Member News

Greyfriars Project Management is professional Project Management services company, incorporated in 2018 and therefore still quite a new member to Norfolk Chambers of Commerce. Given it was recently our second birthday, we thought an update about us and what we’re doing is due!!

Over lockdown, we have also been busy assessing our strategy and looking at new ways to develop and grow. Much time has been invested in the enhancement and redesign of our website (supported by Bruce Sigrist at Phase Three Goods), producing informative tools to be able to share that will guide project users to best practice. These will become available through our new website.

It has also been encouraging to see major infrastructure projects that we have been involved in reaching critical milestones and moving ever further towards construction. We were pleased to see that despite the impacts of Coronavirus, both the Gull Wing Bridge in Lowestoft and more recently, the Great Yarmouth Third River Crossing had Development Consent Orders approved by the Secretary of State.

https://greyfriarspm.com/our-projects/

So be it a small housing development or a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects, Greyfriars Project Management can provide advice throughout the lifecycle of your projects. Our services are not limited to Project Management. We can assist with Planning, Highways and Transport, Commercial and Contract support and more.

Why not head over to our new website and find out more about us and what we do?

https://greyfriarspm.com/

The newly designed websites reflect the enhanced range of services, highlighting advisory services along with a more user-friendly experience.

TaxAssist Accountants has rolled out a new design and format across all of its client websites in the UK, Republic of Ireland, Australia, Canada and the USA. The content on the new sites showcases the mix of core and advisory services on offer, ensuring clients are aware of the many different ways a TaxAssist Accountant can assist them and their business.

James Mattam, Group Business Development Director, said: “This was a large project to refresh our look and showcase our new brand position to clients and prospective clients visiting our most important online marketing tool. The project involved Support Centre teams, our design agency, marketing consultants, SEO consultants and our franchisee forum who provided valuable input throughout the process.

“We’ve increased the number of services we can now offer to clients via our Tax insourcing team based in our Support Centre and a cloud based payroll service which has seen our network win more fees and provide further tax savings to their clients. We’ve also seen our digital software suite provide efficiencies within each practice, creating a desire to take on more clients and our websites needed to reflect that.

“More emphasis has been placed on mobile and tablet versions, to make these even more user-friendly, as well as providing an improved user experience across the entire website, including some new features such as a new search facility, frequently asked questions and various content carousels, directing visitors to other relevant sections of the website. Our web chat facility also enables the thousands of visitors to our websites to ask any questions they may have ahead of meeting with their local TaxAssist Accountant and that’s really helped keep more visitors on the websites and has generated more leads out to the network this year.

“We also wanted a modern look to our brand. Many of our clients run their businesses from their mobile phones, tablets or laptops and anyone starting a business in 2020 and beyond has a ‘digital first’ mindset so we want to reflect that on the sites to connect with our target market.

“We’ve had great feedback so far and I am confident that the new websites will help us attract more new business and continue to widen the client base that our accountants serve.”

All TaxAssist Accountants are open for business and offer flexible ways to meet, either over the phone, via video consultation or safely in a shop or office. Anyone wanting to find out more about TaxAssist’s services can find out more on the new look website www.taxassist.co.uk.

Results from the National Client Satisfaction Survey reveal that when it comes to business advice, TaxAssist Accountants is the first choice for independent business owners and over 96% would recommend our service to a friend.

TaxAssist Accountants has always prided itself on going the extra mile for its franchisees, so they, in turn can go the extra mile for their clients.

When lockdown conditions eased TaxAssist Accountants carried out a survey of its client base, to gauge how they felt about the level of support and service they had received and to identify what help clients felt they needed now and in the near future during these uncertain times.

In total, 3,638 clients completed the survey, with a number of key findings highlighting the strength and depth of the franchise offering and TaxAssist business model. These include:

• 90% of respondents rating the support they received from TaxAssist during the lockdown as either ‘Great’ or ‘Excellent’
• 70% finding the email newsletters and breaking news updates a helpful resource
• 78% preferring to meet with their accountant in person
• 20% stated they would also be happy to meet online via video
• 72% saw their accountant as their first port of call for business advice
• 95% rated the overall service they received positively
• 96% would recommend TaxAssist Accountants to a friend

James Mattam, Group Business Development Director, said: “Clearly 2020 has been an unprecedented year but we’ve all rolled up our sleeves and worked hard to support our clients. The fantastic results in this survey, we believe, are a direct result of going above and beyond in our support to our client base.

“The results highlight the continuing demand for our services and their exceptional value to clients. It also emphasises that our model of working from shop premises is as relevant today as it ever was, in terms of visibility and convenience for our clients. They appreciate the value in the meetings they have with their TaxAssist Accountant and wish for that to continue, albeit in a safe environment.

“A third of respondents stated that they will need more support from their accountant in the future, this demonstrates the vital role that accountants play in their clients’ businesses. It reinforces that need for business owners to have meaningful and valuable advisory meetings with their accountant.

“As our Regional Meetings with franchisees are moving to virtual sessions, we look forward to sharing the detailed results and analysis of the survey, how we intend to respond to clients’ needs in the current climate and our plans for future support.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the business model and the technical and marketing support on offer from TaxAssist Accountants, regular virtual discovery days are being held. Call 0800 018829 to register your interest.

We want to support extraordinary small businesses like yours. They’re the lifeblood of the economy, creating jobs, promoting innovation and helping the nation prosper.

We’re working with ITV and advertising agency Pablo, who have created marketing campaigns for brands including Hovis, Holland & Barrett, BT Sport, and Comic Relief. We’re giving three SME owners the chance to win their own professionally filmed and produced advertisement, as well as tailored airtime, worth over £150,000 each.

For your chance to win, fill in the entry form and tell us why your business is extraordinary in 100 words or less. Entrants must be UK residents and aged 18 or over. Winners may be asked to take part in bank publicity in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.

Entries must be received by Monday 2 November 2020 at 23:59hrs GMT. Terms and Conditions apply.

To enter simply click HERE!

As any SME owner knows, building brand awareness and attracting new customers through marketing can be a challenge, especially if resources are limited. That’s why we’re offering three lucky businesses the chance to have their own advertisement, which will then be broadcast on the winner’s regional ITV channel. But it doesn’t stop there:

• 12 runners-up will receive access to the NatWest Accelerator programme, a six-month programme to help your business scale and succeed. It includes 1:1 coaching, mentors, legal and tech/IP advice and access to NatWest’s vast network of expertise. Also includes access to a bespoke mentoring session with ITV specialists on the best way to utilise TV, how it could benefit your business and how to leverage smaller budgets for advertising.
• 5 runners-up will receive a 1:1 coaching session with a NatWest Entrepreneur Development Manager or Scale-up Acceleration Manager to assess your business needs and offer tailored support.
• 50 runners-up will receive £250 LinkedIn ad spend vouchers to help your business find leads, traffic and new customers.

Green Duck has been confirmed as an approved supplier for G-Cloud 12.

Green Duck has been approved across all three sections of the Governments Digital Marketplace, known as G-Cloud 12. It is the latest version of the Crown Commercial Procurement Framework for Cloud services which covers Cloud Hosting, Cloud Support and Cloud software.

G-cloud is designed to make it easier for the public sector and government departments to access cloud technology and services. It gives public sector organisations access to a marketplace of cloud suppliers that have been approved through a rigorous assessment process.

Now part of the supplier network, Green Duck’s range of Cloud Services and solutions can be delivered under the G-Cloud 12 Framework.

Green Duck is planning for growth in 2021 and part of that can now be achieved by working with the public sector enabled by our G-cloud 12 supplier status.

Graham Duckworth, Co-Founder at Green Duck says “We are proud to have been accepted as a supplier. G-Cloud represents a great additional opportunity for us, as a cloud service provider, to offer solutions for projects offered by the public sector. More and more government organisations are putting their trust into suppliers that work within the G-cloud framework as they move into a more cloud-based way of working.

“Not only are our core services built around reliability and dependability, but we have a whole department dedicated to cyber security which adds additional weight to our G-cloud supplier status.”

Green Duck is also certified in:

ISO 27001 – Information security

ISO 14001 – Environmental Management

ISO 9001 – Quality Management

Course held at Rossi’s Leisure Ltd, NR28 0JQ. on the 12th November 2020

Costs are £62.50 (+VAT) per person and there are limited spaces available to book.

All Courses are fully Accredited, Lunch Included and free parking.

Call for futher information or Book online; https://shepherdshsltd.co.uk/first-aid-work-training-open-courses/

Courses are compliant with Current HM Gov & UK Resus Coronavirus Guidelines.

TaxAssist Accountants’ strong performance has seen the network of small business specialists maintain the 21st place in the highly regarded Accountancy Age industry league table with a 9% increase in fee income, up from £41.5m to £45.3m.

Celebrating excellence in accountancy practice, the Accountancy Age Top 50+50 spotlights the top accountancy firms in the UK ranking them according to UK fee income for the last financial year.

Karl Sandall, Group Chief Executive Director at the TaxAssist Group, said: “We’re pleased to have retained our position at 21, because of a strong growth rate that has outpaced many other firms.

“I suspect we will see some very different results in the sector off the back of this year, but we remain optimistic, having witnessed a gradual recovery since lockdown in terms of new client numbers and sales. This is due to the sustained support given to our accountants and their clients and the excellent efforts of everyone throughout the network to keep trading.

“We are continuing to recruit many new franchisees to our network who can see the value of our brand name and the evolving and comprehensive support that we provide. Small business clients have needed our assistance like never before to help them to survive and thrive and our network of high street shops with their highly visible presence are ideally placed to service this increase in demand.

“I feel confident that our adoption of a best-in-class technology suite combined with our full-service offering, including a range of complementary services which both attract and support clients, bodes well for future performance.”

In her analysis, Beth Mason of Accountancy Age stated that the data reveals a “robust performance from UK firms despite (the) challenging environment”. She goes on to predict: “Over the course of 2021 we may see growth in a number of areas, with sustained investment in technology and additional services as firms recognise the importance of innovation to capture a greater share of the market.”

To see the list of the Top 50 firms and an analysis by Accountancy Age click here.

What is the scheme

Chamber Energy is designed to help Norfolk Chamber members who are looking to reduce their carbon footprint and / or switch to a ‘green’ energy supplier. With access to a wide array of tools and resources, Indigo Swan are offering Chamber members free advice and support to help them on their low carbon journey.

Indigo Swan work with an array of energy suppliers so from finding the right supplier, to checking and negotiating contracts we are here to help your business be greener.

Who are Indigo Swan?

Indigo Swan are a Norwich-based energy consultancy who since they started in 2009 have helped businesses all over the UK make quick, easy and well-informed decisions about their energy. They offer their clients a bespoke service to suit their needs.

In 2019 they were crowned ‘Most Trusted UK Energy Consultancy (SME)’ at The Energy live Consultancy Awards (TELCA) and were also recognised among the top 3 UK employers to work for at the Employee Experience awards.

Recently they won the regional British Chambers of Commerce ‘Workplace Wellbeing’ award highlighting their dedication to creating a happy environment for their team to work in.

To find out more get in touch with them hello@indigoswan.co.uk or phone them on 01603 625522

Let’s help get Norfolk on its way to becoming Carbon Neutral.

Future Radio has released a charity single, This Fine City, in the same week that Local Radio Day was celebrated throughout the country. The single is to raise funds to relocate the radio station, following the loss of their offices and studios when their landlord’s premises closed.

At the start of lockdown, Future Radio’s landlord, Open Youth Trust, sadly closed its doors, and the community radio station has been operating remotely since then. Now work is underway on the long and costly process of relocating the station to a new home.

In a magnificent effort, Future Radio’s volunteers have been pulling together to help raise funds for the move. The ambitious idea to create and release a charity single was put forward by the producer of the station’s Future Vegan show and local singer/songwriter and host of Future’s Afternoon Session, Lisa Redford stepped up to the plate.

The song has been written by Lisa as a tribute to Norwich and produced by Andrew Todd, a volunteer presenter at Future Radio. As the project came together, it drew in more and more musicians from the local music scene. The track features the talents of 10 leading local musicians alongside Lisa.

Lisa said “I was delighted to be asked to compose the single as a tribute to my home city, for the radio station I love. The song is a tribute to Norwich and how we’re getting through such a challenging time. Future Radio, which is facing some tough times itself, is such an important part of the life of the city, I hope people will enjoy this anthemic celebratory song and help the station to move to a new home.”

With other local radio stations across Norfolk recently having been taken over by a national brand, Future Radio is now the only local station in Norwich other than the BBC, so the team is eager for the station to remain rooted in the city centre, where it can be easily accessed by volunteers, guests and artists.

Christopher Remer, Income and Volunteer Coordinator at Future Radio, who pulled the project together, said “This has been a fantastic effort by Lisa, Andrew, their fellow volunteers and local musicians. We’ve been really touched by all the hard work everyone has put into this fantastic single. Although we still have a long way to go, we hope sales of the song will mean we’re able to reopen Norwich’s community radio station for our volunteers, guests and listeners as soon as possible.”

The song costs just £1 to download and all the proceeds will go towards raising funds to relocate the station to a new home. To get hold of This Fine City by Lisa Redford and Friends, go to www.futureradio.bandcamp.com from Friday 16th October.

Freebridge Community Housing welcomes new Director

Freebridge Community Housing are delighted to announce that Paul Newbold has joined the organisation as Director of Development.

Paul has a very strong background in management and development and joins Freebridge having worked at a senior level for a number of housing associations over the last 30 years. One of the associations that Paul has been involved with in the past being Freebridge, having worked with the organisation on a project back in 2016.

Paul Newbold, said: “I am very pleased to join Freebridge and looking forward to helping them develop an increasing number of new homes to provide much needed good quality housing for the people of West Norfolk.”

Anita Jones, Freebridge Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted to welcome Paul on board to further strengthen our leadership team. With his experience, knowledge and expertise he will make a great addition to the organisation, and we look forward to working with him to develop Freebridge further over the next few years.”

Manage Your Time Effectively : The Time Lords   

In this first episode of season 2, James and Mark return to talk about prioritising the use of time for leaders and their teams. As usual they provide 3 top tips, drawing inspiration from the likes of Stephen Covey, Tim Ferriss and Sir Cliff Richard, and James even explains how you can create more than 24 hours in a day!

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or listen here!

Manage Your Time Effectively : The Time Lords   

In this first episode of season 2, James and Mark return to talk about prioritising the use of time for leaders and their teams. As usual they provide 3 top tips, drawing inspiration from the likes of Stephen Covey, Tim Ferriss and Sir Cliff Richard, and James even explains how you can create more than 24 hours in a day!

You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, or listen here!