https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51QUPfJ0LCU Today we are sharing Globally Onward’s story with you because we need your support to create an inclusive workforce that values diversity. For our Christmas crowdfunding campaign every little contribution goes a long way – https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/employment-support-for-immigrants-and-refu…
What does your role involve? I’m responsible for sourcing new deals, marketing the company, and the efficient management of the loan process. But we’re a small team of four, so we all do everything really! How long have you worked for RQ Capital? I’m a new recruit, having joined in April as the first new director since the inception of RQ Capital. The range of skills I’d grown through my previous development industry work on both the agency and landlord sides led me to this job. Having used finance in previous roles lent itself well to working on the funding side now. What is the most enjoyable aspect of your role? There’s a good variety, and I love meeting people. The main thing I really enjoy is going out and seeing the developments coming out of the ground. When I worked in the agency world, I’d just sell the property and never see the end product. It’s great to be involved in the development process, speaking directly to the builders and contractors – at the sharp end of the property market. And what do you find most challenging? Converting interest into tangible leads. We get a lot of interest, but it’s the conversion that’s the most challenging and most rewarding. What led you to a career in the industry? I started out in property development in 2004. I’ve always liked the industry – it’s interesting seeing new products being built, or utilising old products in conversions. I’ve worked on both the agency and landlord side, and now this is the third side – funding it. It’s definitely the most interesting one of the lot. What do you think differentiates RQ Capital from the competition? We’re a small team, so everyone knows everything about every loan. When you work with us, you talk directly to a decision-maker. What the directors say will happen, will happen. If we say we’re going to do something, we will deliver. Also, we’re very friendly and willing to solve problems that someone may have during a loan. We always work with people, rather than against them. What advice would you give someone who wanted to work in property development? You need to have good management skills. There are many different elements to property development: you’ve got to buy the land, fund it, find the contractor, understand how they work and find the money! You’ll be juggling a lot of balls – finance, delivery, selling. Where we fit in is being a good, friendly finance arm that will work with you – making the finance bit easy, so you just have to manage the development. And you need people skills – although you’re building something, like anything it’s a people business. Especially at the moment – there’s a massive pinch point on equipment and material. The builders who have good, trusting, friendly relationships with the merchants are managing to find supplies a bit more easily. It’s become really apparent who has good relationships within the industry. A good relationship with finance is crucial too. When we lend to a developer, we make sure that their builders are paid on time – because otherwise they won’t want to reappear! What do you like to do in your spare time? I’ve got a good work-life balance, although most of my spare time is spent looking after three kiddies! When I’m not doing that, I’m playing cricket and getting out and about in the countryside. We live in north Norfolk, and we’ve got a little boat which we take out to sea. And golf, if I get a chance! Quick Fire Round Any TV recommendations? I’m enjoying watching Succession at the moment. And Clarkson’s Farm! Read any good books lately? I’m reading The Beekeeper of Aleppo, which is very good. I’m also a big fan of war books – I particularly enjoyed reading all Ben MacIntyre’s books about various spy operations… Your dream dinner party guests? Because I read a lot of boring books about the Second World War, Churchill would have to be there. I would love to meet Sir David Stirling who founded the SAS and I think would have some pretty interesting tales to tell. I never met either of my grandfathers, and they both had very interesting wars. One was in the Great Escape, and the other was in the navy and sunk a few times so I would love to hear first hand what happened. So we could have a great wartime discussion. What did you want to be when you were growing up? A vet. Favourite film? Withnail and I. Business pet peeve? Too many emails. Describe yourself in three words? Approachable, friendly and loyal. Describe RQ Capital in three words? Efficient, personable and bespoke.
*SPOILER ALERT* FOR NO TIME TO DIE! If you still haven’t seen the latest Bond film, please skip to 02:58! James and Mark are watching over the news this week, and playing pop culture catch up, as James’s self-imposed ‘No News November’ ends, and they discuss what the new COVID variant Omicron could mean for businesses as we head into winter. They discuss how we need to lean on the skills and lessons we have learnt during the last 18 months including how to adapt, lead by example, and empower people to take responsibility. *Please note this episode was recorded before the Government update on COVID restrictions made on 8.12.21* Top tips 06:58 Tip 1 – Adapt – “Planning is important, but plans are a waste of time” Winston Churchill 10:50 Tip 2 – “Sweep the sheds” – nobody is too senior to roll their sleeves up 13:30 Tip 3 – Take responsibility, act like a leader Show notes: David Marquet’s talk on ‘Greatness Leadership on a Submarine’ Books: Scrum – Jeff Sutherland James Kerr – Legacy David Marquets Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Building Leaders by Breaking the Rules If you’re enjoying our content, we would love to hear from you! Get in touch at podcasts@larking-gowen.co.uk
Last Thursday another highly successful Future of Women in Business Network (FWB) event took place, the last of these before Christmas! Despite it being the festive season, we were delighted to see lots of new faces as well as those who had previously attended. We were lucky enough to host a panel of three brilliant guest speakers; Jeanette Wheeler and Julie Gowland joined us from Birketts, alongside Nova Fairbank from the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce. The panel covered a wide variety of topics that regularly impact women in the workplace. These included juggling a career and family, finding a relevant mentor and how to improve mental wellbeing. All answers provided were raw and honest, creating a thought-provoking night. The event was a huge success thanks the fantastic engagement from our members and the panel. We look forward to the next event which will be hosted on Thursday 20 January; please feel free to get in touch if you would liek further information or are interested in attending. We hope to see you there! Rebecca Campbell – FWB Founder Contact: r.campbell@lovewell-blake.co.uk P.S Check out our Linkedin page here!
A video demonstration of the VR tour is available here: https://youtu.be/4XXLZaFJS1I Train operator, Greater Anglia, is launching a series of virtual station tours to help people travel with confidence – which is especially useful for disabled customers wanting to check how accessible their journey is. The tours have been designed to support journey planning, to give customers a clearer picture of stations before they travel and reduce anxiety about how they’ll get around from car park to platform. The company has created 360-degree virtual tours for ten of its busiest stations. Cambridge will be the first to go live on Friday 3 December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Bishops Stortford, Broxbourne, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ipswich, Norwich, Shenfield, Southend Victoria and Stansted Airport will follow a few weeks later. Using the virtual station tours, people can find out how to get to all public areas of the station including lifts, toilets, customer service desks, platforms and anywhere else they might need to visit at the station such as car parks or drop off areas – making it easier for them to plan their journey in advance. Detailed 360 degree photography has been used to map the station, capturing all public spaces which people can navigate virtually even visiting the toilet or the waiting room before going to the platform. Aerial photography and an interactive map has also been used to show the location of all the customer facilities in relation to each other. Members of Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Panel, a group of disabled customers who meet regularly with the train company, offered feedback during its development and have been supportive of the project. The web-based online virtual tour offers autopilot or manual choices for navigating the station, an interactive map to see the entire station layout with ‘hot spot’ links to specific areas of the station. There is an aerial view showing the car park, cycle park, bus stop and taxi rank / drop off location. Key features such as tactile paving – textured paving on the edge of platforms – assisted travel meeting points and toilets and individual platforms can also be navigated to directly through a drop down menu system. The ‘autopilot’ tool gives users the option of selecting their destination location within the station and being automatically guided to it or if preferred through a series of clicks. The technology was provided by The Virtual Tour company and the tours software has been designed to be accessible. A spoken scene guide with closed captions plays on the home page at each station entrance and it features an accessibility widget that enables the user to change to high contrast, large font size or audio transcribe. Future developments will look at incorporating British Sign Language videos as part of Greater Anglia’s commitment to improving customer information. The tours can be viewed at https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/virtualtours on any device and the addition of more stations is planned in the future. Greater Anglia’s Accessibility Manager, Rebecca Richardson, said, “The idea was to create a tool for customers to assist them with their journey planning and reduce the anxiety about whether the station would create any accessibility barriers. We want to give people who may not have travelled by rail for a while or maybe not at all, to do so with confidence. “We are committed to making rail more accessible and providing quality information to enable more informed journey planning. Neil Henderson, Managing Director of Virtual Tour Experts, said, “We’ve really enjoyed working on this project to create a number of industry firsts. The world of VR is developing fast but until now that development has not given due consideration to online accessibility. “This tour is the World’s first to incorporate an accessibility widget, guided tours, subtitled scene guides and there is much more to come. The user-first attitude of the team at Greater Anglia provided the perfect base for development and will ensure the platform continues to evolve.”
Greater Anglia customers are urged to check their journeys over the festive season as there are some revisions to the usual timetable. On Christmas Eve last trains will run earlier than normal, with most of the company’s services, which run between London and Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire finishing by 22:30. The final trains are due to leave London Liverpool Street to Norwich at 20:30, Hertford East at 21:12, Clacton-on-Sea at 21:18, Cambridge at 21:28, Ipswich at 21:30, Southend Victoria at 21:35, Colchester at 21:38 and Stansted Airport at 22:55. The last trains are due to leave Chelmsford to Norwich at 21:00, Braintree at 21:22, London Liverpool Street, Stratford and Shenfield at 21:40, Clacton-on-Sea at 21:52 and Colchester at 22:12. The last trains are due to leave Ipswich to Peterborough at 17:42, Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds at 19:13, Lowestoft at 20:17, Felixstowe at 20:58, London Liverpool Street at 21:10, Colchester at 21:28 and Norwich at 21:41. The last trains are due to leave Colchester to Walton-on-the-Naze at 20:56, Walton-on-the-Naze (changing trains at Thorpe-le-Soken) at 21:16, Norwich at 21:21, London Liverpool Street at 21:30, Clacton-on-Sea at 22:16 and Ipswich at 22:20. The last trains are due to leave Tottenham Hale to Hertford East at 21:25, Audley End and Cambridge at 21:40, London Liverpool Street at 22:35 and Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Bishop’s Stortford and Stansted Airport at 22:37. The final trains of the evening are due to leave Cambridge to Norwich at 20:20, Ipswich at 20:47, Norwich (changing trains at Stowmarket) at 20:47, London Liverpool Street at 21:02, Stansted Airport (changing trains at Bishop’s Stortford) at 21:02, Tottenham Hale at 21:02 and Ely at 22:36. The last trains of the night from Norwich will leave to Bury St Edmund’s via Ely at 18:23, Lowestoft at 19:02, Cambridge at 19:27, Sheringham at 19:55, London Liverpool Street at 20:32 and Great Yarmouth at 20:40. Customers are reminded to check their travel over the holiday period as Network Rail are undertaking vital improvement works across the Greater Anglia network on certain days. Rail replacement buses are running between Shenfield and Colchester on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December due to bridge work in the Chelmsford area. No e-scooters, e-cycles or full-size bikes can be transported on the replacement buses. The Stratford to Meridian Water service is not running on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December and Saturday 1 to Monday 3 January due to platform works at Stratford. Trains running between London and Hertford East and Cambridge will be diverted into London Liverpool Street. Across the whole of the Greater Anglia network, trains that are running will operate a Sunday-style service on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December and Saturday 1 January. A Saturday-style service will operate on Wednesday 29, Thursday 30 and Friday 31 December. Jamie Burles, Greater Anglia’s Managing Director, said: “We would urge customers to double check the times of their trains on Christmas Eve so they don’t miss their last trains home. “Engineering works are affecting some routes between Christmas and New Year, with rail replacement buses running to ensure you can complete your journeys. We apologise for any inconvenience caused. “We would like to wish all our customers a very happy Christmas and New Year and look forward to welcoming them back in 2022.” Ellie Burrows, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia, said: “We’ve got a huge package of work planned this Christmas and New Year that will reduce delays, maintain safety and improve reliability across the rail network and we’ve been able to plan this to keep most of the network open. These works are crucial to keep services running safely and reliably. I’d like to thank our passengers and our line side neighbours for their patience while we carry out this important work.” Under current Government guidance, all rail passengers should wear a face covering while on stations, trains and rail replacement buses unless they are exempt.” Visit www.greateranglia.co.uk/travel-information/service-disruptions/christmas-2021-service-summary for an online summary of last trains and engineering works.
Fine Arts students took inspiration from landscapes surrounding the Wherry Lines railway thanks to a collaboration between Norwich University of the Arts (NUA), The Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership and the Water, Mills and Marshes Landscape Partnership Scheme, led by the Broads Authority. Five students from NUA travelled by train from Norwich to Berney Arms for a walk around Halvergate marshes to see the Halvergate Mills trail which is currently in development by the Water, Mills and Marshes team. Berney Arms is the region’s smallest and least-used station offering access to a unique landscape of marshes, windmills and grazing animals that offers many beautiful walks. Wherry Lines Ranger tickets were provided by the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership to enable to students to reach the station, which is only accessible by foot, boat or train. For the students, the trip was an opportunity to discover how art and the community can collaborate together on projects and also find inspiration from the surroundings. Martin Halliday, of the Wherry Lines Community Rail Partnership, said, “We were delighted to support the work of Norwich University of the Arts and their students to come and see the stunning scenery that is so easily accessible by train from Norwich. “It’s a short journey but you feel a world away and I hope that in turn, the students’ artworks will encourage even more people to take advantage of the great value Wherry Lines Ranger tickets and come and see these unique landscapes for themselves.” Roisin Delaney, Intern Water, Mills & Marshes, said, “The walk aimed to inspire and provide students with the opportunity to step outside their usual surroundings, exploring the environments and communities they are a part of during their studies. “I’m pleased to see that the students found stimulation and a sense of peace during the walk; giving them a thoughtful break from their studies.” Andrew Farrell, Programme Manager Water, Mills & Marshes, said, “The Wherry Lines are a vital part of the Broads and have been for more than 175 years. “We are grateful for the support offered by the Community Rail Partnership and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to show these students that this gorgeous, world-renowned wetland is so easily accessed by the railway. “We hope that they continue to be inspired by this unique landscape and that more people will leave their car at home and take the train to visit the Broads National Park and all that it has to offer.”
As employers gear up for the Christmas party season for the first time in two years, they need to take care to avoid a tax hangover. After last year when festive celebrations were largely impossible due to Covid, many will be looking forward to the return of the office Christmas party this year. Whilst for some it is the highlight of the working year, for others it can cause big headaches – and not just through over-indulgence in the mulled wine. Generous employers dispensing festive fun need to be aware of the VAT implications of their seasonal generosity if they want to avoid a New Year’s hangover courtesy of the VAT-man. When an employer rewards employees for their hard work through gestures such as a Christmas party, HMRC considers this to be for legitimate business purposes, and so the VAT incurred on the costs of providing that entertainment is usually recoverable (subject to any partial exemption restrictions). This differs from business entertainment, such as business meetings with customers, where VAT recovery is generally blocked. There are two exceptions to this: the first is if the party is solely for directors, partners or sole proprietors of the business (although where directors and partners of the business attend events together with their employees, HMRC accept that VAT incurred on costs is recoverable in line with the normal rules). The second exception is if employees are acting as hosts to non-employees. Some employers allow guests of employees and other non-employees to attend Christmas parties. This is a generous gesture on the part of the employer, but HMRC is rather more Scrooge-like: it would expect the business to apportion the VAT incurred on costs based on headcount, with the portion relating to entertaining non-employees being blocked from recovery under business entertainment rules. Under current VAT rules, the input tax on the total of gifts made to the same person in any 12 month period can be reclaimed, provided all gifts to that person amount to less than £50 net cost during the period. So an employer mulling whether to give their staff a £65 basket of chocolate goodies, an £85 bottle of Champagne, or a £7.99 cheese board from the local supermarket, would choose the cheese option if they wanted to avoid a VAT charge – although whether their employees might then view their boss as Scrooge is another matter! If employers are looking to spend a little more and give gifts exceeding the £50 limit per person, they must either pay output tax on the gift given away (after claiming the input tax initially under the usual VAT rules). Alternatively, you can choose not to claim the input tax in the first place, which will mean you have no obligation to pay any output tax. It’s not just the employer who needs to think about the tax implications of those Christmas gifts. Whilst gifts with a value of less than £50 are regarded as a ‘trivial benefit’ by HMRC, more expensive presents may mean there is a tax benefit to be accounted for – and an increased tax bill may just take the shine off that Christmas sparkle…
Can you help support Globally Onward’s mission to break the employment barriers for skilled immigrants and refugees and integrate them into the professional workforce? Globally Onward is a newly formed Community Interest Company set up to provide practical support through our mentoring and coaching programme to help professionally qualified immigrants and refugees to overcome the hurdles they can often face in finding and securing career opportunities in the UK that match their skills and qualifications. You can make your vital donation here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/employment-support-for-immigrants-and-refu…
Saturday 28th May 2022 will mark the date of ‘Superwoman Fest™ Norwich’ at the Norfolk showground- a fun-filled and all-inclusive celebration of the achievements of women and girls and platform for future opportunities.
The event will be hosted by local training provider and empowerment coach HER Business Revolution, who encourages female students from Norfolk colleges, sixth-forms and universities to come along to explore their future options in a friendly and inspiring environment.
The festival will feature a speakers tent where talks will be given by guests like actress Holly Matthews, co-founder of the Happy Me project and Louise McCullough, Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon. There will be a marketplace run by local businesses, interactive workshops run by businesses that are furthering gender equality and the chance to chat to experts in different fields about potential professional and creative opportunities.
Those running the festival hope to attract a wide range of women from all walks of life- from entrepreneurs, professionals and women seeking new careers, to those seeking emotional or physical support in work or life. Students and young women are welcome too, and there will be opportunities to learn and get inspired about future careers.
Lily Church, an employee at the company said: “ At HER Business Revolution, we feel that a positive celebration of everything that women have accomplished and will achieve, will light the way for a whole new generation of girls and women looking to find their calling.”
The event team are currently searching for stand holders and sponsors to support the festival. For more information, contact events@herbusinessrevolution.biz for a digital sponsorship brochure
Click here to find out more!
Sharpe Pritchard, Bevan Brittan and Howes Percival appointed by Crown Commercial Service An innovative consortium of three law firms has been appointed to a prestigious central government panel to provide legal advice to government departments and their agencies. Sharpe Pritchard, Bevan Brittan and Howes Percival linked up to submit a joint proposal in bidding for a place on the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) Legal Services Panel, a four-year framework with a total potential value of more than £300m. The consortium has secured one of 12 slots on Lot 1 – General Legal Advice and Services, which has seen the previous two-tier structure replaced by a single tier of firms who will all now have the opportunity to work with central government over the next four years. Crown Commercial Service supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21, CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04bn – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. The collaborative approach by the three firms, all of whom have significant track records in advising central and local government, will allow framework users to access the full depth and breadth of the trio’s legal teams. Justin Mendelle, Senior Partner at Sharpe Pritchard, said:
“We are delighted to continue delivering outstanding client services to our central government client base. Our focus remains squarely on the public sector and the consortium gives central government direct access to the combined strength and depth of our three firms.
“We have complementary strengths, each bringing our distinctive expertise to the table and giving central government bodies access to teams and individual lawyers who recognised as leaders in their fields.
“We are looking forward to developing further our relationships with our existing clients and building new relationships with others in central government.
“This appointment cements our status as a go-to firm for clients in the public sector.”
David Hutton, Partner and Head of Central and Local Government at Bevan Brittan, said:
“This is exciting news and a great chance to further our growth plans, opening up new opportunities and establishing us further as leading legal advisers in this field.
“It will build on our previous track record of working with central government departments and agencies and on infrastructure projects across the UK. It is yet another step forward for us in one of our established markets, alongside the positive steps we are taking in our emerging markets elsewhere.
“The consortium approach is one which will allow government departments to access the knowledge and experience of all three firms who are focused and invested in working with the central and local government sector. It is fantastic for all three firms and shows the benefit in our innovative, collaborative approach.”
Howes Percival chairperson, Geraint Davies, said:
“We are delighted to be appointed once again to this Central Government panel. The successful bid, led at Howes Percival by partner Morris Peacock, is a fantastic accolade which is testament to the quality and depth of the legal services we provide.
“We continue to strengthen our offering in the expanding range of markets in which we operate and our re-appointment to this panel clearly demonstrates the credibility and expertise of our people.
“We have a long track record of providing specialist advice to Government departments and agencies, including HMRC and the Insolvency Service on notable instructions such as the investigation into the failure of BHS. We have also advised many local councils and educational institutions including the University of Cambridge and on a wide range of projects, such as the proposed Sizewell C nuclear power station. We are looking forward to continuing to provide Central Government with formidable legal expertise alongside our London based consortium partners.”
The Crown Commercial Service was established in 2014 by the Cabinet Office to manage central government contracts with private sector suppliers centrally. Areas of law covered by the contract include competition, contracts, outsourcing, public procurement, real estate and intellectual property, among a number of other areas. To find out more about the full range of services offered by Howes Percival click here.
Howes Percival has appointed family law expert, Sally Harris as a director. She joins the leading law firm from Steeles Law where she was a partner and head of the family law team. Sally is focused predominantly on financial remedy cases, having specialised in family law for nearly 30 years, she has detailed and wide-ranging experience of all issues arising from relationship breakdown. She is a compassionate family practitioner with long experience in private law Children Act proceedings and regularly advises on post and prenup agreements. She is a member of Resolution and a trained collaborative lawyer. Client feedback to the Legal 500 (the authoritative guide to the UK’s leading law firms) describes Sally as ‘well respected locally as a strong, pragmatic, experienced and client focused lawyer.’ and a ‘calm and collected but also a formidable opponent’. Commenting on the appointment, Justine Flack, a partner and head of the family law department at Howes Percival said,
“We pride ourselves on recruiting experienced, hands-on professionals and giving clients direct access to those senior experts. So, I’m delighted to welcome Sally to the firm. She is highly regarded, and in addition to bringing extensive experience, she has strong technical skills and a great reputation for her work.
“We continue to experience increased demand for family law services. Many people have re-evaluated their relationships during the pandemic and we are now seeing this referred to as a direct cause of the breakdown. More couples are choosing to live together, so advice about co-habitation agreements is also on the increase. This involves us being able to take a holistic approach by working with our colleagues in private client and property. Likewise, more people are seeing the benefit of pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements. While the nature of the work constantly changes, assisting high-net worth individuals in divorce proceedings with complex assets is still the core of our work.”
Justine Flack continued,
“No fault divorce is scheduled to be introduced in April 2022 enabling couples to part ways with mutual consent. Neither spouse will have to take the blame, which is hoped to make the process easier for all involved. We think there could well be a rush of instructions in the New Year, ahead of the new regime. No fault divorce is aimed at making divorce less confrontational, and as a trained collaborative lawyer, Sally will offer this very effective form of alternative dispute resolution.
“Alternative dispute resolution provides an opportunity for people to work through the things they need to sort out following a separation to enable them and their family to move on with life in a positive way. The pandemic exacerbated court delays and backlogs, so people should also consider alternative dispute resolution to resolve their problems rather than going to court.
“To meet the increasing demand for our family law services, we will also be appointing two new senior associates to the team in the new year.”
Howes Percival’s Family Law team provides a fully integrated and comprehensive service for high-net worth individuals and family businesses. The team works closely with other legal experts within the firm to advise on all aspects of relationships and family matters, including those relating to children, property, family and farming businesses, estates, wills, probate, trusts and tax. All Howes Percival family lawyers are members of Resolution, a national organisation of family lawyers and other professionals committed to the constructive resolution of family disputes. Whilst the team will strive to get the best result for clients by agreement, they are also experienced litigators and will represent clients’ interests in Court robustly when necessary. For more details on Howes Percival’s Family Law team, click here.