Member News

Businesses in West Norfolk are being urged to Be a Reason to Love West Norfolk and sign up to the Love West Norfolk campaign.

A new Love West Norfolk commitment and toolkit have been launched which will allow organisations to join the campaign and celebrate everything that West Norfolk has to offer.

As well as signing up to the Love West Norfolk commitment, those joining the campaign will also be able to use the logo and display a ‘We’re a Reason to Love West Norfolk’ sticker and image.

And organisations will be supported to promote their activities through Love West Norfolk social media and communications activities.

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of Freebridge Community Housing and Chair of the West Norfolk Strategy Group said: “It is the people of West Norfolk who have made Love West Norfolk so successful and so we want to give organisations the opportunity to officially join the campaign.

“This is open to all types of organisations – shops, companies, schools, charities, and voluntary groups, for example – who, like us, love West Norfolk. Join in the campaign and help us to promote everything this fantastic area has to offer.”

Amongst those putting their signature to the commitment to West Norfolk is the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk.  The Council is a partner in the campaign and has been instrumental in getting Love West Norfolk off the ground. Ray Harding, Chief Executive said: “We’re a reason to Love West Norfolk as our staff work tirelessly to keep the area looking attractive, looking after public parks and beaches, providing events to encourage tourism and visits to the town, building homes for our citizens, regenerating areas and helping to create jobs for people.”

 And Norfolk County Council, a partner in the Love West Norfolk, has also got behind the campaign with Nick Tupper, Assistant Director for Highways pictured with the campaign logo.  

Anyone wishing to Be a Reason to Love West Norfolk can get in touch via Twitter: @LoveWestNorfolk, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveWestNorfolk/ Instagram: love_west_norfolk or the campaign website www.lovewestnorfolk.co.uk  Or they can email michelle@engaging-people.co.uk for further information and the commitment and toolkit.

Excited to announce that I have qualified for a PickYourself UK Small Business Entrepreneur of the year award.

Pick Yourself supports small business entrepreneurs in the UK by providing a platform to share Self Starter Stories.

Each published story qualifies for the PickYourself UK Small Business Entrepreneur of the year award, voted for by the public.

You can read my entry here: https://bit.ly/2A6BNBr

We have been named as a finalist at the British Small Business Awards for ‘British Small Business of the Year’. This is an amazing achievement and one that all of the Swans are extremely proud of.

Emily Groves (MD & Founder): “At Indigo Swan we carefully balance ruthless efficiency, energy market knowhow and enthusiastic price negotiations with a colourful personality, focussed on celebrating individuality and recognising the importance of connecting a human level with each other, our clients, the energy suppliers and the wider business community.  I’m incredibly proud of every one of my colleagues and the great work they do every single day.” James Groves (Head of Talent & Organisational Development): “We are all extremely proud to be recognised as one of Britain’s Best Small Businesses and we are excited to attend the awards on the 31st October. Every single Swan is proud to work here and their commitment, drive, enthusiasm and incredible will to find a better way, is what allows us to be recognised as one of the best.”

Fingers and feathers crossed for Wednesday 31st October.

To find out how we can help take your companies energy headache away and get £500 worth of free products as a Chamber Member visit our website: https://indigoswan.co.uk/ or call 01603 724893

Norfolk-based UK charity, the Hawk and Owl Trust, welcomed a team of Help for Heroes (H4H) members on Monday 22 October to its Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve outside Fakenham, Norfolk. A group from the UK Armed Forces and Military Veterans Charity and their families visited to find out more about volunteering opportunities for its local members in the area, and Sculthorpe Moor offers the perfect place!

The Help for Heroes group enjoyed a guided tour around the reserve and meeting the existing volunteers to discover just what they and their members could get involved in. Physical and mental rehabilitation for injured Service personnel is a key aim for Help for Heroes, empowering members to look beyond their illnesses and injuries and helping them to reach their potential, regain their purpose and have a positive impact on society. Hawk and Owl Trust at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve will be able to offer increasing numbers of volunteering opportunities to Help for Heroes members as the reserve expands following the on-going land purchase appeal.

Volunteers are at the heart of Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve, and they help out with a huge range of activities, from administration to practical habitat management. Some roles are more physical than others, but all offer a wonderful sense of doing a good job for wildlife, conservation and the local community. The Sculthorpe volunteers have an amazing camaraderie and many say their roles offer a life-line as well as friendship and a sense of purpose. The reserve simply wouldn’t exist without them. Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve is one of the most accessible reserves in the country, all routes on the reserve are board-walked, and all hides are accessible by wheelchair – even the tree top hide! The entire infrastructure, including all the reserve buildings, the hides and the boardwalks have all been built by a team of volunteers. The Help for Heroes group enjoyed a beautiful sunny day, and lots of wildlife on a leisurely wander around the reserve, seeing Red Kites, dragonflies, frogs and fungi, all amongst beautiful autumn colours and sun filtering through the trees. The group of 25 consisted of Band of Brothers (Service personnel) and Band of Sisters (their families). As the reserve expands, following its Sculthorpe Fen Land Purchase Appeal which is still on-going, even more volunteers will be needed to build the new infrastructure, manage and develop the land in a way that will benefit wildlife and meet and greet an increased number of visitors. A key part of the £1.7m Hawk and Owl Trust Sculthorpe Fen Land Purchase Appeal presently underway to purchase additional land to extend the reserve is to be working with local community groups. Offer opportunities in volunteering, gardening for health, exercise and making new friendships is a part of this goal – all in the glorious surroundings of this lovely nature reserve. Help for Heroes knows that those who serve together, recover better together – supporting each other, enjoying a sense of fellowship once more. Hawk and Owl Trust is proud that there is such a close fit between the reserve and the aims of H4H.

Neil Chadwick, Volunteer Coordinator at Sculthorpe Moor, said “Having a group of local volunteers from Help for Heroes will be amazing for the reserve, and the timing couldn’t be better as we prepare for all the additional work that will be needed following a successful appeal. I think the reserve will work its magic on the volunteers as well, and they will benefit hugely, not just from the ‘work’ but also from the friendships and sense of a job well done that volunteering here guarantees.”

One Help for Heroes member, said “This is a fantastic place, although I didn’t previously know it was here. I will definitely be returning, and I have taken the volunteering information away with me. Getting involved with volunteering here is something I am seriously considering!”

Contact information

Su Gough (Communication and PR Officer) Office: 01328 850598 (8am to 4pm) Mobile: 07769 270994 (anytime) Email: su.gough@hawkandowl.org

Lindsay Hutton (Help for Heroes, Band of Brothers and Band of Sisters Co-ordinator) Office: 01206 814887 Mobile: 07854 379038 Email: Lindsay.Hutton@helpforheroes.org.uk

Norwich-based business Alpha Inclusion unveiled its new ‘Block Bus’ to the public for the first time today at the Norwich Science Festival. The bus doubles up as a mobile classroom and events space for the ‘Lego-therapy’ and ‘Building blocks for communications’ approaches it uses to help children with special education needs and businesses overcome communications challenges. Thanks to the support of one of New Anglia Growth Hub’s business advisers, owner Amy Eleftheriades was able to successfully apply for a grant of just over £5,000 from the Small Grant Scheme to help fund the purchase and equipping of the bus.

Alpha Inclusion was originally set up by Amy to provide educational services for children and young people dealing with autism and social communication difficulties in mainstream school environments and at home. Budget restrictions in the education sector mean there’s often insufficient funding and space to offer activities for children with these specific needs so Amy had the brainwave to create both the space and resource by purchasing a commercial vehicle and converting it into a mobile classroom.

Following a conversation with friends, Amy realised that the activities she used with the children could easily transfer to the world of business, specifically team-building events and communications training, so set about building her business proposition to be appeal to the corporate sector. Wanting to make the most of the opportunity to work with private companies, Amy was at first unsure about where to start so called New Anglia Growth Hub.

“I had built up some capital in the business and wanted to reinvest it in something that would give us the biggest payback. We soon worked out that the ‘Block Bus’, would be the best use of this capital. But buying a commercial vehicle and paying for a conversion comes with a hefty price tag and that is where the Growth Hub really helped me out with the grant funding”, she explained.

“Getting the Block Bus is a business-changing event”, continued Amy, “We now have the capacity to run sessions for children in schools where perhaps there hadn’t previously been the space or resource and can visit companies equipped to be able to deliver highly professional activities. All the equipment we use is in the bus so wherever we go we can operate to our full capability.”

Business adviser, Robert Turnbull, helped Amy to assess what the business needed and supported her throughout the grant application process.

Robert said, “Whilst Amy’s business had nearly enough capital to buy and convert the bus, it would mean that she wouldn’t be able to resource it immediately with the necessary equipment. The 20% part funding from the Small Grant Scheme was perfect. It meant that Amy could buy the necessary equipment to fully stock the bus immediately so that that it could start earning from day 1.”

Amy commented, “It was great to have Robert’s support at this stage of our development. He was quickly able to establish the issues we were facing and offer very practical solutions which weren’t just about funding. He has helped to facilitate some very valuable contacts for us and given us the confidence to approach the commercial sector.”

An important aspect of the Amy’s business model is that the commercial work she does with private businesses subsidises the work she does in the education sector, enabling her to do more than she would otherwise be able to do.

Anyone running a business who needs help to realise their growth plans should contact the New Anglia Growth Hub on 0300 333 6356 or email growthhub@newanglia.co.uk.

New Anglia Growth Hub funding helps Gnaw Chocolate buy new wrapping machine to exploit smaller-sized bar export opportunity

Norwich-based chocolate manufacturer, Gnaw, is looking to significantly grow its business by launching a new range of healthier option mini bars, in response to the growing trend for impulse-driven chocolate purchases.

The new bars have been hugely successful internationally, especially for Gnaw’s French distributor. To be able to deliver the volume of new bars ordered by Carrefour and the Casino Group, it is going to have to invest in a new flow-wrapping machine.

Because of the nature of the new business opportunity, including significant expansion of the French export business, speed was of the essence, which is where New Anglia Growth Hub stepped in. It has helped to facilitate a 20% part-funding of the new machine, from the Small Grant Scheme. That has enabled Gnaw to go ahead and order the new wrapping machine in good time to meet the increased demand.

The new equipment will be dedicated to the smaller-sized 35g bars allowing its other wrapping machine to continue to run uninterrupted for its larger 100g bars. Gnaw has produced three new flavoured  35g bars – milk chocolate with cranberries, raisins, Norfolk granola, and seeds; milk chocolate with peanuts, Norfolk granola and seeds; and dark chocolate with orange, Norfolk granola and seeds.

Matt Legon, Founder and Director, Gnaw Chocolate, commented, “I have been able to scale-up my production line quickly, and it has freed up my resource to focus on developing our international strategy and negotiating with our international customers rather than having to source finance. Undoubtedly, this has enabled us to act nimbly and take advantage of this valuable opportunity to enter a new sector of the market. Speedy new product development is a critical success factor in our industry and the Growth Hub’s support has certainly enabled us to proceed quickly with our plans.”

Gnaw is the brainchild of Matt and his wife, Teri Legon. After graduating from the University of East Anglia in Norwich in 2005, Matt pursued a career in investment banking in London. He returned to Norwich in 2010 to set up Gnaw, driven by a combination of his love for chocolate and his identification of a gap in the market. Matt believed chocolate manufacturing had become too serious and that people had lost touch with the sheer enjoyment associated with eating chocolate. He saw a market for an innovative, thought-provoking and fun range of quirky chocolate bars where even the packaging would put a smile on customers’ faces!

Nigel Best, New Anglia Growth Hub Manager, said, “Gnaw is a great success story for Norfolk. Its specific challenge was how to manage super-fast growth effectively so that the business didn’t overstretch itself. Matt also knew he had to act quickly to make sure Gnaw didn’t miss out on the great opportunity that presented itself.

“It was very clear from the outset that grant funding would help Matt to fast-track the production and distribution of the new mini bar range, so we suggested that Gnaw apply for 20% part funding from the Small Grant Scheme. For a successful application, a business needs to present a detailed business case to demonstrate how it complies with the criteria. We supported Matt in his submission, helping him to understand the requirements and to be the main interface with the scheme. I am delighted that we have been able to help one of Norfolk’s star companies to grow and prosper. It’s exactly the type of situation that the Growth Hub was set up to support.”

Matt has grown the workforce to 33, as his operation has flourished both in the U.K and overseas.  80% of Gnaw’s turnover is from international trade with the manufacturer now exporting to 20 countries including France, the US, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Japan and China. Turnover in 2017 was £1.3m but, on the back of the new range of bars, it has ambitions to grow that to £4.7m in 2018.

If you are starting up a business and need some help, please contact the New Anglia Growth Hub on 0300 333 6356 or email growthhub@newanglia.co.uk.

Spire Solicitors LLP is pleased to announce they have been shortlisted for two national awards to celebrate their achievements after another successful year. The awards are a part of LawNet and follow on from the firm being crowned Law Firm of the Year in 2017/2018.

Sharron Tennant, Head of Residential Property has been shortlisted for Outstanding Individual Contribution. She has significantly restructured the Residential arm of Spire Solicitors LLP, providing above industry levels of outstanding advice & legal expertise for her area of practice.

The firms Marketing Department has also been shortlisted for Best BD/Marketing for achievements in their field over the last year, including brand awareness and campaigns, following significant team growth in August 2017.

LawNet is innovative and passionate about seeing firms succeed and has developed a wide range of services and initiatives to help members stay ahead of their competition, reduce costs, improve efficiencies and profitability. The ceremony and crowning of the winners will take place on November 23rd, 2018 at the Jurys Inn Hinckley Island.

James Knight, CEO, commented: “It is fantastic to see the hard work and dedication carried out by our teams recognised in national awards. All individuals acknowledged this year have been instrumental in the positive climb we at Spire Solicitors LLP have seen in the level of service we hold closely to our business model”.

The Breakwater IT car park has been the recipient of three new additions – electric charge points for employees and clients to use. Fitted by Norwich firm, Excel Electrical Services Ltd, the points are authorised by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), and are a step towards supporting electric vehicle uptake and lowering emissions.

With battery efficiency and range continuing to evolve, electric vehicles are becoming more of a feasible choice and we are keen to support the switch with these smart charging points. At the September Zero Emission Vehicle Summit, the Prime Minister set out her ambition for all new cars and vans to be effectively zero emission by 2040.  

Norwich solicitors Cozens-Hardy LLP are pleased to announce the appointment of two highly experienced new members of staff to the firm’s residential conveyancing department.

Solicitor Michaela Watts joins the firm from Fosters. Michaela deals with all types of residential conveyancing – freehold/leasehold sale and purchases, transfers of equity, re-mortgages and the purchase of new build property.

Conveyancing Executive Yvonne Adams joins Cozens-Hardy from Leathes Prior. Yvonne deals predominantly with sales and is able to assist with purchases.

Where is your prescription painkiller ending up?

NHS and Veterinary prescription drugs are increasingly ending up on the streets of the UK and being widely abused in combination with other drugs including class A and B street drugs. “Ask any teenager about Ketamine?” suggests Mike Garside, Director of UK DrugTesting. They’ll tell you exactly what it does as a party or festival drug. They won’t know its a veterinary anaesthetic used to tranquilise horses.

The NHS has adapted to trends in prescription drug abuse over the last 20 years. Many of the older prescription painkillers have been restricted or even removed from the national formulary. 

Replacing these have been the modern substitute drugs, perceived as safer and less likely to be abused and with fewer side effects and overdose risks. In reality, this perception has led to a reduced surveillance of their use, particularly in the elderly and increasingly the often overlooked use in veterinary practice.

Chances are if your dog needs a painkiller it will be prescribed Tramadol. Often 10-14 days are supplied, most of which do not end up being required. The rise of Tramadol abuse on the streets of the UK has risen rapidly over the last 10 years. “Not many people realise they are being supplied a powerful opiate agonist painkiller,” said Kate Garside, Director of UK Drug Testing and an ex GP. These drugs are increasingly being scheduled, as the abuse becomes recognised and recorded.

These pills are being sold on and end up on the streets. Some are being obtained deceptively as a source of income, some are just being shared in family groups and leach out into general supply. And it’s not just Tramadol, Oxycodone, gabapentin pregabalin, fentanyl and ketamine. All drugs you may not have heard of, but chances are, may have been prescribed to a family member or pet for a range of chronic conditions, including pain relief.

Theft from pharmacies and vets is another source of supply. There is no reliable up to date data on just how common these drugs are. Most studies are already historic by the time of publishing, and in the world of drug abuse, supply is dynamic and immediate. 

While nobody has been screening for these drugs, no reliable tests had been developed. Abuse grew, effectively under the radar of both healthcare and enforcement agencies. 

In the last 12 months, driven principally by requests from the criminal justice agencies, the biotechnology has finally caught up, with screening tests for point of care or instant testing for both new psychoactive substances and modern painkillers.

Earlier this year UK Drug Testing introduced a new 16 panel drug testing cup which included tests for most of the new prescription painkillers in addition to the more traditional street drug groups. “we expected these to sell to the prisons and drugs teams” said Kathy Calvert, the UK trade and NHS manager for UKDrugTesting. “what we found is they are selling to individuals, wanting the most comprehensive test available” 

With the rapid growth in the abuse of these groups of drugs, it makes sense to include them in any new testing program, especially for safety-critical employment roles such as construction and those requiring trackside certification. The UK Drug Testing Behemoth 16 drug test cup is available to buy online and makes an excellent broad-spectrum cup drug test kit choice for the workplace, as well as healthcare drug screening.

Website https://www.ukdrugtesting.co.uk 

A new Edith Cavell interpretation board was unveiled in Tombland, Norwich next to the Edith Cavell monument on Saturday, October 13.

Explaining the significance of Edith Cavell and the sacrifice that she made, the new board marks the centenary of the unveiling of the monument, by Queen Alexandra, on October 12, 1918, the third anniversary of Edith Cavell’s execution in Brussels, by a German firing squad.

The monument was originally in front of the Maids Head Hotel, next to the Edith Cavell Rest Home for Nurses, which was also opened by Queen Alexandra in 1918. The Norwich rest home was the sixth in a series of Edith Cavell rest homes, funded by public subscription, and opened across the country. The homes cared for exhausted nurses, traumatised by the impact of the First World War. Their work continues today through the Cavell Nurses Trust.

The building that housed the Norwich Rest Home was acquired by the Maids Head Hotel in 1956 and includes a meeting room on the ground floor, named after Edith Cavell.

The new interpretation board project was coordinated by Nick Miller, Edith Cavell archivist for St Mary’s Church Swardeston (Edith Cavell’s home parish) and was unveiled by Dawn Collins, Director of Nursing for the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust.

The production of the board was sponsored by Norwich Cathedral, the Bishop of Norwich, the Maids Head Hotel, Care UK Cavell Court, Norwich High School for Girls and the Bowen family.

Nick Miller explained: “We hope the new board will keep Edith Cavell’s challenging story alive. She died in front of a German firing squad for having assisted allied soldiers to escape. What was her view of her work? Her own word tell us, in conversation with Rev’d Stirling Gahan in her cell the night before she was executed: “Don’t think of me as a heroine and martyr, think of me simply as a nurse who tried to do her duty. Standing in the light of God and eternity I have realised that patriotism is not enough: I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”

“This statement draws deep on her roots and upbringing and the Christian faith which sustained her through 20 years as a nurse. When she saw her ‘brothers’, the British and French soldiers needing shelter and help to escape, she believed her duty was to help them, whatever the cost to herself. She risked all, housing them, feeding them, nursing them and walking with them to a rendezvous with Belgians who would take them onward to the Dutch frontier to freedom. She courageously persevered at this for nine long months, helping at least 200 men.”

Edith Cavell was born in 1865, the first of four children of the vicar of Swardeston. She worked as a governess in the east of England and Brussels. Aged 30 she returned to care for her sick father and then enrolled as a trainee nurse, wanting to do ‘something useful for people’. After nursing for ten years in the poorest parts of London and Manchester, she moved to Brussels in 1907 to create the first Belgian professional nurse training school.

On holiday in Norfolk in July 1914, with her widowed mother, she chose to return to Brussels to support her nurses as war was imminent. Under the German occupation she secretly hid British and French soldiers, often wounded and helped them to freedom in Holland. She and all involved knew they risked being shot for this. Eventually she and her network were betrayed. Thirty five were arrested, interrogated and tried by a German military court. She and a colleague were shot at dawn on October 12, 1915. After the First World War her body was brought back to the United Kingdom and she was buried at the east end of Norwich Cathedral on May 15, 1919.

For more information about Edith Cavell see www.edithcavell.org.uk

One year on in her role as Franchise Development Manager for TaxAssist Accountants, Sam Skyring discusses how her experience in practice, and her knowledge of the network has helped franchisees in the day to day running of their practices.

Before taking on this role, Sam spent three years at TaxAssist gaining an in-depth knowledge of the network, delivering training, technical assistance and undertaking due diligence visits alongside her colleagues at the TaxAssist Support Centre in Norwich.

“This allowed me to build up a real understanding of areas that franchisees need to focus on to enable them to grow and develop their businesses effectively,” adds Sam, who is ACCA qualified and for whom leaving the comfort of her 9-5 desk job has been an enriching experience. “I love the challenge of going to work in a different office every day, whether it is Cardiff or Cambridge, Belfast or Edinburgh. Each franchisee is unique, each has strengths and weaknesses and it’s a great feeling when you can see you’ve made a real difference to someone and their business. “I focus on looking at the big picture for the franchisee. How are they and their staff spending their time? What systems are in place? What is the franchisee charging? When running a business, the focus must be on maximising efficiency and profitability. “I know that the biggest area for franchisees to work on is the actual operating of the franchise. There is a real tendency for franchisees to work in the business rather than on the business.

“At the end of my visit I would hope that my approach enables franchisees to take more of a bird’s eye view of their practice. At TaxAssist, we provide excellent training for our network, but it’s only when a franchisee is up and running, that they get to experience practical issues with staffing and technology – which is where I can help.” This is reflected in the praise from franchisees, with David Nayar, who operates from Bolton and Preston, saying: “Sam provides fantastic support for our franchise and her expertise has been invaluable in getting our office working efficiently and effectively. I cannot thank her enough for the help and support she provides.” Over in the east, fellow franchisee Simon Hunt, who operates from King’s Lynn, concurs: “Sam has been incredibly supportive and helpful to me and my business. She has supported to me throughout my journey with TaxAssist and I know that if I encounter any challenges, I have someone who I can speak to.”

If you are interested in finding out more about joining TaxAssist, please contact Nikki Haythorne by e-mailing franchiseenquiries@taxassist.co.uk or by phoning 0800 0188297.