Member Blog

Even if you don’t realise it, you have come across display advertising. You have seen it on web pages, in newspapers and in magazines. It’s everywhere, once you start to look, and there are plenty of companies out there who are already doing it well. So how do you get display advertising to work for your business? Let’s begin by asking ‘Just what is display advertising meant to do?’ Display is an often misunderstood ad format, it has changed significantly, even in the last 10 years and has gone from being the jack of all trades to being a powerful but more specialised tool. Let me explain… We are in a time when you can show your display ads to a pretty specific audience… big circulation figures and high viewer figures aren’t the be all and end all now. Modern marketing techniques allow display to be targeted, by context, geography and data to entirely relevant audiences. The content of display ads is also changing – remember display is being shown (in the main) to people who aren’t researching, comparing or buying yet. A modern display audience is relevant but mainly passive, so hammering them with an offer or loads of product detail is unlikely to be effective, modern display needs to clearly tell the passive audience ‘We are awesome at that thing you love… our name is x, remember us.’ So the long and short of it is that modern display’s greatest strength is building awareness in a target market… and this is what your display is meant to do. With that in mind your business needs to use its display advertising to deliver interesting, engaging and (importantly) memorable content. At Local Impact we have been doing this for our readers for over 165 years – we get display. We can also help you measure just how effective your display is and show you how your brand strength is driving your sales. We really are display advertising black belts. Get in touch now and get the benefit of all our brightest sparks.

SEO, or ‘search engine optimisation’ is fast becoming one of the most important marketing and lead generation channels for businesses across the UK and the wider world. With more and more businesses recognising the power of the likes of Google, Bing, Yahoo and increasingly, the Chinese equivalent, Baidu, generating leads by way of online search engines in more powerful than ever.

There are more than a few benefits to both marketing your brand or business online via SEO, as well as pushing and optimising your website for products and services you offer and sell online via this incredibly powerful channel. Whether you are selling Juice Cleanses in the UK, furniture or something else, absolutely anything and every service and product has a place online in the world of SEO and search engine marketing.

Targeting What Works

Unlike many forms of traditional advertising, such as TV, Radio and Billboard advertising, featuring your offering, be it a service or product online and via search engines allows you to hone in on your ideal and target audiences. For example, if you are selling car insurance, you will want relevant people, your captive audience to see your offering by way of your website. Hence, you will target keywords and search terms relating to cars, driving and vehicles.

However, not only can you target your intended audience, but you can (to an extent) tailor what the search engine in question actually presents to them. For example, a particular type of product is likely to have its own dedicated ‘landing page,’ which is a page designed to rank for specific terms, targeting precisely who you are looking to present your website’s offering to.

Lower Costs and Greater Return on Investment

It is no secret that advertising in a primetime TV or radio advertising slot can cost you many thousands, sometimes even tens or hundreds of thousands of Pounds. However, when it comes to SEO and search engine marketing, the costs are significantly cheaper. Even in competitive industries such as loans, mortgages and insurance, you will spend far less than you would for an equivalent campaign via another traditional channel. With SEO, you are only likely to need to pay for:

• An SEO consultant (usually charged by the hour)
• Website hosting
• Website design (unless you can do this yourself)
• Any required website development

Moreover, when it comes to SEO, because you are targeting almost precisely who you want to and because you have paid far less to expose yourself to these audiences, your return on investment (ROI) will be much less than for other channels. This in turn means that your cost per acquisition (CPA) per client is significantly lower.

Anyone Can Do It

Unlike many other marketing channels, there is no exclusivity with SEO. This is because who ranks and is found where, is determined by algorithms rather than decision making people in offices. This means that a new business in reality has as much chance of succeeding online with the right work, as a multi-million Pound corporation does.

We were approached by Litigation Backing to help launch their new site, focused on litigation finance and helping individuals and companies finance their court fees to win a potential compensation. Our role as SEO consultants also transcends to web design and maximising conversions and below we explain some of the key points we implemented to deliver a strong finished product.

Web Design

Understanding the clients’ target customers was key. Whilst there are lots of claims and disputes out there for accidents that were not your fault and the wave of injuries lawyers etc, the core customers for Litigation Backing are in fact large corporates or people who are looking to pursue large corporates. As a result, we designed the site to target those in the corporate sphere, specifically use dark burgundy red which is a strong, trustworthy colour and also using more corporate language and stock images of London to give that corporate feel. 

Other popular ways to improve trust are through trust logos of their partners and a detailed FAQs section to answer any key questions.

Conversion Optimisation

We always believe that the site’s user should be able to make an enquiry just one click away or within ‘touching distance.’ This was achieved through a strong form and data capture on the homepage, above the fold. Also, we added an essential call us and phone number on the header, above the main navigation and throughout the content, have included internal links to the contact us page and places where they can submit a enquiry. 

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is the at the forefront of what we do – which refers to using techinques to get companies to the top of Google. Fortunately, we have started the site from scratch which means that it has no previous errors or things holding it back such as spammy content or links.

We ensured that the site was optimised in the meta data and a strong h1 heading at the top of each page, which regularly included the target keywords of that page. 

We have included a number of key landing pages to target a specific product, also placing forms and call-to-action buttons where possible.

Finally, we are working on acquiring a lot of natural links to the site through business, legal and news sites – something that will build up the domain and help the site rank successfully.

It is still early days for the client but we are confident in delivering page one for results for a number of keywords relating to litigation finance within the 6 month benchmark.

Lead generation is a popular marketing term refering to generating enquiries or ‘leads’ to a website. This is not just about visits to a website, it has to physically be an enquiry where people submit their details.

As a company that specialises in SEO (search engine optimisation), we are practically a lead generation company, but the concept of lead generation is an occupation and career in itself. If you sell services or products online, you need to look at the full marketing spectrum and apply lead generation from a variety of places. Below, we look at some of the main types of lead generation:

Word of mouth: A word of mouth referral is technically a type of lead generation, provided that it turns into a sale. This is in fact the best quality of lead generation you can typically find. Taking the recommendation of one person you trust should reduce risk for you as a consumer and mean that the product is suitable. There are methods to engage in more word of mouth marketing, by encouraging people to refer friends and receive incentives for doing so – such as discounts, nectar points, bonuses etc. Or simply providing a product that is unbeatable should generate natural word of mouth. 

Print: Advertising in newspapers, magazines and billboards falls under print. This is typically less popular compared to 20 years ago as a result of the fast-moving Internet. Sometimes generating leads from these campaigns is harder to measure and quanity, since you don’t know if someone saw your billboard and contacted you as a result. Ways to measure your lead generation through print including adding discount codes or specific URLs that you can verify with a particular campaign. You can also run campaigns in insolation, so if you get enquiries, you know it was specifically from a magazine campaign etc.

Broadcast: TV and radio is one of the most respected and established forms of lead generation. The cost of producing and running the adverts is not always the cheapest, but as respected mediums, it can provide you with strong branding exposure for your company.

Digital: Online brought about new paradigms of lead generation, notably through search engines such as Google. This includes pay-per-click advertising (PPC), search engine optimisation (SEO), email marketing, text message marketing and social media marketing (both paid and organic). There are specialists that offer these services or agencies that can provide all services in one package. Your language, tone and brand messaging should be consistent throughout all communications.

Tips for maximising lead generation

Quality over quantity: Getting leads is a good thing but being able to assess the quality over quanity is always key. Can being on TV bring you a lot of enquiries? Yes, most likely, but will the quality be better through word of mouth and cost you less?

Cost per acquisition: Good marketers are able to quanitfy the cost-per-acquisition of a lead. Something in insurance or loans is usually around £50 for a good enquiry but for gambling this can be £100. To know which is your most effective source, you should consider what your lowest CPA is and what yields the greatest return.

Retention: Once you have got the customer and acquired them, consider carefully how you are going to keep them. Is this through follow up emails, future incentinves and discounts?

Understanding warm or cold leads: If you are dealing with hundreds and thousands of leads daily, which is common for a call centre, you need systems in place to analyse your warm vs cold leads. This includes who you spend the most time pursuing, how often you follow up and what you can do to close the deal.

Engage in affiliate programmes: Good companies can offer incentives to other brokers, comparison sites and directories for making introductions. Known as affiliate marketing, this type of lead generation should reward introducers with commission and better margins based on hitting bonuses.

Why eye tests are important for children?

Routine eye tests can help identify any problems that develop as your child gets older.

Children may not realise they have a vision problem, so without routine tests there is a risk that any problems could go undiagnosed for months or years. Up to 80% of a child’s learning is visual, so it’s very important they have the best vision possible to give them the best chance at development. There is a direct link between poor eye sight and poor learning behaviour, when a child can’t see correctly (such as seeing the white board clearly from the back of the class) they can quickly become bored and their learning can suffer.

It’s important for eye problems to be identified as early as possible, because they can have a significant impact on a child’s development and education. In the same way you shouldn’t wait to see a dentist until your child has tooth ache, you shouldn’t wait to see an optician before they develop an eye problem.

Eye problems are often much easier to treat if detected while a child’s vision is still developing (usually up to about seven or eight years of age). An early diagnosis will help to ensure that you and your child have access to any special support services you may need.

When will my child’s eyes be checked?

Your child’s eyes may be checked:

• within 72 hours of birth -this is known as the new born physical examination and it can be used to check for obvious physical problems
• between six and eight weeks old – this is a follow-up physical examination to check for any obvious problems that weren’t detected soon after birth
• at around one year old or between two and two-and-a-half years old – you may be asked whether you have any concerns about your child’s eyesight as part of a review of your child’s health and development; eye tests can be arranged, if necessary
• at around four or five years old – some children will have an eye health check by a nurse when they start school, although this varies, depending on where you live and is not an eye test.

It’s recommended that children have regular eye tests at least once every year. These tests can be done at a high street opticians and are free for all children under 16 years old (and those under 19 years old in full-time education).

Causes of eye problems in babies and children

There are a number of different eye problems affecting babies and children that can be detected during eye tests, including:

• childhood cataracts – cloudy patches in the lens of the eye that are present from birth
• lazy eye (amblyopia) – where the vision in one eye does not develop properly
• squint (strabismus) – where the eyes look in different directions
• short-sightedness (myopia) – where distant objects appear blurred, while close objects can be seen clearly
• long-sightedness (hyperopia) – where you can see distant objects clearly, but nearby objects are out of focus
• astigmatism – where the cornea (transparent layer at the front of the eye) is not perfectly curved
• colour vision deficiency (colour blindness) – difficulty seeing colours or distinguishing between different colours; this is more common in boys than girls

Spotting signs of an eye problem

Although your child should have regular eye tests as they grow up, it’s still important to look out for signs of any problems and seek advice if you have any concerns.

Signs of a possible eye problem can include:

• the eyes not pointing in the same direction
• complaining of headaches or eye strain
• problems reading – for example, they may need to hold books close to their face and they may lose their place regularly
• problems with hand-eye co-ordination – for example, they may struggle to play ball games
• being unusually clumsy
• regularly rubbing their eyes  

Please do remember to add an eye sight test to your next back to school to do list.

They’re free, fun and could help your child perform to their very best!

There are many industries whose advertising and promotion is regulated and sometimes even restricted. This means that you are less likely to see associated products and services advertised on TV, radio, billboards and otherwise. Such industries, who are restricted with regards to what they can promote ‘offline’ traditionally include:

• Loans and Short Term Finance
• Gambling and Casinos
• Smoking
• Mortgages and Equity Release
• Credit Cards

Although loans and short term finance as well as gambling and casino products are advertised, they are heavily regulated and strictly monitored by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK Gambling Commission and the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Smoking has been banned from advertising in the UK for many years. Additionally, taxes and levies on the smoking industry are being increased each year by the government in a bid to reduce the number of people taking up and continuing smoking. This is in order to improve public health and reduce the burden on the UK’s National Health Service (NHS.)

For loans and short term finance, conditions are strict in order to ensure that the messaging of each brand or company is clear, honest and doesn’t lead customers into financial hardship. In past times and prior to the FCA introducing sweeping legislation and regulations to the short term lending market, many people who took out short term loans such as payday loans found themselves with unpayable levels of debt.

Hence, those offering and advertising payday loans or other forms of these types of finance are required to refer customers to the Money Advice Service and also to provide representative examples for total clarity. Very similar rules and regulations apply to credit cards.

Betting, Gambling and Casinos

Whilst betting companies and providers are indeed allowed to advertise and promote their offerings, there are strict limits and regulations in place to ensure everything remains in the interest of prospective players and customers. For example, a casino provider offering a ‘No Deposit Bonus‘ has to be clear about the terms and conditions as well as the limitations of their offer. This is so that prospective players understand when and how they are able to take advantage of such offers.

Any advert or promotion which is seen as misleading could land the company being promoted in hot water with financial penalties, strict impositions and even court action possible.

Mortgages and Equity Release

Both mortgages and equity release are well-known and well understood by most people. Hence, they are allowed to be promoted anywhere and online there is additional freedom. However, customers and applicants need to be made aware of any credit checks that lenders or brokers may carry out and lenders (assuming they are ‘status’ lenders) must be regulated and authorised by the FCA. Companies must also provide representative examples where relevant and remind customers and applicants that failure to keep up with the required repayments may lead to repossession of their property.

SEO, short for ‘search engine optimisation’ is the process by which websites achieve what re commonly referred to as ‘organic’ rankings on search engines. Although Google is by far the most dominant online search engine, with more than 80% of search traffic being via Google Search, others do exist and they should be paid due attention. These include the likes of Yahoo, Bing and Chinese search engine Baidu.

The main focus of SEO is to get websites further up the rankings on search engines for target keywords and search terms relating to the website in question. There are a number of widely accepted SEO practices which are deemed to be best practice, including one of the starting points of any SEO campaign, the keyword research to identify what to target in the first place. Strategies for targeting what are known as ‘long tail’ or ‘short tail’ terms form the very basis of any SEO work.

An example of a long tail search term in a niche area would include ‘how can I spread straw across my field?’ whereas the equivalent short tail search term may be ‘straw spreading’ (source: Straw Spreader).

Meta Data

Meta data, which includes the meta title and meta description of each individual page are fundamental to a website’s rankings. It is the meta data, along with the page URL which Google and other search engines pay initial and very strong attention to when deciding where to rank a page. It is therefore very important that a website’s meta data (however many pages the site has in total) is one of the first aspects optimised as part of any SEO campaign.

When it comes to the meta data, there should be attention paid to the target keywords of each page to ensure it is clear, but not spammy and over-emphasised for search engines to understand what the page in question is focusing upon.

Backlinks

Backlinks are one of the most important aspects of website SEO. Backlinks refer to the links which point towards the site in question; the stronger the site referring users to yours, the better the backlink. For example, a link from the BBC or CNN to your website will be a great deal stronger and more effective than one from a small blog in another country.

Backlinks are seen as a trust signal for search engines; if strong and authoritative websites reference a particular website, it is more likely that website deserves a great deal more exposure than it is already getting, so search engines push it higher up. It should be noted though, that backlinks should not be paid for. Rather, you should earn and naturally accrue these through high quality content others link to.

Website Performance

Ultimately, if users come to you site but do not engage or simply cannot engage, the entire premise of SEO is useless. Hence, search engines pay attention t the performance and responsiveness of websites. Those that perform faster and more efficiently are afforded better positions as they serve users much better. Other performance factors may include:

• Mobile and tablet device performance
• Clarity of content
• Ease of website navigation
• Does the website do what it claims to do?
• Do users follow logical journeys one on the site?

‘Make the strange familiar and the familiar strange.’ The Path to Innovation

The east of England is a hub for some of the most innovative firms in the UK. A serial innovator, Dr Clive Edmonds has been on the front line in many interesting innovations that have changed markets. I was gripped by his enthusiasm and passion for all things innovative. One innovation on Clive’s long list involved the development of an in-can beer widget. Of course I had to ask more…

What is the story of the In-can beer widget?

To summarise, Guinness originally invented the in-can beer widget. They spent 20 years developing it. Its release certainly caused turmoil in the market! The widget generated a half a billion pound industry in sales in 5 years. As I am sure you can imagine it was extremely profitable for companies running it.

How were you involved?

I have been involved in the creation of two in-can beer widgets. The first was for the Whitbread Group to produce a competitor in-can beer widget for brands like Heineken and Boddingtons.

The second was for John Smiths. In this case we were asked by Scottish and Newcastle brewery to develop a competitor system, get around the patents already in place and commercially launch the product in under twelve months! Compared to Guinness’s twenty years this was certainly a challenge.

I have found the key to innovation is an inquisitive mind. Especially in the case of the in-can beer widget, people assume there are constraints when often there are none. Often you can break patents by looking at things in reverse. In the case of our in-can widget, that is exactly what we did.

Guinness in their patent inserted the widget into the base of the can. Our solution did the reverse. To get around the patient we ‘inserted’ the can over the widget. My team was able to launch the ‘John Smith’s’ canned product in less than one year.

Innovation does not have to be the first-to-market it can also be fast-follower products that add value and competitiveness.

What is innovation in your eyes?

There is a lovely phrase that keeps ringing true. That is ‘make the strange familiar and the familiar strange’. You need to challenge your perceptions of reality and break those paradigms.

It is all well and good saying these phrases but there is a good video explaining this that I’ll link.

It describes the world in dots. Many people believe that the dots they see every day are all the dots there are. The majority of our decisions and solutions are made based on these everyday dots.

Innovators are the people that come along and see new dots. You have to think outside of these dots to innovate. People have to look at the world in a different way. The iPhone or the internet are pieces of technology we take for granted that were completely unheard of 30 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiyMkOfycOg

As an innovation expert, what lessons have you learnt?

Firstly, just like the title of the masterclass, ‘Patient Capital Investing’, there are no guarantees to innovation. There is no guarantee of a return.

Secondly, real innovation is about tackling and solving the hardest problems.

My strategy for any project is that we approach the most challenging part first. At the very least if the project fails, that failure occurs at the at the first hurdle rather than one year into development. This saves all the stakeholders time and money.

A good example from my career involved the development of a self-heating food product alongside one of the biggest food packaging companies in the UK.

The company had researched and planned out their whole market strategy: how they were going to market it, what pricing strategy they would implement. The only problem was they had not crossed the hardest bridge. In this case they didn’t have the technology to actually build the product.

Over the year we worked with them to create the technology. The lesson I have learned over the years is that real Innovation comes from tackling and solving the hard problems.

Clive will be speaking further about his experience alongside Chadwick’s own Daniel Harvey and Adapt Low Carbon Group’s innovation funding manager Saffron Myhill-Hunt.

The session on November 14th is centred around innovation and the perils and rewards of early stage investing.

The firm runs two separate masterclasses lasting two hours: a morning session at 8:15 and a lunchtime session at 12:15.

The event is free to attend.

To learn more and to register, go to the following url: 

https://www.chadwicks.co.uk/masterclasses/patient-capital-investing/

To keep in touch with our future classes, or to sign up for the final class on ‘Behavioural Insights’, click the link below:

https://www.chadwicks.co.uk/masterclasses/

Annual Investment Allowance Increases To £1M

In 2008 the government introduced a tax relief to British businesses known as the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) encouraging businesses to invest in plant and machinery with a vision to stimulate economic growth. Since January 2016 the AIA has allowed businesses to reclaim up to £200,000 in capital allowances per fiscal year, but with a big budget boost this is now being increased to one million pounds, effective from the 1st January 2019.  A business can deduct the full value (100%) of an item in the year of purchase that qualifies for AIA, meaning for every £1 spent by a business, it would be eligible to save an additional £1 in taxable profits until the expenditure/allowance has been reached

What qualifies?

You can claim AIA on most items of plant and machinery up to the AIA amount, which actually includes almost every sort of asset a person may buy for the purpose of his/her business. Plant and machinery include computers, office equipment, vans, agricultural machinery, fibre optic cabling even amusement park rides. Also included are integral features, such as fitted kitchens, alterations to install plant and machinery and any costs of demolishing plant and machinery (but not repairs).

All assets have to be owned by the business and used for the purpose of the business.

What doesn’t qualify?

Anything other than what you have bought for the sole purpose of your business. For instance, you cannot claim tax relief on something you used prior to building your business, or an asset that was given to you. 

You cannot claim tax relief on buildings, land or structures.

It’s worth mentioning that the AIA cannot be claimed for company cars. These get tax relief via the part of the capital allowance system known as “writing down allowances”.

Who can claim?

Most businesses are eligible for AIA. Unfortunately, however, AIA isn’t available for trustees or mixed partnerships where one of the partners is a company or another partnership.

What if I have more than one business or trade?

If you’re a sole trader or a partner and you have more than one business or trade each business gets an AIA. However, each business must be controlled by the same person.

What happens if I use a business asset at home?

You can’t claim the full value of items that you also use outside your business if you’re a sole trader or partner. The capital allowance you claim would be reduced by the amount you use the asset outside your business. For example, you buy a laptop for £500 but use it for half of the time outside your business,  the amount of capital allowance you can claim will be reduced by 50%.

When can I claim?

A claim must be processed in the accounting period you bought the item.

What if I spend more than the AIA amount?

Once the allowance has been used any further capital expenditure on plant and machinery will attract writing down allowances only (unless it is of a type that qualifies for a first-year allowance).

How do I claim?

You will need to complete a tax return.

Next Steps

The AIA enables businesses to utilise the savings you make to invest in new equipment to help support the growth of your business.   

Contact Chatsbrook on 01603 733500 to find out about a range of versatile funding options for your business. We have access to an unparalleled panel of funders to suit both you and your business. We use our unrivalled network to ensure that you can fund the assets needed to expand and grow your business.

Getting to grips with your responsibilities

If you own a commercial property for rent, you’ll know it comes with certain responsibilities to your tenants and the wider public. But there is often a great deal of confusion about who is responsible for what, especially when it comes to legal health and safety requirements and insurance: landlord or tenant? And it’s no wonder, because as well as what’s written in the lease, there are legal responsibilities on both sides that can sometimes overlap.

We look at each area of commercial property landlord responsibilities and clear up any misconceptions.

Maintenance and repairs

Most commercial properties are let on a Fully Repairing and Insuring (FRI) Lease, which places the onus on the tenant for any repairs, as well as any costs to return the building to its original state at the end of the tenancy. However, don’t assume that all maintenance and repairs are the responsibility of the tenant.

If the building is let to multiple tenants, the landlord will usually retain responsibility for maintaining and cleaning communal areas and the structural integrity of the main building.

Commercial property insurance

Most commercial leases will seek to transfer the cost of insurance on to the tenants. But that doesn’t mean landlords can wash their hands of their responsibility for insurance – indeed, it’s in the landlord’s interest to arrange the insurance themselves for a variety of reasons. As well as being able to choose their own insurance broker or insurer, they can retain control over the whole process in the event of a claim, as well as specifying the level of cover, which can vary between insurers. There’s no such thing as a standard commercial property insurance policy, with some policies automatically including things like loss of rent or contents cover.

It’s important to make sure you have to right cover so, if you’re unsure how to insure a commercial property, get in touch with one of our experts.

Fire safety

The person with control over the premises will have responsibility for fire safety, including evacuation procedures, which will usually be the tenant if the premises are rented as a workplace. However, the landlord should always include fire safety in any risk assessment undertaken, and may be responsible for providing equipment, like fire extinguishers.

Gas safety

The terms of the lease should clearly set out who is responsible for the safety of any gas installations in the building. It will often specify that the tenant is responsible for ensuring the safety of any gas appliance, installation pipework or flue installed in their workplace, while landlords should look after the safety of installations in any communal areas.

Electrical safety

There is a legal responsibility on the landlord to ensure that electrical safety standards are maintained. This includes a duty of care to ensure all reasonable steps and precautions are taken to prevent personal injury to tenants, or damage to their property. Tenants are responsible for the safety of any electrical appliances they buy or install.

Asbestos

The ‘duty holder’ has a responsibility to manage asbestos under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. Under an FRI lease this will usually be the tenant, but if the duties are not clearly defined in the lease it will be the person who has the most control over the building.

Fixtures and fittings

Fixtures and fittings belonging to the landlord need to be safe to use, correctly installed and maintained by them. Tenants are responsible for the safety of and maintaining any fixtures and fittings they install. This should be made clear in the lease.

Air conditioning, heating or refrigeration systems

Responsibility for air conditioning, heating or refrigeration systems rests with the party who has control over the technical functioning of the equipment, which will usually be the tenant. But, the landlord may retain responsibility for these if they retain some day-to-day responsibilities for running the site.

Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES)

New regulations came into force on April 1, 2018 which made it a legal requirement for eligible rented properties to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of no worse than E.

• From now, it’s unlawful to grant new leases on a commercial property which has an EPC rating worse than E
• From April 1, 2023 it will be unlawful to continue to let eligible commercial property which does not meet the minimum standards.

The Code for Leasing Business Premises

Drawn up in 2007, the Code for Leasing Business Premises is a voluntary best practice code created by a collaboration between commercial property professionals and industry bodies representing both landlords and tenants. Its intention is to promote fairness in commercial leases, and landlords are encouraged to adhere to 10 key points, which can be found here.

Looking for more detail? Download the full article on our website.

Deep Tech sounds like a character from the X-Files right? While it’s not a covert government agency, Deep Tech is affecting people’s lives without them even knowing it, but it’s not something we need to be afraid of. There are lots of very technical and wordy definitions of Deep Tech, but essentially it means technology that has an engineering aspect while having a demonstrable impact on people’s daily lives. Rather than a disruptive technology, like AirBnB or Deliveroo – apps that alter a service that already existed – a Deep Tech breakthrough could use technology to cure cancer or expand space travel. AirBnB is an intangible app, while Deep Tech often involves robots or breakthroughs in scientific or medical equipment. Good examples are artificial wombs to increase the survival chances of premature babies, or brain implants to improve the independence of stroke victims. It’s not just medical advancements that are benefitting from Deep Tech, but improvements to smart homes and cleaner cities as well as energy efficiency are all developing areas of Deep Tech. Self driving cars and lithium-ion batteries could vastly improve the environment and how we live in it and are both examples of Deep Tech. Since 2015 European investment in Deep Tech has been growing three times faster than B2C investments (Wavestone https://www.wavestone.com/en/insight/deep-tech-global-investor-survey-2017/ ) and it’s easy to see why when the impact that technology of this kind can have is made clear. Rather than just making it easier for people to order the weekly shop, or interact with a video on social media, discoveries in the Deep Tech arena make fundamental changes to how we live and survive. Researchers and scientists working in Deep Tech have not only created machines that can replicate human actions, but improve them. Like something from a science fiction movie, ‘HoloEyes’ are goggles that can provide a surgeon with a patient’s anatomy before the first incision is made, right there in the operating room. Harvard scientists have gone one further into the science fiction realm and created a brand new material, never before seen on earth. Metallic hydrogen was formed after 45 years of research and tests and has enormous potential, from space travel to superconducting abilities. Deep Tech is technology at its most advanced and it’s most useful. While it may not affect all of us at once, the advancements being made in this field have a huge impact that will influence and hopefully improve daily life on a global scale.

Earlier this year, the government put through a motion in an attempt to phase out more polluting Lorries. The new HGV Levy-which applies to 12 tonne lorries or more- acts as an incentive to HGV operators to make the change to Euro 6 Trucks by the 1st February 2019. It rewards those that comply with a 10% reduction of usual Levy fees. Failure to conform to the new standards will result in a 20% tax hike, meaning that some businesses may have to increase their daily expenditure by up to 25%. 

As you can imagine there is a general divide of opinions. The Road Haulage Association (RHA) have stated that once again, this shows the governments’ indifference to changes that have already been implemented within the haulage industry. Figures show that there has been a 43% decrease in Nitrous Oxide within the last 5 years. Furthermore, the RHA have voiced further concerns over whether this directly punishes small to medium sized haulage businesses. The short turn around for compliance makes it almost impossible for smaller businesses to invest in a new fleet within 12 months of notice.

Whilst the early introduction of ‘Clean Air Zones’ means that cities and towns will benefit from less pollution, it is easy to question who is looking out for smaller haulage businesses that the supply-chain depend on.

We provide finance solutions so that you can keep your business on the move. 

At Chatsbrook, we provide a tailored service so that all of your requirements are met. The new HGV levy causes a predicament, but with our expertise we can source a range of financial solutions so that you can overcome this hurdle and continue your operational growth and expansion.

Whether you are interested in a bespoke finance package to change a truck, or if you would like a business loan to invest in a complete overhaul of Euro 6 Trucks, we can conserve your cash flow and give advice on the best option to suit you.

Our only aim is to build long-term relationships with our clients; our finance solutions support your business, so it can flourish in the face of adversity.

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If you have any questions regarding our services, please do not hesitate to contact our experts directly on 01603 733500. Alternatively you can email info@chatsbrook.co.uk