Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce

Issue: June 2009

Helping You Manage The Downturn
Business Awards Prove Britain's Got Talent
Business & Politics Show
Pandemic Influenza Checklist For Businesses
Carbon Reduction Scheme Can Boost Bottom-Line
Business intelligence 2009: Cash flow report
Discounts On Exhibiting At Graduate Fair 2009
Business Opportunities In DAFZA
Cashflow Boost For Businesses In East Midlands
Business Link Update
Forthcoming Chamber Events

If your company would like to help the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce continue to provide this informative e-newsletter Good Morning Leicestershire and raise the profile of your own business at the same time then please talk to Sharon Jeffrey on on 0116 204 6618 to discuss sponsorship opportunities, preferential rates are available for Chamber Members.

CHAMBER NEWS

To help Chamber members manage the current downturn, the Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce, in association with wk5.com, is introducing a new membership benefit "Cash Flow Solutions".

Cash flow management contains a broad yet distinct range of services, from early stage advice for businesses experiencing initial cash flow difficulties, through to formal and informal business restructuring.

Areas covered by this new service include:

Complimentary cash flow advice line for members
Business rescue service
Insolvency advice and services
Business status monitoring at discounted rates
Pay-as-you-go online credit reference reports at discounted rates
Commercial finance arrangements
Debt collection services and credit insurance arrangements
Debtor tracing services
Bespoke terms for stock protection

For more details contact Mandy Flavell, Membership Coordinator, on Tel: 0116 204 6619 or email: flavell.m@chamberofcommerce.co.uk

The UK's most inspiring companies are being urged to showcase their talent by entering a top national business award that could open doors – with the most accomplished UK firm winning a £50,000 cash boost. The call comes from the British Chambers of Commerce as they launch their prestigious Chamber Awards programme.

John Dunsmure, Managing Director of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "We all know how difficult it's been out there for business recently. That makes it even more important for companies to make the most of every opportunity they can to demonstrate their strengths and skills.

"The chance to win a £50,000 cash injection is an attractive proposition for small self-starters right up to established multi-million pound global businesses. The Chamber Awards 2009 are free to enter for Chamber members and can help businesses develop a good reputation with the public and the business community as well as helping to increase their competitive advantage. What we're looking for are inspirational, innovative businesses that use best practice to achieve great results."

This year's categories are: Business of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Achievement in International Business, Excellence in Customer Service, Excellence in People Development, Most Promising New Business, the Green Award and the Award for Innovation Through Technology.

All regional winners will go through to the national awards and will be in with a chance to become the 'Winner of Winners' and scoop the top prize.

The awards are backed-up by high profile sponsors including the Royal Bank ofScotland, Staples, BT, AXA PPP healthcare, Dell and Westfield Health.

The regional winners will be announced in September, followed by the national awards ceremony in London on November 26th.

To enter the awards online go to www.chamberawards.co.uk/2009 For any further information you can contact the Chamber on 02476 472593 or email: awards@chamberawards.co.uk. The closing date for entries is June 26th

OTHER NEWS

Chamber Member Vantis is keen to encourage fellow Chamber members to support the East Midlands version of “Question Time” meets “Have I got news for you”.

Venue: the City Rooms
Date: 30th June 2009
Time: 18.00 – 21.00
Cost: £25.00 + VAT per ticket (inc of buffet)

Politics has always influenced the business world and in the current climate it has more resonance than ever before.

"We are hugely enthusiastic about the Business & Politics events. They promise to create a forum for lively debate which has been long overdue. The meeting of leaders from a variety of backgrounds for lively discussion and comment, flavoured with humour perfectly fits our thinking." commented Patric Phelan, Vantis

Business & Politics is a series of quarterly events taking place in Leicester, sponsored by Vantis and Harvey Ingram and supported by the IOD.

The events offer an informed, friendly, but irreverent and entertaining take on the latest news and views from current affairs discussed by a panel of acknowledged experts, high profile opinion formers and the audience who will have a chance to express their opinions with the panel.

In short, Business & Politics is a more local and relevant version of Question Time mixed with a little Have I got news for you.

There will be a panel of regular hosts and team leaders including:

Iain Dale one of Britain's top political commentators
John Willman the former Business Editor of the Financial Times

To encourage enthusiastic debate the organisers are inviting guests to submit their probing questions at the Business & Politics online forum. Items up for discussion will include the European elections, education and transport among others.

To book a place either go to www.businessandpolitics.org or email lucy@businessandpolitics.org.

In the event of aninfluenza pandemic the Government recommends that all organisations adopt robust and flexible generic business continuity management arrangements which will help ensure the impact of any disruptions will be minimised.

Current advice from the World Health Organisation is that countries should be planning for a possible influenza pandemic, although timing of onset is highly unpredictable. In the event of an influenza pandemic, businesses will have a key role to play in reducing the risk to employee's health and safety as far as possible, as well as maintaining essential operations.

The UK Influenza Pandemic Contingency Plan contains more information on the types of scenarios which may arise. To assist you in developing and reviewing plans, the Government has developed a checklist specifically regarding pandemic influenza which identifies activities which organisations can do to prepare for a pandemic.

Further information can be found at http://www.ukresilience.info. General information on an influenza pandemic and the impact it might have, including the UK contingency plan, can be found at http://www.dh.gov.uk/pandemicflu

The Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) should not be seen as an overhead but an opportunity to sharpen competitive edge in the face of the current recession. Consultants at Chamber Utilities™ believe the CRC can be used as a springboard to boost bottom-line performance by reducing energy costs, while enhancing corporate social responsibility programmes.

Some 20,000 organisations must register for the CRC programme. Of these, an estimated 5,000 will become 'full' participantsand have to pay for their carbon emissions when the CRC gets under way with its first trading year from April 2010 to March 2011. Although the CRC is still in its draft format, acting now can quickly create major cost savings and prevent the reputational damage of being named and shamed in a published league table of energy performance.

"Because the scheme is revenue neutral to the Government, there will always be winners and losers, which means corporate reputation as well as finance will be at stake," said Liam McDonagh, Head of Consultancy Service sat Utility Auditing, which delivers the Chamber Utilities™ service.

"Many organisations affected by the scheme have not yet started to plan for the various phases because they have gone into survival mode and are battening down the hatches against the recession. But the CRC is an important catalyst for cost reduction and must rise up the boardroom agenda. It also takes time to prepare and businesses mustn't get caught short. If embraced properly, in addition to reducing costs, the CRC can also enhance both environmental and CSR programmes.

"Reviews and surveys will also produce a number of no cost or low cost quick wins, in particular behavioural changes like switching off equipment and lighting when not required, and introducing temperature policies to prevent over heating or cooling. In our experience, no-cost or low-cost measures can typically achieve energy savings of 5 to 10%.

"Older buildings are generally less efficient, but lighting, plant, equipment and controls upgrades and improvements to building fabric can still have attractive returns on investment with typical payback periods of under five years. In addition, these types of initiatives usually improve the internal environment."

The CRC means organisations must purchase 'allowances' to cover CO₂emissions in April each year for the following 12 month period. In the first three years of the scheme (April 2010 – March 2013), allowances will be traded at £12 per tonne of CO₂. The first sale takes place in April 2011, covering actual emissions for 2010/11, and projected emissions for 2011/12 – a double accounting year. Subsequent sales will be just for the projected following year. So for an organisation using 6,000,000kWh of electricity a year, the first sale will cost £77,328.

For professional advice on planning for the CRC or for help in reducing your utilities costs, contact Chamber Utilities™ on 0845 120 2423 or visit:www.chamberutilities.co.uk

NatWest have recently commissioned the Business intelligence 2009: Cash flow report from the well respected research provider Ipsos MORI. This piece of independent research details how owners and leaders of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are coping with the economic downturn and what cash flow management means to them.

Cash flow is the key success factor for small and medium sized businesses. That's why Ipsos Mori were commissioned to interview 250 SME leaders about their cash flow management and what business strategies they've implemented to weather the downturn.

Leading economist Professor Graeme Leach also contributed his insights on how 2009 may pan out for SMEs operating in different regions and sectors across the UK.

The findings have now been published by NatWest in the report titled 'Business Intelligence 2009: Cash Flow' featuring case studies showing how to deal with different cash flow problems and providing insights which could make a real difference to your business.

While SMEs will not be immune from the downturn, many successful businesses will continue to prosper, although there is expected to be increased competition from new startups catalysed by redundancies elsewhere in the economy, while those operating in niche, premium markets may find trading conditions tough.

Despite all the concerns regarding cash flow forecast, with more than 60% of SME leaders saying that there has been deterioration in this aspect of their business performance in the preceding few months, many still believe they have reasonable cash cover for the next six months at least.

31% of respondents said they were 'very well placed' with regards to cash reserves to weather whatever economic storm comes, with a further 47% saying they were 'quite well placed'.

The full report and more information can be found at http://cashflow.natwest.com/.

The University of Leicester and De Montfort University will be jointly running the Leicestershire Student and Graduate Fair again this year on 11th November from 11am – 3.30pm.

The fair, the largest in the East Midlands, is a very economical and efficient way of recruiting staff and raising your company profile amongst the Leicestershire student and graduate population Over half of the employers attending last year spoke to more than 150 visitors each. A widely publicised event, it is anticipated that over 100 employers will participate and more than 3,000 students and graduates will attend. Over 90% of the employers who attended last year's fair rated it as good or excellent.

The University of Leicesterand De Montfort University are proud to support local organisations and are offering 10% off exhibition costs for all Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce members. You need to quote "Chamber of Commerce" at the time of booking (in the promotional code box on the booking form) to automatically receive the discount.

As well as exhibiting, you may wish to select one of the excellent sponsorship packages to maximise your attendance and help raise awareness of your brand prior to the fair. Details can be found on the website at:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/careers/info-for-employers/events/careers-fairs/lsgf/ad

In its first 6 months HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) Business Payment Support Service (BPSS) has agreed 10,020 time-to-pay arrangements to spread tax payments over a period that businesses can afford in the East Midlands, totalling over £177m.

The BPSS provides a fast track service that offers support to businesses needing more time to pay their tax bills. These businesses can quickly agree terms they can afford with HMRC over the phone. Budget 2009 announced that the service would be enhanced to allow viable businesses to have expected in-year trading losses considered when asking for time to pay their tax bill.

The Rt. Hon Stephen Timms MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, said: “Cash flow is critical to business survival and that is why, as part of its commitment to help the business community through these difficult times, the Government introduced the Business Payment Support Service last year. It is good to see that with 10,020 arrangements now in place the service is helping so many businesses in the East Midlands by providing additional cash flow. I urge any business facing financial difficulty in these challenging economic times to pick up the phone and speak to HMRC. A short phone call could assist hard working businesses who might be concerned about cash flow.”

The BPSS can be contacted on 0845 302 1435 from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and from 8 am to 4pm at weekends. Further information is available at: www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2008/business-payment.htm.

BUSINESS LINK UPDATE

A new online guide to help SMEs gain access to funding for growth and innovation has been launched by the Government.

Investing in innovation is crucial to businesses looking to bring new and improved products and services to the market and boost their profitability. During the downturn this is especially important but will become even more vital for businesses that want to grow and become more competitive as the upturn comes.

The new guide, ‘The No-Nonsense Guide to Finance for High Growth and Innovative Businesses’, will act as a one stop resource for companies that want to know where and how they can access sources of funding available to support innovation. It is available free of charge on the Business Link website at: www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands/nng

For details about the complete range of support available for businesses in the East Midlands visit: www.businesslink.gov.uk/eastmidlands or telephone 0845 058 6644.

East Midlands businesses are set to benefit from the Government's new package to help them through the current economic downturn. The national “Real Help for Business” initiative includes a finance programme that provides:

Up to £1.3bn of additional lending through an Enterprise Finance Guarantee
Up to £10bn Working Capital Guarantee, securing up to £20bn of lending
£75m capital fund to invest in businesses that need equity or quasi equity

The Business Link website offers information on a wide range of business issues aimed at helping organisations to remain competitive and robust in the current economic climate. Online tools are available to check the health and energy efficiency of a business along with information and fact sheets on managing cash flow, training, restructuring, recruitment and redundancy.

To improve your bottom line or find out more about the local events taking place to help you ‘survive and thrive’ during this economic downturn contact Business Link on 0845 058 6644 or email info@businesslinkem.co.uk

CHAMBER EVENTS

Date: 25 June
Venue: Barcelo, Hinckley Island Hotel, Hinckley
Time: 7pm - 11:30pm
Cost: £32.50

Join us for our Integra evening and enjoy good food, entertainment and good company. The guest speaker for this special event will be Julie Peasgood, a television presenter and one of the country's most popular and sought-after actresses. Julie spent five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has made many appearances in the West End

Date: 8 July
Venue: Beedles Lake Golf Club, East Goscote
Time: 8.30am – 2pm approx
Cost: £40

Are you a novice golfer? Would you like to learn? Then why not join Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce and Integra, the chamber's association of women in business, on the Golf Day For Beginners event to find out the fundamentals of golf? This great day will include breakfast and a light lunch, practical tuition by the club’s golf professionals, golf tips & techniques and excellent networking.

Date: 9 July
Venue: National Space Centre, Leicester.
Time: 8am – 10am
Cost: Free

To help businesses understand how they can benefit from awareness of the local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) agenda, we will be hosting a free seminar. LBRO aims to reduce the unnecessary burden that red tape puts on law-abiding businesses without compromising the safeguards that protect consumers, workers, the environment and honest competition. There will also be an invaluable Q&A and networking session at this event.

Date: 19 August
Venue: Quorn Grange Hotel, Quorn
Time: 12 noon – 2.30pm
Cost: Chamber Members £22 / Standard £27. Price includes buffet BBQ and glass of wine.

The Chamber's summer networking event provides a wonderful opportunity to enjoy an informal barbeque in the delightful surroundings of Quorn Grange. Attendees will be able to network and exchange company literature over a glass of wine and a buffet barbeque.

Date: 2 September
Venue: Hilton Hotel, Braunstone, Leicester
Time: TBA
Cost: Chamber Members £20 / Standard £25

Are you aware of the current health & safety legislation within your organisation? At first sight this can appear to be daunting, time consuming and a costly requirement. This Health and Safety Seminar will provide the chance to network and consider common experiences whilst receiving professional advice on the impact of changes in legislation, with the opportunity to review the current health and safety practices within your organisation.

Date: 14 September
Venue: Market Harborough Golf Course, Market Harborough
Time: Tee off from 9am
Cost: Chamber Members £49.50 / Standard £59.50
Price includes breakfast, 18 holes & lunch

This popular corporate hospitality event includes a superb day of golf, beginning with refreshments and a light breakfast. Players will be arranged into teams of 4 with a chance to win both individual and team prizes.

For more information on these Chamber events please call Kam Atker on Tel: 0116 204 6614, email: atker.k@chamberofcommerce.co.uk or alternatively you can visit the Chamber website at: www.chamberofcommerce.co.uk and select What’s On/events