Accountants and business advisers Price Bailey has announced an expansion to its Insolvency and Recovery team with two new senior appointments.
Matt Howard joins Price Bailey from BDO Norwich as an Insolvency and Recovery Partner. He has extensive experience in dealing with all aspects of corporate and personal insolvency together with informal arrangements and turnarounds. Matt also brings experience in dealing with independent business reviews and solvent liquidations. He is a Fellow of the Insolvency Practitioners Association and the Association of Business Recovery Professionals (R3).
Stuart Morton also joins Price Bailey from the BDO Norwich office. Stuart is a qualified Insolvency Practitioner and his remit is to offer prompt advice and effective solutions when businesses and individuals face financial pressure and distress. Stuart has particular knowledge and experience in areas including retail, construction and manufacturing.
“This is fantastic news for Price Bailey as it brings to the firm two big hitters in the East Anglian insolvency market,” said Head of the Price Bailey Insolvency and Recovery department, Paul Pittman. “Matt and Stuart will enhance our wealth of expertise which can be drawn upon to deliver the right solution for any given situation.”
A business that grew out of research laboratories at Norwich’s world-renowned John Innes Centre, has become a global force in the battle against infectious diseases and cancer.
Inspiralis supplies vital products and services to businesses and academics working at the forefront of drug discovery and antibiotic development. It is one of a number of innovative new businesses that have prospered within the supportive environment of the Norwich Research Park.
Founded in 2008 to service the needs of professionals working in specialist areas of biochemistry, Inspiralis’ customer base spans the globe – and it is widely recognised as the number one topoisomerase company in the world.
“A key element of our business is to supply the necessary tools and materials to develop and screen novel anti-infective and anti-cancer compounds,” said founder director Dr Nicolas Burton.
“The overseas demand for our services from research groups working in the pharmaceutical industry and academia around the world is so great that today 90% of our products are exported.”
Inspiralis has continued to go from strength to strength, recently expanding into new premises at the Innovation Centre.
Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, chief executive officer at Norwich Research Park said:
“Norwich Research Park provides a great environment for start-up science based businesses. The flexible accommodation and offer of shared equipment makes it the ideal location for companies, particularly at the early stages of their development when access to affordable scientific facilities and free business support is so important to their growth.”
“We provide the necessary tools and materials to develop and screen novel anti-infective and anti-cancer compounds,” said Dr Burton. “We supply enzymes such as topoisomerases (that regulate the overwinding or underwinding of DNA) and ligases (that act as catalysts in chemical reactions in which molecules are linked together). Also plasmids (DNAs capable of independent replication) and other DNA- and RNA-modifying proteins. We also provide substrates and kits for analysis, along with the enzymes from a range of organisms and a variety of mutants.”
Inspiralis developed from the John Innes Centre laboratory of Professor Tony Maxwell – a world leader in the field of topoisomerase research.
It still maintains strong links with Professor Maxwell’s lab, including sponsoring a student there. It also sponsors students within the school of biological sciences at the University of East Anglia.
“We have made good use of the greater space and enhanced office facilities created by the move into our own premises, expanding our supply of high-quality research products and screening services worldwide,” he said.
The founding directors are Tony Maxwell, Nicolas Burton and Alison Howells. They were joined by Tony Blake in 2010. Investors include Iceni Seedcorn Fund and Plant Bioscience Ltd represented on the board by Dr Martin Stocks.
Picture Caption: L-R Dr Sally Ann Forsyth, Chief Executive Officer Norwich Research Park with Inspiralis directors Alison Howells and Dr Nicolas Burton.
Flomotion Studio launch a new range of creative height adjustable sit-stand desks that offer a healthier way of working.
Launch: Thursday 17th March 2016 from 5.30 – 7.30pm St Andrews House (City College Building, opposite Bridewell Alley) St Andrews Street,Norwich,NR2 4TP
Heavily involved in the new start up family business and helping to deliver the message on sit-stand working, is a young entrepreneur and product designer from Norwich.
Amber Sayers, who shares an open plan studio space in the Norwich Lanes, helped form the company Flomotion Studio last year with her parents, Bev Grice and Floyd Sayers. She has joint responsibility for design, and research and development within the business. A year spent designing a sit-stand desk for her final year A-level project, researching the office environment and the serious health issues surrounding a sedentary way of working, combined with her parents sourcing the right frame supplier, meant everything fell into place – it was the perfect timing for them to start the business.
Amber Sayers from Flomotion ‘I see this a great opportunity to design new products and work with exciting new materials on something that has such a positive benefit for users. I’m very interested in design and creative business enterprise and as a fledgling entrepreneur want to run my own business one day. I have been offered a place to study industrial design and technology at Brunel in September, but could put this back a year, depending on how the business develops.’
The recommendation is that if you work at a desk you should alternate from a sitting to standing position regularly and spend a minimum of two hours on your feet at work, building up to an ideal four hours – movement throughout the day is key! Today, the average office worker sits for about 10 hours. Medical researchers have long warned thatprolonged sitting is dangerous,associated with a significantly higher risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and depression, as well as muscle and joint problems.
Flomotion are on a mission to help get Norfolk businesses moving. Height adjustable, sit-stand desks can play an important part in improving your health and well-being at work and their desks are as ergonomic, creative and flexible as they are functional and stylish. At the press of a button you can adjust your Flomotion desk in seconds, to the optimum working height for you, it couldn’t be easier.
As part of their commitment to customers, they provide lots of support and relevant information to help get them moving, including a free app as a reminder to stand, online stretching and exercise videos to do at your desk as well as a printed wall poster and downloadable info-graphics.
Trial a Flomotion sit-stand desk and experience the power of movement for yourself. Sign up for a free trial today. Or attend the launch event on Thursday 17th March and enter into the prize drawer to win a frame for your workspace.
nor(DEV):con attracted over 400 people this year, the biggest turnout yet! There were international speakers, fully booked workshops and a great atmosphere over the whole weekend.
This year’s new business track proved popular, especially Ermine Amies’ ‘Time Bandits‘ session, with delegates taking away practical tips and advice on how to better use their time, and Jon Bradford’s ‘Silicon Broad: Bridges not Valleys‘about the future of tech startups.
The EDP covered the conference,which will be held fromThursday 23rd to Saturday 25th February next year, and already has a number of big names lined up!
This was my first year attending Nor(Dev)con: and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The conference was held across three days, with the first day being full of workshops and the final two days hosting talks and presentations from a variety of speakers.
Nor(Dev)con: was set up a little differently this year, with the inclusion of more business sessions and talks which were brought in by popular demand, as well as tech sessions and talks and I think that it worked very well. There was a wide variety of sessions to go to and the majority of them were very engaging and interesting.
My favourite talk by far was presented by Dom Davis who talked about “Fake it until you make it” and gave a very engaging and well planned out presentation. He talked a little about ‘imposter syndrome’, which is where you feel like you are in imposter in a situation you are in and then went on to talk about people’s perceptions of other people and how one person may perceive him to be a confident speaker with excellent presentation skills, but in reality he perceives himself to be an anxious public speaker who must plan out and rehearse his presentation so that nothing is left to chance. He proved his point when he used voice commands to enable an assistance system in a game, but then explained that it was all staged for effect to give a better presentation and to leave nothing to chance. Faking it, until he made it.
The tech talks were brilliant throughout the day, with lots of tips and insights into the world of technology, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of business talks as well. I went to a session that was run by Matthew Draycott and he covered the topic of building a ‘Growth Business’. I thought that this was a great session because it gave a lot of insight into the world of business, how you might wish to grow your business and the strategies you can use to build a long-term, successful business. It covered things that I wouldn’t have thought of myself and gave me useful tips for the future if one day I decide to start my own business.
Nor(Dev)con: 2016 was the most successful conference so far, with over 400 people turning up on Friday and around 250 people on Saturday. No small feat at all, but what I really liked was the wide variation in age groups that came along to both days of the conference. We saw people ranging in age from high-school students to those who have been running their own businesses for a long time and who were experts in their field. It was great to see a crowd of tech and business enthusiasts coming together at the many sessions that the conference had to offer.
Being my first ever conference, I am greatly looking forward to Nor(Dev)con: 2017 and am sure that it will be just as good, if not better, than this year’s.
For more information on the Nor(Dev)con: lineup, as well as information on all of the speakers, go to https://www.nordevcon.com/
Today I had a review with Ermine Amies. Naked Element have been training the Sandler way with Ermine for some time now and reviews are an incredibly useful part of the process. We discussed a lot of aspects of Naked Element’s business in detail and Ermine offered great help and advice. As is often the case we got to talking about calling prospects (or potential clients). I don’t like calling it cold calling, because that is something which Naked Element doesn’t usually do. In most cases a prospect will be ‘warmed up’ with a LinkedIn connection and message, a brochure in the post or through meeting at a networking event.
Nobody really likes calling to speak to a prospect for the first time. Ok, so someone is going to put their hand up and say “I do! I just love talking to people.” and that’s fine, of course. Today, speaking to Ermine made me think how calling a prospect is like riding my bike to work. I don’t like doing it. The anticipation of getting on my bike can be crippling. It’s so much easier to get in the car or on the bus, but when I do do it and even more so when I do it every day for a week, I feel very good about it. I feel a sense of achievement and I’m pleased with myself.
Calling a prospect is much the same. I put it off and put it off and find almost anything else to do, but when I pluck up the courage to do it, it’s usually fine. Gatekeepers for the most part are friendly, even if they don’t put you through to who you want to speak to. There are those few calls every so often where you find yourself chatting away to a prospect like you’ve known them for years and a bond develops which may lead to work in the future.
The point I’m making? Calling prospects for the first time is like riding a bike, the more you do it, the stronger your muscles become and the easier it gets.
I attended my first User Stories Workshop today. It wasn’t as intense or as complicated as I thought it might be, but the potential client was surprised at how much we got done in such a short space of time. Aspects of their business process came up that they hadn’t considered before too, which was reassuring – it felt like we were being thorough!
My job was to take note of the users we identified with the client, and then write each story on an index card. I’d only read about the process before but it struck me as so simple and yet effective a way to narrow down exactly what was required. I was complimented on my ability to listen and write at the same time – a skill I’ve honed over years of music journalism and interviews I guess. I also managed to eat chocolate chip cookies at the same time. Multi-tasking level: Expert.
Now all we have to do is assign each story a measure of complexity, work out what must be in the first phase and how much we can fit in around that, then divide that by time to get our velocity so we can determine how long the whole thing will take and come up with a final estimate.
The fourth issue of the company magazine is featured around balancing work with play and contains regular features such as real Swarm experiences, a Business Spotlight article, and innovative approaches to work. In this edition you can read more about how Generation Y/Millennials are changing business culture,how mindfulness can add real value to your work, and how office perks could help you get more from your employees.
This is an important piece of voluntary sector research conducted every two years by leading property advice charity the Ethical Property Foundation, in partnership with the Charity Commission.
Whether your organisation rents or owns its premises, by completing the survey – which takes just 5 minutes – you will be contributing to a clear picture of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector at this time of significant change.
The finished report will be of vital importance for everyone involved in the sector, whether service users, staff, trustees, funders, advisers, landlords, policy makers or local authorities.
The 2014 survey showed that:
45% of voluntary groups viewed property as the biggest threat to their organisation’s long term sustainability;
Over 40% experienced difficulty sourcing core funding to cover premises costs;
Just one third of charities had paid for property advice in the last three years.
Please help the voluntary sector find its collective voice about property and complete the Survey TODAY.
A BIG welcome toWymondham College, the first school to jump on board our digital signage networks across Norfolk! A hugely popular boarding state school across the UK and beyond, Wymondham College are using our network of displays to promote their up and coming open days in March. The main school open morning will be held on 12th March and the boarder taster evening will be held on the 11th March.
A unique state day and boarding school Wymondham College offers an educationalexperience unlike any other. Their students come from a wide range of backgrounds in the UK and overseas and achieve outstanding academic success and renowned for their sporting accomplishments. There are six boarding houses within the college campus, these surround the school buildings and oversee the extensive 83 acre site. There are a range of facilities, including a sports hall and gym, sports pitches, a drama studio and indoor swimming pool. The college enjoys close links with local and international businesses and has a network of partner schools in countries as diverse as France, Germany, Czech Republic, China and Argentina. In 2012 the OfSTED Boarding Inspection confirmed Wymondham College as one of the country’s outstanding boarding schools.
The Wymondham College campaign can be seen on our ‘Domination Circuit’ consisting of three screens viewable by 350,000 people per week. You can register for the open days by emailing marketing@wymondhamcollege.org
Once again, one of our biggest clients,Adam & Eve DDB(the agency behind John Lewis’ “Man On The Moon” advert), requested the JMS team to work quickly and closely with them on a Spotify campaign for their client, Volkswagen.Supplied with a comprehensive worksheet and scripts by the agency, we were requested to record, mix and supplyover 51 audio tagsfor a Volkswagen Golf Event campaign for use across the UK Spotify service.
‘Tags’ – address or offer changes within a commercial – are quite popular with National advertisers because the main ‘branded’ element of the commercial remains consistent, whilst the end of the commercial benefits from a more regional or local reference – such as a specific address or offer.
As can often be the case with campaigns, the turnaround was tight with airtime looming, so the mantra of the day was, “Link … Record … Edit … Mix … Repeat”, with the entire process being completed within 6 hours.
JMS regularly provides radio campaign tagging, Spotify campaign tagging, and ISDN voice links foradvertising agencies across the UK. Our studio is recognised as having excellent sound- being used for manycontributions to national TV and radio advertising campaigns, feature films, television dramas,and programme trailers. Find out more by visiting our websiteorcall us on 01603 811855.
It’s national Work Your Proper Hours Day today (Friday 26 February) and there’s lots of excellent reasons why the Trades Union Congress (TUC) felt the need to start this national awareness day 11 years ago, with the aim of supporting employers as well as employees.
The reason this awareness day takes place today is because, according to TUC research, if all the people in the UK who do unpaid overtime added it all up at the start of the year, today would be the first day they would start to get paid.
The TUC campaign for proper working hours aims to highlight the amount of unpaid work carried out by employees and the negative impact of a poorwork/life balance, as tired and burnt out staff are bad for business. From a recruitment point of view a culture of long hours makes it difficult to attract and retain top talent and to be seen as agood employer.
While it is occasionally necessary for employees to put in extra hours, this should be the exception rather than the norm. If it becomes a regular pattern it can lead to low morale, exhaustion and stress. These are all known to decrease productivity and are often the causes of long-term absence, both of which have a significant impact on the bottom line.
People work long hours for many reasons and employers need to try and uncover the mentality behind it. It could be because they are unable to cope with their workload, or because tasks are not being delegated efficiently enough for them to be able manage their time.
It may be that there is a historical culture of presenteeism, and bosses can help to address this by leading by example. So make a start today and take a proper lunchbreak and then leave work on time to enjoy your Friday evening.
If you’re tempted to stay longer, here’s three reminders of the serious impact of regularly working long hours.
1. Poor physical health
Working excessive hours leads to exhaustion and a lack of concentration. This impacts on yourwell-beingby increasing the risk of headaches, digestive problems and even heart disease. Overworking can also cause people to smoke and drink more. A recent study also showed that working long hours can significantly increase your risk of suffering a stroke. Those who worked 55 hours or more a week were 33% more likely to have an attack than those clocking up the standard 40 hours.
2. Mental health problems
A recent study found that workers clocking at least 11 hours a day have a higher risk of depression than people working a standard seven or eight hour day. Longer work hours can make you morestressedand means less time to invest in your own self-care. Everyone needs time to relax, remember, even Winston Churchill supposedly took a nap every afternoon.
3. Strained relationships
Long hours make caring for children and dependents more difficult. They can also cause personal relationships to suffer as a result of not being able to spend time with loved ones. According to Axa, 27% of people have cancelled time with family and friends due to work constraints, while 18% of parents have missed a school play or parents’ evening.