Skip to main content

Member News

The Norfolk Mead is Covid Secure: double accreditation for luxury hotel, restaurant and spa treatment rooms

The Norfolk Mead, which reopened to guests on 4 July, is delighted to have received two industry standard accreditations for their Covid-prevention measures.

Firstly, the Norfolk Broads National Park-based destination venue has been certified as AA ‘Covid-confident’ following an assessment by the AA Hotel and Hospitality Services. The Norfolk Mead successfully passed the AA’s stringent criteria including: – Supplying evidence of a completed risk assessment document. – Providing clear evidence that relevant safety procedures and measures are in place. – Showing that staff training has occurred. – Signing up to the Covid Confident Charter, a code of conduct that will include a commitment to update procedures and measures as guidelines change, and to submitting to future audits as required.    Secondly, The Norfolk Mead was one of the first hospitality establishments in the East of England region to sign up for the VisitEngland ‘We’re Good to Go’ industry standard mark demonstrating that they had quickly made the necessary changes to their day-to-day workings, including social distancing measures and staff training.    James Holliday, Owner of The Norfolk Mead commented: “We are very proud to have received both the AA and VisitEngland accreditations to recognise the measures we have and continue to take to ensure the safety of our guests and staff. We welcome these schemes as an easy way for guests to identify the businesses which are taking the threat of covid-19 seriously, and hope they help provide reassurance and confidence.     “From cold fogging of rooms, through to Perspex screens and staff temperature checks and PPE, we are providing both a safe environment, but also one that continues to deliver our high quality, luxury home from home level of customer service, despite circumstances being slightly different from normal. Our staff are so happy to be back at work, and it is a complete delight to see the Hotel welcoming guests once more. This has been reflected in the joy our guests have shown when coming in for drinks, a meal, or a trip on our boat.    “We also welcome the government scheme offering reduced VAT on hospitality and tourism services and the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme for August. We have reviewed our prices accordingly and will be offering three courses for £36 in our two star AA Rosette-standard restaurant. We will also be delighted to offer the Eat Out scheme in addition to guests once it is up and running … meaning diners can also save 50% of their bill up to £10 per person on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout August.”    The Norfolk Mead are taking bookings for Hotel Rooms, Dine and Stay packages, Lunch, Afternoon Teas, Dinner, Spa Treatments and Day Boat Hire. Call 01603 737 531 or email info@norfolkmead.co.uk

Northern Ireland – the mist is clearing

After our recent briefing on the future of trade in Northern Ireland (NI), a new policy document has emerged with more on the Government’s plans. For exporters in the East of England, below is our summary of the key points.

Freight travelling from the UK to NI Firstly, the document makes it clear that for freight travelling from the UK to NI:

  • All goods must be declared to customs
  • HMG has the opportunity to carry out checks at NI ports and airports before the goods are released
  • No tariffs on goods remaining within NI
  • There will be tariffs on goods which are at risk of entering the EU, eg crossing the border into Eire. The tariffs applicable may be 0% or lower than mfn (most favoured nation) dependant on the outcome of the UK/EU free trade agreement negotiations
  • How the new arrangements will work 

NI port and terminal operators have been asked to choose between two models to carry out customs processes: Model 1: Temporary Storage   For businesses who currently export to the Rest of World (RoW), this system will be familiar, as it is used in existing ports handling RoW traffic. It provides storage for goods while customs declarations are made and customs clearance is given. Goods can be stored at the location of arrival for up to 90 days before they are declared to free circulation or other relevant procedure. Model 2: Pre-Lodgement This model uses a new system developed by HMRC to carry out customs processes, and the Government is hoping this will become the preferred system in NI.  It is designed to speed the flow of goods through NI ports by requiring customs declarations to be pre-lodged prior to goods departing for NI. Traders will have to:

  • Ensure all goods have the appropriate declarations before they board a ferry or plane to NI
  • Communicate to the person in control of the goods (e.g. the driver of a lorry for accompanied goods or the carrier for unaccompanied goods) by the time they arrive in NI whether goods are cleared to proceed on their journey or need a check

How Pre-Lodgment will work To facilitate pre-lodgement, the Government will introduce a couple of new acronyms into the exporter’s vocabulary GMR

Every consignment will need a Goods Movement Reference (GMR), the single declaration that will be the key to goods moving smoothly through NI ports. The GMR pulls together three documents:

  • Import declaration with customs codes
  • Safety and security declaration
  • Transit Accompanying Document (TAD) which will remain with the vehicle at all times

GVMS The Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS) is the new IT system that will support the pre‐lodgement model:

  • GVMS will handle all GMR declarations. The person moving the goods (e.g. a haulier) will present one single reference before boarding to prove that their goods have pre‐lodged declarations
  • As soon as the goods board GVMS will link up the movement of the goods with the declaration and process the declaration whilst the goods are en route
  • By the time the goods arrive at the NI port, GVMS will notify the exporter whether the goods are cleared or uncleared, so they know what they need to do as goods disembark
  • The document indicates most trucks will be green-lit to proceed, some will require further checks or processing.

We have seen rumours that the pre-lodgement system will be trialled in November, but we have no confirmation of this yet. The system is scheduled to go live in January Importing goods from NI If you currently buy goods from businesses in NI, the information is much simpler. The policy document says: In the majority of cases, there should be no additional processes or paperwork and there will be no change to how Northern Ireland goods arrive in Great Britain ports compared to today. Click the button to read the full document HMRC plans for NI We can expect further developments on this and other import and export systems, we will endeavour to keep you updated. As always, please call or email me with comments or questions, we’re always happy to discuss individual issues.

Flying Up Google With Playfair Capital

We are pleased to announce that Tudor Lodge Consultants is now working with Playfair Capital (https://playfaircapital.com/). Helping to improve the online presence and search engine optimisation (SEO) of the Playfair Capital website and brand, we are working to ensure the brand and the company gets the exposure it needs.

Playfair Capital are leading, London-based seed stage investors, having worked with dozens of ambitious brands and companies offering a wide range of products and services.

Why SEO?

Although many people perceive SEO as only being perfect for product-based businesses and offerings, this is in fact not the case. SEO is remarkably effective at helping service-based businesses too. Helping company websites climb the search engine rankings allows for a great deal more exposure to one of the most engaged audiences out there; those that are already searching for your services.

By climbing the rankings, companies can expect to receive increased traffic to their website as well as increased engagement and much more time spent on the website generally. By increasing the numbers of engaged users and those that interact with a website, a brand and its offering, companies can reasonably expect to increase business and importantly, profits and sales.

As a medium to longer term strategy, SEO is also a lot more cost-effective than other marketing channels including pay-per-click (PPC) and traditional methods of advertising like radio, TV and billboard advertising campaigns.

Unlike PPC which charges advertisers based on each click, SEO is an investment in the ongoing presence of a website and contributes most strongly to the earned or ‘organic’ positions via Google and other search engines.

Key Elements of SEO Covered

Rather than a product-related offering where the key point of sale and conversion relies purely on individual and collective sales, service-based companies and businesses require a great deal more awareness online. This means that although ultimately offering a commercial or busines product or service, it is not just about ‘straight up sales,’ but is, in large part about ensuring they are seen and engaged with above and beyond their competitors in their target areas online.

There are a number of key areas within SEO which we are covering for Playfair Capita which include:

Crawling and Understanding – Key to how and where a site is positioned on Google is the ability of the search engine algorithms or ‘spiders,’ which crawl websites to discover and understand what is on a website as well as each webpage. Thus, we are working on ensuring Playfair Capital’s website is not just filled with content, but is understood in the context of the offerings, aims and their wider industry.

Online PR – The online reputation and therefore PR in SEO is important to websites. Acting a strong trust signal to Google and other search engines, online PR in the form of strong, clean and relevant backlinks are a key tenet to the SEO works undertaken.

User Experience (UX) – Although content used to be king when it came to SEO, in more recent years, it is a lot more user focused. This means that rather than having to fill up websites with inordinate amounts of content for the sake of it, it is the user experience and their interactions with a website which play a far more important role when it comes to where a given website should rank. Moreover, good UX allows for better experiences for the users that will inevitably reach the website in question.

Green Duck now offering FREE IT Surgery Slots

Now that you’ve trialled remote working for your staff, are you thinking about offering it as a long term solution?

Many employers once feared staff working from home but since COVID-19 forced companies to take the plunge those employers are seeing the benefits remote working offers. Video calls, cloud-based collaboration and chat platforms are helping companies continue to run efficiently despite not being in the same building. 

Having people work from home does, however, pose many questions around data security and privacy, and that’s where we can help. We don’t want to give people generic advice about best practice though, we want to give you the opportunity to ask us, IT experts, how this will work for YOUR business so we’ve set up a 15-minute surgery to help you out.

Head over to our website to book your slot.

https://greenduck.co.uk/green-duck-it-surgery/

Roche Retain Major Commercial Property Awards

Norwich-based commercial property consultants, Roche Chartered Surveyors has retained its title as Norfolk’s most active firm for the seventh year in succession, in the commercial property sector’s leading awards.  The title is awarded by the Estates Gazette for the firm conducting the most transactions across all sectors of the commercial property market and has now been won by Roche every year since its inception in 2013.

The Norfolk award follows Roche’s success in regaining the Estates Gazette’s regional award as the East of England’s leading firm in the retail sector, again based on the number of transactions arranged during the year, for an impressive 9th time in the last 10 years.

To cap Roche’s success, one of the firm’s partners, Adrian Fennell, won the Dealmaker Award for the individual involved the most transactions throughout 2019, the third member of the Roche team to receive this accolade in recent years.

Sam Kingston, Managing Partner of Roche Chartered Surveyors, commented “The Estates Gazette Awards are widely acknowledged in commercial property as being market-leading and are a reliable reflection of activity during the past year.  We are therefore extremely proud and pleased to have retained our title as Norfolk’s most active firm and the regional retail crown.  The Awards reflect a huge amount of effort by everyone in the firm and the extent of our activities in all the main commercial sectors including retail, leisure, offices, industrial and warehousing.  Adrian Fennell’s individual Award is thoroughly deserved and a great achievement in an extremely difficult retail market. The commercial property markets face unique challenges at present but we are extremely busy advising clients and concluding deals, with activity picking up since the start of the lockdown.”

Safepoint Featured in Farmers Weekly

With the release of the Health and Safety Executive’s new statistics on fatalities in the workplace, the team at Safepoint spoke to Johann Tasker, chief reporter at Farmers Weekly, about the exciting work they are doing to improve farm safety with technology

Read more here.”

“What Next for 2020?”.

The last few months have been something that none of us could have predicted.

It has affected us all in many different ways and we, like you, have had to adjust our operations accordingly. We have learnt a lot in doing this.

Whilst our office doors may have been closed, we have still been in full operation throughout, placing candidates into businesses everyday. We have also worked with clients and candidates  to provide them with the advice and support specific to their personal circumstances. By processing hundreds of people through the Governments Job Retention Scheme and making furlough payments as required, our teams have done the right thing and protected businesses for the future.

A new normal is now upon us and we want to help more. How has your business been affected? What do you need assistance with?

We are therefore asking you to complete a short survey “What Next for 2020?”.

Click here to complete our survey

Thank you in advance for participating. We are open for business – find out more here.

From everyone at Select we wish you, your families and your businesses good health.

Big C Announces Retail Reopening

Following lockdown, local cancer charity, Big C, has announced the partial reopening of their retail operation and donation days at their other stores.

The Big C shop on Magdalen Street in Norwich and the Furniture and Craft Emporium on the outskirts of Wymondham will be open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Saturday. Payment will be by card/contactless only.

New Covid-19 shop safe measures include new directional signage, hand sanitiser stations, preferred contactless payment, face masks and disposable gloves.

Dr Chris Bushby, Chief Executive at Big C, said, “Having been closed for nearly four months, it is a great feeling to welcome back staff and customers to two of our larger shops and we’ve had a steady stream of customers in the last few days. We must of course tread cautiously and we have worked hard to ensure government and NHS advice is strictly adhered to. The safety of all is paramount. We thank our staff who have been busy preparing for the shops to reopen.”

Every Wednesday all 14 Big C shops across Norfolk and Waveney will be open for public donations only between 10am and 1pm. These shops are as follows: Attleborough, Beccles, Cromer, Dereham, Diss, Fakenham, Great Yarmouth, King’s Lynn, Norwich Timber Hill, Sheringham, Swaffham and Wymondham Town Centre. Donations can also be accepted at the Wymondham Furniture and Craft Emporium during trading hours. It is also possible to arrange collection of some larger items. All donations will go into quarantine for 72 hours from receipt.

Dr Bushby continues, “We know that many people have used their time at home decluttering and spring cleaning and we would be delighted to receive quality donations to help support those in our community affected by cancer.”

Anyone with questions about donation collection can contact the Big C Distribution Centre on 01953 603320 (Monday to Saturday, 10am-4pm).

To learn more about the work Big C does to improve the lives of those affected by cancer in Norfolk and Waveney, please visit www.big-c.co.uk

New Residential Property expert joins Hatch Brenner Property Team

Norwich law firm Hatch Brenner Solicitors has appointed Legal Executive Abbey Englefield-Stangroom as a Conveyancing Executive in their busy team of Residential Property Solicitors in Norwich.

Ms Englefield-Stangroom specialises in all types of property transactions both locally and nationally. She has experience in dealing with both freehold and leasehold sales and purchases, new build purchases, auction sales and purchases, matrimonial transfers, transfers of equity, equity releases, re-mortgages, first registration applications and adverse possession applications.

Colin Cook, Hatch Brenner Partner commented: “We are all really pleased to welcome Abbey to our busy Residential Property team. Her experience means she is able to hit the ground running and help both our existing and new clients through the moving process. She is personable, positive and friendly and willing to go the extra mile for her clients.”

Abbey Englefield-Stangroom, Conveyancing Executive added: “It is great to be joining Hatch Brenner within the Property team – despite the current social distancing guidelines, I have received a very warm welcome from my new colleagues and existing clients alike. Moving home can be a very stressful time and I strive to make the conveyancing process as simple and stress free as possible via clear communication and always keeping clients and other parties up-to-date and informed throughout a transaction.”

Ms Englefield-Stangroom completed her law degree at the University of Leicester, her LPC at BPP Law School and has previously trained and worked for other Norfolk law firms. Outside of work she enjoys spending time with family and friends, baking, walking and interior design, decorating and upcycling.

Culture Shock Returns Online

The third event in our CultureShock series co-hosted at the Enterprise Centre by Fountain Partnership, University of East Anglia and Norfolk Chambers of Commerce was planned for May, but of course had to be postponed for now.    However, we wanted to keep the conversation around company and workplace culture going – especially at a time of so much change and challenge.  

  So, here’s introducing the CultureShock video series, in which Rebecca Lewis Smith (Fountain Partnership) discusses different aspects of culture with business leaders, experts and academics. 

 

So far Rebecca has had two engaging conversations which can both be found on the CultureShock YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4oeQN2msfwq1hCIGV_hIRg/videos.   

 

First, Rebecca sat down (remotely) with Gavin Drake, founder and director of Mindspan, to have a chat about culture and leadership during times of crisis. Gavin was kind enough to share his insights into motivation, leadership and so many other aspects of maintaining company culture in the context of the pandemic.  

 

Rebecca also spoke with Dr Helen Fitzhugh, researcher at UEA’s Norwich Business School, Knowledge Exchange Fellow and a member of the PrOPEL Hub, who shared insight into some of her research. Helen has been part of a team reviewing all the literature on isolated working, compiling incredibly useful information for us to learn from as we adapt our businesses in light of the pandemic. 

 

Make sure you follow the CultureShock YouTube channel, UEAforBusiness (Twitter and LinkedIn) and Rebecca Lewis Smith (LinkedIn) to keep up to date with the latest videos in this series.