Air Malta commenced Norwich summer flying programme 4 weeks early. Excited holidaymakers descended on Norwich International Airport yesterday for the first Air Malta holiday charter flight of the summer 2014 season direct to the sunshine island of Malta. A welcome addition to the April flying programme following Air Malta’s decision to offer four extra departures from Norwich this April to accommodate the noticeable increase in demand for off-peak holidays from regional airports. Andrew Bell, the airport’s CEO commented “It was great to see the Air Malta aircraft land at Norwich yesterday, Malta is an exceptionally popular destination from our region and we are pleased that Air Malta has increased their service and enhanced the travel options from Norwich International Airport this spring”. Air Malta flights operate every Tuesday through to 21st October 2014 with holidays and flights available through numerous tour operators and travel agents. Flights are also bookable on www.airmalta.com
Crowdfunding is fast becoming a popular source of alternative finance for entrepreneurs and business start-ups who are unable or unwilling to approach a bank or other ‘conventional’ source of investment.
The idea is simple – business owners and entrepreneurs ‘pitch’ their ideas to a large number of individual investors, usually via a crowdfunding website. Those seeking finance can publish details of their project, including how much cash they need, how they will use it and how investors stand to profit. The ‘crowd’ can then choose whether or not to invest.
Whilst there are a variety of different models, many investors consider equity crowdfunding to be the purest form of crowd investment. The idea is compelling: individuals pool small funds together to become equity stakeholders in early stage companies, when the opportunities – and risks – are the greatest. Many insiders anticipate the growth in equity crowdfunding will transform startup finance.
The growth in the US is already considerable – angels have invested $393 million on the 10 largest equity crowdfunding platforms to date, with $90 million of that being invested in the first quarter of 2014 alone. So what is behind this growth? The payback from equity crowdfunding can be enormous.
‘Facebook’ and ‘Dropbox’, two headline businesses that have benefitted from crowdfunded investment, achieved returns on investment of 62,000% and 39,000% respectively. Whilst not all investments could achieve that sort of stellar performance, a long-term investment of five to eight years in the right startup could produce higher returns than any other asset. Indeed, such is the growth in crowdfunding websites, London based UP Investments is seeking to raise £100,000 on Crowdcube to establish a ‘crowdfunding supermarket’ where investors can view pitches from dozens of crowdfunding websites across the UK.
Local businesses are already benefitting. Yippydada, a Buckinghamshire based business which has developed a stylish baby bag range, hopes to secure £100,000 through Crowdcube, in return for a 10 per cent stake. ‘Ready Steady Mums’, a Cambridgeshire based fitness enterprise for mums, has recently secured £57,190 for a 6.68 per cent stake in its business on crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
Against a backdrop of low interest rates for savers and a general perception (however accurate) that banks are reluctant to lend to small entrepreneurial businesses, it is perhaps no surprise that crowdfunding is becoming more mainstream. It cuts out the middle man, allowing small businesses to get the funding they need without banks taking a slice of their profits. For savers, these ventures offer the potential for much greater returns and to potentially qualify for special tax reliefs under the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS) rules.
But what about risk? The Financial Conduct Authority is taking a close interest in crowdfunding and wants to ensure private investors fully understand the risks they are taking. Under new rules which came into force on 1 April, equity based crowdfunding is now subject to the ’10 per cent rule’. This means that investors must certify that they are not committing more than 10 per cent of their net investible assets (excluding their home, pensions and life insurance). The new rules are only waived for those deemed sophisticated investors and do not apply to peer-to-peer loans.
Some platform providers have claimed the increased regulation may prove detrimental to both investors and businesses alike, unfairly disbarring small investors and ultimately leading to a “thinning of the crowd”. Peer-to-peer lenders on the other hand, fear that the rules are not tough enough to protect individuals from bad debts.
Whoever is right, the phenomenal growth in crowdfunding looks set to continue. Recent figures suggest that over £1,700 per hour is currently being raised through crowdfunding in the UK, with more than 45 new equity and rewards projects having being launched each day in the first three months of 2014. Although this represents only a fraction of the total value of investment being raised, crowdfunding is clearly becoming an attractive means of raising finance for businesses who need that vital injection of cash.
After six years of consistent growth, True Traders Ltd has broken through £1m turnover for the 2013/14 financial year. A family run company, True Traders are a leading seller of temporary barrier fencing, alongside many other products ranging from garden & allotment netting, to construction safety equipment.
They have grown considerably since their inception by Michael Bezance, in his garage, in 2007. The company has now outgrown two storage facilities and moved to their current warehouse, on Caister Road in Great Yarmouth, in April 2013. The new warehouse, at 6300sq ft, is more than double the size of their previous.
Marketing Director Tom Bezance said ‘Breaking the £1m turnover mark is a significant milestone for True Traders. It has been the main target of the company since day one and everyone here at True Traders has worked very hard to achieve it. We are very proud of where we are now.’ ‘Obviously the hard work doesn’t stop here. New targets have been set so we can continue to push forward and grow. We now have two new employees starting to help us lay the foundations for a larger and more dynamic company.’
The company currently run seven online shops, each with its own particular niche. One of a number of aims for the current financial year is to combine these shops into a single superstore under the True Traders brand. This would allow truetraders.co.uk to become a one-stop shop for products from all seven shops, something which will be a great benefit to customers.
Tom Bezance added ‘We want to make the whole experience for customers as smooth and effortless as possible. This new superstore, coupled with easily contactable sales staff, will be a huge step in the right direction. 2014 certainly looks like an exciting year for us.’
The 2014 financial year has ended on a high for Norwich International Airport with final passenger numbers reaching over 465,000, an increase of 10% on the previous year.
Such a positive rise is attributed to growth in several sectors. The biggest increase was seen in holiday traffic, driven by Thomson/First Choice who doubled their summer 2013 activity boosting holiday charter passengers by almost 47%. Thus over 108,000 people enjoyed the benefits of flying to the sun from their local airport in the year.
The booming offshore industry contributed 19% growth in offshore helicopter traffic which accounted for over 100,000 helicopter passengers using the airport in the year. This cements Norwich as the busiest Airport for offshore helicopter passengers in the UK after Aberdeen.
KLM’s hub feeder service to the award winning Amsterdam Schiphol Airport had another strong year as a result of the addition of the fourth daily flight throughout summer 2013 which saw passenger numbers grow by 10% on this route. The fourth daily flight has already been reintroduced for this summer and forward bookings are looking very strong.
Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International, said, “2013/14 was a good year and I am satisfied with this significant increase in our passenger numbers. Not only did we achieve strong volume growth in 2014 but our drive for service excellence was recognised by Thomson/First Choice who awarded Norwich International first place in their national Airport customer service program. This focus on putting the pleasure back into flying will continue as we now move into the summer season, and I plan to build on the progress made last year. Furthermore, airlines such as Loganair are buying into our approach to doing business as demonstrated by their decision to base another of their aircraft at the Airport, thereby offering better service frequencies to passengers.”
Norfolk based Fendercare Marine, one of the world’s foremost suppliers of marine products and services, has won a significant contract to supply Yokohama fenders to the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The three year contract is for the supply of 3.3m x 6.5m Yokohama original pneumatic fenders. Fendercare Marine has supplied 18 of the fenders to date, with potentially more to follow. Fendercare Marine has been working closely with the MOD to design a protective tyre net which would not only be non-marking to the ship’s hull but would provide minimal fender maintenance issues.
Fendercare Marine has been a supplier of fenders and marine hardware to the MoD since 1999 and also supports navies throughout the world, winning a $29 million contract with the US Navy in 2012. From a base in the Devonport Royal Dockyard in Plymouth, their Naval Solutions division also provides fabrication, welding and coating services for the MoD, having worked on nuclear submarines, warships and naval support vessels.
Sonia Crane, Fendercare Marine Sales Manager commented “We are delighted to have secured this contract with the Ministry of Defence. Our 15 year relationship with the MoD is one that we really treasure and this contract is further evidence of our commitment to supplying reliable and innovative products, supported by excellent customer service.”
Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) in Norwich hosted a fun-packed annual charity quiz night last Thursday (20th March 2014) at the De Vere Dunston Hall Hotel, raising £1,784 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
Forty teams from local businesses with team names such as “Goodbye Doctor Who”, “We Thought It Was A Disco”, “Les Quizerables”, “The Scrambled Eggheads” and “Sew Smart…Not” gathered at the De Vere Dunston Hall Hotel for the annual charity quiz evening which was organised by Pure – a leading specialist recruitment consultancy businesses in the East of England.
Norfolk businesses including Heinz, South Norfolk Council, Parker Andrews, Broadland Housing, Wensum Tailoring and Larking Gowen came along for the evening of friendly rivalry. It was “TEAM Name” from Team Energy that claimed the quiz crown, with each lucky team member winning a bottle of champagne. A raffle also proved popular with superb prizes including a round of Golf for 4 at Dunston Hall, Booja Booja chocolates, Chapelfield shopping vouchers and Kettle Foods donated a large case of crisps. In addition, an iPad mini was generously donated by NHS professionals!
Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure, said: “The charity quiz evenings that we organise annually are always such an enjoyable occasion… Not only do they encourage local businesses to join together and contribute to such a fantastic charity as EACH, but also the amount raised always surpasses our expectations. I’d like to thank all of the businesses that contributed to the event. Our relationship with EACH is very important to us and we are so proud to be supporting a wonderful charity.”
Gary Cook, EACH Norfolk Fundraiser, said: “We are extremely grateful to Pure Resourcing Solutions, Norwich for once again supporting EACH with their annual quiz. We would also like to thank the local business community for getting involved in this fun event whether that is by entering a team into the quiz or supplying a raffle prize. The fantastic amount raised from the event will go a long way to helping us to deliver our services of caring for local life-threatened children and supporting their families.”
The quiz brings the total that Pure has now raised for EACH in the last decade to over £52,000. To find out more about Pure’s fundraising activity, contact Anna Hill, Marketing Manager on: 01223 209888 or Anna.Hill@prs.uk.com.
Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers, who have their Head Office in Norwich, have agreed to sponsor the popular Norwich City of Ale festival, as it returns for a fourth year.
Norwich City of Ale is a ten-day celebration of local pubs, breweries and real ale. The festival, which takes place between 22nd May and 1st of June, involves over 80 pubs and breweries and aims to promote Norwich both nationally and internationally as the UK’s City of Ale.
Chris Gibbs, managing director of Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring Norwich City of Ale. Many of our existing pub clients have already ‘signed up’ so it was an easy decision to get involved.
“We have more than 17 years’ experience arranging insurance for the pub and brewery industry and we are always looking to build closer ties with the licensed trade in Norwich. City of Ale provides us the perfect platform to do so.”
Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers can help pubs and breweries of all sizes with their insurance. For more information, visit www.pubinsure.co.uk or call 01603 70 80 90.
Rapidly-evolving energy services company Proserv has been awarded its largest contract yet for subsea controls by a leading oilfield service company, bringing a significant jobs boost to the Great Yarmouth area.
The contract, which is worth around $40million (approx £24m), reinforces Proserv’s global footprint and market-leading position in the subsea technology sector. It will see the company provide nine subsea control systems to support deepwater workover controls services for several projects in Brazil up to 2,500m water depth.
Overall project execution along with the engineering and build of the subsea control systems will be carried out at Proserv’s Great Yarmouth facilities. The company’s dedicated manufacturing facility in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, will deliver the accompanying hydraulic power units.
The systems will be delivered to the client in a phased approach throughout 2015 in line with key project milestones.
Proserv is already on target to create 90 new jobs in the Great Yarmouth region this year as a result of this contract win and due to continued business growth.
David Lamont, Proserv’s chief executive officer, said: “This significant contract award is testament to the hard-work, expertise and experience of our entire team and further evidence of the great reputation we have built, and continue to build globally.
“At Proserv, we are able to offer clients the latest developments in technologies and can back it up with industry experts who have a real depth of knowledge in the area they work in. This, combined with our track record for delivering value-added products on time and in budget, were crucial factors in securing this contract.”
John Willmott, general manager of Proserv’s Great Yarmouth facilities, said: “Winning this award is a huge achievement for the company, but especially for our team here in Great Yarmouth. The skills and expertise of our people is in high demand and we are exporting some of the most technically advanced subsea equipment to clients all over the world.
“In line with the company’s rapid global growth, we are continuing to invest in our people, facilities and technologies to support our future sustainable expansion and strong order pipeline.”
Proserv, which operates worldwide through 31 operating centres based in 11 countries, has a 40-year track record in delivering bespoke technologies and services for the energy industry, particularly in the drilling, production, subsea and marine market sectors. In February Proserv announced it had acquired precision engineering firm KRG Industries, a well-established provider of machining, welding, inspection and testing services to the oil & gas, aerospace and defence industries.
The deal comes several months after Proserv acquired Australian-headquartered Velocious, a pioneering subsea intervention and tooling company.
Loddon-based independent consultancy, Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA) have again been awarded a place on the Environment Agency’s National Framework Agreement for Applied Environmental Economics. In 2009, RPA were also successful contractors on the previous EA Environmental Economics Framework, which this new commission succeeds.
The Framework Agreement will cover environmental and ecosystem service valuation, cost-benefit analysis, economic appraisal and impact assessment across the complete range of the Environment Agency’s work. This includes flood risk management, climate change, agriculture, fisheries, waste, water, and business regulation and local economic partnership.
RPA has been a service provider to the UK government since 1990, carrying out more than 100 studies for the Environment Agency – most involving economics. Projects have ranged from strategic policy studies through to scheme level assessments on bathing water quality, river water quality and flood and coastal erosion risk management, as well as providing advice and training.
RPA Project Director, Meg Postle, commented, saying “To be able to continue to support the Environment Agency in economic policy decision-making means we can build on previous work and experience built up over the course of the last framework, and our work for the Agency prior to that.”
Having recently commenced, the contract will run for two years, with a potential third year extension. Support on this Framework will be provided by sub-consultants from HaskoningDHV, ACTeon and Cambridge Econometrics (CE), as well as academic experts.
Cozens-Hardy LLP is pleased to announce that solicitor Christina Stöhr has joined the firm’s busy private client department.
Christina, who qualified in 2000, is a highly experienced private client solicitor, providing advice on wills, estate planning, the administration of estates and trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney and Court of Protection applications. Christina has a special interest in advising elderly clients, particularly care provision and funding and is currently enrolled on the STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) Diploma programme.
Commented Michelle Collins, Partner and head of the firm’s Private Client department:
“Christina will be a real asset to our team and will play a key role in helping us continue to deliver the firm’s high levels of service and exceptional client care.”
Christina added:
“Cozens-Hardy is particularly well known for its private client work and I am looking forward to joining such a well respected and motivated team.”
Cozens-Hardy’s private client practice offers a full range of services including wills and codicils, obtaining probate and the administration of trusts, disputed estates, living wills, Powers and Attorney, Court of Protection work and Charity Law. The team also offers expert advice on wealth management, planning for business or property succession, tax planning and tax efficiency.
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For further information please contact: Clare Haylett ph: 07764 270570 and clare@clarehaylett.net
Matt was previously Commercial Director at Devon Norse, in charge of the company’s catering operations.
He takes over from Ray Beale, who is remaining with the company in a consultative role overseeing the transfer of additional facilities management operations from Devon County Council.
Commenting on his new role Matt said, “This is a very exciting time for Devon Norse, as we expand our partnership with Devon County Council and continue to grow our portfolio of public and private sector clients. We have a tremendous, committed and enthusiastic team at Devon Norse, and I look forward to continuing the excellent leadership Ray has given since the formation of the company three years ago.”
Norse Managing Director Peter Hawes, commented, “We are delighted that Matt has accepted the role of Managing Director for Devon Norse. His varied experience across a number of divisions of the company, and his proven management expertise, meant that he was an obvious choice for the position. Matt is a perfect example of how anyone within the company can, with the right attitude, skills development and commitment, make a career with Norse that leads them to top flight roles.”
Matt has worked for Devon Norse’s parent group for fourteen years, starting as a cook in residential homes and progressing through the catering team before transferring to an Environmental Services Manager’s post. He moved to Commercial Services Manager at Norse’s head offices in Norwich, managing the cleaning services throughout East Anglia and for Enfield Norse in 2010, and in 2013 became one of the company’s first BTEC Level 7 graduates.
Devon Norse has a staff of over 1300, who provide a wide range of cleaning and catering services to education, NHS, civic and private establishments across Devon and the South West. The company provides over 200,000 meals to schools across the county every month.