very real knife-edge. Everything points towards us using low wages to keep the sharks at bay, yet it might surprise you to know that 11 of the 34 local accredited Living Wage Employers are charities or social enterprises. Yes, one in three! But you would be wrong if you thought this was simply because it’s in our ethos. For many of us, the decision to pay our staff more is all about business. Yes, it means also increasing the pay of non-Living Wage staff to keep differentials intact. Yes, it means committing to long term, ongoing increases in staff costs. Yes, it’s a risk in some cases. But… in return we see a range of benefits: staff are less likely to leave so we benefit from reduced recruitment and training costs, not to mention avoiding harmful disruption to the business. Our productivity has risen as absenteeism and sickness absence has declined. We have become a more desirable employer, better able to attract talented and qualified personnel who want to work for a company that has a culture of fairness and equality. We’ve experienced a boost in morale, commitment and enthusiasm from staff, not just amongst those on the Living Wage, but at all levels as our teams take pride in our commitment to fair pay. Adopting the living wage has also given us a competitive advantage when it comes to securing contracts and new work. For example; Norwich City Council requires that any organisation tendering to provide services on its behalf is an accredited Living Wage employer. This effectively reduces the competitive pool; if you don’t accredit, you simply cannot bid. Since Future Projects adopted the Living Wage we have grown our annual turnover from £800k to almost £1.9m – at a time when austerity has seen many of our counterparts shrink or disappear entirely. We have grown our workforce from around 25 employees to 55. But the impact of our decision doesn’t stop there; the extra pay we offer our employees is being spent directly in the local economy, and higher wages are boosting inclusive growth and social mobility as we hire and train local people to fuel our growth. So, when I see large or established employers taking a risk-averse approach to the Living Wage, as a businessman and a leader in my sector I can see the missed opportunities. I want us all to recognise the benefits of fair pay, and for more employers to get on board and join us in the Voluntary and Community sector in paying a fair day’s pay for a hard day’s work. As businesses move towards measuring success not just by profit, but also by their social and environmental impact, the Living Wage provides an opportunity to increase business performance across a number of these indicators and should not be overlooked. Living Wage Norwich will be hosting an event during Living Wage Week in November. In partnership with AVIVA plc and Norwich City Council, we will be celebrating the Living Wage, networking, and hearing from employers and employees about the benefits accreditation has provided them. Please do join us at the Forum on Wednesday 13th November, 6pm-7.30pm to find out how paying a Living Wage to your lowest paid employees could also benefit you and your business!
For the second year running, BDODrive is proud to sponsor Tech Nations Rising Stars, the newest and most exciting pitch competition for early-stage tech businesses.
Tech Nations Rising Stars objective is to identify East Anglia’s best tech start-ups and provide them with the support, mentoring and advice to unlock their future growth.
Companies shortlisted by Tech Nation Rising Stars will benefit from a business plan diagnostic, delivered by our BDODrive team. Alongside a comprehensive review of your business plan, our team will provide feedback and challenge to help you assess the areas of development and ensure you are investor ready.
Reviewing your business plan through an ‘investor lens’, we will look at a range of requirements from venture capitalists, and will identify potential gaps. Before the Grand Final, our local teams will visit you in person to play back development areas, enabling you to maximise your chance of securing investment.
The competition is open to any company that:
Is HQ’d in the UK
Has been established for 1-3 years
Is a digital, tech-enabled business
Is at seed to pre-Series A funding stage, or if bootstrapped has max annual revenues of up to £1.5m
Has ambition to grow and scale
Can commit to Rising Stars competition dates outlined in the timetable.
Previous year’s Tech Nation Rising Stars finalists from East Anglia included:
Thyngs
Developing Experts
To find out more about the competition, prizes, the timeline and how to enter, simply click the link below. Applications close at midnight on 3 November 2020.
Emma Smith leads the BDO Drive team and is keen to work with local Tech businesses, her contact details are Emma.L.Smith@BDO.co.uk if you have any questions about this
BDODrive delivers business services to support ambitious, entrepreneurial businesses. As part of BDO, you’ll have access to experts across our global business to enable your business’ growth and help make doing business easier.